Objective To investigate immunogenicity and protection efficacy of the recombinant hypoxanthine-guanine-xanthine (HGXPRT) of Plasmodium falciparum expressed in Pichia pastoris. Methods 35 BALB/c mice were divided randomly into five groups: HGXPRT+ISA720 experiment group, HGXPRT+Freund experiment group, ISA720 adjuvant control group, Freund adjuvant control group, and blank control group. BALB/c mice were subcutaneously immunized three times with the HGXPRT protein formulated by either Freund or ISA720 adjuvants at a three weeks interval. Mice were bled via tail vein at 2 weeks after each immunization. Specific antibodies were detected by ELISA as well as IFAT using cultured parasites. The immunized mice were challenged with 105 P.yoelii 10 days after the third immunization and parasitemia was monitored daily by examining Giemsa-stained thin film. Results Strong immune response was induced by the HGXPRT antigen formulated with the adjuvant. Antibody titers of more than 1∶105 were detected after the third immunization while no specific antibody was detected in the mice immunized with adjuvants only. The antibodies against HGXPRT recognized the cultured parasite by IFAT. Four days after mice were challenged with P.yoelii, high parasitemia appeared in the two control groups, which were 24 h earlier than experiment groups. The mean parasitemia of HGXPRT+ISA720 experiment group(29.3%) was significantly lower than that of control groups (70.0%) (P

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of treatment with microsurgery in combination with local injection of type A botulinum toxin for vocal process granuloma. METHOD: 28 patients with vocal process granuloma received endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia. The lesion was removed with micro-scissor and CO2 laster under a self-retaining laryngoscope and microscope. The incision and mucous membrane surrounding the wound was closed with 8-0 absorbable suture. 4-point injection of botulinum toxin type A 8-15 u was then performed along the thyroarytenoid muscle and arytenoid muscle of the same side. Postoperative medication was administered based on disease causes. RESULT: All patients experienced vocal cord dyskinesia of the injected side 2-3 days after surgery. At 1 month after the surgery, wound healing was good in all the 28 patients, and the vocal cord movement was limited at the injected side. At 3 months, movement of the bilateral vocal cords was normal, and the vocal cord process mucosa was smooth. Patients were followed up for more than a year, and only one patient had recurrence in 2 months after surgery. The cure rate was 96. 4%. CONCLUSION Combination of laryngeal microsurgery and type A botulinum toxin local injection can shorten the treatment course of vocal process granuloma.
Anesthesia, General ; Botulinum Toxins ; administration & dosage ; Granuloma ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Humans ; Injections ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Laryngeal Mucosa ; Laryngeal Muscles ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Laryngoscopes ; Larynx ; Microsurgery ; Postoperative Period ; Recurrence ; Vocal Cords ; Wound Healing

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect and signaling pathway of ginsenoside Rb1 on myocardial injury in mice with Kawasaki disease.Methods:BALB/C mice aged 5-6 weeks were randomly divided into control group, model group, aspirin group, ginsenoside Rb1 low dose group(50 mg/kg) and high dose group(100 mg/kg), with 12 mice in each group.Except the control group, other groups were treated with intermittent intraperitoneal injection of 10% bovine serum albumin saline solution to induce Kawasaki disease myocardial injury pathological model with a total of 6 days(twice a day); aspirin group, Rb1 low and high-dose group were given corresponding drugs by gavage for 20 days after modeling.The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were observed by hematoxylin eosin staining.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6) and cardiac troponin I(cTnI) in serum and myocardial tissue were detected by ELISA.The activities of creatine kinase(CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase(α-HBDH) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST) in serum were detected by enzyme coupling method.The expression levels of janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway related proteins in myocardial tissue were detected by Western blot.Results:High dose of Rb1 significantly improved myocardial fiber rupture and tear, inflammatory infiltration and necrosis induced by myocardial injury in model group.ELISA results showed that, compared with the model group, high-dose Rb1 could significantly inhibit the high expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, which were restored to the level of the control group, and there was a dose-dependent relationship between the low and high-dose groups( P<0.05). The results of enzyme coupling method showed that creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB, lactate dehydrogenase, α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotrasferase in Rb1 high-dose group were restored to the level in control group, and there was a dose-dependent relationship between low and high-dose group( P<0.05). At the same time, compared with model group, Rb1 high-dose group significantly down regulated the expression level of cardiac troponin I( P<0.05). Western blot results showed that, compared with the model group, Rb1 significantly increased the relative expression levels of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)/β-actin, and significantly decreased the expression levels of Cleaved caspase-3/β-actin in a dose-dependent manner( P<0.05). Conclusion:Ginsenoside Rb1 can effectively reduce the myocardial injury induced by Kawasaki disease mice.The high-dose group of Rb1 can recover to the level of the control group, and the curative effect is related to the dosage of Rb1.Ginsenoside Rb1 may activate JAK2/STAT3/Bcl-2 signaling pathway, thus down regulate the expression of Cleaved caspase-3, and inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and inflammation.

Objective To study the effect of RNA interference on the expression of CTGF in skin fibroblasts of systemic sclerosis(SS). Methods Four CTGF specific siRNAs and a negative control siRNA were designed and then synthesized by in vitro transcription. siRNAs labeled with carboxyfluorescein-6-succimidyl ester (FAM) were transiently transfected into SS skin fibroblasts. Forty-eight hours after the fibroblasts were treated with siRNAs, the mRNA and protein expression of CTGF was detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Results The mRNA and protein expression of CTGF in fibroblasts was significantly down-regulated by 4 and 3 CTGF specific siRNAs (both P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mortality rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Nantong,China from 1999 to 2011, in order to uncover dynamic trends and provide reasoned advice on intervention strategies to decrease HCC incidence and mortality in Nantong in the future.

METHODSVersions 10 and 9 of the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10 and ICD-9) were used to determine the number of HCC deaths in Nantong,China for the study's range of years. Thex2 test was applied to compare the HCC mortality rates according to sex and age. The Grey system GM(1,1) model was used to predict the next-5-year HCC mortality for Nantong.

RESULTSAnalysis of the standardized mortality in Nantong showed a slight decreasing trend from 1999 to 2011 (x2=57 545.98, P less than 0.001),with males showing a steeper decrease than females. The total mortality of HCC during these years was 53.41 per 100,000 people,with mortality among males being significantly higher than that among females (80.81 per 100,000 people vs. 26.94 per 100,000 people; x2=13 625.42, P less than 0.001). In general, HCC mortality increased with increase in age (general trend:x2=57 545.98, P less than 0.001; male trend: x2=39 878.8, P less than 0.001; female trend: x2=20 105.3, P less than 0.001). However,HCC mortality increased significantly in women after the age of 40 and in men after the age of 35. The GM(1,1) equation was: Yt=-1265.28e(-0.0375t)+1315.5, which predicted that the HCC mortality will decrease to 25.56 per 100,000 people in 2016.

CONCLUSIONAlthough HCC mortality generally decreased from 1999 to 2011, the rate remained high. Public health intervention strategies may be more effective if they focus on males over the age of 35 and females over the age of 40.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; mortality ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Neoplasms ; mortality ; Male

BACKGROUNDAnterior glottic web is one type of laryngeal stenosis. Previous surgical methods had some drawbacks, such as large surgical trauma, long postoperative recovery time, and multiple-stage surgery. This study aimed to explore better treatment to repair anterior glottis web.

METHODSWe performed vocal cord mucosal flap procedure on 32 patients with anterior laryngeal webs. All subjects received vocal cord scar releasing and vocal cord mucosal flap repair and suture under general anesthesia with selfretaining laryngoscope.

RESULTSAll 32 patients completed surgery in one stage, without postoperative laryngeal edema, difficulty in breathing, or other complications. After the surgery, the anterior commissure of vocal cords recovered to a decent triangle shape in 28 patients; however, in four patients there were 2 to 3 mm adhesion residuals on the anterior ends of the vocal cords, accompanied by scar appearance of bilateral vocal cords. The GRB score, voice handicap index scores, and maximum phonation time score significantly improved in all patients after the surgery. There was no evidence of recurrent laryngeal webbing in the 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONVocal cords mucosal flap repair surgery has the advantages of less trauma, quick recovery, and significant improvement of the voice in the treatment of laryngeal webs.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Laryngeal Diseases ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surgical Flaps ; Suture Techniques ; Vocal Cords ; surgery ; Young Adult