Objective To survey age of menarehe in Pudong district in Shanghai. Methods Data in this study were derived from 56 924 women at age of 20 -81 years in screening for cervical cancer between January 2007 and July 2008 in Pudong district. The age of menarche were recorded in a questionnaire. To investigate the trends in age at menarehe in different socioeconomic status, the subjects were divided into 12 groups in 5-year birth cohorts. The mean menarche age in each group was analyzed by analysis of variance(ANOVA). The percentage of menarche age at 10- 12 years and more than 18 years was analyzed by χ2 method. Results (1 ) The minimum age of menarcbe recorded is 10 years old, and the maximum is 28 years old, with average age of menarche at 15.7 years. In all groups, the smallest average age of menarcbe is 14. 6 years in 26 - 30 years old age group, while the biggest average age of menarche age is 16. 5 years in ＞ 75 years old group; The difference showed statistical significance (P ＜ 0. 01 ). (2) The percentages for participants with early menarehe age (10 - 12 years old) or late menarehe age (＞ 18-year-old menarche) were 1.82% (1034/56 924 ) and 5.20 % (2959/56 924 ) respectively. However, the maximum percentage for early menarche was recorded in 31 -35 years old group (4. 45% ,197/4431 ), only 0. 84% (10/1191 ) of participants in ＞75 years old group was classified as early menarebe. Meanwhile, the lowest percentage for late menarehe was 0. 38% (17/4431 ) in 31 - 35 years old group, and the highest percentage was 14. 70% (91/619) in ＞ 75 years old group. The changes in the percentages for early menarche or late menarche are significantly associated with age differences (P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion The study suggested that the average of onset age of menarche in Pudong district has declined over the past decades in an age-based way, accompanied with the increase of the percentage for early menarche and the decrease of percentage for late menarehe.

Objective To investigate the proliferative characteristics of fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS)in osteoarthritis in vitro and the mechanism of the immunosuppressive effect of total glucusides of paeony(TGP).Methods FLS of OA and non-inflamed synovium(NS)were cultured and identified in vitro in the presence or absence of TGP.After incubation,the survival fraction(SF)of FLS was evaluated by MTI' and the TNF-?,IFN-?and bFGF level in cultured FLS supernatant was measured by ELISA.The expression of FLS c-los mRNA and cell cycle of OA-FLS was observed by RT-PCR and flow eytometry respectively at the same time.Results No statistical significant differences were noted between the OA and NS FLS in pro- liferating double time.High doses of TGP suppressed FLS-SF more evidently in OA patients than in NS(P0.05).Conclusion High dose TGP can inhibit OA-FLS proliferation,modulate cy- tokine secretion and c-fos expression in OA.This suggests that TGP has immunosuppressive effect on OA syn- ovitis,probably by preventing the synovial hypertrophy in OA.

Objective To investigate the value of Periodically Rotated Overlapping Parallel Lines Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) in omitting the motion and susceptibility artifacts in head MRI. Methods Thirty nine cases of restless patients and eighteen cases with fixed metal artificial tooth underwent head MRI using T2WI or DWI with PROPELLER during April and Nov. in 2006 were analyzed respectively. The PROPELLER images and common MRI images were compared. Results The common images of 39 restless patients were not suitable to diagnosis because of moving artifact and pure imaging quality, while the PROPELLER T2WI images eliminate the artifact obviously and display the lesion clearly. Susceptibility artifacts were found in 18 patients with artificial tooth in common MRI images, and the artifacts were almost not found in PROPELLER DWI images and so satisfied the need of diagnoses. Conclusion PROPELLER T2WI and DWI can remove significantly the motion and susceptibility artifacts, and so acquire images of high resolution, low artifacts, and high quality to satisfy the need of diagnoses.

Objective To investigate the proliferation and differentiation characteristics of fibroblast like synovial cells(FLS)in rheumatoid arthritis(RA)in vitro and the mechanism of the immunosuppressive effect of differentiation inducers, such as all trans retinoid acid(ATRA), ealcitriol [1,25(OH)_2D_3] and dexamethasone(DEX). Methods FLS of knee synovial tissues from RA patients were cultured and identified in vitro in the presence or absence of ATRA, 1,25(OH)_2D_3 and DEX respectively. Synoviocyte proliferation in RA were measured by MTT colorimetrie assay and the survival fraction(SF)of FLS was evaluated. Cell cycle of FLS was observed using fluorescence-activated cell sorting(FCS)method in RA patients. Results The identified synovial cells in patients with RA were FLS(Vimentin and Fibronectin expression was positive), and hadn't been transformed or differentiated to adipocytes and osteoblasts with the three inducers. The SF of all RA-FLS interfered by ATRA, 1,25(OH)_2D_3 and DEX was much lower than that without drugs vehicle group in RA-FLS(P

Objective To study the value of DSA for hepatic vascular anatomy,and to evaluate the efficacy of portal vein occlusion in rabbits with hepatic VX2 tumor.Methods Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups with 10 in each group,including test group A and positive control group B of ham operation.For the test group A,portal branch ligation(PBL)was performed for the left external branch after 3 weeks of the tumor implantation to the left external lobe.Two weeks later,the DSA of hepatic artery and portal vein were performed in all of the rabbits.Results The total displaying effectiveness of the branches of hepatic artery by DSA was better than that by vascular perfusion.There was hypovascular blood supply to hepatic artery implantation of the tumor in the test group A,comparing with that of the group B.Conclusion DSA can clearly display spacial details of the hepatic vascular anatomy in rabbits,and play an important role in post-procedual evaluation of the portal vein occlusion in rabbits.

Objective The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of target organ damage (TOD) in elderly hypertensive inpatients.Methods Data of the present retrospective survey were collected and analyzed from the computerized medical records of 17 682 aged 60 years or older inpatients with the diagnosis of essential hypertension ( EH ) from January 1993 to December 2008 in our hospital. The evidences of hypertensive TOD and associated risk factors with TOD including age,gender,presence of diabetes ( DM ),body mass index ( BMI ),systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP),serum lipids were analyzed. Results The overall prevalence of stroke,coronary artery disease (CAD),chronic kidney disease (CKD) and aortic dissection (AD) was 32.19％,27.33％,10.12％ and 0.77％,respectively.Incidence of TOD was 68.03％ in male and 31.70％ in female patients.CKD stage 3 - 5 was more prevalent in males than in females ( 12.75％ vs.5.40％,P＜0.01),while the prevalence of CAD (31.31％ vs.27.96％,P=0.06),Stroke (28.23％ vs.25.81％,P=0.08) and AD (0.89％vs.0.74％,P=0.72) was similar between men and women.One TOD was presented in 23.20％ patients and two or more TODs were found in 47.19％ patients. Higher age and BMI,longer history and lower control rate of hypertension,severe degree of hypertension and higher level of SBP,pulse pressure,TC,LDL-C,estimated GFR(eGFR) and Hey were risk factors for TOD.BMI,fasting plasma glucose,incidence of DM,prevalence of stage 1 and 2 hypertension,control rate of hypertension,eGFR and TG levels were all significantly higher while the prevalence of hypertension stage 3 and level of TC and LDL-C were significantly lower in female TOD patients than in male TOD patients ( all P ＜ 0.05 ).In patients without TOD,TG was significantly higher while SBP,fasting plasma glucose and LDL-C were significantly lower and history of hypertension was significantly shorter in female patients than in male patients ( all P ＜ 0.05 ). The prevalence of CAD,stroke and CKD increased with age ( P ＜ 0.001 ).Conclusion The prevalence of TOD is high in elderly hypertensive inpatients and higher age and BMI,longer history and lower control rate of hypertension,severe degree of hypertension and higher level of SBP,pulse pressure,TC,LDL-C,eGFR and Hcy are risk factors for TOD.

Objective To further understand the role of growth regulation of human ovarian cancer cells by transforming growth factor (TGF) β1.Methods The cell proliferation, cAMP synthesis, gene expression, and induction of programmed cell death (PCD) in human epithelial ovarian cancer cell line HO-8910 cells exposed to TGFβ1 in vitro were studied.Results TGFβ1 inhibited cell growth and DNA synthesis, and induced G0/G1 arrest in cell cycle. It could also trigger PCD in cells. This induction of PCD may occur within G0/G1 phase. Meanwhile, the assay also showed that TGFβ1 could inhibit the mRNA expression of c-myc, EGFR and TGFβ1 genes in cells.Conclusions TGFβ1 can not only act as an autocrine to inhibit cell proliferation, but also trigger PCD in HO-8910 cells. These functions may be fulfilled through some specific signal transduction pathways.

AIMTo investigate the effects of melatonin (MT) on histology and behavioral tests during global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in gerbils.

METHODSGlobal cerebral ischemia was induced by occluding the bilateral common carotid arteries for 10 min in gerbils. Three doses of MT were administrated intraperitoneally 30 min prior to the onset of ischemia. Locomotor activity was measured by using the open field method 3 and 7 days after the ischemic episode. T maze test was carried out 4, 5 and 6 days after ischemia to assess the working memory of gerbils. Neuronal damage was assessed in CA1 pyramidal layer of gerbil hippocampus and evaluated 7 days after ischemia.

RESULTSMT significantly reversed the locomotor activity increases, ameliorated learning and working memory deficit, and reduced the extent of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells injury after transient global cerebral ischemia in the Mongolian gerbil.

CONCLUSIONMT provides significantly protective effect against both histological and behavioral consequences of global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in gerbils.

Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; complications ; Female ; Gerbillinae ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; pathology ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Melatonin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Memory ; drug effects ; Motor Activity ; drug effects ; Neurons ; pathology ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Reperfusion Injury ; etiology ; physiopathology ; prevention & control

This study was aimed to establish the approach of quantitative PCR (q-PCR) for diagnosis of invasive fungal infections (IFI) in patients with hematologic malignancies. Specimens from 40 patients with hematologic malignancies were chosen for q-PCR and galactomannan (GM) test. The 28S rRNA, a real high consensus sequence of fungi, was selected as target gene to design primer and probe. The DNA of fungal species was extracted from serum specimens. The results showed that q-PCR sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 0.89, 0.85, 0.89, 0.85 respectively; GM test sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 0.83, 0.80, 0.88, 0.73 respectively; as combined q-PCR with GM test, these values were 0.94, 0.85, 0.89, 0.92 respectively. It is concluded that the q-PCR assay can be used for early diagnosis for IFI in patients with hematologic malignancies, q-PCR combined with GM test can enhance the diagnosis sensitivity for IFI.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Fungi ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; microbiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoses ; diagnosis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo determine the expression level changes of survivin, a inhibitor of apoptosis protein, followed by activation of insulin receptors in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line, and to investigate the signalling pathway involved in the regulation.

METHODSHuman hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells were treated with insulin alone or pre-treated with LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K signalling pathway, to determine whether blocking PI3K signaling can attenuate the up-regulation of survivin expression. Real time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were used to measure survivin mRNA and protein changes before and after treatment, respectively.

RESULTSWithout serum supplement, HepG2 cells expressed a small amount of survivin. Insulin induced survivin expression in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Survivin expression was blocked if cells were pre-treated with LY294002 prior to insulin stimulation.

CONCLUSIONInsulin induces survivin expression via PI3K signalling pathway, suggesting that to interfere the key gene in this signalling pathway may block survivin expression, therefore, promoting apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Apoptosis ; Chromones ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Insulin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Up-Regulation