OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of paraquat (PQ) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and neutrophil apoptosis and its possible signal transduction pathways.

METHODSCultured neutrophils were treated with different concentrations of PQ for 6-24 h. The apoptosis rate of neutrophils and ROS content were determined by flow cytometry. The exoressions of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and Caspase 3 were detected by Western blot. These parameters were checked again after NF-κB and Caspase 3 antagonist were applied.

RESULTSPQ could boost ROS generation and depress neutrophil apoptosis significantly. At the same time PQ could enhance the expression of NF-κB and inhibit the expression of Caspase 3. These effects could be reversed by ROS inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) and NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC).

CONCLUSIONPQ is a potent inducer of ROS and can inhibit neutrophil apoptosis by activating NF-κB and surpressing Caspase 3 activity.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Neutrophils ; cytology ; drug effects ; Paraquat ; toxicity ; Pyrrolidines ; pharmacology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Thiocarbamates ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the ability of pleth variability index (PVI) in predicting fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients under general anesthesia.

METHODSFrom August to November 2009, 25 patients were enclosed in this study following anesthesia induction. PVI was continuously displayed by the Masimo Radical 7. All patients were also monitored with Vigileo/FloTrac system. Haemodynamic data such as cardiac index (CI), stroke volume variability (SVV), mean arterial pressure, heart rate, central venous pressure, PVI, perfusion index were recorded before and after volume expansion (hetastar 6%, 7 ml/kg). Fluid responsiveness was defined as an increase in CI ≥ 15% (ΔCI ≥ 15).

RESULTSSVV and PVI were significantly higher in the responders (16.0% ± 2.6% and 20.5% ± 3.7%) than those in non-responders (11.6% ± 1.4% and 13.8% ± 2.6%) respectively (P < 0.05). The SVV threshold of 13.5% before volume expansion was able to discriminate the responders from the non-responders with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 87.5%. The threshold for PVI was 15.5%, the same sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 87.5% were obtained. There was a significant relationship between PVI before volume expansion and change in CI after volume expansion (r = 0.683, P < 0.01), the same as the changes of SVV (r = 0.600, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONPVI as a new dynamic indices can predict fluid responsiveness non-invasively in mechanically ventilated patients during general anesthesia.

Abdomen ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Anesthesia, General ; Female ; Fluid Therapy ; Hemodynamics ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Monitoring, Intraoperative ; Respiration, Artificial

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of intron 22 inversion (INV22) of factor VIII (FVIII) gene in severe hemophilia A (HA) patients, clarify its pathological mechanism, and identify INV22 carrier in the female family members.

METHODSOne-stage method was used to assay the FVIII activity (FVIII:C)in 126 severe HA patients with a median age of 14 years old (range: 4 months-63 years). INV22 was analyzed by long-distance polymerase chain reaction (LD-PCR) and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and pedigree were conducted in 3 involved HA families.

RESULTSOf all the 126 severe HA, 52 (41.3%) cases had the INV22. Four females including 3 mothers and 1 sister of probands were diagnosed as INV22 carriers among 11 suspected carrier mosaicisms from 3 INV22 positive HA families. In 8 females from one family without HA history, the patient's mother was a INV22 carrier, but her maternal grandmother, 2 maternal aunts, 2 female siblings and 1 elder female cousin were negative.

CONCLUSIONLD-PCR and PFGE could be used to diagnose severe HA patients with INV22 and identify the carriers.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosome Inversion ; Chromosomes, Human, X ; Factor VIII ; genetics ; Female ; Hemophilia A ; genetics ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Infant ; Introns ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pedigree

OBJECTIVETo summarize and analyze the experience in diagnosis and treatment of primary malignant tumors of the heart and pericardium.

METHODSThe clinical data of 24 patients with malignant tumors of the heart and pericardium treated in our hospital between Jun. 1980 and Mar. 2008 were retrospectively analyzed and the related literature was reviewed.

RESULTSAll 24 patients received surgical treatment. Radical resection in 10 cases and partial resection in 6 cases were performed, and the remaining 8 patients received only surgical exploration due to unresectable tumors. One patient died of cardiopulmonary failure in early postoperative stage and all the other patients died within 4 years after operation due to recurrence or metastases.

CONCLUSIONEchocardiography, CT, MRI, 3D-CT, CT of coronary artery and cardiac angiography are helpful for the diagnosis and selection of operation mode. Histological examination is necessary for the final diagnosis. Early diagnosis and surgical resection of the tumor as complete as possible, and combination with post-operative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy may improve the survival of the patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Mesothelioma ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Myxoma ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Pericardium ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Young Adult

A digital image analysis algorithm based color and morphological features was developed to identify the six varieties (ey7954, syz3, xs11, xy5968, xy9308, z903) rice seeds which are widely planted in Zhejiang Province. Seven color and fourteen morphological features were used for discriminant analysis. Two hundred and forty kernels used as the training data set and sixty kernels as the test data set in the neural network used to identify rice seed varieties. When the model was tested on the test data set, the identification accuracies were 90.00%, 88.00%, 95.00%, 82.00%, 74.00%, 80.00% for ey7954, syz3, xs11, xy5968, xy9308, z903 respectively.
Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Cluster Analysis ; Colorimetry ; methods ; Image Enhancement ; methods ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; methods ; Oryza ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Photography ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seeds ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Species Specificity

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of NPAS2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and analyze its relationship with the clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of the patients.

METHODSReal-time q-PCR was used to detect the expression of NPAS2 mRNA in 40 fresh CRC tissues and paired adjacent tissues; immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of NPAS2 protein in 120 paraffin-embedded tumor and adjacent tissues. The relationship between NPAS2 expression level and the 5-year survival rate of 78 CRC patients with follow-up data were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

RESULTSCompared with the adjacent tissues, fresh CRC tissue expressed significantly lower NPAS2 mRNA levels (P<0.01). Among the paraffin-embedded CRC tissues, 19.2% were positive for NPAS2 expression, as compared to a much higher rate of 62.5% in the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). The expression of NPAS2 was correlated with the tumor size, lymph node metastasis and TNM stages (P<0.05) but not with the patients' gender, age, distant tumor metastasis, differentiation, or invasion. Patients with high NPAS2 expression levels had a significantly higher 5-year survival rate than those with low NPAS2 expressions (P=0.0001).

CONCLUSIONNPAS2 is down-regulated in CRC and closely correlated with the malignant biological behavior of the tumor and 5-year survival of the patients, suggesting its value in predicting the prognosis of the CRC patients.

Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of mechanical periodontal treatment combined with tetracycline on periodontal attachment, distances of cementum-enamel junction (CEJ) to the bone defect bottom and to the alveolar crest, and avidity of serum IgG against Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in patients with aggressive periodontitis.

METHODSTwenty-six patients with aggressive periodontitis were divided equally into two groups to receive mechanical periodontal treatment combined with tetracycline or exclusive mechanical periodontal treatment, with another 20 periodontally healthy subjects serving as the control group. In the two patient groups, routine clinical examination of the subjects was performed to record periodontal attachment level and distances of CEJ to the bottom of the bone defects and to the alveolar crest before and 3 and 6 months after the treatment. The avidity of serum IgG against Pg LPS was measured by ELISA with thiocyanate elution before and after periodontal treatment.

RESULTSCompared with patients with exclusive mechanical periodontal treatment, patients with combined treatments showed significant improvement in periodontal attachment level and the distance of CEJ to the bone defect bottom after the treatment (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively) with also significantly reduced avidity of serum IgG against Pg LPS (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONMechanical periodontal treatment combined with tetracycline produces favorable effects in patients with aggressive periodontitis.

Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Bacterial ; blood ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Lipopolysaccharides ; immunology ; Male ; Periodontitis ; immunology ; therapy ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; immunology ; Tetracycline ; therapeutic use

Humans ; Hypertensive Encephalopathy ; etiology ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch ; complications ; diagnosis

Ten compounds were isolated from the barks of Jasminum giraldii by means of various of chromatographic techniques such as silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and Rp-HPLC. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic data analysis as (+)-medioresinol (1), (+) -syringaresinol (2), syringaresinol-4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), oleanic acid (4), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-trans-cinnamaldehyde (5), trans-sinapaldehyde (6), syringaldehyde (7), 1-(4-methoxy -phenyl) -ethanol (8), trans-cinnamic acid (9), and 4-(1-methoxyethyl) -phenol (10). Among them, compounds 1-3, 5-8 and 10 were isolated from the J. genus for the first time and compounds 4 and 9 were obtained from J. giraldii for the first time. In the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, compound 1 exhibited significant activity (IC50 55.1 micromol x L(-1)), compared with vitamin C(IC50 59.9 micromol x L(-1)); and compound 2 showed moderate activity (IC50 79.0 micromol x L(-1)), compared with 2, 6-di-tert-butyl4-methylphenol (IC50 236 micromol x L(-1)).
Antioxidants ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Jasminum ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence and risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) within the first postoperative week after off-pump or on-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB or CCAB) surgery.

METHODSConsecutive patients underwent CABG between January 1990 and August 2006 in our institution and had normal serum creatinine (Scr) and estimated creatinine clearance (Ccr) values before operation were retrospectively analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for the development of AKI defined as Scr 130 - 199 micromol/L or Ccr 30 - 60 mlxmin(-1)x1.73 m(-2).

RESULTSIncidence of AKI was significantly higher in patients underwent CCAB compared to those underwent OPCAB (63/331 vs. 61/518, P < 0.01). Peak Scr value was seen at 12th hour post OPCAB and 24th hour post CCAB, respectively. The rapid recovering of Scr occurred between 24th hour to 48th hour in patients underwent OPCAB and 48th hour to 72th hour in patients underwent CCAB surgery. Multivariate forward stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that LVEF < 30%, pulse pressure >/= 60 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa), peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, emergent procedure, triple-vessel disease, higher body mass index (kg/m(2)), intraoperative and postoperative IABP, NYHA class III or IV and cardiopulmonary bypass were risk factors for the development of postoperative AKI following CABG, while LVEF > 50% and intraoperative and postoperative IABP were associated with lower incidence of AKI (OR < 1).

CONCLUSIONAKI is not a rare complication post OPCAB or CCAB surgery, especially in patients with reduced LVEF, increased pulse pressure, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, emergent procedure, triple-vessel disease, higher body mass index, intraoperative and postoperative IABP.

Acute Kidney Injury ; etiology ; Aged ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; adverse effects ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; adverse effects ; Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors