Abortion, Missed ; chemically induced ; Adult ; Carbon Disulfide ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Guilingji Capsule (GC) on the fertility, liver functions, and serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of adult male SD rats exposed by 900 MHz cell phone.

METHODSTotally 18 adult male SD rats and 36 adult female rats in child-bearing period were selected and randomly divided into three groups according to weight equilibrium principle, i.e., the normal group, the radiated group, and the GC group, 6 males and 12 females in each group. Male rats in the normal group and all female rats were not radiated. Male rats in the radiated group and the GC group received radiation for 4 h per day, lasting for 18 successive days. Rats in the GC group received GC suspension at the daily dose of 0. 15 g/kg by gastrogavage at the same time. Equal volume of normal saline was administrated to other male rats. Then male rats were mated with corresponding female rats from the 14th radiation night to the 18th radiation night in the ratio of 1:2. Male rats were killed following on the next morning of ending the radiation. Female rats were normally fed and then killed before delivery. The pregnant outcomes of female rats in responding groups (the rates of pregnancy and the number of death fetus, birth weight, body length, and tail length) were observed and compared. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transferase (AST), AST/ALT, and LDH levels of the male rats were detected by colorimetry. Histological and morphological changes of liver were observed by HE staining.

RESULTSCompared with the normal group, the pregnancy rates of female rats decreased and the number of death fetus increased, the serum LDH level obviously increased in the radiated group (P < 0.05). Serum levels of ALT, AST, and AST/ALT were no significantly changed in the radiated group. The hepatocyte nuclear atrophy and cytoplasm vacuolar degeneration appeared. Compared with the radiated group, the pregnancy rates increased, the number of death fetus dropped, and the serum level of LDH decreased in the GC group (P < 0.05). There was no obvious change in serum levels of ALT, AST, or AST/ALT. The hepatocyte nuclear atrophy and cytoplasm vacuolar degeneration were significantly attenuated. The histomorphological structures recovered to normal basically in the GC group.

CONCLUSIONSThe pregnancy rates could be decreased, the number of death fetus increased, histomorphological structures abnormal, and serum LDH level increased by exposure toy GSM 900 MHz cell phone. GC could prevent and treat the aforesaid lesion. But there was no statistical difference in serum ALT or AST levels.

Animals ; Cell Phone ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Fertility ; Lactate Dehydrogenases ; blood ; Liver ; drug effects ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Radiation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history, unique system and perfect technology, which has been used to prevent or treat a variety of diseases in the form of compound medicine. Recently, some of the active ingredients from Chinese medicine were found to have self-assembly properties, mainly through non-covalent interactions, including π-π stacking, electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bond and coordination interactions, etc. Carrier-free nanoparticles based on self-assembly of active ingredients from Chinese medicine could not only improve the solubility of insoluble active ingredients, but also the bioavailability. As nanocarriers, the natural active ingredients could exert synergistic therapeutic effects. The strategy of self-assembly without carrier is safer and almost non-toxic compared to the commonly used nanocarriers. In addition, some ingredients from Chinese medicine could coordinate with metal ions to form stable nanoparticles, which could be applied to photothermal therapy. In this paper, we summarized and analyzed the recent achievements of carrier-free nanoparticles based on self-assembly of active ingredients from Chinese medicine, and briefly outlined the future development of this kind of nanomedicine.

Objective To summarize the experience of identifying rash of the pediatric patients and improve the recognition rate of rash.Methods A total of 419 pediatric outpatients with rash were recruited.The characteristics of rash,accompanying symptoms,doctors diagnose and the status of identify triage wereanalyzed.Results The average accuracy of triage of rash Was 76.13%.11le accuracy of triage of rash in allersic skin diseases was 82.4% and in viral or bacterial infectious disases was 66.3%.The top five triage diseases were eczenma,acute urticaria,drug rash,chicken pox,hand,foot and mouth disease.Conclusions Since the pediatric patients'rash con be found in a vailety of diseases,triage nurses should carefully observe the performance and characteristics of the rash in order to prevent errors triage.

BACKGROUNDSeveral studies suggest that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) contributes to the delayed progression of ischemic brain damage. This study was designed to investigate whether COX-2 inhibition with parecoxib reduces focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

METHODSNinety male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups: the sham group, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) group and parecoxib group. The parecoxib group received 4 mg/kg of parecoxib intravenously via the vena dorsalis penis 15 minutes before ischemia and again at 12 hours after ischemia. The neurological deficit scores (NDSs) were evaluated at 24 and 72 hours after reperfusion. The rats then were euthanized. Brains were removed and processed for hematoxylin and eosin staining, Nissl staining, and measurements of high mobility group Box 1 protein (HMGB1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Infarct volume was assessed with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining.

RESULTSThe rats in the I/R group had lower NDSs (P < 0.05), larger infarct volume (P < 0.05), lower HMGB1 levels (P < 0.05), and higher TNF-α levels (P < 0.05) compared with those in the sham group. Parecoxib administration significantly improved NDSs, reduced infarct volume, and decreased HMGB1 and TNF-α levels (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPretreatment with intravenous parecoxib was neuroprotective. Its effects may be associated with the attenuation of inflammatory reaction and the inhibition of inflammatory mediators.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Injections, Intravenous ; Isoxazoles ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; prevention & control

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. Methods Forty-nine cTnI-negative patients with coronary artery disease who were documented by angiography [31 cases with ACS,18 cases with stable angina (SAP)], and 28 healthy persons were selected as controls. PAPP-A and hs-CRP were analysed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Circulating PAPP-A and ha-CRP levels were significandy higher in patients with ACS than those in patients with SAP and controls (P < 0.05). PAPP-A threshold value of 2.79 μg/ml identified patients who had ACS with a sensitivity of 81.0% and a specificity of 84.6%. PAPP-A levels were correlated with hs-CRP levels in patients with ACS (r = 0.418, P < 0.01). Conclusion PAPP-A is a strong candidate marker of ACS, especially to eTnl-negative patients.

Objective To investigate the effects of celecoxib combined with radiotherapy on apoptosis of CNE-2Z cell lines and the potential mechanisms.Methods Four groups were used,a control,celecoxib (25 μmol/L celecoxib) ,irradiation ( 8 Gy X ray) and celecoxib plus irradiation.The radiosensitising effect was detected by clone formation experiment.Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis rate of cells.The expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax were assessed by immunocytochemistry.Western blot was used to examine the expression of Caspase-3.Results Celecoxib enhanced the radiosensitivity of CNE-2Z cells.In experimental group,the mean surviving fraction and the mean lethal dose of CNE-2Z cells were 0.50 and 2.36 respectively.Compared with the irradiated group,there was significant differences between the two groups (P ＜ 0.01 ).Celecoxib combined with radiotherapy up-regulation the expression of Bax.The score of the expression of Bax in the control group and the experimental group were 1.221 ±0.116 and 2.758 ±0.256 respectively.Celecoxib combined with radiotherapy could inhibit the expression of the protein of Bcl-2.The score of the expression of Bcl-2 in the control group and the experimental group were 2.559 ± 0.144 and 1.253 ± 0.114 respectively,with significant differences ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Celecoxib combined with radiotherapy cound increase the apoptosis rate of tumor cells with significant differences ( F =7.63,P ＜ 0.01 ).Western blot showed that the expression of Caspase-3 was strengthened.Conclusion Celecoxib combined with radiotherapy could induce apoptosis and enhance the radiosensitivity of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cell lines.

OBJECTIVETo identify a novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele.

METHODSHLA typing was carried out with PCR-SSOP. Molecular cloning and DNA sequencing were used to identify the sequence of a potential novel allele and the difference between this new allele and other known alleles was analyzed.

RESULTSHLA genotyping of one sample gave different results. The sequencing results showed that the HLA B alleles of the proband were B*151101 and a novel allele. The nucleotide sequence of the novel allele was different from all other known B alleles. It had one nucleotide change from the closest matching allele B*460101 at nucleotide 527 (A to T) in exon 3, resulting in an amino acid change from E (GAG) to V (GTG) at codon 176.

CONCLUSIONA novel HLA B allele was identified and officially designated as HLA B*4609 by WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System in November, 2006.

Alleles ; Amino Acid Substitution ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; HLA Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

OBJECTIVETo establish two-dimensional electrophoresis profiles from human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissue and paired normal tumor-adjacent mucosa epithelia tissue, and to identify differential expression proteins.

METHODSThe total proteins of human laryngeal squamous carcinoma tissue and paired normal tumor-adjacent mucosa epithelia tissue were separated by immobilized pH gradient-based two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The differential expression proteins were analyzed using image analysis software, then identified using mass spectrometry and database searching.

RESULTSWell-resolved, reproducible 2-DE patterns of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent normal mucosa epithelial were obtained. Differential protein spots were defined as spots in 2-DE gels. Thirteen proteins were preliminarily identified, naming which 10 proteins were upregulated in laryngeal cancer tissue. Such as cofilin-1, nuclear body protein SP140, GRP94, HSP 90, GSTP1-1, superoxide dismutase [Mn], cyclophilin A, proteasome activator complex subunit 2, apolipoprotein A-I precursor, CaM-like protein and so on. There were 3 proteins downregulated in laryngeal cancer tissue, which were fatty acid-binding protein, calgranulin A and calgranulin B.

CONCLUSIONSThirteen proteins which are associated with the tumorigenesis of the laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were characterized. These extensive protein variations indicate that multiple protein molecules should be simultaneously targeted as an effective strategy to counter the disease. It is better for understanding of the oncogenesis and pathogenesis in a global way, which in turn is a basis-for the rational designs of diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; metabolism ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Proteomics ; methods

OBJECTIVETo identify and confirm a novel HLA allele.

METHODSA new human leukocyte antigen class I allele was found during routine HLA genotyping by polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) and sequencing-based typing (SBT).

RESULTSThe novel HLA-B*52 allele was identical to B*52:01:01 with an exception of one base substitution at position 583 of exon 3 where a C was changed to T resulting in codon 195 changed from CAC(H) to TAC(Y).

CONCLUSIONA new HLA class I allele, B*52:11, is identified, and is named officially by the WHO Nomenclature Committee.

Alleles ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Genotype ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA