The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in embryo development of drosophila and a variety of vertebrate including humans,via regulating cell differentiation and proliferation.Mutation of Hh and aberrant activation or overexpression of the secreted Hh signaling molecules may induce cancer.Recent studies show that Hh signaling is associatied with invasion and metastasis in multiple types of malignant tumours.The machanisms are correlated with maintaining of cancer stem cells,epithelial-mesenchymal transition ( EMT),tumor cell autocrine/paracrine signaling and promotion of tumor angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.The study of mechanisms how Hh signaling promotes cancer metastasis,will provide new directions for molecular diagnosis,prognosis and molecular targeted therapy of cancer.

Objective To estimate the effect of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) combined with conventional treatment on patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD).Methods Literature on randomized control trials( RCTs) with AECOPD treated by LMWH combined with conventional methods was collected in PubMed.The studies were selected according to inclusive and exclusive criteria.The data were extracted,the quality was assessed, and meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan 5.2 software.Results There were twelve RCTs including 879 patients with AECOPD in the current study.The results of meta-analysis showed that:①LMWH could obviously improve PaO2 and PaCO2 of patients with AECOPD as compared with the control group.②There was no statistically significant difference between the LMWH-treated group and control group in the improvement of FEV1 or hematocrit.Conclusion LMWH can significantly improve arterial blood gas analysis in AECOPD, but does not improve FEV1 or hematocrit.

Vascular or endoluminal stent is a stent implanted in the lesion site to support stenosis vessels based on luminal balloon expansion,to reduce vascular elasticity recoil and remoulding,and maintain blood flow patent.Some stents can also prevent vascular restenosis.Stent size,surface coverage,radial supporting,extensibility,longitudinal recoil,fatigue test,material composition,corrosion-resistance,coagulation,surface roughness and biocompatibility(blood compatibility) are performance parameters to evaluate the stents.Vascular or endoluminal stent has been widely used in arterial and venous systems and non-vessel luminal systems.The incidence of complications following stenting is 11.6%,including acute or subacute thrombogenesis,restenosis,or stent dislocation.It is commonly demonstrated that intrastent restenosis is caused by hyperblastosis.

Humans ; Hypertension ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; metabolism ; pathology

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Headache ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Objective To identify the effect of specialized language training on the speech rehabilitation of total laryngectomy (TL)patients.Methods Twenty-seven TL patients were trained for esophageal speech by specialized speech-language pathologists from October 2005 to December 2006.Then the participants were followed and evaluated their esophageal speech level after one cycle of training program,1 month,3 months,6 months and 12 months after training program.Results The score of participants' esophageal speech was steadily improved during the 12 months after participating the training program.The score of esophageal speech greatly increased in the third month,and this significant improvement was kept until 12 months after the training program.The esophageal speech quality was negatively correlated with age and surgery area of patients.Conclusions Specialized speech-language training showed positive effect on esophageal speech rehabilitation,and esophageal speech training by specialists is worthy of wide application.

AIM: To investigate the effect of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor erlotinib on kidney injury in diabetic nephropathy (DN) rat and the underlying mechanism.METHODS: The rat model of DN was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at dose of 55 mg/kg.One week after STZ injection, the rats with blood glucose level exceeding 16.7 mmol/L were identified as diabetic.Diabetic rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: STZ group and STZ+erlotinib group.In addition, the normal rats were used as control group.The rats in STZ+erlotinib group were treated with erlotinib at 100 mg·kg-1·d-1 for 4 weeks(5th~8th week).The fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum creatinine (SCr) and 24 h urine protein were measured.The pathological changes of the kidney were observed by HE staining and Masson staining.The protein levels of EGFR, p-EGFR, transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, collagen Ⅳ (ColⅣ) and fibronectin in the kidney tissues were determined by Western blot.The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the renal tissues were futher analyzed.RESULTS: Compared with control group, the levels of FBG, 24 h urine protein and Scr were significantly increased in STZ group (P<0.01).Compared with STZ group, the levels of FBG, 24 h urine protein and SCr in STZ+erlotinib group were markedly decreased (P<0.05).In additon, the glomerular structure was restored to normal, the proliferative degree of mesangial cells markedly attenuated, and the epithelial cells were in alignment in STZ+erlotinib group.Moreover, erlotinib significantly inhibited the protein levels of p-EGFR, TGFβ1, p-Smad2/3, ColⅣ and fibronectin in the kidney tissues of STZ rats.In addition, erlotinib also significantly inhibited the levels of ROS and MDA in the kidney tissues of STZ rats.CONCLUSION: Erlotinib ameliorates STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy possibly through inhibiting the activation of EGFR/TGFβ1-Smad2/3 signaling pathway in association with suppression of fibrosis and oxidative stress.

BACKGROUND: Quite a few deoxidized reduced form of nicotinamide-adenime dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH-d) -positive neurons distribute in amygdala complex (AMC) and gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter that also widely distributes in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals. Whether there is coexistence of GABA and nitricoxide synthase (NOS) in AMC is unknown at present.OBJECTIVE: To observe whether there is GABA and NADPH-d-eoexist neuron in cortical nucleus of amygdala (Co) with the combination of NADPH-d hischemical and immunohistochemical double staining.DESIGN: A verifying controlled study based on the experimental animals.SETTING: Department of anatomy of two universities MATERIALS: The study was conducted in the department of Anatomy,Medical College of Zhejiang University between May 2004 and June 2004. Six SD rats in either gender with a body mass between 250 g and 300 g were selected.INTERVENTIONS: Coronary serial frozen slices of brain tissue were prepared. 4 sets of slices were selected for Nissl staining, NADPH-d histochemical staining, NADPH-d histochemical and GABA immunohistochemical double staining, and control experiment for the test of antibody specificity. GABA-labeled neurons, NADPH-d-positive neurons, and NADPH-d/GABA double-labeled neurons were counted in Co nucleus for the calculation of the percentage of double-labeled positive neurons to single-labeled positive neurons.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Distribution of NADPH-d/GABA double labeled neuron; distribution of NADPH-d or GABA single labeled neuron.RESULTS: Most of GABA-positive neurons distributed in posteromed cortical amygdaloid nucleus (PMCo), posterolateral cortical amygdaloid nucleus (PLCo), which were mainly small types but few middle types. Most of NADPH-d-positive neurons distributed in PMCo, PLCo and anterior cortical amygdaloid nucleus (Aco), which were mainly middle sized and small sized neurons. The ratio of NADPH-d/GABA double-labeled neurons to single labeled neuron was 24.5% (GABA) or 46.7% (NADPH-d).CONCLUSION: There is GABA/NADPH-d-coexist neuronsin Co of rats,which suggests NO might have modulative effect on GABA neuron in Co.

Objective To observe the effects of menopause on prothrombotic profiles in ovariectomized rats .Methods Thirty two healthy female SD rats of 9 to 10 months were divided into 4 groups, the control shamed and the observation groups ovariectomized .Rats in the baseline group and the early menopause group were sacrificed one week later , and the control and late menopause group 10 weeks later.The prothrombotic profiles were detected including plasma FIB , ATⅢ activity, PAI-1 levels, D-D level, vWF levels and NO concentration, TXA2 and PGI2 levels.Results In early menopause, plasma FIB increased dramatically while ATⅢactivity remained lit-tle changed.PAI-1 demonstrated an increasing trend .vWF significantly increased but NO significantly decreased .In later menopausal stage, PAI-1 increased dramatically but FIB somewhat decreased .Plasma ATⅢactivity significantly increased and vWF still remained a high level.NO increased a little.In both early and later stage, TXA2 and PGI2 simultaneously increased while D -D showed little change between groups .Conclusion Menopause plays different roles in different aspects of thromoembolism , resulting in increased risk in early menopause due to prothrombotic state and decreased risk in later menopause when new balances between profiles were established .

Objective To study the feasibility of transumbilical single-incision laparoscopic surgery ( SILS) in the treatment of tubal pregnancy, as compared with conventional multi-port laparoscopic surgery. Methods Sixty-two patients diagnosed as tubal pregnancy undergoing laparoscopic surgery at this hospital between September 2013 and June 2014 were selected for investigation. There were 29 cases of transumbilical SILS ( SILS group) and 33 cases of conventional multi-port laparoscopic surgery ( MPLS group) . We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients and analyzed the surgical outcomes, including operative time, blood loss, surgical complications and hospital stay. Results In both groups, all procedures were performed without failure.No conversion to open surgery or additional skin incision was needed.There were no differences between the SILS and MPLS groups in the operation time [(51.5 ±10.8) min vs.(47.3 ±9.4) min, t=1.637, P=0.107], the mean estimated blood loss [(15.5 ±10.5) ml vs.(18.4 ±12.2) ml, t=-0.996, P=0.323], the absolute decrease of hemoglobin from preoperative to postoperative [(14 ± 5) g/L vs.(13 ±4) g/L, t=0.874, P=0.386], the postoperative hospital stay [(3.5 ±0.9) d vs.(3.8 ±0.8) d, t=-1.390, P=0.170], and the incidence of postoperative fever (2 cases vs.3 cases, χ2 =0.000, P=1.000).Follow-up for 1-3 months ( mean, 1.8 months) in all the cases showed smooth recovery and no postoperative complications. Conclusion SILS is a feasible and safe approach in the treatment of tubal pregnancy.