Three taraxerane nortriterpenoids were isolated from mastic by using various modern chromatographic separation techniques. They were identified as(5R,8R,9R,10S,11S,12R,13S,17R,18R)-28-norlupa-11,12-epoxy-14-taraxerene-3,16-dione(1),(5R,8R,9R,10S,11S,12R,13S,17S,18S)-17-hydroxy-28-norlupa-11,12-epoxy-14-taraxerene-3-one(2), and(5R,8R,9R,10R,11S,12R,13R,14S,17S,18S)-14,17-epoxy-28-norlupa-11,12-oxidotaraxerone(3) through the high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(HR-ESI-MS), infrared(IR), ultraviolet(UV), nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques as well as comparison with literature data. Compounds 1-3 were C-28 nortriterpenoids and isolated from mastic for the first time, and compounds 1-2 were new ones. In the model for RAW264.7 cell anti-inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS), compound 1 demonstrates an inhibitory effect on nitric oxide(NO) [IC_(50)=(13.38±0.68) μmol·L~(-1)], comparable to the activity of the positive control dexamethasone [IC_(50)=(14.59±1.49) μmol·L~(-1)]. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibit weaker inhibitory effects, with IC_(50) values of(24.17±2.56) and(22.25±2.84) μmol·L~(-1), respectively.
Animals ; Mice ; Triterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Mastic Resin/chemistry* ; Nitric Oxide ; Molecular Structure ; Macrophages/immunology* ; RAW 264.7 Cells

Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is a member of the transcription CDK subfamily and plays a role in transcriptional regulation. Selective CDK9 degraders possess potent clinical advantages over reversible CDK9 inhibitors. Herein, we report the first ATG101-recruiting selective CDK9 degrader, AZ-9, based on the hydrophobic tag kinesin degradation technology. AZ-9 showed significant degradation effects and selectivity toward other homologous cell cycle CDKs in vitro and in vivo, which could also affect downstream related phenotypes. Mechanism research revealed that AZ-9 recruits ATG101 to initiate the autophagy-lysosome pathway, and forms autophagosomes through the recruitment of LC3, which then fuses with lysosomes to degrade CDK9 and the partner protein Cyclin T1. These dates validated the existence of non-proteasomal degradation pathway of hydrophobic driven protein degradation strategy for the first time, which might provide research ideas for chemical induction intervention on other types of pathogenic proteins.

Clinically,the surgical treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities(VVLE)is now developing towards the direction of precision,minimally-invasive and individuation.Thus,comprehensive preoperative examination and evaluation of the venous system,and scientific marking of the target veins are prerequisite for achieving these goals.This paper describes the latest research progress in VVLE,focusing on the pathophysiology,risk factors,etiology,evaluation method of venous system,preoperative evaluation of commonly-seen secondary etiology,selection of surgical method,and marking technique of targeted veins,etc.So as to promote the development of surgical treatment for VVLE in clinical practice.

【Objective】 To understand the obesity status of Kazakh children and adolescents in the agricultural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang and its association with lifestyle, so as to provide reference and help for maintaining good body shape and health intervention for Kazakh children and adolescents in agricultural and pastoral areas. 【Methods】 From April to June 2022, 6 242 Kazakh children and adolescents aged 10 - 20 years were tested for obesity and surveyed by lifestyle questionnaires using stratified whole-group sampling in the farming and herding areas of Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture and Altay Region, Xinjiang. χ² test and Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze data. 【Results】 The obesity detection rate of Kazakh children and adolescents in Xinjiang farming and herding areas was 18.71%, with higher rates in boys (22.24%) compared to girls (15.12%), and the difference was statistically significant (χ² =52.04, P<0.01). Significant differences were observed in the obesity rates based on grade level, fruit consumption frequency, screen time of television, feeling hopeful for the future, fatigue, loneliness, and sadness (χ² =24.29, 4.61, 694.51, 7.15, 10.33, 6.51, 8.07, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that female students (OR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.56 - 0.69) and students who felt hopeful about the future (OR=0.96, 95%CI: 0.94 - 0.99) were protective factors against obesity (P<0.05); while high school and lower grades (senior high school OR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.24 - 1.57; junior high school OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.58 - 2.06; primary school OR=2.67, 95%CI: 2.33 - 2.99), fruit consumption ≥1time/d (OR=1.07, 95%CI: 1.03 - 1.16), watching TV ≥2h/d (OR=1.07, 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.17), frequent feeling of fatigue (OR=1.07, 95%CI: 1.03 - 1.12), loneliness (OR=1.08, 95%CI: 1.02~1.19) and sadness (OR= 1.09, 95%CI: 1.04 - 1.14) of students were risk factors for the development of obesity (P<0.05). 【Conclusions】 The obesity rate of Kazakh children and adolescents in the agricultural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang is high and closely associated with lifestyle. Therefore, it is crucial to improve unhealthy lifestyles in order to reduce obesity and promote the physical and mental well-being of this population.

Although significant progress has been made in the development of novel targeted drugs for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)in recent years,chemotherapy still remains the mainstay of treatment and the overall survival is poor in most patients.Here,we demonstrated the antileukemia activity of a novel small molecular compound NL101,which is formed through the modification on bendamustine with a suberanilohydroxamic acid(SAHA)radical.NL101 suppresses the proliferation of myeloid malignancy cells and primary AML cells.It induces DNA damage and caspase 3-mediated apoptosis.A genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)library screen revealed that phosphatase and tensin homologous(PTEN)gene is critical for the regulation of cell survival upon NL101 treatment.The knockout or inhibition of PTEN significantly reduced NL101-induced apoptosis in AML and myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS)cells,accompanied by the activation of protein kinase B(AKT)signaling pathway.The inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)by rapamycin enhanced the sensitivity of AML cells to NL101-induced cell death.These findings uncover PTEN protein expression as a major determinant of chemosensitivity to NL101 and provide a novel strategy to treat AML with the combination of NL101 and rapamycin.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of pushing reduction with our self-designed spinal fracture reduction device in the treatment of A3N0/1 thoracolumbar fractures.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the medical records of 53 patients who had undergone surgery for thoracolumbar vertebrae fracture at Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital from January 2019 to January 2022. All patients were treated by internal fixation via the Wiltse approach and bone grafting through the pedicle of the injured vertebrae. Clinical data: 35 males and 18 females; age: (37.8±10.2) years; injured segments: 23 cases at the thoracic spine and 30 cases at the lumbar spine; time from injury to surgery: (3.3±1.5) days. According to whether our self-designed spinal fracture reduction device was used or not, the patients were assigned into group A (23 cases) in which the injured vertebrae were pushed and reduced using our novel spinal fracture reduction device after vertebral distraction reduction by the pedicle screw and group B (30 cases) in which the injured vertebrae were distracted and reduced using the pedicle screw alone. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss and complications were compared between the 2 groups. The anterior vertebral body height ratio (AVBHr), middle vertebral body height ratio (MVBHr), posterior vertebral body height ratio (PVBHr), Cobb angle of the injured vertebra, visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) at preoperation, postoperative 3 and 6 months, and the last follow-up were compared between the 2 groups.Results:There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up for (16.3±5.9) months. All incisions healed at one stage postoperatively without any related complications. The operation time in group A was significantly longer than that in group B [(115.1±16.6) min. versus (101.0±11.5) min.], the intraoperative blood loss in group A was significantly greater than that in group B [(136.5±17.0) mL versus (121.6±19.8) mL], the MVBHr at postoperative 3 months in group A (93.9%±4.0%) was significantly better than that in group B (83.3%±7.6%), and the MVBHr, AVBHr, Cobb angle, VAS, and ODI at the last follow-up in group A [86.6%±5.5%, 89.8%±4.1%, 4°(4°, 6°), 1 (0, 1) point, and 4.7%±2.0%] were significantly better than those in group B [78.0% (74.0%, 79.0%), 84.5%±4.9%, 12.2°±3.3°, 2 (1, 3) points, and 7.3%±2.7%] (all P<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference in PVBHr between the 2 groups at postoperative 3 months or at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of A3N0/1 thoracolumbar fractures, pushing reduction with our self-designed spinal fracture reduction device can directly and effectively reduce the fracture zone of the injured vertebra, which is conducive to maintaining postoperative vertebral reduction, reducing vertebral height loss and kyphotic deformity at a later stage, relieving lumbar pain and improving lumbar spine function.

Objective:To investigate the effect of DNA methylation of laminin α3 (LAMA3) on the prognosis of platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and its possible mechanism.Methods:(1) The relationship between DNA methylation of LAMA3 and platinum resistance in EOC was evaluated by bioinformatics. (2) A total of 67 EOC patients treated at Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2000 to December 2012 were selected to detect the levels of LAMA3 DNA methylation in EOC tissues using pyrophosphate sequencing technology to explore its diagnostic efficacy for platinum resistance and prognosis in EOC patients. Furthermore, its impact on chemotherapy efficacy and prognosis of platinum resistant EOC patients were also analyzed.Results:(1) Ten proteins highly interacting with LAMA3 were screened from the Gene Interaction Retrieval Platform (STRING) database, including laminin β (LAMB) 3, laminin γ (LAMC) 3, integrin α (ITGA) 6, intestine protein β4 (ITGB4), ITGA3, LAMC1,LAMB2, dystrophin associated glycoprotein 1 (DAG1), LAMB1 and cytochrome P450c17α (COL17A1) protein; kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that LAMA3 and its related interacting proteins participate in the regulation of malignant tumor occurrence and development through signaling pathways such as apoptosis, cell cycle, DNA damage response, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor (ER), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt), RAS/mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), tuberous sclerosis protein complex (TSC)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and their expression levels were related to the sensitivity of chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin in EOC. (2) Our clinical data analysis found that the LAMA3 DNA methylation level in EOC tissue of the platinum-sensitive group (35 cases) was 71% (25/35), which was higher than 69% (22/32) in the platinum-resistant group (32 cases), with statistically insignificant difference ( χ2=0.057, P=0.811). The area under the curve (AUC) of LAMA3 DNA methylation level for assessing platinum resistance in EOC was 0.601, and the AUC for predicting EOC patient prognosis was 0.686. The chemotherapy efficacy of EOC patients with high methylation of LAMA3 DNA was worse than that of patients with low methylation, 50% (12/24) vs 15/15, with statistically significant difference ( χ2=10.833, P=0.001). The level of LAMA3 DNA methylation had a significant impact on the progression free survival and overall survival of EOC patients (both P<0.05). Conclusion:The level of LAMA3 DNA methylation has certain diagnostic and predictive value for platinum resistance and prognosis in EOC patients, which may be closely related to the regulatory mechanism, platinum resistance and prognosis of EOC.

Eleven compounds were isolated and purified from the ethyl acetate part of 80% ethanol extract of Ferula feruloides root by a combination of normal-phase silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 dextran gel column chromatography and semi-preparative liquid chromatography and then modern wave spectrometry methods (NMR, MS, UV, IR) were used to identify the structures of the compounds, which were identified as baigene D (1), baigene E (2), baigene F (3), β-kirialovin (4), α-kirialovin (5), falcarindiol (6), ammoresinol (7), dshamirone (8), 2,3-dihydro-7-hydroxy-2S*,3R*-dimethyl-3-[4-methyl-5-(4-methy1-2-furyl)-3(E)-pentenyl]-furo[3,2-c]coumarin (9), 2,3-dihydro-7-hydroxy-2S*,3R*-dimethyl-2-[4,8-dimethyl-3(E),7-nonadi-enyl]-furo[3,2-c]coumarin (10), and baigene C (11). Compounds 1-3 are new coumarin analogues, and compounds 4-6 are firstly isolated from F. feruloides. The anti-proliferative activity of compounds 5, 7-11 against human gastric cancer (MKN-45) cells was evaluated using MTT assay, which showed that compounds 7-11 exhibited strong inhibitory activity, and compound 5 exhibited weak inhibitory activity.

Objective: To analyze the trends in disease burden of tuberculosis among children under 5 years of age in China from 1990 to 2021, so as to provide insights for future tuberculosis control measures among children in China. Methods: Based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 datasets, the incidence, prevalence, mortality and disability adjusted life year(DALY) of tuberculosis of children under 5 years of age in China and globally were collected from 1990 to 2021. The incidence, prevalence, mortality and DALY rate of tuberculosis were compared by genders and types. In addition,the annual percent change(APC) and the average annual percent change(AAPC) of children s tuberculosis burden in China and globally from 1990 to 2021 were calculated by using the Joinpoint regression model, and the changing trends were analyzed. Results: The numbers of incident, prevalent and dead tuberculosis cases were 9 700, 8 477 800 and 200 among children under 5 years of age in China in 2021, and the DALY due to tuberculosis were 27 100 person years. There were significant reductions in incidence, prevalence, mortality and DALY rate of tuberculosis among children under 5 years of age in China ( AAPC =-5.45%, -1.14%, -12.37%, -11.34 %) and globally( AAPC =-2.38%, -1.41%, -4.66%, -4.56%), and the reductions in the incidence, mortality and DALY rate were more significant in China than globally ( P <0.05).In 1992 and later, the numbers of incident, prevalent and dead tuberculosis cases and the DALY of tuberculosis were higher among male than among female. In addition, the disease burden of drug susceptible tuberculosis appeared a tendency of downward in China from 1990 to 2021, while the incidence and prevalence of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis rose since 2015. Conclusions The disease burden of tuberculosis remarkably reduced among children under 5 years of age in China from 1990 to 2021. However, the burden of disease due to multidrug resistant tuberculosis appeared an upward trend recently. Increased attention is required to be paid to the prevention and control of tuberculosis among children and improved diagnosis and treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis are recommended.

Objective To explore the feasibility and accuracy of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)in the prediction of testicular torsion(TT)in children with acute scrotal pain.Methods A retrospective case-control study was performed on 158 pediatric patients with ultrasound suspicion of TT who underwent surgical testicular examination during Jan.2017 and Jan.2024.The patients were divided into TT group and non-TT group.Clinical data and laboratory data at admission were analyzed.Sensitivity and specificity of NLR to TT were determined with the area under the curve(AUC)represented on the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.Results There were with no statistically significant differences in clinical data between the two groups(P＞0.05).The NLR was significantly higher in the TT group than in the non-TT group[(4.82±2.37)vs.(2.85±0.75),P＜0.05].The optimal cut-off value of TT predicted by NLR was 2.07,the AUC was 0.809(95％CI:0.709-0.909),and the sensitivity and specificity were 97.9％and 93.3％,respectively,which were significantly higher than other factors.Conclusion For suspicious ultrasound diagnosis of pediatric acute scrotal pain cases,NLR can be used to predict the possibility of TT and may help to evaluate the urgent surgical treatment in these patients.