Objective To evaluate the functional changes in the isometric,concentric and eccentric muscle strength of the knee extensors and flexors in patients with knee osteoarthritis,and to explore the relationship among these contractions.Methods A Biodex System-3 isokinetic test system was used to assess the isometric,concentric and eccentric strength of the knee extensors and flexors of the involved and uninvolved limbs of 54 patients suffering from osteoarthritis.Results The strength of the knee extensors and flexors of the involved limbs was significantly less than that of the uninvolved legs in the different contraction modes(P＜0.05).The difference was especially marked in concentric and eccentric contraction at low angular velocity.The hamstrings/quadriceps ratio and the dy- namic control ratio showed abnormalities in the muscle balance of the hamstrings and quadriceps.Conclusion Iso- kinetic testing should be applied and the hamstrings/quadriceps ratio and the dynamic control ratio should be analyzed in evaluating patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective:To synthesize the mental resilience of Chinese children tested with the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents (RSCA)to evaluate its status as well as the research status. Methods:Four Chinese elec-tronic databases including China Biology Medicine disc (CBM),VIP Database,China National Knowledge Infra-structure (CNKI)and WangFang Database were searched from database established to December 2014. Literatures that reported the mental resilience status of Chinese children tested with RSCA were included. A statistical formula was used to synthesize means and standard deviations to get a total score;the standard mean difference (SMD)and 95% confidence interval (95%CI)of scores measured with RSCA scale were used to conduct meta-analyses usingthe software of Review Manager 5. 2 for comparison between different subgroups. Results:Thirty-nine studies with 16 493 children were included for the final analysis. Quantitative synthesis results showed that the average total score of Chinese children was (3. 3 0. 6 ). The status of psychological resilience was at a good level. The average psychological resilience scores of girls,not left-behind children,urban children,Han children and not-only-child were higher than those of boys [SMD (95%CI):-0. 09 (-0. 14--0. 05 )],left-behind children [SMD (95%CI):-0. 37(-0. 56--0. 19)],rural children [SMD (95%CI):0. 26(0. 13 -0. 38)],minority children [SMD (95%CI):0. 12(0. 04-0. 21)]and only-children [SMD (95%CI):0. 30(0. 16-0. 44)]respectively. Conclusion:The mental resilience of Chinese children is modest with internal diversity.

Objective To observe the morphologic changes of peripheral blood lupus cell in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and investigate its relationship with disease activity in systemic lupus ery- thematosus.Methods Modified classical blood clotting method to observe the morphological changes of pe- ripheral blood lupus cells in 80 cases with systemic lupus erythematosus.Fifty cases were in active stage,and 30 cases were in stable stage.Comparison of serum autoantibody,complement and SLEDAI were also carried out.Results There was significant association between lupus cells in special morphous and autoantibody, such as anti-double-stranded DNA antibody,anti-nucleosome antibodies,complement C3、C4 and SLEDAI(r= 0.588,P=0.056:r=0.759,P=0.135;r=-0.648,P=0.058;r=-0.589,P=0.057,r=0.686,P

The lack of effective in vitro infection model for hepatitis E virus (HEV) has greatly hindered the quantitative analysis of neutralizing titers of anti-HEV antibodies and human sera, thus impeding further studies of HEV-stimulated antibody responses and the immunological mechanisms. In order to improve this situation, the infection of HepG2 cells that are inefficient for HEV replication was continuously monitored until the viral load reached the limit of detection on day 13, the results of which confirmed the feasibility of using this cell line to establish the infection model. Then, neutralization assays of five anti-HEV murine monoclonal antibodies and serum samples collected from four HEV vaccine recipients (collected before and after vaccination) were performed by 96 multi-channel parallel infections, nucleic acid extraction, and qPCR. The results showed that the cell model can be applied for quantitative evaluation of the neutralizing capacity of different antibodies and antiserum samples from HEV vaccine recipients. In this study, we have successfully established a high-throughput in vitro HEV replication model, which will prove to be useful for the evaluation of HEV vaccines and studies of HEV epitopes.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; analysis ; immunology ; Hepatitis Antibodies ; analysis ; immunology ; Hepatitis E ; immunology ; virology ; Hepatitis E virus ; chemistry ; immunology ; physiology ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; methods ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neutralization Tests ; methods ; Virus Replication

Objective To explore the ameliorative effects of standardized tertiary rehabilitation(STR)on the quality of life(QOL)of stroke patients with hemiplegia.Methods Eighty-two stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups:a rehabilitation group(R group)and a control group.All patients were given routine inter- nal medicine treatment,but STR was also administered to the R group.The QOL of all of the patients was assessed with the brief scale of quality of life(QOL-BREF)at the beginning,and at the end of the Ist month,3rd month and 6th month after stroke.Results There were two deaths in the control group,but no deaths in the R group.At ever- y stage,the R group returned better scores for physiological health,psychological state,social and environment rela- tionships,the subjective QOL and health items,and in comprehensive self-evaluation.QOL scores,except for social relationships,were consistently,significantly higher in the R group.The R group's QOL scores improved obviously in the first 3 months after stroke,and then more slowly in the next 3 months.Conclusions STR markedly improved the QOL of stroke patients.Their QOL scores improved obviously soon after stroke,but slowly later on.

Objective To examine the reliability,validity and sensitivity of FCA for stroke patients. Methods A total of 82 patients with stroke were divided into a treatment group and a control group randomly.The patients in the control group were given routine internal medicine treatment,while those in the treatment group were given standardized rehabilitation therapy in addition to the routine internal medicine treatment.All patients were as- sessed with FCA and Modified Barthel Index(MBI),at admission and the end of the 1st month,3rd and 6th month,respectively after the onset of stroke.The internal consistency,split-half reliability,content validity,crite- ria validity and sensitivity of FCA were tested.Repeat measure ANOVA and correlation analysis were used in the statistical analysis.Results There existed a good internal consistency(Cronbach?=0.901～0.973)as well as a good split-half reliability(R=0.949～0.981)of FCA.There was a medium to strong correlation among the 18 items scores of the FCA and FCA scores(P

OBJECTIVETo compare the anastomotic leakage rates after esophagectomy and reconstruction through different routes for esophageal cancer and analyze the causes for higher anastomotic leakage rate after esophagectomy, systemic lymph node dissection and reconstruction through retrosternal route and its prevention.

METHODSData of 1105 cases of esophagectomy were reviewed retrospectively. Patients in group A (n=229) underwent esophagectomy through left thoracotomy and intrathoracic anastomosis, patients in group B (n=716), esophagectomy through right anterio-lateral thoracotomy and cervical reconstruction through posterior mediastinal route, patients in group C (n=160) esophagectomy, systemic lymph node dissection and cervical anastomosis through the retrosternal route.

RESULTSThe leakage rate was significantly higher (19.4%) in group C than that in group B (11.9%, P< 0.05) and much significantly higher than that in group A (2.2%, P< 0.01). In group C, there was no significant difference in leakage rate between the patients with hand-sewn or mechanical anastomosis (22.2% vs.11.6%, P=0.133), between the patients who had whole stomach or tube-typed gastric reconstruction (25% vs.15.6%, P=0.146). The leakage rate was significantly decreased from 23.3% to 9.1% after prolonged nasal-gastric drainage for seven days (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe high anastomotic leakage rate after retrosternal reconstruction is mainly due to compression of the stomach in the anterior mediastinum. Prolonged nasogastric drainage is an effective way to decrease the leakage rate after systemic lymphadenectomy.

Anastomosis, Surgical ; methods ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; adverse effects ; Female ; Fistula ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Stomas ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of fosinopril and metoprolol on metalloproteinases 9 (MMP9) expression of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by oscillatory flow.

METHODSHUVECs were exposed to steady laminar flow or oscillatory flow, laminar flow or oscillatory flow plus various concentrations (1 x 10(-7) mol/L, 1 x 10(-5) mol/L) of fosinopril and metoprolol for 4 and 24 hours. MMP9 mRNA and protein expressions of HUVECs were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.

RESULTSMMP9 expression at mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased in HUVECs exposed to oscillatory flow than that to laminar flow and these could be down-regulated by coincubation with fosinopril (1 x 10(-7) mol/L, 1 x 10(-5) mol/L, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively) but not by co-incubation with metoprolol.

CONCLUSIONFosinopril can attenuate the increased MMP9 expression at mRNA and protein levels of HUVECs exposed to oscillatory flow.

Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Endothelium, Vascular ; Fosinopril ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Metoprolol ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Stress, Mechanical ; Umbilical Veins ; cytology

Objective To investigate the effects of standardized tertiary rehabilitation (STR) on limb motor function (LMF) after stroke.Methods Eighty-two patients were divided into a primary cerebral infarction group (PCI group) and a primary cerebral hemorrhage group (PCH group),and then randomly further divided into experi- mental and control sub-groups.All patients received routine internal medicine treatment,supplemented with stand- ardized tertiary" rehabilitation in the experimental groups.All patients were assessed with the simplified Fugl-Meyer motor function assessment (S-FMMFA) at enrollment,and 1,3 and 6 months after their stroke.Results The scores of the experimental groups were higher than those of the controls.The experimental groups scores were 26.10% of normal at the time of the enrollment,and improved to 42.52%,65.62% and 83.71% by the end of the 1st,3rd and 6th month,respectively.The control groups started at 18.51%,and progressed to 24.85% ,37.24% and 45.84% over the same interval.Conclusion STR was associated with improved LMF scores of stroke pa- tients.

Homo sapiens longevity assurance homologue 2 (LASS2) is a novel gene isolated from a human liver cDNA library by our laboratory, and it is a human homologue of the yeast longevity assurance gene LAG1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae longevity assurance gene). According to our previous results, LASS2 could interact with subunit c of vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase), and the overexpression of LASS2 could inhibit the cell growth of a human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line, SMMC-7721. In order to understand the role of the interaction between LASS2 and V-ATPase in HCC cell growth, we transiently transfected plasmid pCMV-HA2-LASS2 into HCCLM3, a HCC cell line without the significant expression of endogenous LASS2. The pH-sensitive fluorescence probes, BCECF and BCECF-AM, were used to measure the intracellular and extracellular H(+) concentrations of HCCLM3 cells respectively. The effect of LASS2 gene on apoptosis was evaluated with Annexin-V/FITC and propidium iodide (PI) by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect cytochrome c (Cyt c) in the cytosol and mitochondria, as well as pro-caspase-3 in cytosol. The results showed that the cell growth of LASS2-transfected HCCLM3 cells was significantly inhibited compared with that of the mock control. LASS2 transfection increased intracellular H(+) concentration of HCCLM3 cells, while decreased extracellular H(+) concentration. Moreover, LASS2 transfection significantly enhanced the apoptosis of HCCLM3 cells. In LASS2-transfected cells, the amounts of Cyt c increased in the cytosol, while decreased in the mitochondria. Meanwhile, the expression of pro-caspase-3 in the cytosolic extracts was decreased. These results implicate that LASS2 gene might increase intracellular H(+) of HCC cells via the interaction with V-ATPase, thereby inducing cell apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Sphingosine N-Acyltransferase ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases ; metabolism