To determine the optimum conditions of supercritical CO2 extraction of Xiaoyaosan, and establish its fingerprint by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the yield of extract were investigated, an orthogonal test was used to quantify the effects of extraction temperature, pressure, CO2 flow rate and time, and fingerprint analysis of different batches of extracts were by GC-MS. The optimal extraction conditions were determined as follows: extraction pressure 20 MPa, extraction temperature 50 degrees C, CO2 flow rate 25 kg x h(-1), extraction time 3 h, and average yield 2.2%. The GC-MS fingerprint was established and 27 common peaks were found, whose contents add up to 81.89% of the total peak area. Among them, 21 compounds were identified, accounting for 53.20% of the total extract. The extraction process is reasonable and favorable for industrial production. The GC-MS method is accurate, reliable, reproducible, and can be used for quality control of supercritical CO2 extract from Xiaoyaosan.
Carbon Dioxide ; chemistry ; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods

OBJECTIVETo analyze the correlation between myocardial ischemia and carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive patients.

METHODSThe clinical data were collected from 85 hospitalized hypertensive patients admitted between May 2005 and September 2008 without the complication of coronary artery disease as confirmed by cardiac computed tomographic angiography (CTA). According to the results of treadmill exercise test, the patients were divided myocardial ischemia group and ischemia-free group. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to screen the risk factors of myocardial ischemia. The correlations were analyzed between myocardial ischemia, common carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), Crouse score of the carotid plaque, thickness of the intraventricular septum and left artrium. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of IMT and Crouse score in predicting the presence of myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients.

RESULTSCarotid plaque formation was identified as the major risk factor of myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients (OR=4.982, P=0.004). The incidence of myocardial ischemia in the hypertensive patients with carotid plaques was significantly higher than that in the patients without the plaque (Chi2=9.317, P=0.002). Myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients was positively correlated to the thickness of the intraventricular septum (r=0.362, P=0.001) and left artrium (r=0.298, P=0.009), and the IMT of the common carotid artery was positively correlated to the thickness of the intraventricular septum (r=0.231, P=0.045). The area under cure (AUC) of the ROC curve of Crouse score was 0.726-/+0.061 in predicting the presence of myocardial ischemia in the hypertensive patients (P=0.001), and that of IMT was 0.682-/+0.061 (P=0.006).

CONCLUSIONCarotid plaque formation is the major risk factor of myocardial ischemia in hypertensive patients and shows a positive correlation to the onset of myocardial ischemia, but both the common carotid artery IMT and the Crouse score of the carotid plaque are not accurate markers for predicting myocardial ischemia in patients with hypertension.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Atherosclerosis ; complications ; pathology ; Carotid Artery, Common ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Coronary Angiography ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Ischemia ; etiology ; pathology ; Risk Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

Objective To investigate the gene mutations of calcium-and integrin-binding protein 2 (CIB2) 196C＞T, 272T ＞ C and 297C ＞ G carried by students with non-syndromic hearing impairment from special educational schools in Yunnan Province. Methods The experimental group included 337 students with non-syndromic hearing impairment who failed to carry deafness gene with GJB2 (35 del G, 176_191 del 16,235delC, 299_300 del AT), GJB3 (C538T,G547A), mtDNA 12S rRNA (A1555G, C1494T), and SLC26A4 (IVS7_2A＞G, A2168G) . The control group consisted with 150 healthy people. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood with EDTA anti-coagulate. The subject's DNA fragments including CIB2 196C＞T, 272T ＞ C and 297C＞ G were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and subsequently analyzed by direct sequencing to identify deafness-associated mutations. Results Both in the experimental group and control group, we failed to find the mutation of CIB2 196C＞T, 272T＞C and 297C＞G in all individuals. Conclusion Mutations in CIB2 gene 196C＞T, 272T＞C and 297C＞G are not a frequent cause of non-syndromic hearing loss among deaf people in Yunnan province. It provided important information for deafness with formulating landscape of gene screening in this region.

Objective To investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on motor function of upper limbs of stroke patients. Methods 80 stroke patients were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. Both groups accepted routine rehabilitation, while the experimental group accepted anodal stimulation, and the control group received sham stimulation. They were assessed with Brunnstrom stages of arms and hands, Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) of upper extremities, Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) and modified Barthel Index (MBI) before and 1 month after treatment. Results All the scores improved in both groups after treatment (P<0.05), and improved more in the Brunnstrom stages of arms and hands, FMA, ARAT in the experimental group than in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion tDCS may promote the recovery of arms and hands function of stroke patients.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relation ship of estrogen receptor 2 gene (ESR2) polymorphism associated with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) in Chengdu of China.

METHODSBy polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method, the Rsa I polymorphism in exon 5 and the Alu I polymorphism in exon 8 of ESR2 were detected in 100 pregnant women with ICP (ICP group) and 100 normal pregnant women (control group) in Chengdu.

RESULTS(1) The frequency of the allele A of Alu I polymorphism in exon 8 was significantly higher in ICP group than in control group (P=0.031, OR=1.975), so did the frequency of the Aa+AA genotypes (P=0.028, OR=2.144). (2) The genotype distributions (rr, Rr and RR) and allele frequencies (r and R) of Rsa I polymorphism in exon 5 were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe Alu I polymorphism in exon 8 of ESR2 may be associated with the susceptibility of ICP in Chengdu. The Aa+AA genotype significantly elevated the risk suffering from the ICP. The Rsa I polymorphism in exon 5 of ESR2 is not associated with the risk getting the ICP in Chengdu.

Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; genetics ; Estrogen Receptor beta ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; genetics

AIM To establish a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) method for the simultaneous content determination of four constituents in Kaihoujian Spray (a spray for management of oral and laryngopharyngeal inflammatory condition,containing Sophorae tonkinensis Radix et Rhizoma,Cicadae Periostracum,menthol,etc.).METHODS The analysis of mixure of Kaihoujian Spray and internal standard (dibutyl phthalate) solution was conducted on an HP-INNOWax column (30 m ×0.25 mm ×0.25 μm),both of the injector temperature and detector temperature were set at 260 ℃,the split ratio was 5 ∶ 1,and the flowing rate was 1.5 mL/min.RESULTS Menthol,matrine,sophocarpine and sophoridine showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 0.228 7-2.287 0 mg/mL (r =0.999 7),0.011 1-0.111 0 mg/mL (r =0.999 6),0.016 8-0.168 0 mg/mL (r =0.999 8) and 0.003 4-0.034 0 mg/mL (r =0.999 4),whose average recoveries (n =9) were 98.4％ (RSD=1.2％),95.9％ (RSD=1.8％),96.2％ (RSD=2.1％) and 97.1％ (RSD=1.7％),respectively.CONCLUSION This accurate,sensitive and simple method can be used for the quality control of Kaihoujian Spray.

Objective::To observe the efficacy of modified Qiju Dihuang pills in protecting renal function of patients with early renal impairment with syndrome of Yin deficiency and Yang hyperactivity caused by hypertension and its effect in resisting inflammation and oxidative stress, and improving endothelial function. Method::Randomly divided into control group (59 cases) and observation group (60 cases) by random number table. Patients in control got valsartan capsules, 80 mg/time, 1 time/day. And patients whose blood pressure can't be controlled were added with nifedipine tablets, 10 mg/time, 1 time/day. In addition to the therapy of control group, patients in observation group were added with modified Qiju Dihuang pills, 1 dose/day. The control group took Qiju Dihuang pills.The courses of treatment were 16 weeks. And levels of cystatin C (CysC), urinary N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), β₂ microglobulin (β₂-MG), urinary microalbumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) and emodynamics of kidney were detected. Blood pressure, systolic pressure (SBP), diastolic pressure (DBP) and blood pressure renal artery resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were recorded, and Yin deficiency and Yang hyperactivity were scored. Levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), adiponectin (ADPN) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) were detected. Result::The total effective rate in observation group was 91.67%(55/60), which was higher than 76.27%(45/59) in control group (χ²=5.255, P<0.05). Levels of SBP and DBP were lower than those in control group (P<0.05). At the 16^th week during the treatment, the compliance rate of blood pressure was 90.66%, which was higher than 84.13% in control group (χ²=127.65, P<0.01). And levels of CysC, β₂-MG, NAG, UACR, RI, PI, ET-1, SOD, GSH-Px, IL-6, NF-κB and TNF-α were lower than those in control group (P<0.01), while levels of NO, SOD and GSH-Px were higher than those in control group (P<0.01). Conclusion::In addition to the therapy for controlling blood pressure with routine western medicine, modified Qiju Dihuang pills can reduce level of the blood pressure, and control blood pressure with the standard, with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects. It can also improve the vasomotor function and the flow of kidney, protect the kidney function, and reduce the degree of injury, so as to delay the process of kidney damage and improve the prognosis.