Notopterygium incisum is the important medicinal materials of the Tibetan-Qiang medical system in China, also one of the rare and endangered medicinal materials in the Plateau areas in the meantime. Taking the planting of in Sichuan province as an example, research on the N. incisum in Sichuan utilize remote sensing and GIS techniques, bind growth environment factor, including height factor, average annual precipitation, average annual temperature, forest information, were chosen according to habitat conditions. And combine field measurement to verify. The results indicate that N. incisum resources in Sichuan province were mainly distributed in the alpine valley and the northwest of the plateau, which suitability distribution areas of 4145 km2 approximately and accounting for 2% of the total area. Suitability areas accounting for more than 2% of the respective total area in Heishui county, Lixian county, Xiaojin county, Kangding county, ect. According to the field investigation and the related document information record, drawn that the suitability distribution based on RS and GIS were corresponded with the actual distribution areas of N. incisum resources. It's feasible to divide the suitability distribution area of N. incisum using RS and GIS, which will provide a scientific basis for a comprehensive investigation of the distribution as well as its rational exploitation and protection.
Apiaceae ; China ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Geographic Information Systems ; Telemetry

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents from the seed of Trigonella foenum-graecum.

METHODThe compounds were isolated with silica gel chromatography and their structures were identified by physical, chemical properties and spectral analysis.

RESULTSeven compounds were isolated and identified as N,N'-dicarbazyl, glycerol monopalmitate, stearic acid, beta-sitosteryl glucopyranoside, ethyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, D-3-O-methyl-chiroinsitol and sucrose.

CONCLUSIONAll the compounds were obtained from this plant for the first time and N,N'-dicarbazyl is a new natural product.

Carbazoles ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Stearic Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Trigonella ; chemistry

Objective To study the periodontal status and risk factors for periodontitis in periodontitis patients at different ages in wuhan. Methods From January 2007 to March 2008, the cross-sectional survey on periodontal conditions of 493 physical examinees in Wuhan city was carried out with random cluster sampling method. 458 cases of them were in accordance with the inclusive criteria and were stratified into two groups: young and middle-aged adults (aged 30-59 years) and old adults (aged 60 years and over). A case-control study was carried out in the periodontitis cases group (n=280) and the control group (n=178). Database was created by SQSERVER2000 and SPSS11.0 was used for statistical analysis. The relationship of periodontitis with age, gender, nation, educational background, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, mental pressure and oral hygiene habits were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of periodontitis was 61.1% (280/458). Univariate analysis revealed that age, educational background, diabetes mellitus, smoking and oral hygiene habits were related factors for periodontitis (OR:0.44, 2.27, 3.44, 1.75, 9.82, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Meanwhile, multivariate analysis showed that suffering from diabetes mellitu and low educational background were the independent risk factors for periodontitis (OR=2.66, 1.95, all P<0.05). After stratification by age, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that there was no correlation between diabetes mellitus and periodontitis prevalence in young and middle-aged adults and diabetes mellitus was a risk factor for periodontitis in old adults(OR=6.91, 95%CI: 1.27～37.42). Conclusions There are many risk factors for periodontitis and diabetes plays a major role in the development of periodontitis in old adults.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of treatment for calculous pyonephrosis with first stage percutaneous nephrolithotomy under the standard access.

METHODSThirty-six cases of calculous pyonephrosis and 36 cases of urolithiasis with no pyonephrosis were treated by percutaneous nephrolithotomy. In the nephrostomy, the caliber was dilated to F24. All the operations were preformed through the EMS lithotrity system. The intrapelvic pressure was detected in the operation. The hemoculture before and after operation, the germi culture of urine, and the temperature and blood leucocyte changes after operation were recorded. All the patients were treated by antibiotics before and after the operation.

RESULTSAll the patients were treated successfully. The average intrapelvic pressure were 23.2 cmH(2)O in non-pyonephrosis group and 22.8 cmH(2)O in pyonephrosis group. Both of the groups had 1 case of transient bacteremia after the operation. No significant difference was found in the other indices between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONEMS lithotrity system is safe and feasible for treating calculous pyonephrosis with stage I percutaneous nephrolithotomy via the standard access.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Calculi ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nephrostomy, Percutaneous ; methods ; Pyonephrosis ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To analyze the complications of coronary rotational atherectomy and to evaluate the safety of the procedure. Methods We evaluated the procedural and angiographic outcomes of 248 consecutive procedures to rotational atherectomy between January 2000 and October 2016. Results 27 cases(10.9％)were found to have rotational atherectomy related complications. Among these 27 cases,coronary spasm occurred in 2 cases(0.8％),no reflow in 8 cases(3.2％), coronary dissection in 5 cases(2.0％),burr entrapment in 6 cases(2.4％),wire breakage in 3 cases(1.2％), and coronary perforation in 3 cases(1.2％). There were no death,acute myocardial infarction and emergent coronary bypass graft.14 case(5.6％)had PCI-related myocardial infarction during hospital stay.In-hospital major adverse cardiaccerebral event(MACCE)rate was 5.6％. Conclusions Coronary rotational atherectomy can be performed with high success rates and procedure-related complications are rare.

OBJECTIVETo explore the protective effect of L-carnitine (LC) on the reproductive function of male rats with asthenospermia induced by ornidazole (ORN).

METHODSForty male SD rats (200-230 g) were randomly divided into Groups A (control: 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose solution), B (medium-dose ORN: 400 mg/kg/d), C (medium-dose ORN + LC: ORN 400 mg/kg/d + LC 100 mg/kg/d), D (high-dose ORN: 800 mg/kg/d), and E (high-dose ORN + LC: ORN 800 mg/kg/d + LC 100 mg/kg/d). All the rats were treated via gastric gavage for 20 days consecutively, and then killed for the detection of sperm motility and the sperm count of the cauda epididymis.

RESULTSCompared with Group A, there was a significant decrease in sperm motility and sperm count in Groups B and D (P < 0.05), while Group C showed a significant increase in both the parameters as compared with B (P < 0.05), but with no significant difference from A (P > 0.05). Group E exhibited no obvious improvement in sperm motility and sperm count, with no difference from D (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONL-carnitine can improve the sperm motility and sperm count of the male rats with ornidazole-induced asthenospermia.

Animals ; Asthenozoospermia ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Carnitine ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Ornidazole ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDDocetaxel (DOC) therapy is well tolerated and shows high response rates in patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). There are many reports on the effect of rapamycin (RPM) on the treatment of carcinogenesis. The goal of this study was to test whether RPM could enhance the susceptibility of both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate carcinoma cells to DOC.

METHODSProstate cancer (PC) cell lines (LNCap, PC3 and AILNCap) were cultured and treated with RPM and DOC alone or in combination. The effects of therapeutic agents on cells were determined by the WST-1 assay. Apoptosis induction was confirmed by flow cytometric analysis. The apopcyto caspase colorimetric assay kit was applied to measure the activities of caspases 3 and 9. The antitumor effects of RPM and DOC against PC cells were also assessed in nude mice using four randomized groups: control, RPM, DOC and combination drug therapy by measuring tumor size. All the animals tolerated both RPM and DOC without significant weight loss.

RESULTSRPM and DOC caused dosage-dependent growth suppression of PC cells. RPM could increase the susceptibility of PC cells to DOC significantly, and combined treatment with RPM and DOC caused synergistic growth suppression in all examined PC cell lines by isobolographic analysis. Both RPM and DOC significantly induced apoptosis in a dosage-dependent manner. RPM (10 nmol/L), DOC (1 nmol/L), and combined treatment induced apoptosis rate were 8%, 17% and 38%, respectively (the control was 2%). RPM could promote the apoptosis induced by DOC in PC cell lines. Both RPM and DOC significantly increased the caspase activity in a dosage-dependent manner. The relative activities of caspase 9 in control, RPM, DOC and RPM + DOC groups were 0.22 +/- 0.02, 0.36 +/- 0.06, 0.47 +/- 0.05 and 0.84 +/- 0.08, respectively. The relative activities of caspase 3 were 0.21 +/- 0.02, 0.24 +/- 0.05, 0.42 +/- 0.06 and 0.81 +/- 0.09, respectively. Either RPM or DOC alone significantly inhibited the growth of PC cells in nude mice compared to the control. The combination of RPM and DOC produced a significant reduction in tumor volume when compared to RPM or DOC alone. After 5-week treatment, the tumor sizes of LNCap in control, RPM, DOC and RPM + DOC groups were (570 +/- 56) mm(3), (412 +/- 41) mm(3), (425 +/- 46) mm(3) and (221 +/- 26) mm(3), respectively.

CONCLUSIONSRPM could significantly increase the susceptibility of both androgen-dependent and -independent PC cells to DOC; the synergy of RPM and DOC was demonstrated. RPM enhanced the DOC-induced upregulation of caspase activity, resulting in an increasing number of cells in sub-G1 phases. The synergy of the combined treatment might be observed in both androgen-dependent and -independent PC cell lines.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Synergism ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Random Allocation ; Sirolimus ; therapeutic use ; Taxoids ; therapeutic use ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

The effects of low concentration of dihydroouabain (DHO) on intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) were investigated in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. [Ca(2+)](i) was detected by confocal microscopy and represented by fluorescent intensity. DHO (1 fmol/L~1 mmol/L) increased [Ca(2+)](i), especially at 10 pmol/L. Nisoldipine, egtazic acid, or tetrodotoxin partially inhibited the effect of 10 pmol/L DHO on [Ca(2+)](i). The effects of DHO remained in the absence of extracellular K(+) and Na(+). These results suggest that low concentration of DHO might increase [Ca(2+)](i) via the receptor-operated Ca(2+) channels, TTX-sensitive Na(+) channels or/and triggering of intracellular calcium release; Na(+)/K(+) pump and Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchange seem not involved in the effect of DHO.
Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Guinea Pigs ; Heart Ventricles ; cytology ; Male ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Ouabain ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and efficacy of Xiongshao Capsule (XS), consisting of Chuangxiongol and paeoniflorin, in preventing restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in senile coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

METHODSA multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 335 CHD patients were randomly assigned to treatment with oral administration of XS, or a placebo for 6 months after successful PCI. A clinical follow-up was performed at 1, 3 and 6 months after PCI and an angiographic follow-up was scheduled at 6 months. The primary endpoint was angiographic restenosis defined as a luminal stenosis ≥ 50% in follow-up. The secondary endpoints were combined incidence of death, target lesion nonfatal myocardial infarction, repeat target-vessel angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). The follow-up for the above clinical endpoint events was continued to 1 year after PCI.

RESULTSThe subgroup analysis of 152 senile patients (68 cases angiographic follow-up) showed that the restenosis rates tended to reduce in the XS group as compared with that in the placebo group (24.32% vs. 38.71%, P > 0.05), and the minimum lumen diameter (MLD) significantly increased in the follow-up (2.15 ± 0.84 for XS vs. 1.73 ± 0.91 for placebo, P < 0.05). The incidence of recurrent angina at 3 and 6 months after PCI was also significantly reduced in the XS group (4.11% and 12.33%) as compared with those in the placebo group (17.72% and 43.04%), but there was no significant difference in the combined incidence of clinical outcomes (6.85% in the XS group vs. 11.39% in the placebo group, P > 0.05). No significant adverse reactions occurred within the 6-month follow-up period in the XS group.

CONCLUSIONAdministration of XS in addition to standardized Western medication for 6 months is demonstrated to be safe and effective in reducing post-PCI recurrent angina and inhibiting luminal restenosis after PCI in senile CHD patients.

Aged ; Angina Pectoris ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; adverse effects ; Capsules ; China ; epidemiology ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Restenosis ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Endpoint Determination ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Placebos ; Recurrence

Variant pulmonary vein anatomy (PVA) has been reported to influence the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency ablation.However,the effects of PVA on AF in patients undergoing cryoballoon ablation (CBA) remain unknown.The present study aimed to examine the impact of PVA on the long-term outcome of CBA for AF.A total of 78 patients (mean age 60.7±10.9 years,64.1％ males) with symptomatic and drug-refractory paroxysmal AF were enrolled in the study.Left atrium (LA) and PVA acquired at computed tomography angiography (CTA) were reconstructed with CARTO(R) 3 SYSTEM.Patients were routinely evaluated by 24-hour Holter monitoring following CBA.Cox regression was used to detect the predictors of AF recurrence after CBA.The results showed abnormal PVA in 30 patients (38.5％) and 18 patients (23.1％) had left common PV (LCPV).Electrical pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in all patients.After a mean follow-up of 689.5±103.8 days,it was found that patients with abnormal PVA had similar AF recurrence rate to those with normal PVA (26.7％ vs.25.0％,P=0.54),and there was no significant difference in AF recurrence rate between LCPV patients and non-LCPV patients (33.7％ vs.23.3％,P=0.29).Cox regression analysis showed that AF duration (72.9±9.0 vs.42.3±43.2 months,HR 1.001;95％CI 1.003-1.014;P＜0.001) and cryo-applications of right-side PVs (3.0±1.6 vs.4.7±1.7,HR 0.661;95％ CI 0.473-0.925;P=0.016) were independent predictors of freedom from AF,but PVA was not identified as a predictor of long-term success.In conclusion,the variant PVA cannot significantly influence the long-term outcome of AF patients undergoing CBA;longer AF duration and less cryo-applications of right-side PVs are associated with higher AF recurrent rate.