Objective To investigation the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and its receptors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their clinical significances.Methods The serum expression levels of TRAIL in 79 cases of NSCLC and 80 cases of normal subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The expressions of TRAIL-R2 and TRAIL-R4 in 42 cases of NSCLC and matched normal tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.The relationships among TRAIL,TRAIL-R2,TRAIL-R4 and clinicopathologic features of NSCLC were analyzed.Results The expression of TRAIL in NSCLC patients was lower than that in normal human [(994.3 ±293.0)ng/ml vs.(1 141.7 ±266.1)ng/ml,t =3.29,P =0.00].The expression of TRAIL was closely correlated with clinical stage (F =2.28,P =0.00) and differentiated degree (t =5.76,P =0.00).The positive expression rate of TRAIL-R2 in NSCLC was 73.8％ (31/42),significantly lower than that in the normal tissue 100.0％ (42/42) (x2 =3.88,P =0.05).The expression of TRAIL-R2 was closely correlated with clinical stage (x2 =27.89,P=0.00) and differentiated degree (x:=9.50,P =0.00).The positive expression rate of TRAIL-R4 in NSCLC was 81.0％ (34/42),significantly higher than that in the normal tissue 50.0％ (21/42) (x2 =7.34,P =0.01).The expression of TRAIL-R4 was also closely correlated with clinical stage (x2 =17.82,P =0.00) and differentiated degree (x2 =4.47,P =0.03).There was a negative correlation between the expression of TRAIL-R2 and TRAIL-R4 in NSCLC (r =-0.67,P=0.01).Conclusion The decrease of TRAIL and TRAIL-R2 and increase of TRAIL-R4 expression may promote the occurrence and development of NSCLC,and they may provide targets for clinical treatment of NSCLC.

AlM: To analyze personality traits in preoperative patients who undergolaser in situ keratomileusis ( LASlK) and to provide psychological basis for the selection of refractive surgery.
METHODS: Eligible patientswere seeking customized LASlK (group A n=53), conventional LASlK(group B n=75)and non-operation patients with ametropia (group C n=71 ) , who completed 16 personality factor questionnaires (16PF). Statistical analyses were performed with one-way ANOVA by SPSS11. 0 software package.
RESULTS: Compared to group C, patients in group A scored high on dominance and tension levels, and low on emotional stability level(P<0. 05), while patients in group B were more venturesome and more experimenting, but were less vigilant ( P<0. 05 ). Additionally, there were statistical differences between group A and group B on dominance, gallantry and vigilance respectively(P<0. 05). CONCLUSlON: The data indicates that personality profiles of LASlK patients with refractive error influence their decision for correction. Patients need suitable psychological assessment before surgery who actively chose customized LASlK seem to be more assertive and suspicious.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation of perihematomal free radical level and neuronal apoptosis following the intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

METHODSAnimals were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham operation group, model group, 1 mg/kg edaravone group, and 3 mg/kg edaravone group. Each group was then divided into seven subgroups, in which the rats were correspondingly killed at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 7 d or 14 d (n = 1 in each subgroup of the sham group, and n = 6 in each subgroup of the other 3 groups). By Horseley-Clarke technique, autoblood (80 microL) were administered into the left caudate putamen of SD rats in a double administration-withdrawal way. Rats in the sham group were needled in but not administered with autoblood. The ICH model was then evaluated by Bederson's scale. Around the hematoma, the levels of malonaldehyde (MDA) and hydroxyl radical were tested by spectrophotometer, and the process of apoptosis was tested by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method.

RESULTS(1) ICH significantly increased the levels of MDA and hydroxyl radicals. Significant differences in MDA and hydroxyl radical contents were observed among the four groups. (2) In the sham group, a small number of TUNEL-positive cells were found. In the other three groups, the TUNEL-positive cells were observed at 6 h, increased significantly at 24 h, and reached peak level at 3 d, then fell profoundly at 7 d, but remained detectable at 14 d. (3) The positive correlation existed between apoptosis and free radical level (r = 0.2003), and existed between apoptosis and MDA content (r = 0.6563) in the brain.

CONCLUSIONPost-hemorrhagic apoptosis was related to the production of free radicals, indicating that the elevated free radicals following the ICH could induce neuron and glial cell apoptosis.

Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Antipyrine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; physiology ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Free Radical Scavengers ; therapeutic use ; Hydroxyl Radical ; metabolism ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; methods ; Linear Models ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors

[Summary] All patients with cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme ( P450scc) deficiency that have been reported presented with early adrenal failure. Here we described a 35-year-old male presented with infertility as the only initial presenting complaint. He had received two separate surgeries to remove bilateral testicular masses. We reevaluated the resected tumors and found testicular adrenal rest tumor ( TART) pathology in the resected tumor. We profiled steroid hormones and found significantly elevated ACTH. CT scan revealed bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Mutation screening identified compound heterozygous mutations (R353W and P432L) in the P450scc encoding gene (CYP11A1). The patient was finally diagnosed as congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Adult ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Azacitidine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Karyotype ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of Epipolis laser in situ keratomileusis(Epi-LASIK)and laser in situ keratomileu- sis(LASIK)on high myopia patients.Design Prospective,case-controlled study.Participants 62 patients(123 eyes)with high myopia. Methods 62 patients(123 eyes)underwent Epi-LASIK or LASIK surgery for high myopia:28 patients(56 eyes)underwent Epi-LASIK and 34 patients(67 eyes)underwent LASIK.The differences in postoperative uncorrected visual acuity(UCVA),best corrected visual acuity(BCVA),refraction,and root mean square(RMS)of high-range wavefront aberration were compared one-week,one-month, three-months and six-months postoperatively.Main Outcome Measures UCVA,BCVA,refraction,and RMS of high-range wavefront aberration.Results There was no serious complication during and after the operation.The recovery of postoperative UCVA after Epi-LASIK was slower than that of LASIK.One week postoperatively,the proportion of UCVA≥0.8 of Epi-LASIK(46.4%)was less than that of LASIK(77.6%)(P=0.0003).No significant differences were found in those of Epi-LASIK(85.7%,94.6%,91.1%)and those of LASIK(92.5%,95.5%,94.0%)one-month,three-months and six-months postoperatively(P=0.590,0.822,0.530).BCVA was same after Epi-LASIK and LASIK.The proportion of mean spherical equivalents within?0.50D for Epi-LASIK(42.9%,51.8%,60.7%,64.3%)had no difference with those for LASIK(53.7%,59.7%,71.6%,73.1%)one-week,one-month,three-months and six-months postoperatively (P=0.230,0.378,0.200,0.290).The postoperative RMS increased after both surgeries,especially after LASIK.At postoperative one-month,three-months and six-months RMS of Epi-LASIK(1.51?0.77)?m,(1.32?0.76)?m,(1.18?0.71)?m were much higher than the (0.87?0.27)?m preoperative ones(P=0.016,0.019,0.026).At postoperative one-month,three-months and six-months RMS of LASIK (2.41?0.81)?m,(2.17?0.63)?m,(1.89?0.87)?m were also much higher than the preoperative(0.91?0.22)?m(P=0.011,0.008,0.006). There were significant differences between the RMS of Epi-LASIK and LASIK one-month,three-months and six-months postoperatively (P=0.039,0.035,0.033).The I grade haze was found in two eyes after Epi-LASIK.Conclusion Epi-LASIK has better visual quality re- sult than LASIK on correcting high myopia.(Ophthalmol CHN,2007,16:336-339)

OBJECTIVETo study the dynamic changes of levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in tears and their association with corneal haze in rabbits early after epipolis laser in situ keratomileusis (Epi-LASIK).

METHODSTwenty-four New Zealand rabbits received Epi-LASIK with an ablation depth of 100 µm in one eye and of 150 µm in the other eye. Before and at 3, 7, 14, and 30 days after the surgery, the level of HGF in tears collected from the rabbits was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and corneal haze was graded after surgery.

RESULTSIn all the rabbits, corneal epithelium healing occurred in 3 to 5 days after Epi-LASIK. Corneal haze appeared 3 days postoperatively in the rabbits accompanied by increased levels of HGF in tears. At 3, 7, 14, and 30 days after the surgery, the rabbits with an ablation depth of 150 µm showed more obvious corneal haze (P<0.05) and significantly higher levels of HGF in tears than those with an ablation depth of 100 µm (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn rabbits receiving Epi-LASIK, HGF levels in tears and the grade of corneal haze show a positive correlation early after the surgery and are both related with the depth of ablation.

Objective To explore the disinfection effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water on dental unit water lines (DUWLs).Methods First, a total of 5 dental chair units (DCUs) with self-contained water supply were selected and were placed with freshly slightly acidic electrolyzed water ( SAEW) every night. And then, we collected water samples from dental handpieces and water outlet of the gun for three purposes at 8 am and 12 am of the next day to count bacterial colony. This research included four stages involving that the content of effective chlorine of SAEW was about 40 mg/L with 20 days for continuous disinfection, the content of effective chlorine was about 20 mg/L with 10 days for continuous disinfection and 7 days for stopped disinfection, the content of effective chlorine was about 10 mg/L with 15 days for continuous disinfection. Results The average pass rates of water samples were 99.25%, 98.00%, 98.33% with SAEW of three different concentrations for the disinfection of DUWLs. The pass rate of water quality was changed from initial 100% to 0 without disinfection for water lines for 7 days. Conclusions There is microbial contamination in DUWLs. The disinfection effect is remarkable with SAEW for DUWLs, and there is no significant difference among DUWLs of different concentrations. Therefore, SAEW with low concentration of effective chlorine can be applied in clinic for continuous disinfection of DUWLs with self-contained water supply by taking all factors ( disinfection effect, safety of dental treatment instruments, degree of comfort of patients and so on) into account.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations are widely used for healthcare and clinical practice. So far, the methods commonly used for quality evaluation of TCM preparations mainly focused on chemical ingredients. The biological ingredient analysis of TCM preparations is also important because TCM preparations usually contain both plant and animal ingredients, which often include some mis-identified herbal materials, adulterants or even some biological con-taminants. For biological ingredient analysis, the efficiency of DNA extraction is an important fac-tor which might affect the accuracy and reliability of identification. The component complexity in TCM preparations is high, and DNA might be destroyed or degraded in different degrees after a series of processing procedures. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an effective protocol for DNA extraction from TCM preparations. In this study, we chose a classical TCM preparation, Liuwei Dihuang Wan (LDW), as an example to develop a TCM-specific DNA extraction method. An optimized cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) method (TCM-CTAB) and three com-monly-used extraction kits were tested for extraction of DNA from LDW samples. Experimental results indicated that DNA with the highest purity and concentration was obtained by using TCM-CTAB. To further evaluate the different extraction methods, amplification of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) and the chloroplast genome trnL intron was carried out.The results have shown that PCR amplification was successful only with template of DNA extracted by using TCM-CTAB. Moreover, we performed high-throughput 454 sequencing using DNA extracted by TCM-CTAB. Data analysis showed that 3-4 out of 6 prescribed species were detected from LDW samples, while up to 5 contaminating species were detected, suggesting TCM-CTAB method could facilitate follow-up DNA-based examination of TCM preparations.

Objective: This study aimed to identify proteins related to paclitaxel and carboplatin chemoresistance in cervical cancer. Methods: Quantitative proteomic analysis was performed on normal SiHa cells and those treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin for 14 days, with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were used to identify related processes and differentially expressed proteins. Results: A total of 67 and 96 differentially expressed proteins were identified in the paclitaxel- and carboplatin- treated groups, respectively. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses identified 53 (43 upregulated and 10 downregulated) and 85 differentially expressed proteins (70 upregulated and 15 downregulated) in the paclitaxel- and carboplatin-treated groups, respectively. The cell counting kit-8 results revealed that APOA1 was overexpressed in both the paclitaxel- and carboplatin- resistant SiHa cells compared with the control cells. Immunohistochemistry showed that APOA1 was highly expressed in the paclitaxel- and carboplatin- resistant squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Conclusion This study is the first to use iTRAQ to identify paclitaxel- and carboplatin- resistance proteins in cervical cells. We identified several proteins previously unassociated with paclitaxel and carboplatin resistance in cervical cancer, thereby expanding our understanding of paclitaxel and carboplatin resistance mechanisms. Moreover, these findings indicate that the APOA1 protein could serve as a potential marker for monitoring and predicting paclitaxel and carboplatin resistance levels.