Chinese medicinal resources are the cornerstone of the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine industry. However, due to the fecundity of species, over-exploitation, and limitations of artificial cultivation, some medicinal plants are depleted and even endangered. Tissue culture, a breakthrough technology in the breeding of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, is not limited by time and space, and can allow the production on an annual basis, which plays an important role in the protection of Chinese medicinal resources. The present study reviewed the applications of tissue culture of medicinal plants in the field of Chinese medicinal resources, including rapid propagation of medicinal plant seedlings, breeding of novel high-yield and high-quality cultivars, construction of a genetic transformation system, and production of secondary metabolites. Meanwhile, the current challenges and suggestions for the future development of this field were also proposed.
Sustainable Development ; Plants, Medicinal/genetics* ; Plant Breeding ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Technology

The prognosis of patients with peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer is poor. At present, the comprehensive treatment system based on cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has significantly improved the survival of these patients. However, CRS and HIPEC have strict indications, high procedural difficulty, and high morbidity and mortality. If CRS+HIPEC is performed in an inexperienced center, overall survival and quality of life of patients may bo compromised. The establishment of specialized diagnosis and treatment centers can provide a guarantee for standardized clinical diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we first introduced the necessity of establishing a colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis treatment center and the construction situation of the diagnosis and treatment center for peritoneal surface malignancies at home and abroad. Then we focused on introducing our construction experience of the colorectal peritoneal metastasis treatment center, and emphasized that the construction of the center must be done well in two aspects: firstly, the clinical optimization should be realized and the specialization of the whole workflow should be strengthened; secondly, we should ensure the quality of patient care and the rights, well-being and health of every patient.
Humans ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/secondary* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Quality of Life ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Chemotherapy, Cancer, Regional Perfusion ; Prognosis ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Cytoreduction Surgical Procedures ; Survival Rate

Dead heart is an important trait of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix. The purpose of this study was to clarify the scientific connotation of the dead heart using multi-omics. Metabolomics and transcriptomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) were used to systematically compare the differences in chemical composition and gene expression among phloem, outer xylem and near-dead xylem of pith-decayed Scutella-riae Radix. The results revealed significant differences in the contents of flavonoid glycosides and aglycones among the three parts. Compared with phloem and outer xylem, near-dead xylem had markedly lowered content of flavonoid glycosides(including baicalin, norwogonin-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, oroxylin A-7-O-β-D-glucuronide, and wogonoside) while markedly increased content of aglycones(including 3,5,7,2',6'-pentahydroxy dihydroflavone, baicalin, wogonin, and oroxylin A). The differentially expressed genes were mainly concentrated in KEGG pathways such as phenylpropanoid metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, and plant MAPK signal transduction pathway. This study systematically elucidated the material basis of the dead heart of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix with multiple growing years. Specifically, the content of flavonoid aglycones was significantly increased in the near-dead xylem, and the gene expression of metabolic pathways such as flavonoid glycoside hydrolysis, interxylary cork development and programmed apoptosis was significantly up-regulated. This study provided a theoretical basis for guiding the high-quality production of pith-decayed Scutellariae Radix.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Scutellaria baicalensis/chemistry* ; Glucuronides ; Multiomics ; Flavonoids/chemistry*

Objective: To examine the associations of childhood obesity, assessed by genetic variations of childhood body mass index (BMI), with the risk of adult ischemic heart disease (IHD) and major coronary event (MCE). Methods: More than 69 000 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank were genotyped. After excluding those with coronary heart disease, stroke, or cancer at baseline, a total of 64 454 participants were included in this study. Based on genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), childhood BMI genetic risk score were constructed for every participant and divided into quintiles, with the lowest quintile as the low genetic risk group and the highest quintile as the high genetic risk group. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association between genetic predisposition to childhood obesity and the risk of ischemic heart disease. Results: During a median of 10.7 years of follow-up, 7 073 incident cases of IHD and 1 845 cases of MCE were documented. After adjusting for sex, age, region, and the first ten genetic principal components, the HRs (95%CIs) for IHD and MCE in the high genetic risk group were 1.10 (1.02-1.18) and 1.10 (0.95-1.27), compared with the low genetic risk group. IHD risk increased by 4% (2%-6%) for each one standard deviation increase in genetic risk score (trend P=0.001). After further adjustment for baseline BMI, the differences between genetic risk groups were not statistically significant, but there was still a linear trend between genetic risk score and IHD risk (trend P=0.019). Conclusions: IHD risk increased with genetic predisposition to childhood obesity, suggesting that childhood obesity is an important risk factor for the development of IHD in China. As an easily identifiable feature, changes of childhood BMI should be monitored regularly to realize early intervention of IHD in adults.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Myocardial Ischemia/genetics* ; Pediatric Obesity/genetics* ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and its risk factors in very preterm infants (VPIs) during hospitalization in China. METHODS: A prospective multicenter study was performed on the medical data of 2 514 VPIs who were hospitalized in the department of neonatology in 28 hospitals from 7 areas of China between September 2019 and December 2020. According to the presence or absence of EUGR based on the evaluation of body weight at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks or at discharge, the VPIs were classified to two groups: EUGR group (n=1 189) and non-EUGR (n=1 325). The clinical features were compared between the two groups, and the incidence of EUGR and risk factors for EUGR were examined. RESULTS: The incidence of EUGR was 47.30% (1 189/2 514) evaluated by weight. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher weight growth velocity after regaining birth weight and higher cumulative calorie intake during the first week of hospitalization were protective factors against EUGR (P<0.05), while small-for-gestational-age birth, prolonged time to the initiation of total enteral feeding, prolonged cumulative fasting time, lower breast milk intake before starting human milk fortifiers, prolonged time to the initiation of full fortified feeding, and moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were risk factors for EUGR (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is crucial to reduce the incidence of EUGR by achieving total enteral feeding as early as possible, strengthening breastfeeding, increasing calorie intake in the first week after birth, improving the velocity of weight gain, and preventing moderate-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in VPIs.
Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Anemia/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units

BACKGROUND: It has been a global trend that increasing complications related to pelvic floor surgeries have been reported over time. The current study aimed to outline the development of Chinese pelvic floor surgeries related to pelvic organ prolapse (POP) over the past 14 years and investigate the potential influence of enhanced monitoring conducted by the Chinese Association of Urogynecology since 2011. METHODS: A total of 44,594 women with POP who underwent pelvic floor surgeries between October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2018 were included from 22 tertiary academic medical centers. The data were reported voluntarily and obtained from a database. We compared the proportion of each procedure in the 7 years before and 7 years after September 30, 2011. The data were analyzed by performing Z test (one-sided). RESULTS: The number of different procedures during October 1, 2011-September 30, 2018 was more than twice that during October 1, 2004-September 30, 2011. Regarding pelvic floor surgeries related to POP, the rate of synthetic mesh procedures increased from 38.1% (5298/13,906) during October 1, 2004-September 30, 2011 to 46.0% (14,107/30,688) during October 1, 2011-September 30, 2018, whereas the rate of non-mesh procedures decreased from 61.9% (8608/13,906) to 54.0% (16,581/30,688) (Z = 15.53, P < 0.001). Regarding synthetic mesh surgeries related to POP, the rates of transvaginal placement of surgical mesh (TVM) procedures decreased from 94.1% (4983/5298) to 82.2% (11,603/14,107) (Z = 20.79, P < 0.001), but the rate of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) procedures increased from 5.9% (315/5298) to 17.8% (2504/14,107). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of synthetic mesh procedures increased while that of non-mesh procedures decreased significantly. The rate of TVM procedures decreased while the rate of LSC procedures increased significantly. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03620565, https://register.clinicaltrials.gov.
China ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Pelvic Floor/surgery* ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/surgery* ; Surgical Mesh/adverse effects* ; Treatment Outcome ; Vagina

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical value of inflammation-related markers in predicting the prognosis of patients with ureteral urothelial carcinoma. METHODS: 200 patients with ureteral urothelial carcinoma were randomly divided into two groups by split sample validation: modeling group and validation group. Paraffin embedded pathological specimens of the patients were reviewed. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect tumor-infiltrating neutrophil (TIN) (CD66b⁺), tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) (CD163⁺), lymphocyte (CD⁺, CD4⁺, CD8⁺) counts, peripheral blood neutrophil / lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and tumor tissue neutrophil/monocyte ratio (NMR). According to the results of pathological staging, the patients were divided into non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive ureteral urothelial carcinoma group. The resolution of the models was evaluated, and the prognostic nomogram models including only peripheral blood parameters and all parameters were established to compare the accuracy of the two models in predicting the prognosis of patients with urothelial carcinoma of the ureter. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 36 months, the progression-free survival was 40 months, and 42 cases (21.0%) showed tumor progression within 3 years. Tumor size, pathological stage and pathological grade were all single-factor variables predicting the first recurrence of ureteral urothelial carcinoma three years after operation. Tumor size, pathological stage, pathological grade, TIN, TAM, NLR and NMR were multi-factor variables predicting the first recurrence three years after operation. Among 104 cases of non-muscle-invasive ureteral urothelial carcinoma, 10 cases (9.6%) recurred for the first time 3 years after operation, 96 cases (33.3%) of muscle invasive ureteral urothelial carcinoma, and the diffe-rence between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=15.53, P < 0.05). The predictive nomogram model of progression free survival was established. The concordance index of progression free survi-val was 0.722 (95%CI: 0.70-0.78) in non-muscle-invasion group, and 0.725 (95%CI: 0.71-0.79) in muscle-invasion group, which was in good agreement with the observed 3-year survival rate. The results of discrimination test showed that the concordance index of the whole parameter prediction model of ureteral urothelial carcinoma was 0.726, which was higher than that of peripheral blood parameters (consistency index 0.672). The immune microenvironment of ureteral urothelial carcinoma improved the prediction accuracy of the model. CONCLUSION The prognosis prediction model based on immune inflammation-related markers was established as a perfection and supplement for the existing pathological grading and staging system, providing a basis for accurate individualized treatment of patients with urete-ral urothelial carcinoma. The prognosis prediction model based on the relevant indicators of peripheral blood samples is established, which is easy to obtain specimens, and the detection method is simple and economical, which is more conducive to clinical application.
Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Ureteral Neoplasms/diagnosis*

Objective To explore the sensitivity of Culex pipiens pallens to common chemical insecticides in the southwestern region of Shandong Province, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the development of reasonable and effective mosquito control measures. Methods The resistance of Cx. pipiens pallens larvae to 5 chemical insecticides, such as cypermethrin, deltamethrin, DDVP, propoxur, and acetofenate were tested by using the WHO biological test method in 2018, and the co-toxicity coefficients after compounding the above-mentioned insecticides were tested by using a drug compounding method. Results The resistance indexes of Cx. pipiens pallens to cypermethrin, deltamethrin, DDVP, propoxur, and acetofenate in 3 cities were 144.43–557.54, 118.17–445.33, 6.44–19.00, 2.37–8.10, and 0.88–2.98, respectively, and expect the difference between the DDVP resistances of Cx. pipiens pallens in Jining City and Heze City was not statistically significant (P > 0.05), all the other differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The synergistic coefficients of cypermethrin + DDVP, cypermethrin + propoxur, DDVP + acetofenate, and propoxur + acetofenate were 199.58 – 456.95, 190.56 – 292.37, 123.32 – 319.24, and 192.31 – 367.32, respectively. The lower synergism was observed by using the mixture of DDVP + propoxur (synergistic coefficient: 99.87–108.36) . Conclusions After decades of chemical control, Cx. pipiens pallens in the southwestern region of Shandong Province has produced different degrees of resistance to common chemical insecticides. Therefore, comprehensive control measures should be taken to control mosquito breeding and prevent the development of insecticide resistance.

The longitudinal study sought to examine the dynamic development of cognitive skills for reading among elementary-level students in Mainland China.Two groups of students in first (n=164,mean age=6.65 years at first test) and second grade (n=202,mean age=7.73 years at first test) were followed on orthographic awareness,morphological awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN) for two years.The children exhibited significant improvement in orthographic awareness,morphological awareness and RAN from grades 1 to 4.More importantly,to the orthographic and morphological awareness,while the children took a leap from grade 1 to 2 and grade 3 to 4,the progress developed at relatively slow rates from grade 2 to 3.In order to assure children's development of orthographic and morphological awareness,evidence-based orthographically and morphologically enhanced instruction is needed for Chinese children in the early elementary years,especially for those at the stage from grade 2 to 3.