A QuEChERS-ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for qualitative screening of 169 veterinary drug residues in bear bile powder, including β-agonists and inhibitors, antibiotics (penicillins, β-lactams, sulfomamides, quinolones, chloramphenicals, tetracyclines, nitroimidazoles, macrolides, polyethers, etc.), antiviral drugs, anthelminitics, steroid hormones, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and sedatives. The samples were extracted by Na₂EDTA-McIlvaine buffer solution and 5% fomic acid-acetonitrile solution, then purified by dispersive solid phase extraction. Detection of veterinary drug residues by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was conducted and qualitative confirmed by ion ratios. The limits of detection of 169 veterinary drugs were 1-1 000 μg·kg^-1. The method is simple and fast, which had been used for the analysis of actual samples, and can be extended to the detection of similar matrix.

Melanoma is a malignant tumor with a high degree of malignancy. The incidence of melanoma keeps increasing annually. In this study, a melanoma targeted hyaluronic acid (HA) nanogel was synthesized via crosslinking of thiolated HA with terminally functionalized F127-TPGS mixed micelles. Its stability in vitro was evaluated by the average particle size, and the cytotoxicity of the nanogel was investigated by in vitro cell based assays. Next, cell uptake studies were performed to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the uptake of the nanogels in B16F10 cells. A small sized nanogel with a diameter of 30 nm was synthesized, which was proven to be minimally cytotoxic against both 3T3 or B16F10 cells. Compared with 3T3 cells with low levels of CD44, B16F10 cells with high levels of CD44 showed significantly higher cell uptake efficiency (P<0.05).

The whole chloroplast genome ofthe medicinal plant Paeonia mairei H. Lév. was sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform and then assembled, annotated, and characterized by bioinformatic methods in this study. The complete chloroplast genome of P. mairei is 152 731 bp in length with the typical quadripartite structure, which consists of a large single copy-region (LSC, 84 402 bp), a small single copy-region (SSC, 16 969 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb, 25 680 bp), with an overall GC content of 38.4%. A total of 136 predicted genes, including 90 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes and eight rRNA genes were identified. Among these, seven protein-coding genes, seven tRNA genes and four rRNA genes were found duplicated in the IR regions. In addition, 28 dispersed repeats, 10 tandem repeats, and 64 simple sequence repeats were detected within the whole chloroplast genome of P. mairei. Comparative analyses between 12 Peaonia species showed that the chloroplast genomes are highly conserved in length, gene content, gene order, and GC content. Meanwhile, the noncoding sequences (intergenic regions and introns) show a higher variation than the protein coding sequences, and sequences from the LSC region and SSC region are more variable than those from the IR regions. P. mairei was inferred forming in a distinct clade with P. lactiflora, P. obovate, and P. anomala subsp. veitchii with a 100% bootstrap value and is phylogenetically closest to P. lactiflora. These results may provide a basis for further genetic studies and the development and utilization of medicinal P. mairei.

A new carbazole alkaloid was isolated from the aqueous extract of the stems of Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels by various chromatographic methods, including HPD-100, PRP-512A, silica gel, and reverse phase C18. Its structure was determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods, including UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D/2DNMR and ECD. Compound 1, named as Claulamine F, showed no antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, compound 1 exhibited no cytotoxicity on five kinds of cancer cells through MTT methods.

Objective    To assess the feasibility and safety of percutaneous transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) guided by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in outpatients. Methods    From December 2016 to June 2018, 50 simple ASD patients underwent TTE-guided transcatheter closure in the outpatient operating room of our hospital (a TTE group) including 22 males and 28 females at the age of 16-48 (27.40±6.95) years. Fifty patients with simple ASD treated with the guidance of conventional fluoroscopy during the same period were treated as a control group, including 22 males and 28 females at the age of 15-48 (28.58±6.96) years. Both groups were re-examined by TTE during follow-up at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Results    The mean age, body weight, the size of ASD and occluder and success rate had no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the TTE group had significantly lower mean operation time (P<0.01) and less cost (P<0.01) since patients need not to be hospitalized. No related complications were found in the TTE group during follow-up. Conclusion    Percutaneous transcatheter closure of ASD guided by TTE appears safe and effective for outpatients, and can significantly reduce the cost.

Purpurolides D-F (1-3), three new polyoxygenated bergamotanes bearing a 6/4/5/5 tetracyclic ring system, were isolated from the endophytic fungus Penicillium purpurogenum IMM 003. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic data analyses, C NMR chemical shifts calculations coupled with the DP4+ probability method, and the calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compounds 1-3 showed significant inhibitory activity against pancreatic lipase (PL). The result highlights that the presence of 3-hydroxylated decanoic acid moiety at C-14 is important for increasing the inhibition potency against PL.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of the Chinese medicine (CM) Qixiong Zhongzi Decoction (, QZD) in the treatment of patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia. METHODS: A total number of 66 patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia were included and randomly divided into treatment and control groups by SAS-generated code from January 2015 to August 2016, 33 patients in each group. Patients in the treatment group were administered with 150 mL of QZD twice a day, whereas those in the control group were given 1 g of levocarnitine oral liquid twice a day. The two groups received the indicated medication for 12 weeks and were then followed up for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was sperm motility, and the secondary therapeutic indices were sperm volume, density, pregnancy probability, and CM syndrome score. The comparison between groups was carried out at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. The safety was determined before and after treatment. RESULTS: (1) Drop-off: 5 cases (7.58%) were lost after treatment (2 from the treatment group and 3 from the control group). (2) Primary outcomes: after 8- and 12-week treatment, the progressive sperms in the two groups were significantly higher than the baseline (all P<0.05); however, the treatment group showed greater improvement compared with the control group at 12-week treatment (22.7% ± 9.0% vs. 14.1% ±8.8%, P<0.05). The increasement of non-progressive grade sperms at both groups was observed at 8- and 12-week treatment with statistical difference (all P<0.05), however, the treatment group showed remarkable improvement compared with the control group at 12-week treatment (38.7% ±14.1% vs. 26.2% ±15.4%, P<0.05). (3) Secondary outcomes: no significant statistical differences were found in semen volume and density (4, 8, and 12-week treatment) and pregnancy probability of patients' wives (12-week treatment) between two groups (all P>0.05), however, the CM syndrome score of the treatment group significantly declined compared with baseline level at each time points (all P<0.05). (4) Safety: no obvious side reactions were found during the treatment in both groups. CONCLUSION QZD could improve the progressive and non-progressive grade sperm in the treatment of idiopathic asthenozoospermia. It is safe with no obvious side effects.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of incretin-based therapies on body weight as the primary outcome, as well as on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) as secondary outcomes. Methods: Databases including Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Standard pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis (NMA) were both carried out. The risk of bias (ROB) tool recommended by the Cochrane handbook was used to assess the quality of studies. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, and quality evaluation based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) were also performed. Results: A total of 292 trials were included in this study. Compared with placebo, dipeptidyl-peptidase IV inhibitors (DPP-4Is) increased weight slightly by 0.31 kg [95% confidence interval ( ): 0.05, 0.58] and had negligible effects on BMI and WC. Compared with placebo, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) lowered weight, BMI, and WC by -1.34 kg (95% : -1.60, -1.09), -1.10 kg/m (95% : -1.42, -0.78), and -1.28 cm (95% : -1.69, -0.86), respectively. Conclusion GLP-1 RAs were more effective than DPP-4Is in lowering the three indicators. Overall, the effects of GLP-1 RAs on weight, BMI, and WC were favorable.

OBJECTIVE: To study the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in promoter region of the Jk gene and its allele frequency as well as distribution characteristics in the Chinese Han nationality population. METHODS: 127 blood samples containing 8 Jk(a-b-) and 119 samples (as control) taken randomly from voluntary blood donors of Chinese Han nationality persons in Shenzhen Blood Center were collected. The Kidd phenotypes were identified by using the serologic test and urea hemolysis test; the Jk promoter, exon 1-11 region and respective flanking area were amplified and sequenced, then the sequence information was analyzed. RESULTS: 8 Jk(a-b-) samples all carried JkB/JkB allele which belongs to 2 kind of Jk genotypes commonly observed in Chinese Han nationality population. 6 IVS5-1g>a and 2 896G>A were found in 8 Jk(a-b-) samples. Besides, all Jk(a-b-) samples were homozygous for JkB/JkB allele. Three SNPs-110(rs900974), -160(rs1484877) and -258(rs1484878) in promoter region of the Jk gene were found and sequenceds calculation of allele and genotype frequencies showed that the result accorded with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, indicating that the population in this study possesses representative characteristics of the Chinese Han nationality population. CONCLUSION The polymorphism of the Jk gene occurs in promoter region. This study calculates the allele frequencies of three SNPs-110(rs900974), -160(rs1484877) and -258(rs1484878) in promoter region of the Jk gene, and shows their distribution characteristics in distinct Kidd phenotypes. These findings provide the basic foundation for further population genetics research.

OBJECTIVE: To establise the bank of platelet donors with the human platelet antigen (HPA) 1-6, 15 genes so as to provide the HPA-matched platelets for the patients. METHODS: The HPA genotyping of platelets donors and patients with platelet antibody positive confirmed by sercening was performed by using the SSP-PCR; the efficacy of transfusing the HPA-matched platelets for 37 cases platelet antibody positive was analyzed. RESULTS: The most common genotype in platelet donors were HPA-1a/1a-2a/2a-3a/3b-4a/4a-5a/5a-6a/6a-15a/15b, followed by HPA-1a/1a-2a/2a-3a/3a-4a/4a-5a/5a-6a/6a-15a/15b; the most common genotype in 53 cases of platelet antibody positive confirened by screening were HPA-1a/1a-2a/2a-3a/3b-4a/4a-5a/5a-6a/6a-15a/15b. Among 37 patients with platelet antibody positive confirened by screeming, 28 showed that the transfusion of HPA-matched platelets was effective with statistically significant difference in comparison with random transfusion group. The HPA-3, HPA-15 were the main factors leading to polymorphisms. CONCLUSION HPA-3 and HPA-15 are polymorphic, which should be focused on. HPA-matched platelets can improve the efficiency of platelet transfusion, and avoid the waste of blood resources. The genotypes of platelet donors can basically meet the requirements for common genotype transfusion.