Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of split liver transplantation (SLT) and living donor liver transplantation(LDLT) in the treatment of children with biliary atresia. Methods: The clinical data of 64 children with biliary atresia who underwent SLT and 44 children who underwent LDLT from June 2017 to May 2022 at Liver Surgery & Liver Transplantation Center,the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively analyzed. Among the children who received SLT, there were 40 males and 24 females. The median age at transplantation was 8 months (range:4 to 168 months). Among the patients who received LDLT, there were 24 males and 20 females. The age at transplantation ranged from 4 to 24 months,with a median age of 7 months. Sixty-four children with biliary atresia were divided into two groups according to the SLT operation time: 32 cases in the early SLT group(June 2017 to January 2019) and 32 cases in the technically mature SLT group (February 2019 to May 2022). Rank sum test or t test was used to compare the recovery of liver function between the LDLT group and the SLT group,and between the early SLT group and the technically mature SLT group. The incidence of postoperative complications was compared by χ² test or Fisher exact probability method. Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used for survival analysis. Results: The cold ischemia time(M (IQR)) (218 (65) minutes), intraoperative blood loss(175 (100) ml) and graft-to-recipient body weight ratio (3.0±0.7) in the LDLT group were lower than those in the SLT group(500 (130) minutes, 200 (250) ml, 3.4±0.8) (Z=-8.064,Z=-2.969, t=-2.048, all P<0.05). The cold ischemia time(457(158)minutes) and total hospital stay ((37.4±22.4)days) in the technically mature SLT group were lower than those in the early SLT group(510(60)minutes, (53.0±39.0)days).The differences were statistically significant (Z=-2.132, t=1.934, both P<0.05).The liver function indexes of LDLT group and SLT group showed unimodal changes within 1 week after operation. The peak values of ALT, AST, prothrombin time, activeated partial thromboplasting time, international normalized ratio, fibrinogen and creatinine all appeared at 1 day after operation, and the peak value of prothrombin activity appeared at 3 days after operation. All indicators returned to normal at 7 days after operation. The 1-,2-,and 3-year overall survival rates were 95.5% in LDLT group and 93.5% in the technically mature SLT group, and the difference was not statistically significant. The 1-,2-,and 3-year overall survival rates were 90.2% in the early SLT group and 93.5% in the technically mature SLT group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05). The main complications of the early SLT group were surgery-related complications(28.1%,9/32), and the main complications of the technically mature SLT group were non-surgery-related complications(21.9%,7/32). There were 5 deaths in the SLT group,including 4 in the early SLT group and 1 in the technically mature SLT group. Conclusion: The survival rate of SLT in the treatment of biliary atresia is comparable to that of LDLT.
Adolescent ; Biliary Atresia/surgery* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Creatinine ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Infant ; Liver Transplantation/methods* ; Living Donors ; Male ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; Prothrombin ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Depression is a serious mental illness with a high incidence. At present, we do not fully understand the specific pathological mechanisms of depression, and the efficacy of drug treatments is very limited. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic changes that occur in specific brain regions may be a key mechanism by which environmental factors to interact with individuals to influence the risk of depression. Therefore, drugs that target epigenetic regulation may become a new direction for the development of antidepressants. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are a class of compounds that inhibit histone deacetylase activity, which has been reported to be associated with depression; this article addresses the use of HDACi in preclinical studies, and their potential therapeutic role and limitations of use in depression.

Sanrentang， originally contained in the Regulations on Febrile Diseases written by WU Ju-tong in the Qing dynasty， was composed of eight traditional Chinese herbs to treat damp-warm diseases. It is a treatment method of gradually clearing away damp heat of tri-jiao， with characteristics of separating dispersion and mobilizing discharge. "Separating dispersion" means dispersion in separated ways， with different ways to eliminate dampness to export the dampness， heat， evil and turbid out of the body. "Mobilizing discharge" means discharge to stretch and unblock the Qi， to get rid of dampness and evil. It can be seen， Sanrentang， as a desiccating formula， taking "separating dispersion and mobilizing discharge" as the cubic basis， has a significant effect on both internal and external dampness associated with pathogenic heat syndrome， and its clinical application is quite extensive. After consulting the data of the past 10 years， the authors gave a brief overview on the syndrome theory， clinical application and pharmacological effects of Sanrentang， and elaborated the therapeutic effect and pharmacological effect of Sanrentang in the clinical application of upper， middle and lower Tri-jiao respectively， providing theoretical reference for effective development and utilization of Sanrentang. Coronavirus disease-2019（COVID-19） swept the world in early 2020 and it is a great challenge for the medical community to seek for effective prevention and treatment methods. For COVID-19， although the cause of the disease belongs to the Qi of "pestilence"， many doctors have different opinions on the pathogenic characteristics. However， they all agree with the clinical characteristics of "dampness". COVID-19， which has the attribute of "dampness evil"， is so sticky that it can't be cured at once. In addition to the main symptoms such as fever and cough， it is also characterized by the middle-jiao dampness symptoms such as poor appetite， fullness of abdomen， loose stool and diarrhea. It is worthy to further explore the application prospect of Sanrentang in COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

italic>N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) is a highly abundant brain metabolite. Nowadays, as an important marker reflecting the function of nervous system, NAA is widely used in the results analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H MRS). NAA is synthesized in mitochondria of neurons and metabolized in oligodendrocytes. Additionally, NAA may be converted to the dipeptide N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), and catabolized into NAA and glutamate in astrocytes. NAA is related to a variety of central nervous system diseases, including Canavan disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, schizophrenia and other mental diseases. Therefore, NAA may be a biomarker of these diseases, and its related enzymes may be used as therapeutic targets for drug screening. Here, we combined the current research on the molecular mechanisms of NAA to reveal the process of NAA generation, metabolism and transport in the brain, explain the possible physiological effects of NAA and discuss its relationship with central nervous system diseases, explore the prospect of NAA in disease prediction and diagnosis, as well as the targeted treatment that may become the breakthrough of refractory diseases.

This study aims to explore the change laws of water absorption in Chinese herbal pieces and establish the prediction model of relative density for Chinese medicine compound decoction. Firstly, fitted equations of water absorption and decocting time was established by observing the change laws of water absorption in 36 kinds of Chinese herbal pieces in 12 groups(according to the drug-parts) with decocting time. The r value of the mineral group and other type group was 0.691 2 and 0.663 3, respectively. The r value of the remaining 10 groups was 0.802 2-0.925 4. All P values were less than 0.05(n=21). The formula of the amount of water added was optimized by combining the fitted equations with determined water absorption, and the liquid yield could be controlled in a range of 100%±10%. Secondly, it was determined that the liquid density tester could be used for the rapid determination of relative density of Chinese medicine decoction after methodological study and comparison with the pycnometer method. The linear regression equation between the corrected relative density(y) and extraction ratio(%, x) was built by measuring and analyzing the related parameters such as liquid yield, relative density and extraction ratio in 46 kinds of Chinese herbal pieces. The established equation was y=0.041 3x+1.003 7, r=0.930 9(P <0.01, n=46), with linear range of 1.94%-65.75%. Based on this, the prototype model for predicting relative density of Chinese medicine decoction was established, and the relative densities of 8 Chinese medicine decoctions were within the prediction interval of this model in verification. This study lays a foundation for database construction of Chinese medicine decoction, implementation of personalized decocting mode and rapid quality control of Chinese medicine decoction.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Quality Control ; Specific Gravity ; Water

An ideal animal model of azoospermia would be a powerful tool for the evaluation of spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) transplantation. Busulfan has been commonly used to develop such a model, but 30%-87% of mice die when administered an intraperitoneal injection of 40 mg kg^-1. In the present study, hematoxylin and eosin staining, Western blot, immunofluorescence, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to test the effects of busulfan exposure in a mouse model that received two intraperitoneal injections of busulfan at a 3-h interval at different doses (20, 30, and 40 mg kg^-1) on day 36 or a dose of 40 mg kg^-1 at different time points (0, 9, 18, 27, 36, and 63 days). The survival rate of the mice was 100%. When the mice were treated with 40 mg kg^-1 busulfan, dramatic SSC depletion occurred 18 days later and all of the germ cells were cleared by day 36. In addition, the gene expressions of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), chemokine (C-X-C Motif) ligand 12 (CXCL12), and colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) were moderately increased by day 36. A 63-day, long-term observation showed the rare restoration of endogenous germ cells in the testes, suggesting that the potential period for SSC transplantation was between day 36 and day 63. Our results demonstrate that the administration of two intraperitoneal injections of busulfan (40 mg kg^-1 in total) at a 3-h interval to mice provided a nonlethal and efficient method for recipient preparation in SSC transplantation and could improve treatments for infertility and the understanding of chemotherapy-induced gonadotoxicity.
Adult Germline Stem Cells/transplantation* ; Animals ; Azoospermia/chemically induced* ; Busulfan/toxicity* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Infertility, Male/chemically induced* ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Male ; Mice ; Spermatogenesis/drug effects* ; Spermatogonia/drug effects* ; Stem Cell Transplantation/methods*

In order to understand the difference of contents of coelonin,batatasin Ⅲ and 3'-O-methylbatatasin Ⅲ in 60 different sources of Bletilla striata planted under the same conditions. UPLC method was used and the analysis was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column( 2. 1 mm×100 mm,1. 7 μm),eluted with acetonitril-0. 1% formic acid solution by gradient. The flow rate was 0. 208 m L·min-1,the detection wavelength was 270 nm,the column temperature was 35 ℃ and the injection volume was 4μL. Under the above chromatographic conditions,the three components can be separated well with good linearity in the range of 0. 156-5. 000 mg·L-1. The average contents of coelonin,batatasin Ⅲ and 3'-O-methylbatatasin Ⅲ were( 0. 116 ± 0. 071) %,( 0. 386 ±0. 185) % and( 0. 086±0. 034) %,respectively. After planting for two years under the same conditions,there was no significant difference in chemical composition among different sources and varieties,but the contents of the three components had some regional differences,which indicated that the western region was higher than the eastern region,while the contents of coelonin and batatasin Ⅲ in B.sinensis were slightly higher than those in B. striata. The chromatographic method above is simple,stable and reproducible,and can be used for quantitative analysis of three components. The content analysis of different sources of B. striata can provide reference for future B. striata breeding and quality control.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Orchidaceae ; chemistry ; Quality Control

Through the textual research, resource investigation, literature reviews (including Flora of China, municipal Flora, pharmacopoeia of China and municipal drug standards) and identification of commercial drugs on Cuscutae Semen, it was found the species described in the herbal textual was Cuscuta chinensis, with good quality from Shandong and Henan Province. The identification of commodities showed the majority drugs were from C. australis, varied from the ancient herbal textuals .Mordern literature reviews indicate that it was necessary to strengthen the research on Cuscutae Semen from C. australis, C. chinensis and C. japonica because of their differences in resources, macroscopical and microscopical characters, while wrong descriptions in some literatures. It was suggested that the two species (C. australis and C. chinensis) should be separated in pharmacopoeia of China. The study provides scientific basis for the development and utilization of Cuscutae Semen.

Objective To examine the effect of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Coix lacryma-jobi stem on the growth of mouse S180 sarcoma cells in mice.Methods Tumor growth inhibition assays were performed using both aqueous and ethanol extracts of Coix lacryma-jobi stem.Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) Kunming mice,6-8 weeks old,were inoculated with 1 × 107 cells · mL-1 S180 sarcoma cells in a volume of 0.4 mL The next day,the mice were randomly divided into blank group,control group,experimental-H,experimental-M,experimental-L doses groups,and administered with 0.9％ NaC1,cyclophosphamide (20 μg · g-1 · d-1) or Coix lacryma-jobi stem extract (1 000,500,250 mg · kg-1 · d-1) respectively by gavage or tail vein injection for 10 d.The tumor and spleen were dissected and weighed.The tumor inhibition rate was calculated.Results Tumor growth inhibition ratios in the experimental-H,experimental-M,experimental-L groups by the aqueous extract of Coix lacryma-jobi stem were 32.11％,75.63％ and 11.41％,respectively.Tumor growth inhibition ratios for experimental-H,experimental-M,experimental-L groups by the ethanol extract of Coix lacryma-jobi stem groups were 77.09％,80.03％ and 73.52％,respectively.Conclusion Each dose of water or ethanol extract of Coix iacryma-jobi stem was able to inhibit the growth of S180 sarcoma to a degree,and exhibited few adverse reactions.The optimal dose of the aqueous extract was 500 mg · kg-1 · d-1.