To study the protective effect and the mechanism of asiatic acid (AA) from Potentilla chinensis on alcohol hepatic injury in rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups: the normal control group, the AA control group (8 mg · kg(-1) AA), the model group (5.0-9.0 g · kg(-1) alcohol) and high, medium and low-dose AA-treated groups (alcohol + 8, 4, 2 mg · kg(-1) AA). Each group was orally administered with the corresponding drugs once a day for 24 weeks. Approximately 1. 5 hours after the final administration, all rats were killed, and their blood samples and hepatic tissues were collected. The AST and ALT in rat serum and the contents of MPO, TNF-α, IL-1β, SOD, GSH-Px, GSH-Rd and MDA in hepatic tissues were detected. The expressions of NF-κB, TLR4, CD14, MyD88, TRIF and protein expression in hepatic tissues were measured by western blot. The pathological changes in liver tissues were observed by histological examination. The results showed that compared with the model group, the AA-treated groups showed significant decreases in serum ALT, AST and MDA and increases in the activities of SOD, GSH-Px, GSH-Rd and MPO. Moreover, AA markedly inhibited the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR4, CD14, MyD88 and NF-κB. The histological examination showed alleviated hepatic issue ijury to varying degrees. In short, asiatic acid (AA) from P. chinensis could protect alcohol-induced hepatic injury in rats. Its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB inactivation and the reduction of inflammatory response.
Animals ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; prevention & control ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; physiology ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes ; pharmacology ; Potentilla ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; antagonists & inhibitors

Objective To study the effects of semiconductor laser irradiation and high voltage static electric fields on small vessel damage in diabetic rats.Methods Fifty healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups:8 rats in a normal group and 42 in a diabetic model group.The diabetic models were created by intrape- ritoneal injection of streptozocin.The diabetic model rats were randomly divided into four subgroups:a diabetes group,a semiconductor laser treatment group,a high voltage static electric field treatment group and a comprehensive treatment group receiving combined semiconductor laser and high voltage static electric field exposure.The rats in each treatment group were subjected to the corresponding intervention.After 20 days of treatment,the venous blood, kidney tissue and myocardium tissue of the rats were collected,and the concentrations of blood glucose,insulin,en- dothelin and tissue were detected.Results Compared with the normal group,a significant increase in blood glu- cose and endothelin was observed in the diabetic model group,along with significantly decreased blood insulin and significant small vessel endothelium proliferation in the kidney tissue.Compared with the diabetes group,endothelin levels were significantly lower in all 3 treatment groups,and blood insulin was also higher in the comprehensive treat- ment group.Conclusion There were severe abnormalities in blood glucose,insulin and endothelin as well as mild impairment of small vessel endothelium proliferation in the diabetic rats.Semiconductor laser and high voltage static electric field exposure have a role in treating and preventing these conditions in diabetic rats.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the bacterial distribution and drug resistance in patients in intensive care unit(ICU) and provide theoretical bases for rational usage of antibiotics.METHODS The distribution and drug resistance of 372 strains isolated from patients in ICU collected from Jul 2007 to Jun 2008 were investigated and studied retrospectively.RESULTS Among them,the Gram-negative bacilli covered 59.14 %,the Gram-positive cocci 28.49%,and the fungi covered 12.37%.Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Klebsiella,Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Ancinetobacter were the main Gram-negative bacilli.Staphylococcus aureus,coagulation-negative Staphylococcus and Enterococcus were the main Gram-positive cocci.The resistance rate of P.aeruginosa,S.maltophilia and Acinetobacter to imipenem was over 10%,and the S.maltophilia was 96.7%,the resistance rate of three main Gram-positive cocci to vancomycin and teicoplanin was zero,and the isolated bacteria showed serious multidrug-resistance.CONCLUSIONS Periodic monitoring should be done to learn the drug resistance and bacterial distribution in ICU in order to rationally use antibiotics to avoid the generation of new drug resistant strains and control the infection of patients in ICU.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the change of antibiotics resistance of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients′s sputum in our hospital from Jan 2006 to Dec 2008,and offer basis for prevention of clinical infection and the reasonable use of drugs.METHODS The culture,identification and sensitivity to antibiotics of P.aeruginosa from the clinical sputum specimens were analyzed using USA VITEK-32 system.RESULTS Totally 196 strains of P.aeruginosa were isolated and characterized during the three years.The rates of resistance to cefoperazone/sulbactam were 18.37%,piperacillin/tazobactam 16.84%,netilmicin 17.35%,trimethoprim/sulfamesoxazole 100.00%,ampicillin 99.49%,cefazolin 99.49%,cefotetan 88.78%,and to ceftriaxone were 79.08%.The resistance rate to cephalosporins showed rising tendency.But the resistance rate to ?-lactam antibiotics showed deereasing tendency.CONCLUSIONS P.aeruginosa has single and multi-resistance to antibiotics seriously,but sensitive to ?-lactam antibiotics and aminoglycosides.Using antibiotics reasonably based on bacteria identification and sensitivity test is the best way to reduce the resistance of the pathogens.

Objective To obtain different biomechanical conditions of the tibia section with different osteotomy thickness under different activity states,so as to provide theoretical basis for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and patient activities after operation.Methods The three-dimensional models of lower limb were reconstructed and the proximal tibia was resect by 0 mm,5 mm,7 mm,9 mm,respectively,based on the principle of bone resection in TKA.The tibia models after osteotomy were assigned with the material properties,and the stress and strain of the tibia cross-section were then analyzed under the following activity states:standing,walking,running and climbing upstairs.Results The stress and displacement of the tibia cross-section increased with the increase of osteotomy thickness under the same activity state.The maximum stress and displacement of tibia cross-section with the same osteotomy thickness showed an increasing trend when the strength of activity increased.Conclusions For TKA in clinic,the stress and strain on tibia cross-section become larger with the thicker tibia osteotomy and the stronger postoperative activity.Excessive osteotomy in TKA and activity too intensively after TKA should be avoided,so as to reduce stress and strain of the tibia plateau and promote long-term life of the prosthesis.

Objective To explore the appropriate ways and contents of reproductive health education for middle school students and to understand reproductive health related sexual behavior and influencing factors among middle school students. Methods Reproductive health related sexual behavior was evaluated among junior and senior middle school students in Luoyang by cluster sampling. The statistical software of SAS 8.1 was adopted for data analyses. Sexual behavior and influencing factors were analyzed by logistic regression. Results Critical sexual behaviors were found significantly higher in senior students,including masturbation, sexual fantasy and sexual intercourse than that in junior students (P<0.05), and boys had higher prevalence than girls (P<0.05). Results from multivariate logistic regression model analyses indicated that incidence rate of sexual behavior among those who ever having had experiences was higher than those who were inexperienced ( OR = 2.62,95 % CI:1.21-5.66). Incidence rate of sexual behavior was related to access of reproductive health and STD/AIDS knowledge ( OR = 3.09,95 % CI:1.43-6.51). In addition, incidence rate of sexual behavior was related to attitude and relation of amour between boys and girls ( OR = 2.24,95 % CI:1.32-3.75). Conclusion Awareness on reproductive health knowledge among middle school students was not enough. Marginal sexual behaviors as masturbation and sexual fantasy had not been correctly and openly discussed to avoid inappropriate sexual activities.

Objective To analyze the results of detection on influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus in Beijing from May 2009 to December 2009 and to understand the epidemiologic characteristics during the pandemic period. Methods The study was conducted from the May 1 to December 27,2009. A total of 101 852 throat swab samples were detected with the real-time RT-PCR assay by the Beijing Network Laboratory. Data was statistically analyzed. Results 9843 samples showed influenza A (H1N1) 2009 positive, with an overall positive rate as 9.66%. In terms of the positive rates, they were 2.85% from May to June, 3.32% from July to August and 8.35% from September to October. The peak month fell in November (29.67%) and December (24.33%). The positive rates among the following subpopulations were: 8.40% among the suspected cases, 4.75% among close contact cases, 11.46% among the influenza-like illness cases and 7.33% among the cluster cases with fever. Positive cases mainly fell in age groups 5-14 and 15-24. The ratio of male to female was 1.5:1.Conclusion During the pandemic period of influenza A (H1N1) 2009, positive cases gradually increased during May to November but slowly decreasing in December.

Objective To obtain biomechanical conditions of the tibia section with different osteotomy thickness under different activity states, so as to provide theoretical basis for osteotomy thickness in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and activities of patients after operation. Methods The three-dimensional models of the lower limb were reconstructed and the proximal tibia was resected by 0 mm,5 mm,7 mm,9 mm respectively based on the principle of bone resection in TKA. The tibia model after osteotomy were assigned the material properties and the stress and strain of the tibia cross-section were analyzed under the following activity states: standing, walking, running and going upstairs. Results The stress and displacement of the tibia cross-section increased with the increase in osteotomy thickness under the same activity state. The maximum stress and displacement of tibia cross-section increased in general with the same osteotomy thickness, when the strength of activity increased. Conclusions During TKA in clinic, the stress and strain on tibia cross-section became larger as the tibia osteotomy became thicker and the postoperative activity became stronger. Excessive osteotomy in TKA and high intensive activity after TKA should be avoided, so as to reduce stress and strain of the tibia plateau and promote long-term life of the prosthesis.

To study the analgesic effect of chronic administration with ferulic acid, and preliminarily discuss its mechanism. Thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia tests were conducted to observe the analgesic effect of chronic administration with ferulic acid on CCI mice. The neurochemical detection method was applied to observe the effect chronic administration with ferulic acid on monoamine neurotransmitter and monoamine oxidase activity. Compared with the normal group, CCI mice showed notable reduction in heat sensation and nociceptive threshold in and mechanical allodynia. Ferulic acid (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg x kg(-1), po) could significantly reverse the situations. In an in-depth study, we found that the reason for these results was that ferulic acid was dose-dependent in increasing 5-HT and NE levels in hippocampus, frontal cortex and amygdale and could inhibit MAO-A activity in mouse brains. These results showed that ferulic acid has the analgesic effect. Its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of monoamine oxidase activity and the increase in monoamine neurotransmitter in mouse brains.
Analgesics ; administration & dosage ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Coumaric Acids ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Hyperalgesia ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Monoamine Oxidase ; metabolism ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; metabolism ; Sciatic Nerve ; drug effects ; injuries ; Sciatic Neuropathy ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; psychology

OBJECTIVEIn mid-July 2005, five patients presented with septic shock to a hospital in Ziyang city in Sichuan, China, to identify the etiology of the unknown reason disease, an epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory study were conducted.

METHODSAn enhanced surveillance program were established in Sichuan, the following activities were introduced: active case finding in Sichuan of (a) laboratory diagnosed Streptococcus suis infection and (b) clinically diagnosed probable cases with exposure history; supplemented by (c) monitoring reports on meningococcal meningitis. Streptococcus suis serotype 2 infection was confirmed by culture and biochemical reactions, followed by sequencing for specific genes for serotype and virulence factors.

RESULTSFrom June 10 to August 21, 2005, 68 laboratory confirmed cases of human Streptococcus suis infections were reported. All were villagers who gave a history of direct exposure to deceased or sick pigs in their backyards where slaughtering was performed. Twenty six (38%) presented with toxic shock syndrome of which 15 (58%) died. Other presentations were septicaemia or meningitis. All isolates were tested positive for genes for tuf, species-specific 16S rRNA, cps2J, mrp, ef and sly. There were 136 clinically diagnosed probable cases with similar exposure history but incomplete laboratory investigations.

CONCLUSIONAn outbreak of human Streptococcus suis serotype 2 infections occurred in villagers after direct exposure to deceased or sick pigs in Sichuan. Prohibition of slaughtering in backyards brought the outbreak to a halt. A virulent strain of the bacteria is speculated to be in circulation, and is responsible for the unusual presentation of toxic shock syndrome with high case fatality.

Animals ; Bacteremia ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Shock, Septic ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Streptococcal Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; veterinary ; Streptococcus suis ; isolation & purification ; Swine ; Swine Diseases ; microbiology