Objective To investigate the effects of mild hypothermia ( MH ) on the expression of my- eloperoxidase(MPO) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) in rats after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (CIR). Methods Forty-eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into four control groups (n=6 in each) and four MH groups (n=6 in each).CIR models were established by suture occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery.The rats in the MH groups,but not in the control groups,were treated with MH.Rats were killed at 4 h,8 h,12 h and 16 h after CIR.MPO expression was measured,along with the expression of COX 2 as measured by Western blot- ting and immunohistochemical methods.Results Compared with the control groups,MPO activity and the COX 2 expression in the cortex and striatum were significantly lower in all the MH groups at 4 h,8 h,12 h and 16 h after CIR.Conclusion MH treatment can protect neurons by decreasing MPO activity and COX 2 expression,allevia- ting inflammation and reducing secondary injuries after CIR.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of Coopdech bronchial blocker combined with a strengthened single-lumen tube for airway management in patients undergoing upper mediastinal tumor resection. Methods Twenty-two ASA Ⅱ or Ⅲ patients, aged 24-66 yr, weighing 48-78 kg, scheduled for elective resection of upper mediastinal tumor, were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=11 each):double-lumen tube group(groupⅠ) and Coopdech bronchial blocker combined with a strengthened single-lumen tube group(group Ⅱ).One-lung ventilation was achieved with a double-lumen tube in groupⅠ. The Coopdech bronchial blocker combined with a strengthened single-lumen tube was used for airway management and the Coopdech bronchial blocker was used for lung isolation when one-lung ventilation was required in group Ⅱ. The fiberoptic bronchoscope was used to assist endotracheal tube positioning in both groups. The intubation time, positioning time, the number of patients required for tube displacement, the number of fiberoptic bronchoscopy, increase in airway peak pressure, degree of lung collapse, postoperative sore throat and hoarseness, and the number of patients needing ventilator-assisted ventilation were recorded. Results The intubation time was significantly shorter, the number of patients required for tube displacement was significantly smaller,and the rate of increase in airway peak pressure and incidences ofpostoperative sore throat and hoarseness were significantly lower in group Ⅱ than in group Ⅰ (P＜0.05 or0.01). Conclusion The efficacy of the Coopdech bronchial blocker combined with a strengthened single-lumen tube for airway management is better in patients undergoing upper mediastinal tumor resection than the double-lumen tube.

The morphological and molecular identifications of Cyclospora-like oocysts of dogs were underwent in the present study, in which the morphological characteristics of the Cyclospora-like oocysts firstly found in the stool samples of dogs, such as shape, size, acid-fast staining,sporulation and auto-fluorescene, were observed. According to the published sequence of the rDNA gene of Cyclospora in GenBank, 3 primers were designed and were used to amplify part of the 18S rDNA gene of dog-associated Cyclospora-like organism by nested PCR.The amplicons were purified and cloned into vector pMD19T. Then, the positive clones screened were sequenced and subjected to sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis. It was found that the morphological charactertistics of the Cyclospora-like oocysts in dogs were similar to that of the human Cyclospoa oocysts and the size of-the amplified fragment of 18S rDNA was proved to be 715 bp, that was identical to that of the target fragment. Based on the results of sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis, the dog-associated Cyclospora-like organism was identified as the Cyclospora species.

Objective To compare the effects of different medications of fentanyl during anesthesia induction on fentanyl-induced cough.Methods Four hundred and twenty ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients aged 18-60 yr undergoing selective operations under general anesthesia,were randomly divided into 4 groups ( n =105 each):group Ⅰ (control group) received successive intravenous injection of midazolam 0.05 mg/kg,fentanyl 2 μg/kg,propofol 2 mg/kg,and rocuronium 1 mg/kg,group Ⅱ (pre-injection group) received successive intravenous injection of midazolam0.05 mg/kg,fentanyl 0.5 μg/kg,propofol 2 mg/kg,rocuronium 1 mg/kg,and fentanyl 1.5 μg/kg,group Ⅲ (dilution group) received successive intravenous injection of midazolam 0.05 mg/kg,fentanyl 2 μg/kg (20 μg/ml),propofol 2 mg/kg,and rocuronium 1 mg/kg,and group Ⅳ (last injection group) received successive intravenous injection of midazolam 0.05 mg/kg,propofol 2 mg/kg,rocuronium 1 mg/kg,and fentanyl 2 μg/kg.Fentanyl concentration was 50 μg/ml in each group except group Ⅲ.Endotracheal intubation was performed 2 min after anesthesia induction.The incidence and severity of fentanyl-induced cough before intubation were recorded and the incidence of propofol-induced pain was recorded.Invasive arterial blood pressure (ABP) and heart rate (HR) were observed before induction (T1 ),immediately after induction (T2 ),at time of coughing (T3 ),and at time of endotracheal intubation (T4).Results ABP and HR had no significant differences at T1,T2,T3,and T4between the four groups (P ＞ 0.05).The incidence of propofol-induced pain had no significant differences between the four groups (P ＞ 0.05).The incidences of cough was 7.6％ in group Ⅱ,9.5％ in group Ⅲ,and 1.9％ in group Ⅳ,which were significantly lower than 35.2％ in group Ⅰ ( P ＜ 0.01).The incidence of cough in group Ⅳ was significantly lower than that in groups [ and Ⅲ (P ＜ 0.05).In the four groups,ABP and HR were significantly higher at T3 than that at T1 and T2 ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusion Different medications of fentanyl including last injection,pre-injection,and dilution of fentanyl can significantly reduce the incidence of fentanyl-induced cough during anesthesia induction,and injection has the best effect.

