MicroRNAs (miRNA) plays an important role in biological development and disease occurrence and development, and acts as a "main switch" in biology. Among patients of essential hypertension, around 1/3 would suffer left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Hence, essential hypertension becomes an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. And miRNAs plays an important role in the occurrence and development of LVH. This paper reviewed the role of miRNA in regulating the stress signaling pathway, defined its impact on the occurrence of LVH, and further emphasized the opportunities and challenges of miRNA as a biomarker and therapeutic target.
Essential Hypertension ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; genetics ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; complications ; genetics ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; Risk Factors ; Signal Transduction ; genetics

To ensure the quality and safety of Panax notoginseng, a method for the simultaneous determination of 10 mycotoxins in Panax notoginseng was developed using ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The sample was extracted with acetonitrile and purified by HLB multifunction cleanup column. The separation was performed on a Phenomenex Kinetex XB-C18 column by gradient elution using methanol and 5 mmol·L(-1) ammonium acetate as mobile phase. The targeted compounds were detected in MRM mode by mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) source operated in both positive and negative ionization modes. The linear relationships of the 10 mycotoxins were good in their respective linear ranges. The correlation coefficients (r) ranged from 0.9981 to 1.0000. The LOQs of the 10 mycotoxins were between 0.15 and 8.6 μg·kg(-1). The average recoveries ranged from 73.8% to 107.0% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.10%-10.9%. The results demonstrated that the proposed method was sensitive and accurate, and suitable for the mycotoxins quantification in Panax notoginseng.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Drug Contamination ; Mycotoxins ; analysis ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Hippophae rhamnoides is one of the most representative economy crops for its wide uses of biological diversity and abundance of resource. As the key healthy food development and ecology protection, H. rhamnoides has been developed widely. Meanwhile, the development of H. rhamnoides has obtained great achievements. Nowadays, H. rhamnoides is still a necessary economy crop, while it has great influence on ecology protection. This paper discussed the phytochemistry, pharmacology, clinical application and product development, and propounded some suggestions for future research and economy development to get comprehensive benefit of H. rhamnoides and to serve for well-off society.
Biomedical Research ; methods ; trends ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Hippophae ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; trends ; Polyphenols ; chemistry ; therapeutic use

Objective To investigate the mastery degree of GCP (Good Clinical Practice) in Guang’anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as“Guang’anmen Hospital”). Methods Totally 338 clinical researchers, covering 18 clinical professional sections and medical clinical trial institutions, in Guang’anmen Hospital with both qualification of clinical trials and GCP certificate were investigated in 23th-27th June 2014. The investigation was in the written answer sheet form, including four noun explanations and 36 multiple choice questions, which were related to GCP. Results 338 researchers could accurately explain the concepts of 4 nouns, and 57 (16.86%) researchers could do all multiple choice questions correctly. 141 (41.72%) researchers chose 1 wrong answer and 89 (26.33%) researchers chose 2 wrong answers. 39 (11.54%) researchers failed to answer 3-4 questions. Only 12 (3.55%) researchers failed to answer 5 or more questions. Conclusion The mastery degree of clinical researchers with qualification of clinical trials and GCP certificate in Guang’anmen Hospital is satisfied. In the future, pertinence and diverse training should be strengthened, in order to improve the overall level of the mastery degree of GCP.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of Xuezhikang (XZK) on cardiac function and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

METHODSSixty-eight CHF patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the control group (30 cases) treated with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, beta-receptor inhibitor, digoxin and diuretic, and the treated group (38 cases) with the above treatment plus XZK for six months. The changes of cardiac function and serum CRP level were measured by echocardiography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively before and after treatment.

RESULTSCompared with those before treatment, the NYHA cardiac function grade, the left ventricular dimension end diastole (LVDd), and the left ventricular dimension end systole (LVDs) decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and the ejection fraction (EF) and E/A ratio increased significantly in both groups after treatment (P < 0.05) , however, the decrement or increment was more significant in the treated group than that in the control group respectively (P < 0.05); the serum CRP level decreased significantly in the treated group after treatment and showed a level obviously lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), which changed insignificantly after treatment.

CONCLUSIONXuezhikang could improve cardiac function and decrease serum CRP level at the same time.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Aged ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Digoxin ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Failure ; blood ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Ventricular Function, Left ; drug effects

BACKGROUND: The occurrence and severity of acute high-altitude disease(AHAD) are determined by the speed entering the highland, the altitude of highland and seasons. The association between obesity and AHAD has not been fully investigated.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between obesity and acute high-altitude in people exposed rapidly to the highland.DESIGN: Comparative observation.SETTING: Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Chinese PLA and Department of Cardiology, Tibetan General Hospital of Chinese PLA.PARTICIPANTS: The experiment was conducted at the Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Tibetan Military Area Command of Chinese PLA in August 2006. Totally 82 Henan subjects aged 28-45 years were selected from the male workers constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and their managers with acute high-altitude exposure. They had never been to the highland before, and all agreed to the detection.METHODS: ①Every subject completed the AHAD self-report questionnaire at sea level and 12 hours and 24 hours after ascending high-altitude. The items in the questionnaire included symptoms of headache, gastrointestinal symptoms,fatigue or weakness, dizziness, and insomnia. Each symptom was graded from 0-3 with 0 as no symptoms, 1 as mild symptoms, 2 as moderate symptoms, and 3 as severe symptoms and a total score of 15. A score of 4 or more could by identified as AHAD. ②The height and body mass were measured to calculate the body mass (BMI). Those with BMI≥28 kg/m2 served as the obesity group [n =39, mean age (35±8) years], and those with BMI of 18.5-23.9 kg/m2 as the normal body mass group [n =43, mean age (35±8) years]. ③Arterial blood was taken to evaluate arterial oxygen saturation (SO2), arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2) and arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO2) at baseline and 24 hours after ascending high-altitude. ④The measurement data was compared by t test.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BMI, vital capacity of lungs, SO2, PaO2 and PaCO2 levels of obese and normal people.RESULTS: Totally 39 obese people and 43 normal people were involved in the result analysis. ①AHAD score: No symptom was reported at sea level in all participants (scored 0), but the AHAD scores in the obesity group were significantly higher than those in normal group 12-hour and 24-hour after ascending high-altitude. ②Blood gas analysis:At sea level, there were no statistical differences in the levels of SO2, PaO2, and PaCO2 between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).But 24 hours after ascending high-altitude, SO2 and PaO2 of the obesity group were much lower than in the normal group (P＜ 0.01), and PaCO2 was significantly higher than in the normal group (P＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION: Obese men are more vulnerable to high-altitude hypoxia than people with normal body mass. Obesity is an important risk factor for the development of acute high-altitude disease.

To improve 3-ketosteroid-△1-dehydrogenase(KSDH) activity and the transformation level for androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, 3-ketosteroid-△1-dehydrogenase gene(ksdD) from Arthrobacter simplex was cloned into plasmid pWB980 and expressed in B. subtilis WB600 under the control of promoter P43. The molecular weight of expressed enzyme was about 55kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis. The activitities assayed by spectrophotometrical method of intracellular and extracellular soluble enzyme were 110?0.5mU and 15?0.6mU per milligram of protein respectively. The transformation rate of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione by the B. subtilis recombinant cells was 45.3%. Compared with Arthrobacter simplex, the enzyme activity of KSDH expressed in B. subtilis was improved about 30 fold, and the transformation level of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione by the B. subtilis recombinant cells was improved about 10 fold. The recombinant B. subtilis cells used in biotransformation of steroids provided a new way for steroid medicines production.

Objective：To confirm the effects of the macrophages and NO in the fibrosis formation of transplanted kidneys with chronic rejection. Methods：The quantitive immunohistochemistry was employed to observe the changes of relative quantitiy of macrophages, NO, collagen Ⅲ andⅣ， and to reveal the association between the increases of macrophages， NO， histopathologic damages, deposition of collagen Ⅲ and Ⅳ, finally, to infer the roles of the macrophages and NO in the fibrosis formation of transplanted kidneys with chronic rejection. Results: The macrophages accumulated and increased in the glomeruli, the tubules and the intersiticia tissue of kidneys, which was companied by the increased expression of collagen Ⅲ and Ⅳ during the early and middle stages. However, the macrophages and NO could not be detected, which was companied by the decreased deposition of collagen Ⅲ and Ⅳduring the advanced stage. There were significant differences between the 3 types(glomerulus disease type,blocking vessel type and intersticial sclerostic type) (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion：The increase of macrophages and the NO may closely interrelated with the fibrosis formation in transplanted kidneys with chronic rejection.

Theacrine is one kind of natural purine alkaloids, which mainly exists in an unusual Chinese tea known as Kucha. It shows various biological activities, such as anti-depression, sedative and hypnotic effects and anti-inflammatory and analgesic activi-ties. The study on theacrine dates back to a few decades ago. According to the references published in recent years, the resource, preparation, characterization and pharmacological effects of theacrine were reviewed, and its application prospect was also explored.

Objective This retrospective study is to analysis the special medical conditions that most Chinese secondary hospitals are facing with,and to review the safeguards and pitfalls for arterial switch operations,in order to probe intothe feasibility of this procedure for Chinese secondary hospitals and provide our experiences to help other surgeons to avoid pitfalls on complex procedures.Methods Between January 2006 and December 2011,totally 21 newborns and infants with TGA/VSD and TGA/IVS underwent arterial switch operation.There were 15 males and 6 females.In the TGA/VSD group,there were 16 cases,ranging from 30 days to 1 year at surgeries,and weight from 3.4-8.5 kg with average of (5.33 ± 1.42) kg.In the TGA/IVS group,there were 5 cases,ranging from 13 days to 1 month at surgeries,and weight from 3.1-5.5 kg with average of (3.75 ± 1.17)kg.All patients underwent one stage of arterial switch operation.Routine follow-up checking points are set at discharging,3 months,half year and every year after operation.Results The early death rate is 9.5％ (2/21),and the reexploration rate is 9.5％ (2/21).In the TGA/VSD group,average cardiopulmonary bypass time is (151 ± 33) minuntes with the aortic crossclamp time is (1 19 ± 26) minutes.Ventilator support time is 24-159 hours,and the length of ICU stay is 3-17 days.1 case has residual VSD with the diameter less than 2 mm.The pulmonary flow velocity in 2 cases increase mildly to 2.0 m/s and 2.2 m/s,and another 2 cases increase severely to 3.1 m/s and 3.7 m/s.The aortic flow velocity in 3 cases increase to 2.0m/s.ECG instructs no case has myoinfarction signs.In the TGA/IVS group,average cardiopulmonary bypass time is (170 ± 52) minuntes with the aortic crossclamp time is (137 ± 48) minutes.Ventilator support time is 51-144 hours,and the length of ICU stay is 4-14 days;The pulmonary flow velocity in 2 cases increase mildly to 2.0 m/s.The aortic flow velocity in 1 cases increase to 2.0 m/s.ECG instructs no case has myoinfarction signs.Conclusion Unbalanced medical resources distribution causes significant differences between heart centers and the secondary hospitals in China,especially on the complex congenital heart diseases procedures.However,with relatively solid background on correction of the simple congenital heart diseases,the Chinese secondary hospitals can still perform arterial switch operation with satisfactory mortality and morbidity,and provide more prompt medical services for more population.