Objective:To construct and evaluate a novel tissue-engineered bone composed of murine stromal cell-derived factor 1(mSDF-1), simvastatin (SIM) and collagen scaffold (Bio-Oss?), serving as a cell-homing approach for bone formation .Methods: In the study , 32 ICR mice were randomly divided into 4 groups,each group including 8 mice.The drug-loaded collagen scaffolds were implanted subcutaneously onto the cranium of each mouse according to the groups: ( 1 ) 1 ∶50 ( volume ratio ) dimethyl sulfoxide ( DMSO ) /phosphate-buffered saline ( PBS ) solution +collagen scaffold ( blank control group ); ( 2 ) 10 -3 mol/L SIM solution +collagen scaffold ( SIM group ); ( 3 ) 200 mg/L mSDF-1solution +collagen scaffold (mSDF-1 group); and (4) 10 -3mol/L SIM +200 mg/L mSDF-1 solution +collagen scaffold ( SIM +mSDF-1 group) .One week after implantation , the mice were trea-ted by injecting the same drug solution mentioned above around the scaffold once a day for two days .The specimens were harvested 6 weeks after implantation and the bone formation was evaluated by soft X-ray analysis , HE staining and immunohistochemical staining .Angiogenesis of each group was checked by calculation of vessels in each tissue section .Results:Six weeks after implantation , the collagen scaffolds were retrieved.The value of gray scale for the SIM +mSDF-1 group[(421 836.5 ±65 425.7) pixels] was significantly higher than that of the blank control group [(153 345.6 ±45 222.2)pixels, P<0.01], the SIM group [(158 119.2 ±100 284.2) pixels, P<0.01], and the mSDF-1 group[(255 529.5 ± 152 142.4) pixels, P <0.05 ]; HE staining analysis revealed that significant bone formation was achieved in the SIM +mSDF-1 group; The immunohistochemical staining showed the existence of os-teopontin and osteocalcin in the SIM +mSDF-1 group; There were more vessels in the SIM +mSDF-1 group[(46 ±8)vessels/mm2] than in the blank control group [(23 ±7) vessels/mm2, P<0.01], and the SIM group[(24 ±6) vessels/mm2 , P<0.01].Conclusion:The novel tissue-engineered bone com-posed of mSDF-1, SIM and collagen scaffolds has the potential to form bone subcutaneously in vivo.It re-presents a novel method of in vivo bone re-generation without seed cell delivery .

At present, the research regarding repair of spinal cord mainly focuses on tissue engineering. Neural tissue engineering materials provide three-dimensional template for tissue regeneration and also environment for synthesis of extracellular matrix. This paper summarizes the types of nerve transplant materials and the research progress in application for treatment of spinal cord injury, so as to provide theoretical evidence for repair of spinal cord injury. But some problems exist in application of nerve cell scaffold materials for repair of spinal cord injury: poor mechanical properties lead to slow degradation speed, causing difficulties in tissue reconstruction with respect to velocity and in subsequent reconstruction of porous three-dimensional scaffold. In recent years, novel biomaterials with specific repair function have been made by the engineering method through combining the biological molecule with specific signal identification function and available materials, which is an advanced projeot in the current field of biomaterials.

AlM: To explore the expression and significance of cysteine- rich 61 ( CCN1/Cyr61 ) in oxygen - induced retinal neovascularization ( RNV) of mice and study the inhibition effect of CCN1 specific siRNA on RNV.
METHODS:Two hundred healthy C57BL/6J mice were chosen and randomly divided into control group, hyperxia group, hyperxia control group and CCN1 treated group, with 50 mice in each group. The hyperxia control group was treated with vector plasmids by intravitreal injection. The CCN1 treated group received CCN1 siRNA recombinant plasmids by intravitreal injection. Adenosine diphosphate-ase ( ADPase) stained retina flat-mounts was performed to assess the retinal vascular profiles, HE staining was applied to count the number of vascular endothelial cell nuclei breaking through the internal limiting membrane, protein and mRNA level expression of CCN1 were measured by immunohistochemistry, Western blot and RT-PCR.
RESULTS: There were large nonperfusion area and a large number of vascular endothelial cell nuclei breaking through the internal limiting membrane ( 25. 25 ± 1. 26;23. 12 ± 1. 16 ) in the hyperxia group and the hyperxia control group. Regions of nonperfusion and vascular endothelial cell nuclei (8. 47±1. 15) were decreased in the CCN1 treated group compared to the hyperxia group and the hyperxia control group. Compared with the control group, there were high protein and mRNA expression of CCN1 in the hyperxia group and the hyperxia control group. The expression of CCN1 protein and mRNA were decreased in the CCN1 treated group compared with the hyperxia group and hyperxia control group (all P<0. 05).
CONCLUSlON: The abnormal expression of CCN1 has close relation with RNV. The development of RNV can be markedly inhibited by RNA interference targeting CCN1, which, we believe, will provide new molecular targets and a rationale for clinical developing new strategy for ROP therapy.

Objective To develop methods of extracting DNA from malaria parasites on Giemsa-stained blood smears. Methods Improved Na2HPO4 method and Chelex-100 ion-exchange technique were used to extract DNA from Giemsa-stained or unstained blood smears. Nested PCR was employed for amplification and identification of allelotypes in the Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1(PvMSP-1). Results Target DNA bands appeared in all samples of unstained thick blood smears, while no DNA bands were visible in the fixed and stained thin smears. Both methods identified PvMSP-1 alleles from smears with parasitemia of ≥0.01%. Conclusion It is feasible to identify PvMSP-1 alleles from Giemsa-stained blood smear.

Objective To identify the risk factors for early postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in the elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.Methods One hundred and fifty ASA Ⅱ or Ⅲ patients,aged ≥65 yr,undergoing elective spinal surgery under general anesthesia,were studied.Venous blood samples were taken at 1 day before operation and 7 days after operation to determine the concentration of serum S-100B protein.Cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at 1 day before operation and 7 days after operation.The patients were diagnosed as having POCD if MMSEpre-MMSEpost ≥ 3.The patients were divided into POCD group and non-POCD group.Age,body weight,sex,education,type of operations,complications,preoperative TCM syndrome type,MMSE score at 1 day before operation and 7 days after operation,duration of operation,emergence time,and intraoperative blood loss,cardiovascular events,and amount of fluid infused per hour were recorded.The risk factors for POCD were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results Thirty-eight patients developed early POCD (25.3％).The resuhs of logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 70 yr,elementary education or below,duration of operation ≥5 b,and the number of hypotension occurred during operation≥3 were the risk factors for early POCD.Conclusion Age≥70 yr,elementary education or below,duration of operation ≥ 5 h,and the number of hypotension occurred during operation ≥ 3 are the risk factors for early POCD in the elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.

The association of non-HDL-cholesterol and non-HDL-C-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio (non-HDL-C-to-HDL-C ratio) with early diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was investigated.Non-HDL-C and non-HDL-C-to-HDL-C ratio were positively related with microalbuminuria (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Non-HDL-C-to-HDL-C ratio is an independent risk factor of early diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Antigens, Bacterial ; genetics ; metabolism ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Gastritis ; pathology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ; Helicobacter Infections ; microbiology ; pathology ; Helicobacter pylori ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Peptic Ulcer ; microbiology ; pathology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo explore the difference of serum adiponectin (APN) level in hypertensive patients of phlegm-dampness constitution (PDC) and in those of non-PDC, as well as its association with APN gene polymorphisms.

METHODSSerum APN levels in 250 hypertensive patients (137 of PDC and 113 of non-PDC) were determined, and a correlation study was performed on 8 selected single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of APN gene.

RESULTSSignificant differences of serum APN levels were observed between PDC and non-PDC patients (5.07 +/- 0.35 microg/mL vs 6.41 +/- 0.39 microg/mL, P = 0.045). No significant difference in polymorphism distribution of the 8 SNP sites of APN genes was found between patients of different constitutions (P > 0.05). Serum APN level was significantly lower in PDC patients than in non-PDC patients in sites of APN gene rs1063537 (3224C/T) polymorphism TT genotype (2.580 +/- 1.029 microg/mL vs 6.011 +/- 0.945 microg/mL, P = 0.017) and CT genotype (5.113 +/- 0.968 microg/mL vs 7.812 +/- 0.161 microg/mL, P = 0.021), while that of CC genotype was insignificant between the two constitutions (5.426 +/- 0.591 microg/mL vs 6.130 +/- 0.668 microg/mL).

CONCLUSIONSerum APN level was significantly lower in hypertensive patients of PDC than in those of non-PDC. Moreover, the APN gene SNP3224 T allele carrier might be a hereditary feature of APN abnormity.

Adiponectin ; blood ; genetics ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; genetics ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo study the value of iron metabolism indices, serum iron (SI), total iron blinding capacity (TIBC) and transferring (Tf), in thalassema.

METHODSThe serum samples from 9 children with silent alpha thalassema, 56 with standard alpha thalassema, 26 with HbH disease, 40 with beta+ thalassema, 56 with beta0 thalassema, 45 with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and 70 healthy children were detected for SI, TIBC and Tf levels.

RESULTSThe SI level increased (p<0.01), while the TIBC level decreased significantly in the beta0 thalassema group compared with those in the other groups (p<0.05 or 0.01), but the Tf level was not different. The Tf level of both the silent alpha thalassema and the standard alpha thalassema groups was statistically lower than that of the healthy group (p<0.01), but the levels of SI and TIBC were similar to the healthy group. Though the SI level of the HbH disease group was similar to the healthy group, the TIBC and Tf levels were statistically lower (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSCompared with Tf, SI and TIBC are better indices for monitoring iron loading in children with thalassema. The increased SI level and decreased TIBC level are two indices for the diagnosis of beta(0) thalassema in children with cellule anaemia.

Adolescent ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; metabolism ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Iron ; metabolism ; Male ; Thalassemia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transferrin ; analysis

Objective To analyze the rule of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal carcinoma,and to study the proper radiation target. Methods From September 1986 to December 1997,549 patients with esophageal carcinoma who had undergone radical reseetion were divided into surgery alone group (S,275 patients) or surgery plus radiotherapy group( S + R,274 patients). Radiotherapy was begun 3 to 4 weeks after operation. The radiation target included beth supra-clavicular areas and the entire mediastinum. The total dose was 50 Gy in 25 fractions over 5 weeks for the supra-clavicular areas and 60 Gy in 30 fractions over 6 weeks for the entire mediastinum. Results The 5-year overall survival of patients with lymph node metastasis in one anatomic site and two anatomic sites was 31.5% and 13.9% (P=0.013), respectively. For patients with > 2 positive nodes metastasis receiving surgery alone, the corresponding 5-year survival was 24.8% and 4.9% (P=0.046) ,respectively. The median number of dissected lymph nodes of the upper-,middle-and lower-segment esophageal carcinoma was 13,17 and 20, respectively. The rate of metastatic lymph node in the para-esophagus region was the highest(61.5%-64.9%) ,which was not different among the different primary sites(P=0.922). The anastomotic stoma recurrence rate of the upper-segment esophageal carcinoma was higher than that of the middle- or lower-segment carcinomas(16.7% ,3.1% ,and 7.7%, χ2=9.02,P<0.05). Conclusions For the thoracic esophageal carcinoma,the number of anatomic sites of lymph node metastasis is an important factor affecting the survival. The lower rate of lymph node metastasis of the upper segment esophageal carcinoma may be corrected with the less lymph node dissected. The rate of lymph node metastasis in para-esophageal region is not related with the lesion segment. The anastemotie stoma is an important radiotherapy target for upper segment esophageal carcinoma.