Objective To investigate the effects of methylprednisolone(MP) on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-9 and airway inflammation in murine models of asthma. Methods Thirty female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into asthma group,MP group and control group(n=10).Murine models of acute asthma were established by ovalbumin(OVA) via peritoneal injection and intranasal instillation.The pathological changes of lung tissues were observed with HE staining,and cell quantitation was conducted in bronchalveolar lavage fluid(BALF).The expression of MMP-9 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry and gelatin zymogram,and the expression of MMP-9 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results Compared with control group,there were more significant airway spasm and more infiltration of inflammatory cells in histologic examination,and there was higher eosinophil cell quantitation in BALF in asthma group(P

Objective Application of the second metatarpophalangeal joint by traction prolong trans- plant repair the defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint,reconstruct the function of it.Methods By means of the apparatus to prolong finger in advance,then transplant the second metatarpophalangeal joint to recon- struct metacarpophalangeal joint for seven cases of obsolete defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint.Results The average of finger prolong was 2.6 cm,consultation from 1 to 4 years.average 2.5 years,thai the trans- plant joints have all survived and osteal concrescence.Through the criterion Chinese Medical Association,good rate was 85.7%. Conclusion It' s a good method to repair obsolete defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint by transplant traction prolong of the second metatarpophalangeal joint.

Acetates ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Diving ; adverse effects ; Ear Canal ; injuries ; Nitrogen ; Oxygen ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rabbits

OBJECTIVEA method for determined oxygen permeability (Dk) of finished soft contact lens.

METHODSOxygen permeability(Dk) of 10 group finished soft contact lens was determined by polarographic method, and the values were linearly calibrated using the measured and established Dk values of the specified reference materials.

RESULTSOnly one Dk value fell outside of the requirement of GB 11417.3-2012 tolerance for Dk (± 20%).

CONCLUSIONIt is great practicability when determined the oxygen permeability (Dk) of finished soft contact lens by polarographic method which were linearly calibrated using the measured and established Dk values of the specified equal thickness reference materials without the measured lens customized 4 different thickness.

Calibration ; Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Permeability ; Polarography

OBJECTIVEChinese herbal medicine has been extensively used in the treatment of vascular dementia (VaD), but lacked systematic review on its efficacy and safety. So we conducted a systematic review to assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine in treating VaD.

METHODSCNKI, CBM, PubMed, and Wiley Online Library were retrieved for randomized trials (RCTs) on Chinese herbal medicine treating VaD patients. Randomized parallel control trials by taking Chinese herbal medicine as one treatment method and placebos/cholinesterase inhibitors/Memantine hydrochloride as the control were included. Quality rating and data extraction were performed. RevMan5.2.0 Software was used for meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference (SMD) at 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to indicate effect indicators of results.

RESULTSSeven RCTs met the inclusive criteria. Totally 677 VaD patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group. Descriptive analyses were performed in inclusive trials. The cognitive function was assessed in all trials. Results showed Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE) score was better in the Chinese herbal medicine group than in the placebo group, but with no significant difference when compared with the donepezil group (P > 0.05). Adverse reactions were mainly manifested as gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain in the Chinese herbal medicine group. But they occurred more in the donepezil group than in the Chinese herbal medicine group.

CONCLUSIONSThe methodological quality of included trials was poor with less samples. Results of different trials were lack of consistency. Present evidence is not sufficient to prove or disapprove the role of Chinese herbal medicine in improving clinical symptoms and outcome indicators of VaD patients. Their clinical efficacy and safety need to be supported by more higher quality RCTs.

Complementary Therapies ; Dementia, Vascular ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Indans ; therapeutic use ; Piperidines ; therapeutic use ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Objective To investigate the clinical application of MR hydrography (MRH) in diagnosing alveolar echinococcosis (AE). Methods Thirty-four patients with suspected alveolar echinococcosis were examined using MRH in addition to conventional magnetic resonance imaging(cMRI).Thirty-two of the 34 patinets had surgery and the pathological diagnoses were alveolar echinococcosis.Results Among 128 lesions in these 32 patients found at surgery,cMRI examination found 68 lesions and MRH found 108 lesions.The sensitivity of cMRI examination was (53.13 ±0.04) %,the specificity was (92.59 ± 0.05) %,concordance rate was (60.00 ± 0.03) %.The sensitivity of MRH examination was (84.38 ± 0.03) %,the specificity was (81.48 ± 0.08) %,concordance rate was (83.87 ± 0.03) %.Comparing concordance rate of cMRI examination and MRH,significant difference was found (U = 5.44,P < 0.01).Conclusion MRH technique can raise the sensitivity and concordance rote for diagnosing AE. This technique should be employed in the evaluation of patients suspected of AE.

Background Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(G-CSF)has been reported to have beneficial effect on cardiac dysfunction in post infarction and doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy.Objective To investigate the effects of G-CSF on cardiac remodeling in cardiac hypertrophy induced by angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ).Methods Thirty-six male wild type mice(WT)were allocated randomly to receive subcutaneously G-CSF(10 ?g/kg per day, n=9),or Ang Ⅱ(2.88 mg/kg per day,n=9),or Ang Ⅱ plus G-CSF(Ang Ⅱ 2.88 mg/kg+G-CSF 10 ?g/kg,n =9)for 4 weeks with untreated WT(n=9)as controls.Blood pressure and cardiac function were measured. Heart weight/body weight ratio,myocyte cross-sectional area and fibrosis area were determined.The mRNA ex- pression of osteopontin(OPN)in myocardium was detected by RT-PCR.The expressions of angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE),ACE2 and phosph-p70S6 kinase protein in myocardium were assessed by Western-Blot.Results Ang Ⅱ significantly elevated blood pressure(SBP,Ang Ⅱ:139.7?1.6 vs WT:108.7?2.3 mmHg,P0.05),but significantly attenuated the myocyte cross-sectional area(Ang Ⅱ+G-CSF:181.06?0.11 vs Ang Ⅱ:202.02?0.16 ?m~2,P

Objective To evaluate the b value of diffusion-weighted(DW)MRI in distinguishing between benign and malignant breast lesions.Methods Three diffusion-weighted sequences were implemented with 500,1000 and 2000 s/mm~2 b values respectively on 95 breast lesions in 83 patients.All lesions were confirmed by pathology.The apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)values and signal intensity (SI)were recorded and compared in different lesions(breast cancer,benign lesion,cyst and normal beast tissue)with the same b value and the same lesions with the different b values.Results(1)The mean ADC value and SI of breast cancer were 1.375?0.378 and 839.713?360.493 respectively with b= 500 s/mm~2,1.176?0.311 and 459.314?229.609 with b=1000 s/mm~2,0.824?0.198 and 243.825? 110.616 with b=2000 s/mm~2.The differences in the mean ADC value were significant between two type lesions(cancer and benign lesion,cancer and cyst,cancer and normal breast tissue)with b values of 500 s/mm~2 and 1000 s/mm~2.But the significant differenee was only seen between cancer and benign lesions when b value was 2000 s/mm~2.(2)The one-side upper limits of 95% confidence interval of mean ADCs were adopted as the point to separate the malignant from the benign lesions,the sensitivity was 70.92%, 70.73% and 69.77%,the specificity was 77.19%,75.70% and 54.76%,the accuracy was 77.12%, 74.32% and 62.35% respectively with b values of 500 s/mm~2,1000 s/mm~2 and 2000 s/mm~2.The areas under ROC eurves were Az_(500)=0.775?0.046(P0.05).Conclusion DWI MRI is useful for the differential diagnosis of breast lesions with b values of 500 s/mm~2 and 1000 s/mm~2.

Objective To evaluate the influential factors of iron acquisition during Francisella tularensis LVS infection of mouse macrophages.Methods F.tularensis LVS expressing green fluorescent protein was used to infect murine macrophage J774A.1 cells.Transferrin receptor 1(Tfr1)was detected with mono-antibody and visualized with a goat-anti mouse IgG conjugated to Alexa 594.The expression profile of 5 iron metabolism related genes of J774A.1 murine macrophages uninfected or infected with F.tularensis LVS was determined with real-time PCR.Immunoblot analysis was used to compare the Tfr1 expression of live Francisella infected macrophage with dead bacteria.Tfr1 knock-off in J774A.1 cells was performed with siRNA.The transfected cells were infected with Francisella for immunoblotting and microscopy and infection assay.Results It was revealed that the live vaccine strain of F.tularensis induced the expression of Tfr1 in host macrophages.Gene expression analysis indicated that F.tularensis LVS drove an active iron acquisition program with induction of Tfr1 and iron regulatory proteins(Irp1 and Irp2).It was shown by Western-blotting that the siRNA-Tfrc-1 could knock off about 75% of Tfr1 in J774A.1 cells.It was determined by infection assay that,Tfr1 was knocked off,the bacteria number at 1h infection with Francisella was not different from that of control(F=1.06,P=0.326 5),while it was decreased significantly after 24h of infection(F=24.12,P=0.000 6).Conclusions It is demonstrated that upregulation of the Tfr1 may be mediated by post-transcriptional regulation during early infection,but sustained later through increased expression of Irp 1 and Irp 2.Increased expression of Tfr1 expands the intracellular iron pool through transferrin-mediated delivery and may thus be readily available for uptaking by Francisella.Knocking off the expression of Tfr1 does not affect bacterial invasion.Francisella,however,may fail to proliferate in macrophages in which the expression of transferrin receptor has been suppressed.

In order to investigate the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and its correlation with angiogenesis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 20 patients with NSCLC were examined. Twenty corresponding para-cancerous lung tissue specimens were obtained to serve as a control. The expression of NGF, HIF-1α, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the NSCLC tissues was detected by using immunohistochemistry. The microvascular density (MVD) was determined by CD31 staining. The results showed that the expression levels of NGF, HIF-1α and VEGF in the NSCLC tissues were remarkably higher than those in the para-cancerous lung tissues (P<0.05). There was significant difference in the MVD between the NSCLC tissues (9.19±1.43) and para-cancerous lung tissues (2.23±1.19) (P<0.05). There were positive correlations between NGF and VEGF, between HIF-1α and VEGF, and between NGF and HIF-1α in NSCLC tissues, with the spearman correlation coefficient being 0.588, 0.519 and 0.588, respectively. In NSCLC tissues, the MVD had a positive correlation with the three factors (P<0.05). Theses results suggest that NGF and HIF-1α are synergically involved in the angiogenesis of NSCLC.