Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is endangering human health seriously now. We had reviewed some typical animal model which had at least one OSAS character of intermittent hypoxia and/or hypercapnia, upper airway obstruction and sleep structure disorder. However, all of these models could not simulate clinical and pathological features of OSAS completely. Establishing a suitable animal model to study OSAS and related diseases is very important.
Airway Obstruction ; etiology ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Hypercapnia ; etiology ; Hypoxia ; etiology ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; complications

Objective To investigate the effect of tourniquet compression on axonal transport in sciatic nerve of rats.Methods Twenty-four 12-week old male SD rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly divided into 4groups according to the duration of tourniquet compression(n=6 each):1,2,4 and 12 h.The tourniquet was applied to the middle 1/3 of thigh.In each animal whether the left or right thigh was compressed was determined by a flip of coin.The tourniquet was released for 10 min after every hour of compression.A 3-cm segment of sciatic nerve was removed at the end of tourniquet compression(1.5 cm proximal and 1.5 cm distal to the site of compression).Immuno-histochemistry was used to measure the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1)in the sciatic nerve.The ratio of average optic density of the compressed sciatic nerve to that of control was used to estimate the degree of IGF-1 accumulation.The regression equation of the interaction between the duration of compression and accumulation of IGF-1 was analyzed.Results There was significant accumulation of IGF-1 in the sciatic nerve proximal to the compressed site.The accumulation increased with the duration of compression.There was no significant accumulation of IGF-1 in the sciatic nerve distal to the compressed site.The regression equation of the interaction between the duration of compression(X)and accumulation of IGF-1(Y)was Y=0.422X+0.887.Conclusion Tourniquet compression of sciatic nerve can inhibit axonal transport.The accumulation increases with the duration of compression.

Chicken embryo fibroblasts(CEFs)are among the most commonly used cells for the study of interactions between chicken hosts and H5N1 avian influenza virus(AIV).In this study,the expression of eleven housekeeping genes typically used for the normalization of quantitative real-time PCR(QPCR)analysis in mammals were compared in CEFs infected with H5N1 AIV to determine the most reliable reference genes in this system.CEFs cultured from 10-day-old SPF chicken embryos were infected with 100 TCID50 of H5N1 AIV and harvested at 3,12,24 and 30 hours post-infection.The expression levels of the eleven reference genes in infected and uninfected CEFs were determined by real-time PCR.Based on expression stability and expression levels,our data suggest that the ribosomal protein L4(RPL4)and tyrosine 3-monooxygenase tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta polypeptide(YWHAZ)are the best reference genes to use in the study of host cell response to H5N1 AIV infection.However,for the study of replication levels of H5N1 AIV in CEFs,the β-actin gene(ACTB)and the ribosomal protein L4(RPL4)gene are the best references.

Objective To investigate the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1(TREM-1) of cord blood leukocytes in neonates and the transcription level of mRNA, and analyze its promoting function of inflammatory cytokine secretion. Methods During the period from September 2013 to March 2014, cord blood was collected from 20 term neonates at the time of birth, and peripheral blood was collected from 20 healthy adults. The expression of TREM-1 and TREM-1 mRNA on leukocytes was observed using flow cytometry and real-time reverse transeription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. After the whole cord blood was stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or LP17 plus LPS, the contents of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-8 and soluble TREM-1 (sTREM-1) in the supernatant were analyzed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The statistical significance was determined using the one-way ANOVA test, t test, q test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results The mean fluorescence intensity of TREM-1 on leukocytes of newborns was not different compared with healthy adults (P>0.05), while the percentage of TREM-1 positive on polymorphonuclear cells was lower than that of healthy adults [(82.3±7.1)% vs (98.6±4.8)%, P<0.05]. The level of TREM-1 mRNA in newborns was lower than in healthy adults (1.16±0.13 vs 1.63±0.24, t=7.714, P<0.01). The LPS treatment significantly increased sTREM-1 in newborn whole blood compared with the control treatment [(156.7±36.3) vs (34.6±6.1) pg/ml, t=13.623, P<0.01]. The concentration of IL-6, TNF-αand IL-8 decreased significantly when TREM-1 was blocked by LP17. In addition, the concentration of sTREM-1 showed a positive correlation with the levels of TNF-α(r=0.519, P<0.05), IL-6 (r=0.507, P<0.05) and IL-8 (r=0.538, P<0.05). Conclusions Healthy newborns exhibit expression of TREM-1 on monocytes similar to healthy adults, and most PMNs express TREM-1 at the newborn stage. Blocking the TREM-1 signal transduction pathway may reduce inflammatory responses of neonate leukocytes.

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) can distinguish the molecular diffusion from the pseudo-diffusion of microcircular perfusion to obtain true diffusion coefficient (D),pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*) and perfusion fraction (f),which are sensitive to detect alterations in cellularity and microcirculation perfusion.IVIM can also evaluate early therapeutic effects,optimize treatment plan,predict prognoses,and provide information for choosing appropriate treatment methods.In this paper,the principle of IVIM and its application in tumor response evaluation were reviewed.

Objective To observe the effect of Danshen in the treatment of severe hand-foot-and-mouth disease and investigate its mechanism.Methods One hundred and forty cases of children with severe hand foot and mouth diseases who hospitalized the intensive care unit were enrolled in the study from February 2012 to July 2014.The children were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group,with 70 cases in each group.The control group was given antiviral to reduce the intracranial pressure and intravenous immunoglobulin and the observation group was given Danshen in addition to the control group.The levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE)、S-100βprotein、TNF-α and IL-6 were detected at admission and checked again seven days after treatment.The changes of the above indicators and the clinical curative effect were compared before and after therapy.Results The total effective rate of the control group and the observation group was 80.0% and 92.9% respectively,showing statistical significance(P<0.05). After treatment, observation group of serum NSE (9.42 ± 2.56μg/Lvs. 11.71 ± 3.21μg/L,t=2.159), S-100β (177.34 ± 87.28 ng/Lvs. 286.14 ± 159.69 ng/L, t=2.315), TNF-α (15.98 ± 4.35 ng/Lvs. 23.17 ± 4.80 ng/L, t=4.297), IL-6 (41.72 ± 6.64 ng/Lvs. 52.05 ± 9.33 ng/L,t=3.492) , the level of were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05 orP<0.01). In the observation group, serum. The fever clearance time、the disappearance time of rash and the hospitalization time in the observation group (3.55 ± 1.02 d vs.4.55 ± 1.09 d, 7.14 ± 1.04 d) were shorter than those in the control group (4.46 ± 0.97 d vs.5.88 ± 1.44 d, 8.68 ± 1.06 d;t=5.409, 6.161, 8.677 respectively, P<0.01).Conclusions On the basis of conventional therapy,Danshen can effectively alleviate the systemic inflammatory response in children with severe hand foot and mouth diseases, reduce brain damage and improve the clinical efficacy.

Objective To compare the impact on the ovarian reserve function after cisplatin intraperitoneal or intravenous chemotherapy in rats model. Methods Thirty 8-weeks old female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control group (group A, n=10), intraperitoneal chemotherapy group (group B, n=10) and intravenous chemotherapy group (group C, n=10). Cisplatin was diluted by normal saline (NS) into 4 mg/ml. On the first day of chemotherapy, 0.2 ml cisplatin dilution was injected into the abdomen of rats in group B, isodose cisplatin was injected into vein and 1.8 ml NS was injected into abdomen of rats in group C, 2.0 ml NS was injected into abdomen of rats in group A for control. Feed the three groups rats and test the anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in serum on day 0 (just before injection), day 10 and day 20 by ELISA, count the numble of follicle in bilateral ovaries on day 20. Results (1) The levels of serum AMH in the three groups before and after chemotherapy were compared: ① comparison between groups: On day 10 and day 20 , the AMH level in group B [(64.5 ± 2.9), (68.6 ± 3.4) ng/L] and group C [(76.1±4.9), (91.3±3.9) ng/L] was significantly lower than that in group A [(120.1±5.3), (121.7±4.6) ng/L;P<0.01], AMH level in group B was significantly also lower than that in group C (P=0.000). ② Comparison within groups:the AMH level on day 0 was significantly lower than that on day 10 and day 20 in group A (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between day 10 and day 20 (P=0.427). The AMH level on day 0 was significantly higher than those on day 10 and day 20 in group B (P<0.01) and group C (P<0.01). There was no difference in AMH level between day 10 and day 20 (P=0.124) in group B, but the level was significant lower on day 10 than that on day 20 in group C (P=0.011). (2)Comparison of the number of follicles in ovaries of three groups 20 days after chemotherapy:the follicles number in group A(35±13)was greater than that in group B (16 ± 9,P=0.003) and similar with group C (31 ± 16,P=0.474) on day 20. The follicles number in group B was significantly less than that in group C (P=0.018). Conclusions In the present study, both intravenous and intraperitoneal chemotherapy have impacts on ovarian reserve function and the latter might be more serious. The level of AMH will rise again over time after chemotherapy and rats undergo intravenous chemotherapy would recover faster. The results suggest that the ovarian reserve function need more time to recover after intraperitoneal chemotherapy. For patients with ovarian cancer who want to preserve fertility function, intravenous chemotherapy might be more appropriate.

Objective To compare the sedative and analgesic effects of remifentanil combined with propofol administered by target-controlled infusion(TCI)and intravenous infusion during local anesthesia.Methods Sixty ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients,aged 18-55 yr,with body mass index ＜ 30 kg/m2,scheduled for plastic surgery under local anesthesia,were equally and randomly divided into TCI group(group T)and intravenous infusion group (group V).Remifentanil(the initial target plasma concentration 1.0 ng/ml)and propofol(the initial target plasma concentration 1.0 ng/ml)were given by TCI before local anesthesia in group T.Remifentanil was infused at a rate of 0.05 μg·kg-1 ·min-1 after a loading dose of 0.25 μg/kg and propofol was infused at a rate of 3 mg·kg-1 ·h-1 after a loading dose of 0.5 mg/kg in group V.The target plasma concentration or infusion rate was adjusted to maintain the modified OAA/S score of 2 or 3.Hypoxemia,bradypnea and/or apnea were recorded during operation.The total amount of remifentanil and propofol consumed was calculated.Results Compared with group V,the incidence of hypoxemia,bradypnea and/or apnea were significantly decreased during operation,and the total amount of remifentanil and propofol consumed was significantly reduced in group T(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The sedative and analgesic effects of remifentanil combined with propofol given by TCI are superior to those given by intravenous infusion during local anesthesia,with better safety.

Objective To investigate the effects of medicine androgen deprivation therapy(ADT)on quality of life in patients with prostate cancer.Methods A total of 42 consecutive advanced prostate cancer patients without any other anti-androgen medications after ADT[A subcutaneous depot injection of LHRH-agonist(Zoladex) was instituted every 28 days]were enrolled.Levels of serum testosterone and prostatic specific antigen(PSA)were obtained just prior to ADT and after ADT.The general and disease-specific health-related quality of life were assessed.Results The average testosterone level was less than 50 mg/L after medical ADT in 3 weeks.And PSA level declined dramatically in one month.Although there were no significant differences on physical discomfort and limitations to daily activities.Urinary obstruction symptoms after ADT were disappeared and the size of prostate were reduced after one month.The appetite and vigor were worsened.Overall health status and sexual function were significantly reduced.Conclusion The ADT could make serum testosterone and PSA decline dramatically in short time,and worsen some general health-related quality of life.

Medical virtual simulation teaching environment is an advanced and complex combination of virtual simulation technology and medical technology training .As an advanced information technology , it has been attracting the attention of medical education researchers .Based on the characteristics of medical laboratory technology education , the virtual simulation experimental teaching center was established and a framework of the virtual simulation training environment was designed in the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Southern Medical University .Virtual simulation softwares and tool softwares were put into use widely in our experimental teaching .As it turns out, this simulated training environment has many merits such as risk-free safety , great efficiency , genuine learning experience and wide application potential , which partly overcomes the restriction of the teaching process brought by the condition of the practical operation and improves the teaching effect significantly .