BACKGROUND:For patients in intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation is an effective treatment to survive from acute illness and improve survival rates. However, long periods of bed rest and restricted physical activity can result in side effects. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of early rehabilitation therapy in patients with mechanical ventilation. METHODS:A randomized controlled trial was carried out. Sixty patients, with tracheal intubation or tracheostomy more than 48 hours and less than 72 hours, were admitted to the ICU of the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, from May 2010 to May 2012. These patients were randomly divided into a rehabilitation group and a control group. In the rehabilitation group, rehabilitation therapy was performed twice daily, and the training time and intensity were adjusted according to the condition of the patients. Early rehabilitation therapy included heading up actively, transferring from the supine position to sitting position, sitting at the edge of the bed, sitting in chair, transferring from sitting to standing, and ambulating bedside. The patient's body mass index, days to first out of bed, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, APACHE Ⅱ score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality of patients were all compared between the rehabilitation group and the control group. The differences between the two groups were compared using Student's t test. RESULTS:There was no significant difference in body mass index, APACHE Ⅱ score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality between the rehabilitation group and the control group (P>0.05). Patients in the rehabilitation group had shorter days to first out of bed (3.8±1.2 d vs. 7.3±2.8 d; P=0.00), duration of mechanical ventilation (5.6±2.1 d vs. 12.7±4.1 d; P=0.005) and length of ICU stay (12.7±4.1 d vs. 15.2±4.5 d; P=0.01) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION:Early rehabilitation therapy was feasible and effective in improving the outcomes of patients with mechanical ventilation.

To study the effect of the combined administration of different doses of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma on the proliferation of DFMO-treated intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6) and p53, p21 mRNA and protein expressions, in order to define the molecular basis for the effect of the combined administration of different doses of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma on the cell proliferation. The effect of the drugs on the cell division rate and cell cycle of IEC-6 cells was detected by FCM. Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the effect of the drugs on mRNA of p2l and p53 related to IEC-6 proliferation. Western blot was used to analyze the effect of the drugs on p2l and p53 protein expressions of IEC-6 cells. Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma could increase p53, p21 mRNA and proteins expression in DFMO-treated IEC-6 cells. The combined administration of different ratios of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma could significantly down-regulate Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma's effect on p53, p21 mRNA and proteins expression in DFMO-treated IEC-6 cells and promote the proliferation of IEC-6 cells. The combined administration of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma could down-regulate Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma's effect on DFMO-treated intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6).
Animals ; Atractylodes ; chemistry ; Cell Line ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Intestines ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo understand the distribution of chronic disease related behavior and lifestyle in adults from Beijing.

METHODS16,658 adult residents from Beijing city were randomly selected with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method in 2005. Each participant was invited to receive a set of standardized questionnaire, physical examinations and laboratory tests.

RESULTSIn the adults living in Beijing, 33.2% were overweight and 16.4% were obesive. The current smoking rate was 26.2% and the regular smoking rate was 21.4%. 57.7% of the male and 4.6% of the female adults were current smokers. In male adults, 64.3% drank alcoholic beverage at least once per month while 16.1% drank almost everyday, 16.5% drank more alcohol than moderate, and 18.5% were binge drinkers. 46.0% of Beijing adults were in lack of active physical exercise. Unhealthy dietary habits such as:excess consumption of sodium or oil, lower intake of vegetable, milk and soybean productions, skipping breakfast, fond of salted vegetable and fried food intake, as well as eating snacks etc. were quite commonly seen in the adults from Beijing. In addition, most of the risk factors had a higher prevalence in the suburban areas and population at working-age.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence rate of chronic risk factors was still high in adults of Beijing. Effective interventions should be carried out to prevent further worsening of the situation, especially in the suburban areas and people at working-age.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alcohol Drinking ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; epidemiology ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Overweight ; epidemiology ; Smoking ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

To provide theoretical basis for breeding good variety of Dendrobium denneanum, agronomic and qualitative characters of 4 different lines and relationships among them were studied. The stem length, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, length/ width ratio and leaf area were measured. The single fresh and dry stem was weighed and drying rate was calculated. The contents of polysaccharides and total alkaloids were determined by sulfuric acid-phenol colorimetry and acid-dye colorimetry, respectively. The correlations between characters were analyzed. The results showed that differences in major agronomic characters between four lines were significant. The plant types of dq-1 and dq-2 were higher, dq-3 was medium and dq-4 was lower. The fresh weigh of stem and content of polysaccharides were the highest in dq-2, 7.81 g and 14.33%. While the highest content of total alkaloids and was 0. 486% in dq-3. There were significant correlations between agronomic characters, but these characters had low or non correlations with qualitative characters such as polysaccharides and total alkaloids. It was shown that the content of polysaccharides and total alkaloids were significantly different among 4 lines of D. denneanum, which could be selected for different uses.
Agriculture ; Dendrobium ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of sodium aescinate injection combined with nicardipine hydrochloride injection in the treatment of patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods Eight-six patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage were randomly divided into control group (n =43) and treatment group (n =43).Control group was treated with nicardipine hydrochloride injection 0.5-5 μg · min-1 · kg-1.Patients in treatment group were treated with sodium aescinate injection 10 mg on the basis of control group,qd,intravenous infusion.Residual blood volume,volume of cerebral edema,serum calcium,serum creatinine,levels of aquaporin (AQP),Hasegawa dementia scale,National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score,Barthel score and adverse drug reactions were compared between the two groups.Results Mter treatment,the residual blood volume and brain edema volume in treatment group were (6.36 ± 0.65) and (11.54 ± 1.36) mL,had significant difference with those in control group,which were (10.08 ± 1.33) and (17.22 ± 1.15) mL (all P ＜ 0.05).The levels of serum calcium in treatment group and control group were (3.15 ±0.42),(2.14 ±0.22) mmol· L-1,with significant difference (P ＜0.05).The serum total creatinine and AQP-1 and AQP-4 levels in treatment group were (62.77 ± 6.67) μmol · L-1,(3.07 ± 0.38)μg·mL-1,(43.17 ± 4.83) μg · mL-1,had significant difference with those in control group,which were (73.76 ± 8.03) μmol · L-1,(5.94 ± 0.54) μg · mL-1 and (82.08 ± 5.92) μg · mL-1 (all P ＜ 0.05).The Hasegawa dementia scale,Barthel score and NIHSS in treatment group were 36.11 ±3.44,93.16 ±0.71,6.34 ±0.77,had significant difference with those in control group,which were 28.75 ±3.02,81.65 ± 1.58,11.58 ± 1.51 (all P ＜ 0.05).In treatment group,there were 1 case of rash,1 case of cough,2 cases of digestive tract reaction and 2 cases of acute renal injury,with the incidence of 13.95％ (6 case/43 case).In control group,there were 2 cases of rash,2 cases of cough,1 case of gastrointestinal reaction and 3 cases of acute renal injury,with the incidence of 18.60％ (8 cases/43 cases).There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse drug reactions between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The clinical efficacy of sodium aescinate injection combined with nicardipine hydrochloride injection in the treatment of patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage is great,and can effectively improve the patients' blood calcium,blood creatinine and AQP levels.

OBJECTIVEITS2 of DNA barcoding was used to study genetic polymorphism of Platycodon grandiflorum.

METHODTotal genomic DNA was isolated from P. grandiflorum. PCR was used to amplified the region of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), and PCR products were sequenced. The sequences of ITS2 were analyzed and compared by Clustal. The intraspecies genetic distance was calculated based on Kimura 2-parameter model by using MEGA 5.05. The ITS2 sequence of Codonopsis pilosula was used as the outreach value for plants of the genus, and the phylogenic tree used constructed by Neighbor-Joining (NJ) method.

RESULTThe K2-P's genetic distance of all samples were ranged from 0 to 0.930. The K2-P's genetic distance of samples at the same area were ranged from 0 to 0.178. The K2-P's genetic distance of samples at different areas were ranged from 0.735 to 0.930. The analytical result showed that the degree of genetic variation were heavy in intraspecies of P. grandiflorum and significantly correlated with geographical location.

CONCLUSIONThe DNA barcoding of ITS2 can applied to study the intraspecific genetic diversity, it provides a reference for further development of DNA barcoding technology applications.

China ; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ; DNA, Plant ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Platycodon ; classification ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic

BACKGROUNDThe pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes is progressive pancreatic beta cell failure with consequential reduced insulin secretion. Glucotoxicity results in the reduction of beta cell mass in type 2 diabetes by inducing apoptosis. Autophagy is essential for the maintenance of normal islet architecture and plays a crucial role in maintaining the intracellular insulin content by accelerating the insulin degradation rate in beta cells. Recently more attention has been paid to the effect of autophagy in type 2 diabetes. The regulatory pathway of autophagy in controlling pancreatic beta cells is still not clear. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether liraglutide can inhibit apoptosis and modulate autophagy in vitro in insulinoma cells (INS-1 cells).

METHODSINS-1 cells were incubated for 24 hours in the presence or absence of high levels of glucose, liraglutide (a long-acting human glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue), or 3-methyadenine (3-MA). Cell viability was measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) viability assay. Autophagy of INS-1 cells was tested by monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining, an autophagy fluorescent compound used for the labeling of autophagic vacuoles, and by Western blotting of microtubule-associated protein I light chain 3 (LC3), a biochemical markers of autophagic initiation.

RESULTSThe viability of INS-1 cells was reduced after treatment with high levels of glucose. The viability of INS-1 cells was reduced and apoptosis was increased when autophagy was inhibited. The viability of INS-1 cells was significantly increased by adding liraglutide to supplement high glucose level medium compared with the cells treated with high glucose levels alone.

CONCLUSIONSApoptosis and autophagy were increased in rat INS-1 cells when treated with high level of glucose, and the viability of INS-1 cells was significantly reduced by inhibiting autophagy. Liraglutide protected INS-1 cells from high glucose level-induced apoptosis that is accompanied by a significant increase of autophagy, suggesting that liraglutide plays a role in beta cell apoptosis by targeting autophagy. Thus, autophagy may be a new target for the prevention or treatment of diabetes.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; pharmacology ; Insulinoma ; pathology ; Liraglutide ; Rats

OBJECTIVEBoth tumor suppressor p16INK4A and p15INK4B are members of INK family of CDK inhibitor. Although the role of p16 has been well documented, the role of p15 and its signaling pathway remain less well studied. This study was aimed to assess the effect of p16 and p15 on hepatocarcinoma cell lines with different status of Rb gene.

METHODSAfter identification of the genetic status of p16, p15 as well as Rb of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines BEL7402, SMMC7721 with the use of multiple PCR, the eukaryotic expression p16 and p15 recombinants pXJ-p16 and pXJ-p15 were constructed, respectively. The existence of exogenous p16, p15 genes, and the expression of p16 and p15 were assayed by means of PCR and RNA dot blotting. Finally, the proliferation and apoptosis were studied by using MTT, colony formation assay and flow cytometry.

RESULTSNeither deletion of p16 nor p15 was detected in the two cell lines. However, Rb exons 14-16 instead of exons 22-23 deletion existed in SMMC7721. The increased mRNA expression level of p16 was found in BEL7402-p16 and SMMC7721-p16, while increased mRNA expression level of p15 was found in BEL7402-p15. The endogenous p16 and p15 genes were transcripted at low level. The cell growth and colony formation were decreased in BEL7402-p15, compared with either mock cell BEL7402 or vector control cell BEL7402-pXJ. Also shown in this study were an altered G1 phase population from 37.7% to 43.6%, an S phase population from 22% to 13% (P<0.05), and a Sub G1 peak (apoptosis peak) in BEL7402-p15. Conversely, BEL7402-p16 with endogenous p16 gene showed neither difference in cell cycle population nor difference in colony formation rate, compared with control cell groups. Additionally, SMMC7721-p16 cell growth was not inhibited by exogenous p16 gene.

CONCLUSIONp15 significantly arrested cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in BEL7402 in vitro, and the function was not influenced by endogenous p15 gene. The inhibition of cell growth by p16 on HCC cells could be dependent on intact RB pathway.

Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; genetics ; Cell Division ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15 ; Genes, Retinoblastoma ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Genes, p16 ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics

OBJECTIVESTo investigate the level of AIDS knowledge among people concerned in Nanjing city in order to provide scientific evidence and constructive suggestions for the government to formulate relevant policies for AIDS control.

METHODSThree sets of questionnaires on AIDS knowledge were designed, the scores calculated, and the results evaluated.

RESULTSOf the 2,500 questionnaires issued to 4 different groups of people, 2,436 were collected back with effective answers, 991 from medical and health-related workers with the mean score of 58, 473 from college students with the mean score of 39.9, 524 from common city residents with the mean score of 42.3, and 448 from those working in high risk environment with the mean score of 47.

CONCLUSIONSThe level of AIDS knowledge among people concerned in Nanjing city was far below the requirement of the nation, especially among medical and health-related workers. Efforts must be made to raise the level of AIDS knowledge of people concerned so as to enhance the prevention and treatment of the disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; prevention & control ; Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and toxicity of HAI regimen [(homoharringtonine 2.5 mg/(m(2)×d), days 1 - 7; cytarabine 150 mg/(m(2)×d), days 1 - 7; idarubicin 9 mg/(m(2)×d), days 1 - 7)] for induction treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (except acute promyelocytic leukemia). 31 patients with newly diagnosed AML, aged 39 (14 - 58) years, were enrolled in this clinical study. The complete remission (CR) rate, especially after one course, the overall survival (OS) rate and relapse free survival (RFS) rate were estimated. The outcomes were compared between different prognostic groups according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification, genetics and initial WBC count. Safety was evaluated using standard WHO criteria. The results showed that 26 patients (84%) achieved CR after 1 course of induction. The CR rate for the patients with favorable, intermediate and unfavorable cytogenetics was 90%, 88% and 60% respectively. All 7 patients with a high initial WBC count (≥ 100×10(9)/L) obtained CR, while 19 out of 24 without a high initial WBC count obtained CR. With a median follow-up of 15(range 2-56) months, the estimated 3-year OS rate for all patients and the patients with CR was 44% and 52% respectively. The 3-year RFS rate was 51%. The patients receiving induction chemotherapy died of the chemotherapy. Profound myelosuppression was seen in all patients after the HAI induction with the median duration of neutropenia (ANC < 0.2×10(9)/L) of 16 (6 - 24) days. As the most common toxicity, severe infections (grade III-IV) involved in all the patients and the duration of febris was 6 (1 - 36) days. The incidence of septemia and invasive fungus infection were 19.4% and 45.2% respectively. The incidence of non-infection fever, increased glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), diarrhea, increased bilirubin and oral cavity mucositis were 6.5%, 6.5%, 3.2%, 3.2%, 3.2% respectively, as the more frequent severe non-hematological toxicities. It is concluded that HAI regimen is a high efficient induction schedule for the newly diagnosed AML, and archive the higher CR rate after one course than DNR/Ara-C standard induction regimen. Side effects are acceptable, except severe infection.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Cytarabine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Harringtonines ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Idarubicin ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult