Objective To study whether clinical variables could be used to predict the presence of esophageal varices(EV). Methods One hundred and twenty-six patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis were enrolled. Upper endoscopy was performed to identify the EV. The spleen vein (SV), portal vein(PV), spleen index(SI), ascites was determined by ultrasenography. Platelct count(Pt), prothrombin time(PT) and liver function was determined. Results Ninety-five patients with EV, and 42 patients with severe EV. Patients with EV had significant larger SI and lower Pt. Pt and SI were predictive factors for the presence of EV. When SI≥66.9 cm2 and Pt≤89.0×109/L, they had a positive predictive value of 97.4% and 96.5%, and a negative predictive value of 55.4% and 59.8%, respectively. SI was the only predictive factor for the presence of severe EV. When SI≥82.6 cm2, it had a positive and negative predictive value of 89.2% and 75.4%. Conclusions Pt and SI are predictive factors for the presence of EV. SI is the only predictive factor for the presence of severe EV. Non-invasive factors SI and Pt can be used to predict the EV in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Alcohol Drinking ; adverse effects ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Risk Assessment

Objective To develop a new type of gene vaccine against plague. Methods caf1 gene of caf Operon Encoding F1 Antigen of Y. pestis was inserted into pHSS6-mTn-3xHA/lacZ library plasmids, the recombinant plasmids were linearized with Not I and transformed into yeast cell by lithium acetate (LiAc) method to induce homologous recombination. Positive recombinants were then selected with uracil-lack medium. Results These recombinants were confirmed by colony PCR to have the target gene fragments. Conclusion The present study provided a platform for constructing a novel expression system for expressing Y. pestis F1 Antigen via homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which may contribute to the genetic prevention of plague through digestive-tract-route (DTR).

BACKGROUND:Over the past 10 years, scholars have proposed the tubular stomach as an alternative to the whole stomach for digestive tract reconstruction; however, its occurrence rate of postoperative complications has been controversial. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of tubular stomach versus whole stomach for digestive tract reconstruction in the resection of esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: The randomized controled trials about tubular stomach for digestive tract reconstruction in the resection of esophageal carcinoma were searched from PubMed, OVID, CNKI, EBSCO, Science online, Wangfang, Super Star Digital Library, CMB, Baidu and Google search engines. Two searchers screened studies based on the included criteria strictly. Literature quality and bias risk were assessed according to the criteria of Cochrane Colaboration, GRADEprofiler3.6.1 software was used for evaluation of the quality grade, and Revman5.3 for data management and statistical analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Totaly 12 randomized controled trials including 4 137 patients were enroled. Compared with the whole stomach group, in the tubular stomach group, the incidences of reflux esophagitis and thoracic stomach syndrome were significantly lower, but there was no difference in the incidences of anastomotic leakage and anastomotic stenosis between the two groups. These findings indicate that the tubular stomach as a substitute of the whole stomach for digestive tract reconstruction in the resection of esophageal carcinoma is a safe and effective. However, the literatures included are only in English and Chinese, and there is publication bias and smal sample size. Therefore, the large-sample high-quality clinical randomized controled trials are stil needed for further confirmation.

ObJective To explore the value of acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅲ(APACHE Ⅲ ) score and the concentration of serum cholinesterase (ChE) in predicting the condition and prognosis of patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) within 24 hours afar hospitalization.Methods Sixty-two SAP patients were enrolled and APACHE Ⅲ score was assessed and the concentration of serum ChE was detected within 24 hours after hospitalization.The correlation between the concentration of serum ChE,APACHE Ⅲ score and the condition and prognosis was analyzed.Results There were 44 survivalcases and 18 dead cases.The APACHE Ⅲ score of the surval patients was significantly lower than that of the dead patients [(52.16 ± 13.76) scores vs.(97.10 ± 15.85) scores] (P＜0.01).The concentration of serum ChE of survival patients was significantly higher than that of the dead patients [ (3685 ± 466) U/L vs.(2109 ± 345) U/L] (P＜ 0.01 ).The higher APACHE Ⅲ score was,the lower the serum ChE concentration was,and the higher the mortality rate was.APACHE Ⅲ score and the concontration of serum ChE both had statistical significances compared with the prognosis in the Logistic regression analysis (P =0.0043,0.0075);APACHE Ⅲ score (95％ CI 1.0306-1.1507),the concentration of serum ChE (95％ CI0.9986-1.0125 ).ROC areas under curve (AUC) of APACHE Ⅲ score,serum ChE concentration with the prognosis were 0.936 and 0.882,respectively.There was no significant difference (P=0.0820).In combined prediction of APACHE Ⅲ score and serum ChE concentration,AUC was 0.952,and its predicting accuracy was higher than either APACHE Ⅲ score or serum ChE concentration (P=0.0016,0.0027).Conclusions APACHE Ⅲ score and the concentration of serum ChE both are significantly correlated with the condition and prognosis of SAP patients.Their combined detection can significantly improve the accuracy of prognosis judgement and provide some clinical guidances for treatment.

HIV and AIDS remain as the crucial global health concern, therefore, research and development of novel anti-HIV-1 chemical therapeutics is still of paramount significance, which may be illuminated by cases of successful marketed drugs. Herein, we document the discovery and biological profile of new anti-HIV-1 drugs approved by FDA between 2005 and 2008 and some drug candidates are also discussed.

Animals ; Drug Tolerance ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Morphine ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Signal Transduction

Adolescent ; Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Erythropoietin ; genetics ; Ethnic Groups ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Young Adult

AlM:To investigate the protective effect of astaxanthin (AST) on human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells against oxidative damage induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).METHODS:Human RPE cells were subcultured, cell activity was detected by MTT, rate of apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and cell ultrastructure changes were observed under transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: MTT results showed that cell activity elevated to ( 53. 66%± 3. 25% and 70. 43%± 2. 38% after 10-8 mol/L and 10-4 mol/L AST treated. The difference had statistically significant (P<0. 05) compared with oxidative injury group (38. 76%± 3. 74%). Flow cytometry results showed that the apoptosis rate of RPE cells decreased to 30. 23%± 1. 91% and 12. 58%± 2. 12% in AST pretreated group, the difference was significant (P<0. 05) compared with oxidative injury group ( 42. 50%± 1. 94%); Electron microscopy showed that the morphology of cells gradually improved accompanied with the concentration of AST elevated.CONCLUSlON:AST may inhibit hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis of RPE cells, it can provide reliable evidence for pursue effective medicine to prevent and treat retina injury.

Objective To estimate blood lead level of children in Jinchang city of Gansu province.Methods According to relevant request,256 children(male 133,female 123) aged 2-7 years from some kindergartens in Jinchang city were randornly selected from Oct. 2004 to Jun. 2005. Blood lead level was measured by atom-absorbing graphiteingle method.Results The average blood lead level of 256 children was(126.30?52.98)?g/L.The lowest blood lead level was 28.3 ?g/L while the highest was 268.0 ?g/L.And 160 children(62.54%) were found with a blood lead level ≥100 ?g/L(the diagnostic level of lead poisoning in children).The blood lead level became higher with the increase of children′s age,as groups aged 2-3 years group were lower than aged 5-6 years and 6-7 years groups,of which the differenes had statistical significance(P0.05).Conclusion Blood lead levels of children in Jinchang city and prevalence of lead poisoning are both relatively higher,to which enough attention shall be paid.