Objective To observe the immunologic function of critically ill newborn and the relative function of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-?B).Methods The critically ill group contained 50 cases,and 25 cases from healthy newborns were used as control group.Blood samples were collected in each case,levels of cytokine interleukin(IL)-4,interferon(IFN)-?,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-? and NF-?B were detected.Result Compared with control group,NF-?B of the critically ill newborn activated and the cytokine were disorder,and IL-4 and TNF-? increased,but IFN-? decreased.Conclusions Critically ill newborn exist immune functional disorder.Furthermore,NF-?B activation may be involved in the process in infants with critically illness.

Objective To compare BACTEC Plus aerobic and anaerobic bottles with BacT/ALERT FA aerobic bottles and FN anaerobic bottles in the ability of detecting simulated bacteremia specimens.Methods The 202 pairs of specimens were composed of 5ml sterile blood and defined loads of microorganisms.112 pairs of specimens in them also contained defined doses of antibiotics to simulate the patients undertaking antibiotic therapy.Time-to-detect(TTD)and positive percentages were evaluated in four groups,including aerobic bottles detecting aerobic bacteria,anaerobic bottles detecting anaerobic bacteria and facultative anaerobic bacteria,and aerobic bottles contained antibiotics detecting aerobic bacteria.Results The positive percentages of two kinds of aerobic bottles were both 100%.For the specimens with bacterial concentration of 10~2 and 10~3 CFU/ml,average TTDs of BACTEC Plus aerobic bottles[(13.69?3.74)h,(11.54?2.87)h]were faster than those of BacT/ALERT FA bottles [(16.76?5.62)h,(14.47?4.30)h;t=-5.674,-7.294,P

It is an important task to lab of clinical microbiology to surveille multi-drag or pan-drug resistant strains,such as penicillin-or macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae,methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA),3rd generation cephalosporin-or quinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter baumannii,and so on.We must understand characteristics of these resistant strains to guide doctors' empirical therapy of infective diseases.

Objective To explore the interaction between serum melatonin and the status of disease and probe the effect factor of serum melatonin change in asthmatic children.Methods Serum melatonin was measured in asthmatic children with 15 cases of mild persistent asthma,15 cases of moderate persistent asthma,15 cases of severe persistent asthma,15 cases of stable asthma and 15 cases of normal subjects by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The levels of serum melatonin in the 5 groups of mild persistent asthma,moderate presistent asthma,Severe Persistent asthma,Stable asthma,control subject were(22.76?5.16)ng/L,(16.79?3.35)ng/L,(11.54?1.45)ng/L,(22.06?3.36)ng/L,(28.72?4.32)ng/L,respectively.There were significant differences between any of them(Pa

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect and relevant mechanism of shuxuening Injection (SI) in treating patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODSTotally 91 patients with active UC were randomly assigned to 2 groups, 44 in the control group and 47 in the treatment group. Patients in the control group received routine treatment, while patients in the treatment group additionally received intravenous injection of SI (15 mL), twice daily for 14 days in total. Colonoscopy was performed before and after treatment. The therapeutic effect was assessed by Mayo scoring system and the grading of activities evaluated by Baron endoscope. Serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA. The activity of SOD was detected by xanthine oxidase method. The content of MDA was detected by thiobarbituricacid (TBA). Besides, 20 healthy subjects were recruited as the healthy control group.

RESULTSTotally 82 patients completed the study (40 in the control group and 42 in the treatment group). There was no statistical difference in serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, SOD, MDA, the Mayo score and endoscope grading between the two groups before treatment (P >0. 05). Compared with the healthy control group, serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MDA significantly increased (P <0.01), and the serum SOD level decreased (P < 0. 05) in the treatment grup and the control group before treatment. Compared with before treatment in the same group, serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MDA, the Mayo score and endoscope grading all decreased in the treatment group and the control group after treatment (P <0. 01, P <0. 05). Compared with the control group after treatment, serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MDA, the Mayo score and endoscope grading all decreased (P <0.01, P <0.05), the serum SOD level increased (P <0.05) in the treatment group after treatment. The serum SOD level was obviously negative correlated with serum levels of IL-6, TNF-a, Mayo score, and endoscope score (r = -0. 621, -0.638, -0. 509, -0.787, P <0.01). The serum MDA level was obviously positive correlated with serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, Mayo score, and endoscope score (r =0.711, 0. 882, 0. 525, 0. 639, P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONSI could improve inflammatory injury and clinical symptoms of patients with active UC, and its mechanism might be associated with antioxidant and scavenging oxygen free radicals.

Colitis, Ulcerative ; blood ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

Objective To evaluate a new system,Vitek 2 Compact,for identification of bacteria and yeasts.Methods 185 clinical isolates of Peking Union Medical College Hospital,including 69 gram- positive strains,66 gram-negative strains and 50 yeasts,and 50 reference strains in our laboratory,including 25 gram-positive and gram-negative strains respectively,were studied.All the strains were identified by Vitek 2 Compact with GP,GN or YST identification cards.The API method was used as the reference method.Results Among the 93 gram-positive strains,85 strains(91.40%)were correctly identified, including 5 low discrimination identified strains,and 8 strains(8.60%)were correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.About 90% of gram-positive strains were identified within 7 h.Out of 91 gram-negative strains,90 strains(98.90%)were correctly identified,with 5 low discrimination identified strains,only 1 strain(1.1%)was correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.Above 90% of Enterobacteriaceae were identified within 5 h,and over 90% of nonfermenting bacteria were identified within 10 h.In the 50 strains of yeasts,46 strains(92%) were correctly identified,including 8 low discrimination identified strains,and 4 strains(8%)were correctly identified to the genus level,but misidentified to the species level.In all the yeasts,45 strains (90%)were identified in 18.25 h,and another 5 strains(10%)were identified in 18.50 h.Conclusions As Vitek 2 Compact system can give us reliable identification results of clinically relevant bacteria and yeasts,together with its significant reduction of handling time,it will definitely become a powerful tool in clinical microbiology laboratory.

Objective To evaluate a new system,Vitek 2 Compact,for antimicrobial susceptibility testing(AST)of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.Methods Eighty-nine clinical isolates of Peking Union Medical College Hospital,including 48 gram-negative strains and 41 gram-positive strains,and 66 reference strains kept in our laboratory,including 41 gram-negative strains and 25 gram-positive strains, were studied.The antimicrobial susceptibility of these strains were tested by Vitek 2 Compact with AST- GN09(for gram-negative bacteria),AST-P536(for Staphylococci),AST-P534(for Enterococci and S.agalactiae),and AST-P533(for S.pneumoniae)susceptibility cards.The Etest was used as the reference method for comparision.Thirty-two ESBL-producing strains assessed with the confirmatory tests for ESBLs of CLSI(16 strains of them had been confirmed by PCR amplified and sequencing)were detected for ESBLs by Vitek 2 Compact.Results According to the breakpoints of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI),for the 1 626 microorganism-antibiotic combinations,Vitek 2 Compact gave 90.83% strains with category agreement(CA),4.91% strains with very major errors(VME),2.09% strains with major errors (ME),6.40% minor errors(MIE).The AST for more than 90% of Enterobacteriaceae,nonfermenting bacteria,micrococci and streptococci were completed within 11h,13h,11h and 12h,respectively.The ESBLs tests for thirty-two strains by V-itek 2 Compact are all positive.Conclusions Vitek 2 Compact system can give rapid,reliable and reproducible result with high sensitivity and specificity in assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility testing for clinically relevant gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria,and would become a powerful tool in clinical microbiology laboratory.

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of relaxin on the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) excreted by high glucose stimulated human renal mesangial cells.Methods Cultured human mesangial cells (HMCs) were divided into three groups:(1) normal glucose group (NG,5.5 mmol/L D-glucose),(2) high glucose group (HG,30 mmol/L D-glucose),and (3) high glucose + relaxin group.Cell count kit (CCK8) was used to examine the cell proliferation.The levels of fibronectin and collagen type Ⅳ in the culture supernatants were examined with a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA);Western blot method was used to detect the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) protein.The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) mRNA expression was detected with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method.Results No proliferation and inhibition effects were observed in both normal and high glucose group.Compared to the normal glucose group,the levels of fibronectin,and collagen type Ⅳ increased significantly (57.28 ± 0.59 vs 41.85 ± 0.03,56.52 ± 0.88 vs 33.80 ± 0.24,P ＜ 0.01)after cultured 48 h in high concentration of glucose.Compared to the high glucose group,a significantly decreases of fibronectin and collagen type Ⅳ (47.08 ± 0.03 vs 57.28 ± 0.59,36.16 ± 0.52 vs 56.52 ±0.88,P ＜0.01) were observed in the relaxin treated group.The expressions of α-smooth muscle actin and TGF-β1 were decreased (P ＜0.01).Conclusions Relaxin can suppress the overproduction of ECM excreted by HMC cultured in high ambient glucose,and its mechanism is partly due to the inhibition of TGF-β1.

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; metabolism ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Male ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Xinfeng Capsule (XC) on lipoprotein metabolism of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

METHODSTotally 180 RA patients were assigned to the experimental group and the control group by random digit table, 90 in each group. Patients in the experimental group took XC (three pills each time, three times daily), while those in the control group took Methotrexate Tablet (four tablets each time, once per week). One month consisted of one therapeutic course and all patients were treated for two therapeutic courses. A healthy control group consisting of 60 patients was also set up. Changes of lipoprotein indices, clinical efficacy, lipid metabolism, joint symptoms and signs, activity indicators were observed, and correlation analyses were performed.

RESULTSCompared with the healthy control group, expression levels of prealbumin (PA), globulin (GLO), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein Al (Apo-A1) were lowered in RA patients (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Correlation analyses showed that PA was negatively correlated with joint tenderness, morning stiffness time, disease activity score (DAS-28), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, respectively. Total protein (TP) was negatively correlated with joint tenderness. GLO was negatively correlated with joint tenderness and DAS-28. HDL was negatively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and endothelin (ET)-1. Apo-Al was negatively correlated with joint pain; Apo-B was negatively correlated with CRP; LDL was negatively correlated with morning stiffness time (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Compared with before treatment, expression levels of PA, HDL, Apo-A1 , Apo-B, and serum IL-10 contents increased, and expression levels of ESR, CRP, IL-6, ET-1 , joint pain, joint swelling, morning stiffness time, and DAS-28 decreased in the experimental group (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). PA increased more after treatment than before treatment in the control group (P <0. 01). There was statistical difference in joint symptoms (except joint tenderness) and activity indices (except ET-1) in the control group (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Compared with the control group after treatment, PA and HDL increased, ET-1 and duration of morning stiffness decreased in the experimental group (all P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSLipoprotein metabolic disorder exists in RA patients, and it is associated with disease activity. XC could obviously improve lipoprotein metabolism and joint symptoms.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Lipoproteins ; Lipoproteins, HDL ; metabolism ; Methotrexate