Objective To investigate the mechanism of cytokines in brain pathologic changes caused by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).Methods A rat model of LPS was established by injection with a dose of 5mg/kg LPS into thigh vein.60 SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:control group,LPS group,naloxone+LPS group,each group included 20 rats and was subdivided into 4 subgroups(1h,2h,4h,6h respectively).In each subgroup,cerebral pathological changes and concentrations of TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 in brain homogenate were investigated.Results Brain homogenate concentration of TNF-α in subgroup LPS 2h was higher than control group[(9 30±0.57) ng/g vs(8.00±0 79)ng/g,P＜0.01],other subgroups have no significant difference from control group. Naloxone group had lower TNF-α level than LPS group.Brain homogenare concentration of IL-1β in subgroup LPS 1h increased apparently[(0.56±0.08)ng/g,P＜0.01],subgroup LPS 2h had no significant change;other subgroups have no significant difference from control group.Natoxone group had lower IL-1β level than LPS group(P＜0.01).but no difference from control group.Brain homogenate concentration of IL-6 in subgroup LPS 2h and 4h were respectively(459.68±79.15)ng/g,(816.07±111.31)ng/g,significantly higher than control group[(377.22±63.73)ng/g,(369.98±34.35)ng/g,respectively].Control group had no significant cerebral pathologic changes,while LPS group showed apparent changes:edema,interstitial substance and mening vessels expanding and hyperaemia,neurosome minification,Nissl's body lost,karyopycnosm,and nucleoli abolition.Naloxone group had lighter neurocyre injuries and brain edema,especially at 2h and 4h.Conclusions After LPS injection,the level of cytokines changed as time goes by,and this fits the brain pathologic changes.Naloxone has protecnve effect on brain tissue in LPS treated rats.Inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the mechanism of cerebral damage in LPS rats.

Studying the essence of syndromes (Zheng) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a fundamental challenge in basic theoretical research of TCM. The relationship between any given syndrome and biochemical indicators is one of the important aspects of the study. As the indexes selected in each study are specific to a particular Western medical disease diagnosis, and the disease factor is inevitably introduced into the study, the effect of disease factor on the index changes cannot be assessed effectively by traditional data processing methods. This is known as "the same syndrome with different reasons", which has resulted in confusion in TCM research. This study aimed at providing a mathematical tool to address this issue. Based on information theory and the residual-split method, the syndrome information, which was covered in the index variation, was quantitatively calculated in this paper as an independent part of the disease factor. A mathematical model capable of objectively assessing and statistically testing the effect of the syndrome factor on the index changes was established. Applying this model to literature data of studies on the relationship between cyclic nucleotides and yang-deficiency syndrome showed following results. First, the values of yang-deficiency syndrome information were negative for cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) while positive for cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in all included literature. This indicated that the group of yang-deficiency syndrome was correlated with an obvious trend of reduced cAMP levels and increased cGMP levels. Second, the statistical test results of yang-deficiency syndrome information of the two indexes were different among the literature included. The quality of original data was considered as a possible reason. Third, the significant differences between the yang-deficiency group of a specific disease and the normal group may, in some cases, be caused by a disease factor rather than a syndrome factor. The mathematical model provided a reasonable mathematical tool for the analysis of disease factor and syndrome factor in clinical research of TCM, suggesting that the mathematical model may give rise to innovative ideas and methods in the study of syndromes.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of different concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), dexamethasone (Dex), and insulin on the mRNA and protein expressions of GPR54 in the MCF7 cell line in vitro.

METHODSMCF7 breasr cancer cells were cultured and treated with different concentrations of LPS (10 and 20 µg/ml), TNFα (20 and 100 ng/ml), IL-6 (10 and 20 ng/ml), Dex (10(-6) and 10(-7) mol/L), and insulin (0.01 and 0.1 IU/L). Those treated with culture fluid only served as controls. The mRNA and protein expressions of GPR54 were measured by real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively, after 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours of treatment.

RESULTSCompared with the blank con- trol, LPS (10 and 20 µg/ml), TNFα (20 and 100 ng/ml), IL-6 (10 and 20 ng/ml), Dex (10(-6) and 10(-7) mol/L), and insulin (0.01 and 0.1 IU/L) significantly increased the expressions of GPR54 mRNA (P < 0.05) and protein (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLPS, TNFα, IL-6, Dex, and insulin evidently increase the expression of GPR54 in the MCF7 cell line, indicating their influence on the function of gonads by regulating the GPR54 level.

Blotting, Western ; Dexamethasone ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Glucocorticoids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Gonads ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Insulin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Interleukin-6 ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; MCF-7 Cells ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptors, Kisspeptin-1 ; Time Factors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

Objective To detective the carcinogenesis and operation principle of cyst canceration after internal drainage(ID) operation for congenital choledocal cyst (CCC).Methods The clinical data of 25 patients with cyst carcinoma after ID operation for CCC in the past 28 years were analysed retrospectively.Results The total canceration rate after internal drainage of CCC were 30.49%(25/82); after cystoduodenostomy was 35.29%(14/51),after cystojejunostomy was 22.58%(11/31), respectively. In the 25 cases, three of them were operated with Wipple operation , 4 with tumour resection plus biliary reconstrustion operation, 4 local resection with external drainage ,14 with external drainage only. Conclusions Internal drainage of CCC should be aborted becaus of the high canceration rate after the operation.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global burden disease and is being resurrected as a major worldwide public health problem after two decades of neglect.In 1993,the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that TB had been a global emergency because of the scale of the epidemic and the urgent need to improve global tuberculosis control.China is one of the countries with the largest population,and also the top of the 22 TB high-burden countries in the world.In the United States,the longstanding downward trend in TB incidence was interrupted in the mid-to-late 1980s,where the national TB incidence peaked in 1992.Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the three regions to dominate the worldwide distribution of notified TB cases.Of the 15 countries with the highest estimated tuberculosis incidence rates in the world,13 are in sub-Saharan Africa,where HIV is the most important single predictor of tuberculosis incidence.The largest share of the global burden of HIV-related tuberculosis falls on this region.The reasons for the persisting global tuberculosis burden include increased poverty in some regions,immigration from countries with high tuberculosis prevalence,the impact of HIV,and most importantly,the failure to maintain the necessary public health infrastructure under the mistaken belief that tuberculosis was a problem of the past.Relying on currently available methods of diagnosis and treatment,the DOT strategy promoted by the WHO for global tuberculosis control is effective,affordable,and adaptable in different settings.

Evidence of the pharmacological activity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides the basis for clinical prescription. Study of the classification of Chinese medicines according to these activities is key to understanding the general active tendencies of medicinal prescriptions, exploring their material basis, investigating their properties and searching for their alternatives. Taking the herbal classic Shennong's Materia Medica Classic (Shennong Bencao Jing) for the data source, this paper studied the classification of Chinese medicines based on semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm using "micro-cluster" concept in order to investigate the complex similarity among Chinese medicines. The results showed that 253 Chinese medicines were reasonably classified into 14 types, such as invigoration, clearing heat, diuresis, dredging blockages in the channels, treating gynecological conditions and treating strange diseases caused by ghosts. The results also showed that the other 112 Chinese medicines were classified into 112 individual types and the same high similarity to different known types was the main reason for this. The semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm employed in the study had a high quality and a good development for clustering which is suitable for classification of Chinese medicines. This study illustrated the diversity of Chinese medicines and their complex similarities, thus aiming to provide innovative ideas and methods for related research.

The concepts of cold and hot herbal properties in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), reflecting the efficacy trends of medicinal herbs, have the Fuzzy characteristics. It is suited for the application of Fuzzy mathematics in research of herbal properties. For a comprehensive evaluation of herbal properties, this work constructed and made a practice of the Fuzzy discrimination model regarding the biological performance of Chinese materia medica.

HER2, a member of epidermal growth factor receptor family proteins, is overexpressed in about 30% of human breast cancer. Increased levels of HER2 are associated with poor patient prognosis and enhanced metastasis. RNA interference (RNAi) is developed recently as a new technique which can inhibit gene expression specifically in mammalian cells. On the basis of previous study,in which two target sequences with favorable RNAi effect on HER2 were identified, a series of dual promoter siRNA-expressing vectors containing two opposing U6 and H1 promoters were constructed. After transfection of HER2-overexpressing SKBR3 breast cancer cells with the siRNA-expressing vectors, downregulation of HER2 was identified quantitatively. Subsequently, the siRNA-expressing cassettes were subcloned into lentiviral vectors by LR recombination reaction and lentivirus was prepared successfully. The results from infection of SKBR3 cells with siRNA-expressing lentivirus demonstrated that lentiviral-mediated RNAi could downregulate HER2 expression efficiently through fluorescent quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR), western blot, and FACS analysis. Furthermore, cell growth was inhibited in cell proliferation assay after treatment with siRNA lentivirus.A new tool for clarifying the function of HER2 in cancer metastasis and developing the gene therapy drug was offered.

Objective To investigate histopathological changes and expression of integrin ?1 of sternomastoid muscle,and probe the mechanism and significance during disease process in congenital muscular torticollis(CMT).Methods Histopathological changes of sternomastoid muscle section stained with HE and Gomori silver staining were observed and the expression of integrein ?1 with immunohistochemistry was detected,and the expressive quantity and distribution with image analysis system was quantitive analyzed.Results 1.With light microscopy observation,the results showed that the fibrous degeneration of sternomastoid muscle could be summed up 2 kinds: A category displayed the myocytes atrophyed,and there were lots of connective tissue hyperplasy around myocytes,and the direction of fibrous arrangement was disordered,meanwhile there were lots of vessels and nervers hyperplasy,and eventually the myocytes shrank back and disappeared.B category displayed that the structure of cross striation or sarcomere disappeared or changed,and myocytes could maintained the outline and the sarcolemma were integrated,and then fibrous pathological changes of myocyte took place,and there were lots of fibroblast-like that had much more enations between fiber bundles.With Gomori silver staining,the major changes of fibrotic sternomastoid muscle showed that there were lots of collagenous fibers hyperplasy.The arrangements of collagenous fibers were disordered in A category and were well-arranged in B ca-tegory.2.With immunohistochemistry,the results showed the expression of integrin ?1 was weak positive in normal control group(125.7?5.167).In diseased groups,the results showed 3 different extents:the expression of integrin ?1 displayed stronger positive in A category myocytes(30.15?6.543),and the level of expression was significantly different from normal controls(P0.05).Conclusions The fibrous pathological changes of sternomastoid muscle are a complicated and gradually process,which may has different mode,and ingetrin ?1 may participated the process of pathological changes.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fracture Healing ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Tibial Fractures ; drug therapy