Objective To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of the coil-and-glue method for the reduction of lung volume in rabbit emphysema model.Methods Sixteen rabbits of emphysema model were divided into the occlusion group(n=10),in which both anterior bronchi were occluded using the coil-and- glue method,and the control group(n=6).The maximal static pressure of airway(P_(max)),peak expiratory flow(PEF),end-expiratory volume(EEV)and pressure of oxygen(PO_2)were measured at ante- emphysema,post-emphysema,1 week and 4 week after occlusion respectively.The expectoration(or migration)of coil and collapse of lung were also investigated.Results P_(max)was(20.0?1.3)and(17.1? 1.4)cm H_2O(1 cm H_2O=0.098 kPa)in the occlusion group at ante-emphysema and post-emphysema respectively.P_(max)was(19.2?1.4)cm H_2O in the occlusion group in the 1 week after the occlusion,while (17.1?1.5)cm H_2O in the control group(F=6.68,P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of the Sanxianxinli capsule against fatigue and viability of mice.

METHODThe mouse shinning, burden swimming, heat-resistant, cold resistant and tolerating anoxia were detected by experiment.

RESULTThe results showed that the Sanxansinli capsule have function of improveing the stamina, cold resistant, heat-resistant and tolerating anoxia,and prolonging were the survival time in cold, high temperature and anoxia.

CONCLUSIONThe Sanxianxinli capsule have function against fatigue and can also improve the resistibility of body.

Animals ; Capsules ; Cold Temperature ; Curculigo ; chemistry ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Epimedium ; chemistry ; Fatigue ; physiopathology ; Hot Temperature ; Hypoxia, Brain ; physiopathology ; Male ; Mice ; Oxygen Consumption ; drug effects ; Physical Endurance ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Selective markers used in yeast vector for gene manipulation were usually drug resistance or autotrophy. Unfortunately, drug resistance selective marker requires drug sensitive host and most industrial strains were not autotrophy. In this paper, flocculation gene (FLO1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae ABXL-1D was amplified by PCR, sequenced and cloned to construct an expression vector. The new vector was easy to manipulate and suitable for broad host of yeasts without either autotrophy or drugs. beta-glucosidase gene from Bacillus polymyxa was cloned with the vector and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The specific activity of beta-glucosidase of the recombinant yeast cell-free extract was 3.91 u/mg protein. The residue glucose of the recombinant yeast was considerably reduced in mixed fermentation of glucose and cellobiose. It should be favorable for ethanol fermentation when utilize lignocellulosic biomass as raw material.
Bacillus ; enzymology ; genetics ; Flocculation ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta-Glucosidase ; biosynthesis ; genetics

The intestinal absorption properties of the main effective components (glycyrrhizic acid, isoliquiritigenin, 6-gingerol, ginsenoside Rb1, atractylode-I) in Lizhong decoction (LZD) extracts were investigated with an in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion model in rats. UPLC-TQ-MS was used to determine the concentration of the five components in the intestinal perfusion. Animal welfare and experimental procedures were in accordance with the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. As evaluation indexes for the intestinal absorption characteristics, the absorption rate constant (K_a) and the apparent permeability coefficient (P_eff) of the five main ingredients were analyzed. Results showed that the best absorption sites for glycyrrhizic acid, isoliquiritin and 6-gingerol were the ileum, colon and duodenum, respectively, and the differences between different intestinal segments were statistically significant (P <0.05). There was no notable difference in K_a and P_eff between ginsenoside Rb1 and atractylode-I in the different intestinal segments (P > 0.05), suggesting that they were absorbed throughout. The five components were well-absorbed in the whole intestine (P_eff > 1.0×10^-3 cm·min^-1), indicating that LZD is suitable for preparing sustained, controlled release and enteric-coated preparations.

OBJECTIVESTo investigate prognostic effect of postoperative resection-margin status for intraoperatively positive resection margin in advanced gastric cancer and discuss the treatment choice for intraoperatively positive resection margins.

METHODSA retrospective study was investigated in 64 advanced gastric cancer patients with positive resection margin after potentially curative resection. The survival between 50 patients who was re-excised to a negative resection margin (NR group) and 14 patients who were left with positive resection margin (PR group) was compared. Prognostic factors were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression model analysis.

RESULTSThe median survival in the PR group was 17.0 months (95%CI: 11.6 - 22.4) as compared with 23.0 months (95%CI: 20.5 - 25.5) in the NR group (P = 0.045). However, resection-margin status lost significance on multivariate analysis. In the subgroup of D2 lymphadenectomy, the median survival in the PR group and NR group were 17.0 months (95%CI: 12.0 - 22.0) and 24.0 months (95%CI: 19.8 - 28.1) respectively; multivariate analysis further identified resection margin status as an independent prognostic factor.

CONCLUSIONSRe-excision for intraoperatively positive margin to negative margin improves the prognosis of the patients with advanced gastric cancer, and re-excision is the first choice when intraoperative frozen section detects a positive margin. Routine frozen section of resection margin should be mandatory in all advanced gastric cancer undergoing potentially curative surgery.

Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Frozen Sections ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between point mutation of penicillin-binding protein gene (pbp) and amoxicillin resistance (AMOgamma) of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) as well as to compare the protein profiles under proteomic technology to get the candidate resistance-related proteins.

METHODS(1) AMOgamma strains were selected from the sensitive H. pylori strain 26695 by serial passage technique in vitro. (2) Point mutations of five putative resistance genes (HP0597, HP1565, HP1542, HP1556, and HP0160) were analyzed by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and DNA sequencing. (3) Proteins samples were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Protein profiles were compared between the AMOgamma strain obtained in vitro and its sensitive parent strain 26695. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was performed to identify the proteins of interest. The proteins were searched by software MASCOT and identified by peptide fingerprint map using the program MS-FIT of Protein Prospect.

RESULTS(1) An AMOgamma strain (MIC 8 microg/ml) was obtained. Complete loss of the resistant phenotype was observed after cultivation in the absence of AMO or storage at - 80 degrees C. (2) DHPLC and Sequencing result showed no point mutations in five pbp genes in the AMOgamma strain when compared with the corresponding PCR products from its parent strain 26695. (3) Protein profiling showed that eleven protein spots were differently expressed between 26695 and the AMOgamma strain. Of these protein spots in the AMOgamma strain, two new spots (Spot 1 and Spot 2) were observed with one (Spot 3) was up-regulated three-fold and the remained ones (Spot 4-11) were down-regulated.

CONCLUSIONAMO resistance of H. pylori might be resulted from, unstable phenotype change rather than point mutations of pbp genes. These differentially regulated proteins in AMOgamma strain might play a role in development of resistance to AMO in H. pylori.

Amoxicillin ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; genetics ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Helicobacter pylori ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Point Mutation ; genetics ; physiology ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the variation of pelvic radius and related parameters in low-grade isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis. METHODS: Seventy-four patients with isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis and 47 controls were included in this study. There were 17 males and 57 females between 30 and 66 years of age, including 30 with grade I slippages and 44 grade II slippages; diseased levels included 34 cases on L4 and 40 cases on L5. Thoracic kyphosis (TK), the pelvic radius (PR), the pelvic angle (PA), pelvic morphology (PR-S1), and total lumbopelvic lordosis (PR-T12) were assessed from radiographs. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found for the PA, PR-T12, and PR-S1 (24.5±6.6°, 83.7±9.8°, and 25.4±11.2°, respectively) of the patients with spondylolisthesis and the healthy volunteers (13.7±7.8°, 92.9±9.2°, and 40.7±8.9°, respectively). The TK/PR-T12 ratios were between 0.15 and 0.75. However, there were no differences in all the parameters between the L4 and L5 spondylolysis subgroups (p>0.05). The TK and PR-S1 of grade II were less than grade I, but the PA was greater. The PR-T12 of female patients were less than male patients, but the PA was greater (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Pelvic morphology differed in patients with low-grade isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis compared to controls. Gender and the grade of slippage impacted the sagittal configuration of the pelvis, but the segment of the vertebral slip did not. Overall, the spine of those with spondylolisthesis remains able to maintain sagittal balance despite abnormal pelvic morphology.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; Lordosis ; Male ; Pelvis ; Radius* ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis* ; Spondylolysis

Increasing lines of evidence has been accumulated that nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) distribute plentifully in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and contribute to cardiovascular regulation. In the present study, the expressions of neuronal and inducible isoform of NOS (nNOS and iNOS) were observed in the RVLM of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) Wistar rats experienced electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, thereby the cardiovascular effects of NO in the RVLM were investigated and the mechanism of acupuncture effect on AMI was inferred. The results indicated that in the AMI rats, cardiac functions were markedly attenuated with high serum level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and norepinephine (NE), the number of nNOS-immunoreactive cells and nNOS mRNA exprossion in the RVLM area were increased, while those of iNOS were lowered. EA at "Neiguan" acupoints (Pe 6) 30 min daily for successive 5 d resulted in an improvement of the cardiac functions, decreases in NE and BNP levels; it also increased the expression of iNOS and decreased the expression of nNOS in the RVLM. These results suggest that the curative effect of acupuncture on AMI is possibly attributable to the differential regulation of NOS/NO in the RVLM, leading to decreased sympathetic outflow and improvement of cardiac functions.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Medulla Oblongata ; metabolism ; Myocardial Ischemia ; metabolism ; therapy ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) from automobile exhaust on the reproductive function of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.

METHODSForty-five male SD rats, weighing 80 - 94 g and aged 28 days, were randomly assigned to receive intra-tracheal administration of 0.9% normal saline (control group, n = 15), PM2. 5 at 2 μg per 100 g body weight per day (low-dose PM2.5 group, n = 15), and PM2.5 at 16 μg per 100 g body weight per day (high-dose PM2.5 group, n = 15), qd, for 60 successive days. After the last 24-hour exposure, 10 rats were taken from each group for copulation with normal female ones, while the others were sacrificed, their testes removed for sperm count and deformity, pathological examination, and determination of the Connexin43 expression.

RESULTSThe conception rate was significantly decreased in the low- and high-dose PM2.5 groups as compared with that of the control (70% and 50% vs 100%), and so were the sperm count and quality. The rats in the PM2.5-exposed groups showed significantly disordered histological structure of the seminiferous tubules, reduced sperm count in the testicular lumen, some exfoliated secondary spermatocytes, downregulated Connexin43 expression in the testis, and damaged blood-testis barrier.

CONCLUSIONLong-term exposure to PM2.5 from automobile exhaust damages the reproductive function of male SD rats.

Animals ; Blood-Testis Barrier ; Body Weight ; Connexin 43 ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Fertilization ; Male ; Particulate Matter ; toxicity ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproduction ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Sperm Count ; Spermatocytes ; Testis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Vehicle Emissions ; toxicity

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; Influenza, Human ; complications ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Liver ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult