Purpose To investigate the expression of autophagy-related protein LC3B in cervical squamous carcinoma and its relation-ship with Ki-67 expression. Methods To detect the expression of LC3B in 16 cases of normal cervical tissues and 126 cases of squa-mous cell carcinoma by immunohistochemical staining. In addition, Ki-67 protein was also detected in 126 cases of squamous cell car-cinoma in the same assay. The relationship between LC3B expression and Ki-67 in cervical squamous cell cancer was statistical analy-sis. Results Expression level of LC3B were significantly lower in cervical squamous carcinoma than normal squamous epithelial cells (P<0. 05), and the expression of LC3B was negatively correlated with Ki-67(rs = -0. 248, P<0. 05). Conclusion It appears that decreased levels of autophagy which indicated by low expression of LC3B may promote cancer cell proliferation in the early stages of cervical squamous cell carcinoma, which provides a clinical referential evidence for further explore the mechanism of autophagy in cer-vical cancer development.

OBJECTIVETo develop a method for determining epichlorohydrin in the workplace air by gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD).

METHODSEpichlorohydrin in the workplace air was collected by activated charcoal tubes, desorbed using acetone, and analyzed by GC-ECD.

RESULTSA good linearity was obtained in the range of 1.0-50 µg/mL (r=0.999 7). The detection limit was 0.012 µg/ml, while the recovery rate was 88.1% and relative standard deviation ranged from 1.11% to 3.57%. The samples could be stored for seven days at room temperature.

CONCLUSIONThis method effectively eliminates the interferences of alkanes on determination of epichlorohydrin and improves the sensitivity by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude, which can solve the problem of detection limit above standard in GBZ/T 160.58-2004.

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; analysis ; Charcoal ; Chromatography, Gas ; Epichlorohydrin ; analysis ; Workplace

With the rapid development of medical imaging technique, iodinated contrast media (IOCM) has become the most commonly used agent in performing imaging diagnosis and interventional therapy. The use of IOCM, especially the use of non-ionic iodine contrast media, has been swiftly increased in recent years. The accompanying untoward reactions, such as allergic reactions, cardiovascular reactions, contrast media nephropathy, thyroid toxicity, etc. prove to be the new problems that greatly perplex the medical circle. With the continuous improvement of the knowledge to the untoward reactions, more and more physicians have paid attention to contrast media induced thyroid toxicity. At present, researches concerning iodine contrast media thyroid toxicity are still few, and the relevant research is particularly rare in China. This paper aims to make a review about the influence of different kinds of iodine contrast media on thyroid function.

OBJECTIVETo establish an HPLC fingerprint to evaluate the quality of Polygalae Radix, root xylem, and those collected in different growth ages or harvest time.

METHODSeparation was performed at 30 °C on a Kromasil C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 μm); the mobile phases was acetonitrile and 0.05% H3PO4 water in the gradient elution; the flow rate was set at 1.0 mL · min(-1) and the detection wavelength at 314 nm; the quality discriminant analyses were accomplished by means of similarity analysis, cluster analysis, principal component analysis and neural network model.

RESULTIn 26 batches of Polygalae Radix, 24 batches fingerprint similarities were above 0.8. In 5 different growth or harvest time batches, 4 batches were above 0.8; in 8 batches root xylem samples, the similarities were all above 0.875. The similarity analysis was in accord with the quality discriminant analysis of cluster analysis, principal component analysis and neural network model.

CONCLUSIONFingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition technique can effectively evaluate the quality of Polygalae Radix. The active substance species are all similar in cultivated, wild, different growth or harvest time Polygalae Radix and polygala root xylem, but the chromatography peak areas are different. The effective material contents are similar between wild and cultivated Polygalae Radix, but each chromatographic peak area of the root xylem is much smaller than that of Polygalae Radix. The chemical substance accumulation mainly depends on harvest month, but little growth time in Polygalae Radix.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; classification ; Polygala ; chemistry ; classification ; Quality Control

Objective To study the clinical efficacy of tolterodine tartrate combined with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation(TENS)in the treatment of elderly female patients with overactive bladder(OAB).Methods 30 patients with OAB were randomly divided into single treatment with tolterodine tartrate and combination treatment of tolterodine tartrate and TENS for 10d.The efficacy was evaluated by overactive bladder symptom score(OABSS),patient perception of bladder condition(PPBC),quality of life(QOL),visual analogy scale(VAS)and 5 grade pain scores.Results The post-treatment symptoms of urgent urination and urinary incontinence,OABSS,PPBC,QOL,VAS and 5 grade pain scores in single treatment group[(1.67±1.45)times /d,(1.53±1.25)times /week,(6.67±2.55)scores,(2.07±0.96)scores,(2.07±1.03)scores,(3.67±0.90)scores and(4.07±0.80)scores]were improved as compared with pre-treatment[(6.40±1.45)times /d,(3.93±1.03)times/week,(13.00±1.00)scores,(4.20±0.68)scores,(3.80±0.68)scores,(7.13± 1.19)scores and(9.40± 1.55)](t=8.94,5.74,8.94,7.03,5.44,9.01 and 11.85,all P＜0.01).The above indexes in combination treatment group after treatment[(1.27±0.80)times/d,(1.20±0.77)times/week,(5.33±1.72)scores,(1.67±0.62)scores,(1.47±0.52)scores,(2.93±0.80)scores and(3.40±0.99)scores]were also improved as compared with pretreatment[(6.20±1.26)times/d,(4.00±1.25)times/week,(12.73±1.03)scores,(4.07±0.80)scores,(4.00±0.65)scores,(7.47±0.74)scores and(9.67±1.35)scores](t=12.77,7.36,14.29,9.21,11.77,16.09 and 14.55,all P＜0.01).The VAS and 5 grade pain scores were higher in combination treatment group than in single treatment group(t=4.879 and 2.746,P＜0.01).Conclusions Tolterodine tartrate combined with TENS is safe and effective for the treatment of elderly female patients with OAB,and may alleviate pain and improve quality of life.

OBJECTIVETo elucidate whether the polymorphism of asthma immune regulator gene TIM-4 is associated with the risk of childhood allergic asthma in the southwest region of China.

METHODSTIM-4 gene promoter region RS6882076 and intron RS4704727 were studied. PCR-RFLP was used to test the genotypes of two polymorphism loci among 579 cases (average 7.2 years old) of asthma and 524 controls (average 7.6 years old) in a case-control study.

RESULTSThere were significant differences in the frequency of gene types at RS4704727 site between the asthma and the control groups (P<0.01). The results of PCR-RFLP showed that the polyporphisms of RS6882076 and RS4704727 in TIM-4 gene were present in this study population. The frequency of T allele at the RS4704727 site in the asthma group was significantly lower than that in the control group (OR=1.603; 95%CI 1.304-1.971; P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the frequencies of gene types and allele at RS6882076 site between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSRS4704727 polymorphism of TIM-4 gene may be associated with childhood asthma, providing a better understanding of the pathogenesis of childhood asthma in the Southwest region of China.

Asthma ; etiology ; genetics ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of Xuebijing injection(XBJI, traditional Chinese medicine), in inhibiting TLR4--NF-kappaB--IL-1beta pathway of myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation in rats.

METHODSThirty six male SD rats (280 +/- 30) g were randomly divided into six groups (n = 6): normal group (N group), balanced perfusion group (BP group), model group (M group), low dose XBJI group (XBJI(L) group), middle dose XBJI group (XBJI(M) group), high dose XBJI group (XBJI(H) group). By Langendorff isolated heart perfusion device to establish the model of myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation in rats. ELISA was used to detect the concentration of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta); Western blot was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-kappaB p65) protein and toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) protein; and RT-PCR to determine the expression of NF-kappaB p65 mRNA and TLR4 mRNA;To observe microstructure changes of hypoxia/reoxygenation myocardial by light microscopy.

RESULTSCompared with M group, the IL-1beta concentration, NF-kappaB p65 and TLR4 protein,NF-kappaB p65 and TLR4 mRNA of XBJIL group, XBJI(M) group, XBJI(H) group expression decreased in varying degrees,and decreased most obviously all in XBJI(M) group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); Myocardical structural damage was serious in M group, and improved after treatment XBJI, the most obvious was the XBJI(M).

CONCLUSIONDifferent dose of XBJI can inhibit TLR4--NF-kappaB--IL-1beta signal transduction pathway and reduce several inflammatory reaction after myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation injury, the 4 ml/100 ml of XBJI is the best.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Heart ; drug effects ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Male ; Myocardium ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy ; Signal Transduction ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndromes distribution rule of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and its correlation with related clinical indexes.Methods The general condition,TCM four diagnostic methods,biochemical and CT results in 1950 cases of NAFLD in Chongqing City were investigated for analyzing the TCM syndromes distribution rule and its correlation with biochemistry and CT.Results In 1950 cases,the accumulation and binding of damp-heat,congestion of dampness turbidity,stagnation of liver-QI with spleen deficiency,intermin-gled phlegm and blood stasis and yin deficiency of both liver and kidney accounted for 36.62 ％,27.69 ％,19.38 ％,10.10 ％ and 6.21 ％ respectively;there was statistically significant difference in age among different TCM syndromes(P＜0.05);the vin deficiency syndrome of both liver and kidney and intermin-gled phlegm and blood stasis in severe fatty liver were maximal;glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(ALT) and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase(AST) level was higher in the accumulation and binding of damp-heat;the level of fasting plasma gluco se(FBG) was higher in the yin deficiency syndrome of both liver and kidney;the total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG) and FBG levels were lower in the stagnation of liver-QI with spleen deficiency,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion In NAFLD patients,the accumulation and binding of damp-heat distribution is maximal,the proportion of severe fatty liver with vin deficiency syndrome of both liver and kidney is higher.Different dialectical types may play an important role in the clinical indexes and disease development.

Aim To evaluate the estrogen-like activity of Semen Descurainiae aqueous extracts (SD-ae), to deter-mine its effective chemical separation components and to study the mechanisms. Methods The estrogen-like ac-tivity of SD-ae and its effective chemical separation com-ponents were evaluated by the animal experiment, uterine weight test and cell experiment, namely E-SCREEN ex-periment. Estrogen receptor antagonist ICI182,780 inter-vention blocking experiment was carried out to detect the pathway of estrogen-like action; the HEK293 cells were co-transfected with the report gene carrier and the ERα, ERβ expression vector by cationic liposome, the report gene carrier was constructed via the estrogen-responsive component (ERE) and the report gene luciferase (Luc), then the estrogen-like signaling pathway was evaluated with standardized Luc activity; the expression of estrogen receptor ERα, ERβ and estrogen-induced gene PR mR-NA was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Results Compared with normal control, SD-ae low and high dose could significantly improve the uterine coefficient of immature female mice(P<0.05), and the oligosaccharides composition of Semen Descurainiae aque-ous extracts(SD-ae-Oli) and the polysaccharide composi-tion of Semen Descurainiae aqueous extracts(SD-ae-Pol) also significantly improved the uterine coefficient of im-mature female mice (P<0.01 or P<0.05); SD-ae, SD-ae-Oli and SD-ae-Pol had a significant proliferative effect on MCF-7 cells ( P <0.01 or P <0.05), while ICI182,780 intervened to block its proliferative effect. The reporter gene technology showed that the standardized Luc activities of SD-ae, SD-ae-Oli and SD-ae-Pol were significantly higher than those of the normal control when they were induced by ERβ respectively (P<0.01); and the SD-ae significantly increased the expression of ERβ mRNA in mouse uterus than the normal control, but no effect was found on the expression of ERα and PR mR- NA. Conclusions The estrogenic effect of SD-ae may be found at the first time, and its effective chemical sepa-ration components are SD-ae-Oli and SD-ae-Pol. Their estrogenic effects are mediated by ERβ. The molecular mechanism of the estrogenic effects is probably that SD-ae promotes the expression of ERβ mRNA.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) on pneumocyte apoptosis after lung ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

METHODSAdult male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups based upon the intervention (n = 8): control group (C), lung ischemic reperfusion group (LIR), LIR+ IPostC group (IPostC). At the end of the experiment, blood specimens drawn from the arteria carotis were tested for the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and myeloperoxidase (MPO); the pneumocyte apoptosis index (AI) was achieved by tennrminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end abeling (TUNEL); the expression of Bcl-2, Bax protein in lung tissue was accessed by quantitative immunohistochemistry (MHC) and Bcl-2, Bax mRNA by RT-PCR.

RESULTSIPostC could significantly attenuate the MDA level, MPO activity and improve SOD activity in blood serum which was comparable to I/R and significantly reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells compared with I/R group, expressed as Al (% total nuclei) from (39.0 +/- 3.46) to (8.0 +/- 0.88) (P < 0.01). The protein and mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and Bax showed that IPO significantly attenuated the ischemia/reperfusion-upregulated expression of Bax protein but improved the expression of Bcl-2 that improved the Bcl-2/Bax ratio (P < 0.01) .

CONCLUSIONIPostC may attenuate pneumocyte apoptosis in LIRI by up-regulating expression of Bcl-2/Bax ratio and by inhibiting oxidant generation and neutrophils filtration.

Alveolar Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lung Injury ; physiopathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; physiopathology ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism