OBJECTIVETo study the effect of single administration of aqueous extracts from aconite on "dose-toxicity" relationship and "time-toxicity" relationship of mice hearts, through changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) and serum biochemical indexes.

METHODMice were grouped according to different drug doses and time points, and orally administered with water extracts from aconite for once to observe the changes of mice ECG before and after the administration, calculate visceral indexes heart, liver and kidney, and detect levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum.

RESULTAccording to the "time-toxicity" relationship study, at 5 min after oral administration with aqueous extracts from aconite in mice, the heart rate of mice began rising, reached peak at 60 min and then slowly reduced; QRS, R amplitude, T duration and amplitude and QT interval declined at 5 min, reduced to the bottom at 60 min and then gradually elevated. The levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum elevated at 5 min and reached the peak at 60 min, with no significant change in ratios of organs to body at different time points. On the basis of the "dose-toxicity" relationship, with the increase in single dose of aqueous extracts from aconite, the heart rate of mice. QRS, T duration and amplitude and QT interval declined gradually, and levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum slowly elevated, with a certain dose dependence and no significant change in ratios of organs to body in mice.

CONCLUSIONSingle oral administration of different doses of aqueous extracts from aconite could cause different degrees of heart injury at different time points, with a certain dose dependence. Its peak time of toxicity is at 60 min after the administration of aqueous extracts from aconite.

Aconitum ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; toxicity ; Female ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiology ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Kidney ; drug effects ; Liver ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice

BACKGROUND:Currently, morphological observations of brain cavity after traumatic brain injury (TBI) via cadavers or animal specimen are difficult to obtain dynamic changes.
OBJECTIVE:To explore the application effect of MRI-based three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction for evaluating the prognosis of TBI.
METHODS:Five male Sprague-Dawley rats were enrol ed to establish TBI models by Electronic Cortical Contusion Injury (eCCI), and scanned by 3.0T MRI with Rat-coil to obtain the DICOM date of brain at 1 day, 1, 2 and 3 months after modeling. Brain cavities were 3-dimensional y reconstructed by Mimics16.0 software, and analyzed in the Meshmixer software.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) The outline of reconstruction model image was clear, and could be observed and measured from different sides and perspectives. (2) The cavity volume and surface area at different time points after TBI showed significant differences between each other except that at 2 and 3 months (P<0.05). (3) The results of cavity change suggested that the cavity tended to be regular after 3 months of TBI. (4) In conclusion, 3D reconstruction software Mimics combining with model analysis software Meshmixer can conveniently and quickly obtain the cavity model, and provide an intuitive way for evaluating the dynamic variations of the brain cavity after TBI.

AIM To study the dynamic changes of color and five constituents during processing of Gardeniae Fructus.METHODS Camera and Adobe Photoshop software were applied to collecting images and obtaining chromatic values (L,a,b) of processed products,respectively.HPLC was adopted in the content determination of genipin-1-β-D-gentiobioside,geniposide,crocin-Ⅰ,crocin-Ⅱ,crocin-Ⅲ.Then the correlation between color and constituent contents was investigated by linear regression and partial least squares method.RESULTS With the process of processing,the chromatic values of epicarp and seed pellets expelled showed decreasing trends,especially for that of the former.On the whole,the contents of geniposide,crocin-Ⅰ and crocin-Ⅱ were decreased,while those of genipin-1-β-D-gentiobioside and crocin-Ⅲ were first increased and then decreased.The chromatic values of epicarp and seed pellets expelled showed significant correlations with crocin-Ⅰ content.CONCLUSION Color and crocin-Ⅰ can be considered as control index and monitoring index during processing of Gardeniae Fructus,respectively.

A new method of using photoactivable ester with azido group was described to immobilize urease on polyether sulfone(PES) film surface. The effects of photoactive enzyme concentration, temperature, pH, irradiation time on the activity of immobilized urease were investigated. Reused times and storage stability were also studied. The results showed that the surface concentration of urease immobilized on PES surface was about 0.33 mg/cm2. When the irradiation time was 5 minutes, the relative activity of immobilized urease was the highest and the activity increased with the increase of the concentration of photoactive urease solution. The optimum pH and temperature of immobilized urease were 7 and 50 degrees C respectively. The relative activity of immobilized urease was stable (50%) after 12 times reused at 50 degrees C.
Enzyme Stability ; Enzymes, Immobilized ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Membranes, Artificial ; Photochemistry ; Polymers ; Sulfones ; Urease ; metabolism ; radiation effects

The use of biodegradable polyurethane as medical appliance has rapidly become a fascinating new field of research in biomedical science. Tremendous progress has been made in this area during the last years. Applications of these materials in the field of organic repairing, tissue engineering and drug-controlled delivery system were reviewed. These new type materials possess excellent properties, such as good biocompatibility and mechanical strength, facile formation and inexpensive, so it can be expected to find wide application in the medical treatment in future.
Absorbable Implants ; Biocompatible Materials ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Biomedical Engineering ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drug Implants ; Polyurethanes ; chemistry ; Skin, Artificial ; Sutures

Objective: To study the effects of glycosaminoglycan from scallop skirt (SS-GAG) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the mechanism of anti-atherosclerosis action of SS-GAG. Methods: U937 cells were incubated with 80mg/L oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) for 48h to establish a macrophage-derived foam cell model. In addition, U937 cells were divided into 6 groups: ①control group; ②ox-LDL group; ③ox-LDL+200mg/L SS-GAG group; ④ox-LDL+400 mg/L SS-GAG group; ⑤ox-LDL+800 mg/L SS-GAG group; ⑥ox-LDL +Heparin 100 mg/L group.After 48h's incubation, the concentration of VEGF in the medium was determined by ELISA. Results: The expression of VEGF in U937 foam cells was obviously higher than that of the control group. After treatment with heparin (100 mg/L) and SS-GAG of different concentrations (200mg/L, 400 mg/L, 800 mg/L), the expression of VEGF decreased obviously, especially in the ox-LDL+800 mg/L SS-GAG group (P＜0.01). Conclusion: The antiatherogenic effect of SS-GAG is probably due to its ability to inhibit VEGF expression.

Objective:To analyze the availability ofpediatricessential medicines in China, and to provide reference and suggestions for the further responses to the demand for pediatric medication in China. Methods :Using survey data collected from 19 provinces in China through the cooperation of the National Health Commission and our research group, the availability of pediatricessential medicines in China was analyzed from the perspectives of drug use and a-vailability with its influencing factors. Results :The survey results showed that the availability of pediatricessential medicines in China is generally low. The shortage in such medicines does not occur in individual regions, individual medical institutions or individual treatment areas, but it is still general in the surveyed parts of the country. The two fundamental reasons for the noticed shortage are :the research on special varieties for Children is expensive and the pricing mechanism of suitable varieties is inappropriate, which results in insufficient motivation for R&D Enterprises. Conclusions :This article suggests that the existing national pediatric medication support policies should be put in place as soon as possible, andbe further implemented for nationwide pediatric consumption. It is also recommended that health, drug supervision, bidding, pricing, medical insurance and other departments should work together to make more preferential policies to help enterprises develop special pediatric drugs to further promote the supply and respond to the demand of medicine for children in China.

We have previously established a culture method to isolate and cultivate neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from the rat embryonic brain and spinal cord. In the present study, we demonstrate that the spinal cord-derived NSCs can be induced to differentiate into oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) with a combined treatment composed of (1) conditioned medium collected from B104 neuroblastoma cells (B104CM) and (2) basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 10 ng/ml). After induction, over 95% of the cells displayed bipolar or tri-polar morphology and expressed A2B5 and platelet derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFR-alpha), markers that are specific for OPCs. Among PDGFR-alpha positive OPCs, only a few cells expressed glia fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and none expressed beta-tubulin III. In the presence of B104CM and bFGF, OPCs proliferated rapidly, formed spheres, expanded for multiple passages, and maintained their phenotypic properties. Upon withdrawal of B104CM and bFGF, these cells differentiated into either O4/GlaC-positive oligodendrocytes (OLs) or GFAP- and A2B5-positive type-2 astrocytes. Our results indicate that NSCs can be induced to differentiate into OPCs that possess properties of self-renewal and differentiation into oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes, a property similar to that of O-2A progenitor cells. The OPCs can be maintained in an undifferentiated state over multiple divisions as long as both B104CM and bFGF are present in the medium. Thus, large quantity of OPCs can be obtained through this method for potential therapeutical interventions for various neurological degenerative diseases.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; physiology ; Hexanones ; Neural Stem Cells ; cytology ; Neuroblastoma ; pathology ; Oligodendroglia ; cytology ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

From January 2013 to January 2015, 19 patients of traumatic hemothorax with hemorrhagic shock were treated in our department by thoracoscopic surgery combined with autologous blood transfusion. This study retrospectively analyzed the therapeutic effect and shared our experience. The average amount of blood transfused back was 662.41 ml ± 269.15 ml. None of the patients developed transfusion reaction and were all discharged uneventfully. Thoracoscopic surgery combined with autologous blood trans- fusion is effective in the rescue of patients with progressive hemothorax and hemorrhagic shock. When corresponding indications are well managed, treatment for these patients is quicker, safer, and more effective.
Blood Transfusion, Autologous ; Female ; Hemothorax ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Injuries ; surgery ; Thoracoscopy ; methods

To design and synthesis a series of novel L-amino acid esters prodrugs of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates with more potent anti-HBV activity, adefovir dipivoxil was used as lead compound, according to the results of enhanced oral bioavailability and antiviral activities of nucleoside L-amino acid ester prodrugs. Eleven novel L-amino acid ester prodrugs of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates were designed and synthesized, their anti-HBV activities were evaluated in HepG2 2.2.15 cells. Eight compounds exhibited antiviral activity, and compound 11 showed the most potent anti-HBV activity and highest selective index in vitro (EC50 0.0952 micromol x L(-1), SI 69523). Moreover, by analyzing the primary structure and activity relationship of these compounds, it could be suggested that L-amino acid ester strategy has significant potential in the acyclic nucleoside phosphonates prodrug design.
Amino Acids ; chemistry ; Antiviral Agents ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Hepatitis B virus ; drug effects ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; virology ; Nucleosides ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Organophosphonates ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology