OBJECTIVETo study the characters of concentration of 42 elements in Radix Astragali and make an attempt at looking for relationship between the element concentration and regions where samplers are obtained.

METHODDetermining the content of elements in 40 Radix Astragali samples from 7 different provinces by ICP-MS, AFS and ASS. Analyzing the correlation of elements in Radix Astragali using statistic software (Spss).

RESULTFirstly, similar lines of element concentration have been acquired in our research. Secondly, it is observed that the content of elements in the samples shows regional diversity. Thirdly, there are 346 correlative element pairs in correlate analysis. And some of them indicate remarkable correlativity.

CONCLUSIONWith the aid of obtained results, it is concluded that element content in Radix Astragali display special distributing line. Remarkable correlation is presented in some element pairs. The quality of Radix Astragali gained from Neimeng, Shanxi and Gansu are better than those from other regions.

Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; growth & development ; China ; Elements ; Geography

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of LRRC4 on the mobility and invasion of glioblastomas U251 cells through the SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 axis. METHODS: RT-PCR, transfilter cell invasion assay, adhesion assay, scraping test, scrape loading, and dye transfer assay were used to determine the effect of LRRC4 on U251 cells. RESULTS: SDF-1 alpha could increase the invasion in U251 which expressed CXCR4. The reintroduction of LRRC4 in U251 cells could inhibit the expression of CXCR4. LRRC4 also inhibited the adhesion ability of U251 to ECV304 as well as the mobility and invasion ability in vitro, which was mediated by the SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 axis. Furthermore, LRRC4 could greatly enhance the gap junctional intercellular communication of U251 cells. CONCLUSION The reintroduction of LRRC4 in U251 cells can inhibit the expression of CXCR4 and the SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 axis-mediated cell invasion in vitro.
Cell Adhesion ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; metabolism ; Glioblastoma ; pathology ; Humans ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; genetics ; Receptors, CXCR4 ; metabolism

Objective: To investigate the effect of Yupingfeng on hyaluronic acid (HA) and Foxp3⁺ Treg in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: A total of 58 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were divided into two groups, 30 cases in the treatment group, 28 cases in the control group. Patients in two groups were treated with synchronous radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, the treatment group was treated with the Yupingfeng granules through oral administration, 10 g/time, tid for 2 courses. The serum Foxp3⁺ Treg markers of each group were detected by flow cytometry assay before treatment and after treatment, and the level of HA in serum was detected by radio immunoassay. Results: After radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the contents of Foxp3⁺ Treg and HA were significantly decreased in two groups (P < 0.05), and the decrease of treatment group was more significantly (P < 0.01). Correlation analysis showed positive correlation between Foxp3⁺ Treg and HA (P < 0.05). After treatment, the incidence of side effects in two groups was significantly decreased. And there was significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy with Yupingfeng treatment can decrease the levels of Foxp3⁺ Treg and HA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Yupingfeng can also effectively reduce the side effect due to radiation and chemotherapy.

BACKGROUNDFemoral artery thrombosis is one of the most common complications of catheterizations in infants and young children. This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of thrombolytic therapy for femoral artery thrombosis after left cardiac catheterization in children.

METHODSThrombolytic therapy with urokinase was carried out in children with femoral artery thrombosis after left cardiac catheterization. Each patient was given a bolus injection of heparin (100 U/kg). A bolus of urokinase (30,000 - 100,000 U) was injected intravenously, and then a continuous infusion of 10 000 - 50 000 U/h was administered. Transcatheter thrombolysis was performed once previous procedures failed.

RESULTSEight patients (aged (3.1 +/- 2.3) years (8 months to 7 years), body weight (13.1 +/- 4.2) kg (7 to 20 kg)) presented lower limbs ischemia after left cardiac catheterizations was performed. Seven patients accepted thrombolytic therapy with urokinase. In 5 patients, peripheral intravenous thrombolysis was successful with restoration of a normal pulse. In the other 3 cases, peripheral intravenous thrombolysis failed, followed by successful transcatheter thrombolysis. The average duration of therapy was (7.25 +/- 5.31) hours (1 - 17 hours). The average doses of heparin and urokinase were (1600 +/- 723) U (800 - 3000 U) and (268 571 +/- 177 240) U (50 000 - 500 000 U), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in partial thromboplastin time before and during urokinase therapy ((40.6 +/- 22.3) to (49.9 +/- 39.2) seconds). However, the prothrombin time was significantly longer ((12.7 +/- 2.58) to (48.1 +/- 18.6) seconds, P < 0.05). Patency of the target vessel was evaluated in all the patients for 2 weeks and no occlusion recurred.

CONCLUSIONThrombolytic therapy with urokinase is a safe and useful modality in children with femoral artery thrombosis after left cardiac catheterization.

Cardiac Catheterization ; adverse effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Femoral Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Heparin ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Radiography ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; methods ; Thrombosis ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo obtain the knowledge status on recommended heart failure (HF) guidelines among Chinese physicians.

METHODSQuestionnaire on heart failure including 20 multiple choice questions and 10 fill in the blank questions was designed based on the Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure in 2007 and the Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute heart failure in 2010. The rate of correct answer for each item was calculated and compared among physicians specialized for cardiovascular diseases and not.

RESULTSThe Questionnaire was completed in 400 physicians, including 208 physician specialized for cardiovascular disease and 192 physicians not specialized in cardiovascular disease. The rate of correct answer for 20 multiple choice questions was lower than 60% in 8 questions, 60%-80% in 8 questions, higher than 80% in 4 questions. The rate of correct answers for 10 fill in the blank questions focusing on the aimed dosage of 10 ACEI/ARB/β-blockers was 49%. The 8 multiple choice questions with correct answer rate <60% are detailed items of myocardial remodeling, symptoms suggestive of HF, diagnosis tools for patients with suspected HF, the AHA stages of heart failure, the Forrester's hemodynamic classes of acute heart failure, the goals of ACEI/ARBs treatment in patients with HF, names of heart diseases which might benefit from ACEI/ARBs treatment defined by evidenced based medicine, and detailed application methods of ACEI/ARBs and β-blockers for HF patients. In general, the rate of correct answer was significantly higher in physicians specialized for cardiovascular disease compared physicians not specialized for cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSIONThere is a considerable knowledge gap on the Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic heart failure and the Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute heart failure among Chinese physicians. Efforts must be made to educate physicians to improve their knowledge and improve HF patient care.

Adult ; Clinical Competence ; Female ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Physicians ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation in heart failure patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI) by MRI.

METHODSHeart failure patients [NYHA 2.7 +/- 0.7, male = 18, mean age (59.5 +/- 10.1) y] with OMI were randomly divided into 2 groups (group A: CABG + stem cell transplantation, group B: CABG; n = 10 each). Left ventricular (LV) function was measured by MRI, viable myocardium was detected by (18)F-FDG myocardial metabolism imaging and late contrast-enhanced at baseline and 6 months post intervention.

RESULTSLVEF and LVEDV at baseline for group A were (20.71 +/- 6.09)% and (172.73 +/- 32.74) ml, and for group B were (27.59 +/- 2.31)% and (155.13 +/- 28.36) ml, respectively (P > 0.05). The LVEF was equally improved in group A and B (mean 8.63% vs. 10.37%, P > 0.05) while DeltaLVEDV was significant higher in group A than that in group B [(9.91 +/- 39.50) ml vs. (-22.34 +/- 31.35) ml, P < 0.05]. Ventricular wall thickening ratio at 6 months post intervention was significantly higher in group A than that in group B [(11.40 +/- 11.53)% vs. (2.27 +/- 7.20)%, P < 0.05]. Late contrast-enhanced MRI results correlated with (18)F-FDG myocardial metabolism imaging SPECT well in assessment of myocardial viability (kappa value: 0.446, P < 0.001; sensitivity: 68.3% and specificity: 92.5%).

CONCLUSIONSStem cell therapy on top of CABG aggravated LV remodeling in heart failure patients with old myocardial infarction. The specificity of MRI is similar to (18)F-FDG SPECT while the sensitivity is inferior to (18)F-FDG SPECT on detecting viable myocardium.

Adult ; Aged ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Heart Failure ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; complications ; therapy ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Treatment Outcome ; Ventricular Remodeling

Purpose: Capecitabine is an extensively used oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil in treatment of colon cancer and is known to cause hand-foot syndrome (HFS). As the target enzyme for capecitabine, thymidylate synthase (TYMS) plays a key role for 5-fluorouracil metabolism and has been associated with some side effects caused by capecitabine. The aim of our study is to identify the possible genetic predictors of capecitabine-induced HFS (CAP-HFS) in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Whole exons of TYMS were sequenced for 288 extreme phenotype HFS patients, including 144 severe or early-onset (first 2 cycles) moderate HFS extreme cases and 144 extreme controls with no reported HFS. The associations between polymorphisms and CAP-HFS were analyzed using logistic regression under an additive model. Results: We identified a novel risk mutation (c.1A>G, chr18:657743), was associated with severe HFS in an extreme case who was affected during the first cycle of treatment. Moreover, we identified three new variants, rs3786362, rs699517, rs2790, and two previously reported variants, 5’VNTR 2R/3R and 3′-untranslated region 6-bp ins-del, which were significantly associated with CAP-HFS (p < 0.05). In silico analysis revealed that the effect of these polymorphisms in the TYMS region on the development of HFS might not be restricted solely to the regulation of TYMS expression, but also the TYMS catalytic activity through the indirect effect on ENOSF1 expression. Conclusion This study identified new polymorphisms in TYMS gene significantly associated with CAP-HFS, which may serve as useful genetic predictors for CAP-HFS and help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HFS.

Purpose: Capecitabine is an extensively used oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil in treatment of colon cancer and is known to cause hand-foot syndrome (HFS). As the target enzyme for capecitabine, thymidylate synthase (TYMS) plays a key role for 5-fluorouracil metabolism and has been associated with some side effects caused by capecitabine. The aim of our study is to identify the possible genetic predictors of capecitabine-induced HFS (CAP-HFS) in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Whole exons of TYMS were sequenced for 288 extreme phenotype HFS patients, including 144 severe or early-onset (first 2 cycles) moderate HFS extreme cases and 144 extreme controls with no reported HFS. The associations between polymorphisms and CAP-HFS were analyzed using logistic regression under an additive model. Results: We identified a novel risk mutation (c.1A>G, chr18:657743), was associated with severe HFS in an extreme case who was affected during the first cycle of treatment. Moreover, we identified three new variants, rs3786362, rs699517, rs2790, and two previously reported variants, 5’VNTR 2R/3R and 3′-untranslated region 6-bp ins-del, which were significantly associated with CAP-HFS (p < 0.05). In silico analysis revealed that the effect of these polymorphisms in the TYMS region on the development of HFS might not be restricted solely to the regulation of TYMS expression, but also the TYMS catalytic activity through the indirect effect on ENOSF1 expression. Conclusion This study identified new polymorphisms in TYMS gene significantly associated with CAP-HFS, which may serve as useful genetic predictors for CAP-HFS and help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HFS.

Near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS) combined with band screening method and modeling algorithm can be used to achieve the rapid and non-destructive detection of the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) production process. This paper focused on the ginkgo leaf macroporous resin purification process, which is the key technology of Yinshen Tongluo Capsules, in order to achieve the rapid determination of quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin in effluent. The abnormal spectrum was eliminated by Mahalanobis distance algorithm, and the data set was divided by the sample set partitioning method based on joint X-Y distances(SPXY). The key information bands were selected by synergy interval partial least squares(siPLS); based on that, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling(CARS), successive projections algorithm(SPA) and Monte Carlo uninformative variable(MC-UVE) were used to select wavelengths to obtain less but more critical variable data. With selected key variables as input, the quantitative analysis model was established by genetic algorithm joint extreme learning machine(GA-ELM) algorithm. The performance of the model was compared with that of partial least squares regression(PLSR). The results showed that the combination with siPLS-CARS-GA-ELM could achieve the optimal model performance with the minimum number of variables. The calibration set correlation coefficient R_c and the validation set correlation coefficient R_p of quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin were all above 0.98. The root mean square error of calibration(RMSEC), the root mean square error of prediction(RMSEP) and the relative standard errors of prediction(RSEP) were 0.030 0, 0.029 2 and 8.88%, 0.041 4, 0.034 8 and 8.46%, 0.029 3, 0.027 1 and 10.10%, respectively. Compared with the PLSR me-thod, the performance of the GA-ELM model was greatly improved, which proved that NIRS combined with GA-ELM method has a great potential for rapid determination of effective components of TCM.
Algorithms ; Ginkgo biloba ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Plant Leaves ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared

Objective: To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics including composition of pathogens , clinical characteristics, and disease prognosis acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in Chinese children. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and laboratory data of 1 610 children <15 years of age with ABM in 33 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were divided into different groups according to age,<28 days group, 28 days to <3 months group, 3 months to <1 year group, 1-<5 years of age group, 5-<15 years of age group; etiology confirmed group and clinically diagnosed group according to etiology diagnosis. Non-numeric variables were analyzed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, while non-normal distrituction numeric variables were compared with nonparametric test. Results: Among 1 610 children with ABM, 955 were male and 650 were female (5 cases were not provided with gender information), and the age of onset was 1.5 (0.5, 5.5) months. There were 588 cases age from <28 days, 462 cases age from 28 days to <3 months, 302 cases age from 3 months to <1 year of age group, 156 cases in the 1-<5 years of age and 101 cases in the 5-<15 years of age. The detection rates were 38.8% (95/245) and 31.5% (70/222) of Escherichia coli and 27.8% (68/245) and 35.1% (78/222) of Streptococcus agalactiae in infants younger than 28 days of age and 28 days to 3 months of age; the detection rates of Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae were 34.3% (61/178), 14.0% (25/178) and 13.5% (24/178) in the 3 months of age to <1 year of age group; the dominant pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and the detection rate were 67.9% (74/109) and 44.4% (16/36) in the 1-<5 years of age and 5-<15 years of age . There were 9.7% (19/195) strains of Escherichia coli producing ultra-broad-spectrum β-lactamases. The positive rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and blood culture were 32.2% (515/1 598) and 25.0% (400/1 598), while 38.2% (126/330)and 25.3% (21/83) in CSF metagenomics next generation sequencing and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection. There were 4.3% (32/790) cases of which CSF white blood cell counts were normal in etiology confirmed group. Among 1 610 children with ABM, main intracranial imaging complications were subdural effusion and (or) empyema in 349 cases (21.7%), hydrocephalus in 233 cases (14.5%), brain abscess in 178 cases (11.1%), and other cerebrovascular diseases, including encephalomalacia, cerebral infarction, and encephalatrophy, in 174 cases (10.8%). Among the 166 cases (10.3%) with unfavorable outcome, 32 cases (2.0%) died among whom 24 cases died before 1 year of age, and 37 cases (2.3%) had recurrence among whom 25 cases had recurrence within 3 weeks. The incidences of subdural effusion and (or) empyema, brain abscess and ependymitis in the etiology confirmed group were significantly higher than those in the clinically diagnosed group (26.2% (207/790) vs. 17.3% (142/820), 13.0% (103/790) vs. 9.1% (75/820), 4.6% (36/790) vs. 2.7% (22/820), χ²=18.71, 6.20, 4.07, all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the unfavorable outcomes, mortility, and recurrence between these 2 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The onset age of ABM in children is usually within 1 year of age, especially <3 months. The common pathogens in infants <3 months of age are Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae, and the dominant pathogen in infant ≥3 months is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Subdural effusion and (or) empyema and hydrocephalus are common complications. ABM should not be excluded even if CSF white blood cell counts is within normal range. Standardized bacteriological examination should be paid more attention to increase the pathogenic detection rate. Non-culture CSF detection methods may facilitate the pathogenic diagnosis.
Adolescent ; Brain Abscess ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Subdural Effusion ; beta-Lactamases