Humans ; Mpox (monkeypox) ; China

The present study aimed to regulate the market circulation of Caryophylli Flos and formulate standards for commodity specifications and grades of Caryophylli Flos. Market survey was carried out in four major medicinal material markets with 48 samples of Caryophylli Flos collected. The property, 100-seed weight, impurity percentage, moisture, and eugenol content in Caryophylli Flos of different specifications from different producing areas were determined and analyzed. The results showed that 27.1% of the samples surveyed on the markets did not meet the requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). The 100-seed weight and the property are important factors for the classification of Caryophylli Flos specifications. There were significant differences in the property, 100-seed weight, impurity percentage, and eugenol content in Caryophylli Flos samples of different specifications from different producing areas, and also differences in the proportions of different specifications in Caryophylli Flos samples from different producing areas. The African-originated Xiaohong(medium grade) and Guangxi-originated Xiaohong(medium grade) accounted for 70% and 66.7% respectively, the Indonesian-originated Dahong(top grade) for 56.2%. In conclusion, there are many problems in the circulation of Caryophylli Flos at present, mainly including the loss of origin information, no standards for specifications, non-implementation of grade standards, excessive impurities, and no evidence for authenticity identification. According to the classification of Caryophylli Flos specifications in this study, the average eugenol content of Xiaohong is significantly higher than the Dahong by 4.74%.
China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/analysis* ; Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Shenyankangfu Tablet (SYKFT) is a Chinese patent medicine that has been used widely to decrease proteinuria and the progression of chronic kidney disease. OBJECTIVE: This trial compared the efficacy and safety of SYKFT, for the control of proteinuria in primary glomerulonephritis patients, against the standard drug, losartan potassium. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION: This was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Primary glomerulonephritis patients, aged 18-70 years, with blood pressure ≤ 140/90 mmHg, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥ 45 mL/min per 1.73 m MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was change in the 24-hour proteinuria level, after 48 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: A total of 735 participants were enrolled. The percent decline of urine protein quantification in the SYKFT group after 48 weeks was 8.78% ± 2.56% (P = 0.006) more than that in the losartan 50 mg group, which was 0.51% ± 2.54% (P = 1.000) less than that in the losartan 100 mg group. Compared with the losartan potassium 50 mg group, the SYKFT plus losartan potassium 50 mg group had a 13.39% ± 2.49% (P < 0.001) greater reduction in urine protein level. Compared with the losartan potassium 100 mg group, the SYKFT plus losartan potassium 100 mg group had a 9.77% ± 2.52% (P = 0.001) greater reduction in urine protein. With a superiority threshold of 15%, neither was statistically significant. eGFR, serum creatinine and serum albumin from the baseline did not change statistically significant. The average change in TCM syndrome score between the patients who took SYKFT (-3.00 [-6.00, -2.00]) and who did not take SYKFT (-2.00 [-5.00, 0]) was statistically significant (P = 0.003). No obvious adverse reactions were observed in any group. CONCLUSION: SYKFT decreased the proteinuria and improved the TCM syndrome scores of primary glomerulonephritis patients, with no change in the rate of decrease in the eGFR. SYKFT plus losartan potassium therapy decreased proteinuria more than losartan potassium therapy alone. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT02063100 on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Background: Few data are available regarding the progression of liver disease and therapeutic efficacy in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers infected by mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). This study aimed to investigate these two aspects by comparing the adult chronic HBV carriers in MTCT group with those in horizontal transmission group. Methods: The 683 adult chronic HBV patients qualified for liver biopsy including 191 with MTCT and 492 with horizontal transmission entered the multi-center prospective study from October 2013 to May 2016. Biopsy results from 217 patients at baseline and 78 weeks post antiviral therapy were collected. Results: Patients infected by MTCT were more likely to have e antigen positive (68.6% vs. 58.2%, χ² = -2.491, P = 0.012) than those with horizontal transmission. However, in patients with MTCT, levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (P = 0.031), Fibroscan (P = 0.013), N-terminal propeptide of Type III procollagen (PIIINP) (P = 0.014), and Laminin (LN) (P = 0.006) were high, in contrast to the patients with horizontal transmission for whom the levels of albumin (ALB) (P = 0.041), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) (P = 0.001) were high. The 47.2% of patients with MTCT and 36.8% of those with horizontal transmission had significant liver fibrosis (P = 0.013). Following antiviral therapy for 78 weeks, 21.2% and 38.0% patients with MTCT and horizontal transmission acquired hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) clearance, respectively (P = 0.043), and the virological response rates were 54.7% and 74.1% in the MTCT and horizontal groups, respectively (P = 0.005). MTCT was a risk factor for HBeAg clearance and virological response. Conclusion: Adult patients with MTCT were more prone to severe liver diseases, and the therapeutic efficacy was relatively poor, which underlined the importance of earlier, long-term treatment and interrupting perinatal transmission. Trial Registration NCT01962155; https://clinicaltrials.gov.

Background:Clinical outcomes of undifferentiated arthritis (UA) are diverse,and only 40 ％ of patients with UA develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after 3 years.Discovering predictive markers at disease onset for further intervention is critical.Therefore,our objective was to analyze the clinical outcomes of UA and ascertain the predictors for RA development.Methods:We performed a prospective,multi-center study from January 2013 to October 2016 among Chinese patients diagnosed with UA in 22 tertiary-care hospitals.Clinical and serological parameters were obtained at recruitment.Follow-up was undertaken in all patients every 12 weeks for 2 years.Predictive factors of disease progression were identified using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression.Results:A total of 234 patients were recruited in this study,and 17 (7.3％) patients failed to follow up during the study.Among the 217 patients who completed the study,83 (38.2％) patients went into remission.UA patients who developed RA had a higher rheumatoid factor (RF)-positivity (42.9％ vs.16.8％,x2=8.228,P=0.008),anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibodypositivity (66.7％ vs.10.7％,x2 =43.897,P ＜ 0.001),and double-positivity rate of RF and anti-CCP antibody (38.1％ vs.4.1％,x2 =32.131,P ＜ 0.001) than those who did not.Anti-CCP antibody but not RF was an independent predictor for RA development (hazard ratio 18.017,95％ confidence interval:5.803-55.938;P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion:As an independent predictor of RA,anti-CCP antibody should be tested at disease onset in all patients with UA.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine on in vitro growth and proliferation of mantle cell lymphoma Jeko-1 cells and its possible mechanism.

METHODSMTT assay was used to observe the cell proliferation and to draw a growth curve. The cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. The expressions of apoptosis-related protein and Wnt signal pathway as well as the level of acetylation of histone were analyzed by Western blot.

RESULTSPhenelzine inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of Jeko-1 cells in a dose-dependent way by increasing the expression of apoptosis related protein BAX, Caspase-3 and p21, while decreasing anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2. In addition, phenelzine could upregulate histone H3K4mel, H3K4me2 and histone acetylated H3, without affecting hitone H3K4me3. Moreover, phosphorylation of GSF-3β, β-catenin, c-myc and cyclinD1 decreased after exposure to phenelzine for 24 hours.

CONCLUSIONPhenelzine can inhibit Jeko-1 cell proliferation and induce apoptosis by regulating methylation and acetylation of histone and suppressing Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway, suggesting its therapeutic benefit for mantle cell lymophma.

Objective To explore the influence of family factors on the social adaptability of post-graduate students in clinical medicine, and to provide scientific basis for training medical personnel with high social adaptability. Methods From September to November 2016, using stratified random sampling method, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the family environment and social adaptability of 210 clinical professional postgraduates from three grades of a medical college in Xinjiang, the question-naire included the basic situation, family factors and the revised diagnostic questionnaire of social adapt-ability of Professor Zheng Richang. T test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were carried out by using SPSS 17.0 software package. Results 201 valid questionnaires were returned with an effective recovery rate of 95.71％. The average value of the social adaptability of 201 clinical postgraduates was (17.00±11.12), so social adaptation ability of them was general. There were significant differences in the social adaptation ability of clinical professional master's degree between different genders, grades and working experience (P<0.05). The student was in difference family sources, length of life and father/mother master's degree had statistical significance difference in social adaptation ability (P<0.05). The score of graduate students from rural areas [(19.59±11.77)] was higher than that of urban students [(15.34±10.78)] and and city students (15.14±10.92). The postgraduates who left their homes for more than 10 years scored higher than those whose departure time was less than 10 years. Multi factor analysis found that gender, grade, mother's educa-tion, family sources, the number of home years and whether the work had a major impact on the social adaptability of clinical professionals. Conclusion The family factors of postgraduates in clinical medicine have an influence on their social adjustment ability. From the perspective of family environment, we should carry out the characteristics of intervention education to the students with poor social adaptation ability, in order to constantly improve the level of social adaptability of medical students.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs) on gut microbiota and endotoxin levels in portal vein of rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD).

METHODSThirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups and fed with normal control diet (CD), HFD, CD supplemented with n-3PUFAs, and HFD supplemented with n-3PUFAs, respectively. Fresh fecal samples were collected to analyze the gut microbiota 10 weeks after feeding. DNA was exacted from the fresh fecal samples. Quantitative PCR was used to detect the composition of the gut microbiota. The endotoxin levels were detected through modified azo chromogenic substrate limulus amebocyte lysate assay.

RESULTSThe differences in body weight before breeding in each group were not statistically significant among these four groups (P=0.613). The increase in the body weight was significantly larger in the HFD group than in the CD group (P=0.0002), CD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.0001), and HFD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.022). There were significantly more firmicutes (P=0.002) and enterobacteriales (P=0.022) and significantly less bacteroidetes (P=0.026) and bifidobactera (P=0.034) in the gut of rats from HFD group than those from the CD group. There were significantly more bacteroidetes in the fecal samples of the rats from the CD+n-3PUFAs group compared to those from the CD group (P=0.043). There were significantly more firmicutes (P=0.044)and enterobacteriales (P=0.012) and less bacteroidetes (P=0.042) in the fecal samples of the rats from HFD group compared to those from the HFD+n-3PUFAs group. The endotoxin in plasma form portal vein of rats in HFD group were significantly higher than in CD group (P=0.007) and HFD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.042) but showed no significant difference between CD+n-3PUFAs and CD group (P=0.210).

CONCLUSIONSHFD can increase body weight and change gut microbiota. Supplementation of n-3PUFAs can partially counteract such gut dysbiosis, lower endotoxin level in portal vein blood, and improve the body weight.

Animals ; Body Weight ; Diet, High-Fat ; adverse effects ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; pharmacology ; Intestines ; microbiology ; Male ; Microbiota ; drug effects ; Portal Vein ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A2 (EIF5A2) down-regulation by small interfering RNA (siRNA) on aggressiveness of human gastric cancer cell and its potential mechanisms.

METHODSThe expressions of EIF5A2 in human gastric cancer cell lines (MKN28 and HGC27) and immortalized gastric mucosal epithelial cells (GES-1) were measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. EIF5A2 gene in MKN28 cells was silenced by RNA interference and the inhibitory effect was evaluated by both qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Cell migration and invasion were assessed by Transwell assay. The possible downstream targets of EIF5A2, such as CyclinD1, CyclinD3, matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9), E-cadherin, vimintin, C-myc, and metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) expression levels, were examined by Western blotting.

RESULTSHigh expressions of EIF5A2 were found in MKN28 cells and human gastric adenocarcinoma tissues. Both EIF5A2 mRNA and protein expression in MKN28 cells were significantly down-regulated by siRNA#1 and siRNA#2, especially siRNA#1. Knockdown of EIF5A2 caused an apparent suppression of MKN28 cell proliferation (all P<0.01), migration (P<0.001), and invasion (P<0.001). After the knockdown of EIF5A2 in MKN28 cells, E-cadherin levels were upregulated, whereas vimentin, Cyclin D1, Cyclin D3, C-myc and MTA1 levels were downregulated.

CONCLUSIONKnockdown of EIF5A2 may inhibit MKN28 cell proliferation by downregulating the CyclinD1 and CyclinD3 and suppressing the cell migration and invasion by inhibiting MTA1, C-myc and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Cyclin D3 ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genes, myc ; Histone Deacetylases ; metabolism ; Humans ; Peptide Initiation Factors ; genetics ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Repressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology

Gastric cancer is caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. MicroRNA (miRNA) is involved in many cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis and plays an important role in pathogenesis of gastric cancer, as demonstrated in many recent studies from perspectives including miRNA profiling, reciprocal modulation between epigenetic and miRNA, and Helicobacter pylori infection. MiRNA is highly stabe in blood, and therefore non-invasive diagnosis of gastric cancer using circulating miRNA may be promising.
Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics