A derivative of trihydroxynaphthalenone and a pyrone metabolite from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces purpurpgenus.

A newly discovered trihydroxynaphthalenone derivative, epoxynaphthalenone (1) involving the condensation of ortho-hydroxyl groups into an epoxy structure, and a novel pyrone metabolite characterized as pyroneaceacid (2), were extracted from Talaromyces purpurpgenus, an endophytic fungus residing in Rhododendron molle. The structures of these compounds were elucidated through a comprehensive analysis of their NMR and HRESIMS data. The determination of absolute configurations was accomplished using electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and CD spectra. Notably, these recently identified metabolites exhibited a moderate inhibitory activity against xanthine oxidase (XOD).

[Autosomal dominant mental retardation type 5 caused by SYNGAP1 gene mutations: a report of 8 cases and literature review]. / SYNGAP1åŸºå› å˜å¼‚ç›¸å ³å¸¸æŸ“è‰²ä½“æ˜¾æ€§æ™ºåŠ›éšœç¢5型8ä¾‹å¹¶æ–‡çŒ®å¤ä¹ .

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of children with autosomal dominant mental retardation type 5 caused by SYNGAP1 gene mutations. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 8 children with autosomal dominant mental retardation type 5 caused by SYNGAP1 gene mutations who were diagnosed and treated in the Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. RESULTS: The mean age of onset was 9 months for the 8 children. All children had moderate-to-severe developmental delay (especially delayed language development), among whom 7 children also had seizures. Among these 8 children, 7 had novel heterozygous mutations (3 with frameshift mutations, 2 with nonsense mutations, and 2 with missense mutations) and 1 had 6p21.3 microdeletion. According to the literature review, there were 48 Chinese children with mental retardation caused by SYNGAP1 gene mutations (including the children in this study), among whom 40 had seizures, and the mean age of onset of seizures was 31.4 months. Frameshift mutations (15/48, 31%) and nonsense mutations (19/48, 40%) were relatively common in these children. In terms of treatment, among the 33 children with a history of epileptic medication, 28 (28/33, 85%) showed response to valproic acid antiepileptic treatment and 16 (16/33, 48%) achieved complete seizure control after valproic acid monotherapy or combined therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Children with autosomal dominant mental retardation type 5 caused by SYNGAP1 gene mutations tend to have an early age of onset, and most of them are accompanied by seizures. These children mainly have frameshift and nonsense mutations. Valproic acid is effective for the treatment of seizures in most children.

Rh(III)-Catalyzed One-Pot Three-Component Diannulation of Benzils, Ammonium Acetate, and Alkynes to Build 1,1'-Biisoquinolines.

An efficient one-pot synthesis of 1,1'-biisoquinolines by a three-component reaction of commercially available raw materials (benzils, NH4OAc, and alkynes) is disclosed. This complicated reaction involves in situ diimine formation via benzil-NH4OAc condensation, Rh(III)-catalyzed 2-fold imine-directed C-H activation, and annulation with alkynes. Both symmetric and unsymmetric 1,1'-biisoquinolines could be assembled in moderate to high yields. The reaction mechanism is supported through ESI-MS, in which Cp*ClRh+, Cp*(OAc)Rh+, Cp*(OPiv)Rh+, and two rhodacycle intermediates are successfully detected to explain the evolution of rhodium species.

Wideband signal detection in multipath environment affected by impulsive noise.

Detecting the presence or absence of a known signal is an important aspect of underwater acoustic (UWA) communications as it is a vital first step to process the received data. The influence of impulsive noise and multipath propagation on detection are both considered in this paper. Many robust detectors have been designed to cope with impulsive noise, but they tend to ignore the impact of multipath propagation, which may decrease the detection probability. To emphasize the role of multipath channel, we propose two-stage detection methods. In the first stage, the channel is estimated based on robust orthogonal matching pursuit, while in the second stage, detectors that use the channel estimation from the first stage, namely augmented log-likelihood ratio detector and augmented pseudo-correlation detector, are developed. The former detector is parametric and the latter one is non-parametric. The improved performance is demonstrated in simulated multipath channel and actual UWA channel with both simulated noise and recorded snapping shrimp noise, indicating that the proposed detectors are resistant to impulsive noise. It is also shown that the use of multipath information helps to improve the detection performance.

Iterative channel estimation-based soft successive interference cancellation for multiuser underwater acoustic communications.

This paper presents a single-carrier multiuser receiver in underwater acoustic communications with strong multiple access interference (MAI) combining passive time-reversal (PTR) and direct-adaptation-based turbo equalization. The receiver works in an iterative block by block manner. In the first iteration, when the symbols of all users are detected by successive interference cancellation (SIC) in the block, the channel impulse response (CIR) of each user is then updated by post-SIC signal to achieve more accurate MAI reconstruction and PTR combination for the next block. In the following iterations, the a priori mean of symbol in the current block is available and used to further improve the accuracy of reconstructed MAI and the updated CIR. The proposed receiver is demonstrated using experimental data collected at Songhua Lake, China, in 2019. The results show that single-carrier nine-user communication data with quadrature phase-shift keying can be successfully recovered, with an average data rate of 1.67 kbps for each user.

Group sparse underwater acoustic channel estimation with impulsive noise: Simulation results based on Arctic ice cracking noise.

Many underwater acoustic (UWA) channels exhibit impulsive noise, thereby severely degrading the performance of traditional channel estimation algorithms. This paper presents two channel estimation algorithms for impulsive noise, namely (i) the variable forgetting factor l1,0 recursive least sign algorithm (VFF-l1,0-RLSA) and (ii) the variable forgetting factor l2,0 recursive least sign algorithm (VFF-l2,0-RLSA), both of which exploit the group sparse multipath structure and maintain robustness under impulsive noise. By using the l1 norm of the estimation error as part of the cost function, RLSAs are better at detecting and rejecting impulsive noise than the recursive least squares algorithms. A mixed l1,0 or l2,0 norm is incorporated with a RLSA to achieve better performance in group sparse UWA channel estimation. The time-varying forgetting factor and regularization parameter in the two proposed algorithms help to improve their performance. Simulation results based on Arctic ice cracking noise demonstrate the robustness and superiority of the two proposed algorithms.

Cerebral arterial blood flow, attention, and executive and cognitive functions in depressed patients after acute hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Intracerebral hemorrhage mainly occurs in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertension, and surgery is currently the main treatment for hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage, but the bleeding caused by surgery will cause damage to the patient's nerve cells, resulting in cognitive and motor dysfunction, resulting in a decline in the patient's quality of life. AIM: To investigate associations between cerebral arterial blood flow and executive and cognitive functions in depressed patients after acute hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with depression after acute hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage who were admitted to our hospital between January 2019 and July 2021 were selected as the observation group, while 100 patients without depression who had acute hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage were selected as the control group. The attention span of the patients was assessed using the Paddle Pin Test while executive function was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24) was used to evaluate the severity of depression of involved patients. Cerebral arterial blood flow was measured in both groups. RESULTS: The MoCA score, net scores I, II, III, IV, and the total net score of the scratch test in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Concurrently, the total number of responses, number of incorrect responses, number of persistent errors, and number of completed responses of the first classification in the WCST test were significantly higher in the observation group than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Blood flow in the basilar artery, left middle cerebral artery, right middle cerebral artery, left anterior cerebral artery, and right anterior cerebral artery was significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The basilar artery, left middle cerebral artery, right middle cerebral artery, left anterior cerebral artery, and right anterior cerebral artery were positively correlated with the net and total net scores of each part of the Paddle Pin test and the MoCA score (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with each part of the WCST test (P < 0.05). In the observation group, the post-treatment improvement was more prominent in the Paddle Pin test, WCST test, HAMD-24 score, and MoCA score compared with those in the pre-treatment period (P < 0.05). Blood flow in the basilar artery, left middle cerebral artery, right middle cerebral artery, left anterior cerebral artery, and right anterior cerebral artery significantly improved in the observation group after treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Impaired attention, and executive and cognitive functions are correlated with cerebral artery blood flow in patients with depression after acute hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage and warrant further study.

Talarmalnoids A-F: Fusicoccane diterpenoids from an arthropod-derived endophytic fungus Talaromyces malicola.

The metabolites from the endophytic fungus Talaromyces malicola hosted in the gastrointestinal tract of the arthropods Armadillidium vulgare were investigated, and six undescribed fusicoccane diterpenoids, talarmalnoids A-F (1-6), along with three known analogs were isolated. Talarmalnoid C (3) was an unprecedented fusicoccane diterpenoid with two sugar units, i.e., 6-O-methyl-α-d-glucose and α-d-glucose. Talarmalnoids D and E (4 and 5) were fusicoccane-type diterpenoids with unusual seven-membered rings attached at the C-3' and C-4' positions. Their structures and absolute configurations were identified by NMR, HRESIMS analyses, X-ray single crystal diffraction, GC-MS, ECD analyses, 13C NMR calculations, and DP4+ probability analyses. Bioassay results showed that talarmalnoid B (2) exhibited significant inhibitory activities against the LPS-inducted production of NO in RAW 264.7 cells, with IC50 value of 0.83 µM.

Polystyrene microplastics alleviate the developmental toxicity of silver nanoparticles in embryo-larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) at the transcriptomic level.

Since silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and polystyrene microplastics (PS-MP) share common environmental niches, their interactions can modulate their hazard impacts. Herein, we assessed the developmental toxicity of 1 mg/L PS-MP, 0.5 mg/L AgNPs and the mixtures of AgNPs and PS-MP on embryo-larval zebrafish. We found that AgNPs co-exposure with PS-MP remarkably decreased mortality rates, malformation rates, heart rates and yolk sac area, while it increased hatching rates and eye size compared to the AgNPs group. These phenomena revealed that the cell cycle, oxidative stress, apoptosis, lipid metabolism, ferroptosis and p53 signalling pathway were obviously affected by single AgNPs exposure at 96 hpf (hours post fertilization). Interestingly, all these effects were effectively ameliorated by co-exposure with PS-MP. The combination of transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses showed that the imbalance of DEGs (differentially expressed genes) and DEMs (differentially expressed metabolites) (PI, phosphatidylinositol and TAG-FA, triacylglycerol-fatty acid) disturbed both the cell cycle and lipid metabolism following single AgNPs exposure and co-exposure with PS-MP. These findings suggest that PS-MP attenuates the developmental toxicity of AgNPs on embryo-larval zebrafish. Overall, this study provides important insight into understanding the transcriptional responses and mechanisms of AgNPs alone or in combination with PS-MPs on embryo-larval zebrafish, providing a reference for ecological risk assessment of combined exposure to PS-MP and metal nanoparticles.

The temporal characterization of marrow lipids and adipocytes in a rabbit model of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the temporal changes in marrow lipids content and adipocytes in the development of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) in rabbits using MR spectroscopy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty 20-week-old female rabbits were randomized to a control group and a GIOP group equally. Marrow lipids fraction and bone mineral density at the left proximal femur and L3-L4 vertebrae were measured by MR spectroscopy and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at week 0, 4, 8, and 12. Marrow adipocytes were quantitatively evaluated by histopathology. RESULTS: Marrow adiposity in the GIOP group showed a significant increase over time, with a variation of marrow lipids fraction (+35.9 %) at week 4 from baseline and it was maintained until week 12 (+75.2 %, p < 0.001 for all). The GIOP group demonstrated continuous deterioration of bone with significant difference between the two groups at week 8, followed by increased marrow fat with significant difference at week 4 (p < 0.05 for all). In comparison with the controls, marrow adipocyte density in the GIOP group increased by 57.1 % at week 8 and 35.4 % at week 12, respectively. A reduction (-13.3 %) in adipocyte mean diameter at week 8 (but an increase (+22.7 %) at week 12) were observed in the GIOP group compared with the control group (p < 0.05 for all). There was significant difference between two periods (p = 0.023) in adipocyte mean diameter in the GIOP group. The percentage area of marrow adipocytes in the GIOP group was 62.8 ± 8.7 % at week 8 and 79.2 ± 7.7 % at week 12, both of which were significantly higher than those of the controls (p < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Marrow adipogenesis is synchronized with bone loss in the development of GIOP, which was characterized by a significant increase in the number of small-sized marrow adipocytes in the relatively early stage and concomitant volume increase later on. MR spectroscopy appears to be the most powerful tool for detecting the sequential changes in marrow lipid content.

Hydrazone-oxime Selectively Directed Redox-Neutral [4 + 2] Annulations Cascade with Alkynes and Iodonium Ylides to Build 1,1'-Biisoquinoline Mono-N-oxides.

Selective C-H activation of a molecule containing multiple directing groups is an important but challenging issue in organic chemistry. Herein, a combined directing group (hydrazone-oxime) selectively directed [4 + 2] annulation cascade to synthesize novel 1,1'-biisoquinoline mono-N-oxides has been developed. Owing to the subtle differences in electronic properties between hydrazone and oxime, the first C-H annulation with alkynes preferentially occurs at the hydrazone side to form 1-oximido isoquinolines, which then undergoes a second C-H annulation with iodonium ylides at the oxime side. The two [4 + 2] annulations work smoothly under redox-neutral conditions and can be performed in one pot, without utilization of stoichiometric external oxidants. Moreover, ESI-MS and DFT calculations have been conducted to corroborate the reaction mechanism. Such novel biisoquinoline skeletons can pave the way for future research prospects with synthetic value.

A Concomitant Cancer Diagnosis Is Associated With Poor Cardiovascular Outcomes Among Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: With the increasing coexistence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in contemporary clinical practice, studies on the outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with cancer has not been systematically investigated. This study sought to investigated the effect of coexisting cancer on the treatment and clinical outcomes among AMI patients. METHODS: We retrospectively integrated and analyzed cardiovascular data of 6,607 AMI patients between June 2016 and December 2019. Patients with cancer were compared with pair-matched cancer-naive patients. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to compare the differences in outcomes. RESULTS: Of 6,607 patients, 2.3% (n = 150) had been diagnosed with cancer. Patients with cancer were older (70.3 ± 10.0 vs. 63.9 ± 11.5 years, P < 0.001) and had a higher burden of comorbidities. Moreover, patients with cancer tended to receive clopidogrel (52.0 vs. 40.0%, P = 0.004) rather than ticagrelor (45.6 vs. 58.2%, P = 0.003) than those without cancer. After pairwise matching, patients with cancer were less likely to undergo in-hospital percutaneous coronary intervention (61.3 vs. 70.0%, P = 0.055). And after 3-year follow-up, the cumulative incidence of cardiovascular death (14.0 vs. 8.3%; adjusted HR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.11-3.39; P = 0.021) among patients with cancer was significantly higher than that among the matched controls, a similar pattern was observed for the composite outcome of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke (16.0 vs. 10.3%; adjusted HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.21-3.26; P = 0.007). Moreover, patients with a historical cancer diagnosis within 5 years had a higher risk of cardiovascular ischemic events. CONCLUSIONS: AMI patients with a concomitant diagnosis of cancer tended to be treated with conservative therapies and were at substantially higher risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Single-Cell Transcriptomics-Based Study of Transcriptional Regulatory Features in the Non-Obstructive Azoospermia Testis.

Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is one of the most important causes of male infertility. Although many congenital factors have been identified, the aetiology in the majority of idiopathic NOA (iNOA) cases remains unknown. Herein, using single-cell RNA-Seq data sets (GSE149512) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, we constructed transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs) to explain the mutual regulatory relationship and the causal relationship between transcription factors (TFs). We defined 10 testicular cell types by their marker genes and found that the proportion of Leydig cells (LCs) and macrophages (tMΦ) was significantly increased in iNOA testis. We identified specific TFs including LHX9, KLF8, KLF4, ARID5B and RXRG in iNOA LCs. In addition, we found specific TFs in iNOA tMΦ such as POU2F2, SPIB IRF5, CEBPA, ELK4 and KLF6. All these identified TFs are strongly engaged in cellular fate, function and homeostasis of the microenvironment. Changes in the activity of the above-mentioned TFs might affect the function of LCs and tMΦ and ultimately cause spermatogenesis failure. This study illustrate that these TFs play important regulatory roles in the occurrence and development of NOA.

[Changes in the Bacterioplankton Community Between "Ice" and "Water" in the Frozen Dali Lake].

Bacteria are the key components of water ecosystems, and play important roles in material and energy cycle processes. To understand the changes in the bacterioplankton community in frozen lakes, we collected 15 "bottom ice" samples and 15 "surface water" samples under the ice sheet from Dali Lake, which is an inland closed lake in the Inner Mongolia Plateau. Combined with comparisons of the physicochemical proxies between "bottom ice" and "surface water" samples, the phylum community characteristics of the bacterioplankton were analyzed in detail. Although the bacterioplankton were mainly comprised of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and 11 other phyla in the "bottom ice" and "surface water", the average relative abundances of the dominant planktonic bacteria were clearly different. For example, the average relative abundance of Proteobacteria was approximately 63.64% in the "bottom ice" samples, but decreased to approximately 26.75% in the surface water samples, which was visibly smaller than the relative abundance of Actinobacteria with an average value of approximately 39.10%. We concluded that the changes in the contents of nutrient elements and physicochemical proxies must be the primary factors influencing the changes in the bacterioplankton community in the frozen Dali Lake. The changes in the physicochemical proxies could have been responsible for the changes in the bacteria community in the "bottom ice" and "surface water". Otherwise, the different physiological characteristics of the planktonic bacteria phyla caused the different responses to the changes in the contents of the nutrient elements and physicochemical proxies in the frozen lake. For example, the major bacterioplankton phyla were mainly influenced by the changes in total phosphorus and dissolved total phosphorus in the "bottom ice" and by the changes in dissolved inorganic phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen in the "surface water". The results will provide basic data to analyze the lake ecological environment in Northern China.

Short-term effect and long-term prognosis of neuroendoscopic minimally invasive surgery for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage is a common critical disease of the nervous system, comprising one fifth of all acute cerebrovascular diseases and has a high disability and mortality rate. It severely affects the patients' quality of life. AIM: To analyze the short-term effect and long-term prognosis of neuroendoscopic minimally invasive surgery for hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. METHODS: From March 2018 to May 2020, 118 patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage were enrolled in our study and divided into a control group and observation group according to the surgical plan. The control group used a hard-channel minimally invasive puncture and drainage procedure. The observation group underwent minimally invasive neuroendoscopic surgery. The changes in the levels of serum P substances (SP), inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10], and the National Hospital Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Barthel index scores were recorded. Surgery related indicators and prognosis were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The operation time (105.26 ± 28.35) of the observation group was min longer than that of the control group, and the volume of intraoperative bleeding was 45.36 ± 10.17 mL more than that of the control group. The hematoma clearance rates were 88.58% ± 4.69% and 94.47% ± 4.02% higher than those of the control group at 48 h and 72 h, respectively. Good prognosis rate (86.44%) was higher in the observation group than in the control group, and complication rate (5.08%) was not significantly different from that of the control group (P > 0.05).The SP level and Barthel index score of the two groups increased (P < 0.05) and the inflammatory factors and NIHSS score decreased (P < 0.05). The cytokine levels, NIHSS score, and Barthel index score were better in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Neuroendoscopic minimally invasive surgery is more complicated than hard channel minimally invasive puncture drainage in the treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage; however, hematoma clearance is more thorough, and the short-term effect and long-term prognosis are better than hard channel minimally invasive puncture drainage.

Arabidopsis CHLOROPHYLLASE 1 protects young leaves from long-term photodamage by facilitating FtsH-mediated D1 degradation in photosystem II repair.

The proteolytic degradation of the photodamaged D1 core subunit during the photosystem II (PSII) repair cycle is well understood, but chlorophyll turnover during D1 degradation remains unclear. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana CHLOROPHYLLASE 1 (CLH1) plays important roles in the PSII repair process. The abundance of CLH1 and CLH2 peaks in young leaves and is induced by high-light exposure. Seedlings of clh1 single and clh1-1/2-2 double mutants display increased photoinhibition after long-term high-light exposure, whereas seedlings overexpressing CLH1 have enhanced light tolerance compared with the wild type. CLH1 is localized in the developing chloroplasts of young leaves and associates with the PSII-dismantling complexes RCC1 and RC47, with a preference for the latter upon exposure to high light. Furthermore, degradation of damaged D1 protein is retarded in young clh1-1/2-2 leaves after 18-h high-light exposure but is rescued by the addition of recombinant CLH1 in vitro. Moreover, overexpression of CLH1 in a variegated mutant (var2-2) that lacks thylakoid protease FtsH2, with which CLH1 interacts, suppresses the variegation and restores D1 degradation. A var2-2 clh1-1/2-2 triple mutant shows more severe variegation and seedling death. Taken together, these results establish CLH1 as a long-sought chlorophyll dephytylation enzyme that is involved in PSII repair and functions in long-term adaptation of young leaves to high-light exposure by facilitating FtsH-mediated D1 degradation.

A flexible ultrasensitive optoelectronic sensor array for neuromorphic vision systems.

The challenges of developing neuromorphic vision systems inspired by the human eye come not only from how to recreate the flexibility, sophistication, and adaptability of animal systems, but also how to do so with computational efficiency and elegance. Similar to biological systems, these neuromorphic circuits integrate functions of image sensing, memory and processing into the device, and process continuous analog brightness signal in real-time. High-integration, flexibility and ultra-sensitivity are essential for practical artificial vision systems that attempt to emulate biological processing. Here, we present a flexible optoelectronic sensor array of 1024 pixels using a combination of carbon nanotubes and perovskite quantum dots as active materials for an efficient neuromorphic vision system. The device has an extraordinary sensitivity to light with a responsivity of 5.1 × 107 A/W and a specific detectivity of 2 × 1016 Jones, and demonstrates neuromorphic reinforcement learning by training the sensor array with a weak light pulse of 1 µW/cm2.

[Inhibitory effects of protease inhibitor on endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of protease inhibitor on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in rats and its possible mechanisms. METHODS: Thirty-two male Wister rats, weighting 250-270 g, were divided into four groups randomly. C, normal controls (n=8); A: acute lung injury group (n=8), receiving intravenous endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide O55:B5, LPS 5 mg/kg); V, low-dose group (n=8), U, high-dose intervention group (n=8, receiving Ulinastatin 50,000 U/kg and 100,000 U/kg respectively and LPS 5 mg/kg). The specimens were collected 2 hours later, We observed the following changes: blood gas analysis, the lung wet/dry weight ratio, the pulmonary vascular permeability, histological manifestations, lung tissue myeloperoxidase activity, plasma endothelin-1, lung tissue malonaldehyde and conjugated-diene. RESULTS: Compared with Group C, the lungs of the rats in Group A had significant hyperemia and spotted hemorrhage. The inflammatory granulocyte infiltrating, diffused alveolar septum thickening and spotted hemorrhage were observed in pathological examinations. The lung wet/dry weight ratio and Evans Blue content (per gram) increased significantly in group A [(5.41+/-0.06), (27.64+/-2.48) microg] compared with group C [(4.95+/-0.08), (12.99+/-2.83) microg], in the intervention groups (U: 5.0+/-0.05, 19.47+/- 2.09; V: 4.98+/-0.06, 21.44+/-3.12) however the difference was not significant between the intervention groups; The plasma endothelin-1 and lung tissue myeloperoxidase activity increased significantly in group A [(948.23+/-103.45) u/g, (152.90+/-8.41) u/g] compared with group C [(729.38+/-88.64) u/g ], [(54.62+/-15.49) u/g] but intervention groups [U: (633.27+/-93.27) u/g, (119.40+/-11.32) u/g; V: (671.87+/-105.45) u/g, (129.55+/-9.57) u/g] decreased significantly compared with group A, no significant difference between intervention groups; lung tissue Lipid-peroxide (malonaldehyde, MDA and conjugated-diene, C-diene) increased significantly in group A [MDA: (73.95+/-4.62) nmol/g; C-diene: (10.96+/-0.81) nmol/g] compared with group C [MDA: (39.65+/-6.21) nmol/g; C-diene: (3.34+/-0.51) nmol/g], intervention groups [U: MDA: (51.26+/-5.56) nmol/g, C-diene: (7.59+/-0.84) nmol/g; V: MDA: (59.87+/-4.62) nmol/g, C-diene: (8.79+/-0.45) nmol/g] decreased significantly compared with group A. MDA decreased significantly in group U compared with group V. CONCLUSION: The protease inhibitor, Ulinastatin, may decrease inflammatory reaction and further decrease lung damage induced by LPS in rats, all indicating protection of protease inhibitor against acute lung injury.

[Protective effect of protease inhibitor on renal function of rat challenged by lipopolysaccharide].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effects of protease inhibitor on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced kidney injury in rats and its possible mechanism. METHODS: Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups randomly: normal control (n=6); LPS group (n=10), receiving intravenous endotoxin (LPS, O55:B5, 5 mg/kg); low-dose ulinastatin (UT) intervention group (n=8), receiving intraperitoneal UT 50 000 U/kg and LPS 5 mg/kg as above; high-dose UT intervention group (n=8), UT 100,000 U/kg and LPS 5 mg/kg. The following examinations were carried out: blood gas analysis, kidney pathological changes, plasma endothelin-1, plasma lactic acid, N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) in urine, and plasma creatinine (Cr) level. RESULTS: Blood gas analysis showed that pH, partial pressure of oxygen in artery (PaO(2)) and base excess (BE) lowered significantly (all P<0.01) in LPS group compared with normal control group, and elevated in low-dose and large dose UT intervention groups compared with LPS group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01). The plasma endothelin-1 increased significantly (P<0.01) in LPS group compared with normal control group and intervention groups. Plasma lactate increased significantly in LPS group compared with normal control group (P<0.001), decreased significantly in intervention groups compared with LPS group (P<0.01). No significant difference was found between two intervention groups (P>0.05). Plasma Cr and urine NAG level increased in LPS groups, and the difference was significant compared with normal control groups and intervention groups (P<0.01). Pathohistologic examination revealed normal glomeruli but vacuolar degeneration of tubular epithelial cells, and part of them disrupted and desquamated, and also tubular dilatation. Only mild pathological changes were seen in the intervention groups. There was no obvious difference in morphology between two intervention groups. CONCLUSION: The protease inhibitor, UT, may alleviate LPS-induced inflammatory reaction and damage to kidney in rats.

[Clinical analysis of 5 cases with acute intravascular hemolysis caused by puerarin].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics of acute intravascular hemolysis caused by puerarin so as to help our prevention, diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Analysis of 5 cases of acute intravascular hemolysis caused by puerarin was made and literature review conducted. RESULTS: All patients had the history of administering puerarin, with the pre-symptoms of acute hemolysis; the clinical characteristics of acute intravascular hemolysis were observed:sudden attacks of lumber and abdominal pain, chill, fever dyspnea, temporary conciousness loss, dark urine or hematuria, low hemoglobin, high reticular red blood cell, positive of Coombs' test. CONCLUSION: When sudden attacks of the above symptoms appear, the acute intravascular hemolysis should be taken into consideration first and the giving of the puerarin intravenously be immediately stopped Active and proper treatment should be made.