Objective To investigate the histopathology of liver,spleen and heart in mice model with Chlamydia pneumoniae ( C pneumoniae ) pneumonia Methods The Icr mice were inoculated with C pneumoniae ,strain CWL 029,by the intranasal or intravenous routes After a single inoculation,mice were killed on the 1st,3rd,7th,14th,21st,28th and 60th day separately Specimens of spleen,liver and heart were obtained from the acute stage of C pneumoniae pneumonitis and stained with hematoxylin eosin Results After inoculation of C pneumoniae ,there were infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages in the spleen and necrosis of hepatocytes The histopathology of iv inoculation group was more serious than that of intranasal inoculation group No pathology changes were observed in heart Conclusions After iv inoculation of C pneumoniae ,the histopathologic changes appeared in the tissue of liver and spleen correspondingly,and the changes were more serious than that of iv inoculation group This study demonstrated that C pneumoniae was mainly limited to lungs and dissemination of C pneumoniae was seldom

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the protective effects of punicosides on alcohol induced acute liver injury in mice and its possible mechanisms as well.

METHODThe 60 mice were randomly divided into normal control, model group, three dose groups of punicosides with low, medium and high, then there is silibinin group. Three dose groups of punicosides and silibinin were given in advance by gavage for 4 weeks, then the mouse model of alcoholic acute liver injury was established. The serum levels of ALT, AST and TG were determined, and the mice were killed to calculate somatic index of liver, thymus as well as spleen. MDA, SOD, GSH-Px and GSH-ST were detected in the liver homogenate. Histopathological changes of the liver were observed by HE staining. The expression of MCP-1 and NF-kappaB in the liver tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTMid and high dose of punicosides reduced the liver index in mice significantly, improved liver steatosis, decreased the level of ALT, AST and TG in serum and the content of MDA in liver homogenate, furthermore the two dose groups increased the activity of SOD, GSH-Px and GSH-ST, inhibited the expression of MCP-1 and NF-kappaB in liver tissue.

CONCLUSIONPunicosides can protect the acute liver damage induced by alcohol.

Alcohols ; adverse effects ; Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; blood ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chemokine CCL2 ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; pathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism

Objective To explore the possible effects of nutritional supplements on brain function as reflected by Water Maze test performance in mice after +Gz exposure.Method Mice were arranged into control group (group A),+Gz group without nutritional supplementation (group B) and +Gz plus nutritional supplementation group (group C).Each group contains 12 mice.Mice in group A were not exposed to +Gz while mice in both group B and group C were exposed to 8 min +10 Gz.Distilled water was gavaged to group B mice 3 h before +Gz exposure.On the day before +Gz exposure pyridoxol fortified water was given and 3 h before exposure mixed amino acids solution were gavaged to group C mice.Water Maze test was done and scores were recorded in all groups.After the Water Maze test was completed,blood was collected through the eyes for serum amino acid determinations and brain tissue was collected by decollation for monoamine determination and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity evaluation. Result After +Gz exposure,longer completion time and more mistakes were observed in Water Maze test in group B as compared with group A and a trend of improvement in group C was noticed. The ratio of brain 5-HT to dopamine(DA) was significantly reduced in group C as compared with group B.Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in brain tissue in group C and group B increased significantly. Conclusion High sustained +Gz exposure significantly reduces Water Maze test performance in mice (longer completion time and more mistakes).It seems that there is a trend of improvement in Water Maze performance in mice in dietary nutritional supplementation group,which might be due to significant reduction in ratio of brain 5-HT to DA in mice with nutritional supplementation.

Objectives: To evaluate mice as experimental animal for Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common cause of acute respiratory infections in human.　Methods: Intranasal inoculation of Icr mice with C. Pneumoniae induced a prolonged course of lung infection, as demonstrated by persistence of lung pathology(60 days).　Results: Icr mice were susceptible to C. pneumoniae. Lung pathology was characterized by patchy interstitial pneumonitis with predominately neutrophil leukocyte infiltration in the early(7 days) and lymphocytes infiltration in the later stages(14 days later) of infection.　Conclusions:Icr mice were susceptible to C. pneumoniae and the mouse model is useful for the investigation of the pathogenesis of C. pneumoniae infection.

Objective Through observing the clinical effect and the changes of gastrointestinal hormones caused by the treatment of different moxibustion time of the superficial gastritis patients due to the spleen and stomach weakness,to investigate the regulation of the dose-effect relation and the adjustment function on gastrointestinal hormone of serum of patients caused by the warming and nourish effect with moxibustion.Methods Eighty-four superficial gastritis Patients due to the spleen and stomach weakness were divided into group 1(treated by warming moxibustion for twenty minutes)(n=28),group 2(treated by warming moxibustion for forty minutes)(n=28),and drug(n=28)groups.The changes of the content of the Prostaglandin E2(PGE2)、Somatostatin(SS)and Epidermal growth factor(EGF)were observed before and after treatment between 3 groups and the clinical effect in different time.Results ①All 3 groups were compared after treatment,their clinical effect had no significant difference(P＞0.05):②Compared with pre-treatment,the superficial gastritis symptom score had a very significant difference after the treatment(3.07±1.54)、(3.11±1.40)、(3.79±2.25)and during the 1 month follow-up(2.25±1.32)、(2.57±1.10)、(4.11±2.48),(P＜0.01);③After treatment,the content of the PGE2 of the serum was increased obviously,compared with pre-treatment.There was a significant difference in each group(33.751±1.267)pg/ml、(33.774±8.583)pg/ml、(32.583±8.259)pg/ml,(P＜0.05);After warming moxibustion for forty minutes,the content of the EGF of the serum was increased obviously,compared with pre-treatment,showing a significant difference(1.331±0.823)pg/ml,(P＜0.05).Conclusion ①All of the three treatment methods had significant curative effect,and the curative effect had no significant difference among these 3 groups.But the moxibustion groups were markedly higher than the drug group in long-term result;②The moxibustion had established adjustment function on gastrointestinal hormone of the superficial gastritis patients due to the spleen and stomach weakness,which suggested that the gastrointestinal hormone may participate in its onset and the process of pathology and physiology.

Background Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a serious ocular disease which may cause blindness.The primary pathogenesis of NVG is ischemic retinopathy derived by central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).Clinical characteristics of NVG are variable based on the difference of primary diseases,such as CRVO and DR.However,there is a few studies regarding the diffcrcnces of NVG initiated by CRVO and DR.Objective This study was to compare the clinical characteristics in NVG patients secondary to CRVO and DR.Methods A series case observational study was carried out in Hiserve Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2009 to June 2012.Twenty-nine eyes of 27 patients with NVG caused by CRVO (10 eyes of 10 patients) and DR (19 eyes of 17 patients) were included.The history of underlying diseases,course of NVG,intraocular pressure(IOP),fundus findings and complications after treatment were analyzed and compared between the CRVO-derived NVG and DR-derived NVG.All patients underwent panretinal photocoagulation,improving microcirculation therapy,anti-glaucoma (drug or surgery) and causative disease treatment,and some of them received vitrectomy or/and cataract surgery.Two eyes from each group received intravitreal injection of ranibizumab.The follow-up time in both groups was (14.00±10.13) months and (17.89±12.52) months,respectively.Results The median time of underlying disease was 3.3 months (2 weeks to 6 months) in the CRVO patients and 11.1 months (4 to 36 mouths) in the DR patients,with a significant difference between them (Z =-2.40,P＜0.05).CRVO-derived NVG progress was much faster than that of DR-derived NVG.The number of the eyes with visual acuity improvement after treatment was 2 in the CRVO-derived NVG and 15 in the DR-derived NVG;while the number of the eyes with unchanged or worse visual acuity was 8 and 4 in the CRVO-derived NVG eyes and the DR-derived NVG eyes (x2 =9.38,P＜0.01).The difference of IOP in pre-and post-treatment was (37.00±9.91)mmHg in the CRVOderived NVG eyes and (8.92±12.05)mmHg in the DR-derived NVG eyes,showing a significant difference between them (t =6.30,P＜0.01).In the CRVO-derived NVG eyes,optic disc edema,retinal hemorrhage,and vein dilatation were seen in 6 eyes,and mild optic disc edema and retinal hemorrhage were observed in 4 eyes.After treatment,fundus could not be seen in 4 eyes,in other 2 eyes optic disc and retinal laser spots were unclearly observed.In addition,pale optic disc and retinal vessel occlusion appeared in 2 eyes,and silver wire-like arteries exhibited in 2 eyes.In pre-treated DR-derived NVG eyes,fundus could not be seen in 8 eyes and Ⅲ-Ⅳv stages of DR findings appeared in 11 eyes.After treatment,retinopathy was stabilized in 16 eyes of 15 cases.Advanced retinopathy(V-Ⅵ stages of DR findings) was revealed in 3 eyes of 3 cases.The incidence of the complication after treatment was 100.0％ in the CRVO-derived NVG eyes and 21.1％ in the DR-derived NVG eyes (x2=5.18,P＜0.05).Conclusions The clinical characteristics of NVG secondary to CRVO and DR are variable,an appropriate treatment option should be selected according to different features of NVG.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of oxcarba-zepine and carbamazepine for primary trigeminal neuralgia management.Methods Cochrane library, PubMed, Medline, CBMdisc, CNKI and Wanfang Data were searched to collect the randomized controlled studies that compared the efficacy and safety of oxcarbazepine and carbamazepine in treating primary trigeminal neuralgia.Reference list of each primary study was hand -searched.Two reviewers independently screened the literatures, extracted data, assessed risks of bias and then did cross -checking.RevMan 5.2 software was used for Meta -analysis.Results Eighteen studies ( 1465 participants ) were included.Results of Meta -analysis showed that oxcarbazepine was more effective than carbama-zepine [RR=1.09,95%CI (1.02,1.16), P<0.05].Comparisons of VAS before and after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment were not significantly different between two groups , while comparisons of VAS before and after the 8weeks of treatment favored oxcarbazepine.Oxcarbazepine was asso-ciated with a lower incidence of adverse drug reaction than carbamazepine [RR=0.50,95%CI(0.39,0.63),P<0.001].The influence of repor-ting bias is small.Conclusion Compared with carbamazepine , oxcarba-zepine is not inferior in efficacy but superior in safety in treating primary trigeminal neuralgia.

OBJECTIVETo construct effective RNA-interference plasmids targeting mouse HIF-1alpha gene and testify their effects and specificities in interfering HIF-1alpha expression.

METHODSThree RNA-interference plasmids targeting mouse HIF-1alpha gene, pBS/U6/HIF-1alpha-siRNAI~III, were constructed and identified using double digestion method in the present study. RT-PCR, immunostaining and western blotting were employed to detect the expression alterations of HIF-1alpha in 293T cells following transfections of the three plasmids, respectively. The interference effect of pBS/U6/HIF1alphai-II in SH-SY5Y cell line was further investigated.

RESULTSAll the three RNA-interference plasmids, especially pBS/U6/HIF1alphai-II, showed significant inhibition in HIF-1alpha expression in 293T cell line. pBS/U6/HIF1alphai-II could also inhibit HIF-1alpha expression in SH-SY5Y cell line, in a dose-dependent way.

CONCLUSIONPlasmid pBS/U6/HIF1alphai-II constructed in our study can effectively and specifically inhibit HIF-1alpha expression, and its role in neural tube development and dysfunction will be further investigated. Construct of pBS/U6/HIF1alphai-II plasmid will provide a useful tool to study the role of HIF-1 pathway in embryogenesis, oncogenesis and ischemia development.

Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Gene Silencing ; physiology ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Plasmids ; genetics ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Transfection ; methods

Objective To explore standardized continuing vascular ultrasound training in China.Methods Data of current ultrasound practitioner education levels in the secondary and tertiary hospitals were collected.Under the direction of the Chinese Ultrasound Doctor Association (CUDA),Vascular Ultrasound Guidelines were introduced.The CUDA Steering Committee for Standardized Vascular Ultrasound Training and Vascular Ultrasound Training Centers were established.Results The questionnaires were received from 182 ultrasound departments of 57 secondary hospitals and 125 tertiary hospitals.The proportion of ultrasound practitioners who obtained a university degree was significantly higher in the ultrasound departments of tertiary hospitals than that in the secondary hospitals (75.18% vs 52.63%).The proportion of ultrasound practitioners who only received short-term ultrasound training and did not have tertiary education was significantly higher in the ultrasound departments of secondary hospitals than that in the tertiary hospitals (8.31% vs 1.03%).The directors of ultrasound departments in both secondary and tertiary hospitals believed that ultrasound practitioners should at least have a university diploma and preferably have a university degree.The CUDA and the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) co-hosted two standardized vascular ultrasound training seminars and the first Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) credential examination in Beijing.A well-known vascular ultrasound reference book,Introduction to Vascular Ultrasound was translated from English into Chinese and published in September 2008.The CUDA Vascular Ultrasound Guidelines were drafted by 12 vascular ultrasound experts from China,U.S.and Australia,which were widely discussed and passed by the CUDA Standing Committee.The guidelines have been published in the Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography and on the website of CUDA (www.cuda.org.cn).The CUDA has signed a publishing contract with a medical press to publish the guideline booklet.The CUDA Steering Committee for the Standardized Vascular Ultrasound Training was established which includes 24 domestic and foreign experts.The CUDA Standardized Vascular Ultrasound Training Centers were awarded to 12 hospitals,which were selected,trained and assessed by the CUDA from 35 candidates.Each center is expected to undertake one to two standardized vascular ultrasound training courses each year.Conclusion Continuing education of vascular ultrasound introduced by CUDA has been accepted positively by a portion of Chinese doctors with ultrasound major.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy of lauromacrogol injection for ablation (LIA) of benign predominantly cystic thyroid nodules and its related factors. Materials and Methods: A total of 142 benign predominantly cystic thyroid nodules (median volume, 12.5 mL; range, 0.4– 156 mL) in 137 patients (male:female sex ratio, 36:101; mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 49 ± 13 years) were treated with LIA after being confirmed as benign via cytology. The volume reduction rate (VRR) of the nodules and cosmetic score were evaluated during follow-up at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment and every 6 months thereafter. A VRR of ≥ 50% at the 12-month follow-up was considered to indicate effective treatment. The associations between the clinical factors and nodular ultrasound features, including the initial nodule volume, proportion of solid components, vascularity grade and ineffective treatment (VRR of < 50% at the 12-month follow-up), and regrowth were analyzed. Results: All patients completed follow-up for at least 12 months. The average ± SD follow-up period was 32 ± 11 months (range, 12–54 months). The effective treatment rate was 73.2% (104/142), while the regrowth rate was 12.0% (17/142) at the last follow-up. Grade 2–3 intranodular vascularity in the solid components of the nodules was the only independent factor associated with ineffective treatment, with an odds ratio (reference category, grade 0–1) of 3.054 (95% confidence interval, 1.148–8.127) (p = 0.025). Conclusion LIA is an effective treatment for predominantly cystic thyroid nodules. Grade 2–3 intranodular vascularity in the solid components of nodules is the only independent risk factor for ineffective LIA.