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*

Biological category is effective to indicate the evolution of organism populations between past and present. Conventional taxonomy of human parasites mainly depends on important morphological features, which suffers from a problem of categorizing related-genera species with similar morphological characteristics. With recent advances in molecular biological technologies, the effective applications of mitochondrial and ribosomal biomarkers and sequencing greatly improve the development of the taxonomic rank of human parasites. Worldwide, the classification of human parasites have been continuously revised and improved. Hereby, we re-categorize parasitic Protozoa, Trematoda, Cestoda and Nematoda, so as to provide insights into the researches on molecular systematics and genetic evolution of human parasites.

Qingjin Huatan Decoction is a classic prescription with the effects of clearing heat, moistening lung, resolving phlegm, and relieving cough. In order to explore the critical quality attributes of Qingjin Huatan Decoction, we identified the blood components of Qingjin Huatan Decoction by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) under the following conditions, chromatographic column: Acquity UPLC BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm); mobile phase: 0.1% formic acid acetonitrile(A)-0.1% formic acid in water(B); gradient elution; flow rate: 0.2 mL·min~(-1); column temperature: 30 ℃; injection volume: 5 μL. The electrospray ionization(ESI) source was used to collect data in both positive and negative ion modes under the following conditions, capillary voltage: 3 kV for the positive ion mode and 2 kV for the negative ion mode; ion source temperature: 110 ℃; cone voltage: 30 V; cone gas flow rate: 50 L·h~(-1); nitrogen degassing temperature: 350 ℃; degassing volume flow rate: 800 L·h~(-1); scanning range: m/z 50-2 000. In this experiment, a total of 66 related components of Qingjin Huatan Decoction were identified, including 22 prototype components and 44 metabolites. The results of this study preliminarily revealed the pharmacodynamic material basis of Qingjin Huatan Decoction in vivo, which has provided an experimental basis for the determination of quality markers of Qingjin Huatan Decoction and the development of new drugs.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods*

Objective To summarize the palliative care consultations proposed by the Emergency Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 22 palliative care consultations in the Emergency Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2017 to June 2020. Results A total of 18 patients (6 males and 12 females) received palliative care consultations in the Emergency Department,with the average age of (65±8) years (36-88 years).Specifically,10 and 6 patients received once and twice consultations,respectively,and 2 patients did not complete the consultation.Of the patients receiving palliative care consultations,15 had malignant tumors and 3 had non-neoplastic diseases.The reasons for palliative care consultations included communication (61.1%,11/18) and pain relief (61.1%,11/18).In terms of the place of death,8 patients died in the hospital and 6 patients in other medical institutions. Conclusion There is a clear demand for palliative care consultation in the Emergency Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital,and the consultation can bring help to both emergency doctors and patients.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Palliative Care/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation ; Hospitals ; Emergency Service, Hospital

Gut microbiome sequencing studies have great potential to translate microbial analysis outcomes into human health research. Sequencing strategies of 16S amplicon and whole-metagenome shotgun (WMS) are two main methods in microbiome research with respective advantages. However, how sample heterogeneity, sequencers and library preparation protocols affect the sequencing reproducibility of gut microbiome needs further investigation. This study aims to provide a reference for the selection of sequencing technologies by comparing differences in microbial composition from different sampling sites. The results of three widely adopted sequencers showed that the technical repetition correlation (r= 0. 94) was high in WMS method, while the biological repetition correlation (r = 0. 69) was low. Bray-Curtis distance identified that dissimilarity from biological replicates was larger than that of technical replicates (P<0. 001). In addition, dissimilarity and specific taxonomic profiles were observed between 16S and WMS datasets. Our results imply that homogenization is a necessary step before sample DNA extraction. The sequencers contributed less to taxonomic variation than the library preparation protocols. We developed an empirical Bayes approach that " borrowed information" in calculations and analyzed batch effect parameters using standardized data and prior distributions of (non-) parameters, which may improve population comparability between 16S and WMS and provide a basis for further application to fusion analysis of published 16S and microbial datasets.

Objective:To analyze the clinicopathological features, survival and related prognostic factors of encapsulated papillary carcinoma (EPC) of breast.Methods:Data on EPC and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast from January 2010 to December 2015 were searched and screened using the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for baseline confounding between the EPC and IDC groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate cumulative survival curves for overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Prognostic value of these factors were assessed by univariate Log-rank test and multivariate Cox regression analysis.Results:In this study, 184 524 patients with IDC and 175 patients with EPC were included. Compared with patients with IDC, patients with EPC over 60 years old had a higher proportion, a lower rate of lymph node metastasis, and a higher proportion of estrogen receptor positive, progesterone receptor positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative ( P<0.05). After PSM adjustment, OS of patients with EPC was worse than that of IDC, and BCSS was better than that of IDC ( P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that age, surgical approach and N stage were associated with poorer OS, while surgery approach, T stage, N stage and molecular typing were associated with worse BCSS ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Compared with IDC, EPC of breast has better BCSS and lower lymph node metastasis rate. There is a certain correlation between tumor stage and molecular type and prognosis of EPC.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective: To optimize the radiolabeling of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted probe Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH (Beijing Cancer Hospital) and to evaluate its potential for clinical trial and translation. Methods: The mixture of PSMA-BCH, AlCl₃, potassium biphthalate and no-carrier loaded ¹⁸F^- was reacted at 110 ℃ for 15 min, then purified by Sep-Pak Light C18 column and filtered through 0.22 μm sterile filter to obtain Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH. The radiolabeled yield and radiochemical purity were determined. Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH PET/CT imaging was performed on 5 healthy volunteers (age: (68±7) years) for biodistribution and radiation dosimetry estimate and on 1 patient (65 years) with recurrent prostate cancer. Results: The non-decay-corrected radiochemical yield of Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH was (38.0±3.5)% with the radiochemical purity >99% and the specific activity of (16.4±4.4) MBq/nmol. Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH was stable in saline at room temperature. In healthy volunteers, radioactivity was mainly accumulated in the bladder, kidneys, lacrimal glands, parotid glands and submandibular glands, of which kidneys were the most critical organs with the dosimetry of (152.89±33.43) μGy/MBq, while bones showed lower uptake ((11.10±1.23) μGy/MBq) than most organs. The effective dose of whole body was (0.013 5 ±0.002 5) mSv/MBq. Multiple bone metastases were observed by Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH PET/CT imaging in a patient with recurrent prostate cancer. Conclusions Al¹⁸F-PSMA-BCH prepared with the pH controller of potassium biphthalate holds the potential for the diagnosis, staging and monitoring recurrence of prostate cancer.

Objective To investigate the effect of breast conserving surgery on neurotensin (NTS) and its receptor 1(NTR1) in patients with breast cancer.Methods From May 2012 to May 2015,200 patients with breast cancer,aged 44.7 years(range,32-56 years),were treated at Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical University.All patients were divided into control group (n =100) and observation group (n =100).The patients in the control group were treated with radical operation and the patients in the observation group were treated with breastconserving surgery.The positive rate of NTS and NTR1 before and 1 week after operation,WHOQOL-100 (It includes four aspects:physiological state,psychological state,environmental condition and social function) 1 d before surgery,3 months and 6 months after surgery,and the incidence of postoperative complications 1 week after surgery were compared between the two groups.Measurement data with normal distribution were described as mean± standard deviation (Mean ± SD) and analyzed by the t test.Count data were analyzed by chi-square test.Results The positive rate of NTS (17.00％) in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (36.00％) (t =9.267,P =0.002),The positive rate of NTR1 (19.00％) was significantly lower than that in the control group (33.00％) (t =5.094,P =0.024).The physiological status,psychological state,environmental condition and social function of 3 months after surgery of the observation group were (62.57 ± 5.73),(63.48 ±5.91),(68.73 ±6.32),(64.06 ±5.94) scores,respectively,and the control group were (53.47 ±5.38),(55.62 ±5.54),(60.38 ±6.14),(55.86 ±5.66) scores,respectively,showing statistically significant differences between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).The physiological status,psychological state,environmental condition and social function of 6 months after surgery were (73.74 ±t 6.19),(76.27 ± 6.32),(78.85 ±6.77),(73.53 ±6.58) scores in the observation group,and (64.18 ±5.67),(67.38 ±6.02),(69.64 ± 6.43),(63.28 ± 6.17) scores in the control group,showing statistically significant differences between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of postoperative complications in the observation group (6.00％) was significantly lower than that in the control group (18.00％) (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Breast conserving surgery can reduce the expression level of NTS and NTR1 in breast cancer patients,It is related to reducing the incidence of postoperative complications and improving the quality of life of patients.