ObjectiveTo study the mechanism of differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) into neuron-like cells in vitro.MethodsMSCs of Wistar rats were separated and cultured, and then induced with DMSO and BHA in vitro. The specific marking proteins of neurons, glia and neural stem cells were detected before preinduction, at 24h after preinduction, at 6h, 24h, and 48h after neuronal induction.ResultsAfter the inducement, many MSCs turned into bipolar,multipolar and taper,and then intersected as network structure. Nestin was strong positive at 6h after neuronal induction, and decreased at 24h, 48h after the induction. NeuN was present at 6 h after neuronal induction, and increased at 24h, 48h after the induction.ConclusionMSCs can be induced into neural stem cells(NSCs) at first, and then differentiate into neuron-like cells in vitro.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of treatment of meniscal injuries of knee joints by arthroscopy.Methods 33 patients 35 joints were followed up and the parts,types and treatment under arthroscopy were analysed.Results 33 patients were followed up from six months to six years,the mean preoperative Lysholm score was 60.5 points,and the mean postoperative one was 86.7 points.Conclusion The advantage of treating meniscal injuries by arthroscopy was the result of correct examination and little wound of arthroscopy operation,and arthroscopic repair or partial menisectomy could effectively restore the function of the injured knee.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the cost-effectiveness and economic efficiency of integrated prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in four high-incidence counties.

METHODSData of local resource investment and total cost for PMTCT in 4 counties in China from 2003 to 2006 were collected. Cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis were conducted. Average costs of a confirmed HIV case, a prevented case and a disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) saving were calculated.

RESULTSAverage cost of identifying one HIV-infected mother was yen5512. Costs of a pediatric HIV case prevention and per DALY saving were yen46 747 and yen1870 ($231), respectively, based on the total cost perspective.

CONCLUSIONThe cost of integrated prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV was low. The PMTCT program was economical efficiency.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; prevention & control ; Universal Precautions ; economics

OBJECTIVETo observe different effects of moxibustion on extracellular potassium ion in acupoint under physiological and pathological status and provide experimental evidence for exploring action mechanism of moxibustion on acupoint local.

METHODSForty female SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a blank-moxibustion group, a model group and a model-moxibustion group, 10 cases in each one. The complete Freund's adjuvant(CFA) was adopted to establish model of adjuvant arthritis (AA) in the model group and model-moxibustion group. No treatment was given in the blank group and model group while moxibustion was applied at "Zusan-li" (ST 36) for 30 min in the blank-moxibustion group and model-moxibustion group. The tissue fluid in "Zusanli" (ST 36) was collected with microdialysis and real-time analyzed by electrolytic analyzer. The change of concentration of potassium ion in "Zusanli" (ST 36) was observed.

RESULTS(1) Under physiological status, the concentration of extracellular potassium ion in the blank group was not changed within 150 min (P > 0.05); before the moxibustion, the concentration of extracellular potassium ion in the blank-moxibustion group was (1.21 +/- 0.31) mmol/L, and after treatment it was gradually increased and reached its peak at (2.38 +/- 0.42) mmol/L after 60 min (P < 0.05), then it was reduced. 150 min after the treatment, concentration of potassium ion was slightly higher than that before moxibustion as well as that in the blank group. The concentration in the blank-moxibustion group at 60 min was statistically significant compared with that in the blank group (P < 0.05). (2) Under pathological status, the concentration of extracellular potassium ion in the model group was not changed within 150 min, differences of which at each time point was not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). Before the moxibustion, the concentration of extracellular potassium ion was (1.09 +/- 0.12) mmol/L in the model-moxibustion group, and it was immediately increased to (1.96 +/- 0.18) mmol/L after moxibustion. 60 min and 90 min after the moxibustion, it still maintained a higher level, which was (1.87 +/- 0.29) mmol/L and (1.59 +/- 0.16) mmol/L respectively (both P < 0.05). The differences of each time point after moxibustion in the model-moxibustion group were statistically significant compared with those in the model group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe moxibustion could increase the concentration of potassium ion in rat's acupoint local under physiological status but time of effect is short; with moxibustion at "Zusanli" (ST 36) under pathological status, the concentration of local potassium ion is obviously increased and maintains for a long time.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Arthritis, Experimental ; metabolism ; therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Potassium ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo explore the impact of being informed of HIV infection before or after pregnancy on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) HIV interventions uptake.

METHODSFrom 2005 to 2009, a tatal of 5552 HIV-infected pregnant women and their 5894 pregnancies in Henan, Guangxi, Yunnan and Xinjiang province were investigated using the method of a cohort study. The social-demographic characters (the objects were divided three age groups 15-, 25-, 35-49), the period identified to be HIV positive, the outcome of pregnancy and the PMTCT interventions including uptake of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) were investigated. Through single-factor and non-conditional logistic regression model, the factors influencing the utilization of PMTCT services were analyzed.

RESULTSOf HIV-infected pregnant women, 84.5% (4979/5894) were under 35 year-old, and 56.0% (3108/5552) of them were Han group and the percentage of peasant or unemployment was 85.1% (4727/5552). 86.8% (4815/5552) of these women had junior high school education or less, and the proportion of women knowing HIV infection before the pregnancy was 31.2% (1836/5894). Of HIV positive pregnant women, 31.7% (1869/5894) chose to terminate the pregnancy artificially, and the percentage was 43.8% (805/1836) among those knowing HIV infection before pregnancy. The proportion of the ARVs uptake among HIV positive maternities who delivered was 80.0% (3046/3808), while the percentage among those knowing HIV positive before pregnancy was 92.3% (883/957), which was much higher than it (75.9% (2163/2851)) among the pregnant women knowing HIV infection just during the pregnancy (χ(2) = 120.39, P < 0.05). The results of multivariate analysis showed that the proportion of ARVs' uptake was high among those HIV positive pregnant women knowing to be HIV-infected before pregnancy (versus knowing to be HIV-infected after the pregnancy, OR = 3.91 (95%CI: 3.03 - 5.05)) and age of 15 to 24 year-old (versus age of 35 - 49 year-old, OR = 0.75 (95%CI: 0.57 - 0.98)).

CONCLUSIONIt will promote the HIV-infected pregnant women to receive the PMTCT intervention services if they know their HIV sero-status before pregnancy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; prevention & control ; psychology ; transmission ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; HIV Infections ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical ; prevention & control ; Maternal Health Services ; utilization ; Middle Aged ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious ; prevention & control ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult

AIMTo develop a sensitive and rapid HPLC method for the determination of tanshinone IIA (TS) in rat plasma and to study its pharmacokinetics in rats.

METHODSTS and 4-chlorodiphenyl (internal standard) were extracted from plasma with ethyl acetate. After liquid-liquid extraction, the sample was analyzed by HPLC with YMC C18 column (5 microns, 150 mm x 3.0 mm ID). The mobile phase consisted of acetontrile-water-acetic acid (74:26:1) at the flow rate of 0.3 mL.min-1, the UV detection wave length was 270 nm.

RESULTSThe calibration curve was linear (r = 0.9981) in the range from 0.05 to 6.40 mg.L-1. The lowest detectable concentration was 0.05 mg.L-1. The recoveries at the concentration of 0.05, 1.60 and 6.40 mg.L-1 were 98.9%, 102.1% and 100.4%, respectively. The inter- and intra-day RSDs were all less than 5%.

CONCLUSIONThis method is proved to be rapid, precise and reliable enough to be applied to the pharmacokinetics studies of TS in rats after a single dose of 15 mg.kg-1 by oral administration.

Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Area Under Curve ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; Drug Stability ; Male ; Phenanthrenes ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

In the present study, changes in the neuronal activity of serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and the effect of the selective 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist WAY-100635 in a rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD) were investigated by using extracellular single unit recording. Rat model of PD was produced by microinjection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the substantia nigra pars compacta on the right side of the brain. The results showed that the mean spontaneous firing rate of DRN serotonergic neurons in the control and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats were (1.76+/-0.11) spikes/s (n=24) and (2.43+/-0.17) spikes/s (n=21), respectively. The firing rate of serotonergic neurons in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats was significantly higher than that in the control rats (P<0.001). In the control rats, 92% (22/24) of the neurons fired regularly and 8% (2/24) fired in bursts. In rats with 6-OHDA lesions, 9% (2/21) of neurons fired regularly, 43% (9/21) exhibited irregular pattern and 48% (10/21) fired in bursts. The percentage of DRN serotonergic neurons firing in bursts was obviously higher in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats than that in the control rats (P<0.001). Local injection of WAY-100635 (3 microg in 200 nL) into the DRN significantly increased the firing rate of serotonergic neurons with no change in firing pattern in the control rats (n=19, P<0.002), but did not change the firing rate and firing pattern of serotonergic neurons in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats (n=17, P>0.05). These results suggest the dysfunction of 5-HT(1A) receptor in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats and the involvement of the DRN in the pathophysiological mechanism of PD.
Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Neurons ; physiology ; Oxidopamine ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Piperazines ; pharmacology ; Pyridines ; pharmacology ; Raphe Nuclei ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serotonin ; metabolism ; Serotonin Antagonists ; pharmacology

A full-length cDNA encoding a MYB-related regulatory gene was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from mRNAs of the red line callus of S. medusa by TD-PCR. The cDNA, designated SmP, is 969 nucleotides long and has an open reading frame of 771 bp with a deduced amino acid sequence of 256 residues. The putative protein of SmP has two typical conversed R2R3-Myb DNA-binding domains in N-terminal and displays a rather high degree of similarity to OsMYB from rice and LBMI from tobacco, showing 73% and 70% identity within the DNA-binding domains. However, the C-terminal domain of the SmP protein does not show obvious similarity to any other known protein sequence. It is rich in hydrophilic amino acids, especially in serine residues (18.38%), partly organized in homopolymeric stretches, a feature often found in activation domain of transcription factors.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Saussurea ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the associations of CYP1A1 gene polymorphisms with levels of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene among coke oven workers.

METHODS223 male workers from a coke plant (76, 82 and 65 workers in oven top group, oven-side group and oven-bottom group respectively) and 119 controls without occupational polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure were selected. The MspI gene polymorphism in CYP1A1 3' flanking region and the genotypes at I462V site in exon 7 of CYP1A1 were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and allele specific amplification (ASA).

RESULTSThe urinary 1-hydroxypyrene of coke oven workers in oven-top, oven-side and oven-bottom (3.77+/-0.64, 3.57+/-0.49, 3.26+/-0.80 micromol/mol Cr) were significantly higher than controls (2.80+/-1.02 micromol/mol Cr) (P<0.01). The urinary 1-hydroxypyrene was not significantly different among MspI genotypes in CYP1A1 3' flanking region (P>0.05). In oven-top group and oven-side group, the subjects with Val/Val genotype in exon 7 of CYP1A1 had significantly higher urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels than those with Ile/Val or Ile/Ile genotype, and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene of Ile-Val genotype were also significantly higher than Ile/Ile genotype (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the coke oven workers (OR in oven top group, oven-side group and oven-bottom group was 24.926, 4.226 and 6.729 respectively) and subjects with m2/m2 genotype in CYP1A1 3' flanking region (OR=4.031) or with Val/Val or Ile/Val genotype in exon 7 of CYP1A1 (OR were 5.524 and 3.811) had elevated urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (greater than 95 percentile of control group, 3.876 micromol/mol Cr).

CONCLUSIONBAP concentration of work environment contributes to the elevated urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels, and the exposed BAP levels were regulated by the CYP1A1 MspI and I462V genotypes. Genetic polymorphism of CYP1A1 gene could be a susceptible biomarker in coke oven workers which was involved in the individual susceptibility on metabolism of PAHs.

Adult ; Benzo(a)pyrene ; adverse effects ; Coke ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Pyrenes ; pharmacokinetics ; Urine ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression and the role of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the testis and epididymis of macaca fascicularis.

METHODSThe immunohistochemical ABC method was used to observe the localization of nitric oxide synthase in the testis and epididymis of the macaca fascicularis.

RESULTS(1) nNOS immunoreactivity was found in the spermatogenic cells of seminiferous tubules, the epithelia of epididymal efferent ducts, sperm and the endothelia of blood vessels; (2) iNOS was expressed in the epididymal efferent duct, the sperm inside the duct, and the myoid cells and endothelia of blood vessels; (3) eNOS immunoreactivity was detected in the interstitial cells of the testis, the epididymal efferent duct, the sperm inside the duct, and the myoid cells and endothelia of blood vessels.

CONCLUSIONNOS is extensively expressed in the testis and epididymis of the macaca fascicularis and it may play an important role in such processes as spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and testosterone secretion.

Animals ; Epididymis ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Macaca fascicularis ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; biosynthesis ; physiology ; Testis ; metabolism