Objective: To study the effects of procyanidins extract from the lotus seedpod (LSPC) on active oxygen radicals and lipid peroxidation. Methods: (1) The scavenging effects of LSPC on O ?- 2 and ?OH was investigated by using chemiluminescence method; (2) The effects of different concentrations of LSPC on RBC auto oxidation and LPO formation of rat liver mitochondria in vitro were observed; (3) The LPO level of liver homogenates incubated with Fe 2+ and H 2O 2 in vitro were determined; (4) the mice were treated with a single intragastric feeding of 5% CCl 4 soya bean oil solution (10ml/kg bw) after seven days supplementation of LSPC 100, 200, 400 mg/(kg bw?d). The activities of SOD, GST and the level of LPO in liver and plasma of CCl 4 toxic mice were determined. Results: In vitro, LSPC 169.0mg/L or 105.3mg/L was shown to markedly scavenge O ?- 2 produced in xanthine/xanthine oxidase and ?OH in Fenton systems respectively, and could significantly inhibit the formation of liver LPO. In vivo, LSPC (100,200mg/kg) evidently reduced the level of LPO and increase the activities of SOD and GST. Conclusion: It suggests that LSPC may be used as an antioxidant and might effectively protect liver from the injury due to lipid peroxidation.

Objective To compare the effectiveness and safety of Foley catheter(FC)and vaginal prostaglandin E2 suppository(PGE2,Propess)for cervical ripening and labor induction in fullterm pregnant women with unfavorable cervix.Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted.Women with a term or post-term,live,singleton fetus in cephalic presentation,intact membranes,Bishop score＜6,not in labor,medically indicated for labor induction from June 2009 to December 2009 in Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School were randomly divided into two groups:FC group(n=64)and Propess group(n=62).In FC group,a 16-F Foley catheter was inserted into patient's cervical canal; once past the internal os,the balloon was inflated with 80 ml saline.Intravenous oxytocin was initiated after the balloon was spontaneously extruded from the cervix or after 24 hours.In Propess group,vaginal Propess was used.x2 or Fisher's exact test and t test were used to compare the outcomes,delivery mode and induction success rate between the two groups.Results There were no significant differences in gestational weeks,Bishop score,indication of induction,improvement of Bishop score,success rate of induction,rate of vaginal delivery,total duration of labor and volume of postpartum hemorrhage between the two groups(P ＞ 0.05,respectively).Propess group had a higher rate of vaginal birth within 24 hours[56.5％(35/62)vs 28.1％(18/64),t=10.37,P＜0.05],a higher risk for excessively frequent and hard uterine contraction[17.7％(11/62)vs 0.0％(0/64),P＜0.05]and lower incidence of oxytocin induction/augmentation during labor[21.0％(13/62)vs 87.5％(56/64),x2 =56.27,P＜0.05]than those of FC group.There were no differences in neonatal Apgar score,meconium staining and neonatal birth weight between the two groups.Puerperal infection occured in neither group.Conclusions Under strict control of indication and aseptic manipulation,Foley catheter was as effective and safe as Propess for cervical ripening with lower risk of excessive uterine activity.It is suggested that Foley catheter could be used for cervical ripening,especially in patients with economic difficulty.

ACEI,ACEII and Xyr1 are transcriptional factors that regulate cellulase gene expression in Trichoderma koningii.In vitro experiments have shown that ACEI and Xyr1 bind to the cbh1 promoter fragment(-304 to-18) and regulate the gene transcription.However,whether ACEII binds to this 287bp fragment is still unclear.To further elucidate the regulatory mechanism of ACEII for cellulase,DNA-binding domains of ACEII from T.Koningii were expressed in E.coli.It could not show binding to the cbh1 promoter fragment(-304 to-18) by electrophoresis mobility shift assays,suggesting that it is Xyr1 but not ACEII binds playing an essential role during induction of cbh1 gene transcription.

The progress is reviewed on the studies of procyanicdins biological and pharmacological activities in the past ten years, including antioxidant,protecting cardiovascular system,regulating immunocompetence, antiviral, anticancer, antiulcer and antidepressant,antimutagenic properties, etc.

AIM To study the effects of procyanidins' extract from the lotus' seedpod(LSPC) on experimental myocardia injury in rats. METHODS Compared with diltiazem(10 mg?kg -1 ?d -1 ) and complex salvia (8 mg?kg -1 ?d -1 ), after one hour supplementation of LSPC, the model of myocardial injury induced by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol (40 mg?kg -1 , twice )and by cardiac ischemia in situ were studied with rat hearts. RESULTS LSPC pretreatment (100 and 200 mg?kg -1 ) significantly antagonized the high serum of CK,CK MB,LDH, calcium and the high content of myocardial water, calcium, provided significant reduction in myocardial infarct size, increased the ratio between superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde production in serum, lighted the degree of myocardial pathological damage. CONCLUSION LSPC provided a protection on ischemic myocardium in rats and the action is considered to be related to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation or myocardial Ca 2+ accumulation.

ACEI and Xyr1 are two regulators that potentially involve in regulation of cellulases and xylanases formation in Trichoderma reesei, they compete for a binding site in the xyn1 (Xylanase1-encoding) gene promoter. To further investigate the mechanism for the transcriptional regulation of cellulases, DNA-binding domains of both ACEI and Xyr1 in T. Koningii were expressed from E. coli. They both showed bindings to the cbh1 promoter fragment (-304 bp to -18 bp) by electrophoresis mobility shift assays, suggesting ACEI and Xyr1 not only compete for binding to xyn1 promoter but also to cbh1 promoter.
Binding Sites ; Cellulase ; biosynthesis ; Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism ; Trichoderma ; enzymology ; genetics

Objective:The clinical data of prenatal stillbirth were analyzed in order to increase the understand-ing of the causes of stillbirth.Methods:Prenatal stillbirth cases that terminated pregnancy in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical School,Nanjing University from January 2018 to December 2022 were col-lected,and the distribution characteristics of clinical data and the stillbirth causes were analyzed.The causes of death were classified according to the standards developed by the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network(SCRN)in the United States,and they were divided into clear cause-of-death group and unknown cause-of-death group.The different characteristics of the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results:There were 210 ca-ses of prenatal stillbirth during the study period,and 104 cases met the inclusion criteria.Among them,33 cases(31.7%)had autopsy results,39 cases(37.5%)had genetic results,and 75 cases(72.1%)had placental pathol-ogy.According to the classification of SCRN standard,55 cases(52.9%)were probably related to the cause of death,33 cases(31.7%)were classified as possible,13 cases(12.5%)were probably unrelated,and 3 cases(2.9%)could not be attributed to the cause of death,that is,84.6%(88 cases)in the clear cause of death group and 15.4%(16 cases)in the unknown cause of death group.The rate of placental pathological examination in the clear cause of death group was significantly higher than that in the unknown cause of death group(78.4%).In the classification of causes of death,placental pathological changes accounted for the largest proportion,account-ing for 26.9%(28 cases),followed by pregnancy complications accounting for 25.0%(26 cases),and 15.4%of the cases were still unexplained.Conclusions:Placental pathology is of great significance for clarifying the cause of stillbirth.It is feasible to use SCRN to classify the etiology of stillbirth.Pathological placental conditions account for a relatively high proportion in the classification of stillbirth causes.It is recommended that each case of stillbirth placenta should undergo pathological examination.

Objective:The clinical data of prenatal stillbirth were analyzed in order to increase the understand-ing of the causes of stillbirth.Methods:Prenatal stillbirth cases that terminated pregnancy in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical School,Nanjing University from January 2018 to December 2022 were col-lected,and the distribution characteristics of clinical data and the stillbirth causes were analyzed.The causes of death were classified according to the standards developed by the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network(SCRN)in the United States,and they were divided into clear cause-of-death group and unknown cause-of-death group.The different characteristics of the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results:There were 210 ca-ses of prenatal stillbirth during the study period,and 104 cases met the inclusion criteria.Among them,33 cases(31.7%)had autopsy results,39 cases(37.5%)had genetic results,and 75 cases(72.1%)had placental pathol-ogy.According to the classification of SCRN standard,55 cases(52.9%)were probably related to the cause of death,33 cases(31.7%)were classified as possible,13 cases(12.5%)were probably unrelated,and 3 cases(2.9%)could not be attributed to the cause of death,that is,84.6%(88 cases)in the clear cause of death group and 15.4%(16 cases)in the unknown cause of death group.The rate of placental pathological examination in the clear cause of death group was significantly higher than that in the unknown cause of death group(78.4%).In the classification of causes of death,placental pathological changes accounted for the largest proportion,account-ing for 26.9%(28 cases),followed by pregnancy complications accounting for 25.0%(26 cases),and 15.4%of the cases were still unexplained.Conclusions:Placental pathology is of great significance for clarifying the cause of stillbirth.It is feasible to use SCRN to classify the etiology of stillbirth.Pathological placental conditions account for a relatively high proportion in the classification of stillbirth causes.It is recommended that each case of stillbirth placenta should undergo pathological examination.

Objective:The clinical data of prenatal stillbirth were analyzed in order to increase the understand-ing of the causes of stillbirth.Methods:Prenatal stillbirth cases that terminated pregnancy in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical School,Nanjing University from January 2018 to December 2022 were col-lected,and the distribution characteristics of clinical data and the stillbirth causes were analyzed.The causes of death were classified according to the standards developed by the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network(SCRN)in the United States,and they were divided into clear cause-of-death group and unknown cause-of-death group.The different characteristics of the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results:There were 210 ca-ses of prenatal stillbirth during the study period,and 104 cases met the inclusion criteria.Among them,33 cases(31.7%)had autopsy results,39 cases(37.5%)had genetic results,and 75 cases(72.1%)had placental pathol-ogy.According to the classification of SCRN standard,55 cases(52.9%)were probably related to the cause of death,33 cases(31.7%)were classified as possible,13 cases(12.5%)were probably unrelated,and 3 cases(2.9%)could not be attributed to the cause of death,that is,84.6%(88 cases)in the clear cause of death group and 15.4%(16 cases)in the unknown cause of death group.The rate of placental pathological examination in the clear cause of death group was significantly higher than that in the unknown cause of death group(78.4%).In the classification of causes of death,placental pathological changes accounted for the largest proportion,account-ing for 26.9%(28 cases),followed by pregnancy complications accounting for 25.0%(26 cases),and 15.4%of the cases were still unexplained.Conclusions:Placental pathology is of great significance for clarifying the cause of stillbirth.It is feasible to use SCRN to classify the etiology of stillbirth.Pathological placental conditions account for a relatively high proportion in the classification of stillbirth causes.It is recommended that each case of stillbirth placenta should undergo pathological examination.

Objective:The clinical data of prenatal stillbirth were analyzed in order to increase the understand-ing of the causes of stillbirth.Methods:Prenatal stillbirth cases that terminated pregnancy in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital,Affiliated Hospital of Medical School,Nanjing University from January 2018 to December 2022 were col-lected,and the distribution characteristics of clinical data and the stillbirth causes were analyzed.The causes of death were classified according to the standards developed by the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network(SCRN)in the United States,and they were divided into clear cause-of-death group and unknown cause-of-death group.The different characteristics of the two groups were compared and analyzed.Results:There were 210 ca-ses of prenatal stillbirth during the study period,and 104 cases met the inclusion criteria.Among them,33 cases(31.7%)had autopsy results,39 cases(37.5%)had genetic results,and 75 cases(72.1%)had placental pathol-ogy.According to the classification of SCRN standard,55 cases(52.9%)were probably related to the cause of death,33 cases(31.7%)were classified as possible,13 cases(12.5%)were probably unrelated,and 3 cases(2.9%)could not be attributed to the cause of death,that is,84.6%(88 cases)in the clear cause of death group and 15.4%(16 cases)in the unknown cause of death group.The rate of placental pathological examination in the clear cause of death group was significantly higher than that in the unknown cause of death group(78.4%).In the classification of causes of death,placental pathological changes accounted for the largest proportion,account-ing for 26.9%(28 cases),followed by pregnancy complications accounting for 25.0%(26 cases),and 15.4%of the cases were still unexplained.Conclusions:Placental pathology is of great significance for clarifying the cause of stillbirth.It is feasible to use SCRN to classify the etiology of stillbirth.Pathological placental conditions account for a relatively high proportion in the classification of stillbirth causes.It is recommended that each case of stillbirth placenta should undergo pathological examination.