Crataegus oxyacantha (Aubepine, Hawthorn), was used by european herbalist in the first century A. D. It went out fashion as a medicine until the 19th century for heart disease. The leaves, flowers, and berries of hawthorn contain a variety of bioflavonoid-like complexes that appear to be primarily responsible for the cardiac actions of the plant. Bioflavonoids found in C. oxyacantha include oligomeric procyanidins (OPCc), vitexin, quercetin, and hyperoside. The action of these compounds on the cardiovascular system has led to the development of leaf and flower extracts. As described in French pharmacopea, the hyperoside is the marker for quality control.
Animals ; Cardiovascular Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; drug therapy ; Crataegus ; chemistry ; Flowers ; chemistry ; France ; Heart Failure ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Objective: To study the in vitro antiproliferative effect and probable mechanism of solasonine on human breast cancer Bcap-37 cells, meanwhile, make comparison with solamargine. Methods: The cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay. The cell damage and type of cell death were examined through Hoechst33342/PI and Annexin V/PI staining, respectively. Mitochondrial membrane potential was detected by JC-1 staining. The expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bax, and cytochrome c was determined by immunoblot method, and the activation of caspase-3 was analyzed by immunocytochemistry method. Results: Solasonine showed the different extents of cytotoxicity on eight human tumor cell lines as well as four human normal cell lines, and the IC50 values of solasonine ranged from 12.73 to 37.15 μmol/L. Cell apoptosis and mitochondria depolarization were observed in Bcap-37 cells after treatment with solasonine for 24 h, respectively. In immunoblot and immunocytochemistry analysis, solasonine obviously induced the up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, caused the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytosol, and increased the expression of both pro- and cleaved caspase-3. Solamargine exhibited stronger antipoliferative activity than solasonine, but the similar mechanism in Bcap-37 cells in this study. Conclusion: Solasonine possesses the antiproliferative effect on tumor cells. Regulation of the levels of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bax, and activation of mitochondria cytochrome c-dependent apoptosis pathway might be one of its main antitumor mechanisms against breast cancer cells. In view of the cytotoxic effect of solasonine and solamargine also shown on normal cells, the safety needs concern when the antitumor activity is studied.

Objective To clarify the advantages and disadvantages of domestic precision radiotherapy equipment by comparing the clinical efficacies of domestic and imported precision radiotherapy equipments in the treatment of lymphoma. Methods We investigated the treatments of lymphoma in hospitals of different levels using domestic and imported medical linear accelerators and divided them into domestic and imported groups. The data of patients in the two groups were retrospectively analyzed, and the radiotherapy equipment brand, short-term efficacy, acute toxicity, dosimetric parameters of organs at risk and the costs of radiation therapy were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 101 cases receiving radiation therapy for lymphoma in 10 hospitals were collected, including 77 cases in the imported group and 24 cases in the domestic group. The overall response rates were high in both groups, being 88.3% (68/77) in the imported group and 87.5% (21/24) in the domestic group, with no significant difference (P=1.00). The incidences of hematological toxicity (>grade 2) were low in both groups, being 1.3% (1/77) vs 8.3% (2/24), with no significant difference (P=0.14). Subgroup analysis was performed on the dosimetric parameters of organs at risk and acute toxicity of the two groups for extranodal nasal type NK/T cell lymphoma, and there were no significant differences in the maximal dose (Dmax) of the lens, Dmaxof the optic nerve, or mean dose (Dmean) of the parotid gland between the two groups (all P>0.05). However, there was an increasing trend in the domestic group compared with the imported group for Dmeanof bilateral parotid gland (left: [2 306.53±1 119.66] cGy vs[ 1 279.44±1 026.95] cGy, P=0.16; right:[ 2 328.35±1 009.76] cGy vs[ 1 303.79±1 116.79] cGy, P=0.17). The incidence of grade 2 xerostomia in the domestic group was higher than that in the imported group, but the difference was not statistically significant (50.0%[ 2/4] vs 14.3%[ 1/7], P>0.05). The domestic group had significantly lower radiotherapy cost [( 26 743.9±8 061.2] yuan vs[ 42 428.7±14 744.7] yuan) and total hospitalization cost [( 36 702.1± 12 225.8] yuan vs[ 50 192.7±15 494.4] yuan) than the imported group (both P<0.01). Conclusion There is no significant difference in the short-term efficacy of lymphoma treatment between the domestic radiotherapy equipment and the imported radiotherapy equipment, while the treatment cost of the domestic radiotherapy equipment is relatively low. However, the dosimetric parameters of organs at risk of imported radiotherapy equipment is lower and the acute toxicity is less..

