Effects and mechanisms of curcumin on apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells in chronic ocular hypertension rats / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To investigate the effects and mechanisms of curcumin on apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)in chronic ocular hypertension rats.METHODS:A total of 21 Spraque-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into 3 groups with 7 rats in each group. The rat models of chronic ocular hypertension were established by cauterization of the superior scleral veins in the high intraocular pressure model group and the curcumin treatment group, and the sham operation group only cut the conjunctiva without the cauterization of the superior scleral veins; the rats in the curcumin treatment group were intragastrically treated with curcumin at a dose of 4mL/kg, and the rats in the sham operation group and the high intraocular pressure model group were treated with pure water at a dose of 4mL/kg for 3wk. After 3wk, HE staining was used to observe the morphological and pathological changes of retina, the number of RGCs and the thickness of ganglion cell layer(GCL)in each group of rats; TUNEL staining was used to observe the apoptosis of RGCs and retinal cells in each group of rats; the expression levels of glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit(GCLM)and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)in the retina of each group of rats were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, immunohistochemical staining and Western blot.RESULTS:Compared with the sham operation group, the retinal morphology of rats in the high intraocular pressure model group and the curcumin treatment group was disorganized, the number of RGCs was reduced, the GCL was thinner, the apoptosis rate of RGCs and retinal cells increased, and the expression levels of GCLM and HO-1 increased. Compared with the high intraocular pressure model group, the retinal morphology of rats in the curcumin treatment group was basically normal, the number of RGCs increased, the GCL thickened, the apoptosis rate of RGCs and retinal cells decreased, and the expression levels of GCLM and HO-1 increased.CONCLUSION:Curcumin can inhibit the apoptosis of RGCs in the rat model of chronic ocular hypertension by up-regulating the expression of antioxidant genes GCLM and HO-1.

Growth differentiation factor 15 predicts cardiovascular events in stable coronary artery disease / 老年心脏病学杂志（英文版）

BACKGROUND@#Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) has been explored as a potential biomarker for various inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular events. This study aimed to assess the predictive role of GDF-15 levels in cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, considering traditional risk factors and other biomarkers.@*METHODS@#A prospective study was conducted and 3699 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) were enrolled into the research. Baseline GDF-15 levels were measured. Median follow-up was 3.1 years during the study. We analyzed clinical variables and several biomarkers. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate prognostic performance of GDF-15 levels in predicting myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, stroke, cardiovascular death, and non-cardiovascular death.@*RESULTS@#Baseline GDF-15 levels for 3699 patients were grouped by quartile (≤ 1153, 1153-1888, 1888-3043, > 3043 ng/L). Higher GDF-15 levels were associated with older age, male gender, history of hypertension, and elevated levels of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP), soluble suppression of tumorigenesis-2 (sST2), and creatine (each with P < 0.001). Adjusting for established risk factors and biomarkers in Cox proportional hazards models, a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in GDF-15 was associated with elevated risk of clinical events [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.52-3.11)], including: MI [HR = 2.83 95% CI: (1.03-7.74)], heart failure [HR = 2.71 95% CI: (1.18-6.23)], cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death [HR = 2.48, 95% CI (1.49-4.11)] during the median follow up of 3.1 years.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Higher levels of GDF-15 consistently provides prognostic information for cardiovascular events and all cause death, independent of clinical risk factors and other biomarkers. GDF-15 could be considered as a valuable addition to future risk prediction model in secondary prevention for predicting clinical events in patient with stable CAD.

Identification of FKBP10 prognostic value in lung adenocarcinoma patients with surgical resection of brain metastases: A retrospective single-institution cohort study

Abstract Objective To explore the expression levels and clinical value of FKBP10 in lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases. Design A retrospective single-institution cohort study. Patients The perioperative records of 71 patients with lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases who underwent surgical resection at the authors' institution between November 2012 and June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Methods The authors evaluated FKBP10 expression levels using immunohistochemistry in tissue arrays of these patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed, and a Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify independent prognostic biomarkers. A public database was used to detect FKBP10 expression and its clinical value in primary lung adenocarcinoma. Results The authors found that the FKBP10 protein was selectively expressed in lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases. Survival analysis showed that FKBP10 expression (p = 0.02, HR = 2.472, 95% CI [1.156, 5.289]), target therapy (p < 0.01, HR = 0.186, 95% CI [0.073, 0.477]), and radiotherapy (p = 0.006, HR = 0.330, 95% CI [0.149, 0.731]) were independent prognostic factors for survival in lung adenocarcinoma patients with brain metastases. The authors also detected FKBP10 expression in primary lung adenocarcinoma using a public database, found that FKBP10 is also selectively expressed in primary lung adenocarcinoma, and affects the overall survival and disease-free survival of patients. Limitations The number of enrolled patients was relatively small and patients' treatment options varied. Conclusions A combination of surgical resection, adjuvant radiotherapy, and precise target therapy may benefit the survival of selected patients with lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases. FKBP10 is a novel biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases, which is closely associated with survival time and may serve as a potential therapeutic target.

Effect of salidroside on choroidal thickness and expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, dopamine and its receptor in guinea pigs with myopia / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To examine the effects of salidroside on choroidal thickness, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α), dopamine(DA)and its D1 receptor expression in guinea pigs with lens-induced myopia(LIM).METHODS: A total of 18 two-week-old guinea pigs were randomly divided into the normal control(NC)group, the LIM group, and the LIM + salidroside(LIM+SA)group, with 6 guinea pigs in each group. The guinea pigs in the NC group were fed normally and intragastrically administered with 2 mL/d saline; those in the LIM group wore a -5D lens in front of their right eyes to establish a myopia model, then they were intragastrically administered with 2 mL/d saline. Finally, those in the LIM+SA group wore glasses along with intragastric administration of 2 mL/d salidroside at a dose of 100 mg/kg. The refraction, axial length, and choroidal thickness of guinea pigs in each group were measured 4wk following the establishment of the model. In addition, the relative mRNA expression and protein content of HIF-1α in the choroid and retina of guinea pigs in each group were detected by real-time quantitative PCR(qPCR)and immunohistochemistry(IHC). Finally, the DA concentration and its D1 receptor expression were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and Western blot.RESULTS: At 4wk after model establishment, guinea pigs of LIM group and LIM+SA group exhibited increased negative refraction of the right eye, prolonged axial length, and decreased choroidal thickness compared to the NC group. The relative mRNA expression and protein content of HIF-1α in the choroid and retina of the guinea pigs increased. The concentration of DA and the expression of its D1 receptor both decreased. Moreover, compared to the LIM group, the diopter of the right eye of guinea pigs in LIM+SA group significantly reduced, the axial length was shorter, the thickness of choroid increased, the relative mRNA expression and protein content of HIF-1α in the choroid and retina decreased and the concentration of DA and the expression of its D1 receptor both increased.CONCLUSION: Salidroside can delay myopia progression in myopic guinea pigs by affecting choroidal thickness and the expression of HIF-1α, DA and its D1 receptor.

Meta-analysis of efficacy between Travoprost and Timolol in treating primary open angle glaucoma / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To systematically evaluate the changes of hemodynamics, astigmatism and cytokines between travoprost and timolol in the treatment of primary open angle glaucoma(POAG)in Chinese adults.METHODS:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)and cohort studies comparing the related efficacy of travoprost and timolol for POAG were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database(CBM), VIP database and Wanfang database. The search time was from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020. The literatures were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After quality evaluation by Cochrane tools for RCTs and NOS scores for cohort studies, Review Manager 5.4 software was used for Meta-analyses to generate weighed-mean-difference(<i>WMD</i>)as effect size contrasting the efficacy of travoprost and timolol for the peak systolic velocity(PSV), the end diastolic velocity(EDV)and the resistance index(RI)of the central retinal artery(CRA)and the posterior ciliary artery(PCA), astigmatism, the plasma endothelin-1(ET-1), the serum matrix metalloproteinase(MMP), the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2(TIMP-2)of the aqueous humor and the serum TIMP-2. RESULTS:Totally 8 RCTs and 4 retrospective cohort studies were included with 1 192 patients.Meta-analysis showed that:compared with timolol group, the travoprost group had greater effect on increasing the PSV(<i>WMD</i>=2.40, 95%<i>CI</i>: 2.12-2.68, <i>P</i><0.00001; <i>WMD</i>=3.76, 95%<i>CI</i>: 3.30-4.22, <i>P</i><0.00001)and the EDV(<i>WMD</i>=0.81, 95%<i>CI</i>: 0.70-0.91, <i>P</i><0.00001; <i>WMD</i>=0.90, 95%<i>CI</i>: 0.72-1.09, <i>P</i><0.00001)of the CRA and the PCA as well as on decreasing the RI(<i>WMD</i>=-0.07, 95%<i>CI</i>: -0.10 to -0.04, <i>P</i><0.00001; <i>WMD</i>=-0.07, 95%<i>CI</i>: -0.08 to -0.05, <i>P</i><0.00001)of the CRA and the PCA; Travoprost was more effective in decreasing astigmatism(<i>WMD</i>=-1.34, 95%<i>CI</i>: -1.62 to -1.06, <i>P</i><0.00001); Compared with timolol, travoprost could significantly decrease the plasma ET-1(<i>WMD</i>=-5.14, 95%<i>CI</i>: -7.08 to -3.20, <i>P</i><0.00001)and the serum MMP(<i>WMD</i>=-12.48, 95%<i>CI</i>: -24.27 to -0.69, <i>P</i>=0.04), while no statistically significant differences were found in the TIMP-2 of the aqueous humor(<i>WMD</i>=-1.40, 95%<i>CI</i>: -5.51-2.71, <i>P</i>=0.51)and the serum TIMP-2(<i>WMD</i>=1.69, 95%<i>CI</i>: -30.03-33.41, <i>P</i>=0.92).CONCLUSION:Compared with timolol, travoprost was more effective in improving hemodynamic indexes and decreasing astigmatism in the treatment of POAG.

Xuezhikang alleviates lipid accumulation via AMPK activation in hepatocellular steatosis model

Abstract Xuezhikang (XZK) is an extract of Chinese red yeast rice. It has multiple protective effects in cardiovascular systems. However, the underlying mechanism by which XZK affects free fatty acid (FFA)-induced lipogenesis in hepatocellular steatosis model is still unknown. Herein, we investigated this mechanism in HepG2 cells. The HepG2 cells were treated with palmitate acid (PA) to induce lipogenesis. Then the PA-induced HepG2 cells were subsequently treated with XZK. After 24 h of treatment, we determined the intracellular triglyceride (TG) contents and average areas of lipid droplets. To study the involvement of AMPK signaling pathway, we pre-treated the PA-induced HepG2 cells with Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, before XZK treatment. Expressions of p-AMPK and AMPK were determined by Western blot. The results showed that XZK decreased TG content and lipid accumulation in hepatocellular steatosis model. Compound C abolished the effects of XZK. These results demonstrated for the first time that XZK protects hepatocytes against lipid accumulation induced by free fatty acids. Its effects may be mediated by the activation of AMPK pathway.

L1 cell adhesion molecule high expression is associated with poor prognosis in surgically resected brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma

Abstract Objectives Accurate prognosis assessment across the heterogeneous population of brain metastases is very important, which may facilitate clinical decision-making and appropriate stratification of future clinical trials. Previous studies have shown the L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule (L1CAM) is potentially involved in human malignancies of multiple different samples and unfavorable survival. However, no data of L1CAM are available for the brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma, especially for the one with neurosurgical resection. Method The authors investigated the L1CAM expression in cranial metastatic lesions for patients with brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma after neurosurgical resection using tissue microarrays that were obtained from the Department of Neurosurgery at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Furthermore, the relationship between L1CAM expression and clinic-pathological parameters, including overall survival time, was analyzed to assess the prognostic value of L1CAM. Results L1CAM high expression was found in 62.30% of brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma and significantly correlated with brain metastasis number (p = 0.028) and Lung-molGPA score (p = 0.042). Moreover, L1CAM expression was an independent predictor of survival for brain metastases after neurosurgical resection in a multivariate analysis. Patients with L1CAM high expression had unfavorable overall survival time (p = 0.016). In addition, the multivariate analysis also showed age and extracranial transfer were also the independent prognostic factors for this type of patient with brain metastases. Conclusions A subset of brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma aberrantly expresses L1CAM. L1CAM is a novel independent prognostic factor for brain metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma after neurosurgical resection.

Observation on the efficacy of motherwort injection in the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding-ovulatory dysfunction / 中国实用妇科与产科杂志

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of motherwort injection in the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding-ovulatory dysfunction(AUB-O),and provide data support for broadening the clinical application range of motherwort injection.METHODS: A multicenter,randomized,prospective study was used.The patients who were diagnosed with AUB-O in Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2018 were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group according to random numbers.There were 75 cases in the experimental group,7 cases were lost,and 68 cases were the final cases;another 75 cases were in the control group,4 cases were lost,and there were 71 cases in the end.In the control group,only the tranexamic acid was given.On the basis of this,the experimental group was given intramuscular injection of motherwort injection 2 mL/time,b.i.d.,for 3 consecutive days.The clinical TCM symptom scores,blood loss,blood routine,coagulation function,endometrial thickness and effective rate were compared between the two groups.All data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS 21.0.RESULTS: After treatment,the total effective rate of the experimental group was 97.06%,which was significantly better than that(84.51%)of the control group(P0.05),but on the 2nd day and the 3rd day after treatment,the difference was statistically different(P<0.05),and the cumulative amount of bleeding after 3 days of treatment was statistically different(P<0.05).The endometrial thickness of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group(P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Motherwort injection combined with basic therapy is effective in the treatment of AUB-O.

A customized method for information extraction from unstructured text data in the electronic medical records / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#There is a huge amount of diagnostic or treatment information in electronic medical record (EMR), which is a concrete manifestation of clinicians actual diagnosis and treatment details. Plenty of episodes in EMRs, such as complaints, present illness, past history, differential diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, surgical records, reflecting details of diagnosis and treatment in clinical process, adopt Chinese description of natural language. How to extract effective information from these Chinese narrative text data, and organize it into a form of tabular for analysis of medical research, for the practical utilization of clinical data in the real world, is a difficult problem in Chinese medical data processing.@*METHODS@#Based on the EMRs narrative text data in a tertiary hospital in China, a customized information extracting rules learning, and rule based information extraction methods is proposed. The overall method consists of three steps, which includes: (1) Step 1, a random sample of 600 copies (including the history of present illness, past history, personal history, family history, etc.) of the electronic medical record data, was extracted as raw corpora. With our developed Chinese clinical narrative text annotation platform, the trained clinician and nurses marked the tokens and phrases in the corpora which would be extracted (with a history of diabetes as an example). (2) Step 2, based on the annotated corpora clinical text data, some extraction templates were summarized and induced firstly. Then these templates were rewritten using regular expressions of Perl programming language, as extraction rules. Using these extraction rules as basic knowledge base, we developed extraction packages in Perl, for extracting data from the EMRs text data. In the end, the extracted data items were organized in tabular data format, for later usage in clinical research or hospital surveillance purposes. (3) As the final step of the method, the evaluation and validation of the proposed methods were implemented in the National Clinical Service Data Integration Platform, and we checked the extraction results using artificial verification and automated verification combined, proved the effectiveness of the method.@*RESULTS@#For all the patients with diabetes as diagnosed disease in the Department of Endocrine in the hospital, the medical history episode of these patients showed that, altogether 1 436 patients were dismissed in 2015, and a history of diabetes medical records extraction results showed that the recall rate was 87.6%, the accuracy rate was 99.5%, and F-Score was 0.93. For all the 10% patients (totally 1 223 patients) with diabetes by the dismissed dates of August 2017 in the same department, the extracted diabetes history extraction results showed that the recall rate was 89.2%, the accuracy rate was 99.2%, F-Score was 0.94.@*CONCLUSION@#This study mainly adopts the combination of natural language processing and rule-based information extraction, and designs and implements an algorithm for extracting customized information from unstructured Chinese electronic medical record text data. It has better results than existing work.

Cloning and Bioinformatic Analysis of HMGS and HMGR Genes from Panax notoginseng / 中草药·英文版

Objective To clone and analyze 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A synthase (HMGS) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase (HMGR) genes from Panax notoginseng of four-year old during the flowering period, the key genes involved in the mevalonic acid pathway for saponin biosynthesis. Methods The cDNA sequences of PnHMGS1 and PnHMGR2 were obtained by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods and were analyzed in their secondary structures, subcellular localizations, domains, and the three-dimensional structures of putative proteins by the bioinformatics tools. Fusion genes were constructed by the prokaryotic expression system. Results The two genes were cloned, named as PnHMGS1 and PnHMGR2, respectively, and were both predicted to be located in the chloroplast. PnHMGS1 (1410 bp) encoded a predictive unstable protein with 469 amino acids and covered hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase domain. PnHMGR2 (1690 bp) also encoded an unstable protein with 589 amino acids and possessed a hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase domain and two transmembrane regions. Both of the genes were expressed most in flowers followed by roots, stems, and least in leaves. Conclusion PnHMGS1 and PnHMGR2 are firstly cloned from P. notoginseng as the new member of the HMGR family, and they show the same expression profile as P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius.

Small-celI carcinoma of the endometrium: A case report and a review of the literature / 肿瘤

Objective: To explore the etiology, clinical manifestations, pathological features, diagnosis and treatment of small-cell carcinoma of the endometrium. Methods: This case report introduces a case of small-cell carcinoma of the endometrium and reviews the related literatures. Results: This patient presented with vaginal bleeding and was diagnosed of stage II endometrial adenocarcinoma before surgery. Laparoscopic modified radical hysterectomy and double accessory and pelvic lymph node dissection was performed. Pathological examination revealed small-cell carcinoma of the endometrium complicated with stage II endometrial adenocarcinoma. There was immunohistochemical evidence of synaptophysin expression. Chemotherapy with EP regimen (etoposide plus carboplatin) and radiotherapy were administered after surgery. Conclusion: Primary small-cell carcinoma of the endometrium is an extremely rare and aggressive disease with a poor clinical outcome. Surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy may contribute to an improved prognosis.

Comparison among three standards of TW2 to skeletal age determination in children with central precocious puberty / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To discuss the diagnostic value of English, Chinese and Japanese standards of TW2 to skeletal age assessment of children with central precocious puberty (CPP), then to confirm the normal thresholds.@*METHODS@#Sixty one children as patient group were definitely assured CPP. The control group had 67 children. Among them, 61 were normal children, another 6 children as a special control group. Left hand-wrist X-ray radiographs were retrospectively analyzed by two doctors separately and their skeletal ages were assessed with the three standards of TW2 method. The differences between skeletal age and chronological age were analyzed with ROC in SPSS 13.0.@*RESULTS@#(1) The skeletal age results showed kappa value is 0.776 deduced by two clinical doctors(u = 16.128, P < 0.05). (2) There were no statistic differences for the areas under ROC curves among three methods. (3) d > or = 1.15 years in TW2, d > or = 1.25 years in TW2-CHN and d > or = 0.65 years in TW2-JP were more susceptive and specific points.@*CONCLUSION@#TW2, TW2-CHN and TW2-JP provided a higher value for the diagnosis of skeletal age in unhealthy children, and TW2-CHN is highest value for Chinese children.

Comparative investigation of the components in rats plasma before and after orally administrating Shuanghuanglian injection / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the main constituents absorbed in the blood after orally administrating Shuanghuanglian injection extracts of its composed crude drug and provide the foundation for optimizing the prescription of Shuanghuanglian powder for injection.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Through analysing HPLC fingerprint established based on shuanghuanglian powder for injection and extracts of it composed crude drug, the active investigation were carried out among the peaks of control plasma and plasma containing drug in rats, shuanghuanglian powder for injection and extract of its composed crude drug. And the analysis was performed about relative content of constituents in each sample. Furthermore their original drugs and the metabolites in plasma containing drug were ascertained.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Eight compounds were detected in plasma after oral administration of Shuanghuanglian, four of them were the original compounds contained in Shuanghuanglian powder for injection and three of them were relative metabolites. It has also found that contents of original compounds such as baicalin and chlorogenic acid fell off gradually, but their metabolites increased in rat plasma in vivo. With increasing time the main components of forsythia have not been detected obviously in rats plasma.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In some extent, the compounds absorbed into blood from Shuanghuanglian powder for injection and their metabolites are the effective constituents, and its plasma pharmacochemistry should be subject to illuminate the pharmacological effects and the active mechanism.</p>

Influence on rat intestinal absorption of huanglian alkalis after match-pair of huanglian-wuzhuyu / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To research effect of Wuzhuyu on Huanglian intestinal absorption and to provide some basic principle of match-pair of huanglian-rougui.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The rat everted gut sac method as well as non everted gut sac method was applied to investigate the influence of Wuzhuyu on Huanglian intestinal absorption.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The content of each alkalis in Huanglian was decreasing with the comptibale ration increase, and the intestinal absorption had been improved in some degree. The intestinal absorption of Huanglian alkalis reached the highest level when match-pair ration of huang Lian-rougui was 6: 1.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The chemical reaction in the progress of extraction and the intestinal absorption of huanglian alkalis were the key factors of match-pair of huanglian-wuzhuyu.</p>

Study on stability of baicalin and baicalein in Rat plasma by HPLC-ECD / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the stability of baicalin and baicalein in buffered aqueous solutions and mouse plasma in order to discuss the degradation mechanism and the method of disposing samples.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>HPLC-ECD was used to determine baicalin and baicalein in different conditions, and the disposing samples methods were selected to stabilize them.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Baicalin and baicalein in the buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.4 was more stable than that in the mouse plasma. After adding Vit C in the buffered aqueous solution, the stability of baicalin and baicalein could be improved obviously and their remained percents were 102% and 100%. The stability of baicalin and baicalein could be enhanced distinctly in the mouse plasma only when adding Vit C and 1 mol x L(-1) HCl, and furthermore their remained percentage was up to 98% and 103%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The stability of baicalin and baicalein is related to the oxidation and enzyme degradation and it can be improved by adding Vit C and 1 mol x L(-1) HCl in the solution.</p>

The association between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and medical students' personal and professional development

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>In order to commit to their mission and placement requirements, medical education policy-makers are required to understand the background and character of students in order to admit, cultivate and support them efficiently and effectively.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>This study sample consisted of 408 homogeneous medical students with the same level of education, occupation, school and societal environment. They differed mainly in their family background. Therefore, this study used part of a multidimensional "student portfolio system" database to assess the correlation between family status (indexed by parental education and occupation) and medical students' mental health status and characters. The controls were a group of 181 non-medical students in another university.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The parents of the medical students were from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) than the parents of those in the control group. This showed the heritability of genetic and environment conditions as well as the socioeconomic forces at play in medical education. Students' personal and professional development were associated with their parents' SES. The mother's SES was associated with the student's selfreported stress, mental disturbances, attitude towards life, personality, health, discipline, internationalisation and professionalism. The fathers' SES did not show a statistically significant association with the above stress, physical and mental health factors, but showed an association with some of the personality factors. The greater the educational difference between both parents, the more stress, hopelessness and pessimism the student manifested.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Medical educators need to be aware that socioeconomic factors have meaningful patterns of association with students' mental and physical health, and their characters relating to personal and professional development. Low maternal SES negatively influences medical students' personal and professional development, suggesting that medical education policy-makers need to initiate support mechanisms for those with latent vulnerability.</p>

Influence of match-pair of huanglian-rougui on rat intestinal absorption of total huanglian alkali / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To research the principle of match-pair of huanglian-rougui.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>A rat intestinal model in vitro had been applied to investigate the absorption and transport characteristics of total huanglian alkali across intestinal mucosa, as well as the influence of match-pair of huanglian-rougui on its intestinal absorption. The identification of alkalis in primitive solution, serosal solution and intestinal homogenate were analyzed by TLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The transport and uptake characteristic of total alkali in huanglian solution was similar to berberine. The uptake and transport of total alkali across intestinal mucosa was concentration-and time-dependent. Transport directions had strong effects on the transport of total alkali. The amount of total alkali transport from serosal side to mucosal side was much more than that from mucosal side to serosal side. After matching with rougui as some ration, the intestinal absorption of total alkali increased significantly comparing with huanglian alone, and there was an optimal ration among match-pair of huanglian-rougui.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Chemical reaction in vitro and intestinal absorption were the key factors of match-pair of huanglian-rougui.</p>

Degradation of recombinant hirudin-2 in nasal mucosa of rabbits in vitro / 药学学报

<p><b>AIM</b>To investigate the degradation of recombinant hirudin-2 (rHV2) in nasal mucosa of rabbit.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The specific and accurate HPLC method was developed for analyzing rHV2; The degrading ratios of rHV2 at different concentrations and at pH conditions in rabbit nasal mucosa homogenate were determined; The results in nasal mucosa homogenate were compared with that in small intestinal mucosa homogenate of rabbits. The stability of rHV2 in the enzyme extract of nasal mucosa surface and the effect of proteolysis inhibitor bacitracin on the degradation of rHV2 in nasal mucosa homogenate were also estimated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The degradation of rHV2 in rabbit nasal mucosa homogenate showed concentration- and pH-dependence; rHV2 in nasal mucosa homogenate was more stable than that in intestinal mucosa homogenate. Also rHV2 was more stable in the enzyme extracts of nasal serosal surface than that of mucosa surface. Addition of bacitracin was able to inhibit the degradation to some degree.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Comparing with oral administration, rHV2 nasal delivery was a more tolerant route.</p>