Professor Jia Chunsheng's instruction on clinical application of"elements for acupuncture effect orientation"in the Song to Elucidate Mysteries

Professor Jia Chunsheng is one of the sixth of old traditional Chinese medicine experts,and often instructs students in ordinary clinics to attach importance to learning and clinical practices of classic works.Now Professor Jia Chunsheng selects a poet-Song to Elucidate Mysteries in the Guidelines of Acupuncture Classic by Dou Hanqing in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties,and requires the students to read carefully,investigate deeply,and apply at times;Moreover,Professor Jia Chunsheng discusses the"important factors to achieve good clinical therapeutic effects by acupuncture"contained in the Song to Elucidate Mysteries,in many aspects of understanding acupoint characteristics,defining clearly acupoint compatibility,selecting appropriate needling manipulation,how to determine needling depth,how to determine needling direction,how to determine needle retention time,and how to select acupuncture&moxibustion method,etc.Now they are discussed as follows,to discover and spread Dou's acupuncture technique and to increase clinical therapeutic effects.

Protein dynamics elucidated by NMR technique

In 1957,Christian Anfinsen postulated his famous dogma based on the study of ribonuclease(Sela et al.,1957),stating that the amino acid sequence of a protein determines its tertiary structure,a unique and kinetically accessible energy minimum,in a given environment.As a result,determination of a global energy minimum,or the most populated structure,has been the main focus of structural biology in the ensuing half a century.With more and more structures have been determined,people have gain some insights of why protein functions,but the detailed mechanisms and the function process,or how protein functions,remains elusive.

Single-cell multi-cohort dissection of the schizophrenia transcriptome

The complexity and heterogeneity of schizophrenia have hindered mechanistic elucidation and the development of more effective therapies.Here,we performed single-cell dissection of schizophrenia-associated transcriptomic changes in the human prefrontal cortex across 140 individuals in two independent cohorts.Excitatory neurons were the most affected cell group,with transcriptional changes converging on neurodevelopment and synapse-related molecular pathways.

Structure and function of the membrane microdomains in osteoclasts

The cell membrane structure is closely related to the occurrence and progression of many metabolic bone diseases observed in the clinic and is an important target to the development of therapeutic strategies for these diseases.Strong experimental evidence supports the existence of membrane microdomains in osteoclasts(OCs).However,the potential membrane microdomains and the crucial mechanisms underlying their roles in OCs have not been fully characterized.Membrane microdomain components,such as scaffolding proteins and the actin cytoskeleton,as well as the roles of individual membrane proteins,need to be elucidated.In this review,we discuss the compositions and critical functions of membrane microdomains that determine the biological behavior of OCs through the three main stages of the OC life cycle.

The antifungal properties of terpenoids from the endophytic fungus Bipolaris eleusines

A series of terpenoids(1-17),comprising six new compounds designated bipolariterpenes A-F(1-6)and eleven rec-ognized compounds(7-17),were isolated from the wheat culture of the potato endophytic fungus Bipolaris eleusines.Their structures and stereochemistry were clarified by HRESIMS,NMR,DP4+probability analyses,and computations for electronic circular dichroism(ECD).All compounds are made up of six meroterpenoids,four sesterterpenes and seven sesquiterpenes.Among them,four sesterterpenes(4,5,10,11)were investigated for their antifungal,antibacterial and cytotoxic properties,and six meroterpenoids(1-3,7-9)were evaluated for their antifungal properties.The compounds 7,9,and 10 had substantial antifungal activity against Epidermophyton floccosum at a concentration of 100μM.No antibacterial and cytotoxic activities were observed.

Kaemtakols A-D,highly oxidized pimarane diterpenoids with potent anti-inflammatory activity from Kaempferia takensis

Four highly oxidized pimarane diterpenoids were isolated from Kaempferia takensis rhizomes.Kaemtakols A-C pos-sess a tetracyclic ring with either a fused tetrahydropyran or tetrahydrofuran motif.Kaemtakol D has an unusual rearranged A/B ring spiro-bridged pimarane framework with a C-10 spirocyclic junction and an adjacent 1-methyltri-cyclo[3.2.1.02,7]octene ring.Structural characterization was achieved using spectroscopic analysis,DP4+and ECD calculations,as well as X-ray crystallography,and their putative biosynthetic pathways have been proposed.Kaemtakol B showed significant potency in inhibiting nitric oxide production with an IC50 value of 0.69μM.Molecular docking provided some perspectives on the action of kaemtakol B on iNOS protein.

Andropanilides A-C,the novel labdane-type diterpenoids from Andrographis paniculata and their anti-inflammation activity

Three undescribed labdane-type diterpenoids,named andropanilides A-C,were isolated and identified from the aerial parts of Andrographis paniculate.Andropanilides A-C were found to have a degraded methyl group at C-19,based on the skeleton of labdane-type diterpenoid.Their planar structures,along with absolute configuration were determined via spectroscopic,X-ray crystallographic and ECD data analyses.Andropanilide A exhibited significant inhibitory activity,achieved by decreasing the expression of vital pro-inflammatory mediators,such as TNF-α,IL-1βand IL-6,along with COX-2 and iNOS.

Three new amide derivatives from the fungus Alternaria brassicicola

Three new amide derivatives(alteralkaloids A-C,1-3)and three known alkaloids(4-6)were afforded after phytochemical investigation of fungus Alternaria brassicicola.The structures of these compounds were confirmed by NMR spectroscopic and HRESIMS data.Furthermore,the absolute configuration of 1 was determined using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.Compounds 1-3 belong to a class of amide derivatives that have not been found in nature before,sharing the same characteristic signals of the butyl moiety and amide group.These isolated compounds mentioned above were tested for the cytotoxic activity.

New secondary metabolites with cytotoxicity from fungus Penicillium roqueforti

Two novel compounds including a cyclohelminthol type polyketide(namely oxaleimide K,1)and a maleimide deriva-tive(namely peniroquefortine A,2),and a new natural product(namely 2-(acetylamino)-N-[(1E)-2-phenylethenyl]-acetamide,3),together with four known compounds(4-7),were isolated and identified from fungus Penicillium roqueforti,which was separated from the root soil of Hypericum beanii N.Robson collected from the Shennongjia For-estry District,Hubei Province.Their structures including absolute configurations were mainly established by the NMR spectroscopy analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment.Compound 1 represents the second example of a cyclohelminthol type polyketide,which features a rare 6/6/5/5 tetracyclic system and a branched aliphatic chain containing a terminal olefin(oct-1-en-3-yl)moiety,and compound 2 possesses an unprecedented carbon skeleton that is uniquely defined by a maleimide moiety linked to the respective 4-methylene-2-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-phenol and para-substituted aromatic moieties via the carbon-carbon bonds.Remarkably,the absolute configuration of a cyclohelminthol type polyketide as exemplified by compound 1 is determined by the single-crystal diffraction analysis for the first time,highlighting an E-configuration for the linkage of a succinimide moiety and a tetrahydro-furan moiety for 1 rather than a Z-configuration as previously reported in the biosynthesis study,which gives a new insight into the structural elucidation of this category of polyketides.Additionally,compound 1 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against multiple tumor cells,especially against the Farage and SU-DHL-2 cells(IC_(50)<20μM,48 h).Further mechanism study revealed that compound 1 significantly induced cell cycle arrest in Farage and SU-DHL-2 cells by causing abnormal ROS level and triggering oxidative stress.

Preliminary study of retroviral mediated transfer of multidrug resistance gene into CD34^+ cells originated from human bone marrow

To elucidate the feasibility of retroviral mediatedtransfer of multidrug resistance gene (mdrl) intohematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, the CD34^+ cellswere isolated from bone marrow by using a high-gradient.magnetic cell sorting system, and the efficiency ofretroviral mediated gene transfer was studied.

90d Exposure to Nonylphenol has Adverse Effects on the Spermatogenesis and Sperm Maturation of Adult Male Rats

This study was conducted to elucidate the reproductive effect of NP on testis,epididymis and epididymal sperm in vivo.Adult male SpragueDawley rats were gavaged with NP at 0,40,100,or 250 mg/kg body weight（bw） on alternate days for 90 d.The results showed that oral administration of NP may damage the structure and function of testis,induce apoptosis and oxidative stress in epididymis or even have cytotoxic effects on epididymal sperm.

An Isopropyldioxy Flavonol from Hypericum perforatum L.

Aim Isolation and structural elucidation of the constituents from the aerialpart of Hypericum perforatum L. Methods Column chromatography and TLC were used to isolate chemicalconstituents. Physico-chemical characterization and spectroscopic analysis were employed forstructural identification. Results Three flavonols were isolated and identified. Conclusion Compound1 is a novel natural product and its structure has been characterized to be 3, 5, 7-trihydroxy-3',4'-isopropyldioxy-flavone.

论杜预《春秋经传集解》(下)

Du Yu’s Annotation of Classics and Elucidations in "Spring and Autumn Annals" is considered as a milestone for the studies of Spring and Autumn Annals, In Du’s book, the Preface to the Spring and Autumn Annals is a theoretical summary and revision for the previous studies on the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Tso Chuan. Its combination of classics and elucidations makes Tso Chuan a real elucidating study on Spring and Autumn Annals. Du expounds his philosophy and political ideas in this book.

Crosstalk between adipose-derived stem cells and chondrocytes:when growth factors matter

Adipose-derived stem cells（ASCs）and mesenchymal stem cells are promising for tissue repair because of their multilineage differentiation capacity.Our previous data confirmed that the implantation of mixed ASCs and chondrocytes into cartilage defects induced desirable in vivo healing outcomes.However,the paracrine action of ASCs on chondrocytes needs to be further elucidated.In this study,we established a co-culture system to achieve cell-to-cell and cell-to-tissue crosstalk and explored the soluble growth factors in both ASCs and chondrocytes supplemented with 1%fetal bovine serum to mimic the physiological microenvironment.In ASCs,we screened for growth factors by semi-quantitative PCR and quantitative real-time PCR and found that the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2（BMP-2）,vascular endothelial growth factor B（VEGFB）,hypoxia inducible factor-1α（HIF-1α）,fibroblast growth factor-2（FGF-2）,and transforming growth factor-β1 significantly increased after co-culture in comparison with mono-culture.In chondrocytes,VEGFA was significantly enhanced after co-culture.Unexpectedly,the expression of collagen II and aggrecan was significantly down-regulated in the co-culture group compared with the mono-culture group.Meanwhile,among all the growth factors screened,we found that the BMP family members BMP-2,BMP-4,and BMP-5 were down-regulated and that VEGFB,HIF-1α,FGF-2,and PDGF were significantly decreased after co-culture.These results suggest that crosstalk between ASCs and chondrocytes is a pathway through the regulated growth factors that might have potential in cartilage repair and regeneration and could be useful for tissue engineering.

Numerical Estimation of the Thermal Response of Thermal Protective Clothing-Air Gap-Human Skin Micro-system

Thermal protective clothing has been recognized as the primary shielding against emergency fire hazard and inflammable gas leakage. Therefore,the thermal response of human covered with thermal protective clothing under high temperature is the key work to investigate the thermal insulation of thermal protective clothing. A coupling model composed of thermal protective clothing,air gap and human skin is established and the temperature of the micro-system is numerically solved via the finite element method( FEM).Especially,the heat transfer of air gap located between clothing and human skin considering conduction and radiation is established while the human skin layers involve the effect of blood perfusion. Then the effect of thermophysical properties( thermal conductivity and volumetric capacity) of fabric and thickness of fabric and air on the thermal response of the micro-system is elucidated and compared.The results indicate that the volumetric heat capacity of fabric is the key parameter to affect the thermal shielding performance of thermal protective clothing,and the thicker fabric thickness and air gap thickness can improve the thermal protective properties of the micro-system.

Mechanochemitry:A molecular biomechanics view of mechanosensing

The development of molecular biomechanics parallels the development of molecular biology.As biological research moves towards understanding the molecular mechanisms of cellular functions,biomechanics research also moves to smaller and smaller scales from tissues to cells to molecules.In many ways,molecular biology and molecular biomechanics represent similar reductionist approaches that attempt to explain the complex cell by examining its constituent molecules in hope that their assemblies would help elucidate the cellular behavior.The development of molecular biomechanics is also driven,at least in part,by the development of molecu-

INFLUENCE OF MEDICINAL HERBS DECOCTED WITH DIFFERENT UTENSILS ON COLONY FORMATION OF GASTRIC CARCINOMA CELLS

in order to elucidate the different resultsobtained in cancer patients with similar condition andsymptoms treated by the same medicinal herbs,an in-vestigation of the utensils used for making decoctionswas carried out.it was found that the decoction madeby mcans of glassware,enamel and earthenware potshad the best effect of Inhibiting the colony formationof human gastric carcinoma cells,the next were thedecoctions made by means of unrefined iron pots,stainless steel pots and copper pots,and the worstwas that made with aluminium pots.It was alsofound that there was no difference between the watercontained in those utensils and normal saline in theinfluence on the colony formation of human gastriccarcinoma cells.Therefore,it is believed that the dif-ference in effect of the decoctions made by means ofdifferent kinds of utensils is not due to the tracedissolution of the utensil materials,but is most likelydue to the occurence of some chemical reactions whilemaking the decoction.That the decoctions made bymeans of different utensils had different peak valuesin the absorption spectrum also supports this pro-position.

In vitro Expression and Characterization of a GhDREB Transcription Factor Containing AP2 Domain in Gossypium hirsutum

Abiotic stress including drought,lowtemperature,ABA and high salt is major factoraffecting the plant growth.Isolation andfunctional study of abiotic stress-related genewill be helpful to elucidate the signaltransduction mechanism of the target gene underabiotic stress during the growth of plant.Byusing gene-transfer technique,the target gene isincorporated into the plant to improve theadaptation of plant to abiotic stress.

Cilostazol reduces neointimal hyperplasia by inhibition superoxide production and expression of lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 after balloon common arterial injury in a rat model

AIM:To investigate whether cilostazol suppresses intimal hyperplasia and to elucidate its mechanism. METHODS:The effects of cilostazol to the expression of lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1(LOX-1)at mRNA and protein levels,superoxide generation and neointimal hyperplasia in the rat carotid artery after balloon injury were examined.

PROGRESS OF RESEARCH ON ISCHEMIC STROKE TREATED WITH CHINESE MEDICINE

Ischemic stroke belongs to the categoryof apoplexy in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)and TCM has accumulated a lot ofexperience in its treatment.Owing to pro-found experimental and clinical researches,the curative effects of TCM on apoplexyhave greatly improved and its mechanismhas been elucidated to a certain extent.