Brain natriuretic peptide(BNP) is a cardiac hormone mainly secreted by myocytes in the ventricular wall. It has strong action of natriuresis, diuresis, vasodilation, inhibition of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and sympathetic nervous system. The increased levels of BNP and NT-proBNP have been reported in children’s cardiovascular diseases in numerous stu-dies and can reflect cardiac function. This article simply reviews the BNP and NT-proBNP about its biology character, detection method, medical reference range and its progress in pediatric cardiovascular disease.

Objective:To determine the effects of TGF-?1 on the cytoskeleton in cultured human dental pulp cells(HPCs).Methods:Human dental pulp cells were cultured from dental pulp tissue explants digested with collagenase I. Semi-confluent cultures of the cells maintained under serum deprivation were treated with 20 ng/ml of TGF-?1 for 30 min, 1, 6 and 24 h respectively.Then cells were processed for BODYPY-phalloidin direct fluorescence examination of the actin filaments,DAPI direct fluorescence of the nucleus and Rhodamine Red(TM) indirect immunofluorescence of tubulin-?. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to investigate the changes of actin filaments and microtubules.Results:Disintegration and reorganization of actin filaments were observed in human dental pulp cells treated by TGF-?1 at 20 ng/ml. Actin filaments assembly was found near the cell membrane,specially after 30 min exposure.Disintegration of actin filaments was most obvious after 6 h treatment.Actin filaments were reorganized after 24 h exposure.Microtubules mainly remained intact in the cells during TGF-?1 treatment.Conclusion:TGF-?1 at 20 ng/ml may induce actin cytoskeletal reorganization in human dental pulp cells.

Objective:To study effects of 5 recipes for tonifing and supplementing on apoptosis and splenocytes in mice treated with cyclophosphamide.Methods:Apoptosis and cellular cycles of splenocytes were detected by flowcytometric analysis.Results:Sijunzi Decoction,Liuwei Dihuang Pill,Shengmai Powder,Jingui Shenqi Pill could antagonize the decline of proliferation induced by cyclophosphamide,and Sijunzi Decoction and Liuwei Dihuang Pill could resist the apoptosis of splenocytes caused by cyclophosphamide;and the recipes all could inhibit atrophy of the spleen induced by cyclophosphamide Conclusion:The 5 recipes for tonifying and supplementing all can improve the injury of the spleen induced by cyclopbosphamide in varying degrees,Sijunzi Decoction and Liuwei Dihuang Pill being the best.

Objective: To study the expression of negative costimulatroy molecule B7-H4 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and its relationship with the clinical features of NSCLC. Methods: Fifty-two NSCLC specimens from pa-tients who were pathologically diagnosed in our hospital during January 2008 to April 2009 were included in the present study. B7-H4 expression and infiltration of CD3~+ T cells in NSCLC tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. The correlation between B7-H4 expression, CD3~+ T infiltration, and the clinical features of NSCLC was studied. Results: The positive rate of B7-H4 in 52 NSCLC tissues was 48.08% (25/52), and B7-H4 expression in normal lung tissues was neg-ative or low (P <0.05). B7-H4 expression was positively correlated with the clinical tumor stages and lymph node metas-tasis of NSCLC (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with tumor infiltration of CD3~+ T cells (P < 0.05), but had no re-lationship with clinicopathologie parameters of NSCLC (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Negative costimulatroy molecule B7-H4 may play important roles in the development of NSCLC. Positive expression of BT-H4 is correlated with the clinical tumor stages and lymph node metastasis of NSCLC, which provides a foundation for diagnosis and therapy of NSCLC.

Objective To compare the clinical outcome of external fixation device with Kirschner wire or fragment fixation pin with mini plate and screw fixation in treatment of metacarpal and phalangeal articular fracture dislocation. Methods From October 2002 to March 2008, 106 patients with metacarpal and phalangeal articular fracture dislocation were randomly divided into A and B group. The 53 patients in A group were treated with external fixation device with Kirschner wire or fragment fixation pin. There were thumb injury in 24 cases, fracture-dislocation of proximal interphalangeal joint(PIP) in 36 cases, fracture-dislocation of metacarpophalangeal joint (MP) in 17 cases. The 53 patients in B group were treated with mini plate and screw fixation. There were thumb injury in 22 cases, fracture-dislocation of PIP in 30 cases, fracture-dislocation of MP in 23 cases. Duncan rating criteria were used to compare finger range of motion. Results The mean follow-up of 16.8 and 17.5 months in A group and B group. According to Duncan rating criteria, there were excellent in 33 cases, good in 16, fair in 3, and poor in 1 case. The excellent and good rate was 92.5% in A group. There were excellent in 30 cases, good in 17, fair in 5, and poor in 1 case. The excellent and good rate was 88.7% in B group. In A group, 1 case of wound infection was found. The average arc of motion of thumb joint was 134°±21° while the average arc of motion of other fingers was 248°±19°. In B group, no wound infection occurred. The average arc of motion of thumb joint was 122°±18° while the average arc of motion of other fingers was 225°±17°. Conclusion External fixation device with Kirschner wire or fragment fixation pin was better than the application of mini plate and screw fixation in treatment of metacarpal and phalangeal articular fracture-dislocation.

Background and purpose:Previous researches have shown that procalcitonin differentiates infec-tious from non-infectious fever and assesses the severity of infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the clin-ical value of procalcitonin in patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia.Methods:A total of 147 patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia admitted to intensive care unit from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2014 were di-vided into infectious group and fever of unknown origin group according to clinical symptoms, signs and etiology. The infectious group was divided into sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock groups according to the severity of infection. The procalcitonin levels were compared between different groups.Results:A procalcitonin cut-off value>0.935 ng/mL provided a sensitivity of 90.0%, speciifcity of 90.0% and AUC=0.905. The procalcitonin level of the infectious group was signiifcantly higher than that of the fever of unknown origin group [1.805 (1.268-2.523) ng/mLvs 0.555 (0.398-0.818) ng/mL,P<0.001]. There is a signiifcant difference between the severe sepsis group and the sepsis group [13.885 (7.600-17.961) ng/mLvs 1.805 (1.268-2.563) ng/mL,P<0.001]. Compared with the severe sepsis group, the value of procalcitonin in the septic shock group was signiifcantly higher [23.800 (20.050-30.478) ng/mLvs 13.885 (4.955-19.133) ng/mL,P<0.001].Conclusion:Plasma procalcitonin is a useful marker for diagnosing neutropenia in patients with infection. Meanwhile, procalcitonin can be used to assess the severity of infection in patients with neutropenia.

Aim To study effects of loganin and morro-niside on aging astrocytes induced by D-galactose. Methods Cortex astrocytes of newly born rats were cultured in vivo and indentified by immunofluorescence method.Firstly,appropriate D-galactose concentration was selected and effects of loganin and morroniside on proliferation activity of aging astrocytes induced by D-galactose were determined by MTT test.Then SOD, MDA were taken as indicators to study the effects of loganin and morroniside on aging astrocytes induced by D-galactose.Thirdly,growth factors like gliar cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF),basic fibro-blast growth factor (bFGF)tested by ELISA method and expression of Bax,caspase-3,phospho-extracellu-lar signal-regulated kinese (p-ERK1 /2),phospho-mi-togen-actived protein kinase /extracellular signal-regu-lated kinase kinase (p-MEK1 /2)were taken as indi-cators to discuss the potential protection mechanism. Results Loganin and morroniside exerted certain effects on proliferation of aging astrocytes induced by D-galactose,improving SOD,GDNF,bFGF release and lowering MDA release significantly (P <0.05 ). The expressions of Bax and caspase-3 proteins had no difference between model group and loganin group, morroniside group.While the expressions of p-ERK1 /2,p-MEK1 /2 of loganin group,morroniside group were improved significantly compared with model group.Conclusion Loganin and morroniside have protective effects on aging astrocytes induced by D-ga-lactose,and increase the proliferation ability.Protec-ting their antioxidant systems and improving the expres-sion of p-ERK1 /2,p-MEK1 /2 proteins are possible mechanisms.

Medical genetics is the mutual penetrative and combined discipline of genetics and medicine.Medical genetics teaching should be improved to adapt to the discipline development.Teaching reform and practice of medical genetics was developed in basic medical college of Nanjing university of traditional Chinese medicine.Constructive exploration was made in teaching content,teaching techniques,teaching methods,scientific research and performance appraisal standards in order to improve the quality of medical genetics teaching and to train high-quality medical talents.

Objective To investigate the preparation of a polycaprolactone (PCL)/poly (lactic acid-glycolic acid) (PLGA) degradable ureteral stent and its degradation ability in vitro.Methods From December 2010 to September 2012,degradable ureteral stent was fabricated by electrospinning,using different concentration of PCL/PLGA (5％,10％,15％,20％,25％,30％).The structure of stent was scanned by electron microscopy (SEM).The Instron system was used to test the mechanical property of those stents.The PCL/PLGA stents of different concentration (5％,15％,25％) were immerged into the urine to assess their degradable ability 7,14,21,28,35,42,49,56 days later.Results The inner diameter of the white tubular scaffold was 1.5 mm and the outer diameter was 2.0 mm.The SEM results showed that the scaffold had been made by nanofiber with the structure of multi-porous.The tension test showed that the mechanical property was enhanced with the increasing in the proportion of the PCL.The lowest stress at break was found in 5％ PCL/PLGA stent,while it was still sufficient for the mechanical criteria of degradable biomaterial.The degradation curves of different ratio of PCL/PLGA stent were close to a straight line.The 5％ PCL/PLGA stent collapsed into pieces within 28 d.The 15％ and 25％ PCL/PLGA collapsed within 42 d and 56 d,respectively.Conclusion The PCL/PLGA biodegradable ureteral stent has a good mechanical property and the degradation time can fully meet the demand of a ureteral stent.

Objective To study the expression of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) gene in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder celt lines, carcinoma tissues and normal bladder tis-sues and to evaluate the roles of EZH2 in the development and progression of bladder carcinoma. Methods RT-PCR, Western-blot and immunocytochemistry were used to analyze the expression of EZH2 of the bladder cell lines (T24, EJ, MGH-U1, BIU-87). The prostate cancer cell line PC-3M was used as an EZH2-positive cell line. EZH2 gene expressions in 45 cases of bladder carcinoma and 12 cases of normal bladder mueosa were detected by RT-PCR. Of cancer cases, 31 were superficial tumors and 14 were invasive tumors; 13 were G1, 21 were G2 and 11 were G3. Results EZH2 was detected in the 4 TCC cell lines. The EZH2 expression rate of TCC (82.2%) was significantly higher than that of normal bladder tissues (8.3%, P<0.05). The expression rate in superficial tumors was 74.2% and in invasive tumors was 100.0%, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05). The expression rates increased with tumor cell grade increase, but there was no significant difference (P> 0.05). Conclusions EZH2 could play an important role in the development and progression of blad-der carcinoma. It could be used as a potential gene therapy target of bladder cancer.