Objective To investigate the protective effects of angiotensin Ⅱ receptor antagonist losartan on diabetic nephropathy (DN).Methods 37 DN cases complicated by renal insufficiency were divided into two groups which were treated with losartan and enalapril,respectively.Blood pressure,plasma creatinine,blood urea nitrogen (BUN),uricemia,urinary protein and albumin were measured before and at 2,4,8,12 weeks after treatment.Results Losartan and enalapril lowered blood pressure remarkably (P0.05).Losartan decreased uricemia remarkably (P

AIM: To investigate the functional role of TGF-?_1 signal protein Smad2/3 in tubulointerstitial fibrosis associated with unilateral ureteral obstruction in rats. METHODS: The unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model was induced by the ligation of left ureter. Rats were sacrificed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after UUO was initiated. TGF?_1 protein, phosphorylated Smad2/3 and interstitial ?-smooth muscle actin (?-SMA) expression were assayed by immunohistochemical staining. TGF-?_1 mRNA in the obstructed kidney was analyzed with in situ hybridration. HE and Masson staining were used for histological and morphometric studies of the pathological change in obstructed kidney. RESULTS: The results showed that upregulation of TGF-?_1 in tubulointerstitium of both cortex and medulla at day 3 (a 3.1 fold increase vs control, P

Objective To study the prognostic factors of survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with sunitinib.Methods From May 2008 to Dec 2012,the clinical data of 82 cases with mRCC adminstered by sunitinib were reviewed retrospectively.The study included 60 male patients and 22 female patients,whose age ranged from 29 to 82 years [mean (56.1±11.3) years].Among them,52 cases presented hematuria,flank pain and palpable mass.The size of renal tumor ranged from 2.0 to 18.0 cm [mean (8.0±3.0) cm].The location of tumor included 41 in left kidney,37 in right kidney and 4 in bilateral kidney.The pathological tissue obtained from the operation in 69 cases and from biopsy in 13 cases.The pathological results demonstrated renal cell carcinoma in 75 cases,papillary cell carcinoma in 2 cases,chromophobe cell carcinoma in 2 cases,sarcomatoid carcinoma in 2 cases,collecting duct carcinoma in one case.The site of metastasis included lung in 50 cases,liver in 11 cases,bone in 14 cases,pancrease in 3 cases,retroperitoneal lymph node in 31 cases.In 52 cases,the ECOG scores ranged from 1 to 2.The others scores were more than 3.The average level of hemoglobin,AKP,LDH and leukocyte were (132±24)g/L,(90±65) U/L,(168±114) U/L and (6.4±2.0)×109/L,respectively.Before treatment,the abnormal cases in those parameters were 59,9,6 and 2,respectively.According to the MSKCC risk model,14 cases were classified into the high risk group and 68 cases into medium risk group.74 cases were accepted the sunitinb therapy within one year after diagnosis and 8 cases were accepted same therapy until one year after diagnosis.The overall survival (OS) rates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model was used to analyze the relationship between the influencing factors and the prognosis.Results The average OS was (21.6± 14.1) months (ranged 2.8 to 64.1 months).The survival rate at 1 st,2nd and 3rd year were 71％,64％ and 58％,respectively.Single factor analysis showed that significant prognostic factors were as follows:ECOG performance status ≥ 2 (P =0.005),clinical symptom during first clinic visiting (P =0.031),without nephrectomy (P =0.012),the number of metastatic sites ≥ 2 (P =0.015),hemoglobin before treatment (P=0.005),serum AKP level before treatment (＞126 U/L) (P=0.007),MSKCC score≥ 3 (P =0.000),the presence of liver metastases (P =0.000) and bone metastases (P =0.000) and relative dose intensity in the first month (1M-RDI) of sunitinib ≥ 50％ (P=0.000).Cox regression model showed that the beneficial predictive factors were ECOG performance status＜2 (P=0.136),no symptom during the first clinic visiting (P=0.801),serum AKP ＜126 U/L (P=0.618) before treatment,the absence of bone (P =0.068) and pancreas metastases (P =0.265).Sunitinib 1M-RDI ≥ 50％ was the independent predictive factor (P=0.000).Conclusions In targeted therapy era,there is some change in the prognostic factors for mRCC and target drug play an important role in the prognosis of mRCC.Sunitinib 1M-RDI ≥50％ is the independent predictive factor for the prognosis of renal carcinoma.

ObjectiveTo investigate the risk factors and pathogenic characteristics of catheterrelated infection (CRI) in intensive care unit (ICU),so as to find a better way for its treatment.Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on 247 deep-venous catheter (DVC) from January 2007 to December 2010.ResultsAmong 247 patients,positive results of 41 patients diagnosed CRI,negative results of 206 patients undiagnosed CRI.Compared with undiagnosed CRI patients,found the correlation of the underlying infectious diseases,indwelling time of catheter and puncture sites associated with CRI occurred(P ＜ 0.05 ).CRI major pathogen was gram-positive bacteria (58.5％,24/41 ),in which Staphylococcus epidermis was the major pathogenic bacteria(22.0％,9/41).The drug resistance occurred in most pathogen.Conclusions The occurrence of CRI is related with multiple clinical factors.The gram-positive bacteria is the major pathogen.The etiological monitor should be enforced in patients with DVC.

Objective To investigate the clinical features , diagnosis and key technique points of laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy for small adrenal pheochromocytoma . Methods From Oct.2006 to Jun. 2011, clinical data of 32 cases with small adrenal pheochromocytoma (≤3.0 cm) were collected and retro-spectively analyzed .Hypertension was observed in 12 patients, whereas 20 patients presented with adrenal incidentaloma .Thirteen patients had a left adrenal neoplasm , eighteen patients had a right adrenal tumor , while one patients had bilateral tumors .The positive rate of plasma-free metanephrines ( MNs) and 24-hours urinary catecholamine (CA) in diagnosing small renal pheochromocytomas was 92.6%(25/27) and 81.3%(26/32) respectively.The main localization diagnosis included ultrasonography , 131I-MIBG, and CT or MRI, with positive rates of 71.9%(23/32), 93.8%(15/16) and 96.9%(31/32) respectively.All the laparoscopic adrenalectomies were performed retroperitoneally .During the surgery , the internal part of the adrenal gland closing to the retroperitoneum was dissected first , and the whole adrenal gland was resected completely. Results Partial adrenalectomy was performed for 30 cases and radical adrenalectomy for 2 ca-ses.All operations were successful without perioperative or postoperative complications .The maximum diame-ter of tumor was 1.7±0.2 (1.0-3.0) cm.Histopathological results showed that all the cases were benign pheochromocytoma.The operative time was 82 (40-210) min.The estimated blood loss was 57 (20-180) ml.No patient required blood transfusion . Conclusions Plasma-free MNs, 24-hours urinary CA and VMA are important qualitative examinations in detection of adrenal pheochromocytoma .Ultrasonography , CT,MRI, and 131 I-MIBG are important in the localization of adrenal tumors .Retroperitoneal laparascopic partial adrenalectomy is the preferred choice in the management of small adrenal pheochromocytoma .Dissecting the internal part of the adrenal gland closing to the retroperitoneum first and exploring the whole adrenal tissue are the key technique points during the operations .

AIM:To investigate the expression and probable role of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase(ERK1/2)in renal fibrosis associated with diabetic in mice.METHODS:Male homozygous C57BL/6 mice were divided at random into control group(intraperitoneally injected with citrate buffer)and diabetes group(received 5 consecutive daily intraperitoneal injections of streptozotocin at dose of 50 mg?kg-1?d-1).All mice were followed up for 16 weeks.Diabetes was confirmed by serum glucose levels exceeding 16.7 mmol/L.Mice were killed at 0,4,8,12 and 16 weeks respectively after streptozotocin injection.The kidney tissues were obtained from diabetic and control mice.Serum glucose,kidney weight/body weight(KW/BW),24 h albumin excretion rate(UAE)and the serum creatinine(Scr)were measured.The kidney tissue was used for histological and morphometric studies of glomerular size,glomerular matrix expansion(PAS),and the expression of TGF-?1,phosphorylated ERK1/2 and collagen Ⅲ by immunohistochemical staining.RESULTS:The serum level of glucose in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice increased significantly.The kidney weight/body weight ratio,glomerular volume and glomerular matrix expansion in diabetic mice were obviously higher than those in control mice.Serum creatinine and 24 h albumin excretion rate in diabetic mice increased significantly compared with control mice.TGF-?1,phosphorylated ERK1/2 and collagen Ⅲ levels were obviously increased in the kidney of diabetic mice compared with those in control mice(P

Objective To explore the effect of scoliosis-specific exercises ( SSE) on patients with mild ado-lescent idiopathic scoliosis ( AIS) . Methods Thirty patients with mild AIS were assigned to a control group ( n=10) or an SSE group ( n=20) . The control group received routine health education, while the SSE group completed a 60-minute set of SSE 2 to 3 times a week for 12 weeks. The angle of trunk rotation ( ATR) , maximum Cobb angle and angle of vertebral rotation (AVR) were recorded. Bone strength parameters including the speed of sound (SOS), Z-score and percentile distal radius were measured. Surface electromyography ( sEMG) was performed for the erector spinae muscle. In addition, forced vital capacity ( FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second ( FEV1) were measured and compared with the predicted values ( FVC/pred% and FEV1pred%) . A falling index ( FI) and quality of life ( QOL) were measured. Results Compared with before the treatment, the average maximum Cobb angle in the control group increased significantly after the lessons, but there was no significant difference in any of the other measures, including QOL. For the control group the activation rate of the concave side of the apex level erector spi-nae was significantly lower than on the convex side both before and after the lessons. The SSE group showed no sig-nificant improvement in their average ATR, maximum Cobb angle, AVR or FI results, but their average SOS, Z-score and percentile of the distal radius, FVC, FEV1 and motor function improved significantly after the treat-ment. Before the treatment the activation rate of their concave side was also lower than on the convex side, but after the treatment there was no significant difference between them on average. Conclusion Early SSE can prevent further deformation, promote bone strength, improve lung function reduce the difference in the motor control of the bilateral erector spinae muscles among patients with mild AIS. It can promote a better quality of life and is worth ap-plying in clinical practice.

Using a series of purification methods including silica gel， Sephadex LH-20 and preparative high performance liquid chromatography， secondary metabolites of Myrothecium sp. were purified from the ethyl acetate extract of the solid fermentation product. Based on structure characterization and investigation on the physical and chemical properties a， twelve monomeric compounds were identified as 3''-hydroxyverrucarin A (1), verrucarin A (2), verrucarin L acetate (3), verrucarin J (4), verrucarin K (5), roridin A (6), roridin D (7), roridin H (8), roridin J (9), verrol 4-acetate (10), (3S, 3aS, 6α, 6aR)-dihydrosporothrioride (11) and 4,6-dihydroxy-1(3H)-isobenzofuranone (12). Compounds 1, 5 and 9 -12 were isolated from Myrothecium sp. for the first time.Compounds 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 exhibited strong inhibitory effects on Candida albicans, with a minimal inhibitory concentration （MIC50） of 0.318, 0.218, 0.047, 0.569 and 0.558 μg/mL, respectively.

To investigate the effect of nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK) on the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, nucleoside diphosphate kinase gene (ndk) was overexpressed along with the hyaluronic acid-producing genes in recombinant B.subtilis. Two engineered strains named Hp8tg and Pn8tg were constructed.Uniform hyaluronic acid (HA) could be obtained from both engineered strains.HA produced by both recombinant strains was confirmed by monosaccharide composition analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.Inducing conditions of HA fermentation were optimized by response surface methodology.Overexpression of ndk could increase the production and molecular weight of HA by 1.3-fold and 1.1-fold, respectively. This study revealed for the first time that overexpression of ndk could relieve the inhibition effect of uridine diphosphate (UDP) on Class II HA synthase and increase the production and molecular weight of HA, which proves to be an efficient strategy for the production of HA, and the preparation of other polysaccharides.

Objective:To quantify any correlation between the severity of spinal curvature of an adolescent with idiopathic scoliosis and their cardiopulmonary exercise endurance.Methods:The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) results and the full-length spinal X-rays in a standing position of 64 adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis were reviewed retrospectively. Independent t-tests were used to compare the two datasets obtained from those with left or right thoracic scoliosis. The correlation between the Cobb angle and cardiopulmonary exercise endurance was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple factor linear regression and two-stage linear regression.Results:After adjusting for gender, age, height and weight, the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the Cobb angle was significantly negatively correlated with maximum tidal volume (β=-0.013) and significantly positively correlated with the rate of respiration (β=0.421). The relationship between the Cobb angle and cardiopulmonary exercise endurance was non-linear. With a Cobb angle > 34°, a 1° increase reduces cardiopulmonary exercise endurance by a factor of 1.4 on average. At smaller Cobb angles the corresponding increase is about 0.87 times.Conclusions:The Cobb angle is a negative predictor of ventilation during exercise among adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. The more severe a patient′s spinal curvature, the lower the cardiopulmonary exercise endurance is likely to be.