Objective To investigate the CT diagnostic value and CT findings of fungal sinusitis.Methods CT findings of fungal sinusitis in 25 cases proved pathologically were retrospectively analysed.Results Heterogeneous density of sinusal cavity with small calcification appeared as spots or floccose(9 cases) and sand-like or patchy(16 cases) shadows,and local bone destruction.Conclusion The fungal sinusitis has characteristic findings on CT.CT is a valuable method for diagnosing the disease.

Objective To understand the situation of iodine deficiency disorders of Cangzhou city, Hebei province, in order to provide the scientific basis for prevention and control of iodine deficiency disorders. Methods From 2007 to 2009, dynamic monitoring of iodine deficiency disorders was carried out in low iodized salt coverage places Hejian city and Xian county. Nine towns were randomly chosen in each county, 4 administrative villages were randomly selected in each town, 8 household salts were tested in each village. Every year, 1 - 3 copies of residents water samples were collected for determination of iodine; more than 100 students age 8 - 10 years old were checked the situation of goiter and urinary iodine, more than 40 students selected were measured iodine content of salt from their home; more than 50 women of childbearing age 18 - 40 years were tested of urinary iodine. Thyroid was examined with palpation; water iodine and urine iodine concentration were measured with arsenic-Ce catalytic spectrophotometry; salt iodine was detected by direct titration. Results From 2007 to 2009,median household salt iodine were 4.3,15.9,3.6,18.4,4.6,11.7 mg/kg in Hejian city and Xian county, respectively,iodized salt accounted for 34.03% (98/288), 78.82% (227/288), 29.86% (86/288), 84.72% (244/288), 37.15%(107/288),49.31% (142/288), respectively, the consuming rate of iodized salt were 27.08% (78/288),36.46%( 105/288 ), 28.13% (81/288 ), 49.31% ( 142/288 ), 37.15 % ( 107/288 ), 30.90% ( 89/288 ), respectively. Ten samples of drinking water were tested, water iodine were 5.5 - 34.4 μg/L. From 2007 to 2009, the goiter rate of students aged 8 - 10 years old was below 5%, the median of urinary iodine were 138.1,176.6,112.0 μg/L, ＜ 100 μg/L ratio were 31.6% ( 65/206 ), 25.0% ( 52/208 ) and 44.4% (91/205 ). The median of urinary iodine of child-bearing age women were 167.3,164.2,78.1 μg/L, ＜ 100 μg/L ratio were 28.7%(29/101 ), 19.2%(20/104) and 60.0%(60/100).Conclusions In areas with low coverage of iodized salt, iodine nutrition level are affected, the child-bearing age

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the impact of nicotine- and tar-free cigarette smoke extract (fCSE) on the serum testosterone (T) level and erectile function of male rats.

METHODSWe randomized 30 male SD rats to three groups of equal number to receive subcutaneous injection of PBS (1.0 ml / 300 g body weight per day), fCSE (1.0 ml/300 g body weight per day), and reduced glutathione hormone (GSH, 200 mg per kg body weight per day) in addition to fCSE (fCSE + GSH), respectively, all for 8 weeks. Then we evaluated the erectile function of the rats by measuring the maximal intracavernous pressure (MICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), ICP/MAP ratio, time of stimulation to MICP (Tmax), and cavernosal filling fate (CFR). We determined the serum T level, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) , malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the cavernosal tissue, and also observed the morphological changes of the corpus cavernosum.

RESULTSCompared with the controls, the rats of the fCSE group showed obvious decreases in the levels of serum T ([5.37 ± 1.43] vs [3.22 ± 1.11] μg/L), NOS ([2.90 ± 0.27] vs [1.67 ± 0.18] U/mg) , and SOD ([18.41 ± 1.09] vs [13.36 ± 1.18] U/mg prot) and erectile function-related indexes MICP ([85.92 ± 6.36] vs [58.99 ± 10.76] mmHg), MICP/MAP (0.86 ± 0.09 vs [0.56 ± 0.08]), and CFR (2.14 ± 0.44 vs 0.89 ± 0.44), but markedly increased Tmax ([29.90 ± 5.78] vs [42.90 ± 8.56]s), with a positive correlation between the serum T level and CFR (r = 0. 364, P < 0.05). Masson staining revealed a lower ratio of the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle tissue to collagen fiber in the fCSE group (0.27 ± 0.04) than in the control (0.98 ± 0.12). Compared with the fCSE group, the fCSE + GSH group exhibited significantly improved MICP ([58.99 ± 10.76 ] vs [77.95 ± 7.71] mmHg), MICP/MAP (0.56 ± 0.08 vs 0.77 ± 0.09), and CFR (0.89 ± 0.44] vs 1.76 ± 0.42) and shortened Tmax ([42.90 ± 8.56 ] vs [32.10 ± 5.84 ] s). The ratio of the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle tissue to collagen fiber was higher in the fCSE + GSH than in the fCSE group (0.77 ± 0.09 vs 0.27 ± 0.04) but still lower than in the control (0.98 ± 0.12).

CONCLUSIONNicotine- and tar-free cigarette smoke extract reduces the serum T level and erectile function of rats, which is related to oxidative stress. Antioxidant therapy can improve erectile function but has a limited value for morphological protection of the penile tissue.

Animals ; Erectile Dysfunction ; chemically induced ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth ; pathology ; Nicotine ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Penile Erection ; drug effects ; Penis ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tars ; Tobacco ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of integrative medical treatment (IMT) with serial Chinese recipes on quality of life (QOF) of rehabilitation stage in SARS patients.

