Objective To observe the effects of hypoxia on the expression of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)and matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP-9)in lung fibroblasts at different time points.Methods Fibroblasts were cultured at hypoxic condition 0,1.5,3,6,12 h respectively.CTGF mRNA and MMP-9 mRNA level were detected in each group by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The concen- tration of CTGF and MMP-9 protein in fibroblasts supernatant were determined using enzyme-linked im- munosorbent assay(ELISA).Results Hypoxia stimulated fibroblasts increased the level of CTGF mRNA with- in 1.5 h,and the levels remained at a plateau up to 6 h,and then decreased by 12 h.The level of MMP-9 mRNA increased significantly within 3 h,and the levels kept the trend for increasing.ELISA revealed that the levels of both CTGF and MMP-9 protein/cell in medium conditioned by fibroblasts exposed to hypoxia were maximal at 12 h.The level of MMP in the CTGF-Ab treated groups was significantly decreased compared to the untreated groups.Conclusions These findings suggest that hypoxia stimulates fibroblasts to release CTGF as a mitogen factor,which initiates the fibrosis cascade and airway remodeling by regulating the balance of extracellular ma- trix synthesis and degradation via MMP-9 which is secreted by fibroblast cells in response to CTGF.

Objective Dipole source analysis was employed to investigate the transient changes in brain mechanisms at earlier latencies.Methods Fourteen healthy volunteers were recruited in this research and evoked event-related potentials (ERPs) of unimodal and bimodal visual auditory stimuli were recorded by 64-electrodes electroencephalograph (EEG) recording system.All these earlier phases of the stimuli were divided into several subphases by specific time window for source analysis.Results The results showed that ERPs sources were mainly generated from visual and audio cortex,and there were changes in the location and strength of the dipole sources in each sub-phase.Conclusions The result of this study implies a serial processing of sensory information in human cortices in early phase of visual and auditory stimuli.

0.05).Chlorpyrifos increased the activity of CYP1A1 in lungs,CYP2B1 in kidneys and lungs.Cypermethrin increased activity of CYP1A1 in livers,kidneys and lungs,CYP2B1 in livers and lungs,CYP3A in livers.These increases were statistically significant (P

Biopsy ; Histological Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Paraffin Embedding ; Ultrasonics

This study aims to explore and analyze the condition of concurrent diseases and medicine use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine among the patients with insomnia. One thousand and sxity seven cases of data from 20 national hospitals' hospital information system (HIS) databases were collected. The frequent concurrent diseases included hypertension (26.9%), brain blood supply insufficiency (24.93%), cerebral infarction (19.49%), blood lipoprotein disturbance (15.28%), coronary heart disease (14.15%), headache (10.68%), chronic gastritis (8.81%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.87%), depressive disorder (7.4%) and anxiety disorder (6.65%). The 10 most frequently-used western drugs included alprazolam (35.99%), aspirin (25.4%), olanzapine (24.18%), cinepazide (23.06%), flupentixol & melitracen (18.74%), zolpidem (18.37%), oxiracetam (15.65%), estazolam (15%), aniracetam (13.4%) and piracetam (13.31%). The 10 most frequently-used TCM included Shuxuening injection (16.4%), Shuxuetong injection (15.18%), extract of ginkgo biloba leaf (14.71%), gastrodin (12.46%), Dengzanxixin injection (11.34%), Xueshuantong (8.53%), Danhong injection (6.37%), compound liquorice tablet (5.81%), Sanqi Tongshu capsule (5.72%) and sowthistle-leaf ixeridium injection (5.34%). Among all combined uses, the most frequent western drug use was alprazolam and olanzapine, while combined use of hypnotic drug and Huoxuehuayu formula is the most frequent. This study concludes that the concurrent diseases mainly include cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic disorders and anxiety-depression disorders, with increasing tendency of diseases types by ages, especially for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. The most frequently-used hypnotic is alprazolam in the insomnia patients, and it is worth being concerned about the off-label use of olanzapine as an antipsychotic for the treatment of insomnia However, due to the fact that all cases data are from the inpatients, these findings have some limitations.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alprazolam ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Anxiety Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antipsychotic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzodiazepines ; therapeutic use ; Cerebral Infarction ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Coronary Disease ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Headache ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; complications ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to demonstrate the activities and phosphorylation changes induced by acute ethanol treatment and withdrawal conditions in the intracellular signal transduction molecules [such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta), and Akt] of the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line. METHODS: The acute treatment exposed SH-SY5Y cells to 100 mM ethanol, and we took samples 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 24 hours after initiating this treatment. After 24 hours' continuous ethanol treatment, we initiated ethanol withdrawal, taking samples at 30 minutes and 60 minutes. We assayed the kinase phosphorylations via an immunoblot analysis using phosphorspecific antibodies, quantified by optical densitometry. RESULTS: Ethanol treatment induced a transient increase in phosphorylation of GSK3beta and Akt at 30 minutes but failed to change the phosphorylation level of ERK. Ethanol withdrawal induced a transient ERK phosphorylation increase at 30 minutes, but it had no effect on the phosphorylation of GSK3beta or Akt. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the ethanol-induced cellular response includes the ERK, GSK3beta, and Akt systems. In particular, the ERK pathway may play a role in the acute withdrawal response. This also suggests that a relatively short exposure to ethanol, such as the 24-hour exposure in this study, can induce functional adaptation within a cell.
Antibodies ; Cell Line ; Densitometry ; Ethanol ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases ; Humans ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Neuroblastoma ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Signal Transduction

Objective To compare T and N staging of esophageal and cardia cancer by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and computed tomography (CT) before operation, and to evaluate clinical value of EUS.Methods Twenty-eight patients received examination of EUS and CT preoperatively, and the T and N staging was determined. The accuracy rates of both T, N staging were compared by the postoperative pathological results, at the same time, the accuracy rates of lymph node metastasis were compared, and the value of application of EUS was investigated. Results In the twenty-eight cases, the accuracy rates of EUS were higher than that of CT by 89.3% ( 25/28 ) to 46.4% ( 13/28 ) in T staging. And the difference had statistical significance( P = 0. 004 ,P ＜ 0.01 ). The N stagings of both were 82.1% (23/28) and 50.0% ( 14/28), and the difference had statistical significance ( P = 0. 035, P ＜ 0. 05 ). The accuracy rates of lymph node metastasis of both were 88.7% and 72.2% respectively, and the difference had statistical significance (χ2 = 7.031,P = 0.008, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusions EUS has very important value in preoperative staging for esophageal cancer and cardia cancer, and the T staging of EUS is better than that of CT. The short axis and the ratio of short to long axis (S/L) combined with the lymph node ultrasonography image can improve the accuracy rates of lymph node metatsasis and N staging.

Kirschner's wire tension band was the first choice in the treatment of patella fracture. But the principle of tension band had been misunderstood for long time. In the traditional principle, it was believed that tension band could change the separating force between fracture fragments into compressing stress when exercising. Eccentric fixation and articular surface cracking were disadvantageous. These could make the fracture fragments separate either at resting or exercising, which cause the gaps without pressure. Thus excercising could not change the separating force into compressing stress.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Bone Wires ; Fracture Healing ; Fractures, Bone ; therapy ; Humans ; Patella ; injuries

Objective To compare the separation effects of protein samples extracted by two different methods with two -dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) .Methods Ultrasonic disruption and glass-beads grounding were used to prepare protein samples of Gram-negative bacteria , Gram-positive bacteria and animal tissues .The actual results of the two sample preparation methods were compared by 2-DE.Results The 2-DE maps of samples extracted by the two methods were obtained.Conclusion The 2-DE maps of glass-beads grounding samples are better than those of ultrasonic disruption thanks to their lower backgrounds , which are beneficial for further image analyses .