Objective To study the relationship between urinary albumin excretion rate(UAER)and cardiac structure and function in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods Five hundred and twenty patients with T2DM were divided into three groups by 8 h UAER:normoalbuminuria group(424 cases),microalbuminuria group(75 cases)and macroalbuminuria group(21 cases).At the same time,50 healthy people were selected as control group.The cardiac structure and function in four groups were evaluated by echocardiographic measurements.Results Left atrial dimensio[(34.39±3.46)mm],left ventricular posterior wall thickness[(10.34±1.05)mm],relative wall thickness(0.46±0.05),interventricular septal thickness[(10.49±1.07)mm],left ventricular mass[(167.37±32.12)g],left ventricular mass index[(87.62±12.16)g/m2]in macroalbuminuria group were significantly higher than those in control group[(32.59±2.71)mm,(9.30±0.77)mm,0.42±0.04,(9.75±0.81)mm,(147.33±27.23)g,(80.14±13.81)g/m2](P＜0.05),mean while the ratio of E/A(0.82±0.19)in macroalbuminuria group was significantly lower than that in control group(1.21±0.16)(P＜0.05).Conclusions In T2DM patients with albuminuria,the cardiac structure and function have changed.With the increase of UAER,the impairments are more prominent.And it may predict diabetes cardiomyopathy.

Objective To observe the effect of transcranial low frequency electrical stimulation on the contents of monoamines in ischemic area of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO).MethodsPermanent MCAO model of Wistar rat was established with silk thread enveloped with polyammoniacum.The ischemic areas received various intensity of transcranial low frequency electrical stimulation for 1 hour in rats underwent 1 hour of ischemia.Then the affected tissue was processed with fluorospectrophotometry to determine the contents of dopamine(DA),noradrenalin(NE) and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT).ResultsCompared with the sham-operation group,the contents of DA,NE and 5-HT in ischemic area of MCAO model rats decreased obviously(all P<0.01),while all three monoamines investigated in the sham-operation group with transcranial low frequency electrical stimulation had no significant change.In the MCAO groups stimulating with lower(10 V) and middle(30 V) intensity transcranial low frequency electrical field,the contents of DA,NE and 5-HT in ischemic area had no significant increase.But in the MCAO group stimulating with high(50 V) intensity transcranial low frequency electrical field,the contents of DA,NE and 5-HT in ischemic area increased significantly(P<0.05).ConclusionSome degree of intensity transcranial low frequency electrical field stimulation can increase the contents of DA,NE and 5-HT in ischemic area of rats subjected to MCAO.

Objective To investigate the association between peripheral white blood cell (WBC) count and the carotid intimal-medial thickness (cIMT) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese of suburban area of Shanghai.Methods A total of 2 519 subjects aged 40 years or older from Jiading District,Shanghai were recruited to undergo questionnaire interview,anthropometric measurements,fasting blood sampling,and carotid B-mode ultrasonography.After excluding subjects with biochemical index missing,WBC count ＞ 10× 109/L as well as those with known myocardial infarction,cerebral infarction,coronary heart disease,and those taking lipid-lowing agents,2 239subjects were included in this analysis.Results Increased WBC count was associated with more unfavorable metabolic risk profiles.With the increasing quartiles of WBC count,cIMT were 0.558,0.570,0.573,and 0.587mm respectively(P for trend ＜ 0.01).As compared with participants in the first WBC quartile,the risks of cIMT thickening were increased by 79％,109％ in males and 29％ in females (P＞ 0.05 in females).Multiple linear regression model showed that peripheral WBC count was an independent risk marker for cIMT thickening,especially for neutrophil and monocyte count.Conclusion A high-normal WBC count was significantly associated with cIMT thickening in middle-aged and elderly Chinese of suburban area of Shanghai,especially in males.

Objective To establish embryonic stem cells (ESC) that can express green fluorescent protein (CFP) and differentiate them into neurons. It would provide tagging neurons for clinical transplantation to cure neural system diseases. Methods ESC (R1) was transfeeted with a plasmid containing the GFP by electroporation. A transgeuic cell line was obtained after selection with G418. The ESCs were characterized by AKP staining. Monolayer differentiation method was used to induce neural differentiation derived from GFP-ESC and immunofluorescence method was used to identify Tuj1 positive cells. Results There was no significant difference(X2=3.14,P0.05) in transfect rates between liposome and electroporation (65% vs 79%). The AKP staining of GFP-ESC was positive. GFP-ESC could be differentiated into neural cells. Conclusions These results show that ESC expressing GFP has been estabhshed, which can be differemiated into neurons.

Objective To study the effect of sub-chronic exposure to dehamethrin(DM) on the behavior of mice in learning and memory.Methods 60 Female SPF Kunming mice were randomly divided into 4 groups and given DM by gavaging for 60 days.Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluate spatial memory in mice.Results After exposure to DM,the escape latency of the solvent control group and the treatment groups were (12.20±6.5)s,(14.99±5.4) s,(15.64±8.3)s,(22.71±6.2)s on the fifth day.The escape latency of the high-dose group was higher than those of the low-dose group (P=0.0041) and the solvent control group (P=0.019) in the navigation test.The number of crossing position of the platform in the high-dose group ((2.93± 1.53)times) and the middle-dose group ((3.40± 1.12) times) were lower than that in the solvent control group ((5.87 ± 1.55) times) and the low-dose group ((4.90± 1.41)times)(P＜0.05).Conclusion Sub-chronic exposure to DM can damage the spatial learning and memory of mice.

Objective To determine the genotypes and their epidermiology of microlide, lincosamide and streptogramin B(MLS_B)resistant S.epidermidis isolates causing nosocomial infection.Method 126 isolates were collected from inpatients in three hospitals in Beijing from 2003-2004 for testing the antibiotic susceptibility to the macrolide erythromycin,the lincosamide clindamycin.The resistance phenotypes of erythromycin-resistant isolates were determined by the double-disc test with erythromycin and clindamycin.The presence of the relative genes(ermA,ermB,ermC and msrA)to MLS_B resistance was identified by PCR and the similarity of the isolates was analyzed by PFGE.Result The isolates were mostly resistant to macrolide and lincosamide.In the constitutive phenotype cMLS_B isolates,the methicillin resistant S.epidermidis(MRSE)proportion appeared high(78.5%),whereas high methicillin susceptible S.epidermidis(MSSE)proportion was found in the inducible MLS_B phenotype(iMLS_B) (69.2%).ermC was shown as the most frequent determinant to the resistance,not only in MRSE and MSSE (70.8% and 6.8%),but also in iMLS_B and cMLS_B(76.9% and 90.3%).No specific endemic strain was found by PFGE analysis.The same resistance phenotype pattern was not clustered together and distributed into type A～F at the similarity of 60%.Among the phenotypes(cMLS_B,iMLS_B and MS phenotype),no significant difference was shown in the PFGE genotype distribution.Conclusion Our results indicate that the MLS_B resistance in S.epidermidis causing nosocomial infection is prevalent in the hospital and MLS_B antibiotics should be used iudiciously,ermC was shown as the most frequent determinant to the resistance.

Objective To determine the incidence and risk factors of iatrogenic retinal breaks in eyes undergoing pars plana vit- rectomy for idiopathic macular pucker.Design Retrospective case series.Participant 88 consecutive vitrectomies performed on eyes with idiopathic macular pucker.Method Consecutive vitrectomies performed on eyes with idiopathic macular pucker at Beijing Tongren Eye Center between 2002 and 2006 were retrospectively reviewed.Cases with iatrogenic retinal breaks were recorded and analyzed. Main Outcome Measure Number and location of retinal breaks,and anatomic outcome after surgical managements.Result A total of 88 consecutive vitrectomies were included in the study.Of the 88 eyes,8 eyes had 14 iatrogenic retinal breaks detected,with an aver- age incidence of 9.1%.Peripheral retinal breaks(8.0%)were more common than posterior retinal breaks(1.1%).All peripheral retinal breaks occurred around the selerotomy sites(100%)and the quadrant of predominant hand was involved most commonly(62%).Most of the breaks(88%)were detected during the surgery.All eyes with iatrogenic retinal breaks obtained anatomic retinal reattachment (100%).Conclusion Despite improvements in instrumentation and surgical techniques,iatrogenic retinal break continues to be an im- portant complication of pars plana vitrectomy in eyes with idiopathic macular pucker.This complication tends to occur more commonly at peripheral retina and is mainly selerotomy-related.

To determine the relationship between the intercellular adhesion operon (ica) and the biofilm production in Staphylococcus epidennidis isolates from nosocomial infection, and the affection of ica on the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates, we collected 106 strains, epidermidis isolates from nosocomial infection specimen to detect their biofilm production by quantitative and qualitative method and investigate the existence of ica operon by PCR. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to erythromycin, ampicillin, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, teco-planin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and vancomycin were tested. Among the isolates, 33 (31. 1% ) of them were detected out carrying ica operon. The rate of biofilm production of the ica-posi-tive isolates was higher than that of the ica-negative (P =0. 001) . By adding glucose and NaCl into the culture the detection rate of biofilm production could be increased. The antibiotic susceptibility of the plankton cells of ica-positive isolates to erythromycin, cefoxitin and ceftriaxone , except ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and tremethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, were lower than those of ica-negative isolates. This study showed that the existence of ica operon was close related to the biofilm formation in 5. epidermidis isolates from nosocomial infection. However, the mechanism of antibiotic resistance of the strains inside the biofilm still needed to be illustrated.

OBJECTIVETo explore a new approach in gene therapy of ovarian cancer, we used RNAi to inhibit survivin gene expression, and explore the effect of survivin and neu RNAi on growth, apoptosis and chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3/DDP cells.

METHODSExpression vector of survivin gene-targeting siRNA was constructed using pSilencer 1.0-U6 vector containing U6 promotor (pSilencer-survivin) and transfected into SKOV3/DDP cells by lipofectamine. The untransfected group and pSilencer-control group were used as control. The expressions of survivin mRNA and protein were identified by RT-PCR and Western blot assay. The proliferation of SKOV3/DDP cells was determined by MTT assay. The apoptosis rate and cell cycle distribution were analyzed by flow cytometry. Cisplatin (DDP) resistance experiment was performed in SKOV3/DDP cells with RNAi.

RESULTSSurvivin RNAi plasmid knocked-down survivin expression in SKOV3/DDP cells obviously, arrested the cells at G(1)/G(0) phase, inhibited the cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. The IC(50) of DDP to SKOV3/DDP cells transfected with survivin siRNA was dropped.

CONCLUSIONSurvivin RNAi can partly suppress the expression of survivin in SKOV3/DDP cells, inhibit the cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis. Survivin RNAi can enhance the cell sensitivity to apoptosis induced by cisplatin, which implies that survivin RNAi may partly reverse the drug resistance of ovarian cancer. RNAi could be a new approach for gene therapy of cancer.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of IL-18 and IL-18BP balance in aplastic anemia (AA).

METHODSA total of 29 AA patients and 22 controls were recruited in present research. The expressions of IL-18 and IL-18BP were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mRNA expressions of IL-18 and IL-18BP were measured in all subjects using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSThe levels of the IL-18 in plasma of AA and normals were (365.5 ± 160.6) pg/ml and (175.9 ± 92.8) pg/ml (P < 0.01); and the expression of IL-18 in severe AA patients (441.3 ± 116.9) pg/ml were higher than that in non-severe AA patients (326.4 ± 167.0) pg/ml (P < 0.05). The level of IL-18BP was increased in plasma of AA (1788.6 ± 523.8) pg/ml than in normals (1083.6 ± 489.6) pg/ml (P < 0.05). But the ratio of IL-18/IL-18BP in AA patients was much higher than that in controls (P < 0.05). RT-PCR revealed the levels of IL-18 and IL-18BP mRNA were up-regulated in AA patients when compared to controls, but the ratio of IL-18/IL-18BP was significantly elevated in AA patients.

CONCLUSIONIL-18/IL-18BP imbalance may play an important role in pathogenesis of AA and regulating the balance of IL-18 and IL-18BP may be a therapeutic approach to AA.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic ; blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; blood ; Interleukin-18 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult