Objective: To study the anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) effect of the ultrafine granular powder of Houttuynia cordata and the effects in comparison with traditional decoction pieces. Methods: BALB/c mice were injected with LPS through nose to establish lung inflammation model. The number of leukocytes in mice whole blood was examined, and the degree of the inflammation of lung tissue by pathology was observed. Rat inflammatory model was induced by injection of LPS into tail vein. The number of leukocytes in mice whole blood, content of LPS in plasma were examined, the content of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA). The limulus test method was used to detect the anti- lipopolysaccharide effect of the ultrafine granular powder of H. cordata in vitro. Results: The ultrafine granular powder of H. cordata and traditional decoction pieces can reduce the level of leukocytes in mice whole blood in various degrees, and alleviated the infiltration of inflammatory cells in pathological lung tissue, and there was a positive dosage dependent relation. For the two decoction pieces, the number of leukocytes in rat whole blood, the content of LPS in plasma, the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in serum decreased in different degrees were found. Compared with traditional decoction pieces group, the content of IL-1β and TNF-α of serum in ultrafine granular powder group were significant decreased. The ultrafine granular powder of H. cordata showed better anti-inflammatory activity than traditional decoction pieces in vitro at the same concentration and same dilution ratio. Conclusion: The ultrafine granular powder of H. cordata has satisfactory anti-lipopolysaccharide effect, and the effect is better than traditional decoction pieces in some extent.

Background: Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (SCT) is a well-established immunotherapeutic strategy for multiple myeloma (MM) with a potent and often sustained graft-vs.-myeloma effect. This multicenter investigation aimed to analyze the complications and survival of haploidentical SCT in patients with MM, and compare the main outcomes with matched-related donors (MRDs). Methods: Haploidentical and MRD SCT was identified from a cohort of 97 patients with MM who received a myeloablative transplantation in 13 hospitals from May 2001 to December 2017. A matched-pair analysis was designed. For each haplo recipient, the recipients were randomly selected from the MRD group and were matched according to the following criteria: year of the hematopoietic SCT (±2 years), disease status at transplantation, and the length of follow-up. Results: Seventy cases received MRD and 27 received haploidentical transplantation. The two groups showed no significant differences regarding age, gender, cytogenetic risk, and diagnostic stage. The cumulative incidences of non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 1 and 3 years based on donor type were 20.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.90–30.10%) and 24.2% (95% CI, 13.81–34.59%) for the MRD group and 16.80% (95% CI, 1.71–31.89%) and 28.70% (95% CI, 8.71–48.69%) for the haplo group, respectively. Cumulative incidence of NRM did not differ significantly between the two groups (χ² = 0.031, P = 0.861). The cumulative incidences of progression-free survival (PFS) and 1 year and 3 years by type of donors were 59.8% (95% CI, 48.24–71.36%) and 45.4% (95% CI, 33.44–57.36%), and 65.6% (95% CI, 47.18–84.02%) and 26.8% (95% CI, 7.59–46. 01%) for MRD and haploidentical donor, respectively. Cumulative incidence of PFS did not differ significantly between the two groups (χ² = 0.182, P = 0.670). In multivariate analyses, no statistically significant differences were observed between haploidentical and MRD for relapse, NRM, PFS, and overall survival. There were no statistically differences on main outcomes after haploidentical and MRD. Conclusion Haploidentical SCT could be performed safely and feasibly for patients with MM in need.

Angiogenesis in atherosclerotic plaque plays a critical role in the mechanism of atherosclerotic physiopathology. Present consensus shows that angiogenesis in atherosclerotic plaque is mainly resulted in hypoxia, inflammation and some pro-angiogenic factors. The homeostasis in plaque, which is hypoxic and infiltrated by inflammatory cells, may lead to angiogenesis, increase the plaque instability and the incidence rate of vascular events. This article reviews the progression of pathogenetic mechanism, physiopathological significance, relevant detecting technique and corresponding therapeutic methods of Chinese and Western medicine of angiogenesis in atherosclerotic plaque, so as to provide more theoretical basis for atherosclerotic clinical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the expression characteristics of leukemia stem cell (LSC) antigen in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to explore the correation of LSC-specific antigens with the subtypes, cytogenetics and clinical efficacy of AML. METHODS: A total of 61 newly diagnosed patients with AML (except M3) hospltalized in Department of Hematology of our hopital were selected from January 2013 to March 2016. The immun phenotypes and expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 on leucamia cells were detected by direct immunofluorescenct flow cytometry. 61 patients were divided into positive expression and megative expression groups according to expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123; the correlation of LSC antigen expression level with high WBC count, chromosome and therapeutic efficacy was analyzed. RESULTS: Among 61 newly diagnosed patients with AML (except M3), the expression rate of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 was 52.45%, 44.26% and 55.73% respectively. The expression rates of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 between the AML subtypes and total patients was not stetistically different (P>0.05). The high WBC count occurred more easily in AML (except MS) patients with positive expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123, but compared with AML patients with negative espression, the difference was not statstically significant (P>0.05). The proportion of chromosone karyotype with poor prognosis detected in patients with positive expression of Tim-3 and CD96 was higher than that in patients with negative expreesion (P<0.05); while the preoprtion of chromosome karyotype with poor prognosis detected in patients with positive and negative expression of CD123 was not significantly different (P>0.05). After 2 courses of chemotherapy, the complete remission (CR) rate in patients with positive expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 was significantly lower than that in patients with negative expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 (P<0.05), the comparison of OS time in patients with positive and negative expression of Tim-3 and CD96 showed the statistical difference (P>0.05), while the difference of OS time in patients with positive and negative expression of CD123 was not significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The expression levels of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 in newly diagnosed AML (except M3) sybtype patients are not significantly different form those in total patients. The high WBC count ocours more easily in patients with positive expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123. After 2 course of chemotherapy, the CR rate in patients with positive expression of Tim-3, CD96 and CD123 was significantly lower than that in patients with negative expression. The proportion of chromsome karyotype with poor prognosis detected in patients with positive expression of Tim-3 and CD96 is high, moreover, OS time in patients with positive expression of Tim-3 and CD96 is shorter than that in patients with negative expression.
Antigens, CD ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Interleukin-3 Receptor alpha Subunit ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Prognosis ; Stem Cells

Paecilomyces hepiali is a new species of fungus isolated from a field collection of Ophiocordyceps sinensis from Baima snow mountain, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province by the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The specimen was identified and named as Paecilomyces hepiali by Qing-Tao Chen, the professor of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Paecilomyces hepiali) (2008), who identified a dried culture of living strain 82-2 as the holotype. Until now, the holotype (the voucher specimen) was deposited in the Herbarium of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica (HICMM), China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing. The P. hepiali neotype designated by the paper "Neotypification of P. hepiali (Hypocreales)" published in TAXON 64 (1) by Yao Yi-Jian et al. in February 2015 is untenable.

This paper investigated the diversity of the silkworm excrement bacterial communities in different ages before and after drying, aiming to clarify the differences of bacterial communities in composition and bacterial abundance and the influences of drying treatment, and provide scientific basis for the efficacy of scientific connotation and utilization of silkworm excrement. High-throughput sequencing technique was used to measure the sequence of 16S rDNA-V4 variable region of bacteria in silkworm excrement. QIIME, Mothur and PICRUSt software programs were employed to sort and calculate the number of sequences and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for each sample. Thereafter, the abundance, distribution, alpha diversity index of species, beta diversity and bacterial communities diversity among different sample groups and predicted the bacterial gene functions were analyzed. In this study, the numbers of effective sequences for six samples were 259 250; the rarefaction curves showed a sufficient sequencing depth, and the number of OTUs was close to saturation. The bacteria in silkworm excrement belonged to the following five phylums: Proteobacteria (89.3%), Actinobacteria (5.0%), Firmicutes (4.4%), Bacteroidetes (1.1%) and Cyanobacteria (0.2%). The dominant specie was Cyanobacteria of the total bacteria identified, respectively. The abundances and diversities of the silkworm excrement bacterial communities have been reduced after drying treatment, especially the silkworm excrement of the fifth instar. PICRUSt analysis was performed to show that abundance of the functional genes such as membrane transport, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, cellular processes and signaling were relatively high. The result showed that the drying treatment could decreased the species and numbers of pathogenic bacteria in silkworm excrement obviously and improve the quality of medicinal materials. Compared with the lower ages, silkworm excrement of fifth instar seems like to be more suitable for use in medicine. Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing system provides a more accurate and scientific data resource for the study of bacteria in silkworm excrement.

