Objective To establish a continuous monitoring assay of serum argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) activity with automatic biochemistry analyzer, and perform methodology validation and preliminary clinical application.Methods According to the chemical reaction catalyzed by ASL and the working characteristics of automatic biochemistry analyzer, an enzyme coupled reaction system with high specificity was set up, and the methodology validation was performed.Three hundred and nine patients with various liver diseases, 269 non-liver disease patients and 40 healthy controls were enrolled in this study.Serum ASL, ALT, and AST level were determined in all subjects.Results A new kinetics assay of ASL activity was set up with automatic biochemistry analyzer.The methodological validation demonstratod that inter-assay and intra-assay coefficient of variation were 4.0% and 5.9% respectively and the mean recovery was 100.5%.The linear range was 0-167.7 U/L.The lowest detection limit was approximately 0 U/L.The interference test showed that there is no significant interferences while the concentration of bilirubin is less than 342 μmoL/L or commonly used anticoagulants is employed at their routine concentrations.However,interference was significant when Hb level is more than 0.06 g/L.Preliminary study of clinical application showed that there was no significant difference of serum ASL level between non-liver disease group and healthy group ( q = 0.027, P = 0.979 ), but there was significant differences for both serum ALT and AST levels (ALT:q =6.461,P =0.000;AST:q =6.481,P =0.000).Conclusions A continuous monitoring assay for the determination of serum ASL activity is successfully established. Serum ASL may be a good biomarker for liver injury.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of dopamine D2 receptor imaging agent (s)-(-)-N-(1-allylpyrrolidine-2-N-methyl)-5-(3-18F)-2,3-dimethoxy Benzamide (18F-Fallypride) for targeting islet cell imaging.Methods (1) Cytology experiment:Islet cells of 15×103 cells/well were incubated with 3.70 kBq/well 18F-Fallypride for 1 h and the uptake rate of cells was calculated (cell counts/(supernatant counts + cell counts)× 100％).Under the same experiment conditions,6 inhibiting groups were administrated with different concentration of dopamine inhibitors droperidol (1.0× 10-6,4.0× 10-6,2.0× 10-5,1.0× 10-4,5.0× 10-4 and 1.0× 10-3 mol/L,respectively).After 30 min,3.70 kBq of 18F-Fallypride was added to each inhibiting group,and the inhibiting rate was calculated.(2) Autoradiography:18 normal ICR mice were divided into 6 groups.For group A,ICR mice were injected with 18F-Fallypride (55 ± 5) MBq/mice through tail vein.For the other 5 inhibiting groups (group B-F),ICR mice were injected with different doses of droperidol (0.2,0.4,0.6,0.8 and 1.0 mg/kg,respectively),and after 30 min 18F-Fallypride were injected through tail vein.Ten minutes later,pancreas of ICR mice was taken for preparation of tissue section autoradiography.The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and the least significant difference t test.Results (1) The 18F-Fallypride uptake rate of control group was (18.40± 1.21) ％.The uptake rates of inhibiting groups were (16.11±1.37)％,(15.76±0.99)％,(13.90±1.02)％,(8.86±0.73)％,(7.26±0.62)％ and (6.92±0.58)％,respectively,which decreased with the decreasing concentration of droperidol (F=50.01,P＜0.01).When the concentration of droperidol was 1.0× 10-4 mol/L,the uptake rate reached the lowest with inhibiting rate of 51.85％.(2) The autoradiography showed that the pancreas gray scale value of group A was 1.21×106 digital light units (DLU)/mm2.The pancreas gray scale value of groups B to F decreased with increasing concentration of inhibitor:0.93× 106,0.77× 106,0.59× 106,0.32× 106 and 0.25×106 DLU/mm2,respectively.Conclusions 18F-Fallypride may specifically and efficiently bind to dopamine receptors of islet cells.It may be a potential tracer for islet cells imaging.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of gefitinib retreatment beyond progression(GRBP)in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients with rare EGFR mutations.Methods We retrospectively analyzed six rare-EGFR-mutation NSCLC patients from Jan 2011 to Dec 2015.Those patients had previous disease control and then disease progression according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1(RECIST v1.1)after taking oral gefitinib 250 mg once a day.After that,continuing gefitinib was decided by clinicians′ experience at the same treatment option.The primary endpoints were response rate(RR),overall survival(OS),the first and second progression-free survival(PFS-1 and PFS-2).Safety was assessed according to the NCI-CTCAE version 4.0.Results After initial treatment of gefitinib,4 patients achieved partial response(PR)and 2 patients showed stable disease(SD),with RR being 66.7％.The median PFS-1 and PFS-2 were 10 months(95％CI 6.6-13.4)and 9 months(95％CI 6.9-11.1),respectively.The median OS time was 28 months(95％CI 10.4-45.6).The most common treatment-related adverse events were fatigue,diarrhea,rash,itching and elevated transaminases.Conclusion In our study,gefitinib retreatment beyond disease progression is effective with a manageable tolerability profile.

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance may be a risk factor for hypertension,but the relationship between insulin resistance and hypertension are quite different from different race or nationalities. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between insulin resistance and hypertension in Chinese Mongolian population.DESIGN: Prevalent investigation.SETTING: Staff Room of Epidemiology, Public Health College of Harbin Medical University. PARTICIPANTS: Totally 232 patients with primary hypertension and persons with normal blood pressure, aged from 30-60 years from Kezuohouqi of Tongliao city in June 2001 based on the prevalent survey, and they all Mongoloid population. Examination was performed and blood pressure was measured. They were involved in this investigation after signing the consent. Other cardiovascular disease patients were excluded.METHODS: A total of 115 patients with primary hypertension and 117normotensives were selected with cluster sampling method. Height, body mass, waistline, hip line and waist-to hip ratio (WHR), I.e. Waist line/ hip line were standardization method. Body mass index (BMI) ＜ 24 kg/m2 or waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) ＜ 0.9, body mass or somatotype was partial to normal. Blood glucose was detected with glucose meter. Radio-immunoassay (RIA) were utilized to measure insulin and C-peptide. Degree of insulin resistance was determined by means of insulin sensitivity index (ISI), ISI =-ln [glucose (mmol/L) × insulin (Mu/L)]. After considering the effect of BMI and WHR as well as the stratification of BMI (≥24 kg/m2 and ＜ 24 kg/m2) and WHR (≥ 0.9 and ＜ 0.9), statistical analysis was performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ISI of the investigational subjects of the two groups. RESULTS: Totally 232 included investigational subjects were involved in the result analysis, without drop out. ①Comparison of ISI of the investigational subjects of the two groups: The ISI of the hypertension group was slightly lower than that of the normotensive group, but the difference was not significant [-3.56±0.27,-3.50±0.20(P ＞ 0.05)]. ②Comparison of ISI of the investigational subjects of the two groups after delamination according to BMI and WHR: When the BMI was less than 24, the ISI in the hypertension group was lower distinctly than that in the normotensive group [-3.56+0.27,-3.48±0.17(F=5.037, P ＜ 0.05)]. When the WHR was less than 0.9, the ISI of the hypertension group was lower dramatically than that in the normotensive group [-3.57+0.27,-3.49+0.20(F=4.537, P ＜ 0.05 )].CONCLUSION: The insulin resistance may be related to primary hypertension in non-obese Chinese Mongolian population.

Polygala hongkongensis Polycalaceae is mostly distributed in southern China, such as Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian and Sichuan provinces. And its herbs is used as a remedy of heat-clearing and detoxicating, removing food retention, promoting blood flow and expelling phlegm to arrest coughing in the folk medicine. Previous phytochemical investigations on Polygala plants have reported that the main chemical constituents are sapaonins, xanthones and oligosaccharide esters. To the best of our knowledge, there is no chemical report on the Polygala hongkongensis Hemsl. yet. In order to search and make use of natural resources from Polygala and to find the bioactive compounds and new compounds, we carried out studies on chemical constituents of this plant. The herbs of P. hongkongensis were extracted with 70% MeOH. The extract was combined and evaporated in vacuum to residue, which was suspended in water and successively partitioned with EtOAc and n-BuOH. Part of the n-BuOH extract was isolated and purified by various column chromatographs such as a macroporous resin, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 column and semipreparative HPLC. The structures of isolated and purified compounds were determined by spectral analysis such as UV, IR, HRESI-MS, ESI-MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HMQC, HMBC, H-H COSY, NOESY and physico-chemical property. Six compounds were identified as polyhongkonggaline (1), 3, 6'-di-O-sinapoyl-sucrose (2), tenuifoliside A (3), glomeratose D (4), cis-syringin (5), syringaresinol-4'-O-beta-D-monoglucoside (6). Compounds 1 is new compound, and 2-6 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Farther studies on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of P. hongkongensis will be carried out.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Phenylpropionates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polygala ; chemistry ; Pyrrolidines ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sucrose ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Adolescent ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Desmin ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Leg ; MART-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Melanoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Melanoma-Specific Antigens ; metabolism ; Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Sarcoma, Clear Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Skin Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery

To assess the influence of cyclosporin A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506) on mycophenolic acid (MPA) and correlation analysis of the pharmacokinetic parameters and patient characteristics, clinical outcome in Chinese kidney transplant recipients, the pharmacokinetics of 1000 mg mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) twice daily was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). PKS (Pharmaceutical Kinetics Software) 1.0.2 software package was used for the calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters. The mean C(max), t(max), and AUC((0-12))were (21.88+/-10.52) microg/ml, (1.20+/-0.95) h, and (52.546+/-13.215) microg.h/ml, respectively. The level of AUC((0-12)) in the FK506 group was significantly higher than that in the CsA group. MPA appeared not to be affected by renal function. MPA AUC((0-12)) showed statistically significant difference according to the patient's gender.
Adult ; Cyclosporine ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Kidney Transplantation ; physiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycophenolic Acid ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacokinetics ; Tacrolimus ; administration & dosage

Objective To study the relationship between TGF-?signaling pathway and pathogenesis of gastric carcinoma.Methods The expression of TGF-?RⅠ,TGF-?RⅡand Smad4 protein was deter- mined by immunohistochemistry in normal gastric mucosa(26 cases),intestinal metaplasia(22 cases),dysplasia (20 cases)and gastric carcinoma(43 cases).Results The positive expression rate of TGF-?RⅠ,TGF-?RⅡand Smad4 decreased following the malignant degree in gastric tissues(P

OBJECTIVETo isolate and elucidate the constituents of herbs of Polygala hongkongensis.

METHODThe constituents were isolated and purify by chromatographic on silica gel, Sephadax LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures were determined by NMR and MS spectral analysis.

RESULTSix compounds were identified as euxanthone (1), 1, 3, 6-trihydroxyxanthone (2), 1, 4, 7-trihydroxy-3-methoxy-xanthone (3), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (4), 3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (5), and methy 1 2, 5-dihydroxybenzoate (6).

CONCLUSIONThe known compounds 1-6 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Chromatography, Gel ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Hydroxybenzoates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mass Spectrometry ; Parabens ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polygala ; chemistry ; Xanthones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo analyze the influence of included angle between the anterior aspects of S2 and S vertebral bodies on pelvic inlet imaging in the pelvic midline sagittal plane.

METHODSTotally 58 axial pelvic CT scans were chosen as study objects including 43 males and 15 females,with an average age of 40.7 years old (ranged,18 to 68 years old). The angles between the anterior aspects of S2 and S1, vertebral bodies and the horizontal plane on midline sagittal CT reconstruction were measured to simulate the optimal S2 and S1 inlet angles. The included angle between the anterior aspects of S2 and S1 vertebral bodies was calculated by subtrocting the S1,inlet angle from the S2 inlet angle defined as a base number. Then, the impact of the calculated included angles on the pelvic inlet imaging was analyzed. Results:The S2 inlet angles averaged (30.5±6.5) degrees; the S inlet angles averaged (25.7±5.9) degrees. The difference between them was significant (t=3.35, P=0.001). Ten patients had zero angle between the anterior aspects of S2 and S1 vertebral bodies; 14 patients had negative angle, averaged-(8.9±8.1) degrees; 34 patients had positive angle,averaged (11.8+6.4) degrees.

CONCLUSIONThe difference of included angle between the anterior aspects of S2 and S1 vertebral bodies leads to the difference between S1 inlet view and S2 inlet view in most cases, complicating the pelvic inlet imaging,and affecting the reliability of the application of pelvic inlet view. Utilizing the angles measured on the preoperative midlihe sagittal CT reconstruction to obatin the patient-customized S1 and S2 inlet views could accurately guide the S1 and S2 iliosacral screw insertion.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Bone Screws ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvis ; anatomy & histology ; injuries ; Spine ; anatomy & histology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult