Objective To evaluate the effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and delayed surgery for infant hepatoblastoma.Methods TACE was performed with the initial digital subtractive angiography (DSA) under general anesthesia 1-3 times in 8 infants with huge hepatoblastoma, whose age was 2 to 12 months. DSA was done via arterials in hepatoblastoma each time before chemoembolization. The arterials were perfused with chemodrugs and suspensions in ultrasome iodized oil , and were blocked with spring rings. DSA findings indicated that the tumor shrank without new tumorous arterials after 1 month in 6 cases, and 4 of them showed no tumorous staining, and the delayed surgery was performed successfully 1 week later in 6 infants. One boy underwent systemic chemotherapy alone during 6 months after 3 times of TACE. Results TACE therapy did not encounter any major technical problem or toxic reaction caused by chemotherapy. The following DSA test 4 weeks later did not detect any new tumorous vessels in 6 cases. Six children received TACE and surgery had been followed-up with no tumor recurrence for months averagely. The boy underwent TACE and venous chemotherapy for 6 months , without surgery , had been followed-up for 48 months until the present report. CT, AFP and DSA did not show any hints of tumor recurrence. Six cases receiving 3 times TACE combined with surgery survived without tumor recurrence. Conclusions TACE is a very effective, safe and helpful therapy for hepatoblastoma, which stressed the repeated use of spring ring to block tumor vessels lastingly if necessary. If surgery is required, DSA test is needed beforehand to detect new tumorous vessels or neoplasm. If there is any , TACE is repeated. TACE combined with surgery may provide an additional promising choice in the treatment of hepatoblastoma, and repeated TACE alone may cure hepatoblastoma in infants.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of the coil-and-glue method for the reduction of lung volume in rabbit emphysema model.Methods Sixteen rabbits of emphysema model were divided into the occlusion group(n=10),in which both anterior bronchi were occluded using the coil-and- glue method,and the control group(n=6).The maximal static pressure of airway(P_(max)),peak expiratory flow(PEF),end-expiratory volume(EEV)and pressure of oxygen(PO_2)were measured at ante- emphysema,post-emphysema,1 week and 4 week after occlusion respectively.The expectoration(or migration)of coil and collapse of lung were also investigated.Results P_(max)was(20.0?1.3)and(17.1? 1.4)cm H_2O(1 cm H_2O=0.098 kPa)in the occlusion group at ante-emphysema and post-emphysema respectively.P_(max)was(19.2?1.4)cm H_2O in the occlusion group in the 1 week after the occlusion,while (17.1?1.5)cm H_2O in the control group(F=6.68,P

Background and purpose: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a new minimally invasive method in the dignosis for mediastinal lymph nodes. This study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal lymph nodes. Methods: Twenty patients with mediastinal lymph nodes found by CT underwent the dignosis by EBUS-TBNA form April 1st 2009 to July 16th 2009. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA were evaluated. Results: Twenty patients with 37 lymph node groups were studied. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA for diagnostic were 84.62%, 100%, 100%, 77.78% and 90.00%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy for cancer was 100%. The operation time was 11.9min per group in average with no serious complication. The median length of hospital stay was 1 (range from 1 to 17 days) day after operation. There were significant differences in the average operation time between the first three patients and the others (36.25 min vs. 7.76 min; z=3.247, P=0.001). Conclusion: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration proved to be a safe procedure with a high yield for the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph nodes.

Traditional processes are mostly adopted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation production and the quality of products is mostly controlled by terminal. Potential problems of the production in the process are unpredictable and is relied on experience in most cases. Therefore, it is hard to find the key points affecting the preparation process and quality control. A pattern of research and development of traditional Chinese medicine preparation process based on the idea of Quality by Design (QbD) was proposed after introducing the latest research achievement. Basic theories of micromeritics and rheology were used to characterize the physical property of TCM raw material. TCM preparation process was designed in a more scientific and rational way by studying the correlation among enhancing physical property of raw material, preparation process and product quality of preparation. So factors affecting the quality of TCM production would be found out and problems that might occur in the pilot process could be predicted. It would be a foundation for the R&D and production of TCM preparation as well as support for the "process control" of TCMIs gradually realized in the future.
Drug Compounding ; methods ; standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; standards ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; standards ; trends ; Quality Control ; Research ; standards ; trends ; Research Design ; standards ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; instrumentation ; methods ; standards

Objective To study the CT and MR imaging features of skull epidermoid cyst. Methods CT and MR findings of 4 cases of pathologically proved skull epidermoid cyst were analyzed and correlated with operative and pathologic reports.Results CT and MR appearances of skull epidermoid cyst were as follows:(1)crater-form or scalloping deossification with sclerotic border and fatty density focus was detected on CT.(2)The lesions were isointense to hypointense relative to normal white matter in T1-weighted image,prominent hyperintense in T_2-weighted image,mild to moderate hyperintense in diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI),and isointense to hypointense in apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) map on MR.Proton MRS revealed lactate(Lac)peaks at 1.3 ppm and amino acids(AAs)at 0.9 ppm. (3)No enhancement was found in substance region of all tumors on both enhanced CT and enhanced MR examinations.Conclusion CT and MR appearances of skull epidermoid cyst have unique features which are very helpful in the diagnosis of skull epidermoid cyst.

Objective:To explore the pathogenesis of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS)with respect to the bal- ance of Th1/Th2.Methods:Eighteen healthy male minipigs,weighing 22-30 kg,were randomly divided into two groups: MODS group and control group.Double-hit method including hemorrhagic shock and endotoxiemia was used to establish the porcine MODS model.The peripheral vein blood samples were collected at different time-points(before bloodletting,before en- dotoxin injection,1 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after endotoxin injection)in the two groups.The spleen samples were collected after death of the animals.Plasma levels of IFN-?and IL-4 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Real- time PCR was used to detect the expression of IFN-?,IL-4,T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA(The latter 2 were the key transcription factors associated with Th1/Th2 response)in the spleen samples.Results:The plasma levels of IFN-?and IL-4 quickly reached the peak values 1 h after the endotoxin injection,then the level of IFN-?decreased quickly.The ratio of IFN-?/IL-4 was signifi- cantly lower than the baseline value 72 h after endotoxin injection(P=0.000).The ratio of IFN-?/IL-4 mRNA in MODS group was obviously lower than that in the control group(P=0.020);the ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 was also lower in MODS group (P=0.038).Conclusion:The shift from Th1 to Th2 occurs in the progress of MODS.

AIM:To investigate the effects of silymarin on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced acute lung injury in rats and its possible molecular mechanisms.METHODS: Fifty-eight male SD rats,weighting 230-250 g,were divided into four groups randomly: normal control(n=12);acute lung injury group(n=15),receiving intravenous LPS(O55∶B5,5 mg/kg);silymarin alone group(50 mg/kg,n=15);intervention group(n=16,receiving silymarin 50 mg/kg and LPS 5 mg/kg).The specimens were collected 6 hours later.The following changes,including blood gas analysis,the lung wet/dry weight ratio,the pulmonary vascular permeability,histological manifestations,lung tissue myeloperoxidase activity,the levels of TNF-?,IL-1?,MCP-1 and SOD,GSH-Px as well as malonaldehyde and conjugated diene in plasma and lung tissue,were observed.RESULTS: Compared with control group,the lungs of the rats in LPS treatment group showed significant hyperemia and spotted hemorrhage.The inflammatory granulocyte infiltrating,diffused alveolar septum thickening and spotted hemorrhage were observed in pathological examinations.The lung wet/dry weight ratio and Evans blue content(per gram) increased significantly after LPS treatment.The myeloperoxidase activity in plasma and lung tissue,the levels of TNF-?,IL-1?,MCP-1 and SOD,GSH-Px as well as malonaldehyde and conjugated diene were increased significantly in LPS treatment group.However,in intervention groups,all the above-mentioned measurements were reversed significantly by silymarin treatment compared with LPS treatment group.CONCLUSION: Silymarin may decrease inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress,and further decrease lung damage induced by LPS in rats,all indicating protection of silymarin against acute lung injury.

Objective: To investigate the effects of grasp seed procyanidins(GSP,原青花素) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced acute lung injury(ALI) in rats with renal function damage and the related possible molecular mechanisms.Methods: The homogenates of lung and kidney were prepared and venous blood were collected at 6 hours after injection of LPS and medicine.The changes of contents of creatinine(Cr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),lactic acid(Lac) and nitric oxide(NO) in the blood were measured.The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of tumor necrosis factor?(TNF-?),interleukin-1?(IL-1?),monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1) and IL-6 in the serum,lung and renal cortex tissue homogenate in various groups.The histopathological changes of lung tissues were observed.The pulmonary vascular permeability and the lung wet/dry(W/D) weight ratio were determined;the malonaldehyde(MDA) content,Na+K+-ATPase,superoxide dismutase(SOD),myeloperoxidase(MPO) and glutathion peroxidase(GSH-Px) activities in lung and renal tissues were also determined.Changes of mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPKs) were detected by Western blotting,and the combination activity of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B) to DNA was detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) in lung tissues.Results: ①Compared with the normal rats in control group,the lungs of the rats in LPS treatment group and GSP group had significant hyperemia and spotted hemorrhage.The inflammatory granulocyte infiltration,diffuse alveolar septum thickening and spotted hemorrhage were observed in the pathological examinations,while in LPS plus GSP group the above mentioned pathological changes were milder.②Compared with control group,the lung W/D and pulmonary vascular permeability were much higher in the LPS treatment groups(P

Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; Pregnancy ; Tretinoin

WRKY transcription factor is one of the Zinc finger proteins which contains a highly conserved WRKY domain and is a family of the plant-specific transcription factor. The plasmid pET28a-SmWRKY1 harboring Salvia miltiorrhiza WRKY1 (SmWRKY1) gene was successfully transformed and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The conditions on protein expression of SmWRKY1 in E. coli, including induction duration, temperature, IPTG concentration and the E. coli concentration were optimized. The results showed that the highest protein expression of SmWRKY1 was obtained at 24 hours after the E. coli was cultured in the presence of 0.2 mol x L(-1) IPTG at 20 degrees C with A600 values of 1.0-1.5. This recombinant histidine-tagged protein was expressed at 2.454 g x L(-1) as inclusion body, which was first extracted using urea, and then purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography and identified by SDS-PAGE. The expression of SmWRKY1 in E. coli was further confirmed by western blotting analysis.
Blotting, Western ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Weight ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; genetics