The aim of this study was to investigate the regulatory effect of the total glycoside extracted from leaves of Rehmannia (TLR) and Dihuangye total glycoside capsule (DTG) on intestinal microflora in diabetic nephropathy rats. Forty-eight rats were randomly divided into the control group (C), model group (M), Huangkui capsule group (0.75 g·kg^-1·d^-1, HK), irbesartan group (27 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, YX), TLR low dose group (4.3 g·kg^-1·d^-1, DHYL), TLR high dose group (7.2 g·kg^-1·d^-1, DHYH), DTG low dose group (216 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, JNL), DTG high dose group (360 mg·kg^-1·d^-1, JNH). Rat model of diabetic nephropathy was induced by intraperitoneal injection of small dose of streptozotocin (45 mg·kg^-1, STZ) and feeding high-fat diet and 5% glucose drinking water. After oral administration for two weeks, the 16S rDNA sequencing method was used to study the effects of the TLR and DTG on intestinal flora in diabetic nephropathy rats. The results showed that compared with the control group, the intestinal flora of diabetic nephropathy rats had changed from phylum units to the genus units. Moreover, the proportion of lactobacilli in the intestinal bacteria of the model group was significantly decreased, and the proportion of lactobacilli in the administration group was increased, especially the YX group, TLR low dose group and DTG low dose group. The data suggest that the total glycosides of Rehmannia glutinosa improved the disorder of intestinal flora in STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy rats.

Background:The increasing prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in China and the paucity of information about relevant expenditure highlight the necessity of better understanding the financial burden and effect of CRC diagnosis and treatment.We performed a survey to quantify the direct medical and non-medical expenditure as well as the resulting financial burden of CRC patients in China.Methods:We conducted a multicenter,cross-sectional survey in 37 tertiary hospitals in 13 provinces across China between 2012 and 2014.Each enrolled patient was interviewed using a structured questionnaire.All expenditure data were inflated to the 2014 Chinese Yuan (CNY;1 CNY =0.163 USD).We quantified the overall expenditure and financial burden and by subgroup (hospital type,age at diagnosis,sex,education,occupation,insurance type,household income,clinical stage,pathologic type,and therapeutic regimen).We then performed generalized linear modeling to determine the factors associated with overall expenditure.Results:A total of 2356 patients with a mean age of 57.4 years were included,57.1％ of whom were men;13.9％ of patients had stage Ⅰ cancer;and the average previous-year household income was 54,525 CNY.The overall average direct expenditure per patient was estimated to be 67,408 CNY,and the expenditures for stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲll,and Ⅳ disease were 56,099 CNY,59,952 CNY,67,292 CNY,and 82,729 CNY,respectively.Non-medical expenditure accounted for 8.3％ of the overall expenditure.The 1-year out-of-pocket expenditure of a newly diagnosed patient was 32,649 CNY,which accounted for 59.9％ of their previous-year household income and caused 75.0％ of families to suffer an unmanageable financial burden.Univariate analysis showed that financial burden and overall expenditure differed in almost all subgroups (P ＜ 0.05),except for sex.Multivariate analysis showed that patients who were treated in specialized hospitals and those who were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma or diagnosed at a later stage were likely to spend more,whereas those with a lower household income and those who underwent surgery spent less (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions:For patients in China,direct expenditure for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC seemed catastrophic,and non-medical expenditure was non-ignorable.The financial burden varied among subgroups,especially among patients with different clinical stages of disease,which suggests that,in China,CRC screening might be cost-effective.