Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of early enteral nutrition (EEN) in elder patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. Methods An outcome-based retrospective review of 52 patients who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma between July 1999 and June 2002 was performed .There were 27 patients in the EEN group, and 25 in the TPN group. Results The mean postoperative hospital days of the EEN group was significantly less than that of the TPN group (16.3 d vs. 21.3 d, t =4.6814, P

Objective To investigate the value of ~1H-MRS in the diagnosis and prognosis of diffuse axonal injury(DAI).Methods A prospective imaging study was performed in 63 patients with craniocerebral injury admitted from October 2002 to April 2004.Sixty-three patients were divided into DAI group(27 cases)and Non-DAI group(36 cases)according to the result of the MRI.Then,the ratio of NAA/Cr,Cho/Cr,mINs/Cr,and GIx/Cr at basal ganglia and genu and splenium of corpus callosum was quantified using ~1H-MRS and compared between DAI group and Non-DAI group.Twenty healthy persons were served as control group.The relation between ~1H-MRS indexes and period of primary uneonciousness post-injury was analyzed.Results The results of NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr at genu and splenium of corpus callosum and basal ganglia of control group were 1.19?0.18,1.21?0.24;1.89?0.17,1.84?0.14; 1.57?0.16,1.85?0.25,which of DAI group were 0.83?0.24,2.92?0.78;1.25?0.35,2.54? 0.42;1.33?0.17,2.38?0.44,and those of Non-DAI group were 1.11?0.23,1.61?0.33;1.61? 0.22,1.93?0.26;1.49?0.23,1.89?0.29.The differences between them were statistically significant (P

Abstract?AIM: To obtain the prevalence and risk factors of symptomatic dry eye disease ( SDED ) among college students in China.?METHODS:Population-based cross-sectional study. Students in Medical School of Lanzhou University were approached. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the prevalence of SDED and its risk factors. The diagnosis of SDED was based on reported symptoms and was established if the participants reported “often” or “all the time” once or more for 6-item questionnaire. Positive tests included a tear-film breakup time ( TBUT)≤10s and a fluorescein staining score ( FSS ) ≥1. Demographic information and possible factors that may contribute to SDED were analyzed in a step-wise multivariate logistic regression modelto assess risk factors of SDED.? RESULTS: There were 1139 participants ( 84. 37%response rate ) have completed the questionnaire, 475 males and 664 females aged 16-26y. The prevalence of SDED was 18. 70% [95% confidence interval ( CI)= 16. 59-20. 81]. A TBUT of ≤10s and a FSS≥1 were noted in 47. 67%(95% CI=44. 95-50. 57) and 13. 97%(95% CI=11. 95-15. 99) for all participants, respectively. The multivariate regression analysis revealed the following risk factors:daily reading time of≥4h(OR=1. 58,95% CI=1. 15-2. 18), daily computer use of≥4h ( OR= 1. 52, 95% CI= 1. 02-2. 25), and constant eyeglasses wearing (OR=1. 54,95%CI=1. 08-2. 13). The female gender, refractive surgery and contact lens ( CLs) wearing were not risk factors for SDED in this analysis.? CONCLUSION: The prevalence for SDED is high in Chinese college students. The risk factors include daily reading time of≥4h, daily computer use of≥4h and constant eyeglasses wearing.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA) on the expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in human renal mesangial cells (HRMCs).

METHODSHRMCs were cultured in vitro with medium containing different doses of AGE-BSA or BSA (50,100, 200, 400 mg/L) for 48 hours, or with AGE-BSA (200 mg/L) for different times (12, 24, 48, 72 h). Immunocytochemistry assay was used to estimate the protein level of RAGE. The ROS in cells were measured by flow cytometry and the mRNA expression of MCP-1 were analyzed by semi-quantiative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after treatment with AGE-BSA or BSA.

RESULTSThe protein level of RAGE was upregulated in the HRMCs with AGE-BSA. The expression of ROS and MCP-1 significantly enhanced by incubation of AGE-BSA in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The effects of AGE-BSA-induced up-regulation of ROS and MCP-1 level was significantly blocked by neutralizing antibodies to RAGE, while the expression of ROS and MCP-1 stood nearly unchanged after cultured with huamn IgG.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of ROS and MCP-1 in HRMCs is induced by AGE-BSA through RAGE, which may have potential effects in the pathgenic mechanism of diabetic nephropathy.

Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CCL2 ; metabolism ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Mesangial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products ; Receptors, Immunologic ; metabolism ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; pharmacology

Objective To observe the different expressions of androgen and estrogen receptor in nucleus membrane of human prostate stromal cells under anoxic or normoxic conditions.Methods Human prostate stromal cell line WPMY-1 was cultured in vitro.At 4,8,12,24,48 h after cellswere seeded,the mRNA and protein expression of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) in prostate stromal cells were tested by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry method,respectively.Results The exprcssions of AR and ER were significantly increased in prostate stromal cells under anoxic conditions compared with under normoxic conditions.The relative expression of AR mRNA was 0.35±0.01 in anoxic prostate stromal cells at 4 h,and increased to 1.40±0.02 at 48 h,which was higher than in normoxic prostate epithelial cells [0.27 ± 0.01 and0.36± 0.01] synchronously (t=28.182,both P ＜ 0.001).Immunohistochemistry showed significantly increased AR-positive cells under anoxic conditions as compared with under-normoxiccondition from 12 h synchronously [(33.72±4.19) per 200 cells,(23.84±1.31) per 200 cells,t=3.902,P=0.018].The expression of ER mRNA was 0.39±0.01 in prostate stromal cells at 4 h,and increased to 0.59±0.01 at 48 h under anoxic conditions,which were higher than under normoxic conditions (0.31±0.01 and 0.46±0.13) synchronously (both P＜0.001).Immunohistochemistry showed the significantly increased ER-positive cells under anoxic conditions as compared with under normoxic condition from 4 h to 48 h synchronously [(13.42±0.80) per 200 cells and (55.16±0.41) per 200 cells； (9.68±0.63) per 200 cells and (22.95±0.55) per 200 cells,t=81.130,P＜0.001].Conclusions The expression of androgen and estrogen receptors is upregulated in human prostatestromal cells under anoxic conditions.

Objective To explore the effects of the autoantibody against the second extracellular loop of ?3-adrenoceptor(?3AR)from children with heart failure on isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats.Methods The synthetic peptide corresponding to the sequence of the se-cond extracellular loop(176-202 amino acid residues)of the human ?3AR was used as the antigen to screen the anti-?3AR autoantibodies from the sera of the 50 children with heart failure and 50 healthy children by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);IgG in the children with heart failure of positive autoantibodies sera was purified.The effects of purified IgG per each group on contractile response of isolated cardiomyocytes of adult rats were observed using motion-edge detection system and double-provocation fluorescence photomultiplier system.Results Among the 50 children with heart failure,the anti-?3AR autoantibodies positive rate was 30%(15/50 cases),and ob-viously higher than that of healthy children[12%(6/50)cases,P

Objective To investigate the clinical predictors and prognosis of the patients with advanced stage small hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC) after hepatectomy. Methods A total of 110 patients with SHCC admitted to the General Hospital of PLA and undergone hepatectomy from Jan. 1995 to Dec. 2009 were included in present retrospective study. Survival analysis was performed by Log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier. The association of SHCC and nine routine clinical parameters was analyzed by the univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Of the 110 patients with SHCC, 31 (28.2%) were SHCC in advanced stage, and the 1, 3, 5 year survival rates were 78.6%, 61.6% and 38.5%, respectively, with a median survival time of 48.8 months (95% CI 29.2-68.4 months). Seventy-nine of the 110 patients (71.8%) were suffering form early stage SHCC, and the 1, 3, 5 year survival rates were 98.7%, 83.8% and 74.8%, respectively, with a median survival time of 98.0 months (95%CI 73.8-122.2 months). The survival rate was obviously higher in the patients with early stage SHCC than in those with advanced stage SHCC (χ2=13.29, P=0.0003). Multivariate analysis showed that positive AFP was a potential significant predictor of SHCC in advanced stage (RR=14.45; 95%CI 4.05-51.64, P<0.001). Conclusions The SHCC in advanced stage signifies an ominous prognosis. Positive AFP is a potential significant predictor for advanced stage SHCC.

The clinical efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation was systematically reviewed. By computerized and manual retrieval of clinical research literature regarding acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation, the randomized control trials (RCTs) that met the inclusive criteria were collected. Cochrane systematic review method was used and Revmen 5.2 software was adopted to perform this Meta analysis. Totally 8 articles were included, involving 610 cases of post-stroke constipation. As a result, the total effective rate and cured rate of acupuncture and moxibustion for post-stroke constipation were significantly superior to those of the control group [total effective rate: OR = 2.10, 95% CI (1.25, 3.54), Z = 2.78, P = 0.005; cured rate: OR = 2.37, 95% CI (1.57, 3.58), Z = 4.10, P < 0.0001]. This result indicated that acupuncture was effective for post-stroke constipation and had some advantages compared with other therapies. But the quality of included RCTs was low, and high-quality, large-sample and multi-center RCTs were needed to perform further verification.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Constipation ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Stroke ; complications ; Treatment Outcome

To clarify the necessity of applying appropriate statistical methods to calculate sampling error from data of cluster sample survey, we take a two-stage cluster sample survey developed from a population aged 15 and over as example. We use statistical methods based on the assumption of simple random samples and methods considering complex sample design to analyze our data, respectively. Through comparison, we hope to show the potential effects of using improper statistical methods to estimate sampling error on parameter estimation and hypothesis testing. Using standard error algorithms based on the assumption of simple random samples,the standard errors calculated often underestimate sampling error and the hypothesis testing even gets wrong conclusion. When the statistical methods and statistics package for complex survey data are already available, it is necessary for us to use appropriate methods to analyze and report the sampling errors of data from cluster sample survey.
Cluster Analysis ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Sampling Studies