· AIM: To observe the inhibitory effect of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on the proliferation of monkey choroidretinal endothelial cells (RF/6A) in hypoxia or normal conditions.retinal endothelial cells of rhesus monkey (RF/6A). The effect of TA on the cellular activity was observed by MTT,the effect on cellular proliferation and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry (FCM).cycle were reduced and the proportion of cells in G2-M phase was increased under the hypoxia condition .TA had a great effect on the cell cycle of choroid-retinal endothelial cells of rhesus monkey and it induced apoptosis of endothelial cells. It relatively increased the S-phase cells and reduced G2-M phase cells under both normal and hypoxia conditions, which indicates its role in blocking cell cycle from s-phase to G2-M phase and reducing mitosis.RF/6A cells while TA has the opposite effect in both normal and hypoxia conditions. TA can also induce apoptosis of endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVETo observe analgesic effect of electroacupuncture ( EA) on rats with chronic inflammatory pain and its regulatory mechanism on ispilateral dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal dorsal horn (SDH) Mas-related G protein-coupled C receptor (MrgprC).

METHODSTotally 40 healthy male SD rats were divided into 4 groups according to random number table, i.e., the normal (N) group, the model (M) group, the acupuncture (Acu) group, the EA group, 10 rats in each group. The model of chronic inflammatory pain was established by subcutaneous injecting 0. 1 mL complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into right hind paw. Paw withdrawal thresholds (PWTs) were measured before modeling, at day 1, 3, 5, 7, and after CFA injection, respectively. Expression levels of MrgprC in ispilateral DRG and SDH were detected by Western blot. The content of bovine adrenal medulla 22 (BAM22) in SDH was detected by immunohistochemical assay.

RESULTSCompared with N group at each time point, PWTs significantly decreased in M group (P <0. 01). Compared with M group, PWTs significantly increased at day 5 of EA and after EA in EA group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with Acu group at each time point, post-EA PWTs significantly increased in the EA group (P < 0.05). Compared with N group, expression of MrgprC in ispilateral DRG and ratio of BAM22 positive cells in ispilateral SDH increased in M group (P < 0.01). Compared with M group, expression of MrgprC in ispilateral DRG and ratio of BAM22 positive cells in ispilateral SDH increased in the EA group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEA had favorable analgesic effect on chronic inflammatory pain induced by CFA, and its mechanism might be possibly associated with up-regulating MrgprC expression in ispilateral DRG and BAM22 content in ispilateral SDH.

Analgesia ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Enkephalins ; metabolism ; Freund's Adjuvant ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; Inflammation ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Male ; Pain Management ; methods ; Peptide Fragments ; metabolism ; Posterior Horn Cells ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

AIM To optimize the preparation of two inclusion compounds of erinacine A and to evaluate their stabilities.METHODS With feed ratio,milling time and milling speed as influencing factors,inclusion rate and yield as evaluation indices,the preparation was optimized by orthogonal test.The obtained inclusion compounds were characterized by infrared spectrophotometry and TLC,whose stabilities at high temperature (60 ℃),strong light (3 000 1x) and high humidity [(90 ±5)％] were investigated.RESULTS The optimal β-cyclodextrin inclusion conditions were determined to be 5 ∶ 1 for feed ratio,60 min for milling time,and 300 r/min for milling speed,the inclusion rate and yield were 20.66％ and 88.21％,respectively.The optimal hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion conditions were determined to be 25 ∶ 1 for feed ratio,90 min for milling time,and 400 r/min for milling speed,the inclusion rate and yield were 69.25％ and 96.31％,respectively.The inclusion of Hericium erinaceus 80％ ethanol extract was physical process without composition change.At high temperature and strong light,two inclusion compounds' appearance showed no obvious change with little loss of erinacine A,which was just the contrary at high humidity.The inclusion effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion compound was better than that of β-cyclodextrin inclusion compound.CONCLUSION Both β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion compounds of erinacine A exhibit good heat stability and light stability,but deliquescence can easily happen to them.

OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study is to investigate the influence of mechanical properties and sintering performance by adding 5% weight percentage aids to nano-compound zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramics.

METHODSMicrometer Al2O3 and nanometer ZrO2 (quality ratio 4:1) were used to get 55% volume percentage slurry. Magnesium oxide and titanium oxide were taken as aids which were 5% weight percentage of the Al2O3 and ZrO2 powder. Five groups (number 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 group) were divided according to different proportion of aids. After gel-casting, the porcelain pieces were sintered at 1150, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1450, 1500, 1600 degrees C for 2 hours. Static three-point flexure strength, line shrinkage, relative density were measured and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe section.

RESULTSNumber 1 (MgO 1%, TiO2 4%) group had the highest bending strength. It was (401.78+/-19.50) MPa after sintering at 1600 degrees C for 2 hours and was higher than 0 group (380.64+/-44.50) MPa. Bending strength became lower than 0 group when MgO was more than 2% or more than that weight percentage of ZTA powder. When MgO content was higher than 2% or more than that weight percentage, there was no difference in relative density raising rate between each sintering assistants groups. When the sintering temperature was higher than 1200 degrees C, all groups showed obvious line-shrinkage and the groups which contained sintering assistants were all was higher than 0 group.

CONCLUSIONAdding MgO and TiO2 aids from 1% to 4% weight percentage of ZTA will promote fritting and increase ZTA nano-compound ceramics mechanical properties. Adding 2% MgO aids or more than that weight percent will has no obvious help to increase the relative density raising rate of ZTA nano-compound ceramics and will degrade the mechanical properties of ZTA nano-compound ceramics.

Aluminum Oxide ; Dental Porcelain ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Temperature ; Titanium ; Zirconium

We described a human case of zoonotic dog tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum (Eucestoda: Dilepidiidae), rarely occurring in China. The mother of a 17 month-old boy noted the appearance of small white and active worms over a month period in her son’s feces, but the boy was asymptomatic except mild diarrhea. We observed 3 tapeworm proglottids resembling cucumber seeds in his stool sample. Microscopically, each proglottid had 2 genital pores, 1 on each lateral edge, and numerous egg capsules in the uterus. The patient was successfully treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel. Adult worms were recovered in the diarrheic stool after praziquantel treatment and purgation. His family had household pet dogs for several years, and he might have acquired the infection by ingestion of infected fleas of his pet dogs. A history of dog or cat pets and flea bites may be important clues to diagnosis of D. caninum infection. The infected pets should also be treated.
Adult ; Animals ; Capsules ; Cats ; Cestoda* ; Cestode Infections ; China* ; Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Dogs* ; Eating ; Family Characteristics ; Feces ; Humans* ; Male ; Mothers ; Ovum ; Praziquantel ; Siphonaptera ; Uterus

OBJECTIVETo examine modulations caused by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors on altered microenvironments and overbalanced neurotransmitters in pilocarpine-induced epileptic status rats and to investigate possible mechanisms.

METHODSCelecoxib (a COX-2 inhibitor) was administered 45 min prior to pilocarpine administration. The effects of COX-2 inhibitors on mIPSCs (miniature GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents) of CA3 pyramidal cells in the hippocampus were recorded. Expressions of COX-2, c-Fos, newly generated neurons, and activated microgliosis were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and expressions of alpha-subunit of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA(A)) receptors and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (MAPK/ERK) activity were detected by Western blotting.

RESULTSPretreatment with celecoxib showed protection against pilocarpine-induced seizures. Celecoxib prevented microglia activation in the hilus and inhibited the abnormal neurogenesis and astrogliosis in the hippocampus by inhibiting MAPK/ERK activity and c-Fos transcription. Celecoxib also up-regulated the expression of GABA(A) receptors. NS-398 (N-2-cyclohexyloxy-4-nitrophenyl-methanesulfonamide), another COX-2 inhibitor, enhanced the frequency and decay time of mIPSCs.

CONCLUSIONThe COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib decreased neuronal excitability and prevented epileptogenesis in pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus rats. Celecoxib regulates synaptic reorganization by inhibiting astrogliosis and ectopic neurogenesis by attenuating MAPK/ERK signal activity, mediated by a GABAergic mechanism.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Celecoxib ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fibrocystic Breast Disease ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; enzymology ; pathology ; Immunohistochemistry ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; drug effects ; Male ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases ; metabolism ; Nitrobenzenes ; pharmacology ; Pilocarpine ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos ; metabolism ; Pyrazoles ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, GABA-A ; biosynthesis ; Status Epilepticus ; chemically induced ; enzymology ; pathology ; Sulfonamides ; pharmacology ; Synapses ; drug effects ; pathology

Human-animal parasitic diseases caused by medical helminths are hazardous to human health. Genetic polymorphism studies on medical helminth populations can not only understand the biological characteristics and genetic structure of their populations, but also help reveal how they adapt to their parasitic environment, thus contributing to deepen our understanding of the epidemiological patterns of parasitic diseases and improve our understanding of accurate prevention and control of parasitic diseases. With the development of molecular biology, molecular markers such as DNA barcodes, simple sequence repeats, and single nucleotide polymorphism markers have been widely used to study the genetic relationships among parasite populations and individuals, and to reveal the genetic variation of parasite populations and the evolution of species origins. In this paper, we systematically review the application of three molecular markers commonly used in the study of genetic polymorphism in medical helminths, with a view to laying the foundation for related research.

Background Enamel demineralization occurs frequently during orthodontic treatment. In this study, we evaluated the changes of the density of mutans streptococcus (MS) in plaque after bracket bonding and using fluoride adhesive on maxillary incisors by real time fluorescence-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-FQ PCR).Methods The study was designed as a self-paired test. Brackets were bonded with fluoride adhesive on the left side, while non-fluoride adhesive on the right side for each patient. Plaque samples were taken from the surfaces around the brackets of four maxillary incisors before brackets bonding and after the bonding 4 weeks later. The amount of MS was measured by RT-FQ PCR. The data obtained were analyzed statistically using the SPSS 11.5 version and the alpha level was set at 0.05 (2-tailed).Results The amount of MS in plaque increased significantly after bracket bonding (P<0.01), whereas no significant differences were observed among four maxillary incisors both before and after brackets bonding (P>0.05), and among the incisors using and not using fluoride adhesive (P>0.05).Conclusions The increase of the density of MS in plaque after bracket bonding is one of the etiological factors for enamel demineralization in orthodontic patients. The result of this study did not support what we observed clinically that the incidence of enamel demineralization for lateral incisors was higher than that for central incisors. Using fluoride adhesive for bonding did not affect the amount of MS in plaque in our study. Further study is needed.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the cellular immune regulation of the long-term intervention of moxa smoke.

METHODSThirty-two Wistar rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a low concentration group, a medium concentration group and a high concentration group, 8 cases in each group. In addition to the blank group, rats in the other groups were exposed to the corresponding concentration moxa smoke for 20 min every day, the T lymphocyte subsets and proportion of the CD4+ CD25+ Treg in CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood were tested by flow cytometry after 6 months.

RESULTSCompared with the blank group, the proportions of CD3+ CD4+, CD3+ CD8+ T cells and CD3+ CD4/CD3+ CD8+ in the other 3 moxa smoke groups were not significantly different (P > 0.05), while the proportions of the CD4+ CD25+ Treg in CD4+ T cells were significantly lower (P < 0.05), but no statistically significant differences among those 3 moxa smoke intervention groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLong-term moxa smoke intervention has no significant effect on the proportions of CD3+ CD4+, CD3+ CD8+ T cells and CD3+ CD4+/CD3+ CD8+, but it can decrease the proportions of the CD4+ CD25+ Treg in CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood of rats. The way produced by pretreatment with moxa smoke may play immunomodulatory effect.

Animals ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Moxibustion ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Smoke ; analysis ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; drug effects ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; drug effects ; immunology ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo study anti-oxidant phenolic compounds from stem barks of Morus yunanensis.

METHODIsolation and purification were carried out by silica gel, Sephadex LH -20 and RP - 18 column chromatography. The chemical structures of constituents were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data.

RESULTEight phenolic compounds were isolated and identified as: mulberrofuran E (1), mulberrofuran K (2), albanol B (3), kuwanon H (4), resveratrol (5), moracin M (6), morachalcone A (7), 3', 5', 2, 4-tetrahydroxy-4-(3-methyl-1-butenyl) stilbene (8).

CONCLUSIONAll the compounds were isolated from the plant for the first time, and compounds 2, 3, 6, 8 showed potent anti-oxidation activities.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Morus ; chemistry ; Oxidation-Reduction ; drug effects ; Phenols ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plant Bark ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Rats ; Spectrophotometry, Infrared