AIM To purify cardiotoxin from Naja atra venom and investigate the relationship between cardiotoxicity of cardiotoxin and coronary artery spasm induced by cardiotoxin. METHODS Cardio toxin 13 (CTX 13) was fractionated and purified by chromatography and gel filtration from Chinese cobra (Naja atra) venom. The cardiotoxicity were observed in rat in situ, its isolated heart preparation and papillary muscle preparations. RESULTS Ion exchange chromatography of lyophilized cobra venom on SP Sephadex C 50 yielded 15 fractions, of thses fractions, cardiotoxic activities were found in fraction 11, 12, 13, and 14. Gel filtration and Ion chromatography of fraction 13 on Sephadex G 50 and SP Sephadex C 25 were performed consecutively and CTX 13 was obtained. It was homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with MW= 7 769 ku, and 60 amino acid residues. The iv LD 50 in mice was 0 756 mg?kg -1 . CTX 13 increased the coronary resistance and reduced the contractility of rat Langendorff heart preparations. Systolic standstill finally occurred. When the heart preparations were pretreated with nitrendipine, an calcium channel blocker, the resistance seldom increased. The contractility slightly decreased at the beginning and then significantly increased. The tonus of contraction did not occurred. CTX 13 induced dose dependent contraction of pig coronary artery ring segments. Nitrendipine inhibited the action of CTX 13 on the coronary ring segments. However, nitrendipine had no effects on the action of CTX 13 in the rat papillary muscle preparations. The MLD of CTX 13 by venoclysis was changed from (444 7?28 5) ?g?kg -1 to (541 1?23 2) ?g?kg -1 in anaesthetized rats while the rats were pretreated with nitrendipine. CONCLUTION The coronary artery spasm may be one of the causes of death due to CTX 13.

AIM This study is to observe the effects of acutobin on the activity of tissue type plasminogen activitor(t PA) and tissue plasminogen activitor inhibitor(PAI) in the cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, aiming at disclosing some of the mechanisms of thrombolysis of acutobin. METHODS Endothelial cells were isolated from fresh human umbilical cords by trypsin digestion of the interior surface of the umbilical vein. Cultured cells were examined by light, phase contrast and electron microscopy. The factorⅧ related antigen and CD34 of the cells were detected by AEC and DAB staining. Chromogenic assay was used to identify the activity of t PA and PAI in the medium of culture cells. Fibrin degradation products(FDPs) were measured using ELISA kit. RESULTS The cultured human umbilical endothelial cells were shown as monolayers of closely opposed, polygonal cobblestone shape by light and phase contrast microscopy. By transmission electron microscopy, cultured endothelial cells contained Weibel Palade body and showed tight junction with each other. The cells contained abundant quantities of CD34 and factorⅧ related antigen. The intercellular space among individual cell enlarged and lost polygonal cobblestone shape in the present of acutobin. Activity of t PA increased, the activity of PAI did not change significantly and FDPs increased significantly in the culture medium. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrates the culture cells was endothelial cells according to morphologic and immunohistologic criteria. Acutobin increases the fibrinolytic activity of cultured endothelial cells and may exhibit antithrombotic effect in vivo.

Objective To explore the effect of acupuncture on trunk control ability and balance function in patients with spinal cord injury above lumbar. Methods 40 patients with spinal cord injury were randomly divided into observation group and control group with 20 cases in each group. The control group received limb joint training method, the observation group received acupuncture in addition. Fugl-Meyer Assessment and Flex Comp Infiniti EMG system were used to evaluate the balance function and trunk muscle strength before and 8 weeks after treatment. Results After treatment, the balance function and trunk control ability improved in both groups (P<0.01), and were better in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Limb linkage combined with acupuncture can further improve the balance function and trunk control ability in patients with spinal cord injury above lumbar.

Objective To investigate the role of Rho/Rho kinase -associated cell migration of hepatic carcinoma cell line and inhibition of tumor cell invasion by Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632. Methods Western blot was used to estimate the expression of Rho protein in the cells. After treatment of SMMC7721 cell with Y-27632, cell biological behaviors such as colony-forming efficiency, adhesiveness, cell motility, in vitro invasiveness, metastatic potential were observed. Results The ability of Y-27632 treated SMMC7721 cells to invade the reconstituted basement membrane decreased significantly ( P

Hydrogen evolution from water electrolysis is one of the effective ways to obtain clean hydrogen energy in the future. Pt-based materials are the efficient catalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction, but it is expensive, difficult to recycle, which impedes its application in the development of hydrogen energy and economy. Therefore, it is the key trend to develop efficient non-noble metal electrocatalysts with the aim of providing cost-competitive hydrogen energy. In this review, we highlighted the recent research efforts toward the synthesis of noble metal-free electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction ( HER) , mainly focusing on nanomaterial catalysts supported on carbon fiber materials. We reviewed several important kinds of heterogeneous non-noble metal electrocatalysts, including sulfides, selenides, carbides, phosphides, and oxides. In the discussion, emphasis was given to the synthetic methods of these HER electrocatalysts, and the strategies for performance improvement. In addition, this paper also briefly summarized the application of carbon fiber material as substrate in the field of electroanalytical chemistry.

The microfluidic channels integrated with microring resonator were designed. The salt coalescence on chip surface caused by liquid volatilization in open environment was avoided and only 30 μL of reaction solution was consumed. These channels significantly reduced the experiment cost. The design, fabrication and characterization of a highly sensitive and label-free silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microring optical resonator integrated with the microfluidic channels were demonstrated. The radius of the microring was 5 μm and the straight waveguide with a width of 450 nm was employed in the microring resonator. The microring resonator device had many advantages such as high sensitivity, label-free and real-time detection. Using different concentrations of ethanol solution with known refractive indices, the refractive index detection sensitivity was 76.09 nm/RIU and the volume refractive index detection limit was 5.25×10Symbolm_4 RIU. We also demonstrated the label-free quantitative specific detections of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) solutions using an antibody-modified microring resonator by measuring the resonance wavelength shift resulting from refraction index changes causing by the immobilization of antibodies and specific recognition between antibodies and antigens, respectively. The results showed that the microring optical resonator could real-time monitor the reaction between biological molecules, the resonator could be used in the quantitative detection and biological sensing.

Objective This study was to compare surgical safety and oncologic adequacy of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) versus open gastrectomy (OG) for advanced gastric cancer.Methods 120 consecutive AGC patients undergoing LAG with D2 lymph node dissection between September 2005 to December 2009 were compared with 120 AGC patients undergoing OG during the same period.In each group,50 underwent distal gastrectomy,70 for total gastrectomy.Results There was no conversion to open surgery in LAG.The operative time was significantly longer in LAG than OG [(307 ± 84) min vs.(203 ± 52) min,t'=11.556,P ＜ 0.01].The estimated blood loss was significantly less in LAG group than OG group [(258 ± 78) ml vs.(318 ± 89) ml,t =5.550,P ＜ 0.01].The number of lymph nodes retrieved was(17 ±11) in LAG,(16 ±10)in OG (t =0.723,P＞0.05).All margins were tumor free in both groups.9 patients had the postoperative complication in LAG,8 patients in OG (P ＞ 0.05).Length of postoperative stay was significantly shorter in LAG than OG [(10.6 + 4.7) vs.(14.3 ± 2.9) days,t' =7.339,P ＜0.01].There was no mortality in both groups.The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate were comparable (47.6％ in LAG vs.42.8％ in OG,x2 =0.577,P ＞ 0.05) between the two groups.Conclusions This study suggested that laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy is safe and feasible in terms of surgical outcome and oncologic adequacy for advanced gastric cancer.

Objective To explore the role of cell apoptosis pathway in alcoholic pancreatitis.Methods C57BL/J mice were divided into control group (NC) and Alcohol group (AC),Acute pancreatitis group (AP) and Alcoholic acute pancreatitis group(AAP).Alcohol treatment was 10％ w/v ethanol feeding for 2 d,15％ w/v ethanol for 5 d,and then 20％ w/v ethanol until 13 weeks.AP model was established by the intraperitoneal injection of 50μg caerulein/kg body weight once an hour for a total of 7 times.Blood samples were collected for detecting serum amylase and lipase activity.Part pancreatic tissue was collected and the wet and dry weight were both measured to calculate the water content.The routine pathological exanination of the pancreatic tissues were conducted.The expression of apoptosis associated protein caspase3 and caspase8 was determined by Western blot.And cell apoptosis was determined using TUNNEL method.Results The level of serum amylase in NC group,AC group,AP group and AAP group were(3 630 ± 259),(3 196 ± 187),(35 955 ± 4607) and (53 607 ± 3 848) U/L;the level of serum lipase were (502 ± 41),(745 ± 42),(7 346 ± 665) and(12 764 ± 2 544) U/L;the water content were (70.2 ± 3.1) ％,(69.6 ± 2.0) ％,(78.2 ± 1.5) ％ and(85.0 ± 3.0) ％ and (12.75 ± 0.25);the expression of caspase3 were (1.017 ± 0.0784),(1.287 ± 0.097),(178 ± 0.07785) and (0.2443 ± 0.0243);the expression of caspase8 were (0.8289 ± 0.0096),(0.5985 ±0.0735),(1.27 ±0.08) and (0.145 ±0.015);the number of apoptotic cells were 1,6,214,97/10 high power field.The pathological score of pancreas injure in NC group,AC group,AP group and AAP group were 0,0,(7 ± 0.4) and (12.8 ± 0.3),respectively.Serum anylase,lipase,water content and pathological scores in AP group were obviously higher than those in NC group (P ＜ 0.05),which in AAP group were also obviously higher than those in AP group,and all the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜0.05).Compared with NC group,the expressions of apoptosis associated protein caspase3 and caspase8 and the number of apoptotic cells were obviously increased in AP group,which were obviously higher than those in AAP group,but the expression of caspase3 and caspase8 in AAP group were decreased compared with NC group,and all the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Chronic alcohol exposure may aggravate the severity of pancreatitis,and the inhibition of apoptosis pathway and the enhancement of acinar cell necrosis may be involved in this process.

Objective To investigate the expression of RhoA gene in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to discuss its significance during hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Methods Intratumor RhoA expression level was determined and compared with that in adjacent nontumorous hepatic tissues using quantitative real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot in 64 HCC patients. Results The mRNA levels of RhoA were significantly higher in tumor tissues than that in the unaffected portions (t =3.445 ,P =0.0006). The expression of RhoA mRNA in the primary lesion was higher in patients with venous invasion (t = 2.667, P = 0.009), microscopic satellite lesions (t=2.172,P =0.038), and advanced pTNM stage (stage Ⅱ/Ⅳ; t=2.551,P=0.013) than in those without. There was a significant difference between high RhoA protein levels in the tumor tissues and noncancerous liver tissues in HCC patients (t = 3.532, P = 0.0002), and there was a significant association between high tumor RhoA protein levels and the presence of venous invasion (t = 2.087, P = 0.042), microscopic satellite lesions (t = 2.254, P = 0.031), and advanced pTNM stage (t = 2.812, P = 0.007). Conclusions There is a significant correlation between RhoA expression, tumor stage, and intrahepatic metastasis. The expression of RhoA could be used as a good tumor marker for invasive and advanced carcinoma as well as a prognosis predictor.