Effect of Tai Chi on Cardiac and Static Pulmonary Function in Older Community-Dwelling Adults at Risk of Ischemic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effect of tai chi exercise on cardiac and static lung function for older community-dwelling adults at risk of ischemic stroke.@*METHODS@#A total of 170 older community-dwelling adults (aged 55-75 years old) at risk of ischemic stroke were allocated to either tai chi training group (85 cases, five 60-min sessions of tai chi training per week for 12 weeks) or control group (85 cases, usual pbysical activity for 12 weeks) using a computer-generated randomization. The echocardiographic parameters of cardiac structure, cardiac function and static lung function were measured at baseline, after 12 weeks of intervention and additional 12-week follow-up period by a blinded professional staffmember using a color Doppler ultrasound imaging device or a cardiopulmonary function instrument. The t test and linear mixed model based on the intentionto-treat analysis principle was used to calculate the effect. The adverse effect was observed.@*RESULTS@#Most of echocardiographic parameters on the cardiac structure, cardiac function and static lung function between the tai chi group and control group did not have a significant difference either post 12-week intervention or additional 12-week follow-up period. Only three parameters involving in right ventricular diameter (P=0.024), main pulmonary artery diameter (P=0.002) and vital capacity maximum (P=0.036) were beneficial to be improved in the tai chi group compared to the control group by the analysis of mixed linear model. No adverse effects were found during the intervention period.@*CONCLUSION@#The 12-week tai chi exercise did not have an obvious beneficial effect on cardiac structure, cardiac function and static lung function in older community-dwelling adults at risk of ischemic stroke. The study with a longer duration of intervention should be necessary. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR-TRC-13003601).

Inhibition of Magnolol and Honokiol on Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Rat and Human Liver Microsomes / 中草药·英文版

Objective: The purpose of this work is to evaluate the in vitro inhibitory effect of magnolol (MN) and honokiol (HN) on rat/human cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (1A2/1A2, 2D/2D6, 3A/3A4, 2E1/2E1, and 2C/2C9). Methods: Rat liver microsomes (RLM) and human liver microsomes (HLM) were used as the enzyme sources. After the probe substrate of each CYP isoforms was co-incubated individually with MN or HN in RLM or HLM, the metabolite production of each probe substrate in RLM and HLM incubation medium was determined and used to evaluate the activity of corresponding CYP isoforms. Results: MN inhibited rat CYP1A2 and human CYP3A4 with the IC50 values of 10.0 and 56.2 μmol/L, respectively. HN inhibited rat CYP1A2 and CYP2E1, human CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 with the IC50 values of 12.1, 12.6, 17.8, and 43.9 μmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: HN is a moderate or weak inhibitor of human CYP1A2. Both MN and HN are weak or non inhibitors of the other tested human CYP isoforms. The results suggest that no significant metabolic interaction seems likely to occur when the substrate drugs of CYP isoforms tested in the present work are co-administered with MN and HN.

Impact of pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation on the overall prevalence of neural tube defects in two counties of Shanxi province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To examine the impact of pregnancy termination before 28 weeks of gestation on the overall prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs).Methods Data collected during the period of 2004 and 2010 from a birth defects surveillance system in Pingding county and Talgu county of Shanxi province were used.Number of births ≥28 weeks of gestation and number of cases with major birth defects among the births were collected.Terminations of pregnancies before 28 weeks of gestation due to prenatal diagnosis were also collected.The total prevalence of neural tube defects,prevalence before 28 weeks of gestation,and prevalenee of ≥28 weeks gestation were calculated using the total number of pregnancies of ≥28 weeks of gestation as denominator.The prevalence data were compared to examine the impact of pregnancy termination on the total prevalence.The proportions of pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation due to prenatal diagnosis of an NTD against the total number of NTD cases were also calculated.Results During 2004-2010,52 366 births were recorded,and 485 NTD cases were ascertained.The overall prevalence of NTDs was 92.6 per 10 000 births,with prevalence of ＜28 weeks gestation due to pregnancy terminations as 60.9 per 10 000 births,while the prevalence of ≥28 weeks of gestation was 31.7 per 10 000 births.NTD prevalence of ≥28 weeks gestation was 66.0％ lower than the total NTD prevalence.In the last two years,the proportion of NTDs ascertained ≥28 weeks gestation accounted for about 40.0％ of the total NTD cases.Conclusion A birth-defect-surveillance program that covered only tregnancies ≥28 weeks of gestation resulted in a severe underestimation of the total birth prevalence of NTDs,especially for anencephaly.We would recommend that the current national birth defects surveillance system should include pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation and the calculation of total NTD prevalence should also include these cases into the numerator,so as to better estimate true population NTD prevalence,upon which the related public health policy is based.

