A stimulate method for determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers ( PBDEs) and derivatives (OH-PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in egg samples was developed by gel permeation chromatography ( GPC) and dispersive solid phase extraction ( DSPE) combined with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric ( HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chroma-tography-negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry ( GC-NCI/MS ) . The analytes were extracted with mixture of hexane and dichloromethane (1∶1, V/V) by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), and purified by 100 mg C18 dispersive solid phase extraction ( SPE) sorbents followed with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) , and then analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NCI/MS), respectively. The quantita-tion was carried out external standard method. The recoveries of objects were 64. 5%-97. 2% and 65. 6%-109 . 2% ( except BDE85 was 54 . 8%, OH-BDE-137 was 47 . 4%) spiked at 1 . 0 μg/kg or 5 . 0 μg/kg in egg white and egg yolk, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 20. 2%. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) for the object were 0. 01-0. 2 μg/kg.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the curative effect of antiphlogistic agent series on treating chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP).

METHODSOne hundred and sixty patients were randomized into 4 groups for an 8-week clinical observation: group A (oral antiphlogistic medicinal granules only), group B (oral antiphlogistic medicinal granules + retention enema), group C (oral antiphlogistic medicinal granules + rectal), and group D (antiphlogistic medicinal granules + rectally + hip bath). Single blind trials were employed.

RESULTSThe curative rates of the 4 groups were 37.5%, 57.5%, 52.5% and 82.5% respectively, while the total efficacy rates were 42.5%, 82.5%, 77.5% and 92.5% respectively. Compared with groups A, B and C, the curative rate of group D was significantly higher (P < 0.05). The difference in efficacy rates was slight between groups B and D (P < 0.05), but significant between groups A and C (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCombined treatment therapy can improve the effect of CNP treatment and clear away heat and toxic material. The antiphlogistic agent series, with the effect of motivating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, turned out to be an effective traditional Chinese medicine in treating CNP.

Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of total coptis alkaloids (TCA) on beta -amyloid peptide (A beta 25-35) induced learning and memory dysfunction in rats, and to explore its mechanism.

METHODSForty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, the model group, the TCA low dose (60 mg/kg) group and the TCA high dose (120 mg/kg) group, 10 in each. A beta 25-35 (5microl, 2 microg/microl) was injected into bilateral hippocampi of each rat to induce learning and memory dysfunction. TCA were administered through intragavage for consecutive 15 days. Morris Water Maze test was used to assess the impairment of learning and memory; concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in cerebral cortex was determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substance to indicate the level of lipid peroxidation in brain tissues; activity of manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) in cerebral cortex was determined by xanthine-oxidase to indicate the activity of the enzyme; and NF- kappa B protein expression in cerebral cortex was measured by SP immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS(1) Morris Water Maze test showed that, during the 4 consecutive days of acquisition trials, the rats in the model group took longer latency and searching distance than those in the control group (P<0.01), which could be shortened by high dose TCA (P<0.05); during the spatial probe trial on the fifth day, the rats in the model group took shorter searching time and distance on the previous flat area than those in the control group (P<0.01), which could be prolonged after TCA treatment (for low dose group, P<0.05; for high dose group, P<0.01). (2) Analysis of cerebral cortical tissues showed that, compared with the control group, MDA level got significantly increased and Mn-SOD activity decreased in the model group (both P<0.01). After having been treated with TCA, the MDA level got significantly decreased (P<0.05 and P<0.01 respectively for low and high dose group), while relative increase of Mn-SOD activity only appeared in high dose group (P<0.05). (3) Immunohistochemistry analysis showed the protein expression of NF- kappa B got significantly increased after modeling, while high dose TCA can significantly inhibit it.

CONCLUSIONTCA could improve A beta 25-35 induced dysfunction of learning and memory in rats, and its protective mechanism is associated with its actions in decreasing MDA level, increasing Mn-SOD activity and inhibiting the expression of NF-kappa B in cerebral cortex.

Alkaloids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; administration & dosage ; Animals ; Cerebral Cortex ; metabolism ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; Injections ; Learning Disorders ; chemically induced ; psychology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Memory Disorders ; chemically induced ; psychology ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Peptide Fragments ; administration & dosage ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reaction Time ; drug effects ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Swimming

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of NPAS2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and analyze its relationship with the clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of the patients.

METHODSReal-time q-PCR was used to detect the expression of NPAS2 mRNA in 40 fresh CRC tissues and paired adjacent tissues; immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of NPAS2 protein in 120 paraffin-embedded tumor and adjacent tissues. The relationship between NPAS2 expression level and the 5-year survival rate of 78 CRC patients with follow-up data were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

RESULTSCompared with the adjacent tissues, fresh CRC tissue expressed significantly lower NPAS2 mRNA levels (P<0.01). Among the paraffin-embedded CRC tissues, 19.2% were positive for NPAS2 expression, as compared to a much higher rate of 62.5% in the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). The expression of NPAS2 was correlated with the tumor size, lymph node metastasis and TNM stages (P<0.05) but not with the patients' gender, age, distant tumor metastasis, differentiation, or invasion. Patients with high NPAS2 expression levels had a significantly higher 5-year survival rate than those with low NPAS2 expressions (P=0.0001).

CONCLUSIONNPAS2 is down-regulated in CRC and closely correlated with the malignant biological behavior of the tumor and 5-year survival of the patients, suggesting its value in predicting the prognosis of the CRC patients.

Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of the time interval from the end of semen processing to artificial intrauterine in semination with husband's sperm (AIH-IUI) on the rate of clinical pregnancy.

METHODSThis study involved 191 AIH-IUI cycles with the same ovulation induction protocol. After Percoll density gradient centrifugation, we divided the sperm into four groups based on the incubation time: 0-19, 20-39, 40-59, and 60-80 min, and again into another four groups according to the total progressively motile sperm count (TPMC): (0-9), (10-20), (21-30), and > 30 x 10(6). We analyzed the correlation of the clinical pregnancy rate with the time interval from the end of sperm processing to AIH-IUI and with other influencing factors, such as maternal age, infertility duration, and semen quality.

RESULTSThe rate of clinical pregnancy was significantly higher in the 20-39 min group (18.3%) than in the 0-19, 40-59, and 60-80 min groups (12.7, 11.4 and 9.1%) (all P < 0.05). The (10-20) x 10(6) group achieved a remarkably higher pregnancy rate (16.7%) than the (0-9), (21-30), and > 30 x 10(6) groups (0, 11.4, and 8.3%) (all P < 0.05). Logistic multivariate analysis showed that the rate of clinical pregnancy was decreased with the increased age of the women (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.94) but significantly elevated in the 20-39 min group (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.34-3.13) and of (10-20) x 10(6) group (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.32-3.46).

CONCLUSIONThe time interval from the end of sperm processing to AIH-IUI is a most significant factor influencing the rate of clinical pregnancy of AIH-IUI.

Centrifugation, Density Gradient ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility ; therapy ; Insemination, Artificial, Homologous ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Count ; Spermatozoa ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVEIn children with congenital heart diseases who have undergone surgical interventions, postoperative arrhythmias frequently complicate the clinical course. "Incisional" atrial tachycardia or flutter is one of the most common forms of postoperative arrhythmias in these patients and can lead to significant morbidity and even mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate how to use antiarrhythmic drugs and the CARTO system to treat these cases.

METHODSThere were 12 patients with "incisional" atrial tachycardia or flutter complicating surgery for congenital heart diseases in this study (3 patients with correction of tetrology of Fallot, 3 with atrial septal defect repair, 2 with ventricular septal defect repair, 1 with switch, 1 with repair of Ebstein's anomaly, 1 with total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage, and 1 with atrial septal closure with the Amplatzer septal occlusion). Patients whose body weight was less than 10 kg or those who did not wish to accept ablation were treated with antiarrhythmic drugs, including digitoxin, propranolol, metoprolol and cordarone. CARTO system was used to map 6 patients whose body weight was more than 10 kg and who agreed with accepting ablation for atrial tachycardia and flutter. Radio-frequency ablation was performed in these 6 cases including two cases of "incisional" atrial tachycardia and 4 of atrial flutter.

RESULTS(1) The antiarrhythmic drug was successful in 6 patients with "incisional" atrial tachycardia. (2) Six patients including 2 children with "incisional" atrial tachycardia and 4 children with atrial flutter were successfully ablated. But one case of "incisional" atrial tachycardia relapsed after 3 months of ablation. This case, however, was successfully ablated again later. No further relapse was observed during the 2 - 24 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONAblation of "incisional" atrial tachycardia and flutter is the first choice to treat the patients whose body weight is more than 10 kg and those who agree with accepting ablation by CARTO system. Drug therapy of "incisional" atrial tachycardia and flutter is palliative and it is the only selection to treat the patients whose body weight is less than 10 kg or those who do not wish to accept ablation procedure.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents ; therapeutic use ; Atrial Flutter ; etiology ; therapy ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; complications ; surgery ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Postoperative Care ; Tachycardia, Ectopic Atrial ; etiology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical technology of transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defects (ASD) with Amplatzer device in younger and lower body weight children.

METHODSThe transcatheter closure of ASD using Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) was performed in 165 children under 5 years of age (75 boys and 90 girls) with secundum ASD from Aug 1998 to May 2004. The age of the cases ranged from 2 to 5 (mean 3.7 +/- 1.1) years. The body weight ranged from 9 to 18 (mean 12.6 +/- 2.3) kg. The ratio of pulmonary circulation quantity to the systemic circulation quantity (Qp/Qs) was 3.2 +/- 1.9. All the patients underwent clinical examination, X-ray, electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography (Echo) for diagnosis of secundum ASD. The transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was used to detect and measure the defect of the patients and even trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) had to be used when it was necessary. With Echo and X-ray guidance, the measuring balloon was used in the body and outside the body to determine the balloon-stretch diameters of ASD, and proper occluders were selected accordingly for the patients for interventional treatment of ASD.

RESULTSThe devices were implanted successfully in 163 (98.8%) cases. One failure occurred in a case in whom the device moved into the left atrium after release, and the other failure was that the position of the device was uncertain because of temporary unavailability of a special transducer for TEE. Surgical operations were performed for these two cases. The stretch diameter of ASD was from (8 - 30) mm, (mean 18.3 +/- 5.1) mm. The size of device was selected according to the stretch diameter of ASD. The diameter of the occluders selected was from (8 - 30), (mean 18.6 +/- 5) mm in this series. The occlusion procedure was monitored by fluoroscopy and TTE and in 5 cases (3%) by TEE. The diameter of right ventricle was improved within 2 days after occlusion from (mean 16.4 +/- 4.9) mm to (mean 12.6 +/- 3.8) mm, (p < 0.01). One hundred and forty seven cases belonged to the simple secundum ASD(89%). Thirteen cases who were complicated with other cardiac deformity were treated successfully with different interventional procedure. Six cases had multiple openings and three of these cases had tumour-like changes of the atrial septum which were closed completely just by one occluder. In only one case small quantity of residual shunt remains. No other severe complication was found in this group. About 100 cases (60%) had large ASD, so the procedure was more difficult in those cases.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical effectiveness of treatment of ASD in children under 5 years of age with Amplatzer occluders was satisfactory and therefore this therapeutic procedure is feasible for this age group of patients. Nevertheless, we do not recommend to use the technique for infants and children under 2 years of age. Strict selection of indications and proper size of occluder and good cardiologic and surgical settings are among the basic factors for successful interventional occlusion of ASD in young children.

Child, Preschool ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Septal Occluder Device ; adverse effects

BACKGROUNDMaintenance of normal cardiac function is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. In congestive heart failure (CHF), sympathetic nerve denervation is increasingly recognized. The sympathetic fiber density depends on the balance between neurotrophins and neural guidance molecules. Semaphorin 3A (sema3a), a secreted neural guidance factor, is a well characterized member of the newly found semaphorin family. It can induce sympathetic growth cone collapse and axon repulsion. We conducted this study to investigate cell sources of sema3a in the heart, the expression level of sema3a in CHF and discuss the possible role of sema3a in CHF.

METHODSRats were divided into four groups: 30 days control group rats, 30 days CHF rats, 60 days control group rats, 60 days CHF rats. The heart failure model was induced by injection of isoproterenol (ISO) 340 mg/kg continuously two days. All animals underwent echocardiography and haemodynamics measurements. Cardiac expression of sema3a was determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting analysis. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to determine the cell source of sema3a in the heart.

RESULTSIsoproterenol induced 30 days and 60 days CHF rats displayed left ventricular dilation, systolic and diastolic function decrease. Sema3a was secreted by the cardiocytes and increased significantly in 30 days and 60 days CHF rats compared with the controls (RT-PCR: 30 days group: 0.32 ± 0.05 vs. 0.58 ± 0.06, P < 0.01; 60 days group: 0.34 ± 0.08 vs. 0.71 ± 0.07, P < 0.01. Western blotting: 30 days group: 0.25 ± 0.10 vs. 0.46 ± 0.10, P < 0.05; 60 days group: 0.29 ± 0.10 vs. 0.55 ± 0.16, P < 0.01. Immunohistochemical analysis: 30 days group: 2.91 ± 0.20 vs. 5.31 ± 0.30, P < 0.01; 60 days group: 2.94 ± 0.30 vs. 5.80 ± 0.30, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSSema3a was expressed in the heart by cardiocytes. Increased expression of sema3a may partly account for sympathetic denervation in CHF; modulation of this pathway may prove beneficial in heart failure sympathetic remodeling.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Echocardiography ; Heart Failure ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Immunohistochemistry ; Isoproterenol ; toxicity ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Semaphorin-3A ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To explore the mechanism underlying a selective liver nitric oxide donor V-PYRRO/NO effects on the gene expression of LTC4 synthase(LTC4S) during hepatic ischemia reperfusion(I/R).Methods Adult male SD rats were divided into 3 groups:control group(sham),ischemic-reperfusion group(I/R) and V-PYRRO/NO group. Liver subjected to 1 hour of partial hepatic ischemia followed by 5 hours of reperfusion, saline or V-PYRRO/NO[1.06 mmol/(kg·h)] administered intravenously. The mRNA expression of LTC4S in rat liver was examined by RT-PCR method,the protein expressions of NF-κB p65,p50 and IκB in liver cell lysates and nu-clear extracts were detected by Western blot analysis. Results Hepatic mRNA expression of LTC4S in I/R group was higher than that in sham group(P<0.05), whereas it was lower in V-PYRRO/NO group than that in I/R group(P<0.05). Moreover,compared with sham group,the protein expressions of NF-κB p65 and p50 in nucleus extract were markedly increased(P<0.01) but significantly decreased in cytoplasm(P<0.01) in I/R group. V-PYRRO/NO reversed completely the increase of these protein expressions in nucleus extract (P<0.05) and the decrease of them in cytoplasm(P<0.01,P<0.05) during hepatic I/R injury.However,IκB protein in three groups did not change. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that no marked positive staining for NF-κB p65 was found in sham liver,I/R liver exhibited strong cytoplasmic and nuclear positive staining for NF-κB p65,but V-PYRRO/NO I/R group liver presented slight cytoplasmic and nuclear staining. Conclusions V-PYRRO/NO may down-regulate LTC4S mRNA expression by inhibiting NF-κB activation independent of IκB during hepatic I/R injury.

Human Nestin (hNestin) has been found to express in melanoma,and its expression is positively correlated with the advanced stage of melanoma.However,the precise role of hNestin in the development of melanoma has not been fully understood.The present study aimed to explore the role of hNestin in the proliferation and invasion of melanoma cells.The lentivirus vector carrying a short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting hNestin (hNestin-shRNA-LV) was stably infected into human melanoma cells UACC903,which expressed high levels of hNestin.The effects of hNestin knockdown on the proliferation,apoptosis,migration of melanoma cells and the related signaling pathways were investigated by immunofluorence,Western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),respectively.The results showed that hNestin was expressed in most melanoma specimens and the melanoma cells studied.Knockdown of hNestin expression significantly inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells,blocked the formation of cell colony,arrested cell cycle at G1/S stage and suppressed the activation of Akt and GSK3β.hNestin-silent cells also showed a sheet-like appearance with tight cell-cell adhesion,decreased membrane expression of N-cadherin and β-catenin,and attenuated migration.Furthermore,hNestin silence resulted in the inhibition of tumor growth in vivo.Our study indicates that hNestin knockdown suppresses the proliferation of melanoma cells,which might be through affecting Akt-GSK3β-Rb pathway-mediated G1/S arrest,and hNestin silence inhibits the migration by selectively modulating the expression of cell adhesion molecules in the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.