Arteriosclerosis ; Humans ; Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors

Diagnosis, Differential ; Diarrhea ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Mediastinal Cyst ; complications ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; complications ; diagnosis ; Respiratory Sounds ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Treatment Outcome ; X-Rays

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country in the northeastern part of Central Asia which shares borders to the southeast with China. Due to their extreme environment and climate, there are a diverse range of species of plants. Many of the plants used in Kyrgyz folk medicine have not been studied using modern scientific techniques. This paper introduced the basic situation of medicinal herbs in Kyrgyzstan by comparing the differences traditional use between China and Kyrgyzstan, and looked for traditional medicinal plant research to provide basis for the development and cooperation of China and Kyrgyzstan.
China ; Humans ; Kyrgyzstan ; Medicine, Traditional ; methods ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development

Xanthii Fructus is a traditional medicine for the treatment of nasal diseases in clinic, mainly come from the burs of Xanthium sibiricum with a worldwide distribution. By sorting and studying literature of Chinese medicine and comparing different figures recorded with the morphological description of several species from Xanthium (Asteraceae) in the Flora of China, combining the biological investigation in resource survey, the article pointed out that the burs or the whole herbs of X. mongolicum, as well as X. sibiricum, has been used by the traditional Chinese medicine in ancient time. It provides a reference for further studies in the future.
China ; Herbal Medicine ; history ; History, Ancient ; Medicine in Literature ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; Xanthium ; anatomy & histology ; classification

Animals ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology

Objective To simulate the mechanical environment of cells in vivo and study cellular signal transduction mechanisms. Methods A device was developed which could provide high cell yield, control the time, strain magnitude, direction and frequency of stretch, and applied 10% cyclic strain to cell culture substrate with stretch frequency at 1Hz. Results After being stretched, morphology and cytoskeleton of cells were altered. The major axis of cells and the alignment of stress fibers were vertical to the orientation of cyclic stretch. Conclusion This device provides versatile options for the study on the cellular responses of mechanical loading.

Objective To investigate the clinical spectrum of respiratory viruses in infants and young children with acute lower respiratory infection(ALRI) in Chongqing area from 2003-2007.And to assess the clinical diagnostic value of virus detection in nasopharyngeal secretions(NPS) and serum viral antibody detection for ALRI.Methods Cases of 2 529 specimens of NPS in hospitalized children with ALRI from Apr.2003 to Oct.2007 were taken for detecting 7 common respiratory virus antigens by immunofluorescence assay including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),adenovirus(ADV),influenza A(IA),influenza B (IB),parainfluenza virus1-3 (PIV1,PIV2,PIV3).Fifty-five thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven samples were tested for ADV-IgM by ELISA.Among those,45 159 cases were further tested for RSV-IgM by ELISA.Results Respiratory virus pathogens were detected in 778 samples out of 2 529(30.76%) including RSV positive in 668 samples (85.86%),PIV3 positive in 75 samples (9.64%),IA positive in 22 samples (2.57%),ADV positive in 15 samples ( 1.93%),only 1 sample ( 0.13%) positive for both PIV1 and RSV. And the positive rate of RSV-IgM was 0.9%-15.2%,and the positive rate for ADV-IgM was about 0.6%-10.6%.RSV infection occured mainly in winter and spring.Conclusions Respiratory virus is the most common pathogen in children with ALRI during the survey period in Chongqing area,especially for RSV infection.The pattern of RSV circulation varied every year with seasonality.It is suggest that this year is peak one for RSV infection from the monthly positive results,especially in Feburary(50%) in 2007.But the infection rate of PIV3,IA,ADV and PIV1 are lower,particularly IB and PIV2 infection have not been seen for the last 5 years.It is fast and accurate to detect RSV antigen and suit to clinical diagnosis by using immunofluorescence assay than other antibody detection.

Adult ; China ; Humans ; Male ; Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C ; drug effects ; genetics ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and mechanisms of Yishen Huoxue decoction (YHD) on chronic renal failure (CRF) rats induced by 5/6 nephrectomy.

METHODSThe glomerulosclerosis model was established by 5/6 nephrectomy in rats. Experimental animals were allocated into the normal group, the model group, the YHD group and the benazepril group. Urine protein of 24 h (UP) at the 6th and 12th weekend after operation, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (SCr), albumin (Alb) and haemoglobin (HB) at the 12th weekend were measured, renal pathology changes were examined with light microscope, the expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and fibronectin (Fn) were examined by immunohistochemistry and mRNA expressions of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) by RT-PCR at the 12th weekend.

RESULTSCompared with those in the normal group, the levels of UP, BUN and SCr, the area of glomerular mesangial matrix, the FN deposition, PCNA expression in glomeruli and tubular interstitium and mRNA expressions of CTGF and PAI-1 were all significantly higher in the model group (P < 0.05). All the above-mentioned indexes were lower in the YHD group than those in the model group (P < 0.05). PCNA positively expressed cells in glomeruli of the normal, model group, YHD group and benazepril group was 7.00 +/- 2.24,34.78 +/- 6.96,15.75 +/- 2.61 and 15.50 +/- 2.57 respectively, positively correlated to the expression of CTGF, PAI-1, FN and SCr level.

CONCLUSIONYHD could delay the progression of CRF in 5/6 nephrectomized rats, and the mechanisms were mainly related to the inhibition on renal cell proliferation and it induced over-expression of cytokines, and accumulation of extracellular matrix.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Extracellular Matrix ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Fibronectins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; Male ; Nephrectomy ; Phytotherapy ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective Mannitol-poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (M-PLGA),a star-shaped biodegradable polymer,was synthesized with the intent in this research,to provide novel nanoformulation for cervical cancer chemotherapy.Methods The novel star-shaped copolymer was prepared by ring-opening polymerization,and characterized by NMR.The docetaxel-loaded M-PLGA nanoparticles,prepared by modified nano-precipitation method,were observed to be near-spherical shape with narrow size distribution.Results The CLSM results showed the uptake level of M-PLGA NPs was higher than PLGA NPs in Hela cells.A significantly higher level of cytotoxicity was achieved by docetaxel-loaded M-PLGA NPs than that of commercial Taxotere and docetaxel-loaded PLGA NPs,indicating that the star-shaped biodegradable polymer M-PLGA could be superior to the linear polymer PLGA as a drug carrier.The study on drug loading and encapsulation efficiency also proved that star-shaped M-PLGA could carry higher level of drug than linear polymer,therefore could be more efficient for cancer treatment.Conclusions In conclusion,the star-shaped M-PLGA copolymer may be used as a potential and promising drug-loaded biomaterial applied in developing novel nanoformulations for cervical cancer therapy.