Objective To compare the polysaccharide content of pseudostellaria heterophylla which produced in various areas and in different parts of them. Methods The polysaccharide content of pseudostellaria heterophylla was determined by phenol-sulfuric acid method. Results The polysaccharide content of pseudostellaria heterophylla produced in Fujian is the highest, Jiangsu and Guizhou are second-class. The polysaccharide content has some disparity in the bodies and in the roots of pseudostellaria heterophylla. Conclusions The polysaccharide content in the bodies differs 1.96% with that in the roots. This experiment provides theory foundation for scientific preparation of pseudostellaria heterophylla.

ObjectiveTo determine the validity of transcranial sonography (TCS) in the differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). MethodsTCS was performed in 100 patients with PD, 33 patients with ET and 100 normal controls in a blind manner. The echo signal intensity of the substantia nigra was classified into grade Ⅰ-Ⅴ for semi-quantitative analysis.When the echo intensity was gradeⅢ or more,it was deemed as abnormal and the area of the substantia nigra hyperechogenicity would be measured and its ratio to the area of the whole midbrain ( S/M ) would be calculated. Results ( 1 ) Semi-quantitative analysis: the ratio of the persons whose echo intensity of the substantia nigra was grade Ⅲ or more was greater (76. 00％ ,76/100) in PD than ET (9. 09％, 3/33) and normal controls ( 13.00％, 13/100; x2 = 130. 622, P ＜0. 01 ). However, there was no difference between ET and controls. (2) Quantitative analysis: the median and quartile range of the area of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity and S/M were greater in PD patients ( O. 54 ( 0. 57 ), 11.03 ( 9. 00 ) ) than ET ( 0. 00(0.04), 0.00(1.55),H= 42.39,42.19, both P＜0. 01, respectively) and normal controls (0.00(0. 00), 0. 00 (0. 00 ), H = 121.86,121.47, both P ＜ 0. 01, respectively), and there was no difference between ET and controls. (3) Using the area of hyperechogenicity ≥0. 20 cm2 or S/M ≥ 7％ as a cut off for predicting PD, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 85.39％, 78. 38％ and 81.50％ or 86. 02％,81.31％ and 83.50％ ,respectively. But there was no significant difference for the accuracy (Z = 0. 683,P ＞ 0. 05). ConclusionTCS might find the specific hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra in PD patients,providing useful information to distinguish PD from ET.

Diabetic Retinopathy ; complications ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retinal Vein Occlusion ; complications ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreous Hemorrhage ; etiology ; surgery

Objective To investigate and compare the applications of white blood cell count (WBC),neutrophil percentage (N%),C reactive protein (CRP)and procalcitonin (PCT)in the detection of bacterial infections.Methods Patients were randomly recruited in the study,70 patients with bacterial infection disease were recruited in the study as bacterial infection group,81 patients without bacterial infection were enrolled as no infection group.WBC,N%,CRP and PCT were detected,then comparative analysis of test results performed.Results Compared with no bacterial infection group,WBC,N%,CRP and PCT were increased in bacterial infection group(P <0.05),CRP and PCT increased obviously.The positive rate of WBC,N%,CRP and PCT in bacterial infection group was significantly higher than that of no bacterial infection group(P <0.05).In the bacterial infection group,the positive rate of N%,CRP and PCT was significantly higher than that of WBC(P <0.05),the positive rate of CRP was higher than PCT(P <0.05).But the positive rate of CRP was relatively high,and PCT was low in no bacterial infection group,suggesting that the false positive rate of CRP was higher,while that of PCT was lower,which had higher specificity.Conclusion WBC,N%,CRP and PCT all have clinical value for bacterial infections diagnosis.For the diagnosis of bacterial infections,N%,CRP and PCT is superior to WBC.CRP is more sensitive,but less specific,therefore,PCT with higher specificity was more suitable in the diagnosis of bacterial infections.

BackgroundOptic nerve injury lead to apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells ( RGCs ), and its mechanism of apoptosis is endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). So, decreasing of ERS may protect the injury of RGCs. ObjectiveThe present study was to investigate the mechanisms of endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS) and the protective effects of human umbilical cord blood stem cells on partial optic nerve crush injury. MethodsThe optical nerves were crushed with a 40 g clip by holding for 60 seconds to establish the partial optical nerve injury model in the left eyes of 102 SPF SD rats,and 10 μl of mRNA and 10 μl of nerve growth factor were injected into the vitreous immediately after the establishment of the model. The morphological changes of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs) were examined under the light microscope after 3,7,14,21 and 28 days and the RGCs number was calculated. The apoptosis rates of RGCs were detected by the TUNEL technique after 3, 12,24,45,72 hours and 1 week. The expression levels of GRP78 mRNA and CHOP mRNA were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reation (RT-PCR). This procedure followed the Regulations for the Administration of Affair Concerning Experimental Animals by Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Committee.Results The number of RGCs was significantly decreased with the prolongation of time of optical nerve injury in the model injury group,whereas the number of RGCs in the human cord blood cells group was reduced at a slower rate( Ftime =20. 100,P =0. 007 ). At various time points after the injection of human cord blood cells, the survival of RGCs was evidently increased in comparison with the model group(P＜0. 01 ). The apoptosis rate of RGCs was considerably elevated with injury time prolongation both in the model group and human cord blood cells group,but no apoptosis was seen from 3-24 hours after operation,and only a small amount of apoptotic cells were found in the human cord blood cells group from 48 hours through 1 week than in the model group(P＜0. 01 ). In the human cord blood cells group,GRP78 mRNA level was significantly higher and the CHOP mRNA level was significantly lower than those in the injury group at identical time points(P＜0. 01 ). ConclusionsIn the rat optic nerve partial crush model,ERS induces the apoptosis of RGCs. Human umbilical cord blood stem cells can protect RGCs from ERS injury by inhibiting apoptosis.

Objective To judge the prognosis of adult recipients after first liver transplantation by stepwise discriminant analysis,and screen out the main influencing factors.Methods The clinical data of 221 patients who received liver transplantation at the Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University were retrospectively analyzed.A total of 218 patients who met the criteria were divided into the training samples (188 patients admitted from August 2004 to June 2010) and checking samples (30 patients admitted from July 2010 to February 2011),and then all patients were re-divided into dead group (survival time ≤ 90 days,34 patients) and surviving group (survival time ＞ 90 days,184 patients).Factors which had significant difference after the univariate analysis was further analyzed by the stepwise discriminant analysis method.All data were analyzed by the t test,rank sum test,chi-square test or Fisher exact probability test.Results The ages of the recipients in the dead group and the living group were (54 ± 11)years and (51 ± 11)years,respectively,with no significant difference between the 2 groups (t =-1.681,P ＞ 0.05).The preoperative levels of hemoglobin in the dead group and the living group were 106.7 g/L and 119.2 g/L,respectively,with a significant difference between the 2 groups (t =2.809,P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences in the levels of serum creatinine,urea nitrogen,albumin,total bilirubin,indirect bilirubin,Na+,prothrombin time,activated partial thromboplastin time,international normalized ratio,fibrinogen,prothrombin activity,platelet,nutrition risk index,model for end-stage liver disease score,number of patients with preoperative hepatic encephalopathy (HE),preoperative hepatorenal syndrome (HRS),preoperative digestive tract bleeding,preoperative infection,preoperative diabetes,Child-Turcotte-Pugh score,cardiac function classification and anesthesia risk rating operation time,anhepatic time,volume of intraoperative blood transfusion,volume of peritoneal effusion ; intraoperative urine output,between the 2 groups (Z =-2.277,-2.595,-3.290,-3.486,-2.562,-2.577,-3.670,-3.882,-3.625,-3.557,-3.837,-1.974,-3.693,-3.815,x2 =19.632,9.756,28.143,Z =-4.175,-3.905,-4.865,-3.564,-5.822,P ＜ 0.05).Preoperative HE,preoperative HRS,duration of operation,intraoperative blood transfusion and intraoperative volume of urine were the independent influencing factors of early prognosis after liver transplantation.The standardized partial regression coefficients were 0.146,0.188,0.257,0.181,-0.340,89.9％ (169/188) of the training samples and 90.0％ (27/30) of the checking samples were correctly classified.Conclusion Based on factors including HRS,HE,intraoperative blood transfusion,intraoperative volume of urine and duration of operation,the early prognosis can be judged in adult recipients after first liver transplantation.

Objective To evaluate, the safety of keeping watching central venous catheter and whether it decreased unnecessary catheter removal in unexplained fever patients. Methods Eighty-two unexplained fever patients with suspected catheter-related infection whose clinical conditions were relatively stable were retrospectively analyzed and divided into keep watching group (31 patients) and immediate removal group (51 patients). ICU mortality, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, temperature, the rate of catheter-related infection, and the rate of central venous catheter removal were compared. Results There was no significant difference in ICU mortality, SOFA score, temperature and the rate of catheter-related infection between two groups (P > 0.05). Eleven of 31 (35.5%) were removed central venous catheter at last, versus all patients (100.0%) in the immediate removal group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Keep watching central venous catheter will decrease a substantial unnecessary catheter removal without increased morbidity in unexplained fever patients with suspected catheter-related infection if their clinical conditions are relatively stable.

Objective To assess the role of stroke volume variation (SVV) in predicting the volume responsiveness of mechanically ventilated patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Method A total of 28 mechanically ventilated patients with severe sepsis and septic shock were admitted from January 2009 to March 2010. Every patient was treated with volume loading test. Cardiac index (CI), stroke volume index (SVI), systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and SVV were measured non-invasively by Ultrasonic Cardiac Output Monitor (USCOM) device.Patients with an increase in CI ＞ 12% and ＜ 12% after volume loading test were classified as responders and nonresponders, respectively. The comparisons between these two sorts of patients were assessed by using two sample Student' s t -test, and comparisons between changes before and after volume loading test were assessed by using a paired Student's t -test. The roles of SVV, central venous pressure (CVP) and the changes of CVP (△CVP) after fluid administration in predicting volume responsiveness were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Before volume loading test, the SVV was higher in responders in comparison with non-responders [(18.2 ± 4.7)% vs. (12.7 ± 4.2)%, P = 0.003] and the CVP was not significantly different between two groups [(10.2±4.0) cmH2O vs. (10.8±4.8) cmH2O, P ＞0.05]. After volume loading test,the CVP was lower in responders [(2.9 ± 3.1 ) cmH2O vs. (5.3 ± 2.7) cmH2O, P = 0.003]. The areas under the ROC curves (AUC) were 0.836 (95% CI:0.680 ～ 0.992,P = 0.003),0.549 (95% CI:0.329 ～ 0.768,P = 0.662)and 0.762 (95% CI:0.570 ～ 0.953,P = 0.019)for SVV, CVP and △CVP, respectively. The 15.5% of SVV value had the 84.6% of sensitivity and 80% of specificity for prediction of volume responsiveness. Conclusions SVV can serve as a valid indicator of predicting volume responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients with severe sepsis and septic shock and it is more reliable than conventional indicators such as CVP and/△CVP.

Objective To determine the differences of risk factors for non-albicans candida and candida albicans infections among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods One hundred and three patients with ICU-acquired candida infections were retrospectively analyzed from February 2003 to April 2009. These patients were divided into non-albicans candida species group and candida albicans group.Multiple risk factors were analyzed between two groups. Results Of these patients, 46 patients (44.7%)had infections of non-albicans candida species and 57 patients (55.3%) had candida albicans infection.Among non-albicans candida species, candida glabrata, candida parapsilosis, candida tropicalis, candida krusei and others candida accounted for 19 patients (18.4%), 13 patients (12.6%), 10 patients (9.7%), 2 patients (1.9%) and 2 patients ( 1.9% ), respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression models revealed that central venous catheter (CVC) insertion time > 2 d (OR = 32.477,95% CI:4.905-215.035,P=0.000),total parenteral nutrition (OR =3.119,95% CI:1.214-8.015,P =0.018) and fluconazole prophylaxis therapy (OR = 5.084,95%CI: 1.319-19.596,P = 0.018) were highly correlated with non-albicans candida species infections. Conclusion CVC insertion time > 2 d, total parenteral nutrition and fluconazole prophylaxis therapy are independent risk factors of non-albicans candida species infections and can be used in empirical antifungal therapy.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Helicobacter pylori on NLRP3 inflammasomes activation in THP-1 ( human monocytic cell line) -derived macrophages and evaluate the role of ROS.Methods:H.pylori strain SS1 was co-cultured with the THP-1-derived macrophages at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1∶100 based on trial results with different MOIs (ratios of THP-1 cells to bacteria ranging from 1∶25 to 1∶200).The co-culture supernatants and THP-1 cells were collected at various time points (3 h,6 h,12 h,24 h) and cytokine production was quantitated using ELISA analysis.The generation of intracellular ROS was detected by FCM,and the mRNA transcript levels of NLRP3 and caspase-1 were measured by Real-time PCR.Western blot was employed to analyze the expression of active caspase-1 subunit ( p10).Then we observed the inhibitory effects of NAC and siRNA specific for NLRP3 on the ex-pression of NLRP3 inflammasome-related components and the secretion of cytokines induced by H.pylori.Results:We found that H.pylori SS1 induced IL-1βand IL-18 production in human acute monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 in a time-and dose-dependent manner.We further showed that H.pylori could induce the mRNA expressions of NLRP3 and caspase-1 in THP-1 cells.Moreover, release of IL-1βand IL-18 from H.pylori-infected THP-1 cells was suppressed by the ROS scavenger NAC,which was an agent known to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome formation.NAC administration also resulted in a significant decrease in the level of H.pylori-induced caspase-1 protein expression in THP-1 cells.Additionally,secretion of IL-1βand IL-18 in response to H.pylori infection was remarkably reduced by NLRP3-siRNA.Conclusion:The induction of IL-1βand IL-18 secretion by H.pylori strain SS1 in THP-1 cells could be mediated through activation of NLRP3 inflammasome via ROS signaling pathway, which may be involved in the host innate immune defence and the pathogenesis of the bacteria.