Objective To explore methods of diagnostic and treatment for renal cortical abscess to reduce its misdiagnosis.Methods Eleven cases of renal cortical abscess diagnosed and treated at Beijing International Airport Hospital during 1991 to 2003 were reviewed and analyzed.Results Among the 11 patients with renal cortical abscess,diagnosis was established in nine(82%)before treatment,seven were cured by incision and drainage,one was cured by incision and drainage only after failure in percutaneous nephropuncture,and one was cured by intravenous injection of antibiotics.Two cases(18%)were misdiagnosed as renal cancer and radical nephrectomy were performed for them.Conclusions Diagnosis for renal cortical abscess should be based on combination of patients clinical manifestation,laboratory examinations and imaging findings.Incision and drainage is the choice of treatment for renal cortical abscess.

Phospholipid fatty acids are the major constituents of the membranes of all living cells, and different groups of microorganism synthesize a variety of PLFA through various biochemical pathways. Several PLFAs can be used as "signatures" to analyze changes in microbial biomass and microbial communities structure. More and more PLFA method was used in soil microbial analysis. This article briefly reviewed the applications of PLFA methods in soil microbial analysis.

AIM:To investigate retinal vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)level and retinal cells apoptosis in the early stage of diabetic NOD mouse retina.METHODS:Animals were divided into the control group(non-diabetes mice)(2,4,6,8,12 weeks group,n=30)and diabetes group(2,4,6,8,12 weeks group,n=30).EUSA(Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)was performed to detect VEGF level in both serum and retina.Transmission electron microscope method was used to examine retinal cell apoptosis.RESULTS:Compared with the control group,VEGF levels in serum and retina were increased significantly in the NOD group(12 weeks:4.9±0.4μg/g versus 0.19±0.1μg/g in serum sample,P ＜ 0.01;165.0±9.0μg/g versus 18.0±4.0μg/g in retinal sample,P＜0.01).There exists a positive correlation between serum VEGF and retinal VEGF levels in the early diabetic NOD mice(γ=0.9902,P=0.001).The number of the cells apoptosis in the ganglion significantly in the NOD group(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:The high VEGF expression may be contributed to increase retinal cells apoptosis.Many factors associated with retinal VEGF expression might involve in the early diabetes stage.

Diabetes is a complex and heterogeneous disorder presently affecting more than 100 million people worldwide and causing serious socio-economic problems. Spontaneous rodent models of diabetes mellitus have proved invaluable in understanding the pathogenesis, complications, and genetic or environmental influences that increase the risks of diabetes. We have reviewed here in the development and characterization of spontaneous rodent models that displayed most features commonly associated with diabetic retinopathy.

Objective To compare the clinical performance of the self-etching and the phosphoric acid etching adhesive system for restoration of non-carious Class V restorations for a period of two years.Methods There were 37 patients with at least one pairs of similar-sized non-carious cervical lesions participated in the study.120 restorations were placed by one operator,of which 60 with phosphoric acid etching adhesive system(Spectrum TPH,Prime& Bond)and 60 with self-etch(Clearfil AP-X,SE Bond).The restorations were evaluated by ?2 statistics at the baseline,6th,12th and 24th month according to the modified Ryge"s USPHS criteria.Results At two years,106 teeth were reviewed in 33 patients.The retention rates for self-etching adhesive system were 89% and for phosphoric acid etching adhesive system 77%.The percentage of the retention rates of both adhesive systems was not found to be different when calculating the failure rates.No cases in both adhesive systems showed slight marginal discoloration problems.Some cases for each adhesive system had slight color change after the same period.Conclusions The performance of both adhesive systems is excellent during this two-year clinical trial.The self-etch adhesive system exhibites slightly better coloar match than the phosphoric acid etching system.

Based on vector auto-regression (VAR) model, this paper takes advantage of Granger causality test, variance decomposition and impulse response analysis techniques to carry out a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the price of Chinese herbal, including herbal cultivation costs, acreage, natural disasters, the residents' needs and inflation. The study found that there is Granger causality relationship between inflation and herbal prices, cultivation costs and herbal prices. And in the total variance analysis of Chinese herbal and medicine price index, the largest contribution to it is from its own fluctuations, followed by the cultivation costs and inflation.
Agriculture ; economics ; Commerce ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; economics ; Humans ; Models, Statistical ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; Regression Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To study correlation between physical properties and compressibility and compactablility of Microcrystalline cellulose. METHODS: After determining the physical properties such as particle size distribution, moisture capacity, angle of repose, bulk density, tapped density, the powder was tableted by the Korsch XP1 at the same filling height, and data derived from heckle model, plasticity constant, cumulative elastic recovery, tensile strength and it's changes with time were evaluated. RESULTS: The physical properties of microcrystalline cellulose had great effect on its compactablility as well as cumulative elastic recovery out of die, but not on compressibility. And pressure applied correlated closely with changes of tensile strength in storage, which was intensified by the influence of water in powder on the particle size. CONCLUSION: Microcrystalline cellulose shows excellent compressibility, however, particle size reduction is able to decrease the compactability. Since the water in powder can increase particle size by changing internal structure of particles and plays a prerequisite role in lubrication and adherence, the variation of water content may weaken the compatability of microcrystalline cellulose and worsen the mechanical strength stability of tablets in storage.

Objective To investigate the role of CTLA4-Ig and anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody in the acute rejection of pancreaticoduodenal transplantation model of rats.Methods Pancreaticoduo- denal transplantation model was established from the donor F344 rats to the Lewis recipients(diabetes models).The models were divided into 4 groups:groups A,B,C and D with 12 rats in each group. Two days after transplantation,recipients were injected intraperitoneally with saline,CTLA4-Ig(200?g),anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody(200?g),CTLA4-Ig(200?g)combined with anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody(200?g)respectively.On the day 1,4,7,10 after transplantation,the grafts were harvested for histopathological examination and RT-PCR to determine the levels of interleukin (IL)-2,interferon(IFN)-?,IL-4 and IL-10;The blood CD3~+,CD4~+and CD8~+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry.On the day 4 after transplantation,the CD4~+ CD25~+ T cells in the grafts were de- tected by flow cytometry.Results As compared with group A,the severity of the rejection of grafts in groups B,C and D were depressed;Down-regulation of IL-2 was observed in the groups B,C and D, and the levels in group D were lowest.Down-regulation of IFN-7 was detected in the groups B,C and D,but there was no significantly difference between groups D and B or groups D and C.Up-regulation of IL-4 was observed in the groups B and C,and the levels in group D were lower than in groups A,B and C.Up-regulation of IL-10 was observed in groups B and C,and there was significant difference between groups D and B or groups D and C.The CD3~+,CD4~+ and CD8~+ T cells in groups B,C and D were less,but more CID4~+ CD25~+ T ceils in transplanted pancreas were observed,more notably in group D than in group C.Conclusions Combined use of CTLA4-Ig and anti-CD40L monoclonal anti- body can remarkably diminish the severity of the rejection,which might be mediated by altering the balance in Th1/Th2 and increasing the number of CD4~+ CD25~+ regulatory T cells.Co-stimulation blockade with CTLA4-Ig and anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody induction seems to be an attractive strategy to control allograft rejection.

Objective To investigate the expression and correlation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1?(HIF-1?),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and sFlt-1 in the preeclampsia placenta,and discuss their significance in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.Methods Placentas were collected from 20 pregnant women with preeclampsia as study group and 15 normal pregnant women as control group.The expressions of HIF-1?,VEGF and sFlt-1 protein were semi-quantitatively analyzed with immunohistochemical assay and mRNA level was determined using reverse transcription polymerasc chain reaction(RT-PCR)technique. Results(1)the expression of HIF-1?and sFlt-1 protein in preeclampsia group obviously increased.Strong (+++)positive expression was observed in 9 and 11 cases respectively,significantly higher than in control group(2 and 3 cases)(P＜0.05),however,VEGF expression obviously reduced in preeclampsia group(P＜0.01).(2)the level of HIF-1?and sFlt-1 mRNA in preeclamptic placenta was 0.604?0.013, 0.898?0.041,significantly higher than 0.208?0.007 and 0.559?0.244 in normal placenta(P＜0.05). Although the level of VEGF mRNA increased in preeclampsia placenta,it was not significantly different from that in normal placenta(P＞0.05).The ratio of VEGF mRNA/sFlt-1 mRNA obviously reduced in preeclampsia group and was significantly lower than in control group(P＜0.05).(3)in preeclampsia group,HIF-1?mRNA expression was positively correlated with the expression of sFlt-1 mRNA(r=0.577, P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with the ratio of VEGF mRNA/sFlt-1 mRNA(r=-0.376,P＜0.05).Conclusion Abnormal high HIF-1?expression in preeclampsia placenta indicates that HIF-1?might play an important role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia,possibly through affecting the cytotrophoblastic invasion and placental vascular reconstruction via the modulation of VEGF and sFlt-1 gene transcription.

Objective To systematically review the efficacy and tolerance of levofloxacin-based rescue regimens for H.pylori eradication failures.Methods A search of Medline,Embase,Cinahl, CBM-disc was performed.Randomized controlled trials comparing levofloxacin-based triple therapy with bismuth-based quadruple therapy were selected for meta-analysis.Assessment of study quality and ex- tracting data to calculate eradication rate and side effect rate.Results Seven randomized controlled stud- ies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited.Ten-day levofloxacin-based triple therapy was more effective(86.9% vs 61.8% P