Objective To explore the effects of different dose rates of X-ray under the same dose on cell clonogenic formation in non-small-cell lung cancer cell line A549 in order to provide experimental basis for clinical radiotherapy plan. Methods The A549 cells were cultured at low density and irradiated with X-rays at dose of 4 Gy and selected dose rates of 1, 2, 4 and 6 Gy/min, respectively, from a linear accelerator. The 8th day after irradiation, the cells were fixed and stained with Giemsa solution, and colonies containing at least 50 cells were counted. The plating efficiency and surviving fraction were calculated. Results The clonogenic number in non-irradiated cells was 88.6±4.6. The numbers were significantly reduced in irradiated cells at dose rate 1, 2, 4 and 6 Gy/min (12.3±3.4, 9.0±0.8, 5.6±1.0, 11.5±1.7, respectively) than that in non-irradiated control cells (F=678.799, P<0.05). The plating efficiencies were decreased in irradiated cells, especially in 4 Gy/min irradiated cells, which was lower than that in any of the other three dose rate groups (P< 0.05). Conclusions Though at same radiation dose, cancer cells have different clonogenic formation efficiency when irradiation with X-ray at different dose rates. Thus, treatment with optimal dose rate may improve the radiotherapy efficacy.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has become basic support equipment in clinical and many other scientific research fields and has been a hot research field at present. Tomography reconstruction algorithm is a key component of PET, and most PETs use statistical iterative reconstruction algorithms from sinograms data currently. However, tomography reconstruction from list-mode data possesses many unique advantages, and it has caused great attention and is in the process of rapid development and improvementin recently. We eventually achieved list-mode tomography reconstruction in this paper, using experimental data of small animal PET scanner Eplus-166, exploiting S-LMEM algorithm and orthogonal distance-based ray-tracer. The results demonstrated that image resolution and contrast recovery achieved inherent properties of the scanner and on-the-fly ray-tracing methods is feasible for dynamic reconstruction.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; methods ; Models, Theoretical ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; methods

To introduce a kind of disposable double-channel cannula made by silica gel which is used for proctosigmoidoscopy, in coordination with rigid-tubing endoscope. There are kinds of characters for this cannula: small caliber, no toxic side effect, high degree of comfort, user-friendly, low system cost., etc.
Catheters ; Disposable Equipment ; Endoscopes ; Equipment Design

Purpose To explore the role of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) dysfunction in the pathogenesis of depression and its relationship with the clinical features of depression by analyzing the effective connection among the inner areas of PCC of patients in depression.Materials and Methods The spectral dynamic causal model (spDCM) was used to analyze the resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the PCC inner areas Brodmann area (BA) 23,BA29,BA30,BA31 in the major depressive disorder group (MDD,n=23) and healthy control group (HC,n=36).Results Compared with HC group,the strength of BA30 self-connection of MDD group existed significant difference (t=2.53,P＜0.05).In MDD group,the connection of BA23 toward BA31 had abnormal activation,and the abnormal inhibition occurred in BA23 toward BA30;compared with HC group and after a＜0.05 Hz correction,there were significant differences in the bi-directional connections for BA23 and BA31,BA39 and BA31,BA30 and BA31,and in the unidirectional connections for BA23 to BA31,BA30 to BA23,BA30 to BA29 in MDD group.Conelusion The effective connection and connective nodes and edges in the inner areas of PCC in the depression disorder patients were abnormal.

Objective To explore the effect of dose rate of X-rays on migration of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and provide the experimental basis for developing radiotherapy scheme. Methods Human NSCLC cell line A549 was cultured and irradiated with X-rays at dose of 6 Gy from a linear accelerator. The dose rates of 1, 2, 4 and 6 Gy/min were selected. Monolayer adherent cells were scratched and photographed at 0 hour and 24 hours under a microscope to measure the scratch width. Results After 24 hours, the scratch width of nonirradiated control cells was (640.7±8.1)μm. The scratch widths of cells were different when cells were irradiated with X-rays of various dose rates. Scratch widths were the largest in cells irradiated at dose rates of 1 Gy/min [(691.4±7.6)μm] and 6 Gy/min [(691.8±12.1)μm]. The scratch width was (666.2±1.3) μm of X-rays at 4 Gy/min, and there were significant differences compared with nonirradiated group (all P< 0.01), which suggested that inhibitory effect of X-rays at dose rates on A549 cell migration was obvious. However, the scratch width of cells irradiated at 2 Gy/min [(643.5 ±6.8) μm] had no difference compared with the control cells (t=-0.336, P=0.742). Conclusions The effect of X-rays irradiation on cell migration of human NSCLC cell line A549 is related with irradiated dose rate. The effect of different dose rates on cell migration is significantly different. Selecting appropriate dose rates for irradiation may help to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Shexiang Baoxin pill (SBP) on the vascular endothelial function in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) complicated with angina pectoris.

METHODSTwo weeks after runin, according to the randomizing table, 111 patients were divided into two groups, the XBP group (56 patients) and the control group (55 patients, treated with delayed-released isosorbide mononitrate, DRIM), they were treated for 6 months. In the treatment period, the episodes of angina attack and condition of rescue medication were recorded in the daily card, and brachial arterial changes of endothelium-dependent relaxing function before and after treatment were measured by B-ultrasonography.

RESULTSComparison between the two groups in episodes of angina attack and rescue medication were insignificantly different. In the control group, the basal value of brachial arterial inner diameter before and after treatment was 3.68 +/- 0.56 mm and 3.70 +/- 0.58 mm respectively, those before and after responsive congestion was 5.44 +/- 0.81% vs 5.68 +/- 0.83%, and those before and after taking nitroglycerin was 19.8 +/- 4.9% vs 20. +/- 5.2%, all showed insignificant difference (P > 0.05). In the SBP group, the corresponding basal value was 3.73 +/- 0.62 mm vs 3.71 +/- 0.59 mm, and those after taking nitroglycerin 18.8 +/- 4.5 % vs 19.2 +/- 5.8%, also showed insignificant difference, but those before and after responsive congestion (5.69 +/- 0.79 % vs 9.56 +/- 3.82 %) did show significant difference (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONXBP could improve the vascular endothelial function in patients with DM2 complicated with angina pectoris.

Aged ; Angina Pectoris ; complications ; drug therapy ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Endothelium, Vascular ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Steroid saponins are secondary metabolites with multiple medicinal values that are found in large quantities in natural medicines, especially Vernonia amygdalina, a famous nature medicine for the treatment of tonsillitis, diabetes, pneumonia. The current study was designed to combine molecular networking (MN) with diagnostic ions for rapid identification of Δ^7,9(11) stigmastane-type saponins which were the α-glucosidase inhibitory active substances in V. amygdalina. First, the α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of five Δ^7,9(11) stigmastane-type steroid saponins that were previously isolated were screened, which indicated that the Δ^7,9(11) stigmastane-type steroid saponin was one of the active constituents responsible for ameliorating diabetes. Furthermore, a strategy was proposed to identify stigmastane-type steroid saponins and verify the plausibility of derived fragmentation pathways by applying MN, MolNetEnhancer and unsupervised substructure annotation (MS2LDA). Based on this strategy, other seven Δ^7,9(11) stigmastane-type steroid saponins were identified from this plant. Our research provide scientific evidence for the antidiabetic potential of the steroid saponin-rich extract of V. amygdalina leaf.
alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism* ; Vernonia/chemistry* ; Plant Extracts/chemistry* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Saponins/chemistry* ; Steroids/chemistry* ; Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE：To study the improvement effect and possible mechanism of Leontopodium leontopodioides combined with Astragalus membranaceus on the renal function of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis （MsPGN） model rats. METHODS：Totally 85 rats were randomly divided into sham operation group （n＝10）and modeling group （n＝75）. Sham operation group underwent sham operation ，and MsPGN model was induced by immunological method [Freund ’s adjuvant+BSA + lipopolysaccharide（LPS）] in modeling group. After successfully modeling ，70 rats were randomly divided into model group ，L. leontopodioides+A. membranaceus high-dose，medium-dose and low-dose groups （4.05，2.03，1.02 g/kg，by total crude drug ），L. leontopodioides alone group （2.70 g/kg，by crude drug ），Tripterygium glycosides tablet group （positive control 1，0.02 g/kg）， Lotensin tablet group （positive control 2，0.02 g/kg），with 10 rats in each group. Sham operation group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically ； administration groups were given relevant drug solution intrasgastrcially at a volume of 15 mL/kg，once a day ，for consecutive 5 weeks. At last administration ，24 h urinary lnzyxyqy2003@163.com protein，urine creatinine and serum creatinine were determined in rats. The right kidney was weighed ，and HE staining was used to observe the pathomorpholog y changes of renal tissue. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of NF-κB p65 in renal tissue. Western blotting assay was used to determine the protein expressions of NF-κB p65，IκBα，ERK，p-ERK and p 38 MAPK in renal tissue. RESULTS ：Compared with sham operation group ，right kidney weight ，24 h urine protein and serum creatinine levels ，protein expressions of NF-κB p65， p-ERK and p 38 MAPK in renal tissue were increased significantly in model group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）；the level of urine creatinine and protein expression of IκBα in renal tissue were decreased significantly（P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）；there were obvious glomerular hypertrophy ，diffuse increase of mesangial cells ，necrosis of renal tubules and other pathomorphological changes in renal tissue. Compared with model group ，right kidney weight and serum creatinine level were decreased significantly in L. leontopodioides alone group （P＜0.05），while urine creatinine level was increased significantly （P＜0.05），but there was no statistical significance in the level of 24 h urine protein （P＞0.05）；the right kidney weight ，24 h urine protein ，serum creatinine level and protein expression levels of NF-κB p65，p-ERK and p38 MAPK in renal tissue were decreased significantly in L. leontopodioides+A. membranaceus high-dose group （P＜0.05），while the urine creatinine level and protein expression level of IκBα in renal tissue were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）；there was no statistical significance in above indexes in L. leontopodioides+A. membranaceus medium-dose，low-dose groups （P＞0.05）；pathological changes of renal tissue were improved to different extents in administration groups ，especially in L. leontopodioides +A. membranaceus high-dose group. CONCLUSIONS ： High dose of L. leontopodioides +A. membranaceus can improve renal function of MsPGN model rats by inhibiting MAPK/NF-κB signal pathway.

Stroke at the acute stage is a major cause of disability in adults, and is associated with dysfunction of brain networks. However, the mechanisms underlying changes in brain connectivity in stroke are far from fully elucidated. In the present study, we investigated brain metabolism and metabolic connectivity in a rat ischemic stroke model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) at the acute stage using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Voxel-wise analysis showed decreased metabolism mainly in the ipsilesional hemisphere, and increased metabolism mainly in the contralesional cerebellum. We used further metabolic connectivity analysis to explore the brain metabolic network in MCAO. Compared to sham controls, rats with MCAO showed most significantly reduced nodal and local efficiency in the ipsilesional striatum. In addition, the MCAO group showed decreased metabolic central connection of the ipsilesional striatum with the ipsilesional cerebellum, ipsilesional hippocampus, and bilateral hypothalamus. Taken together, the present study demonstrated abnormal metabolic connectivity in rats at the acute stage of ischemic stroke, which might provide insight into clinical research.
Acute Disease ; Animals ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Brain Mapping ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Male ; Neural Pathways ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley