Objective To investigate the effect of metformin ( MET) on learning and memory behavior in HFD-induced insulin-resistant rats.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into three groups to receive either a normal diet (Control group) or a high-fat diet (two HFD groups) for four weeks(HFD+MET).From two HFD groups, one received vehicle ( HFD group ) alone and other MET administration ( HFD+MET group ) .MET was dissolved in drinking water at a concentration of 2 mg/ml.All rats were subjected to the glucose tolerance test ( GTT) and behavioral tests using the elevated plus maze ( EPM ) , open field test ( OFT ) , Morris water maze ( MWM ) test and the step-through passive avoidance test ( PA) after four-week consecutive MET treatment .Blood samples were collected for determination of glucose. Results MET attenuated the glucose resistant condition and improved cognitive behavior in MWM and PA, vs the HFD group. Conclusion MET can improve the impaired learning and memory behavior in HFD-induced insulin-resistant rats.

Growth patterns of trichome and contaminative bacteria in Spirulina sp. liquid culture were observed, and it was found that the number of neutral and alkalophilic bacteria was always 105～106 times of that of Spirulina sp. trichome. It would be very difficult to get real pure Spirulina sp. strain by classical methods of dilution plate, capillary and single trichome selecting methods. A great deal of contaminative bacteria was washed out by two pretreatment processes. Low speed centrifugation was designed to wash the strains which usually deposit at bottom, and filtration method was designed to treat the strains usually floating at surface. Sandwich plate and dilution plate were designed for the purification of the mobile strains and non-mobile strains, respectively. A lot of strains were purified by the above processes and pure single trichome formed pure colonies on plates.

The design space of the high shear wet granulation process was established and validated within the framework of quality by design (QbD). The system of microcrystalline cellulose-de-ioned water was used in this study. The median granule size and bulk density of granules were identified as critical quality attributes. Plackeet-Burmann experimental design was used to screen these factors as follows: dry mixing time, the impeller and chopper speed of dry mixing, water amount, water addition time, wet massing time, the impeller and chopper speed of wet massing and drying time. And the optimization was implemented with the central composite experimental design based on screened critical process parameters. The design space of the high shear wet granulation process was established based on the quadratic polynomial regression model. Since the P-values of both models were less than 0.05 and values of lack of fit were more than 0.1, the relationship between critical quality attributes and critical process parameters could be well described by the two models. The reliability of design space, illustrated by overlay plot, was improved with the addition of 95% confidence interval. For those granules whose process parameters were in the design space, the granule size could be controlled within 250 to 355 μm, and the bulk density could be controlled within a range of 0.4 to 0.6 g x cm(-3). The robustness and flexibility of the high shear wet granulation process have been enhanced via the establishment of the design space based on the QbD concept.
Cellulose ; chemistry ; Reproducibility of Results ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Water

OBJECTIVETo study the origin, basis and application of the Ziwu Duichong Qixue Huzhu theory.

METHODSAnalyze internal relation of every pair of gua among the 12 Xiao-Xi-Gua in The Yijing, in combination with clinical examples.

RESULTSThis theory is used for meridian diagnosis and acupoint selection with the best therapeutic effects.

CONCLUSIONZiwu Duichong Qixue Huzhu theory is a complement for qi and blood circulation in the 12 meridians. And it can broaden thinking of clinical treatment.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Meridians

AIMThere is an increasing evidence for the role of high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relevance of HPV infection to the survival and prognosis of OSCC.

METHODOLOGYFifty-two patients with OSCC were followed from 4 to 88 months with a median of 50.7 months. HPV DNA was identified in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor specimens by nested PCR with MY09/MY11 and GP5+/GP6+ primer pairs and the HPV genotype was determined by direct DNA sequencing. Association between the HPV status and risk factors for cancer as well as tumor-host characteristics were analyzed. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed using the log-rank test.

RESULTSHPV was found in 40.4% of the tumors with HPV16 accounting for 63.5%, HPV18 for 30.8%, HPV6 for 3.9% and HPV11 for 1.8%. No infection with more than one HPV genotype was detected. HPV infection was significantly associated with poor histological grade, TNM stage I-II, alcohol usage and no smoking status. Multivariate analysis showed that HPV had an independent prognostic effect on the overall survival after adjusting other confounding factors such as histological grade, TNM stage and tobacco usage. The presence of HPV was significantly correlated with a better survival in patients with OSCC.

CONCLUSIONHPV infection can act as an independent predictor for the survival and prognosis of OSCC.

Alcohol Drinking ; Alphapapillomavirus ; classification ; physiology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; virology ; Cause of Death ; DNA, Viral ; analysis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forecasting ; Genotype ; Human papillomavirus 11 ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Human papillomavirus 18 ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Human papillomavirus 6 ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mouth Neoplasms ; virology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Papillomavirus Infections ; virology ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Smoking ; Survival Rate

This study was purposed to investigate the angiogenin (ANG) expression in COS-7 cells and its biological activity. The gene of angiogenin was obtained from mononuclear cells of peripheral blood by using RT-PCR and inserted into eukaryotic expression vector of pcDNA3.1. After being transfected into COS-7 cells, the recombinant ANG was identified by Western blot assay. The function of promoting proliferation of ANG to ECV304 cells was detected by MTT method, and its activity of vascularization was analyzed by chick embryo chorioallantois treated by the culture supernatant after transfection with pcDNA3.1-ang. The result showed that recombinant ANG was expressed in COS-7 cells after transfection for 24 to 36 hours. It could specifically react with monoclonal antibody against ANG. The recombinant ANG could obviously promote the proliferation of ECV304 cells. In contrast with the control group, the culture supernatant of pcDNA3.1-ang transfected group could stimulate the angiogenesis in embryo chorioallantois. It is concluded that the ang transiently expresses in COS-7 cells, and its expression product obviously stimulates the cell proliferation and angiogenesis.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; pharmacology ; Animals ; COS Cells ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Ribonuclease, Pancreatic ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo probe the incidence, pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of traumatic subdural hydroma (TSH) developing into chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH).

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 32 patients with TSH developing into CSDH and reviewed related literature.

RESULTS16.7% of TSH developed into CSDH in this study. The time of evolution was from 22 to 100 days after head injury. All the patients were cured with hematoma drainage.

CONCLUSIONSTSH is one of the origins of CSDH. The clinical characteristics of TSH developing into CSDH follow that the ages of the patients are polarized, that the evolution often happens in the patients with small chronic hydromas and being treated conservatively, that the patients are usually injured deceleratedly and that the accompanying cerebral damage is often very mild.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain Injuries ; complications ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Hematoma, Subdural ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Subdural Effusion ; complications ; etiology

Adult ; Female ; Femoral Fractures ; surgery ; Femur Neck ; injuries ; surgery ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDAmong the deaths due to trauma, about one half of the patients suffer from road traffic injury (RTI). Most of RTI patients complicate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe multiple injuries. ARDS is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in trauma patients. Although many injuries and conditions are believed to be associated with ARDS independent risk factors in trauma patients, their relative importance in development of the syndrome are undefined. We hypothesize that not all of the traditional risk factors impacting mortality are independently associated with patients strictly identified by traffic injury. This study aimed to sieve distinctive risk factors in our RTI population, meanwhile, we also hypothesize that there may exist significantly different risk factors in these patients.

METHODSThis was a retrospective cohort study regarding RTI as a single cause for emergency intensive care unit (EICU) admission. Patients identified as severe RTI with post-traumatic ARDS were enrolled in a prospectively maintained database between May 2002 and April 2007 and observed. Twenty-three items of potential risk impacting mortality were calculated by univariate and multivariate Logistic analyses in order to find distinctive items in these severe RTI patients.

RESULTSThere were 247 RTI patients with post-traumatic ARDS admitted to EICU during the study period. The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of mortality were associated with six risk factors out of 23: APACHE II score, duration of trauma factor, pulmonary contusion, aspiration of gastric contents, sepsis and duration of mechanical ventilation. The adjusted ORs with 95% CI were denoted with respect to surviving beyond 96 hours EICU admission (APACHE II score, duration of trauma factor, aspiration of gastric contents), APACHE II score beyond 20 EICU admission (duration of trauma factor, sepsis, duration of mechanical ventilation) and mechanical ventilation beyond 7 days EICU admission (duration of trauma factor and sepsis).

CONCLUSIONSWe have retrospectively demonstrated an adverse effect of six different risk factors out of 23 items in mortality of post-traumatic ARDS within severe RTI patients and, moreover, gained distinct outcomes in stratified patients under real emergency trauma circumstance. An impact of APACHE II score and pulmonary contusion contributing to prediction of mortality may exist in prophase after traffic injury. Sepsis is still a vital risk factor referring to systemic inflammatory response syndrome, infection, and secondary multiple organs dysfunction. Eliminating trauma factors as early as possible becomes the critical therapeutic measure. Aspiration of gastric contents could lead to incremental mortality due to severe ventilation associated pneumonia. Long-standing mechanical ventilation should be constrained on account of severe refractory complications.

APACHE ; Accidents, Traffic ; Adult ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Wounds and Injuries ; mortality

OBJECTIVETo assess whether these characteristics of less misclassification and greater area under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve of the new injury severity score (NISS) are better than the injury severity score (ISS) as applying it to our multiple trauma patients registered into the emergency intensive care unit (EICU).

METHODSThis was a retrospective review of registry data from 2 286 multiple trauma patients consecutively registered into the EICU from January 1,1997 to December 31, 2006 in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University in China. Comparisons between ISS and NISS were made using misclassification rates, ROC curve analysis, and the H-L statistics by univariate and multivariate logistic progression model.

RESULTSAmong the 2 286 patients, 176 (7.7%) were excluded because of deaths on arrival or patients less than 16 years of age. The study population therefore comprised 2 110 patients. Mean EICU length of stay (LOS) was 7.8 days ?2.4 days. Compared with the blunt injury group, the penetrating injury group had a higher percentage of male, lower mean EICU LOS and age. The most frequently injured body regions were extremities and head/neck, followed by thorax, face and abdomen in the blunt injury group; whereas, thorax and abdomen were more frequently seen in the penetrating injury group. The minimum misclassification rate for NISS was slightly less than ISS in all groups (4.01% versus 4.49%). However, NISS had more tendency to misclassify in the penetrating injury group. This, we noted, was attributed mainly to a higher false-positive rate (21.04% versus 15.55% for ISS, t equal to 3.310, P less than 0.001), resulting in an overall misclassification rate of 23.57% for NISS versus 18.79% for ISS (t equal to 3.290, P less than 0.001). In the whole sample, NISS presented equivalent discrimination (area under ROC curve: NISS equal to 0.938 versus ISS equal to 0.943). The H-L statistics showed poorer calibration (48.64 versus 32.11, t equal to 3.305, P less than 0.001) in the penetrating injury group.

CONCLUSIONSNISS should not replace ISS because they share similar accuracy and calibration in predicting multiple blunt trauma patients. NISS may be more sensitive but less specific than ISS in predicting mortality in certain penetrating injury patients.

Adult ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Intensive Care Units ; statistics & numerical data ; Length of Stay ; statistics & numerical data ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Multiple Trauma ; classification ; ROC Curve ; Registries ; Retrospective Studies