This study is to analyze and identify the water soluble components of water buffalo horn (Bubali Cornu, WBH), and also establish a method for investigating these components. Shotgun proteomic analysis identified proteins in WBH aqueous extraction: keratin, collagen, desmoglein, etc. Ultrafiltration and LC-MS/MS were used to separate and identify the peptides in WBH aqueous extract, as a result, identified peptides were mainly derived from nonspecific degradation products of keratin and collagen, which including C-terminal peptides and non C-terminal peptides. Hypoxanthine, uridine, guanosine, and adenosine were identified by comparing with the standards. The strategy in present study could be used in analyzing water soluble components of animal horn derived TCM. It provides a reference for investigation of the material basis of animal horn derived TCM.
Animals ; Buffaloes ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Guanosine ; Horns ; chemistry ; Hypoxanthine ; Mass Spectrometry ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Peptides ; Proteomics ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Uridine

Objective The purpose of this research is to calculate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and to discuss the relationship between gestational thyroid diseases and pregnancy outcomes.Methods There were 3 745 pregnant women who took antenatal care at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital,Sun Yat-sen University were chosen as the research objects during March 2012 to February 2014.All of them were given close monitoring and tracking till the termination of pregnancy.These subjects took thyroid function testing (TT4,FT4,TSH,thyroid peroxidase antibody),if the result was abnormal,they were followed up periodically.Results The prevalence of overt hyperthyroidism is 1.90％,1.20％ for subclinical hyperthyroidism,1.17％ for hypothyroidism,6.78％ for subclinical hypothyroidism,and 3.82％ for isolated hypothyroxinemia.Compared with normal thyroid function group,the morbidity of placental abruption increased in overt hyperthyroidism group (5.8％ vs 1.0％,P＜ 0.01) ; the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus was increased in subclinical hyperthyroidism group (37.5 ％ vs 16.6％,P＜0.01) ; and the morbidity of preterm birth increased in subclinical hypothyroidism group (14.3％ vs 7.7％,P =0.002).Conclusion Gestational thyroid diseases may increase the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes ; such as placental abruption,gestational diabetes mellitus,and premature birth.

Animals ; Biological Warfare ; Burns ; pathology ; Burns, Chemical ; pathology ; Chemical Warfare ; China ; Humans ; Military Medicine ; Radiation Injuries ; pathology ; Wounds, Gunshot ; pathology

Objective To investigate the spatial distribution and clustering areas of Budd-Chiari syndrome in Heze City,Shandong Province,and to provide epidemiological information for further exploring the etiology and related risk factors of the disease.Methods Detailed residential addresses of 342 cases of patients (residents of Heze City) with diaphragm type Budd-Chiari syndrome diagnosed between 1995 and 2004 in Heze Municipal Hospital,Heze Shan County Central Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College,Shandong Provincial Hospital and Beijing Xuanwu Hospital were collected.Geographic information system (GIS) was used as a platform for data management and display.The nearest neighbor index,Ripley's K(d) function,Ripley's L(d) function and the nearest neighbor clustering method were applied to detect the spatial characters of Budd-Chiari syndrome in Heze City,Shandong Province.Crimestat 3.0 was used for spatial analysis.Results The nearest neighbor distance analysis showed that the nearest neighbor index was 0.6767 (Z =-11.4387,P ＜ 0.01).That was an aggregation at the first-order spatial scale.Within the study area,the first clustering radius of Budd-Chiari syndrome was 6.66 km,and the first clustering strength was 5.40; the average radius of the strongest clustering area was 126.61 km,and the clustering strength was 12.52,while the biggest clustering radius was larger than 222 km.After corrected by population,the gathering strength was slightly higher than that before the correction.Ten first-order hot spots were formed,and 95％ confidence interval aggregation number was 7,which meant the results were statistically significant(P ＜ 0.05),main clustering areas are in Mudan District,Shan County and Juancheng.One secondorder hot spot was gathered based on the first-order hot spot.Conclusions Spatial distribution of Budd-Chiari syndrome in Heze City,Shandong Province has showed spatial aggregation and heterogeneity.This study has a great epidemiological significance for further exploring the cause of Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of serum galactomannan (GM) in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods We enrolled 60 COPD patients in the study, including 19 IPA and 41 non-IPA cases.We examined serum GM of the patients by ELISA, evaluate the value of serum GM test for the diagnosis of IPA in patients with COPD, and compared the GM values before and after treatment.Results With 0.5 as the positive cutoff value, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of serum GM were 57.9%, 95.3%, 84.6%, and 83.0%, respectively, with a high specificity and a low sensitivity.The 7 IPA cases showed a significantly decreased GM value after treatment as compared with the baseline (0.30±0.21 vs 1.48±1.37, P=0.004).Conclusion The serum GM test has a limited value in the diagnosis of IPA in patients with COPD, but dynamic monitoring of the changes of the serum GM value may help evaluate the patient's condition.

Objective To explore the compound matrine injection on human hepatoma smmc-7721 cells' proliferation.Methods Human hepatoma smmc-7721 cells were sterilely cultured.Assayed the effects of compound matrine injection on smmc-7721 cells by MTT.The concentrations of the compound matrine injection were 3.34,2.38,1.43 and 0.48 mg/ml; Used the double staining method of annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate(Annexin V-FITC)/propidium iodide (propidium iodide,PI) to measure the apoptosis of hepatoma cell.The concentrations of the compound matrine injection were 0.86,1.72,and 3.43 mg/ml.Results The apoptosis rates of compound matrine injection with different concentration of 3.34,2.38,1.43 and 0.48 mg/ml on liver cancer cell SMMC-7721 were51.03％、53.67％、49.83％ and 0.03％ respectively after 24 hours; and 67.14％、65.35％、62.25％ and 0.05％ respectively after 48 hours;and 74.16％、68.77％、66.04％ and 26.02％respectively after 72 hours.The apoptosis rates of compound matrine injection with different concentration of 0.86,1.72 and 3.43 mg/ml on liver cancer cell SMMC-7721 were(2.86±0.35)％,(15.16± 1.15)％and(13.17±0.40)％ respectively after 24 hours; and (8.57±0.44)％,(28.07±0.76)％ and (29.81±8.10)％respectively after 48 hours,which were significantly higher than the control group (1.05±0.09)％(P＜0.05).Conclusion The compound matrine injection has a significant inhibition on human hepatoma smmc-7721 cells' proliferation and the mechanism was its inducing cell apoptosis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the histopathological features, complications, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP).

METHODSThe lung tissue sections from 14 autopsy cases of CWP were subjected to HE staining and observed under a light microscope, and a retrospective analysis was performed considering the occupational history and clinical features.

RESULTSThe 14 cases were 46-71 years of age (mean, 57.7 years). Two cases were diagnosed as dust reaction, 1 case as simple CWP (stage I anthracosilicosis), and 11 cases as complicated CWP (9 cases of stage II anthracosilicosis, 1 case of stage III anthracosilicosis, and 1 case of stage III silicosis). Twelve cases were complicated by chronic bronchitis and emphysema, 8 cases by pulmonary heart disease, 4 cases by pulmonary tuberculosis, 3 cases by liver cirrhosis and liver cancer with pulmonary metastases, and 2 cases by cerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONAmong patients with CWP, the pathological changes of lung tissue become more complex with increasing years of dust exposure. Coal macule is the common pathological feature of CWP, and dust nodules and massive fibrosis are the necessary indices of pathological diagnosis.

Aged ; Anthracosis ; complications ; pathology ; Coal Mining ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Lung ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To study the effects of different level of iodine nutrition on the thyroid function in women of reproductive age. Methods A total of 100 (50 from each) women of reproductive age but not pregnant were collected from iodine deficient and adequate areas. The questionnaire was obtained individually with items concerning personal history of thyroid diseases, goiters and category of edible salt and drinking water based on the project design. The household salt and drinking water were collected for measuring iodine content, and blood samples were obtained for TSH, FT4 and FT3 testing. Results The coverage of iodized salt and the median level of urinary iodine in iodine deficient women(72.0% and 95.5 μg/L) were obviously lower than that in iodine sufficient women(100.0% and 167.4 μg/L, χ2=16.28, U = 632.00, P < 0.01). Median level of serum TSH in iodine deficient women (2.56 m U/L) appeared in an increasing tendency compared to the iodine sufficient women (1.88 mU/L), but there was no significance (U=990.50, P > 0.05). Serum FT4 mean level in iodine deficient women [(14.7±2.0) pmol/L]was lower than that in iodine sufficient women[(17.0±3.8)pmoI/L, t=3.76, P<0.01]. There was no difference in serum FT3 between two group women[(5.1±1.4), (4.8±0.5)pmoI/L, t = 1.59, P > 0.05]; but FT3/FT4 ratio in iodine deficient women(0.33±0.04) was markedly higher than that in the iodine sufficient women(0.30±0.04, t=3.13, P<0.01). The percentage of thyroid dysfunction in iodine deficient women[20.0% (10/50)]was higher compared with the iodine sufficient women[8.0%(4/50)], but without significance(χ2=2.99, P>0.05). Conclusions Iodine deficiency is a primary cause leading to hypothyroid in women of reproductive age. Long term of iodized salt usage is an efficient way to correct iodine deficiency.

We used metabolomics to investigate the ability of a traditional Mongolian medicine called modified Tabusen-2 (MT-2) to improve kidney yang deficiency (KYD) in rats. All animal experiments were conducted under the guidance and standards of the Medical Ethics Committee of Inner Mongolia Medical University. SD rats were divided into 6 groups of six rats: a normal group, a model group, Jinkuishenqi pill administration group (1.26 g·kg^-1), and MT-2 administration in high-, medium- and low-dose groups (1.512, 0.756, and 0.378 g·kg^-1). KYD was established by intramuscular injection of hydrocortisone (HC) and biochemical indicators and clinical characterization was used to confirm that KYD was established. All groups received intragastrically administered drug (Jinkuishenqi pill or MT-2) or saline. Serum from each group was collected after 8 weeks and analyzed by UPLC-Q-exactive-MS to measure various biochemical indicators. The biomarkers affected by MT-2 were identified and the metabolic pathways of KYD regulated by MT-2 were analyzed by metabolomic analysis. The results show that MT-2 can decrease serum creatinine (Cr) in KYD rats and significantly increase (P<0.05) the content of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In serum samples, 38 biomarkers such as corticosterone, L-phenylalanine, and DL-tryptophan were measured as possible indicators for disease development in KYD rats. MT-2 lowered 18 biomarkers of KYD, including corticosterone, deoxycorticosterone, and L-phenylalanine, and altered 13 related metabolic pathways including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis, resulting in an overall improvement in KYD. MT-2 appears to be important in improving KYD in rats mainly by regulating metabolites such as amino acids, steroids and lipids.

This study was purposed to analyze the characteristics of morphology, immunology, cytogenetic and molecular biology of leukemia cells in 12 AML patients with Ph(+) and their correlation with survival of patients. 12 patients with Ph(+) AML were diagnosed according to diagnostic criteria of WHO and existence of t(9;22) (q34;q11) or t(9;22) abnormality, meanwhile no evidence of CML chronic phase was observed. The results showed that 8 out of 12 cases were confirmedly diagnosed to be AML by morphologic and immunophenotypic examination, 4 cases were diagnosed as myeloid and B lymphocytic mixed acute leukemia. The Ph chromosome was detected in 10 cases by chromosome analysis at the first time of diagnosis, and some of the cases had coexistence of complex chromosome and/or normal karyotype. BCR-ABL transcript was detected in all 12 cases, including 7 cases with b3a2, 1 case with b2a2, 1 case with b2a2 variants, 2 cases with e1a2 and 1 case with e18a2. The 12 cases all got complete remission after chemotherapy and/or gleevec treatment, out of them 3 cases received chemotherapy and gleevec treatment, but 2 cases died; 9 cases received allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), 1 case died from relapse, among them 1 case died from transplant complications. The median survival was 24 (8 - 80) months, the overall survival of 3 years was (51.4 ± 17.7)%. It is concluded that the Ph(+) AML is a acute myelogenous leukemia with poor prognosis, but long-term survival may be achieved with HSCT as quick as after complete remission from gleevec and chemotherapy treatment. Meanwhile, the detection of BCR-ABL gene and it variants may be give more opportunity for diagnose and treatment, which can be used as routine screening for newly diagnosed leukemia.
Adult ; Child ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; diagnosis ; Prognosis