Referring to the rules for agricultural seed testing (GB /T 3543-1995) issued by China, the test of sampling, seed purity, weight per 1 000 seeds, seed moisture, seed viability and germination rate had been studied for screening seed quality test methods of Pesudostellaria heterophylla. The seed quality from different collection areas was measured. The results showed that at least 6.5 g seeds should be sampled and passed through 10-mesh sieve for purity analysis. The weight of 1 000 seeds was determined by using the 500-seed method. The phenotypic observation and size measurement were used for authenticity testing. The seed moisture was determined under the higher temperature (130 ± 2) degrees C for 5 hours. The seeds were dipped into 0.2% TTC sustaining 1 hour at 40 degrees C, then the viability could be determined. The break dormancy seeds were cultured on sand at 10 degrees C. K cluster analysis was applied for the data analysis, the seed quality from different collection areas grading of P. Heterophylla was described as three grades. The seed quality of each grade should reach following requirements: for first grade seeds, germination rate ≥ 86%, 1 000-grain weight ≥ 2.59 g, purity ≥ 87%, moisture ≤ 13.1%; for second grade seeds, germination rate ≥ 70%, 1 000-grain weight ≥ 2.40 g, purity ≥ 77%, moisture ≤ 14.3%; for third grade seeds, germination rate ≥ 41%, 1 000-grain weight ≥ 2.29 g, purity ≥ 76%, moisture ≤ 15.8%. The seed testing methods for quality items of P. heterophylla had been initially established, as well as the primary P. heterophylla seed quality classification standard.
Caryophyllaceae ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Germination ; Quality Control ; Seeds ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Water ; analysis

Based on the capacitance coupling principle, we studied a capacitive way of non-contact electrocardiogram (EGG) monitoring, making it possible to obtain ECG on the condition that a patient is habilimented. Conductive fabric with a good electrical conductivity was used as electrodes. The electrodes fixed on a bed sheet is presented in this paper. A capacitance comes into being as long as the body gets close to the surface of electrode, sandwiching the cotton cushion, which acts as dielectric. The surface potential generated by heart is coupled to electrodes through the capacitance. After being processed, the signal is suitable for monitoring. The test results show that 93.5% of R wave could be detected for 9 volunteers and ECG with good signal quality could be acquired for 2 burnt patients. Non-contact ECG is harmless to skin, and it has advantages for those patients to whom stickup electrodes are not suitable. On the other hand, it is convenient to use and good for permanent monitoring.
Electric Conductivity ; Electrocardiography ; instrumentation ; Electrodes ; Humans

Objective To investigate the variation of biomarker of coagulation, anti-coagulation, fibrinolysis in elderly critical patients and find out whether they are related to the disease severity. Methods Sixty-seven patients were no less than 60 years old. Eligible criteria: coincidence with the diagnostic criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and APACHE Ⅱ score was no less than 10 scores. Blood sample was drawn from the venous for the test of biomarker (APTT, PT, TT, D-D, Fib, AT-Ⅲ , PC, PAI-1). According to the existent status,all the patients were divided into two groups:survival group (43 cases) and death group(24 cases) ,meanwhile,according to the diagnostic criteria of MODSE,all the patients were divided into MODSE group (30 cases) and non-MODSE group (37 cases). Results There were significant differences in APACHE Ⅱ score between MODSE group and non-MODSE group, survival group and death group [(25.83 ± 1.19) scores vs(18.1±20.73) scores and(18.81±0.72) scores vs(26.50 ± 1.42) scores](P <0.01). The PT and D-D in MODSE group anti death group were higher than those in non-MODSE group and survival group, the differences were significant (P <0.05),while the activity of AT-Ⅲand PC in MODSE group and death group were lower than those in non-MODSE group and survival group, the differences were significant (P <0.05). The PT,D-D and PAI-1 were positively correlated to APACHE Ⅱ score (related coefficients were 0.328, 0.308, 0.335,P <0.05). The AT-Ⅲ and PC were negatively correlated to APACHE Ⅱ score (related coefficients were -0.469, -0.559,P <0.01). Conclusions The abnormality of eoagnlation-fibfinolysis system exists in elderly critical patients. The extended PT, elevated D-D and PAI-1 ,descended PC and AT-Ⅲ are the hints of disease severity and poor prognosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of intermittent liver-nourishing and mind-regulating acupuncture in preventive treatment of migraine. Method One hundred and twenty migraine patients were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 60 cases each. The treatment group received intermittent liver-nourishing and mind-regulating acupuncture and the control group took flunarizine hydrochloride capsules orally. The migraine score, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score and the headache severity rating score were recorded in the subjects before treatment and at the end of treatment and the 4-week, 8-week, 12-week, 16-week and 20-week follow-ups. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were recorded before and after treatment.Result After one course of treatment, the total efficacy rate was 98.3% in the treatment group and 89.5% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the migraine score between before treatment and at the end of treatment in the two groups (P<0.05) and between the two groups at the same follow-ups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the VAS score between before treatment and at the end of treatment in the two groups (P<0.05) and between the two groups at the same follow-ups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the SAS and SDS scores between before treatment and at the end of treatment in the two groups (P<0.05) and between the two groups after treatment (P<0.05).Conclusion Intermittent liver-nourishing and mind-regulating acupuncture has marked efficacy in preventive treatment of migraine. It can increase the total efficacy rate and reduce the number of relapses.

AIM:To investigate the proliferation property of stable chemerin gene knockdown vascular smooth muscle cells ( VSMCs) and to explore its mechanism .METHODS:The normal VSMCs , chemerin gene interfering control VSMCs and stable chemerin gene knockdown VSMCs were divided into normal group , PDGF group, control group and knockdown group .The VSMCs in PDGF group were given platelet-derived growth factor-BB ( PDGF-BB) to initiate proli-feration.The cell counting and BrdU assay were employed to investigate the proliferation property of VSMCs .The mitogen-activated protein kinase ( MAPK) signal pathway was determined by Western blot .RESULTS:The cell number and BrdU A value in PDGF-BB-treated VSMCs significantly increased as compared with the normal VSMCs ( P<0.05 ) .Compared with the normal VSMCs , the chemerin knockdown VSMCs showed obviously decreased cell number and BrdU A value ( P<0.05).Simultaneously, no significant difference in the proliferation of VSMCs between the normal VSMCs and the control VSMCs was observed.No significant difference of the protein levels of p-ERK1/2, ERK1/2, p-p38 MAPK and p38 MAPK among 4 kinds of VSMCs was found .The protein level of p-JNK in PDGF-BB-treated VSMCs was up-regulated, while it was down-regulated in chemerin knockdown VSMCs compared with the normal VSMCs .CONCLUSION: Chemerin pro-motes the proliferation of mouse vascular smooth muscle cells by up-regulating p-JNK production .

Objective:To detect and verifica the gene profile difference of microRNA-146a (miR-146a) and its role in the pro-liferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) by gene chip technology. Methods: Artificially synthesized miR-146a mimics(50 nmol/L) ,miR-146 inhibitor ( 50 nmol/L ) , scramble ( 50 nmol/L ) and PBS were transfected into cultured primary rat VSMCs in vitro. After transfection,Real time PCR was used to measure the levels of miR-146a and the cell counting kit 8(CCK8) was employed to investigate the proliferation of VSMCs. The VSMCs interfered by miR-146a inhibitor or miR-146a control were examined by gene chips and the profile of gene were analyzed by bioinformatics technology to detect the different genes and signal transduction pathway. The changes in mRNAs and proteins were accessed separately by Real time PCR and Western blot. Results: Compared with sham and control VSMCs,miR-146a expression level was significantly decreased in treatment with miR-146a inhibitor(P<0. 01),as well as optical density(OD) was also shown remarkably down regulated simultaneously(P<0. 05). The investigation of gene profile revealed that the p53 signal pathway was up-regulated in VSMCs interfered by miR-146a. The mRNA and protein expression levels of p53, caspase3 and PTEN in p53 signal transduction pathway didn′t show significant differences(P>0. 05),however,the mRNA and protein expression levels of cyclin D1 significantly increased in treatment with miR-146a mimics VSMCs group and decreased in miR-146a inhibitor VSMCs group ( compared with sham VSMCs group, both P<0. 05 ) . Conclusion: Our data indicated that miR-146a may promote the proliferation of rat VSMCs by up-regulating cyclin D1 expression.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence rate of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) and the effect of low-dose glucocorticoid on prognosis of CIRCI in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). METHODS: Since January 2010 to December 2012, 385 patients, who met the criteria of AECOPD, were enrolled in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the First People's Hospital and Municipal Central Hospital of Xiangtan City. The AECOPD patients complicated with CIRCI screened by an adrenalcorticotrophic hormone test within 12 hours after admission to ICU were divided into a treatment group (n=32) and a control group (n=31) for a prospective, randomized and controlled clinical trial. Hydrocortisone (150 mg/d) or normal saline was injected intravenously for 7 days. The patients were followed up for 28 days after injection. The endpoint included 28-day survival time, non-shock time, ICU stay and the period of non-mechanical ventilation. The markers of inflammation C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 6 and procalcitonin were measured at baseline and 7 days after treatment. The variables were analyzed by Student's t test, the non-parametric statistical test, the Chi-square test or the Kaplan-Meier method with SPSS18.0 statistic software. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Totally 63 patients were diagnosed with CIRCI by an adrenalcorticotrophic hormone test and the prevalence rate was 16.4％. The shock rate of the AECOPD patients complicated with CIRCI was higher than that of the AECOPD patients without CIRCI (23.8％ vs. 8.7％, P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the 28-day survival time of the treatment group was obviously longer than that of the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, shock-free days within 28 days was longer in the treatment group (18.2±9.5 vs. 25.8±4.1, P<0.05). Treatment with low-dose glucocorticoid obviously decreased the markers of infection and inflammation (P<0.01), such as C-reactive protein (13.2±5.5 mg/L vs. 8.3±3.1 mg/L for the control group; 13.5±5.9 mg/L vs. 5.1±2.3 mg/L for the treatment group), tumor necrosis factor-α (26.1±16.2 g/L vs. 17.5±11.7 g/L for the control group; 25.0±14.8 g/L vs. 10.4±7.8 g/L for the treatment group) and procalcitonin (3.88 g/L vs. 2.03 g/L for the control group; 3.77 g/L vs. 1.26 g/L for the treatment group). Furthermore, the markers in the treatment group decreased more obviously than those in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of CIRCI was higher in the patients with AECOPD in the department of critical medicine, and low-dose glucocorticoid treatment for one week reduced the 28-day mortality, shock time and markers of infection and inflammation.

Atropa belladonna is a medicinal plant and main commercial source of tropane alkaloids (TAs) including scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which are anticholine drugs widely used clinically. Based on the high throughput transcriptome sequencing results, the digital expression patterns of UniGenes representing 9 structural genes (ODC, ADC, AIH, CPA, SPDS, PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) involved in TAs biosynthesis were constructed, and simultaneously expression analysis of 4 released genes in NCBI (PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) for verification was performed using qPCR, as well as the TAs contents detection in 8 different tissues. Digital expression patterns results suggested that the 4 genes including ODC, ADC, AIH and CPA involved in the upstream pathway of TAs, and the 2 branch pathway genes including SPDS and TRII were found to be expressed in all the detected tissues with high expression level in secondary root. While the 3 TAs-pathway-specific genes including PMT, CYP80F1, H6H were only expressed in secondary roots and primary roots, mainly in secondary roots. The qPCR detection results of PMT, CYP80F1 and H6H were consistent with the digital expression patterns, but their expression levels in primary root were too low to be detected. The highest content of hyoscyamine was found in tender stems (3.364 mg x g(-1)), followed by tender leaves (1.526 mg x g(-1)), roots (1.598 mg x g(-1)), young fruits (1.271 mg x g(-1)) and fruit sepals (1.413 mg x g(-1)). The highest content of scopolamine was detected in fruit sepals (1.003 mg x g(-1)), then followed by tender stems (0.600 mg x g(-1)) and tender leaves (0.601 mg x g(-1)). Both old stems and old leaves had the lowest content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine. The gene expression profile and TAs accumulation indicated that TAs in Atropa belladonna were mainly biosynthesized in secondary root, and then transported and deposited in tender aerial parts. Screening Atropa belladonna secondary root transcriptome database will facilitate unveiling the unknown enzymatic reactions and the mechanisms of transcriptional control.
Alkaloids ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Atropa belladonna ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; genetics ; Hyoscyamine ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; metabolism ; Tropanes ; metabolism

Objective To study the effects of mild hypothermia (MH) on blood coagulation and cerebral microcirculation in rabbits after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Method A total of 24 New Zealand rabbits were randomly (random number) divided equally into normothermic group (NT) and MH group. CPR model was established by ventricular fibrillation induced by using alternating current. The rabbits of NT group were observed for 12 h in room temperature after restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The mild hypothermia was induced in the rabbits of group MH by surface cooling after ROSC, and maintained for 12 h after the aimed low temperature reached. The PT (prothrombin time), APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time), INR (international normalized ratio of prothrombin), D-dimmer (DD) , blood platelet count (BPC) , anti-thrombin Ⅲ activity (AT-Ⅲ) and protein C activity (PC) were measured before CPR and 4 h, 8 h and 12 h after ROSC, and at the same time the cerebral microcirculation was measured by using PERIMED Multichannel Laser Doppler system. One-way ANOVA or Mann-Whitney rank was used to determine the statistical significance between two groups. LSD-t test was used for multiple comparisons,t test for comparisons of means between two independent samples, and Pearson correlation test for correlation analysis. Results The PT, APTT and INR showed a trend of gradually shortening during the course. The APTT in 12 h after ROSC was significantly shorter than that before CPR (23.32 ±5.19 vs. 29.53 ±5.10,P = 0.025), and the activity of AT- Ⅲ and PC were decreased significantly. Compared with the group NT,the PT, APTT and INR in group MH were increased significantly, while there were no differences in the activity of AT- Ⅲ, PC and D-D between two groups. The rates of cerebral microcirculation in group NT before CPR and 4 h, 8 h and 12 h after ROSC were 401.60 ± 11.76 mL/min, 258.86 ± 34. 58 mL/min,317.59 ± 23.36 mL/min and 371.98 ± 5.79 mL/min, respectively, and those in group MT were 398.18 ±12.91 mL/min, 336.19 ± 19.27 mL/min, 347.76 ± 13.80 mL/min and 383.78 ± 3.29 mL/min, respectively. There were significant differences between two groups at each interval after ROSC (4 h: t = - 6.025,df=16, P=0.000;8 h: t= -2.942, df=12, P=0.012;12 h: t= -3.959, df=8, P=0.004). The Pearson correlation test showed that the rate of cerebral microcirculation was positive correlated with APTT after ROSC (4 h:R =0.503,P=0.033;8 h:R=0. 565,P=0. 035;12 h:R=0. 774,P=0. 009), and was not correlated with the other blood coagulants. Conclusions The mild hypothermia led to the inhibition of blood coagulation and improved the cerebral microcirculation concomitantly, which may be one of the mechanism of cerebral protection.

Objective To establish a simple,easily-producible and practical cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation model in rabbits.Method Cardiac ventricular fibrillation was induced in 27 New Zealand rabbits by alternating electric current.The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups according to the duration of untreated cardiac arrest(CA):CA-8 min group(n = 9),CA-5 min group(n = 9)and CA-3 min group(n = 9).All animals received cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR)until return of spontaneous circulation(ROSC).The sample of vein blood was collected for the measurement troponin I level at 4 hours after ROSC.The animals were sacrificed at 72 hours after ROSC,hippocampus were removed and fixed in 3%formalin,and coronal sections were analyzed by TUNEL staining and N1SSLE staining.The other two animals without ventricular fibrillation or CPR served as sham-operated group.One-way ANOVA or Mann-Whitney rank was used to determine the statistical significance among the three groups.R×C test was used for ROSC,LSD test for multiple comparisons,and t test for comparisons of means between two independent samples.A two-tailed value of P＜0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results There were no differences in rate of ROSC among groups.No animals survived until 72 hours after ROSC in CA-8 min group and CA-5 min group,while three animals in CA-3 min group survived.In group CA-8 min,CA-5 min and CA-3 min,the survival time of animals after ROSC were(1.67 ± 2.55)h,(37.78 ± 30.27)h,(12.0 ± 14.97)h,respectively.There were significant differences in the survival time of animals after ROSC and troponin I level after ROSC 4 h between CA-3 min group and the other two groups(P＜0.05).Compared with animals in CA-3 min group,sham-operated animals(n = 2)did not have neuronal degeneration or TUNEL positive cells in the hippocampus CA1 area.Conclusions CPR initiated as soon as 3 min after CA can give longer survival tome to the rabbits.The rabbits have neuronal degeneration and apoptosis in the hippocampus CA1 area at 72 hours after ROSC.It may be an ideal animal model for investigation on CPCR.