Objective To evaluate the effects of a health education and behavior intervention project,and to provide.a scientific basis for brucellosis control.Methods By stratified cluster sampling method,target population from 6 township in Meilisi District were randomly selected to carry out baseline survey.Of these 6 townships 4 were selected as intervention townships,and two as control townships.A health education and behavior intervention program was carried out in intervention townships,and after intervention target population from 6 township were participated in the questionnaire survey.Results Awareness rate of common sense knowledge of farmers in intervention townships was 84.33％ (5237/6210) after intervention which was significantly higher than 53.56％ (2003/3740),before the intervention (x2 =112.49,P ＜ 0.01),and also higher than 54.15 ％ (1787/3300) of the control after the intervention (x2 =101.53,P ＜ 0.01).Average awareness rate(82.13％,2550/3105) of common sense on prevention after intervention was significantly higher than 58.77％(1099/1870) before the intervention (x2 =57.19,P ＜ 0.01).After intervention,average awareness rate of common sense on prevention was significantly higher than that of the average of control townships (70.36％,1161/1650,x2 =25.49,P ＜ 0.01).The awareness rate of treatment before intervention was 36.80％ (116/299),which increased to 76.36％ (436/571)after intervention (x2 =119.38,P ＜ 0.01).After the intervention the awareness rate of intervention townships was significantly higher than that of the controls (33.72％,88/261,x2 =139.69,P ＜ 0.01).In survey of these high-risk behavior in intervention townships,in addition to cattle and sheep which were regularly immunized in the intervention townships(35.91％,121/337),and the control townships(32.01％,97/303,x2 =1.08,P ＞ 0.05) and their difference was not significant,other processing such asapoblema,killing cattle,sheep,cattle to deliver,cutting the wool,regular disinfection,and accuracy of high-risk behavior protection were significantly higher than those of controls[89.83％(106/l18),91.07％(51/56),84.75％(150/177),66.67％(32/48),73.78％(242/328),51.22％(42/82),75.56％(34/45),33.69％(63/187),27.78％(15/54),21.63％(61/282),x2 value were 38.00,5.82,103.84,15.84 and 173.67,all P ＜ 0.05].Conclusion After implementation of health education and behavioral intervention,farmers brucellosis prevention knowledge and awareness of risk behaviors have significantly improved,which have achieved the desired effect.

Objective To investigate the traffic capacity of ambulances in Beijing,and to explore factors and methods to resolve this problem.Method A survey on all the ambulances on-duty in Beijing from 17th August to 17th September 2006 was conducted by questionnaires.Results The average speed of ambulances in Beijing was 32.07 km/h.There were statistically significant differences in terms of the areas and time, respectively.Conclusions The traffic jam of Beijing was serious.The traffic capacity of ambulances was far from being ideal,which restricted the operation of 120 ambulances.It is difficult to satisfy the needs of Beijing 2008 Olympic games and it is time for the relevant authorities to search for appropriate methods and solve this problem.

This study investigated the effect of arctigenin (Arc) on the cell activation, cytokines expression, proliferation, and cell-cycle distribution of mouse T lymphocytes. Mouse lymphocytes were prepared from lymph node and treated with Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)/Ionimycin (Ion) and/or Arc. CD69, CD25, cytokines, proliferation and cell cycle were assayed by flow cytometry. The results showed that, at concentrations of less than 1.00 micromol x L(-1), Arc expressed non-obvious cell damage to cultured lymphocytes, however, it could significantly down-regulate the expression of CD69 and CD25, as well as TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10 on PMA/Ion stimulated lymphocytes. At the same time, Arc could also inhibit the proliferation of PMA/Ion-activated lymphocytes and exhibited lymphocyte G 0/G1 phase cycle arrest. These results suggest that Arc possesses significant anti-inflammatory effects that may be mediated through the regulation of cell activation, cytokines expression and cell proliferation.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte ; metabolism ; Arctium ; chemistry ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Female ; Furans ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Interleukin-10 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-2 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Ionomycin ; pharmacology ; Lectins, C-Type ; metabolism ; Lignans ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; immunology ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

This project aimed to investigate the effect of taurine on cell cycle regulatory protein p27, Cyclin D1 and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) p65 in the proliferation of cultured neonatal rat cardiac fibroblast (CFb) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II), and to explore the effect of taurine on the signal transduction pathway in CFb proliferation. The cultured neonatal rat CFbs were isolated by trypsin digestion method. The proliferation of CFb was induced by Ang II and detected with thiazole blue (MTT) colorimetric assay. The protein expression of p-PKCalpha in cells was determined with Western blotting technology. The expression of p27 was analyzed by flow cytometry. The expression of Cyclin D1 was determined with the combination of immunocytochemical staining and image analysis software. The nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB p65 was determined with immunofluorescence staining. Among the concentrations ranged from 40 to 160 mmol L(-1), taurine significantly inhibited p-PKCalpha expression. Taurine increased p27 expression and inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB p65 in CFb (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively) by inhibition of p-PKCalpha expression. And PKC inhibitor (Che) could improve the inhibitory action of taurine on CFb proliferation. The effects of taurine on CFb proliferation might be due to inhibition of p-PKCalpha expression and p27 expression increase and the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB p65 inhibition followed.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; metabolism ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; drug effects ; Protein Kinase C-alpha ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Signal Transduction ; Taurine ; pharmacology ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism

This study aims to investigate the genetic characteristics of BZLF1 gene and its promoter Zp of the epidemic strains in children with primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated diseases. Total DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of 134 children with EBV-associated infectious mononucleosis (EBV-IM) and 32 children with EBV-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH) who were admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital from 2006 to 2011. The EBNA3C, BZLF1, and Zp genes were amplified by PCR assay. Typing of EBV was performed according to the size of the amplification product of EBNA3C gene; the amplification products of BZLF1 and Zp genes were subjected to direct sequencing, and sequence analysis was performed using BioEdit 7. 0. 9. The results were as follows: (1) EBV-1 was present in 140 samples (97.2%, 140/144) and EBV-II in 4 samples (2.8%, 4/144). (2) Three BZLF1 genotypes and their 12 subtypes (including 6 newly found subtypes) were detected in this study; there were no significant differences in the frequencies of BZLF1-A and BZLF1-B between the children with EBV-IM and EBV-HLH (P = 0.083); BZLF1-A1 was the dominant genotype in children with EBV-associated diseases; t BZLF1-A mostly had three 29-bp repeats in the first intron of BZLF1 gene, and BZLF1-B mostly had 30-bp repeats (P = 0.000), with the number of repeats varying from 1 to 13. (3) Four Zp genotypes were detected in this study, including Zp-P, Zp-V3, Zp-V4, and Zp-V1; there were no significant differences in the frequencies of these Zp genotypes between children with EBV-IM and EBV-HLH (P = 0.272, 0.252, 1.0, and 1.0, respectively). (4) The linkage analysis of BZLF1 gene and its promoter Zp showed that BZLF1-A1 was highly associated with Zp-V3 (P = 0.000), while BZLF1-B4 with Zp-P (P = 0.000); EBV-I + BZLF1 A1 was highly associated with Zp-V3 (P = 0.000), while EBV-I+BZLF1-B4 with Zp-P (P = 0.000). The conclusions are as follows: (1) BZLF1-A1 is the dominant genotype in children with EBV-associated diseases; there are mostly 29-bp repeats in the first intron of BZLF1 gene for BZLF1-A genotype and 30-bp repeats for BZLF1-B genotype. (2) Zp-P and Zp-V3 are dominant Zp genotypes of EBV in children, which shared similar detection rates. (3) BZLF1-A1 is highly associated with Zp-V3, while BZLF1-B4 with Zp-P; EBV-I+BZLF1-A1 is highly associated with Zp-V3, while EBV-I+BZLF1-B4 with Zp-P.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Female ; Genotype ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; genetics ; physiology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Introns ; genetics ; Male ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; genetics ; Trans-Activators ; genetics

Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue (GHS) receptor, stimulates feeding and increases body weight. The primary action site of ghrelin has been reported to be the neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC). In addition to the hypothalamus, the caudal brainstem also appears to be an important mediator for the orexigenic activity of ghrelin. However, it is not clear whether ghrelin applied directly to the caudal brainstem activates forebrain structures. The aim of this study was to determine whether recruitment of forebrain structures was required for hyperphagic responses stimulated by ghrelin delivery within the caudal brainstem. In our experiment, all rats were surgically implanted with indwelling cannulas in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), and ghrelin (20 pmol in 0.5 μL) was delivered to the DVC. After the injection, the orexigenic response to ghrelin was recorded by Feeding and Activity Analyser, and NPY/AgRP mRNA expressions in rat hypothalamus were detected by real-time PCR. In addition, the NPY immunoreactive neurons in the ARC were assayed by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that ghrelin significantly increased cumulative food intake at 1, 2 and 3 h after ghrelin injection, maximal response occurring at 2 h after injection. NPY/AgRP mRNA levels in ARC treated with ghrelin increased significantly compared with those in control group (injected with saline). The highest levels of NPY and AgRP mRNA were detected at 2 h after injection. The total number and mean optical density of NPY-positive neurons increased in ghrelin treated rats compared with those in control group. Consistently, ghrelin's effect was most pronounced at 2 h after injection. Taken together, we conclude that the activation of NPY/AgRP neurons in the ARC is involved in the mediation of the hyperphagic response to brainstem ghrelin administration in neurologically intact rats.
Agouti-Related Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; physiology ; Brain Stem ; metabolism ; physiology ; Feeding Behavior ; drug effects ; Ghrelin ; pharmacology ; Hyperphagia ; physiopathology ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; physiology ; Male ; Neurons ; metabolism ; physiology ; Neuropeptide Y ; genetics ; metabolism ; Peptide Fragments ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To investigate the relation between recurrent hemorrhage and both ultrastructural features of vascular and expressions of angiopoietin 1 (Ang-l),CD68 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in intracranial cavernous hemangioma.Methods Thirty-five intracranial cavernous hemangioma samples,35 hepatic cavernous malformation samples and 4 normal brain tissues were chosen in our study; the ultrastructural features of vascular were observed with optical microscope and electron microscope; immunohistochemical methods were used to analyze the expressions of Ang-1,CD68 and MMP-9.Results The vascular wall was very thin in intracranial eavemous hemangioma samples,only with thin monolayer of endothelial cells and adventitia,but without basal lamina and elastic layer; gap junctions were obviously observed between endothelial cells; basement membrane showed unintelligible,and a large number of high electron density of sediment was presented at the surrounding blood vessels.Tissues from intracranial cavernous hemangioma obviously expressed higher levels of CD68 and MMP-9 than the normal brain tissues (P＜0.05); Rank correlation analysis indicated that the expressions of CD68 and MMP-9 had a high degree of positive correlation (r=0.870,P=0.000).Tissues from intracranial cavernous hemangioma expressed less Ang-1 than normal brain tissues without significant difference (P＞0.05).Conclusion The vascular structural and functional defection and instability in patients with cavernous hemangioma provide favorable conditions for the happaning of recurrent hemorrhage; and high expressions of CD68 and MMP-9 are closely related with recurrent hemorrhage.

Natural killer (NK) cells can suppress the development of graft vs host disease (GVHD) while retaining antitumor response in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 5 (S1PR5) can regulate NK cell migration and distribution in vivo by interacting with sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). This study was aimed to investigate S1PR5 expression change of NK cells in allo-HSCT and to explore the relationship between S1PR5 change and frequency of acute/chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD/cGVHD). The S1PR5 expression was detected by real time quantitative PCR in the RNA extracted from blood NK cells of 17 couples of donor and recipient one month after allo-HSCT. The results showed that S1PR5 mRNA level variations in NK cells of donors and recipients post-allo-HSCT were not statistically significant (0.235 ± 0.191 vs 0.330 ± 0.261, P > 0.05). S1PR5 expression of NK cells was significantly lower in patients with aGVHD than those in patient without aGVHD (0.973 ± 0.834 vs 6.166 ± 5.32, P < 0.05). Compared with the corresponding donor, S1PR5 expression levels of patient declined by more than 10 that caused the high incidence of aGVHD. No significant correlation was found between S1PR5 expression of NK cells and cGVHD (3.401 ± 2.324 vs 2.762 ± 1.972, P > 0.05). It is concluded that the decreased expression level of NK cells S1PR5 is associated with aGVHD occurrence. Possible mechanism is due to S1PR5 low expression affecting distribution of NK cells in vivo, so affecting the regulation of NK cells for aGVHD.
Graft vs Host Disease ; blood ; epidemiology ; metabolism ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; metabolism ; Receptors, Lysosphingolipid ; metabolism ; Transplantation, Homologous ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo assess the diagnostic value of the simplified gonadorelin stimulation test for precocious puberty.

METHODSTwo hundred and ninety-two girls with signs of advanced breast development received the gonadorelin stimulation test. According to the result of gonadorelin stimulation test, the girls were divided into 3 groups: 151 with central precocious puberty (CPP),119 with premature thelarche (PT) and 22 with peripheral precocious puberty (PPP).

RESULTSLH or FSH levels at 15 min, 30 min, 60 min in PPP group were not significantly different (P>0.05). Those were significantly different in PT group (P<0.01). The highest levels of LH were at 30 min and the highest levels of FSH were at 60 min. LH or FSH levels at 15 min, 30 min, 60 min in CPP group were significantly different (P<0.01) with the highest levels at 30 min. The ratio of basal LH and FSH >0.2 had a diagnostic sensitivity of 48.3 % and specificity of 69.7%. Taking the LH/FSH ratio >0.9 at 15 min, 30 min, 60 min as cut-off value, the diagnostic sensitivity was 80.1%, 68.9% and 38.4%, and the specificity was 90.8%, 96.6% and 69.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe LH/FSH ratio>0.9 at 15 min after gonadorelin stimulation test can be used as a cut-off value to differentiate CPP from PT and blood sample at 60 min were not necessary.

Child ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Gonadotropins ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Puberty, Precocious ; diagnosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo investigate clinical effect, liver pathohistological changes (including pathology, HBV markers in liver tissue) in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

METHODS70 patients of chronic hepatitis B were administered 100 mg Lamivudine orally daily for 1 year. The serum HBV-DNA, HBeAg/anti-HBe, hepatic chemistry and the hepatic fibrosis markers were studied. The needle biopsy of liver were performed in 35 patients before and after treatment and Knodell pathological score were done, HBsAg, HBcAg, alpha-SMA in liver tissue were examined by immunohistochemistry method.

RESULTSAfter 1 year treatment the full response rate, partial response rate and no response rate were 23.72%, 69.49% and 6.78%, the patients in whom HBeAg seroconversion had higher base-line Alanine aminotransferase levels than the patients without seroconversion. Activity index of hepatic histology in 41.18% patients had a significant decrease. Histological assessment revealed that necrosis in portal area, pylenphlebitis and fibrosis were obviously alleviated. The liver immunohistochemistry examination showed HBcAg and alpha-SMA in liver decreased significantly in the patients with HBeAg seroconversion, no obvious alteration was observed in HBsAg expression. Lamivudine seems an effective compound with high safety and low side effect.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggested that lamivudine (100mg/d) could suppress HBV-DNA replication, promote ALT normalization, accelerate HBeAg/anti-HBe seroconversion, improve the liver pathological changes, slow down the development of liver fibrosis

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Biopsy, Needle ; Child ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Liver ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome