Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with a high morbidity, disability and mortality. At the same time, COPD is always accompanied by pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic pulmonary heart disease, right heart failure and other common serious complications. All of these cause serious financial burden for the family of patients. Airway remodeling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD. It is the progressive development of airflow restriction that induces the main symptoms of COPD, such as cough, asthma and depression. Therefore, it is of great research value to explore the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in the development of COPD by alleviating airway remodeling. Studies have shown that multiple signaling pathways can induce progressive airway remodeling, and the therapeutic effect of TCM has been frequently confirmed by experimental studies. TCM often has a therapeutic effect on COPD through multi-target and multi-channel mediation. This paper mainly includes five signaling pathways that traditional Chinese medicine can intervene COPD airway remodeling, namely matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)/tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1/Smads, RhoA/Rho-associated kinase (ROCK), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/b-fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. This paper briefly reviews the research progress of these five signaling pathways, and discusses other signaling pathways that may be involved, in order to provide reference and ideas for future experimental research.

The ultimate goal of the development of parenteral and enteral nutrition is to achieve T3 transfer of translational medicine in this field. This study is an international cooperative, multicenter and observational clinical study conducted by CSPEN-NUSOC cooperative group for 15 years which is aimed to observe the effect of standardized nutritional support on clinical outcome and cost/effect and verify the clinical value parenteral and enteral nutrition through investigating the prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition and the application of nutritional support in adult in-patients.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Schistosoma japonicum cysteine protease inhibitor (rSjCystatin) for treatment of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis in mice.

METHODSAfter a week of adaptive feeding, 54 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group (group A), sepsis group (group B), and rSjCystatin intervention group (group C). The mice in group A received an intraperitoneal injection of PBS (100 µL), and those in groups B and C were injected with PBS (100 µL) containing LPS (10 mg/kg); the mice in group C were also intraperitoneally injected with 25 µg sjCystatin in 100 µL PBS 30 min after LPS injection. From each group, 10 mice were randomly selected 24 h after PBS or LPS injection for detecting serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 using ELISA and the levels of ALT, AST, BUN, and Cr using automatic biochemical analyzer; the pathological changes in the liver, lung and kidney were observed with HE staining. The remaining 8 mice in each group were used for observing the changes in the general condition and the 72-h survival.

RESULTSThe 72-h survival rates of the mice was 100% in group A, 0 in group B, and 36% in group C, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups (P<0.05). Compared with those in group A, the mice in group B exhibited obvious liver, lung, and renal pathologies with increased levels of ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, IL-6, and TNF-α (P<0.05). Treatment with sjCystatin significantly lessened LPS-induced organ pathologies, lowered the levels of liver and renal functional indexes and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased the serum level of IL-10 in the mice (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSjCystatin can produce a significant therapeutic effect on sepsis induced by LPS in mice.

AIM To investigate the distribution of volatile components and inorganic elements from Vernonia amygdalina Del..METHODS Volatile components and inorganic elements in different parts of V.amygdalina were analyzed and measured by HS-SPME-GC-MS and ICP-OES techniques.RESULTS Forty-four,sixty-seven,fifty-seven chemical compounds were identified from the root,stem and leaves of V.amygdalina,accounting for 83.9％,92.0％,83.9％ of the volatile components,respectively.Nineteen inorganic elements in total were detected,and the contents of As,Be,Bi,Co were too low to detect;The three inorganic elements with the highest content in root,stem and leaves were Mg,Al and Fe.CONCLUSION There are abundant volatile components and inorganic elements in V.amygdalina,with varying distribution in its different parts.

PURPOSE: Little is known about combination of the circulating Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) DNA and tumor volume in prognosis of stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. We conducted this cohort study to evaluate the prognostic values of combining these two factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By Kaplan-Meier, we compare the differences of survival curves between 385 patients with different EBV DNA or tumor volume levels, or with the combination of two biomarkers mentioned above. RESULTS: Gross tumor volume of cervical lymph nodes (GTVnd, p < 0.001) and total tumor volume (GTVtotal, p < 0.001) were both closely related to pretreatment EBV DNA, while gross tumor volume of nasopharynx (GTVnx, p=0.047) was weakly related to EBV DNA. EBV DNA was significantly correlated with progress-free survival (PFS, p=0.005), locoregional-free survival (LRFS, p=0.039), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS, p=0.017), while GTVtotal, regardless of GTVnx and GTVnd, had a significant correlation with PFS and LRFS. The p-values of GTVtotal for PFS and LRFS were 0.008 and 0.001, respectively. According to GTVtotal and pretreatment EBV DNA level, patients were divided into a low-risk group (EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm³; EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm³; or EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm³) and a high-risk group (EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm³). When patients in the low-risk group were compared with those in the high-risk group, 3-year PFS (p=0.003), LRFS (p=0.010), and DMFS (p=0.031) rates were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment plasma EBV DNA and tumor volume were both closely correlated with prognosis of stage II NPC patients in the IMRT era. Combination of EBV DNA and tumor volume can refine prognosis and indicate for clinical therapy.
Biomarkers ; Cohort Studies* ; DNA* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Nasopharynx ; Plasma ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy* ; Tumor Burden*

Aim To detect the expression of miRNA-99b and mTOR in glioma tissues and to investigate the effect of miRNA-99b on the cell invasion ability of hu-man glioma cell line U251. Methods The expres-sions of miRNA-99b and mTOR mRNA in glioma tis-sues and normal brain tissues were detected by real-time PCR. After co-transfection with miRNA-99b mim-ics and wild or mutation type mTOR 3′UTR recombina-tion vector,the specific binding ability of miRNA-99b to 3′-UTR in mTOR gene was examined by luciferase gene reporter system. The expression levels of miRNA-99b,mTOR mRNA and mTOR protein in glioma cell line U251 after transfected with miRNA-99b mimics were measured by real-time PCR and Western blot,re-spectively. The cell invasion was measured by Tran-swell assay. The changes of mTOR and miRNA-99b expression levels in U251 cells after transfection with mTOR PsiCHECK were detected by real-time PCR. The correlation between the expression of miRNA-99b and prognosis was analyzed statistically. Results The expressed level of miRNA-99b was lower, and the ex-pression level of mTOR was higher in the glioma tissues than that in the normal brain tissues. The expression of miRNA-99b was up-regulated, and the expressions of mTOR mRNA and protein were down-regulated in U251 cells after transfection with miRNA-99b mimics. However, the abilities of invasion of U251 cells after transfection with miRNA-99b mimics were inhibited. The relative protein expression levels of mTOR in mTOR PsiCHECK group were significantly different from those in negative control group, but the relative expression levels of miRNA-99b had no signifi-cant difference compared with those in negative control group. Over-expression of mTOR restored the abilities of cell invasion in U251 cells, which was reduced by miRNA-99b. The Kaplan—Meier analysis and Log-Rank Test showed that there were significant differ-ences in overall survival (OS) between the miRNA-99b high-expression and low-expression group. Con-clusions The expression level of miRNA-99b is low in human glioma tissue. miRNA-99b may inhibit the cell invasion activity of glioma cell line U251 in vitro via inhibiting mTOR expression.

Usnic acid and its derivatives, a group of organic molecules with great importance, are characteristic to lichens, possessing pharmacological activities such as anti-virus, anti-bacteria, anti-humor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anaesthetic effects. Many of them have been widely used as medicine, but also bring side effects such as dermatitis and liver damages. In the past decades, great efforts by isolation, organic synthesis, and structure modification methods were put on discovery of UA derivatives with higher biological activities or less side effects. This paper describes herein the most progress on natural sources, isolation and structure elucidation, structural characteristics, synthesis and modification results, pharmacological activities and toxicities of UA and its derivatives, hopefully to provide valuable reference for further research.
Benzofurans ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Biological Products ; Lichens ; chemistry

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging derived quantitative metrics and serum soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) level in an embolic canine stroke model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A middle cerebral artery occlusion model was established in 24 beagle dogs. Experimental dogs were divided into low- and high-sCD40L group according to serum sCD40L level at 4.5 hours after establishing the model. IVIM imaging was scanned at 4.5 hours after model establishment using 10 b values ranging from 0 to 900 s/mm². Quantitative metrics diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) of ischemic lesions were calculated. Quantitative metrics of ischemic lesions were normalized by contralateral hemisphere using the following formula: normalized D = D(stroke) / D(contralateral). Differences in IVIM metrics between the low- and high-sCD40L groups were compared using t test. Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between IVIM metrics and serum sCD40L level. RESULTS: The high-sCD40L group showed significantly lower f and normalized f values than the low-sCD40L group (f, p < 0.001; normalized f, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in D*, normalized D*, D, or normalized D value between the two groups (All p > 0.05). Both f and normalized f values were negatively correlated with serum sCD40L level (f, r = −0.789, p < 0.001; normalized f, r = −0.823, p < 0.001). However, serum sCD40L level had no significant correlation with D*, normalized D*, D, or normalized D (All p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The f value derived from IVIM imaging was negatively correlated with serum sCD40L level. f value might serve as a potential imaging biomarker to assess the formation of microvascular thrombosis in hyperacute period of ischemic stroke.
Animals ; CD40 Ligand* ; Diffusion ; Dogs ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Perfusion ; Stroke* ; Thrombosis

Objective To analyze the epidemiology of outbreaks and epidemic characteristics of respiratory diseases caused by human adenovirus in China so as to provide some data for its epidemic and outbreak control and clinical diagnosis .Methods Data on respiratory adenovirus outbreaks and surveillance from 1997 to 2015 was collected from PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Databases.All the data was analyzed according to the descriptive epidemiology , including the time , area and population distribution .Clinical data and the serotypes of adenovirus were also analyzed.Results From 1997 to 2015, the epidemical serotypes of adenovirus included 1 to 7, 11, 14 and 55 in China, and the dominating serotypes were 7 and 3, which accounted for 62.33％(599/961) and 24.97％(240/961)of the total cases of outbreaks, and for 36.79％(312/848) and 53.18％(451/848) of the total cases of surveillance.The peaks of annual outbreaks were in 2004 and 2013, which made up 41.12％(2212/5380) and 16.49％(887/5380)of the total outbreak cases in this study .Most of the surveillance cases years occurred in 2010 and 2011, which accounted for 17.59％(297/1688) and 17.77％(300/1688) of the total cases of surveillance .The seasonal distribution of the outbreaks was characterized by the highest possibility in spring and winter .Outbreaks of respiratory adenovirus were reported by 12 provinces or municipalities .The number of reported outbreaks related to serotype 3 was the largest in Jiangsu Province, which made up 58.33％(140/240) of the total.Most of the reported cases related to serotype 7 occurred in Hubei Province, which made up 67.41％ (333/494) of the total.Most of cases were found in Peking and Jiangsu , which accounted for 57.56％(971/1687)and 32.42％(547/1687)of the total positive cases respectively.The high-risk populations were children and new recruits , who accounted for 73.97％(2907/3930) of the total.The clinical features of adenovirus infection were fever (63％-100％),sore throat (31.9％-100％), pharyngeal hyperemia (60％-100％) and cough (5.88％ -100％).Conclusion Human respiratory adenovirus has become one of the main pathogenic microorganisms that induce acute respiratory diseases in schools and in the military in China , so human adenovirus and related respiratory disease should be monitored in such populations .The epidemiological characteristics of different types of respiratory adenovirus and the patterns of spread should be analyzed in order to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak caused by respiratory adenovirus in a university,and study the factors of respiratory adenovirus outbreak and ways of prevention and control.Methods The pharyngeal swabs of each case were identified by real time-PCR and sequencing.All the epidemiological and clinical information of these cases was collected via field interviews and medical records.Epidemiological characteristics of the outbreak were analyzed descriptively.Results 193 cases,including 89 cases of pneumonia,from a total of 807 cases,were admitted to the hospital.The incidence was 32.79%(807/2461).798 adenovirus positive samples were detected from 2461 pharyngeal swab samples.The total positive detection rate was 32.42%(798/2461).The positive rate of adenovirus was 98.88%(798/807).Clinical symptoms included fever(95.7%), cough(76.9%)and sore throat(52.2%).The outbreak was brought under effective control after integrated intervention measures were taken.Conclusion Respiratory adenovirus often causes outbreaks in crowded populations.Early symptomatic surveillance and standardized laboratory detection methods are crucial for prevention and control of outbreaks.Integrated control measures should be taken according to the field conditions and characteristics of the outbreak.