Objective: To investigate the correlation between color parameters (L^*, a^*, b^*, Eab^*) and the contents of reducing sugars, total polysaccharides, total oligosaccharides, as well as four saccharides (fructose, glucose, sucrose, and kestose) during the nine cycles of steaming and sun-drying processing of Polygonatum kingianum, and to preliminarily explore the optimal processing duration.
Methods: The color changes were objectively evaluated using a colorimeter. The anthrone-sulfuric acid method was employed to determine total polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. The 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) colorimetric method was used to measure total reducing sugar content. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detection (HPLC-CAD) was applied for quantitative analysis of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and kestose. Multivariate statistical analysis was conducted to assess samples from different processing stages.
Results: Significant variations in color and component contents were observed across processing stages. The herbal pieces progressively darkened with increased processing cycles: brightness (L^*) and total color difference (Eab^*) initially decreased then stabilized, while a^* (red-green) and b^* (yellow-blue) values first increased then declined. Total polysaccharides and oligosaccharides showed overall decreasing trends, whereas reducing sugars initially increased before stabilizing. Fructose and glucose levels rose continuously, while sucrose and kestose decreased progressively, becoming undetectable after five cycles.
Conclusion: The chromatic alteration and saccharide composition of P. kingianum showed significant correlation with processing duration. Both total color difference (Eab^*) and reducing sugar content stabilized after four processing cycles (12 hours), suggesting that four cycles of steaming and sun-drying may represent the optimal processing duration.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between the color parameters (L^*, a^*, b^*, Eab^* values) of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata powder prepared by different processing techniques and the contents of 2,3,5,4’-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, emodin, physcion, emodin-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, physcion-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside.
Methods: The L^*, a^*, b^* and Eab^* values of Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata powder prepared by different processing techniques were determined by spectrophotometer, and the contents of the five components were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Secondly, SPSS 26.0 software and Simca 14.1 software were used to analyze the correlation.
Results: Through the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), it was found that the steamed samples and black bean steamed samples could be obviously divided into two categories: raw products and processed products. The processed products could be further divided into 2-8 h and 12-48 h. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the content of stilbene glycoside was significantly positively correlated with L^*, a^* and b^* values (P<0.01). The a^* value was significantly positively correlated with the content of emodin and physcion (P<0.01). Emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside was positively correlated with L^* value and b^* value, while physcion-8-O-β-D-glucoside was negatively correlated with a^* value. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS) showed that 2,3,5,4’-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (VIP=1.69) and emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside (VIP=1.06) were the key variables affecting chromaticity characteristics (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The three processes of steaming, black bean steaming and black bean stewing are consistent in composition transformation and chromaticity variation, and stilbene glycoside can be used as a specific index component to characterize the processed color. Chromatic parameters can effectively reflect the processing progression and serve as quality monitoring indicators during production.

Meconium is changed from defoliated intestinal villi with apoptosis. A meconium corpuscle is a limited architecture in the meconium at the light microscopic level. In histological and immunohistochemical sections of the abdomen from 40 fetuses at 20–31 weeks of gestation, we found 12 fetuses with meconium and examined the architecture.A solid or loose meconium was seen depending on sites. The solid meconium in the colon and rectum contained numerous spherical or rugby ball-like corpuscles comprising of a core with tightly-packed atrophied cells and a laminar fibrous sheath.The solid meconium surrounded and incorporated villi that maintained the original architecture. The loose meconium was seen not only in the stomach and duodenum but also, depending on specimens, in the colon and rectum. It was composed of a large mucosal fold, a single small villus and/or fragmented epithelia. Notably, these mucosal tissues still contained chromogranin-positive gastrointestinal cells and cytokeratin-positive epithelia. A large ring-like meconium was composed of the entirely circular mucosa or epithelia that seemed to be detached along the muscularis mucosae or the basal lamina.A sheath-like fibrous structure in meconium seemed to originate from the lamina propria and basal lamina of villi. A defoliation of villi with apoptosis seemed difficult to explain a detachment of the entirely circular mucosa or epithelia in large fetuses examined. The latter event might require a specific mechanism such as an in utero intussusception in which a proximal side of the colon was invaginated into the distal lumen.

Sixteen compounds were isolated from the solid rice culture of the endophytic fungus Alternaria alstroemeriae WZ-419 derived from Pseudostellariae Radix, using silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated based on physicochemical properties and comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, and identified as alterpenoid A (1), tricycloalternarene A (2), altenusin (3), 4'-epialtenuene (4), altenuene (5), alternariol (6), altenuisol (7), 3-hydroxyalternariol-5-O-methylether (8), alternariol-9-methyl ether (9), alternariol 1′-hydroxy-9-methyl ether (10), stemphyperylenol (11), dihydroalterperylenol (12), alterinone A (13), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-5-(2E,6E-3,7,11-trimethyldodeca-2,6,10-trien-1-yl) benzoic acid (14), hexylitaconic acid (15), and altechromone A (16). Among them, compound 1 and 13 were new, and compounds 14 and 15 were isolated from the genus Alternaria for the first time. The antibacterial activities of compounds 1–16 were evaluated in vitro. Compounds 3, 6–8, 10, 11, 13, and 14 exhibited notable inhibitory effects against Gram-positive bacteria, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 8 to 64 µg/mL.This study isolated a series of antimicrobial metabolites from the endophytic fungi of Pseudostellariae Radix, providing new insights into their bioactive constituents and laying a foundation for further pharmacological investigations.

Objective To explore the predictive value of albumin,hemoglobin and multifactorial model for poor postoperative prognosis in elderly patients with meningioma.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 253 elderly patients who underwent meningioma surgery and were transferred to the neurosurgical intensive care unit(NICU)at General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from January 2019 to September 2021,serving as the modeling cohort.Another 227 elderly patients who were treated in NICU after meningioma surgery from November 2021 to June 2023 were used as the validation cohort.Patients in the modeling cohort were categorized into good prognosis group[Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS)score>7,n=161]and poor prognosis group(GCS≤7,n=92)based on the GCS.Univariate and multifactorial logistic regression analyses were performed on the modeling cohort to identify independent risk factors,and a multifactorial model for predicting poor postoperative prognosis in elderly patients with meningioma was constructed based on these factors.The predictive efficacy and accuracy of the model were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC),sensitivity,specificity,Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test,and calibration curves.The predictive value of postoperative albumin,hemoglobin,and the multifactorial models for postoperative prognosis in elderly meningioma patients was assessed using restricted cubic spline modeling(RCS),decision curves(DCA),and validated using an external validation cohort to assess the stability of the model.Results Meningioma WHO grade Ⅱand Ⅲ(OR=3.994,95％CI 1.963-8.126),postoperative hypoalbuminemia(OR=2.194,95％CI 1.079-4.462),and postoperative anemia(OR=2.117,95％CI 1.096-4.089)were identified as independent risk factors for poor postoperative prognosis in elderly meningioma patients(P<0.05),while the use of analgesic/sedative medications was a protective factor(OR=0.388,95％CI 0.201-0.748,P<0.05).The Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated that the constructed multifactorial model had a good fit accuracy(P=0.161).The AUC for predicting poor postoperative prognosis in elderly meningioma patients for postoperative albumin and hemoglobin were 0.545(95％CI 0.472-0.617)and 0.632(95％CI 0.561-0.702),respectively,and showed a nonlinear dose-response relationship with prognosis(P<0.01).DCA analysis results showed that the net benefit rate of multifactorial model was higher than that of postoperative albumin and hemoglobin when the threshold probabilities were between 0.10 and 0.90.The AUC for predicting postoperative prognosis in the elderly meningioma patients in the modeling and validation cohorts were 0.810 and 0.819,respectively,and their calibration curves suggested good discrimination and accuracy.Conclusions Meningioma WHO grades Ⅱ and Ⅲ,postoperative anemia and hypoalbuminemia are independent risk factors for poor postoperative prognosis in elderly meningioma patients,while the use of analgesic/sedative drugs is a protective factor.The multifactorial model constructed based on these factors has a good predictive efficacy and credibility,and can be used as a reference for clinical decision-making.

Objective To identify candidate compounds that activate thermogenesis during cold exposure by integrating the Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures(LINCS)with RNA expression profiles specific to cold-induced thermogenesis.Methods Gene expression profiles of interscapular brown adipose tissue(BAT)and inguinal white adipose tissue(iWAT)were generated from 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice which were housed at 5 ℃ or room temperature(23 ℃)for 7 days.The gene expression signatures of the cold-induced BAT and iWAT were compared to the LINCS dataset to predict potential candidates for testing in a cold challenge model that was intended to assess thermogenesis activation.The pharmacological potential of the identified compounds was evaluated in a cold-exposed mouse model.The core body temperature and infrared thermal imaging were collected to monitor physiological responses during cold exposure.Additionally,hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining was used to assess morphological changes of fat cells of BAT,iWAT,and epididymal white adipose tissue(eWAT).Results The transcriptomic signatures related to cold-induced thermogenesis were obtained and the top 20 candidate compounds were identified by comparison with the LINCS dataset.Mice treated with withaferin A(WA)during the cold challenge exhibited elevated rectal temperatures and smaller adipocyte sizes compared to controls.Conclusion Our drug repurposing strategy,which connects transcriptional profiles with LINCS data,identifies potential compounds.WA enhances thermogenesis and metabolic activity in adipose tissue,which helps maintain body temperature,and improves cold tolerance during exposure to low temperatures.

To analyze the characteristics of outpatient rare disease admissions at Xi′an Children′s Hospital based on the two batches of the China′s Rare Disease Catalogs.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe gestational disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria, with a subset of cases exhibiting an immune-driven phenotype marked by placental overexpression of proinflammatory cytokines and chronic inflammatory damage, profoundly impacting fetal development. To elucidate the pathophysiology of this PE subtype, we established an inflammation-driven PE mouse model via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneal injection, systematically evaluating histopathological changes in maternal heart, liver, lung, kidney, and placenta, and integrating transcriptomic profiling to uncover molecular mechanisms. LPS administration robustly induced maternal hypertension and proteinuria, hallmarks of PE, without significantly altering organ or fetal weights. Histological analyses revealed pronounced inflammatory damage in the maternal lung, kidney, and placenta, with the lung exhibiting the most severe pathology, characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration, alveolar wall thickening, and interstitial edema-challenging the conventional focus on placental and renal primacy in PE. Placental labyrinth and junctional zones displayed extensive structural disruption and necrosis, indicating functional impairment. Transcriptomic analysis identified 27 inflammation-related genes consistently upregulated across tissues, with protein-protein interaction networks pinpointing Il1β, Il6, Ccl5, Ccl2, Cxcl10, Tlr2, and Icam1 as hub genes. Quantitative PCR validation confirmed Tlr2 as a central regulator, evidenced by significant upregulation of Tlr2 in lung, kidney, and placenta of LPS-induced PE mice, while Cxcl10 exhibited placenta-specific upregulation, suggesting a synergistic inflammatory axis in placental pathology. These findings highlight the lung as a critical, yet underappreciated, target in inflammation-driven PE, reframe the multi-organ inflammatory landscape of the disease, and nominate Tlr2 and Cxcl10 as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets, offering new avenues for precision intervention in PE.
Animals ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Mice ; Pre-Eclampsia/genetics* ; Inflammation ; Lipopolysaccharides/adverse effects* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Transcriptome ; Placenta/pathology* ; Phenotype

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between eight serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and regional fat depots, we analyzed the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018 cycles. METHODS: Multiple linear regression models were developed to explore the associations between serum PFAS concentrations and six fat compositions along with a fat distribution score created by summing the concentrations of the six fat compositions. The associations between structurally grouped PFASs and fat distribution were assessed, and a prediction model was developed to estimate the ability of PFAS exposure to predict obesity risk. RESULTS: Among females aged 39-59 years, trunk fat mass was positively associated with perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Higher concentrations of PFOS, perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorodecanoate (PFDeA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), and n-perfluorooctanoate (n-PFOA) were linked to greater visceral adipose tissue in this group. In men, exposure to total perfluoroalkane sulfonates (PFSAs) and long-chain PFSAs was associated with reductions in abdominal fat, while higher abdominal fat in women aged 39-59 years was associated with short-chain PFSAs. The prediction model demonstrated high accuracy, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9925 for predicting obesity risk. CONCLUSION PFAS exposure is associated with regional fat distribution, with varying effects based on age, sex, and PFAS structure. The findings highlight the potential role of PFAS exposure in influencing fat depots and obesity risk, with significant implications for public health. The prediction model provides a highly accurate tool for assessing obesity risk related to PFAS exposure.
Humans ; Fluorocarbons/blood* ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Environmental Pollutants/blood* ; Abdominal Fat ; Nutrition Surveys ; Alkanesulfonic Acids/blood* ; Obesity ; Environmental Exposure