OBJECTIVETo explore the best technique parameters on preparing evening primrose oil microspheres by spray drying technique.

METHODGC and internal standard method were used to determine the content of gamma-linolenic acid methyl esters, the technological parameters were investigated by orthogonal experimental design with the yield and entrapment rate as indexes.

RESULTThe charging rate as 3 mL x min(-1), atomizing pressure as 100 kPa and the temperature of inlet as 105 degrees C were the best technique parameters.

CONCLUSIONEvening primrose oil microspheres accorded with the expecting demand. The main influencing factor is the charging rate. Spray drying is reasonable and practical for preparing evening primrose oil microspheres.

Chromatography, Gas ; Feasibility Studies ; Linear Models ; Microspheres ; Oenothera biennis ; chemistry ; Plant Oils ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; gamma-Linolenic Acid ; analysis

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Qianjin Wenwu decoction (QWD), a well-known traditional Korean medicine, has been used for the treatment of DKD, with satisfactory therapeutic effects. This study was designed to investigate the active components and mechanisms of action of QWD in the treatment of DKD. The results demonstrated that a total of 13 active components in five types were found in QWD, including flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides, phenylpropionic acids, saponins, coumarins, and lignins. Two key proteins, TGF-β1 and TIMP-1, were identified as the target proteins through molecular docking. Furthermore, QWD significantly suppressed Scr and BUN levels which increased after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and Masson staining results demonstrated that QWD significantly alleviated renal interstitial fibrosis in UUO mice. We also found that QWD promoted ECM degradation by regulating MMP-9/TIMP-1 homeostasis to improve renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and interfere with the expression and activity of TGF- β1 in DKD treatment. These findings explain the underlying mechanism of QWD for the treatment of DKD, and also provide methodological reference for investigating the mechanism of traditional medicine in the treatment of DKD.
Rats ; Mice ; Animals ; Ureteral Obstruction/metabolism* ; Kidney/metabolism* ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1/metabolism* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Kidney Diseases/drug therapy* ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism* ; Flavonoids/metabolism* ; Fibrosis

PURPOSE: Several studies have compared the effects of coronary stenting and coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) on left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease. However, there are limited data on the long-term outcomes of these two interventions in diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 56 patients with LMCA stenosis who underwent drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation and 116 patients who underwent CABG in a single hospital in China between January 2004 and December 2006. We compared long-term major adverse cardiac events (death; a "serious outcome" composite of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke; and target-vessel revascularization). RESULTS: In-hospital (30-day) mortality was 0% for the DES group and 3.4% for the CABG group (p=0.31). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of risk of death [hazard ratio for stenting group, 0.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.13-1.63; p=0.55] or risk of serious outcome (hazard ratio for DES group, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.39-1.45; p=0.47). The target-vessel revascularization rate was higher in the DES group than in the CABG group (hazard ratio, 3.67; 95% CI, 1.24-11.06; p=0.018). CONCLUSION: In this cohort of diabetic patients with LMCA stenosis, there was no difference in composite endpoints between patients receiving DESs and those undergoing CABG. However, stenting was associated with higher rates of target-vessel revascularization than CABG. DES implantation in diabetic patients with LMCA disease was found to be at least as safe as CABG.
Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/*methods ; Coronary Stenosis/*therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

To investigate the relationship between cytoskeleton and hyposmotic membrane stretch-induced increase in muscarinic current, the role of actin microfilament in hyposmotic membrane stretch-induced increase in muscarinic current was studied with the whole-cell patch clamp technique in guinea-pig gastric myocytes. In this study, the muscarinic current was induced by carbachol (50 micromol/L) or GTPgammaS (0.5 mmol/L). The results showed that hyposmotic superfusate (202 mOsmol/L) increased carbachol-induced current (I(CCh)) by 145+/-27% and increased GTPgammaS-induced current by 183+/-30%; but in the presence of cytochalasin-B (Cyt-B, 20 micromol/L), an actin cytoskeleton disruptor, hyposmotic membrane stretch increased I(CCh) by 70+/-6%. However, hyposmotic membrane stretch induced increase in I(CCh) was potentiated to 545+/-81% by phalloidin (20 micromol/L), an actin microfilament stabilizer. The results demonstrated that hyposmotic membrane stretch increased the muscarinic currents induced by carbachol or GTPgammaS and that the actin microfilament is involved in the process in guinea-pig gastric myocytes.
Actin Cytoskeleton ; physiology ; Animals ; Carbachol ; pharmacology ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; Male ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; physiology ; Osmotic Pressure ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Pyloric Antrum ; cytology ; Receptors, Muscarinic ; physiology

Objective:An early diagnosis model of acute aortic dissection (AAD) was established based on chest pain center database.Methods:The clinical data of patients who attended Chest Pain Center of Department of Emergency in Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University of Shandong Province from January 2020 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into AAD and non-AAD groups according to whether or not AAD was diagnosed. The clinical related indicators of the two groups were compared. The research indicators with statistical differences between the two groups were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis, and the early diagnosis of AAD nomogram model was established. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the model was used to evaluate the prediction accuracy, and the Homser-Lemeshow statistics were used to test the goodness of fit for the model. A total of 630 patients with chest pain who visited the hospital from January 2021 to March 2021 were also collected for external validation of the model. The t-test of independent samples was used to compare the measurement data of normal distribution, nonparametric test was used to compare the measurement data of skewness distribution, and χ 2 test was used to compare the counting data between groups. Results:A total of 2 738 patients were included, of which 4.09% (112/2 738) were AAD patients. Univariate analysis showed that in AAD group, male morbidity (74.11%(83/112)), hypertension history (70.54%(79/112)), aortic disease history (10.71%(12/112)), family history of aortic disease (4.46%(5/112)), sudden onset of symptoms (76.79%(86/112)), percentage of patients with laceration pain (38.39%(43/112)), patients with back pain (66.07%(74/112)), patients with abdominal pain (16.96%(19/112)), systolic blood pressure ((159.44±30.94) mmHg), bilateral blood pressure/pulse asymmetry (23.21% (26/112)), incidence of complicated neurological signs (7.14%(8/112)) and D-dimer (3.57(2.10, 6.62) mg/L) were significantly higher than those in non-AAD group (59.56%(1 564/2 626), 46.23%(1 214/2 626), 0.23%(6/2 626), 0.08%(2/2 626), 35.99%(945/2 626), 0.08%(2/2 626), 3.08%(81/2 626), 3.81%(100/2 626), (142.46±27.90) mmHg, 0.15%(4/2 626), 0.27%(7/2 626), 0.31(0.20, 0.50) mg/L). Age ((57.95±14.35) years old) and CK-MB (1.50(0.90, 3.25) μg/L) were significantly lower than those in the non-AAD group ((61.94±15.77) years, 2.50(1.24, 4.81) μg/L). The differences were statistically significant (the statistical values were χ 2=9.47, χ 2=25.46, χ 2=180.80, χ 2=81.11, χ 2=76.17, χ 2=975.60, χ 2=798.00, χ 2=44.72, t=6.28, χ 2=527.20, χ 2=93.22, Z=14.09, t=2.61, and Z=3.51, respectively; P values were 0.002, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, 0.009, and <0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that history of hypertension ( OR=3.088, 95% CI:1.294-7.374), history of aortic disease ( OR=20.771, 95% CI:2.132-202.361), family history of aortic disease ( OR=266.425, 95% CI:17.610-4 030.851), sudden onset of symptoms ( OR=3.538, 95% CI:1.643-7.619), laceration pain ( OR=1 771.971, 95% CI:204.048-15 387.935), back pain ( OR=61.550,95% CI:27.987-135.367), abdominal pain ( OR=12.325, 95% CI:4.201-36.161), systolic blood pressure ( OR=1.026, 95% CI:1.013-1.039), bilateral blood pressure/pulse asymmetry ( OR=338.357, 95% CI:60.704-1 885.949) and D-dimer ( OR=1.241, 95% CI:1.176-1.309) were independent factors for the diagnosis of AAD in patients with chest pain (P values were 0.011, 0.009, <0.001, 0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001, and <0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the nomogram model was constructed. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.976 ( P<0.01), the specificity was 94.52%, and the sensitivity was 91.96%. The statistics of Homser-lemeshow was used to test the goodness of fit, which shows that the model can be fitted well (χ 2=2.928, P=0.939). The prediction model was verified by external validation data, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.934 ( P<0.01), indicating that the model had good prediction performance. Conclusions:History of hypertension, history of aortic disease, family history of aortic disease, sudden onset of symptoms, laceration pain, back pain, abdominal pain, systolic blood pressure, bilateral blood pressure/pulse asymmetry and D-dimer were independent factors for the diagnosis of AAD in patients with acute chest pain. The AAD early diagnosis nomogram model based on the above factors has good predictive performance.

Based on the resutls of literature review and interviews of experts, two rounds of Delphi surveys were conducted. The mean, importance ratio, coefficient of variation and coordination coefficient were used for assessment of survey from multiple perspectives, and finally form a framework model of factors affecting the efficacy of Tuina therapy. A total of 37 experts were selected for questionnaire surveys, the positive coefficients of experts' participatation in the first round and second round were 92.5% and 80.0%, respectively. The overall coordination coefficient in the second round is 0.68. The items were included into the consensus meeting if the importance ratio of items were equal to and more than 80%. After the expert consensus meeting, 22 items were included to form a framework model of factors affecting the efficacy of Tuina therapy, and summarized as 5 major influencing factors, including diagnostic factors, treatment factors, prognostic factors, patient factors, and doctor-patient communication. This framework can guide and help young Tuina practitioners to improve clinical efficacy. It is also clearly pointed out that the effect of Tuina for pain is not only related to disease diagnosis or manipulation, but also related to home exercise, health care, and doctor-patient communication.

Tuina (Chinese massage) is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is a simple and inexpensive technique, and has shown effectiveness for muscle and bone diseases, visceral diseases, gynecological diseases, and common diseases in children. This paper aims to analyze the factors influencing the effects of Tuina. The factors included the aspects of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, patient factors and doctor-patient communication. During the treatment of Tuina, doctors should carry out good doctor-patient communication, properly evaluate and exam patients, and clarify diagnosis, take appropriate Tuina techniques according to the patients' constitution, health condition, and comorbidity. Only in such way, could Tuina achieve effectiveness and safety.

Abnormal aggregation of amyloid-β protein (Aβ) in brain plays a vital role in the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hence, inhibiting Aβ aggregation is one major tactic for therapy of AD. Previous studies have found that tolcapone can inhibit Aβ42 aggregation and reduce the cytotoxicity induced by Aβ42 aggregates, but clinical studies have found that tolcapone has strong liver toxicity. To reduce the liver toxicity of tolcapone, its side chain structure was modified to obtain its derivative phenethyl (E)-2-cyano-3-(3,4 dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzene)-acrylate (PCDNA). Thioflavin T (ThT) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) assays were used to explore the inhibitory effect of PCDNA on Aβ42 fibrillogenesis. The cytotoxicity assays were used to explore the inhibitory effect of PCDNA against the cytotoxicity induced by Aβ42 aggregates. In addition, the depolymerization effect of PCDNA on mature Aβ42 fibrils was also explored. Finally, molecular docking was used to explore the interaction between PCDNA and Aβ42 pentamer. These results lay the foundation for the study of the structural analogues of tolcapone as Aβ inhibitors.

Background/Aims: Cigarette smoking is an important modifiable risk factor in kidney disease progression. However, the underlying mechanisms for this are lacking. This study aimed to assess whether nicotine (NIC), a major toxic component of cigarette smoking, would exacerbates tacrolimus (TAC)-induced renal injury. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were treated daily with NIC, TAC, or both drugs for 4 weeks. The influence of NIC on TAC-caused renal injury was examined via renal function, histopathology, oxidative stress, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and programmed cell death (apoptosis and autophagy). Results: Both NIC and TAC significantly impaired renal function and histopathology, while combined NIC and TAC treatment aggravated these parameters beyond the effects of either alone. Increased oxidative stress, ER stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, proinf lammatory and profibrotic cytokine expressions, and programmed cell death from either NIC or TAC were also aggravated by the two combined. Conclusions Our observations suggest that NIC exacerbates chronic TAC nephrotoxicity, implying that smoking cessation may be beneficial for transplant smokers taking TAC.

Background/Aims: Accumulating evidence indicates that L-carnitine (LC) protects against multiorgan damage through its antioxidant properties and preservation of the mitochondria. Little information is available about the effects of LC on renal fibrosis. This study examined whether LC treatment would provide renoprotection in a rat model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and in vitro. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats that underwent UUO were treated daily with LC for 7 or 14 days. The influence of LC on renal injury caused by UUO was evaluated by histopathology, and analysis of gene expression, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, programmed cell death, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/ AKT/forkhead box protein O 1a (FoxO1a) signaling. In addition, H2O2-exposed human kidney cells (HK-2) were treated with LC. Results: LC treatment inhibited expression of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines, and was followed by a significant attenuation of tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis. The increased oxidative stress caused by UUO was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and excessive apoptosis and autophagy via PI3K/AKT/FoxO1a-dependent signaling, and this was abrogated by administration of LC. In H2O2-exposed HK-2 cells, LC decreased intracellular production of reactive oxygen species, and suppressed expression of profibrotic cytokines and reduced the number of apoptotic cells. Conclusions LC protects against the progression of tubulointerstitial fibrosis in an obstructed kidney.