Objective To supply a scientific basis for laying out a unified standard of reference value of Chinese newborn boys' hemoglobin. Methods After the reference values of 5169 Chinese healthy newborn boys' hemoglobin tested in 78 areas were collected, a research was made on the relationship between the reference value of Chinese newborn boys' hemoglobin and altitude by using curvilinear regression analysis. Results As the altitude gradually increased, the reference value of Chinese newborn boys' hemoglobin gradually increased by index law, with significant correlation (R=0.601, F=43.05, P= 0.0000). One curvilinear regression model was given out: =176.9e 0.00008662x?25.3. Conclusion If altitude of a particular area is known, the reference value of Chinese newborn boys' hemoglobin in this area can be established by using regression model. According to the correlation between Chinese newborn boys' hemoglobin and altitude, China can be divided into three regions: Qinghai-Tibet Region, Central Region, Eastern Region.

In order to obtain higher L-lactic acid yield industrial strain, the original strain Rhizopus oryzae PW352 was mutated by means of N+ ions implantation and a mutant strain Rhizopus oryzae RE3303 was obtained. Its lactic acid yield was increased by 75% than that of the original one. The acid producing condition was optimized by orthogonal design. The concentration of L-lactic acid reached to 131～136g/L and the conversion rate of glucose was as high as 86%～90% under the optimum condition.

ONYX-015 and H101 are E1B 55-kDa protein-deficient replicating C group adenoviruses that are currently in clinical trials as antitumor agents. However, their application in cancer gene therapy is limited by the native tropism of C group adenoviruses. This is in part due to low expression of the C group adenovirus receptor (coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor, CAR) on malignant tumors. An H101-based chimeric virus vector containing sequences encoding the Ad35 fiber domain instead of the Ad5 fiber (H101-F35) was constructed. This modification allowed infection of tumor cells through CD46, a membrane protein over-expressed on tumors. The CAR and CD46 RNA expression was evaluated by RT-PCR method. H101-F35 conferred a stronger cytocidal effect than H101 and ONYX-015 in tumor cell lines that lacked CAR expression (MDA-MB-435 and MCF-7), while the cytocidal effect of H101-35, H101 and ONYX-015 was similar in high-level CAR expressing cancer cell lines (A549, NCI-H446, Hep3B, LNCaP, ZR-75-30 and Bcap-37). In an MDA-MB-435 xenograft mouse tumor model, tumor growth in mice receiving H101-F35 was significantly inhibited compared with mice injected with H101. These results suggest that the chimeric oncolytic adenovirus H101-F35 vector might be a useful candidate for gene therapy of cancer.

BACKGROUNDOver past two decades, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been widely used and reported to alleviate seizure frequency worldwide, however, so far, only hundreds of patients with pharmaco-resistant epilepsy (PRE) have been treated with VNS in mainland China. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of VNS for Chinese patients with PRE and compare its relationship with age cohort and gender.

METHODSWe retrospectively assessed the clinical outcome of 94 patients with PRE, who were treated with VNS at Beijing Fengtai Hospital and Beijing Tiantan Hospital between November 2008 and April 2014 from our database of 106 consecutive patients. The clinical data analysis was retrospectively examined.

RESULTSSeizure frequency significantly decreased with VNS therapy after intermittent stimulation of the vagus nerve. At last follow-up, we found McHugh classifications of Class I in 33 patients (35.1%), Class II in 27 patients (28.7%), Class III in 20 patients (21.3%), Class IV in 3 patients (3.2%), and Class V in 11 patients (11.7%). Notably, 8 (8.5%) patients were seizure-free while ≥50% seizure frequency reduction occurred in as many as 60 patients (63.8%). Furthermore, with regard to the modified Engel classification, 12 patients (12.8%) were classified as Class I, 11 patients (11.7%) were classified as Class II, 37 patients (39.4%) were classified as Class III, 34 patients (36.2%) were classified as Class IV. We also found that the factors of gender or age are not associated with clinical outcome.

CONCLUSIONSThis comparative study confirmed that VNS is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective treatment for Chinese PRE patients. VNS reduced the seizure frequency regardless of age or gender of studied patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance ; Epilepsy ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Vagus Nerve Stimulation ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression and its clinical significance of estrogen receptor (ERα) and phosphorylated estrogen receptor (p-ERα) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The associations between ERα, p-ERα and IL-6 were also analyzed.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of ERα, p-ERα and IL-6 in tumor tissues from 77 cases with hepatocellular carcinoma. The relations between ERα and the clinical pathological parameters and prognosis were also analyzed.

RESULTSThe positive rates of ERα, p-ERα and IL-6 in hepatocellular carcinoma were 39.0% (30/77), 45.4% (35/77) and 72.7% (56/77), respectively. The expression of ERα and p-ERα were negatively correlated with the expression of IL-6 (r=-0.468, P<0.01; r=-0.370, P<0.01, respectively). The positive rate of ERα in patients with tumor size≤5 cm, serum level of alpha-fetoprotein<400 µg/L, with complete encapsulation and non-microvascular invasion was significantly higher than those with tumor size>5 cm, serum level of alpha-fetoprotein&ge;400 µg/L, non-complete encapsulation and with microvascular invasion (all P<0.05). The overall survival rates of ERα-positive and ERα-negative patients were 66.7% and 23.4% (P<0.05). And the disease-free survival rates of ERα-positive and ERα-negative patients were 83.3% and 57.4% (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe tumor biological features of ERα-positive patients are better than that of ERα-negative patients. The role of ERα in hepatocellular carcinoma may be related to IL-6 level.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; metabolism ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphorylation ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDBudd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a rare disease with portal hypertension caused by the blockage of the hepatic vein and/or the inferior vena cava (IVC). Angiography is the "golden standard" for diagnosis, but it is an invasive examination. To assess the diagnostic value of a fresh blood imaging (FBI) relative to BCS, we used a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with an FBI sequence for a preoperative evaluation of the BCS patients in this study.

METHODSFifty patients who were suspected of having BCS after they had been checked by a B-ultrasound were studied. 2D and 3D FBI were performed on a 1.5T superconductive MR scanner. Original images were rebuilt using a maximal intensity projection (MIP) method on the console. Two doctors reviewed all images before they learned of the angiography results. We then compared the diagnoses obtained from the FBI and angiography results to evaluate the diagnostic value of the FBI.

RESULTSForty-one patients were diagnosed as BCS and 9 as non-BCS based on an angiography. The FBI correctly diagnosed 38 patients, incorrectly diagnosed 1 patient, and missed diagnosis in 3 patients. Thus, the diagnostic sensitivity of the FBI is 93% (38/41), the specificity is 89% (8/9) and the accuracy is 92% (46/50). The FBI images of the 13 membranous stenoses of the IVC showed a sudden stenosis of the post-liver segment of the IVC. The Images of the 5 patients with a membranous obstruction of the IVC showed IVC thickening and an absence of blood signals in the post-hepatic segment of the IVC. The images of the 4 patients with the segmental thrombosis of the IVC showed abnormal and intermittent signals in the IVC. The images of the 6 patients with a simple hepatic vein obstruction showed obstructive hepatic veins. The images of the 6 patients with the stenosis of both the IVC and the hepatic veins showed the stenosis of the IVC, the thickening of the hepatic veins and the formation of a compensatory circulation within the liver. Lastly, the images of the 7 patients showed a combination of the IVC thrombosis with stenosis or with the obstruction of one or two hepatic veins.

CONCLUSIONSAn FBI can show a membranous stenosis, and an obstruction and thrombosis of the IVC. In addition, it can also demonstrate the thickening of the flexural hepatic vein and the development of intra-hepatic compensatory branches with slow blood flow. Thus, it can guide the puncturing and opening of the hepatic vein involved in an interventional therapy for BCS patients.

Aged ; Budd-Chiari Syndrome ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; methods ; Male ; Vena Cava, Inferior ; pathology

To investigate the roles of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein and glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) of smoking murine model in the repair of the injured airway epithelial cells (AECs) in different stages, 30 male Kun-Ming mice were randomly divided into two groups, the control group and the smoking group. There were 24 mice in smoking group, and 6 animals were separately killed at the end of the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th week after smoking. Then the following tests were undertaken: (1) HE staining of lung section to observe the morphological changes of the bronchi in the smoking mice. (2) Immunohistochemical staining of APC protein and GSK3beta in the AECs. (3) Western blot was used to detect the levels of APC protein, GSK3beta and phosphorated GSK3beta (p-GSK3beta) in pulmonary tissue. (4) Observing the localizations of APC protein and GSK3beta in the AECs by immunofluorescence technique. The results showed: (1) AECs showed changes of predominant injury (1-, 4-week), repair (8-week) and reinjury (12-week) along with smoking time prolonged. The experimental results indicated that the model of smoking mice was duplicated successfully. (2) Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of APC protein in the AECs increased after 1-week smoking (0.458 +/- 0.062 vs 0.399 +/- 0.060, P< 0.05 vs control), but was significantly decreased at the end of the 4th week (0.339+/- 0.056, P<0.01 vs control) and increased at the end of the 8th and 12th week (0.387 +/- 0.041, 0.378 +/- 0.037, P<0.05 vs 4-week). The expression of GSK3beta in the AECs of smoking mice obviously decreased (P<0.01 or P<0.05 vs control). (3) Western blot showed that the expressions of APC protein and GSK3beta in lung tissue were consistent with the results of immunohistochemistry; and the levels of p-GSK3beta in all smoking models were higher than that in control. (4) The results of immunofluorescence showed that APC protein was localized mainly near the regions of epithelial cell membrane at the end of the 1st and 8th week after smoking, which were dissimilar with the localization in control, and this change was not seen in the location of GSK3beta. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the expressions and localizations of APC protein, GSK3beta and the activity of GSK3beta are dynamically changed in the AECs with experimental smoking injury at different phases, suggesting that APC protein and GSK3beta may be involved in the regulation of migration and proliferation of AECs, and play an important role in the process of repair of airway epithelium injury.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein ; metabolism ; Animals ; Bronchi ; pathology ; physiology ; Female ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Lung ; pathology ; physiology ; Male ; Mice ; Regeneration ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Tobacco ; adverse effects

Objective:To investigate the medium- and long-term efficacy of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for esophageal diverticulum and the risk factors for postoperative recurrence.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 31 cases of esophageal diverticulum who were treated by POEM in Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University from May 1st 2016 to August 1st 2019. The Eckardt score, the operative success rate, and the recurrence rate after the operation were observed and recorded. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the risk factors for postoperative recurrence.Results:POEM was successfully completed in all 31 patients, who were followed up for 30.6±11.1 months (20-63 months). The Eckardt score before the operation was 8.2±2.4, and was 1.4±0.7, 1.4±1.1, 1.3±1.1, and 1.3±0.9 at 1, 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively after the operation, which significantly decreased at all follow-up time points ( P<0.001). The success rates at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months after the operation were 96.8% (30/31), 90.3% (28/31), 90.3% (28/31) and 90.3% (28/31), respectively. Three patients suffered symptom relapse, with an overall recurrence rate of 9.7% (3/31). Logistic regression analysis showed that the disease duration ( P=0.038, OR=1.041, 95% CI: 1.002-1.080) and preoperative Eckardt score ( P=0.024, OR=2.299, 95% CI: 1.117-4.728) were risk factors for postoperative recurrence of POEM. Conclusion:POEM is safe and effective for esophageal diverticulum. Patients with long disease duration and high preoperative Eckardt score are associated with recurrence.

Objective To evaluate the neuronal injury induced by organophosphorus(OP) compound exposurein rats andinvestigate andthepossible mechanisms. Methods Eighteen SD rats were randomly divided into OP groups(n=12)and the control group(n=6).SD rats were given intramuscular sarin inection followed 1 min later by intraperitoneal injection of atropine sulphate and pralidoxime,and the rats with typical toxic reactions were used for subsequent experiment.The rats in the control group received normal saline injections in identical manners.Twenty-four hours later,the brain tissue of the rats were taken for HE staining and neuronal nuclei antigen(NeuN)immunohistochemistry to quantitatively assess the neuronal damages in the pyriform cortex,hippocampus CAl and striatum.Results HE staining showed massive degeneration of the neurons in the pyriform cortex,hippocampus CAland striatum of rats with satin injection.Compared to the rats with saline injections,the rats exposed to satin presented with significantly decreased number of NeuN-positive neurons(P<0.05).Conclusion OP Can induce acute neuronal death in rat brain and cause a series of symptoms in the central nervous system,probably by such noncholinergic mechanisms as glutamic acid-induced eytotoxieity and oxidative stress.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnosis and surgical treatment of adult primary retroperitoneal malignant tumor (APRMT).

METHODSThe clinical data of 98 cases with APRMT underwent resection from January 1990 to April 2003 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSAmong the 98 cases, complete excision were performed in 79 cases (80.6%), palliative excision in 16 cases (16.3%), tumor biopsy only in 3 cases (3.1%). Resection of involved adjacent organs were carried out in 25 cases (25.5%) and the re-operation rate for recurrence was 28.6% (28 cases). The 1, 3, 5 year survival rates for 79 cases with complete resection were 93.7%, 73.4% and 34.2%, respectively. The 1, 3, 5 year survival rate for 16 cases with palliative resection were 75.0%, 6.3% and 6.3%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSCertain imaging examinations are crucial to the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of APRMT. Resection of the involved organs could improve resection rate and prognosis. For the recurrent cases, earlier reoperation is strongly recommended.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome