Accidents, Occupational ; Chronic Disease ; Hexanes ; poisoning ; Humans ; Shoes

Objective To study cervical central group (VI region) lymph node metastasis with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma and correlative influencing factors.Methods Clinical data of 215 papillary thyroid microcarcinoma patients undergoing surgery between Jan 2007 and Jan 2011 were analyzed retrospectively.Results All patients accepted bilateral thyroidectomy and bilateral cervical central group lymph node dissection.The total incidence of cervical central group lymph node metastasis was 36.7％ (79/215).Factors relating to cervical central group lymph node metastasis rate were:age (with one year elder,the likelyhood of lymph node metastasis was 0.935 times lesser),gender (the ratio of female to male was 0.202),the number of foci and the sum of the diameters of all lesions.Conclusions Patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma may suffer from lymph node metastasis of the cervical central group,and lymph node metastasis rate increases significantly in young or male patients,and when the lesions were multifocal or the sum of the tumor diameter ＞ 0.5 cm.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of total flavonoids of Elsholtzia splendens (TFES) on isolated ischemia/reperfusion rat hearts and its underlying mechanisms.

METHODSHearts isolated from male SD rats were perfused on the Langendorff apparatus and subjected to global ischemia for 30 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion. The cardiac infarct size was measured by TTC staining. Hemodynamic parameters and the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the coronary effluent were measured. Absorbance at 520 nm was determined in isolated cardiac mitochondria exposed to 200 micromol/L CaCl2 to detect the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.

RESULTSPretreatment with TFES (1, 10, 100 microg/ml) for 5 min decreased infarct size and LDH release and improved the recovery of the left ventricular developed pressure. In mitochondria, the decrease of absorbance at 520 nm evoked by CaCl2 was greatly inhibited by TFES.

CONCLUSIONTFES prevents myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and this cardioprotective effect is probably via inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening.

Animals ; Cardiotonic Agents ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Flavones ; pharmacology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lamiaceae ; chemistry ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; drug effects ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; drug effects ; Myocardial Reperfusion ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUND:Studies have demonstrated that tetrandrine has protection on acute spinal cord injury,but the specific mechanism remains poorly understood.OBJECTIVE:To study the protection of tetrandrine on rat acute spinal cord injury and to study its mechanism from apoptosis pathway.METHODS:A total of 100 rats were randomly divided into 4 groups.All rats were prepared for spinal cord injury models using modified Allen method except that in the sham-surgery group.Methylprednisolone and tetrandrine was injected into rats in the methylprednisolone and tetrandrine groups by tail intravenous injection prior to and at 24,48 hours after model preparation.The same volume of physiological saline was injected in the sham-surgery and model groups.Basso-BeatUe-Bresnahan(BBB score)was recorded at 8 hours,1,3,7 and 14 days after model preparation.The morphological changes of spinal cord injury sites were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and the expressions of bcl-2 and bax were determined by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The BBB score of methylpradnisolone and tetrandrine groups were significantly higher than that model group at 7 and 14 days(P<0.05),but there were no significant difference between the methylprednisolone group and tetrandrine group(P>0.05).Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that the spinal cord injured severely at 3-7 days,the injury degree in the methylpradnisolone group and tetrandrine group was slighter than that of the model group,with smaller bax expression and greater bcl-2 expression(P<0.01).The findings demonstrated that,tetrandrine is able to protect neurons from apoptosis and promote the nerve function recovery by inhibiting the expression of Bax and promoting the expression of Bcl-2.Its effect is not inferior to methylprednisolone.

Objective To evaluate the factors influencing early diagnosis and prognosis in patients with pancreatic carcinoma.Methods The clinical data of 280 patients who had complete follow-up data with pancreatic carcinoma treated from January 2002 to January 2007 were reviewed retrospectively.The medical history and follow-up data were collected from all patients.Survival rate was calculated by the life table method and the Kaplan-Meier estimation.Log-rank test was used for univariate prognostic analysis and Cox regression was used for multivariate prognostic analysis.Results 91.8%of the patients were more than 40 years old and the peak age was 50～73 years old;the major presentations were abdominal pain and jaundice.Major imaging tests included B-ultrasound and CT,the sensitivity was 70.6%,95.3%,respectively;89.3%of patients had combined B-ultrasound and CT examination.The sensitivity of CA19-9 was 81.1%.The median survival time was(7.0±0.5)months.Overall survival rates at 1～5 year survival rates were 28%,9%,6%,2%,and 1%.Univariate analysis suggested that age＞65 years old,CA19-9＞mean value,TNM Ⅲ or Ⅳ stage,lymph nodes invasion,vascular invasion,and metastasis of two or more organs,non-surgical treatment,KPS score＜60 points,weight loss≥5 kg were poor prognostic factors;Cox multivariate analysis showed that treatment modalities,age,TNM stage,KPS score and ascites were independent risk factors for dismal prognosis.Conclusions The age,ascites,tumor stage and treatment modalities affected the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer.Early diagnosis and treatment was important to improve the survival time of patients with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: It is one of hot topics for the application of neurotrophic factors including neurenergen-3 to promote peripheral neural regeneration nowadays; however, clinical application is restricted to safety and effective administration route. Gene transfection brings a novel thinking and pathway for neurotrophic factors used in clinic.OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression of neural stem cells modified by neurenergen-3 gene after transfection.DESIGN: Completely randomized study.SETTING: Department of Traumatic Orthopaedics and Hand Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University;Department of Hand Surgery, Union Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.MATERIALS: Three healthy SD rats of four months old and either gender were selected from Animal Center, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Recombinant adenoviral expressing vector for transfection of neural stem cells was constructed in Laboratory of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and the concentration was 0.15 g/L.METHODS: The experiment was carried out in the Orthopaedic Laboratory and Central Laboratory, Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from December 2002 to March 2004. Recombinant plasmid pAD-neurenergen-3 containing with green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was transfectd into primarily cultured neural stem cells by using cationic tiposome interventional method. At 72 hours after transfection, fluorescent inverted microscope was used to observe GFP expression in neural stem cells, and transfection efficiency was measured simultaneously. Expression and transcription of neurenergen-3 gene in neural stem cells were detected at 72 hours, 1 and 5 weeks after transfection by using immunocytochemical stain and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Expression of neurenergen-3 gene in transfected neural stem cells.RESULTS: ① Neural stem cells transfected by recombinant plasmid pAD-neurenergen-3: GFP expressed on partial neural stem cells at 72 hours after transfection, and the transfection efficiency was 40%. Five weeks later, GFP expression was still observed. ②Transcription and expression of neurenergen-3 gene in neural stem cells: Transcription of neurenergen-3 mRNA was observed in neural stem cells at 72 hours, 1 and 5 weeks after transfection, and expression of neurenergen-3 mRNA was still observed in 5 weeks after trans fection.CONCLUSION: As the carrier of cationic liposome, neurenergen-3 gene can effectively transfect, culture and long-term express neural stem cells via the introduction of adenoviruses.

The alpine plant Gentiana robusta is an endemic species to the Sino-Himalayan subregion. Also, it is one of the original plants used as traditional Tibetan medicine Jie-Ji. We sequence the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, matK, rbcL, rpoC1, trnL (UAA), psbA-trnH, atpB-rbcL, trnS( GCU)-trnG(UCC), rpl20-rps12, trnL(UAA)-trnF( GAA) fragments of cp DNA in both G. robusta and such relative species as G. straminea, G. crassicaulis and G. waltonii. With Halenia elliptica as the outgroup, molecular systematic analysis reveals that G. robusta is a natural hybrid. G. straminea is the mother of hybrids, but the father is not very clear. In addition, the molecular markers for distinguishing G. robusta from the parental species or closely related species are identified, respectively. Our studies may provide valuable reference for the species identifications of medicinal plants with complex genetic backgrounds.
DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; Gentiana ; classification ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Medicinal ; classification ; genetics

The genetic diversity of three Tibetan herbs, i. e., Sang-Di, E-Dewa and Ye-Xingba (Tibetan names), was studied based on the field collection, specimen identification and DNA sequence analysis. Swertia hispidicalyx, Gentiana lhassica and Scrophularia dentata, as the original plants of the three Tibetan herbs, were collected and identified. The regions of ITS, matK, rbcL, rpoC1, trnL(UAA), psbA-trnH, atpB-rbcL, trnS (GCU)-trnG(UCC), rpl20-rps12, trnL(UAA)-trnF(GAA) and nadl 2nd intron were amplified and sequenced. The ITS regions of S. hispidicalyx and S. dentata were cloned and sequenced, and the sequences were classified into different genotypes. All the sequences were analyzed and compared with those of closely related species. Our studies may provide reference for the genetic diversity analysis and molecular identification of the three Tibetan herbs.
Genetic Variation ; Gentiana ; classification ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Medicinal ; classification ; genetics ; Scrophularia ; classification ; genetics ; Swertia ; classification ; genetics ; Tibet

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical outcome of one stage posteroanterior decompression and bone implant in the treatment of severe lower cervical spinal bony canal stenosis. Methods The study involved 29 patients with severe lower cervical spinal bony canal stenosis treated with one stage posteroanterior decompression and bone implant from April 2006 to March 2009. There were 11 patients with old fractures, seven with posterior longitudinal ligament ossification and 11 with cervical disc calcification. The course of disease ranged from 2 months to 3.2 years, average 1.4 years. The nerve function was rated as grade B in two patients, grade C in 19 and grade D in eight according to Frankel scale. The average Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was 9.8. ResultsAll patients were followed up for 7-28 months (average 15.2 months), which showed bony fusion five months after operation, with fusion rate of 100％. The Frankel grade was increased for average 1.2 grades and the nervous symptoms alleviated remarkably. Mean postoperative JOA score was 13.8 and increased for mean 4.0, with mean amehoration rate of 55.6％. ConclusionsOne stage posteroanterior decompression and bone implant is a safe and effective method for treatment of lower cervical spinal bony canal stenosis, when the intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring can assure the operative safety.

BACKGROUND:To date,no single material can completely meet the clinical requirements.However,the composite materials characterized by good biodegradability,biocompatibility and osteoconductivity have become a highlight of the artificial bone materials.OBJECTIVE:To synthesize the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres/hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly(I-lactic acid) (PLLA) porous bone scaffolds,and to observe the physicochemical properties and biocompatibility of the composite material.METHODS:The bFGF-PLGA microspheres were prepared by double emulsion method,and then six kinds of materials were made including PLLA,PLLNHA,PLLAJPLGA,PLLNHNPLGA,PLLNHA/bFGF,and bFGF-PLGA microspheres/PLLA/HA.The characterization of the materials were observed by particle size analyzer,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectrometer,microcomputer differential thermal balance,and scanning electron microscope.Toxicity of these materials and proliferation of bone marrow mesechymal stem cells seeded onto these materials were analyzed and compared.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The average particle size of bFGF-PLGA microspheres was about 250 nm,the average drug-loading capacity was (26.03±0.17)％,and the entrapment percentage was (90.65±2.68)％.The prepared bFGF-PLGA microspheres were spherical and had good dispersibility.In addition,all the six kinds of materials had a porous structure with similar pore diameter,in which the microspheres and particles exhibited a rational distribution.The toxic level of bFGF-PLGA microspheres/PLLNHA,bFGF/HNPLLA and HAP/PLLA was graded as 1 (with a relative survival rate ≥ 80％),indicating no obvious toxicity or slight toxicity.All these six kinds of composite materials can promote the proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells,and the bFGF-PLGA microspheres/PLLNHA shows the best effects on cell proliferation and has good biocompatibility.