Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Calmodulin ; metabolism ; Female ; Lead ; toxicity ; Male ; Maternal Exposure ; Pregnancy ; Protein Kinase C ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective To establish a rapid method having great capability for enrichment and anti-interference, higher sensitivity and good precision for determination of trace silver in drinking water. Methods The conditions of determination such as the definition of peak potentials, the selection of auxiliary electrolytes, the selection of kind and amount of oxidants and anti-interference test were carried out by MP-1 potentiometer using glass-carbon electrode. Results The lowest detection limit, average recorery rate and average relative standard deviation were 0.004 ug/ml, 100.3% and 2.73% respectively. Conclusion This method was suitable for determination of trace silver in drinking water.

OBJECTIVETo investigate and compare the effect and safety of Holmium laser and Thulium laser in transurethral enucleation of the prostate in BPH patients.

METHODSNinety-eight BPH patients were divided into 2 groups and underwent transurethral enucleation of the prostate with holmium laser (Ho group) and thulium laser (Th group) respectively. Comparisons were made between the 2 groups in operation time, bleeding volume, electrolyte, IPSS score, PVR and Qmax.

RESULTSNo statistically significant differences were noted between the 2 groups in age and preoperative prostate volume, IPSS, PVR and Qmax (P > 0.05). The mean operation time was shorter in the Th group ([84.6 +/- 10.2] min) than in the Ho group ([70.5 +/- 7.5] min) (P = 0.032); blood loss was less in the former ([126.5 +/- 14.6] ml) than in the latter ([176.5 +/- 14.1] ml) (P = 0.071), with no blood transfusion necessitated; and the mean times of catheter indwelling were 2.4 d and 2.5 d respectively. There were no significant differences in the levels of hemoglobin and electrolyte before and after operation between the two groups, and no TURP syndrome was observed. IPSS, PVR and Qmax before operation were significantly different from those obtained 3 months after it (P < 0.05) in both the groups, but none of the indexes exhibited statistically significant differences when compared in the same period (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBoth holmium and thulium laser transurethral enucleation of the prostate can alleviate LUTS in BPH patients with similar short-time effectiveness. Thulium is superior to holmium laser in hemostasis, but inferior to it in anatomical distinctness.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Lasers, Solid-State ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; surgery ; Thulium ; therapeutic use ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of chronic lead exposure on mRNA and protein expression of ASIC1a, ASIC2a, ASIC2b in hippocampus of baby-rats.

METHODSThe Wistar pregnant rats were randomly divided into 3 groups fed with distilled water or lead contained water (0.2% and 1.0% lead acetate) respectively, 5 rats in each group. The lead-exposure ranged from the 0 day of pregnancy to the offspring weaned. Then the baby-rats were fed with lead water like their mothers and killed at postnatal day 8 or 50. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine lead content in the brain. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to observe mRNA and protein expression of ASIC1a, ASIC2a and ASIC2b in their hippocampus respectively.

RESULTSThe brain lead content of test groups was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01), and the lead content of the postnatal day 50 was higher than that in postnatal day 8 (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, ASIC1a mRNA expression of 1.0% lead exposure in the hippocampus was uptrend (P < 0.01), ASIC1a protein expression of each test group was downtrend (P < 0.05), while for ASIC2a and ASIC2b mRNA and protein, there was no significant differences observed (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONASIC1a expression in hippocampus can be changed by chronic lead exposure.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels ; Animals ; Female ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lead ; toxicity ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sodium Channels ; genetics ; metabolism

Township and Village Health Services Integration Management (TVHSIM) is an essential form of China's two-tiered health service integration plan at the township and village level.Its main purpose,also one of the target goals in China's new healthcare reform,is to gradually integrate rural health services and appropriately allocate rural health resources.This study aims to assess the village doctors' satisfaction with the TVHSIM and provide scientific base to further improve TVHSIM.A cross-sectional study was carried out in which 162 village doctors from Qinghai,Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang in western China were interviewed.Descriptive analysis,independent t-test,one-way ANOVA,Spearman rank correlation and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the difference and relevance between village doctors' personal characteristics and their satisfaction with TVHSIM and six subscales.Village doctors with different years of practice,social insurance status and essential medical knowledge level showed statistically significant differences in their satisfaction levels (all P＜0.05).Age (P＜0.05) and years of practice (P＜0.01) were negatively correlated with Drug and Medical Device Management and Financing Management.Essential medical knowledge level (P＜0.05) was negatively correlated with Operations Management as well.However,social insurance status (P＜0.05) was positively correlated with Human Resources Management and Drug and Medical Device management.Gender,age and years of practice respectively had significant influence on village doctors' satisfaction with TVHSIM (P＜0.01).In conclusion,in order to further promote TVHSIM policy in rural China,a well-rounded social insurance model for village doctors is urgently needed.In addition,the development of TVHSIM is regionally imbalanced.Efficient and effective measures aiming at rationalizing gender and age structure and enhancing essential medical training should be carefully considered.

Aortic valve stenosis,as a common heart valve disease,progresses rapidly and has a poor clinical prognosis.In the case of combined acute heart failure,the pumping function of the heart is severely impaired,which may lead to a significant decrease in cardiac output,resulting in a state of shock.Transcatheter aortic valve replacement(TAVR)has become a first-line treatment for elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis since its first successful case in 2002.In China,with the advancement of technology and the strengthening of physician training,the capacity of grassroots hospitals in TAVR treatment is increasing.This case reports a patient with severe aortic valve stenosis accompanied by acute heart failure and shock status who received emergency TAVR treatment at a grassroots hospital.Due to limitations in conditions,TAVR was urgently implemented without extracorporeal circulation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.The patient's blood pressure immediately rose to 105/65 mmHg after valve dilation during surgery,and the postoperative symptoms were significantly relieved.Follow up color Doppler ultrasound showed that the stenosis was relieved and the heart function was significantly improved.The success of this surgery provides a reference for emergency TAVR treatment in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis and heart failure in grassroots hospitals.

OBJECTIVETo establish a model of acute lung injury induced by paraquat poisoning and to observe the effects of anticoagulant therapy on acute lung injury induced by paraquat poisoning.

METHODSOne hundred twenty adult healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: the paraquat poisoning group was exposed intragastrically (IG) to 50 mg/kg paraquat, anticoagulant therapy group was exposed intragastrically (IG) to 50 mg/kg paraquat then administrated subcutaneously with 68 U/kg low molecular heparin calcium 2 times a day and administrated intragastrically with 1.67 mg/kg aspirin one tome a day for 3, 7, 14 and 21 days, respectively, control group exposed intragastrically to normal saline. After exposure the rats were sacrificed, the venous blood and lung tissues were collected to detect the prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, thrombin time and D-dimer in blood and the hydroxyproline in lung tissues, and to examine pathological changes in lung tissues with HE and Masson staining under light microscope.

RESULTSAt the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st days after exposure, the hydroxyproline contents of lung tissues in paraquat poisoning group and anticoagulation therapy group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05), but the hydroxyproline contents of lung tissues in anticoagulation therapy group were significantly lower than those in paraquat poisoning group (P < 0.05). At the 3rd day after exposure, the PT, APTT, Fib and D-dimer levels in paraquat poisoning group and anticoagulation therapy group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05), the D-dimer level of anticoagulation therapy group was significantly lower than that of control group (P < 0.05). At the 7th, 14th and 21st days after exposure, the TT and D-dimer levels of paraquat poisoning group and anticoagulation therapy group were significantly higher than those of control group (P < 0.05), the TT and D-dimer levels of anticoagulation therapy group were significantly lower than those of paraquat poisoning group (P < 0.05). The lung injury in paraquat poisoning group increased with exposure period, the lung fibrosis in anticoagulation therapy group was lower than that in paraquat poisoning group.

CONCLUSIONAnticoagulation therapy can improve hyper-coagulation state and acute lung injury in rats induced by paraquat poisoning.

Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Anticoagulants ; therapeutic use ; Aspirin ; therapeutic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Paraquat ; poisoning ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and mechanism of NF-kappaB P65 gene silencing by small interference RNA on the apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells induced by gemcitabine in vitro and in vivo.

METHODSHuman pancreatic cancer cells (BxPC-3 and PANC-1) were cultured and respectively divided into five groups: blank control group, negative control siRNA group, gemcitabine group, NF-kappaB P65 siRNA group and gemcitabine + P65 siRNA group. The ability of cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT; the expression of NF-kappaB P65 and the apoptosis related proteins were examined by Western blot assay; the apoptosis was evaluated by the flow cytometry and laser scanning confocal microscopy analysis stained with Annexin V-FITC/PI; the DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB was examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. BxPC-3 cells were injected subcutaneously into nude mice to establish pancreatic xenograft tumors. The tumor volume was monitored and TUNEL assay was used to assess the apoptosis index in tumor tissue after treatment.

RESULTSAt 72 h after transfection, the combination with gemcitabine and p65 siRNA significantly decreased the cell viability index (P < 0.05), and down-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 and procaspase-3 and up-regulated the expression of Bax compared with other groups. The combined treatment significantly increased the rate of apoptosis compared with other groups (P < 0.05). EMSA assay indicated that the DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB significantly decreased in NF-kappaB P65 siRNA group and gemcitabine+P65 siRNA group compared with Control group. The combined therapy inhibited the growth of pancreatic xenograft tumors by apoptosis induction in nude mice (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe effect of gemcitabine inducing cell apoptosis may be potentiated through inhibiting the DNA binding activity of NF-kappaB and regulating the expression of apoptosis related proteins by NF-kappaB P65 siRNA, which can activate the mitochondria apoptosis pathway in pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Deoxycytidine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Transcription Factor RelA ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on acute pancreatitis (AP) by downregulating hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF).

METHODSForty Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 10): sham group, AP group, normo-oxygen group (NP) and HBO group. At 4 hours after taurocholate-induced AP, the rats of NP group and HBO group were respectively treated with oxygen or HBO for 90 min. Several parameters were measured to evaluate oxygen stress after treatment including oxygen saturation (SaO2), partial pressure of oxygen (PO2), pH, and serum LDH. Pancreatic tissues were subjected to histopathological analysis, immunostained, and homogenized for Western blotted analysis of HIF-1alpha and VEGF, and measuring myeloperoxidase activity. The serum TNF-alpha and pancreatic histopathological scores were evaluated the severity of AP.

RESULTSIt was proved by immunohistochemisty that HIF in acinar cell and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) was activated and transferred from cytoplasm into nucleus in AP group, NP group, and HBO group, following upregulation of VEGF. HBO therapy elevated blood SaO2 (99.6% +/- 0.7% vs. 87.7% +/- 1.8% or 91.2% +/- 2.5%, P < 0.05) and PaO2 [(369.1 +/- 67.6) mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) vs. (86.6 +/- 5.6) mm Hg or (99.9 +/- 4.0) mm Hg, P < 0.05]. HBO therapy attenuated the severity of AP through inhibiting AP-induced upregulation of HIF-1alpha and VEGF, as evidenced by reducing histopathological scores (12.40 +/- 1.21 vs. 16.45 +/- 1.10 or 16.38 +/- 1.10, P < 0.05), dry/wet weight ratio of pancreatic tissues, and myeloperoxidase activity.

CONCLUSIONSHIF-1alpha plays a key role in the pathogenesis of AP. HBO therapy attenuates the severity of AP through downregulating the expression of HIF-1alpha.

Animals ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Oxygen ; Pancreatitis ; therapy ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anti-tumor activity of dihydroartemisinin in pancreatic cancer in vitro and in vivo.

METHODSFor cultured cells, cell growth was determined by the MTT assay and apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry analysis stained with Annexin V-FITC/PI. The protein expression in BxPC-3 cells was analyzed by Western blot assay. BxPC-3 cells were injected subcutaneously into nude mice to establish pancreatic xenograft tumors and the tumor volume was monitored after exposure to dihydroartemisinin. Ki-67 staining and TUNEL assay were used to assess tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis in tumor tissue.

RESULTSAfter treatment by dihydroartemisinin in vitro, the proliferative inhibition rates of pancreatic cancer cells BxPC-3 and AsPC-1 reached up to (76.2 +/- 3.5)% and (79.5 +/- 2.9)%, and the apoptosis rates were up to (55.5 +/- 3.2)% and (40.0 +/- 3.5)%, the differences were significantly (P < 0.01) compared with control [(2.0 +/- 1.3)% and (0.9 +/- 0.4)%]. Dihydroartemisinin inhibited the growth of pancreatic xenograft tumors in nude mice. The proliferation index and apoptosis index were (49.1 +/- 3.9)% and (50.2 +/- 4.4)% respectively in dihydroartemisinin 50 mg/kg treatment group, compared to those of (72.1 +/- 3.3)% and (9.4 +/- 2.9)% in control, the differences were significantly (P < 0.01). Western blot assay indicated that dihydroartemisinin up-regulates expression of proliferation-associated protein p21(WAF1) and down-regulates expression of PCNA, increases expression of apoptosis-associated protein Bax and decreases expression of Bcl-2 and activates caspase-9 in BxPC-3 cells.

CONCLUSIONSDihydroartemisinin exerts anti-tumor activity in pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo by proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction. Dihydroartemisinin can be used as a potential anti-tumor drug in pancreatic cancer.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Artemisinins ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays