Objective To analyze the influence of atrial fibrillation(AF) on N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide(NT‐proB‐NP) for the assist diagnosis of acute heart failure(AHF) .Methods Totally 457 inpatients with suspected AHF due to acute dysp‐nea and conducting blood NT‐proBNP detection and electrocardiogram(ECG) within 24 h of admission were collected and devided into groups according to whether AHF was diagnosed and complicated with AF identified by ECG on admission ,that was AHF +AF group ,AHF + non AF group ,non AHF + AF group ,non AHF + non AF group .The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was adopted to evaluate the value of NT‐proBNP for diagnosing AHF .Results Among 457 cases ,194 cases (42 .5% ) were diagnosed as AHF and 140 cases (42 .5% ) as AF .The NT‐proBNP level in the AF group was significantly higher than that in the non AF group (4 482 .0 pg/mL vs .1 302 .0 pg/mL ,P < 0 .01) .The NT‐proBNP level had no statistical difference between the AHF + AF group and the AHF + non AF group AF(6 580 .0 pg/mL vs .6 769 .0 pg/mL ,P> 0 .05) .The NT‐proBNP level in the non AHF + AF group was significantly increased compared with the non AHF + non AF group (403 .3 pg/mL vs .2 892 .0 pg/mL ,P< 0 .01) .The area under the curve(AUC) of NT‐proBNP for diagnosing AHF in the AF group and the non AF group was 0 .759(95% CI :0 .677 - 0 .841 ,P < 0 .01) and 0 .931(95% CI :0 .903 - 0 .985 ,P < 0 .01) .Conclusion The NT‐proBNP level in AF patients without AHF is significantly increased ,which might affect the value of NT‐proBNP in the diagnosis of AHF .In the clinical applica‐tion ,whether the patient has AF cardiac rhythm should be paid attention to for better interpretating the detection result of NT‐proBNP .

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs), which can be introduced in brain tissue by the strategies of brain parenchyma, blood and neurolymph transplantation, to repair tissue injury and promote functional recovery of neural system, have been considered as the ideal seed cells for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. However, as the special structure exists in the blood-brain barrier, study on correlation between MSCs and blood-brain barrier permeability will make it possible for more MSCs to pass the barrier to perform the treatment. This paper gives a review on the latest research development in the field.

AIM: To study the inhibitive effects of valsartan and spironolactone on expression of insulin like growth factor 1 in cardiacmyocytes of spontaneously hypertensive rats. METHODS: 18 SHRs were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=6 in each): valsartan group treated with 30 mg?kg -1 ?d -1 valsartan, spironolactone group treated with 20 mg?kg -1 ?d -1 spironolactone, and control group treated with placebo. All were administrated by gastric perfusion. 6 WKY rats were served as control. After 13 weeks administration, the expressions of IGF 1 in cardiacmycytes were measured by immunohistochemistry and the IGF 1 concentrations in myocardium were measured by radiommunoassay. RESULTS: The expression of IGF 1 was higher in SHR group than that in the WKY group (P

Object To study the microwave assisted procedure for the extraction of baicalin from root of Scutellariae baicalensis Georgi Methods An MSP 100D domestically made microwave sample preparation system with a maximum power of 850 watts was used. The effects of solvents, pressure/temperature of solvents and microwave radiation time on the yield of baicalin were studied by orthogonal experimental design. Results The optimal experimental conditions were extraction at 70% of microwave power with 30 times of 35% ethanol at a constant heating pressure/temperature of 0.15 MPa for 30 s. Conclusion The microwave assisted extraction not only takes a shorter time with better parallel results, but also gave an increased yield of about 10% as compared with ultrasonic extraction.

Objective To analyze the usual death causes of cardiovascular disease and the differences in gender and age .Methods By adopting the retrospective study method ,the clinical data of death cases in cardiovascular disease were collected and analyze on the situation suffering from cardiovascular disease ,direct death causes ,gender and age difference .Results (1) among 181 cases of cardiovascular disease death ,coronary heart disease(115/181 ,64% ) and hypertension(96/181 ,53% ) were the most common dis-ease ,lung infection(104/181 ,57% ) was the most common complication ;(2)There was no significant difference in the situation suf-fering from basic diseases between male and female(P>0 .05);(3)The basic diseases in cardiovascular death cases aged over 60 years old were dominated by coronary heart disease and hypertension ;the proportion of complicating pulmonary infection was grad-ually increased with age increase ;(4) in the direct death causes ,the top 3 places were sudden cardiac death (44/181 ,24 .3% ) ,multi-ple organ dysfunction syndrome(24/181 ,13 .3% ) and cardiogenic shock(24/181 ,13 .3% ) .Conclusion Strengthening the manage-ment of diagnosis and treatment on elderly patients with coronary heart disease ,hypertension ,especially those complicating diabe-tes ,strengthening the treatment intervention of lung infection in cardiovascular disease population and conducting the emphasis pro-tection on the target organ function may reduce the mortality of cardiovascular inpatients .

Objective To summarize extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with cardiac arrest,and to evaluate the clinical efficacy comparing with literature review.Methods 5 patients of AMI with cardiac arrest who proved invalid to conventional cardio-pulmonaryresuscitation (CPR),were successfully resuscitated with ECMO support,and underwent emergency PCI with stable hemodynamic status.Results In support of ECMO,4 patients were successfully resuscitated with stable hemodynamic status,and underwent primary PCI.The duration of ECMO support ranged from 42 to 220 h (average 126.6 h).3 patients discharged with full recovery,one patient didn't wean from ECMO successfully,and one died of respiratory failure.Conclusion Although mortality of AMI with cardiac arrest is high,early ECMO-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and secondary PCI treatment increase the possibility of cardiac recovery,and provide conditions for emergency revascularization treatment.This reduces mortality in critical patients with AMI,and is an effective short term life support method.

Objective To investigate the expression of interleukin (IL)-34/colony stimulating factor(CSF)-1R in the process of transforming growth factor ( TGF)-β1 inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition ( EMT) of human alveolar epithelial cells A549 cells.Methods A549 cells were cultured in vitro.CCK 8 was used to test the influence of the proliferative rate of A549 cells which were stimulated by TGF-β1 at different concentrations and time points .A549 cells were stimulated by 5μg/L TGF-β1 at 0 hour, the 12th hour, the 24th hour, and the 48th hour.Western blotting was adopted to detect changes of the following proteins: α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA ) , E-cadherin ( E-Cad ) , matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1(TIMP-1). Real-time PCR was adopted to detect changes of the following genes: IL-34 mRNA, CSF-1R mRNA, MMP-2 mRNA and MMP-9 mRNA.Results TGF-β1 had no significant influence in the proliferation of A 549 cells compared with the control group(P>0.05).TGF-β1(5μg/L)stimulated A549 cells at different time point (0 hour, 12, 24, 48 hours), compared with the control group .The epithelial phenotype E-Cad protein was gradually down-regulated ( P <0.01 ) , while the mesenchymal phenotype α-SMA protein was gradually up-regulated ( P <0.01 ) and the protein of MMP-2 increased gradually (P<0.01).The protein of MMP-9 increased firstly and then was reduced (P<0.01),the peak was at the 24th hour.The protein of TIMP-1 was firstly transiently increased and then reduced (P<0.01), the minimum was at the 48th hour.Compared with the control group , the gene of IL-34 mRNA increased gradually (P<0.01), and the genes of CSF-1R mRNA, MMP-2 mRNA and MMP-9 mRNA increased firstly and then decreased ( P <0.01), which were peaked respectively at the 24th hour, the 24th hour, the 12th hour, respectively.Conclusion In the process of TGF-β1 inducing A549 cells transition,there is accompanied with the expression of IL-34/CSF-1R.

BACKGROUND:COX-2 gene actual y exists in the joint fibroblast-like synoviocytes, it affects osteoarthritis occurrence and development. Understanding the differences of COX-2 gene expression levels at different stages of osteoarthritis synoviocytes has important theoretical significance for the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis, as wel as the role of synoviocytes in this process.
OBJECTIVE:To analyze the difference of COX-2 mRNA at different stages of osteoarthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes.
METHODS:Synovial membrane from 44 osteoarthritis patients and 12 normal cases were selected. Primary cells were cultured to passage 4 fibroblast-like synoviocytes for the use in the experiment. COX-2 mRNA expression in osteoarthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes and normal fibroblast-like synoviocytes was detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR. The relative quantitative analysis was performed using 2-ΔΔCt method.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Expression of COX-2 mRNA in osteoarthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes was significantly higher than that in normal fibroblast-like synoviocytes (P<0.05). The expression levels reached a peak at early osteoarthritis group, with significant differences compared with middle and late osteoarthritis groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between middle and later osteoarthritis groups (P>0.05). COX-2 mRNA might be important biological marker for the inflammation in osteoarthritis, and mainly plays a role in early osteoarthritis stage.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of nardosinone (Nar) on neuronal injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in primary cortical cultures isolated from embryos at gestational day 14. MTT method was used to determine the dosage regimen of Nar in primary neuronal cultures and observe the influence of Nar on the neurons suffering OGD; Western blotting analysis was used to detect expressions of protein kinase A (PKA), Ras related protein 1 (Rap1), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) of OGD-injured or uninjured primary cultured neurons after Nar treatment. Results showed that Nar (50 and 100 micromol x L(-1)) improved the cell viability during OGD damage (P < 0.01) and increased the expression of PKA, Rap1, MEK1 and p-ERK1/2 in injured neurons. Additionally, elevations of PKA, Rapl, MEK1 and p-ERK1/2 in uninjured neurons were caused by Nar (50, 100 and 200 micromol x L(-1)) with a dose-dependent tenclency as well (P < 0.01). In conclusion, Nar could protect against the neuronal injury exposed to OGD, which may be relevant to the promotion of PKA and ERK signaling pathway.

Objective To evaluate the effects of different concentrations of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4 applied for different time periods on injury to human renal tubular epithelial cells.Methods Human renal kidney epithelial cells HK-2 at the logarithmic growth phase were seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 1 × 105 cells/ml (0.1 ml/well),in culture flasks (5 ml/flask) or in cluture dishes (5 ml/dish).HK-2 cells were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=49 each) using a random number table:control group (group C) and 0.3％,1.5％ and 3.0％ HES 130/0.4 groups (H1,H2 and H3 groups).In H1,H2 and H3 groups,HK-2 cells were incubated with 0.3％,1.5％ and 3.0％ HES 130/0.4,respectively.The equal volume of PBS was added to the culture medium in group C.At day 1,3,5 and 7 of incubation,the cell viability was measured.At day 3,5 and 7 of incubation,cell apoptosis was detected,and apoptosis rate was calculated.On day 7 of incubation,the cells were stained with toluidine blue for examination of intracellular HES deposition (under light microscope) and pathological changes (with transmission electron microscope).Results Compared with group C,the cell viability was significantly decreased on day 5 and 7 of incubation,and apoptosis rate was increased on day 3,5 and 7 of incubation in group H3,and no significant difference was detected in the parameters mentioned above in H1 and H2 groups.Microscopic examination showed that intracellular HES deposition was observed in H2 and H3 groups,and pathological changes were obvious,and apoptotic cells were also found in H3 group.Conclusion Application of high-concentration HES 130/0.4 for a long period can lead to injury to human renal tubular epithelial cells,however,application of high-or low-concentration HES 130/0.4 for a short period produces no influence on the cells.