OBJECTIVE: Using the method of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, to observe the activities of rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) intervened by Tongluo Jiunao Injection (TLJNI), a traditional Chinese compound drug removing toxin to dredge brain collaterals, and then further study the effects of different kinds of conditioned mediums (CMECs-CM) of cerebral microvascular endothelial cells on ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion cerebral cortex cells, and to probe into the drug pharmacological mechanisms of CMECs in modulating the neurons. METHODS: Three kinds of CMECs (normal, ischemic and ischemic/reperfusional) were all treated by TLJNI previously, and then the three pairs of CMECs-CM without serum were collected respectively for LDH assay. Rat cerebral cortex neurons were also primarily cultured and then divided into similar three groups (normal, ischemic and ischemic/reperfusional). The neuron responses caused by CMECs-CM at different concentrations were observed by using LDH transudation rate assay. RESULTS: The LDH release values of ischemic and ischemic/reperfusional CMECs with TLJNI treatment were obviously reduced (P<0.01) compared with the same kinds of CMECs untreated. For ischemic neurons, both conditioned medium of ischemic CMECs (Is-CM) and conditioned medium of ischemic CMECs with drug treatment (IsT-CM) in high concentration of 100% increased the LDH transudation rate (P<0.01), while in low concentration of 10%, IsT-CM reduced the transudation rate (P<0.05). For ischemia/reperfusion neurons, all kinds of CMECs-CM reduced the transudation rate respectively (P<0.05 or P<0.01). As far as each group concentration was concerned, 10% or 50% showed relatively stronger effects, and both conditioned medium of normal CMECs (N-CM) group and conditioned medium of ischemic/reperfusional CMECs (Rp-CM) group had statistical significance (P<0.05 or P<0.01). For normal neurons, all kinds of CMECs-CM increased the transudation rate respectively (P<0.05 or P<0.01). As far as each group concentration was concerned, only conditioned medium of normal CMECs (N-CM) had statistical significance (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The study shows that TLJNI is capable of preventing the damage of CMECs from both ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion states. Chinese drug can restrain the brain ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion damage by the media that CMECs modulate the neurons, demonstrating the pharmacological mechanisms of TLJNI. This work also indicates that there exist some active substances against ischemia/reperfusion injury secreted from CMECs-CM with TLJNI treatment.

Chloroplast genome sequences have comprehensive application prospects in DNA barcoding and chloroplast engineering in traditional Chinese medicine. The complete chloroplast genome of Magnolia officinalis sequenced by high-throughput pyrosequencing and a sequencing procedure was established. Fourteen contigs were obtained after de nove assembly. The sequencing percent of coverage was 99.99%. The chloroplast genome is 160 183 bp in size, and has a typical quadripartite structure with the large (LSC, 88 210 bp) and small copy (SSC, 18 843 bp) regions separated by two copies of an inverted repeat (IRs, 26 565 bp each). chloroplast genes were successfully annotated, of which 17 genes located in each IR region. The chloroplast genome features in Magnolia officinalis are nearly identical to those from other Magnoliid chloroplast genomes. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on 81 shared coding-genes for a total of 9 Magnolia samples of 5 closely related species. Results showed that distinguishing among species was generally straightforward at the species and population level. This study confirmed the effectiveness of our chloroplast genome sequencing procedure. The chloroplast genome can provide distinguishing differences to help identify Magnolia officinalis and its closely related plants.
Base Sequence ; Chloroplasts ; genetics ; DNA, Chloroplast ; genetics ; Genes, Chloroplast ; Genes, Plant ; Genome, Chloroplast ; Genome, Plant ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Magnolia ; classification ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Objective To measure the level of androgen receptor (AR) mRNA in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) and serum testosterone level of patients with gouty arthritis (GA) and healthy controls (HC),and to explore the role of testosterone and AR in the pathogenesis of GA.Methods Chemilluminescence was used to detect the level of serum testosterone in GA [including 119 acute GA (AGA) and 60 nonacute GA (NAGA) patients] and 47 HC group.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)was used to measure AR mRNA in PBMCs from 41 GA and 35 HC.Western blotting was used to measure PBMCs AR in GA and HC for each 6 cases.One-way ANOVA,t test and Spearman's correlation were adopted for statistical analysis.Results Serum testosterone was significantly reduced in AGA and NAGA group compared to that in HC group [(6.1±1.5) ng/ml,P＜0.01,respectively],and the expression was lower in the AGA [(3.7±1.4) ng/ml] group [(4.9±2.0) ng/ml] than that in the NAGA group (P＜0.01).The level of AR mRNA and protein was much lower in the GA group than that in the HC group (P＜0.01,respectively).Negative correlations was detected between AR mRNA and uric acid in GA patients.There was negative correlation between serum testosterone and VLDL,GLU; meanwhile,positive correlation was found between serum testosterone and HDL (P＜0.05,respectively) in NAGA patients.There were no correlations between testosterone and other laboratory data.There was no correlation between AR and other laboratory data in GA patients and healthy controls (P＞0.05,respectively).Conclusion Altered expression of testosterone and its receptor may be involved in the pathogenesis of gouty inflammation.Further study will be needed to shed light on the exact role of androgen and AR in gout.

OBJECTIVETo construct a drug carrier and gene vector PEG-PEI-Pt.

METHODSPolyethyleneglycol (PEG) was coupled to polyethylenimine (PEI 600) and platinum tetrachloride; PEG-PEI-Pt complex was formed in ethanol. The complex was characterized by XRD, UV-VIS and FT-IR and the DNA condensation was tested by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay in Hela, B16, A293 and COS-7 cells and in vitro transfection efficiency was measured in A293 and B16 cells.

RESULTThe structure of PEG-PEI-Pt was characterized by XRD, UV-VIS and FT-IR. PEG-PEI-Pt complex was able to bind DNA at N/P weight ratio of 0.4:1; the complex showed cytotoxicity on Hela and B16 cells. The complex had higher transfection efficiency in A293 and B16 cells than PEI 600.

CONCLUSIONA novel drug carrier and gene vector PEG-PEI-Pt was constructed successfully.

Cell Line ; Drug Carriers ; chemical synthesis ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Genetic Therapy ; methods ; Humans ; Platinum Compounds ; chemistry ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Polyethyleneimine ; chemistry ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the flexible surgical approaches on therapeutic and cosmetic outcomes of facial nevi.

METHODSFrom August 2002 to January 2008, 16 cases with facial nevi had been treated in our wards with the selected approaches. Surgical approaches including serial excision or one-time radical excision, free skin graft, and expanded flap were adopted in accordance with the individual size and location of the facial nevi.

RESULTSAll cases experienced complete excision and had satisfactory cosmetic appearance in the end.

CONCLUSIONThe flexible surgical measures help to minimize the risk of malignant transformation and achieve good cosmetic results.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Face ; pathology ; surgery ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; surgery ; Humans ; Infant ; Nevus, Pigmented ; pathology ; surgery ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Skin Transplantation ; Surgical Flaps ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

To investigate the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of beta-chain hemoglobin fragments, 17 fragments were synthesized by microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis method. Wang resin or Trt(2-Cl) resin, Fmoc and HBTU-HOBt were used as solid carrier, N-terminal amino acid protecting groups and coupling reagents, respectively. The ACE inhibitory, alpha-glucosidase inhibitory, antibacterial and antitumor activities of the synthesized fragments were assayed. In vitro, Val-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr showed high ACE inhibitory activity (IC50 = 7.42 micromol x L(-1)). The results indicate that there are two active sites in Val-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr-Gln-Arg-Phe, one consists of Val-Val-, and the other -Gln-Arg-Phe. Peptides showed high ACE inhibitory activity when the N-terminal was hydrophobic amino acid such as Val and C-terminal tripeptide contained Phe, Trp or Arg. Some of the fragments showed low a-glucosidase inhibitory activity. No antibacterial activity or antitumor activity was detected in vitro. The results indicate that these peptides have a potential antihypertensive effect and possible application in the treatment of hypertension.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Antihypertensive Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors ; Humans ; Peptide Fragments ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; drug effects ; Solid-Phase Synthesis Techniques ; methods ; alpha-Glucosidases ; drug effects ; beta-Globins ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the optimal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) cut off points and evaluate the impact of HbA1c on diabetes and pre-diabetes in middle-aged and elderly population.

METHODSSubjects were recruited from Shanghai Changfeng Study. A total of 1973 community-based participants (age ⋝45) without known diabetes underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) by using a 75-g oral glucose load and HbA1c was measured by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Subjects were classified as normal glucose tolerance (NGT), pre-diabetes(impaired glucose regulation, IGR) and new diagnosed diabetes (NDD) per 1999 WHO criteria. Two tests are compared with receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTSAmong 1973 subjects, 271 (13.7%) were diagnosed as NDD and 474 (24.0%) as IGR by using OGTT. HbA1c was 5.7%±0.7% in this population. Use of 6.5% as the HbA1C cutoff point has sensitivity of 38.7% and specificity of 98.5%. We recommend 6.0% as a better cutoff value for diagnosis of diabetes in this population (AUC 0.829, 95% CI 0.798-0.860, P<0.001) with its sensitivity and specificity as 66.1% and 86.8%. For IGR, the results showed low sensitivity (44.9%) and specificity (66.7%) with an AUC of 0.571 for HbA1c when 5.8% was used as the cutoff point. Participants detected with HbA1c⋝6.0% were associated with nearly the same metabolic characteristics, including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, lipid profile and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) compared with diabetic subjects detected by OGTT.

CONCLUSIONThe optimum HbA1c cutoff point for diabetes in our study population was lower than ADA criteria, and HbA1c may not be used to identify IGR.

Aged ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Female ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prediabetic State ; diagnosis ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo separate and identify the chemical constituents of Blumea riparia.

METHODThe compounds were separated and purified by repeated silica gel, Sephadex LH -20 column chromatographiy. The structures of these compounds isolated were identified by analysis of their spectral data, physical and chemical properties.

RESULTSix flavonoids were isolated from B. riparia. and their structures were identified as eriodictyol-7, 4'-dimethyl ether (1), eriodictyol-7, 3'-dimethyl ether (2), eriodictyol-7-methyl ether (3), quercetin-7, 3', 4'-trimethyl ether (4), tamarixetin (5), rhamnocitrin (6).

CONCLUSIONCompound 1-6 were obtained from B. riparia for the first time.

Asteraceae ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Objective To ascertain the level and dynamic changes of environmental health hazards in the rural areas of Pukou, Nanjing, to objectively evaluate the situation of rural environmental sanitation, providing basis and support for formulating policies and measures by the higher authorities. Methods According to the requirements of the rural environmental sanitation monitoring program of Jiangsu Province in 2017, 5 streets, 20 administrative villages were selected as monitoring points and 100 families used as monitoring objects.The monitoring data were obtained through interviews, access data, field records and laboratory tests. Results Centralized water supply was realized by 20 monitoring points.The rate of collection and centralized disposal of domestic waste was 95.00%.The sewage disposal sites were mainly discharged into sewage treatment plants and harmless sanitary toilets, accounting for 41.00% and 42.00% respectively.The coverage rate of sanitary toilets was 95.54%.Those who did the work of killing rats, flies and mosquitoes accounted for 40.00% and those who did the work of killing cockroaches 25.00%.And 98.00% of the families used fuel for gas, 98.00% of the families never burned straw in the fields, 88.00% of the families did not use the film, and the membrane recycling rate was 91.67%.It was found that 100% of the households drank boiled water, and 90.00% of the respondents developed the habit of washing hands before and after meals.The detection rate of Ascaris eggs was 20.00% in 20 soil samples, and the contents of Pb, CD and Cr were all within the normal range. Conclusion Although some achievements have been made in the rural environmental sanitation in Pukou, the management of pollution of rural sewage, waste and feces should be further strengthened, and the dangerous factors that affect the health of rural residents should be decreased and four pests removal activities actively carried out.

Objective:To explore therapeutic effect of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)combined tirofiban hydrochloride on aged patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction(ASTEMI)and its influence on cardiac function and myocardial microcirculation.Methods:A total of 90 aged ASTEMI patients undergoing PCI in our hospital from Jul 2013 to Mar 2016 were selected.According to hospitalization order,they were randomly and e-qually divided into pure PCI group and combined treatment group(received tirofiban based on pure PCI group), both groups were treated for one month.ST segment regression degree,corrected TIMI frame count(CTFC)and TIMI flow grade after PCI,contrast agent acoustic peak intensity in myocardial microcirculation(PI)and serum CK-MB peak concentration before and after PCI,LVEF,LVEDd and LVEDV before and six months after PCI, and incidence rate of adverse events were measured and compared between two groups.Results:Compared with pure PCI group after PCI,there were significant rise in ST segment regression degree[(43.8 ± 7.1)% vs.(66.2 ± 8.2)%],TIMI flow grade[(2.1 ± 0.5)grade vs.(2.9 ± 0.6)grade]and PI[(7.1 ± 1.1)vs.(8.6 ± 1.2)],and sig-nificant reductions in CTFC[(27.3 ± 8.0)frame vs.(18.9 ± 6.6)frame],and serum CK-MB peak level[(296.5 ± 58.1)U/L vs.(199.3 ± 32.4)U/L]in combined treatment group,P= 0.001 all.Compared with pure PCI group on six months after PCI,there was significant rise in LVEF[(54.2 ± 8.3)% vs.(61.1 ± 8.0)%],and signifi-cant reductions in LVEDd[(48.1 ± 7.7)mm vs.(41.3 ± 8.1)mm]and LVEDV[(85.4 ± 10.6)mm3vs.(80.2 ± 10.4)mm3]in combined treatment group,P<0.05 or <0.01.Total incidence rate of adverse events of com-bined treatment group was significantly lower than that of pure PCI group(8.89% vs.26.67%),P=0.001.Con-clusion:PCI combined tirofiban hydrochloride can significantly improve myocardial microcirculation and cardiac function with low incidence rate of cardiovascular adverse events.The mechanism may be related to improving effect of tirofiban hydrochloride on myocardial microcirculation.