AIM: To assess if endogenous arginine vasopressin is involved in normal thermoregulatory processes. METHODS: Core temperature was monitored in undisturbed rats using radiotelemetry. Effect of AVP V 1 antagonist on normal body temperature were observed in rats under a 12:12 light-dark cycle. RESULTS: Intraperitoneal injection of AVP V 1-receptor antagonist in rats induced a increase in normal body temperature. Under normal light (light on at 6:00 AM-6:00 PM), AVP V 1 antagonist induced a increase in body temperature persisting for about 6 hour, but male rats had higher hyperthermia than female. Under normal dark exposure (light off at 6:00 PM- 6:00 AM), AVP V 1-receptor antagonist caused a increase in body temperature persisting for about 2 hour at the start of the dark phase, but no difference was found between sexes. CONCLUSION: Intraperitoneal injection of AVP V 1-receptor antagonist caused a increase in normal body temperature. The data indicated that endogenous vasopressin could be involved in tonic thermoregulatory process.

Objective To evaluate the protective effects of lung protective ventilation on the lungs in patients undergoing radical resection for esophageal cancer.Methods Sixty-eight patients of both sexes,aged 40-64 yr,of ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ,with body mass index 17-40 kg/m2,scheduled for elective radical resection for esophageal cancer,were randomly divided into conventional ventilation group (CV group,n =34) and protective ventilation group (PV group,n =34) using a random number table.Double lumen tube was inserted after induction of anesthesia,an anesthesia machine was connected,and the patients were mechanically ventilated.In group CV,VT was set at 10 ml/kg during two-lung ventilation,and VT was set at 7 ml/kg,and I ∶ E was set at 1 ∶ 2 during one-lung ventilation.In group PV,VT was set at 7 ml/kg during two-lung ventilation,VT was set at 5 ml/kg,I ∶ E was set at 1 ∶ 2,and PEEP was set at 10 cmH2O during one-lung ventilation,and bilateral lung recruitment maneuver was performed every 45 min.Before induction of anesthesia,and at days 1,3,and 5 after surgery,blood gas analysis was performed,and Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score was recorded.Before induction of anesthesia,and at 5 days after surgery,point-of-care testing for pulmonary function was performed,and percentages of maximum ventilatory volume (MVV％),forced vital capacity (FVC％),and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1％) were recorded,and FEV1/FVC was calculated.The development of respiratory failure,pulmonary atelectasis and incision infection was recorded within 5 min after surgery.Results Compared with group CV,MVV％,FVC％,FEV1％ and FEV1/FVC were significantly increased,Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score was decreased at each time point after surgery,SaO2 and PaO2 were increased,and no significant changes were found in pulmonary atelectasis and incision infection in group PV.Conclusion Lung protective ventilation can effectively protect the lungs in the patients undergoing radical resection for esophageal cancer.

Objective To evaluate the effects of mechanical ventilation preconditioning on the expression of Rho-associated kinase 1 (ROCK1) in the lung tissue in a rat model of ventilator-induced lung injury.Methods Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley, aged 8-12 weeks, weighing 250-300 g, were randomly assigned into 6 groups (n =8 each) using a random number table: control group (group C);normal mechanical ventilation group (group N);mechanical ventilation with large tidal volume (VT) group (group L);preconditioning with mechanical ventilation with different VT groups (P1, P2 and P3 groups).The animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital sodium, and tracheostomized.In group C, the animals kept spontaneous breathing after intubation.In group N, the animals were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 8-10 ml/kg.In group L, the animals were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 40 ml/kg.In P1, P2 and P3 groups, the animals were mechanically ventilated for 30 min with the VT of 6-7, 20 and 30 ml/kg, respectively, and then were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 40 ml/kg.The respiratory rate was 40 breaths/min, and inspiratory/expiratory ratio was 1 : 1.The animals were sacrificed at the end of ventilation.Broncho-alveolar lavage fluid was collected, and pulmonary permeability index (PPI) was calculated.Lungs were removed for examination of pathological changes which were scored,and for detection of the wet to dry lung weight ratio (W/D ratio), apoptosis in alveolar epithelial cells, and expression of ROCK1 (by immunohistochemistry and Western blot).Apoptosis index (AI) was calculated.Results Compared with group C, the pathological scores, W/D ratio, PPI and AI were significantly increased, and the expression of ROCK1 was up-regulated in L, P1, P2 and P3 groups (P＜0.05) , and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group N (P＞0.05).Compared with group L, the pathological scores, W/D ratio, PPI and AI were significantly decreased, and the expression of ROCK1 was down-regulated in group P1 (P＜0.05) , and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in P2 and P3 groups (P＞0.05).Conclusion The mechanism by which mechanical ventilation preconditioning decreases ventilator-induced lung injury may be related to inhibition of the expression of ROCK1 in lung tissues of rats.

Objective To evaluate the effects of mechanical ventilation preconditioning on ventilatorinduced lung injury in rats.Methods Forty-eight healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 250-300 g,were randomly assigned into 6 groups (n =8 each) using a random number table:control group (group C),normal ventilation group (group N),mechanical ventilation with large tidal volume (VT) group (group L) and mechanical ventilation preconditioning group (group P).The animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal 2 ％ pentobarbital sodium 0.2 ml/100 g.Tracheal intubation was performed.In group C,the animals kept spontaneous breathing after intubation.In group N,the animals were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 8-10 ml/kg.The animals were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 40 ml/kg in group L.In group P,the animals were mechanically ventilated for 30 min with the VT of 6 ml/kg,and then were mechanically ventilated for 3 h with the VT of 40 ml/kg (RR 40 bpm,I:E =l:l,PET CO2 35-45 mmHg).The animals were sacrificed at the end of ventilation,and the lungs were removed for measurement of wet to dry lung weight ratio (W/D ratio) and cell apoptosis and for microscopic examination of the pathological changes of the lung and the lung injury was scored.The apoptosis.index was calculated.Results Compared with group C,the lung injury score,W/D ratio,and apoptosis index were significantly increased in L and P groups,and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group N.Compared with group L,the lung injury score,W/D ratio,and apoptosis index were significantly decreased in group P.Conclusion Mechanical ventilation preconditioning can reduce ventilator-induced lung injury in rats.

Objective To systematically review the efficacy of dexmedetomidine and fentanyl-class drugs for induction in awake intubation patients.Methods We searched the PubMed,Embase, Cochrane library,Wanfang Database,CNKI,VIP and China Biology Medicine (CBM)for all ran-domized controlled trials (RCTs)about the efficacy of dexmedetomidine versus drugs of fentanyl class (fentanyl,sufentanil,remifentanil)for induction in awake intubation patients.The quality of the studies was evaluated by the method recommended by Cochrane Collaboration.Meta-analysis was con-ducted using the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.0 software.Results Ten RCTs involving 400 patients were included in our Meta-analysis.The results of meta-analysis showed that the ramsay se-dation scores in awake intubation patients was higher in group dexmedetomidine than that of group fentanyl-class drugs (P<0.05).Compared with group fentanyl-class drugs,the incidence of compli-cations such as hypertension,respiratory depression,bucking and post-surgical memory in the group dexmedetomidine was lower (P<0.05).Conclusion The efficacy of dexmedetomidine is better than that fentanyl-class drugs for induction in awake intubation patients.

Objective To compare and analyze clinical and pathological data of autopsyconfirmed invasive fungal disease (IFD) in elderly patients in order to achieve a better understanding of the clinical and pathological characteristics of IFD.Methods A total of 18 cases of IFD were diagnosed by autopsy from 1984 to 2014 at Beijing Hospital.Clinical and pathological data of IFD,including risk factors,clinical manifestation,X-ray and pathological characteristics,were analyzed retrospectively.Results The 18 cases were all male wvith an average age of (83.7±7.2) years and each patient had at least one risk factor for IFD.Of them,14 patients (77.8％) suffered malignancies of various origins.With respect to the pathogens,Mucor (6 cases) was the most common one,followed by Aspergilla (4 cases),Mycotoruloides (4 cases) and Cryptococci (2 cases).The lung was the most frequently implicated organ wvith 13 cases (72.2％),followed by the gastrointestinal tract.Vascular erosion was an important pathological characteristic of fungal infection,whose presentations included vasculitis,hemorrhage and embolism in tissues and organs.14 patients died from fungal infection-related causes,of which.massive hemorrhage as a result of vascular erosion by fungal infection was responsible for four patients' deaths.Conclusions Malignancies are an important risk factor for invasive fungal disease in elderly patients.Vascular erosion is a significant character of fungal infection.

AIM: To study the effect of the radix sophorae flavescentis on cellular immunity in rats with Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP) induced by long-term use of immunosuppressant, and explore the action of traditional Chinese medicine for the immunological regulation and infectious prevention after organ transplantation. METHODS: The experiment was conducted at Department of Pathobiology, Jilin Medical College from May 2005 to March 2006. Forty adult healthy female SD rats were selected from Harbin Medical University (Certification: 02473146) and randomly divided into experiment group and control group, with 20 rats in each. The model of PCP was set up by glucocorticoid injection subcutaneously to SD rats (25 mg once, 2 times/week). The mixture of sophorae flavescentis was given to stomach with tube in experiment group (3 mL/kg, 2 times/day), and was consisted of radix sophorae flavescentis, ash bark, amur cork-tree, malt, milkvetch root and danshen root. Six weeks later, all the rats were anesthetized and broncholveolar lavage fluids were collected.①Alveolar washing fluid was concentrated 10 times and the levels of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were examined by double antigen sandwich ELISA.②Blood was sampled from rat eyes and the count of lymphocytes in peripheral blood were detected.③The percentages of CD3+ and CD4+ subgroups were assessed with erythrocyte chaplet kit sensitized by antigen. RESULTS: All 40 rats were involved in the result analysis without drop.①The count of lymphocytes in peripheral blood in experiment group was significantly higher than that in control group (5.1?1.3)%, (0.8?0.3)%, P

Objective To explore the mechanism of Huagan Jiedu decoction in treatment of chronic hepatitis B by testing the influence of the decoction on Serum IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-γ of rat models of chronic hepatic injury. Methods The model of Chronic hepatic injury was established by subcutaneously injecting 40% CCl4-olive oil solution in rats according to the ratio of 3ml per kg. of body weight. 60 healthy rats were divided randomly into a normal group, a model group, a low dose of Huagan Jiedu decoction group, a large dose of Huagan Jiedu decoction group, and a control group (Qingre Jiedu tablet group), 15 cases in each group. The Serum IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-γ were detected in each group separately. Results Compared with the normal group, the Serum IL-2 and IFN-γ were decreased (t=2.401, 2.337, P=0.0349, 0.0378) and the Serum IL-4 was increased (t=2.896, P=0.00861 ) in the model group; Compared with the model group, the Serum IL-2 and IFN-γ were increased (t=2.417, 2.344, P=0.0341, 0.0372, P＜0.05; t=3.114, 2.988, P=0.0052, 0.0068) in the large Huagan Jiedu decoction group and the control group, while the Serum IFN-γ was increased (t=3.049, P=0.0062) in the low dose of Huagan Jiedu decoction group and the Serum IL-4 was decreased (t=3.102, 3.017, 2.979, P=0.0061, 0.0065, 0.0069)in both Huagan Jiedu decoction groups and the control group. Conclusion Large dose of Huagan Jiedu decoction has sound therapeutic effects on rats with chronic hepatic injury by decreaseing the content of the Serum IL-4 and increasing IL-2 and IFN-γ, and adjusting th1/th2 balance.

Objective To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway in mice with endotoxin-induced acute lung injury (ALI).Methods Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice,weighing 20-25 g,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=8 each) using a random number table:control group (group C),endotoxin-induced ALI group (group ALI),and dexmedetomidine group (group Dex).ALI was induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 5 mg/kg injected intraperitoneally.Dexmedetomidine 40 μg/kg was injected intraperitoneally at 1 h after LPS injection in group Dex,while the equal volume of normal saline was given in C and ALI groups.At 6 h after LPS injection,blood samples were collected from the carotid artery to detect arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2).The mice were then sacrificed,and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected for determination of the concentrations of total protein,interleukin-1β (IL-1β),IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-or (TNF-α).The lung tissues were removed for determination of wet to dry lung weight ratio (W/D ratio),and expression of phosphorylated JAK2 (p-JAK2),phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3),IL-1β mRNA,IL-6 mRNA and TNF-α mRNA,and for examination of the pathological changes which were scored.Results Compared with group C,the PaO2 was significantly decreased,and W/D ratio,lung injury score,concentrations of total protein,IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in BALF,and expression of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 were increased in ALI and Dex groups (P＜0.05).Compared with group ALI,the PaO2 was significantly increased,and W/D ratio,lung injury score,concentrations of total protein,IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in BALF,and expression of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 were decreased in group Dex (P＜0.05).Conclusion The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine attenuates LPS-induced ALI is probably related to inhibition of activation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in mice.

Objective To evaluate the effects of mechanical stretch preconditioning on pathological stretch-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathways in human type Ⅱ alveolar epithelial cells.Methods Human type Ⅱ alveolar epithelial cell line A549 cells cultured in vitro were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =24 each) using a random number table: control group (group Ⅰ), pathological stretch group (group Ⅱ), and mechanical stretch preconditioning group (group Ⅲ).In group Ⅰ , A549 cells were cultured routinely without receiving pathological stretch.In group Ⅱ , A549 cells were exposed to 20％ cyclic stretch at 0.3 Hz for 6 h.In group Ⅲ , A549 cells were exposed to 5％ cyclic stretch at 0.3 Hz for 60 min, and then exposed to 20％ cyclic stretch at 0.3 Hz for 6 h.After the end of the treatment, the cells were collected for determination of the cell viability (by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay) and lactate dehydrogeuase (LDH)release (by colorimetric method).The concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α),interleukin-8 (IL-8) and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in the culture medium were detected using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The expression of total NF-κB, phosphorylated NF-κB, total STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 was detected using Western blot.The ratios of phosphorylated NF-κB to total NF-κB and phosphorylated STAT3 to total STAT3 were calculated to reflect the activation.Results Compared with group Ⅰ , the cell viability was significantly decreased, the amount of LDH released was increased, and the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-8 and HMGB1, and activation of NF-κB and STAT3 were increased in Ⅱ and Ⅲ groups.Compared with group Ⅱ , the cell viability was significantly increased, the amount of LDH released was decreased, and the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-8 and HMGB1, and activation of NF-κB and STAT3 were decreased in group Ⅲ.Conclusion The mechanism by which mechanical stretch preconditioning attenuates pathological stretch-induced damage to human type Ⅱ alveolar epithelial cells is related to inhibited activation of NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways.