Alanine Transaminase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Liver ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology

BACKGROUNDElectrochemical therapy (ECT) has been used to treat unresectable hepatic tumor. In order to improve its efficacy, we combined ECT with hyperthermia induced by electrothermal needle (ETN) (ETECT). The aim of this study is to investigate the destructive effect of ETECT on normal rat liver.

METHODSTwenty rats were randomized into 4 treatment groups (n=5 in each group): control, ECT alone, hyperthermia alone and ETECT. Following the treatment, sections of the livers were histologically examined by light microscopy and the destructive volumes were measured with micrometer.

RESULTSWe found that the destructive volumes in ETECT group were the largest (P<0.01). In ETECT group coagulative necrosis was found in both anode and cathode areas, around which transition zones existed. The transition zones can only be seen when coulomb was increased in ECT group.

CONCLUSIONETECT was demonstrated to enhance the destructive effect of ECT. This study provides theoretical and experimental basis for a new local ablative treatment for unresectable primary liver tumor.

Animals ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; methods ; Electrochemistry ; Female ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; methods ; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental ; pathology ; therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the nephrotoxocity of Longdan Xiegan Tang in rats, and to test its safety.

METHODSprague-Dauley rats were given Longdan Xiegan Tang 4.5 mL x (100 mg)(-1) Bid for thirty days, and the control group was given NS. MTP, BUN, Cr, MDA, MTP/Ucr and SOD were measured on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th week. The kidney tissues were viewed with light microscopy and electron microscope.

RESULTMTP and MTP/Ucr were obviously higher than controls ( P < 0.01), and the other index had no difference (P > 0.05). No remarkable structural change could been seen with light microscopy, but with electron microscope we could find that the basal membranes were thickened and some of foot process were infused.

CONCLUSIONLongdan Xiegan Tang will result in injury of kidney function.

Animals ; Basement Membrane ; ultrastructure ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Creatinine ; blood ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; toxicity ; Gentiana ; chemistry ; Kidney ; ultrastructure ; Kidney Cortex ; metabolism ; Magnoliopsida ; chemistry ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Proteinuria ; chemically induced ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of huanglian jiedu tang on Alzheimer' s disease, and its influence on cytokines.

METHODAD rats models were made by A beta injection, and then water-maze tests were made to investigate the study and memory ability. TNF-alpha, INF-gamma and IL-2 were examined by ELISA. After treatment with huanglian jiedu tang, the rats were evaluated again.

RESULTAfter A beta injection, the study and memory ability of the rats was decreased. By the treatment with huanglian jiedu tang, it was improved (P < 0.01); TNF-alpha, INF-gamma and IL-2 levels of AD rats were higher than those in control group (P < 0.01); after treatment the levels came down (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHuanglian jiedu tang can improve the study and memory ability of AD rats by changing their immune state.

Alzheimer Disease ; blood ; psychology ; Animals ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Cytokines ; blood ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Gardenia ; chemistry ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Phellodendron ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Scutellaria ; chemistry ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the role of 1H spetral selected point-resolved spectroscopy (SS-PRESS) sequence in distinguishing benign from malignant breast lesions by the malignancy marker of choline peak and to investigate the factors influencing the diagnosis.

METHODSA total of 131 patients (aged 24-83 years, average 44.8 years) were enrolled in this study. The examinations were performed on a 1. 5T scanner with four-channel phased array breast coil. Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) was acquired by SS-PRESS sequence in these patients referred to surgical or biopsy consultation.

RESULTSAmong these patients, 74 were proved to have breast carcinomas and 57 have benign lesions by histopathological examinations. Thirty-one elevated choline peaks were observed in these 74 confirmed malignant lesions, and 5 detectable choline peaks were demonstrated in the 57 benign lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of 1H SS-PRESS MRS were 41.9% and 91.2%, respectively. The main factors influencing the diagnosis were signal-to-noise ratio and pathological type.

CONCLUSIONS1H SS-PRESS MRS can provide a noninvasive, biochemical measurement of metabolism and improve the specificity of breast magnetic resonance imaging. Choline peak in vivo is a specific but not sensitive marker of malignancy. Technique factors and histopathological characterization of lesions influence the detection rate.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Choline ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Fibrocystic Breast Disease ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Humans ; Image Enhancement ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo compare insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) gene imprinting in twin placentas with singleton ones and to determine whether imprinting was influenced by assisted reproductive technology, zygosity and fetal sex.

METHODSOne hundred and sixty cases of twin placentas and 42 cases of singleton ones were recruited. Allele-specific IGF-II expression was determined by reverse transcription-PCR combined with analysis of an Apa I-sensitive restriction fragment length polymorphism.

RESULTSAlthough the incidence of IGF-II imprinting loss was higher in normal twin placentas than in singleton ones (20.6% vs 8.7%), there was no statistical significance. There were no significant differences between twins conceived by assisted reproductive technology and those conceived spontaneously (17.9% vs 24.4%), and between dizygotic and monozygotic twins (22.4% vs 16.7%). The incidence of IGF-II imprinting loss in placenta of female twins was statistically higher than that of male ones (26.4% vs 9.8%).

CONCLUSIONThe risk of IGF-II gene imprinting loss is higher in female twins and has no relationship with assisted reproductive technology and zygosity.

Adult ; Female ; Genomic Imprinting ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor II ; genetics ; Male ; Maternal Age ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Pregnancy ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Twins ; genetics ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDAlthough human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) has been determined as an important viral cause of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in infants and young children, data on long-term investigation are still lacking to disclose the infection pattern of HPIV in China.

METHODSNasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 25,773 hospitalized pediatric patients with ARIs from January 2004 through December 2012 for respiratory virus screen by direct immuno-fluorescence assay.

RESULTSOut of these specimens, 1675 (6.50%, 1675/25,773) showed HPIV positive, including 261 (1.01%, 261/25,773) for HPIV1, 28 (0.11%, 28/25,773) for HPIV2, and 1388 (5.39%, 1388/25,773) for HPIV3, 2 of the samples were positive for both HPIV1 and HPIV3, and 36 were co-detected with other viruses. The positive rates of HPIVs were higher in those younger than 3 years old. HPIV3 was detected from all age groups, predominantly from patients under 3 years of age, and the highest frequency was found in those 6 months to 1-year old (352/4077, 8.63%). HPIV3 was the dominant type in each of the years detected between May and July. HPIV1 showed a peak in every odd year, mainly in August or September. HPIV was detected most frequently from patients with upper respiratory infection (12.49%, 157/1257), followed by bronchitis (11.13%, 176/2479), asthma (9.31%, 43/462), bronchiolitis (5.91%, 150/2536), pneumonia (6.06%, 1034/17,068), and those with underlying diseases (1.0%, 15/1506). HPIV3 is the dominant type in these six disease groups referred above, especially in the asthma group.

CONCLUSIONSHPIV is one of the important viral causes of ARIs in infants and young children in Beijing based on the data from the hospitalized children covering a 9-year term. HPIV3 is the predominant type in all these years and in most of the disease groups. HPIVs with different types show different seasonality.

Beijing ; epidemiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Parainfluenza Virus 1, Human ; pathogenicity ; Parainfluenza Virus 3, Human ; pathogenicity ; Respirovirus ; pathogenicity ; Respirovirus Infections ; diagnosis ; virology

To understand the infections and molecular biological characteristics of different human rhinovirus (HRV) genotypes -A, B, C, especially C in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing. Seven hundreds and three respiratory tract specimens were collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2011. Semi-nested PCR was developed for detecting HRVs. Gene fragment of VP4/VP2 capsid protein amplified from HRV positive specimens was sequenced and analyzed by software DNAStar, the phylogenetic tree was then constructed by MEGA 5. 05. Among these 703 specimens tested, 54 (7.7%, 54/703) were HRV positive, including 25 (46.3%, 25/54) positive for HRV-A, 8 (14. 8%, 8/54) for HRV-B, 21 (38. 9%, 21/54) for HRV-C determined by sequence analysis. Most of these children (94. 4%00, 51/54) infected with HRVs were younger than 5 years old, and the highest positive rate was shown in group younger than 1 year (11. 4%). These patients positive for HRVs were diagnosed as bronchiolitis (23.1%), asthma (20.0%), pneumonia (1.0%), bronchitis (4.4%) and upper respiratory tract infections (4. 1%). Sequence analysis of VP4/VP2 gene fragment revealed that 70. 0% to 100. 0% nucleotide identity was shown among the sequences within the same HRV genotype, and 55. 5% to 65. 8% nucleotide identity among the sequences from different HRV genotypes. In conclusion, HRVs, especially HRV-C, are important pathogens for children with ARI in Beijing. The prevalence of HRV-C is similar to that of HRV-A, higher than that of HRV-B. High sequence variation among different HRV genotypes was indicated in this study.
Acute Disease ; epidemiology ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Picornaviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Rhinovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Seasons ; Viral Proteins ; genetics

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Scoliosis ; therapy ; Traction ; methods

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of a rapid respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antigen detection in point-of-care testing (POCT). Method: A total of 209 specimens, including 78 throat swabs (TS) and 131 nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs), were collected from inpatients who visited the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics and were diagnosed as acute respiratory infection from 5 January to 7 February, 2015. These specimens were tested for RSV by a rapid antigen detection kit which was compared with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA) for RSV detection. Result: Compared with DFA for NPAs, the sensitivity and specificity of rapid antigen detection were 83.9% and 97.3%, respectively, with Kappa value of 0.86; Compared with RT-PCR, the sensitivity (NPAs, 74.2%; TS, 77.8%) and specificity (NPAs, 100.0%; TS, 92.0%) of rapid antigen detection were high, too, with Kappa value of 0.74 in NPAs and 0.62 in TS. However, the RSV positive rate of rapid antigen detection in TS (21.7%) from pediatric patients with acute lower respiratory tract infection was lower than that in NPAs (78.3%), as well as that of RT-PCR (7.3% in TS verse 78% in NPAs). The RSV rapid antigen detection kit can be finished in about 10 minutes. Conclusion With characteristics of high specificity, high sensitivity, being rapid, efficient and easy to operate in comparison with DFA and RT-PCR, RSV rapid antigen detection in this study is suitable for POCT. For pediatric patients with acute respiratory tract infection, NPA was better than TS for RSV detection.