BACKGROUND: There was no uniform criterion for muscle force sense test of the sagittal plane of the ankle joint.OBJECTIVE: To explore the test-retest reliability of the ankle muscle force sense (MFS) under different target force.METHODS: The target force of the muscle was 25%, 50% and 75% maximal voluntary isometric contraction to measure MFS.Consistency degree of the repeated measures was evaluated by intra-class correlation (ICC) and standard error of measurement(SEM).RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Interclass correlation coefficients of variable errors and absolute errors in MFS were more than0.75, and SEM of them were lower. ICCs of constant error of them were less than 0.75, and SEMs of them were greater. Thetest-retest reliability for variable errors and absolute errors of MFS was better when the target force was smaller.

Objective To explore the applicative effect of the clinical cluster management during perioperative period on esophageal cancer in elderly patients aged 75 years and over.Methods A total of 36 cases with esophageal cancer aged 75 years and over admitted into Thoracic Surgery Department in our hospital from January 2010 to February 2015 were divided into experimental and control group.Patients in experimental group received clinical cluster management including preoperative therapy for improvement of heart and lung function, selective protection during operation, strengthening support after operation and early nasal tube nutrition.Patients in control group received routine treatment for esophageal carcinoma during perioperative period.The postoperative complications, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, the incidence of anastomotic leakage,postoperative feeding time, postoperative hospitalization time and other indicators were observed.Results Among 20 patients in the experimental group, postoperative cardiopulmonary complications were found in 6 cases, postoperative cardiovascular complications in 3 cases and anastomotic leakage in 2 cases.Among 16 patients in the control group, postoperative cardiopulmonary complications were found in 12 cases, postoperative cardiovascular complications in 10 cases and anastomotic leakage in 5 cases.The incidences of postoperative cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular complications were lower in experimental group than in control group (x2 =7.200 and 8.693, P =0.007 and 0.003).The incidence of anastomotic leakage showed no significant difference between the two groups (x2 =2.562,P=0.109).The mean duration of ICU stay and postoperative hospitalization time were shorter in experimental group than in control group[(5.6±2.7) d vs.(9.8±4.9) d, (15.4±4.5) d vs.(20.6±5.5) d, t=3.208 and 3.125, P=0.003 and 0.004].There was no significant difference in postoperative feeding time between the two groups [(8.4±1.5)d vs.(9.1±1.1)d, t=1.569, P=0.126].Conclusions A tightly clustered clinical managements during perioperative period can minimize the incidences of postoperative complications and mortality rate in elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of autologous epidermal grafting combined with narrow?band ultraviolet B(NB?UVB)radiation for the treatment of vitiligo, and to explore their possible action mechanisms. Methods Totally, 30 patients with vitiligo were randomly and equally divided into 2 groups:epidermal grafting group treated with autologous epidermal grafting alone, and combination group treated with both autologous epidermal grafting and NB?UVB radiation. Fifteen healthy volunteers served as the healthy control group. Enzyme?linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was performed to detect the levels of interleukin?18(IL?18), tumor necrosis factor?α(TNF?α)and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule?1 (sICAM?1) in interstitial fluid from the patients before and after the treatment, as well as from the healthy controls. Therapeutic effects were evaluated after 3?month treatment. Results Before the treatment, the epidermal grafting group and combination group both showed significantly increased levels of IL?18(0.985 ± 0.305μg/L, 1.008 ± 0.399μg/L, respectively), TNF?α(1.132 ± 0.313μg/L, 1.147 ± 0.474μg/L, respectively)and sICAM?1(1.215 ± 0.284μg/L, 1.221 ± 0.432μg/L, respectively)in interstitial fluid compared with the healthy control group(all P<0.01). The levels of the three cytokines in the combination group almost all returned to normal after the 3?month treatment. In addition, the combination group showed a significantly higher response rate compared with the epidermal grafting group(68.9%vs. 43.8%, P<0.05). Conclusion Immune abnormalities exist in local lesions of patients with vitiligo, and NB?UVB radiation can increase the success rate of epidermal grafting likely by regulating the body′s immune function.

OBJECTIVE:To optimize the water-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation. METHODS:The wa-ter-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation was optimized by orthogonal design,with the total contents of matrine and oxymatrine,the total content of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminol,the content of berberine hydrochloride and extract yield,and with the extraction time,amount of water(3 reflux extractions)and soaking time as the factors;and verifi-cation tests were conducted. RESULTS:The extraction time had significant effect on comprehensive evaluation value (P<0.05). The optimal water-extraction technology was as follows as extraction time of 120 min,water amount of 8,6,and 6 times as the amount of herbs,and soaking time of 20 min. In verification tests,the average total content of matrine and oxymatrine was 3.152 6 mg/g(RSD=1.03%,n=3),that of prim-O-glucosylcimifugin and 5-O-methylvisamminol was 4.977 2 mg/g(RSD=2.27%,n=3),the average content of berberine hydrochloride was 3.345 0 mg/g (RSD=1.19%,n=3) and the average extract yield was 49.23%(RSD=2.43%,n=3). CONCLUSIONS:The optimal water-extraction technology of Compound kuhuang formulation is stable and feasible.

Objective To investigate the effect of nimodipine (ND) injecting into cisterna magna on the mitochondrial pathway in hippocampus in rabbit model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were randomly allocated to Sham group, SAH group and ND group, six in each group. All the animals underwent operation under anaesthesia. One mL/kg autologous non-heparinized arterial blood was injected into cisterna magna in SAH group and ND group, and the same dosage of saline was injected into cisterna magna in Sham group. Thirty minutes after injection, 1 mg/kg nimodipine was injected into cisterna magna in ND group, and equal-volume of saline was injected into cisterna magna in Sham group and SAH group. All the animals were assessed for the grade of food intake and neurological impairment, and rats were killed 72 hours after SAH. Their hippocampus were processed for detecting the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and Cyt-C mRNA by qRT-PCR. The protein expressions of Caspase-3 and Cyt-C were detected by Western blot assay. Results Compared with the Sham group, there were lower grade of food intake, varying degrees of neurological impairment and lower ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, while the mRNA levels of Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and Cyt-C and protein levels of Caspase-3 and Cyt-C showed elevated expressions in SAH group and ND group (P<0.05). Compared with SAH group, there were no significant differences in the score of food intake and neurological impairment in the ND group ( P>0.05). There were higher ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and expression levels of Bcl-2 mRNA and lower expression levels of Bax mRNA, Caspase-3 and Cyt-C mRNA and proteins in ND group than those in SAH group (P<0.05). Conclusion Nimodipine plays a protective role in inhibiting the activity of mitochondrial pathway in hippocampus after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

In order to confirm the alteration and significance of cigarette smoke exposure on SP-A in rats, 20 Wistar rats were assigned randomly to two groups: an N group (n=10), and an S group (n=10). The ultra-structural change was observed by electron microscopy. The number of cells positive for SPA was by immunohistochemically measured. The mRNA expression in the lung tissues was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The number of cells positive for SPA of the S group (0.52 +/- 0.05) was lower than that of the N group (0.72+/-0.06) (P<0.05). The levels of mRNA of SPA in the lung tissues of the S group (0.3522+/-0.0512) was significantly lower than that of the N group (0.4432+/-0.05628) (P<0.05). It is concluded that cigarette smoke alone decreased the level of SP-A and that might have an important effect on surfactant metabolism and the host defense functions of surfactant in the peripheral airways, which might play a crucial role in the development of chronic obstructive lung disease.
Gene Expression Regulation ; Immunohistochemistry/methods ; Lung/metabolism ; Microscopy, Electron ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein A/*biosynthesis ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Rats, Wistar ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Smoking/*adverse effects ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution/*adverse effects

Objective To observe the therapeutic efficacy of the Chinese medical herb decoction qu yin tang combined with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy on psoriasis vulgaris, and to investigate its influ-ence on osteopontin (OPN) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in serum. Methods Sixty patients with psoriasis were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group was treated with qu yin tang and NB-UVB; the control group was treated with qu yin tang only. The levels of OPN and VEGF in serum were detected in both groups before and after treatment using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Twenty healthy persons' serum samples were taken as controls. At the same time, any changes in psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores in the two groups were recorded and compared. Results After 8 weeks of treatment, PASI scores and levels of OPN and VEGF had been reduced significantly in both groups, and there was a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group. Conclusions Chinese medical herbs combined with NB-UVB phototherapy is a safe and effective method for the treatment of psoriasis. The results suggested that OPN and VEGF may play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoirasis vulgaris.

Objective To investigate the regulatory effects of extracellular matrixes, including fi-bronectin(FN), and collagen Ⅰ (ColⅠ ) on the immunologic function of human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) passively sensitized with asthmatic serum, and the role of phosphoinosifide 3-kinase (PI3K). Methods Primarily cultured HASMCs were inoculated on the blank plates or on the plates coated with difference matrix proteins, added 10% asthmatic serum to passively sensitized non-asthmatic HASMCs and 10% non-asthmatic serum treated HASMCs as control, cell pretreated with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 for 30 min. The expressions of RANTES, Eotaxin, TGF-β1 mRNA were observed by RT-PCR and RANTES, Eotaxin, TGF-β1 protein in the ceil culture supernatunts was detected by enzyme-linked immtmosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Compared with the control serum group, the expressions of RANTES, Eotaxin, TGF-β1 mRNA of HASMCs and those protein in HASMCs culture supematants were significantly increased in the asthmatic serum group and the control serum + FN group and the control serum + Col Ⅰ group ( P < 0.05 ). The expressions of RANTES, Eotaxin, TGF-β1 mRNA of HASMCs and protein in HASMCs culture superna-tants were significantly increased in the asthmatic serum + FN group and the asthmatic serum + Col Ⅰ group. 50 μmoL/L LY294002 could significantly inhibit the expressions of RANTES, Eotaxin, TGF-β1 mRNA of HASMCs and protein in HASMCs culture supematants(P < 0.05). Conclusion These results suggest ex-tracellular matrixe may regulate immunomodulatory function of HASMCs passively sensitized with asthmatic serum and PI3K signaling pathway may play an important role in the process.

Objective To assess the efficacy of 308 nm excimer laser irradiation for the treatment of guinea pig model of vitiligo and its immunoregulatory effect on Treg cell and Th17 cell.Methods Vitiligo was induced in guinea pigs by hydroquinone bleaching,and they were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group.There was also a normal control group.The experimental group was treated with a 308 nm excimer laser at the nidus of vitiligo; the two control groups were given no intervention.After 8 weeks of treatment,leukasmus of the different groups were compared.The mRNA expression of Foxp3 and IL-17 were measured by real-time fluorescence quantitative (RTFQ-PCR) and the expression of Foxp3 and IL-17 in the lesions were measured by immunohistochemistry staining.Results The effectiveness rate was 100％ in the experiment group.The results of RTFQ-PCR showed that the mRNA expression of Foxp3 in the experimental group and the vitiligo control group was significantly higher than the healthy control group (all P ＜ 0.05),being 0.33 ± 0.03 and 0.02 ±0.07 respectively,as was the mRNA expression of IL-17,being 0.21 ± 0.05 and 0.94 ± 0.06 accordingly; and the mRNA expression of IL-17 in the experimental group was significantly lower than the vitiligo control group(P ＜ 0.05).The immunohistochemical staining showed that Foxp3 and IL-17 protein was scattered in the lesions of the experimental group,while they were crowded in those of the vitiligo control group.Conclusion Laser irradiation might contribute to a therapeutic effect on vitiligo through modulating the balance of Treg and Th17 cells,at least in guinea pigs.

To observe the effects of Qishe Pill, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on lumbar vertebral bone formation induced by long-time upright posture in rats and to investigate the potential mechanism.