Objective:To investigate the effect of anthoxanthin on the proliferation and apopto-sis of human gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 and its possible mechanism.Methods:SGC7901 was cultured in the medium containing different concentrations(0,20,40,80 μ mol/L)of antho-cyanin.Hoechst staining,MTT colorimetry and flow cytometry were used to verify the effect of Form on the inhibition rate,cell cycle,nuclear morphology and apoptosis.Western Blotting was used to test the level of β-Catenin、p-β-Catenin,CyclinD1,CDK4,p-AKT,AKT,BCL-2,BAX,caspase3 and other proteins.The mRNA expression of BCL-2,CDK4,CDK6,AKT,CyclinD1,BAX,Caspase3 was detected by RT-PCR.Results:MTT results showed that the inhibitory effect of Form on SGC7901 was concentration dependent and time dependent.Hoechst staining showed that the cells in the experimental group(20,40,80 μ mol/L),the phenomenon of pyknosis and dissolution of the nucleus,even granular aggregation after rupture.Flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate of the experimental group(20 μ mol/L,40 μ mol/L,80 μ mol/L)was 17.0％,21.5％,32.5％respectively after treated with different concentrations of Form for 48 hours,which was positively correlated with the drug concentration.RT-PCR showed that caspase3 and BAX mRNA expression increased with the increase of Form intervention concentration(P＜0.01);the mRNA expression of BCL-2,CDK4,CDK6,AKT,CyclinD1 decreased(P＜0.01).WB results showed that β-Catenin、p-β-Catenin,Cy-clinD1,CDK4 and p-AKT,AKT,BCL-2 decreased with the increase of Form intervention concentra-tion(P＜0.01);The relative expression of caspase3,BAX and other proteins increased(P＜0.01).Con-clusion:Form can promote apoptosis of SGC7901,and the possible mechanism is to inhibit Wnt/β-Catenin signal;it also mediates the activation of Caspase family.

OBJECTIVE: A core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) scheme to genotype and identify potential risk clonal groups (CGs) in Proteus mirabilis. METHODS: In this work, we propose a publicly available cgMLST scheme for P. mirabilis using chewBBACA. In total 72 complete P. mirabilis genomes, representing the diversity of this species, were used to set up a cgMLST scheme targeting 1,842 genes, 635 unfinished (contig, chromosome, and scaffold) genomes were used for its validation. RESULTS: We identified a total of 205 CGs from 695 P. mirabilis strains with regional distribution characteristics. Of these, 159 unique CGs were distributed in 16 countries. CG20 and CG3 carried large numbers of shared and unique antibiotic resistance genes. Nine virulence genes ( papC, papD, papE, papF, papG, papH, papI, papJ, and papK) related to the P fimbrial operon that cause severe urinary tract infections were only found in CG20. These CGs require attention due to potential risks. CONCLUSION This research innovatively performs high-resolution molecular typing of P. mirabilis using whole-genome sequencing technology combined with a bioinformatics pipeline (chewBBACA). We found that the CGs of P. mirabilis showed regional distribution differences. We expect that our research will contribute to the establishment of cgMLST for P. mirabilis.
Genome, Bacterial ; Proteus mirabilis/genetics* ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Genotype

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact in Asia and has placed significant burden on already stretched healthcare systems. We examined the impact of COVID-19 on the safety attitudes among healthcare workers (HCWs), as well as their associated demographic and occupational factors, and measures of burnout, depression and anxiety. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study utilising snowball sampling was performed involving doctors, nurses and allied health professions from 23 hospitals in Singapore, Malaysia, India and Indonesia between 29 May 2020 and 13 July 2020. This survey collated demographic data and workplace conditions and included three validated questionnaires: the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. We performed multivariate mixed-model regression to assess independent associations with the SAQ total percentage agree rate (PAR). RESULTS: We obtained 3,163 responses. The SAQ total PARs were found to be 35.7%, 15.0%, 51.0% and 3.3% among the respondents from Singapore, Malaysia, India and Indonesia, respectively. Burnout scores were highest among respondents from Indonesia and lowest among respondents from India (70.9%-85.4% vs. 56.3%-63.6%, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that meeting burnout and depression thresholds and shifts lasting ≥12 h were significantly associated with lower SAQ total PAR. CONCLUSION Addressing the factors contributing to high burnout and depression and placing strict limits on work hours per shift may contribute significantly towards improving safety culture among HCWs and should remain priorities during the pandemic.
Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Pandemics ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Burnout, Psychological ; Health Personnel

