ObjectiveTo investigate the learning curve of total thoracoscopicy cardiac surgery.MethodsClinical data of a succession of 125 patients undering total thoracoscopicy ASD and VSD repair between October 2004 to January 2010 were collected and reviewed.The procedure was perfomed by the same surgeon.The patients were divided equally into 5 groups (groupA,B,C,D and E,n =25 in each group ) according to the sequence of the operation.The operative time,extracorporeal circulation time,aortic cross-clamped time,the rate of conversion rate to thoracotomy and postoperative complications were compared between the 5 groups.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences between the 5 groups with respect to age,gender,weight,dieases and surgical approach(P ＞ 0.05).The operative time,extracorporeal circulation time and aortic clump time in group A and group B significant longer then that in group C,group D and group E(P ＜0.05).Group A and group B was no statistically significant difference each other( P ＞ 0.05 ).Group C,D and E have no statistically significant differences between(P ＞0.05 ).The rate of conversion rate to thoracotomy and postoperative complications in 5 groups have no statistically significant differences comparative( P ＞ 0.05 ).ConclusionThe learning curve of total thoracoscopicy surgery is approximalely 50 cases.

Objective To compare the effects of electroacupuncture at points Shangjuxu(ST37), Zusanli(ST36), Xiajuxu(ST39) and Yanglingquan(GB34) on colonic expressions of interleukin-1b (IL-1b) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor a7 mRNA (nAchRa7mRNA) in ulcerative colitis rats and investigate if large intestine lower He-Sea point Shangjuxu has relative specificity to fu organ diseases. Method Seventy healthy SD rats were randomized into blank, model, Shangjuxu, Zusanli, Xiajuxu, Yanglingquan and Chengjin groups, 10 rats, half male and half female, each. A rat model of ulcerative colitis was made by induction of 2-4-6 three nitrobenzene sulfonic acid/ethanol solution enema in every group except the blank group. After successful model making and ten days of treatment, rat colonic mucosal ulcers and inflammation were observed macroscopically, colonic IL-1bcontent was measured by ELISA and the expression of nAchRa7mRNA was determined by RT-PCR. Result Compared with the model group, colonic lesions were reduced in varying degrees, colonic IL-1b content was significantly lower and the expression of nAchRa7mRNA was higher in every acupoint group (P<0.05, P<0.01);the colonic ulcer score was lower in the Shangjuxu and Zusanli groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the Shangjuxu group, colonic expression of nAchRa7mRNA was lower in the other four acupoint groups (P<0.01); colonic mucosal ulcers and inflammatory lesions were more severe and the colonic ulcer score and the IL-1bcontent were higher in the Xiajuxu, Yanglingquan and Chengjin groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion The mechanism of electroacupuncture treatment for ulcerative colitis may be that it regulates abnormal immunologic function by modulating IL-1b and nAchRa7mRNA and reduces mucosal lesions. The overall therapeutic effect of Shangjuxu is better than those of Zusanli, Xiajuxu, Yanglingquan and Chengjin, indicating that Shangjuxu has relative specificity to fu organ large intestine.

Objective To determine the drug-resistance rate of Enterococci isolated from patients of 5 padiatric hospitals located at different areas in China,and to investigate the distribution of resistance genes ermB,mefA,tetM and the integrase gene intTn of Tn1545 in Enterococci.Methods The antimicrobial susceptibility to 8 antibiotics of 2 216 Enteroeocei isolates was determined.PCR was used to detect the macrolide resistance genes ermB and mefA,tetracycline resistance genes tetM,and the integrase gene int-Tn of Tn1545.Results The resistance rates to erythromycin,ampicillin,gentamicin and teicoplanin were 86.5%,48.0%,60.5% and 0.7%,respectively.All isolated Enterococci straim were found sensitive to vancomycin.Of the detected 225 strains,70.7% of the 225 detected strains carried ermB gene while 75.1% of them carried tetracycline resistance gene tetM:only one strain had mefA.The presence of ermB gene in erythromycin MIC＞256 mg/L straim group(95.7%)strains was higher than those in erythromycin MIC＜256 mg/L group(2.5%).The int-Tn gene was detected in 40.9%(92/225)of the 225 test strains.The presence of ermB gene in int-Tn positive group strains was higher(84.8%)than those in int-Tn negative strains group(60.9%).So did the tetM in int-Tn positive group(83.7%)compared with those in int-Tn negative group(70.0%).Conclusions Enterococci sbowed a high resistance rate to the antibiotics we monitored,especially to erythromycin;but still very senstive to glycopeptide antibiotics. Resistance to macrolide in Enterococci collected from clinical in five Children's Hospital was generally mediated by methylation of 23S rRNA via ermB methylase. Enterococci resistance to tetracycline was predominantly due to ribosomal protection encoded by tetM. There was a strong relationship of the ermB and tetM genes with Tn1545-related elements.

Polymeric micelles which are self-assembled from amphiphilic copolymers are thermodynamically stable, and they can solubilize hydrophobic drugs by the hydrophilic core. Many excellent active compounds are confined because of general low oral bioavailability due to poor solubility. Take into account from the two points above, polymeric micelles may be used as proper oral carrier to improve the dissolubility of hydrophobic drugs, and enhance the permeation though gastrointestinal tract, therefore, the pharmacodynamics is elevated. Meanwhile, the segments in copolymers are multivariate, so many kinds of micelles can be obtained, such as, pH- or thermo- sensitive as well as mucoadhesive ones. The modified micelles can alter drug release profiles while solubilizing them, that is why the oral bioavailability increase further. In this review, recent progress of polymeric micelles used in oral administration is summarized, and the prospect of polymeric micelles' application in this field is also evaluated.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Area Under Curve ; Biological Availability ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Micelles ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; administration & dosage ; Poloxamer ; chemistry ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry ; Polymers ; chemistry ; Risperidone ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Silymarin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Solubility

AlM: To investigate the association between the degree of anterioruveitis and related factors including inflammatory markers as well as sacroiliac joint imaging in patients with ankylosing spondylitis ( AS) .
METHODS: Anterior changes evaluated by slit lamp, erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( ESR ) , C - reactive protein ( CRP ) and magnetic resonance imaging of 55 cases with AS associateduveitis were retrospectively analyzed. A modified endotoxin-induced uveitis ( ElU ) clinical standard was used for uveitis grading. SPARCC sacroiliac scoring was used to evaluate bone edema of sacroiliac joint. The correlation between the degree of uveitis and sacroiliitis was assessed.
RESULTS: ln the 55 patients with AS, ElU grading scored 2-10, and SPARCC index scored 0-22. Further analysis showed that the severity of uveitis was significantly correlated with ESR (r=0. 869, P<0. 001) and CRP (r=0. 485, P<0. 001). The degree of anterior uveitis in AS patients was not correlated with inflammation of sacroiliac joint (r=0. 237, P=0. 081).
CONCLUSlON: Local autoimmunity of uveitis and sacroiliac joint inflammation with subsequent bone formation in AS might be mutually independent processes.

Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mastoiditis ; complications ; Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial ; etiology

Host genetic factors, such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, are important in Human immunod-eficiency virus (HIV) infection and its progression to AIDS. HLA class I genes, especially highly polymorphicHLA-B genes, are involved in the activation of HLA-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against HIV, andthus control susceptibility to or protect against this virus. The present study was aimed to determine the distributionof HLA-B alleles in the Chinese Uygur ethnic group and its association with HIV infection. One hundred ten healthycontrol (HIV negative) and 128 HIV positive Chinese Xinjiang Uygur ethnic individuals were used in this study.HLA typing for B allele was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers (SSP).Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using POPGENE software for the healthy control group. The HLA-Bfrequency of each allele was compared between the patients and the controls using the chi-square test. In HIV-1-pos-itive group, gene frequency of allele B * 4901 was significantly higher compared to the healthy control subjects (P=0.02, OR=3.06, 95%CI=1.16～8.10 forB*4901). In contrast, the gene frequency of B * 40 in healthy controlswas significantly higher than in the HIV-positive patients (P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.07～0. 92 for B* 40).In this study, HLA allele B * 4901 may be associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection, whereas the B* 40 allele may be associated with resistance to H HIV-1 infection.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of phytoestrogen alpha-zearalanol (alpha-ZAL) on normal human breast.

