OBJECTIVETo investigate the epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of Brucella orchitis, so as to provide reliable evidence for the prevention and treatment of the disease.

METHODSWe conducted retrospective statistical analyses on the medical records of 48 outpatients and 21 inpatients with Brucella orchitis.

RESULTSBrucella orchitis was diagnosed in 6.67% of the male patients with brucellosis (69/1 034). The disease exhibited typical epidemiological features, with a higher incidence rate among those in frequent contact with sheep and elderly people, in the period from April to July, and in the areas with sheep husbandry. All the Brucella orchitis patients had such local symptoms as testicular pain and swelling, more frequently involving both testes, and other most common symptoms included fever, chills, sweating, and painful joints. Based on IIEF-5, 45 of the patients suffered from severe erectile dysfunction, with their reproductive function temporarily affected in the course of the disease. Misdiagnosis easily occurred in the early stage of the disease. Therapeutic options mainly included doxycycline hydrochloride and rifampicin, administered orally or intravenously, which could effect a cure, though relapse might occur in some cases.

CONCLUSIONBru- cella orchitis has distinct epidemiological characteristics, with clinical manifestations of testicular pain and swelling. Though a transient disease, it affects the reproductive function of the patient before cured. It can be treated by combined oral and intravenous medication, with painkillers or ice bags for testicular pain and swelling.

Animals ; Brucella ; pathogenicity ; Brucellosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Orchitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sheep

Along with the development of science and technology , microwaves are widely used in various fields .Though they have brought much convenience to people , their potential adverse health effects are becoming a concern of governments and researchers .High power microwaves ( HPMs) are widely used in high-tech and new concept weapons , increasing the chance that troops are exposed to HPM environments .It has been clearly confirmed that microwave radiation could cause varying degrees of damage to the nervous system , immune system , cardiovascular system and reproductive system under specific conditions .Therefore , it is of important significance to reduce adverse effects of HPM radiation and improve the combat capability of troops via effective medical protection while doing well in physical protection .According to the mecha-nism and characteristics of microwave radiation damage effects , recent advances in microwave radiation protection are re-viewed in this article , hoping to facilitate research on safer and better drugs .

Objective: Our aim was to study the relationship between nitric oxide and ovarian neoplasm. The concentrationg of nitrite /nitrate (NO-2/NO-3),glutathione(GSH), and the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) were detected in ovarian tissues.Methods:A modified copper-coated cadium reduction method was used to detect NO-2/NO-3. Dithio-bis-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB) method was used to detect the GSH concentration. The activity of SOD was measured by an ultramicroanalytic and rapid assay. All the data were obtained from 21 patients with ovarian neoplasm(10 with benign ovarian neoplasms,and 11 with ovarian carcinomas). This paper is concerned with the analysis of matched case-control studies. The carcinoma tissues and normal ovarian tissues were obtained from the same patient. We performed Paired-Samples t test to determine whether the NO-2/NO-3,GSH and the activity of SOD in carcinomas and normal ovarian tissues have significantly difference. Results:No significant difference for the concentration of NO-2/NO-3,GSH and activity of SOD was shown in the normal ovarian tissues and neoplasm tissues of benign neoplasm . The concentrations of GSH and activity of SOD in normal ovarian tissues were significantly higher than ovarian carcinomas(P<0.05). No significant difference of concentration of NO-2/NO-3 was shown in normal ovary and ovarian carcinomas. In the normal tissues of all patients, NO-2/NO-3 was positively correlated with GSH and SOD. Glutathione was positively correlated with SOD. In the ovarian neoplasms, there was no significant correlation between NO-2/NO-3 and GSH, NO-2/NO-3 and SOD,GSH and SOD.Conclusion: Nitric oxide and the other matters which attend the course of its metastasis may closely related to ovary neoplasms.

0.05). Conclusion The method is simple,accurate,reliable,less-reagent used and little inference of other metal ions. It is suitable for rapid determination of lead in the fresh marine products.

Objective To investigate the ex pr ession of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) and carcinoembryanic antigen (CEA) and its clinical significance in patients with lung cancer. Meth ods The pre-treatment serum from 134 patients with lung cancer from 1998 to 2002 were analyzed for the SCC-Ag level and CEA level by IMX, and the correlation of the SCC-Ag level and CEA level with the clinicopathologic charac teristics were also detected. Results Significant correlations were found between the pre -treatment SCC-Ag level, and CEA level and the pathologic classification, clin ical stage, the positive rate of diagnosing lung cancer was raised by combined a ssay with serum SCC-Ag and CEA. Conclusion Pre-treatment and after-treatment measurement of serum SCC-Ag level and CEA level can be used for diagnosis, prediction of pr ognosis and monitor of after-treatment recurrence in patients with lung cancer.

AIM:Cytochrome P450 epoxygenase 2J2 and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids ( EETs) are known to protect against cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, which involve activation of 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase ( AMPK) and Akt.Although the functional roles of AMPK and Akt are well established , the significance of crosstalk between them in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and anti -hy-pertrophy of CYP2J2 and EETs remains unclear .Here, we investigated whether CYP 2J2 and its metabolites EETs protected against cardiac hypertrophy by activating AMPKα2 and Akt1.Moreover, we tested whether EETs enhanced crosstalk between AMPKα2 and phosphorylated Akt1 ( p-Akt1), and stimulated the nuclear translocation of p-Akt1, to exert their anti-hypertrophic effects. METHODS:The recombinant rAAV9 vector was coupled to CYP2J2 and the rAAV9-CYP2J2 construct was injected into the caudal vein of AMPKα2-/-and littermate control mice .AMPKα2 -/-and littermate control mice that overexpressed CYP 2J2 in heart were treated with angiotensin II (Ang II) for 2 weeks.Hemodynamic and cardiac functions were also evaluated after 14 days of infusion with Ang II or saline.RESULTS:Interestingly, the overexpression of CYP2J2 suppressed cardiac hypertrophy , including decreased heart size, cross sectional area of cardiomyocytes , markers of cardiac hypertrophy [ brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP) ,β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) and skeletal muscle α-actin (ACTA1)] and increased levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in the heart tissue and plasma of wild-type mice but not AMPKα2 -/-mice.Measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening showed that CYP2J2 overexpression prevented Ang II-induced ventricular systolic dysfunction in mice .Moreover, an Ang II-induced reduction in cardiac function, demonstrated by decreased dp/dtmax and dp/dtmin, was prevented by overexpression of CYP2J2.Mechanistically, the CYP2J2 metabolites 11,12-EET activated AMPKα2 to induce the nuclear translocation of p-Akt1, which increased production of ANP and thereby inhibited the development of cardiac hypertrophy .Furthermore , by co-immunoprecipitation analysis , we found that full-length Akt1 and an Akt1 fragment containing amino acids 150-408, which constitute the protein kinase domain , but not other frag-ments of Akt1, bind to the AMPKγ1 subunit.AMPKα2β2γ1 and p-Akt1 interact through the direct binding of the AMPKγ1 subunit to the Akt1 protein kinase domain.This interaction was enhanced by 11,12-EET.CONCLUSION:Our studies reveal a novel mechanism in which CYP2J2 and EETs enhanced Akt1 nuclear translocation through interaction with AMPKα2β2γ1 and protect against cardiac hy-pertrophy and suggest that overexpression of CYP 2J2 might have clinical potential to suppress cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure .

Objective To explore the relationship between CD+4CDhigh25CDlow127 Treg level of peripheral blood and NHL.Methods The level of peripheral blood CD+4CDhigh25CDlow127 Treg of 123 newly diagnosed NHL and 41 healthy adults were test by flow cytometry.Results The average peripheral blood CD+4CDhigh25CDlow127 Treg level were 5.0 ％ (2.7 ％) and 7.2 ％(3.8 ％) in healthy adults and newly diagnosed NHL patients,respectively.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(Z=-2.816 P=0.001 ).The peripheral blood Treg level was significantly higher in the male NHL patients than that in the female (7.4％ vs 6.1％,Z=- 2.729,P=0.006).The peripheral blood Treg level was significantly higher in elevated LDH patients than that in normal LDH patients(7.8％ vs 7.0％,Z=-2.623 P=0.008).The peripheral blood Treg level was significantly higher in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ patients than that in stage Ⅰ -Ⅱ patients (7.3％ vs 5.9％,Z=-2.057 P=0.04). There was no significant relationship between peripheral blood Treg level and age, IPI score,extranodal involvement,performance status,bulky disease,pathologic subtype or B symptom (P ＞0.05).Conclusions NHL patients are in an immunosuppresive statue.Patients of male,with inreased LDH level or in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ have higher peripheral blood CD+4CDhigh25CDlow127 Treg level.

Objective:To investigate the range of normal value of total nasal cavity volume(NV)and total na-sopharyngeal cavity volume (NPV)of healthy adults. Method: Six hundred and fifty-nine healthy adults andeighty-two adults of chronic rhinitis were measured with acoustic rhinometry. Result:The range of NV was29. 922～37. 481 cm3 and NPV was 29. 369～44. 159 cm3. Comparing healthy adults with adults of chronic rhini-tis,there was a significant difference in NV. Conclusion:Acoustic rhinometry suited for objective assessment ofthe nasal airways in adults. It was demonstrated that these data could provide available information for the studyof nasal physiology and pathophysiology,as well as for the diagnosis and judgement of therapeutic effectiveness ofnasal diseases.

Objective To assess the right ventricular (RV) performance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (2-DM) by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI),and to explore the clinical value of RV longitudinal strain and strain rate.Methods Thirty-seven patients with 2-DM only and thirtyone patients coexisting diabetes and hypertension (DM + HTN) were studied.Thirty-nine healthy age matched persons served as control subjects.In each patient a conventional two-dimensional echocardiography was performed and also an echocardiographic study with strain/strain rate imaging was studied.Analysis of RV longitudinal systolic strain were obtained in the apical four-chamber view of the RV for the assessment of the RV free wall(F-PLSS),interventricular septum (S-PLSS) and the global RV wall (G-PLSS).The entire RV longitudinal peak systolic strain rate (G-SRs),peak early-diastolic strain rate (G-SRe) and peak late-diastolic strain rate (G-SRa) were performed in the apical four-chamber view.Results Compared with controls,F-PLSS,S-PLSS,G-PLSS,G-SRs and G-SRe were decreased in 2-DM and DM + HTN (all P ＜0.01),with lower values in DM + HTN (P ＜0.05).In the patients coexisting diabetes and hypertension,G-SRa was significantly lower than those in the control group (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with 2-DM,this difference was not significant in controls and DM + HTN (P ＞0.05).Conclusions No matte the patients of 2-DM with or without hypertension,the early changes of RV dysfunction can be found by 2D-STI.Patients coexisting diabetes and hypertension may have worse RV dysfunction.

Objective To investigate the influence of ursolic acid on vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF) , cycloxygen-ase-2 (COX-2), and matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2) expressed in the mouse retinal ischemic model , and to explore the mecha-nisms of anti-angiogenesis.Methods Sixty 7-day clean-class C57BL/6J mice were divided randomly into 6 groups [ n =10 mice (20 eyes) per group]:blank control, model control (PBS), positive control (triamcinolone), and ursolic acid (UA) intervention (low-dose, medium-dose, and high-dose).Mice in the blank control group were raised in air , and mice in other groups in(75%±2%)O2 high-oxygen environment for 5 consecutive days .Mice in the model control group and breastfeeding mice were put back in air environ-ment (21%O2 ) on the 12th day after the new-born mice to induce the generation of retinal neovascularization .When models were suc-cessful, the drug treatments were applied immediately to the corresponding groups , with injection of 3μl of sterile PBS in model control group, 3 μl of 1.5, 3.00 and 6.0 μg UA in UA intervention group, and 3 μl of triamcinolone (1 ml∶40 mg) in positive control group, respectively.All mice were killed after overdose anesthesia on the 17th day.Their eyeballs were made into samples and retinal tissue pathological sections with H-E dying method.The positive expressions of VEGF , COX-2, and MMP-2 were detected with immu-nohistochemical method .The fresh retinal tissue homogenate was prepared to detect the protein expressions of VEGF , COX-2, and MMP-2 in retinal tissue with western blot method ,and mRNA expressions of VEGF , COX-2, and MMP-2 were detected with real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR) .Results According to protein and mRNA expressions of VEGF , COX-2,and MMP-2 in retinal tissue among six groups , protein expressions of VEGF , COX-2, and MMP-2 in model group were significantly higher than those in blank group ( P <0.05 ) .Each protein expression in the high UA intervention group was significantly lower than that in the model group ( P <0.05 ) .Each protein expression in the high UA intervention group was not significantly different from that in the positive group ( P >0.05 ) .Each protein expression in the high UA intervention group was significantly lower than that in the low UA intervention group( P <0.05).Conclusions UA inhibited expressions of VEGF, COX-2, and MMP-2 in retinal ischemia model .UA also played an inhibitory role in the formation of neovascularization , and this role was positively correlated with UA dose .