Objective To investigate the diagnostic accuracy and the clinical usefulness of the combination of troponin I (cTnI) and copeptin detected in patients with suspected non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Methods 176 patients presenting to the emergency departments with chest chocking or chest pain within 6 hours and without ST elevation on a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) were enrolled in this study. The level of copeptin and cTnI was measured. The diagnosis was adjudicated by 2 independent experts.The diagnostic performance of them was assessed using ROC analysis , and the sensitivity and specificity of them were inferred based on the positive rate of two cardiac markers. Results (1)The levels of copeptin and cTnI in NSTEMI patients were markedly higher than other groups (P<0.05).(2)The AUCs of copeptin and cTnI were 0.846 and 0.683, and the 95%CI of two markers were 0.786 ~ 0.906 and 0.577 ~ 0.789, respectively. (3)Using 10.85 pmol/L as cut off value,the sensitivity and specificity of copeptin were 90% and 64%,and the positive predictive value and the negative predictive valueof NSTEMI diagnose were 42.4% and 95.6%,respectively.Using 0.05 ng/mL as cut off value,the sensitivity and specificity of cTnI were 42.5% and 94.1%,the positive predictive value and the negative predictive value were 68%and 84.8% for diagnosis of NSTEMI. (4)The copeptin level over 10.85 pmol/L in combination with cTnI could be used to detect NSTEMI with higher sensitivity than that of copeptin or cTnI alone (95% vs 90% vs 42.5%). The negative predictive value of the combination of copeptin and cTnI was increased , compared to that of copeptin or cTnI alone (97.7% vs 95.6% vs 85.7%). Conclusions Determination of copeptin in addition to cTnI can improves diagnostic performance , especially early after chest pain onset. It seems to allow a rapid and reliable rule out of NSTEMI.

In chronic kidney disease (CKD), inflammatory responses during the progression of renal tissue and tissue injury related causes its progression to end-state renal disease. Among them, nuclear factor (nuclear factor, NF)-kappaB signaling pathway by regulating the corresponding nuclear expression of target gene transcription, as well as affecting the synthesis of inflammatory mediators, induction of inflammation lead to kidney damage and renal fibrosis. Some single herbs and their extracts (such as Astragali Radix, Scutellariae Radix, Ginkgo Folium) and some traditional Chinese medicine (such as Danggui Buxue decoction, Qilian decoction) can reduce the inflammatory damage induced by renal tissue NF-kappaB signaling pathway and delay the progression of CKD.
Animals ; Humans ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

Objective:The present study aimed to conduct a clinical analysis of nosocomial infections in hospitalized cancer pa-tients and propose effective precautionary measures. Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 56,430 cases of discharges from the Cancer Institute and Hospital of Tianjin Medical University between January and December 2012. Results:Among 825 cases, the rate of noso-comial infections was 1.46%;46.42%of the patients aged>60 years. The highest infection rate was observed in the Medical Depart-ment of Stomach Cancer. The highest composing rate was recorded in the Department of Hepatobiliary Cancer. The major pathogenic bacteria were Gram-negative bacilli;fungal infections were relatively rare. The most vulnerable body parts were the abdomen and diges-tive tract, which were mainly infected by pathogenic Escherichia coli. Conclusion:Healthcare workers should consider the importance of influencing factors and take precautionary measures to reduce the rate of nosocomial infections in cancer patients.

Objective To evaluate the curative effect and security of mechanical thrombectomy with SolitaireAB stent system in acute superior mesenteric artery embolism(SMAE).Methods The clinical data of 5 cases who had undergone mechanical thrombectomy with SolitaireAB stent system under digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were analyzed retrospectively.Results A successful thrombus removal of superior mesenteric arterial by SolitaireAB stent system was observed in the whole 5 patients.The patients had recovered well after operation and no complications such as arterial dissection,perforation and hemorrhage or intestinal ischemia occurred.Conclusion The arterial mechanical thrombectomy with SolitaireAB stent system are characterized with high rate of recanalization,fine security,minimal invasion and less complications in patients with acute superior mesenteric arterial embolism.

Aim To investigate the effect of asiatic acid on apoptosis and autophagy in human glioblastoma T98G cells. Methods MTT colorimetry was employed to assay the cellular proliferating activity. The fluores-cence microscope and Hoechst 33258 staining were used to detect the morphological changes. The cell ap-optosis and autophagy were analyzed by flow cytometry with Annexin-V/7-AAD and MDC staining respective-ly. The expressions of associated proteins were detected by Western blot to analyze the mechanism of apoptosis and autophagy. Results MTT assay showed that the growth of T 9 8 G cells was inhibited by asiatic acid ( IC50 =46. 3 μmol · L-1 ) . Annexin V/7-AAD stai-ning and Western blot revealed that asiatic acid in-duced apoptosis in T98 G cells by reducing the expres-sion of Akt, decreasing the mitochondrial membrane potential, and increasing the expression of Caspase-3. MDC staining and Western blot showed that the per-centage of MDC-positive cells was decreased and the expressions of Beclin-1 , LC3-II and Atgs were inhibi-ted by asiatic acid treatment. 5 μmol·L-1 chloroquine was used to up-regulate the expressions of LC3-Ⅱand Beclin-1 . Asiatic acid-inhibited autophagy was blocked and the total apoptotic rate was reduced remarkably. Conclusion Asiatic acid suppresses T98 G cells pro-liferation by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell au-tophagy, and the very role of inhibiting autophagy could promote apoptosis to a certain extent.

To study the role of BAMBI in adipogenesis, we constructed lentivirus interfering vector targeting on porcine BAMBI, packaged and infected the porcine preadipocyte. The differentiation state of preadipocyte was detected by Oil Red O staining and Oil Red O extraction assay and the expression levels of adipogenic marker genes were detected by Real-time qPCR and Werstern bloting. Results show that BAMBI expression was significant decreased after lentivirus infection, which was repressed more than 60% by shRNA2. Moreover, knockdown BAMBI increased the lipid accumulation of porcine preadipocyte and improved the expression of PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ) and ap2 (adipocyte protein 2). In summary, these data indicated that BAMBI inhibited adipocyte differentiation by facilitating the phosphorylation of ERK1/2.
Adipocytes ; cytology ; Adipogenesis ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 ; metabolism ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; PPAR gamma ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; Swine

OBJECTIVETo demonstrate the effects and mechanisms of Qifu decoction( QFD) on renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) in model rats with yang-deficiency syndrome.

METHODThe rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, the Sham group (Group A), the Model group (Group B), the Qifu decoction group (Group C) and the Enalapril group (Group D). The RIF model was established by adenine administrated and unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) of the left ureter. After the model was successfully established, the rats in Group C and D were administrated with QFD or the Enalapril suspension,while the rats in Group A and B were administrated with distilled water. All rats were administrated for 3 weeks. Before administration and at the end of week 1, 2 and 3, the rats were weighted, and 24 h urinary protein excretion (Upro), urinary β2-microglobulin (Uβ2-MG) and urinary N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) were examined, respectively. All rats were killed after administration for 3 weeks. Blood and renal tissues were collected, renal morphology and tubulointerstitial morphology were evaluated, respectively. Serum cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and uric acid (UA) were detected, respectively. The protein expressions of E-cadherin, α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), onnective tissue growth factor (CTGF) extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2(ERK1/2) and phosphorylated-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in kidney were evaluated, respectively.

RESULTQFD ameliorated serum cAMP level and the rate of cAMP/cGMP, attenuated urinary β2-MG level, NAG level and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis, increased E-cadherin protein expression, and reduced α-SMA, TGF-β1, CTGF and p-ERK1/2 protein expressions in the kidney. However, QFD had no influence on renal function in vivo. In addition, these effects were better than those of the model rats treated by Enalapril.

CONCLUSIONQFD could alleviate yang-deficiency parameters, as well as urinary β2-MG level and NAG level in model rats induced by adenine administration and UUO. Moreover, QFD could improve EMT and RIF by up-regulating E-cadherin protein expression, and down-regulating α-SMA, TGF-β1, CTGF and p-ERK1/2 protein expressions, the key molecular in ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Fibrosis ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; Kidney Diseases ; drug therapy ; pathology ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; drug effects ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ureteral Obstruction ; complications ; Yang Deficiency ; complications

Objective To investigate and compare the effect and safety of levocetirizine and cetirizine for the treatment of chronic idiopathetic urticaria (CIU). Methods A multi-center, randomized and double-blind comparative clinical trial was employed. The patients with CIU were divided into levocetirizine group and cetirizine group. Levocetirizine (5mg/day) or cetirizine (10mg/day) were taken once daily for 28 days, and were followed up on the 7th day, 14th day and 28th day after starting treatment. Results One hundred and thirty cases were evaluable for the effect and safety at the end of the study. The effective rates in levocetirizine group and in cetirizine group were 73.44% and 77.27% on the 7th day after treatment, 82.81% and 81.82% on the 14th day, and 89.06% and 81.82% at the end of the therapy respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups. The drug adverse reaction for levocetirizine group and cetirizine group were 14.06% and 18.18% respectively, which include mouth dryness, dizziness etc. Conclusion Levocetirizine is an effective and safe agent for the treatment of CIU.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay for detection of neuraminidase (NA) H275Y mutations in influenza A H1N1 pdm09 virus. Methods: The primers and dual probes were designed based on the sequence of the H1N1 pdm09 NA gene fragment which contained 275 amino acid sites, and the annealing temperature of ddPCR assay was optimized to establish a method for detection of H275 drug-sensitive genes and H275Y drug-resistant genes in H1N1 pdm09 virus. The sensitivity of ddPCR assay and fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was compared using the detection limit, and the specificity of ddPCR and qPCR assays was compared for detection of 14 respiratory virus samples. In addition, 64 clinical samples and 5 influenza isolates were tested to calculate the abundance of H275Y mutations, and the mutation abundance of 5 influenza isolates was compared with next-generation sequencing results. Results: The optimal annealing temperature was 62.2 ℃. The detection limits of ddPCR assay were 5.28 (95%CI: 4.28-7.45) copies/reaction for H1N1 pdm09 H275 drug-sensitive plasmids and 6.51 (95%CI: 5.25-9.37) copies/reaction for H1N1 pdm09 H275Y drug-resistant plasmids, and the detection limits of qPCR assay were 5.70 (95%CI: 4.83-7.45) copies/reaction for H1N1 pdm09 H275Y drug-sensitive plasmids and 7.06 (95%CI: 5.92-9.40) copies/reaction for H1N1 pdm09 H275Y drug-resistant plasmids. Both ddPCR and qPCR assays detected H275 and H275Y drug-resistant plasmids in H1N1 pdm09 viral samples but did not detect H275 and H275Y drug-resistant plasmids in other 11 respiratory virus samples, and these two assays showed consistent results. Of the 64 clinical samples, ddPCR assay detected H275Y mutation in three pharyngeal swab specimens from a severe pneumonia patients infected with H1N1 pdm09 virus, and the greatest mutation abundance was detected in samples collected on day 4 post-treatment with oseltamivir phosphate (53.37%). ddPCR assay detected 0.63, 88.93%% and 1.27% H275Y mutation abundance in samples collected on days 2, 4 and 5 post-treatment with oseltamivir phosphate, and next-generation sequencing detected 89.46% H275Y mutation abundance in samples collected on day 4 post-treatment with oseltamivir phosphate; however, no H275Y mutation was detected in samples collected on days 2 or 5 post-treatment with oseltamivir phosphate. Conclusions ddPCR presents a higher sensitivity and specificity than qPCR assay for detection of H275Y mutations in H1N1 pdm09 virus, and presents a higher sensitivity than next-generation sequencing for detection of low-frequency mutations, which is effective for quantitative detection of H275Y mutations in the NA fragment of the H1N1 pdm09 virus.

Objective To assess the level of plasma thromboxane B2(TXB2),6-keto-prostaglandin F1α(6-keto-PGF1α) of patients with acute cerebral infarction,so as to know the changes of platelet function on acute cerebral vascular diseases.MethodsThe level of plasma TXB2,6-keto-PGF1α and TXB2/6-keto-PGF1α(T/6-K) of 205 patients with acute cerebral infarction were measured within 24 hours and on the 7th day and 14th day,and were compared with the normal controls(n=40).ResultsThe levels of plasma TXB2,6-keto-PGF1α of patients within 24 hours,on the 7th day and 14th day were significantly higher than those in the normal controls(P<0.01).The level of plasma TXB2 was the highest on the 7th day and decreased on 14th day.The level of plasma 6-keto-PGF1α was the highest on the 14th day.T/6-K was higher than those in the normal controls within 24 hours and on the 7th day;it was highest on the 7th day and decreased on 14th day to level of the normal controls(P>0.05).ConclusionThe determine on levels of plasma TXB2,6-keto-PGF1α has important significance for knowing the changes of platelet function on acute cerebral infarction.The balance between TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1α is important in keeping the blood smoothly.