Objective To investigate the characteristics of CD8+ stem memory T cells (CD8+Tscm) in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to analyze their associations with progression of HIV-1 infection.Methods Thirty-six patients with chronic HIV-1 infection and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study.Flow cytometry was performed to detect the percentages and absolute numbers of CD8+Tscm in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART) as well as in healthy subjects.Correlation analysis was used to demonstrate the relationships between CD8+Tscm and markers for progression of HIV-1 infection (CD4+T cell count, HIV-1 viral load and level of activated T cells).Results The percentages and the absolute numbers of CD8+Tscm in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection had no significant change before and after ART.They were respectively positively correlated with the percentages and the absolute numbers of CD4+Tscm.The percentage of CD8+Tscm was proportional to the percentage of CD8+ central memory T cells (CD8+Tcm), but was inversely proportional to the percentage of CD8+ effector memory T cells (CD8+Tem).In addition, the percentages of CD8+Tscm in patients with HIV-1 infection were negatively correlated with the viral loads before ART.Conclusion CD8+Tscm are responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of other CD8+T cell subsets.CD8+Tscm play an important role in inhibiting viral replication.

A novel and sensitive HPLC-UV method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve major compounds in Longdan Xiegan Pill.The chemical profile of the twelve compounds,including geniposidic acid（1）,geniposide（2）,gentiopicroside（3）,liquiritin（4）,crocin（5）,baicalin（6）,wogonoside（7）,baicalein（8）,glycyrrhizic acid（9）,wogonin（10）,oroxylin A（11）and aristolochic acid A（12）,was acquired using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector coupled with an electrospray tandem mass spectrometer（HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS）.The analysis was performed on a Dikma Platisil ODS C18 column（250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm）with a gradient solvent system of acetonitrile-0.1% aqueous formic acid.The validation was carried out and the linearities（r〉0.9996）,repeatability（RSD〈1.8%）,intra-and inter-day precision（RSD〈1.3%）,and recoveries（ranging from 96.6% to 103.4%）were acceptable.The limits of detection（LOD）of these compounds ranged from 0.29 to 4.17 ng.Aristolochic acid A,which is the toxic ingredient,was not detected in all the batches of Longdan Xiegan Pill.Furthermore,hierarchical cluster analysis was used to evaluate the variation of the herbal prescription.The proposed method is simple,effective and suitable for the quality control of this traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）.

OBJECTIVE To investigate and analyze the bacteria on the nurse mask in ICU ward and its air effects disinfection.METHODS Sixty masks were examined for the bacteria numbers,germiculture and drug resistance.The bacteria numbers on the mask were recorded in 2,4,6 and 8 h with or without air disinfection,and the numbers of air bacteria were also estimated before and after air disinfection 2,4,6 and 8 h.The kinds and drug resistance of bacteria in the sputum of patients were recorded during the examining time.RESULTS The meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus(MRS,90.6%) and the Escherichia coli(ECO,9.4%) were the major bacteria on the mask.The numbers of bacteria on the mask at 2,4,6 and 8 h with air disinfection were 1.2?1.5,3.4 ?2.8,4.2?3.4 and 5.3?3.6 CFU/cm2,respectively.The numbers of bacteria on the air before air disinfection were 1264?314 CFU/m3 and after air disinfection 2,4,6 and 8 h were 917?213,790?176,676?179 and 483?167 CFU/m3,respectively.The numbers of bacteria on the mask and on the ward air were decreased obviously after the air disinfection comparing without disinfection.MRS was found in 26.7% patients sputum,and had the same drug-resistance spectrum as the bacteria on the mask.CONCLUSIONS MRS and ECO may be infected through air,and the effective air disinfection could reduce the numbers of bacteria on the air,and decrease the possibility of intercross infection.

Purpose To evaluate the application value of ERCC2 gene polymorphism ( rs3916840 C/T, rs1799793 G/A and rs238416 G/A) detection in molecular pathological diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods The polymorphisms of ERCC2 ( rs3916840, rs1799793 and rs238416) were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay in 101 patients with breast cancer and in 101 cancer-free controls. Results Analysis of the data showed a 0. 287-fold increased risk of breast cancer due to the deletion of genotype GA at rs238416 (P<0. 001, 95%CI: 0. 153 ~0. 537). However, polymorphisms of rs3916840 and rs1799793 were not associated with breast cancer risk (P>0. 05). Furthermore, Heterozygous genotype of rs3916840 was significantly associated with tumor size (P=0. 049), heterozygous genotype of rs1799793 was significantly associated with PR sta-tus and triple negative breast cancer (P=0. 037). Remarkably, the genotype frequency of GA in p53-positive patients was lower than that in p53-negiative patients (P=0. 026). Conclusions These results indicate that the polymorphism of rs238416 of ERCC2 is sig-nificantly associated with breast cancer risk. Tumor size, PR status, triple negative breast cancer, and p53 protein expression are asso-ciated with polymorphisms of ERCC2 (rs3916840, rs1799793 and rs238416) respectively. ERCC2 gene polymorphism detection is useful for the early diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of breast cancer.

Objective To detect plasma amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) ,D-Dimer levels in the pa-tients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) in order to investigate their change characteristics and significance .Methods Among 60 patients with suspected APE ,40 cases diagnosed by CT and meeting the thrombolytic condition were set as the experimental group and other 20 cases of excluded APE by CT as the control group .Plasma NT-ProBNP and D-dimer before treatment in the two groups and after 2-week thrombolytic therapy in the experimental thrombolysis were detected and compared .Results The diagnos-tic sensitivity of NT-ProBNP for early APE was 92 .3% and the specificity was 65% ,while the diagnostic sensitivity of D-dimer for early APE was 100% and the specificity was 70% ;the plasma NT-ProBNP and D-dimer levels before thrombolysis in the experi-mental group were significantly higher than those in the control group with statistical differences (P<0 .01) .Conclusion Plasma NT-ProBNP and D-dimer has important clinical significance for APE and can provide the basis for the early diagnosis and the cura-tive effect observation of the patients with APE .

This paper is to report the exploration of the activation of Rho/ROCK signal pathway in 5-HT-induced proliferation of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and the inhibitory effect of m-Nis on this pathway. PASMCs were cultured with the explant technique. MTT assay was used to explore the proliferation of PASMCs after 5-HT treated for different time and the intervening effect of m-Nis. RT-PCR and Western blot were used respectively to explore the mRNA expression of RhoA, ROCK1 and the protein expression of p-MYPT1 in 5-HT-treated PASMCs and intervening effect of m-Nis. The results of MTT assay suggested that 5-HT (1 µmol · L(-1)) treatment for 12-72 h significantly induced the proliferation of rat PASMCs (P<0.05 or P < 0.01), which were inhibited by m-Nis (1 x 10(-5), 1 x 10(-6), l x 10(-7), 1 x10(-8) mol · L(-1)) in dose-dependent manners (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Similarly, the mRNA expression of RhoA, ROCK1 and the protein expression of p-MYPT1 were also inhibited by m-Nis in different degrees (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Thus, the results of this study suggested that Rho/ROCK pathway played an important role in 5-HT-induced proliferation of rat PASMCs, m-Nis inhibited 5-HT-induced proliferation obviously, which may be related to the blockage of Rho/ROCK signal pathway.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; drug effects ; Nisoldipine ; pharmacology ; Protein Phosphatase 1 ; metabolism ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; Rats ; Serotonin ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; rho-Associated Kinases ; metabolism ; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo analyze the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of small hepatocellular carcinoma to improve the accuracy in the diagnosis.

METHODSThis retrospective analysis involved 41 patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma cases confirmed by pathological examination of the biopsy samples or follow-up. These patients were assessed for CT and MRI findings including lesion size, density or signal intensity, enhancement patterns, and presence of tumor capsules.

RESULTSOn unenhanced CT images, small hepatocellular carcinomas were displayed mainly as low-density masses, and the majority of tumors presented with low signal intensity on T1-weighted unenhanced MR images with increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images in comparison with the surrounding liver parenchyma. Most of tumors showed intense enhancement during the arterial phase (CT in 15 cases and MRI in 13 cases), but some appeared isointense to the liver parenchyma (CT in 4 cases and MRI in 4 cases). In portal and delayed phases, the tumors typically had lower signal intensity than that of the surrounding liver tissues (CT in 25 cases and MRI in 12 cases) with enhancement of the tumor capsules (13 cases).

CONCLUSIONDynamic enhanced scanning can be more informative of the pathology and blood supply of small hepatocellular carcinoma. Early and late arterial phase imaging may help in detecting the small lesions and in making differential diagnosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Image Enhancement ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To explore the levels of urine iodine in mothers and urine iodine and blood thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in their neonates, and the correlations. Methods A total of 695 pairs of mothers and their neonates were included. Urine sample of both mothers and newborns were collected and the levels of urine iodine were detected. Heel blood sample of newborns were collected and the levels of TSH were detected. Results The median urine iodine level in 695 mothers was 212 . 9μg/L, among whom 163 case ( 34 . 39%) were iodine deifcient (?5 mIU/L in neonates whose mother were iodine deifcient or excessive were higher than those in neonates whose mother were iodine adequate or more than adequate, and the difference was statistically signiifcant (P

Adult ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; etiology

BACKGROUNDSeverity scoring systems are useful tools for measuring the severity of the disease and its outcome. This pilot study was to verify and compare the prognostic performance of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in neuro-intensive care unit (N-ICU) patients.

METHODSA total of 1684 patients consecutively admitted to the N-ICU at Xuanwu Hospital between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2011 were enrolled in this study. The data-base included admission data, at 24-, 48-, and 72-hour SAPS II and GCS. Repeated measure data analysis of variance, Logistic regression analysis, the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistic, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic were used to evaluate the performance.

RESULTSThere was a significant difference between the SAPS II or GCS score at four time points (F = 16.110, P = 0.000 or F = 8.108, P = 0.000). The SAPS II scores or GCS score at four time points interacted with the outcomes with significant difference (F = 116.771, P = 0.000 or F = 65.316, P = 0.000). Calibration of the SAPS II or GCS score at each time point on all patients was good. The percentage of a risk estimate prediction corresponding to observed mortality was also good. The 72-hour score have the greatest consistency. Discriminations of the SAPS II or GCS score at each time were all satisfactory. The 72-hour score had the greatest discriminative power. The cut-off value was 33 (sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity of 74.3%) and 6 (sensitivity of 70.6% and specificity of 65.0%). The SAPS II at each time point on all patients showed better calibration, consistency and discrimination than GCS. The binary Logistic regression analysis identified physiological variables, GCS, age, and disease category as significant independent risk factors of death. After the two variables including underlying disease and type of admission were excluded, we built the simplified SAPS II model. A correlation was suggested between the simplified SAPS II score at each time point and outcome, regardless of the diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONSThe GCS scoring system tends to be a little weaker in the predictive power than the SAPS II scoring system in this Chinese cohort of N-ICU patients. The advantage of SAPS II scoring system still exists that it dose not need to take into account the diagnosis or diseases categories, even in the special N-ICU. The simplified SAPS II scoring system is considered a new idea for the estimation of effectiveness.

APACHE ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Female ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult