Objective To investigate the biological functions of hepatitis B virus e antigen (HBeAg) protein. Methods Yeast-two hybrid technique was performed to look for proteins interacting with HBeAg from hepatocytes. HBeAg bait plasmid was constructed by cloning the HBeAg gene into carrier plasmid pGBKT7, then the yeast AH109 (a type) was transformed. The transformed yeast cells was amplified and mated with yeast cells Y187 (?type) containing liver cDNA library plasmid pCAT2 in 2?YPDA medium. Diploid yeast cells were plated on synthetic dropout nutrient medium and were selected for two times. Results Plasmids of positive colonies were extracted and analyzed by DNA sequencing and BLAST in GenBank. Conclusions After the full sequence of new gene E-36 was amplified from the mRNA of HepG2 cells by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cloned into pGADT7 vector, the recombinant plasmid was translated by reticulocyte lysate and analyzed by immuno-coprecipitation technique in vitro together with HBeAg. The result provided some new clues for the study of the biological functions of HBeAg.

Objective To study the concentration of plasma total homocysteine(tHcy) in patients with chronic renal failure(CRF).Methods 105 chronic renal failure patients and 35 health individuals to our hospital were chosen to measure the level of tHcy using enzymatic cycling assay method.Results The mean level of tHcy in renal failure period C RF patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls (t =3.12,P ＜ 0.05),and the level of plasma tHcy was significantly higher in Uremia stage than in renal failure period in CRF patients (t =6.41,P ＜0.05),and the level of plasma tHcy was significantly higher in renal failure period than in renal function decompensated period in CRF patients (t =11.27,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The level of plasma tHcy were significantly elevated in patients with CRF,and there is a trend that the level of plasma tHcy increases with severity of CRF.Serum tHcy concentration have significant value in the diagnosis and understanding the condition of patients with CRF.

Objective To compare the clinical effect between CO2-1aser assisted and cold instrument assisted suspension laryngoscopic surgery for vocal fold cyst.Methods From January, 2011 to December, 2014, 72 patients with vocal fold cyst, which diagnosed by strobolaryngoscopy, were randomly divided into CO2-1aser assisted group and cold instrument group.Strobolaryngoscopy, acoustic analysis and perceptual voice analyses were performed on each patient before surgery, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery, respectively.Results All operations were successfully completed.The complete vocal fold cyst resection rate of CO2-1aser assisted group was significantly higher than cold instrument group (29/36, 80.5％ vs 21/36, 58.3％, P ＜ 0.05), especially the left vocal fold cyst (13/16, 81.3％ vs 9/19, 47.4％, P ＜ 0.05).The complete right vocal fold epidermoid cyst resection rate was significantly higher than retention cyst (17/19, 89.4％ vs 11/18, 61.1％, P ＜ 0.05).Two recurrent cases were found in cold instrument group but no recurrent cases in CO2-laser assisted group (0/36, 0％ vs 2/36, 5.6％, P ＞ 0.05).Correlation analysis showed that vocal fold cyst recurrence was related to complete resection rate and has no relation with surgical methods, histopathological types and position.Subjective and objective assessment of voice quality in preoperative, 1-month postoperative and 3-month postoperative were similer between CO2-1aser assisted group and cold instrument group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The CO2-laser assisted suspension laryngoscopic surgery for vocal fold cyst, can increase the surgical precision, reduce the left hand impact, improve the complete resection rate and reduce the recurrence rate.

[ABSTRACT]OBJECTIVETo evaluate the short-term efficacy of Eustachian tube balloon dilation (ETBD) in the treatment of symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction (SETD) by subjective and objective analysis.METHODS Forty patients who underwent ETBD were included. Subjects’ inclusion criteria were as followed: symptoms of ETD (aural fullness predominantly, with or without otalgia, muffle hearing and tinnitus), normal tympanic membrane, type A or C tympanograms, and without a history of any middle ear diseases. Main outcomes including subjective improvement, otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry, impedance audiometry, R-value in tubomanometry (TMM) and Eustachian Tube Score (ETS) were assessed 1 week and 6 months postoperatively.RESULTSAll cases were dilated successfully. A significant effect of treatment was documented when measuring subjective improvement, impedance audiometry, R-value in TMM and ETS 1 week and 6 month postoperatively. Subjective symptoms were not relieved only in one patient. The overall success rate for all patients was 98%.CONCLUSIONETBD can provide short-term benefits to those who are diagnosed with SETD and refractory to medical management. SETD might be an optimal indication for ETBD in the treatment of ETD.

0.05).The blood loss in harmonic scalpel group was less than that in titanium clamp group or conventional group(P=0.001).CONCLUSION Harmonic scalpel is a new type of surgical instrument and is suitable for endoscopic thyroid surgery.It is worth of recommending that harmonic scalpel can not only increase safety of surgery and reduce blood loss,but also decrease the difficulty of operation and shorten the operation time.

ObjectiveTo investigate the ratios of peripheral blood CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ regulatory T cells of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) patients,and explore its association with disease activity and nephropathy.MethodsPBMC lymphocytes in 42 patients with SLE and PBMC in 40 normal healthy donors were evaluated for the proportion of Treg cells,as a percentage of the total CD4+ cells,by flow cytometric analysis.Levels of mRNA for Foxp3 were measured with a real-time quantitative PCR.The proportion of Treg cells and its association with SLEDAI,nephropathy,serum anti-dsDNA antibody,and C3 levels were analyzed.Statistical analysis was conducted with t-test and Spearman's correlation analysis.ResultsPatients with active disease had statistically significantly lower levels of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Treg than normal controls [(4±3)％ vs (7±4)％,P＜0.05],while no significant difference could be found between patients with nonactive disease and normal controls(P＞0.05).The percentage of peripheral blood CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Treg/CD4+ in patients with active disease was significantly lower when compared to patients with non-active disease [(9±6)％ vs (10±6)％,P＜0.05],and it was related to the disease activity.SLE patients with nephropathy had significantly lower levels of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Treg and CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Treg/CD4+ than patients without nephropathy(P＜0.05).Foxp3 mRNA levels were lower in PBMC from active disease patients than those in non-active disease.In addition,there was a negative correlation between the populations of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ and SLEDAI(r=-0.5892,P＜0.05).There was a negative correlation between the percentage of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+/CD4+ and SLEDAI (r=-0.4962,P＜0.05),while there was a positive correlation between the percentage of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+/CD4+ and C3(r=0.3867,P＜0.05).There was a positive correlation between the populations of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ and Foxp3 mRNA(r=0.6142,P＜0.01 ).ConclusionThese suggest that the decrease of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Treg and Foxp3 mRNA expression may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Eustachian tube balloon dilation (ETBD) in treatment of eustachian tube related diseases. METHOD: Fifteen cases (20 ears) of otitis media with effusion and 22 cases (30 ears) of symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction were recruited. Technique of tubomanometry (TMM) showed obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction in all patients. All the patients were received ETBD and followed up with VAS evaluation of ear fullness, muffled hearing, poping sound in the ear and tinnitus. And also the TMM change and middle ear effusion. RESULT: Ear fullness, muffled hearing released with 1 week (ear fullness: 8.2 ± 1.4 vs. 2.0 ± 1.2, P < 0.05, muffled hearing: 6.2 ± 1.2 vs. 3.1 ± 0.8, P < 0.05). No recurrence was seemed within 6 months. The eustachian function test turned better. Symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction had an effective rate of 96.6% while otitis media with effusion was 95.0%. CONCLUSION ETBD have good short-term effect in obstructive eustachian tube dysfunction related middle ear dysfunction, which might provide a good way to solve the eustachian tube related diseases.
Catheterization ; Ear Diseases ; Ear, Middle ; Eustachian Tube ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Otitis Media ; Otitis Media with Effusion ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristic of nystagmus and treatment of horizontal semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HSC-BPPV). METHOD: The positioning nystagmic features in 43 patients with HSC-BPPV treated between April 2004 and October 2006 were recorded and analyzed with video nystagmography. After the subtype and the effect side were determined, the appropriate repositioning maneuvers were chosen. RESULT: (1) Geotropic nystagmus was recorded in 27 cases, of whom 19 cases were treated with barbecue maneuver and/or combined forced prolonged position maneuver, while the others were treated with Asprella's maneuver. (2) Apogeotropic nystagmus was recorded in 16 cases with two types, one of which could turn into geotropic nystagmus with Gufoni's maneuver or spontaneously (in 12 cases), the other type could not (in 4 cases) transform accepted barbecue maneuver and/or combined forced prolonged position maneuver. The total improvement rate was 72.1% after 1 week and 81.4% 3 months later respectively. CONCLUSION The otolith position and the pathogenesis could be distinguished according to the nystagmic characteristics and type of HSC-BPPV. It was necessary to apply the appropriate repositioning maneuvers to treat HSC-BPPV.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nystagmus, Pathologic ; therapy ; Semicircular Canals ; Treatment Outcome ; Vertigo ; diagnosis ; therapy

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of hypoxemia on the hearing of children with childhood obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). METHOD: Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was recorded in 68 ears and 60 ears respectively of children suffering from OSAHS with "A" tympanogram. Meanwhile, ABR and DPOAE was also recorded in 30 controls of children with "A" tympanogram. RESULT: There was no statistical difference between the mild OSAHS group and the control group in the latency of wave I, III and V, the interval between wave I and III, III and V, I and V. There was significant difference between the moderate and severe OSAHS group and the control group in the delayed latency of wave I. There was significant difference between the mild OSAHS group and the control group in the amplitudes of DPOAE at 8 kHz. There was significant difference between the moderate and severe OSAHS group and the control group in the amplitudes of DPOAE at 6 kHz and 8 kHz. CONCLUSION Cochlear function was affected when AHI > or = 10/h. ABR and DPOAE could be used to detect the early damagement of auditory function in childhood OSAHS.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; physiopathology

Under the background of technological assistance to prepare for the Beijing Winter Olympics in China, the biomechanical research highlights and the latest achievements related to competitive performance of alpine skiers in recent years were systematically analyzed in this paper, so as to determine biomechanical factors affecting competitive performance of alpine skiers, including aerodynamic drag, frictional forces, ground reaction force (GRF), energy dissipation, turn radius, trajectory of the skis and/or center of mass (COM). In addition, biomechanical differences in turn techniques, multiple turns connections and abilities of individuals were also considered as important factors affecting the alpine skiing performance. In the case of slalom and giant slalom events, the earlier initiation of turns, longer path length and trajectory, earlier and smoother application of GRF, and carbene technique carving to reduce the ski-snow friction and thereby dissipate energy should be used to improve sports performance. During speed skiing, minimizing the exposed frontal area and positioning the arms close to the body can reduce the energy loss caused by aerodynamic drag, thereby improving sports performance. Top-level alpine skiers will always perform well on different courses, terrains and snow conditions during the race. Excellent alpine ski performance from a biomechanical perspective includes the efficient use of potential energy, minimizing ski-snow friction and aerodynamic drag, choosing optimal trajectory and maintaining high-speed skiing. Individual tactics and techniques should be valued in training and competition. For better results, the same performance on multiple sections and on different terrains is more important than excellence in individual sections and specific conditions.