Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered to be a manifestation of metabolic syndrome and has become one of the chronic diseases that endanger health around the world. There is still a lack of effective therapeutic drugs in clinical practice. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been a popular target for NAFLD research in recent years. Fexaramine (Fex) is a potent and selective agonist of FXR, and its mechanism of action to improve NAFLD is unclear. Therefore, in this study, a mouse model of NAFLD was constructed using a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet and treated with Fex orally for 6 weeks. We evaluated the ameliorative effect of Fex on disorders of glucolipid metabolism in NAFLD mice, and preliminarily explored its potential mechanism of action. The animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval number: PZSHUTCM210913011). In this study, it was found that 100 mg·kg^-1 Fex significantly inhibited body weight gain, alleviated insulin resistance, improved liver injury and lipid accumulation in NAFLD mice. The effect of Fex on the expression of hepatic intestinal FXR and its target genes in NAFLD mice was further examined. Analysis of serum and hepatic bile acid profiles and expression related to hepatic lipid metabolism. It was found that Fex could stimulate intestinal FXR, promote fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) secretion, inhibit the expression of cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1 (CYP7A1), the rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis in liver, regulate bile acid synthesis by negative feedback, and improve the disorder of bile acid metabolism. At the same time, Fex reduces liver lipid synthesis and absorption, increases fatty acid oxidation, thus improving liver lipid metabolism. This study shows that Fex can improve NAFLD by activating intestinal FXR-FGF15 signal pathway and regulating liver lipid metabolism.

Objective: To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics including composition of pathogens , clinical characteristics, and disease prognosis acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in Chinese children. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and laboratory data of 1 610 children <15 years of age with ABM in 33 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were divided into different groups according to age,<28 days group, 28 days to <3 months group, 3 months to <1 year group, 1-<5 years of age group, 5-<15 years of age group; etiology confirmed group and clinically diagnosed group according to etiology diagnosis. Non-numeric variables were analyzed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, while non-normal distrituction numeric variables were compared with nonparametric test. Results: Among 1 610 children with ABM, 955 were male and 650 were female (5 cases were not provided with gender information), and the age of onset was 1.5 (0.5, 5.5) months. There were 588 cases age from <28 days, 462 cases age from 28 days to <3 months, 302 cases age from 3 months to <1 year of age group, 156 cases in the 1-<5 years of age and 101 cases in the 5-<15 years of age. The detection rates were 38.8% (95/245) and 31.5% (70/222) of Escherichia coli and 27.8% (68/245) and 35.1% (78/222) of Streptococcus agalactiae in infants younger than 28 days of age and 28 days to 3 months of age; the detection rates of Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae were 34.3% (61/178), 14.0% (25/178) and 13.5% (24/178) in the 3 months of age to <1 year of age group; the dominant pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and the detection rate were 67.9% (74/109) and 44.4% (16/36) in the 1-<5 years of age and 5-<15 years of age . There were 9.7% (19/195) strains of Escherichia coli producing ultra-broad-spectrum β-lactamases. The positive rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and blood culture were 32.2% (515/1 598) and 25.0% (400/1 598), while 38.2% (126/330)and 25.3% (21/83) in CSF metagenomics next generation sequencing and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection. There were 4.3% (32/790) cases of which CSF white blood cell counts were normal in etiology confirmed group. Among 1 610 children with ABM, main intracranial imaging complications were subdural effusion and (or) empyema in 349 cases (21.7%), hydrocephalus in 233 cases (14.5%), brain abscess in 178 cases (11.1%), and other cerebrovascular diseases, including encephalomalacia, cerebral infarction, and encephalatrophy, in 174 cases (10.8%). Among the 166 cases (10.3%) with unfavorable outcome, 32 cases (2.0%) died among whom 24 cases died before 1 year of age, and 37 cases (2.3%) had recurrence among whom 25 cases had recurrence within 3 weeks. The incidences of subdural effusion and (or) empyema, brain abscess and ependymitis in the etiology confirmed group were significantly higher than those in the clinically diagnosed group (26.2% (207/790) vs. 17.3% (142/820), 13.0% (103/790) vs. 9.1% (75/820), 4.6% (36/790) vs. 2.7% (22/820), χ²=18.71, 6.20, 4.07, all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the unfavorable outcomes, mortility, and recurrence between these 2 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The onset age of ABM in children is usually within 1 year of age, especially <3 months. The common pathogens in infants <3 months of age are Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae, and the dominant pathogen in infant ≥3 months is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Subdural effusion and (or) empyema and hydrocephalus are common complications. ABM should not be excluded even if CSF white blood cell counts is within normal range. Standardized bacteriological examination should be paid more attention to increase the pathogenic detection rate. Non-culture CSF detection methods may facilitate the pathogenic diagnosis.
Adolescent ; Brain Abscess ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Subdural Effusion ; beta-Lactamases

