Clinical responses to focused ultrasound applied to women with vulval intraepithelial neoplasia.

Objectives: Focused ultrasound waves penetrate superficial tissues and are aimed toward the target tissues at specific depths to exert their biological effects. Focused ultrasound has been applied for a number of clinical indications, including vulval dystrophies and low-grade vulval disease. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of focused ultrasound treatment of high-grade vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN).

The effects of sesquiterpenes-rich extract of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. on amyloid-β-induced cognitive impairment and neuronal abnormalities in the cortex and hippocampus of mice.

As a kind of medicine which can also be used as food, Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. has a long clinical history in China. A variety of studies demonstrated the significant neuroprotective activity effects of chloroform (CF) extract from the fruits of Alpinia oxyphylla.

Determination and pharmacokinetics of linarin in rat plasma after intramuscular administration of linarin solution and Yejuhua injection by HPLC.

A simple and sensitive HPLC method was developed and validated for the determination of linarin in rat plasma. Plasma samples were carried out by protein precipitation with acetonitrile and separated on a Shim-pack VP-ODS analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm).

Jujuboside A, a neuroprotective agent from semen Ziziphi Spinosae ameliorates behavioral disorders of the dementia mouse model induced by Aβ 1-42.

Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (SZS) has been used as a hypnotic-sedative medicine for thousands of years. Recently, SZS has also shown notable neuroprotective activities via anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects in dementia animals. Jujuboside A (JuA), isolated from SZS, has been proved to be a major hypnotic-sedative component of SZS.

Expression of Urotensin II During Focal Cerebral Ischemic in Diabetic Rats.

Background: The objective of this study was to explore the expression of urotensin II (UII), its receptor (GPR14), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), as well as their associations in the ischaemic brains of rats with focal cerebral ischaemia, under normal and diabetic conditions.

Methods: Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced by injection of streptozotocin (STZ) into Sprague - Dawley rats. Focal cerebral ischaemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) four weeks after DM onset by STZ.

Schisantherin A recovers Aβ-induced neurodegeneration with cognitive decline in mice.

Schisantherin A (STA) is a main bioactive lignan isolated from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., which has been widely used as a tonic in traditional Chinese medicine for many years.

α5 Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor mediates nicotine-induced HIF-1α and VEGF expression in non-small cell lung cancer.

By binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), nicotine induces the proliferation and apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Previous studies have indicated that α5-nAChR is highly associated with lung cancer risk and nicotine dependence. However, the mechanisms through which α5-nAChRs may influence lung carcinogenesis are far from clear.

Gomisin N isolated from Schisandra chinensis augments pentobarbital-induced sleep behaviors through the modification of the serotonergic and GABAergic system.

The fruits of Schisandra chinensis have been used for the treatment of insomnia in oriental countries for more than thousands of years. However, the pharmacological properties and the mechanism of sedative and hypnotic effects have not yet been studied. Gomisin N is one of the major bioactive constituents from the fruits of Schisandra chinensis, and in this paper we reported a detailed study on the effects and mechanisms of Gomisin N on its sedative and hypnotic activity for the first time.

Detection of hTERC and c-MYC genes in cervical epithelial exfoliated cells for cervical cancer screening.

Cervical cancer is the principal cause of mortality due to cancer in women worldwide. New predictive markers may increase survival rates by improving the treatment of patients at a high risk for cancer. This study was carried out to investigate the amplification of human telomerase RNA component (hTERC) or/and c-MYC in cervical epithelial exfoliated cells for cervical carcinoma screening.

Facile directed assembly of hollow polymer nanocapsules within spontaneously formed catanionic surfactant vesicles.

Surfactant vesicles containing monomers in the interior of the bilayer were used to template hollow polymer nanocapsules. This study investigated the formation of surfactant/monomer assemblies by two loading methods, concurrent loading and diffusion loading. The assembly process and the resulting aggregates were investigated with dynamic light scattering, small angle neutron scattering, and small-angle X-ray scattering.

Determination of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters and their metabolites in rat brain samples by UFLC-MS/MS for the study of the sedative-hypnotic effects observed during treatment with S. chinensis.

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. has been used as a sedative and hypnotic agent in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.

Rapid analysis of neurotransmitters in rat brain using ultra-fast liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry: application to a comparative study in normal and insomnic rats.

Neurotransmitters and their metabolites in central nervous system were known to play a significant role in sedation and hypnosis. A rapid and sensitive UFLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA), tryptophan (Try), dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid (Glu) and acetylcholine (Ach) in rat brain without derivatization, ion-pairing reagent or pre-concentration was developed. Analytes and IS were separated on a Inertsil ODS-EP column (150 mm × 4.

Intracranial pressure variability predicts short-term outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage: a retrospective study.

Introduction: Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is generally observed in brain injury and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients and is consistently associated with poor neurological outcome. Intracranial pressure variability (IPV) is a better predictor of long-term neurological outcome than mean ICP in traumatic brain injury patients. However, whether IPV regulates functional outcome in ICH patients has not been investigated.

Increase in ACC oxidase levels and activities during paradormancy release of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) buds.

The plant hormone ethylene is known to affect various developmental processes including dormancy and growth. Yet, little information is available about the role of ethylene during paradormancy release in underground adventitious buds of leafy spurge. In this study, we examined changes in ethylene evolution and the ethylene biosynthetic enzyme ACC oxidase following paradormancy release (growth induction).

UFLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of six lignans of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. in normal and insomniac rats brain microdialysates and homogenate samples: towards an in-depth study for its sedative-hypnotic activity.

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., a traditional Chinese medicine, has been clinically used for the treatment of insomnia for centuries.

Development of a UFLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of six lignans of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. in rat plasma and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and insomnic rats.

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used for treating insomnia for centuries.

Study on changes of polyamine levels in mice with the development of U14 cervical cancer.

This study was performed to investigate the possible involvement of polyamines in the development of cervical cancer. The objective of the present study was therefore to find the specific polyamine indicators, which could be used as useful markers for the early determination of cervical cancer. A simple method for the simultaneous determination of plasma concentrations of five polyamines in normal and U14 model mice was developed by using HPLC-MS.

cDNA cloning of a snake venom metalloproteinase from the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), and the expression of its disintegrin domain with anti-platelet effects.

A 5' truncated snake venom metalloproteinase was identified from a cDNA library constructed from venom glands of an eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). The 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) was used to obtain the 1865 bp full-length cDNA sequence of a snake venom metalloproteinase (CamVMPII). CamVMPII encodes an open reading frame of 488 amino acids, which includes a signal peptide, a pro-domain, a metalloproteinase domain, a spacer, and an RGD-disintegrin domain.

Mapping B-cell linear epitopes of NS3 protein of bovine viral diarrhea virus.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a member of the genus Pestivirus within the family Flaviviridae. NS3 is one of the immunodominance regions of the BVDV viral proteins. To identify the potential B-cell linear antigenic epitopes within BVDV NS3 region, serial overlapping truncations covering the whole region were expressed and purified, and screened by multistep of Western-blot.

Focused ultrasound therapy for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia in a mice model.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and safety of focused ultrasound (FU) for the treatment of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) in a mice model.

Methods: Estradiol benzoate was subcutaneously injected into the abdomens of eighty 129/J mice. VIN was successfully induced in 56 mice and was divided into the FU group and the control group.

Pulmonary adenofibroma in a middle-aged man: report of a case.

We report a case of pulmonary adenofibroma, a rare benign soft-tissue tumor characterized by a combination of glandular and spindle stromal elements, in a 55-year-old man. This case is interesting because of the unusual X-ray and computed tomography (CT) imaging findings of a well-defined, subpleural soft-tissue nodule in the inferior lobe of the left lung, which showed no enhancement after contrast scan. The tumor was resected completely via video-assisted thoracoscopy.

Determination of the membrane topology of lemur tyrosine kinase 2 (LMTK2) by fluorescence protease protection.

Lemur tyrosine kinase 2 (LMTK2) is a novel membrane-anchored kinase reported to be involved in several normal and pathophysiological conditions, including endosomal membrane recycling, prostate cancer, and neurodegeneration. In this study, we have investigated the topology and orientation of LMTK2 within cellular membranes utilizing fluorescence protease protection. Appending the green fluorescent protein to either the amino or carboxyl terminus of LMTK2, we were able to determine which side of intracellular membrane these regions were located.

Determination of polyamines in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-TOF mass spectrometry.

A high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC/Q-TOF MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of 1, 3-diaminopropane, putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine and spermine in human plasma. The plasma samples were first pretreated by 10% HClO(4) and then derived by benzoyl chloride with 1, 6-diaminohexane as internal standard. The derived polyamines were separated on a C(18) column using a gradient program.

A UFLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantitation of spinosin, mangiferin and ferulic acid in rat plasma: application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and insomnic rats.

Suan-Zao-Ren (SZR) decoction, consisting of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen, Poria, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma and Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma, is a Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription, clinically used for the treatment of insomnia. The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive and reliable UFLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantitation of spinosin, mangiferin and ferulic acid, the main active ingredients in SZR decoction, and to compare the pharmacokinetics of these active ingredients in normal and insomnic rats orally administrated with the prescription. Analytes and IS were separated on a Shim-pack XR-ODS column (75 mm × 3.

Complete genome sequence of a bovine viral diarrhea virus 2 from commercial fetal bovine serum.

We isolated a bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) from commercial fetal bovine serum and designated it HLJ-10. The complete genome is 12,284 nucleotides (nt); the open reading frame is 11,694 nt, coding 3,898 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that this strain belongs to BVDV group 2.