This study aimed to explore the application value of new biological specimen oral fluid in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and antibody detection. Oral fluid and paired respiratory and blood specimens from 7 confirmed cases of two COVID-19 cluster epidemic were collected in Beijing from October to November 2021. SARS-CoV-2 virus and IgG antibody were detected by real time PCR kits and serum antibody detection reagents, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody in oral fluids was detected by a new established method of magnetic particle chemiluminescence. The results showed that the nucleic acid amplification test of SARS-CoV-2 on nasopharyngeal swabs, throat swabs and oral fluid specimens from 3 confirmed cases of COVID-19 was positive, among which the Ct value for ORF1a/b and N gene of oral fluid samples in 2 cases was close to that of throat swab, and the Ct value of oral fluid sample for 1 case was higher than that of throat swab. The complete genome sequence of one oral fluid specimen was obtained, which belonged to the VOC/Delta variant strain. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies of the paired oral fluid and serum were all positive, and the S/CO values of oral fluid were all lower than those of serum. The series of oral fluid results showed that SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody level increased from 11 to 32 days after the onset of the disease.
COVID-19/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Nucleic Acids ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Sensitivity and Specificity

We investigated the therapeutic effects of superoxide dismutase (SOD) from thermophilic bacterium HB27 on chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and its underlying mechanisms. A Sprague-Dawley rat model of CP/CPPS was prepared and then administered saline or Thermus thermophilic (Tt)-SOD intragastrically for 4 weeks. Prostate inflammation and fibrosis were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and Masson staining. Alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), serum creatinine (CR), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were assayed for all animals. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were performed to analyze serum cytokine concentrations and tissue levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. Reactive oxygen species levels were detected using dichlorofluorescein diacetate. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of tissue cytokines was analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and infiltrating inflammatory cells were examined using immunohistochemistry. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) P65, P38, and inhibitor of nuclear factor-κBα (I-κBα) protein levels were determined using western blot. Tt-SOD significantly improved histopathological changes in CP/CPPS, reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis, increased pain threshold, and reduced the prostate index. Tt-SOD treatment showed no significant effect on ALT, AST, CR, or BUN levels. Furthermore, Tt-SOD reduced inflammatory cytokine expression in prostate tissue and increased antioxidant capacity. This anti-inflammatory activity correlated with decreases in the abundance of cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3), cluster of differentiation 45 (CD45), and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP1α) cells. Tt-SOD alleviated inflammation and oxidative stress by reducing NF-κB P65 and P38 protein levels and increasing I-κBα protein levels. These findings support Tt-SOD as a potential drug for CP/CPPS.
Animals ; Chronic Pain ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Male ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Pelvic Pain/pathology* ; Prostatitis/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Syndrome

Aim To investigate the effeet of Eehinaeo- side ( ECH ) regulating the expression of prohibitin (PHB) on MPP+ -induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y eells and the underlying mechanism.Methods SH-SY5Y eells were seleeted and divided into control group, MPP+ group, MPP+ + ECH group, NC + MPP + group, NC + MPP+ + ECH group, PHB-RNAi + MPP + + ECH group.Cell survival rate was determined by CCK-8 assay.Cell morphology was observed using an inverted phase contrast mieroscope; the apoptotie eells were observed by Hoechst33342 fluorescence staining, whereas apoptotie rate, reactive oxygen speeies eon- tent, and mitochondrial membrane potential were ana¬lyzed by flow eytometry.The relative protein expres¬sions of PHB, Akt, p-Akt, Bel-2, Bax, and cleaved- easpase3 were determined by Western blot.Results Compared with eontrol group, the eell survival rate of MPP+ group signifieantly deereased.The growth state of the eells beeame significantly worse.Intracellular ROS content inereased, mitoehondrial membrane po tential decreased, apoptosis-related protein expression increased and the apoptotic rate increased.Compared with MPP+ group, MPP+ + ECH group significantly increased cell viability.The growth status of cells was significantly improved.Intracellular ROS content de¬creased, mitochondrial membrane potential increased, apoptosis-related protein expression decreased, and the apoptotic rate decreased significantly.The expression levels of PHB and p-Akt significantly increased.Com¬pared with NC + MPP+ + ECH group, p-Akt level de¬creased and the cell apoptotic rate increased in PHB- RNAi +MPP+ + ECH group.Conclusions Echino- side can reduce MPP + - induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, which may be realized by upregulating PHB ex¬pression and phosphorylation of Akt to protect mito¬chondrial function.

OBJECTIVETo exam the effect and safety of conventional acupuncture (CA) on cardiac arrhythmia.

METHODSNine medical databases were searched until February 2016 for randomized controlled trials. Heterogeneity was measured by Cochran Q test. Meta-analysis was conducted if I was less than 85% and the characteristics of included trials were similar.

RESULTSNine qualified studies involving 638 patients were included. Only 1 study had definitely low risk of bias, while 7 trials were rated as unclear and 1 as high. Meta-analysis of CA alone did not have a significant benefit on response rate compared to amiodarone in patients with atrial fibrillation (Af) and atrial flutter (AF) [relative risk (RR): 1.09; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79-1.49; P=0.61; I=61%, P=0.11]. However, 1 study with higher methodological quality detected a lower recurrence rate of Af in CA alone as compared with sham acupuncture plus no treatment, and benefits on ventricular rate and time of conversion to normal sinus rhythm were found in CA alone group by 1 study, as well as the response rate in CA plus deslanoside group by another study. Meta-analysis of CA plus anti-arrhythmia drug (AAD) was associated with a significant benefit on the response rate when compared with AAD alone in ventricular premature beat (VPB) patients (RR, 1.19, 95% CI: 1.05-1.34; P=0.005; I=13%, P=0.32), and an improvement in quality-of-life score (QOLS) of VPB also showed in 1 individual study. Besides, a lower heart rate was detected in the CA alone group by 1 individual study when compared with no treatment in sinus tachycardia patients (MD-21.84 [-27.21,-16.47]) and lower adverse events of CA alone were reported than amiodarone.

CONCLUSIONSCA may be a useful and safe alternative or additive approach to AADs for cardiac arrhythmia, especially in VPB and Af patients, which mainly based on a pooled estimate and result from 1 study with higher methodological quality. However, we could not reach a robust conclusion due to low quality of overall evidence.

Acupuncture Therapy ; adverse effects ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; therapy ; Atrial Fibrillation ; therapy ; Atrial Flutter ; therapy ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Treatment Outcome ; Ventricular Premature Complexes ; therapy

Twenty-eight compounds were isolated and purified from Clinopodium chinense by Sephedax LH-20, ODS, MCI and preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified as apigenin (1), apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside (3), thellungianol (4), apigenin-7-O-β-D-rutinoside (5), luteolin (6), luteolin-4'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), apigenin-7-O-β-D-pyranglycuronate butyl ester (8), luteolin-7-O-β-D-rutinoside (9), luteolin-7-O-β-D-noehesperidoside (10), acacetin (11), acacetin-7-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside (12), buddleoside (13), naringenin (14), pruning (15), nairutin (16), isosakuranetin (17), isosakuranin (18), didymin (19), hesperidin (20), kaempferol (21), quercetin (22), kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rahmnoside (23), p-hydroxycinnamic acid (24), caffeic acid (25), cis-3-[2-[1-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-1 -hydroxymethyl]-1,3-ben-zodioxol-5-yl]-(E)-2-propenoic acid (26), mesaconic acid (27), gentisic acid 5-O-β-D-(6'-salicylyl)-glucopyranoside (28). Among them, compounds 7, 9-10, 12, 23, 26-28 were isolated from the Clinopodium for the first time. The protective effects of compounds 1-6, 8-17 and 19 against H2O2-induced H9c2 cardiomyocyte injury were tested, compounds 15 exhibited significantly protective effects. Compared with the cell viability of (62.12±6.18)% in the model, pruning exhibited viabilities of (84.25±7.36)% at 25.0 mg•L⁻¹, respectively, using quercetin as a positive control [cell viability of (84.55±8.26)%, 20 mg•L⁻¹].

This study analysed the changes of the soil micro-ecology in the process of soil sterilization, green manure returning farmlands and fertilization. The methods of soil improvement was initially built which ensured the successful proceed of ginseng cultivation in farmlands. The soil chemical properties were analysed, the diversity and composition of bacterial community after soil sterilization, sterilization+green manure returning farmlands and sterilization+green manure returning farmlands+fertilization. The results exhibited that measures of soil improvement decreased the pH, increased soil fertility, declined the diversity of bacterial community and changed the composition of soil bacterial community. The comprehensive measures of sterilization+green manure returning farmlands+fertilization decreased the ginseng death rate compared to the control. Our data indicated that soil micro-ecological environment was changed by the treatments of soil sterilization, sterilization+green manure returning farmlands and sterilization+green manure returning farmlands+fertilization, and comprehensive measures improved the survival rate and guaranteed the development of ginseng cultivation in farmlands.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between ambient air pollution and hospital emergency admissions in Beijing.

METHODSIn this study, a semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAM) was used to evaluate the specific influences of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, and NO2) on hospital emergency admissions with different lag structures from 2009 to 2011, the sex and age specific influences of air pollution and the modifying effect of seasons on air pollution to analyze the possible interaction.

RESULTSIt was found that a 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10 at lag 03 day, SO2 and NO2 at lag 0 day were associated with an increase of 0.88%, 0.76%, and 1.82% respectively in overall emergency admissions. A 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 at lag 5 day were associated with an increase of 1.39%, 1.56%, and 1.18% respectively in cardiovascular disease emergency admissions. For lag 02, a 10 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM10, SO2 and NO2 were associated with 1.72%, 1.34%, and 2.57% increases respectively in respiratory disease emergency admissions.

CONCLUSIONThis study further confirmed that short-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk of hospital emergency admissions in Beijing.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Air Pollution ; adverse effects ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Cities ; Emergency Medical Services ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Seasons ; Young Adult

The purpose of study was to analysis the clinical manifestation and treatment protocol of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) accompanied by craniopharyngioma so as to promote the understanding of this disease. The APL was diagnosed by morphologic examination of bone marrow cells, the leukemia bone marrow cells were analyzed by immunophenotyping technique, the qualitative and quantitative changes of PML-PARα fusion gene before and after treatment were monitored by using molecular biological test; the cytogenetic features were analyzed by using conventional karyotype and FISH analysis. The results indicated that the clinical manifestation of this disease was diverse and disease status was complex. The good therapeutic efficacy could be achieved, the misdiagnosis and delayed treatment could be avoided through early detection, timely treatment and multidisciplinary cooperation. It is concluded that when other clinical symptoms reappear after APL achieves remission, the possibility of second tumor must be considered, the clinical presentation should be carefully monitored, the early detection and timely treatment should be performed to improve the survival of patients.
Craniopharyngioma ; complications ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; complications

Phytoestrogens, which can bind with estrogen receptor and produce estrogen-like effects, are a kind of nonsteroidal compound in plant. Phytoestrogens chemically include isoflavones, coumarins, lignans and other compounds. Phytoestrogens are selective estrogen receptor modulator, and have therapeutical effects on breast cancer, prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and other disease, however, do not produce stimulatory hyperplasia effects on uterus, mammary glands and other tissues and organs with positive estrogen receptor. Long-term exposure or excessive use of phytoestrogens maybe affects male reproductive system and hematopoietic function of fetus. Some questions need to be further studied, such as evaluation criteria on biological activity, adverse effects, and action mechanism of phytoestrogen. This review covers plant sources, chemical structure, pharmacological activity and safety of phytoestrogens. It will provide a useful reference for intensive research and rational utilization the phytoestrogens.
Animals ; Humans ; Phytoestrogens ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

To observe the effect of various doses of oil of Piper longum unsaponifiable matter (OPUM) to cholesterol gallstones in experimental mice. C57BL/6 mice (n = 60) were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group, model group, OPUM (15, 30 and 60 mg x kg(-1)) group and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA, 60 mg x kg(-1)) group, administered for 10 weeks. The level of serum lipid and liver function enzymes were tested. The gallbladder was removed and bile was obtained by centrifugation. Next, the levels of the bile total cholesterol (TC), phospholipid (PL) and bile acid (TBA) were measured. The indicators of lipid peroxidation were determined and cholesterol saturation index (CSI) was calculated. The liver histological changes were observed by HE staining. The results showed that serum TC, TG (triglycerides) and AST (aspartate transaminase) contents, gallbladder cholesterol crystallization and CSI increased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the activity of SOD decreased significantly and MDA content increased significantly in liver (P < 0.05). HE staining results showed that the hepatic cord disorder and intracellular lipid droplets increased significantly. All results indicate that lithogenic diet lead to the formation of cholesterol gallstones. In OPUM (30 and 60 mg x kg(-1)) group, serum TC, TG and AST content, gallbladder cholesterol crystallization and CSI decreased significantly, the activity of SOD increased significantly and MDA content decreased significantly. HE staining results showed that OPUM can improve the morphology of liver cell, reduce the degree of hepatic cord disorders and restore the cell morphology close to normal. The cause of OPUM prevents cholesterol gallstone formation maybe due to protect the integrity of the liver cells, lower CSI, and reduce cholesterol crystal formation and hence prevent cholesterol gallstone formation.
Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Bile ; chemistry ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Gallbladder ; Gallstones ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Piper ; chemistry ; Plant Oils ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Triglycerides ; blood