Aortopulmonary Septal Defect ; therapy ; Catheterization ; Female ; Humans ; Infant

This article was aimed to study the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis by β-el-emene extract from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Rhizoma Zedoariae on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells, as well as the effect on expression of apoptosis-related proteins in liver cancer-burdened H22 mice. Human HepG2 cells were cultured in vitro. MTT method was used in the determination of β-elemene on cell prolif-eration. Apoptosis of cells were detected by the Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining method. Through the establish-ment of liver cancer-burdened H22 mice model, the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis-related protein expression by β-elemene on tumor-burdened mice were observed. The results showed that β-elemene inhib-ited HepG2 cell proliferation, which was dose- and time-dependent. Annexin V-FITC/PI method detected early apoptotic cells. Inhibitions of tumor growth on tumor-burdened mice from different groups were different. Inhibition of tumor growth in the high-dose β-elemene group was relatively low, and that of the middle-dose was more obvi-ous. It was concluded that β-elemene can effectively inhibit human HepG2 cells proliferation. The inhibition on pro-liferation of cancer cells was through the inducing of cell apoptosis. It was also related to the upregulation of apopto-sis-related protein Caspase-3 and downregulation of NF-κB P65.

Objective To investigate the apoptotic effects of hypertrophic scar fibroblast (HSF) induced by HMME-PDT.Methods Fibroblasts were cultured from nontreated hypertrophic scars,and cells at passages 4-6 were used for the experiments (photosensitizer dose 4 μg/ml,λ630 nm,pow er density 10 mw/cm2,energy fluence 2.5 J/cm2).Morphological and biochemical changes in fibroblasts were assessed by Hoechst 33258 staining and fluorescence microscopy.The rate of apoptotic or necrotic cells was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) through double staining of Annexin V -FITC and popodium iodide (PI),respectively.Results Marked morphological features of cell apoptosis were viewed under the fluorescent microscope through Hoechst 33258 staining.The analysis of FCM indica ted that the apoptotic rate was significantly increased after HMME PDT [(34.82 ± I.42) ％ vs (3.12±0.28) ％,P＜0.05],and apoptotic rate was higher than necrosis rate [(14.65±1.02) ％ vs (34.82±1.42) ％,P＜0.05].Conclusions Low level exposure to 630 nm PDT mediated by HMME appears to induce fibroblast apoptosis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of caspase 3 in HMME-induced apoptosis in hypertrophic scar fibroblasts (HSFs).MethodsFibroblasts were obtained from 10 patients with untreated hypertrophic scar,and subjected to a primary culture.After 4 to 6 passages of culture,the HSFs were divided into 3 groups to remain untreated(control group),be treated with HMME followed by photodynamic therapy (HMME-PDT group),or the combination of HMME and Z-DEVD-FMK followed by photodynamic therapy (caspase 3 inhibitor group).At 12 hours after the therapy,HSFs were collected and immunofluorescence microscopy was used to observe the fluorescence intensity of caspase 3 after staining with fluorescein isocyanate (FITC) and popodium iodide (PI),flow cytometry was performed to determine the percentage of caspase 3-positive HSFs and apoptosis rate in HSFs after single staining with FITC and PI respectively.Results The fluorescence intensity of caspase 3 was weak in the control group and caspase 3 inhibitor group,but was strong in the HMME-PDT group.An increased percentage of caspase 3-positive HSFs was noted in the HMMEPDT group compared with the control group and caspase 3 inhibitor group(30.86％ ± 1.21％ vs.3.12％ ±0.28％ and 2.46％ ± 0.18％,t =19.92,21.76,both P ＜ 0.05).The apoptosis rate in HSFs was significantly higher in the HMME-PDT group and caspase 3 inhibitor group than in the control group(30.54％ ± 3.78％ and 10.46％ ± 2.15％ vs.2.45％ ± 0.22％,t =35.90,27.97,both P＜ 0.05),and higher in the HMME-PDT group than in the caspase 3 inhibitor group.ConclusionsThe apoptosis in HSFs induced by HMME-PDT is closely related to the activation of caspase 3,while caspase 3 seems to be dispensable for the apoptosis.

Objective To explore the hospitalization costs of patients with diabetic foot ulcer and analyze key influencing factors.Methods A total of 570 diabetic foot inpatients were recruited from January 2008 to March 2012 for analysis of the relationship between their hospitalization costs and clinical symptoms.The multifactor regression analysis model was used to identify main influencing factors for their hospitalization costs.Results The medical costs of such inpatients amounted to 1 9 825.6 yuan (12 476.6~32 745.9)yuan,while average hospitalization costs of the 3 401 diabetic patients admitted over the same period were but 9 757.1 yuan (6 282.1 ~ 1 5 723.7 )yuan,a difference of statistic significance.The single-factor analysis found statistical differences from the differences of hospitalization among various age,occupation,dorsal artery of foot,B ultrasound of lower extremity arteries,wagner classification,amputation,transfer,leucocyte,hemoglobin,serum albumin,serum creatinine and high density lipoprotein.Multifactor analysis found that the significant factors influencing the medical costs of inpatients were days of stay,albumin,wagner classification,dorsal artery of foot,leucocyte and age. Conclusion Hypoalbuminemia,high stage of wagner classification,weak or absent pulsation of foot dorsal artery,severe infection and aging were significant factors contributing to higher medical costs of hospitalization for patients with diabetic foot ulcer.

Objective To study the effects of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B)decoy oligodeoxynucleotide(ODN)on the preeclamptic umbilical serum induced expression of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA and tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?)in cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMC).Methods Primary cultured HUASMC of normal pregnancy were divided into four groups: group A(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of normal pregnancy);group B(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group C(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B cis decoy ODN 48 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group D(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B scramble ODN 24 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia).NF-?B cis decoy ODN and NF-?B scramble ODN were transfected with cationic lipofectamine to the latter two groups,respectively.The proliferation of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and the apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA were detected by RT-PCR,the expression levels of TNF-? were detected by western blot.Results(1)The proliferation of group B(0.19?0.02)and group D(0.18?0.03)was significantly increased as compared with those of group A(0.11?0.02)and group C(0.14?20.02)(P0.05).(5)The expression of TNF-? of group B(0.74?0.11),group C(0.36?0.09)and group D(0.79?0.12)were significantly higher than that of group A(0.15?0.03)(P0.05).Conclusions NF-?B cis decoy ODN could down-regulate the proliferation,as well as the expression levels of precollagen and TNF-? of HUASMC induced by umbilical serum of preeclampsia.NF-?B may play an important role in the pathogenesis of placental artery abnormalities in preeclampsia.

Discussion teaching mode was carried out in the teaching of histology and embryol-ogy for clinical medical undergraduates in Chongqing Medical University from aspects of proposing questions, group learning, class discussing and summarizing. Classroom tests were accompanied to evaluate the teaching effect. It showed the discussion teaching achieved satisfactory effects. The correct answer rate of 92.36%students was≥60%. Students not only acquired knowledge but also increased their comprehensive abilities. The well-supervised topics, active participation of students and timely summary of teachers at the end of the class were the key factors in the practice of the discussion teaching mode.

Graphene ( GN) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes ( MWCNT) composites were coated on glassy carbon electrode ( GCE ) and then poly ( nicotinic acid ) ( PNA ) was electrodeposited on the modified electrode. The electrochemical behavior of pyridoxine hydrochloride ( VB6 ) was investigated at the modified electrode by cyclic voltammetry ( CV ) and differential pulse voltammetry ( DPV ) . Results showed the oxidation current of VB6 at the GN-MWCNT/PNA/GCE was obviously larger than that at GCE, PNA/GCE and GN/MWCNT/GCE. The oxidation process of VB6 was an irreversible diffusion-controlled process involving one electron and two protons. The liner range between the peak current intensity of DPV and the concentration of VB6 was 0 . 05-200 μmol/L with a detection limit of 0 . 02 μmol/L ( S/N=3 ) . The modified electrode showed a good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 3 . 1% ( n=8 ) . The proposed method was applied to the analysis of vitamin B6 in vitamin B6 tablets and compound vitamin B tablets with recoveries between 96 . 1%-104 . 5%.

Objective The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been identified as the biomarkers to predict systemic inflammation. However, there is less study to investigate the association between the biomarkers and thyrotoxicosis. Methods A total of 1 012 healthy subjects and 1 599 newly diagnosed thyrotoxicosis patients were enrolled in this study, including 978 in Graves′ disease (GD group), 452 in Hashimoto′s thyroiditis (HT group), and 169 in subacute thyroiditis (SAT group) groups. The clinical characteristics were retrospectively extracted from the medical records. The NLR and PLR at the baseline were calculated, the correlations between the NLR, PLR, and the clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results The NLR and PLR in SAT patients were significantly higher than those in the control, GD, and HT groups (all P<0.01), but were similar among the last three groups. The NLRs were positively correlated with white blood cell counts (r=0.5, P<0.01) and erythrocyte sedimentation rates (r=0.4, P<0.01), while the PLR was positively correlated with FT4 (r=0.16, P<0.05) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r=0.47, P<0.01). The SAT patients with abnormal liver function showed higher NLR and PLR compared the patients with normal liver function (all P<0.01). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, when to predict SAT patient with autoimmune thyrotoxicosis, the best cutoff value of NLR was 2.0 (sensitivity 80.5%, specificity 76.9%, area under curve 0.833), and the best cutoff value of PLR was 150 (sensitivity 64.3%, specificity 84.2%, area under curve 0.801). Conclusions The NLR and PLR values exhibited a dignostic value in the differentiation of SAT from autoimmune thyrotoxicosis.

Objective To evaluate the role of gamma curve fitting technique of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in quantitative analysis of microcirculation in renal solid lesions. Methods A total of fifty patients with renal parenchyma solid lesions were performed contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The images were analysed by computer with gamma fitting analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonic system. The quantitative parameters were obtained by the time-intensity curves, such as ascending slope (a3), descending slope (a2), arrival time (AT), time to peak intensity (TTP), basic intensity (BI), peak intensity, amplification (AMP), area under the curve (AUC), mean transit time (MTT) and perfusion index (PI). The parameters were compared between renal malignant and benign solid lesions. Results Fast-in and fast-out was the main perfusion mode in renal malignant tumors while slow-in and slow-out was found in renal angiomyolipoma (AML). The perfusion modes in renal malignant tumors and renal AML were fast-in and fast-out in 28 cases and 0 case, fast-in and slow-out in 4 cases and 1 case, slow-in and fast-out in 5 cases and 1 case, and slow-in and slow-out in 1 case and 10 cases, respectively. There were significant differences in the quantitative parameters such as a2, AUC and PI between renal malignant tumors and renal AML obtained by the time-intensity curves (P<0.05). Conclusion Gamma fitting analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasound system can provide quantitative information of microcirculation of renal tumors, which helps to differentiate benign renal tumors from malignant ones.