Objective To investigate the effect of midazolam as premedication on stress response in patients undergoing cervical plexus block.Methods Sixty female patients undergoing selective thyroid surgery were equally randomized into groups of A and B.The patients in group A were intramuscularly injected midazolam 0.08 mg/kg before cervical plexus block and those in group B were not as the controls.Cervical plexus block was performed with 20 ml mixeture of 1% lidocaine and 0.25% ropivacaine 20 min later.BP and HR were recorded,rate-systolic pressure product (RPP) was calculated,and serum glucose(Glu),cortisol (Cor) and angiotensin Ⅱ (AT-Ⅱ) were detected before enter(T_0),before cervical plexus block(T_1),at 5 min(T_2),15 min(T_3) and 25 min(T_4) after cervical plexus block injection.Results In group B BP,HR,RPP,Glu,Cor and AT-Ⅱ all higher at T_1-T_4 than those at T_0 BP,HR,RPP,Glu,Cor and AT-Ⅱ were all lower in group A than those in group B at T_1-T_4 (P<0.05).Conclusion Intramuscularly premedication with midazolam is effective in reducing stress response in patients undergoing cervical plexus block.

Objective To assess the efficacy of topical application of Ephedrine and furacilin nasal drops combined with tetracaine in reducing complications of pack removal after nasal surgery.Methods 81caseshaving un-dergone nasal septum surgery were randomly divided into the experimental group and control group: the former were treated with Ephedrine and furacilin nasal drops combined with tetracaine and the blank control group.The occur-rence of complications at removing nasal fillers after nasal surgery was assessed.Results The hemorrhage and pain in the experimental group were significantly less than those in the blank control group (p <0.05).Conclusion top-ical application of Ephedrine and furacilin nasal drops combined with tetracaineis an effective method for reducing the pains of pack removal after nasal surgery.

0.05). The amount of daily body weight gain in early minimal feeding group [(20.8?7.0)g/d] was higher than other groups (P0.05); The incidence of complications (apnea, vomit, abdominal distension, gastrorrhagia) was lower than in gastrogavage group (P0.05). Following all the patients when they were eighteen months old, there was respectively one cerebral palsy in the gastrogavage group and TPN group, and one mental retardation in TPN group. Conclusions Early minimal feeding and early sucking up could reduce the occurrence of feeding complications,shorten the length of hospitalization and reduce the incidence of sequelae in VLBWI.

Objective:To investigate the changes and clinical implications of serum procalcitonin in exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods:We have evaluated PCT measurement in 45 patients with an exacerbation of COPD(group A) and 25 patients with stable COPD(group B),quantitative sputum culture was performed,too.PPMs were only regarded as significant if they reached a growth of ≥10~7cfu/mL,indicating the presence of bacterial infection.Results:In patients with an exacerbation,15 patients,sputum yielded a high(≥10~7cfu/mL) bacterial load(group A_1),30 patients,sputum yielded a low(0.05).Using a cut-off point of 0.155?g/L for PCT,the sensitivities and specificities for bacterial infection in patients with an exacerbation of COPD were 93.3% and 60% respectively.Conclusion: Serum procalcitonin measurements in patients of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease play a role in the diagnosis of bacterial infection.

Malignant mesothelioma(MM) is a rare but highly invasive carcinoma associated with asbestos exposure.Its incidence is in rising trend and most cases occur in pleura and peritoneum.The majority of patients diagnosed at late stage with poor prognosis that the median overall survival is only 12 months.Accurate diagnosis depends on the histopathology combined with immunohistochemistry.At present, the treatment of MM is mainly based on the tumor reduction or resection surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.The potential molecular target needs to be further investigated.In this paper, we summary the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of MM, which will benefit the diagnosis and treatment of MM in China.

Objective To investigate the effects of NB-UVB on the expression of Gadd45α as well as cell apoptosis and cycle of human HaCaT keratinocytes.Methods Cultured HaCaT cells were exposed to various doses (100,200,400 mJ/cm2)of NB-UVB followed by an additional culture of 6,12 and 24 hours,respectively.Reverse transcription PCR and Western blot were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of Gadd45α respectively in HaCaT cells,cell counting kit 8 (CCK8)to measure the proliferation of cells,and flow cytometry to determine the cell cycle distribution of HaCaT cells before and after the exposure to NB-UVB.Results Gadd45α was expressed in HaCaT cells.After exposure to NB-UVB of the three doses,the mRNA and protein levels of Gadd45α increased at 6 hours and 12 hours,but declined at 24 hours,and significant changes were observed in HaCaT cells at the three time points after exposure to NB-UVB of the three doses (all P<0.05).The Gadd45α/β-actin mRNA ratio was 1.4360±0.6551.1.8633±0.0979,1.9266±0.1724 in HaCaT cells 12 hours after irradiation to NB-UVB of 100,200 and 400 mJ/cm2,respectively,significantly higher than that in unirradiated cells(0.6000±0.1276,all P<0.05).Also,increased Gadd45α/β-actin protein ratio was noted in HaCaT cells 12 hours after irradiation to NB-UVB of 100,200 and 400 mJ/cm2 compared with unirradiated cells (0.0773±0.0005,0.1936±0.0015,0.2373±0.0015 vs.0.0290±0.0010,all P<0.05).NB-UVB inhibited the proliferation of HaCaT cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner.Flow cytometry showed that irradiated HaCaT cells were blocked in G2 phase of the cell cycle.and the percentage of HaCaT cells in G2 phase was 13.53%±1.03%,17.77%±2.25%,30.03%±4.29%afler exposure to NB-UVB of 100,200 and 400 mJ/cm2,respectively,compared to 9.24%±0.97%in unirradiated cells (all P<0.05).Conclusions The expression of Gadd45α is increased in HaCaT cells after exposure to NB-UVB,and Gadd45α may be involved in the NB-UVB-induced suprression of cell proliferation of and cell cycle arrest in HaCaT cells.

Objective To evaluate left ventricular systolic synchronicity in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy by V-plane imaging and compare with clinical commonly used tissue Doppler imaging (TDI),evaluate the relevance and consistency between these two parameters.Methods 20 patients diagnosed with DCM and 20 healthy controls were enrolled,2D images,V-plane imaging and TDI waveform were acquired.Time to peak velocity of left ventricular 12 segments were measured by TDI and the standard deviation (TDI_SD) were calculated.Displacement time to peak were measured by V-plane and the standard deviation (V-plane_SD) were calculated.Results Compared with control group,TDI_SD and V-plane_SD increased significantly (P ＜ 0.01),TDI time to peak increased and V-plane time to peak decreased significantly(P ＜0.01).In the two group,12 segment time to peak measured by V-plane were significantly higher than TDI(P ＜ 0.01).There was a significant correlation between TDI_SD and V-plane_SD (r =0.925,P ＜0.001).Bland-Altman plot showed that 95％ plots of ratio of TDI_SD and V-plane_SD were among limits of agreement,which was (0.50,1.36).Conclusions Left ventricular systolic synchronicity in DCM patients can be observed by V-plane imaging.V-plane has significant relevance and consistency with TDI,and can overcome the limitations of TDI that 12 segments can not be displayed in the same cardiac cycle.

ObjectiveTo detect the mutation of GJB2 gene in a Chinese family with Vohwinkel syndrome.MethodsClinical data were collected from 5 patients with Vohwinkel syndrome in a family,and blood samples were obtained from the 5 patients and 4 unaffected individuals in the family as well as from 100 normal human controls.Genomic DNA was extracted and subjected to PCR for the amplification of the entire encoding and flanking sequences of GJB2 gene(1015 bp) followed by bidirectional sequencing with the ABI PRISM 3730 automatic DNA sequencer.Finally,sequence alignment was carried out by using the software Sequencher 4.10.1 Demo.ResultsA heterozygous missense mutation 196G→C in the GJB2 gene,which resulted in the substitution of aspartic acid by histidine at codon 66 (D66H) in the first extracellular domain of the protein,was observed in all the patients of this family,but in none of the 4 unaffected individuals in this family or the 100 normal human controls.ConclusionThe D66H missense mutation in the GJB2 gene may contribute to the occurrence of Vohwinkel syndrome in Chinese Han population.

Objective To optimize the concentration of a microRNA-21 (miR-21) inhibitor and a miR-494 mimic for the transfection of A375 human melanoma cells,and to estimate the effect of the miR-21 inbihitor and miR-494 mimic on the proliferation of A375 cells.Methods A miR-21 inbihitor and a miR-494 mimic were designed and constructed.To optimize the concentration of the miR-21 inbihitor and miR-494 mimic for transfection,six concentrations (70-250 nmol/L) of the inbihitor and mimic were transfected into A375 cells separately by using LipofectamineTM2000.Then,quantitative fluorescence-based PCR was performed to determine the expression of miR-21 and miR-494 in A375 cells.Some A375 cells were classified into five groups:Mock blank control group remaining untransfected,miR-21 inhibitor group transfected with the miR-21 inhibitor,miR-21 control group transfected with the miR-21 inhibitor negative control,miR-494 mimic group transfected with the miR-494 mimic,and miR-494 control group transfected with the miR-494 mimic negative control.Mter another 48-hour culture,the cells were collected for the analysis of cell apoptosis and cycle by using flow cytometry.Meanwhile,Cy5-labelled miR-494 mimic negative control was transfected into A375 cells for the evaluation of the transfection efficiency by using an inverted fluorescence microscope.Results miRNAs were successfully extracted from A375 cells.As quantitative PCR revealed,the A375 cells transfected with the miR-21 inhibitor at 120 nmol/L showed the lowest expression level (2-△△Ct) of miR-21 (average:0.80; range:0.65-0.92),and those transfected with the miR494 mimic at 250 nmol/L displayed the highest expression level of miR-494 (average:126.82; range:111.52-144.22).The transfection efficiency in A375 cells was higher than 90％.Compared with the corresponding negative control groups,the miR-21 inhibitor group and miR-494 mimic group showed increased apoptosis rate ((27.74 ± 1.39)％ vs.(12.93 ± 0.65)％,(34.30 ± 2.35)％ vs.(15.54 ± 1.02)％,both P ＜ 0.01),percentage of G1-phase cells ((61.61 ± 3.25)％ vs.(50.34 ± 5.62)％,(61.05 ± 3.17)％ vs.(49.95 ± 2.58)％,both P＜ 0.05),but decreased proliferation index ((38.39 ± 3.25)％ vs.(49.66 ± 5.62) ％,(38.95 ± 3.17)％ vs.(50.05 ± 2.58)％,both P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Both the miR-21 inhibitor and miR-494 mimic can promote the G1-phase arrest and apoptosis in A375 cells,and miR-21 may act as a protooncogene accelerating the proliferation of A375 cells,while miR-494 may founction as a tumor suppressor inhibiting the proliferation of A375 cells.

Objective To confirm the diagnosis and to localize the pathogenic gene of ectodermal dysplasia in a family SUffering from only hair and nail abnormalities.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 7 affected patients and 15 unafiected individuals in the family.Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples by routine phenol-chloroform methods.The whole coding regions of candidate genes K16,K17,K6a,K6b and GJB6 were amplified by PCR followed by direct sequencing.Then,the gene mutation was further confirmed at mRNA level by RT-PCR.ResultsA heterozygous missense mutation 3 1G→A in the GJB6 gene.which leads to the substitution of glycine by arginine at codon 11(G11R)on the N-terminal of the protein,was detected in all the patients.but in none of the 15 normal individuals in this family.The mutation was also confirmed in the CDNA originating from the proband's skin biopsy.Conelusionn A missense mutation G31A.which has been shown previously to cause hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia(HED),is localized in the GJB6 gene of patients in this family.