紫杉醇：具有里程碑意义的天然抗癌药物

紫杉醇是从红豆杉树皮中分离得到的微量单体成分,作为世界上最优秀的植物抗癌药,紫杉醇及其衍生物是临床上常用的广谱抗癌药。自20世纪70年代发现紫杉醇后,科学家对此类化合物的构效关系、结构修饰、药理药效方面开展了大量研究,并开发出泰素、多西他赛、卡巴他赛、拉洛他赛、信立他赛、康莫他赛等抗癌药。直到40年后的今天,科学家对紫杉醇的研究依然活跃,对其生物合成、真菌培养、新剂型开发等方面也成为新的研究方向。作为源于天然的单体成分开发成新药的成功典范,紫杉醇类化合物的研发历程对当前开发天然新药提供有益的借鉴。本文对紫杉醇的研发及最新进展进行综述,回顾其开发历程及相关研究,以期为天然药物的开发带来新的思考。     

人参皂苷抗肝纤维化作用机制研究进展

人参皂苷是一类重要的天然产物,在自然界中分布广泛,是多种药用植物中的主要活性成分,具有多种生理活性。研究发现,人参皂苷在肿瘤疾病治疗中取得很大进展,同时在抗肝纤维化方面也有显著的作用。因此人参皂苷对肝纤维化的治疗具有重要的应用价值。对人参皂苷的抗肝纤维化作用机制进行综述,以便为今后进一步的研究提供理论依据。     

The effect of non‐thermal atmospheric pressure plasma application on wound healing after gingivectomy

Recent studies have indicated the potential benefits of Non‐thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP) as a novel therapeutic approach. The purpose of the current study was thus to assess the effect of NTAPP on gingival wound healing. Fifteen patients with bilaterally symmetrical gingival hyperplasia were included in the study. After gingivectomy and gingivoplasty, the left‐hand side of the symmetrical surgical area was irradiated with NTAPP (plasma jet kINPen 11). Digital photographs of the gingival wounds were taken at baseline and days 3, 7, and 14. Wound epithelialisation was evaluated. Landry Wound Healing Index (WHI) scores and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were also recorded. There were significant differences between the epithelialisation of the NTAPP‐treated sites and the control sites after the surgical procedures. The NTAPP‐treated sites had significantly smaller stained surface areas compared with the control sites on the 3rd, 7^th, and 14th days (P < .05). The NTAPP‐treated sites had better WHI scores than the control sites throughout the follow‐up period (P < .05). It can be concluded that NTAPP enhances epithelialisation and stimulates wound healing after gingivectomy and gingivoplasty. However, further clinical studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the exact benefits of NTAPP for gingival wound healing.     

Local Discrete Velocity Grids for Multi-Species Rarefied Flow Simulations

This article deals with the derivation of an adaptive numerical method for mono-dimensional kinetic equations for gas mixtures. For classical deterministic kinetic methods, the velocity domain is chosen accordingly to the initial condition. In such methods, this velocity domain is the same for all time, all space points and all species. The idea developed in this article relies on defining velocity domains that depend on space, time and species. This allows the method to locally adapt to the support of the distribution functions. The method consists in computing macroscopic quantities by the use of conservation laws, which enables the definition of such local grids. Then, an interpolation procedure along with a upwind scheme is performed in order to treat the advection term, and an implicit treatment of the BGK operator allows for the derivation of an AP scheme, where the stability condition is independent of the relaxation rate. The method is then applied to a series of test cases and compared to the classical DVM method.     

C2～7颈椎振动特性的有限元分析

目的研究正常C2～7颈椎有限元模型的振动特性和颈椎小关节不同程度受损及切除的振动特性变化。方法基于颈椎CT扫描影像,建立正常C2～7颈椎有限元模型并验证有效性,提取前10阶固有频率和振型。颈椎小关节分别为无约束、有约束且摩擦系数分别为0.01、0.1和0.2,模拟颈椎小关节切除以及小关节轻度、中度、重度受损,研究颈椎受损程度不同对固有频率的影响。结果正常C2～7颈椎模型最低固有频率出现在后伸、侧弯振型,约为12Hz,大位移主要出现在寰椎齿凸。小关节有约束模型的固有频率高于无约束模型,小关节摩擦系数不同对颈椎固有频率无影响。结论研究颈椎的固有频率、振型和振幅等参数,是进一步研究颈椎动态特性的基础,对颈椎护理和治疗有重要意义。在生活和颈椎治疗中,应尽量避开12Hz环境,防止共振对颈椎造成大的损伤。     

Mucopolysaccharidosis III in Taiwan: Natural history,clinical and molecular characteristics of 28 patients diagnosed during a 21‐year period

Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III, Sanfilippo syndrome) has a variable age of onset and variable rate of progression. However, information regarding the natural history of this disorder in Asian populations is limited. A retrospective analysis was carried out for 28 patients with MPS III (types IIIA [n = 3], IIIB [n = 23], and IIIC [n = 2]; 15 males and 13 females; median age, 8.2 years; age range, 2.7–26.5 years) seen in six medical centers in Taiwan from January 1996 through October 2017. The median age at confirmed diagnosis was 4.6 years. The most common initial symptom was speech delay (75%), followed by hirsutism (64%) and hyperactivity (54%). Both z scores for height and weight were negatively correlated with age (r = –.693 and ?0.718, respectively; p < .01). The most prevalent clinical manifestations were speech delay (100%) and intellectual disability (100%), followed by hirsutism (93%), hyperactivity (79%), coarse facial features (68%), sleep disorders (61%), and hepatosplenomegaly (61%). Ten patients (36%) had epilepsy, and the median age at the first seizure was 11 years. Thirteen patients (46%) experienced at least one surgical procedure. At the time of the present study, 7 of the 28 patients had passed away at the median age of 13.0 years. Molecular studies showed an allelic heterogeneity without clear genotype and phenotype correlations. MPS IIIB is the most frequent subtype among MPS III in the Taiwanese population. An understanding of the natural history of MPS III may allow early diagnosis and timely management of the disease facilitating better treatment outcomes.     

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Evidence for an autoimmune disease

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a frequent and severe chronic disease drastically impairing life quality. The underlying pathomechanism is incompletely understood yet but there is convincing evidence that in at least a subset of patients ME/CFS has an autoimmune etiology. In this review, we will discuss current autoimmune aspects for ME/CFS. Immune dysregulation in ME/CFS has been frequently described including changes in cytokine profiles and immunoglobulin levels, T- and B-cell phenotype and a decrease of natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, autoantibodies against various antigens including neurotransmitter receptors have been recently identified in ME/CFS individuals by several groups. Consistently, clinical trials from Norway have shown that B-cell depletion with rituximab results in clinical benefits in about half of ME/CFS patients. Furthermore, recent studies have provided evidence for severe metabolic disturbances presumably mediated by serum autoantibodies in ME/CFS. Therefore, further efforts are required to delineate the role of autoantibodies in the onset and pathomechanisms of ME/CFS in order to better understand and properly treat this disease.