Gastrointestinal Tract ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Infection ; physiopathology ; Sepsis ; physiopathology ; Shock, Septic ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the pathomorphology of the sciatic nerve and the role of P2X3 receptors in EA analgesia.

METHODSThe chronic constriction injury (CCI) model was adopted in this study. A total of 32 rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham CCI, CCI, CCI plus contralateral EA (CCI + conEA) and CCI plus ipsilateral EA (CCI + ipsEA). Mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were measured. EA began at day 7 after the CCI operation and was applied to the Zusanli (ST 36) and Yanglingquan acupoints (GB 34). At day 14, the pathomorphologic changes of the operated sciatic nerve were demonstrated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. In addition, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons isolated from rats were examined by electrophysiological recording to determine if the P2X3 receptor agonists, adenosine 5'-triphosphate disodium (ATP) and α,β-methylen-ATP (α,β-meATP) evoked inward currents.

RESULTSPain thresholds in the CCI group were obviously decreased post CCI surgery (P<0.01). In the EA groups, thermal and mechanical threshold values were increased after the last EA treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in light microscopic examination among the four groups (P>0.05). Current amplitude after application of ATP and α,β-meATP in DRG neurons were much larger in the CCI group compared to those obtained in sham CCI (P<0.05). ATP and α, β-meATP invoked amplitudes in the CCI + EA groups were reduced. There was no signififi cant difference between the CCI + conEA group and the CCI + ipsEA group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONEA analgesia may be mediated by decreasing the response of P2X3 receptors to the agonists ATP and α,β-meATP in the DRG of rats with CCI. No pathological changes of the sciatic nerve of rats were observed after EA treatment.

Adenosine Triphosphate ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Electroacupuncture ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Hyperalgesia ; pathology ; Ion Channel Gating ; drug effects ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reaction Time ; drug effects ; Receptors, Purinergic P2X3 ; metabolism ; Sciatic Nerve ; injuries ; metabolism ; pathology ; Staining and Labeling

OBJECTIVETo explore a flow cytometry (FCM)-based method for discriminating aneugen- or clastogen-induced micronuclei.

METHODSCells were stained with anti-CD71-FITC and PI, and the PI fluorescent signal intensity of micronucleated reticulocyte (MN-RET) in the peripheral blood of NIH mouse treated with COL or CP was detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe ratio of the median of the intensity of MN-RET fluorescent signals to that of nucleated cell was low in the cyclophosphamide treated mouse, while the median was high in the colchicine treated mouse.

CONCLUSIONThe flow cytometry-based micronucleus assay can be used to discriminate primarily smaller MN induced by the clastogen exposure from the larger MN induced by an aneugen.

Animals ; Colchicine ; toxicity ; Cyclophosphamide ; toxicity ; Flow Cytometry ; methods ; Male ; Mice ; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective ; Mutagens ; toxicity ; Reticulocytes ; drug effects ; ultrastructure

OBJECTIVESepsis and septic shock remain a common problem that results in significant mortality and morbidity in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). According to literature, the use of more physiologic steroid replacement therapy is associated with hemodynamic and survival benefits in adult patients with relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI) and catecholamine-resistant septic shock. But little information is available in children. The aim of the current prospective study was to determine the prevalence of adrenal insufficiency in children with sepsis and septic shock using a low-dose adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test (1 microg/1.73 m2) in children.

METHODSThe authors performed cortisol estimation at baseline and after low-dose (1 microg/1.73 m2) ACTH stimulation at 30 mins in children during the first 24 hours in patients with sepsis or septic shock admitted to our PICU. Adrenal insufficiency was defined as a response < or = 90 microg/L. Absolute adrenal insufficiency (AAI) was further defined as baseline cortisol (T0) < 200 microg/L and RAI insufficiency by T0 > or = 200 microg/L.

RESULTSSixty-two consecutive cases with sepsis and septic shock admitted to PICU of Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Children's Hospital from April, 2006 to March, 2007. The median age was 37.6 months (range, 2 - 168 months), and their gender distribution was 42 (67.7%) males and 20 (32.3%) females, 53 cases had sepsis (85.5%) and 9 had septic shock (14.5%). The mean pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) was 79.3 +/- 9.2 and median pediatric risk of mortality score (PRMSIII) 11.3 (5 - 19), respectively. Overall mortality of sepsis and septic shock was 27.42%. The evaluation of adrenal insufficiency was conducted as follows. (1) The mean cortisol levels at baseline (T0) and 30 mins after ACTH stimulation (T1) were (318.6 +/- 230.4) microg/L, (452.3 +/- 230.7) microg/L and (454.7 +/- 212.7) microg/L, (579.3 +/- 231.9) microg/L in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock group, respectively. There were no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). (2) The proportion of patients with adrenal insufficiency in the study population was 40.3% as defined by a response < or = 90 microg/L post test. The proportion of patients with adrenal insufficiency in sepsis and septic shock were 39.6% and 44.4%, respectively (chi2) = 0.073, P > 0.05). (3) The serum T0 and T1 levels were (320.5 +/- 223.9) microg/L, (462.3 +/- 212.0) microg/L and (384.3 +/- 258.3) microg/L, (500.7 +/- 470.6) microg/L, respectively, and the proportion of patients with adrenal insufficiency were 37.8% and 47.1% in the survivors and the dead (P > 0.05). The levels of T0 and T1 were related to the PCIS (P < 0.05). The morbidity of adrenal insufficiency was not related to the PCIS, PRISMIII, and number of organ that developed functional insufficiency (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSAdrenal insufficiency may occur in patients with sepsis and septic shock in children. ACTH stimulation test may be helpful to determine whether corticosteroid therapy has a survival benefit in patients with relative adrenal insufficiency. A low-dose ACTH stimulation test can be used to evaluate the adrenal function status of severe sepsis and septic shock in children.

Adolescent ; Adrenal Insufficiency ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; metabolism ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Sepsis ; physiopathology ; Shock, Septic ; physiopathology ; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome ; physiopathology

The effects of cephradinum and ceftazidime on the metabolism of Escherichia coli (E. coli) DH5alpha was determined by microcalorimetry. The microbial activity was recorded as power-time curves through an ampoule method with a TAM Air Isothermal Microcalorimeter at 37 degrees C. The parameters such as the growth rate constant (k), inhibitory ratio (I), the maximum power output (Pm) and the time (tm) corresponding to the maximum power output were calculated. The results show that the ceftazidime has a better inhibitory effect on E. coli DH5alpha than cephradinum.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Calorimetry ; methods ; Ceftazidime ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Cephradine ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

In this study, we present a preprocessing method for quadrupole time-of-flight(Q-TOF) tandem mass spectra to increase the accuracy of database searching for peptide (protein) identification. Based on the natural isotopic information inherent in tandem mass spectra, we construct a decision tree after feature selection to classify the noise and ion peaks in tandem spectra. Furthermore, we recognize overlapping peaks to find the monoisotopic masses of ions for the following identification process. The experimental results show that this preprocessing method increases the search speed and the reliability of peptide identification.

BACKGROUNDElevated fibrinogen (Fg) level is a known risk factor for ischemic stroke. There are few clinical trials on oral fibrinogen-depleting therapies for secondary ischemic stroke prevention. We aimed to assess the effects of one-year therapy with oral lumbrokinase enteric-coated capsules on secondary ischemic stroke prevention.

METHODSThis is a multicenter, randomized, parallel group and controlled study that began treatment in hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke and continued for 12 months. Patients were randomized to either the control group that received the standard stroke treatment or the fibrinogen-depleting group that received the standard stroke treatment plus enteric-coated lumbrokinase capsules. The NIH Stroke Scale scores (NIHSSs) and plasma Fg level were recorded. The carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and status of plaques were examined through carotid ultrasound examination. Primary outcomes included all-cause mortality, any event of recurrent ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), hemorrhagic stroke, myocardial infarction and angina, and other noncerebral ischemia or hemorrhage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the Long-rank test were used to compare total vascular end point incidence between the two groups. Comparison of median values between two groups was done by the Student t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), or non-parametric rank sum test.

RESULTSA total of 310 patients were enrolled, 192 patients in the treatment group and 118 patients in the control group. Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed favorable outcomes in the Fg level, carotid IMT, the detection rate of vulnerable plaques, the volume of carotid plaques, NIHSS scores, and incidence of total vascular (6.78% and 2.08%, respectively) and cerebral vascular events (5.93% and 1.04%, respectively) (P < 0.05). In the treatment group, the volume of carotid plaques was significantly related to the carotid IMT, the plaque diameter, width and number (P = 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.022; F = 13.51, 2.52, 11.33, -3.29, but there was a weak correlation with the Fg level (P = 0.056). After 1-year therapy, the incidence of overall vascular end points was reduced by 4.7%.

CONCLUSIONLong-term oral fibrinogen-depleting therapy may be beneficial for secondary ischemic stroke prevention.

Administration, Oral ; Aged ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Endopeptidases ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Secondary Prevention ; Stroke ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVESTo study the biological function and its possible underlying mechanism of peroxiredoxin II (PrxII) in liver cancer cell line Hep3B.

METHODSTwo pairs of double-stranded small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeted on PrxII gene were transfected into Hep3B cells using LipofectamineTM 2000. After confirming the inhibited effects of these siRNAs through Quant SYBR Green polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, the biological characters of Hep3B cell were analyzed by flow cytometry analysis, MTT and colony formation assays. Furthermore, dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assays, for measuring the products of oxidative reaction, such as the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), were applied to explore whether the antioxidant mechanism was involved in the effects of PrxII functioning on Hep3B cell.

RESULTSThe two pairs of siRNA significantly inhibited PrxII mRNA and protein expression. Compared to the mock and blank control groups, the two PrxII-silent groups showed decreased rates of cell growth and clone formation and increased rates of cell apoptosis. The numbers of the formed colonies were 42.0+/-2.8 and 40.5+/-0.7 respectively in the two PrxII-silent groups, while they were 121.5+/-2.1 and 130.0+/-1.4 in the mock and blank control groups (P less than 0.05). The levels of endogenous ROS and MDA were significantly higher in the two PrxII-silent groups than those in the mock and blank control groups (P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPrxII might play an important role in the hepatocarcinogenesis, possibly through an antioxidant function which may provide a favorable microenvironment for cancer cell survival and progression.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Oxidative Stress ; Peroxiredoxins ; genetics ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Signal Transduction ; Transfection

Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics* ; Mutation ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/pathology* ; Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 2/genetics*