Objective Imaging and clinical manifestations of melioidosis were analyzed in order to improve our understanding of the disease and to reduce the rate of misdiagnosis.Methods From 2001 to 2006,12 melioidosis cases were confirmed by blood,pus and sputum culture.All cases were examined with radiography,and nine of them with CT and 2 with US.The imaging and clinical data were assessed retrospectively.Results Ten of 12 cases revealed lung abnormalities,the main organ involved by melioidosis in the body.The appearances were observed as follows:diffused sheets and sheets fused partly in bilateral fields of the lungs can be seen on chest radiograph;homogeneous dense shadow of the lobe or segment were observed on plain chest film and CT;blurred strips radiated from hilum were revealed on plain chest film;multitude nodules in 2 lungs showed on CT;cavity with air and liquid be seen on plain chest film and CT;patches and granules in superior and middle fields or(and)inferior fields be seen on plain chest film and CT;arc shadow of water attenuation in dorsal thorax showed on CT.Infections outside the lung can be observed in orbital,lumbar muscle,liver and spleen in 1 case,and thighbone osteomyelitis with multi abscesses in one case.Conclusion Alhough medioidosis has no characteristic imaging appearances,the disease's location,extent,severity and quantity objectively can be demonstrated by imaging,final confirmation is necessary using the culture of blood,pus and sputum.

Objective To investigate uncertainty in illness state and its influential factors in patients with lung cancer. Methods A total of 280 hospitalized patients with lung cancer were evaluated with the scales of the demographic data and the Mishel's Chinese version of uncertainty in illness. Results Totally 280 qualified questionnaires were obtained, and the rate for response was 93. 3%. The total score of the uncertainty in illness was (105.15?2. 66); There was a significant difference of the score of the uncertainty in illness among different occupation groups, smoking status, self-uncomfortable level of disease groups, self-knowing of suffering from lung cancer groups, different treatment groups, different degree of social support groups, different religious belief groups; Religious beliefs influent the sense of uncertainty in illness in Patients with Lung Cancer. Conclusions There is a high degree of uncertainty in illness in patients with lung cancer; Lung cancer patients with different features have different levels of uncertainty in illness; Religious beliefs influent the sense of uncertainty in illness in Patients with Lung Cancer.

Objective To assess the quantitative relationship between the distribution of Himalayan marmot and its ecological environment,the terrain,the temperature and the precipitation,using remote sensing and geographic information system in Qinghai province.Methods The distribution of Himalayan marmot was located by Google Earth and ArcGIS software and by using field survey data provided by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.The corresponding ecological environment of marmot including terrain,temperature and precipitation were derived from the spatial information datasets.All results were processed according to the overlay and statistics analysis using ArcGIS software.Results Seventy-seven point twenty-seven percent(153/198) of Himalayan marmot were distributed in the area of elevation between 3000 and 4000 meters.The number of marmot reached the highest when the slope was between 0 and 17 degrees,and aspect range was between 91 and 270 degrees,180 degree was as south direction.During the period with the maximum temperature of the warmest month of 14.3-17.5 ℃,17.6-20.8 ℃ and 20.9-24.0 ℃,the distribution of marmot reached 95％(186/198) of the total area.Meanwhile,most of the marmot were presented in the area with average precipitation of 46-108 mm.Conclusions A quantitative analysis of appropriate ecological environment of Himalayan marmot in a large scope is carried uul successfully using remote sensing and geographic information system.The study indicates that spatial information technology has important applications in plague prevention and control.

AIMTo study the protective effect and mechanism of osthol on learning and memory impairment of mice with acute senile model induced by AlCl3.

METHODSAfter s.c. AlCl3 60 mg.kg-1 for 7 d and i.p. osthol 15 and 7.5 mg.kg-1 for 12 d, using step-through test and step-down test, the effect of osthol on learning and memory was observed and the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities in blood and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in plasma and cerebrum were measured.

RESULTSOsthol 15 and 7.5 mg.kg-1 significantly improved the capability of memory and enhanced the activities of GSH-PX and SOD in AlCl3 treated mice.

CONCLUSIONOsthol shows protective effect on brain memory impairment of mice in acute senile model induced by AlCl3. Perhaps the mechanism is involved in enhancing the activities of GSH-PX and SOD, clearing away the free radical, protecting the brain neuron from the harm of lipoperoxide.

Acute-Phase Reaction ; Aging ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Aluminum Compounds ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Avoidance Learning ; drug effects ; Brain ; enzymology ; Chlorides ; pharmacology ; Cnidium ; chemistry ; Coumarins ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; blood ; Male ; Memory Disorders ; chemically induced ; enzymology ; prevention & control ; Mice ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo develop a colon-specific prodrug of Indomethacin microbially triggered, carry out in vitro/in vivo evaluation of drug release, and appraise its inhibitory effect on liver metastasis from colon cancer.

METHODSIndomethacin prodrugs were synthesized and characterized by FTIR and NMR, and dissolution test simulating gastrointestinal tract was employed to screen the colon-specific prodrug. Then, the pharmacokinetic profile of portal vein and peripheral blood in Sprague-Dawley rats was studied. Lastly, the inhibitory effect on liver metastasis from colon cancer in nude mice was observed.

RESULTSThe chemical structure characterized by FTIR and NMR demonstrated that six kinds of indomethacin-block-amylose with different drug loading (IDM-AM-1-6) were synthesized, among which IDM-AM-3 was degraded 1.3%, 9.3% and 95.3%, respectively, in simulated gastric fluid for 4 h, small intestine for 6 h, and colon for 36 h. The pharmacokinetic test of IDM-AM-3 showed that absorption was delayed significantly (P < 0.01), peak time [(11.35 + or - 2.45) h], elimination half-life [(16.74 + or - 4.04) h] and mean residence time [(22.27 + or - 0.52) h] were significantly prolonged (P < 0.01), as well as peak serum concentrations [(9.69 + or - 2.40) mg/L] and AUC(0-t) [(236.7 + or - 13.1) mg x L(-1) x h] were decreased markedly (P < 0.01) as compared with those of IDM regarding to portal vein. Additionally, its AUC(0-t) in peripheral blood was remarkably lower than that in Portal vein (P < 0.01). The tumor suppression observation showed that it could remarkably reduce the number of liver metastases in contrast to IDM (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONColon-specific IDM-AM-3 possesses advantage of sustained release in portal vein providing some experimental basis for colon-specific delivery system applied to sustained release in the portal vein.

Amylose ; administration & dosage ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Colon ; metabolism ; Colonic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Delivery Systems ; HT29 Cells ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; administration & dosage ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Liver Neoplasms ; prevention & control ; secondary ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Prodrugs ; administration & dosage ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacokinetics ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The basic theory of Higher Order Spectral Analysis and the most generally used Bispectrum are introduced in the paper. By certain experiments of EEG signal acquisition and bispectrum analysis, it is showed that the Higher Order Spectrum has an advantage over power spectrum, which is based on Second Order Statistics, in processing non-linear signal and restraining Gauss noise signal.
Electroencephalography ; methods ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation of eating raw fish with primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC), and to investigate the synergistic effect of HBV infection, alcohol consumption and eating raw fish on the oncogenesis of PHC.

METHODSA hospital-based case-control study was conducted among 500 PHC patients and 500 non-cancerous patients in order to compare the history of eating raw fish. The synergistic pathogenetic action of eating raw fish, HBV infection and alcohol consumption on carcinogenesis of PHC was analyzed by crossover analysis and multiple logistic regression.

RESULTSThe rates of eating raw fish in the past between the case (54.8%) and the control group (8.4%) were significantly different (P < 0.001). OR value of suffering PHC in the patients who ate raw fish in the past was 13.6 (95% CI: 9.1-19.5) when compared with the non-cancerous patient. HBV infection, alcohol consumption and eating raw fish showed an interactive effect on the development of PHC, with a relative excessive risk of interaction(RERI) of 195.3 and 17.8; attributable proportion of interaction (API) of 0.8630 and 0.5251; and synergy index (S) of 7.5 and 2.8, respectively.

CONCLUSIONA history of eating raw fish may be an important risk factor for suffering primary hepatic carcinoma. HBV infection, alcohol consumption and eating raw fish may have a synergistic effect on the developing of primary hepatic carcinoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; epidemiology ; etiology ; virology ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; epidemiology ; Eating ; Female ; Fishes ; Hepatitis B ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; etiology ; virology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Seafood ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the frequency of CD4~+CD25~+FoxP3~+regulatory T cells (Treg)and the expression of the functional protein,FoxP3,in patients with active tuberculosis and the relationship between Treg and the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.Methods Forty-five patients with active tuberculosis(including 25 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 tuberculous lymphadenitis), 20 healthy controls,20 recovered tuberculosis patients and 6 patients with reactive hyperplasia in cer- vical lymph node were enrolled.The frequency of CD4~+ CD25~+ FoxP3~+ Treg in the peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry.FoxP3 mRNA expression was determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and the expression of FoxP3 protein in lymphoid tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results The frequency of natural Treg in the peripheral blood from the patients with active tuberculosis was 2.91%?0.23%,which was signifi- cantly higher than that of healthy control group(1.22%?0.18%)and recovered tuberculosis patients(1.50%?0.17%,P

Objective To investigate the influencing factore of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure in healthy people who lived in aflatoxin high-exposure area and to provide a basis for preventing AFB1 exposure. Methods To the residents lived in the city of Nanning in Cuangxi Province, a questionnaire survey was used to acquaint relevant information. The AFB1-albumin adducts (AAA) levels were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the liver function detected using a Bekman LX20 Chemistry Analyzer and diagnostic agents from Randox, UK. Results AAA level was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the people with lowincome, having habits of smoking, drinking, eating bulk rice, and eating rice that had been saved for a time of more than 30 days, and keeping regularly dining out. Conclusions The level of income and the lifestyle are related with Aflatoxin Bl exposure. The risk factors about Aflatoxin Bl exposure include consumption of bulk rice, regularly dining out, and drinking.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver (PCCCL).

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 24 cases with pathologically proven PCCCL in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from May 1996 to December 2003 were collected and analyzed.

RESULTSThere were 21 males and 3 females in this group, with an average age of 46 years (range: 30 approximately 78 years). HBV infection was detected in 83.3%, and AFP expression was found in 75.0% of them. Of the 24 cases, 28 tumors were found with an average size of (6.64 +/- 5.54) cm. Liver cirrhosis was found in 75.0% of the patients. Macroscopic and microscopic tumor thrombi were found in 20.8% and 29.2%, respectively. Lymph node metastasis was found in 4.2% of the patents. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of the 24 cases were 75.0%, 41.7% and 27.8%, respectively, with a median survival time of 29 months.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical characteristics of primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver are similar to that of common hepatocellular carcinoma. It is difficult to be diagnosed preoperatively and final diagnosis depends on pathological examination. Surgical resection is an effective way to achieve favorable treatment outcome and even long-term survival.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; virology ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatectomy ; methods ; Hepatitis B ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Survival Rate ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; analysis