To study the chemical constituents from Zanthoxylum simulans and their anti-inflammatory activity. The constituents of Z. simulans were isolated and purified using various column chromatographies. Their chemical structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic methods. The compounds were assayed inhibitory activity against NO production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Four compounds were obtained from the ethanol extract of Z. simulans and determined to be isozanthpodocarpin B(1), kobusin (2), (+)-fargesin (3), and epieudesmin (4). Compound 1 exhibited NO production inhibitory effect with IC50 value of 14.49 µmol · L(-1). Compound 1 is a new dimeric lignan and may be serve as potential anti-inflammatory agent in the future.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Dimerization ; Lignans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Zanthoxylum ; chemistry

The buccoversion malpositon of maxillary second molars is one kind of common malocclusion.It can lead to damages to stoma-tognathic system.The adjustable maxillary molar retractor is an effective tool in the early treatment of this kind of malposition.

Objective:To assess the clinical efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Methods:Eighty-two cases of subhealth insomnia were randomly divided into an observation group (41 cases) and a control group (41 cases).The control group was treated with conventional acupuncture.The observation group was treated with Bo's abdominal acupuncture on the basis of conventional acupuncture.Six treatments constituted one treatment course.The measuring scale of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome for subhealth state (MSSSHS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scores were compared between the two groups after two courses,to estimate the efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Results:One case dropped out from the observation group,while 2 cases dropped out from the control group.The MSSSHS score and PSQI score both declined after the treatment in the two groups (all P＜0.05).The MSSSHS and PSQI scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion:The abdominal acupuncture is effective for subhealth insomnia,and it can enhance the effect of conventional acupuncture.

Objective To assess the predictive value of thiopurine methyltransferase genotyping and enzyme activity in relation to side effects in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who were treated with azathioprine (AZA). Methods One hundred and eleven IBD patients (26 with ulcerative colitis and 86 with Cronh's disease) with indication of AZA administration between April 2004 and Dec. 2009 were enrolled. All patients received 2 mg/kg of AZA daily. Polymerase chain reaction and high performance liquid chromatography were used to genotype the TPMT * 2, * 3A, * 3B, * 3C and to detect TPMT activity, respectively. The association of TPMT genotype and activity with side effects was analyzed in patients treated with AZA for 24 weeks or more, or in those discontinued AZA because of adverse effects. Results Adverse effects were reported in 38(33. 9%) patients, the most frequent being myelosuppression (20. 5%). The frequency of TPMT * 3C heterozygous mutation was 0. 9% (1/112). The TPMT activity was (12. 9±4. 8) U/ml RBC with unimodal distribution. One patient with TPMT * 3C heterozygous mutation developed myelosuppression at the 4th week after AZA treatment. The TPMP genotype myelosuppression patients. Conclusions TPMT genotype mutation and low enzyme activity can be used to predict myelosuppression with high specifically and low sensitivity. In patients treated with AZA, co-administration of 5-ASA results in a high frequency of myelosuppression with no effect on TPMT activity.

OBJECTIVETo study the properties of orthodontic rectangular arch wires in torsion.

METHODSBy using the torsion measurement apparatus, torsion moments and angles of four kinds of orthodontic wires (0.46 mm x 0.63 mm and 0.48 mm x 0.63 mm stainless steel wires, and the same size nickel-titanium wires) were tested respectively in a 0.56 mm-slot first maxillary incisor bracket. According to the torsion moments and angles, scatter graphs were drawn to fit the load-deflection curves of four kinds of wires and their linear equations were calculated. According to the equations, the torsion stiffness and the play angles of the wires at 20 N mm correspondingly were calculated.

RESULTSThe torsion stiffness of four kinds of wires were 4.909, 6.417, 1.325 and 1.363 N mn/degrees, the torsion angles of different wires were 19.14 degrees, 15.33 degrees, 36.83 degrees and 35.07 degrees at 20 N mm respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe torsion stiffness of stainless steel wires was bigger than that of the same cross-section dimensional nickel-titanium wires. The difference of torsion stiffness between two dimensional nickel-titanium wires is smaller, while the difference of torsion stiffness between two stainless steel wires is larger.

Incisor ; Nickel ; Orthodontic Wires ; Stainless Steel ; Titanium

Objective To investigate the impact of CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T(Treg) cells on tumor recurrence in liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Im-munohistochemistry and flow cytometry were used for analysis of the frequency of Treg. Meanwhile,it was compared with that of non-cancer liver transplantation patients. Results The frequency of CD4+CD25+ FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in the blood of HCC liver transplantation was (10. 15 ±1. 00) % , which was significantly higher than that in the normal control group (3. 20±1. 18) %. Cir-culating CD4+ CD25+ FOXP3+ Treg frequency was increased significantly and correlated with the tumor recurrence in the HCC patients. An abundant accumulation of Treg concurrent with significant-ly reduced infiltration of CD8+T cells was found in tumor regions. Conclusion Increased CD4+ D25+FoxP3+ Treg may impair the effectors function of CD8+ T cells, promote the tumor recurrence and re-present a therapeutic target for HCC liver transplantation.

Objective To study the effects of heat shock proetin 27(Hsp27)on the cardiac dysfunction induced by endotoxemia.Method All experiments were performed in the geriatric lab of the First Affiliated Hospital Of Nanjing Medical University,and in the Animal Model Center of Nanjing University.The genotyping of the transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of Hsp27(Hsp27 Tg)was assayed by PCR and the expression of Hsp27 was determined by western blot.Hsp27 Tg and its wild type littermates(WT)were intraperitoneally injected with LPS(10 mg/kg),and 24 hours later,cardiac function was measured by echocardiography(n=6/group).The accumulated mice mortality was recorded within 70 hous after intraperitoneal injection of LPS(20mg/kg)(n=37/WT,n=27/Hsp27Tg).The NF-kB activity for cardiac-tissue samples was analyzed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(ENSA)and for cell culture samples by dual-reporter gene assay(n=4/group).The comparison of multiple groups was performed by one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA),and comparison of two groups was performed by Scheffe-test.Survival curves were analyzed by the log-rank test.P＜0.05 wns considered to be significant.Results The high expression of Hsp27 exhibited in myocardium of Hsp27 Tg,whereas not in myocardium of WT.LPS significantly reduced the cardiac function both in Hsp27 Tg and WT.However,compaled with LPS-treated WT,cardiac function was more significantly improved as evidenced by the increases of EF by 27.33%and FS by 37.09%(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05).Seventy hours after LPS injection,the mortality was 11.11% in Hsp27 Tg and 37.84% in WT.Compared with WT,the survival rate of Hsp27 Tg significantly increased(P＜0.05).The NF-kB activation was significantly inhibited by Hsp27(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05).Conclusions The high cardiac-specific expression of Hsp27 significantly inhibits cardiac dysfunction induced by endotoxemia,and at the same time improve the survival rate.The mechanism may be connected with Hsp27 downregulating NF-kB-activation induced by LPS.

Background:Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent seizures and has significant psychological and social consequence for everyday living.Epilepsy affects various aspects of ones' social life.The present study aimed to investigate the influence of marital status on the quality of life of adult Chinese patients with epilepsy.Methods:This study surveyed 805 Chinese adults who have been clinically diagnosed with epilepsy for longer than 1 year in 11 hospitals in Beijing.In this survey,532 (66.1％) participants were married.All of them completed the case report form with enquiries on demographic data,social factors,and illness.The marriage status of adult epileptic quality of life was the dependent variable,and demographic data and clinical data were independent variables,analyzed through the multiple linear regression analysis methods.The patients' quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life in patients with Epilepsy-31 items (QOLIE-31) questionnaire,the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9),and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items (GAD-7).Results:The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores in the unmarried group (PHQ-9 =6.0 and GAD-7 =5.0) were significantly higher than that of the married group (PHQ-9 =4.0 and GAD-7 =3.0).The scores of married adult patients with epilepsy on QOLIE (61.8 ± 15.3) and social function (70.9 ± 22.7) were higher than the scores of the unmarried patients aged between 20 and 44 years.The scores of married adult epileptics on the QOLIE (58.4 ± 14.6) and the energy/fatigue (62.1 ± 20.4) were higher than the scores of the unmarried patients (QOLIE =58.4 ± 14.6 and the energy/fatigue =62.1 ± 20.4) aged between 45 and 59 years.For the adult epilepsy patients,depression,anxiety,seizures within the last year,disease course,medical expense category,and marriage* age are negatively correlated with the quality of life.Occupation,educational level,and average monthly income are closely related to the quality of life.Conclusions:Married adult epileptic patients have better quality of life than that of unmarried adult patients in young and middle-aged age groups.Unmarried adult patients with epilepsy are more anxious and depressed than married adult patients.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of dynamic enhanced-CT in differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules.

METHODSSixty-three solitary pulmonary nodules were evaluated by dynamic enhanced multi-slice CT. Images were obtained before and at 20 s, 30 s, 45 s, 60 s, 75 s, 90 s, 120 s, 180 s, 300 s, 540 s, 720 s, 900 s and 1200 s after the injection of contrast media. All lesion enhanced parameters and morphological features were recorded. The differences between benign and malignant nodules were analyzed. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of solitary pulmonary nodules were evaluated by receiver operator characteristic analysis.

RESULTSCT enhancement value at 120 s [(29.5 ± 30.2) HU vs. (32.5 ± 14.7) HU, P = 0.023], washout at 20 min [(36.5 ± 24.6) HU vs. (15.6 ± 16.6) HU, P = 0.044], washout ratio at 20 min [(36.5 ± 24.6)% vs. (17.8 ± 14.5)%, P = 0.006], slope of washout at 20 min [(0.006 ± 0.005)%/s vs. (0.002 ± 0.0016)%/s, P = 0.001], type II (24/42 vs. 4/21, P = 0.004) and III (5/42 vs. 9/21, P = 0.005) curves were significantly different between benign and malignant nodules. Using the above mentioned parameters, the results of receiver operator characteristic analysis had a sensitivity of 64.3% and specificity of 84.2% for identification of malignant tumors. The morphological features including round-like, triangle-like, multi-angle, spiculation, light lobulation, the degree of edge (sharp, clear, blur), vessel convergence sign, vacuole sign, airing of bronchi, cut-off of the bronchi and depression of pleura were significantly different between benign and malignant nodules. The results of ROC analysis showed that the above mentioned morphological features had a sensitivity of 92.9% and specificity of 100% for differentiating malignant tumors from benign nodules. The results of ROC analysis showed that combination of morphological features and dynamic enhancement parameters had a sensitivity of 95.2% and specificity of 100% for identification of malignant tumors.

CONCLUSIONSDynamic enhanced CT images can evaluate morphological and enhancement features of solitary pulmonary nodules. Combination of morphological features and enhancement characteristics can improve the accuracy of diagnosis.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; diagnostic imaging ; Colonic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Contrast Media ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Hamartoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; secondary ; Male ; Middle Aged ; ROC Curve ; Radiographic Image Enhancement ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods ; Tuberculoma ; diagnostic imaging ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; diagnostic imaging

Child, Preschool ; Female ; Gels ; Hemangioma ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Propranolol ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects