Objective To observe the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on the recovery of gastrointestinal function after laparoscopic intestinal operation.Methods Sixty patients of the selective laparoscopic intestinal resection, 28 males and 32 females, aged 18-65 years, ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ, were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups: TEAS group and control group, 30 in each group.Patients in TEAS group accepted transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation treatment at Neiguan, Hegu, Zusanli points from the time before induction of anesthesia to 3 days after surgery, and patients in the control group were treated with transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, but the electrode pads were just attached on the related points with no electric stimulation.Plasma motilin concentrations preoperatively, postoperatively 12, 24, 48 and 72 h were measured in the two groups.The recovery time of intestinal peristalsis, anal flatus time, in-hospital time and the incidence of nausea and vomiting within 3 days after operation were observed.Results Compared with the control group, serum motilin concentration postoperative 24 h increased significantly [(218.5±52.3) pg/ml vs (141.8±45.8) pg/ml, P<0.05], the time of intestinal peristalsis recovery [(19.4±3.2) h vs (29.6±7.8) h, P<0.05] and flatus [(23.2±4.7) h vs (36.5±8.9) h, P<0.05] were shorter, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting within 3 days after operation decreased significantly in TEAS group (16.7% vs 36.7%, P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference of the in-hospital time between the two groups.Conclusion TEAS can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function in patients undergoing laparoscopic intestinal surgery.

Objective To analyze results of atopy patch test (APT) with dust mite allergens at different concentrations in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD),and to evaluate the diagnostic value of APT.Methods Totally,85 patients with AD were enrolled into this study.All the patients underwent APT with 5 concentrations (3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g) of dust mite allergens,as well as skin prick test (SPT) with dust mite allergens.Dust mite allergens were obtained from two different manufacturers (group 1 and 2).Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (SIgE) in sera from these patients.The sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value of APT,SPT and SIgE assay were compared,and the results of APT were compared among different concentrations of allergens and between allergens from different manufacturers.Results When SIgE assay served as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 79.41％,76.12％,and 64.29％ respectively for APT,73.53％,80.95％ and 67.57％ respectively for SPT with group 1 dust mite allergens,and 81.53％,77.78％ and 65.09％ respectively for APT,76.02％,79.85％ and 66.07％ respectively for SPT with group 2 allergens.When SPT was regarded as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 78.38％,77.42％,67.44％ respectively for APT,67.57％,84.21％,73.53％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 1 dust mite allergens,79.25％,80.63％ and 69.55％ respectively for APT,61.07％,82.54％ and 77.21％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 2 allergens.There were no significant differences in the sensitivity,specificity or positive predictive value of APT or SPT between the two groups of allergens.The positive rate of APT was 8.24％,22.35％,29.41％,44.71％ and 41.18％ respectively with group 1 allergens at 3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g,and 3.53％,23.53％,31.76％,34.12％ and 35.29％ respectively with group 2 allergens.No significant differences were observed in the positive rate of APT between group 1 and 2 allergens at same concentrations (all P ＞ 0.05),but a significant difference was observed in that between different concentrations of group 1 or 2 allergens (both P＜ 0.05).The positive rate of APT increased with the increase of allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations of group 1 and 2 allergens reached 7 000 pnu/g and 5 000 pnu/g respectively.Conclusions The sensitivity of APT is relatively high for the diagnosis of dust mite allergy.The positive rate of APT increased with the increase in allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations reached a certain level.

Objective To measure the financial burden incurred by hypertension to urban patients in Beijing, Nanjing and Hangzhou cities. Methods Two communities were sampled from the three cities randomly, and 300 hypertension patients were sampled randomly from hypertension control files in each community for questionnaire survey. Results Health expenditure of the families with hypertension patients accounts for 14. 4% of the family's income, and 18. 2% of the family's expenditure, a ratio far beyond the national average (10.6 %). However, the majority of them report the burden as affordable.The basic medical insurance for urban residents helps alleviate the financial burden of hypertension patients and the extent of such burden has a close bearing on the outcome of hypertension treatment and prevention. Conclusion Effective community-based blood-pressure monitoring and control system is key to reducing the financial burden of hypertension. The reimbursement policy for hypertensive patients within the basic medical insurance is expected to be further improved.

To set standards for histomorphological studies on Lysimachia fortunei, an efficacious and widely applied folk medicine in this study, in order to develop its resources. Its species were identified by observing plant morphology and herbs appearance characters, preparing slices with routine methods and defining structural characters. According to the results of morphologic observation, leaves, stamen and pistil of this plant were different from the descriptions in Flora of China. The whole herb can be used in medicines, mainly including rhizomes, stems and leaves. According to the findings in the first study on microscopic structures, its rhizomes, stems and leaves were characteristic and worth identifying. The transaction tissue structures of rhizomes and stems were under developed and contained endodermis, secretory structures; Stems had sclerenchymata of different shapes of sclereids; Leaves were bifacial and had vascular bundles under midribs, which were surrounded by parenchymal sheathes. On the surface of leaves, stomata, glandular hairs and keratin lines were morphologically different in upper and lower epidermis. The herbal power had glandular hairs, sclereids and vessels. In conclusion, herbs of L. fortunei can be identified by the above histomorphological characteristics, which lays a foundation for further development and application of L. fortunei.
Medicine, Traditional ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plant Stems ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Primulaceae ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo evaluate that the effect of formula of removing both phlegm and blood stasis in improving cardiac function of Chinese mini-swine with coronary heart disease of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome.

METHODTotally 36 Chinese mini-swine were randomly divided to six groups: the normal control group, the model group, the Danlou tablet group, and Tanyu Tonzhi Fang(TYTZ) groups with doses of 2. 0, 1. 0 and 0. 5 g kg-1, with six in each group. Except for the normal control group, all of other groups were fed with high-fat diet for 2 weeks. Interventional balloons are adopted to injure their left anterior descending artery endothelium. After the operation, they were fed with high-fat diet for 8 weeks to prepare the coronary heart disease model of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome. After the operation, they were administered with drugs for 8 weeks. The changes in the myocardial ischemia were observed. The changes in the cardiac function and structure were detected by cardiac ultrasound and noninvasive hemodynamic method.

RESULTCompared with the normal control group, the model group showed significant increase in myocardial ischemia and SVR and obvious decrease in CO, SV and LCW in noninvasive hemodynamic parameters (P <0.05 or P <0.01). The ultrasonic cardiogram indicated notable decrease in IVSd, LVPWs, EF and FS, and remarkable increase in LVIDs (P<0. 05 orP<0.01). Compared with the model group, TYTZ could reduce the myocardial ischemia, strengthen cardiac function, and improve the abnormal cardiac structure and function induced by ischemia (P <0. 05 or P <0. 01).

CONCLUSIONTYTZ shows a significant effect in improving cardiac function of Chinese mini-swine with coronary heart disease of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome. The clinical cardiac function detection method could be adopted to correctly evaluate the changes in the post-myocardial ischemia cardiac function, and narrow the gap between clinical application and basic experimental studies.

Animals ; Coronary Circulation ; Coronary Disease ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Hemodynamics ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Mucus ; metabolism ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Ultrasonography

Objective To evaluate the effect of various iterative reconstruction methods on phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Methods Thirty consecutive patients scanned by the Philips CardioMD system were recruited into this study. The gated SPECT (GSPECT) data were reconstructed with filtered backprojection (FBP),maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM),three-di-mensional (3D) resolution recovery MLEM (AST),attenuation corrected (AC) MLEM,AC and 3D Monte Carlo scatter corrected (ACSC) MLEM methods. Parameters of left ventricular ( LV ) dyssynchrony ( phase standard deviation and histogram bandwidth) were measured using the software SyncTool. Paired t-test was used to compare the differences of the LV dyssynchrony indices between FBP and MLEM,AC MLEM,ACSC MLEM,AST respectively. Results The phase standard deviations of stress GSPECT MPI for FBP,MLEM,AC MLEM,ACSC MLEM,and AST were 11.6°,10.9°,11.2°,11.6°,11.4° respectively;while the histogram bandwidths were 35.7°,34.3°,35.1°,36.9°,35. 1 ° respectively. The phase standard deviations of rest GSPECT MPI for FBP,MLEM,AC MLEM,ACSC MLEM and AST were 15.2°,14. 5°,15.4° ,15. 4°,14.8° respectively; while the histogram bandwidths were 47.3°,46.4°,46.4° ,47.9°,46.1 ° respectively. No statistical significance was observed between the FBP and various iterative reconstruction methods for both the stress and rest GSPECT MPI study (t:-1. 179 to 1.554,P＞0.05 forall). Conclusion The standard FBP reconstruction method is accurate enough for the measurement of LV dyssynchrony indices using the widely used clinical software SyncTool.

OBJECTIVEThis study was undertaken to investigate the clinical features of oral motor dysfunction and feeding problems as well as the nutritional status of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHODSFifty-nine CP children, 39 boys and 20 girls, mean age 31 months (20 to 72 months), were recruited. Their parents were interviewed for high risk factors and feeding history. Each case was assessed for oral motor and feeding problems based on oral motor and feeding skill score; for nutritional status by measurement of weight, height; neurologically for type of cerebral palsy and for developmental age by Gesell's developmental scale. Equal number of age and sex matched controls were included for comparison of nutritional status, oral motor and feeding skill score.

RESULTSAmong 59 patients, 51 cases had oral motor dysfunction and 55 cases had feeding problems including all athtosis, spastic tetraplegia, and 16 had spastic diplegia. The scores of both the mean oral motor function and feeding skill of CP children were significantly lower than those of the controls (P < 0.001). Main food of children with cerebral palsy consisted of liquid and semisolid diet. Body weight and height below the 25th percentile were found in 13 cases and 19 cases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe majority of the children with cerebral palsy had oral motor dysfunction and feeding problems which appeared in early age and disturbed the growth and nutritional status. Thorough assessment for oral motor function, feeding problems and nutritional status of CP children is indicated in order to start timely rehabilitation and nutritional interventions which can significantly improve their nutritional status and quality of life.

Cerebral Palsy ; complications ; physiopathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Mouth ; physiopathology ; Mouth Diseases ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Muscular Diseases ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Nutritional Status

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of automated quantification of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using a method based on a Western normal database for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a group of Chinese patients. Methods Seventy-two Chinese patients who underwent coronary angiography (CAG) and MPI within 3 months were recruited into this study. Eighty selected from 140 Chinese patients with low probability of CAD ( ＜ 5% ) were enrolled into local normal database of 99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) MPI using Cedars quantitative perfusion SPECT (QPS) database. Two Western MPI normal databases (CSMC MibiMbiAuto and Mibimibi) were used for processing the Chinese CAD patients recruited in this study, and the results were compared with those using local normal database and visual interpretation. T-test and z-test were used for statistical analysis. Results The extent (EXT)measurement obtained from Mibimibi and local database was ( 10.73 ± 14.54)% and ( 14.22 ± 16.51 )%,respectively ( t = 7.87, P ＜ 0.001 ); the severity (SEV) was 1.07 ± 0.93 and 1.34 ± 1.20, respectively ( t =7.45, P＜0.001). The area under curve(AUC) by using EXT measurement for local database (0.85 ±0.05) was larger than that for CSMC MibiMbiAuto ( AUC = 0.72 ± 0.06, z = 2.50, P ＜ 0.01 ) and Mibimibi ( AUC = 0.77 ± 0.06, z = 2.47, P = 0.014). The AUC of local database showed no significant difference from that of visual interpretation (AUC=0.83 ±0.05, z=0.05, P＞0.05). Conclusion Quantification of MPI of our Chinese patients using Western normal database would decrease the accuracy for the detection of CAD.

We have previously established a culture method to isolate and cultivate neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from the rat embryonic brain and spinal cord. In the present study, we demonstrate that the spinal cord-derived NSCs can be induced to differentiate into oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) with a combined treatment composed of (1) conditioned medium collected from B104 neuroblastoma cells (B104CM) and (2) basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 10 ng/ml). After induction, over 95% of the cells displayed bipolar or tri-polar morphology and expressed A2B5 and platelet derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFR-alpha), markers that are specific for OPCs. Among PDGFR-alpha positive OPCs, only a few cells expressed glia fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and none expressed beta-tubulin III. In the presence of B104CM and bFGF, OPCs proliferated rapidly, formed spheres, expanded for multiple passages, and maintained their phenotypic properties. Upon withdrawal of B104CM and bFGF, these cells differentiated into either O4/GlaC-positive oligodendrocytes (OLs) or GFAP- and A2B5-positive type-2 astrocytes. Our results indicate that NSCs can be induced to differentiate into OPCs that possess properties of self-renewal and differentiation into oligodendrocytes and type-2 astrocytes, a property similar to that of O-2A progenitor cells. The OPCs can be maintained in an undifferentiated state over multiple divisions as long as both B104CM and bFGF are present in the medium. Thus, large quantity of OPCs can be obtained through this method for potential therapeutical interventions for various neurological degenerative diseases.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; physiology ; Hexanones ; Neural Stem Cells ; cytology ; Neuroblastoma ; pathology ; Oligodendroglia ; cytology ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVEA determination method of brodifacoum in rat plasma with bromadiolone as an internal standard was developed.

METHODSA volume of 10 microl internal standard (bromadiolone) was added into rat plasma, and then extracted by 0.5 ml of acetonitrile by shaking for 2 min. The residue was dissolved with 200 microl of mobile phase after centrifugation for 10 min, and evaporation to dryness by Nitrogen blowing. A C18 column and PDA detector were used for separating and detecting. The wavelength was 254 nm, the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, and the injection volume was 20 microl.

RESULTSThe liner range was 1.0-20 microg/ml, and the correlation coefficient was 0.9992. The detection limit was 0.3 microg/ml in plasma (S/N=3). The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 1.89%-2.45% and 2.51%-3.61% respectively. The recoveries in plasma at levels of low, middle and high concentrations were (80.8 +/- 3.1)%, (81.8 +/- 2.7)% and (87.9 +/- 3.6)% (n=6), respectively. The accuracies were 84.1%-91.5% and 86.7%-93.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThis method is simple, fast and accurate for the determination of brodifacoum in rat plasma.

4-Hydroxycoumarins ; blood ; Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Plasma ; chemistry ; Rats