Objective To investigate the aetiology of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD),and the effects of moxifloxacin in the treatment of AECOPD.Methods Patients with stable COPD based on GOLD criteria were included in the study.Sputum collected at first exacerbation was analyzed for bacteria count and culture.IL-6,IL-8 and TNF-?were measured by enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Eligible patients were randomized to receive moxifloxacin (400 mg qd for 5 days) or ce- faclor (250 mg q8h for 7 days).Efficacy parameters were evaluated at 7 and 14 days after treatment initiation and 1 year later. Results Of the 46 patients with moderate or severe COPD (male 38,moderate 24),21 (45.65%) were microbiologically evalu- able at baseline.The main pathogen was Haemophilus influenzae (10/21).Clinical efficacy rate was 87.0% in moxifloxacin group and 82.6% in cefaclor group.Bacterial eradication rate was 80.0% and 72.7% respectively.The difference between groups was not statistically significant in terms of clinical or microbiological efficacy.In moxifloxacin arm,the frequency of ex- acerbation was 2.6?1.0,significantly lower than control arm (3.5?1.4,P

Objective:To evaluate the impression accuracy of different impression methods for flabby ridge.Methods:5 patients with flabby ridge were included.Conventional technique,perforation technique and window opening technique were performed to make im-pressions and then final models were prepared.The optical models of the flabby ridge area were obtained both in patients'mouths and on the master casts by intraoral optical scanner.Data handling and computations were made by using 3D inspection and metrology soft-ware,regarding SD,Mean +and Mean -,with subsequent analysis.Results:The 3D deviation of the models obtained by conventional technique was the biggest,that obtained by window opening technique was the least.Conclusion:Window opening technique can de-crease the deformation of flabby ridge impression.

Objective To study topiramate′s neuroprotection on primary cultured hippocampal neurons which were injuried by glutamate and its mechanism.Methods The primary cultured hippocampal neurons were made as the research object,and excitotoxicity model was exected with glutamate.Hippocampal neuron survival was assessed by MTT method and hippocampal neuron mitochondrial membrance potential(MMP) was evaluated by fluorescence microscope and flow cytometry.Results Hippocampal neuron survival of normal control was(98.4?0.8)%,and the survival of glutamate model group was(59.6?3.2)%,at the same time,two topiramate′s groups′ cell survivals was(74.1?0.5)% and(79.2?3.4)%,and topiramate with two levels all could obviously increase hippocampal neuron survival((P

Objective Establishing an employee satisfaction indicator system for tertiary hospitals in Beijing.Methods Evaluation indicators are built on theory research,and questionnaires are designed for survey.Such methods as principal component factor analysis,and verification factor analysis are called into play to test the construct validity and establish in the end the employee satisfaction indicators system.Results Such indicators comprise five grade-1 dimension and 34 grade-Ⅱ dimension,such as hospital management satisfaction indicator.Conclusion This self-designed scale ideally mirrors the employee satisfaction of tertiary hospitals in Beijing,proving the indicators to be objective and reasonable.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of effective parts of Zingiber officinal (EPZ) on the adhesion of ECV-304 cells with monocytes cultivated in vitro and on the expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and adhesion molecules.

METHODThe model of ECV-304 cell oxidative stress injury was established by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Then EPZ-contained blood serum was taken as experimental drug. The adherence of monocytes to endothelial cell were measured by method of rose Bengal. The total RNA of cells was extracted. The intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and MCP-1 mRNA expression in cells were detected by RT-PCR. MCP-1 protein expression were detected by ELISA.

RESULTEPZ could decrease the adhesion of monocytes with ECV-304 cells obviously. Meanwhile it could diminish the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and MCP-1 in injured ECV-304 cells.

CONCLUSIONEPZ could inhibit H2O2-induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and MCP-1 expression in ECV-304 and could inhibit the adherence of monocytes to endothelial cell, which may result in the protect effect in endothelial cells.

Animals ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Line ; Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CCL2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Ginger ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; pharmacology ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Monocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of dihydroartemisinin on the apoptosis of and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in prostate cancer cell line PC-3M in androgen-independent prostate cancer.

METHODSPC-3M cells were treated with different doses (0, 25, 50 and 100 micromol/L) of dihydroartemisinin for 48 hours, their growth activity analyzed by MTT colorimetric assay and flow cytometry, and changes in the activities of caspase-3 and -8 detected by colorimetric assay. The expression of VEGF mRNA was determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and that of the VEGF protein by Western blotting.

RESULTSCompared with the 0 micromol/L control group, the 25, 50 and 100 micromol/L dihydroartemisinin groups showed significantly increased apoptosis of PC-3M cells ([2.92 +/- 0.45]% vs [8.85 +/- 0.74]%, [12.83 +/- 0.84]% and [18.65 +/- 1.24]%, P < 0.01), and dose-dependent increase in the activities of caspase-8 ([0.47 +/- 0.05 ] U/microg vs [1.22 +/- 0.15], [1.76 +/- 0.07] and [2.91 +/- 0.24] U/microg, P < 0.01) and caspase-3 ([0.44 +/- 0.07] U/microg vs [0.95 +/- 0.08], [1.48 +/- 0.14] and [2.92 +/- 0.45] U/microg, P < 0.01). The expressions of VEGF mRNA and protein were decreased in a concentration-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONDihydroartemisinin can significantly suppress the growth of PC-3M cells, promote their apoptosis and reduce the expressions of VEGF mRNA and protein, which may serve to explain its inhibitory effect on tumor and angiogenesis.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Artemisinins ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDGinsenosides are main components extracted from ginseng, and ginsenoside Rg3 is one of the most important parts. Ginsenoside Rg3 has been found to inhibit several kinds of tumor growth and metastasis. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on human ovarian cancer metastasis and the possible mechanism.

METHODSThe experimental lung metastasis models of ovarian cancer SKOV-3 and the assay of tumor-induced angiogenesis were used to observe the inhibitory effects of Rg3 on tumor metastasis and angiogenesis. The effect of Rg3 on invasive ability of SKOV-3 cells in vitro was detected by Boyden chamber, and immunofluorescence staining was used to recognize the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in SKOV-3 cells.

RESULTSIn the experimental lung metastasis models of ovarian cancer, the number of tumor colonies in the lung and vessels oriented toward the tumor mass in each ginsenoside Rg3 group, was lower than that of control group. The invasive ability and MMP-9 expression of SKOV-3 cells decreased significantly after treatment with ginsenoside Rg3.

CONCLUSIONSGinsenoside Rg3 can significantly inhibit the metastasis of ovarian cancer. The inhibitory effect is partially due to inhibition of tumor-induced angiogenesis and decrease of invasive ability and MMP-9 expression of SKOV-3 cells.

Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Female ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; prevention & control ; secondary ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; prevention & control ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) on the proliferation of prostatic smooth muscle cells (PSMCs) in vitro.

METHODSThe ERalpha shRNA expression frame was subcloned to the pGSadeno adenovirus vector by homologous recombination technology to construct the pGSaaeno-ERalpha vector. After the mouse PSMCs were transfected in vitro by pGSaaeno-ERalpha, the mRNA and protein expression levels of ERalpha were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The expression of IGF1 in the ERa-reduced cells was determined by Western blot 6 hours after treatment with 17beta-estradiol (E2) at 10(-8) mol/L. The post-transfection activity of estrogen or exogenous IGF1 in the proliferation of PSMCs was evaluated by MTT chlormetric analysis.

RESULTSAfter treatment with E2, the proliferation of PSMCs and the expression of the IGF1 gene were significantly increased in the normal control group (P <0.05), but not obviously changed in the ERalpha-siRNA group (P> 0.05). And exogenous IGF1 failed to induce the proliferation of the ERalpha-reduced PSMCs.

CONCLUSIONE2 induces the expression of IGF1 via ERalpha, and IGFl, with the interaction of ERalpha, promotes the proliferation of PSMCs.

Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Estradiol ; pharmacology ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; metabolism ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; Prostate ; cytology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics

Objective To investigate the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA levels on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 disease progression in Chinese HIV/HCV co-infected individuals. Methods Cross-sectional analysis was performed among 391 HIV-infected patients for assessment of HCV-IgG, HCV-RNA, HIV-RNA, CD4 cell counts and cell surface markers of immune activation, to compare the difference of viral and immune indexes between HCV-RNA high group and HCV-RNA low group, and to elucidate the association between HCV-RNA, HIV-RNA and CD4 cell counts in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Results (1) The percentage of anti HCV-IgG positive of former plasma donor group (93%) and drug-injection group (97.5%) were significantly higher than that of sexual transmission group (20.1%). The percentage of HCV-RNA positive of drug-injection group (89.9%) was significantly higher than that of former plasma donor group (48.3%) and sexual transmission group (62.5%), P<0.01, respectively. (2) HCV-RNA levels were positively correlated to HIV-RNA levels (r=0.237,P

Adolescent ; Adrenalectomy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged