Objective To investigate the combined effect of exemestane and low-dose methotrexate on exemestane-resistant MCF-7 human breast cancer cells( MCF-7/EXE). Methods Antiproliferative effects of exemestane and low-dose of methotrexate, alone and in combination on growth of MCF-7/EXE cells were assessed by using the MTT assay. Synergistic interaction between the two drugs was evaluated in vitro by using the combination index ( CI) method. The cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry in a half inhibitory concentration of exemestane and low-dose of methotrexate . The changes of apoptosis on MCF-7/EXE cells exposed to two drugs alone or in com-bination were observed by fluorescence microscope. The expression of Bcl-2,AKT,P-AKT and cyclooxygenase-2 was investigated by Western blot. Results MTT assays indicated that the combination treatment apparently decreased the viability of MCF-7/EXE cells compared to single drug treatment (CI<0. 9). In addition, the combination of exemestane and low-dose methotrexate exhibited a synergistic inhibition of cell proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in the S phase significantly and produced a stronger inhibitory effects on P-AKT, Bcl-2 and cyclooxygenase-2 ex-pression than control or individual drug treatment. Conclusion The combination of the two inhibitors significantly increases the response as compared to single agent treatment, suggesting that combination treatment which can re-verse the resistance of exemestane could be a more effective approach to breast cancer.

This article emphasizes the importance of medical communication and expounds how to strenthen medical communication by some principles and methods,like paying attention to and lov-ing patients,listenning carefully,explaining patiently and confidently,learning modestly and so on.

Background The pathogenic mechanism of thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is still unclear,which is considered to be an autoimmune disease.It is confirmed that interleukin-17A (IL-17A) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of many autoimmune diseases.It is unclear that whether IL-17A participates in the pathogenesis of TAO.Objective This study was to explore whether IL-17A secreted by coculture system of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and orbital fibroblasts (OFs) participates in the pathogenesis of TAO and its possible mechanism.Methods Periphery blood and orbital connective tissue were obtained from 12 patients with TAO and 8 patients who received prosthesis implantation for eyeball atrophy in Xiangya Hospital during April to December 2014.PBMCs were isolated by density gradient centrifugation,and OFs were cultured by explant culture method.The purity of T leukomonocyte in PBMCs was tested by flow cytometry,and OFs were identified by Giemsa staining and immunochemistry.OFs and PMBCs were incubated into 96-well plate in a 1:20 proportion to establish co-culture system.Different concentrations of phytagglutinin (PHA) (0,1.0,2.5,5.0,10.0 μg/ml) was added for 72 hours,and IL-6,IL-17A levels in the co-culture system supernatant and IL-17A receptor (IL-17RA) of the total cell membranes in the co-culture system were assayed by ELISA.The differences of IL-6,IL-17A,IL-17RA levels in co-culture system were compared between the TAO group and control group.Results The mean purity of T leukomonocyte in PBMCs was (81.10±0.21)％ in the TAO group and (80.05 ±0.38)％ in the control group respectively,with no significant difference between them(t =0.923,P＞0.05).Cultured OFs showed the positive response for Vimentin expression and Giemsa staining.After stimulated by 1.0 μg/ml PHA,the proliferation of both PBMCs and OFs were increased in the co-culture system.Apoptosis exist in PBMCs and the number of OFs decreased when PHA was higher than 1.0 μg/ml.The growth of PBMCs and OFs was faster in the TAO group than that in the control group in the same concentration of PHA.The contents of IL-6,IL-17A and IL-17RA in co-culture system were significantly different among various concentrations of PHA subgroups (IL-6:Fgroup =12.561,P=0.000;F ion =23.356,P =0.001.IL-17A:Fgroup =12.037,P =0.000;Fconcentration =19.206,P=0.000.IL-17RA:Fgroup =16.216,P=0.000;Fconcentraction =4.627,P=0.018).The production of IL-6,IL-17A and IL-17RA reached peak in both TAO group and the control group after 1.0 μg/ml PHA stimulated.However,the concentrations of IL-6,IL-17A and IL-17RA reduced with the increase of PHA concentration.The concentrations of IL-6,IL-17A and IL-17RA in co-culture system were significantly higher in the TAO group than those in the control group under the stimulation of the same concentration of PHA (all at P＜0.05).Conclusions The co-culture system of PBMCs and OFs stimulated with PHA can be the imitation of TAO pathogenesis in vitro,and PHA can amplify its immune reaction to imitate TAO pathogenic processes intuitively.The IL-6,IL-17A and IL-17RA secreted by PBMCs and induced by PHA are increased in TAO patients,implying that IL-17A participates in the pathogenesis of TAO through magnifying cellular immune response and inflammatory reaction.

Objective To explore the value of shear wave elastrography (SWE) in diagnosis of prostate cancer.Methods SWE quantitative elastography was preformed in 55 patients with suspected prostate cancer,to obtain the elastic modulus (mean,maximum).Each patient underwent sonography-guided prostatic biopsy on the same day.With the pathologic results as reference,ROC curves were used to assess diagnostic performance.Results ①Pathological tests showed that 39 lesions were benign(hyperplasia) and 16 lesions were malignant.The mean elasticity value of benign lesions was (39.04 ± 8.22) kPa,and the maximum value was (54.10 ± 9.18)kPa,whereas of malignant ones were (53.31 ± 3.92)kPa and (68.71 ±2.57)kPa,respectively (P ＜0.05).② The area under the ROC curve (AZ) of the maximum and mean elasticity value was 0.951 and 0.944.Taking 48.07 kPa as the threshold of the mean elasticity value,the sensitivity was 91.8％ and the specificity was 89.7％.Then taking 65.50 kPa as the threshold of the maximum elasticity value,the sensitivity was 92.1％ and the specificity was 87.5％.Conclusions SWE is helpful to diagnose and differentiate prostate diseases by measuring elastic modulus.

Objective To know the master condition about sexual knowledge in female workers in Dongguan, and then carry out certain effective community nursing intervention to populize the related knowledge in female workers. Methods Divided 3000 femle workers with 18-35 years old who had selected in 9 factories in Dongguan into the DV group and the teacher education group randomly, there were 1500 cases in each group. Video displaied was used in the DV group in certain propert time, teacher education about sexual knowledge was used in the teacher education group, compared the master condi-tion of sexual knowledge before and after the interventioni by questionnair in the two groups respectively, and then summarized the results. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups about sexual knowledge before the intervention, while after the intervention, the master conditon of sexual knowl-edge in the DV group were better than those of in the teacher education group. Conclusions Video dis-play is a kind of saving, effectiveness, open-end and circular mode for female workers to pepulize sexual-related knowledge, which should be ranging used.

Objective To investigate the possible function of integrin-linked kinase (ILK)/protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) signaling in repair of neonatal rat hypoxia-ischemia brain damage (HIBD). Methods Postnatal day 10 SD rats were randomly divided into hypoxia ischemia (HI) group and sham control group. Rat brains were collected at 0 h, 4 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after hypoxia ischemia damage. Immunolfuorescence staining was used to observe the distribution and expression of ILK. Western blot was used to detect the expression of ILK, Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Lentiviral vectors expressing ILK shRNA were constructed to inhibit the expression of ILK in neonatal rats. After intracerebroventricular injections of LV-ILK shRNA lentivirus and LV-control respectively, HIBD model was established. Rat brains were collected at 4 h and 24 h after HIBD. Western blot was used to detect the expression of ILK, p-Akt, and VEGF. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was used to detect cell apoptosis. Results Immunolfuorescence staining showed that ILK was widely distributed in cortex and hippocampus both in HI group and sham control group. ILK located at cell membrane and cytoplasm. Western blot results demonstrated that ILK protein increased after HI, with a peak at 24 h, and maintained higher level than those in sham control group. The p-Akt protein signiifcantly increased at 4 h after HI, and signiifcantly decreased in the following 24 h, and then increased again, with a peak at 48 h, but the level of p-Akt protein was higher than that of sham control group. The VEGF protein increased at 4 h after HI, with a peak at 12 h, higher than that of sham control group. The expression of Akt protein showed no signiifcant difference between HI group and sham control group. Lentiviral vectors containing RNAi targeting ILK was applied successfully in vivo. At 4 h and 24 h after HIBD model, the expression of ILK, p-Akt, and VEGF proteins in right side brain received LV-ILK shRNA signiifcantly decreased compared with those of right side brain received LV-control at the same time point. And cell apoptosis signiifcantly increased in LV-ILK shRNA group. Conclusions The expression of ILK, p-Akt, VEGF proteins increased after HI. By inhibiting the expression of ILK, the expression of p-Akt and VEGF proteins can be reduced, and cell apoptosis could increase in newborn rats after HIBD. The results suggest that ILK may induce the expression of VEGF through activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and promote cell survival and angiogenesis after HIBD.

Objective:To study the genotyping of thalassemia in Ningbo population and provide a reference basis for future prevention and control of thalassemia in Ningbo.Methods:Patients with suspected thalassemia attending Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital from January 2019 to March 2022 were selected for the study, and DNA was extracted from dried blood spot specimens by collecting peripheral blood, and detection of thalassemia hotspot variants was performed by fluorescence PCR melting curve analysis combined with Sanger sequencing or multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA).Results:A total of 2 680 cases were included in the patients with suspected thalassemia, and 1 426 cases of thalassemia gene carriers were detected, with an overall detection rate of 53.2%. Among them, 595 cases (41.7%) were α-thalassemia, with -- SEA/αα, αα/-α 3.7 and -- SEA/-α 3.7 being more common; 807 cases (56.6%) were β-thalassemia, with β IVS-Ⅱ-654/β N, β CD41-42/β N and β CD17/β N being more common; 24 cases (1.7%) were αβ-combined thalassemia. Among them, six rare variant types were included, including fusion gene (Fusion), -- FIL, HBA2:c.376C>T, CD8/9(+G), IVS-Ⅰ-2(T>C) and IVS-Ⅱ-1(G>A), all of which were reported for the first time in Ningbo. Conclusion:Among suspected thalassemia patients in Ningbo, the detection rate of thalassemia is high, and the types of gene variants are complex, so the awareness of thalassemia gene testing for anemic patients should be raised.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the secretory function of parotid glands by dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) sialography and determine the clinical performance of this technique in diagnosing and evaluating Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 29 healthy volunteers (25 women and 4 men; mean age, 34.8 ± 6.3 years; age range, 26–47 years) and 25 primary SS (pSS) patients (23 women and 2 men; mean age, 37.7 ± 7.9 years; age range, 25–50 years) with decreased secretory function. The volume of the parotid gland ducts was precisely measured for both groups at single pre- and 6 post-gustatory-stimulated phases. Time-dependent volume change ratio curves were generated, four parameters were derived from the curves: the slope of the increase in the first post-stimulation phase (slope(1st)), the peak value, the time-to-peak, the total saliva secretion post-stimulation. All values were used to quantitatively evaluate the secretory function of the parotid gland. The repeated measurement analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic curve were applied. RESULTS: Time-dependent volume change ratio curves demonstrated that there is a statistically significant difference between the two groups (F = 8.750; p = 0.005). A quickly increasing curve was shown in the volunteer group, whereas a slowly increasing curve was shown in the pSS patient group. The slope(1st), peak value and total saliva secretion post-stimulation of the patient group were significantly lower than those of the volunteer group (p = 0.005, p = 0.003, and p = 0.002, respectively). The time-to-peak between the two groups was not significantly different (p = 0.383). The slope(1st) can be used as a discriminator to diagnose SS patients (p = 0.015; odds ratio = 4.234; area under the curve = 0.726). CONCLUSION: Dynamic MR sialography is proven to be an effective method in evaluating salivary gland function and has a great potential in diagnosing and evaluating pSS patients.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Odds Ratio ; Parotid Gland ; ROC Curve ; Saliva ; Salivary Glands ; Salivation ; Sialadenitis ; Sialography ; Volunteers

Background: Our previously prepared ceftiofur (CEF) hydrochloride oily suspension shows potential wide applications for controlling swine Streptococcus suis infections, while the irrational dose has not been formulated. Objectives: The rational dose regimens of CEF oily suspension against S. suis were systematically studied using a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model method. Methods: The healthy and infected pigs were intramuscularly administered CEF hydrochloride oily suspension at a single dose of 5 mg/kg, and then the plasma and pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) were collected at different times. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration, mutant prevention concentration (MPC), post-antibiotic effect (PAE), and time-killing curves were determined. Subsequently, the area under the curve by the MIC (AUC 0–24h /MIC) values of desfuroylceftiofur (DFC) in the PELF was obtained by integrating in vivo pharmacokinetic data of the infected pigs and ex vivo pharmacodynamic data using the sigmoid E max (Hill) equation. The dose was calculated based on the AUC 0–24h /MIC values for bacteriostatic action, bactericidal action, and bacterial elimination. Results: The peak concentration, the area under the concentration-time curve, and the time to peak for PELF's DFC were 24.76 ± 0.92 µg/mL, 811.99 ± 54.70 μg·h/mL, and 8.00 h in healthy pigs, and 33.04 ± 0.99 µg/mL, 735.85 ± 26.20 μg·h/mL, and 8.00 h in infected pigs, respectively. The MIC of PELF's DFC against S. suis strain was 0.25 µg/mL. There was strong concentration-dependent activity as determined by MPC, PAE, and the time-killing curves. The AUC 0–24h /MIC values of PELF's DFC for bacteriostatic activity, bactericidal activity, and virtual eradication of bacteria were 6.54 h, 9.69 h, and 11.49 h, respectively. Thus, a dosage regimen of 1.94 mg/kg every 72 h could be sufficient to reach bactericidal activity. Conclusions A rational dosage regimen was recommended, and it could assist in increasing the treatment effectiveness of CEF hydrochloride oily suspension against S. suis infections.

ObjectiveTo investigate the current situation of personality traits and job satisfaction of pediatric therapists in Jiangsu province, and to explore the correlation between them and the related factors of job satisfaction. MethodsFrom June, 2021 to February, 2022, random cluster sampling method was adopted after field investigating several pediatric hospitals and institutions in Jiangsu. Online questionnaires were sent out to pediatric therapists in different settings in eleven cities in Jiangsu. The questionnaires included Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale for Chinese (EPQ-RSC) and self-made scale of demographic characteristics and working status. ResultsAll of the questionaires were taken back, in which 165 were valid (83.33%). Among the three dimensions of psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism, the intermediate type accounted for 66.06%, 38.79% and 40.00%, respectively. The overall satisfaction of job was (3.80±0.55), the internal satisfaction was (3.88±0.53), and the external satisfaction was (3.59±0.69). There was significant difference in the satisfaction among different types of work institution, monthly incomes, levels of parental support and neuroticism (P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression showed that the internal satisfaction and overall satisfaction were related with neuroticism, monthly income and parental support (P < 0.05), while external satisfaction was related with the neuroticism and parental support (P < 0.05). The level of neuroticism was negatively correlated with the internal satisfaction, the external satisfaction and overall satisfaction (|r| > 0.337, P < 0.001), and the level of extraversion was postively correlated with the external satisfaction (r = 0.155, P < 0.05). ConclusionThe job satisfaction of pediatric therapists is fine in Jiangsu, and is ralated with the level of neuroticism, the monthly income and the level of parental support. The levels of neuroticism and extraversion correlate with the job satisfaction.