To study the chemical constituents from the bark of Myrica rubra, fourteen compounds were isolated from the methanolic extract using various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified on the basis of chemical properties and spectroscopic data, as 3, 5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxymyricanol (1), myricanol (2), myricanone (3), myricanol 11-sulfate (4), myricitrin (5), quercetin (6), quercetin-3-rhamnoside (7), tamarixol (8), uvaol (9), ursolic acid (10), taraxerol (11), myricadiol (12), β-sitosterol (13) and β-daucosterol (14). Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, named as 3, 5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxymyricanol, compounds 8, 9 were isolated from the genus Myrica for the first time.
Diarylheptanoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Myrica ; chemistry ; Phytochemicals ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Bark ; chemistry

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Erlotinib Hydrochloride ; Female ; Genes, erbB-1 ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Male ; Mutation ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Quinazolines ; therapeutic use ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics

There are sex differences in some brain areas in mammalians. Parkinson's disease (PD), caused by the mesencephalic substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neuronal loss, displays sexual difference, i.e., the incidence is higher and the symptoms are more intense in males than that in females. However, it has not been known whether sexual dimorphisms exist in the SN. Sixty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: (1) Female intact group (F-INT group); (2) Male intact group (M-INT group); (3) Ovariectomized group (OVX group); (4) Castration group (CAST group); (5) Ovariectomized + estrogen-replaced group (OVX-E(2) group): The rats received sequentially physiological dose of estrogen for 3 d from the 7th day after ovariectomization. P50 auditory evoked potential (P50) was recorded for 14 d from electrodes inserted in the rat right SN in quiet and awake state. After recording, the brain tissues were dissected and the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-expressing neurons in the compact zone of the SN were counted using immunohistochemical method. The results showed that the number of TH-positive (TH(+)) cells in the SN of normal male animals was less than that in normal female rats (P<0.05), and the T/C ratio of P50 in normal males was significantly less than that in normal females (P<0.01), indicating that there exists sexual difference in function and structure in the SN. No differences in the T/C ratio of P50 or the number of TH(+) cells were found between M-INT and CAST groups. The T/C ratio of P50 and the number of TH(+) cells in the SN in OVX group were reduced significantly compared with those in F-INT group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the T/C ratio of P50 and the number of TH(+) cells in the SN between OVX- E(2) and F-INT groups 15-20 d after estrogen replacement, suggesting that estrogen can promote the survival and functional recovery of dopaminergic neurons in the SN. The results suggest that there exist sex-specific differences in the dopaminergic neurons in the SN structurally and functionally. The difference of estrogen level in cerebra between male and female animals may account for the sexual differences. Endogenous estrogen plays an important role in maintaining the integrity and modulating the functional activity of dopamine system in the SN.
Animals ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; cytology ; Estrogens ; pharmacology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; Female ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Ovariectomy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sex Characteristics ; Substantia Nigra ; cytology

Grounding technique is very important to ensure the human safety, imaging devices' safety and the devices' reliable running. This paper expatriates the principles of the grounding safety, interference rejection earth, and the grounding modes and the mode selection for each imaging devices and equipments, and related grounding requirements.
Equipment Safety ; methods ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; instrumentation

Objective To investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of lycosin-Ⅰ against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Methods The clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa,including 10 strains of multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 10 strains of non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa,were randomly collected from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University.The in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of lycosin-Ⅰ against Pseudomonas aeruginosa were detected by the broth microdilution method.The representative isolates of multidrug resistant (Isolate 8,MIC =8 μg/mL) and non-multidrug resistant (Isolate 12,MIC =8 μg/mL) Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected,and the bactericidal kinetics of 4 × MIC concentration of lycosin-Ⅰ against them were determined.After the representative isolates were cultured with suitable medium for 24 hours,the absorbency of 600 nm was detected and the growth curve was drawn.Five mmol/L of Ca2+ or Mg2+ were added into the medium to investigate the salt tolerance of lycosin-Ⅰ.Results Lycosin-Ⅰ in vitro showed good antibacterial activity against both multidrug resistant and non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The MICs (median [P25,P75]) of lycosin-Ⅰ against multidrug-resistant and non-multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa were 12 (8,32) μg/mL,and there was no statistical difference between them (U =42,P ＞0.05).About 50％ of multidrug resistant and non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa could be killed by 4 × MIC of lycosin-Ⅰ during 60 minutes.When the concentration of lycosin-Ⅰ below MIC,such as 0,2 or 4 μg/mL,was co-cultured with multidrug resistant and non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa for 24 hours,the growth of bacteria was fast during 6 and 16 hours,and then tended to be slow after 18 hours.When the concentration of lycosin-Ⅰ increased to 8 μg/mL,the bacteria were hard to grow.The in vitro antibacterial activity of lycosin-Ⅰ could be reduced by the addition of 5 mmol/L of Ca2+ or Mg2+,and the MICs of lycosin-Ⅰ against multidrug resistant and non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa increased from 8 μg/mL to 64 μg/mL for 5 mmol/L of Ca2+,and from 8 μg/mL to 32 μg/mL for 5 mmol/L of Mg2+,respectively.But high concentrations of lycosin-Ⅰ (＞ 64 μg/mL or ＞ 32 μg/mL) could still maintain its antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant and non-multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Conclusion Lyosin-Ⅰ can effectively inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro,and has certain salt tolerance,which may be developed into a new type of antibacterial drug.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between clinical manifestations of Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy autosomal recessive 9 FKRP-related (R9 FKRP-related) and variants of the FKRP gene. METHODS: Two children who had presented at the Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University respectively due to increased serum myocardial zymogram and hepatic dysfunction on September 30, 2018 and August 3, 2018 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the children were collected. Both children were suspected for Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy for asymptomatic high creatine kinase (CK) levels. Peripheral blood samples of the children and their parents were collected for whole exome sequencing, and candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Genetic testing revealed that both children have carried compound heterozygous variants of the FKRP gene. The c.545A>G and c.941C>T variants in child 1 have been reported previously, among which the c.545A>G is a hot spot mutation in the Chinese population. Child 2 has carried c.602T>C and c.961G>A variants, both of which were unreported previously. CONCLUSION Both children have met the diagnostic criteria for LGMD R9 FKRP-related. Carriers of the c.545A>G variant may present milder symptoms. Compared with patients carrying null variants, carriers of compound heterozygous missense variants may present with a milder phenotype, manifesting as asymptomatic high CK level.
Humans ; Child ; Asian People/genetics* ; Genetic Testing ; Muscular Dystrophies, Limb-Girdle/genetics* ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; Pentosyltransferases/genetics*

OBJECTIVETo determine the differentially expressed serum proteins in patients with hepatoma carcinoma and identify a putative diagnostic marker.

METHODThe isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) labeling method and LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF MS detection method were used to quantify serum proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma patients (n =20) and healthy individuals (n =20). Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to verify the differentially expressed proteins by analyzing the corresponding mRNA expression levels in the hepatic carcinoma and healthy hepatocyte samples, as well as in 30 pairs of patient-matched hepatic carcinoma and adjacent normal tissue samples. Western blot analysis was used to verify the protein expression in hepatic carcinoma cells.

RESULTFifty-one proteins were significantly differentially expressed between the hepatic carcinoma group and healthy controls. The iTRAQ protein profile showed that the serum level of clusterin was significantly lower in hepatoma carcinoma patients. The mRNA level of clusterin was 20-fold lower in hepatic carcinoma cells than in healthy hepatocytes, and was 2.38-fold lower in hepatoma tissues than that in adjacent normal tissues. The clusterin protein levels were significantly lower in hepatic carcinoma cells (8.06 vs normal hepatocytes: 27.81; P less than 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe serum expression of clusterin is significantly decreased in both serum and tissues of hepatic carcinoma patients. The relationship between hepatic carcinoma and clusterin should be evaluated in future studies.

Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Clusterin ; blood ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Mass Spectrometry ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical characteristics of Wolman disease and diagnostic methods using enzymatic and molecular analysis.

METHODLysosomal acid lipase activity was measured using 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate in the leukocytes of an infant suspected of Wolman disease and LIPA gene mutational analysis was performed by PCR and direct sequencing in the proband and his parents. After the diagnosis was confirmed, the clinical, biochemical, radiological and histopathological findings in this case of Wolman disease were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTThe sixteen-day-old boy was failing to thrive with progressive vomiting, abdominal distention and hepatosplenomegaly. Abdominal X-ray revealed adrenal calcifications which were confirmed on abdominal CT scan. Xanthomatosis were observed on enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes during abdominal surgery. Liver and lymph node biopsy showed foamy histiocytes. The lysosomal acid lipase activity in leukocytes was 3.5 nmol/(mg·h) [control 35.5 - 105.8 nmol/(mg·h)]. Serum chitotriosidase activity was 315.8 nmol/(ml·h) [control 0 - 53 nmol/(ml·h)]. The patient was homozygote for a novel insert mutation allele c.318 ins T, p. Phe106fsX4 in exon 4 on LIPA gene. His both parents were carriers of the mutation.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical features of Wolman disease include early onset of vomiting, abdominal distention, growth failure, hepatosplenomegaly and bilateral adrenal calcification after birth. A plain abdominal X-ray film should be taken to check for the typical pattern of adrenal calcification in suspected cases of Wolman disease. The enzymatic and molecular analyses of lysosomal acid lipase can confirm the diagnosis of Wolman disease.

Adrenal Gland Diseases ; etiology ; pathology ; Exons ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukocytes ; enzymology ; Lipase ; blood ; genetics ; Liver ; pathology ; Lysosomes ; enzymology ; genetics ; Male ; Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Splenomegaly ; pathology ; Sterol Esterase ; genetics ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Wolman Disease ; diagnosis ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathologic and immunophenotypic features of primary breast lymphoma (PBL) and to discuss the diagnosis of the tumor.

METHODSTwenty-one cases of PBL with follow up data were clinically reviewed. The histologic diagnosis of the tumor was based on the updated WHO Classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (2008). Immunohistochemistry was performed by SP method and antibodies selected were as follows: CD20, CD3epsilon, CD10, Bcl-6, MUM-1, CD5, Bcl-2, CD23, CD10, cyclin D1, CD43 and Ki67.

RESULTS(1) All 21 patients were female and the median age of patients was 48 years. The right and the left breasts were involved in 11 (52.4%) and 10 patients (47.6%), respectively. According to Ann Arbor staging system, 20 cases were stage I-II (95.2%), and the remaining case was stage IV (4.8%). For the international prognostic index (IPI), 19 cases were score 0-1, and 2 cases were score 2-3. For ECOG score, 19 cases were 0, and the remaining 2 cases were 1. (2) Histologically, all 21 cases (100%) were DLBCL. Immunohistochemically, the frequency of antigen expression was as follows: CD20 (100%), MUM-1 (14/21, 66.7%), bcl-6 (5/21, 23.8%), CD10 (0), bcl-2 (13/21, 61.9%), CD5 (1/21, 4.8%); Ki-67 index: 10 cases (47.6%) were less than 59%, with the expression of seven cases (33.3%) being 60% - 89%, and more than 90% in the remaining four cases (19.1%). The median Ki-67 index was 60%. All the cases were considered non germinal center B-cell-like type of DLBCL. (3) Follow-up data was available in 64% of the cases. One, two and five-year survival rates were 11 cases, 7 cases and 3 cases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONAll the cases of PBL in the current study were DLBCL, non germinal center B-cell-like type, and a diagnosis of PBL can only be established after excluding breast involvement in systemic lymphoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interferon Regulatory Factors ; metabolism ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Mastectomy, Radical ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-6 ; metabolism ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo analyze the possible causes of BPH surgery-related urethral stricture and summarize the experience in its clinical management.

METHODSThe clinical data of 37 cases of BPH surgery-related urethral stricture were analyzed retrospectively. The patients averaged 68.5 years in age, of whom 12 had the history of open surgery, and 25 transurethral surgery. Anterior urethral stricture was found in 6 cases, and posterior urethra in stricture 31. Thirty-five cases were treated by holmium laser urethrotomy (HLU) or a combination of HLU with transurethral resection of the scar in the stenotic segment, and the results were evaluated based on the maximum flow rate (Qmax).

RESULTSTwo cases of full penile urethral stricture were treated by urinary diversion, and all the rest by urethral stricture surgery. Catheters were indwelt in 4 cases of urethral stenosis for 5-7 days post-operatively, and smooth urination was achieved after their removal, with a Qmax of > 15 ml/s. Another 31 cases of membranous urethral stricture received catheter indwelling of 2 -4 weeks and were followed up for 1 - 21 (mean 11. 5) months, of whom 23 experienced satisfactory voiding, with an average Qmax of 14.3 ml/s, and the other 8 poor voiding, with a Qmax of < 8 ml/s.

CONCLUSIONHLU or a combination of HLU with transurethral resection of the scar in the stenotic segment is an effective method for the treatment of BPH surgery-related urethral stricture. And conscientiously performed BPH surgery can reduce the incidence of urethral stricture.

Aged ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Urethra ; Urethral Stricture ; etiology ; prevention & control