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Although microbial synthesized palladium nanoparticles (bioPd) have been demonstrated to exhibit a great activity toward dechlorination of several chlorinated pollutants, there is no systematic investigation into the substituent effect on dechlorination. Chloronitrobenzenes are widely used for manufacturing and known as persistent pollutants with recalcitrance of biodegradation for nitro groups. In this work, bioPd was synthesized by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The dechlorination of 2-chloronitrobenzene, 4-chloronitrobenzene and 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene catalyzed by bioPd were investigated. Simultaneous dechlorination and nitro reduction were observed by synergistic catalysis of bioPd and S. oneidensis MR-1. Pd concentration was optimized for the reduction. Producing profiles of intermediates changed with the ratio of Pd to cell, supporting a size- or shape-controlled catalytic activity of bioPd. The removal of chloro atoms at para-position was easier than that at ortho-position in 2,4-DCNB, suggesting a position effect on the reduction, which was further supported by the frontier molecular orbital and frontier electron density of 2,4-DCNB according to density functional theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to understand the anatomical features of the venous valve in Macaca fascicularis and to compare it with that of humans. The bilateral lower limbs (24 limbs from 12 animals) of Macaca fascicularis cadavers were dissected, and the femoral veins (FV were equally divided into distal, intermediate, and proximal sections. The external diameter of the FV in each section was measured. The venous valves were observed microscopically and stained with hematoxylin and eosin as well as trichrome. Data describing the human venous valve were collected from the current literature. No great saphenous veins were found among the 24 lower limbs from the Macaca fascicularis cadavers. The external diameters of the FVs in the distal, intermediate, and proximal sections were 3.53 ± 0.37 mm, 3.42 ± 0.55 mm, and 3.37 ± 0.54 mm, respectively. In most cases, there was one venous bivalve located in the FV approximately 0-2.71 mm below the junction of the FV and the deep femoral vein. Endothelium covered the luminal and sinusal surfaces of the leaflets. Abundant collagen fibers were found under the endothelial cells beneath the luminal surface of the leaflets. An elastin fiber network was located under the sinus endothelial surface. Smooth muscle cells in the FV extend to the edge of the valve. The venous valve of Macaca fascicularis is similar to that of humans, both morphologically and histologically. However, there is only one venous bivalve and no great saphenous vein in Macaca fascicularis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chirality is an asymmetric property widely found in nature. Here, we propose and demonstrate experimentally the spontaneous emergence of chirality in an on-chip ultrahigh-Q whispering-gallery microresonator, without broken parity or time-reversal symmetry. This counterintuitive effect arises due to the inherent Kerr-nonlinearity-modulated coupling between clockwise and counterclockwise propagating waves. Above an input threshold of a few hundred microwatts, the initial chiral symmetry is broken spontaneously, and the counterpropagating output ratio exceeds 20:1 with bidirectional inputs. The spontaneous chirality in an on-chip microresonator holds great potential in studies of fundamental physics and applied photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical epidural hematoma (CEH) is a rare but potentially devastating condition, characterized by the accumulation of blood within the epidural space of the cervical spine, leading to spinal cord compression (Perron AD, Huff JS. Spinal cord disorders. In: Marx JA, et al. editors. Rosen's emergency medicine: concepts and clinical practice. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2013. pp. 1419-27.); (Raasck K, Habis AA, Aoude A, Simoes L, Barros F, Reindl R. Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma management: a case series and literature review. Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2017;3:16043. https://doi.org/10.1038/scsandc.2016.43 .); (Ryo Yamamoto M, Ito H, Shimuzu K, Wakabayashi H, Oyama. Two cases of cervical epidural hematoma presenting with left-sided hemiplegia and requiring surgical drainage. Cureus. 2022;14(4):e23915. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23915 .). While trauma and iatrogenic causes are well-documented, cases attributed to neck strain and acupuncture are uncommon. (Raasck K, Habis AA, Aoude A, Simoes L, Barros F, Reindl R. Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma management: a case series and literature review. Spinal Cord Ser Cases. 2017;3:16043. https://doi.org/10.1038/scsandc.2016.43 .); (Shiraishi S, Goto I, Kuroiwa Y, Nishio S, Kinoshita K. Spinal cord injury as a complication of an acupuncture. Neurology. 1979;29(8):1188-90. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.29.8.1188 .) Here, we present two cases of CEH secondary to these unusual aetiologies. Both cases highlight the importance of considering uncommon causes of CEH to ensure early recognition and prompt treatment., Case Presentations: Case 1 is an 81-year-old lady who presented with left hemiparesis and paraesthesia following a fall with neck strain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cervical spine revealed left C3-C7 epidural haematoma with severe cord compression. In Case 2, a 35-year-old gentleman experienced sudden onset numbness and weakness in all limbs just 10 minutes after receiving acupuncture. MRI showed an epidural hematoma at the C2-C4 levels. Both patients underwent immediate surgical decompression and had significant recovery., Conclusion: Although CEH is a rare occurrence, it can potentially be a neurosurgical emergency. Physicians must remain cognizant of the diverse aetiologies associated with CEH and the necessity for early recognition and immediate treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Colorectal polyps, which are characterized by a high recurrence rate, represent preneoplastic conditions of the intestine. Due to unclear mechanisms of pathogenesis, first-line therapies for non-hereditary recurrent colorectal polyps are limited to endoscopic resection. Although recent studies suggest a mechanistic link between intestinal dysbiosis and polyps, the exact compositions and roles of bacteria in the mucosa around the lesions, rather than feces, remain unsettled., Aim: To clarify the composition and diversity of bacteria in the mucosa surrounding or 10 cm distal to recurrent intestinal polyps., Methods: Mucosal samples were collected from four patients consistently with adenomatous polyps (Ade), seven consistently with non-Ade (Pol), ten with current Pol but previous Ade, and six healthy individuals, and bacterial patterns were evaluated by 16S rDNA sequencing. Linear discriminant analysis and Student's t -tests were used to identify the genus-level bacteria differences between groups with different colorectal polyp phenotypes. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the correlation between intestinal bacteria at the genus level and clinical indicators., Results: The results confirmed a decreased level of probiotics and an enrichment of pathogenic bacteria in patients with all types of polyps compared to healthy individuals. These changes were not restricted to the mucosa within 0.5 cm adjacent to the polyps, but also existed in histologically normal tissue 10 cm distal from the lesions. Significant differences in bacterial diversity were observed in the mucosa from individuals with normal conditions, Pol, and Ade. Increased abundance of Gram-negative bacteria, including Klebsiella , Plesiomonas , and Cronobacter , was observed in Pol group and Ade group, suggesting that resistance to antibiotics may be one risk factor for bacterium-related harmful environment. Meanwhile, age and gender were linked to bacteria changes, indicating the potential involvement of sex hormones., Conclusion: These preliminary results support intestinal dysbiosis as an important risk factor for recurrent polyps, especially adenoma. Targeting specific pathogenic bacteria may attenuate the recurrence of polyps., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The widespread dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and its drug resistance transfer poses a global public health threat. While previous studies outlined CRKP's drug resistance mechanism, there is limited research on strategies inhibiting CRKP drug resistance spread. This study investigates the potential of Bifidobacterium longum ( B. longum ) FB1-1, a probiotic, in curbing the spread of drug resistance among CRKP by evaluating its cell-free supernatant (CFS) for antibacterial activity. Evaluating the inhibitory effect of FB1-1 CFS on CRKP drug resistance spread involved analyzing its impact on drug resistance and virulence gene expression; drug resistance plasmid transfer FB1-1 CFS exhibited an MIC range of 125 μL/mL against CRKP. After eight hours of co-culture, CFS achieved a 96% and 100% sterilization rate at two and four times the MIC, respectively. At sub-inhibitory concentrations (1/2× MIC), FB1-1 CFS reduced the expression of the bla_KPC gene, which is pivotal for carbapenem resistance, by up to 62.13% across different CRKP strains. Additionally, it markedly suppressed the expression of the uge gene, a key virulence factor, by up to 91%, and the fim_H gene, essential for bacterial adhesion, by up to 53.4%. Our study primarily focuses on determining the inhibitory effect of FB1-1 CFS on CRKP strains harboring the bla_KPC gene, which is a critical resistance determinant in CRKP. Furthermore, FB1-1 CFS demonstrated the ability to inhibit the transfer of drug resistance plasmids among CRKP strains, thus limiting the horizontal spread of resistance genes. This study highlights FB1-1 CFS's inhibitory effect on CRKP drug resistance spread, particularly in strains carrying the bla_KPC gene, thus offering a novel idea and theoretical foundation for developing antibacterial drugs targeting CRKP resistance.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a population of heterogeneous immune cells that are involved in precancerous conditions and neoplasms. The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is composed of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, is an important component of the tumor microenvironment that responds to changes in the internal and external environment mainly through adrenergic and cholinergic signaling. An abnormal increase of autonomic nerve density has been associated with cancer progression. As we discuss in this review, growing evidence indicates that sympathetic and parasympathetic signals directly affect the expansion, mobilization, and redistribution of MDSCs. Dysregulated autonomic signaling recruits MDSCs to form an immunosuppressive microenvironment in chronically inflamed tissues, resulting in abnormal proliferation and differentiation of adult stem cells. The two components of the ANS may also be responsible for the seemingly contradictory behaviors of MDSCs. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms has the potential to provide more insights into the complex roles of MDSCs in tumor development and lay the foundation for the development of novel MDSC-targeted anticancer strategies., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Introduction: As tick-borne diseases rise to become the second most prevalent arthropod-transmitted disease globally, the increasing investigations focus on ticks correspondingly. Factors contributed to this increase include anthropogenic influences, changes in vertebrate faunal composition, social-recreational shifts, and climatic variation. Employing the 16S gene sequence method in next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows comprehensive pathogen identification in samples, facilitating the development of refined approaches to tick research omnidirectionally., Methods: In our survey, we compared the microbial richness and biological diversity of ticks in Wuwei City, Gansu province, differentiating between questing ticks found in grass and parasitic ticks collected from sheep based on 16S NGS method., Results: The results show Rickettsia , Coxiella , and Francisella were detected in all 50 Dermacentor nuttalli samples, suggesting that the co-infection may be linked to specific symbiotic bacteria in ticks. Our findings reveal significant differences in the composition and diversity of microorganisms, with the Friedmanniella and Bordetella genera existing more prevalent in parasitic ticks than in questing ticks ( p  < 0.05). Additionally, the network analysis demonstrates that the interactions among bacterial genera can be either promotive or inhibitive in ticks exhibiting different lifestyles with the correlation index | r | > 0.6. For instance, Francisella restrains the development of 10 other bacteria in parasitic ticks, whereas Phyllobacterium and Arthrobacter enhance colonization across all tick species., Discussion: By leveraging NGS techniques, our study reveals a high degree of species and phylogenetic diversity within the tick microbiome. It further highlights the potential to investigate the interplay between bacterial genera in both parasitic and questing ticks residing in identical habitat environments., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Zhang, Han, Zhou, He, Sun, Li, Li, Zhang, Wang, Xu, Lu and Shao.)

Cancer receives enduring international attention due to its extremely high morbidity and mortality. Immunotherapy, which is generally expected to overcome the limits of traditional treatments, serves as a promising direction for patients with recurrent or metastatic malignancies. Bacteria-based vectors such as Listeria monocytogenes take advantage of their unique characteristics, including preferential infection of host antigen presenting cells, intracellular growth within immune cells, and intercellular dissemination, to further improve the efficacy and minimize off-target effects of tailed immune treatments. Listeria monocytogenes can reshape the tumor microenvironment to bolster the anti-tumor effects both through the enhancement of T cells activity and a decrease in the frequency and population of immunosuppressive cells. Modified Listeria monocytogenes has been employed as a tool to elicit immune responses against different tumor cells. Currently, Listeria monocytogenes vaccine alone is insufficient to treat all patients effectively, which can be addressed if combined with other treatments, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, reactivated adoptive cell therapy, and radiotherapy. This review summarizes the recent advances in the molecular mechanisms underlying the involvement of Listeria monocytogenes vaccine in anti-tumor immunity, and discusses the most concerned issues for future research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Ding, Shu, He, Chen, Deng, Zhou, Xiong and Deng.)

A global potential energy surface (PES) for the electronic ground state of the Na + HF reactive system is constructed by three-dimensional cubic spline interpolation of 37 000 ab initio points obtained using the multireference configuration interaction method including the Davidson's correction (MRCI + Q) with auc-cc-pV5Z basis set. The endoergicity, well depth and properties of the separated diatomic molecules are in good agreement with experimental estimations. Quantum dynamics calculations have been performed and compared with those of the previous MRCI PES as well as experimental values. The better agreement between theory and experiment indicates the accuracy of the new PES., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Fatigue risk management for pilots has received increasing attention. The existing fatigue management systems have detailed descriptions of the factors and the mutual influences among the factors that affect the dimension of "sleep", which is one of the most important causes of fatigue. However, the analysis of the influencing factors of the "work" dimension of fatigue causes has not been very detailed or accurate, especially the exploration of the mutual influence among many fatigue-influencing factors in the "work" dimension., Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the mutual influence among fatigue-influencing factors related to the "work" dimension in the analysis of pilot fatigue causes., Methods: This study designed a questionnaire on the dimension of "work" in the causes of pilot fatigue and collected a total of 270 feedback data points from international flight pilots. Based on the questionnaires and data, descriptive statistical analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to explore the influencing factors and their mutual influences on the "work" dimension of pilot fatigue., Results: There is a strong, mutual influence relationship among the fatigue causes of long-haul flight pilots - working status, working conditions and working schedules - in the dimension of "work". The workload only has a strong correlation with the working schedule, and the interaction relationships with the working status or working conditions are weak., Conclusion: This study analyses the mutual influence among the influencing factors of the "work" dimension of pilot fatigue, and we expect to provide empirical data for pilot fatigue risk management and to help improve fatigue risk management systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Jun-Ya and Rui-Shan.)

&quot;Medicine and food homology&quot; is a precious health care concept rooted in the culture of Chinese medicine and plays an important role in the development of the national health industry. It is consistent with the current global trend that food and medicine are mutually penetrating. Accordingly, the Chinese medicinal materials with edible values have an increasing production scale. Especially, in the context that the development of Chinese medicinal materials is switching from pursuing quantity to quality, the food field has become the main market for the new production capacity of Chinese medicinal materials, which has presented a broad prospect. However, the quality standards of raw materials, production methods, and administration ways vary between the materials for edible and medicinal purposes. Specifically, the food for medicinal use on the market cannot meet the quality standards of medicinal mate-rials, while the medicinal materials fail to meet the taste requirements as food. As a result, these problems cause difficulties in market circulation and supervision. In this paper, we analyzed the formation of Chinese medicinal materials with edible values, compared the food with medicinal value, common food, and functional food, and analyzed the different quality requirements of Chinese medicinal materials used in different scenarios. Further, we advised the differential development of Chinese medicinal materials in different directions(edible or medicinal use) from production to supervision. Including:(1) In the variety registration of Chinese medicinal materials with edible values, the variety breeding direction should be announced according to the requirements that medicinal materials care more about the content of active ingredients and food use materials preferentially need to meet the requirements of edible palatability.(2) Differentiation can be reflected in the selection of cultivation mode and planting and processing technology of medicinal materials, The differential production technical specification of medicinal materials with edible values should be developed. Such as the &quot;simulated cultivation&quot; mode is encouraged in the plant of medicinal materials to ensure its quality and the strict management of inputs and sufficient cultivation years should be guaranteed. While for edible medicinal materials, more kinds of cultivation techniques can be selected according to their processing methods.(3) The market supervision of medicinal materials with edible values should be guided by the purpose of their sales and use, which depends on the accurately recognize of the relationship between the properties of medicinal materials with edible values and the situation of pharmacopeia collection.(4) During publicity, when used as ordinary food and health food medi-cinal materials, it should be noticed that the publicity of the product's efficacy must meet the requirements of corresponding regulations.

HMOs (human milk oligosaccharides) are the third most important nutrient in breast milk. As complex glycans, HMOs play an important role in regulating neonatal intestinal immunity, resisting viral and bacterial infections, displaying anti-inflammatory characteristics, and promoting brain development. Although there have been some previous reports of HMOs, a detailed literature review summarizing the structure-activity relationships and dose-dependent effects of HMOs is lacking. Hence, after introducing the structures and synthetic pathways of HMOs, this review summarizes and categorizes identified structure-function relationships of HMOs. Differential mechanisms of different structural HMOs utilization by microorganisms are summarized. This review also emphasizes the recent advances in the interactions between different health benefits and the variance of dosage effect based on in vitro cell tests, animal experiments, and human intervention studies. The potential relationships between the chemical structure, the dosage selection, and the physiological properties of HMOs as functional foods are vital for further understanding of HMOs and their future applications.

Bergamotenes are bicyclo[3.1.1]heptane sesquiterpenes found abundantly in plants and fungi. Known bergamotene derivatives all possess (2 S ,6 S )-bergamotene backbone. In this study, two (+)- α - trans- bergamotene derivatives ( 1 and 2 ) with unusual (2 R ,6 R ) configuration were isolated and elucidated from marine fungus Nectria sp. HLS206 . The first (+)- α - trans -bergamotene synthase NsBERS was characterized using genome mining and heterologous expression-based strategies. Based on homology search, we characterized another (+)- α - trans -bergamotene synthase LsBERS from Lachnellula suecica and an (+)- α -bisabolol synthase BcBOS from Botrytis cinerea . We proposed that the cyclization mechanism of (+)- α-trans -bergamotene involved endo - anti cyclization of left-handed helix farnesyl pyrophosphate by (6 R )-bisabolyl cation, which was supported by molecular docking. The biosynthesis-based volatiles ( 3 - 6 ) produced by heterologous fungal expression systems elicited significant electroantennographic responses of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera frugiperda , respectively, suggesting their potential in biocontrol of these pests. This work enriches diversity of sesquiterpenoids and fungal sesquiterpene synthases, providing insight into the enzymatic mechanism of formation of enantiomeric sesquiterpenes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Area (QTPA) has a complex natural ecosystem, causing a greatly increased risk of spreading various tick-borne diseases including rickettsial infections, which are regarded as one of the oldest known vector-borne zoonoses. However, the information of one of its pathogen, spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFG Rickettsia ), is limited in tick vectors and animals in this area. Therefore, this study focused on the investigation of SFG Rickettsia in tick vectors, yaks ( Bos grunniens ), and Tibetan sheep ( Ovis aries ) in the QTPA. A total of 1,000 samples were collected from nine sampling sites, including 425 of yaks, 309 of Tibetan sheep, 266 of ticks. By morphological examination, PCR, and sequencing, we confirmed the species of all collected ticks. All tick samples, all yak and Tibetan sheep blood samples were detected based on SFG Rickettsia ompA and sca4 gene. The results showed that all tick samples were identified to be Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis , and the positive rates of SFG Rickettsia were 5.9% (25/425), 0.3% (1/309), and 54.1% (144/266) in yaks, Tibetan sheep, and ticks, respectively. All positive samples were sequenced, and BLASTn analysis of the ompA gene sequences of SFG Rickettsia showed that all positive samples from animals and ticks had 99.04-100% identity with yak and horse isolates from Qinghai Province, China. BLASTn analysis of the sca4 gene sequences of SFG Rickettsia showed that all positive samples had 97.60-98.72% identity with tick isolates from Ukraine. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis showed that all the SFG Rickettsia ompA and sca4 sequences obtained from this study belong to the same clade as Rickettsia raoultii isolated from livestock and ticks from China and other countries. Molecularly, this study detected and characterized SFG Rickettsia both in the tick vectors and animals, suggesting that the relationship between SFG Rickettsia , tick species and animal hosts should be explored to understand their interrelationships, which provide a theoretical basis for preventing control of this pathogen., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 He, Li, Sun, Kang, He, Guo, Ma, Wei, Li, Chen, Chen, Li, Qi, Yang, Zhang, Wang, Cai, Zhao, Hu, Chen and Li.)

Objective: To investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in microRNA-146a ( miR-146a ) gene and susceptibility of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: We systemically extracted the genetic data of miR-146a from previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of RA. Subsequently, we performed a replication study in an independent Chinese cohort for selected variant. A meta-analysis combined the previous GWASs with the replication study was also conducted. The epigenetic annotation and cytokine assay were used for exploring potential variant function., Results: The extracted genetic association data from three previous GWASs showed that the allele T of functional SNP rs2431697 increased RA susceptibility. The significant association for the SNP was also found in the Chinese replication cohort (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.06-1.46, p  = 8.69E-03). The estimated effect size for this SNP was larger in Asian population than that in European population (Asian meta-analysis: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.09-1.22, p  = 4.37E-07; Tran-ethnic meta-analysis: OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.04-1.10, p  = 1.79E-06). The cytokine assay also showed that the risk allele T of the SNP rs2431697 is inversely associated with plasma TNF-α levels in health controls ( p  = .016)., Conclusions: In summary, this study supports that genetic variant in miR-146a gene is associated with RA risk.KEY MESSAGESThe association between SNPs in miR-146a gene and susceptibility of RA was unclear.We investigated the genetic association using GWASs data and a replication study.The SNP rs2431697 in miR-146a gene is associated with RA risk.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is a contagious viral disease, and toll-like receptors (TLRs) play essential roles in resisting the pathogen. The aim of this study was to assess the potential relationship between several TLRs polymorphisms and the HFMD severity in a Chinese children population. A total of 328 Chinese children with HFMD were included in the present study. The polymorphisms of TLR3 (rs3775290, rs3775291, rs3775296, rs1879026, rs5743312, rs5743313, rs5743303, rs13126816, and rs3775292), TLR4 (rs4986790, rs4986791, rs2149356, rs11536889, and rs41426344), TLR7 (rs179009, rs179010, rs179016, rs3853839, rs2302267, rs1634323, and rs5741880), and TLR8 (rs3764880, rs2159377, rs2407992, rs5744080, rs3747414, rs3764879, and rs5744069) genes were selected. The study indicated that individuals with the GG genotype of TLR3 single-nucleotide polymorphism rs1879026 had a higher risk of developing severe cases (GG vs. GT: OR = 1.875; 95% CI, 1.183-2.971; p = .007). Meanwhile, TLR3 rs3775290 CC genotype and C allele were associated with lower disease severity in females (CC vs. CT: OR = 0.350; 95% CI, 0.163-0.751; p = .006; C vs. T: OR = 0.566; 95% CI, 0.332-0.965; p = .036). TLR3 rs3775291 CC genotype showed 2.537 folds higher risk of developing severe cases in females (CC vs. CT: OR = 2.537; 95% CI, 1.108-5.806; p = .026). Moreover, TLR3 rs1879026 GG genotype was found to be related to increased risk of severe cases in males (GG vs. GT: OR = 2.076; 95% CI, 1.144-3.768; p = .016). The current findings show that the genetic variants of TLR3 rs1879026, rs3775290, and rs3775291 are associated with the severity of EV-A71-associated HFMD in a Chinese children population., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Carboxyl CoA ligases(CCLs) is an important branch of adenylate synthetase gene family, which mainly has two-step catalytic reactions. Firstly, in the presence of adenosine triphosphate, it can catalyze the pyrophosphorylation of carboxylateswith diffe-rent structures to form corresponding acyl adenosine monophosphate intermediates. Secondly, adenosine monophosphate was replaced by free electrons in the mercaptan group of enzyme A or other acyl receptors by nucleophilic attack to form thioesters. In this study, on the basis of the transcriptome database of Arnebia euchroma, two genes were selected, named AeCCL5(XP&#95;019237476.1) and AeCCL7(XP&#95;019237476.1). Bioinformatics analysis showed that their relative molecular weights were 60.569 kDa and 60.928 kDa, theoretical PI were 8.59 and 8.92, respectively. They both have transmembrane domains but without signal peptide. By multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis, we found that the similarity between AeCCLs and other plant homologous proteins was not high, and the substrate binding sites of AeCCLs were not highly conserved. The reasons might be that the sequence and structure need to adapt to the changes of new substrates in the process of evolution. In this study, the full-length of AeCCL5 and AecCCL7 were cloned into the expression vector pCDFDuet-1. The proteins of AeCCL5 and AeCCL7 with His-tag were expressed in Escherichia coli. The proteins of AeCCL5 and AeCCL7 were purified by nickel column. In vitro enzymatic reactions proved that both AeCCL5 and AeCCL7 can participate in the upstream phenylpropane pathway of shikonin biosynthesisby catalyzing 4-coumaric acid to produce 4-coumarin-CoA, and then to synthesis p-hydroxybenzoic acid, which is an important precursor of shikonin biosynthesis in A. euchroma.

As the most advanced environment-friendly production model in the international society, ecological agriculture of Chinese materia medica(CMM) is the only way for the development of modern agriculture. With the proposal of the declaration on ecolo-gical agriculture of CMM, &quot;Don't grab land from farmland, don't be enemies of grass and insects, don't be afraid of barren slopes and forests, and live up to the green and green mountains&quot;, the ecological planting of CMM has blossomed all over the country, and formed a scientific theory, technology and model. Based on the theory and method of economics, this paper expounds the comprehensive benefits and development advantages of ecological agriculture of CMM from the perspectives of farmers(producers), patients(consumers) and the country. From the perspective of medicinal farmers, the input and output income of conventional agriculture and ecological agriculture of CMM such as Panax ginseng, Astragalus propinquus, Atractylodes lancea, and Bupleurum chinense were compared, and it was found that ecological agriculture of CMM had obvious advantages in net income, average annual income and input-output ratio, which could better promote farmers' income. From the perspective of patients, according to the same dose, the content of active ingredients in ecologically planted CMMs is significantly higher than that in conventionally-planted herbs, and the amount of effective substances taken by patients is also higher, so as to achieve better therapeutic effect. At the national level, ecological planting of CMM is the key to ensuring the high-quality development of CMM industry, increasing farmers' income, ensuring the safety of people's drug use and promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. It is also an important part of realizing the harmonious development of economy, society and environment and promoting ecological civilization. In general, the declaration on ecological agriculture of CMM embo-dies the core characteristics and goals of ecological agriculture, and also points of the path and vision of ecological agriculture of CMM in the future. The declaration will guide production practice, promote the benefit of farmers, and lay the foundation for the sustainable development of CMM industry.

The study is aimed through field experiments to study the effect of combined application of organic and chemical fertilizers on the growth and quality of Salvia miltiorrhiza, provide ideas for reducing fertilization while increasing the efficiency as well as improving the quality of produces. The experiment included 6 treatments viz., no fertilization(CK), full application of chemical fertilizer(F), 25% orga-nic fertilizer with 75% chemical fertilizer(M25), 50% organic fertilizer with 50% chemical fertilizer(M50), 75% organic fertilizer with 25% chemical fertilizer(M75), and fully apply organic fertilizer(M100). The results showed that:(1)from the perspective of yield and economic benefits, M75 was the best and M100 second;(2)for effective components, the combined application of organic and chemical fertilizers increased the content of main water-soluble components and the total content of effective components, among which M25 and M50 were better.

Caffeic acid and its oligomers are the main water-soluble active constituents of the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) Arnebiae Radix. These compounds possess multiple biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, cardiovascular protective, liver protective, anti-liver fibrosis, antiviral and anticancer activities. The phenylpropanoid pathway in plants is responsible for the biosynthesis of caffeic acid and its oligomers. Glycosylation can change phenylpropanoid solubility, stability and toxic potential, as well as influencing compartmentalization and biological activity. In view of the important role played by de-glycosylation in the regulation of phenylpropanoid homeostasis, the biosynthesis of caffeic acid and its oligomers are supposed to be under the control of relative UDP-glycosyltransferases(UGTs). Through the data mining of Arnebia euchroma transcriptome, we cloned 15 full-length putative UGT genes. After recombinant expression using the prokaryotic system, the crude enzyme solution of the putative UGTs was examined for the glycosylation activities towards caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid in vitro. AeUGT&#95;01, AeUGT&#95;02, AeUGT&#95;03, AeUGT&#95;04 and AeUGT&#95;10 were able to glycosylate caffeic acid and/or rosmarinic acid resulting in different mono-and/or di-glycosylated products in the UPLC-MS analyses. The characterized UGTs were distantly related to each other and divided into different clades of the phylogenetic tree. Based on the observation that each characterized UGT exhibited substrate or catalytic similarity with the members in their own clade, we supposed the glycosylation abilities towards caffeic acid and/or rosmarinic acid were evolved independently in different clades. The identification of caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid UGTs from A. euchroma could lead to deeper understanding of the caffeic acid oligomers biosynthesis and its regulation. Furthermore, these UGTs might be used for regiospecific glycosylation of caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid to produce bioactive compounds for potential therapeutic applications.

Objectives: The present study aimed to discover novel susceptibility loci associated with risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: We performed a new genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Chinese subjects (1027 RA cases and 2879 controls) and further conducted an expanded meta-analysis with previous GWAS summary data and replication studies. The functional roles of the associated loci were interrogated using publicly available databases. Dual-luciferase reporter and cytokine assay were also used for exploring variant function., Results: We identified five new susceptibility loci ( IL12RB2 , BOLL-PLCL1 , CCR2 , TCF7 and IQGAP1 ; p meta <5.00E-08) with same effect direction in each study cohort. The sensitivity analyses showed that the genetic association of at least three loci was reliable and robust. All these lead variants are expression quantitative trait loci and overlapped with epigenetic marks in immune cells. Furthermore, genes within the five loci are genetically associated with risk of other autoimmune diseases, and genes within four loci are known functional players in autoimmunity, which supports the validity of our findings. The reporter assay showed that the risk allele of rs8030390 in IQGAP1 have significantly increased reporter activity in HEK293T cells. In addition, the cytokine assay found that the risk allele of rs244672 in TCF7 was most significantly associated with increased plasma IL-17A levels in healthy controls. Finally, identified likely causal genes in these loci significantly interacted with RA drug targets., Conclusion: This study identified novel RA risk loci and highlighted that comprehensive genetic study can provide important information for RA pathogenesis and drug therapy., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

In this study, based on the transcriptome database of suspension cells of Arnebia euchroma, we explored two candidate cytochrome P450 enzyme genes that might relate to the shikonin biosynthesis downstream pathway when CYP76B74 sequence was referenced. We constructed interference-type hairy roots of candidate genes and cultured them. We measured the fresh weight, dry weight, total naphthoquinone content, shikonin and its derivatives content and expression levels of key enzyme genes involved in shikonin biosynthesis pathway. The effects of candidate genes on the growth and shikonin production of A. euchroma hairy roots were discussed, and the possible regulatory mechanisms that candidate genes affected shikonin synthesis were discussed. Through local Blast and phylogenetic analysis, two candidate CYP450 genes(CYP76B75 and CYP76B100) with high homology to CYP76B74 in A. euchroma were screened, and corresponding interference hairy roots were constructed. Compared with the control(RNAi-control), the fresh weight of CYP76B75 interfered hairy root(RNAi-CYP76B75) and CYP76B100 interfered hairy root(RNAi-CYP76B100) were significantly reduced, while dry weight were not affected, so the dry rate increased significantly. Except for β-acetoxyisovalerylalkannin, which is high in three groups of hairy roots, the contents of shikonin, deoxyshikonin, acetylshikonin, β,β'-dimethacrylicalkannin, β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin,β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin, isobutyrylshikonin and total naphthoquinones showed a consistent pattern: RNAi-CYP76B75&gt;RNAi-CYP76B100&gt;RNAi-control. Among them, the synthesis of β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin was most significantly promoted by interfering with the expression of CYP76B75. The content of β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin in RNAi-CYP76B75 was 11.7 times that of RNAi-control. RESULTS:: of real-time qPCR analysis showed that compared to RNAi-control, the expression levels of AePGT gene in RNAi-CYP76B75 and RNAi-CYP76B100 were not changed significantly, and the expression levels of CYP76B74 and AeHMGR were up-regulated. In addition, the expression level of CYP76B100 in RNAi-CYP76B75 was down-regulated, whereas in RNAi-CYP76B100, the expression of CYP76B75 was significantly up-regulated. Therefore, this study confirmed that when the expression of CYP76B75 and CYP76B100 were interrupted, the growth of hairy roots were suppressed, but the synthesis of shikonin were promoted. They might increase the shikonin biosynthesis by up-regulating the expression of CYP76B74 in the hairy roots of A. euchroma.

The cluster brand is the embodiment of the core competitiveness of an industry. Developing and cultivating cluster brand of ecological agriculture of Dao-di herbs not only helps to optimize the value chain of the Chinese medicinal materials(CMMs) industry cluster, realize the value-added of the CMMs industry cluster, but also enhance the visibility and influence of the industrial cluster, enhance the core competitiveness of the industrial cluster. This has important practical significance for promoting the &quot;orderly&quot; &quot;safe&quot; and &quot;effective&quot; development of the Dao-di herbs. Based on the industry development status of CMMs, this article introduces several concepts related to cluster brands and their relationships, and focuses on the cultivation models and strategies of cluster brand in the CMMs industry. Based on the current status of the development of the CMMs industry, this article introduces several concepts related to cluster brands and their interrelationships. It discusses the cultivation models and strategies of cluster brands in the CMMs industry, industry associations, Chinese medicine companies and individual growers as the support, insists on the ecological cultivation of authentic medicinal materials and the cultivation of cluster brands. Finally, it points out the direction for the high-quality development of the ecological agriculture of CMMs.

As an environment-friendly agriculture, ecological agriculture of Chinese materia medica(CMM) is being implemented in all parts of the country. Due to the stronger dependence on natural environmental conditions, ecological agriculture of CMM shows obvious regional differences in production practice. More mature CMM ecological planting patterns representative of each region were collected. It was found that common types of patterns in various regions of the country mainly included intercropping,intercropping,rotation planting mode, undergrowth planting mode, wild tending planting mode and landscape ecological planting mode. Based on the Construction Plan of National Dao-di Herbs Production Base(2018-2025) and Chinese Medicine Division, this paper systematically sorts out the pattern of ecological planting of CMM in the 8-avenue medicinal materials production areas according to the varieties and regions. The specific pattern of ecological planting of CMM included the ginseng undergrowth planting pattern in northeastern China, the bionics wild ecological planting of the Forsythia suspensa in northern China, the Fritillaria thunbergii-rice rotation in eastern China, the imitation wild planting pattern under the Polygonatum cyrtonema in central China, the planting pattern of the Fructus amomi under forest in southern China, the Ligusticum chuanxiong-rice rotation pattern in the Southwest, wild tending of Glycyrrhiza uralensis in the Northwest, and rhubarb imitation wild planting pattern in Qinghai-Tibet area. Finally, it is expected to provide reference for the screening and popularization of ecological planting patterns of other CMMs in various distribution areas.

This paper analyzed life form, habitats and environmental stresses of medicinal plants and algal fungi collected in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2015). ①It was found that only 0.94% of the medicinal plants mainly cultivated in field. The most common habitats of medicinal plants are divided into two types: those whose natural habitats are forest margins/undergrowth(about 42.53%) and those whose natural habitats are roadside, hillside, wasteland/sand(about 43.78%). The former mainly faces environmental stresses such as weak light, pests and diseases; the latter often faces the main environmental stresses of drought, strong light, ultraviolet radiation, high temperature, low temperature(day and night or annual temperature difference is large), nutrient deficiency, pests and so on. ②Based on analyzing the strategies of medicinal plants to adapt to environmental stresses, it is pointed out that the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites are the most important strategies of medicinal plants to protect against environmental stresses. In the process of long-term adaptation to specific stress, the accumulation of relevant genetic variation and epigenetic inheritance has become an important condition for the formation of quality of medicinal plants. ③It is proposed that &quot;simulative habitat cultivation&quot; has obvious advantages in balancing growth and secondary metabolism and guaranting the quality of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

This paper summarized the effects of ecological planting on secondary metabolism firstly and pointed out that ecological planting can increase the content of secondary metabolites in plants, especially the content of defensive secondary metabolites. The possible mechanism was analyzed subsequently. Then, we reviewed the induction and utilization of secondary metabolism in the ecological planting of Chinese materia medica from the perspectives of biological control of pests and diseases, promotion of beneficial microorganism accumulation, optimization of mixed planting, regulation of no-tillage and straw cover. In this article, we pointed out that paying close attention to secondary metabolism is the most important feature of ecological planting of Chinese materia medica. Ecological planting can promote the accumulation of secondary metabolites of Chinese materia medica which means can improve the quality of Chinese materia medica, beneficial to the prevention and control of diseases, insects and weeds. Furthermore, lacking of systemic researches,the extensive verifications and systematic in-depth researches on the ecological planting of Chinese materia medica should be carry out urgently.

The ecological agriculture of Chinese materia medica(CMM) has become the most dynamic and promising new field in the global ecological agriculture. The development of ecological planting of CMM has become the national strategy of Chinese traditional medicine agriculture. It has been highly valued and has flourished throughout the country, and has formed some more mature ecological planting models of CMM. Based on the system level, this paper sorts out the common ecological cultivation patterns of CMM, and obtains five basic patterns: landscape pattern at the ecological landscape level, circulation pattern at the ecosystem level, stereo model at the bio-community level, biodiversity patterns at the level of biological populations and well-established models at the level of biological individuals. On this basis, eight common ecological planting techniques of CMM were obtained, includingwild tending techniques, fine agricultural farming techniques, directional cultivation techniques, soil improvement techniques, soil testing and fertilization techniques, mycorrhizal cultivation techniques, green control technology for pests and diseases and facility cultivation techniques.This paper aims to provide theoretical basis for scientific research and popularization and application of CMM ecological planting.

Pomacea canaliculata , a freshwater snail from South America, has rapidly established natural populations from south to north subtropical region in China, since its original introductions in the 1980s. Low temperature in winter is a limiting factor in the geographic expansion and successfully establishment for apple snail populations. There have been some studies on population level of low temperature tolerance for P. canaliculata , yet little is quantified about its life-history traits in responses to cold temperatures. Whether these responses vary with the acclimation location is also unclear. We investigated the survivorship and longevity of P. canaliculata in responses to cold temperatures and examine whether these responses vary with the location and snail size. We hypothesized that survival of the snails depends on their shell height and the level of low temperature, and P. canaliculata population from the mid-subtropical zone may exhibit the highest viability over the cold thermal range.We sampled P. canaliculata populations from five latitude and longitude ranges of subtropical China: Guangzhou population in southernmost (SM-GZ), three populations of Yingtan (MR-YT), Ningbo (MR-NB), Ya'an (MR-YA) in midrange, and Huanggang population in northernmost (NM-HG) subtropical zone. For each P. canaliculata population, survival and longevity at six cold acclimation temperature levels (12, 9, 6, 3, 0, and -3°C) were quantified, and the effects of location and shell height were examined.The MR-YA population from mid-subtropical zone of China exhibited the highest survival rate and prolonged survival time regardless of the temperature acclimation treatments, whereas the SM-GZ population from southern subtropical was the most sensitive to cold temperatures, particular temperatures below 9°C. No individuals of the SM-GZ population could survive after stressed for 30 days (3°C), 5 days (0°C) and 2 days (-3°C), respectively. For each experimental P. canaliculata population held at 3, 0, and -3°C, individuals with intermediate shell height of 15.0-25.0 mm had significantly higher survivals.The results highlight a request of a more thorough investigation on acclimation responses in each of the life table demographic parameters for P. canaliculata , and pose the question of whether natural selection or some genetic changes may have facilitated adaptation in invasive locations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interests., (© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Andrographis paniculata is an important traditional medicinal herb in South and Southeast Asian countries with diverse pharmacological activities that contains various flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides. Glycosylation can transform aglycones into more stable, biologically active and structurally diverse glycosides. Here, we report three glycosyltransferases from the leaves of A. paniculata (ApUFGTs) that presented wide substrate spectra for flavonoid glycosylation and exhibited multi-site glycosylation on the substrate molecules. They acted on the 7-OH position of the A ring and were able to glycosylate several other different types of compounds. The biochemical properties and phylogenetic analysis of these glycosyltransferases were also investigated. This study provides a basis for further research on the cloning of genes involved in glycosylation from A. paniculata and offers opportunities for enhancing flavonoid glycoside production in heterologous hosts. These enzymes are expected to become effective tools for drug discovery and for the biosynthesis of derivatives via flavonoid glycosylation., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare.

The dynamics of the reactive scatterings of the ground (Na(3S)) and first excited (Na(3P)) state sodium atoms from hydrogen fluoride (HF) molecules is investigated by performing comprehensive Coriolis-coupled quantum wave packet calculations on the recent ab initio potential energy surface (PES). In the Na(3S) + HF reaction, the nonadiabatic effect is found to be negligibly small, and the reactivity is significantly promoted by the initial vibrational excitations being in line with the available experimental result. Excellent quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is also achieved for the initial state specified integral cross sections and rate constants for v ≥ 3 vibrational states. However, the calculated rate constant for v = 2 significantly underestimates the experimental result. The possible cause for the disagreement is discussed in detail. For the Na(3P) + HF scattering, which can lead to the formation of either the ground state NaF + H product or Na(3S) + HF reactant via the harpooning process, the calculated result for the integral cross section shows excellent agreement with the available experimental result indicating the reasonable accuracy of the interstate coupling term of the employed PES.

Guizhi decoction come from Typhoid Theory written by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous physician in the Han dynasty. It is called "the leading group of the group" by later doctors. At present, Guizhi decoction is widely used in treatment of many diseases of internal, external, gynecologic and other diseases. This article discusses the clinical application and mechanism of Guizhi decoction in two aspects. This article expounds that Guizhi decoction is widely used in colds, febrile diseases, various perspiration, digestive system diseases and respiratory diseases, Some diseases, such as ear, nose and throat disease, nervous system disease, cardiac autonomic neuropathy, and bone and joint disease. The mechanism of Guizhi decoction in the treatment of diseases may be related to the mechanism of biaxial regulation of body temperature and gastrointestinal motility, mucosal immune intervention, secretion of sweat glands, inflammation immune function and myocardial protective effect and so on., 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.)

To explore the influence of rapid urbanization development on the accumulation of 16 priority PAHs in urban environment, thirty-three surface sediments from city lakes in different urbanized areas of Shanghai were collected to evaluate the occurrence characteristic and source apportionment of PAHs. The concentrations of Σ 16 PAHs in lake surface sediments ranged from 55.7 to 4928 ng g -1 with a mean value of 1131 ng g -1 (standard deviation, 1228 ng g -1 ), of which 4-, 5- and 6-ring PAHs were the dominant components. Spatial distribution of PAHs in lake surface sediments showed a significantly declining trend along with a decreasing urbanization gradient (one-way ANOVA, p < .05). Two hotspots of sediment PAHs were mainly distributed at highly urbanized areas with intensive population density and heavy traffic activities and at burgeoning industrial towns in the suburb. Source apportionment of total PAHs identified by a constrained positive matrix factorization model revealed that vehicle emission and combustion of coal, biomass and natural gas were the absolutely predominant sources, respectively accounting for 55.0% and 40.45% of total PAHs burden in lake sediments. Land use regression (LUR) models were successfully developed to evaluate spatial variation of PAHs contamination in urban sediments based on their significant correlations with residential land, commercial land, traffic variables, industrial sources, and population density. All PAH compounds showed strong associations with one or two source indicators (the traffic congestion index and the number of industrial sources), with the fitting R 2 varying from 0.529 to 0.984. Our findings suggest that energy consumption related to land use activities obviously promoted PAH accumulations in urban sediment environment during rapid development of urbanization and industrialization in Shanghai., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A new ab initio potential energy surface (PES) for the ground state of Li + HCl reactive system has been constructed by three-dimensional cubic spline interpolation of 36 654 ab initio points computed at the MRCI+Q/aug-cc-pV5Z level of theory. The title reaction is found to be exothermic by 5.63 kcal/mol (9 kcal/mol with zero point energy corrections), which is very close to the experimental data. The barrier height, which is 2.99 kcal/mol (0.93 kcal/mol for the vibrationally adiabatic barrier height), and the depth of van der Waals minimum located near the entrance channel are also in excellent agreement with the experimental findings. This study also identified two more van der Waals minima. The integral cross sections, rate constants, and their dependence on initial rotational states are calculated using an exact quantum wave packet method on the new PES. They are also in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of Ophiopogonis Radix from produce area, circulation link and clinical application in Sichuan, and to provide the theoretical basis for the quality control of Ophiopogonis Radix in Sichuan., Methods: 105 samples were collected from different produce area, market, factory of decoction pieces, drugstore in Sichuan. The content of moisture,total ash, extractum, total saponin, heavy metal, harmful element, pesticide residues, sulfur dioxide were measured by the methods which recorded in Chinese pharmacopoeia. The content of ophiopogonin D, methylophiopogonanone A, methylophiopogonanone B were measured by HPLC., Results: The content of moisture, total ash, extractum, total saponin in 105 samples Ophiopogonis Radix in Sichuan were at 5. 7%~ 17. 9%,0. 9% ~ 3. 4%,68. 7% ~ 95. 1%,0. 12% ~ 0. 57%,respectively. Over standard rate of sulfur dioxide was 23. 81%. The content of heavy metal and harmful element was conform to the limitation requirement of Chinese pharmacopoeia. Three kinds of organic pesticide had not been checked out. The content of ophiopogonin D, methylophiopogonanone A,methylophiopogonanone B were at 0. 04~ 0. 30 mg/kg,0. 0170 ~ 0. 0837 mg/kg,0. 0049 ~ 0. 0370 mg/kg, respectively., Conclusion: The quality of 105 samples are up to the requirement with the provisions of the Chinese pharmacopoeia. Actually,the mandatory standard was not perfect, especially lack of standard in security. It is suggested that strengthening supervision of sulfur dioxide and paclobutrazol residual according to the actual situation for ensuring the safe and effective of Ophiopogonis Radix in clinical application.

The prenylation of aromatic compounds plays an important role in the natural product research because it not only gives rise to an astounding diversity of primary and secondary metabolites in plants, fungi and bacteria but also enhances the bioactivities and bioavailabilities of these compounds. However, further investigation of prenylated aromatic compounds is frequently hindered due to their low content in nature and difficulties in chemical synthesis. Cloning aromatic prenyltransferase genes followed by heterologous expression would be attractive tools for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of bioactive molecules. This review summarizes the classifications, structural investigations, enzymatic catalysis and other progress in aromatic prenyltransferases originated from microorganisms.

Ten compounds were isolated and purified from cell suspension cultures of Cudrania tricuspidata with silica-gel column chromatography, semi-preparative HPLC and Sephadex LH-20. On the base of their physicochemical properties and spectral data, their structures were identified as 1, 3, 5-trihydroxy4-(3, 3-dimethylallyl) xanthone (1), wighteone (2), 6-prenylapigenin (3), licoflavone C(4), cudraflavanone C(5), erythrivarone A (6), derrone (7), carthamidin (8), genistein (9) and aromadendrin (10). Among them, compounds 2-10 were flavonoids, and compound 1 was a xanthone which was isolated from the plant for the first time.

Objective: To study the changes of dietary pattern among adult residents in different areas of Liaoning province from 1989 to 2006., Methods: Healthy adults (6213 subjects) at age of 18 - 65 years from 480 households in three cities (Shenyang, Yingkou, Wafangdian) and three counties (Qingyuan, Huanren, Chaoyang) were selected with stratified multiple cluster random sampling. The information on nutrient intake of the subjects were collected from datasets of Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in 1989, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2004, and 2006. Different food intake, the nutrients intake percentages for recommended nutrition intake (RNI) and appropriate intake (AI), and the percentages of total energy and protein from grain, animal product, bean and its product were calculated to assess the residents' dietary pattern and nutrition status. The changes of dietary pattern among adult residents were analyzed., Results: Among the residents, there were a 38.1% of decreased intake for grain (from 601.9 to 372.5 g/d), 20.5% for potato (from 75.6 to 60.1 g/d), 25.1% for beans (from 38.7 to 29.0 g/d), and a 77.2% of increased intake for fish and shrimp (from 25.0 to 44.3 g/d), 36.9% for livestock and poultry (from 65.6 to 89.8 g/d), 47.7% for fruit (from 70.7 to 104.4 g/d), and intake of milk product (from 5.8 to 21.3 g/d), egg (from 17.3 to 35.7 g/d), vegetable (from 296.1 to 316.3 g/d) were also increased from 1989 to 2006. During the period, the intake percentages of energy and protein from grain decreased from 67.5% (8.7 MJ/12.8 MJ per day) to 51.5% (5.0 MJ/9.6 MJ per day) and from 72.0% (66.2 g/91.9 g per day) to 59.7% (45.3 g/75.9 g per day), and on the contrary those from animal products increased from 8.9% (1.1 MJ/12.8 MJ per day) to 14.8 (1.4 MJ/9.6 MJ per day) and from 15.9% (14.6 g/91.9 g per day) to 27.9% (21.2 g/75.9 g per day), respectively. In 2006, the intake of vitamin A (508.9 µg/d) was 67.6% of it's RNI, intake of vitamin B(2) (0.9 mg/d) was 64.6% and the intake of calcium (453.7 mg/d) was 52.5% of it's AI among the residents., Conclusion: The intake of plant food decreased and that of animal food increased from 1989 to 2006 and the dietary intakes of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B(2) need to be increased among adult population of Liaoning province.

Objective: To determine the transcription of SDF-1alpha in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and analysis the correlation between SDF-1alpha transcription and HIV infection., Methods: Three groups of study subjects were recruited: (1) 97 HIV negative healthy donors, (2) 92 HIV patients of A1 to A3 stages and (3) 146 HIV patients of B1 to C3 stages. Total RNA was extracted from PBL. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and quantification PCR were developed for the SDF-1alpha transcriptional study. R1 value was calculated based on the ratio of SDF-1alpha copies to beta-globin copies., Results: SDF-1alpha transcription is heterogeneous among the three study groups. The SDF-1alpha transcription was significantly up-regulated during late stage of HIV infection than the healthy donors. Correlation analysis indicated that R1 value was negatively correlated to CD4+ T cells counts (P = 0.002); and positively correlated to virus load (P = 0.001). The result demonstrated an association between SDF-1alpha transcription and disease progression., Conclusion: SDF-1alpha transcription was significantly up-regulated during late stage of HIV infection. It would be worthwhile to determine the mechnism of HIV affecting on SDF-1alpha genes transcription and the up-regulated SDF-1alpha expression on the disease progression.

Objective: To study the distribution of intramuscular nerve and blood vessels in forearm muscles and to discuss the possibility of dividing the forearm muscles into independent functional units., Methods: (1) The muscles were dissected in 10 forearms from 5 fresh adult human cadavers and stained with the Sihler's nerve staining; (2) The blood vessels were studied in eight forearm muscles from 4 fresh adult human cadavers with irrigation of a mixture of 30% barium sulfate and gelatin from brachial artery and then X-photographed. All pictures were compared to study the intramuscular distribution of nerve and blood vessels., Results: The intramuscular nerve branches were stained purple-black and visualized clearly. The muscles were classified into three types according to the distribution characters of intramuscular nerve and blood vessels. And the types of muscles could be further subdivided into a and b subtypes., Conclusion: According to the neurovascular distribution, the forearm muscles in type II a and type III a can be divided into independent function units for muscle functional transplantation.

Objective: To study the course and distribution of buccal and marginal mandibular branches of facial nerve, and its relevance to the treatment of facial paralysis and the protection of facial nerve during surgery., Methods: 12 cadaver heads were dissected (24 specimens). The course of the buccal and marginal mandibular branch and the interconnections between them were observed. The relationship of buccal branch to parotid duct, marginal mandibular branch to the inferior border of mandible were studied. With modified Sihler's staining technique, the distribution of facial nerve branches in innervated mimetic muscles was displayed. These anatomic relationships mentioned above were further confirmed during the operation of 40 patients with facial paralysis., Results: Parotid duct had a constant surface landmark. Buccal branch mainly consisted of 2-3 ramifications in 87.5% of the specimens, while marginal mandibular branch was double or single in 95.9% of the specimens. The buccal branch coursed within the distance between 10.7 mm above and 9.3 mm below the parotid duct, and innervated mimetic muscles of midface. The marginal mandibular branch coursed within the distance between 13.4 mm above and 4.8 mm below the lower border of mandible, crossed superiorly the facial artery and innervated mimetic muscles of lower lip., Conclusions: There is a close relationship of buccal branch to parotid duct and marginal mandibular branch to facial artery and lower border of mandible. With modified Sihler's staining technique, the original 3-dimensional picture of the intramuscular nerve distribution in human mimetic muscles.

Objective: To identify the promoter of human nicastrin (NCT) gene, a major component of gamma-secretase which is closely related with pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease., Methods: Promoter of human Alzheimer's disease related gene, nicastrin, a 1768 bp fragment was firstly isolated from human genomic DNA by PCR. This fragment's 3 flanking end was 4 bp upstream to the start codon ATG (+1) of the gene. This fragment was used as template, a series of deleted fragments were amplified and constructed to the pGL3-Enhancer plasmid with the artificial designed linkers. The relative activity of their promoter in Hela cells was studied by dual-luciferase assay., Results: The 420 bp fragment showed the strongest activity, and the 237 bp fragment was the minimal fragment in length with activity., Conclusion: The promoter of NCT is located at -432/-133 region upstream the translational start codon, while its basal promoter is between -359/-90 that drives the transcription of reporter gene in Hela cells.

Every living organism needs to have multiple defense mechanisms against environmental challenge for survival during evolution. Rapid changes in gene expression have been demonstrated during bacterial adaptation to environmental stress. Since DNA supercoiling varies in response to environment, and since supercoiling is known to influence strand separation in DNA, and therefore many vital cellular processes, including transcription, supercoiling could potentially serve as a molecular mechanism through which expression of many genes could be influenced by the environment. The relationship between changes in DNA topology and a number of environmental stress conditions including high temperature, oxidative stress and extreme pH, is reviewed here. The activities of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase I are key components in determining the degree of bacterial DNA supercoiling. The specific involvement of topoisomerase function in bacterial adaptation to these environmental stress conditions, as demonstrated by the effect of mutations or inhibitors on adaptation and survival for these potentially lethal conditions, is also reviewed.

Objective. To investigate the effect of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) in upright seated position on cerebral blood flow velocity, heart rate (HR), and blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) in human. Method. Fifteen young men were selected as subjects. Blood flow velocity in middle cerebral artery (VMCA), HR and SaO2 were measured at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 min during LBNP and 1, 3, 5 min after -4.00 kPa and -6.67 kPa LBNP in upright seated position respectively. Result. Under -4.00 kPa LBNP, VMCA slowed down at 4, 5 min during LBNP (P<0.05), and HR speeded up at 3, 4, 5 min during LBNP (P<0.05). There were no significant changes of SaO2. Under -6.67 kPa LBNP, VMCA became slow at 2, 3 min (P<0.05), and at 4 and 5 min (P<0.01) during LBNP. At 1 min after release of LBNP, VMCA did not recover, after which it recovered to control level. HR significantly increased (P<0.01) and SaO2 decreased at 5 min (P<0.05) during LBNP. Conclusion. LBNP can cause blood pooling in lower body so that VMCA and brain blood volume decrease. Then it causes loss of consciousness. The results of this experiment may provide experimental data for diagnosis of flight syncope and orthostatic intolerance.