ObjectiveIn the past， many studies have reported the mode of colorectal cancer（CRC） metastasis， but there is still a lack of research based on long-term follow-up and death as the end point to summarize the location， mode and related survival data of CRC metastasis. MethodsThe data of 373 dead patients with colorectal cancer in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were reviewed， and the location， mode， incidence and survival data of tumor metastasis were statistically analyzed. Results334 patients （89.5%） died of tumor related death. The liver metastasis rate was 51.5%， the lung metastasis rate was 40.4%， and the peritoneal metastasis rate was 55.7%. The number of patients with liver， lung or peritoneal metastasis only was 27 （8%）， 21 （6.3%） and 63 （18.9%） respectively. The prognosis of patients with simple lung metastasis was better （P<0.01）. There were 66 patients （19.7%） with simultaneous metastasis of liver， lung and peritoneum， and the prognosis was the worst （P<0.01）. ConclusionNot all dead colorectal cancer patients have simultaneous metastasis of liver， lung and peritoneum. There are differences in the location and mode of metastasis in different patients， which is related to survival.

Objective To provide reference for formulating scarlet fever prevention and control strategies by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics and predicting the incidence trend of scarlet fever. Methods Spearman correlation analysis, clustering analysis, seasonal index model and seasonal ARIMA model were used for analysis and prediction. Results The average annual incidence of scarlet fever in 2010-2018 was 1.37/100 000, and there was a positive correlation between annual incidence and year (rs=0.817,P=0.007). April-June and November-December were high incidence months. The clustering analysis was significant(F=4795.30，P<0.001), showing that the high-incidence areas are Shennongjia, Yichang, Enshi, Wuhan. Reported cases were concentrated in 1-14 years old, mainly for students, child care children and scattered children. The incidence rate of males was higher than that of females. The optimal model is ARIMA(0,1,1)(0,1,0)12. The prediction showed that the monthly incidence characteristics of 2019 were consistent with previous years, and the annual incidence rate was 10.22/100 000(95% CI:2.33/100 000-30.43/100 000), which was higher than the incidence of 2018. Conclusions The incidence of scarlet fever in Hubei Province is generally on the rise from 2010 to 2018. The incidence is bimodal. Students are the main disease group. The incidence rate of males is higher. The incidence is mainly concentrated in the mountainous areas of southwest and capital cities. The ARIMA model has a good applicability in the prediction of scarlet fever. The incidence level will continue to rise in 2019, and it is necessary to strengthen monitoring and control measures with reference to epidemiological characteristics.

Objective: To observe the effect of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine polysaccharides(PRPCAP)on airway mucus secretion in rats with allergic asthma, in order to study the material basis of the "macromolecule" component of the polysaccharides as the original medicinal materials. Method: The 60 SPF-grade Wistar rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of chicken ovalbumin (OVA) and aluminum-magnesium adjuvant, except for the normal control group. The OVA solution was aerosolized to establish a rat model of allergic asthma. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, namely allergic asthma model group, positive drug group (montalurast sodium,5 mg·kg^-1), high-dose PRPCAP group (400 mg·kg^-1), middle-dose PRPCAP group (200 mg·kg^-1) and low-dose PRPCAP group (100 mg·kg^-1). The contents of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) supernatant were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the count of eosinophils (EOS) was detected by BALF sediment. The histopathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining in lung tissue. The mRNA expression of mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) was detected by Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR). Result: Compared with the normal control group, serum IL-4 level in the allergic asthma model group was significantly increased (P<0.01), IFN-γ level was significantly decreased (P<0.01), and EOS counts in BALF were significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the allergic asthma model group, the positive drug group, and high, middle, and low-dose PRPCAP groups could significantly reduce the serum IL-4 content (P<0.01), while high and middle-dose PRPCAP groups could significantly reduce the content of IL-4 in BALF (P<0.05, P<0.01), the middle-dose PRPCAP group could significantly increase the content of IFN-γ in serum (P<0.05), EOS counts in BALF were significantly lower in the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups (P<0.01). HE staining showed the pathological changes in the lung tissue of the allergic asthma model group and a mitigating effect in the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups. Compared with the normal control group, the expression of MUC5AC mRNA in the lung tissue of rats with allergic asthma was significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the model group of allergic asthma rats, the positive drug group and all of PRPCAP groups showed significant decrease in MUC5AC mRNA (P<0.01). Conclusion: The "macromolecule" component of polysaccharides in the Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine may be the material basis for the efficacy of eliminating dampness and eliminating phlegm.

OBJECTIVETo explore the molecular basis for three pedigrees affected with hypophosphatemia vitamin D resistant rickets (X-linked hypophosphatemia, XLH).

METHODSPeripheral blood samples from the three pedigrees were collected. Following DNA extraction, the 11 exons and flanking regions of the PHEX gene were subjected to PCR amplification and direct sequencing. Pathogenicity of identified mutations was evaluated through genotype-phenotype correlation.

RESULTSFor pedigrees 1 and 2, pathogenic mutations were respectively identified in exon 8 (c.871C>T, p.R291X) and exon 15 (c.1601C>T, p.P534L) of the PHEX gene. For pedigree 3, a novel mutation (c.1234delA, p.S412Vfs*12) was found in exon 11 of the PHEX gene, which caused shift the reading frame and premature termination of protein translation.

CONCLUSIONThe three mutations probably account for the XLH in the affected pedigrees. The discovery of novel mutations has enriched the spectrum of PHEX gene mutations.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is prevalent in obesity and is associated with many metabolic abnormalities. The relationship between OSAS and bone metabolism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of OSAS and bone metabolic markers. Methods: A total of 119 obese males were enrolled in this study in spring months from 2015 to 2017. All candidates underwent polysomnography, and their bone mineral density (BMD) and the serum levels of total procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (t-P1NP), N-terminal midfragment of osteocalcin (N-MID), β-C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (β-CTX), vitamin D (VD), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured. The analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis were performed for data analyses. Results: No significant differences in the mean values of BMD were observed among the obesity, mild-to-moderate OSAS, and severe OSAS groups; and the serum levels of t-P1NP and β-CTX in the severe OSAS group were significantly higher than those in the obesity group (48.42 ± 23.78 ng/ml vs. 31.98 ± 9.85 ng/ml, P < 0.001; 0.53 ± 0.24 ng/ml vs. 0.41 ± 0.13 ng/ml, P = 0.011, respectively). The serum level of VD in the obesity group was significantly higher than those in the mild-to-moderate and severe OSAS groups (both P < 0.001), and decreased as the severity of OSAS increased (P < 0.001). The serum level of PTH in the severe OSAS group was significantly higher than those in the obesity and mild-to-moderate OSAS groups (both P < 0.001). The results of correlation analysis indicated that the level of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was correlated with the levels of t-P1NP (r = 0.396, P < 0.001), VD (r = -0.404, P < 0.001), and PTH (r = 0.400, P < 0.001), whereas the level of minimum Osaturation (SaOmin) was correlated with the levels of VD (r = 0.258, P = 0.016) and PTH (r = -0.376, P < 0.001). Conclusions The levels of bone resorption and formation markers in patients with severe OSAS were significantly increased compared to obese men, and the severity of OSAS was correlated with the serum levels of t-P1NP, VD, and PTH.
Biomarkers ; blood ; Bone Density ; Bone and Bones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; complications ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; complications

The present study was designed to determine the relationships between the performance of ethanol precipitation and seven process parameters in the ethanol precipitation process of Re Du Ning Injections, including concentrate density, concentrate temperature, ethanol content, flow rate and stir rate in the addition of ethanol, precipitation time, and precipitation temperature. Under the experimental and simulated production conditions, a series of precipitated resultants were prepared by changing these variables one by one, and then examined by HPLC fingerprint analyses. Different from the traditional evaluation model based on single or a few constituents, the fingerprint data of every parameter fluctuation test was processed with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to comprehensively assess the performance of ethanol precipitation. Our results showed that concentrate density, ethanol content, and precipitation time were the most important parameters that influence the recovery of active compounds in precipitation resultants. The present study would provide some reference for pharmaceutical scientists engaged in research on pharmaceutical process optimization and help pharmaceutical enterprises adapt a scientific and reasonable cost-effective approach to ensure the batch-to-batch quality consistency of the final products.
Chemical Precipitation ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; chemistry ; Ethanol ; Injections ; Principal Component Analysis

The synthetic biology matures to promote the heterologous biosynthesis of the well-known drug paclitaxel that is one of the most important and active chemotherapeutic agents for the first-line clinical treatment of cancer. This review focuses on the construction and regulation of the biosynthetic pathway of paclitaxel intermediates in both Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In particular, the review also features the early efforts to design and overproduce taxadiene and the bottleneck of scale fermentation for producing the intermediates.
Alkenes ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; biosynthesis ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Diterpenes ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Metabolic Engineering ; Paclitaxel ; biosynthesis ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Prodrugs ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; metabolism ; Synthetic Biology

Objective To study the chemical kinetics characteristics in a new revised method with low usage amount of arsenic trioxide for determining urinary iodine by arsenite-ceric catalytic spectrophotometry using ammonium persulfate digestion,and to study the impact of operating bias in arsenite-ceric reaction temperature and reaction time on final results in this method.Methods The absorbances (A) of arsenite-ceric reaction of iodine standard series were measured at different reaction temperature and time,and the results were analyzed according to the chemical kinetics equation.The change values and half-life of A values of the new revised method and the current standard method were calculated.The chemical kinetics model of reaction system for this new revised method was deduced from experimental results.The calculation formula of result relative error for urinary iodine determination was deduced based on constants reaction temperature and reaction time and reaction rate constant factor.The result relative errors caused by operation deviation of reaction temperature or reaction time in the determination of urinary iodine were calculated.Results The usage amount of arsenious acid solution in the new revised method was only a quarter of usage amount of the current standard method(WS/T 107-2006).A values of each concentration of standard curve series at different reaction time t were obtained,the lnA to t mapping was a straight line,the linear correlation coefficients were-0.9995--0.9999.These results were in accord with the characteristic of chemical first-order reaction.Relationships between the reaction rate constant K and the reaction temperature T in the temperature range of 20-35 ℃ were well accord with Arrhenius equation.The A values and iodine concentrations (C) at various experimental temperatures showed good C =a + blnA linear relation,the absolute value of the linear correlation coefficient(｜ r ｜) ＞ 0.9990.After calculation and comparison of changes in the half-life of A values in the new revised method and in the original standard method at 20,25,30,35 ℃ reaction temperature,half-life of A values of 0-300 μg/L iodine standard series in the new revised method and in the original standard method were 191.0-11.4 min and 66.8-10.2 min at 25℃,respectively.Under the same conditions of 25 ℃ for 40 min,the gradient of A values of 0-300 μg/L iodine standard curve in the new revised method was similar to that of the original standard method(slope-133.7,-139.2,respectively).But differences between A values of standard curve and the reaction initial absorbance(A0) in the original standard method were 1.4 to 3.7 times those of the new revised method.A chemical kinetics model of reacting system for this method was established.A series of urinary iodine results relative error data were obtained when reaction temperature deviation was ± 1,± 0.5,± 0.3 ℃ or reaction time deviation was ± 1 min for sample test tubes.Data showed that relative errors of urinary iodine results caused by reaction temperature deviation or reaction time deviation in the new revised method were less than those of the original standard method.Conclusions The iodine-catalyzed arsenite-ceric reaction in the new revised method is a first-order reaction,when measuring 0-300 μg/L urinary iodine at 20-35 ℃,and 300-1200 μg/L urinary iodine at 20-30 ℃,the calibration relation of C =a + blnA is established when arsenite-ceric catalytic spectrophotometry is kept at a certain stable temperature and in certain stable reaction time.Compared with the original standard method,using the revised method with low usage amount of arsenic trioxide for measuring urinary iodine,the arsenite-ceric reaction rate is slow down.As a result,this method is easier to operate and has better precision and accuracy.