Trichosanthes kirilowii has been widely cultivated as its medicinal use, health care and food value. Drought resistance of seedlings is an important feature in breeding. Seeds of two T. kirilowii strains were used to research the difference of surface ultrastructure characteristic and drought resistance. Scanning electron microscope was used to identify the surface ultrastructure characteristic of seeds and PEG was used to simulate drought stress. The seeds germination rate, MDA content, chlorophyll content and the antioxidant enzymes activity were measured under the drought stress. The results showed that the seed surface colour of KXY-001 was lighter than that of KXY-005. The testa cobwebbing of KXY-001 was more intensive than that of KXY-005. The germination rate of KXY-001 was higher than that of KXY-005 under drought stress. The MDA content was increased and the chlorophyll content was decreased with the increasing of drought degree. The SOD activity of KXY-001 was higher than that of KXY-005, while the activity of POD and CAT was also increased firstly and decreased later. Surface reticulate of seeds and hilar traits can be used as identification points to identify the investigated strains. SOD and POD are activated to resist drought in T. kirilowii seedlings and the drought resistance of KXY-001 is superior than that of KXY-005.
Adaptation, Physiological ; drug effects ; Catalase ; metabolism ; Chlorophyll ; metabolism ; Droughts ; Germination ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Polyethylene Glycols ; pharmacology ; Seedlings ; metabolism ; Seeds ; growth & development ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Species Specificity ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Trichosanthes ; classification ; growth & development ; metabolism

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of oral mifepristone (10 mg/day) versus placebo in the preoperative treatment of uterine fibroids.Methods:This study was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo, parallel controlled trial. A total of 132 patients with uterine fibroids were randomly divided into study group and control group, with 66 cases in each group. The patients in the study group orally took 1 tablet/day of mifepristone (dose of 10 mg/tablet), the patients in the control group orally took 1 tablet/day of placebo, and both groups were treated for 3 months. The primary efficacy evaluation indicators were the change rate of maximum fibroid volume; the secondary efficacy evaluation indicators included amenorrhea rate, improvement of subjective symptoms and anemia; the safety evaluation indicators included the analysis of adverse events and changes in laboratory biochemical indicators.Results:At the end of treatment, the maximum leiomyoma volume was reduced by 25.97% (95% CI: -34.79%--15.95%) in the study group and reduced by 1.51% (95% CI: -13.03%-11.54%) in the control group. The change rate of the maximum leiomyoma volume before and after treatment in the study group was significantly greater than that in the control group, and the difference in the change rate of the maximum leiomyoma volume between the two groups was -24.84% (95% CI: -36.56%--10.94%), which was much higher than the 10% superiority threshold goal set by this study within the 95% CI interval. At the end of treatment, the complete amenorrhea rate [84% (52/62)], dysmenorrhea elimination rate [98% (61/62)], and menstrual blood loss disappearance rate [87% (54/62)] in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). At the end of treatment, the mean hemoglobin [(131±13) g/L], red blood cell count [(4.5±0.4)×10 12/L] and hematocrit (0.39±0.03) in the study group were significantly increased compared with the baseline, and the differences had statistical significance (all P<0.05); after treatment, the differences in the above three indicators between the two groups had statistical significance (all P<0.01). The serum estradiol level in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group at the end of treatment, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in follicle-stimulating hormone and cortisol levels before and after treatment between the two groups ( P>0.05). The overall incidences of any adverse event were not significantly different between the two groups (all P>0.05). Abdominal pain was the most common adverse event in the study group [9% (6/65)], but the incidence was not significantly increased compared with the control group [3% (2/64); P>0.05]. Conclusion:Compared with placebo, oral mifepristone 10 mg/day is significantly superior to placebo in reducing the size of uterine fibroids and improving anemia, without significant adverse reactions, and could be used as a drug treatment for patients with of uterine fibroids before surgery.

Ten flavonoids were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of the seeds of Alpinia galanga Willd. with a combination of various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. On the basis of spectroscopic data analysis, they were elucidated as (2R, 3S)-pinobaksin-3-cinnamate (1), (2R, 3R)-pinobaksin-3-cinnamate (2), pinocembrin (3), pinobaksin (4), 3-O-acetylpinobaksin (5), galangin (6), galangin-3-methylether (7), kumatakenin (8), 3-methylkaempferol (9) and (2R, 3R)-3, 5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone (10). Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, compounds 2, 5 and 10 were isolated from the genus Alpinia for the first time, and others were isolated from this plant for the first time.
Alpinia ; chemistry ; Benzopyrans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Cinnamates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Flavanones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Kaempferols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seeds ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo report the initial clinical experience of endovascular thoracic branched stent grafts in the treatment of aortic arch dissections involving the left subclavian artery.

METHODSFrom February 2004 to June 2004, 14 patients were cured with the endovascular thoracic branched aortic stent-grafts made by Beijing YuHengJia SciTech Co. All patients had Stanford type B aortic dissection with the entry tears just beyond the origin of the left subclavian artery by an average distance of 8.7 mm. The branched stents were consisted of the aortic section and the branched section. The diameter of the stents was 15% to 20% larger than the diameter of the landing zones of native arteries. The repair procedure was performed in angiography laboratory. The branched stent grafts were delivered under fluoroscopic guidance and implanted into the aortic arch including the left subclavian artery.

RESULTSFourteen branched stent-grafts and 2 additional flexible stent-grafts were delivered successfully in all 14 cases. The entry tears were excluded completely, and the truth lumen of the dissection was revealed to the normal diameter in all patients. Neither peripheral complication nor death occurred. All 14 patients had recover the normal life.

CONCLUSIONIt demonstrates that it is possible to apply the technical feasibility of endovascular thoracic branched aortic stent graft to repair the intimal tear of dissection just beyond the left subclavian artery.

Adult ; Aged ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; instrumentation ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVEHeart failure is responsible for a huge burden in hospital care. Our goal was to evaluate the value of N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) on predicting death or hospital readmission after hospital discharge in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

METHODSFrom March 2003 to April 2005, 135 consecutive patients (97 male and 38 female, mean age 60.7 years +/- 13.1 years) with chronic heart failure [dilated cardiomyopathy (44%) and coronary heart disease (35%)] were included in this study. Plasma concentrations of the Nt-proBNP were measured by ELISA on admission. All patients received conventional therapy and were followed up for 24 months. The primary end point was death or readmission.

RESULTS(1) During the follow up period (640 days +/- 100 days), 11 patients died and 39 patients rehospitalized, the median Nt-proBNP level on admission was significantly higher in patients died during the follow up period (5908 ng/L) than that of rehospitalized patients (2768 ng/L, P = 0.038). Plasma Nt-proBNP level on admission were significantly higher in primary end point group (n = 50, 2947 ng/L) than that in non-primary end point group (n = 85, 917 ng/L, P < 0.01). (2) Variables associated with an increased hazard of death and/or rehospitalization were Nt-proBNP and NYHA degree when analyzed by logistic regression models. Increased Log Nt-proBNP was the strongest independent predictor of an adverse outcome of CHF (odds ratio 13.8, 95% confidence interval 2.29 to 2.78, P < 0.01). (3) Area under the curve for Nt-proBNP in evaluating prognosis of CHF patients was 0.885 (positive predictive value 88.5%, negative predictive value 11.5%).

CONCLUSIONNt-proBNP level on admission is a strong predictor of rehospitalization and death within 24 months after hospital discharge in patients with chronic heart failure.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiac Output, Low ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Heart Failure ; blood ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; blood ; Peptide Fragments ; blood ; Prognosis ; Ventricular Function ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the source of human infection H9N2 avian influenza virus (AIV). Methods Environmental AIV nucleic acid monitoring was conducted for live poultry markets in Changsha city from 2014 to 2015, and data of human infection H9N2 subtype AIV cases worldwide were collected. Phylogenetic trees of hemagglutinin(HA), neuraminidase(NA)and non-structural protein(NS)genes from human infection H9N2 subtype AIV, the live poultry markets environmental H9N2 subtype AIV and partial avian H9N2 subtype AIV were constructed using the MEGA 6.06 software, respectively. Results In 2014-2015, H9 subtype AIV had the highest nucleic acid positive rate (44.76%) in the live poultry markets environment of Changsha city, and the pollution was serious. A total of 27 cases of human infection with H9N2 subtype AIV had been reported worldwide, and most of these patients recovered after treatments.Epidemiological survey showed that 59.26% (16/27) of cases had a clear history of exposure to poultry or live poultry markets. The phylogenetic trees of HA, NA and NS genes showed that the human infection H9N2 subtype AIV isolates isolated from Hunan and Guangdong were closely related to the H9N2 subtype AIV isolated from the live poultry markets environment in Hunan and Guangdong provinces from 2013 to 2016. The nucleotide similarity was as high as 97%-99%. Conclusion Live poultry market is one of the sources of human infection with H9N2 influenza virus.

Objective To observe the correlation between plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and left ventricular structure in hypertensive patients.Methods A total of 201 hypertensive patients [117 male,aged from seventeen to sixty eight years old,mean (43.6 ± 10.2) years] were included.All subjects underwent echocardiography examination for measurement of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD),LV posterior wall thickness (LVPWT),interventricular septum thickness (IVST) and LV mass index (LVMI).Plasma PAC was also measured at three postural positions.According to the sitting PAC,subjects were divided into high aldosterone group (PAC≥120 ng/L,n =83) and normal aldosterone (PAC ＜ 120 ng/L,n =118) group.Bivariate correlation and multiple stepwise regression analysis were performed to analyze the correlation between left ventricular structure parameters and PAC.Results IVST,LVPWT values were significantly higher in the increased PAC group than that in normal PAC group [(10.4 ± 1.0) mm vs.(10.9 ± 1.8) ram,(10.1 ± 0.7) mm vs.(10.4 t 1.5) mm,all P ＜ 0.05].Bivariate correlation analysis showed that PAC was weakly correlated with IVST (r =0.190,P ＜ 0.05),while was not correlated to LVMI,LVPWT and LVEDD (all P ＞ 0.05).Multiple linear stepwise regression analysis showed that PAC was positively correlated with IVST and LVPWT (β =0.206 and β =0.241,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05),but was not correlated to LVMI and LVEDD (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion PAC is positively correlated with IVST and LVPWT in hypertensive patients.

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency and safety of low intensity conditional regimen for children with Fanconi anemia (FA) receiving allogenic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: Four patients diagnosed as Fanconi anemia were enrolled in this study. One patient received HLA-identical sibling donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, two patients underwent unrelated donor matched (UD) HSCT, and one patient received unrelated cord blood transplantation. The conditional regimen consisted of Busulfan with low dose of cyclophosphamide. Results: All 4 cases succeeded in allo-HSCT. The median time for neutrophils engraftment was 11(9-15) day, median time to platelets (PLT) engraftment was 12 (8-28) day. One case occurred with grade I of aGVHD, 1 case with hemorrhagic cystitis. No patient happened with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Conclusion: Low intensity of conditional regimen is efficient and safe which should be recommended for FA patients with HSCT.
Busulfan ; Fanconi Anemia ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Transplantation Conditioning

The aim of the present study was to observe the expression of pyroptosis- and inflammation-related proteins in the hippocampus of mice with insulin resistance (IR) after aerobic exercise, and to explore the possible mechanism of exercise to improve IR. C57BL/6J male mice of 6 weeks old were randomly fed with normal diet (n = 12) and high-fat diet (HFD) (n = 26) for 12 weeks respectively. Glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were performed to determine whether IR occurred in HFD mice. Then the mice were randomly divided into control group (n = 12), IR group (n = 10) and IR + aerobic exercise group (AE, n = 10). Mice in AE group performed a 12-week progressive speed treadmill training after being adapted to the treadmill for one week. After the intervention, the expression of pyroptosis- and inflammation-related proteins in hippocampus was detected by Western blot. The results showed that compared with control group, NFκB, Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC), pyroptosis-related proteins like pro-Caspase-1, gasdermin D (GSDMD), GSDMD-N, and inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-18 were significantly increased. The inflammasome-related protein NIMA-related kinase 7 (NEK7) and pyroptosis-related protein Caspase-1 showed an increasing trend, but there was no significant difference. Compared with the IR group, progressive speed treadmill training significantly reduced the expression of NFκB, NLRP3, NEK7, ASC, pro-Caspase-1, GSDMD, GSDMD-N, IL-1β, and IL-18 in the hippocampus of mice with IR. These results suggested 12-week progressive speed treadmill training can significantly reduce the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins and inflammatory factors in the hippocampus of mice with IR, and inhibit pyroptosis.
Animals ; Caspase 1 ; Gene Expression ; Hippocampus ; Inflammasomes ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NIMA-Related Kinases ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Pyroptosis

BACKGROUND: Among malignant tumors, lung cancer has the highest mortality rate. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a kind of malignant lung cancer. Its doubling time is very fast. Patients are prone to drug resistance during treatment, and their condition often deteriorates rapidly after recurrence. Except for topotecan, there is a lack of effective second-line single-agent chemotherapy. This study aims to analysis the efficacy and safety of irinotecan (CPT-11) in the second-line treatment of refractory and relapsed SCLC. METHODS: A total of 107 SCLC patients were collected from the Department of Oncology, Jilin Guowen Hospital, who were diagnosed from April 2012 to March 2020, relapsed within 6 months after first-line treatment, and received second-line chemotherapy with single-agent CPT-11. Follow-up until November 2020, calculate the patient's progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and summarize the effects and adverse reactions of CPT-11 chemotherapy. RESULTS: The patient's median PFS was 3.8 (3.4-4.4) months, median OS was 8.1 (6.5-10.9) months, objective response rate (ORR) was 16.82% (18/107), and DCR was 55.14% (59/107). The incidence of grade 3-4 adverse reactions in patients was relatively low. Among them, neutropenia was 13.08%, delayed diarrhea was 7.48%, nausea and vomiting was 17.76%, and liver function impairment was 6.54%. The influencing factors of PFS in single-agent CPT-11 second-line chemotherapy were gender (P=0.001), NSE (P=0.029), and effusion (P=0.040). While the influencing factors of OS were NSE level only (P=0.033). CONCLUSIONS For patients with refractory relapsed SCLC, CPT-11 single-agent second-line chemotherapy has a certain effect, is well tolerated, and is worthy of promotion.
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