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The total alkaloids extracted from the seeds of Sophora moorcroftiana (TAs-SM) have the potential to treat alveolar echinococcosis, a disease included by the WHO in a list of 17 key neglected diseases world-wide. The aims of the current study were first to develop a supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) method for optimizing TAs-SM extraction, and second, to develop an optimized method for evaluating TAs-SM pharmacokinetics in vivo. The Box-Behnken response surface method was used to optimize the extraction process, and ultra-high liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution electrospray mass spectrometry (UPLC-HR-ESI-MS) was used to determine the pharmacokinetics of TAs-SM in SD rats. The results indicated the following optimal SFE extraction conditions: pressure = 31 MPa, temperature = 70 °C, time = 162.18 min. With these parameters, total alkaloids could be extracted from each gram of S. moorcroftiana, with the total content being 68.88 μg. The linear range of UPLC-HR-ESI-MS is 0.78-200.00 ng/ml, R

Plenty of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for coronary artery disease (CAD) and blood pressure (BP). However, these SNPs only explain a small proportion of the heritability of two traits/diseases. Although high BP is a major risk factor for CAD, the genetic intercommunity between them remain largely unknown. To recognize novel loci associated with CAD and BP, a genetic-pleiotropy-informed conditional false discovery rate (cFDR) method was applied on two summary statistics of CAD and BP from existing GWASs. Stratified Q-Q and fold enrichment plots showed a high pleiotropic enrichment of SNPs associated with two traits. Adopting a cFDR of 0.05 as a threshold, 55 CAD-associated loci (25 variants being novel) and 47 BP loci (18 variants being novel) were identified, 25 of which were pleiotropic loci (13 variants being novel) for both traits. Among the 32 genes these 25 SNPs were annotated to, 20 genes were newly detected compared to previous GWASs. This study showed the cFDR approach could improve gene discovery by incorporating GWAS datasets of two related traits. These findings may provide novel understanding of etiology relationships between CAD and BP.

We evaluated the feasibility and image quality of prospective electrocardiography (ECG)-triggered coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using a body surface area (BSA) protocol for contrast-medium (CM) administration on both second- and third-generation scanners (Flash and Force CT), without using heart rate control. One-hundred-and-eighty patients with suspected coronary heart disease undergoing CCTA were divided into groups A (BSA protocol for CM on Flash CT), B (body mass index (BMI)-matched patients; BMI protocol for CM on Flash CT), and C (BMI-matched patients; BSA protocol for CM on Force CT). Patient characteristics, quantitative and qualitative measures, and radiation dose were compared between groups A and B, and A and C. Of the 180 patients, 99 were male (median age, 62 years). Average BSA in groups A, B, and C was 1.80 ± 0.17 m2, 1.74 ± 0.16 m2, and 1.64 ± 0.17 m2, respectively, with groups A and C differing significantly (P P 250 HU, average scores > 4) achieved slightly lower diagnostic image quality than group B. The BSA protocol for CM administration was feasible in both Flash and Force CT, and therefore may be valuable in clinical practice.

A tunable high-order sideband spectra generation scheme is presented by using a photonic molecule optomechanical system coupled to a waveguide beyond the perturbation regime. The system is coherently driven by a two-tone laser consisting of a continuous-wave control field and a pulsed driving field which propagates through the waveguide. The frequency spectral feature of the output field is analyzed via numerical simulations, and we confirm that under the condition of intense and nanosecond pulse driving, the output spectrum exhibits the properties of high-order sideband frequency spectra. In the experimentally available parameter range, the output spectrum can be efficiently tuned by the system parameters, including the power of the driving pulse and the coupling rate between the cavities. In addition, analysis of the carrier-envelop phase-dependent effect of high-order sideband generation indicates that the system may present dependence upon the phase of the pulse. This may provide a further insight of the properties of cavity optomechanics in the nonlinear and non-perturbative regime, and may have potential applications in optical frequency comb and communication based on the optomechanical platform.

Early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an attractive strategy to increase survival rate of patient. An integrated separation approach of reversed phase liquid chromatography and hydrophilic interaction chromatography combining with time of flight mass spectrometer has been firstly developed for performing global saliva metabonomics analysis for early diagnosis of OSCC. This approach was designed to overcome the limitations of a single chromatographic method due to different polarity of endogenous metabolites. As a result, 14 potential salivary metabolites were identified. Eight biomarkers up-regulated in OSCC patients are compared with control and six down-regulated groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was exploited to evaluate the diagnostic power of the candidate biomarkers, and related metabolic pathways have also been studied. Five salivary biomarkers (propionylcholine, N-Acetyl-L-phenylalanine, sphinganine, phytosphingosine, and S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine) in combination yielded satisfactory accuracy (AUC = 0.997), sensitivity (100%), and specificity (96.7%) in distinguishing early stage of OSCC from the control. In this study, a comprehensive saliva metabonomics analysis for identifying potential biomarkers to early diagnose OSCC is successfully demonstrated, which has the advantages of non-invasive, simple, reliable, and low-cost. These novel metabolic biomarkers have obvious clinical utility that will help to diagnose OSCC at its early stage.