In recent years a number of qualitative research methods have gained popularity within the health care arena. Despite this popularity, different qualitative analysis methods pose many challenges to most researchers. The present paper responds to the needs expressed by recent Chinese medicine researches. The present paper is mainly focused on the concepts, nature, application of framework analysis, especially on how to use it, in such a way to assist the newcomer of Chinese medicine researchers to engage with the methodology.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Qualitative Research ; Research ; Research Design

BACKGROUND: Several studies have confirmed that activation of intervertebral disc enzymes is closely related to matrix degradation. Matrix metalloproteinase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase have been shown to exert important roles in the process of extracellular matrix degeneration in intervertebrel disk. Besides these two enzyme systems, whether other proteeses that exhibit degrading effects on extracellular matrix are involved in the intervertebral disk degeneration remains poorly understood.OBJECTIVE: To detect the cathepsin K expression in normal and degenerated human intervertebrel disc cells and investigate the correlation between cathepsin K and intervertebral disc degeneration.METHODS: Cathepsin K expression was detected in intervertebral disc tissue from 30 patients with lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion using immunohistochemistry SP method and ELISA. At the same time, the intervertebral disc tissue from 15 healthy adult cadavers and/or spine fracture patients was taken as control, Cathepsin K protein expression in normal and degenerated human intervertebral disc tissues were compared.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Cathepsin K expression was observed in normal and degenerated intervertebral disc tissues.The expression level was significantly higher in degenerated tissue than normal tissue (P ＜ 0.05). These findings demonstrate that Cathepsin K possibly participates in the intervertebral disc degeneration.

Objective Overexpression of multidrug resistance(MDR)is one of the mechanisms that will lead to chemotherapy failure.Of the MDR pathways in tumor cells,P-glycoprotein (P-gp) encoded by MDR genes is one of the key points.99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile(MIBI) is an imaging agent that can detect overexpression of MDR in tumor cells.The aim of this study was to observe the relationship between 99Tcm.MIBI uptake kinetics and P-gp levels in tumor cells,with or without MDR reversing agents.Methods A totle of 2×106 cells of human myelogeneous leukemia cell line K562 and its resistant subline(K562/D) were incubated with 8 MBq 99Tcm-MIBI respectively.99Tcm-MIBl accumulation and emux at various time inter-vats and the uptake difference with the presence of different cyclosporin A(O.1-O.4 ug/ml)were also ob-served.Comparison of different cell lines or without and with cyclosporin A were performed with the t-test, and the daa of different groups were compared by q-test.Results 99Tcm-MIBI uptake in K562 and K562/D cell line were 1.559±0.529 and 0.107±0.036,99Tcm-MIBI uptake in k562 was flitleon times higher than k562/D.As compared with K562 cell line with no expression of P-gp,significantly increased the 99Tcm-MIBI uptake of K562/D to 106%,148% and 163%after treated with cyclosporin A(0.1,0.2.0.4ug/ml)was ob-served(t=4.35,4.83,5.88,P<0.05).Conclusiom 99Tcm-MIBI uptake can reflect the P-gP level and multidrug-resistance inhibitor may impact 99Tcm-MIBI uptake in P-gP overexpressing cells.

Objective To explore the high risk factors of brain injury in preterm infants,and to reduce its morbidity and improve the developmental outcome.Methods One hundred and thirty preterm infants,who were admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit(NICU)between Aug.2005 and Aug.2007,were scanned by echo in 1,3,4,7,15 days,and 1,3 and 6 months after birth,respectively.Those who had intraventricular hemorrhage(IVH)of grade Ⅰor Ⅱ were regarded as mild brain injury,whereas those who had IVH of grade Ⅲ or Ⅳ or periventricular leukomalacia(PVL)were regarded as severe brain injury.Logistic regression was adopted to analyze 17 factors:gestational age,birth weight,hypertension syndrome during pregnancy,premature rupture of membranes,modalities of delivery,fetal distress,asphy-xiate,resuscitation,surfactant,apnea,seizures,hypoxia,hypercarbia,hypocarbia,acidosis,use of oxygen,nasal constant positive airway pressure or mechanical ventilation.Results Among 130 preterm infants,88 cases(66.7%)were detected with brain injury,which included 29 cases(33%)with mild brain injury(5 cases with IVH of grade Ⅰ,24 cases with IVH of grade Ⅱ)and 59 cases(67%)with severe brain injury(53 cases with IVH of grade Ⅲ,1 case with IVH of grade Ⅳ and 5 cases with PVL).Gestational age and birth weight were the fundamental factors of brain injury in premature infants.The smaller the gestational age and the lower the birth weight,the highter the brain injury rate.Resuscitation,hypoxia,the use of auxiliary ventilation were also important high risk factors of brain injury in preterm infants.All these high risk factors could influence the autoregulation of cerebral blood and trigger or aggravate brain injury of preterm infants.Conclusions Smaller gestational age,lower birth weight,resuscitation,hypoxia,the use of auxiliary ventilation were all the high risk factors of brain injury in premature infants,which could influence the parameters of cerebral blood dynamics by influencing cerebral blood autoregulation of preterm infants and lead to the occurrence of brain injury in premature.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Kanli Granule (KG) on myocardial mechanics in pressure overload induced diastolic heart failure (DHF) rats.

METHODSTotally 60 male Wistar rats were divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, the KG group, and the Valsartan group according to random digit table, 15 in each group. The pressure overload induced DHF model was established in all groups except the sham-operation group using abdominal aortic constriction surgery. Totally 7 rats died after modeling (with the mortality of 10. 67%) , and the rest 53 finished the following test. Rats in the KG group were administered with KG extract (calculated as 6. 75 g crude drug/kg) by gastrogavage. Rats in the Valsartan group were administered with Valsartan (7.2 µg/g) by gastrogavage. Equal volume of double distilled water was administered to rats in the model group and the sham-operation group by gastrogavage. All rats were intervened for 32 weeks. The response of isolated heart papillary muscle tonus to isoprenaline (ISO) and adenylate cyclase (Forskolin) was respectively observed. The enhancement phenomenon after resting development force (DF) of isolated heart papillary muscle tonus, and changes of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations were observed.

RESULTS(1) In the ISO response test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF, ±df/dt, -df/dt were obviously elevated in the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt were obviously lowered in the KG group (P < 0.01), and the amplification of ±df/dt was also reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.01). (2) In the Forskolin response test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt obviously increased in the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplifications of DF and ±df/dt were obviously reduced in the KG group (P < 0.01), and the amplification of DF was also reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.05). (3) In post-resting DF enhancement test: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplification of DF showed gradually decreasing tendency along with prolonged resting time in the model group, and they were obviously lowered at all time points (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the amplification of DF was gradually increasing along with prolonged resting time in the KG group. The amplification of DF at post-resting 240 s was obviously larger in the KG group than in the model group (P < 0.05). The amplification of post-resting DF still showed gradually decreasing tendency along with prolonged resting time in the Valsartan group, with increased amplifications of DF at post-resting 60 s and 120 s (P < 0. 05) (4) The amplifications of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations: Compared with the sham-operation group, the amplifications of DF were significantly elevated in different Ca²⁺ concentrations (1.75, 3.5, 7.0 mmol/L ) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, there was no statistical difference in amplification of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations in the KG group (P > 0.05). The amplifications of DF in different Ca²⁺ concentrations were significantly reduced in the Valsartan group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe ISO response and the Forskolin response were enhanced in isolated heart papillary muscle tonus of pressure overload induced DHF rats; enhanced post-resting DF was reduced; DF in different supra-physiologic levels of Ca²⁺ was still enhanced. KG could significantly improve excessive enhancement of pressure overload induced DHF rats in ISO response and Forskolin response, and improve enhancement of post-resting myocardium.

Animals ; Colforsin ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Heart Failure, Diastolic ; drug therapy ; Isoproterenol ; pharmacology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

· AIM: To summarize the clinical features of Chinese primary congenital glaucoma and to investigate the discrepancies of the clinical features between the Chinese and Indian patients.congenital glaucoma patients were reviewed. The clinical features were summarized as several quantifiable clinical parameters and the severity of the disease was evaluated. Both the quantified clinical features and severity were statistically compared with those of the Indian patients, which were cited from the previous published articles.included in the study. In Chinese patients, sex ratio (male to female )was about 2:1, family history was presented in 3 patients (7.5%) and consanguinity was found in one patient (2.5%). The main symptoms and signs observed in Chinese patients spanned a wide spectrum of manifestations. The most frequent signs noted on the initial examination were enlarged eyeball (42.5%) and decreased visual acuity (35.0%). Compared with Indian patients, Chinese patients had a later onset, a delayed diagnosis, more severe corneal changes and more severe optic nerve damages (P＜0.01). The combined tabeculectomy and trabeculotomy operation was preferred by both Chinese and Indian doctors whereas a higher proportion of Indian patients received the combined operation (P＜0.01). The proportions of the severity grade were different between Chinese and Indian patients. Most Chinese patients were in the severe grade while most Indian patients were in the very severe grade (P＜0.01).patients were sporadic and non-consanguineous.Compared with Indian patients, Chinese patients had a relative later onset, a delayed diagnosis and treatment.More attempts are needed in Chinese PCG prevention and treatment.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is the initiator of RNA interference and inhibits gene expression by targeted degradation of specific messenger RNA. siRNA-mediated gene regulation has high efficiency and specificity and exhibits great significance in the treatment of diseases. However, the naked or unmodified siRNA has poor stability, easy to degrade by nuclease, short half-life, and low intracellular delivery. As an emerging non-viral nucleic acid delivery system, ionizable lipid nanoparticles play an important role in improving the druggability of siRNA. At present, one siRNA drug based on ionizable lipid nanoparticles has been approved for the treatment of rare disease. This review introduces the research progress in ionizable lipid nanoparticles for siRNA delivery, focusing on the effect of each component of lipid nanoparticles on the efficiency of siRNA-mediated gene silencing, which provides new references for the studies on ionizable lipid nanocarriers for siRNA delivery.

OBJECTIVETo test and compare the color and translucency between the mono-component light-cure adhesive resin and try-in paste with same number for porcelain veneer restorations, and evaluate the consistency of the materials.

METHODSVariolink Veneer and Relyx Veneer were involved in the study. The adhesive resins and try-in pastes were added into a model of diameter of 10 mm and thick of 2 mm with white background and covered with filtered cover glass, and then the resins was cured with light. The color (L(*), a(*), b(*)) of these samples was test and ΔE was also calculated to evaluate the color consistency of samples. The resins and try-in pastes were made into a thin layer of 0.15 mm, and their translucency was tested under the light from 380 µm to 780 µm. Average translucency was calculated. Tukey t-test for multiple comparisons was used to analysis the differences of ΔE. Paired t-test was used to analysis the differences of translucency of them.

RESULTSTukey's t-test shows that the evaluation of ΔE of TR (1.11 ± 0.18) was a; those of LV-1 (6.38 ± 0.45), LV-2 (5.94 ± 0.19), A1 (7.54 ± 0.20), WO (4.24 ± 1.14) were b; those of HV + 2 (10.90 ± 0.41), HV + 1 (11.48 ± 0.17), LV-3 (10.69 ± 0.13), B0.5 (13.26 ± 0.21) were c; and those of HV + 3 (21.94 ± 0.21), MV0 (29.78 ± 0.14), A3 (32.67 ± 0.19) were d (a, b, c, d meaned that the consistency of resin and try-in paste became lower and lower). There were significant differences between resin and tray-in paste in 7 colors (A1, TR, HV + 3, HV + 2, HV + 1, LV-2, LV-3) of 12 colors (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe consistency of color and translucency between most adhesive resin and try-in paste with same number is low. This kind of materials should be used with caution in demanding cases.

Color ; Composite Resins ; Dental Materials ; Light ; Ointments ; Resin Cements

Technological improvement for microorgnism isolation is important since isolation provides substantial materials for the exploitation of new microbial resources. In this study, a new approach, dispersion and differential cetrifugation (DDC), was applied in the isolation of acidophilic and acidoduric streptomycetes from 12 acid soil samples. Contrast with traditional method, the new approach yielded satisfying results with 2 - 20 times isolation efficiency and good selectivity. 45 representatives out of 249 streptomycetes isolates, which belonged to 12 color groups, showed morphology and cell wall type consistent with streptomycetes. The optimum pH range for their growth were between pH 4.5 - 5.5. It is proved that we succeeded in the rare-streptomycetes isolation using DDC approach.

Objective To explore the feasibility of imaging and treatment of cervical cancer xenograft model using 131I mediated by hNIS gene transfection. Methods The cervical cancer xenograft models were established with Hela-NIS( +) cells and Hela cells, respectively. Five Hela-NIS( +) xenograft models and five Hela xenograft models were dynamically imaged at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 20 h postinjection of 131I(7.4 MBq). Five Hela-NIS( +) xenograft models were imaged at 0. 5,1,2,4,8,16, 20 and 25 h postinjection of 99TcmO4-(11.1 MBq). Twenty Hela-NIS( +) cervical cancer xenograft models were randomly divided into four groups: Three 131I treating groups and one control group. The therapeutic effects of 131I at threelevels (74,111,148 MBq) were investigated following intraperitoneal injection. Results Hela-NIS( +)human cervical cancer xenografts were established successfully in nude mice. The Hela-NIS( +) xenografts significantly accumulated radioactivity after intraperitoneal injection of 131I, and the radioactivity was persistently present until 20 h postinjection, but Hela xenografts had no radioactive accumulation. The T/B value of the Hela-NIS( +) xenografts reached 17.34 at 8 h postinjection. The imaging with 99TcmO4- showed that the radioactivity was persistently present in Hela-NIS( +) xenografts for almost 25 h. The Hela-NIS( +)xenografts shrinked after 131I treatment. The inhibition ratios of tumor growth in 111 MBq and 148 MBq groups were both significantly higher than that of 74 MBq group (t: 2.74-5.75, P ＜0.05). Conclusions Hela-NIS( +) cervical cancer xenografts in nude mice could persistently accumulate 131I and 99TcmO4- and could be treated successfully with 131 I. 131 I treatment mediated by hNIS gene transfection could be a promising cancer treatment method.