Objective: A traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) transformed from Jian Er Ⅱ,Cong Er capsule was studied in protection against age-induced degeneration in cochlear spiral ganglion neurons and auditory nerve fibers in C57 BL /6J mice.A possible protective mechanism was also discussed.Methods : 40 neonatal C57 BL /6J mice were randomly divided into 2 groups with an average of 20 animals in each group.The animals in control group were fed with regular mouse feedstuff and regular water after ablactation,while animals in experimental group were fed the same mouse food after ablactation,but drink the medical solution of Cong Er capsule instead of regular water from two months of age.Animals were terminated at 7 months of age.The cochlea were removed and processed for a series of modiolus sections.The density of spiral ganglion neurons in Rosenthal's canal in different turns was counted,and the auditory nerve fibers in habenula perforata at basal turn and apical turn were also quantified respectively.Statistical comparative analysis was performed between the two groups.Results: Density of spiral ganglion neurons in cochlear basal turn in control group was significantly reduced.In survival ganglion neurons,an obvious degeneration was observed in control group.The number of auditory nerve fibers in cochlear basal turn also decreased.In contrast,Cong Er capsule treated animals had an increase in survival ganglions and auditory nerve fibers,especially,a significant difference was seen in density of spiral ganglion neurons in the basal turn between the two groups(P

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risk factors of nosocomial infection in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer during radiotherapy with concomitant weekly paclitaxel treatment. METHODS Twenty six cases of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS There were 20 cases of nosocomial infection from inpatients.The infection rate was 76.9 % and isolates of bacteria were found,of which Candida albicans accounted for 46.2%,Gram-negatives were 38.5%,Gram-positives were 11.5%.The main risk factors were long time hospitalization,oral mucosal lesion,leukocytopenia,improper application of antibiotic and glucocorticoids. CONCLUSIONS To prevent and control nosocomial infection in advanced nasopharyngeal cancer during radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy,measures such as shortening hospitalization days,reinforcing oral nursing,preventing the leukocytopenia,reasonable using of antibiotics and glucocorticoids should be adopted.

Objective To evaluate the microstructural integrity of white matter (WM) in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) using voxel-based analysis (VBA), and investigate the relationship between WM abnormalities and gray matter(GM) atrophy.Methods Thirty-three cases with aMCI, 32 cases with mild AD and 31 normal aging volunteers as control subjects were scanned on a 3.0 T MR system using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and three-dimensional spoiled gradient-recalled(3DSPGR) sequences. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps and morphological images were preprocessed by SPM5 and voxel-based comparisons between the 2 patient groups and the control group were performed by t test. Results Relative to the control group, patients with aMCI showed significantly reduced FA value in bilateral frontal, temporal and left occipital WM, left anterior part of cingulum, left inferior parietal lobule, and the W M adjacent to the triangular part of the right lateral ventricle(k≥20 voxels).In mild AD,significantly reduced FA value was found in bilateral hippocampal,inferior parietal lobular,frontal,temporal,and occipital WM,bilateral corpus callosum,anterior part of cingulums,the WM adjacent to the triaangular part of the bilateral lateral ventricles,left temporal stem,left thalamus,right precuneus(k≥20 voxels).Significantly reduced GM volume was found in left hippocampus,parahippocampal gyrus,lingual gyrus and superior temporal gyrus,bilateral insulae and middle temporal gyri in aMCl group whencompared with control group(k≥50 voxels).In mild AD,significantly reduced GM volume was found in bilateral hippoeampi,parahippocampal gyri,amygdalae,thalami,temporal,parietal,frontal,occipital cortex(k≥50 voxels).The pattern of areas with reduced FA differs;from that of the GM volumetric reduction.No areas with significantlv reduced FA was detected in aMCl compared with mild AD. There was no significant correlation between FA value of WM in patient groups and Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)scores.Conclusions Voxel-based MRI DTI analysis of whole brain white matter can objectively reveal widespread white matter abnormalities in early-stage AD.The difierence between WM FA reduction pattern and GM volumetric reduction pattern indicates that the pathological WM changes in earlyslage AD were caused by multiple mechanisms. FA did not vary significantly in patients pr0gressing from aMCI to mild AD and can hardly reflect the severitv of cognitive function damage in these patients.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of endoscopic thyroidectomy by the breast approach. MethodsFrom August 2002 to April 2003, sixty single thyroid nodule patients were divided into 2 groups randomly. Group 1 (30 patients) received endoscopic thyroidectomy(ET) by the breast approach. The other 30 patients underwent conventional thyroidectomy(CT). Preoperative diagnosis,operative time,operative cost,postoperative pain,complications,and cosmetic result between the 2 groups were compared. ResultsOperative time was 118.0?34.3 minutes for ET group and 80.0?23.5 minutes for CT group( P

Objective To establish a method for the determination of protocatechuic acid, salidroside, and chlorogenic acid in Sargentodoxa cuneata. Methods The separation was performed on a Waters XSELECT CSH C18 (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with methanol-acetonitrile-0.2 % phosphoric acid as the mobile phase in a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min. The detection wavelength was 260 nm and the column temperature was 35 ℃. Results The linear ranges of protocatechuic acid, salidroside, and chlorogenic acid were 0.0020-0.0120, 0.0600-0.3602, 0.0750-4.5006 mg/ml, respectively. The average recoveries were 98.01% (RSD=0.07%), 98.53 % (RSD=0.12%), and 101.10 % (RSD=1.92%), respectively. Conclusions The method is simple, accurate, and highly reproducible, which could provide the scientific evidence for the quality control of Sargentodoxa cuneata.

Objective The sex hormone and the corresponding receptor may play some roles in the development of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in the elderly men.This study was designed to examine the relationship of level of the sex hormone and androgen receptor with MS in elderly men,thus to investigate the possible pathogenesis of MS.Methods This cross sectional study enrolled 587 elderly men,including 400 healthy controlls aged 62-92 years and 187 MS patients aged 60-87 years in Wan Shou Lu area of Beijing city.Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAE-S),total testosterone (TT),sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG),free testosterone (FT),follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH),Estradiol (E2),luteinizing hormone(LH) and androgen receptor (AR) in blood were tested.Statistical analyses included the comparison analysis of variables and independent variables,correlation analysis using multi-factor linear regression,and multiple logistic regression analysis.Results DHAE-S,TT,SHBG,FT and AR fluorescence intensity in healthy control group were higher than those in MS group,however,FSH and E2 levels were lower in healthy group.Age was negatively correlated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and FT,but positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and E2.AR fluorescence intensity was negatively correlated with SBP and LH.The logistic regression equation showed the negative correlation between DHEA-S,SHBG and the development of MS.Conclusions There are low levels of DHEA-S,TT,SHBG,FT and AR in the elderly patients with MS.On the contrary,FSH and E2 concentration are higher.It can be suggested that low levels of DHEA-S and SHBG may be the potential risk factors of MS in elderly men.

Objective To evaluate the effects of posterior decompression,subtotal vertebrectomy,intervertebral fusion and internal fixation through unilateral pedicle in the treatment of severe throracolumar fractures.Methods A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of 11 patients with severe thmracolumar fracture who had been treated with posterior decompression,subtotal vertebrectomy,intervertebral fusion and internal fixation through unilateral pedicle at our department from March 2009 to March 2012.They were 10 males and one female,aged from 20 to 42 years (mean,31.1 years).According to AO classification,there were 2 cases of type B1,3 cases of type B2 and 6 cases of type C2.The Gaines scores for anterior column stability were more than 6 in all.All the patients had neurological disorders.The fracture reduction,fusion of bone grafting and recovery of neurological function were followed up.Results Their operation time ranged from 200 to 300 minutes,averaging 243.2 minutes;the amount of bleeding ranged from 800 to 1,600 mL,averaging 1,023.3 mL.No deterioration of neurological symptoms or no new neurological symptoms were observed postoperatively.Cerebrospinal fluid leakage was found in 3 patients who healed spontaneously following extubation,compressive dressing and elevation of the bed end.All the patients were followed up for 12 to 30 months (average,18.3 months).A loosened screw cap was found in one patient after 6 months who had no discomfort and received no treatment.X-ray films showed satisfactory fracture reduction and fine bone grafting locations.No spinal canal stenosis was found by CT scans.It took 3 to 6 months (mean,4.3 months) for the bone grafts to get fused.No height loss of the injured vertebrae was no found at the last follow-ups.No functional recovery was found in the patients with complete spinal cord injury whose Frankle grade remained A.The spinal function recovered from Frankel grade B to grade D in one patient with incomplete spinal injury.Of the 8 patients with medullary cone injury,7 recovered Frankle grade E and one Frankle grade D.The symptoms were relieved in one patient with simple cauda equine injury.Conclusion Posterior decompression,subtotal vertebrectomy,intervertebral fusion and internal fixation through unilateral pedicle is an effective alternative for treatment of severe throracolumar fractures,because it can lead to satisfactory fracture reduction,thorough decompression of the spinal canal and good reconstruction of spinal stability.

Objective To explore the damage of spiral ganglion neurons(SGNs),the protective effects of different dosages of healthy ear compound (HEC)from traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) against age-induced SGNs degeneration and its possible mechanism in spiral ganglion neurons(SGNs)of C57BL/6J mice.Methods Totally 36 C57BL/6J mice just after ablactation were randomly divided into four groups.Normal control group (n =6)drank tap water daily from ablactation to 2 months old.Ageing-related SGNs apoptosis control group(n=12)drank tap water daily from ablactation to 7 months old.High dose TCM group(n=12)at drank 3.65 g/kg/d of HEC from ablactation to 7 months old.Low dose TCM group(n=6)drank 0.91 g/kg/d of HEC from ablactation to 7 months old.The animal cochleae were immediately removed at the termination of the experiment.In each group,the cochleae of 6 animals were used for paraffin embedding,slicing and toluidine blue staining to observe neuronal morphological changes.The caspase-3 mRNA expression study was performed by real-time PCR technique in 6 cochleae of High dose TCM group and ageing-related SGNs apoptosis control group.Results The morphological structure of cochlear SGNs represented healthy and normal density in normal control group at 2 months old.In contrast,amount or density of SGNs in cochlear basilar part was significantly damaged and reduced in ageing-related SGNs apoptosis control group at 7 months old(P＜ 0.001).But the high dose TCM group at 7 months of age was similar to the normal control group at 2 months old in morphological structure,amount or density of SGNs(P＞0.05).The low dose TCM group was significantly different from other 3 groups in amount or density of SGNs (P＜0.001).However,SGNs in the middle part and apical part showed integrity in each group.In addition,the expression level of caspase-3 in the cochlea of high dose TCM group was also obviously different with age-related SGNs apoptosis control group(P＜0.01) Conclusions Ageing-related damage of SGNs in C57BL/6J mice begins from the base of cochlea and progresses towards the apex.The HEC of TCM could significantly protect SGNs against age-induced apoptosis in SGNs.The efficacy of the high dose TCM is better than that of the low dose TCM.Its SGNs protective mechanisms might be related to involving the caspase-mediated cell apoptotic pathway.

After Human Gene Project, studying the kinetics of DNA translocation through a nanopore, and developing a novel fast DNA sequencing technology by using nanopore have become one of the hot in gene-research). This contribution provides an overview of nanopore macromolecular identification,including bionanopore and solid-state nanopore, while the perspective of these research are also summarized.

Objective To explore the cerebral activation in Xinjiang' Uyghurs when performing a Chinese word tasks by the functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI).Methods Twenty-one healthy Xinjiang' Uyghurs and 11 healthy Hans were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a 1.5 T MRI scanner with a single run.Different Chinese words were displayed in each block to avoid any practice effect SPM5.0 software was used for image data processing.To evaluate the inter subject consistency of brain activations associated with Chinese character and word reading, we created penetrance maps by combining binary individual functional maps.Results For Uyghur-Chinese bilingual subjects, activations related to generated a word that was semantically related to each stimulus.The results indicated that reading Chinese is characterized by extensive activity of the neural systems.Peak activations occurred in the left middle frontal cortex at Brodmann Areas (BA9 and BA 47).The left temporal (BA 37) cortices were also strongly activated.Other important activated areas included bilateral visual systems (BA 17-19) and cerebellum.The location of peak activation in the left frontal regions was similar in Native Uyghurs and Hans.But the active areas in Uyghurs are more extensive than that of Hans .Conclusions The location of peak activation in the left frontal regions was similar in Native Uyghurs and Hans.More brain areas were needed for Xinjiang' Uyghur speakers during processing Chinese words.