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Monosodium glutamate induces excitotoxicity in the central nervous system through hyperactivation of both ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors, which leads to neuronal cell death. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of naringenin on excitotoxicity induced by glutamate in primary hippocampal neurons of neonatal mice. The expression levels of apoptosis-inducing proteins and as well as ischemic factors were observed by Western blot analysis. Immunocytochemistry and morphometric analysis of hippocampal cells with or without glutamate and naringenin treatment were performed. We observed that naringenin regulated Erk1/2 and Akt phosphorylation and reduced the demise of dendrites due to glutamate exposure in cultured hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, naringenin induced the brain-derived neurotrophic factor and other neuroprotective cytokines, and markedly improved the survival rates of the neurons 24 h following glutamate exposure. The observed results suggest that the naturally occurring bioflavonoid (naringenin) exerts neuroprotective effects via highly specific molecular targets in neurons.

In 1979, in view of the widespread resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine in the island of Hainan, China, its use as an antimalarial was suspended throughout the island. A longitudinal survey of the chloroquine-sensitivity of P. falciparum was carried out over the period 1981-91 to investigate whether its resistance had changed from the 1979 level. In-vitro assays were carried out every 2-3 years, while in-vivo tests were performed annually over the period 1981-83 and also in 1991. Resistance to chloroquine declined progressively after its use had stopped. The in-vitro tests indicated that the rate of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum was 97.9% in 1981, but dropped to 60.9% in 1991 (P 6.4 pmol/[mu]l) of chloroquine for complete inhibition of schizont formation was 83.3% in 1981, but only 17.4% in 1991 (P P > 0.01)., The first case of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria was detected in Ya County, Hainan island, in 1974. Subsequently, a large-scale survey of the resistance of P. falciparum to chloroquine was [...]

The temperature acquisition system is an important system of an intelligent greenhouse, because the temperature determines the working of shutter system, fan system, fill light systems and so on. The accurate temperature acquisition system also determines the growth of plants. In order to accurately capture the greenhouse temperature, this paper designs a greenhouse multi-point acquisition system which includes a microcontroller based on an embedded microcontroller as a PC and the programmable resolution 1-Wire digital temperature DS18B20 sensor made by DALLAS. This multi-point temperature measurement system has characterized by high precision temperature acquisition, low cost, lower power consumption. In actual greenhouse promotion applications, high stability of the system can meet the actual greenhouse detect multi-point temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposed an improved handoff strategy with combination of channel reservation and preemptive priority for integrated real-time and non real-time service cellular mobile systems. Average transmission delay of non real-time service, blocking probability of real time service and forced termination probability of real-time service performances were analyzed. The simulation results show that the forced termination probability of real time service is significantly reduced with the strategy without sacrificing non real-time service QoS much. This strategy improves the channel utilization and provides better QoS for mobile users by adjusting the priority adaptively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normal tissues adjacent to the tumour (NAT) are widely used as controls in comparative studies to search for cancer-associated genes. However, the gene expression profiles between NAT and non-tumour-bearing tissues are different. The presence of NAT-specific expressed genes often hinders traditional transcriptional profiles studies. Further, studies on the differences in gene expression profiles between NAT and tumour-free tissues are infrequently performed. In this study, we sequenced and analysed the transcriptomes of tumour tissues (T), matched NAT and contralateral breast normal tissues (CBN) of 14 breast cancer patients, and identified 102 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CBN and NAT. Gene enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses revealed that these DEGs are significantly enriched in TNF (tumour necrosis factor) signalling and EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) gene sets closely associated with oncogenesis. Comparative analyses of the transcriptomic profiles between NAT and CBN, NAT and T identified 23 NAT-specific highly-expressed genes, namely tumour-adjacent speci?cally activated (TASA) genes. These genes were significantly enriched in TNF signalling gene set, and 15 of which have not been previously reported. The results indicate that TASA genes are common in adjacent tissues and are related to the TNF signalling in the immune system. The tumour-adjacent tissues harbour tumour-like expressed genes that could contribute to tumour initiation but are often missed in NAT-T pair-wise studies.

Biotransformation by the endophytes of certain plants changes various compounds, and this 'green' chemistry becomes increasingly important for finding new products with pharmacological activity. In this study, polyphyllin VII (PPL7) was biotransformed by endophytes from the medicinal plant Paris polyphylla Smith, var. yunnanensis. This produced a new compound, ZH-2, with pharmacological activity in vitro and in vivo. ZH-2 was more potent than PPL7 in selectively killing more chemoresistant than chemosensitive breast cancer cells. ZH-2 also re-sensitized chemoresistant breast cancer cells, as evidenced by the improved anti-cancer activity of commonly-used chemotherapeutic agent in vitro, in vivo, and in clinical samples. This anti-chemoresistance effect of ZH-2 was associated with inhibiting the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway. Taken together, our findings are the first one to link biotransformation with a biomedicine. The results provide insights into developing new pharmacologically-active agents via biotransformation by endophytes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The title compound, [Cu(3)(C(5)HN(2)O(4))(2)(C(12)H(8)N(2))(2)(H(2)O)(4)]·2H(2)O, is a trinuclear copper(II) complex in which two centrosymmetrically related pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxyl-ate(3-) and 1,10-phenanthroline ligands bind three Cu(II) atoms, with one Cu(II) atom located on a center of symmetry. In each complex, there are four coordinated water mol-ecules and two solvent water mol-ecules, which participate in extensive hydrogen-bond patterns. These inter-actions, as well as π-π inter-actions between neighbouring 1,10-phenanthroline ligands [shortest atom-to-atom distance = 3.363 (3) Å], extend the crystal structure into a three-dimensional supra-molecular network.

In the trinucler Cu(II) complex mol-ecule of the title compound, [Cu(3)(C(5)HN(2)O(4))(2)(H(2)O)(8)]·4H(2)O, the central Cu(II) atom is located on an inversion centre and is coordinated in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The equatorial sites are occupied by two N and two O atoms from two pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxyl-ate ligands and the axial positions are occupied by two water mol-ecules. The two other symmetry-related Cu(II) atoms are penta-coordinated and assume a square-pyramidal geometry. In the crystal structure, coordinated and uncoordinated water mol-ecules and carboxyl-ate O atoms are linked by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

The first appearance of lipid rafts, or lipid rafts-like structure, was occasionally observed by cryo-electronic microscopy in 1980s as cavity, such as caveolae. However, the fully understanding of lipid raft was attributed by the studies of T cell activation, virus entry/budding, and other membrane events. During the interaction of T cell and antigen presenting cell, a highly organized structure is formed at the interface of the two cells, where cholesterol and sphingolipids are enriched, and form a liquid ordered phase that facilitates the signaling proteins on and off. Lipid rafts are also involved in virus entry and assembly. In this review, we will discuss cholesterol-sphingolipid floating microdomain, the lipid raft as a unique compartment of the plasma membrane, with biological functions that ensure correct intracellular traffic of proteins and lipids, such as protein-protein interactions by concentrating certain proteins in these microdomains, while excluding others. We also discuss the disruption of lipid rafts is related to different diseases and aging, and we especially exploit the lipid rafts as pharmaceutical targets for anti-virus and anti-inflammation, particularly a new approach to control HIV infection for AIDS prevention and protection by inhibition or disruption of lipid rafts.

Objective: To establish an in vitro microtest for determining the sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to pyronaridine., Methods: Pyronaridine-coated plate and culture medium which is easy to use in the field were prepared. P. falciparum parasites from in vitro continuous passage culture (FCC1/HN) were used for experimental tests in the laboratory. When they were proved stable and reliable through repeated determinations, field trials were made in Hainan and Yunnan Provinces during the malaria transmission season with blood samples from clinical falciparum malaria cases. A 4-week in vivo test was carried out as a control., Results: The pyronaridine-coated plate and culture medium were proved to be stable. The effective period of pyronaridine-coated plate, the ampule sealed liquid culture medium and the bottled lyophilized culture medium, all stored at 4 degrees C was 6 months, 2 months and 2 years respectively. Through several years field determinations, the baseline data of pyronaridine-sensitivity of P. falciparum in the country were collected and the sensitivity of P. falciparum to pyronaridine was also revealed to have decreased gradually. The mean drug concentration for in vitro complete inhibition of schizont formation raised by 2-4 times although the clinical therapeutic efficacy of pyronaridine was still satisfactory at the present time., Conclusion: The developed in vitro microtest can be used for determination of the sensitivity of P. falciparum to pyronaridine, and it is more convenient and sensitive than the 4-week in vivo method.

Objective: To explore the approach to accurately judge the degree of rotational deformity in femur shaft fracture., Methods: 110 patients with femur shaft fracture were divided into 3 groups: Group A (n = 62) with the distal end of the fractured femur at the traumatic side at neutral position so as to fix the fracture, Group B (n = 27), with both the distal and proximal ends of the fractured femur at the neutral position so as to fix the femur at an antiversion angle of 15 degrees d, and Group C (n = 21), with the degree of antiversion angle to be controlled to that on the intact side. X ray examination and CT scanning were conducted 3 days after intramedullary nailing to measure the degree of the antiversion angle on both sides. The difference between the degrees of antiversion angle at the 2 sides was considered the rotational deformity of the femur shaft after the nailing. The antiversion angles of the femurs at both sides of 11 healthy persons were measured as controls., Results: The biggest value of antiversion angle was 26 degrees , the smallest value was 8 degrees , the average value at the left side was 12.8 degrees , and the average value at the right side was 12.45, and the biggest difference between the 2 side was 7 degrees in the control group. The average antiversion angle of the femur was 14.67 degrees , the biggest value was 51 degrees , and the smallest value was -24 degrees at the traumatic side; and the average antiversion angle of the femur was 14.27 degrees , the biggest value was 40 degrees , and the smallest value was -23 degrees at the intact side in the treatment groups. 53% and 52% of the patients in Groups A and B showed a rotational deformity < 10 degrees , and 9% and 11% of them showed a rotational deformity > 20 degrees , significantly different from those in the control group (all P < 0.05). The rotational deformity was < 10 degrees in all patients of Group C, not significantly different from that of the control group (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Clinically about half of the femur shaft fractures are fixed in the position of rotational deformity > 10 degrees after nailing. The rotational deformity of femur shaft fracture should be prevented by comparing the antiversion angle on the intact side so as to achieve more reliable adequate reduction.

Objective: To evaluate the point mutations in Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes in Plasmodium falciparum isolated from Hainan Province., Methods: Nested polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to detect the point mutations at codon 76 of Pfcrt and at codon 86, 1246 of Pfmdr1 in P. falciparum isolates. Chloroquine resistance was measured by the in vitro microtest recommended by WHO., Results: In 36 samples tested, 28 were successfully amplified for Pfcrt, 64.3% of them carried mutant allele at codon 76, 21.4% with wild allele K76 and 14.3% with mixed allele mutation. While for Pfmdr1, 3.4% isolates displayed the 86Y mutation, 89.7% with wild allele N86 and 6.9% with the mixed alleles in 29 isolates which were amplified successfully for N86Y. No point mutation in Pfmdr1 at codon 1246 was found in 13 isolates from the total 36 samples. By the in vitro test, 72.2% (26/36) showed resistance to chloroquine. The 76T and 86Y mutant alleles were present in both in vitro susceptible and resistant isolates. There was a significant difference between susceptible and resistant isolates carrying 76T mutant codon (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in Pfmdr1 (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: There is a significant difference of the 76T prevalence in Pfcrt gene between the susceptible isolate and resistant one of P. falciparum to chloroquine in vitro. The Pfcrt 76T may be used as a predictive marker for chloroquine resistance surveillance.

Objective: To investigate whether chloroquine-resistance of Plasmodium falciparum had changed after stopping or reducing the use of chloroquine as an antimalarial in Hainan and Yunnan provinces., Methods: WHO standard in vitro microtest and 4-week in vivo test were used, assays were carried out in different time after stopping or reducing the use of chloroquine., Results: In vitro test in Hainan indicated that the rate of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum was 97.9% in 1981, and dropped to 26.7% in 1997 (P<0.01). The mean concentration of chloroquine for complete inhibition of schizont formation was 10.46 +/- 7.14 pmol/microl blood in 1981, decreased to 1.63 +/- 1.47 pmol/microl blood in 1997 (P<0.01). The proportion of samples taken from malaria cases that required high concentration (>6.4 pmol/microl blood) of chloroquine for complete inhibition of schizont formation was 83.3% in 1981 and only 6.7% in 1997 (P<0.01). In the 4-week in vivo test, the rate of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum decreased from 84.2% in 1981 to 18.4% in 1997 (P<0.01). RIII cases accounted for 53.1% of the total resistant cases in 1981, and for 14.3% in 1997 (P<0.01). In vitro test in Yunnan revealed that the rate of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum, the mean concentration of chloroquine for complete inhibition of schizont formation and the proportion of samples taken from malaria cases that required >6.4 pmol/microl blood of chloroquine for complete inhibition of schizont formation were 97.4%, 17.2 +/- 12.6 pmol/microl blood and 58.9% in 1981 respectively, and dropped to 70.4% (P< 0.01), 4.0 +/- 3.3 pmol/microl blood (P<0.01) and 16.6% (P<0.01) in 2002 respectively., Conclusion: The resistance of P. falciparum to chloroquine declined progressively after its use had been stopped or reduced in Hainan and Yunnan provinces.

Objective: To investigate on the expression of some cytokines and other immunity makers right after the operation, the effect of femoral nailing on systemic immunity and sought to differentiate any differences between reamed and unreamed IMN., Methods: Fifty-nine patients presenting with acute femoral fractured including 55 male and 4 female, 32.1 years old on average, are divided into 2 group depend on ISS. All patients were treated by close reduction and intramedullary nail for fixation. In group 1, 23 reamed and 23 unreamed; in group 2, 7 reamed and 6 unreamed. Venous blood samples were taken at 24 hr pre-operationally, and 1 hr, 24 hr, 48 hr post operationally. Serum TNF, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CRP was measured by protein assay apparatus. We also collected venous samples from 22 healthy uninjured volunteers, which formed control group., Results: All immune marks were elevated post operation, for IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, this elevation began at 1 hr after operation, reached to the peak at 24 hr, and then down but never to the normal at 48 hr. For TNF and CRP, the level were raised at 24 hr, and then fallen at 48 hr. All mediators were raised significantly above the control group (< 0.05). Between reamed and unreamed patients both in group 1 and group 2, Although there was a trend towards higher levels of TNF, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and CRP in RFN than in the URFN, no significant difference was found except that there was a greater release of serum IL-10 in RFN than in URFN at 24 hr post operation (P = 0.047). Two patients have become SIRS, but the markers have shown no significant difference with those that have no SIRS symptoms., Conclusions: To the patient not injured severely, using IMN for treatment will make the inflammatory mediators re-released on higher level than normal, which will be balanced by immunity itself soon, so IMN won't make any damage severely. And no significant difference were found between reamed and unreamed nail. But the changing of IL-10 show us that after IMN, especially the reamed nailing, the level of anti-inflammatory mediators will show the difference more apparently between RFN and URFN while the patient got injured more severely. Under this condition, the RFN will aggravate the restrain of immunity.

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and the effect of surgical therapy for shotgun injuries of the sciatic nerve., Methods: From 1996 to 2000, 19 sciatic nerve injuries resulted from shotgun were observed. Among 19 cases of shotgun sciatic nerve wounds, the gluteal wound was in 2 cases, thigh wound in 15 cases, and knee wound in 2 cases. The firing distance was between 0.5-9 m. According to Shermen classification of shotgun injury, 4 cases belonged to type I injury, 11 cases type II, 4 cases type III. The time from injury to admission was between 2 months-14 months except 1 patient who underwent emergency operation 4 hours after injury, and 1 patient was treated with debridement and epineurial neurorrhaphy, 7 cases with nerve trunk grafting, 6 cases with nerve cable grafting, 4 cases with neurolysis, 1 case with arthrodesis of ankle., Results: Nineteen cases were followed-up for 0.8-3.5 years (mean, 19 months). The excellent and good nerve functional recovery was found in 52.6% according to MCRR., Conclusions: Shotgun injuries of the sciatic nerve are very severe and complicated, and injuries in most patients were usually complicated by open fracture, vascular injury, soft-tissue loss and infection; the character of nerve injury was classified as 4-5 degree according to Sunderland Standard, nerve transfer is effective in the treatment of shotgun injuries of the sciatic nerve, but outcome is poor; the recovery of the sciatic nerve should be observed continually after injury; selecting correct initial treatment after injury, strict minimally invasive surgical procedure, physical therapy and reasonable preoperative and postoperative medication can improve the surgical results.

Objective: To explore factors influencing the results of in vitro microtest for drug sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf)., Methods: Handy media, microplates predisposed with antimalarial drug, cultured Pf parasites (FCC-1/HN isolate) and blood samples from patients were used to evaluate the factors influencing the in vitro determination of drug sensitivity of Pf., Results: Liquid medium and lyophilized medium stored at 4 degrees C for 2 months and 1 year respectively could keep their effect unchanged. The effect of the drug-coated plates was not changed within the following period of storage: plates coated with chloroquine and piperaquine stored at 4 degrees C for 2 years and 6 months respectively; plates coated with pyronaridine and artesunate stored at 4 degrees C for 3 months. The adhesive paper of the sealed plate could be unsealed once only. The plastic plate must be harmless to the growing of parasites. The drug liquid should not be stored over 2 wk at 4 degrees C; otherwise the drug concentration was changed. Parasites tested were at synchronous ring stage, with a density of 1,000-80,000/microliter blood, stored at room temperature for 1 h, and at 4 degrees C for 48 h. Operation needed to follow strictly the standard technical procedure., Conclusion: Drug plates, media, adhesive paper, parasites and operation technique can affect the result of in vitro microtest for drug sensitivity of P. falciparum. Standardized materials and operational procedure should be used to guarantee a reliable result of the test.

Objective: To provide a combined medication scheme for the treatment of multi-drug resistant falciparum malaria., Methods: Combined administration of dihydroartemisinin and pyronaridine was given to the 32 cases of falciparum malaria cases with multi-drug resistance. The indices for evaluation on day 14, 21, and 28 after treatment included the mean fever subsidence time, mean asexual form clearance time, mean recrudescence time of asexual form and recrudescence rate, proportion of gametocyte carriers, mean density of gametocytes and its mean clearance time, cure rate and rate of side-effects. A double blind clinical test was performed with standard schemes of dihydroartemisinin (20 cases) and pyronaridine (25 cases) as control., Results: The mean fever subsidence time of treated patients by dihydroartemisinin/pyronaridine combination, dihydroartemisinin and pyronaridine was 35.7 +/- 24.7 h, 52.6 +/- 38.9 h and 35.8 +/- 16.5 h respectively, showing a significant difference between the combination group and dihydroartemisinin groups (P < 0.01). The mean asexual form clearance time was 23.8 +/- 10.1 h, 22.9 +/- 6.5 h and 49.4 +/- 20.3 h respectively, showing significantly faster in the combination group than the pyronaridine group (P < 0.01). The recrudescence rate was 0, 4.2% and 0 respectively. The proportion of gametocyte carriers was 20.0%, 16.7% and 60.9% respectively, with a significantly higher rate in the group of pyronaridine than the group of combination (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: The combination of dihydroartemsinin and pyronaridine is an ideal medication scheme for the treatment of falciparum malaria cases with multi-drug resistance.