Objective To establish a HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of artemisinin,arteannuin B,chrysosplenetin and chrysosplenol-D in the water extract of Artemisia annua L.Methods The analysis was performed on Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm)column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile(A)-water(B)and the flow rate of 0.8 mL·min-1 in a gradient elution manner.The column temperature was 30℃.The injection volume was 10 μL,and the detection wavelength was 210 nm.Results Artemisinin,arteannuin B,chrysosplenetin and chrysosplenol-D were correlated well linearly with peak area in their respective ranges 1.608 8-16.088 μg(r=0.999 9),0.014 1-0.141 4 μg(r=1),0.185 1-1.850 9 μg(r=0.999 9),0.144 1-1.441 4 μg(r=0.999 9),the average recovery rate(n=6)were 102.44%,97.82%,95.07%,95.55%,and the RSD values were 1.12%,1.44%,1.29%,1.53%.Conclusion This method is convenient and accurate.It has good stability and repeatability,and can be used to simultaneously determine the content of artemisinin,arteannuin B,chrysosplenetin and chrysosplenol-D in the water extract of Artemisia annua L.

Objective To explore the effect of FBXW7 on ferroptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Methods Head and neck squamous cell lines HN4 and HN6 were cultured in vitro.FBXW7 and SOX2 overexpression plasmids were constructed,and the plasmids were stably transfected into cell lines.The overexpression transfection efficiency was verified at the transcription level and protein level by qRT-PCR and Western blot experiments,respectively.The lipid peroxidation levels of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells with overexpressing FBXW7 were verified by measuring malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH),and reactive ox-ygen species(ROS)levels.After treating cells with ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1,the changes in cell viability were further detected to ver-ify the effect of FBXW7 on ferroptosis.The effect of transfection of the overexpressed plasmid on cellular pathways was detected by Western blot.Results HN4 and HN6 cell lines showed increased levels of lipid peroxidation after overexpression of FBXW7,and the ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 was able to effectively reverse the ferroptosis induced by overexpression of FBXW7.Western blot assay results showed that overexpression of FBXW7 reduced the expression of c-Myc,SOX2 and SLC7A11.Conclusion FBXW7 regulates the ex-pression of SOX2-SLC7A11 by degrading c-Myc,thereby effectively regulating ferroptosis in HNSCC.

Desensitization therapy for iodinated contrast media (ICM) aims to induce drug tolerance in patients with a history of severe allergic reactions to ICM in a short time. Currently, there is no widely accepted consensus on inducing desensitization to avoid severe allergic responses to ICM. The clinically successful cases have shown that prophylactic use of antihistamines and glucocorticoids can increase the desensitization effect; repeatedly desensitizing and gradually increasing the dose can be conducive to establishing better tolerance to ICM. Most desensitization effects, including stress resistance, can endure 24-48 h. The mechanisms of desensitization therapy remain unclear, the initial dose, administration interval and dose gradient are largely based on clinical experiences and the reaction of patients. This article reviews the current research progress on ICM-related allergies, desensitization methods and related mechanisms, as well as the benefits and hazards of desensitization, to provide a reference for desensitization treatment of hypersensitivity to ICM .
Humans ; Contrast Media/adverse effects* ; Consensus ; Glucocorticoids ; Hypersensitivity

Postnatal heart maturation is the basis of normal cardiac function and provides critical insights into heart repair and regenerative medicine. While static snapshots of the maturing heart have provided much insight into its molecular signatures, few key events during postnatal cardiomyocyte maturation have been uncovered. Here, we report that cardiomyocytes (CMs) experience epigenetic and transcriptional decline of cardiac gene expression immediately after birth, leading to a transition state of CMs at postnatal day 7 (P7) that was essential for CM subtype specification during heart maturation. Large-scale single-cell analysis and genetic lineage tracing confirm the presence of transition state CMs at P7 bridging immature state and mature states. Silencing of key transcription factor JUN in P1-hearts significantly repressed CM transition, resulting in perturbed CM subtype proportions and reduced cardiac function in mature hearts. In addition, transplantation of P7-CMs into infarcted hearts exhibited cardiac repair potential superior to P1-CMs. Collectively, our data uncover CM state transition as a key event in postnatal heart maturation, which not only provides insights into molecular foundations of heart maturation, but also opens an avenue for manipulation of cardiomyocyte fate in disease and regenerative medicine.
Gene Expression Regulation ; Heart ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Transcription Factors/metabolism*

Objective: To understand mental health status of middle school students in Weifang, and to analyze its association with health risk behaviors, and to provide a reference basis for the effective prevention of mental health problems. Methods: Using the self-designed questionnaire and Kessler l0 (K10), a total of 3 185 middle school students in Weifang selected by using stratified clustered sampling were investigated. Chi-square test and binary Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. Results: Among the middle school students in Weifang, 1 634(51.3%) reported good mental health, 854(26.8%) in moderate level, 394(12.4%) reported poor mental health, and 303(9.5%) reported very poor mental health. Sleep duration and smoking were associated with mental health of middle school students (P<0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that, compared with adolescents with sleep duration less than 8 h, mental health among students whose sleep duration ≥8 h was better(OR=0.36); compared with non-smokers, students who smoked showed worse mental health status (OR=3.53). Conclusion Health-risk behaviors are closely related to mental health of middle school students. Relevant departments should strengthen education and publicity of healthy lifestyles, and pay close attention to the impact of health risk behaviors on mental health.

Background: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (GEP-NEN) is a rare heterogeneous tumor. Liver metastasis seriously affects the prognosis of GEP-NEN. However, few tools are existed to predict GEP-NEN complicated with synchronous liver metastasis. Aims: To analyze the risk factors of synchronous liver metastasis in patients with GEP-NEN and establish a nomogram to predict synchronous liver metastasis in patients with GEP-NEN. Methods: A total of 10 973 pathologically confirmed patients with GEP-NEN from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2017 were collected from SEER database and divided randomly into training set (n=7 511) and test set (n=3 462). Both groups were divided into liver metastasis group and non-liver metastasis group according to the occurrence of liver metastasis. Multifactorical logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors of liver metastasis in patients with GEP-NEN. R software was used to establish and verify the nomogram of liver metastasis in GEP-NEN patients. Results: Liver metastasis was associated with gender, age, race, primary tumor site, degree of differentiation, tumor diameter, T3/4 stage, and lymph node metastasis in patients with GEP-NEN. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that primary tumor site (small intestine and pancreas), differentiation degree (poorly differentiated and undifferentiated), diameter of tumor ≥ 5 cm, T3/4 stage and lymph node metastasis were independent risk factors affecting liver metastasis in patients with GEP-NEN (P< 0.001). The concordance index of internal validation for nomogram was 0.838 (95% CI: 0.826-0.849), and the concordance index of external validation was 0.847 (95% CI: 0.829-0.864). Conclusions: GEP-NEN patients with primary tumor site in small intestine or pancreas, poor differentiation and undifferentiation, diameter of tumor ≥5 cm, T3/4 stage and lymph node metastasis are more likely to develop liver metastasis which suggested that such patients need to be alert for the occurrence of liver metastasis and need more aggressive treatment. The calibration curves fits are good for both the training and test sets, and can help clinicians to make individualized prediction for whether the GEP-NEN patient has synchronous liver metastasis at the initial diagnosis.

Objective ToexploretheclinicalvalueofMSCTcombinedwithultrasonographyinthediagnosisofacuteappendicitis. Methods 238patientswithsuspiciousappendicitisunderwentMSCTandultrasonographybeforesurgery.Allpatientsweredivided intoappendicitisgroupandnormalappendixgroupaccordingtoCTappearances.TheefficacyofMSCTcombinedwithultrasoundin diagnosingappendicitiswasanalyzedbycomparisonofsurgicalpathologicalfindings.Results Therewere220casesinappendicitis group,whichhad165casesofappendicitisconfirmedbypathology,and55casesofnormalappendix.Therewere18casesinnormal group,2caseswereconfirmedappendicitisbypathology,and16caseswerenormalappendix.Theoveralldiagnosticperformancesof theCTscanwere98.8%ofsensitivity,22.5%ofspecificity,82.5%ofpositivepredictivevalue,88.9%ofnegativepredictivevalue, and76.1%ofaccuracy.TheperformancesofMSCTcombinedwithultrasonographywere90.4%ofsensitivity,93.0%ofspecificity, 96.8%ofpositivepredictivevalue,80.5%ofnegativepredictivevalue,and91.2%ofaccuracy.Thedifferencewasstatisticallysignificant indiagnosisperformancesbeforeandafterMSCTcombinedwithultrasonography (P＜0.001).Conclusion MSCTcombinedwith ultrasonographyexaminationcouldimprovethediagnosticaccuracyofappendicitis,andmayreducethenegativerateofappendectomy.

Promoter, an essential regulatory element, is widely used for metabolic engineering of industrial strains. Corynebacterium glutamicum is an important industrial workhorse to produce various amino acids. However, strong constitutive promoters that are applicable to C. glutamicum are rarely reported. In this study, we first performed a time-series transcriptome analysis of a glutamate hyper-producing strain C. glutamicum SL4 by using RNA-Seq. Overall, we picked 10 samples at different time during the fermentation process. By analyzing the time-series transcriptome data, we selected 10 candidate genes with the highest transcriptional level. These genes were all transcribed stably during the fermentation process. We subsequently cloned the promoter sequences and evaluated the promoters' strength in strain SL4 using a red fluorescent protein reporter system. To evaluate the universality of the promoters in different C. glutamicum strains, we further tested the performance of some promoters in wild type C. glutamicum strains, including ATCC 13869 and ATCC 13032. The strongest promoter was further characterized using LacZ as a reporter in all the three C. glutamicum strains. Finally, we successfully obtained three constitutive promoters with universality, PcysK, PgapA and PfumC. PcysK is the most efficient promoter among the three C. glutamicum strains. In strains SL4 and ATCC 13869, the strength of PcysK is 2-fold of the strong inducible promoter Ptac using the red fluorescent protein as a reporter and 4-fold of Ptac using LacZ as a reporter. Moreover, the strength of PcysK reaches 30%-40% of Ptac in strain ATCC 13032. The promoter PcysK is identified as a strong promoter for the first time, which can be used as an efficient biobrick for metabolic engineering of synthesis pathways in C. glutamicum.
Corynebacterium glutamicum ; genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ; Metabolic Engineering ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Transcriptome

Objective To analyze the 18 F?FDG uptake features and the correlation between 18 F?FDG uptake and the prognosis in patients with pathologic stageⅠlung adenocarcinoma. Methods One hundred and seventeen patients with stageⅠlung adenocarcinoma proved by surgery, who underwent a preoperative 18 F?FDG PET?CT, were studied retrospectively. The tumors′ SUVmax in different groups of clinicopathologic factors were compared. The correlations between the SUVmax and clinicopathologic factors were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation. The ROC was plotted to estimate the most discriminative cut?off point for SUVmax in predicting the recurrence or progression of tumor. The progression?free survival ( PFS) in different clinicopathologic groups were estimated using the Kaplan?Meier method and Log?rank test. Results The SUVmax of pathologic stageⅠlung adenocarcinomas were significantly different in different groups of gender,tumor size, density, tumor differentiation grade and T staging, respectively ( P<0.05 for all) . Patients with a larger tumor size, a higher proportion of solid component, poorer grade of tumor differentiation had a higher SUVmax. The T1b group had a higher SUVmax than T1a and T2a groups. The male group had a higher SUVmax than the female group. The SUVmax was positively correlated with the size of the adenocarcinomas ( P<0. 01 ) , and was negatively correlated with both the density and tumor differentiation grade (P<0.01). But there was no correlation between SUVmax and the T stage (P>0.05). The patients with an SUVmax of<3.0 had a much better PFS (75.1±3.0 month)than those with an SUVmax of ≥3.0 (52.7±5.9 month)(P<0.01). The tumor with a poorer differentiation grade was associated with reduced PFS (45.7±5.4 months) compared with those with well differentiated tumor (76.7±4.2 month)(P<0.05) . The PFS showed no statistically significant differences in different gender, age, smoking history, tumor size, density and T staging groups (P>0.05). Conclusions 18F?FDG uptake is correlated with the tumor size, density, and differentiation grade, and has a prognostic value for predicting the PFS in the patients with pathologic stageⅠ lung?adenocarcinoma. Patients with an SUVmax of <3.0 have a much better PFS than those with an SUVmax of ≥3.0.

Objective To analyze the 18 F?FDG uptake features and the correlation between 18 F?FDG uptake and the prognosis in patients with pathologic stageⅠlung adenocarcinoma. Methods One hundred and seventeen patients with stageⅠlung adenocarcinoma proved by surgery, who underwent a preoperative 18 F?FDG PET?CT, were studied retrospectively. The tumors′ SUVmax in different groups of clinicopathologic factors were compared. The correlations between the SUVmax and clinicopathologic factors were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation. The ROC was plotted to estimate the most discriminative cut?off point for SUVmax in predicting the recurrence or progression of tumor. The progression?free survival ( PFS) in different clinicopathologic groups were estimated using the Kaplan?Meier method and Log?rank test. Results The SUVmax of pathologic stageⅠlung adenocarcinomas were significantly different in different groups of gender,tumor size, density, tumor differentiation grade and T staging, respectively ( P<0.05 for all) . Patients with a larger tumor size, a higher proportion of solid component, poorer grade of tumor differentiation had a higher SUVmax. The T1b group had a higher SUVmax than T1a and T2a groups. The male group had a higher SUVmax than the female group. The SUVmax was positively correlated with the size of the adenocarcinomas ( P<0. 01 ) , and was negatively correlated with both the density and tumor differentiation grade (P<0.01). But there was no correlation between SUVmax and the T stage (P>0.05). The patients with an SUVmax of<3.0 had a much better PFS (75.1±3.0 month)than those with an SUVmax of ≥3.0 (52.7±5.9 month)(P<0.01). The tumor with a poorer differentiation grade was associated with reduced PFS (45.7±5.4 months) compared with those with well differentiated tumor (76.7±4.2 month)(P<0.05) . The PFS showed no statistically significant differences in different gender, age, smoking history, tumor size, density and T staging groups (P>0.05). Conclusions 18F?FDG uptake is correlated with the tumor size, density, and differentiation grade, and has a prognostic value for predicting the PFS in the patients with pathologic stageⅠ lung?adenocarcinoma. Patients with an SUVmax of <3.0 have a much better PFS than those with an SUVmax of ≥3.0.