Objective To explore the feasibility and operation technique of endoscopic thyroid surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 42 patients with various thyroid diseases who were treated by endoscopic thyroidectomy.Results 41 cases were successful,1 case was converted to open operation because of operative bleeding. One case had a small area of ecchymosis in the presternal skin postoperatively, and 1 with hoarseness that recovered 3d after operation.No case of parathyroid injury or subcutaneous emphysema.The anterior cervical drain was removed 24h after operation, and patients were discharged 5d after operation.Conclusions With adherence to the indications of endoscopic thyroidectomy and operating with fine technique , endoscopic thyroidectomy is safe for the treatment of patients with thyroid disease and has a more favorable cosmetic effect.

AIM: In this context, the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of Tongbiding Injection was used as fingerprint examples of traditional Chinese medicine to compare the different methods for evaluating the similarity. METHODS: Computing methods for similarity assessments were first compared on the basis of theoretical analysis, and then comprehensive evaluations for performances of each method of similarity assessment were investigated via data simulation and statistics. RESULTS: The results manifested that each approach had its individual properties and limitations. Distance coefficient has better general properties as compared with other methods of assessing similarity. CONCLUSION: In practie, to estimate the similarity between the fingerprints of traditional Chinese medicines, the appropriate methods would be selected for the different problems, and therefore quality of traditional Chinese medicines would be better controlled.

Objective To investigate the correlation of serum concentrations of interleukin(IL)-6,IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and the prognosis of sepsis in children.Methods Fifty-seven septic patients in PICU were enrolled in the study,of whom 44 patients survived(sepsis survival group),13 patients died(sepsis dead group).Another 65 cases of non-sepsis patients served as control(non-sepsis group).The critical illness score,the number of damaged organs,and serum levels of IL-6,IL-10,TNF-α,IL-6/IL-10,TNF-α/IL-10 in each group were compared.Results The critical illness score was decreased and the number of damaged organs was more in sepsis dead group than those in non-sepsis group and sepsis survival group.Compared with non-sepsis group and sepsis survival group,the expression of IL-6 and IL-10 increased,TFN-α/IL-10 ratio significantly decreased in sepsis dead group(P ＜ 0.05),but the difference between the sepsis survival group and non-sepsis group was not statistically significant(P ＞ 0.05).The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6/IL-10 ratio showed no significant difference among three groups(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion In sepsis patients,the serum concentrations of IL-6,IL-10 are higher and the TNF-α/IL-10 ratio is smaller,the prognosis is worse.

0.05).The infiltration of tumor to the muscularis mucosa or serosa layers was significantly correlated with the risk of GISTs(?~2=4.87,P

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of endoscopic thyroidectomy(ESTC) via the approach of areola of breast.Methods The clinical data of 46 cases of endoscopic thyroidectomy via the breast areola approach from October 2004 to November 2006 were retrospectively analyzed.Results The operation was successfulmy completed endoscopically in 44 cases,including 18 cases of unilateral partial thyroidectomy,26 cases of bilateral partial thyroidectomy,and 2 cases were converted to open operation for thyroid cancer neck dissection.The operation time of ESTC was 80~160minutes(mean 110min),and the intraoperative blood loss was 25~45ml,(mean,33?9.5ml).Pathological findings showed 25 cases of thyroid adenoma,16 cases of nodular goiter,and 3 cases of Graves disease.The length of postoperative hospital stay was 3~6day(mean4.5d).Complications occurred in 2 cases,including 1case of bleeding from left puncture tract,and 1 case of temporary hoarseness.Conclusions Endoscopic thyroidectomy via breast areola approach is a technically feasible and safe procedure,and has the advantage of minimal trauma,and with excellent cosmetic outcomes.

AIM Xiaobuxin-Tang (XBXT) is a traditional Chinese herbal decoction which is composed of Haematitum, Flos Inulae, Folium Phyllostachydis Henonis and Semen Sojae Preparatum. The present study was to investigate if the total flavonoids extracted from XBXT (XBXT-2) had antidepressant effect. METHODS Forced swimming tests in mice and rats, and learned helplessness (LH) model of rats were adopted to affirm the antidepressant effect of XBXT-2 with the test on spontaneous motor activity. Plasma corticosterone level in the LH rats was measured with ELISA. RESULTS Single administraton of XBXT-2 at the doses of 50 and 100 mg·kg-1 (ig) significantly decreased the duration of immobility time in the forced swimming tests in mice and rats. Researches on LH model of rats indicated that XBXT-2 at doses of 50 and 25 mg·kg-1 markedly reduced the number of escape failure in shuttle box. Meanwhile, the plasma corticosterone level of the LH rats was significantly decreased. XBXT-2 50-200 mg·kg-1 had no effects on spontaneous motor activity in mice. CONCLUSION XBXT-2 possesses significant antidepressant-like effect. The mechanism may involve the inhibition of the hyperaction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Objectives To observe the genetic characteristics of chromosomes and the rates of implantation and pregnancy in couples of translocation carriers who undergo preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and to evaluate the significance of PGD in the treatment of translocation carriers. Methods Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to analyze the embryos of 12 carriers of reciprocal translocation and 22 carriers of Robertsonian translocation. The results of diagnosis and the implantation and pregnancy rates were analyzed. Results A total of 253 embryos from 36 couples were retrieved and FISH was applied for the examination. The characteristics of chromosomes were diagnosed in 225 embryos and the rate of successful PGD was 88.9%. Fifty-eight embryos were found to have normal chromosome or balanced translocation and were transferred into the uterus. The rate of implantation was 36% (5/14) and 14% (6/44) and the rate of pregnancy was 4/9 and 26% (5/19) for carriers of Robertsonian translocation and reciprocal translocation, respectively. Conclusions The FISH-based PGD is effective in the diagnosis of Robertsonian translocation and reciprocal translocation of embryos. It provides the possibility of a high rate of implantation and pregnancy, and avoids recurrent abortion and unwilling termination of pregnancy.

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with sepsis.Methods A total of 162 patients was enrolled with consecutive pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions during the study period of Jan 1st,2013 to June 30th,2013 at Hunan Children's Hospital.The 162 septic patients were divided into sepsis group and severe sepsis group,sepsis group and septic shock group,and survival group and death group.NT-proBNP was tested in the first and third day after 162 septic patients in hospital.Pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) score was assessed in all patients.NT-proBNP was compared between groups.The change of NT-proBNP was summarized between groups.The relationship between NT-proBNP and PCIS was analyzed.Results (1) The plasma NT-proBNP level of the first day after admission in the severe sepsis group and septic shock group was higher than sepsis group,the PCIS in the sepsis group was higher than severe sepsis group and septic shock group,with significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).(2) The plasma NT-proBNP level of the first day after admission in the death group was higher than the survival group,the PCIS in the death was lower than the survivor group,with significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).In the death group,the plasma NT-proBNP level of the third day after admission was higher than the NT-proBNP of the first day after admission (P =0.037) ; contrarily,the plasma NT-proBNP level of the third day after admission was lower than the NT-proBNP of the first day after admission in the survival group (P =0.023).Conclusions NT-proBNP could be used to assess the condition of septic patients,and dynamic test NT-proBNP can help to predict septic patient’s prognosis.

AIM:TostudythechangeofradiosensitivityofU251cellsaftertreatedwithsodiumdichloroacetate ( DCA) and further to explore the possible mechanism .METHODS: The U251 cells were divided into 4 groups: control group, DCA group, X-ray irradiation without DCA pretreatment ( IR) group and X-ray irradiation with DCA pretreatment ( DIR) group.MTT assay was applied to determine the cell viability .The intracellular reactive oxygen species ( ROS) were detected by DHE fluorescence .The expression level of Bcl-2 was assessed by Western blot .The percentage of apoptosis of cells was determined by flow cytometry .RESULTS:No difference between control group and DCA group in cell viability (P>0.05) was observed.However, the cell viability of both IR group and DIR group was markedly reduced compared with control group ( P<0.05).Furthermore, the viability of DIR group was significantly decreased compared with IR group ( P<0.05 ) .The percentage of ROS positive cells was obviously increased in DIR group compared with IR group (P<0.05).The expression level of Bcl-2 was sharply decreased in DIR group (P<0.05) and the percentage of apoptosis of cells was significantly elevated ( P<0.05) in DIR group compared with IR group .CONCLUSION:The better antitu-mor effect was obtained by improving the radiosensitivity through pretreating the cells with DCA , and the possible mecha-nism was down-regulation of the Bcl-2 expression by developing the intracellular ROS .

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in septic children with myocardial damage.Methods From Jan 1 to Jun 30,2013,162 children confirmed with sepsis in PICU of Hu'nan Children's Hospital were enrolled in the study.Patients were divided into myocardical injury and non-myocardical injury group according to whether accompanied with myocardial injury.NT-proBNP,lactate dehydrogenase,creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB),troponin Ⅰ (cTnⅠ),myoglobin(MB) of patients were measured within 24 h after admission.The NT-proBNP level between two groups was compared.The correlations between NT-proBNP and cTnⅠ,CK-MB were studied respectively.Results The NT-proBNP level[M(Q)] in myocardial injury group[3 632 (668.5,15 453.5) pg/ml] was higher than that in non-myocardial injury group[349 (169,1 500) pg/ml],which was significantly different(Z =91.881,P =0.000).The levels of NT-proBNP,CK-MB,cTnⅠ,MB were abnormal distributions.There were positive correlations between logNT-proBNP and logCK-MB (r =0.367,P =0.000),logcTnⅠ(r =0.304,P =0.001) and logMB (r=0.302,P =0.000).NT-proBNP value of 1 163 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 76％ and a specificity of 74％ to diagnose myocardial injury.Conclusion NT-proBNP could help to diagnose sepsis with myocardial damage.