Association of suboptimal health status with intestinal microbiota in Chinese youths

Suboptimal health status (SHS), a physical state between health and disease, is a subclinical and reversible stage of chronic disease. Previous studies have shown alterations in the intestinal microbiota in patients with some chronic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between SHS and intestinal microbiota in a case‐control study with 50 SHS individuals and 50 matched healthy controls. Intestinal microbiota was analysed by MiSeq 250PE. Alpha diversity of intestinal microbiota in SHS individuals was higher compared with that of healthy controls (Simpson index, W = 2238, P = .048). Beta diversity was different between SHS and healthy controls (P = .018). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was higher in the SHS group than that in the controls (W = 2201, P = .049). Compared with that of the control group, nine genera were significantly higher and five genera were lower in abundance in the SHS group (all P < .05). The intestinal microbiota, analysed by a random forest model, was able to distinguish individuals with SHS from the controls, with an area under the curve of 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.77‐0.81). We demonstrated that the alteration of intestinal microbiota occurs with SHS, an early stage of disease, which might shed light on the importance of intestinal microbiota in the primary prevention of noncommunicable chronic diseases.     

Circulating exosome‐derived bona fide long non‐coding RNAs predicting the occurrence and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Although the diagnosis and therapy approach developed, techniques for the early diagnosis of HCC remain insufficient which results in poor prognosis of patients. The traditional biomarker AFP, however, has been proved with low specificity. Circulating exosomal ncRNAs revealed different profiles reflecting the characteristics of tumour. In this study, we mainly focused on circulating exosomal ncRNAs which might be the fingerprint for HCC, especially for the diagnosis or metastasis prediction. A high throughput lncRNA microarray in exosomes extracted from cell‐free plasma was applied. The risk score analysis was employed to screen the potential exosome‐derived lncRNAs in two independent sets based on different clinical parameters in 200 paired HCC patients. After a multi‐stage validation, we finally revealed three lncRNAs, ENSG00000248932.1, ENST00000440688.1 and ENST00000457302.2, increased in HCC comparing with the both chronic hepatitis (CH) patients and cancer‐free controls. ROC curve revealed a higher sensitivity and specificity in predicting the occurrence of HCC from cancer‐free controls and CH patients with the area under curve (AUC) of 0.905 and 0.879 by combining AFP. The three lncRNA panel combined with AFP also indicted a fingerprint function in predicting the metastasis of HCC with the AUC of 0.870. In conclusion, ENSG00000248932.1, ENST00000440688.1 and ENST00000457302.2 might be the potential biomarker for the tumorigenesis prediction from CH patients or healthy controls and may also be applied for dynamic monitoring the metastasis of HCC.     

Chemical Characterization and Phytotoxic Effects of the Aerial Parts of Ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis)

Studies of the phytotoxic effects between plants can be a crucial tool in the discovery of innovative compounds with herbicide potential. In this sense, we can highlight ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis), which is traditionally used in the crop rotation system in order to reduce weed emergence. The aim of this work was to characterize the secondary metabolites of ruzigrass and to evaluate its phytotoxic effects. In total, eight compounds were isolated: friedelin, oleanolic acid, α‐amyrin, 1‐dehydrodiosgenone, sitosterol and stigmasterol glycosides, tricin and p‐coumaric acid. Phytotoxic effects of the crude methanolic extract and fractions of ruzigrass were assessed using germination rate, initial seedling growth, and biomass of Bidens pilosa, Euphorbia heterophylla and Ipomoea grandifolia. Chemometric analysis discriminated the weed species into three groups, and B. pilosa was the most affected by fractions of ruzigrass. The phytotoxic activities of 1‐dehydrodiosgenone, tricin, and p‐coumaric acid are also reported, and p‐coumaric acid and 1‐dehydrodiosgenone were active against B. pilosa.     

不同术前皮肤准备方案与手术切口感染的关系研究

目的:研究不同术前皮肤准备方案与手术切口感染(SSI)的关系,为降低临床SSI发生率提供参考。方法:选择自2015年1月～2019年12月在医院行手术治疗的患者1810例为本次研究对象。根据析因设计表,将因素A:是否剃毛(1不剃毛;2剃毛),B:清洁方式(1清水清洁;2肥皂水清洁),C:术前备皮时间(1术前1 d;2术前2 h)配对分为8个组:A1B1C1组226例,A1B2C1组229例,A1B1C2组216例,A1B2C2组232例,A2B1C1组221例,A2B2C1组241例,A2B1C2组221例,A2B2C2组224例,比较各组手术部位及切口类型分布、术后SSI发生率,并采用析因分析法分析术前皮肤准备后各组菌落计数的相关性及交互作用。结果:各组患者的手术部位及切口类型之间的差异不存在统计学意义(P0.05)。A1B1C1组及A2B1C1组的SSI发生率较高,分别为12.83%和14.48%。A1水平的SSI发生率是8.75%,与A2水平的8.27%相比,差异不存在统计学意义(P0.05)。B1、C1水平的SSI发生率分别是11.31%、10.03%,明显高于B2、C2水平的5.83%、6.94%,差异均存在统计学意义(P0.05)。各组术前皮肤准备后的菌落计数差异存在统计学意义(P0.05),析因分析结果显示,B、C单因素分析差异存在统计学意义(P0.05),且A与C,B与C间具有交互作用,而A、B、C间具有二级交互作用(P0.05)。结论:术前皮肤准备对降低SSI发生具有重要作用,实际操作时,建议在较短的时间内利用肥皂水或其他消毒水进行皮肤清洗并完成备皮。     

Combinations of non-invasive indicators to detect dairy cows submitted to high-starch-diet challenge

High-starch diets (HSDs) fed to high-producing ruminants are often responsible for rumen dysfunction and could impair animal health and production. Feeding HSDs are often characterized by transient rumen pH depression, accurate monitoring of which requires costly or invasive methods. Numerous clinical signs can be followed to monitor such diet changes but no specific indicator is able to make a statement at animal level on-farm. The aim of this pilot study was to assess a combination of non-invasive indicators in dairy cows able to monitor a HSD in experimental conditions. A longitudinal study was conducted in 11 primiparous dairy cows fed with two different diets during three successive periods: a 4-week control period (P1) with a low-starch diet (LSD; 13% starch), a 4-week period with an HSD (P2, 35% starch) and a 3-week recovery period (P3) again with the LSD. Animal behaviour was monitored throughout the experiment, and faeces, urine, saliva, milk and blood were sampled simultaneously in each animal at least once a week for analysis. A total of 136 variables were screened by successive statistical approaches including: partial least squares-discriminant analysis, multivariate analysis and mixed-effect models. Finally, 16 indicators were selected as the most representative of a HSD challenge. A generalized linear mixed model analysis was applied to highlight parsimonious combinations of indicators able to identify animals under our experimental conditions. Eighteen models were established and the combination of milk urea nitrogen, blood bicarbonate and feed intake was the best to detect the different periods of the challenge with both 100% of specificity and sensitivity. Other indicators such as the number of drinking acts, fat:protein ratio in milk, urine, and faecal pH, were the most frequently used in the proposed models. Finally, the established models highlight the necessity for animals to have more than 1 week of recovery diet to return to their initial control state after a HSD challenge. This pilot study demonstrates the interest of using combinations of non-invasive indicators to monitor feed changes from a LSD to a HSD to dairy cows in order to improve prevention of rumen dysfunction on-farm. However, the adjustment and robustness of the proposed combinations of indicators need to be challenged using a greater number of animals as well as different acidogenic conditions before being applied on-farm.     

绵马贯众多糖超声提取工艺优化及抗氧化活性分析

绵马贯众是中国传统常用中药,本研究以温度、时间、超声功率、液料比为影响因子,多糖得率为评价指标,通过响应面法优化超声辅助提取绵马贯众多糖的工艺条件,同时测定其基本理化性质及抗氧化活性。研究结果表明,绵马贯众多糖的最佳提取工艺条件为:温度64℃、时间60 min、超声功率210 W、液料比27 mL/g。此时多糖得率为9.57%,与预测值接近。理化性质分析表明绵马贯众多糖为含少量蛋白的酸性多糖。体外抗氧化研究表明绵马贯众多糖具有很强的DPPH自由基清除活性,IC50值为0.29 mg/mL;较好的羟基自由基清除活性,其IC50值为1.10 mg/mL;对DNA的氧化损伤有显著的保护作用。绵马贯众多糖可以作为一种潜在的抗氧化剂应用于食品和化妆品等领域。     

Insect diversity in Gonggeom‐ji,the first protected paddy field wetland in Korea

Gonggeom‐ji pond is the first protected paddy field wetland area, designated by the Ministry of Environment of Korea in 2011, because of its high biodiversity and historic value. It contains reservoirs, paddy fields, and a forest site that provides diverse niches for insects. Quantitative methods were used in this study to estimate the insect diversity of this region. A transect of 50 m was designated in each site (reservoirs, paddy fields, and a forest site). Data were collected using sweeping and pitfall traps along each transect in May, August, and November 2017, representative of the seasons—spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. As a result, a total of 1079 individual insects representing 170 species from 60 families within nine orders were collected. Diversity, richness, and evenness indices were the highest in the forest site in May (4.77, 8.6, and 0.91, respectively). The dominance index was the highest in the forest site in November (0.64). Similarity index was the highest in the reservoir in May and August (0.519). These results would help compare different sites and their vegetation to assess relationships between insects and habitats.     

Next generation sequencing and functional pathway analysis to understand the mechanism of action of copper-tolfenamic acid against pancreatic cancer cells

Anti-cancer activity of tolfenamic acid (TA) in preclinical models for pancreatic cancer (PaCa) is well established. Since the dosage for anti-cancer actions of TA is rather high, we recently demonstrated that IC₅₀ values of Copper-TA are 30–80% less than TA in 12 cancer cell lines. This study elucidates the underlying mechanisms of Copper-TA in PaCa cells. Control and Copper-TA (IC₅₀) treated PaCa cells were processed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) to determine differentially expressed genes using HTG EdgeSeq Oncology Biomarker panel. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA®) was used to identify functional significance of altered genes. The conformational studies for assessing the expression of key regulators and genes were conducted by Western blot and qPCR. IPA® identified several networks, regulators, as well as molecular and cellular functions associated with cancer. The top 5 molecular and cellular functions affected by Cu-TA treatment were cell death and survival, cellular development, cell growth and proliferation, cell cycle and cellular movement. The expression of top upstream regulators was confirmed by Western blot analysis while qPCR results of selected genes demonstrated that Copper-TA is efficacious at lower doses than TA. Results suggest that Copper-TA alters genes/key regulators associated with cancer and potentially serve as an effective anti-cancer agent.     

Influence of ethanol concentration of extraction solvent on metabolite profiling for Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma extract by 1H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis

Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Danshen in China) and its related preparations are widely used in clinical practice due to its high medicinal value. In recent years, ¹H NMR technology has made great progress and demonstrated its unique advantages in the field of botanical metabolomics. In this study, ¹H NMR-based metabolomics was used to investigate the dissolution of various metabolites in Danshen as a function of ethanol concentration. ¹H NMR spectroscopy of Danshen extract identified 28 metabolites including 6 sugars, 11 amino acids, 3 organic acids, 4 salvianolic acids, and 4 tanshinones. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to classify and compare various Danshen extracts. PCA and HCA were used to obtain a global overview of the similarity in the samples and two-class OPLS-DA models were established for identifying characteristic metabolites. Then, ¹H-qNMR method was used to estimate the concentration of 22 metabolites, which is helpful to further describe the changes in metabolite ratios of various Danshen extracts. The result of this study laid the foundation for further biological activity research, and also provided an important reference for subsequent process research and quality control of Danshen related preparations.