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The emergence of Anaplasma bovis or A. bovis -like infection in humans from China and the United States of America has raised concern about the public health importance of this pathogen. Although A. bovis has been detected in a wide range of ticks and mammals in the world, no genome of the pathogen is available up to now, which has prohibited us from better understanding the genetic basis for its pathogenicity. Here we describe an A. bovis genome from metagenomic sequencing of an infected goat in China. Anaplasma bovis had the smallest genome of the genus Anaplasma , and relatively lower GC content. Phylogenetic analysis of single-copy orthologue sequence showed that A. bovis was closely related to A. platys and A. phagocytophilum , but relatively far from intraerythrocytic Anaplasma species. Anaplasma bovis had 116 unique orthogroups and lacked 51 orthogroups in comparison to other Anaplasma species. The virulence factors of A. bovis were significantly less than those of A. phagocytophilum , suggesting less pathogenicity of A. bovis . When tested by specific PCR assays, A. bovis was detected in 23 of 29 goats, with an infection rate up to 79.3% (95% CI: 64.6% ∼94.1%). The phylogenetic analyses based on partial 16S rRNA, gltA and groEL genes indicated that A. bovis had high genetic diversity. The findings of this study lay a foundation for further understanding of the biological characteristics and genetic diversity of A. bovis , and will facilitate the formulation of prevention and control strategies.

Introduction: Due to different social and cultural backgrounds, cervical cancer patients' experience of the treatment process and quality of life after treatment will be different. This study sought to gain in-depth understanding of the experiences of Chinese cervical cancer patients as regards their quality of life and physical symptoms., Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. We recruited 15 women with cervical cancer in eastern China for in-depth interviews. All data were entered into the NVivo 12 software program for analysis., Results: Four themes emerged from the data: (a) uncertainty; (b) physical suffering; (c) psychological pressure; and (d) challenges of marriage and family., Discussion: Cervical cancer patients showed concerns about the disease itself and the physical discomfort it causes, as well as changes in social relations. Health professionals need to talk about these issues and develop strategies to address them accordingly., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The emerging evidence of human infections with emerging viruses suggests their potential public health importance. A novel taxon of viruses named Statoviruses (for stool-associated Tombus-like viruses) was recently identified in the gastrointestinal tracts of multiple mammals. Here we report the discovery of respiratory Statovirus-like viruses (provisionally named Restviruses) from the respiratory tracts of five patients experiencing acute respiratory disease with Human coronavirus OC43 infection through the retrospective analysis of meta-transcriptomic data. Restviruses shared 53.1%-98.8% identities of genomic sequences with each other and 39.9%-44.3% identities with Statoviruses. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that Restviruses together with a Stato-like virus from nasal-throat swabs of Vietnamese patients with acute respiratory disease, formed a well-supported clade distinct from the taxon of Statoviruses. However, the consistent genome characteristics of Restviruses and Statoviruses suggested that they might share similar evolutionary trajectories. These findings warrant further studies to elucidate the etiological and epidemiological significance of the emerging Restviruses., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We recently detected a HKU4-related coronavirus in subgenus Merbecovirus (named pangolin-CoV-HKU4-P251T) from a Malayan pangolin 1 . Here we report isolation and characterization of pangolin-CoV-HKU4-P251T, the genome sequence of which is closest to that of a coronavirus from the greater bamboo bat (Tylonycteris robustula) in Yunnan Province, China, with a 94.3% nucleotide identity. Pangolin-CoV-HKU4-P251T is able to infect human cell lines, and replicates more efficiently in cells that express human-dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (hDPP4)-expressing and pangolin-DPP4-expressing cells than in bat-DPP4-expressing cells. After intranasal inoculation with pangolin-CoV-HKU4-P251, hDPP4-transgenic female mice are likely infected, showing persistent viral RNA copy numbers in the lungs. Progressive interstitial pneumonia developed in the infected mice, characterized by the accumulation of macrophages, and increase of antiviral cytokines, proinflammatory cytokines, and chemokines in lung tissues. These findings suggest that the pangolin-borne HKU4-related coronavirus has a potential for emerging as a human pathogen by using hDPP4., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Anaplasma capra is an emerging tickborne human pathogen initially recognized in China in 2015; it has been reported in ticks and in a wide range of domestic and wild animals worldwide. We describe whole-genome sequences of 2 A. capra strains from metagenomic sequencing of purified erythrocytes from infected goats in China. The genome of A. capra was the smallest among members of the genus Anaplasma. The genomes of the 2 A. capra strains contained comparable G+C content and numbers of pseudogenes with intraerythrocytic Anaplasma species. The 2 A. capra strains had 54 unique genes. The prevalence of A. capra was high among goats in the 2 endemic areas. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the A. capra strains detected in this study were basically classified into 2 subclusters with those previously detected in Asia. Our findings clarify details of the genomic characteristics of A. capra and shed light on its genetic diversity.

Quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is vital for the development of the downstream industries, and is an important channel for implementing the strategy of "higher quality, higher price, and priority for the high quality" for traditional Chinese medicine. At the moment, the quality of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is mainly evaluated based on chemical component examination. Considering the weak preliminary research foundation and poor research conditions, traditional experience-based evaluation is undervalued in the quality rating of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces. However, traditional experience is a summary of the quality of Chinese medicinal materials based on clinical experience, which thus can be a potential basis for the quality evaluation of the decoction pieces. It is a challenge in the evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces to objectify the traditional experience-based evaluation from multiple aspects such as chemistry, effect, and characterization via modern techniques. Therefore, this study developed the "experience-ingredients-activity-electronic sensing" evaluation system for Chinese medicinal decoction pieces on the basis of experience-based assessment, chemical ingredients that can truly reflect the traditional experience, biological effect assessment, and electronic sensory evaluation, which is expected to quantify the traditional experience of quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces via chemistry, biology, and sensory simulation. The evaluation system can serve as a reference for clinical experience-based quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) may develop in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is associated with in-hospital death. We investigated the incidence of AKI in 223 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and analyzed the influence factors of AKI. The incidence of cytokine storm syndrome and its correlation with other clinicopathologic variables were also investigated. We retrospectively enrolled adult patients with virologically confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized at three hospitals in Wuhan and Guizhou, China between February 13, 2020, and April 8, 2020. We included 124 patients with moderate COVID-19 and 99 with severe COVID-19. AKI was present in 35 (15.7%) patients. The incidence of AKI was 30.3% for severe COVID-19 and 4.0% for moderate COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, cytokine storm was found in 30 (13.5%) patients and only found in the severe group. Kidney injury at admission (odds ratio [OR]: 3.132, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.150-8.527; p = 0.025), cytokine storm (OR: 4.234, 95% CI: 1.361-13.171; p = 0.013), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (OR: 7.684, 95% CI: 2.622-22.523; p < 0.001) were influence factors of AKI. Seventeen (48.6%) patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation developed AKI, of whom 64.7% (11/17) died. Up to 86.7% of AKI patients with cytokine storms may develop a secondary bacterial infection. The leukocyte counts were significantly higher in AKI patients with cytokine storm than in those without (13.0 × 10⁹/L, interquartile range [IQR] 11.3 vs. 8.3 × 10⁹/L, IQR 7.5, p = 0.005). Approximately 1/6 patients with COVID-19 eventually develop AKI. Kidney injury at admission, cytokine storm and ARDS are influence factors of AKI. Cytokine storm and secondary bacterial infections may be responsible for AKI development in COVID-19 patients., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Aims: Clinically, Cerebralcare Granule® (CG) has been widely utilized to treat various types of headache, chronic cerebral insufficiency and other diseases, and the effect is significant. Clinical studies have shown that CG can significantly relieve vascular dementia (VaD), however, the molecular mechanisms haven't been established. To clear the therapeutic mechanisms of CG against VaD, a hypothesis was proposed that CG could treat neurovascular injury by inhibiting the production of lipocalin-2 (LCN 2)., Main Methods: 90 dementia rats were selected by water maze test and randomly divided into 6 groups, including nimodipine (NM), CG L (low dose) (0.314 g kg -1 ), CG H (high dose) (0.628 g kg -1 ), and combined group (CG + NM). And in vitro neuronal cell OGD modeling to evaluate the effect of CG on JAK2/STAT3., Key Findings: CG could significantly shorten the escape latency of two-vessel occlusion (2-VO) rats, increase their exploratory behavior, alleviate the symptoms of VaD and improve the ultrastructural pathological damage of neurovascular unit and accelerate the recovery of cerebral blood perfusion. CG combined with NM is better than NM alone. It was further showed that CG could inhibit the pathogenicity of LCN 2 through JAK2/STAT3 pathway and suppress the production of inflammatory cytokines. It plays a role in the protection of cerebral microvasculature and BBB in 2-VO rats., Significance: Taken together, there data has supported notion that CG can protect the integrity of cerebral blood vessels and BBB and improve cognitive impairment through mainly inhibiting LCN 2, which provides scientific evidence for clinical application., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the molecular characteristics of serogroup B neisseria meningitidis in China. Methods: Total of 485 (100 strains isolated from cerebrospinal fluid or blood samples of encephalomyelitis cases, and 385 strains isolated from nasopharynx of healthy carriers) Meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) strains, isolated from 29 provinces of China between 1968 and 2016, were analyzed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and PorA typing methods. Further, the genetic diversity of three MenB vaccine proteins, FHbp, NadA and NHBA, were analyzed. Results: The 485 study strains belonged to 270 sequence types (STs), 107 of which (representing 211 strains) could be grouped into ten clonal complexes (CC). CC4821 has been the predominant lineage in China since 2005 (28.7%, n= 139). The most common PorA types of MenB strains from invasive meningococcal cases were P1.5-2,2-2 (10.0%, n= 10), P1.5-1,2-2 (9.0%, n= 9) and P1.5-1,10-4 (9.0%, n= 9). Four hundred and twenty one strains had intact fhbp gene; variant 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 12.8% (54 strains), 85.0% (358 strains) and 2.2% (9 strains) respevtively. Ten out of 432 strains (2.3%) contained complete nadA gene. All the 172 strains for which the nhba gene was sequenced had intact gene sequence which corresponded to 68 peptide types. Conclusion: CC4821 was the predominant CC of MenB strains in China; the vaccine proteins were diverse about the sequences. The vaccine proteins should be carefully selected when developing MenB vaccines in China.

The study aims at investigating the ecological environment Adiantum reniforme var. sinense of in Three Gorges Reservoir region, and providing a reference basis for the protection of resources and artificial cultivation of A. reniforme var. sinense. By using the method of investigation, field survey and experimental analysis, the vegetation, natural geographical environment, climate, soil nutrients of A. reniforme var. sinense were studied and analyzed. The survey found that A. reniforme var. sinense distribution area reduced fast in Three Gorges region, a lot of distribution has diminished and vanished due to excessive digging, currently only in 3 towns of Wanzhou there exist 4 wild distribution areas. The growth of A. reniforme var. sinense needs an environment with low altitude, steep slope and thin soil, northeast slope, canopy height and warm and humid climate characteristics, and the soil in distribution has the characteristics of high organic matter, available nitrogen, available potassium, and low available phosphorus content., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Based on the results of the morphologic studies on genus Dioscorea, the paper summarized the entire chemical constituent that isolated from this genus and analyzed it with the methods of chemotaxonomy. The rules of the chemical constituent and pharmacodynamic effects were analyzed. Seventeen species which belong to Sect. Stenophora Uline of Dioscorea contain steroidal sapogenin. Other species with different main components such as polysaccharide and tannin have have different effects. This chemotaxonomic view point will conduce to establish a phylogeny of the genus Dioscorea.

Traditional Chinese ancient prescriptions have been used for treatment of liver cancer for a long history and the scientific and rational compatibility is a great wealth for modern research and development (R&D) of new drugs. The research and development of new drugs are often accompanied with a large investment, a long cycle and a high risk, especially for the anti-tumor drugs R&D which are facing more risks and lower successful rate. In this research, the regularity of compatibility of drugs was analyzed from 124 anti-hepatoma ancient prescriptions by computer program. The results can offer help to the R&D of anti-hepatoma new drugs and reduce the risk of drug screening. In addition, we surveyed 22 companies in this field from six provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and so on and obtained 240 risk assessment questionaires. Then we used qualitative analysis method to interpret the greatest impacts for the risks in the process of R&D, production and sales of anti-hepatoma new drugs. The study provides a basis for anti-liver cancer drugs R&D researchers, who can take effective measures to reduce the R&D risks and improve successful rate.

The fermentation processing of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), as an important processing method for TCM, originated from the ancient brewing technology. It has a long history in China. Fermented TCMs (FTCMs) are widely applied among folks for preventing and treating many diseases. There are many kinds of TCM processed by spontaneous fermentation, including Massa Medicata Fermentata, Rhizoma Pinelliae Fermentata, Red fermented rice, Semen Sojae Praepaaratum, Mass Galla chinesis et camelliae Fermentata and Pien Tze Huang. This essay summarizes historical origin, main varieties, the effect of microbial strains, current processing techniques and existing problems of FTCM, and look into the prospect of modern development of FTCMs.

China consumes and exports traditional Chinese medicinal resources the most in the world. However, we cannot anchor our hope on field production of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and their active ingredients, due to limited land resources. Therefore, the development of biotechnology is of great importance for China to solve the problem of traditional Chinese medicinal resources. Plant cell culture is an important approach for the sustainable development of precious medicinal resources. This essary summarizes the optimization of conditions for medicinal plant cell culture, the regulation of secondary metabolic pathways and cell bioreactor culture, and realizes that the authentic commercial production of more medicinal plants requires efforts from all aspects.

Unlabelled: Five commercial pear cultivars were investigated for total phenolics and flavonoids contents, the main phenolic compounds, and their antioxidant and antiinflammation capacities. Four in vitro oxidant and 2 in vivo antiinflammation models were used to evaluate the pharmacological activities of the different pears. The main phenolic compounds were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector, which result indicated that gallic acid ranged from 5.23 to 10.72 μg/g, catechin from 0.41 to 28.83 μg/g, chlorogenic acid from 485.11 to 837.03 μg/g, caffeic acid from 0 to 1.16 μg/g, epicatechin from 6.73 to 131.49 μg/g, and rutin from 0.92 to 104.64 μg/g. The total antioxidant capacity was in descending order: Shuijing > Fengshui > Xuehua > Ya > Xiang pear, which was consistent with the total phenol and flavonoid contents. Thus, the antioxidant capacity of pears may be attributed to their high contents of phenolics and flavonoids. However, the antiinflammation activity was in decreasing order: Xuehua > Xiang > Ya > Fengshui > Shuijing pear, which indicates that compounds other than antioxidants may be responsible for the antiinflammation effect., Practical Application: The importance on antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds in foods and vegetables as natural antioxidants has reached a new high in recent years. In this study, the total phenol and flavonoid contents, and the antioxidant and antiinflammation activities of 5 different types of commercial pears in China were investigated, which may be the experimental basis for the further development and utilization of the pears., (© 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®)

Objective: To provide a quick and simple method to identify different Chinese medicine material of Fritillaria., Method: The thermograms and differential thermograms of nine Fritillaria powders were obtained by thermal analyzer., Result: By analyzing the thermograms of nine Fritillaria powders, we concluded that the thermal stability of nine Fritillaria powders was much different each other due to the different geography origin. The thermal stability of F. hupehensis was highest among nine Fritillaria, while F. ussurensis was the lowest. The different Fritillaria showed their own DTA spectra respectively., Conclusion: According to the differences in the thermal properties of nine Fritillaria powders, the origins of Fritillaria could be easily identfied.

The current situation of plant extract in domestic and international market was analyzed in the paper. The quality control of 20 plant extracts which have reasonably good sales in USA market was compared and analyzed. The analysis of the quality control of six plant extracts indicated that there were two main reasons leading to the varied quality specifications among different suppliers. One reason was that the plant species utilized by different companies were different. The other reason was that the extraction processes were different among different production plants. Comparing with the significant international suppliers of plant extracts, the product quality of Chinese companies were not satisfactory. It was suggested that chromatography and chromatographic fingerprint techniques should be applied to improve the quality control standard of plant extract in our country.

Compared with other countries, the industrialization of medicinal plant tissue culture is more important for our country because China is consuming and exporting the most amounts of herb materials in the world. Each year, many papers and patents are published on cell cultures of popular medicinal plants, such as Taxus sp., Catharanthus roseus, and Panax ginseng, and, meanwhile, the research on organ cultures of medicinal plants is increasing very quickly, which is deepening the study of medicinal plant tissue culture. During the past 30 years, Chinese scientists have cultured many medicinal plant cells, organs and hairy roots. In addition, the large-scale cultures have been tested on medicinal plants, such as Catharanthus roseus, Panax notoginseng, Anisodus acutangulus, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, and Taxus chinensis. However, the bioreactor size is not big enough for the commercial cultivation and we have not mastered the culture technique on a large scale. We should clearly understand the importance and great potential benefit of medicinal plant tissue culture and develop the tissue culture techniques for the modernization of TCM. To develop the technique that we have the property right, the pioneering spirit is needed in our research, and, meanwhile, it should be pointed out emphatically the collaboration is indispensable among scientists from different research fields.