Objective:To determine the inflammatory factor levels and inflammatory cell percentages in the patients with cough variant asthma (CVA ), and to clarify their potential role in the pathogenesis of CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment.Methods:60 patients with CVA were randomly selected and divided into CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group (n=30)and CVA responsive to bronchodilator treatment group (n=30).As the same time 30 cases of healthy persons were used as normal control group.The levels of interluekin-8 (IL-8)and esoinophil cationic protein (ECP)in their induced sputum were detected,the classification of inflammatory cells in their induced sputum were observed, and their scores of cough symptom were recorded. Results:The IL-8 level in the induced sputum of the patients in CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group was higher than that in CVA responsive to bronchodilator treatment group and normal control group (P<0.05).The ECP level in the induced sputum of the patients in CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group was lower than that in CVA responsive to bronchodilator treatment group (P<0.05),but it was similar to the level in normal control group (P>0.05).The neutrophil percentages in the induced sputum of the patients in CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group were higher than those in CVA responsive to bronchodilator treatment group and normal control group (P<0.05).The scores of cough symptom of the patients in CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group was positively correlated with IL-8 level (r=0.764,P<0.01), and the scores of cough symptom of the patients in CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment group was positively correlated with the neutrophil percentage in induced sputum (r=0.889,P<0.01).Conclusion:IL-8 and neutrophil may be associated with the incidence of CVA unresponsive to bronchodilator treatment. They can aggravate the inflammation and hypersensitivity of airway and cough symptom. The determination of IL-8 and neutrophil can be used as an accessory method in the diagnosis and j udgement of severity degree and curative effect of CVA in clinic.

ObjectiveTostudy the value of color Doppler sonography in diagnosisof rhabdomyolysis.Methods The color Doppler sonography images of twenty-one patients with diagnosed rhabdomyolysis were retrospective analyzed.The pathological changes of the muscle were observed.Results The appearance of ultrasound was cloundness and rough-cast glass change in the diseased area of rhabdomyolysis.The diseased region can be found by ultrasound,and location and scope can be displayed clearly.There were major differences in the location of rhabdomyolysis because of etiological factor.The muscle volume and tension of rhabdomyolysis were increased for trauma,the individual patients will lead to the osteofascial compartment syndrome.There was no blood flow signal or little blood flow signal in the diseased area of rhabdomyolysis.Conclusions The color Doppler sonography is an efficient method for diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis.

Objective To present some revision surgery for correcting short and bulky outward appearance of reconstructed finger pulp in toe-to-hand transfer. Methods Since Sep. 1998 to Dec. 2006,in a series of 33 patients, 39 fingers had been reconstructed with 2nd toe. In order to change the shape of bulbous distal toe segment into a normal tapering fingertip, revisional operations had been designed, i.e. (1)Excision of bulky skin and excessive soft tissue from one or both sides of the finger pulp. (2)Transfer and inlaid the excised lateral soft tissue flap to the central constricting part of the finger pulp. (3)Full thickness skin graft to palmar central narrow part of toe pulp. 4. Rotational transfer of local lateral "L" shape flap. Results All the patients healed by first intention with no skin necrosis occurred. The bulbous rectangular shaped toe pulp were corrected and outward appearance were much improved in most cases. Though the outward appearance in one simple skin graft case was not satisfactory in correcting flexion deformity of distal segment and increased its circumference. Conclusion In toe-to-hand transfer, the distal segment of reconstructed finger often shown to have an bulbous toe pulp appearance, which may bring psychological burden to the patient and their relatives. Simple revisional surgery recommended here may yield favorable improvement.

Antrodia cinnamomea is a medicinal fungi originated in Taiwan. It is rich of triterpene substances, polysaccharide, and adenosine, and exhibits pharmacological activity of antitumor, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory effects, and so on. In recent years, it gradually becomes the hot spot about application and research of A. cinnamomea due to more and more research reports. This paper reviews the biological characteristics, chemical constituents, and pharmacological effects of A. cinnamomea, which can provide the references for future research and application of A. cinnamomea.

Aim To confirm the inhibitory effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia ( CIHH) on my-ocardial apoptosis induced by metabolism syndrome ( MS) , and to investigate its mechanism. Methods A rat model of MS induced by fructose was used. The blood pressure and the plasma content of glucose, tri-glyceride, cholesterol, and insulin after 12 h fasting were detected. HE stain were used to detect the cardi-ac structure. The TUNEL staining and activity of caspase-3 were used to detect the apoptosis of myocar-dium. The protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by Western blot . Results Compared with the control rats, the blood pressure and the plasma content of glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, and insu-lin were all increased in rats with MS. In rats with MS, the impairment of cardiac structure and the increase of apoptosis were also observed. The protein expression of Bcl-2 was significantly down-regulated, and that of Bax was significantly up-regulated in MS rats. The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was also significantly decreased. Interest-ingly, CIHH could ameliorate all of the above issues. There was no significant difference between control group and CIHH group. Conclusion CIHH may im-prove the increased apoptosis in rats with MS via inhib-iting the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. This stud-y might provide new targets for therapy and the preven-tion of MS patients.

Objective To investigate the distribution characteristics of serum pepsinogen (PG) in healthy people and its reference interval establishment .Methods 3 753 healthy people were enrolled and divided into <45-year old ,45- <60-year old and ≥60-year old group according to their ages .Double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect PG Ⅰ ,Ⅱ . Results Detection results of serum PG Ⅰ ,PGⅡ and PGⅠ /PGⅡ of male and female healthy people in different age group showed a skewed distribution(P<0 .05) .Serum PGⅠ and PGⅠ /PGⅡlevels of females were significantly higher than males(P<0 .01) .In the same age group ,difference of serum PGⅡ levels between males and females was not statistically significant (P>0 .05) .In the same gender ,pairwise comparison of PGⅠlevels was conducted in different age groups ,and the difference showed no statistical sig-nificance(P>0 .05) .PGⅡlevel increased with age increasing (P<0 .01) while PGⅠ /PGⅡlevel increased with age reducing (P<0 .05) .Percentile method was adopted to determine the 95% reference interval ,the bilateral reference intervals (P2 .5 - P97 .5 ) was taken for PGⅠ ,unilateral upper limit(≤ P95 ) for PGⅡ and unilateral limit (≥ P5 ) for PGⅠ /PGⅡ .Conclusion The establishment of serum PG Ⅰ ,PG Ⅱ ,PG Ⅰ /PG Ⅱ reference intervals of healthy people provides a basis for the prevention and treatment for stomach disease .

Objective To compare the difference of antihypertensive efficacy,the result of heart and lung function test(CPET)and 6 minutes walking distance(6MWD)in hypertension patients with different angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE)gene polymorphisms.Methods 120 patients with hypertension were randomly divided into four groups:the control group treated with nifedipine zyban,perimental group of group A(II),group B(ID),group C(DD)treated with lisinopril tablets.The blood pressure control situation,the changes of the CPET and 6MWD results were compared in the four groups 3 and 6 months after treatment.Results After 3 months,there were no significant changes in blood pressure drop of the four groups,and the differences were no statistically significant among the four groups in the range of blood pressure drop(all P>0.05),the body mass,maximum oxygen uptake(VO2/kg)and 6MWD of the four groups were not significantly changed..After 6 months,the blood pressure of the four groups decreased,and there were no statistically significant differences between the four groups in the drop of blood pressure(all P>0.05),VO2/kg(mL):the control group(17.94±1.51)mL,group A(18.04±1.85)mL,group B(19.70±1.25)mL,group C(21.25±2.20)mL and 6MWD:the control group(448.66±50.26)m,group A(445.07±41.21)m,group B(488.56±55.66)m,group C(500.54±53.25)m.The improvement range of VO2/kg and 6MWD was group C>B>A(group B compared with group A:ct=12.01,P=0.03;group C compared with group B:dt=17.26,P=0.02),there were no statistically significant differences between the control group and group A(all P>0.05).Conclusion This study found no ACE genotype associated with the antihypertensive effects of lisinopril,but found improvement of CPET and 6MWD result in different groups,DD type is superior to the ID,the ID type is better than type II.

OBJECTIVE:To observe the efficacy and safety of doxofylline combined with ceftazidime in the treatment of elder-ly patients with chronic emphysema. METHODS:Data of 78 elderly patients with ceftazidime was collected and divided into single drug group(31 cases)and combined medication group(47 cases)according to different treatment methods. All patients adopted flu-id infusion,oxygen inhalation and nutrition support. Based on it,single drug group received 0.05 g Doxofylline injection,once ev-ery 12 h. Combined medication group additionally received 1.0 g Ceftazidime for injection,once every 12 h. If the symptoms were out of control,20 mg prednisone was given,twice a day. The courses of 2 groups were 10 d. Total efficacy,pulmonary functions [maximum mid-expiratory flow(MMEF),1s forced expiratory volume percent predicted(FEV1%),peak expiratory flow(PEF)] before and after treatment,American Concise Health Survey Questionnaire(SF-36 scale)(QLS)and the incidence of adverse reac-tions in 2 groups were observed. RESULTS:The total effective rate in combined medication group was significantly higher than sin-gle drug group,the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Before treatment,there was no significant difference in MMEF,FEV1%,PEF and QLS scores between 2 groups(P>0.05). After treatment,MMEF,FEV1%,PEF and QLS scores in 2 groups were significantly higher than before,and combined medication group MMEF,FEV1%、PEF were higher than single drug group,the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05),but there was no significant difference QLS scores in 2 groups(P>0.05). And there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions in 2 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Based on conventional treatment,doxofylline combined with ceftazidime shows better efficacy than doxofylline alone in the treat-ment of elderly patients with chronic emphysema,it can improve pulmonary functions,with better safety.

BACKGROUND: Under indirect co-culture conditions, chondrocytes can induce bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into chondrocytes. Osteocytes are the seed cells of chondrocytes, but co-culture of osteocytes with chondrocytes is rarely reported. OBJECTIVE: To induce the chondrogenic differentiation of periosteum-derived cells (PDCs) by indirect co-culture with chondrocytes. METHODS: Chondrocytes were isolated from the rabbits by trypsin and collagenase Ⅱ digestion. Rabbit PDCs were obtained by the explants culture method. Passage 2 chondrocytes and PDCs underwent indirect co-culture at 1:1 in Transwell system as experimental group. PDCs cultured alone were as control group. After 2 weeks of culture, the cellular morphological changes were observed by inverted contrast phase microscope. The expression levels of collagen type Ⅱ and proteoglycan were detected by collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemistry and toluidine blue staining. The mRNA expression levels of proteoglycan, collagen type Ⅱ and SRY-related protein-9 were detected by RT-PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After 2 weeks of culture, PDCs in the experimental group were gradually transformed to chondrocyte-like cells, while PDCs in the control group still remained long spindle-shaped. Collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemistry staining and toluidine blue staining were positive in the experimental group, while the results were negative in the control group. Additionally, RT-PCR results indicated that the relative mRNA expression levels of proteoglycan, collagen type Ⅱ and SRY-related protein-9 in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Therefore, chondrocytes can induce PDCs to differentiate into chondrocytes under indirect co-culture conditions.

Objective:To compare the volatile constituents in mugwort leaves produced in Qichun, Hubei Province and Nanyang, Henan Province.
Methods:The volatile constituents were extracted using headspace heating and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Then a qualitative analysis was made according to the standard database provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the relative contents of each constituent were calculated using the peak area normalization method.
Results:A total of 59 compounds were identified from the mugwort leaves from Qichun and 51 compounds were identified from the mugwort leaves from Nanyang. These mainly include monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, CxHyOz and other compounds involving the aldehyde, ketone, alkane and benzene. The mugwort leaves from Qichun and Nanyang share 32 common volatile constituents. The chromatographic peak area of identified compounds accounting for 96.38% of GC-MS total chromatographic peak areain Qichun mugwort leaves, versus 95.54% of that in Nanyang mugwort leaves.
Conclusion:The headspace heating extraction combined with GC-MS technology can evidently display similarities and differences of volatile constituents in mugwort leaves produced in different areas and thus provide scientific basis for the quality and screening of mugwort leaves.