Asbestos ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; Mesothelioma ; chemically induced ; Peritoneal Neoplasms ; chemically induced

China ; epidemiology ; Hexanes ; toxicity ; Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; epidemiology ; Trichloroethylene ; toxicity

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of rapamycin on the proliferation of rat valvular interstitial cells in primary culture.

METHODSThe interstitial cells isolated from rat aortic valves were cultured and treated with rapamycin, and the cell growth and cell cycle changes were analyzed using MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. RT-PCR was used to detect mRNA expression levels of S6 and P70S6K in cells, and the protein expressions level of S6, P70S6K, P-S6, and P-P70S6K were detected using Western blotting.

RESULTSRat aortic valvular interstitial cells was isolated successfully. The rapamycin-treated cells showed a suppressed proliferative activity (P<0.05), but the cell cycle distribution remained unaffected. Rapamycin treatment resulted in significantly decreased S6 and P70S6K protein phosphorylation level in the cells (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe mechanism by which rapamycin inhibits the proliferation of valvular interstitial cells probably involves suppression of mTOR to lower S6 and P70S6K phosphorylation level but not direct regulation of the cell cycle.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Heart Valves ; cytology ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa ; metabolism ; Sirolimus ; pharmacology

Objective To investigate the prevalence and molecular characteristics of the extended -spectrum β-lactamase ( ESBL) and AmpC enzyme-producing Proteus mirabilis ( P.mirabilis) strains isola-ted in Shenzhen People′s Hospital.Methods The production of ESBLs and AmpC enzymes by P.mirabilis isolates were detected by a screening and confirmatory test for ESBLs and AmpC disk test , respectively .The PCR assays followed by DNA sequencing of the products were employed to analyze the multiple genes inclu -ding the ESBLs genes, AmpC genes, insertion sequences (ISs) upstream of the ESBLs or AmpC genes, plasmid -mediated quinolone resistance ( PMQR ) determinants , quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) genes , the integrase genes, and class1 integron cassette.The epidemiological analysis of the iso-lates was performed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis .Results There were 130 P.mirabilis clinical iso-lates collected from Shenzhen People′s Hospital in China during the year 2004 to 2010.Among them, 13 isolates (10%) produced ESBLs, that accounted for 0%-9.1%in the year 2004-2009 and up to 29.4%in 2010, and 3 isolates (2.3%) produced AmpC enzymes.The predominant genotype of ESBLs -producing isolateswas b al CTX-M-14(n=7), followed by blaCTX-M-65(n=3), blaCTX-M-55(n=1), blaCTX-M-24(n=1) and blaPER-1 (n =1).The clinical isolate of PER-1-producing P.mirabilis was reported for the first time in China.Twoisolates carried an AmpC β-lactamase gene of blaCMY-2 and one isolate carried an unidentified AmpC gene .ISEcp1 located upstream of blaCTX-M and blaCMY-2 were detected in 91.7% (11/12) of CTX-M-producing isolatesand one CMY-2-producing isolate, respectively.ISPa12 was present upstream of blaPER-1 in one studiedisolate.Approximately 66.7% (10/15) of ESBL and /or AmpC-producing isolates harbored PMQR genes including2 carrying qnrD, 5 carrying aac-Ib-cr and 3 carrying both qnrD and aac-Ib-cr.Twelve ESBL and /orAmpC-producers with high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin carried the similar mutation profiles of S 83I inGyrA, S80I or S80R in ParC and among them, six strains showed E466D mutation in GyrB.Approximately86.7% (13/15) of ESBL and/or AmpC-producing isolates carried class 1 integron.Fourteen PFGE typeswere observed among 15 ESBL and/or AmpC-producers.Conclusion The prevalence of CTX-M β-lactamasesin P.mirabilis isolates contributed to the increased resistance to extended -spectrum cephalosporins.The qnrD and/or aac-Ib-cr genes were detected among the most of ESBL and /or AmpC-producing P.mirabilis clinical isolates.

Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Phosphorus ; blood

The present study investigated the characteristic of semantic cognition of Uyghur-Chinese bilinguals. The event-related potentials (ERP) technique was used to explore the characteristic of N400 wave and topographic map of difference-waves with "picture-word" semantic priming paradigm. There were significant semantic priming effects on two languages. The average amplitude of N400 was similar in two languages, while average amplitudes of three electrodes (F3, F4, PZ) in Chinese were negative than others. Meanwhile, the activation of topographic map of Uyghur was almost in all regions except occipital lobe, and the degree of activation of Chinese was less than Uyghur, but the activation in parietal and bilateral frontal lobes was higher. In conclusion, the present study suggests that two languages of Uyghur-Chinese bilinguals are all sensitive to semantic priming. The bilateral frontal and parietal lobes participate in language switching. Semantic cognition of two languages in Uyghur-Chinese late non-proficient bilinguals is both completed by bilateral cerebral hemispheres. We have not found obvious lateralization on two languages of Uyghur-Chinese bilinguals.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Cognition ; Evoked Potentials ; Frontal Lobe ; physiology ; Humans ; Language ; Parietal Lobe ; physiology ; Semantics

As one of the earliest markers for predicting pregnancy outcomes,human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) values have been inconclusive on reliability of the prediction after frozen and fresh embryo transfer (ET).In this retrospective study,patients with positive hCG (day 12 after transfer) were included to examine the hCG levels and their predictive value for pregnancy outcomes following 214 fresh and 1513 vitrified-warmed single-blastocyst transfer cycles.For patients who got clinical pregnancy,the mean initial hCG value was significantly higher after frozen cycles than fresh cycles,and the similar result was demonstrated for patients with live births (LB).The difference in hCG value existed even after adjusting for the potential covariates.The area under curves (AUC) and threshold values calculated by receiver operator characteristic curves were 0.944 and 213.05 mIU/mL for clinical pregnancy after fresh ET,0.894 and 399.50 mIU/mL for clinical pregnancy after frozen ET,0.812 and 222.86 mIU/mL for LB after fresh ET,and 0.808 and 410.80 mIU/mL for LB after frozen ET with acceptable sensitivity and specificity,respectively.In conclusion,single frozen blastocyst transfer leads to higher initial hCG values than single fresh blastocyst transfer,and the initial hCG level is a reliable predictive factor for predicting IVF outcomes.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory effects of apatinib on colorectal carcinoma HCT-116 cells in vitro and the signaling pathways involved.

METHODSThe cytotoxicity of different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 µmol/L) of apatinib in HCT-116 cells was assessed by MTT assay, using capecitabine as the positive control. The apoptosis rate of apatinib-treated HCT-116 cells was detected using flow cytometry, and the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 were determined with quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. The effect of apatinib on the expressions of Akt, pAkt, Erk1/2 and pErk1/2 in HCT-116 cells was evaluated using Western blotting.

RESULTSApatinib significantly inhibited the proliferation of HCT-116 cells in a concentration-dependent manner with an ICvalue of 1.335 µmol/L. Flow cytometric analysis showed that apatinib significantly increased the apoptotic rate of HCT-116 cells dose-dependently. Apatinib induced the expression of the pro-apoptotic genes Bax and caspase-3 at both the mRNA and protein levels while inhibited the expression of the anti- apoptotic gene Bcl-2. The expressions of p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 were decreased in HCT-116 cells after apatinib treatment, but the total protein levels did not undergo obvious changes.

CONCLUSIONApatinib inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of HCT-116 cells by suppressing the phosphorylation of Erk1/2 and Akt in the MAPK/Erk and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways.

OBJECTIVETo observe the dynamic changes of Th17/Treg balance in patients following surgical intervention for intracranial aneurysm rupture.

METHODSThe percentage of Th cells and the intracellular IL-17 level, Treg cell percentage and transforming growth factor -β1 (TGF-β1) levels were examined in 73 patients with rupture of aneurysms before and at 24 h, 72 h and 1 week after operation, with 62 patients with unruptured aneurysms and 65 healthy volunteers as the control. The correlations among the immune cells, cytokines and clinical characteristics of the patients (NIHSS, ADL and hospitalization stay) were analyzed.

RESULTSTh17 percentage and intracellular IL-17 levels were significantly higher in the patients with ruptured and unruptured aneurysms than in the healthy volunteers, and were significantly higher in patients with ruptured aneurysms than in those with unruptured aneurysms. Treg cell percentage and TGF-β1 level were significantly lower in patients with aneurysms than in the healthy volunteers, and were lower in patients with ruptured aneurysms than in those with uruptured aneurysms (P<0.05). Patients with intracranial aneurysm rupture showed significantly increased Th17 cell percentage and IL-17 level but significantly lowered Treg cell percentage and TGF-β1 at 24 h following the surgery (P<0.05); these changes were reversed significantly at 72 h and 1 week after the surgery. Th17 cell percentage and IL-17 level were positively correlated with NIHSS and the length of postoperative hospital stay but inversely correlated with ADL; Treg cell percentage and TGF-β1 were inversely correlated with NIHSS and hospital stay but positively with ADL (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn patients with intracranial aneurysms, the systemic immune inflammatory response is highlighted by excessive Th17 cells and insufficient Treg cells, which are closely related with the outcomes of the patients following surgical intervention. Evaluation of Th17/Treg balance and the cytokine levels can help to assess the prognosis of patients with aneurysm rupture.

Aneurysm, Ruptured ; immunology ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; immunology ; Postoperative Period ; Prognosis ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the recurrence and survival of postoperative patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) aged from 25 to 59 years.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 36 patients with DTC treated in our hospital from 1996 to 2011, and the recurrence and survival status of the patients were recorded. Kaplan-Meier analysis was carried out to analyze factors that affect the patient's survival.

RESULTSNine patients died of recurrence or metastasis, and the interval between the initial surgery and recurrence ranged from 22 to 46 months. The survival time of the 36 patients ranged from 34 to 135 months with a 10-year survival rate of 75.0%. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that male patients had a significantly shorter mean survival time than female patients (Χ=3.164, P=0.041); the median survival time of patients aged 45-59 years was obviously shorter than that of patients aged 25-44 years (Χ=4.622, P=0.032); the postoperative survival in patients with 131I therapy was significantly longer than those who did not receive the therapy (Χ=4.527, P=0.033), and was not affected by total excision of the thyroid gland (Χ=0.988, P=0.320). No significant difference was found in the median survival of patients in different clinical stages (Χ=2.2132, P=0.167).

CONCLUSIONIn young and middle-aged patients with DTC, postoperative recurrence is the most likely in 2 to 4 years after the surgery. Male patients at 45-59 years of age who do not receive 131I treatment are at high risks of tumor recurrence.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Postoperative Period ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Survival Rate ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; surgery ; Thyroidectomy