Objective To investigate the application of hepatitis C virus RNA and antibody detection method in population screening.Methods The colloidal gold rapid test method and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)were adopted to detect hepatitis C virus (HCV)antibodies,and the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR)was adopted to detect HCV-RNA viral load.Results (1)Among 539 samples,266 cases were antibody negative and 263 cases were antibody positive.(2)Among 67 cases in the HCV-RNA viral load <103 IU/mL group,60 cases were HCV antibody positive by ELISA and 30 cases were HCV antibody positive by colloidal gold rapid test.Among 208 cases in the HCV-RNA viral load ≥ 103 IU/mL,199 cases were antibody positive by ELISA,but only 181cases were antibody positive by the colloidal gold rapid method.Other 6 cases of were 2 kinds of antibody negative had the HCV-RNA viral load ≥ 103 IU/mL.(3)208 cases of HCV-RNA viral load ≥ 103 IU/mL sample were divided in-to four groups.GGT,ALT and AST were statistically significantly different P <0.05),while ALB and S/CO values hadno statisti-cal difference (P >0.05).Conclusion In order to reduce the missed diagnosis rate and diagnose hepatitis C as early as possible,the above laboratory detection methods should be jointly applied and the comprehensive analysis should be conducted in population screening.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the bracket bond failure and its causes between adult and adolescent patients during fixed orthodontic therapy.

METHODSBracket bond failure data of 30 adults and 30 adolescents, receiving fixed orthodontic therapy, have been collected within the first 12 visits, respectively. The compliance has been analyzed with survival analyse between the two groups.

RESULTThe general bracket bond failure rate in the adult group is lower than that of the adolescent group and the difference is significant (p < 0.05). In the adolescent group, the failure rate for mandibular anterior teeth is highest and different from that of the adult group (p < 0.05). The failure rate resulted from biting hard food is ranked No. 1.

CONCLUSIONSThe compliance of the adults receiving fixed orthodontic therapy is better than that of the adolescents. The investigation of bracket bond failure causes is beneficial in helping orthodontists improve orthodontic practice and raise clinical efficiency. The survival analysis is effective in evaluating the bond failure.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Equipment Failure ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Orthodontic Brackets ; Orthodontics, Corrective ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVE Diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been one of the most common complications of diabetes and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Glomerular hyperfiltrationis central in earlystage of DN and leads to the progression of renal architectonic and functional abnormalities. Salvi?anolic acid A (SalA) has been proved to protect diabetic complications such as hepatic fibrosis and neuropathy. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of SalAon glomerular endothelial dysfunctionand diabetic nephropathy. METHODS Primary glomerular endothelial cells were subjected to assess permeability under injury of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs-induced changes of RhoA/ROCK pathway and cytoskeleton rearrangement were assessed bywestern blotandimmunoflu?orescence. The beneficial effects of SalA on diabetic nephropathy were investigated in a rat model induced by high-fat and high-glucose diet combined with low dose of streptozocin (35 mg·kg- 1, ip). Renal function and architectonic changes were evaluated by biochemical assay and PAS staining. RESULTS SalA 3μMameliorated AGEs- induced glomerular endothelial permeability (P<0.05) and suppressed rearrangement of cytoskeleton through inhibiting AGE-RAGE-RhoA/ROCK pathway. SalA 1 mg · kg- 1 markedly reduced endothelium loss (P<0.01) and glomerular hyperfiltration (P<0.05) in diabetic kidney. Subsequently,SalA 1 mg·kg-1 suppressed glomerular hypertrophy and mesangial matrix expansion, eventually reduced 24 h-urinary albumin and ameliorated renal function by decreasing blood urine nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and serum n-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG). AGEs-RAGE-Nox4-induced oxidative stress was suppressed by the treatment of SalA 1 mg·kg-1. CONCLUSION SalA ameliorated AGEs-induced glomerular endothelial hyperpermeability, and effec?tively protected against early-stage diabetic nephropathy by reducing hyperfiltration and alleviating renal structural deterioration through inhibiting AGEs and its downstream pathway. Thus, SalA might be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Objective To evaluate the clinical features and the strategy for the diagnosis and treat- ment of bilateral testicular tumor.Methods The clinical data (including the signs and symptoms,imaging studies,tumor markers,treatment modalities and histopatbologic diagnoses) of 10 cases of bilateral testicular tumor from January 1980 to December 2004 were reviewed.Their age ranged from 19 to 58 years(mean,34 years).Of the 10 cases,8 with metachronous and 2 with synchronous testicular tumors were identified.The clinical stages at the primary and secondary tumor diagnosis were:5 cases of stageⅠ,3 of stageⅡ;and 6 cases of stageⅠ,1 of stageⅡ,and 1 of stageⅢ,respectively,in 8 metachronous tumor patients.Two syn- chronous tumor patients were both identified as stageⅠdisease.Histological examination showed the primary tumor (seminoma) in 4 cases and the secondary contralateral tumor (seminoma) in 3.Results Two syn- chronous tumor patients underwent bilateral radical orchiectomy simultaneously,and 8 underwent orchiectomy successively.Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection was performed in 3 cases.Postoperatively,hypogonadism occurred in 10 patients,and 7 of them received androgen replacement therapy.Follow-up ranged from 9 month to 23 years with a mean of 10.5 years.Two patients died of the disease;2 had metastasis (1 of them was alive with metastasis);2 had recurrences and underwent local resection.Conclusions Metachronous bilateral testicular cancers are more common than synchronous bilateral testicular cancers.Seminoma was the most common histopathologic type.Testis-sparing surgery can be performed in selected cases.

To investigate the hematological abnormality and clinical characteristics in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the hematological data of 58 SLE and the curative effects of corticosteroid and immunosuppressive agents on SLE were retrospectively analysed by using SPSS/PC software. The results showed that the incidence of hematological abnormalities in 58 cases was as follows: 50 cases of hemogram abnormality (86.2%), 41 of anemia (70.7%), 34 of thrombocytopenia (58.7%), 37 of leukopenia (63.8%). Peripheral cytopenia of every cell lineage was common in SLE. The cell abnormalities of two or three lineages were seen in 41 cases (70.7%). The initial symptoms with hematological abnormality were found in 12 cases (20.7%), 7 out of 12 cases were erroneously diagnosed as hematology diseases (12.1%). In 30 out of 58 patients, the results of bone marrow examination showed that 23 had hyperplasia (76.7%) and 7 were hypoplasia. In 25 out of 38 cases, splenomegaly (65.8%) was found by B ultrasonography. In 25 patients with SLE receiving Coombs test, 3 were positive (12.0%). PAIg increased in 16 out of 22 cases of thrombocytopenia (72.7%). 26 cases of SLE with two or three lineage cytopenia in peripheral blood were treated by corticosteroid and immunosuppressive agent. The hemogram improved in all patients including 6 cases of bone marrow hypoplasia. It is concluded that the hematological abnormalities are frequent in SLE patients, which are short of specialty. The cytopenia of two or more lineage in peripheral blood is most common when bone marrow shows hyperplastic. The therapy with corticosteroid and immunosuppressive agents is efficacious.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow Examination ; Child ; Female ; Hematologic Diseases ; etiology ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; blood ; complications ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of recombinant adenovirus-mediated bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and -3 over expressions on chondrogenesis and osteogenesis of prenatal mouse intervertebral disc cells and provide experimental evidences for the application of BMPs in the therapy of disc diseases.

METHODSThe prenatal mouse intervertebral disc cells were infected with a recombinant adenovirus expressing BMP-2 and BMP-3 for 5-7 days, and the expressions of collagen type I (Col I), collagen type II (Col II), aggrecan, osteocalcin, osteoprotegerin and osteopontin mRNAs were detected with RT-PCR. The expression of cartilage matrix was evaluated with toluidine blue staining, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was detected with ALP reading and ALP staining.

RESULTSBMP-2 and -3 overexpression did not enhance chondrogenesis and osteogenesis of annulus fibrosus (AF) cells or cause significant increases in the expressions of Col I, Col II or aggrecan mRNA in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of BMP-2 and BMP-3, however, promoted osteogenesis of NP cells and significantly increased the expression of osteocalcin mRNA; the overexpression of BMP-2, but not BMP-3, enhanced the mRNA expressions of osteoprotegerin and osteopontin. Toluidine blue staining demonstrated that BMP-2 and BMP-3 overexpression did not obviously affect the secretion of cartilage matrix. In NP cells, BMP-2 and -3 overexpression significantly enhanced ALP activity, which was not observed in AF cells.

CONCLUSIONAdenovirus-mediated BMP-2 and -3 overexpression can promote the osteogenic differentiation of NP cells but can not affect osteogenesis of AF cells or chondrogenesis of NP cells.

Animals ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; pharmacology ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 3 ; pharmacology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrogenesis ; Intervertebral Disc ; cytology ; drug effects ; Mice ; Osteogenesis

An HPLC method for the determination of 18alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid and 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in rat plasma was established, which was used subsequently to determine the pharmacokinetic profiles of both epimers of glycyrrhetinic acid in rats. alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid, beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, and a mixture of alpha-glycyrrhetinic and beta-glycyrrhetinic acids were administered to rats via gastric infusion. Blood samples were collected at different time intervals and extracted by liquid-liquid extraction. Separation was achieved by using a Kromasil C18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with the mobile phase composed of acetonitrile--4 mmol x L(-1) ammonium acetate solution (46 : 54, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1), and the detection wavelength was set at 250 nm. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the software DAS 2.0. In a combined administration, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of beta-glycyrrhetinic acid are significantly different from that of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was obtained when administrated individually. Compared to the single administration, significant differences (P < 0.05) on the values of AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-infinity) of beta-glycyrrhetinic acid were observed when this chemical was administrated together with alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid. In contrast, the pharmacokinetic parameters of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid were not affected even under the co-administration. Here, a sensitive, specific, rapid and reproducible HPLC method was developed for the pharmacokinetic studies of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid and beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in rat plasma.
Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Glycyrrhetinic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stereoisomerism

BACKGROUND: As a contour-supporting material, the cartilage has a significant application value in plastic surgery.Since the development of hydrogel scaffolds with sufficient biomechanical strength and high biocompatibility, cell-laden hydrogels have been widely studied for application in cartilage bioengineering. This systematic review summarizes the latest research on engineered cartilage constructed using cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds in plastic surgery. METHODS: A systematic review was performed by searching the PubMed and Web of Science databases using selected keywords and Medical Subject Headings search terms. RESULTS: Forty-two studies were identified based on the search criteria. After full-text screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 studies were included. Data collected from each study included culturing form, seed cell types and sources, concentration of cells and gels, scaffold materials and bio-printing structures, and biomechanical properties of cartilage constructs. These cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds were reported to show some feasibility of cartilage engineering, including better cell proliferation, enhanced deposition of glycosaminoglycans and collagen type II in the extracellular matrix, and better biomechanical properties close to the natural state. CONCLUSION Cell-laden hydrogels have been widely used in cartilage bioengineering research. Through 3-dimensional (3D) printing, the cell-laden hydrogel can form a bionic contour structure. Extracellular matrix expression was observed in vivo and in vitro, and the elastic modulus was reported to be similar to that of natural cartilage. The future direction of cartilage tissue engineering in plastic surgery involves the use of novel hydrogel materials and more advanced 3D printing technology combined with biochemistry and biomechanical stimulation.

Objective: To observe the lumen structural changes of radial artery (RA) in patients with transradial coronary intervention and the impact of nitroglycerin on the structure by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: A total of 20 patients with transradial coronary intervention were enrolled for OCT imaging to observe and compare the lumen structures of RA between the basic condition and nitroglycerin treated condition. Results: OCT imaging found that 15/20 patients had radial spasm and 1 had intimal tear. Compared to basic condition, with nitroglycerin treatment, the mean lumen diameter, lumen area and total vascular area were increased in the distal, middle and proximal portion of RA, all P<0.001; the intima-media thickness was decreased in the distal, middle and proximal portion of RA, all P<0.001; while the cross section area of tunica media, intimal thickness and extravascular membrane thickness were similar between the basic condition and nitroglycerin treated condition, all P>0.005. Conclusion: Vasodilatation drug may obviously enlarge RA lumen area and total vascular area in patients after transradial coronary intervention.

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed at exploring the feasibility of using dried blood spots (DBS) to detect HIV drug resistance genotyping in China by comparing the results of drug resistance from DBS, plasma and whole blood samples.

METHODSBlood samples were collected from 39 AIDS patients from Anhui (10), Yunnan (13), Hunan (6) and Xinjiang (10) provinces and autonomous regions. The HIV strains that infected these patients covered all the major HIV-1 subtypes prevailing in China (B, CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC). HIV drug resistance genotyping assay was performed on DBS as well as on the whole blood and plasma samples from the same patients simultaneously by using an in-house nest RT-PCR method. Drug resistance levels were determined based on Stanford University HIV drug resistance database, and the results from these three types of samples were compared.

RESULTSThe percentages of successful amplification of protease and reverse transcriptase regions in the pol gene were 95% (37/39) from DBS, 92% (36/39) from whole blood and 100% (39/39) from plasma samples. The sequences from the three types of samples showed more than 99% identity.86% (31/36) of the DBS samples had the same set of drug resistance mutations as those which were detected from plasma samples. The differences probably resulted from mixed bases.

CONCLUSIONSThere was no major difference in detecting HIV drug resistance genotyping among DBS, plasma and whole blood samples. Therefore, DBS is useful for detection of HIV drug resistance genotyping and is particularly valuable in developing countries like China, especially in remote rural regions.

Dried Blood Spot Testing ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; genetics ; Feasibility Studies ; Genotype ; HIV Infections ; blood ; genetics ; virology ; HIV Seropositivity ; blood ; genetics ; virology ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; genetics ; Humans ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viral Load