[The value of muscle biopsy in rhabdomyolysis].

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic value of skeletal muscle biopsy in patients with rhabdomyolysis. Methods: Clinical and pathological data of 26 patients with rhabdomyolysis from January 2002 to December 2018 undergoing muscle biopsy were collected. Results: Eighteen males and 8 females were finally recruited with median age of 6-73 (37.3±19.6) years. The average time from onset to biopsy was 44 days (median course was 30 days). All patients had acute manifestations with muscle pain and/or weakness. Serum creatine kinase was between 1 648-92 660 U/L. Muscle biopsies showed nonspecific changes in 12 cases (a few with type 2 muscle fiber atrophy, slight deposition of lipid droplets), 10 cases with necrotizing myopathy (muscle fiber necrosis and regeneration). Toxic neurogenic damages were seen in 2 cases (type 1 and type 2 angular atrophic muscle fibers with group change), lipid storage disease in 1 case (lipid droplets deposit significantly) and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy in 1 case (muscle fiber necrosis and regeneration, with lymphocyte infiltration). The etiology of non-specific pathological changes included short-term strenuous exercise in 6 patients, poisoning in two, chronic kidney disease in one, viral infection in one, hypothyroidism in one and unknown reason in one. As to patients with necrotizing myopathy, seven were poisoning or drug-related, one with hyperthyroidism, two with unknown reason. Conclusions: Among the numerous causes of rhabdomyolysis, exercise usually links nonspecific skeletal muscle changes and poisoning or drug-related disorders are commonly associated with necrotic myopathy. Rhabdomyolysis induced by primary myopathy is rare.

Analysis of fibronectin, fibronectin receptor and interleukin-1 in patients with cirrhosis treated by the Yanggan Jieyu decoction.

AIM: To investigate the effects of the Yanggan Jieyu (YGJY, nourishing the liver and alleviating mental depression) decoction on the plasma concentrations of fibronectin (FN), fibronectin receptor (FNR), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and the activity of interleukin-1 (IL-1) in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Thirty-four cases of decompensated cirrhosis were divided into the YGJY decoction treatment group and the control group (patients received standard treatment). FN, FNR and TNF-α were measured by ELISA and expressed as mg/L (FN, FNR) and ng/L (TNF-α). IL-1 was measured by mice thymocyte proliferation using a ß scintillation counter and was expressed as cpm. RESULTS: In the YGJY decoction treatment group, FN and TNF-α levels increased significantly (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively), and FNR and IL-1 levels decreased significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively). In the control group, FN, FNR, TNF-α, and IL-1 levels did not significantly change. CONCLUSION: YGJY decoction could prevent hepatic fibrosis by adjusting the plasma levels of FN, FNR, TNF-α and IL-1, which could mediate cirrhosis formation. This data is of clinical significance.

Advanced phytochemical analysis of herbal tea in China.

Herbal tea is a commonly consumed beverage brewed from the leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, stems and roots of plants species rather than Camellia sinensis L., which has been widely used for health care and diseases prevention for centuries. With the increasing consumption of herbal tea, a number of public health issues e.g., efficacy, safety and quality assurance have attracted concern. However, to date, there is no a review focus on herbal tea. Phytochemical analysis, as a key step to investigate the chemical composition of herbal tea and ensure the quality, is very important. In this review, we summarized and discussed the recent development (2005-2012) in phytochemical analysis of herbal tea commonly used in China.

Medium range order of bulk metallic glasses determined by variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy.

Variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) experiments are implemented with hollow-cone dark-field transmission electron microscopy. Medium range order lengths of zirconium and iron based bulk metallic glasses and amorphous silicon nitride are determined from the FEM results. It shows that maximum normalized intensity variances of FEM images occur when their nominal resolution approaches the correlation length Λ of the amorphous materials. Additionally, differences in the length and magnitude of medium range order are compared between metallic and covalent bond amorphous materials.

[Construction of recombinant antisense RNA IgG2aVH region of murine systemic lupus erythematous].

OBJECTIVE: To construct recombinant plasmid of IgG2aVH region antisense RNA of systemic lupus erythematous. METHODS: Total RNA was isolated from spleen cell of BWF1 mice. Using spleen cell total RNA as the template, We designed specific primers from A6.1 region sequences, and amplified the IgG2aVH region 375 bp DNA fragments by RT-PCR. The IgG2aVH cDNA was cloned by T/A and inserted into pcDNA 3.1 plasmid of vector. RESULTS: The IgG2aVH antisense RNA plasmid expressing recombinant was identified by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequence analysis. CONCLUSION: There is IgG2aVH gene in F1 mice spleen cell; the IgG2aVH antisense RNA expressing recombinants is constructed successfully.