Esophageal gastric variceal bleeding(EGVB)is a serious complication of cirrhotic portal hypertension with high mortality rate. Prevention of EGVB is an important mean to improve the survival of patients. Non-selective beta-blockers(NSBBs)is one of the first-line drugs for primary and secondary prevention of EGVB,however,only about 1 / 3 of cirrhotic patients respond to this treatment when evaluated by hepatic venous pressure gradient( HVPG). This may be related to the genetic polymorphisms of NSBBs’receptors and the metabolic enzymes. This article reviewed the progress in study on therapeutic efficacy of NSBBs and its influencing factors for preventing EGVB in cirrhotic patients.

Glycosides are the active ingredients (AIs) of many Chinese herbs and have become hot spots along with the findings of their new functions,such as anti-inflammatory,antivirus,enhanced immunity and anti-cancer.It has been found that glycosides exert their effects by converting to aglycons or other AIs in vivo.Therefore,the transformation of glycosides to the corresponding AIs in vitro becomes very important to enhance their bioavailabilities.The microbial transformation has an unparalleled advantage in the transformation of Chinese herbs in vitro for its reaction specificity,less by-products,mild reaction conditions and environmental protection.This paper summarized and prospected researches of glycosides' microbial transformation.

BACKGROUND: Chitosan-disodium β-glycerol phosphate (C/GP) gel has been shown to be compatible with the entrapment of viable chondrocytes, and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are considered to be the potential cells used in tissue engineering. This experiment is aimed to observe the cytocompatibility of BMSCs with C/GP gel.OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of C/GP gel on the growth, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation in vitro cultured BMSCs and explore a new carrier for the application of cartilage tissue engineering.DESIGN: Completely randomized controlled experiment.SETTING: Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College; Center Laboratory of Southwest Hospital Affiliated to the Third Military Medical University of Chinese PLA.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in Center Laboratory of Southwest Hospital Affiliated to the Third Military Medical University of Chinese PLA between October 2005 and April 2006, Six adult female mini-pigss were employed. C/GP gel is prepared by mixture the HCI solution of chitosan with salt solution of β-glycerol phosphate, allowed gel at 37 ℃ in incubator for about 5 to 10 minutes.METHODS: ① BMSCs culture: 4-6 mL of bone marrow harvested from the posterior superior lilac crest were plated at 20 ×10<'6>/100 mm dish and then grown for 14 days in complete media, consisting of DMEM/F-12 supplemented with 10% fetal ovine serum. Cells were harvested and re-seeded for subculture. ② BMSCs differentiation assays: Osteogenic differentiation was assessed by histologic detection of alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium in cultures under osteogenic conditions. Chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated by histology for toluidine blue and immunohistochemistry for type Ⅱ collagen in cultures under chondrogenic conditions. ③ In vitro assays, expanded BMSCs were suspended in C/GP solution and allowed gel at 37 ℃ in incubator for about 5 to 10 minutes, then cultured under chondrogenic conditions for 3 weeks. Cells attached to and viability in C/GP gel was monitored with the aid of an inverted light microscope. Chondrogenic differentiation of cell in C/GP gel were assessed by histological and immunohistocbemistry. The cell proliferated was monitored by MTT after 2, 5, 8 days seeding.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Characterization of mini-pigs' BMSCs; ② BMSCs attached to and viability in C/GP gel; ③ Chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs in C/GP gel; ④ BMSCs proliferated in C/GP gel.RESULTS: ① Characterization of mini-pigs' BMSCs: Cultured BMSCs showed fibroblastic morphology and were able to differentiate to chondrocytes or osteogenic cells under chondrgenic or osteogenic cultured condition respectively. ②BMSCs attached to and viability in C/GP gel: BMSCs attached to and remained > 90% viable in C/GP gels immediately post-casting, and throughout the 21 days, using MTT staining. ③ Chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs in C/GP gel: During 21 days culture period in vitro, chondrogenic induced BMSCs produced amounts of de novo cartilage matrix in the chitosan, as assessed by histological and biochemical criteria. ④ BMSCs proliferated in C/GP gel: Chondrogenic induced BMSCs cultured in C/GP gels continued to proliferate. There was a significant difference among the values of optical density in the cells-gel constructs compared to the controls without cells after 2, 5, and 8 days of culture (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: It is confirmed that C/GP gel shows good cytocompatibility with BMSCs and contributes to the growth, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation for BMSCs in vitro culture. C/GP gel can be a potential cell-carrier for tissue engineering of articular cartilage.

Objective To investigate the changes of proteomics in serum of Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats after accumulated irradiation with 137Cs γ-rays.Methods A total of thirty mature SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:0.2 Gy group,2 Gy group and healthy control group.Rats were irradiated at a dose rate of 0.336 mGy/min for 10 d and 20 d continuously.Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) was used to analyze the different protein expression in serum of irradiated rats.Gene Ontology,KEGG pathway and protein-protein interaction network analysis were conducted using softwares.Results In total,363 protein spots were identified.Twenty nine proteins were differentially expressed in both groups compared with control,of which 10 proteins were up-regulated and 19 proteins were down-regulated.Based on the information of GO categories,these differentially expressed proteins were mainly located in the cytoplasm and membrane concerning the function of binding and catalytic activity.Analysis with the PAJEK software demonstrated that 16 differentially expressed proteins could form a complicated interaction network where glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1),phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) and protein disulfide-isomerase (PDI) might be key nodes.Conclusions Accumulated irradiation can induce differentially expressed proteins in serum of irradiated rats.Analysis on functional roles of the screened proteins GSTP1,PGK1 and PDI may provide insight into further mechanistic investigations and underlying molecular biomarkers induced by accumulated irradiation.

Objective To explore the effects of accumulated 60CD,γ-ray irradiation on small molecular metabolites in rats urine.Methods Ten healthy male SD rats were irradiated by 60Co γ-rays in 5 days and the accumulated doses were 0,0.2,0.4,0.6,0.8,1.0 Gy,respectively.The metabolites in urine of different groups were measured with 1 H-NMR combined with principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least square discriminate analysis (PLS-DA). Results The metabolites in rat urine were obviously changed after irradiation. Compared with control group,the amount of acetoacetate decreased after irradiation(t =29.7 -30.7,P ＜ 0.05 ),but its relative level was stable when the dose increased ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Meanwhile,the relative level of hippuric acid increased ( t =4.4 - 21.6,P ＜ 0.05 ) especially when the accumulated dose was higher than 1 Gy (t =21.6,P＜0.05). The relative level of proline,taurine and trimethylamine-N-oxide increased after irradiation with the same trend( t =3.5 - 13.4,4.7 - 11.5,2.9- 12.7,P＜0.05). Conclusions The acetoacetate,hippuric acid,proline,taurine,and trimethylamine-N-oxide may be applicable for biomarkers of accumulative irradiation on rat.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents of Corydalis yanhusuo.

METHODThe compounds were isolated and purified by column chromatography over macroporous absorption resin, silica gel, and Sephadex LH-20. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data.

RESULT22 compounds were isolated and identified as corydaline (1), tetrahydropalmatine (2), protopine (3), tetrahydrocorysamine (4), tetrahydrocoptisine (5) , tetrahydroberberine (6), tetrahydrocolumbamine (7), noroxyhydrastine (8), dehydrocorydaline (9), glaucine (10), columbamine (11), 8-oxocoptisine (12), 13-methyl-columbamine (13), coptisine (14), palmatine (15), herberine (16), oxoglaucine (17), 13-methyl-palmatrubine (18), dehydrocorybulbine (19), stepharanine (20), adenosine (21), and N5 -acetylornithine (22).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 13, 20, 21, and 22 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Adenosine ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Alkaloids ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Apomorphine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Aporphines ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Berberine ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Berberine Alkaloids ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Corydalis ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; methods

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of ~(56)Fe~(17+),~(12)C~(6+)ion beams and~(60)Co γ rays on chromosome aberration in human lymphoblastoid cells. METHODS: The human lymphoblastoid cells were divided into 0. 1,0. 3,0. 5,0. 7,1. 0,2. 0 Gy irradiated groups and 0. 0 Gy control group. They were separately exposed to ~(56)Fe~(17+)ion beams( linear energy transfer was 400. 0 ke V/μm),~(12)C~(6+)ion beams( linear energy transfer was 26. 0 ke V/μm) and~(60)C γ rays. Chromosome specimens were harvested 48 hours after irradiation. The effects of different radiation on dicentric plus centric ring( “d + r”) aberration rate and chromosome aberration in human lymphoblastoid cells were detected by light microscope with artificial counting. RESULTS: The “d + r”aberration rates induced by 0. 3-2. 0 Gy ~(12)C~(6+)ion beams were significantly higher than those of ~(56)Fe~(17+)ion beams and~(60)Co γ rays at the same dose( P < 0. 017). Chromosome aberration cell rates of 0. 1-2. 0 Gy ~(12)C~(6+)ion beams were significantly higher than those of ~(56)Fe~(17+)ion beams and~(60)C γ rays at the same dose( P < 0. 017). At the dose range of 0. 0-2. 0 Gy,chromosome aberration effects of three kinds of radiations were gradually increased( P < 0. 01). The relative biological effectiveness of ~(56)Fe~(17+)ion beams was lower than that of ~(12)C~(6+)ion beams.CONCLUSION: The chromosome aberration induced by ~(12)C~(6+)ion beams was more serious than that of~(60)Co γ rays and ~(56)Fe~(17+)ion beams.

OBJECTIVE To optimize the extraction technology of volatile components from Wuyao decoction. METHODS On the basis of single factor investigation ，the extraction technology of volatile components from Wuyao decoction was optimized and validated by Box-Behnken design-response surface technology using the contents of bomyl acetate ，cyperotundone，α-cyperone， ligustilide and dehydrocostuslactone ， extraction rate of volatile oil as indexes ， with extraction time ， soaking time and liquid-material ratio as factors. On this basis ，the extraction state of the decoction was quantified. RESULTS The optimal extraction technology was as followed ：the ratio of liquid -material was 13∶1（mL/g），soaking time was 0.5 h，and the extraction time was 6 h in the boiling state. The comprehensive scores of the three validation experiments were 0.948 7，0.948 4 and 0.948 6 respectively （RSD＝0.02％，n＝3），and the deviation from the predicted value （0.947 9）was no more than 1％. The boiling state of the decoction in 180 ℃ oil bath was taken as the sudden boiling state. CONCLUSIONS The optimized extraction technology is stable and feasible.