Animals ; Biological Availability ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Lactic Acid ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Nanoparticles ; Polyesters ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Polyglactin 910 ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Polyglycolic Acid ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Polymers ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics

Various anatomic anomalies have been considered the causes of nutcracker syndrome (NCS). Posterior NCS refers to the condition, in which vascular narrowing was secondary to the compression of the retroaortic left renal vein while it is crossing between the aorta and the vertebral column. Here, we report an unusual case of posterior NCS associated with a complicated malformation of the interrupted left inferior vena cava with azygos continuation and retroaortic right renal vein, diagnosed by both color Doppler ultrasonography and CT angiography.
Adult ; Azygos Vein/*abnormalities ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Renal Nutcracker Syndrome/*radiography/*ultrasonography ; Renal Veins/*abnormalities ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vena Cava, Inferior/*abnormalities

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) and chronic continuous hypobaric hypoxia (CHH) on hemodynamics under basic normoxia and acute hypoxia conditions and to find the difference of two types of chronic hypoxia. Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: Control group (CON), 28 days IHH group (IHH28), 42 days IHH group (IHH42), 28 days CHH group (CHH28) and 42 days CHH group (CHH42). The rats in IHH groups were treated with intermittent hypoxia (11.1% O2) mimicking 5 000 m altitude in a hypobaric chamber for 28 or 42 d, 6 h a day, respectively. The rats in CHH groups lived in the hypobaric chamber with the same degree of hypoxia like IHH rats except half an hour in normoxia each day for feeding and cleaning. The body weight of rats was measured once a week. The parameters in hemodynamics, such as mean artery blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), maximum change rate of left ventricular pressure (+/-LVdP/dt(max)) were recorded under basic normoxia and acute hypoxia conditions through catheterization technique. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in myocardium of rats were measured by biochemical method. The weights of whole heart, left and right ventricles were measured separately. The results showed: (1) The basic HR and MAP in CHH42 rats were lower than those in CON, IHH and CHH28 rats (P<0.05). (2) IHH showed a cardioprotection against acute hypoxia and reoxygenation injury, manifested as the result that the changes of HR, MAP, LVSP, and +/- LVdP/dt(max) were smaller than those in CON rats during acute hypoxia and reoxygenation. CHH showed a rather strong cardioprotection during acute hypoxia, manifested as the result that the decreases of HR, MAP, LVSP, and +/- LVdP/dt(max)were much smaller, but it did damage during reoxygenation, manifested as the result that the recovery of hemodynamics was the worst among three groups (P<0.05). (3) The antioxygenation of heart was increased in both IHH and CHH rats compared with that in CON rats manifested by the increased SOD activity and decreased MDA content (P<0.05, P<0.01). (4) IHH had no effect on heart weight, but CHH rats showed an obvious right ventricular hypertrophy compared with CON and IHH animals (P<0.01). The result indicates that IHH can induce a more effective cardioprotection with no much side effect, which might have a potential value for practical use.
Altitude ; Animals ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Hemodynamics ; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular ; pathology ; Hypoxia ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of the aerial parts of Liusticum chuanxiong.

METHODThe chemical components were isolated by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Structures were elucidated on the basis of physico-chemical properities and spectral data.

RESULTEight chemical constituents were isolated, and identified as protocatechuic acid (1), caffeic acid (2), scopoletin (3), apigenin (4), quercetin (5), cosmosiin (6), kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosid (7) and glucose (8).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-8 were obtained from the aerial parts of the plant for the first time, compounds 3-8 were obtained from the plant for the first time.

Apigenin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Kaempferols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Ligusticum ; chemistry ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scopoletin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological characteristics, diagnosis and differential diagnoses of proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma (PES).

METHODSFive cases of PES were retrieved from pathology files. Clinical, pathologic and immunohistochemical features of the tumors were reviewed.

RESULTSOne patient was female and 4 were male. Ages of the patients ranged from 19 to 46 years. The sites of the tumor involvement were vulvar (2 cases), hypogastric zone (1 case), anterosuperior iliac spine (1 case) and buttock (1 case). Clinically, the tumor masses were painless and progressive solitary nodules. Microscopically, the tumor cell growth was infiltrative in nature, nodular in appearance with degenerative and necrotic cells at the central areas. The tumors consisted of relatively uniform epithelioid cells with round or oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for vimentin (5/5), CK (4/5), EMA (4/5), beta-catenin (3/5), CD34 (3/5), and S-100 protein (1/5), but were negative for SMA, MyoD1, Desmin, HMB-45, CK7 and CK20.

CONCLUSIONDefinitive diagnosis of PES relies on its histopathological characteristics in conjunction with appropriate immunohistochemical findings.

Adult ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Epithelioid Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Pelvic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Sarcoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Vimentin ; metabolism ; Vulvar Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Young Adult ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of surgical treatment for cancer of the pancreatic head.

METHODSThe clinical data of 96 patients with cancer of the pancreatic head admitted in our hospital from January 2002 to December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. pancreatoduodenectomy was performed in 48 cases, extended pancreatoduodenectomy in 30 cases, and Roux-Y cholangiojejunostomy in 18 cases.

RESULTSThe 1, 2 and 3-year survival rates were 59.2%, 41.8% and 13.2%, respectively, in the patients treated with pancreatoduodenectomy, and 73.2%, 58.2% and 24.1%, respectively, in the patients treated with extended pancreatoduodenectomy. The 1, 2 and 3-year survival rates were 36.8%, 15.8% and 5.3%, respectively, in the patients with unresectable tumor who received radiotherapy and (or) chemotherapy in Roux-Y cholangiojejunostomy. The postoperative morbidity was 29.2%, 30.0% and 27.8% in the patients treated with pancreatoduodenectomy, extended pancreatoduodenectomy and Roux-Y cholangiojejunostomy, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPancreatoduodenectomy is the most effective treatment. Extended pancreatoduodenectomy can improve the surgical resection rate, reduce the recurrence rate and improve the survival rate. Internal drainage is an important palliative measure.

Adult ; Aged ; Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jejunostomy ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; mortality ; surgery ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; methods ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo describe epidemiologic features of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Dongcheng District, Beijing occurred in a period between March and May 2003.

METHODSData of SARS cases notified from Dongcheng District Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)and supplemented by other channels were collected. Clinicians and officials of local hospitals were interviewed in groups and medical records of fatal cases of SARS were reviewed to verify the diagnosis. Stored serum specimens of the patients were detected for IgG antibody against SARS Co-V by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the data were input into dataset files by Microsoft Excel-2000 software and analyzed with SPSS version 10.0 software.

RESULTSOutbreak of SARS in Dongcheng District started on March 14, 2003 with a peak in mid- and late April, and dropped in early May. A total of 572 reported cases were collected during this period in Dongcheng District, Beijing, and 99 of them were excluded from SARS, because of diagnosis of common cold, regular pneumonia, measles and rubella, etc. Actually, 473 SARS cases, which included 390 (82.5%) probable cases and 83 (17.5%) suspect cases, were analyzed. About 90% of the probable cases were positive for IgG antibody. Attack rate of SARS in permanent residents of Dongcheng District was 28.3 per 100 000. Forty-one of them died, with a case-fatality rate of 8.7%. Persons were all susceptible to infection of SARS Co-V, with the highest proportion at ages of 20-50 years, which accounted for 68.7% of the total cases. Average age of the patients at their onset was 40.7 years. No gender difference in SARS cases was found. Number of SARS cases in health-care workers (HCWs) accounted for 18.0% and that in retired workers accounted for 15.4% of the total cases. Cases occurred in all 10 sub-districts of Dongcheng, with the highest in Beixinqiao and Andingmen Sub-districts. Totally, 230 of the 572 notified cases (40.2%) were hospitalized at local hospitals under the jurisdiction of Dongcheng District. Eighteen of 85 cases of SARS occurred in HCWs of local hospitals, accounting for 4.5% of the total number of HCWs working at wards caring for SARS patients or fever clinics. There were 34.7% of SARS cases without any histories of contact before the onset of the disease. Familial aggregation phenomena were observed in 41.8% of the cases and 18.1% of households. And 7.4% (attack rate) of those exposed to SARS cases suffered from the illness during the periods of quarantine.

CONCLUSIONSSARS appeared to be infectious in origin and caused outbreak in Dongcheng District, Beijing introduced by an imported case traveling from Hong Kong in a period between March and May 2003. People are all susceptible to infection of SARS Co-V, which mainly threatens the young adults and the middle-aged, as well as HCWs and the retired workers. The main mode of transmission is direct exposure to SARS patients in a near distance at hospitals or families via droplets spread. Prevention and control of SARS should be focused on early isolation of patients and quarantine for close contacts. Current available measures to prevent and control SARS are proved to be effective.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Family Health ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Hong Kong ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; analysis ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupations ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; epidemiology ; transmission ; Travel ; Urban Population

OBJECTIVETo improve the biological properties of decellularized aortic valves by polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated covalent incorporation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

METHODSPEG crosslinking of decellularized aortic valves were completed via a Michael-type addition reaction, followed by covalent incorporation of VEGF through another Michael-type addition reaction between the unsaturated propylene acyl of PEG and the thiol groups on cysteine residues of VEGF. The effect of VEGF incorporation was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immune fluorescence assay. The endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were seeded on decellularized aortic valves with or without these modifications, and after 10 days of culture, the valves were examined for DNA content and by hematoxylin-eosin staining and scanning electron microscopy.

RESULTSImmune fluorescence and ELISA showed that the maximal VEGF incorporation on the decellularized aortic valve reached 908.94∓0.27 pg. Compared with the unmodified valves and the valves with PEG crosslinking, decellularized aortic valves with covalent incorporation of VEGF significantly promoted the adhesion and proliferation of EPCs, which formed a confluent cell monolayer on the valve surface.

CONCLUSIONSPEG-mediated covalent incorporation of VEGF in the decellularized aortic valves improves the adhesion and proliferation of the seeded EPCs to facilitate the construction of tissue-engineered heart valves.

Animals ; Aortic Valve ; drug effects ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Polyethylene Glycols ; pharmacology ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Swine ; Tissue Engineering ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; pharmacology

BACKGROUNDVolatile anesthetics (VAs) may affect varied and complex physiology processes by manipulating Ca(2+)-calmodulin (CaM). However, the detailed mechanism about the action of VAs on CaM has not been elucidated. This study was undertaken to examine the effects of VAs on the conformational change, hydrophobic site, and downstream signaling pathway of CaM, to explore the possible mechanism of anesthetic action of VAs.

METHODSReal-time second-harmonic generation (SHG) was performed to monitor the conformational change of CaM in the presence of VAs, each plus 100 µmol/L Ca(2+). A hydrophobic fluorescence indicator, 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate (ANS), was utilized to define whether the VAs would interact with CaM at the hydrophobic site or not. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was carried out to analyze the activity of CaM-dependent phosphodiesterase (PDE1) in the presence of VAs. The VAs studied were ether, enflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane, with their aqueous concentrations 7.6, 9.5, 11.4 mmol/L; 0.42, 0.52, 0.62 mmol/L; 0.25, 0.31, 0.37 mmol/L and 0.47, 0.59, 0.71 mmol/L respectively, each were equivalent to their 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 concentration for 50% of maximal effect (EC50) for general anesthesia.

RESULTSThe second-harmonic radiation of CaM in the presence of Ca(2+) was largely inhibited by the VAs. The fluorescence intensity of ANS, generated by binding of Ca(2+) to CaM, was reversed by the VAs. HPLC results also showed that AMP, the product of the hydrolysis of cAMP by CaM-dependent PDE1, was reduced by the VAs.

CONCLUSIONSOur findings demonstrate that the above VAs interact with the hydrophobic core of Ca(2+)-CaM and the interaction results in the inhibition of the conformational change and activity of CaM. This in vitro study may provide us insight into the possible mechanism of anesthetic action of VAs in vivo.

Adenosine Monophosphate ; analysis ; Anesthetics, Inhalation ; pharmacology ; Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates ; Calmodulin ; antagonists & inhibitors ; chemistry ; physiology ; Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 1 ; analysis ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions

This study is purposed to investigate the effects of praeruptorin A (PA) and praeruptorin C (PC) on UGT1A1 in HepG2 cells through hCAR pathway. PA and PC were incubated with HepG2 cells for 24 h and 48 h, mRNA and protein expressions of UGT1A1 were determined by real-time PCR and Western blotting assays. Additionally, effects of PA and PC on UGT1A1 mRNA and protein expressions were also measured after transient transfection of a specific CAR siRNA for 72 h in HepG2 cells. UGT1A1 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly increased by PA and PC after incubation for 48 h. Moreover, the mRNA and protein up-regulations of UGT1A1 were attenuated by transient transfection of a specific CAR siRNA, suggesting the induction was mediated by CAR. The results suggest that PA and PC can significantly up-regulate UGT1A1 expression partially via the CAR-mediated pathway.
Apiaceae ; chemistry ; Coumarins ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glucuronosyltransferase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transfection