This study is to establish the characteristic HPLC chromatogram of phenols in Ephedrae Herba, from which to pick out the marker peaks, followed by the analysis of the regularity of their distribution and content in the herbaceous stems of Ephedra sinica, E. intermedia and E. equisetina. The HPLC-DAD method for the characteristic chromatogram as well as quantitative analysis was established. The separation was carried out on a YMC-Pack ODS-A column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 µm), eluted with the mobile phases as 0.01% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile (B) in a linear gradient (0-10 min, 17% B; 10-25 min, 17%-19% B; 25- 33 min, 19%-48% B; 33-35 min, 48%-51% B; 35-44 min, 51% B). The flow rate was kept at 1.0 mL · min⁻¹. The column tem- perature was 40 °C, and the detection wavelength was set at 350 nm (0-16 min) and 330 nm (16-44 min). Forty-six batches of collected samples from three official origins of Ephedrae Herba were detected, whose liquid chromatograms proven to be helpful to the differentiation of different origins. With principal component analysis and the analysis of distribution of peak area, twelve key peaks from the chromatogram were discussed in details on their contributions to the characteristics and differences of three official origins of the herb: peak area of peak 10, 11, 12 were found out to be significantly higher in E. equisetina than in other two origins, whose sum (higher than 146 mAU in E. equisetina) was useful for the discrimination between E. equisetina and the other two origins; peak area of 1 and 4 were respectively higher in E. sinica and E. intermedia than in other official origins, indicating their important effect on the differen- tiation of corresponding origins; peak 8 and 9 were picked out as two characteristic common peaks in three official origins of the herb, whose peak area showed little difference among different origins; further, peak area of other key peaks in the chromatogram also showed some difference among three origins, which make contributions to the differentiation of origins as well. Then, four phenols as 2"-O-α- L-rhamnosyl-isovitexin (1), vitexin (2), pollenitin B (5) and herbacetin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (6) were quantitative analyzed with the above-mentioned method, with good linear relationship and accuracy (recoveries in a range of 97.8%-102.5%). The content of the four phenols were firstly reported in Ephedrae Herba from official origins, which were respectively trace-1.55 (1), trace-0.160 (2), trace-0.284 (5) and trace-0.620 (6) mg · g⁻¹ in all of the tested samples. In addition, the content of these phenols showed differences in three official origins, especially 1, whose content in E. sinica [(0.670 ± 0.88) mg ± g⁻¹] were significantly higher than in other two origins (lower than 0.16 mg ± g⁻¹ besides sample Ei-060630-2-2), and 6, whose average content in E. equisetina [(0.260 ± 0.039 2) mg · g⁻¹] were twice as high as in E. sinica [(0.120 ± 0.270) mg · g⁻¹] and E. intermedia [(0.136 ± 0.485) mg g⁻¹], indicating the important effects of the two constituents on the differentiation among three official origins of the herb. The method established for the characteristic HPLC chromatogram and quantitative analysis of phenols was simple and accurate, and the marker constituents selected may provide new guides for the discrimination of official origins as well as the improvement of quality criteria of EphedraeHerba.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Ephedra ; chemistry ; Phenols ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo analyze the prognosis of rectal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

METHODSRecords of 40 patients diagnosed as rectal GIST at the Affiliated Chinese Traditional Medical Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University and the People's Hospital of Tianjin City between June 1979 and June 2010 were reviewed. Clinical features, treatment modalities and outcomes were analyzed.

RESULTSThere were 23 males and 17 females with a median age of 54.5 years old (range, 28-81 years old). During the follow-up(median 52.5 months, range 1-300 months), 18 patients developed recurrence including 7 local recurrence, 6 metastasis and 5 local recurrence complicated with metastasis. The overall survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 82.5%, 60.0%, and 42.5% respectively. On univariate analysis, tumor size(P<0.01), Fletcher classification(P<0.01), mitotic index(P<0.01), and post-operative distant metastasis were associated with survival. Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size(P<0.05), mitotic rate (P<0.01), and postoperative distant metastasis(P<0.01) were independent prognostic factors associated with survival.

CONCLUSIONSSurgery is the main treatment for rectal GIST. Tumor size, mitotic rate and metastasis are independent prognostic factors in patients with rectal GIST.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Rectal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo assess the value of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and serum myelin basic protein (MBP) levels in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODSEnzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the CSF and serum levels of MBP in patients with MS (n=45), patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) (n=36) and control subjects (control) (n=33). The sensitivity and specificity of MBP in CSF and serum in the diagnosis of MS were evaluated using the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

RESULTSThe MBP levels in CSF and serum both increased significantly in MS group as compared with those in GBS (P<0.01) and control groups (P<0.01). The area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve of MBP in CSF was 0.853-/+0.037 for MS diagnosis, and with the optimal cut-off value of 0.87 pg/ml, CSF MBP showed a diagnostic sensitivity of 83.7% and specificity of 78.3%. The AUC of the ROC curve of serum MBP was 0.761-/+0.046, and the optimal cut-off value of 0.25 pg/ml resulted in a diagnostic sensitivity of 62.8% and specificity of 73.9%. No statistically significant difference was found between the two AUCs (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONEvaluation of CSF and serum MBP levels allows accurate diagnosis of MS, and MBP level in the CSF has greater diagnostic sensitivity than serum MBP. The combination of both CSF and serum MBP levels may serve as a sensitive index for the diagnosis of MS.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Early Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Sclerosis ; diagnosis ; Myelin Basic Protein ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDIn this prospective randomized study, we compared the predicted blood and effect-site C 50 for propofol and remifentanil target-controlled infusion (TCI) and the bispectral index (BIS) values at loss of consciousness (LOC) and response to a standard noxious painful stimulus (LOS) in elderly and young patients, respectively. We hypothesized that the elderly patients will require lower target concentration of both propofol and remifentanil at above two clinical end-points.

METHODSThere were 80 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-II unpremedicated patients enrolled in this study, they were divided into elderly group (age ≥65 years, n = 40) and young group (aged 18-64 years, n = 40). Propofol was initially given to a predicted blood concentration of 1.2 μg/ml and thereafter increased by 0.3 μg/ml every 30 s until Observer's Assessment of Alertness and Sedation score was 1. The propofol level was kept constant, and remifentanil was given to provide a predict blood concentration of 2.0 ng/ml, and then increased by 0.3 ng/ml every 30 s until loss of response to a tetanic stimulus. BIS (version 3.22, BIS Quattro sensor) was also recorded.

RESULTSIn elderly group, the propofol effect-site C 50 at LOC of was 1.5 (1.4-1.6) μg/ml, was significantly lower than that of young group, which was 2.2 (2.1-2.3) μg/ml, the remifentanil effect-site C 50 at LOS was 3.5 (3.3-3.7) ng/ml in elderly patients, was similar with 3.7 (3.6-3.8) ng/ml in young patients. Fifty percent of patients lost consciousness at a BIS value of 57.3 (56.4-58.1), was similar with that of young group, which was 55.2 (54.0-56.3).

CONCLUSIONIn elderly patients, the predicted blood and effect-site concentrations of propofol at LOC were lower than that of young patients. At same sedation status, predicted blood and effect-site concentrations of remifentanil required at LOS were similar in elderly and young patients. BIS were not affected by age. Low-propofol/high-opioid may be optional TCI strategy for elderly patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Anesthetics, Intravenous ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperidines ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Propofol ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Unconsciousness ; chemically induced ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the validity of criteria currently used in China for the classification of symmetric small for gestational age infants (SGA) as compared with its definition.

METHODSThis study included 417 inpatients diagnosed as SGA in authors' hospital from January 1998 to June 2002. Symmetric SGA was diagnosed by the following three criteria: (1) the Ponderal Index (PI), (2) the crown-heel length-to-head circumference ratio (BL/HC) issued in Chin J Pediatr (1988;26:164 - 165), as well as (3) the SGA definition. The definition criterion was considered as the "gold standard". The sensitivity, specificity, false positive and negative values, positive and negative predictive values, exact agreement ratio, diagnosis index, and Cohen's Kappa value were used to evaluate the validity and agreement of the methods of PI and BL/HC. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the validity of the diagnosis.

RESULTSOf 417 SGA infants, 376 (90.17%), 376 (90.17%) and 187 (44.84%) subjects were diagnosed as symmetric type with PI, BL/HC and the definition criteria, respectively. (2) The agreement rate and Kappa value between PI and BL/HC was 80.82% and -0.093 (SEM 0.026), respectively. And the agreement rates between PI or BL/HC and the definition criterion were 49.88% and 50.84%, respectively. As compared with the definition criterion, the PI and BL/HC methods had sensitivities of 91.8% - 96.4%, specificities of 9.3% - 25.9%, positive predictive values of 45.8% - 51.1%, negative predictive values of 72.7% - 82.8%, diagnosis indices of 4.9% - 17.7% and Kappa values of 0.070 - 0.167. (3) The areas under the ROC curves in full-term and preterm infants by PI method were 0.635 (95% CI, 0.573 - 0.697) and 0.698 (95% CI, 0.622 - 0.725), respectively. PI cutoffs at 2.47 in full-term SGA, at 2.43 in preterm SGA, and BL/HC cutoff at 1.43 produced the maximum diagnosis indices that were 24.7%, 39.6% and 33.7%, respectively. When the PI at 2.50 (full-term), PI at 2.31 (preterm) and BL/HC values at 1.46, the sensitivity closed mostly to the specificity. The sensitivities and specificities in full-term and preterm infants were 59.4% and 59.3%, 65.3% and 65.5%, and 66.3% and 65.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONIn the classification of SGA, the results showed a poor agreement between PI or BL/HC and the definition criterion. The results suggested that the current cutoffs of PI and BL/HC might not be appropriate for the diagnosis of symmetric SGA. Low AUC suggested that PI and BL/HC could not give a valid diagnosis at any cutoffs.

Anthropometry ; methods ; Birth Weight ; Body Height ; China ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sex Factors

OBJECTIVETo explore the pharmacologic mechanism of gardenin in treating cerebral ischemia, by studying its effect on gene expression profile in brain of rats with focal cerebral ischemia (FCI).

METHODSTotal RNAs were isolated from rats with FCI and those treated with gardenin. The mRNAs were reversely transcribed to cDNA with incorporation of fluorescent Cy5- or Cy3-dUTP to prepare hybridization probes. The PCR products of 4096 genes were spotted on the chip after a serial treatment. The mixed probes were hybridized to the cDNA microarray. Axon Genepix 4000B and GenePixPro 3.0 software were used to scan and analyze the fluorescent signals.

RESULTSIn the group treated with gardenin, there were 70 genes had expression profiles different to that in the model group in the focal cerebral ischemic brain tissue, in which 68 were up-regulated and 2 down-regulated.

CONCLUSIONGardenin has regulatory effect on the gene expression in rats with focal cerebral ischemia, which elucidates part of the pharmacologic mechanism of Qingkailing in molecular level.

Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Male ; Pyridines ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo explore the impact of microwave radiation on GC-2spd cells.

METHODSWe exposed cultured GC-2spd cells to microwave radiation at the average power densities of 0, 10 and 30 mW/cm2 for 15 minutes and, from I to 24 hours after the exposure, we observed the changes in cell proliferation, histology and ultrastructure, cell apoptosis, and cAMP content by MTIT, light microscopy, electron microscopy, flow cytometry and ELISA.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the GC-2spd cells showed a significant decrease in proliferation ability at 1 -24 hours after 10 and 30 mW/cm2 microwave radiation, except at 12 hours after 30 mW/cm2 radiation (P <0.05 or P <0.01), with reduced length and number of cell enation and increased intra cytoplasm vacuoles. The rate of cell apoptosis (%) was significantly increased in the 10 and 30 mW/cm2 groups at 6 hours (4.56 +/- 2.09 vs 14.59 +/- 1.09 and 8.48 +/- 1.73, P <0.05 or P <0.01) , with agglutination and margin translocation of chromatins and obvious dilation of endo cytoplasmic reticula. The cAMP content (nmol/g) in the GC-2spd cells was remarkably reduced in the 10 and 30 mW/cm2 groups at 6 and 24 hours (2.77 +/-0.24 vs 1.65+/- 0. 17 and 1.96+/-0.10, 3.02 +/-0.47 vs 2.13 +/-0.33 and 1.69 +/-0.27, P <0.05 or P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONMicrowave radiation at 10 and 30 mW/cm2 may cause injury to GC-2spd cells, which is manifested by decreased content of intracellular cAMP, reduced activity of cell proliferation, and increased rate of cell apoptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; radiation effects ; Cell Line ; radiation effects ; Cell Proliferation ; radiation effects ; Male ; Mice ; Microwaves ; adverse effects ; Spermatocytes ; radiation effects

BACKGROUND:Polylactic acid and its copolymers have been widely used in biomedical fields because of their good biocompatibility and biodegradability, which have become a hotspot in the research of biomaterials. OBJECTIVE:To review the biocompatibility of fully degradable polylactic acid and its copolymers. METHODS:A computer-based online retrieval of PubMed and CNKI was performed to search relevant papers published from 2006 to 2016, with the key words of "polylactide, polylactic acid, copolymer, biodegradability, biocompatibility, animal" in English and Chinese, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Polylactic acid and its copolymers as polyester compounds are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in the biomedical field because of their good biocompatibility mainly as drug delivery carriers and temporary implants. Moreover, their side effects in clinical application have attracted attentions. Polylactide copolymers can cause some adverse reactions when used in drug delivery systems, orthopedic and skin care, and other clinical medical fields. These copolymers are deemed to have no impact on the central nervous system, eyes, cardiovessels and other tissues and organs. They also have no virtually genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. Currently, the polylactide copolymer implant mainly results in local reactions in the surrounding tissues, and no systemic reactions have been found.

Objective To evaluate left ventricular function in patients with hypertensive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HHC)using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Thirty patients with HHC and 32 control subjects were studied.Full-volume RT-3DE data from apical window were acquired,and regional volumetric time curves of 17 segments were obtained by fast 3-dimensional border detection software.Several left ventricular function parameters were calculated semiautomatically,including global left ventricular end-diastolic volume(EDV),end-systolic volume(ESV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),the ratio of ESV/EDV of 17 segments,the standard deviation(SD)and difference(Dif)(adjusted by the R-R interval) of time to minimum systolic volume(Tmsv)in 16 segments(Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif).Results EDV and ESV were significantly larger in patients with HHC than that in control subjects[(88±29)ml vs (72±15) ml,t=-2.680,P=0.008;(28±10)ml vs (22±6 )ml,t=-2.613,P=0.01].HHC had a higher ratio of ESV/EDV at interventricular septum(IVS)compared with control group[mid-segments of anterior IVS:(40.51±20.28)% vs (26.43±10.10)%,t=-3.378,P=0.002;mid-segments of posterior IVS:(41.44±23.55)% vs (24.46±8.12)%,t=-3.688,P=0.001;apical segments of IVS:(30.96±21.31)% vs (19.53±7.33)%,t=-2.745,P=0.01].In patients with HHC,Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif were significantly longer[(2.48±1.38)% vs (1.16±0.26)%,t=-5.117,P＜0.001;(7.67±5.07)% vs (3.95±1.48)%,t=-3.865,P＜0.001].And the prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony was higher than that in control subjects(43% vs 3%).Conclusions HHC patients may have regional left ventricular systolic dysfunction before global changes,and have a higher prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony.RT-3DE is a useful imaging modality for assessing left ventricular systolic function.

AIM:To investigate the natural course and adverse event of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) rat model induced by laser photochemical method. METHODS: Thirty SD (Sprague Dawley) rats were administrated Bangladesh via tail vein. Then 532nm laser (80mW, 100μ m and 100ms) was performed on retinal vein secondary bifurcation of bitamporal optic disk for 50 spots. Electroretinogram (ERG), fundus fluorescein angiography ( FFA), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus (fluorescein) photograph were applied on 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 and 21d after BRVO model constructed. Two rats were sacrificed, respectively, on 1, 5 and 21d after photocoagulation to carry on HE (Hematoxylin - Eosin stain) and VEGF - α (vascular endothelial growth factor - α) immumohistochemical staining. RESULTS: There were three rats died, three rats with severe retinal detachment for excessive bleeding,one rat with retinal sunken, and one rat with cataract. FFA and fundus ( fluorescein) photograph showed that the successful BRVO rat model was 73% (22/30). It was found that the near-end photocoagulation vein became coarse, far - end became diminution on 1d and the photocoagulation vein total recanalization was on 3-7d. ERG showed the amplification of b wave (dark -adaptation 3.0 response) decreased to 0.694士0.042 of control eyes and on 5-7d decreased to rock bottom about 0.487士0.064 of control eyes. Then it increased Aii the time to 0.708士0.0465 of control eyes on 21d. OCT and HE staining found that retinal ganglion cells and outer nuclear layer became edema on 1d in vivo and in vitro.It was observed that the thickness of retina on photocoagulation vein (0μ m or 250μ m) decreased from 5d and there were 3-4 layer cells in ONL on 21d. The expression of VEGF-α at injured site were significantly more than control eyes on 1d and there were no significant difference on 5d;But the expression of VEGF-α were slightly less than control eyes on 21d. CONCLUSION: Photochemical method was a feasible method to establish BRVO rat model. The evolution and development of the BRVO model could partly mimic human BRVO phenomenon. At the same time, it should be improved to increase the successful model rate.