Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of pulmonary actinomycosis and to improve the understanding of the clinical misdiagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis. Method Clinical data of 4 pulmonary actinomycosis patients were analized and related literatures were reviewed. Results All the 4 pulmonary actinomy-eosis cases were misdiaguosed as lung cancer. Pulmonary actinomycosis can be correctly diagnosed through lung bi-opsy by CT-guided percutaneous paracentesis,fiberoptic,bronchoscopy,or pathological examination of the resected pulmonary lobe. Conclusions Pulmonary actinomycosis is a rare lung infection caused by fungus,and is liable to be misdiagnosed as peripheral lung cancer. The capacity of distinguishing pulmonary actinomycosis from peripheral lung cancer needs to be improved.

Objective To investigate the effect of CDH1 3'-UTR + 54C/T single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) on expression of luciferase reporter gene and its association with susceptibility to cervical cancer. Methods The luciferase gene expression vectors containing CDH1 3'-UTR +54C/T SNP C or T allelotype were constructed. The effect of CDH1 3'-UTR + 54C/T SNP on expression of luciferase reporter gene in 293 T cells were tested by daul lucfferase reporter assay system. The CDH1 3'-UTR + 54C/ T SNP was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in 280 cervical cancer patients and 330 healthy controls. Results The lucfferase activity analysis showed that the relative luciferase activity (RLA) of 293T cells with C allelotype was 1.46, which was significantly lower than that of the 293 T cells with T allelotype (3.01; t=2. 94, P =0. 042). There was no significant difference in age distribution between the cervical cancer patients and the healthy controls. The genotype frequency distribution of CDH1 3 '-UTR + 54C/T SNP in healthy controls did not significantly differ from that expected by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05). The C allelotype frequency of CDH1 in cervical cancer patients was 80. 7%, which was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (74. 5%;χ2 =6.59, P=0.010). The T/T, T/C and C/C genotype frequencies of cervical cancer patients and healthy controls were 4. 3%, 30. 0%, 65. 7% and 5. 8%, 39. 4%, 54. 8%, respectively, which were significandy different (χ2=7.45, P =0.024). Compared with individuals with T/T or T/C genotypa, individuals with C/C genotype had significantly higher risks of developing cervical cancer (OR = 1. 578,95%CI=1.136 -2.191). Conclusion The C allelotypa of CDH1 3'-UTR + 54C/T SNP might decrease the expression of lucfferase reporter gene and the C/C genotypa might be a potential risk for cervical cancer development.

Objective To discuss the significance of acoustic rhinometry(AR) and rhinomanometry(RM) in the evaluation of surgical treatment of nasal septal deviation.Methods Fifty-one patients of nasal septal deviation were recruited,and seventy-two nasal cavities were tested(twenty-one patients with narrowing of double sides).Visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to estimate the degree of nasal obstruction.AR and RM were used to obtain the data of nasal airway resistance(NAR),nasal cavity 0-5cm volume(NCV0-5) and nasal minimal cross-sectional area(NMCA).The data were used to assess the airflow function of nasal cavity.Each patient was tested at the time both before surgery and 12 weeks after surgery.The pre-and post operative data were used to calculate paired t-test by SPSS 16.0,and to disclose the correlation among ?NCV,?NMCA,?NAR and ?VAS.Results The preoperative data showed that NCV0-5 was 4.07?0.91cm3,NMCA 0.33?0.08cm2,NAR 1.14?0.34kPa?s?L-1,and VAS 7.36?1.23;and the postoperative data showed that NCV0-5 was 7.29?0.68cm3,NMCA 0.56?0.08cm2,NAR 0.35?0.12kPa?s?L-1,and VAS 1.14?0.91.Significant differences existed in NCV0-5,NMCA,NAR and VAS(P

A novel method was developed for the rapid determination of multi-indicators in corni fructus by means of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) based least squares support vector machine was investigated to increase the levels of quality control. The calibration models of moisture, extractum, morroniside and loganin were established using the PSO-LS-SVM algorithm. The performance of PSO-LS-SVM models was compared with partial least squares regression (PLSR) and back propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN). The calibration and validation results of PSO-LS-SVM were superior to both PLS and BP-ANN. For PSO-LS-SVM models, the correlation coefficients (r) of calibrations were all above 0.942. The optimal prediction results were also achieved by PSO-LS-SVM models with the RMSEP (root mean square error of prediction) and RSEP (relative standard errors of prediction) less than 1.176 and 15.5% respectively. The results suggest that PSO-LS-SVM algorithm has a good model performance and high prediction accuracy. NIR has a potential value for rapid determination of multi-indicators in Corni Fructus.

Background and purpose:Tetrandrine is a natural compound whose role in retinoblastoma remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of tetrandrine (Tet) on human retinoblastoma cells.Methods:CCK-8 assays were performed to analyze the effects of Tet on viability of retinoblastoma cells. The apoptosis rate was determined by Annexin V/PI assays. After staining with 2′,7′-dichlorolfuorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA), cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by lfow cytometry. Akt and p-Akt were detected by Western blot.Results:Tet inhibited cell viability of retinoblastoma cells. After treatment with Tet (4, 8, 10 and 20μmol/L) for 24h, cell viability inhibition rates of WERI-Rb-I were 5.7%, 25.0%, 55.1% and 84.9%, whereas inhibition rates of Y79 cells were 2.4%,2.9%, 23.8% and 54.2% (P<0.01). In cells treated with 10μmol/L of Tet for 12, 24 and 48 h, cell viability inhibition rates of WERI-Rb-I were 6.0%, 45.5% and 74.7%, whereas inhibition rates of Y79 cells were 2.9%, 19.4% and 43.3% (P<0.01). Tet induced retinoblastoma cell apoptosis. After treatment with Tet (10 μmol/L) for 24 and 48 h, apoptosis rates of WERI-Rb-I were (23.70±1.75)% and (34.83±3.15)%, respectively, whereas apoptosis rates of Y79 cells were (9.62±2.69)% and (14.97±1.50)%, respectively (P<0.01). Apoptosis inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK attenuated Tet-induced cell death (P<0.05). ROS levels were indeed increased in cells treated with Tet (10 μmol/L) for 6 and 12 h (P<0.01), while N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) decreased Tet-induced ROS (P<0.01). After ROS was inhibited by NAC, apoptosis rate was decreased compared with the control (P<0.01). Further study indicated that Tet inhibited PI3K/Akt pathway in retinoblastoma cells.Conclusion:Tet induces cell apoptosis via increasing ROS synthesis and inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between nasal airway function and severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (sOSAHS). METHOD: One hundred and four cases were divided into 3 groups: group A was 39 normal adult men, group B was 25 nonobese patients with sOSAHS (BMI<28), groups C was 40 obese patients with sOSAHS (BMI > or = 28). Acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometer was used to acquire unilateral area of first constriction, unilateral area of second of constriction, unilateral minimum cross-sectional area,unilateral nasal volume 0-5 cm, 2-5 cm, the effective unilateral and total nasal resistances in inspiration, expiration at 150 Pa (URins, URexp, TRins, TRexp). RESULT: Nasal resistance were significantly higher in the group B compared to the group A and group C (P<0.05). Among the group B, but not the group A and group B, we found significant correlations between TRins,TRexp and apnea hypopnea index (r=0.402, 0.401, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Nasal resistance is an important factor for nonobese patients with sOSAHS.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Airway Resistance ; Case-Control Studies ; Exhalation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rhinometry, Acoustic ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To obtain the normal values of acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometry parameters of normal adult and analyze the correlation of two measurement results between rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry. METHOD: Eighty-two normal adults were recruited in our research. Acoustic rhinometry was used to acquire unilateral area of first constriction (UA1), unilateral area of second of constriction (UA2), unilateral minimum cross-sectional area (UMCA), unilateral nasal volume 0-5 cm, 2-5 cm (UV5, UV2-5), and rhinomanometer was used to measure the effective unilateral and total nasal resistances in inspiration, expiration at 150 Pa or Broms (radius is 200 Pa) (UR(ins150), UR(ins200), UR(exp150), UR(exp200), TR(ins150), TR(ins200), TR(exp150), TR(exp200)). RESULT: UA1 was (0.63 +/- 0.14) cm2 for male, (0.60 +/- 0.14) cm2 for female; UA2 was (0.72 +/- 0.48) cm2 for male, (0.6 +/- 0.4) cm2 for female; UMCA was (0.50 +/- 0.16) cm2 for male, (0.47 +/- 0.18) cm2 for female; UV5 was (5.68 +/- 1.73) cm3 for male, (5.16 +/- 1.85) cm3 for female; UV2-5 was (4.13 +/- 1.56) cm3 for male, (3.83 +/- 1.66) cm3 for female. No statistical significance was found between men and women (T = 0.093, 0.134, 0.392, 0.408, P > 0.05). UR(ins150) was (0.86 +/- 0.96) Pa/(cm3 x s); UR(ins200) was (0.45 +/- 0.61) Pa/(cm3 x s); UR(exp150) was (0.83 +/- 0.71) Pa/(cm3 x s); UR exp200 was (0.52 +/- 0.88) Pa/(cm3 x s); TR(ins150) was (0.38 +/- 0.34) Pa/(cm3 x s); TR(ins200) was (0.18 +/- 0.24) Pa/ (cm3 x s); TRp(exp150) was (0.38 +/- 0.27) Pa/(cm3 x s); TR(exp200) was (0.19 +/- 0. 24) Pa/(cm3 x s). There was significant correlation between UR(ins150), UR(exp150), TR(ins150), TR(exp150 and UMCA, UV5, UV2 - 5 (P < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION There was correlation between acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometry. The results of this study can be used as a valuable reference to judge nasal cavity condition of normal adult.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Airway Resistance ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Cavity ; physiology ; Reference Values ; Rhinomanometry ; Rhinometry, Acoustic ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo screen for mutations of deafness-related genes among ethic Chinese women of child-bearing age.

METHODSIn 324 women, 9 mutational sites in 4 deafness-related genes (SLC26A4, GJB3, GJB2 and mtDNA 12s rRNA) were screened using a gene chip.

RESULTSTwenty women (6.17%) have carried mutations. These included 11 (3.40%) carrying a GJB2 gene mutation, 7 (2.16%) carrying a SLC26A4 gene mutation, 1 (0.31%) simultaneously carrying GJB3 and GJB2 gene mutations, and 1 (0.31%) carrying a mtDNA 12s rRNA gene mutation.

CONCLUSIONWomen of child-bearing age have a high rate for carrying mutations of common deafness-related genes, among which 235delC in GJB2 was most common. Prenatal screening of couples with normal hearing is an effective way to prevent birth of affected children.

The development of external counterpulsation (ECP) local area network system and extensible markup language (XML)-based remote ECP medical information system conformable to digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) standard has been improving the digital interchangeablity and sharability of ECP data. However, the therapy process of ECP is a continuous and longtime supervision which builds a mass of waveform data. In order to reduce the storage space and improve the transmission efficiency, the waveform data with the normative format of ECP data files have to be compressed. In this article, we introduced the compression arithmetic of template matching and improved quick fitting of linear approximation distance thresholding (LADT) in combimation with the characters of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) waveform signal. The DICOM standard is used as the storage and transmission standard to make our system compatible with hospital information system. According to the rules of transfer syntaxes, we defined private transfer syntax for one-dimensional compressed waveform data and stored EECP data into a DICOM file. Testing result indicates that the compressed and normative data can be correctly transmitted and displayed between EECP workstations in our EECP laboratory.
Computer Communication Networks ; standards ; Counterpulsation ; methods ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Medical Records Systems, Computerized ; standards ; Programming Languages

Enhanced extracorporeal counterpulsation (EECP) information consists of both text and hemodynamic waveform data. At present EECP text information has been successfully managed through Web browser, while the management and sharing of hemodynamic waveform data through Internet has not been solved yet. In order to manage EECP information completely, based on the in-depth analysis of EECP hemodynamic waveform file of digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) format and its disadvantages in Internet sharing, we proposed the use of the extensible markup language (XML), which is currently the Internet popular data exchange standard, as the storage specification for the sharing of EECP waveform data. Then we designed a web-based sharing system of EECP hemodynamic waveform data via ASP. NET 2.0 platform. Meanwhile, we specifically introduced the four main system function modules and their implement methods, including DICOM to XML conversion module, EECP waveform data management module, retrieval and display of EECP waveform module and the security mechanism of the system.
Computer Communication Networks ; standards ; Counterpulsation ; methods ; Heart-Assist Devices ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Internet ; Medical Records Systems, Computerized ; standards ; Programming Languages