The marine biological source of mineral drugs recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 version) mainly including pearl, nacre, clam shell, common oyster shell, ark shell, cuttle bone, and sea-ear shell are widely used in clinical. Calcium carbonate and a small amount of protein are the main components in this type of drugs. In this paper, a systematical and comparable study were carried out by determination of calcium carbonate by EDTA titration method, the crystal of calcium carbonate by X-Ray powder diffraction and the total amino acids (TAAs) of the hydrolyzed samples by ultraviolet spectrophotometry method. As a result, the crystal structure is calcite for common oyster shell, mixture of calcite and aragonite for nacre and sea-ear shell, aragonite for the other drugs. The content of calcium carbonate ranged from 86% to 96%. Cuttle bone has the highest amount of TAAs among the seven drugs which reached 1.7% while clam shell has the lowest content of 0.16% on average. In conclusion, an effective method was developed for the quality control of marine mineral drugs by comprehensive analysis of calcium carbonate and TAAs in the seven marine mineral drugs.
Amino Acids ; analysis ; chemistry ; Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calcium Carbonate ; analysis ; chemistry ; Crystallization ; Edetic Acid ; chemistry ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; classification ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; analysis ; chemistry ; standards ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seawater ; Species Specificity ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; X-Ray Diffraction

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of four and a half LIM protein 2(FHL2) on inhibitor of differentiation 1(Id1)-mediated suppression of transcriptional regulation activity and Id1-promoted invasive growth of human breast cancer cells MCF-7.Methods The effect of FHL2 on Id1-mediated transcriptional repression in MCF-7 cells was determined by cotransfection and relative biluciferase assay.The cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay,and the invasive capacity of MCF-7 cells was determined by Transwell assay.Results The transcriptional repression effect of Id1 on basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH) factor E47-mediated transcription activity in MCF-7 cells,and Id1-promoted proliferation and invasive growth of MCF-7 cells were significantly suppressed by FHL2.Conclusion FHL2 can inhibit the proliferation and invasive growth of human breast cancer cells via repressing Id1-mediated functional activity.The results provide a basis for further investigating the functional roles of FHL2-Id1 signal pathway in the carcinogenesis and development of human breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the action mechanism of Qingjin Huatan Decoction on regulating COPD rats with mucus hypersecretion in airway. Methods Fifty 6-8 week old Wistar male rats were randomly divided into healthy group, model group, Qingjin Huatan Decoction group, clarithromycin group, 10 rats in each group. Except for healthy group, all the other groups were used the combination method of injecting LPS and smudging to establish COPD models. The last three groups were fed with normal saline, Qingjin Huatan Decoction, clarithromycin respectively for 30 days. On the 31st day of the experiment, the rats were put to death to take lung tissue. 6 rats from each group were chosen randomly, and the protein expressions of NE, EGFR and MUC5AC mRNA in lung tissue were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Results The expressions of NE, MUC5AC mRNA in lung tissue of COPD rats were higher than the healthy group. Compared with model group, the expressions of NE mRNA and MUC5AC mRNA in Qingjin Huatan Decoction group and clarithromycin group were markedly lower, while the expressions of NE, MUC5AC mRNA in Qingjin Huatan Decoction group were significantly lower than those in clarithromycin group. The expression of EGFR mRNA in Qingjin Huatan Decoction group was lower than that in model group. Conclusion Qingjin Huatan Decoction can inhibit mucus hypersecretion in airway through NE/EGFR/MUC5AC signal transduction pathway.

Objective To study the value of MR 3D FIESTA technology in spinal malformation. Materials and Methods 70 patients with spinal malformation and GE 1.5T superconducting MR machine got involved in. The scanning sequences included FSET2WI scanning at 2D axial position, coronal position and sagital positon, and FIESTA scanning at 3D coronal position and sagital position. Results FIESTA scanning could be used in the achievement of multi-slice and multi-angle coronal, sagital and axial images. Conclusion 3D MR FIESTA can be applied to rapid, multi-angle, multi-slice and continuous display of the spinal cord.

Background Primary open angle glaucoma(POAG) is a common type of glaucoma.It has been well known that a lot of factors are associated with the pathogenesis of POAG,but genetic factor plays a critical role.Optineurin (OPTN)gene is the second confirmed POAG-relevant gene,and screening its mutation in the population contribute to the deeply understanding of the pathogenesis of POAG.Objective The present study was to investigate the association between sequence variants of OPTN gene and POAG in Chinese patients.Methods DNA was isolated from peripheral blood of 100 POAG patients and 60 cataract individuals.The coding exons of OPTN gene were amplified by PCR.PCR products were then sequenced directly to assay the variants and contrasted to original sequence in GenBank.This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Shenzhen Eye Hospital.All the subjects signed the written inform consent.Results A case-controlled study was designed.The mean intraocular pressure (IOP)of the POAG patients was (29.0±6.5)mmHg,and that of the cataract patients was (13.7 ±2.4)mmHg.Variant of synonymous coding T34T was found in 60 POAG patients.Genetic type frequencies of AA,GA and GG were 10％,50％ and 40％ in the POAG patients,and those of cataract patients were 0,25％ and 75％ respectively,showing significant difference between them (x2 =20.416,P =0.000).The allele frequencies of A and G were 35％ and 65％ in the POAG patients,and those of cataract patients were 12.5％ and 87.5％,with a statistically significant difference (x2 ＝ 19.464,P =0.000).The sequence changes of non-synonymous coding variants (M98K,691-692insA G,R545Q,H486R) were also found in both POAG and cataract patients,but no significant difference was seen in the genetype and allele frequencies between two groups (P＞0.05).Conclusions No obvious association of OPTN gene variant with POAG is verified.The variant of T34T maybe increase the risk of POAG.

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of assisted hatching (AH) performed in couples with advanced maternal age.We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in electronic databases,including MEDLINE,EMBASE and CENTRAL (from inception to January 2018);in addition,we hand-searched the reference lists of included studies and similar reviews.We included RCTs comparing AH versus no treatment (control).The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.The search retrieved 943 records and 8 RCTs were included,comprising 870 cycles (n=440 for AH,and n=430 for control).There was no significant difference in the rates of live birth (RR 0.88,95％ CI 0.65 to 1.18,3 RCTs,n=427,I2=0％),clinical pregnancy (RR 1.00,95％ CI 0.83 to 1.19,8 RCTs,n=870,I2=22％),implantation (RR 1.07,95％ CI 0.83 to 1.39,4 RCTs,n=1359,I2=0％),miscarriage (RR 1.13,95％ CI 0.66 to 1.94,2 RCTs,n=116,I2=0％) and multiple pregnancy (RR 0.89,95％ CI 0.31 to 2.52,1 RCT,n=97,I2=not applicable) between the treatment group and control group.No reasonable conclusions could be drawn regarding reproductive outcomes after AH in patients with advanced maternal age due to the small sample pooled in meta-analyses.Studies of high methodological quality and with adequate power are necessary to further investigate the value of AH in assisted conception of those patients.

Objective To compare the diagnostic results and values among Duke criteria,St Thomas criteria,the modified Duke criteria and domestic criteria for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) in children.Methods Forty-five children were clinically diagnosed IE,the surgical or the pathologic or autopsy findings were served as the golden criteria for the diagnosis of IE.The children were classified by Duke criteria,St Thomas criteria,the modified Duke criteria and domestic criteria respectively,so as to compare the sensitivity and specificity and accuracy of all criteria for the diagnosis of IE.Results During the forty-five children were clinically diagnosed IE,of whom 32 cases with IE were confirmed by the surgical or the pathologic or autopsy findings; 13 cases were ruled out from the diagnosis of IE.The specificity of Duke criteria,the modified Duke criteria and domestic criteria were all 100％,but the specificity were 92.3％ in St Thomas criteria for the 45 cases with clinically diagnosed IE and 26 cases with negative blood culture.For the children with clinically diagnosed IE,the sensitivity and the accuracy were 90.6％ and 93.3％ in domestic criteria,62.5％ and 73.3％ in Duke criteria and the modified Duke criteria,87.5％ and 88.9％ in St Thomas criteria.For the children with negative blood culture,the sensitivity and the accuracy were 76.9％ and 88.5％ in domestic criteria,7.7％ and 53.8％ in Duke criteria and the modified Duke criteria,69.2％ and 80.8％ in St Thomas criteria.The Youden index had no significant difference among domestic standard and Duke standard,Duke modified standard,St Thomas standard for children clinically diagnosed IE (P ＞ 0.05) ; however,the significant difference of the Youden index among domestic standard and Duke standard,Duke modified standard for children with negative blood culture were found(P ＜ 0.01),no significant difference of the Youden index between domestic standard and St Thomas standard was found (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions With the addition of echocardiographic evidence of endocardial involvement,2 minor criteria as definite diagnostic criteria and some clinical minor criteria,the sensitivity and accuracy of the domestic criteria is superior to those of the Duke criteria,St Thomas criteria and the modified Duke criteria,and the domestic criteria is more suitable for the diagnosis of IE in Chinese children.

Objective To analyze the drug resistant characteristics of 84 clinical isolated Helicobacter pylori (Hp) strains, and to observe the inhibitory effects of anti-Hp Lactobacillus acidophilus (La)4 and La6 on different antibiotic-resistant Hp strains. Methods Hp strains were isolated and cultured from gastric mucosa of 84 different gastropathy patients (20 patients with chronic gastritis, 24 with gastric ulcer, 19 with duodenal ulcer and 16 with gastric cancer). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of metronidazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin were tested by E-test in order to determine the resistance of these three antibiotics in clinical isolated Hp strains. With standard La as control, the supernatant of anti-Hp La4 and La6 was added into Hp strains culture wells. Hp strains were cultured in solid media for 72 hours, and then inhibition ring were recorded. Anti-Hp Lactobacillus acidophilus liquid was also added to culture medium of different Hp strains, which were in liquid culture, culture medium were taken at different time points (4,8,12,24,48 hrs) to calculate bacteria colony number and test urease activity. Results In 84 clinical isolated Hp strains, the resistant rates of metronidazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin resistance rates were 67.9%, 17.9% and 1.2% respectively. Of those 11 strains were mixed drug resistance, which included 10 strains of metronidazole and clarithromycin mixed drug resistance, and one of metronidazole and amoxicillin mixed drug resistance. In solid culture conditions, supernatant of anti-Hp Lactobacillus acidophilus La4 and La6 had obvious inhibitory effect on antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant Hp strains. In liquid culture conditions, anti-Hp Lactobacillu acidophilus La4 and La6 bacterium liquid could inhibit the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant Hp strains, the antagonistic role was significantly stronger than the standard Lactobacillus acidophilus strains (P<0.05). The urease activity of antibiotic-resistant Hp strains was inhibited since mixed cultured with anti-Hp Lactobacillu acidophilus La4 and La6 for 4 hours, the urease activity gradually decreased as culture time extended, and the inhibitory role was significantly stronger than the standard Lactobacillus acidophilus strains (P<0.05). Conclusions In 84 Hp strains, most were metronidazole resistant strains, followed by clarithromycin resistant strains, metronidazole and clarithromycin mixed resistance strains. In vitro, anti-Hp Lactobacillu acidophilus La4 and La6 had obvious inhibitory effects on antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant Hp strains.

OBJECTIVEThe application and therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) remains controversial. Previous studies have focused on the early pathological and biochemical outcomes and there is a lack of long-term functional evaluation. This study was designed to evaluate the long-term pathological and behavioral changes of early HBO therapy on neonatal rats with HIBD.

METHODSPostnatal 7 days (PD7) rat pups were randomly assigned into Control (n=18), HIBD (n=17) and HBO treatment groups (n=17). HIBD was induced by ligating the left common carotid, followed by 2 hrs hypoxia exposure in the HIBD and HBO treatment groups. The Control group was sham-operated and was not subjected to hypoxia exposure. The HBO therapy with 2 atmosphere absolutes began 0.5-1 hr after HIBD in the HIBD treatment group, once daily for 2 days. The spatial learning and memory ability were evaluated by the Morris water maze test at PD37 to PD41. The morphological and histological changes of the brain, including brain weight, survival neurons, AchE positive unit and NOS positive neurons in hippocampal CA1 region, were detected at PD42.

RESULTSThe rats in the HIBD group displayed significant morphological and histological deficits, as well as severe spatial learning and memory disability. In the Morris water maze test, the mean escape latency were longer (56.35 +/- 22.37 s vs 23.07 +/- 16.28 s; P < 0.05) and the probe time and probe length were shorter in the HIBD group (29.29 +/- 6.06 s vs 51.21 +/- 4.59 s and 548 +/- 92 cm vs 989 +/- 101 cm; both P < 0.05) compared with the Control group. The left brain weight in the HIBD group was lighter than that in the Control group (0.601 +/- 0.59 g vs 0.984 +/- 0.18 g; P < 0.05). The survival neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region were less (100 +/- 27/mm vs 183 +/- 8/mm; P < 0.05), as well as the AchE-positive unit and NOS-positive neurons (18.50 +/- 2.24% vs 27.50 +/- 2.18% and 19.25 +/- 4.33 vs 33.75 +/- 5.57 respectively; P < 0.05) after HIBD. Early HBO treatment improved the abilities of spatial learning and alleviated the morphological and histological damage. The mean escape latency (39.17 +/- 21.20 s) was shortened, the probe time (36.84 +/- 4.36 s) and the probe length (686 +/- 76 cm) were longer, and the brain weight (0.768 +/- 0.85 g), the survival neurons (133 +/- 25/mm) and the AchE-positive unit (21.94 +/- 2.73%) increased significantly compared with those of the HIBD group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSEarly HBO treatment resulted in a protective effect against HIBD-induced long-term brain morphological and histological deficits and spatial learning and memory disability.

Acetylcholinesterase ; analysis ; Animals ; Brain ; pathology ; Escape Reaction ; Female ; Hippocampus ; enzymology ; pathology ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; enzymology ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Maze Learning ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the long-term effects of delayed hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBD).

METHODPostnatal 7 days newborn rats (n = 52) were randomly set to three groups: control (n = 18, sham operation), HIBD (n = 17), or HBO (n = 17). Pups in the HBO group were subjected to hyperbaric oxygen treatment with 2 atmosphaera absolutus, 5 x 30 min at a 24 h intervals since 48-72 h after the HIBD model. All the animals were tested for the spatial learning and memory ability in the Morris water maze from postnatal days 37 to 41. At day-42, rats were decapitated and the brains were analyzed for morphological and histological changes, including brain shapes and weights, survival neurons, percentage of AchE positive area and NOS positive neurons in hippocampal CA1 region.

RESULTSRats in HBO and HIBD groups displayed significant morphological and histological damages, as well as severe spatial learning and memory disability. The average escape latency of Morris water maze in HBO group [(56 +/- 23) s] and HIBD group [(56 +/- 22) s] were longer than the control [(23 +/- 16) s] (P < 0.05). The swimming time in HBO group [(30 +/- 5) s] and HIBD group [(29 +/- 6) s] were shorter than the control [(51 +/- 5) s] (P < 0.05). The swimming length in HBO group [(572 +/- 92) cm] and HIBD group [(548 +/- 92) cm] were shorter than the control [(989 +/- 101) cm] (P < 0.05). The weight of left brains in HBO group [(598 +/- 46) mg] and HIBD group [(601 +/- 59) mg] were lighter than the control [(984 +/- 18) mg] (P < 0.05). The survival neurons of hippocamal CA1 region in HBO group [(97 +/- 27)/mm] and HIBD group [(100 +/- 27)/mm] were less than the control [(183 +/- 8)/mm] (P < 0.05). The percentage of AchE-positive fibers in HBO group [(18.4 +/- 2.2)%] and HIBD group [(18.5 +/- 2.2)%] were less than the control [(27.5 +/- 2.2)%,] (P < 0.05). NOS-positive neurons in HBO group [(21 +/- 5)/mm(2)] and HIBD group [(19 +/- 4)/mm(2)] were also less than the control [(34 +/- 6)/mm(2)] (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDelayed HBO therapy resulted in no protection against either HIBD-induced brain morphological and histological deficits or spatial learning and memory disability.

Acetylcholinesterase ; analysis ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Brain ; pathology ; Female ; Hippocampus ; pathology ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Male ; Maze Learning ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; analysis ; Rats ; Time