Two ent-kauranoids were isolated from the ethanol extraction of rhizomes of Canna generalis (Cannaceae), and were purified by various technologies, including silica gel and high performance liquid chromatography, and their structures were determined by modern spectroscopy techniques as (5R,8S,9S,10R,13R)-2-oxo-ent-kaur-15-en-17-oic acid (1) and (4R,5S,8S,9S,10S,13R)-19-hydroxy-ent-kaur-15-en-17-oic acid (2). Compound 1 is a new ent-kauranoid, and compound 2 is obtained from rhizomes of Canna generalis for the first time.

Aged, 80 and over ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Humans ; Mucor ; pathogenicity ; Mucormycosis ; microbiology ; pathology ; Orbit ; pathology ; Sinusitis ; microbiology ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the outcomes of T3a prostate cancer with unfavorable prognostic factors treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy combined with external radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

METHODSFrom January 2003 to December 2008, 38 patients classified as T3a prostate cancer with unfavorable prognostic factors were treated with trimodality therapy (brachytherapy + external radiotherapy + hormone therapy). The prescription dose of brachytherapy and external radiotherapy were 110 Gy and 45 Gy, respectively. The duration of hormone therapy was 2-3 years. The endpoints of this study included biochemical failure-free survival (BFFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS). Survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Log-rank test was used to identify the prognostic predictors for univariate analysis.

RESULTSThe median follow-up was 71 months. The serum pre-treatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level ranged from 10.0 to 99.8 ng/ml (mean 56.3 ng/ml), the Gleason score ranged from 5 to 9 (median 8), and the percentage of positive biopsy cores ranged from 10% to 100% (mean 65%). The 5-year BFFS, DMFS, CSS, and OS rates were 44%, 69%, 82%, and 76%, respectively. All biochemical failures occurred within 40 months. The percentage of positive biopsy cores was significantly correlated with BFFS, DMFS, and OS (all P=0.000), and the Gleason score with DMFS (P=0.000) and OS (P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONST3a prostate cancer with unfavorable prognostic factors presents not so optimistic outcome. Hormone therapy should be applied to prolong the biochemical progression-free or metastasis-free survival. The percentage of positive biopsy cores and the Gleason score are significant prognostic factors.

Androgen Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Brachytherapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; agonists ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Grading ; Prognosis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

AIM: To explore the effect and mechanism of preoperative transarterial chemoembolization on nephroblastoma.METHODS: Comparative analysis of clinical and pathological features in 39 children with Wilms’ tumor was conducted. TUNEL assay was used to detect the apoptosis of tumor in two groups with or without preoperative interventional treatment. The expressions of P53, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were detected by immunochemical methods. The patients were followed-up for more than 2 years.RESULTS: The extent of neoplastic cell necrosis and degeneration, interstital fiber tissue hyperplasia of tumor and the number of infiltrating lymphocytes were observed, which were higher in interventional group than those in simple excision group (P

Objective To analyze the clinical and ultrasonic features of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid(PSCCT)and diagnostic value of ultrasonography (US) in PSCCT in order to improve the cognition of PSCCT.Methods The clinical data and ultrasonic characters of 5 patients with PSCCT confirmed by pathology post surgery were retrospectively reviewed.Results The average age of the 5 patients was 62 years (range from 46 to 79).All of 5 patients with PSCCT were presented with a painless neck mass in clinical palpation examination.Of them,2 patients had different degrees of difficulty in breathing and swallowing,2 patients had hoarseness.Four of 5 patients had died after surgery with average survival time of 9.5 months.On US,the size of lesions was large(a maximum diameter of 2.9-5.5 cm),all of 5 lesions appeared as single solid mixed-echogenicity mass including irregular lamellate marked hypoechoic region,with irregular margin and undefined boundary.Of them,2 lesions presented with lobulated,only 1 lesion exhibited microcalcification and another 4 lesions had no calcification,3 lesions exhibited a? sign of breakthrough thyroid envelope.Color Doppler flow imaging showed few blood flow (3/5) and moderate blood flow (2/5),a higher vascular resistance spectrum was detected in 4 lesions (RI 0.72-0.88).Three patients exhibited suspicious cervical lymph nodes.Conclusions The characteristic ultrasonic appearance combined with the clinical features enables a confident preoperative diagnosis of PSCCT.

Adult ; Aged ; Boronic Acids ; therapeutic use ; Bortezomib ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; complications ; drug therapy ; Pyrazines ; therapeutic use ; Renal Insufficiency ; complications ; drug therapy

Child ; Humans ; Proteomics ; methods

Adult ; Female ; Hemangioma ; complications ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis ; diagnosis ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Infant, Newborn ; Placenta Diseases ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; Pregnancy

Objective To investigate the relation between positive fluid balance and the prognosis in severe sepsis patients with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 90 patients in our department was carried out.According to the final outcome,patients were divided into survival group (n =26) and non-survival group (n =64),in which the relation between patients' positive fluid balance and the prognosis was evaluated.Results (1) There was no statistically significant difference in the age and severity between survival group and non-survival group of patients with severe sepsis and consequent AKI,but the patients in non-survival group had greater volume overload.Compared with the survival group,higher mean fluid balance [(1 112.12±546.85) mLvs.(644.69±474.93) mL,P=0.00],and less urine output [(1 224.07 ± 708.79) mL vs.(2 032.36 ± 723.53) mL,P =0.00) in non-survival group.(2) There was no significant difference in mortality between early and late continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) during ICU care.However,the average daily fluid load in late CRRT patients was significantly greater than that in early CRRT patients [(1178.81 ±397.03) mLvs.(287.22 ± ± 433.53) mL,P =0.00] and the lung oxygenation index in late CRRT patients was significantly worse thanthat in early CRRT patients [(211.22±42.56) vs.(169.46±57.40),P=0.04] (3) The relevant variables to 28-day mortality in AKI patients with severe sepsis included CRRT treatment,oxygenation index and the average daily fluid balance ＞ 500 mL.Among them,fluid balance ＞ 500mL was an independent risk factor for AKI patients with severe sepsis.Their prognosis was worse if they had greater positive fluid balance.CRRT was the protective factor which could affect the prognosis of patients with severe sepsis complicated by AKI.Conclusions Patients with severe sepsis complicated by AKI has a high mortality.Persistent fluid overload can lead to increased mortality in patients with severe sepsis complicated by AKI.Early CRRT can reduce fluid retention in patients with renal failure and improve oxygenation index.

Objective To identify the miR-122 which regulateing GATA4 expression during the induction of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bMSCs) differentiating into cardiomyocyte-like cells. Methods BMSCs were isolat-ed from bone marrow and induced to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells using 5-azacytidine. The miR-122 which may regulate expression of GATA4 were predicted using miRanda and TargetScan softwares and identified by dual luciferase report system. The expressions of miR-122 and GATA4 were determined using q-PCR during the differentiation of bMSCs into cardiomyocyte-like cells. Results The induced cells were completely in contacted with adjoining cells and uniform in shape and aligned parallelly. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) expression was detected by immunofluorescence cytochemistry. Using dual luciferase reporter system in vitro, miR-122 were proved to be able to effectively inhibit GATA4 expression by binding the 3′UTR of GATA4 mRNA. q-PCR results showed that the expression of miR-122 is negatively correlated with that of GATA4 mRNA transcription. Conclusion These results indicated that miR-122 regulate the expression of GATA4 during the induction of cardiomyocyte-like cells.