Objective To investigate the relationship between carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and pulse pressure index (PPI) in elderly hypertensive patients.PPI was defined as 24 h mean pulse pressure(PP)/24 h mean SBP.Methods One hundred and three elderly hypertensive patients were categorized by PPI level:group A (PPI

OBJECTIVERecent studies have found that the variation of G894T on the region of T786C and 7th exon promoted by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene is associated with cardiovascular disease. This research explored possible correlations between eNOS gene polymorphisms and orthostatic intolerance (OI) in children through linkage disequilibrium analysis between eNOS genes T786C and G894T and OI.

METHODSPCR, Macrorestriction Map and other molecular biotechnology were used to determine the genotypes of eNOS/T786C and G894T in 60 OI probands and their parents. Correlation analysis and transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) between T786C, G894T and OI were performed.

RESULTSThere was linkage disequilibrium of eNOS/T786C and G894T gene polymorphisms in the occurrence of childhood OI (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSeNOS genes T786C and G894T may be associated with the pathogenesis of OI.

Adult ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; genetics ; Orthostatic Intolerance ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic

OBJECTIVESThe investigation of the testicular volume, the penis length and the T, FSH, LH, PRL levels in serum were taken in 289 adolescent males to provide the valuable data for andrology.

METHODSThe adolescent males were grouped according to their age. The testicular volume was measured with testicular model and the T, FSH, LH, PRL levels in serum were determined by immunoenzymetric assay.

RESULTSThe male sexual development was rapid from age 11 to 16 and close to that of adult at age 18. Serum PRL of adolescent males was higher than that of adult males.

CONCLUSIONSThe age 11 to 16 is a period of rapid growth in sexual maturation. PRL may play an important role in sexual maturation.

Adolescent ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Penis ; physiology ; Testis ; physiology

Extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness is closely related to the physiological and pathological states of breast tissue. The current study was aimed to investigate the effect of silk fibroin/collagen composite hydrogels with adjustable matrix stiffness on the growth and phenotype of normal breast epithelial cells. In this study, the enzymatic reaction of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was used to change the degree of cross-linking of the silk fibroin solution. The rotational rheometer was used to characterize the composite hydrogel's biomechanical properties. Human normal mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A were inoculated into composite hydrogels with various stiffness (19.10-4 932.36 Pa) to construct a three dimensional (3D) culture system of mammary epithelial cells. The CCK-8 assay was applied to detect the cell proliferation rate and active states in each group. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining and whole-mount magenta staining were used for histological evaluation of cell morphology and distribution. The results showed that with the increase of matrix stiffness, MCF-10A cells exhibited inhibited proliferation rate, decreased formation of acinus structures and increased branching structures. Meanwhile, with the increase of matrix stiffness, the polarity of MCF-10A cells was impeded. And the increase of matrix stiffness up-regulated the expression levels of mmp-2, mmp-3, and mmp-9 in MCF-10A cells. Among the genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the expression level of the epithelial marker gene E-cadherin was significantly down-regulated, while the interstitial cell marker gene Vimentin was up-regulated, and the expression levels of Snail, Wnt5b and Integrin β1 in the Wnt pathway were up-regulated. These results suggest that the silk fibroin/collagen composite hydrogels with adjustable matrix stiffness regulates the proliferation and the phenotype of MCF-10A cells. The effects of increased matrix stiffness may be closely related to the changes of the polar structures and function of MCF-10A cells, as well as the occurrence of ECM-remodeling and EMT.
Collagen/metabolism* ; Epithelial Cells/metabolism* ; Fibroins/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Hydrogels/metabolism* ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Phenotype

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and potential value of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in elderly (≥60 years) patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in China. Methods: The CGA results of 83 newly diagnosed AML (non-APL) patients from 16 hospitals in Beijing and Tianjin between March 2016 and December 2017 were prospectively collected and analyzed. The clinical data, treatment and follow-up information were also collected. Results: Of 83 newly diagnosed elderly AML patients, 81 patients (97.6%) completed all designated CGA assessment. The median number of impaired scales of the CGA assessment in the studied population was 2(0-6). Sixteen patients (19.3%) showed no impairments according to the geriatric assessment scales implem ented by this study. The distributions of impaired scales were as follows: impairment in ADL, 55.4%; IADL impairment, 42.2%; MNA-SF impairment, 48.2%; cognitive impairment, 15.7%; GDS impairment, 31.7%; HCT-CI impairment, 19.5%, respectively. In patients with "good" ECOG (n=46), the proportion of impairment for each CGA scale ranged from 6.5% to 37.0% and 32 patients (68.9%) had at least one impaired CGA scale. Survival analysis showed that the number of impaired scales of the CGA was significantly correlated with median overall survival (P=0.050). Conclusions: CGA was a tool with feasibility for the comprehensive evaluation in elderly AML patients in China. Combined with age and ECOG, CGA may be more comprehensive in assessing patients' physical condition.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; China ; Geriatric Assessment ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Prospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo summarize the clinical characteristics of peripheral blood, immune phenotypes, fusion genes and cytogenetics of patients with t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia(AML) through the retrospective analysis of 586 patients with t(8;21) AML from 15 blood disease research centers in Northern area of China.

METHODSThe factors affecting prognosis of patients with t(8;21) AML were investigated by using univariate and multivariate COX regression.

RESULTSThe immune type of t(8;21) AML patients was mainly with HLA-DR, CD117, CD34, MPO, CD38, CD13and CD33(>95%), part of them with CD19and CD56; the most common accompanied mutation of t(8;21) AML patients was C-KIT mutation (37.8%); in addition to t(8;21) ectopic, the most common chromosomal abnormality was sex chromosome deletions (38.9%). The univariate analysis revealed a significant survival superiority of OS and PFS in t(8;21) AML patients of WBC≤3.5×10/L without C-KIT mutation, the newly diagnosed ones achieved HSCT(P<0.05), only survival superiority on OS in t(8;21) AML patients with extramedullary infiltration and CD19 positive; the results of multivariate analysis showed a significant survival superiority on OS and PFS in t(8;21) AML patients with WBC≤3.5×10/L(P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe clinical features of t(8;21) AML patients in China are similar to those in other countries, WBC≤3.5×10/L is a good prognostic factor while the C-KIT mutation is a poor one in t(8;21) AML patients.

AIM: To establish a method to simultaneously determine the main five alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus for trace samples, a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis method was developed. METHOD: The five Catharanthus alkaloids, vinblastine, vincristine, vinleurosine, vindoline, and catharanthine were chromatographically separated on a C18 HPLC column. The mobile phase was methanol-15 nmol·L(-1) ammonium acetate containing 0.02% formic acid (65 : 35, V/V). The quantification of these alkaloids was based on the Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. RESULTS: This method was validated, and the results achieved the aims of the study. The intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy of the five alkaloids were within 1.2%-11.5% (RSD%) and -10.9%-10.5% (RE%). The recovery rates of the five alkaloids of samples were from 79.9% to 91.5%. The five analytes were stable at room temperature for 2 h, at 4 °C for 12 h, and at -20 °C for two weeks. The developed method was applied successfully to determine the content of the five alkaloids in three plant parts of three batches of C. roseus with a minute amount collected from three regions of China. CONCLUSION The HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method can be used for the simultaneous determination of five important alkaloids in trace C. roseus samples.
Alkaloids ; chemistry ; Catharanthus ; chemistry ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods