Objective To identify the model parameters of surface Electromyography (sEMG) by comparison between simulated and recorded signals. Methods A physiological model of sEMG signal was established basing on several logical hypothetical conditions, such as motor unit action potentials (MUAP), motor unit recruitment and firing behavior caused by excitation, architecture of volume conductor and other simulated factors. According to the matched shapes between the simulated and recorded sEMG signals, a group of model parameters was obtained; according to the similar power spectrum variations of real sEMG signals, decreased muscle fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) was applied to simulate the sEMG signals of the fatigued muscle. Results The experimental results showed that the simulated superimposed MUAP shapes could be matched with the recorded MUAPs satisfactorily by adjusting some proper physiological parameters of the model. When the MFCV of each fiber was assumed to decrease, the mean and median frequency (MNF, MDF) of the simulated sEMG signals declined, and this phenomenon was very similar to that of the recorded sEMG signals and could be used to interpret the muscle fatigue process. Conclusion This model provides an effective approach to simulate real sEMG signals, and the simulated signals can also be used to help the analysis of recorded sEMG signals.

Objective To investigate the value of Habib 4X in hepatic resection. Methods The clinical outcome of 21 patients with liver disease who received liver resection at the Tianjin Third Central Hospital from November 2009 to April 2010 were retrospectively evaluated. All the operations were carried out by using Habib 4X. Results All patients received hepatectomy, including right hepatectomy in three patients, left hepatectomy in one patient, multiple segmentectomy in nine patients, single segmentectomy in seven patients and partial liver resection in one patient. All tumors were reseeted completely. The mean operation time was (50±25) minutes and the mean blood loss was(129±117)ml. No patient was transferred to ICU. Three patients were complicated with bile leakage, one with lymphatic leakage and four with pleural effusion, and they were cured by non-surgical treatment. There were no patients with postoperative hemorrhage, incision infection or hepatic failure. No mortality was observed. The mean postoperative hospital stay was(19±14)days. Conclusions Radiofrequency energy was applied along the margins of the tumor to create zones of necrosis before resection with a scalpel, offering hepatobiliary surgeons an additional method for performing liver resections with minimal blood loss, low morbidity and mortality rates. As for malignant tumors, minor or major liver resection assisted by Habib 4X is safe, and it can reduce the chance of positive incisal margin.

OBJECTIVETo observe the influences of FVP1 on both curative and negative effects of CTX.

METHODThe present study included two parts of experiments. In the part 1, 0.2 mL of 1 x 10(7) mL(-1) of S180 cells were inoculated in the subcutaneous layer of the right armpit of mice. All the mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group, in which mice were given with normal saline in 10 consecutive days, CTX group, in which mice were injected with 30 mg of CTX in the first and third days and saline in the other 8 days during the 10 consecutive days of treatment, and FVP1 and CTX group, in which the mice were injected with 30 mg x kg(-1) of CTX in the first and third days and FVP1 at 10 mg x kg(-1) in all 10 consecutive days of treatment. After above 10-day treatment , all the mice were killed and the tumor body was taken out and weighed to calculate the inhibiting rates on tumor. In the part 2 of experiments all the mice were divided into 3 groups: Normal control group, in which mice were not treated with any drugs, CTX-induced model group of inhibiting immune system, in which mice were injected with CTX at dose of 10 mg x kg(-1) in first two days and saline in the following 7 days; and small-, meddle-and large-dosage of FVP1 groups, in which mice were injected with CTX at the same dose as above in first two days and FVP1 intraperitoneally at 5, 10 and 20 mg x kg(-1) respectively in the following 7 days. CTX group was regarded as the control model. After the treatment, the peripheral white cells, thymus index, spleen index, the phagocytic power of macrophage of abdominal cavity, lymphocyte trastation rate and the activity of NK cell were detected.

RESULT(DFVP1 plus small dose of CTX obviously enhanced the inhibiting rate of CTX on tumor in the mice inoculated with S180 cells. (2) FVP1 at the different dose obviously antagozized CTX-induced leucopenia, atrophy, reduction of the phagocytic power of macrophage in abdominal cavity and restored the function of lymphocyte translation and the activity of NK cells.

CONCLUSIONFPV1 could enhance the curative effect of CTX in depressing tumor and attenuate the negative effect of CTX in inhibiting the function of immune system.

Agaricales ; chemistry ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Synergism ; Killer Cells, Natural ; drug effects ; Leukopenia ; chemically induced ; Lymphocyte Activation ; drug effects ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; physiology ; Mice ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Phagocytosis ; drug effects ; Polysaccharides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Sarcoma 180 ; pathology

Child ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Male ; Paraganglioma ; surgery ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of weather conditions and occupational hygiene on SARS outbreak.

METHOD(1) Meteorological parameters around SARS outbreaks in 2003 in 9 cities (Guangzhou, Beijing, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Toronto and Hanoi) were analyzed; (2) Causes of hospital infection were also analyzed from an occupational hygiene point of view.

RESULTS(1) The amplitude of air temperature, air pressure and diurnal temperature difference were greater around SARS outbreaks in most of the cities. Higher airborne particles concentration and lower wind speed were measured prior to SARS outbreaks in the cities with the most serious epidemic situation. The ten-day mean value of air temperature before SARS outbreaks in 9 cities was 16.6 degrees C +/- 7.6 degrees C, suggesting that coronary virus infection, which has been considered to cause SARS by now, may be most active at 9 degrees C - 24 degrees C. (2) Occupational hygiene in hospital proved to be an important socio-behavior factor for SARS outbreak. All hospital infection could be attributed to defects in the key links of occupational hygiene.

CONCLUSIONSGreater fluctuations of air temperature and higher airborne particles concentration in winter and spring, as well as poor occupational hygiene conditions are significant promoters of SARS outbreak. Warning of atmospheric conditions favorable to SARS, and improvement in occupational hygiene management is the key to prevention from SARS outbreak.

Attitude to Health ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross Infection ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Disease Outbreaks ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Meteorological Concepts ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission

Peptide cyclization, a pivotal approach to modifying linear precursors of proteins and pepticles, has been used to enhance their biological activities and serum stabilities. Recently, sortase A (SrtA) from Staphyloccus aureus becomes a promising new technology for efficiently incorporating site specific modifications into proteins, conjugating the cell surface and cyclizing the linear peptides. In this study, we constructed two recombinant expression systems, one with chitin binding domain and the other with six-histidine tag and chitin binding domain on the N-terminal of SrtA, separately. The results of enzymatic kinetics indicate that the two recombinant tags do not impair the transpeptidase activity of SrtA compared with the standard reaction reported under the same reaction condition. The two synthesized peptides with N-ternimal three glycines and C-terminal penta-amino acid motif, LPETG, were cyclized using immobilized and recycled SrtA. The SrtA-based cyclization promises to represent a simple method for easy and efficient enzymatic synthesis of large cyclic peptides.
Aminoacyltransferases ; metabolism ; Bacterial Proteins ; metabolism ; Cyclization ; Cysteine Endopeptidases ; metabolism ; Enzymes, Immobilized ; metabolism ; Kinetics ; Peptides ; metabolism ; Peptides, Cyclic ; biosynthesis ; Staphylococcus aureus ; enzymology

AIM To observe the long-term toxicities of reteplase(Ret). METHODS Rat was administrated by injection of vein on 14 consecutive days to macaca fasicular. RESULTS Ret 8.0 MIU?kg -1 to macaca fasicular did not show any toxicity. In 25.0 MIU?kg -1 and 80.0 MIU?kg -1 of doses, RBC, HGB and HCT of blood have significantly decreased. Feces of hidden blood test also showed positive response in some animals, meanwhile, Ret could reduce the content of plasma total protein. But these changes could have recovery in restoration period. In addition, in 8.0?25.0?80.0 MIU?kg -1 doses, Ret could significantly lengthen bleeding time and clotting time. The obvious toxic changes of coefficient and pathology in Ret 8.0?25.0?80.0 MIU?kg -1 groups were not found. CONCLUSION 8.0 MIU?kg -1 is a safety dosage by injection of vein. 25.0,80.0 MIU?kg -1 doses have certain toxic actions, such as anemia and bleeding, but these toxic effects were reversible.

Animals ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic ; drug therapy ; Male ; Naloxone ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

A phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of a Tibetan medicine Meconopsis horridula, by solvent extraction, repeated chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and preparative TLC techniques, led to the isolation of 9 compounds. By spectroscopic analysis and comparison of its 1H and 13C-NMR data with those in literatures, their structures were identified as oleracein E(1), N-( trans-p-coumaroyl) tyramine (2), chrysoeriol (3), apigenin (4), hydnocarpin (5), p-coumaric acid glucosyl ester (6), stigmast-5-ene-3beta-ylformate (7), 3beta-hydroxy-7alpha-ethoxy-24beta-ethylcholest-5-ene (8), and beta-sitosterol (9), respectively, among which compounds 6-8 were isolated from the genus for the first time,and 1,3 were isolated from the species for the first time. A MTT method was applied to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of compounds 14 against the human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2), and compound 1 showed significant cytotoxicity against HepG2,with its inhibitory rate of 52.2% at 10 micromol x L(-1).
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Molecular Structure ; Papaveraceae ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Increasing attention has been focused on the antitumor activity of artemisinin derivatives in recent years, for artemisinin had been reported to have cytotoxic effects against HL-60, P388 and MCF-7 tumor cells. We report here the synthesis and evaluation for antitumor activity of a series of artemisinin-ether derivatives bearing tetrahydropyrrole, morpholine, piperidine, substituted piperidines and azoles with various linkers. Sixteen 10-O-substituted dihydroartemisinin derivatives were designed and synthesized, all of which have never been reported in literatures and whose antiproliferative effects on human breast cancer MCF-7, MCF-7/Adr and HL-60 cells were determined by MTT assay or direct cell counting. Each of these artemisinin derivatives possessed better effects than dihydroartemisinin evidently against HL-60 and MCF-7 cells growth, while less potent than doxorubicin. All target compounds exhibited significantly improved potency compared to DHA and doxorubicin on the doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7/Adr cells, so did they in their sensitive counterparts MCF-7 cells. Among them, compounds GF02, GH04 and ZH04 showed strong activity against these three cell lines growth. Further research is undergoing.
Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Artemisinins ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Breast Neoplasms ; pathology ; Cell Proliferation ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Design ; HL-60 Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; MCF-7 Cells ; drug effects