Objective To investigate the protective effect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on bile duct in grafts against ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury and its potential mechanisms in the animal model of OLTx in miniature swines. Methods After PTX was added to the preservation solution and administrated through hepatic artery, changes of blood flow, activity of ATPase, apoptosis of epithelial cells, and pathomorphology of the bile duct were investigated in the animal model of OLTx in miniature swines. The animals were divided into IR, IR+NS, and IR + PTX groups. Results The results showed that the incidence of biliary necrosis was significantly lower in IR+PTX group than that in IR and IR +NS groups. When compared with those in IR and IR +NS groups, GGT and ALP levels, numbers of apoptosis cells, and scores of pathomorphology were significantly decreased in IR+PTX group, while blood flow, activity of Na +-K +ATPase, Ca 2+ -ATPase of bile duct in grafts were significantly elevated. Conclusion These results suggest that PTX has multiple antagonistic effects against IR injuries of the bile duct. The effects of PTX on bile duct of grafts against IR injuries are possibly correlated with the improvement of the microcirculation, preservation of the ATPase activity of the bile duct, and suppression of the apoptosis of the bile duct cells.

Objective To explore the advantages of the bedside DR,taking the quality analysis of the chest image taken from the bedside digital radiography systems (DR) and computed radiography system (CR).Method All of the 900 pieces chest image taken by bedside DR,compared with the 900 pieces CR image randomly chosen.Results Bedside DR could further reduce the rate of the remake and the radiation dose,and provided more excellent image information.Conclusion The chest image taken by bedside DR has obviously advantage than CR.It can play a positive role in the diagnosis and treatment of the critical patient and surgical patient.

To investigate the metabolic rate and metabolites of 9-dehydro-17-dehydro-andrographolide, which is the main active ingredient in Xiyanping injection, by using the in vitro rat liver microsome incubation system. 9-dehydro-17-dehydro-andrographolide was incubated together with liver microsome mixed with NADPH. Its metabolic rate was studied by determining its residual concentrations with the UHPLC-MS/MS method; Its metabolites were identified by the UPLC-TOF-MS(E) method. The results showed that 9-dehydro-17-dehydro-andrographolide was metabolized faster than rat liver microsomes mixed with coenzymes, with t½ and CL of (19.7 ± 0.5) min and (35.1 ± 0.8) mL x min(-1) x g(-1) (protein), respectively. Based on the high resolution mass spectrum data and information from literatures, altogether nine metabolites of 9-dehydro-17-dehydro-andrographolide were identified in the incubation system, particularly hydroxylated and dehydrogenized products. The results of identification would provide a basis for screening out more active andrographolide derivatives.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Diterpenes ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Microsomes, Liver ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure ; Rats ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) has been one of the most effective treatments for prostate cancer.This study is designed to identify the related predictive risk factors for complications in patients following RRP.Between 2000 and 2012 in Department of Urology,Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center,421 cases undergoing RRP for localized prostate cancer by one surgeon were included in this retrospective analysis.We reviewed various risk factors that were correlated with perioperative complications,including patient characteristics [age,body mass index (BMI),co-morbidities],clinical findings (preoperative PSA level,Gleason score,clinical stage,pathological grade),and surgeon's own clinical practice.Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was used to explain comorbidities.The total rate of perioperative complications was 23.2％ (98/421).There were 45/421 (10.7％),28/421 (6.6％),24/421 (5.7％) and 1/421 (0.2％) in grade Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ respectively,and 323/421 (76.8％) cases had none of these complications.Statistical analysis of multiple potential risk factors revealed that BMI ＞30 (P=0.014),Charlson score ≥1 (P＜0.001) and surgical experience (P=0.0252) were predictors of perioperative complications.Age,PSA level,Gleason score,TNM stage,operation time,blood loss,and blood transfusion were not correlated with perioperative complications (P＞0.05).It was concluded that patients' own factors and surgeons' technical factors are related with an increased risk of development of perioperative complications following radical prostatectomy.Knowing these predictors can both favor risk stratification of patients undergoing RRP and help surgeons make treatment decisions.

This study is to establish the HPLC fingerprint and determine eight components of Callicarpa nudiflora, and provide a scientific basis for the identification and quality control. The Waters sunfire C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 µm) was used and the detection wavelength was 330 nm . The column temperature was 30 °C. The mobile phases were acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% formic acid (B) eluting in a gradient program at a flow rate of 1.0 mL · min(-1). The chromatographic fingerprint similarity evaluation system for tradition Chinese medicine(2012) was used for analysis. C. nudiflora from different samples were of high similarity in fingerprint and the separation of ten components was good. There was an obvious difference between other samples and C. nudiflora leaves. In quantitative analysis, the ten components showed good regression(R2 > 0 999 0) with linear ranges, and their recoveries were in the range of 96.0%-105.0%. The established qualitative and quantitative methods are highly specific, simple and accurate, which can be used for the identification and quality control of C. nudiflora.
Callicarpa ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

OBJECTIVEYoga is becoming more and more popular in the female society while the concomitant sports injury is seldom mentioned. Many clinicians have noted that yoga may result in knee problems, which though requires more researches to corroborate. This investigation was conducted to ascertain the relationship between yoga and meniscus injury as well as the extent of impairment according to variant yoga practice periods.

METHODSTotally 819 women aged 20-49 years who practiced yoga or other popular sports including badminton, jogging, climbing hills, etc for at least one hour per day were selected to participate in this research. These subjects were required to complete a questionnaire and receive relevant physical examination. Magnetic resonance (MR) scan of the knee was recommended for the suspicious subjects for ultimate diagnosis. The subject with abnormal meniscus MR signals was defined as a case and matched with two controls in terms of age and body mass index (BMI). Altogether there were 273 cases and 546 controls. The nested case-control model was adopted to assess the risk of meniscus injury between variant exposures in practicing yoga and several other popular sports. Moreover, the 181 yoga subjects were subdivided into three groups according to different exercise durations, followed by further analysis with the variables of age, BMI and Lysholm score.

RESULTSYoga was found associated with a higher risk (P equal to 0.008, OR equal to 1.621) of meniscus injury compared with badminton, jogging and climbing hills. The three yoga subgroups showed statistical difference between each other in terms of Lysholm score (P equal to 0.027) and BMI (P equal to 0.003). The subjects with longer-term yoga practice had lighter weight but lower Lysholm scores.

CONCLUSIONSYoga perhaps exerts destructive impact on the meniscus for Chinese women, yet it needs further verifications. Furthermore, the female yoga players with longer exercise duration are more susceptible to meniscus injury though they can become leaner.

Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; Motor Activity ; Tibial Meniscus Injuries ; Yoga

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head is frequently observed in patients treated with excessive corticosteroids. However, the pathogenesis of corticosteroid-induced osteonecrosis remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway in steroid-induced femoral head osteonecrosis in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intramuscularly with 20 mg/kg methylprednisolone (MP) for 8 weeks, twice per week. The animals were sacrificed at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the last MP injection, respectively, and then allocated to the 2-, 4- and 8-week model groups (n=24 each). Rats in the control group (n=12) were not given any treatment. Histopathological analysis was performed and the concentration of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) in plasma was determined. The activation of osteoclasts in the femoral head was assessed by TRAP staining. The expression of TLR4, MyD88, TRAF6 and NF-κB p65 that are involved in TLR4 signaling, and MCP-1 production were detected by using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. The results showed that the osteonecrosis in the femoral head was clearly observed and the concentration of TRAP in the plasma was increased in the model rats. The femoral head tissues in MP-treated rats were positive for TRAP and the intensity of TRAP staining was greater in MP-treated rats than in control rats. As compared with the control group, the mRNA expression of TLR4 signaling-related factors was enhanced significantly at 4 and 8 weeks, and the protein levels of these factors increased significantly with time. It was concluded that MP could induce the femoral head osteonecrosis in rats, which was associated with osteoclast activation via the TLR4 signaling pathway. These findings suggest that TLR4 signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of steroid-induced osteonecrosis.

Objective: An UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous determination of acteoside, isoacteoside, and forsythoside B in plasma of rats and the pharmacokinetic parameters for three phenolic glycosides were calculated as well. Methods: Samples of plasma of rats were obtained at different time after rats were administrated with Callicarpa nudiflora extract (5 g/kg). After the addition of acidification (hydrochloric acid, 0.25 mol/L) and deproteinization by acetonitrile, plasma samples were separated on a Phenomenex® Kinetex C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) with gradient elution using acetonitrile-0.005% formic acid as mobile phase. Mass spectrometric detection was carried out by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using electrospray ionization in negative ion mode. Results: A good linearity of acteoside, isoacteoside, and forsythoside B was shown in the ranges of 7.77 - 3 880.00 ng/mL (r2 = 0.995 5), 5.04 - 2 520.00 ng/mL (r2 = 0.994 9), and 1.78 - 890.00 ng/mL (r2 = 0.995 1), respectively. The mean extraction recoveries of analytes were in the range of 75.2% - 89.9%, and the intra- and inter-day RSD values were less than 8.8%. The tmax of acteoside, isoacteoside, and forsythoside B was about 30 min, AUC0~t were (93 881.65 ± 18 326.65), (29 204.97 ± 8 499.88), and (15 027.05 ± 3763.82) ng∙min/mL, Cmax were (2 179.00 ± 355.60), (737.57 ± 210.31), and (227.30 ± 48.38) ng/mL, t1/2z were (235.41 ± 117.90), (151.56 ± 49.23), and (161.68 ± 63.92) min, respectively. Conclusion: The method is proved to be simple, rapid, and specific, and to be suitable for the simultaneous determination of acteoside, isoacteoside, and forsythoside B in plasma of rats and the pharmacokinetic study.

Abstract: Viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is a continuous dynamic process, which can be divided into latent stage, initial stage, peak stage and decreasing stage according to the characteristics of viral shedding. After being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the infected person generally stays in the latent period for 1-3 days, which is characterized by continuous negative nucleic acid test results and no infectiousness, and the risk of infection for close contacts is very low. At the initial stage of viral shedding is characterized by a rapid decline in the Ct value of nucleic acid tests in a short time, and clinical symptoms gradually appear. The infectiousness of the infected person gradually increases during this period, and the risk of infection for close contacts also gradually increases, but it is still in the early stage of infection, the possibility of viral shedding is low, and the risk of infection of secondary close contacts is low. The peak of viral shedding is characterized by low Ct value in nucleic acid test and obvious clinical symptoms; during this period, the infected person is the most infectious, and the risk of infection of the contact is the highest, so the scope of close contacts should be expanded appropriately. The decreasing period is characterized by the gradual increase of Ct value of nucleic acid test and the gradual disappearance of clinical symptoms; during this period, the infectiousness of the infected person gradually decreases to disappear. In an outbreak, an infected person in the decreasing phase is more likely to be an early infected person in the transmission chain. If infected individuals in the decreasing phase are found in an area without a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, it suggests that the local outbreak epidemic has been spreading for some time and may be larger in scale. According to the characteristics of viral shedding, risk personnel can be determined more scientifically and accurately, so as to minimize the risk and reduce the waste of epidemic prevention resources.

AIMTo investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of recombinant human acidic fibroblast growth factor (rhaFGF) after external use in rabbits.

METHODS125I-rhaFGF 180 U.cm-2 was daubed to normal skin and scathed skin in rabbits. The radioactivity and paper chromatography were used to determine the 125I-concentrations and distribution in plasma and organs at different times.

RESULTSThe plasma concentration of 125I-rhaFGF increased rapidily, and reach peak plasma level (73.03 pg.mL-1) thirty minutes after administration. Then the concentration of 125I-rhaFGF decreased quickly after thirty minutes, and approached to zero after three hours. Highest radioactivity accumulated in the skin, followed by kidney, lowest in the brain 96 h after administration.

CONCLUSIONrhaFGF can not be absorbed from the normal skin, whereas a small amount of rhaFGF can be absorbed through scathed skin. The t1/2 of rhaFGF in plasma was very short. Cumulative effect of rhaFGF was not observed. Absorbed rhaFGF showed high affinity to skin, and can be distributed to skin far from the site of administration.

Administration, Cutaneous ; Animals ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Rabbits ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Skin ; injuries ; metabolism ; Skin Absorption ; Tissue Distribution