A HPLC method was established to determine the contents of the five anthraquinones and rhaponticin in the different varieties of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma. The difference existed in different varieties. The results showed that rhein and rhaponticin were marker substances which could be used to distinguish palm leaf groups rhubarb and wave leaf groups rhubarb. Authentic rhubarb didn't contain rhaponticin. Falsify rhubarb contains trace amounts of rhein. Rheum tanguticum contains abundant rhein. The ratio value of the content of rhein to chrysophanol could be used to distinguish R. tanguticum from the other two authentic varieties (R. palmatum and R. officinale). The content of rhaponticin varied largely in different varieties of wave leaf groups rhubarb.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Rheum ; chemistry ; classification ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; classification

Objective·To construct C-shaped cartilage rings by rabbit auricular cartilage-derived chondrocytes combing with both electrospun gelatin/ polycaprolactone(GT/PCL) nanofibrous membranes and 3D printed supporters for repairing tracheal cartilage defects.Methods·Primary chondrocytes were isolated from rabbit auricular cartilage with methods of trypsin enzyme digestion and collagenase enzyme digestion.After proliferation in vitro,the chondrocytes of passage 2 were harvested for further experiments.Ultrafine composite fibers of GT/PCL were fabricated via electrospinning.The electrospun GT/PCL membranes were tailored into rectangle shape,the length of which is 12 cm and the width is 2.5 cm.Chondrocytes were seeded on membrane at a density of 1 × 108 cells/mL.Then the membrane were rolled onto a 3D printed supporter of poly(DL-lactide-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) material to construct a C-shaped cartilage-like complex.After 8 weeks of subcutaneous incubation in vivo,gross inspection and paraffin section staining were applied for evaluation.Results·After 8 weeks of culture in vivo,mature cartilage-like tissue were formed with open-cylindrical bellow appearance and pecific mechanical property.C-shaped rings arranged at regular intervals on the inner surface of tissue,which were similar to the normal structure of tracheal cartilages.Histological and immunohistological staining showed a large number of typical lacunar structures and extracellular matrix secretions.Conclusion·It is feasible to construct tissue engineered C-shaped cartilage tissue by combing chondrocytes with GT/PCL membrane and 3D printed PLCL supporter for tracheal cartilage repair.

Objective To explore the efficacy,mechanism and safety of silibinin combined with Ruangan pills(a Chinese herbal preparation)in the treatment of schistosomiasis liver fibrosis. Methods A total of 200 patients with schistosomiasis liver fibrosis were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group,and 100 patients in each group were respectively admin-istered with oral silibinin alone and oral silibinin combined with Ruangan pills,respectively. The curative effects in the two groups were evaluated in 3 months,6 months,9 months and 12 months respectively. Results The common five clinical symptoms of schistosomiasis liver fibrosis patients significantly relieved in the treatment group 12 months after the therapy,and the total effi-ciency reached more than 75%,which were significantly higher than that in the control group. In the treatment group and the con-trol group,there was no improvement in the liver B ultrasonic classification 3 months and 6 months after the therapy(P>0.05);however,in 9 months and 12 months,the liver B ultrasonic classification in the treatment group was better than that in the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01,respectively). For the four serum indexes of liver fibrosis,there was no significant differences between the two groups in 3 months,however,in 6 months,9 months,and 12 months,there was a significant improvement in the treat-ment group compared with the control group. There were no obviously adverse effects in two groups. Conclusion Silibinin com-bined with Ruangan pills has a better curative effect in the treatment of schistosomiasis liver fibrosis.

During the dilute acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials such as corn stover, hemicellulose is hydrolyzed into monosaccharides, and meanwhile, toxic by-products are simultaneously generated, which may influence ethanol fermentation thereafter. Studies on the inhibitory effects of the by-products on ethanol fermentation are of practical use for further improvement of ethanol yield from lignocellulosic materials. Five by-products, including acetic acid, formic acid, vanillin, furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, were identified to be the main components in the hydrolysate of dilute acid pretreatment of local corn stover, which were added into the medium at different concentrations to study their impacts on the growth and ethanol fermentation of a recombinant xylose-utilizing yeast strain, S. cerevisiae 6508-127. The ethanol production was inhibited by formic acid and acetic acid to a lesser extent than that to the growth, and formic acid was shown to be much more toxic than acetic acid, showing severe inhibitory effects at the concentration of 1g/L, half of the concentration for acetic acid which showed remarkably negative effects on ethanol fermentation. Vanillin caused a much longer lag-phase in growth when the concentration was 2g/L, and the lag-phase was not obvious at lower concentrations. At the concentration of 6g/L, vanillin completely inhibited the fermentation as well as the cell growth. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural was showed to remarkably inhibit ethanol production, but the biomass yield was higher by exogenous addition of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural than control. Furfural at 0.5~1.5g/L inhibited the cell growth, but the ethanol yield was higher than that of the control experiment. It was also found that vanillin, furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural could be assimilated and metabolized by S. cerevisiae 6508-127 under the experimental conditions.

OBJECTIVETo observe pathohistological features of vulnerable plaques in coronary arteries.

METHODSAutopsy coronary samples from 67 patients died of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 60 patients of non-cardiac death from 1992 to 2006 in Beijing Hospital were examined. Morphological features of vulnerable plaques of ACS cases were evaluated in terms of thrombus, ratio of lipid core, the minimal thickness of fibrous cap and the density of inflammatory infiltration.

RESULTS(1) There are 305 plaques in ACS group and the incidence of big lipid core is 153 (50.16%), thin fibrous cap is 187(61.31%), inflammatory infiltration is 263 (86.23%), neovasculature conformation is 217 (71.15%), severe stenosis is 26 (8.52%), calcification is 238 (78.03%), superficial calcified nodule is 26 (8.52%), fissured plaque is 12 (3.93%), endothelial denudation is 3 (0.98%) and intraplaque hemorrhage is 54 (17.70%), which are significantly higher than control samples except endothelial denudation (P < 0.01). (2) The incidence of vulnerable plaques in ACS group is significantly higher than in the control group (89.51% vs. 21.98%, P < 0.01). There are 4.07 sections of vulnerable plaques with high density of inflammatory infiltration out of 4.55 sections reviewed in ACS patients, while there are 0.85 sections of vulnerable plaques with mild inflammatory infiltration out of 3.87 sections reviewed in the control cases.

CONCLUSIONSFormation of vulnerable plaque was an important pathological factor for the development of ACS. The major morphological characteristics of vulnerable plaque are big lipid core, thin fibrous cap, inflammatory infiltration, neovascularization, severe stenosis, plaque rupture, and endothelial denudation suggesting inflammation performed an important role in the formation of vulnerable plaque.

Acute Coronary Syndrome ; pathology ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; pathology

A continuous ethanol fermentation system composed of three-stage tanks in series coupled with two sedimentation tanks was established. A self-flocculating yeast strain developed by protoplast fusion from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe was applied. Two-stage enzymatic hydrolysate of corn powder containing 220g/L of reducing sugar, supplemented with 1.5g/L (NH4)2HPO4 and 2.5g/L KH2PO4, was used as the ethanol fermentation substrate and fed into the first fermentor at the dilution rate of 0.057h(-1). The yeast flocs separated by sedimentation were recycled into the first fermentor as two different models: activation-recycle and direct recycle. The quasi-steady states were obtained for both operation models after the fermentation systems experienced short periods of transitions. Activation process helped enhance the performance of ethanol fermentation at the high dilution rates. The broth containing more than 101g/L ethanol, 3.2g/L residual reducing sugar and 7.7g/L residual total sugar was produced. The ethanol productivity was calculated to be 5.77g/(L x h), which increased by more than 70% compared with that achieved in the same tank in series system without recycling of yeast cells.
Biomass ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; Fermentation ; Flocculation ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate the running status of the water-improving projects in Gansu Province in order to further improve the supervising mechanism and raise the efficiency of defluoridation in drinking water.Methods The water-improving projects,either being normal,or intermittent,or discarded and the cause of abnormal running in 33 counties in Gansu Province were surveyed with unified standard method.Fluoride content in water was determined by F-ion selective electrode.Results 993 water improving projects covering 3389 fluorosis villages were surveyed,682 projects worked well[68.68%(682/993)]and had supplied water with normal fluoride contents to 2174 villages[64.15%(2174/3389)]and benefited 116.56 hundred thousand populations.And the rest 311[31.32%(311/993)]projects worked abnormally or supplied unqualified fluoride water.The main causes were the exceeded lasting life,insufficiency of water resources,high fluoride content in water and unqualified administration.Conclusions Most of the water-improving projects in Gansu Province are basically running normally,but about 1/3 of the projects do not function well,so the management of the projects must be improved and consummated.

Objective To observe the expression and localization of CIP4 (Cdc42 interacting protein-4) in the renal fibrosis and the effect of CIP4 on the expression of E-cadherin,vimentin and β-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation. Methods In vitro, the human tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cell line) were cultured with 10 μg / L TGF-β1 for 72 h. The protein expressions of CIP4, E-cadherin, vimentin and β-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation were measured by Western blotting; the expression of CIP4 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The intracellular distribution of CIP4 was observe by confocal microscope. In vivo, Masson staining was used to evaluate the level of renal fibrosis; the expression and distribution of CIP4 in renal tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. HK-2 cells were transfected with pcDNA3. 1-CIP via lipofectamine 2000. The expressions of E-cadherin, vimentin and β-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation level in the transfected cells were detected by Western blotting. Results The expressions of CIP4 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in renal tubular EMT cells. Most of CIP4 protein localized in cell membrane, and some was in cytoplasm. After stimulation by TGF-β1, the expression of CIP4 protein both in cytoplasm and nucleus was greatly increased (P ＜0.05),especially in cytoplasm. In vivo, CIP4 was expressed in renal tubular epithelia, but little expressed in glomeruli. In renal from 5/6 nephrectomized rats, CIP4 expression was significantly increased. In the CIP4 transfectants, the expression of CIP4, vimentin and β-catenin tyrosine phosphorylation level were up-regulated (P ＜0.05), but E-cadherin expression was suppressed (P ＜0.05).Conclusion The overexpression of CIP4 is likely to take part in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process, thereby promoting the renal fibrosis.

Objective To observe the effect of CIP4(Cdc42 interacting protein 4)on human renal tubular epithelial to mesenchymal transition(EMT)induced by transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1)and to study the associated mechanism. Methods Human proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cell line) were cultured with TGF-β1 (10μg/L) for 72 hours. The protein expressions of E-cadherin and α-SMA were measured by Western blotting. One set of siRNA oligos specific for CIP4 and CIP4 construction of the entire coding sequence were designed based on the full CIP4 sequence in GenBank. Then HK-2 cells were transfected with CIP4-siRNA or pcDNA3.1-hCIP4 via lipofactamine 2000. The protein expressions of CIP4, E-cadherin and α-SMA were evaluated respectively in control cells, TGF-β1 treated cells, siRNA transfected cells, pcDNA3.1-hCIP4-transfected cells by Western blotting. The distribution of E-cadherin and α-SMA was observed by confocal microscope. After TGF-β1-treated HK-2 cells were interferenced with specific inhibitor of PI3K-Akt (wortmannin) 1μmol/L for 48 hours, Western blotting was used to detect the CIP4 protein in control cells and interferenced cells. Results With TGF-β1 stimulation, the expression of E-cadherin protein was decreased markedly (P＜0.05), and in contract, the expression of α-SMA were increased notably (P＜0.05), which revealed that TGF-β1 could induce EMT. After transfected with CIP4-siRNA, the protein expression of E-cadherin was increased (P＜0.05), and the protein expression of α-SMA was decreased (P＜0.05). The EMT induced by TGF-β1 was effectively reversed. After transfected with pcDNA3.1-hCIP4, the expression of E-cadherin protein was down-regnlated (P＜0.05), and the expression of α-SMA protein was up-regulated compared with control group (P＜0.05), leading to EMT. After HK-2 cells were interferenced with wortmannin for 48 hours, the expression of CIP4 was decreased (P＜0.05). Conclusion TGF-β1 upregulates the expression of CIP4 via PI3K-Akt pathway, and CIP4 may participate in EMT induced by TGF-β1.

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) gene mutations and the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

METHODSThe whole coding region of C/EBPalpha gene were screened in 48 cases of AML and 11 normal subjects by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and sequencing.

RESULTSC/EBPalpha mutations were detected in 5 of 48 AML patients. Four duplications and 1 deletion were confirmed by DNA sequencing. All of those are newly identified mutations.

CONCLUSIONSDifferent mutation types of C/EBPalpha gene exist in a small number of patients with AML and might be related to the pathogenesis of some leukemias.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha ; genetics ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation