Objective To study the effects of interferon gamma (IFN-?) on pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin in rats and the related mechanisms. Methods A total of 90 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=30 in each group): normal control group, pulmonary fibrosis group, and IFN-? treated group. On days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 after bolemycin treatment, 6 rats in each group were sacrificed. PO 2 was determined. The lungs and serum were collected for histopathological and electron microscopic examinations. The contents of transforming growth factor ? 1 (TGF-? 1) and fibronectin (FN) were determined by immunohistochemistry, and the contents of IL-4 and surfactant protein A (SP-A) were detected by ELISA and Western blotting, respectively. Results PO 2 level increased significantly (P

Background Prevalence of dry eye is significantly inceasing in postmenopausal women than that in men,suggesting that sex hormone plays a role in the pathogenesis of dry eye.In addition,dry eye might become worse following estrogen therapy in postmenopausal women.However,whether application of androgen can ameliorate dry eye is being concerned.Objective This study was to investigate the effect of androgen on tear film of ovariectomized female rats.Methods Forty-eight 3-month-old sexually mature female Wistar rats were randomized into the normal control group,sham group,ovariectomy (OVX) model group and testosterone-injected group.OVX models were established by bilateral ovaries enucleation in the rats of the model group and testosterone-injected group,and then androgen (3.75 mg/kg) was intramuscularly injected since 5 months after OVX at 3-day interval for 6 weeks.Only intraperitoneal fat was cut off in the sham group.In 6 weeks after injection of androgen,serum androgen concentration detected and Schirmer Ⅰ test (S Ⅰ t),tear film break-up time (BUT) were performed.The rats were sacrificed to prepare the corneal and conjunctival samples.The expression of MUC5AC in conjunctival tissue was examined by immunofluorescence staining,and the microstructure of corneal cellular surface was observed under the scanning electron microscope before and 6 weeks after application of androgen.Animals in this study were treated in accordance with Animal Experimentation Ethic Committee Guidelines of Southern Medical University and the study protocol was approved by Ethic Committee of this University.Results The mean serum testosterone concentration was (1.83 ±0.12) ng/ml,and S Ⅰ t or BUT was (3.63-±0.26)mm/5 minutes or (3.73-0.38) seconds,respectively,in the OVX model group,which was significantly declined in comparison with (2.56 ±0.14) ng/ml,(7.47±0.66) mm/5 minutes or (9.57 ±0.76) seconds in the normal control group (all at P =0.000).However,the serum testosterone concentration was (3.38±0.24) ng/ml,S Ⅰ t was (6.37 ±0.45) mm/5 minutes and BUT was (7.54±0.55) seconds in the testosterone-injected group,which was significantly higher than that in the OVX model group (all at P =0.000).The positive staining of MUC5AC in rat conjunctival tissue weakened in the OVX model group compared with the normal control group,and the fluorescence intensity in the testosterone-injected group was stronger than that in the OVX model group.Regularly arranged microvilli and cell metabolism hiatus on the surface of corneal cells were seen in the normal control group and the sham group;while the microvilli were shorter and irregularly arranged,and the cell metabolism hiatus were disappeared in the OVX model group.However,microvilli and cell metabolism hiatus were close to normal ones in the testosterone-injected group.Conclusions Deterioration of tear secretion and instability of tear film are are probably associated with the lower serum androgen levels in castrated female rats.Systemic supplement of androgen can promote tear secretion,improve tear film stability and alleviate ocular surface damage.

Small RNAs(sRNAs) play a significant role in the regulation of bacterial growth.When sensing certain environmental cues such as fluctuation of nutrient concentration, temperature, pH, and osmolarity, sRNAs can influence the expression of target genes.The formation of biofilms is initiated by bacteria transitioning from the planktonic to the surface-associated mode of growth, which is a self-produced extracellular matrix composed of proteins, polysaccharides, and DNA.Recent evidences have shown that small RNA plays an important role in the regulation of bacterial biofilm formation.sRNAs have key roles in biofilm formation process by base pairing with target mRNAs or interaction with modulating proteins.This review discussed the regulation mechanism and pathway of sRNAs in bacterial biofilms formation, and summarized three classical regulatory models of sRNAs in bacterial biofilms formation, this review also gives the research status and development direction of sRNAs in bacterial biofilms formation.

Objective: To investigate the role of miR-19a/b in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (R/I) with its clinical significance. Methods: Our research included in 2 parts. Part 1: in H9c2 cells. miR-19a/b expression in H9c2 cells with 10 h hypoxia and 2 h re-oxygenation was detected by real-time PCR, miR-19a/b potential target gene was assessed by luciferase reporter activity assay. Part 2: in natural person. Control group,n=40 healthy subjects and AMI (acute myocardial infarction) group,n=40 relevant patients. Peripheral blood levels of miR-19a/b were detected as Part 1, cTnI were measured by chemiluminescence immune analysis and CK-MB were assessed by immune inhibition method. Results: Part 1: Compared with normal H9c2 cells, miR-19a/b expressions were increased 5.876 times and 2.761 times in H9c2 cells with 10 h hypoxia and 2 h re-oxygenation, bothP<0.01. With respectively transfected miR-19a/b mimic and inhibitor, miR-19a/b expression was up-regulated and down-regulated respectively. miR-19a/b and chromosome-10 deleted phosphatase, tensing homolog gene (PTEN) had the targeting effect. With up-regulated miR-19a/b expression, PTEN level was decreased and with down-regulated miR-19a/b expression, PTEN level was increased. Part 2: Compared with Control group, AMI group had elevated blood level of miR-19a/b,P<0.01. In AMI patients, miR-19a/b was increasing at 0-3 h of chest pain and reaching the peak at 6-12 h; CK-MB enzyme activity and cTnI content were elevating at 2-6 h of onset and reaching the peak at 24 h. Conclusion: miR-19a/b expression was up-regulated by myocardial ischemia reperfusion in H9c2 cells, PTEN was the potential target gene of miR-19a/b. Circulating miR-19a/b might be used as a new non-invasive biological marker for myocardial ischemia R/I diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the physical and mental health status of post-linguistic cochlear implantees, and then to explore the effectiveness on of different rehabilitation programs. METHOD: Mandarin hearing in noise test (MHINT), personal report of communication apprehension (PRCA-24) and Nijmegen cochlear implant questionnaire (NCIQ) were used to measure the hearing ability, mental health degree and the health related life quality in 36 post-linguistic cochlear implant users, respectively. The improvement of subjects' physical and mental health levels was compared with among different rehabilitation programs, including family training program, auditory habilitation program and psychological intervention program. RESULT: (1) Family training program only can improve the subject's hearing ability (P < 0.05), but failed to ease the communication apprehension; ((2) Auditory habilitation program can both significantly improve the subjects' hearing ability (P < 0.01) and ease the fear of talking face to face (P < 0.01); (3) Psychological intervention program can significantly increase the auditory abilities (P < 0.01), reduce the communication apprehension (P < 0.01) and improve the quality of life. CONCLUSION Post-linguistic cochlear implantees had obvious mental symptoms. It was very important to design an effective rehabilitation program to improvement the living quality of hearing loss people.
Anxiety ; Cochlear Implantation ; rehabilitation ; Cochlear Implants ; Deafness ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Language ; Linguistics ; Mental Health ; Noise ; Quality of Life ; Speech ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the mental health level of the post-linguistic deafen adult, to analyze factors affecting the mental health level. METHOD: Fifty-two adult patients with severe to extremely severe post-linguistic hearing loss were randomly selected to participate the study. A self-reporting questionnaire drew up by researchers was used to collect sociological data of the participants. The self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-rating depression scale (SDS) and personal report of communication apprehension (PRCA-24) were used to measure the mental health degree of 52 post-linguistic hearing loss adults. To analyze related factors affecting the mental health in post-linguistic deafen adult. RESULT: (1) Majority of post-linguistic deafen adult have mental symptoms, including 24 subjects (46.15%) with anxiety feeling, 18 subjects (34.61%) with depression feeling and 45 subjects (86.54%) with communication apprehension. (2) Gander, with/without tinnitus, duration of hearing loss, education background and family support had significant correlation with the mental health level of subjects. Higher incident rate of mental symptoms were found in male (OR = 2.246), with tinnitus (OR = 0.536), short duration (OR = 1.397, 1.530), high education background (OR = 0.323) and poor family support (OR = 1.724). CONCLUSION The mental health of the post-linguistic deafen adult was worse than that of the normal people, pathological feature and sociological factors were significantly correlated to the psychological evaluation. It is very important to pay attention on mental health and to give effective counseling of hearing loss people.
Adult ; Anxiety ; complications ; Depression ; complications ; Female ; Hearing Loss ; complications ; psychology ; Humans ; Language Development ; Male ; Mental Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tinnitus

OBJECTIVED: To explore the prevalence and risk factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and impaired glucose regulation (IGR) in Zhangzi Island of Dalian, additionally to provide a better understanding of further intervention. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in 907 residents aged over 18 years from Zhangzi Island of Dalian. The questionnaire, physical measurement, food intake frequency and previously dietary investigation were used in the analysis. Simultaneously, a series of biochemistrical and immune index was measured, including blood uric acid, blood sugar, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, as well as serum insulin.RESULTS: The recovery rate of questionnaire was 95.9%, which demonstrated that the prevalence rates of T2DM and IGR in Zhangzi Island were 11.36% and 37.38%, there was no significant differences between males and females (P > 0.05). Only 29.13% of the people with T2DM were aware of the condition. The prevalence of DM and IGR were increased significantly with age (P < 0.01). The results of the logistic regression showed that age, education, alcohol drinking and hypercholesteremia were the risk factors of IGR. In addition, age, education, hypercholesteremia, hypertriglyceridemia, body mass index and hypertension were the important risk factors for the development of DM. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rates of T2DM and IGR in Zhangzi Island of Dalian are high with a low awareness. Health promotion on lifestyle changes may help to increase the public awareness and reduce the prevalence.

Objective To investigate the role of spinal cord TNF-a in the development of bone cancer pain in mice. Methods Seventy-two 4-6 week old C3H/He mice weighing 18-25 g were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 24 each) : group I sham operation (group S) ; group II bone cancer pain (group BCP) and group Ⅲ etanercept (group E). Bone cancer pain was induced by implantation of osteosarcoma NCTC 2472 cells into the intramedullary space of right femur in group II and Ⅲ . Group Ⅲ received intraperitoneal etanercept 100 μg at 3 days before and immediately before and day 3 and 6 after tumor cell inoculation. In group S culture medium α-MEM containing no cancer cell was injected instead. The paw withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimuli (PWMT) and paw withdrawal latency to thermal stimuli ( PWTL) were measured before inoculation (baseline) and at day 3, 5,7, 10, 14 after inoculation respectively. Eight animals were killed on the 7th, 10th, and 14th day after inoculation in each group. The spinal cords were removed and TNF-α mRNA expression in the spinal cord was determined by RT-PCR. Results Cancer pain was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with etanercept. The TNF-α mRNA expression in the spinal cord was significantly increased after inoculation and was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with etanercept in group Ⅲ . Conclusion Spinal cord TNF-a is involved in the development of bone cancer pain in mice.

Objective To evaluate left ventricular(LV) systolic function by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging(2D-STI) in severe aortic stenosis(AS) patients.Methods Standard echocardiography and 2D-STI examinations were performed in a total of 54 subjects including 26 consecutive patients with severe AS with LV ejection fraction(LVEF) ≥50％ and 28 controls.2D-STI including systolic longitudinal strain (LS) and strain rate(LSr) were assessed from the apical 4-chamber,3-chamber and 2-chamber views,the circumferential strain(CS) and strain rate(CSr),radial strain(RS) and strain rate(RSr) were measured from the standard short axis views (averaging 6 segments per view).The above parameters of AS groups were compared with those of normals.The repeatability of LVEF,LS and RS was evaluated in 6 AS patients and 6 normal volunteers selected at random from the investigation.Results ① There was no significant difference between AS group and control group in LVEF,LV end-diastolic dimension(LVEDD),LV endsystolic dimension (LVESD) and midwall fractional shortening (mwFS) (P ＞ 0.05).② Significant differences were detected between the two groups.LS,RS,CS,LSr,RSr,and CSr were obviously decreased in AS group(P ＜0.05).③The repeatability of LVEF,LS and RS was good by consecutive measurement of identical and independent observers.Conclusions Despite the presence of normal LVEF,the LV systolic function is impaired in severe AS patients.

OBJECTIVE:To compare the anti-inflammation,analgesia effects of decoctions extracted from Aconiti lateralis with different leaf shapes(dahua leaf,xiaohua leaf)from different producing areas(Jiangyou,Butuo). METHODS:Animals were randomly divided into blank group(distilled water),positive group,groups of Aconiti lateralis with dahua,xiaohua leaf from Ji-angyou,groups of Aconiti lateralis with dahua,xiaohua leaf from Butuo(with dose of 5 g/kg,calculated by crude drug). The an-ti-inflammation effect of decoctions extracted from Aconiti lateralis with different variety sources and leaf shapes was investigated by xylene-induced ear swelling test (n=12) in mice and egg white-induced toe swelling test (n=10) in rats (positive drug was Dexamethasone acetate tablet,0.005 g/kg). And its analgesic effect was investigated by acetic acid-induced writhing body reaction test(n=12)and hot-plate-induced pain test(n=12)in mice(positive drug was Morphine hydrochloride tablet,0.0025 g/kg). RE-SULTS:The decoctions extracted from Aconiti lateralis with dahua,xiaohua leaf from Butuo and xiaohua leaf from Jiangyou can significantly reduce the ear swelling degree(P<0.01). The decoctions extracted from Aconiti lateralis with dahua leaf from Jiangy-ou and Butuo can significantly decrease the toe swelling degree after 6 h of medication(P<0.05). And decoctions extracted from Aconiti lateralis with xiaohua leaf from Butuo can significantly reduce the number of writhing body in mice with acetic acid-in-duced pain and prolong the pain threshold of mice with hot-plate-induced pain (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:Aconiti lateralis with dahua and xiaohua leaf from Butuo and with xiaohua leaf from Jiangyou show better anti-inflammation effect,and Aconiti lateralis with xiaohua leaf from Butuo shows better analgesic effect.