In total, 607 bedridden patients aged 60 years and over at Tianlin community hospital and four other hospitals or at home-care in Shanghai were investigated with questionnaire, physical examinations and related laboratory tests. Contents of investigation include general situation, medical conditions, 24-hour recall of diet, intake of nutritional supplement preparation, and so on. As compare to the reference for nutrient intake of the elderly set in the Guide to Diet for Chinese Residents (2007), total nutritional intake was obviously insufficient and three nutrients in diet were imbalanced for most bedridden elderly patients. Intake of most nutrients (including proteins, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium,copper, magnesium, phosphor, retinol equivalent, vitamin B1 , vitamin B2, vitamin C) was obviously low in bedridden elderly patients, with a larger gap from the requirements of the Dietary Guide.

OBJECTIVETo compare the effect of reinforcing Shen method (RSM) and activating blood method (ABM) in treating osteoarthritis (OA) at the molecular level.

METHODSThe physical and chemical characteristics of components from respective recipes of RSM and ABM, and network features of component-target interaction network were analyzed by computer simulation methods including chemical space, molecular docking, and biological network, etc.

RESULTSThe chemical components of RSM and ABM were scarcely scattered with larger overlapping. Among established networks, the distribution of network features was partially similar in RSM and ABM. The average target number correlated with each component was 1.86 in RSM and 2.11 in ABM respectively. Each average target number was respectively correlated with 4.46 compounds and 3.93 compounds, reflecting multi-component and multi-target actions.

CONCLUSIONComputer simulation could intuitively trace out similarities and differences of two different methods and their interaction with targets, which revealed that the compatibility of RSM and ABM could have broader protein targets and potential synergism at the molecular level.

Computer Simulation ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Osteoarthritis ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; methods

Objective To investigate the relationship between myocardial ischemia and slow coronary flow phenomenon with 99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) adenosine myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging. Methods Forty-four patients were divided to three groups according to the result of coronary angiography(CAG). There were GAG-positive(P-GAG) (n=12),slow coronary flow (CSF) (n =22),and normal coronary flow (NCF) (n = 10). Results of adenosine myocardial perfusion imaging were compared among these three groups. Semi-quantitative visual scoring method was used to evaluate the myocardial perfusion:0 = normal,1 = mild decrease,2 = moderate decrease,3 = severe decrease,4 = defect. Statistical analysis was performed using variance analysis,t-test and x2-test. Results No significance was observed at age ( t =0.27,0. 54 and 0. 59),sex (x2 = 0. 92),hypertension,hyperlipemia and diabetes (x2 = 1.23,all P ＞ 0.05 ) among the three groups. A significantly higher frames of the coronary thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow was noted in CSF than in NCF groups (33.7 ±5.5 vs 17.6 ±3.9,t = 9. 58,P ＜0. 001 ). The positive adenosine myocardial perfusion imaging rate were significant among these three groups with 100% (12/12) in P-CAG group,77.3% (17/22) in CSF group,and 20% (2/10) in NCF group. When using semi-quantitative visual scoring method,significantly higher average ischemia segments were noted in CSF group than in NCF group ( 1.06 ± 0.77 and 0. 91 ± 0.80,t = - 2. 02,P ＜ 0. 05 ),but was less than that in P-CAG group (2.41 ±0.79,t =4. 54,P ＜0.001 ). The degree of ischemia of CSF group was higher than that in NCF group ( 8.01 ± 6.06,and 2.73 ± 2.60,t = - 2.07,P ＜ 0.05 ) and was less than that in P-CAG group (14. 07 ±12. 77 ,t=1.44,P＞0. 05). Conclusion Slow coronary flow phenomenon can be detected by adenosine myocardial perfusion image to offer the evidence of diagnosis and treatment for the chest pain patients with negative coronary angiography results.

OBJECTIVETo study the genetic diversity of medicinal Dendrobium by SRAP.

METHODThe genetic diversity of 9 spices Dendrobium was studied by using the optimized SRAP reaction system. The NTSYS software was used to analyze the markers.

RESULTForty primer pairs were selected from 88 amplified 1 782 polymorphic bands with an average of 44.55 polymorphic bands per primer pair. Cluster analysis using UPGMA method based on the data of SRAP amplified bands by 40 primer pairs showed that 9 spices of could be distinguished into two main groups. Jaccard's similarity coefficient ranged from 0.330 2-0.789 2.

CONCLUSIONThe results of this research indicate that SRAP molecular marker is efficient to study the medical Dendrobium genetic diversity.

Dendrobium ; classification ; genetics ; Genetic Variation ; genetics ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; methods ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal ; classification ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the different effects of Shengmai injection on testicular injury after testis torsion/detorsion in rats of different ages.

METHODSSixteen healthy male SD rats aged 3, 6 and 12 weeks were equally randomized into an experimental group (testicular torsion/detorsion plus Shengmai injection) and a control group (testicular torsion/detorsion plus saline). The rat models of testicular torsion were killed 24 h after surgery for the measurement of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the testis.

RESULTSCompared with the controls, the 3- and 6-week-old rats of the experimental group showed no significant changes in T-AOC, SOD activity and MDA content (P > 0.05), while the 12-week-old experimental rats exhibited a remarkable increase in SOD and T-AOC and an obvious decrease in MDA content (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONShengmai injection has a protective effect against acute ischemia-reperfusion testicular injury after torsion/detorsion in rats, but the effect varies with the age, more obvious in older ones.

Animals ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Testis ; drug effects ; injuries ; metabolism

This study was purposed to investigate the immunological effects of modified dendritic cells (DCs) in inducing cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) effect against lymphoma cells. The DCs were derived from human peripheral blood and transfected with recombined adenovirus vector carrying survivin gene, Western blot was used to detect the expression of survivin, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release test was used to determine the cytotoxicity of CTLs, the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was used to measure the ability to proleferate allo-lymphocyte by DCs, ELISA was used to assay IL-12 level in supernatant. The results showed that the expression of survivin in transfected dentritic cells was confirmed by Western blot analysis. In MLR assay, DCs transfected with Ad-survivin could induce higher allogeneic lymphocytes reaction at the ratios of 1:5, 1:10, 1:50 and 1:100. DCs transfected with Ad-survivin had much higher activity of CTL to CA46 cells than control DCs. The levels of IL-12 of supernatants containing DCs transfected with Ad-survivin were significantly higher than that in the control group. It is concluded that DCs transfected with Ad-survivin can induce CTL response in vitro against lymphoma cells.
Adenoviridae ; genetics ; metabolism ; Apoptosis ; immunology ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Interleukin-12 ; metabolism ; Lymphoma ; immunology ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; Recombination, Genetic ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The activities of enzymes responsible for lignification in pepper, pre-inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus of Glomus intraradices and/or infection with pathogenic strain of Phytophthora capsici, and the biological control effect of G. intraradices on Phytophthora blight in pepper were investigated. The experiment was carried out with four treatments: (1) plants pre-inoculated with G. intraradices (Gi), (2) plants pre-inoculated with G. intraradices and then infected with P. capsici (Gi+Pc), (3) plants infected with P. capsici (Pc), and (4) plants without any of the two microorganisms (C). Mycorrhizal colonization rate was reduced by about 10% in pathogen challenged plants. Root mortality caused by infection of P. capsici was completely eliminated by pre-inoculation with antagonistic G. intraradices. On the ninth day after pathogen infection, Peroxidase (POD) activity increased by 116.9% in Pc-treated roots but by only 21.2% in Gi+Pc-treated roots, compared with the control, respectively. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities gradually increased during the first 3 d and dramatically decreased in Pc-treated roots but slightly decreased in Gi+Pc-treated roots, respectively. On the ninth day after pathogen infection, PPO and PAL decreased by 62.8% and 73.9% in Pc-treated roots but by only 19.8% and 19.5% in Gi+Pc-treated roots, compared with the control, respectively. Three major POD isozymes (45,000, 53,000 and 114,000) were present in Pc-treated roots, while two major bands (53,000 and 114,000) and one minor band (45,000) were present in spectra of Gi+Pc-treated roots, the 45,000 POD isozyme was significantly suppressed by G. intraradices, suggesting that the 45,000 POD isozyme was induced by the pathogen infection but not induced by the antagonistic G. intraradices. A 60,000 PPO isozyme was induced in Pc-treated roots but not induced in Gi+Pc-treated roots. All these results showed the inoculation of antagonistic G. intraradices alleviates root mortality, activates changes of lignification-related enzymes and induces some of the isozymes in pepper plants infected by P. capsici. The results suggested that G. intraradices is a potentially effective protection agent against P. capsici.
Capsicum ; cytology ; enzymology ; microbiology ; Lignin ; metabolism ; Pest Control, Biological ; methods ; Phyllachorales ; cytology ; physiology ; Phytophthora ; cytology ; physiology ; Plant Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of liver X receptor (LXR) agonist on adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) implantation into infarcted hearts of mice.

METHODAD-MSC(Fluc+) which stably expressed firefly luciferase (Fluc) were isolated from β-actin-Fluc transgenic mice and characterized by flow cytometry. Male FVB mice were randomly allocated into the following four groups (n = 10 each): (1) sham group; (2) MI + PBS group; (3) MI + AD-MSC(Fluc+) group; (4) MI + AD-MSC(Fluc+) + LXR agonist (T0901317) group. AD-MSC(Fluc+) or PBS were injected intramyocardial into peri-infarcted region of mice heart after permanent left anterior descending (LAD) artery ligation. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was performed for quantification of injected cells retention and survival. Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography.

RESULTSThe AD-MSC(Fluc+) were positive for CD44 and CD90 by flow cytometry. BLI evidenced the firefly luciferase expression of AD-MSC(Fluc+) which was positively correlated with cell numbers (r(2) = 0.98). The results of BLI in vivo revealed that LXR agonist could improve the survival of AD-MSC(Fluc+) at day 7, 14 and 21 after transplantation compared with AD-MSC(Fluc+) alone group. Cardiac function was further improved in combination therapy group compared with AD-MSC(Fluc+) alone group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSLXR agonist T0901317 can improve the retention and survival of intramyocardial injected AD-MSC(Fluc+) post-MI, and the combination therapy of T0901317 and AD-MSC(Fluc+) has a synergetic effect on improving cardiac function in this model.

Animals ; Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated ; therapeutic use ; Liver X Receptors ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Myocardial Infarction ; mortality ; surgery ; Orphan Nuclear Receptors ; agonists ; Sulfonamides ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

Aim To observe the protective effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury of cardiac myocytes and its mechanisms.Methods H9c2 cardiac myocytes were cultured in vitro and randomly divided into five groups:normal group(N group),H/R group,EGCG low dose group (L group),EGCG medium dose group (M group),and EGCG high dose group(H group).The cardiomyocyte H/R injury model was established and EGCG was pretreated.Cell survival rate was tested by CCK-8 method.The cell apoptotic rate was detected using Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining.The contents of total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) in cell culture medium were tested according to the kit instructions.The protein expression of Akt and p-Akt was observed using Western blot,while the gene expressions of PI3K,Akt,caspase3 were detected by using fluorescence quantitative PCR method.Results Compared with model group,EGCG increased cell survival rate and reduced the apoptosis after H/R injury.Meanwhile,pretreatment EGCG improved the activity of T-AOC,reduced the level of TNF-α,up-regulated the expression of PI3K,Akt and p-Akt,and down-regulated the expression of caspase3.Conclusion EGCG reduces apoptosis and protects cardiac myocytes by influencing PI3K/Akt signal path

BACKGROUNDOssification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is being increasingly recognized as a cause of thoracic myelopathy. This study was to describe a rare clinical entity of spinal cord kinking (SK) in thoracic myelopathy secondary to OLF.

METHODSThe data of 95 patients with thoracic myelopathy secondary to OLF were analyzed retrospectively. The incidence and location of SK were determined using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The clinical presentation and radiological characteristics in patients with SK were analyzed. Posterior en bloc laminectomy with OLF was performed, and the surgical results were evaluated.

RESULTSSK was found in seven patients (7.4%) based on preoperative MRI. The patients included one male and six females with an average age of 55.6 years (range, 48-64 years). Five patients presented with radiculomyelopathy and two presented with typical thoracic myelopathy of spastic paraparesis. In all cases, the kinking was located just above the end of the spinal cord where the conus medullaris (CM) was compressed by the OLF. The degree of SK varied from mild to severe. The tip of the CM was located between the upper third of T11 to the lower third of L1, above the lower edge of L1. With an average follow-up of 30.4 months, the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score significantly improved from 5.7 ± 1.8 preoperatively to 8.9 ± 1.4 postoperatively (t = 12.05; P < 0.0001) with an improvement rate of 63.1 ± 12.3%.

CONCLUSIONSSK is a rare radiological phenomenon. It is typically located at the thoracolumbar junction, where the CM is compressed by the OLF. Our findings indicate that these patients may benefit from a posterior decompressive procedure.

Female ; Humans ; Ligamentum Flavum ; pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ossification, Heterotopic ; complications ; Radiography ; Spinal Cord Compression ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; etiology ; surgery