Objective To study the level and clinical significance of serum interleukin-18(IL-18)in patients with acute cerebral infarction.Methods The level of serum IL-18 in patient with acute cerebral infarction(n=90)and normal controls group(n=45)were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Results The level of serum IL-18 in large,medium and small lesion group were(288.4±59.3);(237.5±58.0);(186.9±50.6)ng/L respeetlvely,which were significantly higher than those in normal control group.The level of serum IL-18 in control group was(147.2±42.8)ng/L(P＜0.05).large lesion group was significantly higher than that in medium and small lesion group(P＜0.05).medium lesion grouP was significantly higher than that in small lesion group(P＜0.05).The levd of serum IL-18 in heavy,medium and light group were(284.9±57.3);(233.4±55.9);(184.5±48.3)ng/L respectively,which were significantly higher than those in normal control group(P＜0.05);heavy group was slgnificantly higher than that in medium and light group(P＜0.05),medium group was significantly higher than that in light group(P＜0.05).Conclusion The level of serum IL-18 was related to the severity of cerebral infarction,IL-18 may be involved in the pathogenesis of the hypoxic ischemic brain injury.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary smoke-free policies in Beijing.Methods With convenient sampling,91 restaurants and 85 restaurants were respectively selected before and after the initiation on voluntarily banning smoking in public eating and drinking places by the catering industry in Beijing,and including a follow-up surveillance on 23 restaurants.Field investigation on smoke-free rules and PM2.5 monitoring in and outside of these restaurants were conducted.Results There were no statistic differences among the proportion of restaurants with different smoking policies(?2=2.60,P=0.28).Univariate analysis showed that the indoor PM2.5 level was positively related with the outdoor PM2.5 level(?=0.51,t=7.01,P

N)compared with B/HongKong/330/2001.Conclusions H1,H3 and B virus were circulated in Hebei from 2005 to 2006.Recent viruses were changing in genetic characteristics,while influenza B viruses varied more obviously.

Objective To find the liver cancer specific peptide for serological screen of liver cancer patients via screening phage-display peptide library. Methods Fifteen sera from liver cancer patients and physical examinates were collected for the four-round screening with Ph. D. 12TM phage display peptide kit. Highly specific phage monoclones were selected based on the ELISA results of the serological assay. The peptide labeled with FITC was synthesized according to the DNA sequencing of the optimal monoclone and tested with serum via fluorescent imagery. Results Nine highly specific monoclones were found among 50 selected ones after 4 rounds of screenings. The positive rate of the optimal monoclone,ZH-3, reached 46.7 %. The peptide sequence of ZH-3 was concluded by DNA sequencing as SAHGTSTGVPWP. Desirable specificity and affinity were also shown in the serum of liver cancer patients. Conclusion The peptide ZH-3 can be used as a diagnostic reagent for liver cancer.

Objective To investigate the level and influencing factors of caregivers′burden among primary caregivers of elderly stroke patients. Methods Totally 298 caregivers of elderly stroke patients were investigated with Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(SCSQ). The patients were investigated with Modified Barthel Index (MBI). Results The caregivers′burden was in the mild level with a total score of 35.21±11.45. The influencing factors were the number of days of care, daily caring hours, hospital anxiety and depression score, the coping style and the ability of patients to perform ADL. Conclusions The primary caregivers of stroke patients have mild burden. The nurses should be synchronized to assess the health of patients and primary caregivers at the same time, understand the caregivers′burden, and provide specific care advice, in order to reduce the burden of their carer, so as to improve the quality of patients′life.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the effect of maxadilan, which specifically activates pituitary adenylate cycla-se-activating polypeptide type I receptor (PAC1 receptor), on the proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation potential of human adipose-derived stem cells ( ASCs) .METHODS:ASCs from human adipose tissue were isolated by enzymatic di-gestion and cultured.ASCs were confirmed by the analysis of the markers for cell phenotypes by flow cytometry ( FCM) and adipogenic/osteogenic induction.The effect of maxadilan on ASCs viability was analyzed by CCK-8 assay and FCM.ASCs were irradiated by ultraviolet C ( UVC) at 254 nm and the absorbance of apoptotic ASCs induced by various doses of UVC was measured by CCK-8 assay.ASCs were exposed to 702 J/m2 UVC for 24 h to induce apoptosis.The effect of maxadilan on ASC apoptosis was analyzed by FCM and the determination of caspase 3 and caspase 9 levels.RESULTS:Adipose-de-rived stem cells were confirmed by the detection of the positive expression of cell phenotypes including CD29, CD44, CD59 and CD105 by FCM.The data of CCK-8 assay revealed that ASCs treated with maxadilan (80 nmol/L) had the strongest ability of proliferation.The data of FCM also demonstrated that the addition of 80 nmol/L maxadilan to ASCs in experimen-tal group markedly improved the proliferation capacity of the cells compared with control group (P<0.05).The apoptosis of ASCs exposed to 702 J/m2UVC was dramatically inhibited by the treatment with maxadilan (80 nmol/L).Such process involved the caspase signaling pathway including caspase 3 and caspase 9.There was statistical significance (P<0.05) between experiment group ( ASCs irradiated by UVC and supplemented with maxadilan) and control group ( ASCs only irra-diated by UVC) .Meanwhile, adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potentials were both positive in experiment group and control group.CONCLUSION:Maxadilan promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of the ASCs.The differentia-tion potential of ASCs toward adipogenic and osteogenic lineages wouldn’ t be altered by maxadilan.Maxadilan would bene-fit to growth and expansion of ASCs in vitro.

[ABSTRACT]AIM:ToinvestigatethepromotingroleofTranswellcontactco-culturesysteminthegrowthand differentiation of single-dissociated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).METHODS:Bovine corneal endothelial cells (CECs) at passage 1~2 (P1~2) were seeded on the underside of Transwell inserts placed into culture plates and were cultured in 37 ℃and 5%CO2 for 8 h.Accutase digestion and 40μm filter process disaggregated colony-aggregated iPSCs into single-dissociated iPSCs , and the cells were seeded on the inside of Transwell inserts with CECs in medium of mTeSR 1 for 3 d and then in low-glucose DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS for 2 weeks.The characteristics and differentiation markers were evaluated by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR ) , immunofluorescence staining, live&dead cell staining and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining.The group of iPSCs cultured in conventional medium was used as control group 1.The group of single-dissociated iPSCs co-cultured with CECs was set as experimental group, while single-dissociated iPSCs without co-culture were as control group 2.RESULTS: The bovine CECs showed typical hexagonal cobblestone shape .iPSCs showed colony-like growth , while became single-dissociated cells after Tran-swell contact co-culture with bovine CECs for 3 d.The single-dissociated iPSCs positively expressed the undifferentiated markers, Nanog and Oct4.The mRNA expression levels of Nanog , Oct4 and Sox2 between experimental group and control group 1 were both positive and had no statistical significance difference (P>0.05).The dead cells in experimental group decreased significantly, and there was statistically significant difference compared to control group 2 (P<0.01).After 14 d of induced differentiation co-culture , the single-dissociated iPSCs showed rather uniform polygonal morphology , increased dimension and no obvious colony existence .Negative ALP staining, positive immunofluorescence staining for ZO-1, AQP1 and CD31, and negative for CD34 and CD133 were also observed.The results of qPCR showed that the mRNA expression of Oct4, Nanog and Sox2 significantly decreased , and had statistically significant difference compared with control group 1 (P<0.01).CONCLUSION: When co-cultured with bovine CECs, iPSCs morphologically changed to endothelial-like cells and expressed some markers of CECs .Transwell contact co-culture system not only enhances the growth of single-dis-sociated iPSCs , but also promotes their differentiation .

Objective To detect content of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy benzoic acid by RP-HPLC and observe the inhibitory effect of phloroglucinol on catecholamine-O-methyl transferase (COMT). Methods This study used the principle of 3,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid transforming to 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy benzoic acid under COMT’ s catalytic action. COMT (20 μL) was extracted from mouse liver homogenate. In a reaction system,10 μL catecol (1í10-3 mol·L-1 ) and 10 μL phloroglucinol (5í10-3 , 1í10-3 and 2í10-4 mol·L-1 ,respectively) were added. Products were determined by RP-HPLC to analyze effects of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy benzoic acid on COMT. Results Phloroglucinol had inhibitory effect on COMT activity at concentrations of 5í10-3 mol·L-1 ,1í10-3 mol·L-1 and 2 í10-4 mol ·L-1 ,with the inhibition rate being 25. 3% ,17. 6% and 8. 9% ,respectively. Conclusion Phloroglucinol has an inhibitory effect on COMT activity,which is weaker than the effect of catechol of the same concentration.

Objective To study the assessment value of serum protein C activity ( PC∶A) test in the patient′s condition and prognosis in bronchial asthma.Methods 202 bronchial asthma patients were selected from the Tianjin medical university general hospital from 2010 to 2012 for this retrospective cohort study, 77 males and 125 females with a mean age of 41.2 ±11.4 years.the level of PC∶A were analysed by IL ACL TOP 700 coagulation analyzer.Receiver operating characteristic curve ( ROC) was used to analyze the diagnosis performance of PC∶A, χ2 test was used to analyze the relevance between PC∶A and clinical pathological factors , Cox regression analysis model was used to evaluate the effect on prognosis , Kaplan-Meier curve to implement survival analysis.Results The elevels of PC∶A were:control group ( 102.2 ± 13.6)%, intermittent attack group (104.8 ±11.9)%, mild persistent group (136.3 ±15.8)%, moderate persistent group ( 129.0 ±13.5 )% and severe persistent ( 126.8 ±14.7 )% respectively , and there was significantly difference among the all groups ( F =7.15, P <0.01 ).Compared the control group and intermittent attack group with other groups , the PC∶A level was higher in mild persistent group ( q=16.83, q=15.54, P<0.05), moderate persistent group (q=19.94,q=12.15, P<0.05), and severe persistent group(q=11.37,q=10.66, P<0.05).The PC∶A level was lower in moderate and severe persistent group than mild persistent group ( q =3.82, q =4.30, P <0.05 ).After undergoing regular treatment for six months, the PC∶A level was higher in partly controlled group and uncontrolled group than complete controlled group (q=12.45, q=9.91,P<0.05).The optimum cut-off point of PC∶A (after undergoing regular treatment for six months ) for asthma condition with uncontrolled was 118.0%, the area under ROC curve was 0.892 ( 95% confidence interval:0.851-0.936 ).The χ2 test results showed that there was the relevance between the serum PC∶A level and the eosinocyte , total serum IgE , complicated allergic rhinitis and lung function ( FEV1%) ( P<0.01 ).The Cox analysis and survival analysis showed that the serum PC∶A level ( after undergoing regular treatment for six months ) was the independent assessment parameter for asthma acute attack in 7th-12th month, the cumulative probability of acute attack was increased obviously in the patients who with PC∶A level over the cut-off value.Conclusions The serum PC∶A level was increased obviously in asthma patients , and was related to patient′s condition, level of asthma control and severe attacks risk , which could be used as an effective indicator for assessment of disease progression and asthma control in asthma patients.