OBJECTIVETo study DNA damage of human peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed to 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCE) with flow cytometry (FCM) assay.

METHODSThe lymphocytes were obtained from 21 workers who are occupationally exposed to 1,2-DCE (exposed group) and 27 workers who were not exposed to 1,2-DCE in the same factory (inner control) and 28 island residents who had never been occupationally exposed to adverse factors (external control). FCM assay was adopted to detect DNA damage of the lymphocytes of each group. Lymphocytes of the health people were incubated with 1,2-DCE at different doses, and FCM assay was used to detect DNA damage.

RESULTSDNA damage rate (%) of the exposed group of exposed workers (4.05% ± 2.55%) was significantly higher than the inner control group of workers (1.97% ± 1.40%) and external control groups of island residents (0.23% ± 0.13%), and the DNA damage of inner control was higher than the external control, all the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). The geometric mean fluorescence intensity of the workers in the exposed group (3.33 ± 3.01) was significantly higher than the (2.07 ± 0.58) only (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the DNA damage rate as well as the geometric mean fluorescence intensity among the exposed group of workers with different years of working period (P > 0.05). In vitro, the fluorescence intensity at the dose of 20, 30 µmol/L for 0.5 h exposure showed statistical significance compared with the negative control group (P < 0.01). The DNA damage rate at the dose of 20, 30 µmol/L for 1.0 h exposure was statistically significant compared with the negative control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); The fluorescence intensity at the dose of 10, 20, 30 µmol/L for 1.0 h exposure was statistically significant compared with the negative control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION1,2-DEC can cause DNA damage. And γH2AX FCM assay can be a sensitive, objective and effective method of detecting DNA damage of peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Adult ; Cell Survival ; Comet Assay ; DNA Damage ; Ethylene Dichlorides ; toxicity ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; methods ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Lymphocytes ; drug effects ; Male ; Occupational Exposure

Objective To explore the protective mechanisms of hydrogen-rich saline on renal ischemiareperfusion injury.Methods Mice were divided in to 3 groups:control (sham operation),ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and ischemia-reperfusion+ hydrogen-rich saline (HRS).Mice in IR+ HRS group were administrated HRS by intravenous injection 3days and 1min before operation and 4 times in the following 2hours after operation.Mice in control and IR group were administrated normal saline as the same volume and frequency with IR + HRS group.Mice were sacrificed 24 hours after operation,creatinine and urea nitrogen in serum were detected by biochemical analyzer,MDA and SOD level were detected by spectrophotometer,expression of Bcl-xl,Bcl2,Bak,Bax,Cleaved Caspase-3 proteins level were detected by western blot.Results Compared to IR group,creatinine,urea nitrogen,MDA level decreased significantly after HRS consumption.SOD enzyme activity increased significantly after HRS consumption.HRS treatment down-regulates expression of Bak,Bax and Cleaved Caspase-3 protein level,and up-regulates expression of Bcl2,and Bcl-xl protein level.Conclusion HRS eliminates ROS and elevates antioxidant activity in renal after IR,besides,HRS also regulate apoptosis signal pathway to protect IR injury in renal.

BACKGROUNDNoninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) has been proposed to shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation in intubated patients, especially those who fail initial weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). However, there are also some discrepancies in terms of weaning success or failure, incidence of re-intubation, complications observed during study and patient outcomes. The primary objective of this update was to specifically investigate the role of NIPPV on facilitating weaning and avoiding re-intubation in patients intubated for different etiologies of acute respiratory failure, by comparing with conventional invasive weaning approach.

METHODSWe searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing noninvasive weaning of early extubation and immediate application of NIPPV with invasive weaning in intubated patients from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Knowledge and Springerlink databases. Records from conference proceedings and reference lists of relevant studies were also identified.

RESULTSA total of 11 RCTs with 623 patients were available for the present analysis. Compared with IMV, NIPPV significantly increased weaning success rates (odds ratio (OR): 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46 - 4.30, P = 0.0009), decreased mortality (OR: 0.39, 95%CI: 0.20 - 0.75, P = 0.005), and reduced the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (OR: 0.17, 95%CI: 0.08 - 0.37, P < 0.00001) and complications (OR: 0.22, 95%CI: 0.07 - 0.72, P = 0.01). However, effect of NIPPV on re-intubation did not reach statistical difference (OR: 0.61, 95%CI: 0.33 - 1.11, P = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONSEarly extubation and immediate application of NIPPV is superior to conventional invasive weaning approach in increasing weaning success rates, decreasing the risk of mortality and reducing the incidence of VAP and complications, in patients who need weaning from IMV. However, it should be applied with caution, as there is insufficient beneficial evidence to definitely recommend it in terms of avoiding re-intubation.

Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Respiration, Artificial ; methods ; Ventilator Weaning ; methods

BACKGROUNDThis study was to examine the expression of total vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the anti-angiogenic VEGF 165 b isoform in the vitreous body of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) patients, and to further study the role of the VEGF splicing in the development of ROP.

METHODSThis was a prospective clinical laboratory investigation study. All patients enrolled received standard ophthalmic examination with stage 4 ROP that required vitrectomy to collect the vitreous samples. The control samples were from congenital cataract patients. The expression of total VEGF and the anti-angiogenic VEGF 165 b were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results were analyzed statistically using nonparametric tests.

RESULTSThe total VEGF level was markedly elevated in ROP samples while VEGF 165 b was markedly decreased compared to control group. The relative protein expression level of VEGF 165 b isoform was significantly decreased in ROP patients which were correlated with the ischemia-induced neovascularization.

CONCLUSIONSThere was a switch of VEGF splicing from anti-angiogenic to pro-angiogenic family in ROP patients. A specific inhibitor that more selectively targets VEGF 165 and controls the VEGF splicing between pro- and anti-angiogenic families might be a more effective therapy for ROP.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Protein Isoforms ; metabolism ; Retinopathy of Prematurity ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism ; Vitreous Body ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the safety and acute toxicities of intraoperative electron radiotherapy for patients with abdominal tumors.Methods From May 2008 to August 2009, 52 patients with abdominal tumors were treated with intraoperative electron radiotherapy,including 14 patients with breast cancer,19 with pancreatic cancer,3 with cervical cancer, 4 with ovarian cancer, 6 with sarcoma, and 6 with other tumors.Fifteen patients were with recurrent tumors.The intraoperative radiotherapy was performed using Mobetron mobile electron accelerator, with total dose of 9 - 18 Gy.In all, 29, 4 and 19 patients received complete resection, palliative resection and surgical exploration, respectively.The complications during the operations and within 6 months after operations were graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0 (CTC 3.0).Results The median duration of surgery was 190 minutes.Intraoperative complications were observed in 5 patients, including 3 with hemorrhage, 1 with hypotension,and 1 with hypoxemia, all of which were treated conservatively.The median hospitalization time and time to take out stitches was 12 and 13 days, respectively.And the in-hospital mortality was 4% (2/52).Twentyfour patients suffered post-operative adverse events, including 3 postoperative infections.With a median follow-up time of 183 days, 20% of patients sufferred from grade 3 to 5 adverse events, with hematological toxicities being the most common complication, followed by bellyache.Grade 1 and 2 toxicities which were definitely associated with intraoperative radiotherapy was 28% and 4%, respectively.None of grade 3 to 5 complications were proved to be caused by intraoperative radiotherapy.Conclusions Intraoperative electron radiotherapy is well tolerable and could be widely used for patients with abdominal tumors, with a little longer time to take out stitches but without more morbidities and toxicities compared surgery alone.

To evaluate the yield of the blood cell separator for collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) from ABO major and (or) minor incompatible allogeneic donors and the feasibility of PBSC component infusion to the recipients without removal of erythrocytes or plasma, the Cobe Spectra (Version 6.1) blood cell separator was utilized to collect PBSC component from 9 allogeneic donors. Of all the donors, 4 were ABO major incompatible, 2 were minor incompatible and the other 3 were both major and minor incompatible to corresponding recipients. In each cycle, different amount of PBSC component was harvested, and the variable volume plasma chased the cells into the bag was adjusted according to the ABO incompatibility. The nucleated cell count, percentage of mononuclear cell, number of CD34(+) cell and percentage of viable cell (trypan blue excluding rate) in the component were detected. At the time of infusion, a series of protective measures to the renal function of recipients were taken. The results showed that apheresis was twice performed on these eight donors to collected enough PBSC for transplantation or cryopreservation, except one apheresis was enough for cell amount needed by transplantation, as the donor's body weight was much heavier than that of the recipient. Altogether 17 apheresises were performed, the mean yield of nucleated cells was 3.77 x 10(10), in which 97% to 99% were mononuclear cells (MNC). The harvested number of CD34(+) cell was 8.62 x 10(6)/kg. All the trypan blue exclusion rate was 100%. In ABO major incompatible or both major and minor incompatible component, there were 8 - 10 ml packed erythrocytes; in ABO minor incompatible component, there were 80 - 120 ml of plasma. These components were infused into the recipients without removal of erythrocytes or plasma and no haemolytic reaction was observed in any recipient, and their hematopoietic functions soon recovered. Results suggest that enough PBSC can be acquired by using blood cell separator Cobe Spectra (Version 6.1), with the modified separation factors, and the collected PBSC component can be safely infused into the ABO incompatible recipients without removal of erythrocytes or plasma.
ABO Blood-Group System ; Antigens, CD34 ; blood ; Blood Component Removal ; methods ; Blood Donors ; Blood Group Incompatibility ; blood ; Cell Separation ; instrumentation ; Cell Survival ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; immunology ; Humans ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Transplantation, Homologous

The current proxy indicators and quantitative strategy were summarized for cognitive reserve,the findings of cognitive reserve was discussed then in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease,and some future research directions were presented about cognitive reserve.The reserve of brain explains the disjunction between clinical symptoms and the degree of brain damage,whereby some people can tolerate more of age-related or Alzheimer's disease pathology than others and maintain brain function.The cognitive reserve hypothesis has been widely used in epidemiological and neuroimaging studies,but it lacks a unified quantitative indicator.The future research of cognitive reserve should be focused on the development of quantitative indicators that cover a variety of potential factors dynamically.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease due to impaired pulmonary development and is one of the main causes of respiratory failure in preterm infants. Preterm infants with BPD have significantly higher complication and mortality rates than those without BPD. At present, comprehensive management is the main intervention method for BPD, including reasonable respiratory and circulatory support, appropriate enteral nutrition and parenteral nutrition, application of caffeine/glucocorticoids/surfactants, and out-of-hospital management after discharge. The continuous advances in stem cell medicine in recent years provide new ideas for the treatment of BPD. Various pre-clinical trials have confirmed that stem cell therapy can effectively prevent lung injury and promote lung growth and damage repair. This article performs a comprehensive analysis of the mechanism of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of BPD, so as to provide a basis for clinical applications.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/prevention & control* ; Enteral Nutrition ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Lung ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Objective To assess the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of group A and C meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (A/C MPV) in response to an outbreak of group C meningococcal disease. Methods A vaccination campaign with A/C MPV was prompted 6 weeks after the use of group A MPV in Laibin city, Guangxi, where an outbreak of group C meningococcal meningitis occurred in 2002.Vaccinees were observed for local and systemic reactions after the vaccination and followed up for the meningococcal disease for 5 years. Blood samples were collected from 71 people in the epidemic and 43 in the non-epidemic areas before and 1 month after the vaccination and examined by ELISA to detect IgG antibodies to group A and C polysaccharides. Results The vaccination coverage was 97%. No significant adverse reactions were observed. The positive rates of group C antibodies after vaccination was between 97.67% and 100% among the populations in the epidemic and non-epidemic areas, as well as among those negative and positive for group C antibodies prior to the vaccination.The geometric mean anti-C concentrations ranged 30.81 μg/ml to 37.44 μg/ml, showing no significant difference between groups. The incidence rate of meningococcal disease in students with timely immunization (218.58/100 000) dropped by 69.02% , when compared to that in those with delayed immunization (705.72/100 000). No clinical cases were identified during the follow-up period of 15 760 person-years. Conclusion The vaccination campaign with the Chinese group A/C MPV seemed successful in controlling the group C meningococcal outbreak.The vaccine was shown to be safe even administered after the group A vaccine only 6 weeks apart. It could induce high levels of antibodies in vulnerable population and significantly increase antibody levels in seropositive individuals, thus providing a protection of at least 5 years.

Objective:To observe the effect of modified Bazhentang on the nutritional status and immune function of patients with Qi and blood deficiency syndrome in neoadjuvant chemotherapy （NAC） for gastric cancer. Method:One hundred and ten patients were randomly divided into observation group and control group with 55 cases each. Both groups accepted FOLFOX6 protocol. Patients in control group took Jianpi Shengxue tablets orally， 3 tablets/time， 3 times/day. Patients in observation group received modified Bazhentang， 1 dose/day. The course of treatment was six weeks in both groups. Before and after treatment， scores were graded according to patient generated-subjective global assessment （PG-SGA）， Qi and blood deficiency syndrome， and the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale （PFS-R）. Levels of serum total protein （TB）， albumin （ALB）， prealbumin （PAB）， CD4⁺， CD8⁺， helper T lymphocyte 17 （Th17）， regulatory T cell （Treg）， immunoglobulin G （IgG）， IgM， and IgA were detected before and after therapy. Body mass index （BMI） and fat free mass index （FFMI） were measured before and after treatment. Weight loss was recorded， and the acute or subacute toxicity of anticancer drugs was evaluated. Result:The degree of malnutrition in the observation group was lower than that in the control group （Z=2.401，P<0.01）. The levels of TB， ALB and PAB in the observation group were higher than those in the control group （P<0.01）. The CD4⁺， Treg and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ levels in the observation group were higher than those in the control group （P<0.01）. The CD8⁺， Th17 and Th17/Treg levels were lower than those in the control group （P<0.01）. Besides， the levels of IgM and IgA in the observation group were higher than those in the control group （P<0.01）. The PG-SGA score and weight loss in the observation group were lower than those in the control group （P<0.01）. The BMI and FFMI data of the observation group were higher than those of the control group （P<0.05）. The scores of PFS-R and Qi-blood deficiency syndrome were lower than those of the control group （P<0.01）. The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the observation group was 45.45% （25/55）， lower than 65.45% （36/55） in the control group （χ²=4.452，P<0.05）. Conclusion:Modified Bazhentang can be used to assist gastric cancer patients with NAC， which can improve nutritional status and immune function， promote immune balance， reduce clinical symptoms and fatigue， and reduce chemotherapy toxicity and side effects， so it is worthy of clinical use.