OBJECTIVEThe biological safety of a new developed silicone rubber for inflatable silastic prosthesis (SRISP) was evaluated.

METHODSFollowing the GB/T 16886.10-2005 standard, YY/T 0127.13-2009 standard, and GB/T 16886.11- 2011 standard, samples were prepared and tested by animal experiments, such as guinea pig maximization test, oral mucous membrane irritation test, and short-term systemic toxicity test (oral route).

RESULTSNo obvious erythema and edema in the guinea pig abdominal skin were observed after 24, 48, and 72 h of stimulating touch, thus indicating that SRISP does not cause potential skin sensitivity. No local response to SRISP was found, and the visual observation and pathological findings of oral mucosa were normal and similar to that of the control group. Therefore, SRISP had no irritation response to oral mucosa. No clinical signs of toxicity were observed in rats, and no significant differences in weight and weight relative growth rate between extract group and blank control group (P > 0.05) were found. Thus, SRISP had no short-term systemic toxicity.

CONCLUSIONThese results indicated that SRISP met the requirement of biomedical materials and had good bio- security.

Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Cosmetics ; Dimethylpolysiloxanes ; Guinea Pigs ; Prostheses and Implants ; Rats ; Silicone Elastomers ; Toxicity Tests

This study evaluated the cytotoxicity of a new type silicone rubber for maxillofacial prosthesis, which was developed by the present authors. According to the GB/T16886. 5- 2003, the samples were prepared and tested with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, the relative growth rate (RGR) was calculated, and morphology of L929 cells were observed by scanning electron microscope and phase contrast microscope. The results showed that RGR of L929 cells were 91.65% (24 h), 87.03% (48 h), 87.30% (72 h), respectively, and the level of cytotoxicity was grade 1. The L929 cells showed typical fusiform shape and their morphology did not changed significantly after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. These data indicated that the newly-developed silicone rubber material, as a maxillofacial prosthesis material, should be a safe biomaterial.
Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Cell Line ; Humans ; Maxillofacial Prosthesis ; Mice ; Silicone Elastomers ; toxicity

There are few articles or reports collecting evidence about parenterally administered salvianolate from premarketing and postmarketing research or studies systematically. This article is an exact miniature of a systematical report about parenterally administered salvianolate. We analyzed information from four aspects, such as quality control reports, non-clinical premarketing safety experiments, postmarketing research (efficacy studies, hospital information system data and national spontaneous reporting system data) and literature analysis. All the four aspects build an evidence body for Kudiezi Solution in order to inform its safety use in clinical practice and further study.
Hospital Information Systems ; Humans ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects

Objective To study the effect of intensive trunk muscle training on balance and walking in pa- tients with hemiplegia caused by stroke.Methods A total of 90 stroke patients were recruited and randomly divid- ed into a treatment group(45 cases)and a control group(45 cases).All the patients were given conventional reha- bilitation training.Meanwhile,intensive trunk muscle training was also administered for those in the treatment group as well.The trunk control function,balance ability and walking ability were assessed by using the trunk control test, Berg Balance Scale and the balance subscale of the Fugl-Meyer physical performance test,and Holden's functional ambulation classification,respectively,before and after 6 weeks of training.Results It was found that all the pa- tients scored better with the trunk control test,Berg's balance scale,the balance subscale of the Fugl-Meyer physical performance test and Holden's ambulation classification after treatment,and there were significant differences between the two groups after treatment(P

BACKGROUND: Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1), also known as CD31, is mainly distributed in vascular endothelial cells. Studies have shown that PECAM-1 is a very significant indicator of angiogenesis, and has been used as an indicator for vascular endothelial cells. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between the expression of PECAM-1 and the degree of acute lung injury (ALI) and fibrosis in paraquat (PQ) induced lung injury in rabbits. METHODS: Thirty-six adult New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into three groups (12 rabbits in each group) according to PQ dosage: 8 mg/kg (group A), 16 mg/kg (group B), and 32 mg/kg (group C). After PQ infusion, the rabbits were monitored for 7 days and then euthanized. The lungs were removed for histological evaluation. Masson staining was used to determine the degree of lung fibrosis (LF), and semi-quantitative immune-histochemistry analysis to determine the expression of PECAM-1. Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the expression of PECAM-1 and the extent of lung injuries expressed by ALI score and degree of LF. RESULTS: Rabbits in the three groups showed apparent poisoning. The rabbits survived longer in group A than in groups B and C (6.47±0.99 days vs. 6.09±1.04 days vs. 4.77±2.04 days) (P<0.05). ALI score was lower in group A than in groups B and C (8.33±1.03 vs. 9.83±1.17 vs. 11.50±1.38) (P<0.05), and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C (P=0.03). LF was slighter in group A than in groups B and C (31.09％±2.05 ％ vs. 34.37％±1.62％ vs. 36.54％±0.44％) (P<0.05), and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C (P=0.026). The PEACAM-1 expression was higher in group A than in groups B and C (20.31％±0.70％ vs. 19.34％±0.68％ vs. 18.37％±0.46％) (P<0.05), and there was statistically significant difference between group B and group C (P=0.017). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the expression of PECAM-1 was negatively correlated to both ALI score (Coe=–0.732, P=0.001) and degree of LF (Coe=–0.779, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The PECAM-1 expression significantly decreases in New Zealand rabbits after PQ poisoning, and the decrease is dose-dependent. The PECAM-1 expression is negatively correlated with ALI score and LF, showing a significant role in the development of lung injuries induced by PQ.

Objective To analyze the constituent of the 32 kD protein band and its expression in schizophrenia se?rum. Methods Sixty schizophrenia patients and 58 health controls were recruited. The serum samples were collected and precipitated with 7%PEG. The sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to ob?tain the abnormal 32 kD proteins band in patients. This protein band was cut and then analyzed using mass spectrometric technique. Results The 32 kD protein band was present in 38 schizophrenia patients but not in control and positive rate was 63.33%. The mass spectrometric analysis showed that 32 kD protein band contained 14 proteins ranging from 30 kD to 35 kD, including 6 high-frequency proteins (cDNA coded protein 1 and 2, Apolin protein A-1, Isoform 2 of ficolin-2, Complement factor H and clusterin) and 8 low-frequency proteins (IgG H chain, zinc-alphg-2-glycoprotein, fermitin,family apolin protein L-1, isoform 10 of collectin-1, purine nucleoside, anne xin and cDNA coded protein 3). Three cD?NA coded unknown proteins were highly similar to complement C4-B, β2-glycoprotein and erythrocyte band 7 integral membrane protein. Conclusion There is a unknown specific 32 kD protein that is consisted mainly of fourteen proteins in serum of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVETo adapt the candidate strains of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) purified vaccine to Vero cells and to study their antigenicity and immunogenicity.

METHODSThe viral strains H8207 (Hantaan virus, HTN) and Y86013 (Seoul virus, SEO) were continuously propagated in Vero cell by the terminal dilution method and studied the characteristics of virus multiplication, viral titers and the amounts of virus antigen after serial passages. Three batches of crude monovalent inactivated vaccine were developed using the different passages of these 2 viral strains.

RESULTSThe strains H8207 and Y86013 adapted to Vero cells and stably grew on the cells with high titers. Rabbits immunized with the crude vaccines of H8207 and Y86013 showed 100% sero-conversion and the neutralizing antibody titers of the rabbit immune sera reached 1?10 at 4 weeks after 2 times of immunization.

CONCLUSIONSThe results suggest that these 2 candidate strains had adapted to Vero cells, possessed high titers and good immunogenicity and be feasible to prepare the HFRS purified vaccine in Vero cells.

Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Hantaan virus ; growth & development ; immunology ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; prevention & control ; Mice ; Neutralization Tests ; Rabbits ; Seoul virus ; growth & development ; immunology ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, Inactivated ; immunology ; Vero Cells ; Viral Vaccines ; biosynthesis ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy in the treatment of post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome between floating-needle therapy and conventional acupuncture on the basis of rehabilitation training.

METHODSOne hundred cases of post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome were randomized into a floating-needle group and an acupuncture group, 50 cases in each one. The passive and positive rehabilitation training was adopted in the two groups. Additionally, in the floating-needle group, the floating-needle therapy was used. The needle was inserted at the site 5 to 10 cm away from myofasical trigger point (MTrP), manipulated and scattered subcutaneously, for 2 min continuously. In the acupuncture group, the conventional acupuncture was applied at Jianqian (EX-UE), Jianyu (LI 15), Jianliao (TE 14), etc. The treatment was given once every two days, 3 times a week, and 14 days of treatment were required. The shoulder hand syndrome scale (SHSS), the short form McGill pain scale (SF-MPQ) and the modified Fugl-Meyer motor function scale (FMA) were used to evaluate the damage severity, pain and motor function of the upper limbs before and after treatment in the two groups. The clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSSHSS score, SF-MPQ score and FMA score were improved significantly after treatment in the two groups (all P < 0.01), and the improvements in the floating-needle group were superior to those in the acupuncture group (all P < 0.05). The total effective rate was 94.0% (47/50) in the floating-needle group, which was better than 90.0% (45/50) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe floating-needle therapy combined with rehabilitation training achieves a satisfactory efficacy on post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome, which is better than the combined therapy of conventional acupuncture and rehabilitation training.

Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy ; etiology ; rehabilitation ; therapy ; Stroke ; complications ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective:To observe the inhibitory effect of berberine (BBR) on the apoptosis of human retinal vascular endothelial cells (hREC) under high glucose environment.Methods:hREC was divided into blank control group (NC group), high glucose group (HG group), BBR treatment group (BN group), and BBR+high glucose treatment group (BH group). The cells of each group were cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium; 5.5 and 30.0 mmol/L glucose were added to the medium of the NC group and HG group, respectively; 5.0 mmol/L glucose and 5.0 mmol/L BBR was added to the BN group; 30.0 mmol/L glucose and 5.0 mmol/L BBR was added to the medium of the BH group. Flow cytometry was used to observe the apoptosis rate of each group. Western blotting was used to detect the relative expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 related X protein (Bax), and Cytochrome C (Cyt-C) and cysteine aspastic acid-specific protease 3 (Caspase-3) proteins in each group of cells. The difference between the two groups was tested by t test, and the difference among multiple groups was analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. Results:The results of flow cytometry showed that compared with the NC group, the apoptosis rate of the HG group significantly increased, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01); compared with the HG group, the apoptosis rate of the BH group significantly reduced, the difference was statistical significance ( P<0.05). Western blot test results showed that, compared with the NC group, the relative expression of Bax and Caspase-3 protein in the HG group increased, and the relative expression of Bcl-2 protein decreased. The difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). Compared with the HG group, the relative expression of Bax, Cyt-C, and Caspase-3 protein in BH group cells decreased, and the relative expression of Bcl-2 protein increased, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.01). Conclusion:BBR can inhibit hREC apoptosis by affecting the expression of apoptotic protein under high glucose environment.

Objective To study the genotypic drug-resistant mutation among treat-naive or treated patients infected with HIV-1 CRF01_AE in Zhejiang province during 2004-2007. Methods HIV-i pol amplicons (PR+RT) from 13 treated and 43 treat-naive patients were obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The sequences were analyzed for genotypic antiretroviral resistance through online tools (http://hivdb.stanford.edu). Results The median count of CD44+ T lymphocytes in 43treat-naive patients was 229 cells/mm3 and the median log10 viral load was 3.41. Some drug-resistant mutations were seen in these samples including amino acid 10, 46, 71, in the genes of protease (PR) and 103, 118, in the genes of reverse transcriptase (RT) whereas twenty-nine resistance mutations in the genes of PR and RT were obtained in the 13 treated patients (8/13, 61.5% ). The high prevalence of drug-resistant mutations was observed in patients who had been receiving HAART (hight active antiretroviral therapy). Among them, cross drug resistance was dominant. Correspondingly, the median counts of CD44+ T lymphocytes and the log10 viral load were 186 cells/mm3 and 3.91. Conclusion There was a low prevalence of genotypic drug-resistant mutations in treat-naive patients, but higher drug-resistant mutation in treated patients. More attention should be paid to the transmission of drug-resistant HIV strains and the antiretroviral therapy recipe should be adjusted correspondingly for the development of ART drugs, intervention as well as clinical therapy programs.