Objective To develop the analytical method to determine the content of dexamethasone in human plasma by solid phase extraction with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer. Methods The human plasma was extracted with a solid phase extraction(SPE) and determined by UPLC-MS/MS. LC-MS/MS was performed in ESI source with MRM mode for quantification. Results The lowest detectable limit was 0.05ng/mL, the linear range was 1~100ng/mL. The absolute recovery was more than 78.1%. The intra- and inter day precision was within 15% at three concentrations. Conclusion Since the procedure proved to be simple, quick and effective, it could be used for the determination of dexamethasone in human plasma.

Objective To analyze the values of anteroposterior diameter (APD) in fetal renal pelvis separation during different gestational weeks and in predicting the prognosis.Methods Totally 182 cases of fetal renal pelvis separation in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were enrolled in this study between January 2013 and October 2015.All of them were followed up to 12 months after birth.The detecting gestational weeks of non-reversible renal hydronephrosis and values of fetal renal pelvis APD were analyzed.Results Among the 182 cases of fetal renal separation,46 cases were detected in the second trimester,136 cases were detected in the third trimester (bilateral renal pelvis separation occurred in 92 cases).During the follow-up,114 cases recovered in the fetal period and 52 cases recovered within 12 months after birth,finally,16 cases (8.8％,16/182) of them progressed to non-reversible renal hydronephrosis.Among the 16 fetus of non-reversible renal hydronephrosis,10 cases (62.5％,10/16) were detected in the second trimester,their values of APD were 7.4-11.5 mm and the average was (8.0± 1.5) mm;6 cases (37.5％,6/16) were detected in the third trimester,their values of APD were 13.6-14.8 mm and the average was (12.8±2.0) rmm.The values of APD in fetus who were detected in the second trimester were smaller than those in the fetus who detected in the third trimester and the prognosis in the fetus who were detected in the second trimester was worse than those in the fetus who were detected in the third trimester,the fetus (21.7％,10/46) who progressed to non-reversible renal hydronephrosis in the second trimester were more than the fetus (4.4％,6/136) who were detected in the third trimester.Conclusion Clinical following-up combined with the detecting gestational weeks of fetal renal pelvis separation and values of fetal renal plevis APD by prenatal ultrasound may be helpful in predicting their prognosis.

Immunoglobulins ( Ig ) , also called antibodies, are important components in humoral -mediated immunity. Ig can bind with their receptors, called immunoglobulin receptors ( IgR ) , trigger biologic activities respectively. Different sub-types of Igs show different function. And IgRs have been treated as therapeutic targets in inflammation and immunity related dis-eases for many years. This article reviewed the recent progresses in the study of IgR function and its therapeutic role in inflamma-tion and immunity related diseases.

Objective To investigate the value of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) in the treatment of severe pneumonia. Methods The clinical data of 59 severe pneumonia infants who received NCPAP preferential ventilation strategy were retrospectively analyzed. Results After treatment, 50 infants were effective and 9 infants were ineffective. Before treatment, the age, RR, HR between effective group and ineffective group had no significant differences (P>0.05). But the levels of PaCO2, PaO2/FiO2 in ineffective group were significantly higher than those in effective group and the level of PaO2 in ineffective group was significantly lower than that in effective group (P<0.05). In effective group, the levels of PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 were significantly increased after treatment for 1, 12 and 24 h, and the levels of PaCO2, RR and HR were significantly decreased (P<0.01). Conclusions NCPAP preferential ventilation strategy can reduce the use of invasive mechanical ventilation, improve oxygenation, ease dyspnea and make vital signs stable.

Objective To assess the features of transcranial sonography (TCS) in Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD).Methods Totally 38 PD patients (PD group),28 AD patients (AD group) and 26 controls (control group)underwent TCS.The echogenicity of the substantia nigra,widths of third ventricle and parameters of middle cerebral artery among the three groups were analyzed.Results The ratio of hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra in PD group (31/38,81.58％) were higher than those in AD group (8/28,28.57％) and control group (3/26,11.54％;x2 =18.74,30.41,both P＜0.001),and there was no significant difference in hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra between AD group and control group (x2 =2.41,P=0.120).The widths of third ventricle in AD group ([0.82±0.14]cm) were wider than those in PD group ([0.63±±0.16]cm) and control group ([0.56±0.16]cm,both P＜0.001),and there was no significant difference in widths of third ventricle between PD group and control group (P=0.098).The mean velocities in bilateral middle cerebral artery in AD group were lower than that of in PD group and in control group (all P＜0.05).The pulsatility index in right middle cerebral artery in AD group were greater than that in PD group and control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion According to the changes of echogenicity of substantia nigra,widths of third ventricle and parameters of middle cerebral artery,TCS may provide some useful information for diagnosis of PD and AD.

Objective To investigate the change of urinary podocalyxin(PCX) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and its association with the oxidative stress in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM ) complicating dif‐ferent degrees of diabetic nephropathy .Methods Totally 186 patients with T2DM were divided into the pure T2DM (SDM ,62 ca‐ses) ,trace amount group(NA group ,60 cases) and massive amount group(MA group ,64 cases) according to the 24 h urinary albu‐min excretion rate(UAER) .60 cases of normal 24 h UAER were taken as the control group(NC group) .The levels of PCX ,VEGF , superoxide dismutase (SOD) ,malondialdehyde(MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐px)were determined .Results Compared with other three groups ,the level of VEGF ,PCX and MDA in the MA group were highest(P<0 .01) ,while the levels of SOD and GSH‐px were lowest(P<0 .01 ,P<0 .05) .VEGF ,UAER ,HbA1c were the independent risk factors for urinary PCX .Conclusion In patients with diabetic nephropathy ,urinary PCX and VEGF are correlated with the oxidative stress ,while the oxidative stress is closely correlated with glomerular podocyte injury .

Objective To develop the analytical method of dexmedetomidine in human plasma by solid phase extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(SPE-GC/ MS). Methods The human plasma were extracted with a solid phase extraction(SPE) and determined by GC/MS. Results The lowest detectable limit was 0.05μg/mL, the standard curve was linear over the range of 0.2μg/mL~5μg/mL. The absolute recovery was 86.1%~91.5%. The intra-and interday precision was within 7.86% at three concentrations. Conclusion Since the procedure proved to be simple, quick and sensitive, it could be used for the determination of dexmedetomidine in human plasma.

Objective To explore the protective effect and mechanism of glycyrrhizic acid on hippocampal neuron injury in epileptic rat models. Methods The epileptic rat models were established by lithium and pilocarpine kindling. The successful models were randomly divided into epilepsy group and glycyrrhizic acid group. In addition, the rats without any treatment were used as the normal control group, with 12 rats in each group. Hippocampal neuron injury and apoptosis were detected by Nissl and TUNEL staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential in the hippocampal neurons of rats was detected by JC-1 method. The activity of aspartic acid protein hydrolase 3 (caspase 3) and caspase 9 was detected by colorimetric assay. The expressions of cleaved-caspase 3, 9, B lymphocyte tumor-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 related X protein (Bax), cytochrome C (CytC) and apoptotic protease-activating factor (Apaf-1) protein in the hippocampal tissues of rats were detected by western blot assay. Results Compared with the normal group, the number of neurons was reduced (P＜0. 01), the number of TUNEL-positive cells was increased (P＜ 0. 01), mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased (P＜ 0. 01), caspase 3 and 9 activity was increased (P＜ 0. 01), the expressions of Bcl-2 and mitochondrial CytC were down-regulated (P＜ 0. 01), the expressions of Bax, cytoplasm CytC and Apaf-1 were up-regulated (P＜ 0. 01) in the epilepsy group. Compared with the epilepsy group, the number of neurons was increased (P ＜ 0. 01), the number of TUNEL-positive cells was reduced (P＜ 0. 01), mitochondrial membrane potential was increased (P＜ 0. 01), caspase 3 and 9 activity was decreased (P ＜ 0. 01 ), the expressions of Bcl-2 and mitochondrial CytC were up-regulated (P ＜0. 01), the expressions of Bax, cytoplasm CytC and Apaf-1 were down-regulated (P ＜ 0. 01) in the glycyrrhizic acid group. Conclusions These results suggest that glycyrrhizic acid can inhibit the hippocampal neuron injury in epileptic rats by blocking the mitochondrial pathway.

30%) might be a risk factor in HAPE susceptibility.

We have isolated a strain C611 that used methane as the sole carbon sources for growth from paddy soil in Taiyuan of Shanxi province. Based on the physiological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, we identified the strain as Klebsiella sp.. We used statistic-based experimental design (RSM) to optimize the culture conditions for C611 strain. The optimum conditions were as follows: temperature of 24.4 degrees C, inoculum volume of 6.7% and methane content of 25%. We studied the response time and the relationship between consumption of dissolved oxygen and methane gas contents with PVA-H3BO3 immobilized cell of C611 using electrochemical method. The response time was no more than 100 s of this reaction system, and the linear range of detection of methane content was from 0 to 10%. The standard gas sample 3% methane was measured by this method with the mean content value of 3.09%, RSD of 3.48%, and the relative error of 3%. Hence, it has the potential in developing biosensor for methane.
Environmental Monitoring ; methods ; Klebsiella ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Methane ; analysis ; metabolism ; Soil Microbiology