Objective To observe the effect of pulmonary surfactant(PS) on lung function and ventilator parameters of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome(NRDS) in the advanced stage.Methods Twenty-eight infants with NRDS were given PS in one dose by endotracheal intubation on the left side,right side,feet high with head low,and level decub respectively.The dose of PS was 100-150 mg/kg each time,each posture slow note of the drug were required 1/4,out of the straw,hand-controlled ventilation,to reduce fluid loss,with the exception of a clear airway obstruction,within 6 hours after the administration not to shoot back suction,to give mechanical ventilation after the injection.Lung function parameters were also measured:pressure of oxygen in artery[p_a(O_2)],carbon dioxide partial pressure[p_a(CO_2)],the ratio of pressure of oxygen in artery and alveolar oxygen partial pressure[a/Ap(O_2)] and oxygenation index(OI) were determined.Ventilator parameters were determined:oxygen concentration(FiO_2),oxygen peak(PIP),end-expiratory positive pressure(PEEP) and mean airway pressure(MAP) were determined.These numerical data were analyzed and compared before and after treatment with PS.Clinical manifestations,thoracic X-ray changes,survival rate and incidence rate of complications were also analyzed and compared before and after PS therapy.Results p_a(O_2),a/Ap(O_2) showed significant upgrade and OI had a decrease after PS administration in comparison with those before PS therapy.The ventilator parameters(except for PEEP) acquired were also lower after drug administration than those in before drug therapy.There were significant differences in both stages(P_a90%,respiratory sound in 24 cases enhanced,the observation of chest film after 24 h indicated that,lesions in 21 cases improved significantly,5 cases took a favorable turn.The survival rate was 85.7%.The incidence rate of complication was as follows:pneumonia was 25%,patent ductus arteriosus was 10.7%,pneumorrhagia was 7.1% and intraventricular hemorrhage was 3.6%,respectively.Conclusion Respiratory function of NRDS is significantly improved by using PS in the advanced stage,and therapeutic effect is apparent.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between the exons 2 to 4 of the MICA gene and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

METHODSBy PCR-SSOP, DNA samples from 56 AS patients and 112 random healthy individuals, as normal control were genotyped to analyse the polymorphism in exons 2, 3, 4 of the MICA alleles.

RESULTSMICA*008 was dominant in MICA allele,accounted for 32.14% and 30.36% in AS patients and normal controls respectively. The frequency of MICA*007 was significantly increased in AS patients, when compared with normal controls (chi-square=10.18, P<0.05, RR=2.50). No difference was found in the other MICA alleles. The haplotype analysis revealed that there were the strong linkage disequilibrium between MICA and HLA-B of AS patients, and normal controls. There was a difference in MICA*007-B27 between two groups (chi-square=18.46, P<0.05, RR=7.47). Both HLA-B27 and MICA*007 were strongly associated with AS. Stratified analysis showed that HLA-B27 was significantly relative to AS,while it was not found between MICA*007 and AS.

CONCLUSIONThe increased frequency of MICA alleles may be due to its strong linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B27.

Alleles ; Exons ; genetics ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-B27 Antigen ; genetics ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I ; genetics ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of astragalus injection on U937 leukemia cells proliferation and apoptosis and relevant molecular mechanisms.

METHODSLeukemia cell line U937 cells were treated with different concentrations of astragalus (62.5, 125, 250, 500, 1 000 μg/mL). The U937 cells without astragalus treatment were used as the control group. The ability of cell proliferation was measured by MTT method. Flow cytometry was used to explore cell apoptosis. The cell morphology changes were observed under a fluorescent microscope by dyeing Hoechst33258. mRNA expression of c-myc and p27 in U937 cells which was exposed in 1 000 μg/mL astragalus after 0, 12, 24 and 48 hours was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSVarious concentrations of astragalus injection inhibited U937 cell proliferation effectively compared with the control group (P<0.05). They also induced U937 cells apoptosis and the apoptosis rate reached to (63 ± 4)% in the 1 000 μg/mL astragalus treatment group. mRNA expression level of c-myc was gradually declined and p27 mRNA expression was gradually increased with astragalus treatment time (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSAstragalus injection may inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of leukemia cell line U937 in vitro. This contributes to down-regulation of c-myc expression and up-regulation of p27 expression.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Astragalus Plant ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; genetics ; Genes, myc ; Humans ; Injections ; U937 Cells

OBJECTIVETo assess the risk factors for vulvar dystrophy.

METHODSAn epidemiological study was carried out. Data on 100 cases with vulvar dystrophy was reviewed and face to face interviewed with a uniform questionnaire including the manner of work, environmental temperature, habit of eating, mood, underwear wearing, autoimmune diseases, marriage, menstrual age, the quantity of menses, orders of pregnancy, and labor trauma of vulvar during delivery, vulvitis and urethritis ect. Univariable analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were carried out with 1:1 case-control methodology.

RESULTSMultiple conditional logistic regression analysis showed that vulvar dystrophy was positively associated with hot food (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.24 - 5.25), mood (OR = 4.27, 95% CI: 1.96 - 9.29), order of pregnancy (OR = 3.37, 95% CI: 2.11 - 5.40), vulvitis (OR = 6.74, 95% CI: 2.66 - 17.09) and urethritis (OR = 11.02, 95% CI: 1.01 - 120.19). Vulviitis or urethritis increased 6.74 or 11.02 times the incidence of vulva dystrophy. Anger or nervous state contributed to the incidence of vulva dystrophy (OR = 4.27). Addict to hot food and order of labor also increased risk ratio for 2.55 and 3.37 times, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe risk factors of vulvar dystrophy were: addict to hot food, often holding a angry or nervous state, increase of labors, having vulvitis and urethritis.

Diet ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Parity ; Risk Factors ; Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of portaazygous disconnection (PAD), portacaval shunt (PCS) and distal splenocaval shunt (DSCS) on the portosytemic shunting (PSS), hepatic function (HF), hepatic mitochondrial respiratory function (HMRF), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and arterial ketone body ratio (KBR) in order to provide a sound basis for selecting suitable operations for patients.

METHODSUsing a cirrhotic portal hypertensive model induced by CCl4/ethanol in Wistar rats, the PSS, HF, HMRF, OGTT and KBR were determined three weeks after PCS, DSCS and PAD.

RESULTSIt was revealed that: (1) In the cirrhotic portal hypertension rats, the PSS increased significantly, HMRF and hepatic reserve function (HRF) decreased significantly when compared with the control rats. (2) At the time of first postoperative week, the mean blood glucose value in the 120-minute OGTT in each PAD, PCS and DSCS groups had significant differences compared with the cirrhotic control group. But during the second and third postoperative weeks, the mean blood glucose values in the 120-minute OGTT in both PAD and DSCS groups had no significant differences compared with the cirrhotic control group except for the PCS group. The values of KBR in the three operative groups decreased significantly compared with the cirrhotic control group during the two postoperative weeks. In the third postoperative week, only the values of KBR in the PCS group had a significant difference compared with the cirrhotic control group. (3) After PCS, the PSS was further increased; HF and HMRF were significantly decreased. Little improvement was found in the third postoperative week. (4) After DSCS and PAD, the above mentioned indices were less influenced, and they were restored more quickly than those in the PCS group.

CONCLUSIONWe found that PAD and DSCS are more desirable than PCS.

Animals ; Hypertension, Portal ; etiology ; surgery ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; complications ; surgery ; Portacaval Shunt, Surgical ; Portasystemic Shunt, Surgical ; methods ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo establish a new method for the determination of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in Stephania tetrandra and Fengtongan capsule by noanqueous capillary electrophoresis.

METHODSeparation was carried out in an uncoated fused capillary (50 cm x 75 microm i.d.) with a running buffer containing 50 mmol x L(-1) ammonium acetate, 1.0% acetic acid and 20% acetonitrile in methanol. A separation voltage of 20 kV and a UV detector wavelength at 214 nm were adopted. Sample was introduced from the anode.

RESULTThe calibration ranges were 1.00, 500 mg x L(-1) for both analytes. Under the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) for the migration time of each analyte were 0.09%, 1.9% (intra-day) and 0.63%, 1.9% (inter-day); The RSD for the peak area of each analyte were 0.45%, 5.9% (intra-day) and 2.3%, 5.6% (inter-day), respectively. The contents of the analytes were determined easily with average recoveries 102% for fangchinoline and 105% for tetrandrine in S. tetrandra and 94.6% for fangchinoline and 98.7% for tetrandrine in Fengtongan capsules, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe proposed method is simple, rapid, accurate and higher repeatable, and can be used to control of the quality of S. tetrandra and Fengtongan capsules.

Benzylisoquinolines ; analysis ; Calibration ; Capillary Electrochromatography ; methods ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; standards ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Stephania tetrandra ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of malignant tumors among fluoride-exposed workers in aluminum industry.

METHODSSampling points were set in the working positions at different radii around an workshop for treating the waste gas from aluminum electrolysis, and the concentrations of fluoride ions, aluminum, and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in air were measured by electrode method, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The incidence of tumors among the workers in the aluminum plant from 1995 to 2009 was investigated by questionnaires and medical records and then statistically analyzed.

RESULTSThere was a negative correlation between the concentrations of fluoride and aluminum and the radius around the fluoride source at each sampling point. B[a]P was not detected at each sampling point. The crude incidence rate of tumors among factory workers was 117.95/100 000 (standardized rate = 58.81/100 000); the standardized incidence rate of tumors was higher in female workers than in male workers (male-to-female ratio = 1:2.64). The peak age of onset of tumors was 40 ∼ 49 years. The most and second most common tumors were liver cancer and lung cancer in male workers and breast cancer and lung cancer in female workers. Compared with the unexposed population in the city where the aluminum plant was located, the female fluoride-exposed workers had an increased tumor incidence, 2.14 times that of the city's average level, and the fluoride-exposed workers had a younger age of onset of tumors and approximately the same types of tumors.

CONCLUSIONFluoride exposure may lead to an increasing trend in tumor incidence among female workers in aluminum industry.

Adult ; Aluminum ; Female ; Fluorides ; Humans ; Male ; Metallurgy ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Occupational Exposure

OBJECTIVETo further study the characteristics of drugs with neutral property in two-way application and conditioned dominance by observing the action characteristic of 10 traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property in hemorheological indicators of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome and cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats.

METHODThe model of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats was established by injecting carrageenan and dry yeast, while the model of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats was established by body freezing. Subsequently, 10 traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property, 5 traditional Chinese medicines with heat property and 5 traditional Chinese medicines with cold property were selected for intervention to observe the changes in such indicators as whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity and hematocrit and analyze the action characteristics of drugs with neutral property.

RESULTANOVA showed that among six of the 10 traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property, including Typhae Pollen, Sarcandrae Herba and Sappan lignum, could obviously increase the hemorheological indicators of both heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome and cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats; five traditional Chinese medicines with cold property, such as Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Leonuri Herba, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, could significantly ameliorate the hemorheological indicators of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and Salvia Miltiorrhiza Radix et Rhizoma alone could ameliorate the hemorheological indicators of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats (P < 0.05); all of the five traditional Chinese medicines with heat property could significantly ameliorate the hemorheological indicators of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats (P < 0.01), among which Carthami Flos and Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma could significantly ameliorate the hemorheological indicators of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rats. According to the average high-shear blood viscosity analysis, drugs with neutral property showed similar action characteristics to those with cold property in ameliorating hemorheology indicators of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rat and better effect than those with heat property in reducing whole blood viscosity; and traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property have the similar action characteristics to those with heat property in improving the hemorheology indicators of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome rat and better effect than those with heat property in reducing whole blood viscosity.

CONCLUSIONUnder the condition of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome, traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property show the similar action characteristics to those with cold property; but under the condition of cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome, traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property show the similar action characteristics to those with heat property. This indicates that traditional Chinese medicines with neutral property show both heat and cold properties under he conditions of heat stagnation and blood stasis syndrome and cold stagnation and blood stasis syndrome.

Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Blood Circulation ; drug effects ; physiology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hemorheology ; drug effects ; Homeostasis ; drug effects ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Thrombosis ; drug therapy ; physiopathology

BACKGROUNDPapillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) represents one of the most frequent endocrine malignancies. Several factors have been found to be involved in determining the outcome of treatment for patients with PTC. Large tumor size, diagnosis at an early age, extra-thyroidal invasion, aggressive histological variants, and distant metastases are the most important determinants of a poor outcome. BRAF(V600E) mutation has been found to be a major genetic alteration in PTC. This study aimed to evaluate progression in patients with multifocal and solitary PTC.

METHODSWe performed a retrospective study to analyze 368 patients with PTC who underwent surgery, including 282 patients with solitary PTC and 86 patients with multifocal PTC. The status of BRAF(V600E) mutation in all tumor foci from multifocal PTC was detected.

RESULTSOur study suggested that multifocal PTC was more related to lymph node metastasis and vascular invasion than solitary PTC. However, the distant metastasis rate and 10-year survival rate showed no difference between these two groups. The number of tumor foci did not affect progression of disease in multifocal PTC patients. Lymph node metastasis in multifocal PTC patients was associated with larger tumors, diagnosis at early stage, and extra-thyroidal invasion.

CONCLUSIONThe status of BRAF(V600E) mutation was more frequent in multifocal PTC patients with lymph node metastasis and diagnosis at later age.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf ; genetics ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of simulated microgravity on erythroid differentiation of K562 cells and explore the possible mechanism.

METHODSThe fourth generation rotating cell culture system was used to generate the simulated microgravity environment. Benzidine staining was used to evaluate the cell inhibition rate, and real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect GATA-1, GATA-2, Ets-1, F-actin, β-Tubulin and vimentin mRNA expressions. The changes of cytoskeleton were observed by fluorescence microscopy, and Western blotting was employed to assay F-actin, β-tubulin and vimentin protein expression levels.

RESULTSBenzidine staining showed that simulated microgravity inhibited erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. K562 cells treated with Hemin presented with increased mRNA expression of GATA-1 and reduced GATA-2 and Ets-1 mRNA expressions. Simulated microgravity treatment of the cells resulted in down-regulated GATA-1, F-actin, β-tubulin and vimentin mRNA expressions and up-regulated mRNA expressions of GATA-2 and Ets-1, and reduced F-actin, β-tubulin and vimentin protein expressions. Exposure to simulated microgravity caused decreased fluorescence intensities of cytoskeletal filament F-actin, β-tubulin and vimentin in the cells.

CONCLUSIONSimulated microgravity inhibits erythroid differentiation of K562 cells possibly by causing cytoskeleton damages to result in down-regulation of GATA-1 and up-regulation of GATA-2 and Ets-1 expressions.

Actins ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Down-Regulation ; GATA1 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; GATA2 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Hemin ; pharmacology ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Proto-Oncogene Protein c-ets-1 ; metabolism ; Tubulin ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation ; Vimentin ; metabolism ; Weightlessness Simulation