AIM: To establish the quality standard for Compound Yiqi Granules (Radix Astragali, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae, etc.). METHODS: Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae; Herba Epimedii were identified by TLC. The content of astragaloside IV in Compound Yiqi Granules was determined by TLCS. RESULTS: The methodological study showed a good linear correlation at the range of 1.12-5.60 ?g of astragaloside IV. The average recovery of astragaloside IV was 97.69% and RSD was 2.10%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The method is simple, accurate and with good repeatability. The method can be used for quality control of Compound Yiqi Granules.

Long non-coding RNA ( LncRNA) is a class of transcript (>200 nucleotides) that do not encode proteins. It plays an important role in epigenetic regulation and gene expression at transcriptional or post transcriptional level. The abnormal expression of LncRNA may lead to various pathological processes. Diabetic retinopathy ( DR ) is a multifactorial disease. Recent studies have shown that many specific expressions of LncRNAs are closely related to the genesis of DR. In this review, we summarized the recent advances in the function of LncRNA, the regulatory mechanisms of LncRNA involved in the development of DR, and the related therapies.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary experimental study found that the human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs)transplantation can improve nerve injury symptoms of rats with cerebral infarction.OBJECTIVE: To observe the survival, colonization and differentiation of hAMSCs in the infarct area of cerebralinfarction rats.METHODS: Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into hAMSCs transplantation, model or shamoperation groups (n=20/group). Animal models of middle cerebral artery occlusion were produced in the model andtransplantation groups by Zea-Longa method. One day after modeling, rats in the hAMSCs transplantation groupwere given in situ transplantation of 10 μL of hAMSCs (2×106) into the damaged striatum and cortex, while those inthe model and sham operation group were given the same volume of PBS. Within 1 week after transplantation, ratneurological defects were assessed and changes in their body mass were continuously monitored. Two weeks aftertransplantation, TTC staining was used to observe cerebral infarct size, hematoxylin-eosin staining was used forpathological observation of brain tissues, and immunofluorescent staining was used to detect expression ofneuron-specific nuclear protein.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: With time, weight loss was increased while neurologic deficit scores were graduallyreduced in the hAMSCs and model groups. Compared with the model group, the weight loss and neurologic deficitscores were lower in the hAMSCs group,; however, there was a significant difference in the neurologic deficit scoresbut not in the weight loss between the two groups. Additionally, the hAMSCs significantly reduced infarct size,attenuated pathologic injury, and decreased the number of inflammatory cells. Immunofluorescence stainingshowed that the hAMSCs were observed at 1 week after transplantation under inverted luorescence microscope,and gradually differentiated into nerve cells at 2 weeks after transplantation. In conclusion, transplanted hAMSCsmay migrate to and survive in the cerebral infarct region, and differentiate into nerve cells in situ in rats with cerebralinfarction.

Objective To investigate the value of prophylactic irradiation to the lymphatic drainage area in radical three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of 3DCRT with different clinical target volumes.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the records of 219 esophageal cancer patients without distant metastasis who received 3DCRT from January 2005 to December 2010.One hundred and five patients received involved-field irradiation (IFI) with a total dose of 54-66 Gy;114 patients received elective nodal irradiation (ENI) with a total dose of 46-52 Gy; the prescribed dose to the primary lesion was 56-70 Gy.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) rates,and the log-rank test was used for univariate prognostic analysis.Results The 1-,3-,and 5-year sample sizes were 219,172 and 67,respectively.The 1-,3-,and 5-year LC rates for IFI group were 63.0％,39.1％,and 27.2％,respectively,versus 70.5％,53.3％,and 51.7％ for ENI group (x2 =6.22,P =0.013) ;the 1-,3-,and 5-year OS rates for IFI group were 67.6％,24.9％,and 15.0％,respectively,versus 73.7％,45.1％,and 26.0％ for ENI group (x2=5.04,P =0.025).The univariate stratified analysis showed that the LC and OS rates were significantly higher in the ENI group than in the IFI group for patients with middle-or lower-thoracic primary lesion or N0 disease (P=0.007,0.015;P=0.054,0.013).Conclusions For esophageal cancer patients with middle-or lower-thoracic primary lesion or without lymph node metastasis,prophylactic irradiation to the lymphatic drainage area can increase LC and OS rates.

Child ; Humans ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Sepsis ; therapy ; Shock, Septic ; therapy

Objective To evaluate the effects of soy isoflavones on bone density (BMD) in women in randomized clinical trials by meta-analysis. Method We searched the databases the Medline, Pubmed, and CNKI from January 1990 to October 2007 using the keywords, phytoestrogen, isoflavone, soy, genistein in combination with bone. We only included the studies of randomized clinical trial, in which the data of BMDs at lumbar spine, total hip or femoral neck prior to and post isoflavone intervention or their relevant changes and their standard deviation or 95% CI in women were provided. Results Sixteen papers (1304 women, 91% postmenopausal) were included and a mean daily dose of 73 mg supplemental soy isoflavones resulted in weighted mean (%)(95%CI) difference in yearly BMD changes of 18.3 (2.0%,CI 6.0~30.6) and 3.3(0.40%,CI 0.5~6.1) mg/cm2 at the lumber spine and total hip, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that the effects were more pronounced in those with the isoflavone dose ≥80 mg/d than those of

Objective To study the related factors of postpartum depression (PPD) and the effects of intervening measures to PPD incidence. Methods 1 597 pregnant women selected from our antenatal care clinic were investigated by using the hospital anxiety and depression questionnaire (HAD) during pregnancy and the Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) after childbirth.All the enrolled women were randomlyd divided into control group and intervening group by the proportion of 1 to 2.Six intervening measures were used in the latter group. Results (1) There were 49 women whose HAD≥11 score (anxiety-depression mood)with 28 cases (57.1%) had got postpartum depression in the control group.In the intervening group,however,there were 94 women whose HAD≥11 score with 24 cases (25.5%) had got postpartum depression.There is a significant difference between the two groups ( P

Objective To apply RNA interference technique for reducing the expression of MDC1 gene in esophageal carcinoma cell line ECA109, observe the changes in cell cycle and radiosensitivity after radiation, and discuss related mechanisms. Methods Three pairs of effective interference sequences and negative control sequences were synthesized for MDC1 mRNA sequence, and a recombinant plasmid was constructed with the vector pSIH1?H1?copGFP. RT?PCR and Western blot were used to determine the expression levels of MDC1 mRNA and protein. Colony?forming assay was applied to measure radiosensitivity, flow cytometry to determine cell cycle, Western blot to determine the expression of CHK1 and CHK2 proteins, and laser scanning confocal microscope to observe the number of MDC1 blotches inside the nucleus. One?way analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences between groups. Results The pSIH1?H1?copGFP plasmid was constructed successfully and ECA109 cells were infected to obtain ECA109M cells with stable transfection. The expression levels of MDC1 mRNA and protein in ECA109M cells were lower than those in ECA109N and ECA109 cells ( P= 0. 032 and 0. 041, respectively ) . After 5?Gy radiation, ECA109M cells had a lower proportion of G2+M cells than ECA109N and ECA109 cells ( P=0. 026) . After 5?Gy radiation, ECA109, ECA109N, and ECA109M cells had similar expression levels of CHK1 and CHK2 proteins ( P= 0. 345 and 0. 451, respectively ) , and ECA109M cells had a lower expression level of CHK2 T68 protein than ECA109 and ECA109N cells ( P=0. 012) . ECA109 cells had a D0 value of 3. 06 Gy and an SF2 value of 0. 91;the D0 values for ECA109N and ECA109M cells were 2. 90 Gy and 1. 88 Gy, respectively, and the SF2 values for them were 0. 89 and 0. 84, respectively ( P=0. 021 and 0. 037, respectively ) . Conclusions RNA interference can reduce the expression levels of MDC1 protein and cell cycle?related proteins, release cell cycle arrest, and enhance radiosensitivity in esophageal carcinoma ECA109 cells.

Aim To investigate the effects of Aplysin on the inhibition of gastric cancer cell in vitro .Methods MTT assay was used to examine the inhibition of gastric cancer cell 1ine SGC-7901 by Aplysin in different concentrations and at different times.The morphologic changes and the apoptosis of SGC-7901 was observed by inverted microscope and Hematoxylin-Eosin(HE)staining.Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)assay was used to detect the changes of COX-2 mRNA expressions.Results Aplysin could decrease the proliferation significantly in a dose-dependent manner in SGC-7901 cells.When treating SGC-7901 with Aplysin in concentration of 120, 240 mg·L~(-1) for 24 h, the growth of the cell was obviously inhibited observing by inverted microscope.Aiso, when treating with the same concentration for 18 h, its chromatin became crimpled and breakdown, as well as cell shrinkage and apoptotic bodies formation when using HE staining.The apoptotic rates(%)of SGC-7901 was(15.0±2.12)%, (18.4±2.3)%, respectively, which was significantly higher than(1.4±0.55)% that in control group(P <0.01).60、120、240 mg·L~(-1) Aplysin could not effectively inhibited the mRNA expressions of COX-2(P ＞0.05).Conclusions Aplysin can inhibit the proliferation and induces apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells.

Objective To investigate the effects of inhibition of MDC1 protein expression on xenografted tumors in nude mice,and to observe the histopathological and cellular changes in nude mice.Methods Three pairs of effective and control short hairpin RNA targeting MDC1 mRNA were designed and cloned into the pSIH1-H1-copGFP vector.Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to determine the mRNA and protein expression of MDC1.After selection by copGFP reporter gene,cells were divided into negative transfection group (ECA109-N) and MDC1 transfection group (ECA109-M).The transfected cells were injected into nude mice.The mice were divided into ECA109 group,ECA109-N group,and ECA109-M group.Each group was divided into irradiation subgroup and non-irradiation subgroup.The changes in tumor size after irradiation were evaluated in each group.Western blot was used to measure the expression of CHK1,CHK2,and CHK2T68 in xenografted tumors.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the cell cycle distribution and apoptosis of tumor cells in nude mice.The variance analysis was used to compare the mean of multiple groups,and the SNK-q test was used in the two two groups.Results The pMDC1-shRNA plasmid was successfully constructed and used to transfect ECA109 cells.ECA109-M cells were obtained by stable transfection with the recombinant plasmid.All inoculated nude mice survived with visible xenografted tumors at the underside of the paw in about one week.There was no swelling and wound in inoculation sites.There was no significant difference in tumor size between different groups (P＞0.05).The tumor growth in the ECA109 group and the ECA109-N group significantly slowed down after irradiation with a dose of 15 Gy (P＜0.05).Compared with the other two groups,the ECA109-M group had a significant smaller tumor size,significantly slower relative tumor growth,and significantly higher growth inhibition (all P＜0.05).The q value of the ECA109-M group was 1.36.In the ECA109-M group,there were no significant changes in the protein expression of CHK1 and CHK2 after irradiation (P＞ 0.05);however,the phosphorylation of CHK2T68 protein was significantly reduced after irradiation (P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in cell cycle distribution or the proportion of apoptotic cells in tumor tissue between the three groups (P＞0.05).Conclusions Inhibition of MDC1 protein expression by RNA interference can effectively inhibit the growth of xenografted tumors after irradiation in the nude mice by increasing their radiosensitivity.