Platycodonis Radix is the dry root of Platycodon grandiflorum of Campanulaceae, which has a variety of pharmacological effects and is a commonly used bulk Chinese medicine. In this study, the chloroplast genome sequences of six P. grandiflorum from different producing areas has been sequenced with Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform. The specific DNA barcodes were screened, and the germplasm resources and genetic diversity were analyzed according to the specific barcodes. The total length of the chloroplast genome of 6 P. grandiflorum samples was 172 260-172 275 bp, and all chloroplast genomes showed a typical circular tetrad structure and encoded 141 genes. The comparative genomics analysis and results of amplification efficiency demonstrated that trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF were the potential specific DNA barcodes for identification the germplasm resources of P. grandiflorum. A total of 305 P. grandiflorum samples were collected from 15 production areas in 9 provinces, for which the fragments of trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF were amplificated and the sequences were analyzed. The results showed that trnG-UCC and ndhG_ndhF have 5 and 11 mutation sites, respectively, and 5 and 7 haplotypes were identified, respectively. The combined analysis of the two sequences formed 13 haplotypes (named Hap1-Hap13), and Hap4 is the main genotype, followed by Hap1. The unique haplotypes possessed by the three producing areas can be used as DNA molecular tags in this area to distinguish from the germplasm resources of P. grandiflorum from other areas. The haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity and genetic distance were 0.94, 4.79×10^-3 and 0.000 0-0.020 3, respectively, suggesting that the genetic diversity was abundant and intraspecific kinship was relatively close. This study laid a foundation for the identification of P. grandiflorum, the protection and utilization of germplasm resources, and molecular breeding.

Urban traffic is closely related to the daily life of the public,and air pollution in the traffic microenvironment has become a public health problem that cannot be ignored.This paper reviews the comparative studies of air pollutant exposure levels among different modes of transportation in multiple cities in China.By com-paring the exposure levels of pollutants among different modes of transportation,this paper provides a reference for protecting the health of the public in daily transportation and selecting targeted control measures.

Objective To explore the overall level,distribution characteristics,and differences in household fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) pollution caused by fuel burning in urban and rural areas in China. Methods The relevant articles published from 1991 to 2021 were retrieved and included in this study.The data including the average concentration of household PM_2.5 and urban and rural areas were extracted,and the stoves and fuel types were reclassified.The average concentration of PM_2.5 in different areas was calculated and analyzed by nonparametric test. Results The average household PM_2.5 concentration in China was (178.81±249.91) μg/m³.The mean household PM_2.5 concentration was higher in rural areas than in urban areas[(206.08±279.40) μg/m³ vs. (110.63±131.16) μg/m³;Z=-5.45,P<0.001] and higher in northern areas than in southern areas[(224.27±301.66) μg/m³ vs.(130.11±140.61) μg/m³;Z=-2.38,P=0.017].The north-south difference in household PM_2.5 concentration was more significant in rural areas than in urban areas[(324.19±367.94) μg/m³ vs.(141.20±151.05) μg/m³,χ²=-5.06,P<0.001].The PM_2.5 pollution level showed differences between urban and rural households using different fuel types (χ²=92.85,P<0.001),stove types (χ²=74.42,P<0.001),and whether they were heating (Z=-4.43,P<0.001).Specifically,rural households mainly used solid fuels (manure,charcoal,coal) and traditional or improved stoves,while urban households mainly used clean fuels (gas) and clean stoves.The PM_2.5 concentrations in heated households were higher than those in non-heated households in both rural and urban areas (Z=-4.43,P<0.001). Conclusions The household PM_2.5 pollution caused by fuel combustion in China remains a high level.The PM_2.5 concentration shows a significant difference between urban and rural households,and the PM_2.5 pollution is more serious in rural households.The difference in the household PM_2.5 concentration between urban and rural areas is more significant in northern China.PM_2.5 pollution in the households using solid fuel,traditional stoves,and heating is serious,and thus targeted measures should be taken to control PM_2.5 pollution in these households.
Humans ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis* ; Cooking ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; China ; Rural Population

OBJECTIVE: Clinical characteristics and outcome in COVID-19 with brucellosis patients has not been well demonstrated, we tried to analyze clinical outcome in local and literature COVID-19 cases with brucellosis before and after recovery. METHODS: We retrospectively collected hospitalization data of comorbid patients and prospectively followed up after discharge in Heilongjiang Infectious Disease Hospital from January 15, 2020 to April 29, 2022. Demographics, epidemiological, clinical symptoms, radiological and laboratory data, treatment medicines and outcomes, and follow up were analyzed, and findings of a systematic review were demonstrated. RESULTS: A total of four COVID-19 with brucellosis patients were included. One patient had active brucellosis before covid and 3 patients had nonactive brucellosis before brucellosis. The median age was 54.5 years, and all were males (100.0%). Two cases (50.0%) were moderate, and one was mild and asymptomatic, respectively. Three cases (75.0%) had at least one comorbidity (brucellosis excluded). All 4 patients were found in COVID-19 nucleic acid screening. Case C and D had only headache and fever on admission, respectively. Four cases were treated with Traditional Chinese medicine, western medicines for three cases, no adverse reaction occurred during hospitalization. All patients were cured and discharged. Moreover, one case (25.0%) had still active brucellosis without re-positive COVID-19, and other three cases (75.0%) have no symptoms of discomfort except one case fell fatigue and anxious during the follow-up period after recovery. Conducting the literature review, two similar cases have been reported in two case reports, and were both recovered, whereas, no data of follow up after recovery. CONCLUSION These cases indicate that COVID-19 patients with brucellosis had favorable outcome before and after recovery. More clinical studies should be conducted to confirm our findings.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Brucellosis ; COVID-19 ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome ; Case Reports as Topic

To address the increasing need for detecting and validating protein biomarkers in clinical specimens, mass spectrometry (MS)-based targeted proteomic techniques, including the selected reaction monitoring (SRM), parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), and massively parallel data-independent acquisition (DIA), have been developed. For optimal performance, they require the fragment ion spectra of targeted peptides as prior knowledge. In this report, we describe a MS pipe-line and spectral resource to support targeted proteomics studies for human tissue samples. To build the spectral resource, we integrated common open-source MS computational tools to assemble a freely accessible computational workflow based on Docker. We then applied the workflow to gen-erate DPHL, a comprehensive DIA pan-human library, from 1096 data-dependent acquisition (DDA) MS raw files for 16 types of cancer samples. This extensive spectral resource was then applied to a proteomic study of 17 prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Thereafter, PRM validation was applied to a larger study of 57 PCa patients and the differential expression of three proteins in prostate tumor was validated. As a second application, the DPHL spectral resource was applied to a study consisting of plasma samples from 19 diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and 18 healthy control subjects. Differentially expressed proteins between DLBCL patients and healthy control subjects were detected by DIA-MS and confirmed by PRM. These data demonstrate that the DPHL supports DIA and PRM MS pipelines for robust protein biomarker discovery. DPHL is freely accessible at https://www.iprox.org/page/project.html?id=IPX0001400000.

Background: The transcription factor paired box 8 (PAX8) was associated with type 2 congenital non-goitrous hypothyroidism (CHNG2), a clinical phenotype of congenital hypothyroidism (CH). Though studied in a few regions with different ethnicities, the incidence of PAX8 mutations varied, even among Chinese cohorts in different regions. This study aimed to identify and characterize PAX8 mutations and explore the prevalence of its mutations in another cohort of CH. Methods: The 105 unrelated Chinese patients with CH were collected from four major hospitals. Exomes of the 105 samples were sequenced by Hiseq 2000 platform to identify mutations of PAX8 on genomic DNAs extracted from peripheral blood samples. Luciferase reporter assays were used to assess the effects of mutations on the transcription of thyroid peroxidase (TPO). Results: Three PAX8 mutations in four subjects were identified in 105 samples. One variant, rs189229644, was detected in two subjects, and categorized as uncertain significance. The other two missense mutations (275T>C/Ile92Thr and 398G>A/Arg133Gln) were not detected in three large-scale genotyping projects, namely 1000 Genome Project, Exome Aggregation Consortium and GO Exome Sequencing Project. Functional studies for the two mutations revealed that they could impair the transcription ability of PAX8 on one of its target genes, TPO. Therefore, the two mutations were causative for the pathogenesis of CHNG2. After combining the studies of PAX8 mutations, an average frequency of 1.74% (21/1209) could be obtained in Chinese patients with CH. Conclusion The study specifically demonstrates the role of two mutations in impairing the transcription ability of PAX8, which should be considered as pathogenic variants for CH.

Objective: To explore the protective effect of formula of Gougancai decoction (FGD) on acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in rats, in order to provide basis for the development of pharmaceutical preparations or healthcare products. Method: Sixty rats were randomly divided into normal group, Silymarin group (120 mg·kg^-1) and FGD groups (475, 950, 1 900 mg·kg^-1). The normal group and the model group were given equal volume of saline by gavage, while the other groups were administered with the corresponding dose of drugs according to the body weight. After 10 days, the acute liver injury model was established with 12% carbon tetrachloride peanut oil solution (5 mL·kg^-1), except the normal group. All of the rats were put to death to collect serum and liver tissues. The contents of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TBIL), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were detected by biochemical methods, the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in liver tissues were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay(ELISA). Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) protein expression in liver tissues were detected by Western blot, and htoxylin eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the variation of liver histopathological. Result: Compared with the normal group, the serum activities of AST, ALT, ALP and the content of TBIL, MDA in the model group were significantly increased (P<0.01), the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 in liver tissue were remarkably increased (P<0.01), but the serum activities of SOD, GSH-Px were significantly decreased (P<0.01), the expression of NF-κB was enhanced in liver tissue (P<0.01), and PPAR-γ was down-regulated (P<0.01), indicating the successful modeling of acute liver injury. Compared with the model group, FGD could reduce the activities of AST, ALT, ALP and the contents of TBIL, MDA (P<0.05, P<0.01), decease the level of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 (P<0.05, P<0.01), and down-regulate the expression of NF-κB (P<0.05, P<0.01), but up-regulate the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and the expression of PPAR-γ (P<0.05, P<0.01). The liver tissue lesions were alleviated to varying degrees. Conclusion: FGD has a protective effect on CCl₄-induced acute liver injury in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the activation of PPAR-γ and the inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathway, with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects.

A proportion of patients experience acute or even prolonged cognitive impairment after surgery, a condition known as postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). It is characterized by impairment in different cognitive domains and neuroinflammation has been implicated as one of the inciting factors as strategies targeting inflammation tend to improve cognitive performance. Siegesbeckia Orientails L. (S. Orientails) is a common Chinese medicinal herb used for managing chronic inflammatory diseases. We investigated if pretreatment with S. Orientails before surgery confers any neuroprotective effects in postoperative animals in terms of reducing inflammation and mitigating cognitive impairment. Three-month-old male C57BL/6N mice were fed different doses of S. Orientails extract for 14 days before they underwent a laparotomy. After cognitive testing they were sacrificed on postoperative day (POD) 3. Our results showed that animals with extract pretreatment demonstrated memory improvement in a dose-dependent manner compared with control. Further, evidence for the attenuation of systemic and neuroinflammation was found in the pretreated animals, along with the inhibition of inflammatory pathways and significantly reduced tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Taken together, these results demonstrated a neuroprotective effect of S. Orientails in postoperative animals, indicating a therapeutic potential of S. Orientails in minimizing POCD and the possibility of utilizing this traditional Chinese medicine perioperatively.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cognition Disorders ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Inflammation* ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Memory ; Mice ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Phosphorylation ; Plants, Medicinal

OBJECTIVETo study the association between rs1079595 polymorphisms in the DRD2 gene and the distractibility in school-age children.

METHODSThe genotyping at rs1079595 was performed and the distractibility was measured based on the temperament questionnaire in 120 8-12 years old school-age children in order to analyze the effects of the rs1079595 polymorphism and its interaction with the gender, age and delivery mode on the distractibility.

RESULTSThere was an association between the distractibility and rs1079595 polymorphisms. The distractibility score in children with GG/GT genotypes was significantly higher than in children with the TT genotype (4.3 ± 0.6 vs 4.0 ± 0.7; P<0.05). The interaction between rs1079595 polymorphisms and the delivery mode produced an effect on the distractibility. The normal delivery children with T alleles were associated with a low distractibility (OR=0.037, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe distractibility based the temperament might be influenced by the rs1079595 polymorphism and its interaction with the delivery mode in school-age children.

Child ; Delivery, Obstetric ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Dopamine D2 ; genetics ; Temperament

Background Flicker light can induce myopia,but its mechanism remains unclear.As one of immediate early genes,early growth response-1 (Egr-1) gene can generate rapid response to visual stimulation,however,its effect on the formation and development of myopia is below understood.Objective This study was to investigate the dynamic expression of Egr-1 gene in retinas of flicker light-induced eyes (FL) and compare the results with form deprived eyes (FD).Methods One hundred and fifty 28-day-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to the normal control group,FD group and FL group.The right eyes of mice were occluded with a semitransparent hemispherical thin plastic shell for 2 weeks in the FD group,and the right eyes of mice were stimulated by 2 Hz flicker light for 2 weeks in the FL group,and then the mice were fed in the normal light environment for 1 week.The refractive state and axial length of the model eyes were measured by murine-specific eccentric infrared photorefraction and A-scan ultrasonography before modeling and 1 hour,I day,1 week,2 weeks after modeling as well as 1 week after termination,respectively.The mice were sacrificed in above-mentioned time points to isolate the retinas.The expressions and location of Egr-1 protein and mRNA in the retinas were detected by Western blot,and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and immunochemistry.The expressions of Egr-1 markers,neuron and protein kinase C (PKC)-α,in the retinas were assayed by using immunofluorescence.The care and use of the animals followed the administration regulations for experimental animals of Jiangsu Province.Results Two weeks after modeling,the refraction of the FL group was (0.32±0.14) D,which was significantly lower than (-0.66±0.43)D in the FD group (t=6.78,P=0.00).One hour after modeling,The expression levels of Egr-1 mRNA in mouse retinas were 0.626±0.044 and 0.695±0.058 in the FD group and FL group,which were significantly declined in comparison with 1.009±0.089 of the normal group (t=14.81,P=0.01;t=9.15,P=0.03).In 2 weeks after modeling,the expression levels of Egr-1 mRNA were still lower in the FD group and F:L group compared with the normal group (all at P＜0.05).However,the expression levels were significantly elevated in the FD group and FL group compared with the normal group (t=4.13,P=0.01;t=4.26,P=0.01) at 1 week after termination.Western blot showed a dynamic decrease in the expressions of Egr-1 protein with lapse of time in the FD group and FL group with the lowest expressing level in the second week after modeling.In I week after termination of modeling,the expressing level was raised in the FD group or the FL group,but it was still lower than that ir the normal group (t =6.32,P=0.00;t =5.45,P=0.01).Egr-1 protein was mainly expressed in the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer,inner nuclear layer and photoreceptor layer in the normal mice,and the expression intensity was obviously weaker in the FD mice and FL mice 2 weeks after modeling.Htowever,the expression was enhanced in 1 week after termination of modeling.Neuron and PKC-α were strongly expressed in the RGCs and bipolar cells in the normal mice.Conclusions The eyes show a myopic trend after induce of flicker light in B6 mice.The expression level of Egr-1 gene in the retina down-regulates with the reduce of refraction in FL eyes,and its dynamic expressing change is consistent between the FD eyes and FL eyes.