Objective: To study the optimum particle size of Cordyceps sinensis for liver fibrosis in combination with in vitro dissolution experiment from serum pharmacology. Methods: To prepare the powder samples with different grinding degrees, Cordyceps sinensis was crushed through 100-, 150-, 200-, and 300-mesh sieves. The in vitro dissolution of adenosine was measured at different time points. Meanwhile, the powder sample was ig administered to rats, and pharmacodynamic approach was adopted to study the inhibition of medicated serum on HSC-T6 proliferation. Results: The accumulative in vitro dissolution of C. sinensis by 200-300 meshes was higher than that of other meshes. Medicated serum could significantly inhibit HSC-T6 cell proliferation. The AUC of HSC-T6 inhibition kinetics of medicated serum crushed to 200-300 meshes was significantly higher than that in other groups. Conclusion: The in vitro dissolution and pharmacodynamic method could be used for the study on different particle sizes of C. sinensis for anti-hepatic fibrosis, and 200-300 meshes are the optimal particle size.

Objective To study a scoring method for assessing function status of cardiovascular system quantitatively. Methods First, exercise heart rate variability (EHRV) was obtained from the primary dynamic electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded during exercise testing. Then appropriate entropy, relative complexity, and other three parameters extracted from poincare dispersed-dot plot were extracted from the EHRV. Discriminant analysis was used to classify two extreme groups.Results Based on the values of two groups from the discriminant formula, a scoring formula was proposed and four ranks were divided according to different score domains. A novel scoring method was established. To validate the proposed scoring method, 60 middle-aged hypertensives, 50 elder subjects and 110 young healthy subjects were examined and scored. Conclusion Scores of 220 subjects are consistent with their real health status. The proposed scoring method reflects the status of the subject's cardiovascular system effectively.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of clip traction in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for heterotopic pancreas in stomach.Methods Data of 62 patients with pathologically confirmed heterotopic pancreas treated by ESD between May 2013 and February 2016 were retrospectively studied in Department of Gastroenterology of Xinqiao Hospital,whose lesions were single and origins were submucosal.Thirty-six cases underwent ESD with clip traction (clip group,n=36),and 26 cases underwent ESD without clip traction (non-clip group,n =26).The procedure time,visualization of the submucosal during dissection,complications and the result of follow-up were evaluated between the two groups.Results ESD was successful in all cases.The procedure time was significantly shorter in the clip group than in the non-clip group (19.35±10.34 min VS 27.02± 14.27 min,t'=2.333,P=0.023),and good visualization was obtained by applying clip traction.The rate of bleeding in the clip group was 55.6％ (20/36),and that in the non-clip group was 61.5％ (16/26).There was no significant difference between the two groups(x2 =0.222,P =0.638).Moreover,perforation did not occur in the clip group,but occurred in one patient in the non-clip group (3.8％,1/26).There was no significant difference between the two groups (P =0.419).All patients were followed up,there was no recurrence.Conclusion ESD is effective and safe for heterotopic pancreas in stomach.Clip traction can shorten the operation time and reduce complications of ESD.

Objective To study the inflammation and expression of myosin light chain kinase(MLCK) through establishing acute lung injury animal model of mice induced by lipopolysacchride(LPS), and approach the role of MLCK in the mechanism of acute lung injury.Methods Twenty female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into LPS group(n=10) and control group(n=10).The BALB/c mice of LPS and control groups were induced by 30 ?L 0.9% NaCl via intranasal instillation,while only LPS group was treated with LPS(20 ?g/each mice).The pathology,wet/dry lung weight ratio and the total cell quantitation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)were compared between these two groups.Furthermore,immunohistochemistry assays were used to determine the status of MLCK expression in the lung.And RT-PCR was adopted to determine the status of MLCKmRNA in the lung. Results Compared with the control group,the LPS group showed more serious pulmonary hemorrhage,edema and infiltration of neutrophils, significantly increased water content in the lungs and total cell quantitation in BALF(P

Objective To study the effect of montelukast(MK)and dexamethasone(Dex)on inflammation of asthma.Methods Asthma model was established and treated with MK or Dex.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) and histopathologic change were observed,IL-5mRNA of lung and bone marrow cells were detected by in situ hybridization,IL-5 immunoreactive cells by immunohistochemistry,and CD34+ and CD3+ of bone marrow cells by flow cytometry. ResultsCompared with asthma group,the number of total cells and eosinophils in BALF of MK group and Dex group were significantly decreased(P0.05). Conclusion MK and Dex can well inhibit airway inflammation and expression of IL-5mRNA in lung and bone marrow cells,though MK may be inferior to Dex in some aspects.The combined treatment of leukotriene receptor antagonist and glucocorticosteroid may be a new direction for asthma.

Objective To observe effects and mechanisms of insulin on reperfusion injury after cerebral ischemia.Methods Sixty-six male Wistar rats were used in this study.All rats were divided into 3 groups as treated group(A),control group(B) and random sham-operated group(C).Four-vessel occlusion was used to establish global cerebral ischemia reperfusion model in study groups.The treated group were divided into 5 groups(A1-A5) and intraperineally injected with biosynthetic human insulin 2 IU/(kg?d) and 50%glucose 2 g/(kg?d) for 7 days,the blood glucose was monitored in preoperative and postoperative 3,6,12,24 h,and the blood glucose was maintained between 3.5-6.5 mmol/L.These animals of control group were given with saline 2 mL/(kg?d) for 7 days in abdominal cavity.All the rats were killed in the seventh day,brain homogenate was collected for detection of neuron specific enolase(NSE)and nitric oxide(NO).The hippocampus was separated for observation of electronic microscope.Results Concentration of NSE in brain tissue in group C was significantly higher than that of group A and group B,while the level in group A was higher than that of group B.Concentration of NO in group C was lower than that of group A and group B while the level of NO in group A was significantly lower than that of group B.Electron microscope showed that the ultrastructure of sham-operated group was nearly normal,damage degree of hippocampal neuron and gliacyte and capillary was gradually worse from group A1,A2 to A4,the damage degree of group B1,B2 and B4 was serious and there was no difference among them.Conclusion Insulin can really promote recovery of the cerebral injury after ischemia reperfusion.

Objective To quantitatively detect circulating DNA levels in the plasma of patients withcervical lesion and to determine the value for diagnosis of cervical lesion and cervical cancer . Methods Preoperative blood samples were collected from 53 cases of low-grade lesions, 49 cases of high-grade lesions, 44 cases of cervical invasive cancer and 70 cases of healthy women. Plasma DNA was extracted by magnetic bead method (BILATEST DNA kit). The quantity of plasma DNA was determined by duplex real-time quantitative PCR. Results Median plasma DNA level of invasive cervical cancer patients was 61. 59 mg/L (32. 06 - 162. 16 mg/L) , which was significantly higher than that of healthy women [16. 35 mg/L(11. 98 -22.71 mg/L), P < 0.01]. Among invasive cervical cancer patients, median plasma DNA level of squamous carcinoma patients was slightly higher than that of adenocarcinoma (50. 43 versus 47. 31 mg/L,P>0. 05). Median plasma DNA level of stage I patients was lower than that of stage Ⅱ- Ⅲ patients (46. 02 versus 71. 35 mg/L, P <0. 05). Conclusion Quantitatively detecting plasma circulating DNA may be with some application prospect in the diagnosis of cervical diseases.

OBJECTIVETo review the senescent remodeling of the immune system with aging and its relevance to the increased susceptibility of the elderly to infectious diseases, along with an outlook on emerging immunological biomarkers.

DATA SOURCESThe data selected were from PubMed with relevant published articles in English or French from 1995 to the present. Searches were made using the terms "immunosenescence" and "aging" paired with the following: "innate immunity", "T-cell", "B-cell", "adaptive immunity" and "biomarkers". Articles were reviewed for additional citations and some information was gathered from web searches.

STUDY SELECTIONArticles on aging of both the innate and adaptive immunity were reviewed, with special attention to the remodeling effect on the ability of the immune system to fight infectious diseases. Articles related to biomarkers of immunosenescence were selected with the goal of identifying immunological biomarkers predisposing the elderly to infections.

RESULTSInnate immunity is generally thought to be relatively well preserved or enhanced during aging compared with adaptive immunity which manifests more profound alterations. However, evidence, particularly in the last decade, reveals that both limbs of the immune system undergo profound remodeling with aging. Reported data on adaptive immunity is consistent and changes are well established but conflicting results about innate immunity were reported between in vivo and in vitro studies, as well as between murine and human studies. Epidemiological data suggests increased predisposition of the elderly to infections, but no compelling scientific evidence has directly linked senescent immune remodeling to this increased susceptibility. Recently, growing interest in identifying immunological biomarkers and defining "immune risk phenotypes/profiles" (IRP) has been expressed. Identification of biomarkers is in its early days and few potential biomarkers have been identified, with the Swedish having defined one IRP based on the adaptive immune response.

CONCLUSIONSAging does not necessarily lead to an unavoidable decline in immune functions. Instead, a complex remodeling occurs. Despite the lack of compelling scientific evidence, senescent immune remodeling surely is a significant contributing factor to the increased risk and severity of infections in the elderly. Although, no immunological biomarker has been formally linked to the increased risk of infections in the elderly, biomarkers remain a promising tool to predict the likelihood of healthy aging, the level of immune competence, and mortality risk in the elderly. Hence, more research is required to define healthy aging and identify immunological biomarkers.

Adaptive Immunity ; immunology ; Aging ; immunology ; physiology ; Animals ; Humans ; Immune System ; immunology ; Immunity, Innate ; immunology ; Infection ; immunology

Objective To explore the long-term outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of gastric GISTs.Methods Data of 25 patients with gastric stromal tumors,who underwent ESD,were reviewed in terms of clinical characteristics,histopathologic results,complications and long-term outcomes.Results Twenty-five patients underwent one-time complete removal of lesion, with a average tumor size of 3.0 cm (range,0.6 to 7.6 cm).The average time of operation was 65 minutes (range,15 to 154 minutes).one case was observed with intraoperative hemor-rhage of 200 mL blood,which was successfully managed by hemostatic forceps.Perforation with incidence rate of 16%occurred in 4 cases and was closed well with clips.Mucosal mechanical laceration of esophagus occurred in 1 case when the big tumor was taken out.The average length of hospi-talization was 7.3 days (range,4 to 21 days).A follow-up for 30 months (range,13 to 54 months) showed no tumor recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion ESD is an effective and safe endoscopic procedure to remove gastric GISTs for long-term outcomes in patients with no metastasis.

Objective To explore the activated brain region of acute epilepsy in cat model induced by pentylenetetrazol(FFZ)with manganese enhanced-functional MR imaging(ME-fMRI),and evaluate the application of ME-fMRI on localization of the activated brain.Methods Forty cats were divided into 4 groups by random number table method as epileptic A and B groups as well as control A and B groups. Cats of epileptic groups were injected with PTZ(55 mg/kg)intramuscularly,and those of control groups were injected with the saline at same dose.The behavior change in the epileptic and control group A was observed and electroencephalogram(EEG)was also undertaken.Cats of epileptic and control group B were performed ME-fMRI,and the percentage of the enhanced signal intensity was then calculated.Results After injection with PTZ(55 mg/kg)intramuscularly,epileptic seizure was all evoked,and then EEG recording showed spike-wave and polyspike-wave complexes.The neocortex of cats of epileptic group B was diffusely phanero-enhanced on ME-fMRI.The percent enhancement of signal intensity in cortex of frontal lobe,parietal lobe and occipital lobe was(34.6?5.7)% and that in cortex of temporal lobe with(22.9? 6.5)%,whereas those of control group B with(14.9?4.5)% and(11.6?3.2)% respectively.And there was significant difference between the above different localization of the brain in the two groups (t=-10.43,-5.46 respectively,P