Objective To investigate the forensic characteristics of death cases of EV71 through retrospective analysis of 9 death forensic cases of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) . Methods Nine cases of EV71 death cases were collected,and the population characteristics, histopathological change,toxicology,pathology and causes of death of these cases were discussed. Results All 9 patients had fever, cough, emesis, and were treated as influenza or hand-foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in local hospitals, the condition was still deteriorating and finally died. The 9 autopsy cases were diagnosed as brain stem encephalitis and death in forensic diagnose. Conclusion The HFMD disease caused by EV71 infection progresses rapidly often leads to medical disputes, the patient's family and hospital's opinions on the causes of death in patients are often different,identifying the cause of death is conducive to resolve the disputes.

Animals ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Pharmacogenetics ; trends ; Polymorphism, Genetic

AIM: To investigate the antitumor activity and mechanism of Paecilomyces tenuipes polysaccharide(PTPS).METHODS: PTPS-I was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation,and purified by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography.Human erythroleukemia cell line K562,laryngocarcinoma cell line Hep2 and hepatic carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721were co-cultured with PTPS-I or the conditioned medium which prepared with PTPS-I-stimulated human mononuclear cells(PTPS-I-MNC-CM),and the proliferation of tumor cells was determined.The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) was used to determine the proliferation of MNCs.The FQ-RT-PCR was applied to investigate the expression of TNF-? and IL-6 mRNA in MNCs.RESULTS: PTPS-I-MNC-CM inhibited the proliferation of K562,Hep2 and SMMC-7721 cells in vitro(P

OBJECTIVETo explore the value of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the management of recurrent small hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODSBetween March 2001 and March 2005, 52 patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (tumor size< or =5 cm) underwent PRFA, and 14 of the patients (tumor size 3-5 cm) also received TACE and PEI, and their clinical data were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSMRI or CT after PRFA revealed complete coagulative necrosis of the tumor in 38 cases (tumor size <3 cm). In the 14 patients (tumor size 3-5 cm) with also TACE and PEI, complete necrosis occurred in 11 cases (78.6%). In the patients involved in this study, the 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year survival rates were 96.2%, 69.4%, 45.5% and 30.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPRFA is an effective modality for local treatment of recurrent small hepatocellular carcinoma, capable of total elimination of tumors <3 cm. For tumors of 3-5 cm, combination with TACE and PEI may help increase the tumor necrosis rate following the ablation and raise the patients' survival rate.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; therapy ; Catheter Ablation ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Ethanol ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of involved-field irradiation (IFI ) for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSFrom September 1997 to November 2001, 200 stage-III NSCLC patients were randomly divided into two groups-- IFI and ENI (elective node irradiation). The IFI group was irradiated by 3DCR to a dose of 68-74 Gy/34-37f/7-9 w including the primary tumor and the lymph nodes of > or = 10 mm in short axis. The ENI group was irradiated to a dose of 60-64 Gy/30-32f/6-7.5 w including the primary tumor, ipsilateral hilum, subcarinal and mediastinal lymph nodes, even the supraclavicular area when the lymph nodes of superior mediastinum were involved.

RESULTSThe overall response (CR + PR) rates were 90.0% in IFI group and 79.0% in ENI group. Radiation pneumonitis developed in 29.0% of the patients in ENI group and 17.0% in IFI group (P = 0.04). The 1-year primary tumor failure rate in IFI group (13.0%) was lower than that (23.0%) in ENI group. The 1-year involved nodal failure rate was 20.0% in ENI group and 10.0% in IFI group (P = 0.048). The 1-year elective node failure rate was 16.0% in ENI group versus 21.0% in IFI group (P = 0.39). The 1-, 2-and 3-year overall survival rate was 67.2% , 38.7% , 27.3% , respectively, in IFI group; versus 59.7% , 25.6% , 19.2% in ENI group, with a difference significant in the 2-year overall survival rate between IFI and ENI group (P = 0.048).

CONCLUSIONInvolved-field 3D-CRT for stage-III non-small cell lung cancer is well tolerated. It does not increase the rate of lymph node failure in the elective node irradiation field, and may improve the survival due to dose escalation.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; radiotherapy ; Lymphatic Irradiation ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; Radiotherapy, Conformal ; methods ; Remission Induction ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome

Objective MR microscopy technique was used to study the visualization of senile plaque deposition in brains of the Alzheimer disease(AD)transgenic mice.Methods Two transgenic mice and 2 wild type mice at the age of 17 months were scanned in vivo using T_2 weighted image.After MR imaging,the brains were cut serially and immunostained according to the orthogonal pilot images.MR T_2 weighted images and immunohistological images of the senile plaque were observed and matched.Results The MR images showed that some black spots were visible in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of the AD transgenic mice and some spots were consistent with the senile plaques on immunohistological sections.There were no spots in the MR images and the immunohistological sections of the wild type mice.Conclusion It is possible that MR microscopy can be used to detect the deposition of the senile plaque and diagnose AD specifically.

Objective To investigate a more perfect method for a nice outward appearance of the thumb(finger) reconstructed.Methods An artery pedicle composite flap from fibular side of the great toe is inlaid in the tibial(ventral) side of the free second toe for thumb reconstruction and the same free second toe with a distal part of metatarsal bone with a double-wings flap for finger reconstruction before transplantation. Results The reconstructed thumb(finger) gets a nice looking and normal function while no blight to the great toe occurred.Conclusion It is an effective new procedure in ameliorating outward appearance of the recon- structed thumb(finger) by transferring the free moulded second toe.

The objective of study was to explore the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor-2 in pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia. The acute myeloid leukemia model was established on 20 mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) transplanted by HL-60 cells. The mice were divided into the normal control and test group randomly. The expression of VEGF was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of VEGFR-2 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. The results showed that the establishment of acute myeloid leukemia model was succeeded on all SCID mice by HL-60 cell transplantation. The expressions of VEGF and VEGFR-2 mRNAs could be determined on all mice. As compared with the normal control group, the expressions of VEGF and VEGFR-2 mRNAs in the test group significantly increased, but gradually increased during the course of disease. It is concluded that the abnormal expressions of VEGF and VEGFR-2 exist in mice with acute myeloid leukemia, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of AML.
Animals ; Bone Marrow ; pathology ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, SCID ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDTransplantation of mensenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been proposed as a promising way for tissue engineering. However, the application of MSCs for transplantation will undergo apoptosis due to the extremely harsh microenvironment such as excessive inflammation. Apigenin (API) has been reported to protect cells against inflammatory damage and cell death by exhibiting anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative capacity. Here we investigated the modulatory effects of API in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation and apoptosis of MSCs, and further defined the underlying mechanism.

METHODSEffects of different concentrations of API (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 µmol/L) for 24 hours, and LPS (0, 0.5 and 5.0 µg/ml) for 6 hours and 24 hours on MSCs viability were assayed by MTT. Based on this, MSCs were pretreated with different concentrations of API (0 - 40 µmol/L) at the indicated times (6, 12 and 24 hours) followed by exposure to 5 µg/ml LPS for 24 hours. MTT, phase-contrast microscopy, annexinV/propidium iodide (PI) double stain flow cytometry (FCM) and Hoechst staining were applied to explore the effects of API on MSCs induced by 5 µg/ml LPS for 24 hours. In addition, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to detect the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory factors including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), pro-apoptotic gene caspase-3, Bad, and anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. Moreover, AutoDock software was used to imitate the docking score of API and vitamin D receptor (VDR). In parallel, Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to investigate protein and mRNA expression of VDR.

RESULTSMSCs stimulated with LPS 5 µg/ml for 24 hours was used as a model of apoptosis induced by over inflammatory stimulus. API (0 - 40 µmol/L) had non-toxic effect on MSCs; however, it could decrease mRNA expression of COX-2, iNOS and NF-κB at different time points in MSCs induced by LPS, except for API at the concentration of 5 µmol/L.

RESULTSfrom phase-contrast microscopy, MTT, Hoechst staining and AnnexinV/PI double stain FCM demonstrated that with the increasing concentrations of API and extension of administrating time, significant morphological changes of MSCs occurred, viability of cells was strongly inhibited, and meanwhile, apoptosis of LPS-administrated MSCs was exacerbated, compared with LPS individual group. In addition, API promoted caspase-3, Bad mRNA expression and inhibited Bcl-2 mRNA expression in a time-dependent and concentration- dependent manner. Further study found that pro-apoptosis effect of API was related to suppress VDR expression.

CONCLUSIONSAPI could inhibit the expression of inducible inflammatory factors, therefore exert the strong anti-inflammatory function. However, API could not protect MSC apoptosis induced by LPS but amplified the apoptosis. The apoptosis is related to Bad/Bcl-2 increasing and caspase-3 activation, which is mediated through suppressing VDR expression.

Animals ; Apigenin ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Flow Cytometry ; Lipopolysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo identify and characterize the polypeptides specifically binding to human B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) screened from 12TM phage display peptide library.

METHODSThe BNP-binding peptides were screened from 12TM phage display peptide library and identified by ELISA.

RESULTSAfter 4 rounds of screening, 10 of the 16 phage clones were identified as the positive clones which could bind to BNP. Five amino acid sequences were obtained in the 10 positive clones. Dose-dependent ELISA results demonstrated that the screened polypeptides could specifically bind to BNP.

CONCLUSIONThese screened polypeptides can bind specifically to BNP, which provides a basis for further research on expression and purification of anti-BNP polypeptides and the development of the detection kit of BNP.

Humans ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; metabolism ; Peptide Library ; Peptides ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Protein Binding