Butyric acid can be used to produce cellulose butyrate fiber and ester derivatives,and to be applied in foodstuffs and perfume industries.Recent researches have found that butyric acid is a preferred carbon source for colonic epithelial cells,and can inhibit histone deacetylase,showing great anticancer potentials.With more and more functions of butyric acid being found and applied in bio-related fields,and with consumer's growing preference to bioproducts,biotechnological production of butyric acid will receive more competence than petroleum-based chemical synthesis.Low product concentration and poor selectivity are presently the main restricting factors.Workers have made considerable progress on more cheep carbon sources,optimization of fermentation process,simplifying downstream processing,and genetic engineering of producing strains.Any achievement on these aspects in the future can contribute to put fermentation of butyric acid into industry.

Objective To estimate the exposure level of PM2.5,CO and O_3 in the elders in a community in Beijing.Methods The concentrations of PM2.5,CO and O_3 in 10 main activity sites of the elders were measured and 24 h time-activity data of 30 elders was collected by recording of activity log paper,Nov.28,2007—Jan.17,2008.Results The 24 h average exposure concentrations of PM2.5,CO and O_3 for the elders were(146.54?6.60)?g/m~3,(2.67?0.18)mg/m~3 and(32.30?2.79)?g/m~3, respectively,there was no significant difference in the exposure level of PM2.5 and O_3 between male and female elders except CO (P

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of interventional MRI in radiofrequency ablation (RFA)of breast cancer.Methods 12 patients with breast carcinoma proven by core-needle biopsy-were enrolled in this study.Among them, 7 patients were in phase Ⅳ(6 with lung metastasis, 1 with bone metastasis),and 5 patients were in phase Ⅲ(all of them rejected the surgical operation because of various contraindications,including severe hypertension,diabetes mellitus,liver or kidney dysfunction,and advanced age).Moreover, all of the tumor size could not be further shrunk after medical treatment (such as 4-6 cycles chemotherapy, endocrine therapy or targeted therapy).Additionally,breast lesions were still remained to be confirmed by imaging examination and biopsy pathology.Then the tumor and surrounding breast tissue were ablated with radiofrequency,followed by clinical follow-up and imaging examination after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.Results All the patients completed 18 times RFA treatment.MRI showed that all the tumor lesions were necrotic, blood supply was disappeared and therewas no enhancement.Radiographic examination showed the original breast lesions were fuzzy or disappeared.All the tumors were achieved complete remission (CR) examined by imaging,and the effective rate was 100%.All the postoperative patients survived 1 year according to the follow-up data.Conclusion Interventional MRI is safe and effective method in the radiofrequency ablation of breast cancer.

Objective To explore the status of infection, biotype and resistant background of epi-demic strains of Haemophilus influenza ( Hi ) in neonates, and the clinical features of neonatal pneumonia caused by Hi. Methods The multicenter prospective epidemiological cross-sectional design was used; four hospitals in west Sichuan China were chosen as research field,sputum bacterial culture was done and biologi-cal typing,PCR identification and drug sensitivity test of Hi epidemic strains were carried out among 0 to 28 days hospitalized neonates with infectious pneumonia in four hospitals located in west Sichuan China. The ca-ses with discharge diagnosis of neonatal infectious pneumonia with Hi positive separation were assumed as case group,and the same number of cases with Hi negative separation were assumed as control group accord-ing to 1∶1 extraction at the same time. Results Totally 757 cases with admitting diagnosis of neonatal infec-tious pneumonia in four hospitals were investigated in west Sichuan from November 2014 to October 2015, and the rate of sputum culture was 95. 51%(723/757). The total pathogenic bacteria positive rate of sputum culture was 15. 63%(113/723),and Hi positive rate was 1. 94%(14/723),Hi accounting for 12. 39%(14/113) of the pathogenic bacteria in respiratory system. All the Hi strains(100%) were non-typeable Hae-mophilus influenzae( NTHi) indentified by PCR. The main biotypes of 14 Hi strains were typeⅠwith 57. 1%(8/14),type Ⅲ with 14. 3%(2/14) and type Ⅳ with 28. 6%(4/14). The total of 35. 7%(5/14) bacterial strains of β-lactamase distributed in four hospitals,7. 1%(1/14) bacterial strains of β-lactamase-nonproduc-ing-ampicillin-resistant,and 35. 7%(5/14) bacterial strains of β-lactamase-positive-ampicillin-resistant were found in four hospitals. The rate of resistance and mediation to cefuroxime were 14. 2%(2/14) respectively, the resistance rate to cefaclor was 35. 7%( 5/14 ) , and 21. 4%( 3/14 ) to ofloxacin. None of the 14 strains was resistant to amoxicillin clavulanic acid and cefotaxime. The 1∶1 matching analysis had been done for 10 cases with discharge diagnosis of neonatal pneumonia caused by Hi. There were no statistical differences in general conditions,main symptoms, lung signs, X-ray appearance, classification of leukocyte and C-reactive protein levels between case group and control group(P>0. 05). Conclusion All the Hi isolated from spu-tum were NTHi among 0 to 28 days inpatients with neonatal pneumonia and the main biotype were typeⅠ, type Ⅲand typeⅣin west Sichuan China. There were no significant differences in the clinical manifestations of neonatal pneumonia with NTHi infection and other infectious pneumonia.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of balance-impact tuina therapy for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH).Methods:A total of 118 eligible LIDH patients were randomized into an observation group and a control group by the random number table method,with 59 cases in each group.The observation group was intervened by balance-impact tuina therapy,while the control group was intervened by conventional tuina therapy,both for consecutive two weeks.The scores of visual analog scale (VAS),Oswestry disability index (ODI),quality of life questionnaire-core 30 (QOL-C30) were observed before and after treatment;the relapse rate was estimated at the sixth month and twelfth month following the treatment.The data were statistically analyzed.Results:After intervention,the total effective rate was 96.6％ in the observation group versus 91.5％ in the control group,and the between-group difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The VAS and ODI scores declined significantly after treatment in both groups (all P＜0.05),and the observation group was markedly lower than the control group (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).The QOL-C30 score increased significantly after treatment in both groups (both P＜0.05),and the observation group was markedly higher than the control group (P＜0.05).The relapse rates at the post-treatment sixth month and twelfth month in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion:Compared with the conventional tuina therapy,the balance-impact tuina therapy shows advantage in lessening pain,improving the function and enhancing the quality of life in the treatment of LIDH,and it has a lower relapse rate.Thus,this therapy is worth promoting in clinic.

A novel transferrin modified non-viral gene delivery system Tf-PLPD was developed and the related characteristics was investigated. Blank procationic liposomes were prepared by film dispersion-filteration method. PLPD was prepared as follows by first mixing the plasmid DNA and protamine together, then the resulted polyplexes were incubated for 10 min at room temperature, followed by addition of preformed blank procationic liposomes. Transferrin was adsorbed at the surface of PLPD via electrostatic interactions to form Tf-PLPD. Central composite design (CCD) was employed to optimize the formulation. The HepG2 cells were transfected using lacZ as reporter gene and characteristics such as the morphology, the mean particle size, the zeta potential and the transfection efficiency in HepG2 cells were further investigated by different methods. The resulting PLPD had a regular spherical surface with an average size of (228. 9 +/- 8. 0) nm (polydispersity index, PDI = 0. 122 +/- 0. 02, n = 3) , a zeta potential of ( - 25. 08 +/-2. 50) mV (n = 3) and a transfection efficiency of (12. 18 +/- 3. 80) mU x mg(-1) (protein). The Tf-PLPD had an average size of (240 +/- 12) nm (polydispersity index, PDI = 0. 150 +/- 0. 03, n = 3), a zeta potential of ( - 24. 10 +/- 2. 50) mV ( n = 3) and a transfection efficiency of (24. 26 +/- 2. 60) mU x mg(-1) (protein) , 20 times greater than that of the naked plasmid DNA. The presence of serum didn' t affect the tansfection activity of PLPD or Tf-PLPD. Compared to one kind of cationic liposomes (liposome-protamine-DNA, LPD), the PLPD and Tf-PLPD had much less cytotoxicity to three hepatic cell lines (including HepG2, SMMC7721 and Chang' s normal hepatocyte). The results indicated that the Tf-PLPD is a perspective non-viral vector for gene delivery systems.
Cations ; chemistry ; Cell Line ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; DNA ; chemistry ; genetics ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Particle Size ; Plasmids ; chemistry ; genetics ; Protamines ; chemistry ; Transfection ; methods ; Transferrin ; chemistry ; genetics

Aortic Valve ; surgery ; Endocarditis ; surgery ; Humans

Objective To analyze the precipitating factors for,clinical manifestations of,laboratory findings in and therapeutic effect on acute urticaria.Methods Clinical data were collected from 185 inpatients with acute urticaria in Shanxi Dayi Hospital from January 2013 to December 2016.Clinical features,laboratory examination results,treatment,prognosis and adverse reactions were analyzed retrospectively.Statistical analysis was carried out by chi-square test.Results There were 63 male patients and 122 female patients in this study,with an average age at onset of 32.87 ± 14.18 years.Of the 185 patients,78 (42.2％) were able to report the aetiological agents accurately,33 (17.8％) were induced by infection or drug therapy following infection,and 82 (44.3％) had fever.Blood cell analysis showed increased white blood cell count in 132 (71.4％) cases and increased proportion of neutrophils in 128 (69.2％) cases.The level of C reactive protein increased in 118 (69％) of 171 cases.A total of 185 patients received routine anti-anaphylactic treatment.Of 183 cured patients,153 (83.6％) were treated with antibiotics,26(14.2％)with antibiotics alone,and 24(13.1％) with azithromycin.There were 127 (69.4％) patients receiving combined treatment with glucocorticoids,antibiotics,and so on,and the antibiotic used in 111 (60.7％) cases was azithromycin.Of 88 cured patients with simultaneous signs of infection,85 (96.6％) showed increased levels of part or all of infection markers (including the white blood cell count,proportion of neutrophils and level of C reactive protein),and 69 (78.4％) were treated with azithromycin.Of 95 cured patients without signs of infection,83 (87.4％) showed increased levels of infection markers,and 61 (64.2％) were treated with azithromycin.Moreover,there were significant differences in the proportion of patients with increased levels of infection markers and that of patients treated with azithromycin between the cured patients with and without signs of infection (x2 =5.164,4.476,both P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Infection is a common cause of acute urticaria,and laboratory examinations including white blood cell count,proportion of neutrophils and level of C reactive protein are of important reference value to the diagnosis of infection in patients with acute urticaria.Patients with signs of infection or increased levels of infection markers need to be treated with combined anti-infective therapy,and in the cured patients,the proportion of patients administrating azithromycin was higher than that of those administrating other antibiotics for the treatment of acute infectious urticaria.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anatomical study and clinical applications of sural neuron-myocutaneous flap transposition for repairing the special patients with soft tissue defect in foot and ankle.

METHODSThe branches, distributions and anastomoses of the vessels and nerves lie in superficial layer of the posterior crural region were observed on 30 sides of adult cadaver lower limb specimens perfused with red latex. Since February 2004, distally based sural neuron-myocutaneous flap was applied for repairing 7 cases of soft tissue defect in foot and ankle.

RESULTSThe nutrient vessels of sural nerve, small saphenous vein and posterior femoral cutaneous nerve anastomosed permanently with the musculocutaneous perforators of medial and lateral head of gastrocnemius. There were 2 - 3 anastomoses found respectively. The musculocutaneous perforators pierced the two heads of gastrocnemius muscle (1.8 +/- 0.5) cm medially and (3.7 +/- 0.9) cm laterally away from the groove of the muscle. The medial anastomoses more closed to the middle groove and their diameters were found larger than the lateral ones. In operation, we routinely observed the compound flap for 15 to 20 minutes and found actively errhysis on the muscle, so the fine blood circulation in the flap was demonstrated. All flap survived after operation and the cases were followed up 2 to 6 months with cured osteomyelitis and satisfied flap outline.

CONCLUSIONSDistally based sural neuro-myocutaneous flap can live. The operative method is simple. The flap offers an excellent donor site for repairing the soft tissue defect in foot and ankle in special cases.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Popliteal Artery ; anatomy & histology ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; surgery ; Sural Nerve ; anatomy & histology ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps ; blood supply ; innervation

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of transurethral resection of ejaculatory ducts (TURED) for azoospermia with ejaculatory duct obstruction (EDO).

METHODSFrom June 2003 to December 2004, 20 azoospermia with EDO were diagnosed, diagnostic criteria included a history, physical examination, semen analyses, semen fructose measurement, endocrine assessment, testicular biopsy and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS); All 20 cases were treated by TURED. Fifteen of them were followed up more than 3 months after the treatment. The semen samples of them were analysed at 3-month intervals in post-therapy.

RESULTSSemen analyses in all 20 cases showed the typical characteristics of EDO, low semen volume (0.4-1.6 ml), azoospermia, low pH, absent or low semen fructose. TRUS showed the main etiology factor of EDO was a midline cyst in 11, lateral cystic lesions in 2, the remaining 7 cases had dilated ejaculatory duct with or without dilated seminal vesicles. Among 15 cases followed up more than 3 months after TURED, 10/15 (67%) had an improvement in semen parameters and 3/15 (20%) had pregnancies. Semen analyses had not been done in anther 5 cases.

CONCLUSIONTransurethral resection of ejaculatory ducts may be a safe and effective method for the treatment of azoospermia with EDO.

Adult ; Azoospermia ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Ejaculatory Ducts ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Electrosurgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oligospermia ; diagnosis ; Ultrasonography