OBJECTIVE To investigate the induction of apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by polyphyllin 9 （PP9） through the regulation of the Fas/Fas ligand （FasL） signaling pathway， and its inhibitory effect on the growth of transplanted tumor in nude mice. METHODS Based on the screening of cell lines and intervention conditions， HepG2 cells were selected as the experimental subject to investigate the effects of 2 μmol/L and 4 μmol/L PP9 treatment on cell colony formation activity， apoptosis rate， as well as the protein expressions of Fas， FasL， cleaved caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-3. Additionally， Fas inhibitor KR- 33493 was introduced to investigate the underlying mechanism of PP9’s anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activity. Using HepG2 cell tumor-bearing nude mice model as the object， and 5-fluorouracil （20 mg/kg） as the positive control， the effects of 10 mg/kg PP9 on tumor volume， tumor mass， and the protein expressions of the nuclear proliferation-associated antigen Ki-67 and cleaved caspase-3 in tumor-bearing nude mice were investigated. RESULTS Compared with the control group， 2， 4 μmol/L PP9 significantly decreased the number of clones and the clone formation rate of cells， but significantly increased the apoptosis rate， the protein expressions of Fas， FasL， cleaved caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-3 （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. However， the combination of Fas inhibitor KR-33493 could significantly reverse the effect of PP9 on the up-regulation of proteins related to the Fas/FasL signaling pathway （P＜0.01）. Compared with the control group， the tumor volume （on day 27）， mass and protein expression of Ki- 67 in nude mice of the PP9 group were significantly decreased， while the protein expression of cleaved caspase-3 was significantly increased （P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS PP9 can induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells by activating the Fas/FasL signaling pathway. Meanwhile， PP9 can also effectively inhibit the growth of transplanted tumors in nude mice.

Objective:To investigate the molecular mechanisms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), to identify key cell subgroups and genes, to construct effective diagnostic models, and to screen for potential therapeutic drugs.Methods:Key cell subgroups in CRS were identified through single-cell transcriptomic sequencing data. Essential genes associated with CRS were selected and diagnostic models were constructed by hdWGCNA (high dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis) and various machine learning algorithms. Causal inference analysis was performed using Mendelian randomization and colocalization analysis. Potential therapeutic drugs were identified using molecular docking technology, and the results of bioinformatics analysis were validated by immunofluorescence staining. Graphpad Prism, R, Python, and Adobe Illustrator software were used for data and image processing.Results:An increased proportion of basal and suprabasal cells was observed in CRS, especially in eosinophilic CRS with nasal polyps (ECRSwNP), with P=0.001. hdWGCNA revealed that the "yellow module" was closely related to basal and suprabasal cells in CRS. Univariate logistic regression and LASSO algorithm selected 13 key genes ( CTSC, LAMB3, CYP2S1, TRPV4, ARHGAP21, PTHLH, CDH26, MRPS6, TENM4, FAM110C, NCKAP5, SAMD3, and PTCHD4). Based on these 13 genes, an effective CRS diagnostic model was developed using various machine learning algorithms (AUC=0.958). Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a causal relationship between CTSC and CRS (inverse variance weighted: OR=1.06, P=0.006), and colocalization analysis confirmed shared genetic variants between CTSC and CRS (PPH4/PPH3>2). Molecular docking results showed that acetaminophen binded well with CTSC (binding energy:-5.638 kcal/mol). Immunofluorescence staining experiments indicated an increase in CTSC +cells in CRS. Conclusion:This study integrates various bioinformatics methods to identify key cell types and genes in CRS, constructs an effective diagnostic model, underscores the critical role of the CTSC gene in CRS pathogenesis, and provides new targets for the treatment of CRS.

This article introduces the establishment of purchase-management separation system in a tertiary comprehen-sive hospital in Guangzhou as a case study.To realize high-quality development,this hospital standardized its procurement man-agement,strengthened prevention and control of risks in integrity,and implemented procurement project performance.By doing these,the hospital proposed a specific plan from multi-facets such as establishment of internal management system,separation of duty and right,and risk prevention and control.These measures clarified a links of whole procurement process,specified the du-ties,improved the communication between procurement and management.Consequently,procurement performance and efficiency were notably improved.Their achievements provide practical references for publish hospitals to establish purchase-management separation systems,thereby promoting high-quality development of public hospital.

Despite growing prevalence and incidence, the management of gout remains suboptimal. The intermittent nature of the gout makes the long-term urate-lowering therapy (ULT) particularly important for gout management. However, patients are reluctant to take medication day after day to manage incurable occasional gout flares, and suffer from possible long-term toxicity. Therefore, a safe and easy-to-operate drug delivery system with simple preparation for the long-term management of gout is very necessary. Here, a chitosan-containing sustained-release microneedle system co-loaded with colchicine and uricase liposomes were fabricated to achieve this goal. This microneedle system was confirmed to successfully deliver the drug to the skin and maintain a one-week drug retention. Furthermore, its powerful therapeutic potency to manage gout was investigated in both acute gouty and chronic gouty models. Besides, the drug co-delivery system could help avoid long-term daily oral colchicine, a drug with a narrow therapeutic index. This system also avoids mass injection of uricase by improving its stability, enhancing the clinical application value of uricase. In general, this two-drug system reduces the dosage of uricase and colchicine and improves the patient's compliance, which has a strong clinical translation.

Postoperative adhesion (PA) is currently one of the most unpleasant complications following surgical procedures. Researchers have developed several new strategies to alleviate the formation of PA to a great extent, but so far, no single measure or treatment can meet the expectations and requirements of clinical patients needing complete PA prevention. Chinese medicine (CM) has been widely used for thousands of years based on its remarkable efficacy and indispensable advantages CM treatments are gradually being accepted by modern medicine. Therefore, this review summarizes the formating process of PA and the efficacy and action mechanism of CM treatments, including their pharmacological effects, therapeutic mechanisms and advantages in PA prevention. We aim to improve the understanding of clinicians and researchers on CM prevention in the development of PA and promote the in-depth development and industrialization process of related drugs.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Tissue Adhesions/prevention & control* ; Industrial Development ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

The aluminum stress in acidic soil areas of China is an important abiotic stress factor that hampers the normal growth and development of plants and seriously affects the agricultural yield. The forms of plant resistance to aluminum stress are complex and diverse, which include secretion of organic acids, increase of rhizosphere pH, secretion of mucus, cell wall fixation of Al³⁺, organic acid chelation of Al³⁺ in cell solute, and vacuolar area isolation. Most of studies focus on analyzing conventional physiological characteristics, but in-depth molecular biological analyses are lacking. This review summarizes the mechanisms how plants adapt to acidic aluminum stress. This includes the effect of acid aluminum stress on plant growth and physiological metabolism, the two main physiological mechanisms of plant adaptation to acid aluminum stress (aluminum exclusion mechanism, aluminum tolerance mechanism), and the aluminum resistance related genes. Finally, this paper puts forward some prospects for further revealing the mechanism of plant adaptation to acid aluminum stress and excavating high-quality crops suitable for cultivation in acidic soils.
Acids ; Adaptation, Physiological ; Aluminum ; Crops, Agricultural/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Roots ; Soil/chemistry*

Cardiovascular diseases are the most important diseases that endanger national health, and its development process is complex and diverse. Various cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity, such as hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and atherosclerosis, are interrelated and interacted each other. Diet, as the main means of prevention and treatment, plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cardiovascular disease. Mori Fructus is one of the first ingredients that are listed in medicinal and edible food. With a wide range of applications in daily life, it contains polysaccharides(polysaccharide, APS), anthocyanins(anthocyanin, LCRA), flavonoids and other bioactive ingredients. With a wide range of antioxidant, anti-aging, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities, these materials exert effects in alleviating diabetes, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and other cardiovascular diseases. In this paper, we retrieved such databases as PubMed, Web of science, CNKI, VTTMS, Wan Fang, and collected literatures about the effect of single administration of mulberry on cardiovascular diseases in the past 15 years, with "mulberry and cardiovascular disease" as the key word, and summarized the latest progress. The results of many experimental studies have showed that different forms of mulberry can significantly alleviate obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, hyperlipidemia and hypertension, suggesting that the scope of action of Mori Fructus covers different pathological stages of cardiovascular diseases. This paper systematically analyzes and summarizes the application forms, efficacy and the existing problems of these experiments, and provides study thinking and development direction for the utilization and new product design of Mori Fructus-related products in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Antioxidants ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; Morus

Objective To determine the water absorption coefficient of single-flavor root and rhizome Chinese herbal medicine pieces at room temperature, and guide the water addition in the decoction process of decocting machine of Chinese herbal.Methods The water absorption coefficient of 222-flavor root and rhizome Chinese herbal medicine pieces were studied, the simulated prescriptions were decocted according to the recommended formula of the decocting machine manufacturer and the water absorption coefficient, and the amount of liquid were obtained by the two methods which were compared with the amount of liquid required.Results The water absorption coefficients of roots and rhizomes with different textures were quite different.The amount of liquid obtained according to the manufacturer′s recommended formula was quite different from the amount of liquid required and there was no rule to follow.The error of the amount of liquid obtained according to the water absorption coefficient and the amount of liquid required was small and regular.Conclusion The experimental determination of the water absorption coefficient of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces could guide the amount of water added to the decoction machine.

ObjectiveTo explore the application effect of outcome-based education model in clinical teaching for neurosurgery nursing students. MethodsBy convenience sampling, the nursing students on placement rotation in Department of Neurosurgery in Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University from August 2016 to July 2017 were selected and assigned into the control group (n=55), and those from August 2017 to July 2018 were put into the observation group (n=51). According to the requirements of the curriculum, the traditional teaching method was adopted for the control group, on the basis of that, the outcome-based education model was adopted for the observation group. The two groups of nursing students rotated in the Department of Neurosurgery for four weeks. Two independent sample t-test was used to compare the score of theoretical achievement, clinical achievement, Clinical Communication Ability Scale and Problem-solving Ability Scale between the two groups. ResultsThe average theoretical and operational scores of nursing students in the control group were (91.71±3.28) and (89.38±5.39) respectively. The average theoretical and operational scores of nursing students in the observation group were (94.06±2.73) and (91.71±4.67), respectively. There were significantly statistical differences between the two groups (P＜0.05). The total score of Clinical Communication Ability Scale of nursing students in the observation group was (90.08±7.43), higher than that of the control group (83.38 ±7.07), there were significantly statistical differences between the two groups (P＜ 0.01);the scores of Problem-solving Ability Scale of nursing students in the observation group were higher than that of the control group (P＜ 0.01), there was significantly statistical difference between the two groups. ConclusionsThe outcome-based education model in clinical teaching for neurosurgery nursing students can effectively improve the nursing students' theoretical and operational performance, enhance their clinical communication skills and problem-solving ability and is conducive to cultivating excellent practical talents in clinical practice.

Objective To evaluate the effects of assisted reproduction technology ( ART) on gestational weight gain ( GWG) and glucose metabolism .Methods The study was performed in ART women with single-ton and full-term delivery .Age-and pre-pregnancy body mass index matched healthy women with spontaneous pregnancy, singleton, and full-term delivery were recruited as controls .Maternal characteristics (height, age, education level , pre-pregnancy body mass , pre-delivery body mass , medical history , history of abortion , fasting plasma glucose , triglyceride , total cholesterol , and glucose tolerance ) and fetal data ( delivery mode , gender , birth body mass , birth body length ) were collected by a trained nutritionist .Results A total of 200 women were recruited into this study (53 ART women and 147 controls).There was no significant difference in number of previous abortion ( the ratio between the women who had ≥3 abortions to those who had <3 abortions was 6∶47 in the ART group , and 10∶137 in the control group , χ2 =1.080 , P=0.299 ) .Compared with the control group, the ART group had higher education level (33 in the ART and 85 in the control group with un-dergraduate or higher education , 20 in the ART group and 62 in the control group with a college degree or lower education ,χ2 =6.303 , P=0.012 ) .There were no statistically significantly differences between the ART and the control groups in pre-pregnancy body mass index [ (22.00 ±3.05 ) kg/m2 vs.(21.81 ±2.62 ) kg/m2 , P=0.661] and average GWG [ (13.89 ±5.33) kg vs.(14.78 ±4.60) kg, P=0.247].GWG was appro-priate in 22 ART women, excess in 18, and inadequate in 13;in the control group, GWG was appropriate in 66 women, excess in 54, and inadequate in 27.The distribution of GWG showed no significant difference be-tween the two groups (χ2 =1.162 , P=0.247 ) .Oral glucose tolerance test in 24-28 gestational weeks showed no significant difference in fasting blood glucose between the ART and the control groups [ (4.66 ±0.39) mmol/L vs.(4.66 ±0.52) mmol/L, P=0.996], but 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose levels were significantly in-creased in the ART women [ ( 7.87 ±1.83 ) mmol/L vs.( 7.31 ±1.51 ) mmol/L, P=0.034; ( 7.49 ± 1.29) mmol/L vs.(6.69 ±1.30) mmol/L, P=0.029].The overall prevalence of gestational diabetes melli-tus was 13.5%(27/200), with no significant difference between the ART and the control groups (18.9%vs. 11.6%, P=0.182 ) .Conclusion ART may not affect GWG , but it may cause changes of glucose metabo-lism during pregnancy .