Objective To investigate the clinical, hemorheology, transcranial Doppler (TCD) and auditory brainstem evoked response (ABR) features in senile sudden deafness.Methods The clinical manifestations, hemorheology, TCD, and ABR data in 82 patients with senile sudden deafness were analyzed retrospectively.Results (1) The primary symptoms mainly included tinnitus (65.9%) and vertigo (56.1%), which mostly occurred at daytime (53.7%).(2) Most of the patients had risk factors of arteriosclerosis such as hypertension (75.6%), diabetes (59.8%) and so on. These patients had more serious deafness.(3) There was no obvious relationship between high blood viscosity (61% of the patients) and the degree of deafness. (4) 85.4% of senile sudden deafness patients indicated vertebral-basilar artery insufficiency in TCD. There was a positive correlation between blood supply and degree of deafness. (5) The abnormal rate of ABR was 100%. WaveⅠdisappeared in most patients, which showed serious damage of auditory nerve. Disappearing of waveⅠ, Ⅲ, Ⅴ and Ⅰ～Ⅲ, Ⅲ～Ⅴ, Ⅰ～Ⅴ delitescence period delaying might be complicated with the damage of the structure of the brainstem and cochlea.Conclusions The morbidity and degree of senile sudden deafness are associated with insufficiency of blood supply of internal ears. TCD and ABR are sensitive and reliable methods in diagnosis, progression and prognosis of senile sudden deafness.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of long pulsed Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of onychomycosis.Methods Thirty-five patients with onychomycosis were treated by long pulsed Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm,power of 30-40 J/cm2,pulse width of 35 milliseconds,diameter of light spot of 4 mm.One treatment session included 4 times of irradiation at an interval of 2 minutes.Patients were treated once a week for 4 weeks followed by once a month for 6 months.Clinical and mycological efficacy was evaluated 9 months after the beginning of treatment.Side effects were recorded and analyzed.Nails were divided into various groups according to causative fungal species,clinical phenotypes,and distribution of affected nails.Data were processed by using SPSS 17.0 software.Chi-square test was performed to compare the response and recurrence rate between these groups.Results A total of 79 nails were treated by long pulsed Nd:YAG laser in this study.At 9 months after the first treatment,clinical response was observed in 67.1％ of these nails,mycological response in 73.4％,and recurrence in 19.0％.The Trichophyton rubrum group showed a better clinical (x2 =10.913,P ＜ 0.05) and mycological response (x2=13.532,P ＜ 0.05),but a lower recurrence/reinfection rate (x2 =10.980,P ＜ 0.05) compared with the other-species group.No significant difference was observed between the Trichophyton rubrum group and Candida albicans group in the clinical and mycological response rate or recurrence/reinfection rate.The clinical response in the distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (DLSO) group was significantly poorer than that in the white superficial onychomycosis (WSO) group (x2 =11.935,P ＜ 0.05),but better than that in the proximal subungual onychomycosis (PSO)/total dystrophic onychomycosis (TDO) group (x2 =17.515,P ＜ 0.05).Increased clinical response rate was observed in the second-fifth finger nail group compared with the thumb nail/second-fifth toe nail group (x2 =13.437,P ＜ 0.05)and hallux nail group (x2 =10.595,P＜ 0.05),while no statistical difference was observed in clinical response rate between the hallux nail group and thumb nail/second-fifth toe nail group (x2 =3.030,P＞ 0.05),or in mycological response rate or recurrence/reinfection rate among the second-fifth finger nail group,thumb nail/second-fifth toe nail group and hallux nail group.There was no obvious adverse reaction but pain during the treatment.Conclusions Long pulsed Nd:YAG laser appears to be an effective and safe approach to the treatment of onychomycosis,and the treatment outcome is affected by clinical types,location,and causative fungal species of onychomycosis.

Aim The effect of tetrandrine on TGF-?1 mRNA expression in glomerulosclerosis rat was observed. Methods The rats were randomly divided into four groups, such as the normal control group (sham operative rat), glomerulosclerosis model group,tetrandrine group and amlodipine group. The expression of TGF-?1 mRNA was analyzed by Northern blot hybridization. Results The expressions of TGF-?1 mRNA in two treating groups were much lower than untreated model group. There were no difference between these two treating groups. Conclusion Tetrandrine can decrease the expression of TGF-?1 mRNA in glomerulosclerosis rat induced by unilateral renctomy plus adriamycin.

Heparinase III (HepIII) is a 73-kDa polysaccharide lyase (PL) that degrades the heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides at sulfate-rare regions, which are important co-factors for a vast array of functional distinct proteins including the well-characterized antithrombin and the FGF/FGFR signal transduction system. It functions in cleaving metazoan heparan sulfate (HS) and providing carbon, nitrogen and sulfate sources for host microorganisms. It has long been used to deduce the structure of HS and heparin motifs; however, the structure of its own is unknown. Here we report the crystal structure of the HepIII from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron at a resolution of 1.6 Å. The overall architecture of HepIII belongs to the (α/α)₅ toroid subclass with an N-terminal toroid-like domain and a C-terminal β-sandwich domain. Analysis of this high-resolution structure allows us to identify a potential HS substrate binding site in a tunnel between the two domains. A tetrasaccharide substrate bound model suggests an elimination mechanism in the HS degradation. Asn260 and His464 neutralize the carboxylic group, whereas Tyr314 serves both as a general base in C-5 proton abstraction, and a general acid in a proton donation to reconstitute the terminal hydroxyl group, respectively. The structure of HepIII and the proposed reaction model provide a molecular basis for its potential practical utilization and the mechanism of its eliminative degradation for HS polysaccarides.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Bacteroides ; enzymology ; Catalytic Domain ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Heparitin Sulfate ; metabolism ; Kinetics ; Models, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polysaccharide-Lyases ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Substrate Specificity

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy often results in potentially life-threatening side effects including hypotension. However, the mechanism has not been completely elucidated. In order to determine whether IL-2 modifies vascular tone, we investigated the effect of IL-2 on rat thoracic aorta rings and the underlying mechanisms. Effects of IL-2 on the contraction of high KCl and phenylephrine (PE) preconstricted rat thoracic aorta with or without endothelium were determined by organ bath technique. To explore the mechanism, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-N(G)-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME), guanylyl cyclase inhibitor methylene blue, and cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin were used. IL-2 (10-1000 U/ml) caused concentration-dependent relaxation of aorta rings preconstricted with PE (10 micromol/L) in endothelium-intact rings, but had no effect on KCl (120 mmol/L) preconstricted rings. Removal of the endothelium, or pretreatment with L-NAME (0.1 mmol/L) or methylene blue (10 micromol/L) or indomethacin (10 micromol/L), inhibited the relaxation of IL-2. The results indicate that the relaxation by IL-2 in rat aorta ring is endothelium-dependent and is possibly mediated by the NO-guanylyl cyclase pathway and cyclooxygenase-dependent pathway.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; drug effects ; physiology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; drug effects ; Endothelium-Dependent Relaxing Factors ; pharmacology ; Guanylate Cyclase ; metabolism ; In Vitro Techniques ; Interleukin-2 ; pharmacology ; Male ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; pharmacology ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Vasodilation ; drug effects ; Vasodilator Agents ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of transpedicular eggshell technique in treating thoracolumbar deformity.

METHODSFrom December 2008 to December 2011,36 patients with thoracolumbar deformity were treated with transpedicular eggshell technique. There were 20 males and 16 females with an average age of 45 years old (ranged from 20 to 58). Among them, 5 cases were congenital hemivertebrae deformity, 12 cases were secondary to tuberculotic deformity, 14 cases were post-traumatic deformity with pain, 5 cases were ankylosing spondylitis. Low back pain, living ability, scoliotic Cobb angle were analyzed according to VAS scoring, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), radiological examination.

RESULTSAverage operative time was 245 min and average bleeding was 1 900 ml in 36 patients. All patients were followed up more than 1 year and obtained bone fusion at 1 year after operation. Preoperative,postoperative at 1 week and 1 year, VAS scoring was 7.2 +/- 1.4, 2.5 +/- 1.0, 1.8 +/- 0.5, respectively; ODI was (72.50 +/- 10.80)%, (42.50 +/- 11.10)%, (22.50 +/- 7.90)%, respectively; kyphosis Cobb angle was (76.31 +/- 2.52) degrees, (23.66 +/- 1.16) degrees, (23.67 +/- 1.16) degrees, respectively; lumbar scoliosis Cobb angle was (71.86 +/- 4.02) degrees, (30.81 +/- 2.33) degrees, (30.82 +/- 2.32) degrees, respectively. Postoperative at 1 week and 1 year,above data had obviously improved than that of preoperative (P < 0.05); and there was no significant difference in Cobb angle between postoperative at 1 week and postoperative at 1 year (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTreatment of thoracolumbar deformity with transpedicular eggshell technique could obtain effective correcting and clinical results.

Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Orthopedic Procedures ; methods ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; abnormalities ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo compare the quality of red ginseng in different transplanting systems, and thus provide the basis for ginseng cultivation and processing.

METHODBased on the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and literature relating to red ginseng, the ten ginsenosides, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, volatile oil, ether extract and total protein of red ginseng in different transplanting systems were studied or determined.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONThe content of total ash and acid-insoluble ash in red ginseng was less than 5.0%, 0.3%, respectively. The content of three ginsenosides (Rg1, Re, Rb1) was in accordance with the requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia version 2010, and the content of ten ginsenosides was significant different.

China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Panax ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Quality Control

OBJECTIVEA SmERF1 gene was isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza, and expression patterns to different stress condition were analysed in the root tissues of S. miltiorrhiza.

METHODThe cDNA of SmERF1 gene from S. miltiorrhiza was isolated by RTPCR, and the phylogenetic tree using the neighbour-joining tree method in Mega 5 was obtained. To confirm the protein is likely to localize in the nucleus, the SmERF1 coding region was fused to the N-terminus of the GFP gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter and transferred into onion epidermal cells using the particle bombardment method. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed different expression pattern of SmERF1 gene in response to exogenous ABA, MeJA and SA.

RESULTThe phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that SmERF1 is most similar to AP2/ERF VII subgroup members. The transient expression of the SmERF1::GFP fusion protein indicated that the SmERF1 was exclusively localized to the nucleus. The transcript of SmERF1 highly accumulated when the plants were treated with MeJA, while accumulated slightly in response to exogenous ABA, salicylic acid.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest hormone such as ABA, MeJA and SA signaling pathways can be involved in the activation and inhibition of the SmERF1.

Cloning, Molecular ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Transport ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the safety of preoperative hepatic and regional arterial infusion chemotherapy in the prevention of liver metastasis and improving survival after curative colorectal cancer resection.Methods Patients admitted from 2001 to 2007 with Stage Ⅱ or Stage Ⅲ colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to receive preoperative hepatic and regional arterial infusion chemotherapy (PHRAIC group,n=256)or surgery alone(control group,n=253).Toxity of liver,hematology,immunology and post-operative complication of PHRAIC and the control were evaluated.Results Grade Ⅲ hepatic toxity,leukemia,anemia and platelet decrease in PHRAIC group was 3.1%(8/256),5.5% (14/256),7.4%(19/256)and 6.6%(17/256).There were no grade Ⅳ toxities,and all the patients in PHRAIC group received surgery.Morbidity rate in PHRAIC and the control group was 9.8%(25/256)vs 8.3%(21/253)(X2=1.86,P＞0.05).All patients were followed up,with mean follow up of 42±14 months until Oct 30.2007.For stage Ⅲ patients,5-year overall survival and liver metastasis rate were 81.0% in PHRAIc group vs.60.4% in control group(X2=5.15,P＜0.05)and 18.9%(28/148)vs 27.3%(41/150)(X2=5.41,P＜0.05),respectively.Conclusion Preoperative hepatic and regional arterial infusion chemotherapy 7 days before surgery was safe and could reduce liver metastasis and improve survival rate in patients with Stage Ⅲ colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVESTo examine the activities of transcription factors (TFs) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with different metastatic potentials, so as to identify the TFs associated with HCC metastasis.

METHODSTranscription factor activity profile of Hep3B, MHCC97L and MHCC97H, three HCC cell lines with different metastatic potentials, were examined using protein/DNA array. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and Western blot were used to confirm the results obtained by protein/DNA array.

RESULTSFrom a total of 345 screened TFs, 7 activity differential TFs were found, of which 5 showed increased activity, including p53, hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) and Sp1, and 2 showed decreased activity including Rb and Smad3.

CONCLUSIONThe abnormal functioning of transcription factors is closely associated with HCC metastasis. Our present findings could be of help in expanding our understanding of the mechanism of HCC metastasis and identify new predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Protein Array Analysis ; Transcription Factors ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism