Objective To explore the relationship of the severity of coronary-artery stenosis with plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and Meprin-α.Methods Totally 237 patients in our hospital were divided into control group (CON group), stable angina group (SA group) and acute coronary syndrome group (ACS group), according to coronary artery angiography.Patients with acute coronary syndrome were divided into 3 subgroups: unstable angina (UA) group, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) group and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) group.Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were divided into 3 subgroups: low-score, medium-score and high-score groups, according to coronary angiography and Syntax score.BNP and Meprin-α levels were determined in patients with coronary artery disease, and the degree of coronary artery stenosis was evaluated.The differences in above indexes were analyzed and compared among the three groups.Results Plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α were higher in ACS group than in CON group [(233.16± 78.22)ng/L vs.(33.48 ± 13.71)ng/L, (26.89 ± 6.45) nmol/L vs.(12.83±0.66)nmol/L, both P＜0.05].Compared with UA group, plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α were increased in NSTEMI and STEMI groups (all P＜0.05).Compared with the control group, plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α in the Syntax scores-divided subgroups were increased (all P＜ 0.05).The plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α in CAD patients were significantly increased along with the increase of Syntax Score.Spearman correlation analysis showed that low density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, BNP and Meprin-α levels had positive correlations with the occurrence of coronary heart disease, while high density lipoprotein level was negatively correlated with the occurrence of coronary heart disease (all P＜0.05).Conclusions BNP and Meprin-α levels in peripheral blood are significantly elevated in patients with coronary heart disease, and they are correlated with Syntax score.The risk of ACS is increased along with the increased BNP and Meprinα levels.

The content of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) which as the enzymatic hydrolysis product of benzyl glucosinolate through thioglucosidase was determined by HPLC. The content of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) which as the enzymatic hydrolysis product of benzyl glucosinolate through thioglucosidase was determined by HPLC. The chromatography condition was as follows: Kaseisorb LC ODS 2000 (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 min) column with the mobile phase of acetonitrile(A)-water( B) under gradient elution (0-5 min, 3%-8% A; 5-9 min, 8%-48% A; 9-23 min, 48%-62% A; 23-28 min, 62%-99% A); the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) with 10 microL injection volume; detection wavelength was 246 nm and temperature of column was 40 degrees C. The content of benzyl glucosinolate was in the range of 10.76-17.91 g x L(-1). The method is simple, accurate and good reproducibility which can be used for the determination of benzyl glucosinolate in Lepidium meyenii, effectively.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Glucosinolates ; analysis ; Lepidium ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; analysis

Objective To explore the correlation of bone metabolism levels and risk of coronary heart disease in elder women patients .Methods A total of 163 elder women patients were divided into three group:CON group ,CAD group ,and CHD group .We explored related atherosclerosis risk factors and factors related to bone metabolism .Results Compared with CON group ,there was no statistical significance in CAD group in factors related to bone metabolism(P>0 .05) .In CHD group ,serum 25‐OH‐Vitamin D significantly decreased and β‐C‐terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰ collagen significantly increased compared with CON group(P<0 .05) .Compared with CAD group ,the serum 25‐OH‐Vitamin C also significantly decreased andβ‐C‐terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰcollagen significantly increased(P< 0 .05) .Spearman correlation analysis showed that BMI ,HDL‐C ,triglycerides ,LDL‐C ,blood glucose and 25‐OH‐Vitamin D were correlated with coronary heart disease .With coronary heart disease as the dependent variable , the results showed lower LDL‐C ,25‐OH‐Vitamin D had independent predictive value for the risk coronary heart disease .Conclusion Lower 25‐OH‐Vitamin D levels in elder patients were positively correlated with coronary heart disease ,and it might also be an in‐dependent predictor .

OBJECTIVETo study the impact of the water extract from Codonopsis thalictrifolia Wall (CTW) on the reproductive

METHODSWe divided 32 male SD infant rats into four groups of equal number to be treated intragastrical-system of male infant rats. ly with distilled water (control) and CTW at 10 g/kg (low dose) , 20 g/kg (medium dose), and 40 g/kg (high dose), respectively, twice a day for 2 weeks. Then we killed the rats, measured the levels of testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in the serum, obtained the testis weight, body weight, testis visceral coefficient and sperm concentration, and detected sperm viability, sperm motility and the level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in the Leydig cells, followed by

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the low-dose, me-analysis of differences among different groups using the SPSS software. Medium-dose and high-dose CTW groups showed significant decreases in the serum T level ([3.09 +/-0.42] vs [1.22 +/-0. 32] , [1.06 +/- 0.29] and [0.57 +/-0.18] nmol/L, P<0.01), testis weight ([1.40 +/-0.16] vs [0.96 +/-0.09], [0.92 +/-0.11] and [0.91 +/- 0.08] g, P <0.01), and sperm concentration ([1.03 +/-0.16] vs [0.19 +/-0.07], [0.17 +/-0.08] and [0.16 +/-0.07] x 10(6)/ml, P <0.01), but a dramatic elevation in the testis visceral coefficient ([42.22 +/- 3.02] vs [51.39 +/- 3.09], [52.28 +/- 4.86] and [54.13 +/-6.06] mg/10 g, P <0.01); the medium- and high-dose CTW groups exhibited remarkable increases in the levels of serum LH ([13.62+/-0.89] vs [14.69 +/-0.12] and [14.93 +/-0.28] ng/L, P<0.01) and FSH ([4.32 +/-0.18] vs [4.77 +/-0.23] and [4.89 +/-0. 38] IU/L, P <0.05); all the three CTW groups showed markedly inhibited serum T secretion ([1.85 +/- 0.18] vs [1.42 +/-0.15], [1.12+/-0.18] and [0.88 +/-0.21] nmol/L, P<0.01) and intracellular cAMP ([5.51 +/-0.12] vs [4.39+/-0.06], [4.28 +/-0.07] and [4.11 +/- 0.10] nmol/L, P <0.01) in the Leydig cells.

CONCLUSIONThe water extract from CTW may reduce the synthesis of testosterone in the serum of male infant rats through the PKA pathway and consequently inhibit their testicular development and sperm production and affect the development of their reproductive system.

Animals ; Codonopsis ; chemistry ; Cyclic AMP ; metabolism ; Leydig Cells ; metabolism ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testosterone ; blood ; Urogenital System ; drug effects

Objective To develop a novel strategy for separation and purification of target protein by magnetic molecularly imprinted nanoparticles . Methods Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were synthesized through a hydrothermal method .A sol-gel technique was adopted to prepare imprinting layers .The adsorption capability of magnetic molecularly imprinted nanoparticles was investigated by kinetic , isothermal , and selective binding experiments .Results The imprinted nanomaterials could reach equilibrium within 30 min . The adsorption capacity was 44 .51 mg/g .The imprinting factor and selectivity coefficient were 3 .50 and 2 .92 ,respectively .The resulting imprinted polymers could selectively separate and enrich bovine hemoglobin from a bovine blood sample . Conclusion The prepared imprinted nanomaterials with good specific adsoprtion ability can provide an effective strategy for separation and purification of target protein .

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adefovir dipivoxil(ADV)in treating patients with hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)positive chronic hepatitis B.Methods In this randomized,double blind,placebo-controlled,multicenter trial,210 eligible patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B were recruited and randomized(randomization ratio was 2:1)receiving ADV 10 mg/d for 48 weeks(ADV+ADV group,n=142)or placebo for 24 weeks followed by ADV 10 mg/d for 24 weeks(PLB+ADV group,n=68).The primary endpoint was virological response. The secondary endpoint was serologic response(HBeAg loss rate and HBeAg seroconversion rate) and alanine aminotransferase normalization rate.Results After 24 weeks therapy,mean reduction of hepatitis B virus(HBV)DNA level comparing with that of baseline was 3.12 log_(10)copy/mL in ADV +ADV group while it was 0.95 log_(10)copy/mL in PLB+ADV group.The percentages of patients with HBV DNA clearance(HBV DNA level

OBJECTIVETo study the validity of criteria currently used in China for the classification of symmetric small for gestational age infants (SGA) as compared with its definition.

METHODSThis study included 417 inpatients diagnosed as SGA in authors' hospital from January 1998 to June 2002. Symmetric SGA was diagnosed by the following three criteria: (1) the Ponderal Index (PI), (2) the crown-heel length-to-head circumference ratio (BL/HC) issued in Chin J Pediatr (1988;26:164 - 165), as well as (3) the SGA definition. The definition criterion was considered as the "gold standard". The sensitivity, specificity, false positive and negative values, positive and negative predictive values, exact agreement ratio, diagnosis index, and Cohen's Kappa value were used to evaluate the validity and agreement of the methods of PI and BL/HC. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the validity of the diagnosis.

RESULTSOf 417 SGA infants, 376 (90.17%), 376 (90.17%) and 187 (44.84%) subjects were diagnosed as symmetric type with PI, BL/HC and the definition criteria, respectively. (2) The agreement rate and Kappa value between PI and BL/HC was 80.82% and -0.093 (SEM 0.026), respectively. And the agreement rates between PI or BL/HC and the definition criterion were 49.88% and 50.84%, respectively. As compared with the definition criterion, the PI and BL/HC methods had sensitivities of 91.8% - 96.4%, specificities of 9.3% - 25.9%, positive predictive values of 45.8% - 51.1%, negative predictive values of 72.7% - 82.8%, diagnosis indices of 4.9% - 17.7% and Kappa values of 0.070 - 0.167. (3) The areas under the ROC curves in full-term and preterm infants by PI method were 0.635 (95% CI, 0.573 - 0.697) and 0.698 (95% CI, 0.622 - 0.725), respectively. PI cutoffs at 2.47 in full-term SGA, at 2.43 in preterm SGA, and BL/HC cutoff at 1.43 produced the maximum diagnosis indices that were 24.7%, 39.6% and 33.7%, respectively. When the PI at 2.50 (full-term), PI at 2.31 (preterm) and BL/HC values at 1.46, the sensitivity closed mostly to the specificity. The sensitivities and specificities in full-term and preterm infants were 59.4% and 59.3%, 65.3% and 65.5%, and 66.3% and 65.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONIn the classification of SGA, the results showed a poor agreement between PI or BL/HC and the definition criterion. The results suggested that the current cutoffs of PI and BL/HC might not be appropriate for the diagnosis of symmetric SGA. Low AUC suggested that PI and BL/HC could not give a valid diagnosis at any cutoffs.

Anthropometry ; methods ; Birth Weight ; Body Height ; China ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sex Factors

To investigate the effects of 2-(4-methoxycarbonyl-2-tetradecyloxyphenyl)carbamoylbenzoic acid (CX09040) on protecting pancreatic β cells, the β cell dysfunction model mice were induced by injection of alloxan into the caudal vein of ICR mice, and were treated with compound CX09040. Liraglutide was used as the positive control drug. The amount and the size of islets observed in pathological sections were calculated to evaluate the β cell mass; the glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) test was applied to estimate the β cell secretary function; the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was taken to observe the glucose metabolism in mice; the expressions of protein in pancreas were detected by Western blotting. The effects on the target protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) were assessed by the PTP1B activities of both recombinant protein and the intracellular enzyme, and by the PTP1B expression in the pancreas of mice, separately. As the results, with the treatment of CX09040 in alloxan-induced β cell dysfunction mice, the islet amount (P<0.05) and size (P<0.05) increased significantly, the changes of serum insulin in GSIS (P<0.01) and the values of acute insulin response (AIR, P<0.01) were enhanced, compared to those in model group; the impaired glucose tolerance was also ameliorated by CX09040 with the decrease of the values of area under curve (AUC, P<0.01). The activation of the signaling pathways related to β cell proliferation was enhanced by increasing the levels of p-Akt/Akt (P<0.01), p-FoxO1/FoxOl (P<0.001) and PDX-1 (P<0.01). The effects of CX09040 on PTP1B were observed by inhibiting the recombinant hPTP1B activity with IC50 value of 2.78x 10(-7) mol.L-1, reducing the intracellular PTP1B activity of 72.8% (P<0.001), suppressing the PTP1B expression (P<0.001) and up-regulating p-IRβ/IRβ (P<0.01) in pancreas of the β cell dysfunction mice, separately. In conclusion, compound CX09040 showed significant protection effects against the dysfunction of β cell of mice by enlarging the pancreatic β cell mass and increasing the glucose-induced insulin secretion; its major mechanism may be the inhibition on target PTP1B and the succedent up-regulation of β cell proliferation.
Alloxan ; Animals ; Benzoates ; pharmacology ; Biological Assay ; Disease Models, Animal ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Insulin ; secretion ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; Liraglutide ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Molecular Weight ; Pancreas ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVETo observe the dynamic changes of free iron contents and its relationship to the changes of lipid peroxidation after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI).

METHODSSprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: Group A (n=6) received no operation; Group B (n=48) received only laminectomy (sham); and Group C (n=48) received both laminectomy and traumatic injury (SCI model). The SCI animal models were made by using an modified Allen's weight-drop device (50 g.cm) on T(12). Rats were sacrificed at 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours after injury. The levels of free iron involved in spinal cord segments at different time points were measured by bleomycin assay. The malondialdehyde (MDA) was also measured by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA).

RESULTSAfter SCI in Group C, the level of free iron showed a significant increase at 0.5 hour compared to Groups B and A, restored to the control level at 6 h; the level of MDA was increased at 0.5 hour, peaked at 3 hours, returned to the control level at 12 hours; the concentrations of free iron and lipid peroxidation in injured rats were significantly and positively correlated at 0.5-3 hours.

CONCLUSIONSAfter SCI the levels of free iron are increased quickly and might be a major contributor to lipid peroxidation in injured spinal cord.

Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Iron ; metabolism ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study molecular epidemiology of norovirus (NV) infections, stool specimens collected from children with acute diarrhea were tested by TaqMan real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the viral specific nucleic acid segments.

METHODSFecal samples from a total of 1260 children who had watery diarrhea seen from December 2006 to December 2007 in Guangzhou were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. The primers and probes used for rapid detection and typing of NV strain target NV sequences were at the ORF1-ORF2 junction, a highly conserved region of the NoV genome. The positive specimens were determined by nested PCR and sequenced.

RESULTSTotally 257 specimens were positive for NV with a positive rate of 20.40%. Shedding of NV type GI was detected in 6.90%, type GII in 16.98% respectively, while the positive number of mixed infection with GI and GII was 44. Of the NV strains that were cloned and sequenced, GI was GI-3, GI-2 and GI-4 detected in positive specimens respectively; meanwhile, GII-4 was most commonly seen in genome II, followed by GII-3 and GII-7. In addition, the average age of children infected with NV was less than 2 years. An epidemic occurred during the winter and early spring (December through the next March).

CONCLUSIONNV was one of the important pathogens for acute diarrhea among children in Guangzhou, which suggested GII-4 was the prevalent strain.

Caliciviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Diarrhea ; epidemiology ; etiology ; virology ; Feces ; virology ; Humans ; Infant ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Norovirus ; classification ; genetics ; RNA, Viral ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction