Astragalus membranaceus prevents daunorubicin-induced apoptosis of cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes: role of free radical effect of Astragalus membranaceus on daunorubicin cardiotoxicity.

Anthracyclines are antitumor antibiotics with significant activity against solid and hematologic malignancies. One problem preventing more widespread use has been the development of cardiotoxicity. To determine whether antioxidant agents can reduce the cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines, a herb Astragalus membranaceus was introduced, which has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China and was confirmed to be an effective antioxidant agent recently.

Trace determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in biological samples by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection.

In this study, a new capillary electrophoresis (CE) method is described originally for the sensitive and selective determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in biological samples. These amines were converted into their N-hydroxysuccinimidyl fluorescein-O-acetate (SIFA) derivatives and measured by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection. The derivatization conditions and separation parameters for the aliphatic amines were optimized in detail.

[Identification of a rare allele of FGA-13].

Objective: To identify a rare allele in the FGA locus in a Hainan Li ethnic family.

Methods: Short tandem repeat-PCR (STR-PCR) and DNA sequencing were used to detect the allele.

Results: A rare allele in the FGA locus was identified.

Phase II trial of low-dose gemcitabine in prolonged infusion and cisplatin for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of gemcitabine at a low dose of 250 mg/m(2) in 6h prolonged infusion with cisplatin in chemonaive patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Fifty-eight chemonaive patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC were included, 39 males and 19 females, with a median age 61 years (range 28-73). Thirty-four (58.

[Effect of daunorubicin and cytarabine on cell line NB4].

Objective: To explore whether daunorubicin (DNR) combined with cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and DNR alone have similar effect on acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4 and acute myeloblastic leukemia cell line HL-60 in vitro.

Methods: Cell morphology, cells viability, and cell apoptosis (Annexin-V by flow cytometry assay) were analysed.

Results: After incubation with DNR plus Ara-C for 24 hours,NB4 cell viability [(36.

A phase II trial of modified FOLFOX as first-line chemotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer.

The objective was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of leucovorin plus 5-fluorouracil combined with oxaliplatin (modified FOLFOX regimen) every 2 weeks on previously untreated advanced colorectal cancer patients in the Chinese population. Fifty-one inpatients were enrolled to receive 85 mg/m oxaliplatin intravenously over a 2- h period on day 1, together with 400 mg/m2 leucovorin over 2- h, followed by a 46-h infusion of 5-fluorouracil at 2600 mg/m2 every 2 weeks. Treatment was given until progression or unmanageable toxicity ensued.

Transport of a cancer chemopreventive polyphenol, resveratrol: interaction with serum albumin and hemoglobin.

Resveratrol is a natural phytoalexin with pharmacologic effects on several human diseases: carcinogenesis, coronary heart disease and neurodegenerative disease. Due to its poor water solubility, resveratrol must be bound to proteins to keep it at a high concentration in serum. In our work, the bindings of resveratrol to plasma proteins, human serum albumin (HSA) and hemoglobin (Hb), have been investigated systematically by fluorescence quenching technique, synchronous fluorescence, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and molecular modeling method.

[Screen of media for insect cells (HzAm1) growth and its adaptation to low serum culture].

Insect cell-baculovirus system is a useful tool for both insecticidal virus production and the expression of medically useful foreign genes. Serum-free culture or low serum culture for insect cells is essential and significant. Media for the growth of insect cells HzAm1 from three kinds of commercial media TC-100,GRACE and IPL-41 with 10% serum were investigated and screened.

[Effects of quercetin on morphology and VEGF secretion of leukemia cells NB4 in vitro].

Objective: To investigate the effects of quercetin on cell morphology and VEGF expression of acute myeloblastic leukemia cells NB4 in vitro.

Methods: The cytomorphology of NB4 cells was assessed by Wright-stain, apoptosis rate by apoptotic marker Annexin V, and VEGF secretion level by ELISA.

Results: Typical apoptosis was found in NB4 cells after treatment with quercetin.

Adaptive mutations in Salmonella typhimurium phenotypic of purR super-repression.

Under non-lethal selective conditions, a non-dividing or very slowly dividing microbial population gives rise to mutations that relieve selective pressures. This process is described as adaptive mutation. Salmonella typhimurium strain 5-28 has been used as a system for studying adaptive mutations in the chromosomal regulatory gene purR and its target, the purD operator.

[The effect of teeth brushing education on oral health of school children].

Purpose: To investigate the state of oral health of children after education of teeth-brushing.

Methods: The experimental group included 145 pupils in school after education of teeth-brushing for two years. The control group included the 147 pupils in school without education of teeth-brushing.

Airway epithelial cell tolerance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background: The respiratory tract epithelium is a critical environmental interface that regulates inflammation. In chronic infectious airway diseases, pathogens may permanently colonize normally sterile luminal environments. Host-pathogen interactions determine the intensity of inflammation and thus, rates of tissue injury.

Determination of electrical properties of ES cell-derived cardiomyocytes using MEAs.

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ES cells) provide a novel tool to study cardiomyogenesis under in vitro conditions. This overview article focuses on the technical properties of extracellular recordings of ES cell-derived cardiomyocytes using Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs). It reviews recent experimental observations, in an effort to describe basic characteristics of field potentials (FPs) in the ES cell model of developing myocardium.

Microelectrode arrays: a new tool to measure embryonic heart activity.

The analysis of the sequential excitation of cardiac tissue is of high relevance, both for clinical pathophysiological purposes, eg, detection of sustained ventricular arrhythmias, as well as for experimental electrophysiology. Clinically, different technical approaches such as single electrode measurements and bipolar mapping electrode catheters have been used. In experimental setups several techniques to record cardiac activity have been proposed.

The RODS Open Source Project: removing a barrier to syndromic surveillance.

The goal of the Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS) Open Source Project is to accelerate deployment of computer-based syndromic surveillance. To this end, the project has released the RODS software under the GNU General Public License and created an organizational structure to catalyze its development. This paper describes the design of the software, requested extensions, and the structure of the development effort.

Effects of chloride and potassium channel blockers on apoptotic cell shrinkage and apoptosis in cortical neurons.

K+ and Cl- homeostasis have been implicated in cell volume regulation and apoptosis. We addressed the hypothesis that K+ and Cl- efflux may contribute to apoptotic cell shrinkage and apoptotic death in cultured cortical neurons. CLC-2 and CLC-3 chloride channels were detected in cultured cortical neurons.

Effect of Q-switched Alexandrite laser irradiation on epidermal melanocytes in treatment of Nevus of Ota.

Objective: To investigate injury to epidermal melanocyte by Q-switched Alexandrite laser.

Methods: Multiple biopsies were performed on 5 patients with nevus of Ota from before irradiation to 1 year after irradiation. Fourteen specimens were obtained for light microscopy, and 17 for transmission electron microscopy.

Treatment of 522 patients with Nevus of Ota with Q-switched Alexandrite laser.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical response of Nevus of Ota to Q-switched Alexandrite laser, and analyze factors that influence the treatment outcome.

Methods: A total of 522 patients treated with Q-switched Alexandrite laser were included in the study. Single and multiple variate analyses of various factors were performed.

Selective magnocellular deficits in dyslexia: a "phantom contour" study.

A technique by Rogers-Ramachandran and Ramachandran [Vis. Res. 38 (1998) 71-77] was adapted to evaluate magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) visual processing efficiency, with identical task structure, in normal and dyslexic children.

Effects of red orpiment on cell morphology and expression of PML mRNA and protein in NB4 and HL-60 cells.

Objective: To investigate the effects of red orpiment on cell morphology, expression of promyelocytic leukemia (PML) mRNA and its protein localization in NB4 and HL-60 cell lines.

Methods: Cell morphology was assayed by Wright's staining and fluorescence staining, while PML mRNA expression was determined by RT-PCR. PML protein localization by evaluated by immunofluorescence staining.

[Effects of Red Orpiment on Cell Morphology and Expression of PML mRNA and Protein in NB4, and HL-60 Cells].

In this study the effects of red orpiment on NB4 and HL-60 cells were tried to determine. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR to determine the PML mRNA expression, immuno-fluorcscence study, together with the fluorescence stain and morphological observations were used. The results showed that: (1) red orpiment induces apoptosis morphologically in NB4 and HL-60 cells, the morphology of typical apoptosis can be seen in NB4 and HL-60 cells after 12 hours of treatment with red orpiment.

Cellular cardiomyoplasty improves survival after myocardial injury.

Background: Cellular cardiomyoplasty is discussed as an alternative therapeutic approach to heart failure. To date, however, the functional characteristics of the transplanted cells, their contribution to heart function, and most importantly, the potential therapeutic benefit of this treatment remain unclear.

Methods And Results: Murine ventricular cardiomyocytes (E12.

[Study of the effects of quercetin on PML gene and protein expression and localization in leukemia cells].

Objective: To investigate PML gene and protein expression and localization in leukemia cell lines.

Methods: Cell morphology was assayed by Wright and fluorescence stain, PML mRNA expression by RT-PCR, and PML protein localization by immunofluorescence.

Results: (1) Differentiation was observed by morphology in NB4 and HL-60 cells after treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) while K562 cells did not show.

Quantitation and functional characterization of neural cells derived from ES cells using nestin enhancer-mediated targeting in vitro.

To gain insight into early events of neurogenesis, transgenic embryonic stem (ES) cells were generated using the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) reporter gene under the regulatory control of the neural stem cell marker, nestin. The expression of EGFP in undifferentiated ES cells suggested that the onset of endogenous nestin occurred before neurulation. Upon differentiation of ES cells, the EGFP expression became confined to the neural lineage and asynchrony in ES-cell-derived neural differentiation was evident.