Aim To evaluate the protective effect of Averrhoa Carambola L. Roots DMDD alleviating myocardial injury in diabetes mellitus (DM) mice and its mechanism. Methods SD mice were given high-glucose-high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin to induce DM model, and were administered with DMDD. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) was recorded. The left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), maximum upstroke velocity of left ventricular pressure (+ dp/dt

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

Background: Disease-modifying therapy is the standard treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in remission. The primary objective of the current analysis was to assess the efficacy and safety of two teriflunomide doses (7 mg and 14 mg) in the subgroup of Chinese patients with relapsing MS included in the TOWER study. Methods: TOWER was a multicenter, multinational, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group (three groups), placebo-controlled study. This subgroup analysis includes 148 Chinese patients randomized to receive either teriflunomide 7 mg (n = 51), teriflunomide 14 mg (n = 43), or placebo (n = 54). Results: Of the 148 patients in the intent-to-treat population, adjusted annualized relapse rates were 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44, 0.92) in the placebo group, 0.48 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.70) in the teriflunomide 7 mg group, and 0.18 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.36) in the teriflunomide 14 mg group; this corresponded to a significant relative risk reduction in the teriflunomide 14 mg group versus placebo (-71.2%, P = 0.0012). Teriflunomide 14 mg also tended to reduce 12-week confirmed disability worsening by 68.1% compared with placebo (hazard ratio: 0.319, P = 0.1194). There were no differences across all treatment groups in the proportion of patients with treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs; 72.2% in the placebo group, 74.5% in the teriflunomide 7 mg group, and 69.8% in the teriflunomide 14 mg group); corresponding proportions for serious adverse events were 11.1%, 3.9%, and 11.6%, respectively. The most frequently reported TEAEs with teriflunomide versus placebo were neutropenia, increased alanine aminotransferase, and hair thinning. Conclusions: Teriflunomide was as effective and safe in the Chinese subpopulation as it was in the overall population of patients in the TOWER trial. Teriflunomide has the potential to meet unmet medical needs for MS patients in China. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00751881; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00751881?term=NCT00751881&rank=1.
China ; Crotonates ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Multiple Sclerosis ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Toluidines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

PURPOSE: To evaluate the sealing performance of Hybrid Coat and its influence on the shear bond strength of five dentin surface cements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six premolars were pretreated to expose the dentin surface prior to the application of Hybrid Coat. The microscopic characteristics of the dentinal surfaces were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, 40 premolars were sectioned longitudinally, and 80 semi-sections were divided into a control group (untreated) and a study group (treated by Hybrid Coat). Alloy restoration was bonded to the teeth specimen using five different cements. Shear bond strength was measured by the universal testing machine. The fracture patterns and the adhesive interface were observed using astereomicroscope. RESULTS: SEM revealed that the lumens of dentinal tubules were completely occluded by Hybrid Coat. The Hybrid Coat significantly improved the shear bond strength of resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) and resin cement (RC) but weakened the performance of zinc phosphate cement (ZPC), zinc polycarboxylate cement (ZPCC) and glass ionomer cement (GIC). CONCLUSION: Hybrid Coat is an effective dentinal tubule sealant, and therefore its combined use with resin or resin-modified glass ionomer cements can be applied for the prostheses attachment purpose.
Adhesives ; Alloys ; Bicuspid ; Dentin ; Glass Ionomer Cements ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Polycarboxylate Cement ; Prostheses and Implants ; Resin Cements ; Tooth ; Zinc Phosphate Cement

Euphorbia kansui is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of edema, pleural effusion, and asthma, etc. According to the previous researches, terpenoids in E. kansui possess various biological activities, e.g., anti-virus, anti-allergy, antitumor effects. In this work, twenty five terpenoids were isolated from E. kansui, including thirteen ingenane- and eight jatrophane-type diterpenoids (with two new compounds, kansuinin P and Q) and four triterpenoids. Eighteen of them were analyzed by MTS assay for in vitro anticancer activity in five human cancer cell lines. Structure-activity relationship for 12 ingenane-type diterpenoids in colorectal cancer Colo205 cells were preliminary studied. Significant anti-proliferation activities were observed in human melanoma cells breast cancer MDA-MB-435 cells and Colo205 cells. More than half of the isolated ingenane-type diterpenoids showed inhibitory activities in MDA-MB-435 cells. Eight ingenane- and one jatrophane-type diterpenoids possessed much lower IC values in MDA-MB-435 cells than positive control staurosporine. Preliminary structure-activity relationship analysis showed that substituent on position 20 was important for the activity of ingenane-type diterpenoids in Colo205 cells and substituent on position 3 contributed more significant biological activity of the compounds than that on position 5 in both MDA-MB-435 and Colo205 cells.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Euphorbia ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Terpenes ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of technetium-99 methylenediphosphonate injection (99Tc-MDP)in treatment of senile osteoporotic fracture and osteoarthriti.Methods A total of 120 cases of osteoporotic fracture or osteoarthritis were randomly divided into the control group (n =60) and the treatment group (n =60).The patients in control group were given 8-week treatment of intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate injection (25 mg,once a week) and betamethasone sodium phosphate injection (7 mg,once a week);In the meantime,the patients also received oral calcium carbonate D3 (600 mg,once daily) and alfacalcidol capsules (0.25 g,once daily) for 6 months;the treatment group received 10-day course of intravenous infusion of 99Tc-MDP (15 mg,once daily) for 4 courses (with 30 days of intervals between courses).After a 6-month follow-up,the clinical efficacy of two groups was compared,and the effect of different treatment on L1 ～ L4 bone mineral density (BMD)value,serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP) and 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 25-(OH) D3 level;procollagen Ⅰ N-terminal propeptide (PINP) and bone glaprotein (BGP) and type Ⅰ collagen carboxy terminal peptide (CTX) content were compared between two groups and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions were recorded.Results After treatment,the total effective rate of the treatment group and the control group was 91.67％ (55/60 cases) and 78.33％ (47/60 cases),respectively,the difference was statistically significant (P ＜0.05).After treatment,the BMD of L1 ～4 in the treatment group were (0.94 ±0.15),(0.98 ±0.14),(1.14 ±0.17) and (1.05 ±0.15),while the BMD of the control group were (0.84 ± 0.14),(0.86 ± 0.13),(0.92 ± 0.16) and (0.90 ± 0.13),and significant differences were found between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).In the treatment group and thecontrol group,the serum BALP were (4.65 ± 1.23),(4.18 ± 1.03) μg · L-1,25-(OH)D3 were (39.83 ±5.52),(33.65 ±5.16) ng · mL-1,PINP were (336.68 ±28.36),(286.92 ±23.65) ng · mL-1,BGP were (14.86±2.86),(11.53±1.88) ng·mL-1,CTXwere (19.36±4.19),(14.65±3.67) μg· L-1,with statistically significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).The adverse drug reactions in treatment group was upper abdominal discomfort,the control group was facial flushing,the adverse drug reaction in control group and treatment group were 3.33％ (2/60 cases)and 1.67％ (1/60 case),the difference was not statistically significant (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The curative effect of 99Tc-MDP is significant in treatment of senile osteoporotic fracture and osteoarthriti,it can significantly improve the indexes of bone metabolism and increase bone density with high safety profile.

OBJECTIVETo explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of abdominal acupuncture for cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type.

METHODSThirty cases of cervical vertigo, in which the color ultrasonography indicated vertebral arterial blood insufficiency, were treated with abdominal acupuncture therapy. The points were Zhongwan (CV 12), Qihai (CV 6), Guanyuan (CV 4), Xiawan (CV 10), Shangqu (KI 17) and Huaroumen (ST 24). The treatment was given once every day and five continuous treatments made one session. Separately, before treatment and in the 1st and 5th treatments, the cervical vertigo symptom and functional assessment scales were adopted for scoring. Simultaneously, the color ultrasonography was applied to observe the blood flow changes of the bilateral cervical arteries.

RESULTSExcept the score for headache in the 1st treatment, the scores in cervical vertigo and function assessment scale in the 1st and 5th treatments were all improved significantly in 30 patients as compared with those before treatment (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). In the 1st and 5th treatments, on the affected side, the vertebral artery diameter, mean velocity and blood flow per minute were all improved significantly as compared with those before treatment (all P < 0.01). In one session treatment, the total effective rate was 100.0% (30/30) and the curative rate was 60.0% (18/30).

CONCLUSIONAbdominal acupuncture therapy not only relieves the clinical symptoms, but also improves vertebral arterial blood supply for the patients of cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type.

Abdomen ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Regional Blood Flow ; Spondylosis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Vertebral Artery ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

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 explore the viral etiology of acute low respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) among hospitalized children in Changsha of Hunan Province of China.

METHODSNasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 1165 hospitalized children with ALRTI in Changsha from September 2007 to August 2008. Respiratory syncytin virus (RSV), human rhinovirus (HRV), influenza virus A (IFVA), influenza virus B (IFVB), parainfluenza 1-3 (PIV 1-3), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human coronaviruses NL63 (HCoV-NL63), and human coronaviruses HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Adenovirus (ADV) and human bocavirus (HBoV) were detected by standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR). WU polyomaviruses (WUPyV) and KI polyomaviruses(KIPyV) were detected by nested PCR. The positive samples further underwent genetic sequencing.

RESULTSAmong the 1165 nasopharyngeal aspirates, viruses were detected in 871 samples (74.76%), among which RSV (27.03%) was the most common virus, followed by HRV (17.33%), PIV3 (13.73%), HBoV (8.67%) and hMPV (6.52%). The overall positive rate of viral detection showed no significant differences between males and females (X2=2.241, P=0.134), whereas the positive rates of PIV3, hMPV, and HBoV in males were higher than in females. The positive rate of viral detection showed significant differences among different age groups (X2=10.934, P=0.027), and the highest positive rate was noted in the age group of 6 months to 1 year. Furthermore, the overall positive rate of viral detection showed a significant difference in term of seasonal distribution, with a peak prevalence in winter.

CONCLUSIONSVirues predominate in the etiology of pediatric ALRTI in Changsha, and RSV, HRV and PIV3 are the main viruses for ALRTI. HBoV and hMPV have become increasingly important. Viral infection-associated ALRTI shows a prevail in the age group of 6 months to 1 year as well as in winter.

Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Nasopharynx ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; etiology ; virology ; Seasons ; Sex Distribution ; Viruses ; isolation & purification

Objective The main objective of this study was to explore the prevalence and clinical characteristics of human coronavirus NL63 infection in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in Changsha.Methods Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) samples were collected from 1185 hospitalized children with ALRTI at the People's Hospital of Hunan province,between September 2008 and October 2010.Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to screen for coronavirus NL63,which is a 255 bp fragment of a part of N gene.All positive amplification products were confirmed by sequencing and compared with those in GenBank.Results The overall frequency of coronavirus NL63 infection was 0.8％,6 (60％) out of the coronavirus NL63 positive patients were detected in summer,2 in autumn,1 in spring and winter,respectively.The patients were from 2 months to two and a half years old.The clinical diagnosis was bronchopneumonia ( 60％ ),bronchiolitis ( 30％ ),and acute laryngotracheal bronchitis( 10％ ).Four of the 10 cases had critical illness,4 cases had underlying diseases,and 7 cases had mixed infection with other viruses. The homogeneity of coronavirus NL63 with those published in the GenBank at nucleotide levels was 97％-100％.Conclusion Coronavirus NL63 infection exists in hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infection in Changsha.Coronavirus NL63 infections are common in children under 3 years of age.There is significant difference in the infection rate between the boys and the girls:the boys had higher rate than the girls.The peak of prevalence of the coronavirus NL63 was in summer.A single genetic lineage of coronavirus NL63 was revealed in human subjects in Changsha.Coronavirus NL63 may also be one of the lower respiratory pathogen in China.