Adult ; Chordoma ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Nose Neoplasms ; pathology

Adult ; Choristoma ; Female ; Humans ; Nasopharynx ; pathology ; Paranasal Sinus Diseases ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Sphenoid Sinus ; pathology

Objective To study oxidative damage for occupational lead exposure, the relationship between serum lead and oxidative stress enzymes, and the mechanism of lead poisoning. Methods The lead content in the air was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometric method, the lead concentration in serum was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as the effect indicators of oxidative stress were used to analyze the relationship between blood lead and the indicators. Results Five workplaces were monitored. The lead concentration in exposed group (244.27±124.59ug/L) was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.01). The SOD activity in exposure group was 61.27±6.97KU/L not significantly different from that in control group (P>0.05), while MDA concetration in exposure group (9.42±3.89mmol/L) was significantly higher than in control group (P< 0.01). There was positive correlation between serum MDA and blood lead concentration (r = 0.3, P < 0.01) . The effects of smoking and drinking on the SOD activity and MDA content were not statistically significant. Conclusion Occupational lead exposure increases the blood lead level. It is inconsistent between the changes of lead concentration in workplace air and in blood lead. Blood lead is a sensitive indicator as the lead internal exposure. The higher blood lead level is, the higher the SOD activity and the MDA concentration, the more seriousthe oxidative damage is.

OBJECTIVETo study the utility of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in young children at different stages of asthma.

METHODSFifty-eight children with newly diagnosed asthma (aged 1-3 years) at the acute exacerbation stage between April and June, 2014 were recruited. After 3 months' treatment, the children switched into the chronic persistent stage (n=34) or remission stage (n=24). Thirty aged-matched healthy children served as controls. FeNO levels and lung function were measured for all subjects. The best cut-off value of FeNO for the diagnosis of asthma was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

RESULTSThe FeNO levels in children with asthma at various stages were higher than controls (P<0.05). The FeNO levels in the acute exacerbation stage were highest, followed by the chronic persistent stage (P<0.05). FeNO level was correlated to the stages of asthma (r=-0.382, P<0.001). The cut-off value of FeNO for the diagnosis of asthma was 22.75 ppb by ROC curve, with the sensitivity of 0.933 and the specificity of 0.388.

CONCLUSIONSThe children with asthma at different stages have different FeNO levels. Measurement of FeNO is useful in the diagnosis of asthma in young children.

Asthma ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Breath Tests ; Humans ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; ROC Curve

To develop a sensitive and rapid liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous quantitation of metformin and glipizide in human plasma, metformin, glipizide and internal standard diphenhydramine were separated from plasma by protein precipitation with acetonitrile (containing 0.3% formic acid), then chromatographed by using a Zorbax Extend C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water-formic acid (70:30: 0.3, v/v/v), at a flow rate of 0.50 mL x min(-1). A tandem mass spectrometer equipped with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source was used as detector and operated in the positive ion mode. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) using the precursor/production combinations of m/z 130-->m/z 60, m/z 446-->m/z 321 and m/z 256-->m/z 167 were used to quantify metformin, glipizide and diphenhydramine, respectively. The linear concentration ranges of the calibration curves for metformin and glipizide were 2.00 - 2000 ng x mL(-1) and 1.00 - 1000 ng x mL(-1), respectively. The lower limits of quantitation of metformin and glipizide were 2.00 ng x mL(-1) and 1.00 ng x mL(-1), respectively. The method proved to be sensitive, simple and rapid, and suitable for clinical investigation of compound preparation containing metformin and glipizide.
Administration, Oral ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Glipizide ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Metformin ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo examine fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) values in 1-3-year-old children with asthma and analyze the correlation of FeNO with peripheral blood eosinophils (EOS) and lung function in these children.

METHODSA total of 111 children aged 1-3 years with asthma were enrolled. The children were classified into acute exacerbation (n=62) and remission groups (n=49) according to their symptoms. FeNO values, lung function, and peripheral blood EOS count were measured in these children. Sixty age-matched healthy children were enrolled as the control group.

RESULTSFeNO values were significantly higher in the acute exacerbation group (24.4 ppb) than in the remission group (18.0 ppb) and the control group (13.7 ppb) (P<0.05). The FeNO values in the remission group were significantly higher than in the control group (P<0.05). FeNO values were not significantly correlated with peripheral blood EOS count and lung function parameters (PEF, TEF25, TEF50, and TEF75).

CONCLUSIONSMeasurement of FeNO is useful to evaluate the disease activity in children with asthma aged 1 to 3 years, but the FeNO values are not correlated with peripheral blood EOS count and lung function.

Asthma ; blood ; physiopathology ; Breath Tests ; Child, Preschool ; Eosinophils ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism

Objective： The current stady was designed to investigate the reconstitution of T cell receptor repertoire in the patients with chronic Graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Methods： The TCR repertoire in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 5 cGVHD patients was examined after PCR amplification of 24 Vβ gene subfamilies. Results： Only 2－8 Vβ subfamily T cells were found in the samples from these patients, and there were different demonstrations in different patients. We found Vβ T cells proliferated in 4 patients. Conclusion： The TCR repertoire complexities was abnormal in all patients,Vβ may be associated with cGVHD, and the method may be demonstrated the reconstitution of T cell after transplantation.

In order to develop a rapid detection kit for novel avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H7N9, two sets of specific primers and probes were designed based on the nucleotide sequences of hemagglutinin antigen (HA) and neuraminidase antigen (NA) of novel H7N9 virus (2013) available in GenBank to establish the method of TaqMan probe-based multiplex real-time RT-PCR for rapid detection of AIV subtype H7N9. The primer and probe of HA were for all H7 subtype AIVs, while the primer and probe of NA were only for novel N9 subtype AIVs. The results showed that this method had high sensitivity and specificity. This method was applicable to the testing of positive standard sample with a minimum concentration of 10 copies/microL; it not only distinguished H7 subtype from H1, H3, H5, H6, and H9 subtypes, but also distinguished novel N9 subtype from traditional N9 subtype. A total of 2700 samples from Zhuhai, China were tested by this method, and the results were as expected. For the advantages of sensitivity and specificity, the method holds promise for wide application.
Animals ; Birds ; virology ; Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Influenza in Birds ; prevention & control ; virology ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Species Specificity ; Taq Polymerase ; metabolism ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo assess protein and mRNA expression levels of heparanase and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) genes in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their roles in tumor invasion, metastasis and prognosis.

METHODSA total of 115 paraffin-embedded and 45 fresh-frozen tissue specimens of NSCLC were studied by immunohistochemistry, Western Blot and in situ hybridization to evaluate the protein and mRNA expression status of heparanase and bFGF genes. The data was analyzed by SPSS statistical software.

RESULTSBoth human heparanase and bFGF were highly expressed in NSCLC cells, in contrast to none or a low expression in normal lung tissue. Expression of heparanase also showed a significantly higher than that in the normal tissue by Western blot (P = 0.041). Immunohistochemistry showed that heparanase expression was both cytoplasmic and membranous. The agreement between heparanase and bFGF was significant. A significant correlation was found between the expression of either protein and TNM stage, vascular invasion, lymphatic metastasis and microvascular density (MVD). Co-expression of the two proteins demonstrated an even higher correlation with the tumor stage and MVD. In addition, expression of bFGF correlated with tumor cell differentiation. Data of a multivariate analysis indicated that tumor cell differentiation, vascular invasion, lymphatic metastasis and expression of bFGF were identified as significant prognostic parameters.

CONCLUSIONSBoth heparanase and bFGF may play important roles in tumor angiogenesis, metastasis, and prognosis of NSCLC.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Differentiation ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Glucuronidase ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Microcirculation ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influences of varying lingual traction forces on the space-closing speed in a typodont model.

METHODSForty-two Angle Class I standard typodont models of bimaxillary teeth protrusion were divided into 7 equal groups. Four regions of the model were paired to groups, and in the odd-numbered models, the top left and bottom left regions served as the experimental group and the top right and bottom right regions as the control group; in the even-numbered models, the regions in the model were grouped oppositely. In the experimental group, the space was closed by niti wire extension spring in the buccal ridge combined with lingual elastic traction of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 g. In the control group, the space was closed by exclusive niti wire extension spring in the buccal ridge. The space-closing speed were analyzed in all the groups.

RESULTSThe space-closing speed was significantly lower in the control group than in the experimental groups with lingual traction forces of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 g (P<0.05), but a traction force of 30 g resulted in a significantly lower speed than that in the control group (P<0.05). The space closing speed was the greatest in the experimental group with a traction force of 15 g (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONNiti wire extension spring in the buccal ridge combined with lingual elastic traction results in faster space-closing speed than traditional exclusive niti wire extension spring. The speed is the fastest by applying 15 g lingual traction, which is also associated with the lowest slip resistance.

Dental Models ; Dental Stress Analysis ; Tooth Extraction ; methods ; Traction