International research advances and current situation of industrialization in the last decade on the biological character and inducing conditions of natural astaxanthin accumulation in Haematococcus pluvialis cells are reviewed in present paper. Current situation of mass cultivation of Haematococcus pluvialis for industrial production of natural astaxanthin by use of photobioreactors is described. The industrialization prospect of astaxanthin in China is also proposed.

Objective To investigate the influence of hypothermia during reperfusion on acute pulmonary edema(APE)after liver transplantation in patients with chronic severe hepatitis. Methods Between February 2002 and December 2006,108 consecutive patients of chronic severe hepatitis underwent liver transplantation. Patients suffering from postoperative APE(APE group)were compared with those without APE(NAPE group)on hypothermia during reperfusion. We evaluated the impact of hypothermia on requirement of red blood cells and/or fresh-frozen plasma, and prothrombin time in neo-liver phase. Results Forty-one out of these 108(37.96%)cases were complicated with APE. Compared with NAPE group, patients in APE group have significant lower core hypothermia(t=2.413,P=0.018),longer hypothermia duration(＞5 min)(39.02%,x2=143.40).Longer pmthrombin time(t=2.884,P=0.005)and larger amount of blood transfnsion were observed in APE group. Patients with hypothermia were prone to accompanied with longer PT in neo-liver phase(28.03±8.45)min vs (24.12±5.89)min, t=2.553,P=0.012),larger requiting of RBC transfusion(2786.96±1266.47)ml vs(2129.41±805.90) ml, t=2.364,P=0.026)and fresh-frozen plasma(2121.74±676.19)ml vs (1768.24±685.08) ml, t=2.201,P=0.030).Conclusions Low core hypothermia during neo-liver reperfusion contributes to the development of APE in patients with chronic severe hepatitis undergoing liver transplantation. Prolonged PT and large amount of blood transfusion may be involved in this complication.

Heart failure has become a global public health problem that seriously threatens human health. Due to "multi-target" effect, traditional Chinese medicine has unique advantages in the treat-ment of heart failure. Astragaloside Ⅳ is one of the main active ingredients of astragalus membrana-ceus.It has the functions of protecting the heart and neovascularization,anti-inflammation,anti-oxida-tion, regulating energy metabolism, neuroprotection and anti-cancer effects. This article reviews the recent progresses of astragaloside Ⅳ in the treatment of heart failure.Data show that astragaloside Ⅳcan inhibit heart fibrosis,attenuate excessively activation of renin-angiotensin system,increase energy metabolism, promote positive inotropic action, inhibit myocardial cell apoptosis, etc, which are all involved in the protective role of astragaloside Ⅳ in rodents or cellular models of heart failure.Astragalo-side Ⅳ may be a potential active ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of heart failure.

The gating mechanism of ClC-1 chloride channel was studied in this paper by heteroexpression of rat wild type ClC-1 gene in Xenopus oocytes and by two-electrode voltage clamping technique. The deactivation gating kinetic parameters were obtained by applying two exponential fitting of the deactivating currents at various extracellular chloride concentrations. It was found that decrease in extracellular chloride concentration increased the fractional amplitude of fast deactivating component, and depressed the fractional amplitude of slow deactivating component accompanied by a decrease in fast and slow deactivating time constants. These results demonstrate that the deactivation kinetic parameters of ClC-1 are largely dependent on the extracellular chloride concentration, which induces changes in channel gating.
Animals ; Chloride Channels ; drug effects ; physiology ; Chlorides ; pharmacology ; Electrophysiology ; Female ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ion Channel Gating ; drug effects ; physiology ; Oocytes ; physiology ; Rats ; Xenopus

OBJECTIVETo determine the prognostic factors from the view of clinic and pathology.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed on a data set of 78 patients with Ewing's sarcoma treated at Peking University People's Hospital Musculoskeletal tumor center between July 1998 and July 2007. Five-year overall survival (OS), recurrence rate and prognostic factors were analyzed in this study. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to determine the prognostic factors for OS.

RESULTSFifty-three cases were followed up, follow-up time ranged from 8.0 to 101.0 months (median 37.6 months). The 5-year overall survival rate and local recurrence rate were 33.7% and 20.8% respectively. Univariate showed age < 20 years, metastases free at diagnosis, tumor located at extremities, tumor size < 10 cm, adequate surgical margin had better survival rate (all P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that metastases at diagnosis, primary site and tumor size were independent prognostic factors for OS.

CONCLUSIONThe independent prognostic factors Ewing's sarcoma are metastases at diagnosis, primary site, tumor size.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sarcoma, Ewing ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

One pair of degenerate primer was designed according to conserved motifs of the psaB (A2 subunit of photosystem I) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlamydomonas moewusii, Chlorella vulgaris and Mesostigma viride, and a total RNA of Dunaliella salina (D. salina) was extracted with TRIzol reagent. A cDNA fragment, about 1.8kb in length, from green algal D. salina was obtained through RT-PCR method. The resulting PCR product was cloned into T-vector and screened to determine its sequence. Homologous analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence was performed by BLAST and subsequeqtly compared with GenBank data. The obtained cDNA sequence was 1815 bp long, which encodes 605 amino acids (GenBank accession number: AY820754). The sequence shared high homologue with the following psaB: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 92%, Chlamydomonas moewusii 91%, Chlorella vulgaris 86%, Mesostigma viride 85%, Physcomitrella patens subsp. Patens 85% and Nephroselmis olivacea 84%. It can be concluded that the cloned sequence is psaB cDNA fragment from D. salina.
Algal Proteins ; genetics ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii ; genetics ; Chlorophyta ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Photosystem I Protein Complex ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, Protein ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

OBJECTIVETo compare the number of harvested perisplenic hilar lymph nodes by laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) and conventional open total gastrectomy (OTG) for advanced upper and middle gastric cancer.

METHODSThree hundred twelve patients with advanced gastric cancer treated in a single institution between Sept 2008 and Jan 2011 were included in this study. They were divided into two groups: the LATG group and OTG (D2) group. All the surgical operations were performed by one surgeon or under his supervision. The lymph node clearance outcomes of the patients treated by those two surgical procedures were analyzed.

RESULTSThe harvested lymph node numbers of the two groups were (29.57 ± 9.62) and (29.38 ± 11.22) respectively, statistically with no significant difference (P = 0.875). The numbers of lymph node dissected around the splenic area in the LATG group and OTG group (Section 10, 11 group) were (2.01 ± 1.34) and (1.33 ± 1.11), respectively, indicating a significant difference (P = 0.000). The numbers of lymph nodes dissected around the celiac region (Section 7, 8, 9, 11p and 12a(2) group) were (7.90 ± 3.41) and (7.22 ± 2.65), respectively, with a non-significant difference (P = 0.050). There were also no significant differences while comparing with the numbers of lymph nodes dissected in the cardiac area (group 1, 2), pyloric region (5, 6 group) and the greater and lesser omentum area (group 3 and 4) between the two groups (P = 0.605, P = 0.248, P = 0.262).

CONCLUSIONShort-term results of this study indicate that laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (D2) is better than conventional open surgery in perisplenic hilar lymph node dissection.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Lymph Node Excision ; methods ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Spleen ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery

Objective: To understand the situation of neglect of preschool children in the urban area of Xi an under the background of multi child policy, so as to provide a reference for making effective prevention. Methods: In Novmber 2022, according to the multi stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 2 450 parents of children aged 3-6 years were randomly selected from 7 urban areas of Xi an to participate in the questionnaire survey. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the "Neglect Evaluation Norms of 3-6 Years Old (Preschool) Children in Urban Areas of China". SPSS 18.0 software was used for statistical description, Chi square test and variance analysis. Results: The total neglect rate of preschool children in the urban area of Xi an was 29.0% and the total neglect score was (37.58±8.44). There was no statistical difference in the neglect status of children in different grade groups ( χ 2/ F =1.61, 2.98, P >0.05). The neglect score of boys was higher than girls ( t =2.45, P <0.05). There was no statistical difference in the neglect rate and neglect score of boys and girls in other levels ( P >0.05); except for the significant difference in the neglect degree of medical treatment, education and safety ( t =2.01, 2.28, 2.02, P <0.05). The rate and score of neglect in multi-child families were higher than only-child families ( χ 2/ t = 13.68, -4.54, P <0.05). There were significant differences in the rate and degree of neglect of children with different birth order, which were "third and fourth-born>second-born>first-born" ( χ 2/ F = 10.84 , 2.79, P <0.05). The neglect rate and score of "single parent family" were significantly higher than that of "nuclear family" and "three-generation family" ( χ 2/ F =4.78, 2.79, P <0.05). Conclusion The neglect situation of preschool children in urban area of Xi an is still serious, especially in multi-child families. It should actively explore the risk factors and formulate effective intervention measures.

OBJECTIVETo observe the incidence and explore the potential factors of nonresponse to cardiac resynchronization therapy(CRT)in patients with severe chronic congestive heart failure.

METHODCRT was performed in 119 patients with NYHA function class III-IV and left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 35% [96 men and 23 women, age (60.5 ± 11.3) years].

RESULTSSeven patients died for different reasons between 1 - 6 months post CRT and clinical and echocardiographic (Echo) data at 6 months post CRT were analyzed from the remaining 112 patients. The incidence of nonresponse to CRT was 28.57%. Compared to the response group, complete right bundle branch block, longer course of congestive heart failure, higher pulmonary systolic pressure and serum creatinine level and non-optimal target vessels positioning of the left ventricle lead (the great cardiac vein and the middle cardiac vein) were the independent predictors for nonresponse after CRT (all P < 0.05). Compared with nonresponse group, the dosages of digoxin and diuretics used for heart failure were significantly reduced in response group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of nonresponse after CRT was 28.57% in this patient cohort. Higher pulmonary systolic pressure and serum creatinine level and non-optimal target vessels positioning of the left ventricle lead (the great cardiac vein and the middle cardiac vein) were the independent predictors for nonresponse after CRT.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial ; Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy ; Defibrillators, Implantable ; Female ; Heart Failure ; therapy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhuEPO) on p-Akt and caspase-9 expressions in the hippocampus of rats with status epilepticus (SE) and explore the neuroprotective mechanism of rhuEPO.

METHODSAdult male SD rats were randomized into control, PTZ, rHuEPO, LY294002 group, and DMSO groups and treated with normal saline (NS), PTZ, PTZ+rHuEPO, PTZ+LY294002+rHuEPO, and PTZ+DMSO+rHuEPO, respectively. The behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) changes of the rats were recorded, and the expressions of p-Akt and caspase-9 were detected using immunohistochemistry. The hippocampal expression of caspase-9 mRNA was detected using RT-PCR, and the expressions of Akt and p-Akt proteins were determined with Western blotting.

RESULTSThe p-Akt-positive cell and p-Akt protein expression increased significantly while the caspase-9-positive cell and caspase-9 mRNA expression decreased in rHuEPO group as compared with those in PTZ group (P<0.05). LY294002 treatment prior to rHuEPO injection significantly abolished the effects of rHuEPO on caspase-9 and p-Akt immunohistochemical positivity and caspase-9 mRNA and p-Akt protein expressions (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONAdministration of rHuEPO activates the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in SE rats and increases the expression of p-Akt protein to regulate the expression of caspase-9, a regulatory factor of the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway, and therefore provides anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective effects.

Animals ; Caspase 9 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Erythropoietin ; therapeutic use ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuroprotective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Recombinant Proteins ; Status Epilepticus ; drug therapy ; metabolism