Competition in the medical market in future will be the competition of core competence. Confronted with the increasing integration of the domestic and foreign medical markets, hospitals in our country will have no other strategic alternative but to devote major efforts to enhancing their core competence. After defining the concept of core competence of hospitals, the authors make an analysis of the features and elements of core competence of hospitals and put forward measures for enhancing the core competence of hospitals.

0 05).Conclusion The distribution frequency of bb type of VDR genotypes in Han populations of China was more prevalent,followed by Bb and bb types in turn.In the patients receiving long term glucocorticoid therapy,there is no significant difference in BMD between Bb and BB genotypes.The data suggest that the VDR genotypes may not be a means to identify patients at great risk of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis,which await to be further confirmed with a large sample size.

Objective Primitive neuroectodermal tumor ( PNET) is a small round cell tumor occurring mostly in children or young adults and categorized into the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors, the purpose of the study was to investigate the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of Children PNET. Methods A retrospective study was performed on clinical data of 13 children with PNET hospitalized in our hospital from March 2010 to Octorber 2014.In order to analyze the clinical effects and prognostic results, statistical analysis was made on their clinical manifestations, CT and ultrasonic results, therapeutic schemes, postoperative pathology and immu-nohistochemical staining results, along with telephone and outpaitient follow-up of average 19 months. Results Of the 13 patients, 4 cases were central nervous system PNET(CNS-PNET) and 9 cases were peripheral PNET(pPNET).The clinical manifestations of the former were headache, vomiting, convolsion, movement disorder or decreased muscle strength, while the latter mainly showed mas-ses and abdominal distention.3 cases with metastasis to lung, lymph nodes and bones respectively showed masses on surface or in cavi-ty in imaging.Homer-Wright pseudorosette textures were found in 12 patients.Immunohistochemical results showed 11 cases with CD99(+), 9 cases with VIM(+) and 8 cases Syn( +).Among 11 patients underwent chemotherapy, 2 cases were lost to follow-up, 7 cases were in stable condition without occurrence and the other 2 cases recurred 4-6 months after chemotherapy.3 of 4 cases with CNS-PNET survived with the sequelae of decreased muscle strength, convolsion and movement disorder.1 case with CNS-PNET and 1 case with pPNET died 7 months and 16 months after diagnosis respectively. Conclusion PNET in children is a very highly malignant tumor with low long-term survival rate.Immunohistochemi-cal examination including CD99 and VIM is of important diagnostic value and CNS-PNET is prone to sequelae.

By means of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay, the association between vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotypes and bone mineral density (BMD) in the patients receiving long-term glucocorticoid therapy was studied. The clinical data and blood of 71 patients with rheumatosis who received long-term glucocorticoid therapy were collected. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptimometry. VDR gene fragment (about 185 bp) was amplified by PCR from the extracted genomic DNA, then digested with restriction endonuclease Bsm I. The genotypes were evaluated based on the fragment length following endonuclease digestion and the association between genotypes and BMD or Z-score values was analyzed. Among the 71 cases, the detected genotypes were Bb and bb with the distribution frequency being 11.3% and 88.7% respectively. The distribution frequency of the alleles was in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There was no significant difference between the two genotypes in age, gender, body mass index (BMI), disease duration, disease types, time of glucocorticoid administration and cumulative dosage (P > 0.05). Osteoporosis rate of the patients with Bb or bb genotype was 37.5% and 33.3% respectively, with the difference being not significant (chi 2 = 0.05, P = 0.8). The BMD and Z-score values at lumbar spine and femur in two genotypes were not similar, but the difference had no significant (P > 0.05). The distribution frequency of bb type of VDR genotypes in Han populations of China was more prevalent, followed by Bb and bb types in turn. In the patients receiving long-term glucocorticoid therapy, there was no significant difference in BMD between Bb and bb genotypes. The data suggest that the VDR genotypes may not be means of identifying patients at greater risk of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, which await to be further confirmed by a large sample size.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy ; Bone Density ; Genotype ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/drug therapy ; Osteoporosis/chemically induced ; Osteoporosis/*genetics ; *Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Prednisolone/*adverse effects ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Receptors, Calcitriol/*genetics

Objective To investigate the sonographic characteristic of hepatic lymphoma. Methods Fifteen patients with pathological proven hepatic lymphomas (4 primary and 11 secondary hepatic lymphomas) were included in this retrospective study. All the 15 patients underwent conventional B-mode ultrasound examinations. Two patients (one with primary lymphoma and another with secondary lymphoma) underwent contrast enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). Results In the conventional ultrasonography, hepatic masses were detected in 9 patients (4 primary and 5 secondary lymphomas). No hepatic mass was detected in the remaining 6 patients with pathological proven secondary lymphomas. For the 4 patients with detectable primary masses, 2 had a single mass and 2 had multiple masses. All primary hepatic lymphomas were hypoechoic. For the 5 patients with detectable secondary masses, 2 had a single mass and 3 had multiple masses. The hypoechoic lymphomas were found in 3 patients, while hyperechoic and isoechoic lymphomas were found in the other 2 patients. In the 4 patients with primary hepatic lymphomas, 3 had hepatomegaly, while none of the 4 patients had splenomegaly. In the 5 patients with detectable secondary masses, hepatomegaly was found in 3 patients in whom 2 had splenomegaly and 1 had a plate-shaped hypoechoic region within spleen. For the 6 patients without detectable secondary masses, splenomegaly was found in all 6 patients and hepatomegaly was found in 4 patients. In the spleen of one patient, a plate-shaped hypoechoic region was detected in the B-mode ultrasonography. In the CEUS, the primary lymphoma presented a thick ring region with slight enhancement peripheral to the mass during the hepatic artery phase;while the secondary lymphoma presented the uneven enhancement pattern with a small plate-shaped region unenhanced in its center during the hepatic artery phase. Conclusions In ultrasonography, the patients with hepatic lymphomas commonly present a single or multiple hypoechoic well-deifned hepatic masses, poor blood lfow and uneven enhancement peripheral to the mass during the hepatic artery phase of CEUS. Other sonographic characteristic include hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. No mass is detected in ultrasonography can not exclude the diagnosis of hepatic lymphoma.

Objective To examine the 5-year incidence of tuberculosis in different populations with strongly positive tuberculin skin test (TST) receiving preventive administration of isoniazide.Methods A total of 12 598 subjects including 8 896 college students,2 496 migrant workers and 1 206 close contacts with active pulmonary were selected from January to December 2003.Subjects with strongly positive TST but without abnormal lung findings were divided into isoniazide group (given isoniazide for 10 months) and control group (not given any drugs).The incidence of tuberculosis in year 2-5 were observed and compared usingx2 test.Results Among 12 598 subjects,897(7.12％) had strongly positive TST,including 316 college students,388 migrant workers and 193 close contacts,and the TST strongly positive rates were 3.55％ (316/8 896),15.54％ (388/2 496) and 16.00％ (193/1 206),respectively.Migrant workers and close contacts had higher TST positive rates than college students (x2 =483.51 and 344.11,P ＜ 0.01).Among 897 TST-positive individuals,37 were diagnosed as tuberculosis,including 11 college students,12 migrant workers and 14 close contacts,and the tuberculosis rates in three populations were 0.12％ (11/8 896),0.48％ (12/2 496) and 1.16％ (14/1 206),respectively.Migrant workers and close contacts also had higher tuberculosis rates than college students (x2 =12.34 and 42.18,P ＜0.01).In the second follow-up year,9 out of 429 subjects in isoniazide group quit the study due to adverse reactions,and in the rest 420 subjects,9 (2.14％) were diagnosed as tuberculosis.The incidence of tuberculosis in three populations were 1.34％ (2/149),1.60％ (3/188) and 4.82％ (4/83),and no significant difference was found (x2 =2.92,P ＞ 0.05).While in the control group,31 out of 429 (7.23％) individuals were diagnosed as tuberculosis,and the incidence was higher than that in isoniazide group (x2 =12.69,P ＜ 0.01).During the next three follow-up years,23 individuals in isoniazide group drop out of the study,and in the rest 388 subjects,8 (2.06％) were diagnosed as tuberculosis.The incidence of tuberculosis in three populations were 1.41％ (2/142),2.35％ (4/170) and 2.63％ (2/76),and no significant difference was found (x2 =3.11,P ＞ 0.05).While in the control group,17 out of 398 (4.27％) subjects were diagnosed as tuberculosis,and the incidence was not of significant difference compared with that in isoniazide group (x2 =2.47,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Migrant workers and close contacts are high risk populations of tuberculosis,and preventive administration of isoniazid for 10 months may reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in the following 2 years.

Objective To explore the effect of electroacupuncture at Quchi (LI11), Zusanli (ST36) on differentiation of neural stem cells after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats. Methods Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=12), model group (n=12) and electroacupuncture group (n=12). The latter two groups were occluded the left middle cerebral arteries for 90 min-utes and reperfused. The electroacupuncture group received electroacupuncture at Quchi and Zusanli acupoints for 21 days. They were evalu-ated with modified Neurological Severity Scores 7, 14 and 21 days after electroacupuncture. Their infarct volumes were tested with MRI T2WI 21 days after electroacupuncture, while the differentiation of neural stem cells was observed with double-immunopositive BrdU/Dcx and BrdU/NeuN. Results Compared with the model group, the neurological deficits score improved in the electroacupuncture group in all the time points (P<0.05). The infarct volumes decreased in the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05), with less number of BrdU+/Dcx+cells in subventricular zone (P<0.001) and more number of BrdU+/NeuN+ cells in peri-infarct cortex (P<0.001) 21 days after electroacupuncture. Conclusion Electroacupuncture at Quchi and Zusanli acupoints can improve neurological function and decrease the infarct volumes in rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, which may be associated with promoting differentiation of neural stem cells to neurons.

OBJECTIVE To observe the neurotoxicity of 1-bromopropane(BP) and investigate the protective effects of edaravone(Edv) against BP-induced deficits of spatial learning and memory ability in rats by its anti-inflammatory mechanism. METHODS Adult male Wistar rats were ig given BP 800 mg·kg-1 to develop the model, followed by Edv 1, 3 and 5 mg·kg-1 ip treatment respectively 4 h later for consecutive 12 d. From the 7th day (d 7), all rats were subjected to the five-day place navigation in Morris water maze (MWM) to measure the escape latency and the total swimming distance. On d 6 of MWM, spatial probe test was performed and the crossing times of rats were recorded to evaluate the spatial memory ability. At the end of the behavioral experiment, four rats in each group were randomly selected and the frozen section of the whole brain was sliced for thionin staining and immunohisto?chemistry. The other eight sacrifced rat brains from each group were harvested for the determination of the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) by ELISA and nitrate reductase method, respectively. RESULTS The results of MWM test showed that compared with control rats the escape latencies of rats in BP group were increased by 60.8%, 81.9%,124.0% and 323.3%, respectively, during the d 2-d 5 of MWM, and the total swimming distance increased by 47.0%, 66.4%, 106.0% and 277.6%, respectirely. All the differences between BP group and control group were significant (P<0.05, P<0.01). In the spatial probe trial, the crossing times of rats in BP group were significantly decreased, compared with the control rats (P<0.01). Morphologically, thionin staining and immunohistochemistry revealed significant microglia activation and neuron loss in the rat forebrains, accompanied by a 147.6% and 18.7% increase in NO and TNF-α levels in rats treated with BP respectively compared with control values (P<0.05, P<0.01). After co-treatment at different dosages of Edv with BP, the escape latencies of rats in BP+Edv 5 mg·kg-1 group were decreased by 38.4%and 44.3%(P<0.01), and the total swimming distance decreased 34.5%and 43.3%(P<0.05, P<0.01), respectively, compared with the BP treated rats on the d 4 and d 5 of MWM test. The microglia activation and neuron damage in the brain of rats induced by BP treatment were significantly alleviated in BP+Edv groups. In addition, the contents of NO and TNF-α were decreased in BP+Edv 1, 3 and 5 mg · kg-1 groups, with a decrease of 53.8%, 55.4% and 59.8% in NO, and 12.2%, 15.8% and 22.2% in TNF-α(P<0.05, P<0.01), respectively. CONCLUSION Edv could effectively protect against central neurotoxicity induced by BP via anti-neuro?inflammation.

Objective To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of radioactive 125I seed implantation on the angiogenesis of transplanted human lung adenocarcinoma in nude mice.Methods An animal model of transplantd human lung adenocarcinoma was established by subcutaneous implanting A549 cells into nude mice.Twenty four tumor-bearing nude mice were randomly divided into 4 groups with different irradiation doses of blank control (without any treatment) and 0 MBq,22.2 MBq,29.6 MBq and by embedding radioactive 125I seeds with an 18 G implant needle.Tumor volumes were measured every 4 days until all mice were terminated 30 d later and the tumor growth curve was drawn.The microvessel density (MVD) in the tumor tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry S-P assay.The mRNA and protein levels of VEGF and HIF-1α of each group were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot,respectively.Results After embedding of 125I seeds,the tumor volumes of 22.2 MBq group (886 ± 97) and 29.6 MBq group (590 ± 107) were significantly smaller than those of control group (2 297 ± 149) at 54 d after administration (q =14.117,17.075,P ＜ 0.05),but there were no significant differences among 0 MBq group and control group,22.2 MBq and 29.6 MBq groups (P ＞ 0.05).The immunohistochemical CD34-positive staining demonstrated that MVD in 22.2 MBq group (522 ± 119) and 29.6 MBq group (491 ± 121) were decreased significantly compared with control group (922 ± 260) (q =4.826,5.197,P ＜0.05),but there were no significant differences among 0 MBq and control groups,22.2 MBq and 29.6 MBq groups(P ＞0.05).The mRNA expressions of VEGF and HIF-1α in 22.2 MBq group (0.279±0.0659,0.370 ±0.0857) and 29.6 MBq group (0.215 ±0.0620,0.278 ±0.0651) were significantly lower than those in the control group (q VEGFmRNA =18.881,17.211,q HIF-1αmRNA =15.376,14.733,P ＜0.05),but there were no significant differences among 0 MBq and control groups,22.2 MBq and 29.6 MBq groups(P ＞0.05).At the same time,the expression levels of VEGF and HIF-1α protein after 125I seed implantation were also obviously decreased in 22.2 MBq and 29.6 MBq groups (qvEGr =5.848,6.263,q HIF-1α =6.560,7.576,P ＜ 0.05),and no significant difference between 0 MBq and control groups(P ＞ 0.05) and between 22.2 MBq and 29.6 MBq groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Interstitial implantation with 125I seeds may potently inhibit angiogenesis in human lung adenocarcinoma xenografts of nude mice.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of combination of liraglutide,a glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue and pioglitazone,an insulin sensitizer,on diabetic db/db mice.MethodsThirty-five 8-week old male db/db mice were divided into control group (n = 8 ),pioglitazone group (n =9 ),liraglutide group (n =9) and combined therapeutic group (n =9),which was given normal saline 0.1 ml,2/d,pioglitazone 24 mg· kg-1 · d-1 (feed contained 0.02％ pioglitazone) + normal saline 0.1 ml,2/d,liraglutide 300 mg/kg,2/d,and pioglitazone 20 mg · kg-1 · d -1 ( feed contained 0.02％ pioglitazone) +liraglutide 300 mg/kg,2/d,respectively.Liraglutide were given at 8:00 and 16:00 via subcutaneous injection after having been diluted with sterilized normal saline.Effect on glucose,lipid metabolism and islet β-cell preservation were assessed after 4 weeks.Oneway ANOVA was adopted for statistical analysis.Results Combination therapy displayed promising anti-hyperglycemic[glycosylated hemoglobin Alc: (4.5 ± 0.6)％vs.(7.3 ±0.4)％,P ＜ 0.001].Glucose tolerance were improved assessed by area under curve(AUC) of glucose by intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT)[(1814 ±91 ) mmol · min · L-1 vs.(4042 ±183) mmol · min · L-1,P ＜0.001];insulin release response to glucose were also preserved as AUC of insulin by IPGTT was higher[( 1639 ±372) μg · min · L-1 vs.(834 ±201 )μg · min · L-1].Combination therapy also reduced circulated free fatty acids and TG[( 202.0 ± 20.4 ) μmol/L vs.( 272.5 ± 21.7 )μmol/L,(0.81 ± 0.28) mmol/L vs.( 1.35 ± 0.21 ) mmol/L],and increased plasma adiponectin [(16.7±2.0)mg/L vs.(10.2±1.8)mg/L].All P value ＜0.05.Islet immunohistochemistry showed that combination therapy significantly increased insulin positive area were[( 59.5 ± 1.5 ) ％ vs.( 22.4 ±1.5) ％]and ratio of Brdu positive β-cells was three folds than vehicle-treated mice[( 2.4 ± 0.5 ) ％ vs.(0.8 ±0.3)％],both greater than each single treatment.Combined therapy significantly improved islet β cell/α cell distribution,which led to islet recovery.ConclusionsCombined therapy improves glucose and lipid metabolism,preserves islet β-cell function and stimulates β-cell proliferation,greater than either liraglutide or pioglitazone treatment alone.