Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

BACKGROUNDSericin peptide (SP) has shown a powerful anti-oxidant property in a host of studies. The present study was designed to investigate the possible protective effects of SP against alcohol-induced gastric lesions in mice and to explore the potential mechanisms.

METHODSAnimals were randomly divided into 5 groups: control, alcohol (56%, 14.2 ml/kg), SP-treated mice (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g/kg). Mice were pretreated with SP before administering alcohol, the concentration of ethanol in serum and urine, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the gastric mucosa were measured, subsequently, the pathological evaluation of stomach was also observed.

RESULTSOf the animals pre-treated with SP (0.4, 0.8 g/kg), the concentration of ethanol in serum was significantly decreased, while increased in urine as compared to the alcohol-administered alone animals. Alcohol administration caused severe gastric damage as indicated by markedly increased MDA levels and decreased antioxidants, such as reduced GSH, GSH-PX and SOD in the gastric tissue while the CAT activity was not altered. On SP administration there was a reversal in these values towards normal. Histopathological studies confirmed the beneficial role of SP, which was in accordance with the biochemical parameters.

CONCLUSIONSSP could protect gastric mucosa from alcohol-induced mucosal injury. These gastroprotective effects might be due to increasing 'first-pass metabolism' in the stomach and hastening ethanol elimination directly through the urine. SP might also play an important role in the protection of the structure and function of gastric mitochondria, at least partly based on their anti-oxidant effect.

Amino Acids ; analysis ; Animals ; Cytoprotection ; Ethanol ; blood ; toxicity ; urine ; Gastric Mucosa ; drug effects ; pathology ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Sericins ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate how network education can improve college students' knowledge on sexual and reproductive health in Ningbo city.

METHODSFrom December 2012 to June 2013, we conducted a questionnaire investigation among college students in Ningbo city about the effects of network education on their knowledge about sexual psychology, sexual physiology, sexual ethics, and reproductive health.

RESULTSA total of 7 362 college students accomplished the investigation, of whom 2 483 (42.1% males and 57.9% females) received network education, while the other 4 879 (24.1% males and 75.9% females) did not. Approximately 47.1% of the male and 28.0% of the female students acquired sexual and reproductive knowledge via network education. Reproductive health-related network education significantly enriched the students' knowledge about the reproductive system and sex, pubertal development, sexual physiology, conception and embryonic development, methods of contraception, sexual psychology, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, pregnancy care and eugenics, and environment- and occupation-related reproductive health (P < 0.01). It also remarkably improved their cognitive attitude towards reproductive health knowledge (P < 0.01). Those who received reproductive health-related network education showed a significantly higher rate of masturbation (P < 0.01) but markedly later time of the first masturbation (P < 0.01) than those who did not.

CONCLUSIONNetwork education can enhance the effect of reproductive health education among college students and improve their sexual experience and health.

China ; Contraception ; Female ; Health Education ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Masturbation ; Pregnancy ; Reproduction ; Reproductive Health ; Sexual Behavior ; physiology ; psychology ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Universities

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of ketogenic diet (KD) on the clinical and electroencephalogram features in children with pharmacoresistant epileptic encephalopathy.

METHODThirty-one children (19 boys, 12 girls) aged 7 months to 7 years (mean 2 years 5 month) with epilepsy refractory to conventional antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were included in this study. In addition to their original AED treatment, the children were assigned to different ketogenic diets based on their age. The prospective electro-clinical assessment was performed prior to the KD and then one week, one month and again 3 months after the initiation of therapy, respectively.

RESULTThe reduction of seizure frequency in 52%, 68% and 71% of all patients exceeded 50% one week, one month and three months after KD treatment respectively. KD is particularly effective in myoclonic astatic epilepsy (MAE; Doose Syndrome) and West syndrome with 100% and 81.25% of the patients having a greater than 50% seizure reduction, respectively. After 3 months of KD treatment, more than 2/3 patients experienced a reduction in interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) and improvement in EEG background.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical and electroencephalographic improvement confirms that KD is beneficial in children with refractory epilepsy.

Anticonvulsants ; therapeutic use ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Diet, Ketogenic ; methods ; Dietary Fats ; administration & dosage ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; diagnosis ; diet therapy ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Intellectual Disability ; diet therapy ; drug therapy ; Lennox Gastaut Syndrome ; Male ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Spasms, Infantile ; diet therapy ; drug therapy ; Syndrome ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of Excoecaria agallocha L.

METHODThe constituents were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis.

RESULTSix triterpenoids including taraxerone (1), beta-amyrin acetate (2), 3beta-[(2E,4E)-6-oxo-decadienoyloxy]-olean-12-ene (3), taraxerol (4), acetylaleuritolic acid (5), and cycloart-22-ene-3beta, 25-diol (6), and three steroids including beta-sitostenone (7), (24R)-24-ethylcholesta-4,22-dien-3-one (8), and beta-sitosterol (9) were isolated and identified from the stems and twigs of the mangrove plant E. agallocha.

CONCLUSIONCompounds 5-8 were isolated from E. agallocha for the first time.

Euphorbiaceae ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Steroids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Triterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this study was to observe histopathological changes post cryoablation in canine myocardium, to characterize the specific ablation lesion post cryoablation.

METHODSCryothermal ablation was applied on myocardium (both epicardium and endocardium) of 14 mongrel dogs with different ablation parameters (-25 degrees C x 4 min, -50 degrees C x 4 min, -75 degrees C x 4 min, -75 degrees C x 2 min, -75 degrees C x 6 min, -75 degrees C x 8 min). Lesion dimensions and histopathologic changes were observed.

RESULTSThe discrete, sharply delimited lesions were detected in cryoablated myocardium. Histologically, cryoablation in all temperatures studied induced heterogeneous necrosis of the myocardium. Lesion dimensions are related to freezing time and temperature.

CONCLUSIONCryoablation is a feasible and preferably choice for clinical application due to its controllable myocardium lesions.

Animals ; Catheter Ablation ; Cryosurgery ; Dogs ; Endocardium ; pathology ; Myocardium ; pathology

OBJECTIVESTo compare the outcomes after liver resection for a single small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (≤ 5 cm) between non-cirrhotic patients and cirrhotic patients, and to explore the influence of liver cirrhosis on recurrence and overall survival after liver resection in patients with a single small HCC.

METHODSA consecutive series of 256 patients with a single small HCC undergoing liver resection from April 2001 to October 2009 was retrospectively reviewed. Among the 256 patients, 227 patients were male, and 29 were female. The medium age was 49 years (ranged, 14 - 79 years); 224 (87.5%) patients were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen, 241 (94.1%) patients were with preoperative liver function of Child-Pugh grade A. The entire cohort were divided into non-cirrhosis group (n = 44) and cirrhosis group (n = 212). Univariate analysis and then multivariate analysis were performed to determine the prognostic factors of recurrence and overall survival after liver resection for all patients.

RESULTSThe 1-, 3-, 5-year recurrence-free survival rates after liver resection were 93.0%, 85.3%, and 68.5%, respectively, in non-cirrhosis group, while 81.1%, 58.6%, and 45.0%, respectively, in cirrhosis group. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates after liver resection were 100%, 92.5%, and 92.5%, respectively, in non-cirrhosis group, while 93.8%, 78.7%, and 67.8%, respectively, in cirrhosis group. Both the recurrence-free survival and overall survival of non-cirrhosis group were significantly better than those of cirrhosis group (χ(2) = 8.756, P = 0.003; χ(2) = 8.603, P = 0.003). Cirrhosis, absence of tumor capsule, presence of microvascular invasion and moderate/poor tumor differentiation were the independent adverse prognostic factors for recurrence-free survival and overall survival in patients with a single small HCC after liver resection.

CONCLUSIONSCirrhosis is an important adverse prognostic factor for long-term survival in patients with a single small HCC after liver resection. Liver resection resulted in much worse survival for cirrhotic patients compared to non-cirrhotic patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; complications ; mortality ; pathology ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; mortality ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; complications ; mortality ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Young Adult

Bone Diseases ; etiology ; surgery ; Chronic Disease ; Epidermal Cyst ; etiology ; surgery ; Femur ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; complications

OBJECTIVETo observe the safety and efficacy of early or non-early controlled-release arsenic-trioxide (As(2)O(3))-eluting stents on reducing in-stent neointimal hyperplasia.

METHODSBare stents, stents coated with polybutyl methacrylate/Nano silica (containing 200 microg of As(2)O(3) per stent or not), stents coated with polybutyl methacrylate/Nano silica inside (containing 200 microg of As(2)O(3) per stent or not) and poly-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) outside were deployed with mild oversizing in left anterior descending (LAD) and circumflex coronary arteries (LCX)of 30 canines (n = 6, 12 stents for each group).

RESULTSThe mean injury scores were similar in all groups at 4 weeks post stents implantation while the mean neointimal thickness, neointimal area and degree of stenosis were significantly reduced and the lumen area significantly increased in canines receiving single coating stents containing As(2)O(3) compared with single or double coating stents and bare stents groups (all P < 0.01). These effects were further enhanced in canines implanted with double coating stents containing As(2)O(3) (all P < 0.01 vs. single coating stents containing As(2)O(3)). No intraintimal hemorrhage, medial and adventitial necrosis, aneurysm, thrombosis, inflammatory cells infiltration were observed in all stenting groups.

CONCLUSIONSControlled-release As(2)O(3)-eluting stents resulted in a significant inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia in the canine coronary arteries 4 weeks after stents implantation and the effects is more significant with controlled-release of As(2)O(3) at non-early stage than that at early stage.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; adverse effects ; methods ; Animals ; Arsenicals ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Coronary Restenosis ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dogs ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Oxides ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo determine the reason of thrombocytopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis, we studied the relationship among platelet counts, serum thrombopoietin (TPO) level and spleen index.

METHODSSerum TPO, platelet counts and spleen index were measured in 71 cirrhotic patients. TPO was measured with ELISA method, spleen index were measured on ultrasonography by the same doctor.

RESULTSPlatelet counts in patients with cirrhosis were lower than that of healthy group [(109.20+/-53.39) vs (169.63+/-26.60) x 10(12)/L, P<0.05]. Serum thrombopoietin level in patients with cirrhosis was similar to that of healthy group [(436.42+/-258.97) vs (412.63+/-132.80) pg/ml, P>0.05]. However, serum thrombopoietin level decreased as liver disease aggravated, [(526.13+/-317.44) pg/ml in Child-Pugh grade A, (445.22+/-214.90) pg/ml in grade B and (311.45+/-182.66) pg/ml in grade C, grade A vs. Grade C, P<0.05]. However, decline in platelet counts was accompanied with incline in spleen index coordinately. 35 of 71 cirrhotic patients had normal platelet counts whereas 36 of them had thrombocytopenia. Thrombopoietin levels were higher in non-thrombocytopenia group than in thrombocytopenia group [(529.43+/-282.64) vs. (351.27+/-228.25)pg/ml, P<0.01]; but spleen index of two groups showed no difference [(29.65+/-12.00) vs. (36.35+/-12.68) cm2, P>0.05]. Correlation was found between thrombopoietin level and platelet counts (r=0.252, P=0.025); no correlation was found between spleen index and platelet counts (r=-0.238, P=0.062).

CONCLUSIONThe decline serum TPO levels might play an important role for thrombocytopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Portal Vein ; pathology ; Spleen ; pathology ; Thrombopoietin ; blood