Objective To evaluate the effects of anisodamine on apoptosis in cardiomyocytes and inflammatory response in overtrained rats. Methods Twenty-four male Wistar rats, weighing 200-220 g, were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n = 8 each) : control group (group C) , overtraining group (group O) , anisodamine group (group A) . The model of overtraining-induced acute heart injury was established by exhausting swimming. Anisodamine 10 mg/kg was given intraperitoneally 20 min before overtraining in group A. Blood samples were taken at 6 h after overtraining for measurement of serum CK-MB activity. The rats were then sacrificed and myocardial tissues taken for determination of TNF-α content and NF-κB activity (by immunohistochemistry) . The apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry. Results The CK-MB activity, apoptosis rate, TNF-α content and NF-κB activity were significantly higher at 6 h after overtraining in groups O and A than in group C, while lower at 6 h after overtraining in group A than in group O ( P < 0.05) . Conclusion Anisodamine can inhibit apoptosis in cardiomyocytes by reducing inflammatory response in overtrained rats.

Objective To explore the initial clinical and imaging characteristics of basal ganglia germinoma in children.Methods Four patients with basal ganglia germinoma were reported.Their clinical features,laboratory findings,radiological manifestations,treatment and outcome were analyzed.They recieved radiation therapy and chemotherapy after diagnosis.All patients were clinically diagnosed,according to the results of low-dose cranial irradiation.The outcomes were followed up for 2 years.Results All patients were male and school-aged(9-13 years) children.The course of the disease ranged from 5 to 13 months.All patients were presented with slowly progressive hemiparesis,and 2 cases of them were presented with cognitive decline and psychosis.Seizure occurred in 2 patients.The serum ?-human chorionic gonadotropin(?-hcG) level was significantly increased in 2 patients(30.16 IU/L and 77.85 IU/L,respectively),and mildly elevated in 1 patient(4.29 IU/L),while serum ?-hcG level in another case was within normal control range.MRI demonstrated mildly high intensity in the left or right basal ganglia on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images without remarkable occupying lesion.Ipsilateral hemiatrophy of the hemisphere and midbrain was also noted.Inhomogeneous Gd-DTPA enhancement was observed.All patients had been treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.During 2 years follow up,significant improvement was observed in all patients after therapy,imaging lesions disappeared and the elevated ?-hcG level of those elevated before therapy returned to normal.Conclusions Early diagnosis and treatment for basal ganglia germinoma are critically important to improve the prognosis.In young male patients with progressive hamiparesis,basal ganglia germinoma should be considered for differentiation,if abnormal high intensity signals in basal ganglia on T1-weighted and T2-weighted image with ipsilateral hemiatrophy of the hemisphere are demonstrated on MRI,even without occupying effect.

Objective To probe the effects of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-?B) on cell apoptosis and left ventricular segmental function in acute ischemia repeffusion in dogs.Method Twenty-four dogs were randomly divided into three groups:without left anterior artery (lAD) ligation group (C group),LAD was occluded 30 min following reperfusion 120 minutes in isehemical reperfusion group (IR group),and dogs were administered with PDTC before LAD ligation in ischemical reperfusion plus pyorrole dithitocarbamate group (PDTC group).The left ventricular segmental function was detected by echo cardiography using strain rate anlysis software.EF measured by Simpson's method.Cardiac myocyte apoptosis numbers were determined by terminal deoxynudeotidy transferease-mediated biotinylated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL).lmmunohistochemistry and western-blot anylysis of NF-?B protein expression.Results NF-?B was obviously expression on injury myocardium of IR group,and increased significantly in contrast to control group (P0.05)Conclusions NF-?B might play an important role in acute myocardial ischemia reperfusion.PDTC reduces myocardial iscbemia/repeffasion injury by preventing expression of factor NF-?B.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) plays important roles in varieties of biological processes. This factor is highly conserved in mammalian animals and only one heterozygous LIF mutation was reported to cause the infertility of women. A LIF mutation was generated and the evidences were provided that the mutation of mature LIF at the 29th amino acid totally abolished its functions, including stimulation of STAT activation assayed by Luciferase reporter gene expression and EMSA experiments. In addition, the mutated LIF failed to inhibit the proliferation of M1 cells. The data indicated that the mutation of LIF did not have a dominant negative effect but lost the biological functions, suggesting that the 29th amino acid is critical for maintaining the activities of LIF.

Abstract: Objective To explore the influencing factors of serum HBeAg loss in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and and provide evidence for effective treatment of CHB. Methods A follow-up cohort of HBeAg-positive CHB patients was established in the the Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic of hospital. Regular follow-up and laboratory test indicators were collected to analyze the changes of serum HBeAg in HBeAg-positive CHB patients during the follow-up period. The subjects were divided into the case group (serum HBeAg loss) and the control group (serum HBeAg not loss) according to whether serum HBeAg loss occurred. The baseline data characteristics of the two groups were analyzed and compared, and the influencing factors of serum HBeAg loss were analyzed by Cox univariate and multivariate regression. Results A total of 634 HBeAg-positive CHB patients were enrolled, with a total follow-up of 2 570.01 person-years. Among them, 237 cases of serum HBeAg loss occurred, with the mean follow-up time of 40.92 months, and the rate of HBeAg loss was 9.22/100 person-years. There were significant differences in HBV family history, antiviral therapy, baseline WBC, PLT, ALT, AST, T˗Bil, GGT, AFP, quantitative HBsAg and quantitative HBeAg between serum HBeAg loss group and serum HBeAg not loss group (P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that family history of HBV (HR 0.68, 95％CI:0.50-0.92, P=0.012), ALT (HR2.06, 95％CI:1.52-2.79, P<0.001), quantitative HBsAg (HR 0.68, 95％CI:0.48-0.95, P=0.024), quantitative HBeAg (HR 0.48, 95％CI:0.31-0.74, P=0.001) were independent influencing factors for HBeAg loss in HBeAg-positive CHB patients. Conclusions HBeAg-positive CHB patients without family history of HBV, initial ALT≥80 U/L, quantitative HBsAg<1 000 IU/ml, quantitative HBeAg<1 000 C.O.I are more likely to have serum HBeAg loss.

Objective: To study the protective effect of Ascorbic acid (AA) on the injury of nickel-exposed mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH/3T3) . Methods: A model of damage induced by 50 μg/mL nickel refining dust was established to determine the relative survival rate of cells, superoxide dismutase (SOD) , lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutathione peroxidase. (GSH-Px) activity, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and p53 (wild-type) , Bcl-2 protein expression. To investigate the protective effect of different doses of ascorbic acid (25, 50, 100 mmol/L) on nickel-refined dust-induced NIH/3T3 cell injury. Results: The study showed that ascorbic acid Ⅲ group can make the NIH/3T3 cell survival rate increased significantly; Apoptosis rate was reduced; The vitality of SOD and GSH-Px increased significantly, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . At the same time, the level of MDA and H₂O₂ and the activity of extracellular LDH enzyme were significantly reduced, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . The results showed that nickel refining dust induced cell damage through up-regulation of p53 protein and down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein expression; ascorbic acid interventions, the expression level of Bcl-2 protein in ascorbic acid II and III groups was higher than that of nickel refining dust group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); The expression level of p53 protein in each dose group of ascorbic acid was lower than that of nickel refined dust group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion With the increase of concentration of ascorbic acid, oxidative damage levels, antioxidant enzyme levels, reduce cell apoptosis, reduce expression of p53, increased expression of Bcl-2. It showed that ascorbic acid had protective effect on NIH/3T3 cell injury induced by nickel refining dust.

Objective To establish the finite element model of uterosacral ligament (USL) and cardinal ligament (CL) and analyze the stress distribution and deformation with USL and CL under different working conditions. Methods Patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳpelvic organ prolapse (POP) and healthy female volunteers were selected for research subject, and divided into anterior uterus group and posterior uterus group. Two POP patients and two volunteers were selectd into the anterior uterus group and posterior uterine group respectively. Pelvic MRI scan was performed in two groups. Based on the original MRI data sets, the finite element model of USL and CL was constructed by using the software such as the Mimics, and the stress distribution and deformation of USL and CL were simulated. Results Under the premise of the elastic modulus fixed and three different working conditions such as 60 cmH2O, 99 cmH2O and 168 cmH2O (1 cmH2O=0.098 kPa) with abdominal pressure generated by maximum Valsalva maneuver, according to the present conditions and the simulation, the trend was analyzed: the stress and deformation of the uterus, anterior vaginal wall, USL and CL in two groups were mainly distributed in the middle and lower part of the anterior vaginal wall or the ligament and the cervix-vagina junction, the maximum stress and the maximum displacement were mainly concentrated in the lower region of the anterior vaginal wall. With increasing of abdominal pressure generated by the maximum Valsalva maneuver, the maximum stress values of the POP patient in anterior uterus group under three different working conditions were: 0.027 9, 0.046 0, 0.078 0 MPa, and the maximum displacement values were: 9.145 5, 15.090 0, 25.607 0 mm. The maximum stress values of the volunteer in anterior uterus group under three different working conditions were:0.012 6, 0.020 8, 0.035 3 MPa, and the maximum displacement values were: 1.816 7, 2.997 5, 5.086 7 mm. The maximum stress values of the POP patient in posterior uterine group under three different conditions were: 0.069 4, 0.114 6, 0.194 5 MPa, and the maximum displacement values were:11.658 0, 19.236 0, 32.643 0 mm. The maximum stress values of the volunteer in posterior uterus group under three different working conditions were:0.009 1, 0.015 1, 0.025 6 MPa, and the maximum displacement values were:2.581 6, 4.259 6, 7.228 4 mm. The maximum stress values and the maximum displacement values were all increased with increasing of abdominal pressure in the two groups. The maximum stress values and the maximum displacement values of the POP patients were greater than those of volunteers. Under different working conditions, the maximum stress values and maximum displacement values of the posterior uterus POP patient were all greater than those of the anterior uterus POP patient. Conclusions The finite element model of USL and CL is completely based on the MRI technology and the model is real and reliable. The increase of abdominal pressure will produce a larger stress and deformation of USL and CL, which is one of the reasons causing the injury of the ligament.

OBJECTIVETo compare the safety and efficacy of myocardial contrast enhancement (MCE)-guided and angio-pressure (AP)-guided transcoronary ablation of septal hypertrophy (TASH) for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

METHODSTASH was performed under MCE-guide (n = 47, group I) or AP-guide (n = 25, group II) for drug-refractory patients with HOCM. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) data as well as other clinical data were compared.

RESULTSTASH both under MCE-guide or AP-guide resulted in similar and significant reduction of left ventricular outflow tract gradient (PG) and associated with significant symptom improvement (all P < 0.001). Dosage of ethanol use, peak-level of CK-MB and ablated myocardial area and incidence of arrhythmia were also similar between the two groups.Similar left ventricular/atrial dimension changes post TASH were observed in the 2 groups during follow-up. However, the first selected septal vessels were changed under MCE in 6 patients.

CONCLUSIONSOur data demonstrated that the MCE-guided TASH was not superior to AP-guided TASH in safety and efficacy. However, MCE-guided TASH can avoid the misplace of ethanol to avoid innocent myocardial ablation.

Adult ; Cardiac Catheterization ; methods ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Perfusion Imaging ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical and pathologic characteristics of poorly differentiated cutaneous angiosarcoma of scalp.

METHODSEight cases of poorly differentiated cutaneous angiosarcoma of scalp were enrolled into this study. The clinical manifestations and histopathologic features were analyzed. Immunohistochemical study for CD31, CD34, factor VIII-related antigen, vimentin, AE1/AE3, CAM5. 2, epithelial membrane antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen was performed.

RESULTSThe mean age of the patients was 69 years. The male-to-female ratio was 5 : 3. The tumor manifested clinically as bruise-like lesion in early phase, indurated erythematous plaque accompanied by nodules, ulcerations and bleeding in advanced phase. Histologically, the tumor was composed of solid sheets of undifferentiated spindle cells which were not easily recognizable as vascular in origin. Nuclear atypia was always present. The tumor cells in all of the 8 cases strongly expressed CD31, factor VIII-related antigen and vimentin. Weak expression of CD34, AE1/AE3 and CAMS. 2 was noted in 2, 4 and 4 cases, respectively. The staining for epithelial membrane antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen and S-100 was negative. Conclusions Angiosarcoma needs to be excluded by histologic examination whenever bruise-like and erythematous lesions occurring on scalp skin of elderly patients. The endothelial origin of the tumor cells can be confirmed with immunostaining for CD31, CD34 and factor VIII-related antigen.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD34 ; immunology ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Cell Differentiation ; Endothelium ; metabolism ; Female ; Hemangiosarcoma ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; immunology ; Scalp ; pathology ; Skin Neoplasms ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Vimentin ; analysis

In order to find the optimal topographical factor for regionslization, the content of cimetidine in 116 Sinopodophyllum hexandrum sample collected from Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, Tibet, Yunnan and Shaanxi provinces, was determined. Using mathematical statistics and geographical spatial analysis of GIS analysis, the relationship between content of podophyllotoxin and influencing factors including altitude gradient and gradient position was analyzed. It is found that the optimal altitude was 2 800 m to 3 600 m, the aspect of slope north or northeast and northwest and the slope 12 degrees to 65 degrees with a high suitability degree. Considering the artificial planting, the suitable planting area for S. hexandrum is comfirmed. The topographical factor is important for S. hexandrum regionalization, but has hardly effect on podophyllotoxin content. The results of the study provide an important scientific basis for S. hexandrum production development. But there are many factors which affect suitability index and podophyllotoxin content of S. hexandrum, it is necessary to consider other factors like climate and soil while exploitation and protection of S. hexandrum.
Altitude ; Berberidaceae ; chemistry ; growth & development ; China ; Ecosystem ; Podophyllotoxin ; analysis