OBJECTIVE:To optimize the water-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation. METHODS:The wa-ter-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation was optimized by orthogonal design,with the total contents of matrine and oxymatrine,the total content of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminol,the content of berberine hydrochloride and extract yield,and with the extraction time,amount of water(3 reflux extractions)and soaking time as the factors;and verifi-cation tests were conducted. RESULTS:The extraction time had significant effect on comprehensive evaluation value (P<0.05). The optimal water-extraction technology was as follows as extraction time of 120 min,water amount of 8,6,and 6 times as the amount of herbs,and soaking time of 20 min. In verification tests,the average total content of matrine and oxymatrine was 3.152 6 mg/g(RSD=1.03%,n=3),that of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminol was 4.977 2 mg/g(RSD=2.27%,n=3),the average content of berberine hydrochloride was 3.345 0 mg/g (RSD=1.19%,n=3) and the average extract yield was 49.23%(RSD=2.43%,n=3). CONCLUSIONS:The optimal water-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation is stable and feasible.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of nanoscale bubbles transfering gene in skeletal muscle cells in mice.MethodsPlasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) was mixed with bubbles dissolved in saline and injected into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of C57B10 mice with and without ultrasound (US).The ultrasound frequency was 1 MHz and the pulse repetition frequency was 100 Hz with 20％ duty cycle.The spatial peak temporal peak intensity (ISPTP) power level was 2 W/cm2.The entire treatment period was 30 seconds.The efficiencies of GFP transgene expression were determined under different experinmental conditions.Mice were sacrificed 1 week after plasmid DNA injection.Fibres with fluorescence green signals were determined as GFP-positive fibres by fluorescence microscopy.Readout was performed on the section with the maximum number of transfected fibers.Results1 )Albumin nanobubbles:in the conditon of with or without ultrasound,albumin nanobubbles had significantly increased gene expression compared with negative control (P ＜0.05),but significantly decreased gene expression compared with positive control ( P ＜ 0.05 ).2) Phospholipid nanobubbles:In the conditon of without ultrasound,there were no significant differences compared with negative and positive control ( P ＞0.05).In the conditon of with ultrasound,phospholipid nanobubbles had significantly increased gene expression compared with negative control ( P ＜0.05).No significant difference was observed between phospholipid nanobubbles and positive control ( P ＞ 0.05).ConclusionsNanobubbles could enhance gene transfection efficiency for skeletal muscle fibres in mice.Nanobubbles with perfluoropropane gas and albumin have potentiality in gene-enhanced transfection.

Objective: To investigate the changes of ambient dose equivalent rate in 99mTcO4- single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the thyroid among patients with hyperthyroidism, so as to provide insights into radiation protection guidance. Methods: Patients with hyperthyroidism who underwent 99mTcO4- SPECT of the thyroid in a tertiary hospital were enrolled. The ambient dose equivalent rate was measured at different time points following 99mTcO4- infection and at sites with different distances from patients' neck, and the effects of time post-injection, distance from patients' neck, 24-hour thyroidal radioiodine uptake and thyroid weight on the ambient dose equivalent rate were examined using a generalized linear mixed model. Results: Totally 100 patients with hyperthyroidism were enrolled, including 24 men and 76 women and with a mean age of (38.5±14.0) years. The generalized linear mixed model was statistically significant (F=6 610.165, P<0.001), and patients' thyroid weight, time post-injection and distance from patients' neck significantly affected the ambient dose equivalent rate (F=57.967, 15 988.574, 11 200.645, all P<0.001), and the ambient dose equivalent rate positively correlated with patients' thyroid weight and negatively correlated with time post-injection and distance from patients' neck. Conclusions The ambient dose equivalent rate is affected by patients' thyroid weight, time post-injection and distance from patients' neck among patients with hyperthyroidism undergoing 99mTcO4- SPECT of the thyroid. Delay in contact with patients or keeping distance from patients may be effective for radiation protection.

Objective To investigate the first human brucellosis outbreak in Fujian Province,aiming to identify the source,risk factors of infection,and recommend control measures.Methods Epidemiological investigation was conducted by combining with agricultural sector on human and animal in the incident area of Zhangzhou City of Fujian Province.Respondents included 17 professionals from the outbreak sheep farm,as well as 9 ones from four nearest farms (including 2 pig farms,1 sheep farm and 1 cow farm) in directions of eastern,southern,western and northern.Then information of cognitive level and daily protection on brucellosis among pasture breeding staffs through case studies were got,serum of pasture breeding staffs and animals was collected (including 262 from the outbreak sheep farm and 50 from another sheep farm which nearly 5 kilometres away) to detect brucellosis antibody,and sheep sources were investigated simultaneously.Results A total of 26 people were detected,the infection rate was 26.9％ (17 people,in the epidemic area),the other four farming units without brucellosis infection.In epidemic focus,seven human infections (5 confirmed cases,2 asymptomatic infected) were identified,with an infection rate 41.2％ (7/17) and the brucellosis antibody positive rate among sheep was 46.2％ (121/262),while no positive sheep in the nearest sheep farm (0/50).Both unprotected lamb handling and stillbirth treatment got a 100.0％ infection rate.Among the investigated professional staffs,92.3％ (24/26) had no awareness of clinical symptoms and signs of brucellosis,while 11.5％ (3/26) took protective measures when working.Conclusions Unquarantined sheep is the infection source of this brucellosis outbreak,unprotected lamb handling and stillbirth treatment are the main route of transmission.High sheep infection rate,lack of brucellosis awareness,precaution missing among pasture breeding staffs and animal quarantine are all contributing to this outbreak.

Objective To investigate the role of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in regulating allergic airway inflammation in asthmatic mice.Methods We induced dendritic cells (DCs) from bone marrow of BALB/c mice,and then treated the cells with LiCl and PKF118-310,separately.We observed the morphological features of DCs under light microscope.Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was used to observe the functional changes of DCs.Western blot was used to detect the expressions of GSK-3β and β-catenin at the protein level.We established a mouse asthma model by using ovalbumin (OVA),and then treated these mice with LiCl and PKF118-310.The total number of cells and eosinophil percentage in BALF were determined.The lungs of mice were observed by HE staining to evaluate the degree of allergic inflammation.The cytokines in BALF and spleen cells supernatant were assayed by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA),and the total IgE in the serum was also measured by ELISA.The protein expression levels of GSK-3β and β-catenin in lung tissue were assayed by Western blot.Results ① The DCs treated with LiCl promoted the proliferation of allogeneic T lymphocytes in MLR more weakly than those treated with PKF118-310 (P＜0.01).② The GSK-3β protein expression level of DCs treated with LiCl was significantly lower than DCs treated with PKF118-310.In contrast,the β-catenin protein expression of DCs treated with LiCl was higher than that of DCs treated with PKF118-310 (P ＜ 0.01).③ The total number of cells and eosinophil percentage in BALF were significantly increased in the experimental group compared with those in the control group (P＜0.01).There was also a significant difference between LiCl group and PKF118-310 group (P＜0.01).④ In the three experimental groups,the severity of inflammation in the lungs of LiCl group was weaker than that in PKF118-310 group (P＜0.05).⑤ Compared with that in the normal control group,IL-4 in BALF and spleen cell culture supernatant of the experimental group was significantly higher while IFN-γ was the opposite (P＜0.01).LiCl group had the lowest level of IL-4 and the highest level of IFN-γ;PKF groups was the opposite (P＜0.05).⑥ The total IgE in serum was significantly increased in the experimental group compared with the control group (P＜0.01).There was also a significant difference between LiCl group and PKF118-310 group (P＜0.05).⑦ GSK-3β protein expression was significantly lower in LiCl group than in PKF118-310 group (P＜0.05),while β-catenin protein expression was significantly higher in LiCl group than in PKF118-310 group (P＜0.05).Conclusion LiCl and PKF118-310 can affect the severity of asthma by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway and the expressions of GSK-3β andβ-catenin protein,which provides a new direction for asthma treatment.

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of different doses of luteolin on memory function and apoptosis-related proteins of aging rats induced by D-galactose.Methods:Forty-eight SPF-grade male Wistar rats aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into control group, model group, luteolin low-dose group (25 mg/kg), medium-dose group (50 mg/kg), high-dose group (100 mg/kg), and vitamin C group (100 mg/kg), with 8 rats in each group. D-galactose (1 000 mg/kg) was subcutaneously injected to establish the aging rat model, while luteolin was used for preventive treatment. The Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the learning and memory abilities of the rats.Transmission electron microscopy was used to detect the morphology of hippocampal neurons in rats.Spectrophotometry was used to detect the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). RT-PCR was used to detect miR-34a mRNA expression.Western blot technique was used to detect the expression levels of silent regulator protein 1 (SIRT1), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), cleaved caspase-3, p53, and p21. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0, and one-way ANOVA was used for multi-group comparison, followed by LSD- t test for further pairwise comparisons. Results:(1) The differences in escape latency among the 6 groups of rats were statistically significant ( F=120.93, P<0.001). The latency of first finding the platform location of the model group rats ((54.61±3.60) s) was higher than that of the control group ((10.54±4.27) s) ( P<0.05). The latency of first finding the platform location of rats in the low, medium and high dosage groups of luteolin ((45.50±3.81)s, (37.46±2.94) s, (32.32±3.14) s) was lower than that of the model group ((54.61±3.60) s) (all P<0.05). (2) The differences of SOD, MDA, T-AOC, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels in the cerebral cortex of the 6 groups of rats were all statistically significant ( F=281.636, 75.119, 208.228, 38.999, 28.428, 52.767, all P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the model group showed abnormal levels of inflammatory factors and antioxidant indexes. In the medium and high dosage groups of luteolin, the SOD and T-AOC contents in the cerebral cortex of rats were higher than those in the model group (all P<0.05), while the levels of MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were lower than those in the model group (all P<0.05). (3) The differences in relative expression levels of miR-34a mRNA among the 6 groups of rats were statistically significant ( F=81.439, P<0.001). The expression levels of miR-34a mRNA in the hippocampal tissues of rats in the luteolin treatment group were lower than those in the model group ( P<0.05). (4) The differences in protein expression levels of SIRT1, p53, and p21 in the hippocampal tissues of the 6 groups of rats were statistically significant ( F=159.946, 38.342, 123.608, all P<0.001). The expression levels of p53 and p21 in the medium and high dosage groups of luteolin were lower than those in the model group (all P<0.05), while the expression level of SIRT1 protein was higher than that in the model group ( P<0.05). (5) The differences in protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3 in the hippocampal tissues of the 6 groups of rats were statistically significant ( F=112.659, 43.296, both P<0.05). The expression levels of Bcl-2 in the low, medium, and high dosage groups of luteolin ((0.24±0.04), (0.40±0.03), (0.48±0.05) pg/μg) were higher than those in the model group ((0.09±0.06) μg) ( P<0.05), while the expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 in the low, medium, and high dosage groups of luteolin ((0.62±0.04), (0.61±0.09), (0.51±0.10) μg) were lower than those in the model group ((0.75±0.05) μg) ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Luteolin can alleviate cellular oxidative damage through downregulating the miR-34a SIRT1/p53 signaling pathway and reducing cell apoptosis.

Objective To investigate the number and distribution of N-linked glycosylation sites of simian/human immunodeficiency virus envelope proteins (SHIVSF162P3) and SHIV transmission. Methods Two female adult Chinese rhesus macaques (4 years old) were intravenously inoculated with 300 TCID50 SHIVSF162P3. The macaques weighed 4 and 5 kg and were identified as Rh1 and Rh2. We collected plasma samples at days 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70 and 77 post-challenge. Subsequently, we monitored plasma viral load by real-time PCR after viral RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis. We amplified the full-length envelope gene by single genome amplification (SGA) at days 7, 14, 28 and 77. BioEdit, MEGA, and the HIV Databases were used to analyze envelope sequences. Sequence diversity and N-linked glycosylation sites were compared between virus stock and plasma viruses of the two macaques. Results A total of 55 env sequences were obtained from virus stock and their average pairwise distances were (0.166 6± 0.096 3)%. Viral loads peaked at 7.68 and 7.49 log10 copies/ml at day 10 and reached the set point at day 42 (4.27 and 4.81 log10 copies/ml). The percentages of envelope sequences containing 25 potential N-linked glycosylation sites (PNGSs) were 83%(20/24) and 94%(29/31) in Rh1 and Rh2, respectively, at day 7;these were significantly higher than the proportion in SHIVSF162P3 stock (49%(27/55)). Viral diversity after infection increased with time whereas the proportion of sequences containing 25 PNGSs decreased and sequences containing 27 PNGSs gradually increased. In Rh1, the percentage of sequences containing 27 PNGSs increased to 29%at day 28 and reached 35%at day 77 in Rh2. By analyzing the number of PNGSs in the V1-V5 regions, we found that PNGS variation mainly occurred in the V4 loop. Compared with sequences containing 27 PNGSs, a seven amino acid (TWNNTIG) deletion was found in the V4 loop, which resulted in a loss of two PNGSs at positions 392 and 396. Conclusion Low glycosylation of the SHIVSF162P3 V4 loop may facilitate spread of the SHIV virus whereas viruses with highly glycosylated V4 loops showed replication advantages after infection.

Objective To summarize the effect of former nursing on patients with acute myocardial infarction of extensive anterior wall combined with arrhythmia.Methods 38 acute myocardial infarction patients complicated with arrhythmia were given positive and effective rescue and prior nursing measures.Results After strict prior nursing rescue,36 patients were received effective treatment with efficient rate of 94.7%.In the research,all the patients were cured ex-cept for 2 patients dying from severe heart failure.The scores of motor function,ability of daily life and social interaction ability score were significantly higher than that of nursing before (P <0.05).Conclusion Prior nursing is standardized and efficient for acute myocardial infarction com-plicated with arrhythmia,and it provides positive support in the treatment of patients with myocar-dial infarction and arrhythmia.

Objective To summarize the effect of former nursing on patients with acute myocardial infarction of extensive anterior wall combined with arrhythmia.Methods 38 acute myocardial infarction patients complicated with arrhythmia were given positive and effective rescue and prior nursing measures.Results After strict prior nursing rescue,36 patients were received effective treatment with efficient rate of 94.7%.In the research,all the patients were cured ex-cept for 2 patients dying from severe heart failure.The scores of motor function,ability of daily life and social interaction ability score were significantly higher than that of nursing before (P <0.05).Conclusion Prior nursing is standardized and efficient for acute myocardial infarction com-plicated with arrhythmia,and it provides positive support in the treatment of patients with myocar-dial infarction and arrhythmia.

Objective To investigate the number and distribution of N-linked glycosylation sites of simian/human immunodeficiency virus envelope proteins (SHIVSF162P3) and SHIV transmission. Methods Two female adult Chinese rhesus macaques (4 years old) were intravenously inoculated with 300 TCID50 SHIVSF162P3. The macaques weighed 4 and 5 kg and were identified as Rh1 and Rh2. We collected plasma samples at days 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70 and 77 post-challenge. Subsequently, we monitored plasma viral load by real-time PCR after viral RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis. We amplified the full-length envelope gene by single genome amplification (SGA) at days 7, 14, 28 and 77. BioEdit, MEGA, and the HIV Databases were used to analyze envelope sequences. Sequence diversity and N-linked glycosylation sites were compared between virus stock and plasma viruses of the two macaques. Results A total of 55 env sequences were obtained from virus stock and their average pairwise distances were (0.166 6± 0.096 3)%. Viral loads peaked at 7.68 and 7.49 log10 copies/ml at day 10 and reached the set point at day 42 (4.27 and 4.81 log10 copies/ml). The percentages of envelope sequences containing 25 potential N-linked glycosylation sites (PNGSs) were 83%(20/24) and 94%(29/31) in Rh1 and Rh2, respectively, at day 7;these were significantly higher than the proportion in SHIVSF162P3 stock (49%(27/55)). Viral diversity after infection increased with time whereas the proportion of sequences containing 25 PNGSs decreased and sequences containing 27 PNGSs gradually increased. In Rh1, the percentage of sequences containing 27 PNGSs increased to 29%at day 28 and reached 35%at day 77 in Rh2. By analyzing the number of PNGSs in the V1-V5 regions, we found that PNGS variation mainly occurred in the V4 loop. Compared with sequences containing 27 PNGSs, a seven amino acid (TWNNTIG) deletion was found in the V4 loop, which resulted in a loss of two PNGSs at positions 392 and 396. Conclusion Low glycosylation of the SHIVSF162P3 V4 loop may facilitate spread of the SHIV virus whereas viruses with highly glycosylated V4 loops showed replication advantages after infection.