Objective A pronunciation aid device had been made by using dental prosthodontic method for the treatment of pronunciation disorder, which is caused by movement dysfunction because of defect of soft palate tissues in cleft lip and palate patients.Methods According to the defect condition in the mouth, two types of pronunciation aid devices had been produced regularly by using maxillary impression, plaster casting and thermoplastic resin materials and so on. Results In the first group of cases, after 3 patients were wearing soft palate movement pronunciation aid device, and then they were given pronunciation training, it is found that their language clearances degrees had been promoted obviously. In the second group of cases, 2 patients were wearing naso-pharynx cavity closing pronunciation aid device, it is found that their nasal sound and nasal leakage were disappeared. And in the same time we gave patients pronunciation training, and after one year, their language clearances degrees were found to be more obviously increased than before.Conclusions Naso-pharynx cavity closing pronunciation aid device and soft palate movement pronunciation aid device are an effective non-surgical treatment methods for the treatment of naso-pharynx cavity closing dysfunction and soft palate movement dysfunction.

Objective To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 7(MMP7)in paraquat(PQ)?induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Methods Forty?eight SD rats were randomly divided into the control group and the pulmonary fibrosis model group(PQ model group),each group of twenty?four rats. Rats in the PQ model group received single intraperitoneal injection of 4 mg/mL PQ dilute solution and the control group were in?traperitoneal injected with the same dose of saline. Eight rats of each group were sacrificed on day 7,day14 and day 28 respectively. The pathological changes of lung tissues were observed and the hydroxyproline(HYP)content in lung tissues was determined. The severity of pulmonary fibrosis was observed. The expressions of MMP7 in lungs were observed by immunohistochemistry. Results The observation of general state of the experimental animals showed that except one rat died at day 28 d,all other rats survived to the end point of observation. After intraperitoneal injection with PQ,the weight of rats in the PQ model group gradually declined,and then increased around day 14,yet still much lower than that in the control group at day 28(P<0.05). After intraperitoneal injection with PQ,the pulmonary index in the model group increased gradually and then decreased after reach?ing the peak on day 14. The content of HYP in rat lung tissues in the PQ model group was remarkably higher than in the control group at day 7,day 14,and day 28,with statistical significance(P<0.01). In the PQ model group,the content of HYP was significantly up?regulated with the extension of infected time and reached the peak value at day 28. The results of HE staining showed significant pulmonary alveolitis at day 7,hyperplasia of abundant collagen fibers in alveolar septum at day 14,and obvious pulmonary fibrosis and collapse of alveolar structure on day 28 in the lung tissues of the PQ model group. A weak expression of MMP7 was measured in the lung tissues in the control group and the expression of MMP7 was higher in the PQ model group than in the control group at day 7,day 14,and day 28,with statistical significance(P<0.05). Conclusion Paraquat poison?ing was mainly manifested in inflammatory reactions of lung tissues in the early stage together with increase of fibroblasts and mainly in fibrosis in the late stage. The expression of MMP7was increased along with the severity of pulmonary alveolitis or fibrosis and showed significant changes compared to the control group at day 28 after poisoning,indicating that MMP7may be the marker of paraquat?induced pulmonary fibrosis.

?AlM:To investigate the sensitive parameters of the anterior chamber changes with Pentacam anterior segment analysis system before and after laser peripheral iridectomy (LPl) in primary angle-closure suspetive (PACS).
? METHODS: Sixty eyes of 33 PACS patients were enrolled in this study. Pentacam examination was performed before and 1d after LPl to measure the central anterior chamber depth ( CACD ) , the peripheral anterior chamber depth ( PACD ) , the anterior chamber volume ( ACV) and the peripheral anterior chamber angle ( ACA) . Statistical analysis used paired t test.
?RESULTS: There was no statistical significance on the changes of ACD. PACD and ACV increased significantly between before and 1d after LPl. ACA was widened from (22. 26o±5. 18o) to (26. 42o±5. 20o), which were increased significantly between before and 1d after LPl.
?CONCLUSlON: LPl can deepen the PACD and increase the ACV in PACS. PACD and ACV are the sensitive parameters of the anterior chamber changes with Pentacam anterior segment analysis system.

Hypertension is one of main risk factors for the occurrence and death of stroke and coronary heart disease. Its prevalence rate is rising year by year. It severely threatens the health of the human beings. The acupuncture method of "activating blood and dispersing wind, harmonizing Gan-Pi" for treating hypertension launched by Academician SHI Xue-min has aroused great attention due to good cur- ative effect and less adverse reactions. In this paper principles of the circular motion covered by the acupuncture method of "activating blood and dispersing wind, harmonizing Gan-Pi" were clarified.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Humans ; Hypertension ; therapy ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Risk Factors ; Stroke ; Wind

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Artesunate(Art) on the LX-2 cell.

METHODSThe cultured hepatic stellate cells were divided into control group and Art-treated groups with 250,350,450 µmol/L. The rate of cellular proliferation was detected by MIT assay, the content of ceramide (Cer)was determined by HPLC method, the content of hydroxyproline (Hyp) was determined by enzyme digestion method, the expressions of PPAR-γ, p53 and Caspase 3 were detected by Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with control group, IX-2 treated with Art were inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner(P < 0.01). Art could significantly increase the content of cerarnide in LX-2 ( P <0.01), and the content of Hyp was significantly decreased (P <0.05, P <0.01). The expressions of PPAR-γ, p53 and Caspase 3 were increased compared with that of control group(P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONArtesunate could inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells through upregulating ceramide.

Apoptosis ; Artemisinins ; pharmacology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Ceramides ; metabolism ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hydroxyproline ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; PPAR gamma ; metabolism

BACKGROUND: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring can sensitively and objectively reflect blood pressure level, which is closely related to target organ damage and disease prognosis. In hypertension, vascular endothelial damage is the most common lesion to target organs. There is little known about how ambulatory pulse pressure correlates to large artery elasticity and vascular endothelial function. OBJECTIVE: To investigate changes of large artery elasticity and of vascular endothelial function in patients with primary hypertension using an automatic pulse wave velocity determinator and ultrasound techniques, and to analyze the correlation of ambulatory pulse pressure to large artery elasticity and vascular endothelial function.DESIGN: A non-randomized concurrent control clinical observation. SETTING: Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Coronary Heart Disease, the 305 Hospital of Chinese PLA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 156 inpatients and/or outpatients, who were recently confirmed with primary hypertension, were recruited for this study between June 2005 and April 2007. Patients consisted of 114 males and 42 females. All patients averaged 56 ± 4 years of age (range: 40-75). Inclusive criteria: Corresponding to diagnostic standards for preventing and treating hypertension instituted in 2004 by Chinese scholars. Confirmed as primary hypertension within 1 month. Not receiving any blood pressure lowering, hypolipidemic or nitrate-like drug treatments. Written informed consents for laboratory measurements were obtained from all subjects. The study was approved by the hospital's Ethics Committee. METHODS: According to the mean pulse pressure over 24 hours, all patients were assigned into 3 groups: Group A (mean pulse pressure ＜ 40 mm Hg, n=92), group B (40 mm Hg ≤ mean pulse pressure ＜ 60 mm Hg, n=39) and group C (mean pulse pressure ＞ 60 mm Hg, n=25). In each group, daytime pulse pressure and night-time pulse pressure, as well as 24-hour mean pulse pressure were measured using a non-invasive portable ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM-04, Meditech Inc, USA). Carotid-femoral and carotid-radial arterial pulse wave velocities were measured using an automatic pulse wave velocity determinator to evaluate large artery dilation. Blood flow mediated and nitroglycerin-dependent dilatation of the brachial artery was determined using a high-resolution ultrasound technique to evaluate vascular endothelial function. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlations of ambulatory pulse pressure to large artery dilation and arterial endothelial function. RESULTS: All 156 patients were included in the final analysis. Correlation of ambulatory pulse pressure to large artery dilation: Carotid-femoral arterial pulse wave velocity was significantly positively correlated to daytime pulse pressure, night-time pulse pressure and 24-hour mean pulse pressure, with coefficient of partial correlation being 0.310, 0.281 and 0.303, respectively, P ＜ 0.01). There were no significant correlations of carotid-radial arterial pulse wave velocity to daytime pulse pressure, night-time pulse pressure or 24-hour pulse pressure (P ＞ 0.05). Correlation of ambulatory pulse pressure to arterial endothelial function: There was a linear relationship between ambulatory pulse pressure and blood flow-mediated blood vessel dilatation values. Linear correlation analysis was performed, taking ambulatory pulse pressure as an independent variable, and endothelial-dependent dilatation as a dependent variable. Results demonstrated that blood flow-mediated blood vessel dilatation was significantly negatively correlated to daytime pulse pressure, night-time pulse pressure and 24- hour mean pulse pressure (r = -0.684, -0.597, -0.668, P ＜ 0.01). There was no correlation of ambulatory pulse pressure to non-endothelial-dependent blood vessel dilatation. CONCLUSION: Ambulatory pulse pressure increase is closely related to large artery elasticity decrease and injury to endothelial function in patients with primary hypertension.

Objective To investigate the role of Furin in breast cancer cell proliferation and provide a theoretical basis for in￣depth study of breast cancer. Methods Different concentrations of Furin inhibitor were added in MCF￣7 cell culture to test MCF￣7 cell proliferation by MTT essay.Hochest 33342 staining was used to detect the morphological change of apoptosic cells.Western blot analysis was applied to measure the level of cell apoptosis associated proteins,such as Caspase￣3,Caspase￣8 andCaspase￣9.The enzyme￣linked immunosorbent assay was used for detection the CAT and SOD levels in cell culture. ResultsMCF￣7 cell growth was inhibited by Furin inhibitor in a time and dose dependent manner.The results of Western blot and Hochest33342 staining indicated that MCF￣7 cells were apoptosis after Furin inhibitor treatment. The level of CAT was increasedsignificantly,associated with the level of SOD. Conclusion Furin inhibitor could induce MCF cell apoptosis, thereby inhibitcell proliferation by modulating MCF￣7 cell redox state.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of cognitive impairment in older people. With the aging of society is more and more serious, AD caused great burden to patients and society. A β is a classical biomarker of AD, which has been widely used in clinical diagnosis of AD patients. Compared with positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), near infrared fluorescence imaging has many advantages including highly sensitive, non-invasive, safety and inexpensive. Therefore, many research groups have focused on developing the molecular probes of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging. In this article, we will review the progress of the probes of NIRF.
Alzheimer Disease ; diagnosis ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; analysis ; Fluorescence ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Humans ; Molecular Probes ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon