Objective To explore causes of complications after endovenous laser treatment (EVLT) , for patients with superficial varicosities of the lower extremities. Methods In this study, 207 patients with a total of 268 lower limbs were treated by EVLT combined with surgical procedures. According to CEAP classification, there were C2 in 268 limbs, C3 in 56 limbs, C4 in 101, C5 in 23 and C6 in 18. Simple EVLT was performed for 25 limbs in 21 patients; EVLT combined with external banding valvuloplasty of superficial femoral vein for 23 limbs in 23 patients; EVLT combined with ligation of great saphenous vein (CSV) and denudation of superficial varicosities for 220 limbs in 163 patients. Results An average of 10?5 (3-24) months of follow up was achieved in 175 cases. Early complications (within the first 2-weeks after operation) included bruising or ecchymosis (178 cases, 66.42%) and skin burning (56, 20.90% ). Three month complication included painful induration or trabs (235 cases, 87. 69% ) as well as thrombophlebitis (28, 10. 45% ). Long-term complication (after 3 months) included skin numbness or pain at medial knee or ankle region (15,5. 60% ). Recanalization of CSV occurred in 4( 1. 49% ) treated limbs. Residual or reoccurred varicose veins were found in 13(4. 85% ) cases. Movement related swelling appeared in 6(2. 24% ) lower limbs. Conclusion EVLT is effective for patients with superficial varicosities of the lower extremities. Minor complications most often subsided within 3 months. Strict surgical protocol and high ligation of the GSV could prevent local recurrence of the varicose veins and the recanalization of GSV.

Objective To evaluate the value of united nerve electrophysiological tests in the diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DNP).Methods The quantitative temperature threshold (QTT), including the cold sensation threshold (CST) , thermal sensation threshold (WST), cold pain threshold (CPT) and thermal pain threshold (HPT), sympathetic skin response (SSR) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) were measured for 85 diabetic patients.Results The abnormal rate of QTT was 84.71％ , significantly higher than that of SSR and NCV (56.47％ and 31.76％ respectively).However, no significant difference was found in the abnormal rate of QTT between the DPN asymptomatic group and DPN symptomatic group (78.85％ and 93.94％ respectively).There was significant difference in the abnormal rate of SSR (48.08％ and 69.70％ respectively) and the abnormal rate of NCV (19.23％ and 51.52％ respectively) between the above two groups(P ＜ 0.05).There was no difference in the abnormal rate of QTT for patients with short or long course of disease (77.77％ and 89.80％ respectively), but significant difference in the abnormal rate of SSR (44.44％ and 65.31％ respectively) and the abnormal rate of NCV (19.44％ and 40.82％ respectively) Conclusion The abnormal rate of QTT was highest in detecting the diabetic patients, and it is not related to clinical symptoms or disease course.However, the abnormal rates of SSR and NCV were related to clinical symptoms and course.It is more sensitive to diagnose DPN using united electrophysiological tests of QTT, SSR and NCV.

Background and purpose:In in vivo and vitro studies, Rhodiola shows anti-cancer effect, but there were few reports about the effects of Rhodiola on growth of breast cancer and its possible mechanism. Methods:Xenograft of Human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-435 in female BALB/c nude mice were treated with and without Rhodiola extracts. The tumor volume and proliferation index (PCNA and Ki67) of the xenograft were studied.Results:After Rhodiola was given to nude mice for 4 weeks, the mean tumor volume was smaller (99.95mm 3 vs. 174.60mm 3 ) compared to untreated group,but there was no statistical significance(P=0.535). The proportion and intensity of cellular Ki-67 staining in Xenografts were decreased as compared to the untreated group, (average H-score 152.8 vs. 86, P=0.014), the same trend could be found for cellular PCNA staining, but there was no statistical significance(242 vs.210,P=0.221).Conclusions:The mechanism of anti-cancer effect of Rhodiola may be partly through inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells in vivo.

In order to investigate the effects of vector-based hairpin small interference RNA (shRNA) on the reversal of multi-drug resistance (mdr) of A2780/Taxol cells, a novel vector pEGFP-H1/mdr1 containing mdr1-shRNA targeting at position 2943-2963 of mdr1 was designed and synthesized. Subsequently, A2780/Taxol cells were transfected with pEGFP-H1/mdr1, and the expression of mdr1 mRNA and P-gp was detected by using RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. MTT was used to measure the 50% inhibition concentration (IC(50)) of Taxol to A2780/Taxol cells. The results showed that at the 24th and 48th h after transfection, the expression of mdr1 mRNA was decreased to (52.1+/-1.0)% and (0.01+/-1.7)%, and that of P-gp decreased to (88.3+/-2.1)% and 0%, respectively. At the 48th h after transfection, the relative reversal rate of A2780/Taxol cells to Taxol was 69.54%. In vivo, the nude mice xenografts were injected with pEGFP-H1/mdr1, and then administrated Taxol. The tumor volume in pEGFP-H1/mdr1-transfected group was significantly reduced as compared with that in blank control group or pEGFP-H1-transfected group (807.20+/-103.16 vs 1563.78+/-210.54 or 1480.78+/-241.24 mm(3), both P<0.01). These results suggested that transfection of pEGFP-H1/mdr1 could efficiently down-regulate the expression of mdr1 mRNA and P-gp in A2780/Taxol cells, and effectively restore the sensitivity of A2780/Taxol cells to Taxol both in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: von Willebrand factor (vWF) is only released from endothelial cells and platelets and is an in vivo and in vitro marker of endothelial injury in septic patients with acute lung injury (ALI). Interleukin-8 (IL-8), as a proinflammatory mediator causing recruitment of inflammatory cells, induces an increase in oxidant stress mediators and makes it as a key parameter for localized inflammation. However, it has not been well established whether the level of serum IL-8 is associated with the severity of lung injury and whether it is a prognosis marker for severe lung contusion. This study was to investigate the expression of plasma vWF and IL-8 and their association with the severity and outcomes of severe pulmonary contusion. METHODS: A total of 63 patients were divided into a severe pulmonary contusion with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) group and a non-ARDS group, or a survivor group and a non-survivor group, or an injury severity score (ISS) <20 group and an ISS ≥20 group. Another 20 healthy volunteers served as controls. The levels of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after injury. The expression patterns of the plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were compared between different groups. RESULTS: The concentrations of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 were significantly increased in all severe pulmonary contusion patients at all time points in comparison with the control group. The concentrations of plasma vWF in patients with ARDS increased during the whole study period, but vWF in patients with non-ARDS increased gradually until day 5 and then decreased at day 7. The concentration of serum IL-8 showed a similar expression pattern in both groups, but the expression increased more significantly in the ARDS group than in the non-ARDS group. Interestingly, both plasma vWF and serum IL-8 levels steadily increased in the non-survivor group. Furthermore, the level of plasma vWF was higher in the ISS≥20 group than in the ISS<20 group. The level of serum IL-8 in the ISS≥20 group was consistently high, while that in the ISS<20 group peaked at day 3 and decreased at day 5. In addition, the level of plasma vWF was positively correlated with platelet count, but negatively correlated with oxygen index. The level of serum IL-8 was positively correlated with white blood cell count and ISS score, and inversely correlated with oxygen index. CONCLUSION: The elevated levels of plasma vWF and serum IL-8 in severe pulmonary contusion patients reflect the severity of pulmonary injury and patients outcomes, suggesting that the plasma vWF and serum IL-8 are sensitive markers for clinical evaluation of the severity of pulmonary injury and predication of patient prognosis.

Objective To investigate dental caries in 3-year-old children in Jing′an District of Shanghai and analyze the influence of oral cleaning behavior on caries in children. Methods Six hundread 3-year-old children from 12 kindergartens in Jing′an District, Shanghai were randomly selected by cluster sampling method for oral examination, and a self-administered questionnaire survey on children′s oral cleaning behavior was completed by parents.SPSS 22.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. Results Among the 600 children, the prevalence of dental caries was 42.50%, and the average dmft index was 1.76±2.92.Children who did not brush their teeth had a statistically significant increase in rate of dental caries(χ²=29.995, P < 0.001).Children who brushed their teeth for more than three minutes each time had a statistically significant lower rate of caries(χ²=3.918, P=0.048).Children whose parents helped their children brush their teeth every day had a lower rate of caries than those who brushed teeth by themselves, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=8.718, P=0.013).Logistic regression analysis showed that age of beginning brushing teeth, times of brushing teeth per day and length of brushing teeth per time were all influence factors for caries in children (P < 0.05). Conclusion For the prevention and control of dental caries in 3-year-old, proper oral cleaning behavior is very important.We should make parents as a priority group for doing oral hygiene in children.Schools should strengthen oral health education for parents.Medical institutions should guide and monitor the effectiveness of oral hygiene in children.It is important to reduce the rate of dental caries in preschool children from three aspects:family, school and medical institutions.

Through the investigation of Phellodendron Cortex on the market, and 28 batches of samples were collected. By using spectrophotometer the color values of outer surface, inner surface and cross - section of these samples were measured. These measured color data was translated into 3D structure diagram by using the Lab color space tool. The level difference value, the mean value and the threshold value were calculated based the measured color data of these different batches of samples. All 28 groups measured data was analyzed using the methods of Ward linkage and average Euclidean distance. At the same time, we invited Professor Jin Shiyuan, the "Chinese medicine master", to identify, quality-evaluate and grade these 28 batches of Phellodendron Cortex samples base on the traditional experience, then compared the traditional empirical results with the spectrophotometer measurement results. The result showed that, the Phellodendron Cortex could be divided into Phellodendri Amurensis Cortex and Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex by color numerical clustering, and classified according to quality. The classification result has a high degree of consistency with the traditional experience.
China ; Color ; Herbal Medicine ; economics ; Phellodendron ; chemistry ; classification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; Quality Control ; Spectrophotometry

Objective To investigate the effects of hemolysis on glycated albumin (GA) determined by ketoamine oxidase method and its correction.Methods GA concentration and hemolytic parameter(optical density,A) in non-hemolytic serum and different degree hemolytic serum samples were measured.The impact of hemolysis on GA and the relationship between hemolysis and GA were analysed.A formula was developed to correct the interference of hemolysis on GA measurement using regressive Multiple analysis.Results Compared with non-hemolytic serum,hemolysis resulted in the significantly decreased concentrations of GA detected by ketoamine oxidase method(P ＜ 0.01),which were significantly associated with the degree of hemolysis (R2 =0.943 4).Y and Z represented GA concentration of non-hemolytic serum and different degree hemolytic serum,while X represented optical density of hemolytic parameter.Formulas for GA measurement were presented:Y =2.468X + Z-0.015 73,GA concentrations of hemolytic samples can be reverted to the values without statistical difference from the GA concentration in corresponding non-hemolytic samples.The bias of corrected GA was less than 10％.Conclusion Our results indicate that the level of GA measured through ketoamine oxidase method is negatively affected by hemolysis.The formula of mathematical correction of GA results in hemolytic samples should be suitable for the requirements of clinical laboratory.

BACKGROUND: As a cytokine highly expressed in internal organs, visfatin could be used as a biomarker of systemic inflammation response for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, but few studies have reported the use of visfatin in severe pneumonia. The present study was undertaken to determine the plasma levels of visfatin in patients with severe pneumonia. METHODS: A total of 70 patients, including 40 patients with severe pneumonia (group A) and 30 patients with non severe pneumonia (group B) who had been admitted to the ICU from June 2009 to June 2010, were enrolled in this prospective study. And another 30 healthy physical examinees served as healthy controls (group C). Patients were excluded if they suffered from severe diseases of the heart, brain and kidney, cancers, autoimmune diseases, or received special treatment in the latest month. The plasma levels of visfatin, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA, while the level of CRP was determined by immuneturbidimetry, and the routine blood test was performed. Blood gas analysis and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) were performed in patients with pneumonia. Comparisons between the groups were conducted by Student's t test, ANOVA or nonparametric test. Correlation analysis was carried out by Pearson's correlation test or Spearman's rank-order correlation test. RESULTS: The plasma level of visfatin in group A was significantly higher than that in groups B and C (P<0.001), and the level of visfatin in group B was significantly higher than that in group C (P<0.001). The plasma level of visfatin was positively correlated with CRP, TNF-α, APACHE II and PMN％ in patients with severe pneumonia (rho=0.653, r=0.554, r=0.558, r=0.484, respectively, P<0.05 for all), while it was negatively correlated with PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 (rho=?0.422, r=?0.543, respectively, P<0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Visfatin may be involved in the systematic inflammation response in patients with severe pneumonia as a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and it is valuable in assessing the severity of pneumonia..

Objective To investigate the method to isolate and culture hepatic stellate cells ( HSCs) for studying the cellular mechanisms of hepatic frbrosis.Methods HSCs were isolated by nycodenz density gradient centrifugation after the hepatocytes obtained from adult male gebils were digested with pronase, collagenase and DNase, infused via portal vein.The cell viability was determined by trypan blue exclusion test.The purity of HSCs was identified by detectingα-SMA, desmin immunohistochemical staining.Results The yield rate of HSCs was 0.5~1 ×107 per gerbil liver, and the cell viability was more than 90%.The percentage ofα-SMA-positive cells was more than 75%after 3 days primary culture and almost 100% cells were α-SMA and desmin positive in passage culture.Conclusion The successful protocol of primary culture of Mongolian gerbil HSC provide a technical support for research of relevant liver diseases and drug development in the future.