OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the relationship between individual allergens with current wheezing and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in schoolchildren from three chinese cities: Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. METHODS Community-based random samples of 10-yr-old schoolchildren from the 3 cities were recruited for study using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase II protocol. The subjects were studied by parental questionnaires (n = 10,902), skin-prick tests (n = 3478), and methacholine challenge tests (n = 608). RESULTS The highest prevalence rates of wheezing in the past 12 months (Beijing, 3.8%; Guangzhou, 3.4%; Hong Kong, 5.8%) and atopy (Beijing, 23.9%; Guangzhou, 30.8%; Hong Kong, 41.2%, defined as having Allergens ; classification ; immunology ; Asthma ; etiology ; immunology ; Bronchial Hyperreactivity ; etiology ; immunology ; Child ; China ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Skin Tests ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Incidental gallbladder cancer (iGBC) diagnosed post-histopathological examination of gallbladders removed assuming benign gallstone disease constitutes a significant proportion of GBC patients. Most iGBC patients present with early-stage disease. The standard care for localized (non-metastatic) iGBC includes a reoperation for complete extended (radical) cholecystectomy involving liver resection and lymphadenectomy, followed by postoperative adjuvant systemic therapy. However, a major drawback of this approach is the high recurrence rate within six months post-radical surgery, which undermines the benefits of the extensive procedure; notably, most recurrences are distant, highlighting the efficacy of systemic therapy. Similar to other gastrointestinal cancers, there appears to be a potential for neoadjuvant systemic therapy (chemotherapy) before reoperative surgery in iGBC cases. The premise that neoadjuvant systemic therapy aids in selecting diseases with more favorable biological characteristics and addresses micro-metastatic disease appears applicable to iGBC as well. This systematic review examines the current evidence supporting or refuting neoadjuvant therapy and discusses criteria for selecting patients who would derive significant benefit, along with proposing an optimal chemotherapy regimen for iGBC patients. Improved outcomes have been reported in patients undergoing reoperation after 4 to 14 weeks following the initial cholecystectomy compared to immediate reoperation. Limited, yet promising, evidence supports the use of 3 to 4 cycles of gemcitabine-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to reoperative surgery in select high-risk iGBC cases.

Incidental gallbladder cancer (iGBC) diagnosed post-histopathological examination of gallbladders removed assuming benign gallstone disease constitutes a significant proportion of GBC patients. Most iGBC patients present with early-stage disease. The standard care for localized (non-metastatic) iGBC includes a reoperation for complete extended (radical) cholecystectomy involving liver resection and lymphadenectomy, followed by postoperative adjuvant systemic therapy. However, a major drawback of this approach is the high recurrence rate within six months post-radical surgery, which undermines the benefits of the extensive procedure; notably, most recurrences are distant, highlighting the efficacy of systemic therapy. Similar to other gastrointestinal cancers, there appears to be a potential for neoadjuvant systemic therapy (chemotherapy) before reoperative surgery in iGBC cases. The premise that neoadjuvant systemic therapy aids in selecting diseases with more favorable biological characteristics and addresses micro-metastatic disease appears applicable to iGBC as well. This systematic review examines the current evidence supporting or refuting neoadjuvant therapy and discusses criteria for selecting patients who would derive significant benefit, along with proposing an optimal chemotherapy regimen for iGBC patients. Improved outcomes have been reported in patients undergoing reoperation after 4 to 14 weeks following the initial cholecystectomy compared to immediate reoperation. Limited, yet promising, evidence supports the use of 3 to 4 cycles of gemcitabine-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to reoperative surgery in select high-risk iGBC cases.

Incidental gallbladder cancer (iGBC) diagnosed post-histopathological examination of gallbladders removed assuming benign gallstone disease constitutes a significant proportion of GBC patients. Most iGBC patients present with early-stage disease. The standard care for localized (non-metastatic) iGBC includes a reoperation for complete extended (radical) cholecystectomy involving liver resection and lymphadenectomy, followed by postoperative adjuvant systemic therapy. However, a major drawback of this approach is the high recurrence rate within six months post-radical surgery, which undermines the benefits of the extensive procedure; notably, most recurrences are distant, highlighting the efficacy of systemic therapy. Similar to other gastrointestinal cancers, there appears to be a potential for neoadjuvant systemic therapy (chemotherapy) before reoperative surgery in iGBC cases. The premise that neoadjuvant systemic therapy aids in selecting diseases with more favorable biological characteristics and addresses micro-metastatic disease appears applicable to iGBC as well. This systematic review examines the current evidence supporting or refuting neoadjuvant therapy and discusses criteria for selecting patients who would derive significant benefit, along with proposing an optimal chemotherapy regimen for iGBC patients. Improved outcomes have been reported in patients undergoing reoperation after 4 to 14 weeks following the initial cholecystectomy compared to immediate reoperation. Limited, yet promising, evidence supports the use of 3 to 4 cycles of gemcitabine-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to reoperative surgery in select high-risk iGBC cases.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of ginseng-derived compound K (C-K) on apoptosis, immunosuppressive activity, and pro-inflammatory cytokine production of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) from mice bearing colorectal cancer xenograft.

METHODSFlow-sorted bone marrow MDSCs from Balb/c mice bearing CT26 tumor xenograft were treated with either C-K or PBS for 96 h and examined for apoptosis with Annexin V/7-AAD, Cox-2 and Arg-1 expressions using qRT-PCR, and supernatant IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17 levels with ELISA. C-K- or PBS-treated MDSCs were subcutaneously implanted along with CT26 tumor cells in WT Balb/c mice, and the tumor size and morphology were evaluated 21 days later.

RESULTSC-K treatment significantly increased the percentages of early and late apoptotic MDSCs in vitro (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), decreased the expressions of immunosuppression-related genes Cox-2 (P<0.05) and Arg-1 (P<0.01), and suppressed the production of IL-1β (P<0.05), IL-6 (P<0.01), and IL-17 (P<0.05) by the MDSCs . Compared with PBS-pre-treated cells, C-K-pretreated MDSCs showed significantly attenuated activity in promoting CT26 tumor growth in mice (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONC-K can suppress the immunosuppresive effect of MDSCs to inhibit tumor cell proliferation in mice, which suggests a new strategy of tumor therapy by targeting MDSCs.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Interleukin-17 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Myeloid Cells ; drug effects ; Neoplasm Transplantation

AIMTo provide more molecular evidences for species relationship between Chuanxiong (Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.) from China and Japanese Chuanxiong (Senkyu in Japanese) (Cnidium officinale Makino).

METHODSTo sequence such two genes as internal transcribed spacer (ITS) from nuclear rDNA and maturase for lysine (matK) in tRNA(lys) (UUU) intron from chloroplast DNA of both Ligusticum chuanxiong and Cnidium officinale using PCR direct sequencing and to analyze the sequence variation of two genes between these two species.

RESULTSThe matK gene sequence of Ligusticum chuanxiong and Cnidium officinale is 1268 bp in length, coding 422 amino acids of maturase protein. ITS gene sequence 699 bp, consisting of 54 bp of 18S rRNA-3', 215 bp of ITS1, 162 bp of 5.8S rRNA, 222 bp of ITS2, 46 bp of 26S rRNA-5'. Multiple sequence alignment shows that the sequence of two genes between dried crude drug and fresh voucher material of Ligusticum chuanxiong and Cnidium officinale, there is 1 variable site (T-->C) in matK (upstream at 595 nt) and ITS (ITS1 at 54 nt) between Ligusticum chuanxiong and Cnidium officinale.

CONCLUSIONBased on homology analysis of two genes plastid matK and nuclear ITS, the origin of Chuanxiong from China and Japan ought to be identical, the scientific name Cnidium officinale of Japanese Chuanxiong should be changed to Ligusticum chuanxiong.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; China ; Cnidium ; genetics ; DNA, Plant ; analysis ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Endoribonucleases ; genetics ; Japan ; Ligusticum ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nucleotidyltransferases ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis ; Sequence Homology ; Terminology as Topic

Particulate wear debris within the bone-prosthesis microenvironment generated by normal wear and corrosion of orthopaedic implants is considered to be one of the main factors responsible for chronic aseptic inflammation and development of osteolysis in the long-term instability and failure of total joint arthroplasty. While the decrease in bone volume caused by wear debris-induced osteolysis could have been compensated by enough new bone matrix secreted by osteoblasts. Actually, the normal osteoblastic population depend on the regular differentiation and proliferation of their progenitor cells--bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This study aims to investigate the potential mechanism for the rat MSCs cytotoxicity upon exposure to Titanium (Ti) particles. Rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) isolated from 3-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats by Percoll intensity gradient method were cultured in DMEM medium (low glucose) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 U/ml penicillin, and 100 micrograms/ml streptomycin in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C. In order to gain the homogenous cell population, rMSCs were passaged to 3-4th subpassage which were used in all the experiment groups. Then rMSCs were seeded in the 6 well culture plates and exposed to three different circle diameters (mean size, TD1: 0.9 micron, TD2: 2.7 microns, TD3: 6.9 microns) with three different concentrations (0.1 wt%, 0.05 wt%, 0.01 wt%, W/V) at different durations (8 h, 16 h, 24 h,), respectively. Unexposed rMSCs were used as control. In the given periods of Ti loading, fluid shear stress (FSS) was applied to each group cells. The expression of F-actin and DNA of the rMSCs at the indicated time were determined with laser confocal scanning microscopy and image analysis software. The results showed that there was up-regulation expression of F-actin in the rMSCs without Ti particles loading but in the presence of FSS. Ti particles loading can suppress the expression of F-action and DNA of rMSCs, but this down-regulation response varied with the three circle diameter, concentrations and durations of Ti particles. Among three kinds of diametrically different Ti particles, submicron Ti particles (0.9 micron) had the greatest suppressive response on rMSCs, together with some apoptosis bodies. Under the same diameter condition, the inhibition induced by Ti particles loading was in a manner dependent on the particles concentration and exposure duration. The reductive effects produced from 0.1 wt% Ti was the greatest and earliest among the responses from Ti particles at three different concentrations; and the lower the concentration, the weaker the repressive influence. Furthermore, with the elongation of exposure to Ti particles, the expression of F-actin and DNA decreased gradually, the lowest level was at 32 h. These findings demonstrated that Ti particles loading can attenuate rMSCs' viability in a manner dependent on the circle diameter, particles concentration, treatment period, suggesting that a reduction in the number of viable MSCs together with a compromise of the their differentiation into functional osteoblast may exacerbate aseptic loosening of total joint implant. Further investigation into particles-mediated suppression of MCSs viability may reveal novel mechanism of implant loosening and aid in development and application of osteolytic drug therapy and the optimization of design and selection of future orthopaedic biomaterials, thereby improving long-term compatibility and stability for arthroplasty patients.
Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA ; metabolism ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Particle Size ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Mechanical ; Time Factors ; Titanium ; administration & dosage ; toxicity

Adult ; Aged ; Cisterna Magna ; anatomy & histology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged

Real-world evidence has become the basis for approval and regulation of drugs and medical devices. Real-world study has played a more and more important role with the continuous updating and iteration of medical technologies. The diseases and their underlying mechanisms in the neonatal period, the early stage of life, are significantly different from other stages of life and early high-quality clinical management has a profound impact on the long-term outcomes. Therefore, it is necessary to provide robust evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment through real-world study. This paper explores the access to high-quality medical care in the neonatal period based on the application, challenges, and thinking of the China Neonatal Network (CHNN) in the real world and the integration of the China Neonatal Genome Project and other multi-omics data.

Objective: To investigate the infection pattern and etiological characteristics of a case of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H7N9) virus and provide evidence for the prevention and control of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. Methods: Epidemiological investigation was conducted to explore the case's exposure history, infection route and disease progression. Samples collected from the patient, environments and poultry were tested by using real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Virus isolation, genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were conducted for positive samples. Results: The case had no live poultry contact history, but had a history of pulled chicken processing without taking protection measure in an unventilated kitchen before the onset. Samples collected from the patient's lower respiratory tract, the remaining frozen chicken meat and the live poultry market were all influenza A (H7N9) virus positive. The isolated viruses from these positive samples were highly homogenous. An insertion which lead to the addition of multiple basic amino acid residues (PEVPKRKRTAR/GL) was found at the HA cleavage site, suggesting that this virus might be highly pathogenic. Conclusions: Live poultry processing without protection measure is an important infection mode of "poultry to human" transmission of avian influenza viruses. Due to the limitation of protection measures in live poultry markets in Guangzhou, it is necessary to promote the standardized large scale poultry farming, the complete restriction of live poultry sales and centralized poultry slaughtering as well as ice fresh sale.
Animals ; Chickens ; China ; Commerce ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype/pathogenicity* ; Influenza in Birds/virology* ; Influenza, Human/virology* ; Phylogeny ; Poultry/virology* ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Zoonoses