Objective To evaluate the effects of edaravone postconditioning and remote ischemic postconditioning on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 8 weeks,weighing 250-300 g,were randomly divided into 5 groups (n =8 each):sham operation group (group S); group I/R; edaravone postconditioning group (group E); remote ischemic postconditioning group (group P); edaravone postconditioning and remote ischemic postconditioning group (group EP).Myocardial I/R was induced by occlusion of anterior desending branch of left coronary artery for 30 min followed by 180 min reperfusion.Edaravone 3 mg/kg was injected intravenously at 1 min before reperfusion in groups E and EP.The animals underwent 10 min ischemia of bilateral hind limbs starting from 20 min of myocardial ischemia in groups P and EP.Left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP),left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and ± dp/dtmax were measured and recorded during reperfusion.Results Compared with group S,LVSP and ± dp/dtmax were significantly decreased and LVEDP was increased in the other groups (P ＜ 0.05).LVSP and ± dp/dtmax were significantly higher and LVEDP was lower during reperfusion in groups E,P and EP than in group I/R,and in group EP than in groups E and P (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Edaravone postconditioning and remote ischemic postconditioning can alleviate myocardial I/R injury and offers better efficacy than either alone.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Epidemiological Monitoring ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the role of NB127914, a CRF R1 receptor antagonist, in the regulation of neonatal sleep/wake cycle.

METHODSRat pups were surgically implanted with electrodes at postnatal day(PN) 13. At PN 14, 6 hours polysomnographic recording data were continuously collected before and after administration of various doses of NBI 27914, atropine and the same amount of saline.

RESULTSCompared with baseline, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was significantly reduced and was replaced primarily by non-REM (NREM) sleep in all groups treated with NBI, but not with dimethyl sulfoxide/saline. Atropine suppressed REM sleep significantly and increased wakefulness simultaneously.

CONCLUSIONBlockage of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) R1 receptors deprives neonatal rat REM sleep.

Aniline Compounds ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Female ; Male ; Polysomnography ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Sleep, REM ; drug effects ; physiology ; Wakefulness ; drug effects ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate changes in serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and their significance in children with left-to-right shunt congenital heart disease (CHD) associated with heart failure (HF).

METHODSTwenty healthy children (control group), 20 children with HF, without basic heart disease (HF group), 20 children with left-to-right shunt CHD, without HF (CHD group), and 30 children with left-to-right shunt CHD associated with HF (CHD+HF group) were included in the study. These groups were compared in terms of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels. According to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification, the CHD+HF group was further divided into NYHA-II, NYHA-III and NYHA-IV subgroups and the subgroups were compared in terms of serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels. The correlation of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels with serum cTnI level in the CHD+HF group was analyzed.

RESULTSThe CHD group showed decreased serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels compared with the control group (P<0.01). The CHD+HF group showed a significantly decreased serum IGF-1 level compared with the control group (P<0.01) and CHD group (P<0.05). The HF group had significantly increased serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels compared with other groups (P<0.01). The NYHA-II subgroup had the highest serum IGF-1 level and the NYHA-IV subgroup had the lowest serum IGF-1 level (P<0.01). In the CHD+HF group, serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were negatively correlated with serum cTnI level (r=-0.692, P<0.05; r=-0.530, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSerum IGF-1 level can be used as an objective condition evaluation indicator for CHD, and low serum IGF-1 level is a risk factor for HF. This also provides a clinical basis for treatment of HF using exogenous IGF-1.

Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; blood ; Heart Failure ; blood ; Humans ; Infant ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 ; blood ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; analysis ; Male ; Troponin I ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the possible mechanism of the intracellular aggregate formation of small heat shock protein HSPB8 (HSPB8)(K141N) mutation resulting in axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2L(CMT2L).

METHODSThe cell models which transiently expressed pEGFPN1-HSPB8 and pEGFPN1-(K141N)HSPB8 were established. The immunofluorescent co-location study of EGFP-(K141N)HSPB8 and HSPB1, EGFP-(K141N)HSPB8 and neurofilament light chain (NEFL) was carried out in the SHSY5Y cell models. The aggregate formation of EGFP-(K141N)HSPB8 in cell models was investigated and the possible mechanism of cellular aggregate formation was analyzed by t test and analysis of variance between group(ANOVA).

RESULTSEGFP-(K141N)HSPB8 formed large aggregate which predominantly located around the nucleus in cell models. EGFP-(K141N)HSPB8 co-localized perfectly with HSPB1 and NEFL in the SHSY5Y cell models. The aggregate formation was different in different cell types, there were fewer aggregates formed in an sHSPs deficient milieu than in HEK293T cells.

CONCLUSION(K141N)HSPB8 formed aggregates predominantly locate around the nucleus in cells. (K141N)HSPB8 co-localizes perfectly with HSPB1 and NEFL. The aggregate formation may be due to (K141N)HSPB8 conformational change leading to self aggregation and its abnormal interaction with other sHSPs such as HSPB1.

Cell Line ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Nucleus ; metabolism ; Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease ; genetics ; metabolism ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins ; HeLa Cells ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Kidney ; cytology ; metabolism ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neuroblastoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neurofilament Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Point Mutation ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of the digital cytopathological lung cancer diagnosing system (DCLCDS) utilizing the latest computer technologies (including reinforcement learning, image segmentation and classifier) and the cytopathological knowledge on lung cancer cells.

METHODSSeparate the overlapped lung cancer cells in a slice image applying the improved deBoor-Cox B-Spline algorithm; Segment cell regions in a slice image using an image segmentation algorithm based on reinforcement learning; Ensemble different classifiers, including Decision Tree classifier, Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier and Bayesian classifier, to achieve an accurate result of cytopathological lung cancer diagnosis.

RESULTSThe accurate diagnosis rate for lung cancer identification of 224 images of small lung lesions aspiration biopsy from 120 cases randomly selected was 92.3%. The accurate diagnosis rate for type classification of lung cancer was 82.5%. The identification rate for abnormal nuclear cells was 71.6%.

CONCLUSIONSThe DCLCDS achieves a high accuracy on cytopathological lung cancer diagnosis by solving some major problems on the cytology smears, including cell overlapping, uneven coloration and impurity. It provides a relatively objective, standard tool on cytopathological lung cancer diagnosis. It has good efficacy on early diagnosis of lung cancer.

Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Cytodiagnosis ; methods ; Decision Trees ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Software Design

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDThe use of traditional techniques (such as landmark techniques, paresthesia and peripheral nerve stimulator) for upper-limb anesthesia has often been restricted to the expert or enthusiast, which was blind. Recently, ultrasound (US) has been applied to differ blood vessel, pleura and nerve, thus may reduce the risk of complications while have a high rate of success. The aim of this study was to determine if the use of ultrasound guidance (vs. peripheral nerve stimulator, (PNS)) decreases risk of vascular puncture, risk of hemi-diaphragmatic paresis and risk of Horner syndrome and improves the success rate of nerve block.

METHODSA search strategy was developed to identify randomized control trials (RCTs) reporting on complications of US and PNS guidance for upper-extremity peripheral nerve blocks (brachial plexus) in adults available through PubMed databases, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase databases, SinoMed databases and Wanfang data (date up to 2011-12-20). Two independent reviewers appraised eligible studies and extracted data. Risk ratios (OR) were calculated for each outcome and presented with 95% confidence intervals (CI) with the software of Review Manager 5.1.0 System (Cochrane Library).

RESULTSSixteen trials involving 1321 adults met our criteria were included for analysis. Blocks performed using US guidance were more likely to be successful (risk ratio (RR) for block success 0.36, 95%CI 0.23 - 0.56, P < 0.00001), decreased incidence of vascular puncture during block performance (RR 0.13, 95%CI 0.06 - 0.27, P < 0.00001), decreased the risk of complete hemi-diaphragmatic paresis (RR 0.09, 95%CI 0.03 - 0.52, P = 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONSUS decreases risks of complete hemi-diaphragmatic paresis or vascular puncture and improves success rate of brachial plexus nerve block compared with techniques that utilize PNS for nerve localization. Larger studies are needed to determine whether or not the use of US can decrease risk of neurologic complications.

Brachial Plexus ; Humans ; Nerve Block ; methods ; Peripheral Nerves ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Ultrasonography, Interventional ; methods

BACKGROUNDWith the increase of survival in liver transplantation recipients, more patients are at a high risk of developing osteonecrosis, especially in the femoral head, due to immunosuppressive treatment. The purpose of this study was to report the incidence, possible risk factors, and outcome of symptomatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) in adult patients with current immunosuppressive agents and individual protocol after liver transplantation in China.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed on 226 adult patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) at a single liver transplantation institution between January 2004 and December 2008. The posttransplant survival time (or pre-retransplantation survival time) of all the patients were more than 24 months. The possible pre- and post-transplantation risk factors of symptomatic ONFH were investigated and the curative effects of the treatment were also reported.

RESULTSThe incidence of ONFH was 1.33% in patients after OLT. ONFH occurred at a mean of (14 ± 6) months (range, 10 - 21 months) after transplantation. Male patients more often presented with osteonecrosis as a complication than female patients. The patients with lower pre-transplantation total bilirubin and direct bilirubin levels (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the cumulative dose of corticosteroids or tacrolimus between the patients with or without symptomatic ONFH. Patients were treated either pharmacologically or surgically. All patients showed a nice curative effect without major complications during the 18 - 63 months post-treatment follow up.

CONCLUSIONSThe symptomatic ONFH does not occur commonly after adult OLT in the current individual immunosuppressive protocol in China.

Adult ; Aged ; Cyclosporine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Femur Head Necrosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Methylprednisolone ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Osteonecrosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sirolimus ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Tacrolimus ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo examine vibrio cholera (V.C) in aquatic products of littoral area, Zhejiang Province and to provide scientific evidence for administration of aquatic products and cholera epidemic control.

METHODSAll 990 samples of aquatic products collected from local markets, eateries and aquafarms in three chosen areas. Samples were proliferated in alkaline liquid medium, and purified in NO: 4 medium, the isolations were identified biochemically, and phenotype of strains were defined by phagocyte and coagulation with V.C. diagnostic serum. Three virulence genes (ctx, ace, zct) of the isolated strains were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTSThere were 1.41% samples caught by V.C., having a carrying rate highest in turtles of 8.9%. 14 strains were defined as three serogroups, and the numbers of Inaba, Ogawa, and Hikojima types were 2, 2, 10 respectively. Virulence genes had detected in 9 of 12 stains. All genes were detected in 5 strains, only ZOT genes in 3 strains, and both CTX and ACE genes in 1 strain.

CONCLUSIONSAquatic products from inshore in Zhejiang Province caught with V.C. strains might be divided into three serogroups. Most of them should be virulence genes. Cholera epidemic outbreak might be caused by those contaminated products.

China ; Food Microbiology ; Genes, Bacterial ; Seafood ; microbiology ; Vibrio cholerae ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Virulence Factors ; genetics