Aged ; Esophagus ; Foreign Bodies ; complications ; diagnosis ; Hoarseness ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Humans ; Male

Objective: To study the chemical constituents from the root bark of Litsea glutinosa. Methods: Silica gel and Sephedex LH-20 column chromatographies as well as semi-preparative HPLC were applied to isolate and purify the compounds. Their structures were elucidated based on the spectrum analysis. Results: Fifteen compounds were obtained and identi-fied as schizandriside (1), lyonside (2), coclaurine (3), alangisesquin A (4), alangisesquin B (5), dihydrobuddlenol (6), ssioriside (7), dendranthemoside B (8), epi-anhydrocinnzeylanol (9), isolariciresinol-5’-methoxy-iso-larixa-9’-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (10), benzyl alcohol-β-D- glucopyranoside (11), phenylethyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (12), n-butyl-β-D-fructoside (13), N-cis-feruloyl tyramine (14), and N-trans-sphingoyl tyramine (15). Conclusion: Compounds 1-13 are isolated from this plant for the first time.

To investigate the biological role of snake venom cystatin(sv-cystatin) in tumor progression, the cDNA of sv-cystatin amplified by PCR from pUC18-cystatin plasmid was cloned into methanol-inducible expression vector pPICZ?A. The linearized recombinant plasmid pPICZ?A-cystatin was transfered into Pichia pastoris, strain GS115 by electrophoration. Transfermants with phenotype Mut+ selected were identified by PCR analysis and induced in 1.0% methanol. The reombinant sv-cystatin protein was examined by SDS-PAGE, Western blot analysis. The molecular mass of expression product was about 14 kDa and approximately 16 mg/L of recombinant sv-cystatin was produced from one of GS115-cystatin transformants. The chromatography purified protein could reduce the activity of papain. The ability of B16F1 cells treated with recombinant sv-cystatin to invade the reconstituted basement membrane decreased significantly (P

Objective To study the characteristics,diagnosis and therapeutic principles of postmenopausal ovarian masses. Methods The clinical data of 261 postmenopausal women were reviewed to understand the characteristics,best diagnostic measures and therapeutic principles of postmenopausal ovarian masses. Results Among the post-(menopausal) ovarian masses,27.9% were malignant and 5.36% were boundary.No symptoms were found in(44.4%) of the patients.Before operation,the characteristics of masses can be identified by B-mode sonography,color Doppler sonography and CA-125 detection.Simple adnexectomy was performed for most of the benign ovarian masses and cytoreductive surgery for malignancies. Conclusion Regular examinations should be performed on postmenopausal women for ovarian masses,and B-mode sonography,color Doppler sonography and CA-125 detection be employed in the case of necessity.Once the ovarian masses are confirmed,surgeries may be the best choice for patients.

By analyzing the epidemiological and clinical features of adenovirus in children with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI), we provide a theoretical basis for early clinical diagnosis and treatment. Nasopharyngeal secretions were collected from 3480 children with ARTI, who were hospitalized at the No. 2 Hospital of Changzhou from January 2011 to December 2012. Adenovirus were detected using direct immunofluorescence assays. A total of 80 samples were positive for adenovirus (2.30%). The rate of adenovirus infection during 2011 was significantly higher than that in 2012, and the infection rate was higher in summer and autumn than in winter and spring. The infection rate was 1.14% among children aged < 1-year-old and the rates were higher among children in other age ranges. Adenovirus was found to be an important ARTI pathogen in children in Changzhou, mainly affecting children older than 1 year. ADV infections have various clinical presentations, but affected children tend to be severely ill with poor outcomes.
Acute Disease ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Adenovirus Infections, Human ; epidemiology ; therapy ; virology ; Adenoviruses, Human ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; therapy ; virology ; Seasons

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of ERK1/2 MAPK pathway on the expression of Kv1.5 channel, a voltage-gated potassium ion channel, in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and its mechanisms during the process of hypoxia.

METHODSThe PASMCs derived from SD rats were cultivated primarily. The third to sixth generation of PASMCs were divided into 5 groups randomly: (1) Normal group (N); (2) Hypoxic group (H); (3) Demethy sulfoxide(DMSO) group (HD); (4) U0126 group (HU): 10 micromol/L U0126; (5) Anisomycin group (HA): 10 micromol/L anisomycin. There were three dishes of cells in each group. The cells in normal group were cultured in normoxic incubator (5% CO2, 37 degrees C), the cells in other groups were added to 0.05% DMSO in the hypoxic incubator (5% CO2, 2% O2, 37 degrees C), all cells were cultured for 60 h. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detected the espressions of Kv1.5 mRNA and protein in PASMCs.

RESULTSCompared with N group, the expressions of Kv1.5 mRNA and protein in H, HD and HA groups were reduced significantly (P < 0.05); Compared with H group and HD groups, Kv1.5 mRNA and protein expressions in HU group were increased sharply (P < 0.05). Compared with the HU group, Kv1.5 mRNA and protein expressions in HA groups were significantly lower (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLow oxygen reduced Kv1.5 mRNA and protein expressions, U0126 could resistant the Kv1.5 channel lower expression caused by hypoxia. Anisomycin had no significant effect on Kv1.5 channel expression under hypoxia, but the expression of Kv1.5 was still significantly lower than the normal oxygen group. These data suggest that hypoxia may cause hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by interfering ERK1/2 signaling pathway to inhibit Kv1.5

Animals ; Cell Hypoxia ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Kv1.5 Potassium Channel ; metabolism ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; metabolism ; Oxygen ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; RNA, Messenger ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUND: Exercise has been proved to accelerate the proliferation of intervertebral disc cells and extracellular matrix production in healthy rats. For the degenerative intervertebral disc, whether exercise also has positive effects on its cell proliferation, extracellular matrix production or pain relief remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of exercise on the extracellular matrix production in a rat model of intervertebral disc degeneration.METHODS: A rat model of intervertebral disc degeneration was prepared by Freund's complete adjuvant injection into the intervertebral disc at L5-6 levels. Then, the model rats were allowed to have a rest for 2 weeks. All rats were then randomly divided into exercise and control groups. Rats in the exercise group were forced to run every day, while the controls allowed free activities in the cage. The behavioral tests were performed at 7, 14, 28, 42, 56 and 70 days after modeling; meanwhile, the intervertebral disc samples were collected used for alcian blue staining and immunohistochemical staining to detect the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the intervertebral disc cells, respectively.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Vocalization threshold on the rat back of punctured disc was significantly decreased, while grooming and wet-dog shaking were significantly increased at 7 days after modeling compared with the baseline (P < 0.05), suggesting that Freund's complete adjuvant injection successfully induces disc degeneration, hyperalgesia and abnormal behaviors. Further, the vocalization threshold and wet-dog shaking in the exercise group showed significant improvement compared with the control group after 14 days of exercise (P < 0.05), while the grooming was significantly reduced until the 28th day (P < 0.01), indicating that exercise can alleviate pain caused by disc degeneration in model rats. At 21 days after modeling, the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus were significantly decreased compared with the baseline (P < 0.01), indicating the occurrence of disc degeneration. After 14 days of training, the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan, and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in the exercise group were significantly increased compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Moreover, after 8-week exercise, the level of proteoglycan in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in the exercise group was increased by 4-5 times compared with the control group, and levels of aggrecan and collagen type Ⅱ in the nucleus pulposus in the exercise group also was increased by 3-4 times compared with the control group. To conclude, exercise can promote extracellular matrix increased by production by increasing the levels of proteoglycan, aggrecan, and collagen type II in the degenerative intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVETo verify the pharmacological hypothesis of prescriptions by studying the targeted distribution of major components in stewed rhubarb in the rat model with acute pancreatitis (AP).

METHODNormal SD rats (control group, n = 5) and the AP model induced with intraperitoneal cerulein (model group, n = 5) were taken as the experimental objects. Rats of the two groups were orally administered with stewed rhubarb granules (20 g x kg(-1)). Their heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and pancreas were collected two hours after the administration. Such constituents as emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, rhein and aloe-emodin and their concentrations in each tissue homogenate were detected by high performance liquid chromatography-mass-mass.

RESULTAloe-emodin and physcion in stewed rhubarb whose concentrations in liver and kidney of normal rats were higher than that in pancreatic tissues, while the distribution spectrums and concentrations of the remaining components in pancreatic tissues had no significant difference with that of other organs. The concentrations of emodin, aloe-emodin, rhein and chrysophanol in stewed rhubarb in pancreatic tissues of the AP model group were higher than that in other tissues and organs, while their concentrations in pancreatic, renal and splenic tissues were notably higher than that in the normal group.

CONCLUSIONIn the conditions of AP, effective components in stewed rhubarb show a targeted distribution feature in pancreas, which provides experimental basis for the pharmacological hypothesis of prescriptions.

Acute Disease ; Animals ; Anthraquinones ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Organ Specificity ; Pancreatitis ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rheum ; chemistry

BACKGROUND:Lumbar spine MRI and electrophysiological test are reliable methods for evaluating nerve root injury caused by lumbar disc herniation.
OBJECTIVE:To analyze the correlation between the MRI-based grading system and the latency and frequency of F wave as wel as latency and amplitude of H-reflex in patients with lumbar disc herniation.
METHODS:MRI imaging of the lumbar spine was performed with a 3.0-T imager and a dedicated TCL coil to classify lumbar disc herniation and nerve root compression. F wave and H reflex were detected on the patient bilateral tibial nerves using Oxford myoelectricity evoked potential instrument.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Spearman correlation analysis showed that the MRI-based grading of patients with lumbar disc herniation had a negative correlation with F wave frequency (r=-0.594 0, P<0.000 1), and a positive correlation with F wave latency (r=0.825 6, P<0.000 1) and H-reflex latency (r=0.875 0, P<0.000 1), but no correlation with H-reflex amplitude (R=0.117 4, P=0.257 3). With MRI grading increased, F wave frequency was decreased, and F wave and H-reflex latency were prolonged gradual y, indicating aggravating nerve root compression.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anti-atherotic effects of heme-L-lysinate in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis and related machanisms.

METHODSAdult rabbits were treated with 1% cholesterol diet (chol group, n = 8) or 1% cholesterol diet plus heme-L-lysinate (9 mgxkg(-1)xd(-1), Heme group, n = 8) or 1% cholesterol diet plus isotonic Na chloride (Na chloride group, n = 8) for 10 weeks. Eight rabbits fed with normal diet served as normal control. Aortic carbon monoxide (CO) was quantified spectrophotometrically by the formation of carboxyhaemoglobin (HbCO). Aortic heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and HSP70 mRNA and protein expressions were detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTSAortic CO production and HO-1 activity were significantly increased in chol group and Na chloride group compared those in normal control group (P < 0.01). Aortic plaque area was significantly reduced in heme group (26.6% +/- 9.2%) than that in chol group (42.3% +/- 8.7%, P < 0.01). Aortic HO-1 expression, CO production and HSP70 were significantly increased in heme group than those in chol group and Na chloride group (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSHeme-L-lysinate could attenuate atherosclerotic progression through upregulating HO-1 and HSP70 expression and increasing CO production in this model.

Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Carbon Monoxide ; metabolism ; Cholesterol, Dietary ; Diet, Atherogenic ; Disease Models, Animal ; HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Heme ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Heme Oxygenase-1 ; metabolism ; Lysine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rabbits