Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of urine neutrophil gelatinase apolipoprotein (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1) as markers of CIN,and the effectiveness of hydration therapy in the prevention of CIN.Methods One hundred and twenty patients were randomly divided into control group and treatment group.The patients of treatment group received hydration therapy through intravenous fluid infusion.Urine samples were taken for detecting the value of albumin (mAlb),NGAL,and KIM-1 before surgery (T0),after surgery 12 h (T1),24 h (T2),48 h (T3),72 h (T4) by ELISA assay.The levels of urinary mAlb,Scr,BUN and cystatin C were detected at the same time.Results (1) The urine NGAL/Cr and KIM-1/Cr significantly increased and were more than twice the baseline value at the time of 12 h after PCI in 87 of 120 cases of the participants.There are eight cases occurred CIN (6.67％) and one case occurred in hydration treatment group (1.7％),seven cases were in control group (11.7％).The difference was statistically significant.(2) There were no significant difference in BUN,Scr,mAlb/Cr,Cys-C and GFR between two gToUps (P ＞ 0.05).(3) NGAL/Cr,KIM-1/Cr were elevated at T1 in both groups (P ＜ 0.01).In hydration treatment group,levels of NGAL/Cr and KIM-1/Cr decreased substantially to the level of T0 at T4(P ＜ 0.01),while in the control group they didn't.(4) Area under the ROC curve (AUC) of NGAL/Cr and KIM-1/Cr 12 h after PCI were 0.931 [95％ CI (0.889,0.973)] and 0.811 [95％ CI(0.736,0.886)] respectively (all P＜0.05).Conclusions NGAL and KIM-1 are sensitive and specific indicators for predicting early renal injury induced by contrast medium and can be used for early diagnosis of CIN.Hydration therapy can prevent the contrast agent-induced renal damage.

Objective To investigate the functional changes of dendritic cells (DC) in elderly patients with sepsis. Method Elderly patients (n = 20), ages 75 to 86 years, treated in the department of internal medicine for cadres and the medical intensive care unit (MICU), were selected to participate in the study. Patients with ma-ligoant tumors, hematological diseases, immune diseases, or a history of receiving drugs known to interfere with immune functions were excluded. Using the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine (ACCP/SCCM) definition of sepsis, the patients were categorized into four groups: non-sepsis (group A) (n = 5) ; sepsis (group B) (n = 5) ; severe sepsis (group C) (n = 5) ; and septic shock (group D) (n = 5). The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of each patient were isolated and cultured with human re-combinant granuloceyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in vitro for 10 days. The cells were examined under an inverted microscope, scanning electron microscopy, and flow cytometry. The MTT colorimetric assay was used to observe the abilities of the dendritic cells to stimulale an allogeneic T lym-phocyte response in vitro. Paired t -test was used to compare changes in the surface markers among the different groups, Results The PBMCs in the four groups of patients differentiated into cells with typical dendritic configura-tions after in vitro cuhure with combined cytokines. The CD40, CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR expressions on the cell surfaces increased after culture,with (43.2±12.5)%/(27.3±9.3)%, (31.4 ± 10.1)%/(22.5 ± 8.7)%, (39.3±15.7)%/(21.9±7.7)%, and (75.4±25.6)%/(58.7±16.7)%, respectively. The stimulation index (the abilities of the dendritic cells to stimulale the allogeneic T lymphocyte response in vitro) in the four groups of patients after culture were (23.3±7.9) in group A, (18.9±8.3) in group B,(11.4±5.1) in Group C,and (5.5 ± 3.7) in Group D. Conclusions The immune functions of the dendritic cells of elderly patients with sepsis decrease in a linear manner with the severity of their septic state.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of puerarin and puerarin lobate extract in rats and compare the difference of pharmacokinetic behavior of them. METHODS:24 SD rats were randomly divided into high-dose and low-dose groups of puerarin (300,100 mg/kg) and puerarin lobate extract (equal to 300,100 mg/kg of puerarin). 0.2 ml blood sample were collected from posterior venous plexus of bulbus oculi before intragastric administration and 0.083,0.17,0.33,0.5, 0.67,1,1.5,2,3,4,6,8,10 h after administration,respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by using DAS 3.0 software. RESULTS:Compared with puerarin high-dose group,AUC0-t and cmax of puerarin low-dose group increased sig-nificantly,while CL decreased significantly;MRT0-t of puerarin low-dose group and puerarin lobate extract high-dose and low-dose groups decreased significantly (P<0.01). There was no statistical significance in pharmacokinetic parameters between puerarin lo-bate extract low-dose group and puerarin lobate extract high-dose group (P>0.05). CONCLULSIONS:There is difference in the pharmacokinetic behavior between puerarin and puerarin lobate extract in rats. Some components of puerarin lobate extrats maybe speed up the elimination of puerarin in rats,so as to shorten the average retention time of it.

To develop a more efficient antithrombotic way after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the anticoagulant effects were compared of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) gene transfection and aspirin oral administration (traditional method) on vein grafts. An eukaryotic expression plasmid pCMV-(Kozak) TFPI was prepared. Animal model of carotid artery bypass grafting was constructed. In operation, endothelial cells of vein grafts in TFPI group and empty plasmid control group were transfected with pCMV-(Kozak) TFPI and empty plasmid pCMV respectively, while no transfection was conducted in aspirin control group. After operation, aspirin (2 mg.kg(-1).(-1)) was administered (i.g.) in aspirin control group. Three days later, grafts (n=10) were harvested for RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses of exogenous gene expression and for pathological, scanning electron microscopic observation of thrombus. Thirty days later, the patency rates of remnant grafts (n=10) were recorded by vessel Doppler ultrasonography. Human TFPI gene products were detected in gene transferred vein grafts. Three days later, thrombi were found in 7 animals of aspirin control group and in 8 animals of empty plasmid control group, but in only 1 of TFPI group (P<0.01). Thirty days later, 5 grafts were occluded in empty plasmid control group, but none of grafts was occluded in the other groups (P<0.05). The endothelial surfaces of grafts in both of the control groups were covered with aggregated erythrocytes and platelets, and it were not seen in TFPI group. It was suggested that the anticoagulant effects on vein grafts of human TFPI gene transfection are better than those of aspirin.
Administration, Oral ; Anticoagulants/*metabolism ; Aspirin/*administration & dosage ; Aspirin/metabolism ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Disease Models, Animal ; Lipoproteins/*metabolism ; Plasmids/metabolism ; Tissue Transplantation/*methods ; Transfection ; Ultrasonography, Doppler/methods ; Veins/*transplantation ; Venous Thrombosis/metabolism

To develop a more efficient antithrombotic way after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the anticoagulant effects were compared of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) gene transfection and aspirin oral administration (traditional method) on vein grafts. An eukaryotic expression plasmid pCMV-(Kozak) TFPI was prepared. Animal model of carotid artery bypass grafting was constructed. In operation, endothelial cells of vein grafts in TFPI group and empty plasmid control group were transfected with pCMV-(Kozak) TFPI and empty plasmid pCMV respectively, while no transfection was conducted in aspirin control group. After operation, aspirin (2 mg·kg-1·d-1) was administered (I.g.) in aspirin control group. Three days later, grafts (n=10) were harvested for RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses of exogenous gone expression and for pathological, scanning electron microscopic observation of thrombus. Thirty days later, the patency rates of remnant grafts (n=10) were recorded by vessel Doppler ultrasonography. Human TFPI gene products were detected in gene transferred vein grafts. Three days later, thrombi were found in 7 animals of aspirin control group and in 8 animals of empty plasmid control group, but in only 1 of TFPI group (P<0.01). Thirty days later, 5 grafts were occluded in empty plasmid control group, but none of grafts was occluded in the other groups (P<0.05). The endothelial surfaces of grafts in both of the control groups were covered with aggregated erythrocytes and platelets, and it were not seen in TFPI group. R was suggested that the anticoagulant effects on vein grafts of human TFPI gene trans- fection are better than those of aspirin.

Objective To analyze the correlation between the pathological types of parathyroid and clinical manifestations in patients with renal secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT),so as to improve the efficacy and safety of treatment.Methods The pathological and clinical data of 130 patients with renal SHPT and maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) who had undergone total parathyroidectomy with autotransplantation (TPTX + AT) were collected.A total of 545 parathyroid glands were obtained and 998 slices were made and read.According to the pathological types of parathyroid hyperplasia,the patients were divided into diffuse hyperplasia (DH) group,diffuse between hyperplasia and nodular hyperplasia (DH/NH) group as well as nodular hyperplasia (NH) group.The clinical and biochemical characteristics of different groups before and after operation (1-,3-,6-,9-,12-month) were compared and analyzed by statistical tests.Results (1) The preoperative status:the dialysis age,serum calcium as well as incidence of bone pain,skin itching and shorten height in the NH group were significantly higher than those in the DH group (all P ＜ 0.05),and the serum phosphorus and iPTH in the NH group were significantly higher than those in DH and DH/NH group (all P ＜ 0.05).(2) The postoperative status:the serum calcium of the NH group at 1-month was lower than that of the DH group,and the incidence of hypocalcemia of the NH group at 1-month was higher than that of the DH group (P ＜ 0.05);the serum phosphorus at 3-,6-,9-month and iPTH at 1-,3-month of the NH group were significantly lower than that of the DH group (all P ＜ 0.05),and the serum phosphorus at 3-month and iPTH at 1-month of the NH group were lower than that of the DH/NH group (all P ＜ 0.05).Among the 3 groups the serum phosphorus change from 1 to 12 months had difference (F=3.241,P=0.042),while the differences of serum calcium and iPTH changes were statistically insignificant.Conclusions The clinical manifestations,serum calcium,phosphorus and iPTH in patients with renal SHPT before and after TPTX+AT are closely related to the pathological types of parathyroid hyperplasia.Compared with the DH patients,before the operation the NH patients have longer dialysis age,more serious the clinical symptoms such as bone disease,higher calcium,phosphorus and iPTH,while greater reduction of the serum calcium,phosphorus and iPTH in the short term after operation.

Exoelectrogens are promising for a wide variety of potential applications in the areas of environment and energy, which convert chemical energy from organic matter into electrical energy by extracellular electrons transfer (EET). Microorganisms with different mechanisms and EET efficiencies have been elucidated. However, the practical applications of exoelectrogens are limited by their fundamental features. At present, it is difficult to realize the extensive application of exoelectrogens in complex and diverse environments by means of traditional engineering strategies such as rational design and directed evolution. The exoelectrogens with excellent performance in environments can be screened with efficient strain identification technologies, which promote the widespread applications of exoelectrogens. The aims of this review are to summarize the methods of screening based on different types of exoelectrogens, and to outline future research directions of strain screening.
Bioelectric Energy Sources ; Electricity ; Electron Transport