AIM: The present study was designed to examine the effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination on blood pressure, nitric oxide (NO) production and iNOS expression in hypertensive rats. METHODS: Renal hypertension (RH) were made by renal artery stenosis in SD rats and the sodium induced hypertensive (SH) rats were made by feeding the rats with high sodium chloride diet (5 g NaCl/100 g food). After four weeks, the hypertensive animals were subjected to the experiment. All the rats were vaccinated with BCG (0 1 mL, i.d) and blood pressure were examined every week. Greiss reaction was used to measure the urinary NO excretion and Western blot was applied to probe the iNOS protein expression in aortic tissue. RESULTS: It was shown that one week after BCG vaccination, the blood pressure decreased significantly in hypertensive rats induced by NaCl-overloading and renal artery stenosis, but not in normotensive control rats. Furthermore, the hypotensive effect of BCG vaccination was enhanced by co-administration of L-arginine. A significant increase in NO production was observed in hypertensive rats. Also, Western blot showed BCG vaccination led to an obvious increase in iNOS expression in the aortic tissue of hypertensive, but not of normal control rats. CONCLUSION: BCG vaccination could lower the blood pressure of hypertensive rats through activation of iNOS/NO pathway. [

AIM: To investigate the clinical effect for treating bullous keratopathy ( BK ) by anterior corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation.
METHODS: Totally 35 patients ( 35 eyes ) with bullous keratopathy were treated by corneal stromal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation. All patients preoperative and postoperative underwent anterior segment OCT, corneal topography, corneal sensitivity and confocal microscopy. To observe postoperative ocular symptoms in patients with BK, recurrence of bulla, changes in corneal thickness, corneal sensitivity and changes in the organizational structure of the layers of the cornea.
RESULTS: Thirty-five were followed up for 6-18mo. The symptom of pain disappeared in 32 cases ( 91%) in the first day after operation and did not recur during follow-up. The symptom of pain relieved in 3 cases (9%) in the first day after operation and disappeared in 3 days. Corneal epithelium of 9 cases ( 26%) were all healed within 1wk, 21 cases (60%) were all healed within 2wk, and 5 cases (14%) were all healed within 3wk. Following up for 6-18mo, there was no recurrence of symptoms or bulla. A small amount of tiny bubbles in the surrounding area appeared in 2 cases after 3 and 4wk. All patients had no neovascularization, and had smooth corneal surface. The amnions of 30 cases (86%) were thinning after 2mo, partially dissolved and absorped, not seen with the naked eye after 3mo. Thirty-four cases (97%) had no changes in vision, one case (3%) was from the light to front of the manual. After 2mo, corneal sensation decreased in 30 cases ( 86%) , corneal thickness increased from preoperative 788±35μm to 940±43μm. After 12mo, corneal thickness increased to 1060±27μm. Results of confocal microscopy: after 3mo, the number density of the trigeminal nerve fibers under corneal basement membrane reduced, shallow stromal cells became into fibrotic stroma, deep stroma was more loose, and cells swelled significantly. The number of endothelial cells reduced and form swelled more obviously compared with preoperatively.
CONCLUSION: Corneal acupuncture combined with amniotic membrane transplantation can effectively control the symptoms of BK, prevent the recurrence of BK, and especially it is a simple, safe and practical way for patients with poor visual function.

OBJECTIVETo observe the anti-inflammatory effect of total saponins of Panax japonicus on LPS-induced RAW264. 7 macrophages.

METHODThe effect of total saponins of P. japonicus of different concentrations on RAW264. 7 cell viability was determined with the MTT method. The NO kit assay was adopted to detect the NO release of total saponins of P. japonicus to LPS-induced RAW264. 7 cells. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 1-beta (IL-1beta). The reverse transeriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) ,TNF-alpha,IL-1beta. The protein expression of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB p65 (NF-kappaB p65) was tested by Western blot.

RESULTThe safe medication range of total saponins of P. japonicus was less than 80 mg x L(-1). Compared with the LPS model group, total saponins of P. japonicus high, middle and low dose groups (0.1, 1, 10, 40 mg x L(-1)) could significantly reduce the secretion of NO, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta of LPS-induced RAW264. 7 cells, and inhibit the expressions of iNOS, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA and the protein expression of NF-kappaB p65.

CONCLUSIONThis study preliminarily proves the protective effect of total saponins of P. japonicus on LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. Its action mechanism may be related to NF-kappaB signal pathway.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; Interleukin-1beta ; genetics ; immunology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; adverse effects ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; immunology ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; immunology ; Nitric Oxide ; immunology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; immunology ; Panax ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology

Objective The study was designed to compare the ultrasound-guided technique for the cannulation of subclavian vein with the traditional technique using anatomic landmarks.Methods One hundred and twenty ASA Ⅱ or Ⅲ patients undergoing cannulation of subclavian vein before gastrp-intestinal tumor resection were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=60 each) according to the technique used for cannulation:ultrasound-guided group (group US) and anatomic landmark group (group AL).The puncture time,successful puncture and complications were recorded.Resulls The success rate was 100% in group US;while the cannulation failed in one patient in group AL.The rate of successful puncture at 1st attempt was 100% in group US but ouly 90% in group AL.The cannulation time was significantly shorter in group US than in group AL.The incidence of accidental puncture of subclavian artery,hematoma and pneumothorax was significantly higher in group AL than in group US.Conclusion The ultrasound-guided catheterization of the subclavian vein is superior to the landmark technique.

AIM: The present study was designed to examine the effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination on blood pressure, nitric oxide (NO) production and iNOS expression in hypertensive rats. METHODS: Renal hypertension (RH) were made by renal artery stenosis in SD rats and the sodium induced hypertensive (SH) rats were made by feeding the rats with high sodium chloride diet (5 g NaCl/100 g food). After four weeks, the hypertensive animals were subjected to the experiment. All the rats were vaccinated with BCG (0.1 mL, i.d) and blood pressure were examined every week. Greiss reaction was used to measure the urinary NO excretion and Western blot was applied to probe the iNOS protein expression in aortic tissue. RESULTS: It was shown that one week after BCG vaccination, the blood pressure decreased significantly in hypertensive rats induced by NaCl-overloading and renal artery stenosis, but not in normotensive control rats. Furthermore, the hypotensive effect of BCG vaccination was enhanced by co-administration of L-arginine. A significant increase in NO production was observed in hypertensive rats. Also, Western blot showed BCG vaccination led to an obvious increase in iNOS expression in the aortic tissue of hypertensive, but not of normal control rats. CONCLUSION: BCG vaccination could lower the blood pressure of hypertensive rats through activation of iNOS/NO pathway.

We investigated the roles of the crude antigen(CA) of Clonorchis sinensis and excretory secretory products (ESPs) in the polarization of Th1 and Th2 cells.Bone marrow-derived cells were generated from BALB/c mice and isolated into immature DCs;immature DCs were then treated with either CA (CA stimulated group),ESPs (ESPs stimulated group),LPS (positive control group) or PBS (negative control group) for 24 hours.Then the CD4+T cells were isolated from mouse spleen by using anti mouse-CD4 Microbeads,and further cocultured with stimulated DCs for another 72 hours.The purities of DCs and CD4+ T cells were evaluated by flow cytometry and the expressing levels of T-bet mRNA and GATA-3 mRNA were detected by real-time PCR.ELISA was used to detect the levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines in the supernatant.mRNA levels of T-bet and GATA-3 in the ESPs group were higher than those in PBS-stimulated group (P＜0.05).The concentrations of IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines in the culture were increased in the ESPs group,compared with PBS stimulated group(P＜0.05).IFN-γ but not IL-4 was increased in CA group (P＜0.05).The results implied that CA might play a role in Th1 type immune response,and ESPs likely play roles in both Th1 and Th2 immune responses.