Funnel Chest ; complications ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Kidney ; abnormalities ; Male ; Prune Belly Syndrome ; complications ; Situs Inversus ; complications ; Spleen ; abnormalities

Action Potentials ; drug effects ; Animals ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Neurons ; drug effects ; physiology ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology

?-(1,3)-D-glucan is a core structure of many bioactive fungal polysaccharides. It has drawn intensive attentions in recent because of its multiple bioactivities, particularly the immunomodulatory and antitumorous actions. In this review, we introduced the studies of structure-activity correlation of these ?-(1,3)-D-glucans, particularly the contributions of main backbone, branch degree and residues, molecular weight and conformation to the activities. We also summarized the recent progress in the detective methods for both quantitation and qualification using limulus G factor assay,galactosyl ceramide ELISA and etc.

Humans ; Occupational Health ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

The nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key protein of endogenous antioxidant defense systems in the body. In response to oxidative stress, Nrf2 translocates to nucleus and binds to antioxidant response elements (ARE), regulating the expression of a large amounts of antioxidant genes and maintaining a proper redox balance. The pathological processes of neurodegenerative diseases are associated with generation of reactive oxygen species, which cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays a cardinal role in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Nrf2-inducer compounds can reduce oxidant stress and have shown therapeutic efficacy in many neurodegenerative disease models. How to activate the Nrf2 signaling pathway effectively has been received much attention. Here we provided an overview of specific mechanism of Nrf2-ARE pathway and the protective effects of Nrf2 in different neurodegenerative diseases, and summarized the Nrf2 activators recently in preclinical study.
Antioxidants ; physiology ; Humans ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; physiology ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

HPLC fingerprint of Congrong Zonggan capsule was established in order to provide basis for quality evaluation. With acteoside as the reference, HPLC was adopted for fingerprint analysis on Congrong Zonggan capsule. The chromatographic conditions wereas follows. Waters C18 column (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 μm) was used, with methylalcohol-0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase for gradient elution at the flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was 330 nm, and the column temperature was 30 °C. This method was highly accurate and reproducible. All of the 13 components in tested samples reached the baseline resolved peak, and 15 batches of finished products showed the similarity of above 0.95. The method was accurate and feasible and could be used as a simple and effective method to evaluate the quality of the traditional Chinese medicines.
Capsules ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control

AIM:To observe the expression of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)in unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO)rats,and to explore its pathogenic role in renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis.METHODS:48 Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham-operated and UUO group.The rats were sacrificed at day 1,3,7,and 14.The degree of tubulointerstitial damage was scored according to the Masson staining.The mRNA and protein levels of CTGF,transforming growth factor-?1(TGF-?1),collagen Ⅰ(Col Ⅰ),and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1(PAI-1)were detected by reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and immunohistochemistry,respectively.Expression of CTGF protein in the kidney was also assessed using Western blotting.RESULTS:TGF-?1 mRNA level began to increase as early as 1 day after UUO.This increase was followed by the elevation of CTGF mRNA level,which began to increase at third days after UUO(P

Objective To investigate the useful parameters of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for the diagnosis of stroke subtypes in patients with acute cerebral infarction.Methods One hundred and one acute ischemic stroke patients met all of the following criteria including ≥50 years of age,normal sinus rhythm on admission,and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) within 7 days from the onset.The clinical significance of the TEE parameters on admission was examined for identifying intracardiac thrombus formation as follows; left atrial dimension,left ventricular end-diastolic dimension,percentage fractional shortening,left ventricular mass index,ratio of the transmitral inflow velocities (E/A),and the deceleration time of the E wave.Results There were 28 patients with E/A ≥ 1.0 (70 ± 12) years old and 73 with E/A ＜ 1.0 (73 ± 10) years old.No patients showed pulmonary congestion on chest radiography.There were no significant differences in age,TTE parameters,and plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide between the two groups.Patients with E/A≥ 1.0 had higher incidence of left atrial appendage (LAA)thrombus formation and/or spontaneous echograhic contrast than those with ＜ 1.0 (25.0％ vs 5.5％,x2 =7.95,P ＜0.01).A significant relationship was found between E/A and emptying flow velocity of the LAA (r =-0.569,P ＜0.01).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed E/A was an independent predictor for LAA thrombus (risk ratio 1.531 per0.1 increase,95％ confidence interval 1.129-2.076,P =0.0002).Conclusions Increased level of E/A on admission was associated with the occurrence of left atrial appendage thrombus formation in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Carotenoids play an important role in regulating the hydrogen production of hydrogen-producing Rhodobacter sp. The carotenoids of hydrogen-producing Rhodobacter sp. grown in acetate medium were extracted by using acetone-methanol (7∶2,V/V) solvent and were separated by using thin-layer chromatography on silica-gel plate. The qualitative and quantitative of the carotenoids were analyzed by spectrometry. The results showed that the carotenoids were completely extracted three times with acetone-methanol (7∶2,V/V) in two hours. The ultrasonication had little effect on yield of carotenoids. The yield of carotenoids was 2.81mg/g wet cell. There were 4 spots on the silica-gel plate in the order of yellow, red, light red and light yellow. Yellow spot and red spot were the dominant composition of carotenoid in Rhodobacter sp. The spectrometry data showed that the yellow and red component might be the spheroidene and spirilloanthin respectively.

Brainstem infarction accounts for about 9% to 21.9% of all cerebral infarctions. This article reviews the etiology of brainstem infarction and its pathogenesis,clinical manifestation,diagnosis,and treatment.