METHODSEighty-five SARS patients of rehabilitation stage were enrolled in the clinical study. They were divided into the IMT group (62 patients received serial Chinese recipes and western medicine) and the control group (23 patients received western medicine alone). The serial Chinese recipes were given according to patients' syndrome, one dose per day for oral intake for 3 weeks. QOF scoring in patients was observed.

RESULTSQOF scoring in the IMT group before treatment was not significantly different from that in the control group. After 3 weeks treatment, it improved to some extent in both groups, but the improvement in the IMT group was superior to that in the control group in respect of total score and score of psychologic emotional factors.

CONCLUSIONSerial Chinese recipe could improve QOF of rehabilitation stage in SARS patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Convalescence ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ofloxacin ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Quality of Life ; Ribavirin ; therapeutic use ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; drug therapy ; immunology ; rehabilitation

Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Cholecystectomy ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male

Objective To investigate the effect of osthole on the proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and its potential mechanisms.Methods Breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was treated by osthole 0,25,50,100,150 and 200 μmol/L respectively.MTT method was used to detect cell survival rate.HE staining was used to observe morphological changes,Annexin V-PI flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis,and RT-PCR and Western blot method were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR),respectively.Results MTT assay showed that strong cytotoxicity of cell line MCF-7 was induced after administration of osthole for 72 h in a dose-dependent manner.Especially,the maximum inhibitory rate,73.0 ％ appeared in the 200 μmol/L group.HE staining showed that the number of MCF-7 cells decreased,hyperchromatic nuclei and apoptotic bodies appeared after treatment with osthole for 72 h in a significant dose-effect manner.Flow cytometric analysis revealed that osthole could induce extensive apoptosis in MCF-7 cultures after treatment for 72 h compared with normal group (P ＜ 0.05,P ＜ 0.01).In particular,when the concentration of osthole reached 50 μmol/L,the proportion of early apoptotic cells was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner (P ＜ 0.01),especially.The maximum apoptosis rate (46.2±9.0) ％ appeared in the 200 μmol/L group,which was consistent with the results obtained from MTT assays.Moreover,osthole could significantly increased PPARγand FXR mRNA and protein expressions (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion These data suggest that osthole could inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells and promote its apoptosis,which might be associated with the regulation of PPARγ and FXR-mediated target genes involved in cell growth and metabolism.

Isolation and purification of chemical constituents from solid culture of endophyte Chaetomium globosum in Imperata cylindrical was performed through silica gel column chromatography, gel filtration over Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. Nine compounds were obtained and their structures were determined as chaetoglobosin F(1), chaetoglobosin Fex(2), chaetoglobosin E(3) cytoglobosin A(4), penochalasin C(S), isochaetoglobosin D (6), N-benzoylphenylalaninyl-N-benzoyphenylalaninate(7), uracil(8) and 5-methyluracil(9), respectively, based on HR-MS and NMR data and comparison with literatures. Compound 7 was isolated from Chaeeomium sp. for the first time. In vitro cytotoxicity of compounds was evaluated using MTT mothed and 1,3,4 and 5 showed inhibition activity to the human cervical carcinoma cell HeLa with IC50 values of 99.43, 23.77, 97.92, 86.25 micromol x L(-1), while positive cotolocisnin Ad apno1ch alse IC50 24.33 micromol x L(-1).
Biological Factors ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chaetomium ; chemistry ; Endophytes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Poaceae ; microbiology ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

In this paper, the number of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere microbial organisms of fusarium wilt resistant and susceptible watermelon under soil culture and soilless substrate culture was studied by traditional culture methods. The results showed that, the number of rhizoshpere microorganisms was significantly higher than non-rhizosphere, and the number was changed with the stage of watermelon grow, the number was the lowest in seedling stage and increased with the watermelon grow, and achieved highest at the flowering and fruiting stage, decreased with the watermelon ageing. The fusarium wilt resistant of watermelon was correspondence with number of rhizosphere bacteria; the number of rhizosphere bacteria of resistant watermelon was higher than that of susceptible watermelon in each stage under soil culture and soilless culture. The fusarium wilt resistant of watermelon is no correspondence with number of rhizosphere fungi and actinomycete. The number of non-rhizosphere microbial organisms was changed in a small range in the whole growing stage. The non-rhizosphere bacteria have no significant change in the whole stage under soil culture and increased quickly under soilless substrate culture and decreased at the later stage. The non-rhizosphere fungi and actinomycete reached highest at the later stage under soil culture or soilless sub-strate culture.

The traditional culture methods and the molecular biology methods were used to study the rhizosphere bacterial diversity between fusarium wilt resistant and susceptible watermelon. The results showed that the diversity and the equality of cultured rhizosphere bacteria of resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon. The reason was that the cultured rhizosphere bacterial di- versity index H′ and 1/D of the resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon and that the cultured rhizosphere bacterial equality index E of the resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon. The dominant cultured bacterial genotypes were different between re- sistant and susceptible watermelon. The genotype 1 is the dominant genotype of resistant watermelon, con- sists 51.1%. The genotype 7 is the dominant genotype of susceptible watermelon, consists 58.7%.

Objective: To investigate the changes of gene expression in CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) under different growth environments. Methods: Umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCB MNCs) were cultured in static and stirred systems. After 7 days of culture, CD34+ cells were isolated and total RNA was extracted. Gene expression patterns of CD34+ cells from fresh, static and stirred cultures were compared using differential display (DD). Results: 30 gene fragments displayed differential expression levels based on the conditions of DD. One of differentially expressed genes was identified as RAN, which is a member of oncogene RAS family. This gene may be associated with proliferation of hematopoietic cells. Conclusion: Different growth environments induced differential gene expression patterns of CD34+ HSPCs. These differentially expressed genes would give new insights into optimizing in vitro environments for expanding hematopoietic cells.