Objective:To dry fresh Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma using different drying conditions; To investigate the effects of different drying conditions on the drying characteristics and medicinal quality of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma.Methods:With moisture, powder color, extract, total polysaccharide and ginsenoside contents of Rg 1, Re, Rf, Rb 1, Rc, Rb 2 and Rd as indexes, the drying characteristics of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma were studied based on Weibull function model, and the quality of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma after drying was evaluated by entropy weight-TOPSIS model. Results:The drying method for Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma from its origin can be achieved by controlling the relative humidity of the drying medium to 50%, drying at 70 ℃ for 24 h, and then reducing the drying temperature to 60 ℃ until the moisture content was below 12.0%. This method could achieve high drying efficiency and produce high-quality Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma.Conclusions:The drying process of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma is a falling rate process controlled by internal moisture diffusion. The drying rate of fresh Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma is affected by temperature and humidity. There is a certain correlation between the color of powder and the content of moisture, alcohol-soluble extractives and ginsenosides.

Although polyurethane (PUR) plastics play important roles in daily life, its wastes bring serious environmental pollutions. Biological (enzymatic) degradation is considered as an environmentally friendly and low-cost method for PUR waste recycling, in which the efficient PUR-degrading strains or enzymes are crucial. In this work, a polyester PUR-degrading strain YX8-1 was isolated from the surface of PUR waste collected from a landfill. Based on colony morphology and micromorphology observation, phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA and gyrA gene, as well as genome sequence comparison, strain YX8-1 was identified as Bacillus altitudinis. The results of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) showed that strain YX8-1 was able to depolymerize self-synthesized polyester PUR oligomer (PBA-PU) to produce a monomeric compound 4, 4'-methylene diphenylamine. Furthermore, strain YX8-1 was able to degrade 32% of the commercialized polyester PUR sponges within 30 days. This study thus provides a strain capable of biodegradation of PUR waste, which may facilitate the mining of related degrading enzymes.
Polyurethanes/chemistry* ; Polyesters/chemistry* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Phylogeny ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Bacteria/metabolism* ; Biodegradation, Environmental

Enzyme-driven micro/nanomotors consuming in situ chemical fuels have attracted lots of attention for biomedical applications. However, motor systems composed by organism-derived organics that maximize the therapeutic efficacy of enzymatic products remain challenging. Herein, swimming proteomotors based on biocompatible urease and human serum albumin are constructed for enhanced antitumor therapy via active motion and ammonia amplification. By decomposing urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia, the designed proteomotors are endowed with self-propulsive capability, which leads to improved internalization and enhanced penetration in vitro. As a glutamine synthetase inhibitor, the loaded l-methionine sulfoximine further prevents the conversion of toxic ammonia into non-toxic glutamine in both tumor and stromal cells, resulting in local ammonia amplification. After intravesical instillation, the proteomotors achieve longer bladder retention and thus significantly inhibit the growth of orthotopic bladder tumor in vivo without adverse effects. We envision that the as-developed swimming proteomotors with amplification of the product toxicity may be a potential platform for active cancer treatment.

Excessive theta (θ) frequency oscillation and synchronization in the basal ganglia (BG) has been reported in elderly parkinsonian patients and animal models of levodopa (L-dopa)-induced dyskinesia (LID), particularly the θ oscillation recorded during periods when L-dopa is withdrawn (the off L-dopa state). To gain insight into processes underlying this activity, we explored the relationship between primary motor cortex (M1) oscillatory activity and BG output in LID. We recorded local field potentials in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and M1 of awake, inattentive resting rats before and after L-dopa priming in Sham control, Parkinson disease model, and LID model groups. We found that chronic L-dopa increased θ synchronization and information flow between the SNr and M1 in off L-dopa state LID rats, with a SNr-to-M1 flow directionality. Compared with the on state, θ oscillational activity (θ synchronization and information flow) during the off state were more closely associated with abnormal involuntary movements. Our findings indicate that θ oscillation in M1 may be consequent to abnormal synchronous discharges in the BG and support the notion that M1 θ oscillation may participate in the induction of dyskinesia.

Objective:To explore the selection of surgical methods for different sites of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) and the clinical efficacies of these patients.Methods:Forty-seven patients with symptomatic RCC, admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to December 2019, were chosen in our study; 21 patients with intrasellar symptomatic RCC accepted surgery via unilateral nasal approach at the right side, 19 patients with intra-suprasellar symptomatic RCC accepted surgery via bilateral nasal approach, 3 patients with suprasellar symptomatic RCC accepted endonasal transsphenoidal surgery under endoscope, and 4 patients with suprasellar symptomatic RCC accepted craniotomy via pterion approach. The clinical efficacies and complications of patients accepted different surgical methods were compared. All patients were followed up for 3-36 months to observe the recurrence.Results:The postoperative symptoms of the patients were effectively improved, including headache relief ratio of 27/31, vision loss improvement ratio of 5/5, high prolactin relief ratio of 11/13, pituitary function improvement ratio of 9/18. Complications occurred in 6 patients, presenting as diabetes insipidus. Four patients recurred during follow-up.Conclusion:Intrasellar and intra-suprasellar symptomatic RCC accepted surgery via endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal approach are safe and effective; selection of surgical methods for suprasellar symptomatic RCC should be determined according to the sizes and growth directions of cysts.

Objective: To determine the relationship between dengue virus load and clinical characteristics, so as to provide basis for dengue fever prevention and treatment. Methods : The dengue viral load and typing of 120 patients in Gongshu District of Hangzhou from June to November 2017 were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR;the clinical indicators of these dengue patients were collected and their correlation with the viral load was analyzed. Results: The DNA detection of dengue virus in 120 patients showed that they were all typeⅡ. The median dengue virus load was 3.91×104 copies/mL. All the patients had fever, the average peak temperature was（38.96 ± 0.69）℃. There were 102（85.00%）cases with asthenia;116（96.67%）cases with white blood cell count（WBC）less than 4× 109/L;119（99.17%）cases with platelet count（PLT）less than 100×109/L;114（95.00%）cases with glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase（GOT）more than 40 U/L;81（67.50%）cases with glutamic pyruvate transaminase（GPT）more than 52 U/L;58（48.33%）cases with creatine kinase（CK）more than 210 U/L. There was no significant correlation of dengue virus load with length of hospitalization, peak temperature,duration of fever, WBC,PLT, GOT, GPT and CK（P>0.05）. There were 75（62.50%）severe patients, and their median viral load was 9.29×104copies/mL, which was higher than 5.33×103copies/mL in non-severe patients（P<0.05）. Conclusion The dengue virus load is not related with length of hospitalization,peak temperature,WBC,PLT,GOT,GPT and CK,but with the severity of the disease.

Objective To study the application effect of ENCOR vacuum-assisted breast minimally invasive polypectomy system in the diagnosis and treatment of breast tumors. Methods Totally 86 breast cancer patients treated in the General Hospital of Yangmei Group from January 2017 to October 2017 were randomly divided into study group and control group,with 43 cases in each group. The study group was treated with ENCOR vacuum-assisted minimally invasive rotational atherectomy system,while the control group was treated by traditional breast excision. The operative conditions, postoperative complications and postoperative recurrence were observed and compared between the two groups. Results The intraoperative bleeding volume,operation time,scar length and postoperative recovery time in the study group were (5.1 ±1.2)mL,(15.9 ±3.5)min,(0.3 ±0.1)cm,(2.7 ±0.4)d,respectively, which in the control group were (12.7 ±2.3)mL,(26.8 ±4.6)min,(3.2 ±1.1)cm and (5.1 ±0.8)d,respectively, the differences between the two groups were statistically significant ( t=15. 579,14. 297,14. 108,13. 597,all P<0. 05). The total incidence rate of postoperative complications in the study group was 11. 63％,which was significantly lower than 30. 23％ in the control group (χ2 =5. 187,P<0. 05). During the follow-up of 12 months,in the study group,2 patients (4. 65％) had residual tumor,1 patient (2. 33％) developed recurrence; in the control group, 3 patients (6. 98％) had residual tumor,2 patients (4. 65％) developed recurrence. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ2 =1. 013,P >0. 05). Conclusion ENCOR vacuum - assisted breast minimally invasive revolving system in the treatment of breast tiny tumors has advantages of less trauma and pain,rapid recovery,etc,it is safe and effective.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of improvement of gait behavior in PD rat models by low frequency electrical stimulation of pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTN) by optogenetics method. Methods (1) Twenty-four healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operated group 1, a lesion group 1 and a photoactivation group (n=8); normal saline was injected into the right medial frontal tract (MFB) of the sham-operated group 1; 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) was injected into the lesion group 1 and photoactivation group to induce PD models; two weeks after modeling, injection of adeno-associated virus hsynapsin-ChR2-mcherry into the right PPTN of the three groups was performed, and the photoactivation group received blue-ray stimulation by implanting optical fibers into the PPTN at the same time. (2) Twenty-four healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operated group 2, a lesion group 2 and a photoinhibition group (n=8);normal saline was injected into right MFB of the sham-operated group 2; 6-OHDA was injected into the lesion group 2 and photoinhibition group to induce PD models; two weeks after modeling, injection of adeno-associated virus hsynapsin-NpHR-mcherry into the right PPTN of the three groups was performed, and the photoinhibition group received yellow-ray stimulation by implanting optical fibers into the PPTN at the same time. (3) Three weeks after injection of adeno-associated virus, Catwalk gait analysis was used to assess the behavioral ability of rats in each group. Results (1) As compared with the sham-operated group 1, lesion group 1 had significantly increased front claw spacing and back front claw spacing, and significantly decreased stride length and pressure of damaged lateral and contralateral limbs, and significantly decreased swing speed of contralateral limb (P<0.05); as compared with those in the lesion group 1, the front claw spacing and back claw spacing were significantly shortened, and stride length and pressure of damaged lateral and contralateral limbs were statistically increased in the photoactivation group (P<0.05). (2) As compared with the sham-operated group 2, lesion group 2 had significantly increased front claw spacing and back front claw spacing, significantly decreased stride length of damaged lateral limb, and significantly decreased pressure and swing speed of damaged lateral and contralateral limbs (P<0.05); no significant differences were noted on the front claw spacing and back front claw spacing, pressure and swing speed of damaged lateral and contralateral limbs between lesion group 2 and photoinhibition group (P>0.05). Conclusion The mechanism of low frequency electrical stimulation of PPTN improving gait behavior of PD rat models is related to activation of PPTN neurons.

Objective To investigate the genetic variations of gag-pol gene in human immunodeficiency virus-1(HIV-1) CRF07_BC strain in Guangdong Province.Methods From February to September in 2015,plasma samples of 78 cases with HIV 1 CRF07_BC infection in Guangdong were collected before antiretroviral treatment.Viral RNA was extracted from plasma.Gene (gag and pol) sequences were amplified by reverse transcriptase and nested-PCR using specific primers.Phylogenetic tree,genic dispersion rate,nucleotide polymorphism,selection pressure and variation characteristics were analyzed.Results The main transmission route of the enrolled patients was homosexual transmission (80.77％,63/78).The gag pol gene phylogenetic tree was divided into two sub-clusters.The strains from different transmission routes were not in cluster.The average genetic dispersion rate and average entropy of gag gene were both higher than those of pol gene.The average genetic dispersion and average entropy of p17 and p6 regions of gag gene were both higher than those of p24.The average genetic dispersion and average entropy of pol gene were higher than those of rt region.The average ds/dn values of gag and pol genes were greater than one.Compared with the common HIV-related antigenic epitopes (A2,A11,B39,B60,Cw1,Cw3,Cw8),the cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) epitope mutations in the P17 region were more in the consensus of GAG region than those in the P24 region.The epitope conserved rates were 26.92％,0,1.28％,0,96.15％,82.05％,84.62％ and 98.72％,respectively.The drug resistance rate of pol gene was 2.56％ (2/78).Conclusions The gag and pol genes of CRF07_BC strain in Guangdong are all mutated.Diversity of gag gene is greater than that of pol gene,and gag gene variation is mainly in p17 and p6 regions.gag and pol genes are both affected by negative selection pressure.P17 protein CTL epitope variability is greater than P24 protein epitope.The prevalence of drug resistance mutation is lower than the threshold.It's important to monitor the spread of drug-resistant strains.

Objective To investigate the expression of zeste white 10 interactor (Zwint) in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its effect on the prognosis of liver transplantation for HCC. Methods HCC tissues, paracancerous tissues and clinical data of 50 liver transplant recipients for HCC were collected. The expression levels of Zwint messenger RNA (mRNA) and Zwint protein in 20 pairs of HCC tissues and paracancerous tissues of 20 liver transplant recipients for HCC were compared using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western Blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Two HCC cell lines HepG-2 which interfered with the expression of Zwint successfully were selected as si-Zwint-1 group and si-Zwint-2 group, and the blank control was taken as si-NC group. The cell proliferation and cell cycle of various groups were compared using cell counting kit (CCK) -8 experiment, flat-cloning assay and cell cycle experiment. The consistency of the expression of Zwint and cyclin D1 in HCC tissues and cells was analyzed using Western Blot and IHC. The enrolled patients were divided into high expression group (22 cases) and low expression group (28 cases) based on the median of Zwint protein expression level, and the relationship of the expression level of Zwint protein and clinical characteristics, overall survival rate and disease free survival rate of liver transplant recipients for HCC was analyzed. Results The results of real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR showed that the expression level of Zwint mRNA in HCC tissues was higher than that of paracancerous tissues (P=0.03). The results of Western Blot and IHC showed that the expression level of Zwint protein in HCC tissues was higher than that of paracancerous tissues(both P<0.05).After the Zwint gene of HCC cell line HepG-2 was interfered,CCK-8 and flat-cloning assay showed that the cell proliferation potential was significantly weakened (all P<0.01), and the cell cycle arrested at stage G1(all P<0.05). The expression level of Zwint protein was closely related to tumor diameter and tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) staging (all P<0.05). The overall survival rate of liver transplant recipients for HCC in the high Zwint expression group was lower than that of the low expression group (P=0.02). Conclusions Zwint is highly expressed in HCC tissues, and it can promote the proliferation of HCC cells through regulating cell cycle. The expression level of Zwint is negatively correlated with the prognosis of liver transplantation for HCC.