An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) combined with reference herb method was developed to rapidly screen commercial sulfur-fumigated ginseng. Sufur-fumigated ginseng reference herb was prepared using genuine ginseng by conventional procedure. Then the reference sulfur-fumigated ginseng sample was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS to identify characteristic marker components. 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate with higher abundance was se- lected as marker compound from 8 characteristic components identified in sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb. The fragmentation of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was extensively investigated, fragment ion m/z 879.44 with higher intensity was chosen as the characteristic ion of sulfur-fumigated ginseng. The response of ion m/z 879. 44 was improved by optimizing the MS conditions so that this ion could be used as the characteristic marker ion for screening purpose in ion extracting screening mode. The established approach was successfully applied to inspect 21 commercial ginseng samples collected from different cities in China It was found that the chemical profiles of 9 samples were similar to that of sulfur-fumigated ginseng reference herb, and the characteristic ion m/z 879. 44 of 25-hydroxyl-Re sulfate was also detected in these samples, suggesting that there were nearly 43% ginseng samples analyzed being sulfur-fumigated. This findng agreed well with the results of sulfur dioxide residues of these 21 commercial ginseng samples determined with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia Compared with the method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia, the proposed approach is more rapid and specific for screening sulfur-fumigated ginseng. SFDA of China should strengthen the enforcement to prohibit ginseng being sulfur-fumigated, so that ginseng and it preparations could be effectively and safely benefit to the health of human beings.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; standards ; Drug Contamination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Fumigation ; Panax ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reference Standards ; Sulfur ; chemistry ; Sulfur Dioxide ; analysis ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; standards ; Time Factors

Objective To research the functional polymer liposome-trapped gold nanoparticles as molecular probes used as CT contrast agents.Methods Gold nanoparticles were entrapped by ultrasonic micro-emulsion method using self-developed linoleic acid-modified dextran polymer liposome.Under the same concentrations,clinical imaging was performed with Iohexol as control for the analysis of CT value differences.Then,the particle suspensions at appropriate concentration(6 mg/mL)were intravenously injected into Balb/c nude mice for real-time observation of CT imaging.ResultsIn vitro results showed that nanoparticles at greater than 4 mg/mL could present much higher CT value than Iohexol at the same conditions,while in vivo studies indicated nanoparticles could clearly show different organ contrast with prolonged circulation time.Conclusion Compared to clinical contrast agent Iohexol,functional polymer liposome entrapped gold nanoparticles could possess a great application prospect to be used as a new type of molecular probes for CT enhanced imaging.

Pancreatic exocrine function examination is mainly divided into direct examination and indirect examinationmethods. Direct examination methods include secretin test, secretin-caerulein test, endoscopic pancreatic function test, secretin-stimulated magnetic resonance pancreatography, Lundh test, etc. Indirect examination methods are comprised of routine serological testing, fecal fat detection, fecal enzyme detection, breath test, urine analysis of specific substances and so on. Direct examination has higher accuracy than indirect examination, but it is more invasive and cumbersome than noninvasive indirect examination. In this review, we summarized the clinical application and progress of pancreatic exocrine function examination.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of CO₂ pneumoperitoneum in operating rooms on the health of medical staffs. Methods: In June 2016, the thirty-three medical staffs in operating rooms were chosen as the object of the research.Seventeen people who took part in the pneumoperitoneum operation were selected as a exposure group and sixteen people who took part in the laparotomy operation were selected as a control group.Vital signs and arterial blood gases of medical staffs in the two groups were both measured in pre-operation and post-operation. Occupational Health Questionnaires were conducted to collect information on age, weight and postoperative symptoms. The level of CO₂ in operating room was determined by a portable infrared CO₂ analyzer. Results: Compared with the control group, the concentration of CO₂ in the exposed group was higherat T₁, T₂ and T₃ (t=22.227, 13.583, 17.408, P<0.05) . Heart rates and PaCO₂ in the exposure group raised greatly (t=2.132, 2.129, P<0.05) , while pH decreased (t=-3.015, P<0.05) . The differences between the two groups were statistically significant. Conclusion The increase of mild acidosis and thesense of job burnout in medical staffs could be caused by CO₂ pollution in the operating rooms.

To study the effect of steaming and baking process on contents of alkaloids in Aconite Lateralis Radix (Fuzi), 13 alkaloids were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS equipped with ESI ion source in MRM mode. In steaming process, the contents of diester-diterpenoid alkaloids decreased rapidly, the contents of monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids firstly increased, reached the peak at 40 min, and then deceased gradually. The contents of aconine alkaloids (mesaconine, aconine and hypaconine) increased all the time during processing, while the contents of fuziline, songorine, karacoline, salsolionl were stable or slightly decreased. In baking process, dynamic variations of alkaloids were different from that in the steaming process. Diester-diterpenoid alkaloids were degraded slightly slower than in steaming process. Monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids, aconine alkaloids and the total alkaloids had been destroyed at different degrees, their contents were significantly lower than the ones in steaming Fuzi at the same processing time. This experiment revealed the dynamic variations of alkaloids in the course of steaming and baking. Two processing methods which can both effectively remove the toxic ingredients and retain the active ingredients are simple and controllable, and are valuable for popularization and application.
Aconitine ; analogs & derivatives ; isolation & purification ; Aconitum ; chemistry ; Alkaloids ; isolation & purification ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drug Stability ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; Hot Temperature ; Plant Extracts ; isolation & purification ; Steam ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility and clinical application value of selecting viable spermatozoa by noncontact diode laser.

METHODSWe obtained immotile spermatozoa from 2 infertile men with obstructive azoospermia or severe asthenospermia and selected viable spermatozoa using a single laser shot at the sperm tail. Those that responded to the laser shot by a curling reaction of the tail were regarded as presumably viable and used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

RESULTSThe mean fertilization rate was 88.89% after ICSI with the laser-selected viable spermatozoa. Both of the embryo transfers resulted in a single pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONNoncontact diode laser is a useful alternative for the assessment of sperm viability, which may help to achieve successful pregnancy.

Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Motility ; Sperm Tail ; physiology

Objective To look for the genes of Schistosoma japonicum related to the Schistosoma-resistance of Microtus fortis.Methods The fresh sera of Microtus fortis were used to screen a T7 phage display cDNA library from worms of Schistosoma japonicum established in our lab.The positive clones were sequenced and functionally analysed through bioinformatics.Results The specific phages binding to the sera of Microtus fortis were enriched 857-fold after three rounds of biopanning,and 58 positive clones picked at random were sequenced and 10 ESTs were obtained.BLASTn results showed that 7 ESTs had 99%-100% similarity to the genes of Shistosoma japonicum reported in GenBank and 1 EST had 82% similarity to a zinc finger protein encoden gene from Pan troglodytes.The results of these ESTs function prediction indicated most of them were involved in the regulation of gene expresion of Schistosoma japonicum.Conclusions Several target genes of Schistosoma japonicum related to the Schistosoma-resistance of Microtus fortis are obtained and those would lay foundation to expatiate the native resistance mechnism of Microtus fortis to Schistosoma japonicum.

AIM: To investigate the antitumor activity and mechanism of Paecilomyces tenuipes polysaccharide(PTPS).METHODS: PTPS-I was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation,and purified by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography.Human erythroleukemia cell line K562,laryngocarcinoma cell line Hep2 and hepatic carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721were co-cultured with PTPS-I or the conditioned medium which prepared with PTPS-I-stimulated human mononuclear cells(PTPS-I-MNC-CM),and the proliferation of tumor cells was determined.The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) was used to determine the proliferation of MNCs.The FQ-RT-PCR was applied to investigate the expression of TNF-? and IL-6 mRNA in MNCs.RESULTS: PTPS-I-MNC-CM inhibited the proliferation of K562,Hep2 and SMMC-7721 cells in vitro(P

This study was purposed to detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and the expression of homing molecules on peripheral blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, and to analyze the correlation between ROS level and the expression of homing molecules. The survival percentage of PBMNC was determined by trypan blue exclusion rate. The expression of antigens on peripheral blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, such as CD34, CD133 and some related homing molecules (VLA4, CXCR4 and CD44) were detected by flow cytometry. The correlation of the ROS levels with the expression of homing molecules was evaluated by the correlation coefficient. The results showed that the survival rate of PBMNC was gradually reduced along with prolongation of cryopreserved time, and there was a significant difference in the survival percentage of cryopreserved PBMNC between experimental group frozen for 3, 6, 9, 12 months and control group (P < 0.05). The expression of marked antigen CD34 and CD133, and homing adhesive molecules of CD44, VLA4 and CXCR4 declined with the extension of frozen time, and there was significant statistical difference (P < 0.05) between experimental group cryopreserved for a year and control group. The level of ROS in PBMNC gradually increased along with the prolongation of cryopreserved time, and there was significant statistical difference (P < 0.05) between experimental group freezing-stored for 6, 9 and 12 months and control group. The correlation coefficients of ROS level and expression percentage CD34(+) VLA4(+), CD34(+) CXCR4(+), CD34(+) CD44(+) PBMNC were -0.50, -0.457, -0.465, respectively. It is concluded that ROS level in PBMNC increases significantly with the prolonged cryopreservation time, especially for more than 6 months. There is a significant negative correlation between the ROS level of PBMNC and the expression rate of homing molecules. Higher level of ROS may be one of the reasons for the reduction of homing capability in peripheral blood stem/progenitor cells after cryopreservation.
AC133 Antigen ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Cryopreservation ; Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; metabolism ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Peptides ; metabolism ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; metabolism

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by rigidity, akinesia, resting tremor and postural instability. It has recently been suggested that low frequency stimulation of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) has a role in the therapy for Parkinsonism, particularly in gait disorder and postural instability. However, there is limited information about the mechanism of low frequency stimulation of the PPN on Parkinson's disease. The present study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of low frequency stimulation of the PPN on the firing rate of the ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VL) in a rat model with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioning of the substantia nigra pars compacta. In vivo extracellular recording and microiontophoresis were adopted. The results showed that the firing rate of 60.71% VL neurons in normal rats and 59.57% VL neurons in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats increased with low frequency stimulation of the PPN. Using microiontophoresis to VL neurons, we found the firing rate in VL neurons responded with either an increase or decrease in application of acetylcholine (ACh) in normal rats, whereas with a predominant decrease in M receptor antagonist atropine. Furthermore, the VL neurons were mainly inhibited by application of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and excited by GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline. Importantly, the VL neurons responding to ACh were also inhibited by application of GABA. We also found that the excitatory response of the VL neurons to the low frequency stimulation of the PPN was significantly reversed by microiontophoresis of atropine. These results demonstrate that cholinergic and GABAergic afferent nerve fibers may converge on the same VL neurons and they are involved in the effects of low frequency stimulation of the PPN, with ACh combining M(2) receptors on the presynaptic membrane of GABAergic afferents, which will inhibit the release of GABA in the VL and then improve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Acetylcholine ; metabolism ; Action Potentials ; Animals ; Cholinergic Fibers ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Male ; Oxidopamine ; Parkinson Disease, Secondary ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ventral Thalamic Nuclei ; physiology