Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; prevention & control ; China ; Health Plan Implementation ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Internationality ; Public Policy ; history ; Quality Control

Objectiye To optimize the depth of the microchannel and the time point for sperm collection,and improve the efficiency of sperm screening on a microfluidic device. Methods Microchannels with four different depths of 25, 50, 100 and 200 μm were tested. Mice sperm were added to the inlet of the microchannel. The relative quantity and motility of sperm in the outlet were recorded at different collection times, i.e. ,5, 15, 30 and 60 min. Statistical method one-way ANOVA and appropriate post-hoc testing were applied to analyze differences between different groups, and further to select the best-fit depth of the microchannel and the time point for collection. Results In microchannels with depths of 25, 50, 100 and 200 μm, the sperm motilities measured in each outlet were (85.4 ± 2.3)%, (85.8 ± 5.8)%,( 87. 2 ± 2. 8 ) %, (76. 5 ± 2. 8 ) % respectively with statistical significance ( F = 5.8, P ＜ 0. 05 ). No obvious differences were found among 25-100 μm channels, however the motility dramatically decreased in the 200 μm group. The relative sperm quantities were (5.2 ±2.0)%, (7.2 ±2.5)%,(12.3 ±2.0)%,(7. 7 ± 1.1 ) % respectively with statistical significance ( F = 6. 9, P ＜ 0. 05), which increased with channel depth from 25 to 100 μm,while it decreased in the 200 μm channel Taking 2 indexes into account, 100 μmwas the most fit channel depth for sperm motility screening. The sperm motility in the outlet gradually decreased with time. At the time points of 5, 15, 30 and 60 min after adding sperm, the sperm motilities were (99. 6 ±0. 7)%, (87.2 ±2. 8)%, (79. 3 ±2. 2)% and (62. 6 ±8.0)% respectively with statistical significance ( F = 37. 3, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Yet the relative quantities of sperm in the outlet increased almost three times in this process. At the time points mentioned above, the relative quantities of sperm were (5.8±1.1)%, (10.6 ± 0.9)%, (12.1 ± 1.7)%, (17.9 ± 3.4)% respectively with statistical significance ( F = 17.8, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Thus 15-30 min was the ideal screening time. Conclusion An effective microdevice for sperm screening with optimized depth and collection time period is developed,which may contribute significantly for the screening of healthy sperm on microfluidic chips.

AIM: To investigate the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), benazepril(B), on cardiac function, free oxygen radicals, sarcoplasmic reticulum(SR) Ca~(2+)-ATPase following ischemia-reper-fusion in sportaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). METHODS: Thirty 10-week-old female SHRs were randomly assigned into two groups: group SHR was control; The animal in group SHR+B was given with 10 mg/kg of benazepril perday. Another 15 Wistar rats with the same age and sex were normal control (group Wistar). After 12 weeks of pretreatment, all rats in each group were subjected to 30 min of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and 30 min of reperfusion. Hemodynamic parameters, left heart-to-body weight ratio(LVW/BW), myocardial malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and SR Ca~(2+)-ATPase activity were measured. RESULTS: Compared to group Wistar, the rats in group SHR had higher blood pressure, LVW/BW and myocardial MDA concentration, more serious left cardiac function injury and lower myocardial SOD activity and SR Ca~(2+)-ATPase activity; group SHR+B had lower myocardial MDA concentration, higher myocardial SOD activity, but no difference in blood pressure, LVW/BW, the degree of left cardiac function injury and myocardial SR Ca~(2+)-ATPase activity. CONCLUSION: Benazepril can attenuate ischemia-reperfusion-induced cardiac function injury by regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), improving SR Ca~(2+)-ATPase activity and decreasing oxygen free radicals injury in SHRs.

BACKGROUND:Overproduction of thyroid hormones is shown to increase the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, stimulating bone resorption and transformation. Inadequate compensation of increased bone resorption by bone transformation results in an increased loss of bone mass.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of hyperthyroidism on the density of the alveolar bone.
METHODS:Twenty-four New Zealand rabbits were equal y randomized into hyperthyroidism group and control group. Rabbits in the hyperthyroidism group or control group were daily injected intraperitoneal y with 50μg/kg levothyrocine diluted in physiological saline solution or equal volume of physiological saline. At 8 weeks after treatment, serum levels of thyroid hormones (FT3 and FT4), alkaline phosphatase, magnesium and calcium, phosphorus were determined;meanwhile, the bone densities of the lumbar vertebra, mandible, bilateral distal femur were determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and the correlation analysis was performed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At 8 weeks after treatment, serum levels of FT3, FT4, alkaline phosphatase calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in the hyperthyroidism group were significantly increased (P<0.01), while the bone densities of the lumbar vertebra, mandible, bilateral distal femur were significantly decreased (P<0.05), compared with the control group. Bone density of the mandible was positively correlated with the bone density the lumbar vertebra and bilateral distal femur. These findings suggest that the changes in FT3 and FT4 are sufficient for the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism results in the decreased density of the alveolar bone, indicating the occurrence of osteoporosis.

Objective Sperm screening is an essential step in IVF procedures. The swim-up method, an assay on sperm motility, is used clinically to select the ideal sperm for subsequent manipulation. However, additional parameters, including acrosome reaction capability, chemotaxis, and thermotaxis are also important indicators of mammalian sperm health. To monitor both sperm motility and chemotaxis simultaneously during sperm screening, we designed and constructed a microdevice comprising a straight channel connected with a bi-branch channel that mimics the mammalian female reproductive tract. Methods The width and length of the straight channel were optimized to select the motile sperm. Cumulus cells were selectively cultured in the bi-branch channel to generate a chemoattractant-forming chemical gradient. Sperm chemotaxis was represented by the ratio of the sperm swimming towards different branches. Results The percentage of motile sperm was improved from ( 58. 5 ± 3. 8 ) % to ( 82. 6±2.9)% by a straight channel 7 mm in length and 1 mm in width. About 10% of sperm were found chemotactically responsive in our experiment, which is consistent with previous studies. Conclusion The combined evaluation of both sperm motility and chemotaxis was achieved for the first time, and the motile and chemotactically responsive sperm can be easily enriched on a lab-on-a-chip device to improve IVF outcome.

This study was designed to compare the curative effect, prognosis and safety of different preconditioning regimens for patients who received autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) for malignant lymphoma (ML). The clinical data of 100 ML patients (Sep 1992 to Aug 2010 in 307 Hospital) were retrospectively analyzed, and were divided into two groups by different preconditioning regimens: the high-dose chemotherapy preconditioning group and high-dose chemotherapy/radiotherapy preconditioning group. The overall survival (OS) rate, progress free survival (PFS) rate and adverse effect were analyzed. The results showed that until Feb 2011, the median follow-up was 33.5 months. All patients were engrafted and their hematopoiesis was reconstituted. The median time of WBC recovery up to > 1.0×1.0(9)/L in high-dose chemotherapy preconditioning group and high-dose chemotherapy/radiotherapy preconditioning group were (6.0 ± 0.4) d and (8.2 ± 0.4) d, platelet up to > 20.0×1.0(9)/L in two groups were (7.1 ± 0.8) d and (11.4 ± 2.5) d (P < 0.05). The 3-year OS rate of the two groups were 67.3% and 68.9%. 5-year OS rates of two groups were 62.8% and 60.6%, 10-year OS rates of two groups were 57.6% and 56.2% respectively; 3-year PFS of two group were 63.6% and 63.2%, 5-year of two group were 59.4% and 58.3%, 10-year of two group were 50.8% and 55.3% respectively (P > 0.05). Meanwhile, the incidence of fever, infection, bleeding, secondary cancer between two groups was not significant different (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the hematopoietic reconstitution of high-dose chemotherapy/radiotherapy preconditioning group is later than that of high-dose chemotherapy preconditioning group. However, there is no significant difference in curative effect and prognosis between the two groups.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; surgery ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplantation Conditioning ; methods ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the constitutive characteristics and the change trend of gynecologic malignant tumors in hospitalized patients in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region over the recent 20 years.Methods Clinical data of 8009 in-patients who suffered from gynecologic malignant tumors in 23 hospitals from 1985 to 2004 in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were analyzed,with respect to the tumor types and change trend.Results(1)The leading 4 types of malignant tumors were cervical cancers, ovarian cancers,endometrial cancers,and malignant trophoblastic tumors according to the constitutive ratios of the tumors.The constitutive ratio of cervical cancer patients rose year by year,from 17.48% during the 1985-1989 period to 49.25% during the 2000-2004 period(P0.05).(2)The occurring age of cervical cancers became younger obviously,from≥60 years old dropped to

OBJECTIVETo explore the value of multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (M-FISH) technique in the detection of the complex chromosomal aberrations (CCAs) in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

METHODSM-FISH was used in ten MDS patients with R-banding CCAs to refine the complex chromosomal rearrangements, the constitute of marker chromosomes, and to identify the cryptic translocations.

RESULTSThirty-seven kinds of structural rearrangements were detected by M-FISH including insertion, deletion, translocation and derivative chromosomes, among which 34 kinds were unbalanced rearrangements, and 3 were balanced rearrangements including t(6;22) (q21; q12), t(9; 19) (q13; p13) and t(3;5) (?; ?). Seven abnormalities in the present paper were first reported in the literature. In addition, chromosome 17 aberrations (7/10) and -5/5q - (7/10) were the two most frequent abnormalities.

CONCLUSIONSM-FISH could refine CCAs in MDS patients, find or correct the missed or misidentified abnormalities analysed by conventional cytogenetics.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Gene Rearrangement ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Karyotyping ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; genetics ; Translocation, Genetic

Artemisinin,a new and a very potent antimalarial drug, is produced by the plant Artemisia annua L. with a very low yield ranging from 0.01% to 0.8% on a dry-weight basis. This makes artemisinin an expensive drug. Several studies reported chemical synthesis of the artemisinin, but none of them seems a viable economical alternative compared with the isolation of artemisinin from the plant. Hence, a higher artemisinin concentration in the plant is necessary for cheap antimalarial drug production. Many types of cyclic sesquiterpenes in Artemisia annua have been characterized to date, each derived from the common cyclic precursor FDP in a reaction catalyzed by a sesquiterpene synthase. Sesquiterpene synthases are widely regarded as the rate-determining regulatory enzymes in the pathways they participate, and a number of sesquiterpene synthases have been cloned from Artemisia annua up to now. This report is a brief review on the following sesquiterpene synthases: epi-cedrol synthase, amorpha-4,11-diene synthase, beta-caryophyllene synthase, (E)-beta-farnesene synthase, germacrene A synthase, as well as a new sesquiterpene synthase whose function remains largely unknown. The report is of help for a better understanding of metabolic engineering of Artemisia annua.
Alkyl and Aryl Transferases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Antimalarials ; Artemisia annua ; enzymology ; genetics ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Carbon-Carbon Lyases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Sesquiterpenes ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the detection of complex karyotypic abnormalities of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

METHODSMultiplex FISH was used in combination with conventional cytogenetics (CC) and interphase FISH to study 14 cases of AML with complex karyotypic abnormalities.

RESULTSIn the 14 cases of AML studied, conventional cytogenetics detected 23 numerical and 56 structural chromosome abnormalities. Among them 4 gained whole chromosome and 4 lost whole chromosome which were confirmed by multiplex FISH. Twelve chromosome losses detected by CC were revised as derivative chromosomes resulted from various structural aberrations, and 26 derivative and 19 marker chromosomes were characterized precisely by multiplex FISH. Most of them were resulted from unbalanced translocations, including 2 complex 8; 21 translocations, which have not been reported previously: t (8; 21), der (8) t (8; 21) (8pter --> 8q22::21q22 --> 21qter), der (21) t (8; 21; 8) (8qter --> 8q22:: 21p13 --> 21q22::8q22 --> 8qter) and t (21; 8; 18; 1), der (8) t (8; 21) (8pter --> 8q22:: 21q22 --> 21qter), der (21) t (21; 8; 18; 1) (21p13 --> 21q22?::8q22 --> 8q24 ?:: 18??::1q??q??). The complex karyotypic abnormalities involved nearly all chromosomes, of which the chromosomes 17, 7 and 5 were more involved than the rest.

CONCLUSIONMultiplex FISH in combination with conventional cytogenetics may characterize the complex chromosomal abnormalities more precisely. Introduction of this technique to the study of AML with complex chromosomal abnormalities is warranted.

Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spectral Karyotyping ; methods ; Translocation, Genetic ; Young Adult