A pairs of primers were designed according to the fusion protein(F)gene sequences of canine distemper virus(CDV)in GenBank.A 369 bp fragment aimed signal peptide fragment of F gene was amplified.The PCR products from viscera samples,blood,urine of fur animals including foxes,minks and raccoon dogs,which collected in the years 2005-2007,were cloned to pMD18-T Vector and sequenced.We obtained 13 positive signal peptide fragments from wild-type strains.The results indicated there was obviously genetic diversity between the wild-type strains and CDV3 and other vaccine strains.The homology with CDV3 is 80.7%-83.2%in nucleotide,and 64.8%-71.3%in amino acid.The analysis for the hydrophobic regions indicated the function of signal peptide fragment may be changed.This study can offer aca- demic data to research of CDV genetic variation and epidemiology.

The paper is about the study on efficiency and operation cost of 11 research oriented CT systems in Shanghai zone. The study result include the average volume, annual operation cost, cost per scan and break-even-point. It reveals that the research oriented CT system purchase price and operation cost is high. The suggestion is that the hospital should be cautious to select the research oriented CT system with consideration of clinical research demand to avoid unsuitable investment.
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; economics

OBJECTIVETo explore the spatial distribution character of dengue fever and the change of Aedes' population, so as to provide macroscopical decision-making evidences of prevention and supervision on dengue fever.

METHODS(1) Collecting data on morbidity of dengue and supervision on vector's population in the corresponding period. (2) Drawing digitized map of Chaozhou in scale of 1:50,000, including elements of boundary, residential areas, road and traffic, altitude, water systems etc. (3) Measuring the latitude and longitude of center position of surveillance safes on the scene. (4) Processing spatial analysis by the ArcGIS 8.5 software.

RESULTSDistribution of Aedes showed spatial cluster in Chaozhou, while its density was related to the distance to the watersides. The closer to the watersides, the higher the density was. Map on spatial distribution showed that although the Aedes epidemic situation changed yearly, but primarily be kept in high, middle, low regions. Cross-validation effects of the distribution maps were satisfactory.

CONCLUSIONGeographic information system was promising in analyzing data on dengue fever, and better than other routine research methods.

Aedes ; Animals ; China ; Dengue ; prevention & control ; Dengue Virus ; Ecology ; Geographic Information Systems ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Geography ; Insect Vectors ; virology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of inversion-table in the treatment of lower pole renal stones.

METHODSFrom March 2006 to September 2008, 36 patients with lower pole renal calculi were treated by inversion-table, 13 cases with stone diameter from 4 mm to 20 mm received extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) combined with inversion-table treatment and other 23 cases with stone diameter from 2 mm to 4mm received inversion-table treatment alone.

RESULTSAll of 36 cases underwent inversion-table treatment successfully and no one had cardio-cerebral accident. After following up 3 months, the radiologically documented complete stone clearance rate at 3 months group was 83.3%.

CONCLUSIONInversion-table treatment is a safe and valuable adjunct in assisting passage of lower pole renal stone fragments after mini-invasive treatment of stone and can improve stone-free rate.

Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney Calculi ; therapy ; Lithotripsy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Posture ; Treatment Outcome ; Vibration ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of Astragalus injection on cardiomyocyte apoptosis, endoplasmic reticulum stress and connexin protein in cardiomyopathy rats induced by adriamycin. METHODS: Thirty-six male Wister rats were randomly divided into control group (=12), adriamycin(ADR) group (=12) and Astragalus group (=12). The normal saline (10 ml/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally in control group rats, ADR (2 mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally in ADR group rats, ADR (10 ml/kg body weight) and Astragalus injection (10 ml/kg body weight) were injected intraperitoneally in rats of astragalus group, one time a week, totle 3 times. By the end of the 7 week, the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured by echocardiography. Then the rats in the three groups were sacrificed and the left ventricle section was stained by HE, Masson, uranyl acetate/lead citrate respectively, the cardiomyopathy and ultrastructural changes were observed under light microscope and transmission electron microscope. The apoptosis of rat cardiomyocyte were analyzed by TUNEL. The expression of connexin Cx43 and p-Cx43 was detected by immunohistochemistry. The expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (Grp78),activating transcription factor 4 (ATF-4) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) were detected by real time PCR. RESULTS: Compared with control group, LVEDD, LVESD increased and LVEF decreased, myocardial fibers were disordered and edematous, infiltrated by lymphocytes, the mitochondria were destroyed and vacuolized, and the number of cardiomyocyte apoptosis was increased(<0.01) in ADR group. The expression of Grp78, ATF-4, CHOP and p-Cx43 were increased, and the expression of Cx43 was decreased in ADR group. However, compared with ADR group, LVEDD, LVESD decreased and LVEF increased, the cardiomyopathy and ultrastructural changes were significantly improved, the number of cardiomyocyte apoptosis was significantly decreased (<0. 01); the expression of Grp78, ATF-4, CHOP and p-Cx43 decreased (<0.01); the expression of Cx43 increased in Astragalus group (<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Astragalus injection may effectively improve the myocardial damage induced by adriamycin, its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and the decrease of phosphorylation of CX43 in cardiomyopathy rats induced by adriamycin.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Cardiomyopathies ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Doxorubicin ; adverse effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; drug effects ; Male ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) intervention in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from liver enzyme (ALT), imaging (the liver/spleen CT ratio) and syndrome scores, and to establish standard methods for diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy evaluation with characteristics of CM.

METHODSA multi-center, stratified randomized, parallel controlled, blindness-method evaluated, superiority trial was performed. Totally 204 patients were randomly allocated into two groups, 102 patients in the experimental group (treated with CM) and 102 patients in the control group [treated with Western medicine (WM)]. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), liver/spleen CT ratio, and clinical symptoms were observed in both groups.

RESULTSOf the randomly allocated 204 cases from 4 hospitals, 3 patients were rejected, and 25 were lost. Totally 176 cases con- formed to the plan with complete follow-ups. After 3 months of treatment, syndrome scores and the improvement of partial clinical symptoms (fatigue and sallow complexion) were superior in the experimental group to those in the control group (P < 0.05). After 3 months of follow-up, the syndrome scores and improvement of partial clinical symptoms (fatigue and sallow complexion) were superior in the experimental group to those in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in improving liver enzymes or the liver/spleen CT ratio between the two groups (P > 0.05). There were 4 adverse reactions/adverse events in the two groups in the process of treatment, mainly covering drug-induced liver injury, diarrhea, and epigastric distension. Adverse reactions had nothing to do with CM treatment.

CONCLUSIONSJianpi Shugan Recipe had obvious efficacy in treatment of NASH. It could remove the liver fat and play a role in anti-inflammation and liver protection. It also could improve the indices of liver enzymes and the liver/spleen CT ratio effectively, which was superior to Polyene Phosphatidylcholine Capsule (PPC) in improving clinical symptoms, especially for such symptoms as fatigue and sallow complexion.

Adult ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy

H5 subtype avian influenza (AIV-H5) is a major causative agent of animalloimia a rapid and sensitive molecular biological diagnosis is crucial to the control program of AIV-H5. AIV-H5 real-time fluorescent reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (qRT-LAMP) was established by means of heat treatment of the samples. The sensitivity, specificity and repeatability of this method were assessed and the performance of Calcein,SYBR Green I,HNB,SYTO 81 in colorimetric detection was comparatively analyzed to screen the optimum dye. The results showed the sensitivity of this method was 100 times higher than that of standard real-time fluorescent RT-PCR, and the detection limit was one copy of the gene per reaction. This method had no cross-reactivity with other common avian respiratory tract infectious disease-related pathogens such as IBV and NDV. The present study suggested Calcein was the optimum dye. Small-scale tests suggested this method was reliable for survey monitoring of AIV-H5 on the spot, indicating its potential applications in field investigation.
Animals ; Chickens ; Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus ; genetics ; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza in Birds ; diagnosis ; virology ; Poultry Diseases ; diagnosis ; virology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; instrumentation ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity