Objective To explore the influence of smoking upon the level of the serum interleukin and TNF-? in patients with bronchial asthma.Methods Sixty-five patients with bronchial asthma,grade 3 or 4 as asthma group and 50 healthy examinees as control group were selected.According to the smoking history,each group was divided into the smoking subgroup and the non-smoking subgroup.For each group,the level of cytokines in serum were detected,and at the same time,their smoking history and general condition were collected.The differences between the groups were compared and the relationship of all indexes was analyzed.Results Compared with the control group,the level of IL-2、IL-6、IL-8 and TNF-? of the asthma group was significantly higher(P0.05).The level of IL-2、IL-8 and TNF-? of the smoking asthma subgroup was significantly higher than the smoking control subgroup(P0.05).Conclusion The influence of smoking upon the level of cytokines of asthma patients is significant.The level of IL-8、TNF-? in serum of a smoking asthma patient increases.The level of five cytokines in serum of 65 asthma patients in our research is related to patient's condition severity.

Objective To study the intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1)and fat metabolism in the contribution of the incidence of steroid avascular necrosis of femoral head(ANFH).Methods 32 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into two groups:animals in experiment group(n=24)were given an injection of hydrocortisone acetate(8.0mg/kg)two times per week,and animals in control group(n=8)were given an injection with the same volume of normal saline.Serum total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG)and ICAM-1 were quantitated before and 2,4,6,8 weeks after the treatment.2,4,6 and 8 weeks after treatment,6 animals of the experiment group and 2 of the control group were randomly chosen and sacrificed.ICAM-1 expression in soft tissue around hip was determined immunohistochemically,and pathohistological changes in femoral head were observed by light microscopy.Results Serum TC and TG levels of the animals in experimental group were significantly higher than those before treatment and those in control group in the 6th week after treatment(P

Objective To compare the changes of intraocular pressure (IOP) in 24 hours between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) and the non-obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(non-OSAS).Methods Sixty patients with OSAS were divided into two groups:OSAS group(n =30) and non-OSAS group (n =30).The following indicators were detected:(1) Awake oxygen saturation ((HSaO2) ％),(2) The lowest oxygen saturation (LSaO2) ％) ; (3) Mean oxygen saturation ((MSaO2 ％)) ; (4) Oxygen desaturation index ((DI4),time/h:number of times that the hourly oxygen desaturation ≥ 4％) ; (5) The percentage of the time that oxygen saturation ≤ 90％ accounts the total time ((SIT90)％) and 24-hour IOP.IOP was measured from early morning 5:00 and measured once every four hours.The measurement results were compared between two groups.Results There was no significant difference on age ((62.60 ± 12.44) years old vs (65.20 ± 10.66)years old,t =1.48),Course of disease ((22.40 ± 6.88) month vs (25.49 ± 7.22) month,t =1.97),gender (The ratio of male to female is(20/10)vs (17/13),x2 =0.007) between the OSAS and the non-OSAS(P ＞0.05).Value of AHI(h-1) ((27.9 ±6.0) vs (2.5 ±1.1),t =8.78),LSaO2 ((74.7 ±11.7)％ vs (91.8 ±5.9)％,t=3.44),SIT90((13.2±12.4)％ vs(0.2±1.1)％,t=9.92) and ODI4(h-1) ((28.9 ±13.9)vs (6.1 ±4.1),t =8.09) of OSAS was significantly higher than that of non-OSAS(P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01).Value of IOP of 21:00 o'clock((20.61±4.15)mm Hg vs(19.60 ± 4.03)mm Hg,t =2.18),1:00 o'clock((23.12 ±3.11)mm Hg vs (20.60 ± 3.29) mm Hg,t =4.64) and 5:00 o' clock ((22.82 ± 2.99)mm Hg vs (17.21 ±3.55) mm Hg,t =4.23) of OSAS was significantly higher than that of non-OSAS (P ＜ 0.05 or P ＜ 0.01).The wave ((10.40 ± 2.85)mm Hg vs (8.40 ± 2.55) mm Hg,t =4.15) and maximal ((23.60 ± 3.29) mm Hg vs (21.23 ±3.43)mm-Hg,t =2.60) value of IOP of OSAS was significantly higher than that of non-OSAS(P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01).There was no significant difference on minimum of IOP between the OSAS and the non-OSAS ((13.20 ± 4.08)mm Hg vs (12.70 ± 4.22) mm Hg,t =0.54,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion There are higher wave and maximal value of IOP in the patients of OSAS during the night.It is important to pay attention to IOP in order to protect those patients' visual function.

Objective To establish an HPLC method to determine the contents of dauricine in Menispermi Rhizoma from different producing areas. Methods C18 was set as chromatographic column filler, with acetonitrile-water-triethylamine (45:55:0.1) as the mobile phase, 284 nm as the ultraviolet wavelength detection, 1 mL/min as the flow rate, 30 ℃ as the column temperature. HPLC chromatograms of eight different batches of Menispermi Rhizoma were established. Results HPLC testing conditions of Menispermi Rhizoma was established. Within 20-100 μg/mL, there was a good linear relationship between the injection volume of the reference substance and the peak area (r=0.9995). The average recovery of dauricine was 100.30%, RSD=1.000%. The contents of dauricine in Menispermi Rhizoma from different producing areas were different. Conclusion The HPLC method is with sensitivity, accuracy, precision, good reproducibility and simple operation, which can be used as detection method to determine the content of dauricine in Menispermi Rhizoma.

Objective To retrospectively analyze the relationship between progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to detect the influence of plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels before treatment in the prognosis of advanced stage (stageⅢB-Ⅳ) of NSCLC. Methods The study comprised 134 NSCLC patients with clear pathological diagnosis. All patients were grouped by plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels before treatment. We set the normal values of fibrinogen as≤4 g/L and D-dimer as≤500μg/L(FEU). Patients with normal levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer were grouped into low risk group, patients with elevated fibrinogen or D-dimer were grouped into median risk group, and patients with both elevated values were grouped into high risk group. Chi-square test and one way ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the clinicopathologic features of different groups. The OS and PFS in different groups were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariate analysis of PFS and OS were conducted. Then multivariate analysis was conducted with the Cox regression model in three groups. Results The clinicopathologic features showed no differences between different groups. There were significant differences in OS and PFS between high risk group and other groups. In the survival curves, the high risk group showed poor prognosis. The result of multivariate analysis showed that clinical stage (OS:RR=1.846, 95%CI 1.150-2.964,P=0.011; PFS:RR=1.762, 95%CI 1.190-2.609, P=0.005) and grouped by fibrinogen and D-dimer (OS:RR=1.415,95%CI 1.050-1.908,P=0.023;PFS:RR=1.373,95%CI 1.070-1.761,P=0.013) were prognostic factors for patients with NSCLC. Conclusion The plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels before treatment are closely related with the prognosis of NSCLC patients. And a high plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels before treatment are associated with poor prognosis in advanced stage of NSCLC patients.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the quality of Bombyx batryticatus medicinal materials in the market by multi-index,and provide reference for clinical rational drug use. METHODS:Referring to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015 edition,part 1),the appearance characters of samples were observed,moisture and the total ash were detected,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was adopted to identify the medicinal materials,UV-Visible spectrophotometry and potassium permanganate titration were respec-tively used to determine the contents of active ingredient protein and ammonium oxalate. RESULTS:The moisture ranged in 2.84%-4.07%(RSD<5%,n=3),total ash in 7.79%-34.32%(RSD<5%,n=3),UV and FTIR spectra were basically similar, and both can reflect the characteristic peaks of protein peptides. Protein content ranged in 29.87%-57.19%(RSD<0.5%,n=3), ammonium oxalate content in 0.27%-4.77%(RSD<5%,n=3). CONCLUSIONS:The 10 batches of samples are authentic and processed products,moisture fits the requirement in pharmacopoeia while total ash does not;and the main ingredient is protein pep-tides. However,effective protein polypeptide content shows great differences as well as ammonium oxalate.

BACKGROUND:It is particularly important to establish an ideal animal model of pulmonary fibrosis to investigate the underlying pathogenesis and screen effective drugs to prevent and control pulmonary fibrosis. OBJECTIVE: To establish a modified scheme of establishing mouse models that can reflect pulmonary fibrosis formation in humans. METHODS: Fifty-six male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups: A (a single large-dose injection) and B (multiple smal-dose injections). Mice in group A were subjected to a single intravenous injection of bleomycin 200 mg/kgviathe tail vein; and mice in group B received intravenous injections of bleomycin 50 mg/kg via the tail vein per week, totaly for 6 weeks. 

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of curcumin on the oxidative stress induced by nano-silicon dioxide( SiO_2) in A549 cells and to explore its potential mechanism. METHODS: A549 cells were randomly divided into 6 groups. Nano-SiO_2 group cells were stimulated with nano-SiO_2 solution with a final concentration of 20 mg/L; curcumin low-,medium-,and high-dose group cells were treated with curcumin at final concentrations of 5,10,and 20 μmol/L respectively and 20 mg/L nano-SiO_2 solution; the solvent control group was treated with dimethyl sulfoxide with a volume fraction of 0. 10%. The cells in the blank control group were not given any treatment. The cells in these 6 groups were incubated for 12 hours,and the level of malondialdehyde( MDA) and the activity of total superoxide dismutase( T-SOD) in the cells were measured by spectrophotometer. The relative expression of mRNA and protein of nuclear factor E2-associated factor 2( NRF2),thioredoxin-1( TRX1),and thioredoxin interaction protein( TXNIP) were analyzed by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot respectively. RESULTS: The MDA level in A549 cells of nano-SiO_2 group increased( P < 0. 05),the T-SOD activity decreased( P < 0. 05),and the mRNA and protein relative expression of NRF2 and TRX1 were up-regulated( P < 0. 05),TXNIP relative expression of mRNA and protein were down-regulated( P <0. 05),when compared with the blank control group and the solvent control group. After intervention with curcumin,with the increased of curcumin concentration,the MDA level in A549 cells decreased,the T-SOD activity increased,the relative expression of NRF2 mRNA and TRX1 mRNA and protein was up-regulated,the mRNA and protein relative expression of TXNIP was down-regulated,and showed a dose-dependent manner( P < 0. 01). CONCLUSION: Curcumin can protect nano-SiO_2-induced oxidative stress in A549 cells. It may activate TRX system by regulating NRF2/antioxidant response elements pathway,exerting an anti-oxidation effect and protecting cells from excessive oxidative damage.

Objective To investigate and assess the current situations of propagandizing and inculcating rehabilitation information in Shanghai. Methods The propagandizing and inculcating rehabilitation information in 6 districts in Shanghai were assessed in field, the fulfilling of the first- and second-degree index and the standard-reaching rate of the third-degree index were calculated separately according to the first-degree index- propagandizing and inculcating rehabilitation information of the Evaluation Index System of Rehabilitation Service for All Disabled in Shanghai.Results The average fulfilling degree of the first-degree index was 82.3%. There was 1 district reached the standard of Propagandizing Rehabilitation Information by Broadcast, Television, Newspaper, Magazine and Internet; the average fulfilling degrees of the Community Rehabilitation Function for the Disabled and the Community School Propagandizes and Inculcates the Rehabilitation Information for the Disabled are 66.7% and 33.3%, respectively. Conclusion The support from the government could make propagandizing and inculcating rehabilitation information carry out more successfully; utilizing the media adequately is important; propagandizing and inculcating rehabilitation information must be strengthened in community.

The similarities and differences between Chinese medicine (CM) education in China and Australia are considered in a detailed comparison of the five-year undergraduate programmes offered by the Beijing University of CM (BUCM), China and RMIT University (RMIT), Australia. BUCM is a specialist CM institution whereas RMIT is a technological university providing training in a wide range of professional areas. Both institutions are considered to be leading tertiary institutions within their respective countries. A brief account of the historical development of CM education in China and Australia is provided. We have compared the curricula and structure of the programmes and how they each address the development of essential graduate capabilities for competent and safe clinical CM practice. We have also considered the quality assurance processes and the requirements of external regulatory authorities. The curricula and educational objectives of the 2 programmes are broadly similar. Both institutions have established rigorous processes for managing teaching quality and ensuring appropriate graduates to promote evidence-based CM practice. However, there are differences relating to the healthcare systems of China and Australia and to the availability of teaching resources and clinical training facilities such as classical CM texts and CM hospitals. These differences present major challenges for the internationalisation of CM education. The findings of this study may facilitate the process of CM curriculum development in a global context.
Australia ; China ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; standards ; trends ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Program Evaluation ; trends