OBJECTIVE:To provide reference for rational use of antibiotics in terminal stage patients with malignant tumor. METHODS:The inpatients with malignant tumor who died in the department of medical oncology of our hospital from Mar. 2013 to Mar. 2016 were analyzed retrospectively in respects of general situation,infection situation and antibiotics use. RESULTS:Among 149 inpatients,a total of 129 infection cases were found in 113 patients(75.8%). The most frequent sites of infection were lung(65.9%),followed by digestive tract/abdomen(13.2%),and skin/wound(6.2%). 100 patients (67.1%)received antibiot-ics,61.1% of which were empiric treatment. β-lactam/β-lactam lactamase inhibitor(41.8%),fluoroquinolone(21.7%)and cepha-losporin(16.9%)were the top 3 frequently prescribed antibiotics. The effective rate of antibiotics treatment was as low as 15.8%, which was believed to be linked with the survival duration since infection occurred (P<0.001),the Karnofsky performance scale (KPS)score when infection occurred(P<0.001)and the duration of antibiotics treatment(P=0.025). CONCLUSIONS:Terminal stage patients with malignant tumor are vulnerable to infections,especially to pulmonary infection. The empirical broad-spectrum an-tibiotics are widely used in terminal patients with malignant tumor,but the effectiveness rate of antibiotic treatment is in low level. For those terminal stage patients with malignant tumor and with KPS score<60 points,when futile antibiotics treatment last for more than 7 days,timely termination of antibiotics treatment is a better choice.

An effective RT-PCR method was developed to detect exogenous gene xylB transcript levels in Zymomonas mobilis CP4. Total RNAs without genomic DNA contamination were purified from wild-type and gene engineering strains, and were quantified to the same concentration. Then, cDNAs synthesis and PCR analysis of these samples were conducted by reverse transcription PCR. The optimal number of cycles was determined by observing amplification profile of target gene xylB and internal control gene 16s rRNA, and relative expression levels of xylB in various samples were analyzed by RT-PCR. The results indicated that the xylB transcript was not be detected in CP4, however that could be found in recombinant strains, in which xylB transcription abundance was similar. The enzyme assay furthermore confirmed that effective ex-pression of the target gene. The method provided a useful and rapid tool for detecting transcript levels of target genes from various samples of Z. mobilis.

Background Glaucoma is primarily characterized by the damage of retinal ganglion cells.The macular ganglion cell complex (GCC)thickness can be quantitatively measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography(SD-OCT). Objective This clinical study was to explore the macular GCC thickness change in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patient with SD-OCT. Methods A serial case-controlled study was designed.A total 101 eyes of 101 POAG patients and 41 normal eyes of 41 age- and refract power-matched normal subjects were cnrolled in the study.POAG patients were assigned to normal perimetry POAG group,early stage POAG group,advanced POAG group and late stage POAG group.Average macular GCC thickness(GCC-Avg),superior GCC thickness(GCC-Sup) and inferior GCC thickness (GCC-Inf)of subjects were measured by SD-OCT and compared among POAG patients and normal controls.Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL) thickness was measured with time domain OCT(TD-OCT).The correlation between GCC thickness with RNFL thickness or mean deviation(MD) of perimetry were evaluated and analyzed.Informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to entering this study.Results GCC-Avg thickness,GCC-Sup thickness and GCC-Inf thickness were significantly decreased in the normalperimetry POAG group and early stage POAG group compared with the normal control group (GCC-Avg:t =5.411,10.247,P ＜ 0.01 ; GCC-Sup:t =6.171,9.484,P＜ 0.01 ; GCC-Inf:t =5.281,8.592,P ＜ 0.01 ).Also,GCC-Avg thickness,GCC-Sup thickness and GCC-Inf thickness were significantly decreased in the advanced POAG group compared with the early stage POAG group ( GCC-Avg:t =4.246,P＜0.01 ; GCC-Sup:t - 2.419,P - 0.019 ; GCC-Inf:t =4.636,P＜0.01 ),and GCC-Avg thickness,GCC-Sup thickness and GCC-Inf thickness were significantly decreased in the late stage POAG group compared with the advanced POAG group (GCC-Avg:t=2.095,P=0.040;GCC-Sup:t=2.756,P＜0.01:GCC-Inf:t =2.018,P =0.040 ).The positive correlations were seen between GCC-Avg thickness,GCC-Sup thickness,GCC-Inf thickness and RNFL-Avg thickness,RNFL-Sup thickness,RNFL-Inf thickness respectively( r =0.802,0.825,0.856,P ＜ 0.01 ).MD value of perimetry was positive correlated with GCC-Avg thickness in POAG patients ( r =0.601,P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusions SD-OCT can quantitatively measure and differentiate the GCC thickness in POAG patients.The GCC thickness gradually decreases with the development of POAG.There exist a well correlation between visual field defect and RNFL thinning.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney ; pathology ; Kidney Neoplasms ; pathology

Four salts of ticagrelor, ticagrelor-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid, ticagrelor-pyrazinamide, ticagrelor-D-proline and ticagrelor-L-proline were prepared by solvent suspension and liquid-assisted grinding to improve the solubility of ticagrelor. The compounds were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and the intermolecular salt-bonding forces were analyzed. The equilibrium solubility of salts and pure drug in hydrochloride buffer pH 1.2 and phosphate buffer pH 6.8 were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Ticagrelor was salted with 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid, pyrazinamide, D-proline, L-proline all in a stoichiometric ratio of 1∶1; with the exception of ticagrelor-D-proline, the solubility of the other three salts provided significantly improved solubility in hydrochloride buffer pH 1.2, and the equilibrium solubility of ticagrelor-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid was increased by approximately 1.7 folds as compared to pure drug. Salt-forming technology is convenient and can improve the solubility of ticagrelor.

This research explored the synergistic effects and the potential mechanisms of RCE-4 and various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the proliferation of cervical cancer Ca Ski cells. The MTT assay and CalcuSyn V2.0 software were used to detect cell proliferation and calculate the combination index (CI); the expression levels of various proteins were analyzed using Western blot assay; mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was assessed using JC-1 staining; acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double-fluorescence staining was used to detect the apoptosis of Ca Ski cells; a co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay was used to analyze the relative content of Bcl-2-Beclin 1 complex in Ca Ski cells. The results demonstrate that the combination of RCE-4 and NSAIDs increases the inhibition of Ca Ski cells compared to the single-RCE-4 group, and celecoxib provided the best synergistic effect among the four NSAIDs tested, with a CI of 0.32. The combination of RCE-4 and celecoxib significantly down-regulated the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB), and promoted the expression of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs activity gene-1 (NAG-1). In addition, autophagy induced by RCE-4 was markedly inhibited in combination with celecoxib, which was associated with down-regulation of the expression of microtubule-associated protein 3 (LC3)-II, Beclin 1, p62 and autophagy-related gene (ATG) 3/4B/5/7/14. RCE-4-induced apoptosis was significantly enhanced by altering the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and the expression of B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), B cell lymphoma-xl (Bcl-xl), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), Bcl-2/Bcl-xl-associated death promoter (Bad) and cleaved cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase (cleaved-caspase) 3/7/9. Furthermore, the formation of the Bcl-2-Beclin 1 complex was significantly inhibited in Ca Ski cells treated with RCE-4 in combination with celecoxib. Taken together, this research shows that the combination of RCE-4 and celecoxib has a significant synergistic effect on the proliferation of Ca Ski cells by promoting apoptosis, inhibiting autophagy and disturbing the formation of the Bcl-2-Beclin 1 complex, which may be a novel strategy to increase the sensitivity of anti-cervical cancer drugs.

To investigate cytotoxic secondary metabolites of Micrococcus sp. R21, an actinomycete isolated from a deep-sea sediment (-6 310 m; 142 degrees 19. 9' E, 10 degrees 54. 6' N) of the Western Pacific Ocean, column chromatography was introduced over silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20. As a result, eight compounds were obtained. By mainly detailed analysis of the NMR data, their structures were elucidated as cyclo(4-hydroxy-L-Pro-L-leu) (1), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Gly) (2), cyclo( L-Pro-L-Ala) (3), cyclo( D-Pro-L-Leu) (4), N-β-acetyltryptamine (5), 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (6), and phenylacetic acid (7). Compound 1 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against RAW264. 7 cells with IC50 value of 9.1 μmol x L(-1).
Animals ; Biological Factors ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Macrophages ; cytology ; drug effects ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mass Spectrometry ; Mice ; Micrococcus ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure ; Phylogeny ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Seawater ; microbiology ; Secondary Metabolism

OBJECTIVETo introduce clinical and mechanism studies about treatment of depression by acupuncture and moxibustion in recent years.

METHODSReview was made from clinical controls, mechanism studies and animal experiments.

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture and moxibustion have definite therapeutic effect on depression, with less adverse effects, but some problems in clinical and mechanism studies remain to be resolved.

Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Depression ; therapy ; Depressive Disorder ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Treatment Outcome

A BBB co-culture cell model consisting of rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and astrocytes (AS) was established to study the effect of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the transport behavior of puerarin across blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro and in vivo. The barrier function of this model was evaluated by measuring the transendothelial resistance, phenol red permeability and BBB related protein expression. The permeability assay and western blot methods were performed to study the effects of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the BBB permeability and the expression of BBB related protein. The animal experiment protocols in this study were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Animal Ethics No.: 2021-1329). The results showed that the established BMEC/AS co-culture model could be used to evaluate drug transport across BBB in vitro. After combined with Angelica dahurica coumarins, the transport capacity of puerarin was significantly increased in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, Angelica dahurica coumarins enhanced BBB permeability and inhibited the protein expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin. Angelica dahurica coumarins might increase BBB permeability by inhibiting the expression of P-gp and tight junction protein, thereby increasing the content of puerarin in brain tissue.

OBJECTIVETo introduce the experience in the treatment of lower eyelid pouches orbital rim.

METHODSAn incision was made along the margin of lower eyelid and dissection was performed under the orbicularis muscle to expose the orbital septum and periosteum of lower orbital rim. The fat released from orbital septum was transposed just below the lower orbital rim and fixed on the periosteum. If lacrimal groove deformity was not corrected completely, the musculocutaneous flap, which may be excised beside the incision, was kept to correct the deformities further with only the muscle portion.

RESULTS72 cases with lower eyelid pouches complicated with lacrimal groove deformities were treated with transposition of orbital fat and orbicularis muscular flaps. Satisfactory results were achieved in all the patients after a follow-up period of 3-6 months.

CONCLUSIONIt is an effective and feasible technique to correct lacrimal groove deformities with transposition of orbital fat and orbicularis muscular flaps.

Adipose Tissue ; transplantation ; Aged ; Blepharoplasty ; methods ; Eyelids ; surgery ; Humans ; Orbit ; Periosteum ; surgery