Objective To understand the capability of parasitic disease diagnosis among professionals from the clinic labora?tory of Class A tertiary hospitals in Jiangxi Province. Methods The teams that took part in the competition were formed from 20 Class A tertiary hospitals,with 2 contestants per team. The competition contents included written examination and skill opera?tion. The written examination involved the life cycle of parasites,immunological basis,detecting techniques,etiological diagno?sis etc.,and the skill operation involved making and dying thin and thick blood smears,making Kato?Katz’s fecal thick smears, as well as microscopic examinations of smears. Results A total of 40 participants took part in the competition. Their total aver?age score was 97.3±22.4 with the pass rate of 15.0%,in which the mean score of theoretical knowledge was 56.6±12.8 with the pass rate of 52.5%,and the mean score of skill operation was 40.8±12.4 with the pass rate of 5.0%. In the written examination, the scoring rate of the life cycle of soil?transmitted helminths was the highest(90.0%),and the rate of the basic knowledge of food?borne parasites was the lowest(31.5%). Both the pass rates of blood smear making and examination were higher than those of Kato?Katz’s thick smears,and the differences were statistically significant( both P<0.05). The detection rates of Plasmodi?um vivax,Plasmodium falciparum,Plasmodium ovale and negative slides of the contestants were 38.8%,45.0%,35.0%and 25.0% respectively. As to the microscopic examination of helminth eggs,the detection rate of Trichuris trichiura egg was the highest(87.5%),and the rate of the Sparganum mansoni egg was the lowest(2.5%). The scores of Kato?Katz’s thick smear making and examination of the contestants from the provincial level hospitals were higher than those from the city level hospitals (both P<0.05),and the score of those from teaching hospitals in Kato?Katz’s thick smear making was higher than that of those from non?teaching hospitals(P < 0.05). Conclusions The technique level of professionals from the clinic laboratory of the Class A tertiary hospitals cannot meet the needs of the diagnosis of parasitic diseases in Jiangxi Province ,which should arouse the attention of the health authorities and hospitals.

ObjectiveTo investigate the application value of negative pressure sucking technique in the elderly after nasal septal reconstruction. MethodsForty elderly patients after nasal septal reconstruction were divided into two groups randomly, with twenty patients in each. The cases in observing group received negative pressure sucking technique while those in controlling group received nasal packing with vaseline gauze following the surgery. The amount of bleeding of the first 24 hours after operation, the comfort degrees evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS),hematoma of nasal septum, edema in nasal cavity and duration of hospitalization after operation were compared between the two groups. ResultsThe amount of bleeding of the first 24 hours afteroperation was more in observing group than in controlling group[(14.2±8.1)ml vs. (7.2±4.1)ml, P<0.05]. The VAS score and the number of cases who felt discomfortable moderately or severely were significantly less in observing group than in controlling group at 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after operation(all P<0.05). The nasal cavity gap were significantly wider in observing group at the 3rd day after operation(P=0.001), and the duration of hospitalization after operation was significantly shorter in observing group [(4.5±0.9) d] than in controlling group [(5.42±0.9) d](P=0.042)Conclusions Negative pressure sucking technique applied in the elderly after nasal septal reconstruction can significantly relieve the distress of patients, reduce the edema in nasal cavity and shorten the duration of hospitalization, but does not increase the risk of hemorrhage.

Tumor angiogenesis is a complicated process in which VEGF and the members of Ang family have been proposed to play an important role. Ang family is the only vascular growth factor family including activators and inhibitors. They can all bind with specific tyrosine kinase receptor Tie-2 and participate in angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is secreted by tumor cells and coordinates with Ang to promote angiogenesis. Further research on the structure and functional mechanism of VEGF and Ang will contribute to develop a new type of antiangiogenesis medicine, which might have good perspect in clinical practice. In this paper, the structure and action mechanism of Ang family and its receptor Tie-2, the application of Ang family and Tie in tumor therapy, and the synergic mechanism between Ang and VEGF were summarized.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Angiopoietin-2 ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Drug Synergism ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; blood supply ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; prevention & control ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo determine the effect of early enteral nutrition (EN) on immune function of the patients after operation for severe abdominal trauma.

METHODSFourty patients who underwent operation for severe abdominal trauma were randomly divided into two groups, and received an early enteral nutrition (EN group, n=20) through jejunal nutritional tube from postoperative day 1, or parental nutrition (PN group, n=20) for 7 days. C3, IgA, IgM, IgG and CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+ of the two groups patients were detected on the day before operation and the postoperative day 1 and 8. The infection complications were compared.

RESULTSAfter 7 days, the levels of C3+, IgA, IgG, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+ in EN group increased significantly compared with those in PN group (P< 0.05). The incidence of infection was 10% in EN group, while 30% in PN group (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEarly enteral nutrition can improve immune function and decrease postoperative infection after operation for severe abdominal trauma.

Abdominal Injuries ; immunology ; surgery ; Adolescent ; Adult ; CD3 Complex ; analysis ; CD4 Antigens ; analysis ; CD4-CD8 Ratio ; CD8 Antigens ; analysis ; Complement C3 ; analysis ; Enteral Nutrition ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; analysis ; Immunoglobulin G ; analysis ; Male ; Postoperative Period ; Young Adult

The present study was performed to investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors for Dirofilaria immitis infection in cats from Liaoning province, northeastern China. From October 2014 to September 2016, sera of 651 cats, including 364 domestic cats and 287 feral cats (332 females and 319 males) were assessed. They were tested for the presence of D. immitis antigen using SNAP Heartworm RT test kit. In this population, the average prevalence was 4.5%. Age and rearing conditions (feral or domestic) were found to be associated with the prevalence of D. immitis. The prevalence was significantly higher in feral cats compared with domestic cats (8.4% vs 1.4%, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between males and females (4.7% vs 4.2%, P>0.05), but older cats (≥3 years old) showed a statistically higher prevalence compared with younger cats ( < 3 years old) in feral populations (16.8 vs 2.4%, P < 0.01), while the difference between the age groups was not statistically significant in domestic cats (2.4% vs 0.51%, P>0.05), all these results suggest that outdoor exposure time may be one of the most important factors for D. immitis prevalence in cats. Results reveal that D. immitis are prevalence in domestic and feral cats in northeastern China, which indicates that appropriate preventive measures should be taken to decrease the incidence of feline heartworm disease in Liaoning province, northeastern China.
Animals ; Cats* ; China* ; Dirofilaria immitis* ; Dirofilaria* ; Dirofilariasis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies*

PURPOSE: Gastric cancer is the most common malignancy in Korea. Although treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy has greatly improved, the mortality rate of gastic cancer is still high, A new therapeutic trial is necessary to improve the cure rate of gastric cancer. Therefore we investigated the pre-clinical significance of HSV-tk gene therapy using retroviral vector for gastric cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LNC/HSV-tk retroviral vector and PA317/LNC/HSV-tk producer cell line were constructed. HSV-tk gene transduction and expression were detected by PCR. An in vitro ganciclovir(GCV) sensitivity test was performed by MTT assay. To evaluate in vivo GCV sensitivity, GCV was intraperitoneally injected after tumor formation in the nude mice. Bystander effect was observed in vitro MTT assay using YCC- S-2 cell line and in vivo using N87 and YCC-S-2 cell lines. RESULTS: The in vitro GCV sensitivity test showed that the growth inhibition was 30~32% with 0.5 uM GCV and 52~77% with 500 uM GCV in the HSV-tk transduced cell line in comparison with 0- 5% with 0.5 and 500 uM GCV in the parent cell line. The in vivo GCV administration showed that the tumors induced by HSV-tk transduced N87 cell line and YCC-S-2 cell line decreased completely, while the tumors with the parent cell lines continued to grow in nude mice. We observed no tumor cells in tissue specimen of the tumor induced by the N87/HSV-tk cell line after. GCV administration. In vitro and in vivo bystander effects were observed in HSV-tk/GCV system due to the resultant cell death exceeding the proportion of HSV-tk transduced cells in the mixtures of HSV-tk transduced and parent cells. CONCLUSION: HSV-tk transduced gastric cancer cell lines showed sensitivity to GCV and a bystander effect was observed. These results suggested that HSV-tk/GCV system should be evaluated in the clinical settings.
Animals ; Bystander Effect ; Cell Death ; Cell Line* ; Drug Therapy ; Ganciclovir* ; Genetic Therapy ; Herpes Simplex* ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Korea ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Mortality ; Parents ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Thymidine Kinase* ; Thymidine* ; Zidovudine

BACKGROUNDMycophenolic acid (MPA) as an anti-proliferative immune-suppressive agent is used in the majority of immunosuppressive regimens in solid organ transplantation. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) and area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 12 hours with limited sampling strategies (LSSs) in Chinese renal transplant recipients.

METHODSThis study was conducted in 10 Chinese renal transplant patients receiving living donor and treated with EC-MPS, cyclosporine, and corticosteroids. MPA concentrations were measured by enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT). Whole 12-hour PK profiles were obtained on Day 4 after operation. LSSs with jackknife technique, multiple stepwise regression analysis, and Bland-Altman analysis were developed to estimate MPA AUC.

RESULTSThe mean maximum plasma concentration, the mean time for it to reach peak (T(max)), and the mean MPA AUC were (11.38 ± 2.49) mg/L, (4.85 ± 3.32) hours, and (63.19 ± 13.54) mg×h×L(-1), respectively. Among the 10 profiles, MPA AUC of four patients was significantly higher than that of the other six patients, and the corresponding T(max) was significantly longer than that of the other six patients. No patient exhibited a second peak caused by enterohepatic recirculation. The best models were as follows: 27.46 + 0.94C(3) + 3.24C(8) + 2.81C(10) (r(2) = 0.972), which was used to predict AUC of fast metabolizer with a mean prediction error (MPE) of -0.21% and a mean absolute prediction error (MAE) of 2.59%; 36.65 + 3.08C(8) + 5.30C(10) - 4.04C(12) (r(2) = 0.992), which was used to predict AUC of slow metabolizer with a MPE of 0.58% and a MAE of 1.95%.

CONCLUSIONSThe PKs of EC-MPS had a high variability among Chinese renal transplant recipients. The preliminary PK data indicated the existence of slow and fast metabolizer. These findings may be associated with the enterohepatic recirculation.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Aged ; Cyclosporine ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycophenolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the clinical and radiological results of Phlios plate and Multiloc nail in treatment of proximal humerus fractures.Methods From February 2013 to December 2015,data of 37 cases of proximal humerus fractures who were treated by reduction and fixation using Phlios plate or Multiloc nail were retrospectively analyzed.In group one (Phlios plate),there were 10 males and 8 females,with an average age of 56.3±5.8 years,including 7 cases of Neer 2-part surgical neck fracture,6 cases of Neer 3-part fracture,4 cases of Neer 4-part fracture,and 1 case of fracture-dislocation.In group two (Multiloc nail),there were 8 males and 11 females,with an average age of 57.2±7.4 years,including 8 cases of Neer 2-part surgical neck fracture,9 cases of Neer 3-part fracture,1 case of Neer 4-part fracture,and 1 case of fracture-dislocation.Operation time,range of motion of shoulder joint,visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score,American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeon (ASES) score and ConstantMurley score were collected.Results All 37 patients were followed up for an average period of 15.5 months (range,12-36 months).The average bone healing time were 2.5±0.5 months (range,2-3 months)and 2.2±0.5 months (range,1.5-3 months) in the plate and nail group respectively.At the latest follow-up,average VAS score was 0.4±0.6 (range,0-2),the ASES score aver aged 85.4±6.8 points (range,73-96),Constant-Murley score averaged 83.4±7.3 points (range,71-94),and external rotation averaged 30.8°±10.0° (range,10°-50°) in plate group,while average VAS score was 0.2±0.4 (range,0-1),ASES score averaged 89.7± 5.6 points (range,80-98),Constant-Murley score averaged 88.5±6.8 points (range,76-98),and external rotation averaged 40.3°± 7.9° (range,20°-50°) in the intramedullary nailing group.One case had partial necrosis of humeral head in the plate group,while 1 case suffered absorption of the greater tuberosity in the nail group,with the complication rate of 5.6％ (1/18) and 5.3％ (1/19) respectively,without significant difference.The internal and external rotation degrees,ASES and Constant-Murley scores were better in nail group than those in plate group for 2-part fractures,while the forward elevation and abduction degrees were similar.Conclusion Similar results were achieved for the treatment of proximal humeral fractures by Phlios plate and Multiloc nail.The Multiloc nailing group had achieved superior outcomes in Neer-2-part proximal humeral fractures.

Leishmaniasis is a prevalent cause of death and animal morbidity in underdeveloped countries of endemic area. However, there is few vaccine and effective drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are involved in the innate immune response in many organisms and are being developed as novel drugs against parasitic infections. In the present study, we synthesized a 5-amino acid peptide REDLK, which mutated the C-terminus of Pseudomonas exotoxin, to identify its effect on the Leishmania tarentolae. Promastigotes were incubated with different concentration of REDLK peptide, and the viability of parasite was assessed using MTT and Trypan blue dye. Morphologic damage of Leishmania was analyzed by light and electron microscopy. Cellular apoptosis was observed using the annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection kit, mitochondrial membrane potential assay kit and flow cytometry. Our results showed that Leishmania tarentolae was susceptible to REDLK in a dose-dependent manner, disrupt the surface membrane integrity and caused parasite apoptosis. In our study, we demonstrated the leishmanicidal activity of an antimicrobial peptide REDLK from Pseudomonas aeruginosa against Leishmania tarentolae in vitro and present a foundation for further research of anti-leishmanial drugs.

PURPOSE: We compared the differences between parent hepatoma cell lines and interleukin-2 (IL-2) transduced hepatoma cell lines using N2A/IL-2 and LNC/IL-2 retrovirus with regards to in vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes and in vivo tumorigenic activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retroviral vector and producer cell line were constructed and IL-2 gene was transduced into the human hepatoma cell lines (SK-Hep1, Hep-G2, Hep-3B). IL-2 secretion after IL-2 transduction was measured by ELISA. MTT assay for in vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes was performed and the tumorigenic activity was observed in BALB/c mice and nude mice. RESULTS: IL-2 secretion was 186 pg/10 degrees C cells/24 hrs in SK-Hep1 cell line and was 147 pg/10 (6) cells/24 hrs in Hep-3B cell line with N2A/IL-2 retroviral vector and was 55,000 pg/10 (6) cells/24 hrs with LNC/IL-2 retroviral vector. In vitro sensitivity to peripheral blood monocytes was increased by 163.8~254% in IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell lines (Hep -3B/N2A/IL-2, Hep-G2/N2A/IL-2) compared to those of the parent cell lines. The tumorigenicity was observed in 1 of 3 BALB/c mice and all 3 nude mice. Simultaneous injection of 1 X 10 (7) cells of the parent cell line (Hep-3B) into the right flank and IL-2 transduced cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) into the left flank of the three BALB/c mice and of 5 X 10 (5) cells for the three nude mice resulted in a complete regression of the IL-2 modified tumor cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) in 3 weeks and the parent cell line (Hep-3B) in 5 weeks. But, after the injection of 1.5 X 10 (7) cells for other five nude mice, the tumor of the IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell line (Hep-3B/LNC/IL-2) was gradually disappeared, and the tumor of the parent hepatoma cell line (Hep-3B) was initially decreased and then gradually regrew 20 days later. CONCLUSION: IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell lines secreting IL-2 became more sensitive to peripheral blood monocytes and resulted in the increased antigenicity to the tumors formed by IL-2 transduced hepatoma cell line and parent cell line, and finally resulted in the regression of the tumors in experimental animals.
Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cell Line* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans* ; Interleukin-2* ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Monocytes ; Parents ; Retroviridae ; Zidovudine*