Objective To investigate the effect of catalpol from Radix Rehmanniae on A?25-35-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells.Methods PC12 cells were routinely cultivated and treated by A?25-35(final concentration,20 ?mol/L) 24 hours after the addition of catalpol or saline.Forty-eight hours later,cells were examined for viability and apoptosis by MTT method and TUNEL method,respectively,while Bax and Bcl-2 mRNA expression were analyzed by semi-quantitive RT-PCR. Results Catalpol could significantly elevate the viability at 1?10-5 mol/L and 1?10-4 mol/L(P

To introduce the application of Stata software to heterogeneity test in meta-analysis.A data set was set up according to the example in the study,and the corresponding commands of the methods in Stata 9 software were applied to test the example.The methods used were Q-test and Ⅰ2statistic attached to the fixed effect model forest plot,H statistic and Galbraith plot.The existence of the heterogeneity among studies could he detected hy Q-test and H statistic and the degree of the heterogeneity could be detected by,Ⅰ2 statistic.The outliers which were the sources of the heterogeneity could be spotted from the Galbraith plot.Heterogeneity test in Meta-analysis can be completed by the four methods in Stata software simply and quickly.H and Ⅰ2 statistics are more robust,and the outliers of the heterogeneity can be clearly seen in the Galbraith plot among the four methods.

Background and Objective Keshan disease is clinically characterized as a dilated eardiomyopathy. We analyze the prevalence trend during last decade of hypertension and Keshan-disease in Yangzhuang village which was a Keshan-disease epidemic area.Method The survey including medical history,blood pressure and ECG were carried out every two years during the follow up 13 years.Results During follow up period,the total detection rate(hypertension:13.4 % vs Keshan-disease:10.7 %,?~2=8.555,P=0.002)and the accumulative rate of hypertension were higher than those of Keshan-disease,which was on the contrary to that before 1993,when increasing rate of Keshan-disease was higher than hypertension.Furthermore,the accumulative increasing rate of hypertension was 240.0%,which was higher than the national average level during corresponding period with no significant differences between female and male.Conclusion The detection rate of hypertension in Keshan disease epidemic area was higher than the average rate nation-wide.Whether the hypertension prevalence was re- lated to Keshan-disease needs further investigation.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of microencapsulated human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell transplantation into the striatum in a rat model of Parkinson' disease (PD). Methods Cultured RPE cells were microencapsulated by alginate-polylysine-alginate (APA) using a high voltage electrostatic system. The Parkinsonian rats were divided into 4 groups, namely the model group, RPE group, APA group and RPE-APA group, and in the latter 3 groups, RPE cells, empty APA microcapsules and APA-capsulated RPE cells, respectively, were transplanted into the right striatum of the rats via stereotactic surgery. After the transplantation, the changes in apomorphine-induced rotation of the rats were investigated and the striatum DA contents were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Results TThe rotation of the rats in RPE-APA group was reduced by 51.48%, showing significant difference from that in the model control group 4 weeks after the transplantation (P<0.05). At 8 weeks after the transplantation, apomorphine-induced rotation in the RPE-APA group showed further significant reduction by 54.43% (P<0.05). The changes of DA contents in the striatum after transplantation were consistent with the changes in the rotation behavior of the rats. Conclusions Microencapsulated human RPE cell transplantation is a promising approach for the treatment of PD.

In order to discover light quality's effects on growth, photosynthesis and effective components content of Panax notoginseng, a pot experiment using 7 light qualities (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, violet, and blue) was conducted. The growth, photosynthesis and content change of effective components were measured during plant growth. The results showed that light qualities had significant effect on plant growth, red light increased the plant height, while cyan, yellow, violet, and blue lights promoted accumulation of biomass underground, blue and yellow lights increased the photosynthesis, cyan light increased accumulation of ginsenoside Rd, yellow and cyan lights increased total effective components of individual plant.
Light ; Panax notoginseng ; growth & development ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Photosynthesis ; radiation effects ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression differences of minichromosome maintenance 2 (MCM2) mRNA and protein among colon adenocarcinoma, colon adenoma and normal mucosa, and among different clinicopathological types of adenomas.

METHODSFifty specimens, including 33 colonic adenomas, 12 colonic adenocarcinomas and 5 normal colonic mucosa were selected. Each specimen was divided into two parts, one for immunohistochemistry and the other for real-time RT-PCR. Expression differences of MCM2 mRNA among the colonic adenocarcinoma, adenoma and normal colonic mucosa were evaluated by REST-XL software.

RESULTSThe expression of MCM2 was observed in the basal third to half of the colonic crypts in normal mucosa, while throughout the epithelium in the colonic adenocarcinomas and adenomas. However, the expression of MCM2 mRNA in the adenocarcinomas was significantly higher than that in the adenomas(P=0.001). The MCM2 mRNA expression was elevated in the adenoma with villous type, in the conditions of high-grade dysplasia, larger size, sessile morphology and in patients of older ages, but the difference was not significant by REST-XL (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe difference of MCM2 expression between the adenoma and the adenocarcinoma indicates its potential value in the early diagnosis of colonic cancer.

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adenoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Colonic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minichromosome Maintenance Complex Component 2 ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; Young Adult

Blotting, Western ; DNA, Ribosomal ; genetics ; Genetic Therapy ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Transfection ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics

Quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) were developed to predict the pK(a) values of sulfa drugs via heuristic method (HM) and gene expression programming (GEP). The descriptors of 31 sulfa drugs were calculated by the software CODESSA, which can calculate constitutional, topological, geometrical, electrostatic, and quantum chemical descriptors. HM was also used for the preselection of 4 appropriate molecular descriptors. Linear and nonlinear QSPR models were developed based on the HM and GEP separately and two prediction models lead to a good correlation coefficient (R) of 0.90 and 0.95. The two QSPR models are tseful in predicting pK(a) during the discovery of new drugs and providing theory information for studying the new drugs.
Algorithms ; Gene Expression ; Models, Chemical ; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship ; Software ; Sulfonamides ; chemistry

BACKGROUNDAlthough heart transplantation has become a standard therapy for end-stage heart disease, there are few published studies regarding the use of transplant organs from marginal donors. Here we describe the clinical outcome we have obtained using marginal donor hearts.

METHODSWe analyzed 21 cases of orthotopic heart transplantation for end-stage heart disease performed in our department between September 2008 and July 2010. Of these patients, six received hearts from marginal donors and the remainder received standard-donor hearts. The two groups were compared in terms of both mortality and the incidence of perioperative complications such as infection, acute rejection, and right heart insufficiency.

RESULTSThe 1-year survival rate of both groups was 100%. Only one death was recorded in standard-donor group during follow-up. Patients who received marginal donor hearts (83%) experienced more early complications than did the standard-donor-heart group (13%), but the mortality of the two groups was the same. The duration of post-ICU stay was greater in the marginal donor group than in the standard-donor group, (35.5 ± 17.4) days and (21.7 ± 2.6) days, respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe use of marginal donor hearts increases the number of patients who can receive and benefit from transplants. However, it may introduce an increased risk of early complications, thus care should be taken both in the choice of patients who will receive marginal donor hearts and in the perioperative treatment of those for whom the procedure is performed.

Adult ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Transplantation ; methods ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Methylprednisolone ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; therapeutic use ; Tissue Donors

The aim of this study was to explore the changes in cellular senescence related indexes of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) after total body irradiation (TBI). At different time points after 4 Gy irradiation, BMMSCs were isolated from male C57BL/6 mice and cultured. Morphology, senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal) staining and cell cycle analysis were used to evaluate the changes in BMMSCs at cellular level while real-time RT-PCR was used to detect the alterations in senescence related gene expression including p16INK4a, p21Cip1/Waf1, p53 and TGF-beta1. The results showed that within 4 weeks after exposure to 4 Gy TBI, the morphology of BMMSCs and the expression level of SA-beta-gal were not significantly changed, the cellular senescence-related cell cycle arrest was not occurred and the senescence related gene expression level was not increased. It is concluded that at the early stage after 4 Gy TBI, the related molecular level of cellular senescence in BMMSCs is not changed.
Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; radiation effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cellular Senescence ; radiation effects ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; radiation effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Whole-Body Irradiation