The contents of coumarins in the sulfur fumigated Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi, ADR) were reduced significantly. To achieve the quality control of ADR, the qualitative identification of sulfur fumigated ADR and quantitative model of imperatorin content should be established. The near-infrared (NIR) spectrograms of non-sulfur and sulfur fumigated ADR were collected by NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy technology and pretreated by the method of first derivative derivation and vector normalization. The Ward's Algorithm method was used for the cluster analysis. The non-sulfur and sulfur fumigated ADR can be quickly identified in the range of 8,806. 0-3 811.0 cm(-1) based on the cluster analysis. The NIR quantitative model of imperatorin was established by the contents of imperatorin determined by HPLC in combination with partial least squares regression analysis. According to the calibration model established in this study, correlation coefficients (R2), the root-mean-square error of cross-validation (RMSECV), and the root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) for imperatorin were 0.982 8, 0.006 8, 0.011 8, respectively. The quantitative model of imperatorin can be applied to determine the content of imperatorin in ADR accurately.
Angelica ; chemistry ; classification ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods ; Sulfur ; chemistry

Objective To analyze the clinical features of melioidosis,explore its diagnosis and treatment methods.Methods 35 patients who were with pathogenic evidence of melioidosis and admitted in a hospital between March 2012 and February 2017 were analyzed retrospectively.Results Of 35 patients at admission,2 (5.7％) were with confirmed culture result of melioidosis in the other hospitals,3 (8.6％) highly suspected patients had relatively typical clinical features,30 (85.7％) were misdiagnosed,suspected patients were all confirmed melioidosis through the cultured result of Burkholderia pseudomallei from all kinds of specimens.Through treatment of anti-infection,surgical drainage (11.4％) and operation (20.0％),26 cases (74.3 ％) were improved or recovered,2 (5.7％) abandoned treatment,and 7 (20.0％) died.The most common initial symptom was fever (88.6％),followed by cough (34.3％),shortness of breath(28.6％),abdominal pain (14.6％),extremity pain (11.4％),and joint pain (5.7％);the top five infection sites were blood (85.7％),lung (54.3％),spleen (20.0％),skin and soft tissue (20.0％),and liver (14.3％);85.7％ of Burkholderia pseudomallei were isolated from blood culture,37.1％ and 20.0％ were isolated from all kinds of puncture fluid and sputum respectively.Conclusion Clinical features of melioidosis are diverse,misdiagnosis rate is high.Early,timely,rational,and enough treatment course can reduce the mortality and recurrence rate of melioidosis.

Six thousand and forty-four subjects in Jiangsu community were enrolled to investigate the relationship between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and blood pressure. It was shown that subclinical thyroid dysfunction, including both the subclinical hyperthyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism, had no relationship with increased blood pressure.

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents contained in the seeds of Cucumis sativus.

METHODThe fatty oil was extracted by heating and refluxing with petroleum ether. Potassium hydroxide-methanol solution was used for saponification. An unsaponifiable matter was extracted by EtOAc and separated with various chromatographic methods. Its structure was identified on the basis of their physicochemical properties and spectral data. The fatty acid fraction was methyl-esterified and determined by GC. The composition and relative content of fatty acid were determined with normalization method of peak area.

RESULT24-ethylcholesta-7, 22, 25-trienol (1), 24-ethylcholesta-7, 25-dienol (2) ,avenasterol (3), spinasterol (4), karounidiol (5) and isokarounidiol (6) were separated and identified from the unsaponifiable matter. Myristic acid (7, 0.12%), palmitic acid (8, 12.04%), palmitoleic acid (9, 0.09%), heptadecanoic acid (10, 0.06%), stearic acid (11, 5.64%), oleic acid (12, 6.95%), linoleic acid (13, 74.40%), arachidic acid (14, 0.19%), and alpha-linolenic acid (15, 0.51%) were identified from the fatty acids part.

CONCLUSIONCompounds 5, 6, 9, 10, 14,and 15 were first reported in C. sativus.

Cucumis sativus ; chemistry ; Fatty Acids ; analysis ; Plant Oils ; analysis ; Seeds ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo develop an objective bioassay for quantitative detection of HIV-induced cell-cell fusion for screening HIV entry inhibitors.

METHODSHL2/3 cells expressing HIV envelope proteins gp120/gp41, Tat, and other HIV proteins were co-cultured with HeLa-CD4-LTR-beta-gal cells expressing CD4 receptor and HIV LTR triggered reporter gene beta-galactosidase. The enzyme activities of beta-galactosidase were detected by a chromogenic substrate, chlorophenol red-beta-galactopyranoside (CPRG). Specific HIV entry inhibitors were used to validate the established detecting method.

RESULTSNo syncytium was formed by mixing HL2/3 and HeLa-CD4-LTR-beta-gal cells. However, the membrane could be fused and the Tat expressed by HL2/3 cells could bind to HIV LTR on HeLa-CD4-LTR-beta-gal cells and trigger the expression of beta-galactosidase. CPRG allowed quantitative and sensitive detection of the activity of beta-galactosidase. Further studies showed that HIV entry inhibitors could inhibit the activity of beta-galactosidase in a dose-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONWe have developed a simple, cheap, objective and quantitative non-infectious cell-cell fusion bioassay that can be used to screen for anti-HIV agents targeting the virus entry from natural and synthetic compound libraries.

Biological Assay ; Cell Fusion ; Cell Line ; Coculture Techniques ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; methods ; HIV Envelope Protein gp120 ; metabolism ; HIV Envelope Protein gp41 ; metabolism ; HIV Fusion Inhibitors ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; beta-Galactosidase ; metabolism

Differences and relations between effects of acupuncture therapy and sham acupuncture are systematically analyzed in this article through the influential factors of acupuncture effect. And it is held that sham acupuncture effect is not exactly equal to placebo effect. The effects of both acupuncture and sham acupuncture are composed by specific effects and non-specific effects, and the differences of non-specific effects between acupunc ture and sham acupuncture can be minimized furthest with blinding and randomized method. Therefore, the difference of acupuncture and sham acupuncture treatment rests with the degree of differences of the specific effects. Only when both of the specific effect of acupuncture and the effect of acupuncture are minimized, can it be applied as the ideal placebo control. Consequently when placebo acupunture are setted up, factors such as the body condition, site of stimulation and stimulation parameters which can influence the specific effect of acupuncture should be taken into consideration to produce the relatively minimum specific effect.
Acupuncture Therapy ; psychology ; Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic ; methods ; psychology ; Humans ; Placebo Effect ; Research Design ; Treatment Outcome

In order to establish a real-time RT-PCR based on SYBR Green Ⅱ for detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV),a pair of special primers was designed according to the conserved sequences of ORF2 in GenBank.Result showed that the standard curve of established SYBR Green Ⅱ real-time RT-PCR had a wide dynamic range from 4.10 × 102-4.10 × 108 copies/μL with a linear correlation(r2) of 0.996.The sensitivity could reach 1.00 × 102 copies/μL.The melting curve analysis using SYBR Green Ⅱ dye showed one specific peak with a melting temperature(Tm) of 84.0 C ±0.1 C.No amplification was detected from the RNA samples of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus,classial swine fever virus,transmissible gastroenteritis virus,porcine bocavirus,porcine epidemic dearrhoea virus porcine kobuvirus and porcine rotavirus by this PCR,respectively.Excellent reproducibility was obtained for detecting constructed positive plasmid DNA with intra-assay of 0.83 ％-0.94 ％ and inter-assay of 0.83％-0.94％.Further detection of 61 specimens showed that 9 of them were HEV positive,and the results of the quantitative RT-PCR were the same as that of the conventional RT-PCR.In conclusion,the real-time quantitative RT-PCR for HEV is feasible,the real-time RT-PCR established in this study will be useful for earlier rapid laboratory diagnosis and pathogenesis of HEV.

Objective To detect the hepatotoxicity biomarkers using normal human hepatocyte (HepaRG) and high-content screening,and to combine the micronucleus test and single cell gel electrophoresis to estalish a rapid screening platform for in vitro cytotoxitity and genotoxicity.Methods The effects of rhubarb anthraquinones (AQs) on the reactive oxygen species (ROS),intracellular Ca2+ concentration and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in HepaRG cells were studied using appropriate fluorescent probes Hoechst33342、DCFH-DA、Fluo4-AM、Mito Tracker Red CMX Ros and high-content screening methods,and the potential genotoxiciy triggered by AQs were analyzed using the high-content based cytokinesis block micronucleus test and high throughput comet assay.Results The intracellular ROS level of HepaRG cells was significantly elevated by a 24 h treatment with Emodin (25.0 μg/mL),aloe-emodin (25.0 μg/mL) or chrysophanol (50.0 μg/mL),which are dose-concentration dependent (P ＜ 0.05 and 0.01);the intracellular Ca2+ increased and mitochondrial damage were observed with the treatment of aloe-emodin (25.0 μg/mL) and rhein (50.0 μg/mL,P ＜ 0.05 and 0.01).Comparing to control group,Emodin (25.0 μg/mL) induced an increased micronucleus rate (1.59％ ± 0.68 ％,P ＜ 0.01) and significantly higher percentage tail DNA and Olive tail moment (respectively 10.155％ ± 2.17％ and 0.510 ± 0.06,P ＜ 0.05 and 0.01) after 24 h;while the chrysophanol increased the micronucleus rate to 1.29％ ± 0.54％ (P ＜ 0.01) after 72 h.Conelnsion The results on the cytotoxicities and genotoxicities of AQs are consistent with the literatures.In this study,a rapid screening model for both hepatotoxicity and genotoxicity was successfully established,which will help with the early screening during the drug development stage.

Objective By analyzing the cases of cryptorchidism owing to dysplasia in children to explore how to apply orchidectomy in the treatment of children with cryptorchidism. Methods Two hundred and seven cryptorchi-dism patients with dysplasia who underwent surgical treatment were collected in the Department of Urology,Anhui Province Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from July 2005 to May 2016. All the patients were true cryptorchidism,aged from 0. 6 to 11. 4 years [(4. 7 ± 1. 2)years]. There were 78 cases of left cryptorchidism,104 cases of right cryptorchidism and 25 cases of bilateral cryptorchidism. All cases underwent ultrasound examination be-fore surgery,showing that there were no testis in 53 cases,testicular atrophy or dysplasia in 154 cases. All cases under-went surgical treatment,including 149 cases of inguinal incision alone,groin incision combined with laparoscopic explo-ration in 47 cases and simple laparoscopic surgery in 11 cases. Communication with the parents of all the children was conducted during operation. One hundred and sixty - seven cases of mild and moderate testicular dysplasia underwent testicular descending fixation. Forty cases of severe dysplasia or testicular atrophy,including 16 cases of intrahepatic unilateral cryptorchidism and 22 cases of unilateral cryptorchidism outside the abdomen which underwent testicular resection,while 2 cases of bilateral cryptorchidism with severe dysplasia underwent bilateral testicular descent fixation after communication with the parents of the children during operation. All the specimens were sent for pathological examination after the operation. One hundred eighty - six cases were followed up from 1 to 128 months [(53 ± 8) months],and 21 cases were lost. Ultrasound examination was performed from 3 to 6 months after the operation to observe the development of bilateral testis and whether testicular dysplasia or testicular atrophy existed. Results All the children successfully underwent the operation and discharged from hospital. The group who underwent testicular had confirmed slim blood vessels in spermatic cord and poor testicular development through operation,while another group in postoperative follow up ultrasound showed that there was no obvious testicular - like structure in 6 cases,complete atrophy in 12 cases and partial atrophy in 48 cases and no atrophy in 93 cases. No patients had testicular resection again and no canceration after the operation. The healthy sides of the testicular resection in another group all had normal development. Conclusions Mild and moderate testicular dysplasia in children can choose testicular descending fixation,while severe dysplasia or testicular atrophy should select a reasonable surgical approach after communication with families.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory activities of caffeoyl glucopyranoses purified from Balanophora japonica Makino on HIV entry and their mechanism.

METHODSHIV-1 Env pseudovirus was used to evaluate the anti-HIV-1 activity of those compounds. ELISA and molecular docking were used to study the mechanism of the actions of the active compounds.

RESULTSWe used the HIV-1 Env pseudovirus to test the anti-HIV-1 activity of the six phenolic compounds (final concentration 25 microg/ml), and found that only 1,2,6-Tri-O-caffeoyl-beta-D-glucopyranose (TCGP) and 1,3-Di-O-caffeoyl-4-O-galloyl-beta-D- glucopyranose (DCGGP) could effectively inhibit the entry of HIV-1 Env pseudovirus into the target cells in a dose-dependent manner, with IC(50) values of 5.5-/+0.2 and 5.3-/+0.1 microg/ml, respectively. These two compounds could also blocked the gp41 six-helix bundle formation. Molecular docking analysis suggested that they might bind to the hydrophobic cavity of the gp41 N-trimeric coiled-coil.

CONCLUSIONTCGP and DCGGP are potent HIV-1 entry inhibitors targeting gp41 and can serve as lead compounds for developing novel anti-HIV-1 microbicides for prevention of sexual HIV-1 transmission.

Anti-HIV Agents ; pharmacology ; Balanophoraceae ; chemistry ; Cell Line ; Gallic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hydrolyzable Tannins ; pharmacology ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology