Objective To observe the effects of Kuijiening Plaster point application on the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, IL-12 and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4, IL-10 in serum and colonic tissue of ulcerative colitis (UC) rats with spleen-kidney yang deficiency; To investigate the possible mechanism of Kuijiening for the treatment of UC with spleen-kidney yang deficiency. Methods Sennae Folium solution gavage, ice water stimulation and trinitrobenzene-sulfonic acid ethanol combinative methods were applied to establish the models of UC rats with spleen-kidney yang deficiency. Rat models were randomly divided into control group, model group, application group and SASP group, 10 in each group. The control group and model group were given medicine-free cataplasm matrix point application and perfused with NS. The application group was given Kuijiening Plaster point application and perfused with NS. SASP group was given medicine-free cataplasm matrix point application and perfused with SASP. The courses were 28 days. General conditions of rats in each group were observed during treatment. The general morphology and pathological form of colonic tissue were observed with naked eye and light microscopy through HE staining respectively in each group post-treatment. Pathological features were observed and scored by HE dyeing. Levels of IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-4 and IL-10 in serum and colonic tissue of rats in each group were detected with ELISA. Results The general conditions, gross morphology and optical microscope pathological morphology of colonic tissue improved and scores decreased in application group and SASP group. Compared with the model group, levels of IL-4 and IL-10 significantly increased, while the levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 decreased in serum and colonic tissue in application group and SASP group, with statistical significance (P<0.01). Moreover, levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in application group decreased not as much as those in SASP group, while IFN-γ and IL-12 concentration increased higher than SASP group, without statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion Kuijiening Plaster point application can play a role in treating UC with spleen-kidney yang deficiency through partially restoring the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in serum and colon tissue of rats.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness,safety and economy about Wenxin granules in the treatment of cardio-vascular diseases based on Meta-analysis. METHODS:Using“Wenxin granules”“Wenxinkeli”“Wenxin”as the search terms, searching PubMed,ProQuest,Springer,The Cochrane Library,CNKI,VIP and Wanfang data(Jan. 2000-Oct. 2015)through com-puter,relevant journals and conference papers by hand,randomized controlled trials about Wenxin granules in the treatment of car-diovascular diseases were screened and classified according to indications. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 soft-ware,while cost-effectiveness analysis and minimum cost analysis were used for economic evaluation. RESULTS:Totally,38 liter-atures were involved,including 20 literatures of arhythmia,9 of premature ventricualr contraction,4 of coronary disease angina pectoris,3 of unstable angina pectoris,2 of pediatric viral myocarditis. Meta-analysis showed that compared with control drug, Wenxin granules showed better clinical efficacy for arrhythmia with less ADR;showed better clinical efficacy and ECG efficacy for premature ventricualr contraction with less ADR;showed better clinical efficacy for angina pectoris of coronary disease,unstable angina pectoris and pediatric viral myocarditis,with statistical significance (P<0.05). The incremental cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the additional cost of Wenxin granules in the treatment of above indications was worth it all,compared to control drug. Single factor sensitivity analysis supported the stability of results. CONCLUSIONS:Wenxin granules have a better effectiveness, safety and economy in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases,but still need high-quality evidence to support.

Codon usage bias is an important characteristic of genetic information transfer in organisms. Analysis of codon usage bias of different species is important for understanding the rules on genetic information transfer. The previous method for analysis of codon usage bias is mainly based on genomic data. However, this method is greatly limited, because the genome sequences of higher organisms are still not available up to now. In this study, we found that we could obtain the same optimal codons of Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis: Fr.) P. Karst based on its whole genomic data or large-scale transcriptomic data from its liquid-cultured hyphae, primordium and fruiting body, separately. This result indicated the feasibility to understand the codon usage bias based on the large-scale transcriptomic data. By calculating the proportion of rare codons of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in 26 terpene synthases (TS) of G. lucidum, we found that the rare codons of S. cerevisiae have a higher proportion in TS genes, while the rare codons of E. coli have relatively lower, suggesting that the TS genes of G. lucidum are possibly more difficult to be expressed in S. cerevisiae than in E. coli. Chemical synthesis of TS genes according to the yeast optimal codons will be an effective way to solve the problem on the mismatch of gene codon bias between the foreign genes and the host strain.
Codon ; Escherichia coli ; Genome, Fungal ; Reishi ; genetics ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; Transcriptome

Objective To investigate the value of high-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography combined with two-dimensional strain imaging in early diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Methods Highdose dobutamine stress echocardiography was performed to 28 patients with suspected coronary artery disease. All wall movements were observed during resting condition and at all stress levels,respectively;the peak systolic longitudinal strain in each endomyocardial segment of left ventricular was measured; the sensitivity and specificity between visual method and two-dimensional strain imaging in diagnosing myocardial ischemia with high-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography were compared. The average peak systolic longitudinal strain was calculated against control group, coronary artery disease group during ischemia segments and non-ischemia segments, and a comparison was made inside each group as well as against the other groups. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of the peak systolic longitudinal strain was used to predict the sensitivity and the specificity of myocardial ischemia. Results With dobutamine dose of 40 μg·kg-1 · min-1 ,wall motion abnormalities were diagnosed in 6 patients (20 segments) through visual method, myocardial ischemia was found in 15 patients (148 segments) through computing the peak systolic longitudinal strain. Inside the coronary artery disease group during ischemic　segments,the majority of peak systolic longitudinal strain was significantly reduced ( P＜0.05) compared to the non-ischemic segments and the control group. In diagnosing myocardial ischemia in high-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography, the sensitivity of visual method and two-dimensional strain imaging were 35.3％ and 88.2％(P＜0.01), specificity 100％ and 100％(P＞0.05), and accuracy 60.7％ and 92.8％ (P＜0.01). The cutoff value of the peak systolic longitudinal strain was less than or equal to 14.9％, its sensitivity and specificity in predicting myocardial ischemia were 83.3％ and 91.7％,respectively. Conclusions High-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography combined with two-dimensional strain imaging can increase the sensitivity of detecting myocardial ischemia and detect concealed myocardial ischemia. High-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography combined with two-dimensional strain imaging can be used in early diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

ObjectiveTo investigate and compare the efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness in the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures ( OVCFs ) with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and kyphoplasty(PKP). MethodsSeventy-two patients (96 vertebrae) with painful OVCFs were treated by PVP (n ＝34) or PKP (n ＝38) under radiological monitoring. After bone biopsy needle into the compressed vertebra, bone cement (polymethylmethacrylate) was injected in PVP group, and that was inserted followed by the inflation of vertebra to create cavities in PKP group. The fluoroscopy time, total amount of bone cement injected, and cost were recollected respectively. The score of visual analogue scale point( VAS, 10-point scale)was determined at before the procedures, and 24 hours, one week, and one month after the procedures.Pain relief and complications were observed.The Cobb angle and vertebral heights of the anterior, middle, and posterior border were measured pre-and post-operative. ResultsThe two procedures were technically successful in all patients. The follow-up ranged from 1. 0 to 34. 0 months [mean time, (8. 9 ±3.2) months]. The Mean fluoroscopy time of treating per vertebra in PVP group was ( 11. 1 ± 10. 6 ) min, which was significant shorter than that ( 23.5 ± 13. 0) min in PKP group( P ＜0. 05 ).The mean total cost per patient was (5127. 2 ± 502.3 ) yuan in PVP group, which were strikingly lower than that(32 301.4 ±3204. 6) yuan in PKP group (P ＜0. 05).(3)There was no significant difference( P ＞0. 05 ) in average cement volumes in PVP group [ (4. 9 ± 1.1 ) ml]and PKP group [ (5.4 ± 1.7 ) ml]. Pain relief of was observed in 94. 1％ (32/34) of PVP group and in 92. 1％ (35/38) of PKP group. The score of VAS at pre-operation was (8. 3 ±0. 4 vs 7.9 ±0. 8) ,and at post-operative 24 h (2. 9 ±0. 9 vs 2. 8 ± 1. 2),1 week (2.6 ± 0. 9 vs 2.6 ± 1. 1 ), and 1 month (2.6 ± 0. 9 vs 2. 5 ± 1.3 ) were no difference at PKP and PVP group(P ＜0.05). There was significant difference between pre- and post-operative time point in each group. The Cobb angle, anterior and middle height of vertebra was corrected in both PVP and PKP group. In PVP group, the preoperative Cobb angle, anterior and middle height of vertebra was (24. 2 ± 3.8 )°,( 19. 1 ± 1.4) mm, (25. 2 ± 1.0) mm, which was significant different ( P ＜ 0. 05 ) from that of ( 19.4 ±3.9)°, (21.0 ± 1.5) mm, (27.0 ± 1.2) mm at pre-operation.In PKP group,there was significant difference (P ＜ 0. 05 ) in the preoperative Cobb angle, anterior and middle height of vertebra [(25. 1 ±5.0)°vs(10.7 ±2.8)°, (19.5 ± 1.5) mm vs (24.3 ± 1.9) mm, (25.4 ± 1.1) mm vs (29.7 ±1.3) mm, respectively]. As to the above index, the overall correcting effect in PKP was much better than that in PVP( P ＜0. 05 ). Cement leakage occurred in 9 cases in PVP group and 3 cases in PKP group ( P ＜0. 05 ) but no symptoms. There were no major complications during operation in the two groups. Conclusion PVP and PKP are effective and safe in the treatment of painful OVCFs but PVP is more cost effective than PKP.

Background and purpose: Short tandem repeats (STR) multiplex PCR fluorescence detection technology is the most widely used DNA technology in individual identity and genetic identification. It's the most direct method to obtain accurate conclusions. However, some studies have indicated that the rate of STR mutations in tumor tissue is significantly higher than that in normal tissues or blood. This study aimed to investigate the tendency of genetic instability in 20 STR loci on autosomal and Amel loci in tumor tissue samples from lung cancer. Methods: This study, collected 75 cases of human lung cancer tissues and the adjacent normal tissues. DNA samples were extracted by tissue DNA extraction kit, amplified using MicroreaderTM 21 Direct ID System PCR amplification kit. Capillary electrophoresis was performed using API 3130 analyzer, and results were analyzed by genetic analysis software (Gene Mapper ID V3.2). Results: STR alterations were detected in 24 specimens from 75 lung cancer tissues (32%). Fifty-five alterations were detected in the frequently used 21 STR loci in total, including additional alleles 10 times, loss of heterozygosity 10 times, partial loss of heterozygosity 35 times. Partial loss of heterozygosity was the most common genetic alteration types accounting for 63.64% of the total alteration frequency. And multiple genetic alteration types could occur in the same lung cancer tissue. Among them, the highest alteration frequency occurred on D5S818 (7 times), secondly on D3S1358 and D12S391 (both 5 times), and no alterations on D2S441 and Penta E. Combining the experimental results and analysis on clinical data, this study found the statistical differences between the staging of lung cancer and the age of the patients with the STR loci alterations (P<0.05). However, the alterations did have much relationship with the classification of lung cancer and the patient's gender (P>0.05). Conclusion: STR loci of the lung cancer tissue were not stable, and the alteration occurred in the aged or high malignant degree lung cancer tissue more frequently. Meanwhile, no alteration was detected on D2S441 and Penta E. In the future research the two STR loci should be verified to determine whether they can be used as the stable STR loci in such cases by increasing the sample size.

ObjectiveTo observe the ultrastructures of vessel and endotheliocyte in the early stage(2 h after stimulation finished) after acute mechanical middle cerebral artery(MCA) vasospasm in cats.MethodsThe right MCA of 6 cats were mechanically stimulated using a small smooth stainless steel nail in the field acrossing the olfactory tract for 30 min.The diameter of MCA was recorded by metrical ocular of microscope.The changes of the perfusion index of brain tissue were observed through the Laser Doppler flowmetry monitor fixed on the skull.The ultrastructure of vessel and endotheliocyte were investigated through the electron microscope.ResultsThe diameter of MCA decreased to 68.78% of normal.2 h later,the diameter of MCA recovered.The perfusion index of the cortex surface decreased to 42.59% of normal and up to 61.87% 2 h later.The chromatin of endotheliocyte congregated to the side and formed the lunular body.The heaves of mitochondria(MIT) are blurry 2 hours after the mechanical stimulation.ConclusionThe persistent mechanical stimulation can cause acute cerebral vasospasm,which may involve the apoptosis of endotheliocyte of MCA.It is important to reduce the mechanical stimulus to the cerebral vessel in order to avoid acute cerebral vasospasm during clinical and basic craniotomy.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) and esophageal variceal sclerotherapy (EVS) with different hardeners for esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB).Methods Clinical data of 314 patients with EVB were retrospectively reviewed.The patients were divided into 5 groups according to the endoscopic treatments they have received,i.e.,endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) group (n =112),sodium morrhuate sclerotherapy (EVS1) group (n =48),lauromacrogol sclerotherapy (EVS2) group (n =40),EVL plus sodium morrhuate sclerotherapy (EVLS1) group (n =26) and EVL plus lauromacrogol sclerotherapy (EVLS2) group (n =88).The efficacy,variceal recurrence rate and complication rate were evaluated.Results There was no significant difference in efficacy of stop bleeding among 5 groups,which was 85.7％ (96/112) in EVL group,83.3％ (40/48) in EVS1 group,92.5％(37/40) in EVS2 group,92.3％ (24/26) in EVLS1 group and 94.3％ (83/88) in EVLS2 group (P ＞0.05).The complete cure rates in EVLS1 group (88.5％,23/26) and EVLS2 group (87.5％,77/88)were significantly higher than those in 3 other groups (P ＜ 0.05).Rebleeding rates in EVS1 group (18.8％,9/48) and EVL group (11.6％,13/112) were significantly higher than those in other 3 groups (P ＜0.05).The patients were followed up for 6-18 months,and the varices recurrence rate was highest in group EVL (23.2％,26/112) and lowest in EVLS2 (10.2％,9/88,P ＜0.05).The complication rate in group EVS1 (32.2％,49/152) was significantly higher than that in other 4 groups (P ＜0.05).Conclusion EVL plus EVS,either with sodium morrhuate or lauromacrogol EVS is safe and effective for EVB,especially EVL plus Lauromacrogol EVS,may become an optimal therapy to control esophageal variceal bleeding and rebleeding.

We used 293 cells to express the recombinant membrane protein of the Ebola virus. Then, the immunogenicity of the recombinant protein was studied by immunized BALB/c mice. According to the codon use frequency of humans, the gene encoding the extracellular domain of the Ebola virus membrane protein was optimized, synthesized, and inserted into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pXG-Fc to construct the human IgG Fc and Ebola GP fusion protein expression plasmid pXG-modGP-Fc. To achieve expression, the fusion protein expression vector was transfected into high-density 293 cells using transient transfection technology. The recombinant protein was purified by protein A affinity chromatography. BALB/c mice were immunized with the purified fusion protein, and serum antibody titers evaluated by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Purification and analyses of the protein revealed that the eukaryotic expression vector could express the recombinant protein GP-Fc effectively, and that the recombinant protein in the supernatant of the cell culture was present as a dimer. After immunization with the purified recombinant protein, a high titer of antigen-specific IgG could be detected in the serum of immunized mice by indirect ELISA, showing that the recombinant protein had good immunogenicity. These data suggest that we obtained a recombinant protein with good immunogenicity. Our study is the basis for development of a vaccine against the Ebola virus and for screening of monoclonal antibodies.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; immunology ; Ebolavirus ; genetics ; immunology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Immunization ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; genetics ; immunology

INTRODUCTIONMinimally invasive surgical ablation is an emerging alternative method to catheter ablation and the full surgical maze procedure for nonpharmacologic treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). We present a totally thoracoscopic "box lesion" radiofrequency ablation procedure in patients with paroxysmal or persistent AF.

MATERIALS AND METHODSFrom June 2011 to October 2012, 14 patients with lone paroxysmal (n = 7) or persistent AF (n = 7) were enrolled in this study. Procedures were performed through 3 5-12 mm holes on each side of the chest wall. A bipolar ablation device was used to create a box lesion in the posterior wall of the left atrium that encircled the 4 pulmonary veins (achieving bilateral pulmonary vein/posterior left atrial wall isolation). Perioperative complications were recorded for all patients. Freedom from AF was assessed by 24-hour Holter monitoring every 3 months or during symptoms of arrhythmia.

RESULTSThe ablation was successfully performed in all patients, with median operation time of 128 minutes (range, 45 to 180 minutes). No operative mortality or morbidity were noted during the study period. Freedom from AF was achieved in 12 patients (85.7%) during follow-up (median follow-up 9 months). One patient with persistent AF was shifted to paroxysmal AF. No atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia was noted during the follow-up.

CONCLUSIONThese early results show that totally thoracoscopic surgical ablation using a unique "box lesion" procedure for persistent or paroxysmal AF is a feasible and effective method with good short-term results. Further study is necessary to validate this result.

Adult ; Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Thoracoscopy