OBJECTIVEThis study is about the in vivo antivirus effect of baicalin.

METHODAdopting in vivo experiment, we administered one group of mice 2 days before infected with influenza virus (A/FM/1/47) , while administer the other group with baicalin one day after infected, to observe the effect of baicalin in protecting and curing mice against influenza virus.

RESULTBaicalin can obviously prolong the survival time of mice infected with influenza virus (A/FM/1/47) (P <0.01), eliminate the influenza virus in lung, reduce the hemagglutination tite and infectivity in pulmo, and reverse mice's pneumonic pathological changes.

CONCLUSIONBaicalin can obviously counteract influenza virus.

Animals ; Antiviral Agents ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Flavonoids ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; drug effects ; Lung ; drug effects ; pathology ; virology ; Male ; Mice ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections ; drug therapy ; virology ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Pneumonia, Viral ; drug therapy ; virology ; Random Allocation ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To explore the effect of surgical treatment on primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgking lymphoma(NHL) in children.Methods Nine cases of clinical and follow-up data of primary gastrointestinal NHL were studied retrospectively to evaluate the effect of surgical treatment on primary gastrointestinal NHL in children.Results Seven cases were male and 2 cases were female.The mean age was(5.59?3.27)years old.The clinical manifestation included abdominal mass (7 cases),abdominal pain (5 cases),fever (2 cases),haematemesis and melena (2 cases),constipation (1 case) and paroxysmal abdominal pain with vomiting (1 case).Nine cases were diagnosed as primary gastrointestinal NHL,including 1 case of intussusception,1 case of acute appendicitis,2 cases of gastrointestinal obstruction,2 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding and 3 cases of abdominal mass.One case received the operation of intussusception reduction,tumor resection and intestinal anastomosis.One case received appendectomy.One case received the operation of tumor biopsy and transverse colon colostomy.Six cases received laparotomy.Six cases were diagnosed as Burkitt lymphoma.One case was anaplastic large cell lymphoma and 2 cases were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.One case was at stage Ⅰ,1 case was at stage ⅠE,2 cases were at stage Ⅱ,3 cases were at stage ⅡE and 2 cases were at stage Ⅲ.Nine patients had received operation.One case died after operation and 8 cases had received combined chemotherapy.The 1 and 3 years survival rates were 75.0% and 37.5%,respectively.Conclusions Acute abdomen is often the first symptom of primary gastrointestinal NHL in children and comprehensive surgical treatment is an effective procedure for it.

Objective To investigate the effects of intravitreous injection of conbercept for macular edema secondary to retinalvein occlusion(RVO) during 6 months period.Methods A retrospective clinical study.34 patients (34 eyes) were included in this study,who were diagnosed with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion by ophthalmologic examination,fundus photography,optical coherence tomography (OCT),fundus fluorescein angiography and other methods.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was examined using the international standard visual acuity chart,and the results were converted to the logMAR visual acuity.The average logMAR BCVA was 0.90 ± 0.68,and the mean macular central retinal thickness (CMT) was (672.27±227.51) μm before treatment.All subjects received intravitreal injection of 0.5 mg conbercept (0.05 ml) at the first visit.Injections were repeated based on the visual acuity changes and the OCT findings.34 eyes received 69 times of injection,the average number of injections was 2.03 ± 1.03.BCVA,OCT were examined before and after treatment using the same method.BCVA and CMT changes,drugs and treatments associated cardiac and cerebral vascular accident,intraocular pressure elevation,retinal tears,retinal detachment,endophthalmitis and other complications after treatment were observed.Linear correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between prognosis BCVA and baseline BCVA,correlation between prognosis BCVA and baseline CMT,and also correlation between BCVA and CMT at different time points before and after treatment.Results At 1 week and 1,2,3,6 months after treatment,the average logMAR BCVA was 0.65±0.61,0.56±0.61,0.46±0.55,0.56±0.71,0.44±0.48 respectively.During 1,2,3,6 months after treatment,the mean logMAR BCVA were improved with statistically significant difference (Z=34.029,47.294,41.338,43.603;P＜0.05),while 1 week after treatment showed no obvious improvement (Z=21.941,P＞0.05).At 1 week and 1,2,3,6 months after treatment,the average CMT was (285.89 ± 96.69),(256.65 ± 143.39),(278.68 ± 156.92),(290.11 ± 188.17),(217.15 ± 48.04) μm respectively.At 1 week and 1,2,3,6 months after treatment,the mean CMT were all decreased with statistically significant difference (Z=68.500,98.735,93.235,91.132,109.162;P＜0.05).There was a positive correlation between the prognosis visual acuity and preoperative visual acuity (r=0.682,P＜0.05).However,there was no correlation between the prognosis vision and the degree of macular edema before treatment (r=0.078,P＞0.05).Before and 3,6 months after treatment,BCVA was negatively correlated with CMT (r=0.491,0.416,0.386;P＜0.05),while there was no correlation in other time points (r =0.145,0.217,0.177;P＞ 0.05).Systemic adverse reactions and persistent intraocular pressure elevation,iatrogenic cataract,retinal detachment,retinal tear,endophthalmitis and ocular complications were never found in the follow-up period.Conclusion Intravitreal conbercept is a safe and effective approach for RVO,which can significantly improve visual acuity and reduce CMT.

OBJECTIVETo study the epidemiology of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infection in children and its relations with meteorological conditions in Suzhou.

METHODSamples obtained from 6655 children hospitalized with acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) during the period from 2006 to 2009, were tested for virus pathogens. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were obtained from the children according to a standard protocol and were tested for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza viruses (IFV) A and B, parainfluenza virus (PIV) types 1, 2, and 3 and adenovirus (ADV) with direct immunofluorescence assay. Samples were tested for hMPV with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Meteorological conditions including mean temperature, relative humidity, rainfall amount, sum of sunshine and mean wind velocity were collected monthly. The relationship between activity of the virus and meteorological conditions was analyzed by linear regression and stepwise regression analysis.

RESULTViral pathogens were identified in 32.2% of 6655 specimens. The positive rate of hMPV was 8.9%, RSV was 15.7%, IFV, PIV and ADV detection rates were less than that of hMPV. The annual positive rate of hMPV from 2006 to 2009 was 8.2%, 8.1%, 12.7%, 7.4% respectively (χ(2) = 33.23, P < 0.05). The hMPV positive rate of the four seasons was 11.6%, 7.6%, 4.7% and 11.7%, respectively, detection rate in winter and spring was significantly higher than those in summer and autumn (χ(2) = 74.67, P < 0.001). The positive rate of hMPV and the monthly mean temperature was moderately correlated (r = -0.43), and the monthly average rainfall (r = -0.29), monthly mean relative humidity (r = -0.27), monthly average sunshine duration (r = -0.11), the monthly average wind speed (r = -0.13) had low correlations.

CONCLUSIONhMPV was the second most common viral pathogen of acute respiratory tract infection in children in Suzhou, which prevailed predominantly in the winter and spring. Climatic factors, especially temperature and rainfall may affect the prevalence of hMPV.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Climate ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Metapneumovirus ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; virology ; Seasons

OBJECTIVETo analyze the prognostic factors affecting the disease-free survival in T1/T2N0M0-staged patients with squamous cell carcinoma of tongue and compare the effectiveness of different neck treatment modalities.

METHODS97 consecutive patients with early-staged squamous cell carcinoma of tongue were included in this study. The treatment and following-up records were reviewed retrospectively. Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the statistically significant prognostic factors in the 6 potential factors. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the disease-free survival and analyze the survival rate among the different levels, and log-rank method for comparison of the different distribution of the survival. A special focus was on the effectiveness of different neck treatment modalities.

RESULTST stage, treatment methods of primary tumor, the modalities of neck treatment and cell differentiation were statistically significant prognostic factors. The value of P and relative risk (RR) were P < 0.001, RR = 4.387; P = 0.04, RR = 0.496; P = 0.003, RR = 0.504; P < 0.001, RR = 2.620, respectively. The difference of disease-free survival was statistically significant among the different levels under the different factors.

CONCLUSIONThe disease-free survival was affected by neck treatment modalities remarkably in cN0 stage patients. Selected neck dissection together with adjuvant irradiation could decrease the recurrence risk by 49.6% according to the results of this study. TNM stage system could describe the characteristics of the patients with early-staged squamous cell carcinoma of tongue reasonably.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Staging ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Tongue Neoplasms

OBJECTIVETo detect plasma concentrations of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) and tissue factor (TF) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and explore their clinical significance in ALL.

METHODSThirty-three children with newly diagnosed ALL, including 18 cases of low risk, 7 cases of moderate risk and 8 cases of high risk, were enrolled in this study. Twenty-five patients received a complete remission and 8 cases were in non-remission after conventional remission induction chemotherapy. Plasma concentrations of VEGF and TF in the patients were detected using ELISA before and after treatment. Sixteen healthy children served as normal control group.

RESULTSPlasma concentrations of VEGF and TF in ALL patients before treatment were significantly higher than those in normal controls (P < 0.01). Plasma concentrations of VEGF and TF in the non-remission group before treatment were significantly higher than those in the remission group (P < 0.05) and the control group (P < 0.01). After treatment the plasma concentrations of VEGF and TF in the non-remission group were not significantly reduced and higher than those in the remission and the control groups (P < 0.01). There were significant differences in plasma concentrations of VEGF and TF among the low-risk, moderate-risk and high-risk groups before and after treatment (P < 0.05). Plasma concentrations of VEGF and TF in the high risk group were not significantly reduced after treatment and higher than those in the control group (P < 0.01). A linear correlation was noted between plasma VEGF and TF concentrations in ALL patients before treatment (r=0.50, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSVEGF and TF play an important role in the development of ALL and may be useful to the evaluation of the severity and the outcome in ALL.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; etiology ; Thromboplastin ; analysis ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood

In this study, Streptomyces avermitilis Bjbm0006 which produces four avermectin B components was used as an original test strain. A replacement plasmid containing a gene cluster bkdAB (branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase gene) involved in the biosynthesis of avermectin B in S. avermitilis Bjbm0006 was constructed by means of PCR technique and then named as pHJ5821 (pHZ1358::bkdAB&erm). A recombinant strain Bjbm5821 was obtained after the gene cluster was interrupted by double crossover. This strain was tested in laboratory conditions and analysed by PCR using the total DNA as template. The HPLC analysis showed that the strain Bjbm5821 synthesized the same 'a' components Bla and B2a as the original strain did. However, It lost the ability for the production of 'b'components for example B1b and B2b. A novel compound was detected in fermentation products. The results of present study suggests that the production of gene cluster bkdAB may play a main role similar to alpha-ketoisovaleric acid dehydrogenase in the pathway of avermectin synthesis.
3-Methyl-2-Oxobutanoate Dehydrogenase (Lipoamide) ; genetics ; Ivermectin ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Streptomyces ; enzymology ; genetics

Objective To observe the effect ofberberine chloride on microglia activation and expression of peroxisome prolifcrator-activated receptor gamma(PPAR γ)in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease(AD).Methods Eighteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into normal control,β-amyloid 4o(Aβ40)and Aβ40+berberine chloride groups(n=6).Rat models of AD were established by injection of Aβ40(5 μg)into the bilateral hippocampus,and in Aβ40+berberine chloride group,berberine chloride(50 mg/kg)was given intragastrically once daily for 14 days.Immunohistochemistry,real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to detect the expressions of CD11b and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ(PPAR γ)in the rats.Results The numbers of CD11b positive cells were 74.0±13.4,121.5±19.9 in the Aβ40 and Aβ40+berberine chloride groups,respectively,and the relative copy numbers of CD11b mRNA 4.08±2.43,5.52±1.83,which were significantly increased compared those with normal control group.The numbers of PPARγ positive cells were 42.5+5.6,31.7±8.7,the relative copy numbers of PPARγ mRNA 16.3±13.5,10.8±7.5,and the relative expression of PPARγ protein 0.18±0.08,0.09±0.05,which were significantly decreased compared those with normal control group(93.2±11.3,40.6±17.1,0.31±0.11).Berberine further increased CD11b expression and decreased PPARγ expression in the hippocampus.Conclusion Berberine can increase microglia activation in AD rats by inhibiting the expression of PPARγ.

Objective To explore the effect of berberine chloride on the expression of insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) in the rat models with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods Eighteen adult male SD rats, weighting 220-250 g, were randomly divided into normal control group, Aβ1-40 group and Aβ40+berberine chloride group (n=6). The rat models with AD were established by stereotactically injecting condensed Aβ1-40 (5 μg) into the bilateral hippocampus of rats. The rats in the Aβ1-40+berberine chloride group were given berberine chloride (50 mg/kg) by intragastric administration once daily for 14 d. The expressions of IDE were assayed by real time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) and Western blotting. Results The relative quantity of mRNA expression of IDE was (34.2±6.7) in the Aβ1-40+berberine group, which was significantly increased as compared with that in the Aβ1-40 group (45.7±12.8) and normal control group (23.4±11.3, P＜0.05). The relative quantity of protein expression of IDE was (0.61 ±0.05) in the Aββ1-40+berberine group, which was significantly increased as compared with that in the Aβ1-40group (0.46±0.07) and the normal control group (0.23±0.03, P＜0.05). Conclusion The injection of Aβ1-40 (5 μg) in the hippocampus can highly increase the expressions of IDE, thus resulting in the increase effect of Aβ clearance.

Objective To compare the image quality of chest low dose CT (LDCT) using automatic exposure control (AEC) and constant current control (CCC) and explore a more reasonable scanning protocol. Methods Two hundred and eighty participants were examined with 64 CT scanner at 7 centers in China. All were divided into 4 groups. Two groups underwent LDCT using AEC with standard deviation set at 25 (A1) and 30 (A2) respectively and the tube current ranged from 10 mA to 80 mA. The other two groups underwent LDCT using CCC with tube current set at 40 mA (C1) and 50 mA (C2) respectively. The axial and MPR images were evaluated by two radiologists who were blinded to the scanning protocols.The radiation dose, noise and the image quality of the 4 groups were compared and analyzed statistically.Differences of radiation dose and noise among groups were determined with variance analysis and t test,image quality with Mann-Whitney test and the consistency of diagnosis with Kappa test. Results There was a significant lower DLP in AEC group than in CCC group [(82.62±40.31)vs ( 110.81±18.21) mGy·cm (F =56. 88 ,P ＜ 0. 01 )], whereas no significant difference was observed between group A2 and group A1 0. 05]. The noisy of AEC group was higher than that of CCC group both on lung window(41.50±9.58 vs 40.86±7.03) and mediastinum window (41.19±7.83 vs 40.92±9.89), but there was no significant difference( Flung =0.835, P=0.476, Fmediastinum =1.910, P=0.128).The quality score of axial image in AEC group was higher than that in CCC group (superior margin of the brachiocephalic vein level: 4.49±0.56 vs4.38±0.64,superior margin of the aortic arch: 4.86±0.23 vs 4.81±0.32,the right superior lobar bronchus Level:4.87±0.27 vs 4. 84 ± 0. 22, the right middle lobar bronchus Level: 4.90±0.25 vs 4.88±0.21) except on the right inferior pulmonary vein level(4. 92 ±0. 25 vs 4. 93 ±0. 17) and superior margin of the left diaphragmatic dome level (4. 91±0.27 vs 4.93±0.22) on lung window, but no significant differences (F=0.076-1.748, P＞0.05) were observed. A significant higher score in AEC group was observed on mediastinum window compared with CCC group on superior margin of brachiocephalic vein level (2.57±0.77 vs 2. 46 ± 0. 59, F = 8. 459, P ＜ 0. 05 ), however, the score of AEC group was lower than that of CCC group on other levels without significant differences (superior margin of the aortic arch:3.36 ±0. 63 vs 3.45 ±0. 60,the right superior lobar bronchus level: 3.94 ±0. 56 vs 3. 95 ±0. 51 ,the right middle lobar bronchus Level: 3.80 ±0. 58 vs 3. 87 ±0. 50,the right inferior pulmonary vein level: 3.72 ±0. 56 vs 3.78 ±0. 53, superior margin of the left diaphragmatic dome level: 3.58 ± 0.63 vs 3.68±0.56,F=0.083-3.380,P ＞ 0.05 ). The MPR image quality of AEC group was better than that of CCC group both on lung window and mediastinum window (Zlung =-2.258, Zmedlastinum=-1.330, P＞0.05). For all participants including the underweighted group, the normal group and the overweighted group, the image quality of A1 group was better than that of A2 group without significant differences (the underweighted group: Zlung=0.000, P=1.000, Zmedastinum= 0.000, P=1.000;the normal group: Zlung =-0.062, P=0.950, Zmediastinum =-0.746, P = 0.456; the overweighted group: Zlung = - 1.177, P = 0.239,Zmediastinum =-1.715, P=0.144) both on lung and mediastinum windows, and for the higher BMI participants, a better image quality was obtained in A1 group than in A2 group on the mediastinum window (Z = -1. 715, P = 0. 144). Conclusions The total radiation exposure dose of AEC group is significantly lower than that of CCC group, but no statistical significant differences are observed between both groups in image quality and noise level. The AEC technique is highly recommended in thoracic LDCT scan for screening program, and the SD25 ( SD value = 25) scan protocol is suggested for higher BMI population while the SD30 (SD value = 30) scan protocol for lower BMI population.