The chemical constituents in dried roots of Atractylodes macrocephala were investigated in this study. Through utilizing normal-phase silica gel and ODS column chromatography, TLC, and semi-preparative HPLC, 4 new sesquiterpenoids were purified from the ethyl acetate extract of A. macrocephala. By various spectroscopic techniques, such as 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, IR, UV, and CD, their structures were identified as atractylmacron A (1), 9β-hydroxyasterolide (2), atractylenolide H (3), atractylenolide J (4). Compound 1 possesses a rare 6/7 bicyclic skeleton.

Aim To investigate the effects of multi-gly-cosides of Tripterygium wilfordii(GTW)on mitochon-drial dynamics-related proteins and the mechanism of nephroprotective effects in IgA nephrophathy(IgAN)rats.Methods SPF grade male SD rats were random-ly divided into the Control group,modelling group,prednisone group(6.25 mg·kg·d-1)and GTW group(6.25 mg·kg·d-1).The IgAN rat model was established by the method of"bovine serum albumin(BSA)+carbon tetrachloride(CCl4)+lipopolysac-charide(LPS)".The total amount of urinary protein(24 h-UTP)and erythrocyte count in urine were meas-ured in 24 h urine.Blood biochemistry of serum albu-min(ALB),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),urea ni-trogen(BUN),and creatinine(Scr)were measured in abdominal aorta of the rats;immunofluorescence and HE staining were used to observe the histopathology of the kidneys;RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of key proteins regulating mitochondrial division and fu-sion:dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),mitochondrial fusion protein 1(Mfn1),and mitochondrial fusion pro-tein 2(Mfn2),and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1(Pink1),in the kidney tissue of rats.Results GTW significantly reduced urinary erythrocyte count and 24 h-UTP,decreased serum ALT,BUN and Scr levels,in-creased serum ALB levels,improved renal histopatho-logical status in IgAN rats,increased the protein and mRNA expression levels of Mfn1,Mfn2,and Pink1,and decreased the protein and mRNA expression levels of Drp1 in renal tissues.Conclusions GTW may regu-late mitochondrial structure and maintain the dynamic balance of mitochondrial dynamics by promoting the ex-pression of Mfn1,Mfn2,Pink1 and decreasing Drp1.This may result in a reduction in urinary erythrocyte counts and proteinuria,and an improvement in renal function.

Aim To explore the mechanism of action of Tripterygium glycosides tablets on kidney of rats with IgA nephropathy based on inflammation-related path-ways.Methods Forty-five male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into control group and modeling group.In addition to the blank group,the modeling group used the combination of bovine serum albumin(BSA)+carbon tetrachloride(CC14)+lipopolysac-charide(LPS)to establish the IgA nephropathy rat model.Successfully modeled rats were randomly divid-ed into the model group,the prednisone group and Tripterygium glycosides tablets group,and the treat-ment group was given the drug by gavage from the 13 th week,and the 24 hours urine,blood and kidney tis-sues of the rats were collected and examined after 4 weeks of the administration of the drug.Urine erythro-cyte count,quantitative 24-h urine protein(24 h-UTP),urea nitrogen(BUN),and blood creatinine(Scr)were detected in each group;serum interleukin 1β(IL-1β)and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(Elisa);the pathological changes in the renal tissues of the rats in each group were observed by horizontal hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining;and the renal tis-sues in each group were observed by Western blotting.The expressions of LIGHT,HVEM,LTβR proteins and their mRNAs in rat kidney tissue were detected by Western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Tripterygium glycosides tablets significantly reduced the levels of urinary erythrocyte count,24 h-UTP,BUN,and Scr in IgA nephropathy rats(P＜0.01),improved renal histopathology,lowered the levels of se-rum inflammatory factors IL-1β and TNF-α(P＜0.01),and lowered the levels of LIGHT,HVEM,LTβR proteins and their mRNA expression in renal tis-sues(P＜0.01).Conclusions Tripterygium glyco-sides tablets may inhibit the immune response and re-duce the release of inflammatory factors by down-regu-lating the LIGHT-HVEM/LT(3R pathway,thus reduc-ing the inflammatory response,lowering the urinary e-rythrocytes and urinary proteins,improving the renal nephron pathologic injury,and protecting the renal function.

Objective To investigate the effect of varying ureteral wall thickness(UWT)at the site of ureteral stones on the clinical efficacy of ureteroscopic lithotripsy(URL).Methods The clinical data of 164 patients with ureteral stones in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.According to different UWT,the patients were divided into the mild thickening group(84 cases,UWT<3.16 mm),the moderate thickening group(31 cases,UWT 3.16 to 3.49 mm),and the severe thickening group(49 cases,UWT>3.49 mm),and the differences of clinical related indicators among the three groups were compared.Results The incidence of postoperative renal colic and leukocyte disorder in the mild thickening group and the moderate thickening group were lower than those in the severe thickening group,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).The postoperative catheterization time in the mild thickening group and the moderate thickening group were shorter than that in the severe thickening group,and the incidences of secondary lithotripsy,residual stones and stone return to kidney in the mild thickening group and the moderate thickening group were lower than those in the severe thickening group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The length of hospital stay and hospitalization cost in the mild thickening group and the moderate thickening group were shorter/less than those in the severe thickening group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Conclusion With the increase of UWT(especially when UWT>3.49 mm),the incidence of postoperative complications and hospitalization cost of URL increase to varying degrees,and the surgical efficacy decreases.In clinical work,UWT measurement holds potential value in predicting the surgical efficacy and complications of URL.

Objective:To analyze the genes related to platelet activation in essential thrombocythemia (ET)based on transcriptome sequencing technology (RNA-seq ),and to explore the potential targets related to ET thrombosis. Methods:Blood samples from ET patients and healthy individuals were collected for RNA-seq,and differentially expressed lncRNAs,miRNAs,and mRNAs were selected to construct a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Differential mRNAs in the regulatory network were enriched and analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO ) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).The real-time PCR method was applied to validate differential mRNAs on crucial signaling pathways.Results:A total of 32 lncRNAs (3 up-regulated,29 down-regulated),16 miRNAs (8 up-regulated,8 down-regulated),and 35 mRNAs (27 up-regulated,8 down-regulated)were identified as differentially expressed.Among them,5 lncRNAs,12 miRNAs,and 19 mRNAs constituted the regulatory network.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the differential mRNAs were related to the platelet activation signaling pathway,and there were 6 differential mRNAs related to platelet activation,namely F2R,ITGA2B,ITGB1,ITGB3,PTGS1,and GP1 BB,which were all up-regulated in their expression.RT-PCR results showed that the expression of five mRNAs including F2R,ITGA2B,ITGB1,ITGB3,and GP1BB were upregulated in ET patients compared with healthy subjects,and consistent with RNA-seq results,while PTGS1 expression was not significantly different.Conclusion:Differential mRNAs in ET patients are related to the platelet activation pathway,and F2R,ITGA2B,ITGB1,ITGB3,and GP1BB mRNAs may serve as novel targets associated with platelet activation in ET.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

Objective Sequencing depth is a key parameter in next generation sequencing,which is closely related to the accuracy of sequencing results.Forensic biological evidence examination requires extremely high accuracy.It is crucial to scientifically and reasonably set the sequencing depth analysis threshold for forensic next generation sequencing testing.Methods This study used targeted sequencing data of microhaplotypes from 50 samples with known genotypes.By calculating the accuracy,precision,recall,and F1 score of each locus under various threshold conditions,two types of analysis threshold setting methods,which were based on fixed read count and fixed sequencing depth ratio,were studied extensively.Results The results showed that false positives were observed when the analysis threshold was set at 50×or 100×.When the analysis threshold was set at 200×,false negatives were observed.When the analysis threshold was set at 1.5%,3.0%,or 4.5%,false positives were observed.This study further proposed a third type of analysis threshold setting method,which was based on sequencing depth ratio scatter plots.With this method,no false positive or false negative was observed in the results.This article then explored four factors that lead to significant differences in the sequencing depth of forensic next generation sequencing experiments,compared with the analysis threshold setting method for capillary electrophoresis technology,and discussed the correlation between analysis thresholds and the ability to distinguish mixed DNA.Conclusion Employing the sequencing depth ratio scatter plot method to set analysis threshold has significant application value in next generation sequencing-based forensic genetic marker genotyping.

Objective:To study the current status of longitudinal extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in extremely preterm infants (EPIs) and to develop a prediction model based on clinical data from multiple NICUs.Methods:From January 2017 to December 2018, EPIs admitted to 32 NICUs in North China were retrospectively studied. Their general conditions, nutritional support, complications during hospitalization and weight changes were reviewed. Weight loss between birth and discharge > 1SD was defined as longitudinal EUGR. The EPIs were assigned into longitudinal EUGR group and non-EUGR group and their nutritional support and weight changes were compared. The EPIs were randomly assigned into the training dataset and the validation dataset with a ratio of 7∶3. Univariate Cox regression analysis and multiple regression analysis were used in the training dataset to select the independent predictive factors. The best-fitting Nomogram model predicting longitudinal EUGR was established based on Akaike Information Criterion. The model was evaluated for discrimination efficacy, calibration and clinical decision curve analysis.Results:A total of 436 EPIs were included in this study, with a mean gestational age of (26.9±0.9) weeks and a birth weight of (989±171) g. The incidence of longitudinal EUGR was 82.3%(359/436). Seven variables (birth weight Z-score, weight loss, weight growth velocity, the proportion of breast milk ≥75% within 3 d before discharge, invasive mechanical ventilation ≥7 d, maternal antenatal corticosteroids use and bronchopulmonary dysplasia) were selected to establish the prediction model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the training dataset and the validation dataset were 0.870 (95% CI 0.820-0.920) and 0.879 (95% CI 0.815-0.942), suggesting good discrimination efficacy. The calibration curve indicated a good fit of the model ( P>0.05). The decision curve analysis showed positive net benefits at all thresholds. Conclusions:Currently, EPIs have a high incidence of longitudinal EUGR. The prediction model is helpful for early identification and intervention for EPIs with higher risks of longitudinal EUGR. It is necessary to expand the sample size and conduct prospective studies to optimize and validate the prediction model in the future.

ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between blood stasis constitution （BSC） and diseases based on constitution literature involving “constitution-diseases correlation”. MethodsA comprehensive search was conducted on six Chinese and English electronic databases including CNKI， Wanfang， VIP， SinoMed， PubMed and Embase to find all clinical researches on the correlation between constitution and diseases using the Classification and Identification of Chinese Medicine Constitution standard from April 1st， 2009 to December 31st， 2022， and the participants of the research were BSC related. By analyzing the characteristics of the literature， such as authors， publication institutes， participants， and results， the disease with the highest proportion of BSC distribution or BSC as their risk factors or protective factors were summarized to explore the correlation between BSC and diseases. ResultsTotally 135 clinical studies on diseases highly related to BSC were included， with a total sample size of 71 172 cases.There were 27 keywords in the articles appeared more than 3 times， including the elderly， lumbar disc herniation， coronary heart disease， cardiovascular disease， and endometriosis. In the author's clustering， included studis were mainly from Shenzhen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine， Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine， and Wenzhou Central Hospital. In terms of blood stasis related diseases， 81 studies showed that BSC was the most common type of constitution in the study population， involving 48 disease or morbid states. The diseases and median proportions of BSC with reported literature ≥3 included coronary heart disease （28.8%）， endometriosis （31.3%）， neurocognitive impairment （26.4%）， lumbar disc herniation （26.0%）， ischemic stroke （25.0%）， adenomyosis （34.7%）， and endometrial polyps （25.0%）. Fifty-eight studies found that BSC was a risk factor for disease occurrence，and these diseases reported more than 3 times included hypertension （median OR = 2.956）， type 2 diabetes （median OR = 3.436），osteoporosis （median OR = 5.171）， sudden deafness （median OR = 3.827） and endometriosis （median OR = 5.412）. One study indicated BSC as the protective factor of lateral growth tumor of large intestine （median OR = 0.161）. ConclusionBSC is closely related to circulatory system diseases， urogenital system diseases， and musculoskeletal system diseases.

ObjectiveBody fluid stains left at crime scenes are frequently trace amounts, while the identification of body fluids through real time fluorogenic quantitative technique often necessitates the repeated detection within the limited sample, as multiple miRNA markers are the basis for the identification. Based on the goal of both the throughput and efficiency improvement of miRNA analysis in trace samples, a duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system was designed to accurately quantify two miRNAs simultaneously, and the system should be further verified by actual sample for the body fluid identification. MethodsThe duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR system of miR-451a to miR-21-5p was established with specially designed primers and probes, and the concentrations of the primers and probes were both optimized. The specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility of the system were validated, while its capability for body fluid identification was assessed using the miR-451a to miR-21-5p ratio. ResultsThe optimized assay system exhibited excellent specificity and repeatability, with coefficients of variation consistently below 8% for both intra- and inter-batch variability. The amplification efficiency of miR-451a and miR-21-5p reached 71.77% and 74.81%, respectively, with high and relatively consistent results. By utilizing this duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system, a total of 58 body fluid samples were analyzed, exhibiting a discrimination rate of 100% between blood and non-blood samples, as well as between peripheral blood and menstrual blood samples. Moreover, the results, obtained from single real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system and duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system, showed no statistically significant difference with randomly selected blood samples (n=20). Compared to previous single real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system, the sensitivity of duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system exhibited remarkable improvement. A minimum input of only 0.1 ng total RNA was sufficient for accurate detection of peripheral blood and menstrual blood samples, while saliva, semen, and vaginal secretion required only 1 ng total RNA for precise identification purposes. Additionally, the duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system successfully differentiated between different types of body fluids in simulated samples under natural outdoor conditions. ConclusionThe duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system effectively reduced both the time and material costs by half compared to the single system, especially suitable for the examination of body fluid stains left at crime scenes, solving the contradiction between the trace amount and the multiple sample volumes demand of repeated real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR. The duplex real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay successfully distinguished blood and other body fluid, as well as peripheral blood and menstrual blood samples, which maintains an equivalent capability for body fluid identification with half sample, time and reagent consumption. This system provides an efficient tool for identifying suspicious body fluids, as well as a foundation for more multiplexed real time fluorogenic quantitative PCR assay system research.