OBJECTIVETo observe the correlation between constitution of yin deficiency syndrome (YDS) and polymorphism of HLA-DQA1/treatment response of Peg-lFNalpha therapy in HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, and to explore constitution of Chinese medicine (CM) in response of interferon therapy.

METHODSTotally 120 HBeAg positive CHB patients who were treated with Peg-IFNalpha were enrolled, and assigned to YDS group (59 cases) and non-YDS group (61 cases) according to classification of CM constitutions. All patients were subcutaneously injected with Peg-IFNalpha-2b (1.0 microg/kg body weight) or Peg-IFNalpha-2a (180 microg), once per week. Effective efficacy was primarily judged when complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) was obtained at month 6. Those with CR or PR completed 1 year therapeutic course. HLA-DQA1 gene types were detected by polymerase chain reaction sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP). The distribution difference of CM constitutions in patients with CR or PR and their inter-group HLA-DQA1 allele frequency were compared.

RESULTSDifferent treatment responses of Peg-IFNalpha were observed in CHB patients of two different CM constitutions. The ratio of CR + PR was 61.0% (36/59) in YDS group, obviously lower than that in NYDS group [78.7% (48/61), P < 0. 05]. Patients with CR had a lower allele frequency of HLA-DQA1 * 0501 than those with no-response [14.8% (8/54) vs. 30.6% (22/72)] with statistical difference (P < 0.05). Patients with CR had a higher allele frequency of HLA-DQA1 * 0601 than those with no-response [18.5% (10/54) vs. 5.6% (4/72)] with statistical difference (P < 0.05). The allele frequency of HLA-DQA1 * 0301 was lower in YDS group than in non-YDS group [2. 5% (3/118) vs. 9.8% (12/122)] with statistical difference (P < 0.05). The allele frequency of HLA-DQA1 * 0501 was higher in YDS group than in non-YDS group [33.9% (40/118) vs. 18.9% (23/122)] with statistical difference (P < 0.05). Yet statistical significance was lost after adjustment (Pc > 0.05 for both).

CONCLUSIONSBoth constitutions of CM and HLA-DQA1 gene polymorphism af- fect HBeAg positive CHB patients' response to Peg-INFalpha. Constitutions of YDS and HLA-DQA1 * 0501 was not favorable to response, their association needed to be further studied.

Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Gene Frequency ; HLA-DQ alpha-Chains ; genetics ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Polyethylene Glycols ; therapeutic use ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Recombinant Proteins ; therapeutic use ; Remission Induction ; Yin Deficiency ; genetics

Objective To understand the pattern of children injuries treated in hospitals and to provide evidence for its further prevention and control. Methods Data of children cases was descriptively analyzed from the Chinese National Injury Surveillance System (NISS), from 2006 to 2008. Results The incidence rates of boys were twice (2.22,2.15,2.15 ) higher than girls. About one half (50.74% ,49.75% ,49.75%) of them were 5-14 year of age. The main causes were falls (44.14%,45.68%, 47.15% ), RTIs (15.71%, 14.46%, 13.79% ), and blunt force injuries (13.20%, 12.92%,12.40% ). Main locations where the injuries happened were at home (34.96%, 36.86%, 38.84% ),school and public places (24.72%, 19.80%,21.19%) ,and road/street (21.21%, 19.63%, 19.33%). The major injured body parts were head (34.88%, 35.84%, 37.07% ), upper limbs (28.00%, 28.21%,27.81% ) and lower limbs (21.86%, 21.49%, 21.31% ). The majority cases were unintentional (93.01%, 92.66%, 90.58% ), minor (78.50%, 81.20%, 81.52% ) injuries, treated and discharged (82.37%, 85.19%, 84.84% ). There were considerable differences in the distributions of causes,locations, injured body parts, and other contexts depending on age. Conclusion The pattern of children' s injury would include causes, places and other characteristics treated at hospitals from NISS and was related to the age of the injured child which was quite different from the spectrum of death caused by injury. NISS acts as an important source of information on children's injury in China, and can contribute to the prevention and control program on children' s injury.

Objective To study the preventive strategies through analyzing the poisoning cases from the National Injury Surveillance System (NISS), from 2006 to 2008. Methods Data of poisoning cases was descriptively analyzed from Chinese NISS, from 2006 to 2008. Results The proportion of poisoning cases to all injuries cases from NISS were 2.57%, 2.48% and 2.52% from 2006 to 2008, which ranked sixth in all the injuries causes. Most people being poisoned had junior middle school education and most of them were agriculture/animal husbandry/fishery/water producers or commercial/service personnel. Most of the poisoning incidents were happened at home, always occurred in leisure time - around 8 PM, every day. The common types of poisoning were alcohol,clinical drugs, pesticide and carbon monoxide. Unintentional injuries were the main causes. Self-harm/suicidal cases in the rural areas were more than in the urban areas, with women more than men. The main type of self-harm/suicide related poisoning cases were through drugs or pesticide. ≥65, 15-29and 30-44 year-olds were most commonly seen. Conclusion Alcoholism was the primary type of poisoning injuries which is the highest in young adults ( 15-29 years and 30-44 years). It's important to promote civilized drinking habits and limit access to alcohol for youth. Self-harm/suicide had close relationship with clinical drugs and pesticide. The key points to prevent pesticide and clinical drugs poisoning were safe storage of pesticides, universal security of pesticide, and the supervision on drug producing and marketing. Children and the elderly were the high risk people for carbon monoxide poisoning. Monitoring and intervention must be strengthened.

Objective: To investigate the function and mechanism of phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1) in cell-matrix adhesion in colorectal cancer. Methods: Highly metastatic colorectal cancer cell line LoVo and lowly metastatic colorectal cancer cell line SW480 were subjected to cell-matrix adhesion assay. U73122 (a specific inhibitor of PLC) and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) (an inhibitor of NF-κB) were used to study the effect of PLCγ1 and NF-κB on cell-matrix adhesion. Furthermore, Western blot and gel electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA) were performed to detect the mechanism of PLCγ1 in colorectal cancer cell adhesion to matrix. Results: Inhibition of PLCγ1 or NF-κB resulted in reduction of cell-matrix adhesion in a dose-dependent manner in LoVo cells(P<0.05), but had no marked effect on SW480 cells. Western blot analysis showed that epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated the phosphorylation of PLCγ1 in LoVo. The results of EMSA indicated that inhibition of PLCγ1 signaling pathway also down-regulated the activity of NF-κB while EGF reversed the function. Conclusion:These data suggest that PLCγ1 plays a pivotal role in the EGF-induced cell-matrix adhesion of highly metastatic colorectal cancer cells and that NF-κB is also functional in this signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVETo determine the origin of Rana temporaria for quality Oviduetus Ranae in the light of historical documents and modern researches on the classification of Rana temporaria chensinensis.

METHODWorks of Chinese meteria medica of all ages, related historical documents and reports from home and abroad on researches of R. temporaria chensinensis were consulted, sorted out, analyzed and summarized.

RESULTThe original Shange recorded in the works of Chinese meteria medica is R. temporaria chensinensis, which is the independent species, not one of species of European forest frogs. R. temporaria chensinensis is divided into 4 subspecies: R. temporaria chensinensis, Lanzhou, Kangding, and Changbaishan. The origin of R. temporaria is Changbaishan subspecies of R. temporaria chensinensis.

CONCLUSIONChangbaishan subspecies of R. temporaria chensinensis is determined as the origin for quality Oviduetus Ranae.

Animals ; Female ; History, 18th Century ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; History, Ancient ; Materia Medica ; history ; isolation & purification ; Oviducts ; chemistry ; Rana temporaria ; anatomy & histology ; Ranidae ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; Species Specificity ; Terminology as Topic

Objective To investigate the frequency of CD4~+CD25~+FoxP3~+regulatory T cells (Treg)and the expression of the functional protein,FoxP3,in patients with active tuberculosis and the relationship between Treg and the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.Methods Forty-five patients with active tuberculosis(including 25 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 tuberculous lymphadenitis), 20 healthy controls,20 recovered tuberculosis patients and 6 patients with reactive hyperplasia in cer- vical lymph node were enrolled.The frequency of CD4~+ CD25~+ FoxP3~+ Treg in the peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry.FoxP3 mRNA expression was determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and the expression of FoxP3 protein in lymphoid tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results The frequency of natural Treg in the peripheral blood from the patients with active tuberculosis was 2.91%?0.23%,which was signifi- cantly higher than that of healthy control group(1.22%?0.18%)and recovered tuberculosis patients(1.50%?0.17%,P

Objective To evaluate left ventricular function in patients with hypertensive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HHC)using real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Thirty patients with HHC and 32 control subjects were studied.Full-volume RT-3DE data from apical window were acquired,and regional volumetric time curves of 17 segments were obtained by fast 3-dimensional border detection software.Several left ventricular function parameters were calculated semiautomatically,including global left ventricular end-diastolic volume(EDV),end-systolic volume(ESV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),the ratio of ESV/EDV of 17 segments,the standard deviation(SD)and difference(Dif)(adjusted by the R-R interval) of time to minimum systolic volume(Tmsv)in 16 segments(Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif).Results EDV and ESV were significantly larger in patients with HHC than that in control subjects[(88±29)ml vs (72±15) ml,t=-2.680,P=0.008;(28±10)ml vs (22±6 )ml,t=-2.613,P=0.01].HHC had a higher ratio of ESV/EDV at interventricular septum(IVS)compared with control group[mid-segments of anterior IVS:(40.51±20.28)% vs (26.43±10.10)%,t=-3.378,P=0.002;mid-segments of posterior IVS:(41.44±23.55)% vs (24.46±8.12)%,t=-3.688,P=0.001;apical segments of IVS:(30.96±21.31)% vs (19.53±7.33)%,t=-2.745,P=0.01].In patients with HHC,Tmsv16-SD and Tmsv16-Dif were significantly longer[(2.48±1.38)% vs (1.16±0.26)%,t=-5.117,P＜0.001;(7.67±5.07)% vs (3.95±1.48)%,t=-3.865,P＜0.001].And the prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony was higher than that in control subjects(43% vs 3%).Conclusions HHC patients may have regional left ventricular systolic dysfunction before global changes,and have a higher prevalence of left ventricular dyssynchrony.RT-3DE is a useful imaging modality for assessing left ventricular systolic function.

OBJECTIVETo investigate if the interaction between TGF-beta1/Smad pathway and ERK pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells exists.

METHODSThe rat arota was removed. The primary VSMC were isolated and cultured in vitro, then the VSMC were divided into four groups: (1) control group, (2) (TGF-beta1 group, (3) ERK blocking agent group, (4) TGF-beta1 + ERK blocking agent group. The expression of Smad2/3, ERK1/2 proteins, the content of phosphorylated ERK1/2 and Smad2/3 proteins were detected by Western blot, and the expression of Smad2/3 mRNA was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) .

RESULTS(1) In contrast to control group, the content of phosphorylated Smad2/3 and phosphorylated ERK1/2 proteins in TGF-beta1 group was increased (P < 0.05), that in ERK blocking agent group was decreased (P < 0.05). There was no difference between control group and TGF-beta1 + ERK blocking agent group. Compared with TGF-beta1 group, the contents of phosphorylated Smad2/3 and phosphorylated ERK1/2 proteins in TGF-beta1 + ERK blocking agent group was decreased (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the expression of Smad2/3 and ERK1/2 proteins among different groups. (2) There were no differences in expression of Smad2 and Smad3 mRNA among different groups.

CONCLUSION(1) TGF-beta1 can induce Smad2/3 proteins to be phosphorylated dependent on the activated ERK pathway. (2) ERK pathway does not effect the expression of Smad2/3 at the level of protein and mRNA.

Animals ; Aorta ; cytology ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; physiology ; Male ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; physiology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; physiology ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Signal Transduction ; Smad Proteins ; metabolism ; physiology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; physiology

Objective To analyze the injury characteristics, using data from the National Injury Surveillance System (NISS), 2006 to 2008, to develop a injury prevention strategy. Methods 129 hospitals from 43 surveillance points in NISS were selected according to the DSP sample framework, also considering the capacity of local CDC. Results Relative information on 1 318 739cases were analyzed. The number of male cases were more than the females. The top three causes of injuries were as follows: falls (28.02%,29.36%,30.12%), traffic-related (23.07%,21.61%,21.44%)and blunt injuries (21.46%, 21.17%, 20.59% ). The major places where injuries occurred were: road/street (29.80%, 27.73%, 28.37% ) and at home (21.51%, 22.80%, 24.02% ). Recreation activities (35.63%, 41.93%, 42.13% ) and at work (24.43%, 22.60%, 21.44% ) were the two major activities when injuries took place. Most injury cases were unintentional (83.81%, 86.32%, 86.71% ) and mild (70.42%, 74.79%, 73.90% ). Rush hours that caused injuries to happen were between 7 to 10 AM.Conclusion Male injury cases were more than females. Falls, road traffic-related and blunt injuries were the major causes, with most of them were unintentional and minor.

Objective To describe the distribution of injuries among the elderly through hospital based National Injury Surveillance System (NISS), and to provide basic information for prevention of injury among the elderly. Methods Data on injuries among the elderly aged 60 years and above was descriptively analyzed from the Chinese NISS from 2006 to 2008. Using the data of NISS from 2006 to 2008, information was collected on those cases who were diagnosed as injuries for the first-time in the site hospitals. Information included demographic characteristics, features of the injury events, and clinical characteristics of injuries. SPSS 16.0 software was used for data analysis.Results The leading causes of injuries among the elderly were: falls, road traffic injuries, and blunt injuries, which were in total accounting for more than 70% of all the injuries among the elderly. Most of the injuries occurred at home (46.25 %, 44.44%, 46.23 % ), on the roads ( 30.95%, 28.51%, 28.61% )and in the public residences (8.89%, 11.57%, 11.25% ). Recreation activates (42.14%, 48.09%,48.59%) ,housework/study (21.15%, 18.21%, 18.15%) and driving (13.67%, 13.80%, 13.56%) were the three major activities when injuries took place. Most injuries among the elderly were unintentional (91.34%, 92.84%, 93.09% ). The leading causes of suicide of the elderly were poisoning and sharp injury. The most common natures of injuries were bruise (36.07%, 38.18%, 38.50% ), fractures (25.65%, 22.47%, 23.77% ), and sharp/bite/open injuries ( 17.19%, 18.21%, 17.46% ) while the most injured part of bodies were head (26.32%, 25.59%, 25.90%), lower limbs (25.74%, 25.70%, 25.26%)and upper limbs (21.01%,21.14%,21.37%). Most of the injuries were minor ones (60.53%,65.09%,63.58% ), and patients mostly went home after treatment (64.11%, 68.53%, 67.99% ). Conclusion According to NISS, the proportion of injuries among the elderly in all injuries kept increasing from 2006 to 2008, while distribution of injuries among the elderly being stable. Falls was the most common injury type for the elderly which also brought along bad outcome. Falls was the priority for injury prevention among the elderly.