Huangqin decoction alleviates lipid metabolism disorders and insulin resistance in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by triggering Sirt1/NF-κB pathway

BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is a clinicopathological entity characterized by intrahepatic ectopic steatosis.As a consequence of increased consumption of high-calorie diet and adoption of a sedentary lifestyle,the incidence of NAFLD has surpassed that of viral hepatitis,making it the most common cause of chronic liver disease globally.Huangqin decoction(HQD),a Chinese medicinal formulation that has been used clinically for thousands of years,has beneficial outcomes in patients with liver diseases,including NAFLD.However,the role and mechanism of action of HQD in lipid metabolism disorders and insulin resistance in NAFLD remain poorly understood.AIM To evaluate the ameliorative effects of HQD in NAFLD,with a focus on lipid metabolism and insulin resistance,and to elucidate the underlying mechanism of action.METHODS High-fat diet-induced NAFLD rats and palmitic acid(PA)-stimulated HepG2 cells were used to investigate the effects of HQD and identify its potential mechanism of action.Phytochemicals in HQD were analyzed by highperformance liquid chromatography(HPLC)to identify the key components.RESULTS Ten primary chemical components of HQD were identified by HPLC analysis.In vivo,HQD effectively prevented rats from gaining body and liver weight,improved the liver index,ameliorated hepatic histological aberrations,decreased transaminase and lipid profile disorders,and reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors and insulin resistance.In vitro studies revealed that HQD effectively alleviated PA-induced lipid accumulation,inflammation,and insulin resistance in HepG2 cells.In-depth investigation revealed that HQD triggers Sirt1/NF-κB pathwaymodulated lipogenesis and inflammation,contributing to its beneficial actions,which was further corroborated by the addition of the Sirt1 antagonist EX-527 that compromised the favorable effects of HQD.CONCLUSION In summary,our study confirmed that HQD mitigates lipid metabolism disorders and insulin resistance in NAFLD by triggering the Sirt1/NF-κB pathway.

Potential of high hydrostatic pressure in reducing the allergenicity of seafood

Seafood,as a primary high-quality protein source,plays an increasingly vital role in diets around the world,while seafood allergy is a worldwide health problem that affects the quality of life and may even threaten lives.High hydrostatic pressure(HHP),a novel non-thermal processing technology,shows the unique potential in alleviating seafood allergenicity.This comment provides a brief introduction of potential of high hydrostatic pressure in reducing the allergenicity of seafood.

Peripheral T-lymphocyte subpopulations in different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection correlate with HBV load

AIM: To characterize the peripheral T-cell subpopulation profiles and their correlation with hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection.METHODS: A total of 422 patients with chronic HBV infection were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into three stages: immune-tolerant stage, immune active stage, and immune-inactive carrier stage. Composition of peripheral T-cell subpopulations was determined by flow cytometry. HBV markers were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. SerumHBV DNA load was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS: CD8+ T-cells were significantly higher in patients at the immune-tolerant stage than in patients at the immune-active and -inactive carrier stages (36.87 ± 7.58 vs 34.37 ± 9.07, 36.87 ± 7.58 vs 28.09 ± 5.64, P < 0.001). The peripheral blood in patients at the immune-tolerant and immune active stages contained more CD8+ T-cells than CD4+ T-cells (36.87 ± 7.58 vs 30.23 ± 6.35, 34.37 ± 9.07 vs 30.92 ± 7.40, P < 0.01), whereas the peripheral blood in patients at the immune-inactive carrier stage and in normal controls contained less CD8+ T-cells than CD4+ T-cells (28.09 ± 5.64 vs 36.85 ± 6.06, 24.02 ± 4.35 vs 38.94 ± 3.39, P < 0.01). ANOVA linear trend test showed that CD8+ T-cells were signif icantly increased in patients with a high viral load (39.41 ± 7.36, 33.83 ± 7.50, 31.81 ± 5.95 and 26.89 ± 5.71, P < 0.001), while CD4+ T-cells were signif icantly increased in patients with a low HBV DNA load (37.45 ± 6.14, 33.33 ± 5.61, 31.58 ± 6.99 and 27.56 ± 5.49, P < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis displayed that log copies of HBV DNA still maintained its highly signif icant coefficients for T-cell subpopulations, and was the strongest predictors for variations in CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio after adjustment for age at HBV-infection, maternal HBV-infection status, presence of hepatitis B e antigen and HBV mutation.CONCLUSION: Differences in peripheral T-cell subpopulation profi les can be found in different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection. T-cell impairment is signifi cantly associated with HBV load.

Hepatocellular carcinoma after ablation:The imaging follow-up scheme

Percutaneous ablation using thermal or chemical methods has been widely used in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Nowadays,contrast-enhanced imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT),magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) are widely used to evaluate local treatment response after ablation therapies.CEUS is gaining increasing attention due to its characteristics including real-time scanning,easy performance,lack of radiation,wide availability,and lack of allergy reactions.Several studies have documented that CEUS is comparable to CT or MRI in evaluating local treatment efficacy within 1 mo of treatment.However,little information is available regarding the role of CEUS in the followup assessment after first successful ablation treatment.Zheng et al found that in comparison with contrastenhanced computed tomography (CECT),the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value and overall accuracy of CEUS in detecting local tumor progression (LTP) were 67.5%,97.4%,81.8%,94.4% and 92.3%,respectively,and were 77.7%,92.0%,92.4%,76.7% and 84.0%,respectively for the detection of new intrahepatic recurrence.They concluded that the sensitivity of CEUS in detecting LTP and new intrahepatic recurrence after ablation is relatively low in comparison with CECT,and CEUS cannot replace CECT in the follow-up assessment after percutaneous ablation for HCC.These results are meaningful and instructive,and indicated that in the follow-up period,the use of CEUS alone is not sufficient.In this commentary,we discuss the discordance between CT and CEUS,as well as the underlying mechanisms involved.We propose the combined use of CT and CEUS which will reduce false positive and negative results in both modalities.We also discuss future issues,such as an evidence-based ideal imaging follow-up scheme,and a cost-effectiveness analysis of this imaging follow-up scheme.

Numerical solutions for two nonlinear wave equations

The split-step pseudo-spectral method is a useful method for solving nonlinear wave equations. However, it is not widely used because of the limitation of the periodic boundary condition. In this paper, the method is modified at its second step by avoiding transforming the wave height function into a frequency domain function. Thus, the periodic boundary condition is not required, and the new method is easy to implement. In order to validate its performance, the proposed method was used to solve the nonlinear parabolic mild-slope equation and the spatial modified nonlinear Schrodinger （MNLS） equation, which were used to model the wave propagation under different bathymetric conditions. Good agreement between the numerical and experimental results shows that the present method is effective and efficient in solving nonlinear wave eouations.

RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF TRIMETHYLENE CARBONATE BY CALIX[8]ARENE-NEODYMIUM

Ring-opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) with a rare earth calixarene compound as catalyst has been studied for the first time. The effect of TMC/Nd (molar ratio) and polymerization conditions were investigated in detail. It was found that calix[8]arene-neodymium is a highly effective catalyst for the bulk polymerization of TMC and gives high molecular weight (M-v = 60,000) polymer. The optimum conditions of TMC polymerization were found to be as follows:TMC/Nd (molar ratio) = 2,000, 80 degrees C, 16 h. The polymers were characterized by NMR, GPC and DSC. Studying the mechanism by NMR showed that the polymerization of TMC catalyzed by calix[8]arene-neodymium proceeds via a cationic mechanism.

What does it mean to be a macronutritional generalist? A five-year case study in wild rhesus macaques(Macaca mulatta)

DEAR EDITOR,Dietary generalism is widely associated with ecological flexibility,but the mechanisms of this relationship remain poorly understood.A recently developed body of theory on the relationship between generalism/specialism at the levels of foods selected vs.nutrients ingested,termed multi-level dietary niche theory,offers a powerful opportunity to deepen our understanding of the dietary generalist-specialist spectrum and its ecological significance.

金属主链高分子的量子化学计算

金属主链高分子是一类完全以金属原子作为主链的新材料,在光电、传感、电化学储能等领域都具有重要的应用前景.但是,如何获得具有较高分子量的金属主链高分子,仍然是一个挑战.本文通过密度泛函理论计算方法,对镍金属主链高分子进行了结构优化和稳定性分析,发现随着聚合物分子量的增加,镍金属主链高分子的单点能逐渐降低,说明高分子量的金属主链高分子具有稳定的分子构型.但是,随着分子量的进一步提高,计算量显著增加,密度泛函理论计算方法收敛困难.为此,本文进一步通过Hartree-Fock计算方法对该系列镍金属主链高分子进行了分子构型优化,得到了与密度泛函理论计算结果相似的规律,并且发现当分子量超过1×10^(4)时,金属主链高分子仍然具有较高的结构稳定性.此外,这种电子离域在整个金属主链上的独特金属-金属的相互作用有利于实现电荷的高效传输;以金属原子为重复单元的分子结构,有望实现金属和高分子材料性能的有效结合,可以获得较高的热失重温度和熵弹性.

iORbase:A database for the prediction of the structures andfunctions of insect olfactory receptors

Insect olfactory receptors(iORs)with atypical 7-transmembrane domains,unlike Chordata olfactory receptors,are not in the GPCR protein family.iORs selectively bind to volatile ligands in the environment and affect essential insect behaviors.In this study,we constructed a new platform(iORbase,https://www.iorbase.com)for the structural and functional analysis of iORs based on a combined algorithm for gene annotation and protein structure prediction.Moreover,it provides the option to calculate the binding affinities and binding residues between iORs and pheromone molecules by virtual screening of docking.Furthermore,iORbase supports the automatic structural and functional prediction of user-submitted iORs or pheromones.iORbase contains the well-analyzed results of approximately 6000 iORs and their 3D protein structures identified from 59 insect species and 2077 insect pheromones from the literature,as well as approximately 12 million pairs of simulated interactions between functional iORs and pheromones.We also built 4 online modules,iORPDB,iInteraction,iModelTM,and iOdorTool to easily retrieve and visualize the 3D structures and interactions.iORbase can help greatly improve the experimental efficiency and success rate,identify new insecticide targets,or develop electronic nose technology.This study will shed light on the olfactory recognition mechanism and evolutionary characteristics from the perspectives of omics and macroevolution.

Perineural invasion status, Gleason score and number of positive cores in biopsy pathology are predictors of positive surgical margin following laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

This study was designed to define possible preoperative predictors of positive surgical margin after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. We retrospectively analyzed the records of 296 patients with prostate cancer diagnosed by prostate biopsy, and eventually treated with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. The prognostic impact of age, prostate volume, preoperative prostate-specific antigen, biopsy Gleason score, maximum percentage tumor per core, number of positive cores, biopsy perineurat invasion, capsule invasion on imaging, and tumor laterality on surgical margin was assessed. The overall positive surgical margin rate was 29.1%. Gleason score, number of positive cores, perineural invasion, tumor laterality in the biopsy specimen, and prostate volume significantly correlated with risk of positive surgical margin by univariate analysis （P 〈 0.05）. Gleason score （odds ratio [OR] = 2.286, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.431-3.653, P= 0.001）, perineural invasion （OR = 4.961, 95% CI = 2.656-9.270, P〈 0.001）, and number of positive cores （OR = 4.403, 95% CI = 1.878-10.325, P = 0.001） were independent predictors of positive surgical margin at the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Patients with perineural invasion, higher biopsy Gleason scores and/or a large number of positive cores in biopsy pathology had more possibility of capsule invasion. The positive surgical margin rate in patients with capsule invasion （49.5%） was much higher than that with localized disease （17.8%）. In contrast, prostate volume showed a protective effect against positive surgical margin （OR = 0.572, 95% CI = 0.346-0.945, P = 0.029）. Gleason score, perineural invasion, and number of positive cores in the biopsy specimen were preoperative independent predictors of positive surgical margin after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy while prostate volume was a protective factor against positive surgical margin.

Cloning and Expression Analysis of Two Dehydrodolichyl Diphosphate Synthase Genes from Tripterygium wilfordii

Objective: To clone and investigate two dehydrodolichyl diphosphate synthase genes of Tripterygium wilfordii by bioinformatics and tissue expression analysis. Materials and Methods: According to the T. wifordii transcriptome database, specific primers were designed to clone the TwDHDDS1 and TwDHDDS2 genes via PCR. Based on the cloned sequences, protein structure prediction, multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree construction were performed. The expression levels of the genes in different tissues of T. wilfordii were measured by real?time quantitative PCR. Results: The TwDHDDS1 gene encompassed a 873 bp open reading frame(ORF) and encoded a protein of 290 amino acids. The calculated molecular weight of the translated protein was about 33.46 kDa, and the theoretical isoelectric point(pI) was 8.67. The TwDHDDS2 encompassed a 768 bp ORF, encoding a protein of 255 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of about 21.19 kDa, and a theoretical isoelectric point(pI) of 7.72. Plant tissue expression analysis indicated that TwD HDDS1 and TwDHDDS2 both have relatively ubiquitous expression in all sampled organ tissues, but showed the highest transcription levels in the stems. Conclusions: The results of this study provide a basis for further functional studies of TwDHDDS1 and TwDHDDS2. Most importantly, these genes are promising genetic targets for the regulation of the biosynthetic pathways of important bioactive terpenoids such as triptolide.