siRNAs targeting La, hVAP-33, eIF2Bgamma, and HCV IRES inhibit the replication and expression of HCV in Huh7 cells / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the in vivo functional roles of the La autoantigen (La), the human homologue of the 33-kDa vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein (hVAP-33), and the subunit gamma of the human eukaryotic initiation factors 2B (eIF2Bgamma) as co-infection factors supporting chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Small interfering (si)RNAs were designed against the HCV internal ribosome entry site (IRES) and transfected into Huh7 cells chronically infected with the HCV pseudovirus (designated as Huh7-HCV cells). The IRES siRNA producing the most effective silencing was selected for further analysis by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). siRNAs designed against La, hVAP-33, and eIF2Bgamma and the IRES-specific siRNA were then transfected, respectively or in various combinations, into the Huh7-HCV cell line for 48 h. The delta CT values were calculated and used to compare the HCV inhibitive efficacies of the siRNAs in isolation or in combination. Western blotting analysis was used to compare the quantity of core protein expression in each group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The four gene-specific siRNAs, in isolation or in combination, caused inhibition of HCV replication and gene and protein expressions to varying degrees. The combination of La + IRES siRNAs produced the strongest inhibition of HCV core antigen expression. The combinations of hVAP-33 + IRES siRNAs and eIF2Bgamma + IRES siRNAs produced stronger inhibitions of HCV replication and gene and protein expressions than either hVAP-33 siRNA or eIF2Bgamma siRNA alone.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>La, hVAP-33, and eIF2Bgamma act as co-infection factors of HCV chronic infection in vivo. HCV replication and gene and protein expression can be inhibited significantly by RNA interference of these co-infection factors and/or HCV IRES.</p>

Bioinformatic analysis of streptococcus mutans thrS gene and construction of homologous recombinant plasmids / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is generally considered to be the principal aetiological agent for dental caries, thrS gene may relate to the virulence of S. mutans involved in the adherence, acidogenicity and acidodurance.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the conservation status of the thrS gene of S. mutans and to construct the homologous recombinant plasmid.METHODS: Southern Blot was used to analyze the distdbuUon of thrS gene in S. mutans. The upstream and downstream sequences of thrS gene were cloned respectively into multiple cloning sites of suicide plasmid pFW5 to construct the recombinant plasmid,RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The thrS gene was conserved in 6 strains of S. mutans in this test. By PCR analysis and enzyme digesting, it was confirmed that S. mutans thrS gene homologous recombinant plasmid was successfully constructed,which can be used in future research of construction of thrS -negative mutans of S. mutans strain UA159.

Ischemic hepatitis in hepatitis B related liver cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: clinical features and prognostic implications / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the incidence, clinical features and prognostic implications of ischemic hepatitis in hepatitis B related liver cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By retrospective review of the medical records of all 264 inpatients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage of hepatitis B related liver cirrhosis from January 1st 2007 to November 30th 2008, 11 patients with ischemic hepatitis (IH) were identified. The clinical features and prognostic implications were compared between the IH patients and 30 patients without ischemic hepatitis (control group).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The incidence of ischemic hepatitis was 4.17% in hepatitis B related liver cirrhotic patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The patients in IH group were younger than those in control group, the average age was (43.1+/-5.7) in IH group and (52.3+/-11.1) in control group (P=0.013). The serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were increased more than 20-fold above the upper limit of normal values, and returned to normal values within 10 days. Compared to the control group, total bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphates, gamma-glutamyltransferase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and white blood cells were increased, while serum cholinesterase was decreased in IH group (P<0.05). The fatality rate of ischemic hepatitis was much higher than that of control group (54.5% vs 16.7%, P=0.041). The main causes of death in IH group were infection, hepatorenal syndrome and hepatic encephalopathy. The patients in IH group lost 200 to 3600 milliliter blood, and hemorrhagic shock occurred in 63.6% (7/11) of IH patients. Therefore the bleeding volume was not correlated with the occurrence rate of ischemic hepatitis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ischemic hepatitis may occur secondary to upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in hepatitis B related liver cirrhosis. The risk factors of ischemic hepatitis in cirrhositic patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage are young and with hemorrhagic shock, and poor liver function. It is important to use antibiotics in time to improve the prognosis of these patients.</p>

Establishment of rat model of psychical erectile dysfunction / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To set up a method of establishing the animal model of psychical erectile dysfunction with emotional stress.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>All thirty-six male rats with normal sexual function were divided into three groups, i. e. normal group, model group and demasculinized group randomly according to their weights. The rats in the model group were suspended upside down in midair over the water and irritated repeatedly. Two weeks later, the sexual abilities of all rats, i. e. the times of mounting and intromitting the estrus female rats, the latent period of mounting, intromission and ejaculation, were recorded, and the number of rats that had sexual activities was also counted. And the hemorheology indices of the rats were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal rats, the latency of mounting [(152.5 +/- 24.6) s vs (42.4 +/- 9.6) s] and intromission [(437.0 +/- 67.7) s vs (130.8 +/- 39.1) s] of the model rats were longer (P < 0.01), but the latency of ejaculation [(385.3 +/- 80.0) s vs (547.3 +/- 69.4) s] was shorter (P < 0.05) than that of the normal. There was no significant difference in the times of mounting between normal [(38.3 +/- 6.1) vices and model rats (38.5 +/- 5.4) vices], but the intromission times of model rats [(9.2 +/- 1.7) vices] was lower than that of the normal rats [(20.3 +/- 3.1) vices], P < 0.01. Compared with the normal rats, the sexual activity incidence of the model rats (mounting: 58.3%, intromission: 33.3%, ejaculation: 16.7%) was significant lower than that of the normal rats (100%) (P < 0.01). But there was no significant difference in the sexual ability between the model and the demasculinized rats (P > 0.05). The hemorheology indices, e. g. blood viscosity, hematocrit (Hct) and red cell aggregation (RCA), of the model rats was significant higher than that of the normal and demasculinized rats (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the normal and demasculinized rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The rat model of psychical erectile dysfunction can be made ideally with psychical stress.</p>

Construction of psm-negative mutans of S.mutans UA159 / 实用口腔医学杂志

Objective:To knock the phospho-sugar mutase gene (psm) out of the genome of S. mutans strain UA159 and to construct the mutant will lay a foundation for the study of the function of the psm. Methods:Two upstream and downstream DNA sequences of the psm were selected and cloned respectively into multiple cloning sites I and II of suicide plasmid pFW5 to construct the recombinant plasmid which was confirmed by enzyme digesting and sequencing. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into S. mutans UA159 by natural transformation and antibiotic was used to screen the positive transformants. According to the principle of homologous recombination, allelic exchange between the recombinant plasmid and S. mutans UA159 was achieved. Results:By PCR analysis and sequencing, it was confirmed that the psm of S. mutans UA159 was substituted for resistant gene of spectinomycin. Conclusion: The psm-negative mutants of S. mutans UA159 is successfully constructed.