OBJECTIVETo evaluate the affection of crushing technology on quality. The dissolution of Pills of Six Herbs with Rehmunnia prepared by different crushing technology was determined by taking the dissolution of Paeonol as test marker.

METHODThe Pills was prepared with the fine powder which was crushed by normal crusher or super fine crusher. The rotatory-basket method was used, and the cumulative dissolution percentage was determined by UV.

RESULTStatistics indicated there was a significant difference in dissolution parameter (T50) between super fine crushing powder Pills and normal fine-crushing powder Pills (P < 0.01), and there was a difference in dissolution of different batches of Pills of Six Herbs with Rehmunnia prepared by the normal crush technique (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe determination of dissolution of Pills of Six Herbs with Rehmunnia is necessary. In order to improve the quality of drugs, we should adopt the technique of super fine crushing in the preparation procedure.

Acetophenones ; analysis ; chemistry ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; Particle Size ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Rehmannia ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods

OBJECTIVETo compare the differences of active ingredients between tissue cultured cells and cultivated saffron pistils.

METHODThe experiment was carried out by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

RESULTThe data indicated that the species and contents active ingredients in saffron pistils from different places were different. The species of active ingredients in tissue cultured cells are less than those in cultivated saffron pistils. However, the quantity of crocin A, which showed good anticancer effect, is 2-3 times more than that in cultivated saffron pistils.

CONCLUSIONThe active ingredients of the tissue cultured cells are similar to those of saffron pistils, but their contents are different. Therefore, the tissue cultured cells can only be the part-substitutes of cultivated saffron pistils.

Carotenoids ; analysis ; Cells, Cultured ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Crocus ; chemistry ; cytology ; Ecosystem ; Flowers ; chemistry ; cytology ; India ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; cytology ; Spain ; Species Specificity ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared

To investigate cytotoxic secondary metabolites of Micrococcus sp. R21, an actinomycete isolated from a deep-sea sediment (-6 310 m; 142 degrees 19. 9' E, 10 degrees 54. 6' N) of the Western Pacific Ocean, column chromatography was introduced over silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20. As a result, eight compounds were obtained. By mainly detailed analysis of the NMR data, their structures were elucidated as cyclo(4-hydroxy-L-Pro-L-leu) (1), cyclo(L-Pro-L-Gly) (2), cyclo( L-Pro-L-Ala) (3), cyclo( D-Pro-L-Leu) (4), N-β-acetyltryptamine (5), 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (6), and phenylacetic acid (7). Compound 1 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against RAW264. 7 cells with IC50 value of 9.1 μmol x L(-1).
Animals ; Biological Factors ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Macrophages ; cytology ; drug effects ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mass Spectrometry ; Mice ; Micrococcus ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure ; Phylogeny ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Seawater ; microbiology ; Secondary Metabolism

OBJECTIVETo determine the contents of berberine in Coptis chinensis of Lichuan and establish its best cultivation scheme.

METHODWe used high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the contents of berberine at different altitude, growth age, and leaves.

RESULTSAnalytic data showed that the growth age and firry woods shading did not affect the contents of berberine in rhizome of Coptis chinensis. Low altitude was more suitable for Coptis chinensis to synthesize berberine. The contents of berberine in rhizome of Coptis chinensis with floral leaf were higher than those with lusterless and lustrous leaves, but no significant difference.

CONCLUSIONThe synthesis of berberine is closely correlated with shading conditions. It is recommended that the shading ratio should be reduced or the sheds removed in the middle growth age (2-3 years), and then the herb should be reshaped at the last year to enhance the synthesis of berberine, so as to obtain high-quality Coptis chinensis in the harvest.

Altitude ; Berberine ; analysis ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Ecosystem ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Sunlight ; Time Factors

The aim of the study is to establish a new method of quality evaluation and validate its feasibilities by the simultaneous quantitative assay of four lignanoids in Schisandra chinensis. A new quality evaluation method, quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS), was established and validated with Schisandra chinensis. Four main lignanoids, schisandrin, schisantherin A, deoxyschizandrin and gamma-schizandrin, were selected as analytes and schisandrin as internal reference substance to evaluate the quality. Their contents in 13 different batches of samples, collected from different bathes, were determined by both external standard method and QAMS. The method was evaluated by comparison of the quantitative results between external standard method and QAMS. No significant differences were found in the quantitative results of four lignanoids in 13 batches of S. chinensis determined by external standard method and QAMS. QAMS is feasible for determination of four lignanoids simultaneously when some authentic standard substances were unavailable, and the developed method can be used for quality control of S. chinensis.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Cyclooctanes ; analysis ; Dioxoles ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Lignans ; analysis ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Polycyclic Compounds ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Schisandra ; chemistry

The study was aimed to investigate the pp65 antigen of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and its clinical significance in patients revived allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). 104 patients received allogeneic HSCT were studied. Anticoagulant blood samples were obtained from the recipients before and after transplantation and in the convalescence. CMV pp65 antigen in leukocytes was detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay using CMV Brite Kit weekly. The results showed that among the 104 patients, 29 cases were CMV pp65 positive (27.88%). Out of 29 cases 16 were CMV antigenemia and 13 cases were CMV disease. There were 25 cases who positively responded to antiviral therapy (effective ratio 86.21%) and 4 cases died (case-fatality ratio 13.79%). The detection revealed a significant difference in the incidence of CMV infection between the patients received unrelated or haploidentical family donor HSCT (39.29%) and HLA-identical sibling donor HSCT (14.58%) (P < 0.05). The incidence rate of CMV infection in patients with 0-I grade aGVHD and patients with II-IV grade aGVHD were 19.44% and 46.88% respectively, which had significant difference (P < 0.05). There was significant difference in the occurrence of aGVHD between the patients with and without positive CMV pp65 (P < 0.05). It is concluded that infection of CMV can be detected by the CMV pp65 monoclonal fluorescence immunohistochemistry, The detection of CMV pp65 antigen in peripheral blood leukocytes as a indicator for CMV disease surveillance after HSCT, which may be used to early diagnose the CMV infection, to guide the antiviral treatment and evaluate its efficacy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Cytomegalovirus ; immunology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; epidemiology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphoproteins ; blood ; Risk Factors ; Viral Matrix Proteins ; blood

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare the correlation of platelet aggregation rate measured by platelet analyzer, platelet aggregometer and thromboelastography. METHODS: The performance of platelet analyzer in platelet count and platelet aggregation function was evaluated. The platelet aggregation rate of 55 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) before and after taking aspirin alone (32 cases) and clopidogrel alone (23 cases) was measured by thromboelastography, platelet aggregometer and platelet analyzer respectively, and the analytical results were compared. The correlation between the results measured by different instruments and equipment were further analyzed and the data were included in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The precision of platelet analyzer in day and in batch was 1/3 lower than the total error (7%). The contamination rate was 0.30%. The slope of regression equation was 1.02 and R was 0.99 in the linear range of 4.15×10/L to 1379.95×10/L. The coincidence rate of platelet count and platelet reference method was 85%, which met the requirements of industry standards. The platelet aggregation rates of patients with T2DM after clopidogrel or aspirin by using thromboelastography, platelet aggregometer and platelet analyzer respectively was significantly lower than those whom before clopidogrel administration (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Platelet analyzer can provide reliable, objective and accurate information for clinical detection of platelet count and aggregation function, which is meet the requirements of industry standards, and its results are similar to those of platelet aggregometer and thromboelastography.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Humans ; Platelet Aggregation ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Platelet Function Tests ; Thrombelastography

Toutongning capsule (TTNC) is a traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) with good effect for treating migraine in clinical application. In this paper, a systems pharmacology method was carried out to study the TNF mechanism of the TTNC on the migraine. First, the ingredients for TTNC were collected from TCM databases, and ADME properties prediction was firstly applied to screen out the active compounds of TTNC. Then, the target searching and identification was performed by using CSDT model, and the targets were mapped to the migraine disease to determine the active targets through some common databases like TTD. To obtain the targets related with TNF signaling pathway, KEGG pathway analysis was performed by DAVID online analysis tool. Finally, the "herbs-compounds-targets" network was built by Cytoscape software. According to the results of degree and betweenness in the network, the key active compounds and targets were determined to explore the TNF mechanism for TTNC. Results showed that 19 active compounds and 8 targets played a crucial role in the treatment of migraine by TNF pathway for TTNC. This work provided a new perspective to deepen the understanding of the TNF signaling pathway mechanism in migraine treatment by TTNC, and may provide a necessary theoretical basis for the determination of effective markers and the clinical research of this medicine.

In vitro amplified human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-haploidentical donor immune cell infusion (HDICI) is not commonly used in children. Therefore, our study sought to evaluate its safety for treating childhood malignancies. Between September 2011 and September 2012, 12 patients with childhood malignancies underwent HDICI in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The median patient age was 5.1 years (range, 1.7-8.4 years). Of the 12 patients, 9 had high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) [7 showed complete response (CR), 1 showed partial response (PR), and 1 had progressive disease (PD) after multi-modal therapies], and 3 had Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphoproliferative disease (EBV-LPD). The 12 patients underwent a total of 92 HDICIs at a mean dose of 1.6×10(8) immune cells/kg body weight: 71 infusions with natural killer (NK) cells, 8 with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, and 13 with cascade primed immune cells (CAPRIs); 83 infusions with immune cells from the mothers, whereas 9 with cells from the fathers. Twenty cases (21.7%) of fever, including 6 cases (6.5%) accompanied with chills and 1 (1.1%) with febrile convulsion, occurred during infusions and were alleviated after symptomatic treatments. Five cases (5.4%) of mild emotion changes were reported. No other adverse events occurred during and after the completion of HDIDIs. Neither acute nor chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) was observed following HDICIs. After a median of 5.0 months (range, 1.0-11.5 months) of follow-up, the 2 NB patients with PR and PD developed PD during HDICIs. Of the other 7 NB patients in CR, 2 relapsed in the sixth month of HDICIs, and 5 maintained CR with disease-free survival (DFS) ranging from 4.5 to 11.5 months (median, 7.2 months). One EBV-LPD patient achieved PR, whereas 2 had stable disease (SD). Our results show that HDICI is a safe immunotherapy for childhood malignancies, thus warranting further studies.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; immunology ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft vs Host Disease ; etiology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Infant ; Killer Cells, Natural ; immunology ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; therapy ; virology ; Male ; Neuroblastoma ; therapy ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVEA new technique of transthoracic lung ultrasonography (TLS) has emerged and demonstrated promising results in acute heart failure diagnosis at an early stage. However, the diagnostic value of ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) for acute heart failure (AHF) performed in busy emergency department (ED) is uncertain. The present meta-analysis aimed to assess the diagnostic efficiency of ULCs in AHF.

METHODSWe conducted a search on online journal databases to collect the data on TLS performed for diagnosing AHF published up to the end of July 2017. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve were calculated. The post-test probability of AHF was calculated by using Bayes analysis.

RESULTSWe enrolled a total of 15 studies involving 3,309 patients. The value of sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, area under the SROC curve, and Q* index was 85%, 91%, 8.94, 0.14, 67.24, 0.9587, and 0.9026, respectively. We detected significant heterogeneity among included studies, and therefore, all these results were analyzed under the random-effect model. We also explored possible sources of heterogeneity among the studies by using meta-regression analysis. Results suggest that the time interval between patient's admission to bedside TLS examination was closely related to TLS accuracy.

CONCLUSIONThis meta-analysis demonstrated that detecting ULCs is a convenient bedside tool and has high accuracy for early AHF diagnosis in ED. TLS could be recommended to be applied for early diagnosis of AHF in ED.