Bodily Secretions ; virology ; Humans ; Pharynx ; virology ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; virology ; Respiratory System ; virology

Objectives To investigate the clinical features,prognosis and risk factors of patients with cryptococcal meningitis.Methods Totally 146 patients with cryptococcal meningitis who were hospitalized in Huashan Hospital from January 2000 to December 2006 were enrolled in this study.The clinical data including diagnosis and misdiagnosis,experimental and etiology tests,treat- ments and prognosis from all the patients were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among the 146 patients enrolled in the study,78 patients(53.4%)had concomitant diseases.The misdiagnosis rate of all patients was 72.6%(106/146).The positive rate of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)India ink smear was 59.6%(87/106),while 43.2%(63/146)cases of cryptococcus neoformans culture in CSF was positive.The positive rate of Latex agglutination test(LAT)was 91.7%(134/146)in CSF among all patients.The treatments were as follows:combination of Amphotericin B(AmpB)or its lipid formula- tions with flucytosine(5-FC)(98 cases),including combination with Fluconazole initally(62 cases), single therapy of Fluconazole(13 cases).Ommaya implanted for lateral cerebral ventricle drainage(53 cases)and AmpB intrathecal injection(53 cases).The average dose of AmpB is 3.06 g.The course of treatment lasted from 12 weeks to 20 months.There were 104 patients(71.2%)cured,27(18.5%) improved,15(10.3%)died and 34(23.3%)relapsed.Conclusions High misdiagnosis rate is common in patients with cryptococcal meningitis.Immunodeficiency is the major risk factor for cryp- tococcal meningitis.CSF LAT is the most sensitive diagnostic test.Early diagnosis,combination of AmpB with 5-FC antifungal therapy and control of acute intracranial hypertension are the keys to im- prove prognosis of cryptococcal meningitis.

Objective To investigate the expression of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) on dendritic cells(DCs) derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) of chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients and to explore the mechanism of sustained infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods Twenty CHB patients were randomly screened in the study,and ten healthy persons were recruited as controls.The monocytes isolated from peripheral blood of candidates were incubated with recombinant human granuloeyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) and rhIL-4 to induce the DCs generation and proliferation.Then the phenotype of DCs was identified by micro- scope.The expressions of the phenotypes[histocompatibility leukocyte antigen(HLA)-DR,CD80, CD86,CD83]of immature and mature DCs were measured by flow cytometer.Furthermore,the ex- pression of TLR3 on mature DCs(mDC) and immature DCs(imDC) was determined by flow cytometry and Western blot analysis respectively.Results As for healthy volunteers,the expressions of CD80, CD86,HLA-DR and CD83 on DCs at the 7th day,which were(82.35?8.67)%,(79.61?10.08)%, (92.79?8.48)% and (83.76?5.47)% respectively,were significantly higher than those at the 5th day which were(28.31?8.79) %,(31.17?11.23)%,(27.61?10.28)% and (23.46?11.53)% respec- tively(P0.05).The expression of TLR3 on imDC was significantly higher than that on mDC at control group (P0.05).And the expression of TLR3 on imDC in CHB patients group was significantly lower than that of control group(P

OBJECTIVETo investigate the phenotypes and functions of peripheral blood monocyte derived dendritic cells (DC) of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with different HBV DNA loads.

METHODSTwenty-eight CHB patients were included in this study. All patients were treated with nucleoside analogues (lamivudine or LdT or adefovir) for 24 weeks. Peripheral blood HBV DNA loads and liver biopsies were assessed before and after the treatment. The patients were divided into two groups according to their peripheral blood HBV DNA loads: a high-load group with HBV DNA loads higher than 10(5) copies/ml, and a low-load group with HBV DNA loads lower than 10(3) copies/ml. Ten healthy people were included as controls. Peripheral blood DC of each subject was enriched. The phenotypes of DC were subjected to flow cytometric analysis. The lymphocyte allo-stimulatory capacity of DC was evaluated through MTT assay. IL-10 and IL-12 production were quantified by ELISA.

RESULTSDC proliferated successfully when stimulated by cytokines in vitro; however, DC of the CHB patients proliferated much slower than those of the healthy controls. The expression of DC surface molecules such as HLA-DR, CD86, CD80 and CD83 had a positive rate of over 80% in the normal population. However in our CHB patients they showed lower than normal expressions, especially the HLA-DR, CD86, CD80 and CD83, but the differences were not significant between the two groups with different virus loads. The stimulatory capacity of the DC in mixed lymphocyte reaction showed no difference between the two groups of patients, but both were lower than that of the healthy controls. The production of IL-12 and IL-10 also decreased significantly in the patients.

CONCLUSIONSPeripheral DC of CHB patients have some defects in their phenotypes and their stimulatory capacity. The changes in phenotypes and down-regulation of the functions are not relevant to peripheral HBV DNA loads of the patients.

Adult ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; metabolism ; Female ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Viral Load ; Young Adult

Actins ; analysis ; Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Immunohistochemistry ; Liver ; chemistry ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; metabolism ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth ; chemistry ; Quinolizines ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; analysis

Objective:To investigate the influence of metastasis suppressor gene KAI1 on the proliferation,invasion and metastasis of endometrial carcinoma cell line AN3CA and HEC-1-B.Methods:The KAI1 cDNA was transfected into human endometrial carcinoma cells AN3CA and HEC-1-B via Lipofectamine 2000.The expression of KAI1 protein was ex- amined by Western blotting and flow cytometry before and after transfection.The proliferation ability of AN3CA and HEC- 1-B cells was observed by MTT assay and anchorage-independent growth assay.The changes of cell invasive ability were studied by transwell assays.Results:Stable expression of KAI1 protein was observed in AN3CA and HEC-1-B cells and on their surface after transfection with pcDNA3-KAI1 plasmid.Cells transfected with blank plasmid formed more colonies and had a larger size,with the colony forming rates being(54.2?3.1)% for AN3CA cells and(52.7?4.3)% for HEC- 1- B cells;the doubling time of AN3CA and HEC-1-B cells were 21.3 h and 20.1 h,respectively.Cells transfected with pcDNA3-KAI1 formed less colonies and had a smaller size,with the colony forming rates being(37.4?5.1)% for AN3CA cells and(32.1?3.7)% for HEC-1-B cells;the doubling time of AN3CA and HEC-1-B cells were 43.7h and 45.2 h,respectively.The cell proliferation abilities and colony-forming ability were significantly different between the two groups(P

Autophagy acts as an important homoeostatic mechanism by degradation of cytosolic constituents and plays roles in many physiological processes. Recent studies demonstrated that autophagy can also regulate the production and secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β), which plays a critical role in the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. In the present study, the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) were significantly decreased after spinal nerve ligation (SNL), and the changes were accompanied by inhibited autophagy in the spinal microglia and increased mRNA and protein levels of IL-1β in the ipsilateral spinal cord. We then investigated the antinociceptive effect of rapamycin, a widely used autopahgy inducer, on SNL-induced neuropathic pain in rats and found that treatment with intrathecal rapamycin significantly attenuated the mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Moreover, rapamycin significantly enhanced autophagy in the spinal microglia, whereas it reduced the mRNA and protein levels of IL-1β in the ipsilateral spinal cord. Our results showed that rapamycin could ameliorate neuropathic pain by activating autophagy and inhibiting IL-1β in the spinal cord.
Animals ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Interleukin-1beta ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuralgia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sirolimus ; pharmacology ; Spine ; metabolism ; pathology

This study aims to investigate the characteristics of genomic variation of pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza virus isolated in Fujian Province, China. Complete genome sequence analysis was performed on 14 strains of pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza virus isolated from Fujian during 2009-2012. All virus strains were typical low-pathogenic influenza viruses, with resistance to amantadine and sensitivity to neuraminidase inhibitors. Eight genome fragments of all strains were closely related to those of A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) vaccine strain, with > or = 98.2% homology. Compared with the vaccine strain, the influenza strains from Fujian had relatively large variation, and variation was identified at 11 amino acid sites of the HA gene of A/Fujiangulou/SWL1155/2012 strain, including 4 sites (H138R, L161I, S185T, and S203T) involved inthree antigen determinants (Ca, Sa, and Sb). In conclusion, the influenza vaccine has a satisfactory protective effect on Fujian population, but the influenza strains from Fujian in 2012 has antigenic drift compared with the vaccine strain, more attention should therefore be paid to the surveillance of mutations of pandemic A/H1N1/2009 influenza virus.
Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; China ; epidemiology ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; genetics ; Genome, Viral ; genetics ; Genomics ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; drug effects ; genetics ; immunology ; physiology ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Viral Vaccines ; immunology

This paper reviewed the present nursing manager succession planning at home and abroad, covering the succession standard of nursing managers, the content and form of pre-job training, and the evaluation tool of management ability. These efforts aim to provide references for the construction of nursing management talents teams in China.

Objective To explore the value of retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement for prevention of perioperative pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with lower extremity/pelvic fracture with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).Methods Clinical data of 1 891 lower extremity/pelvic fracture patients combined with DVT were retrospectively analyzed.Totally 411 patients with permanent filters were excluded,and the other patients were divided into filter group (n=843) and control group (n=637) according to whether receiving retrievable IVC filter placement or not.The incidence of perioperative symptomatic PE and mortality were compared between the two groups.Results In filter group,Optease nonpermanent filters were inserted in 218 patients,and the mean indwelling time was (14.3±3.6) days.Celcet filters were inserted in 625 patients,and the filters were successfully removed in 566 out of 578 patients who underwent filter removal surgery (97.92％,566/578),and the mean indwelling time was (15.8±4.1) days.The incidence of PE in filter group (0.12％[1/843]) was significantly lower than that in control group (1.57％ [10/637],P＜0.05).Among the patients who received chemical anticoagulant therapy,the incidence of PE in filter group and control group was 0.14 ％ (1/700) and 1.47％(9/612),respectively (P＜0.05).Conclusion Retrievable IVC filter placement is a safe and effective method for preventing perioperative symptomatic and fatal PE in lower extremity/pelvic fracture patients with DVT.