Acute Disease ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Stroke ; drug therapy

Objective To prepare controlled release microspheres of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)& calcium alginate and observe their effect on proliferation of human umbilical vein endo- thelial cells(HUVEC)in order to provide theoretical basis for controlled release of VEGF facilitating an- giogenesis of tissue engineering bone.Methods VEGF-calcium alginate microspheres were prepared by using the needle extrusion/external gelation method to investigate physicochemical character and in vitro release of VEGF.According to the different ingredients added into the culture medium,the seconda- ry cultured HUVEC were divided into four groups,ie,control group,microsphere group,VEGF group and VEGF-calcium alginate microsphere group,in which the proliferation of the cultured HUVEC was ob- served with cell counting method,MTT method and flow cytometry.Results The calcium alginate mi- crospheres were revealed as spherical shape and evenly distributed,with mean grain diameter of(560?50)?m,carrying capacity of 0.72 ng/mg and the encapsulation efficiency of 54%.Smooth controlled re- lease in VEGF-alginate microspheres lasted for more than 10 days.Proliferation of the cultured HUVEC was accelerated the most in VEGF group at the beginning but in EGF-calcium alginate microsphere group at midanaphase compared with other groups,with statistical difference(P＜0.05).There was no statis- tical difference upon cell counting,cell activity and time point of cell cycle between control group and mi- crosphere group.Conclusion VEGF-sodium alginate microapheres can continue activity of VEGF,re- lease VEGF for over 10 days and promote proliferation cultured HUVEC for a long time.

Halomonas sp.BYS-1 was a moderately halophilic bacteria strain isolated from activated sludge,It could grow on MM with NaCl concentration from 0.1～2.6 mol/L and phenyl acetic acid as sole carbon souce. When BYS-1 grew in the media with different concentrations of NaCl, there was no obvious change in its intracellular Na+ contents , it accumulated K+, glutamic acid and betaine as osmoprotectants. Its intracellular contents of K+,glutamic acid and betaine increased by 1.9,2.4 and 13.6 times, respectively, when the concentration of NaCl increased from 0.1 mol/L to 2mol/L.

1.6 kb ?4-desaturase gene(FAD4)was amplified by PCR using plasmid pGEM-TFAD4 as template.The fragment was subcloned into the HindⅢ/XbaⅠrestriction site of pYES2.0 vector.Recombinant plasmid pYFAD4 was transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain INVScl for expression.It was found to exhibit ?4-fatty acid desaturase activity in the recombinant S.cerevisiae YFAD4 in the presence of exogenous fatty acid substrate docosapentaenoic acid(100?mol/L)under introduction of GAL1.Expression of the FAD4 under appropriate media and temperature conditions led to the production of DHA and it reached 41.13% of the total yeast fatty acid by GC detection.It was suggested that the protein encoded by FAD4 could specifically catalyze DPA into DHA.

Objective To observe the effects of low-intensity(650 nm,5 mW)laser irradiation on the pathological changes associated with aortic atherosclerosis using a rabbit model.Methods Thirty-six male Zelanian rabbits were randomly divided into 4 equal groups:a control group,a laser irradiation group,a simvastatin treatment group and a laser plus simvastatin group,and were treated accordingly.After being fed the basic diet for a week,all the animals were fed a high fat diet during the experiment.Blood samples were taken for lipid assay at the 60th day. The animals were sacrificed at the 61st day and their aortas removed for gross and microscopic examination.Any pathological changes were graded as mild,intermediate or severe according to the indicators of atherosclerosis observed.Results There were no significant differences in blood fat levels among the four groups before the experi- ment,but significant differences in serum triglyceride prevailed after the treatments.Low-density lipoprotein(LDL)- C level in the control group was significantly higher than those in the laser irradiation,simvastatin treatment and laser plus simvastatin groups.There was also a very significant difference in high-density lipoprotein(HDL)-C levels among the laser irradiation group,the laser plus simvastatin group and the control group.The pathological changes observed were correlated with blood fat levels.Mild atherosclerosis was found in the treated groups,but severe or in- termediate atherosclerosis was more prevalent in the control group.Conclusion Low-intensity laser irradiation a- lone or combined with simvastatin can significantly decrease blood lipid levels and the severity of pathological changes associated with aortic atherosclerosis in this animal model.

Aim To investigate Jianpi Qinghua Chinese herbal compound( JQCC) on the expressions of the rel-evant proteins of TLR4 and its downstream MyD88-de-pendent pathways, and on the inflammatory factor TNF-α in the animal model of chronic atrophic gastritis ( CAG) in rats, so as to discuss the molecular mecha-nism of JQCC in the treatment of CAG. Methods 53 Wistar rats were randomly divided into the blank con-trol group(n=8) and the CAG model group(n=45), and the animal model of CAG in rats was replicated by the “ammonia + sodium deoxycholic acid + ethanol”method. After the successful modeling was confirmed, the rest of the 40 CAG rats in the CAG model group were divided into the model group, the vitacoenzyme-tablet group, the low dose of JQCC group, the medium dose of JQCC group, the high dose of JQCC group ( each group n =8 ) . The experimental animals of all the groups were given intragastric administration of medication continuously for 30 days. Then the patho-logical histological changes were observed by HE stai-ning. The protein expressions of TLR4, MyD88, NF-КB and COX-2 were tested by Western-blot assay. And the serum TNF-α level was measured by ELISA. Results The protein expressions of TLR4 , MyD88 , NF-КB and COX-2 and the serum TNF-α level in the rats in the model group were increased evidently ( P<0. 01). Compared with the model group, the gastric mucosa lesions were improved in the low dose of JQCC group, the medium dose of JQCC group, the high dose of JQCC group, together with significant decreases of the protein expressions of TLR4 , MyD88 , NF-κB and COX-2 and the serum TNF-α level ( P <0. 05 or P <0. 01 ) . Conclusion JQCC could effectively improve the pathological and histological changes in the gastric mucosa in CAG rats, and the therapeutic mechanism might be related to the expressions of the relevant pro-teins of TLR4-MyD88-dependent pathways and the ex-pressions of anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Mycelial morphology are exploited a great influnence to the metabolites of fungi. The effect of the mycelial morphology on producing lycopene by Blakeslea tripora was investigated. The results indicated that pellets has little role on fermentation when adding kerosene and triton-x100, However, The content of lycopene in the medium reached to 98.6mg/L by adding Ig/L span-20, forming dispersed mycelia, which is 3 times of the control experiments.

Objective To examine clinical and economic outcomes associated with Beers criteria (2003 and 2012 version) of potentiallyinappropriate medication(PIM) use.Methods A systematic literature search about impact of 2003 and 2012 Beers criteria published from 2003 to 2016 was carried out in following databases:PubMed,Cochrane library,CNKI and CBM.The studies were screened according to the pre-designed in clusion and exclusion criteria,and were assessed risk of bias using Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS).Data were extractedto performmeta-analysis and descriptive analysis.Results A total of 23 studies were included in our systematic review.All the study scores were more than 6 stars.The results of analysis suggested that,patients with PIM identified by Beers criteria had higher incidence of hospitalization [OR =1.47,95％ CI (1.14,1.89),P＜0.01],ADR[OR =1.74,95％ CI(1.23,2.47),P ＜0.01],emergency department visit(ED visit) [OR =1.69,95％ CI (1.21,2.37),P ＜ 0.01] and cost compared with non-PIM patient,but there was no significantly different in mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQOL).Conclusion The application of Beers criteria can reduce hospitalization,ED visit and ADR.

OBJECTIVETo select sub-clinical patients with symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) without X-ray changes by measuring the serum level of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) with ELISA, so as to diagnose and treat patients with knee osteoarthritis at early stage.

METHODSThe 115 patients with KOA or with symptomatic primary KOA were enrolled from August 2007 to September 2009, which was OA group; and 35 healthy people in the control group. In OA group, there were 55 males and 60 females,ranging in age from 39 to 76 years, with an average of (55 +/- 13.32) years; the body mass index (BMI) ranged from 15.1 to 29.8; the disease course ranged from 6 to 60 months. In the control group, there were 16 males and 19 females, ranging in age from 36 to 77 years, with an average of (53 +/- 12.53) years; the BMI ranged from 14.8 to 29.2. Patients with symptomatic primary knee OA of Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grade I-IV were evaluated. Serum level of COMP and its correlation with OA grade were analyzed by ELISA method. The patients were treated with Celecoxib capsules. The patients in OA group were followed up, and the duration ranged from 24 to 38 months (averaged, 33.4 months), and the serum level of COMP were analyzed before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe serum level of COMP in the control group varied with age (t= 2.50, P=0.02). The serum level of COMP did not correlate with gender (control group: t=0.98, P=0.34; OA group: t=0.18, P= 0.86), BMI (control group: t=0.56, P=0.92; OA group: t=0.17, P=0.85) and smoking (control group: t=1.89, P=0.08; OA group: t=0.70, P=0.49). The serum level of COMP was higher in the patients with higher K-L grades than in the patients with lower K-L grades (F=15.56, P=0.001) . The sub-clinical KOA patients without X-ray changes can be detected significant higher COMP levels than sub-clinical patients with other diseases (t=2.55, P=0.03). Therefore, according to this method, subclinical OA patients can be detected from people with other sub-clinical diseases successfully.

CONCLUSIONThe serum level of COMP can be used as a potential prognostic marker to diagnose KOA.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Body Mass Index ; Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; blood ; Female ; Glycoproteins ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Matrilin Proteins ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; blood ; diagnosis

Objective　To explore the role of acute infection of Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) in respiratory diseases. Methods　Microimmunofluorescence test was used to detect IgG antibodies for Cpn in serum obtained from 93 inpatients and PCR was used to test Cpn in detection of Cpn DNA in throat specimens from 55 of the 99 patients. Results　Acute Cpn infection was diagnosed in 35.5% of the respiratory diseases. Antibodies for Cpn (titer of ≥512) were present in 47.6% of the pneumonia group, which may suggest that during 1998 to 1999, Cpn caused an epidemic in Beijing. They were also present in 50% of asthma group, 50.0% of pulmonary heart disease group and 26.3% of lung cancer group. Only five patients (9.1%) were positive by PCR. There exists discrepancy between serological and PCR results. Conclusion　Detection of IgG antibodies for Cpn conduces to diagnosis of acute Cpn infection and give advice for appropriate therapy.