Kui was first recorded in The Rites of Zhou and is the earliest domesticated wild vegetable in China. In the Qi Min Yao Shu, Kui was called “the master of all vegetables” and has a long history of application in China. As a medicine, Kuizi was first recorded in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, which has a history of more than 2 000 years of medicinal use and a long history of clinical application. By researching the ancient and modern herbal literature, the first herbs texts of Kui were examined, various recorded texts, confused products and the history of the original medicinal use were clarified. It was concluded that the ancient herbal texts recorded the base plant of Kui as Malva verticillata L. belonging to family Malvaceae, which provided scientific basis for the development and utilization of Kui.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the predictive value of the advanced lung cancer inflammation index(ALI)for postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula,recurrence,metastasis,and prognosis in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).METHODS This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 114 LSCC patients treated at Huangshi Central Hospital between January 2014 and December 2023.The data included tumor staging,ALI scores,age,gender,smoking history,alcohol history,diabetes,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,coronary heart disease,tumor differentiation,HPV infection,and tumor location.Based on the occurrence of pharyngocutaneous fistula,the patients were divided into the fistula group(10 cases)and the non-fistula group(104 cases).Single-factor and multi-factor logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify independent factors associated with postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula.Patients were also classified into recurrence and metastasis groups(22 cases)and non-recurrence groups(92 cases),and further into poor prognosis(25 cases)and good prognosis groups(89 cases)based on follow-up results.Cox regression analysis was performed to identify factors influencing recurrence,metastasis,and prognosis.RESULTS Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that tumor stage(stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ)[HR:0.040(95％CI:0.004-0.392)]and ALI score[HR:0.885(95％CI:0.805-0.972)]were independent protective factors for the occurrence of pharyngeal fistula(P<0.05).Multivariate Cox regression analysis further confirmed that tumor stage(stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ)[OR:0.180(95％CI:0.063-0.518)]and ALI score[OR:0.970(95％CI:0.939-0.992)]were independent protective factors for recurrence,metastasis,and poor prognosis(P<0.05).ROC curve analysis revealed that the AUC for ALI in predicting pharyngeal fistula was 0.910(95％CI:0.849-0.970),with a cutoffvalue of 29.877,sensitivity of 0.827,and specificity of 1.000.The AUC for ALI in predicting recurrence and metastasis was 0.804(95％CI:0.698-0.910),with a cutoffvalue of 34.398,sensitivity of 0.920,and specificity of 0.618.CONCLUSION The ALI score is an independent protective factor for the occurrence of postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula,recurrence,metastasis,and poor prognosis in LSCC patients.It is a valuable predictor for early warning of postoperative complications,recurrence,metastasis,and prognosis,with potential clinical utility in guiding personalized treatment strategies.

In analytical techniques such as ion mobility spectrometry(IMS)and mass spectrometry(MS),the ionization efficiency of target analytes is primarily constrained by the type of ionization source and factors such as the species and number density of the reactant ions.Systematic investigation into the reactivity differences of various reactant ions under varying conditions can not only significantly enhance the detection sensitivity of target compound product ions but also provide a theoretical foundation for establishing efficient detection methods based on ion-molecule reaction mechanisms.In this study,the pressure of a pressure-tunable photoionization tandem ion mobility spectrometry(PI-tandem-IMS)was reduced from ambient pressure(100 kPa)to low pressure(20 kPa)to systematically examine the reactivity differences between two negative reactant ions,CO3-and CO4-,and methyl salicylate(MeSA)under varying pressures.When the pressure decreased,the increased relative signal intensity of CO4-significantly influenced the detection sensitivity of the characteristic product ion[MeSA·O2]-.Based on differences in ion mobility(k0),the delay time for the opening of TPG2 was adjusted to selectively inject CO-3 and CO-4 in the drift region 2.Independent characterization of the reactivity of these reactant ions with MeSA in the reaction region confirmed that CO4-exhibited superior reactivity toward MeSA.The theoretical model revealed an Arrhenius plot for the ion-molecule reaction between CO4-and MeSA,showing a positive correlation between the reaction rate coefficient(k)and temperature,the activation energy Ea was 62.45 kJ/mol.Furthermore,controlling parameters such as pressure or temperature significantly influenced the progression of this ion-molecule reaction,demonstrating the technical advantages of PI-tandem-IMS in mechanistic studies and regulation of ion-molecule reactions.

The resolving power and sensitivity are critical for on-site detection of hazardous chemicals using stand-alone ion mobility spectrometry(IMS).However,improving the sensitivity and resolving power of IMS has long been a prominent research hot spot.In the commonly used IMS based on the Bradbury-Nielsen gate(BNG),the gating voltage difference(GVD)applied between the two sets of grid wires affects the electric field distribution in the ionization region and the drift region.This,in turn,influences the spatial distribution and temporal width of the injected ion swarm,and has an impact on the ion mobility discrimination,sensitivity,and resolving power of the instrument.This study showed that increasing the GVD could induce an ion converging effect,boosting the ion number density in front of the BNG by nearly 300％.To simultaneously utilize temporal compression and ion converging effects,a novel BNG controlling mode was proposed by adding a chopping state to the conventional controlling mode.This chopping state reduced the mobility discrimination effects between ions with mobility differences up to about 0.90 cm2/(V·s)to 1/22 of their original value.When analyzing hazardous chemical mixtures using the novel BNG controlling mode,compared with conventional mode,the signal intensity of low-mobility methyl salicylate ions(MS·O2)-increased by 18-fold while the resolving power maintained around 100,and the detection limit for MS was improved from 3.75 μg/L to 97 ng/L.This novel BNG controlling mode only added a potential wave to the low voltage wires,with no requirement of changing the structure of the drift tube,and was easy to apply to existing commercial instruments.

The hydroxyl value and conjugated linoleic acid content of dehydrated castor oils are two important indicators that reflect its properties.Thus,monitoring the two indicators can better realize the industrial production of high-quality dehydrated castor oils.However,traditional chemical measurement methods have many disadvantages in determination of the two indictors,including large reagent consumption,long determination time,and cannot achieve rapid monitoring.Fourier transform infrared spectrometry(FTIR)is a new and non-destructive detection method that is low-cost and can achieve rapid detection.In this work,FTIR technique was employed to collect spectral information of dehydrated castor oils and analyze the relationship between FTIR spectral information and hydroxyl value and conjugated linoleic acid content,and a rapid detection method for detecting the property indicators of dehydrated castor oils was thus established.FTIR scanning was performed on dehydrated castor oils with a hydroxyl value of 21.9-161.4 mg KOH/g and a conjugated linoleic acid content of less than 37.5%.Among different preprocessing methods,orthogonal scatter correction(OSC)could improve the prediction accuracy of the resulting model,by which the optimal modeling data segments for hydroxyl value and conjugated linoleic acid content were 3200-3800 cm-1 and 800-1200 cm-1,respectively,and the optimal modeling method was partial least squares(PLS).The coefficients of determination of the optimal models for hydroxyl value and conjugated linoleic acid content were all above 0.99.

Objective:To observe the expression level of long noncoding RNA RP11-97C16.1 in bladder cancer tissues and its relationship with the survival time of bladder cancer patients, and to explore the role and potential molecular mechanism of RP11-97C16.1 in the proliferation of bladder cancer cells.Methods:The expression difference of RP11-97C16.1 in bladder cancer tissue and adjacent tissue was analyzed by TCGA database, and the relationship between the expression level of RP11-97C16.1 and the survival time of bladder cancer patients was analyzed by GEPIA database. The expression of RP11-97C16.1 in four bladder cancer cell lines (T24, MGH-U3, J82, UM-UC-3) was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The UM-UC-3 cells were divided into RP11-97C16.1 group and control group, and the transfectants were pcDNA-RP11-97C16.1 plasmid and negative control plasmid, respectively. The expression levels of RP11-97C16.1 and miR-3687 were detected by RT-qPCR. The viability and proliferation ability of UM-UC-3 cells were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) and colony formation assay. The complementary relationship between RP11-97C16.1 and miR-3687 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. The expression levels of Cyclin E2, CDK2, CDK4, CDK6 and Cyclin D2 were detected by Western blotting. Measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation ( ± s), independent sample t-test was used for comparison between two groups, and one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups. Results:Compared with adjacent tissues, the expression of RP11-97C16.1 in bladder cancer tissues was significantly decreased ( P<0.01). Compared with patients with lower expression of RP11-97C16.1, patients with higher expression of RP11-97C16.1 had longer overall survival time ( P<0.01). Compared with the SV-HUC-1 cell line, the expression of RP11-97C16.1 was significantly decreased in the four bladder cancer cell lines ( P<0.01). In UM-UC-3 cells in which RP11-97C16.1 was upregulated, the expression of miR-3687 was decreased ( P<0.01). Compared with the control group, up-regulation of RP11-97C16.1 could significantly reduce the proliferation ability of UM-UC-3 cells ( P<0.05), and decrease the number of bladder cancer cell colonies ( P<0.01). RP11-97C16.1 could target and bind miR-3687 ( P<0.01). Compared with the control group, overexpression of RP11-97C16.1 could significantly decreased the expression of Cyclin E2, CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, and Cyclin D2 proteins. Conclusions:The expression of RP11-97C16.1 is low in bladder cancer tissue, and patients with higher expression of RP11-97C16.1 have a longer survival time. Up-regulation of RP11-97C16.1 can down-regulate the expression of miR-3687, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of bladder cancer cells UM-UC-3.

ObjectiveMagnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive neuroimaging technique, meticulously captures the magnetic fields emanating from brain electrical activity. Compared with MEG based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID), MEG based on optically pump magnetometer (OPM) has the advantages of higher sensitivity, better spatial resolution and lower cost. However, most of the current studies are clinical studies, and there is a lack of animal studies on MEG based on OPM technology. Pain, a multifaceted sensory and emotional phenomenon, induces intricate alterations in brain activity, exhibiting notable sex differences. Despite clinical revelations of pain-related neuronal activity through MEG, specific properties remain elusive, and comprehensive laboratory studies on pain-associated brain activity alterations are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of inflammatory pain (induced by Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA)) on brain activity in a rat model using the MEG technique, to analysis changes in brain activity during pain perception, and to explore sex differences in pain-related MEG signaling. MethodsThis study utilized adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Inflammatory pain was induced via intraplantar injection of CFA (100 μl, 50% in saline) in the left hind paw, with control groups receiving saline. Pain behavior was assessed using von Frey filaments at baseline and 1 h post-injection. For MEG recording, anesthetized rats had an OPM positioned on their head within a magnetic shield, undergoing two 15-minute sessions: a 5-minute baseline followed by a 10-minute mechanical stimulation phase. Data analysis included artifact removal and time-frequency analysis of spontaneous brain activity using accumulated spectrograms, generating spectrograms focused on the 4-30 Hz frequency range. ResultsMEG recordings in anesthetized rats during resting states and hind paw mechanical stimulation were compared, before and after saline/CFA injections. Mechanical stimulation elevated alpha activity in both male and female rats pre- and post-saline/CFA injections. Saline/CFA injections augmented average power in both sexes compared to pre-injection states. Remarkably, female rats exhibited higher average spectral power 1 h after CFA injection than after saline injection during resting states. Furthermore, despite comparable pain thresholds measured by classical pain behavioral tests post-CFA treatment, female rats displayed higher average power than males in the resting state after CFA injection. ConclusionThese results imply an enhanced perception of inflammatory pain in female rats compared to their male counterparts. Our study exhibits sex differences in alpha activities following CFA injection, highlighting heightened brain alpha activity in female rats during acute inflammatory pain in the resting state. Our study provides a method for OPM-based MEG recordings to be used to study brain activity in anaesthetized animals. In addition, the findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of pain-related neural activity and pain sex differences.

With the aging of the global population， osteoporosis （OP） is becoming a major public health concern worldwide. Currently， the commonly used anti-osteoporosis drugs in clinical practice have limited application due to many side effects. Therefore， developing more effective and safer strategies for the prevention and treatment of OP has become a research focus in this field. In recent years， the clinical efficacy and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating OP have been gradually recognized. With the deepening pharmacological research on TCM for OP prevention and treatment， it is found that the active ingredients of Scutellaria baicalensis can promote bone formation or inhibit bone resorption by regulating signaling pathways， including Wnt/β-catenin， osteoprotegerin （OB）/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （RANKL）/RANK （OPG/RANKL/RANK）， and bone morphogenetic protein 2 （BMP-2）/Smad， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）. However， existing research on active ingredients of S. baicalensis for OP treatment is scattered， making it difficult for scholars to gain a systematic understanding of its research and application. This review summarized the literature on the active ingredients of S. baicalensis in OP treatment worldwide， clarified their mechanisms of action， and explored some issues， providing references for the integration of TCM in OP prevention and treatment.

With the aging of the global population， osteoporosis （OP） is becoming a major public health concern worldwide. Currently， the commonly used anti-osteoporosis drugs in clinical practice have limited application due to many side effects. Therefore， developing more effective and safer strategies for the prevention and treatment of OP has become a research focus in this field. In recent years， the clinical efficacy and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating OP have been gradually recognized. With the deepening pharmacological research on TCM for OP prevention and treatment， it is found that the active ingredients of Scutellaria baicalensis can promote bone formation or inhibit bone resorption by regulating signaling pathways， including Wnt/β-catenin， osteoprotegerin （OB）/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （RANKL）/RANK （OPG/RANKL/RANK）， and bone morphogenetic protein 2 （BMP-2）/Smad， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）. However， existing research on active ingredients of S. baicalensis for OP treatment is scattered， making it difficult for scholars to gain a systematic understanding of its research and application. This review summarized the literature on the active ingredients of S. baicalensis in OP treatment worldwide， clarified their mechanisms of action， and explored some issues， providing references for the integration of TCM in OP prevention and treatment.

Forsythia suspensa is a traditional Chinese medicine and a commonly used landscaping plant. Its dried fruit is used in medicine for its functions of clearing heat, removing toxins, reducing swelling, dissipating masses, and dispersing wind and heat. It possesses extremely high medicinal and economic value. However, the genetic differentiation and diversity of its wild populations remain unclear. In this study, chloroplast genome sequences were obtained from 15 wild individuals of F. suspensa using high-throughput sequencing technology. The sequence characteristics and intraspecific variations were analyzed. The results were as follows:(1) The full length of the F. suspensa chloroplast genome ranged from 156 184 to 156 479 bp, comprising a large single-copy region, a small single-copy region, and two inverted repeat regions. The chloroplast genome encoded a total of 132 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes.(2) A total of 166-174 SSR loci, 792 SNV loci, and 63 InDel loci were identified in the F. suspensa chloroplast genome, indicating considerable genetic variation among individuals.(3) Population structure analysis revealed that F. suspensa could be divided into five or six groups. Both the population structure analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction results indicated significant genetic variation within the wild populations of F. suspensa, with no obvious correlation between intraspecific genetic differentiation and geographical distribution. This study provides new insights into the genetic diversity and differentiation within F. suspensa species and offers additional references for the conservation of species diversity and the utilization of germplasm resources in wild F. suspensa.
Genome, Chloroplast ; Forsythia/classification* ; Phylogeny ; Genetic Variation ; Chloroplasts/genetics* ; Microsatellite Repeats