Many flaviviruses are emerging and reemerging pathogens, such as West Nile virus (WNV), dengue virus (DENV), yellow fever virus (YFV), and Japanese encephalitis virus. Serological assay is the dominant method for diagnosis of flavivirus infections in human. Because antibodies generated during flavivirus infections cross-react with other flavivirus members, plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) is the only available assay to determine the infecting flavivirus type.Since PRNT requires culturing raw viruses, it must be performed in biosafety level-3 or level-4 containment for many flaviviruses, and takes more than ten days to complete. To overcome these problems, we have developed flavivirus viral-like particles (VLPs) that could be used to replace raw viruses in the neutralization assay. The VLPs were prepared by trans packaging a luciferase-reporting replicon with viral structural proteins. This novel assay involves three simple steps: (ⅰ) VLPs from a panel of flaviviruses are incubated with flavivirus-infected sera at 37℃ for 1 h; (ⅱ)the neutralized VLPs are used to infect Vero cells; and (ⅲ) the infected cells are measured for luciferase activities at 22 h post-infection. The virus type whose VLP is most efficiently neutralized by the serum specimen (as quantified by the luciferase activities) is the etiologic agent. As a proof-of-concept, we show that a WNV-infected mouse serum neutralized the WNV VLP more efficiently and selectively than the DENV and YFV VLPs. Our results demonstrate that the VLP neutralization assay maintains the "gold standard" of the classic PRNT; importantly, it shortens the assay time from ＞10 days to ＜1 day, and can be performed in biosafety level-2 facility.

Blood Cell Count ; Child ; Fever ; Histiocytosis, Non-Langerhans-Cell ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis

Objective To evaluate the effect of deep and moderate neuromuscular blockade on surgical conditions during minor laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.Methods Sixty-five patients,with expected surgery time ＜ 3 h,aged 18-60 yr,with body mass index＜30 kg/m2,of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ orⅡ,scheduled for elective laparoscopic gynecological surgery,were allocated into deep neuromuscular blockade group (group D,n =33) and moderate neuromuscular blockade group (group M,n=32) using a random number table.After induction of anesthesia,the patients were tracheally intubated and mechanically ventilated.Cisatracurium was continuously infused to maintain the degree of neuromuscular blockade in both groups to achieve the target degree post-tetanic count of 1 or 2 in group D and train-of-four (TOF) count of 1 or 2 in group M.Surgical conditions were assessed and scored after surgery.The recovery index,time for TOF ratio returning to 0.7 and 0.9,surgery time,mean intra-abdominal pressure,extubation time and TOF ratio at extubation were recorded.Results Compared with group M,the mean intra-abdominal pressure was significantly decreased,and the extubation time and time for TOF ratio returning to 0.7 and 0.9 were prolonged in group D (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the other parameters between the two groups (P＞0.05).Conclusion Moderate neuromuscular blockade can provide better surgical conditions for minor laparoscopic gynecological surgery with shorter recovery time.

Objective To review the experience of perioperative management and effect of valve replacement combined with renal dysfunction.Methods 536 cases of valve replacement.According to preoperative glomerular filtration rate(GFR),renal dysfunction was classified as normal in 322 cases,mild in 162,moderate in 40 and severe in 12.Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the effect of preoperative renal dysfunction on operative mortality and morbidity.Results Patients with a lower GFR were older and more likely to have hypertention.They also tended to have larger left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and worse left ventricular ejection factor.Operative mortality rose inversely with declining renal function,from 2％ for those with normal renal function to 17％ for patients with severe renal dysfunction.Renal dysfunction was significantly associated with a large blood transfusions,re-intubation,longer mechanical ventilation,intensive care unit stay and hospital stay.Conclusion Preoperative renal dysfunction is an important factor of postoperative mortality and morbidity for valve replacement.We must pay more attention to perioperative management.

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy between elongated needle therapy and regular needle therapy at Tiantu (CV 22) on the basis of xingnao kaiqiao (activiting brain and regaining consciousness) acupuncture therapy so as to explore the effective therapeutic method in treatment of dysphagia induced by bulbar palsy.

METHODSSeventy one cases of dysphagia induced by bulbar palsy were randomized into two groups. The xingnao kaiqiao acupuncture therapy was applied at Shuigou (GV 26), Neiguan (PC 6), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and the others in the two groups. In the elongated needle therapy group, on the basis of xingnao kaiqiao acupuncture therapy, the elongated needle was used to puncture Tiantu (CV 22). In the regular needle therapy, the regular acupuncture technique was used at Tiantu (CV 22). In both groups, the treatment was given once a day in a week except Sunday and lasted for 4 weeks totally. Before and after treatment, the swallowing condition and the standardized swallowing assessment (SSA) were observed in the patients and the efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 97.2% (35/36) in the elongated needle therapy group, which was better than 77.1% (27/35) in the regular needle therapy group (P<0.05). After treatment, SSA score was reduced significantly as compared with that before treatment in the two groups (both P<0.05). SSA score in the elongated needle therapy group was reduced much more apparently as compared with that in the regular needle therapy group after treatment (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONOn the basis of the xingnao kaiqiao acupuncture therapy, the elongated needle therapy at Tiantu (CV 22) achieves the superior effect on bulbar palsy-induced dysphagia as compared with the regular acu- puncture at Tiantu (CV 22).

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Bulbar Palsy, Progressive ; complications ; Deglutition Disorders ; etiology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS), an X-linked recessive genetic disorder of sex development, is caused by mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) gene, and is characterized by partial or complete inability of specific tissues to respond to androgens in individuals with the 46,XY karyotype. This study aimed to investigate AR gene mutations and to characterize genotype-phenotype correlations. Ten patients from unrelated families, aged 2-31 years, were recruited in the study. Based on karyotype, altered hormone profile, and clinical manifestations, nine patients were preliminarily diagnosed with complete AIS and one with partial AIS. Genetic analysis of AR gene revealed the existence of 10 different mutations, of which five were novel (c.2112 C>G[p.S704R], c.2290T>A[p.Y764N], c.2626C>T[p.Q876X], c.933dupC[p.K313Qfs∗28], and c.1067delC[p.A356Efs∗123]); the other five were previously reported (c.1789G>A[p.A597T], c.2566C>T[p.R856C], c.2668G>A[p.V890M], c.2679C>T[p.P893L], and c.1605C>G[p.Y535X]). Regarding the distribution of these mutations, 60.0% were clustered in the ligand-binding domain of AR gene. Exons 1 and 8 of AR gene each accounted for 30.0% (3/10) of all mutations. Most of the truncation mutations were in exon 1 and missense mutations were mainly located in exons 4-8. Our study expands the spectrum of AR gene mutations and confirms the usefulness of AR gene sequencing to support a diagnosis of AIS and to enable prenatal or antenatal screening.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of four traditional Chinese medicines distributed along lung meridian, namely Ephedrae Hebra, Zingiberis Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix and Mori Cortex, on TLR2 and NF-κB expressions in mice with lung heat syndrome, in order to study the intervention effect of the four traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) on the lung heat syndrome.

METHODOne hundred KM mice were randomly divided into the normal control group, the model group, the Ephedrae Hebra group, the Zingiberis Rhizoma group, the Scutellariae Radix group and the Mori Cortex group (20, 10 g x kg(-1)), nasally dripped with streptococcus pneumoniae to establish the mouse lung heat syndrome model, and then administered with different TCMs. The expressions of TLR2, NF-κB p65 proteins in lung tissues were analyzed by the immunohistochemical method. The expressions of TLR2, NF-κB p65 mRNA were measured by real time PCR.

RESULTCompared with the normal control group, the expressions of TLR2 and NF-κB p65 proteins in lung tissues in the model group were higher (P < 0.01), and the expressions of TLR2 and NF-κB p65 mRNA in lung tissues were up-regulated (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, Ephedrae Hebra high and low dose groups, the Zingiberis Rhizoma low dose group and the Scutellariae Radix high dose group showed decreased expression of TLR2 protein (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01); Ephedrae Hebra high and low dose groups, the Zingiberis Rhizoma low dose group, Scutellariae Radix high and low dose groups and Mori Cortex high and low dose groups showed reduced expression of NF-κB p65 protein (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Ephedrae Hebra high and low dose groups, Zingiberis Rhizoma high and low dose groups, Scutellariae Radix high dose group and Mori Cortex high dose group showed down-regulated expression of TLR2 mRNA (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEphedrae Hebra, Zingiberis Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix and Mori Cortex can induce the TLR2/NF-κB inflammatory signal pathways by down-regulating the expressions of TLR2 and NF-κB p65 in protein and mRNA, so as to alleviate the lung tissue injury in mice with lung heat syndrome.

Animals ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; classification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Meridians ; Mice ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; Pneumonia, Pneumococcal ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry ; Species Specificity ; Syndrome ; Toll-Like Receptor 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor RelA ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the relapse risk assessment for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia(APL)through testing PML-RAR? fusion gene by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RQ-PCR).Methods Relative copies of PML-RAR? fusion gene were measured in 25 patients with APL in phases of first diagnosis,complete remission(CR)and relapse.The minimal residual disease(MRD)situations were also monitored in 6 of the 25 patients.Results Different PML-RAR? fusion gene expression levels were observed in patient groups of different phases of the disease.(P

Objective: To explore the role of cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotide(CpG ODN)in enhan- cing the radiosensitivity to X-ray in mouse with Lewis lung cancer.Methods: The tumor-bearing mouse model was in- duced by injevting Lewis lung cancer cells into the right infra-axillary dermis.Thirty-two C57BL/6J mice were evenly ran- domized into 4 groups.Group A: the control group;Group B: the X-Ray radiation group;Group C: the CpG group; Group D: the CpG plus X-Ray radiation group.Group B was treated with X-Ray radiation only(3 Gy/F,on day 1,3,5, 8,10,and 12;the total dose was 18 Gy);group C was administered with CpG ODN 0.05 mg on day 1,3,5,8,10, and 12;group D was administered with CpG ODN 6h before X-ray radiation.The tumor growth and tumor growth delay (TGD)were observed in all groups.Meanwhile,the pathological change of the tumor tissue was observed with H-E staining method and the apoptosis of tumor cells were examined with the method of TUNEL.Results: The Lewis hmg cancer-bearing model was successfolly established in mice.The tumor volumes of the treatment groups were smaller than that in lhe control group(P

In order to demonstrate the taxonomic position of paramyxovirus Tianjin strain and explore its mechanism of pathogenesis. Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the deduced amino acid sequences of NP, P, M, and L protein of Tianjin strain. Phylogenetic analysis based on NP, P, M, and L protein sequences demonstrated that Tianjin strain belonged to the genus Respirovirus, in the subfamily Paramyxovirinae and most likely a new genotype of Sendai virus. Sequence similarities comparisons indicated that Tianjin strain P protein was poorly conserved, sharing only 78.7%~91.9% amino acid identity with 6 known Sendai viruses, while L protein was the most conserved, having 96.0%~98.0% amino acid identity with other Sendai viruses. Multiple-sequence alignments of Tianjin strain NP, P, M, and L protein with those of 6 known Sendai viruses showed that Tianjin strain possessed a lot of unique amino acid substitutions in protein sequences, 15 in NP, 29 in P, 6 in M, and 29 in L. The presence of these unique amino acid substitutions suggests that Tianjin strain maybe has a significant difference in host or pathological characteristics from the known Sendai viruses.