AIM:To compare the curative effect of conjoint fascial sheath suspension and the simple frontalis muscle suspension for moderate or severe ptosis.METHODS:In March 2013 to March 2016 in our hospital, 46 patients with moderately severe ptosis(68 eyes) were taken as the research objects.According to random number table method, they were divided into study group and the control group, 23 cases in each group.Study group(34 eyes) received the joint fascial sheath suspension (CFS), the control group(34 eyes) received frontalis muscle suspension.The degree of ptosis correction, upper eyelid retracted, satisfaction and complications of two groups were compared.RESULTS:The corrected rate of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).After treatment, the upper eyelid retracted of the study group was significantly lower than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).The satisfaction of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).The incidence of complications in the study group was significantly less than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Conjoint fascial sheath suspension is more effective on the treatment of severe ptosis than the simple frontalis muscle suspension, and has advantages such as less trauma, repeatable, and less complication.

Acinetobacter baumannii ; drug effects ; isolation & purification ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo establish a HepG2 cell line stably expressing the human cytochrome P450 1A2 and to study its metabolic activity.

METHODSThe human wild-type CYP1A2 cDNA was subcloned into a mammalian expression vector pREP9. A transgenic cell line was established by transfecting the recombinant plasmid of pREP9-CYP1A2 to HepG2 cells. The expression of CYP1A2 mRNA was validated by RT PCR. The metabolic activation of HepG2 CYP1A2 cells on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was assayed by cytotoxicity test.

RESULTThe HepG2-CYP1A2 cells expressed CYP1A2 mRNA and could increase the cytotoxicity to AFB1 in comparison with that of wild type HepG2 cells.

CONCLUSIONThe established HepG2-CYP1A2 can express the mRNA and has the metabolic activity to AFB1. The cell line may be useful for testing the toxicity and metabolism of xenobiotics, which might possibly be activated or metabolized by CYP1A2.

Aflatoxin B1 ; metabolism ; Biotransformation ; Cell Line ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; DNA, Complementary ; chemistry ; Humans ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of blood transfusion on the vital signs and heart function in preterm infants with anemia.

METHODSA total of 40 anemic preterm infants with gestational age less than 34 weeks who accepted blood transfusion one week after birth were enrolled for a prospective cohort study. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), fractional shortening (FS), stroke volume (SV), and cardiac output (CO) were determined with portable ultrasonic equipment before blood transfusion and within 24 hours after blood transfusion. Apnea was detected and the times of apnea were recorded within 24 hours before and after blood transfusion. The resting body temperature and blood pressure were also determined before and after blood transfusion. Additionally the resting heart rate, respiratory rate, and transcutaneous oxygen saturation were recorded within 4 hours before and after blood transfusion.

RESULTSThe heart rate and respiratory rate decreased significantly within 4 hours after blood transfusion (P<0.05). Four infants had apnea within 24 hours before blood transfusion, and nobody had apnea within 24 hours after blood transfusion. The systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, mean arterial pressure, and body temperature showed no significant changes after blood transfusion (P>0.05), and the LVEF, SV, CO, and FS showed no significant changes after blood transfusion as well (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSBlood transfusion can improve the clinical symptoms and shows no significant effect on the heart function in preterm infants with anemia.

Anemia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Transfusion ; Cardiac Output ; Female ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Respiration ; Ventricular Function, Left

The commonly used plant constitutive expression vector pBI121 was modified by insertion of two directly orientated lox sites each at one end of the selectable marker gene NPTII and by replacing the GUS gene with a sequence composed of multiple cloning sites (MCS). The resulting plant expression vector pBI121-lox-MCS is widely usable to accommodate various target genes through the MCS, and more importantly to allow the NPTII gene removed from transformed plants upon the action of the Cre recombinase. In addition, the CaMV 35S promoter located upstream of the MCS can be substituted with any other promoters to form plant vectors with expression features specified by the introduced promoters. Provided in this paper is an example that an enhanced phloem-specific promoter of the pumpkin PP2 gene (named dENP) was used to construct an NPTII-removable phloem-specific expression vector pBdENP-lox-MCS. Moreover, to facilitate screening of selectable marker-removed gene and the composite sequence is flanked by lox sites. Thus the selectable marker-free plants can be visually identified by loss of GFP fluorescence. The above newly created plant expression vectors can be used to develop selectable marker-removable transgenic plants for a variety of purposes.
Attachment Sites, Microbiological ; genetics ; Binding Sites ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Gene Knockout Techniques ; methods ; Genes, Plant ; genetics ; Genetic Markers ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Integrases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants ; genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; Recombination, Genetic

Objective To clarify the relation between the C3435T polymorphism of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene and human refractory epilepsy (RE) in ethnic Han Chinese. Methods We collected 170 patients with epilepsy, whose diagnoses were correct and treatments were reasonable. RE was defined as having uncontrolled seizures that occurred with an average frequency of at least once a month for a period of at least 2 years; during the 2-years period, at least 2 different antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were used daily, either singly or in combination. According to the definition, 91 patients were classified into RE group and the other 79 patients into non-RE group. A 5-mL venous blood sample was taken from the patients for DNA extraction and genotyping. Genotype of C3435T polymorphism in MDR1 gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results The distribution of CC, CT, TT genotypes was 48.4%, 40.7%,11.0% in RE group, and 40.5%, 38.0%, 21.5% in non-RE group, respectively; no significant differences of C3435T genotype were noted between the 2 groups (x2=3.615, P=0.164). The C and T allele frequencies were 68.7%, 31.3% in RE group, and 59.5%, 40.5% in non-RE group, respectively; no significant differences were found between 2 groups (x2=3.112, P=0.080). Patients were divided into primary epilepsy group and cryptogenic or symptomatic epilepsy group according to the etiology;analyses of the genotype and allele of C3435T in the sub-groups (RE and non-RE subgroups) of this 2 groups were similarly unremarkable. Conclusion No association between the C3435T polymorphism in MDR1 gene and RE in ethnic Han Chinese is noted.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anti-HBV effect of fusion protein thymosin alpha1-interferon alpha (TA1-IFN) in vitro and to compare its effect with a combination of interferon alpha and thymosin alpha1.

METHODSAfter 2.2.15 cells were seeded for 24 hours, drugs of five serial concentrations (8000, 4000, 2000, 1000, 500 U/ml) were added to the wells, then the medium was changed every three days. After 2.2.15 cells were treated with drugs for 6 days, the medium was collected. The inhibitory rates on HBsAg and HBeAg were determined using Abbot kit, and the cytotoxicity of different drugs by means of MTT colorimetric assays was also observed.

RESULTSThe inhibitory rate of fusion protein on HBsAg, HBeAg was dose-dependent and reached the maximum at 8000 U/ml concentration. In the meantime, the inhibitory rates of fusion protein on HBsAg and HBeAg were 72.2% +/- 0.8% and 60.4% +/- 1.1% respectively, and the cell survival rate was 85.2% +/- 2.0%; In the corresponding concentration, the inhibitory rates of combination thymosin alpha 1 and interferon alpha on HBsAg and HBeAg were 40.0% +/- 0.7%, 34.5% +/- 3.2% respectively. The results showed significant statistical differences between them; cell survival rate 70.0% +/- 1.9%, and the difference of the results was also significant. Cytotoxicity of fusion protein was weaker than a combination of thymosin alpha 1 and interferon alpha.

CONCLUSIONFusion protein TA1-IFN exerted stronger anti-HBV effects in vitro. Its anti-HBV effects in vitro were stronger than the combination of thymosin alpha and interferon alpha, and its cytotoxicity was weaker than the combination of thymosin alpha and interferon alpha. Our studies provided important evidence for clinical research on TA1-IFN, and also brought new hope for hepatitis B therapy.

Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Hepatitis B virus ; drug effects ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Thymosin ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology

Background::Accurate prediction of ischemic stroke is required for deciding anticoagulation use in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Even though only 6% to 8% of AF patients die from stroke, about 90% are indicated for anticoagulants according to the current AF management guidelines. Therefore, we aimed to develop an accurate and easy-to-use new risk model for 1-year thromboembolic events (TEs) in Chinese AF patients.Methods::From the prospective China Atrial Fibrillation Registry cohort study, we identified 6601 AF patients who were not treated with anticoagulation or ablation at baseline. We selected the most important variables by the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm and developed a simplified risk model for predicting 1-year TEs. The novel risk score was internally validated using bootstrapping with 1000 replicates and compared with the CHA 2DS 2-VA score (excluding female sex from the CHA 2DS 2-VASc score). Results::Up to the follow-up of 1 year, 163 TEs (ischemic stroke or systemic embolism) occurred. Using the XGBoost algorithm, we selected the three most important variables (congestive heart failure or left ventricular dysfunction, age, and prior stroke, abbreviated as CAS model) to predict 1-year TE risk. We trained a multivariate Cox regression model and assigned point scores proportional to model coefficients. The CAS scheme classified 30.8% (2033/6601) of the patients as low risk for TE (CAS score = 0), with a corresponding 1-year TE risk of 0.81% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41%-1.19%). In our cohort, the C-statistic of CAS model was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.65-0.73), higher than that of CHA 2DS 2-VA score (0.66, 95% CI: 0.62-0.70, Z = 2.01, P = 0.045). The overall net reclassification improvement from CHA 2DS 2-VA categories (low = 0/high &ge;1) to CAS categories (low = 0/high &ge;1) was 12.2% (95% CI: 8.7%-15.7%). Conclusion::In Chinese AF patients, a novel and simple CAS risk model better predicted 1-year TEs than the widely-used CHA 2DS 2- VA risk score and identified a large proportion of patients with low risk of TEs, which could potentially improve anticoagulation decision-making. Trial Registration::www.chictr.org.cn (Unique identifier No. ChiCTR-OCH-13003729).

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the long-term effect of sodium glycididazole (CMNa) as a hypoxic radiosensitizer on the radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

METHODSBetween May 1999 and May 2002, 211 patients with pathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma were randomized into group-A treated by radiotherapy plus CMNa or group-B by radiotherapy alone. The staging was determined according to 92' Fuzhou staging systerm. The type, procession and dosage of radiotherapy were identical in both groups. The early adverse effect grade was assessed based on the CTC2.0 criteria and the late adverse effects were evaluated according to the RTOG/EORTC criteria. The median follow-up time was 52 months. All the data was analyzed by the SPSS 13.0 software. Characteristics and adverse events of these patients were compared between the two groups using t-test and the Wilcoxin rank sum test. Time-to-event curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The prognostic parameters were analyzed using univariate analysis and the Cox multivariate regression analysis.

RESULTSThe clinical data of the two groups were comparable. The 3-year survival was 88.4% in group-A, while 75.2% in group-B, with a statistically significant difference between two groups (P = 0.010). Univariate analysis showed that the 3-year survival was statistically correlated with N-staging ((N0-1, 86.9%, N2-3 73.8%, P < 0.001), T-staging (T1-2 85.6%, T3-4 79.3%, P = 0.014), TNM staging (P = 0.039), and whether using CMNa or not during rediotherapy (Group-A 88.4%, Group-B 75.2%, P = 0.010). The 5-year recurrence-free survival, 5-year metastasis-free survival and 5-year overall survival were 75.8%, 74.9% and 77.7% in Group-A, while 63.0%, 63.0% and 62.4% in Group-B with a statistically significant difference between two groups (0.013, 0.022 and 0.010, respectively). If stratified in the subgroups, the overall survival of stage III - IV patients was statistically different between group A and B (P = 0.009), however, not of stage I - II patients (P = 0.502). Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that the independent prognostic parameters for survival were N-stage (RR = 3.288) , T-stage (RR = 2.147) and use of CMNa during rediotherapy (RR = 0.407). However, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups in acute or late adverse effects on nervous system or heart, which suggested that use of CMNa during radiotherapy would not aggravate the toxicity caused by radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONSodium glycididazole is well tolerable effective as a hypoxic radiosensitizer, which can improve the efficacy of radiotherapy and the long-term result of nasopharyngeal carcinom a patients, especially for the stage III - IV patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Metronidazole ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; statistics & numerical data ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Vomiting ; chemically induced

Background:Chronic kidney disease (CKD) with moderate-to-severe renal dysfunction usually exhibits an irreversible course,and available treatments for delaying the progression to end-stage renal disease are limited.This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of the traditional Chinese medicine,Niaoduqing particles,for delaying renal dysfunction in patients with stage 3b-4 CKD.Methods:The present study was a prospective,randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled,multicenter clinical trial.From May 2013 to December 2013,300 CKD patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 20 and 45 ml,min-1· 1.73 m-2,aged 18-70 years were recruited from 22 hospitals in 11 Chinese provinces.Patients were randomized in a 1∶1 ratio to either a test group,which was administered Niaoduqing particles 5 g thrice daily and 10 g before bedtime for 24 weeks,or a control group,which was administered a placebo using the same methods.The primary endpoints were changes in baseline serum creatinine (Scr) and eGFR after completion of treatment.The primary endpoints were analyzed using Student's t-test or Wilcoxon's rank-sum test.The present study reported results based on an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis.Results:A total of 292 participants underwent the ITT analysis.At 24 weeks,the median (interquartile range) change in Scr was 1.1 (-13.0-24.1) and 11.7 (-2.6-42.9) μmol/L for the test and control groups,respectively (Z =2.642,P =0.008),and the median change in eGFR was-0.2 (-4.3-2.7) and-2.2 (-5.7-0.8) ml·min-1.1.73 m-2,respectively (Z =-2.408,P =0.016).There were no significant differences in adverse events between the groups.Conclusions:Niaoduqing particles safely and effectively delayed CKD progression in patients with stage 3b-4 CKD.This traditional Chinese medicine may be a promising alternative medication for patients with moderate-to-severe renal dysfunction.