OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of of manganese (Mn) ions stress on the contents of cordycepin and adenosine in mycelia of C. militaris. METHODS: The mycelia biomass, Mn accumulation and activities of antioxidant enzymes [catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)] in mycelia of C. militaris with liquid culture medium supplemented with Mn from 0 to 100 g · L-1 were determined. The contents of cordycepin and adenosine in mycelia under different manganese oxidative stress were determined by HPLC. The separation was performed on a Zorbax Extend-C18 column (4.6 mm × 150 mm, 4 μm), using acetoni-trile-water (5:95) as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL · min-1. The detection wavelength was set at 254 nm. RESULTS: The mycelia biomass of C. militaris decreased with the increase of manganese concentration. The manganese content in mycelia increased significantly with the increase of manganese concentration and reached plateau when the manganese concentration was higher than 30 g · L-1. The activity of antioxidant enzymes including POD, CAT and SOD in mycelia of C. militaris all increased first and then decreased with increasing concentration of manganese in the culture media. The cordycepin content in mycelia increased significantly with increase of manganese concentration. When the Mn+ concentration in the culture medium was 80 g · L-1, cordycepin content in mycelia was 3.31 times higher than the control. The adenosine content decreased significantly when the manganese concentration was in the range of 0-30 g · L-1, and then remained relatively stable. CONCLUSION: Oxidative stress of manganese ions promotes the cordycepin synthesis in mycelia of C. militaris, but inhibites adenosine synthesis.

China ; Foundations ; Preventive Medicine ; economics ; Research Support as Topic ; statistics & numerical data

?AIM:To establish a suitable normative reference value for electroretinogram ( ERG ) testing using electroencephalogram ( EEG) skin electrodes.?METHODS: The ERG was recorded in 51 eyes ( 30 people ) who were normal after ophthalmologic examination in our department from March to September 2015 using skin electrodes and contact lens electrodes. The recorded result was reviewed and analyzed, and all the testings were recorded by the routine program.?RESULTS: The 95% confidential interval, mean or median of values was defined in amplitudes and latencies of various responses. All the amplitudes results of skin electrodes were significantly lower than those of the contact lens electrodes and the ratio ( amplitudes of skin electrodes to those of the contact lens electrodes ) was 20% to 30%. The latencies results of skin electrodes were significantly shorter than those of contact lens electrodes and the ratio was 95% to 96%.?CONCLUSION:The EEG skin electrode used for patients with low compliance may provide valuable information of retinal function.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies to a broad range of self-antigens. Profiling the autoantibody repertoire using array-based technology has emerged as a powerful tool for the identification of biomarkers in SLE and other autoimmune diseases. Proteomic microarray has the capacity to hold large number of self-antigens on a solid surface and serve as a high-throughput screening method for the determination of autoantibody specificities. The autoantigen arrays carrying a wide variety of self-antigens, such as cell nuclear components (nucleic acids and associated proteins), cytoplas-mic proteins, phospholipid proteins, cell matrix proteins, mucosal/secreted proteins, glomeruli, and other tissue-specific proteins, have been used for screening of autoantibody specificities associated with different manifestations of SLE. Arrays containing synthetic peptides and molecular modified proteins are also being utilized for identification of autoantibodies targeting to special antigenic epi-topes. Different isotypes of autoantibodies, including IgG, IgM, IgA, and IgE, as well as other Ig subtypes, can be detected simultaneously with multi-color labeled secondary antibodies. Serum and plasma are the most common biologic materials for autoantibody detection, but other body fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, and saliva can also be a source of autoantibody detection.

Objective To investigate the operative indication,timing,method,selective standards of fetieided fetus and the number of reduced fetuses of selective multifetal pregnancy reduction in second trimester,and the pregnancy outcome of multifetal pregnancy by this operation.Methods Trans-abdominal selective multifetal pregnancy reductions in 37 cases of multiple pregnancy (twins 6 cases,triplets 21cases, quadruplets 8 cases,and quintuplets 2 cases) during 12~(+1) -25 weeks were performed under ultrasound guidance.The fetus to be reduced was injected potassium chloride (KC1) intraeardiacally until the fetal heartbeat stopped gradually.Totally 46 fetuses were reduced.Periodic prenatal examination and monitoring of coagulation function were carried out after the procedure.The pregnancy complications and pregnancy outcome of all cases were recorded.Results (1) The successful ratio of reduction was 100% (46/46 fetuses) and the successful pregnancy ratio was 88.9% (24/27).(2) Among all the 37 cases,fifteen deliveried after 36 weeks,seven deliveried in 32-36 weeks,three deliveried in 28-32 weeks,two aborted after feticide,and ten cases were in pregnancy at the time of this study.The mean gestational age of all was (34.9?4.1) weeks,and the delivery ratio after 28 weeks was 92.6% (25/27).(3) The mean birth weight of singletons was (3014?640) g,and of twins was (2557?573) g.The neonates of three triplets all died except for in one case two fetuses were alive.(4) Except in two cases after reducing one fetus of monoamniotie twins,another one died within 24 hours,the remaining fetuses were all alive.(5) Pre- eclampsia occurred in three cases.None of the cases had blood coagulation disturbances.Conclusion (1) Selective muhifetal pregnancy reduction in second trimester can feticide the abnormal fetus objectively or reduce the fetal number effectively.It is a safe procedure to decrease the complications of multifetal pregnancy and increase the birth weight.(2) ff the intention is reducing the fetal number,we choose the fetus who lies in the fundus uteri and reduce the muhifetal pregnancy to twins.(3) It is advised to aviod performing the procedure during vaginal bleeding.We reduce fetus after vaginal bleeding stops for one or more weeks.(4) Selective second-trimester multifetal pregnancy reduction will not result in the disturbance of blood coagulation and the death of remaining fetus.The incidence of pre-eclampsia is decreased after muhifetal pregnancy reduction.

Animals ; Bacteria, Anaerobic ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Humans ; Intestines ; microbiology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo compare the antibacterial effects of Huangqin-Tang with its metabolites produced by intestinal flora.

METHODThe antibacterial tests in vitro and in vivo were performed by agar dilution method and lethal protection of animal respectively.

RESULTHuangqin-Tang and its metabolites had antibacterial action on bacteria in vitro, however the antibacterial activity of metabolites of Huangqin-Tang on Salmomella, Dysentery bacillus and Proteus in vitro was stronger than Huangqin-Tang. The metabolites of Huangqin-Tang had protective effect on the animals infected by Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli respectively from death, but Huangqin-Tang had no lethal protection action.

CONCLUSIONThe antibacterial effects of metabolites of Huangqin-Tang in vitro and in vivo are stronger than that of Huangqin-Tang, which shows that intestinal flora play a very important role in antibacterial effects of Huangqin-Tang.

Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; Feces ; microbiology ; Intestines ; microbiology ; Male ; Mice ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Proteus ; drug effects ; Salmonella ; drug effects ; Shigella dysenteriae ; drug effects ; Staphylococcal Infections ; drug therapy

Objective To evaluate left ventricular function in patients with hypertensive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HHC)using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Thirty patients with HHC and 32 control subjects were studied.Full-volume RT-3DE data from apical window were acquired,and regional volumetric time curves of 17 segments were obtained by fast 3-dimensional border detection software.Several left ventricular function parameters were calculated semiautomatically,including global left ventricular end-diastolic volume(EDV),end-systolic volume(ESV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),the ratio of ESV/EDV of 17 segments,the standard deviation(SD)and difference(Dif)(adjusted by the R-R interval) of time to minimum systolic volume(Tmsv)in 16 segments(Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif).Results EDV and ESV were significantly larger in patients with HHC than that in control subjects[(88±29)ml vs (72±15) ml,t=-2.680,P=0.008;(28±10)ml vs (22±6 )ml,t=-2.613,P=0.01].HHC had a higher ratio of ESV/EDV at interventricular septum(IVS)compared with control group[mid-segments of anterior IVS:(40.51±20.28)% vs (26.43±10.10)%,t=-3.378,P=0.002;mid-segments of posterior IVS:(41.44±23.55)% vs (24.46±8.12)%,t=-3.688,P=0.001;apical segments of IVS:(30.96±21.31)% vs (19.53±7.33)%,t=-2.745,P=0.01].In patients with HHC,Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif were significantly longer[(2.48±1.38)% vs (1.16±0.26)%,t=-5.117,P＜0.001;(7.67±5.07)% vs (3.95±1.48)%,t=-3.865,P＜0.001].And the prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony was higher than that in control subjects(43% vs 3%).Conclusions HHC patients may have regional left ventricular systolic dysfunction before global changes,and have a higher prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony.RT-3DE is a useful imaging modality for assessing left ventricular systolic function.

The present study was to investigate the effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. f. alba (SMA) pharmacological pretreatment on apoptosis of cultured hippocampal neurons from neonate rats under oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Cultured hippocampal neurons were randomly divided into five groups (n = 6): normal plasma group, low dose SMA plasma (2.5%) group, middle dose SMA plasma (5%) group, high dose SMA plasma (10%) group and control group. The hippocampal neurons were cultured and treated with plasma from adult Wistar rats intragastrically administered with saline or aqueous extract of SMA. The apoptosis of neurons was induced by glucose-free Earle's solution containing 1 mmol/L Na2S2O4 and labeled by MTT and Annexin V/PI double staining. Moreover, protein expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunofluorescence. The results showed that few apoptotic cells were observed in control group, whereas the number of apoptotic cells was greatly increased in normal plasma group and low dose SMA plasma group. Both middle and high dose SMA plasma could protect cultured hippocampal neurons from apoptosis induced by OGD (P < 0.05). The protective effect of high dose SMA plasma was stronger than that of middle one (P < 0.05). Compared to control, normal plasma and low dose SMA plasma groups, middle and high dose SMA plasma groups both showed significantly higher levels of Bcl-2 (P < 0.05 or 0.01), whereas expressions of Bax was opposite. There were no significant differences of Bcl-2 and Bax expressions between middle and high dose SMA plasma groups. Number of Bcl-2- and Bax-positive cells had similar tendency. Bcl-2/Bax (number of positive cells) ratio was higher in high dose SMA plasma group than those of all the other groups (P < 0.05 or 0.01). These results suggest that pharmacological pretreatment of blood plasma containing middle and high dose SMA could raise viability and inhibit apoptosis of OGD-injured hippocampal neurons by up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulating the expression of Bax.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; cytology ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; methods ; Male ; Neurons ; cytology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

Objective To provide reliable indicators for effective prevention and control of COVID-19, we examined the biochemical indicators as well as anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients. Methods A total of 56 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases quarantined during January-March, 2020 in Gansu Provincial People′s Hospital and People′s Hospital of Xigu District, Gansu Province were included.Based on the results of nucleic acid testing and CT scan finding, they were divided into three groups: positive in both nucleic acid testing and CT scan finding; positive in nucleic acid testing but negative in CT scan finding; negative in both nucleic acid testing and CT scan finding.COVID-19 viral nucleic acid was detected and chest CT scan was performed.The following biochemical indicators were examined: total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase.SPSS 22.0 statistical software was used to analyze the differences in the biochemical indicators among these three groups, as well as the temporal trend of IgM and IgG antibodies at different points of time. Results There were significant differences in the mean values of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase between these three groups (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference in the mean value of total protein and albumin (P>0.05).ROC curve indicated that aspartate aminotransferase had the largest maximum area under the curve (AUC, 0.834), whereas alanine aminotransferase had the highest sensitivity (1.0) and total bilirubin had the highest specificity (0.927).Thus, aspartate transaminase provided the best prediction for the diagnosis of COVID-19, with sensitivity of 0.786, specificity of 0.854, and the maximum AUC of 0.834.In 12 of 16 confirmed COVID-19 patients tested IgG positive after 10 days of diagnosis, and 10 of 10 confirmed COVID-19 patients tested IgG positive after 14 days of diagnosis. Conclusion Aspartate aminotransferase may be the most useful indicator in the diagnosis of COVID-19.