Study of the strategic objectives chosen by hospitals from the perspective of stakeholders is now under the spotlight of researchers at large. To identify whether there exist differences in strategic objectives among various groups in the hospital and probe into the causes, the author called into play the competing values framework as the analysis tool. An evidenced-based study on public hospitals in Hangzhou identified marked differences on choices of strategic objectives among various internal stakeholders in the hospital For example, hospital administrators tend to focus on internal control, while medical doctors tend to focus on interactions between the hospital and the external environment. On this basis, further studies are proposed.

Animals ; China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Infection Control ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; trends ; Prevalence ; Schistosomiasis japonica ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Schistosomicides ; therapeutic use ; Snails ; parasitology

Objective To determine the effect of passive smoking during pregnancy on the expression of tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) in the lungs of neonatal rats. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to sidestream cigarette smoke on the 1, 8 and 15 day after pregnancy for a total of 2 h each day. Those rats who were put into the box without smoke exposure were as control. The neonatal rats were delivered by cesarean section on the 20th day of gestation and birth weight was measured. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to evaluate the expression of TNF-?、CINC mRNAs and TNF-? protein. Results The birth weight of neonatal rats born from those mothers who were exposed to sidestream cigarette smoke was significantly lower than that of control gruop(P

The leading bioregional pesticide,Bacillus thuringiensis,is accepted by the public and widely used biopesticide in the world.B. thuringiensis chitinase may contribute to the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi and enhance insecticidal activity.It helps to take full advan- tage of Bt and upgrade the efficiency.This paper reviews the progresses of B.thuringiensis chitinase.

Objective To investigate the changes and effects of intercelluar adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and inhibitor protein of nuclear factor-?B(I?B?) in pulmonary hemorrhage induced by endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in neonatal rats. Methods Sixty-eight seven to ten-day-old Wistar rats were separated into 2 groups randomly. In the experimental groups, LPS was injected intraperitoneally at the dosage of 5 mg/kg and the normal saline (NS) control group was injected with equal amount of NS intraperitoneally. The rats were sacrificed at 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 h post injection. The histology of lung tissues were examined by microscope and electron microscope. The expression of ICAM-1, I?B?protein and mRNA expression were observed using Western blot and in situ hybridization. Results One hour after LPS administration, pulmonary hemorrhage and inflammatory responses were observed in the rat lungs. The ICAM-1 protein expression greatly increased at 2 h post injection and it was significantly higher than control group(178.13?8.18 vs 161.57?12.52, P

The neurotransmitter plays an important role in the neurologic functional recovery of animals and patients with spinal cord injury. This article reviews the neurotransmitters in spinal cord injured of rats and the effect of some therapy on them.

BACKGROUND: Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has very strong regulative effect on the differentiation and proliferation of renal cells as well as the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix. Its abnormal expression plays a key role in the process of fibrous degeneration of various renal diseases including diabetic nephropathy.OBJECTIVE: To observe the protective effect ofjiedu tongluo baoshen gelatin capsule on renal disease in rats with diabetes mellitus and its effect on the expression of renal CTGF mRNA.DESIGN: A randomized controlled experiment taking animals as subjects.SETTING: Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun College of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Department of Pathology, Institute of Regenerated Medical Sciences, Jilin University MATERIALS: Totally 46 Wistar rats, of clean degree, male and female in half, weighing 150 to 200 g, were used in the experiment. Jiedu tongluo baoshen gelatin capsule was provided by Preparation Room, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Jilin Province (Batch No. 2002101, composed of Renshen, Huangqi, Shengdi, Gouqizi, Zhimuv Digupiv Huanglian,Zhenhua, Jinyinhua, Dahuang, Danshen, Yimucao and so on, 0.25 g/pill)and benazepril (Provided by Beijing Nuohua Pharmaceutical Company,Batch No. 01046) were used in the experiment.METHODS: This experiment was carried out in the Department of Pathology, Institute of Regenerated Medical Sciences, Jilin University from May 2002 to January 2003. ① Totally 46 Wistar rats used in the experiment were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group (n=10), model group (n=12), benazepril-treated group (n=12) and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group (n=12).Rats of normal control group were intraperitoneally injected of natrium citricum buffer solution of same volume; Rats of other groups were intraperitoneally injected of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin which was dissolved by 0.1 mol/L citric acid buffer solution before use(pH 4.2). Seventy-two hours after modeling, venous blood was collected from the tails to measure the levels of fasting blood glucose and urine glucose.Blood glucose ≥ 16.7 mmol/L and urine glucose over 卅 suggested diabetic models were successful. Rats of benazepril-treated group were performed intragastric administration of benazepril suspension of 15 mg/(kg·d);Rats of traditional Chinese medicine-treated grou p were performed intragastric administration ofjiedu tongluo baoshen gelatin capsule suspension of 5 g/(kg ·d); Rats of normal control group and model group were performed intragastric administration of the same volume of running water on each morning, once a day, 12 weeks in total. ② Levels of blood glucose,urea nitrogen, serum creatinine and urinary albumin excretion rate were measured 12 weeks after administration; Level of angiotensin Ⅱ of renal tissue was measured with radioimmunoassay; Levels of renal fibronectin and type Ⅳ collagen protein expression were measured with immunohistochemical method; Connective tissue growth factor gene expression of renal cortex was measured with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and renal histological observation was also performed. ③ Analysis of variance was used in the intergroup comparison.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Biochemical index of blood and urine,level of angiotensin Ⅱ of renal tissue, pathological morphology, expression of fibronectin and type Ⅳ rabbit anti-rat collagen protein and expression of connective tissue growth factor mRNARESULTS: Five, four and three rats died in the process of experiment respectively in model group, benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group, finally, 10,7,8 and 9 rats entered the stage of result analysis respectively in normal control group, model group, benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group. ① The ratio between body mass and renal mass was significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group (P ＜ 0.05),but was significantly lower in the benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group than in the model group (P ＜ 0.01). ② Fasting blood glucose was significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group (P ＜ 0.01),but was significantly lower in the traditional Chinese medicine-treated group than in the model group and benazepril-treated group (P ＜ 0.01). ③ Levels of urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, urinary albumin excretion rate and angiotensin Ⅱ of renal tissue were significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group (P ＜ 0.01), but significantly lower in the benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group than in the model group (P ＜ 0.05-0.01 ). ④Pathomorphological change of renal tissue was very severe in the model group,but very mild in the benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group. ⑤Fibronectin and type Ⅳ rabbit anti-rat collagen protein expression were significantly higher in the model group than in the normal control group (P ＜ 0.01), those were significantly lower in the benazepril-treated group and traditional Chinese medicine-treated group than in the model group, but higher than normal control group (P ＜ 0.01). ⑥Expression of CTGF mRNA of renal cortex of model group was 2.65 times that of normal control group. Expression of CTGF mRNA of benazepriltreated group and traditional Chinese ine-treated group was decreased by 23.68% and 26.32%, respectively (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01).CONCLUSION: Jiedu tongluo baoshen gelatin capsule has protective effect on diabetic nephropathy, which might be implemented by reducing the level of angiotensin Ⅱ of renal tissue and down-regulating the expression of CTGF mRNA of renal cortex of rats with diabetes mellitus, so as to reduce the deposition of extracellular matrix.

Objective To evaluate the functional and aesthetic disturbance of patients treated with lingual orthodontic surgery and to investigate the key points of laboratory procedure and clinical treatment of lingual orthodontic deformity. Methods A total of 30 cases of Angle class Ⅰ with moder-ate crowding were selected. They were equally divided into two groups: one group was treated using lingual brackets, and the other using conventional labial brackets. Each patient completed a four-part survey right after the bracket placing and 7, 28, 56 days after the treatment. The differences of tongue-lip-cheek soreness, eating and speech difficulties and aesthetic problems were evaluated be-tween two groups. Lateral cephalograms were analyzed at the start of the treatment and the end of the overall treatment. Results Speech difficulties of lingual orthodontics were significantly greater (P<0.01) than that in the labial orthodontics group in the first week of the treatment. Eating difficulties were greater (P<0.01) in the lingual orthodontics group by 28 days, whereas aesthetic problems were greater in group using labial appliance than group lingual appliance. Conclusions In the first two months of the orthodontic treatment, eating and speech difficulties are the most severe problems for the lingual group. Lingual orthodontics offers important aesthetic advantages over labial orthodontics, and it will be one of the development directions of current orthodontics.

Objective To explore neural plasticity around an injured region of the spinal cord and the effects of step training on functional recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats ( n = 24) were induced with spinal cord contusion at T10 and divided into a step training group and a control group ( 12 rats in each). Training started from the 7th day post-injury and lasted for (20 ± 10)min per day, 5 days per week, for 9 weeks. Treadmill speeds were 3 m/min at the beginning, and adjusted daily according to each rat's tolerance up to 11 m/min or more. The functional recovery was measured weekly with the open-field locomotor rating scale of Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB score). The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament protein (NF) and growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) in the spinal cord around the injured region were detected. Results After 70 days of step training, the average BBB score of the step training group reached ( 12.86 ± 0.94 ), significantly higher than that of the control group ( 10.71 ± 0.95 ). The expression of NF and GAP-43 around the injured region increased significantly more in the step training group than among the controls. Conclusions Step training can promote functional recovery and neural plasticity in rats after incomplete SCI.