Mechanism of Eucommiae Cortex and Its Active Components in Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Knee osteoarthritis （KOA） is a common degenerative joint disease in the middle-aged and elderly. The incidence of KOA is rising as the population aging aggravates and the obese population grows. KOA seriously affects the health and daily life of the patients. The commonly used drugs for the symptomatic treatment of KOA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs， cartilage protective drugs， and opioid analgesics， which have limited therapeutic effects and induce obvious adverse drug reactions. Eucommiae Cortex is one of the commonly used Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of KOA， while its pharmacological material basis and mechanism remain unclear， which limits its clinical application. The active ingredients of Eucommiae Cortex for treating KOA mainly include iridoids （geniposide， aucubin）， lignans （pinoresinol diglucoside）， flavonoids （quercetin， astragaloside， baicalein， hyperoside， and kaempferol）， phenylpropanoids （chlorogenic acid）， and polysaccharides. These compounds regulate the levels of inflammatory cytokines， inhibit oxidative stress， protect chondrocytes， balance the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix， and control the progression of KOA via the mitogen-activated protein kinase， nuclear factor-κB， phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B， and Janus kinase 1/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling pathways. This paper introduces the mechanisms of Eucommiae Cortex and its active components in the treatment of KOA， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the development of new drugs for KOA.

Study on Inhibitory Effect of Huayu Qutan Recipe on Myocardial Fibrosis in Atherosclerotic Rabbits Based on Mitochondrial Fusion-lysis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To analysis the effect of Huayu Qutan recipe on myocardial fibrosis in atherosclerotic rabbits based on mitochondrial fusion-lysis. Method::The 36 SPF healthy male rabbits were selected, and 6 rabbits were selected randomly as the normal group, and given normal pellet feed, another 30 rats were fed with high fat diet to establish atherosclerosis model.After successful replication of animal models, they were randomly divided into model group, Huayu Qutan recipe low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose group (4.0, 8.0, 16.0 g·kg-1) and simvastatin group (1.4 mg·kg-1), 6 rats each.Each group was given corresponding drugs according to the dosage, continuous administration for 4 weeks.The serum lipid levels in rabbits of each group were detectived by automatic biochemical analyzer, the degree of myocardial fibrosis was measured by Masson staining, and expression levels of mitochondrial fusion protein 1 (Mitofusin 1), mitochondrial fusion protein 2 (Mitofusin 2), optic atrophy protein 1 (Opa1), promoter protein 1 (Drp1), mitogen 1 (Fis1) in myocardial tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. Result::Compared with normal group, the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in model group were significantly increased, levels of density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly decreased, the expression levels of Mitofusin 1, Mitofusin 2 and Opa1 in myocardial tissue were significantly decreased, the expression levels of Drp1 and Fis1 were significantly increased(P<0.05, P<0.01), compared with model group, the levels of serum TC, TG, LDL-C in simvastatin group and Huayu Qutan recipe low-dose, medium and high-dose group were significantly decreased, levels of HDL-C were significantly increased, the expression levels of Mitofusin 1, Mitofusin 2 and Opa1 in myocardial tissue were significantly increased, the expression levels of Drp1 and Fis1 were significantly decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01), compared with the Huayu Qutan recipe high-dose group, the levels of serum TC, TG, LDL-C in simvastatin group and Huayu Qutan recipe low, medium-dose group were significantly increased, the expression levels of Mitofusin 1, Mitofusin 2 and Opa1 in myocardial tissue were significantly decreased, the expression levels of Drp1 and Fis1 were significantly increased(P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion::Huayu Qutan recipe can effectively regulate blood lipid and inhibit myocardial fibrosis in atherosclerotic rabbits, and the higher the dose of Huayu Qutan recipe, the more obvious the effect is, it is speculated that its effect may be related to the regulation of the expression of mitochondrial fusion-lysis related proteins such as Mitofusin1, Mitofusin2 and Opa1, Drp1 and Fis1 in myocardial cells.

Carriage prevalence and drug resistance profile of MRSA and MSSA strains isolated from newborns / 中华疾病控制杂志

Objective To determine the carriage prevalence and antibiotics resistance profile of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus(MSSA) strains isolated from newborns. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in Shenzhen from August to November 2015. Cotton swab samples were collected from 1834 newborns. Staphylococcus aureus was identified by general laboratory tests, and antimicrobial-susceptibility profiles was tested. Results In total, 3.27% (60/1 834) Staphylococcus aureus (SA) strains were isolated, including 0.82% (15/1 834) MRSA and 2.45% (45/1 834) MSSA. Most MRSA and MSSA strains were resistant to penicillin and erythromycin but less than 10% strains resistant to linezolid. Drugs resistance rates of MRSA to erythromycin, moxifloxacin and clindamycin were all higher than that of MSSA (all P<0.05). The multidrug-resistant risk of MRSA (80.00%) was 12.36 times higher than that of MSSA (24.44%). Conclusions Multidrug-resistant SA especially MRSA strains isolated from newborns had the higher prevalence, the drugs resistance rate of MRSA strains was more serious than that of MSSA.

RNA simultaneous and amplification testing versus the culture method for detecting Ureaplasma urealyticum infection / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the value of real-time RNA simultaneous amplification and testing (SAT) in the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in the semen of infertile males and its clinical significance.@*METHODS@#We collected semen samples from 542 infertility patients and 120 normal fertile men as controls in the Andrology Clinic of Nanjing General Hospital from March to September 2015. We detected UU infection in the samples using the culture method and SAT technology, respectively.@*RESULTS@#All the UU positive cases (except 4 false positive cases) detected by the culture method were also shown to be positive in SAT. The UU detection rate of SAT was significantly higher than that of the culture method both in the infertility patients (54.1 vs 19.7%, P<0.05) and in the normal controls (42.5 vs 12.5%, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#SAT is a rapid and accurate method for detecting UU infection in semen samples, with a higher sensitivity and accuracy than the culture method, and it can also be used to evaluate the therapeutic effects. However, the culture method has its own advantages, such as low requirement of technical equipment, easy operation, and possibility of drug sensitivity test at the same time. Therefore, SAT and the culture method can be used alternatively according to the clinical need.

Determination of iodine content of iodine-rich herbal and analysis of effective factors / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To determine the iodine content of iodine-rich herbal and analyze the effective factors.Methods Iodine contents of seaweed at different alkali ashing temperature,such as 200℃,300℃,400℃,500℃and 600℃were determined,then the optimum ashing temperature were selected.Mixed ashing auxiliary including potassium carbonate,zinc sulfate,sodium chloride,potassium chlorate were added in samples of iodine-rich herbal,and ashed at the optimum ashing temperature for 2h.The ash was dissolved in deionized water.Iodine content of iodine-rich herbal was determined with As3+-Ce4+catalytic spectrophotometry.Results The optimum ashing temperature was 300℃;the standard curve regression equation:A =-6.91 ×10 -3C +1.0306,r =0.999 3;iodine content of seaweed,Kunbu and Haidai was 0.829 mg/g,0.343 mg/g and 0.864 mg/g respectively;recovery rates before ashing of seaweed,Haidai and Kunbu were 83.19%,81.47% and 80.32% respectively;91.24%,93.43% and 95.86% after ashing.Conclusion Iodine is rich in iodine-rich herbal,the optimum ashing temperature is 300 ℃,and As3+ -Ce4+ catalytic spectrophotometry is stable and accurate as a determination method of iodine content of herbal.

Effects of Electrical Stimulation on the Expression of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Interleukin-1 Alpha in Adult Rats with Spinal Cord Injury / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To investigate the effects of electrical stimulation on the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) andinterleukin-1 alpha (IL-1α) in adult rats with spinal cord injury. Methods 72 adult SD rats were randomly divided into damage group (n=24), electrical stimulation group (n=24) and normal group (n=24). The spinal cord incomplete injury model on T9 was made with Allen'smethod in the former 2 groups. The rats in electrical stimulation group accepted electrical stimulation for 7 d. All the rats were evaluatedwith the Basso, Beattie & Bresnahan locomotor rating scale (BBB scale), and the expression of GFAP and IL-1α were determined with immunohistochemistry.Results The BBB scores in both the damage group and electrical stimulation group were significantly less than that inthe normal group (P<0.05), and it was more in the electrical stimulation group than in the damage group 5 and 7 d after injury. The expressionsof the GFAP significantly increased after injury to the peak on 5th day, while it was less in the electrical stimulation group than in thedamage group 5 and 7 d after injury (P<0.05). The expressions of the IL-1α increased continually after injury, while it was less in the electricalstimulation group than in the damage group 5 and 7 d after injury (P<0.05). Conclusion Electrical stimulation can inhibit the expressionof GFAP and IL-1α, that reduce inflammation and glial scar formation.

The protective effect of the 27-β2 adrenergic receptor genetic polymorphisms in airway hyperreactivity / 中国基层医药

Objective To analyze the association between β2-AK 27 locus genetic polymorphisms and asthma, and the protective effect in airway hyperreactivity. Methods The allel polymerase chain reaction were used to determine β2-AR 27 locus genetic polymorphisms in 149 patients with cough variant asthma who have the airway hyperreactivity. To observe these people for two years in order to know the proportion of changed to typical asthma. And compare with 90 people in healthy group. Results (1) The distribution frequency of β2-AR 27 locus genetic polymorphisms is major in heterozygote (57 % ) , and the Glu/Glu homozygote has the least ( 20% ) , (2) There was a significant decrease in the frequency of Glu/Glu genotype in asthmatics compared with healthy group(9% VS 20% ) ,OR = 0.4(P<0.05) ,95% CI (0.2 ～0. 9) ,but there was no significant difference in the allele frequency of asthmatics compared with healthy group,(3)The frequency of Glu/Glu genotype in severe asthma was lower than stable asthma group(P<0. 05). Conclusion These results suggesteded that β2-AR 27 locus genetic polymorphisms is correlated with asthma,and the Glu27 could have the protective effect to the airway.