Astragalus polysaccharide has been widely used in food and medicinal industry owing to its health-promoting properties. In order to characterize better the relationship among molecular weight, structure-activity and activities, a simple method was used different concentration of ethanol including 30% (PW30), 50% (PW50), 70% (PW70), 75% (PW75), 80% (PW80) and 90% (PW90) to precipitate Astragalus polysaccharides into different molecular weight. As a result, PW90 showed smooth surface and the strongest antioxidant activity among these six fractions (P < 0.05). In conclusion, graded ethanol precipitation was a simple method to separate Astragalus polysaccharides into different molecular weight with different antioxidant activity fractions.
Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Chemical Precipitation ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Objective To undemtand the rhythm of urinary iodine level of children aged 8-10 in Chongqing city.Methods In April 2008,using the stratified random sampling method,we sampled 60 children aged 8-10 in a lodging primary school in Chongqing(20 per age group,half male and half female),the urine samples were collected in the morning and at 10:00,12:30,16:00,iodine in urine was detected by method of Ce and arsenic catalytic speetrophotometry(WS/T 107-2006).The difference of the urinary iodine level was compared by age,sex and time of day.Results The median urinary iodine of 60 children was 265.07μg/L on the overall.Irrespective of the stratification factors,excluding morning urinary iodine(366.75μg/L)and urinary iodine at 10:00(338.30 μg/L),the urinary iodine between 12:30(235.15μg/L)and 16:00(251.50μg/L)was not significant(all P>0.05),statistically significant differences(all P<0.05)were found between any two.The urinary iodine of 8-year-old group at different times of the day was significantly different(all P<0.05),except between morning urinary iodine (298.90 μg/L)and at 10:00,16:00(279.00,286.59 μg/L),between urinary iodine at 10:00 and 16:00(all P>0.05).The 9-year-old group's urinary iodine were not significantly different between morning urine(366.15μg/L)and 10:00(368.10 μg/L),and between 12:30(244.00 μg/L)and 16:00(186.30 μg/L,all P>0.05),significant differences were faund at other times of the day(all P<0.05).The 10-year-old group of urinary iodine changed very little before 12:30 (382.85,449.60,337.00 μg/L, all P > 0.05 ), followed by rapid decline to 16: 00 (269.35 μg/L), and compared with the morning urine and 10:00, there was significant difference(all P < 0.05).Regardless boys or girls, the urinary iodine at different times qf the day was significantly different (all P < 0.05),except between morning urinary iodine(337.32,309.28 μg/L) and at 10:00(316.15,288.27 μg/L), between urinary iodine at 12:30(251.18,211.45 μg/L) and 16:00(235.02,211.45 μg/L, all P > 0.05). Conclusions The change of urinary iodine level in children aged 8 - 10 was not obvious before noon, changes can be seen in the afternoon.Urinary iodine level before 10:00 is indicative.

Purpose: Few studies have examined the effect of diabetes mellitus (DM) on patients with coronary artery disease. The relationships between quality of life (QoL), risk factors, and DM of patients receiving percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are poorly understood. We investigated the influence of DM on fatigue and QoL over time among patients receiving PCIs. Methods: An observational cohort study with a longitudinal, repeated-measures design was used to investigate fatigue and QoL among 161 Taiwanese patients with coronary artery disease with/without DM who received primary PCIs between February and December 2018. Participants provided demographic information and their Dutch Exertion Fatigue Scale and the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey scores before the PCI and two weeks, three months, and six months post-discharge. Results: Seventy-seven PCI patients were in the DM group (47.8%; mean age = 67.7 [SD = 10.4] years). The mean scores of fatigue, physical component scale (PCS), and mental component scale (MCS) were 7.88 (SD = 6.74), 40.74 (SD = 10.05), and 49.44 (SD = 10.57), respectively. DM did not affect the magnitude of change in fatigue or QoL over time. Patients with DM perceived similar fatigue as those without DM before PCI and two weeks, three and six months post-discharge. Patients with DM perceived lower psychological QoL than those without DM two weeks post-discharge. Compared to pre-surgery scores, patients without DM perceived lower fatigue at two weeks, three months, and six months post-discharge, and higher physical QoL at three- and six-months post-discharge. Conclusions Compared with DM patients, patients without DM had higher pre-intervention QoL and better psychological QoL two weeks post-discharge, and DM did not influence fatigue or QoL of patients receiving PCIs over six months. DM may affect patients in the long term; therefore, nurses should educate patients to regularly take medication, maintain proper habits, notice comorbidities, and follow rehabilitation regimes after PCIs to improve prognosis.Keywords

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of advanced glycosylation end products (AGE) on cell cycle of epidermal keratinocyte and its possible signal pathway.

METHODS150 mg/L AGE-human serum albumin (AGE-HSA) was prepared in vitro. Primary cultured keratinocytes in logarithmic growth phase were harvested and divided randomly into: A group [with treatment of defined keratinocyte-SFM (DK-SFM) serum-free medium], B group (with treatment of DK-SFM medium including 150 mg/L AGE-HSA), C group (with DK-SFM medium after treatment of U0126) and group D (with D K-SFM medium including 150 mg/L AGE-HSA after treatment of U0126). Cell cycle distributions were analyzed by flow cytometer. The protein levels of cyclin D1, cyclin B1, CDK4 and p44/42 MAPK were measured by Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with those of A group, the percentage of S-phase and G2/M-phase keratinocytes were decreased obviously in B group, the percentages of G2/M -phase keratinocytes showed the same tendency in C and D groups [(9.7 +/- 1.1)% , (9.8 +/- 0.7)%, respectively, P <0.05]. Compared with that of A group, the expression of cyclin D1 were decreased significantly in other groups, among which a weak expression was showed in D group. There was no obvious difference between A and B groups in CDK4, or cyclin B1 and p44/42 MAPK protein levels ,which were significantly higher than those in C and D groups.

CONCLUSIONAGEs inhibit the progress of cell cycle of keratinocytes by downregulation of cyclin D1 expression.

Animals ; Cell Cycle ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Epidermis ; cytology ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Keratinocytes ; cytology ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVETo validate the efficiency and accuracy of an improved Demons deformable registration algorithm and evaluate its application in contour recontouring in 4D-CT.

METHODSTo increase the additional Demons force and reallocate the bilateral forces to accelerate convergent speed, we propose a novel energy function as the similarity measure, and utilize a BFGS method for optimization to avoid specifying the numbers of iteration. Mathematical transformed deformable CT images and home-made deformable phantom were used to validate the accuracy of the improved algorithm, and its effectiveness for contour recontouring was tested.

RESULTSThe improved algorithm showed a relatively high registration accuracy and speed when compared with the classic Demons algorithm and optical flow based method. Visual inspection of the positions and shapes of the deformed contours agreed well with the physician-drawn contours.

CONCLUSIONDeformable registration is a key technique in 4D-CT, and this improved Demons algorithm for contour recontouring can significantly reduce the workload of the physicians. The registration accuracy of this method proves to be sufficient for clinical needs.

Algorithms ; Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Ganoderma lucidum spores on Cytochrome C (Cyt-C) and mitochondrial calcium in the testis of NIDDM rats.

METHODSFifty male Wistar rats were divided randomly into three groups: model, ganoderma and normal control, the first two groups injected with 2% STZ through vena caudalis, and the last one with half-and-half sodium citrate/citrate buffer solution. Two weeks after normal diet, glucose tolerance tests were performed and the rats with abnormal glucose tolerance from the model and ganoderma groups received high-fat and high-carbohydrate food, the ganoderma group given Ganoderma lucidum spores (250mg/[ kg x d] ) in addition, both for 10 weeks. Glucose tolerance tests were repeated 1 day before the end of the experiment and the rats were castrated and relevant indexes measured.

RESULTSThe NIDDM model was successfully constructed. In the model group, the levels of mitochondrial Cyt-C and mitochondrial calcium were significantly lower (P <0. 05) while that of the plasma Cyt-C was significantly higher than in the ganoderma and the control groups.

CONCLUSIONCyt-C and calcium ion are involved in the damage of the testis. Ganoderma lucidum spores can protect the testis of NIDDM rats.

Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Male ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reishi ; Testis ; drug effects ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to explore the clinical significance of expression of Fas, CTLA-4 and RhoBTB2 genes in breast carcinoma.

METHODSSemi-quantitative reverse transcriptive polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze the mRNA expression levels of the three genes in tumor tissues from 60 patients with primary breast cancer and normal breast tissues of 30 cases. The relationship between gene expression and clinicopathological factors were analyzed and determined.

RESULTSThe relative expression levels (gray scale ratio between target gene and internal reference gene) of Fas, CTLA-4 and RhoBTB2 genes in breast carcinoma tissues were 0.699 +/- 0.285, 1.045 +/- 0.302 and 0.625 +/- 0.160, respectively. In the normal breast tissues, they were 0.502 +/- 0.178, 0.418 +/- 0.140 and 0.843 +/- 0.218, respectively. There were statistically significant differences of the expression of those three genes between carcinoma tissues and normal breast tissues (P < 0.01). The expression level of Fas in carcinoma tissues was significantly higher in lymph node matastasis positive patients (0.782 +/- 0.313) than that in node-negative patients (0.557 +/- 0.146, P < 0.01). The expression level of CTLA-4 gene in carcinoma tissues was lower in II stage patients (0.978 +/- 0.330) than that in III stage patients (1.134 +/- 0.240, P < 0.05). The expression level of RhoBTB2 gene was lower in invasive ductal carcinoma (0.597 +/- 0.157) than that in invasive lobular carcinoma (0.717 +/- 0.145, P < 0.05). There were no correlations of expression of the three genes at mRNA level and age, ER, PR, HER2 status and survival time. Furthermore, no correlation was seen among the three genes expression (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe expression of all the three genes at mRNA level is involved in genesis and progression of breast cancer. There exist correlations between Fas expression and axillary lymph node matastasis, CTLA-4 expression and disease stage, and RhoBTB2 expression and pathological type of breast cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD ; genetics ; metabolism ; Breast ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; CTLA-4 Antigen ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; fas Receptor ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo measure the degree of satisfaction on various environmental and health components and to discuss the impact of Olympic Games among the residents so as to make relative policy suggestions.

METHODSIn 2006, permanent residents over 15 years old lived in the Asian Games Village Community (where the 29th Olympic Games to be held) were selected to conduct a household's survey, while 1610 valid questionnaires were collected. The questionnaire included demographic information, degrees of satisfaction on various health-related environmental components, living condition and on Olympic events.

RESULTSThe top 4 aspects with the highest satisfaction rates were "overall rates of satisfaction on current life" "green space", "housing conditions" and "water quality", which were 50.43%, 48.59%, 38.95%, 37.08%, respectively. Residents' satisfaction on "impact of hosting the Olympic Games on China's international image", "China's economic development level", "living conditions" and "personal life" were 65.53%, 56.09%, 47.27%, 46.40%, respectively. Data from partial correlation analysis showed that the total scores of satisfaction on environment and life had positive correlation with the total scores of Olympic satisfaction (P < 0.05). The satisfaction degree on Olympic event through factor analysis showed that 10 entries of the Olympic impact could be reflected by two factors--the influence of image to the nation and impact on personal income. Logistic regression showed that the impact of Olympic Games on personal income, the impact of Olympic Games on the image of the nation and standard of living, gender, education level were independent influencing factors of the total scores of environment and life satisfaction (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONOther than "green space", most of health-related environment components of Beijing had low degree of satisfaction among inhabitants from the 'typical' communities in Beijing. However, residents had a higher degree of satisfaction on the impact of the Olympic Games to the country's image, the country's economic development level, the environment and personal standard of living.

Adult ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Personal Satisfaction ; Quality of Life ; psychology ; Social Environment ; Sports ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: Nowadays most children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are expected to survive to adulthood. The healthcare focus needs to pay close attention to the important developmental tasks during their growth process. The women with CHD face some challenges in their critically developmental stages during pregnancy, delivery, and even motherhood. The lived experience of being a mother needs to be further concerned. This study aimed to explore the lived experience of first-time mothers with CHD. Methods: Descriptive phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April to August 2018 with 11 primiparous women with CHD, who were recruited from the pediatric and adult cardiology outpatient departments at a medical center and who had a child aged between 6 months and 3 years. Giorgi's phenomenological analysis method was employed. Results: Six main themes arose from the analysis: (1) recognizing pregnancy risks, (2) performing self-care for health, (3) building self-worth from my baby, (4) adapting to postpartum life and adjusting priorities, (5) enjoying being a first-time mother, and (6) the factors contributing to success in high-risk childbirth. Conclusions The experiences that occurred prior to and after labor that were identified in this study can assist women with CHD to more capably prepare for and understand the process of becoming a mother, including recognition of the importance of a prepregnancy evaluation. The findings of this study can help women with CHD to better understand the path to becoming a mother and prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead.

Impaired wound healing in diabetes is a significant clinical problem which is thought to be associated with neuropathy and angiopathy previously . The present study indicates that accumulation of glucose and glycometabolic products in skin tissue, as the result of glycometabolic disorders, which contributes to cutaneous environmental alterations in diabetes mellitus, and subsequently induces the abnormal cell behaviors, cytokine alteration and matrix modification. Thus, diabetic neuropathy and angiopathy might be regarded as the pathological outcome of cutaneous environmental alterations. In conclusion, glycometabolism disorders could be described as one of the initial events for the alteration involving in the underlying cutaneous disorder which impair healing process. The related research focuses on the initial event of controlling disorders in wound healing and therefore contribute to providing the strategy of treatment as based on these approaches.
Diabetes Mellitus ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Skin ; metabolism ; Wound Healing