The present study is an attempt to further asertain the histological location and afferent connections of the "Groaning Center" of cat.In 1952, by electrical stimulation of the lateral tegmental area of cats, a restricted region was found to give rise to the groaning response and it was designated as the "Groaning Center", which on excitation would also produce various viseral and motor reactions.According to our microscopic study of the position of the "Groaning Center", we found that the nucleus subcuneiformis in the lateral tegmental region is the focal point of the center. It lies ventralateral to the nucleus trochlear, medial to the lateral lemniscus and the nucleus paralemniscalis (Jasper atlas, 1954), dorsal to the nucleus cuneiformis. This center extends about 1.0 mm. anteroposteriorly, 1.0 mm. mediolaterally and about 1.5 mm. dorsoventrally. This area cheifly consists of fibers and scattered cells of medium and small size. A cluster of larger cells has been observed in the ventral region of the center.By HRP retrograde transport study, we found that after injection of HRP into the center, the reactive cells were found in extensive brain areas. The labelled cells were mainly found in the ipsilateral side of the hypothalamus, especially in the lateral and posterior nucleus of hypothalamus as well as the dorsomedial nucleus of hypothalamus. The reactive cells were also found in the forebrain regions, such as the cingulate gyrus, globus pallidus, zona incerta, nucleus parafa-sicularis, etc.The relation between the center with vocalization and emotional responses is discussed.

The effects of foot-shock (FS) on ir-?-EP and ir-NT in the brain and pituitary of unanaesthetized rats were studied by means of radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the content of ir-?-EP decreased significantly in pituitary and increased in hypothalamus, and the content of ir-NT increased both in pituitary and hypothalamus 2 min after FS. However, ir-?-EP increased in pituitary and decreased in hypothalamus, and ir-NT decreased both in pituitary and hypothalamus 20 min after FS. These results indicate that at the early period of FS induced stress, the release of ir-?-EP may be increased from pituitary, and ir-NT may be decreased from both pituitary and hypothalamus.

Diabetic neuropathy is the most common peripheral neuropathy,and it is important to enhance both nerve regeneration and prevent nerve degeneration in its treatment. Disturbed nerve regeneration in diabetes has been ascribed,at least in part,to decreases of some neurotrophic factors or the decreases of their receptor expressions.This paper reviewed the effect of some major neurotrophic factors on diabetic neuropathy and their application in clinical treatment.

In this study, acute cardiac ischemia was induced by ligation of the anterior descending branch of the coronary artery in rats. Radioimmunoassay was conducted to measure the contents of immunoreactive beta - en-dorphin (ir-?-EP)after ischemia and fructose -1,6 - diphosphate (FDP) treatment. Results showed that the contents of ir-?-EP were in-cereased in the plasma, some brain areas, pituitary and myocardium after ligation of the left coronary artery of the rats which resulted in the deterioration of the cardiac function includingdp/dtmax, Lvsp, total areas of force loop and blood pressure. Intravenous administration of FDP improved cardiac function and reduced the contents of ir - ? - EP in the above mentioned tissues suggesting that ir-?-EP correlate closely with cardiac function after ischemia,the reduction of which was possibly involved in the improve ment of cardiac function by FDP.

High fidelity human patient simulator has become more and more important in clinical medical practice education.Medical circle has more and more realized that non-technical skill (NTS) is closely associated with the improvement of medical quality.This paper attempted to carry out a preliminary discussion on theory and practice of applying NTS in simulation training of critical care medicine based on their own teaching experiences.

Objective To investigate the effect of L-carnitine on pathological changes of myocardium and the underlying mechanism in chronic renal failure rats (CRF). Methods A total of 55 male SD rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=10),model group (n=15),low dose (300 mg/kg),medium dose (600 mg/kg) and high dose (900 mg/kg) L-carnitine group(n=10,each).5/6 subtotal nephrectomy was performed in these rats without sham group.One week after the operation,normal saline or corresponding dose L-carnitine were intragastrically administrated to sham and model group or L-carnitine groups for 17 weeks.Transthoracic echocardiography,mean arterial pressure (MAP),heart rate (HR) and heart weight/body weight were assessed.Moreover,24h urine protein,renal function,SOD,MDA,IL-6,ATP,ADP were measured at the end of the study.Additionally,pathological changes in myocardium were detected by light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Results (1) ATP (μmol/g·wt)in L-carnitine groups (2.35±0.24,3.59±0.28,3.78±0.25) was significantly higher than that in model group (1.61±0.12) (all P＜0.01).(2) Thickness of posterior wall of left ventricle (mm) in high dose L-carnitine group was thinner than that in model group (3.74±0.23 vs 4.18±0.48,P＜0.05). (3) The ratios of heart weight to body weight in both medium dose and high dose L-carnitine groups (3.92±0.27,3.65±0.2) were significantly lower compared to model group (3.99±0.27) (all P＜0.01). (4) Under light microscopy,disarrangement and hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes,increased myocardial fibrosis were observed in model group, while these changes and the pathological scores were significantly improved in both medium dose and high dose L-carnitine groups (7.14±1.07,6.13±0.99),as compared with model group (9.88±1.13) (all P＜0.01).Under electron microscopy,typical changes in cardiac hypertrophy were observed,including dissolution of myocardial fibers,increasing and swelling of mitochondria,membrane rupture as well as matrix increase in model group,while these changes were ameliorated by L-carnitine in a dose-dependent manner. (5) Seventeen weeks after the treatment,both IL-6 and MDA were decreased in all L-carnitine-treated groups than those in model group [IL-6 (ng/L):261.86±13.18,240.12±18.7,233.34±36.88 vs 596.64±81.41; MDA (nmol/L):15.23±2.01,12.41±0.6.10.97±1.9 vs 21.84±2.71).Whereas,SOD (U/ml) were increased in L-carnitine-treated groups (51.2±6.11,58.51±5.52,60.63±6.94) than that in model group(32.01 ±5.69 )(all P＜0.05).(6) No significant differences of systolic,diastolic blood pressure or MAP were found among groups. Conclusion L-carnitine can improve energy metabolism,micro-inflammation and oxidative stress in myocardium of CRF rats,which may be associated with the amelioration of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.

In order to study the expression and the feasibility of scaled production of neuropeptide in the routine expression system such as E.coli with the pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypep tide(PACAP) as an example, the following experiments were carried out. First, on the basis of the reported amino acid sequence of PACAP, DNA sequence of PACAP w as deduced and six partially complementary oligonucleotide fragments were design ed. The coding region of PACAP was obtained by renaturing the DNA fragments and ligation and identified by DNA sequencing. The coding region of PACAP was cloned into plasmid pGEX-4T-3 and transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3 ). An expression strain BLPACAP was selected. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that t he GST-PACAP fusion protein was highly expressed and accumulated to about 30% o f the total bacterial proteins. By affinity chromatography, up to 90% GST-PACAP was purified by one step from bacterial lysate. The purified protein could prom ote neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells and the survival of spinal cord neurons.

OBJECTIVE：Analyzing the epidemic of drug risistance bacteria with extend spectrum β-lactamase(ESBLs)in children's wards to cut off the transmitting pathway and prevent the outbreak of nosocomial infections in time.METHODS：Samples，including sputum，umbilical secretion，pus，pharyngeal swab，were collected from in-hospital child patients in Departments of Newborn，Respiratory Tract Diseases，Cardiology，Nephrology，Hematology，Pediatric Surgery and ICU，then bacterial cultures and drug susceptibility test were carried out.54 strains of ESBLs E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated and their plasmid profiles were analysed by agarose electrophoresis.RESULTS：The percentages of ESBLs in the above-mentioned departments were 46.3，12.9，5.6，12.9，5.6，11.1，5.6 respectively.In analysis，three types of profiles were found and strains with four types of the same profile concentrated in the Newborn Department.The others were dispersed.CONCLUSION：Nosocomial infections possibly occured in the Newborn Department to some extent.

Objective To examine the impact of C-reactive protein (CRP) on the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), inflammatory cytokine, in cultured human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (hPASMCs) in order to find out the cause of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). Method The hPASMCs were cultured and stimulated by different concerntrations of CRP (5 - 200 μg/ml) for different lengths of time. The activity of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) was evaluated by electrophoretic gel mobility shift assay (EMSA). The expression of IL-6 mRNA and the level of IL-6 protein were measured by using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Results CRP increased IL-6 production in hPASMCs in a dose-dependent manner. The increase in IL-6 at concerntration of 200 μg/mL in the CRP group was as high as 2.8times that in the control group. CRP also significantly induced the activation of NF-κB in hPASMCs. The effect of CRP on the inflammatory cytokine, IL-6, was inhibited by the specific FcγⅡa receptor antibody.Conclusions In vitro, CRP increases the production of IL-6 in hPASMCs mediated by FcγⅡa receptor and NF-κB translocation. These data offer important insights into the role of CRP in the pathogenesis of PAH.

[ABSTRACT]AIM:Toinvestigatetheeffectofsilencingisocitratedehydrogenase2(IDH-2)genebysmallinter-fering RNA (siRNA) on the biological characteristics of human small cell lung cancer cell line NCI -H446.METHODS:IDH-2 expression was knocked down in human small cell lung cancer cell line NCI -H446 by siRNA-IDH-2.The expression level of IDH-2 was determined by real-time PCR and Western blotting .The cell proliferation was measured by CCK-8 as-say , the protein expression of MAPK p 42 was detected by Western blotting , and the cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytome-try.The migration was observed using Transwell cell migration system .BALB/c nude mice were subcutaneously injected on the back with NCI-H446 cells transfected with siRNA-IDH-2/negative control siRNA or non-transfected cells to study the tumor growth .RESULTS:siRNA-IDH-2 remarkably down-regulated the expression of IDH-2 and MAPK p42 in the NCI-H446 cells.siRNA-IDH-2 inhibited both the proliferation and migration abilities of NCI-H446 cells, and the cell cycle was arrested in S phase as compared with negative control group .Additionally, the volume of xenograft tumors in siRNA-IDH-2 group was significantly decreased as compared with control group .CONCLUSION:siRNA-IDH-2 down-regulates the expres-sion of IDH-2 in NCI-H446 cells, reduces the cell migration efficiency and inhibits the tumor growth in vitro and in vivo.