1H NMR metabonomics approach was used to reveal the chemical difference of urine between patients with Xiao-Chaihu Tang syndrome (XCHTS) and healthy participants (HP). The partial least square method was used to establish a model to distinguish the patients with Xiao-Chaihu-Tang syndrome from the healthy controls. Thirty-four endogenous metabolites were identified in the 1H NMR spectrum, and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed the urine of patients with Xiao-Chaihu Tang syndrome and healthy participants could be separated clearly. It is indicated that the metabolic profiling of patients with Xiao-Chaihu Tang syndrome was changed obviously. Fifteen metabolites were found by S-pot of OPLS-DA and VIP value. The contents of leucine, formic acid, glycine, hippuric acid and uracil increased in the urine of patients, while threonine, 2-hydroxyisobutyrate, acetamide, 2-oxoglutarate, citric acid, dimethylamine, malonic acid, betaine, trimethylamine oxide, phenylacetyl glycine, and uridine decreased. These metabolites involve the intestinal microbial balance, energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism pathways, which is related with the major symptom of Xiao-Chaihu Tang syndrome. The patients with Xiao-Chaihu Tang syndrome could be identified and predicted correctly using the established partial least squares model. This study could be served as the basis for the accurate diagnostic and reasonable administration of Xiao-Chaihu-Tang syndrome.
Humans ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Metabolome ; Metabolomics ; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Syndrome ; Urinalysis

Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; drug therapy ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Mice ; Silymarin ; pharmacology ; Ursodeoxycholic Acid ; pharmacology

Objective:To explore the gene differential expression pattern of polycystic ovary syn-drome.Methods:We carried out microarray analysis to define the gene networks by the PCOS granulosacells in order to identify differentially expressed genes in PCOS patients.These granulosa cells of fivePCOS cases and five control cases which were derived during oocyte retrieval from women undergoingIVF.Results:As compared with control human ovarian granulosa cells,46 genes were screened out,25genes were up-regulated,and 21genes were down-regulated in PCOS.These differentially expressedgenes were involved in various biologic functions,such as regulation of fatty acid metabolism,cell-cellsignal transduction,immune and inflammatory response,reflecting the complexity of clinical manifesta-tions of PCOS.Conclusion:Microarray analysis technology is an effective mothod to identify novel PCOSassociated candidate genes.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of donor-derived NK cells added to pretreatment conditioning regimen on hematopoietic reconstitution after MHC haplotype-mismatched BMT in mice.

METHODSMurine model of MHC haplotype-mismatched BMT was established by using BALB/c(H-2d) x C57BL/6(H-2b) (CB6F(1)(H-2d/b)) mouse as recipient, and C57BL/6(H-2b) mouse as donor. Fifty recipient mice were divided into 5 groups. The mice in the first three groups were each infused 1 x 10(6), 5 x 10(5), 2 x 10(5)/mouse donor-derived NK cells, respectively before TBI ((60)Co, 9.0 Gy) and then conditioned with TBI, followed by infusion of C57BL/6(H-2b) mice bone marrow cells four hours later. The mice in the fourth group received TBI only, and in the fifth group, TBI and BMT at the some doses as the first three groups. Hematopoietic reconstitution, survival time, body weight, histopathology of the recipients were followed up.

RESULTS(1) Survival time was (5.15 +/- 0.66) days for the fourth group, and > 30 days for the other 4 groups. (2) Leukocyte and platelet counts at day 10 after BMT were (0.99 +/- 0.22) x 10(9)/L and (61.0 +/- 7.27) x 10(9)/L respectively for the fifth group and (2.01 +/- 0.21) x 10(9)/L, (101.50 +/- 16.34) x 10(9)/L; (1.98 +/- 0.29) x 10(9)/L, (99.50 +/- 16.41) x 10(9)/L and (1.97 +/- 0.21) x 10(9)/L, (98.0 +/- 16.19) x 10(9)/L for the first three groups, respectively. Histopathology displayed no GVHD in all the groups.

CONCLUSIONDonor-derived NK cells could promote hematopoietic reconstitution after MHC haplotype-mismatched BMT in mice.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Graft vs Host Disease ; immunology ; prevention & control ; Haplotypes ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Killer Cells, Natural ; cytology ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Transfusion ; Major Histocompatibility Complex ; immunology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Transplantation Conditioning ; methods ; Transplantation, Homologous

OBJECTIVETo summarize our hospital's experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Candida infection in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP).

METHODSSeventy-eight cases with ANP were reviewed. There were diagnoses either by operative finding or by CT scanning. Sixty-two cases received prophylactic antibiotic treatment, other sixteen did not. For cultivation of Candida, blood, urine, stool, sputum and wound drainage fluid culture, and swabs were examined microbiologically for fungi.

RESULTSThe incidence of Candida infection in all patients with ANP was 17.9% (14/78) and mortality was 28.6% (4/14). The incidence of prophylactic antibiotic group was 19.4% (12/62) and mortality was 25.0% (3/12). Non prophylactic group was 12.5% (2/16) and 50.0%.

CONCLUSIONSOur data provide evidence for the clinical significance of Candida infection in patients with ANP. The current prophylactic antibiotic treatment can prevent a septic course of the ANP, but might lead to the evolution of Candida infection.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Candidiasis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; complications ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo explore the therapeutic mechanisms of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for experimental peripheral neuropathy induced by Campilobacter jejuni (Cj) lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

METHODForty healthy Wistar rats weighing 205 - 230 g were divided into IFN-beta, IVIG, IFN-beta plus IVIG and control groups. After the immune neuropathy was induced in the rats by Cj LPS, IFN-beta (1.3 microg/kg) was given by subcutaneous injection to the rats every other day for 6 weeks; IVIG [400 mg/(kg x d)] was given to the rats for five days, every other week for two times and IFN-beta [1.3 microg/(kg x d)] and IVIG [400 mg/(kg x d)] were given to the rats on the same days. Meanwhile, the control group was given PBS. The sera were collected in the 2nd, 4th and 6th week after therapy, the titers of anti-GM(1) IgG, MMP-9 and TNF-alpha in sera of immunized rats were measured by ELISA; histological study of sciatic nerve was performed and IgG on sciatic nerve was detected by immunohistochemistry in the 6th week.

RESULTS(1) There were no significant differences in titers of anti-GM(1) IgG, MMP-9 and TNF-alpha among the 3 therapeutic groups and control group after therapy for 2 weeks (P > 0.05). (2) The titers of anti- GM(1) IgG, MMP-9 or TNF-alpha in the control group were much higher than those of the IFN-beta group, the IVIG group or the IFN-beta and IVIG group after therapy for 4 weeks (P > 0.01) and there were no significant differences in titers of antibody among the 3 therapeutic groups (P > 0.05); the titers of MMP-9 or TNF-alpha in the IFN-beta and IVIG group were lower than those of the IFN-beta group or the IVIG group (P < 0.05). (3) The titers of anti-GM(1) IgG, MMP-9 or TNF-alpha in the control group were much higher than those of the IFN-beta group, the IVIG group or the IFN-beta with IVIG group after therapy for 6 weeks (P > 0.01); the IFN-beta with IVIG group had much lower levels of all indexes than the IFN-beta group or the IVIG group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIFN-beta and IVIG showed therapeutic effects on immune peripheral neuropathy through inhibiting the humoral and cellular immunity simultaneously in the peripheral neuropathy induced by CJ LPS, treatment with combined IFN-beta and IVIG was more effective.

Animals ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; therapeutic use ; Immunotherapy ; Interferon Type I ; therapeutic use ; Interferon-beta ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Lipopolysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Recombinant Proteins ; Sciatic Nerve ; drug effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; immunology

We propose a new method for tumor classification from gene expression data, which mainly contains three steps. Firstly, the original DNA microarray gene expression data are modeled by independent component analysis (ICA). Secondly, the most discriminant eigenassays extracted by ICA are selected by the sequential floating forward selection technique. Finally, support vector machine is used to classify the modeling data. To show the validity of the proposed method, we applied it to classify three DNA microarray datasets involving various human normal and tumor tissue samples. The experimental results show that the method is efficient and feasible.
Artificial Intelligence ; Colonic Neoplasms ; classification ; genetics ; Computational Biology ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Databases, Genetic ; Discriminant Analysis ; Gene Expression Profiling ; statistics & numerical data ; Glioma ; classification ; genetics ; Humans ; Leukemia ; classification ; genetics ; Models, Statistical ; Neoplasms ; classification ; genetics ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; statistics & numerical data ; Principal Component Analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the perioperative characteristics and surgical methods in treating the old with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.

METHODSFrom January 2000 to October 2007, 36 patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis with the age more than 60 years,including 16 males and 20 females, the age from 60 to 81 years with an average of 67.5 years. Of all patients, 6 cases were treated by simple surgical decompression, 16 cases by decompressive laminectomy, 20 cases by decompressive laminectomy combined with internal fixation and fusion.

RESULTSNo death cases occurred during perioperation and complication occurred in 14 cases, including cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 3 cases, incision late healed in 1 case, heart abnormal symptom in 1 case, respiratory infection in 1 case, gastrointestinal symptom in 4 cases, urinary system infection in 1 case, spirital symptom in 1 case. After symptomatic treatment, all complications improved. All the cases were followed up from 6 months to 5 years with an average of 2.5 years. Oswestry scoring improved from preoperative 45.66 +/- 7.12 to postoperative 16.80 +/- 5.75, there was significant difference between before and after operation (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe age and heath condition are not operative absolute contraindication in treating old with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis,with the proper operation modus after controlling concomitant diseases, the surgical treatment could guarantee the satisfactory therapeutic effect.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Stenosis ; physiopathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo discuss the relationship between decompression methods of lumbar spinal stenosis and outcomes.

METHODSFrom September 1996 to March 2007, 68 patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis were investigated retrospectively. There were 40 males and 28 females with the mean age of 52.8 years (ranging from 32 to 78 years old). And the average history was 51 months. According to Hansraj classification of lumbar spinal stenosis and levels response to symptom,the classic lumbar spinal stenosis were treated with complete laminectomy and foramintomy (18 cases in group A), hemilaminectomy and foreminotomy (11 cases in group B), complete fenestration and foraminotomy (17 cases in group C); and other patients with complicated lumbar spinal stenosis (22 cases in group D) were treated with decompression and intervertebral fusion and internal fixation. The clinical results of all patients were analyzed according to JOA score (15 scoring method).

RESULTSAll patients were followed up with an average of 64 months (ranging from 8 months to 11 years). At final follow-up,the improvement rate of JOA score in the group A,B,C,D was respectively (51.2 +/- 26.6)%, (60.7 +/- 21.1)%, (59.3 +/- 23.1)% and (59.1 +/- 22.7)%. These data were significantly difference than that of preoperative (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONCT and MRI results combining with clinical symptom and sign is the key to determine decompressive extent; lumbar stability is the key to determine fixation and intervertebral fusion in treating lumbar spinal stenosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Decompression, Surgical ; Female ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Stenosis ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of root canal taper and post on tooth stress distribution.

METHODSThree-dimensional finite element models of human mandibular first molar with root canals prepared with 35# K file, ProTaper and Profile were established. The tooth were restored with fiber-resin, stainless steel and silver amalgam posts respectively. A vertical load on tooth occlusal surface was simulated. Marc software was used to analyze and calculate the stress distributions in the tooth restored with three kinds of different root canal posts, especially the in the cervical part and root.

RESULTSDifferent tapered root canals had no obvious influence on stress distribution in all three different posts. Stress distribution of stainless steel post located at the cervical and middle part of distal root, the highest Von-Mises stress was about 45 MPa. Stress distribution of silver amalgam post located at the orifice of root canal and pulp fundus, the highest Von-Mises stress was about 16 MPa. Stress distribution of fiber-resin post had no obvious stress concentration.

CONCLUSIONSFiber-resin post is the most ideal root canal post. Stainless steel post causes remarkable stress concentration in the root, which may raise the possibility of root fracture.

Dental Amalgam ; chemistry ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; pathology ; Dental Restoration, Permanent ; Dental Stress Analysis ; methods ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Mineral Fibers ; Molar ; Post and Core Technique ; instrumentation ; Quartz ; chemistry ; Root Canal Preparation ; instrumentation ; Stainless Steel ; chemistry ; Stress, Mechanical ; Tooth Root ; physiology