Human Growth Hormone ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Aged ; Arthralgia ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Humans ; Oxides ; pharmacology ; Point Mutation

sers should offer good care in mental, physical, social aspects to improve their comfortable state.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of paraquat (PQ) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and neutrophil apoptosis and its possible signal transduction pathways.

METHODSCultured neutrophils were treated with different concentrations of PQ for 6-24 h. The apoptosis rate of neutrophils and ROS content were determined by flow cytometry. The exoressions of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and Caspase 3 were detected by Western blot. These parameters were checked again after NF-κB and Caspase 3 antagonist were applied.

RESULTSPQ could boost ROS generation and depress neutrophil apoptosis significantly. At the same time PQ could enhance the expression of NF-κB and inhibit the expression of Caspase 3. These effects could be reversed by ROS inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) and NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC).

CONCLUSIONPQ is a potent inducer of ROS and can inhibit neutrophil apoptosis by activating NF-κB and surpressing Caspase 3 activity.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Neutrophils ; cytology ; drug effects ; Paraquat ; toxicity ; Pyrrolidines ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Thiocarbamates ; pharmacology

Adult ; Bone Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Curettage ; methods ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Cell Tumor of Bone ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Sacrum ; Time ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the characteristic of ?-amyloid precursor protein (A?) processing in activated platelet in AD.Methods Thirty-six sporadic AD patients and 30 control subjects were included in this study.Blood was collected from the subjects to separate platelets.After treated by thrombin,the soluble amyloid precursor protein (APP) level in the snpernatants of platelets from 36 were analyzed by means of western blot with a specific antibody recognizing soluble APP.Meanwhile A? level was measured by radioimmunoassay.Results After treated with thrombin,the level of soluble APP in the supernatants of platelets in patients with AD decreased by 31.0% (P

Objective To evaluate a new system,Vitek 2 Compact,for identification of bacteria and yeasts.Methods 185 clinical isolates of Peking Union Medical College Hospital,including 69 gram- positive strains,66 gram-negative strains and 50 yeasts,and 50 reference strains in our laboratory,including 25 gram-positive and gram-negative strains respectively,were studied.All the strains were identified by Vitek 2 Compact with GP,GN or YST identification cards.The API method was used as the reference method.Results Among the 93 gram-positive strains,85 strains(91.40%)were correctly identified, including 5 low discrimination identified strains,and 8 strains(8.60%)were correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.About 90% of gram-positive strains were identified within 7 h.Out of 91 gram-negative strains,90 strains(98.90%)were correctly identified,with 5 low discrimination identified strains,only 1 strain(1.1%)was correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.Above 90% of Enterobacteriaceae were identified within 5 h,and over 90% of nonfermenting bacteria were identified within 10 h.In the 50 strains of yeasts,46 strains(92%) were correctly identified,including 8 low discrimination identified strains,and 4 strains(8%)were correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.In all the yeasts,45 strains (90%)were identified in 18.25 h,and another 5 strains(10%)were identified in 18.50 h.Conclusions As Vitek 2 Compact system can give us reliable identification results of clinically relevant bacteria and yeasts,together with its significant reduction of handling time,it will definitely become a powerful tool in clinical microbiology laboratory.

Objective To evaluate a new system,Vitek 2 Compact,for antimicrobial susceptibility testing(AST)of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.Methods Eighty-nine clinical isolates of Peking Union Medical College Hospital,including 48 gram-negative strains and 41 gram-positive strains,and 66 reference strains kept in our laboratory,including 41 gram-negative strains and 25 gram-positive strains, were studied.The antimicrobial susceptibility of these strains were tested by Vitek 2 Compact with AST- GN09(for gram-negative bacteria),AST-P536(for Staphylococci),AST-P534(for Enterococci and S.agalactiae),and AST-P533(for S.pneumoniae)susceptibility cards.The Etest was used as the reference method for comparision.Thirty-two ESBL-producing strains assessed with the confirmatory tests for ESBLs of CLSI(16 strains of them had been confirmed by PCR amplified and sequencing)were detected for ESBLs by Vitek 2 Compact.Results According to the breakpoints of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI),for the 1 626 microorganism-antibiotic combinations,Vitek 2 Compact gave 90.83% strains with category agreement(CA),4.91% strains with very major errors(VME),2.09% strains with major errors (ME),6.40% minor errors(MIE).The AST for more than 90% of Enterobacteriaceae,nonfermenting bacteria,micrococci and streptococci were completed within 11h,13h,11h and 12h,respectively.The ESBLs tests for thirty-two strains by V-itek 2 Compact are all positive.Conclusions Vitek 2 Compact system can give rapid,reliable and reproducible result with high sensitivity and specificity in assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility testing for clinically relevant gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria,and would become a powerful tool in clinical microbiology laboratory.

AIM: To investigate the clinical effect for treating bullous keratopathy ( BK ) by anterior corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation.
METHODS: Totally 35 patients ( 35 eyes ) with bullous keratopathy were treated by corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation. All patients preoperative and postoperative underwent anterior segment OCT, corneal topography, corneal sensitivity and confocal microscopy. To observe postoperative ocular symptoms in patients with BK, recurrence of bulla, changes in corneal thickness, corneal sensitivity and changes in the organizational structure of the layers of the cornea.
RESULTS: Thirty-five were followed up for 6-18mo. The symptom of pain disappeared in 32 cases ( 91%) in the first day after operation and did not recur during follow-up. The symptom of pain relieved in 3 cases (9%) in the first day after operation and disappeared in 3 days. Corneal epithelium of 9 cases ( 26%) were all healed within 1wk, 21 cases (60%) were all healed within 2wk, and 5 cases (14%) were all healed within 3wk. Following up for 6-18mo, there was no recurrence of symptoms or bulla. A small amount of tiny bubbles in the surrounding area appeared in 2 cases after 3 and 4wk. All patients had no neovascularization, and had smooth corneal surface. The amnions of 30 cases (86%) were thinning after 2mo, partially dissolved and absorped, not seen with the naked eye after 3mo. Thirty-four cases (97%) had no changes in vision, one case (3%) was from the light to front of the manual. After 2mo, corneal sensation decreased in 30 cases ( 86%) , corneal thickness increased from preoperative 788±35μm to 940±43μm. After 12mo, corneal thickness increased to 1060±27μm. Results of confocal microscopy: after 3mo, the number density of the trigeminal nerve fibers under corneal basement membrane reduced, shallow stromal cells became into fibrotic stroma, deep stroma was more loose, and cells swelled significantly. The number of endothelial cells reduced and form swelled more obviously compared with preoperatively.
CONCLUSION: Corneal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation can effectively control the symptoms of BK, prevent the recurrence of BK, and especially it is a simple, safe and practical way for patients with poor visual function.