Acute Disease ; Animals ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Pancreatitis ; blood ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

Objective To assess the clinical value and safety of VenaTech LP permanent inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) for preventing pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Methods One hundred and seven DVT patients receiving VenaTech LP permanent IVCF implantation from October 2005 to November 2009 were selected. In hospital and following up data were analyzed. Results All the filters were successfully implanted. No symptomatic PE took place during acute stage of thrombosis after filter implantation. No complication took place during following up 1 to 36 months.Conclusion Implantation of VenaTech LP permanent IVCF is safe and effective in the prevention of PE.

Objective To describe clinical characteristics and anti-infective treatment of Listeria monocytogenes(L.monocytogenes)meningitis.Methods Clinical manifestations and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)examination results of 6 patients with L.monocytogenes meningitis in a hospital were analyzed retrospectively.Evaluation methods were developed according to relevant guidelines and literatures,anti-infective treatment and prognosis of patients with L.monocytogenes meningitis were evaluated.Results Two of 4 adults with L.monocytogenes meningitis had triad of fever,stiff neck,and altered mental status,the mean white blood cell count(WBC)of the initial CSF detection was 997×106/L,CSF/blood glucose ratio was 0.32,CSF protein was 1.43g/L;the other 2 neonates had fever,epilepsy,and hyponatremia,WBC were both>1 000×106/L,CSF protein were both>1 g/L,CSF/blood glucose ratio was<0.5.Of 6 patients,none were treated with appropriate initial empiric anti-infection therapy,confirmed by CSF or blood culture,5 cases were treated with ampicillin anti-infective therapy,1 used compound sulfamethoxazole due to penicillin allergy;1 neonate died,1 elderly patient was with moderate disability,the remaining 4 cases were all recovered and discharged from hospital.Conclusion Clinical manifestations and CSF findings of L.monocytogenes meningitis are not different from other purulent meningitis,commonly used antimicrobial agents for the treatment of purulent meningitis are not sensitive to L.monocytogenes,which should be paid attention in clinic.

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied to perform a qualitative elementary analysis on four precious Tibetan medicines, i. e. Renqing Mangjue, Renqing Changjue, 25-herb coral pills and 25-herb pearl pills. The specific spectra of the four Tibetan medicines were established. In the experiment, Nd: YAG and 1 064 nm-baseband pulse laser were adopted to collect the spectra. A laser beam focused on the surface of the samples to generate plasma. Its spectral signal was detected by using spectrograph. Based on the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) database, LIBS spectral lines were indentified. The four Tibetan medicines mainly included Ca, Na, K, Mg and other elements and C-N molecular band. Specifically, Fe was detected in Renqing Changjue and 25-herb pearl pills; heavy mental elements Hg and Cu were shown in Renqing Mangjue and Renqing Changjue; Ag was found in Renqing Changjue. The results demonstrated that LIBS is a reliable and rapid multi-element analysis on the four Tibetan medicines. With Real-time, rapid and nondestructive advantages, LIBS has a wide application prospect in the element analysis on ethnic medicines.
Calcium ; analysis ; Copper ; analysis ; Iron ; analysis ; Lasers ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Mercury ; analysis ; Silver ; analysis ; Spectrum Analysis ; methods

Objective To investigate the influence of electrocardiogram(ECG)-controlled dose modulation on exposure dosage and image quality of cardiac CT imaging in a cardiac phantom with simulated fluctuant heart rate.Methods The basal heart rate of the cardiac pulsating phantom was set as 60 bpm.the experimental situations were divided as 6 groups according to different heart rates.The cardiac imaging was performed on the cardiac phantom when the ECG-controlled dose modulation was firstly turned off.The exposure dosage of each scan sequence was documented.The standard deviation of the CT values of the phantom was measured on the central slice after coronal reformation of the raw data.The quality of 2D and 3D images were scored.Thell cardiac imaging was performed when ECG modulation was on and set as four groups according to different modulation parameters.All the data were documented as before.The results from the five groups with and without ECG modulation current were analyzed bv F test and comparative rank sum test using the statistical software SPSS 10.0.Results Statistical analysis showed no significant difference(P＞0.05)between the SNR of images(SD value was 27.78 and 26.30)from the groups that full mA output at wide reconstruction phase(69%～99%)when the heart rate was fluctuant(≥7.5 bpm).There was also no significant difference(P＞0.05)between the quality of the 2D and 3D images.But there was a significant difference(P＜0.01)between the SNR of images(SD value was 26.78 and 29.90)that full mA was only used at 85%reconstruction phase when the heart rate Was fluctuant(≥7.5 bpm).The exposure dosage was remarkably reduced when the ECG modulated current was on than when it Was off under fluctuant heart rate.Furthermore.there were significant difierence(P＜0.01)among the difierent ECG modulated current parameter groups.The exposure dosage can be reduced by 44.7%under the situation that the heart rate was fluctuant.Whell the fluctuation of the heart rate was≤12.5 bpm,there wag no obvious relationship between the fluctuation of the heart rate and the exposure dosage (the variation was from 0.1 to 1.1 mSv),but if the heart rate fluctuation was＞12.5 bpm,the exposure dosage would increase obviously (from 0.6 to 1.7 mSv).Conclusion For cardiac imaging with 16-slice row CT,the application of ECG modulated current can effectively reduce the exposure dosage without compromising the image quality even if heart rate was fluctuant.

A biosurfactant-producing strain(S_6)was isolated from oil-containing wastewater in oxidation ditch and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on physiological and biochemical experiments and 16S rDNA sequence analysis.Infrared spectrum analysis revealed that S_6 produced glucolipid in the process of metabolism.It was observed that S_6 decreased the surface tension of water from 72 mN/m to 33.9 mN/m with the critical micelle concentration(CMC)of 50mg/L.The measurement of oil displacement and surface tension demonstrated that the fermented liquid had stable surface activity at varying range of salinity,pH,amount of dissolved oxygen.The optimal culture condition was obtained through orthogonal experiment:glucose 10g/L,urea 5g/L,KH_2PO_4 1g/L,liquor of microelement 2mL,pH 8.0,water 1000mL;and the biosurfactant production under optimal culture condition was 0.173g/L.

OBJECTIVETo explore the trends and distributions of incidence on recurrent stroke events in population aged 35 to 74 in Beijing from 1984 to 2000.

METHODSIn Sino-MONICA project, acute stroke events were registered in a standardized way in men and women aged 35-74 years in Beijing from 1984-2000. Recurrent stroke event was defined as recurrence within 28 days after first stroke onset.

RESULTSFrom 1984 to 2000, incidence of recurrence stroke events increased from 89.51/100 000 to 143.34/ 100 000. In the 17 years of follow-up period, rate of recurrent ischemic stroke increased by 153%, and the rate of hemorrhagic stroke decreased by 42.94%. In all events, the recurrent rate of stroke accounted for 29.8%. This rate was higher in men (31.7%) than that in women (26.9%). The event rate of recurrent stroke 1.6% of increase per year in men, higher than that in women which was 0.6%. Subjects with history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease had a higher rate of recurrent stroke.

CONCLUSIONRecurrence rates for stroke events increased significantly during the 17 years of observation, from 1984 to 2000. Subjects with history of hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease had a higher rate of recurrent stroke than other subjects.

Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Sex Distribution ; Stroke ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo study the histologic features and immunohistochemical findings of interfollicular stromal cells in hyaline-vascular Castleman's disease (HVCD), and to explore the role of these stromal cells in the pathogenesis of this disease.

METHODSThe clinical findings and microscopic features of 23 cases of HVCD cases were reviewed. Immunohistochemical study for CCL21, MSA, CD21, CD35, S-100 and CD34 was carried out.

RESULTSAccording to the criteria proposed by Danon et al., stroma-rich variant of HVCD contained prominent interfollicular zone which occupied at least 50% of the lymph node area. In the current study, there were 14 cases of stroma-rich HVCD and 9 cases of conventional HVCD. Eleven of the stroma-rich HVCD had paraneoplastic pemphigus and contrastly, no pemphigus lesion obtained in all the 9 cases of conventional HVCD. The association between stromal cell hyperplasia and paraneoplastic pemphigus was statistically significant (P < 0.01).In all the conventional HVCD cases studied, CCL21 and MSA were positive in the stromal cells.The stromal cells in 13 of the 14 cases of the stroma-rich HVCD were also positive for CCL21 and MSA, however, staining for CD21, CD35, S-100 and CD34 was negative in both groups. There was no statistical significance obtained (P > 0.05) between the differences of the staining results.

CONCLUSIONSStroma-rich HVCD and conventional HVCD represent two distinctive histologic variants and have a different association with paraneoplastic pemphigus. Most of the stromal cells locating in the interfollicular areas are fibroblastic reticular cells in origin, with the immunophenotype as CCL21(+)/MSA(+)/CD34⁻/CD21⁻/S-100⁻. The stromal cells proliferation correlate with the occurrence of paraneoplastic pemphigus, nevertheless, more cases are expected for a further study of the underlying pathogenesis.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Vessels ; pathology ; Castleman Disease ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chemokine CCL21 ; metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyalin ; cytology ; Lymph Nodes ; blood supply ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pemphigus ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; Stromal Cells ; pathology ; Young Adult

This study was designed to investigate the correlation between autophagy and polarization of macrophages in atherosclerosis (AS) plaque in arteriosclerosis obliterans amputees. Femoral artery specimens from arteriosclerosis obliterans amputees were performed hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, oil red O and immunofluorescence staining to observe the morphology of atherosclerotic plaque, phenotype of macrophages and autophagy in plaque; using real-time quantitative RT-PCR technology to detect the mRNA level of M1 and M2 type markers in arterial tissue; to analyze polarized signal pathway and autophagy protein levels in macrophages by Western blotting. Arterial specimens staining showed obvious lipid deposition and obvious infiltration of amount of foam cells and inflammatory cells. Macrophages were mainly expression M1 type in percentage in fibrous plaque. Although both M1 and M2 macrophages were upregulated in atheromatous plaque, the increase was dominant in M2 type in percentage. The level of autophagy was significantly higher in the atheromatous plaque than that of fibrous plaque. The expression of tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) mRNA was significantly higher in fibrous plaque than that of atheromatous plaque (P < 0.01 or 0.05), and arginase-1 (Arg-1), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), CD163 and interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA was significantly lower than that in atheromatous plaque (P < 0.01). The levels of p-STAT1 and NF-κB were significantly increased in fibrous plaque (P < 0.01), while p-STAT6 expression was significantly increased in atheromatous plaque (P < 0.01). The level of LC3-II was significantly higher in atheromatous plaque than that in fibrous plaque (P < 0.01). Macrophages in early atherosclerotic plaque were induced to M1 type through p-STAT1/NF-κB pathway and expressed moderate levels of autophagy; while macrophages in advanced plaques were induced to polarization of M2 type through p-STAT6 pathway. M2 macrophages expressed a higher level of autophagy than M1 macrophages.
Amputees ; Arginase ; metabolism ; Arteriosclerosis Obliterans ; pathology ; Atherosclerosis ; pathology ; Autophagy ; Cell Polarity ; Chemokine CCL2 ; metabolism ; Foam Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-12 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; cytology ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Phenotype ; STAT6 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combined therapy with oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX) in patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer.

METHODSForty-one patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent gastric cancer received intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin at the dose of 130 mg/m(2) on day 1 and oral administration of capecitabine at 1000 mg/m(2) twice a day on days 1-14. The chemotherapy was repeated every 2 weeks for a median of 4 cycles.

RESULTSTwo of 41 patients achieved a complete response, and 15 had partial responses, with an overall response rate of 41.5%. Stable disease was observed in 11 patients and progressive disease in 9. The median time to progression and overall survival was 6.2 months and 11.8 months. All the 41 patients were evaluated for toxicity according to NCI criteria, 4 showed grade 3-4 neural toxicity, 4 had hematological toxicity and 3 had hand-foot syndrome.

CONCLUSIONThe XELOX regimen shows good efficacy with an acceptable toxicity profile in advanced or recurrent gastric cancer patient.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Deoxycytidine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; drug therapy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology