Objective To investigate the expression of Erbin in renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) and the effect of over-expression of Erbin on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-(β1)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in NRK52E cells. Methods In vivo, the model of renal fibrosis was induced by 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy in rat. Scr and BUN was detected and Masson staining was used to evaluate the level of renal tissue fibrosis. The location and expression of Erbin in renal tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. In vitro, after NRK52E cells were treated by TGF-β1 (10 μg/L) for 72 h, immunofluorescence and Western blotting were used to obverse the expression and distribution of E-cadherin and α-SMA. The expression of Erbin mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting respectively. NRK52E cells were transiently transfected with Prk5-myc-Erbin plasmid via lipofectamine 2000, then the expressions of Erbin, E-cadherin and α-SMA were detected by Western blotting. Results (l)Compared to sham group with Scr (33.96±7.28) μmol/L and BUN (8.11±2.55) mmol/L, rats in 5/6 nephrectomy model with Scr (140.52±61.11) μmol/L and BUN (34.23±7.66) mmol/L revealed renal dysfunction. Masson staining indicated kidney interstitial fibrosis, and the expression of Erbin was significantly increased in renal tissue(2.9 folds), especially in tubular epithelia. (2)In vitro, the expressions of Erbin and α-SMA were markedly increased (2.3 folds and 2.1 folds, P<0.05, respectively) and the expression of E-cadherin was dramatically decreased in NRK52E cells stimulated by TGF-β1, which were consistent with immunofluorescence results. TGF-β1-induced E-cadherin suppression and a-SMA induction could be efficiently blocked by over-expression of Erbin (all P <0.05). Conclusions Erbin is up-regulated in renal interstitial fibrosis, and over-expression of Erbin can partly inhibit renal EMT induced by TGF-β1, which indicates Erbin playing an protective role in renal fibrosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical results of the primary total hip replacement (THR) and the secondary THR after failed internal fixation in the elderly patients with displaced femoral neck fracture so as to find the optimal treatment for displaced femoral neck fractures in the elderly patients. Methods From April 2001 to April 2007,16 patients (Study Group) treated with a secondary THR after failed internal fixation and 20 patients (Control Group) treated with a primary THR were enrolled in the study and followed up. There were seven males and nine females, at average age of 66. 5 years (50-85 years) and with mean follow-up period of 58. 25 months (24-96 months) in the Study Group. There were six males and 14 females, at average age of 68.1 years (51-83 years) and with mean follow-up period of 49.50 months (24-70 months) in the Control Group. All patients were active and lucid before they suffered fractures. Blood loss and operation duration in THR were compared. Hip function (Harris score) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL, KPS index score) were assessed during the follow-up after THR. Results Operative duration was (115.63 ±34.35) minutes in Study Group and (91.25 ±15.80) minutes in Control Group (P<0.05). Blood loss was (546.86 ±377.04) ml in Study Group and (320.00 ±155.94) ml in Control Group (P<0.05). At follow up, Harris score and KPS index score were (87. 25 ±7. 53) points and (95. 00 ±5. 16) points respectively in Study Group, and (90.20±5.46) points and (96.00 ±0.73) points respectively in Control Group (P>0.05). There were no infections or re-operations in two groups, but with one death in each group during the follow-up. Conclusions THR is the optimal treatment for displaced femoral neck fractures in the elderly patients.The secondary THR after failed internal fixation has higher risks in operation compared with the primary THR for a displaced femoral neck fracture in the elderly patient.

OBJECTIVETo examine the significance of crossover analysis in gene-environmental interaction studies.

METHODSThrough elaboration of a case-control study on the increased risk of venous thrombosis in oral-conceptive users who were carriers of factor V Leiden mutation, core information from 2 x 4 crossover table were analyzed and compared with stratified analysis and 'case only' study.

RESULTSDifferent models (additive or multiplicative) in analyzing gene-environmental interaction yielded different results. The result of interaction based on multiplicative model was 1.35 (P > 0.05), compatible with that of stratified analysis and case only study. Calculated by crossover analysis based on additive model, synergy index S(S), attributable proportion of interaction (AP) and relative excess risk of interaction (RERI) appeared to be 3.90, 72.24%, 25.08 (P > 0.05) respectively.

CONCLUSIONCrossover analysis should further be applied in gene-environmental interaction studies.

Case-Control Studies ; Contraceptives, Oral ; adverse effects ; Cross-Over Studies ; Environment ; Factor V ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Markers ; Genotype ; Humans ; Mutation ; Risk Factors ; Venous Thrombosis ; chemically induced ; genetics

Adult ; Aged ; Asthma ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; epidemiology ; etiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Smoking ; adverse effects

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical value of color Doppler ultrasound examination in the diagonosis of acute and chronic artery occlusion of the extremities.MethodsA review was made on 129 extremetiy artery occlusion patients at Anzhen Hospital during 2006 -2010. 85 cases were male, and 44 cases were female. Age was from 17 to 94 years (average: 62 ±9 years). We analyzed two-dimensional and color Doppler flow imagings of 39 acute occlusion arteries and 97 chronic occlusion arteries. We compared factors including the echoes of artery lumens, the vessel wall structures, hemodynamic parameters of inlet and outlet at the occlusion, and collaterals between groups.ResultsThe factors of depths of vessel wall,internal diameters of ccclusion arteries, proximal resistant index and collaterals were significantly different between groups ( P ＜ 0. 05 ). The internal diameters of acute occlusion arteries were wider than chronic occlusion arteries. The depths of vessel wall, proximal resistant index and collaterals were thinner, smaller,and less than chronic occlusion arteries. The total accurate rate of differential diagnosis for acute and chronic artery occlusion by color Doppler ultrasound was 95.6％.ConclusionsColor Doppler ultrasound is an effective method for the differential diagnosis of acute and chronic artery occlusion of the extremities.

Animals ; Macaca mulatta ; Nerve Regeneration ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; physiopathology ; Peripheral Nerves ; physiology ; Rats

Objective To examine the relationship between hyperthyroidism and excessive iodine intake from drinking water through epidemiological studies in the iodine excess and the iodine normal villages. Methods Mengzhuang village of Pei county and Xingji village of Pizhou city in Jiangsu province, with median water iodine concentration of 1284.1 μg/L and 77.9 μ/L, respectively,were selected in 2006. Thyroid diseases of all local residents in the two villages were assessed clinically to compare the prevalence and the distribution of hyperthyroidism. Results A total of 17 471 residents were recruited from the iodine excess village, 26 of them were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The prevalence of hyperthyroidism was 1.49‰, 0.75‰ (7/9264) in male,2.32‰( 19/8207) in female, and the age-standardized prevalence was 1.48‰. A total of 12 765 residents were recruited from the iodine normal village, among them 27 residents were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. The prevalence of hyperthyroidism was 2.12‰, 0.96‰(7/6823) in male, 3.26‰(20/5942) in female, and the agestandardized prevalence was 2.02‰. The prevalence and age-standardized prevalence was significantly lower in the iodine excess village than those in the iodine normal village (u = 2.88, 2.89; all P < 0.01). The prevalence of hyperthyroidism was lower among females in the iodine excess village (2.32‰) than that in the iodine normal one (3.37‰, u = 2.89, P < 0.01). Residents aged 20 - 50 years had higher prevalence of hyperthyroidism[(19.36 -38.96 )/10 000]in the two villages. The proportion of Graves diseases was 50.00% (13/26) in the iodine excessvillage, higher than that in the iodine normal village[29.41%(5/17) , χ2 = 5.853, P < 0.01]. Conclusions Chronic excessive iodine intake does not increase the chance of suffering from hyperthyroidism. On the contrary, the prevalence of hyperthyroidism in the iodine excess village decreases significantly compared with that of the iodine normal village. The prevalence is higher among females.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the molecular subtypes of 73 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1A isolated in Shandong province by PFGE, and thereby to analyze the relationship between PFGE typing and biological characteristics.

METHODSSeventy-three strains of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1A were isolated from animal feces and meat products in Gaomi city and Wulian county in Shandong province from 2008 to 2009. Motility test, serum agglutination and virulent genes detection by PCR were used to learn the biological characteristics of the isolated strains. The molecular subtypes were determined by PFGE, whose relationships with motility, serotypes and virulent genotypes were also analyzed.

RESULTSOut of the 73 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica, 5 showed medium-active motility while the other 68 showed well-active motility. The dominated serotypes were O:5(17/73) and O:8(14/73), followed by O:9(5/73) and O:7, 8(1/73), and there was no O:3 serotype found. Meanwhile, 36 strains couldn't be serotyped. All the strains were negative with the gene ail, ystA, yadA and virF, yet the positive rate of ystB gene was 72.6% (53/73). The 73 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated could be subtyped into 54 PFGE patterns (K6GN11SD0001-K6GN11SD0054), most of which only had 1 or 2 isolated strains, and no pattern was dominant. The strains in the same or similar cluster were from different hosts; each serotype and toxic genotype scattered in the clustering trees, without specific correlation with PFGE subtypes. 4 out of 5 strains, which showed medium-active motility, belonged to one branch, with the similarity coefficient at 80.9% - 100.0%; while all the toxic genotype belonged to type B.

CONCLUSIONBiotype 1A Yersinia enterocolitica has many clones, whose PFGE types had relations with motility, but no relations with virulent genotype and host.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Genes, Bacterial ; Genotype ; Meat Products ; microbiology ; Yersinia enterocolitica ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification

China ; epidemiology ; Deficiency Diseases ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Iodine ; deficiency ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary

BACKGROUNDSafe placement of the screws is a critical aspect of trans-pedicle internal fixation, and little information on in vivo morphology of the cervical vertebrae pedicle measured with imaging methods is available. The aim of this study was to measure the dimensions of cervical vertebrae C3 to C7 and provide screw length, screw diameter and tilt angle for clinical cervical vertebra trans-pedicle internal fixation.

METHODSThirty Chinese men and women underwent high-speed spiral computed tomography measurements to obtain data for C3 to C7, and the morphology of the cervical vertebra pedicles was reconstructed.

RESULTSReconstructed computer tomography image data revealed that: (1) pedicle sponge width increased incrementally from C3 to C7, (2) pedicle depth was similar for C3 to C7, (3) pedicle angle decreased incrementally from 47.20° to 33.76° for C3 to C7, and (4) pedicle point to midline distance was similar for C3 to C7. There were no statistical differences in morphological data between the right and the left side. Men had statistically larger values than women for all morphological parameters.

CONCLUSIONSReconstructed computed tomography images can provide useful data for clinical cervical vertebra trans-pedicle internal fixation. The individual measurement of cervical vertebra pedicles is recommended for safe placement of trans-vertebra pedicle screws.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Cervical Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Internal Fixators ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Young Adult