Objective To analyse the negative predictive value of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)for detecting pancreatic cancer and to evaluate its clinical value of ruling out malignant cancer. Methods The medical records of patients who were referred to pancreatic EUS with suspected pancreatic cancer and normal EUS findings from January 2005 to December 2013 were reviewed. Moreover,the follow-up data were reviewed to evaluate whether the patient developed pancreatic cancer or other malignancy that could cause the abnormality mentioned above. The follow-up data were obtained by examining the inpatient/outpatient records as well as conducting brief telephone interviews. Results A total of 122 patients were in-cluded in our study. The follow-up data of 108 were accessible,and the mean follow-up period was 52. 4 months. One patient was histopathologically diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer 6 years after the proce-dure,and 107 other patients with a normal pancreatic EUS were free of pancreatic cancer as well as other malignancy during the follow-up period. The negative predictive value of pancreatic EUS was 99. 1%(107/108). Conclusion For patients with suspected pancreatic cancer but normal EUS findings,there is no need for further exploratory surgery. However,if there is a high suspicion of malignancy in the pancreas,a repeat-ed EUS is necessary in case of a false negative EUS result.

ObjectiveTo elucidate the association of immune response to hepatitis B vaccination with HLA-DRB1 * 12 allele as well as the level of IL-4 and IFN-γ.MethodsSeventy-four healthy college students from Guangxi province who had non- or hypor -response to recombinant hepatitis B vaccination and 64 medium- or hyper-responders with the conditions of similar were selected randomly and involved in this study.HLA-DRB1 * 12 was detected by PCR-SSP,the level of IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines were examined by ELISA.Results(1)The allelic frequencies of HLA-DRB1 * 12 was lower in the non- or hypor-responders than that in the medium- or hyper-responders ( 10.8％ vs 32.8％,P=0.002) ; (2)The expression level of IFN-γ in the non- or hypor-responders ( 7.21±7.92 ) ng/ml was much less than that of the medium- or hyper- responders ( 16.36± 11.00) ng/ml ( P=0.000).(3) The expression level of IL-4 in the non- or hyporresponders (3.18±4.45) ng/ml was much less than that of the medium- or hyper- responders (7.76±5.71 ) ng/ml(P=0.000).(4)No significant differences was seen between the expression level of IFN-γ in the HLA-DRB1 * 12 positive ( 13.18± 11.24) ng/ml and the negative ( 11.00± 10.29 ) ng/ml ( P =0.349 ).(5)No significant differences was seen between the expression level of IL-4 in the HLA-DRB1 * 12 positive (5.947±4.530) ng/ml and the negative (5.132±5.800) ng/ml (P=0.423).ConclusionHLA-DRB1 * 12 might be the allele enhanced immune response to hepatitis B vaccination.The expression levels of IFN-γand IL-4 correlating to Thl/Th2 cells might affect on the immune response to hepatitis B vaccination.

To establish a stable mouse model of systemic Candida infection and to set up related standard operation procedure .Methods ICR mice were infected with C.albicans or C.parapsilosis by tail vein injection after immunosuppres-sion by cyclophosphamide .The quality control key points included immunosuppression , strain preparation, inoculation doses and the route of inoculation .Survival analysis , bacterial loads and pathological examination were performed to evaluate the prepared model .Results The developed model showed fugal-specific lesions in multiple organs , especially in the kidneys revealed by histopathological examination .Conclusions A stable mouse model of systemic Candida albicans infection can be successfully established by following standardized operation procedure .This mouse model may provide a useful tool for studies on pathogenesis and immune defense of fungal infection and new anti-fungal drug development and so on .

Objective To investigate the relationship of albumin levels with the prognosis and severity of illness in elderly sep-sis patients.Methods This was aretrospective study.108 elderly sepsis patients were enrolled from October 2014 to Decem-ber 2015.All patients were divided into survivors group (83 cases)and death group (25 cases)based on the 28-day progno-sis.The differences of clinical data and laboratory were compared between two groups.According to the albumin levels,all patients were divided into three groups,normal albumin group (≥35 g/L,24 cases),and mild hypoproteinemia group (28 g/L≤ALB<35 g/L,52 cases)and severe hypoproteinemia group (<28 g/L,32 cases),respectively.The mortality rate was compared in the groups.Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze ALB and other factors.Results In all 108 pa-tients,the 28-day mortality rate was 23.1%,and 77.8% of the patients with hypoproteinemia.ALB level [31.7 (28.3~35.7)g/L vs 25.8 (21.7~31.8)g/L,P<0.001]and Hb [128 (110~140)g/L vs 102 (84~132)g/L,P=0.015]in death group were significant lower than that in survival group.Meanwhile,APACHE II scores [20 (18~23)vs 22 (19~24),P=0.015]and SOFA score [6 (5~6)vs 6 (6~7),P<0.001]were higher than that in survival group.The mortality decreased with the increase of ALB level (43.8% vs 21.2% vs 0%,P<0.05).ALB had a negative correlation with APACHEⅡ score (r=-0.190,P=0.049)and coma (r=-0.311,P=0.001),and had a positive correlation with Hb (r=0.449,P<0.001).Conclusion The incidence of hypoproteinemia was high in elderly sepsis patients.ALB level was associated with prognosis and severity of illness among the patients.

The present study is to explore the change process and distribution of phosphorylated DARPP-32 (p-DARPP-32) in rat brain including cortex, hippocampus and striatum and to further deduce whether p-DARPP-32 was possibly involved in epilepsy induced by repetitive low doses of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). PTZ-induced epilepsy model in rat was established with 30 male SD rats randomly divided into 6 groups, control group and five trial groups [PTZ 1 h, PTZ 6 h, PTZ 24 h, PTZ 48 h and PTZ 72 h respectively, after onset of status epilepticus (SE)]. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence double-labeling were used to detect the temporal time change and distribution of p-DARPP-32 expression and to analyze the coexpression of DARPP-32 and p-DARPP-32 in rat brain after the onset of PTZ-induced generalized SE. The results showed that there was a temporal time change of p-DARPP-32 expression in rat brain after the onset of SE. The number of p-DARPP-32-positive cells increased significantly and reached the peaks at the ends of 1 hour and 6 hours after the onset of SE, but decreased at the end of 24 hours. The moderate to strong p-DARPP-32-immunopositive neurons were observed in cortex, hippocampus and striatum, and located in cell cytoplasm and cell nucleus. Further immunofluorescence double-labeling revealed that denser colocalization of p-DARPP-32 and DARPP-32 in the neurons existed in the area mentioned above. Therefore, PTZ-induced SE may cause phosphorylation of DARPP-32 in rat brain. The temporal time change and distribution of p-DARPP-32 suggest that phosphorylation of DARPP-32 may be involved in PTZ-induced epilepsy in rat brain including cortex, hippocampus and striatum, and p-DARPP-32 may play a central role in the onset of SE.
Animals ; Cerebral Cortex ; metabolism ; Corpus Striatum ; metabolism ; Dopamine and cAMP-Regulated Phosphoprotein 32 ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Male ; Neurons ; metabolism ; Pentylenetetrazole ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Status Epilepticus ; chemically induced ; metabolism

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of single balloon enteroscopy (SBE) for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.MethodsA total of 78 SBE procedures was conducted on 72 patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding,with 40 via oral route and 38 via anal route.The procedure time,insertion depth and rate of positive finding were recorded.ResultsFor 40 SBE procedures performed via oral route,the mean procedure time was 60 minutes ( 15-110 minutes),and the mean insertion depth was 195 cm at the distal end of Trentz ligament (30-240 cm).For 38 SBE procedures performed via anus,the mean procedure time was 75 minuets (30-120 minutes),and the mean insertion depth was 160 cm at the proximal end of ileocecal valve (50-200 cm ).The whole diagnostic yield of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding was 62.5％.ConclusionSBE is a safe and useful tool for the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

Objective To establish CT image-based, three-dimensional finite element models of healthy tibiae and plateau-fracture tibiae, and to calculate the displacement and stress distribution of the tibial models .Methods Continuous-time tomographic images of knee joints of a healthy adult and a patient with tibial plateau fractures were obtained using multi-slice spiral CT scan , and inputed to Mimics to establish three-dimensional surface mesh models of tibiae .The models underwent global meshing procedures and material properties assignment to construct finite element models of normal and plateau-fracture tibiae in ANSYS , and the newly established models were analyzed and calculated .Results In case of applied load on the tibial plateau , the peak strains of the load-contact sites in the healthy subject and the patient presented divergent directions , with peak strains on the medial tibia in the healthy subject and lateral tibia in the patient , respectively . Equivalent stress decreased gradually down the tibiae and concentrated in the one -third of the upper and middle regions in both types of tibiae .Moreover, concentration of stress was also present in the locus of the fractured tibia .The deformation displacement gradients were more evident in the healthy tibia than in the fractured tibiae .There was significant difference in overall stress distribution between the two types of tibiae .Conclusion Three-dimensional finite element models of tibiae have been established that can demonstrate the differences in biomechanical properties between healthy and plateau -fracture tibiae, which might provide reference and guidance for orthopedic regimens .

Objective To introduce treatment of old scaphoid fractures by internal fixation with common screws which have been modified into compression-like ones.Methods Twenty-five patients with old scaphoid fracture were admitted to our department from January,1995 to December,2002.They were 17 cases of delayed union,and eight cases of non-union and pseudoarticulation formation.All the patients were treated with open re- duction anti internal fixation by modified common cortical bone screws,some threads of which bad been erased so that they could act somewhat like compression ones.The modified screws were driven into the reduced scaphoid by simple surgical instruments to fix and compress the fracture ends.Results Nineteen cases were followed up for one to six years (mean,3 years).Fourteen cases of fracture healed,with an average healing time of 7 months.The mean extension-flexion arc of the injured wrists was between 106 degrees and 128 degrees.Three cases failed to heal,and two cases experienced deformed and sunken proximal scaphoid.Conclusions Common cortical bone screws can be easily changed into compression-like ones to treat old scaphoid fractures and result in satisfactory,clinic outcome.In addition,they are easily available,can be inserted through joint facet with limited negative effect on the joint,and play a double role of compression and fixation.

Natural products are important sources for the discovery of anti-tumor drugs. Evodiamine is the main alkaloid component of the traditional Chinese herb Wu-Chu-Yu, and it has weak antitumor activity. In recent years, a number of highly active antitumor candidates have been discovered with a significant progress. This article reviews the research progress of evodiamine-based antitumor drug design strategies, in order to provide reference for the development of new drugs with natural products as leads.

AIMTo validate the abundance of Interleukin 8 receptor beta (IL-8Rbeta) mRNA in single human neutrophil.

METHODSHuman neutrophils were isolated and purified from volunteers, total RNA was extracted and a regular RT-PCR aiming at IL-8Rbeta mRNA was performed to ascertain its expression profile in human neutrophils and optimize the reaction conditions for the following single-cell RT-PCR procedures. Subsequently, single neutrophil or the cellular content was harvested to conduct reverse transcription and two-round PCR with the same primer pairs used before. Serial dilution of single neutrophil cDNA pool was carried out at the same time with the exact two-round PCR followed. The specificity of this single-cell RT-PCR procedure was verified by the BamHI restriction endonuclease digestion on the final cDNA products.

RESULTSRegular RT-PCR indicated IL-8Rbeta mRNA expression in human neutrophils. While single-cell RT-PCR was sensitive enough to detect trace IL-8Rbeta mRNA as predicted cDNA product could be amplified from a 10 000 times diluted intracellular specimen from single neutrophil, which indicated an abundant expression of this mRNA in human neutrophil. Moreover, BamHI digestion on the final cDNA product clarified the specificity of this single-cell RT-PCR procedure.

CONCLUSIONThis simplified semi-quantitative single-cell RT-PCR procedure specifically confirmed that IL-8Rbeta mRNA was highly expressed in human neutrophil, which also provided the possibility of comparing mRNA abundance at single cell level.

Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Neutrophils ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Receptors, Interleukin-8B ; analysis ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Single-Cell Analysis ; methods