INTRODUCTIONWilliams syndrome (WS) is a rare but well recognised neurodevelopmental disease affecting the connective tissue and the central nervous system. Many patients are identified through the presence of dysmorphic features and associated cardiac abnormalities. Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is associated with gynaecomastia, small testes, azoospermia and elevated gonadotropin levels. They are recognised in the second decade of life by their tall stature and delay in pubertal development. A combination of constitutive WS and KS has yet to be described.

CLINICAL PICTUREWe report a child with these genetic aberrations, highlighting the clinical characteristics of such an individual.

CONCLUSIONThe manifestations and interactions of both conditions are also discussed.

Body Height ; Body Weight ; Child, Preschool ; Comorbidity ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Klinefelter Syndrome ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Male ; Williams Syndrome ; diagnosis ; epidemiology

AIM: To investigate the influence of orthokeratology combined with 0.01% Atropine Sulfate Eye Gel on the recovery of myopia in children and the factors influencing the curative effect of children.

METHODS: Totally 200 children with myopia admitted to our hospital in 2017-03/2019-03 were selected. According to the requirements of children and guardians, the observation group(orthokeratology combined with 0.01% Atropine Sulfate Eye Gel)and the control group(only wearing orthokeratology)were selected. Totally 108 cases in the observation group were included in the study, 8 cases were abandoned after 6mo, and 100 cases were finally included to complete the follow-up. 92 cases in the control group were included in the study, 5 cases abandoned after 6mo, and 87 cases completed the follow-up. The patients' best corrected far vision, best corrected near vision, naked eye vision, intraocular pressure, pupil diameter and adjustment amplitude and discomfort symptoms after treatment were collected before and after 6mo.

RESULTS: The uncorrected visual acuity of the observation group after treatment was 0.12±0.05, and that of the control group was 0.19±0.07, which were significantly higher than those before treatment(P<0.05), and the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05). After treatment, the intraocular pressure of the two groups had no significant change(P>0.05); the pupil diameter of the observation group after treatment was(7.01±0.66)mm, which was significantly higher than(6.09±0.69)mm before treatment(P<0.05); the adjustment amplitude was(14.06±4.03)D, which was significantly lower than(15.31±4.40)D before treatment(P<0.05); there were no significant changes in the pupil diameter and adjustment amplitude of the control group after treatment(P>0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that good myopia control was negatively correlated with age, uncorrected visual acuity and astigmatism before treatment(P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that myopia control was negatively correlated with age and uncorrected visual acuity before treatment(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Orthokeratology combined with 0.01% Atropine Sulfate Eye Gel is helpful for the control of myopia in children. The effect of treatment is influenced by the age of children and the visual acuity before treatment.

Gastrointestinal foreign body is a common emergency in children, especially the esophageal foreign bodies or the sharp, corrosive, magnetic bodies, which highly induce the complications and urgently need treatment with endoscope.Moreover, the complications, including gastrointestinal bleeding, perforation, fistula and luminal stenosis, can be treated by using endoscope.Therefore, the characteristics and the therapy of high-risk gastrointestinal foreign bodies are illustrated.

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics of glucocorticoid induced eye damage in children with primary nephrotic syndrome. Methods: The clinical data of steroid-induced high intraocular pressure or cataract in 49 children who were from Zhengzhou Children′s Hospital with primary nephrotic syndrome admitted from September 2016 to April 2018 were analyzed retrospectively in order to observe the relationship between relevant eye damage and clinical medication. Results: There were 37 boys and 12 girls in the 49 cases, of which the average age of onset was (7.6±3.0) years old, and among them there were 22 cases with glucocorticoid high intraocular pressure, 19 cases with glucocorticoid cataract, 8 cases with glucocorticoid high intraocular pressure combined with cataract, but no glaucoma in 49 cases.The shortest time of using glucocorticoid was 15-3 240 days[(863.33±871.46) days]; the cumulative dose of glucocorticoid was (7 865±3 691.66) mg/m², the left eye pressure was (26.68±5.95) mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) and the right eye pressure was (27.71±5.82) mmHg.There was no significant correlation between glucocorticoid using time, cumulative dose and high intraocular pressure(r=-0.158, -0.264, -0.237, -0.361, all P>0.05). All the 19 patients with glucocorticoid cataract and 8 patients with glucocorticoid high intraocular pressure combined with cataract presented posterior capsular opacity, including 23 males and 4 females, and their time of using glucocorticoid was(1 296.67±903.35)days, who were followed up continuously. Conclusions Glucocorticoid-induced high intraocular pressure and cataract should be paid attention to by clinicians.Once high intraocular pressure or cataract occurs, the dosage of glucocorticoid should be gradually reduced or stopped, at the same time, ophthalmologic treatment should be actively performed to avoid serious eye diseases.

Objective To analysis risk factor and to construct a line graph prediction model for bone cement leakage after percutaneous transluminal vertebroplasty treatment in patients with osteoporotic spinal compression fractures. Methods A total of 236 patients with osteoporotic spinal compression fractures who came to our hospital from December 2019 to December 2021 were selected for the stud)', and they were divided into a leakage group (n = 58) and a non-leakage group (n = 178) according to whether bone cement leakage occurred after percutaneous transluminal vertebroplasty treatment. The clinical data were collected to analyze the factors associated with bone cement leakage; The work receiver operating characteristic^ ROC) curves of the subjects were drawn to analyze the predictive value of each relevant factor on bone cement leakage; The Logistic multiple regression model was used to analyze the risk factors affecting bone cement leakage; The R language software 4. 0 "rms" package was used to construct the prediction model of column line diagram. Results The differences in age, bone density, degree of vertebral compression, vertebral endplate/posterior wall integrity, bone cement viscosity, and bone cement injection volume between patients in the leaky and non-leaky groups were statistically significant (P< 0. 05). The area under curve(AUCs) for age, bone density, and cement injection volume to predict cement leakage were 0. 804, 0. 825, and 0. 803, respectively; The best cutoff values were 71 years, 0. 67 g/cm", and 4.4 ml, respectively. Age (>71 years), bone density (^ 0 . 67 g/cm"), vertebral compression (severe), vertebral endplate/posterior wall integrity (no), cement viscosity (low viscosity), and bone cement injection volume (> 4. 4 ml) were independent risk factors for bone cement leakage. The column line graph model predicted a C-index of 0. 802 (95% CI, 0. 689-0. 868) for cement leakage, with a threshold >0. 19, and the column line graph model provided a net clinical benefit. Conclusion Age, bone density, degree of vertebral compression, vertebral endplate/posterior wall integrity, cement viscosity, and cement injection volume are independent risk factors for cement leakage, and the column line graph prediction model constructed with these predictors is of clinical application.

Objective: To investigate the effect of thymopoietin (TMPO) gene deleted by small interfering RNA (RNAi) on the proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer cell A549 and its mechanism. Methods: TMPO siRNA was transfected into A549 cells by lipofection. The transfected siRNA control was used as a negative control, and the parent cells were used as blank control. Forty-eight hours later, the expression of TMPO in the transfected cells was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Cell proliferation was detected by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry, the protein levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), cleaved caspase-3, notch receptor 1 (Notch1) and mammalian rapamycin target protein (mTOR) were detected by Western blot analysis. Results: The results of RT-PCR and Western blot showed that the expression levels of TMPO mRNA in the blank control group, the negative control group and TMPO siRNA transfected group were (1.01±0.11), (0.99±0.10), (0.36±0.04), respectively, the protein levels were (0.27±0.02), (0.29±0.03), (0.08±0.10), respectively. The expression levels of TMPO mRNA and protein in the transfected group were significantly lower than those in the blank control and negative control group (P<0.05). The results of MTT assay showed that the OD values of the blank control group, the negative control group and the transfected group were (0.35±0.04), (0.37±0.04) and (0.34±0.03) at 24 h of transfection, respectively. The OD values at 48 h were (0.47±0.06), (0.46±0.08), (0.37±0.04), the OD values at 72 h were (0.75±0.08), (0.73±0.07), (0.49±0.05), respectively, and the OD values at 96 h were (1.09±0.07), (1.06±0.08), (0.56±0.06). The proliferation abilities of the transfected cells at 48, 72, 96 h were significantly lower than those of the blank control and the negative control group (P<0.05). The results of flow cytometry showed that the proportion of G₀/G₁ phase cells in blank control group, negative control group and transfection group were (62.55±2.03)%, (61.24±3.15)%, (47.35±2.44)%, respectively. The proportion of cells in S phase were (17.12±1.31)%, (17.70±2.01)%, and (20.81±2.06)%, respectively. The proportion of cells in G₂/M phase were (20.33±1.43)%, (21.06±1.52)%, (31.84±2.76)%, respectively. The proportion of cells in G₀/G₁ phase of transfection group was significantly lower than those of blank control and negative control group (P<0.05). The proportion of cells in G₂/M phase of transfection group was significantly higher than those of blank control and negative control group (P<0.05). The apoptosis ratio of the transfection group was (34.10±2.69)%, significantly higher than (2.96±0.03)% of the blank control and (3.01±0.04)% of the negative control group (P<0.05). Western blot analysis showed that PCNA, Notch1 and mTOR proteins were down-regulated while cleaved caspase-3 protein was up-regulated in A549 cells after deletion of TMPO. Conclusion The inhibition of TMPO gene expression induced by small interfering RNA can significantly inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of A549 cells, and the mechanism is associated with the inhibition of the activation of Notch1/mTOR signaling pathway.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of thoracic paravertebral nerve block (TPVB) at different time points on postoperative long-term quality of life in the patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer. Methods: One hundred and fifty patients of both sexes, aged 25-64 yr, with body mass index of 18-24 kg/m², of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰor Ⅱ, scheduled for elective radical resection of lung cancer, were divided into 3 groups (n=50 each) by a random number table method: preoperative TPVB group (P₁ group), TPVB at the end of operation group (P₂ group) and preoperative TPVB combined with TPVB at the end of operation group (P₃ group). In group P₁, TPVB was performed at T_{4, 6} points on the affected side under ultrasound guidance before anesthesia induction, and 0.5% ropivacaine 10 ml was injected in total.In group P₂, TPVB was performed at T_{4, 6} points on the affected side under ultrasound guidance at the end of operation, and 0.5% ropivacaine 10 ml was injected in total.In group P₃, TPVB was performed at T_{4, 6} points on the affected side under ultrasound guidance before anesthesia induction and at the end of operation, and 0.5% ropivacaine 10 ml was injected each time.The analgesia pump was connected at the end of operation in three groups.The patients were followed up after operation, and 5 ml solution extracted from the analgesic pump was intravenously injected when VAS score was greater than or equal to 4.The occurrence of postoperative chronic pain in the 3 groups was recorded though telephone follow-up at 6 and 12 months after surgery, and the effect of pain on daily life and treatment measures were scored.A concise health-related quality of life scale was used to evaluate patients′ quality of life, and the physical and mental health scores were calculated. Results: There was no significant difference in the incidence of chronic pain at 6 and 12 months after surgery among the three groups (P>0.05). The physical and mental health scores were significantly decreased at 12 months after surgery than at 6 months after surgery in the three groups (P<0.05). Compared with P₁ and P₂ groups, the scores of effect of pain on daily life and treatment measures were significantly decreased, and the physical and mental health scores were increased at 12 months after surgery in group P₃ (P<0.05). Conclusion The combination of preoperative TPVB and TPVB at the end of operation can effectively improve postoperative long-term quality of life in the patients undergoing thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer.