Correlated firings among neurons have been extensively investigated; however, previous studies on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) population activities were mainly based on analyzing the correlated activities between the entire spike trains. In the present study, the correlation properties were explored based on burst-like activities and solitary spikes separately. The results indicate that: (1) burst-like activities were more correlated with other neurons' activities; (2) burst-like spikes correlated with their neighboring neurons represented a smaller receptive field than that of correlated solitary spikes. These results suggest that correlated burst-like spikes should be more efficient in signal transmission, and could encode more detailed spatial information.
Action Potentials ; Animals ; Computer Simulation ; Darkness ; Electrophysiology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Light ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Postsynaptic Potential Summation ; Rana catesbeiana ; physiology ; surgery ; Retina ; physiology ; Retinal Ganglion Cells ; physiology ; Retinal Neurons ; physiology ; Signal Transduction

Aim To observe the effect of interventional therapy of 5-fluorouracil(5-Fu), mitomycin C (MMC) and adriamycin (ADM) on solid malignant turmors in association with aterial infusion of NaHCO3.Methods Patients were randomly divided into two groups.With Seldinger technique,through the femoral atery to tumor atery.The patients in the control group were infused by anticarcinoma agents simply ,and patients in the treatment group were initially infused by NaHCO3,and then by NS 30 ml and anticarcinoma agents seperately. Results Partial remission (PR) in the group treated with NaHCO3 and anticarcinoma agents was significantly higher than in the group treated simply with anticarcinoma agents.Conclusion Aterial infusion of NaHCO3 into malignant tumors can increase the efficacy of ADM,MMC and 5-Fu.

BACKGROUNDPrimary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been clearly identified as the first therapeutic option for patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The importance of reducing door-to-balloon (D2B) time has gained increased recognition. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the strategy of direct ambulance transportation of patients with acute STEMI to catheterization lab to receive primary PCI.

METHODSThe study population included 141 consecutive patients with chest pain and ST-segment elevation who were admitted to the catheterization laboratory directly by the ambulance and underwent primary PCI (DIRECT group). Another 145 patients with STEMI randomly selected from the PCI database, were served as control group (conventional group); they were transported to catheterization laboratory from emergency room (ER). The primary endpoint of D2B time, and secondary endpoint of in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE, including death, non-fatal reinfarction, and target vessel revascularization) were compared.

RESULTSBaseline and procedural characteristics between the two groups were comparable, except more patients in the DIRECT group presented TIMI 0-1 flow in culprit vessel at initial angiogram (80.1% and 73.8%, P = 0.04). Comparing to conventional group, the primary endpoint of D2B time was reduced ((54 ± 18) minutes and (112 ± 55) minutes, P < 0.0001) and the percentage of patients with D2B < 90 minutes was increased in the DIRECT group (96.9% and 27.0%, P < 0.0001). The success rate of primary PCI with stent implantation with final Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) 3 flow was significantly higher in the DIRECT group (93.8% and 85.2%, P = 0.03). Although no significant difference was found at 30-day MACE free survival rate between the two groups (95.0% and 89.0%, P = 0.06), a trend in improving survival status in the DIRECT group was demonstrated by Kaplan-Meier analysis.

CONCLUSIONDirect ambulance transport of STEMI patients to the catheterization laboratory could significantly reduce D2B time and improve success rate of primary PCI and 30-day clinical outcomes.

Aged ; Ambulances ; statistics & numerical data ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDSevere bilateral carotid stenosis caused by atherosclerosis has not been unusual in the elderly. Such patients have high stroke risk. Many studies show that carotid artery stenting (CAS) is an alternative to treat unilateral carotid stenosis. However, the optimal procedural strategy of bilateral carotid stenosis remains unclear. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the safety of simultaneous bilateral carotid artery stenting (SBCAS) compared with unilateral carotid artery stenting (UCAS).

METHODSIn this single-center retrospective study, we analyzed 234 consecutive patients who underwent carotid stenting from January 2005 to December 2009. Thirty-nine patients (16.7%) of them underwent SBCAS, and the others (n = 195) underwent UCAS. Indication for CAS was defined as carotid artery diameter reduction > 60% (symptomatic) or > 80% (asymptomatic). Six-month and 30-day hemodynamic depression (HD), hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS), stroke, death and myocardial infarction (MI) after carotid stenting were assessed.

RESULTSSBCAS group had no more HD and HPS compared with UCAS group at 30 days (HD: 28.2% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.396; HPS: 2.6% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.262). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between SBCAS group and UCAS group in major stroke, death, MI and their combinations within 30 days (major stroke: 0 vs. 3.6%, P = 0.604; death: 2.6% vs. 1.5%, P = 0.520; MI: 2.6% vs. 0.5%, P = 0.306; and their combinations: 5.1% vs. 4.6%, P = 1.000) and 6 months (major stroke: 0 vs. 3.6%, P = 0.604; death: 5.1% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.262; MI: 5.1% vs.1.0%, P = 0.130 and their combinations: 7.7% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.459).

CONCLUSIONSThe patients undergoing SBCAS had no more events than those undergoing UCAS in 30-day and 6-month follow-up. Our finding suggests that SBCAS appears to be as safe as UCAS.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; adverse effects ; Carotid Stenosis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; adverse effects ; Time Factors

The study was aimed to investigate the mechanism of mannan-binding lectin (MBL) on bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced human peripheral blood monocyte-derived dendritic cell (DC) maturation. The monocytes were prepared from the peripheral blood of healthy adult volunteers. The immature dendritic cells (imDC) were induced by 5-day-culture in medium supplemented with rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4. FACS was used to investigate the interaction of MBL with imDC and the impact of MBL on LPS binding to imDC. ELISA and Western blot was used to analyze the interaction of MBL with soluble TLR4 ectodomain protein (sTLR4); Western blot was used to detect LPS-induced NF-κB translocation in imDC. The results showed that MBL could directly bind to imDC in the presence of calcium. sTLR4 protein or LPS could competitively inhibit the binding of MBL to imDC. ELISA and Western blot showed that MBL could evidently bind to sTLR4 protein in a concentration-dependent manner. FACS showed that MBL could competitively inhibit the binding of LPS to imDC by binding to imDC directly. Western blot showed that MBL decreased LPS-induced NF-κB translocation in imDC. It is concluded that MBL may competitively inhibit the binding of LPS to imDC by binding to TLR4 expressed on imDC, resulted in inhibition of LPS-induced DC maturation, suggesting that MBL can regulate DC maturation through ligand-binding. This study provides the good foundation to clarify the mechanism of MBL inhibiting the LPS-induced DC maturation.
Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Dendritic Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Ligands ; Lipopolysaccharides ; adverse effects ; Mannose-Binding Lectin ; pharmacology ; Monocytes ; cytology ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism

Stem cell marker LIN28, related closely with SOX2 and OCT4, has been studied as a biomarker for the maintainance of pluripotent cells in several malignancies. Our previous study showed that SOX2 and OCT4 were negative predictors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the predictive value of LIN28 in HCC outcome is still undetermined. We hypothesized that LIN28 may also play a role as a biomarker for HCC. To test this hypothesis, we examined the expression of LIN28 in 129 radically resected HCC tissues using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and analyzed the association of LIN28 expression with clinicopathologic features and prognosis. Our study showed that LIN28 was expressed at a higher frequency in tumor tissues than in non-HCC tissues (45.0% vs. 21.7%, P = 0.020). Moreover, LIN28 expression was significantly increased in cases with large tumor size (P = 0.010). Univariate analysis did not reveal a significant correlation between LIN28 expression and overall survival or recurrence-free survival. For HCC patients who met the Milan criteria, stratified analysis revealed shorter overall survival (P = 0.007) and recurrence-free survival (P < 0.001) in those with detectable LIN28 expression compared to those with no detectable LIN28 expression. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that LIN28 was a negative independent predictor for both overall survival (hazard ratio= 7.093, P = 0.017) and recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio=5.518, P = 0.004) in patients who met the Milan criteria. Taken together, our results suggest that LIN28 identifies low-risk and high-risk subsets of HCC patients meeting the Milan criteria who undergo hepatectomy.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Burden

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-liver/ kidney microsomal type 1 antibodies (anti-LKM1) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC)and to explore the mechanism of production of these autoantibodies.

METHODSSerum samples were collected from 360 patients with CHC (case group), 69 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 69 patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) (control group). Serum ANA and anti-LKM1 were detected by indirect immunofluorescence (HF) technique and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Multi-factor analysis was performed to explore the correlations of the production of autoantibodies with some factors such as age, sex, viral loads, HCV genotype, biochemical parameters and clinical characteristics.

RESULTSFifty-four (15%) of 360 patients infected with HCV were positive in autoantibodies. The prevalence of ANA and anti-LKM1 were 12.5% (45/360) and 2.5% (9/ 360), respectively. The positive rate of autoantibodies in patients with CHC was significantly higher than that in patients with CHB (15% vs 2.9%, P = 0.006), but significantly lower than that in patients with AIH (15% vs 47.9%, P < 0.001). Twenty-one (11.35%) of 185 male patients and 33 (18.86%) of 175 female patients were positive in autoantibodies, the difference in positive rate was significant (P < 0.05). HCV virus loads in the autoantibodies negative group were higher than that in the autoantibodies positive group (7.2 x 10(7) copies/L vs 1.23 x 10(7) copies/L, P < 0.05). There were not significant differences in age and genotype between the autoantibody positive group and the autoantibody negative group. The serum biochemical parameters of the autoantibody positive group were similar to those of the autoantibody negative group. The differences were not significant for the course of disease, clinical symptom, the incidence of cirrhosis between the autoantibody positive group and the autoantibody negative group. The prevalence of autoantibodies was not different for patients with or without interferon treatment (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAutoantibodies related to AIH can be detected in CHC patients; interferon may not induce the production of autoantibodies; it is very likely that HCV infection induces the autoimmune reaction and the production of autoantibodies.

Adult ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; blood ; immunology ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; immunology ; Female ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Patients with late-stage cancer commonly have distant lymph node metastasis; however, poor health often contraindicates surgical treatment. Although the quality of life and overall survival for these patients are low, there is neither a consensus nor a guide for treatment. Ablation technique and surrounding tissue damage are two possible reasons for limited study of radiofrequency ablation in patients with superficial distant lymph node metastasis. Here, we report two patients treated successfully with ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation for superficial distant lymph node metastasis. In these patients, deionized water was injected to the surrounding tissues of the lymph node to decrease heat injury. Results from these patients suggest that radiofrequency ablation may play an important role in the treatment of patients with distant lymph node metastasis.
Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Neoplasm Staging ; Ultrasonography, Interventional ; methods

Novel reassortant H3N2 swine influenza viruses (SwIV) with the matrix gene from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus have been isolated in many countries as well as during outbreaks in multiple states in the United States, indicating that H3N2 SwIV might be a potential threat to public health. Since southern China is the world's largest producer of pigs, efficient vaccines should be developed to prevent pigs from acquiring H3N2 subtype SwIV infections, and thus limit the possibility of SwIV infection at agricultural fairs. In this study, a high-growth reassortant virus (GD/PR8) was generated by plasmid-based reverse genetics and tested as a candidate inactivated vaccine. The protective efficacy of this vaccine was evaluated in mice by challenging them with another H3N2 SwIV isolate [A/Swine/Heilongjiang/1/05 (H3N2) (HLJ/05)]. Prime and booster inoculation with GD/PR8 vaccine yielded high-titer serum hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies and IgG antibodies. Complete protection of mice against H3N2 SwIV was observed, with significantly reduced lung lesion and viral loads in vaccine-inoculated mice relative to mock-vaccinated controls. These results suggest that the GD/PR8 vaccine may serve as a promising candidate for rapid intervention of H3N2 SwIV outbreaks in China.
Animals ; Female ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/*genetics/immunology ; Influenza Vaccines/genetics/immunology/*therapeutic use ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections/immunology/*prevention & control/virology ; Reassortant Viruses/genetics/immunology ; Reverse Genetics/methods/*veterinary ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/immunology/*prevention & control/virology ; Vaccines, Inactivated ; Virus Replication

Objective To collect the laboratory parameters and clinical parameters of blood culture positive samples,and analyze the composition and laboratory characteristics of real pathogens by combining with clinical follow-up and anti-infectious treatment outcomes.Methods We conducted a prospective study to isolate the 483 strains of pathogens from 4313 cases of blood samples for clinical examination between March 2013 and March 2015.The results of laboratory and clinical infections were collected for each positive culture and were followed up for clinical follow-up to understand the responsible doctors' experience-based judgment and targeted clinical treatment of antibiotics.After comprehensive analysis we determined the real pathogens and contaminants.Results Of the 483 positive cultures,331 were finally determined as pathogenic ones,accounting for 68.5% of the number of positive isolates; 97 were contaminated bacteria (20.1%); and 55 strains with uncertain pathogenic nature (11.4%).Escherichia coli accounted for the highest proportion (41.2%)of pathogenic bacteria.Coagulase-negative staphylococci took up the highest proportion (75.3%)of the contaminated bacteria.As many as 253 strains (52.4%)were detected from the aerobic or anaerobic bottles.The detection rate of Escherichia coli in anaerobic bottles (23.9%)was higher than that in aerobic bottles (13.8%)(P <0.05).Of 97 strains of positive isolates,only one bottle was reported positive for 90 strains,accounting for (92.8%),and more than two bottles of 7 positive strains,accounting for (7.2%)(P <0.05).34 positive in 24 h (35.1%),77 positive in 48 h (79.4%),the positivebacteria ratio within 48 h (79.4%)was higher than that of bacteria contamination ratio within 24 h (χ2 =38.935, P =0.000),with a significant difference.Conclusion Establishment of contaminated bacteria in blood culture cannot rely solely on laboratory or clinical parameters.It should be combined with the experience of clinicians to determine the clinical response to comprehensive judgments.For the laboratory to determine the presence of contamination,the number of positive bottles and the amount of sun are still two factors of important value.Paying attention to inspection of anaerobic bottles is more conducive to the detection of Escherichia coli.