Tropane alkaloids,such as hyoscyamine (or its more stable racemate atropine) and scopolamine,are remembered as the oldest drugs in medicine with wide pharmaceutical applications clinically for their mydriatic,antispasmodic,anticholinergic,analgesic and sedative properties.Presently,the supply of tropane alkaloids are entirely rested on their isolation from plant materials,yet the low contents of tropane alkaloids in plants raise the requirement to breed new varieties of high-yield tropane alkaloids and improving the production of tropane alkaloids in hairy root cultures or plants by biotechnology has be a research focus in the field of secondary metabolism.For the past decade,there have been important progresses on biosynthesis of tropane alkaloids and their molecular biology,some new pathway genes have been identified and many achievements have also been acquired in metabolic engineering of tropane alkaloids.This review summarized the recent advances in above aspects,and the problems and orientations of future research are also discussed and proposed.

Background and purpose:Pathological lymph node metastasis (LNM) is not rare in clinical lymph node negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors of LNM, especially of high volume LNM (more than 5 metastatic lymph nodes) and contralateral central compartment LNM, in cN0 PTC.Methods:Medical records of 350 PTC patients (265 female, 85 male, 212 patients with solitary lesion in unilateral lobe) were reviewed. All operations of these patients were performed by one surgical team. The clinical pathological data were collected, and univariate and multivariate analysis was performed.Results:LNM was conifrmed in 138 patients (39.4%) and 20 patients had high volume LNM. In 169 patients with solitary lesion in unilateral lobe with total thyroidectomy and bilateral central neck dissection, 24 patients had contralateral metastasis (14.2%). In univariate analysis, tumor size (58.5% in >1 cmvs 33.6% in≤1 cm) and tumor with calcification in preoperational ultrasonography (43.7% withvs 31.7% without) showed signiifcant difference in prevelance of LNM. In multivariate analysis, tumor size >1 cm (OR=2.792) was the independent risk factor of LNM. Gender (3.8% in male vs 11.8% in female), age (10.7% <40 yearsvs 3.4%≥40 years ), tumor size(13.4% in >1 cmvs 3.4% in≤1 cm) and tumor with low echo in preoperational ultrasonography (13.9% withvs 4.8% without) showed signiifcant difference in univariate analysis of high volume LNM. Male (OR=5.152), tumor size >1 cm (OR=5.712) and age <40 years (OR=3.959) were conifrmed as independent risk factors of high volume LNM. Male (OR=3.105) and tumor size >1 cm (OR=3.863) were also demonstrated as independent risk factors of contralateral LNM in patients with solitary lesion in unilateral lobe, the prevalence of LNM were 26.5% in male and 26.1% in tumor size >1 cm, respectively.Conclusion:LNM was not “rare” in cN0 PTC patients. Prophylactic central neck dissection should be performed in cN0 patients with tumor size >1 cm. For cN0 microcarcinoma, more active surgical treatment may be considered in male and young patients.

Objective To investigate the influence of size and depth of thyroid carcinoma for diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (US-FNA).Methods A retrospective review of clinical and preoperative US-FNA data of 87 malignant thyroid nodules confirmed by surgical pathology from 87 patients was performed.According to the the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (BSTC),the grade that higher than grade Ⅳ was the cytologic criteria for diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma.According to the cytopathological data of thyroid carcinoma confirmed by surgical pathology,the patients were divided into group A (cytopathological data was same as the surgical pathology result) and group B (cytopathological data was not same as the surgical pathology result).The longest diameter of malignant thyroid nodules and the distance from the shallow of thyroid nodules to superficial capsule of thyroid gland were analyzed.The ROC analysis was performed to find the optimal cut-off value of the longest diameter of thyroid carcinoma and the distance from the shallow of thyroid carcinoma to superficial capsule of thyroid gland.Results The consistent rate between US-FNA and surgical pathologic results was 79.31 ％ (69/87).The longest diameter of thyroid carcinoma of group A and group B was (1.63±0.58)cm and (1.01±0.42)cm respectively,which was statistically different (P＜0.01).The distance from the shallow of thyroid carcinoma to superficial capsule of thyroid gland of group A and group B was (4.15±1.83) mm and (7.86±2.08)mm respectively,which was statistically different (P＜0.01).According to the ROC analysis results,the optimal cut-off value of the longest diameter of thyroid carcinoma and the distance from the shallow of thyroid carcinoma to superficial capsule of thyroid gland was 1.05 cm and 6.1 mm respectively.Conclusion Diagnosis accuracy of US-FNA could be influenced by size and depth of thyroid carcinoma.

Objective To evaluate the relationship betweenα2 adrenergic receptors and expression of Nav1. 8 in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, and to illuminate the mechanism of dexmedetomidine-induced reduction of acute visceral pain in rats. Methods Thirty-two clean-grade healthy adult male Spra-gue-Dawley rats, aged 6-8 weeks, weighing 180-220 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=8 each) using a random number table method: control group ( group C ) , acute visceral pain group ( group VP ) , dexmedetomidine group (group D), and dexmedetomidine plus atipamezole group (group DA). In VP, D and DA groups, 10-3 mmol∕L capsaicin 1. 3 ml was injected into the rectum at a dose of 10-3 mmol∕L to establish the acute visceral pain model, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead in group C. Atipamezole 1 mg∕kg was subcutaneously injected through the back of the neck at 20 min before establishing the model in group DA. Dexmedetomidine 10μg∕kg was injected through the tail vein at 15 min before establishing the model in D and DA groups, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead at the correspording time points in C and VP groups. The visceral pain behavior score was recorded at 1 h after establishing the model. The animals were then sacrificed, and DRGs of the lumbar segment (L3-6) were removed for determination of the number of Nav1. 8 positive DRG neurons (by immunohisto-chemistry) and expression of Nav1. 8 mRNA (by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction). Results Compared with group C, the visceral behavior scores and the number of Nav 1. 8 positive DRG neurons were significantly increased, and the expression of Nav 1. 8 mRNA was up-regulated in VP, D and DA groups (P<0. 05). Compared with group VP, the visceral behavior score and the number of Nav1. 8 positive DRG neurons were significantly decreased, and the expression of Nav 1. 8 mRNA was down-regulated in D and DA groups (P<0. 05). Compared with group D, the visceral behavior scores and the number of Nav1. 8 positive DRG neurons were significantly increased, and the expression of Nav1. 8 mRNA was up-regulated in group DA ( P<0. 05) . Conclusion The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine reduces acute visceral pain is related to activatingα2 adrenergic receptors and to down-regulating the expression of Nav1. 8 in DRG neu-rons of rats.

Objective:To explore the implicit bias of body image measurement in young and middle-aged people using implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) .Methods:ProQuest, Scopus, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang data, and VIP databases were systematically searched to collect articles on the use of IRAP to measure implicit bias in body image in young and middle-aged populations. The retrieval period was from the establishment of the databases to December 15, 2023. Meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 software.Results:A total of 11 articles were included. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that the score of D general (reaction time index of pro-thinness and anti-fat) was 0.09 (95% CI: 0.07~0.11, P<0.01), indicating that compared with overweight/obesity, young and middle-aged people had a strong sense of identification with thinness and a stronger desire for thinness. The score of D thin (reaction time index of pro-thinness) was 0.26 (95% CI: 0.12~0.39, P<0.01), indicating that young and middle-aged people' reaction speed was faster when they agreed with thinness and participants had the desire to be thin. The score of D fat (reaction time index of anti-obesity) was -0.09 (95% CI: -0.21~0.03, P>0.05), indicating that young and middle-aged people had no bias against overweight/obesity. Conclusions:Young and middle-aged people generally have the performance of implicit thinness, with a strong desire for thinness and no implicit bias towards overweight.

