The issues concerning protection, comprehensive utilization, sustainable development, and quickening up the modernization of Chinese herbal medicinal resource, as well as how to accelerate the international conjunction of Chinese medicinal industry were discussed in this paper.
Conservation of Natural Resources ; methods ; Drug Industry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Aim To establish a highly purified,active and prac-tical extract and primitive culture method for rat brain microvas-cular endothelial cells ( BMECs) for providing materials for con-struction in vitro blood-brain barrier ( BBB) model. Methods Cerebral cortex of 1-2 week SD rats was collected,and successive digestion with typeⅡcollagenase and collagenase/dispase, sieve filtration and then twice gradient centrifugation in 20% BSA and 44% Percoll condition were used to obtain brain microvascular section. After that brain microvascular section was seeded in cul-ture bottle and then primarily cultured. Inverted microscope and factor-VIII relative antigen immunostaining methods were used for cellular morphological observation and identification. Results BMECs climbed out the vessel segment and proliferated with ad-herence after 2 h in vitro culture,and they became typical peb-bles structure after further 3-4 d culture. Morever, factor-VIII relative antigen immunostaining identified that expression for the endothelial cells was positive,cytoplasm was brown and positive cells account for more than 99%. Conclusion Rat BMECs with high purity could be extracted and cultured by using the above methods,and it has great potential for construction in vitro BBB model and in depth studies on biological characteristics and func-tions of BMECs.

OBJECTIVEStreptococcus pneumoniae necrotizing pneumonia (SPNP) was reported elsewhere but not in China yet. Inappropriate treatment due to poor recognition of this disease could influence its prognosis. This paper presents the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of SPNP hoping to elevate pediatrician's recognition level for this disease.

METHODClinical manifestations, radiological findings, treatment and prognosis of 20 patients (9 boys, 11 girls) who had been hospitalized with SPNP in Beijing Children's Hospital from 2004-2011 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTThe patients included in this study aged from 9 months to 6 years [(27.9 ± 15.8) m] and were healthy before admission. They were febrile for 8 to 50 days [(27.7 ± 13.5) d] and hospital day was 24 - 55 days [(36.5 ± 8.3) d]. The general condition of all subjects was relatively poor and they all had fever and cough. One child had moderate fever and nineteen children had high fever. Dyspnea was found in sixteen children. Fine rales were found on auscultation in 18 children, among whom diffuse wheeze appeared in 4 children, and wheezy phlegm was found in two children. Signs of pleural effusion were discovered in all cases by physical examination and chest X-ray. White blood cell (WBC) count was 16.2 - 60.95×10(9)/L and neutrophil was 70.5% - 80.2% in peripheral blood routine test. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 44 - 109 mm/h [(69.6 ± 16) mm/h]and C-reactive protein (CRP) was 80 - > 160 mg/L. The pleural effusion biochemistry and routine test revealed a WBC count of 6400×10(6)/L-too much to count, polykaryocyte of 51% - 90%, glucose of 0.02 - 1.8 mmol/L, protein of 32 - 51 g/L and LDH of 5475 IU/L-or higher. Pleural effusion culture in all cases and blood culture in 2 cases was positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Chest X-ray or CT revealed high density and well-distributed lobar consolidation in one lung or two lungs initially. Single or multiple low density lesions in the area of lobar consolidation were found a week later, accompanied by multiple cystic shadow or cavity at the same time or afterwards. Bulla of lung appeared later. Pleural effusions were found in all patients. Seven cases complicated with hydropneumothorax, two with otitis media, one with heart failure, one with cardiac insufficiency. Seventeen patients were treated with vancomycin or teicoplanin or linezolid two with amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium. Other two patients had been treated with meropenem and cephalosporin antibiotics respectively before admission, and they had been at recovery stage when they were hospitalized. Thoracic close drainage and thoracoscopy were performed respectively in 18 cases and 3 cases, respectively. After a follow up of more than 6 months, chest CT showed that almost all lesions in lungs recovered during 4-6 months. No one received pneumonectomy.

CONCLUSIONSPNP has special manifestations. The incidence in infants is higher. Patients' general condition is poor and febrile course is relatively long. All patients manifested fever and cough, with a presence of dyspnea in most of them. WBC, neutrophil and CRP elevated apparently. The characteristic of pleural effusion indicates empyema. In early stage, the chest X-ray and CT showed high-density lobar lesions, followed by low-density lesions and cyst gradually. Bulla of lung and/or hydropneumothorax may appear at the late stage. But if diagnosed and treated promptly, the prognosis of SPNP was relatively good.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Dyspnea ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Female ; Fever ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukocyte Count ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Methylprednisolone ; therapeutic use ; Pleural Effusion ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Pneumonia, Pneumococcal ; complications ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To establish the cell model of human neuroblastoma cell( SH-SY5Y cell) exposed to1,2-dichloroethane( 1,2-DCE) in vitro and to explore the mechanism of 1,2-DCE-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells.METHODS: SH-SY5Y cells were collected in their logarithmic growth phase and cultured in complete medium that had final concentrations of 1,2-DCE in 0,10,20,30,40,50,60,70 and 80 mmol / L for 24 hours. Cell morphology was observed and cell survival rate was examined by CCK-8 assay. Using chemical colorimetric method, the activity of lactic dehydrogenase( LDH) in the cell culture supernatant,and the intracellular level of malondialdehyde( MDA),the intracellular activities of superoxide dismutase( SOD) and adenosine triphosphate( ATP) enzymes were detected. RESULTS: With the increasing exposure concentrations of 1,2-DCE,the cell density of SH-SY5Y cells gradually decreased,the synapse became shorter,the membrane ruptured,cytoplasm condensed and cytoplasmic contents overflowed increased.With the increasing concentration of 1,2-DCE,the cell survival rate decreased( P < 0. 01),the activity of LDH in the cell culture supernatant increased( P < 0. 01). These changes had a dose-effect correlation. Intracellular MDA level,and activities of SOD,Na~+-K~+-ATP enzyme,Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATP enzyme and total ATP enzyme increased at first and then decreased. The activity of LDH in the cell culture supernatant and cell survival rate was negatively correlated( the correlation coefficient is- 0. 907,P < 0. 01). CONCLUSION: 1,2-DCE could inhibit the proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells.The mechanism may be related to the permeability change of cell membrane,cellular damage from excessive free radicals,the decrease of free radical scavenging capacity,ATP enzyme activity and calcium overloading. SH-SY5Y cells can be used as a common cell line for 1,2-DCE cytotoxicity analysis.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness and mechanisms of molecular adsorbents recirculating system (MARS) treatment in severe liver failure patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).

METHODS60 single MARS treatments were performed for 6 - 24 hours on 24 severe liver failure patients with MODS.

RESULTSMARS therapy was associated with marked reduction of albumin bound toxins and water soluble toxins, together with a significant removal of NO and certain cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and INF-gamma. These were associated with a improvement of the patients' clinical conditions including hepatic encephalopathy, deranged hemodynamic situation, as well as renal and respiratory function, thus resulted into marked decrease of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (from 9.72+-1.89 to 6.98+-2.34), and improving outcome: 9 patients were able to be discharged from the hospital or bridged to successful liver transplantation. The overall survival rate of 24 patients was 37.5%.

CONCLUSIONSThere is positive therapeutic impact and safety to use MARS on liver failure patients with MODS. The effectiveness of MARS is correlated with reducing the levels of NO and cytokines, except for completely removing of accumulated toxins in liver failure patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bioreactors ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Interleukin-8 ; blood ; Liver Failure, Acute ; blood ; therapy ; Liver, Artificial ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Organ Failure ; therapy ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Sorption Detoxification ; instrumentation ; methods ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Genetic risk factors have been shown to contribute to the development of sexual dysfunction. However, the role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene variants in the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) remains unclear. In this study, we recruited 1254 participants who underwent ED assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function-5. The MTHFR c.677C>T variant was also measured by fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No significant difference in the genotypic frequency of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism (CC, CT, and TT) was observed between men from the ED and non-ED groups. In addition, on binary logistic regression analysis, both crude and adjusted models showed that the risk of ED was not significantly associated with the C677T polymorphism. Interestingly, a significantly higher frequency of the 677TT polymorphism was found in severe and moderate ED (P = 0.02). The positive correlation between the MTHFR 677TT polymorphism and severe ED was confirmed by logistic regression analysis, even after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio [OR] = 2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-5.50, P = 0.02). These findings suggest a positive correlation between the MTHFR 677TT polymorphism and the risk of severe ED. Identification of MTHFR gene polymorphisms may provide complementary information for ED patients during routine clinical diagnosis.