Objective To investigate the expressions of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 protein in ovarian serous carcinoma(OSC) and their clinicopathological significance.Methods The expressions of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 protein in 45 cases of OSC,60 cases of ovarian serous cystadenomas and 32 cases of ovarian borderline serous cystadenomas were detected by immunohistochemical SP method.The relationship between the expressions of these two proteins and the clinicopathological features of OSC and the correlation between Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 expressions in OSC were analyzed.Results The positive rates of Apaf-1 in OSC,ovarian serous cystadenoma and ovarian borderline serous cystadenoma were 24.4%(11/45),75.0%(45/60) and 46.9%(15/32),the difference was statistically significant (χ2=26.734,P<0.01).Apaf-1 expression was correlated with pathological grade,clinical stage and lymph nodes metastasis (χ2=6.318,7.565,5.554,P<0.05).The expression rates of Caspase-9 in OSC,ovarian serous cystadenoma and ovarian borderline serous cystadenoma were 28.9%(13/45),83.3%(50/60) and 56.3%(18/32),the difference was statistically significant (χ2=31.682,P<0.01).The expression of Caspase-9 was correlated with pathological grade,clinical stage and lymph nodes metastasis (χ2=5.750,4.391,5.466,P<0.05).In OSC,the expressions of Apaf-1 and Capase-9 were positively correlated (k=0.433,P=0.003).Conclusion The low expressions of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 in OSC may be related to the occurrence and development of OSC.

Objective]To study the feasibility of Cartilage engineering using fibrin gel and chondrocyte cell sheets.[Methods]rabbit auricular chondrocytes were isolated and cultured to form cell sheets in flasks. The cell sheets were harvested using cell scrapers,and cut into fragments. The two precursor solutions of Fibrin gel were used to suspend the cell sheet fragments and isolated chondrocytes,and then added into the wells of a 48-well plate to form Gelatinous chondroid disc constructs. After in vitro culture, the constructs were implanted into nude mice. After 8 weeks,the constructs were harvested,and the specimens were evaluated using grossly observing, histological and immunohistochemical observation. [Results]Mature cartilage discs were obtained. The histomorphology of the explanted discs appeared non-uniform cartilaginous tissue comprise of regenerated cartilage islands with different size and irregular shape. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that type II collagen highly expressed in the ECM of the cartilage islands. In 1 of the 8 discs,partial ossification was observed.[Conclusion]Fibrin gel is a favourable carrier. Artificial cartilage with stereochemical structure was constructed via combining the fibrin gel and chondrocyte cell sheets.

CMTM family is silenced and down-regulated in several kinds of tumors.Its aberrant expression has a strong association with the development,progression and metastasis of tumors.Thus,CMTM family is potential tumor suppressor genes.Epigenetics mechanism is the essential mechanism of the aberrant expression in this gene family.The discovery of this research gives a new direction to the clinical treatment of tumor.

Objective To study the effect of osgentide (OST) on proliferation of mouse preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 under simulated microgravity ( SMG ) .Methods Under normal conditions , cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay to screen an OST compound of an effective concentration after MC 3T3-E1 cells were treated with series OSTs .Furthermore, cell proliferation and cell cycle distribution of MC 3T3-E1 cells were analyzed after treatment with 1 nmol/L OST5 by MTT assay and by flow cytometry ( FCM) scanning under SMG .Results Under normal conditions , 1 nmol/L OST5 was able to significantly promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells (P<0.01).Under SMG, proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly inhibited and more cells entered G 1 than under normal conditions (CN).The proportion of S phase of MC3T3-E1 cells after treatment with 1 nmol/L OST5 ( OST-SMG) for 3 d was higher than that of untreated MC 3T3-E1 cells under SMG,suggesting that OST5 could promote DNA synthesis ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusion OST5 facilitates the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells under SMG, which provides a basis for the use of OST5 in the prevention and treatment of bone loss relat-ed to microgravity .

Objective To retrospectively analyze medical data of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) so as to provide evidence for clinical use of opportunistic screening.Methods A total of 2450 CRC patients (male 1377,female 1073) who were treated at five hospitals in North China during October 2001 and September 2011 and had complete medical records and pathological results were recruited.The correlations of incidenceofCRCwithage,gender,tumorlocationandhistologicaltypeswere analyzed.Results Of all the CRC patients,those less than 50 years old accounted for 18.14％ ; and the incidence of CRC was substantially increased in those over 50 years old.Seventy-three percent of tumor occurred at the rectum and sigmoid colon,6％ at descending colon,7％ at transverse colon and 14％ at ascending colon.Moderately,well or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma accounted for 50.33％,40.35％and 9.32％,respectively.Histological differentiation was not correlated with age and gender ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusions Age and gender should not be considered a determination of opportunistic screening for CRC.Colonoscopy is recommended as an alternative CRC screening procedure.

BACKGROUND:The cell-sheet technology, based on a temperature-responsive culture, has been drawing more and more attention;however, the temperature-responsive culture dish is quite expensive. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a substitutive technique.OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility of cell-sheet ulturing using common culture dish, and investigate the chondrogenesis of the cell sheet. METHODS: A piece of nasal septal cartilage was adopted from a patient with deviation of nasal septum to extract primary chondrocytes that were then cultured and amplified. The passage 3 chondrocytes were used to construct ell sheets. Monolayer cell sheet was formed by intensive culturing and allowing the extracellular matrix secretion. Bilayer cell sheet was constructed by seeding passage 2 chondrocytes on the monolayer cell sheet. The cell sheets were harvested using cell scraper, their properties were investigated prior to plantation into nude mice to construct the tissue-engineered cartilage. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Both bilayer and monolayer cell sheets with soft tremellose structures showed no significant difference through naked eyes. The newly harvested cell sheets appeared to have good fluidity and gelation. Eight weeks after mplantation into the nude mice, mature cartilage blocks were obtained. Histologically, the cell sheets were thin films composed by layered chondrocytes and extracellular matrix. Glycosaminoglycan formation and type Ⅱ collagen expressions were observed in the cell sheets cultured in vitro. The explanted samples exhibited ature cartilaginous tissue at 8 weeks after implantation. Biochemical analysis showed that the DNA contents of the neocartilages were higher than those of native human costal cartilage, while the contents of glycosaminoglycan and hydroxyproline were similar to native human nasal septal cartilage. To conclude, the hondrocyte cell sheets are likely to be constructed and harvested successfully using common culture dish, and the cell sheets exhibit favourable chondrogenesis.

Objective To observe the effect of ulinastatin in the treatment of children with severe pneumonia. Methods 86 children with severe pneumonia were divided into two groups according to the hospital card number:treatment group(n=45) and control group(n=41).All of them were given routine treatment,while the patients of the treatment group were given ulinastatin(5 000 U· kg-1 · time-1 ,1-2times/d,7d) in addition.The time of tem-perature drop to normal,the time of dyspnea improve,the time of dyspnea disappear,the time of lung rale disappear and length of hospital stay were observed.Then,the therapeutic effect was evaluated after treatment for 7 days.Results The treatment group had 21 cases excellence,21 cases improvement and 3 cases failure, the total effective rate was 93.33%,the control group had 17 cases excellence,15 cases improvement and 9 cases failure,the total effective rate was 78.04%,there was significant difference between the two groups(χ2 =4.17,P<0.05).The time of temperature drop to normal,the time of dyspnea improve,the time of dyspnea disappear,the time of lung rale disappear and length of hospital stay in the treatment group were (3.37 ±1.51)d,(3.12 ±1.72)d,(7.15 ±2.45)d,(10.75 ±2.47)d, respectively,which in the control group were (5.02 ±1.78)d,(4.82 ±1.51)d,(9.08 ±2.85)d,(13.22 ±2.85)d, there were significant differences between the two groups(t=4.71,4.91,3.42,4.41,all P<0.01).Conclusion Ulinastatin has good effect on children with severe pneumonia.It has value in application.

BACKGROUND:To seek for ideal scaffold materials is still an important task for cartilage tissue engineering.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the application of the AviteneTM microfibrillar collagen hemostat sponge in cartilage tissue engineering.METHODS:Rabbit auricular cartilage was harvested via surgical operation,and primary chondrocytes were isolated and amplified.Microfibrillar collagen hemostat sponge was cut into small bricks.The passage 2 chondrocytes were suspended and seeded onto the spongy bricks.After 1 week of in vitro culture,the constructs were then implanted into nude mice.After 8 weeks,the specimens were collected and evaluated using gross,histological and immunohistochamical observation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:During the cell seeding,the scaffold maintained its dimensions.No shrinkage was observed when the cell suspension was added.There was no considerable change in dimensions during the 1-week in vitro culture and at 8 weeks after implantation in nude mice.At 8 weeks post-implantation,mature cartilage blocks were harvested,which were white,translucent,and flexible.Histologically,the constructs appeared to have typical mature cartilaginous tissues,with robust extracellular matrix secretion,in which the microfibrillar collagen was incompletely degraded.We conclude that the microfibrillar collagen is a favorable scaffold material for cartilage tissue engineering.

Objective:To investigate the clinic value of ultrasound 3-dimensional shear wave elastography (3D-SWE) in therapeutic effect evaluation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for HER-2 positive breast cancer patients.Methods:A total of 43 lesions from 43 HER-2 positive breast cancer patients were selected and all of the lesions were confirmed by biopsy. Ultrasound examination was performed routinely before each chemotherapy cycle. The interested regions were selected under the 3-dimensional (3D) elasticity and gray-scale mode, the relevant data such as shear waves in the transverse, longitudinal and coronal sections of the mass were generated automatically. According to the histopathological results, the patients were divided into the pathological complete remission (pCR) group and the incomplete remission (non-pCR) group. The maximum elastic hardness value (Emax) and the reduction degree (ΔEmax) of the lesions in the two groups were measured and compared in each cycle of NAC. The accuracy of 3D-SWE technique for predicting the efficacy of NAC was evaluated using indicators such as sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:The clinicopathologic features between pCR group (18 cases) and non-pCR Group (25 cases) were not significantly different ( P>0.05). Compared with pre-chemotherapy, the Emax values of pCR group and non-pCR Group during chemotherapy were declined ( P<0.05). Moreover, the Emax values of pCR group before and after chemotherapy were lower than those of non-pCR group ( P<0.05). At the end of the first cycle of chemotherapy, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and area under the curve (AUC) of pCR group were 72.0%, 83.3% and 0.838 (95% CI=0.680~0.930) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 118 kPa. At the end of the second cycle, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and AUC of pCR group were 76.0%, 83.3% and 0.863 (95% CI=0.720~0.940) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 87 kPa. At the end of the third cycle, the predictive specificity and sensitivity and the AUC of the pCR group were 88.0%, 77.8% and 0.893 (95% CI=0.760~0.970) when the cutoff value of Emax was 57 kPa. At the end of the fourth cycle of chemotherapy, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and AUC of pCR group were 92.5%, 88.9% and 0.960 (95% CI=0.850~0.990) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 30 kPa. After one cycle of NAC, the predictive sensitivity and specificity and AUC of pCR group were 88.0%, 60.0%, and 0.719 (95% CI=0.620~0.890) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 16.8%. After two cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group were 55.5%, 80.0% and 0.712 (95% CI=0.550~0.840) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 34.9%. After three cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group were 67.4%, 81.2% and 0.779 (95% CI=0.680~0.930) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 55.2%. After four cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group was 72.3%, 92.0% and 0.831 (95% CI=0.690~0.930) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 75.1%. Conclusion:The Emax and ΔEmax values measured by 3D-SWE technology can predict the curative effect of NAC for breast cancer.

Objective:To investigate the clinic value of ultrasound 3-dimensional shear wave elastography (3D-SWE) in therapeutic effect evaluation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for HER-2 positive breast cancer patients.Methods:A total of 43 lesions from 43 HER-2 positive breast cancer patients were selected and all of the lesions were confirmed by biopsy. Ultrasound examination was performed routinely before each chemotherapy cycle. The interested regions were selected under the 3-dimensional (3D) elasticity and gray-scale mode, the relevant data such as shear waves in the transverse, longitudinal and coronal sections of the mass were generated automatically. According to the histopathological results, the patients were divided into the pathological complete remission (pCR) group and the incomplete remission (non-pCR) group. The maximum elastic hardness value (Emax) and the reduction degree (ΔEmax) of the lesions in the two groups were measured and compared in each cycle of NAC. The accuracy of 3D-SWE technique for predicting the efficacy of NAC was evaluated using indicators such as sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:The clinicopathologic features between pCR group (18 cases) and non-pCR Group (25 cases) were not significantly different ( P>0.05). Compared with pre-chemotherapy, the Emax values of pCR group and non-pCR Group during chemotherapy were declined ( P<0.05). Moreover, the Emax values of pCR group before and after chemotherapy were lower than those of non-pCR group ( P<0.05). At the end of the first cycle of chemotherapy, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and area under the curve (AUC) of pCR group were 72.0%, 83.3% and 0.838 (95% CI=0.680~0.930) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 118 kPa. At the end of the second cycle, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and AUC of pCR group were 76.0%, 83.3% and 0.863 (95% CI=0.720~0.940) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 87 kPa. At the end of the third cycle, the predictive specificity and sensitivity and the AUC of the pCR group were 88.0%, 77.8% and 0.893 (95% CI=0.760~0.970) when the cutoff value of Emax was 57 kPa. At the end of the fourth cycle of chemotherapy, the predictive specificity, sensitivity and AUC of pCR group were 92.5%, 88.9% and 0.960 (95% CI=0.850~0.990) respectively when the cutoff value of Emax was 30 kPa. After one cycle of NAC, the predictive sensitivity and specificity and AUC of pCR group were 88.0%, 60.0%, and 0.719 (95% CI=0.620~0.890) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 16.8%. After two cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group were 55.5%, 80.0% and 0.712 (95% CI=0.550~0.840) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 34.9%. After three cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group were 67.4%, 81.2% and 0.779 (95% CI=0.680~0.930) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 55.2%. After four cycles, the predictive sensitivity, specificity and AUC of pCR group was 72.3%, 92.0% and 0.831 (95% CI=0.690~0.930) when the cutoff value of ΔEmax was 75.1%. Conclusion:The Emax and ΔEmax values measured by 3D-SWE technology can predict the curative effect of NAC for breast cancer.