Objective To study the MR imaging technology and 3D reconstruction of the articular cartilage of knee.MethodsConventional,2D,3D and multiparameter MR imaging scans of knee were performed in ninety patients with trauma(n=34)andosteoarthritis(n=56) of knee and 10 healthy volunteers.The articular cartilages on 3D images were reconstructed using maximum intensity projection(MIP).The mean thickness of articular cartilage was measured and analysed statistically.Results Articular cartilages of knee were clearly depicted by MR imaging technique and 3D.On 2D FSE sequence,about 50% of articular cartilage appeared as three laminar apearance.On 3D imaging,the three-dimensional morphology of articular cartilage was showed clearly.Conclusion MR imaging and 3D reconstruction of the articular cartilages of knee is helpful in early diagnosis and treatment of disordered cartilages.

Objective: To compare the anesthetic and analgesic efficacy of ropivacaine and bupivacaine and their side reactions in combined spinal epidural anesthesia (CSEA) and postoperative analgesia in pediatric surgery. Methods: Fifty children for lower abdominal surgery, aged 6-14 years, were randomly assigned to receive either ropivacaine (Group R, n =25) or bupivacaine (Group B, n =25) for CSEA. Spinal injection for Group R was a mixture of 1.5 ml of 10 g?L -1 ropivacaine, 0.5 ml distilled water and 1ml of 100 g?L -1 dextrose. The injection for Group B was the same as that for Group R except 0.5 ml of 7.5 g?L -1 bupivacaine . The terminal concentrations of anesthetics were 5 g?L -1 for the two groups. The injection volume was calculated as: ml=(age?0.2+weight?0.5)/2. When operations prolonged to 1.5 h, epidural infusion at the rate of 1 mg?kg -1 ?h -1 started with 2.5 g?L -1 ropivacaine for Group R and 2.5 g?L -1 bupivacaine for Group B. The observed variables were the changes in blood pressure, heart rate, SpO 2, block level, visual analogue scores, and motor block. Epidural postoperative analgesia was performed for Group R with 100 ml of 0.75 g?L -1 ropivacaine to which 100 mg tramadol and 5 mg were added, and for Group B with 100 ml of 0.75 g?L -1 bupivacaine instead. Backgroup infusion was 3 ml?h -1 for the children aged 6-9 years or 4 ml?h -1 for the children aged 10-14 years, bolus was 2 ml controlled by children or their parents when necessary, and locktime was 15 min. The observed variables were the efficacy of postoperative analgesia, recession of motor block of legs, and the incidence of headache, nausea and vomiting, leg numbness, and urinary retention within 24 h after operation. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in block level. Motor block was much milder in Group R than that in Group B during operation, and recessed faster after operation. Only one case of nausea occurred in each group, and one case of urinary retention in Group B without statistical significance. Conclusion: Either ropivacaine or bupivacaine can be satisfactorily used in CSEA for analgesia during and after operation. However, ropivacaine has a weaker motor block than bupivacaine, which benefits early walking after operation and recovery of bowl movement.

Objective To evaluate the effect of endemic disease prevention in Shaanxi province caused by earthquake and supply a scientific basis for making decision regarding restoration and reconstruction after the earthquake.Methods Forty different drinking water samples were collected respectively from Mianxian county and Chencang district the earthquakes'most severely hit areas in Shaanxi province with drinking-water-borne fluorosis.The contents of fluorine and arsenic in the water was detected by Fluoride ion-selective electrode and hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry,respectively.Two hundreds iodized salt and urine samples were collected from affected household women aged 18-45 in severely hit Ningqiang and Lveyang countie with iodine deficiency disorders.The contents of iodine in the salt was detected by semi-quantitative and of urinary iodine of household women was determined by AsⅢ-Ce4+ catalytic spectrophotometry.Two hundred children aged 7-12 were detected by clinical and X-ray examination from Ningqiang and Lveyang counties of Kashin-Beck disease prevailing areas.Hair and food samples from 20 children were collected.The contents of selenium were determined by 2,3-Diamino naphthalene fluorescence spectrophotometry and of T-2 toxin in the food was detected by ELISA.Results No incidents of serious hydrologieM or geological damage were found.Fluoride content in one of eighty water samples was beyond 1.5 mg/L,accounting for 1.25%;five samples were between 1.0 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L,accounting for 6.25%:the arsenic content of all samples were below 0.01 mg/L;all the salt samples from the home of household aged 18-45 were iodine salt,the median of urine iodine of household wonlen Was 303.03μg/L (21.40-1133.54 μg/L) and 325.21 μg/L(27.61 - 1191.46 μg,/L) in Ningqiang and Lveyang counties, respectively.No clinical and X-ray patients were found in the children aged 7 - 12, the average content of selenium in hair was (0.2638 ± 0.0875)mg/kg; the content of T-2 toxin in the forty food samples was below 100 μg/kg. Conclusions The prevention of the endemic disease in the four counties has been moderately affected by the earthquake, but the situation of endemic disease is stable and there is no evidence of the endemic disease.

ObjectiveTo investigate the character outpatients in clinical psychological department of a general hospital.MethodsAll the outpatients visited clinical psychological department were asked to evaluate with SCL-90.ResultsThe scores of all factors of SCL-90 were higher than national norm.Neurosis,affective disorder and schizophrenia were the major psychoses.ConclusionMost of the visitors have psychological problems or mental disorder.

Firstly discovered in 1980s,human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to affect more and more people.However,there is no effective drug available for the therapy of HIV infection.Betulinic acid existing in various medicinal herbs and fruits exhibits multiple biological effects,especially its outstanding anti-HIV activity,which has drawn the attentions of many pharmacists.Among the derivatives of betulinic acid,some compounds exhibited inhibitory activities at the nanomolar concentration,and have entered phase Ⅱ clinical trials.This paper summarizes the current investigations on the anti-HIV activity of betulinic acid analogues,and provides valuable data for subsequent researches.

Heat shock protein 27 ( HSP27 ) is an endogenous protein that plays an important role in a great variety of physio-logical and pathological processes. It can express a large number under body stress conditions. Recent studies have shown estro-gen upregulates the expression of HSP27 through a number of ways, playing a perfect “triple protection” role. In the early stage of atherosclerosis, estrogen induces the phosphorylation of HSP27 via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Phosphorylation of HSP27 can resist the injury of vascular endothelial cells( VECs) through an antioxidant and anti-apoptotic pathway as well as the inhibition of cytochrome C. In the stage of forming foam cells, estrogen induces the expression and release of HSP27 from mac-rophages by stimulating the estrogen receptor β ( ERβ) , then HSP27 inhibits the LDL uptake and the release of proinflammato-ry cytokine by binding scavenger receptor A ( SR-A) . During the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells ( VSMCs) , estrogen induces estrogen receptor α ( ERα) and protein phosphatase 2 ( PP2A) to form a complex that enhances the activity of PP2A, then it can lead to the dephosphorylation of HSP27 and finally inhibit cells proliferation and migration. In summary, the anti-atherosclerotic effect of estrogen is closely re-lated to the role of HSP27. Given the side effects of estrogen re-placement therapy( MHT) , regulating HSP27 may provide a no-vel therapy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular dis-eases in menopausal women clinically.

BACKGROUND: The development of safe and powerful antidepressant agents from traditional Chinese herbs has become a hotspot in studies on anti-depression therapy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-depressive effect and possible mechanism of curcumin by behavioral and neurochemical procedures. DESIGN: Randomized grouping design and controlled experiment. SETTING: Depart, ment of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences of Peking University.MATERIALS: This study was carried out in the laboratory of the Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences of Peking University, between November 2003 and October 2004. A total of 240 male ICR mice were recruited. METHODS: The whole experiment was divided into 4 tests. ① Antagonism of reserpine-induced hypothermia: Totally 60 mice were randomly chosen and divided into 6 groups: normal control group, groups of various doses of curcumin (1.25, 2.50, 5.00 and 10.00 mg/kg), and positive control group (imipramine 10 mg/kg). Normal temperature of the mice was measured before experiment. The animals were given a single injection of reserpine (2.5 mg/kg). The mice were administered with drugs 18 hours later, namely, curcumin of different concentrations by gastric perfusion, groundnut oil (0.1 mL/10g by gastric perfusion) as well as imipramine (10 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection). Rectal temperature was measured 60, 90, 120,150 and 180 minutes after administration, respectively. ② Potentiation of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)-induced head twitches: animal grouping was the same as above, and the drug in positive control group was replaced by fluoxetine. The mice received gastric perfusion and the dose of curcumin given was the same as above. Groundnut oil and fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) and 5-HTP (70 mg/kg) were injected into the vein of the tail one hour later.The number of head twitches was counted within 5-10 minutes after 5-HTP treatment. ③ Antagonism of apomorphine-induced hypothermia: Mice grouping was the same as above; the drug in positive control group was replaced by imipramine. Curcumin was give as above at 4 doses, and groundnut oil and imipramine were also given. Large-dose apomorphine was injected subcutaneously (16 mg/kg). Rectal temperature was measured before injection, as well as 30 minutes and 60 minutes after injection. ④Determination of monoamine and metabolites: Mice grouping was the same as above. The drug in positive control group was replaced by imipramine.Curcumin was give as above at 4 doses, and groundnut oil and imipramine were also given. The content of monoamine and metabolites in the mice was measured with high performance liquid chromatography. ⑤ Dunnett's t test was used for comparison between groups.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① In reserpine-induced hypothermia test, the change of body temperature before and after administration. ② In 5-HTP-induced head twitches test, whether the times of head twitches were increased. ③ In apomorphine-induced hypothermia test, the change of body temperature after administration. ④ Effect of drugs on the content of monoamine.RESULTS: Totally 240 mice entered the result analysis. ① Experiment results of reserpine-induced hypothermia: Curcumin (5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg)produced an antagonism against reserpine-induced hypothermia, and the results were significantly different from those in control group (P ＜ 0.05,P＜0.01). Curcumin of 10.00 mg/kg produced the similar effect compared as that of imipramine in positive control group. ② Results of 5-HTPinduced head twitches: Curcumin (5 and 10 mg/kg) could significantly increase the times of 5-HTP-induced head twitches (P ＜0.05, P＜0.01). ③Results of apomorphine-induced hypothermia test: 2.50, 5.00 mg/kg and 10.00 mg/kg of curcumin could significantly increase the content of 5-HTP, and 10 mg/kg of curcumin could significantly increase the content of norepinephrine and dopamine. There was significant difference from that in control group (P ＜ 0.05). By contrast, curcumin had no obvious effect on the content of metabolite 5-hydroxyindol acetic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. Imipramine of 10 mg/kg as the positive control drug could significantly increase the content of 5-hydroxyindol acetic acid and norepinephrine (P＜0.05).CONCLUSION: Curcumin has an antidepressant effect and the effect exerted may be related to monoaminergic neurotransmitter system.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the level of serum uric acid(SUA) and carotid atherosclerosis in male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). Methods A collection of 579 male T2DM patients with or without carotid atherosclerosis were grouped based on quartiles of SUA. Age, SUA, smokers, duration, body mass index(BMI), blood pressure, total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cr), and HbA1C were determined in all subjects. The plaques in carotid arteries and intima-media thickness(IMT) were measured with high-resolution ultrasound. Results BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, TG, and Cr showed a gradual increase, while HDL-C and HbA1C showed a gradual decrease according to the higher SUA quartiles in male T2DM(P＜0.05). Nevertheless, the detectable rates of smokers, duration, age, TC, LDL-C, and BUN had no relationships with the SUA quartiles(P＞0.05). The detectable rate of carotid atherosclerosis and the thickness of carotid plaque were positively associated with the levels of SUA in male patients with T2DM(P＜0.05). However, intima-media thickness of carotid arteries did not illustrate the correlation with the levels of SUA in male T2DM patients(P＞0.05). Age, HbA1C, and SUA were independent factors of carotid atherosclerosis in these patients by logistic regression(P＜0.05). Conclusion The levels of SUA seems to be associated with the occurrence and development of carotid atherosclerosis in male patients with T2DM.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxycodone hydrochloride injection for postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing the operation under general anesthesia in a prospective,randomized,blind,multicenter,positive-controlled,clinical trial.Methods Two hundred and forty ASA Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients of both sexes,aged 18-64 yr,weighing 40-95 kg,scheduled for elective abdominal operation or orthopedic surgeries under general anesthesia,were randomly divided into 2 groups (n =120 each):morphine sulfate injection group (group M) and oxycodone hydrochloride injection group (group O).Morphine or oxycodone 1 mg was injected intravenously when the patients complained of pain after tracheal extubation or removal of the laryngeal mask,and administration was repeated if necessary until VAS≤40 mm.Then patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) (100 ml,0.5 mg/ml) with morphine or oxycodone was used for postoperative analgesia (lasting for 48 h).The PCIA pump was set up with a 1 ml bolus dose,a 5 min lockout interval and background infusion at a rate of 0.5 mg/h.Pain at rest and during movement was assessed using VAS score at 3,24 and 48 h after administration,and non-inferiority test was performed.Total morphine or oxycodone consumption,requirement for rescue analgesic,the number of unsuccessfully delivered dose,the number of attempts,and the level of patient' s satisfaction were recorded within 48 h after operation.The adverse events were recorded and laboratory examinations (blood and urine routine test,blood biochemical examination) were performed within 72 h after administration.Results There was no significant difference in the VAS scores at rest and during movement at different time points,requirement for rescue analgesic,the number of unsuccessfully delivered doses and attempts,level of patient' s satisfaction,total morphine or oxycodone consumption,and adverse events between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).No serious adverse event occurred in the two groups.The most common adverse event was nausea,followed by vomiting.There was no significant difference in the incidences and degree of nausea and vomiting between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The incidences of nausea and vomiting in patients underwent orthopedic surgeries were significantly lower in group O than in group M (P ＜ 0.05).The other adverse events were fewer and abnormal laboratory examinations were rare in the two groups.95％ confidence interval of the difference between the mean VAS scores at rest and during movement at each time point was within 15 mm (boundary values of non-inferiority testing) in the two groups.Conclusion PCIA with oxycodone hydrochloride injection is safe and effective in reducing pain after moderate or major operation,and the analgesic efficacy is similar to that of morphine sulfate injection,however,the development of nausea and vomiting is reduced when PCIA with oxycodone hydrochloride injection is used for orthopedic surgeries as compared with that when morphine sulfate injection is used and the ratio between the analgesic efficacy of the two drugs is close to 1∶1.

Cardiovascular disease is a serious threat to human health and quality of life ,and it has become the leading cause of death in human.Thus,looking for effective drugs to reduce the mortality and morbidity of such a disease has become a problem to be solved.Due to its good efficacy of activating blood circula-tion and dissipating blood stasis,salvia miltiorrhiza has been widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and ob-tained a good curative effect.Salvianolic acid B is one of the main water-soluble components of salvia miltiorrhiza extract and studies have shown that salvianolic acid B possesses many biolog-ical activities,which not only has a good protective effect on my-ocardial infarction,but could significantly alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.This article reviews the research progress of salvianolic acid B in cardiovascular diseases,and al-so includes discussion about the mechanisms of salvianolic acid B in the regulation of cardiovascular diseases,which may provide references for follow-up research and clinical treatment.