Objective To review the experience of modified sternal elevation in management of pectus excavatum deformities. Methods A retrospective study was carried out on 268 children with pectus excavatum deformities from January 2002 to December 2005.Of these patients,213 were boys and 55 were girls.Their age ranged from 2 to 16 years and 2 months[mean,(4.48?2.74) years)].Among then,69 cases were aged from 2 to 3 years,130 cases from 3 to 6 years and 69 cases over 6 years.268 patients with PE underwent modified sternal elevation and fixation with the home made stainless steel strut.The lung cysts,esophageal hatal hernia and congenital heart diseases were surgical treated simultaneously.Results There was no death postoperative.Postoperative compli- cations included pneumonia in 1 case,subcutaneous fluid in 2.the foUow-up period was 1-5 years.One patient was found having light notch in sternum.All patients had satisfactory results.In 165 cases stainless steel strut have been taken off postoperatively and no recurrence occurred.Conclusion The modified sternal elevation procedure for pectus excavatum results in an excellent cosmetic outcome.

Objective To prepare specific polyclonal antibodies to outer membrane protein (Opr) D_2 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA),and explore the relationship between loss of OprD_2 and imipenem resistance.Methods The genomic DNA of PA was ex- tracted with phenol:chloroform.OprD_2 coding gene was amplified by PCR and prokaryotic expression vector pRSET-OprD_2 was constructed.OprD_2 protein was expressed by IPTG induction in E.coli BL21(DE3),and purified with SDS-PAGE.The new protein band was recovered and used as antigens to subcutaneously immunize two New Zealand rabbits to prepare poly- clonal antibody.The specificity of the antibody was determined by Western blot.The expression of OprD_2 in 32 clinical isolates of PA was detected with the prepared polyclonal antibody by Western blot.Results The vector pRSET-OprD_2 has been success- fully expressed in E.coli BL21 (DE3).The polyclonal anti-OprD_2 antibody with high specificity has been successfully pre- pared.Present results show that of the 27 imipenem-resistant PA clinical isolates,OprD2 protein was low-expressed in 5 iso- lates (18.5%) and normally expressed in 2 isolates (7.4%) but not expressed in 20 isolates (74.1%).Conclusions The loss or low-expression of OprD_2 is one of the essential mechanisms accounting for imipenem resistance in clinical isolates of PA.

OBJECTIVETo study the intervention of astragalus injection in the kidney injury of infants with congenital heart disease after cardiopulmonary bypass, thus providing a new method for protection of the kidney injury in them.

METHODSForty infants undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were randomly assigned to the test group and the control group, twenty in each group. Astragalus Injection (at the dose of 2 mL/kg) was added in the perfusion fluid before giving to infants in the test group before bypass, while the normal saline of the same volume was added in the perfusion fluid before giving to infants in the control group (P < 0.01). The concentrations of serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)-alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), cystatin C (CysC), and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) were detected with ELISA at the following time points, i.e., before bypass (T1), by the end of the surgery (T2), 2 h after surgery (T3), 6 h after surgery (T4), and 24 h after surgery (T5).

RESULTSThe serum CysC concentrations were not significantly higher after CPB (P > 0.05). The urinary NAG level increased significantly in the control group after surgery (P < 0.05), but no obvious increase of the urinary NAG level was found in the test group after surgery (P > 0.05). It was obviously lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After CPB serum TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels increased significantly in the control group (P < 0.05), while they were lower in the test group than in the control group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSCPB may result in the renal tubular injury in infants with congenital heart disease. The application of Astragalus Injection before the CPB plays a role in protecting renal tubular functions.

Acetylglucosaminidase ; urine ; Astragalus Plant ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; adverse effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; blood ; drug therapy ; urine ; Humans ; Infant ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Kidney Function Tests ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Postoperative Period ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

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

Objective To explore the effects and safety of hemoperfusion(HP) therapy on tetramine poisoning in infants.Methods Thirty-five infants with tetramine poisoning were divided into two groups: HP group(n=18) and non HP group(n=17).The changes of blood tetramine concentration and clinical symptom improving of both groups after the treatment were observed together with the adverse effects of HP group.Results The average blood tetramine concentration of HP group was higher than that of non HP group(342.2?333.4 vs 117.9?50.8 ?g/L,P

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of the phytoestrogen daidzein on the growth and development of the testis and epididymis in male SD rats.

METHODSThirty 10-week old (early adult) and 30 4-week old (pubertal) male SD rats were included in the study, each age group equally divided into 5 subgroups: normal control, positive control, low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose. The normal and positive control groups were given 1 ml distilled water and the same amount of distilled water containing diethylstilbestrol (DES) at the dose of 0.1 mg/kg, and the low-, medium- and high-dose groups administered daidzein in the dose of 2mg/kg, 20 mg/ kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively, all by gavage for 90 days. Observations were made on the changes in body weight and testicular and epididymal indexes, as well as on the structural changes of the testis and epididymis by H&E staining.

RESULTSThe early adult rats showed no significant differences in body weight and testicular and epididymal indexes between the claiclzein groups and the control (P > 0.05), nor did the pubertal rats in epididymal index (P > 0.05). The testicular index differed significantly between the high-dose group (3.21 +/- 0.07) and the normal control (3.71 +/- 0.45) (P < 0.05). The body weight reduced markedly in the high-dose group (P < 0.05), but with no significant differences between the normal control and the other two dose groups (P > 0.05). No obvious changes were observed in epididymal morphology in all the daidzein groups of the early adult and pubertal rats, but high-dose daidzein resulted in smaller testes and impaired spermatogenesis.

CONCLUSIONThe phytoestrogen daidzein, administered in a high dose, could delay the growth and development of the testis and induce structural changes of testicular tissues in pubertal SD rats.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Testis ; drug effects ; growth & development

BACKGROUND: Increasing studies have shown that cell-sheet engineering is a more promising method for the treatment of myocardial infarction. OBJECTIVE: To construct sandwich-like myocardial cell sheets with electrospun chitosan-collagen membrane as support membrane and with adipose-derived stem cells as seed cells. METHODS: In this study, we prepared electrospun chitosan-collagen membranes at different mass ratio (7:3, 5:5) as a support membrane. Adipose-derived stem cells at passage 4 that were cultured in a thermo-sensitive petri dish for 3 days were seeded onto the two kinds of electrospun membranes at 20 ℃ for 15 minutes until the cell sheets rolled up. Then, the electrospun membranes and cell sheets with the cell layers facing up were placed together onto another thermo-sensitive petri dish in which adipose-derived stem cells were confluent completely. After 30 minutes of culture, the cell sheets were cultured in myocardial cell medium. Two weeks later, cell morphology was observed using multi-photon microscopy. Immunocytochemistry, western blot and flow cytometry were used to detect the expression of TnI and Cx43 in the myocardium. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect cardiomyocyte-specific gene expression. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: From the results of scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and propidium iodide (PI) staining, we could found that ADSCs grew easily on the chitosan-collagen (5:5) membrane, and there were more dead cells on the chitosan-collagen (7:3) membrane than on the chitosan-collagen (5:5) membrane. After 2 weeks of differentiation with the myocardial cell medium, higher troponin I and Cx43 protein expressions were observed on the chitosan-collagen (5:5) membrane (P＜0.05). Moreover, the mRNA levels of α-skA, β-MHC, TnI, Cx43, ANP, GATA-4 and Nkx2.5 were higher in the chitosan-collagen (5:5) membrane group than the chitosan-collagen (7:3) membrane group. All these results indicate that the chitosan-collagen (5:5) membrane is better for the growth and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells, as well as for sandwich-like cell-sheet construction.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate effects of cypermethrin on the testis histology and testosterone, LH and FSH in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.

METHODSThe intact adult male rats were randomly divided into five groups and were treated with cypermethrin at doses of 0, 7.5, 15, 30, or 60 mg/kg per day by oral gavage for 15-days. After the treatments, serum was collected for hormone assays. The testes, epididymides, seminal vesicles, and prostates were excised and weighed. The right testis was frozen for daily sperm production and the left one was processed for histopathology.

RESULTSDaily sperm production decreased significantly in 30 and 60 mg/(kg•day) groups. Testicular structure abnormalities included atrophic and distorted seminiferous tubules, deformed and disordered arrangement of germ cells, reduced germ cells, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells, vacuolization and multinucleated formations of spermatids in the cypermethrin-treated rats. Vacuolization was found in Sertoli cells and the deformed nucleus was noted in Leydig cells. Serum testosterone reduced significantly in 30 and 60 mg/(kg•day) groups. Serum FSH increased significantly in 60 mg/(kg•day) group.

CONCLUSIONCypermethrin induces impairments of the seminiferous tubules structure and spermatogenesis in the rats. The damages of the male reproductive system may be attributed to the imbalance of circulating testosterone.

Animals ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; Male ; Prostate ; drug effects ; Pyrethrins ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seminal Vesicles ; drug effects ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Testis ; drug effects ; Testosterone ; blood

OBJECTIVESince the advent in 2004 of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Liaoning, a dramatic improvement had been seen in the number of patients attaining undetectable viral loads (92/104), but the extent of mutation diversity on human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) and the prevalence of drug resistance had remained elusive. This study aimed to analyze both HIV-1 mutation profiles and prevalence related to antiretroviral resistance following therapeutic failure.

METHODSA total of 104 blood samples circling Liaoning from HAART-treated between 2004 and 2008 were studied. Patients' CD(4)(+) T-cell count and viral load were determined. HIV-1 pol (PR and part of RT) gene fragments were amplified from patients' plasma by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nest-PCR, subsequently sequenced and analyzed.

RESULTSCD(4)(+) T cell numbers and viral replication capacity were assessed. 88.4% (92/104) of the patients were successful after initial non-suppressive NRTI & NNRTI-based HAART regimens. Subjects on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) regimens developed more (6/104) drug-resistance mutations than those on nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) regimens did (5/104). No protease-inhibitor (PI) drug resistance mutations developed. The whole rate of drug resistance mutations was about 6.73%. Subjects developing NNRTI-resistance (NNRTI-R) seemed more likely to develop drug-resistant viremia than with NRTI-based HAART.

CONCLUSIONThis finding might have implications in which that the prevalence of drug-resistance mutations was low but remained risk of transmission in HIV-infected therapeutic failure. Meanwhile, data from the present study showed that there was a high frequency of primary mutations, which offered resistance to nrti and nnrti. Monitoring patients with treatment failure seems an important tool in helping the physicians to improve their treatment schedule and to carry out epidemiological surveillance programs.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; virology ; China ; epidemiology ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; genetics ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; genetics ; Humans ; Molecular Epidemiology ; RNA, Viral ; genetics ; Viral Load

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy differences of acupoints massage for asthenopia of video display terminal (VDT) under different exposure dose.

METHODSOne hundred and two cases (204 eyes) were divided into a low exposure group and a high exposure group, fifty-one cases in each group. The same intervention of acupoints massage on Cuanzhu (BL 2), Jingming (BL 1), Sizhukong (TE 23), Sibai (ST 2) and Taiyang(EX-HN 5) were given to the two groups, one acupoint for 5 min and once everyday, one month of which made a course. The symptom score, tear film break-up time (BUT) and Schirmer I test(SIT) were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTS(1) The correlation coefficient of cubic curve model of the exposure dose was the biggest with symptom improvement index (P = 0.000), which indicated that the lower VDT exposure index was, the more obvious the symptom improved. The symptom improvement indices of low exposure group and high exposure group, which were (52.31 +/- 16.65)% and (28.93 +/- 13.35)% respectively, were statistical significant difference (P = 0.000). (2) Compared to before treatment, the levels of BUT and SIT in the two groups were both significantly higher (P < 0.05). Compared with the high exposure group, the levels of BUT and SIT in the low exposure group were increased by 0.826 s (P = 0.022) and 1.029 mm (P = 0.033), respectively, after the impact of BUT and SIT was corrected before the research.

CONCLUSIONThe acupoints massage can improve the symptoms and ocular physiology for patients with VDT asthenpia, and it is more effective for the low exposure cases.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Asthenopia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Computer Terminals ; utilization ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Massage ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Tears ; secretion ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult