Objective To investigate the vascular effect of hydroxyl-safflor yellow A(HSYA) on rat thoracic aorta and its underlying mechanism. Methods The tension of isolated thoracic aorta rings of rats perfused with different concentrations of HSYA(1?10-6-1?10-4 mol/L) was measured using organ bath technique.The effects of HSYA on the vasocontraction induced by cumulative phenylephrine(PE)(1?10-6-1?10-4 mol/L),KCl(6?10-2 mol/L) and CaCl2(1?10-5-3?10-3 mol/L) were recorded respectively. Results HSYAcaused a concentration-dependent anti-contraction effects by KCl or PE in endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded aortic rings.HSYA inhibited the CaCl2-induced contraction and downward shifted concentration-response curve of aortic rings.HSYA+HP resulted in more significant anti-contraction effect than single use of HSYA(P0.05).There were significant differences in anti-contraction effect between HSYA+RR and RR or HSYA(P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical outcomes of cannulated screw combined with buttress plate in treating transarticular shear fractures of the distal humerus.

METHODSFrom July 2008 to December 2011, 17 patients with shear fractures of the distal humerus were treated with cannulated screw combined with buttress plate. Among them, included 10 males and 7 females aged from 20 to 59 years old (mean 36.5). All the fractures were classified into type I (8 cases), type II (1 case), type III (3 cases) and type IV (5 cases) according to Bryan-Morrey and McKee classification. According to AO/ASIF classification, 10 cases were type 13B3.1, 7 cases were type 13B3.3; according to Dubberley classification, 5 cases with type 1A, 2 cases with type 1B, 2 cases with type 2A, 2 cases with type 2B, 4 cases with type 3A, 2 cases with type 3B. There were 12 cases with fresh injuries, 4 cases with old injuries. All fractures were closed injuries. Complications and range of motion of elbow were observed, and clinical efficacy were evaluated by Broberg-Morrey standard.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up with a mean time of 21.3 months (ranged, 18 to 24). All fractures obtained bone healing from 10 to 15 weeks with a mean of 12.5 weeks. No malunion or delayed healing occurred. Two cases occurred ossification in lateral collateral ligament attachment. 2 cases occurred heterotopic ossification in the capitellum in front of capsule joint. The range of elbow extension was (16 +/- 7) degrees, flexion was (115 +/- 9) degrees, the average are of pronation and supination was (65 +/- 5) degrees and (60 +/- 5) degrees respectively. According to Broberg-Morrey standard, there were excellent in 7 cases, good in 8 cases, fair in 2 cases, and average score was 92.44 +/- 4.64.

CONCLUSIONFor transarticular shear fractures of the distal humerus, classification should be performed according to preoperative X-ray and CT, cannulated screw and buttress plate combined and early function rehabilitation could recover elbow function.

Adult ; Bone Plates ; Bone Screws ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Humeral Fractures ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Range of Motion, Articular

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of endophytic fungi.

METHODA. formosanus, harvested after having been cultured for age, statistics were taken, fresh weight and dry weight were gained, and enzyme activities of chitinase, beta-1,3-glucase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and polyphenoloxidase were determined.

RESULTThe survial rates of A. formosanus inoculated with endophytic fungi was 100%. The effect of fungi on fresh weight was very significant (P < 0.01). The effect of fungi on dry weight was significant (P > 0.05). The four enzyme activities were enhanced by endophytic fungi, comparision with the controls.

CONCLUSIONSurvial rates of A. formosanus can be increased by using endophytic fungi in vitro culture.

Catechol Oxidase ; analysis ; Chitinases ; analysis ; Mycorrhizae ; physiology ; Orchidaceae ; enzymology ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase ; analysis ; Plants, Medicinal ; enzymology ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Symbiosis ; beta-Glucans ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics, and treatments of urothelial-type mucinous adenocarcinoma of the prostate (UMAP).

METHODSWe reported a case of UMAP, reviewed relevant literature, and analyzed the clinicopaothological features, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of the disease.

RESULTSThe patient was a 60-year-old male and underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for dysuria. Postoperative pathology indicated mucinous adenocarcinoma and sigmoidoscopy revealed no primary colon cancer. Immunohistochemical staining showed the negative expressions of PSA and P504s and positive expressions of CK7, CK34 β E12, CK20, and CDX2. Thus UMAP was confirmed and treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Then the patient was followed up for 30 months, which showed desirable therapeutic result, with neither local progression nor distant metastasis.

CONCLUSIONUMAP has a bad prognosis and its diagnosis depends on pathological and immunohistocchemical examinations. It responds well to radical prostatectomy but is not sensitive to endocrine therapy. Radiotherapy can be considered for those who are not fit to receive radical prostatectomy.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Keratins ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Racemases and Epimerases ; metabolism

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) is a key enzyme in the polyamines biosynthesis, thus is essential for basic physiological and biochemical processes in plant. In the present study, a full length cDNA of DoSAMDC1 gene was obtained from symbiotic germinated seeds of an endangered medicinal orchid species Dendrobium officinale, using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE)-PCR technique for the first time. The full length cDNA was 1 979 bp, with three open reading frames, i.e. tiny-uORF, small-uORF and main ORF (mORF). The mORF was deduced to encode a 368 amino acid (aa) protein with a molecular mass of 40.7 kD and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.2. The deduced DoSAMDC1 protein, without signal peptide, had two highly conserved function domains (proenzyme cleavage site and PEST domain) and a 22-aa transmembrane domain (89-110). Multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic relationship analyses revealed DoSAMDC1 had a higher level of sequence similarity to monocot SAMDCs than those of dicot. Expression patterns using qRT-PCR analyses showed that DoSAMDC1 transcripts were expressed constitutively without significant change in the five tissues (not infected with fungi). While in the symbiotic germinated seeds, the expression level was enhanced by 2.74 fold over that in the none-germinated seeds, indicating possible involvement of the gene in symbiotic seed germination of D. officinale.
Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Basidiomycota ; physiology ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Dendrobium ; enzymology ; genetics ; microbiology ; Germination ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal ; enzymology ; genetics ; microbiology ; Seeds ; genetics ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Sequence Alignment ; Symbiosis ; physiology

A total of 52 endophytic fungi were isolated from roots and stems of Tibetan medicinal plant Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee. These fungal isolates were molecularly identified based on ITS sequnces and 28S sequences distributed to 12 genera, including Phoma, Chaetosphaeronema, Fusarium and Leptosphaeria, etc. Among them, the dominant genus was Phoma. Extracts of all strains were evaluated for anti-HIV-1 integrase activity by using soluable integrase expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The results showed that seven samples from five fungal endophytes PHY-24, PHY-38, PHY-40, PHY-51, PHY-53, which belonged to genus Chaetosphaeronema, inhibited strand transfer reaction catalyzed by HIV-1 integrase with IC50 values, of 6.60, 5.20, 2.86, 7.86, 4.47, 4.56 and 3.23 microg x mL(-1) respectively. In conclusion, the endophytic fungi of Phlomis younghusbandii Mukerjee are valuable for further screening anti-HIV-1 integrase agents.
Ascomycota ; enzymology ; isolation & purification ; Chaetomium ; enzymology ; isolation & purification ; Endophytes ; enzymology ; isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli ; enzymology ; HIV Integrase ; genetics ; metabolism ; HIV Integrase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Phlomis ; microbiology ; Phylogeny ; Plant Roots ; microbiology ; Plant Stems ; microbiology ; Plants, Medicinal ; microbiology ; Plasmids ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism

A new oleanane-type triterpenoid glycoside, 3beta-O-(f-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 -->3)]-beta-D-fucopyranosyl-11, 13(18) diene-olean-23alpha, 28 diol (1), along with three known phenylethyl glycosides (2-4), was isolated from the root of traditional Chinese medicine Scrophularia ningpoensis. Among them, compounds 2 and 3 were obtained from Scrophularia genus for the first time. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic method including 1D, 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glycosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scrophularia ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

Objective To study the MRI appearance and clinical features of dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT) to improve accurate diagnosis of DNT. Methods The clinical data and MRI appearance of 12 patients with DNT confirmed by surgery and pathology were analyzed retrospectively. Routine MRI was performed in all of the 12 patients, and also dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging in 10 of them. Results Eight lesions resided in the temporal lobes, 2in the frontal lobe, and the other 2 in the parietal lobe. All of the 12 DNTs located in supratentorial hemisphere cortex, and 6 of them encroached the adjacent white matter. The lesions appeared as hypointense or iso-hypointense signal on T1WI of MRI, and hyperintense on T2WI and FLAIR of MRI.Cystic structure was shown in all the lesions or as its main part, and mesh-separated structure was also noted in some of the tumors. Five lesions appeared as a triangle in shape, 5 in gyrus-like shape and the remaining 2 in round shape. All the tumors had no significant mass effect with 1 having mild edema around the tumor. Enhanced MR imaging showed only 1 lesion having slight and heterogeneous enhancement. Conclusion DNT is accorded with general tumor's biological characteristics. MRI has great value on DNT's diagnosis. If a cystic lesion locates in the hemisphere cortex with a triangle in shape or gyrus-like shape, having no significant mass effect and peripheral edema, it has a great possibility of being DNT.

The present work was to investigate the effects of vasonatrin peptide (VNP) on cardiomyocyte protein synthesis induced by moderate hypoxia. In cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, MTT methods, total protein measurement and (3)H-leucine incorporation were used to calculate the cell number and measure the protein synthesis of cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, radioimmunoassay was undertaken to observe the effects of VNP on the intracellular levels of cAMP, cGMP and the concentration of endothelin (ET) in the culture medium. The results showed that both the cell number and protein synthesis decreased with severe hypoxia for 24 h. In contrast, under moderate hypoxia, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy developed; the protein synthesis as evidenced by total protein content and 3H-eucine incorporation increased significantly. VNP reduced cardiomyocyte protein synthesis induced by moderate hypoxia in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, VNP increased the intracellular level of cGMP and decreased the concentration of ET in the culture medium under moderate hypoxia, but had no effect on the level of cAMP. These results suggest that VNP inhibits moderate hypoxia-induced protein synthesis in cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. This effect is mediated, at least in part, by an increase in intracellular cGMP, a reduction in synthesis, and/or a release in ET of cardiomyocytes.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; pharmacology ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Cyclic AMP ; metabolism ; Cyclic GMP ; metabolism ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Endothelins ; biosynthesis ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; Protein Biosynthesis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo prevent chronic severe hepatitis, even more fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) occurrence in patients with chronic hepatitis B of severe degree using steroid.

METHODS120 patients were randomized into conventional supporting treatment and steroid treatment groups. The latter, 62 patients were given intravenously hydrocortisone sodium succinate at the dose of 150 mg to approximately 200 mg everyday plus support care.

RESULTSThe rate of deteriorating to chronic severe hepatitis in steroid treatment group was significantly lower than that of conventional group (22% vs 48%, x(2) =7.60, P<0.01). 53.6% (15/28) patients with chronic severe hepatitis in conventional group died, while only 28.6% (4/14) in steroid treatment group succumbed to terminal liver disease (x(2)=0.02, P>0.05). There was no difference between the two groups regarding to complications incidence: gastrointestinal bleeding and infections except for some controllable serious reverse events, such as candidiasis, diabetes, herpes zoster and pulmonary tuberculosis found in some patients in steroid-treated group.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that steroid administration with improved support care not only is likely to prevent chronic severe hepatitis occurrence in patients with chronic viral hepatitis of severe degree, but also shows some efficacy for FHF, which warrant further investigation.

Adult ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Liver Failure ; prevention & control ; Male