Objective To investigate effects of Ginkgo biloba extract(EGb) on expression of CREB and pCREB in cortex of aging rats.Methods Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups:young control group,old control group and EGb group.Rats in EGb group were treated with intragastric administration of EGb,while rats in the other two groups were treated with distilled water.The spatial learning and memory were evaluated by Morris water maze,and the expression of CREB,pCREB were detected by western blot.Results( 1 ) Compared with young control group (9.6 ± 2.88,41.55 ± 6.30),the swimming time and times through platform in the target quardrant of rats in old control group(6.8 ± 2.49,34.92 ± 4.56) were reduced (P ＜ 0.05 ).The times passing through the platform and the time exploring the target quadrant were more and longer in EGb group(9.4 ± 2.63,41.0 ± 6.68 ) than those in old control group(P ＜ 0.05 ).(2)Compared with rats in young control group( 1.07 ±0.33,0.26 ± 0.04),relative contents of CREB and p-CREB proteins in cortex (0.70 ± 0.21,0.13 ± 0.05 ) weredecreased in old control group(P＜0.05 ).CREB and p-CREB Levels were higher in EGb group ( 1.02 ±0.18,0.18 ±0.02)than those in old control group(P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusion EGb can ameliorate spatial learning and memory of rats by increasing the expression of CREB and p-CREB in cortex.

This study aimed to summarize the diagnosis and treatment of uncommon complications in esophageal and cardiac cancer operations as well as obtain lessons from the failure. Methods:The etiology, clinical diagnosis, treatment, prevention measures, and factors that contribute to the failure of the uncommon complications were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Results showed ten cured cases and eight death cases (except for the reported eight cases). Conclusion:The following conclusions were ob-tained. 1) The complications described in this paper were rare, but they sometimes occur clinically. If wrong treatment was taken, seri-ous consequences would be expected. 2) Once a jet-like bleeding of aortic esophagus avulsion injury occurs, the surgeon must be calm and take proper treatment to successfully patch up the wounds. 3) The right thoracic approach is a new approach to prevent the injury of azygos vein. 4) Patients with anastomotic stoma fistula easily cause a delay in diagnosis if the leakage was wrapped in the inferior phrenic. 5) Taking preventive measures is the key method for the anastomotic aortoesophageal fistula. 6) Occurrence of pulmonary em-bolism after operation should be monitored. 7) Thoracic gastric mediastinal hernia would cause serious consequences if treatment was not taken at a proper time.

AIM:To investigate the effect of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor ( IGF1R) gene silencing on the growth , migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells .METHODS:The most effective siRNA targeting IGF1R gene was designed and screened .After lentiviral expression vector pLVX-shR-NA2-IGF1R carrying the most effective siRNA sequence was constructed , it was transfected into 293T cells and packed into pLVX-shRNA2-IGF1R lentivirus.Huh7 and Hep3B cells were infected with the pLVX-shRNA2-IGF1R lentivirus to screen the positive clone Huh7 cells and Hep3B cells with the lentivirus .These Huh7 cells and Hep3B cells were cultured to ana-lyze the mRNA level of IGF1R, cell proliferation, cell cycle, cell apoptosis, cell migration/invasion, and the protein levels of IGF1R, Ki-67, p-AKT, p-ERK1, Gli1,β-catenin, cyclin D1, p21 and BCL-XL.RESULTS:The mRNA expression of IGF1R in Huh7 cells and Hep3B cells with pLVX-shRNA2-IGF1R lentivirus was significantly reduced .The proliferation of these cells was remarkably inhibited , and the number in G 1 phase was increased significantly .The percentages of apop-totic cells were increased markedly , and the number of cell migration/invasion was decreased markedly .The protein levels of IGF1R, Ki-67, p-AKT, p-ERK1, Gli1,β-catenin, cyclin D1, p21 and BCL-XL were decreased significantly compared with the blank control group and negative control group .CONCLUSION:The RNAi-mediated IGF1R gene silencing sig-nificantly suppresses the growth and the malignant biological characteristics of Huh 7 cells and Hep3B cells, which may be involved in the reduced protein levels of the above genes induced by down -regulation of IGF1R expression.

ObjectiveTo investigate the value of perfusion CT imaging in thyroid nodule. Methods Of the 40 cases of post-surgical thyroid nodule identified by pathology, nodular goiter was verified in 22 cases, thyroid adenoma in 6 cases,and thyroid carcinoma in 12 cases. All cases underwent CT perfusion scan at preoperative. The perfusion parameters including the blood flow ( BF), blood volume ( BV ), mean transit time ( MTT), and permeability of surface (PS) of region of interest (ROI) were calculated. The Mann-whitney test was used to comparing the differences of the different perfusion parameters. The ones with statistical significance would be introduced into the discriminatory analysis to distinguish the benign and malignant thyroid nodule. ResultsThe median MTT in 28 cases with benign thyroid nodule were 4. 33 s (Min 1.42 s,Max 10. 93 s), and that in 12 cases with malignant nodules were 2. 18 s( Min 1. 95 s, Max 2. 87 s). The difference had statistical significance ( P ＝ 0. 00 ) . The median BF in cases with thyroid carcinoma was 560. 23( Min 330. 66, Max 1000.00) ml ·100 g-1 ·min-1, and that in cases with the benign nodular were 374.79(Min 117.47,Max 1000.00) ml · 100 g-1 · min-1. There was a significant statistical difference ( P ＝0. 01 ). Through the discriminatory analysis, the difference of MTT between benign and malignant nodules were statistically significant (P ＝ 0. 00 ).After establing the Bayes discriminatory function, the overall diagnostic accuracy was 87.5％ (35/40).Conclusions MTT and BF are useful parameters in CT perfusion imaging to distinguish the benign and malignant thyroid nodules and the MTT is more accuracy.

Objective To explore the relationship between the osteonecrotic volume (lesion size), angle and the index of necrotic extent on the femoral head. Methods Fifty-one hips in 39 patients with non-traumatic avascular osteonecrosis on the femoral head were divided into 12 equal segments from the head to the neck junction (a turning point of the spherical curve of the head) with whole hip displacement, each with 30 degrees on a coronal plane of weight-bearing surface. The osteonecrotic angle of the arc of each necrotic segment from the center of the femoral head was measured at the point of one- to 12-o'clock on imaging of two dimensional reconstruction of computerized tomography (CT) scans and anteroposterior and lateral radiographs. Necrotic volume on each segment of the femoral head was calculated with fluid displacement method. The index of osteonecrotic extent on the femoral head was calculated using direct anatomical measurements. Results Osteoneerotic volume on the femoral head at the point of 12- to one-o'clock on coronal plane was (74. 5 ± 7.4)% of the sphere equivalent of the whole femoral head, which was positively correlated to its necrotic angle [ (41.9±8. 3) degrees] at the point of one-o'clock on the plane, with a coefficient of correlation of 0. 843, and that at the point of one- to two-o'clock on the plane was (73.7 ±0. 4) %, which was positively correlated to its necrotic angle [ (41.9 ± 1.8) degrees] at the point of two-o'clock, with a coefficient of correlation of 0. 543. Osteonecrotic volume on the point of 11- to 12-o'cleck was (83.6±8.6)%, and the necrotic angle at the point of 12-o'clock was (44. 9±3.9) degrees, which were positively correlated each other, with a coefficient of correlation of 0. 701 (P <0. 01 ). Osteonecrotic volume on the femoral head was positively correlated to its necrotic angle , modified index of necrotic extent, index of necrotic extent and Kerboul conjugated necrotic angle, with coefficients of correlation of 0. 798, 0. 701, 0. 377 and 0. 398 ( P < 0. 01 ), respectively, at the point of one o' clock. Conclusions Measurements of osteonecrotic volume was positively correlated to the index of necrotic extent and necrotic angle on the femoral head, respectively. Necrotic angle on the plane at 30-degree of the trochanter on the femoral head can well reflect its necrotic volume.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a common cause of Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) and may also cause severe neurological diseases, such as encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like paralysis. To examine the genetic diversity of EV71, we determined and analyzed the complete VP1 sequences (891 nucleotides) from nine EV71 strains isolated in Fuyang, China. We found that nine EV71 strains isolated were over 98% homologous at the nucleotide level and 93%-100% homologous to members of the C4 subgenogroup. At the amino acid level, these Fuyang strains were 99% -100% homologous to one another, 97%-100% homologous to members of the C4 subgenogroup, and the histidine(H) at amino acid position 22 was conserved among the Fuyang strains. The results indicate that Fuyang isolates belong to genotype C4, and an H at position 22 appears to be a marker for the Fuyang strains.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the mumps virus SP, which was isolated in China, was determined. As with other mumps viruses, its genome was 15 384 nucleotides (nts) in length and encoded seven proteins. The full-length nucleotide sequence of the SP isolate differed from other strains by 4%-6.8% at the nucleotide sequence level. Due to variations of amino acids over the full genome (including the HN and N genes), this isolate exhibited significant variations in the antigenic sites. This report is the first to describe the full-length genome of a genotype F strain and provide an overview of the diversity of genetic characteristics of a circulating mumps virus.

This retrospective study was to compare the clinical effects of arthroscopie drilling with arthroscopic microfracture technology on full-thickness chondral defects in 68 patients treated between March 2003 and June 2005. The patients were followed up for an average of (20 ± 5 ) months. Lysholm score and Tegner scale were used to evaluate the efficacy. For the arthrescopic drilling group (n = 15 ) and the microfracture surgery group (n =27) , total effective rates were 12/15 and 85% (23/27), respectively. Our data suggest that those two methods provide simple and effective surgical procedure for the treatment of chondral defects of the knee; the results of arthroscopic microfracture were significantly better than arthroscopic drilling.

One hundred and fifty femoral head necrosis patients with intramedullary decompression received autologous stem cell transplantation. The blood was taken from unilateral or bilateral iliac, in each group the volumes of blood taken were 200, 300 or 400 ml respectively. The number of mononuclear cells was counted before and after centrifugation. The mononuclear cell count in subgroup of 200 ml,300 ml and 400 ml taken from unilateral iliac after centrifugation was (3. 11 ±1. 42) × 1010/L, (2. 62 ±1. 31 ) × 1010/L and(2. 13 ±. 91) × 1010/L. The concentration was significantly lower in subgroup of 400 ml than that of 200 ml (t=5. 118, P<0. 01). The mononuclear cells count in subgroup of 200 ml,300 ml and 400 ml taken from bilateral iliac was(4. 51 ±. 21) × 1010/L, (3. 89 ±. 06) × 1010/L and (2. 98 ±1. 39) × 1010/L, the concentration was significantly lower in subgroup of 400 ml than that of subgroup of 200 ml (t = 6. 446, P < 0. 01). Whether 200 ml or 300 ml or 400 ml blood were taken, the mononuclear cell count in blood taken from bilateral iliac after centrifugation was significantly higher than that from unilateral iliac(t = 3. 119,P < 0. 01; t = 5. 544, P < 0. 01 ;t = 2. 207 ,P < 0. 05). The results indicate that the concentration of isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells is higher from bilateral iliac than unilateral iliac. The concentration of isolated monocytes is reduced gradually with the increased blood volume.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) hold the potential of differentiating into osteoclasts. Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharide (PSP) may inhibit the differentiation of BM-MNCs into osteoclasts and it is expected to become a new drug for the treatment of osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of PSP on the differentiation of mouse BM-MNCs into osteoclasts induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) and bone resorption in vivo. METHODS: Mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages cultured in vitro, the effect of macrophage colony stimulating factor and PSP (5, 10, 20, 40, 80,160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560 mg/L) on the proliferation of mouse BM-MNCs was detected by cell counting kit-8 assay to determine the PSP concentration range; the mouse BMMs were cultured and induced in DMEM medium containing macrophage colony stimulating factor, RANKL and 5, 10, 20, 40, 80,160, 320, 640 mg/L PSP, respectively; those cultured without PSP served as control group. The morphological changes of cells were observed under an inverted microscope.; the number of osteoclasts was detected by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining; the mRNA expression levels of osteoclast-related genes including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, matrix metalloproteinase-9, cathepsin K, and nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. A mouse model of calvarial osteolysis induced by lipopolysaccharide was established to receive PSP intervention, and then micro CT scanning, three-dimensional reconstruction and relevants software were used for quantitative analysis of bone volume/volume percentage, trabecular number, trabecular bone spacing and thickness. The number of osteoclasts was identified by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining and quantitative analysis of bone resorption area was conducted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the control group, the concentration of PSP below 640 mg/L showed no significant effect on the proliferation of BMMs (P > 0.05). Different concentrations of PSP (40-640 mg/L) significantly reduced the number of osteoclasts, osteoclast differentiation and maturation, and the mRNA expression levels of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, matrix metalloproteinase-9, cathepsin K, and nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 TRAP, MMP-9, CtsK and NFATc1 (P < 0.05). Compared with lipopolysaccharide, PSP could effectively alleviate the lipopolysaccharide-induced calvarial osteolysis, and the bone volume/volume percentage, trabecular number, and trabecular bone spacing were significantly decreased (P < 0.05); additionally, the number of osteoclasts and the area of bone resorption were decreased significantly (P < 0.01). To conclude, PSP can inhibit the differentiation and maturation of mouse BMMs to osteoclasts and alleviate lipopolysaccharide-induced calvarial osteolysis.