The influences of the calmodulin antagonist chlorpromazine (CPZ), and calcium chanmel blocker nimodipine (NLMO) and their combination on cadmium (Cd) poisoning of mice were studied.A series of biochemical parameters including urinary enzyme activities, blood and urine Cd levels, metallothionein (MT) contents in liver and kidney, hepatic ultrastructure and Ca2+ -Mg2- AT Pase activitv in erythrocyte membrane were determined. Animal models for Cd poisoning were established by peritoneal injection of 1/5 LD50 CdCl2. The experimental groups were protected by administration of CPZ, NIMO and CPZ and NIMO in combination I h before the injection of CdCl2. Five days later, samples were collected for analysis. The data showed that CPZ could protect kidney tissue against Cd-induced damage, as the urinary y-glutamyl-traspeptidase (γ-GT) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were reduced significantly. There was neither evidence of the protective effect of NIMO on kidney tissue nor an indication of a synergistic effecf of CPZ and NIMO.Both CPZ and NIMO showed a considerable protective effect against the decrease in Ca2+ -Mg2+ AT-Pase activity, and a synergistic action was observed. Cd content in blood was reduced significantly by CPZ or the combination of CPZ and NIMO, but elevated by NIMO. Both CPZ and NIMO considerably increased MT contents in livers and kidneys and ameliorated damaged to the hepatic ultrastructures caused by Cd. The results indicated that these inhibitors could protect mice against the toxic effects of Cd in liver and kidney tissues, while CPZ was more efficient than NIMO. The combination of CPZ and NIMO excrted a synergistic action. The protective action of these two drugs might be relevent to the function of MT.

In order to explore the dormancy physiological and biochemical mechanism of Paris seeds, the seed embryo growth courses, and the dynamic change of 5 enzymes, include SOD, POD, CAT, MDH, G-6-PDH were measured during variable temperature stratification. The results indicated that Paris seeds embryo grew quickly after 40 d in warm-stratification (18 ± 1) °C, at the meantime the metabolic activity was significantly strengthened. These facts showed that Paris seeds turned into physiological after-ripening process. After 60-80 d, the morphological embryo after-ripping process basically completed, and the following cold-stratification (4 ± 1) °C furthered Paris seed to finish physiological after-ripening. After 40 d, the activity of MDH decreased while G-6-PDH increased significantly. This showed that the main respiratory pathway of seed changed from TCA to PPP, which benifited breaking seed dormancy. In the whole period of stratification process, the activity variation of SOD and CAT was insignificantly and the activity of POD was enhanced significantly after shifting the seed in cold stratification process. This showed that SOD, CAT had no direct effects on breaking Paris seed dormancy but keeping the seed vigor, while the POD might involve in the process of Paris seed dormancy breaking.
Germination ; Liliaceae ; chemistry ; embryology ; enzymology ; Plant Proteins ; metabolism ; Seeds ; chemistry ; enzymology ; growth & development ; Temperature

Objective To develop a Chinese version of Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying scale (FATCOD) and evaluate its validity and reliability to provide a tool for the field of hospice care and death education used among nurses.Methods FATCOD scale was adopted according to Brislin's translation model for cross-cultural research and its reliability and validity of the new Chinese version was tested in 126 nurses.Factor analysis and correlation analysis were applied to establish the validity and reliability.Results The Chinese version of FATCOD scale consisted of 30 items.The Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.828; split-half coefficient of the whole scale was 0.807; the varimax rotation factor analysis of the scale identified twelve principal factors and explained for 69.5％ variances.Conclusions The Chinese version of FATCOD scale is valid and reliable in the sample of nurses,and can be used in the field of hospice care and death education.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect ofbotulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) on spasticity of the upper extremity after stroke. Methods Fifty-four patients with upper extremity spasticity after stroke were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The patients in treatment group were treated with BTX-A and rehabilitation training, while those in control group only with rehabilitation training. The efficacy was assessed with Modified Ashwonh Scale, Fugi-Meyer Assessment and Bartbel index before and 2, 4 and 12 weeks after treatment. Results The Ashworth scale score in treatment group was reduced significantly as compared with that in control group after 2- and 4-week treatment (P<0.01). And there was significant difference in FugI-Meyer Assessment and Barthel index between treatment group and control group after 4- and 12-week treatment (P<0.01). Conclusion The local injection of BTX-A for the muscle spasticity after stroke is effective and safe, and its combination with rehabilitation training can improve rapidly Fugl-Meyer scores and activities of daily living of patients.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a multifactorial disease in which inflammation plays a central role.This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR),the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score with in-hospital mortality of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in an attempt to explore the prognostic value of these indices for elderly AMI patients.One thousand consecutive CAD patients were divided into two groups based on age 60.The laboratory and clinical characteristics were assessed retrospectively by reviewing the medical records.The NLR and GRACE score were calculated.In the elderly (≥60 years),patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had significantly higher NLR than did those with unstable angina (UA) and stable angina pectoris (SAP) (P＜0.01).The NLR was considerably elevated in older AMI patients compared with their younger counterparts (＜60 years) (P＜0.05).In elderly AMI patients,the NLR was considerably higher in the high-risk group than in both the low-risk and medium-risk groups based on the GRACE score (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01,respectively),and the NLR was positively correlated with the GRACE score (r=0.322,P＜0.001).Either the NLR level or the GRACE score was significantly higher in the death group than in the surviving group (P＜0.05).By curve receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis,the optimal cut-off levels of 9.41 for NLR and 174 for GRACE score predicted in-hospital death [ROC area under the curve (AUC) 0.771 and 0.787,respectively,P＜0.001].It was concluded that an elevated NLR is a potential predictor of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with AMI.

[ABSTRACT]AIM:ToinvestigatetheeffectofimmunosuppressantFK506onserumglucoseinratsandtoex-plore its mechanism .METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats ( n =12 ) were randomly divided into drug group and normal group.The rats in drug group were intraperitoneally injected with FK 506 at dose of 1 mg· kg-1 · d-1 and the rats in nor-mal group received saline (1 mL· kg-1 · d-1 , ip) for 14 d.The fasting weight and fasting glucose were regularly meas-ured every 2 d.Visceral fat was isolated from the rats at the end of experiment .The mRNA expression of adiponectin , lep-tin, visfatin, resistin, retinol-binding protein 4 ( RBP4) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ( PPAR-γ) was determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR .The protein expression of PPAR-γand adiponectin was measured by Western blotting .RESULTS:Compared with normal group , the concentration of fasting blood glucose in model group was significantly increased from the 10th day (P<0.05).At day 14, the fasting blood glucose of the model group increased from (5.10 ±0.62) mmol/L to (7.73 ±0.73) mmol/L.No significant change of blood glucose in normal group between the 10th day and the 14th day [from (4.66 ±0.32) mmol/L to (5.80 ±0.10) mmol/L] was observed.Compared with normal group , the mRNA expression of PPAR-γ, adiponectin and leptin in the adipose tissue of model group was signifi-cantly decreased ( P <0.01 ) , whereas the expression of visfatin , resistin and RBP4 was significantly increased ( P <0.05).Compared with normal group, the expression of PPAR-γand adiponectin in model group was decreased (P <0.01).CONCLUSION:FK506 may decrease the expression of PPAR-γto change the expression of adipocytokines and induce hyperglycemia in rats .

Tuberculosis(TB),a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB), is the outcome of the interaction between polygenes and environmental factors,which has been shown in lots of genetic studies. In recent years,the research of TB susceptibility genes and their single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)loci has become a hot topic,but genes and SNPs exactly associated with TB susceptibility are rarely reported. What's more,some susceptibility genes are different among races, populations and geographical distributions, resulting in inconsistency, or even contrary conclusions drawn from local studies of different populations or areas. In order to obtain susceptibility genes that are widely applicable and exactly associated with TB,it is necessary to screen the genes preliminarily in the laboratory animals with gene diversity, and thereafter, verify those genes in animals or humans. The Collabrative Cross(CC)mice have the advantages of diverse and clear genetic background,which can provide a new tool for the research of TB susceptibility. This review summarizes the advances in the studies of TB susceptibility genes and their SNPs, and looking forward to the application of CC mice in these studies and its significance.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1) on secretion of adhesive molecules mediated by ox-LDL in human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs).

METHODSHUVECs with different concentration of ox-LDL (0, 10, 20, 50, 100 microg/ml) were incubated for 24 h, or HUVECs were pretreated with 250 microg/ml poly (I) or 250 microg/ml carrageenan for 2 h and then incubated with 50 microg/ml ox-LDL for another 24 h. Expression of LOX-1 was determined by realtime RT-PCR and Western blot. mRNA and protein of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin were examined by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively.

RESULTSIncubation of HUVECs with ox-LDL (10-100 microg/ml) enhanced the expressions of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.01). On the contrary, ox-LDL did not affect the expression of VCAM-1 by HUVECs. The expression of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin induced by ox-LDL were reduced in HUVECs pretreated with 250 microg/ml poly (I) or 250 microg/ml carrageenan for 2 h and then incubated with 50 microg/ml ox-LDL for 24 h. This showed that both poly (I) and carrageenan obviously decreased the expression of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin induced by ox-LDL.

CONCLUSIONox-LDL may upregulate the expression of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin, and LOX-1 blocker may partly inhibit this upregulation. The results suggest that the expression of inflammatory molecules induced by ox-LDL in HUVECs is mediated by LOX-1.

Cell Adhesion ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Cells, Cultured ; E-Selectin ; metabolism ; Endothelial Cells ; metabolism ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; biosynthesis ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Receptors, Oxidized LDL ; metabolism ; Scavenger Receptors, Class E ; metabolism ; Umbilical Veins ; cytology ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical significance of IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in plasma free DNA in patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).

METHODSPlasma free DNA in 74 patients with NHL were extracted and identified by Globin gene. IgH (FR3A/VLJH), TCR gamma (TVG/TJX) clonal rearrangements were amplified by PCR and compared with results of mononuclear cell DNA and pathological biopsy sample DNA.

RESULTSPlasma free DNAs were successfully obtained from 58 cases (35 B-NHL and 23 T-NHL) of newly diagnostic, refractory and relapsed NHL out of total 74 patients (78.4%), but not found in the rest 16 patients in remission. Of 35 B-NHL cases, 31 showed IgH rearrangement (88.6%), and none with TCR gamma rearrangement; of 23 T-NHL cases, 8 showed TCR gamma rearrangement (34.8%), and 2 with IgH gene rearrangement synchronously. In comparison with the results of IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in biopsy samples in 30 B-NHL cases, 26 cases in plasma free DNA (86.7%) and 24 in biopsy samples (80%) were positive (P > 0.05). In 20 T-NHL patients, 7 cases in plasma cell-free DNA (35%) and 6 cases in biopsy samples (30%) were positive (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTumor-derived DNA could be detected in plasma from underlying cancer patients. For NHL patients, detecting IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in plasma free DNA has the same clinical significance as in biopsy samples.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; DNA ; blood ; Female ; Gene Rearrangement, gamma-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains ; genetics ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; blood ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

AIM: To investigate effects of different therapeutic methods and typical recipes on activation of ERK1/2 in Kupffer cells of rats with fatty liver.METHODS: The rat model of fatty liver was established by feeding high fat diet combinated with distillate spirit.Meanwhile Chinese medicines Shugan fang,Jianpi fang,Huoxue fang,Qushi fang,and Zonghe fang were given to treat different groups respectively.12 weeks later,the Kupffer cells were isolated from livers of control group,model group and different treatment groups by sequential in situ perfusion with collagenaseⅣ and pronase E,density gradient centrifugation,selective adherence.The expression of total ERK1/2 and phospho-ERK1/2 in Kupffer cells of control group,model group and different treatment groups were detected by Western blotting.RESULTS: The expressions of total ERK1/2 and phospho-ERK1/2 were higher in Kupffer cells from model group than those in control group(P