The effect of arginine vasopressin (AVP) on membrane potential of neurons from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was examined in the rat by means of intracellular recording technique. The results showed that (1) AVP induced hyperpolarization in the membrane of most DRG neurons. (2) The membrane conductance of the DRG neurons increased by 19.32% following application of AVP (p<0.05). (3) Perfusion with balance sodium solution (BSS) containing Cd(2+) (blocker of Ca(2+) channel) instead of Na+ failed to affect the AVP-induced membrane hyperpolarization of the DRG neurons (p> 0.05). After perfusion with BSS containing tetraethylammonium (TEA), however, the extent of AVP-induced hyperpolarization was reduced (p<0.05). (4) The AVP-induced hyperpolarization of the neurons was blocked by the antagonist of AVP V(1) receptors. The results demonstrate that AVP induces hyperpolarization of most DRG neurons, which might be caused by K(+) outflow mediated by AVP V(1) receptors in the membrane of the neurons.
Animals ; Arginine Vasopressin ; pharmacology ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; physiology ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Neurons ; drug effects ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Potassium Channel Blockers ; pharmacology ; Potassium Channels ; drug effects ; Rats ; Tetraethylammonium ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVECancer is one of the leading causes of death in China. The study aimed to examine the temporal trend of cancer mortality rate during 1989-2008 in urban and rural areas of China.

METHODSThe mortality data of all cancers from 1989 to 2008 from National Cancer Registry database were sorted and checked. Age standardized mortality rates were calculated by the direct methods using the China population of 1982 and World Segi's population. Joinpoint regression was performed to obtain the annual percentage changes (APC) in mortality rates. The top ten cancer sites were calculated and analyzed. The mortality rates were compared with statistics of the United States.

RESULTSFrom 1989 to 2008, the trend of crude cancer mortality increased with an annual percentage change (APC) of 1.0%. After age standardization, the mortality rate was significantly decreased, with an APC of -1.2%. In urban areas, lung cancer was the most common cancer of death, whereas in rural areas, stomach cancer and esophageal cancer remained top cancers of death. Especially, in both urban and rural areas, the mortality of lung cancer was on increase. The mortality rates of stomach and esophageal cancers showed a decrease in urban areas. Compared with the cancer mortality rates of the United States, the Chinese cancer mortality rate in males remained highest. The decreasing trend of cancer mortality in females of China was less obvious than that of the United States.

CONCLUSIONSThe crude mortality rates of cancer in China show an increase whereas the age standardized mortality raters has declined between 1989 and 2008. Cancer is still a major public health issue threatening people's life in China. Effective intervention for cancer control and prevention is needed in the future.

China ; epidemiology ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; mortality ; Male ; Mortality ; trends ; Neoplasms ; mortality ; Registries ; Rural Population ; Sex Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; mortality ; United States ; epidemiology ; Urban Population

OBJECTIVENationwide cancer incidence data were used to analyze the trends of cancer incidence in China in order to provide basic information for making cancer control strategy.

METHODSWe retrieved and re-sorted valid cancer incidence data from the National Central Cancer Registry Database over the 20 year-period 1989-2008. Crude incidence rate and age-standardized incidence rate were calculated for analysis. Annual percent changes in incidence for all cancers combined were estimated using Joinpoint software.

RESULTSThe cancer incidence rate in cancer registration areas was increased from 184.81/10(5) in 1989 to 286.69/10(5) in 2008 (from 209.33/10(5) to 307.04/10(5) in urban and from 176.10/10(5) to 269.57/10(5) in rural areas). Uptrends of crude cancer incidence were shown in both male and female in urban and rural areas over the 20 year-period. After standardized by age, overall incidence rate kept stable with 0.5% annual increase in urban and no change in rural areas. Since 2000, the cancer incidences in both sexes and areas were significantly increased. The incidence increased for most major cancers, especially lung cancer, colorectal cancer, female breast cancer and cervical cancer.

CONCLUSIONSOver the 20 year-period 1989-2008, cancer incidence of most cancers has been increasing by time. The incidences of gastric cancer, liver cancer and esophageal cancer still keep gradually increasing. The incidences of lung cancer, female breast cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer are markedly going up, so that cancer prevention and control should be enhanced. Cancer registration will play an important role on cancer control in China along with the number of registries increasing and data quality improving.

Breast Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Lung Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Male ; Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Registries ; Rural Population ; Stomach Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Urban Population ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; epidemiology

AIMTo determine whether repetitive exposure to high sustained +Gz acceleration induces persisting changes in the myocardial free radical metabolism and observe the protective effects of low-G training and antioxidant tea polyphenols (TP).

METHODSThirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=8 each): group A, restrained, was only submitted to +1 Gz for 5 min. Group B, centrifuged, was exposed to five plateaus of 30 s at +10 Gz for intermittent times, three times a week, for three weeks. Group C, low-G trained, was exposed to +2 Gz for 5 min about 1 h prior to +10 Gz stress, and group D was orally given TP at dose of 200 mg/kg about 1 h prior to +10 Gz stress. On the next day morning after last centrifuge run, the rats were decapitated and the hearts were quickly removed. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured. Additionally, CuZn-SOD and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) enzymatic contents were examined by immunohistochemical staining and their mRNA were analyzed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).

RESULTSCompared with group A, MDA concentration and iNOS enzymatic content in myocardial mitochondria were increased significantly (P < 0.05) in group B. Compared with group B, mitochondrial SOD activity was significantly increased in group C (P < 0.05). iNOS enzymatic content was significantly decreased in group C and D. There were no significant differences of CuZn-SOD content, CuZn-SOD and iNOS mRNA levels among the four groups.

CONCLUSIONRepeated high +Gz exposure can induce myocardial free radical metabolic disorder and mainly result in mitochondrial peroxidative injury. But low-G training and natural antioxidant TP have protective effects, and the former is better.

Acceleration ; Adaptation, Physiological ; physiology ; Animals ; Free Radicals ; metabolism ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Polyphenols ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tea ; chemistry

To explore the enteroviruses surveillance among healthy children under 15 years old in the border areas of Yunnan Province and Myanmar in 2009. The stool samples were collected from the healthy children under 15 years old who came from the border areas of Myanmar and Yunnan Province, virus isolation and sequencing were conducted for all the 271 samples. 6 strains of polioviruses (PVs) were detected from 271 stools with an isolation rate of 2.8%, which belonged to vaccine strains and 24 non-polioviruses (NPVs) were detected with an isolation rate of 8.9%. 24 NPVs belonged to human enterovirus group B (HEV-B) with 6 serotypes, HEV-A, HEV-C and HEV-D viruses were not isolated. Among them, 13 NPVs were E7 (54.17%) and 5 NPVs were E13 (20.83%). Our results showed that the enterovirus carrying rate in the border areas of Yunnan province was higher than the rate of routine acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) detection system. The HEV-B viruses were the only enteroviruses isolated. The phylogenetical analysis showed that Echovirus 7(E7) and 13 (E13) exhibited genetic polymorphism.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Enterovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Enterovirus Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Feces ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Molecular Typing ; Rural Population

OBJECTIVETo understand the situation of quality and consumption of iodized-salt at production and household levels through monitoring on salt.

METHODS9 townships were chosen in each county at different locations. In each township, two villages were selected in the center of the township and another two villages in remote settings. In each village, 8 households were selected for salt collection. The iodine concentrations in salt (except some special kinds of salt) were detected by method of direct titration with criteria in GB/T 13025.7-1999, in which the iodine content in qualified iodized-salt was set as 20 to 50 mg/kg and that in non-iodized-salt it was below 5 mg/kg.

RESULTSExcept for Tibet and Xinjiang, lot qualified rate of production level was 97.39% at the national level. Except for Xinjiang, the qualified rate of iodized-salt of household level was 96.45%; qualified iodized-salt coverage rate was 93.47%; noniodized-salt coverage rate was 3.09%. The results of the iodized-salt monitoring in 2004 maintained almost the same level as that in 2002. At production level,lot qualified rate of iodized-salt in Sichuan and Qinghai provinces were below 90%. At household level the qualified rate of iodized-salt in Sichuan and Hainan were below 90%. The coverage rates of qualified iodized-salt were below 90% for the total 7 provinces. In 5 provinces, the non-iodized-salt coverage rates were above 10%.

CONCLUSIONSAt national level the qualification of iodized-salt at production level was satisfactory. The coverage rates of qualified iodized-salt were below 90% not only in western but in some eastern provinces(including Beijing), which indicated that importance should be attached to the western areas and some newly discovered areas with problems as well. Through continual improvement of qualified iodized-salt coverage, sustained IDD elimination will be achieved.

China ; Housing ; Humans ; Iodine ; economics ; supply & distribution ; Population Surveillance ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary ; economics ; supply & distribution

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the treatment outcome of HLA-identical sibling allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients in first chronic phase (CP(1)).

METHODSFifty-one patients with CML-CP(1) received HLA-identical sibling allo-HSCT with conditioning regimens of TBI plus Cy or Bu plus Cy. Allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were performed for 28 and 23 patients, respectively. The median follow-up duration was 1434 (60 - 4062) days.

RESULTSFifty (98.0%) patients were successfully engrafted. Transplant-related mortality occurred in 8 (15.7%) patients. Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) occurred in 35 (68.6%) patients and 11 (21.6%) patients were grade II-IV, while chronic GVHD (cGVHD) did in 17 (37.8%) patients. Five (7.4%) patients relapsed. The 5-year probability of disease-free survival (DFS) was (79.2 +/- 6.4)%. There was no significant difference in 5-year DFS, death rate and treatment related syndromes between the two conditioning regimens (P > 0.05), and in 5-year DFS, relapse rate and death rate between two transplant choices (P > 0.05). However, the rate of relapse was lower in Bu/Cy group (P < 0.01) and the rate of cGVHD was higher in allo-PBSCT group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSAllo-HSCT can cure a significant proportion of patients with CML-CP(1). There was no significant difference in DFS between the two different conditioning regimens and between the different transplant choices. Donor lymphocyte infusion is a therapeutic alternative for CML patients relapsed after transplantation.

Adult ; Female ; HLA Antigens ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Siblings ; Transplantation Conditioning ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) immunosuppressive activity in the presence of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) to reveal synergistic immunomodulatory effects of IFN-γ and MSCs.

METHODS① MSCs were cultured in the presence or absence of IFN-γ（100 ng/ml）, the supernatants were collected for measurements of PGE2、HGF and TGF-β1 by ELISA kits. ② MSCs were cultured in the presence or absence of IFN-γ （100 ng/ml）for 48 h. The cDNA was analysed for the expression of human indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase（IDO）mRNA by semiquantitative RT-PCR. ③ Mononuclear cells (MNCs) were extracted from peripheral blood of healthy donors. The T cell proliferation was tested in the co-culture system added with MSCs, recombinant human IFN-γ (100 ng/ml) and anti-IFN-γ mAb (5 μg/ml) by BrdU ELISA kit.

RESULTS①The immunosuppressive cytokines PGE2、HGF and TGF-β1 were detectable within 24-48 h in the supernatants. Their expressions were significantly up-regulated in the presence of IFN-γ. Concentrations of these cytokines were as of (1715.5±628.6) pg/ml vs (1344.5±709.4) pg/ml (P=0.001);(4031.8±1496.8) pg/ml vs (2452.4±1375.3) pg/ml（P=0.011）;(1753.5±413.8) pg/ml vs (1026.6±450.5) pg/ml（P<0.001）,respectively. ②The expression of IDO mRNA was undetectable when MSCs were cultured alone. In contrast, The IDO mRNA expression was remarkably enhanced in the presence of IFN-γ. ③Bone marrow-derived MSCs remarkably suppressed allogeneic T cell proliferation in vitro. Addition of exogenous IFN-γ had no significant effect on the inhibitory capacity of MSCs, the inhibitory ratios of T cell proliferation were （40.4±10.9）% vs（36.7±7.4）% (P=0.272). By contrast, the inhibitory ratio of T cell proliferation was significantly decreased in the presence of anti-IFN-γ mAb[(40.4±10.9)% vs (23.9±7.6)%,P=0.002].

CONCLUSION①Human MSCs constitutively expressed immunosuppressive concentrations of PGE2, HGF and TGF-β1, and their expressions were significantly up-regulated by IFN-γ. ②IFN-γ-induced expression of IDO on MSCs involved in tryptophan catabolism. ③MSCs notably suppressed allogeneic T cell proliferation in vitro. IFN-γ promoted the immunosuppressive capacity of human MSCs, indicating the synergistic immunomodulatory effect of IFN-γ and MSCs.

Bone Marrow Cells ; immunology ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Cytokines ; immunology ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Interferon-gamma ; pharmacology ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; cytology

BACKGROUNDA limitation of bronchoscopic balloon dilatation (BBD) is that airflow must be completely blocked for as long as possible during the operation. However, the patient often cannot hold his or her breath for a long period affecting the efficacy of the procedure. In this study, we used an extra-small-diameter tube to provide assisted ventilation to patients undergoing BBD and assessed the efficacy and safety of this technique.

METHODSBronchoscopic balloon dilatation was performed in 26 patients with benign tracheal stenosis using an extra-small-diameter tube. The tracheal diameter, dyspnea index, blood gas analysis results, and complications were evaluated before and after BBD. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS version 16.0 for Windows (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

RESULTSSixty-three BBD procedures were performed in 26 patients. Dyspnea immediately improved in all patients after BBD. The tracheal diameter significantly increased from 5.5 ± 1.5 mm to 13.0 ± 1.3 mm (P < 0.001), and the dyspnea index significantly decreased from 3.4 ± 0.8 to 0.5 ± 0.6 (P < 0.001). There was no significant change in the partial pressure of oxygen during the operation (before, 102.5 ± 27.5 mmHg; during, 96.9 ± 30.4 mmHg; and after, 97.2 ± 21.5 mmHg; P = 0.364), but there was slight temporary retention of carbon dioxide during the operation (before, 43.5 ± 4.2 mmHg; during, 49.4 ± 6.8 mmHg; and after, 40.1 ± 3.9 mmHg; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSmall-diameter tube-assisted BBD is an effective and safe method for the management of benign tracheal stenosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bronchoscopy ; methods ; Dilatation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tracheal Stenosis ; surgery ; Young Adult

The study was aimed to investigate the association of FOXP3 gene expression in donor grafts with acute graft-versus-host disease after HLA-identical sibling allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Twenty-six donor grafts (peripheral blood or bone marrow) and their respective clinical characteristics were evaluated. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to assess the percentage of CD4+CD25+ and CD4+CD25(high) T cells in cord blood, healthy controls' peripheral blood and donor grafts. Relative transcripts of FOXP3 mRNA were determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription -polymerase chain reaction with beta2-MG as the internal control gene. The specificity of FOXP3 and beta2-MG amplifications was confirmed by analyzing the dissociation curves and electrophoresis of the target amplicon. The results showed that the CD4+CD25+ T cells in peripheral blood, peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) or BM grafts exhibited a continuous and primarily low expression of CD25 and the frequencies of CD4+CD25+ T and CD4+CD25(high) T in CD4+ T cells were (48.5 +/- 16.3)% and (9.6 +/- 2.5)%, (42.1 +/- 14.7)% and (13.1 +/- 4.2)%, (43.4 +/- 9.6)% and (14.6 +/- 4.5)%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the frequencies and absolute numbers of CD4+CD25(high) T cells between patients with aGVHD and patients without aGVHD (P > 0.05). The plot of log transfused cDNA amount versus DeltaCt had a slope of 0.0826 which indicated approximately equal efficiency of FOXP3 and beta2-MG amplifications in real-time PCR. The specificities of amplification were confirmed by analyzing the dissociation curves and electrophoresis of PCR products with the values of Tm 86.5 degrees C and 82.3 degrees C, respectively. The relative transcripts of FOXP3 in PBSC grafts of recipients without aGVHD were 318%high as those with aGVHD (median of 41.0 x 10(-5) and 12.9 x 10(-5), respectively) (P = 0.03). No significant difference was found in other related variables for GVHD. It is concluded that coexpression of CD4 and CD25 may be insufficient to identify regulatory T cells; FOXP3 mRNA expression may be specifically quantified with real-time quantitative RT-PCR using SYBR Green I chemistry. FOXP3 mRNA expression in donor grafts is significantly low in patients with aGVHD compared with patients without aGVHD. It indicated that the expression level of FOXP3 mRNA may be one of the useful indicators for in predicting aGVHD.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; genetics ; Graft vs Host Disease ; genetics ; metabolism ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; therapy ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology