To test whether the pattern adaptation in thalamus is dependent upon postnatal visual experience during early life, the responses of relay cells to prolonged drifting grating stimulation were recorded extracellularly from the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of cats reared with binocular and monocular lid suture. In binocular vision-deprived cats, 68% of cells recorded showed significant adaptation to prolonged grating stimuli within 30 s, with a mean response decrease of 33%, and then stabilized gradually. This adaptation was stronger than that of relay cells in normal cats. In monocular vision-deprived cats, 53% of the cells driven by the deprived eye showed similar adaptation as did 44% of the cells driven by the non-deprived eye. These results indicate that pattern adaptation could be maintained or even enhanced after visual deprivation in early life. It is suggested that pattern adaptation is a general and intrinsic property of the dLGN cells, which may be mainly determined by genetic factors.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Fructus Bruceae oil emulsion (FBE) on cellular immune function (CIF) and quality of life (QOF) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after chemotherapy.

METHODSOne hundred and fifteen patients with mid-late stage NSCLC were randomly assigned to two groups, the 57 patients in the control group were only treated with chemotherapy of GP regimen, 58 in the treatment group with the chemotherapy of the same regimen and combined with FBE. The clinical efficacy was evaluated after two cycles of chemotherapy.

RESULTSThe effective rate was 51.8% and 47.4% in the treatment group and the control group respectively, the difference between them was insignificant (P > 0.05). CIF and QOF in the treatment group were better than those in the control group after chemotherapy respectively (P < 0.01), in the latter, CIF and QOF were desreased after chemotherapy (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONFBE combined with chemotherapy can improve the cellular immune function and quality of life in patients with mid-late stage NSCLC.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Brucea ; chemistry ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Emulsions ; Female ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; drug effects ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Quality of Life ; Treatment Outcome

Through study on the correlation between atractylodis lactones ingredient content and climatic factors, we research regionalization from climatic of five main producing provinces of the country, in order to provide a scientific basis for atractylodis' conscious cultivation. By sampling from 40 origins which from five main producing provinces of the country, we use SPSS to analysis variation of atractylodis lactones ingredient content in different conditions of climatic factors and the effect of each factors. Then according to the relationship between atractylodis lactones ingredient content and climatic factors, we use ArcGIS to conduct ecological suitability regionalization based on climatic factors. The most suitable climatic condition for cultivation of atractylodis: the wettest month precipitation 220-230 mm, the warmest average temperature 25 degrees C, the average temperature of driest season 10 degrees C.
Atractylodes ; chemistry ; growth & development ; China ; Climate ; Ecology ; Ecosystem ; Seasons ; Temperature

Objective To investigate effects of rectal cancer to undergo total mesorectal excision (TME)or three space dissection(TSD)with pelvic autonomic nerve preservation(PANP).Methods TME or/ and TSD was applied in 247 Patients with advanced rectal cancer in which 185 cases (74.9 %) underwent PANP(Group P)including TME-PANP(Group Pro)139 cases and TSD-PANP(Group Ps)46 cases.The other 62 cases underwent none-PANP(Group P-)due to tumor invasion.Results There were no death cases for operation inall patients.Group Pm was better than Group Ps in the operation time and the difficulty of proce- dure(P0.05).Conclusion The procedure with TME to preserve pelvic autonomic nerves adapts to the majority of rectal cancer patients.TSD procedure is more complex than TME.Statistically,the survival differ- ence between Patients with TSD and with TME is no defective.The survival time is determined to the tumor's earlier diagnosis and therapy.

Objective:To study the application value of electroencephalograph bispectral index (EEG-BIS) monitor in precision anesthesia and its effect on postoperative awakening time.Methods:A total of 100 patients who prepared to undergo thyroid surgery were randomly divided into observation group (n=50) and control group (n=50) .Under the same anesthesia way of the two groups, observation group adopted the results from EEG-BIS monitor to adjust the depth of anesthesia for patients, and control group adopted routine monitoring included weight, blood pressure and heart rate to adjust the depth of anesthesia.The amount of anesthetic and the awakening time of the patients in the two groups were observed and recorded, and the incidence of postoperative adverse events between the two groups were further compared.Results:The amount of propofol of observation group was significantly larger than that of control group (t=2.72, P<0.05) .And the awakening time, extubation time and the time of leaving PACU of observation group were significantly less than those of control group (t=4.45, t=4.83, t=5.92, P<0.05) .The differences of blood pressure at 20 min, 30 min and 60 min after patients underwent thyroid surgery between the two groups were significant (t=2.87, t=3.90, t=2.76, P<0.05) .Conclusion:BIS monitor can guide the adjustment for the depth of anesthesia during operation, and reduce the amount of general anesthetics of patients and shorten the awakening time in PACU, which is worthy in clinical application.

This study investigated the effect of puerarin on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) injured with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). HUVEC were divided into three groups: a control group, a model group (H₂O₂ 400 μmol·L^-1) and a puerarin-treated group (3, 10, 30 and 100 μmol·L^-1). HUVEC were cultured with varied concentration of puerarin for 2 h and treated with H₂O₂ for another 24 h. Cell proliferation was detected by a CCK-8 assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by a JC-1 fluorescent probe. A transwell chamber assay was adopted to observe cell migration ability. Mitochondrial respiratory function was measured in a two-chamber titration injection respirometer (Oxygraph-2k). The expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The expression of pyroptosis-mediated proteins, including cleaved-cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), N-gasdermin D (N-GSDMD), NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and purinergic ligand-gated ion channel 7 receptor (P2X7R) was detected by Western blot. The results show that 400 μmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ treatment for 24 h causes obvious damage to HUVEC. Compared with the model group, puerarin protected against cellular injury in a dose-dependent manner, with the greatest effect at a dose of 30 and 100 μmol·L^-1. Puerarin significantly decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and improved mitochondrial function. Puerarin inhibited cell migration induced by H₂O₂, suppressed the expression of IL-1β, IL-18 and TNF-α, and down-regulated the pyroptosis-mediated protein. These changes are statistically significant (P < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that puerarin has a protective effect against H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage of HUVEC by inhibiting the migration of HUVEC cells. The mechanism may be related to improved mitochondrial respiratory function and inhibition of pyroptosis.

This study aimed to evaluate the vasorelaxant effect and mechanisms of compound reserpine and triamterene tablets (CRTTs) and its component triamterene on isolated rat thoracic aorta rings. Isolated rat thoracic aorta rings pre-contracted by high potassium or norepinephrine (NE) were used to evaluate the vasodilatory effect of CRTTs and its component triamterene. The mechanisms concerning endothelium, potassium channels and calcium channels were studied through the interventions of several tool drugs. Animal welfare and experimental procedures followed the requirements of the Laboratory Animal Management and Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. The results showed that both CRTTs and triamterene had potent relaxant effect on KCl and NE pre-contracted vessels. Triamterene showed partial endothelium dependency, and N-nitro-L-argininemethyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) could influence the relaxant effect, which may be related to the opening of calcium-activated potassium channels. Meanwhile, CRTTs could inhibit intracellular Ca²⁺ release and extracellular Ca²⁺ influx. Overall, CRTTs and its component triamterene have vasorelaxant effects on vessels in vitro, and the vasorelaxant effect of CRTTs may be related to intracellular Ca²⁺ release and extracellular Ca²⁺ influx, while this effect of triamterene may depend on vascular endothelial function and may also be related to the opening of calcium-activated potassium channels.

OBJECTIVETo compare the accuracies of cerebral state index (CSI) and bispectral index (BIS) in sedation monitoring during target control infusion of midazolam.

METHODSTwenty informed adult male volunteers were intravenously administered with midazolam through plasma target control infusion from 30ng/ml (in increments of 10ng/ml every time) until they became unresponsive to tactile stimulation (i. e., mild prodding or shaking). The BIS and CSI were continuously recorded simultaneously. Sedation was assessed using the Observers' Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (OAA/S) scale at each time when Ct equaled to Ce. The electroencephalogram (EEG) parameters were correlated with the OAA/S scores using nonparametric Spearman's correlation analysis. The prediction probabilities were calculated at the points of lost of verbal contact (LVC) and lost of responses to stimulus (LOR). BIS05, BIS50, BIS95, and CSI05, CSI50, CSI95 were also calculated for LVC and LOR.

RESULTSBIS and CSI were well correlation with OAA/S scales during both the onset and recovery phases. When the sedation level increased, BIS and CSI progressively decreased. The prediction probabilities of BIS and CSI were 84%, 74% for LVC and 79%, 68% for LOR, while the BIS05, BIS50, and BIS95 as well as CSI05, CSI50, and CSI95 were 85.5, 60.6, and 35.7 (for BISs) and 82.2, 65.2, and 30.3 (for CSIs) at the point of LVC and 79.7, 47.6, and 15.6 (for BISs) and 75.9, 43.4, and 11 (for CSIs) at the point of LOR.

CONCLUSIONSBoth CSI and BIS seem to be useful parameters for assessing midazolam-induced sedation. BIS is superior in the prediction of LVC and LOR.

Adult ; Anesthetics, Intravenous ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Brain ; drug effects ; physiology ; Conscious Sedation ; methods ; Consciousness ; drug effects ; Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Midazolam ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of 17beta-estradiol (17beta-E(2)) on the structure and relaxation and contraction activity of thoracic aortas in ovariectomized rats with insulin resistance induced by fructose. Ovariectomized mature female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with high fructose diet for 8 weeks to induce insulin resistance. Physiological dose of 17beta-E(2) (30 mug/kg) was injected subcutaneously every day for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured by use of tail-cuff. Serum nitric oxide (NO), estradiol (E(2)), fasting blood sugar (FBS) and fasting serum insulin (FSI) were measured respectively in each group. The insulin sensitive index (ISI) was calculated. The thoracic aortas were fixed in formalin, sliced and HE dyed. The structure of thoracic aortas, lumen breadth, media thickness, media thickness/lumen breadth ratio and media cross-section area were measured. The contraction response of thoracic aorta rings induced by L-phenylephrine (PE) and the relaxation response of thoracic aorta rings induced by ACh and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were measured. To explore the mechanism, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) was used. The results obtained are as follows: (1) 17beta-E(2) protected against the effect of high fructose diet, which caused an increase in SBP, hyperinsulinemia and a decrease in ISI in ovariectomized rats. (2) The structure of thoracic aortas had no significant difference among the groups. (3) Compared with the ovariectomized group (OVX) or fructose fed group (F), serum nitric oxide was significantly reduced, the contraction response of thoracic aorta rings to PE was enhanced and the relaxation response to ACh was depressed significantly in ovariectomized+fructose fed group (OVX+F). The effect of high fructose was reversed by 17beta-E(2). After pretreatment with L-NAME, the effect of 17beta-E(2), which enhanced the relaxation response of thoracic aorta rings to ACh in ovariectomized+fructose+17beta-E(2) group (OVX+F+E(2)), was partly blocked. (4) The relaxation response of thoracic aorta rings to SNP had no significant difference among the groups. (5) The contraction response of thoracic aorta rings without endothelium to PE had no significant difference among the groups. These findings suggest that 17beta-E(2) may provide protection against the effect of high fructose diet, which causes hypertension, dysfunction of endothelial cells and insulin resistance. The mechanism of this effect of 17beta-E(2) could be partly associated with the increase of NO by NOS pathway, or associated with the decrease in the level of systolic blood pressure and serum insulin, and the improvement of insulin resistance.
Animals ; Aorta ; physiology ; Estradiol ; pharmacology ; Female ; Fructose ; Insulin Resistance ; physiology ; Ovariectomy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Vasoconstriction ; drug effects ; Vasodilation ; drug effects ; Vasomotor System ; drug effects

Recently, compound Ejiao slurry (FFEJJ) had been applied to treat cancer patients in clinic, with obvious curative effect. In this study, data and literatures were collected from the TCM chemical component database to establish the chemical component database of FFEJJ. Afterwards, MetaDrug software was used to predict the targets of FFEJJ and obtain the compound-target network. Next, the compound-target network was compared and analyzed to obtain the "compound-target-tumor target" heterogeneous network. Besides, further analysis was made on gene functions and metabolic pathway. The results indicated that FFEJJ could directly resist tumors by regulating cancer cell differentiation, growth, proliferation and apoptosis, and show an adjuvant therapeutic effect by enriching the blood and increasing the immunity.
Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; drug effects ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism