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.

Objective To investigate the changes of serum and bile from victims attacked by infantile hepatitis syndrome(IHS).Methods The constituents from 42 IHS subjects and 16 controls,including total bilirubin(TB),direct bilirubin(DB),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),glutamyltranspeptidase(?-GT),total bile acid(TBA),interleukin 6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor ?(TNF-? )both in bile and serum,were assayed by fully-auto chemistry analyzer and ELISA,respectively.The subjects of IHS were divided into cholestasis group and hepatitis group.Results Of IHS group,the values of serumal TB,DB,ALT,?-GT,TBA,IL-6 and TNF-? were higher than those of control(P_a

Objective To evaluate the security of big animals with a new bioartificial liver system .Methods Six Tibet pigs re-spectively received treatment of hybrid artificial liver and simple bioartificial liver ,observed and recorded the vital signs ,venous pressure ,transmembrane pressure and slurry pot pressure each hour ,and collected blood to make endotoxin and bacterial culture test in the zero hour ,fourth and eighth hour .Results Compared with the zero hour ,venous pressure ,transmembrane pressure ,slur-ry pot pressure were much higher in the fifth hour (P< 0 .05) ,and there were no significant difference in the rest of other time points(P>0 .05) .The mean arterial pressure and respiratory rate in all time point showed no significant changes (P>0 .05) .Com-pared with the zero hour ,the heart rate was much lower in the second hour (P<0 .01) .The values of blood endotoxin were less than 0 .5 EU/mL in the zero hour ,fourth and eighth hour from beginning ,and the bacterial culture test showed no growth of bacteria . Conclusion The experiment of big animals with a new bioartificial liver system was safe ,the efficacy in the treatment of hepatic failure could be assessed further .

Objective To analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility of Mycoplasma isolates for rational antimicrobial therapy. Methods BioM?rieux IST kit was used for identification and susceptibility testing of Mycoplasma strains.Results Mycoplasma was positive in 49.5% of the specimens tested.Of the Mycoplasma detected,Ureaplasma urealyticum(Uu)alone accounted for 74.7%,Mycoplasma huminis(Mh)alone accounted for 18.1%,and Uu+Mh was identified in 7.2% of the patients.The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that the Mycoplasma isolates were most susceptible to doxycycline (98.1%).Ciprofloxacin was the least active (17.3%).Conclusions Doxyeycline,josamycin,and clarithromycin can be used in the treatment of urinary tract infections caused by Mycoplasma.

Alagille syndrome (AGS) is a multisystem disorder and caused by mutations in JAG1 or NOTCH2 gene.The diagnosis of AGS is hampered by its highly variable clinical manifestations.We performed a retrospective analysis on 16 children diagnosed as having AGS in recent five years in our hospital.Cholestasis was seen in 15 patients (93.8％),heart disease in 12 (75％),characteristic facies in 7 (43.8％),and butterfly vertebrae in 7 (43.8％).Ophthalmology examination was not performed on all the patients.Further,serum biochemical parameters were compared between AGS and 16 biliary atresia (BA) patients who were confirmed by surgery.Elevated liver enzymes were seen in all the patients.Serum total cholesterol (TC) (P=0.0007),alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P=0.0056),aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P=0.0114),gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (P=0.035) and total bile acid (TBA) levels (P=0.042) were significantly elevated in AGS patients compared to those in BA cases.However,there were no significant differences in serum total bilirubin (TB),conjugated bilirubin (CB) and albumin (ALB) between the two groups.We identified 14 different JAG1 gene variations and 1 NOTCH2 gene mutation in 16 Chinese AGS patients.Our study suggested clinical features of AGS are highly variable and not all patients meet the classical diagnostic criteria.It was suggested that hypercholesterolaemia and significantly elevated GGT,TBA and ALT may be helpful to diagnose AGS.Genetic testing is integral in the diagnosis of AGS.

UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE To study the in vitro effect and mechanism of Ginkgo biloba Extract 50 (GBE50) for inhibiting beta-amyloid (Abeta)-induced oxidative stress in rats' hippocampal neurons.

METHODSThe primary hippocampal neurons were cultured in vitro and divided into 4 groups, i. e. the normal control group (Ctrl), the Abeta group, the propanediol control group (PDO), and the six GBE50 concentrations groups (5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 microg/mL). Excepted the Ctrl group, neurons were induced to oxidative stress by 20 gmolLAbeta25-35. The MTT and fluorescent probes labeling were used to observe the effect of GBE50 with different concentrations on the cell viability and the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neurons. Furthermore, Western blot was used to detect the cytoplasmic/total cytochrome C (Cyto C) ratio and total intracytoplasmal Cyto C, and the effect of the expression of oxidative stress-related protein Cyto C and activated Caspase-3 in three GBE50 concentrations groups (25, 50, and 100 microg/mL).

RESULTSCompared with the Ctrl group, the cell vitality was obviously lowered and intracellular ROS generation significantly increased after induction of 20 micromol/L Abeta25-35 (both P < 0.05). Compared with the Abeta group, the cell vitality was evidently improved after treated with different GBE50 doses. Except for 10 microg/mL, the cell vitality could be obviously elevated along with increased drug concentrations (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the intracellular ROS generation decreased significantly in each GBE50 dose groups (P < 0.05). Abeta could increase the cytoplasmic/total Cyto C ratio and enhance the activated Caspase-3 expression significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the Abeta group, among the three concentrations of GBE50, the Cyto C ratio was obviously lowered in the 100 microg/mL GBE50 group (P < 0.05), and the expression of activated Caspase-3 significantly decreased in 50 microg/mL and 100 microg/mL GBE50 groups (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS20 micromol/L Abeta25-35 could induce the generation of intracellular ROS in hippocampal neurons. GBE50 could inhibit Abeta induced intracellular oxidative stress of neurons through lowering the cytoplasmic/total Cyto C ratio and inhibiting the activation of apoptosis protein Caspase-3 expression.

Amyloid beta-Peptides ; toxicity ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Peptide Fragments ; toxicity ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To assess the proficiency of water monitoring laboratory at rural, county, and provincial levels in Guangdong province, to ensure the province's drinking water monitoring results accurate and reliable. Methods State quality of certified reference materials as water arsenic, fluoride and chloride of 90 copies each were numbered and distributed to 90 monitoring laboratories in the province for testing, The measurement results of the participatory labs were evaluated through normative values and expanded uncertainty, and were compared with those of robust statistics method. Results All participatory labs had timely feedback of their measurement results. The qualified rate was higher when arsenic was tested by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry and zinc-new silver salt of sulfuric acid spectrophotometric system, while fluoride and chloride by ion chromatography. The average qualified rates of water arsenic, fluoride and chloride of the province's rural drinking water quality monitoring laboratory were 66% (59/90), 72% (65/90) and 72% (65/90), respectively.Seven participatory labs failed the proficiency testing of all three analytes and unqualified rate was 7.8% (7/90)among the ninety participated monitoring labs. The qualified rates of robust statistics method for arsenic fluoride and chloride were greater than those evaluated by the expanded uncertainty, and large deviations with small sample sizes. Conclusions The testing ability of drink-water monitoring labs in Guangdong province has improved.However, by comparison with the requirements of national quality control and testing skills, there is still a gap. It is suggested that internal quality control be included in routine inspeetion to improve laboratory testing technology.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is one of the most prevalent mental retardations. It is mainly caused by the loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP is an RNA binding protein and can regulate the translation of its binding RNA, thus regulate several signaling pathways. Many FXS patients show high susceptibility to epilepsy. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder which is characterized by the recurrent appearance of spontaneous seizures due to neuronal hyperactivity in the brain. Both the abnormal activation of several signaling pathway and morphological abnormality that are caused by the loss of FMRP can lead to a high susceptibility to epilepsy. Combining with the research progresses on both FXS and epilepsy, we outlined the possible mechanisms of high susceptibility to epilepsy in FXS and tried to give a prospect on the future research on the mechanism of epilepsy that happened in other mental retardations.
Brain ; physiopathology ; Epilepsy ; etiology ; genetics ; pathology ; Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fragile X Syndrome ; complications ; genetics ; Humans ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo characterize the immune reaction in SD rats exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) and to identify the gene expression profiles involved in skin after TCE exposure.

METHODSFifteen percent of TCE was injected intradermally into the rat back (100 microL/120 g) at intervals of 7 days. Whole blood was collected 24 h after the fifth or seventh intradermic administration of TCE. The percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ of T lymphocytes were measured by a flow cytometer. The concentrations of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in the serum were semi-quantified by ELISA. Total RNAs of skin samples at 3 h or 24 h after the seventh dose of TCE in SD rats were extracted, and gene expression profiles of these tissues were analyszed by rat toxicology U34 array of Affymetrix.

RESULTSObvious decline of CD4+ in T lymphocytes was observed in the TCE-administer group. No significant concentration differences in IFN-gamma and IL-4 were found between TCE-treated and control rats. Gadd45a and Mel were significantly up regulated in skin tissue 24 h after TCE exposure. The expression regulation of immune response factors was as active as proteins associated with lipid metabolism and synthesis process in these skin samples of SD rats exposed to TCE.

CONCLUSIONT-helper type 1 cells mediate immune response can not be elicited in TCE-treated SD rats, but certain immune disorder can be induced.

Animals ; Female ; Gene Expression ; immunology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; immunology ; Trichloroethylene ; immunology

With whole-cell variant patch-clamp and laser scanning confocal microscope technique, we examined the effect of ginkgolide B (GB) from ginkgo leaves on L-type calcium current and cytosolic [Ca(2+)](i) in guinea pig ischemic ventricular myocytes. The results showed that under normal conditions, at a test voltage of 0 mV, GB had no significant effect on I(Ca,L); and during ischemia, the peak Ca(2+) current reduced by 37.71%, and the I-V curve of I(Ca,L) was shifted upward. 1 micromol/L GB reversed the change induced by ischemia, a result being significantly different from those of the ishemia group (P<0.05).Under control condition, 0.1,1,10 micromol/L GB decreased intracellular calcium concentration by 10.58%, 17.27% and 16.35% (n=12, 12, 10, P<0.01-0.001), respectively. With perfusion of ischemic solution for 12 min, intracellular calcium concentration increased by 20.15%. After a 12 min-perfusion of ischemic solution containing 1 micromol/L nifedipine or 5 mmol/L NiCl2, intracellular calcium concentration increased by 18.18% (P>0.05 vs ischemia) and 11% (P<0.05 vs ischemia), respectively. After 12 min of perfusion with ischemic solution containing 1 micromol/L GB, intracellular calcium concentration increased by 9.6% (P<0.05 vs ischemia). It is shown that GB could reverse the decrease of I(Ca,L) and partially inhibit calcium overload during ischemia.
Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Calcium Channels, L-Type ; drug effects ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cytosol ; metabolism ; Ginkgolides ; pharmacology ; Guinea Pigs ; Heart Ventricles ; cytology ; Lactones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology