Child ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; toxicity ; Ganglion Cysts ; pathology ; Humans ; Leigh Disease ; chemically induced ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; adverse effects ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Sophora ; toxicity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of melatonin on the gastrointestinal motility and plasma levels of the stress hormone in overtraining rats.

METHODThirty adult SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10): control group, over-training group, melatonin intervention group. 30 min before each training, rats in the control and over-training groups were fed with normal saline (15 mg/kg) once a day and 5 times per week, while rats in the melatonin intervention group were administrated with melatonin, perfusion in the intervention group (15 mg/kg). Excessive training group and melatonin intervention group rats were subjected to excessive training at 5 times a week for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, the gastric emptying rate, small intestinal propulsion ratio and levels of plasma motilin (MTL) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), cortisol (CORT) and catecholamines (CA) were observed in all groups.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the gastric emptying rate, small intestinal propulsion ratio and levels of plasma MTL, CORT and CA were increased significantly (P < 0.01) while the content of CGRP was reduced (P < 0.01) in over-training group. After treated with melatonin, this trend was reversed, that was, the gastric emptying rate, small intestinal propulsion ratio and levels of plasma MTL, CORT and CA were surpressed significantly (P < 0.01) while the content of CGRP was improved obviously (P < 0.01) in over-training group.

CONCLUSIONMelatonin plays an important role in protecting gastrointestinal tract from dysfunction, in which MTL, CGRP, CORT and CA are all involved.

Animals ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; blood ; Catecholamines ; blood ; Fatigue ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Hydrocortisone ; blood ; Melatonin ; pharmacology ; Motilin ; blood ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Physiological

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Diet, High-Fat ; Ghrelin ; blood ; Lipids ; blood ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Rats

Ten compounds were isolated from the artificially induced dragon's blood of Dracaena cambodiana by various column chromatographies on silica and sephadex LH-20 gel. Based on spectral analysis of NMR and MS, their structures were identified as 3, 4-dihydroxyallylbenzene (1), 3', 4', 5'-trimethoxycinnamylalcohol (2), pinoresinol (3), (2R)-7, 4'-dihydroxy-8-methylflavane (4), (2R)-7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-8-methylflavane(5),(2S)-7,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-methylflavane(6) ,(2S)-4',7-dihydroxy-6, 8-dimethylflavane(7), 4,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone(8), 4,4'-dihydroxy-2-methoxydihydrochalcon(9) and Cambodianin E (10). Antibacterial activity assay showed that compounds 1, 4 and 10 have inhibitory effect on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cuben, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum and Ralstonia solanacearum.
Antifungal Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Dracaena ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fusarium ; drug effects ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Objective To investigate the dynamic variation of subsets of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and their ratio in septic mice, and to discuss their role in the development of sepsis. Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sepsis model group and sham group according to random number table. Polymicrobial sepsis was induced by using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), while mice in sham group only underwent laparotomy and laparorrhaphy without CLP. Thirty mice in each group were used to observe living condition, and the 20-day survival rate was compared between the two groups. In addition, subsets of MDSC in peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow were analyzed with flow cytometry for other 60 mice (12 mice at each time point, as 0, 3, 7, 12 and 20 days). Spleens were harvested at 7 days for weighing, and single cell suspension of spleen tissue was prepared for splenocyte counting. Histopathologic changes in spleen tissue and liver tissue were observed under light microscope after hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain. Results ① No mice died in sham group within 20 days after the operation. On the other hand, 10 mice in model group died within 20 days, and the difference in survival rate between the two groups was statistically significant (100.0% vs. 66.7%, χ2 = 11.861, P = 0.001). ② The spleens in model group showed obvious enlargement and significantly outweighed as compared with those in sham group (mg: 413.33±41.63 vs. 111.67±17.56, t = 11.564, P = 0.000), and the total count of splenocytes was significantly higher than that in sham group (×109/L: 21.20±2.43 vs. 1.87±0.06, t = 13.578, P = 0.005). ③ Pathological sections with HE staining showed that the liver tissue and spleen tissue remained normal in sham group. In model group, the hepatic tissue showed acute inflammatory reaction, including tissue disruption, capillary congestion, infiltration of neutrophils, marked edema of hepatocytes and focal hepatocellular necrosis. Abnormalities were also found in the spleen tissue: the red pulp and white pulp were disordered, splenic sinus was congested with numerous red cells, the splenic capsule thickened, immature myeloid cells with circular nuclei proliferated in the subcapsular region and perivascular region, splenic cord and splenic sinus were infiltrated with a large number of hematopoietic cells. ④ No significant changes in the monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC) and granulocytic MDSC (G-MDSC), and their ratio were found in peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow at every time point in sham group. On the other hand, in model group, the ratio of M-MDSC and G-MDSC was continuously increased in peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow, and M-MDSC only slightly decreased at 20 days. On the other hand, the ratio of M-MDSC/G-MDSC rose at first followed by a decrease. The ratio of M-MDSC/G-MDSC in peripheral blood was higher than 1 from 3 days after the operation, reaching the peak at 12 days (compared with 0 day: 4.16±0.53 vs. 0.79±0.11, P < 0.05), while the ratio of M-MDSC/G-MDSC in spleen and bone marrow after CLP were lower than 1 at all time points, reaching the peak on 7 days after the operation (compared with 0 day: 0.70±0.06 vs. 0.25±0.02 in spleen, 0.39±0.06 vs. 0.11±0.01 in bone marrow, both P < 0.05), and then gradually decreased afterwards. Conclusion Subgroups of MDSCs were continuously aggregated in the peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow, and their ratio rose first and decreased afterwards along with the development of sepsis, and the changes may reflect the change of immune status at different stages of sepsis.

Objective To study the role of CT in the evaluation after patellar dislocation triple surgeries.Methods Retrospectively analysed the CT measurements of 60 recurrent patellar dislocation patients (61 knees),who had undergone patellar dislocation triple surgeries,within one month before and after procedures.The measurements included patellar tilt angle,lateral patellar displacement,trochlear con-gruence angle,Tibial Tuberosity-Trochlear Groove distance,Insall-Salvati Ratio and Caton-Deschamps Index.Moreover,the troch-lear dysplasia classifications of all patients were evaluated.In addtion,an analysis has also been completed for 40 (41 knees)of 60 patients who had second postoperative CT examinations as follow-up assessment 3 to 6 months after surgeries.Results All one-month postoperative measurements decreased obviously with statistical significance(P <0.05 ).Furthermore,one case of subluxa-tion,1 1 cases of abnormal Tibial Tuberosity-Trochlear Groove distance,13 cases of abnormal Insall-Salvati Ratio and 14 cases of Ca-ton-Deschamps Index abnormities were also observed.Besides that,it was also found that all patients had trochlear dysplasia and 5 cases were diagnosed with patellar subluxation or dislocation at the second postoperative follow-up assessment.Conclusion The patients with redislocation or risks for patellar instability can be detectecd by CT which provides objective evidence for postoperative evaluation and further treatments.

Administration, Cutaneous ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Analgesia ; methods ; Female ; Fentanyl ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Pain, Postoperative ; prevention & control ; Tonsillectomy ; methods ; Young Adult

Objective To understand the epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus(RSV),influenza virus type A and type B(IV-A and IV-B),parainfluenza virus type 1,2,3(PIV-1,2,3)and adenovirus(ADV) among children with acute respiratory tract infection in Shanghai.Methods A retrospective epidemiological investigation was conducted to analyze the prevalence rate,seasonality and susceptible pediatric population of seven common respiratory viruses among hospitalized pediatric patients(<15 years old) with acute respiratory tract infection in Children's Hospital Affiliate to Fudan University Shanghai during 2003 to 2006.Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected for detecting viral antigens of RSV,IV-A,IV-B,PIV-1,PIV-2,PIV-3 and ADV by direct immunofluorescence assay.Results Total 11214 children were collected during the consecutive four years,among whom 98.7% were presented with acute lower respiratory tract infection.The overall positive detection rate of these seven respiratory viruses was 24.2%.RSV accounted for 17.7%,followed by PIV-3(2.8%),ADV(2.2%),IV-A(0.7%),PIV-I(0.5%),PIV-2(0.3%),IV-B(0.1%)and mixed(0.2%).RSV season often occurred in winter and spring,however,an early season began in autumn every two year.PIV-3,ADV and IV were usually prevalent sporadically and the seasonal patterns were not typical.The median ages of infected pediatric patients were 4 months for RSV,8 months for PIV-3,9.5 months for PIV-1,10.5 months for PIV-2,12 months for ADV,13 months for IV,respectively,which were significantly different by statistical analysis(X2=154.319,P<0.01).The infants and younger children were more susceptible for developing RSV and PIV-3 related diseases.RSV infection significantly decreased along with the age increased.Conclusions RSV is the most commonly identified virus,while infants and neonates are the most susceptible populations for RSV infection.Typically,RSV is prevalent during spring and winter but begins to be active in fall every other year. PIV-3 is found to be the second common viral pathogen and young children are susceptible population.ADV ranks the third pathogen and children with ADV infection tend to be elder. Nevertheless,IV is rare among pediatric population in recent years in Shanghai.In our study,the outbreaks of ADV and IV infections among children are not observed.

Objective To study the clinical and the epidemiological features of hospitalized children with influenza virus infection. Methods Two hundred and fifty-three inpatients with laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infection from 1999 to 2008 were reviewed for analyzing the clinical and epidemiological characteristics. Type A and B influenza viruses in the nasopharyngeal aspirates were detected by immunofluorescence assay. Mann-Whitney U test were performed for comparing the median age and the length of hospitalization. Chi-square test was performed for comparing the proportion of patients with fever and cough. Results Among 253 hospitalized children aged between 5 days and 127 months, 182 (71.9%) were boys and 71 (28. 1%) were girls. The median age was 18 months. Fifty-three cases were infants younger than 6 months. 95 cases were children aged between 6 months and 2 years, 85 cases were aged between 2 years and 5 years and 20 cases were older than 5 years. The diagnosis of influenza-related admission included pneumonia (190 cases), bronchitis (49 cases) and upper respiratory tract infection (14 cases). Eleven cases developed febrile convulsion, 6 cases had acute exacerbation of asthma and 3 cases had concomitant viralencephalitis. Twenty-nine cases had basic diseases. Cough and fever were the most common symptoms. Two hundred and thirty-eight cases presenting cough and 209 case presenting fever. Sixty-seven percent (140/209) had high fever with body temperature higher than 39 ℃. The average duration of fever was (5. 0 ±2. 9) days. Fever and cough were both more common in children older than6 months (X2 = 22. 895,P<0. 01; X2 = 16. 992,P<0. 01, respectively). Febrile convulsion occurred in children older than 2 years. Fifteen point five (39/251) developed leukocytopenia. Conclusions Children younger than 5 years old are at high risk of influenza-related hospitalization. We should emphasize influenza vaccination in previously healthy children aged between 6 months and 5 years and children with underlying diseases.

Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Bone Remodeling ; drug effects ; Growth and Development ; drug effects ; physiology ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testosterone ; blood