Objective To study the role of cell density in the tyrosol production and morphology for Candida albicans biofilms. Methods C. albicans SC5314 and clinical isolates were propagated in yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) medium. Cells were collected by centrifugation and washed twice in sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) before this study, then resuspended in RPMI 1640 supplemented with L-glutamine and adjusted to a desired concentration of 5 × 10~6 cells/ml, 5×10~5 cells/ml, 5 × 10~4 cells/ml, 5 × 10~3 cells/ml after counting with a hematocytometer. Standardized C. albicans cells were prepared as above description and 2000 μl of this standardized cell suspension was dispensed into the wells, then C. albicans biofilms were formed on the bottom of the polystyrene wells. In this study, tyrosol synthesized by SC5314 and clinical isolates of C. albicans biofilm was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The effects of tyrosol on morphology of C. albicans biofilms were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results Tyrosol production of C. albicans biofilms was affected by cell densities. At lower inoculation size(5 μ 10~3 cells/ml), there was too less tyrosol production to be detected at the early stage of the biofilms formation. At higher inoculation size (5 μ10~6 cells/ml), tyrosol can be detectable at the early stage or at the mature stage of biofilms formation. There was a sharp increase in tyrosol concentration at 24 h, while there was a decrease in tyrosol concentration after that time from the strains when the strains were at an inoculation size of 5 × 10~6 cells/ml and 5 × 10~5 cells/ml. Cell densities affected the morphology formation of the C. albicans biofilms. At the early stage of the biofilms formation, C. albicans grew less germ tube at lower cell densities than that at the higher cell densities. With the mature of the biofilms, C. albicarts grew more hyphae at higher cell densities than that at the lower cell densities. All these above showed that cell densities played an important role in the propagation for the C. albi-cans in the biofilm formation. Conclusion Cell density play an important role in the formation of the C. albi-cans biofilms and the production of the tyrosol.

Objective To explore the clinical significance of neutrophils/lymphocyte(NLR)and platelet/lymphocyte ratioof (PLR)peripheral blood in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.Methods Retrospectively analyzed 62 patients with PBC and three subgroup patients according to Child-pugh,who were hospitalized in Shanghai Changhai Hospital and Shanghai Changzheng Hospital from January 2010 to July 2015.Enrolled 59 healthy controls.Baseline data and laboratory indicators were extracted,and the correlation between PLR and NLR and disease activity were analyzed.The changes of NLR in 3 pa-tients with PBC were analyzed.3 patients were followed up and their NLRs were recorded before and after therapy.Results Compared with healthy controls,NLR was significantly increased in PBC patients (P<0.05),and not PLR (P>0.05). NLR was positively correlated with TBIL and Mayo risk (R=0.35,0.30,P<0.05),and not ALT,AST or ALP (P>0.05).After therapy,NLRs were significantly reduced in three PBC patients (P<0.05).Conclusion NLR may be a useful biomarker for assessing clinical therapy in PBC patients.

OBJECTIVETo explore the theory of "Fei and Dachang being interior-exteriorly related" and the pathogenesis of lung injury by observing changes of inflammatory cytokines and oxygen free radicals in ulcerative colitis (UC) rats.

METHODSTotally 50 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups, the normal control group and the model group, 25 rats in each group. The UC model was established by allergizing colon mucosa combined with TNBS-alcohol (50%) enema. Another 25 rats were recruited as the normal control group. At week 2 and 4 after modeling, the pathomorphological changes of the lung were observed. Furthermore, the contents of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-1beta were determined by ELISA. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated with colorimetry.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the pathomorphology of the lung tissue in the model group appeared abnormal at week 2 and 4. Compared with the normal control group, levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and MDA in the lung tissue significantly increased in the model group (P < 0. 01) and the activities of SOD significantly decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTNF-alpha, IL-1beta, SOD, and MDA might be common material bases for the large intestine involved in lung disease of UC patients, thus providing a modern scientific basis for the theory of Fei and Dachang being interior-exteriorly related.

Animals ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

To evaluate the antiosteoporotic effects of benzyl benzoate glucosides from Curculigo orchioides (COBG) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

OBJECTIVETo compare therapeutic effects, safety and tolerance of TCM, western medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine for treatment of acute lumbosacral pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

METHODSNinety cases were randomly divided into 3 groups, 30 cases in each group. They were treated respectively with western medicine, TCM and combined TCM and western medicine, and the pain intensity, activity, muscular tension, and other indexes were monitored after 7 days and 30 days of treatment.

RESULTSAfter treatment of 7 days, the combined treatment group in improvement of VAS scores of lumbosacral pain and radiating pain of the lower limbs was superior to the TCM group with no significant difference between the two groups, and in improvement of VAS scores of lumbosacral pain and radiating pain of the lower limbs, Lasegue's sign, activity of spinal column (Schober test and distance from finger tip to floor), etc. were superior to the western medicine group (P < 0.05). After treatment of 30 days, there was no significant differences in the therapeutic effect among the 3 groups. The patients in the 3 groups had good tolerance with no severe adverse reaction.

CONCLUSIONCombined TCM and western medicine treatment has rapid effects and definite therapeutic effect in alleviating pain, improving activity for acute lumbosacral pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

Benzodiazepines ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; therapy ; Ketoprofen ; therapeutic use ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional

AIM: To investigate two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the apolipoprotein(a) promoter at positions -418 and -384 and to compare distributing difference of genotype frequencies of single nucleotide among different races and to explore the influencies of them on serum lipid level and their association with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Using PCR-RFLP (BsgI,BfaI) method, we determined genotypes of these two SNPs in 156 unrelated healthy controls of HanZu Chinese and 56 unrelated CHD patients of HanZu Chinese and 56 unrelated African Blacks, then cloned polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products into T-vector and sequenced it by M13 currency primer, correspondingly. RESULTS: (1) There was no polymorphism at position -418A/A and -384C/C in control group. Only one CHD patient′s genotype determined was -418G/G, other were -418A/A and (-384C/C) in CHD patients. (2) Only two African Blacks′ genotype determined was -418G/G, other were -418A/A and (-384C/C) in African Blacks. (3) However, the Apo(a) promoter sequence was in coincident with the sequence publicized in GenBank and the base at positions -418 was adenine (A) and -384 was cytosine (C). CONCLUSION: The mutation frequencies at position -418 and -384 are low in the Chinese Han Population of Hubei and perhaps no single nucleotide polymorphisms is at two positions. No association with serum lipid levels and CHD is observed. There may be great variabilities to the SNPs in the Apo(a) promoter among different races.

Background Biometry of the anterior ocular segment parameter is very important for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and ocular injury as well as measurement of intraocular lens(IOL).Objective This study was to compare the differences in the anterior chamber depth(ACD) and the central corneal thickness (CCT) between Sirius and Pentacam and evaluate the agreement of these two measurement methods.Methods The ACD and the CCT of 38 right eyes from 38 health volunteers aged 23- 32 years were measured with both Pentacam and Sirius.Three times of measurement were pedormed on each eye for each method to obtain the average values.The repeatability and agreement from each method were assessed as intraclass correlation coefficient( ICC ) and coefficient of variation(CV) and the agreement between these two methods were evaluated using Bland-Altman mode.ResultsThe mean ACD value was( 3.18±0.21 ) mm from Pentacam with the ICC 0.995 and CV 0.066.The mean ACD value from Sirius was (3.22 ±0.21 )mm with the ICC 0.996 and CV 0.065.The difference value in ACD between two methods was 0.04 mm,showing a significant difference( t =-6.225,P＜0.05 ) and a positive correlation (r=0.977) between two methods.The 95％ limit of agreement was( -0.04-0.13)mm within 1 standard difference (SD) of the mean value( ±0.21mm),which was acceptable for clinical measurement.The CCT was( 535±33 )μm from Pentacam with the ICC 0.994 and CV 0.062.The CCT was(537±36)pm from Sirius with the ICC 0.999 and CV 0.067.The difference value in the CCT between two methods was about 2 μm,presenting a in significant difference ( t =1.771,P＞0.05 ) and positive correlation ( r =0.985 ).The 95 ％ limit of agreement was ( - 11.64-15.65 ) μm within 1 SD of the mean value( ±34.27 pm),which was acceptable for clinical measurement.ConclusionsSirius and Pentacam show good agreement in the measurement of ACD and CCT.The two methods offer an alternative choice for the biological measurement of the anterior ocular segment.

Background Axial length and anterior chamber depth are important parameters for the calculation of diopter of intraocular lens ( IOL ). Objective This study was to investigate and compare the measuring outcomes of axial length and anterior chamber depth with IOLMaster,Axis- Ⅱ A-scan and ODM 1000A sonograph.Methods This a observational study.Axial length and anterior chamber depth were measured in 83 eyes of 48 patients with IOLMaster,Axis-Ⅱ A-scan and ODM 1000A sonograph by the same operator.The measuring results were compared among the three methods.Results The axial length were(25.79±0.85) mm,(25.72± 0.82 )mm and ( 26.00 ±0.83 )mm respectively with Axis- Ⅱ,ODM 1000A sonograph and IOLMaster.The difference between Axis-Ⅱ and DM 1000A sonograph was (0.07 ± 0.35 )mm without statistical difference between them (t=1.711,P =0.091 ).The difference of axial length between IOLMaster and DM 1000A sonograph was ( 0.27 ±0.29) mm with a statistical difference between them ( t =-8.570,P =0.000 ).The difference between IOLMaster and Axis- Ⅱ was (0.21 ±0.32 ) mm and showed a statistical difference ( t =- 5.931,P ＜ 0.01 ).The positive correlations were found in the axial length values by the each other comparison among the three instruments( r=0.916,0.938,0.928,P＜0.01 ).The anterior chamber depth values were ( 3.81 ±0.21 ) mm,( 3.84 ±0.25 ) mm and ( 3.83 ±0.18 )mm respectively with Axis-Ⅱ,0DM 1000A sonograph and IOLMaster.The difference of anterior chamber depth between Axis- Ⅱ and DM 1000A was (0.03 ±0.17 ) mm without statistical difference between them ( t =- 1.324,P =0.189 ).The difference in the anterior chamber depth between IOLMaster and DM 1000A was (0.01 ±0.15 ) mm and that between IOLMaster and Axis-Ⅱ was( 0.01 ±0.12)mm without any statistical differences among them (t =0.815,P=0.417 ;t=-0.900,P=0.371 ).The high correlation between anterior chamber depth measurements were found by the each other comparison in the three instruments ( r =0.735,0.813,0.823,P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions ODM 1000A sonograph can provide precise axial length and anterior chamber depth values.However,ODM 1000Asonograph can not substitute for IOLMaster in the measurement of the anterior chamber depth and axial length.

Background Clinical research showed that the corneal endothelial cell density value from different corneal specula microscopies exist diversity.The relevant literature of SP02,Tomey EM-3000 and SP3000P is still seldom up to now. Objective This research was to assess the repeatability of endothelial cell density measurements by SP02,Tomey EM-3000 and SP3000P respectively and the agreement among 3 kinds of endothelial microscopes.MethodsFifty-four healthy volunteers with the age 17-38 years old were included this research.The written informed consent was obtained from each subject before examination.The corneal endothelial cell densities in the right eyes were analyzed with SP02,Tomey EM-3000 and SP3000P respectively for 3 times under the automatic mode,and the analytical procedure of SP3000P measurement were divided into automatic mode SP3000P (A) and manual correction modes SP3000P( M).The repeatability of each specula microscopy was analyzed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficient of variation ( CV ),and the 95％ confidence intervals and plotting Bland-Altman graphs were used to analyze the agreement among these methods.ResultsThe mean corneal endothelial cell densities in the population ＜24 years were significantly higher than the ones ≥ 24 years (t =3.692,P＜0.05 ),but no statistical difference was found between different gender ( t =0.335,P =0.739 ).The mean corneal endothelial cell densities were ( 3058 ± 260 ),( 2954 ± 229 ),( 2668 ± 258 ),( 2734 ± 268 ) cell/mm2 ; the ICCs were 0.957,0.940,0.972 and 0.972 and the CV were 0.063,0.061,0.056,0.058 for SP02,Tomey EM-3000,SP3000P (A) and SP3000P ( M ) respectively.The 95％ confidence intervals were ( - 100.8 - 306.8 ),( 162.6 - 617.4 ),( 109.9-494.1 ) and ( -0.6 - 132.6 ) cell/mm2 for between SP02 and Tomey EM-3000,SP3000P ( A ) and SP02,SP3000P(A) and Tomey EM-3000,SP3000P(A) and SP 3000P(M) respectively.ConclusionsSP02,Tomey EM-3000 and SP3000P(A) have good repeatability in the measurement of corneal endothelial cell density,however the outcome is different.Therefore,it is not interchangeable for the detection of corneal endothelial cell density.The differences of corneal endothelial cell density obtained from these instruments shall be paid high attention for their differences.SP3000P(A) and SP3000P(M) can be used interehangeably and SP3000P(A) is a preferable choice due to its convenience and quickness.

Objective To study the expression level of thyroid insulin-like growth factor-Ⅰ (IGF-Ⅰ) in iodine deficiency and excess mice and the effect of thyroid gland IGF-Ⅰ in the thyroid morphological change. Methods Forty-eight Balb/c mice were chosen as studied objects,weighing about 16 g. They were divided into three groups: low iodine(LI,iodine content of 50 μg/kg in feed,drinking deironized water) group,normoi(NI,iodine content of 300 μg/kg in feed,drinking deironized water) group and high(HI,iodine content of 300 μg/kg in feed,iodoine of content 14 700 μg/kg in drinking) group,16 mice in each group. Mice were put to death after 12 weeks and taken out of their thyroid gland. The body weight,absolute and relative weights of thyroid gland were measured and the morphological change of thyroid gland were observed under microscope. The expression levels of thyroid gland IGF-Ⅰ mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry,respectively. Results There were statistical significances between groups of thyroid absolute and relative weights(F = 315.881,405.921,all P < 0.01). LI group [(10.71±4.03) mg,(44.98±15.39)mg/100 g body weight]and HI group [(3.42±1.17)mg,(13.50± 3.89)mg/100 g body weight]had heavier thyroid absolute and relative weights than NI group[(2.11±0.53)mg,(8.35±1.98)mg/100 g body weight,all P < 0.01]. Under microscopy,the thyroid follicle capacity grew down and the follicle quantity grew up in LI group,the epithelium was stylolitic,the colloid diminished or absence in follicular cavity,while HI group presented colloid accumulation without follicular hyperplasia. The expression level of thyroid gland IGF-Ⅰ mRNA in LI group(1.03±0.32) was more than that in NI(0.65±0.19) and HI(0.59± 0.20) groups(F= 7.518,P< 0.01). In contrast to NI,there was no difference in the expression level of thyroid gland IGF-Ⅰ mRNA in HI group(P > 0.05). The brownish particles of LI group were more than NI and HI groups in the thyroid follicle epithelium by immunohistochemistry,while HI group was less than NI group. Conclusions The mice of iodine deficiency presented follicular hyperplasia goiter,the mice of iodine excess presented colloid accumulative goiter. The change of IGF-Ⅰ mRNA and protein expression may participate morphologleal change,indicating autocrine IGF-Ⅰ of thyroid gland may play an important role in regulating goiter formation.