Objective To investigate the effect of construct the Notch1 (NICD) eukaryotic expression vector on the proliferation and differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro. Methods Rat BMSCs were experimented as the object. NICD eukaryotic expression vector was constructed. pEGFP-N1-NICD expressing plasmids were used to transfect BMSCs. The study included control group (CON group), empty vector group (VEC group) and the trans-fection group (TRA group). After 48-hour transfection, BMSCs were observed for general morphology. The protein expres-sions of NSE, GFAP and Notch1 were detected by real-time PCR and Western blotting assay respectively. The apoptosis, cy-cle distribution and cell proliferation were evaluated by flow cytometry and MTT assay. Results The DNA sequencing con-firmed that the pEGFP-N1-NICD recombinant plasmid was successfully constructed, and both VEC group and TRA group expressed green fluorescence after 48-hour transfection. The relative expression levels of Notch1 and GFAP mRNA and pro-tein were significantly higher in TRA group than those in VEC group and CON group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between VEC group and CON group. After 48-hour transfection, the ratio of living cells was significantly lower in TRA group than that of CON group and VEC group, and the early apoptotic rate and late apoptotic rate were significantly higher in TRA group than those of CON group and VEC group (P<0.05). The late apoptotic rate was significantly higher in VEC group than that of CON group. The proportion of G1/G0 cells was significantly higher in TRA group than that of CON group and VEC group, but S and G2/M cells were significantly lower (P<0.05). The value of growth curve was gradually de-creased in TRA group than that of CON group and VEC group (P<0.05). Conclusion The high expression of NICD gene might induce apoptosis of BMSCs, inhibit the proliferation in part, and induce into glial-like cell differentiation.

Objection To observe the change rules of quantity and species of diatom sin Hunhe River in Shenyang and to provide technology and scientific evidence for drow ning identification and the location of drow ning in forensic investigation. Methods In 2011, different locations for collecting water sam pleswere chosen in Hunhe River in Shenyang. Water sam pleswere collected and variation of quantity and species of diatom swere observed every month. And variation of dom inant species of diatom swas ob-served every week. Results The quantity, speciesand dom inant species of diatom sin Hunhe River in Shenyang varied with different tim eand locations. The quantity and species of diatom swere lowest from Decem ber to February and gradually increased, reaching peak in May and second peak in October, and then gradually decreased. The dom inant species of diatom s varied significantly adjacent two weeksat same location from April to N ovem ber, but had little changesat different locationsin same week from July to August. Conclusion The change rules of quantity and species of diatom sare com plicated and affected by various factors such as environm ent and hydrology. The change rules of speciesand quantity of diatom s should be considered in forensic investigation of drow ning identification and the lo-cation of drow ning.

Objective To analyze results of atopy patch test (APT) with dust mite allergens at different concentrations in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD),and to evaluate the diagnostic value of APT.Methods Totally,85 patients with AD were enrolled into this study.All the patients underwent APT with 5 concentrations (3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g) of dust mite allergens,as well as skin prick test (SPT) with dust mite allergens.Dust mite allergens were obtained from two different manufacturers (group 1 and 2).Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (SIgE) in sera from these patients.The sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value of APT,SPT and SIgE assay were compared,and the results of APT were compared among different concentrations of allergens and between allergens from different manufacturers.Results When SIgE assay served as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 79.41％,76.12％,and 64.29％ respectively for APT,73.53％,80.95％ and 67.57％ respectively for SPT with group 1 dust mite allergens,and 81.53％,77.78％ and 65.09％ respectively for APT,76.02％,79.85％ and 66.07％ respectively for SPT with group 2 allergens.When SPT was regarded as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 78.38％,77.42％,67.44％ respectively for APT,67.57％,84.21％,73.53％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 1 dust mite allergens,79.25％,80.63％ and 69.55％ respectively for APT,61.07％,82.54％ and 77.21％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 2 allergens.There were no significant differences in the sensitivity,specificity or positive predictive value of APT or SPT between the two groups of allergens.The positive rate of APT was 8.24％,22.35％,29.41％,44.71％ and 41.18％ respectively with group 1 allergens at 3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g,and 3.53％,23.53％,31.76％,34.12％ and 35.29％ respectively with group 2 allergens.No significant differences were observed in the positive rate of APT between group 1 and 2 allergens at same concentrations (all P ＞ 0.05),but a significant difference was observed in that between different concentrations of group 1 or 2 allergens (both P＜ 0.05).The positive rate of APT increased with the increase of allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations of group 1 and 2 allergens reached 7 000 pnu/g and 5 000 pnu/g respectively.Conclusions The sensitivity of APT is relatively high for the diagnosis of dust mite allergy.The positive rate of APT increased with the increase in allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations reached a certain level.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the recovery rate of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in children, and explore the prognostic factors in order to guide the clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHOD: A retrospective review was conducted for the prognosis of children with sudden sensorineural hearing loss during the past 5 years (from November 2010 to May 2015) in Chinese PLA General Hospital. This paper have a complete clinical data of 101 patients (113 ears)with sudden hearing loss, ranging from 0 to 18 years old Patients were divided into four groups according to hearing recovery and eight putative prognostic factors were analyzed. RESULT: Among 101 patients (113 ears), the ratio of male and female was 60:53. Treatment was initiated from 1 to 183 days after disease onset, with an average of (18.5 ± 22.1) d. Bilateral and unilateral hearing loss were 24 ears and 89 ears, respectively. The proportion of mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, severe hearing loss and profound hearing loss were 7.1%, 6.2%, 23.9% and 62.8%, respectively. Vertigo and tinnitus occurred in 54.9% and 77.9% of the patients, respectively. After the treatment, the complete recovery rate was 9.7% and the overall recovery rate was 36.3%. The degree of hearing loss, earlier treatment onset, sex and bilateral involvement were significantly associated with hearing recovery (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Sudden sensorineural hearing loss in children was generally identified as severe and profound hearing loss, but after positive and timely treatment, it can be improved or even cured. The mild hearing loss, earlier treatment onset, unilateral hearing loss and female were positive prognostic factors. The concurrence of tinnitus or vertigo, the results of ABR and DPOAE had no significant influence on prognosis.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; diagnosis ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; diagnosis ; Hearing Loss, Unilateral ; diagnosis ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tinnitus ; complications ; Vertigo ; complications

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Fasudil in cerebral I/R injury in mice.Methods 51 C57BL/6J mice was divided into two groups,CMC treated group (n=26) and Fasudil treated group (n=25),randomly.The mice were treated with Fasudil (10 mg/kg) or CMC (0.5％ CMC 10 ml/kg) separately.Then the treated mice were subjected to 60 min of focal ischemia and 18 h reperfusion.The infarct volume of brain was analyzed by TTC staining with MCID image system.BBB permeability was assessed by Evans blue extravasation and albumin leakage which was detected by immuno-blotting assay.The activity of MMP9 was analyzed by zymography.Results The infarct volume in CMC group ((99.07±6.53) mm3) was larger than that in Fasudil group ((57.02±8.93) mm3),the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).The activity of MMP9 in the mice treated with Fasudil was lower than that in CMC group.Compared with the CMC group(albumin (2.95±0.77),Evans blue (5.15±0.24)),the albumin and Evans blue content in the Fasudil treated group (albumin (1.04±0.18),Evans blue (1.96±0.31))reduced significanctly(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Fasudil protects I/R damage by inhibiting the activity of MMP9 to maintain blood-brain barrier permeability.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum cathepsin S (Cat S) and cystatin C(Cys C) expression levels with carotid arterial plaque property in the patients with ischemic stroke(IS).Methods A total of 336 cases of atherosclerotic cerebral infarction were divided into the stable plaque and unstable plaque group according to the carotid arterial ultrasound.Contemporaneous 114 individuals undergoing healthy physical examination served as the control group.Fasting blood was collected from all subjects entering the groups for detecting serum Cat S and Cys C.Results The serum Cat S and Cys C levels and Cat S/Cys C ratio (Cat S/Cys C) had statistically significant difference between the two groups (P＜0.05),moreover the Cat S level in the unstable plaque group of the patients with cerebral infarction was increased compared with that in the stable plaque group,while serum Cys C level was decreased compared with that in the stable plaque group (P＜0.05).The Cat S levels were (75.34-±-15.45)pg/mL and (60.12±18.53)pg/mL and the Cys C levels were (0.73±0.62)mg/L and (0.93±0.53)mg/L,the Cat S/Cys C ratios were (103.68±2.52) and (64.64± 9.24) respectively,the difference between the two groups had statistical significance (P＜0.05).The Spearman correlation analysis showed that the serum Cat S level and Cat S/Cys C ratio had obviously positive correlation with carotid arterial unstable plaque (r=0.498,P＜0.05;r=0.753,P＜0.01);while the level of serum Cys C was negatively correlated with the unstable plaque (r=-0.213,P＜0.05).Conclusion Serum Cat S/Cys C level has a certain correlation with carotid arterial plaque property in ischemic stroke patients,which may become the serological indicators for predicting carotid arterial plaque.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and safety of local lauromacrogol injection in the treatment of laryngopharyngeal hemangioma. METHODS A total of 10 patients suffering from hemangioma of pharynx and larynx from Aug 2015 to Mar 2018 were collected. Endoscope assisted local lauromacrogol injection under topical was used. The therapeutic effects were observed and analyzed.RESULTS All patients were followed up for 3 months to 1 year. Among them, 9 cases were cured and 1 was obviously effective for totally 1 to 4 (mean 1.9) injections. All patients complained of postoperative pain or foreign body sensation, 3 patients were significantly affected by local swelling of the injection site. 2 patients underwent tracheostomy and 1 patient returned to ward with endotracheal intubation postoperatively. No complications such as mucosal ulceration, fever, allergies occurred. CONCLUSION Lauromacrogol injection is a safe and effective method to treat hemangioma of pharynx and larynx.

Objective To investigate the association between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) by using two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR). Methods The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data associated with PSC and CRC were obtained from Finland Biobank and UK Biobank, respectively. A secondary data analysis was performed for all pooled data based on genome-wide association studies to select the genetic loci closely associated with PSC as instrumental variables, and TSMR was conducted by seven methods, i.e., Egger regression in Mendelian randomization, weighted median, inverse variance weighted (IVW) random effects model, maximum likelihood, linear weighted median, IVW radial method, and IVW fixed effects model. Odds ratio (OR) value was used to evaluate the causal relationship between PSC and the risk of CRC. Results There was a positive causal relationship between gene predicted PSC and CRC, and with the IVW fixed effects model as an example, genetically determined patients with PSC could increase the risk of CRC ( OR =1.002 243, 95% confidence interval: 1.001 319-1.003 167). TSMR results showed no heterogeneity ( P =0.87) or horizontal pleiotropy ( P =0.95). The three instrumental variables selected for PSC were strong instrumental variables ( F =11.86). Conclusion TSMR shows the genetic evidence for the association between PSC and the risk of CRC. Regardless of the presence or absence of inflammatory bowel disease, active enteroscopy screening among patients with PSC may help with the early identification and timely intervention of CRC.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of STK39 gene with response to hydrochlorothiazide among ethnic Han Chinese patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: In total 118 patients with essential hypertension were recruited. All participants had received six weeks of treatment with hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg daily. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measurement every 2 weeks. Genotypes of STK39 rs3754777 and rs6749447 were determined using a SNaPshot technique. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in ΔSBP between individuals with rs3754777 CC, CT and TT and those with rs3754777 CC and CT-TT (P<0.05). A significant difference was also detected in ΔDBP between those with rs3754777 CC and CT-TT (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in ΔSBP and ΔDBP between individuals with STK39 rs6749447 GG, GT and TT (all P>0.05). Relative risk analysis showed that STK39 rs3754777 was significantly associated with BP response to hydrochlorothiazide (OR=0.416, 95%CI=0.189-0.918, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Polymorphisms of STK39 rs3754777 may be associated with BP response to hydrochlorothiazide among ethnic Han Chinese with essential hypertension.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Essential Hypertension ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hydrochlorothiazide ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics

Objective: To monitor the WT1 mRNA level and its dynamic changes in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) after hypomethylating agents (HMA) , as well as to assess the significance of WT1 mRNA levels and its dynamic changes in evaluating the efficacy of HMA and distinguishing the disease status of heterogeneous patients with stable disease (SD) . Methods: Bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of 56 patients with MDS who underwent hypomethylating agents (≥4 cycles) from November 2009 to March 2018 were tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the expression of WT1 mRNA, and to observe the correlation between the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression and clinical efficacy and prognosis of patients. Results: WT1 mRNA expression levels of MDS patients decreased significantly after 3 cycles of hypomethylating agent treatment. Besides, the WT1 mRNA expression levels of patients increased significantly after diseases progression. According to the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression levels during SD, 45 cases could be further divided into increased group and non-increased group. In those SD patients with increased WT1 mRNA expression level, the ratio of suffering disease progression or transformation to AML was 95.65% (22/23) , whereas the ratio turned to be 9.09% (2/22) for the non-increased group (χ²=33.852, P<0.001) . Compared with those SD patients reporting no increase in WT1 mRNA expression level, the overall survival[17 (95%CI 11-23) months vs not reached, P<0.001] and progression-free survival [13 (95%CI 8-18) months vs not reached, P<0.001] of those SD patients reporting increase in WT1 mRNA expression level were significantly shorter. Conclusion WT1 mRNA expression level is a useful indicator to assess the efficacy of hypomethylating agents in MDS patients. Especially in patients with SD, detection of the changes in WT1 mRNA expression level is able to predict disease progression and help to make clinical decision.