Objective To explore the construct validity of the Chinese version of Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ)-20 and KVIQ-10 in stroke patients and normal people. Methods From October, 2012, to March, 2014, 60 stroke patients and 60 nor-mal people with matched gender and age participated in this study. They were assessed with the Chinese version of KVIQ-20 and KVIQ-10. The construct validity was investigated with factor analysis. Results Two factors were extracted from KVIQ-20 for stroke patients after vari-max rotation, that accounted for 62.4%of the variance, as well as KVIQ-10 with 67.6%of the variance. Two factors were extracted from KVIQ-20 for normal people with 76.1%of the variance, as well as the KVIQ-10 with 69.6%of the variance. The factors could be named as visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery. Conclusion The Chinese version of KVIQ-20 and KVIQ-10 has good construct validity for assess-ing motor imagery from the dimensions of visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery, both in patients with stroke and normal people.

Objective To assess the diagnostic value of CT spectral imaging using quantitative iodine-based material decomposition images in the evaluation of pulmonary embolism. Methods Fifty-three patients underwent CT angiography with spectral imaging mode on a GE Discovery CT750HD scanner. Iodine distribution in the lung parenchyma using the iodine-based material decomposition images was quantitatively measured by post-processing. Monochromatic CT angiographic images were reconstructed from the same data sets and thee images were reviewed for the identification and localization of pulmonary embolism as well as the degree ( partial or complete) of the embolic occlusion. The number and location of perfusion defects were recorded. The iodine content of perfusion defects and normal lung parenchyma on the iodine maps were measured by one reader using an ROI analysis. Comparative analyses were obtained using the Chi-square test for categorical data. Two independent samples rank test and 2 related samples signed-rank test were used to compare iodine densities between different groups. Results CT angiography showed no pulmonary embolism in 33 patients, and iodine distribution was homogeneous. A total of 93 clots with lobar ( n = 26), segmental (n = 54) and sub-segmental (n=13) distribution were detected in 19 patients; Fifty-one clots were occlusive and 42 clots were non-occlusive. The iodine-based material decomposition images of all occlusive clots showed lobar, segmental or sub-segmental iodine distribution defects; whereas eleven of 42 non-occlusive clots had evidence of iodine distribution defects. There was significant difference ( x2 = 39. 94,P＜0. 01 ) in the perfusion defects between occlusive and non-occlusive clots. There was a significant difference in iodine content between normal lung parenchyma [ (1.92 ±0. 54) g/L] and perfusion defects [ (0. 30 ± 0. 20)g/L] (Z= -5.63, P ＜ 0. 01 ). There was a significant difference in the iodine content of peffusion defects before [ (0. 26 ± 0. 23 )g/L] and after anticoagulation [ (0. 94 ± 0. 50 )g/L ] ( Z = -3.93,P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion With the ability of iodine mapping, CT spectral imaging is areliable method in the evaluation of pulmonary embolism both qualitatively and quantitatively, and may be a useful tool in providing information regarding the severity of PE and monitoring therapeutic efficacy.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Jiangtang Yishen Recipe (JTYSR) on high insulin induced cell proliferation of human glomerular mesangial cells (HMCs) and the expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3K).

METHODSHMCs were divided into 4 groups, i.e., the negative control group, the high insulin model group, the JTYSR group, and the LY294002 group. The concentration of insulin, JTYSR, and LY294002 was respectively confirmed by pre-experiment. Different culture solution was respectively added for different groups. RPMI1640 culture solution was added for HMCs in the negative control group, while HMCs in the rest 3 groups were cultured by 100 nmol/L insulin for 24 h. Meanwhile, HMCs from the JTYSR group and the LY294002 group were exposed to 125 mg/L JTYSR and 80 micromol/L LY294002 respectively for further 48 h. The proliferation of HMCs was detected by MTT and flow cytometry. The protein expression of IRS-1 and PI-3K in HMC was detected by immunohistochemical assay and Western blot. Results The proliferation of HMCs induced by high insulin could be significantly lowered, and the protein expression of IRS-1 and PI-3K could be down-regulated in the JTYSR group and the LY294002 group (P <0.01). Compared with the LY294002 group, the protein expression of IRS-1 and PI-3K could be slightly down-regulated in the JTYSR group (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONJTYSR could lower high insulin induced proliferation of HMCs, and its mechanism might be related to insulin signaling pathway.

Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Chromones ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins ; metabolism ; Mesangial Cells ; physiology ; Morpholines ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase ; metabolism ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; complications ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; etiology ; Kidney Glomerulus ; pathology ; Male

Objective To study the prevalence of food intolerance and to explore its related factors among adult health check-up receivers.Methods A total of 863 adults who took physical examinations in our hospital from April to October 2011 were enrolled in this investigation.Height,body weight and blood pressure were measured,and serum IgG level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results The total positive rate of food intolerance was 73％,and the leading intolerance items were crab (40.1％ ),egg (29.8％ ),cod fish ( 21.6％ ),milk ( 20.0％ ) and soybean ( 14.4％ ).Females showed significantly higher prevalence of food intolerance than males.Various positive rate of milk or soybean intolerance was found in different age groups.No correlations of serum specific IgG with body mass index and systolic or diastolic blood pressure were observed.In logistic regression analysis,the odds ratio of food intolerance of women was 1.67 ( 95 ％ confidence interval 1.190 to 2.607 ).ConclusionsThe prevalence rate of food intolerance was high.The risk for food intolerance was significantly increased in women.Specific IgG antibody detection may help to early prevent and diagnose food intolerance-related diseases.

This study was purposed to analyze the expression level of Th22 cells and their cytokines in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and evaluate its significance. Forty-eight patients with ALL were selected. According to the treatment, all patients were divided into the newly diagnosed group (n = 26) and complete remission (CR) group (n = 22). The proportion of Th22 cells in peripheral blood was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The expression levels of cytokines IL-22, IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β in peripheral blood were measured by ELISA. The expression level of IL-22 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was examined by semi-quantitative-reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). Meanwhile, 30 healthy individuals were selected as a control group. The parameters of the 3 groups were compared. The results showed that the percentage of Th22 cells and the expression levels of IL-22, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-22 mRNA in newly diagnosed group and the CR group were significantly lower than that in control group, the expression level of TGF-β in above mentioned two group was obviously higher than that in control group (P < 0.05). The percentage of Th22 cells and the expression levels of IL-22, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-22 mRNA in newly diagnosed group were evidently lower than that in CR group (P < 0.05), but the expression level of TGF-β in newly diagnosed group obviously higher than that in CR group. The expression level of IL-22 in newly diagnosed group was positively related with expression level of IL-6 and TNF-α, but it was negatively related with expression level of TGF-β. It is concluded that the decreasing of Th22 cells and down-regulation of IL-22 expression level may be related with pathogenesis of ALL, the decreasing of Th22 cells is risk factor for ALL.
Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Interleukins ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Remission Induction ; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; blood ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Young Adult

Lycii Cortex, a popular herb medicine in traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat different inflammation-related diseases. The aim of our work is to find the key constituents inhibiting NF-kappaB, a key regulator of inflammation. In the investigations of cell-based in vitro assays of extracts, we found that both ethyl acetate extract and methanol extract of Lycii Cortex inhibited the TNF-alpha-induced activation of NF-kappaB. Through bioassay-guided fractionation, we identified 4 phenolic amides including trans-N-(p-coumaroyl) tyramine (1), trans-N-feruloyltyramine (2), trans-N-caffeoyltyramine (3), and dihydro-N-caffeoyltyramine (4). Four phenolic amides showed differently inhibitory activities on TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB activation. Trans-N-caffeoyltyramine (3) was identified as the key component with an IC50 of 18.41 micromol x L(-1). It was suggested that the hydroxyl group at C-3 in trans-N-caffeoyltyramine might be a key binding site and its C-7,8-double bond might play an important role on NF-kappaB inhibitory activities as the link of the conjugation of pi electrons leading to a partial planar conformation. It might be inferred that the biological activity of compound 3 is attributed to the structure of Michael reaction acceptor containing alpha, beta-unsaturated ketones and benzene along with hydroxyl group in o-diphenol.
Biological Assay ; Cell Line ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; antagonists & inhibitors ; immunology ; Lycium ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; immunology

Objective To investigated the serum level of carcinoma antigen 125 (CA-125) and its clinical significance in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome.Methods We reviewed medical records and laboratory tests of patients with BCS first diagnosed in our hospital between August 2011 and April 2013.235 patients were included as experiment group,while 120 healthy adult volunteers were randomly selected as control group.The serum level of CA-125 were detected by electrochemilumescence immunization assay in this single-center retrospective control study.Results The average serum level of CA-125 in experiment group is higher than that of control group [(147.9 ±246.6) kU/L vs (16.0 ±7.2) kU/L,P ＜0.001].In experiment group,the relative coefficient for serum CA-125 with ascites,alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,albumin and Rotterdam BCS scores was 0.79,0.45,0.29,-0.393 and 0.71,respec tively,P ＜0.001.As of October 2013,we found that the 68 BCS patients with serum CA-125 level 5-fold higher than the upper limit of normal (＞ 175 kU/L) presented much lower survival rates and asymptomatic survival rates than the rest 167 BCS patients after intervention therapy:(95.6％ and 79.8％) vs (98.8％ and 92.0％),P ＜ 0.05.Conclusions The serum level of CA-125 in BCS patients have positive correlation with ascites volume,liver injury degree and Rotterdam BCS scores.Serum CA-125 evaluation appears to be a valuable examination option in BCS as CA-125 levels negatively correlate with worse prognosis,thus could be applied as an efficient tool for prognostication.

Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Isoforms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Objective To establish real-time PCR with SYBR Green Ⅰ for quantification the gene of survivin.Methods The components and conditions of PCR system were optimally determined by fluorescence intensity,cycle threshold(Ct),melting curve,coefficiency and slope of the standard curve.The means to eliminate the contaminating fluorescence of primer-dimers and the mode for Ct value determination were also optimized.Using the developed PCR system,we quantificated the survivin gene in 43 patients with gastric carcinoma.Results The optimized condition for PCR amplification of survivin were 2 mmol/L of MgCl_2,2.5 U/100 ?l of Taq DNA polymerase,0.2 ?mol/L of primers,and the optimized annealing temperatures for PCR were 58℃.The influence of primer dimmer can be eliminated by setting the fluorescence collecting temperature below the Tm of the specific amplicon by 2℃.The second derivative maximum mode,instead of fit point mode,was a feasible method to determine the Ct value for quantification.The sensitivity of this method was 10 copies/?l,and a good linearity was found from 10~1 to 10~4 copies/?l(r = 0.999 7).The inter-experimental coefficient of variation was 1.13%-1.91%,whereas the coefficient of variation between runs was 3.31%-4.50%.Using the optimized PCR system,we quantificated the gene of survivin,the result indicated that survivin gene was amplified in 13.9% of gastric carcinomas.Conclusions The optimal real-time PCR with SYBR Green Ⅰ,as a cost-effective and feasible DNA quantitative method,is fit for quantification of the survivin with satisfactory repeatability and high sensitivity.