Objective To investigate the clinicopathological change in primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the ear, and its differential diagnosis with infantile rhabdomyosarcoma, primary neuro-ectodermoma, and malignant rhabdomyoma. Methods Gross and microscopic examination and immunohistochemical staining were performed in 8 cases of primary rhabdomyosarcoma of ear. Results Seven male and one female patients with mean age of 7.4 years were found. The tumor was diagnosed as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in 7 patients, and botryoid rhabdomyosarcoma in 1 patient. Immunostaining revealed that vimentin and myoglobin were 100% positive, desmin in 75% and actin in 82%. Conclusions Although the histological appearance of primary ear rhabdomyosarcoma does not differ from those found in other soft tissues, its clinicopathological diagnosis may be difficult in some cases, and further immunohistochemical analyses, may be necessary for a correct diagnosis. Its differential diagnosis includes infantile rhabdomyofibrosarcoma, primary neuroectodermal tumor and malignant rhabdoid tumor.

AIM: To investigate the influences of native and oxidized lipoprotein(a) on human arterial smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, change of intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i) and the protective effect of sodium ferulate(SF). METHODS: Lp(a) was oxidized by Cu 2+ and the extent of oxidation was assessed by the MDA content.Human SMC were incubated in culture media with SF for 12 h, then exposed to Lp(a) and oxidized-Lp(a), respectively. MTT colorimetry and flow cytometry were used to evaluated the proliferation of SMC and flurorescent indicator Fura-2/AM was used to determined [Ca 2+ ] i. RESULTS: ox-Lp(a) significantly promoted proliferation of SMC and increased[Ca 2+ ] i compared with Lp(a). SF(40,80 mg/L) remarkedly inhibited SMC proliferation and decreased the rising of [Ca 2+ ] i induced by ox-Lp(a) in a dose-dependent manner, but no effect on SMC proliferation and the increase in [Ca 2+ ] i induced by Lp(a).CONCLUSION: ox-Lp(a) induces the strong growth-promoting effect in SMC through increasing in [Ca 2+ ] i, which might be one of the cellular mechanisms responsible for the higher atherogenic potential of ox-Lp(a) compared with Lp(a), and this process can be prevented by inhibiting of oxidation by SF.

The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire was used for appraisal in a newly-built general hospital for all the nursing staff, and they were provided with a six-month safety culture training according to appraisal results.The training has elevated the positive response rate of the nursing staff towards all dimensions of patient safety culture, proving that scientific and reasonable safety culture training is conducive to nurses' perception of patient safety culture.

Objective To evaluate the differences of the lower extremity atherosclerosis between patients with and without type 2 diabetes using dual-source CT angiography.Methods Dual-source CT angiography of lower extremity was performed in 87 patients with (n=30)or without (n= 57 )diabetes.Extent of luminal stenosis,and the type,distribution and range of the plaques were compared.Results 342 plaques in 540 segments (63.3%)in diabetic patients,and 500 plaques in 1 026 segments (48.7%)in non-diabetic ones were detected respectively.Compared with non-diabetic patients,the diabetic ones had a higher overall incidence of plaques (P <0.05).Calcified plaques were the most common in both kinds of patients,and the incidence of mixed plaques was high-er in diabetic patients than that in non-diabetic ones (35.6 % vs.28.4%,P <0.05).Light to moderate stenosis occurred in most diabetic patients,and fewer occlusion was found compared with non-diabetic ones (9.1% vs.1 7.0%,P <0.05).The most common sites of the plaques in diabetic patients were located at distal small arteries below the knee.However,those were located at proximal arteries above the knee for non-diabetic ones.The involvement of atherosclerosis in diabetic patients was more diffused,and the de-gree of Ⅳ (75%-100%)was higher than that in non-diabetic ones (P <0.05).Conclusion Atherosclerosis in lower extremity on dual-source CT angiography is very common in diabetic patients with multi-segmental,diffused,non-obstructive involvement of dis-tal small arteries below the knee.

Objective:To establish a BALB/c mouse model of Echinococcus granulosus allergy and investigate the role of lymphocyte subsets in Echinococcus granulosus-induced sensitization. Methods:Echinococcus granulosus was isolated from the liver of sheep naturally infected with Echinococcus granulosus and cultured for 40 d. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with 50 microcapsules and sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of 0.1 ml/10 g of larval Echinococcus granulosus capsule six months after infection. According to the symptom scores 1 h after sensitization, these mice were divided into two groups: non-sensitized group ( n=6) and sensitized group ( n=6). The mice ( n=6) in control group were injected with sterile saline. Blood sample was collected from the angular vein of each mouse. Flow cytometry was used to detect B cells, NK cells and CD3 +/CD4 +/CD8 + T cells. Cytometric bead array was used to measure IL-4, IL-6 and IL-13. Results:The percentage of B cells was significantly higher in the non-sensitized group than in the control group ( P<0.001), but no significant difference was observed between the sensitized group and the control group. Compared with the non-sensitized group, the percentage of B cells in the sensitized group decreased significantly ( P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the percentages of NK cells in the non-sensitized group and the sensitized group decreased significantly ( P<0.001 and P<0.01). Compared with the non-sensitized group, the percentage of NK cells in the sensitized group increased significantly ( P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the percentage of CD3 + and CD4 + T cells in the non-sensitized group decreased significantly ( P<0.05), while the percentage of CD8 + T cells increased significantly ( P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the percentage of CD3 + and CD4 + T cells in the sensitized group increased significantly ( P<0.05 and P<0.001), while no significant change in the percentage of CD8 + T cells was detected. Compared with the non-sensitized group, the percentage of CD3 + and CD4 + T cells in the sensitized group increased significantly ( P<0.05), while the percentage of CD8 + T cells decreased significantly ( P<0.01). The levels of IL-4, IL-6 and IL-13 were significantly higher in the non-sensitized group than in the control group ( P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the sensitized group showed increased IL-4 ( P>0.05), significantly increased IL-6 ( P<0.01) and decreased IL-13 ( P>0.05). The levels of IL-4, IL-6 and IL-13 in the sensitized group were significantly lower than those in the non-sensitized group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The BALB/c mouse model of allergy induced by larval Echinococcus granulosus was successfully established. This study proved that the humoral immune response induced by Th2 cells played an important role in Echinococcus granulosus-induced sensitization, which provides an important scientific basis for establishing a prevention and treatment strategy for patients with anaphylactic shock caused by extravasation of Echinococcus granulosus fluid.

In the long time of natural evolution, the bodies of some animals, such as feline, that live in the wild and complicate surroundings have evolved to possess outstanding buffering characteristics, which make the animals adapt to the environment perfectly. These animals generally have well-developed paw pads under their soles to play an important role in attenuating the intensity of impact when they land on the ground. Investigating the buffering characteristics of these animals' paw pads could help us to design "bionic" buffering and energy-absorption devices. In this paper, based on observations of animal jumping test, a simple mass-spring-buffer model was proposed to explore the buffering characteristics of the animals' paw pads. By analytically solving the differential equations of this model, the parameters concerned with paw pads functions were discussed and some significant results were obtained.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Felidae ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Foot ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Models, Theoretical

Objective To investigate the effect of sterol regulating element binding protein (SREBP1c) and its ac-tive form (SREBP1cm) on human protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK).Methods Re-porter victors of PERK promoter and its truncations were constructed with pGL 3-basic and co-transfected with internal reference pRL-SV40 into cell and luciferase activity was detected .pcDNA3.1 ( -)-SREBP1c or pcDNA3.1 ( -)-SREBP1cm was co-transfected with PERK promoter transcriptional activity core regions and the detection of dual -lu-ciferase reporter gene was used to analyze the regulation of SREBP 1c/1cm on PERK promoter transcriptional activity . The expression level of PERK mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot .Results PERK pro-moter and truncations were successfully constructed into pGL 3-basic, and PERK promoter core area of transcription-al activity had determined;Dual-luciferase report gene showed that SREBP 1c inhibited PERK promoter transcrip-tional activity and SREBP1cm promoted PERK promoter transcriptional activity .RT-PCR and Western blot showed that SREBP1c decreased PERK mRNA and protein expression , but SREBP1cm increased PERK mRNA and protein expression, which was consistent with the detection of dual-luciferase report gene .Conclusions SREBP1c and SREBP1cm have a opposite regulation effect on PERK promoter transcriptional activity and its expression .

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture combined with antidepressant on behavioral changes and 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A and 2A receptor ( 5-HT1AR and 5-HT2AR) mRNA expression in nucleus raphes dorsalis (NRD) of sleep deprivation depression (SDD) rats. Methods Eight normal Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were caged together without any stimulus or treatment, serving as the normal group. Thirty-two SD rats were given solitary raise for 21 days, together with chronic unpredictable mild stress ( CUMS) and rapid eye movement ( REM) sleep deprivation to establish the model. Twenty-eight rats completed the modeling successfully, and were divided into model group, acupuncture group, medicine group, and combination group, 7 rats in each group. Rats in the model group were given modeling treatment but without any intervention. Rats in the acupuncture group were given acupuncture on acupoint Yintang, Shenting and bilateral Taichong, acupuncture stimulation lasting 15 s every 10 min and acupuncture retention for 20 min in each day. Rats in the medicine group were given gastric gavage of Zoloft solution (0.83 mg·kg-1·d-1) and Alprazolam solution (0.067 mg· kg-1·d-1) , and rats in the combination group were given both acupuncture and medicine intervention. The intervention for the three intervention groups lasted for 7 days. Results Compared with the normal group, body weight, Open-field scores and sucrose preference of the model rats were significantly decreased on modeling day 7, 14, 21 (P<0.05). On modeling day 28, body weight and Open-field scores of each intervention group were significantly increased compared with those of the model group (P<0.05), and Open-field scores of combination group differed from those of acupuncture group and medicine group ( P<0.05). Only sucrose preference of combination group was improved significantly compared with the model group (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, NRD 5-HT1AR mRNA expression level was increased in the combination group (P<0.05), and NRD 5-HT2AR mRNA expression level was down-regulated in all of the three intervention groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture and antidepressant treatment covering 7 days can evoke rapid effect on SDD rats, which can improve the slow effect of antidepressant.

Tigecycline is a new broad-spectrum antibiotic,which is the first glycyclines antibiotic used in clinic. Tigecycline is ac-tive against Gram-positive/negative bacteria and anaerobicbacteria, especially multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. In this review, the literatures associated with tigecycline-induced coagulopathy published after 2005 were searched in Pubmed and the clinical charac-teristics as well as the research progress were summarized. The mechanism of tigecycline-induced coagulopathy was also explored. Cli-nicians should observe coagulation markers of patients during the treatment with tigecycline. If coagulation disorders or active bleeding occurs,tigecycline treatment should be stopped and symptomatic and supportive treatment should be given immediately.

OBJECTIVETo assess the atherogenicity of lipoprotein(a), the effect of the heterogeneity of lysine binding of apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)], a plasminogen-like glycoprotein component on the proliferation of human arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs).

METHODSBoth wild type (wt) Trp72 and mutant (mut) Trp72-->Arg forms of apo(a) kringle IV-10 were expressed by employing a GST-gene fusion system into E. coli. The proliferation of SMCs was determined by flow cytometry and MTT colorimetry. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay was used to detect the active form of transforming growth factor beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)).

RESULTSApo(a) wt-kringle IV-10 that has lysine binding properties possessed a growth-stimulating activity to SMCs on a dose-dependence manner by stimulating cells in the G(1)/G(0) phase of cell cycle to S and G(2)/M phase, and reduced significantly the amounts of endogenous active TGF-beta(1) in culture when compared with the control medium and the GST group (2.4 +/- 0.5 vs 8.6 +/- 1.6 and 9.1 +/- 1.7 ng/ml, P < 0.01). The growth-stimulating effect of apo(a) mut-kringle IV-10 deficient in lysine binding was negligible.

CONCLUSIONSApo(a) induces SMCs growth by inhibiting the activation of latent TGF-beta(1), an activity that may involve the ability of apo(a) kringle IV-10 to bind lysine. The mitogenic effect of apo(a) wt-kringle IV-10 on SMCs might play an active role in the atherogenic function of lipoprotein(a).

Apolipoproteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Apoprotein(a) ; Cell Division ; physiology ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Kringles ; genetics ; Lipoprotein(a) ; genetics ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; metabolism