METHODSTen specimens of normal human breast tissues were subcutaneously implanted into 30 athymic nude mice aged 9-10 weeks, one for 3 mice. These mice were then randomly divided into three groups: control group (without hormone treatment, n = 10), 1 mg/kg alpha-ZAL group (n = 10), and 5 mg/kg alpha-ZAL group (n = 10). All breast tissues were taken out 6 weeks later. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the protein expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), inhibiting apoptosis gene Bcl-2, estrogen receptor (ER), and progesterone receptor (PR). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to measure the expression levels of estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) mRNA and bridging integrator protein-1 (BIN1) mRNA. Morphological features of grafts before and after treatment were also observed.

RESULTSAlpha-ZAL had no significant effects on Bcl-2, PCNA, ER, and PR expression of mammary epithelial cells in graft specimens. Alpha-ZAL upregulated BIN1 mRNA expression in grafts, but had no significant effect on ESTmRNA expression.

CONCLUSIONSAlpha-ZAL does not affect the morphology, proliferating, and apoptosis of epithelial cells in normal human breast tissues implanted into nude mice, but it may increase the gene expression of tumor-inhibiting BIN1, suggesting that alpha-ZAL may have potential proteotive effect on normal human breast.

Adult ; Animals ; Breast ; chemistry ; drug effects ; Estrogens, Non-Steroidal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Phytoestrogens ; pharmacology ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; analysis ; Random Allocation ; Receptors, Estrogen ; analysis ; Receptors, Progesterone ; analysis ; Zeranol ; pharmacology

Acute Disease ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; Child ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; analysis ; Histocytochemistry ; Humans ; Leukemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; analysis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; analysis

BACKGROUNDVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is well known as a hypoxia-induced protein. That it markedly increased expression of VEGF and improvement of rat motor function after spinal cord injury suggested that VEGF could play a neuroprotective role in ischaemic tolerance. This study investigated whether vascular endothelial growth factor has direct neuroprotective effects on rat spinal cord neurons.

METHODSWe employed primary cultures of embryonic rat spinal cord neurons, then administrated different concentrations of VEGF164 in the culture medium before hypoxia when the number of neurons was counted and the cell viability was detected by MTT. The neuronal apoptosis and expression of VEGF and its receptor genes were evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry. The VEGFR2/FLK-1 inhibitor, SU1498, was used to confirm whether the neuroprotective effect of VEGF was mediated through VEGFR2/Flk-1 receptors.

RESULTIn hypoxic conditions, the number and viability of neurons decreased progressively, while the number of TUNEL-positive cells increased along with the prolongation of hypoxic exposure. When the concentration of VEGF in cell culture medium reached 25 ng/ml, the cell viability increased 11% and neuronal apoptosis reduced to half, this effect was dose dependent and led to an approximately 25% increase in cell viability and about threefold decrease in TUNEL-positive cells at a maximally effective concentration of 100 ng/ml. In normal conditions, VEGF/Flk-1 but not VEGF/Flt-1 gene expressed at a low level: after hypoxia, the expression of VEGF/Flk-1, but not VEGF/Flt-1 was significantly increased. The protective effect of VEGF was blocked by the VEGFR2/Flk-1 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, SU1498.

CONCLUSIONSVEGF has direct neuroprotective effects on rat spinal cord neurons, which may be mediated in vitro through VEGFR2/Flk-1 receptors.

Animals ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Cinnamates ; pharmacology ; Female ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; drug effects ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; pharmacology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 ; physiology