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As medicinal plants can accumulate harmful metals from the native soil, people's consumption of these materials may cause the human body to accumulate toxic metal elements. This has given rise to people’s concerns about the quality and safety of Chinese medicinal materials. This research aims to determine the levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg and Pb in four medicinal plant species (Aster tataricus L.f., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge, Radix Aucklandiae, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) and their native soil. All samples were collected from Qian’an city, beside Yanshan Mountain Range in Tangshan city, east Hebei Province, north China. The contents of heavy metals we detected in the soil conformed to the current limits. However, the Cd and Hg in the soil had a very high potential ecological risk because of their contents higher than the base level of local soil. The contents of Cu, Cd, Hg and Pb in some medicinal herbs exceeded the standards. The content of Cu in Radix Aucklandiae exceeded the standard by 3 times, and others exceeded the standard by less than one time. The comprehensive health risk assessment of heavy metals with chronic non-carcinogenic effects for human body showed that none of the four medicinal herbs can create a health risk. Thus, there is no strong positive correlation between heavy metal pollution in medicinal herbs and that in the native soil. Further research should be investigated to the connection between the heavy metal levels in the soil and plants, and the comprehensive effects of soil, air and irrigation water on heavy metal pollution of Chinese herbal medicines. We also recommend that Chinese herbal medicines should be cultivated and gathered only from controlled or uncontaminated areas. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10653-021-00978-z.

A gravimetric method is adopted to measure the solid–liquid equilibrium of 3-amino-2-methylbenzoic acid in different solvents, including methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, isopropyl alcohol, 1-butanol,...

The solubility of 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA) in 13 monosolvents including ethanol, 1-propanol, isopropanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, isobutanol, ethyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, p...

Cancers show a metabolic shift towards aerobic glycolysis. By "corrupting" their microenvironment, carcinoma cells are able to obtain energy substrates to "fuel" their mitochondrial metabolism and cell growth in an autophagy-associated, paracrine manner. However, the metabolic changes and role of normal fibroblasts in this process remain unclear. We devised a novel, indirect co-culture system to elucidate the mechanisms of metabolic coupling between stromal cells and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. Here, we showed that normal oral fibroblasts (NOFs) and OSCC become metabolically coupled through several processes before acquiring an activated phenotype and without inducing senescence. We observed, for the first time, that NOFs export mitochondria towards OSCCs through both direct contact and via indirect mechanisms. NOFs are activated and are able to acquire a cancer-associated fibroblasts metabolic phenotype when co-cultivation with OSSC cells, by undergoing aerobic glycolysis, secreting more reactive oxygen species (ROS), high L-lactate and overexpressing lactate exporter MCT-4, leading to mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, hypoxia, and mitophagy. On the other hand, Cav-1-low NOFs generate L-lactate to "fuel" mitochondrial metabolism and anabolic growth of OSCC. Most interestingly, the decrease in AMPK activity and PGC-1α expression might involve in regulation of ROS that functions to maintain final energy and metabolic homeostasis. This indicated, for the first time, the existence of ATP and ROS homeostasis during carcinogenesis. Our study suggests that an efficient therapeutical approach has to target the multiple mechanisms used by them to corrupt the normal surrounding stroma and metabolic homeostasis.

Metformin is an antidiabetic drug widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Growing evidence suggests that it may exert antitumor effects in vivo and in vitro. However, even with the promising potency on defeating cancer cells, the pre-clinical and epidemiological studies of metformin on various kinds of cancers are not satisfactory, and the reasons and underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Since cancer is a complex system, dependent on a promoting microenvironment, we hypothesize that the interactions between cancer cells and their neighborhood fibroblasts are essential for metformin resistance. To test this, we used a cell co-culture model closely mimicking the in vivo interactions and metabolic exchanges between normal stromal cells (NOFs) and oral squamous cancer cells (OSCC). Here we show that while metformin can significantly inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis of OSCC cultured alone in a dose-dependent manner through activating p-AMPK(T172) and modulating Bcl-2, Bax, and cleaved PARP. However, when OSCC are co-cultured with NOFs the metformin effects on OSCC cells are annihilated. NOFs are rescuing OSCC from metformin – induced apoptosis, at least partially, through inhibiting the activity of AMPK and PARP, maintaining mitochondrial membrane potential and increasing the oxidative stress. Our results indicate that metformin effects on oral cancer cells are modulated by the microenvironment and that this has to be taken into consideration in the context of developing a new combination of drugs for oral cancer treatment.

Fe2+-H2O2 Fenton system is the most applied system in advanced oxidation process for water remediation, but the drawbacks of acidic pH, sludge generation and poor regeneration are serious problems to overcome. Herein, we reported the Fe3O4/TiO2/reduced graphene oxide composites (RGO) as high-performance Fenton-like catalyst that could catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 in near neutral pH range of 5–9 for the decoloration of dye methylene blue (MB). The high catalytic activity of Fe3O4/TiO2/RGO was reflected by the fast absorbance decrease and chemical oxidation demand removal of MB solution within 20 min. The oxidation of MB was due to the radical generation in the Fe3O4/TiO2/RGO-H2O2 system, and the radicals could oxidize MB before the scavenging by the radical scavenger t-butanol. Higher Fe3O4/TiO2/RGO amount, H2O2 concentration and temperature accelerated the decoloration of MB. Fe3O4/TiO2/RGO could be easily regenerated by washing with water/ethanol mixture. The implication to the applications of Fe3O4/TiO2/RGO in water treatment is discussed.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the functional and aesthetic outcomes on donor and recipient sites and to determine the effects of technical factors including flap thickness and vessel diameters measured by ultrasonography as well as the size of the defect and postoperative volume reduction of the flaps measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: In patients who had undergone soft tissue reconstructive surgery between March 2013 and March 2016 using 55 anterolateral thigh flaps (ALTFs), 30 radial forearm flaps (RFFs), and 18 latissimus dorsi flaps (LDFs), color Doppler ultrasonography was performed to measure the thickness of the flap at the site of the perforator. Preoperative color Doppler ultrasound examinations of the blood vessel diameters of donor and recipient sites were carried out. Results: 97.1% of flaps showed complete survival and 2.9% complete failure (2 ALTFs and 1 LDF). The difference in flap volume of ALTFs, RFFs, and LDFs between MRI 1 (3-6 weeks) and MRI 2 (6-18 months) was 27.6, 17.9, and 36.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Proper selection of the flap is important for the optimization of the aesthetic and functional outcomes. Ultrasound, the surgeon's experience and the extension and nature of the defect play a key role in the selection of the flap.

Purpose Myoepithelial carcinomas (MECs) of the salivary glands are relatively rare. The clinicopathologic features, immunohistochemical profile, and biologic behavior have not been well-defined. Materials and Methods A total of 29 patients with MEC diagnosed during a 10-year period were included in the present study focusing on the biologic behavior, and the pathologic samples of 28 patients were collected for additional investigation of the histologic characteristics. Thirteen samples with detailed immunohistochemical results were included for illustrating immunohistochemical profiles. Results The parotid gland (n = 7) was the most common site involved, followed by the palate (n = 6) and the submandibular gland (n = 6). A multinodular growth pattern (n = 14) and sheet-like arrangement of tumor cells (n = 14) were observed. Of the 28 MEC samples, 14 (50%) were epithelioid, 5 (18%) were clear cell, 5 (18%) were plasmacytoid, 3 (11%) were mixed cell type, and 1 (3%) was spindle. The tumor-associated matrix was more prevalently hyalinized than myxoid. Of the 28 cases, 12 (43%) were classified as high grade and 16 (57%) as low grade. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed pan-cytokeratin (92.3%), smooth muscle actin (36%), S-100 protein (54.5%), and p63 (91.7%) positivity and carcinoembryonic antigen (100%) negativity. Ki-67 was immunoreactive in 62% of the MECs, with the Ki-67 labeling index ranging from less than 5 to 20%. Eleven patients developed recurrence (median disease-free survival 43 months) and 11 (44%) developed metastases. Two patients (8%) died of disease after a mean period of 18 months. Fourteen patients (61%) were without any evidence of disease after a mean of 32.5 months (range 3 to 86). The mitotic rate correlated weakly ( P = .042) with a poor outcome, but none of the other factors showed a significant correlation with the prognosis. Conclusion MECs of the salivary glands have a relatively high recurrence rate and metastasis rate and a long period of survival with tumor. A combination of pathologic features and various immunohistochemical indexes are crucial for the accurate diagnosis of MECs. Extensive excision is the favorable choice for treating MECs, and suprahyoid lymph node dissection is recommended when the submandibular gland is involved.