Assessment of the hemolysis and endothelial cell cytotoxicity induced by residual linear alkylbenzene sulfonates on pharmaceutical rubber stoppers based on HPLC-ESI-MS.

This study was designed to develop a high-performance liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) method for quantitative determination of residual surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) compounds on pharmaceutical rubber stoppers. An HPLC-ESI-MS method was developed for separation and determination of five LAS homologs (C10-C14) under gradient conditions using methanol and ammonium acetate as mobile phases. Hemolysis activity of residual LAS compounds was analyzed by spectrophotometry. Expression of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after LAS compound treatment was examined by enzyme-linked sorbent assay. LAS compounds were well separated and determined by the established gradient conditions. The linear range was 0.05-8 µg/mL with correlation coefficients ≥0.997. Recoveries were from 73 to 134% and the relative standard deviation was <13.7%. There was a correlation between hemolysis rate and LAS compounds concentration when it was ≥0.8 µg/cm(2). LAS compounds decreased the viability of HUVECs and promoted the production of IL-6 and TNF-α. The developed analytical method was successful for quantitative determination of residual LAS compounds on pharmaceutical rubber stoppers and it is important to monitor and control the amount of LAS compounds on rubber stoppers.

[Research progress on alkaloids constituents from Zanthoxylum and their pharmacological activities].

There are 250 species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) in the world. This genus distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Alkaloids are the major and representative ingredients in these plants including quinolines, isoquinolines, and amide alkaloids, with such biological activities as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-virus, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-bacteria and anti- oxidant. These species have been used for a long time to treat toothache, urinary and venereal diseases, lumbago and rheumatism. This review summarizes the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities from the Z. sppplants, in an effort to the systematic research and application of the alkaloids of this genus.

[Analysis of leave FTIR of nine kinds of plants from Rosaceae with genetic relationship].

Leaves of nine kinds of plants from three subfamily of Rosaceae were used as materials. Genetic relationship was analyzed and species were identified through studying FTIR of nine kinds of plants. Leaves mainly contain large amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and other substances. The peaks of carbohydrates are mainly between 1440 and 775 cm(-1). The vibration peaks of the cellulose and lignin are between 1440 and 1337 cm(-1). The peaks between 1000 and 775 cm(-1) are stretching vibration of ribose. The vibration peaks of protein are between 1620 and 1235 cm(-1). The peak at 1620 cm(-1) is sensitive to C=O stretching vibration of protein amide I. The peak at 1523 cm(-1) is assigned to N-H and C-N stretching vibration of protein amide II. Peaks of lipids mainly appeared between 2930 and 1380 cm(-1). The peak at 2922 cm(-1) is CH2 stretching vibration of fat. The peak at 1732 cm(-1) is C=O stretching vibration of fatty acids. The mark peak of the nucleic acid appears in the region between 1250 and 1000 cm(-1). The peak at 1068 cm(-1) is due to the symmetric stretching vibration of PO(2-) group of the phosphodiester-deoxyribose backbone, and the peak at 1246 cm(-1) is associated to the asymmetric stretch vibration of PO(2-) group. The results showed that the cluster model is established by smoothing, standardizing, the second derivative, principal component analysis and Hierarchical cluster analysis. It is accordant with the traditional classification. The result of cluster shows that Prunus armeniaca L. and Prunus seudocerasus Lindl. were clustered into one (Prunoideae). Potentilla fulgens Wall. Rosa chinensis Jacd and Fragaria ananassa Duchesne var. were clustered into the second (Rosoideae). Pyracantha fortuneana Li, Malus pumila Mill. Eriobotrya bengalensis Hook. f. and Malus hallianna Koehne were clustered into the third (Pomoideae). The correct rate of cluster at subfamily is 100%. The correct rate of cluster at genus is 55.56%. The correct rate of identification is 100% when unknown species waiting for determined were laid into the model of Hierarchical cluster to identify. This study provides a new thought and method for genetic relationship analysis of planst.

Liquid proliposomes of nimodipine drug delivery system: preparation, characterization, and pharmacokinetics.

To investigate the possibility of liquid proliposomes being carriers for oral delivery, nimodipine liquid proliposomes-based soft capsules (NPSC) were prepared. Nimodipine proliposomes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), conversion rate from proliposomes to liposomes, entrapment efficiency, particle size, and zeta potential. Accelerated stability testing of NPSC was carried out for 3 months at 40±2°C, 75±5% RH. The concentration of nimodipine in plasma of New Zealand rabbits of NPSC, nimodipine soft capsules, and hydrated liposomes was studied. Results showed that nimodipine proliposomes were automatically converted into liposomes when exposed to a water phase in 30 s. The average diameter was 378.6±26.5 nm in distilled water with entrapment efficiency (EE%) of 84.7±5.9%, while the average diameter was 316.9±34.6 nm in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid solution with EE% of 72.8±4.7%. Accelerated stability test showed that there was no change in drug content, particle size, and EE% except for a decrease in dissolution of nimodipine. In vivo experiments, areas under the plasma level-time curve of NPSC and nimodipine-hydrated liposomes increased 2.41 and 2.34 times more than that of nimodipine soft capsules, peak concentration increased 2.87 and 2.92 times, time of peak concentration from 0.75 to 2 and 1 h, respectively. Nimodipine-hydrated liposomes presented similar pharmacokinetic parameters compared with NPSC. Results suggested that NPSC offered a potential way to improve oral delivery of nimodipine.

A Classification-Guided Segmentation Algorithm Based on Deep Learning for Epithelium Segmentation in Histopathological Images of Radicular Cysts.

In histopathological analysis of radicular cysts (RCs), lesions in epithelium can provide pathologists with rich information on pathologic degree, which is helpful to determine the type of periapical lesions and make precise treatment planning. Automatic segmentation and localization of epithelium from whole slide images (WSIs) can assist pathologists to complete pathological diagnosis more quickly. However, the class imbalance problem caused by the small proportion of fragmented epithelium in RCs imposes challenge on the typical automatic one-stage segmentation method. In this paper, we proposed a classification-guided segmentation algorithm (CGSA) for accurate segmentation. Our method was a two-stage model, including a classification network for region of interest (ROI) location and a segmentation network guided by classification. The classification stage eliminated most irrelevant areas and alleviated the class imbalance problem faced by the segmentation model. The results of 5-fold cross validation demonstrated that CGSA outperformed the one-stage segmentation method which was lacking in prior epithelium localization information. The epithelium segmentation achieved an overall Dice's coefficient of 0.722, and intersection over union (IoU) of 0.593, which improved by 5.5% and 5.9% respectively compared with the one-stage segmentation method using UNet.Clinical Relevance- This work presents a framework for automatic epithelium segmentation in histopathological images of RCs. It can be applied to make up for the shortcomings of manual annotation which is labor-intensive, time-consuming and objective.

[Transforming growth factor-beta1-loaded fibrin sealant promote bone marrow Mesenchymal stem cells to contract injectable tissue engineering cartilage in vivo].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility that transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) -loaded fibrin sealant (FS) promotes bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to create tissue engineering cartilage in vivo. METHODS: The BMSCs were isolated from healthy human and amplified in vitro, and then induced by defined medium containing TGF-beta1 and dexamethasone. After 7 days the induced BMSCs were collected and mixed with TGF-beta1-loaded FS or FS as BMSCs+ FS-TGF-beta1 group and BMSCs+ FS experimental group. Then the mixture was injected by a needle into the dorsum of nude mice. In control group, only FS or BMSCs were injected. The tissue engineering specimens were harvested from nude mice 12 weeks later. Gross observation, average wet weight measurement, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) quantification, histology and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the results. RESULTS: The BMSCs have possessed the shape and functional characters of chondrocyte when transferred to a defined medium. After injection of the mixture, the cartilage-like tissue were formed in two experimental groups. Compared with BMSC+ FS group, the specimens of BMSCs +FS-TGF-beta1 group were larger and firmer. Alcian staining showed better metachromatic matrix formation. The GAG contents were significantly higher. Immunohistochemical staining of collagen type II was stronger. However, no cartilage-like tissue was formed in two control groups. CONCLUSION: TGF-beta1-loaded FS can promote BMSCs to contract injectable tissue engineering cartilage in vivo.