Objective To study the effect of ursolic acid(UA) on apoptosis of the ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and its action mechanisms. Methods The SKOV3 cells were treated with UA at different concentration. The proliferation inhibition was examined by MTT assay. Morphological examination and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis. RT-PCR and immunocytochemical method were used to detect the expression of wild type p53,an apoptosis related genes. The semi-quantification of protein expression was analyzed by pathological image-analysis. Results UA inhibited the proliferation of SKOV3 cells strongly. Apoptosis of SKOV3 cells were induced by UA treatment. The morphology of SKOV3 showed changes such as chromatin aggregation, nuclear and cytoplasmic condensation and apoptotie bodies appearance. UA caused significant G0/G1 arrest with a concomitant decrease of cell population in S and G2/M phases. Apoptotic cells were found by flow cytometry. The maximal early apoptotic rate was (28.7±2.4)% when exposed to 40 μmol/L for 48 h. The expression of p53 gene and protein was enhanced. All these effects were in a dose and time-dependent manner Conclusion UA induced apoptotic processes in the ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell line were the mechanism involving p53 pathway.

Objective To investigate midwives' role cognition and their working experience.Methods It was a qualitative study using the phenomenological method.10 midwives were interviewed and all the data were analyzed using the categorization method.Results Three main categories were identified:diversified midwife roles; capacities and qualities required to fulfill midwifery roles; positive and negative experiences coexisted.Conclusions Managers should develop humanized management approaches to facilitate the fulfillment of midwives' roles and improve their working experience.The research also revealed the need to improve Chinese midwifery education and the midwifery regulation systems.

Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of Midwife Core Competency Scale.Methods A total of 369 midwives from 32 hospitals in Beijing were investigated by using the Midwife Core Competency Scale,and the reliability and validity were measured.Results The scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α =0.950) and stability (the test-retest reliability was 0.832).The distribution of 54 items in 6 public factors (the cumulative variance＝68.405％) extracted from them was consistent with the original scale,yielding an acceptable construct validity.The scale also had good validity to discriminate different categories.Conclusions The Midwife Core Competency Scale had good reliability and validity,which provides an useful tool to evaluate midwifes' core competency.Larger sample from different areas need to be considered for scale improvement and application.

Midwifery competency is the foundation for sustainable development of the midwifery profession. The promotion of midwives′ competency can improve their ability, strengthen midwifery competitiveness and enhance the quality of midwifery care services. This study gave an overview of the worldwide research progress on midwifery competency, we can draw the conclusion that there are urgent needs to improve midwifery education programs in China, emphasize competency-based midwifery education, as well as standardize the in-service training system to support the development of midwifery competency.

Objective To investigate the expression of homeobox gene MSX-2 during cranial suture fusion of SD rats and discuss its significance. Methods SD rats aged 1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 22, 30 and 45 days were selected, and immunohistochemistry and Real-time PCR were employed to localize and quantify the expression of MSX-2 in different regions of cranial sutures. Results MSX-2 expressed in calvarial suture tissues including the extreme ends of the osteogenic fronts and the underlying dura mater. The expression of MSX-2 was low in posterior frontal suture (PF) and sagittal suture (SAG) from postnatal day 1 to day 8 before the initiation of suture fusion, while it was higher in PF than in SAG from postnatal day 12 to day 22 after the initiation of PF suture fusion. The expression of MSX-2 significantly declined in PF and was moderately higher than that in SAG from postnatal day 30 to day 45 after the initiation of suture fusion. Conclusion There is different expression of MSX-2 in PF and SAG during different suture fusion periods, which suggests the expression of MSX-2 may participate in the regulation of cranial bone development and the fusion of cranial sutures.

SW872 preadipocytes were cultured and induced to differentiate by oleic acid in vitro.The levels of adiponectin and its receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) mRNA were measured by semiquantitative RT- PCR.The concentration of adiponectin in the culture medium was assayed by ELISA.The results showed that rhIL- 6 could inhibit adiponectin,AdipoR1 mRNA expressions and adiponectin secretion in SW872 adipocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner,but did not influence adipoR2 mRNA expression.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) on coronary vasodilation by analysis of coronary angiography (CAG).

METHODSA consecutive cohort of 300 patients who underwent CAG between January 2013 and July 2013 were recruited and randomly assigned to 2 groups before operation. Patients in the SBP group sublingually took SBP, while those in the control group sublingually took placebos. All patients repeatedly underwent CAG 5 min after administration. The vascular diameter was calculated by quantitative angiography analysis method. The diameter of the left anterior descending coronary artery was measured in patients whose coronary arteries had no stenosis. The narrowest vascular diameter was measured in patients whose coronary arteries had stenosis. The heart rate, blood pressure, and the vascular diameter were compared between before and after administration in the two groups.

RESULTSIn the two groups, there was no significant difference in changes of heart rate, systolic pressure, or diastolic pressure between before and after administration (all P > 0.05). There were 64 patients with normal CAG in the two groups, 30 in the control group and 34 in the SBP group. CAG showed there were 236 patients with stenotic coronary artery, 110 in the control group and 126 in the SBP group. The vascular diameter was obviously larger in patients in the SBP group with normal or abnormal CAG after administration (all P < 0.01). It was also obviously larger than that of the control group after administration (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSBP could dilate both normal coronary artery and lesioned coronary arteries, but did not lead to fastened heart rate and decreased blood pressure.

Blood Pressure ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Tablets ; Vasodilation ; drug effects

The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), also known as G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), was identified in the recent years as a functional membrane receptor different from the classical nuclear estrogen receptors. This receptor is widely expressed in the cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, heart, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, and the urogenital system. It is responsible for the mediation of nongenomic effects associated with estrogen and its derivatives, participating in the physiological activities of the body. The present study reviews the molecular structure, subcellular localization, signaling pathways, distribution, and function of GPER in the male reproductive system.
Estrogens ; metabolism ; Genitalia, Male ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Structure ; Organ Specificity ; Receptors, Estrogen ; chemistry ; physiology ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; chemistry ; physiology ; Reproduction ; physiology ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVE To analyze the incidence of anatomic variations of the temporal bone to provide valuable reference for clinical otology. METHODS Sev-enty six healthy adults (152 ears) and 66 patients(96 ears) with chronic suppurative otitis media confirmed by clinical examination underwent axial and coronal High-resolution Computed Tomography(HRCT) scan. The incidence of high jugular bulb, dehiscent jugu-lar bulb, anterior location of sigmoid sinus, low-lying middle cranial fossa, dehiscent tegmen tympani, mas-toid antrum dysplasia, aberrant internal carotid artery, and large sinus tympani were recorded. RESULTS In normal, abnormal, well and poorly pneumatized groups, the incidence of highly positioned jugular bulb on the right was higher than that on the left. The total inci-dence of high jugular bulb on the left and right was 26.2 % and 46.0 % respectively. The incidence of ante-rior location of sigmoid sinus in the abnormal group (32.3 %) was higher than that in normal group(15.8 %), which was higher in poorly pneumatized group(43.5 %) than that in well pneumatized group(11.3 %). The inci-dence of dehiscent tegmen tympani in well pneuma-tized group(18.0 %) was higher than that in poor pneu-matized group(8.7 %). There was no significant differ-ence in dehiscent jugular bulb, low-lying middle cranial fossa, mastoid antrum dysplasia, aberrant internal ca-rotid artery, and large sinus tympani between the left and right within and among groups. The incidence of these varia-tions was 2.0 %,21.8 %,1.2 %,0.4 %,0.8 %respectively. CONCLUSION HRCT can show ana-tomic variances of temporal bone clearly before opera-tion and has great clinical value for reducing the inci-dence of complications caused by middle ear operation.

Objective To isolate Hantaviruses from reservoir animals captured in natural epidemic areas of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS)and genotype isolated strains of Hantavirus in Shenzhen.Methods Infant Meriones unguiculatus and Vero-E6 cells were used in virus isolation and direct immunofluorescence assay was used for identifying viruses.The G1,G2 fragments of M segment and S segment were amplified with reverse transcription-nested-polymerase chain reaction(RT-nested-PCR)by using the Hantavirus genotype specific primers.The amplified genes were then sequenced,and subjected to homology and cladogram analysis.Results Two virus strains were isolated successfully and designated as SZ2082 and SZ2083 from Rattus norvegicus captured in Shenzhen and were identified as SEOV type by RT-nested-PCR.The nucleotide sequences of partial M and S segmentS of SZ2082 were consistent with SZ2083 completely.Compared with the G1 and G2 fragments of M gene of SEOV80-39 virus strain,the homologies of nucleotide among them were 96.7% and 95.0%,but the homology were 75.9% and 70.3% of the Hantaviruses strain with HTNV76-118 virus strain,respectively.The homology of S gene with SEOV80-39 and HTNV76-118 showed 95.7% and 69.7% at nucleotide level.The results were similar to that of M genome segment.SZ2082 and BjFT01,Beijing Rn,Guangl99,HN71-L were on the same branch and their homology reached up to 99.0%-99.7%.Conclusions Hantaviruses are isolated from Shenzhen for the first time and are classified as S2 subtype of Seoul virus.