Objective To evaluate the clinical value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis and differentiation of bacterial infections in the critically ill patients. Methods A total of 53 critical patients were divided into bacterial infection group and non-bacterial infection group. Serum PCT was measured by immunoluminometric assay. Results PCT of bacterial infection group was significantly higher than that in non-bacterial infection group (?~2=0.05, P

Objective To investigate the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of gastric volvulus. Methods The clinical data of 30 patients with gastric volvulus were analyzed retrospectively. Results 17 patients(56.7%) were diagnosed preoperatively,and 13 patients(43.3%) at exploratory laparotomy. 21 cases(70.0%) was diagnosed as organo-axial type, 8 cases(26.7%) as mesenterico-axial type, and 1 case((3.3%)) as combined type.3 patients underwent gastric volvulus restoration by endoscopy;27 patients (received) operation,and all the 30 patients were discharged in good health.All of the cases were followed up for 5 years;one case,treated by endoscopy,recurred,but none of the other cases recurred. Conclusions Laxity of gastric suspensory ligaments is the main pathogenetic factor of gastric volvulus,but its occurrence is usually caused by multiple factors.The diagnosis depends on the combined analysis of the clinical (manifestations) and radiographic studies or exploratory laparotomy. Operation is the first choice of treatment.

Objective To compare the mid- and long-term results of tricuspid valve (TV) repair with or without an annuloplasty ring. Methods Two hundred seventy-seven patients underwent TV repair at our division (Sep. 2001 to Sep. 2008) ,of which 203 had, predominantly, a De Vega or Kay procedure (non-ring group) and 74had an annuloplasty with an artificial ring (ring group). TV pathology mainly was functional (secondary) and several with rheumatic leaflets involvement. Concomitant procedures consisted of mitral valve surgery in all patients,aortic valve surgery in 81 ,and coronary bypass in 19. Clinical and echocardiographic data followed for 1.5 to 3.5years were obtained. Results Postoperationally,the mid-term(1.5 years) follow-up was 100% completed and the long-term follow-up for 3. 5 years was 89. 9%. The recurrence of TV regurgitation (TR) of moderate and lower degree was not significantly different(χ2 = 1.3128, P= 0.26) in the 1.5 years follow-up between the two group,whereas the recurrence of TR of moderate to severity degree was significantly less in the ring group (χ2 =5. 8159,P =0.023).In the long term follow up,the TR in the ring group (25%) was significantly lower than that of 15% in the non-ring group (χ2 = 4. 9328, P = 0.036) . There are higher proportion of patients developing to moderate TR in the non ring group(34%) than in the ring group (10%) (χ2 =7. 9120,P =0.005). The TR developed fast in the ring group,increasing from 18% at 1.5 years follow up to 10% at 3.5 years follow up (χ2 = 2. 1327, P = 0.016),whereas it was relatively stable in the non-ring group,with 7% at 1.5 year follow up and 10% at 3.5 year follow up. Conclusions Placement of an annuloplasty ring in patients undergoing TV repair could remarkably improved the mid and long terum outcome. In clinic practice, we should be more positive to the functional TR and prefer to the procedure with annuloplasty ring.

OBJECTIVE: To study the activity of TQHXD on the learning and memory ability of rats with vascular dementia(VD) and its effects on the content of Ach in cerebral cortex. And to investigate the action mechanism of TQHXD on VD in rats. METHODS: VD model was made by common carotid artery injection of a co-thrombus inducer. The 8-arm radial maze experiment was adopted to evaluate the times of working memory errors and reference memory errors. The changes of the pathological area in hippocampus CA1 were observed by optical microscope. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the concentration of Ach in rats cerebral cortex. RESULTS: High and middle dose of TQXHD significantly reduce the times of working memory errors and reference memory errors (P<0.01), definitely improved the anormalies of pathological area in hippocampal CA1, and significantly increased the content of Ach in cerebral cortex (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: TQHXD can significantly ameliorate the learning and memory ability of in VD rats. The mechanism may be related to the improvement of the vertebral body cells anomalies in the hippocampal CA1 region and increasing the content of the Ach in cerebral cortex. Copyright 2012 by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

It is well documented that altered biosynthesis of cell surface N-linked oligosaccharides is associated with the transformed cells and tumors.N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase Ⅱ(GnT-II;EC 2.4.1.143)is a medial Golgi enzyme that catalyses the incorporation of a GlcNAc residue in ?-1,2 linkage to the Man-?-1,6 arm of the N-glycan core.This is an essential step in the biosynthetic pathway leading from hybrid to complex N-glycans.Because functional GnT-Ⅱ is an prerequisite of N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferase V performance,It was speculated that GnT-Ⅱ was involved in cancer development and progression.The expression of GnT-Ⅱ in mouse breast cancer cells 67NR and 4T1 which have different behavior of metastasis was analysed using RT-PCR.The amounts of GnT-Ⅱ in the highly metastatic cell 4T1 increased to 1.53 times of the lowly metastatic cell 67NR.To determine the association of GnT-Ⅱ with tumor progression,the GnT-Ⅱ encoding gene was amplified with RT-PCR and cloned into retrovirus vector pMSCV,resulting in pMSCV-GnT-Ⅱ.The recombinant plasmid was transfected into 4T1 and the transfected cells were selected in the medium containing puromycin,which were harvested to detect the adhesion ability to fibronection and the migration potential by transwell system.The cell adhesion to fibronectin was weakened by 67% and migration potential was increased by 82%.The data indicates that GnT-Ⅱ mediates cell adhesion and migration,thus may play an important role in cancer metastasis.

A turbid solution was formed through the reaction between ?-PGA and cetylpyridinium chloride(CPC) and the turibidity was measured by using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy at 680nm.The linearity between the concentration of ?-PGA and its absorbance,the stability,repeatability and recovery of the method were studied.Through the reaction of ?-PGA with CPC,a homogeneous turbid solution was formed.The turbid solution was stable in 3h under proper pH value and ion strength,the absorbance of the solution at 680nm had a good linear relationshi Pwith the concentration of ?-PGA in the range 12.5~50?g/ml(R2=0.9939).The recovery was within the range of 86%~99.75%(n=5).The relative standard division of the method for determining ?-PGA at the concentrations of 5,10 and 40?g/ml were 0.14%,0.23%和0.025% repeatability.The turbidmetric method has advantages of convenience,simplicity and good repeatability and can be used to control the quality of ?-PGA and its products.

Objective In human,both in vivo and in vitro,telomere shortening appears to be a major component of cell senescence and aging. However, gender specific human telomere shortening needs to be further characterized. Therefore our study is aimed at clarifying gender-dependent profiles of telomere shortening. Methods 123 peripheral blood samples were collected from healthy individuals of different ages. The mean telomeric restricted fragment (TRF) was measured using Southern Blotting with Dig-labeled probe. Results Distinguished dynamics profiles of telomere shortening were observed among different age groups. Conclusion The result indicates that there are gender specific dynamic profiles of telomere shortening. Therefore, the gender must be considered when an individual age is estimated by telomeric restricted fragment length assay.

Objective:Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) is increasingly being introduced in the clinic,both for diagnostics and image guidance.Although dedicated 3D US probes exist,because of its expensive cost,3D US can also be acquired with the still frequently used two-dimensional (2D) US probes.Methods:Obtaining 3D volumes with 2D US probes is a two-step process.First,a positioning sensor must be attached to the probe for 2D image matching;second,a reconstruction of a 3D volume can be performed into a regular voxel grid.Results:This paper presents a way to realize the 3D US in irled-based Image Guided Radiotherapy using a homemade 2D US.Conclusions:The experiments demonstrate a method of saving costs and having advantages in clinic application.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)and endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels and cognitive dysfunction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.Methods A case-control study was performed,consisting of 128 patients with COPD(68 patients without cognitive dysfunction and 60 patients with cognitive dysfunction) and 70 normal controls.All patients with COPD were diagnosed by pulmonary function tests and plasma levels of NGAL and ET-1 were determined by enzyme immunoassay.The cognitive function was evaluated by the MMSE and MoCA.Results ①Compared with normal control,the levels of plasma NGAL and ET-1 were increased(NGAL:(2.20±0.60) μg/L vs (1.69±0.73) μg/L,P＜0.05;ET-1:(26.19± 10.55)pg/ml vs (13.05±2.37) pg/ml,P＜0.05) in COPD patients without cognitive dysfunction and in COPD patients with cognitive dysfunction(NGAL:(3.80±2.75) μg/L vs (1.69±0.73) μg/L,P＜0.01;ET-1:(37.82±0.29) pg/ml vs (13.05±2.37) pg/ml,P＜0.01).Compared with the COPD patients without cognitive dysfunction,the levels of plasma NGAL and ET-1 were also increased in COPD patients with cognitive dysfunction (all P＜0.05).②The plasma NGAL levels were correlated negatively with MMSE scores(r=-0.524,P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with MoCA scores (r=-0.527,P＜0.05).The plasma ET-1 levels were negatively correlated with MMSE scores(r=-0.549,P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with MoCA scores(r=-0.558,P＜0.05).The levels of NGAL and ET-1 were positively correlated(r=0.564,P＜0.05).Conclusion NGAL and ET-1 may be involved in the pathophysiological process of cognitive dysfunction in patients with COPD,which provides a certain clinical value for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in patients with COPD.

Osteoarthritis is mainly caused by the degenerative changes of cartilage and cartilage extracellular matrix,while Aggrecanases degradate Proteoglycans which are the major components of cartilage.This review includes three aspects:(1) We have concluded the major enzymes(ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) which regulate the metabolism of cartilage extracellular matrix.Meanwhile,we have summarized the structure of aggrecanases(ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) and introduced the function of each regional structure;(2) We have concluded the way cytokines and glycosaminoglycans regulate the metabolism of aggrecanases,and discussed the regulation and control principle of cytokines and glycosaminoglycan;(3) We have summarized the majority of inhibitors to the aggrecanases,introduced the endogenic inhibitors,and put our emphasis on the extrinsic inhibitors(chelating agents,polypeptides and so on).Through deeper research on the enzymes,it will help us further understand the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis,and open up new avenues to clinical treatment.Abstract:SUMM ARY Osteoarthritis is mainly caused by the degenerative changes of cartilage and cartilage extra-cellular matrix,while Aggrecanases degradate Proteoglycanswhich are the major components of cartilage.This review includes three aspects:(1) W e have concluded the major enzymes(ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) which regulate the metabolism of cartilage extracellular matrix.Meanwhile,we have sum-marized the structure of aggrecanases(ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) and introduced the function of each regional structure;(2) W e have concluded the way cytokines and glycosam inoglycans regulate the metab-olism of aggrecanases,and d iscussed the regulation and control principle of cytokines and glycosam inogly-can;(3) W e have summarized the majority of inhibitors to the aggrecanases,introduced the endogenic inhibitors,and put our emphasis on the extrinsic inhibitors(chelating agents,polypeptides and so on).Through deeper research on the enzymes,it will help us further understand the pathogenesis of osteoar-thritis,and open up new avenues to clinical treatment.