Objective: To establish a nomogram prognostic model for predicting the 5-, 10-, and 15-year overall survival (OS) of non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients managed with radical nephrectomy (RN), compare the modelled results with the results of pure pathologic staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the Mayo Clinic Stage, Size, Grade, and Necrosis (SSIGN) score commonly used in foreign countries, and stratify the patients into different prognostic risk subgroups. Methods: A total of 1 246 non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients managed with RN in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) from 1999 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to screen the variables that influence the prognosis for nomogram establishment, and the bootstrap random sampling was used for internal validation. The time-receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the calibration curve and the clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) were applied to evaluate the nomogram. The prediction efficacy of the nomogram and that of the pure pathologic staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the SSIGN score was compared through the area under the curve (AUC). Finally, patients were stratified into different risk subgroups according to our nomogram scores. Results: A total of 1 246 patients managed with RN were enrolled in this study. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age, smoking history, pathological nuclear grade, sarcomatoid differentiation, tumor necrosis and pathological T and N stages were independent prognostic factors for RN patients (all P<0.05). A nomogram model named SYSUCC based on these factors was built to predict the 5-, 10-, and 15-year survival rate of the participating patients. In the bootstrap random sampling with 1 000 iterations, all these factors occurred for more than 800 times as independent predictors. The Harrell's concordance index (C-index) of SYSUCC was higher compared with pure pathological staging [0.770 (95% CI: 0.716-0.823) vs 0.674 (95% CI: 0.621-0.728)]. The calibration curve showed that the survival rate as predicted by the SYSUCC model simulated the actual rate, while the clinical DCA showed that the SYSUCC nomogram has a benefit in certain probability ranges. In the ROC analysis that included 857 patients with detailed pathological nuclear stages, the nomogram had a larger AUC (5-/10-year AUC: 0.823/0.804) and better discriminating ability than pure pathological staging (5-/10-year AUC: 0.701/0.658), Karakiewicz nomogram (5-/10-year AUC: 0.772/0.734) and SSIGN score (5-/10-year AUC: 0.792/0.750) in predicting the 5-/10-year OS of RN patients (all P<0.05). In addition, the AUC of the SYSUCC nomogram for predicting the 15-year OS (0.820) was larger than that of the SSIGN score (0.709), and there was no statistical difference (P<0.05) between the SYSUCC nomogram, pure pathological staging (0.773) and the Karakiewicz nomogram (0.826). The calibration curve was close to the standard curve, which indicated that the model has good predictive performance. Finally, patients were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk subgroups (738, 379 and 129, respectively) according to the SYSUCC nomogram scores, among whom patients in intermediate- and high-risk subgroups had a worse OS than patients in the low-risk subgroup (intermediate-risk group vs. low-risk group: HR=4.33, 95% CI: 3.22-5.81, P<0.001; high-risk group vs low-risk group: HR=11.95, 95% CI: 8.29-17.24, P<0.001), and the high-risk subgroup had a worse OS than the intermediate-risk group (HR=2.63, 95% CI: 1.88-3.68, P<0.001). Conclusions: Age, smoking history, pathological nuclear grade, sarcomatoid differentiation, tumor necrosis and pathological stage were independent prognostic factors for non-metastasis renal cell carcinoma patients after RN. The SYSUCC nomogram based on these independent prognostic factors can better predict the 5-, 10-, and 15-year OS than pure pathological staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the SSIGN score of patients after RN. In addition, the SYSUCC nomogram has good discrimination, agreement, risk stratification and clinical application potential.
Humans ; Nomograms ; Retrospective Studies ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell/pathology* ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Nephrectomy ; Kidney Neoplasms/pathology* ; Necrosis

Objective: To establish a nomogram prognostic model for predicting the 5-, 10-, and 15-year overall survival (OS) of non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients managed with radical nephrectomy (RN), compare the modelled results with the results of pure pathologic staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the Mayo Clinic Stage, Size, Grade, and Necrosis (SSIGN) score commonly used in foreign countries, and stratify the patients into different prognostic risk subgroups. Methods: A total of 1 246 non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients managed with RN in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) from 1999 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to screen the variables that influence the prognosis for nomogram establishment, and the bootstrap random sampling was used for internal validation. The time-receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the calibration curve and the clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) were applied to evaluate the nomogram. The prediction efficacy of the nomogram and that of the pure pathologic staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the SSIGN score was compared through the area under the curve (AUC). Finally, patients were stratified into different risk subgroups according to our nomogram scores. Results: A total of 1 246 patients managed with RN were enrolled in this study. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age, smoking history, pathological nuclear grade, sarcomatoid differentiation, tumor necrosis and pathological T and N stages were independent prognostic factors for RN patients (all P<0.05). A nomogram model named SYSUCC based on these factors was built to predict the 5-, 10-, and 15-year survival rate of the participating patients. In the bootstrap random sampling with 1 000 iterations, all these factors occurred for more than 800 times as independent predictors. The Harrell's concordance index (C-index) of SYSUCC was higher compared with pure pathological staging [0.770 (95% CI: 0.716-0.823) vs 0.674 (95% CI: 0.621-0.728)]. The calibration curve showed that the survival rate as predicted by the SYSUCC model simulated the actual rate, while the clinical DCA showed that the SYSUCC nomogram has a benefit in certain probability ranges. In the ROC analysis that included 857 patients with detailed pathological nuclear stages, the nomogram had a larger AUC (5-/10-year AUC: 0.823/0.804) and better discriminating ability than pure pathological staging (5-/10-year AUC: 0.701/0.658), Karakiewicz nomogram (5-/10-year AUC: 0.772/0.734) and SSIGN score (5-/10-year AUC: 0.792/0.750) in predicting the 5-/10-year OS of RN patients (all P<0.05). In addition, the AUC of the SYSUCC nomogram for predicting the 15-year OS (0.820) was larger than that of the SSIGN score (0.709), and there was no statistical difference (P<0.05) between the SYSUCC nomogram, pure pathological staging (0.773) and the Karakiewicz nomogram (0.826). The calibration curve was close to the standard curve, which indicated that the model has good predictive performance. Finally, patients were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk subgroups (738, 379 and 129, respectively) according to the SYSUCC nomogram scores, among whom patients in intermediate- and high-risk subgroups had a worse OS than patients in the low-risk subgroup (intermediate-risk group vs. low-risk group: HR=4.33, 95% CI: 3.22-5.81, P<0.001; high-risk group vs low-risk group: HR=11.95, 95% CI: 8.29-17.24, P<0.001), and the high-risk subgroup had a worse OS than the intermediate-risk group (HR=2.63, 95% CI: 1.88-3.68, P<0.001). Conclusions: Age, smoking history, pathological nuclear grade, sarcomatoid differentiation, tumor necrosis and pathological stage were independent prognostic factors for non-metastasis renal cell carcinoma patients after RN. The SYSUCC nomogram based on these independent prognostic factors can better predict the 5-, 10-, and 15-year OS than pure pathological staging, the Karakiewicz nomogram and the SSIGN score of patients after RN. In addition, the SYSUCC nomogram has good discrimination, agreement, risk stratification and clinical application potential.
Humans ; Nomograms ; Retrospective Studies ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell/pathology* ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Nephrectomy ; Kidney Neoplasms/pathology* ; Necrosis

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Nitrogen fertilizer has been the long-lasting crucial component in cultivation of Chinese materia medica(CMM) and crops for its profound effects on enhancing the productivity. In consideration of its role in better production, intensive and excessive application of N fertilizer is often found in CMM cultivation. Therefore, firstly, this review summarized various concentrations of N application with regards to different CMM and districts from the literatures published in the last two decades. The recommended concentration of nitrogen application of forty seven CMM species were covered in this review. We found that the optimum rates of nitrogen fertili-zer for different medicinal plants species were varied in the range between 0-1 035.55 kg·hm~(-2). Most of the optimum rates of nitrogen fertilizer for CMM in published researches fell between 100-199 kg·hm~(-2). The optimum rate of nitrogen fertilizer is not only related to amount of nitrogen required for different medicinal plants but also to soil fertilities of different fields. In addition, we outlined the diffe-rent effects of proper and excessive nitrogen deposition on yield of CMM. Proper nitrogen deposition benefits the yield of CMM, howe-ver, excessive nitrogen use accounts for a decrease in CMM yield. We elucidated that nutritional content, water use efficiencies, and photosynthesis capacity were major influencing factors. Researches showed that proper nitrogen fertilizer could promote the water use efficiencies of plants and boost photosynthesis. Consequently, the yield of CMM can be enhanced after nitrogen deposition. However, negative effects of nitrogen fertilizer were also found on plant including producing toxic substances to the soil and causing severe pest damages. Lastly we analyzed the impact of N fertilizer application on secondary metabolites which accounts for a large part of active pharmaceutical ingredients of CMM. It usually caused an increase in nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content and a decrease in non-nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content respectively. The potential underlying mechanisms are the different synthetic pathways of these metabolites and the plant nutritional status. Synthesis of non-nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites like phenols can be inhibited after nitrogen application because of the competition of the same precursor substances between metabolites synthesis and plant growth. To sum up, impacts and mechanisms of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and quality enhancement of CMM were discussed in this review. Negative effects of excessive nitrogen application on CMM should be paid special attention in CMM cultivation and prescription fertilization based on the field soil quality is strongly recommended. Overall, this review aims to provides insights on improving the proper application of N fertilizer in the cultivation of CMM.
Agriculture ; China ; Fertilizers ; Materia Medica ; Nitrogen/analysis* ; Soil

Nitrogen fertilizers play an important role in the regulation of plant stress resistance. Impacts of nitrogen fertilizers on abiotic stress resistance and biotic stress resistance of Chinese materia medica(CMM) were summarized in this study. Adequate nitrogen application improves the abiotic stress resistance and weed resistance of CMM, however adverse effect appears when excess nitrogen is used. Generally, pest resistance decreases along with nitrogen deposition, while effects of nitrogen application on disease resistance vary with different diseases. Mechanisms underlying the impact of nitrogen fertilizers on plant stress resistance were also elucidated in this study from three aspects including physical defense mechanisms, biochemistry mechanisms and molecular defense mechanisms. Nitrogen availability modulates physical barrier of CMM like plant growth, formation of lignin and wax cuticle, and density of stomata. Growth of CMM promoted by nitrogen fertilizer may cause some decrease in pest resistance of CMM due to an increase in hiding places for pest along with plant growth. High ambient humidity caused by excessive plant growth facilitates the growth and development of CMM pathogen. Nitrogen application can also interfere with the accumulation of lignin in CMM which makes CMM more vulnerable to pest and pathogen attack. Stomatal closing delays due to nitrogen application is also a causal factor of increasing pathogen infection after nitrogen deposition. Biochemical defenses of plants are mainly achieved through nutrient elements, secondary metabolites, defense-related enzymes and proteins. Nutritional level of CMM and various antioxidant enzymes and resistance-related protein activities are elevated along with nitrogen deposition. These antioxidant enzymes can reduce the damage of reactive oxygen species content produced by plant in response to adversity and therefore enhance stress resistance of CMM. Researches showed that nitrogen application could also cause an increase in nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content and a decrease in non-nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content respectively. Nitrogen-mediated molecular defense mechanisms includes multiple plant hormones and nitric oxide signals. Plant hormones related to plant defense like salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and abscisic acid can be modulated by nitrogen application. Negative effect of nitrogen deposition was found on salicylic acid accumulation and the expression of related plant disease resistance genes. However, jasmonic acid level can be elevated by nitrogen. Nitric oxide signals constitute an important part of nitrogen mediated defense mechanisms. Nitric oxide signaling is related to many aspects of plant immunity. The roles of nitrogen fertilizers in CMM stress resistance are complex and may vary with different CMM varieties and environments. Further studies are urgently needed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to improve stress resistance of CMM by using fertilizers.
Abscisic Acid ; China ; Materia Medica ; Nitrogen ; Plant Growth Regulators

Chrysanthemi Indici Flos(CIF), the capitulum of Chrysanthemum indicum, is widely used in proprietary Chinese medicine and daily chemical products. At present, CIF is mainly produced from wild resources and rarely cultivated. This study aims to reveal the correlations between linarin content in CIF and climatic factors in different habitats, and provide a theoretical basis for suitable zoning and rational production of medicinal materials. The content of linarin in CIF was determined by HPLC. Grey relational analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were carried out for linarin content with climatic factors. The results showed that the content of linarin in CIF was significantly different among different habitats. The grey relational degrees of climatic factors with linarin content was in an order of average annual precipitation>annual average sunshine hours>annual average temperature>longitude>annual frost-free period>latitude>altitude. Longitude, annual average temperature and average annual precipitation had significantly positive correlations with the content of linarin in CIF, whereas latitude and altitude showed negative correlations with it. The annual frost-free period and annual average sunshine hours had no significant correlation with the content of linarin in CIF. The content of linarin in CIF varied significantly in different habitats. High longitude, low latitude, low altitude, high annual average temperature and high annual average precipitation could be used as indicators for the habitats of high-quality Ch. indicum. This study provides a reference for selecting suitable producing areas of Ch. indicum and establishing artificial cultivation system.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chrysanthemum ; Ecosystem ; Glycosides