Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Teratoma ; pathology

Objective To investigate the effects of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) on Src-suppressed C Kinase Substrate(SSeCKS) in cultured astrocytes. Methods Purified astrocytes were randomly divided into three groups:control group,singly stressed and multiple stressed groups.The expression of SSeCKS was detected by Real time RT-PCR and Western blotting,while immunocytochemistry was used to investigate the subcellular localization of it. Results Real time RT-PCR indicated that,after 12 hours incubation,both 100 ?g/L and 1mg/L LPS were able to elevate the levels of SSeCKS mRNA compared with control group,while 1mg/L LPS did not have a stronger effect than 100 ?g/L.Western blotting analysis showed 100 ?g/L LPS significantly increased the expression of SSeCKS.In time response experiments,the levels of SSeCKS expression enhanced three hours after the stimulation,peaked at the sixth hour,coincident with its rapid phosphorylation,and remained high until the 24th hour.Immunocytochemistry suggested a perinuclear translocation of SSeCKS,while the PKC inhibitor RO-31-8220 blocked it.Conclusion In cultured astrocytes,LPS can enhance the expression of SSeCKS,increase its phosphorylation level and change its subcellular localization.These effects are correlated with the PKC pathway,which indicates SSeCKS might participate in the signal transduction of inflammation in cultured astrocytes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the feasibility of endoscopic sinus surgery under local anesthesia.METHODS A total of 810 patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery from January 2000 to December 2007 with complete follow-up data were included in this study.Validity of anesthesia was evaluated using VAS(visual analogous scale).Operation time,bleeding quantity during operation,operation therapeutic efficacy,hospitalization cost and patient's evaluation to the operation were recorded.RESULTS The mean VAS score of local anesthesia was 3.18?0.46.Cases with no pain and mild pain accounted for 78.28%,with moderate pain 16.71%,and with severe pain 5.01%.The average bleeding quantity during operation,operation time,complication incidence,cure rate at 6 months after operation,hospitalization cost,patients' evaluation in local anesthesia were(43.25?27.46)ml,(41.14?9.479) min,1.78%,78%,4000～6000 yuan(RMB),9.28? 2.21 respectively.CONCLUSION For the endoscopic sinus surgery,most cases can be operated under local anesthesia if the indication were selected correctly and the sophisticated skills and advanced instrument were available.

Objective To investigate symptom characteristics and their their prevalence in terminally ill patients with ovarian carcinoma.Methods A retrospective study was carried out based on clinical data of 98 terminally ill patients with ovarian carcinoma who died in our hospital during January 1995 to December 2004.Fifteen most common symptoms were analyzed with a focus on the followings:symptom incidence,survival time after symptom occurrence,regularity of symptom cluster,and common causes of death.Fifteen symptoms were:pain,cachexia,pleural effusion and ascites,dyspnea,fever,intestinal obstruction,renal failure,bone marrow depression,lung infection,hemorrhage,deep venous thrombosis (DVT),intestinal or pancreatic fistula,mycotic infection,jaundice and emergency conditions.Results (1)The most prevalent symptom was pleural effusion and ascites(63%),followed by pain(60%), cachexia(59%),dyspnea(52%)and intestinal obstruction(49 %).(2)The symptom which lasted longest survival time was mycotic infection(77 days),followed by intestinal or pancreatic fistula(75 days), intestinal obstruction(67 days),pain(60 days)and eachexia(60 days).Symptoms such as bone marrow depression,renal failure,dyspnea and emergency conditions were comparatively critical associated with shorter survival times(14,13,12,7 days,respectively).(3)Terminal symptoms occurred typically in clusters,with 4.9?1.5 symptoms per case.Of 98 cases,84 cases(86%)had 4 or more symptoms,with the median survival time of 63 days from the last day of anti-cancer therapy,and a slow death process.The remaining 14 cases(14%)with 3 or fewer symptoms survived only 25 days,of which 10 cases(71%)died of emergency diseases.The survival time for two groups was significantly different(P

OBJECTIVE:To provide reference for improving the education of rational drug use and skills for clinical medical students in the internship period. METHODS:Teachers in the respiratory department of our hospital took part in training interns and clinical pharmacists took part in teaching rounds to train about medication education and skills,including linking up the theoret-ical knowledge of rational drug use,training of skills about issuing rational prescriptions and judging drug information,guiding to participate in the education of rational use of drugs to patients and evaluating the knowledge and skill of rational drug use. RE-SULTS & CONCLUSIONS:Carrying out rational drug use education in practice will improve the mastery of knowledge of rational drug use,enhance the awareness of rational drug use and the idea,which is helpful for achieving the irrational drug use in clinical practice,and improve the overall quality of medical services. but there still remain some problems to be explored.

Objective To understand the running status and distribution of water-improving pmjects in Anda city.Methods The running and management of the water-improving projects were investigated and located the position by Global Positioning Systerm(GPS)in Anda city.Results Among 317 water-improving projects,16.09%were either long-term projects or in poor management or had already stopped usage,77 projeets were broken,accounting for 24.29%;all inadequate supply of equipment and pipeline,83 projects had never been started,accounting for 26.18%;now,106 projects were running,accounting for 33.44%.In only 46 projects,the water fluoride concentration was lower than 1.00 mg/L,accounting for 14.51%,as a result 36 thousand people benefited.Conclusions The running status of water-improving projects was unacceptable,most of them stopped running and endemic fluorosis control was still severe in Anda city.

Objective To investigate characteristics and alternation of cerebral evoked potentials (CEP) response to esophageal mucosal acid exposure and distention in patients with non-erosive gastro-oesoph- ageal reflux disease (NERD) and in healthy subjects,and to study the mechanism of visceral hypersensitivity in NERD.Methods Twenty-one NERD patients and 10 volunteers were recruited.Mechanical distention stimulation and acid perfusion of the esophagus were performed using the balloon-affixed and polyvinyl multi- lumen catheter.First,maximally tolerated pain thresholds of all subjects were recorded,then esophageal mechanical stimulation with a 75% of maximal tolerated intensity and a frequency of 0.2 Hz was performed altogether 64 times by means of a computer-controlled barostat.The alternation of esophageal CEP was recorded before and after acid perfusion with a multichannel international 10-20 system of electroencephalography. Experimental data was analyzed by student's t-test and one way analysis of variance.Results Esophageal mu- cosal distention may evoke recognizable and reproducible and multi-peak CEP.The latencies for N1,P1 and N2 in volunteers were (246?77),(388?84)and (502?78) ms,CEP morphology of NERD patients was charac- terized by randomly distributed patterns,and the latencies for N1 ,P1 and N2 were (192?46),(293?76) and (440?79)ms,significantly shorter for mechanical stimulation compared with those of control group respectively (all P value

Background As the only active component in final treatment phase of Tip-Edge Plus technique,the activation of nickel-titanium orthodontic archwires is one of the factors that affect the torque expression.It is necessary to evaluate the mechanical properties of the nickel-titanium wire used in the final treatment phase in simulated oral environments to forecast the treatment outcomes.Methods The mechanical properties of 171 thermal nickel-titanium wires of 0.35 mm (0.014-in) in diameters with different deflection of 40 mm in length were investigated with three-point bending test.The samples were divided into 2 groups:as-received and bended groups.In the bended group,samples were divided into 7 subgroups according to the amounts of deflection and named by the canine angulations (-25°,-19°,-13°,-7°,-1°,+5°,+11°).The deflection of wires was made by inserting the wires into the deep tunnel of Tip-Edge Plus brackets positioned in plaster casts with different canine angulations to mimic the use of nickel-titanium wires in the final treatment phase.Immersed the bended group in artificial saliva (pH 6.8) and preserved at 37.0°C.Eight durations of incubation were tested:1 to 8 weeks.Three analogous samples of each group and subgroups were tested per week.Stiffness (YS:E) and the load-deflection characteristics of unloading plateau section were obtained.Results Significant changes in specific mechanical properties were observed in long-term immersed and large deflected wires compared with as-received groups.Both immersion time and deflection affected the mechanical properties of wires in the simulated oral environment,and the two factors had synergistic effect.In groups-25°,-19° and -13°,stiffness (YS:E) increased then decreased and average plateau force and ratio of variance decreased then increased correspondingly at specific time.Conclusions In the final treatment phase of Tip-Edge Plus technique,the mechanical properties of nickel-titanium wire are associated with the using time and amounts of deflection and it may affect treatment outcomes.As the main reason for wire deflection,canine crown angulation plays an important role in the wire performance.It may be wise to focus on the canine crown angulations and using time in clinic with Tip-Edge Plus technique and make proper adjustment to help to make sure the treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVETo localize susceptibility loci in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort by linkage disequilibrium mapping the genomic interval in human chromosome 16 so as to understand whether the pathogenesis of human SLE is related to chromosome 16.

METHODSFive microsatellite markers in chromosome 16 spanning from 57.79 cM to 65.1 cM were used for fluorescence based genotyping in 157 SLE families. Evidence for linkage disequilibrium was assessed using the extended transmission disequilibrium test (ETDT) program and Genehunter software. Susceptibility gene was searched in the positive locus, and real-time PCR method was used to detect gene expression.

RESULTSWith the ETDT, evidence for linkage disequilibrium of the marker D16S409 (P=0.0278) and D16S517 (P<0.0001) with SLE were found. It was observed that 271 bp allele of D16S517 was much in evidence for preferential transmission, while 277 bp allele was found to be transmitted less often than expected. Genehunter analysis is concordant with ETDT. By real-time PCR, OAZ(OLF1/ EBF-associated zinc finger protein) gene which is located in the positive locus showed higher expression in SLE patients than in normal controls.

CONCLUSIONResults reveal that 16q12 (58.46 cM) is associated with Chinese SLE. OAZ is a likely susceptibility gene in this locus for SLE.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Alleles ; China ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16 ; genetics ; Cohort Studies ; DNA ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; genetics ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUNDTuberous sclerosis (TS) is an autosomal dominant disorder with a significant range of clinical expressions. The involvement of vital organs, such as the brain, kidney, heart and lung is the main cause of death in patients with TS. The aim of this study is to summarize the characteristic cutaneous features and common extracutaneous involvement of TS, which are helpful to the early detection of visceral involvement.

METHODSThe analyzed clinical data from 78 patients with TS included those from detailed history, physical and dermatological examination, cranial computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), abdominal ultrasonography, chest roentgenography, hand and foot X-ray and ophthalmologic examination.

RESULTSThe skin, brain and kidney were involved frequently in TS patients. Hypomelanotic macules were the most common and earliest cutaneous lesions. Their number was more than 3 in 81.5% of the patients. They were followed by facial angiofibromas and Shangreen's patch in a decreasing frequency. Forehead plaque, facial angiofibromas and Shagreen's patch appeared in patients at mean age of 2.6, 6.0 and 8.1 years respectively. Cranial CT showed a high positive rate in TS patients.

CONCLUSIONSCutaneous features of TS are helpful in the early diagnosis of the disease. Hypomelanotic macules are especially important for patients with epilepsy or babies whose number of hypomelanotic macules is more than 3. Cranial CT is of great value in the diagnosis of TS. The involvement of visceral organs such as the brain and kidney should be examined in TS patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Angiomyolipoma ; etiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Kidney Neoplasms ; etiology ; Male ; Radiography ; Skin ; pathology ; Tuberous Sclerosis ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology