OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Yiqi Huayu Recipe on neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) in neuromuscular junctions during nerve regeneration in rats with lumbar nerve root compression. METHODS: The rats with lumbar nerve root compression were given Yiqi Huayu Recipe for 10, 20 and 30 days respectively. The distribution of N-CAM in neuromuscular junctions of soleus muscle in rats was examined with immunohistochemical method and confocal laser scanning microscopy technique. The acetylcholine receptor (AChR) was visualized with fluorescein-conjugated alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BTX). The overlap areas of N-CAM and AChR sites were measured with NIH image technique. RESULTS: The aggregates, sprouts and extensions of N-CAM in the neuromuscular junctions and the overlap areas of N-CAM and AChR sites in the Yiqi Huayu Recipe-treated group were all better improved than those in the untreated group. CONCLUSION: The expression of N-CAM is regulated according to the state of innervation for muscles. Yiqi Huayu Recipe may accelerate this nerve regeneration process.

Objective The study was to evaluate DWI for quantifying liver fibrosis. Methods A total of 12 volunteers, 47 patients who had chronic HBV or HCV hepatitis and underwent liver biopsy [Scheuer score for fibrosis(S) and inflammation(G)] were enrolled in this study. They were scanned using a 1.5 T MR unit with b value of 0,250,500,750, 1000 s/mm~2. ADCs at b_(250-1000) and b_(500-1000) were the average ADCs of b=250, 500, 750, 1000 s/mm~2 and b=500, 750, 1000 s/mm~2. The studied the correlation between Scbeuer scores and ADC values, and conducted Mann-Whitney U test and Logistic regression to evaluate ADC for prediction of fibrosis scores. Results The average ADCs were (1.41± 0.11),(1.37±0.09), (1.27±0.05), (1.26±0.04), (1.22±0.06) mm~2/s respectively from SO to S4, stage at b=750 s/mm~2 (F=18.31, P<0.01). With the increase of fibrosis score, the average ADC decreased gradually, the two were better negatively correlated at b_(250-1000)(r=-0.727, P<0.01) than other b values. Using b_(750) and the two combined b values, the found significantly lower ADCs in S2 or greater versus S1 or less and in S3 or greater versus S2 or less fibrosis (P<0.01). The best predictor for S2 or greater was b_(750) with the largest AUC of 0.909, sensitivity of 85.7%, and specificity of 100.0% (ADC ≤1.35×10~(-3) mm~2/s). The best predictor for S3 or greater was b_(250-1000) with the largest AUC of 0.864, sensitivity of 69.6%, and specificity of 95.8% (ADC≤1.53×10~(-3) mm~2/s). Conclusion DWI can be a good predictor for scoring liver fibrosis for S2 or S3 stage above, while b_(750) and the combined b values are suitable for evaluation.

OBJECTIVETo discuss the necessity of MRI as a routine examination for diagnosis of glomus tumor.

METHODSFrom Nov. 2013 to July 2014, 7 cases of glomus tumor were treated in our department. All patients had typical clinical symptoms of glomus tumor and received preoperative X-ray and/or MRI examination. The diagnosis was confirmed by postoperative histopathologic examination. All the patients were retrospectively analyzed by reviewing the preoperative examination results and PubMed search results.

RESULTS2 cases underwent only X-ray examination before operation with no positive results. 3 cases underwent both X-ray and MRI. No positive finding happened in X-ray, while MRI showed glomus tumor characteristic on T1- and T2-weighted images which demonstreated a more intense signal after injection of gadolinium. The last 2 cases underwent only MRI examination, which revealed positive images of glomus tumor.

CONCLUSIONSMRI plays an important role in diagnosis of glomus tumor and should be adopted as a routine examination.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the mechanism underlying breast cancer metastasis and to provide theoretical da-ta for studying the pathogenesis of breast cancer onset and development.METHODS: Human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of furin inhibitorα1-PDX for 48 h.Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were applied to detect the migration and invasion abilities of the MCF-7 cells.The expression of cell migration-associated proteins, including membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase ( MT1-MMP) , vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF)-C and VEGF-D, was determined by Western blotting.The protein levels of MMP2 and MMP9 in the supernatant were measured by ELISA. RESULTS:Compared with control group, 200 nmol/L of furin inhibitor exerted significant inhibitory effects on the cell mi-gration (P<0.05).The expression of cell migration-associated proteins MT1-MMP, VEGF-C and VEGF-D was significantly inhibited after treated withα1-PDX ( P<0.05 ) .Significant inhibitory effects of α1-PDX on the expression of MMP9 and MMP2 (P<0.05) in the supernatant were observed.CONCLUSION:Furin inhibitor suppresses the metastasis of MCF-7 cells via down-regulating the expression of MMPs and VEGFs.

Objective To explore the influence of Akt inhibitor MK2206 in the proliferation and apoptosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma TCA-8113 cells,and to clarify the possible mechanism.Methods The tongue squamous carcinoma TCA-8113 cells at the logarithmic phase were randomly divided into control group and 1,5,25,125, 250 nmol·L-1 MK2206 groups.The inhibitory rate of proliferation of TCA-8113 cells was detected with MTT method,and the apoptotic rate of TCA-8113 cells was determined with flow cytometry(FCM),and the expressions of caspase-9,Bad,GSK-3β,p-Akt and T-Akt proteins in the TCA-8113 cells were detected with Western blotting method.Results The IC50 of tongue squamous cell carcinoma TCA-8113 cells after treated with MK2206 for 12, 24,and 36 h were (112.54±1.67),(79.67±2.01),and (33.33±1.98)nmol·L-1 .The FCM results showed that the apoptotic rates of TCA-8113 cells after treated with 1,5,25,125,and 250 nmol·L-1 MK2206 for 12 h were (14.2±0.74)%,(19.3±0.45)%,(35.1±0.45)%,(39.6±0.48)% and (52.1±0.19)%;there were significant differences compared with control group(P<0.01).The Western blotting method results showed that the expressions of p-Akt, Bad and GSK-3βwere decreased with the increasing of dose and time of MK2206;compared with theβ-actin in control group,the bands got darken;the expression level of caspase-9 was increased, compared with theβ-actin in control group, the bands got darken;the T-Akt protein expression did not change significantly;compared with the β-actin in control group, the color of bands had no significant difference.Conclusion Akt inhibitor MK2206 can inhibit the proliferation of tongue squamous cell carcinoma TCA-8113 cells and induce apoptosis.

Objective To observe the application of ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block (FNB) and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block (LFCNB) for patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.Methods 60 patients scheduled for hip fracture surgery undergoing LMA general anesthesia were randomly divided into 3 groups,20 cases in each group.Before transfer patients from bed to operating table,A group received dezocine 5mg iv,B group received fascia iliaca compartment block(FICB),C group received FNB combined with LFCNB.40mL of 0.375％ ropivacaine was injected guiding by ultrasound in B group and C group.The time of sufficient sensory block and awake,the dosage of propofol and remifentanil,MAP and HR at pre-block (T1),20min after block (T2),transfer bed (T3),LMA insert (T4),skin incision(T5),LMA remove(T6) and sober(T7) were recorded.Pain was assessed using visual analogue scale(VAS) pre-and post block.The incidence of using vasoactive drugs,agitation,pain and adverse reaction were also recorded.Results The time of sufficient sensory block and awake,the dosage of propofol and remifentanil in A,B and C groups were as following:A group (not measured),(20.3 ± 1.3) min,(835 ± 6.7) mg,(1 285 ± 18) μg;B group (i2.2 ±2.7)min,(13.3 ± 1.4)min,(610 ±9.9)mg,(835 ± 15) μg;C group (9.7 ± 2.4)min,(12.8 ± 1.5) min,(555 ± 6.5) mg,(785 ± 16) μg.The time of awake,the dosage of propofol and remifentanil in B group and C group were significantly lower than those in A group(F =2.62,2.41,2.45,all P ＜ 0.05).The time of sufficient sensory block in C group was lower than that in B group (p ＜ 0.05).The MAP and HR at T2,T3,T5 and T7 in A,B and C groups were:A group (115 ± 4) mmHg,(90 ± 8) beats/min,(135 ± 6) mmHg,(98 ± 8) beats/min,(104 ±6) mmHg,(87 ± 4) beats/min,(120 ± 5) mmHg,(88 ± 8) beats/min;B group (102 ± 3) mmHg,(81 ± 6) beats/min,(112 ± 5)mmHg,(82 ± 8)beats/min,(89 ±6) mmHg,(72 ± 3) beats/min,(100 ±6)mmHg,(76 ± 8) beats/min;Cgroup (100 ± 3) mmHg,(80 x 6) beats/min,(109 ± 6) mmHg,(83 ± 5) beats/min,(86 ± 5) mmHg,(70 ± 3) beats/min,(99 ± 5) mmHg,(75 ± 5) beats/min.The levels of MAP and HR in B group and C group were significantly lower thanthose in A group(F =2.25,2.85,2.87,2.91,all P ＜ 0.05).The VAS scores at T2,T3,and T7in A,B and C groupswere:A group (3.9 ± 0.7) points,(8.2 ± 0.3) points,(6.0 ± 0.8) points;B group (2.3 ± 0.4) points,(4.1 ±0.4) points,(2.2 ± 0.7) points;C group (2.1 ± 0.5) points,(2.4 ± 0.4) points,(1.2 ± 0.4) points.The VAS scoresin B group and C group were significantly lower than those in A group (2.36,2.82,2.88,all P ＜ 0.05).The VASscores at transfer bed and sober in C group were significantly lower than those in B group (F =2.32,2.38,all P ＜0.05).The incidence of using ephedrine/atropine,urapidil/esmolol,PONV,agitation,pain and incision pain in A,Band C groups were:A group 30％,30％,25％,25％,40％;B group 10％,10％,0％,0％,10％;C group 10％,5％,0％,0％,0％.The number of patients who required vasoactive drugs and adverse reaction in B group and C group were significantly lower than those in A group(x2 =7.58,8.81,9.11,9.11,8.89,all P ＜0.05).The incidence of incision pain at sober in C group was lower than that in B group(x2 =9.21,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The ultrasound -guided FNB and LFCNB can obviously shorten the onset time,reduce the dosage of general anaesthetic and maintain the stability of henodynamics during the perioperative period.It has effective analgesia during transfer of patients from bed to operating table and sober.

Ligusticum chuanxiong is a Common Chinese medicinal herb which is widely used in clinical treatment. Modern research has shown that the ingredients of Ligusticum chuanxiong such as tetramethylpyrazine and ferulic acid have multiple effects of scavenging oxygen free radicals,calcium-antagonism,vasodilating,inhibiting platelet aggregation and thrombosis and so on. This article reviews the research progress in pharmacological activities of the available compositions in ligusticum chuanxiong in the past several years.

Objective To review the clinical features and the follow-up results of 317 cases of patients treated with artificial heart valve replacement and evaluate the curative effect.Methods Data of 317 patients underwent artificial heart valve replacement from July 2005 to June 2010 was analyzed,among them,284 patients replaced with mechanical valve and 33 patients with biological valve.Clinical features including age,etiology,surgical approach,valve type,etc,were summarized and the recovery of cardiac function,the incidence of complication and mortality were observed through postoperative follow-up.Results There were 6 patients died in the perioperative period and 311 survived.Two hundred and ninety-one cases were followed up and the follow-up rate was 93.57％.The time of follow-up is 1.00 to 4.75 years( with average:2.23 ±1.37 years).The cardiac function(NYHA) was significantly improved after operation ( grade:2.05 ± 0.29 vs 3.17 ± 0.62 ) ( t =2.366,P ＜ 0.05 ).It was related to age,cardiac function before operation ( P ＜ 0.05 ).One patient died during the follow-up period.The statistics analysis showed that the long-term incidence of complication was related to the type of heart valve prosthesis ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusion The therapeutic effect of artificial heart valve replacement surgery appears satisfactory.Heart function is improved significantly and the survival rate is high.Reasonable timing of surgery,appropriate type of prosthetic valve and intensified clinical follow-up can help to reduce the occurrence of postoperative complication.

Fourteen compounds were isolated from the n-butanol fraction of the 95% aqueous ethanol extract of the stems and twigs of Strychnos cathayensis by D101 macroporous resin, silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and semipreparative RP-HPLC. Their structures were elucidated as ethyl 4-O-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillate (1), n-butyl 4-O-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillate (2), n-butyl 4-O-(6′-O-syringoyl)-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillate (3), n-butyl 4-O-(6′-O-vanilloyl)-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillate (4), n-butyl 4-O-(6′-O-syringoyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-vanillate (5), n-butyl 4-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-syringate (6), methyl 3-methoxy-4-(β-D-allopyranosyloxy) benzoate (7), pseudolaroside B (8), butyl syringate (9), glucosyringic acid (10), methyl syringate (11), methyl 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoate (12), clemochinenoside C (13), and clemoarmanoside A (14), respectively, on the basis of spectroscopic data interpretation and by comparison with literature information. Compounds 1-6 are artificial products of phenolic acid esterified by ethanol or n-butanol. It is noted that the precursors (4-O-(6′-O-syringoyl)-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillic acid and 4-O-(6′-O-vanilloyl)-β-D-allopyranosyl-vanillic acid) of compounds 3 and 4 are new compounds. The hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of compounds 1-13 were evaluated in vitro at a concentration of 10 μmol·L^-1. Compounds 1, 2 and 6-10 exhibited potential hepatic protection effects with cell survival rates ranging from 53.6% to 55.5% (acetaminophen, 45.4% at 8 mmol·L^-1). Compound 4 demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity with nitric oxide inhibitory rate of 74.6%. Compounds 3 and 5 showed potential antioxidant activities with malondialdehyde inhibitory rates of 53.2% and 56.1%, respectively.

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of automated urine formed elements analyzer and/or urine dipstick analyzer for examination of urinary formed elements in screening urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods 148 fresh midstream clear-catch urine samples from the UTI patients and 284 fresh midstream clear-catch urine samples from non-UTI subjects were selected. Bacteria culture was performed for bacterial colony counting and identification. Bacteria counts ( BACT), yeast-like fungus and WBC were performed by UF-looOi automated urine formed elements analyzer. Leukocyte esterase test (LEU) and nitrite test (NIT) were performed by URISYS 2400 urine dipstick analyzer. We evaluated data obtained from urine dipstick analyzer, UF-1000i and combination of UF-1000i with urine dipstick analyzer and the results was compared with those obtained from quantitative bacterial culture. Then we evaluated the sensibility, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy. Results Among the 148 patients with UTI, the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture was 73.6% (109/148), the positive rate of LEU and NIT detected by dipstick test 26. 4% (39/148).There was significantly statistical difference between bacterial culture and strip test(χ2 = 55.68 ,P < 0. 05 ). The positive rate of urine flow cytometry by UF-1000i with either positive of BACT and WBC was 91.2%(135/148), which was higher than the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture. There was significant difference between two methods (χ2 = 14. 70, P < 0. 05 ). The positive rate of anyone positive among BACT, WBC, LEU and NIT was 94. 6% (140/148) when detected with combination of dipstick test and UF-1000i, which was higher than the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture. And there was significant difference between two methods (χ2 = 20. 45, P < 0. 05 ). The sensitivity of dipstick test was low (26. 4% ,39/148 ), and specificity was high ( 99. 3%, 282/284 ) . The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of BACT detected by UF-1000i in diagnosing urinary tract infection were 92. 6% ( 137/148 ), 39. 8% ( 113/284 ). 44. 5% ( 137/308 ) and 91.1% ( 113/124 ), respectively. If the dipstick test was combined with UF-1000i, the sensitivity, negative predictive value, specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy were 98.0% ( 145/148 ), 97.1% ( 100/103 ). 35.2% (100/284) ,44. 1% (145/329) and 56. 7% (245/432), respectively. Conclusions The combination of urine dipstick test and automated urine formed elements analyzer UF-1000i plays an important role in early diagnosis of UTI. And it has significant value in diagnosis of UTI, especially for the patients with negative bacterial cultures of urine sample.