Objective To study the protective effects of choline on myocardial ischemia rat heart and its potential mecha -nisms .Methods Ischemia hypoxia environment was simulated with low value of pH (pH 6 .8) and lack of oxygen .Calcium currents were recorded by whole cell patch under the voltage clamp configuration .The alternations in[Ca2 + ]induced by KCl was detected by laser scanning confocal microscope in ventricular myocytes ,then disccuss the effects of choline on calcium and calcium store in cells . Results The normalized peak currents of ICa-L in ventricular myocytes were larger in pH 6 .8 group than those in pH 7 .4 group , which can be attenuated by choline .The(Ca2 + )i induced by KCl in ventricular myocytes were significantly increased in pH 6 .8 Ty-rode solution and its increasing can be suppressed by choline .4-DAMP can inhibit the suppressing effect of choline .Conclusion The possible mechanism of M 3 receptor involved in the protection of ischemic myocardium by inhibiting myocardial cells in ICa-L ,in-hibiting intracellular calcium overload .

Objective To observe the vasodilation effect of extract of Jasminum samba (EJs), a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, on ex vivo rat thoracic aortic rings, and to investigate its mechanism. Methods On ex vivo aortic ring perfusion device, influence of EJs on contraction of the aorta induced by phenylephrine (PE) or potassium chloride (KCl) was observed. Influence of N-nitro-L-arginine-methylester ( L-NAME ), barium chloride ( BaCl2 ), glibenclamide ( Gli ) on vasodilating effect of EJs (0. 5, 1, 2, 4, 8 g·L-1 ) was detected. Effect of EJs on the contraction of calcium chloride (CaCl2 ) and PE in Ca2+-free medium was detected. [ Ca2+ ] i in vascular smooth muscle cells was determined by using laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). Results In blood vessels with intact endothelium, EJs concentration-dependently decreased PE- or KCl-induced vasoconstriction, the maximum dilating effect being (105. 0±3. 2)% and (78. 0±6. 5)% , respectively; L-NAME affected the vasodilatory effect of EJs on thoracic aorta rings ( P<0. 01), the maximum dilatory effect being (58. 0 ± 6. 9)% . BaCl2 and Gli had significant influence on vasodilation of EJs, and the contraction was obviously attenuated (P<0. 01), the maximum dilatory effect being (37. 0±5. 2)% and (78. 0±10. 0)% , respectively. EJs significantly inhibited contracting effect of PE on thoracic aorta rings in Ca2+-free medium (P<0. 01). The maximum contraction effect was (70. 0±6. 3)% . EJs inhibited CaCl2-induced vasoconstriction (0. 5-8 mmol·L-1 ), and vasoconstriction was decreased by (65. 0±3. 2)% . LSCM recorded that Fmax / F0 of 4 and 8 g·L-1 EJs was (2. 0±0. 2) and (1. 5±0. 2), respectively. Conclusion EJs exerted a dose-dependent vasodilating effect on rat isolated aorta rings. The mechanism might be related to promoting NO release, activating K+channels and decreasing the concentration of cytoplasmic Ca2+.

Objective To explore the relationship between the levels of leptin and leptin receptor in placental and intrauterine growth retardation.Methods Eighty seven newborns were studied .Auxological data(birth weight, length and biceps, triceps, subscapular and iliac skinfold thickness) were obtained and recorded.According to birth weight ,the subjects were divided into :the small for gestational age(SGA)group and the appropriate for gestational age (AGA) group.The levels of leptin and leptin receptor mRNA in 87 placental tissue were assayed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results 1. The level of leptin receptor mRNA in placental was 0.894?0.291, which was positively related to the birth weight and body fat content (r=0.651,0.581,both P

The fruit of Pandanus tectorius (PTF) has a long history of use as a folk medicine to treat hyperlipidemia in Hainan province, South China. Our previous studies have shown that the n-butanol extract of PTF is rich in caffeoylquinic acids and has an adequate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemic animals induced by high-fat diet. In this work, seven caffeoylquinic acids isolated from PTF were screened for the lipid-lowering activity in HepG2 hepatoma cells. Oil-Red O staining, microscopy and intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) quantification showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,5-CQA), and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,4,5-CQA) significantly inhibited lipid accumulation induced by oleic acid and decreased intracellular levels of TC and TG in a dose-dependent manner. These three caffeoylquinic acids showed no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations of 1 -50 μmol x L(-1) as determined by MTT assay. Realtime quantitative PCR revealed that 3-CQA and 3, 5-CQA significantly increased the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes PPARα, CPT-1 and ACOX1 while 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3,4,5-CQA decreased the expression of lipogenic genes SREBP-1c, SREBP-2, HMGR, ACC, FAS. Overall, 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3, 4, 5-CQA may be the principal hypolipidemic components in PTF which can decrease intracellular lipid accumulation through up-regulating the expression of lipid oxidative genes and down-regulating the expression of lipogenic genes.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; China ; Cholesterol ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Oleic Acid ; Pandanaceae ; chemistry ; Quinic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 ; Triglycerides ; metabolism

Objective To explore mRNA and protein expression of PAl-1 in kidney tissue of mice with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and the effects of YiShen Decoction. Methods The IgAN model was built by the method of oral intake of bovine serum albumin(BSA)together with the injection of staphylococcus enterotoxin B(SEB)through caudal vein. The mRNA expression of PAI-1 was measured by fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PER)and the expression of PAI-1 protein was measured by immunohistochemistry. Results No significant difference of mRNA and protein expression of PAI-1 was found between the low concentration and high concentration Yishen Decoction group. But the secretion and mRNA expression of PAI-1 in the low and hiigh concentration Yishen Decoction group was decreased more than that in the IgAN model group. Conclusion The abnormal expression of PAI-1 mRNA and protein played an important role in the onset and development of IgAN. The TCM Yishen Decoction could reduce the abnormal expression of the mRNA and protein of PAI-1 in kidney tissue of mice with IgA nephropathy.

The fruit of Pandanus tectorius (PTF) has a long history of use as a folk medicine to treat hyperlipidemia in Hainan province, South China. Our previous studies have shown that the n-butanol extract of PTF is rich in caffeoylquinic acids and has an adequate therapeutic effect on dyslipidemic animals induced by high-fat diet. In this work, seven caffeoylquinic acids isolated from PTF were screened for the lipid-lowering activity in HepG2 hepatoma cells. Oil-Red O staining, microscopy and intracellular triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) quantification showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,5-CQA), and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3,4,5-CQA) significantly inhibited lipid accumulation induced by oleic acid and decreased intracellular levels of TC and TG in a dose-dependent manner. These three caffeoylquinic acids showed no significant cytotoxicity at concentrations of 1 -50 μmol x L(-1) as determined by MTT assay. Realtime quantitative PCR revealed that 3-CQA and 3, 5-CQA significantly increased the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes PPARα, CPT-1 and ACOX1 while 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3,4,5-CQA decreased the expression of lipogenic genes SREBP-1c, SREBP-2, HMGR, ACC, FAS. Overall, 3-CQA, 3, 5-CQA and 3, 4, 5-CQA may be the principal hypolipidemic components in PTF which can decrease intracellular lipid accumulation through up-regulating the expression of lipid oxidative genes and down-regulating the expression of lipogenic genes.

This paper presents a new deformable model using both population-based and patient-specific shape statistics to segment lung fields from serial chest radiographs. First, a modified scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) local descriptor is used to characterize the image features in the vicinity of each pixel, so that the deformable model deforms in a way that seeks for the region with similar SIFT local descriptors; second, the deformable model is constrained by both population-based and patient-specific shape statistics. At first, population-based shape statistics plays an leading role when the number of serial images is small, and gradually, patient-specific shape statistics plays a more and more important role after a sufficient number of segmentation results on the same patient have been obtained. The proposed deformable model can adapt to the shape variability of different patients, and obtain more robust and accurate segmentation results.
Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Computer Simulation ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Humans ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; Lung Diseases ; diagnosis ; Models, Statistical ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Radiographic Image Enhancement ; methods ; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Radiography, Thoracic ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Blood Cell Count ; Bone Marrow Cells ; metabolism ; Child ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Cytokines ; therapeutic use ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Male ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; blood ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo establish a comprehensive quality control method for total flavonoid of Fructus Aurantii.

METHODSRP-HPLC and spectrophotometry were applied for the quantitative and fingerprint analysis of total flavonoid of Fructus Aurantii. The contents of naringin and neohesperidin were determined on an Agilent SB-C₁₈column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase was composed of 0.02 % H₃PO₄ and CH₃CN (80:20). The flow rate was 1 ml/min with DAD detected at 280 nm. The column temperature was maintained at 35°C. The fingerprints were developed on an Agilent SB-C₁₈ column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase was composed of 0.5 % HAc and CH₃OH with a linear gradient elution. The ratio of 0.5 % HAc and CH₃OH was: 0 min, 80:20; 10 min, 60:40; 35 min, 30:70; 50 min, 0:100. The flow rate was 1 ml/min with DAD detected at 320 nm. The column temperature was maintained at 30 degree. Meanwhile, the contents of total flavonoid were determined at 283 nm.

RESULTThe contents range of naringin, neohesperidin and total flavonoid were 38.3 %- 47.2%, 21.0 %- 28.5% and 79.9%-88.6 %, respectively. The fingerprints of the effective fractions showed 12 common peaks and the fingerprint similarity was all above 98.0 % compared with the standard chromatogram.

CONCLUSIONThe method reported in this paper can be used effectively for the quality control of total flavonoid of Fructus Aurantii.

The echolocating big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) emit trains of frequency-modulated (FM) biosonar signals with duration, amplitude, repetition rate, and sweep structure changing systematically during interception of their prey. In the present study, the sound stimuli of temporally patterned pulse trains at three different pulse repetition rates (PRRs) were used to mimic the sounds received during search, approach, and terminal stages of echolocation. Electrophysiological method was adopted in recordings from the inferior colliculus (IC) of midbrain. By means of iontophoretic application of bicuculline, the effect of GABAergic inhibition on the intensity sensitivity of IC neurons responding to three different PRRs of 10, 30 and 90 pulses per second (pps) was examined. The rate-intensity functions (RIFs) were acquired. The dynamic range (DR) of RIFs was considered as a criterion of intensity sensitivity. Comparing the average DR of RIFs at different PRRs, we found that the intensity sensitivity of some neurons improved, but that of other neurons decayed when repetition rate of stimulus trains increased from 10 to 30 and 90 pps. During application of bicuculline, the number of impulses responding to the different pulse trains increased under all stimulating conditions, while the DR differences of RIFs at different PRRs were abolished. The results indicate that GABAergic inhibition was involved in modulating the intensity sensitivity of IC neurons responding to pulse trains at different PRRs. Before and during bicuculline application, the percentage of changes in responses was maximal in lower stimulus intensity near to the minimum threshold (MT), and decreased gradually with the increment of stimulus intensity. This observation suggests that GABAergic inhibition contributes more effectively to the intensity sensitivity of the IC neurons responding to pulse trains at lower sound level.
Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Bicuculline ; pharmacology ; Chiroptera ; Echolocation ; Electrophysiological Phenomena ; GABA-A Receptor Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Inferior Colliculi ; cytology ; Neurons ; cytology