Aquilaria agallocha can produce fragrant agarwood used for incense, traditional medicine and other products. An efficient plant regeneration system was established via organogenesis from shoots developed from seedlings of Aquilaria agallocha. Shoots generated many buds on MS medium supplemented with 1.3 micromol/L BA (6-benzylaminopurine) in the first 7 weeks, and the buds elongated on MS medium with 1.3 micromol/L BA+0.5 micromol/L NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid) in another 7 weeks, 2.3 shoots 2 cm in length per explant were obtained within 14 weeks. Plantlets were rooted on 1/2 MS medium after being immersed in 5 micromol/L NAA for 48 h, 96.7% of the roots grew up two weeks later. All plantlets that survived acclimatization grew well in the pots.
Agriculture ; methods ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Forestry ; methods ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Growth Regulators ; metabolism ; Plant Shoots ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Survival Analysis ; Survival Rate ; Thymelaeaceae ; drug effects ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo study the edentulous patients facio-maxillary characters, and discuss the base of recording jaw relation by swallowing action.

METHODSForty-three edentulous patients were included in this study, age ranged from 57 to 70 yr, with new comfortable full dentures. Two lateral cephalograms for one patient were taken by SIRONA digital X-ray dental system, one of which was centric occlusion with full denture, another was the end position of swallowing action without denture.

RESULTSThe vertical facial dimensions of male were a little more than that of female. The ratio of lower front facial height/upper front facial height was about 6/5, angle S-N-Po was about 78 approximately 80 degrees. These data may be useful for dentists to make diagnoses if the jaw relation is right or not. Both in vertical or anterior-posterior (horizontal) dimension, the differences between two groups (two actions in one patient) were not significant. It showed that two positions of two actions were the same.

CONCLUSIONSThe SIRONA digital X-ray dental system for cephalometry was swift, and had its own characters. The way of swallowing and occluding is one of efficient methods to record the jaw relation of edentulous patients veraciously and naturally.

Aged ; Cephalometry ; methods ; Deglutition ; Female ; Humans ; Jaw Relation Record ; Jaw, Edentulous ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiography, Dental, Digital

Objective To explore the effect of aerobic exercise on patients with laryngeal cancer related fatigue status.Methods 56 cases of patients with laryngeal cancer were randomly divided into intervention group and control group, each group was 28 cases. Control group moved by themselves according to the physical condition of patients after discharge; intervention group was held regular movement according to the nurses making the exercise prescription for them, assessed the fatigue status of patients with laryngeal cancer by revised Chinese version of the Piper Fatigue Scale respectively before the intervention in patient (at discharge) and operated after two months.Results The difference of fatigue scores of the two groups before intervention (at discharge) do not reach statistical significance (P>0.05); and the fatigue scores of the two groups after intervention was significantly different (P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusions Aerobic exercise can eliminate or alleviate the patient's fatigue, increase quality of life.

Objective To explore the self-management action of patient suffered from mechanical heart valve post-operation. Methods 168cases of the patients suffered from the mechanical heart valve post-operation were separately divided into 86 cases as the interference group and 82 cases as control group at random. The interference group was given for the normal medical treatment and also objective self-management education but the control group used normal medical treatment and also health education. Two groups of the patients were tested by "Self-Management Action Measurement Form" separately to asseSS the self-management action and also were assessed by Chinese version of SF-36 Measurement Form for the assessment of two groups of the patients for the comparison of the patients of two groups in living quality(QOL) one year after treatment and nursing. Results The various items of assessments of interference group were higher than the comparison group in self-management action measurement form SF-36 Measurement Form with the difference of statistics meaning(P ＜0. 01) averagely for the comparison of two groups one year after the treatment and nursing. Conclusions The self-management education can help the patients to set up a good action mode and improve the patients' self-management disease ability, reduce the occurrence of the complication to improve health and reach to raise living quality of the patients suffered from mechanical heart valve post-operation for purpose.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinicopathologic features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (SMZL).

METHODSThe clinical data, histologic findings and immunophenotype of 8 SMZL cases were studied. IgH gene rearrangement was performed in 1 case. Follow-up information was available in 4 patients.

RESULTSThe median age of the patients was 61.5 years (range: 36 to 75 years). The male-to-female ratio was 1.7:1. All cases presented with massive splenomegaly. Five of six cases had abnormal blood counts: neutropenia and thrombocytopenia with two of them showing anemia. After splenectomy, the blood counts in 3/3 cases returned to normal levels. Post-operative fludarabine-based chemotherapy was given to 3 patients, two of them achieved complete remission and 1 case died during the course of chemotherapy. The average survival time was 21.5 months (range: 6 to 60 months). Histologically, all of the 8 cases showed micronodular white pulp lesions. Six of them exhibited the classic biphasic appearance with central aggregates of small B cells rimmed by a peripheral zone of atypical monocytoid B cells. The remaining 2 cases had a monomorphous appearance, consisting mainly of atypical monocytoid B cells. There was infiltration of tumor cells in the red pulp, sheets in appearance in all 8 cases. Immuno-histochemical staining showed CD20-positive (8/8), IgD-positive in 2 of the 4 cases (2/4), CD5-positive in 1 of the 4 cases (1/4), 6 of the 6 cases were bcl-2-positive, cyclin D1-negative and bcl-6/CD10-negative, CD43-negative in 5 of the 6 cases (5/6). The proliferation index, as highlighted by Ki-67 immunostaining, was low (< 15%).

CONCLUSIONSSMZL is an indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The main clinical manifestations are splenomegaly and abnormalities in blood counts. The main modality of treatment is splenectomy. Adjuvant fludarabine-based chemotherapy helps to achieve complete remission. In general, the prognosis of this lymphoma type is good. The lymphoma cells predominantly grow in micronodular pattern, with atypical monocytoid B cells rimming around the small B cells, which aggregates in the center. The differential diagnosis includes other small B-cell lymphomas and lymphoid hyperplasia of spleen.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Spleen ; pathology ; Splenectomy ; Splenic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Survival Rate

Global Health ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H2N2 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; history ; mortality ; virology

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Notoginsenoside Rgl on p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) expression in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) cultured in hypoxia hypercapnia.

METHODSSD rat PASMCs was primary cultured, the cells of passage 2- 5 were divided into six groups: normoxic group (N group), hypoxia hypercapnia group (H group), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control group (HD group), Rg1 treated group (Rg low dose, Rg middle dose and Rg high dose group). Western blot was used to detect the expression of p-p38MAPK protein, and RT-PCR to determine the expression of p38MAPK mRNA.

RESULTSWestern blot and RT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression of p-p38MAPK protein and p-p38MAPK mRNA were significantly higher in HD group than those in N group (P < 0.01). Whereas, in Rg1 treated groups, the level of p-p38MAPK markedly decreased (P < 0.01) in dose-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONNotoginsenoside Rg1 has protective effects on PASMCs under hypoxia hypercapnia condition, which may be related to inhibiting expression of p38MAPK.

Animals ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Hypercapnia ; metabolism ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; drug effects ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; drug effects ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDResistin, a novel adipokine linked to insulin resistance and obesity in rodents, which is derived mainly from macrophages and identified in atheromas in human, has been shown to play a potential role in atherosclerosis. Resistin levels were reported to increase in coronary artery disease (CAD), while data concerning resistin in different stages of CAD in Chinese people are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess whether plasma concentrations of resistin differed between patients with unstable and stable angina pectoris.

METHODSPlasma resistin levels were determined by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 46 patients with unstable angina (UAP), 37 with stable angina (SAP) and 31 control subjects.

RESULTSPlasma concentrations of resistin were significantly increased in UAP group (geometric mean (interquartile range) 12.09 ng/ml (8.40, 18.08)) in comparison with SAP (9.04 ng/ml (7.09, 11.44)) and control groups (8.71 ng/ml (6.58, 11.56)). No differences in resistin levels were found between patients with SAP and controls. We also found that plasma resistin positively correlated with leukocyte counts (r = 0.21, P = 0.027), high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (r = 0.25, P = 0.008), and endothelin-1 (r = 0.21, P = 0.025) after adjustment for age, sex and BMI.

CONCLUSIONResistin may be involved in the development of CAD by influencing systemic inflammation and endothelial activation.

Aged ; Angina, Unstable ; blood ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Endothelin-1 ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Resistin ; blood

There are sex differences in some brain areas in mammalians. Parkinson's disease (PD), caused by the mesencephalic substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neuronal loss, displays sexual difference, i.e., the incidence is higher and the symptoms are more intense in males than that in females. However, it has not been known whether sexual dimorphisms exist in the SN. Sixty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: (1) Female intact group (F-INT group); (2) Male intact group (M-INT group); (3) Ovariectomized group (OVX group); (4) Castration group (CAST group); (5) Ovariectomized + estrogen-replaced group (OVX-E(2) group): The rats received sequentially physiological dose of estrogen for 3 d from the 7th day after ovariectomization. P50 auditory evoked potential (P50) was recorded for 14 d from electrodes inserted in the rat right SN in quiet and awake state. After recording, the brain tissues were dissected and the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-expressing neurons in the compact zone of the SN were counted using immunohistochemical method. The results showed that the number of TH-positive (TH(+)) cells in the SN of normal male animals was less than that in normal female rats (P<0.05), and the T/C ratio of P50 in normal males was significantly less than that in normal females (P<0.01), indicating that there exists sexual difference in function and structure in the SN. No differences in the T/C ratio of P50 or the number of TH(+) cells were found between M-INT and CAST groups. The T/C ratio of P50 and the number of TH(+) cells in the SN in OVX group were reduced significantly compared with those in F-INT group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the T/C ratio of P50 and the number of TH(+) cells in the SN between OVX- E(2) and F-INT groups 15-20 d after estrogen replacement, suggesting that estrogen can promote the survival and functional recovery of dopaminergic neurons in the SN. The results suggest that there exist sex-specific differences in the dopaminergic neurons in the SN structurally and functionally. The difference of estrogen level in cerebra between male and female animals may account for the sexual differences. Endogenous estrogen plays an important role in maintaining the integrity and modulating the functional activity of dopamine system in the SN.
Animals ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; cytology ; Estrogens ; pharmacology ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; Female ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Ovariectomy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sex Characteristics ; Substantia Nigra ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo study whether hematologic malignancy patients with anemia have a lower erythropoietin (EPO) response.

METHODSSerum EPO levels were detected by ELISA in patients with hematologic malignancies and with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Eighty patients with hematologic malignancies, including 13 multiple myeloma (MM), 7 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and 60 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were studied. Thirty of them had anemia(21 NHL,6 MM and 3 CLL). Twenty patients with IDA were studied as the control.

RESULTSHematologic malignancy patients with anemia had higher EPO levels [(97.8 +/- 183.9) IU/L] than those with normal Hb values [(27.8 +/- 85.4) IU/L; P <0.01]. In patients with IDA, serum EPO response was inversely correlated with Hb level (r= -0.5, P <0.05) , but no such inverse correlation was found in the hematologic malignancy patients with anemia (r = -0.14). After corrected for Hb level, the serum EPO levels were significantly lower in anemic patients with hematologic malignancies than in IDA patients (P = 0.032) , indicating a decreased EPO response in the former group.

CONCLUSIONAnemia associated with hematologic malignancy might result from an inappropriately low EPO response. EPO treatment for these patients may be beneficial.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; blood ; complications ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Erythropoietin ; blood ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; blood ; complications ; Hemoglobins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies