Objective To explore the effects of the Chinese medicine, modified Erchen decoction, on the serum lipid spectrum of ApoE-/-mice, and to explore its possible anti-atherosclerotic mechanism.Methods Forty-four male 7-8-week old ApoE-/-mice were used in this experiment.ApoE-/-mouse models of atherosclerosis were generated by high-cholesterol diet for 4 weeks.And then, they were given simvastatin or modified Erchen decoction by gavage.The body weight of mice was recorded every week, The mice were sacrificed after treated with the drugs for 8 weeks continuously, and the plasma lipid was determined by enzymatic method.The aortic valves and arches were stained with oil red O to depict atherosclerotic plaques and liver structural changes of the mice were examined by pathology.Results Modified Erchen decoction lowered plasma lipid ( including TCHOL and LDL-C ) significantly ( P<0.01 ) .The body weight was increased in the mice of all groups, but it was more pronounced in the mice of model group than in the blank and modified Erchen decoction groups.The serum CHOL and LDL-C levels were significantly lowered in the modified Erchen decoction group (P<0.01).The area of atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic wall was significantly reduced in the mice of modified Erchen decoction group as shown by oil red O staining.The pathological changes of hepatocytes were less severe and the structure of hepatic lobules was better preserved in the mice of modified Erchen decoction group.Conclusions The Chinese medicin modified Erchen decoction can effectively reduce serum lipids, regulate lipid metabolism, and ameliorate the process of atherosclerosis in ApoE-/-mice.

AIM: To investigate the effects of angiotensin-Ⅱ (Ang-Ⅱ) on the proliferation and collagen synthesis in rat cardiac fibroblasts and the expression of Ang-Ⅱ receptor on fibroblasts. METHODS: [3H]-TdR and [3H]-prolin at different concentrations were incubated with the confluent fibroblasts of newborn rats stimulated by Ang-Ⅱ. Receptor of Ang-Ⅱ on fibroblasts and intracellular free calcium ions were examined by autoradiograms and fluorescence technique. RESULTS: In the presence of Ang-Ⅱstimulation, the increase in incorporation of [3H]-TdR and [3H]-prolin was much higher than that of control in a dose-dependent manner. Autoradiograms showed that Ang-Ⅱ was uniformly distributed over the membrane of the fibroblasts. The silver grains on fibroblasts were obviously decreased after adding unlabeled Ang-Ⅱ by the autoradiograms. The concentration of free calcium ions was increased in fibroblast. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that Ang-Ⅱ promotes fibroblast proliferation and the syntheses of collagen protein, in which Ang-Ⅱ binds to the membrane receptor of fibroblasts to activate the signal system in cells, such as intracellular free calcium ions. [

OBJECTIVETo study the prediction performance evaluation with five kinds of bioinformatics software (SIFT, PolyPhen2, MutationTaster, Provean, MutationAssessor).

METHODSFrom own database for genetic mutations collected over the past five years, Chinese literature database, Human Gene Mutation Database, and dbSNP, 121 missense mutations confirmed by functional studies, and 121 missense mutations suspected to be pathogenic by pedigree analysis were used as positive gold standard, while 242 missense mutations with minor allele frequency (MAF)>5% in dominant hereditary diseases were used as negative gold standard. The selected mutations were predicted with the five software. Based on the results, the performance of the five software was evaluated for their sensitivity, specificity, positive predict value, false positive rate, negative predict value, false negative rate, false discovery rate, accuracy, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTSIn terms of sensitivity, negative predictive value and false negative rate, the rank was MutationTaster, PolyPhen2, Provean, SIFT, and MutationAssessor. For specificity and false positive rate, the rank was MutationTaster, Provean, MutationAssessor, SIFT, and PolyPhen2. For positive predict value and false discovery rate, the rank was MutationTaster, Provean, MutationAssessor, PolyPhen2, and SIFT. For area under the ROC curve (AUC) and accuracy, the rank was MutationTaster, Provean, PolyPhen2, MutationAssessor, and SIFT.

CONCLUSIONThe prediction performance of software may be different when using different parameters. Among the five software, MutationTaster has the best prediction performance.

Computational Biology ; methods ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; methods ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Mutation, Missense ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; genetics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Software

Objective To explore the practice and effect of peer education in improving the empathic ability of in-service nurses. Methods A total of 122 in-service nurses at a tertiary hospital scoring below 60％ in empathy ability, were randomly divided into a control group and a research group by data table method. The nurses in the control group received theoretical training in empathy, and the nurses in the research group participated in peer-educated periodic empathy training activities. The Chinese version of interpersonal response index scale ( IRI-C) , nurses'humanistic care quality table, general self-efficacy scale were used before and after intervention. Results Before the intervention, the scores of the two groups of Chinese version of interpersonal response index scale ( IRI-C) , perspective-taking ( PT) , Fantasies ( FS) , empathic concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD) were not statistically significant (P >0. 05). After intervention, the scores of the two groups of Chinese version of interpersonal response index scale ( IRI-C) , Fantasies ( FS) and Personal Distress ( PD) scores in the research group were all higher than those in the control group (P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in the scoring before and after intervention in the control group (P>0. 05). The total score and personal pain (PD) dimensions of the Chinese version of interpersonal response index scale ( IRI-C) were significantly higher than those before the intervention ( P<0. 01). The total score of nurses' humanistic care quality, the score of humanistic care ability and humanistic care perception were all higher than those before intervention in the study group (P<0. 05), and differences are statistically significant. Conclusions The practice of peer-education empathy training can effectively improve the empathy and humanistic care quality of the in-service nurses, and improve the nursing service level.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of domestic generic and imported original clopidogrel for antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndrome （ACS）. METHODS The clinical data of ACS patients in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital of China Pharmaceutical University from January 2020 to June 2021 were retrospectively collected by using electronic medical record system， and the patients were divided into original drug group （321 cases） and generic drug group （328 cases） according to the drug use. Both groups were given dual antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and aspirin. The effectiveness and safety outcomes of the two groups were followed up for 12 months and compared， the related influential factors were analyzed. RESULTS Major adverse cardiovascular events （MACE） occurred in 16 and 22 patients in original drug group and generic drug group respectively， including nonfatal myocardial infarction （4 and 5 cases）， stroke （2 and 4 cases）， revascularization （8 and 3 cases）， cardiovascular related death （2 and 4 cases）， and all-cause death （4 and 6 cases）. There were 12 and 7 patients with major bleeding events， 38 and 29 patients with minor bleeding events， and 33 and 21 patients with non-bleeding adverse events. There was no statistically significant difference in the cumulative incidence of related events （P values of Log-Rank tests were all greater than 0.05）. Cox regression analysis showed that the use of generic clopidogrel did not increase the risk of MACE and major bleeding events in ACS patients [hazard ratio of 1.305 and 0.416， 95% confidence interval of （0.678， 2.512） and （0.155， 1.117）， respectively， P＞0.05]， and the combination of proton pump inhibitors （PPI） could reduce the risk of major bleeding events [hazard ratio of 0.196， 95% confidence interval of （0.063， 0.611）， P＜0.05]. CONCLUSIONS Compared with imported original drug， domestic generic clopidogrel has similar clinical effectiveness and good safety. Combined use of PPI may be a beneficial factor to reduce the occurrence of major bleeding events in patients.