OBJECTIVETo evaluate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical outcomes rating scale for heart failure (HF) based on patients' report.

METHODSTCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF (TCM-HF-PRO) were evaluated based on 340 HF patients' report from multiple centers. The completion of the investigation was recorded. Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability were used for reliability analysis, and factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of the rating scale. Pearson correlation analysis was then used for criterion validity analysis. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the responsiveness of the scale. All 340 HF patients having complete TCM-HF-PRO data were assigned to the treatment group and the control group by central randomization. The total TCM-HF-PRO scores of the two groups were compared using paired t-test to reflect the longitude responsiveness of the scale before treatment and at week 2 after treatment.

RESULTS(1) The recycling rate of the scale was 100.0%. One of them was not filled completely, which was rejected thereby. So the completion rate was 99.7%. The completion time for TCM-HF-PRO scale ranged 15 to 25 min. (2) The Cronbach's α coefficient of rating scale was 0.903, split-half reliability was 0.844 and 0.849. (3) Confirmatory factor analysis showed that 7 factors and items formed according to maximum load factor basically coincided with the construct of the rating scale, 7 factors accumulated contribution rate was 43.8%. TCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF based on patients' report was relatively better correlated with the Minnesota living with HF questionnaire (r = 0.726, P < 0.01). (4) Discriminant analysis showed that the rating scale correctly classified more than 78.8% of case studies having confirmed initial differential diagnosis by experts. The total scale of the rating scale decreased more in the two group after treatment, with significant difference as compared with before treatment (P < 0.01.

CONCLUSIONTCM clinical outcomes rating scale for HF based on patients' report had good reliability, validity and responsiveness, hence it could be used to assess clinical efficacy for HF patients.

Diagnosis, Differential ; Discriminant Analysis ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Heart Failure ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect in the treatment of the young patients(≤45 years old) with acute myocardial infarction(AMI)underwent emergent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA) combined with Lipo-PGE_1.Methods 39 patients with AMI(paroxysm within 12 hours),were underwent emergent PTCA(coronary stem performed in some patients),including 18 cases which were treated combined with Lipo-PGE_1 in the mean time.And the clinical efficacy and the results of short-period follow-up were recorded.Results The in- farctive vasculars were re-open in 37 patients(23 cares were routinely placed translunrinal srents),and the successful rate was 94.9 %.Those who also used Lipo-PGE_1 were re-open in 17 patients.The successful rate was 94.4 %,their ST segments on EKG 30 minutes after operations reduced significantly than that of patients who did not use Lipo- PGE_1,their cardial functions were also improved significantly 24 hours after operations and no side effects on blood pressure and heart rate were observed.Conclusion The emergent PTCA combined with Lipo-PGE_1 for acute my- ocardial infarction can protect the cardial function and show a better early therapy effect.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between cardiac Cerebrovascular disease and serum uric acid(SUA) in the coastal inhabitant, and try to provide base for prevention of the local metabolic disease and cardiac Cerebrovascular disease.

METHODWe got 3111 local people who had participated in the annual physical examination in the perch hospital for the research on the level of SUA and the relative risk factor. According to SUA level we divided the cases into two groups. One is hyperuricemia group and the other is control group.

RESULTS(1)The average SUA level was (380.2-/+62.58) micromol/L in the males, while (290.82-/+60.32) micromlo/L in the female. The sick rate of hyperuricaemia rate, was 21.8% for male, and the 17.6% of female. This disease affected more men than women. It has significant difference (P<0.01); (2)The SUA level of the showed a positive correlation with the indexes of the total cholesterol, the triglyceride, the blood pressure and the body weight index. The SUA level in overweight/obesity people was obviously higher than that of the normal weight people.

CONCLUSIONS(1)The sick rate of hyperuricaemia is high in Zhongshan coastal area, which due to many related factors. As far as, few people know it, so we should adopt the synthesis measure to prevent and control it to reduce the sick rate; (2)the rise of The SUA level possibly becomes one of the independent dangerous and predictive factor for the heart cerebral von disease.

Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; blood ; epidemiology ; pathology ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sex Distribution ; Uric Acid ; blood ; Young Adult

Xylitol has attracted much attention because of its many applications tn the food,medicine and chemical industries. However the use has been limited by its high price. This coast is a result of the extensive purification steps needed for the preparation of a pure xylose solution,which is essential for the chemical process. The fermentative process of xylitol is an interesting alternative to conventional chemical process,since it does not require initial xylose purification. The present review describes the advantage of xylitol production by fermentation, xylitol-producting microorganisms, metabolic pathway of xylose in yeasts, detoxification of hemicellulose hydrolysates and fermentative conditions affecting xylitol production.

Objective To investigate the effect of a selective muscarinic receptor antagonist (penehyclidine hydrochloride) in three vessel occlusion model of acute global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats.Method One hundred and forty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:sham operated group,vehicle treated group (saline 1 ml,i.p.),scopolamine treated group (0.01 mg/kg,i.p.) and penehyclidine hydrochloride treated group (0.01 mg/kg,i.p.) with drugs injected 40 minutes before ischemia respectively.The ischemic duration was 10 minutes.The animals were subjected to motor activity tests (open field activity test,beam-walking test and grip test) at 24 hours or on the 3rd and 7th day after reperfusion.HE staining,TUNEL staining and immunohistochemical reactions of bax and bel-2 were carried out at the time points of 2,12,24 hours,3 and 7 days after reperfusion.TTC staining was carried out in some rats for assessment of infarction volume on the 4th day after reperfusion.Results As compared with the vehicle treated group,both penehyclidine hydrochloride treatment and scopolamine treatment decreased the numbers of apeptotie neurons (P

To study the effect of micro (mi)RNA on cellular proliferation induced by hepatitis B x protein, HBx, in human liver cells and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of this cancer-related effect. The human L02 hepatocyte cell line was stably transfected with HBx (L02/HBx) or an HBx mutant (L02/HBx-d382) that induces higher levels of cellular proliferation. The differential miRNA expression profiles were determined by microarray analysis and confirmed by real-time PCR. Two miRNAs, miR-338-3p and miR-551b, that were found to be significantly down-regulated in the L02/HBx-d382 cells were selected for further study and transfected individually into cells using the lipofectamine procedure. The cell survival rate was analyzed by MTT assay, and cell cycles were assessed by flow cytometry. Expressions of cyclinD1, cyclinG1, and E2F1 were assessed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Compared with the microarray miRNA profile of L02/pcDNA3.0 cells, six miRNAs were up-regulated and five miRNAs were down-regulated in the L02/HBx-d382 cells, while four miRNAs were up-regulated and 12 were down-regulated in the L02/HBx cells. The microarray results were consistent with real-time PCR results. Transfection of miR-338-3p and miR-551b significantly inhibited the cell survival rates (P less than 0.001) and induced G0/G1 phase cycle arrest. According to MTT results: for L02/HBx-d382 cells, compared with lipofectamine or non-transfected (NC) controls, the t value of miR-338-3p was 10.402, 9.133 and the t value of miR-551b was 8.763, 7.403; for L02/HBx cells, compared with lipofectamine or NC controls, the t value of miR-338-3p was 9.105, 8.074 and the t value of miR-551b was 7.673, 7.52. According to flow cytometry results: for L02/HBx-d382 cells, compared with lipofectamine or NC controls, the t value of miR-338-3p was 12.173, 11.107 and the t value of miR-551b was 15.364, 13.377; for L02/HBx cells, compared with lipofectamine or NC controls, the t value of miR-338-3p was 15.416, 13.378, and the t value of miR-551b was 13.276, 13.109. The protein levels of cyclinD1, cyclinG1, and E2F1 were significantly reduced by both miR-338-3p and miR-551b ( P less than 0.001). For L02/HBx-d382 cells, compared with lipofectamine or NC controls: E2F1 had t = 11.132, 10.031 and 12.017, 10.973, respectively; cyclinD1 had t = 15.654, 15.013 and 15.447, 14.733, respectively; cyclinG1 had t = 8.017, 7.661 and 7.402, 7.417, respectively. For L02/HBx cells, compared with lipofectamine or NC controls: E2F1 had t = 14.244, 13.331 and 15.022, 14.468, respectively; cyclinD1 had t = 8.695, 8.137 and 7.877, 7.503, respectively; cyclinG1 had t = 7.73, 7.471 and 7.596, 7.41, respectively. In contrast, the mRNA levels for E2F1, cyclinD1, and cylcinG1 showed no significant differences between the miRNA transfected cells and controls. Wild-type HBx and the high proliferation-inducing mutant HBx can influence the miRNA expression profile of L02 cells. HBx down-regulates miR-338-3p and miR-551b in L02 cells, and the high proliferation-inducing mutant has a more robust effect. The mechanism of miR-338-3p- or miR-551b-mediated cell growth inhibition appears to be related to the direct modulation of cyclinD1, cyclinG1, and E2F1.
Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genes, Viral ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; metabolism ; Hepatocytes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mutation ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo establish a LC-MS/MS method for determining the concentration of tanshinone IIA, salvianolic acid B and paeoniflorin of refined coronary cataplasm in rabbit plasma, in order to determine the concentration of the three main ingredients in blood after transdermal administration and calculate their pharmacokinetic parameters.

METHODRabbits were given refined coronary cataplasm on the basis of 15 g x kg(-1) by transdermal administration to detect the plasma concentration of the three main ingredients using LC-MS/MS. Winnonlin software was used to calculate their major pharmacokinetic parameters.

RESULTTanshinone IIA, salvianolic acid B and paeoniflorin showed good linearity (r>0.999) at 1-100, 50-1 000, 10-1 000 microg x L(-1) respectively in plasma, with average recovery rate of 96.57%, 91.90%, 95.93%, respectively. The RSD within day were less than 15%. After transdermal administration of refined coronary cataplasm in rabbits, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of tanshinone IIA, salvianolic acid B or paeoniflorin were as follows: Cmax (20.85 +/- 12.68), (636.25 +/- 386.91), (787.80 +/- 395.64) microg x L(-1); Tmax (0.49 +/- 0.28), (0.44 +/- 0.27), (0.46 +/- 0.30) h.

CONCLUSIONThe LC-MS/MS method is highly selective and sensitive to determine the concentration of samples in rabbit plasma. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of tanshinone IIA, salvianolic acid B and paeoniflorin are suitable to assess the percutaneous absorption of refined coronary cataplasm.

Animals ; Benzoates ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Benzofurans ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Bridged-Ring Compounds ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Coronary Disease ; drug therapy ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Glucosides ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Male ; Monoterpenes ; Rabbits ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical value of perioperative adjuvant chemotherapy in prevention of tumor recurrence and improvement of patient survival after liver transplantation for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSTwenty patients with advanced HCC (pTNM stages III and IV a) receiving liver transplantation with preoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (ADM+5-Fu+CDDP) were retrospectively reviewed in comparison with 16 patients receiving liver transplantation only for tumor recurrence, cumulative and tumor-free survivals. The feasibility and side-effects of the treatments were also studied.

RESULTSThe recurrence rate was lower in the perioperative treatment group than in non-treatment group (12/20, 60.0% vs 11/16, 87.5%, P<0.05). The 1- and 2-year overall survival rates were 70.8% and 47.1% for the chemotherapy group and 43.8% and 20.5% for the non-chemotherapy group respectively, showing significant differences between them (P<0.05). The 1- and 2-year tumor-free survival rates were 60.6%, 40.5% and 33.6%, 15.6% in the two groups, respectively, with also significant differences (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPerioperative adjuvant treatment may significantly decrease the likeliness of tumor recurrence and prolong the survival of patients with advanced HCC after liver transplantation. Chemotherapy with ADM+5-Fu+CDDP can be effective and safe with only mild side-effects.

Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; drug therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Liver Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Perioperative Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

Novel solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) system is prepared with Compritol ATO 888 and tricaprylic glyceride. DSC, XRD, SAXS and NMR are employed to study the novel carrier property and microstructure. When the peak melting point decreased from 70.8 degrees C to 61.4 degrees C, the enthalpy sharply decreased. It could be concluded that the regular crystal lattices in the novel carriers are broken out for the oil joined in them. Melting behavior is occurred at -17.7 degrees C while novel SLN is composed of oil and solid lipid mixture from the DSC measurement. Most alpha phase and least beta' phase are in the nano carrier system whether drug loading or not from the XRD investigation. There is only 0.1 nm change of long space among the novel SLN made of mixture and the lipid matrix and traditional SLN; therefore, it is impossible of the oil molecular insert into the solid glyceride structure. Since the different melting behavior (DSC measurements) and molecular move state (NMR investigations), two lipid matrix are still in two state of liquid and solid lipid in the novel SLN carrier. Presume the microstructure of the novel SLN prepared by our experiment would be that liquid oil has formed superfine nano accommodation encapsulated with solid lipid, but the whole particle is still in nano size range.
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Caprylates ; chemistry ; Diterpenes ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Epoxy Compounds ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Fatty Acids ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Nanoparticles ; Particle Size ; Phenanthrenes ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Triglycerides ; chemistry ; X-Ray Diffraction

AX15 is a mutein of naturally occurring human ciliary neurophic factor (hCNTF), with improved biological activity, stability and solubility. AX15 is susceptible to protease degradation when expressed in Pichia pastoris. Amino acid sequencing revealed the degradation was occurred behind position 12 and 13 amino acid residues, which constitute a dibasic site, RR. Based on the substrate specificity of KEX2, a KEX2 resistant mutein of AX15-AX15 (R13K) was constructed, in which RR was replaced by RK. It was demonstrated that the stability of AX15 (R13K) improved significantly, as no degradation was detected even after 120 hours of induction. AX15 (R13K) was purified to homogeneity by ultrafiltration and gel filtration. TF-1 cell survival bioassay showed AX15 (R13K) had equivalent specific activity to AX15. The protease resistant mutein of AX15 may have greater in vivo stability and thus have superior therapeutic potential.
Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Mutant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Mutation ; Peptide Hydrolases ; chemistry ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification