OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Xinfeng Capsule (XC) on lipoprotein metabolism of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

METHODSTotally 180 RA patients were assigned to the experimental group and the control group by random digit table, 90 in each group. Patients in the experimental group took XC (three pills each time, three times daily), while those in the control group took Methotrexate Tablet (four tablets each time, once per week). One month consisted of one therapeutic course and all patients were treated for two therapeutic courses. A healthy control group consisting of 60 patients was also set up. Changes of lipoprotein indices, clinical efficacy, lipid metabolism, joint symptoms and signs, activity indicators were observed, and correlation analyses were performed.

RESULTSCompared with the healthy control group, expression levels of prealbumin (PA), globulin (GLO), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein Al (Apo-A1) were lowered in RA patients (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Correlation analyses showed that PA was negatively correlated with joint tenderness, morning stiffness time, disease activity score (DAS-28), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, respectively. Total protein (TP) was negatively correlated with joint tenderness. GLO was negatively correlated with joint tenderness and DAS-28. HDL was negatively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and endothelin (ET)-1. Apo-Al was negatively correlated with joint pain; Apo-B was negatively correlated with CRP; LDL was negatively correlated with morning stiffness time (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Compared with before treatment, expression levels of PA, HDL, Apo-A1 , Apo-B, and serum IL-10 contents increased, and expression levels of ESR, CRP, IL-6, ET-1 , joint pain, joint swelling, morning stiffness time, and DAS-28 decreased in the experimental group (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). PA increased more after treatment than before treatment in the control group (P <0. 01). There was statistical difference in joint symptoms (except joint tenderness) and activity indices (except ET-1) in the control group (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Compared with the control group after treatment, PA and HDL increased, ET-1 and duration of morning stiffness decreased in the experimental group (all P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSLipoprotein metabolic disorder exists in RA patients, and it is associated with disease activity. XC could obviously improve lipoprotein metabolism and joint symptoms.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Lipoproteins ; Lipoproteins, HDL ; metabolism ; Methotrexate

Objective To investigate the clinical and pathological features of rectal carcinoid and factors influencing the prognosis. Methods Clinical data of 29 cases with postoperative pathology identified diagnosis of rectal carcinoid from May 1998 to May 2008 in the two hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. Endoscopic submucosal resection of the tumor was conducted in 5 cases,local resection in 14 cases, local expanded resection of the tumor in 4 cases, transsacral local wide resection in 2 cases, radical operation in 4 cases. Results Median age at treatment was 32～71 (54±11) years. Median follow-up was (61±4) months (3 months-10 years), follow-up rate was 76%. During a follow-up, there were no cases with recurrence among the 13 patients with tumor size<1 cm, 1 case recurred in the 5 patients with turmor size between 1 to 2 cm, and 3 cases died from postoperative liver metastasis among the 4 patients with tumor size > 2 cm. The 5-, 10-year disease-specific survival rates were 87% and 80% respectively. Conclusions Surgery is the best therapy for rectal carcinoid, the choice of operative mode must be made according to the size,infiltration of the tumor, the condition of infiltrated lymph node and hepatic metastasis.

There are 250 species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) in the world. This genus distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Alkaloids are the major and representative ingredients in these plants including quinolines, isoquinolines, and amide alkaloids, with such biological activities as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-virus, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-bacteria and anti- oxidant. These species have been used for a long time to treat toothache, urinary and venereal diseases, lumbago and rheumatism. This review summarizes the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities from the Z. sppplants, in an effort to the systematic research and application of the alkaloids of this genus.
Alkaloids ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Zanthoxylum ; chemistry

A novel disposable three electrodes blood alcohol biosensor strip was fabricated by a screen printing technique. Multi-wall carbon nanotube(MWCNT), Meldola′s(MB), alcohol dehydrogenase(ADH)and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor (NAD+) were modified on the surface of the carbon working electrode. Then hydrophilic membrane was stuck in the outermost of the three electrodes to make a reaction camera of 5 μL. Experimental results indicated that the biosensor possessed good accuracy and stability, the linear response range was 0.5-20 mmol/L with correlation coefficient of 0.9949, detection limit was 0.22 mmol/L, and the response time was less than 15 s. Some influencing factors to the biosensor were investigated, such as the pH, temperature and interferences. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the methods of biosensor and the headspace vapor phase chromatography in 10 whole blood samples(r=0.97583). Small volume whole blood sucked using siphonage to detect blood alcohol directly and quantitatively was the obvious character of the biosensor.

OBJECTIVETo compare postoperative blood loss under different negative pressures of drainage after total hip arthroplasty for the treatment of femoral neck fractures.

METHODSFrom January 1st to December 30th 2013, 74 patients with femoral neck fractures treated with total hip arthroplasty were randomly divided into two groups: high negative pressure drainage group and low negative pressure drainage group. In high negative pressure drainage group, there were 34 cases including 10 males and 24 females, with a mean age of (75.94 ± 9.02) years old, and the patients were treated with 60 kPa negative pressure of drainage. In the low negative pressure drainage group, there were 40 cases including 13 males and 27 females, with an average age of (74.93 ± 8.90) years old, and the patients were treated with 30 kPa negative pressure of drainage. The amount of total drainage, total blood loss, and hemoglobin change were compared between these two groups.

RESULTSAll the patients got primary healing without infections. In high negative pressure drainage group,the change of hemoglobin was (41.74 ± 15.69) g/L, total blood loss was (1,217.73 ± 459.50) ml and the drainage volume was (312.94 ± 103.44) ml; while in low negative pressure drainage group,the results were (34.90 ± 12.90) g/L, (904.01 ± 381.58) ml and (129.25 ± 44.25) ml separately. All the results in high negative pressure drainage group were higher than those in the other group. Three days after operation, the change of hemoglobin was (46.00 ± 13.29) g/L and total blood loss was (1,304.72 ± 421.75) ml; while in low negative pressure drainage group, the changes of hemoglobin was (43.87 ± 11.39) g/L and total blood loss was (1,196.78 ± 344.20) ml; there were no statistically significant differences between two groups.

CONCLUSIONWhen placing drainage devices after total hip arthroplasty for the treatment of femoral neck fractures, the level of negative pressure should be chosen according to preoperative level of hemoglobin and HCT in patients. For old patients with femoral neck fracture, low negative pressure is more suitable.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; methods ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Femoral Neck Fractures ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; prevention & control

Objective To analyze CMV DNA stability of 30 EDTA plasma samples in the order of magnitude between 300 and 100 000 copies/mL over a 21 day period. Methods Thirty plasma samples were grouped into three categories according to the CMV DNA loads , including low CMV DNA contents , intermediate CMV DNA loads and high CMV DNA loads. Ten milliliters of whole blood was freshly collected from each patient. Plasma samples without hemolysis were divided into 1-ml aliquots. One aliquot was processed immediately (Day 0) for baseline PCR assays. The remaining aliquots were then processed after one , two, three, seven, 14 or 21 day of storage at 4℃. Results There was no significant difference between the mean of the difference time point in viral loads following storage at 4 ℃ by paired-samples t test, including Day 1 compared to Day 0 (t = 1.654, P =0.109), Day 2 compared to Day 0 (t = 1.487, P = 0.148), Day 3 compared to Day 0 (t = 1.609, P = 0.118), Day 7 compared to Day 0 (t=0.831, P=0.413), Day 14 compared to Day 0 (t=1.721, P=0.096), and Day 21 compared to Day 0 (t=0.244, P=0.810). Conclusion The concentration of CMV DNA in all samples stored at 4 ℃ for 21 days did not differ significantly from the baseline viral load ,and it was not observed the trend in continued degradation in different time point (Day 1, 2, 3, 7 and 14).

Objective To gain detailed insights into the Borna disease virus infection and its genetic characteristics and phylogeny in Ningxia,China.Methods BDV p24 segment were detected by fluorescence quantitative nested RT-PCR from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 119 patients with viral encephalitis,205 cattle,978 sheep,46 patients with cerebrovascular diseases and 13 patients with multiple sclerosis.Data from phylogenetic analysis on BDV p24 positive samples together with those from the positive gene sequences of animals and patients in the previous studies in Ningxia,were compared to the 29 sequences provided by the GenBank from 7 animals in 5 countries.Both the sequence homologous similarity of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences were analyzed and gene phylogenetic tree was reconstructed.Results Data from 23 collections of positive test samples,together with the ones from early detection of gene sequence analysis,showed that the homologous similarity sequences of both nucleotide and amino acid was between 95.3% and 100.0% and highly homophylic with HE80 that detected from ill horses in Germany.One part of nucleotide sequences formed the 'Ningxia independent branch'while the other one belonged to the 'Germany-Ningxia-Japan mixed branch'.There was a high identity within the branch.Conclusion A Ningxia independent BDV strain from geographical origin might exist while the epidemic strains were imported with multiple sources.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effects of low frequency ultrasound enhanced thrombolysis (LFUET) on acute cerebral infarction (ACI) in rats.Methods The ACI animal models were established by injec- ting auto-thrombus into the rats' left middle cerebral arteries.They were then treated with urokinase,and received transcranial LFUET treatment at the same time.Nervous system functioning was assessed using NSS,and infarct vol- umes (IVs) were measured through tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining.Results The NSS scores in the large- dose urokinase group (LDU group),the ultrasound plus small-dose urokinase group (USMU group) and in the in- farct group (Ⅰgroup) at 24 h after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment.IVs in the two treat- ment groups are lower than those in theⅠgroup,but there was no significant difference between the LDU group and USMU group volumes.Conclusion LFUET can accelerate the recovery of nervous system function in rats after ACI,minimize IVs,and reduce the required dosage of urokinase.

Objective To explore the detection methods for cognitive dysfunction of the major depression in Elderly and analyze their clinical significance.Methods Using matched-pairs study,42 patients with seniie de- pressive disorders(experimental group)and 42 normal aged people(control group)were examined with auditory e- voked potential P300(event related potential,ERP-P300)and SECF,respectively.Results It was found that the scores with registration,span,recall,classification and total score of the subjects in the experimental group were sig- nificantly lower than those in the control group(P

BACKGROUNDPhacoemulsification yields successful outcomes in eyes with standard cataract. Though techniques have been improved, it is still challenging to perform phacoemulsification in cases of hard cataracts for difficulty in nuclear management and much more complications. This study aimed at describing and evaluating the efficacy and safety of a peripheral radial chop technique to remove hard cataracts.

METHODSIn this prospective study conducted between January 2003 and January 2004, 107 consecutive eyes with hard cataract underwent modified phacoemulsification surgery with peripheral radial chop technique by the Bausch & Lomb Millennium phacoemulsifier with preset parameters of power less than 30%; vaccum, 150 mmHg; and bottle height, 85 cm when a DP8145 phaco tip was used, and vaccum, 380 mmHg; bottle height, 95 cm when a DP8245 phaco tip was used.

RESULTSThe mean ultrasonic power was 14.7% (range 9% to 19%), ultrasonic time was 1.98 minutes (range 1.55 to 3.18 minutes). At 1, 7 and 30 days postoperatively, the eyes with uncorrected visual acuity 0.5 or better accounted for 76.42%, 87.16% and 90.67% respectively. At 1 month, the endothelial cell loss rate was 9.74% (range 8% to 17%). There were 6 cases of posterior capsule rupture in an early period of study. No serious intraoperative or postoperative complications were noted.

CONCLUSIONSThe peripheral radial chop technique was effective without serious complications in hands of an experienced surgeon.

Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phacoemulsification ; adverse effects ; methods ; Prospective Studies