Five known compounds have been isolated from the culture of an endophytic fungus Fusarium sp., which was originated in a seagrass Spartina alterniflora. Their structures have elucidated by TLC comparision with standard and spectral methods as ergosterol (Ⅰ), ergosterol peroxide (Ⅱ) cinnamic acid (Ⅲ), para-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (Ⅳ) and beauvericin (Ⅴ), respectively.

Objective To retrospectively analyze the clinical and pathological characteristics of breast cancer in women ≤ 40 years of age.Methods One hundred and thirty one young (≤ 40 years) female patients with breast cancer pathologically confirmed in the General Hospital of PLA from January 1 st 2008 to December 31st 2012 (young group) were collected,and 262 elderly (41-69 years) female patients with breast cancer in the same period (old group) were collected as control using the random number table method.The clinicopathological characteristics involved TNM staging,histological grade,the expression levels of estrogen receptor (ER),progesterone receptor (PR),human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2) and clinical stage of the two groups were contrastively analyzed.Results Compared with elderly patients,young female patients with breast cancer had lower positive rate of ER or PR (64.9％ vs.76.7％;x2 =6.171,P =0.013),higher positive rate of Her-2 (26.7％ vs.15.3％;x2 =7.415,P =0.006) and higher histological grade (grade Ⅱ 38.2％ vs.35.1％;grade Ⅲ 55.7％ vs.49.6％;x2 =6.835,P=0.033).There were no significant differences in T stage (x2 =1.764,P =0.623),N stage (x2 =0.129,P =0.988),clinical stage (x2 =4.916,P =0.178),molecular subtype (x2 =7.475,P =0.058) and different surgical procedures (x2 =0.913,P =0.339) between the two groups.Conclusion Young (≤ 40 years) female patients with breast cancer have specific clinical and pathological characteristics including higher histological grade,higher positive rate of Her-2,lower positive rate of ER or PR and higher degree of malignancy,who should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

Objective To study the influence of postoperative chemotherapeutic regimens on menstruation in pre-menopausal patients with breast cancer. Methods 120 pre-menopausal patients with breast cancer from Jan 2010 to Dec 2012 were followed-up. The occurrence rate and recovery rate of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) were analyzed. The relationship between different chemotherapeutic regimens and CIA of various age groups was analyzed. Results 120 women were followed-up, 94 (78.3 %) patients developed CIA. The frequency of CIA in younger patients (≤ 35 years) was significantly lower than that in patients older than 35 years (P < 0.05). 50 (53.2 %) patients returned to normal menses. The recovery situation of CIA was significantly different among various age groups (P < 0.05). The difference of the occurrence rate of CIA was not statistically significant between the patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy and docetaxel-based chemotherapy (P > 0.05). Conclusions Age is an important influence factor of the CIA. Chemotherapy has less influence on the menstruation of younger patients (≤35 years) and most amenorrhea is reversible. The effects of sequential addition of taxanes in chemotherapy and anthracyclines alone on menstruation have no significant difference.

Five fractions were split for the chemical components of Atractylodis macrocephalae rhizome by the combination application of various separation methods and the over 90% similarity of HPLC fringerprints within each fractions indicated the good repeatability for the splitting procedure. Further, a term of nonsimilarity degree ( NSD) was introduced to measure the unoverlapping property of the chemical fractions and different statistic analyses, including principal component analysis, cluster analysis, angle cosin analysis, squared euclidean distance and the NSD of peak areas of crude drug were used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze their unoverlapping property, revealing the NSD among different fractions was calculated above 85%. Among them, the NSD of peak area of crude drug established on the basis of HPLC fingerprints of crude drug is more suitable for the NSD evaluation of chemical splitting fractions of crude drug comparing with other statistical methods and practical for reflecting the real content-activity relationship in the subsequent exploration of effective substances of crude drugs. This research provides a new effective method to evaluate the chemical difference of splitting fractions of Chinese medicine and lay the foundation for exploring the effective and property-flavor substances or of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of oxycodone hydrochloride controlled-release tablets (OHCT) and pa-tient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) in the treatment of intractable cancer pain. Methods:Retrospective analysis was conduct-ed to evaluate the intractable cancer pain of 89 elderly patients who were admitted to the medical oncology departments of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and the Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command between September 2012 and March 2014. Among the 89 patients, 47 were treated with OHCT, and 42 received PCIA. The total dosage ranged from 60 mg/d to 400 mg/d PO q12h for patients in the OHCT group, whereas abackground dose+patient-controlled dosemode was adopted for patients in the PCIA group. The therapeutic efficacy, presence of adverse reactions, cost of treatment, and degree of patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Results:The average dosages of analgesics in the two groups were almost the same (P>0.05). Visual analogue scale (VAS) values and daily average VAS values were both lower in the PCIA group than in the OHCT group at 24 h after analgesia (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions, such as nausea and vomiting, was also lower in the PCIA group than in the OHCT group (P<0.05). The cost of treatment and degree of patient satisfaction were the same in both groups (P>0.05). Conclusion:Pa-tients who received PCIA attained better analgesia and exhibited less adverse reactions than those who received OHCT whereas the treatment cost and patient satisfaction did not differ in both groups.

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between ITS sequence of Arctium lappa and Fructus Arctii quality of different origin.

METHODThe samples of Fructu arctii materials were collected from 26 different producing areas. Their ITS sequence were determined after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quality were evaluated through the determination of arctiin content by HPLC. Genetic diversity, genotype and correlation were analyzed by ClustalX (1.81), Mage 4.0, SPSS 13.0 statistical software.

RESULTITS sequence of A. was obtained from 26 samples, and was registered in the GenBank. Corresponding arctiin content of Fructus arctii and 1000-grain weight were determined. A. lappa genotype correlated with Fructus arctii quality by statistical analysis.

CONCLUSIONThe research provided a foundation for revealing the molecular mechanism of Fructus arctii geoherbs.

Arctium ; chemistry ; genetics ; Computational Biology ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; standards ; Furans ; analysis ; Genotype ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Quality Control ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Software

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possible interference effect of electromagnetic noise exposure on phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinase(SAPK) induced by 50 Hz magnetic field(MF).

METHODSChinese hamster lung(CHL) cells were exposed to sham exposure(C), 0.4 mT 50 Hz sinusoidal MF, 0.4 mT electromagnetic noise and the combined noise MF with 50 Hz MF for 3 min and 15 min respectively. After exposure, the cells were lysed, and the proteins were extracted. The SAPK and phosphorylated SAPK (activated form of SAPK) were measured indirectly by Western blot with corresponding antibodies. The percentage of phosphorylated SAPK was calculated and analyzed.

RESULTSExposure of cells to 50 Hz MF for 3 min and 15 min enhanced the SAPK phosphorylation. The percentage of phosphorylated SAPK were 49.3% and 57.0% respectively, and were significantly different from those of control(P < 0.05, n = 4). However, single noise MF exposure with the same intensity did not enhance the SAPK phosphorylation, the percentage of phosphorylated SAPK were 37.7% and 31.8% (P > 0.05). When cells were exposed to the combined noise MF with 50 Hz MF for 3 min, the SAPK phosphorylation was significantly inhibited (24.4%, P < 0.05); for 15 min, the SAPK phosphorylation was also decreased (39.0%), but there was no significant difference from control and 50 Hz MF exposure(P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONNoise MF with certain intensity could inhibit the biological effect induced by 50 Hz MF.

Animals ; Cell Line ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus ; Electromagnetic Fields ; adverse effects ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Noise ; adverse effects ; Phosphorylation

OBJECTIVETo explore whether the superposition of an electromagnetic noise can block gap-junctional intercellular communication(GJIC) suppression induced by 50 Hz 0.4 mT extremely low frequency magnetic field(ELF MF).

METHODSFibroblast cells of mice(NIH 3T3) were exposed to 0.4 mT ELF MF or(and) electromagnetic noise with the same intensity of MF for 24 h, and the GJIC was determined by using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching(FRAP) analysis, which was performed with a laser-scanning confocal microscope(Leica, Germany).

RESULTSELF MF exposure significantly inhibited GJIC with fluorescence recovery rate of 27.67% +/- 5.12% as compared with the control group(45.57% +/- 9.72%) (P < 0.01), while that of ELF MF plus noise group was (52.61% +/- 8.30%), which was significantly different from ELF MF group(P < 0.01), but not from control(P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONElectromagnetic noise could block the GJIC suppression induced by 50 Hz 0.4 mT MF.

Animals ; Cell Communication ; radiation effects ; Electromagnetic Fields ; adverse effects ; Gap Junctions ; radiation effects ; Mice ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Noise ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo identify the traditional medicine Fructus Arctii from its adulterants by ITS.

METHODTwenty-six samples of the different Fructus Arctii materials and 10 samples of the adulterants of the fruits of A. tomentosum, Onopordum acantium, Silybum marianum, and Amorpha fruticosa were collected. The total DNA of the samples were extracted, amplified cloned and sequenced.

RESULTITS sequences were obtained from 26 samples respectively, there were Fructus Arctii 641 bp, A. tomentosum 641 bp, Onopordum acantium 639 bp, Silybum marianum 630-631 bp, Amorpha fruticosa 625-626 bp, which were registered in the GenBank. The similarity in ITS sequences between Fructus Arctii and the adulterants was less than 95%. In contrast, the similarity between any pair of Fructus Arctii was greater than 99%. The similarity was 98.29%-99.22% between Fructus Arctii and A. tomentosum. Phylogeny tree reconstruction using UPGMA analysis based on ITS nucleotide sequences can effectively distinguish Fructus Arctii from adulterants.

CONCLUSIONITS sequences can be used as a reliable molecular marker for the identification of Fructus Arctii.

Arctium ; genetics ; Cell Nucleus ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Genetic Markers ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

Ardipusilloside-I is a natural triterpenoid saponin, which was isolated from Ardisia pusilla A. DC. The aim of the study was to evaluate the stimulation of ardipusilloside-I on gastrointestinal motility in vitro and in vivo. The experiment of smooth muscle contraction directly monitored the contractions of the isolated jejunal segment (IJS) in different contractile states, and the effects of ardipusilloside-I on myosin were measured in the presence of Ca²⁺-calmodulin using the activities of 20 kDa myosin light chain (MLC₂₀) phosphorylation and myosin Mg²⁺-ATPase. The effects of ardipusilloside-I on gastro emptying and intestinal transit in constipation-predominant rats were observed, and the MLCK expression in jejuna of constipated rats was determined by western blot. The results showed that, ardipusilloside-I increased the contractility of IJS in a dose-dependent manner and reversed the low contractile state (LCS) of IJS induced by low Ca²⁺, adrenaline, and atropine respectively. There were synergistic effects on contractivity of IJS between ardipusilloside-I and ACh, high Ca²⁺, and histamine, respectively. Ardipusilloside-I could stimulate the phosphorylation of MLC₂₀ and Mg²⁺-ATPase activities of Ca²⁺- dependent phosphorylated myosin. Ardipusilloside-I also stimulated the gastric emptying and intestinal transit in normal and constipated rats in vivo, respectively, and increased the MLCK expression in the jejuna of constipation-predominant rats. Briefly, the findings demonstrated that ardipusilloside-I could effectively excite gastrointestinal motility in vitro and in vivo.
Animals ; Ardisia ; Atropine ; Blotting, Western ; Epinephrine ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastrointestinal Motility* ; Histamine ; In Vitro Techniques ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Myosin Light Chains* ; Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase* ; Myosins* ; Phosphorylation* ; Rats ; Saponins