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Introduction: Artesunate, a derivative of artemisinin, has anti-malarial effects, and in recent years has also been reported to have anti-tumor activity. However, its anti-tumor mechanisms are not well understood.Methods: In this study, we focused on the targeting of Hsp90 by artesunate to inhibit tumor cell proliferation, which we examined using immunoprecipitation, a proliferation assay, flow cytometry, western blotting, a tumor xenograft animal model, and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, to examine the tumor-suppressive effects of artesunatein nude mice, we used artesunate-loaded PLGA-PEG nanoparticles.Results: The binding of artesunate to Hsp90 was found to reduce the expression of its client proteins AKT, ERK, p-AKT, p-ERK, and EGFR, thereby blocking the cell cycle at the G0/G1 → S stage in lymphoma cells and inducing apoptosis. In addition, the results of tumor xenograft experiments revealed that artesunate reduced the expression of AKT and ERK proteins in tumor tissues, inhibited tumor proliferation, and reduced tumor size and weight. Furthermore, nanoparticle encapsulation was demonstrated to enhance the anti-cancer activity of artesunate.Discussion: We thus established that artesunate inhibits the proliferation of lymphoma cells by targeting the Hsp90 protein, and we accordingly believe that this compound has potential for development as a novelanti-tumor drug.

Physalis pubescens L. is an annual or perennial plant in the family Solanaceae It is used in traditional medicine for treating sore throats, coughs, urinary discomfort, and astringent pain, and externally for pemphigus and eczema in northern China. The proliferation inhibitory activity and mechanisms of the ethyl acetate extract (PHY-EA) from the leaves of Physalis pubescens were investigated. High performance liquid chromatography was used to identify the chemical composition of PHY-EA; sulforhodamine B was used to detect the proliferation inhibitory effect of PHY-EA on MCF-7, CA-46, Hela, HepG2, B16, and other tumor cells; flow cytometry was used to detect the effect of PHY-EA on the lymphoma cell cycle and apoptosis; Western blot was used to detect the expression of the cycle- and apoptosis-related proteins. The expression of Ki-67 and cleaved caspase 3 was detected by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that PHY-EA contained physalin B, physalin O, and physalin L. PHY-EA blocked the cell cycle of G2/M→G0/G1 in lymphoma cells and induced apoptosis in tumor cells. Mouse transplantation tumor experiments showed that PHY-EA had a significant inhibitory effect on mouse transplantation tumors, and the tumor volume and weight were significantly reduced. In conclusion, PHY-EA has a good antiproliferative effect on Burkkit lymphoma, indicating its potential medicinal value.

In order to solve the problem that the total sugar content of the chlortetracycline fermentation tank can not be automatically detected online, a prediction method which combines the output recursive wavelet neural network and the Gauss process regression is proposed in this paper. A soft sensor model between the measurable parameters (inputs) and the total sugar content (output) of the chlortetracycline fermentation tank was established. The soft sensor model was trained by self updating algorithm. Based on field data, the accuracy and generalization ability of the soft sensor model were analyzed. It is shown that the prediction accuracy of the combined model proposed in this paper is better than that of other single models. The results demonstrate the superiority of the method, and MRE and RMSE are used to evaluate the performance of the soft sensor model. It shows that the prediction precision of the soft sensor model based on ORWNN-GPR combination is relatively high in the long period of fermentation, and is suitable for on-line prediction of the total sugar content of the chlortetracycline fermentation tank. The soft sensor method can effectively reduce the labor intensity of the analysts and saves the production cost for enterprise.

The study was to investigate the effect of various levels of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGB) on the serum antioxidant function, liver function, lipid metabolism, and serum glucose of Cichlasoma managuense. A total of 240 Cichlasoma managuense with an average weight of (60.30 ± 0.25) g were selected and randomly divided into four groups, with three replicates in each group and 20 fish in each replicate. The G0 group (control group), G1 group, G2 group, and G3 group were supplemented with 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg EGB of in the basic feed. The experimental period lasted for 28 days. The results showed that the activity of T-SOD, GSH-Px and the content of HDL-C in the serum of test fish in the G2 group were higher than those of the control group at 21 days (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the content of GLU, LDL-C, CHO, TG and MDA and the activity of CAT, ALT and AST in the G2 group were reduced (P<0.05). The study indicates that the addition of EGB to the feed can regulate blood lipid metabolism and improve the antioxidant capacity of Cichlasoma managuense, which can be used to prevent and treat hyperlipidemia. The optimal EGB dosage is 100 mg/kg for 14~21 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] Herbivore induced plant defenses play a key role in protecting plants against herbivore damage. Plants suffer herbivore damage frequently in nature, however, it is unclear if damaged plant have primed defensive mechanisms that allow them to mount a stronger defense against repeated herbivore attacks. [Methods] Experiments were conducted on tobacco plants Nicotiana tabacum to see if there was a difference in the plant defenses induced by single, or repeated, episodes of attack by Spodoptera litura larvae. Concentrations of jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) were measured to monitor hormone levels. Secondary metabolites were also measured to reveal the key metabolites involved in defense against herbivores. [Results] Caterpillar damage induced a defensive response from tobacco plants and repeated damage induced a stronger defensive response than a single episode of damage. Compared to healthy plants, plants subject to repeated herbivore damage had significantly higher concentrations of JA (78.9%), but similar levels of SA and ABA. Herbivore damage significantly increased the concentration of nicotine, chlorogenic acid and trypsin inhibitors; plants subject to repeated herbivore attacks had higher concentrations of all three metabolites than those subject to an isolated attack. [Conclusion] Tobacco plants have evolved primed defense against herbivores which allows them to mount a stronger defensive response to repeated herbivore attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Chlortetracycline fermentation, contamination of fermentation broth by non-target bacteria is an unavoidable problem. There is no online analytical instrument to determine whether the fermentation broth has been contaminated. Only the results of manual sampling analysis can be used to determine whether the fermentation broth is contaminated. This analysis process usually takes several hours. In order to predict online whether the fermentation broth is contaminated by non-target bacteria, a soft sensor modeling method for the signs of contamination in Chlortetracycline fermentation broth was proposed in this paper. Based on recursive wavelet neural network (RWNN) and Gaussian process regression (GPR) method, the soft sensor model of online measurable parameters and total sugar content of fermentation broth was established. By deeply analyzing the correlation between the total sugar content (it is a parameter that is difficult to measure online) of fermentation broth and the signs of bacterial contamination during fermentation, a soft sensor model was established combining with the correlation between the total sugar content of fermentation broth and the symptoms of bacterial infection, and the symptoms of non-target bacterial infection of fermentation broth were predicted. Based on the field data of the fermentation process, the different signs of Chlortetracycline fermentation were predicted for the fermentation broth uninfected with non-target bacteria, infected with bacilli and infected with phages. The experimental results showed that the proposed soft sensor model could be used to predict the occurrence of contamination during Chlortetracycline fermentation. Based on the field data, the validity of the modeling method is verified. The proposed soft sensor model of signs of bacterial contamination can be used to predict the occurrence of bacterial contamination in Chlortetracycline, Penicillin and related biological fermentation processes. So that the site operators can take effective measures in time to reduce production losses to a minimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For some difficulties to realize real-time measurements of vital variables, a novel soft sensor based on the just in time learning (JITL) and ensemble learning Gaussian process regression (GPR) modeling was proposed. Firstly, different sub-blocks were created by principal component decomposition. Then a set of JITL-GPR models were developed based on various sub-blocks. Finally, some better results from JITL-GPR models were combined to adaptively obtain the prediction result. The proposed soft sensor was applied to the industrial rubber producing process. Result verifies the superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the ability of Mahonia bealei to eliminate the resistance of Escherichia Coli (E. coli).

Yb3+, Tm3+ co-doped Gd6MoO12 phosphors with different morphologies are prepared by the hydrothermal method. The dendrites present different morphologies (including hexagonal prisms, spindles, and spheres) after changing the pH value and edetate disodium (EDTA) usage. It is found that each of the two factors plays a crucial role in forming different morphologies.The up-conversion (UC) luminescence is studied. Under 980-nm semiconductor laser excitation, relatively strong blue emission and weak red emission are observed. Finally, the effect of pumping power on the UC luminescence properties and the level diagram mechanism of Gd6MoO12:Yb3+/Tm3+ phosphor are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare 256-layer spiral computed tomography (CT) scan in sleep and laryngofiberscope technology for locating obstructive sites of upper airway in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, analyze their advantages and disadvantages and discuss the clinical application values., Methods: A total of 59 patients with OSAHS diagnosed by polysomnography underwent spiral CT scan in awake and drug-induced sleep states and laryngofiberscope examination in awake state to assess the sites of airway obstruction., Results: Real-time CT scans were completed successfully in all patients. There were airway obstruction at isolated retropalatal region (real-time CT revealing n = 26, laryngofiberscope revealing n = 34), retropalatal and retroglottal regions simultaneously (real-time CT revealing n = 19, laryngofiberscope revealing n = 10), retropalatal and epiglottal regions simultaneously (real-time CT revealing n = 6, laryngofiberscope revealing n = 2), retropalatal and retroglottal and epiglottal regions simultaneously (real-time CT revealing n = 7, laryngofiberscope revealing n = 3) and no airway obstruction (real-time CT revealing n = 1, laryngofiberscope revealing n = 10). There was not solitary airway obstruction at retroglottal or epiglottal region. The results of real-time CT scans and laryngofiberscope examination were statistically significant different in all regions, and real-time CT scanning compared with laryngofiberscope found more obstructive sites of upper airway [retropalatal region: 98.3% (n = 58) vs 81.4% (n = 48), χ(2) = 5.82, P < 0.05; retroglottal regions: 44.1% (n = 26) vs 22.0% (n = 13), χ(2) = 9.60, P < 0.01; epiglottal regions: 22.0% (n = 13) vs 8.5% (n = 5), χ(2) = 4.90, P < 0.05]., Conclusion: Compared with laryngofiberscope examination,real-time dynamic CT scans in drug-induced sleep state could get more information about anatomy changes of upper airway, providing relatively objective morphological basis for diagnosis and treatment of patients with OSAHS.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of immunomodulatory activity of triptolide on primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)patients-derived plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs)., Methods: pDCs in peripheral blood of ITP patients before therapy (group 1), ITP patients in complete response (ITP-CR, group 2) and healthy donors (group 3) were sorted by flow cytometry, then incubated with triptolide at 0, 5, 10 or 30 µg/L. After 24 hours, we collected the supernatants and then detected the concentrations of IFN-α, IL-6 and TNF-α using ELISA. After 5 days, the cultured cells were collected and CD11c, CD80 and CD86 expressions of myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry, the morphology of mDC was observed by light microscope and electron microscope., Results: After incubation with triptolide at 10 µg/L, the levels of IFN-α, IL-6 and TNF-α in group 1 \[(451.32 ± 85.77) ng/L, (105.68 ± 23.85) ng/L and (135.78 ± 30.62) ng/L\] and group 2 \[(391.71 ± 72.49) ng/L, (84.73 ± 17.77) ng/L and (108.16 ± 23.21) ng/L\] were significantly higher than those in group 3 \[(335.51 ± 67.54) ng/L, (73.62 ± 21.82) ng/L and (95.58 ± 32.85) ng/L\] (all P < 0.05); the levels of IFN-α, IL-6 and TNF-α in group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 2 (all P < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). CD11c, CD80 and CD86 expressions of mDC in group1 and group 2 were significantly higher than those in group 3 (all P < 0.05); CD11c, CD80 and CD86 expressions of mDC in group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 2 (all P < 0.05) also in a dose-dependent manner (all P < 0.05). Triptolide could inhibit pDCs from differentiation into mDCs, the latter displayed more immature morphology than untreated-pDCs., Conclusion: Triptolide could decrease the immune function of pDCs from ITP, inhibit pDCs from differentiation and maturation.

Objective: To investigate the reliability and validity of the simplified Chinese version of Epworth sleepiness scale(ESS)., Methods: Five hundred and eighty-five patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and 103 OSAHS patients who underwent operations were included in this study. The ESS was filled before polysomnography (PSG) monitoring under the direction of professional technicians. The patients who underwent operations did both PSG and ESS tests more than 6 months after operation. Fifty-one patients who underwent PSG at our hospital from July to August, 2010 were chosen to assess the ESS test-retest reliability on two separate occasions at least more than one week., Results: The total Cronbach's Alpha of ESS was 0.814. The test-retest reliability of ESS total scores was 0.679 and for each item was from 0.473 to 0.698(P < 0.01). Split-half reliability was 0.817 (P < 0.01). In the analysis of discriminant validity with apnea hypopnea index (AHI), the ESS total scores and each item's scores had significant differences in severity in OSAHS patients and simple snoring patients (P < 0.05), and this was also true in different degrees of lowest saturation of arterial oxygen (LSaO(2)) patients and normal LSaO(2) patients (P < 0.05). The factor analysis of construct validity showed that 4 factors were extracted. The cumulative proportion was 74.270%. The loading was higher than 0.4 among every item. The correlation coefficiency of overall ESS scores and each item's scores was relatively high except the last item. The ESS had low consistency with clinical diagnosis(κ = 0.099, P < 0.01) and the predictive validity was not good (r = 0.138, P < 0.01).As for 103 patients who had operations, the initial assessment of total ESS scores were 15.0[10;20] (M[P(25); P(75)]), and improved to 4[1;6] after operation. The patients who got effective results had significant difference in the total ESS scores before and after operation (Z = -7.528, P < 0.01), so was the patients who got ineffective results (Z = -4.382, P < 0.01) ., Conclusions: The simplified Chinese version of ESS had a good reliability and validity. It can be used to evaluate the chance of dozing in the daytime.

Objective: To investigate the clinical and biological characteristics and prognosis of mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL)., Methods: Thirty two patients were diagnosed as MPAL by bone marrow examination, immunophenotyping, cytogenetic and molecular assay and were treated with combined chemotherapy regimens for both acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukemia. Two cases were received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT)., Results: (1) The incidence of MPAL in acute leukemias was 2.6%. There were 16 cases (50.0%) of mixed myeloid and B-lymphoid (M/B), 14(43.8%) myeloid and T-lymphoid (M/T), one each (3.1%) of trilineage (M/B/T) and B- and T-lymphoid (B/T) phenotype. (2) The positive rates of CD34 and HLA-DR were 87.5% and 62.5%, respectively. (3) Abnormal karyotypes were detected in 70.0% of 30 MPAL patients, which were structural and numerical abnormalities including t(9;22), 11q23 and complex karyotypes. (4) The total complete remission (CR) rate was 75.0% and the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) at 2 years were 14.8% and 14.2% respectively. The CR rates for M/B and M/T cases were 75.0% and 71.4% respectively. No statistical difference was observed in OS and DFS between M/B and M/T cases., Conclusions: MPAL is a rare type of acute leukemia with a high heterogeneity. The unfavorable indicators of MPAL may be factors such as abnormal karyotypes, high expression of CD34 and extramedullary infiltration. Combined regimens and more intensive therapy including allo-HSCT might contribute to improving survival.

Objective: To report a case of pure erythroid leukemia., Methods: The clinical features, treatment and prognosis of a rare case of pure erythroid leukemia were reported, and the related literature was reviewed., Results: The pure erythroid leukemia patient was diagnosed by 90.4% pronormoblasts in bone marrow, 99.5% for erythroid antigen CD71, 67.4% for glycophorin A were detected, while no differentiation antigen of myeloid, lymphoid and megakaryocyte lineages were observed. HAG (homoharringtonine + Cytarabine and G-CSF) regimen were administered with no effect. The patient developed multiple organ failure and died soon., Conclusion: Pure erythroid leukemia has a fulminant clinical course with poor response to chemotherapy and worse prognosis.

Objective: To study the value of Epworth sleepiness scale in assessment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) severity., Methods: The polysomnography (PSG) data of 620 suspected OSAHS patients from Jan. 2000 to Dec. 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 556 males and 64 females, and their age ranged from 21 to 79 years (median 45.0 years). Of the all 620 patients, the median of the weight was 82.0 kg ( range 50 to 130 kg), median of height was 172.0 cm (range 147 to 178 cm), median of body mass index was 28.0 (range 18.5 to 42.9), median of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 37.2 (range 0 to 126.1), median of lowest arterial oxygen saturation (LSAT) was 0.75 (range 0.21 to 0.93), median of ESS was 13.0 (range 0 to 24). OSAHS was diagnosed in 513 patients and simple snorer was diagnosed in 107 patients by PSG. All the patients filled in ESS questionnaire in sleep disorder centre before PSG., Results: The correlation coefficients of the ESS and AHI, LSAT was -0.314 and -0.312 respectively (P <0. 05). The median of ESS in severe OSAHS group was higher than that in simple snorer, mild and moderate OSAHS groups (P < 0.001), but no difference was found among the simple snorer, mild and moderate OSAHS groups (P < 0.05). The median of ESS in severe hypoxemia group was higher than that in no, mild and moderate hypoxemia groups (P < 0.001), but no difference was found among no, mild and moderate hypoxemia groups (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: The Epworth sleepiness scale has little value in assessment of OSAHS severity. A new sleepiness scale method which is suitable for Chinese should be made.

Objective: To explore the appropriate study how to properly evaluate the hypoxemia degree in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypoventilation syndrome (OSAHS)., Methods: polysomnography was conducted on 108 OSAHS patients and 37 simple snorers to record the minimum oxygen saturation level (MiO(2)) and the total recorded time spent below 90% oxygen saturation (TS90%). The correlation between MiO(2) and the percent of the total recorded time spent below 90% oxygen saturation (TS90%) with the AHI were calculated., Results: The value of TS90% was significantly increased, and the value of MiO(2) was significantly decreased as the severity of OSAHS increased (all P < 0.001). The correlation coefficients of TS90% with AHI and with Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) were both much higher than those of MiO(2)., Conclusion: TS90% can express the severity of hypoxemia of the OSAHS patients more correctly than MiO(2). TS90% combined with MiO(2) can comprehensively and objectively reflect the severity of hypoxia of the OSAHS patients.