AIM: To study the mechanisms of nicotine-induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1). METHODS: Related luciferase reporter gene plasmids were constructed with molecular cloning techniques;above plasmids and intracontrol plasmid pSV-?-gal were co-transfected into human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) with eukaryotic gene transfection techniques; the relative luciferase activities were detected in the transfected HUVECs. RESULTS: Series of luciferase reporter gene containing different sequences of human ICAM-1 promotor and site-directed mutants of NF-?B and Sp-1 in promotor were successfully constructed; Nicotine could increase the expression of luciferase reporter gene plasmid containing-579 bp(pGL3E-579/+36),-230 bp(pGL3E-230/+36) and mutated Sp-1 version(pGL3E-Sp-1-MU)( P

OBJECTIVE:To establish a RP-HPLC method for the determination of aristolochic acid A in decoction of Caulis Aristolochiae Manshuriensis METHODS:The analytical column was Spherisorb ODS2 column(4 6mm?250mm,5?m) The mobile phase consisted of a mixture,methanol-water-acetic acid(70∶27∶1) The flow rate was 1 0ml/min The UV detection wavelength was 250nm RESULTS:The linear range was 0 0 128?g～0 4 096?g(r=0 9 999) The regression equation was Y=4 553 7+5 388 319 3X The average recovery of aristolochic acid A was 97 33%(RSD=2 34%) CONCLUSION:This method is simple,sensitive and accurate

Objective The survival and prognosis factors of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients after radical resection was investigated.Methods 1923 patients of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radical resection were included in our study from January 1th 2000 to January 1th 2010 in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital,1 670 male and 253 female.the age in the majority with 40 to 59 years old(1 076/1 923,56.0％).Eighteen prognosis factors were collected.A multivariate analysis of these selected variables was performed using Cox proportional model and prognosis index.We used life table for accumulated survival rate.Results The accumulated survival rate for all patients were 82％,48％ and 35％ in 1 year,3 years and 5 years,respectively.Median survival time was 35.42 months.The significant prognosis factors included body mass index,length of tumor,depth of invasion,differentiation degree,lymph node metastatic degree and region,complication of surgery.Conclusion The prognosis of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was affected by multi-factors and prognosis index can predict survival condition.

Objective To understand the effectiveness of peroral endoscopic myotomy(POEM)for achalasia and secondary severe malnutrition in children and the effectiveness of nutrition support before and after POEM.Method Treatment of POEM,nutrition support(tube feeding by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy three months before operation)in one case were recorded and analyzed.Results POEM was successful without any complication such as perforation,bleeding,and pneumoderm.The child suffered from fever after surgery,which was dissolved after symptomatic treatment three days later.Chest pain was relieved after changing position.The diet was changed from liquid to semifluid,and then to normal diet.The child did not have dysphagia.During the 6-month follow-up,the patient had normal diets by oral route.The weight was 32 kg before achalasia and decreased to 18 kg after 9 months(at admission);it then increased to 29 kg after short-time(12 days)parenteral nutrition and long-time(3 months)enteral nutrition by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy,and then the patient received POEM.His weight was 30,31,31,29,and 31 kg 1,4,6,9,and 13 months,respectively,after POEM.Conclusion POEM can effectively cure achalasia in pediatric patients and improve the quality of life.Rational enteral nutrition can improve nutrition status and facilitate a successful POEM.

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s transplanted into rats exposed to silica dust can home to the injured lung, but the homing effects via different ways are stil unclear.
OBJECTIVE:To comparatively observe the distribution of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s transplanted via different ways into rats exposed to silica dust.
METHODS:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s of donor rats were isolated through whole bone marrow adherent method and transfected by Lv-eGFP. Receptor rats were exposed to silica dust through windpipe injection and randomly divided into intravenous injection and intratracheal injection groups. Then, transfected bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s were injected via the vein and trachea into acceptor rats. The acceptor rats were kil ed at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 after transplantation to take the lung, heart, liver, spleen, kidney, and brain tissue that were made into frozen sections and observed under fluorescence microscopy. The intensity of green fluorescence (absorbance value) was analyzed using image analysis software.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Strong, wide and lasting green fluorescence was both observed in the lung tissue of intravenous injection and intratracheal injection groups, which was especial y remarkable around the bronchus and blood vessels. The fluorescence intensities of both two groups were slightly decreased with time, but there was no difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The fluorescence in the other organs of both two groups was also observed at early stage. It was stronger and wider in the liver, spleen and heart, while fainter and less in the kidney and brain, and reduced with time in al the organs. Fluorescence could be observed few and faint only in the liver and spleen at late stage, and could hardly be seen in the brain. The fluorescence intensities of the liver, spleen, heart, kidney and brain had no significant difference between the two groups at the same time (P>0.05), but the fluorescence intensity in the brain at the 1st week showed significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). These findings indicate that the intravenous injection and intratracheal injection of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s have similar homing effects in rats exposed to silica dust.

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels transplantationvia the trachea can relieve the lung injury of rats exposed to silica dust, but their distribution and migrationin vivois stil unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the distribution and homing of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels transplanted via the trachea into rats exposed to silica dust. METHODS: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels from Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated through bone marrow adherent method and transfected with lentivirus carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (Lv-eGFP). Trypan blue staining and cel counting kit-8 were applied to assay the viability and proliferation of the transfected and untransfected cels. Sprague-Dawley rats, SPF level, were randomized into control group and silica dust exposure group. Rats in the two groups were respectively injectedvia the trachea with 1 mL of sterile silica dust suspensions (40 g/L) and 1 mL of normal saline. At 2 days after modeling, 2.2×106 transfected bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels were injected via the trachea into the rats of control group and silica dust exposure group. Rats were kiled at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 after transplantation, and the distribution and intensity of green fluorescence in the lung, heart, liver, spleen, kidney, and brain tissue were observed under the fluorescence microscopy by frozen sections and analyzed using imaging analysis software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: When the multiplicity of infection was 50, there were no significant differences between the viability and proliferation activity of the transfected and untransfected cels (P > 0.05). After transplantation of transfected bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels, strong green fluorescence was observed widely in the lung, especialy around the bronchus and blood vessels, and stil obvious at the 4th week. The fluorescence of other organs also could be observed at the 1st week. It was strong and wide in the liver, spleen and heart, while faint and less in the kidney and brain, and al reduced with time. It shows bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels transplantedvia the trachea into rats exposed to silica dust can be homing to the injured lung of rats.

Objective To evaluate the inhibitory effect of photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2)on the growth of a human epidermal squamous cell carcinoma cell line A431 and its mechanism.Methods Cultured A431 cells were classified into various groups to remain untreated (blank control group),be treated with different concentrations (100,200,300,400,500,600 mg/L) of TiO2 nanoparticles alone or in combination with ultraviolet (UV,main wavelength 253.7 nm,power 30 W,distance 30 cm,exposure duration 15 min) irradiation.After additional culture for different durations,methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was performed to evaluate cell growth,annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (PI) double staining to observe cell apoptosis,and Rho123 staining to determine mitochondrial transmembrane potential.Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 13.0 software.Analysis of variance (AOV),t test and Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test were performed to assess the differences in these parameters between these groups.Results The growth of A431 cells was inhibited by pretreatment with TiO2 nanoparticles followed by UV irradiation,and the inhibitory effect was enhanced as the dose of TiO2 nanoparticles increased.As AOV and SNK test showed,there were significant differences in the growth inhibition rate among A431 cells treated with different concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles at the three time points (24,48 and 72 hours) after UV irradiation (n =6,F =21.54,77.56,20.27,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05).No statistical inhibition was observed in the growth of A431 cells treated with TiO2 nanoparticles alone compared with untreated A431 cells (all P ＞ 0.05).Photocatalytic TiO2 nanoparticles also induced the apoptosis but decreased the mitochondrial transmembrane potential in A431 cells.In detail,the apoptosis rate was 8.86％ ± 0.22％,11.72％ ± 0.29％ and 31.24％ ± 0.78％ in A431 cells treated with TiO2nanoparticles of 100,200,400 mg/L followed by UV irradiation,respectively,compared to 2.69％ ± 0.28％ in the blank control group (n =3,F =256.61,P ＜ 0.05).Decreased mitochondrial transmembrane potential (expressed as total fluorescence intensity) was observed in A431 cells treated with TiO2 nanoparticles of 100,200,400 mg/L followed by UV irradiation compared with blank control group (758.48 ± 15.42,676.60 ± 14.35,557.71 ± 13.12vs.2943.65 ± 70.26,F =208.57,P ＜ 0.05,n =3),and SNK test also revealed statistical differences between these groups.Conclusions TiO2 nanoparticles combined with UV can inhibit the growth of but induce the apoptosis in A431 cells,which may be associated with the reduction in mitochondrial transmembrane potential in A431 cells,while TiO2 nanoparticles alone show no inhibitory effect on the growth of A431 cells.

OBJECTIVETo test the therapeutic effect on moderate and severe sudden deafness treated with low-energy laser irradiation on acupoint and external auditory canal combined with auricular point sticking (APS) and as compared with electroacupuncture.

METHODSTwo hundred and fifty-eight cases of moderate and severe sudden hearing loss were randomly divided into an observation group 1, an observation group 2 and a control group, 86 cases in each group. In three groups, 10% low molecular Dextran 500 mL were used for intravenous infusion. Based on the above treatment, the observation group 1 was treated with low-energy laser irradiation on acupoint and external auditory canal (such as Ermen (TE 21), Tinggong (SI 19) and Tinghui (GB 2)), combined with APS at Gan (liver), Shen (kidney) and Neifenmi (endorine), etc. The observation group 2 was treated with electroacupuncture at the same acupoints as those point irradiation in observation group 1. Fifteen days made one session. The therapeutic effects were evaluated after one and two sessions.

RESULTSAfter two sessions, The cured rate was 40.7% (35/86) in observation group 1 and 38.4% (33/86) in observation group 2,which were superior to 25.6% (22/86) in control group (both P < 0.05). Compared with one session, the therapeutic effects after two sessions were better in two observation groups (both P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between two groups (both P > 0.05). In comparison of the improvements of frequency audiometry and auditory function, the two observation groups were better than those in control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and the improvements after two sessions were better in two observation groups (both P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONBoth of low-energy laser irradiation on acupoint and external auditory canal combined with APS and electroacupuncture are able to decrease frequency audiometry, improve auditory function, and the therapeutic effects are better with prolongation of treatment time. The clinical efficacy of above two the rapies on moderate and severe sudden deafness is superior remarkably to that of conventional treatment. The therapy of low-energy laser irradiation on acupoint and external auditory canal combined with APS can replace the electroacupuncture therapy in treating moderate and severe sudden deafness.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture, Ear ; Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Low-Level Light Therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVEPrunalla vulgaris was used as the experimental material to study the effects of water stress on the related quality charaters of spadix in P. vulgaris.

METHODBy weighting method to experiment the relative characteristics in vegetative period and reproductive period respectively were studied under timing and quantitative water stress conditions everyday with the method of statistics to compared, including biological characteristics and content of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONIt is true that the better water range of growth in vegetative period of P. vulgaris is 80% -85%; The 65%-70% field leakage coefficient maximum was the best and the proper water range which would promote the growth, but the best range of active component is 80% -85%.

Oleanolic Acid ; analysis ; Prunella ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Triterpenes ; analysis ; Water ; metabolism

AIM: To evaluate the changes in corneal epithelial thickness(CET)and corneal optical density(CD)after smart pulse technology(SPT)-assisted transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy(TPRK)and analyze their correlation.METHODS: The prospective study included 60 patients(120 eyes)with myopia and myopic astigmatism who underwent SPT-TPRK in the ophthalmology department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University between February and August 2023. Changes in CET and CD were evaluated preoperatively and at 1 wk, 1 and 3 mo postoperatively.RESULTS: A total of 14 cases(28 eyes)were lost to follow-up, and 3 patients(6 eyes)with postoperative haze were excluded from this study, resulting in a final inclusion of 43 patients(86 eyes). At 1 wk after SPT-TPRK, CET had statistically significantly thickened compared to preoperative levels(P<0.05), particularly in the CET at 0-2 mm central corneal area(P<0.05). At 1 mo after SPT-TPRK, the CET at 0-2 mm area had statistically significantly decreased(P<0.05). At 3 mo after SPT-TPRK, the CET at 0-2 mm had essentially reached preoperative levels. Postoperative CD values increased, with a positive correlation between CET in the 0-2 mm area and CD in the whole 0-2 mm area(r=0.256, P<0.05), and a positive correlation between CET in the 2-5 mm area and CD in the anterior 2-6 mm area(r=0.319, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Corneal epithelial remodeling takes 3 mo in areas within 2 mm of the central cornea; areas with thinner CET have faster postoperative corneal epithelial remodeling and greater thickening in the early postoperative period; CD increases in the early postoperative period compared to the preoperative value, and in some areas, there is a positive correlation between CET and CD value.