Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of immunosuppressants on in- duction of apoptosis of peripheral T lymphocytes.Methods T lymphocytes were derived from healthy donors and activated by super antigen SEB.The rest or activated T lymphocytes were incubated with immunosuppressants such as myophenolate mofetil (MMF),cyclosporine A (CsA),FK506,azathio- prine (Aza),sirolimus (SRL),prednisone (Pred),and daclizumab (Dac,anti-CD25mAb),alone or combined,for 3 days.The incidence of apoptosis was determined by the methods of confocal microsco- py,flow cytometer,DNA-ladder fragmentation electrophoresis,and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) gene amplification profiles.The quantitive assay of IL-2 and Fas in the cul- ture medium was also performed using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit.Results Apoptosis in rest T lymphocytes was just induced by Pred among various immunosuppressants.MMF,Aza,and Pred promoted apoptosis in activated T lymphocytes (P＜0.05,P＜0.01),but it was blocked by CsA,FK506,SRL,and Dac (P＜0.01).After adding two or three kinds of immunosuppressants, the incidence of apoptosis in activated T lymphocytes was apparently lower than in control group (P＜0.01).The expression of Fas and IL-2 by activated T lymphocytes was inhibited by FK506 and CsA (P＜0.05).Conclusion MMF,Aza,and Pred may induce apoptosis of activated T lymphocytes via the signal pathway of Fas/Fasl.CsA and FK506 could inhibit the apoptosis of activated T lymphocytes by blocking the production of IL-2.Also,SRL and Dac can block the apoptosis of activated T lympho- cyte by interfering with the effect of IL-2 on T lymphocytes activation process.

Objective To investigate the influence of human chorionic gonadotropin on testicular germ cell apoptosis of bilateral cryptorchidism in rats.Methods Immature male rats (22 day-old Sprague Dawley) were subjected to bilateral cryptorchidism and injected with 20 U human chorionic gonadotropin from the 22th day to the 34th day every other day. Sham operation rats were as control group. At age 35 days and 60 days, rats were sacrificed for detection germ cell apoptosis by terminal- deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated d-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Results There were significant difference of apoptosis index (AI) between bilateral cryptorchidism and sham operation groups(P0.05).Conclusion AI of cryptorchidism increases and HCG addes the number of apoptotic germ cells.

Adult ; Drowning ; Humans ; Hydrogen Sulfide ; poisoning ; Male ; Radiography, Thoracic ; X-Ray Film ; Young Adult

In order to investigate the hygienic characteristic of anti-immersion trousers, ten male soldiers dressed in the trousers or in camouflage trousers were subjected to exercise test and sedentary test respectively at room temperature of 17?2℃. In the test, eleven parameters such as core temperature, skin temperature, heat flow and so on were observed. The results indicated that in sedentary tests, the low limb heat flow of the subjects dressed in anti-immersion trousers was larger than that dressed in camouflage trousers; the heat insulation value of anti-immersion trousers was smaller than that of camouflage trousers; and for the other parameters, there was no evident difference between the two group. It suggested that when used on land, hygiene characteristic and effect on body heat balance of the anti-immersion trousers were similar to those of camouflage trousers.

AIM:To investigate the influence of pinellia heart-draining Decoction, Licorice heart-draining Decoction, Fresh ginger heart-draining Decoction and its dismantlements on the amount of gastric mucus in rats. METHODS:20 different combination of Banxiaxiexin Decoction and its analogus according to the unform design layout, the amount of gastric mucus in rats was determinated. Stepwise regression analysis was adopted to estimate the relationship between the pharmacological data and compatibility. RESULTS:Rhizoma Coptidis could reduce the amount of gastric mucus remarkbably, the interaction of Rhizoma Pinelliae、Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae and Radix Glycyrrhizae could increase the amount of gastric mucus, and interaction was confirmed among different medicinal ingredients in prescription. CONCLUSION:Uniform design provides a referable exeperimental design for studying analogus decoction compatibility law.

Objective To study the potential role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induction in the development of mucosal barrier dysfunction in rats caused by acute intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury, and to examine whether pretreatment with monoclonal antibody against TNF-α (TNF-α MoAb) would affect the release of D(-)-lactate after local gut ischemia followed by reperfusion. Methods Anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats underwent superior mesenteric artery occlusion for 75 min followed by reperfusion for 6 hr. The rats were treated intravenously with either TNF-α MoAb (20 mg/kg) or albumin (20 mg/kg) 30 min prior to the onset of ischemia. Plasma D(-)-lactate levels were measured in both the portal and systemic blood by an enzymatic spectrophotometric assay. Intestinal TNF-αmRNA expression as well as protein levels were also measured at various intervals. In addition, a postmortem examination was performed together with a macropathological evaluation based on a four-grade scoring system.Results Intestinal ischemia resulted in a significant elevation in D(-)-lactate levels in the portal vein blood in both the control and treatment groups ( P ＜0.05). However, animals pretreated with TNF-α MoAb at 6 hr after reperfusion showed significant attenuation of an increase in both portal and systemic D(-)-lactate levels when compared with those only receiving albumin (P ＜ 0.05). In the control animals, a remarkable rise in intestinal TNF-α level was measured at 0.5 hr after clamp release ( P ＜ 0.01); however, prophylactic treatment with TNF-α MoAb completely annulled the increase of local TNF-α levels seen in the control animals. Similarly, after anti-TNF-α MoAb administration, intestinal TNF-α mRNA expression was markedly inhibited, which showed significant differences when compared with the control group at 0.5 hr, 2 hr and 6 hr after the release of occlusion ( P ＜ 0.05-0.01 ). In addition, the pathological examination showed marked intestinal lesions that formed during ischemia, which were much worse upon reperfusion,particularly at the 6 hr time point. These acute injuries were obviously attenuated in animals receiving TNF-α MoAb.Conclusions It appeared that acute intestinal ischemia was associated with failure of the mucosal barrier, resulting in increased plasma D(-)-lactate levels in both portal and systemic blood. These results suggest that TNF-α appears to be involved in the development of local damage associated with intestinal ischemic injury. Moreover, prophylactic treatment with TNF-α MoAb exerts preventive effects on ischemia/ reperfusion-induced circulating D (-)-lactate elevation and gut injury. ( J Geriatr Cardiol 2004;1(2):119-124. )

AIM: To purify and refold the inclusion body of a human anti-HBsAg scFv with a 6?His tag, and to determine the affinity constant of the purified recombinant product.METHODS: Solubilizing in buffers containing urea or guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl), the inclusion body was purified by IMAC, and then refolded by dialysis against urea or GuHCl, at the same time, Ni 2+ charged chelate column was utilized for in situ refolding. The affinity constant of the refolded scFv, polished by immune-affinity chromatography, was determined by non-competitive ELISA. RESULTS: The refolded scFv with highest specific bioactivity was produced by dialysis against GuHCl. Under this condition, the recovery of target protein reached (61.08?1 45)%. The affinity constant of the polished scFv was confirmed to be(2.30?0.32) ?10 7 L/mol. CONCLUSION: The inclusion body studied in this paper can be refolded efficiently under optimal dialysis condition in vitro . The antigen-binding property of this recombinant scFv is not affected by the purification tag fused to the N terminal of the protein.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effectiveness of surgical strategies for Shang Ring circumcision in the treatment of short frenulum praeputii in patients with redundant prepuce or phimosis.

METHODSTotally, 130 cases of short frenulum praeputii with redundant prepuce or phimosis were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group of equal number to receive Shang Ring circumcision, the former by transverse incision in the distal penis foreskin and pull-up of the interior board, and the latter by conventional transverse incision and longitudinal suture of the frenulum praeputii. Comparisons were made between the two groups in the surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, 24 h postoperative pain visual analog score (VAS), postoperative complications, satisfaction with the penile appearance, and the quality of sexual life.

RESULTSThe surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, 24 h postoperative VAS, postoperative sexual satisfaction, and satisfaction with penile appearance were (4.60 +/- 1.20) min, (2.61 +/- 1.81) ml, 1.73 +/- 0.76, 98.5%, and 98.5%, respectively, in the experimental group, as compared with (21.60 +/- 6.30) min, (11.10 +/- 3.40) ml, 5.37 +/- 1.84, 70.3% and 69.8% in the control, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). The incidence rates of such major complications as wound dehiscence, infection, and moderate to severe edema were 1.5% (1/65), 3.1% (2/65), and 4.6% (3/65), respectively, in the experimental group in comparison with 12.3% (8/65), 15.3% (10/65), and 30.7% (20/65) in the control, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). None of patients had any serious complications.

CONCLUSIONShang Ring circumcision by transverse incision in the distal penis foreskin and pull-up of the interior board, with its advantages of shorter operation time, less blood loss, mild pain, fewer complications, and higher satisfaction and acceptance of the patients, can be used as an safe and effective approach to the treatment of short frenulum praeputii.

Aged ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; statistics & numerical data ; Circumcision, Male ; adverse effects ; instrumentation ; methods ; Edema ; epidemiology ; Foreskin ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Operative Time ; Pain Measurement ; Pain, Postoperative ; diagnosis ; Patient Satisfaction ; Phimosis ; surgery ; Postoperative Period ; Prostheses and Implants ; Surgical Wound Dehiscence ; epidemiology ; Surgical Wound Infection ; epidemiology

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of MRI in the infantile developmental dislocation of the hip.Methods Forty-five cases of preoperative hip MRI data of DDH (patient group)and 40 cases of normal hip (control group)MRI data were retrospectively analyzed.Three types were classified according to the standard of Dunn.Then the bony acetabular index (BAI),cartilaginous acetabular index (CAI)were measured on coronal MRI and all the intra-articular structures (articular cartilage,labrum, teres ligament and iliopsoas)in the acetabulum that impeded the reduction of the femoral head were observed.Results There were normal hips (80 hips)and dislocated hips (73 hips).In dislocated hips typeⅠ (30 hips),typeⅡ (20 hips),and typeⅢ (23 hips) were found.The values of BAI were (26.13±2.19)°and (35.87±4.42)°,CAI (13.84±1.07)°and (21.92±4.70)°for patient group and control group.The values of BAI were (31.80±1.74)°,(37.80±3.40)°and (39.17±4.11)°,CAI (17.20±2.68)°,(20.91±2.02)°and (27.50±2.78)°for the typesⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ respectively.Differences of BAI and CAI between patient group and control group were showed (t=-11.048 and -9.188,P =0.000).Statistically significants were found among the typeⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ(F=22.159 and 47.241,P =0.000).There were linear correlations for patient group ,control group,and the typeⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ (r= 0.964,0.844,0.953,0.931 and 0.870,P =0.000).Some pathological changes such as varus labrum,thick teres ligament,iliopsoas spasm,articular cartilage hyperplasia,fat hyperplasia,joint effusion were observed in the type Ⅱand Ⅲ.Conclusion MRI is not only used for measuring the values of BAI and CAI,and a linear correlation among all kinds of DDH,but also some factors hindering the reduction of the femoral head can be found clearly.It can provide an important reference basis for the diagnosis and treatment of DDH.

Objective To investigate the effect of voice training therapy on the voice improvement in patients with vocal nodules .Methods Twenty one patients with vocal nodules were recruited and were evaluated by the GRBAS perpetual evaluation ,voice handicap index (VHI)-30 subjective assessment ,vocal laryngostroboscopy , maximum phonation time (MPT) and acoustic analysis pre- and post-therapy .These patients completed 5 cour‐ses of voice training .Results The VHI value(29 .48 ± 21 .21) of post-therapy was less than the value (52 .95 ± 24 . 30)of pre -therapy (P< 0 .01) .There were significantly differences in voice perpetual evaluation between pre -training and post-training ,especially for G (grade) (P<0 .01) and R (roughness) (P<0 .01) .The post-training laryngostrobescopy vocal vibration improved comparing with pre-therapy in the closure of vocal cords ,symmetry of vibration ,the mucosal wave and vibration regularity of the vocal cords .After therapy ,three patient nodules dis‐appeared ,thirteen patient nodules became smaller ,and five patient nodules remained the same .The maximum pho‐nation time (MPT) (12 .54 ± 3 .68)of post-therapy was longer than MPT(8 .87 ± 3 .75) of pre-therapy MPT(P<0 .01) .The jitter value (0 .18% ± 0 .08% ) of post -therapy was less than that of pre-therapy(0 .43% ± 0 .31% ) (P<0 .01) .The shimmer of post -therapy (2 .10% ± 0 .98% ) was less than that of pre -therapy (4 .55% ± 1 .80% )(P<0 .01) ,The ratio of noise to harmonic(NHR)(0 .0034 ± 0 .0022 dB) of post-therapy was significantly less than NHR(0 .0184 ± 0 .028 dB)(P<0 .05) of pre-therapy .Conclusion The voice therapy could significantlyimprove voice of patients with vocal nodules .