Three butylphthalide derivatives were isolated from the Rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong using a series of isolation and purification approaches including macroporous resin, ODS-A column, Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. These structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic data (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS and NMR) and identified as (3Z,3aE)-(6R,7R,2'S)-6-hydroxy-7-(2-carboxyl-2-hydroxyethylthio)-3-(2-hydroxybutylidene)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-phthalide (1), (3Z,3aZ)-3-butylidene-6,7-dihydroxy-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-phthalide 7-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fructo-furanoside (2) and 3-(3-β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-butylidene)-7-hydroxy-phthalide (3).

Objective To explore the effect of protoporphyrin Ⅸ zinc(Znpp) on hyperoxic lung injury in preterm rats.Methods Three-day-old preterm SD rats were randomly assigned to room air control group(group Ⅰ)hyperoxia control group(oxygen≥900 mL/L)(group Ⅱ),room air plus Znpp group(group Ⅲ),hyperoxia plus Znpp group(group Ⅳ).Group Ⅲ and group Ⅳ were injected intraperitoneally with ZnPP 45 ?mol/kg each day.After the third day and the 7th day of exposure,the activity of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) and the percent of carboxyhemoglobin(HbCO) in the lungs,the lung wet weight /dry weight ratio(W/D),tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?),total protein and malondialdehyde(MDA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were determined and lung histophathological changes were examined in all groups.Results On the third day,compared with group Ⅰ the activity of HO-1 and the percent of HbCO in the lungs,W/D,TNF-?,total protein and MDA,all greatly rised in group Ⅱ(Pa

Objective To evaluate the dietary iodine intake level of population in coastal and inland areas of Zhejiang province.Methods The cluster sampling method was applied to select Zhoushan,Ningbo and Taizhou cities from Zhejiang province as coastal areas,to select Jinhua,Quzhou and Lishui cities from Zhejiang province as inland areas,and two counties(districts) were randomly selected in each chosen city,three sub-districts(towns) were randomly selected in each chosen counties (districts),then one community (village) was randomly selected in each chosen sub-districts(towns).Adult residents aged greater than 18 were selected as investigation subjects,their dietary iodine intake in the past 24 hours was investigated,and the Food composition table” was inquired to get the data of dietary iodine intake.One hundred copies of residential edible salt samples and drinking water samples in each of the selected community (village) were collected to detect salt iodine and water iodine by direct titrimetric and spectrophotometric method,respectively.Results The mean of adult residents' dietary iodine intake in Zhejiang coastal area was 267.76 μg/d,which was less than that in inland area (429.05 μg/d,t =- 6.90,P ＜0.05),and the means of adult residents' dietary iodine intake from drinking water,laver and fish(5.75,69.72,5.61 μg/d,respectively) in coastal area were higher than those in inland areas(3.25,35.27,3.43 μg/d,respectively,t =21.73,3.92,4.08,all P ＜ 0.05),however,the means of adult residents' dietary iodine intake from salt,kelp and other food (166.81,3.04,16.82 μg/d,respectively) in coastal areas were less than those in inland areas (355.15,6.14,25.81 μg/d,respectively,t =- 8.76,- 5.49,- 18.56,all P ＜ 0.05).In coastal areas,the proportion which was less than estimated average requirement of iodine(EAR,120 μg/d) was 46.48％ (1029/2214),the ratio which was higher than the maximum tolerable intake of iodine(UL,1000 μg/d) was 3.34％ (74/2214),and the average contribution rate of dietary intake of iodine in salt was 62.30％(166.81/267.76).While in inland areas,the corresponding proportions were 7.61％ (171/2246),2.80％ (63/2246) and 82.78％ (355.15/429.05),respectively.Conclusions The dietary iodine intake in Zhejiang inland areas has reached the recommended nutrient intake levels of the Chinese Nutrition Society,but there is a certain degree of insufficient iodine intake in population of the coastal areas.

Objective To investigate the potential of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human bone marrow to undergo cardiomyogenic differentiation after exposure to 5-azacytidine (5-aza) in vitro. Methods A small bone marrow aspirate was taken from the iliac crest of human volunteers, and hMSCs were isolated by 1.073g/mL Percoll and propagated in the right cell culturing medium as previously described. The phenotypes of hMSCs were characterized with the use of flow cytometry. The hMSCs were cultured in cell culture medium (as control) and medium mixed with 5-aza for cellular differentiation. We examined by immunohistochemistry at 21 days the inducement of desmin, cardiac-specific cardiac troponin I (cTnI), GATA 4 and connexin-43 respectively. Results The hMSCs are fibroblast-like morphology and express CD44+ CD29+ CD90+ / CD34- CD45- CD31- CD11a. After 5-aza treatment, 20-30% hMSCs connected with adjoining cells and coalesced into myotube structures after 14days. Twenty-one days after 5-aza treatment, immunofluorescence showed that some cells expressed desmin,GATA4, cTnI and connexin-43 in 5,10 μmol/L 5-aza groups, but no cardiac specific protein was found in neither 3μmol/L 5-aza group nor in the control group. The ratio of cTnI positively stained cells in 10 μmol/L group was higher than that in 5 μmol/L group (65.3 ± 4.7% vs 48.2 ± 5.4%, P ＜ 0.05). Electron microscopy revealed that myofilaments were formed. The induced cells expressed cardiac-myosin heavy chain (MyHC) gene by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Conclusions Theses findings suggest that hMSCs from adult bone marrow can be differentiated into cardiac-like muscle cells with 5-aza inducement in vitro and the differentiation is in line with the 5-aza concentration. (J Geriatr Cardiol 2004;1(2) :101-107. )

Objective To judge method performance of routine biochemistry parameters on Roche Modular PPI testing system by using westgard's method evaluation decision chart.Methods We assessed imprecision(CV)from internal quality control and inaccuracy(bias)from external quality control evaluation.Combined estimates of imprecision and inaccuracy by plotting imprecision as the x-coordinate and inaccuracy as the y-coordinate to locate an expected operating point of every item on the chart.By comparing this operating point with allowable total errors(TEa),we can decide whether the performance is acceptable or not.Results In the 27 different parameters tested,imprecision and bias of calcium were 0.08 mmol/L and 0.06 mmol/L respectively,its performance was marginal.The imprecision of creatinine,urea,glucose, sodium,chloride and phosphorus were 3.20%,2.13%,1.52%,0.89 mmol/L,1.10% and 1.55%,the bias were 4.79%,0.96%,4.63%,0.80 mmol/L,1.74% and 4.13% respectively,their performance was good.M1 other 20 items were of excellence performance.Conclusions Routine biochemistry parameters on Roche Modular PPI testing system possessed good precision and accuracy,and their performance were acceptable.To judge method performance of biochemistry testing system by using westgard' s method evaluation decision chart was easy to do and suited for clinical laboratory.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the association between vasectomy and prostate cancer.

METHODSWe searched comprehensively the databases, CBMDisc, CMCC, CMAC, CNKI (from 1978 to January 6, 2009), and PubMed (from 1965 to January 6, 2009) using the key words "vasectomy" and "prostate cancer", screened the retrieved literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, performed a Meta-analysis with the software RevMan 4.2 after identification of the relevant data, and calculated the overall pooled OR (95% CI) as well as that of the association of prostate cancer with <20 and > or =20 yr vasectomy.

RESULTSA total of 20 088 cases and 232 506 controls in 27 reports (7 cohort and 20 case-control studies) were included in this investigation. The overall pooled OR (95% CI) was 1.10 (0.97-1.24), and those of <20 and > or =20 yr vasectomy were 0.94 (0.83-1.06) and 1.05 (0.90-1.23), respectively.

CONCLUSIONNo existing literature show any positive association between vasectomy and prostate cancer.

Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Risk Factors ; Vasectomy ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of seminal plasma levocarnitine with sperm concentration, vitality and motility.

METHODSEnrolled in this study were 64 infertile men, who were divided according to the results of routine sperm tests into a normozoospermia (n = 12), an oligozoospermia (n = 16), an asthenozoospermia (n = 20) and an oligoasthenozoospermia group (n = 16). The level of seminal plasma levocarnitine was detected by LC-MS-MS, the concentration of seminal plasma testosterone measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay, the correlation of seminal plasma levocarnitine with sperm concentration, motility and vitality determined by bivariate correlation analysis with SPSS15.0, and so was the correlation between the carnitine and sperm concentration by partial correlation analysis with seminal plasma testosterone as a control variable to exclude the influence of testosterone.

RESULTSThe concentrations of total seminal plasma levocarnitine, free seminal plasma levocarnitine and seminal plasma acetolevocarnitine were (91.33 +/- 40.49) mg/L, (40.89 +/- 24.13) mg/L and (50.44 +/- 21.90) mg/L; the Pearson coefficients of correlation of the levocarnitine level with sperm motility, vitality and concentration were 0.161 (P = 0.235), 0.114 (P = 0.370) and 0.637 (P < 0.001), those of free seminal carnitine with sperm motility and vitality were 0.325 (P = 0.024) and 0.316 (P = 0.029), respectively, with the oligozoospermia group excluded, and that of partial correlation between the concentrations of seminal levocarnitine and sperm was 0.641 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONThe level of seminal plasma levocarnitine is positively correlated with sperm motility and vitality, and more significantly with sperm concentration.

Adult ; Carnitine ; analysis ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; physiopathology ; Male ; Semen ; chemistry ; cytology ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; physiology ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; physiology ; Young Adult

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of the gene polymorphisms of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and NAD (P) H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) with the susceptibility to acute leukemia (AL) in Chinese Gansu population. A 1:1 paired case-control study of 150 patients with acute leukemia and 150 cancer-free inpatients as a control was conducted to detect the polymorphisms of MPO and NQO1 by LDR techniques. The results showed that the MPO-463A genotype frequency in patient group was lower than that in control group, and there was significant difference of MPO (G-463A) genotype between patient group and control group (χ(2) = 11.828, P < 0.05, OR = 0.368, 95%CI = 0.205 - 0.610). The NQO1-609T genotype frequency in patient group was higher than that in control group, and there was significant difference of NQO1 (C-609T) genotype between patient group and control group (χ(2) = 17.931, P < 0.05, OR = 1.428, 95%CI = 1.237 - 3.339). The combined gene analysis showed that the AML risk in patients carrying the wild genotypes of MPO and NQO1 was dropped to 33.6%. It is concluded that the MPO and NQO1 gene polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to AL. The AL risk may decrease in patients carrying MPO (G-463A) mutant gene (GA/AA), while the AL risk may increase in patients carrying NQO1 (C-609T) mutant gene (TC/TT). The combined effect of MPO and NQO1 wild genotypes may further decrease AL risk.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Leukemia ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) ; genetics ; Peroxidase ; genetics ; Young Adult

This study was aimed to investigate the relation of glutathione S-transferase pI (GSTP1) and cytochrome P450 enzyme 2E1 (CYP2E1) gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to acute leukemia (AL) in Chinese population. The GSFP1 and CTP2E1 gene polymorphisms in 150 patients with AL and 150 patients with non-hematological diseases or non-tumor as controls were detected by means of case-control paired 1:1 method and ligase detection reaction (LDR) techniques. The results indicated that the frequently of G allele and Ile/Val + Val/Val of GSTP1 gene (26.7%and 44% respectively) in AL group were higher than those in control group (10% and 16% respectively); the AL risk for persons with Ile/Val + Val/Val was 3.260-fold (95%CI = 1.527 - 5.236) of persons with Ile/Ile. The further stratified analysis showed the frequency of Ile/Val + Val/Val in AML group was higher than that in control group (55% vs 16%, p < 0.05); the AML risk for persons with Ile/Val + Val/Val was 2.214-fold (95% CI = 1.009-3.260) as persons with Ile/Ile. The frequencies of C2 allele (16.7%) and C1C2/C2C2 of CYP2E1 gene (30%) in AL group seemed higher than those in control groups (13.9% and 26%), but the difference between them was not statistical significant (p > 0.05). The further stratified analysis showed that C1C2/C2C2 of CYP2E1 gene occurred more frequently in AML group (36%) than that in control group (32%), but there was no statistical difference between them (p > 0.05). Combined genotype analysis showed that the AML risk for persons in combination of lle/Val + Val/Val of GSTP1 gene with C1C2 + C2C2 of CYP2E1 gene increased by 3.208-fold. It is concluded that the GSTP1 gene is related with susceptibility to AML, the AL risk for persons with lle/Val + Val/Val of GSTP1 gene decreased, while CYP2E1 gene is not related with susceptibility to AL, the AML risk for persons in combination of GSTP1 wildtype with CYP2E1 hybrid and mutant genotype can be further decreased.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Glutathione S-Transferase pi ; genetics ; Humans ; Leukemia ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the expression and the role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in preterm rats with hyperoxia-induced lung injuries.

METHODSSixty-four three-day-old preterm Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to a hyperoxia group (90% oxygen exposure) and a control group (room air exposure), with 32 rats in each group. After 3 days or 7 days of exposure, the lung activity of HO-1 and nitric oxide (NO) contents in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), pulmonary histopathologic changes, and the cellular distribution and expression of HO-1 and iNOS in the lungs were measured.

RESULTSAfter 3 days and 7 days of exposure, the hyperoxia group showed acute lung injuries characterized by the presence of hyperaemia, red cell extravasation and inflammatory infiltration. The NO contents in BALF and the iNOS expression in the lungs increased significantly in the hyperoxia group compared with those in the control group 3 and 7 days after exposure. The expression of HO-1 in macrophages in the lungs increased significantly in the hyperoxia group compared with that in the control group 3 and 7 days after exposure. The NO contents in BALF and the iNOS and HO-1 expression in the lungs increased significantly 7 days after hyperoxia exposure compared with 3 days after hyperoxia exposure.

CONCLUSIONSiNOS and HO-1 levels in the lungs increase in preterm rats with hyperoxia-induced lung injuries, suggesting that iNOS and HO-1 may play roles in hyperoxia-induced pulmonary injuries.

Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; chemistry ; Female ; Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) ; analysis ; physiology ; Hyperoxia ; complications ; enzymology ; Lung ; enzymology ; Lung Injury ; etiology ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; analysis ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley