Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear ; congenital ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Melanocytes ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Epistaxis ; therapy ; Female ; Gloves, Protective ; Hemostatic Techniques ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

To observe the expression of drebrin in the distal cerebrospinal fluid contacting neurons (dCSF-CNs) of rats with chronic constriction injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve by immunofluorescence technique, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, sham surgery group and CCI group. The behavior of rats was scored. After choleratoxin subunit B-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (CB-HRP, 3 muL) was injected into the lateral cerebroventricle to trace dCSF-CNs, the expression of drebrin was observed in the dCSF-CNs through immunofluorescence double staining and laser scanning confocal microscopy technique. The results showed that only the pain threshold of CCI group was decreased. The dCSF-CNs were clearly displayed in three groups. No drebrin expression was observed in the control and sham groups. In CCI group, drebrin was markedly expressed in intracytoplasm. It is suggested that the technique displaying dCSF-CNs with immunofluorescence is successful and the dCSF-CNs are possibly involved in the transmission of nociceptive information under the neuropathic pain state.
Animals ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Male ; Neuralgia ; metabolism ; Neurons ; metabolism ; Neuropeptides ; metabolism ; Pain Threshold ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve ; injuries

OBJECTIVETo study the effect and molecular mechanism of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro induced by human recombinant TGF-β1 protein in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

METHODSEMT morphological changes of Tu686 cells were observed after sequential treatment of 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 and 20 µmol/L EGCG. Tu686 cells were collected after the treatment of 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 24 h and EGCG with different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30 µmol/L) for another 24 h or 20 µmol/L EGCG treatment for different time phase (6, 12, 24 h). Then RT-PCR and Western-blot were applied to detect mRNA and protein expression level of epithelial cell marker E-cadherin, mesenchymal cell marker Vimentin and Smad7, an inhibit molecule of TGF-β1 mediated pathway in Tu686 cells.

RESULTSTGF-β1 successfully induced characterized EMT morphological and molecular changes in Tu686 cells, in which expression of E-cadherin decreased, Vimentin increased and Smad7 declined. However, EGCG could reverse the TGF-β1 mediated process of EMT by downregulating the expression of Vimentin and upregulating the expression of E-cadherin and Smad7.

CONCLUSIONEGCG significantly inhibits TGF-β1-mediated EMT inTu686 cell lines of SCCHN, which maybe associated with the upregulated-expression of Smad7, an inhibitor in TGF-β1 signaling pathway.

Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; Catechin ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; drug effects ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Humans ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Smad7 Protein ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Vimentin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo develop an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, sweroside, mangiferin, erythrocentaurin, and to detect these five constituents in eight Qingyedans derived from Swertia mileensis, S. cincta, S. patens, S. punicea, S. delavayi, S. nervosa, S. macrosperma and S. yunnanensis.

METHODThe separation was carried out on a Thermo BDS Hypersil C18 (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column eluted with mobile phase of water containing 0. 1% phosphoric acid and methanol (B) in gradient program (0-10 min, 18%-20% B; 10-30 min, 20%-35% B; 30-35 min, 35%-60% B). The column temperature was 32 degrees C , and the detection wavelength was set at 250, 260, 225 nm. The flow rate was 0. 7 mL . min-1 from 0 to 30 min, and be increased to 1. 0 mL . min-1 in 35 min.

RESULTThe five compounds were well separated. The linear response ranges of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, sweroside, mangiferin, erythrocentaurin were 0. 072-13. 39, 0. 1204. 518, 0. 060-5. 050, 0. 025-1. 518, and 0. 031-0. 210 microg, respectively. The mean recoveries of five compounds were 97.03% -102. 7% (RSD 1. 8% -6.2% ). There are swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside in most samples, and mangiferin in half samples. But erythrocentaurin was only detected in a few samples. The contents of five compounds were different in different samples. The contents of swertiamarin in S. mileensis, S. patens, S. yunnanensis and S. delavayi are up to 34. 47-118.05 mg . g-1, the contents of gentiopicroside are up to 25. 91 mg . g-1 in S. cincta. In S. puncea all contents of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, sweroside and mangiferin are higher, especially the content of sweroside. There are Xiao-Qingyedans and Da-Qingyedans called in markets, and they can be identified by the contents of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside. S. punicea can be identified by the content of sweroside, and the ratio gentiopicroside/total content can be used for identification of S. cincta from other seven Qingyedan species.

CONCLUSIONThe method was certified to be accurate and reliable and can be used for identification and quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine Qingyedan derived from Swertia species.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Iridoid Glucosides ; analysis ; Pyrones ; analysis ; Swertia ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficiency, feasibility and safety of gasless endoscopic thyroid surgery through compared research.

METHODSFrom July 2001 to Oct. 2005, 83 cases that had received gasless endoscopic thyroid surgery were compared with 80 cases that had received conventional surgery and analyzed on operating time, blood loss, cosmetic effects, complications and costs.

RESULTSCompared with conventional thyroid surgery, endoscopic thyroid surgery group had better cosmetic effects. There was only minimal neck wound or even no neck wound. The cost of hospitalization in the endoscopic group was higher than that in the conventional group (10,844 +/- 2373) RMB and (7585 +/- 1081) RMB respectively (t = -7.23, P < 0.001). The endoscopic group had less blood loss than the conventional group (25 +/- 21) ml and (36 +/- 23) ml respectively (t = 3.160, P < 0.01), but had longer operating time (107 +/- 30) min and(79 +/- 19) min respectively (t = -7.225, P < 0.01). However, when the surgeon had got more experiences and applied the advanced harmonic scalpel, the operative time and blood loss reduced obviously.

CONCLUSIONSCompared with conventional thyroid surgery, gasless endoscopic thyroid surgery has the major advantage that it has cosmetic effect and has small or no scar left on neck. It can be concluded that this technique was efficiency, feasibility and safety. It can offer another choice for the thyroid neoplasms patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Endoscopy ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Thyroid Diseases ; surgery ; Thyroid Gland ; surgery ; Thyroidectomy ; methods ; Young Adult

Objective To develop a rapid test for the detection of F1 antigen of Yersinia Pestis based on gold-immunochromatography.Methods F1 antibodies were coupled with colloidal gold to prepare collidal gold reagent,which was used to detect F1 antibodies based on double antigen sandwich.The collidal gold reagent was estimated for its sensitivity specificity and stablity in labs and 1798 samples were detected in 17 surveillance spots.Results The reagent was sensitive to 0.0010 g/L F1 antigens.The reagens kept stable when it had been placed at 4℃ or room-temperature for 12 months and did not react to Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterolitica.In 17 surveillance labs the reagent was used to test 1798 viscera samples from animal.resulting an accordance rate of 97.11%(1746/1798)to bacterial culture and 96.83%(1741/1798)accordance to reverse indirect hemagglutination assay(RIHA),showing a higher detection rate[9.23%(166/1798)]compared with RIHA[6.79%(122/1798)]and bacterial culture[6.28%(113/1798)].Conclusions The collidal gold reagent,sensitive and specific in diagnosing Yersinia pestis infection of both human and animals,is a rapid method in surveillance spot.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a group of adenocarcinoma that derives from epithelium of the subbranches of intrahepatic bile ducts, which is characterized by difficulty in early diagnosis, high malignancy and poor prognosis. ICC is relatively rare, but it is the second most common in primary liver cancer, and its incidence has gradually increased worldwide. Radical resection is recognized as the only treatment that can bring better long-term survival currently. However, many surgery-related problems, such as lymph node dissection and major vascular resection and reconstruction, are still controversial. Adjuvant therapy, including chemotherapy, regional therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, has received increasing attention in recent years. Although there is no uniform standard, a large number of related studies have supported its efficacy. In this article, the authors have reviewed the molecular pathogenesis of ICC and advances in treatment.

BACKGROUNDMedian sternotomy is considered the most usually performed procedure in cardiac operations. This study aimed to assess clinical effectiveness of bilateral pectoralis major muscle flaps (BPMMF) for management of sternal osteomyelitis and mediastinal infection following median sternotomy.

METHODSClinical data were collected and retrospectively analyzed from twelve patients who underwent the BPMMF transposition for management of sternal osteomyelitis and mediastinal infection following median sternotomy from January 2006 to June 2009. Procedure consisted of rigorous debridement of necrotic tissues, dead space obliteration using the BPMMF, and placement of drainage tubes connected to a negative pressures generator for adequate drainage.

RESULTSNo patients died of drainage, and all 12 patients had viable BPMMF when discharged from hospital. At 1 week post discharge, 2 patients presented with sternal infection but recovered following local debridement and medication. No patients showed infection recurrence during the follow-up period over 10 months.

CONCLUSIONSSternal osteomyelitis and mediastinal infection following median sternotomy may be effectively managed through rigorous debridement of infected soft tissues, resection of the damaged sternal segment, transposition of the BPMMF to fill the damaged sternum resulting from debridement, and adequate postoperative drainage.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Debridement ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Mediastinitis ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Sternotomy ; adverse effects ; Sternum ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; Surgical Wound Infection ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the expression of EphA2 protein in tissue specimens and cell lines of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), and to further study the correlation of EphA2 protein expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in LSCC.

METHODSWestern blot was applied to assess the EphA2 protein expression in LSCC cell line Hep-2 cells and the head and neck immortalized epithelial cell line NP-69 cells. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on paraffin sections of 88 cases of LSCC specimens and 16 cases of adjcent normal tissue samples to investigate the EphA2 protein expression, and to futher elucidate its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics.

RESULTSCompared with the NP-69 cells, EphA2 expression in LSCC cell line Hep-2 cells was upregulated. The positive rates of EphA2 expression in LSCC and adjcent normal tissues samples were 80.7% and 43.8%, respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). EphA2 overexpresion was closely correlated with clinical stage (I + II/III + IV, P = 0.005), metastasis (P = 0.025) and recurrence (P = 0.021) in LSCC. Furthermore, patients with EphA2 overexpression had poorer tumor-free survival and 5-year overall survival compared with that in patients with low EphA2 expression (33.3% vs. 63.2%, P = 0.003; 46.7% vs. 81.6%, P = 0.002). EphA2 expression combined with clinical stage provided a better predictive value in prognosis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that EphA2 expression is an independent prognostic factor for patients with LSCC (P = 0.019).

CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study demonstrate that EphA2 protein expression is significantly increased in LSCC tissues and cell lines, and EphA2 protein overexpression is associated with tumor recurrence, metastasis and poorer prognosis in LSCC patients. These results suggest that EphA2 may play a critical role in the initiation and progression of LSCC, implicating EphA2 as a valuable marker for the prediction of recurrence, metastasis and prognosis in LSCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Cell Line ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease-Free Survival ; Epithelial Cells ; metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Receptor, EphA2 ; metabolism ; Survival Rate