OBJECTIVE To study the protective effect of Orychophragmus violaceus(OV)seed against acute hepatotoxicity induced by the traditional Chinese Medicine Cortex Dictamni in mice. METHODS Twenty-five mice were randomly divided into 5 groups:control group,Cortex Dictamni group(70 g · kg-1)and OV seed groups(36,54 and 72 g · kg-1). OV Seed groups were orally adminis?tered with the aqueous extract of OV seed for 4 consecutive days while the other groups were ig given water. On the 4th day,Cortex Dictamni group and OV seed groups were ig given the aqueous extract of Cortex Dictamni,and normal control group was ig given water. Twenty-four hours later,all the mice had their blood and liver samples taken after anesthesia. The serum chemical parameters were measured, including glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT),glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),as well as malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH)and oxidized glutathione(GSSG)levels in the liver. GSH/GSSG ratio was calculated. Histopathologic changes in the liver were observed and the area was calculated after HE staining. RESULTS Compared with normal control group,Cortex Dictamni(70 g · kg-1)increased the serum GOT,GPT and LDH levels by 500, 140 and 40 fold(P<0.01). OV seed reduced serum GOT,GPT and LDH levels increased by Cortex Dictamni(P<0.05,P<0.01),by as much as 62%,75% and 99% for GPT,70%,82% and 98% for GOT,and 55%,75%and 96%for LDH,respectively. The level of MDA and the ratio of GSH/GSSG in Cortex Dictamni group were 1.39 ± 0.58 and(3.53 ± 1.27)μmol · g-1,a 10-fold increase and 40%decline compared with normal control group(P<0.01). OV seed of 72 g·kg-1 lowered the level of MDA by 22%(P<0.05),and OV seed(36,54 and 72 g · kg-1)increased the GSH/GSSG ratio by 47%,42%and 54%(P<0.05). Histopathologic results showed that OV seed alleviated the liver damage induced by Cortex Dictamni from(64.1±8.5)%to(37.5±7.1)%and (20.0±0.8)%(P<0.01). CONCLUSION OV seed can effectively protect mice from the acute hepatotoxicity induced by Cortex Dictamni.

Objective:To screen and identify autoantibody biomarker to diagnose patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods:Candidate autoantibodies against tumor-associated antigens were identified from NPC CNE2 cells using serological proteome analysis. Levels of candidate autoantibody biomarkers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 50 patients with NPC and 80 normal controls recruited from the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College between July 2014 and January 2015. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was employed to evaluate diagnostic efficacy.Results:Serological proteome analysis showed that sera from patients with NPC yielded a positive spot, of which was identified as enolase 1 (ENO1). ELISA results showed that the level of serum autoantibody against ENO1 in patients with NPC was significantly higher than that in normal controls [0.165 (0.088, 0.378) vs. 0.100 (0.054, 0.117), Z=4.077, P<0.001]. With the optimum diagnostic cutoff of 0.164, ROC curve showed the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of autoantibodies against ENO1 were 52.0% and 90.0%, respectively. Measurement of autoantibody against ENO1 demonstrated a positive rate of 75.0% for early stage NPC. Conclusion:Autoantibody against ENO1 may be a potential diagnostic biomarker for NPC.

Objective·To analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of Chinese pediatric patients with Barth syndrome(BTHS)and provide data to support the prevention and treatment of BTHS.Methods·Eighteen pediatric patients diagnosed with BTHS at Shanghai Children's Medical Center,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,from January 2010 to November 2023,were included.Clinical data(age,birth weight,family history,electrocardiogram,echocardiogram,urine tandem mass spectrometry,complete blood count,blood biochemistry,and genetic test results)were collected to analyze the clinical characteristics,genetic findings,and prognoses of the patients.Results·The study included 18 male patients with BTHS(including 2 monozygotic twins),consisting of one Yi ethnic and 17 Han Chinese patients.The median age at diagnosis was 3.0(1.0,5.6)months.Fifteen patients experienced decreased cardiac function at disease onset,with a left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)below 50%.Dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)was observed in 15 patients,left ventricular non-compaction(LVNC)in 12 patients,and myocardial hypertrophy in 9 patients.During the diagnosis and follow-up,QTc interval prolongation occurred in 9 patients,ventricular arrhythmias in 2 patients,neutropenia in 9 patients,and monocytosis in 10 patients.Urine tandem mass spectrometry revealed 3-methylglutaconic aciduria(3-MGCA)in 8 of 13 tested patients.Fifteen types of TAZ gene mutation were identified in the 18 patients,including 5 novel mutations.Genetic testing of the parents of 16 patients indicated maternal inheritance in 15 cases.The median follow-up period was 8.5(2.6,29.3)months,during which 12 patients died.The median age at death was 7.5(6.0,12.8)months.Causes of death included heart failure(7 cases,with 4 concurrent infections),sudden death(3 cases),ventricular fibrillation(1 case),and accidental death(1 case).Conclusion·BTHS is a rare genetic disorder with multisystem involvement.Its primary clinical manifestations include cardiomyopathy and neutropenia.The condition typically presents early in life,with severe progression and poor prognosis.Prompt recognition,accurate diagnosis,and early intervention are essential for managing this disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of 3D-printed oval root canal preparation by using small field-of-view cone beam CT (CBCT) combined with computer-aided technologies. Methods: An extracted tooth with a suitable single oval canal was selected by small field-of-view CBCT scanning. Three-dimensional (3D)-printed resin teeth were obtained based on the CBCT data after data conversion and processing. 50 general dentists were selected to prepare the oval root canal of the resin teeth with X-Gold rotary Ni-Ti instruments. Small field-of-view CBCT was applied to scan the oval root canals before and after preparation. Then, computer-aided technologies were used to calculate and compare these CBCT data, analyzing the effects of oval root canal cleaning as well as the root canal deviation by 3D reconstruction and rendering of the images. Results : Among the 50 cases, the mean unprepared area of the oval root canal wall was（56.20 ± 11.91）% and the mean maximum deviation distance of the root canal was（0.140 ± 0.041）mm. There was no correlation between root canal cleanliness and deviation (r=0.18, P=0.212). Conclusion Combined with small field-of-view CBCT and computer-aided technology, we can effectively quantitatively evaluate the root canal preparation effect.