Adult ; Brain Abscess ; Cholesteatoma ; surgery ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; surgery

Adolescent ; Cough ; complications ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Fever ; complications ; Humans ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; complications ; diagnosis

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillary Sinus ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of catecholamine hormone on the blood and brain of heroin addicts.

METHODSRats were divided into three groups and treated with the glucose (control group), the heroin (im) (heroin group), and the combination of the intramuscular injection of reserpine and heroin (reserpine group). Changes in the levels of the dopamine (DA), cAMP, and cGMP were detected by the radioimmunoassay (RIA) method in the blood and brain tissue.

RESULTSNo significant withdrawal symptoms were observed in the reserpine group. Compared with the control and heroin groups, the blood cAMP levels were increased by 35.36% and 15.53% in the reserpine group, respectively; the cAMP levels in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and hippocampus (Hipp) were increased by 24.08% & 8.53%, 15.66% & 8.13%, and 21.95% & 8.40%, respectively. While compared to the control and heroin groups, the DA levels of the PFC, Hipp, striatum, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were significantly reduced in the reserpine group, decreasing by 74.09% & 82.86%, 81.06% & 82.23%, 91.62% & 86.55% and 84.35% & 90.63%, respectively. The concentrations of cGMP of the brain tissues in the reserpine group were lower than those in the control group. In addition, the neural electrophysiological testing showed that the electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and muscle spindle discharge diagram of rats in both the reserpine and heroin groups were apparently changed.

CONCLUSIONCatecholamine hormone plays an important role in heroin addiction.

Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Catecholamines ; physiology ; Cyclic AMP ; blood ; metabolism ; Cyclic GMP ; blood ; metabolism ; Dopamine ; blood ; metabolism ; Heroin Dependence ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Seven compounds were isolated from Onychium japonicum by macroporous resin, silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified by NMR, MS and other spectroscopic methods as onychone A (1), quercetin (2), quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (3), kaempferol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (4), kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (5), (-)-prunin (6), and norathyriol (7). Compound 1 is a novel macrocyclic flavonoid, and all the others are reported from this plant for the first time. In vitro cytotoxic activities of compounds 1-7 were evaluated by MTS testing with five cancer cell lines. Compound 7 exhibited weak cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines A549, SMMC-7721, and SW480.

BACKGROUNDSurviving sepsis campaign (SSC) bundles have been demonstrated to significantly improve survival in sepsis and septic shock patients worldwide. Compliance with these protocols and resultant mortality in sepsis patients was investigated in intensive care units (ICUs) in China.

METHODSAdult patients with severe sepsis or septic shock treated from September 2007 to October 2008 in 11 ICUs of Chinese teaching hospitals were included. The primary outcome was compliance with resuscitation and management bundles. Secondary outcomes included individual bundle protocol impact and the effects of the completed bundle protocol number on 28-day mortality.

RESULTSOverall compliance during 6-hr resuscitation and 24-hour management bundles were 5.5% and 17.4%, respectively, and 28-day mortality was 33.0%. Compliance with protocols for blood cultures before antibiotics (42.2%), central venous pressure ≥ 8 mmHg (65.9%), central venous oxygen saturation ≥ 70% (25.0%), and optimized glucose control (82.1%), were significantly associated with decreased 28-day mortality (P < 0.05). When adjusted for age, acute organ dysfunction, and APACHE II score, compliance with the blood culture before antibiotics protocol produced the most significant decrease in 28-day mortality (OR, 0.33; 95%CI, 0.16 - 0.70; P = 0.004). Compliance with ≥ 5 protocols in the 6-hour resuscitation bundle was also associated with lower 28-day mortality in septic shock patients (OR, 0.17; 95%CI, 0.06 - 0.54; P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSCompliance with resuscitation and management bundles is generally poor in China; however, when applied, 6-hour resuscitation bundle are associated with significant reductions in 28-day mortality for sepsis patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Sepsis ; drug therapy ; mortality ; therapy

Recently the use of peptides in bee venom (PBV) for cancer therapy has attracted considerable attention. In this study, the sterically stabilized liposomal PBV (PBV-SL) was prepared using soybean phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and cholesterol-PEG-COOH. The humanized antihepatoma disulfide-stabilized Fv (hdscFv25) was coupled to sterically stabilized liposomes using the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester method. The hdscFv25-immunoliposomes (SIL[hdscFv25]) were immunoreactive as determined by ELISA assay. SIL[hdscFv25] showed higher tumor cells selectivity. PBV-SIL[hdscFv25] can kill SMMC-7721 cells in vitro with higher efficiency than non-targeted liposomes. Whereas cytotoxicties were compared for Hela cells, no significant differences was observed between PBV-SIL[hdscFv25] and PBV-SL. Sterically stabilized immunoliposomal peptides in bee venom could be one drug targeting delivery system.
Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Bee Venoms ; chemistry ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cholesterol ; chemistry ; Drug Delivery Systems ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Immunoconjugates ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Melitten ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Peptides ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

Ferulic acid (FA) was loaded into liposomes via calcium acetate gradient with (80.2 +/- 5.2)% entrapment efficiency. The average sizes of blank liposome and FA liposome were about 155 nm and 154 nm, respectively. The zeta potential of blank liposome and FA liposome were (13.14 +/- 1.67) mV and (4.12 +/- 0.05) mV, respectively. Unilamellar vesicles were present in freeze-fracture electron microscopy. In the pharmacodynamic studies, the protective effect of liposomal ferulic acid on tBHP-challenged U937 cells was measured with the morphology of cell injury, mitochondrial transmembrane potential alternation and cell viability assay used as index. The results of MTT assay, microscopy indicated that FA liposomes exhibited greater antioxidant activity than FA solution on U937 cell.
Antioxidants ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Cholesterol ; chemistry ; Coumaric Acids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Drug Carriers ; Humans ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Mitochondria ; physiology ; Particle Size ; U937 Cells

OBJECTIVETo provide endoscopic anatomic bony structures of pterygopalatine fossa for skull base surgery.

METHODSThe bony structures of the pterygopalatine fossa were observed in ten dry skulls under endoscope.

RESULTSThe pterygopalatine fossa showed a long and narrow cleft composed of the body and pterygoid process of sphenoid bone, the lamina perpendicular of palatine bone, and the posterior wall of maxillary sinus. The pterygopalatine fossa is (21.4 +/- 0.8) mm x (5.2 +/- 0.3) mm x (3.2 +/- 0.3) mm, with seven paths communicating with nasal cavity, mouth cavity, pharynx, orbit, infratemporal fossa and middle cranial fossa. Under endoscope,the whole pterygopalatine fossa could be observed.

CONCLUSIONSEndoscopic anatomic study of the pterygopalatine fossa is important to endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery. Under endoscope,the whole pterygopalatine fossa can be observed.

Adult ; Anatomy, Regional ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cranial Fossa, Middle ; anatomy & histology ; surgery ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures ; Pterygopalatine Fossa ; anatomy & histology ; surgery ; Skull Base ; anatomy & histology ; surgery

The discovery, sorting and identification methods as well as targeted drug delivery systems for cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been reviewed by consulting the recent research papers. CSCs have been believed to be responsible for the occurrence and development of chemo-resistance, leading to the failure of chemotherapy. Much progress has been made in the approaches for CSCs targeting drug delivery systems. The understanding and targeted drug delivery systems for CSCs are promising to provide an alternative for cancer therapy.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Drug Delivery Systems ; methods ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Wnt Signaling Pathway ; drug effects