Objective To investigate the relationship between the sigmoid colon propagating contractions and the gut hormones cholecystokinin(CCK)and motilin(MTL)in the patients with irritable bowel syndrome(IBS),and to reveal the gut hormones' modulation to the sigmoid colon motility.Methods Twenty diarrea-predominent IBS patients(D-IBS),and sex/age matched 20 constipation-predominent IBS patients(C-IBS)and 15 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study.From June 2005 to Mar.2006,the high amplitude propagating waves and loger time of the sigmoid colon was measured by means of a liquid-perfused capillary tube connected to a computer.Meanwhile,the concentrations of CCK,MTL of blood plasma and sigmoid colon mucosa were tested by means of immunoassay technology.Results The D-IBS group had higher amplitude of the sigmoid colon propagating waves and their time percentage than that of the C-IBS group and the control group(P

Objective To investigate the risks of operative contamination of surgical gear by exfoliated cancer in 78 patients who received surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods Surgical gear from 78 patients who were operated for primary hepatocellular carcinoma were divided into four groups:A.surgical instruments; B.surgeon gloves; C.gauze and gloves used for cleaning equipment; D.gauze and gauze pad used for cleaning operation area.Saline was used to soak the surgical gear followed by low speed centrifugation.The precipitate was stained and then observed for cancer cells.Results The positive rates of cancer cell on surgical gear were significantly associated with the TNM stage,tumor location,tumor size,and surgical approach.The positive rate of liver cancer cell on surgical gear in TNM stage Ⅲ was higher than TNM stage Ⅰ / Ⅱ (56.3％ vs 21.7％,P=0.002).The positive rate of cancer cell on surgical gear was significantly related to tumor size and location (P=0.006,P=0.001).The positive cancer cell detection rate of non-anatomical liver resection was significantly higher than anatomical resection (53.8 ％ vs 26.9 ％,P =0.019).The positive cancer cell detection rate was significantly associated with different types of surgical gear (P=0.008),in which group C showed the highest cancer cell detection rate.Conclusion The risks of cancer cell contamination of surgical gear were significantly associated with progression of hepatocellular carcinoma,tumor size,location and surgical approach,and also associated with the frequency in the use of surgical gear,the operation scope of contact and the nature of surgical gear.

Objective This study investigated a method to rapidly inactivate tumor cells on surgical instruments intraoperatively.Methods Tumor cells were collected by immersing and washing the surgical instruments in 37 ℃ saline.The precipitation was collected by low speed centrifugation and then was cultured to harvest the tumor cells.The tumor cells were immersed in saline and distilled water of different temperatures for different duration of time.Inverted microscopy was used to investigate the changes in morphology.Results After immersion in 55 ℃ distilled water for 60 seconds,the tumor cells were swollen,the cell membranes disappeared,the sizes of the nuclei were reduced,the chromatin was condensed,and some cells lysed and separated from each other.Additionally,these tumor cells floated in the culture medium and lacked any living cells adhering to the walls of the bottle.In the group of tumor cells treated with 55 ℃ saline for 60 seconds,there were no obvious morphological changes of the tumor cell or nucleus.Conclusion The intraoperative immersion of surgical instruments in 55 ℃ distilled water for 60 seconds could completely inactivate tumor cells.

Objective To investigate the relationship between positive peritoneal exfoliated cancer cells and the clinicopathological features of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before any invasive treatment.Methods Of the 92 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent laparotomy,ascites fluid was collected in the patients with peritoneal ascites; and peritoneal lavage fluid was collected in those patients without peritoneal ascites.Then,shedded cancer cells in these fluid samples were detected.Results The positive rates of peritoneal cancer cells were associated with the TNM stage,tumor location and tumor size.The positive detection rate of cancer cells in TNM stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ was significantly higher than stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ (38.1％ vs 8.0％ ; P =0.0005).The positive detection rate was higher in tumors located closer to the surface (P =0.0 002),and with larger diameter (P =0.00 007).Conclusion Peritoneal cancer cells were significantly correlated with tumor stage,tumor location and size in hepatocellular carcinoma.

FANCD2 is involved in DNA damage repair and maintenance of chromosome stability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of FANCD2 in sporadic breast cancer tissues and its association with clinicopathological features. A total of 162 Chinese women with invasive breast carcinoma who had no family history in first-degree relatives and 12 normal breast tissues were examined. The expression of FANCD2 was detected by immunohistochemical staining based on a tissue microarray technique. SAS system was used to analyze the data. Twenty-one out of the 162 invasive breast cancers (13%) were negative for FANCD2. The mean percentage of FANCD2 positive cells was significantly lower in breast cancers than in controls (P<0.05). FANCD2 expression was significantly inversely associated with histological grade and TNM stage (P<0.05), but not with axillary lymph node status or other conventional prognostic markers such as ER, PR, Her-2 and PCNA (P>0.05). It was suggested that FANCD2 may play a critical role in breast carcinogenesis. It may become a valuable and independent marker for identifying women with sporadic breast cancer and evaluating the prognosis.

Objective To evaluate the function of MRE11 in inflammasome activation.Methods Different stimuli,in-cluding Poly(I∶C), Poly(dA∶dT),E.coli gDNA,293T gDNA,CPPD and HSV,were used to identify the effective inflamma-some activator using ELISA.Then, MRE11 siRNA oligos were sythesized and transfected into THP-1 cells while Western blotting was used to analyze the efficacy of MRE 11 knockdown .Finally ELISA and Western blotting were used to analyze the involvement of MRE11 in inflammasome activation induced by Poly (I∶C), Poly(dA∶dT), E.coli gDNA and 293T gDNA. Results The IL-1βsecretion and pro-caspase-1 activation which induced by Poly ( I∶C) , Poly( dA∶dT) , E.coli gDNA and 293T gDNA were reduced with different degrees in MRE 11-knockdown THP-1 cells.Conclusion These results indicate that MRE11 is required for inflammasome activation induced by genetic materials .

Objective To analyze the expression of interleukin (IL)-31 in tuberculous pleural effusion,and to evaluate its diagnostic value of tuberculous effusion.Methods Seventy-one patients with pleural effusion were enrolled,including 40 cases of tuberculous pleural effusion and 31 cases of malignant pleural effusion.Luminex method was applied to detect the IL-31 expression in pleural effusion.IL-31 levels were compared using non-parametric Mann-WhitneyU test,and the receiver operator characteristic (ROC)curve was used to elvaluate the diagnostic value of IL-31 .Results IL-31 expression in tuberculous pleural effusion was significantly higher than that in malignant pleural effusion with statistical significance (529.4 ng/L vs 13.8 ng/L,U =62,P <0.01 ).Based on the level of IL-31 expression,area under the ROC curve was 0.95 with the optimum cut-off value of 67.5 ng/L.Thus,the sensitivity and specificity of IL-31 ≥67.5 ng/L for diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy were 82.5 % (95 %CI :73.3% - 94.2%)and 100.0% (95 %CI :91 .4%-100.0%),respectively.Conclusion IL-31 is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion, which favors the differentiation of tuberculosis from malignance.

Objective To evaluate the effects of pacing in right ventricular septum (RVS) on hemodynamics among atrioventricular sequential dual chamber pacing Methods Twenty patients with high grade or complete atrioventricular block received permanent dual chamber pacemaker ( DDD ),were randomized into right ventricular septum pacing group (RVS)and right ventricular apex pacing group (RVA)according to the ventricular leads position.The QRS duration of the ECG,the left ventricular ejection (LVEF),the interventricular mechanical delay( IVMD )and the plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)were compared before and after operations.Results Compared with the preoperation,the mean QRS duration ( ( 187.00 ± 15.67 ) ms and (94.00 ±9.17 ) ms),the IV MD ( (43.20 ± 6.79 ) ms and ( 15.00 ± 4.08 ) ms ),the level of BNP ( ( 89.70 ± 8.30) ng/L and (40.00 ± 4.73 ) ng/L) increased( P ＜ 0.05 ) and LVEF decreased significantly ( (53.70 ± 1.34) % and (58.60 ±1.65 )% ,P ＜ 0.05 ) in RVA group,but didn't change in RVS group (P ＞ 0.05 ).After three months following up,the mean QRS duration and the IVMD in RVS group( (119.00 ±7.38 )ms,(19.00 ±4.59)ms) were shorter than that of RVA group( ( 187.00 ± 15.67) ms,(43.20 ± 6.79) ms) ( P ＜ 0.05 ),the LVEF was higher and the plasma level of BNP was lower than that of RVA group ( (57.00 ± 2.00) % and ( 53.70 ± 1.34) %,(44.20 ± 9.18 ) ng/Land ( 89.70 ±8.30) ng/L,P ＜0.05).Conclusions The RVS pacing could keep the normal ventricular activation sequence and biventricular contraction synchrony farthest without side effects on hemodynamics in comparison with the RVA pacing.The RVS pacing is more approaching physiological rhythm than the RVA pacing.

Objective To investigate the electrocardiographic characteristics and assess the efficiency of ra-diofrequency catheter ablation(RFCA) in ventricular arrhythmia arising from the aortic sinus of Valsalva. Methods Eighteen patients(6 males and 12 females)were selected to undergo RFCA for ventficular arrhythmia originating from the left aortic sinus of Valsava. All of them were symptomatic,but without evidence of structural heart disease. Activation mapping was performed in the endocardium of the aortic sinus of Valsalva,then ablation was performed at the site with the earliest ventricular wave in endocardium electrograms. At the same time, coronary and aortic angiog-raphy were performed to assess the anatomic relationship between the ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular pre-mature contraction (VPC) origin and coronary arteries and aortic valve before the RF energy delivery. Results Eighteen patients were successfully managed, with no major complications related to the procedure. VT eliminated and VPC counts on 24-hour ECG monitoring decreased significantly after the ablation[18 474(12 399,26 812)/24h vs 4 (1,7)/24 h, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, P<0.05]. During a follow-up period of 6 monthes, there was no recur-rence. Conclusions Ventricular arrhythmia arising from the aortic sinus of Valsalva has specific electrocardiograph-ic characteristics, and it can be successfully and safely treated under the guidance of activation mapping.

Objective To explore the role of basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor (BATF) in active tuberculosis, and to provide clues for diagnosis and therapy of tuberculosis.Methods Sixteen patients with active tuberculosis (ATB), ten cases of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and fourteen healthy controls (HC) were included in this study.Flow cytometry was applied to detect the expressions of BATF and programmed death-1 (PD-1) in T lymphocytes, and the changes of BATF by blockade of PD-1/PD-L pathway using specific blocking antibody antiPD-1, antiPD-L1 and antiPD-L2.The expressions of BATF were compared using Mann-Whitney U test.And the relation of BATF and PD-1 was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis.Results The CD4+ T lymphocytes expressing BATF accounted for 5.16% (2.96%,8.71%) of CD4+ T lymphocytes in ATB group, which was higher than 1.05% (0.40%,1.27%) in LTBI group and 0.71%(0.43%,1.21%) in HC group, and the difference were statistically significant (U value were 6.5 and 9.0, respectively, both P<0.01).The CD8+ T lymphocytes expressing BATF accounted for 4.10% (2.27%,8.17%) of CD8+ T lymphocytes in ATB group, which was higher than 0.55% (0.34%,1.18%) in LTBI group and 0.84% (0.41%,1.29%) in HC group, and the difference were statistically significant (U value were 5.0 and 8.0, respectively, both P<0.01).Furthermore, the percentage of BATF+ PD-1+ CD4+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of ATB was significantly higher than those in the peripheral blood of LTBI and HC, the difference were statistically significant (Uvalue were 16.0 and 14.5, respectively, both P<0.01), and the percentage of BATF+ PD-1+ CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of ATB was significantly higher than those in the peripheral blood of LTBI and HC, the difference were statistically significant (Uvalue were 10.0 and 16.5, respectively, both P<0.01).In addition, there was a positive correlation between the percentage of BATF+ T cells and PD-1+ T cells, both in CD4+ T cells (r=0.676,P=0.016) and CD8+ T cells (r=0.610,P=0.035).The expressions of BATF both in CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells were decreased followed by blockade of PD-1/PD-L pathway (P<0.05).Conclusions BATF may be involved in the regulation of immune pathogenesis of tuberculosis.In order to provide a theory for anti-tuberculosis immunotherapy fargeting BATF, further research need to be proceeded.