OBJECTIVETo explore whether Val279Phe single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 9th exon of platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) are associated with intracranial hemorrhage in preterm infants.

METHODSA case-control study was performed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to test genotype and allele frequencies of the 9th exon Val279Phe SNPs of PAF-AH in 58 preterm infants with intracranial hemorrhage (hemorrhage group) and 65 preterm infants without intracranial hemorrhage (control group).

RESULTSThere were significant differences in genotype frequency of Val279Phe SNPs in the 9th exon of PAF-AH between the hemorrhage and control groups (P<0.05). Frequency of normal genotype in the hemorrhage group (63.8%) was significantly lower than in the control group (81.5%). In contrast, frequency of heterozygous genotype (34.5%) in the hemorrhage group was significantly higher than in control group (16.9%). There were also significant differences in allele frequency of Val279Phe SNPs in the 9th exon of PAF-AH between the two groups (P<0.05). T allele frequency in the hemorrhage group (19.0%) was significantly higher than in the control group (10.0%).

CONCLUSIONSVal279Phe SNPs in the 9th exon of PAF-AH may be associated with intracranial hemorrhage in preterm infants.

1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; etiology ; genetics ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo study the management of acute superior mesenteric artery (SMA) ischemia and to improve its prognosis.

METHODThe clinical data of 37 patients treated from January 1996 to August 2007 was retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTSOf the cases, 19 (51.4%) patients were diagnosed with acute SMA embolism, 15 (40.5%) with acute SMA thrombosis, 2 (5.4%) with spontaneous isolated dissection of SMA and 1 (2.7%) with SMA aneurysm. Nineteen (51.4%) patients were misdiagnosed in emergency. Eighteen (48.6%) patients died in the hospital, and most of them died of severe infection and multiple organ failure. Three cases of the survived 19 patients experienced severe complications (2 with short gut syndrome, 1 with cerebral hemorrhage). Nine cases were followed-up for a mean period of 15 months, and 5 died during that term.

CONCLUSIONSAcute SMA ischemia has multiple etiological factors. Early intervention can improve the prognosis.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To optimize the spray drying process of Banlangen(Isatidis Radix)formula granules based on quality by design(QbD)concept.Methods Using powder yield and the contents of uridine,adenosine,guanosine,and(R,S)-goitron as the critical quality attributes(CQAs),Plackett-Burman design was used to screen out critical process parameters(CPPs)for inlet temperature,spray pressure,liquid temperature,pump speed,and liquid relative density.The central-composite design(CCD)test was used to optimize the CPPs,which were screened.Based on the quadratic polynomial regression model,the design space of spray drying process of Banlangen(Isatidis Radix)formula granules was established,and further validated by experiments.Results Plackett-burman test results show that liquid relative density and inlet velocity are the key parameters for the study.The variance analysis results of CCD test showed that the constructed model in a good prediction ability,since the P-values of model was less than 0.01 and P-values of items lack of fit was more than 0.05.The optimized design space of CPPs was the liquid relative density 1.05-1.08,and pump speed 30%-40%.Conclusion Based on the QbD concept,the design space for the spray drying process of Banlangen(Isatidis Radix)formula granules can improve the stability of its process and help ensure the consistency of product quality.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the death-related risk factors of type B aortic dissection treated medically during the acute phase (symptoms presenting within 14 d), and to determine the predictors of surgical indications for acute type B aortic dissection.

METHODSClinical data of 42 patients with acute type B aortic dissection admitted from January 2007 to May 2009 was retrospectively reviewed. There were 33 male and 9 female with a mean age of (50 +/- 12) years old. Therapy included analgesia, controlled hypotension and beta-receptor blocker, the mortality in acute phase was 33.3% (14/42). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the predictors of the death in acute phase.

RESULTSIn univariate logistic regression analysis, the malperfusion of aortic branches (P = 0.018) and maximum aortic diameter (P = 0.002) were significant predictors of death. In the multivariate logistic regression model, the malperfusion of aortic branches (P = 0.041) and maximum aortic diameter (P = 0.005) were also considered as the significant death-related factors.Risk of death augmented significantly (P = 0.000) when the maximum aortic diameter over 40 mm.

CONCLUSIONMalperfusion of aortic branches and the large maximum aortic diameter (> 40 mm) are the indications of surgery or endovascular therapy for acute type B aortic dissection.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Aged ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Aortic Aneurysm ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Cause of Death ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Notch signal on hypoxic induction factor (HIF-1α) and autophagy-associated genes Beclin1, LC3I, LC3II in oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) induced myocardial cell injury. METHODS: The OGD model was established using hypoxic culture box and hypoglycemic DMEM medium. The cells were divided into normal control group, OGD group, OGD + NC siRNA group, OGD + Notch1 siRNA group and OGD + HIF-1α siRNA group. Western blot was used to detect the interference effects of HIF-1α siRNA and Notch1 siRNA. The effects of Notch1 siRNA and HIF-1α siRNA on the activity of myocardial cells in OGD model were detected by the CCK-8 assay. The effects of Notch1 siRNA and HIF-1α siRNA on autophage-associated genes Beclin1, LC3I and LC3II expression were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: The results of Western blot showed that HIF-1α siRNA could effectively knock down the expression of HIF-1α in myocardial cells in OGD model, and Notch1 siRNA could effectively knock down the expression of Notch1 and HIF-1α in myocardial cells in OGD model. The result of CCK-8 assay showed that Notch1 siRNA and HIF-1α siRNA reduced the activity of myocardial cells in OGD model, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Western blot results showed that Notch1 siRNA and HIF-1α siRNA could reduce the expressions of the autophagy-associated genes Beclin1, LC3I and LC3II, and reduce the ratio of LC3II to LC3I at mRNA level. CONCLUSION Notch1 plays a role in myocardial protection by regulating the expression of HIF-1α to regulate the autophagy in OGD model cells.
Autophagy ; Beclin-1 ; metabolism ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; pathology ; Oxygen ; Receptors, Notch ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Due to the limited resource of bear bile powder, the major raw material of Tanreqing Capsules(TRQ), cultured bear bile powder is used as a replacement to develop the Tanreqing Capsules Substitute(TRQS). An LC-MS/MS method was established in this study for simultaneous quantitation of 8 compounds from TRQS in rat plasma: tauroursodeoxycholic acid(TUDCA), taurocheno-deoxycholic acid(TCDCA), ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA), chenodeoxycholic acid(CDCA), ferulic acid, wogonoside, baicalin, and forsythoside A. Thereby, the pharmacokinetic behaviors of TRQ and TRQS were evaluated. Concentration of endogenous compounds TUDCA, TCDCA, UDCA, and CDCA was determined with the stable isotope surrogate analytes: D4-TUDCA, D4-TCDCA, D4-UDCA, and D4-CDCA. Plasma samples were extracted by acetonitrile-induced protein precipitation. The LC conditions are as follows: Waters BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm), mobile phase of 10 mmol·L~(-1) ammonium formate aqueous solution(containing 0.01% formic acid) and acetonitrile-methanol mixture(1∶5). MS conditions are as below: multiple reaction monitoring(MRM), ESI~(+/-). Concentration of UDCA, CDCA, TUDCA, and TCDCA was corrected with a response factor, which is the ratio between the responses recorded for the surrogate and the authentic analyte at the equal concentration. Each of the plasma components showed good linearity(r > 0.995 1). Accuracy and precision met the criteria(inter-day RSD<7.0%, RE 89.98%-112.0%; intra-day RSD<12%, RE 90.41%-111.2%). The recovery was 64.83%-119.9% and matrix effect was 87.15%-113.8%. The validated method was applied for pharmacokinetic study of TRQS and TRQ(po, 0.94 g·kg~(-1)). There was no significant difference in C_(max) and AUC_(0-24 h) of baicalin, UDCA, TUDCA, and TCDCA between the two groups, indicating similar pharmacokinetic behaviors between TRQS and TRQ in rats.
Animals ; Capsules ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacokinetics* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective::Because traditional methods are difficult to identify the fermentation mycelium, DNA barcoding technology was used to quickly identify the raw material strain Paecilomyces hepiali of Jinshuibao capsules and related products. Method::A total of 168 samples of 8 species of P. hepiali and its confusable species were identified by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, and based on the ITS sequences, P. hepiali specific primers were designed to quickly identify the related products. Result::The length of ITS sequences in 44 P. hepiali samples from different sources was 499 bp and there was no mutation site. It was shown that P. hepiali could be distinguished from 7 confusable species based on ITS sequences. The specific primer (ITS-BF/ITS-BR) of P. hepiali designed by ITS sequences could be amplified to obtain a short fragment of 102 bp in length, which could be used to rapidly identify P. hepiali from other confusable species, and to distinguish relevant products in the market. Conclusion::The rapid identification of P. hepiali and its related products can be achieved through the ITS sequences and specific primers, which provides a reference for the production and quality control of Jinshuibao capsules.