Aloe‐emodin: A review of its pharmacology,toxicity, and pharmacokinetics

Aloe‐emodin is a naturally anthraquinone derivative and an active ingredient of Chinese herbs, such as Cassia occidentalis, Rheum palmatum L., Aloe vera, and Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. Emerging evidence suggests that aloe‐emodin exhibits many pharmacological effects, including anticancer, antivirus, anti‐inflammatory, antibacterial, antiparasitic, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. These pharmacological properties lay the foundation for the treatment of various diseases, including influenza virus, inflammation, sepsis, Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma, malaria, liver fibrosis, psoriasis, Type 2 diabetes, growth disorders, and several types of cancers. However, an increasing number of published studies have reported adverse effects of aloe‐emodin. The primary toxicity among these reports is hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which are of wide concern worldwide. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that aloe‐emodin has a poor intestinal absorption, short elimination half‐life, and low bioavailability. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of aloe‐emodin reported to date with an emphasis on its biological properties and mechanisms of action.     

Statistical inference for decision curve analysis,with applications to cataract diagnosis

Statistical learning methods are widely used in medical literature for the purpose of diagnosis or prediction. Conventional accuracy assessment via sensitivity, specificity, and ROC curves does not fully account for clinical utility of a specific model. Decision curve analysis (DCA) becomes a novel complement as it incorporates a clinical judgment of the relative value of benefits (treating a true positive case) and harms (treating a false positive case) associated with prediction models. The preference of a patient or a policy-maker is formulated statistically as the underlying threshold probability, above which the patient would choose to be treated. Net benefit is then calculated for possible threshold probability, which places benefits and harms on the same scale. We consider the inference problems for DCA in this paper. Interval estimation procedure and inference methodology are provided after we derive the relevant asymptotic properties. Our formulation can accommodate the classification problems with multiple categories. We carry out numerical studies to assess the performance of the proposed methods. An eye disease dataset is analyzed to illustrate our proposals.     

经皮对比增强超声在乳腺癌前哨淋巴结术前定位及转移风险评估中的临床应用价值

目的探讨经皮注射对比增强超声(CEUS)在乳腺癌前哨淋巴结(SLN)术前定位及转移风险评估中的临床应用价值。 方法根据纳入及排除标准，选择2019年5～9月在江苏大学附属人民医院乳腺外科行手术治疗的21例女性乳腺癌患者进行前瞻性研究。术前根据经皮CEUS示踪结果，在皮肤表面标记SLN位置及数目，根据其增强模式评估SLN转移风险，并在术中联合亚甲蓝共同确认SLN的位置及数目。以亚甲蓝染色的病理检查结果为金标准，计算经皮CEUS预测SLN状态的敏感度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值及准确率。用Kappa一致性检验分析CEUS与SLN常规病理检查结果的一致性及2名超声科医师对SLN增强模式判读的一致性。用Fisher精确概率法分析不同临床病理特征患者CEUS评估SLN结果的差异。 结果21例患者中，经皮CEUS共检出32枚SLN，亚甲蓝染色共检出71枚。经皮CEUS体表定位的SLN均为术中亚甲蓝染色的SLN,患者经皮CEUS检出(1.6±0.9)枚SLN,低于亚甲蓝染色检出的(3.4±1.4)枚(t＝5.017, P<0.001)。CEUS预测SLN转移风险：判定有SLN转移患者9例(病理证实SLN有转移7例，无转移2例)，判定无转移患者12例(病理证实SLN无转移11例，有转移1例)。CEUS评估SLN状态的敏感度7/8，特异度11/13，阳性预测值7/9，阴性预测值11/12，准确率85.7%(18/21)。CEUS与病理诊断结果具有较高一致性(Kappa ＝0.704，P＝0.001)。2名超声科医师对CEUS中32枚SLN增强模式的判读结果一致性较好(Kappa＝0.829，P<0.001)。不同组织学分级的患者，其CEUS预测结果比较，差异有统计学意义(P＝0.046)。 结论经皮CEUS是乳腺癌患者SLN术前定位及转移风险评估的一种有效方法。     

The Investigation of Perfluorinated Compounds in Surface Waters of the Xixi Wetland,Hangzhou, China

The distribution patterns of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the surface waters of Xixi wetland, China, were investigated for the first time. Among the eight PFCs investigated, only perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were detected. PFOA was the most prominent PFC, and detected in all of the samples with higher PFOA concentrations (maximum: 197.8 ng L^?1), followed by PFHpA (maximum: 3.97 ng L^?1). Geographical differences in PFC levels were not observed among various sampling locations except for the YanShan River location, but seasonal changes have been observed for PFOA. The study suggested that the water diversion project from the Qiantang River to the Xixi Wetland may have significantly contributed to the increase of PFOA level, and that domestic sewage and farmland irrigation runoff are constant pollution sources to the Xixi Wetland.     

Ethyl lactate as a potential green solvent to extract hydrophilic (polar) and lipophilic (non-polar) phytonutrients simultaneously from fruit and vegetable by-products

Phytonutrients extracted from natural resources are receiving much attention among researchers due to their highly antioxidative characteristics which prevent several degenerative diseases including cardiovascular diseases and cancers. These nutraceutical compounds can be used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products as natural antioxidants, preservatives, colourants and functional foods. Huge volume of food wastes are generated from the processing industry and these low-value food residues are rich in various phytonutrients worth recovering. This approach of valorisation reduces the generation of food wastes and is cost-effective considering the cheap feedstock, reduced waste management expenses and high market value of extracted compounds. In light of the health and safety risks posed by commonly used organic extraction solvents derived from the petrochemical industry, there is a need to recover the phytonutrients using green, sustainable and efficient solvents that are safe for human consumption. This work discusses ethyl lactate as a safe, green, efficient and potentially cheap solvent to recover phytonutrients from fruit and vegetable by-products. Ethyl lactate is compared with other organic solvents commonly used from the aspects of safety, environmental impacts and efficiency. Current challenges when employing ethyl lactate are also discussed.