[Risk factors for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients who survived the Wenchuan earthquake].

Objective: To investigate the major risk factors for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the role of mental status in patients who survived the Wenchuan Earthquake.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 301 COPD patients from the earthquake and non-earthquake areas in Sichuan one month, three months and 12 months after the Wenchuan Earthquake.

Results: A total of 269 patients with COPD completed this study, which included 133 patients earthquake area and 136 from non-earthquake area.

Relationship between 6-minute walk test and pulmonary function test in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with different severities.

Background: The relationship between the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and pulmonary function test in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains unclear. We evaluate the correlation of 6MWT and spirometric parameters in stable COPD with different severities. 6MWT data assessed included three variables: the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), 6-minute walk work (6MWORK), and pulse oxygen desaturation rate (SPO(2)%).

Initial computed tomography findings of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in non-hematological patients.

Background: The computed tomography (CT) findings of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) are unclear in non-hematological patients. The present study was a retrospective evaluation of CT images in non-hematological patients with IPA.

Methods: All adult patients who met the 2008 European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) criteria for proven or probable IPA were included during a 5-year study at our institutions.

Validation of the Caprini risk assessment model in Chinese hospitalized patients with venous thromboembolism.

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs frequently in at-risk hospitalized patients, and prophylaxis of VTE is significantly underused. We sought to preliminarily assess the validity of Caprini risk assessment model, a famous individual VTE risk assessment model, in Chinese hospitalized patients with VTE.

Materials And Methods: We undertook a retrospective study combined with a follow-up study among 347 confirmed VTE patients from a Chinese hospital.

High-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of four dicaffeoylquinic acids in rat plasma.

A specific and reliable HPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of four dicaffeoylquinic acids (DCQA): 3,4-DCQA, 1,5-DCQA, 3,5-DCQA and 4,5-DCQA. The analytes were separated on a C₁₈ column (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.

Association between fibroblast growth factor 7 and the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aim: Fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7) is involved in a number of physiological and pathological processes, including lung disease. However, relatively little is known about the effect of FGF7 gene polymorphisms on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) susceptibility. This study aimed to investigate the association between FGF7 polymorphisms with COPD susceptibility in a Chinese Han population.

Preparative purification of peoniflorin and albiflorin from peony rhizome using macroporous resin and medium-pressure liquid chromatography.

Peoniflorin (PF) and albiflorin (AF) are two principal components of Paeonia species, which exhibit various biological activities such as improvement of blood circulation and immunoregulating function. To further utilization of waste parts of peony plants, an efficient method for preparative purification of these two ingredients from white peony rhizome was developed based on macroporous resin (MAR) and medium-pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). The separation characteristics of nine typical MARs were investigated by static adsorption/desorption experiments, and LX38 was revealed as optimal one.

miR-29 inhibits bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

Loss of microRNA-29 (miR-29) is known to be a mechanism of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-mediated pulmonary fibrosis, but the therapeutic implication of miR-29 for pulmonary fibrosis remains unexplored. The present study investigated whether miR-29 had therapeutic potential for lung disease induced by bleomycin in mice. In addition, the signaling mechanisms that regulated miR-29 expression were investigated in vivo and in vitro.

Long-term non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis.

Background: The evidence for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) used in patients with severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is insufficient. The aim of the meta-analysis was to assess the treatment effects of long-term NIPPV on gas change, lung function, health-related quality of life (HRQL), survival and mortality in severe stable COPD patients.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and crossover studies comparing the treatment effects of NIPPV with conventional therapy were identified from electronic databases and reference lists from January 1995 to August 2010.

Clinical applications of lung function tests: a revisit.

The development and clinical application of lung function tests have a long history, and the various components of lung function tests provide very important tools for the clinical evaluation of respiratory health and disease. Spirometry, measurement of the diffusion factor, bronchial provocation tests and forced oscillation techniques have found diverse clinical applications in the diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung diseases and asthma. However, there are some practical issues to be resolved, including the establishment of reference values for individual test parameters and the roles of these tests in preoperative risk assessment and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Association of gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Patients with various chronic respiratory diseases have a higher incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)-related symptoms, but the mechanisms of the relationship between GERD symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to explore the association of GERD symptoms with impaired pulmonary function and other factors in patients with COPD.

Methods: Patients with clinically stable COPD were consecutively recruited, and a pulmonary function test, visual analogue scale (VAS), and Reflux Diagnostic Questionnaire (RDQ) were administered.

The association of low bone mineral density with systemic inflammation in clinically stable COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is known to be a systemic inflammatory disease which affects the function of many organs, and the low bone mineral density (BMD) may be the result of systemic inflammation. The aim of the present study was to explore the association of BMD with systemic inflammation in patients with clinically stable COPD. BMD and inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were determined in all the recruited patients with clinically stable COPD.

Role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in cigarette smoke-induced mucus hypersecretion in a rat model.

Background: Airway mucus hypersecretion is an important pathophysiological feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is closely associated with cigarette smoking. However, the signal transduction pathway from the cell surface to the nucleus through which cigarette smoke causes upregulation of mucin gene expression is not well known. This study was designed to investigate the role of extracellular signal-regulated Kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) in airway mucus hypersecretion induced by cigarette smoke in rats.

[A multicentre retrospective study of pulmonary mycosis clinically proven from 1998 to 2007].

Objective: To investigate the pathogens, clinical manifestations, prognosis of and the risk factors for pulmonary mycosis in China.

Methods: All cases of pulmonary mycosis from 16 centers in 10 cities from Jan. 1998 to Dec.

[Attitudes and actions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients on treatment:a national multi-center investigative study].

Objective: To investigate the attitudes and actions of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on treatment.

Methods: A nation-wide multi-center, questionnaire study was carried out to investigate the patient understanding and experience of COPD treatment between Sep. 2007 and Dec.

Effects of formoterol-budesonide on airway remodeling in patients with moderate asthma.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of inhaled formoterol-budesonide on airway remodeling in adult patients with moderate asthma.

Methods: Thirty asthmatic patients and thirty control subjects were enrolled. Asthmatic subjects used inhaled Symbicort 4.

Doxycycline attenuates acrolein-induced mucin production, in part by inhibiting MMP-9.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), especially MMP-9, have been found to increase the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, a possible regulator of acrolein-induced mucin expression in the airway epithelium. The aim of this study was to investigate whether doxycycline, a tetracycline antibiotic that inhibits MMPs, attenuates mucus production and synthesis of mucin MUC5AC in acrolein-exposed rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to acrolein aerosol [3.

Greatest International ANtiinfective Trial (GIANT) with moxifloxacin in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis: subanalysis of Chinese data of a global, multicenter, noninterventional study.

Background And Objective: A single infective acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) has a sustained effect on health status. Although a number of clinical investigations have demonstrated the efficacy of antibiotics in AECB, increased bacterial resistance has caused concern about the efficacy of currently available antibiotic therapies. This subanalysis of a global noninterventional study aimed to evaluate the impact of AECB on the patient and the community and the effectiveness and safety of a treatment with moxifloxacin (MXF) tablets in daily life clinical practice in China.

C28 sterols with a cyclopentane ring at C-22 and 26 from cape gooseberry (berries of Physalis pubeacens L.).

Two new C28 sterols with a cyclopentane ring at C-22 and 26, alkesterol A (1) and alkesterol B (2), along with β-sitosterol (3), were isolated from the berries of Physalis pubeacens L. (cape gooseberry). The structures of the new compounds were established by HR-EI-MS, 1D and 2D (1H-1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC) NMR experiments.

Salmeterol/fluticasone treatment reduces circulating C-reactive protein level in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Evidence suggests that systemic inflammation may play an important role in the progression and morbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It remains controversial whether inhaled corticosteroid in combination with a long-acting beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonist can attenuate systemic inflammation. We evaluated the effect of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate on circulating C-reactive protein level in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

One new guaiane-type sesquiterpene glycoside from the fruits of Daucus carota L.

A new guaiane-type sesquiterpene glycoside, torilolone 8-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), together with a known analogue compound, torilolone 11-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), was isolated from the fruits of Daucus carota L. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of MS, NMR spectroscopic analyses coupled with chemical degradation. The cytotoxic activities of two isolated compounds were evaluated against two human gastric cancer cell lines BGC-823 and AGS using MTT assay.

Two new guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids from the fruits of Daucus carota L.

Two new guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids containing an interesting epoxy unit, daucuside (1) and daucusol (2) were isolated from the fruits of Daucus carota L. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of MS, NMR spectroscopic analyses coupled with chemical degradation and they were also evaluated for the cytotoxic effects against two human gastric cancer cell lines BGC-823 and AGS.

[A study on the haplotype of the solute carrier family 11 member 1 gene in Tibetan patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in China].

Objective: To investigate the association of the haplotype of the solute carrier family 11 member 1 (SLC11A1) gene with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Tibetans.

Methods: Four polymorphisms of the SLC11A1 gene [5' (GT)n, INT4, D53N, and 3' UTR] were investigated by denaturalization high performance liquid chromatography and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 140 patients (the patient group) and 139 PPD-positive healthy controls (the control group) of the Tibetan nationality from June 2004 until January 2005. The relationship between the haplotype and susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in these patients was studied by chi2 test, and the linkage disequilibrium as well as the haplotype were analyzed by the SHESIS software.