A total of 108 S. aureus isolates from 16 major hospitals located in 14 different provinces in China were characterized for the profiles of 18 staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes, 3 exfoliatin genes (eta, etb and etd), and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene (tsst) by PCR. The genomic diversity of each isolate was also evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and accessory gene regulator (agr) typing. Of these strains, 90.7% (98/108) harbored toxin genes, in which tsst was the most prevalent toxin gene (48.1%), followed by sea (44.4%), sek (42.6%) and seq (40.7%). The see and etb genes were not found in any of the isolates tested. Because of high-frequency transfer of toxin gene-containing mobile genetic elements between S. aureus strains, a total of 47 different toxin gene combinations were detected, including a complete egc cluster in 19 isolates, co-occurrence of sea, sek and seq in 38 strains, and sec and sel together in 11 strains. Genetic typing by PFGE grouped all the strains into 25 clusters based on 80% similarity. MLST revealed 25 sequence types (ST) which were assigned into 16 clonal complexes (CCs) including 2 new singletons. Among these, 11 new and 6 known STs were first reported in the S. aureus strains from China. Overall, the genotyping results showed high genetic diversity of the strains regardless of their geographical distributions, and no strong correlation between genetic background and toxin genotypes of the strains. For genotyping S. aureus, PFGE appears to be more discriminatory than MLST. However, toxin gene typing combined with PFGE or MLST could increase the discriminatory power of genotyping S. aureus strains.

Cyclocarya paliurus has been used for drug formulations and ingredients in functional foods in China. Field studies were conducted to examine the relationships between environmental factors and flavonoid accumulation. A split-plot randomized design was used to establish three shading treatments and three fertilization levels, and growth parameters and flavonoid contents were detected. The greatest biomass production was achieved in intermediate shade and fertilization treatment, and leaf production per seedling increased by 139.5% compared to the treatment without shade and fertilization. Overall, shade and fertilization had a significantly negative effect on contents of total flavonoid, kaempferol, quercetin, and isoquercitrin in leaves of C. paliurus. However, the greatest accumulation of total flavonoid in the leaves was observed in intermediate shade and fertilization treatment, achieving 364.4 g/plant. The results suggest that manipulating the field growing conditions and optimizing the silvicultural system would be important for obtaining the greatest yield of targeted health-promoting substances.

Gastric glomus tumors (GGTs) are rare mesenchymal tumors. Most glomus tumors occur in the distal parts of the extremities. Here, we retrospectively analyzed the features of GGTs from two institutions. The histologic and clinical findings of all GGT cases from 2009 to 2018 were reviewed. The most common location was the antrum, the mean age of patients was 49.3 years, and the mean tumor size was 2.1 cm. Microscopically, small, round cell nodules surrounded the expansion of blood vessels in a nest pattern. Immunohistochemical assays for vimentin and smooth muscle actin (SMA) were positive, and assays for H-caldesmon and calponin were partially positive. GGT is rare and easily misdiagnosed before operation. However, immunohistochemistry is useful for the differential diagnosis. The majority of GGTs are benign, and local surgery achieving complete resection is the most effective treatment method.

Our study suggested that stroke and CAD are associated with PD in two Chinese population-based cohorts, indicating a probable vascular component in the pathogenesis of PD.

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