Cough ; diagnosis ; Disease Management ; Humans

Objective To study normal flora components of conjunctiva, explore the relationship between normal flora and ocu- lar bacterial infections.Methods The data of 1 198 bacterial cultures of conjunctiva in non-infectious cataract patients were re- viewed and compared with the results of 985 specimens of conjunctivitis, keratitis and endophthalmitis from January 2000 to December 2004.Results Positive culture of conjunctiva in non-infectious cataract patients was 628 in 1 198 specimens (52.4%).These bacteria including gram-positive cocci and gram-neganve bacilli constituted the normal flora of conjunctiva. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the predominant bacteria (51.1%, 341/667) and its prevalence increased during this 5-year period.S.epidermidis and S.aureus were also the most frequently isolated pathogens in specimens of conjunctivitis, keratitis and endophthalmitis.The correlation was statistically significant between the positive rate in normal eye and conjunctivitis or keratitis in terms of these two species, but not statistically significant between normal eye and endophthalmitis.The resistance rate of normal flora of conjunctiva to ampicillin, amikacin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin increased year by year. The resistance rate to gentamicin and the combination of two drugs decreased.The changing resistant pattern was similar in pa- tients with eye infection.Conclusions There is a close relationship between the normal flora S.aureus and S.epidermidis of conjunctiva and the bacterial infection of ocular surface, but no significant correlation between normal flora and the pathogen of endophthalmitis.

AIM: To detect the role of cyclic nucleotides in the alleviation of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) in chronic hypoxic animals. METHODS: The intracellular cAMP and cGMP of the cultured porcine pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC) and endothelial cells (PAEC) were assayed by RIA. The length of single PASMC during acute hypoxia was measured by imaging analysis system. RESULTS: The basal levels of cAMP and cGMP in PASMC and cGMP in PAEC of Chronic hypoxic groups decreased remarkably compared with normoxic groups ( P

Objective:To observe the efficacy of Dabigatran etexilate anticoagulation therapy and analyze its influencing factors in elderly patients.Methods:The clinical data of the elderly patients using Dabigatran etexilate anticoagulation for prevention or treatment of thrombosis in the Department of Geriatrics, Peking University First Hospital were collected.Changes of coagulation indexes and its influencing factors were analyzed when taking Dabigatran in different doses.Results:A total of 142 patients receiving Dabigatran therapy were collected, with an average age of(79.0±7.5)years.Among them, 128 patients had atrial fibrillation and 14 had deep venous thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism.After taking Dabigatran, the trough values of activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT)and thrombin time(TT)were increased significantly in all patients compared with that before administration( P<0.001). In patients taking Dabigatran 110 mg once a day, APTT was(32.4±3.0)s before administration, with a trough value of(41.4±5.4)s and a peak value of(53.9±9.8)s.In patients taking Dabigatran 110 mg twice a day, APTT was(31.0±3.1)s before administration, with a trough value of(42.4±5.5)s and a peak value of(48.7±7.3)s.Compared with patients taking Dabigatran 220 mg/d, those who took Dabigatran 110 mg/d were older( P<0.0001), often women( P<0.0001), had lower body weight( P=0.001), body mass index( P=0.018)and creatinine clearance rate( P<0.001), and higher basal( P=0.008)and peak values( P=0.002)of APTT, but with similar trough values.Multivariate analysis showed that the APTT trough values were significantly related with APTT basal value( β=0.885, P<0.001), creatinine clearance rate( β=-0.121, P<0.001), dosage of Dabigatran( β=0.037, P<0.001)and combined amiodarone( β=3.784, P=0.022). Conclusions:There are individual differences in the anticoagulant effect of Dabigatran etexilate.The APTT trough value is higher in patients with high APTT basal value, high Dabigatran dose, low creatinine clearance rate and combined use of amiodarone.Dabigatran 110 mg/d was often used in women, elderly patients, and those with low body weight, and decreased renal function, and with a similar trough value and a high peak value of APTT compared with patients on Dabigatran 220 mg/d.

Objective To observe the effects of 75 gram glucose oral tolerance test (75 g OGTT) and standard mixed meal test (SMMT) on insulin secretion function of the islets of Langerhans and plasma free fatty acid (FFA) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods Seventy-six patients with type 2 diabetes without using insulin and with no obvious complications were recruited for 75 g OGTT following overnight fasting on the first day and SMMT (bread 50 g,egg 50 g and milk 250 ml) on the 7th day.Blood specimens were collected from each patients before the tests and 30 min,60 min,120 min and 180 min after glucose or meal load to measure their levels of plasma glucose,serum insulin,C peptide,FFA and lipids (total cholesterol,triglyceride,high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol).Results No difference in fasting plasma glucose,serum insulin,C peptide,FFA and lipids between 75 g OGTT and SMMT was found.Postprandial plasma glucose 30 min,60 min,120 min and 180 min after 75 g OGTT was significantly higher than that after SMMT,with (15.3?3.5) vs (9.9?3.4) mmol/L,(18.2?4.8) vs (12.8?4.0) mmol/L,(16.3?5.8) vs (12.2?4.9) mmol/L and (10.6?5.4) vs (9.5?4.5) mmol/L (F=28.1,P

Objective To dig the correlation between genes and four TCM constitutions (phlegm-dampness, blood stasis, allergy, and dampness-heat); To analyze microscopic mechanism of constitution formed and constitution-disease correlation; To provide biological basis for TCM constitution classification and constitution-disease correlation theory. Methods Literature about TCM constitutions and gene expressions in CNKI and Wanfang Database were retrieved by computers from the establishment of database to 31, December 2016. Differentially expressed genes of four TCM constitutions were collected, and DAVID database was used for enrichment analysis, including gene tissue enrichment analysis, disease analysis, GO analysis, and pathway analysis. The results of DAVID database analysis were downloaded and analyzed. Results Four TCM constitutions had differences in gene level, and each constitution had the specificity in significantly enriched gene function, activity, pathways, related diseases, and expression locations. Different patterns of gene expression led to the constitution differences in disease susceptibility and tendency. Conclusion The essence of TCM constitution formation is the change of gene expression patterns, and the pathological changes are also caused by the change.

In the research community, resistance to apoptosis is often considered a hallmark of cancer. However, pathologists who diagnose cancer via microscope often see the opposite. Indeed, increased apoptosis and mitosis are usually observed simultaneously in cancerous lesions. Studies have shown that increased apoptosis is associated with cancer aggressiveness and poor clinical outcome. Furthermore, overexpression of Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic protein, is linked with better survival of cancer patients. Conversely, Bax, CD95, Caspase-3, and other apoptosis-inducing proteins have been found to promote carcinogenesis. This notion of the role of apoptosis in cancer is not new; cancer cells were found to be short-lived 88 years ago. Given these observations, resistance to apoptosis should not be considered a hallmark of cancer.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; physiology ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Carcinogenesis ; metabolism ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Treatment Outcome ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism ; fas Receptor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo analyze the impact of thoracic and thoracolumbar angular kyphosis on pelvic shape and sagittal alignment.

METHODSFrom May 2002 to June 2010, the sagittal spino-pelvic parameters were analyzed in lateral standing radiographs of 32 patients (mean age 29.6 years) with thoracolumbar angular kyphosis. The parameters included Cobb angle of kyphosis, lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), sacrum slope (SS), pelvic tilt (PT) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA). All pelvic parameters in the patients were compared with those reported in historical normal subjects. All patients were treated by using kyphotic correction and fusion. The preoperative and postoperative parameters were compared. The pelvic parameters were also compared between the patients with kyphotic apex located at T(1-8) and those located at T(9-12) and thoracolumbar junction. The linear regression analysis was used to investigate the independent factors of PI.

RESULTSThe mean kyphosis was 90.1° (31° - 138°). The mean age of kyphosis occurrence was 6.1 years. The mean PI, SS and PT were 34.8°, 35.8° and -0.7° respectively. The PI and PT were significantly smaller (P < 0.001) in the patients than those in normal subjects while the SS was similar. The kyphosis was improved to 27.9° post-operatively. There was no difference in PI values between pre-operation and postoperation (P > 0.05). The PI and SS in patients whose kyphosis located at thoracic spine (T(1-8)) were significantly higher than those at T(9)-L(2). Instead of patients' age and LL, the preoperative Cobb angle of kyphosis and the levels where kyphosis located were two independent impact factors of PI.

CONCLUSIONSThe kyphosis occurred at childhood may influence pelvic shape and alignment significantly. The lower kyphotic apex located and the bigger kyphosis, the greater impact on the pelvic morphology. The surgery can improve the kyphosis, but can not change the sagittal pelvic morphology. Early treatment of thoracolumbar angular kyphosis is beneficial not only to reconstruction of spine alignment but also to the formation of sagittal pelvic morphology.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; pathology ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvis ; pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery ; Young Adult

The study established a UPLC-MS/MS method that is used for simultaneous determination nine major bioactive compounds of Dachengqi Tang in rat plasma. Using Aglient C18 column (2.1 mm x 50 mm,1.7 microm) was chromatographed, using methanol-5 mmol x L(-1) ammonium formate mobile phase gradient, elution 0.3 mL x min(-1). In the plasma pre-treatment process, not only the method of methanol and acetonitrile protein precipitation was investigated, and different factors extraction solvent, the type of the scroll time, the number and the type of extraction solvent, the extraction volume of the extraction solution of liquid-liquid extraction is investigated. Finally, with ibuprofen as an internal standard, using ethyl acetate liquid-liquid extraction method pretreatment blood, N2 dry reconstituted supernatant after centrifugation UPLC-MS/MS analysis, in electrospray ionization (ESI) negative mode, using multiple reaction monitoring mode for testing. The linear range of emodin, rhein, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, magnolol, honokiol, hesperidin and hesperitin is 0.33-660, 0.40-792, 0.41-827, 0.34-680, 0.45-907, 0.46-927, 0.43-867, 0.34-683, 0.39-787 microg x L(-1) respectively, good linear relationship; and extraction recovery were greater than 69.39%, days after the day of the RSD is less than 15%. This method can be used to study the rat gastric large bearing gas after Dachengqi Tang, the simultaneous determination of nine components in plasma for its pharmacokinetics and efficacy material base to provide a theoretical basis.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Female ; Male ; Plasma ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods

OBJECTIVETo observe the results of posterior osteotomy and correction in the surgical treatment of old tuberculous kyphosis.

METHODSFrom June 2004 to December 2008, 31 cases of old tuberculous kyphosis with posterior osteotomy and correction technique were treated. There were 12 cases of male and 19 cases of female. The average age was 33.4 years. Pedicle subtraction osteotomy or vertebral column resection were applied in surgery. The kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle and sagittal balance condition of the spine were measured before and after surgery, as well as follow-up. The Frankel grading system for neurological function of lower extremities, the Oswestry disability index (ODI) for life quality, and patient satisfactory index (PSI) for satisfaction of surgery were applied before surgery and at follow-up.

RESULTSThe average kyphosis angle was 94° ± 27°, the average lumbar lordosis angle was 71° ± 20°, and the average sagittal C(7) plumb line was (-15 ± 44) mm away from the balance region before surgery. The average kyphosis angle decreased to 26° ± 11° in one week after surgery, with an improvement rate of 71.4%. The average follow-up time was 22.5 months. The average kyphosis angle was 28° ± 12° at the final follow-up, with an improvement rate of 70.0%. The average lumbar lordosis angle was 46° ± 11°, with an improvement rate of 35.1%. The postoperative kyphosis angle and lumbar lordosis angle were significantly different with that of pre-operation (for kyphosis angle: t = 16.3, P < 0.05; for lumbar lordosis angle: t = 8.1, P < 0.05). The average sagittal C(7) plumb line was (-4 ± 22) mm away from the balance region at the final follow-up, with an improvement rate of 73.4%. The Frankel grading were E in 13 cases, D in 13 cases, and C in 5 cases before surgery, and were E in 20 cases, D in 8 cases, and C in 3 cases at the final follow-up. The average ODI was 13 ± 12 before surgery, and was 7 ± 8 at the final follow-up, with an improvement rate of 45.2%. The PSI results showed a satisfied rate of 90.3%.

CONCLUSIONGood results can be achieved by applying proper posterior osteotomy and correction technique according to the severity of old tuberculous kyphosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; etiology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteotomy ; methods ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Treatment Outcome ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; complications ; Young Adult