BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that umbilical cord blood stem cel transplantation promote the recovery of spinal cord injury, and electroacupuncture also can inhibit the proliferation of astrocytes to reduce damage to scar formation, suggesting that a combination of umbilical cord blood stem cel transplantation and electroacupuncture may play an important role in the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries. OBJECTIVE:To observe the influence of transplantation of human umbilical cord blood stem cels combined with electroacupuncture at theDu channel on expression of nerve growth factor and neurotrophin 3 in rats with spinal cord injuries. METHODS: Seventy-two female Sprague-Dawlay rats were randomly divided into control group, injury group, transplantation group and combined therapy group. In the control group, only an incision on the back was sutured;in the injury group, a piece of saline-infiltrated gelatin sponge, 1 mm×2 mm×2 mm, was placed into the transected spinal cord at T10 level; in the transplantation group and combined therapy group, a piece of gelatin sponged infiltrated in the suspension of human umbilical cord blood stem cels was placed into the transected spinal cord, respectively, and then, electroacupuncture stimulation at the Duchannel was performed in the combined therapy group at 1 hour after modeling. Specimens were taken at 7, 14, 28 days after modeling in each group, and then immunohistochemistry, western blot and real time-PCR methods were used to detect the expression of nerve growth factor and neurotrophin 3. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the transplantation group, the expression of nerve growth factor and neurotrophin 3 was lower in the injury group but higher in the combined therapy group at 7, 14, 28 days after modeling (P < 0.05). The results of western blot and real time-PCR were consistent with those of immunohistochemical detection. Findings show that human umbilical cord blood stem cel transplantation combined with electroacupuncture has a remarkable synergistic effect in the treatment of spinal cord injury that can significantly up-regulate the expression of nerve growth factor and neurotrophin 3, and contribute to injured spinal cord repair, regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury.

Ascites ; Bacterial Infections ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Peritonitis ; microbiology ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To establish a new animal model of grading skeletal muscle contusions that could be controllable and repetitive. METHODS: The rats' gastrocnemius was injured by a new weight-dropping device designed. The force acting on gastrocnemius with a comparatively constant duration and inducing elastic deformation of the gastrocnemius was expressed with velocity (v) and deformation (DF). Instant velocity was changed to create gastrocnemius contusions. Pathological changes of gastrocnemius were graded by the gross and histological examinations of 39 rats. RESULTS: At low level of impact (v: 2 m/s, DF: 5.5 mm), mild injuries were detected in epimysium and superficial layer of gastrocnemius. At moderate level of impact (v: 2.5 m/s, DF: 6.5 mm), the injuries were observed in epimysium and whole gastrocnemius. At high level of impact (v: 3 m/s, DF: 7.5 mm), severe injuries were seen deeper to soleus with more extensive skeletal muscle damage. CONCLUSION Grading of skeletal muscle blunt force contusion is created by parameter of velocity and muscle deformation. The model could be used for further research on skeletal muscle contusions.
Animals ; Contusions/classification* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Forensic Pathology ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal/injuries* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating

Objective To explore the feasibility and application in quantifying the rabbit central nervous system by using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)sequences.Methods 12 normal New Zealand rabbits were used to scan the brain and spinal cord of rabbits by DTI sequence of 1.5T MR machine,and the normal apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy (FA)values were obtained in the different regions of the brain and every spinal segment of rabbits,to analyse the characteristics and regularity of numerical changes.Results The average ADC value in the brain of rabbits was (0.87±0.08)×10-3mm2/s,the average FA value was 0.23±0.09;the average ADC value in cervical spinal cord was (1.05±0.14)×10-3mm2/s,the average FA value was 0.55±0.08.The average ADC value in thoracic spinal cord was (1.14±0.12)×10-3mm2/s,and the average FA value was 0.57±0.06;the average ADC value in lumber spinal cord was (1.20±0.12)×10-3mm2/s,and the average FA value was 0.61±0.06.Conclusion FA average value in the brain is lower than that in spinal cord (P<0.001),the difference is related to the distribution of nerve fibers and physiological curvature of spine.ADC average value in the brain is lower than that in spinal cord(P<0.001),this is related to the volume of spinal canal and the peripheral structure of spinal cord.The difference of FA value in the brain and spinal cord is higher than ADC value.

Objective: To investigate the seroepidemiology and genetic characterization of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in western Yunnan Province. Methods: Questionnaire survey was conducted among 1638 residents in western Yunnan Province using stratified sampling method. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum anti-HEV IgG and IgM. HEV RNA was extracted from patients with serum anti-HEV IgM positive. The open reading flame 2 (ORF2) of HEV that was amplified by nested RT-PCR was sequenced and compared with standard HEV genotypes 1-4. Results: Serum anti-HEV positive was found in 13.92% (228/1638) residents. The HEV infection rate in males was significantly higher than that in females with a ratio of 1.47 (. P<0.01). 20-30 and 30-40 years old young men showed the highest incidence, 20.57% and 20.78%, respectively. While 10-20 and 20-30 years old young women exhibited the highest infection rate, 11.85% and 15.60%, respectively. According to occupation, the highest HEV infection rate was observed in farmers (20.35%) and migrants (16.50%). We isolated 10 individual HEV isolates from 31 patients with serum anti-HEV IgM positive. Homology analysis and phylogenetic analysis indicated that these 10 HEV isolates belonged to HEV genotype 4 with the homology of 78.65%-94.71%. Conclusions: The HEV infection rate is high in western Yunnan Province. HEV genotype 4 is the leading cause of HEV infection and young farmers and migrants are the main infected population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of phospho-JNK (p-JNK) during the incised wound healing of the skin in mice and to explore the rule of the time-dependent change of p-JNK in wound age determination. METHODS: The changes of p-JNK expression in incised skin wound were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: There was a minimal baseline staining of p-JNK in control mouse skin. Changes of p-JNK expression were mainly detectable in neutrophils in the wound specimens from 3 hours to 12 hours after injury. Afterwards, the p-JNK positive cells were mostly mononuclear cells and fibroblasts between post-injury day 1 and day 5, whereas the p-JNK positive cells were mostly fibroblasts between post-injury day 7 and day 14. Morphometrically, the ratio of the p-JNK positive cells to the total increased gradually in the wound specimens from 3 hours to day 1, and maximized at day 1 with a slight decrease from post-injury day 3 to day 5. The ratio showed a second peak in the specimens of day 7, and then decreased gradually from post-injury day 10 to day 14. The changes of p-JNK expression were observed throughout the wound healing stages by Western blot as well, with a peak expression occurring between 12 hour and day 3 after injury. CONCLUSION p-JNK may play a pivotal role in inducing apoptosis of neutrophils, mononuclear cells, and fibroblasts during skin wound healing and meanwhile, p-JNK may be a potentially useful marker for wound age determination.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; Female ; Forensic Medicine ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Male ; Mice ; Phosphorylation ; Random Allocation ; Skin/injuries* ; Time Factors ; Wound Healing ; Wounds, Penetrating/enzymology*

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether IL-10 gene modification on immature dendritic cells (iDC) could induce autoimmune tolerance in rat experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM).

METHODSEAM was induced by cardiac myosin immunization on day 0 and day 7 in rats. A total of 2 x 10(6) mature DC (mDC), iDC, pcDNA3 transfected iDC, pcDNA3-IL-10 transfected iDC or PBS were injected intravenously at 5th immunization day. Three weeks later, echocardiography and HE staining were performed to observe the cardiac function and myocardial inflammation. Th1/Th2 cytokines were detected by ELISA and MHC-II molecules, costimulatory molecules were identified by flow cytometry. In vitro T lymphocyte proliferation assay and adoptive transfer of DCs were performed to determine the antigen specific tolerance induced by IL-10 gene modification on iDCs.

RESULTSEAM rats treated with pcDNA3-IL-10 transfected iDC showed improved cardiac function and reduced inflammatory cells infiltration into myocardium. Moreover, lower Th1 and higher Th2-type response was induced, MHC-II and costimulatory molecules down-regulated and antigen specific immunological responses towards cardiac myosin inhibited in pcDNA3-IL-10-iDC treated EAM rats.

CONCLUSIONTreatment with IL-10 gene modified iDCs could ameliorates EAM by inducing Th2 polarization and down-regulation of MHC-II molecules and costimulatory molecule expressions.

Animals ; Animals, Genetically Modified ; Autoimmune Diseases ; immunology ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Line ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Genetic Therapy ; Immune Tolerance ; Interleukin-10 ; genetics ; immunology ; Myocarditis ; immunology ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred Lew

BACKGROUNDIt has been reported that increased red blood cell width (RDW) is a marker associated with the presence and adverse outcomes of various cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study was prospectively evaluate the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and RDW in a large Chinese cohort.

METHODSA total of 677 consecutive individuals who underwent coronary angiography due to the presence of angina-like chest pain and/or positive treadmill exercise test were enrolled in this study. All patients received coronary angiography and were then divided into two groups based on the results of coronary angiography (CAD group (n = 499) and control group (n = 178)). The clinical information including classical CAD risk factors and RDW were analyzed to identify their relationship to CAD. The severity of CAD was evaluated by Gensini score and its relationship with RDW was also analyzed.

RESULTSPatients with angiographic CAD had significantly elevated RDW levels compared with controls ((12.95 ± 0.77)% vs. (12.73 ± 0.83)%, P = 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between RDW and the Gensini score (r = 0.37, P < 0.001). In multivariate Logistic regression analysis, RDW was demonstrated to be an independent predictor for both angiographic CAD (OR = 1.34, 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.77, P < 0.05) and for a higher Gensini score (> 13, OR = 2.23, 95%CI: 1.62 - 3.08, P < 0.001). In a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, an RDW value of 12.85% was identified as an effective cut-point in predicting the presence or absence of CAD with a sensitivity of 50.0% and a specificity of 65.2%.

CONCLUSIONRDW is associated with both presence of CAD and the severity of coronary stenosis, suggesting that it might be a readily available marker for the prediction of CAD and its severity.

Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Coronary Artery Disease ; pathology ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies

Objective·To explore the association between neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene polymorphism and schizophrenia in Chinese Han population. Methods·Four single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci (rs16148, rs1859290, rs16147, and rs16478 in NPY gene) were selected and genotyped by TaqMan genotyping assay in a case-control study with 678 schizophrenia cases (case group) and 685 healthy controls (control group). The allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies distribution of the SNPs between the groups were compared with SHEsis online software. Results·The distribution of genotype frequency of locus rs16478 showed a nominal statistically difference between the adult-onset schizophrenia (AOS group) and control group (χ2=6.66, P=0.036, P correction=0.144). Under recessive inherited model, the distribution of CC genotype frequency of locus rs1859290 showed statistically difference between the male schizophrenia cases and control group (P=0.012, OR=0.97, 95％CI 0.94-0.99, P correction=0.048). The distribution of haplotype CCTA (consisted of rs16148, rs1859290, rs16147, and rs16478) frequency showed statistically difference between the male AOS group and control group (8.1％ vs 13.2％, OR=0.57, P=0.010, P correction=0.040). Conclusion·The polymorphisms in NPY gene may be associated with schizophrenia in Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUNDStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) remains as an important microbial pathogen resulting in community and nosocomial acquired infections with significant morbidity and mortality. Few reports for S. aureus in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) have been documented. The aim of this study was to explore the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus in LRTIs in China.

METHODSA multicenter study of the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus in LRTIs was conducted in 21 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and twelve other provinces from November 2007 to February 2009. All the collected S. aureus strains were classified as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), mecA gene, virulence genes Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) and γ-hemolysin (hlg), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type, agr type, and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST).

RESULTSTotally, nine methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and 29 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains were isolated after culture from a total of 2829 sputums or bronchoalveolar lavages. The majority of MRSA strains (22/29) had a MIC value of ≥ 512 µg/ml for cefoxitin. The mecA gene acting as the conservative gene was carried by all MRSA strains. PVL genes were detected in only one S. aureus strain (2.63%, 1/38). The hlg gene was detected in almost the all S. aureus (100% in MSSA and 96.56% in MRSA strains). About 75.86% of MRSA strains carried SCCmec III. Agr type 1 was predominant (78.95%) among the identified three agr types (agr types 1, 2, and 3). Totally, ten sequence type (ST) of S. aureus strains were detected. A new sequence type (ST1445) was found besides confirming ST239 as the major sequence type (60.53%). A dendrogram generated from our own MLST database showed all the bootstrap values ≤ 50%.

CONCLUSIONOur preliminary epidemiology data show SCCmec III, ST239 and agr type 1 of S. aureus as the predominant strains in LRTIs in Mainland of China.

Alleles ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; China ; epidemiology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; genetics ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; Staphylococcal Infections ; epidemiology ; Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects ; pathogenicity