In this study, Professor Yan Zhenghua's recipes for treating heart diseases were collected to determine the frequency and association rules among drugs by such data mining methods as apriori algorithm and complex system entropy cluster and summarize Pro- fessor Yan Zhenghua's medication experience in treating heart diseases. The results indicated that frequently used drugs included Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Parched Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, Polygoni Multiflori Caulis, Ostreae Concha, Poria; frequently used drug combinations included "Ostreae Concha, Draconis Os", "Polygoni Multiflori Caulis, Parched Ziziphi Spinosae Semen" , and "Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Parched Ziziphi Spinosae Semen". The drug combinations with the confidence of 1 included "Dalbergiae Odoriferae Lignum-->Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma", "Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus-->Parched Ziziphi Spinosae Semen", "Draconis Os-->Ostreae Concha", and "Salviae Miltiorrhizac Radix et Rhizoma, Draconis Os-->Ostreae Concha". The core drug combinations included" Chrysanthemi Flos-Gastrodiae Rhizoma-Tribuli Fructus", "Dipsaci Radix-Taxillus sutchuenensis-Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix", and "Margaritifera Concha-Polygoni Multiflori Caulis-Platycladi Semen-Draconis Os".
Drug Interactions ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; history ; therapeutic use ; Entropy ; Heart Diseases ; drug therapy ; history ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo observe mainfestations of syndrome and biochemical indices of hypertensive model rats with excessive accumulation of phlegm-dampness syndrome (EAPDS), and to explore its possible pathological mechanism.

METHODSEAPDS rat model was prepared in 50 Wistar rats by feeding with high fat forage. Meanwhile, a normal control group consisting of 10 Wistar rats was set up by feeding with normal forage. After 25-week continuous feeding, 22 rats with body weight (BW) and blood pressure (BP) exceeding 25% those of the control group were selected as a model group. BW, BP, blood lipids, and related serological indicators were detected in all rats. Morphological changes of target organs were observed. mRNA expression levels of leptin receptor (LepR), Janus kinase2 (Jak2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3), suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (Socs3), angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1), angiotensin II receptor type 2 (AT2), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (P13K), serine threonine kinase (Akt), nuclear factor of kappa B (NF-κBp65), inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase α (IKKα), NF-kappa-B inhibitor β (lKKβ), NF-kappa-B inhibitor α (IKBα), and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Expression levels of AT1 and LepR in aorta were detected by immunohistochemical assay and Western blot respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, BW, BP, and blood lipids increased; serum levels of leptin (Lep) , Ang II, Hcy, ET-1, TNF-α, IL-6, and p2-MG increased, but NO decreased in the model group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Aortal endothelial injury and smooth muscle cell proliferation occurred in the model group, accompanied with heart and renal injury. Compared with the control group, mRNA expression levels of LepR, Jak2, Stat3, Socs3, AT1 , PI3K, Akt, NF-κB p65, IKKβ, IKBα, and AMPK in aorta were up-regulated significantly (P < 0.05), while the expression of IKKa decreased (P < 0.05). Immunohistochem- ical staining showed, brownish yellow deposit of AT1 and LepR was obviously increased, with more extensively positive distribution. Western blot results showed, as compared with the control group, protein expression levels of AT1 and LepR obviously increased in the model group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSModel rats exhibited typical syndromes of EAPDS. They put up weight with fat abdomen, gloomy hair, poor appetite, hypersomnia, lowered activities , reduced food intake, loose stool, dark red tongue, white tongue with white, thick, greasy fur. Lep could be taken as one of objective indicators for evaluating hypertension rat model with EAPDS.

Animals ; Aorta ; Cell Proliferation ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hypertension ; physiopathology ; I-kappa B Proteins ; Interleukin-6 ; Leptin ; blood ; NF-KappaB Inhibitor alpha ; NF-kappa B ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins ; Transcription Factor RelA ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Objective To study the effects of miR?21 on the proliferation,apoptosis and MMP2 expression of HeLa cells. Methods The miR?21 or the miRNA scramble control was transfected into Hela cells. The cell proliferation was detected by the Celltiter?GloTM assay 72 h after the transfection,and the apoptosis was evaluated by the Caspase3/7 Glo? Kit. The MMP2 RNA expression was quantified by quantitative real time PCR. Results The proliferation of HeLa cells transfected with miR?21 was significantly increased compared to that of the cells transfected with miRNA scramble control. The caspase 3/7 activity in HeLa cells transfected with miR?21 was downregulated compared to that of the cells transfect?ed with miRNA negative control. The MMP2 RNA expression in HeLa cells transfected with miR?21 was increased significantly compared to the cells transfected with miRNA negative control. Conclusion miR?21 can significantly promote the proliferation of HeLa cells. In addition,it ex?hibits the anti?apoptosis effect in HeLa cells. The transfection of miR?21 significantly increased the MMP2 RNA expression,which suggests that miR?21 may promote the tumor invasion and might be a therapeutic intervention target.

Objective To determine the variation of bone mineral density(BMD)and bone mineral content (BMC)in cadaveric lumbar vertebrae and investigate their significance in determining fracture modes and biomecha- nical properties.Methods The lumbar motion segments of the spines of 19 cadavers(mean age:56 years)were compressed to failure.The BMD and BMC of the cranial and caudal endplates were determined,along with the BMD and BMC of the upper and lower 1/3 transverse sub-endplate layers and the middle 1/3 transverse layer.The anteri- or,middle and posterior 1/3 vertical parts,anterior and posterior 1/2 vertical parts and the whole BMD and BMC were measured by using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry as well.All the data were analyzed statistically.Results Among the 19 segments,macrography after dissection revealed that 16 had been fractured,about 84.2%.The frac- ture always occurred in the centre or in the anterior part of the endplate.Within a vertebral body,the BMD and BMC of the cranial endplate were less than those of the caudal endplate,and the cranial 1/3 transverse layer and middle layer had lower BMD and BMC readings than the caudal layer.For the vertical region,from the anterior 1/3 to the posterior 1/3,or from the anterior 1/2 to the posterior 1/2,the BMD and BMC increased.For the endplate around the disc,the BMD of upper endplate was higher than that of the lower one,but the BMCs were equal.In one motion segment,the failure load correlated positively with BMD,and with the BMC of the endplate and the sub-endplate bone.Conclusion The variations in BMD and BMC within a vertebra and around a disc can explain why vertebral fractures are concentrated on the upper endplate,and why compressive fractures are always wedge-shaped.This un- derstanding can assist in the placement of inter-vertebral spacers.

AIM:To evaluate the changes of the corneal surface morphology undergoing overnight orthokeratology treatment and assess the effect of optical center deviation in controlling the development of myopia.METHODS:This was a retrospective clinical study.One hundred and thirty-four children (134 eyes) with myopia aged 10.66 ± 1.79 years were treated with overnight orthokeratology lenses.The examinations of visual acuity,axial length and corneal topography were performed before and 3,6,12,18 and 24mo after wearing orthokeratology.The results of right eye were taken as the object of this study,SPSS19.0 for statistical analysis.RESULTS:The distance of decentration about 134 children at 3,6,12,18 and 24mo after wearing orthokeratology were 0.84±0.45mm,0.77±0.40mm,0.79± 0.41 mm,0.78±0.41 mm,and 0.79±0.42mm respectively.The difference between these groups were not statistically significant (F=1.187,P=0.319).The mean distance of decentration after orthokeratology treatment was 0.79 ± 0.35mm,the growth of axial length after 24mo was 0.32± 0.30mm,the mean distance of decentration divided into 3 groups,mild (＜0.5mm) 27 eyes,medium (0.5-1.0mm)79 eyes,severe (＞ 1.0mm) 28 eyes,the growth of axial length frow 3 groups after 24mo were 0.45±0.34mm,0.32 ±0.28mm,0.23 ± 0.29mm,were statistically significant difference between each groups (F=3.825,P=0.024).By linear-regression analysis,the growth of axial length and the mean distance of decentration after 24mo was statistically significant difference (F =7.246,P =0.008),equation of linear regression was Y=0.478-0.194X.At 24mo after wearing orthokeratology,the mean distance of decentration about 18 eyes with monocular diplopia was 1.18±0.36mm,and 116 eyes without monocular was 0.73± 0.31mm,the distance of decentration were statistically significant difference (t=5.59,P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:The degree of decentration tended to be stable after 3mo of orthokeratology treatment and influenced the effect of myopia control and visual quality.

OBJECTIVE Neuroinflammation plays a critical role in neurodegenerative disorders, although the inflammation may not the initiating factor. Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized patho?logically by the accumulation of alpha synuclein (α-syn) and the loss of the dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), which has been reported to be induced by the stereotaxic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to the SN region in rodents. This study is to investigate the therapeutic benefit of the inhibition of miR-873 in PD. METHODS Rats received the right-unilaterally injection with concentrated LV-sponge or LV-EGFP 3 d before LPS treatment, 7 or 14 d after LPS treatment. The animals were tested for rotational behavior with the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine dissolved in sterile saline at 21 d after LPS injection. The regulation of miR-873 on the genes related with cholesterol transport and inflammation was assayed in SH-SY5Y cells and U251 cells. RESULTS TLR4-MyD88 signaling pathway was involved the regulation of miR-873 by LPS. The luciferase assay showed that HMGCR, ABCA1 and A20 were down- stream genes of miR- 873. The transfection of miR- 873 decreased the cholesterol levels in cell membrane, but increased in lysosome in SH-SY5Y cells. Compared with the control SH-SY5Y cells, cholesterol levels were higher in lysosome with α-synuclein overexpression or LPS treatment. The transfection of miR-873 increased the α-syn levels in lysosome in cells with α-synuclein overexpression. The loss of dopaminergic neuorns induced by LPS was significantly respectively decreased by 22.8%, 35.6% and 57% after the inhibition of miR-873 at 3 d before LPS treatment, 7 or 14 d after LPS treatment. Compared with LPS-treated group, the number of the rotation of rats was decreased by 60.4%, 33.5% and 13.2% after the inhibition of miR-873 at 3 d before LPS treatment, 7 or 14 d after LPS treatment. The inhibition of miR-873 significantly decreased accumulation of α-syn. The mRNA levels of HMGCR, ABCA1 and A20 in SN were decreased by LPS treatment, which was attenuated by the injection of LV- sponge. CONCLUSION The selective regulation of miR- 873 can protect the dopaminergic neurons from the LPS-induced damage. The inhibition of miR-873 can attenuate the relocation of cholesterol in lysosome and the accumulation of α-syn in neurons induced by LPS via the regulation of HMGCR, ABCA1 and A20.

Objective To evaluate the quality of the portal images acquired by computed radiography(CR)system and conventional screen-film system,respectively.Methods imaging plates (IP)and X-ray films of a home-devised lead phantom with a leakage of 6.45% were acquired,and modulation transfer function(MTF)curves of the both images were measured using edge method.Portal images of 40 nasopharyngeal cancer patients were acquired by IP and screen-film system respectively.Two doctors with similar experience evaluated the damage degree of petrosa] bone,the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve of CR images and general images were drawn according to two doctors evaluation results.Results The identification frequency of CR system and screen-film system were 1.159 and 0.806 Lp/mm respectively.For doctor one,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.802 and 0.742 respectively.For doctor two,the area under ROC curve of CR images and general images were 0.751 and 0.600 respectively.The MTF curve and ROC curve of CR are both better than those of screen-film system.Conclusion The image quality of CR portal imaging is much better than that of screen-film system.The utility of CR in linear accelerator for portal imaging is promising in clinic.

Tumor angiogenesis provides adequate oxygen and nutrition for tumor development and supports tumor growth and metastasis. Stromal cell derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and its receptor C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in pancreatic cancer microenvironment are involved in tumor growth such as promoting tumor cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. In this study, anti-CXCR4 nanobody (CXCR4 Nb) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) &CXCR4 bispecific nanobody (PX4 BsNb) were expressed in Escherichia coli system and purified by nickel column affinity chromatography. We investigated the anti-angiogenesis activity and mechanism of CXCR4 Nb by in vivo and in vitro experiments. Ethical approval was obtained for collection of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (hPBMC) samples from the Local Ethics Committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethic Committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The results showed that CXCR4 Nb at 0.1 μmol·L^-1 could effectively inhibit the proliferation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) promoted by pancreatic stellate cells in vitro. CXCR4 Nb and PX4 BsNb at 0.3 mg·kg^-1 obviously decreased tumor angiogenesis and inhibited the tumor growth in NOD/SCID mice, the inhibitory rates were 28.8% and 36.1%, respectively. CXCR4 Nb significantly inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis with great safety, which provides support for application of CXCR4 Nb and anti-angiogenesis therapy of pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVETo observe the expression of urotensin II (UII) on the lung of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) with congenital heart disease and investigate the meaning of this phenomenon.

METHODThirty eight patients with CHD were divided into three groups according to pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) measured in cardiac catheterization and surgery: normal pulmonary pressure group (N group, PASP < 30 mm Hg, n = 10), mild PH group (M group, PASP ≥ 30 mm Hg, n = 15), severe or moderate PH group (S group, PASP ≥ 50 mm Hg, n = 13). The expression of UII protein and UII mRNA in pulmonary arterioles were measured separately by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis and in situ hybridization (ISH) analysis.

RESULT(1) The results of UIIIHC staining: The UII protein expression of group M was higher than that of group N (20.22 ± 3.58 vs. 14.34 ± 2.18, P < 0.01), but less than group S (20.22 ± 3.58 vs. 28.92 ± 3.22, P < 0.05). (2) The results of UIIISH mRNA staining were similar to IHC staining, the A value of group M was higher than group N (12.51 ± 2.02 vs. 8.85 ± 1.41, P < 0.05), less than that of group S(12.51 ± 2.02 vs. 25.35 ± 4.33, P < 0.01). (3) Correlation study: there was a positive correlation between the A values of UIIIHC and pulmonary hypertension (r = 0.64, P < 0.01, n = 38), a positive correlation between the A values of UIIISH and pulmonary hypertension (r = 0.58, P < 0.01, n = 38).

CONCLUSIONThere was the expression of Urotensin II protein and mRNA in the lung of pulmonary hypertension patients with congenital heart disease, and these expression may involve the formation of pulmonary hypertension of congenital heart disease.

Adolescent ; Blood Pressure ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; complications ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; etiology ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization ; Infant ; Lung ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Pulmonary Artery ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Severity of Illness Index ; Urotensins ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEEpilepsy with myoclonic absences (EMA) is a type of childhood epilepsy characterized by a specific seizure type, i.e. myoclonic absences (MA). This study aimed to investigate the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of EMA.

METHODVideo-EEG monitoring was carried out in 6 patients with EMA, and 2 of them were examined with simultaneous deltoid muscle surface electromyogram (EMG). The clinical and EEG characteristics, treatment and prognoses of EMA were analyzed.

RESULTOf the 6 patients, 3 were female, and 3 were male. The age of onset was from 2 years and 3 months to 11 years (average 5 years and 2 months). MA was the sole seizure type in 5 patients. One patient presented generalized tonic clonic seizures (GTCS) at the onset and then switched to MA. The manifestations of MA included an impairment of consciousness of variable intensity, rhythmic myoclonic jerks with evident tonic contraction mainly involving the upper extremities, a deviation of head and body to one side or asymmetrical jerks observed in some cases, a duration ranging from 2 to 30 s, an abrupt onset and termination, a high frequency of attacks, at least several times to over 30 times per day, and easily provoked by hyperventilation. The ictal EEG consisted of rhythmic 3 Hz spike and wave discharges that were bilateral, synchronous and symmetrical in all patients. The deltoid muscle EMG recording in 2 patients showed rhythmic myoclonus at the same frequency as the spike and waves. The interictal EEG showed generalized spike and wave discharges in all patients, and focal discharges in some patients. Valproate was the drug of choice, which was often combined with other antiepileptic drugs. The ages at follow up ranged from 6 years and 4 months to 19 years. Seizures were controlled from 8 months to 3 years in 4 cases. The treatment at the onset was late in one case and was irregular in another who had GTCS during the course of the disease. These two cases were followed up for 2 years and 6 months and 5 years, respectively. Seizures could not be controlled in the 2 patients with intellectual impairment.

CONCLUSIONEMA was a rare type of childhood epilepsy characterized by MA. Clinical observation and ictal video-EEG and EMG were essential to diagnose EMA. Valproate alone or combined with other antiepileptic drugs given early could have a favorable effect to EMA. Delayed therapy and the presence of GTCS might suggest poor prognosis.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Electroencephalography ; Electromyography ; Epilepsies, Myoclonic ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies