AIM: To observe the effects of diosgenin on enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity of FT-207 in tumor-bearing mice. METHODS: The inhibitory rate on tumor growth and immune function of the in tumor-bearing mice model of transplanting MFC,HepA,H_22 and S_180 tumor were measured. RESULTS: Diosgenin had significant restraining effects on MFC in mouse.It could enhance the activity of macrophage and the level of serum hemolysin. CONCLUSION: Diosgenin can enhance the anti-tumor effect of FT-207.It can also improve the immunological function and reduce the adverse reactions of chemotherapy.

The continuous cultivation of Rehmannia glutinosa causes the accumulation of phenolic acids in soil. It is supposed to be the reason of the so called "continuously cropping obstacle". In this study, phenolic acids (hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, eugenol, vanillin and ferulic acid) were degraded by the extracta of all the tested spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and the maximal degradation rate was 75.3%, contributed by extraction of SMS of Pleurotus eryngii. Pot experiment indicated that hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillin in soil were also degraded effectively by SMS of P. eryngii. The employment of SMS enhanced ecophysiology index to near the normal levels, such as crown width, leaves number, leaf length, leaf width and height. At the same time, the fresh and dry weight and total catalpol concentration of tuberous root weight of R. glutinosa was increased to 2.70, 3.66, 2.25 times by employment of SMS, respectively. The increase of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes numbers in rhizosphere soil were observed after the employment of SMS by microbial counts. The employment of SMS also enhanced the enzyme activity in soils, such as sucrase, cellulase, phosphalase, urease and catelase. These results indicated that the employment of SMS alleviated the continuously cropping obstacle of R. glutinosa in some extent.
Agaricales ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Agriculture ; methods ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Hydroxybenzoates ; analysis ; metabolism ; Rehmannia ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Soil ; chemistry ; Soil Microbiology

OBJECTIVETo explore clinical effects of internal fixation in treating displaced clavicle fracture combined with coracoid process.

METHODSFrom January 2005 to July 2012, 9 patients with displaced clavicle fracture combined with coracoid process were treated by internal fixation. Among them, there were 6 males and 3 females with an average age of 40.1 (ranged from 20 to 57) years old. According to Eyres classification: 3 cases were type II B, 1 case was type II A, 3 cases were type III B, and 2 cases were type V A. All patients had history of injury, and diagnosed as coracoid fracture X-ray and CT before operation. Herscovici criteria was used to evaluate function of shoulders joint after operation.

RESULTSSeven of 9 patients were followed up from 6 to 18 (averaged 11) months. The incisions were healed at stage I, coracoid process obtained bony healing, and reduction of acromioclavicular joint well. According to Herscovici criteria, 6 patients got excellent results and 1 in good.

CONCLUSIONInternal fixation for the treatment of displaced clavicle fracture combined with coracoid process could restore physiological anatomical position of coracoid process, and benefit for recovery of limb function.

Adult ; Clavicle ; injuries ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recovery of Function ; Scapula ; injuries ; Shoulder Joint ; injuries

Aim To investigate the effects of dihydromyricetin on the apoptosis in AGZY-83-a tumor cells and its relevant mechanisms.Methods The survival rate of AGZY-83-a cells was assayed by MTT dye reduction.The cellular apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL method and caspase-3 activity.The intracellular free calcium i was detected to explore the apoptotic mechanism of dihydromyricetin.Results In the MTT assay,dihydromyricetin 50?mol?L-1 significantly inhibited survival ratios of AGZY-83-a cells at dose-and time-dependent manner.It was demonstrated in TUNEL assay that dihydromyricetin could induce the apoptosis of AGZY-83-a cells in a concentration-dependent manner.The examination of Caspase-3 activity indicated that the dihydromyricetin could induce the apoptosis of AGZY-83-a cells,which was dose-dependent activation of Caspase-3 in AGZY-83-a cells.The detection of the intracellular i showed that the average FI of the i could be markedly increased to 20-fold as the basic condition.Conclusions Dihydromyricetin can induce the apoptosis in AGZY-83-a cells,which is associated with the overload of the intracellular i.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the aberrant methylation of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene and to explore possible relationship between the aberrant methylation of FHIT and clinicopathological features in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSThe hypermethylation of FHIT was detected by the methylation specific PCR (MSP) method in 45 patients with HCC (tumoral and nontumoral tissue), 14 cases of normal livers and 4 HCC cell lines (SK-Hep-1, Hep-G2, Hep-3B and Huh7). The correlation of FHIT methylation and clinicopathological features was analyzed.

