Objective: To compare the inhibitory effect of carmustine(BCNU) and bleomycin on craniopharyngiomas in vitro. Methods: Cells were successfully cultured in vitro from the fresh specimens, then the culture medium with bleomycin or BCNU at different concentration was added. The tumor inhibitory curve-line was drawn based on the cell number at different time points. After cultured for 144 h, ATP-luminescence assay was applied to test the antitumor effect. Results: The cell number decreased rapidly when the medium was added. The decreasing speed was faster in BCNU medium than that in bleomycin medium at the same concentration. The bleomycin medium showed no significant inhibitory effect except for the one at 1.00 g/L. However, regardless of the concentration, BCNU medium inhibited the cells effectively. Conclusion: BCNU has stronger inhibitory effect on craniopharyngiomas cells than bleomycin, it can be used to treat this tumor

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of phosphotyrosine interaction domain containing 1 (PID1, NYGGF4) on promotion of IR and HCC, and explore its underlying mechanisms. METHODS Lentivirus were used to mediate the knockdown of PID1 in HFD induced IR mouse model as well as ob/ob mice. Intraperitoneal glucose and insulin tolerance were performed 4 weeks after lentivirus injection. Hydrodynamics-based transfection was applied to inducethe liver specific overexpression of PID1. Flow cytometry was exerted to detect the proportion and function of immune cells. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of downstream pathways of PID1.Immunoprecipitation was used to determine the receptor of PID1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was operated to measure the modification of H3K4me3 of PID1 promoter. RESULTS PID1 restriction improved insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and fatty liver. Conversely, hepatic knockdown of PID1 attenuated liver xenografted tumor growth. Moreover, PID1 liver- specific protooncogenes via hydrodynamics- based transfection established a primary hepatocellular carcinoma mouse model, induced an immunosuppressive environment, with the reduction of CD3 +, CD4 +, CD8 +T cells, retarded maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), pronounced differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs), and recruitment of MDSC. In addition, PID1 overexpression activated proliferation related genes, promoted anti- inflammatory genes, suppressed pro-inflammatory genes, induced glycolysis and lipid metabolism genes to facilitate tumorigenesis in liver. Importantly, PID1 exerted its tumor-promoting function through binding to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and activation of downstream MAPK pathway. As such, PID1 exist trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) modification and IR up-regulated the expression of PID1 by activation the H3K4me3 modification. CONCLUSION PID1 is a new gene that exerts both liver cancer-promoting and insulin resistance inducing function. IR accelerates liver cancer development and progression partially dependent on the activation of PID1.

OBJECTIVETo project the future impacts of climate change on heat-related mortality in shanghai.

METHODSThe statistical downscaling techniques were applied to simulate the daily mean temperatures of Shanghai in the middle and farther future under the changing climate. Based on the published exposure-reaction relationship of temperature and mortality in Shanghai, we projected the heat-related mortality in the middle and farther future under the circumstance of high speed increase of carbon e mission (A2) and low speed increase of carbon emission (B2). The data of 1961 to 1990 was used to establish the model, and the data of 1991 - 2001 was used to testify the model, and then the daily mean temperature from 2030 to 2059 and from 2070 to 2099 were simulated and the heat-related mortality was projected. The data resources were from U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis Data in SDSM Website and UK Hadley Centre Coupled Model Data in SDSM Website.

RESULTSThe explained variance and the standard error of the established model was separately 98.1% and 1.24°C. The R(2) value of the simulated trend line equaled to 0.978 in Shanghai, as testified by the model. Therefore, the temperature prediction model simulated daily mean temperatures well. Under A2 scenario, the daily mean temperature in 2030 - 2059 and 2070 - 2099 were projected to be 17.9°C and 20.4°C, respectively, increasing by 1.1°C and 3.6°C when compared to baseline period (16.8°C). Under B2 scenario, the daily mean temperature in 2030 - 2059 and 2070 - 2099 were projected to be 17.8°C and 19.1°C, respectively, increasing by 1.0°C and 2.3°C when compared to baseline period (16.8°C). Under A2 scenario, annual average heat-related mortality were projected to be 516 cases and 1191 cases in 2030 - 2059 and 2070 - 2099, respectively, increasing 53.6% and 254.5% when compared with baseline period (336 cases). Under B2 scenario, annual average heat-related mortality were projected to be 498 cases and 832 cases in 2030 - 2059 and 2070 - 2099, respectively, increasing 48.2% and 147.6% when compared with baseline period (336 cases).

CONCLUSIONUnder the changing climate, heat-related mortality is projected to increase in the future;and the increase will be more obvious in year 2070 - 2099 than in year 2030 - 2059.

China ; Climate Change ; Greenhouse Effect ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Mortality ; Risk Assessment

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and the clinical value of external use of jiuyi Powder (JP) in treating plasma cell mastitis using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA).

METHODSTotally 50 patients with plasma cell mastitis treated by external use of JP were observed and biochemical examinations of blood and urine detected before application, at day 4 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Blood mercury and urinary mercury were detected before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Urinary mercury was also detected at 28 after discontinuation and 3 months after discontinuation. The information of wound, days of external application and the total dosage of external application were recorded before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, as well as at day 1 after discontinuation. Then a discriminant model covering potential safety factors was set up by PLSDA after screening safety indices with important effects. The applicability of the model was assessed using area under ROC curve. Potential safety factors were assessed using variable importance in the projection (VIP).

RESULTSUrinary β2-microglobulin (β2-MG), urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), 24 h urinary protein, and urinary α1-microglobulin (α1-MG) were greatly affected by external use of JP in treating plasma cell mastitis. The accuracy rate of PLSDA discriminate model was 74. 00%. The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under ROC curve was 0. 7826, 0. 7037, and 0. 8084, respectively. Three factors with greater effect on the potential safety were screened as follows: pre-application volume of the sore cavity, days of external application, and the total dosage of external application.

CONCLUSIONSPLSDA method could be used in analyzing bioinformation of clinical Chinese medicine. Urinary β2-MG and urinary NAG were two main safety monitoring indices. Days of external application and the total dosage of external application were main factors influencing blood mercury and urine mercury. A safety classification simulation model of treating plasma cell mastitis by external therapy of JP was established by the two factors, which could be used to assess the safety of external application of JP to some extent.

Acetylglucosaminidase ; Alpha-Globulins ; Discriminant Analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Mastitis ; drug therapy ; Plasma Cells ; ROC Curve ; Safety

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of nanometer hydroxyapatite on the proliferation and the osteogenetic differentiation of periodontal ligament cells (PDLC).

METHODSNano-hydroxyapatite powders were fabricated with sol-gel method. The fourth passage periodontal ligament cells were cultured with nanometer hydroxyapatite powder (nano-HA), dense hydroxyapatite powder (dense-HA) and only medium as control respectively. On the 5th, 8th day of culture, the osteogenetic differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells was evaluated though alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, ALP immunohistochemical stain and ALP positive flow cytometry.

RESULTSThere were significant differences among nano-HA group, dense-HA group and control group on the 5th and 8th day of culture. A majority of nano-HA group and dense-HA group cells sample showed positive ALP stain. But the ALP positive stain of nano-HA group cells sample was denser than that of dense-HA group. In FCM, the distribution of ALP positive cells cultured with nanoparticles were significantly more than that of other groups.

CONCLUSIONSThe nano-HA, as a calcium phosphate biomaterial, has ability to promote the activity of osteogenetic differentiation for periodontal ligament cells compared with dense-HA.

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Durapatite ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Periodontal Ligament ; cytology ; enzymology

OBJECTIVETo explore the possibility of Schwann cells transplantation to promote the repair of injured brain stem reticular structure in rats.

METHODSSchwann cells originated from sciatic nerves of 1 to 2-day-old rats were expanded and labelled by BrdU in vitro, transplanted into rat brain stem reticular structure that was pre-injured by electric needle stimulus. Immunohistochemistry and myelin-staining were used to investigate the expression of BrdU, GAP-43 and new myelination respectively.

RESULTSBrdU positive cells could be identified for up to 8 months and their number increased by about 23%, which mainly migrated toward injured ipsilateral cortex. The GAP-43 expression reached its peak in 1 month after transplantation and was significantly higher than that in the control group. New myelination could be seen in destructed brain stem areas.

CONCLUSIONThe transplantation of Schwann cells can promote the restoration of injured brain stem reticular structure.

Animals ; Antimetabolites ; Brain Injuries ; therapy ; veterinary ; Brain Stem ; injuries ; Bromodeoxyuridine ; Cell Transplantation ; methods ; veterinary ; Electrophysiology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Schwann Cells ; transplantation

OBJECTIVETo assess the genetic and environmental influences on the somatotype of children and adolescents, and the effects of sex and age.

METHODSThe components of somatotype were calculated by using Heather-Cater method in a total of 376 twin pairs of Han nationality, including 245 monozygotic (MZ) and 131 like-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs aged 6 to 18 years. Model-fitting method by Mx package was performed to evaluate the proportion of variance components and to analyze the effects of sex and age on each component of somatotype using the adjusted data for other two somatotype components. The heritability of each component in different development periods divided by growth spurt was also evaluated.

RESULTSThe estimated heritabilities of endomorphic, mesomorphic and ectomorphic components were 0.45, 0.80, 0.44 in boys, 0.82, 0.79 and 0.81 in girls respectively after adjusting age. In boys, the heritability of endomorphic component during late puberty was significantly higher than that during pre-puberty (t = 4.99, P < 0.01) and puberty (t = 6.16, P < 0.01), while the heritability of ectomorphic component during late puberty was significantly lower than that during pre-puberty (t = 3.35, P < 0.01) and puberty (t = 4.12, P < 0.01). In girls, the heritability of endomorphic (t = 2.77, P < 0.01) or mesomorphic (t = 2.08, P < 0.05) component during pre-puberty was significantly higher than that in early puberty.

CONCLUSIONThe genetic influence on somatotype of girls should be much more than that of boys, especially on the endomorphic and ectomorphic components. For boys, the mesomorphic component is mainly determined by genetic factors, but the other components are mainly affected by environmental ones. The effects of the development periods on the heritability of somatotype should be paid much attention to.

Adolescent ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Somatotypes ; genetics ; Twins ; genetics ; Twins, Dizygotic ; genetics ; Twins, Monozygotic ; genetics

Objective To lay the foundation for studying the possible pathogenesis of epilepsy and the anti-epileptic mechanism of Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction through the bioinformatic analysis of target gene prediction and signal pathway of miRNA-146a-5p in hippocampus of epileptic rats. Methods Lithium-pilocarpine was used to induce seizures in rat models. The experiment rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction group, with 20 rats in each group. The method of miRNA expression profiling was used to observe the miRNA differential expression of hippocampus neuron cell of rats. The expression level of miRNA-146a-5p was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. MiRDB was used for target gene prediction of miRNA-146a-5p, and miRTarBase and DAVID were used for enrichment analysis on the GO function and KEGG signaling pathway. Results The attack times and grades of the rats in Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction group were significantly lower than those in the model group from behavioral observation. MiRNA microarray analysis showed that the expression level of miRNA-146a-5p in model group was 2.107 times normal control group (P＜0.05), and the expression level decreased to 1.377 times after treatment with Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction (P＜0.05). The results of RT-PCR was consistent with that of miRNA microarray, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). MiRNA-146a-5p target gene prediction results had 140 target genes by GO, and there were 14 annotation information of biological process (P＜0.05), 9 annotation information of cellular component (P＜0.05), 11 annotation information of molecular function (P＜0.05). Enrichment analysis of KEGG biological pathway showed that 140 target genes of miRNA-146a-5p were enriched in EB virus infection signal pathway and thyroid hormone signaling pathway (P＜0.05). Conclusion miRNA-146a-5p is closely related to the inflammatory reaction after epilepsy, and Banxia Baizhu Tianma Decoction can control epilepsy possibly by controlling the inflammatory reaction after epilepsy.

Objective To investigate the effect of compound polyethylene glycol electrolyte powder (SF-PEG) and Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4) on intestinal tract preparation in patients with constipation. Methods 135 cases of constipation patients who underwent colonoscopy were selected. They were divided into A, B and C groups, each with 45 cases.Group A and group B received oral SF-PEG and 219.2 g (2 000 ml) at 5:00 to 7:00. Group A take 50% MgSO450 ml at 9:00, and then took 250 ml warm water.Group B received the same dose of MgSO4 at 7:00. The two groups were examined by colonoscopy at 11:00. Group C received oral compound SF-PEG 219.2 g (2 000 ml) at 10:00 to 12:00, and then took 50% MgSO450 ml at 14:00, received colonoscopy at 16:00. According to the Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS) score and parallel intraluminal bubble score. Determine the duration of bowel preparation process,and tolerance and adverse effects were recorded during bowel preparation. Results All patients completed bowel preparation and underwent a colonoscopy successfully. The scores of group A in BBPS were significantly higher than those in group B and group C (P < 0.05). In group A and group B, the score of parallel intraluminal bubble was lower than C, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The intestinal preparation time of A and B was less than that of group C, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and the tolerance of patients was higher in group A and group B than that in group C (P < 0.05). In adverse reactions, group A and group B were lower than those in group C (P < 0.05). Conclusions When taking the time (5:00 to 7:00), intermittent polyethylene glycol electrolyte powder and Magnesium Sulfate can shorten the bowel preparation time and improve the quality of bowel preparation in patients with constipation.

OBJECTIVETo obtain the exposure-response relationship for temperature and mortality, and assess the risk of heat-related premature death.

METHODSA statistical model was developed using a Poisson generalized linear regression model with Beijing mortality and temperature data from October 1st, 2006 to September 30th, 2008. We calculated the exposure-response relationship for temperature and mortality in the central city, and inner suburban and outer suburban regions. Based on this relationship, a health risk model was used to assess the risk of heat-related premature death in the summer (June to August) of 2009.

RESULTSThe population in the outer suburbs had the highest temperature-related mortality risk. People in the central city had a mid-range risk, while people in the inner suburbs had the lowest risk. Risk assessment predicted that the number of heat-related premature deaths in the summer of 2009 was 1581. The city areas of Chaoyang and Haidian districts had the highest number of premature deaths. The number of premature deaths in the southern areas of Beijing (Fangshan, Fengtai, Daxing, and Tongzhou districts) was in the mid-range.

CONCLUSIONAmbient temperature significantly affects human mortality in Beijing. People in the city and outer suburban area have a higher temperature-related mortality risk than people in the inner suburban area. This may be explained by a temperature-related vulnerability.

Cause of Death ; China ; Hot Temperature ; Models, Statistical ; Mortality