Adolescent ; Adult ; Behavior, Addictive ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Smoking ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

Adolescent ; Adult ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; prevention & control ; Occupational Health ; Sampling Studies ; Young Adult

The prescription combinations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) focuses on the taste and channel tropism, the Qi movement, as well as the compatibility according to multiple combination principles and medicinal property and flavor combination of several traditional Chinese medicines. With the in-depth study on the prescription compatibility, researchers have realized that the medicinal property theory is the core of TCM combinations. However, there is no definite method for combinations based on medicinal properties. In this paper, the authors put forward an method for designing prescription combinations based on bipartite graph and the greedy algorithm. With the medicinal property combinations of Siweilurong Pills for example, the authors proved this method could provide ideas for quickly choosing herbal medicines for prescription combinations, and discussed the prospect of this method in substituting previous and endangered herbal medicines and banned medicinal materials.
Algorithms ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy

Objective:To determine the immunological effects of a new type adjuvant CTA 1-DD/IgG.Methods:Intranasal im-munization of BALB/c mice with OVA in combination with adjuvant CTA 1-DD or CTA1-DD/IgG.Blood samples were subjected to OVA-specific IgG Abs detection and IgG subclass profiles assessment using ELISA.Splenic plasma cells secreting anti-OVA Abs were detected by ELISPOT.Results:CTA1-DD/IgG showed stronger activity in inducing OVA-specific IgG Abs and splenic Abs-secreting cells compared with CTA1-DD.The enhancement of IgG1,IgG2a and IgG2b Abs were observed,and the ratio IgG2a/IgG1 were >1 in both groups.Conclusion: CTA1-DD/IgG can exert enhanced adjuvant effects compared with CTA 1-DD.Mixed IgG subclasses are induced,indicating a more balanced Th1/Th2 response.

Multi-component traditional Chinese medicines are an innovative research mode for traditional Chinese medicines. Currently, there are many design methods for developing multi-component traditional Chinese medicines, but their common feature is the lack of effective connection of the traditional Chinese medicine theory. In this paper, the authors discussed the multi-component traditional Chinese medicine design methods based on medicinal property combination modes, provided the combination methods with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine for the prescription combinations, and proved its feasibly with hypertension cases.
Animals ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo analyze and predict the structure and function of mosquito densovirus (MDV) nostructual protein1 (NS1).

METHODSUsing different bioinformatics software, the EXPASY pmtparam tool, ClustalX1.83, Bioedit, MEGA3.1, ScanProsite, and Motifscan, respectively to comparatively analyze and predict the physic-chemical parameters, homology, evolutionary relation, secondary structure and main functional motifs of NS1.

RESULTSMDV NS1 protein was a unstable hydrophilic protein and the amino acid sequence was highly conserved which had a relatively closer evolutionary distance with infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV). MDV NS1 has a specific domain of superfamily 3 helicase of small DNA viruses. This domain contains the NTP-binding region with a metal ion-dependent ATPase activity. A virus replication roller rolling-circle replication(RCR) initiation domain was found near the N terminal of this protein. This protien has the biological function of single stranded incision enzyme.

CONCLUSIONThe bioinformatics prediction results suggest that MDV NS1 protein plays a key role in viral replication, packaging, and the other stages of viral life.

Animals ; Computational Biology ; Culicidae ; virology ; Densovirus ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Protein Structure, Secondary ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Viral Nonstructural Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation of insulin resistance (IR) with TCM syndrome type and activity of fibrinolytic system in patients with coronary arterial disease (CAD).

METHODSOne hundred and twelve CAD patients were classified according to TCM Syndrome into 4 types, the Xin-blood stasis (XBS) type, the phelgm blocking Xin-channel (PBXC) type, the Qi-insufficiency with blood stasis (QIBS) type and the both Qi-Yin deficiency (QYD) type. Patients' fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting blood insulin (FIns) were measured, the insulin sensitive index (ISI) calculated. Data were compared between various types, also with those obtained from 30 healthy persons in the control group respectively. Moreover, activity of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and content of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were determined in 90 patients selected from the 112 to conduct linear correlation analysis of IR with t-PA activity and PAI-1 content.

RESULTSFBG and FIns levels in the CAD patients were higher than those in the healthy control significantly (P < 0.01); ISI in the 4 syndrome type of CAD patients were all lower than that in the control (P < 0.01). IR existed in all the 4 types, but the level in the XBS type and the PBXC type was more severe than in the other two types. Correlation analysis showed that IR was correlated with t-PA activity and PAI-1 content (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIR often exists in CAD patients, the severity of IR varies in patients of different TCM syndrome types, and IR is correlated with the abnormality of fibrinolytic system activity.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angina Pectoris ; blood ; diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Fibrinolysis ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; diagnosis ; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 ; metabolism ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of lead in the expression of the renal fibrosis related nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), transforming growth factor (TGF-beta) and fibronectin (FN) in rat kidney and the possible molecule mechanism of lead induced renal fibrosis.

METHODSThirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into 4 groups. Group A was fed with distilled water as control group. Group B, C and D were fed with the water including 0.5% lead acetate continuously for 1, 2 or 3 months respectively. At the end of treatment, the expressions of renal NF-kappaB, TGF-beta and FN were detected by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe immunohistochemistry analysis showed that expressions of NF-kappaB in group B, C and D (0.2315 +/- 0.0624, 0.3213 +/- 0.0740, 0.4729 +/- 0.0839 respectively) were continuously increased as compared with that in group A (0.1464 +/- 0.0624). The RT-PCR analysis showed that expressions of NF-kappaB in group B, C and D (0.4370 +/- 0.0841, 0.5465 +/- 0.0503, 0.6443 +/- 0.0538 respectively) were also increased as compared with that in group A (0.3608 +/- 0.0550). However, there was no change for TGF-beta in 4 groups except that it was increased markedly in group D (0.5225 +/- 0.0416) as compared with that in group A (0.4645 +/- 0.0461) by RT-PCR. The expressions of FN in group C and D (0.4243 +/- 0.0595 and 0.4917 +/- 0.0891 by immunohistochemistry; 0.8650 +/- 0.0880 and 0.8714 +/- 0.0980 by RT-PCR) were increased as compared with those in group A (0.3530 +/- 0.0490 by immunohistochemistry and 0.7432 +/- 0.0639 by RT-PCR).

CONCLUSIONThe lead can increase the expression of renal NF-kappaB, TGF-beta and FN in rats, which may be related to the lead induced renal fibrosis in rats.

Animals ; Fibronectins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Fibrosis ; chemically induced ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lead ; toxicity ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the complexity of mRNA in the ejaculated sperm from healthy fertile men.

METHODSSemen samples were collected from 10 healthy fathers. The swim-up method was adopted to purify the sperm from possible contamination of somatic cells and the spermatozoal total RNA extracted by Trizol was used for SAGE library analysis.

RESULTSA totle of 21 052 SAGE raw tags were sequenced from 877 clones and 2 712 unique tags that occurred at least twice in the library were given further analysis. 19.7% of the unique tags had no match in the existing SAGE map, representing novel genes. Molecular function analysis revealed 67% of unique tags related to protein binding or nucleic acid binding categories, 41% to catalytic activity, 13% to message transducer activity, and 10% to transporter, structural and transcription regulator activity, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThere exists a complex repertoire of mRNAs in the ejaculated spermatozoa from fertile men.

Adult ; Ejaculation ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Spermatozoa ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of cinobufagin on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway of liver cancer cell line HepG2.

METHODSDual-luciferase cis-reporting system was used to detect the relative value of pNF-kappaB-TA-luc upon tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) stimulation of NF-kappaB pathway. Western blotting was used to detect the protein level of NF-kappaB p65, and RT-PCR was used to detect the gene transcription level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), a target downstream gene of NF-kappaB.

RESULTSAt the concentration of 0.25 and 0.5 microg/ml, cinobufagin significantly lowered the relative value of luciferase (P<0.05). The results of Western blotting showed that cinobufagin significantly suppressed the protein expression of NF-kappaB p65. The transcription level of ICAM-1 was reduced by different doses of cinobufagin.

CONCLUSIONThe anti-cancer effect of cinobufagin may be related to its activity in inhibiting the activation of NF-kappaB pathway.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Bufanolides ; pharmacology ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Materia Medica ; pharmacology ; NF-kappa B ; drug effects ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Transcription Factor RelA ; genetics ; metabolism