Comparison of antioxidant activities between salvianolic acid B and Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761).

Aim: To investigate and compare the antioxidant activities of salvianolic acid B (SalB) and Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) in aqueous solution, rat microsomes and the cellular system.

Methods: Superoxide anion (O2-.) was generated using xanthine/xanthine oxidase system and phenazine methosulate/NADH system, and the effects of SalB and EGb 761 on the generation of O2-.

[Evaluation of temporomandibular joint function after condylectomy for condylar hyperplasia].

Objective: To investigate the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) function of the condylar hyperplasia patients after condylectomy.

Methods: Twelve patients with condylar hyperplasia were included in this study. Before and after condylectomy, they were examined and the Fricton' s Craniomandibular Index (CMI) was calculated to assess the functional disorder of TMJ.

A pair of iron-responsive genes encoding protein kinases with a Ser/Thr kinase domain and a His kinase domain are regulated by NtcA in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

The filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 can fix N(2) when combined nitrogen is not available in the growth medium. It has a family of 13 genes encoding proteins with both a Ser/Thr kinase domain and a His kinase domain.

[Construction and identification of HBD-2 transgenic mice].

Human beta defensin 2 (HBD-2) may play an important role in human defense against infection. Its antimicrobial capacity has been fully documented in in vitro study. In order to evaluae its in vivo effects, we developed an HBD-2 transgenic mouse model.

[Clinical application of electrosonography in diagnosis of anterior disc displacement with reduction].

Objective: To investigate the electrosonography character of sounds emanating from anterior disc displacement with reduction of TMJ and the value of it in clinical diagnosis.

Methods: The sounds from healthy TMJ, anterior disc displacement with or without reduction of TMJ, and osteoarthritis of TMJ were recorded and analyzed by K6-I system, then the data was used for diagnosis of anterior disc displacement with reduction in clinic.

Results: A special kind of waveform was found in the electrosonography of sounds from anterior disc displacement with reduction repeatedly, and seldom or not in sounds from healthy joints, anterior disc displacement without reduction or osteoarthritis of TMJ.

Free-radical oxidation and superoxide dismutase activity in synovial fluid of patients with temporomandibular disorders.

Aims: To measure the activity of oxygen free radicals and the level of antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the synovial fluid (SF) of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD).

Methods: Thirty-two patients were divided into 3 subgroups: anterior disc displacement with reduction, anterior disc displacement without reduction, and osteoarthrosis. Six healthy volunteers served as controls.

Eosinophilic granuloma of the jaws: an analysis of clinical and radiographic presentation.

Eosinophilic granuloma (EG) is the localized and mildest form of histiocytosis-X group of diseases. In this study, 22 patients of pathologically proven EG involving the jaws were retrospectively studied concerning the clinical and radiographic presentation. The clinical and radiographic presentation of the 22 cases was quite varied, and the accuracy of clinical and radiographic diagnosis was low.

Beneficial effects of melatonin in experimental models of Alzheimer disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive degenerative disorder, is characterized by the presence of amyloid deposits, neurofibrillary tangles and neuron loss. Emerging evidence indicates that antioxidants could be useful either for the prevention or treatment of AD. It has been shown that melatonin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger.

[The role of hypoxia on expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in synovial fibroblasts derived from human temporomandular joint].

Objective: To investigate the effects of hypoxia on expression of COX-2 in synovial fibroblasts derived from human TMJ and to analyze the biological role of COX-2 on TMJ disorders.

Methods: Synovial fibroblasts were induced by hypoxia, COX-2 expression was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. Moreover, cells were stimulated by hypoxia or celecoxib or both of them, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), matrix metalloproteinase 2, 9 (MMP-2, MMP-9) release was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or gelatin zymography.

Serum concentration of AMDL DR-70 for the diagnosis and prognosis of carcinoma of the tongue.

The aim of this study was to discover the clinical value of the tumour marker AMDL DR-70 in a group of patients with cancer of the tongue. Serum concentrations of AMDL DR-70 were estimated by enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay in 52 patients with carcinoma of the tongue and compared with 40 controls and 42 patients with benign lesions in the tongue. Thirty-nine patients with carcinoma of the tongue had results above 6 mg/L (75%), compared with 3/40 (7%) in healthy controls and 4/42 (10%) in those with benign tumours.

Preservation of disc for treatment of traumatic temporomandibular joint ankylosis.

Purpose: A new operating method was used to treat traumatic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis, to restore the structure of the TMJ, to improve the secondary maxillofacial deformity, and prevent recurrence of TMJ ankylosis.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-six patients (20 females, 16 males; aged 5 to 54 years old) with TMJ ankylosis type II or III of 1 to 16 years' duration, with a maximal mouth opening from 0 to 15 mm preoperatively participated. The new method was to separate bony fusion between condyle and glenoid fossa, remove the condylar fragment that displaced medially or anteroinferiorly, mobilize the remains of the disc over the condylar stump and suture it with articular capsule, and shave the surface of the condylar stump and glenoid fossa smooth.

[The value of endoscopy for the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive salivary gland diseases].

Objective: To evaluate the value of sialoendoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive sialadenitis (COS).

Methods: 25 patients (34 sides) who complained of recurrent swelling in the salivary gland region were selected for study from Jan. 2003 to Jun.

Anti-amnestic and anti-aging effects of ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1 and its mechanism of action.

In the present paper, we overview the discovery of new biological activities induced by ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1 and discuss possible mechanisms of action. Both compounds could increase neural plasticity in efficacy and structure; especially Rg1, as one small molecular drug, can increase proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells in dentate gyrus of hippocampus of normal adult mice and global ischemia model in gerbils. This finding has great value for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders which is characterized by neurons loss.

Long-term effects of melatonin or 17 beta-estradiol on improving spatial memory performance in cognitively impaired, ovariectomized adult rats.

Melatonin is an endogenously generated potent antioxidant. Our previous studies indicate that melatonin improved learning and memory deficits in APP695 transgenic mouse of Alzheimer's disease. An ovariectomized (OVX) rat model which is characterized by progressive memory deficits, central cholinergic nerve system degeneration and differentiation/apoptosis imbalance is the ideal in vivo model in which to test the neuroprotective effects of melatonin.

Melatonin alleviates behavioral deficits associated with apoptosis and cholinergic system dysfunction in the APP 695 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Melatonin is an endogenous antioxidant and free radical scavenger. A transgenic (Tg) mouse model for Alzheimer's disease mimics the accumulation of senile plaques, neuronal apoptosis and memory impairment. Previous studies indicated that melatonin reduced beta-amyloid (Abeta)-induced neurotoxicity.

Baroreflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity and spontaneous rhythms at Mayer wave's frequency in rats.

The effects of sedation with pentobarbital sodium (15 mg/kg followed by 15.9+/-1.2 mg/kg/h, i.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy in the management of obstructive hydrocephalus: an outcome analysis.

Object: The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the safety and efficacy of, and indications and outcome prognosis for endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in 58 patients with obstructive hydrocephalus.

Methods: Between September 1999 and April 2003, 58 ETVs were performed in 58 patients with obstructive hydrocephalus (36 male and 22 female patients) at the authors' institution. The ages of the patients ranged from 5 to 67 years (mean age 35 years) and the follow-up period ranged from 3 to 41 months (mean duration of follow up 24 months).

Steady-state and dynamic responses of renal sympathetic nerve activity to air-jet stress in sinoaortic denervated rats.

This study examined the role of arterial baroreceptors in mediating the relationship between changes in the mean level and the amplitude of slow oscillations of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) during environmental stress. In 7 sham-operated (control) and 7 chronically (2 weeks before study) sinoaortic baroreceptor denervated (SAD) conscious rats, arterial pressure (AP) and RSNA were simultaneously recorded during two 15-minute periods, before and during the application of a mild environmental stressor (jet of air). Air-jet stress induced a similar degree of sympathoexcitation in both groups of rats.

Comparison of developmental capacity for intra- and interspecies cloned cat (Felis catus) embryos.

Interspecies nuclear transfer is an invaluable tool for studying nucleus-cytoplasm interactions; and at the same time, it provides a possible alternative to clone animals whose oocytes are difficult to obtain. In the present study, we investigated the possibility of cloning cat embryos using rabbit oocytes, and compared the developmental capacity; the timing of embryogenesis of the cat-rabbit cloned embryos with that of the cat-cat or the rabbit-rabbit cloned embryos. When cultured in M199, the rate of blastocyst formation of the cat-rabbit embryos was 6.

The effects of different donor cells and passages on development of reconstructed embryos.

In order to study the effects of different donor cells and passages on development of nuclear transfer embryos, we constructed embryos by electrofusing several kinds of donor cells into enucleated M II oocytes from Kun Ming (KM) mouse. These cells include 2-cell embryonic blastomeres, KMW embryonic stem (ES) cells, fetal fibroblast, ear fibroblast, tail tip fibroblast, sertoil cells and spermatogonia. Meanwhile, we compared the effects of passage numbers of fetal fibroblast cells on developmental competency after nuclear transfer.

Dynamic interactions between arterial pressure and sympathetic nerve activity: role of arterial baroreceptors.

The role of arterial baroreceptors in controlling arterial pressure (AP) variability through changes in sympathetic nerve activity was examined in conscious rats. AP and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) were measured continuously during 1-h periods in freely behaving rats that had been subjected to sinoaortic baroreceptor denervation (SAD) or a sham operation 2 wk before study (n = 10 in each group). Fast Fourier transform analysis revealed that chronic SAD did not alter high-frequency (0.

Asynchronous cytoplast and karyoplast transplantation reveals that the cytoplasm determines the developmental fate of the nucleus in mouse oocytes.

The relationship between nucleus and cytoplasm can be well revealed by nuclear transplantation. Here, we have investigated the behavior changes of the reconstructed oocytes after transferring the karyoplasts from mouse GV, MI, and MII oocytes into the cytoplasts at the different developmental stages. When the GV cytoplast was used as recipient and MI or MII karyoplast was used as donor (MI-GV pair and MII-GV pair), the reconstructed pairs extruded a polar body after electrofusion and culture.

Development of mouse embryos derived from oocytes reconstructed by metaphase I spindle transfer.

Abnormal oocyte spindle is frequently associated with the infertility of aged women. Directly manipulating the metaphase I (MI) spindle may be a feasible method to overcome this kind of problem. Here, we report that the MI meiotic spindle can be removed from MI mouse oocytes and will autonomously divide into two daughter cells with the same size, morphology and an equal number of chromosomes after culture for 5 h in maturation medium.

Characterization of ribosomal S6 protein kinase p90rsk during meiotic maturation and fertilization in pig oocytes: mitogen-activated protein kinase-associated activation and localization.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) becomes activated during the meiotic maturation of pig oocytes, but its physiological substrate is unknown. The 90-kDa ribosome S6 protein kinase (p90rsk) is the best known MAPK substrate in Xenopus and mouse oocytes. The present study was designed to investigate the expression, phosphorylation, subcellular localization, and possible roles of p90rsk in porcine oocytes during meiotic maturation, fertilization, and parthenogenetic activation.