Four triterpenoids were isolated and purified from the 95% ethanol extract of Maytenus guangxiensis by silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, MCI column chromatography and preparative RP-HPLC. Their structures were determined from their physicochemical properties and spectral data. They were identified as maytguanone A (1), maytguanone B (2), 11α-methoxyurs-12-ene-1β,3β-diol (3), lup-20(29)-ene-3β,11α-diol (4). Compounds 1 and 2 are new triterpenoids, along with compounds 3 and 4 were isolated from M. guangxiensis for the first time. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1, 3 and 4 was evaluated using the MTT procedure with three cancer cell lines. The results show that compound 3 displayed good inhibitory effects against HeLa, with an IC₅₀ of 10.68 μmol·L^-1.

OBJECTIVETo collect the data of measuring skin thickness of children of both genders of different ages and parts of body with non-invasive high-frequency ultrasound method.

METHODSTwo hundred and twenty-one children from 1 to 18 years of age,without systemic disease or injury in skin, were enrolled in the study and divided into 4 groups: i.e., infant group (112 years of age), pre-school age group (3-6 years of age), school age group (7-12 years for boys and 7-11 years for girls), adolescent age group (13-18 years for boys and 12-18 years for girls), and each group was subdivided into 2 groups according to the gender. The skin thicknesses of children in cheek, chest, abdomen, forearms, fundament and thigh was respectively measured by 13 MHz high-frequency ultrasound.

RESULTSThe region with thinnest skin in children was the cheek, and the thickest was the back and buttock. (1) There were no significant differences in thickness of skin in the same region between genders and also among different age groups (P > 0.05). (2) There were also no obvious differences of thickness of the dermis and the whole skin in the same region between male and female, or among infants, pre-school age and school age groups (P > 0.05). In adolescent group, the average thickness of dermis in male was (1.16 +/- 0.04 ) - (1.98 +/- 0.47) mm, the average whole thickness of skin in male was (1.27 +/- 0.12) - (2.20 +/- 0.45) mm, while those of female were (1.00 +/- 0.18) - (1.60 +/- 0.30) mm and (1.10 +/- 0.17) - (1.83 +/- 0.29) mm (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIt is reliable to measure the skin thickness by 13MHz ultrasound as a non-invasive method. The main factor which determined the thickness of the skin is dermal thickness, especially in males. The significant differences of skin thickness among cheek, back and buttock provide the basis for us to choose the appropriate thickness of skin grafts harvested from different body parts.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dermis ; diagnostic imaging ; Epidermis ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Skin ; diagnostic imaging ; Skinfold Thickness ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: The measuring Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is an important predictor of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study evaluated the predictive value of pretreatment serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) comparing with EBV DNA in patients with NPC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an observational study of 419 non-metastatic NPC patients, we prospectively evaluated the prognostic effects of pretreatment SAA, CRP, and EBV DNA on survival. The primary end-point was progress-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: The median level of SAA and CRP was 4.28 mg/L and 1.88 mg/L, respectively. For the high-SAA group (> 4.28 mg/L) versus the low-SAA (≤ 4.28 mg/L) group and the high-CRP group (> 1.88 mg/L) versus the low-CRP (≤ 1.88 mg/L) group, the 5-year PFS was 64.5% versus 73.1% (p=0.013) and 65.2% versus 73.3% (p=0.064), respectively. EBV DNA detection showed a superior predictive result, the 5-year PFS in the EBV DNA ≥ 1,500 copies/mL group was obviously different than the EBV DNA < 1,500 copies/mL group (62.2% versus 77.8%, p < 0.001). Multifactorial Cox regression analysis confirmed that in the PFS, the independent prognostic factors were including EBV DNA (hazard ratio [HR], 1.788; p=0.009), tumour stage (HR, 1.903; p=0.021), and node stage (HR, 1.498; p=0.049), but the SAA and CRP were not included in the independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: The results of SAA and CRP had a certain relationship with the prognosis of NPC, and the prognosis of patients with high level of SAA and CRP were poor. However, the predictive ability of SAA and CRP was lower than that of EBV DNA.
C-Reactive Protein* ; DNA* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Observational Study ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies* ; Serum Amyloid A Protein* ; Survival Analysis

Objective: To explore the mechanism of Wuzang Wenyang Huayu decoction in improving the cognitive competence and the pharmacological mechanism for neurofibrillary tangles related to cyclin-dependent kinase-5(CDK-5).Method: The 10 SAMR1 mice were used as normal group,40 SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into model group,donepezil group (0.4 mg·kg^-1·d^-1),high and low dose Wuzang Wenyang Huayu decoction groups (5,1.25 g·kg^-1·d^-1).Drugs were administered by gastric lavage for 4 continuous weeks.Directional navigation and space exploration ability were evaluated with Morris amaze.Real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of CDK-5 in brain nerve tissues.Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of CDK-5 and phosphorylation of Tau protein.Meanwhile,neurofibrillary tangles in brain tissue were detected with silver staining method.Result: As compared with normal group,both CDK-5 expression and Tau protein phosphorylation in brain nerve tissues were remarkably increased in model group (P<0.01),with significantly increased neurofibrillary tangles and significantly decreased directional navigation ability and space exploration ability (P<0.01).As compared with model group,CDK-5 expression and Tau protein phosphorylation were lower in Wuzang Wenyang Huayu decoction treated groups (P<0.05,P<0.01),accompanied by decreased number of neurofibrillary tangles as well as improved directional navigation and space exploration ability (P<0.05,P<0.01).Conclusion: Wuzang Wenyang Huayu decoction can markedly improve the cognitive competence of SAMP8 mice,and the mechanism may be related to its inhibition on CDK-5 over-expression,and down-regulation of Tau protein phosphorylation and neurofibrillary tangles in brain tissue.