Objective To explore whether portal vein injection of small interfering RNA(siRNA) targeting connective tissue growth factor(CTGF) could inhibit CTGF expression in rats liver in vivo and prevent rats hepatic fibrosis. Methods Twenty four male rats were equaly divided into four groups. Rats received subcutaneous injection of 40% CCl4 (3 ml/kg) together with portal vein injection of saline every three days for 6 consecutive weeks were served as model group; CCl4 together with portal vein delivery of siRNA (0.1 mg/kg) as preventive group; CCl4 for 2 weeks followed by CCl4 and CTGF siRNA for more than 4 weeks as curative group, and only intraportal injection of saline as control group. Portal vein pressure in all rats at 3 days after the last CCl4 injection were measured, and blood and hepatic tissue from rats were harvested. Serum concentration of transaminases, hyaluronic acid(HA) and procollagen type Ⅲ (PⅢNP) were measured. Expression of CTGF mRNA and protein in rats liver was evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Inflammation and fibrosis in rats liver was analyzed by H-E and Sirius red collagen staining. The fibrotic area was measured quantitatively by a computer-aided manipulator. Results Compared with model group, the expression of CTGF mRNA and protein in liver in both preventive and curative groups were markedly down-regulated. Inflammation, necrosis and fibrosis in hepatic tissue was significantly attenuated. In addition, the serum concentration of transaminases, HA and PⅢNP were greatly reduced. The fibrotic areas in preventive, curative and model groups were 5.8%?0.8%, 7.2%?0.9% and 12.3%?0.8%,respectively (P

Objective To investigate the occurrence of p16 gene methylation in the population chronically exposed to arsenic in Inner Mongolia,and to study the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis associated with arsenic exposure.Methods The study group was composed of 40 cases of typical arseniasis selected from the epidemic area,and the two control groups consisting respectively of 40 non-arseniasis cases selected from the same epidemic area,and 40 healthy persons enrolled from non-epidemic area.Methylation of p16 gene in the blood specimens were analyzed for all the subjects with MS-PCR techniques,and statistical analysis was performed using chi square test.Results The positive rates of p16 hypermethylation in blood specimens were 65.0%,47.5% and 20.0% respectively in study group and two control groups,and the rate of hypermethylation increased with the increase in arsenic exposure with drinking water in epidemic areas.The positive rate of p16 hypermethylation showed significant differences(P

Objective To research the physiology of visual cortex activated by rotating grating with functional-MRI(fMRI), and to identify the components of the activation. Methods Functional MRI was performed in 9 healthy volunteers by using GRE-EPI sequences on a 1.5 T MR scanner. In the block designing, rotating grating, static grating, and luminance were plotted as task states, while static grating, luminance, and darkness were set as control states. The stimuli tasks included six steps. Imaging processing and statistical analysis was carried out off-line using SPM99 in single-subject method. Results Some respective areas of visual cortex were activated by the various stimuli information supplied by rotating grating. The strong activation in the middle of occipital lobe located at primary vision area was related to the stimuli of white luminance. Its average maximum points were at 13,-98,-2 and 11, -100,-4. The bilateral activations of Brodmann 19th area located at MT area were related to visual motion perception. Its average maximum points were at 46,-72,-2 and -44,-74, 0. The mild activation in the middle of occipital lobe was related to form perception. Its average maximum points were at -12,-98,-6 and -16,-96, (-6.) Conclusion The plotting of control state is important in bock design. The effective visual information of rotating grating includes components of luminance, visual motion perception, and form perception. FMRI has potential as a tool for studying the basic physiology of visual cortex.

Objective To investigate the expression of CK19mRNA and CD44mRNA in peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer for forecasting micrometastasis. Methods Expression of CK19 and CD44 were detected in 107 patients by RT-PCR method. Results CK19 and CD44 were positive in 31.8%(34/107) and 32.7%(35/107) of patients with breast cancer 24 hours before surgery respectively,which were statistically different from that of 12 days postoperatively and that of normal controls (all P

Objective To investigate the changes of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)gene expression level and the association with pathological staging of liver fibrosis and changes of type Ⅰ,Ⅲ collagen gene expression levels in he- patic fibrogenesis.Methods Hepatic fibrosis rat models were created by subcutaneous injections of CCl_4,and the de- gree of hepatic fibrosis in model rats was determined by HE staining and Sirius red staining.The expressions of CTGF, type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen gene of the rat liver tissue specimens were analysed with the Western blot and/or Reverse tran- scription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Grade I fibrosis was observed in rat liver tissue of CCl_4 in- ductiun for 2 weeks,and grade Ⅲ fibrosis in that of CCl_4 induction for 6 weeks.The CTGF mRNA and protein and type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen mRNAs in hepatic tissue of grade Ⅰ fibrosis and grad Ⅲ fibrosis were increased by 0.64?0.078、 2.66?0.269、1.83?0.096、2.85?0.096 and 2.81?0.055、6.41?0.224、3.25?0.13、2.69?0.082 fold com- pared with normal control,respectively.Conclusion The changes of CTGF gene expression level significantly correla- ted with the degree of liver fibrosis and type Ⅰ collagen gene expression,but not with type Ⅲ collagen expression in liver fibrogenesis.These findings suggested that the upregulation of CTGF gene expression might play an important role in the process of liver fibrogenesis,and postulating the interference of CTGF expression might be a new strategy.

Objective To investigate the effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) on the immune function of natural killer (NK) cells.Methods Healthy human peripheral blood-derived NK cells were cultured alone,or co-cultured with plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) (NK∶ pDC=5∶1) for 48 h with or without HepG 2.2.15-derived HBV.Cell activation was assessed by flow cytometry.The specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) were used to determine the cytokine production,the cytotoxic effect of NK cells on the carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labelled K562 target cells as well as the granzyme and perforin levels in NK cells.Paired results were analysed using Wilcoxon signed rank test.Results HBV did not affect interleukin (IL)-12/IL-18 and IL-18/interferon α (IFNα)-induced interferon γ (IFNγ) production by NK cells when NK cells were cultured alone (both P＞0.05).However,HBV significantly inhibited pDC-induced IFNγ production by NK cells (146.1 pg/mL),while CpG enhanced pDC-induced IFNγ production by NK cells significantly (1135.4 pg/mL,P=0.0005).HBV did not affect pDC-induced NK cell activation and cytotoxicity to K562 target cells as well as intracellular granzyme and perforin levels.ConclusionHBV does not activate but inhibits pDC-induced NK cell function,which may contribute to the persistence of HBV infection.

This study was aimed to establish a method for assay of 4-terpineol, α-terpineol, bornyl acetate and methyl-n-nonylketone in Houttuynia cordata with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS/MS) for the first time in order to provide experimental evidences for its quality control. Undecylen was analyzed quantitatively. GC/MS method was used in the content determination of 4 kinds of components in Houttuynia cordata. GC conditions were that the temperature was firstly increased to 70oC for 5 min, and then 5oC·min-1 to 140oC for 5 min. Then, the temperature was increased by 10oC·min-1 to 250oC for 10 min. The temperature of the injection port was 230oC. The carrier gas was high purity helium. The flow rate was 1.0 mL·min-1. The split ratio was 10:1. The sample quantity was 1 μl. MS conditions were that the detector was MS, EI was 70ev, the temperature of four poles was 150oC, the temperature of ion source was 230oC. The results showed that there was good linearity of four components, which were 4-terpineol, α-terpineol, bornyl acetate and methyl-n-nonylketone obtained within the ranges of 6.492~129.84μg·min-1, 1.097~21.944 μg·min-1, 12.128~242.56 μg·min-1, and 84.76~169.52 μg·min-1, respectively. The average recoveries of the four components were 81.2%, 80.6%, 88.3%, and 84.6%, respectively. The RSDs were 1.5%, 2.3%, 1.1%, and 0.7%, respectively. It was concluded that the method was simple, sensitive, and easy to operate. The simultaneous measurement of multiple indexes on the component for quality evaluation of Houttuynia cordata can effectively reflect the quality of Houttuynia cordata. It can also be used in the quality assessment of fresh Houttuynia c ordate .

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of D-limonene on lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in breast cancer. Methods Human breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-435 were implanted into the mammary fat pad of 24 female nude mice to establish breast cancer model. The tumor volume and the incidences of lymph node metastasis were detected. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the lymphatic microvessel density and VEGF-C expression of the breast cancer tissues. Results In D-limonene group, tumor volume(0.824?0.31) and incidences of lymph node metastasis(25.0%) were significantly inhibited compared with control group (2.178?0.35,87.5%)(all P

This paper analysed our library’s lending records from 2006 to 2007 and studied the reading trends and significance of medicial students.Some idea and advice were put forward in this paper.

AIM: To observe the clinical effect of Toric intraocular lens(Toric IOL)implantation in the correction of corneal astigmatism, and vector analysis of residual astigmatism and corneal astigmatism.

METHODS: A retrospective case observation study. A total of 63 patients with 77 eyes who underwent phacoemulsification combined with Toric IOL implantation in our hospital from September 2018 to October 2019 were selected. LogMAR uncorrected distance visual acuity(UCDVA), best corrected distance visual acuity(BCDVA), residual astigmatism of subjective refraction were observed after operation in 1wk, 1mo, and 3mo. And after dilated pupil, the Toric IOL axis position was measured by OPD-scanⅢ, and compared with the target axis position(LAD).

RESULTS: The median(interquartile range)of UCDVA at 1wk, 1mo, and 3mo after operation were 0.22(0.15, 0.40), 0.30(0.15,0.40),and 0.30(0.15, 0.40), which were better than those of UCDVA \〖0.82(0.60, 1.22)\〗 and BCDVA \〖0.52(0.30, 0.70)\〗 before operation(P<0.008). The residual astigmatism was 0.75(0.50, 1.00), 0.75(0.38, 1.00), 0.50(0.25, 1.00)D, respectively, which was significantly lower than that of preoperative corneal astigmatism \〖2.19(1.73, 2.69)D\〗(P<0.008). At 3mo after surgery, the proportion of UCDVA(LogMAR)≤0.301 was 69%; the proportion of residual astigmatism ≤0.75D was 73%. The median LAD at 1wk, 1mo, and 3mo after surgery were 2.0°, 2.0°, and 3.0°; 81%, 82%, 77% were less than 5°. The maximum LAD value is 11°. Astigmatism vector analysis: preoperative corneal astigmatism was 2.31±0.80D, centroid value was 1.44D@177°±1.99D; Predicted postoperative residual astigmatism was 0.14±0.17D, centroid value was 0.02D@58°±0.22D; residual astigmatism at 3mo after operation was 0.69±0.53D, centroid value was 0.05D@142°±0.88D.

CONCLUSION: Toric IOL can effectively correct corneal astigmatism in patients with cataract and has good rotational stability. Astigmatism vector analysis can directly show the difference between predicting postoperative astigmatism and actual residual astigmatism, which is helpful to analyze and optimize the measurement of corneal astigmatism, calculation of IOL degree, surgical design, postoperative observation.