RESULTSThe frequencies of hypermethylation of FHIT in tumoral and nontumoral tissue, normal liver and cell lines were 71.1%, 64.4%, 14.3% and 75.0%, respectively. A significant relation between hypermethylation of FHIT and poor survival was present (P = 0.0430).

CONCLUSIONSHypermethylation of FHIT is a frequent and early event in HCC, it might relate to a poor prognosis for patients with HCC.

Acid Anhydride Hydrolases ; genetics ; Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; pathology ; surgery ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVETo explore the Notch1 mRNA and protein expression in human breast cancers and normal mammary tissues, and their relationship with the clinical indicators of breast cancers were analyzed.

METHODSNotch1 gene of human breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and normal mammary gland tissues were amplified by RT-PCR, and the expression of Notch1 protein was detected by immunohistochemical Streptavidin-Biotin Complex (SP) stain in 60 IDC, 30 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 60 normal mammary tissues.

RESULTSNotch1 gene of human IDC and normal mammary tissues both could express in a transcription level; the positive rates of Notch1 protein expression in normal mammary tissues and DCIS were 55% and 70%. Respectively, which did not differ statistically (P > 0.05), while the positive rate in IDC was 90%, significantly higher than that of the normal mammary tissues and DCIS (P < 0.05). The high expression of Notch1 protein in IDC correlate significantly with lymph node metastasis, pathological grades and TNM stages.

CONCLUSIONSNotch1 protein was over expressed in breast IDC. A high Notch1 protein expression is considered associating with the evolution and malignant transformation of the breast tumor. The expression of Notch1 gene maybe impact the effect of on the progression of breast cancers.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mammary Glands, Human ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Receptor, Notch1 ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical value of endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) biopsy for diagnosis of PET-CT positive mediastinal lymph nodes.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-six patients with lung cancer undergoing both PET-CT scanning and EBUS-TBNA biopsy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guanzhou Medical College from July 2008 to August 2010 were included in this study. There were 89 male and 37 female patients with a mean age of 56.3 years (range 34 to 81 years). (18)FDG-PET was considered positive in mediastinal nodes if the PET-CT reported hypermetabolic activity consistent with malignant disease (standardized uptake value > 2.5). All of the patients were clinically followed up.

RESULTSAmong the 126 patients, 185 stations of lymph nodes were punctured. The mean diameter of the nodes was 13.6 mm and the range was 6 - 23 mm. There were no procedural complications. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of EBUS-TBNA were 95.7%, 95.7%, and 100%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSEBUS-TBNA is a minimally invasive, highly effective and accurate, practical and safe procedure for diagnosis of PET-CT positive mediastinal lymph nodes.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy, Needle ; methods ; Bronchoscopy ; Endosonography ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Male ; Mediastinum ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of the retrosigmoid suprameatal approach (RSSMA) for petrous apex resection. Methods Ten human dry skull and 18 cadaverie skull specimens were collected and 3-dimensional CT scanning was performed with slice thickness of 1 mm. Craniotomy was performed on the specimens through a modified retrosigmoid approach, and the suprameatal tubercle (ST) and petrous apex (PA) were removed without damaging the trigerninal and facial nerves. The petrous bone was resected to the farthest lateral margin (FLM) that the approach could allow. CT-based and manual measurements were used to determine the lateral-middle line, superior-inferior, anterior-posterior lengths of the ST and PA. The superolateral lip of the internal auditory meatus (SLIAM) was defined as the landmarks for the measurement, and the distances from the SLIAM to the fundus, the common crus, and vestibule was determined. Results From thesuperior-inferior to the anterior-posterior and median-lateral directions, the resection rate of the PA increased to (26.6±6)%, (45±5)%, and (72±6)%, and the rate for the ST to (69±10)%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The resection rate of the PA at the siphonal portion was (44±7)%. In the RSSMA, the distance from the SLIAM to the FLM (17.6±2.0 mm) was greater than the distances from the SLIAM to the vestibule (10.1±1.4 mm), the fundus (10.4±1.5 mm), and the common crus (10.6±1.1 mm). Conclusions The RSSMA may well protect the siphonal portion of the internal carotid artery from damages in PA resection. The FLM of the RSSMA is always lateral to the vestibule and the fundus of the internal auditory canal and the common crus, and therefore injuries to the vestibule, the semicircular canal and the common crus should be avoided.

Conventional medical experiments can hardly simulate cardiac excitation propagation and observe the evolvement of cardiac electrical activities firsthand as is possible with computer simulation. Based on the anatomic structure of the heart, simulation of cardiac electrical activity mainly consists of the emulation of the excitation process among the cardiac cells and calculation of the electrical activities of individual cardiac cells. In this study we establish a geometric ventricular structure model demonstrating the direction of the cardiac muscle fibers and the layers of the ventricular cells, and endow different action potential models to the ventricular cells of different layers, and observe the activation process of the ventricular parts in view of the three-dimensional anatomy. This method gives attention to both enough calculation amounts and efficiency, which achieves satisfactory simulation results of ventricular electrical activity based on the anatomic structure and cell electrophysiology through an improved algorithm on personal computer.
Algorithms ; Computer Simulation ; Electrophysiology ; Heart ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Humans ; Models, Anatomic ; Models, Cardiovascular

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESince the proposal of the tumor stem cell hypothesis, considerable interest has been devoted to the isolation and purification of tumor stem cells. Tumor stem cell enrichment from primary tumor derived cell spheres has been demonstrated in specific, serum-free media. This goal of this study is to establish a method of cultivating floating tumor spheres from neuroblastoma cells and to confirm that neuroblastoma spheres are rich in tumor stem cells.

METHODSBone marrow aspirates were obtained from pediatric patients diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma. Primary tumor cells were isolated and cultivated in serum-free, stem cell-selective medium. Single sphere-forming cells were cultivated under serum-free conditions; their cloning efficiency and monoclonal tumor sphere formation rates were calculated. The expression of stem cell marker genes Oct-4 and Bmi-1 was detected by RT-PCR in sphere-forming cells and parental neurolastoma cells. Sphere-forming cells were injected into the armpit of nude mice with subsequent assessment for tumor growth. Sphere-forming cells were cultivated in differentiation medium containing 5 μmol/L 13-cis retinoic acid; changes in cell morphology were observed.

RESULTSNeuroblastoma cells formed non-adherent neurospheres under serum-free, stem cell-selective conditions after a period of 4 to 6 days. A single cell dissociated from a neurosphere could reform a monoclonal sphere; cloning efficiency and monoclonal sphere formation rates were 55.3% and 26.3%, respectively. RT-PCR results revealed heightened tumor sphere expression of Oct-4 and Bmi-1 as compared with parental tumor cells. Fourteen days after injection of 10(4) sphere-forming cells into nude mice, a neuroblastoma xenograft formed. Treatment of sphere-forming cells with 13-cis retinoic acid induced a gradual differentiation to neuronal cell morphology.

CONCLUSIONSNeuroblastoma derived tumor spheres enrich tumor stem cells and the cultivation of primary neuroblastoma cells in serum-free, stem cell-selective medium is an effective method to dissociate and purify tumor stem cells in vitro.

Animals ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Child ; Culture Media, Serum-Free ; Humans ; Isotretinoin ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Neoplastic Stem Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neuroblastoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nuclear Proteins ; metabolism ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3 ; metabolism ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; metabolism ; Repressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Spheroids, Cellular ; pathology ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays