The expressions of Livin and Caspase-9 were detected by immunohistochemical technique in 60 duode-nal adenocarcinoma tissues and 30 adjacent normal tissue. The positive expression rate of Livin in duodenal adeno-carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that of adjacent normal tissue,and the expression of Caspase-9 was lower than that of adjacent normal tissue ( P<0.01 ) . The expression of Livin was negatively correlated with the ex-pression of Caspase-9 ( P<0.01 ) . The expression of Livin and Caspase-9 was closely correlated with the progress of pathological changes, degree of development,lymph nods metastasis,and clinical stages,but not with sex,age and tumor size ( P>0.05 ) . Livin and Caspase-9 were associated with occurrence and development of duodenal adeno-carcinoma,and the expression of the above two were negatively correlated. Livin and Caspase-9 may be considered as reliable markers for clinical diagnosis,therapy efficacy and the prognosis of duodenal adenocarcinoma.

Objective To assess the value of tomographic ultrasound imaging (TUI) for prenatal analysis of the relative orientation of fetal heart and great arteries. Methods Volume datasets acquired from 12 patients of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and 13 normal fetal heart were evaluated offline with TUI. The aortic valves (AV) and pulmonary valves (PV) were respectively showed on the two parallel slices. According to the pivot point in the middle of the PV in one slice, the relative orientation of the AV on another slices were analyzed. Results In the 12 patients of TGA confirmed postnatally, 7 were concomitant with single ventricle anomaly, AV was on the anterior-right orientation of the PV in 5, and was relatively on the anterior and anterior-left orientation in other 2 of them.In the remained 5 with seeming normal 4 chamber view, AV was found on the anterior-right of the PV in 3, and was relatively on the anterior and upright orientation.in other 2 patients. In 13 normal fetuses, TUI showed that all AV located on the posterior-right orientation to the PV. Conclusion TUI can provide detailed spatial information of the great arteries both in normal and abnormal fetal heart. It may be a convenient and veracious tool for prenatal exploring the morphology of the great arteries.

ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI/CLA-1) are the key proteins in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). The high expression of ABCA1 and SR-BI/CLA-1 can decrease the danger of atherosclerosis. The purpose of the study is to find ABCA1 and CLA-1up-regulators for treating atherosclerosis by using cell-based high throughput screening models. Among 20 000 compounds screened, E0869 [1-(3, 4-dimethylphenyl)-1-oxopropan-2-yll4-((methylsulfonyl)methyl)benzoate] was found as the positive hit. The up-regulated activities of E0869 in ABCAl1-LUC and bCA-l1-LUC HepG2 cell were 160% and 175%, respectively. The EC50 values of E0869 in ABCAl1-LUC and CLA-l1-LUC HepG2 cell were 3.79 and 1.42 pμol- x ,(-1) respectively. E0869 could upregulate the mRNA and protein levels of ABCA1, SR-BI/CLA-1 and ABCGJ1genes in HepG2 and RAW264.7 cells by Real-Time Quantitative PCR and Western blotting analysis, but could not influence the expression of FAS, SREBP-l1 and CD36. Foam cell assay showed that E0869 could inhibit lipids accumulation in mouse peritoneal macrophages RAW264.7. Cholesterol efflux assay showed that E0869 could induce HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux in mouse peritoneal macrophages RAW264.7. In conclusion, E0869 could up-regulate ABCA1 and CLA-1 activity, and had good anti-atherosclerotic activity in vitro.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1 ; metabolism ; Animals ; Atherosclerosis ; drug therapy ; Biological Transport ; Cholesterol ; Hep G2 Cells ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Humans ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; drug effects ; Mice ; RNA, Messenger ; Scavenger Receptors, Class B ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation

KCNJ11 gene mutation was searched in 3 families with neonatal diabetes. A KCNJ11 175 G>A (V59M) mutation was found in one child, while no KCNJ11 gene mutation was found in his parents. No mutation was found in the other two families. The result indicated that KCNJ11 gene mutation might lead to the onset of neonatal diabetes mellitus in Chinese.

Objective To explore the significance of gene mutations of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR) C677T,cystathionine ?-synthase(CBS)844ins68,T27796C and methionine synthase (MS A2756G) in the development of brain stroke. Methods There were no obvious differences in age and sex among the four groups. The plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels of 78 patients with cerebral infarction, 26 patients with cerebral hemorrhage, 29 patients with other neurological diseases and 50 healthy control elders were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Moreover,the genotypes of MTHFRC677T, CBS844ins68, CBST27796C and MSA2756G were detected by PCR-RFLP in four groups. Results The mean plasma Hcy levels in cerebral infarction or in cerebral hemorrhage was significantly higher than those in other neurological diseases or in healthy control elders. The prevalences of CBS 844ins68 and MS A2756G in the cohort studies were obviously lower than those in Caucasian populations. The plasma Hcy level in C677T homozygote mutation was higher than that in wild type or heterozygote. However,heterozygote mutation of CBS T27796C gene reduced Hcy concentration. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of MTHFR,CBS and MS mutations among four groups. Conclusions Hcy might be associated with brain stroke. Moreover,the prevalences of gene mutations of CBS 844ins68 and MS A2756G might vary with different ethnic groups or geographic regions. The homozygosity of MTHFR C677T might contribute to the increase of total plasma Hcy, and CBS T27796C gene heterozygote mutation might lower the raised total Hcy. In addition, four gene mutations are consistent with the law of heredity balance.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the significance,indication,operation experience and complication of biopsy for middle skull base neoplasms under nasal endoscope.METHODS A total of 48 patients with middle skull base neoplasms underwent biopsy under nasal endoscope with local or general anesthesia.RESULTS Biopsy was successfully done in 95.8%patients.Two patients failed to the procedure because of bleeding.Forty two patients were diagnosed pathologically through the biopsy at the first time,and 4 patients were diagnosed through the biopsy at the second time.The positive rates of the biopsy near and in the lesions were 82.6%and 97.8%respectively. The positive rates were significantly different between those two different biopsy sites(P=0.02).Blood loss was less than 50ml in 85.4%patients.Only one patient had the complication of leakage of cerebrospinal fluid.CONCLUSION Biopsy of middle skull base neoplasms under nasal endoscope can identify the pathological nature of the lesions with minimal invasion and less complication,and it is a reliable method.The pathological positive rate is relative to the sites of the biopsy.Serial biopsies can increase the positive rate.

In the previous study, a high-throughput screening method was established to find the antagonists of CD36. In the present study, a new compound named IMB-1680 was found using this method. The anti-atherosclerotic activities of IMB-1680 were then evaluated. Dose-dependent activities of IMB-1680 were detected by using Sf9 [hCD36] and CHO [hCD36] models. Fluorescence microscopic photography and flow cytometry were used to analyze uptake of mLDL. Foam cell test with RAW264.7 macrophages was used to examine lipid accumulation. The results showed that IMB-1680 inhibited CD36 activity with IC50 of 2.80 and 8.79 micromol x L(-1) in Sf9[hCD36] and CHO [hCD36] cells, respectively. Fluorescence microscopic photography and flow cytometry revealed that IMB-1680 could significantly reduce DiI-AcLDL uptake. Meanwhile, IMB-1680 also could reduce lipids accumulation in RAW264.7 macrophages. In all, the data indicated that IMB-1680 might be a potent effective anti-atherosclerotic leading compound.
Animals ; CD36 Antigens ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; CHO Cells ; Cells, Cultured ; Cricetulus ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Foam Cells ; cytology ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; cytology ; metabolism ; Mice ; Molecular Structure ; Plasmids ; Receptors, Scavenger ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Sf9 Cells ; Spodoptera ; Transfection

Objective: To build a mouse tumor model with a manufactured surgical wound representing acute inflammation, and to evaluate the relationship between acute inflammation or wound healing and the process of tumor growth. Then to observe the impact of IFN-γ/TGF-β on tumor growth. Methods: Male C57BL mice of six weeks were used and divided into the experiment group and the control group. The B16F10 mela-noma cell suspension was injected into the left groin area of each mouse. A wound measured 1 cm in diame-ter was built on the opposite side of bodies in the experiment group when tumor volume was about 0.5 cm~3.The expression of IFN-γ/TGF-β in blood serum and tumor tissues were examined by ELISA. In order to fur-ther confirm the effect of TGF-β on tumor growth, another 16 mice models with melanoma were established and 8 of them received IFN-γ injection (the experiment group). Results: When acute inflammation had influenc-es on tumor, a two-phase development was presented. In the early phase, the growth of tumor in the mice with wound was slower than that in the control group. In the early phase, the release of IFN-γ was higher and the release of TGF-β was lower in the experiment group. In the later phase, the growth of tumor in the mice with wound was similar to that in the controls and the release of TGF-β was higher. In vivo experiment con- firmed the above results. In the early phase, the release of TGF-β was not significantly different between the experiment group and the control group (P>0.05). In the later phase, the release of TGF-β in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: In the early phase of acute inflamma-tion, inhibitory effects of IFN-y on tumor growth were presented. In the later phase, the inhibited tumor was re-sistant to IFN-γ through the release of TGF-β to balance the effect of inflammatory factors on tumor cells.

Objective The objective of the present study was to evaluate the early auditory development in hearing impaired infants by LittlEARS? auditory questionnaire .Methods A total of 162 hearing impaired infants participated in the study .LEAQ consists of 35 items ,which were further divided into receptive auditory behavior , semantic auditory behavior ,and productive auditory behavior .The assessment was performed before hearing aid fit‐ting ,3 ,6 and 12 months after hearing aid fitting ,respectively .Results LEAQ scores improved dramatically in the first 12 months after hearing aid fitting ,total LEAQ scores prior to hearing aid fitting ,3 ,6 and 12 months after hearing aid fitting were 10 .47 ,17 .73 ,20 .64 and 26 .47 ,respectively .The receptive auditory behavior performance improved significantly after 3 months of hearing aid use .The duration of hearing aid use for dramatic improvement of semantic auditory behaviors ,and productive auditory behavior was 6 and 12 months ,respectively .The age of hearing aid fitting ,living environments ,degrees of parent education and degrees of hearing loss influenced LEAQscores significantly .Conclusion Hearing impaired infants exhibited significant auditory improvement in the first 12 months after hearing aids fitting .Early hearing aid fitting ,high level of parent education and well living environ‐ments promote preverbal auditory development .LEAQ is an effective tool for clinical auditory assessment and moni‐toring in infants and little toddlers .

To create a comparative referential system for syndrome classification study by viewing from the thinking characteristics of TCM on syndrome differentiation dependent therapy (SDDT), through analyzing the thinking process of SDDT, and the basic features of disease, syndrome and prescription, combining the basic principles of modern evidence-based medicine and feasibility of establishing integrative disease-syndrome animal model. The practice of creating a comparative referential system based on clinical efficacy of prescription was discussed around syndrome pathogenesis and its relationship with disease and prescription, which was one of the important scientific problems in TCM syndrome study. The authors hold that, it may be one of the available approaches for the present study on integration of disease with syndrome by way of insisting on the thinking pathway of stressing the characteristics of TCM and intermerging with modern scientific design; on taking the efficacy of prescription as the comparative reference system to accumulate and improve unceasingly according to the TCM method of syndrome diagnosis inferred from effect of prescription with reverse thought (i.e., to differentiate syndrome from the effect of prescription), and thus build up the syndrome diagnostic standard on the solid clinical and scientific base.
Clinical Medicine ; methods ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; standards