Objective To study the effect of ursolic acid(UA) on apoptosis of the ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and its action mechanisms. Methods The SKOV3 cells were treated with UA at different concentration. The proliferation inhibition was examined by MTT assay. Morphological examination and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis. RT-PCR and immunocytochemical method were used to detect the expression of wild type p53,an apoptosis related genes. The semi-quantification of protein expression was analyzed by pathological image-analysis. Results UA inhibited the proliferation of SKOV3 cells strongly. Apoptosis of SKOV3 cells were induced by UA treatment. The morphology of SKOV3 showed changes such as chromatin aggregation, nuclear and cytoplasmic condensation and apoptotie bodies appearance. UA caused significant G0/G1 arrest with a concomitant decrease of cell population in S and G2/M phases. Apoptotic cells were found by flow cytometry. The maximal early apoptotic rate was (28.7±2.4)% when exposed to 40 μmol/L for 48 h. The expression of p53 gene and protein was enhanced. All these effects were in a dose and time-dependent manner Conclusion UA induced apoptotic processes in the ovarian cancer SKOV3 cell line were the mechanism involving p53 pathway.

Objective To investigate midwives' role cognition and their working experience.Methods It was a qualitative study using the phenomenological method.10 midwives were interviewed and all the data were analyzed using the categorization method.Results Three main categories were identified:diversified midwife roles; capacities and qualities required to fulfill midwifery roles; positive and negative experiences coexisted.Conclusions Managers should develop humanized management approaches to facilitate the fulfillment of midwives' roles and improve their working experience.The research also revealed the need to improve Chinese midwifery education and the midwifery regulation systems.

Heart Failure ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective To investigate whether enteric nervous system(ENS)involve in mediating the effect of short pulse gastric electrical stimulation on c-fos expression in nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS)and hypothalamus.Methods Fifteen Wistar rats were divided into control group,gastric electrical stimulation(GES)group and ENS free group with 5 rats each.A pair of electrodes was implanted on the gastric serosa.In ENS free group,0.5%benzalkonii chloridum was applied on the serosa during the surgery.A set of short pulse GES with frequency of 20 cpm,pulse width of 300 μs and amplitude of 2 mA was applied via the electrodes for 30 rain in the stimulation group and ENS free group.The c-fos expression in NTS/hypothalamus was detected 1 h after the stimulation.Results The number of neuron with c-fos expression was(71.6±7.4)/HP in NTS group and(63.4±10.8)/HP in ENS free group,both were significantly higher than those in control group(36.4±8.6/HP,P＜0.05).The number of neuron with c-fos expression in hypothalamus was higher in GES[(224.2±47.3)/HP]and ENS free groups[(249.1±44.0)/HP]compared with control group[(90.2±47.3)/HP,P＜0.05].There was no significant difference in c-fos expression in NTS/hypothalamus between GES group and ENS free group(P＞0.05).Conclusions Short pulse gastric electrical stimulation significantly increases c-fos expression in NTS/hypothalamus,which suggests that NTS/hypothalamus may participate in mediating the effect of GES on gastric function.This effect may be not mediated by ENS.

The self-made high sensitivity and selectivity micro-biosensor was applied to monitor the change of dopamine in cerebral nucleus in rats in vivo. The micro-biosensor was prepared and used to detect dopamine level in vitro and monitor the dynamic change of dopamine in different cerebral nucleus in vivo. The results showed the lowest concentration of dopamine that could be detected by the biosensor was 32.5 nmol/L. Its positive peak was significantly different from that of AA, 5-HTP and E. The biosensor could keep working for monitoring the dopamine concentration in the cerebral tissue for more than 10 h. It was concluded that the microsensor has high sensitivity and selectivity to dopamine and can be used to dynamically monitor the change of dopamine in vivo.
Biosensing Techniques/*instrumentation ; Biosensing Techniques/methods ; Brain Chemistry ; Corpus Striatum/*metabolism ; Dopamine/*analysis ; Microelectrodes ; Monitoring, Physiologic

Midwifery competency is the foundation for sustainable development of the midwifery profession. The promotion of midwives′ competency can improve their ability, strengthen midwifery competitiveness and enhance the quality of midwifery care services. This study gave an overview of the worldwide research progress on midwifery competency, we can draw the conclusion that there are urgent needs to improve midwifery education programs in China, emphasize competency-based midwifery education, as well as standardize the in-service training system to support the development of midwifery competency.

Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of Midwife Core Competency Scale.Methods A total of 369 midwives from 32 hospitals in Beijing were investigated by using the Midwife Core Competency Scale,and the reliability and validity were measured.Results The scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α =0.950) and stability (the test-retest reliability was 0.832).The distribution of 54 items in 6 public factors (the cumulative variance＝68.405％) extracted from them was consistent with the original scale,yielding an acceptable construct validity.The scale also had good validity to discriminate different categories.Conclusions The Midwife Core Competency Scale had good reliability and validity,which provides an useful tool to evaluate midwifes' core competency.Larger sample from different areas need to be considered for scale improvement and application.

Professor ZHOU Yun-xian's clinical experience of acupuncture combined with Chinese material medica for xerophthalmia is introduced. Her treatment for xerophthalmia is firstly focused on syndrome differentiation, indicating that different syndrome has different treatment of acupuncture and Chinese material medica. It is emphasized that by following the holistic concept of TCM, the local acupoints and whole-body acupoints cooperate closely, forming her special combination method of acupoints. In clinic, attention is focused on the application of many acupuncture techniques and extra points. With the combination of acupuncture and Chinese material medica, the treatment is flexible with superior clinical efficacy.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Xerophthalmia ; drug therapy ; therapy

Adult ; Cough ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Larynx ; Pharyngitis ; complications ; parasitology ; Pharynx ; Pruritus ; etiology