Oxidative stress-induced neuronal apoptosis plays a vital role in the development of neurodegenerative disorders;while at present its regulation pathways mainly include the NF-κB pathway;p53 pathway;MAPK path-way;PI3 K/Akt pathway;Nrf2 pathway;as well as other signaling pathways.Research findings suggest that the active components in Chinese materia medica exert significant biological activities in the treatment of oxidative stress-induced neuronal apoptosis.In the present paper;we review the recent research advances on the relative mechanisms of active components in Chinese materia medica against oxidative stress-induced neuronal apoptosis;so as to provide some references or clues for the clarification of possible mechanisms of active components in Chinese materia medica and the treatment of related neurodegenerative diseases.

Gold nanostructures with unique optical and photo-thermal properties based on their size and shape have wide applica-tion potential in tumor diagnosis, imaging, photo-thermal therapy, and drug delivery because of surface plasmon resonance. The optical properties of gold nanomaterials allow its use for dark field imaging, optical coherence tomography, and two-photon imaging. Gold nanomaterials can also be used as carriers for a variety of fluorescent molecules and drugs, achieving multifunctional imaging, chemo-therapy, photodynamic therapy, and so on. Photon-electron and electron-electron interactions of gold nanomaterials, which are excited by near-infrared laser, will generate heat that can be used for tumor photothermal therapy. This phenomenon promotes drug release, and photoacoustic imaging. The combined application of hyperthermia and chemotherapy based on gold nanoparticles is effective in opti-mizing the efficacy of cancer treatments. Therefore, gold nanoparticles can integrate multiple functions into one single system and real-ize the integration of tumor diagnosis and therapy, which provide new insights for the on-demand therapy and personalized medicine de-velopment. This study reviews the recent progress of several gold nanoparticles in the integrated applications for tumor theranostics, in-cluding gold nanoshells, gold nanorods, hollow gold nanospheres, gold nanocages, and gold nanostars. The major strategies of gold nanomaterials in biomedical applications are also discussed.

Objective To investigate mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-β1 and their signifi-cance in injured spinal cord after transplantation of activated microglia. Methods Wistar rat model of spinal cord injury was made by using modified Allen's method. Then, the activated microglia was trans-planted into spinal cord injury models tu detect mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-β1 in the spinal curd. Results The mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-β1 in control group were significantly lower than that in test group (P<0.05). Conclusion Transplantation of activated microglia to the impaired spinal cord in rats can increase the mRNA and protein expressions of TGF-β1. The up-regulated expres-sion of TGF-β1 in spinal cord may play a role in promoting the recovery of spinal cord, when the activated microglia may be the main saurce of TGF-β1.

Objective To detect adenovirus from children with acute upper/lower respiratory tract infections and to investigate the genetic evolution of virus .Methods A total of 1 178 clinical specimens were collected from the Children ’ s Hospital , Zhejiang University School of Medicine during March 2011 and February 2013, including 513 throat swabs from children with acute upper respiratory tract infection and 665 nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with acute lower respiratory tract infections .Besides, 9 specimens in an outbreak of adenovirus infection during 2011 and 2014 were also collected .Adenovirus was identified by real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).The hypervariable region (HVR)-7 region of hexon gene in positive samples was amplified and sequenced for typing and phylogenetic analysis .Other respiratory viruses were also detected with RT-qPCR in adenovirus positive samples .Clinical characteristics of adenovirus infection were analyzed in children with lower respiratory tract infections .Chi-square test and Fisher exact probability were used for data analysis .Results Among 1 178 samples from sporadic cases , 104 samples (8.83%) were adenovirus positive .The rates of adenovirus infection in upper respiratory tract infection group and lower respiratory tract infection group were 13.65%(70/513) and 5.11%(34/665), respectively (χ2 =26.193, P<0.05).Compared with that in lower respiratory tract infections , positive rates of adenovirus were higher in upper respiratory tract infections in children aged 0-1 year and >3 years (χ2 =6.575 and 7.334, P<0.05 or <0.01).Adenovirus infection might occur throughout the year and peaked in spring and summer .Among 54 adenovirus-positive samples from 104 sporadic cases , adenovirus types 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 31 were identified in 4, 6, 26, 2, 15 cases and 1 case, respectively.While among 9 adenovirus-positive samples from outbreak cases , type 4 and type 3 were identified in 1 and 8 cases, respectively .The HVR-7 region of hexon gene was highly homologous in the same type , and the sequence alignment indicated that the sequence of HVR-7 might have regional differences .Nine out of 70 children (12.86%) were co-infected with other virus in upper respiratory tract infection group , while the rate of co-infection in lower respiratory tract infection group was much higher [58.82%(20/34), χ2 =24.045, P<0.05 ].There was no significant difference in clinical manifestations between children infected with adenovirus only and those with co-infection in lower respiratory tract infection group (P>0.05), but two children with co-infection died.Conclusions Adenovirus infection is more common in upper respiratory tract infection .Adenovirus type 3 and type 7 are the most prevalent serotypes in sporadic cases , while type 3 is the most prevalent serotype in outbreak cases .

Objective To investigate the genetic variation and molecular evolution of human bo-cavirus 1 (HBoV1) strains isolated during 2009 to 2014 in Hangzhou, China.Methods Throat swab sam-ples were collected from children with acute respiratory tract infections in the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to the Zhejiang University School of Medicine from 2009 to 2014.Real-time PCR was performed for the detec-tion of HBoV1 strains.Fifteen HBoV1 strains with high virus load were screened out for the amplification and sequencing of complete genomes.The complete genomes were submitted to GenBank for further analysis with bioinformatics software.Results A total of 48 nucleotide mutations were detected in the complete genomes of 15 HBoV1 strains, resulting in 11 amino acid mutations with 5 of them located in the active region of phospholipase A2 ( PLA2) .The 15 HBoV1 isolates along with 16 HBoV1 strains in GenBank were classified into three clusters as indicated by the phylogenetic analysis based on their complete coding sequences.All of the 15 strains were belonged to clusterⅠ, the representative strain of which was the Sweden prototype strain ST2.The phylogenetic trees constructed using genes encoding the capsid proteins VP1 and VP2 were highly similar to those based on the complete coding sequences.The estimated mean evolutionary rate of HBoV1 with regard to the complete coding sequence was 3.03×10-4(95%HPD, 2.14×10-4-3.92×10-4 ) substitu-tions per site per year.With regard to each gene, the NS1 gene was considered to the most conserved gene while the NP1 gene showed the highest substitution rate.The dN/dS ratios (ω) of the four genes were all less than 1, indicating that all of them were under negative selection.Moreover, the VP2 gene was under the strongest negative selection, while the NP1 gene was under the weakest negative selection.Conclusion All of the HBoV1 isolates circulating in Hangzhou province during 2009 to 2014 were belonged to ST2 genotype with a relatively high mutation in the area of PLA2.Despite the complete genome was conservative, its evo-lutionary rate was high.Among the four genes, the NP1 gene showed the highest substitution rate.All of the four genes were under negative selection, of which the VP2 gene was under the strongest negative selection.

Objective To investigate the genetic association of HLA class II DRB1,DQB1,DQA2 and DQB2 locus with schizophrenia in the Han people of Northern China.Methods The polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and restrictive fragment length polymorphism(RELP) were applied to detect the gene types in the 195 Han family trios including patients with schizophrenia and their healthy parents in the north of China.The chi-square(?2) test,transmission disequilibrium test(TDT) and the haplotype relative risk(HRR) analysis were used to process the genotyping data statistically.Results The genotypic frequency of four genes did not deviate from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both case and control groups;The SNP rs2239800,a G to A base change,presented in the DQA2 locus.Its allelic frequencies showed significant difference between case and control(?2=5.021,P=0.025).And the AA genotype of rs2239800 showed associations with schizophrenia.Conclusion The polymorphism of rs2239800 in the DQA2 gene may be associated with schizophrenia.

Objective To study the role of activated microglia transplantation in recovery of hindlimb locomotor function in rats with spinal cord injury(SCI). Methods A total of 40 female adult Wistar rats were selected and divided into four groups randomly(10 rats in each group).The former two groups were locomotor function observation groups,in which rat model with spinal cord was established by striking with improved self-made Allen's strike equipment to fabricate moderate spinal cord injury and divided into transplantation group and control group.The latter two were histological observation groups,the spinal cord injury model was fabricated by the same above-mentioned method and divided into transplantation and control groups.Before fabricating the spinal cord injury model,the microglia of the newborn rats were cultured,separated,purified and identified and the purity of the microglia determined.The injury position was exposed again seven days after transplantation and the cell suspension of microglia was injected around the injury position with microsyringe,which was free in the control group.The hindlimb locomotor function of rats was detected and scored at 1 day,1,2,3 and 4 weeks in the locomotor function observation groups after transplantation respectively.At the same time,two rats were extracted randomly from the control group and the transplantation group in histological observation groups to cut specimen and slice for Naoumenko-Feign paraffin section and dying.Then,the microglia were observed and counted by microscope and analyzed statistically. Results At 1,2,3 and 4 weeks after operation,the BBB score of the control group and the transplantation group was increased gradually with the time.But compared with the control group,transplantation group had higher scores of hindlimb locomotor function at 2,3 and 4 weeks after operation,with statistical difference(P＜0.05).Naoumenko-Feigin paraffin section and dying and microglia counting showed that positive microglia number in the transplantation group was increased more obviously than the control group,with statistical difference(P＜0.05).Conclusion Activated microglia transplantation can promote the recovery of the hindlimb locomotor function in SCI rats.

Objective To investigate the prognositic factors of small intestine stromal tumors after radical resection.Methods The clinicopathological data of 41 patients with small intestine stromal tumors admitted between January 2005 and December 2010 in Henan Tumor Hospital were analyzed restrospectively.Kaplan-Meier survival rate and COX regression were used to evaluate the prognostic factors.Results There were 22 males and 19 females.The age ranged from 22 to 78 years old (median,55years).Location of tumor included duodenum (n =12),jejunum and ileum (n =29).The 3-year survival rate was 22％ in those 16 cases who reported preoperative gastrointestinal bleeding and 65％ in those without GIT bleeding,the difference was statistically significant (P =0.0012).COX model showed that tumor size,the tumor location,recurrence and metastasis were independent risk factors associated with the prognosis in small intestine stromal patients (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The most common clinical presentation of these tumors was gastrointestinal bleeding.The tumor location,recurrence and metastasis and gastrointestinal bleeding was independent risk factors associated with the prognosis of small intestine stromal tumor patients.

Diosgenin,an important steroid sapogenin,is one of major precursors of synthetic steroids.It is rich in natural resources and has various significant activities such as anti-tumor,anti-inflammation,and cardiovascular-protection and so on.Recently,it causes increasing attention of scholars all over the world due to its valuable application in medicine.In this paper,the latest international research advances of diosgenin in its pharmacologic activities and mechanism were reviewed.

Aim To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of ruscogenin,a major sapogenin from Ophiopogon japonicus,effect of ruscogenin on cell adhesion is studied.Methods By MTT assay,effect of ruscogenin on normal and TNF-?-induced adhesion of human pro-myelocytic leukemia cell strain(HL-60)to venous endothelial cell strain(ECV304)was observed and effect of ruscogenin on the viability of ECV304 cells and HL-60 cells were investigated.Results Adhesion between HL-60 cells and ECV304 cells induced by TNF-? was significantly inhibited when ECV304 cells were pretreated with ruscogenin at the concentration of 0.1,1.0 ?mol?L~(-1).Meanwhile,ruscogenin remarkably inhibited TNF-a-induced adhesion when HL-60 cells were pretreated with ruscogenin at the concentration of 0.001,0.01,0.1 ?mol?L~(-1).On the other hand,their viability and adhesion of HL-60 cells to normal ECV304 cells were not affected at above concentrations.Conclusion Ruscogenin shows significant anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of adherence of HL-60 cells to activated ECV304 cells.