Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pharyngitis ; therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in the efficacy on low back pain of cold-damp pattern between electric-thermal Bian-stone therapy and moxibustion box therapy.

METHODSForty-one cases of low back pain of cold-damp pattern were randomized into an electric-thermal Bian-stone therapy group (group A, 26 cases) and a box moxibustion therapy group (group B, 15 cases). In the group A, the electric-thermal Bian-stone was placed over Shenshu (BL 23) and Weizhong (BL 40). The temperature of stone was adjusted in accordance with patient's comfort. In the group B, moxibustion box was used over Shenshu (BL 23) and Weizhong (BL 40). The treatment was given once every day or every two days. Ten treatments made one session. The symptom and physical signs score of low back pain and the score of cold-damp syndrome were observed before and after treatment in the patients.

RESULTSThe symptom and physical signs score of low back pain and the score of cold-damp syndrome were all improved in the two groups (all P < 0.01). The changing rate of symptom and physical signs and syndrome were (37.04 +/- 32.68)% and (22.85 +/- 29.95)% in the group A, and were (47.29 +/- 22.08)% and (23.89 +/- 22.53)% in the group B, respectively, without significant difference in comparison between the two groups (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe efficacy on low back pain of cold-damp pattern treated with the electric-thermal Bian-stone therapy is similar to that of moxibustion box therapy. This therapy is characterized as more convenient, safer operation and less pollution.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; metabolism ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Male ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Humans ; Genetic Markers ; Family ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Microsatellite Repeats/genetics*

Objective To establish a method for isolation and cultivation of human invasive pituitary adenoma-derived fibroblast in vitro and explore their biological properties in order to investigate the role of the fibroblasts in the invasive growth of the pituitary adenoma.Methods The fibroblasts were isolated from hu- man invasive pituitary adenoma tissue by different rate of adhesion.Primary culture and passage culture were carried out,and growth characteristics of fibroblasts were observed under phase-contrast microscope in primary and passage culture.Immunohistochemical technique was used to identify the fibroblasts.The cell growth curve was measured by MTT method.The ultrastructure was observed under electronmicroscope.Results The cultured invasive pituitary adenoma-derived fibroblasts showed active proliferative ability.The cell bodies was bigger than other tissue fibroblasts,and the cell shape was irregular.The rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex and ribosome were profuse in the cytoplasm.The positive expression rate of collagen[and vi- mentin of the fibroblasts were above 95%.Conclusion The method of different rate of adhesion is success- fully utilized to culture human invasive pituitary adenoma-derived fibroblasts.These cells showed active prolif- erative ability,and maybe have an importent function in the invasive growth of the pituitary adenoma.

Objective To analyze the impact of multiple factors on the incidence of pneumothorax associated with CT-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy.Methods The sign of pneumothorax after 162 cases(lesion diameter from 1cm to 6cm)CT-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy was observed and its relationship with multivariate factors were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression model.Results Thirty-two cases presented pneumothorax accounting for 19.8%.Single variate analysis showed that the sign of pneumothorax ralated to intercurrent COPD,distance from lesion and chest wall,needle dwelling time and lesion diameter.67 patients of intercurrent COPD with postoperative pneumothorax occurred in 22 cases (32.8%);With respect to those having lesions close to the chest wall(48 cases),and the cases with the distance between the chest wall and lesions less than 2cm(55 cases)and greater than 2cm(59 cases), the postoperative pneumothorax occurred in 0,14(25.5%),18(30.5%)cases respectively;For those patients with needle in the chest residence time of less than 10 minutes(82 cases),10—20 minutes (51 cases),more than 20 minutes(28 cases)after the occurrence of pneumothorax were 8(9.6%), 10(19.6%),14(50%)cases respectively;In contrast,those with lesion diameter less than 2 cm (65 cases),2—4cm(52 cases),more than 4cm(45 cases)were 19(29.2%),8(15.4%) and 5(11.1%)respectively.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the prior three factors were risk factors of pneumothorax(OR=4.652,4.030,2.855 respectively).Conclusions To avoid the pneumothorax,caution must be taken with respect to CT-guided transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy, patients with intercurrent COPD,long distance between lesion and chest wall,and smaller lesion diameter. For operation the needle dwell time within thorax should be minimized.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the efficiency of cervical lymph node metastasis dissection and postoperative morbidity after selective three-field lymph node dissection (3FLND) for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and explore the proper selection conditions.

METHODSAccording to the conditions as follows: systemic evaluation, tumor T staging, tumor location, cervical CT and ultrasonography and the number of lymph nodes metastases, 85 patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were selected and received 3FLND.

RESULTSIn the same period 45.5% (85/187) of the patients received 3FLND selectively based on the conditions. The rate of the cervical lymph nodes metastasis was 40.0% (34/85). The rate of the cervical positive lymph nodes of the upper, middle and lower thoracic esophageal carcinomas with enlarged lymph nodes suggested by cervical CT and ultrasonography was 68.4% (13/19), 41.7% (20/48) and 16.7% (1/6), respectively. Twelve patients with upper thoracic esophageal carcinoma with enlarged lymph nodes unrevealed by cervical CT and ultrasonography showed no histopathological lymph node metastasis. In the same period 17.1% (32/187) of the patients were selectively not undergone three-field lymph node dissection. The cervical lymph node metastasis rates in patients with upper and middle mediastinal lymph node metastasis were 79.3% (23/29) and 58.6% (17/29), significantly higher than 8.9% (5/56) and 7.1% (4/56) in the patients without upper and middle mediastinal lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). There was no in-hospital mortality in the group. The incidence of pulmonary complications and over-all postoperative morbidity was 24.7% and 42.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSSelective 3FLND based on certain conditions can reduce the risk of postoperative morbidity and improve the efficiency of metastatic cervical lymph node dissection in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The thoracic tracheoesophageal groove positve lymph node indicated by CT scans should be one of selective conditions for 3FLND. The upper thoracic esophageal carcinoma should selectively receive 3FLND. The selection standards should be more strict for the lower thoracic esophageal carcinoma.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; methods ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), the pathogenic agent of black rot disease in cruciferous plants, produces large amount of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), which has found wide applications in industry. For the great commercial value of the xanthan gum, many of the genes involved in EPS biosynthesis have been cloned and the mechanism of EPS biosynthesis also has been studied. In order to clone genes involved in EPS biosynthesis, Xcc wild-type strain 8004 was mutagenized with transposon Tn5 gusA5, and a number of EPS-defective mutants were isolated in our previous work. The Tn5 gusA5 inserted sites of these mutants were located by using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR, and results showed that two EPS-defective mutants were insertion mutants of the gene wxcA which involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis. The gene wxcA involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis but dose not extracellular polysaccharide in others' report. wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant 021C12, the polar mutant, was complemented with recombinant plasmid pLATC8570 harboring an intact wxcA gene in this work, but the yield of EPS of the wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant was not restored. In order to identify the function of wxcA gene of Xcc 8004 strain, the gene wxcA was deleted by gene replacement strategy, and the no-polar mutant of wxcA was obtained. DeltawxcA mutant strain, named Xcc 8570, was confirmed by using both PCR and southern analysis. Beside the LPS biosynthesis of deltawxcA mutant was affected, The EPS yield of deltawxcA mutant strain reduced by 50% as compared with the wild-type strain 8004. DeltawxcA mutant could be complemented in trans with the intact wxcA gene, and the EPS yield of the mutant was restored. The combined data showed that wxcA gene not only involved in LPS biosynthesis but also EPS yield in Xcc 8004 strain.
Cell Proliferation ; Genes, Bacterial ; physiology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; biosynthesis ; Mutation ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; biosynthesis ; Xanthomonas campestris ; genetics

Objective The influenza monitoring results in Huzhou city were analyzed to understand the characteristics of influenza pandemic and to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control of influenza. Methods The influenza-like cases(ILI)were collected from two sentinel hospitals in Huzhou according to the protocol of The National Influenza Surveillance Program. Pharynx swab samples of the ILI were taken randomly for the test of influenza virus. Results Among 5 322 788 patients who went to the sentinel hospitals in Huzhou from 2011 to 2017, 185 010 were ILI. The percentage of ILI was 3.48% and there was a slowly rising trend in ILI% of month from 2011 to 2017(trend χ² = 2 970.93, P < 0.001). Winter /spring and summer seasons marked the peaks in influenza epidemics. Patients were mostly children under 14 years old(accounting for 89.1%). In a total of 11 490 throat swabs collected from ILI, 1 975 were tested to be positive for influenza virus(positive rate 17.19%). These included A type H3N2, 1 008; A type H1N1, 350; B type, 614(160 Victoria type, 238 Yamagata, 216 unclarified B type), and 3 mixed type. The correlation between positive rate of influenza nucleic acid test and ILI% is statistically significant(r = 0.40, P < 0.001). Conclusion The incidence peaks of influenza in Huzhou are mainly in the winter /spring and summer periods. The influenza is mainly occurs in young people under 14 years old and the main type virus is A(H3N2). The prevalence of influenza B and H1N1 occurs at intervals. There is a positive correlation between influenza activity and ILI%.

BACKGROUNDEnvironmental toxins can destroy the physiological process of spermatogenesis and even lead to male infertility. Resveratrol (RES) is a natural phytoalexin with a wide range of biological activities. Some recent researches have demonstrated that RES can increase sperm output and protect sperm from apoptosis caused by physical damage. However, there is no evidence indicating that it can also exhibit a similar activity in testis injury caused by environmental toxins. This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of resveratrol on testis damaged by environmental toxins and to elucidate the possible mechanism of its protective effect.

METHODSIn this study 2, 5-hexanedione (2, 5-HD) was used as the injury agent. Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. During the first 5 weeks, group A was raised normally, groups B, C, D and E were exposed to 1% 2, 5-HD; during the following 9 weeks, group C, D, E received intragastric administration of different concentrations of resveratrol (20 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), 40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) and 80 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)), while groups A and B were treated by carboxymethylcellulose. Physical signs, body weight gain and testis weight were comparatively observed. Numbers and diameters of seminiferous tubules were analyzed following HE staining. In addition, expression of the c-kit protein and gene in spermatogenic cells in every group was detected with immunohistochemistry, Western blot or RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe 2, 5-HD treatment resulted in physical signs that became worse and in emarciated testis. HE staining and immunohistochemistry showed that seminiferous tubules became emarcid, obsolete spermatogonia being stagnant and expression of c-kit protein being depressed. After oral administration of resveratrol, the 2, 5-HD-induced physical signs were improved and close to the normal rats. The gain of body weight increased (P < 0.01). The recovery of testis weight was significant (P < 0.01). At the histological level, the seminiferous epithelia began to differentiate (P < 0.01); and even the physiological process of spermatogenesis restarted. Moreover, expression of c-kit protein and gene function resumed, although its expression remained different from the normal group. The diameter of and number of seminiferous tubules and the expression level of c-kit protein and gene activity were much closer to the normal group with increased doses of the resveratrol through oral administration.

CONCLUSIONSResveratrol could ameliorate markedly the dyszoospermia induced by 2, 5-HD and induce spermatogenesis. The expression of c-kit, which is a specific marker protein of spermatogenic cell membranes, could be regulated by resveratrol.

Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Hexanones ; toxicity ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Organ Size ; drug effects ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; analysis ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seminiferous Tubules ; drug effects ; pathology ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Stilbenes ; pharmacology ; Testis ; drug effects