Objective To observe dynamically the effect of nimodipine on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF),brain edema and clinical change of dosage at the different time in the patients with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.Methods 108 patients with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage were divided into the nimodipine treatment group and the controls randomly,and the treatment group was divided into the group of within 12 h with drug and the group of after 12 h with drug again. All patients were given by dynamic observation of SPECT and clinical curative effect;and they were done by dynamic observation of SPECT and CT taking randomly 10 patients out of the groups of control and treatment.Results The improvement of rCBF,clinical curative effect and edema girdle in the treatment group was significantly better than the control group. Patients of within 12 h with drug also showed better outcome than the patients of after 12 h with drug on clinical curative effect.Conclusion Early stage with nimodipine may be positive factor in the improvement of rCBF,clinical curative effect and lightening edema around the hematoma after hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.

Objective To investigate the experimental methods of transferring the synoviocytes with the reconstructed pcDNA3.1-TGF-β1 gene by the liposomes and study the feasibility of self-induction of synoviocytes to the chondrocytes in vitro so as to provide a scientific and experimental basis for the further gene enhanced tissue engineering research in articular cartilage repair.Methods Synoviocytes were cultivate in vitro and purified to construct the eucaryotic expression plasmid carrying the recombinant rabbit TGF-β1 gene.By means of Lipofectamine 2000,the synoviocytes were transfected with pcDNA3.1-TGF-β1 (experimental group) and with pcDNA3.1 ( + ) blank plasmid (control group).The synoviocytes free from transfection was set as blank group.After 48 hours of transfection,the cells were screened by G418.Representative sections from among the positive clones were used for RT-PCR assay of instant expression of TGF-β1.The other sections were used for immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies to TGF β1.Screening of cells by G418 was continued for 12 days of cell counting and drawing the growth curve.The antigens of TGF-β1 and collagen Ⅱ were examined every week three weeks after transfection.All images were processed by using analysis instrument (Image-Pro Plus V6.0).Statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS 13.0 software package.The difference between groups was tested by using variance ( ANOVA) analysis.Results The transfection efficiency in experimental group was 18% ,with temporary decreased living activity of the transfected cells shown by growth curve.The cell population decreased to 3.6 × 104/ml four days after transfection.After 72 hours of transfection,the positive fragment of TGF-β1 was detected by RT-PCR assay,and immunohistochemical staining of antibiotics to TGF-β1 showed positive particles only in the experimental group.After three weeks of tranfection,the immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies to TGF-β1 and type Ⅱ collagen showed that there were positive particles in the transfected cells in the experimental group,with no positive particle in the control and blank groups.According to the results of Image-Pro Plus V6.0,PU value of anti-TGF-β1 was (19.04±1.26) seven days after transfection,while that of control and blank groups were (4.07 ± 0.65)and (3.23 ±0.56) respectively,with statistical difference (P<0.05).PU value of anti-type Ⅱ collagen in experimental group,control group and blank group was (13.74 ± 1.27),(4.62 ±0.56) and (3.93 ± 0.38) 14 days after transfection,with statistical difference ( P < 0.05).Conclusions Transfection of the rabbit articular synoviocytes with the reconstructed pcDNA3.1-TGF-β1 gene can be successfully accomplished by using Lipofectamine 2000 method.The transfected synoviocytes can express TGF-β1 and excrete type Ⅱ collagen,have chondrogenic potential when transfected by pcDNA3.1-TGF-β1 gene and can be used as candidate cells for repair of articular cartilage.

To elucidate the molecular characteristics of the hemagglutinin (HA) genes of H5N1 subtype of avian influenza viruses in the boundary region of Yunnan province. Of 420 samples were collected from the foreign poultry in boundary region of Yunnan province during 2003 to 2008 and these samples were subjected to screening by H5/N1 subtype-specific and multiplex RT-PCR. testing. The HA genes of H5N1 viruses from positive samples were amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into vector pMD18 T for subsequent sequencing. The alignment with sequences of the known reference strains and phylogenetic analysis were then performed. The genes from 21 representative positive samples with 4 different sequences at the cleavage site were obtained and all of them possessed the molecular characteristic of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. The mutation of key amino acids had been found among receptor-binding sites, potential glycosylation sites and neutralizing epitopes.-Phylogenetic analysis showed those positive samples could be divided into 5 distinct clades, including clade 1, 2.4. 2.3.2, 2.3.4 and 7. It is evident that H5N1 viruses from the foreign boundary region of Yunnan province in 2003 to 2008 show genetic divergence and clade 2,3,4 is the dominant clade in this region.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases among farmers,land less peasants and urban population in a certain area of Anhui Province,to explore the relationship between the lifestyles of landless peasants and their chronic non-communicable diseases.Methods A total of 761 valid questionnaires were collected by cross-sectional epidemiological study,including 119 farmers,259 landless peasants and 383 urban groups.The enumeration data was analyzed by x2 test and the measurement data analyzed by variance.The risk of chronic non-communicable diseases in each group was analyzed by Logistic regressions.Results General demographic characteristics showed that there were differences in three groups of people in the respects of drinking,eating habits and physical activity and other lifestyles (all P ＜ 0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the onset risk of hypertension and overweight obesity in the famer group and the landless peasant group was lower than that in the urban group,but higher than that in the peasant group.After adjusting for confounding factors,the prevalence of hypertension in the farmer group (OR =0.20,95％ CI:0.12-0.33) and the lost land group (OR =0.65,95％ CI:0.44-0.95) was lower than that in the urban group,the overweight obesity in the farmer group (OR =0.44,95％ CI:0.27-0.74) and the lost land group(OR =0.67,95％ CI:0.47-0.96) was lower than that in the urban group.The incidence of atherosclerosis in the farmer group (OR =2.48,95 ％ CI:1.45-4.23) and the lost land group(OR =2.00,95％ CI:1.33-3.02) was higher than that in the urban group.Conclusions The living style of landless peasants is different from those of rural group and urban group,and the incidence of hypertension and overweight obesity is higher than that of farmers.We should take interventions against chronic non-communicable diseases in landless peasants.

Objective To establish a new canine model of ureter trauma to observe the protective effect of biodegradable ureteral stent on renal function following traumatic ureter injury. Methods A self-made device was used to make firearm fragment wounds unilaterally on the ureters in nine Beagle dogs (model group). The wounds were debrided and sutured and the results were evaluated by using intravenous pyelography (IVP) and radioactive renography at 40, 80 and 120 days postoperatively. Firearm fragment wounds were made to the bilateral ureters of nine Beagle dogs in the positive control group, in which a biodegradable stent was placed in one side and a double-J stent placed in the other side. Results In model group, hydronephrosis and hydroureter occurred and got worse postoperatively on the wounded side in all nine Beagle dogs, while none of these symptoms were found in any animals in the control group. The ratios of biodegradable stent side to double-J stent side were increased in renal patial concertration index and half time of kidney washout, but neither showed significant differences. However,vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) was not found in the biodegradable stent side, but in the double -J stent side. Conclusions A new canine model of firearm fragment wounds is successfully developed. Both the biodegradable and double-J stent play important roles in support and drainage and show no significant difference in aspects of renal uptake and half time of kidney washout. The biodegradable stent can effectively prevent VUR.

Dopamine is the precursor of a variety of natural antioxidant compounds. In the body, dopamine acts as a neurotransmitter that regulates a variety of physiological functions of the central nervous system. Thus, dopamine is used for the clinical treatment of various types of shock. Dopamine could be produced by engineered microbes, but with low efficiency. In this study, DOPA decarboxylase gene from Sus scrofa (Ssddc) was cloned into plasmids with different copy numbers, and transformed into a previously developed L-DOPA producing strain Escherichia coli T004. The resulted strain was capable of producing dopamine from glucose directly. To further improve the production of dopamine, a sequence-based homology alignment mining (SHAM) strategy was applied to screen more efficient DOPA decarboxylases, and five DOPA decarboxylase genes were selected from 100 candidates. In shake-flask fermentation, the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Homo sapiens (Hsddc) showed the highest dopamine production (3.33 g/L), while the DOPA decarboxylase gene from Drosophila Melanogaster (Dmddc) showed the least residual L-DOPA concentration (0.02 g/L). In 5 L fed-batch fermentations, production of dopamine by the two engineered strains reached 13.3 g/L and 16.2 g/L, respectively. The residual concentrations of L-DOPA were 0.45 g/L and 0.23 g/L, respectively. Finally, the Ssddc and Dmddc genes were integrated into the genome of E. coli T004 to obtain genetically stable dopamine-producing strains. In 5 L fed-batch fermentation, 17.7 g/L of dopamine was produced, which records the highest titer reported to date.
Animals ; Dopa Decarboxylase/genetics* ; Dopamine/biosynthesis* ; Drosophila melanogaster/genetics* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Humans ; Metabolic Engineering

Metabolic engineering has been developed for nearly 30 years since the early 1990s, and it has given a great impetus to microbial strain breeding and improvement. Aromatic chemicals are a variety of important chemicals that can be produced by microbial fermentation and are widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, feed, and material industry. Microbial cells can be engineered to accumulate a variety of useful aromatic chemicals in a targeted manner through rational engineering of the biosynthetic pathways of shikimate and the derived aromatic amino acids. This review summarizes the metabolic engineering strategies and biosynthetic pathways for the production of aromatic chemicals developed in the past 30 years, with the aim to provide a valuable reference and promote the research in this field.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Fermentation ; Metabolic Engineering ; Shikimic Acid

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of thyroid nodules (TN) is increasing rapidly. This study analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of TN in surgically treated patients and identified the risk factors for malignant nodules (MN) to provide more understanding of the differential diagnosis of TN.

METHODSA total of 6 304 TN cases who underwent thyroid surgery were included in this retrospective study. The clinical data were collected to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and related risk factors for MN. The nature of TN (benign nodules (BN) or MN), medical records, laboratory data, and imaging data were analyzed. The risk factors for MN were screened using Spearman's rank correlation analysis and nonconditional binary Logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSThe number of surgically treated TN cases increased yearly. A total of 34.33% of cases were MN and 65.67% were BN. Up to 56.74% of these cases underwent unnecessary surgery. Among the MN cases, papillary thyroid carcinoma accounted for 94%, in which 46.71% coexisted with benign thyroid disease and 32.28% with multiple foci. Single-related factor analysis showed that age, employment, disease duration, history of breast nodules and/or hypertension, the levels of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb), and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPoAb), and ultrasound features of TN were related to MN. Stepwise nonconditional binary Logistic regression analysis showed that 13 factors may be the independent risk factors for MN, including <40 years old, previous history of breast nodules and/or hypertension, disease duration <1 month, employment, hypoechoic nodule, irregular nodules, nodule calcification, solid echo nodule, fuzzy boundary, rich blood flow within nodules, abnormal lymph nodes around the neck, nodule diameter <1 cm, and abnormally high TgAb.

CONCLUSIONSOur results demonstrate a rapid increase in surgically treated TN cases and ratio of MN and indicate unnecessary surgeries in some cases. This study also suggest that age, duration of thyroid disease, history of breast disease and/or hypertension, the levels of serum TSH, TgAb, and TPoAb, and ultrasound features of TN are related to MN, and some of these factors may be the risk factors for MN.

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Thyroid Nodule ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo examine the immune memory status to hepatitis B vaccine among infants with normal or high antibody response to primary vaccination, 5 years after the primary vaccination and the risk factors associated with the immune memory.

METHODSTiters of the antibody against hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) were detected, five years after the primary vaccination among children who appeared normal or high response to hepatitis B primary vaccination in infancy. Those whose anti-HBs titers were low than protective level (10 mIU/ml) were given a challenge dose of hepatitis B vaccine and titers of anti-HBs were detected 14 days after the challenge. Positive rate and geometric mean titer (GMT) of anti-HBs were calculated. Level of the anti-HBs titers after primary vaccination, at following-up and after the challenge periods were divided into different levels, respectively. Risk factors associated with the levels of anti-HBs titer after the challenge were examined by univariate analysis that and multivariable analysis.

RESULTSAnti-HBs waned to the level below protective standard among 37.98% of the children with normal or high antibody response to hepatitis B primary vaccination; among those children whose anti-HBs were below the protection standard. The seroconversion rate and GMT of anti-HBs after the challenge dose were 98.95% (757/765) and 2 811.69 mIU/ml [95% Confidence Interval (CI) :2 513.55-3 145.19 mIU/ml] , respectively. Titers and levels of anti-HBs after the challenge, appeared an increase with anti-HBs after primary vaccination and the anti-HBs in the following-up (F=5.46, 10.23 respectively; P<0.000 1 for both) periods. Results from the multivariable analysis showed that gender, premature birth and birth weight were factors insignificantly associated with the anti-HBs titers after the dose of challenge, while the anti-HBs levels were independently associated with the levels of anti-HBs titer after the challenge [OR = 1.001 (95%CI: 1.000-1.002) , P<0.001; OR=1.28 (95%CI: 1.81-1.39) , P<0.001]at the following-up periods.

CONCLUSIONSStrong immune memory could be found among those children with normal or high responses to hepatitis B vaccination, 5 years after the primary vaccination. The intensity of immune memory might be associated with the anti-HBs titer after primary vaccination as well as the anti-HBs titers before the challenge dose was given.

Antibody Formation ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B ; prevention & control ; Hepatitis B Antibodies ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Vaccines ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunologic Memory ; Infant ; Risk Factors ; Seroconversion