Development of the novel ACLY inhibitor 326E as a promising treatment for hypercholesterolemia

Hepatic cholesterol accumulation is an important contributor to hypercholesterolemia, which results in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) is a key lipogenic enzyme that converts cytosolic citrate derived from tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) to acetyl-CoA in the cytoplasm. Therefore, ACLY represents a link between mitochondria oxidative phosphorylation and cytosolic de novo lipogenesis. In this study, we developed the small molecule 326E with an enedioic acid structural moiety as a novel ACLY inhibitor, and its CoA-conjugated form 326E-CoA inhibited ACLY activity with an IC50 = 5.31 ± 1.2 μmol/L in vitro. 326E treatment reduced de novo lipogenesis, and increased cholesterol efflux in vitro and in vivo. 326E was rapidly absorbed after oral administration, exhibited a higher blood exposure than that of the approved ACLY inhibitor bempedoic acid (BA) used for hypercholesterolemia. Chronic 326E treatment in hamsters and rhesus monkeys resulted in remarkable improvement of hyperlipidemia. Once daily oral administration of 326E for 24 weeks prevented the occurrence of atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice to a greater extent than that of BA treatment. Taken together, our data suggest that inhibition of ACLY by 326E represents a promising strategy for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

Synthesis of L-2-aminobutyric acid by leucine dehydrogenase coupling with an NADH regeneration system / 生物工程学报

In this study, Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) was used as the host to construct 2 recombinant E. coli strains that co-expressed leucine dehydrogenase (LDH, Bacillus cereus)/formate dehydrogenase (FDH, Ancylobacter aquaticus), or leucine dehydrogenase (LDH, Bacillus cereus)/alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, Rhodococcus), respectively. L-2-aminobutyric acid was then synthesized by L-threonine deaminase (L-TD) with LDH-FDH or LDH-ADH by coupling with two different NADH regeneration systems. LDH-FDH process and LDH-ADH process were optimized and compared with each other. The optimum reaction pH of LDH-FDH process was 7.5, and the optimum reaction temperature was 35 °C. After 28 h, the concentration of L-2-aminobutyric acid was 161.8 g/L with a yield of 97%, when adding L-threonine in batches for controlling 2-ketobutyric acid concentration less than 15 g/L and using 50 g/L ammonium formate, 0.3 g/L NAD+, 10% LDH-FDH crude enzyme solution (V/V) and 7 500 U/L L-TD. The optimum reaction pH of LDH-ADH process was 8.0, and the optimum reaction temperature was 35 °C. After 24 h, the concentration of L-2-aminobutyric acid was 119.6 g/L with a yield of 98%, when adding L-threonine and isopropanol (1.2 times of L-threonine) in batches for controlling 2-ketobutyric acid concentration less than 15 g/L, removing acetone in time and using 0.3 g/L NAD⁺, 10% LDH-ADH crude enzyme solution (V/V) and 7 500 U/L L-TD. The process and results used in this paper provide a reference for the industrialization of L-2-aminobutyric acid.

The value of echocardiography in the diagnosis of persistent fifth aortic arch and its classification / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To study the classification of persistent fifth aortic arch (PFAA) and the value of echocardiography in the diagnosis of PFAA.Methods:A total of 16 cases (male 6, female 10, at ages from 7 days to 4 years and 2 months old, the median age was 3 months) diagnosed with PFAA in Beijing Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2013 to June 2019 were studied retrospectively. The diagnosis standard, differential methods and misdiagnosed analysis of different subtypes of PFAA by echocardiography were summarized and analyzed.Results:The 16 cases included 1 case of type A1 double lumen aortic arch, 8 cases of type A2 single-lumen aortic arch, 3 cases of type B1 with pulmonary atresia and 4 cases of type B3 pulmonary artery branch arising from the distal end of ascending aorta. Only one patient of double lumen aortic arch missed diagnosis by echocardiography, and the rest were accurately diagnosed by echocardiography. CTA was performed in 13 cases, including 9 cases of type A, 1 case of type B1 and 3 cases of type B3, which confirmed the echocardiography diagnosis. Seven cases of Type A2 were operated.Conclusions:PFAA is a rare and complicated aortic arch malformation, which is divided into four major classification and multiple subtypes. Echocardiography can diagnose the PFAA and its classification, it is of great clinical significance for the early diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of children.

Research progress on the relationship between Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and neurological disorders / 中国医师杂志

Abundant clinical and basic studies in recent years reported the high association of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway with the incidence and development of multiple neurological disorders. In order to improve the attention about the relationship between Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and neurological disorders, and to provide new therapy target, this article reviews the research progress on the relationship between wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and Parkinson′s disease, Alzheimer′s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis.

Diagnosis and follow-up of patients with Kawasaki disease complicating coronary aneurysms by echocardiography: experience of 338 cases from a single center / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To investigate the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with coronary artery aneurysm in Kawasaki disease.Methods The data of ultrasonic diagnosis and follow-up of 338 children with Kawasaki disease complicated with coronary artery aneurysms were analyzed.Results The incidence of coronary artery aneurysm in the acute stage of Kawasaki disease was 21.2％ (338/1 594).Of all the 338 cases,small aneurysms was 66.6％ (225 cases),medium aneurysms was 25.1％ (85 cases),and giant aneurysms was 8.3％ (28 cases).There were 719 branches involved in 338 cases,32.8％ of them in left main coronary artery and 31.1％ in right coronary artery;25.3％ in left anterior descending branch,and 10.8％ in left circumflex branch.A total of 382 branches were followed up,including 218 branches of small coronary aneurysm group and 82.1％ of them were completely recovered to the normal diameter.The medium aneurysm group was 124 brunches,the proportion of no significant change,retraction,and normal were 23.4％,68.5％ and 8.1％,respectively.There were 40 brunches in the giant anuerysm group,in which the proportion of no significant change,retraction,and normal were 70.0％,27.5％ and 2.5％,respectively.A total of 30 thrombosiswere detected by echocardiography in the acute stage,20 thrombosis were regularly followed up,12 thrombosis gradually subsided,and the other remained persist.Five thrombosis were detected in the sequelae stage,and all located in the giant coronary aneurysm.Seven children were clinically diagnosed with ischemic heart disease,of them,acute myocardial infarction in 1 case,1 died of heart failure.Conclusions Kawasaki disease coronary artery disease are common in small coronary aneurysms,of which the left main artery and right coronary artery lesions are the most common,and the prognosis is better;medium and giant aneurysm need more time to recovery,and are easy to complicated with thrombosis.

Exercising the oropharyngeal muscles can help alleviate moderate obstructive sleep apnea among stroke survivors / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To observe the efficacy of oropharyngeal muscle exercise for relieving obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) among stroke survivors.Methods Fifty stroke survivors with moderate OSAS were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,each of 25.Both groups were given routine drugs and rehabilitation,while the observation group was additionally provided with oropharyngeal muscle exercises during the daytime for 20 minutes twice a day for6 weeks.The control group received deep breathing therapy.Before and after the 6 weeks of treatment,both groups were evaluated using polysomnography.Their sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index and the Stanford sleepiness scale.Any changes in the patients' pharyngeal morphology after exercise were evaluated using MRI.Results After the oropharyngeal muscle exercises,the apnea hypoventilation index and minimum SaO2 ％,the snore index and sleep quality improved significantly.Daytime sleepiness was significantly relieved.Some structural remodeling of the pharyngeal airvay was observed by MRI,including significantly larger retropalatal distance and shorter length of the soft palate.The retropalatal distance was positively and correlated with the duration of exercise while the length of soft palate correlated negatively.Conclusion Exercising the oropharyngeal muscles is a promising alternative treatment for stroke survivors with moderate OSAS.It improves the morphology of the oropharynx to relieve obstruction during sleeping.

Etiology and echocardiographic analysis of large amount of pericardial effusion in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the value of echocardiography application in the diagnosis of large amount of pericardial effusion (PE) in children by retrospective etiology and prognostic analysis.Methods A total of 68 children with large amount of PE admitted in Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University from March 2010 to March 2016 were reviewed retrospectively,and the echocardiographic presentations,etiology diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis were analyzed.Results Analysis indicated that the etiology diagnosis ratio was 97.1％ (66/68 cases),the effective ratio of the medical treatment was 71.8％ (46/64 cases),and the mortality rate was 7.8％ (5/64 cases).The morbidity was ranked from high to low as follow:large amount of PE included infectious pericarditis 27 cases,tumor associated PE 14 cases,postpericardiotomy syndrome and cardiotrauma 14 cases,systemic diseases 6 cases,vasa lymphatic related diseases 5 cases and idiopathic PE 2 cases.PE resulted from tumor associated PE and vasa lymphatic diseases had lower cure rate than the overall cure rate,and there were statistical significance (28.6％ vs.71.8％,x2 =9.092,P =0.003;20.0％ vs.71.8％,x2 =5.059,P =0.018).Thirty-five children received pericardiocentesis or fenestration drainage.Chylopericardium was restricted to vasa lymphatic diseases.All tumor associated PE had the hemorrhagic PE.The strong echo point in the pericardial cavity might indicate implication for hemorrhagic PE (x2 =5.166,P =0.023).The abnormal mass detected by echocardiography might indicate the tumor related or infectious causes.Conclusions The etiology of large amount of PE could be determined in most of children.As the preferred diagnosis method,echocardiography could help etiological diagnosis combined with clinical manifestation.

Echocardiographic and clinical retrospective study of 35 patients with Kawasaki disease combined with coronary artery thrombosis / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To summarize the echocardiographic findings and clinical characteristics of Kawasaki disease(KD) complicated with coronary artery thrombosis (CAT).Methods Thirty-five patients with KD combined with CAT were enrolled,who were admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital,Capital Medical University between July 2005 and August 2016.The clinical characteristics and echocardiographic findings during follow-ups were retrospectively studied.According to whether the childrenhad been complicated with myocardial ischemia,the patients were divided into 2 groups:ischemic group and non-ischemic group.The duration of fever,the time when the intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIG) was first injected,the time when coronary artery aneurysms (CAA) was formed,the maximum diameter of CAA and inflammatory index inthe acute phase were compared between 2 groups.Results All of the 35 children diagnosed as KD combined with CAT suffered firom CAA,and the coronary thrombosis was detected in all the cases with aneurysms.Thirty-five patients had 99 branches of CAA,of which the maximum diameter of CAA was (9.6 ± 3.1) mm(4.0-19.0 mm).Fifty-four plots of CAT were detected in the aneurysms.The diameter of CAA that thrombosis located was larger than that of which the thrombosis was not located[(10.9 ± 2.8) mm vs.(7.9 ± 2.6) mm],and the difference was significant(P ＜0.01).During 4 months to 10 years and 8 months [(39.2 ±29.5) months] follow-ups,CAA regressed in 32 branches [32.3％ (32/99 branches)],of which 4 branches [4.0％ (4/99 branches)] completely regressed to the normal diameter.The maximum diameter of CAA regressed was smaller than the maximum diameter of CAA consistence [(7.3 ± 1.9) mm vs.(10.6 ± 3.0) mm],and the difference was significant (P ＜ 0.01).Out of 35 patients,15 cases [42.9％ (15/35 cases) had myocardial ischemia,while the other 20 cases[57.2％ (20/35 cases)] didn't have.Among 15 cases with myocardial ischemia,6 cases[17.1％ (6/35 cases)] had myocardial infarction,4 cases [11.4％ (4/35 cases)] had heart failure,and 1 case[2.9％ (1/35 cases)] died of acute heart failure complicated with severe ventricular arrhythmia.Compared with non-ischemic group,the children in the ischemic group had longer duration of fever[(19.1 ± 7.8) d vs.(12.1 ± 3.3) d],higher white blood cell account in the acute phase[(24.8 ± 13.5) × 1012/L vs.(19.7 ±4.0) × 1012/L],later treatment of IVIG [(13.9 ± 5.5) d vs.(9.8 ±3.8) d],and earlier CAA formation [(16.0 ±4.9) d vs.(20.9 ± 14.5) d],and the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions CAT of children with KD commonly originates from CAA.Patients who have more serious inflammatory reaction in the acute phase,earlier formation,heavy severity and longer consistence of CAA are prone to have myocardial ischemia.Echocardiographic study plays an important role in monitoring CAA,detecting the CAT and finding the early left ventricle dysfunction,which is of clinical significance.

Effect of astragalus polysaccharides on the neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Active components of Astragalus have an antioxidant effect, which is considered to result in the neuron-like differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of astragalus polysaccharides combined with basic fibroblast growth factor to induce the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels into nerve cels. METHODS:After 24 hours of pretreatment with basic fibroblast growth factor, passage 3 human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels were cultured with astragalus polysaccharides for 1-3 days (combined group). Blank control group and basic fibroblast growth factor group were set up. Expression of neuron-specific enolase and nestin was detected using western blot or immunocytochemical staining. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The expression of neuron-specific enolase was higher in the combined group than the basic fibroblast growth factor group (P < 0.05). Expression of nestin was found in both basic fibroblast growth factor group and combined group, but the gray value was higher in the combined group than the basic fibroblast growth factor group (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that astragalus polysaccharides combined with basic fibroblast growth factor is better to induce the neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels.

Effects of prenatal taurine supplementation on the expression of protein kinase A-Ca2 +/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ, c-fos in fetal rat brain with intrauterine growth restriction and its significance / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To explore the effects of prenatal taurine supplementation on the expression of protein kinase A(PKA) and c-fos,Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ (GaMK Ⅱ) in fetal rat brains with intrauterine growth restriction and its significance.Methods Fifteen pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:the control group,the intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) group and the IUGR with prenatal taurine supplementation group(the taurine group),with 5 fetal rats in each group.All the fifteen fetal rat brains were detected as following:the expression of PKA,c-fos,CaMK Ⅱ mRNA in fetal rat brains was detected by way of real-time polymerase chain reaction(real-time PCR),while the expression changes of PKA,CaMK Ⅱ,and c-fos protein in fetal rat brains were detected by using Western blot,and the number of PKA,CaMK Ⅱ,c-fos positive cells in fetal rat brains was detected by using immunohistochemistry.Results The control group,the IUGR group and the taurine group:Comparison of the expression of PKA,CaMK Ⅱ,c-fos mRNA among 3 groups were of significant differences(F =7.934,P =0.021 ; F =5.568,P =0.043 ;F =7.332,P =0.024).Comparison of the expression of PKA,CaMK Ⅱ,c-fos protein among the 3 groups were of significant differences(F =57.743,P =0.000 ; F =163.405,P =0.000 ; F =160.136,P =0.000).Comparison of the number of PKA,CaMK Ⅱ,c-fos positive cells among the 3 groups were of significant differences (F =42.903,P =0.000 ;F =329.123,P =0.000 ; F =43.674,P =0.000).Compared with the control group,the expression of mRNA,protein,positive cells of three indicators in IUGR group was less,and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).The expression of mRNA,protein,positive cells of three indicators in fetal rat brains of the taurine group were not different from the control group.The expression of mRNA,protein,positive cells of three indicators in fetal rat brains of the taurine group were significantly more than the IUGR group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Prenatal taurine supplementation can improve PKA-CaMK Ⅱ,c-fos mRNA and protein levels in fetal rat brain tissue with IUGR,and increase its number of positive cells and may enhance the regenerative capacity of the central nervous system,so as to reduce the IUGR brain injury and promote its role in brain development.

Clinical evaluation of Calsurf in treating full-term neonatal respiratory distress syndrome / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of domestic exogenous pulmonary surfactant (EPS)-Calsurf in treating full-term neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).Methods (1) From January 2011 to June 2012,154 full-term neonates with RDS were divided into Calsurf group (74 cases) and Curosurf group (80 cases),comparing differences in changes of arterial blood gas,the length of hospital stay,hospitalization expenses,duration of mechanical ventilation,inspired oxygen time,the incidences of complications and repeated EPS use rates between two groups.(2) In order to compare the effectiveness of different doses of Calsurf in treating full-term neonatal RDS,from July 2012 to March 2013,80 RDS patients who received Calsurf were divided into mild-moderate group (grade Ⅱ ～ Ⅲ on chest X-ray,50 cases) and severe group (grade Ⅳ on chest X-ray,30 cases).Furthermore,each group was divided into two subgroups,which were low-dosage(per-time 30 ～40 mg/kg) and high-dosage group (per-time 30 ～40 mg/kg).Results (1) Before administrating Calsurf and after administrating it at 0.5 h and 6 h,the pH,PaCO2 and PaO2 of RDS patients were no significant difference in two groups (P ＞ 0.05).(2) There were no significant difference between the duration of mechanical ventilation,inspired oxygen time,length of hospital stay in two groups (P ＞ 0.05).But the hospitalization expenses in Calsurf and Curosurf groups were 28.778 versus 31.827 thousand yuan,respectively,with the average reduction of 9.6％ in Calsurf group (P ＜ 0.05).(3) There were no significant difference between the morbidities and mortalities of multiple organ failure,persistent pulmonary hypertension,acute renal failure and pneumothorax in two groups (P ＞ 0.05).(4) In mild-moderate grade RDS patients,the low-dosage or high-dosage of Calsurf had similar effectiveness in improving bloog gas (P ＞ 0.05),the repeated Calsurf use rates of both subgroups were 16.0％ (4/25) and 20.0％ (5/25) (P ＞ 0.05).While in severe RDS patients,high-dosage Calsurf got a better effectiveness in improving bloog gas than low-dosage Calsurf(P ＜ 0.05).Meanwhile,the repeated Calsurf use rates of the low-dosage and high-dosage subgroups were 20.0％ (3/15) and 33.3％ (5/15),with a 40％ reduction in high-dosage subgroup.Conclusion (1) Both Calsurf and Curosurf can significantly improve the conditions of hypoxemia and hypercapnia,moreover,the length of hospital stay and duration of mechanical ventilation of both groups are similar,with less hospitalization expense in Calsurf group.(2) Both low and high-dosage Calsurf have similar curative effect on mild-moderate RDS,but for severe RDS,high-dosage Calsurf works better,reducing the repeated EPS use rate to some extent.

Induction of Astragalus Polysaccharides on Differentiation of Rat Bone Marrow ;Mesenchymal Stem Cells / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to neurones, adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes, and provide basis for the development of effective and low toxic differentiation inducing agents. Methods BMSCs were isolated from SPF Wistar rats, purified, expanded and cultured to family 3. The appropriate concentration of APS was filtered out by MTT assay. The F3 cells were randomly divided into control group and induced group (neural induction, adipogenic induction, osteogenic induction, cartilage induction). The effects of APS and classical chemical drugs on differentiation were measured by toluidine blue, oil red o and alizarin red staining. The protein expression of NSE, LPL, collagen Ⅰ and collagen Ⅱ were examined by Western Blot. Results MTT assay showed that 1 g/L APS promoted the proliferation better than other concentrations especially in 48 hours. The morphologic change of the cell from BMSCs was uniformly positive to toluidine blue staining, and was negative to oil red o and alizarin red staining. Western blot showed that the protein expression of the cell from BMSCs was positive for NSE but negative for LPL, collagen Ⅰ and collagen Ⅱ. Conclusion BMSCs induced by APS can differentiate to neurone and fail to differentiate to adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes in vitro.

Evaluation of Post-operative Complication in Patients With Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection by Echocardiography / 中国循环杂志

Objective: To evaluate the post-operative complication of pulmonary vein stenosis in patients with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) by echocardiography. Methods: A total of 66 TAPVC pediatric patients with surgical repair in our hospital were retrospectively studied. The peri-operative and mid-term post-operative echocardiography was conducted to evaluate the complication of pulmonary vein stenosis. Results: The peri-operative and mid-term post-operative echocardiography presented the increased left ventricular diastolic end diameter (LVEDd) and decreased right ventricular diameter in all 66 patients, P0.05. Conclusion: Echocardiography may monitor the operative effect of TAPVC, the occurrence of post-operative pulmonary vein stenosis could be found by examining right ventricular diameter and pulmonary artery pressure in pediatric patients.

Adverse effects of fetal growth restriction on development of fetal cerebral function / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective To determine the adverse effects of fetal growth restriction (FGR) on the development of fetal cerebral function.Methods Sixty small for gestational age (SGA) and 40 appropriate gestational age (AGA) infants with a gestational age ranging from 37 weeks to 40+6 weeks who were hospitalized in the Ba Yi Children's Hospital Affiliated to Beijing Military General Hospital were included in this study.Patients with fetal distress,birth asphyxia,hyperspasmia,intracranial hemorrhage,periventricular leukomalacia,intracranial infection,septicemia and congenital abnormalities were excluded from the study.Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) was used to monitor the baby's cerebral function within three days after birth.The monitoring time was two to four hours in each infant.The observational indices included continuity,sleep wake cycling (SWC),interburst interval (IBI),minimum voltage and maximum voltage.Student's t test,Chi-square test and analysis of variance were used to compare differences between the groups.Results Continuity:the frequency ofaEEG continuity in the SGA and AGA groups was 15.0％ (9/60) and 70.0％ (28/40),respectively (x2=31.14,P=0.00).SWC:the frequency of aEEG SWC in the SGA and AGA groups was 15.0％ (9/60) and 70.0％ (28/40) (x2=31.14,P-0.00).IBI:the frequency of IBI in the SGAandAGAgroups was (14.55±0.75) s and (5.09±0.89) s (t=57.21,P=0.00).Maximum voltage:the maximum voltage in the SGA and AGA groups was (10.40± 2.61) t V and (16.42± 5.53) μ V (t=-6.43,P=0.00).Minimum voltage:the minimum voltage in the SGA and AGA groups was (4.02± 1.61) μ V and (6.98±3.82) μV (t=4.63,P=0.00).Lower birth weight,hypoglycemia (without hypoglycemic encephalopathy) or hyperbilirubinemia (without bilirubin encephalopathy) had no significant influence on fetal cerebral function (all P＞0.05).Conclusions SGA infants have poor continuity,absence of SWC,longer IBI,and lower maximum and minimum voltage,which suggests that FGR,to an extent,has an adverse influence on the development of fetal cerebral function.

Ultrasound scan for neonatal pulmonary diseases / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the value of lung sonography in diagnosis of neonatal pulmonary diseases and to provide a reliable and simple method for diagnosing neonatal pulmonary diseases.Methods From May 2012 to August 2012,105 newborns who admitted into Bayi Children's Hospital were enrolled into this study,including respiratory distress syndrome 40 cases (three of them with difficulty in withdrawing mechanical ventilation),meconium aspiration syndrome 17 cases,wet lung of newborn 17 cases and 30 health neonates without lung diseases.Lung ultrasound was performed at bedside by a single expert physician within the first 24 h of life.All patients with neonatal lung diseases were diagnosed by clinical manifestations,arterial blood gas analysis and chest X-ray.Results (1) Lung sonography of normal neonates showed hypo-echo (black),smooth and clear hyper-echoic pleural line.A line was hyper echo too.(2) All 40 neonates with respiratory distress syndrome showed lung consolidation with air bronchograms; abnormal pleural line,disappeared A-lines,pleural effusion and alveolar-interstitial syndrome.Five out of the 40 (12.5％)infants showed pleural effusion.(3) All 18 meconium aspiration syndrome infants showed focal lung consolidation under pleural membrane,alveolar-interstitial syndrome,atypical changes of abnormal pleural line and disappeared A-line in lesion area with lung sonography.(4) All infants with wet lung of newborn (100.0％,17/17) showed double lung point,with which all wet lung of newborn could be diagnosed.(5) Differential diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome with wet lung of newborn:five infants with severe dyspnea showedwhite lung in X-ray and were diagnosed as respiratory distress syndrome,while sonography only showed severe lung edema and one infant showed pleural effusion which was in accordance with wet lung of newborn,so was their courses of disease.(6) Three cases of respiratory distress syndrome showed dyspnea after withdrawing mechanical ventilation,and lung sonography showed local atelectasis but normal in X-ray.Conclusions Lung ultrasound has many advantages,such as accurate,reliable,no radiation damage,low-cost and simple; therefore,it is feasible in neonatal ward.

Determination of brucine and strychnine in rat after cutaneous administration of semen strychni niosome gel by LC-MS/MS / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>A sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the determination of brucine and strychnine in rat plasma.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Samples were extracted by ethyl acetate-n-butanol (7: 3). Chromatographic separation was operated on ZORBAX XDB-C18 column with gradient elution of acetonitrile-methanol-water (0.05% acetic acid and 10 nmol x L(-1) ammonium formate contained), followed by LC-MS/MS in positive electrospray ionization. Quantification was carried out on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the transition m/z 395.2/324.2, m/z 335.2/184.2 and m/z 199.1/171.1 for brucine, strychnine and tacrine (internal standard), respectively.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The method was linear in the range of 0.195-100 and 0.07840 microg x L(-1) for brucine and strychnine, with coefficient correlation 0.994 and 0.996 respectively. The recoveries of extraction were 78.9% - 102.4% for brucine and 95.2% - 106.1% for strychnine. Precision, accuracy, stability and matrix effect of the analytes met the requirement. The method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study of brucine and strychnine after cutaneous administration of Semen Strychni niosome gel. The C(max) were (26.20 +/- 5.81) and (12.50 +/- 3.00) microg x L(-1) while the AUC(0-infinity), were (193.75 +/- 39.43) and (98.25 +/- 28.54) microg x h x L(-1) of the two components.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We conclude that the niosomes may reduce the systemic exposures and prolong the local release of brucine and strychnine.</p>

Evaluation of the difference of rotation between subendocardium and subepicardium in diastolic heart failure patients by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To observe the rotation of subendocardium and subepidium by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging(2D-STI),and to evaluate its performance in diastolic heart failure patients(DHF)with a normal left ventricular ejection fraction. MethodsNinety-seven consecutive clinically stable patients were enrolled in this study [41 healthy controls,36 with diastolic heart failure,20 with systolic heart failure (SHF)]. High frame rate dynamic two-dimensional images were recorded at the left ventricular short-axis view,including basal, papillary muscle and apical planes. Subendocardial and subepicardial global rotation were measured using Q-lab 7.0 software offline. Results ① In all the subjects, the rotation of the subendocardium was obviously greater than that of subepicardium. ②As seen from the apex,left ventricular subendocardium and subepicardium performed a wringing motion with a clockwise rotation at the base and countclockwise rotation at the apex. ③In the apical plane, subendocardial rotation was significantly lower in both heart failure groups than in controls,and was depressed to a larger extent in SHF patients than in those with DHF. Subepicardial rotation was no significant difference between the DHF group and the control group, though it was significantly lower in patients with SHF. ④At the base, the rotation of subendocardium and subepicardium were not different between DHF and control groups, but it was significantly reduced in patients with SHF. Conclusions The subendocardial rotation is reduced, but subepicardial rotation is normal in DHF patients. On the other hand, in patients with SHF, subendocardial and subepicardial rotation are both reduced. The left ventricular systolic properties are impaired in DHF patients.