AIMTo investigate the glycosidic constituents in the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum Hance.

METHODSThe isolation and purification of glycosides were done with column chromatography on macro porous resin, polyamides and Sephadex LH-20, whilst the structure elucidation was done by HRCI-MS and NMR (1D and 2D) methods.

RESULTSA glycosidic ester identified as 4'-hydroxy-2'-methoxyphenol-beta-D-{6-0-[4"-hydroxy-3", 5"-dimethoxy (benzoate)]}-glucopyranoside (I), along with a known compound n-butyl-beta-D-fructopyranoside (II), were isolated and characterized.

CONCLUSIONI was found to be a new compound, named as alpinoside A, whilst II was isolated from the genus Alpinia for the first time.

Alpinia ; chemistry ; Fructose ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Conformation ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rhizome ; chemistry

Humans ; Infant ; Female ; Dandy-Walker Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Craniocerebral Trauma/complications*

BACKGROUNDThe Da Vinci system is a newly developed device for colorectal surgery. With advanced stereoscopic vision, lack of tremor, and the ability to rotate the instruments surgeons find that robotic systems are ideal laparoscopic tools. Since conventional laparoscopic total mesorectal excision is a challenging procedure, we have sought to assess the utility of the Da Vinci robotic system in anterior resections for rectal cancer.

METHODSBetween November 2010 and December 2011, a total of 22 patients affected by rectal cancer were operated on with robotic technique, using the Da Vinci robot. Data regarding the outcome and pathology reports were prospectively collected in a dedicated database.

RESULTSThere were no conversions to open surgery and no postoperative mortality of any patient. Mean operative time was (220 ± 46) minutes (range, 152 - 286 minutes). The median number of lymph nodes harvested was (14.6 ± 6.5) (range, 8 - 32), and the circumferential margin was negative in all cases. The distal margin was (2.6 ± 1.2) cm (range, 1.0 - 5.5 cm). The mean length of hospital stay was (7.8 ± 2.6) days (range, 7.0 - 13.0 days). Macroscopic grading of the specimen was complete in 19 cases and nearly complete in three patients.

CONCLUSIONSRobotic anterior resection for rectal surgery is safe and feasible in experienced hands. Outcome and pathology findings are comparable with those observed in open and laparoscopy procedures. This technique may facilitate minimally invasive radical rectal surgery.

Aged ; Digestive System Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rectal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Rectum ; surgery ; Robotics ; methods ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the prognostic factors of anorectal malignant melanoma (ARMM).

METHODSMedical records and follow-up data of 34 patients with ARMM treated in the Chinese PLA General Hospital from March 1993 to November 2011 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSThere were 26 abdominoperineal resections(APR) and 8 wide local excisions (WLE). Twenty patients underwent postoperative adjuvant therapy, including chemotherapy in 14 cases, radiotherapy in 2 cases, traditional Chinese medicine therapy in 4 cases and immunotherapy in 16 cases. Postoperative follow-up was carried out in all the patients and the mean follow-up period was 27 months. The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 76.3%, 39.6% and 20.6% respectively, while the 1-, 3- and 5-year disease-free survival rates were 60.6%, 30.8% and 12.8% respectively. APR and postoperative immunotherapy could significantly reduce the local recurrence rate. According to the Kaplan-Meier method, gross type of tumor, mural involvement, lymph metastasis, and clinical staging had significant effects on overall survival, while lymph metastasis and postoperative immunotherapy on disease-free survival. Cox proportional hazards model indicated that the clinical staging and postoperative immunotherapy were significant predictive factors.

CONCLUSIONSEarly diagnosis and correct choice of surgical method are the keys to the treatment. Postoperative immunotherapy can prolong disease-free survival.

Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Melanoma ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlations of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) with the clinicopathological characteristics, prognostic events, and survival outcomes in esophageal cancer (EC) patients.

METHODSThe PubMed, Web of Science, Embase database and Cochrane database were searched for studies reporting the outcomes of interest. The studies were selected according to established inclusion/exclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of the studies was performed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata12.0 software with the odds ratio (OR), risk ratio (RR) , hazard ratio (HR) , and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as the effect indexes.

RESULTSNineteen studies involving a total of 1766 patients were included in the analysis. Significant correlations of CTCs and DTCs were found with the clinicopathological parameters including the tumor stage (OR=1.95), depth of invasion (OR=1.99), lymph node metastasis (OR=2.44), distal metastasis (OR=5.98), histological differentiation (OR=1.67) and lymphovascular invasion (OR=4.48). CTCs and DTCs were also correlated with the prognostic events including relapse (RR=6.86) and metastasis (RR=3.22) and with the survival outcomes including the overall survival (OS) overall analysis (HR=3.46) and disease-free survival/progression-free survival (DFS/PFS) overall analysis (HR=3.00).

CONCLUSIONCTCs and DTCs are significantly associated with an advanced tumor stage, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis before therapy, differentiation, lymphovascular invasion, relapse and metastasis in patients with EC. They are also significantly correlated with a poorer survival for OS and DFS/PFS to serve as clinical and prognostic predictors in patients with EC.

Disease-Free Survival ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating ; Odds Ratio ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Survival Analysis

To study the molecular epidemiological characteristics of norovirus gastroenteritis outbreaks in Guangdong, we collected fecal and anal swabs specimens from 24 outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis from 2005 to 2008 to detect norovirus. Specimens were detected by RT-PCR and then sequenced. The descriptive data were also collected. According to our research, 19 of 24 outbreaks of gastroenteritis were positive for norovirus. The occurrence time was from October to next February mainly. The strains in 2005 belonged to G II-3 genotype and all outbreaks occurred in kindergarten and school. But from autumn of 2006, the outbreaks were all caused by G II-4/2006b variant and occurred in universities and community. The number of outbreaks in 2007 increased greatly and covered all over province. The nucleotide sequences of Guangdong strains in some sites showed high regional identity. Our results showed that with the shift of genotype from G II-3 to G II-4, occurrence of norovirus outbreaks increased greatly. The outbreaks of norovirus caused by G II-4/2006b variant spreaded widely and the involved population covered children and adult, indicating the strong invasiveness of this variant.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Base Sequence ; Child ; China ; epidemiology ; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases ; genetics ; Disease Outbreaks ; Gastroenteritis ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Norovirus ; classification ; enzymology ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDRecent studies have suggested that mature T cells can change their specificity through reexpression of recombination-activating genes (RAG) and RAG-mediated V(D)J recombination. This process is named receptor revision and has been observed in mature peripheral T cells from transgenic mice and human donors. However, whether thebreceptor revision in mature T cells is a random or orientated process remains poorly understood. Here we used the Jurkathuman T cell line, which represents a mature stage of T cell development, as a model to investigate the regulation of Tcell receptor (TCR) gene recombination.

METHODSTCR Dbeta-Jbeta signal joint T cell receptor excision DNA circles (sjTRECs) were determined by nested and seminested PCR. Double-strand DNA breaks at recombination signal sequences (RSSs) in the TCRVbeta chain locus were detected by ligation-mediated-PCR. Further analysis of the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) size of the TCRVbeta chain was examined by the TCR GeneScan technique.

RESULTSRAG1, RAG2, and three crucial components of the nonhomologous DNA end-joining (NHEJ) pathway were readily detected in Jurkat. Characteristics of junctional diversity of Dbeta2-Jbeta2 signal joints and ds RSS breaks associated with the Dbeta2 5' and Dbeta 2 3' sites were detected in DNA from Jurkat cells. CDR3 size and the gene sequences of the TCRVbeta chain did not change during cell proliferation.

CONCLUSIONSRAG1 and RAG2 and ongoing TCR gene recombination are coexpressed in Jurkat cells, but the ongoing recombination process may not play a role in modification of the TCR repertoire.However, the results suggest that Jurkat could be used as a model for studying the regulation of RAGs and V(D)J recombination and as a "special" model of the coexistence of TCR gene rearrangements and "negative" receptor revision.

Antigens, Nuclear ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Complementarity Determining Regions ; DNA Breaks ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Genes, RAG-1 ; Genes, T-Cell Receptor ; Humans ; Jurkat Cells ; Ku Autoantigen ; Leukemia, T-Cell ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Recombination, Genetic

Objective To estimate the prevalence of cataract and its surgical coverage rate together with the burden related to bilateral cataract-blindness,among adults aged 40 or above in Gongshan county of Yunnan province and to evaluate the current cataract status and the efficacy of local cataract prevention program.Methods Cluster sampling was used.The protocol consisted of personal interview,pilot study,visual acuity checking,measuring the intraocular pressure; slit lamp microscopy and the fundus of the eye examination etc.Cataract was graded clinically using the Lens Opacity Classification System (LOCS) ]Ⅲ.Bilateral cataract-blindness burden,bilateral cataractblindness burden and cataract surgical coverage rate were calculated respectively,using two different criteria.Odds ratios (OR) were compared among different groups regarding age,gender,education,ethnic group and altitude of living area.Results Among the 1236 eligible residents,1116 (90.3％)were enrolled in the present study.The prevalence of cataract was 23.8％ among adults aged 40 or order.When the bilateral best refractive vision ＜3/60 was defined as the blindness criterion,the bilateral cataract-blindness burden showed as 1.3％,and cataract blindness surgical coverage rate was 50.0％.When the bilateral presenting vision ＜ 6/60 was defined as the blindness criterion,the bilateral cataract-blindness burden was 25.0％,and cataract blindness surgical coverage rate was 12.9％.The cataract surgical coverage rates were much lower and the bilateral cataract-blindness burden much higher in women,illiterates,living in high altitude areas and those who were aged 70 or above.Conclusion Cataract blindness was a serious public health problem in aged individuals and illiteracy in the residents of the studied areas.Poor prevention programs on cataract called for urgent action to be taken.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) in prophylaxis neutropenia after chemotherapy in patients with lymphoma. Methods: This was a multicenter, single arm, open, phase Ⅳ clinical trial. Included 410 patients with lymphoma received multiple cycles of chemotherapy and PEG-rhG-CSF was administrated as prophylactic. The primary endpoint was the incidence of Ⅲ/Ⅳ grade neutropenia and febrile neutropenia (FN) after each chemotherapy cycle. Meanwhile the rate of antibiotics application during the whole period of chemotherapy was observed. Results: ①Among the 410 patients, 8 cases (1.95%) were contrary to the selected criteria, 35 cases (8.54%) lost, 19 cases (4.63%) experienced adverse events, 12 cases (2.93%) were eligible for the termination criteria, 15 cases (3.66%) develpoed disease progression or recurrence, thus the rest 321 cases (78.29%) were into the Per Protocol Set. ②During the first to fourth treatment cycles, the incidences of grade Ⅳ neutropenia after prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF were 19.14% (49/256) , 12.5% (32/256) , 12.18% (24/197) , 13.61% (20/147) , respectively. The incidences of FN were 3.52% (9/256) , 0.39% (1/256) , 2.54% (5/197) , 2.04% (3/147) , respectively. After secondary prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF, the incidences of Ⅳ grade neutropenia decreased from 61.54% (40/65) in the screening cycle to 16.92% (11/65) , 18.46% (12/65) and 20.75% (11/53) in 1-3 cycles, respectively. The incidences of FN decreased from 16.92% (11/65) in the screening cycle to 1.54% (1/65) , 4.62% (3/65) , 3.77% (2/53) in 1-3 cycles, respectively. ③The proportion of patients who received antibiotic therapy during the whole period of chemotherapy was 34.39% (141/410) . ④The incidence of adverse events associated with PEG-rhG-CSF was 4.63% (19/410) . The most common adverse events were bone pain[3.90% (16/410) ], fatigue (0.49%) and fever (0.24%) . Conclusion During the chemotherapy in patients with lymphoma, the prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF could effectively reduce the incidences of grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ neutropenia and FN, which ensures that patients with lymphoma receive standard-dose chemotherapy to improve its cure rate.

OBJECTIVETo establish DNA microarrays-based microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles of squamous cell carcinoma of larynx, using archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks, and to screen out and identify the differentially expressed miRNAs associated with the biological characteristics of this malignant disease.

METHODSTotal RNA was prepared from the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. After quality identification and fluorescent labeling, the RNA samples were hybridized with the Agilent human miRNA microarrays which contains 723 probes for human miRNAs. The data was processed with the softwares GeneSpring GX and R-Project.

RESULTSFrom the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor blocks collected, 24 RNA samples were obtained with the quality accorded to the requirement of miRNA microarray analysis, and both the hybridization and consequent data processing were accomplished. A total of 319 miRNAs were identified and among them 96 were detected in all the 24 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks of laryngeal carcinoma; and 5 differentially expressed miRNAs (false discovery rate < 0.05) were found to be associated significantly with the lymphatic metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (P < 0.05), including miR-23a(*), miR-28-5p, miR-15a, miR-16 and miR-425.

CONCLUSIONSHistopathological archives of well-annotated formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens are the valuable resources for miRNA study including to collect RNA samples for miRNA microarray analysis. A panel of differentially expressed miRNAs (miR-23a(*), miR-28-5p, miR-15a, miR-16 and miR-425) derived from the miRNA expression profile may serve as the potential molecular biomarkers for the prediction of metastasis development in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Paraffin Embedding