Objective To investigate the effects of heat-inactivated Cryptococcus neoformans(H-CN)on an experimental murine model of meningoencephalitis and on IL-1?,IFN-?and TNF-?gene ex-pression on the brain and spleen.Methods An experimental murine model of intracerebral infection with C.neoformans was established.Mice were divided into H-CN-treated group and control group.The brain and spleen of two groups were collected to obtain total RNA,and IL-1?,IFN-?and TNF-?were detected by RT-PCR method.After intracerebral challenging with lethal doses of C.neoformans,the survival time and colony forming units(cfu)of C.neoformans in the brain of two group were observed.Results The survival time was prolonged,and cfu of C.neoformans were decreased in the brain of H-CN-treated group in com-parison with those of control group.Expression of IL-1?was positive,and IFN-?and TNF-?negative in the brain tissue of H-CN-treated mice;while expression of IL-1?,IFN-?and TNF-?was all negative in the control mice,as indicated by RT-PCR.Expression of3cytokines,IL-1?,IFN-?and TNF-?was all positive in the spleen tissue of both groups,suggesting that there was no significant difference in the levels of cytokine gene transcripts in both groups.Conclusion These findings suggest that murine resistance to central nervous system infection of C.neoformans be enhanced by intracerebral administration of H-CN,and anti-cryptococcal mechanism probably involves a local cytokine IL-1?elicitated by H-CN in central nerve system.

OBJECTIVETo compare postoperative blood loss under different negative pressures of drainage after total hip arthroplasty for the treatment of femoral neck fractures.

METHODSFrom January 1st to December 30th 2013, 74 patients with femoral neck fractures treated with total hip arthroplasty were randomly divided into two groups: high negative pressure drainage group and low negative pressure drainage group. In high negative pressure drainage group, there were 34 cases including 10 males and 24 females, with a mean age of (75.94 ± 9.02) years old, and the patients were treated with 60 kPa negative pressure of drainage. In the low negative pressure drainage group, there were 40 cases including 13 males and 27 females, with an average age of (74.93 ± 8.90) years old, and the patients were treated with 30 kPa negative pressure of drainage. The amount of total drainage, total blood loss, and hemoglobin change were compared between these two groups.

RESULTSAll the patients got primary healing without infections. In high negative pressure drainage group,the change of hemoglobin was (41.74 ± 15.69) g/L, total blood loss was (1,217.73 ± 459.50) ml and the drainage volume was (312.94 ± 103.44) ml; while in low negative pressure drainage group,the results were (34.90 ± 12.90) g/L, (904.01 ± 381.58) ml and (129.25 ± 44.25) ml separately. All the results in high negative pressure drainage group were higher than those in the other group. Three days after operation, the change of hemoglobin was (46.00 ± 13.29) g/L and total blood loss was (1,304.72 ± 421.75) ml; while in low negative pressure drainage group, the changes of hemoglobin was (43.87 ± 11.39) g/L and total blood loss was (1,196.78 ± 344.20) ml; there were no statistically significant differences between two groups.

CONCLUSIONWhen placing drainage devices after total hip arthroplasty for the treatment of femoral neck fractures, the level of negative pressure should be chosen according to preoperative level of hemoglobin and HCT in patients. For old patients with femoral neck fracture, low negative pressure is more suitable.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; methods ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Femoral Neck Fractures ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; prevention & control

The systematic position of Fritillaria hupehensis has been in dispute. Phylogentic analyses were conducted on sequences of ITS, rpl16, matK sequences for species of F. hupehensis and allies. Lilium davidii was designed as outgroup. The analyses were performed using MP and ML methods. Conclusions could be achieved as follow. The topologies of MP and ML are consistent. The samples of F. hepehensis from different places form a supported clade with a strong bootstrap. And then form a strongly supported clade with F. anhuiensis, F. monantha. The results suggests that although F. hupehensis has a closet relation with the two ones, it exists some difference.
DNA, Plant ; chemistry ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Endoribonucleases ; genetics ; Fritillaria ; classification ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nucleotidyltransferases ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves ; genetics ; Ribosomal Proteins ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Species Specificity

Objective To understand the pathogen distribution situation among the children inpatients with hand ,foot and mouth diseases(HFMD) in Guiyang area during 2012 to provide the basis for the diagnosis ,treatment and prevention .Methods The data in 3 179 cases of HFMD were collected .The fluorescence quantitative RT‐PCR was adopted to perform the genotyping on universal enterovirus ,enterovirus 71(EV71)and Coxsackie virus A16(CA16) .Results A total 3 179 samples of HFMD were col‐lected ,among them ,151 cases (4 .75% ) were CA16 positive ,331 cases (10 .41% ) were EV71 positive ,7 cases (0 .22% ) were CA16 and EV71 co‐infection ,and 897 cases(28 .22% )were the other enterovirus .The whole year had 2 peaks of onset ,which were April to July and October to November .The onset age focused on the children aged under 5 years old (96 .16% ) ,among them ,0-3 years old had the highest onset ,moreover male children were more than female .Conclusion The etiology distribution of children HFMD in Guiyang area during 201 was dominated by the other genotypes of enterovirus and EV71 .

The clinical characteristics of patients who presented in poor clinical grade due to ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs) associated with large sylvian hematomas (SylH) were analyzed and an ingenious designed prophylactic hinged craniectomy was introduced. Twenty-eight patients were graded into Hunt-Hess grades IV-V and emergency standard micro-neurosurgeries (aneurysm clipping, hematoma evacuation and prophylactic hinged craniectomy) were performed, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. 46.43% of the patients reached encouraged favorable outcomes on discharge. The favorable outcome group and the poor outcome group significantly differed in terms of patients' anisocoria, Hunt-Hess grade before surgery, extent of the midline shift and time to the surgery after bleeding (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in age, sex, volume and location of the hematoma, size of aneurysm between the favorable and poor groups (P>0.05). However, ingenious designed prophylactic hinged craniectomy efficiently reduced the patients' intracranial pressure (ICP) after surgery. It was suggested that preoperative conditions such as Hunt-Hess grading, extent of the midline shift and the occurrence of cerebral hernia affect the prognosis of patients, but time to the surgery after bleeding and prophylactic hinged craniectomy are of significant importance for optimizing the prognosis of MCAA patients presenting with large SylH.

Objective To investigate and report a group of patients with cutaneous nocardiosis occurring in China.Methods The skin lesion of twenty-three patients were examined and the pathogen was identified.The possible cause of this disease was also investigated.Results All the twenty-three patients belon g to a same village in a province.Skin lesions on buttoc ks manifested as nodules and abscesses whereas some other lesions as ulcers and draining sinuses,occurring 2-10mo nths after intramuscular injection.The pathogens were identified as Nocardia asteroides.Conclusion Twenty-three patients of cutaneous nocardiosis were related to intramu scular injection.

BackgroundDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is the result of the cytokine network disorders,the imbalance of angiogenic factor and vascular inhibitory factor is the start factor.ObjectiveTo analyze the levels of CXC chemotatic factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients,evaluate the clinical application value of them in different clinical types of DR using receiver operating characteristic (ROC)analysis and to approach the new way of individualized treatment.Methods This was a prospective research.The gold standard was ophthalmolscope and fundus fluorescein angiography.The levels of CXC chemotatic factors and multiplicaiton factors were measured in 96 cases with type 2 diabetes mellitus (66 cases with retinopathy and 30 cases without retinopathy as control).The assessment tasks were performed for these index and courses of DR with ROC curve.Results The expression of age,course of disease has significant difference in different courses of DR ( F =8.507,P =0.001 ; F =28.143,P =0.000).Compared with the control group,the expression of growth-related oncogene-α ( GROα ) ( t =- 2.172,P =0.035,AUC =0.625 ),whole blood viscosity 200 ( t =- 3.724,P =0.001,AUC =0.904 ) and neutrophilic leukocyte (t=-2.562,P =0.013,AUC =0.577 ) has significant difference in the group of mild NPDR.Compared with the control group,the expression of interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 ( IP-10 ) ( t =-3.591,P =0.001,AUC =0.592 ),platelet derivation growth factor-BB ( PDGF-BB ) ( t =- 3.233,P =0.003,AUC =0.735 ),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) ( t =- 3.617,P =0.001,AUC =0.776 ),C peptide ( t =- 3.366,P =0.002,AUC =0.962 ),leukocyte ( t=-3.201,P =0.003,AUC =0.852) and neutrophilic leukocyte(t =-4.201,P=0.000,AUC =0.852) has significant difference in the group of moderate and severe NPDR.ConclusionsCXC chemotatic factors may act as reactivator in the pathogenesis of DR,GROα and IP-10 may be useful for clinical monitoring of the severity of DR,and evaluating the imbalance state of chemotatic factors maybe a new approach to clinical monitoring and prognosis of DR.

Taking application of some isolation and purification technologies, such as solvent extraction, preliminary solvent isolation, column chromatographies over silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 gel and preparative HPLC, 10 compounds were obtained from Gynura nepalensis cultivated in the suburban area of Beijing. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic methods and comparison with literature as (3R) -3-hydroxy-β-ionone (1), (3S,5R, 6S, 7E) -5, 6-epoxy-3-hydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (2), (+) -boscialin (3), 3, 6-trans-3-hydroxy-α-ionone (4), 3, 6-cis-3-hydroxy-α-ionone (5), 3, 4-cis-3, 4-dihydroxy-β-ionone (6), ethyl caffeate (7), loliolide (8), 1H-indole-3-carbaldehyde (9), and 3-(hydroxyacetyl)indole (10), respectively. All compounds were isolated from the title plant for the first time, and with compounds 1, 2, 4-7, 9 and 10 being isolated from Gynura species for the first time. Structurally, the above compounds 1-6 belong to C13 nor-sesquiterpenoids, sharing the same carbon skeleton of megastigmane. According to this study, they are one of major kinds of chemical constituents of Gynura nepalensis and have important reference value for the investigation on phytotaxonomy of this species.
Asteraceae ; chemistry ; Caffeic Acids ; chemistry ; Cyclohexanones ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Glucosides ; Indoles ; chemistry ; Mass Spectrometry ; Molecular Structure ; Norisoprenoids ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on circadian rhythm of temperature and melatonin (MT) in depression rats model induced by chronic stress, so as to explore the biological mechanism of EA for depression.

METHODSTwenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group and an EA group, 8 cases in each one. Rats in the control group were treated with normal diet for 21 days without any treatment. In the model and EA group, rat model was established by chronic unpredictable stress combined with solitarily feeding method, and rats in the EA group was treated with EA at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Yintang" (GV 29) 1 h before stress stimulation everyday, 2 Hz in frequency and intensity was favorable with the head of rat slightly shivering. The needles were retained for 20 min, once a day for totally 21 days. After EA treatment, open-field experiment was adopted to observe the behavioral improvement; the rats temperatures were monitored at six time points (2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, 22:00) and orbital blood sampling was collected. The level of serum MT was tested by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The circadian rhythm changes of temperature and serum MT in each group were compared.

RESULTSThe numbers of horizontal movement and vertical movement in the model group were obviously lower than those in the control group (both P < 0.05), while those in the EA group were significantly improved compared with those in the model group (both P < 0.01). The circadian rhythm of temperature and MT disappeared in the model group, which was improved into normal level after EA treatment.

CONCLUSIONThe electroacupuncture has regulation effects on circadian rhythm of temperature and melatonin in depression rat model induced by chronic stress.

Animals ; Circadian Rhythm ; Depression ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Electroacupuncture ; Humans ; Male ; Melatonin ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo elucidate the regulatory mechanism underlying proliferation and anti-apoptosis in NSCLC by overexpression of miR-21.

METHODSReal-time PCR was used to measure miR-21 abundance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor samples and adjacent normal tissues, as well as NSCLC cell lines. Tumor suppressor genes as potential targets of miR-21 were predicted by sequence analysis. Luciferase assay and Western blot were used to assess the regulatory effect. The effect on A549 cell viability and apoptosis by miR-21-induced gene repression was tested by trypan-blue exclusion and flow cytometry.

RESULTSmiR-21 expression was 2.24-fold higher in the NSCLC tumor samples and 3.06-fold higher in the A549 cells than that in the adjacent normal tissues. Sequence prediction and gene expression regulation assays showed that miR-21 could reversely regulate the expression of PDCD4 (P < 0.01). Suppression of miR-21 expression is associated with an elevation of Pdcd4, resulting in a significant reduction of proliferation and the apoptosis rate (2.6%) was increased to 10.9%. Moreover, the anti-proliferation and pro-apoptotic effect by miR-21 suppression could be reversed by PDCD4 knock down.

CONCLUSIONSuppression of the tumor suppressor PDCD4 expression may be one of the important regulatory pathways of the miR-21-mediated cell proliferation and decrease of apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

Aged ; Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; genetics ; RNA Interference ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection