Adult ; Ameloblastoma ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Dental Implants, Single-Tooth ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Whole Body Imaging

OBJECTIVE: To study the tongue tissue blood oxygen saturation measurement for evaluating tongue manifestation of blood stasis syndrome, and to explore its correlation with blood rheological disorder in a rat model of acute transient brain ischemia. METHODS: Twenty-eight SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group and ischemia group. Middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced by thread in rats of the ischemia group. Tongue tissue blood oxygen saturation, neurological severity score and the changes of blood viscosity, red blood cell deformity, thrombin time and fibrinogen in the rats were measured after 24-hour reperfusion. RESULTS: Blood viscosity and the content of fibrinogen in the ischemia group were significantly higher than those in the sham-operated group. Red blood cell deformity, thrombin time and tongue tissue blood oxygen saturation in the ischemia group were decreased as compared with the sham-operated group. There was a positive correlation between red blood cell deformity and tongue tissue blood oxygen saturation. CONCLUSION: Tongue tissue blood oxygen saturation is a good measurement for evaluating blood stasis in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia, and this model can be used as a rat model of stroke with blood stasis syndrome.

Objective To investigate the life quality in infants with food allergy before and after treatment by using of Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire - Parent Form(FAQLQ - PF). Methods The severity of eczema in 46 children with food allergy was determined by eczema area and severity index(EASI). The life quality of such infants was assessed by the FAQLQ - PF after 2 - months treatment. Results (1)Among the 50 subjects,46(92% )respon-ded to the tests;the average age was(4. 78 ± 1. 48)months. Twenty - nine(63. 04% )subjects had family history of allergic disease. Egg(73. 91% )was the most common allergen,followed by cow milk(43. 48% ),fish and shrimp (8. 70% ),and carrot(4. 35% ).(2)The scores of EASI,FAQLQ - PF in children with food allergy before treatment were 13. 20 ± 12. 86 and 2. 12 ± 1. 33,respectively,the scores after treatment declined(2. 02 ± 4. 40 and 1. 33 ± 1. 08, respectively),there was a statistical significance(t = 28. 070,4. 014,all P ﹤ 0. 05).(3)Compared with pre - treat-ment,the scores of emotional impact subscale and food anxiety subscale declined,from 2. 10 ± 1. 47 and 2. 63 ± 1. 83 to 1. 30 ± 1. 09 and 1. 68 ± 1. 37,respectively,and there were statistically significant differences(t = 5. 204,8. 818,all P ﹤ 0. 05).(4)There was a positive correlation between the EASI and FAQLQ - PF scores(ρ = 0. 205,P ﹤ 0. 05). Conclusions Food allergy adversely affects the quality of life in infants. The poor life quality is associated with more severe symptoms. The life quality in infants and parents can be improved by standardized treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of bioactive peptides combined with probiotics on serum uric acid (SUA) in patients with hyperuricemia (HUA), so as to provide the evidence for prevention and treatment of HUA. Methods: The patients with HUA aged 18 to 65 years were selected and randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. The patients in the intervention group received bioactive peptides combined with probiotics for 28 days at a dose of 3 g/d, while the patients in the control group received an equal dose of placebos. Demographic information, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and blood lipid were collected through questionnaire surveys, physical examination and laboratory tests. SUA levels were detected before and after 14 days and 28 days of interventions. The differences of SUA levels between the two groups were compared using generalized estimation equation. Results: Totally 108 patients with HUA were recruited, including 54 patients in the intervention group and 53 patients in the control group (1 dropout). Before interventions, there were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, course of HUA, exercise duration, frequency of alcohol consumption, frequency of meat broth consumption, BMI, prevalence of hypertension and prevalence of dyslipidemia between the two groups (all P>0.05). After 14 days of interventions, the SUA levels of the patients in the intervention group decreased by 3.00 μmol/L, while those in the control group increased by 7.00 μmol/L. After 28 days of interventions, the SUA levels of the patients in the intervention group and the control group decreased by 26.00 μmol/L and 16.00 μmol/L, respectively. However, there was no statistically significant interaction between the intervention time and group (both P>0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that after 28 days of interventions, the decrease in SUA levels in the patients aged 55 years and older and without hypertension in the intervention group was greater than those in the control group (both P<0.05). Conclusions Bioactive peptides combined with probiotics showed no significant difference in reducing SUA levels in patients with HUA compared to the control group. The effect was more significant for patients aged 55 years and older and without hypertension.

OBJECTIVEThere was consanguineous relationship between caspase-3 and early damage after hypoxia and ischemia. Caspase-3 plays a key role in the process of apoptosis in neuron. Magnesium sulfate could protect neuron from injuries, but the mechanism was not clear. The study was to investigate the expression of caspase-3 mRNA in the hippocampus of seven-day-old hypoxic-ischemic rats and the possible mechanism of neural protection with magnesium sulfate.

METHODSThe model of seven-day-old hypoxia-ischemia rats was established. The rats were divided randomly into 6 groups as follows: (1) normal control (n = 4); (2) sham surgery control (n = 4); (3) hypoxia-ischemia (n = 4); (4) sodium chloride injection with hypoxia-ischemia (n = 4); (5) magnesium sulfate pre-injection with hypoxia-ischemia (n = 4); (6)magnesium sulfate post-injection with hypoxia-ischemia (n = 4). The therapy groups received a bolus injection of 500 mg/kg magnesium sulfate intraperitoneally 0.5 hour before or after hypoxia-ischemia. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to measure caspase-3 mRNA expression in the hippocampus 24 hours after hypoxia-ischemia.

RESULTSThe expression of caspase-3 mRNA was significantly increased in the hippocampus of the hypoxia-ischemia pups (1.88 +/- 0.36 vs 0.97 +/- 0.46, P < 0.05). The expression of caspase-3 mRNA in rats with magnesium sulfate pre-injection and post-injection decreased significantly (1.54 +/- 0.49, 1.65 +/- 0.48 vs 1.88 +/- 0.36, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCaspase-3 was activated in the hippocampus of the seven-day-old rats 24 hours after hypoxia-ischemia. The suppression of the expression of caspase-3 mRNA in the hippocampus was probably related to the protective effect of magnesium sulfate on the brain injury of hypoxia-ischemia.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Caspase 3 ; Caspases ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; Hippocampus ; blood supply ; metabolism ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; physiopathology ; prevention & control ; Magnesium Sulfate ; therapeutic use ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Metastasizing pleomorphic adenomas without histological evidence of malignancy have rarely been reported. A case of 30-year-old woman with a mass which showed a benign pleomorphic adenoma appearanced histologically in the left submandibular gland and right supercollarbone respectively was described. Eight years ago, the patient suffered from pleomorphic adenoma of the left submandibular gland. It revealed histopathologic features consistent with the recurrent and metastasizing tumor. The clinic pathological features, possible mechanism and prevention approach of metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma were discussed based on previously reports in the literature.
Adenoma, Pleomorphic ; Female ; Humans ; Parotid Neoplasms ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; Submandibular Gland

In order to study function of NAC transcription in development, hormone regulation and the stress response of Salvia miltiorrhiza, the NAC transcription was cloned and analyzed. By retrieving cDNA database of S. miltiorrhiza hairy root one NAC unigene was found, then a full length of cDNA was cloned by designing specific primers and PCR amplifying. Using ORF finder it was found that the cDNA containing a NAC-AB conserved domain in N-terminal, so the cDNA was a NAC transcription factor, named as SmNAC1 (kF006346). Bioinformatics analysis showed that SmNAC1 had an open reading frame (ORF) of 591 bp encoding 196 amino acids. The calculated protein had isoelectric point (pI) of 4.36 with molecular weight about 21.66 kDa. The transcription level of SmNAC1 after dealing with yeast extract (YE) and silver ion (Ag+) in S. miltiorrhiza hairy root was markedly stimulated up regulating. It was 1.4 fold compared with the control after induction 2 h, and maintained 2.0 fold on 4-12 h after induction. SmNAC1 may participate in regulation of stress response of YE + Ag+.
Cloning, Molecular ; Computational Biology ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; genetics ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; physiology

BACKGROUNDAgeing is associated with increased incidence of dyslipidemia. To investigate potential molecular mechanisms, the effects of age and fibrate administration on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) expression in livers of young and old rats were studied.

METHODSA total of 16 young (2-month-old) and 16 old rats (24-month-old) were randomly assigned to a control group and fenofibrate group (fenofibrate in a total therapeutic dosage of 0.5% in ratio to each treated rat weight in 14 days). RT-PCR was applied to evaluate hepatic mRNA expression of PPARalpha and its target genes. Western blotting was used to determine PPARalpha protein level in liver tissue.

RESULTSWhen compared with 2-month-old rats, the liver tissue from 24-month-old rats showed reduced expression of PPARalpha mRNA (52%, P < 0.05) and protein (109%, P < 0.01). Consequently, the mRNA levels of PPAR target genes, LPL, ACO, ACS and CPT-1 were markedly lowered by 19%, 8%, 13% and 9% respectively, and apoCIII increased by 24% in livers from 24-month-old rats, compared with values obtained from 2-month-old rats (P < 0.05). Fenofibrate therapy significantly lowered plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels in old rats, accompanied with improvement in hepatic expression of genes, including LPL, ACO, ACS, CPT-1 and apoCIII, but no change was found in PPARalpha expression in livers from either 24-month or 2-month-old rats.

CONCLUSIONSThe decrease in the hepatic PPARalpha expression is probably directly related to the lipid metabolic disturbances observed in old animals. The beneficial effects of fenofibrate administration in old rats suggests that fibrates may be useful for treating lipid disturbances in old people.

Aging ; metabolism ; Animals ; Fenofibrate ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hyperlipidemias ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Lipids ; blood ; Liver ; metabolism ; Male ; PPAR alpha ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The commodity specification and grade of Chinese medicinal materials is a measure of the quality of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), which directly impacts on the safety and effectiveness of clinical medicines. It is an urgent problem to establish a set of standards which can both interpret the scientific connotation of the commodity specification and grade of Chinese medicinal materials and play a significant role on clinical medicines as well as markets. This paper reviews the research methods of the commodity specification and grade of Chinese medicinal materials such as sensory evaluation, chemical assessment, biological evaluation, and cited the applications of various methods for the classification of TCMs. It provides technical support for establishing standards of the commodity specification and grade of Chinese medicinal materials, and also constructs scientific basis for clinical rational drug use.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; economics ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; economics ; standards ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Research Design

OBJECTIVETo isolate and purify components from polysaccharides of purple sweet potato (PPSP) and to test their anti-tumor activity.

METHODSDEAE-Cellulose and CM-Cellulose exchange chromatography were applied to separate components of PPSP. The anti-tumor activities of each component were measured by MTT assay on Hela and HepG(2) cells and their monosaccharide composition were analyzed by TLC chromatography, followed by infrared spectroscopy studies.

RESULTSThrough weak anion exchange chromatography and gradient elution by sodium chloride solution, four components were separated and named as PPSP, PPSPII, PPSPIII and PPSPIV, respectively. MTT tests showed that PPSP II and PPSPIII inhibited Hela and HepG2 tumor cells in a certain extent. The structural analysis revealed that PPSPI was mainly composed of glucose and galactose, PPSP II was composed of glucose and had a typical absorption peak of β-D-glucose chitosan pyranose, PPSP III was a glycoprotein showing a protein absorption peak.

CONCLUSIONFour components were separated from PPSP successfully, among which PPSP II and PPSP III shows anti-tumor activities on Hela and HepG(2) cells in vitro.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; HeLa Cells ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Ipomoea batatas ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology