OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Kanli Granule (KG) on myocardial mechanics in pressure overload induced diastolic heart failure (DHF) rats.

METHODSTotally 60 male Wistar rats were divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, the KG group, and the Valsartan group according to random digit table, 15 in each group. The pressure overload induced DHF model was established in all groups except the sham-operation group using abdominal aortic constriction surgery. Totally 7 rats died after modeling (with the mortality of 10. 67%) , and the rest 53 finished the following test. Rats in the KG group were administered with KG extract (calculated as 6. 75 g crude drug/kg) by gastrogavage. Rats in the Valsartan group were administered with Valsartan (7.2 µg/g) by gastrogavage. Equal volume of double distilled water was administered to rats in the model group and the sham-operation group by gastrogavage. All rats were intervened for 32 weeks. The response of isolated heart papillary muscle tonus to isoprenaline (ISO) and adenylate cyclase (Forskolin) was respectively observed. The enhancement phenomenon after resting development force (DF) of isolated heart papillary muscle tonus, and changes of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations were observed.

RESULTS(1) In the ISO response test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF, ±df/dt, -df/dt were obviously elevated in the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt were obviously lowered in the KG group (P < 0.01), and the amplification of ±df/dt was also reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.01). (2) In the Forskolin response test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt obviously increased in the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt were obviously reduced in the KG group (P < 0.01), and the amplification of DF was also reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.05). (3) In post-resting DF enhancement test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplification of DF showed gradually decreasing tendency along with prolonged resting time in the model group, and they were obviously lowered at all time points (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplification of DF was gradually increasing along with prolonged resting time in the KG group. The amplification of DF at post-resting 240 s was obviously larger in the KG group than in the model group (P < 0.05). The amplification of post-resting DF still showed gradually decreasing tendency along with prolonged resting time in the Valsartan group, with increased amplifications of DF at post-resting 60 s and 120 s (P < 0. 05) (4) The amplifications of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF were significantly elevated in different Ca²⁺ concentrations (1.75, 3.5, 7.0 mmol/L ) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, there was no statistical difference in amplification of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations in the KG group (P > 0.05). The amplifications of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations were significantly reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe ISO response and the Forskolin response were enhanced in isolated heart papillary muscle tonus of pressure overload induced DHF rats; enhanced post-resting DF was reduced; DF in different supra-physiologic levels of Ca²⁺ was still enhanced. KG could significantly improve excessive enhancement of pressure overload induced DHF rats in ISO response and Forskolin response, and improve enhancement of post-resting myocardium.

Animals ; Colforsin ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Heart Failure, Diastolic ; drug therapy ; Isoproterenol ; pharmacology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Chinese medicine and pharmacy (CMP) on the mortality of senile HIV/AIDS patients as adjunctive therapy.

METHODSHIV/AIDS patients of a certain rural area of Hanna Province, who were recruited in national CMP HIV treatment trial program (NTCMTP) in 2004, were enrolled as the CMP treatment group. HIV/AIDS patients in the same village without recruiting in NTCMTP were enrolled as the non-CMP treatment group. Data related to subjects were collected from the database of NTCMTP and National HAART Reporting System. Multiple regression analysis under Cox proportional hazard model was applied to examine the risk factors for death of senile HIV/AIDS patients.

RESULTSA total of 436 HIV/AIDS were enrolled in this study, 204 in the CMP treatment group and 232 in the non-CMP treatment group. There were 70 AIDS-relative deaths in the CMP treatment group, with 8-year mortality rate of 37.74%. There were 111 AIDS-relative deaths in the non-CMP treatment group, with 8-year mortality rate of 48.34%. The 8-year mortality rate was higher in the non-CMP treatment group than in the CMP treatment group (chi2 = 5.136, P < 0.05). Results of univariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed the hazard ratio in the non-CMP treatment group was 1.41 times that of the CMP treatment group (P < 0.05). Result of multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed the hazard ratio in the non-CMP treatment group was 1.44 times that of the CMP treatment group (P < 0.05). Besides, gender and marital conditions were significantly associated with death of HIV/AIDS patients.

CONCLUSIONCMP treatment was favorable to lower the mortality rate of senile HIV/AIDS patients, and its objective evaluation awaits for further prospective study.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Alzheimer Disease ; therapy ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; Communicable Diseases ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Humans ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Central composite design (CCD) is one of the most commonly used design methods in response surface optimization and has been widely applied in the field of pharmaceutics to optimize preparations. On the 20th anniversary of the introduction of CCD into China, the paper reviews its application in domestic pharmaceutical researches. Based on the brief introduction of basic principle and operation steps of CCD, the mistakes emerging in the application of CCD are summarized, including conceptual confusion with Box-Behnken design and face-centered CCD as well as wrong designs. Besides, the issues concerning the selection of factors and responses are discussed. The article is helpful for researchers to comprehensively understand the CCD and facilitates the rational application of this method.

Objective To study the osteogenic effects of induced endothelial cell(EC)on bone marrow stromal cells(BMSCs)of rabbits in co-culture condition.Methods BMSCs were obtained from rabbits by density gradient centrifugation.The adhesive ceils were preserved to passage in culture.The cultured cells were divided into four groups:group A(BMSCs),group B(BMSCs osteogenic induction),group C(EC induction)and group D (co-culture of induced BMSCs and EC).The cell morphology,immunofluorescence,cell proliferation,alkaline pbosphatase(ALP)activity,osteocalcin synthesis were observed to determine the effects of induced autologous EC on the osteogenic potential and cellular compatibility of BMSCs.Results The immunochemical staining showed that the BMSCs were induced into EC in group C.The cellular compatibility of BMSCs and EC was good.The ALP activity and osteocalcin content were obviously higher in group D than in any other groups(P＜0.05).The cell proliferation difference was not obvious between groups(P＞0.05).Conclusions The cellular compatibility of induced osteoblasts and induced EC is perfect.The ECs can significantly increase the viability and ALP activity of induced osteoblasts.

Rab1A is a member of the RAB family as a small GTPase and a mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) Activator,which has been well established to mediate vesicular trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus. With increasingly deep research of Rab1A,many researchers discover that Rab1A protein is also involved in mediating signal transduction,cell migration and regulation of autophagy. Meanwhile,aberrant expression of Rab1A has been linked to a range of human diseases as well,including Parkinson's disease,cardiomyopathy,and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease. Recently Rab1A research has gradually shifted to its role in occurrence and development of tumor,and researchers also discover that Rab1A was abnor-mally expressed in many malignant tumors such as tonguesquamous carcinoma,breast cancer,human lung cancer,hepatocellular carci-noma,colorectal cancer,gastric cancer and cervical cancer. Besides that,over expression of Rab1A plays a significant role in the pro-gression of different tumors. This article summarizes the research progress of Rab1A intumor development and signaling pathways.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the biomechanical differences between the surgery and adjacent segments of intervertebral discs in the lower lumbar spine, which were implanted with Coflex into the segments of L4, and L5S1, respectively.

METHODSThree finite-element models (the model of the intact lower lumbar sacrum,the L4.5 and L5S1 segments implanted by Coflex) were developed, respectively. According to the spinal three-column loading theory, three models were forced by the physiological loads of upright standing, flexion and extension. The stress of the different areas of the disc annulus, the changes of intervertebral dorsal height and the degree of nucleus pulposus pressure were compared and analyzed.

RESULTSCoflex implanted into the L4.5 and L5S1 segments in compression and extension could both decrease the stress of the posterior area of intervertebral disc in the surgery segment, resist the changes of the intervertebral disc dorsal height and reduce the perssure of nucleus pulposus. Furthermore, the stress of the L5S1 segment decreased when Coflex fixed the L4.5 segment in extension. However, when Coflex fixed the L5S1 segment, the stress of L4.5 segment had no significant changes.

CONCLUSIONCoflex fixing the L4,5 and L5S1 segments can effectively decrease the stress of the surgery segmental discs, respectively. Furthermore, Coflex fixing L4,5 segment may play a biomechanical role in reducing the stress of L5S1 segment.

Adult ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Intervertebral Disc ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Stress, Mechanical

UNLABELLEDTo evaluate the detection rate of myocardial bridging by 64-slice spiral CT coronary angiography.

METHODSThe data of 3011 patients with suspected coronary artery disease undergoing 64-slice spiral CT coronary angiography were collected and analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSA total of 174 cases (5.8%) with myocardial bridging were detected by 64-slice spiral CT coronary angiography, among which 168 (96.6%) had single foci of involvement and 6 (3.4%) had were multiple foci. Involvement of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was detected in 167 out of the 174 cases (96.0%). The length of the myocardial bridge varied between 5 and 120 mm (mean of 30.5 mm), and the depth of the tunneled artery ranged between 1.3 and 2.8 mm (mean 2.3 mm). Seventy-nine of the cases (45.4%) had uncomplicated myocardial bridging and 95 (54.6%) had myocardial bridging complicated by coronary atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONMulti-slice spiral CT coronary angiography is a reliable and noninvasive modality for diagnosis of myocardial bridging to allow direct measurement of the length and depth of the myocardial bridge and detection of concurrent coronary and cardiac lesions.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Coronary Angiography ; methods ; Coronary Artery Disease ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Bridging ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods

Computer Graphics ; Computer-Assisted Instruction ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Pathology ; education ; Pathology, Clinical ; Specimen Handling ; methods

AIMThe protecting effect of human-derived neurotrophin-6 (NT-6) on injured neurons was investigated to test the neurobiological characteristics of human-derived NT-6.

METHODSAdult SD rats were used and divided into two groups, normal control group and experiment group. The right facial nerve of the experimental rats was sectioned. The experimental animals were subdivided into three groups, blank control group, NT-6 group and saline control group. The rats were raised for two weeks. Brain stem of the rats was removed and transversely sliced. Nissle stain and ChAT immunohistochemical stain of the slices were carried out to observe the role of NT-6 in protecting facial motoneurons.

RESULTSThe number of the ChAT positive neurons and the intensity of Nissle stain in the facial nucleus of NT-6 group were significantly augmented compared with that of the blank and saline control groups.

CONCLUSIONThe human-derived NT-6 could partially protect the facial motoneurons from retrograde degeneration induced by their axon damage.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Facial Nerve ; cytology ; Humans ; Motor Neurons ; drug effects ; pathology ; Nerve Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo explore the central mechanism of moxibustion on analgesic effect.

METHODSMale Wistar rats were screened by pain threshold value before making model, and 48 rats whose pain threshold was (250 +/- 25) g were selected. Twelve male Wistar rats were randomly selected as a normal group. For the rest rats the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) model was duplicated by raising in a windy, cold and wet environment combined with injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), and then they were randomly divided into a model group, a moxibustion group and a moxa volatile oil group, 12 rats in each group. The moxibustion and the moxa volatile oil igroup were treated with moxibustion and moxa volatile oil at "Shenshu"(BL 23) and "Zusanli"(ST 36), respectively, for 15 days. No interventions were added on the model group and the normal group. The pain threshold in Iinjured foot and the expression of hypothalamic POMC mRNA and PDYN mRNA in rats were observed.

RESULTSCompared with the normal group, the pain threshold and the expression of hypothalamic POMC mRNA and PDYN mRNA in the model group were increased (all P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the pain threshold and the expression of hypothalamic POMC mRNA and PDYN mRNA in the moxibustion group were increased significantly (all P < 0.01), but no statistically significance in the moxa volatile oil group (P > 0.05). Compared with the moxa volatile oil group, the above-mentioned observative indices in moxibustion group were all increased significantly (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONMoxibustion has obvious analgesic effect and its mechanism may be related to the increasing expression of hypothalamic POMC and PDYN mRNA through the warming effect of moxibustion.

Animals ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Enkephalins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Male ; Moxibustion ; Pro-Opiomelanocortin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Precursors ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar