Metabolomic Analysis of Platelets of Patients With Aspirin Non-Response.

Aspirin is the most commonly used antiplatelet agent for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. However, a certain proportion of patients do not respond to aspirin therapy. The mechanisms of aspirin non-response remain unknown.

Accurate identification of myocardial viability after myocardial infarction with novel manganese chelate-based MR imaging.

We developed a novel manganese (Mn ) chelate for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment of myocardial viability in acute and chronic myocardial infarct (MI) models, and compared it with Gadolinium-based delay enhancement MRI (Gd -DEMRI) and histology. MI was induced in 14 rabbits by permanent occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery. Gd -DEMRI and Mn chelate-based delayed enhancement MRI (Mn chelate-DEMRI) were performed at 7 days (acute MI, n = 8) or 8 weeks (chronic MI, n = 6) after surgery with sequential injection of 0.

Alpha-fetoprotein level as a biomarker of liver fibrosis status: a cross-sectional study of 619 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and pathological stages of liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Methods: The study included 619 patients who were diagnosed with CHB from March 2005 to December 2011.

[Study on chemical constituents from leaf of Bombax ceiba (II)].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents from the leaf of Bombax ceiba.

Methods: The compounds were isolated and purified with silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Their structures were determined on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis.

[Chemical constitunents of seeds of Oroxylum indicum].

Objective: To study the chemical constituents in the seeds of Oroxylum indicum.

Method: Twenty compounds were isolated and purified by silica gel, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis including NMR and MS.

Result: Twenty compounds were isolated and identified as oroxin A (1), oroxin B (2), chrysin (3), baicalein (4), quercetin (5), apigenin (6), kaempferol (7), quercetin-3-O-ara-binopyranoside (8), lupeol C9), lup-20 (29)-ene-2alpha,3beta-diol (10), pinosylvin (11), dihydropinosylvin (12), cholest-5-ene-3, 7-diol (13), rengyol (14), isorengyol (15), zarzissine (16), (E) -pinosylvin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (17), adenosine (18), sitosterol (19) and daucosterol (20).

New isoflavones with cytotoxic activity from the rhizomes of Iris germanica L.

Two new compounds, 5-methoxy-3',4'-dihydroxy-6,7-methylenedioxy-4H-1-benzo-pyran-4-one(iriskashmirianin A) (1) and 5,3'-dihydroxy-3-(4'-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-6,7-methylenedioxy-4H-1-benzo-pyran-4-one (germanaism H) (2), along with eight known compounds (3-10), were isolated from the rhizomes of Iris germanica L. The cytotoxicities of these compounds were tested using Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cancer cell line by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazoli-umbromide (MTT) and ATP assays. The results showed that these compounds possessed antiproliferative effects on EAC cell line.

A new lignan with anti-HBV activity from the roots of Bombax ceiba.

A new lignan bombasinol A (1), together with three known compounds was obtained from the ethanol (95%) extract of roots of Bombax ceiba L. through its being subjected to silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. Their structures were elucidated as 4-(4-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)hexahydrofuro[3,4-c]furan-1-yl)-2-methoxy-phenol (1), 5,6-dihydroxymatairesinol (2), (+)-pinoresinol (3) and matairesinol (4) on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including 1-D and 2-D NMR (HSQC and HMBC) experiments and by comparison of the data with those previously reported literatures.

A new eudesmane sesquiterpene glycosides from Liriope muscari.

A new eudesmane sesquiterpene glycoside, ophiopogonoside B (1), along with five known compounds, ophiopogonoside A (2), ruscogenin-1-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl (1 → 2)]-[β-D-xylopyranosyl (1 → 3)]-β-D-fucopyranoside (3), palmitic acid (4), palmitic acid glyceride (5), and β-sitosterol-D-glucopyranoside (6),was isolated from the tuberous roots of Liriope muscari (Decn.) Bailey (Liliaceae). Their structures were confirmed by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.

Two new furanoid norditerpenes from Dioscorea bulbifera.

Two new furanoid norditerpenes (1, 2) were isolated from the root tubers of Dioscorea bulbifera L. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis.

Age, sex and vitamin status affect plasma level of homocysteine, but hyperhomocysteinaemia is possibly not an important risk factor for venous thrombophilia in Taiwanese Chinese.

The biological effects of age, sex and vitamin status on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), and association of hyperhomocysteinaemia with venous thromboembolism in Taiwanese Chinese individuals, were investigated. Eighty patients (16-85 years) with venous thrombophilia and 123 healthy subjects (15-85 years) without history of vascular thrombosis were studied for plasma levels of tHcy, folate and vitamin B12. A multivariate analysis in healthy subjects revealed that plasma tHcy levels tended to increase with age (P < 0.