Objective To observe the therapeutic effects of balloon dilatation with ice water and room temperature water on cricopharyngeal achalasia after brainstem stroke.Methods Forty dysphagic patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia after brainstem stroke were recruited.Twenty patients assigned to experimental group were treated by balloon dilatation with ice water and low frequency elecrtrical stimulation.Twenty patients assigned to control group were treated by balloon dilatation with room temperature water and low frequency electrical stimulation.Results After treatment,36 out of the 40 patients of the two groups could eat pasty food independently without choking.Videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) showed that the cricopharyngeal sphincter relaxed and the foods passed successfully when swallowing bolus,and no aspiration happened.In comparison,the level of cricopharyngeal opening,the number of patients with nasogastric tube remained and eating normally,and the scores of functional oral intake scale (FOIS) between the two groups showed no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).The average treatment sessions,average hospitalization days and average treatment cost in treatment group were significantly less than those in the control group(P ＜0.05).Conclusion Cricopharyngeal achalasia can be treated effectively by balloon dilatation with ice water or with room temperature water combined with low frequency electrical stimulation,but treatment course of balloon dilatation with ice water were significantly shorter than that of balloon dilatation with room temperature water.

Aim To investigate the protective effect of compound total flavonoids on atherosclerosis in ApoE -/- knockout mice.Methods Seven-week old C57BL/6 mice considered of the normal group (n =1 5 );seven-week old ApoE -/- mice were fed with high-fat diet and were assigned randomly into 5 groups:model group,simvastatin group,the low com-pound flavonoids group,the middle compound fla-vonoids group and the high compound flavonoids group.After 1 6 weeks,mice serum and aortas were harvested.The formation of atherosclerotic plaque was analyzed by HE staining,The serum level of lipids pro-files and superoxide dismutase (SOD )were deter-rnined.The levels of IL-1 βand NF-κB in serum were detected by ELISA assay.Results Area of atheroscle-rotic lesion was significantly less in the compound fla-vones group than in model.The level of TC,TG,LDL-C,IL-1 β,NF-κB in serum of the compound flavonoids group were decreased significantly,while SOD and HDL-C increased significantly compared with the mod-el group,and the difference was significant (P <0.05).Conclusion The compound flavonoids have a good protective effect on early atherosclerosis in mice, which may be due to its alleviating effects on hyperlipi-demia and inflammation and oxidation.

Men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) can achieve fertility by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) coupled with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the key to which is the successful retrieval of sperm from the testis. Although improved testicular sperm extraction techniques have increased the chances of sperm retrieval, to predict preoperatively the success of sperm retrieval from NOA patients remains challenging. A non-invasive diagnostic technique predicting the presence of sperm in the testis would be useful for avoiding possible surgical intervention. At present, some preoperative variables, such as serum FSH, inhibin B level, testis volume, genetic analysis, histopathology on diagnostic biopsy, Raman Spectroscopy, and molecular and protein markers, have provided new insights into the chances of successful sperm retrieval in NOA males. This review aims to evaluate the preoperative factors currently available for predicting the outcomes of sperm retrieval from NOA patients.
Azoospermia ; therapy ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Inhibins ; blood ; Male ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; Testis ; cytology

Objective:To compare the effects of 3 different crystalloid fluids at different osmotic concentrations on blood-brain barrier(BBB) and brain edema in severe hemorrhagic shock rats.Methods: A total of 150 male SD rats were equally randomized into a lactated Ringers(LR) group,a 7.2% hypertonic saline(HS) group and a plasmalyte A(PA) group.LR,PA and HS were administered after an hour of severe hemorrhagic shock induced by drawing out about 40% of total blood and maintaining MAP at 35-45 mmHg.Serum S100B,cerebra1 Evans Blue(EB) and water content were determined before(T_0) and 1 h after bleeding(T_1) and immediately(T_2),1 h(T_3) and 2 h(T_4) after administration.The changes of BBB in the hippocampus CA1 area were observed by electron microscopy.Results: The serum S100B level was obviously higher at T_1,T_2,T_3 and T_4than at T_0 in all groups(P0.05).The cerebra1 water content was significantly increased at T_1,T_2,T_3 and T_4in the LR group,at T_1in the HS and at T_1,T_2 and T_3 in the PA as compared with T_0(P

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; metabolism ; Checkpoint Kinase 2 ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Grading ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism ; Tumor Burden ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism

BACKGROUND:Chondrocytes may dedifferentiate when they are cultured in vitro,and the capacity of synthetizing glycosaminoglycan (GAG)is also reduced,how to delay the dedifferentiation of chondrocytes is a crucial topic in the field of tissue engineering.OBJECTIVE:To observe the performance of chondrocytes synthetizing GAG at different inoculum densities.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:A controlled cellular experiment was performed at the laboratory of Department of Orthopaedics in the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between January 2007 and May 2007.MATERIALS:Five New Zealand rabbits of one month old were used in this study.METHODS:Articular chondrocytes were isolated from both knees and digested using 0.4% pronase enzyme and 0.025% Ⅱ type collagenase.The chondrocytes harvested from the same rabbit were divided into two sets,one was seeded at a constant density of 2×104/cm2 in primary and subculture,the other was cultured at a reduced density of 2×103/cm2 following cellular adhesion.Cellular morphology and proliferation were observed under inverted microscope.The culture media were renewed after the primary cells and passage 1 cells were confluent.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:GAG concentration was determined using the modified precipitation method with Alcian blue at 12,24,36,48 and 60 hours following the renewal of culture media.RESULTS:Articular chondrocytes in the primary high-density culture group were polygonal with clear boundaries,they have shown to form colony at 3-4 days.Cells around colonies were more slender than those in the center of colonies,shaping as long polygon.There was no obvious change observed in the morphology of passage 1 cells.In the low-density culture group,cells scattered at early stage and formed colonies at 7 days,cellular morphology showed no significant differences in comparison with high-density culture group.The time of primary cells becoming confluent in the low-density culture group was prolonged compared with high-density culture group.The GAG concentration in supernatants in the primary cells of low-density culture group was significantly lower than that in primary cells and passage 1 cells of high-density culture group (P＜0.001,P＜0.05).The GAG concentration showed a greater difference along with the prolonging of culture time.CONCLUSION:High-density culture is better then low-density culture to enhance the performance of chondrocytes synthetizing GAG and to retard the velocity of chondrocytes dedifferentiation,which suggests high-density culture contributes to maintain the chondrocytes phenotype and can be considered as a good way of plate culture.

Objective To explore the independent risk factors for the 1 year stroke event in Chinese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and hypertension (HT).Methods Data of AF and HT patients in the Chinese Emergency Atrial Fibrillation Registry Study were retrospectively analyzed.The eligible patients were divided into the stroke group and the non-stroke group according to the result of 1 year follow-up.The predictors for the 1 year stroke event were identified by uni-and multi-variate Cox regression analysis with the baseline and therapeutic variables.Results A total of 1 118 AF and HT patients were enrolled in the study with the incidence of 1 year stroke event of 8.7％.All patients were divided into the stroke group (n =97) and the non-stroke group (n =1 021).Compared with the non-stroke group,more female patients were in the stroke group (68.0％ vs 54.5％,P ＜ 0.05) and the patients in the stroke group were older [(76.0 ± 9.4) years vs (71.9 ± 10.6) years,P ＜ 0.01] with higher proportion of previous history of stroke (38.1％ vs 23.8％,P ＜0.01).More patients were observed on the antihypertensive treatment in the non-stroke group (91.6％ vs 85.6％,P ＜ 0.05),while more patients on statins in the stroke group(45.4％vs 34.5％,P ＜ 0.05).Multi-variate Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR =1.036,95％ CI 1.010-1.062),female (HR =1.908,95％ CI 1.170-3.110),previous stroke history (HR =1.680,95％ CI 1.084-2.603),and no antihypertensive treatment (HR =1.955,95％ CI 1.008-3.791) were independent risk factors for the 1 year stroke event in patients with AF and HT.Conclusion Age,female,previous stroke history and no antihypertensive treatment are the independent risk factors for the 1 year stroke event in patients with AF and HT.

Objective To investigate the histopathological and ultrastructural changes of corneal epithelium induced by erlotinib in mice.Methods Totally 30 6-8 weeks old male BALB/c mice were divided into three groups:Control group (n =12),experimental group (n =12),another 6 mice did nothing as the blank control.Experimental group used erlotinib eye drops and control group used PBS in both eyes,four times per day.At 1 day,7 days and 14 days after the intervention,corneal fluorescence staining (FL) was observed by slit lamp and graded.On the fourteenth day after the intervention,the eye balls of mice were taken,and the histopathological and ultrastructural changes of corneal epithelium and epithelial cells were observed by optical microscope and electron microscope,respectively.And protein of cornea was measured by Western Blot.Results Before the intervention,there was no significant difference in FL scores between the experimental group and control group (P ＞ 0.05).At 1 day,7 days and 14 days,FL score of experimental group was significantly higher than the groups of non-intervention,the difference was statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).While FL score of control group was not statistically significant before and after intervention (all P ＞ 0.05);Compared between two groups,there were statistical differences at 7 days,14 days in FL score (all P ＜ 0.05).In the experimental group,the histopathological changes of murine corneal epithelial cells had disorderly arrangement,increased layers of cells,and the inflammatory cells.Under electron microscope,the morphology of corneal epithelial surface cells was irregular and partially detached.The number of microvilli,desmosomes and hemidesmosomes were significantly decreased when compared to the control group.The expression of p-EGFR in experimental group was significantly less than that in control group,the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Erlotinib can damage the tissue structure of corneal epithelium and ultrastructure of corneal epithelial cells in mice.And the mechanism is probably that erlotinib influence the corneal epithelium by inhibiting the EGFR activation.

Objective To observe the therapeutic efficacy of electrical stimulation and balloon dilatation in treating cricopharyngeal achalasia after a brainstem stroke.Methods Thirty dysphagia patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia after a brainstem stroke were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group, each of 15.The experimental group was given real-time electrical stimulation and balloon dilatation, while the control group was treated using common electrical stimulation and balloon dilatation.Results Twenty-six patients in the 2 groups returned to oral feeding after treatment.Videofluoroscopy revealed that the cricopharyngeal sphincter had relaxed and the food passed successfully when swallowing.No aspiration was observed.There was no significant difference in swallowing between the two groups, but the average treatment time, days of treatment and cost of therapy in the experimental group were significantly less than in the control group.Conclusions Either real-time electrical stimulation or common electrical stimulation combined with balloon dilatation can treat dysphagia effectively, but the former can shorten the course of treatment and lower its cost.

A new thermophilic fungus J18 isolated from the soil samples was identified as Paecilomyces thermophila. This strain produced effectively xylanase utilizing several lignocellulosic materials in the solid-state fermentation (SSF) , and wheat straw was the best carbon source. The results of single-factor-experiment showed that the wheat straw of particle size 0. 3 mm ~ 0.45 mm, initial moisture content of 83% , initial pH of 7. 0 and cultivation temperature of 50℃were the optimal conditions for xylanase production. Under the optimized conditions, it produced 18 580 U/g dry substrate after 8 days of cultivation. Therefore, xylanase production by Paecilomyces thermophila in SSF possess great potential for commercial applications.