BACKGROUND:Magnesium alloy is a material that is easily degradable and has good mechanical properties.OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of the two kinds of magnesium aloy materials (AM50 and WE43) on proliferation and morphology of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells at logarithmic phase were cultured in 100%, 50%, 10% extracts of AM50 and WE43 or directly seeded on the surface of AM50 and WE43 for 24 hours to study the morphological effect of magnesium alloys on the cells. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured routinely served as negative controls. Relative growth rate of the cells was detected at 12, 24, 48 hours after culture. Cell morphology was observed using immunofluorescence staining at 24 hours after culture, and pH and element levels in the cell supernatant were measured.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) AM50 and WE43 extracts showed no effects on the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in comparison with the negative control group. (2) Compared with the negative control group, reduced area of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was found on the surface of AM50 or WE43 alloy by the immunofluorescent staining, and the cytoskeleton of the cytoplasm was blurred. However, after 24 hours of culture, morphological changes of the cells cultured in 10%, 50% and 100% AM50 or WE43 extracts were consistent with those cultured routinely. The cytoskeleton of the cytoplasm was clearly visible. (3) Compared with the negative control group, the pH values of 100% AM50 and WE43 extract groups were significantly upregulated, and the level of magnesium element was also increased remarkably. In summary, AM50 and WE43 alloys possess good cytocompatibility with human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and have no influence on the cell proliferation and growth.

Objective To investigate the relation between the apotosis of B cells in the peripheral blood (PB) and the expression of interleukin (IL)-17 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods The proportions of apoptosis of B cells in the PB of 80 patients with RA and 80 healthy controls were measured by flow cytometry.B cells in the PB of 20 RA and 20 healthy individuals were isolated by MACS and Western blotting was used to detect the Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein levels.IL-17 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).T-test and linear regression were used to analyze the data.Results The proportions of apoptosis of B cells in the PB of patients with RA and healthy controls were (14±6)％ and (24±9)％ respectively.The rate of apoptosis of B cells in patients with RA was significantly less than healthy controls (t=2.737,P=0.021).The Bcl-2 protein level of B cells in the PB of patients with RA group was significantly higher than that of control group (26±10,12±6,P＜0.01).Conversely,the Caspase-3 protein level of B cells in the PB of patients with RA group was significantly lower than that of the control group (16±7,31±12,P＜0.01).ELISA detected elevated level of serum IL-17 in the patients with RA as compared with controls [(69±19),(27±10) pg/ml,t=4.631,P=0.014].There was a negative correlation between the level of IL-17 and apoptosis of B cells in patients with RA (r=0.36,P＜0.01).Conclusion The elevated bcl-2 and reduced caspase-3 of B cells in patients with RA further proves there is abnormal apoptosis of B cells in RA patients.There is negative correlation between the expression of IL-17 and apoptosis of B cells in patients with RA and IL-17 can inhibit B cell apoptosis.

Objective To investigate the expression of helper T cells (Th)17/regulatory T cells (Treg) balance associated factors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and their correlation with serum midkine (MK).Methods A total of 60 RA patients were divided into active RA patients (n=32) and inactive RA patients group (n=28).MK level in sera was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 60 patients with RA and 30 healthy controls (HCs).The fraction of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg cells and IL-17+CD4+ Th17 cells in RA patients and healthy controls were determined by flow cytometry (FCM), and the expreasion of Foxp3, RORγt, Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 and STAT5 mRNA were detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results were evaluated using ANOVA followed by q tests for comparisons of Th17 population between active RA patients, inactive RA patients and HCs, t test was used for comparing of Foxp3, RORγt, STAT3, STAT5 mRNA between RA group and HCs.The correlations between serum MK concentration and peripheral Treg cells, Th17 cells, Foxp3, RORγt, STAT3, STAT5 mRNA were analyzed by Pearson's correlation analysis.Results The percentages of Treg cells from active RA patients, inactive RA patients and HCs were significantly different (F=129.6, P＜0.01), the percentages of Treg cells of active RA patients [(1.41±1.05)％] were lower than that of the inactive RA patients [(3.6±1.6)％;q =7.92, P＜0.05] and healthy group [(7.7±1.7)％;q=22.45, P＜0.05], and there was significant difference between healthy group and inactive RA group (q=14.53, P＜0.05).The percentages of Th17 cells of the three groups were also significantly different (F=36.3, P＜0.01),the percentage of Th17 cells of active RA patients [(1.84±1.01)％] was significantly higher than that of inactive RA patients [(0.71±0.28)％;q=9.59, P＜0.05] and healthy group (0.53±0.16)％ [(P＜0.05;q=1 1.10, P＜0.05], there was no significant difference between the inactive RA group and healthy group (q=1.51, P＞0.05).The expression of RORγt and STAT3 mRNA in RA patients was higher than that of healthy controls (t=5.84, P＜0.01;t=4.52, P＜0.01).The expression of Foxp3 and STAT5 mRNA in RA patients were lower than healthy controls (t=6.01, P＜0.01;t=2.18, P＜0.05).Serum MK values were correlated with STAT5 (r=-0.55, P＜0.01), but not with Foxp3, RORγt, STAT3 mRNA or the percentage of Treg/Th17 cells.Conclusion Serum MK expression and the percentage of Th17 cells increase, while the percentage of Treg cells decrease in RA patients.Serum MK values are negatively correlated with STAT5 mRNA which is associated with Th17/Treg balance.This may be important in the pathogenesis of RA.

Objective To investigate the value of emergency hysterectomy on arresting severe postpartum hemorrhage Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 10 cases of hysterectomy by reason of postpartum hemorrhage between Jan 1990 and Dec 2000 Results All the patients were severe postpartum hemorrhage that couldn't be controlled by conservative treatment. Among them,there were 5 cases of DIC,2 cases of placental adherence,1 case each of uterine atony,uterine rupture and infection of uterine incision. Blood loss averaged 2 427 ml. All the 10 patients were recovered. Emergency hysterectomy was related to times of gestation and delivery and also to delivery pattern Conclusion Emergency hysterectomy is one of the effective methods on arresting severe postpartum hemorrhage.

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of patients with advanced schistosomiasis in Hunan Province,so as to provide the evidence for formulating the advanced schistosomiasis prevention strategies and measures. Meth-ods The data of advanced schistosomiasis patients were collected and analyzed retrospectively with the cross section research method and description method in Hunan Province,2012. Results There were 5 722 advanced schistosomiasis patients in Hu-nan Province,and among them,4 112 patients were male(71.86%),and 1 610 were female(28.14%). Totally 5 311 patients came from the schistosomiasis endemic areas(92.82%)and 411 patients from non-schistosomiasis endemic areas(7.18%). The prevalence rate of advanced schistosomiasis was 8.46/10 000. The mean age of advanced schistosomiasis patients was 60.30 ± 11.63 years,and the youngest was 17 years old and the oldest 92 years old. In the age composition of advanced schistosomiasis pa-tients,the greatest number of cases was in the 60-70 years age group (32.72%). There were 3 595 cases of ascites type (62.83%),2107 cases of splenomegaly type(36.82%),11 cases of dwarf type(0.16%),and 11 cases of colon proliferation type (0.35%). Conclusion The prevalence rate of advanced schistosomiasis is relatively stable in Hunan Province,and the age of the patients showed an old aging trend. The salvation of advanced schistosomiasis patients in non-endemic areas should be strength-ened.

Objective Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after cardiac surgery,especially in elderly patients,and related with poor prognosis.Although much advances in therapies of AKI have been obtained,the prognosis of patients did not improved.In the absence of proven interventions,a reasonable strategy would be to identify modifiable risk factors for AKI.The objective of the present study was to explore modifiable risk factors of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in elderly patients.Methods Data from 457 consecutive elderly patients (age ≥60 years old)who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in the Guangdong General Hospital between January 2007 and December 31,2009 were analyzed in this retrospective research.The primary outcome was AKI according to the serum creatinine criteria of the RIFLE (renal Risk,Injury,Failure,Loss of renal function and End-stage renal disease) classification as an increase in serum creatinine ＞ 50％ from baseline to peak value within the first seven postoperative days.The baseline serum creatinine was defined as the latest serum creatinine before cardiac surgery.Univariate anadysis was carried out for patients'demographics data and multivariate analysis by logistic regression was used to obtain the independent risk factors for AKI.Results Among 457 elderly patients,patients mean age was (65.22 ± 4.17) years and they comprised 253 (55.4％) men and 204 (44.6％) women.AKI occurred in 313 (68.5 ％) participants.Compared with patients without postoperative AKI,the media length of intensive care unit was longer in patients with postoperative AKI,4.0 (2.0-7.5) days versus 2.0 (1.0-3.0) days,respectively.In logistic regression model,malc (odds ratio[OR] 1.894,95％ confidence interval[CI] 1.136-3.157),age above 65 years (OR 2.391,95％ CI 1.381-4.142),hypertension (OR 2.286,95％ CI 1.249-4.184),estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 60 ml/min (OR 1.933,95％ CI 1.111-3.362),preoperative uric acid ＞ 450 μ mol/L (OR 2.938,95％ CI 1.633-5.285),use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor inhibitors (ACE1/ARB) before cardiac surgery (OR 2.196,95％ CI 1.283-3.759),use of ACEL/ARB after surgery (OR 0.329,95％ CI 0.156-0.691),use of diuretics (OR 0.149,95％ CI 0.068-0.326),time of cardiopulmonary bypass above 120 min (OR 5.228,95％ CI 3.023-9.041) and prolonged mechanical ventilation (OR 2.921,95％ CI 1.527-5.586) were independent factors of AKI after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.Conclusion Preoperative uric acid above 450μmol/L was a modifiable risk factor of AKI after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in elderly patients.Therapies aimed at mitigating high preoperative uric acid may offer protection against this complication.

Objective:To determine expression levels of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) and serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in patients with acute cerebral infarction and their clinical significance.Methods:A total of 80 patients with acute cerebral infarction in Chongqing Cancer Hospital from January 2014 to February 2016 were enrolled as an observation group.Another 80 healthy people served as a control group.The expression levels of UCH-L1 and GFAP in the 2 groups were detected.Results:Sensibility and specificity for UCH-L1 and GFAP were 75.0％,87.5％ and 81.3％,90.0％,respectively.Receiver operating characteristic curve areas of UCH-L1 and GFAP were 0.670 and 0.757,respectively.There were no significant significance in age,gender,drinking,smoke,diabetes,and hyperlipidemia in the 2 groups (P＞0.05).High blood pressure rate in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05).Spearson/Pearson analysis showed that serum UCH-L1 and GFAP levels were positively correlated with hypertension,but they were negatively correlated with sex,age,diabetes,hyperlipidemia,alcohol consumption,smoking,and other factors.General data at different time in the observation group was not statistically different (P＞0.05).The expression levels of UCH-L1 and GFAP in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05).UCH-L1 and GFAP levels at different time in the 2 groups were not statistically different (P＞0.05).UCH-L1 and GFAP levels in the light,medium,and heavy groups were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05),while UCH-L1 and GFAP levels in the medium and heavy groups were higher than those in the light group (P＜0.05).There was significant difference between levels of UCH-L1 or GFAP and infarction size at different time in the observation group (P＜0.05).The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that the levels of serum UCH-L1 and GFAP were positively correlated (r=0.634,P=0.001).Conclusion:The levels of serum UCH-L1 and GFAP are significantly increased at the early stage of acute cerebral infarction,and they have a certain correlation with the severity of cerebral infarction,which can provide a basis for early clinical diagnosis and treatment.

AIM: To explore the role of TGF-?_1 and signaling transduction molecule, Smad4, in the development of glomerulosclerosis. METHODS: Expression levels of TGF-?_1, Smad4, collagen Ⅰ proteins were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in renal biopsies from 38 cases with a spectrum of glomerulonephritis, and compared with 20 normal kidney tissue with image analysis system. After stimulation with TGF-?_1, expressions of endogenous Smad4 and collagen Ⅰ mRNA and proteins and its modulation by TGF?_1 were evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blotting analyses in cultured human mesangial cells. RESULTS: All types of proliferative and sclerotized glomerulonephritis showed an increased expression of TGF-?_1, Smad4 and collagen Ⅰ ompared with the 20 normal kidney tissue in glomerular (P

0.05). CONCLUSION: Serum Cys C is significantly increased in ARF and correlated well with the severity of ARF. Serum Cys C can be one of the detectable markers of ARF, but it is independent of the mortality and does not predict the prognosis of these patients.

A UPLC-ESIMS method was developed for simultaneous analysis of seven major bioactive flavonolignans in silymarin including silychristins A(1) and B(2), silydianin(3), silybins A(4) and B(5), and isosilybins A(6) and B(7). In this study, the seven major active flavonolignans including the diastereomers 1/2, 4/5, and 6/7 were completely separated using UPLC with an ACQUITY UPLC C18 column and MeOH-water (formic acid) mobile phase system. The collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS spectra of these flavonolignans were studied systematically using ESI-MS. The results with the present methodology showed that UPLC-MS/MS can be used for general screening of active natural products from plant extracts and for the specific quality control of silymarin.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Silymarin ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; methods