BACKGROUND: Preactivation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCS) is one of the most important eerly events and facilitating factor for the formation of atherosclerosis. Tanshinone is a lipolytic component extracted from traditional Chinese medicine of denshen, it has definite anti-atherosclerotic effect.OBJECTTVE: To analyze whether PBMCS preactivation existed at early essential hypertension, and investigate the effects of tanshinone on inhibiting the PBMCS activation cultured in vitro by detecting the adhesion and excretory activities of PBMCS.DESTGN: A case-controlled analysis.SETTING: Department of Emergency and Research Room of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tongji Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.PARTTCTPANTS: Thirty patients with untreated essential hypertension or with withdrawal from antihypertensives for at least 2 weeks were selected from the Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2003 to October 2004, including 16 males and 14 females, aged (44.6±7.4) years, body mass index of (26.2±4.5) kg/m2, average disease course of (38.5±16.9) months.Informed contents were obtained from all the subjects. Their hypertension was grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ according to the diagnostic standards for hypertension by WHO/ISH in 1999. Secondary hypertension, organic heart disease, hyperglyceridemia,diabetes mellitus, liver and kidney dysfunction, heart, brain, kidney, vessel and other target damaged induced by infection and other clinical conditions and hypertension were excluded by history, physical examination and assistant examination.Another 30 healthy physical examinees with normal blood pressure were enrolled as the normal control group. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (Species Reserving Center of Wuhan University); Tanshinone injection (Yaan Sanjiu Pharmaceutical, Co., Ltd., batch number: 020724);METHODS: ① Venous blood samples (4.0-5.0 mL) were drawn from all the subjects, and mononuclear cells were separated by means of Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation and plastic adhesion, then incubated at 37 ℃ for 40-60 minutes, and the adherent cells were the PBMCS. These cells (viability ＞ 95%, Trypan blue staining) had the characteristics of mononuclear cells (Wright staining). The newly separated adherent PBMCS were resuspended, and then inoculated to the 24-well plate (4×107 L-1). There were 3 wells for each sample: the first was for basic excretion, the second for angiotensin Ⅱ stimulation, and the third for tanshinone pretreatment. The PBMCS were co-incubated with tanshinone for 30 minutes before angiotensin Ⅱ stimulation. The terminal concentration was 1×10-8 mol/L and 1×10-8 g/L for angiotensin Ⅱ andtanshinone respectively, and that of PBMCS was 2×107 L-1. The cells were cultured in the incubator (CO2 of 0.05 in volume fraction) at 37 ℃ for 24 hours, then the supernatant and cell ingredients were collected respectively. ② The PBMCS suspension was preparedl, and the cellular density was adjusted to 2.5×109 L-1. The human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured on the 24-well plate with M199 medium containing fetal bovine serum (0.1 in volume fraction), and spread to monolayer after the cells entered the logarithm phase. Each well was added with PBMCS suspension (100 μL), incubated at 37 ℃ for 2 and 4 hours respectively. The unadherent cells were removed, and the adherent ones were counted after fixed with 20 g/L glutaral, 40 visual sights were counted for each well under high power microscope, and the average value was used. ③ The double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to determine the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant of PBMCS, and the expressions of their mRNA.MATN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Changes of PBMCS adhesion activity; ② Concentrations of cytokines and their mRNA expressions in supernatant of PBMCS.RESULTS: ① At 2 and 4 hours of inoculation, the numbers of PBMCS adhered to endothelial cells under basic conditions were similar between the hypertension group and normal control group (t =1.153-1.577, P ＞ 0.05); After angiotensin Ⅱ stimulation, the adherent cells were obviously more in the hypertension group than in the normal control group (t =3.842-4.536, P ＜ 0.01); The numbers of the adherent cells were decreased to the same levels after tanshinone pretreatment (t =0.855-1.702, P ＞ 0.05). ②Under basic state, the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in supernatant were all lower in both groups (t =0.981-1.829, P ＞ 0.05); The concentrations of the cytokines after angiotensin Ⅱ stimulation were obviously higher in the hypertension group than in the normal control group (t = 2.442, 5.075, P ＜ 0.01,0.01, 0.05); The concentrations of the cytokines after tanshinone pretreatment were all decreased to different extent, and there were no significant differences (t =1.227-1.940, P ＞ 0.05). Similar changes were observed in the mRNA expressions of the cytokines in PBMCS in the two groups.CONCLUSTON: ① The number of PBMCS adhered to endothelial cells, the concentrations and mRNA expressions of the cytokines under basic state in patients with essential hypertension were at the levels of normal subjects, and they were significantly increased after angiotensin Ⅱ stimulation, suggesting that the PBMCS were at preactivation at early essential hypertension. ② Tanshinone could decrease the adhesion and excretory activities of PBMCS in patients with essential hypertension to the normal levels, it is proved that tanshinone can inhibit the further activation of the preactivated PBMCS, and can prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis to some extent.

Androgen is an anabolic steroid composed of 19 carbon atoms. As a sex hormone, it has far-ranging effects on many sites within the body, including bone metabolism. Androgen has important effects on bone development and homeostasis. It has been proved that the androgen receptor (AR) expresses in bone cells, which indicates that androgen has direct effects on bone cells. Furthermore there is convincing evidence that aromatization to estrogen is an important way of mediating the action of testosterone. Androgen not only plays an important role in gaining the peak bone mass and maintaining the bone mass, but also has a close correlation with aging-related bone loss.
Androgens ; physiology ; Animals ; Bone Density ; physiology ; Bone and Bones ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Osteoblasts ; physiology ; Osteoclasts ; physiology ; Osteoporosis ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Receptors, Androgen ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical application value of Provider-Initiated HIV Testing and Counseling (PITC) by analyzing the positive rate of HIV tests for people in need of PITC and that of routine HIV tests.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the demographic and epidemiologic data about the patients seeking PITC services or undergoing routine HIV tests in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between January and December 2013.

RESULTSThe positive rate of initial HIV screening was 1.98% in the PITC group and 0.24% in the routine test group, while that of confirmed HIV was 0. 40% in the former and 0.07% in the latter, both with statistically significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.01). The positive rate of HIV was markedly higher in males than in females, particularly in the PITC group.

CONCLUSIONPITC has a high clinical value in HIV detection for targeted subjects and therefore deserves general application in dermatology.

Counseling ; Dermatology ; Female ; HIV Seropositivity ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

Population pharmacokinetics of vancomycin (VAN) in the Chinese patients was described by using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling (NONMEM). 619 VAN serum concentrations data from 260 patients including 177 males and 83 females were collected separately from two centers. A one-compartment model was used to describe this sparse data. No significant difference was observed between two center datasets by introducing SID covariate. The final model was as CL= (θ (base0+ θ(max) x(1 -e(-θ(Age)(Age/72) and V = θ x θ (Age)(Age/72). The creatinine clearance (CL(Cr)) and Age were identified as the most significant covariate in the final model. Typical values of clearance (CL) and volume of distribution (V) in the final model were 2.91 L x h(-1) and 54.76 L, respectively. Internal model validation by Bootstrap and NPDE were performed to evaluate the robustness and prediction of the final model. The median and 95% confidence intervals for the final model parameters were based on 1000 Bootstraps. External model evaluation was conducted using an independent dataset that consisted of 34 patients to predict model performance. Pharmacodynamic assessment for VAN by AUC (0-24 h) to MIC ratios of over 400 was considered to be the best to predict treatment outcomes for patients. AUC (0-24 h) was calculated by clearance based on the above population model. The results indicate that the conventional dosing regimen probably being suboptimal concentrations in aged patients. The approach via population pharmacokinetic of VAN combined with the relationship of MIC, Age, CL(Cr) and AUC(0-24 h)/MIC can predict the rational dose for attaining efficacy.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Biological ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Vancomycin ; pharmacokinetics

The identity of higher-order neurons and circuits playing an associative role to control renal function is notwell understood.We identified specific neural populations of rostral elements of brain regions that project multisynaptically to the kidneys in 3~ days after injecting a retrograde tracer pseudorabies virus (PRV)-614 into kidney of 13 adult male C57BL/6J strain mice.PRV-614 infected neurons were detected in a number of mesencephalic (e.g.central amygdala nucleus),telencephalic regions and motor cortex.These divisions included the preoptic area (POA),dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH),lateral hypothalamus,arcuate nucleus (Arc),suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN),periventricular hypothalamus (PeH),and rostral and caudal subdivision of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN).PRV-614/Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) double-labeled cells were found within DMH,Arc,SCN,PeH,PVN,the anterodorsal and medial POA.A subset of neurons in PVN that participated in regulating sympathetic outflow to kidney was catecholaminergic or serotonergic.PRV-614 infected neurons within the PVN also contained arginine vasopressin or oxytocin.These data demonstrate the rostral elements of brain innervate the kidney by the neuroanatomical circuitry.

Child ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Male ; Paraganglioma ; surgery ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; surgery

To establish a molecular identification method for Bletillae Rhizoma, this paper extracted genome DNA from Bletillae Rhizoma and its adulterants. The sequences of rDNA ITS2 were sequenced after amplifying. Then multiple alignments of ITS2 were constructed phylogenetic tree with Neighbor Joining by MEGA 5. 1 and found out SNPs loci. The result showed that rDNA ITS2 region could identify Bletillae Rhizoma and its adulterants. There existed the SNPs loci, which could identify Bletilla striata and B. ochracea. Furthermore, we designed specific primers against the SNPs loci of B. striata and B. ochracea, then screened primers and optimized the PCR amplification conditions. Finally, the DNA of B. striata and B. ochracea were specifically amplified by BJ59-412F, BJ59-412R and HHBJ-225R. The length of amplification products were respectively about 350 bp and 520 bp that were effectively identified of B. striata and B. ochracea. While, the adulterants of Bletillae Rhizoma were no-reaction occurring. To sum up, the amplification conditions of the primers can identify B. striata, B. ochracea and their adulterants successfully at the same time. This method was easy, time-saving, and reliable, which can be used as a rapid method for molecular identification of Bletillae Rhizoma.
Base Sequence ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; DNA, Intergenic ; genetics ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; Drug Contamination ; prevention & control ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Orchidaceae ; classification ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Rhizome ; classification ; genetics

A double targets of high throughput screening model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors and superoxide anion scavengers was established. In the reaction system of xanthine oxidase, WST-1 works as the probe for the ultra oxygen anion generation, and product uric acid works as xanthine oxidase activity indicator. By using SpectraMax M5 continuous spectrum enzyme sign reflectoscope reflector, the changes of these indicators' concentration were observed and the influence factors of this reaction system to establish the high throughput screening model were studied. And the model is confirmed by positive drugs. In the reaction system, the final volume of reaction system is 50 μL and the concentrations of xanthine oxidase is 4 mU x mL(-1), xanthine 250 μmol x L(-1) and WST-1 100 μmol x L(-1), separately. The Z'-factor of model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors is 0.537 4, S/N is 47.519 9; the Z'-factor of model for superoxide anion scavengers is 0.507 4, S/N is 5.388 9. This model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors and superoxide anion scavengers has more common characteristics of the good stability, the fewer reagent types and quantity, the good repeatability, and so on. And it can be widely applied in high-throughput screening research.
Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Free Radical Scavengers ; pharmacology ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Superoxides ; Uric Acid ; Xanthine ; Xanthine Oxidase ; antagonists & inhibitors

To enhance speech recognition, as well as Mandarin tone recognition in noice, we proposed a speech coding strategy called zero-crossing of fine structure in low frequency (LFFS) for cochlear implant based on low frequency non-uniform sampling (LFFS for short). In the range of frequency perceived boundary of human ear, we used zero-crossing time of the fine structure to generate the stimulus pulse sequences based on the frequency selection rule. Acoustic simulation results showed that although on quiet background the performance of LFFS was similar to continuous interleaved sampling (CIS), on the noise background the performance of LFFS in Chinese tones, words and sentences were significantly better than CIS. In addition to this, we also got better Mandarin recognition factors distribution by using the improved index distribution model. LFFS contains more tonal information which was able to effectively improve Mandarin recognition of the cochlear implant.
Acoustics ; Cochlear Implants ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Language ; Noise ; Recognition (Psychology) ; Speech Perception

ObjectiveTo study the role and mechanism of low-dose aspirin with IFN-α in inhibiting growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsMHCC97L cells were cultured and a metastatic model of human HCC was established by orthotopic implantation of histologically intact human HCC tissue into the liver of nude (nu/nu) mice.After administration of different doses of Aspirin and IFN-α for 40 days,the mice bearing xenografts in liver were killed,and the tumor volume and lung metastasis were evaluated.Cell proliferation and MMP-2 activity were measured by MTT and gelatin zymography,respectively.The expressions of VEGF and MMP-2 were measured by western blot and ELISA.ResultsCompared to the control group,there were no significant differences in the high-dose Aspirin [45 mg/(kg · d)] treated group regarding tumor volume [(1.89 ±0.88) cm3 vs (3.12±0.85) cm3,P＞0.05] and incidence of lung metastases (58.3％ vs 66.7％,P＞0.05),but the tumor volume and incidence of lung metastasis were significantly inhibited in the highdose IFN-α group [1.5 × 107/(kg · d)],the high-dose IFN-α combined with high-dose Aspirin group,and the low-dose IFN-α [7.5 × 106 / (kg · d) ] combined with low-dose Aspirin [15 mg/(kg · d] group (P＜0.05).2 mmol/L Aspirin did not inhibit the proliferation of MHCC97 cells (P＞0.05),but inhibited the activities and expressions of MMP-2 and VEGF.Low-dose IFN-α combined with low-dose Aspirin significantly decreased the expressions of MMP-2 and VEGF in nude mice (P＜0.05).ConclusionLow-dose Aspirin combined with low-dose IFN-α significantly inhibited the growth and metastasis of HCC through suppressing the expressions of MMP-2 and VEGF.