OBJECTIVETo explore the levels of serum vitamin B(12) (VB(12)) in preschool children, determine the relationship between the levels of serum VB(12) and anemia, and analyze the effects of several factors related to the level of serum VB(12).

METHODSFrom March 2005 to July 2005, the weight, height and complete blood count (CBC) were studied in 351 children aged 2 to 7 years from 4 kindergartens of Chongqing. The concentrations of serum VB(12) and the dietary survey of 177 of the children were evaluated.

RESULTSThe average level of serum VB(12) for the preschool children was 552 pg/ml. The levels of serum VB(12) in 4.5% (8/177) of the children were below 200 pg/ml (defined as VB(12) deficiency), in 10.7% (19/177) of the children were 200 - 300 pg/ml (called marginal deficiency). There were no significant differences in the levels of serum VB(12) between boys and girls. And there was no correlation between the levels of serum VB(12) and hemoglobin. The results of multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that the concentrations of serum VB(12) were mainly influenced by the contents of VB(12) in the foods (P = 0.03). Eight of the children with normal growth and development were diagnosed as VB(12) deficiency, only one of them was diagnosed microcytic hypochromatic anemia. The ranges of Hb, MCV and MHC were normal in the other 7 children.

CONCLUSIONSThe levels of serum VB(12) of preschool children were higher than that of adults, suggesting that the levels of serum VB(12) change with age. There were no significant differences in the levels of serum VB(12) in 2-7 years old children between sex and ages. The levels of serum VB(12) were not correlated with the concentrations of hemoglobin. Macrocytic anemia may not occur in preschool children with VB(12) deficiency. The intake of VB(12) from the diets was one of the important factors for preschool children to keep the normal ranges of serum VB(12). It is beneficial for children to consume foods enriched with VB(12) to keep the normal level of serum VB(12).

Adult ; Age Factors ; Anemia ; epidemiology ; Child ; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Diet Surveys ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nutritional Status ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Vitamin B 12 ; administration & dosage ; blood ; Vitamin B 12 Deficiency ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) in patients with different grades of liver function.

METHODSMELD scores were determined for 156 patients before their EVL operations. After the EVL these patients were followed-up and their survival rates were analyzed.

RESULTSFifty percent of the patients whose MELDs were less than or equal to 7 survived longer than 45 months after the EVL; in those with MELDs between 7 and 9, 50% of the patients survived 47.34 months; however, the figure for those whose MELD were more than 9 survived only 24.89 months. In the first two groups, 50% of the patient' survival duration was significantly longer than that of the third group. The difference was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONEVL becomes an effective clinical way to treat hemorrhage of esophagus varicose veins. The survival rate for this procedure is directly correlated with the liver function of the patient before the EVL.

Adult ; Aged ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDTissue-engineered heart valves have the potential to overcome the limitations of present heart valve replacements. This study was designed to develop a tissue engineering heart valve by using human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and decellularized valve scaffolds.

METHODSDecellularized valve scaffolds were prepared from fresh porcine heart valves. EPCs were isolated from fresh human umbilical cord blood by density gradient centrifugation, cultured for 3 weeks in EGM-2-MV medium, by which time the resultant cell population became endothelial in nature, as assessed by immunofluorescent staining. EPC-derived endothelial cells were seeded onto the decellularized scaffold at 3 x 10(6) cells/cm(2) and cultured under static conditions for 7 days. Proliferation of the seeded cells on the scaffolds was detected using the MTT assay. Tissue-engineered heart valves were analyzed by HE staining, immunofluorescent staining and scanning electron microscopy. The anti-thrombogenic function of the endothelium on the engineered heart valves was evaluated by platelet adhesion experiments and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis for the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA).

RESULTSEPC-derived endothelial cells showed a histolytic cobblestone morphology, expressed specific markers of the endothelial cell lineage including von Willebrand factor (vWF) and CD31, bound a human endothelial cell-specific lectin, Ulex Europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1), and took up Dil-labeled low density lipoprotein (Dil-Ac-LDL). After seeding on the decellularized scaffold, the cells showed excellent metabolic activity and proliferation. The cells formed confluent endothelial monolayers atop the decellularized matrix, as assessed by HE staining and immunostaining for vWF and CD31. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the occurrence of tight junctions between cells forming the confluent monolayer. Platelets adhesion experiments suggested that the neo-endothelium was non-thrombogenic. The expression levels of eNOS and t-PA genes in the neo-endothelium were quite similar to those in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

CONCLUSIONSEPCs isolated from the human umbilical cord blood can differentiate into endothelial cells in vitro and form a functional endothelium atop decellularized heart valve scaffolds. Thus, EPCs may be a promising cell source for constructing tissue-engineered heart valves.

Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Heart Valves ; cytology ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; genetics ; metabolism ; Platelet Aggregation ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Swine ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator ; genetics ; metabolism ; Umbilical Cord ; cytology

ObjectiveTo investigate the condition and method of a long time mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) culture with outer space cell living system carried by a recoverable satellite.MethodsMSCs were obtained from 1 week New Zealand rabbits, and seeded to culture flask and outer space cell living system. Under the condition of absence O2, CO2 and medium unable changed, influence of monolayer culture and outer space cell living system upon survival of long time MSCs culture in simulated space various temperature was observed.ResultsUnder the condition of absence O2, CO2 and medium unable changed, monolayer cultured MSCs were maintained to survive for 15 days, and group of space MSCs were successfully maintained to survive for 30 days in outer space cell living system. There was a significant difference between two methods. ConclusionOuter space cell living system can maintain MSCs to survive for 30 days under space flight temperature.

Objective To evaluate the predictive value of ABCD2 scoring system in cerebral infarction and death events in the medium-term after transient ischemic attack (TIA) of Chinese population. Methods One hundred and seventy-nine patients with TIA having complete clinical data,admitted to our hospital from January 2008, were chosen in our perspective study. The ABCD2 scale was applied to all the patients and used to observe the 18-month cerebral infarction risk events; according to these data, patients after TIA were divided into cerebral infarction group and non-cerebral infarction group; To the end of 18 months, according to the death event, the patients were divided into survival group and death group. The age, level of blood pressure, clinical features, duration of symptoms and history of diabetes were collected and compared between each 2 groups; the cutofflevel of ABCI2 scale for anticipating cerebral infarction risk and mortality was evaluated according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results Among the studied 179 patients, 52 patients appeared cerebral infarctions within 18 months of TIA; patients in the cerebral infarction group had significantly higher percentage of patients with blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mm Hg (86.5％), unilateral weakness (42.3％),duration of symptoms ≥60 minutes (55.8％), or duration of symptoms 10 to 59 minutes (40.4％), and diabetes (80.8％) as compared with patients in the non-cerebral infarction group (P＜0.05). According to the ROC curve, area under curve was 0.874 of ABCD2 scale for anticipating cerebral infarction risk, 95％confidence interval (CI) was 0.817-0.931 and the cutoff level of ABCD2 scale for anticipating medium-term cerebral infarction risk was 4.5. Among the studied 179 patients, 35 patients died within 18months of TIA; no significant difference in the scores of ABCD2 scale was noted between survival group and death group (P＞0.05); according to ROC curve, area under curve was 0.492 of ABCD2 scale for anticipating mortality, and 95％ CI was 0.389-0.596. Conclusion ABCD2 scale has predictive value in cerebral infarction event, while not in death event in the medium-term of TIA.

Objective To investigate the role of HBO on the change of levels of ACA and thrombomodulin among parents with ischemic encephalopathy. Methods Patients were divided into three groups: group A (patients with atherosclerosis and thrombosis),group B (patients with cardiogenic embolism) and group C (patients with small artery lesion). All patients were treated with HBO and regular drugs. And then sss scores were recorded and levels of ACA-IgG and thrombomodulin were detected by ELISA before and after therapy of HBO. Results The index of ACA-IgG and lelvel of TM in A,B and C group were higher than those in control group,there are differences among them(P＜0.05),and the level of them were higher in B group than in A and C group.There were significant differences in SSS score for brain function using different therapies in A、B and C group (P＜0.05), but there are no differences among them(P＞0.05).There were differences in the index of ACA-IgG and thrombomodulin using different therapies in A,B and C group(P＜0.05),however,there were no differences among them (P＞0.05). Conclusion HBO can alleviate clinical symptoms and improve recovery of neuron by decreasing the level of ACA-IgG and thrombomodulin in blood,but the effect is not significantly different for ischemic encephalopathy caused by different factors.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) irradiation on mice reproduction.

METHODSFemale/male Kunming mice, 6 - 8 weeks old, prior to mating, or female after pregnancy were treated with whole body irradiation by 6 x 10(4) V/m electromagnetic pulse (EMP) for five times. The pregnant mice were killed on the 18th days, and teratological markers were analysed.

RESULTSEMP irradiation caused no significant changes in most of female organ weight and organ/body weight ratio. But it caused significant shortening in tail length of live foetus in the female mice before conception (prior to mating) or after pregnancy (P < 0.05), and obvious decrease in male offspring ratio (0.85 +/- 0.09 vs 1.09 +/- 0.17, P < 0.05). The male offspring ratio also significantly decreased (0.76 +/- 0.18 vs 1.09 +/- 0.17, P < 0.01) after male mice irradiated by EMP. The tail length of live foetus was shortened and male offspring sex ratio was increased after both male and female mice were irradiated by EMP. EMP irradiation also caused a significantly higher fetal death rate than normal control (P < 0.05). The embryo absorption rate was increased after irradiation except that was decreased in male mice.

CONCLUSIONEMP irradiation has effect on pregnancy and offspring development in both male and female mice before mating and in female mice after pregnancy.

Animals ; Female ; Fetus ; radiation effects ; Male ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Radiation ; Reproduction ; radiation effects

This study was aimed to detect the gene expression profile changes between human acute leukemia cell line HL-60 and VCR-resistance HL-60, and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of MDR by using genechip technology. In experiments, mRNA were harvested using TrizoL reagent from these two cell lines, through RT-PCR, the biotinylated nucleotide were incorporated into the cRNA during the in vitro transcription reaction. The high quality RNA was hybridized to the gene expression array--human genome U133A developed by Affymetrix. It was scanned by G2500A GeneArray Scanner and the acquired image was analysed by a series of softwares. The results showed that 5,507 genes were differentially expressed between human acute leukemia cell line HL-60 and VCR-resistant HL-60. Compared with HL-60, 3,100 genes were up-regulated and 2,407 genes were down-regulated in VCR-resistant cell line. These genes were involved in different cell activities such as growth regulation and signal transduction. Among the genes with remarkable differential expression between the two cell lines, 435 were up-regulated and 605 were down-regulated. It is concluded that many different kinds of genes are involved in the mechanism of MDR and there is an intricate molecular network that controls the sensitivity of leukemia cells to the chemotherapeutic agents. Genechip is an efficient tool for parallel gene expression analysis.
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genome, Human ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Vincristine ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo extract the plasma membrane proteins from mouse liver cells and investigate the approach for fractionating the protein mixtures by two-dimensional liquid chromatography.

METHODSThe plasma membrane of the liver cells from 10 mice was extracted by differential centrifugation and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. The plasma membrane proteins were exchanged with the start buffer and separated by chromatofocusing in the first-dimensional fractionation. The final results were transformed into UV/pI maps using ProteoVue software.

RESULTSWe successfully extracted the plasma membrane proteins from mouse liver cells. Sixteen fractions between pH 8.5-4.0 were recovered in the first-dimensional chromatofocusing followed by 2D- chromatographic fractionation, and the results were displayed as UV/pI maps.

CONCLUSIONThis approach for fractionating the mouse liver cell plasma membrane protein study provides the foundation for further studies on the functions of plasma membrane proteins and differential proteome of diseases.

Animals ; Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; Chemical Fractionation ; instrumentation ; methods ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Liver ; cytology ; Male ; Mice ; Proteome ; metabolism ; Proteomics ; instrumentation ; methods

The purpose of study was to explore the possible functions of Bcl-xL in the glucosamine sulfate-induced apoptosis of chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cells. Light microscopy and Wright-Giemsa staining were used to investigate the morphologic evidences for apoptosis of K562 cells induced by glucosamine sulfate (GS); immunofluorescence was used to observe the translocation of cathepsin D and cytochrome C during the apoptosis; Western blot was performed to detect the expression of Bcl-xL, Bid, Bax in K562 cells treated by GS. The results showed that many vacuoles were observed in the cytoplasma of the K562 cells treated by GS; fluorescent signals of cathepsin D and cytochrome were fransformed from granules to disperse form by using immunofluorescence; the expression of Bcl-xL was found down-regulated in K562 cells treated by GS, but not in the cells pre-treated with pepstatin A; the significant changes were not detected in expression of Bax and Bid protein before or after apoptosis. It is concluded that Bcl-xL protein may mediate relationship between cathepsin D and mitochondia pathway, Cathepsin D may play an important role in the GS inducing apoptosis of K562 cells through downregulation of Bcl-xL expression.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; physiology ; BH3 Interacting Domain Death Agonist Protein ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Cathepsin D ; metabolism ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Glucosamine ; pharmacology ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism ; bcl-X Protein ; metabolism ; physiology