Objective To observe the effect of autophagy on paclitaxel-induced CaSki cell death through the regulation of the expression of autophagy gene Beclin1, and to explore the interaction and relationship between autophagy and apoptosis. Methods Eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1-Beclin1 and RNA interference vector pSUPER-Beclin1 were transfected into human cervical cancer CaSki cells in vitro and screened for stable expression cell lines. The formation of autophagic vacuoles was observed with an electronic microscope. The expression of Beclin1 and LC3 was measured by Western blot. After being treated with paclitaxel, the change of cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay, the percentage of apoptotic cells and autophagic cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results A lot of autophagic vacuoles were observed in pcDNA3.1-Beclin1 cells by electronic microscopy. Beclin1 and LC3 protein expression was up-regulated in CaSki cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-Beclin1, and was inhibited in cells transfected with pSUPER-Beclin1. MTT assay revealed the survival rate of CaSki cells was significantly decreased after being transfected with pcDNA3.1-Beclin1. After being treated with paclitaxel, the percentages of apoptotic cells and autophagic cells were both increased in pcDNA3.1-Beclin1 group compared with that of the blank control group especially the increase of apoptosis was particularly evident. Conclusion Autophagy and apoptosis have different roles in the process of paclitaxel-induced cervical cancer CaSki cell line death. Overexpression of Beclin1 in CaSki cells may enhance the apoptosis induced by paclitaxel.

Objective To explore the difference in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) between different seasons.Methods The present retrospective study examined 2 363 patients undergoing TKA or THA from August 2008 to February 2016.There were 653 male and 1 710 female with the average age of 64.44±13.03 years old (17-91 years old),including 954 patients in TKA and 1 409 in THA.All of the patients received anticoagulant drugs and were compressed with a pressure pump starting on the first postoperative night.Routine venography of the bilateral lower limbs was performed at 3-5 days after the operation.The incidence of DVT in different seasons and different age groups (≥65 years old and ＜65 years old) were counted.Results The present study suggested that the probabilities of DVT after arthroplasty in spring,summer,fall and winter were 15.85％ (116/732),14.92％ (71/476),17.88％ (108/604),22.50％ (124/551) respectively with significantly difference (P＜0.05).The incidence of DVT in winter was higher than that in spring and summer (P＜ 0.017).The probabilities of DVT after TKA in spring,summer,fall and winter were 19.09％ (59/309),15.67％ (37/236),18.11％ (44/243),27.71％ (46/166) respectively with significantly difference (P＜0.05).The incidence of DVT in winter was higher than that in summer (P＜0.017).The probabilities of DVT after THA in spring,summer,fall and winter were 13.48％ (57/423),14.17％ (34/240),17.73％ (64/361),20.26％ (78/385) respectively with significantly difference (P＜0.05),and that in winter was higher than in spring (P＜0.017).The symptomatic DVT after arthroplasty in spring,summer,fall and winter were 3.55％ (26/732),3.78％ (18/476),4.97％ (30/604),6.90％ (38/551) with significantly difference in different seasons (P＜0.05),and that in winter was higher than in spring (P＜0.017).The symptomatic DVT after TKA in spring,summer,fall and winter were 3.88％ (12/309),4.24％ (10/236),4.94％ (12/243),9.64％ (16/166) with significantly difference in different seasons (P＜0.05).The symptomatic DVT in winter was higher than that in spring (P＜0.017).The symptomatic DVT after THA in spring,summer,fall and winter were 3.31％ (14/423),3.33％ (8/240),4.99％ (18/361),5.71％ (22/385) respectively (P＞0.05).The probability of DVT following arthroplasty in older patients (age≥65 years old) in spring,summer,fall and winter were 18.49％ (76/411),16.61％ (45/271),22.07％ (81/367),28.05％ (99/353) with significantly difference among the groups (P＜0.05),while symptomatic DVT in older patients (≥65 years old) in spring,summer,fall and winter were 4.38％ (18/411),4.43％ (12/271),5.72％ (21/367),8.78％ (31/353) respectively with significantly difference (P＜0.05).The probability of DVT in four seasons were 12.46％ (40/321),12.68％ (26/205),11.39％ (27/237),12.63％ (25/198) in younger patients (＜65 years old).However,the difference was not detected among different seasons (P＞0.05).The probability of symptomatic DVT in four seasons were 2.49％ (8/321),2.93％ (6/205),3.80％ (9/237),3.54％ (7/198) in younger patients (＜65 years old) without significant difference (P＞0.05).Conclusion Seasonal variations could place an important effect on the incidence of DVT following TKA or THA,especially for the old patients with age ≥65 years.

ObjectiveTo investigate the delineation of gross tumor volume (GTV) in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANC) according to imageological changes before and after induction chemotherapy (IC) in order to decrease high dose area and protect normal tissue better.MethodsBetween Mar 2010 to Jan 2011,11 patients with LANC were enrolled and treated with TPF regimen followed by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with concurrent chemotherapy,target volumes were delineated based on fused CT imaging before and after IC following project determination.Tumor target volumes after and before IC were respectively delineated according to imaging tumor residues and were overlaid by CTVnx in order to ensure radical doses for the imaging tumor volume before IC,the resulting differences of tumor target volumes of IC before and after were measured and analyzed by paired t-test.ResultsBefore and after IC,the average volumes of GTVnx were respectively 44.72 cm3 and 28.87 ( t =3.89,P =0.003 ),the average volumes of GTVnd were respectively 32.76 cm3 and 19.82 cm3 ( t =2.47,P =0.033 ),the volumes of maximum dose area in brainstem and spinal cord as well as eyeball decreased ( t =2.93-4.59,all P ＜0.05).ConclusionsLANC treated by 3 cycle TPF regimen followed by IMRT with concurrent chemotherapy showes significant shrinkage of tumor volume.The volume of high dose region which caused by normally recovered tissues were decreased by re-delineation of target volume in brainstem and spinal cord as well as eyeball of CT images after IC.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of the gated blood pool imaging phase analysis method in the evaluation of left ventricular mechanical synchronization in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods A total of 169 patients with chronic heart failure were enrolled in our study , using gated blood pool imaging phase analysis method to obtain left ventricular phase angle width ( PHB) and left ventricular phase angle standard deviation ( PSD) as evaluating left ventricular mechanical synchrony index; using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) measurement of the standard deviation of systolic peak time(Ts-SD) of each segment by using the current prevailing 12 non-apical segments analysis method as evaluating left ventricular mechanical synchrony index, and parameters derived from both methods were compared. Results LVPHB was highly correlated with Ts-SD (r = 0. 83 ,P = 0. 000 ) . LVPSD was modestly correlated with Ts-SD ( r - 0. 69, P = 0. 000) . The ejection fraction measured by echocardiography was (42.93 ± 14. 89) % ,which was significantly higher than that measured by ERNA (39. 76 ± 17. 89)% (P <0. 01). Conclusions The evaluation of left ventricular mechanical synchrony in patients with chronic heart failure by the gated blood pool imaging can provide similar information with TDI, which can simultaneously measure two ventricular functions and get more accurate measurement of ejection fraction. Cardiac resynchronization therapy patients can be identified by combining two kinds of approaches, and cardiac resynchronization therapy responders could be improved as well. More patients with heart failure can benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy therapy.

Objective To find out the cognition understanding of iodine deficiency disorders(IDD) of target population in Xi’an City, and evaluate the effectiveness of a health education project on prevention and control of IDD. Methods By using the random number table, three towns in each project county were selected. Obeying the requirements of the education program for IDD control, the health education activities were implemented during 2007 - 2011. Before and after intervention, questionnaire was used to investigate the intervention effect. The primary school grade 5 students and women of childbearing age were included in the survey of IDD knowledge. Hierarchical random sampling method was used to select pupils and childbearing women. Results After health education, the rate of knowledge on IDD increased from 66.97%(13 321/19 890) to 93.49%(18 610/19 905,χ2 = 4 413.07, P < 0.05) among pupils, and 62.27%(6 193/9 945) to 93.96%(9 361/ 9 963, χ2= 2 924.18, P<0.05) among childbearing women. And the awareness had reached the national standard. But the survey results showed that: the rate of IDD related knowledge in rural areas was lower than that in town areas. The awareness rates of IDD in precaution, main hazards, identification of iodized salt were 46.50%(239/514), 55.25%(284/514) and 50.97%(262/514) among pupils in rural areas and 61.44%(376/612), 65.69%(402/612) and 70.59%(432/612) among pupils in town areas, and the awareness rates of pupils in rural areas were lower than those of pupils in town areas. Thirty-six point ninety-three per cent(226/612) of the pupils in towns and 35.60%(183/514) of the pupils in rural areas told this information to their parents. The awareness rates of IDD in precaution, main hazards, IDD prevention day were 49.25%(197/400), 50.75%(203/400) and 36.50%(146/400) among women in rural areas and 75.44%(298/395), 80.25%(317/395) and 57.97%(229/395) among women in town areas, and the rates of women in rural areas were lower than those of women in town areas. The rate of consciously purchasing of qualified iodized salt was 51.75%(207/400) and the consumption rate of iodized salt was 36.75%(147/400) among women in rural areas, which were 73.42%(290/395) and 43.80%(173/395) among women in town areas, and the rates in rural areas were lower than those in town areas. Conclusions Before health education of IDD, the rate of IDD related knowledge in Xi’an City is poor, rural areas are lower than town areas. Health education project is effective in promoting the understanding and grasp of IDD knowledge.

AIM:Toinvestigatetheeffectsofcalcitoningene-relatedpeptide(CGRP)onmyocardinexpres-sion and phenotypic switch in vascular smooth muscle cells ( VSMCs) .METHODS:VSMCs were obtained by aortic tissue adherent culture and treated with angiotensin Ⅱ( AngⅡ) , AngⅡ+CGRP or AngⅡ+CGRP +CGRP8-37 .The protein expression of myocardin and the phenotypic proteins of the VSMCs was detected by Western blot .RESULTS:The expres-sion of myocardin in cultured VSMCs showed downregulation along with time expansion .The protein level of myocardin was higher at 48 h and 72 h than that at baseline in the cultured VSMCs (P<0.05).However, the myocardin was lower at 48 h and 72 h than that at baseline after treatment with CGRP in cultured VSMCs (P<0.05).Furthermore, at 48 h in cul-tured VSMCs, the myocardin decreased along with α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) (P<0.05), and osteopontin (OPN) increased (P<0.05) in AngⅡ group compared with control group .After treatment with CGRP, the levels of myocardin andα-SMA become higher ( P <0.05 ) but OPN was lower ( P <0.05 ) in CGRP group than those in AngⅡ group. CGRP8-37 abrogated CGRP-induced increase in myocardin and α-SMA and decrease in OPN in CGRP 8-37 group compared with CGRP group .CONCLUSION: CGRP may regulate the phenotypic switch of the VSMCs and maintain the cells in contractile phenotype through the upregulation of myocardin protein , which may be accomplished by the combination of CGRP and its receptor .

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to measure the concentration of adiponectin (APN) in serum and induced sputum in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD during acute exacerbation (AECOPD) and at stable stage and to determine the role of APN as a marker of inflammation in the pathogenesis of COPD. METHODS: All the patients in this prospective study were enrolled from October 2008 to October 2009, including 30 male AECOPD patients from the emergency department, 30 male stable COPD patients from the department of respiratory diseases, and 30 healthy non-smoking male controls from the department of medical examination. The serum and induced sputum were collected from each patient. All of the patients had normal weight (BMI range 18.5-24.9 kg/m2). Patients with severe bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis or autoimmune disease were excluded. Cell count and classification was performed for the induced sputum. The concentrations of APN, IL-8, IL-6 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. Pulmonary function was tested among the three groups. Comparisons between the groups were conducted by Student's t test, ANOVA analysis or nonparametric test. Correlation analysis was carried out by Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient test or Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient test. RESULTS: The concentrations of APN in the serum or induced sputum in AECOPD patients were significantly higher than those in stable COPD patients or healthy non-smoking controls (P<0.01). The concentration of APN in stable COPD patients was significantly higher than that in healthy non-smoking controls (P<0.01). For the AECOPD patients, APN was positively correlated with IL-8 and TNF-α in the serum and induced sputum (r=0.739, 0.734, 0.852, 0.857 respectively, P<0.05). For the stable COPD patients, APN was also positively correlated with IL-8 and TNF-α in the serum and induced sputum (r=0.751, 0.659, 0.707, 0.867 respectively, P<0.05). In addition, for the AECOPD patients, APN was positively correlated with the percentage of neutrophils in the induced sputum (r=0.439, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: APN is involved in the process of systematic and airway inflammation of COPD. This process is related to neutrophils in the airway, IL-8 and TNF-α. APN could be used as a new marker for inflammation of COPD.

BACKGROUND: As a cytokine highly expressed in internal organs, visfatin could be used as a biomarker of systemic inflammation response for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, but few studies have reported the use of visfatin in severe pneumonia. The present study was undertaken to determine the plasma levels of visfatin in patients with severe pneumonia. METHODS: A total of 70 patients, including 40 patients with severe pneumonia (group A) and 30 patients with non severe pneumonia (group B) who had been admitted to the ICU from June 2009 to June 2010, were enrolled in this prospective study. And another 30 healthy physical examinees served as healthy controls (group C). Patients were excluded if they suffered from severe diseases of the heart, brain and kidney, cancers, autoimmune diseases, or received special treatment in the latest month. The plasma levels of visfatin, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA, while the level of CRP was determined by immuneturbidimetry, and the routine blood test was performed. Blood gas analysis and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) were performed in patients with pneumonia. Comparisons between the groups were conducted by Student's t test, ANOVA or nonparametric test. Correlation analysis was carried out by Pearson's correlation test or Spearman's rank-order correlation test. RESULTS: The plasma level of visfatin in group A was significantly higher than that in groups B and C (P<0.001), and the level of visfatin in group B was significantly higher than that in group C (P<0.001). The plasma level of visfatin was positively correlated with CRP, TNF-α, APACHE II and PMN％ in patients with severe pneumonia (rho=0.653, r=0.554, r=0.558, r=0.484, respectively, P<0.05 for all), while it was negatively correlated with PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 (rho=?0.422, r=?0.543, respectively, P<0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Visfatin may be involved in the systematic inflammation response in patients with severe pneumonia as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and it is valuable in assessing the severity of pneumonia..

To assess the clinical effect and safety of Chinese traditional medicine injection combined with radiotherapy for esophageal cancer. The relative randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Chinese medical injections (CMI) combined with radiotherapy as well as simple radiotherapy for esophageal cancer were searched from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database(CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database and VIP Database as at September 2014. Two researchers completed the data extraction and quality evaluation independently. The data were analyzed by GeMTC 0.14.3 and Stata 12. 0 software. Finally, 43 RCTs involving 3 289 patients were finally included. The star network was constructed by different comparison groups. The results of network meta-analysis showed that the seven CMIs combined with radiotherapy was superior to simple radiotherapy in the treatment of esophageal cancer in efficacy, quality of life, and reduction in the incidence of nausea and leucopenia, but with no significant difference among the seven CMIs. Probability ranking result showed a great possibility for Shenqi Fuzheng and astragalus polysaccharide injections in improving the overall response rate and quality of life, which were followed by cinobufagin and kangai injections. However, only one study was included for Shenqi Fuzheng and astragalus polysaccharide injections. Therefore, cinobufagin or kangai injections were preferred in improving the overall response rate and quality of life. Aidi or compound sophora injections were better than other CMIs in reducing? the incidences of nausea (III-IV) and leukopenia. More RCTs of Shenqi Fuzheng and astragalus polysaccharide injections combined with radiotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer were expected in the future to confirm our results. Moreover, study findings will be reported, particularly for the adverse events in radiotherapy for esophageal cancer.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the role of circulating neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) levels in the postoperative formation of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods Circulating NET levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1, 3, and 7 in 30 patients diagnosed with DVT by venography after TKA and 30 controls from May 2014 to July 2015. Results In patients with DVT, the mean circulating NET levels were significantly higher on postoperative days 1 and 3 compared with those in the non?DVT group (postoperative day 1, 1.598 ± 0.067 vs. 1.212 ± 0.037, t=7.514, P=0.000;postoperative day 3, 1.305±0.044 vs. 1.167±0.032, t=2.675, P=0.015). ROC curve analysis revealed the inferior sensitivity and specificity of NET levels on postoperative day 3 compared with postoperative day 1. Area under the curve (AUC) postoperative day 1 was 0.828 (95%CI:0.722, 0.933, P=0.000);AUC postoperative day 3 was 0.677 (95%CI:0.541, 0.814, P=0.018). The cutoff point for NET levels on postoperative day 1 was 1.294, with a sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 80%, a posi?tive predictive value of 80%, and a negative predictive value of 80%. After Logistic regression, the NET level on postoperative day 1 was considered an independent predictor of DVT (OR:24.08, 95%CI:4.94, 117.28, P=0.000). Conclusion High circulating NET levels are associated with DVT in patients who undergo TKA. NETs may serve as a potential biological marker to delineate patients undergoing TKA who are most at risk for DVT.