Dragon's Blood (Resina Draconis) is a red resin that has been used in traditional medicine to promote blood circulation, regenerate muscles, reduce swelling and pain, stop bleeding, etc., and its ...main chemical constituents are flavonoids. Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S.C.Chen is the only plant defined by the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China as a source of dragon's blood.
We aimed to reveal genes involved in the biosynthesis and accumulation of flavonoids of D. cochinchinensis which is under wounding stress by performing a de novo transcriptome analysis.
D. cochinchinensis samples were collected for transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis at 0 days (0 d), 3 days (3 d), 6 days (6 d), and 10 days (10 d) after induction wounding stress, and tissues were microscopically observed after wounding stress.
A total of 63,244 unigenes were obtained through bioinformatics analysis, and genes associated with the biosynthesis of flavonoids were identified. Through the analysis of DEGs after wounding stress in D. cochinchinensis, based on gene expression consistent with flavonoid accumulation levels, 20 genes in connection with the flavonoid synthesis pathway and 56 genes that may be responsible for flavonoid modification and transport, and also revealed TFs (MYB, bHLH) that may be responsible for flavonoid biosynthesis. Analysis of DEGs between the four periods revealed that after wounding stress, the greatest number of significant DEGs were enriched during the first 3 days, while fewer DEGs were enriched after day 3, which corresponding to only about 1/10 (353/3883) the number of DEGs during the first 3 days. In addition, putative unigenes involved in lignin biosynthesis, such as CSE, HCT, CCR, F5H, and CAD, were significantly down-regulation after D. cochinchinensis wounding stress, but the putative unigenes responsible for flavonoid biosynthesis, such as CHS, CHI, DFR, F3'5'H, F3H, ANR, FLS, and ANS were significantly up-regulation.
We performed de novo transcriptome analysis of D.cochinchinensis under wounding stress, candidate genes and TFs involved in the biosynthesis and accumulation of flavonoids were identified, which is the first report on the transcript variants in flavonoid form accumulation in D. cochinchinensis under wounding stress. According to the results of DEGs analysis, wounding stress attenuated lignin biosynthesis meanwhile promoted flavonoid biosynthesis. In addition, we also compared the transcriptomics of the two different original plants (D.cochinchinensis and D.cambodiana) that form dragon's blood in order to provide further understanding of the formation of dragon's blood.
Display omitted
Background
Two critical concerns during Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication are the successful eradication and recurrence. It is debatable whether whole family‐based H. pylori treatment ...regimen might have any advantage over single‐infected patient treatment approach in increasing eradication rate and reducing recurrence rate. We conduct systematic review and meta‐analysis to compare the efficacy of these two treatment regimens in order to provide clinical practice a better option for H. pylori eradication.
Methods
Randomized controlled trials evaluating H. pylori eradication and recurrence in whole family‐based treatment group (WFTG) versus single‐infected patient treatment group (SPTG) were collected from published literature up to July 2020 from common databases. Pooled results were analyzed using either fixed‐effect or random‐effect model. Results were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results
A total of 1751 relevant articles were identified, and 12 studies were eligible for analysis. Among them: (a) Eight articles including 1198 patients were selected to analyze H. pylori eradication rate, pooled result showed that eradication rate of WFTG was higher than that of SPTG (OR=2.93; 95% CI 1.68–5.13). Stratified analysis showed that H. pylori eradication rate in WFTG were higher over SPTG in children subgroup, but had no difference in spouse subgroup. (b) Six studies including 881 patients were analyzed for recurrence rate between the two groups, pooled analysis showed that the overall recurrence rate of WFTG was lower than that of SPTG (OR=0.3; 95% CI 0.19–0.48). Stratified analysis showed that the recurrence rate in WFTG was lower over SPTG at 6, 12, 18, and more than 24 months post‐treatment subgroups.
Conclusion
Whole family‐based H. pylori treatment can partially increase eradication rate and reduce recurrence rate over single‐infected patient treatment approach, the results provide clinical practice a novel notion for H. pylori eradication and infection prevention.
We have presented an efficient method to access
-difluoro-2-trifluromethyl styrene derivatives
palladium catalysis. This method features mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope and good ...product yields. Moreover, gram-scale reactions demonstrated the robustness and potential of this method. Control experiments revealed that the -CF
group was essential to the success of this transformation. Finally, the practicality of this method was successfully proven by three synthetic applications.
Objective
We explored the clinical efficacy and safety of modified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of elderly patients with refractory depression.
Methods
A total of 43 older ...patients with refractory depression were enrolled in our study from March 2014 to February 2015, with the average age of 65 ± 4.8 years old. Modified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was performed in these patients after physical examinations and anesthesia procedures. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to assessing the efficacy of ECT, and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and mini‐mental state examination (MMSE) were used to evaluate the memory ability and cognitive function.
Results
The rate of efficacy was calculated as 67.44% after 4 weeks of ECT treatment. Our results showed that HAMA and HAMD scores after 2 weeks of ECT treatment were significantly lower than pretreatment, and the differences were more significant after 4 weeks of ECT treatment. Compared with pretreatment, the scores of memory quotient and immediate memory of WMS decreased significantly after 1 week of treatment. However, these events were not be presented with the progress of treatment, except for after 2 weeks of treatment. Our results demonstrated that compared with pretreatment, the scores of MMSE significantly increased after 4 weeks of treatment.
Conclusion
ECT is an effective, well‐tolerated, and safe method for the treatment of older patients with refractory depression. ECT can be recommended for the treatment of these patients after conducting effective risk control of comorbid somatic diseases.
Antrodia camphorata (A. camphorata) is a rare functional fungus in Taiwan and contains a variety of biologically active ingredients. Antrodin A (AdA) is one of the main active ingredients in the ...solid-state fermented A. camphorata mycelium. It protects the liver from alcohol damage by improving the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of the liver and maintaining the stability of the intestinal flora.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective activities of ethyl acetate layer extract (EALE), AdA, and Antroquinonol (Aq) from mycelium of A. camphorata on alcoholic liver injury.
Mice were given with intragastrically vehicle (NC, 2% CMC-Na), alcohol (AL, 12 mL/kg bw), or different A. camphorata samples (EALE, AdA, Aq) at low (100 mg/kg bw) or high (200 mg/kg bw) dosages. The positive control (PC) group was given with silymarin (200 mg/kg bw). Except the NC group, each group of mice was fasted for 4 h after the last treatment and was intragastrically administrated with 50% alcohol (12 mL/kg bw). At the end of experiment, mouse serum was collected and the liver was excised. A portion of the liver was fixed in formalin and used for histopathological analysis, whereas the rest was used for biochemical analysis and real-time PCR analysis. The intestinal flora structure of feces was analyzed by determining the v3-v4 region sequence in 16S rDNA.
The high-dose groups of the three samples (EALEH, AdAH, and AqH) significantly alleviated the alcohol-induced increases in liver index, serum ALT, AST, and AKP activities. Serum TG level was significantly reduced in all treatment groups. The increase of HDL-C content indicated that active ingredients of A. camphorata could reduce the lipid content in serum. Furthermore, MDA contents of the AdAH and AqH groups in liver were significantly reduced, accompanying with the levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH elevated to various extents. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities in the liver were increased in the AdAH group, as evidenced by the mRNA expression levels of Nrf-2 and HO-1 were significantly increased; while those of CYP2e1, TNF-α, and TLR-4 were significantly decreased. Analysis of intestinal flora of feces showed that alcohol treatment significantly changed the composition of intestinal flora. Supplementation with AdA could mitigate dysbiosis of intestinal flora induced by alcohol. Flora of Faecalibaculum, Lactobacillus, and Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002 showed significantly negative correlations with ALT, AST, AKP, and MDA levels.
Antrodin A could improve the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of the liver and maintain the stability of intestinal flora. It is potentially a good candidate compound against acute alcoholic liver injury.
Display omitted
Post‐herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a well‐established clinical problem with potential severe personal and socioeconomic implications. GTP cyclohydrolase 1 (GCH1) gene, which encodes the rate‐limiting ...enzyme in tetrahydrobiopterin synthesis, has been strongly implicated to be associated with neuropathic pain in previous animal and human studies. The rs3783641 (T > A) single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the GCH1 gene is functional. Here we examine the association between rs3783641 and PHN. A total of 292 subjects including 103 PHN patients, 87 herpes zoster (HZ) patients and 102 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The rs3783641 polymorphisms were detected via the high‐resolution melting curve (HRM) method. There were statistical differences between PHN group and the other two groups in genotype distribution (P = 0.029 and 0.017, respectively) and allele frequency (P = 0.032 and 0.005, respectively) of rs3783641. The proportion of subjects with AA genotype in the PHN group was significantly lower compared to HZ group and control group (P = 0.026 and 0.016, respectively). The frequency of A allele was lower in the PHN group than in control group (P = 0.005), and the frequency of T allele in the PHN group was higher than in HZ group and control group (P = 0.001 and 0.003, respectively). The results of this study suggest that the rs3783641 SNP in the GCH1 gene is associated with PHN, and the AA genotype showed a protective effect in PHN.
Three‐spot seahorse (Hippocampus trimaculatus) has been consumed as traditional Chinese medicine in Asian society. This study was designed to analyze the bioactive compounds of the solvent extracts ...from cultured three‐spot seahorse by high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐ESI/MS/MS). Subsequently, their biological activities were evaluated and confirmed by cell modes and Western blot analysis. Experimental results indicated that taurine and arginine were the primary bioactive compounds identified and quantified without pre‐ or post‐column derivatization within 20 min retention time. The analytical method was established and validated with intraday/interday RSD from 0.25% to 3.34% and with recovery from 87.8% to 91.2%. As compared to other extracts, water layer extract (WLE) contained the most taurine and arginine contents of 6.807 and 0.437 mg/g (dry basis), respectively. In the meanwhile, WLE also showed anti‐inflammatory activity on LPS‐induced NO production and inhibited the protein expression of TNF‐α and COX‐2 by Western blot analysis with better cell viability.
The HPLC‐ESI/MS/MS was used to analyze the bioactive components of various solvent extracts from cultured hippocampus trimaculatus. Taurine and arginine were found in the extracts. The cell test and inflammatory analysis supported that the WLE was the better extract that can inhibit LPS‐induced cell production of nitric oxide, and inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors such as COX‐2 and TNF‐α.
A palladium‐catalyzed external‐CO‐free carbonylative Hiyama‐Denmark cross‐coupling reaction is presented. The introduction of silylcarboxylic acids as bifunctional reagents (CO and nucleophile ...source) avoids the need for external gaseous CO and a silylarene coupling partner. The transformation features high functional group tolerance and it is successful with electron‐rich, ‐neutral, and ‐poor aryl iodides. Stoichiometric studies and control experiments provide insight into the reaction mechanism and support the hypothesized dual role of silylcarboxylic acids.
Contact dermatitis usually presents as erythematous macules, papules, and vesicles. Sometimes, unusual clinical presentations of contact dermatitis are reported, including pustular, lymphomatoid, ...lichenoid, and pigmented variants. We describe the first patient with bullous irritant contact dermatitis caused by perfume, mimicking impetigo lesions. We report this case to raise awareness concerning the possibility of serious cutaneous reactions, such as bullous impetigo‐like irritant contact dermatitis due to perfumes which are ubiquitous, especially after direct contact with the solution. Perfume ingredients, such as fragrance, solvents, and preservatives all may cause or contribute to irritant contact dermatitis.
PDF
