Objective To explore the contamination by Legionella pneumophila in cooling water of centralized air condi-tioning system in hospitals and hotels.Methods In Aug2001,the water from cooling towers of centralized air conditioning sys-tems in4hospitals and2hotels were sampled in W city.The membranes filtering the cooling water samples were treated by hy-drochloric acid.After treatment,the mixed treated solution was inoculated into GVPC plate and cultured in candle jar.The susepectable colonies were identified by biochemical test,serological test and PCR test respectively.Results5strains of L pneu mophila in cluding3strains of Lp1type and2strains of Lp5type were isolated from water samples of the cooling towers of centralized air conditioning systems in2hospitals and one star-grade hotel in W city.Conclusion The contamination by le-gionella in water of cooling tower of centralized air conditioning system in hospitals and hotels should be monitored closely.

Commensal microorganisms that colonize barrier surfaces of all multicellular organisms exist in harmony with their hosts and have an important effect on both immune and non-immune functions of their hosts. Numerous researches have shown that gastrointestinal microbiota being one of the most important commensal microorganisms plays a critical role in the occurrence, development and treatment of cancer. As-signing causal roles in cancer to specific microbes and microbiotas, unraveling host-microbiota interactions with environmental factors in carcinogenesis, and applying such knowledge to cancer diagnosis and treatment are areas of intensive interest. This review considers how microbes and the microbiota may amplify or miti-gate carcinogenesis, responsiveness to cancer therapeutics, and cancer-associated complications.

Animals ; Beverages ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Receptors, Complement 3b ; metabolism

Objective To study the clinical features,diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic granuloma of bone(EGB).Methods Twelve cases(8 male and 4 female)of EGB and their medical record,imaging examinations,follow-up data were reviewed,and the lesion sites,symptom and clinical features were analyzed with reference to relative literature.Results Nine unifocal cases were found in the cervical spine(3 cases),the thoracic spine(1 case),the lumber spine(1 case),the femur(1 case),the metacarpal bones(1 case),and the ilium(2 cases).Three multifocal cases were found in the thoracic and lumber spine(1 case),in the femur,the multiple ribs,the skull,the scapula(1 case)and in the skull,the femur,the ilium(1 case).The most common presenting symptom was pain at the lesion site and restricted motion was obviously in the cervical lesion.The case of the thoracic lesions was found neurologic deficit.Osteolytic destruction was found in the radiologic examination in EGB and the periosteal reaction was found in the long bone lesions,and vertebra plana was considered as typical cha-racteristics in the spine lesion.The lesions not in the spine were diagnosed by biopsy,exclusive methods and close following-up were performed in the spine lesions.Two unifocal were healed spontaneously and three were performed with curettage with one bone grafting.Multifocal and the lesions in the spine underwent chemotherapy.All cases were followed up and no recurrence was found.Conclusions EGB is commonly solitary and not seldom in the spine.Topical pain may be chief complaint.Osteolytic image was found in the radiologic examination.Biopsy and exclusive methods combining closely follow-up were used for diagnosis.EGB is self-limited observation,so curettage or chemotherapy can be used in treatment,and prognosis is good.

Artemisnin is a novel sesquiterpene lactone with an internal peroxide bridge structure, which is extracted from traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao). Recommended by World Health Organization, artemisinin is the first-line drug in the treatment of encephalic and chloroquine-resistant malaria. In the present study, transgenic A. annua plants were developed by overexpressing the key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin. Based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, transgenic plants of A. annua with overexpression of both HDR and ADS were obtained through hygromycin screening. The genomic PCR analysis confirmed six transgenic lines in which both HDR and ADS were integrated into genome. The gene expression analysis given by real-time quantitative PCR showed that all the transgenic lines had higher expression levels of HDR and ADS than the non-transgenic control (except ah3 in which the expression level of ADS showed no significant difference compared with control); and the HPLC analysis of artemisinin demonstrated that transgenic A. annua plants produced artemisinin at significantly higher level than non-transgenic plants. Especially, the highest content of artemisinin was found in transgenic line ah70, in which the artemisinin content was 3.48 times compared with that in non-transgenic lines. In summary, overexpression of HDR and ADS facilitated artemisinin biosynthesis and this method could be applied to develop transgenic plants of A. annua with higher yield of artemisinin.
Artemisia annua ; genetics ; metabolism ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; Oxidoreductases ; genetics ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the toxicity on skin and penetration effect of volatile oil from tender branchers of Camellia oleifera on nitrendipine, baicalin, nimesulide for percutaneous obsorption.

METHODAcute skin toxicity, irritation and allergy on rats were tested, and mouse skin in vitro was applied for studying the effects of different concentrations of volatile oil in nitrendipine, baicalin, nimesulide on drug permeation.

RESULTDifferent dosage volatile oil had no acute toxicity, irritation or hypersensitive effects. Compared to azone, more powerful enhancement effects of volatile oil at different concentration on nitrendipine, baicalin, nimesulide were very obvious.

CONCLUSIONThis paper firstly reported the results of experiment about the toxicity to skin and penetr-ation effect of volatile oil from tender branches of C. oleifera.

Administration, Cutaneous ; Animals ; Camellia ; chemistry ; Female ; Flavonoids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Mice ; Nitrendipine ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Oils, Volatile ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; toxicity ; Permeability ; drug effects ; Plant Oils ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; toxicity ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Skin Absorption ; drug effects ; Sulfonamides ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics

Objective To-identify the factors associated with radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) and to describe the probability of RILD using the Lyman normal tissue complication(NTCP) model for primary liver carcinoma(PLC) treated with hypofractionated conformal therapy (CRT).Methods A total of 109 PLC patients treated with hypofractionated CRT were prospectively followed according to the Child-Pugh classification for liver cirrhosis,93 patients in class A and 16 in class B.The mean dose of radi- ation to the isocenter was (53.5?5.5) Gy,fractions of (4.8?0.5) Gy,with interfraction interval of 48 hours and irradiation 3 times per week.Maximal likelihood analysis yielded the best estimates of parameters of the Lyman NTCP model for all patients;Child-Pugh A and Child-Pugh B patients,respectively.Results Of all the patients,17 developed RILD (17/109),8 in Child-Pugh A(8/93 ) and 9 in Child-Pugh B(9/ 16).By multivariate analysis,only the Child-Pugh Grade of liver cirrhosis was the independent factor (P= 0.000) associated with the developing of RILD.The best estimates of the NTCP parameters for all 109 pa- tients were n=1.1,m=0.35 and TD_(50) (1)=38.5 Gy.The n,m,TD_(50) (1) estimated from patients with Child-Pugh A was 1.1,0.28,40.5 Gy,respectively,compared with 0.7,0.43,23 Gy respectively,for patients with Child-Pugh B.Conclusions Primary liver cancer patients who possess Child-Pugh B cirrho- sis would present a significantly greater susceptibility to RILD after hypofractionated CRT than patients with Child-Pugh A cirrhosis.The predominant risk factor for developing RILD is the severity of hepatic cirrhosis in the liver of PLC patients.

Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors ; diagnosis

Objective To assess the therapeutic effect of arterial embolization with ONYX-18 for treatment of tentorial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVFs). Methods The clinical data (including the disease history, radiographic examination, surgical record, and follow-up data) of 4 patients with DAVF treated between March and July, 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 4 patients, one had acute subaraclmoid hemorrhage, and 3 exhibited progressive neurological deficits. The fistula orifice was located on the top of the tentorium in 2 cases, on the left tentorium in one case and in the posterior tentorium in the other. Type Ⅱ b DAVF was found in 2 cases, type Ⅲ in one case and type IV in the other ease. All the 4 patients underwent arterial embolization with ONYX-18, with ONYX-18 dose of 1.5, 3.5, 9, and 12 mL, respectively. One patient underwent ventricuioperitoneal shunt after the embolization because of obstructive hydrocephalus. Results The fistulae were embolized completely in 3 cases, and in one patient, a small quantity of blood supply to the fistula orifice was present fi'om the occipital artery, but the blood flow velocity was obviously reduced. Follow-up of the patients for 3 months revealed no occurrence of the former symptoms after the embolization. Conclusion ONYX-18 injection through one single feeding artery after placement of the micro-catheter at the appropriate position allows effective embolization of the fistula orifice, the supplying arteries and the venous ends to achieve safe and effective embolization of DAVF.

Objective To develop an ultra performance liquid chromatog-raphy-tandem mass spectrometry ( UPLC -MS/MS ) method for the study of pharmacokinetics of ( S ) -MP 3950 , a novel gastroprokinetic agent candidate in rats.Methods The plasma samples were extracted by liquid -liquid extraction ( LLE ) with ethyl acetate.An ACQUITY UPLC ? BEH C18 column (2.1 mm ×50 mm, 1.7μm) was used with a mobile phase consisting methanol and 5 mmol? L-1 ammonium acetate with 0.1% formic acid ( v∶v=45∶55 ) .The analysis was performed in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode via positive electrospray ioni-zation source on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer . The whole analysis time was 3.0 min.The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS 2.0 program.Results The method had a lower limit of quantification(LLOQ) of 10 μg? L-1, linear up to 5000 μg? L-1. The intra-and inter-day precision(relative standard deviation, RSD) were all less than 7.9%.The accuracy ( relative error , RE ) was from 0.1%to 8.5%.Conclusion The method was proved to be rapid , sen-sitive and accurate for pharmacokinetic study of ( S)-MP 3950 in rats.