ObjectiveTo study the alteration mechanism of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD).MethodsTwenty children with KD and the same number of agematched healthy subjects were studied.The proportion of CD4+CXCRS+ICOS+ T in peripheral blood was analyzed by flow cytometry.Real-time PCR was performed to detect the level of Tfh transcriptional factor( Bcl6) and its inhibitor( Blimp-1 ).The plasma concentration of IL-4 and IL-21 were determined by ELISA.ResultsThe proportion of CD4+CXCR5+ICOS+ T in patients with KD was significantly higher than healthy controls [ (2.6±0.6) ％ vs ( 1.8±0.7 ) ％,P＜0.05 ].Transcription levels of Bcl-6 were significantly elevated in patients with KD( P＜0.05),its inhibitor Blimp-1 were found to be down-regulated during acute phase of KD compared with healthy controls (P ＜ 0.05 ).The significant increase of IL-4 and IL-21 plasma concentrations were detected in patients with KD(P＜0.05),in comparison with healthy controls.ConclusionThe over activity of Tfh might be correlated with immune dysregulation in Kawasaki disease.Dysregulation of Bcl-6/Blimp-1,altered microenvironment of IL-4 and IL-21 might be correlated with the abnormal activity of Tfh cells.

Objective To investigate effect of dexmedetomidine on postoperative analgesia pump dose and effect.Methods 50 cases of patients with abdominal surgery under general anesthesia were selected.According to the postoperative analgesic drugs were divided into control group and experimental group, 25 cases in each group were given corresponding drug treatment.After treatment, the visual analogue scale, comfort score, adverse reaction rate and dosage of analgesic drugs were detected and compared.Results Compared with the control group,the VAS score were lower(P <0.05),the BCS score were higher(P<0.05),the adverse reaction rate were lower(P<0.05),the dosage of analgesic pump were lower(P<0.05). Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can significantly reduce postoperative pain degree of patients, reduce the incidence of adverse reaction, reduce analgesic dosage of the drug pump.

Taxus canadensis distributed mainly in North America, such as northern Minnesota, Newfoundland, south to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Its composition has been shown to be very different from other species, and in recent years, some new skeletons also have been found in Canada yew. Through analysis of the taxanes content on various Taxus plants containing taxanes, the results showed a higher content of taxol in T. canadensis. Based on the current research on T. canadensis (from the research results of the author in recent years, as well as from studies of scholars in the field), the paper outlined the research progress in recent years on the chemical constituents of taxane of T. canadensis and the spectral characteristics of various types of compounds. Besides, this paper analyzed the present research about solutions for the taxol drug source crisis.
Animals ; Bridged-Ring Compounds ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Taxoids ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Taxus ; chemistry

A suitable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of 11 mycotoxins with isotope internal standard in malt. The mycotoxins in malt were extracted and purified by one-step ultrasonic extraction procedure using acetonitrile/water/acetic acid (80 : 19 : 1), and then detected and confirmed by UPLC-MS/MS, and quantified by isotope labeled AFB1 ([13C17]-AFB1) and ZEN ([13C18]-ZEN) internal standards. Rapid separation of the 11 mycotoxins was successfully achieved on a Phenomenex Kinetex C18 column (100 mm x 2.1 mm, 2.6 μm) with gradient elution using the mobile phase of methanol containing 0.1% formic acid and 2 mmol x L(-1) ammonium acetate in water. Simultaneous acquisition was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source operated in both positive and negative ionization modes. The established method provided a good linearity for the 11 mycotoxins within their respective linear ranges with correlation coefficients all higher than 0.999 1. The average recoveries ranged from 75.0% to 117.0% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 5.1%. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) ranged from 0.05 to 30 μg x kg(-1) and 0.15 to 87.5 μg x kg(-1), respectively, which were below the maximum residue levels (MRLs) set by the European Union. Twenty malt samples were analyzed and nine samples were detected with mycotoxins, which were confirmed according to the same fragment ions found in positive samples and the standards at the same retention time. This study has demonstrated that the one-step extraction procedure of mycotoxins from complex matrices coupled to UPLC-MS/MS method is simple, quick, accurate and sensitive for quantitative and qualitative analysis of multiple mycotoxins in malt.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Fermentation ; Hordeum ; chemistry ; Limit of Detection ; Mycotoxins ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Advocating green, nature, environmental protection, safety and the pursuit of efficacy are the trends of cosmetics in the world. In recent years, more and more Chinese herbal extracts with mild, high safety and small irritation are applied to cosmetics as the natural additives. This has become a new hot spot. The recent application advances of Chinese medicine raw materials in cosmetics are overviewed according to their main functions. This review will provide useful references for the future development and application of Chinese medicinal herbs cosmetics.
Animals ; Biomedical Research ; trends ; Consumer Product Safety ; Cosmetics ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Humans

Objective To examine the efficacy and safety of 125Iseed implantation for treating neuroblastoma (NB) in animal models.Methods A total of 45 nude mice models of neuroblastoma were constructed and divided into the 125Igroup.control group.and blank group at 15 mice per group.The long and short diameters of the tumor were measured every 3 days.and the tumor inhibition rate was calculated every 9 days.Apoptotic and proliferative protein expression levels in tumor tissue and peritumoral tissue.as well as endocrine markers and bone marrow of the nude mice.were analyzed.The independent sample t test was used to compare the mean scores.and ANOVA was used for comparison between multiple groups.Results Tumor volume inhibition rate was significantly higher in the 125Igroup than in the control group and blank group on days 9.18.and 27(all P<0.05).Caspase-3 expression in tumor tissues was significantly higher in the 125Igroup than in the control group and blank group (all P<0.05).whereas proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression was significantly lower in the 125Igroup than in the control group and blank group (all P<0.05).There was no significant difference in Caspase-3 and PCNA expression between the control group and blank group (all P>0.05).In addition.no significant difference in the expression of Caspase-3 and PCNA in peritumoral tissue was observed between the 125Igroup.control group.and blank group (all P>0.05).Cell apoptosis in tumor tissue was significantly lower in the blank group and control group than in the 125Igroup (all P<0.05).while there was no significant difference between the blank group and the control group (P>0.05).There was no significant difference in endocrine markers between the three groups (P>0.05).There was no significant bone marrow suppression in the 125Igroup.and this observation was similar to those in the control group and blank group (all P>0.05).Conclusions 125Iseeds have significant toxicity to NB.125Iseed implantation is safe in nude mice with NB within the therapeutic doses.

The contamination of extrinsic harmful contaminants including mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticides, etc, brings serious risks to traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), further to human health. Due to their unique photoluminescence, chemiluminescence, electrochemical and electrochemiluminescence properties, semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) nanoparticles are widely used to immobilize bioprobes and biosensors, etc. In this review, the luminescence characteristics and specific ligands of QDs probles which are used to determine contaminants were summed up. Then, the applications of QDs-coated novel probes in the determination of mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticides were discussed in detail. In addition, the contamination levels and characteristics of extrinsic harmful residues in TCMs were investigated. Further, the maximum levels of those contaminants in TCMs were compared with those set by various countries. Finally, the future development trends and problems of QDs-coated probes in the determination of those extrinsic residues in TCMs were prospected.
Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Nanotechnology ; instrumentation ; methods ; Quantum Dots ; Safety ; Time Factors

During the process of growth, harvesting, transportation, processing and storage, Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) can be easily contaminated by fungi and their metabolites like mycotoxins, which not only express negative effects on the quality and safety of CHMs and their processed products, but also pose great threats to human health. Now, some chemical synthetic fungicides have been frequently used to control the growth of fungi and accumulation of mycotoxins in the preservation of CHMs. However, the concentration and type of chemical fungicides allowed for postharvest application are restricted due to the disadvantages of their high residual toxicity, long degradation period and pollution to the environment and so on. Therefore, it is critical to research and develop some highly effective, safe and non-toxic, natural, environment-friendly fungistatic agents from plants to prevent CHMs from being contaminated by fungi and mycotoxins. The paper reviews mycotoxins and their harmfulness, the effective compounds of fungistatic plants as well as the antifungal mechanism to provide scientific evidences for developing novel and effective fungistatic agents plants. Then, the application prospect of fungistatic agents from plants in the preservation of CHMs was discussed.
Animals ; Fungi ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Fungicides, Industrial ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Mycotoxins ; metabolism ; toxicity ; Plant Diseases ; microbiology ; prevention & control ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; microbiology ; Preservation, Biological ; methods

OBJECTIVETo compare the differences in the clinical efficacy on Alzheimer's disease between acupuncture and medicine.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-one patients were randomized into an acupuncture group (72 cases) and a medicine group (69 cases). In the acupuncture group, the needling technique for benefiting qi, promoting blood circulation, regulating mind and improving intelligence was used at Shenting (GV 24), Baihui (GV 20), Fengchi (GB 20), Wangu (GB 12), Danzhong (CV 17), Zhangwan (CV 12), Qihai (CV 6), Xuehai (SP 10) and Zusanli (ST 36). The supplementary acupoints were selected according to the symptoms and physical signs. Acupuncture was given once a day and 6 treatments were required for a week. In the medicine group, the choline sterase inhibitor, donepezil (aricept) was prescribed for oral administration, 1 tablet (5 mg) each time, once every night. Four weeks later, the dose was increased to 2 tablets (10 mg) each time. In the two groups, the treatment of 4 weeks made one session and 4 sessions were required. The changes of scores before and after treatment in the minimum mental state examination (MMSE), the activity of daily living scale (ADL), Alzheimer's disease assessment scale-cognition (ADAS-cog) and the digit span (DS) were observed.

RESULTSAfter treatment, scores of MMSE and DS were increased as compared with those before treatment (both P < 0.05) and scores of ADL and ADAS-cog were reduced as compared with those before treatment. The score differences in MMSE, ADL, ADAS-cog and DS before and after treatment were significant in the two groups (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe needling technique for benefiting qi, promoting blood circulation, regulating mind and improving intelligence significantly improves the overall function, cognition and activity of daily life in the patients of Alzheimer's disease and the efficacy is better than donepezil.

Activities of Daily Living ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease ; psychology ; therapy ; Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To compare the therapeutic effect of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and traditional thoracotomy in fixation of traumatic multiple rib fractures.Methods Clinical data of 56 patients with traumatic multiple rib fractures treated surgically between July 2005 and September 2012 were analyzed retrospectively.Based on the treatments,the patients were assigned to video-assisted thoracoscopy group (thoracoscopy group,n =27) and traditional thoracotomy group (thoracotomy group,n =29).A comparison was done on the variables including operation time,intraoperative blood loss,ventilator support rate,duration of mechanical ventilation,length of ICU stay,incidence of lung infections,visual analogue scale (VAS) at day 3 postinjury and mortality between the two groups.Results Operation time [(128.9 ± 21.1) min vs (140.7 ± 24.2) min],ventilator support rate (70％ vs 76％) and mortality (4％ vs 7％) in thoracoscopy group revealed no statistical differences compared with thoracotomy group (P ＞ 0.05),but intraoperative blood loss [(321.1 ± 30.1)ml vs (438.1 ± 43.2)ml],duration of mechanical ventilation [(4.3 ± 2.1) d vs (7.2 ± 1.6) d],length of ICU stay [(5.9 ± 21.1) d vs (8.5 ± 1.7) d],incidence of lung infection (33％ vs 90％),and VAS [(7.0 ± 1.4) points vs (8.3 ± 0.9) points] were significantly reduced in thoracoscopy group than in thoracotomy group (all P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is characterized by fewer intraoperative bleeding,shorter duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay,and lower lung infection rate during treatment of traumatic multiple rib fractures compared to traditional thoracotomy.