Objective To discuss the impact of repeated contrast media exposure on renal function in patients who received coronary angiography ( CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention ( PCI) within 1 week after CTA of coronary ateries. Methods A total of 258 patients who received CAG or PCI after coronary CTA were divided into the study group ( n=132, patients had CAG/PCI within 1 week after CTA) and the control group ( n=126, patients had CAG/PCI 1-2 weeks after CTA). Serum creatinine, cystatin C and estimated GFR were tested before and on day 1, 2 and 3 after procedures. The occurance of contrast-induced nephropathy ( CIN ) was recorded. Resu1ts The baseline clinical characteristics of the patients between the two groups had no significant difference. Preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine, cystatin C and eGFR values on day 1, 2 and 3 had no significant difference between the two groups (all P﹥0. 05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of CIN between two groups (5. 3% in the study group vs. 4. 8% in the control group, P﹥0. 05 ) . Conc1usions It is safe and feasible for patients with eGFR≥60 ml/( min?1. 73 m2 ) to undergo CAG or PCI within 1 week after coronary CTA.

A kind of real-time remote monitoring embedded terminal which is combined with mobile communication technology and GPS localization technology, has been developed. The results of preliminary experiments show that the terminal can transmit ECG signals and localization information in real time and continuously, supply a real-time monitoring of out-of-hospital cardiac patients and trace the patients.
Electrocardiography, Ambulatory ; instrumentation ; Telemedicine ; instrumentation ; Telemetry ; instrumentation

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of the degree of muscle relaxation on motor-evoked potential elicited by transcranial electrical stimulation in patients undergoing spine surgery.

METHODSSixty ASA I or II patients undergoing spine surgery were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=12). After an initial intubation, continuous cisatracurium infusion was administered with continuous monitoring of T1. The infusion dose was adjusted according muscle relaxation monitoring, and different muscle relaxation degrees were maintained in the 5 groups. The band and latency of D1 in motor-evoked potential was observed with also subjective assessment of the muscle relaxation.

RESULTSSignificant differences in the band and latency were noted in groups I and II compared with the reference values, but not in groups III, IV and V. Subjective assessment revealed significant differences between groups IV and V and groups I and III in terms of the number of cases with poor muscle relaxation.

CONCLUSIONT1 value between 10% and 15% is sufficient for MEP monitoring and allows the maintenance of good muscle relaxation during spine surgery.

Atracurium ; therapeutic use ; Electric Stimulation ; Evoked Potentials, Motor ; Humans ; Monitoring, Intraoperative ; Muscle Relaxation ; Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents ; therapeutic use ; Orthopedic Procedures ; methods ; Spine ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo research the bacteriostatic effects of Qingkailing Injection Extract (QKLIE) and combination therapy of Qingkailing Injection (QKLI) and antibiotics on bacteria carrying New Delhi metallo-3-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) blaNDM-1 resistance gene, and to determine their minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC).

METHODSThe antimicrobial experiments of QKLIE (Radix Isatidis, baicalin, gardenia, honeysuckle) and combination therapy of QKLI and antibiotics were performed by using the agar dilution method and K-B method. The MIC was determined from each extract.

RESULTSThere were different degrees of inhibitory effects on resistant bacteria carrying blaNDM-1 by extracts from main components of QKLI. Of them, the inhibitory effect of baicalin was the best and the MIC of the resistant bacteria was 0.015 g/mL to WD, 0.020 g/mL to WX, 0. 005 g/mL to WJ, and more than 0.020 g/mL to pGEX-4T-NDM-1/DH5alpha (GST-NDM-1), respectively. The MIC value of each extract was sequenced from high to low as baicalin, honeysuckle, gardenia, and Radix Isatidis. Furthermore, combination therapy of QKLI and antibiotics greatly enhanced the antimicrobial activity of each antibiotics when used alone, showing very obvious antibacterial effects on multidrug resistant bacteria carrying blaNDM-1 gene. Of them, the optimal effects were obtained when combined with penicillins (penicillin G, mezlocillin, piperacillin/ tazobactam, ampicillin/sulbactam), with the antibacterial effects improved by 10 folds. The antibacterial effects of other kinds of antibiotics were improved to some extent. Conclusions QKLIE and combination therapy of QKLI and antibiotics showed better bacteriostatic effects on resistant bacteria carrying blaNDM-1 gene. This study provided theoretical bases for drug development, medication and treatment for super-resistant bacteria carrying blaNDM-1.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; genetics ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; drug effects ; genetics ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; beta-Lactamases ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study intra-operative radionuclide lymphatic mapping in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy of breast cancer.

METHODSForty-two breast cancer (diameter 98%, size of colloid granule 100 approximately 200 nm) was injected into the mammary tissue around the tumor or biopsy site at four points. SLN in breast cancer was detected and dissected with the help of lymphoscintigraphy and intra-operative gamma probe. Routine lymph node dissection was performed for all patients.

RESULTSThe detection rate was 88.1% in lymphoscintigraphy and 97.6% in intra-operative gamma probe detection for SLN in breast cancer. The sensitivity, accuracy, false negative and specificity of SLN biopsy were 93.3% (14 in 15), 97.6% (40 in 41), 6.7% (1 in 15) and 100% (26 in 26).

CONCLUSIONSentinel lymph node in breast cancer, detected by preoperative lymphoscintigraphy combined with intra-operative gamma probe, is able to predict regional lymph node metastasis. The successful rate of SLN biopsy can be raised by improvement in the quality of nuclear imaging agent, technic of injection and method of measurement.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; Middle Aged ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy ; Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of the root of Paeonia sinjiangensis.

METHODThe constituents were isolated by silica column chromatography, and their structures were identified on the basis of spectral analysis and their physical-chemical constants.

RESULTFive compounds, paeoniflorin( I ), albiflorin (II), lactiflorin(III), daucosterol(IV), sucrose (V), were obtained.

CONCLUSIONAll of the compounds were obtained from this plant for the first time.

Benzoates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Bridged-Ring Compounds ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glycosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Monoterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Paeonia ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Objective To observes the change of early effective biomarkers of endothelial injury with lowarsenic exposure in drinking water. MethodsNinety rurad residents, who had lived in Yanhe village, Xuyi county and Jiangsu province for at least 10 years, were recruited by simple random sampling in this study. The level of arsenic in their household shallow well were divided into three groups, which were ＜ 10 (32 people), 10 - 50(28 people) and ＞ 50 μg/L(30 people). Blood samples from individuals were collected. Malondialdehyde(MDA) in human plasma, which is considered as the most important marker for monitoring lipid peroxidation, was determined as conjugate with tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulphate(TBA). The level of anti-superoxide anion radical(O-·2),C-reactive protein(CRP) and NO in human plasma was measured with colorimetry, turbidimetry and nitric acid reductase, respectively. The number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells(CEPCs) in peripheral blood was analyzed by CD133+/KDR+ antibodies and flow cytometry. Results Ninety cases underwent questionnaires. Between the groups, the difference of the levels of MDA (61.1, 65.5, 67.5 μmol/kg), O-·2 (4774.6, 5143.3, 4736.0 U/kg) ,CRP[(5.92 ± 2.44), (5.11 ± 2.40), (5.55 ± 2.96)mg/L], and NO[(659.8 ± 387.5), (667.4 ± 486.6), (762.1 ±763.2)μmol/kg], was not statistically significant (F =0.00, 0.46, 0.80, 0.47, all P ＞ 0.05). The difference of the number of CEPCs in different groups of arsenic in drinking water was statistically significant(0.96 x 10-5, 0.77 x 10-5,1.59 x 10-5, F=5.08, P＜ 0.05), where ＜ 10, 10 - 50 μg/L groups were significantly lower than ＞ 50 μg/L group (q =4.58, 6.65, all P ＜ 0.05). ConclusionsThe number of CEPCs in peripheral blood changes significantly with lower-arsenic exposure, whereas there are no obvious changes with the markers of oxidized damage and inflammation. This is the first human demonstration showing that lower-arsenic exposure may cause endothelial injury.

RT-PCR was conducted with one degenerate primer designed according to repetitive regions' amino acid sequence of major ampullate spidroin (MaSp) in spiders and adaptor primer in the SMART cDNA Library Construction Kit. By cloning and sequencing of amplified products, one cDNA clone (GenBank Accession No. AY365017) of Argiope amoena MaSp gene was obtained. The deduced amino acid sequence can be distinctly divided into two regions: (1) Repetitive region that consists of an alternating alanine-rich and glycine-rich domain in which many prolines are present; and (2) C-terminal non-repetitive region. The region coding for 272 amino acids of MaSp gene was subcloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET28b(+) and an about 26kD recombinant protein was expressed at high levels in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) after induction of IPTG. After being purified with metal-affinity chromatography on Ni(2+) -IDA-Sepharose columns as well as gel filtration chromatography, the recombinant protein was confirmed to be predicted MaSp by means of amino acid composition analysis and N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. The solubility behavior of recombinant MaSp with C-terminal non-repetitive region in the present study is similar to that of recombinant dragline silk proteins without C-terminal non-repetitive region expressed by bacteria and yeast in the other studies. The result shows that absence or presence of C-terminal non-repetitive region is not a crucial factor affecting the solubility of the recombinant MaSp.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; chemistry ; genetics ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Fibroins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Molecular Weight ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Analysis, Protein ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Spiders ; genetics ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDGastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common types of cancer in the world. A change in the metabolism of lipids in tumor cells could lead to the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we investigated fatty acid and fatty acid amide metabolic perturbations associated with GC morbidity.

METHODSGas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was utilized to analyze fatty acids (FAs) and fatty acid amides (FAAs) of GC tissues and matched normal mucosae from 30 GC patients. Acquired lipid data was analyzed using non parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test to find the differential biomarkers for GC and diagnostic models for GC were established by using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA).

RESULTSA total of 13 FAs and 4 FAAs were detected using GC/MS and 5 differential FAs as well as oleamide were identified with significant difference (P<0.05). The OPLS-DA model generated from lipid profile showed adequate discrimination of GC tissues from normal mucosae while the OPLS-DA model failed to separate GC specimens of different TNM stages. A total of 8 variables were obtained for their most contribution in the discriminating model (Variable importance in the projection (VIP) value>1.0), five of which were detected with significant difference (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSFA and FAA metabolic profiles have great potential in detecting GC and helping understand perturbations of lipid metabolism associated with GC morbidity.

Amides ; metabolism ; Fatty Acids ; metabolism ; Female ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases ; physiopathology ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo explore the methods of systemic treatment of defects of skin and soft tissue on the knees after severe trauma or burn.

METHODSTwenty patients with defects of skin and soft tissue on the knees after severe trauma or burn hospitalized in our center from January 2009 to December 2011. The injury areas on the knees ranged from 5 cm×4 cm to 30 cm×20 cm. The wounds were treated with radical debridement, vacuum sealing drainage, and douche through dripping to control infection in early stage. Then they were covered with transplantation of skin grafts plus flap or only with flap. Totally 8 local flaps (including 6 local rotation or transposition flaps and 2 saphenous artery flaps) and 12 free flaps (including 8 anterolateral thigh flaps and 4 latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flaps) were used. The flap size ranged from 6 cm×5 cm to 32 cm×22 cm. The rehabilitation training of the knee joints was carried out in the early stage after wound healing.

RESULTSAll free skin grafts and flaps used in 15 patients survived. Thirteen of them were primarily healed, while some small parts of skin grafts of the other two patients were in poor condition because of infection, and they healed after another session of skin transplantation. Infection occurred under the free flap in one of the 5 patients transplanted with flaps only, which was healed after continuous douche through dripping and another surgical debridement following wet dressing. The knee joints were in good function during the follow-up period of 1 - 3 years.

CONCLUSIONSThe systemic therapy of radical debridement, vacuum sealing drainage technique, douche through dripping, transplantation of large autologous grafts and flaps, and the early rehabilitation training are effective and reliable in repairing defects of skin and soft tissue at the knee region after severe injuries.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Burns ; complications ; Child ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee Injuries ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin Transplantation ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; Young Adult