The literature on the characteristics, commodity grade specifications and chemical composition of Angelicae Sinensis Radix was reviewed. It was found that the main factors affecting the changes of traits and chemical composition of Angelicae Sinensis Radix included origin, altitude, climate, soil, cultivation methods, processing and processing methods and storage methods. Among them, the volatile oil types and ferulic acid content of Angelicae Sinensis Radix produced in Minxian County of Gansu Province were better than those in some non-authentic producing areas, but some component differences remained to be verified; direct seeding and film mulching cultivation could improve the yield, volatile oil and polysaccharide content of Angelicae Sinensis Radix; continuous cropping may lead to rhizosphere soil problems of Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and rotation or intercropping could be considered; drying in the shade and smoking drying could retain the oil and aroma of Angelicae Sinensis Radix; wine stir-frying method could increase the content of Z-ligustilide, but stir-frying carbon may reduce the content of ferulic acid; high temperature and high humidity storage may affect the content of ligustilide. In the future, the quality evaluation system of Angelicae Sinensis Radix should be strengthened and improved, genuine research should be strengthened, and scientific field management methods and appropriate harvesting and processing methods should be established, so as to ensure the good clinical efficacy and stable and controllable quality of Angelicae Sinensis Radix.

BACKGROUND: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of sepsis, but the exact mechanism remains debatable. In this study, we investigated the associations among the serum levels of PAI-1, the incidence of 4G/5G promoter PAI-1 gene polymorphisms, immunological indicators, and clinical outcomes in septic patients. METHODS: A total of 181 patients aged 18-80 years with sepsis between November 2016 and August 2018 in the intensive care unit in the Xinhua Hospital were recruited in this retrospective study, with 28-day mortality as the primary outcome. The initial serum level of PAI-1 and the presence of rs1799768 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were examined. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with different genotypes of PAI-1, serum level of PAI-1, and 28-day mortality. RESULTS: The logistic analysis suggested that a high serum level of PAI-1 was associated with the rs1799768 SNP of PAI-1 (4G/4G and 4G/5G) (Odds ratio [OR]: 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09, 5.68). Furthermore, a high serum level of PAI-1 strongly influenced 28-day mortality (OR 3.36; 95% CI 1.51, 7.49). The expression and activation of neutrophils (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93, 0.99), as well as the changes in the expression patterns of cytokines and chemokine-associated neutrophils (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.00), were both regulated by the genotype of PAI-1. CONCLUSIONS Genetic polymorphisms of PAI-1 can influence the serum levels of PAI-1, which might contribute to mortality by affecting neutrophil activity. Thus, patients with severe sepsis might clinically benefit from enhanced neutrophil clearance and the resolution of inflammation via the regulation of PAI-1 expression and activity.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Genotype ; Neutrophils ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis/genetics*

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological and clinical features of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and to improve the understanding of the disease and standardize the diagnosis and treatment.Methods:The clinical data and diagnosis and treatment process of 62 patients with VL admitted to The First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2010 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical symptoms and laboratory data, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and procalcitonin (PCT) were compared between children and adults. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results:Of the 62 patients, 31(50.0%) patients were males, 38(61.3%) patients were children and 24(38.7%) were adults. There were 32 cases (51.6%) living in Longnan City, and 11 cases (17.7%) living in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Forty-seven cases (75.8%) had a delay over 30 days from onset to diagnosis. All patients had fever and chills, 34 cases (54.8%) had fatigue and poor appetite, 30(48.4%) had cough and expectoration, 10 cases (16.1%) had headache and dizziness, 45 cases (72.6%) had splenomegaly, 40 cases (64.5%) had anemia, and 29 cases (46.8%) had hepatomegaly. There were 32 cases (51.6%) accompanied with respiratory infection, 11 cases (17.7%) accompanied with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and 10 cases (16.1%) accompanied with abnormal liver function. Of the 60 patients who received treatment, 14 were recurrent cases who had received at least one course of pentavalent antimony monotherapy before admission. Forty-six patients received standard antimony monotherapy, 14 patients received standard antimony combined with amphotericin B therapy. Thirteen patients discontinued amphotericin B due to impaired renal function, and 50 patients were followed up for half a year without recurrence. The proportions of splenomegaly and hepatomegaly in children were 86.8%(33/38) and 65.8%(25/38), respectively, and the corresponding numbers in adults were 50.0%(12/24) and 16.7%(4/24), respectively. The differences were statistically significant ( χ2=10.03 and 14.26, respectively, both P<0.050). Thirty-three cases (86.8%) in children and 14 cases (58.3%) in adults had a delay over 30 days from onset to diagnosis. The difference was statistically significant ( χ2=6.52, P=0.011). The proportions of patients who had elevated AST, LDH and PCT were 76.3%(29/38), 94.3%(33/35) and 73.9%(17/23) in children, respectively, while 45.8%(11/24), 71.4%(15/21) and 5/17 in adults, respectively, and the differences were all statistically significant ( χ2=5.97, 3.89 and 7.82, respectively, all P<0.050). Conclusions:Patients with VL are tend to have complications and be severe. Early diagnosis and standardized treatment are important measures to improve the prognosis. Patients who have failed antimony treatment can be treated with amphotericin B or combination therapy, but kidney injury and other adverse reactions should be closely monitored.

Objective: To establish a diagnostic prediction model for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and search the potential biomarkers of ESCC. Methods: Serum samples from 59 patients with ESCC and 57 healthy controls were collected, and randomly divided into the training group (44 patients and 42 healthy controls) and validation group (15 patients and 15 healthy controls). Serum proteins/peptides were extracted and purified with weak cation-exchange chromatography Magnetic Beads (WCX-MB), and detected by the matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Then the differentially expressed proteins/peptides were screened out, and a diagnostic prediction model for ESCC was established and preliminarily validated. Results: The ClinProTools software identified 31 differential peptide peaks (P＜0.05), among which 18 peaks had significant difference (P＜0.01). Compared with healthy controls, 8 peaks were up-regulated in ESCC patients, while 10 peaks were down-regulated. Among them, the areas under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC ROC ) of m/z 2 660.84 and m/z 5 336.49 peaks were 0.95 and 0.91, respectively, and their expressions were up-regulated in ESCC patients. The validation results showed that the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic prediction model established by the genetic algorithm (GA) were 93.10%, 92.90% and 93.30%, respectively. Conclusion The established diagnostic prediction model may be used for the auxiliary diagnosis of ESCC. Two peptide peaks of m/z 2 660.84 and m/z 5 336.49 may be the potential biomarkers of ESCC.

Objective To investigate the effects of tissue specific cytosine deaminase/5-fluorocytosine (CD/5-FC) thermotherapy on hepatic metastasis of colonic carcinoma in nude mice. Methods Forty-five nude mice were randomly divided into control group, 5-FC group and 5-FC thermotherapy group according to the random number table (15 mice in each group). Mice models of hepatic metastasis of colonic carcinoma were established by portal vein injection of LoVo/CEACD cells. The hepatic metastasis rate and number of metastatic nodules of the 3 groups were compared by ehi-square test and one-way ANOVA. The pathological changes in tumor tissues and apoptotic index of tumor cells were observed. The expression of the CD gene in tumor tissues was detected by fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot. Results The number of metastatic nodules and liver metas-tasis rate were 4.6±1.3 and 100.0% in control group, 2.2±1.0 and 60.0% in 5-FC group, 0.5±0.8 and 13.3% in 5-FC thermotherapy group, with statistical difference among the 3 groups (F=25.898, χ2=5.208, 19.548, 5.168, P<0.05). The mean apoptotic indexes of tumor cells of the 3 groups were 4.6%, 9.9% and 17.4%, respectively. Vacuolar degeneration, cell necrosis, cytolysis and apoptotic bodies were mostly observed in the 5-FC thermotherapy group. The expression of CD gene in tumor tissue was detected in all the groups. Conclusion Tissue specific CD/5-FC thermotherapy has inhibitory effects on the hepatic metastasis of LoVo cells transfected with CD gene.

Department of General Internal Medicine (DGIM) in the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital is the first academic general internal medicine division in teaching hospitals in China. We attempted to construct DGIM teaching base in 2005, and the teaching reform was conducted in a part of the students. Primary assessment was based on examinations and questionnaires. The results show that the students could not only master the basic medical knowledge, but also improve overall capability. We conclude that DGIM in teaching hospital would become an important teaching base in China.