To summarize the clinical results of combined transoral anterior decompression and posterior decompression and internal fixation of irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with spinal cord compression. 12 cases of irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with spinal cord compression were operated on with transoral anterior decompression combined with posterior decompression and occipitocervical internal fixation with occipitocervical CD rod or Cervifix. With an average of 20 month follow up, clinical cure rate was evaluated according to Symon and Lavender . Vertebral canal vector diameters in MR were measured. The results showed that the total clinical effective rate was 91.6%, and the remarkable effective rate was 50%. The average improvement rate of vertebral canal decompression was 73.6 %. These results suggest that transoral anterior decompression combined with posterior decompression and internal fixation is more suitable for irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with spinal cord compression.

AIM: To investigate the effects of recombinant human interleukin-13 (rhIL-13) on the expression of proto-oncogene c-mpl in Dami cells, a human megakaryobiastic leukemia cell line. METHODS: The expression of c-mpl mRNA in Dami cells was investigated with RT-PCR. The expression of membrane-bound protein c-mpl on Dami cells was investigated with ligand combination experiment. RESULTS: In RT-PCR experiment, we found the quantitis of expression of c-mpl mRNA in 25 ?g/L rhIL-13 group increased by 24.8%. In ligand combination experiment, we found quantitis of expression of membrane-bound protein c-mpl in 100 ?g/L rhIL-13 group increased by 28.5% ( P

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; pathology ; Adult ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Keratins ; metabolism ; Metaplasia ; Mucin-1 ; metabolism ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) and its disassembled recipes on rats' neurogenesis after focal cerebral ischemia and to investigate its underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODSFocal cerebral ischemia model was induced by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 90 min using the intraluminal filament model. Rats were divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, the BYHWD group, the qi supplementing group, and the blood activating group. Medication was performed by gastrogavage 24 h after ischemia for 14 successive days. 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) (at 50 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected, once per day for 14 successive days. The neurological function was assessed using modified neurological severity score (mNSS) and the corner test at day 1, 7, and 14 after ischemia. BrdU/Nestin, BrdU/NeuN, and BrdU/GFAP positive cells were examined by double immunofluorescence at day 14 after ischemia. The protein expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were detected by Western blot at day 14 after ischemia.

RESULTSCompared with the model group, the score of mNSS and the frequency of turning right significantly decreased in the BYHWD group and the qi supplementing group (P < 0.01), the number of BrdU/Nestin in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle, and BrdU/ NeuN and BrdU/GFAP positive cells in the peripheral ischemic cortex increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), protein expression of BDNF and VEGF increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the qi supplementing group, there was no statistical difference in BrdU/GFAP. But there was no statistical difference in each index of the blood activating group (P > 0.05). Compared with BYHWD group, the number of BrdU/Nestin, BrdU/ NeuN, and BrdU/GFAP positive cells significantly decreased (P < 0.01), and the protein expression of BDNF and VEGF were significantly reduced in the qi supplementing group and the blood activating group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSBYHWD could significantly improve neurogenesis and neurological function recovery after focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Its mechanisms might be related to up-regulating protein expression of BDNF and VEGF. Drugs for qi supplementing and drugs for blood activating had synergistic effects.

Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Neurogenesis ; drug effects ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

To establish method suitable to assay HCMVpp65 of the blood donors in blood bank and to supply safe blood to the patients, the immunocytochemical techniques were used, (6 - 8) x 10(6)/ml cells were counted, 50 x 10(3) cells were detected by light microscope, The results showed that 10 positive samples in 103 samples were found, positive rate was 9.71%, among 10 positive samples, 2 samples were still positive in the second detecting. In conclusion, this method is simple, quick and effective, suitable to detect HCMVpp65 of the blood donors in the blood bank.
Blood Banks ; Blood Donors ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Phosphoproteins ; blood ; Viral Matrix Proteins ; blood

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to evaluate the impact of two reconstruction algorithms (halfscan and multisector) on the image quality and the accuracy of measuring the severity of coronary stenoses by using a pulsating cardiac phantom with different heart rates (HRs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Simulated coronary arteries with different stenotic severities (25, 50, 75%) and different luminal diameters (3, 4, 5 mm) were scanned with a fixed pitch of 0.16 and a 0.35 second gantry rotation time on a 64-slice multidetector CT. Both reconstruction algorithms (halfscan and multisector) were applied to HRs of 40-120 beats per minute (bpm) at 10 bpm intervals. Three experienced radiologists visually assessed the image quality and they manually measured the stenotic severity. RESULTS: Fewer measurement errors occurred with multisector reconstruction (p = 0.05), a slower HR (p < 0.001) and a larger luminal diameter (p = 0.014); measurement errors were not related with the observers or the stenotic severity. There was no significant difference in measurements as for the reconstruction algorithms below an HR of 70 bpm. More nonassessable segments were visualized with halfscan reconstruction (p = 0.004) and higher HRs (p < 0.001). Halfscan reconstruction had better quality scores when the HR was below 60 bpm, while multisector reconstruction had better quality scores when the HR was above 90 bpm. For the HRs between 60 and 90 bpm, both reconstruction modes had similar quality scores. With excluding the nonassessable segments, both reconstruction algorithms achieved a similar mean measured stenotic severity and similar standard deviations. CONCLUSION: At a higher HR (above 90 bpm), multisector reconstruction had better temporal resolution, fewer nonassessable segments, better quality scores and better accuracy of measuring the stenotic severity in this phantom study.
*Algorithms ; Artifacts ; Computer Simulation ; Coronary Angiography/*methods ; Coronary Stenosis/*radiography ; Electrocardiography ; *Heart Rate ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/*methods ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Observer Variation ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Reproducibility of Results ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tomography, Spiral Computed/*methods

Objective: Recently, burnout and mental health issues regarding nurses are reported increasingly. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety symptoms among hospital nurses and determine their association with psychological and job-related factors. Methods: Data on demographics, job-related characteristics, burnout, Type A behavior patterns, self-esteem, and happiness were collected from 515 nurses working at a university hospital in Korea. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, with scores of 8 or higher indicating the presence of anxiety symptoms. Demographic, job-related, and psychological factors were compared according to the presence of anxiety. Logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with anxiety symptoms. Results: Two hundred and four (39.6%) participants had anxiety symptoms. Self-esteem and happiness were associated with a lower risk of anxiety symptoms, whereas burnout was associated with a higher risk of anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, being female, having a career of less than five years, and requiring counseling due to stress were associated with a higher risk of anxiety symptoms. Being younger, female, or a basic nurse; having a career of less than five years; partaking in shift work; experiencing job dissatisfaction; requiring counseling due to stress; being exposed to higher levels of burnout; and having lower levels of self-esteem and happiness were all found to be significantly correlated with anxiety symptoms. Conclusion These findings suggest that promoting self-esteem and happiness while reducing burnout may be beneficial in preventing and managing anxiety symptoms among hospital nurses.

This study was aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of growth factor-primed donor peripheral mononuclear stem cell infusion (DMNCI) for patients with relapsed leukemia after haploidentical bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The donor was the same individual for both BMT and DMNCI. All the three patients described here were Philadelphia chromosome positive leukemia before haploidentical BMT; one case was newly diagnosed as acute lymhoblastic leukemia (ALL) and the others were chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Two cases (one with ALL and one with CML) manifested with clinical relapse and the third case was in the stage of molecular relapse. The former 2 patients received a single bulk dose of DMNCI, the inoculums of which contained mononuclear cells of 8.25 x 10(8)/kg or 5.24 x 10(8)/kg and CD3-positive cells of 1.87 x 10(8)/kg or 1.14 x 10(8)/kg respectively. The third case received initial dose of DMNCI which was 2.0 x 10(7)/kg, and received CD3 positive cells of 1.1 x 10(7)/kg. The results indicated that the different therapeutic responses were found in all three patients. Two patients with clinical relapse received temporal remission, and died of severe graft versus host disease (GVHD), relapse and failure at day 41 and 49 after DMNCI. The third patient with molecular relapse received molecular remission after 2 infusions of DMNCI. All three patients developed acute GVHD, but two patients among them developed GVHD of grad IV, other one developed GVHD of grad I and has survived in disease-free state during half a year follow-up. It is concluded that the DMNCI may be effective for the treatment of relapsed leukemia after haploidentical BMT and this treatment can be safe if the initial dose of DMNCI is 10(7)/kg and subsequent single dose of DMNCI gradually increases.
Adult ; Blood Donors ; Blood Transfusion, Autologous ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; methods ; Child ; Female ; Haplotypes ; immunology ; Humans ; Leukemia ; therapy ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; therapy

INTRODUCTIONDermatomyositis (DM) is a multisystem inflammatory disease with a strong association with malignancy. We aimed to describe a series of Asian patients with DM and identify any significant clinical factors associated with malignancy.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a retrospective review of a multi-racial cohort of 69 Asian patients diagnosed with DM over an 11-year period from 1996 to 2006.

RESULTSMalignancy was detected in 15 out of 68 patients (22%), the most common of which was nasopharyngeal carcinoma (7 cases). Compared to the non-malignancy group, the malignancy-associated group was older and had more male patients. There were no statistically significant clinical, serological or laboratory factors associated with a higher risk of malignancy.

CONCLUSIONThis study highlights the importance of ongoing malignancy screening especially for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Asian patients with DM.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma ; Confidence Intervals ; Dermatomyositis ; complications ; epidemiology ; immunology ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Weakness ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; immunology ; pathology ; Odds Ratio ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes ; complications ; epidemiology ; immunology ; pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship ol lingual region upper airway stricture and lingua-palate position type in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients.

METHODSOne hundred patients with OSAHS were included in the study and divided into 4 groups by lingua-palate age, AHI, BMI and lowest SaO2, the dimensions and area of lingual region airway, the thickness of retropharyngeal and lateral pharyngeal tissue, the tongue width, tongue length and tongue area were compared among four groups. The multinomial step regression process was performed with SPSS software to explore the effects of lingua-palate position type on lingual region upper airway stricture.

RESULTSThere were no statistical difference of age, BMI, AHI and lowest pulse oxygen among four groups OSAHS patients (P > 0.05). And the CT results showed: starting from type I to type IV, the area, coronal and arrowe diameter of lingual region upper airways were decreasing, tongue length, tongue area and the percentage of lingual region airway stricture were increasing, the percentage of lingual region airway stricture were 0/25, 3/39, 7/22, 14/14, respectively (P < 0.05). The multinomial step regression analysis showed that the area of lingual airway was the most important factor of lingua-palate position type, the unstandardized coefficient was -0.39, and standardized coefficient was -0.545.

CONCLUSIONSThe study suggests that there is evident correlation between lingual region airway stricture and lingua-palate position type, and lingual region airway stricture can be roughly determined by lingua-palate position type.

Adult ; Aged ; Airway Obstruction ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Palate ; diagnostic imaging ; Pharynx ; diagnostic imaging ; Radiography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; diagnostic imaging ; Tongue ; diagnostic imaging ; Young Adult