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Sinoseneciominshanicus (Asteraceae, Senecioneae), a new species from south-eastern Gansu (Wenxian and Zhugqu counties) and northern Sichuan (Pingwu county), China, is described and illustrated. This species is similar to S.rotundifolius , a species locally endemic to Songpan county in northern Sichuan, in having a scapigerous habit, orbicular leaves and solitary capitula, but differs by the presence (vs. absence) of stolons and by having thinner rhizomes (ca. 2 mm vs. more than 5 mm in diameter), stems proximally sparsely fulvous arachnoid or glabrescent (vs. densely sericeous-villous) and obscure (vs. conspicuous) main veins on adaxial surface of leaves. The chromosome number of the new species is reported to be 2 n = 60. Colour photographs of living plants in the wild and a distribution map are provided for the new species and S.rotundifolius . The geographical distribution of S.rotundifolius is also corrected, with the previous record of this species from south-eastern Gansu (Wenxian county) actually referring to S.minshanicus ., (Xiu-Jiang Su, Wen-Qun Fei, Ding Zhao, Ying Liu, Qin-Er Yang.)

Background: Acute skeletal muscle injuries are common physical or sports traumas. Cellular therapy has excellent potential for regeneration after skeletal muscle injury. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a more accessible type of stem cell. However, it has a low survival rate and differentiation efficiency in the oxidative stress-rich microenvironment after transplantation. Although molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant biological properties, its utility in mitochondrial and stem cell research has not been adequately explored., Objective: This study aimed to reveal the role of H 2 on adipose-derived stem cells' myogenic differentiation., Methods: The protective effects of H 2 in ADSCs were evaluated by MTT assay, live-dead cell staining, western blot analysis, immunofluorescence staining, confocal imaging, and transmission electron microscopy., Results: An appropriate volume fraction of H 2 significantly decreased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, increased the number of mitochondria, and promoted mitophagy, thus enhancing the survival and myogenic differentiation of ADSCs., Conclusion: This study reveals the application potential of H 2 in skeletal muscle diseases or other pathologies related to mitochondrial dysfunction., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Plasmodium knowlesi utilizes the Duffy binding protein alpha (PkDBPα) to facilitate its invasion into human erythrocytes. PkDBPα region II (PkDBPαII) from Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo has been shown to occur as distinct haplotypes, and the predominant haplotypes from these geographical areas demonstrated differences in binding activity to human erythrocytes in erythrocyte binding assays. This study aimed to determine the effects of genetic polymorphisms in PkDBPαII to immune responses in animal models. The recombinant PkDBPαII (~ 45 kDa) of Peninsular Malaysia (PkDBPαII-H) and Malaysian Borneo (PkDBPαII-S) were expressed in a bacterial expression system, purified, and used in mice and rabbit immunization. The profile of cytokines IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in immunized mice spleen was determined via ELISA. The titer and IgG subtype distribution of raised antibodies was characterized. Immunized rabbit sera were purified and used to perform an in vitro merozoite invasion inhibition assay. The PkDBPαII-immunized mice sera of both groups showed high antibody titer and a similar IgG subtype distribution pattern: IgG2b > IgG1 > IgG2a > IgG3. The PkDBPαII-H group was shown to have higher IL-1ra (P = 0.141) and IL-6 (P = 0.049) concentrations, with IL-6 levels significantly higher than that of the PkDBPαII-S group (P ≤ 0.05). Merozoite invasion inhibition assay using purified anti-PkDBPαII antibodies showed a significantly higher inhibition rate in the PkDBPαII-H group than the PkDBPαII-S group (P ≤ 0.05). Besides, anti-PkDBPαII-H antibodies were able to exhibit inhibition activity at a lower concentration than anti-PkDBPαII-S antibodies. PkDBPαII was shown to be immunogenic, and the PkDBPαII haplotype from Peninsular Malaysia exhibited higher responses in cytokines IL-1ra and IL-6, antibody IgM level, and merozoite invasion inhibition assay than the Malaysian Borneo haplotype. This suggests that polymorphisms in the PkDBPαII affect the level of immune responses in the host., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Over the years, scientists have been focused on the development of microneedle coating process to coat a broad range of therapeutic agents onto the surface of the solid microneedles for effective drug delivery. The precise dose control, content uniformity as well as large-scale production of coated microneedles are still the core issues that have been the interest of researchers in this topic. To this end, a repeatable method that involved a micro-molding process was demonstrated for mass fabrication of coated microneedles with homogeneous and controllable drug loading under mild conditions. In this system, the dissolvable drug carriers with precise dosage were first mounted onto the solid microneedles and then exposed to the high moisture condition to finally obtain the coated microneedle with uniform and precise drug loading. Using the microneedle molds with the volume of 4.71 nL, 8.24 nL, 10.47 nL, and 12.56 nL per cavity, the drug loadings were precisely controlled at 4.8 ng, 6.4 ng, 9.3 ng, and 13.5 ng per needle, with the standard deviation of 0.09, 0.01, 0.07, and 0.53%, respectively. Mechanical property tests showed that the coated microneedles are strong enough for reliable skin insertion, and with in vivo trials in diabetic mice, we further confirmed the similar hypoglycaemic effect of insulin-coated microneedles to subcutaneous injection. Taken together, the micro-molding-based fabrication process has practical merits in the mass production of coated microneedles with homogeneous and controllable drug loading, facilitating the clinical translation of the microneedle technique., (© 2022. Controlled Release Society.)

Model quantization is essential to deploy deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) on resource-constrained devices. In this article, we propose a general bitwidth assignment algorithm based on theoretical analysis for efficient layerwise weight and activation quantization of DCNNs. The proposed algorithm develops a prediction model to explicitly estimate the loss of classification accuracy led by weight quantization with a geometrical approach. Consequently, dynamic programming is adopted to achieve optimal bitwidth assignment on weights based on the estimated error. Furthermore, we optimize bitwidth assignment for activations by considering the signal-to-quantization-noise ratio (SQNR) between weight and activation quantization. The proposed algorithm is general to reveal the tradeoff between classification accuracy and model size for various network architectures. Extensive experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed bitwidth assignment algorithm and the error rate prediction model. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is shown to be well extended to object detection.

Background: Acute skeletal muscle injuries are common among physical or sports traumas. The excessive oxidative stress at the site of injury impairs muscle regeneration. The authors have recently developed porous Se@SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) with antioxidant properties. Methods: The protective effects were evaluated by cell proliferation, myogenic differentiation and mitochondrial activity. Then, the therapeutic effect was investigated in a cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury rat model. Results: Porous Se@SiO 2 NPs significantly protected the morphological and functional stability of mitochondria, thus protecting satellite cells from H 2 O 2 -induced damage to cell proliferation and myogenic differentiation. In the rat model, intervention with porous Se@SiO 2 NPs promoted muscle regeneration. Conclusion: This study reveals the application potential of porous Se@SiO 2 NPs in skeletal muscle diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Background: Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca) has emerged as a functional plant food and traditional herb owing to its biological activities; Maca polysaccharides as an important active component of Maca have good immunomodulatory effect; however, studies on the immunomodulatory effect of Maca polysaccharides are mainly focused on macrophages; little attention has been devoted to the mechanisms and other immune cells. This study is aimed at investigating the immunomodulatory effects and mechanisms of Maca polysaccharides., Methods: Sixty mice were divided into five groups, and the mice were injected with cyclophosphamide to establish an immunosuppression model except for those in the common group. The body weights were measured, as well as immune-related indices, such as organ indices, haematological parameters, lymphocyte cycle, and proliferation, cytokine, and protein expression levels., Results: The weight loss and immune organ index decline caused by cyclophosphamide could be reversed by MP. Furthermore, MP increased WBC and HGB counts and reduced the ratio of G0/G1 phase obviously, increased the proportion of S phase and G2/M phase in peripheral blood lymphocytes, increased the counts of CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+, and reduced the inhibition rate of splenic lymphocytes. MP affected the production of cytokines by increasing IFN- γ , TNF- α , and IL-2 levels and by decreasing IL-4 levels. MP increased the mRNA expression of T-bet and the protein expression of Bcl-2 in the spleen and decreased the protein expression of caspase-3 and Bax., Conclusions: Maca polysaccharides might be the basic material for Maca's immunomodulatory effect. The mechanism was perhaps related to inhibiting lymphocyte apoptosis and promoting the balance of Th1/Th2 cell subsets., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2022 Wen-ting Fei et al.)

Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite that has gained increasing medical interest over the past two decades. This zoonotic parasitic infection is prevalent in Southeast Asia and causes many cases with fulminant pathology. Despite several biogeographical restrictions that limit its distribution, knowlesi malaria cases have been reported in different parts of the world due to travelling and tourism activities. Here, breakthroughs and key information generated from recent (over the past five years, but not limited to) studies conducted on P. knowlesi were reviewed, and the knowledge gap in various research aspects that need to be filled was discussed. Besides, challenges and strategies required to control and eradicate human malaria with this emerging and potentially fatal zoonosis were described., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) as noninvasive tools are gaining increasing importance in the diagnosis of inflammatory skin disorders. The purpose of our study was to calculate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy and RCM in common inflammatory skin diseases., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical, dermoscopic, and RCM images of psoriasis and lichen planuscases from March 2018 to February 2021 in China-Japan Friendship Hospital. There were 10 experts evaluated dermoscopic and RCM images independently. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predict value, and negative predictive value for each and all investigators were calculated. The diagnostic accuracy was also measured by the area under the curve (AUC) for the Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) Curves., Results: We collected 82 psoriasis and 47 lichen planus cases. Dermoscopy was more sensitive than RCM in the diagnosis of psoriasis, and overall diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy was also higher than RCM measured by AUC (0.879 vs. 0.835, p = 0.0001). For lichen planus, RCM had higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall diagnostic accuracy than dermoscopy (AUC 0.916 vs. 0.813, p<0.0001)., Conclusion: Dermoscopy and RCM play a significant role in assisting the diagnosis of psoriasis and lichens planus. These two noninvasive diagnostic tools have their own advantages and disadvantages for the evaluation of different inflammatory skin diseases, and they can be combined in clinical practice to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of inflammatory skin diseases., (© 2022 The Authors. Skin Research and Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Ligulariamonocephala , a remarkable new species from Hubei, China, is described and illustrated. It is readily distinguishable in the whole genus by character combination of the reniform to cordate-reniform leaf blades which are palmately-pinnately veined and abaxially purplish red, the solitary and erect capitula, and the pappus which are as long as or slightly longer than tube of the tubular corolla. A detailed description and distribution map of the species are also presented herein., (Wen-Qun Fei, Tao Deng, Long Wang.)

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive cancer whose 5-year survival rate remains poor. San-Zhong-Kui-Jian-Tang (SZKJT), a Chinese herbal formula, has long been used in clinical practice as adjuvant therapy in cancers. However, its therapeutic effects and molecular mechanisms in OSCC remain unclear., Methods: We investigated the potential therapeutic effects and molecular mechanism of SZKJT in OSCC in tumor cell lines and in tumor xenograft mice and evaluated combined SZKJT and cisplatin treatment efficacy. In vitro-cultured OSCC cells were administered SZKJT at different doses or SZKJT plus cisplatin, and cell proliferation, colony formation assays, and cell cycle analysis were used to assess the effects on cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. We also analyzed the effects of SZKJT on oral cancer cell line migration, the regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated genes. The antitumor effects of SZKJT plus cisplatin were also tested in vivo using a tumor-bearing NOD/SCID mice model., Results: The results showed that SZKJT effectively inhibited OSCC cell proliferation, induced cell cycle S phase arrest, and induced cell apoptosis. SZKJT also inhibited cell migration by modulating the MAPK signaling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway. Further exploration suggested that SZKJT affects OSCC by modulating ERK pathway; downregulating vimentin, fibronectin, and Oct-4; and upregulating E-cadherin. In vivo, SZKJT significantly inhibited tumor growth, and SZKJT and cisplatin exerted synergistic antitumor effects in model animals., Conclusions: SZKJT exerts antitumor effects in OSCC cells. Additionally, SZKJT and cisplatin exhibit synergy in OSCC treatment. These findings support the clinical usage of Chinese herbal formulas as adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy in cancer treatment.

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has set a precedent for the fastest-produced vaccine as a result of global collaboration and outreach. This study explored Malaysians' acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its associated factors., Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey was disseminated to Malaysian adults aged ≥18 years old via social media platforms between July 10, 2020 and August 31, 2020., Results: In the analysis of 4,164 complete responses, 93.2% of participants indicated that they would accept the COVID-19 vaccine if it was offered for free by the Malaysian government. The median out-of-pocket cost that participants were willing to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine was Malaysian ringgit (MYR) 100 (interquartile range [IQR], 100) if it was readily available and MYR 150 (IQR, 200) if the supply was limited. Respondents with a low likelihood of vaccine hesitancy had 13 times higher odds of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.69 to 19.13). High perceived risk and severity were also associated with willingness to be vaccinated, with adjusted odds ratios of 2.22 (95% CI, 1.44 to 3.41) and 2.76 (95% CI, 1.87 to 4.09), respectively. Age and ethnicity were the only independent demographic characteristics that predicted vaccine uptake., Conclusion: Public health strategies targeting perceived risk, perceived susceptibility and vaccine hesitancy could be effective in enhancing vaccine uptake.

Background: The prevalence of skin diseases and diabetes mellitus (DM) are prominent around the world. The current scope of knowledge regarding the prevalence of skin diseases and comorbidities with type 2 DM (T2DM) is limited, leading to limited recognition of the correlations between skin diseases and T2DM., Methods: We collected 383 subjects from the Da Qing Diabetes Study during the period from July 9th to September 1st, 2016. The subjects were categorized into three groups: Normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and T2DM. The prevalence and clinical characteristics of skin diseases were recorded and investigated., Results: In this cross-sectional study, 383 individuals with ages ranging from 53 to 89-year-old were recruited. The overall prevalence of skin diseases was 93.5%, and 75.7% of individuals had two or more kinds of skin diseases. Additionally, there were 47 kinds of comorbid skin diseases in patients with T2DM, of which eight kinds of skin diseases had a prevalence >10%. The prevalence of skin diseases in NGT, IGT, and T2DM groups were 93.3%, 91.5%, and 96.6%, respectively; stratified analysis by categories showed a statistically significant difference in "disturbances of pigmentation" and "neurological and psychogenic dermatoses". The duration of T2DM also significantly associated with the prevalence of "disturbances of pigmentation" and "neurological and psychogenic dermatoses". Subsequently, the prevalence of "disturbances of pigmentation" was higher in males than females in NGT (P < 0.01) and T2DM (P < 0.01) groups. In addition, the difference in the prevalence of "disturbances of pigmentation" was also significant in NGT and T2DM groups (P < 0.01)., Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of skin diseases in the Da Qing Diabetes Study. To address the skin diseases in the Da Qing Diabetes Study, increased awareness and intervention measures should be implemented., (Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

Background: Asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections are well documented. Healthcare workers (HCW) are at increased risk of infection due to occupational exposure to infected patients. We aim to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCW who did not come to medical attention., Methods: We prospectively recruited 400 HCW from the National Public Health Laboratory and two COVID-19 designated public hospitals in Klang Valley, Malaysia between 13/4/2020 and 12/5/2020. Quota sampling was used to ensure representativeness of HCW involved in direct and indirect patient care. All participants answered a self-administered questionnaire and blood samples were taken to test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by surrogate virus neutralization test., Findings: The study population comprised 154 (38.5%) nurses, 103 (25.8%) medical doctors, 47 (11.8%) laboratory technologists and others (23.9%). A majority (68.9%) reported exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the past month within their respective workplaces. Adherence to personal protection equipment (PPE) guidelines and hand hygiene were good, ranging from 91-100% compliance. None (95% CI: 0, 0.0095) of the participants had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detected, despite 182 (45.5%) reporting some symptoms one month prior to study recruitment. One hundred and fifteen (29%) of participants claimed to have had contact with known COVID-19 persons outside of their workplace., Interpretation: Zero seroprevalence among HCW suggests a low incidence of undiagnosed COVID-19 infection in our healthcare setting during the first local wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within healthcare facilities can be prevented by adherence to infection control measures and appropriate use of PPE., Competing Interests: None of the authors have any conflict of interest, (© 2021 The Author(s).)

By consulting the literatures of foreign plant medicine Echinacea purpurea at home and abroad, this paper discusses the property and function of E. purpurea from the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine theory, so as to realize &quot;herbalization&quot;, provide the theoretical basis of traditional Chinese medicine for the correct clinical application and rational compatibility of E. purpurea, and broaden the scope and varieties of clinical selection of traditional Chinese medicine. Relevant literatures of E. purpurea were selected from PubMed and CNKI databases and classified based on clinical application, chemical composition, pharmacological action, toxic and side effects. Those with a high reliability were screened out, including 313 articles in English and 46 in Chinese. Finally, the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine was analyzed. In our view, E. purpurea features pungent and bitter tastes and a cold nature, and enters lung, spleen, heart meridians, with effects in evacuating wind-heat, clearing heat and detoxifying, invigorating Qi, strengthening body resistance, and treating wind-heat cold, sore throat swelling pain, cough, heat toxin stagnation, sore carbuncle swelling toxin, red swelling heat pain, body deficiency and multiple diseases, fatigue burnout. This paper analyzes the research literatures of E. purpurea, &quot;herbalize&quot; it, endows it with the property and function of traditional Chinese medicine, lays the foundation for further animal experiment and clinical research, and provides scientific theoretical guidance for the better application of E. purpurea in clinic and its proper compatibility and rational application. This research model will also provide reference for further studies of &quot;traditional Chinese medicine&quot; of foreign plant drugs, enrich traditional Chinese medicine resources, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine.

The aim of this paper was to study the effect of Lepidium meyenii(Maca) on cyclic nucleotides, neurotransmitter levels and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immunization of deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat syndrome rats, in order to explore the cold and hot medicinal properties of Maca. SD rats were divided into blank group, deficiency-cold syndrome group, Cinnamomi Cortex of deficiency-cold syndrome(30 g·kg~(-1)) group, high and low-dose Maca groups(2.4, 1.2 g·kg~(-1)), deficiency-heat syndrome group, Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex(PCC) of deficiency-heat syndrome(5 g·kg~(-1)), and high and low-dose Maca groups(2.4, 1.2 g·kg~(-1)). The rats were treated with intramuscular injection of hydrocortisone(20 mg·kg~(-1)) or dexamethasone sodium phosphate(0.35 mg·kg~(-1)) for 21 days to set up the deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat model. The levels of cAMP, cGMP, NE, DA, 5-HT, CRH, ACTH, CORT and IgM, IgG, C3, C4 were detected by radio immunoassay. Both the high-dose Maca group and the low-dose Maca group can significantly improve the overall state and body weight of rats with deficiency-cold syndrome(P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.05), significantly increasing cAMP, cAMP/cGMP, NE, DA, ACTH(P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.001), and significantly decreasing 5-HT(P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.001). However, high-dose and low-dose Maca groups could not improve the deficiency-heat syndrome, and the levels of cAMP, cGMP, cAMP/cGMP, NE, DA, 5-HT and ACTH were not statistically significant. Maca had a significant regulatory effect on CORT, IgM, IgG and C3 content of rats with deficiency-cold and deficiency-heat syndrome(P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.05, P&lt;0.001). Maca showed the same effect with Cinnamomi Cortex in adjusting the levels of deficiency-cold rats, but in opposition to Phellodendri Chinese Cortex. This paper confirmed that Maca was slightly warm based on its effect on cyclic nucleotide levels and neuro-endocrine-immune networks by the pharmacological experimental method.

Plasmodium knowlesi contributes to the majority of human malaria incidences in Malaysia. Its uncontrollable passage among the natural monkey hosts can potentially lead to zoonotic outbreaks. The merozoite of this parasite invades host erythrocytes through interaction between its erythrocyte-binding proteins (EBPs) and their respective receptor on the erythrocytes. The regionII of P. knowlesi EBP, P. knowlesi beta (PkβII) protein is found to be mediating merozoite invasion into monkey erythrocytes by interacting with sialic acid receptors. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity, natural selection and haplotype grouping of PkβII of P. knowlesi isolates in Malaysia. Polymerase chain reaction amplifications of PkβII were performed on archived blood samples from Malaysia and 64 PkβII sequences were obtained. Sequence analysis revealed length polymorphism, and its amino acids at critical residues indicate the ability of PkβII to mediate P. knowlesi invasion into monkey erythrocytes. Low genetic diversity (π = 0.007) was observed in the PkβII of Malaysia Borneo compared to Peninsular Malaysia (π = 0.015). The PkβII was found to be under strong purifying selection to retain infectivity in monkeys and it plays a limited role in the zoonotic potential of P. knowlesi . Its haplotypes could be clustered into Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysia Borneo groups, indicating the existence of two distinct P. knowlesi parasites in Malaysia as reported in an earlier study.

To study the effects of AÇaí(Euterpe oleracea) on lipid metabolism, immune substances and endocrine hormone level in rats with deficiency-heat and deficiency-cold syndrome. SD rats were divided into blank control group, deficiency-heat model group, deficiency-heat & Phellodendri Cortex group, deficiency-heat & AÇaí high dose and low dose groups, deficiency-cold model group, deficiency-cold & Cinnamomi Cortex group, deficiency-cold & AÇaí high dose and low dose groups. The rats received intramuscular injection of dexamethasone sodium phosphate (0.35 mg) or hydrocortisone sodium succinate (20 mg) for 21 days to set up deficiency-heat models and deficiency-cold models. Then the changes in fatmetabolism levels (FFA, LPL, HL) and immune indexes (IgG, IgM, C3 and C4) were detected by colorimeter; and the levels of endocrine hormone indexes (CORT, E2 and T) were detected by radioimmunoassay. The levels of FFA, LPL and HL in serum were reduced (P<0.01 or P<0.001); levels of IgG, IgM and C3 in serum were increased (P<0.05 or P<0.001); level of CORT in serum was increased (P<0.05) and the level of E2, E2/T in serum were reduced in the AÇaí high dose group (P<0.05). The effect of high dose AÇaí on fat metabolism was not obvious in deficiency-cold models, but the levels of IgG, IgM, C3 and CORT in serum were increased (P<0.05 or P<0.001). AÇaí was showed the same effect trend with Phellodendri Cortex in adjusting the levels of deficiency-heat rats; but unlike Cinnamomi Cortex, AÇaí was showed no obvious effect in adjusting the levels of deficiency-cold rats. In this experiment, homogeneous comparison and heterogeneous disproof were used to verify the cold nature of Çaí., 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.)

A molecular phylogeny of the genus Scobura based on the mitochondrial COI and the nuclear EF-1α genes using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference is proposed. The analyses include 19 specimens from nine ingroup species. The monophyly of Scobura is not strongly supported, but two strongly supported monophyletic groups within the genus are recognized: the Scobura coniata group and the Scobura woolletti group. Judging from combination of the molecular evidence and morphological features, the former consists of six species, including Scobura masutaroi , while four species belong to the latter. Scobura mouchai Krajcik, 2013 is confirmed to be a syn. n. of Scobura masutaroi Sugiyama, 1996. The key to the species of the genus Scobura is modified to reflect these results.

This paper aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects and the mechanism of the albiflorin, paeoniflorin on rats with chronic restraint stress model. Fluoxetine and Xiaoyao group served as the positive control, body weight, sucrose preference test and the open field behavioral experiment were measured, the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in hippocampus were detected by Greg colorimetric method. Furthermore, the levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hippocampus were detected by ELISA. Finally, the expressions of nNOS mRNA in hippocampus detected by RT-qPCR, the protein levels of nNOS and BDNF in hippocampus were detected by Western blot. Compared with the model group,the pass counts of paeoniflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) and albiflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) were obviously increased(P<0.05,P<0.01). Furthermore, compared with the model group,the levels of NO in paeoniflorin groups(30 mg•kg⁻¹ and 15 mg•kg⁻¹) and albiflorin groups(30 mg•kg⁻¹ and 15 mg•kg⁻¹) were all significantly decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01; P<0.05, P<0.05). BDNF levels of paeoniflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) and albiflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) were obviously increased(P<0.05). Finally, compared with the model group, the expressions of nNOS mRNA of paeoniflorin groups(30 mg•kg⁻¹ and 15 mg•kg⁻¹) (P<0.01, P<0.01) and albiflorin groups(30 mg•kg⁻¹) were significantly decreased(P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the protein exprsssions of BDNF of paeoniflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) and albiflorin group(30 mg•kg⁻¹) were obviously increased(P<0.05). Albiflorin and paeoniflorin have the effects of smooth the liver and dispel stagnation, the mechanism has the relevant with adjusting and controlling the expression of NO and BDNF in hippocampus., 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.)

Objective: To explore the protective effect and mechanism of total flavones of Bidens pilosa L. (TFB) on IgA1 induced injury of venous endothelial cells in Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) children patients. METHODS Human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) were taken as subject. They were intervened by normal IgA1 and HSP children patients' serum IgA1, and added with different concentrations TFB at the same time. Then they were divided into the blank control group, the normal control group, the HSP IgA1 group, and HSP IgA1 plus TFB (1.0, 0.5, 0.25 mg/mL) groups. Levels of TNF-α and IL-8 in supernate were detected by ELISA. The NO level was detected by nitrate reductase method. mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB and ICAM-1 in HUVECs were detected by fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blot respectively., Results: Compared with the normal control group and the blank control group, levels of IL-8, TNF-α, and NO all significantly increased in the HSP group (P < 0.05). Compared with the HSP group, levels of IL-8, TNF-α, and NO significantly decreased after intervention of TFB (1.0 and 0.5 mg/mL; P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Results of fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blot showed, as compared with the blank control group and the normal control group, mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB and ICAM-1 in HSP children patients' serum IgA1 induced venous endothelial cells significantly increased with statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the HSP group, mRNA and protein expressions of NF-KB and ICAM-1 were obviously down-regulated after intervention of TFB (1.0, 0.5, 0.25 mg/mL), with statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: TFB could protect vascular damage by inhibiting in vivo high expression of NF-κB, reducing the production of IL-8, TNF-α, and NO in vascular endothelial cells of HSP children patients.

Objective: To observe the effect of apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) induced by IgA1 from Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) patients., Method: HUVEC were cultured in 3 different conditional media with IgA1 from HSP patients, normal healthy children and simply the cell culture medium. Serum IgA1 was purified by jacalin affinity chromatography, rates of apoptosis in HUVEC cells at different concentration and different times after incubation with IgA1 were determined by TUNEL method and flow cytometry. Real-time PCR and Western blot methods were used to detect the expression of caspase-3 and Fas, respectively., Result: Apoptosis rate of HUVEC by IgA1 isolated from HSP patients were significantly higher than that of the blank control [(14.77 ± 2.23)% vs. (2.25 ± 0.77)%, P < 0.01] and the apoptosis rate of HUVEC induced by IgA1 from normal healthy children was higher than that of blank control [(7.97 ± 1.48)% vs. (2.25 ± 0.77)%, P < 0.01]. The apoptosis rate of HUVEC induced by IgA1 from HSP was time and concentration-dependent. Moreover IgA1 isolated from HSP patients could significantly increase the caspase-3 and Fas expression (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: The IgA1 from HSP patients could induce the apoptosis of HUVEC, which might be related to the progression of HSP.

The title compound, C(54)H(48)N(2)O(2), lies about an inversion centre. The carbazole ring system makes dihedral angles of 58.43 (7) and 88.96 (7)°, respectively, with the adjacent and central benzene rings. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 52.01 (8)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by pairs of C-H⋯O inter-actions, forming a tape along the a axis. The methyl group is disordered over two sets of sites with occupancies of 0.63 (3) and 0.37 (3).

Objective: To observe the changes of human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by the sera from children with active Henoch-Sch-nlein purpura (HSP) and the protective effects of methylprednisolone against HUVECs injury., Methods: HUVECs were divided into four groups based on the culture conditions: blank control group, normal serum group, HSP serum group, and HSP serum plus methylprednisolone group. The levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-8 in the supernatants of each group were detected using ELISA and the nitric oxide (NO) level by nitrate reductase determination. Moreover, the expressions of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and Fractalkine in HUVECs were examined by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively., Results: The levels of IL-8, TNF-α, and NO in the HSP serum group were significantly higher than those in the blank control and normal serum groups (P<0.05). Compared with the HSP serum group, the levels of IL-8, TNF-α, and NO in the HSP serum plus methylprednisolone group decreased significantly (P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of NF-κB and Fractalkine in the HSP serum group were significantly higher than those in the blank control group (P<0.05). The protein expression levels of NF-κB and Fractalkine in the HSP serum group were significantly higher than those in the blank control and normal control group (P<0.05). Compared with the HSP serum group, the mRNA and protein expression levels of NF-κB and Fractalkine in the HSP serum plus methylprednisolone group decreased significantly (P<0.05)., Conclusions: The sera from children with active HSP can induce the in vitro cultured HUVECs to become activated and excrete cytokines. Methylprednisolone may inhibit NF-κB expression, reduce the production of inflammatory factors, and thus alleviate vascular inflamation.

Objective: To investigate the pharmacokinetics of FK506 and its nanoparticles in aqueous humor of rabbits applied with eye drops or subconjunctiva injections., Methods: 42 New Zealand albino rabbits were divided into 2 groups. (1) Nanoparticle solution containing 10 microg FK506 was injected into subconjunctiva or dropped on conjunctival sac of rabbits (68 eyes in 34 cases). (2) Eye drops containing 20 or 40 microg FK506 without nanoparticles were dropped on conjunctival sac of rabbits (16 eyes in 8 cases). Aqueous humor was collected at different times after local administration and FK506 concentrations were measured by ELISA. Ocular pharmacokinetic parameters of FK506 were calculated by 3p87 software., Results: In the solution containing nanoparticle, the effective FK506 concentration in aqueous humor could be kept up to 16 h in eye drops group. The range of FK506 concentration was between (15.50 +/- 3.39) - (2.59 +/- 0.83) ng/ml. FK506 in aqueous humor can be maintained for 96 h by injecting into subconjunctiva and FK506 concentration were between (9.62 +/- 2.19) - (2.60 +/- 0.21) ng/ml from 6 - 96 h. T(max) and C(max) in eye drops were (1.25 +/- 0.50) h and (15.52 +/- 2.37) ng/ml respectively; while T(max) and C(max) in subconjunctiva injection were (64.00 +/- 13.86) h and (10.16 +/- 1.37) ng/ml respectively. Each AUC(0-->t) was (152.44 +/- 16.74) ng.ml(-1).h(-1) and (612.48 +/- 54.39) ng.ml(-1).h(-1) respectively; each Ka was 3.790 +/- 0.730 and 0.040 +/- 0.004 respectively; and each MRT was (8.20 +/- 1.28) h and (58.53 +/- 5.42) h respectively. In the eye drops containing 20 microg or 40 microg FK506 but without nanoparticles applied in conjunctival sac of rabbits, all effective FK506 concentrations in aqueous humor could not be kept over 4 h. T(max) was 1 h and C(max) was (18.93 +/- 6.95) ng/ml in 20 microg FK506, while in 40 microg FK506 T(max) was 2h and C(max) was (28.33 +/- 1.31) ng/ml., Conclusion: Solution with FK506 nanoparticle dropping onto the eye or injecting into subconjunctiva could be sustained in rabbit aqueous humor for a longer time than non-nanoparticle FK506 solution, while with injecting of nanoparticle FK506 solution it could be detected with a relative low but longer effective concentration.

Objective: To investigate patients who had ocular presentations after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation., Methods: The eyes of 20 patients of leukemia who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were examined. The ocular surface of these patients was examined by slit-lamp. The eye examination also included evaluation of tear break-up time, Schirmer tests with and without nasal stimulation, and fluorescein staining, rose bengal staining, etc. Conjunctival impression cytology and pathological examination of surgical specimens from 3 patients were performed., Results: Fourteen of 20 patients developed chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Eight patients suffered from dry eye accompanied by GVHD simultaneously. The incidence of dry eye in GVHD was 57%. Among them, 4 cases were severe dry eye associated with significant decrease of visual acuity and even development of corneal ulcer. Ophthalmic pathology findings were as follows: loss of conjunctival goblet cells or significant reduction in amount; conjunctival and corneal epithelial keratinization and squamous metaplasia; and dominance of T cell in conjunctival inflammatory infiltration cells., Conclusion: Dry eye is the major ocular complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It affected the patients' life quality severely. The high incidence and potentially severe ocular problems in these patients suggest that close ophthalmic monitoring is important in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.