ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of sivelestat sodium on the prognosis in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Methods Databases including PubMed, EBSCO, Springer, Ovid, Wanfang data, CNKI and China Biology Medicine (CBM) were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding sivelestat sodium treatment for ALI/ARDS published from 1985 to December 2014. The patients in treatment group received intravenous infusion of sivelestat sodium, and those in control group received normal saline. The items for analysis were 28-day mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and oxygenation index on day 3. According to the evaluation method of Cochrane system, data extraction and quality assessment from the literature were carried out. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3. The publication bias was analyzed with funnel plot.Results Five RCTs with a total of 780 participants were included, with 389 patients in sivelestat sodium group, and 391 in control group. Meta analysis showed: compared with control group, sivelestat sodium could not lower the 28-day mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) =0.66-1.26,P = 0.58], or shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation or length of ICU stay [duration of mechanical ventilation: mean difference (MD) = -0.02, 95%CI = -0.29 to 0.24,P = 0.87; length of ICU stay:MD = -9.63, 95%CI =-23.34 to 4.08,P = 0.17], but it could improve oxygenation index on day 3 (MD = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.39 to 1.36, P = 0.000 4). Heterogeneity was not significant for the main analysis and no publication bias was shown on funnel plot. Conclusion Sivelestat sodium gave rise to a better oxygenation on day 3, but did not change the length of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, and it did not improve 28-day mortality in ALI and ARDS.

Objective To evaluate the effects of rosiglitazone on ventilator-associated lung injury (VALI) in mice.Methods Twenty-four healthy male C57 mice,weighing 20-25 g,aged 6-8 weeks,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =8 each) using a random number table:sham operation group (group S);group VALI;rosiglitazone group (group RGZ).The mice only underwent tracheotomy in group S.In group VALI,the mice were ventilated (respiratory rate 80 breaths/min,duration 4 h,tidal volume 40 ml/kg,fraction of inspired oxygen 21％,inspiratory/expiratory ratio 1:2,PEEP 0).In group RGZ,30 mg/kg rosiglitazone was given orally at 30 min before ventilation,and the other treatments were similar to those previously described in group VALI.At the end of ventilation,the mice were sacrificed,and the left lung was lavaged,and the broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected for determination of neutrophil count.The pulmonary specimens were collected from the upper lobe of right lungs for microscopic examination of the pathological changes which were scored.The pulmonary specimens were obtained from the middle lobe of right lungs for measurement of the contents of interleukin-lbeta (IL-1β),tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α),high mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) and receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results Compared with group S,the neutrophil counts in BALF,contents of IL-1β,TNF-α,HMGB1 and RAGE,and lung injury score were significantly increased in VALI group (P＜0.01),and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group RGZ (P＞0.05).Compared with group VALI,the neutrophil counts in BALF,contents of IL-1β,TNF-α,HMGB1 and RAGE,and lung injury score were significantly decreased in group RGZ (P＜0.01).Conclusion Rosiglitazone can mitigate VALI in mice.

Objective To analyze the pregnant outcome of women with chronic hypertension,and to investigate the high risk factors associated with harmful maternal and perinatal prognosis.Methods Of the 14127 deliveries in Peking University First Hospital from Jan 2001 to Dec 2005,121 pregnant women with chronic hypertension were identified and divided into two groups:chronic hypertension with and without preeclampsia(group PE,64 cases;group N-PE,57 cases).The maternal and perinatal outcomes of the two groups and the high risk factors for adverse maternal and perinatal prognosis were analyzed.Results(1) The incidence of pregnancy with chronic hypertension was 0.86%(121/14127).(2)The incidences of placental abruption,pulmonary edema and retinopathy in groups PE and N-PE were 16%(10/64)vs 2% (1/57),11%(7/64)vs 0 and 41%(26/64)vs 16%(9/57,P

With comparison of three different methods for the marking of amines compound, an optimal deri vatization method was selected.5-(2-Hydroxyethyl) benzoacridine (HBA) reacts with coupling agent N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole(CDI) to form an activated amide intermediate 2-(benzoacridin) ethyl-imidazole-1-carbox-ylate(BAEIC).BAEIC, which is dual-sensitive probe, reacts preferably with amino compounds at 80 ℃ in the presence of 4-dimethylaminopyridine(DMAP) catalyst in N,N-dimethylformamide(DMF) solvent to give the corresponding sensitively fluorescent derivatives with an excitation maximum at λ_(ex) of 280 nm and an emis sion maximum at λ_(em) of 510 nm.BAEIC-amine derivatives simultaneously exhibited high ionization potential with percent ionization (changing from 5.62% to 58.08% in aqueous acetonitrile and from 2.14% to 56.58% in aqueous methanol.Derivatives were not only sensitive to fluorescence but also to MS ionizable potential.The fluorescence detection limits(5/iV = 3) were 0.12-0.59 μg/L.The online APCI-MS detection limits were 1.9-14 μg/L(S/N=5).

Objective To investigate the correlation between vertebral artery tortuosity and posterior circulation ischemia (PCI). Methods The patients with PCI aged ≥50 years old and the controls without PCI at the same time were enrolled. CT angiography was performed in all patients. The cervical vertebral artery tortuosity was observed and rated, and the related risk factors for influencing PCI were analyzed. Results A total of 112 patients with PCI and 90 controls were enrolled. Univariate analysis showed that the proportions of patients with hypertension (80. 36% vs. 54. 44% ; χ2 = 15. 613, P < 0. 001), smoking (35. 71% vs. 18. 89% ; χ2 = 6. 974, P = 0. 008), alcohol consumption (25. 89% vs. 10. 00% ; χ2 = 8. 253, P = 0. 004), posterior circulation vascular stenosis (54. 46% vs. 24. 44% ; χ2 = 18. 578, P < 0. 001), and vertebral artery tortuosity (71. 43% vs. 48. 89% ; χ2 = 10. 695, P = 0. 001), as well as the levels of the total cholesterol (4. 96 ± 1. 26 mmol/L vs. 4. 61 ± 1. 04 mmol/L; t = - 2. 110, P = 0. 036 ), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (3. 02 ± 0. 90 mmol/L vs. 2. 69 ± 0. 78 mmol/L; t = - 2. 671, P = 0. 008 ), and fibrinogen (3. 67 ± 1. 69 mg/L vs. 3. 25 ± 0. 97 mg/L; t = - 2. 002, P = 0. 047) in the PCI group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The proportion of bilateral vertebral artery tortuosity in the PCI group was significantly higher that in the control group (30. 36% vs. 12. 22% ; χ2 = 9. 478, P =0. 002). The proportion of grade 3 vertebral artery tortuosity in the PCI group was significantly higher than that in the control group (43. 75% vs. 26. 67% ; χ2 = 6. 310, P = 0. 012). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that smoking (odds ratio [OR] 2. 339, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1. 037-5. 278; P =0. 041), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR 1. 580,95% CI 1. 050-2. 377; P = 0. 028), hypertension (OR 2. 631, 95% CI 1. 237-5. 596; P = 0. 012), posterior circulation vascular stenosis (OR 3. 419, 95% CI 1. 638-7. 134; P = 0. 001), and vertebral artery tortuosity (OR 2. 413, 95% CI 1. 212-4. 803; P = 0. 012) were the independent risk factors for PCI. Conclusion The vertebral artery tortuosity is an independent risk factor for PCI in the middle-aged and elderly people.

Objective To explore the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase ( ALP) as well as its impact on the cognitive impairment in patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease ( SIVD).Methods One hundred and fifty-eight SIVD patients were divided into two subgroups which included 86 patients with mild cognitive impairment ( SVMCI ) and 72 patients with vascular dementia ( SVaD ) according to the severity of cognitive impairment.Sixty-seven old people with normal cognitive function were selected as control qruop.Multiple lacunar infarction ( LI) or leukoaraiosis ( LA) was detected according to their MRI scan appearances and graded LA according to the severity.Serum ALP was measured by an enzymatic method as well as the Mini-Mental State Examination ( MMSE) and the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Chinese Version (CAMCOG-C) were used in assessments.Serum ALP was divided into 3 groups and the occurrence rate of LI , LA and cognitive impairment were compared with each other.The levels of ALP were compared in different cognitive impairment and Logistic regression was used to explore the relation between ALP and cognitive impairment.Results Both SVaD and SVMCI groups (17.00 (13.00, 20.00), 59.50 (49.00, 68.75);25.00 (25.00, 26.00), 82.50 (76.75, 89.00)) showed significantly lower scores in MMSE and CAMCOG-C than control group (28.00 (28.00, 29.00), 93.00 (89.00, 96.00); Z=187.337, P=0.000; Z=150.480, P=0.000).A positive relationship between the elevated ALP level and the severity of cognitive impairment was found after adjusting for sex , age and other confunding factors ((68.60 ±15.52), (78.76 ±13.39), (86.75 ±18.85) U/L, F=22.587, P=0.000).The occurrence rate of LI, LA and SVaD among the three groups were significantly different (χ2 =8.008, P=0.018;χ2 =17.998, P=0.000;χ2 =12.255, P=0.002).The ALP level was negatively correlated with MMSE and CAMCOG-C scores ( r=-0.350, P=0.000; r=-0.286, P=0.000 ).Logistic regression analysis revealed the relation between ALP and cognitive impairment was positive when we controlled all the vascular risk factors.However , the relation had gone when futher adjusting for the grade of LA.Conclusions The level of ALP is significantly higher in SIVD patients and positively relates with cognitive impairment especially in those whose grade of LA is severe.

Objective To provide a theoretical foundation for language rehabilitation by investigating the characteristics of verb impairment in Chinese agrammatism(CA)and exploring its mechanism.Methods Fifteen CA patients and 15 normal subjects(control group)were recruited and evaluated using a standardized aphasia battery in Chinese,the Chinese agrammatism battery,a verb comprehension and production task and a short-term memory task.Results Compared with the control group,verb comprehension and production,as well as working memory were significantly damaged among the CA patients,and it was more difficult for the agrammatic aphasics to produce than to comprehend verbs(P＜0.01).Verbs with a more complex argument structure(in terms of the number and type of arguments)were more difficult for the agrammatie aphasics to produce than those with a less complex argu- ment structure.But the complexity of the argument structure did not influence the agrammatic aphasics'verb compre- hension.Conclusion The semantic entry of a verb,shared by both comprehension and production,was intact,but the verb's grammar entry was impaired.Poor working memory together with the complexity of the argument structure accounted for the impaired verb production of the agrammatic patients.

Objective To investigate the processing characteristics of locative prepositions in patients with Chinese aphasia,and to provide the theoretical evidence for the rehabilitation of aphasia.Methods Twenty aphasic patients caused by left-hemisphere stroke and twenty matched normal controls were studied.Using the locative prepo- sition repeating task(single words,locative preposition phrases and words in sentences),the comprehension task, filling-gap task,the visual-spatial function task and the short-term memory task,we compared the performance be- tween these two groups.Results The aphasic patients had more difficulty in repeating locative prepositions in sen- tences,in comprehension task and filling-gap task,their short term memory was impaired.Both groups did well in re- peating single words and phrases.Conclusion The processing of locative prepositions was impaired in Chinese aphasics.The repetition of locative prepositions was more difficult than that of phrases and single words.The preposi- tions were often omitted.It might be due to the impairment of their short-term memory,or it might have something to do with role they played in the syntactic structure.The latter might also impact the comprehension and filling-gap score.We should make plans before rehabilitation therapy.

OBJECTIVEAs our previous comparative proteomics study on high and low metastasis human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell strains revealed that cytokeratin 19 (CK19) was related to higher metastasis potential, we further investigated the relationship between serum CK19 level in HCC patients and their clinico-pathologic characteristics.

METHODSSerum CK19 levels of 101 normal controls and 108 pathology-proven HCC patients were determined using radioimmunoassay, and the their correlation with clinico-pathologic parameters were studied.

RESULTSThe upper limit of one-side 98% confidence interval of normal serum CK19 level was 2.3 microg/L. Among 108 HCC patients, 24 (22.2%) had increased serum CK19 level, ranging from 2.4 to 45.5 microg/L. There were 12 patients (11.1%) with increased CK19 level but normal AFP level. The percentage of poor differentiated tumor was higher in CK19 increased cases (37.5%, 9/24) than in CK19 normal cases (20.2%, 17/84). Moreover, the presence of portal vein tumor emboli was significantly higher in CK19 increased cases (25.0%, 6/24) than in CK19 normal cases (6.0%, 5/84). (Chi-square = 7.403, P < 0.01) In addition, the percentage of TNM stage III/IV tumor was significantly higher in CK19 increased patients (54.2%, 13/24) than in CK19 normal cases. (chi-square = 13.300, P < 0.005)

CONCLUSIONSome HCC patients do have increased serum CK19 level, which could be related to portal vein tumor emboli, poor tumor differentiation and advanced tumor stages.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Keratins ; blood ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; blood ; Peptide Fragments ; blood ; genetics ; Proteome ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo compare different expression profiles of all known chemokine receptors in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with different metastasis potentials.

METHODSEighteen pairs of chemokine receptor primers were designed using Premier software. Expression profiles of the 18 chemokine receptors on four HCC cell lines of lower to higher potentials of metastasis (SMMC-7721, MHCC97-L, MHCC97-H and HCCLM6) were analyzed by RT-PCR. Expression of CXCR4 was detected by RT-PCR.

RESULTSExpression profiles of chemokine receptors on four HCC cell lines with different metastatic potentials had significant differences (P < 0.01), in which CCR10, CXCR4 and CXCR6 expressions decreased gradually as the metastatic potential of the cell lines increased. The expressions of CCR3, CCR4, CCR10, CCR12 and XCR1 on HCCLM6 were significantly reduced compared with SMMC-7721 (P < 0.01), whereas the expressions of CXCR1 (P = 0.006) and CXCR5 (P = 0.003) exceeded that of SMMC-7721. Except for CXCR2, CXCR6 and XCR1, most of chemokine receptors on MHCC97-H were expressed differently compared with MHCC97-L (P < 0.05), in which expressions of CCR1 (P = 0.002), CCR2 (P = 0.004) and CCR5 (P = 0.046) exceeded MHCC97-L. CXCR4 was detected only on the positive controls and SMMC-7721 when the template of total RNA was reduced one-half in RT-PCR.

CONCLUSIONChemokine receptors are expressed very differently at mRNA level on HCC cell lines with different metastatic potentials. The different profiles of chemokine receptors in tumor microenvironment and the function of CXCR4 in HCC should be further studied. Our findings have important implications in understanding the relationship between chemokine receptors and the metastatic potential of HCC.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Receptors, Chemokine ; metabolism