Molecular pharmacognosy is a science of classification and identification, cultivation and protection, and production of active ingredients of graduated drugs at the molecular level. The proposal of molecular pharmacognosy allows the research of crude drugs to advance from the microscopic level to the genetic level. Pueraria lobata root, as a medicinal and edible plant, has high application value and economic value. There are many varieties that are easy to cause confusion, and it is not easy to distinguish and identify according to traditional identification methods. Moreover, the research of P. lobate root at the genetic level is still relatively shallow. the study received extensive attention of scholars. This article reviews recent research on molecular identification of P. lobate, transcriptome sequencing, cloning and synthesis of functional genes of P. lobate root in recent years in order to provide references for further promoting the development and utilization of P. lobate root and its active ingredients.
Pharmacognosy ; Plant Roots/genetics* ; Pueraria

Objective To investigate the nutrient contents of various grains in Hubei Province, and to provide a scientific basis for a balanced diet. Methods Various grains (except potatoes and beans) on the market in Hubei Province were collected. The samples were prepared by peeling and milling, or directly milling, and the nutrient contents were determined according to the national standard methods. With reference to the American nutrient profiling model, protein, dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium, the nine nutrients were selected as recommended nutrients, and sodium, added sugars and fat were restricted nutrients. On the basis of 100 g for calculation, a nutrient-rich food model (Nutrient-rich foods, NRF_9.3) was established and applied to evaluate the grains. Results The evaluation results showed that wheat and buckwheat grains contained a higher recommended nutrient content than restricted nutrient content, and had higher nutritional value. Among them, quinoa (black) had the highest NRF index of 102.4, indicating the most nutritional value. After peeling, the loss rate of nutrient value (NRF_9.3 index) of various grains was 38.73% to 65.00%. Conclusion It is recommended that people should try to choose whole grains when purchasing grain products.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the differences in clinical characteristics between Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and fulminant Type 1 diabetes mellitus (FT1DM), and to reduce the missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and mistreatment of FT1DM by medical staff. METHODS: A total of 101 hospitalized patients with T1DM (including 8 cases of FT1DM) were enrolled in this study from Changsha Central Hospital between June 2012 and December 2018. Clinical characteristics of the 8 FT1DM patients were collected and compared with all T1DM patients. RESULTS: All FT1DM patients were adult with the average age of (30.25±5.28) years old, accompanied by severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurred within 1 week after onset. Moreover, pancreatic beta cells in these patients were destroyed and the islet-related antibodies were negative, while the serum pancreatic enzyme levels were increased. Compared with classic T1DM patients, the plasma glucose levels in FT1DM patients were much higher [(41.89±12.54) mmol/L vs (22.57±9.74) mmol/L], but glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting C peptide levels were significantly lower [(6.08±0.41)% vs (10.87±2.46%)%, CONCLUSIONS The onset time of FT1DM patients is very urgent via driving DKA. These patients have higher blood glucose concentration than classic T1DM patients, accompanied by electrolyte disturbances, impaired renal function, partially impaired liver function, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms and elevated trypsin. Most FTDM patients are adolescents and adults with no gender difference, especially pregnant women who are at high risk. Lifelong insulin dependence in FT1DM patients should be paid more attention in clinical treatment.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/complications* ; Diabetic Ketoacidosis ; Female ; Glycated Hemoglobin A/analysis* ; Humans ; Insulin ; Pregnancy ; Sex Factors ; Young Adult

【Objective】To investigate the effects of Epstein-Barr virus（EBV）on proliferation，apoptosis and lipid metabolism of gastric cancer cells，revealing the pathogenesis and development of EBV-associated gastric carcinoma （EBVaGC）.【Methods】EBV-positive cell line AGS-EBV was established by co-culturing AGS and Akata. Then we compared proliferation，apoptosis and lipid metabolism level between AGS and AGS-EBV cells. CCK-8 assays and Annexin V PE/7-AAD assays were performed to determine the proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Oil-Red O staining and three kinds of kits were used to detect lipid contents including lipid droplets，free fatty acid，triacylglycerol and total cholesterol. Key enzymes of lipogenesis were measured by qRT-PCR.【Results】EBV promoted the proliferation of gastric cancer cell line AGS（F = 23.214，P = 0.001；P values of 24 h，48 h，72 h，96 h and 120 h were 0.007， 0.004，＜0.001，＜0.001 and ＜0.001，respectively），inhibited apoptosis（P values of late and total apoptotic rates were 0.032，< 0.001），and increased intracellular lipid droplets，free fatty acids（P < 0.001），triacylglycerol（P = 0.004） and total cholesterol（P < 0.001）probably via lipogenesis. 【Conclusions】EBV promotes proliferation，inhibits apoptosis， and enhances lipid metabolism of gastric cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively investigate the effects of Ringer's solution with different concentrations of alcohol (1%～80%) on biphasic compound action potentials (AP) from frog sciatic nerve trunk, and their recoveries from alcohol effects. METHODS: Individual segments of frog sciatic nerve trunk with a length of 6 to 8 cm were prepared. Ringer's solution with different concentrations of alcohol (0%, 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, 16%, 32%, 48%, 64% and 80%) was applied onto the segment of the trunk between the stimulus and ground electrodes via an agent reservoir which was newly armed in a nerve trunk shielded chamber for 5 minutes. The nerve trunk was respectively electro-stimulated to generate the biphasic compound AP which was recorded using the experimental system of BL-420F. This was followed by 5 times washout plus 5 min administration with Ringer's solution before recovery recording of AP. RESULTS: Compared to normal Ringer's solution, Ringer's solution with alcohol at ≤4% did not have dramatic impacts on the AP amplitude and conduction velocity, while Ringer's solution with alcohol at ≥8% there was significant decrease in these two parameters. Ringer's solution with alcohol at the conentrations of 16%, 32% and ≥48% could prevent a small proportion (30%), a large proportion (90%) and all (100%) of sciatic nerve trunks, respectively, from generating AP. Washout with normal Ringer's solution after alcohol application at the concentration of ≤32%, AP could totally recover to normal status. While alcohol at the concentration of 48%, 64% and 80%, the probabilities to regenerate APs were 90%, 40% and 0%, and the AP amplitudes were decreased to 60%, 36% and 0%, respectively. After washout, AP conduction velocity showed no difference with alcohol at the concentration of ≤8% when compared with that before washout, while it could not be recovered to normal under alcohol at ≥16%. CONCLUSION Ringer's solution with different concentrations of alcohol exerts different effects on biphasic compound AP amplitude and conduction velocity. Hopefully, our findings could be helpful for the alcoholic usage and its recovery from alcoholic damage.
Action Potentials ; Animals ; Anura ; Ethanol ; pharmacology ; Ringer's Solution ; pharmacology ; Sciatic Nerve ; drug effects

BACKGROUND: The stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) signaling pathway cannot only improve the migration ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), but also restrain BMSCs apoptosis, increase BMSCs survival and improve the proliferation activity of BMSCs. OBJECTIVE: To construct a rat BMSCs line with SDF-1α overexpression and to explore its influence on the proliferation and migration of BMSCs in vitro. METHODS: The SDF-1α overexpression vector (pNL-SDF-1α-IRES2-EGFP) was constructed. The lentivirus particles were packaged by transferring pNL-SDF-1α-IRES2-EGFP, pNL-IRES2-EGFP and GV-118-SDF-1α-siRNA into 293T cells. The BMSCs lines with SDF-1α overexpression in SDF-1α-BMSCs group, null-BMSCs group and siRNA-BMSCs group were established by transfecting SDF-1α-lentiviru, null-lentivirus and siRNA-lentivirus into BMSCs respectively. The expression of SDF-1α at mRNA and protein levels in BMSCs was evaluated by RT-PCR and western blot assay, respectively. The influence of SDF-1α on proliferation and migration of BMSCs were evaluated by MTT and Transwell migration experiment respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The pNL-SDF-1α-IRES2-EGFP recombinant plasmid was successfully constructed, which was proved by sequencing results. EGFP was strongly expressed in 293T cells and BMSCs in all groups after 48 hours in lentivirus transfection. SDF-1α at mRNA and protein levels were highly expressed in the SDF-1α-BMSCs group, but the expression was significantly inhibited in the siRNA-BMSCs group. The proliferative ability of BMSCs was strengthened in the SDF-1α-BMSCs group, and SDF-1α was found to significantly promote the transmembrane migration of BMSCs. The migration index of BMSCs incubated with anti-SDF-1α multi-antibodies was restrained markedly. To conclude, the lentivirus vector cannot only infect BMSCs efficiently but also make SDF-1 expresse stably in BMSCs. The overexpression of SDF-1α can improve the proliferation and migration abilities of BMSCs.

Objective: To explore the risk factors of death in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with or without heart failure (HF). Methods: A total of 2015 emergency AF patients from 20 hospitals in China from 2008-11 to 2011-10 were consecutively enrolled. Based on existing HF, the patients were divided into 2 groups: HF group, n=753 and Non-HF group, n=1263. The baseline condition and in-hospital treatment were recorded, patients were followed-up for 1 year to document all-cause death and the relevant risk factors were studied by multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: Compared with Non-HF group, HF group had less male, lower heart rate (HR) and body mass index (BMI), less patients with previous histories of hypertension and hyperthyreosis, lower application rates of calcium antagonists and amiodarone, all P<0.05; HF group had the higher CHADS2score, more patients with previous histories of myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease (HD), valvular HD, rheumatic HD, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, smoking, LV dysfunction, cognitive disorder,pneumonectasis/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), valvular surgery and major bleeding; higher application rates of diuretics, ACEI, digoxin, aspirin and warfarin, all P<0.05. 1991 patients finished follow-up study and during that period, compared with Non-HF group, HF group showed the lower usage rates of rhythm-control drugs and clopidogrel, while higher usage rates of ventricular-control drugs and warfarin, all P<0.05; higher incidences of death and major bleeding, all P<0.05. Cox regression analysis indicated that HF was the risk factor for 1 year mortality in AF patients (HR=1.50, 95% CI 1.17-1.92, P=0.001). In Non-HF group, age (HR=1.09, 95% CI 1.07-1.11, P<0.001), heart rate (HR=1.011, 95% CI 1.005-1.017, P<0.001), primary diagnosis (HR=1.63, 95% CI 1.13-2.35, P=0.01) and COPD (HR=2.18, 95% CI 1.47-3.22, P<0.001) were related to 1 year death. In HF group, age (HR=1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.07, P<0.001), BMI (HR=0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.96, P<0.001), systolic blood pressure (HR=0.991, 95% CI 0.984-0.998, P=0.012) and primary diagnosis (HR=2.50, 95% CI 1.48-4.21, P=0.001) were related to 1 year death. Conclusion: Baseline condition and in-hospital treatment were different in AF patients with or without HF. HF was the risk factor for 1 year mortality and the other risk factors were different in AF patients with or without HF.

In the present research, 674 wild medicinal material samples of Phellodendri amurensis Cortex were collected from 31 sampling sites in the whole distribution of its original plant Phellodendron amurense. The samples were collected under the premise that the stem diameter of sampling plant, sampling position and time were controlled. And the sampling sites were set at the interval of a latitude. The content of 6 kinds of active ingredients, palmatine chloride, berberine hydrochloride, phellodendrine chloride, jatrorrhizine hydrochloride, magnoflorine, chlorogenic acid, etc in the medicinal material samples were determined, and the results showed that the content of most active ingredients in the medicinal materials showed significant differences due to the difference of sampling sites. Among them, the medicinal materials from Liaoning region had the highest content of active ingredients, followed by Beijing and Jilin regions, and that from Heilongjiang region had the lowest content. The study has important directive significance to the exploration of environmental factors for the formation of active constituent and artificial planting regionalization of high quality Phellodendri amurensis Cortex.

PURPOSE: Studies have shown that diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the clinical characteristics and prognostic impact of DM in patients with nonvalvular AF have not been well understood in China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Included were 1644 consecutive patients with nonvalvular AF. Endpoints included all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, stroke, major bleeding, and combined endpoint events (CEE) during a 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: The prevalence of DM was 16.8% in nonvalvular AF patients. Compared with non-diabetic AF patients, diabetic AF patients were older and tended to coexist with other cardiovascular diseases. Most patients with DM (93.5%) were eligible for anticoagulation, as determined by CHADS2 scores. However, only 11.2% of patients received anticoagulation. During a 1-year follow-up, the all-cause mortality and CEE rate in the DM group were significantly higher than those of the non-DM group, while the incidence of stroke was comparable. After multivariate adjustments, DM was still an independent risk factor for 1-year all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR)=1.558; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.126-2.156; p=0.007], cardiovascular mortality (HR=1.615; 95% CI 1.052-2.479; p=0.028), and CEE (HR=1.523; 95% CI 1.098-2.112; p=0.012), yet not for stroke (HR=1.119; 95% CI 0.724-1.728; p=0.614). CONCLUSION: DM is a common morbidity coexisting with nonvalvular AF and is associated with an increased risk of 1-year all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and CEE. However, no increased risk of stroke was found during a 1-year follow-up in patients with AF and DM.
Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation/*etiology ; Cause of Death ; China ; Diabetes Complications/*pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome

In this study, we searched multiple databases for all relevant original articles (1996-2013). To investigate blood lead levels (BLL) and possible risk factors for lead exposure among children in China A total of 388 articles met our inclusion criteria. The overall geometric mean (GM) BLL was 71 µg/L, and the prevalence of elevated BLL (EBLL, defined as BLL ⋝ 100 µg/L) was 18.48% among children. The prevalence of EBLL remained significantly higher among boys. In children less than 6 years of age, there were significantly increasing trends in both BLL and prevalence of EBLL in an age-dependent manner. The ban on leaded gasoline significantly reduced the BLL as well as EBLL prevalence; however, children whose parents had lower educational levels or were exposed to lead in the workplace had a higher EBLL prevalence. Despite its decline over time, the average BLL among children in China remains higher than the average level most recently reported in the United States. Childhood lead poisoning remains a public health problem in China.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Environmental Exposure ; Female ; Humans ; Lead ; blood ; Male ; Risk Factors