China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to develop RT- PCR assay for Rapidly detect and distinguish between Norovirus genogroup I and genogroup II with a pair of primers.

METHODSA pairs of primers specific to capsid prote in ORF2 gene of G I and G II Norovirus were dsigned according to the published complete genome sequence, with which the RNA of Norovirus was extracted and RT-PCR amplification. The sensitivity, specificity of the RT- PCR assay was estimated and apply it to the detection of Norovirus in clinical specimens.

RESULTSThe results showed that the assay possessed high specificity for Norovirus detection and without any evident cross-reaction with other viruses, including rotavirus, enteric adenovirus and hepatitis A virus. The detection limit of RT-PCR assay for Norovirus G I and G II were up to 100 pg/ml and 10 pg/ml respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe RT- PCR assay provide rapid and sensitive detection of Norovirus G I and G II and should prove to be useful for Norovirus diagnosis in the outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis.

Caliciviridae Infections ; diagnosis ; virology ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; Gastroenteritis ; diagnosis ; virology ; Humans ; Norovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; instrumentation ; methods

Adenoma ; pathology ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Ear Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Endolymphatic Sac ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Vimentin ; metabolism

Astragalus membranaceus ; chemistry ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Monocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology

Although quality assessment is gaining increasing attention,there is still no consensus on how to define and grade postoperative complications.The absence of a defimition and a widely accepted ranking system to classify surgical complications has hampered proper interpretation of the surgical outcome.This study aimed to define and search the simple and reproducible classification of complications following hepatectomy based on two therapy-oriented severity grading system:Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications and Accordion severity grading of postoperative complications.Two classifications were tested in a cohort of 2008 patients who underwent elective liver surgery at our institution between January 1986 and December 2005.Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to link respective complications with perioperative parameters,length of hospital stay and the quality of life.A total of 1716 (85.46％) patients did not develop any complication,while 292 (14.54％)patients had at least one complication.According to Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications system,grade Ⅰ complications occurred in 150 patients (7.47％),grade Ⅱ in 47 patients (2.34％),grade Ⅲa in 59 patients (2.94％),grade Ⅲb in 13 patients (0.65％),grade Ⅳa in 7 patients (0.35％),grade Ⅳb in 1 patient (0.05％),and grade Ⅴ in 15 patients (0.75％).According to Accordion severity grading of postoperative complications system,mild complications occurred in 160 patients (7.97％),moderate complications in 48 patients (2.39％),severe complications (invasive procedure/no general anesthesia) in 48 patients (2.39％),severe complications (invasive procedure under general anesthesia or single organ system failure) in 20 patients (1.00％),severe complications (organ system failure and invasive procedure under general anesthesia or multisystem organ failure) in 1 patient (0.05％),and mortality was 0.75％ (n=15).Complication severity of Clavien-Dindo system and Accordion system were all correlated with the length of hospital stay,the number of hepatic segments resected,the blood transfusion and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A).The Clavien-Dindo classification system and Accordion classification system are the simple ways of reporting all complications following the liver surgery.

Agricultural Microbiology is a professional foundation curriculum for biology,botany and envi-ronmental majors in agricultural universities.After 1999,with the increase enrollment of the national under-graduate education and rapid construction of the university,the number of majors and students increased rapidly and quality of students and talent demand of society changed dramatically.Under such condition,in order to meet the society demand of microbiology,according to the distinguishing feature of different major groups,based on strengthening the basis teaching and stretching application teaching,new curriculum teaching model and method were explored positively,and then new curriculum system was constructed.Be-ing aroused sufficiently of the students’ subjective initiative,both the teaching quality and comprehensive quality were improved.

Objective To investigate the pregnancy outcomes of couples with either maternal or paternal balanced translocations.Methods One hundred and ninety-four couples were divided into three groups based on the kind of translocations:135 with reciprocal translocation,52 with nonhomologous Robertsonian translocations,and 7 with homologous Robertsonian translocations.Past reproductive histories were surveyed.For those who wanted to have their own babies by natural conceptions after knowing their karyotypes as well as the risks of abnormal offsprings,subsequent pregnancy outcomes were recorded.Total pregnancy outcomes were compared between three groups.Results(1)503 previous and subsequent pregnancies were recorded in detail.The pregnancy outcomes are as follows:spontaneous abortions 81.7% (411/503);induced terminations because of fetal abnormalities 3.2%(16/503);birth defects 7.2% (36/503);normal/balanced offsprings 8.0%(40/503).In reciprocal translocations,nonhomologous Robertsonian translocations and homologous Robertsonian translocations,the birth defects rates were 5.7% (20/350),10.9%(14/128)and 8.0%(2/25),respectively(P

Objective To study the tolerance to 188Re-1-hydroxy-1 ,1-ethylidene disodium phosphonate(HEDP) in patients with bone pain caused by osseous metastases. Methods Thirty-one patients(10with prostate cancer, 9 with breast cancer, 3 with lung cancer, 5 with liver cancer, 2 with rectal cancer, 1with esophageal cancer and 1 with renal cancer) received a single injection dose of 188Re-HEDP. The patients were divided into four groups according to the injection dose: 20 MBq/kg (6 patients), 30 MBq/kg(6 patients), 40 MBq/kg (9 patients), and 50 MBq/kg (10 patients). Haematological toxicity (WHO grading) of grade Ⅲ- Ⅳ was considered unacceptable. Vital signs and adverse effects after injection were recorded for 8 weeks. Blood counts were measured weekly during a period of 8 weeks. Biochemical parameters and electrocardiogram were assayed at week 4 and 8. Statistical analysis was performed for per-protocol (pp) population (t-test). Results Twenty-seven patients belonged to PP population with 5 in the group of 20 MBq/kg, 5 in the group of 30 MBq/kg, 8 in the group of 40 MBq/kg and 9 in the group of 50 MBq/kg.No obvious adverse effects and no significant change of vital signs, electrocardiogram, liver and renal function were found after injection. Alkaline phosphatase was slightly higher than baseline at week 4 and 8 after therapy, but the difference was not statistically significant. In the 20 MBq/kg group, reversible grade Ⅰ leucopenia was noted in 1 patient. In the 30 MBq/kg group, 2 patients showed reversible grade Ⅰ leucopenia including 1 alone with reversible grade Ⅲ thrombopenia. In the 40 MBq/kg group, reversible grade Ⅰ leucopenia and thrombopenia was observed in 1 patient and reversible grade Ⅱ leucopenia and thrombopenia in another patient. In the .50 MBq/kg group, 3 patients showed reversible grade Ⅱ leucopenia. The lowest level of thrombopenia was at week 4(143.5 × 109/L), leucopenia at week 6 (5.4 × 109/L) and anaemia at week 8(t = 3.1325, 3.3156, 3.4917, all P ＜ 0. 05 compared with baseline). At week 8, the mean level of platelet and leucocyte recovered to baseline. "Bounce pain" was found in 2 of 27 patients (7.41%).Conclusions The dose of 20 MBq/kg, 30 MBq/kg, 40 MBq/kg or 50 MBq/kg of 188Re-HEDP do not cause significant side effects on cancer patients with bone metastases, though there is a tendency that the haematological toxicity may increase as the dose of 188Re-HEDP increases.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the modulatory role of activated 5-HT(3) receptors in the central amygdala (CeA) on mitogen concanavalin A (ConA)-stimulated proliferative response of thymocytes in rats and the underlying neuroendocrine regulation circuits. 1-phenylbiguanide (PBG), a putative selective 5-HT(3) receptor agonist, was administered by intraperitoneal (i.p.), bilateral intracerebroventriclular (i.c.v.), and bilateral intracentral amygdala (i.c.a.) injection. In addition, thymocytes isolated from untreated rats were incubated with PBG (at a range of concentrations of 1x10(-8)-1x10(-5) mol/L) in vitro in the presence and absence of ConA, in order to investigate any direct effect of PBG on the proliferation in vitro. MTT method was applied to demonstrate the effect of PBG on the proliferative response of thymocytes. An immunohistochemical SABC assay was used to describe the expression profiles of c-Fos-positive cells in different brain regions including the CeA, hippocampus, cortex, hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray (PAG) at 1, 2, 4 and 8 h after bilateral single-administration of PBG by i.c.a. (1.0 microg/side). Results showed that PBG (1x10(-8)-1x10(-5) mol/L) had no significant influence on the proliferative responses of the isolated thymocytes in vitro, no matter ConA was present or not. The proliferation of thymocytes stimulated by ConA was not significantly changed when PBG was administered by i.p. (0.5 mg/kg per day, for consecutive 5 d), whereas it was remarkably enhanced after bilateral i.c.v. injection of PBG (10 microg/side per day, for consecutive 5 d). Similarly, when PBG was injected bilaterally by i.c.a. (1.0 microg/side per day, for 1 d or consecutive 3, 5 and 7 d), a significantly enhanced proliferation occurred on the 1st day and continued until reaching its peak on the 5th day before decreasing on the 7th day. All of the promoting effects of PBG on the ConA-stimulated proliferation of thymocytes were reversed by pretreatment with the 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist tropisetron (TRP) 5 min prior to the administration of PBG. Interestingly, compared to the treatment with normal saline or TRP + PBG, after a bilateral single-administration of PBG (1.0 microg/side) by i.c.a., the number of c-Fos-positive cells in different brain regions significantly increased at 1 h in the CeA, 1-2 h in the hippocampus, 1-2 h in the cortex, 4 h in the hypothalamus and 8 h in the PAG, respectively, with each maximum response at 1 h in the CeA, 2 h in the hippocampus and cortex, and 4 h in the hypothalamus. Subsequently, the number of cells expressing c-Fos gradually reduced to the minimum at 4 h in the CeA, and at 8 h in the hippocampus, cortex and hypothalamus. In conclusion, the 5-HT(3) receptors in the CeA of rats mediate the modulation of thymus function, at least partly, through the neuroendocrine circuit of the limbic system-cortex-hypothalamus-PAG.
Amygdala ; metabolism ; physiology ; Animals ; Male ; Neuroimmunomodulation ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3 ; metabolism ; physiology ; Thymus Gland ; cytology ; physiology

· AIM: To inspect and compare the functional vision of an aspheric intraocular lens (Tecnis) with those of conventional monofocal silicone and acrylic intraocular lens and multifocal intraocular lens (Array).· METHODS: The IOLs were tested in the eye model, which was designed to be optically equivalent to the theoretical eye model. The eye model is a combination of a spherical photographic lens with 35mm focal length ( IOL put in a water cell)and a charge coupled device (CCD) camera. The images constructed by the lenses are observed on a monitor of personal computer and the contrasts of the images are analyzed by using commercial image processing software.· RESULTS: The modulation transfer function of the eye model equals the scale produced by the theoretical eye model. The images constructed by changing the diameter of aperture stop and IOL.· CONCLUSION: The proposed eye model is useful for testing functional vision and for inspecting differences of intraocular lens.