Objective To evaluate the effects of tumor-associated macrophages on the proliferation,invasion and migration of human cutaneous malignant melanoma cells.Methods Cultured U937 human monocytic cells at logarithmic phase were classified into three groups to be pretreated with phorbol ester for 48 hours followed by 48-hour activation by phorbol ester (M polarization),lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 25 mg/L (M1 polarization),and interleukin (IL)-4 at 15 μg/L (M2 polarization) respectively.Then,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine the levels of IL-12p70 and IL-10 in the supernatant of these activated cells.A375 human malignant melanoma cells were divided into four groups to be cultured alone or with M-,M1-and M2-polarized macrophages respectively.After additional culture for different durations (24,48 and 72 hours),methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was conducted to estimate the proliferative activity,and Transwell assay to evaluate the invasion and migration activity,of the A375 cells.Results The proliferation of A375 cells was accelerated by coculture with M-and M2-polarized macrophages,but inhibited by that with M1-polarized macrophages,with significant differences among the four groups in the proliferative activity at 48 and 72 hours (all P ＜ 0.05),but not at 24 hours (P ＞ 0.05).Invasion assay showed that the number of A375 cells that migrated through Transwell chambers was significantly larger in M2 and M groups (147.00 ± 7.92 and 113.22 ± 8.15 respectively),but smaller in the M1 group (56.44 ± 7.55),than in the control group (84.11 ± 6.07,all P ＜ 0.05).Similarly,migration assay revealed a significant increase in the number of A375 cells that migrated through Transwell chambers in the M2 and M(p) groups (198.33 ± 8.22 and 156.00 ± 8.83 respectively),but a significant decrease in the M1 group (97.11 ± 6.75) as compared with the control group (123.89 ± 7.01,all P＜ 0.05).Conclusions The proliferation,invasion and migration of A375 cells can be accelerated by IL-4-activated M2-polarized macrophages,but decelerated by LPS-activated M1-polarized macrophages.Phorbol ester tends to induce monocytic cells to differentiate into M2-polarized macrophages.

Objective To explore the association between DNA methyltrsansferase 3a (DNMT3a) expression and interleukin-4 (IL-4),interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in mononuclear cells of colonic laminapropriamucosae in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.Methods From November 2009 to March 2010,sixty colonic mucosa biopsy specimens through colon scopy were collected,specimens of active UC or normal controls were 30 in each group.The expression of DNMT3a,IL-4,and IFN-γ was detected with immunohistochemical method (SABC) in mononuclear cells of colonic laminapropriamucosae,and their relation with different degrees of colonic inflammatory response was analyzed.Results The positive expression rate of DNMT3a,IL-4,IFN-γ in mononuclear cells of colonic laminapropriamucosae in active UC group was significant higher than that in control group and there were statistically significant differences (x2 =16.596,P=0.000;x2 =42.857,P=0.000;x2 =6.667,P=0.024;).The expression of them was higher in sever inflammatory response than that in mild inflammatory response,and its expression intensity increased as inflammatory activity became more severe.There was positive correlation between IL-4,IFN-γ and DNMT3 expression in UC group (r=0.46,P=0.01 ;r=0.559,P=0.001).Conclusions The expression of DNMT3a,IL-4 and IFN-γ is associated with the degree of colonic inflammatory response.DNA methylation maybe involved in Th1/Th2 immune balance regulation in UC pathogenesis.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a somatopsychic disturbance. This article discussed the interrelationship between CFS and physical problem and explored how to improve Tuina to treat CFS.

Objective To investigate pathological characteristics and differential diagnosis of desmoplastic melanocytic nevus.Methods Four cases of desmoplastic melanocytic nevus were analyzed based on the clinical manifestations and histological,immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) features.Results Of the 4 cases,2 were male and 2 were female.Their age ranged from 19 to 30 years with the average age being 26.5 years.The skin lesions were located on the extremities in 3 cases,on the vulva in 1 case.Histologically,the lesions were bilaterally symmetrical intradermal nevus.Nevus cells appeared epithelioid and/or fusiform,some were clustered or scattered in the proliferative fibrous tissue.None of lymphocyte aggregation,necrosis or ulceration was observed.Immunohistochemical examination showed positive staining for S100 and Melan A in 3 cases,positive staining for P16 in 2 cases,Ki-67-1abeling index less than 5％ in all the 4 cases,and negative staining for factor XⅢ (FXⅢ) and CD34 in 2 cases.FISH assay showed no copy-number variations in gene loci 6p25 (RREB1),6q23 (MYB),6p11.1-q11.1 (Cep6) and 11q13 (CCND1) in desmoplastic nelanocytic nevus.Conclusion Desmoplastic melanocytic nevus is a kind of histologically unique,benign melanocytic nevus,and immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67,S-100,Melan A and FXmand FISH assay on melanoma can be helpful for the differential diagnosis between cutaneous fibrous histiocytoma and melanoma.

OBJECTIVETo summarize our experiences with the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with cetuximab and compare the therapeutic effects of cetuximab applied in the first line and non-first line settings.

METHODSFrom October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009, 16 NSCLC patients were treated with cetuximab combined with standard chemotherapy in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The short-term efficacy of the therapeutic protocols were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 115 cycles of cetuximab treatment were administered in these patients with a median of 6 cycles (7.5 in the first line setting and 2 in non-first line setting). In the 10 patients with cetuximab treatment in the first line setting, the ORR was 40.0% (4/10), DCR was 80.0% (8/10), median TTP was 6.5 months (2-19), and median OS was 8.5 months (2-48); in the non-first line setting, these indices were 33.3% (2/6), 33.3% (2/6), 3.5 months (3-4) and 18 months (4-28), respectively. Both ORR and DCR were similar between the first and non-first line settings (P=0.790, P=0.062). Ten of the patients (62.5%) developed acne-like rash within 3 weeks, who had an ORR of 60% (6/10) and DCR of 90% (9/10); the ORR and DCR in patients without acne-like rash were both 10.4% (1/6), showing no significant difference in ORR (P=0.080) but a significant difference in DCR between the two groups (P=0.003). No treatment-associated death or cetuximab-associated discontinuation occurred. Altogether 11 patients (68.8%) developed acne-like rash, which occurred within 3 weeks in 10 cases. Seven patients showed side effects associated with the chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONCetuximab combined with standard chemotherapy is a good option for Chinese patients with NSCLC and the current data support the application of cetuximab in the first line setting.

Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; administration & dosage ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; Cetuximab ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To optimize the pre-treatment method before detecting Helicobacter pylori ( H.pylori ) by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry ( MALDI-TOF MS) and evaluate the ability of the Superspectra by MALDI-TOF MS for identifying clinical isolated H.pylori strains.Methods H.pylori were isolated from 469 biopsy samples of gastric mucosa collected from January 2015 to July 2016 in Huadong Hospital affiliated to Fudan University , 16 s rRNA sequencing were then performed to validate the strains.Then 91 isolated H.pylori strains were used for the subsequent MALDI-TOF analysis.The effect of pre-treatment of 50%isopropanol, formic acid and acetonitrile (1∶1), 70%formic acid were compared before H.pylori detecting by MALDI-TOF MS.40 out of 91 clinical H.pylori strains were detected by MALDI-TOF MS and the spectra were randomly assigned to 4 groups including 5, 10, 20, 30 spectra, each group had 3 repeats.Then 4 groups with different amount of spectra were used for creating Superspectra with SARAMIS Premium software , respectively.The remaining 51 H.pylori strains including 306 spectra were used for validating the identification rate of the Superspectra.Results With the use of 70%formic acid, the greater number of ion signals and higher relative intensity of the main peaks were observed than other pre-treatment reagents.The identification rate of Superspectra created by 30 strains group was the highest ( 90.2%).Among the 306 spectra, 46.1% of them achieved highly reliable identification , 22.2% achieved lower degree of reliable identification , and 31.7% of them achieved “no identification”.Conclusions The study optimized the pre-treatment method before H.pylori detecting by MALDI-TOF MS.The Superspectra was created with the good ability to rapidly identify clinical isolated H.pylori strains.

[ABSTRACT]AIM:Toobservethelong-termeffectsoftaurine,Danxuetong(Salviamiltiorrhizacombinedwith Xueshuantong ) and breviscapine on contralateral testis with unilateral testicular torsion in prepubertal rats , and to compare their protective effect on testis with ischemia reperfusion injury .METHODS: Four-week-old healthy male SD rats ( n=64) were randomly divided into 8 groups:sham operation group, saline group, single-dose and successive taurine groups, single-dose and successive Danxuetong groups , and single-dose and successive breviscapine groups .The animal model of left testicular torsion reduction (720°for 2 h) was established.After 6 weeks of surgery, the right testes and epididymides from the rats were collected immediately to detect the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), the activity of superoxide dis-mutase (SOD), the activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA).The sperm de-formity, sperm viability and sperm concentration were measured , and the pathological examination of the testicular tissues was performed.RESULTS:Compared with saline group, the activity of SOD, T-AOC, sperm viability and sperm concen-tration were increased , while MDA content and sperm deformity were decreased in 3 successive groups .SOD activity and sperm viability ( except single-dose breviscapine group ) were increased , but MDA content and sperm deformity were de-creased in 3 single-dose groups .T-AOC activity and sperm concentration were increased in single-dose taurine group .The saline group showed interstitial edema and degeneration of seminiferous tubules , and the rest groups showed a significant improvement in histological morphology .CONCLUSION:The contralateral testis in prepubertal rats was damaged after u-nilateral testicular torsion , and taurine , Danxuetong and breviscapine have long-term protective effect on the tissues under ischemia-reperfusion injury .The protective effect of Danxuetong is better than breviscapine , and taurine is the best of them.The effect of single-dose group is better than the successive application .

The whole developing history of the in-flight bladder relief device for US fighter pilots from the first generation to the third generation was introduced.The optimized design of the third-generation product was described in terms of male use and female use.It's pointed out the US Air Force developed the in-flight bladder relief device with the mode of integration and innovation,the idea closely following the troops'needs and the key technology upgrading thought introducing the newest achievements,and references were provided for the technical improvement of this type of device for the PLA.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(6):71-76]

Tripterygium wilfordii has exihibited multiple pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, immune modulation, anti-tumor and anti-fertility. T. wilfordii have been used for the therapy of inflammation and autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, immune complex nephritis and systemic lupus erythematosus clinically. However, it is well known that T. wilfordii has small margin between the therapeutic and toxic doses and could cause serious injury on digestive, reproductive and urogenital systems. Among all the organs, liver is one of the most remarkable targets of T. wilfordii-induced toxicities, and the damage is more serious than others. It is generally accepted that T. wilfordii-induced liver injury is a result of the combined effects of toxic elements of T. wilfordii. It is reported in several studies that the mechanism of T. wilfordii-induced liver injury may be related to lipid peroxidation, cell apoptosis and immune damage, and so on. Licorice is one of the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicine, with effects of heat- clearing and detoxicating, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective, reconciling various drugs, and so on. Licorice often accompany T. wilfordii in clinical application which can significantly reduce the liver injury induced by T. wilfordii. The attenuated effect is exact, but the mechanism is still a lack of in-depth study. This paper reviews the studies on T. wilfordii-induced liver injury and the related mechanism as well as licorice and other traditional Chinese medicine accompany T. wilfordii to reduce the injury in recent years, so as to provide reference for related research in the future.
Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Glycyrrhiza ; Humans ; Inactivation, Metabolic ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Tripterygium

To reconstruct a tooth model from CT slices, we need to define the accurate contour of each tooth from CT slices. In this paper, we propose a semi-automatic method for drawing the contours of teeth in dental CT images. First of all, we select the reference slice from CT slices and carry out tooth segmentation interactively based on shape characteristic of each tooth. The dental CT images have the following distinct characteristic: in two neighboring CT slices, the size, location and intensity of corresponding tooth is very similar, so we can project the bounding box of the tooth whose contour has been drawn onto the next slice as the operation region of corresponding tooth. And then we perform segmentation operation tooth by tooth in the operation region based on the region growing algorithm using the information passed from the previous slice. With the reference slice as the starting slice, we carry out tooth segmentation slice by slice like this way automatically. The test result shows that the proposed method can detect the contours of teeth quickly and reliably with only little user intervention and it has practical value.
Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Tooth ; diagnostic imaging