Objective To evaluate the profile of transient ischemic attacks in younger patients compared with older patients effectively.Methods We study 75 younger patients(≤45 years)compared with 90 older patients(≥65 years).History of presenting transient ischemic attacks,etiology,clinical feature and lab investigation were compared on the basis of the above age groups.Results Overweight、hypercholesterolemia、insomnia and vascular disease family history being more common in the younger group and Hypertension,ischemic heart disease,long-term history of smoking being more common in the elder group.Diabetes and high serum uric acid occurred high frequently in both groups.Conclusion A significant correlation existed between etiologies contribution and adverse life custom,the early management should be take up to prevent TIA occurrence.

OBJECTIVE:To provide ideas for revise and improve the standard and related method of the quality control of ben-zalkonium chloride in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015 edition,Ⅱ). METHODS:The standards and related methods of the quality control of benzalkonium chloride in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2015 edition,Ⅱ),British Pharmacopoeia(2013 edition),European Pharmacopoeia (7.0 edition) and United States Pharmacopoeia (36 edition) were comprehensively compared. RESULTS:Com-pared with Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2015 edition,Ⅱ),the standards abroad provided the component and the ratio of the benzalko-nium chloride substituted homolog,the method for ammonia compound test had higher sensibility,it also added the test for benzyl alcohol,benzaldehyde and benzyl chloride impurity,as well as the component ratio test and average relative molecular mass calcu-lation. CONCLUSIONS:The standard and related method of the quality control of benzalkonium chloride in Chinese Pharmacopoe-ia(2015 edition,Ⅱ)still need to be further improved.

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the determination of related substances in bifonazole raw material. METH-ODS:HPLC method was performed on the column of Kromasil C18 with mobile phase of methanol-0.02 mol/L phosphoric acid(ad-justed pH to 7.5 with triethylamine)(70:30,V/V)at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,detection wavelength was 258 nm,volume injection was 20 μl,and the column temperature was 40 ℃. RESULTS:The linear range was 0.05-0.25 μg/ml for bifonazole(r=0.9996), 0.05-0.25 μg/ml for impurity A(bifonol)(r=0.9997)and 0.05-0.25 μg/ml for impurity B(4-C isomer)(r=0.9995);the detec-tion limits were 8.2 ng/ml,7.5 ng/ml and 8.4 ng/ml,and the quantification limits were 27.1 ng/ml,24.7 ng/ml and 27.8 ng/ml,re-spectively;RSDs of precision and reproducibility tests were lower than 1%;recovery of impurity B was 95.13%-101.29%(RSD=1.89%,n=9);both impurity A and impurity B were were detected in the 3 batches of samples. CONCLUSIONS:The method is accurate,sensitive and reproducible,and can be used for the determination of the related substances in bifonazole raw material.

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the content determination of Aciclovir cream. METHODS:Centrifugal parti-tion chromatography(CPC)was conducted. The solvent system was hexane-acetonitrile-water(2∶1∶1,V/V/V),the injection vehicle was an aqueous solution of 5%Tween 80 and the volume was 1.0 ml;the flow rate was 5 ml/min;the wavelength was 254 nm. RE-SULTS:There was a good linear relationship between quality concentration and peak area in the range of 0.012 7-0.126 7 mg/ml (r=0.998 7). The RSD of precision,stability and reproducibility tests was all no more than 2.0% and the average recovery was 97.34%(RSD=0.90%,n=9). CONCLUSIONS:The method is with high precision and accuracy,and can be used for the content determination of principal components of Aciclovir cream.

Objective:To establish an HPLC method for the determination of gabapentin and the related substances in gabapentin capsules. Methods:A Kromasil C8 column (250 mm × 4. 6 mm,5μm)was used. The mobile phase was methanol-0. 01 mol·L-1 po-tassium dihydrogen phosphate solution (adjusting pH to 6. 9 with 2 mol·L-1 potassium hydroxide) (40∶60). The detection wave-length was 210 nm. The column temperature was 40℃ and the injection volume was 20μl. The main component and the known impuri-ty were determined by an external standard method. The unknown impurities were determined by a self-control method. Results: The calibration curve of gabapentin was linear within the range of 2.5-20.0 mg·ml-1(r=0.999 9). The average sample recovery was 100. 74% with RSD of 0. 24%(n=5). Conclusion:The method is simple, accurate,specific and applicable in the determination of gabapentin and the related substances in gabapentin capsules.

AIM: To study the effect of calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) on icariin (ICA) induced mouse embryonic stem cells ( mESCs) to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro.METHODS:mESCs were cultured to embry-oid bodies ( EBs) by direct suspension method and the differentiation of EBs into cardiomyocytes was induced by ICA.The expression of cardiac specific proteinsα-actinin and cardiac troponin-I ( cTnI) was analyzed by Western blot and immuno-fluorescence.The differentiation rate was determined by flow cytometry.The ultrastructure of the derived cardiomyocytes was further characterized by transmission electron microscopy.The expression of cardiac-specific transcription factors Nkx2.5 and GATA-4,as well as CaSR was detected by Western blot.RESULTS: After induction with ICA, the positive characteristics of myocardial cells appeared in the EBs cultured for 2 d.The expression of cardiac-specific sarcomeric pro-tein actinin (α-actinin) and cTnI showed an overall upward trend by Western blot in different phases of ICA induced differ-entiation.The expression of CaSR, Nkx2.5 and GATA-4 was the highest at an early stage of ICA-induced differentiation. Neomycin (an activator of CaSR) up-regulated CaSR, NKx2.5 and GATA-4 expression in the EBs at early stage of ICA-in-duced differentiation, all of which were reversed by NPS2390 ( an inhibitor of CaSR) .CONCLUSION:CaSR is function-ally expressed in mESC-derived cardiomyocytes, and activation of CaSR is involved in the differentiation of mESCs into car-diomyocytes by facilitating the expression of NKx2.5 and GATA-4.

To study the preventive effect of sophocarpine (Soc) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, in order to analyze the influence of Soc on toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)/mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and janus tyrosine kinase 2 signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signal pathways in mice intestinal tissues. The mice was given 2.5% DSS for 6 days to induce the acute colitis model. The Soc-treated group was intraperitoneally injected with sophocarpine 30 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1) since the day before the experiment to the end. The disease activity index (DAI) was assessed everyday, and the colonic morphology and histological damage were observed with HE staining. The mRNA expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected by real-time RT-PCR. The changes in key protein kinase p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK), c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase1/2 (JNK1/2), extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2), JAK2, STAT3 in TLR4/MAPKs and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways were detected by western blot. The result showed that the model group showed statistical significance in body weight, DAI, colon length and histopathological changes compared with the normal group (P <0.05); however, the Soc-treated group showed significant improvements in the above indexes compared with the model group (P <0.05). TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the model group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (P <0.05), but lowered in the Soc-treated group to varying degrees (P <0.05). In the normal group, the expressions of TLR4 and the phosphorylation of P38, JNK1/2, JAK2, STAT3 were at low levels; in the model group, the phosphorylation of P38, JNK1/2, JAK2, STAT3 increased; the Soc-treated group showed a decrease in TLR4 expression compared with the model group, with notable declines in the phosphorylation of TLR4, P38, JNK1/2, JAK2, STAT3. These findings indicate that Soc can inhibit TLR4/MAPKs, K2/STAT3 signaling pathway activation, reduce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 and relieve inflammatory reactions, so as to effectively prevent experimental colitis.
Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Colitis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; pathology ; Cytokines ; genetics ; Janus Kinase 2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Phosphorylation ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology

This study was conducted to investigate the paclitaxel loaded by hydrazone bonds in poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(caprolactone) micelles (mPEG-PCL-PTX) on proliferation and apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells and its possible mechanisms of anti-tumor activity. The cell proliferation was measured with MTT assay. Flow cytometry were used to analyze the cell cycle. The cell apoptosis was analyzed using Hoechst/P staining. The expression levels of apoptotic genes expression in the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The mPEG-PCL-PTX could inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells and promote the apoptosis. The Bax, caspase-3 protein expression were increased while Bcl-2 protein expression was decreased in A549 cells. Results showed that the polymer containing hydrazone bond is non-toxic in vitro, the mPEG-PCL-PTX micelles can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of A549 cells. Key words: paclitaxel; micelle; A549 cell; proliferation; cell cycle; apoptosis
Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Micelles ; Paclitaxel ; pharmacology ; Polyesters ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

AIM:To observe the functional expression of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) in the mouse em-bryonic stem cells (mESCs).METHODS:The expression and distribution of CaSR were detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescence observation in 129 mouse ES-D3 cells.The intracellular concentration of free calcium ([Ca2+]i) was determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy .The cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay and flow cytometry .RE-SULTS:CaSR protein was expressed in mESCs .Extracellular calcium or neomycin significantly increased the expression of CaSR and [Ca2+]i.Neomycin increased the cell viability , up-regulated the protein expression of p-ERK2.These effects of neomycin were inhibited by NPS2390.CONCLUSION:CaSR is expressed in mESCs .The activation of CaSR is involved in the proliferation of mESCs .

To understand epidemiological characteristics of Marek's disease virus (MDV) prevalent in china currently,3 Marek's disease (MD) strains were isolated and identified from white feather meat chickens vaccined with MDV CVI988 or 814 through necropsy,histopathological observation,virus isolation and IFA detection,named SDAU1501,SDAU1502 and SDAU1503,respectively.vIL8,pp38,MEQ gene of the three strains of MDV were amplified using PCR,and compared with reference strains.The homology between SDAU1501 and SDAU1502 and virulent strains was above 97％,suggesting some features of virulent strains;while meq gene of SDAU1503 lost P amino acid at the 194 th site as that in CVI988,But the distinctive 177 nucleotide insertion mutations was not existed,predicting that it may be a attenuated vaccine strain.New variations of MDV continued and different types of variants emerged,therefore,prevalence and genetic monitoring of MD should be proceeded;meanwhile,more attentions should be given to MDV vaccine development.