Objective To analyze the differential gene expression between thymic carcinoids and normal thymic tissues and to study thepathogenesisofectopicACTH syndrome caused by thymic carcinoids. Methods Using gene chip technique, the gene differential expression of 2 tissues were observed following RNA labeled with different fluorescences (Cy3 and Cy5) hybridized to gene chip. Results Among 4224 genes on gene chip, 394 were up regulated more than 2 folds in thymic carcinoid tissues, 23 of which were associated with cell mitosis; 51 genes were upregulated more than 5 folds, 1 of which (PAK3) was associated with cell mitosis. Conclusion A group of differentially expressed genes were observed between the thymic carcinoids and normal thymic tissues.These overexpressed and cell mitosis-associated genes probably play a role in the pathogenesis of thymic carcinoid tumors.

BACKGROUND:Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease.It is important to study the immunological changes involved in it for diagnosis and treatment. OBJECTIVE:To identify immune-related biomarkers associated with rheumatoid arthritis utilizing bioinformatics techniques and examine alterations in immune cell infiltration as well as the relationship between immune cells and biomarkers. METHODS:Differential expression analysis was used to identify the immune-related genes that were up-regulated in rheumatoid arthritis based on the GEO and Immport databases.Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)and gene ontology(GO)enrichment analyses were used to investigate the possible function of these elevated genes.The immunological characteristic genes associated with rheumatoid arthritis were screened using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(Lasso)and support vector machine recursive feature elimination(SVM-RFE).Independent datasets were used for difference validation,and the diagnostic performance was evaluated by plotting receiver operating characteristic curves for feature genes.Immune cell infiltration was used to analyze the differential profile of immune cells in rheumatoid arthritis and the correlation between the characterized genes and immune cells.In order to ascertain the causal relationship between monocytes and rheumatoid arthritis in immune cells,Mendelian randomization analysis was ultimately employed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There were 39 upregulated differentially expressed genes in rheumatoid arthritis.The genes were primarily enriched in chemotaxis,cytokine activity,and immune receptor activity,according to GO enrichment analysis,while kEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the genes were considerably enriched in the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway and peripheral leukocyte migration.Lasso and SVM-RFE identified five feature genes:CXCL13,SDC1,IGLC1,PLXNC1,and SLC29A3.Independent dataset validation of the feature genes found them to be similarly highly expressed in rheumatoid arthritis samples,with area under the curve values greater than 0.8 for all five feature genes in both datasets.Immune cell infiltration indicated that most immune cells,including natural killer cells and monocytes,exhibited increased levels of infiltration in rheumatoid arthritis samples.The correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between memory B cells and immature B cells and these five feature genes.Correlation analysis showed that the five feature genes were positively correlated with memory B cells and immature B cells.The inverse variance weighting method revealed that monocytes were associated with the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

Among the staff of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, who received the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on January 30 in 2021, 28 recipients were selected for this research. Samples for nucleic acid tests were collected from the surface of the recipients′ both hands before and after vaccination. The hemostatic stickers used after the inoculation were also collected for nucleic acid tests. The nucleic acid tests of the samples collected from the surface of both hands of the 28 recipients before vaccination were all negative. After vaccination, the nucleic acid tests of the samples collected from the surface of both hands of recipients were positive in 3 cases, and suspicious in 8 cases, with a positive rate of 10.7%. A total of 25 hemostatic stickers used were collected, 24 of them had positive nucleic acid tests, and the rest one had suspicious nucleic acid test result, with a positive rate of 96%. The hemostatic stickers used after the inoculation have the risk of nucleic acid contamination.

Among the staff of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, who received the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on January 30 in 2021, 28 recipients were selected for this research. Samples for nucleic acid tests were collected from the surface of the recipients′ both hands before and after vaccination. The hemostatic stickers used after the inoculation were also collected for nucleic acid tests. The nucleic acid tests of the samples collected from the surface of both hands of the 28 recipients before vaccination were all negative. After vaccination, the nucleic acid tests of the samples collected from the surface of both hands of recipients were positive in 3 cases, and suspicious in 8 cases, with a positive rate of 10.7%. A total of 25 hemostatic stickers used were collected, 24 of them had positive nucleic acid tests, and the rest one had suspicious nucleic acid test result, with a positive rate of 96%. The hemostatic stickers used after the inoculation have the risk of nucleic acid contamination.