Objective To investigate the oropharyngeal microbial colonization in elderly patients.Methods Totally 618 elderly cases and 96 young and middle-aged cases were involved in this investigation.The colonization of bacteria and fungi on the oropharyngeal mucosa were obtained by throat swab cultures.Results There were 85.4％ of cases (82 cases) with Streptococcus viridans and Neisseria gonorrheae on the oropharynx mucosa in young and middle-aged group and the pattern of constitute was simple.3 to 5 bacterial species were isolated from the oropharyngeal mucosa in elderly group.There were only 25.7％ of cases (159 cases)with Streptococcus viridans and Neisseria gonorrheae on the oropharyngeal mucosa in elderly group.Biodiversity of the constitution pattern in the bacterial colonization was exhibited in the elderly.The colonization rate of Gramnegative bacilli was higher in elderly group than in young and middle-aged group [53.1％ (328/618)vs.6.3％ (6/96)].Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumonia were the common Grampositive bacteria colonization in the elderly.The colonization rate of Candida fungus was 9.1 ％ (56/618) in the elderly.Conclusions The reduction of commensal bacteria,especially Streptococcus viridans may be the pathological basis of mode changes in bacteria colonization and opportunistic bacteria colonization on oropharyngeal mucosa in the elderly.The colonization rate of oropharyngeal Gram-negative bacili is obviously increased and Klebsiella Pneumoniae is the common bacteria on oropharyngeal mucosa in the elderly.Enterobacteriaceae,Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii are sensitive to common antibiotics.

Objective To discuss the effect of tetrandrine on endogenous neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation after spinal cord injury in rats. Methods 78 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group(n=36), Tet-treated group(n=36), sham-operated group(n=6). Control group and Tet-treated group were adapted with Allen's combat modeling method. Rats in Tet group were injected Ted with a dosage 22.5 mg/kg in 30 minutes, 24 hours and 48 hours after ASCI, and the same dose of saline was injected into injured group as control .Samples were dissected from the spinal cord injury sites at 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks after ASCI, and tested by HE staining for morphology and by immunolfuorescence staining for the expression of BrdU and nestin. Results A little Nestin positive cells and BrdU positive cells were found in control group and Tet-treated group at 1 day after injury. A large number of positive cells were found in both groups at 1 week after injury and reached the peak which lasted for 2 weeks and then decreased gradually. The expression of Nestin positive cells and BrdU positive cells in control group and Tet-treated group were decreased significantly at 4 weeks after injury, but were still more than that in sham operation group. The number of Nestin positive cells and BrdU positive cells in Tet-treated group were more than that in control group at each time point after injury. The expression was higher in Tet-treated group than control group at 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks after injury and had no difference at 4 weeks after injury. Conclusions Tetrandrine could increase the number of Nestin positive cells, BrdU positive cells and endogenous neural stem cells though improving the microenvironment, and it is beneficial for the recovery of spinal cord injury in rats.

Hippo signaling pathway plays an important role in the regulation of organ growth,tissue regeneration,tumor occurrence and development.Transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ)is the downstream transcription factor of Hippo signaling,participates in the regulation of the entire signaling path-way.In recent years,many studies have found that over-expression of TAZ has a close relationship with the oc-currence,development and prognosis of breast cancer.Discussing the relationship of Hippo-TAZ with breast cancer and breast cancer stem cells may provide a new way for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To measure the effect of tetrandrineon (Tet) on inflammatory mediators and endogenous neural stem cell proliferation after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats.Methods A total of 162 Wistar rats were separated into injury group,Tet group and sham operation group according to the random number table,with 54 rats per group.Allen' s method was used for induction of experimental SCI.Animals in Tet group were given Tet (22.5 mg/kg) through the tail vein at 30 min,24 h and 48 h postinjury.The same volume of normal saline was given to other two groups.Spinal cord tissue samples were taken from the rats after injury to measure levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,interleukin (IL)-1 β and IL-10,and tissues were examined with HE staining and Nestin immunohistochemistry staining.Results Levels of TNF-α,IL-1 βand IL-10 in injury and Tet groups increased compared to these in sham operation group at 6 h,12 h,1 d,3 d,5 d and 1 week postinjury (P ＜ 0.05).At the same time point,level of IL-10 was higher in Tet group than in injury group,but inversely for TNF-α and IL-1 β (P ＜ 0.05).More Nestin-positive cells were present in injury and Tet groups than in sham operation group at 1 d,3 d,1 week,2 week,3 week and 4 week postinjury (P ＜ 0.05).Additionally,more Nestin-positive cells were found in Tet group than in injury group at 1 d,3 d,1 week,2 week and 3 week postinjury (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Tet is effective to relieve inflammatory reaction,increase neural stem cell number and promote neurological recovery after SCI.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic values of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) for vertebral artery hypoplasia (VAH) and focal vertebral artery stenosis (fVAS) with CT angiography (CTA) finding as a standard.Methods Consecutive patient who underwent TCD and CTA were included.According to the findings of CTA,they were divided into 3 groups:a normal group,a VAH group,and a fVAS group.The TCD parameters included the mean flow velocity (MFV),peak systolic velocity (PSV),pulsatility index (PI),resistance index (RI) and asymmetry index (AI),and they were compared among the groups,respectively.The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of TCD parameters for diagnosis of VAH and fVAS.Results A total of 405 patients were enrolled,including 278 (68.6％) in the normal group,75 (18.5％) in the VAH group,and 52 (12.8％) in the fVAS group.There were significant differences in MFV,PSV,PI,and RI on the affected sides among different groups (the affected side in the normal group was defined as the right side).The blood flow velocity in the VAH group was the slowest,and that in the fVAS group was the fastest.Other parameters had the same trend.There were significant differences in MFV and PSV on the unaffected side among different groups.The blood flow velocity in the VAH group was significantly faster,the fVAS group was slightly faster,and the fVAS group was less than the VAH group.There were significant differences in AI among different groups,and it could be used as an indicator for diagnosis of VAH (the area under the curve 0.78,95％ confidence interval 0.72-0.84;P＜0.001).With the AI ＞33.7％ as a cut-off value,the sensitivity and specificity of VAH diagnosis were 74.7％ and 68.7％.Conclusions Attention should be paid to identifying VAH and fVAS when using TCD for evaluation of vertebral artery.AI ＞33.7％ can be used as a reference index for diagnosis of VAH.

Objective To compraison the of exposure in the endonasal transsphenoidal approach to the sellar between microscope and endoscope. Methods Ten formalin-fixed, silicone-injected adult cadveric heads were studied. A direct endonasal transsphenoidal approach was performed via the right nostril, pushing aside the nasal septum, then reach the sphenoidal sinus. The approach was performed with the operating microscope first, then with the endoscope. For each step (sellar, suprasellar, parasellar and clival), the operative region afforded by direct microscopic view was measured and then compared with that obtained by using the edndoscope. Results It was found that the endoscope provided greater view than microscope in this approach. Although the microscope provides an adequate view of the midline structures and part of the contralateral parasellar areas; under direct endoscopic vision, the lateral extension could be widened by an additional 6.5 mm on the ipsilateral and 4 mm on the contralateral side. At suprasellar region, the microscope provides could expose the posterior part of, optic nerve and optic chiasma; but could not expose the areas anterior and superior the interspace superior the optic chiasma. Compare with the microscope, the endoscope allowed extension of bone removal and dual opening for an additional 4 mm anteriorly at the sagittal axis and an additional 3.5 mm on the ipsilateral and 4 mm on the contralateral side. At the clivus region, the medial surface of the vertical segment of the ICA and the basilar artery could be partially 7 exposed by the microscope. By the endoscope, it could gain an additional 4 mm on the ipsilateral side and 2.5 mm on the contralateral side in width. Because of the anatomical boundaries of the sphenoid sinus, the anatomincal exposure by the microscope same as the endocope at the sagittal axis. Conclusion The endoscope allows for a panoramic view and permits widening of the operative exposure in all directions. The endoscope is more suitable in the the minimal and expanded endonasal transsphenoial approach.

Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of fetal nasal bone absence and thickened nuchal translucency ( NT) at 11-13 +6 weeks ultrasound screening .Methods A total of 4200 pregnant women with single fetus registered at Mother and Children ’ s Health Care Center in our hospital were examined at 11-13 +6 gestational weeks .Both fetal nasal bone and NT ultrasound evaluation were offered to assess whether nasal bone is absent and NT is thickened (>3.0 mm) in these cases.Particular attention was paid to the relationship between abnormal findings ,karyotype and pregnancy outcome .Results In all, 3492/4200 cases were included in the study with both NT measurement and nasal bone evaluation .Seven hundred and night cases were excluded because of unavailable clinical outcome .Among 3492 fetuses:(1) There were 3 cases absent of nasal bone .Among the 3 cases without nasal bone , 2 cases ( 1 case combined with thickened NT ) were trisomy 21(66.7%,2/3).(2) There were 351 cases with NT>3.0 mm (10.1%,351/3492).Among the 351 cases with thickened NT,there were 4 with trisomy 21 syndromes (1.14%,4/351,1 case combined with nasal bone absence ),1 with trisomy 18 syndrome,1 with Turner syndrome,6 with structural anomalies but normal karyotype (1.71%,6/351).(3)Among the 3139 cases with normal nasal bone and NT ,there were 8 cases with chromosomal or structural anomalies .Conclusions Absent nasal bone and thickened NT are important markers of trisomy 21 in the first trimester ultrasound screening .Thickened NT has significant correlation with other fetal chromosomal and structural anomalies .

ObjectiveTo evaluate the biocompatibility of a kind of scaffolding material,Injured Nerve Regenerated Materid(INRM), which play the roles of regeneration of nerve after traumatic brain injury.MethodsINRM scaffolding material were transplanted into cortex of rats after traumatic injury.The brain coronal sections were stained for Nissel, astrocyte and microglia at 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months after injury.ResultsThe presence of INRM did not alter patterns of astrocyte compared with the control group (detected with antibodies against GFAP) at any time point; but decreased the expression of microglias (detected with antibodies against OX42) compared with the control group.ConclusionThe biomaterial INRM is well suited as a biocompatible scaffold material for the repair of brain injury in the brain.

OBJECTIVETo test the reliability of quantitative neurological tests in evaluating the neurological deficits in rat models of cerebral ischemia.

METHODSForty male SD rats (7 to 9 weeks old) were subjected to transient (1 h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) to induce cerebral infarction and 9 received sham operation only. The motor and sensory functions of the rats were measured before and 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after MCAO by accelerating rotarod test and modified adhesive removal test. Fourteen days later, the rats were sacrificed for histological examination, and the lesion size was determined by Winroof image analysis. The neurological deficits of the rats with different lesion sizes and at different time points were analyzed.

RESULTSAccording to the infarct size, the rats after MCAO were divided into two subgroups with large lesions [(68.56+/-12.54)%] affecting both the cortical area and basal ganglia and small lesions [(12.45+/-9.06)%] affecting the basal ganglia. Significant differences in the results of modified adhesive removal test and rotarod test were found between the two groups, and a liner relationship was noted between the lesion size and the results of the neurological tests.

CONCLUSIONThe modified quantitative neurological tests can reliably evaluate the severity of the infarction and estimate the infarct size in rats with cerebral infarction.

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; physiology ; Brain Ischemia ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Neurologic Examination ; Psychomotor Performance ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Severity of Illness Index

An extremely thermoacidophilic isolate K4-1 was obtained from an acidic hot spring in Teng- chong Rehai, Yunnan province. Morphology, growth characteristics, utilization of carbon compounds, en- ergy sources and 16S rRNA gene sequence of K4-1 were studied. Cells of K4-1 are irregular cocci with monotrichous flagella. The strain grew aerobically in either a lithotrophic or a heterotrophic mode. Growth on elemental sulfur occurred through oxidation of sulfur. It grew optimally at 75?C and pH 3.5. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain K4-1 was shown to belong to genus Sulfolobus, being related to the type strains of genus Sulfolobus (86.6%~94.3% similarity), and being most closely related to strain Sulfolobus tengchongensis RT8-4 (98.9% similarity). The GenBank accession number of strain K4-1 16S rRNA gene sequence is EU729124.