Child ; Diarrhea ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans

Dyspnea ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Inhalation

Objective To investigate the frequency of micresatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and select sensitive loci for studying microsatellite DNA imbalance in thymic squamous cell carcinoma. Methods 5 microsat-ellitc polymorphism markers and extrated DNA were selected from 9 specmiens of paired thymie squamous cell carcinoma/nor-real tissues. MSI and LOH in the specmiens of thymic carcinoma and relevant pericancerou tissues were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by 6% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE) with silver staining. Results MSI or LOH was detected in 9 thymic carcinoma tissues. The frequency of MSI or LOH was 66.7% (6/9) at loci of D6S1708, 33.3% (3/9) at TP53, 33.3% (3/9)at DM, 33.3% (3/9)at D11S988 and 0% (0/9)at D8S136, LOH at D6S1708 (5/6) was a common genetic alteration. DI1S988 had only LOH alteration. Conclusion D6S1708, TP53, DM, and D11S988 are sensi-tive loci for studying microsatellite DNA imbalance in thymic squamous cell carcinoma. Microsatellite DNA imbalance may play a certain role in occurrence and development of thymic squamous cell carcinoma, and the relationship between MSi or LOH.The linicopathological features of thymic squamous cell carcinoma needs further investigation.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of 2 mg/d and 4 mg/d of terazosin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).Methods A total of 120 BPH patients were randomly divided into 2 groups receiving 2 mg or 4 mg terazosin per day for 2 months. Arterial blood pressure, International Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS) and peak flow rate (Qmax) before and after treatment were compared while side effects were estimated. Results Forty-six patients receiving 2 mg and 54 patients receiving 4 mg terazosin completed this study. Patients' age and pre-treatment blood pressure, IPSS and Qmax had no difference between the 2 groups. The improvement of IPSS (including obstructive score, irritating score and total IPSS) and Qmax was significantly better in 4 mg group. The percentage of patients experiencing greater than 30% improvement in Qmax in the 4 mg treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the 2 mg group (46.3% vs 23.9%, P=0.02). Side effects were rare and mild in both groups.Conclusion The improvements of IPSS and Qmax are significantly greater in 4 mg treatment of terazosin than that of 2 mg with no obvious increase of side effects.

Objective To find an effective CT-MRI image fusion protocol in brain tumor by analyzing the registration accuracy of different methods. Methods The simulation CT scan and MRI T1 WI imaging of 10 brain tumor patients obtained with same position were registered by Tris-Axes landmark 、Tris-Axes landmark + manual adjustment、 mutual information and mutual information + manual adjustment method. The clinical tumor volume (CTV) were contoured on both CT and MRI images respectively. The accuracy of image fusion was assessed by the mean distance of five bone markers ( d1-5 ), central position of CTV ( dCTV ) the percentage of CTV overlap ( PCT-MRI ) between CT and MRI images. The difference between different methods was analyzed by Freidman M non-parameter test. Results The difference of the means d1-5 between the Tris-Axes landmark、Tris-Axes landmark plus manual adjustment、mutual information and mutual information plus manual adjustment methods were 0. 28 cm ±0. 12 cm, 0. 15 cm ±0.02 cm, 0. 25 cm± 0. 19 cm, 0. 10 cm ± 0. 06 cm, ( M = 14. 41, P = 0. 002 ). the means dCTV were 0. 59 cm ± 0. 28 cm,0. 60 cm± 0. 32 cm, 0. 58 cm ± 0. 39 cm, 0. 42 cm± 0. 30 cm( M = 9. 72, P = 0. 021 ), the means PCT-MRI were 0.69% ±0. 18%, 0.68% ±0. 16%, 0.66% ±0. 17%, 0.74% ±0. 14% (M = 14.82,P=0.002),respectively. Conclusions Mutual information plus manual adjustment registration method was the preferable fusion method for brain tumor patients.

Objective To review the publication of general practice education in China mainland in 20 years from 1993 to 2012.Methods The research articles of general practice education published between January 1,1993 and December 31,2012 were searched from CNKI and Wanfang databases, and analyzed with bibliometric and literature management software NoteExpress 2, Epidata 3.1 and SPSS 13.0.Results Total 4 281 articles were retrieved and 241 education relevant articles were selected.29.9％ (72/241) of the 241 articles were on on-campus education, 67.6％ (163/241) were on continuing medical education and 4.5％ (11/241) were on post-graduation education.As to the published institutions, 58.5％ (141/241) were from the medical colleges and research institutions, 25.7％ (62/241 were from the tertiary hospitals, 3.7％ (9/241) were from primary care institutions, 1.7％ (4/241 were from the secondary hospitals and 5.8％ (14/241) were from the government departments.The general practice education grants increased from 1 in 2001 to 46 in 2012;20 of which were supported by provincial and ministerial level funds.Conclusion The contents of general medical education literature in China is mainly on on-campus education and continuing medical education;most of which were from the tertiary hospitals and the medical colleges and research institutions.The amount of research grants of general practice education were increasing year by year during 1993-2012, indicating that more attention had been paid to general practice education in mainland China in the last two decades.

Objective To study the diagnosis and operative treatment of redundant sigmoid colon in children.Methods The length of sigmoid flexure was measured by enema examination in children with constipation,if it was over the normal scope,redundant sigmoid colon were come into existence.Twenty-three cases were treated by operated,hemicolectomy were done in 14 of 23 cases,others were treated by Soave′s procedure through transanal local excision.Results Symptoms disappeared completely in 18 of 23 cases and decreased in 5 cases.Nine cases were cured after Soave's procedure through transanal local excision.There were significant differences between 2 groups(P

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Qiling Decoction (QD) combined highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) on expression levels of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cells in HIV/AIDS patients.

METHODSTotally 55 HIV/AIDS patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (28 cases) and the combination group (27 cases). Besides, 21 HIV negative patients were recruited as the healthy control group. Those in the treatment group received HARRT alone, while those in the combination group received HAART combined QD. The observation lasted for 24 weeks. Meanwhile, according to peripheral blood CD4+ T cell counts before treatment, HIV/AIDS patients were assigned to three subgroups. For patients in subgroup 1, 1 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 100 cells/microL; For patients in subgroup 2, 101 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 200 cells/lL; For patients in subgroup 3, 201 cells/microL < CD4+ T cell counts < or = 350 cells/microL. Expression of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cells, and number of CD4+ T cell counts were detected using flow cytometry (FCM)in HIV/AIDS patients at the pre-treatment baseline, week 4, 12, and 24, as well as those in the healthy control group.

RESULTSCompared with the healthy control group, CD4+ T cell counts and the baseline expression level of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood of HIV/AIDS patients significantly decreased, the expression level of Treg cells significantly increased P < 0.01). Compared with before treatment in the same group, CD4+ T cell counts all increased at week 4, 12, and 24 in the two treatment groups, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in the effective rate at various CD4+ T cell levels between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no statistical difference in expression levels of Th17 and Treg cells between the combination group and the treatment group at any time point (all P >0.05). The Th17/Treg ration significantly increased in the combination group after 24 weeks of treatment, showing statistical difference when compared with the treatment group (U = 2.135, P = 0.038).

CONCLUSIONQD could improve the immune balance of Th17/Treg cells, which might be one of its mechanisms for improving HIV/AIDS patients' immunity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Adult ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Case-Control Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology

This study examined the current changes of human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) mutation derived from a LQT2 Chinese family with a highly penetrating phenotype. Mutation was identified and site-directed mutagenesis was performed to induce the mutation in wild-type (WT) hERG. WT hERG and mutated V535M were cloned and transiently expressed in HEK293 cells. At the 48th and 72nd h after transfection, membrane currents were recorded using whole cell patch-clamp procedures. An A>G transition at 1605 resulting in replacement of V535M was identified. Compared to WT, V535M mutation significantly decreased tail currents of hERG. At test potential of -40 mV after depolarizing at +50 mV, tail current densities were 83.35±7.06 pA/pF in WT and 50.38±7.74 pA/pF in V535M respectively (n=20, P<0.01). Gating kinetics of hERG revealed that V (1/2) of steady-state inactivation shifted to negative potential in the mutant (V (1/2,V535M): -61.81±1.7 mV vs. V (1/2, WT): -43.1±0.71 mV). The time constant of recovery from inactivation was markedly prolonged in the mutant compared to WT among test potentials. V535M hERG mutation demonstrated markedly decreased tail current densities, which suggests that V535M is a new loss-of-function mutation of hERG channel responsible for LQT2.

Background Studies showed that activation of microglia-derived nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase plays a key role in the neurodegenerative diseases and neural cell death in central nervous system.The effect of NADPH on cone degeneration have been determined in rd rats,its role in rod degeneration is relatively less studied.Objective This study was to study the expression of NADPH oxidase in the retinal degenerative process in rd mice and further explore its role in the photoreceptor degeneration.Methods rd Mice at postnatal day 8 (P8),P10,P12,P14,P16 and P18 were collected.The mice were sacrificed,and retinal sections,RNAs and proteins were prepared in above-mentioned time points.The expressions of the gp91 phox,a major subunit of NADPH oxidase,in transcript level and protein level in the retinas were semi-quantitatively detected by real-time PCR and Western blot respectively.Expression of gp91phox was localized in the rd retinas as ageing by immunohistochemstry,and the co-expression of gp91phox with CD11b,a specific marker of microglial cells,was assayed by immunofluorescent double labeling.The C57BL/6N mice were served as controls.The use and care of the animals complied with the Guideline of ARVO.Results Real-time PCR showed that gp91phox mRNA was not expressed in the retinas of C57BL/6N mice.Gp91phox mRNA was found to have less expressed in retinas of P8 rd mice.With aging,the expression level of gp91phox mRNA (gp91phox mRNA/β-actin) in rd mouse retinas was gradually increased with the highest level in P14 mice(1.136±0.370).A significant difference was seen in the gp91 phox mRNA expression among various groups of mice (F=17.81,P =0.00),and gp91phox mRNA expression was significantly elevated in P10,P12,P14,P16 and P18 rd mice compared with P8 rd mice(all at P＜0.05).The expression level of gp91phox protein (A value) in the retinas presented with a similar trend in the rd mice,with a significant difference among the various ages of rd mice and C57BL/6N mice (F =354.00,P＜0.01).The expression level of gp91 phox protein was increased in the rd mice in comparison with the C57BL/6N mice (all at P＜0.05).Immunochemistry revealed that the positive response cells for gp91phox increased in the inner layers of retinas in P10 rd mice and peaked in P14 mice.Immunofluorescent double labeling exhibited that gp91phox were seen to present a co-expression with CD11b,showing an orange fluorescence.Conclusions Expression of NADPH oxidase in the rctinas in the rd mice up-regulates and is parallels to the microglial activation and photoreceptor degeneration,suggesting that NADPH oxidase plays a role in the retinal dystrophy associated with microglial activation.