The morphological indexes of the Scuophularia ningpoensis seedlings including the longth, diameter and weight were measured, clustering analysis was used to set up the standard quality grading of seedlings of S. Ningpoensis by SPSS. Field experiment was carried out to measure the indicators of plants growth and development, the yield and the quality. The results showed that the growth and yield of class I seedlings were better than those of class II and III. The content of main active ingredients was affected barely by seedlings classification. To ensure the quality, class II seedlings or above should be used for plantation. The established quality classification standard of S. ningpoensis seedlings was scientific and feasible, and provides the basis for the standardized cultivation of S. ningpoensis.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; standards ; Quality Control ; Scrophularia ; chemistry ; classification ; growth & development ; Seedlings ; chemistry ; growth & development

Global Health ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H2N2 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; history ; mortality ; virology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) in tissues of normal human prostate (NP), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostate cancer (PCa) in order to assess the clinical role of PDCD5 in PCa.

METHODSPDCD5 expression was determined by EnVision immunohistochemical staining in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens obtained from 12 subjects with NP, 22 with BPH, and 22 with PCa. In addition, PCa cases were classified as low/middle-risk (Gleason sum < or = 7) and high-risk (Gleason sum >7) on the basis of Gleason grade. Positive expression rates and intensity of PDCD5 protein were observed under light microscope and analyzed with computer imaging technique. Expression of PDCD5 was compared among different prostatic tissues.

RESULTSThe expression of PDCD5 was significantly lower in tissue of PCa than in tissues of NP and BPH (P<0.01). However, there was no significant difference in PDCD5 expression between tissues of NP and BPH. In addition, the expression of PDCD5 was further downregulated with the increase of Gleason sum in PCa.

CONCLUSIONSBy downregulating apoptosis, low PDCD5 expression may play an important role in the occurrence and development of PCa. PDCD5 is supposed to have a potential clinical value to be a new predictor of progression and target of gene therapy in PCa.

Aged ; Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; analysis ; physiology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; analysis ; physiology ; Prostate ; chemistry ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; chemistry ; etiology ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship of the incidence of bronchial dysplasia (bronchial anomalous origin and bronchial stenosis) with congenital heart disease.

METHODSA total of 185 children with congenital heart disease or bronchial dysplasia were enrolled. Bronchial dysplasia was identified by the 64-MSCT conventional scanning or thin slice scanning with three-dimensional reconstruction.

RESULTSForty-five children (25.3%) had coexisting bronchial dysplasia and congenital heart disease. The incidence rate of bronchial dysplasia in children with congenital heart disease associated with ventricular septal defect was higher than in those without ventricular septal defect (33.7% vs 15.0%; P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence rate of bronchial dysplasia between the children with congenital heart disease who had a large vascular malformation and who did not.

CONCLUSIONSBronchial dysplasia often occurs in children with congenital heart disease. It is necessary to perform a tracheobronchial CT scanning with three-dimensional reconstruction to identify tracheobronchial dysplasia in children with congenital heart disease, especially associated with ventricular septal defect.

Adolescent ; Bronchi ; abnormalities ; embryology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Infant ; Male ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo investigate the cell-killing effect of adenovirus-mediated TK-ganciclovir (GCV) gene therapy in combination with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) against murine bladder carcinoma cells in vitro.

METHODSMurine bladder carcinoma MB49 cells were transfected with the adenoviral vector containing TK gene and green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. The transfection efficiency was observed and the TK gene expression in the transfected cells was detected by RT-PCR. The survival rate of MB49 cells in response to TNF-alpha treatment and that of the TK gene-transfected cells after treatment with GCV and GCV+TNF-alpha were determined by MTT assay. The apoptosis of the cells after the treatments was analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTSIn cells transfected with TK gene, the cell inhibition rate increased gradually with the increment of GCV and TNF-alpha concentration. GCV in combination with TNF-alpha resulted in significantly increased killing efficiency of the cells as compared with GCV or TNF-alpha treatment alone, and the effect of the combined treatment was enhanced as the TNF-alpha concentration increased. GCV treatment (50 microg/ml) alone produced a cell killing rate of (24.39-/+1.10)%, and when combined with 5 microg/ml TNF-alpha, the rate was increased to (40.05-/+0.97) %, and further to (65.47-/+0.67) % when TNF-alpha concentration increased to 20 microg/ml. Flow cytometry revealed obvious apoptosis of the cells 8 h after treatments with TK/GCV, TNF-alpha, or TK/GCV+TNF-alpha, and the combined treatment resulted in the highest cell apoptotic rate.

CONCLUSIONTK/GCV in combination with TNF-alpha can enhance the effect of suicide gene therapy against murine bladder carcinoma cells and effectively induce apoptosis of the cells.

Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Animals ; Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Ganciclovir ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Genetic Therapy ; methods ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Thymidine Kinase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo study the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of transverse testicular ectopia (TTE).

METHODSA case of TTE was treated with orchidopexy.

RESULTSSix months after the operation, both of the two testes were in proper positions with normal vascular supply.

CONCLUSIONTTE is a rare congenital abnormality of the male reproductive system with unknown etiology, and surgical correction remains the best option for treatment.

Child ; Humans ; Male ; Testicular Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Testis ; abnormalities

Objective To establish the HPLC fingerprints of petroleum ether parts from five traditional medicine (Alpinia officinarum Hance, Alpinia galangal ( L.) Wild, Alpinia galanga Will., Alpinia katsumadai Hayata, and Alpinia oxyphylla Miq), and to explore the similarities and differences of chemical composition,as well as the correlation between the genetic relationship and the chemical composition. Methods HPLC method was used to analysis the five traditional medicines. The data were evaluated by using the"similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of TCM" software. Results The similarity chemical composition from Alpinia officinarum Hance,Alpinia galangal(L.) Wild,Alpinia galanga Will.,Alpinia katsumadai Hayata,and Alpinia oxyphylla Miq in ethyl acetate were 0.741,0.855,0.610,0.510, 0.680,respectively. Conclusion Though there were differences of fingerprint peak of petroleum ether parts between five the traditional Chinese medicines, similarities were also observed among them.

Drug utilization of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) in a private healthcare setting is useful to examine the prescribing pattern of OHAs, especially the newer fixed dose combination (FDC) products. This study was aimed to evaluate the prescribing pattern of OHAs indicated for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), to determine the costs of OHAs prescribed and total cost per prescription in the treatment of T2DM in an outpatient department of a private hospital located in central Malaysia. Retrospective review of electronic medical record (EMR) study design was adopted. Patient’s demographic characteristics, medications prescribed, prescribers’ details and cost per prescription were documented. Defined daily dose (DDD) of OHAs and drug cost were calculated. Research ethics protocol was approved and no personal data was collected. Out of the 396 EMR screened, 135 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and subsequently were analysed. In term of demography, mean age of the sample was 51 years old with 59% were male and ethnicity composition of 71% Malay and 19% Chinese. Metformin and “metformin+dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor” (DPP-4i) were the most commonly prescribed single-drug and FDC OHA, respectively. Average cost of OHAs and total cost per prescription was less than USD 68 and USD 185, respectively. Meanwhile, FDC covered 28.91% of incidences of prescriptions, but 44.6% of cost and SGTL-2i covered 9% incidences of prescriptions and 16.29% of cost. Prescribing pattern of OHA was appropriate based on patient’s T2DM diagnosis, however, dosage given were not in accordance with WHO DDD.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation and pneumatic reduction combined with kyphoplasty in the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture without spinal cord injury. METHODS: The clinical data of 160 patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic burst fracture without spinal cord injury treated from January 2014 to July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 66 males and 94 females, aged from 72 to 84 years old with an average of 76.4 years old. The patients were divided into two groups according to different surgical methods, including 80 cases of pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation(treatment group) and 80 cases of pneumatic reduction combined with kyphoplasty(control group). The intraoperative bone cement leakage rate was compared between two groups. The height of the injured vertebrae was measured by X-rays preoperatively and 6-month postoperatively in order to assess height loss of injured vertebrae. VAS score and ODI score were used for follow-up to assess lumbar back pain and autonomic dysfunction before surgery and 2 weeks, 6 months, 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: In treatment group, 3 cases occurred bone cement leakage during operation and leakage rate was 3.75%(3/80); In control group, 14 cases had cement leakage with leakage rate of 17.5%; The difference between two groups was statistically significant(<0.05). All patients were followed up for 13 to 24 months with an average of 14.6 months. Among them, 2 cases occurred postoperative infections which were superficial infections. After oral antibiotics and outpatient treatment infections were controlled. At 6 months after surgery, the height of the injured vertebra was measured by X-ray. Treatment group recovered (5.12±1.31) % and control group recovered (14.11±1.17) %. The difference between two groups was statistically significant (<0.05). At 1 year after surgery, ODI score was 4.03±1.62 in treatment group and 10.03±1.54 in control group. The difference between two groups was statistically significant(<0.05). VAS score was 1.03±0.62 in treatment group and 2.67±0.55 in control group. The difference between groups was statistically significant(<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Extracorporeal pneumatic reduction combined with bone-filled mesh bag implantation technique can significantly reduce the occurrence of intraoperative cement leakage in the treatment of thoracolumbar osteoporotic burst fractures, effectively improve reposition of the injured vertebrae, relieve the pain and recover the function of lower back. However, high price of bone-filled mesh bags obstructs its clinical popularization.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Male ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Spinal Fractures ; Surgical Mesh ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Treatment Outcome

3ʹ-Hydroxy-4ʹ-methoxy-2-hydroxy-5-bromochalcone (hereinafter referred to as C13) is a novel chalcone derivative obtained in the process of structural modification of DHMMF, the antitumor active compound of Resina Draconis, in our laboratory. In this study, we investigated the effects of C13 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human gastric cancer HGC-27 and AGS cells and its potential mechanism of action. Firstly, through methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT), colony formation assay, and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining, we found that C13 inhibited the proliferation ability of human gastric cancer HGC-27 and AGS cells. Using flow cytometry and Western blot, it was found that C13 induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer HGC-27 and AGS cells, and up-regulated the protein level of cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (cleaved-PARP). The results of RNA sequencing analysis showed that the Erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 4/phosphoinositide 3-kinases/AKT (ErbB4/PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway may be involved in anti-gastric cancer activity of C13. Finally, the results of immunoblotting assay showed that C13 treatment down-regulated the protein levels of ErbB4 and phospho-ErbB4, as well as down-regulated the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT in human gastric cancer HGC-27 and AGS cells, which verified the results from RNA-seq analysis. In conclusion, C13 inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells, which may be related to the down-regulation of ErbB4/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This study may provide a candidate drug for the treatment of gastric cancer.