Objective To evaluate the curative effect of valsartan associated with low-dose amiodarone on the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF), the left atrial diameter (LAD), P wave dispersion (Pd) and the maximum P wave duration (Pmax) in patients with paroxysmal AF. Methods 76 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) were randomized to valsartan (test group) and placebo (placebo group), both associated with low-dose amiodarone, and were followed up for 18 months. The patients were asked to report any episode of symptomatic atrial fibrillation and to perform an ECG as early as possible. AF load, Pmax, Pd and LAD were measured before and at the 6th, 12th, and 18th months after the treatment. Results At least one ECG-documented episode of AF was reported in 16% of the patients in test group and in 41% in placebo group, the difference was significant(P

Objective To observe the preventive effect against sea-sickness of “anti-sick syrup” and “prevent-sick syrup” on voyage at sea. Methods A double-blind controlled trial was carried out in landing craft. 986 volunteers unaccustomed to sailing in their fist voyage at sea were divided into four groups, control group and group A to C, with ingestion, half an hour before setting sail, of placebo syrup, “anti-sick syrup”, “prevent-sick syrup” and “anti-sick syrup” plus “prevent-sick syrup”, respectively. The symptoms of seasickness were then recorded. Results The prophylactic effects have shown in all the groups. However, the effects shown in control group were significantly less than that in other groups (P

Objective To assess endothelial function before and after pharmacological cardioversion for acute onset of atrial fibrillation(AF)in the patients with hypertension.Methods 37 consecutive hypertensive patients with acute AF were investigated,in whom sinus rhythm was restored by pharmacological cardioversion within 48 hours of arrhythmia onset without anticoagulant treatment.Of these 37 patients,17 cases treated with ACEI/ARB drugs were assigned to acute AF group 1,20 cases without using ACEI/ARB drugs were assigned to acute AF group 2.20 hypertensive patients with sinus rhythm were included as control group.Plasma markers of endothelial damage/dysfunction [von Willebrand factor(vWF),endothelin(ET)and nitric oxide(NO)] and E-selectin(E-sel,an index of endothelial activation)were measured in acute AF at baseline(pre-cardioversion)and on days 1,7,14,and 30 after cardioversion.The detected results were compared with the levels of controls.Results Plasma concentrations of ET,vWF and E-sel in acute AF group were significantly higher than those of control group;plasma level of NO in acute AF group was significantly lower compared to that of control group.After cardioversion,the plasma levels of ET decreased gradually to the levels of controls by the 7th day of sustaining sinus rhythm in acute AF group 1 and 30th day in acute AF group 2,and the plasma levels of vWF decreased to approach that of controls by the 14th day post-cardioversion in acute AF group 1 and 30th day in acute AF group 2.The NO level gradually increased to that of controls by the 14th day of sustaining sinus rhythm in acute AF group 1 and 30th day in acute AF group 2.Plasma level of E-sel returned to normal by the 7th day in the both groups of acute AF.Conclusion There were evidences of endothelial damage or dysfunction at acute onset of AF among the patients with hypertension,which persisted up to 30 days after cardioversion,and the use of ACEI/ARB might improve the normalization of endothelial function after cardioversion.

Objective To explore the factors relating to serum lutein level in elderly patients with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Methods 102 early AMD patients diagnosed by international diagnostic criteria were selected.The level of serum lutein was measured by HPLC,and dietary intake was estimated by food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ).The factors relating to serum lutein level were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis models.Results Serum lutein level was higher in female AMD patients than in male AMD patients [(0.33±0.31) μmol/L vs.(0.21 ±0.19) μmol/L,t=2.21,P＜0.05].Serum lutein level was positively correlated with dietary lutein (r=0.49,P＜ 0.001),but not correlated with age,BMI,and other nutrient intake after adjustment for caloric intake.Dietary lutein was mainly from corn,spinach,leeks,eggs,chrysanthemum,pumpkin,broccoli,lettuce,asparagus and peas.Intakes of spinach,pumpkin,asparagus were significantly associated with serum lutein level.Conclusions Elderly patients with AMD should increase the intakes of lutein-rich vegetables to increase the serum lutein level.

Objective To observe the psychological stress reactions of 238 patients injured in earthquake in our hospital and explore their interventions to such reaction. Methods A total of 238 patients wounded in earthquake were recruited. Along with the active treatment of primary physical trauma, wide range of preventative psychological interventions for crisis was carried out individually or in group. The psychological emergency measures included communication and exchange of ideas, mental health education, and psychological support and a relaxing environment to the patients. All the patients were evaluated by using depression and anxiety assessment scales before and after the intervention. Results Various psychological stress responses were found in 238 patients after injury, in which sleep disorders, memory decline, tension and fear, wabble and emotional instability ranked the top 5. Some patients' psychological status recovered after one-week's hospitalization, while most recovered after two-week's hospitalization. Three patients were transferred to other professional psychiatric hospitals for professional psychological treatment and intervention because of serious psychological obstacle. Conclusion The wounded caused by earthquake manifested various psychological stress reactions. Immediate psychological intervention can effectively help the patients to recover psychologically, promote their physical rehabilitation, and prevent posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1/immunoglobulin A (EBNA1/IgA), BamH1 Z transactivator/IgA (Zta/IgA), capsid antigen/IgA (VCA/IgA), and Epstein-Barr virus deoxyribonucleic acid (EBV-DNA) in detecting different stages of na-sopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The relationship between the EBV markers and stages of NPC was also analyzed. Methods:Blood sam-ples of 152 untreated patients with NPC and 675 healthy subjects were collected.ELISA was used to detect the serum levels of EBNA1/IgA, Zta/IgA, and VCA/IgA. Fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) was used to detect the plasma levels of EBV-DNA. ROC and correla-tion analyses were employed to assess the detection assays for NPC diagnosis. The positive rates of EBV markers in NPC patients in dif-ferent stages were analyzed statistically. Results: The positive rates of EBNA1/IgA, Zta/IgA, VCA/IgA, and EBV-DNA in NPC patients were higher than those in the healthy individuals. The expression of EBNA1/IgA was relatively high in early NPC. The sensitivity of EB-NA1/IgA was 77.8%. In advanced NPC, the level of EBV-DNA was high, and the sensitivity of EBV-DNA was 88.8%. The specificity of EBV-DNA and EBNA1/IgA could reach more than 96%. The combination of EBV-DNA and EBNA1/IgA showed the best diagnostic value, with a sensitivity of 92.1%(early stage 82.5%, advanced stage 98.9%) and a specificity of 96.9%. The positive rates of EBV-DNA were positively associated with the NPC clinic stage and N stage. The positives rates of Zta/IgA were positively associated with the NPC N stage. Conclusion:The best single index for NPC screening in an asymptomatic population is EBNA1/IgA. EBV–DNA is an ideal index for auxiliary diagnostics of advanced NPC. The combination of EBV-DNA and EBNA1/IgA shows the best diagnostic value. EBV-DNA is an important index in the stage and illness monitoring of NPC. Zta/IgA can indirectly reflect the character of lymph node metastasis, and it may be useful in assessment of NPC surveillance.

Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of ursolic acid on drug-resistant SKOV3/DDP ovarian carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. Methods The models of drug-resistant SKOV3/DDP ovarian carcinoma on athymic mouse were established and randomly divided into four groups with intraperitoneal injection of different drugs: blank control (0. 9%sodium chloride solution ) , cisplatin ( 4 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 ) , ursolic acid low dose ( 30 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 ) , and high dose (60 mg·kg-1·d-1). All drugs were injected at volumes of 10 mL·kg-1 perday for 15 days. The tumor volumes were measured during the process of drug treatment every three days. After 14 days, The tumorigenic rate and tumor inhibition rate were calculated. RT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax. Results Anti-tumor rates of cisplatin group , low dose ursolic acid group, and high dose ursolic acid group was 33. 3%, 43. 3%, and 71. 0%, respectively. Bcl-2 expressions were down-regulated, while Bax expressions were up-regulated in all three groups. Conclusion Ursolic acid has some anti-tumor activity on cisplatin-resistant human ovarian cancer SKOV3 /DDP cell in nude mice. It can inhibit tumor growth with dose-effect relationship. The mechanism may be to suppress the expression of anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 and to increase the expression of apoptosis-promoting factors Bax.

Objective To investigate the difference of morphology and blood flow of cavopulmonary anastomosis by MRI and that by ultrasonic cardiography (UCG) in patients with bidirectional Glenn shunt (BGS).Methods Phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) and contrast enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) were performed for superior vena cava ( SVC ) and inferior vena cava (IVC) in 22 patients with BGS on 3.0 T MR scanner.PC-MRI was used for measuring blood flow and CE-MRI for illustrating morphology.The width,peak flow velocity and gradient pressure of cavopulmonary anastomosis were calculated by using Report Card software.The similar data of UCG was collected.The parameters by MRI and that by UCG were compared statistically by t test and Pearson correlation.Results Based on the MRI data,the blood flow of SVC [ ( 1.002 ±0.208) L/min ] was significantly lower than that of IVC [ ( 1.794 ± 0.392 ) L/min ] ( t =- 15.148,P ＜0.01 ),while the regurgitation fraction of SVC [ (26.54 ± 12.82)％ ] was significantly higher than that ofIVC [ ( 17.44 ± 10.17)％ ] (t =11.060,P ＜0.01 ).The morphology displayed with MRI angiography couldnot be detected with UCG.The width of cavopulmonary anastomosis measured by MRI [ (12.46 ±3.43 ) mm ] was significantly higher than that of UCG[ ( 11.04 ± 2.63 ) mm] ( t =4.048,P ＜ 0.01 ),while the peak flow velocity of cavopulmonary anastomosis measured by MRI [ (47.77 ± 10.44) cm/s] was significantly lower than that of UCG [ (52.19 + 9.63) cm/s] ( t =- 2.237,P ＜ 0.05 ).No significant difference was found in gradient pressure of cavopulmonary anastomosis between the values by MRI [(0.95+0.42) mm Hg(1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa)] and that by UCG [(1.12+0.38)mm Hg] (t=2.010,P ＞ 0.05).The width,peak flow velocity and gradient pressure of cavopulmonary anastomosis by MRI were closely correlated with those by UCG (r =0.858,0.489,0.427,all P＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions A good correlation is found in the width,peak flow velocity,and gradient pressure of the cavopulmonary anastomosis obtained by 3.0 T MRI and UCG.MRI is more useful tool to display the width and abnormal morphology of cavopulmonary anastomosis than UCG.

AIM: To investigate significance of the telomerase activity and serum CA125(cancer antigen 125) expression in the predicting chemotherapeutic response in human ovarian epithelial carcinoma(hOEC).METHODS: The expressive levels of telomerase activity in ascites exfoliative cells or peritoneal washing fluids and the serum CA125 were detected by TRAP-PCR-ELISA and ELISA in 35 hOEC patients.RESULTS:(1) Telomerase activity was detected in 30 out of 35(85.7%) patients(P

OBJECTIVE1-Bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (BCDMH) is a solid oxidizing biocide for water disinfection. The objective of this study was to investigate the toxic effect of BCDMH on zebrafish.

METHODSThe developmental toxicity of BCDMH on zebrafish embryos and the dose-effect relationship was determined. The effect of BCDMH exposure on histopathology and tissue antioxidant activity of adult zebrafish were observed over time.

RESULTSExposure to 4 mg/L BCDMH post-fertilization was sufficient to induce a number of developmental malformations, such as edema, axial malformations, and reductions in heart rate and hatching rate. The no observable effects concentration of BCDMH on zebrafish embryo was 0.5 mg/L. After 96 h exposure, the 50% lethal concentration (95% confidence interval (CI)) of BCDMH on zebrafish embryo was 8.10 mg/L (6.15-11.16 mg/L). The 50% inhibitory concentration (95% CI) of BCDMH on hatching rate was 7.37 mg/L (6.33-8.35 mg/L). Histopathology showed two types of responses induced by BCDMH, defensive and compensatory. The extreme responses were marked hyperplasia of the gill epithelium with lamellar fusion and epidermal peeling. The histopathologic changes in the gills after 10 days exposure were accompanied by significantly higher catalase activity and lipid peroxidation.

CONCLUSIONThese results have important implications for studies on the toxicity and use of BCDMH and its analogs.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Disinfectants ; toxicity ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Embryo, Nonmammalian ; drug effects ; Hydantoins ; toxicity ; Time Factors ; Water ; chemistry ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; toxicity ; Zebrafish