AIM: To understand whether endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER-stress) is involved in DNA-damaging agent/carcinogen induced cell responses. METHODS: Three DNA-damaging agents/carcinogens different in the mode of action, ie, alkylating agent N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), bulky adduct forming agent benzo[a] pyrene-7, 8-dihydrodiol-9, 10-epoxide (BPDE) and cross-linking agent mitomycin C (MMC) were selected. SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting were used to examine the protein levels of GRP78/BiP, GDADD153/CHOP and activation state of endoplasmic reticulum located caspase-12 in FL cells before and after MNNG, BPDE or MMC exposure. RESULTS: Immunoblotting showed that the protein level of endoplasmic reticulum specific proteins GRP78/BiP and GADD153/CHOP were significantly increased and endoplasmic reticulum located caspase-12 was activated in low concentration of MNNG (0.25 and 1 ?mol/L) and BPDE (5 and 50 nmol/L)-treated cells. MMC at all of the three concentration used (5, 50 and 500 ?mol/L) decreased the expression of GRP78/BiP, while it has no effects on CHOP and caspase-12. CONCLUSIONS: Both low concentration MNNG and BPDE could trigger the ER-stress in the exposed cells, while MMC could induce the down-regulation of the GRP78/BiP protein, which plays an important mediating role in the induction of ER-stress and may thus change the responsiveness against ER-stress inducers. It is suggested that ER-stress might partially mediate the cellular responses excited by exposure to some DNA-damaging agents/carcinogens.

AIM: To study the formulation and preparation factors on vitro drug release from sinomenine hydrochloride delayed-onset sustained-release tablet. METHODS: With hydrophilic matrix materials as excipient,the tablets containing hydrochloride sinomenine as a model drug were prepared by direct compression. The effect of the type and amount of tablet core matrix materials(HPMC K15M,HPMC K4M,xanthan gum and carrageenan),the type and amount of coating matrix materials,the preparation of coating materials and the pressure on in vitro drug release of the tablets were studied. RESULTS: The lag time of the tablet was 4 ～ 5 h and drug release slowly in 24 h. The type and the amount of the core matix materials and the coating matrix materials play an important role on lag time and drug release(P

Open hepatectomy(OH) is a effective treatment for benign and malignant liver lesions. However, OH has major abdominal trauma and many postoperative complications. How to reduce OH-induced trauma is still a big problem for liver surgeon. Fortunately, the emergence of laparoscope provides a route to solve this problem. But the technology of laparoscopic liver resection is not yet mature. This article reviews some relevant circumstances about laparoscopic hepatectomy.

Objective To analyze the clinical and molecular epidemiology in children with measles in Shanghai and identify the clinical characteristics and the prevalent genotype of measles virus.Methods The clinical features of measles-such as ages of onset,crowds and epidemiological data were retrospectively analyzed in 39 children with measles from Nov.2005 to Jun.2006 in Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University.Results of blood routine test,liver function test and chest X-ray were also included.Sputum examinations were carried out on the ones who had bronchitis or bronchopneumonia.Throat swab specimen within 3 days of the onset of rashes were collected and were sent to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of Shanghai to isolate measles virus,then the genotypes of the isolated viruses were determined subsequently in CDC of China.Results Twenty-nine cases out of the 39 children were from foreign provinces (74.36%).Among of them,24 cases were younger than (or as young as) 9 months old.Among the 39 cases,35 children had never been inoculated with measles vaccine,and to speak of the ones who were younger than 8 months,the ratio was 57.14%.Five cases out of the 39 children had contacted with measles sufferers.Clinical manifestation were fever,rashes,Koplik spots and catarrh.Twenty-three cases were co-infected with respiratory system and only 8 cases were identified as infection with bacteria or other viruses.The genotype of all analyzed measles viruses belongs to H1a.Conclusions There are also some changes in age groups and endemic distribution,such as younger age and more immigrants except for the typical clinical manifestation of fever,rashes,Koplik spots and catarrh.The predominant genotype is still H1a as in most parts of China.There is no evidence to demonstrate any relationship between the raised morbidity of measles and the genovariation of measles virus.

Wearing transfemoral prosthesis is the only way to complete daily physical activity for amputees. Motion pattern recognition is important for the control of prosthesis, especially in the recognizing swing phase and stance phase. In this paper, it is reported that surface electromyography (sEMG) signal is used in swing and stance phase recognition. sEMG signal of related muscles was sampled by Infiniti of a Canadian company. The sEMG signal was then filtered by weighted filtering window and analyzed by height permitted window. The starting time of stance phase and swing phase is determined through analyzing special muscles. The sEMG signal of rectus femoris was used in stance phase recognition and sEMG signal of tibialis anterior is used in swing phase recognition. In a certain tolerating range, the double windows theory, including weighted filtering window and height permitted window, can reach a high accuracy rate. Through experiments, the real walking consciousness of the people was reflected by sEMG signal of related muscles. Using related muscles to recognize swing and stance phase is reachable. The theory used in this paper is useful for analyzing sEMG signal and actual prosthesis control.
Artificial Limbs ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Leg ; Muscle, Skeletal ; physiology ; Walking ; physiology

AIM: To prepare a phase-specific drug delivery system with floating and pulsatile release of sinomenine hydrochloride and evaluate in vitro drug release behavior. METHODS: The floating and pulsatile-release of coat-core tablets were prepared by press-coated technics.The effects of factors influencing release characteristic of the drug were investigated by dissolution test,and to elucidate the mechanism of drug release of the tablets with erosion and water-uptake test. RESULTS: The tablets had typical floating and pulsatile release properties with a lag time rapid release.The lag-time was shortened with the increase of expansion ratio of tablet core and rotation speed of stirrer.The lag-time was prolonged with the increase of pH and ionic strength of dissolution media. CONCLUSION: The tablet could float and rapidly release drug at the predetermined time.

ObjectiveTo study the changes of iodine uptake of the follicular thyroid carcinoma cell line (FTC-133) and nude mice bearing human follicular thyroid carcinoma after the induction with alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA),trichostatin A (TSA) or ATRA combined with TSA.MethodsAfter the induction with ATRA,TSA,or ATRA combined with TSA in different concentrations for 96 h,the iodine uptake of FTC-133 cells was observed.The concentrations for different groups were as follows:ATRA 1.0 ×10-6 mol/L(Alow group),ATRA 1.0 × 10-4 mol/L(Ahigh group),TSA 1.65 ×10-7 mol/L(T group),Alow +T group,Ahigh +T group and ethanol (control group).Cell quantities and morphology were observed by HE staining.FTC-133 cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice.Twelve nude mice were randomly divided into 4 groups after tumor formation:ATRA group (2 mg/kg,intragastric administration),TSA group (10 mg/kg,intraperitoneal injection),combined therapy group (ATRA + TSA,the same doses as above) and saline control group (10 ml/kg,intragastric and intraperitoneal administration,respectively).Drugs were administered to the tumor-bearing mice according to the mouse body mass daily.At the 22nd day,the tumor-bearing mice were injected with 37 MBq 131I intraperitoneally.The biodistribution of 131I and gamma imaging were performed at 4,6,12 and 24 h after the injection respectively.Histopathological examinations of the tumor samples were taken after imaging completion.The results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) with SPSS 13.0.ResultsThe cellular iodine uptake were (23 885 ± 616.0 ) and ( 13 849 ±728.2) counts · min-1 · 10-6 cells in the Alow + T group and Ahigh + T group respectively,and the data were (985 ± 84.2) - ( 17 600 ± 782.7 ) counts · min-1 · 10-6 in the other groups ( F =600.879,P ＜0.001 ).The ％ ID/g of tumor at 6 h was 6.17 ±0.46 in the combined group and it increased to 9.34 ±0.61 at 12 h and 11.19 ± 0.98 at 24 h.The ％ ID/g of tumor in the other groups were from ( 1.97 ± 0.34)to (5.14 ± 0.65 ).The tumor qualities of the 4 groups were significantly different ( F =3.723,P ＜ 0.05 ).ConclusionThe iodine uptake of the tumor could be enhanced in the tumor-bearing mice administered with ATRA combined with TSA,a potential way for treating follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Aim To study the inhibitory effect of gast-rodin (GSTD) on oleic acid (OA)-induced fat accu-mulation in HL-7702 cells and explore possible cellular signaling pathways. Methods The MTT method was used to study the impact of GSTD on cell viability in HL-7702 cells. Cellular steatosis was induced by 1 mmol·L-1 of OA administration for 24 h, and differ-ent concentrations of GSTD were added at the same time. Oil red O ( ORO) staining was used to determine fat accumulation in cells, and intracellular triglyceride ( TG) contents were assayed. Western blot was used to determine the phosphorylation levels of AMPKα and ACC in cells after GSTD administration. Compound C was used to treat the cells in order to study its influ-ence on the efficacies of GSTD. Results GSTD had no obvious toxicity in HL-7702 cells when its concen-tration was≤3 386. 5 μmol · L-1 . After 24 h of OA administration, there were large amounts of lipid drop-lets accumulated in HL-7702 cells, and intracellular TG contents greatly increased as well. However, when 169. 3 or 338. 7 μmol · L-1 of GSTD was added to-gether with OA, fat accumulation in cells was greatly inhibited, and intracellular TG contents were reduced averagely by 35% and 43 . 6%, respectively ( P<0. 01 vs OA alone ) . After administration, GSTD could in-crease the levels of p-AMPKα and p-ACC in HL-7702 cells time and dose dependently. Compound C could completely abolish the stimulating activity of GSTD on AMPK pathway and block its reducing effect on hepatic TG accumulation. Conclusions GSTD greatly inhibits OA-induced fat accumulation and reduces intracellular TG contents in HL-7702 cells;the efficacy of GSTD is dependent on the activation of cellular AMPK pathway.

AIM : To prepare a phase-specific drug delivery system withfloating and pulsatile release of sinome-nine hydrochloride and evaluate in vitro drug release behavior. METHODS: The floating and pulsatile-release of coat-core tablets were prepared by press-coated technics. The effects of factors influencing release characteristic of the drug were investigated by dissolution test, and to elucidate the mechanism of drug releaseof the tablets with erosion and water-uptake test. RESULTS: The tablets had typical floating and pulsatile release properties with a lag time rapid release. The lag-time was shortened with the increase of expansion ratio of tablet core and rotation speed of stirrer. The lag-time was prolonged with the increase of pH and ionic strength of dissolution media.CONCLUSION: The tablet could float and rapidly release drug at the predetermined time.

Objective To investigate the expressions of EGFR,Her-2 and VEGF in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical squamous cell carcinoma,as well as its clinic value of carcinogenesis,progression and metastasis in ccrvical squamous cell carcinoma.Methods EGFR,Her-2 and VEGF were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissues from normal cervix,CIN and squamous cell carcinoma.Results The expressions of EGFR,Her-2 and VEGF were negative in normal cervix.The positive rate of EGFR,Her-2 and VEGF in CIN tissues were 35.0 ％ (14/40),37.5 ％ (15/40),42.5 ％ (17/40),while in cervical carcinoma tissues were 70.0 ％ (35/50),78.0 ％ (39/50),76.0 ％ (38/50) respectively,which had statistical significance.There was relationship between the expressions of EGFR,Her-2,VEGF proteins with pathological grade andlymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma.The expressions of Her-2 and VEGF correlated with the clinical stage of quamous cell carcinoma.Conclusion The expressions of EGFR,Her-2 and VEGF may be correlated with the occurrence,development and metastasis of cervical carcinoma.It may be used as an important marker to evaluate the malignant degree of cervical carcinoma and it can be helpful in the treatment of cervical carcinoma.