Objective To explore the effects of the neonatal handling and enriched environmental stimulation on brain damage in neonatal rats with hypoglycemia.Methods Thirty-six neonatal rats were randomly divided into the normal group,hypoglycemia intervention group and the hypoglycemia non-intervention group.Those rats in hypoglycemia intervention and hypoglycemia non-intervention groups were weaned for 12 h,then the blood sugar of both groups were monitored.After neonatal rat models with hyperglycemia were prepared,the rats in hypoglycemia intervention group received the neonatal handling for 14 d and then were kept in an enriched stimulation environment for another 14 d.Rats in normal group and hypoglycemia non-intervention group were fed in the routine way.Neonatal handling was done when the rats were born for 24 h.The rat was rubbed with the brush from head to tail softly.Rats in the hypoglycemia non-intervention group was not handled.The enriched environment stimulation was used after 15 d when the rats were born.Rats in the hypoglycemia intervention group was put into the enriched environment for 1 h per day until 28 d when the rats were born,and rats in the hypoglycemia non-intervention group was put into the normal environment.Then the body weight was scaled at 0 d,7 d,14 d,21 d and 28 d when the rats were born.Space learning and memory were tested with Morris earter at their third month's age.After that,changes of pathology was observed in their occipital cortex.Results The weight increase,the ability of space learning,memory and the number of survival pyramid neurons of occipital cortex in normal group were better than those in hypoglycemia intervention and hypoglycemia non-intervention group(Pa

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the apoptosis of the auction and mechanism of the hepatoma BEL-7402 cells induced by the ginseng polysaccharides (GPS). METHODS: The hematoma cells BEL-7402 were incubated with GPS, cell viability was measured by CCK8, cell cycle distribution was assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), the cell morphological changes were traced with TUNEL and scanning electron microscope, TNFRl, BCL-2 and Bax protein expression and ERK phosphorylation are tested by Western blot. RESULTS: CCK8 results showed that GPS inhibited cells growth of BEL-7402 in dose-dependent and time-dependent. Flow cytometry found that S phase arrest was increased upon GPS concentrations. Obviously apoptotic sub-g peak was also found. And the peak was gradually enhanced with the concentration increased. TUNEL staining and SEM results showed that GPS led to significant cell morphology changes in hepatoma cells BEL-7402. And the apoptosis effect was increased upon the GPS concentrations. Western blot showed that level of apoptosis related protein Bax was increased, the expression of apoptosis-antagonizing protein Bcl-2 was decreased and the expression of death receptor TNFRl appeared with GPS concentrations increased gradually, raise ERK phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: GPS can induce apoptosis of hepatoma cells BEL-7402 by the mitochondrial pathway and the death receptor dependent pathway and ERK pathway.

In this article, the authors firstly summarized the number of applications submitted to and projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in the field of traditional Chinese medicine research in 2010. Then they described the district distribution, research direction layout and allotment of the approved projects in the three primary disciplines (traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese materia medica and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine) and their 43 subdisciplines. The targeting suggestions for improvement were given respectively by concluding the reason of disapproved projects from the point of view of applicants and supporting institution, and by stating the common problems existing in the review process from the perspectives of fund managers and evaluation experts. Lastly, the major funding fields in the near future were predicted in the hope of providing guidance for applicants.

OBJECTIVE:To optimize the purification technology of total alkaloid from the flos of Aconitum kusnezoffii. METH-ODS:The content of total alkaloid from the flos of A. kusnezoffii was determined by acid-base titration. The purification technology of total alkaloid from the flos of A. kusnezoffii was optimized by ion resin with resin type,mass concentration of loading liquid and exchange speed as factors,maximum adsorption quantity,desorption rate and mass fraction of total alkaloid as index,and verifica-tion test was conducted. RESULTS:The optimal purification technology was as follows as type 732 cation exchange resin,mass concentration of loading liquid 0.32 g/L,exchange speed of 7 column volume(BV)/h. In validation test,the content of total alka-loid was 86.88%(RSD=0.52%,n=3),and desorption rate was 92.81%(RSD=0.40%,n=3)averagely. The extraction trans-port rate of total alkaloid from 3 batches of the flos of A. kusnezoffii was 81.76% and purification transport rate was 89.47% in av-erage. CONCLUSIONS:The established method is stable and feasible,and shows high transport rate.

BACKGROUND:YY1 is mainly expressed in the undifferentiated epidermic cells in mouse basal lamina, and the expression level is gradual y down-regulated as the differentiation towards suprabasal lamina. The differential expression indicates that, YY1 is one of the regulators in the process of epidermic cells differentiation.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of YY1 over-expression on the differentiation of HaCaT cells infected with lentivirus.
METHODS:Lentivirus-YY1 was transferred into the HaCaT cells by using Lipofectamine 2000. After selection of the puromycin, monoclonal celllines were established, and the control group were lentivirus-infected HaCaT cells and uninfected HaCaT cells. The expression of YY1 was detected by using western blot analysis. cells in Lentivirus-YY1-HaCaT group and HaCaT-YY1 group were further divided into two subgroups according to the calcium concentration in culture medium, cells were either cultured in low-calcium medium (0.12 mmol/L) for 48 hours, or cultured in low-calcium medium (0.12 mmol/L) for 24 hours and in high-calcium medium (0.35 mmol/L) for additional 24 hours. Keratin K1, K10, K14, and involucrin, filaggrin and loricrin after over-expression of YY1 were detected with western blot analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The HaCaT cells were successful y infected with lentivirus-YY1, and we obtained over-expression of YY1 protein in monoclonal celllines under high-calcium concentrations, the over-expressed YY1 could decrease the expression of K1, involucrin and loricrin, thereby preventing the process of epidermal keratinocytes and maintaining the cells in an undifferentiated state. Lentivirus can efficiently infect human immortalized epidermal cellHaCaT, and YY1 may the important factor of inhibiting the differentiation of basal epidermal cells and maintaining the undifferentiated proliferation status.

Lignans are widely existed in natural world with a variety of structures and bioactivities, including anti-tumor, antiinflammatory, anti-viral and hepatoprotective properties. Along with the development of new techniques in phytochemistry and application of advanced drug screening methods, a variety of lignans have been identified and their bioactivities revealed. In this review, we summarized the activities of six different types of lignans, including arylnaphthalene, dibenzylbutyrolactone, tetrahydrofuran, dibenzylbutane, dibenzocyclooctadiene and neolignan, in order to provide an updated overview of this research field.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Antiviral Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cyclooctanes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Furans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Lignans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2)) on the proliferation of cultured hepatocellular carcinoma cells and explore which subtypes of EP prostanoid receptor mediate the action.

METHODSRT-PCR was used to determine COX-2 and EP receptor mRNA expression levels in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Hep3B and human normal hepatocyte line QSG7701. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was employed to investigate the effect of PGE(2), selective EP2 receptor agonist butaprost and EP3/EP4 receptor agonist PGE1 alcohol on the proliferation of the cells.

RESULTSCOX-2 mRNA was highly expressed in Hep3B cells but scarcely in QSG7701 cells. Hep3B cells expressed the mRNAs for all the EP receptor subtypes, but EP2 and EP4 receptors were much more strongly expressed than EP1 and EP3 receptors. PGE(2) significantly promoted Hep3B cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and 10 µmol/L PGE(2) increased the cell proliferation by 22.57% (P<0.001) after a 48-h incubation; treatment with 0.1, 1.0, and 10 µmol/L PGE(2) for 72 h resulted in significantly increased cell proliferation by 12.13% (P<0.01), 17.58% (P<0.01) and 33.07% (P<0.001), respectively. EP2 receptor agonist butaprost (20 µmol/L) increased Hep3B cell proliferation by 21.96% (P<0.001), but the EP3/EP4 receptor agonist PGE(1) alcohol (2-20 µmol/L) exhibited no significant mitogenic effect in Hep3B cells, and 200 µmol/L PGE(1) alcohol decreased the cell viability.

CONCLUSIONSelective activation of EP2 receptor promotes Hep3B cell proliferation, indicating the predominant role of EP2 receptor in mediating the mitogenic effect of PGE2.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Dinoprostone ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Receptors, Prostaglandin E, EP2 Subtype ; genetics ; metabolism

The article introduces the content and organization of the training program for newly recruited nurses in the three hospitals of Massachusetts General Hospital, Mayo Clinic, and University of Illinois Chicago Medical Center in the United States. This article also summarizes the characteristics and highlights of the program implementation, and discusses and analyzes the training program by combining the current situation of newly recruited nurses training in my country, and makes suggestions for further improvement in the future.

Taking α-asarone as model drug, mono methoxy polyethylene glycol-polylactic acid copolymer (mPEG-PLA) as the drug carrier material to prepare drug-loading nanoparticles by premix membrane emulsification for nasal administration. The prepared nanoparticles were spherical with smooth surface and average particle size of 360 nm. Polydispersity index (PDI) was 0. 030, average drug loading of (11.5 ± 0.045) % (n = 3), and the encapsulation efficiency of (86.34 ± 0.11) % (n = 3). X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry results showed that, α-asarone existed in mPEG-PLA carrier in amorphous or molecular state, different from simple physical mixture. In the in vitro release test in simulated human nasal cavity, α-asarone apis can be released quickly at close to 94% at 102 h, in line with the first-order kinetics (R² = 0.981 9). mPEG-PLA drug-loading nanoparticles release only 54%, with slow release effect, in line with Riger-Peppas model (R² = 0.967 9, n = 0.630 2), for non-fick diffusion, released by the spread of drugs and skeleton dissolution dual control. This provided the foundation for nasal drug delivery in vivo pharmacokinetic study.
Administration, Intranasal ; Anisoles ; chemistry ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Nanoparticles ; chemistry ; Polyesters ; chemistry ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Solubility ; X-Ray Diffraction

Objective:To investigate the promoting effect of Ginsenoside Ro on the differentiation of THP-1-derived dendritic cells (DCs) induced by GM-CSF and IL-4.Methods: Sensitive leukemia-derived DC cell line was screened first.Then,the selected sensitive cell line THP-1 was stimulated to differentiate into DCs by cytokines (GM-CSF and IL-4) and small(5 μmol/L),middle(10 μmol/L),and large (20 μmol/L) dose of Ginsenoside Ro respectively.The expressions of CD1a,MHCⅡ and CD86 of leukemia-derived DCs were detected by flow cytometry.In addition,the transcription levels of CD1a,CD86 and MHCⅡ of leukemia-derived DCs were detected by RT-PCR.ELISA was used to measure the protein levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the culture supernatant.Results: THP-1 was the sensitive leukemia cell line which could be induced to differentiate into DCs by cytokines.Compared with cytokine stimulation alone,the expression of CD1a,MHCⅡ and CD86 in leukemia-derived cells was significantly increased after the stimulation of Ginsenoside Ro combined with cytokine(P<0.05).The CD1a,CD86 and MHCⅡ mRNA expression was significantly increased after the treatment of Ginsenoside Ro combined with cytokine(P<0.05).Moreover,the protein levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in culture supernatant were significantly increased (P<0.05) after the stimulation of Ginsenoside Ro in combination with cytokines.Conclusion: Ginsenoside Ro can significantly promote the differentiation of leukemia-derived DCs.