Objective To study the clinical characteristics of acute asthma during pregnancy,focusing on management of pregnant women presenting with an acute exacerbation.Methods A prospective observational study was conducted in 30 cases of acute exacerbations during pregnancy.Results The prognosis of 25 patients with mild or moderate asthma was good for both mother and fetus;none had severe complications.Among 5 women who had severe exacerbations,there were 4 pulmonary co-infections,1 with respiratory acidosis,1 with respiratory acidosis plus metabolic allkalosis,and 4 with fetal growth-restriction.Conclusions,This study highlights that pregnancy can worsen asthma control in some women.Effective management and prevention of asthma exacerbations during pregnancy is key to ensuring the safety of the mother and the fetus.

A method for the determination of glycyrrhizic acid and chlorogenic acid in Chinese medicinal preparation by RP-HPLC-UV was described. Mobile phase: methanol (0.5%HAc):H2O(0.5%HAc); C18 column and externat standard was used.

Objective To establish the method of acetaldehyde and acraldehyde in water with headspace gas chromatography. Methods Acetaldehyde and acraldehyde in the water samples were extracted by headspace technology,then analyzed with DB-624 capillary column. In the same time,they were determined with GC by controlling the temperature. Retention time of the peaks was used for qualitative analysis,while external standard method was used for quantitative analysis. Results In 3.0-250 ?g/L, the regression equation for acetaldehyde was y=406.83 x+0.847,r=0.999 9,the lowest detection limit was 1.0 ?g/L. In 6.2-500 ?g/L, the regression equation for acraldehyde was y=207.53 x-0.450,r=0.999 8,the lowest detection limit was 3.3 ?g/L. The rates of recovery were 90.0%-95.5%,and RSDs were 2.1%-3.7%. Conclusion This method is simple,rapid,sensitive and is applicable to the determination of acetaldehyde and acraldehyde in water.

Blood Replenishing Angelica Decoction [Danggui Buxue Tang (DGBXT)]is a wellknown TCM prescription composed of Radix Angelicae Sinensis and Radix Astragali with the actions ofinvigorating "Qi" and enriching blood. Its action to curtail endothelial permeability induced by histaminewas studied. Endothelial cells isolated from the aorta of neonatal calf were cultured on polycarbonate mi-croporus filter membrane to develop a confluent endothelial monolayer. After purfused with either plainHank's balanced salt solution or that containing 5 g/L albumin, the monolayer was treated with 10-4 mol/L histamine for 30 min either with or without preincubation for 60 min with 10-4 g/mL of DGBXT. Fluidfiltration coefficient (Kf), filtration volume (Jv) and osmotic reflective coefficient (σ) of protein were thenmeasured. The findings showed that DGBXT could curtail the lowering of Kf and Jv and elevation of σ in-duced by histamine, indicating that DGBXT could inhibit the action of histamine on endothelial permeabili-ty, but its mechanism of action needs further study.

Objective:To investigate the metabolism changes in corpus striatum of hemiparkinsonian monkeys after chronic high frequency stimulation in subthalamic nucleus (STN) by SPECT and PET imaging. Methods: Two hemiparkinsonian monkeys, induced by unilateral internal carotid artery infusion of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropy-rindine (MPTP), were implanted with stimulation electrodes in STN of lesioned side according to stereotaxic atlas of the monkey brain. SPECT and PET examination were performed before and 1, 3 months after stimulation. Results: PD symptoms of monkeys, including rigidity, bradykinesia and gait abnormality, were significantly improved. SPECT imaging indicated that dopamine transporter (DAT) binding to corpus striatum in stimulated side increased and D 2 receptor (D 2 R) decreased to the level of unlesioned side after stimulating. PET imaging showed that right corpus striatum had lower density than left corpus striatum before stimulation. One month after chronic high frequency stimulation, bilateral corpus striatum had low density, but the right was slightly higher than that of the left;3 months after stimulation the right was obviously higher than the left . Conclusion: The symptoms of hemiparkinsonian monkeys can be obviously improved by STN deep brain stimulation(DBS). The increased DAT binding and glucose metabolism of corpus striatum in stimulated side and the decreased D 2 R binding after stimulation suggest that the activity of striatal dopaminergic system may be promoted by STN DBS.

Objective To assess the features of transcranial sonography (TCS) in Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods Totally 38 PD patients (PD group),28 AD patients (AD group) and 26 controls (control group)underwent TCS.The echogenicity of the substantia nigra,widths of third ventricle and parameters of middle cerebral artery among the three groups were analyzed.Results The ratio of hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra in PD group (31/38,81.58％) were higher than those in AD group (8/28,28.57％) and control group (3/26,11.54％;x2 =18.74,30.41,both P＜0.001),and there was no significant difference in hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra between AD group and control group (x2 =2.41,P=0.120).The widths of third ventricle in AD group ([0.82±0.14]cm) were wider than those in PD group ([0.63±±0.16]cm) and control group ([0.56±0.16]cm,both P＜0.001),and there was no significant difference in widths of third ventricle between PD group and control group (P=0.098).The mean velocities in bilateral middle cerebral artery in AD group were lower than that of in PD group and in control group (all P＜0.05).The pulsatility index in right middle cerebral artery in AD group were greater than that in PD group and control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion According to the changes of echogenicity of substantia nigra,widths of third ventricle and parameters of middle cerebral artery,TCS may provide some useful information for diagnosis of PD and AD.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of telmisartan combined with finasteride on blood pressure rhythm (BPR) in non-dipper type hypertension patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: From Jul. 2015 to Dec. 2016, medical information of 190 patients with non-dipper type hypertension complicated with BPH were retrospectively collected from Halison International Peace Hospital, and then divided into control group (n=82) and observation group (n=108) according to therapy plan. Control group was given telmisartan 40 mg, qd; observation group was additionally given finasteride 5 mg, qd, on the basis of observation group. Both groups were treated for 12 months, and followed up once every 3 months. The changes of blood pressure (24 hSBP, 24 hDBP, 24 hPP, dSBP, dDBP, dPP, nSBP, nDBP, nPP), morning blood pressure surge, prostate volume, nocturia times, the changes of BPR (the rate of non-dipper type blood pressure change) were observed in 2 groups. The occurrence of ADR was observed. RESULTS: Before treatment, there was no statistical significance in blood pressure, morning blood pressure surge, prostate volume or nocturia times between 2 groups (P>0. 05). After treated for 3, 6, 12 months, blood pressure, morning blood pressure surge, prostate volume, nocturia times and the rate of non-dipper type blood pressure change in 2 groups were decreased significantly; the observation group was significantly lower than the control group, with statistical significance (P>0. 05). There was no statistical significance in the incidence of ADR between 2 groups (P>0. 05). CONCLUSIONS: Telmisartan combined with finasteride show significant effects on non-dipper hypertension complicated with BPH, effectively reduce the level of blood pressure, prostate volume, nocturia times and improve BPR with good safety. The effect of two-drug is better than that of telmisartan.

Human pluripotent stem cells provide an inexhaustible model to study human embryogenesis in vitro. Recent studies have provided diverse models to generate human blastoids by self-organization of different pluripotent stem cells or somatic reprogramming intermediates. However, whether blastoids can be generated from other cell types or whether they can recapitulate postimplantation development in vitro is unknown. Here, we develop a strategy to generate human blastoids from heterogeneous intermediates with epiblast, trophectoderm, and primitive endoderm signatures of the primed-to-naïve conversion process, which resemble natural blastocysts in morphological architecture, composition of cell lineages, transcriptome, and lineage differentiation potential. In addition, these blastoids reflect many features of human peri-implantation and pregastrulation development when further cultured in an in vitro 3D culture system. In summary, our study provides an alternative strategy to generate human blastoids and offers insights into human early embryogenesis by modeling peri- and postimplantation development in vitro.
Humans ; Pluripotent Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Embryo, Mammalian/metabolism* ; Cell Differentiation ; Blastocyst ; Cell Lineage ; Embryonic Development