Objective To investigate the risk factors associated with early mortality of the rapid two-stage arerial switch operation, which has a significantly higher overall mortality than that of ASO procedure for D-TGA with a intact ventricular septun. Methods The data we reviewed involving patients who underwent rapid two-stage switch operations from September,2002 to September, 2007 in our center, 13 patients were male and 8 were female, their age at operation ranged from 29 to 250 days afer birth, and the body weight was 3.5 to 7 kg. Chi-squared test and multivariant logistic regression methods were used for the analysis of demographic data, pre-diagnosis information, operation data, interval data combined with the operation time,left ventricle training condition, and the early post-operative outcomes. Results The operative mortality was high at initial stage, and then decreased gradually. The logistic multivariant regression analysis indicated that the mortality of left ventricular training operation was associated with the diameters of BT shunt ( P =0.003 ); the mortality of two-stage switch was associated with feminie ( P = 0.006 ) and pre-operative p. LV/RV ( P ＜ 0.001 ). Conclusion Patients with transposition of the great arteries and intact ventricular septum who missed the optimal time for switch operation should receive rapid two-stage switch operations, which provide an opportunity for the correction of the deformity. The key factor associated with the success for operation was good in heart function after left ventricular training.

Objective: To investigate the effect of abstracted formula granule of Siwu drugs on the sex hormones and expressions of androgen receptor (AR)and estrogen receptor (ER) in bone marrow depressed mice. Methods: One hundred and eighty mice (90 male and 90 female) were randomly divided into 6 groups. The effects of the formula granule of Siwu on sex hormones and expressions of AR and ER were explored by SABC method in bone marrow of depressed mice. Results: For the male rats, the levels of androgen were increased in male of treatment groups compared with those of model groups (P＜0.05), and the levels of estrogen were decreased in male of treatment groups compared with those of model groups (P＜0.05).For the female rats, the levels of androgen were increased in female of treatment groups compared with those of model groups,but no significant differences (P＞0.05), and the levels of estrogen were decreased in femal of treatment groups compared with those of model groups (P＜0.05). There was a dose dependent manner between treatment groups. Conclusion: The results suggested that formula granule of Siwu drugs may play a role in the hematopoietic function to repair bone marrow depression by improving AR and the balance of estrogen / androgen in mice.

Objective To detect the presence of the apoptotic sensory neurons in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) following non-freezing cold injury of the sciatic nerve.Methods Thirty three male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups (7 d group, 14 d group, 21 d group; n=11 each).The sciatic nerves were cooled to 4 ℃ for 2 hours and the control side underwent sham operation.The pathological examination was performed on L4-6 DRGs at 7, 14, and 21 d post operation.The apoptotic sensory neurons of L4-6 DRGs were detected using FCM (Annexin /PI) and TUNEL staining.Results The apoptotic sensory neurons of L4-6 DRGs were revealed after non-freezing cold injury of the rat sciatic nerve.FCM (Annexin /PI) and TUNEL quantitative analysis indicated that the apoptotic neurons significantly increased in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) at 7 d, 14 d, and 21 d post operation following non-freezing cold injury of the sciatic nerve.TUNEL qualitative analysis further confirmed pathological characters of neuron apoptosis in L4-6 DRGs.The apoptotic neurons began to increase from 7~(th) day, reached peak at 14~(th) day, and then decreased slightly at 21 d following operation.Conclusions Non-freezing cold injury on sciatic nerves can cause the sensory neurons apoptosis of L4-6 DRGs.

Objective: To study the correlation between intestinal mucosa injuries and inflammatory reaction in cancer cachexia mice. Methods: 14 male BALB/c mice were randomized into two groups: control group and tumor-bearing group.For tumor-bearing group,a suspension of 10 6 murine colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells was inoculated s.c into each mouse.Non-tumor body weight,intestinal villus height,width,basal layer thickness and muscular layer thickness,TNF-?,IL-1,IL-6,IL-10,IFN-?,sTNF-RⅠand sTNF-RⅡ in the serum and intestinal tissue were determined at the 16th day following the inoculation. Results: The non-tumor body weight and intestinal villus height and basal layer width in tumor-bearing group were lost significantly as compared with control group.The concentration of serum TNF-?,IL-6,sTNF-RⅠwere higher and the level of serum IL-10 was less in tumor-bearing group.The concentration of intestinal tissue TNF-? was higher but the IL-1,IFN-?,sTNF-RⅠ and sTNF-RⅡ were less in the tumor-bearing group. Conclusion: The intestinal mucosa injuries have close relation with the inflammatory reactions in cancer cachexia.

Objective To assess the patient enablement level in a general hospital and its related factors,to investigate the relationship of patient enablement with patient's overall satisfaction and doctor's empathy levels.Methods Patients attending the Family Medicine Clinic of HKU-Shenzhen Hospital in September 2014 and met the inclusion criteria were asked to complete a questionnaire survey which included general characteristics,overall satisfaction;the Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) and the Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure Scale (CARE) after the consultation.Results Total 2 326 questionnaires were issued and 1 818 were retrieved,of which 1 478 were qualified questionnaires.The qualified rate of PEI was 81.3％ and the qualified rate of patient overall satisfaction was 96.28％.The positive rate of patient enablement was 97.70％ (1 444/1 478),and the mean score of PEI was 8.21 ±3.33.Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the PEI scores were not influenced by gender and education level of the patients,gender of the consulting doctors and initial/follow up consultation.The PEI scores were influenced by the age of the patients,the types of clinic (general practice/chronic practice clinic) and the reasons for consulting (P ＜ 0.05).There were correlations between PEI score and overall satisfaction of patients (r =0.383,P ＜ 0.001),patient's recommendation of the clinic (r =0.595,P ＜ 0.001) and CARE scores (r =0.546,P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion The results show that the PEI scores of patients visiting family medicine clinic of this hospital are higher than those reported in other studies.The PEI score may be influenced by the age of the patients,the types of clinic and the reasons for consulting.Positive correlations between patient enablement and the overall satisfaction,patient's recommendation and doctor empathy were observed.

Objective To investigate the morphological changes in the sciatic nerve and the dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) and also gene expression in DRGs after non-freezing cold injury, and to explore the molecular mechanism of peripheral nerve cold injury and regeneration. Methods Twenty-four male Wistar rats were used. The sciatic nerve on one side was cooled to 4℃ for 2 h, and the sciatic nerve on the opposite side was exposed, but without cooling. Sciatic nerves and L4, L5 and L6 DRGs from both sides were harvested at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd week after cooling. Any pathological changes were observed using light and electron microscopy. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to investigate the DRG neurons' gene expression. The array result was verified with RT-PCR for eight genes. Results Large fiber degeneration was obvious by the 7th day after cooling. Myelinated fiber regeneration had begun by the 14th day, so this time was chosen to explore the neurons' gene expression. Ninety-six genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were up-regulated greater than 2 fold. Their proteins' functions were classified as adaptive response to external stimulus, apoptosis regulation, cell adhesion, immune and inflammation response,nerve regeneration, pain associated molecules, microtubule cytoskeleton, ion-channels, neurotransmitters and receptors, and neuropeptides. Conclusions A complex molecular mechanism is involved in cold injury and regeneration of the sciatic nerve, and many genes are involved. Large scale microarray analysis is a potent means to screen out related genes, thus suggesting future repair strategies.

A total of 180 type 2 diabetic patients with negative anti-thyroid autoantibodies were recruited.According to the levels of serum 25-OH vitamin D [25 (OH) D],these patients were divided into four groups:sufficient group (≥ 30 ng/ml),insufficient group (20-＜30 ng/ml),deficiency group (10-＜20 ng/ml),and severe deficiency group(＜ 10 ng/ml).The results showed that compared with sufficient vitamin D group,the group with severe deficient vitamin D had higher TT3,FT3,FT3/FT4,and TSH (all P＜0.05).The serum 25(OH) D level was negatively correlated with TSH values (r =-0.207,P＜0.05) after adjustment for gender,age,and body mass index.Multivariate regression analysis indicated that serum 25 (OH) D level was an independent influencing factor for TSH value (β =-0.201,P＜0.05),suggesting that serum 25 (OH) D level seems to be correlated with thyroid function in type 2 diabetic patients.

To observe the effect and mechanism of Chinese herbs in the treatment of taeniasis.

The pandemic of human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1), the major etiologic agent of acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS), has led to over 33 million people living with the virus, among which 18 million are women and children. Until now, there is neither an effective vaccine nor a therapeutic cure despite over 30 years of efforts. Although the Thai RV144 vaccine trial has demonstrated an efficacy of 31.2%, an effective vaccine will likely rely on a breakthrough discovery of immunogens to elicit broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies, which may take years to achieve. Therefore, there is an urgency of exploring other prophylactic strategies. Recently, antiretroviral treatment as prevention is an exciting area of progress in HIV-1 research. Although effective, the implementation of such strategy faces great financial, political and social challenges in heavily affected regions such as developing countries where drug resistant viruses have already been found with growing incidence. Activating latently infected cells for therapeutic cure is another area of challenge. Since it is greatly difficult to eradicate HIV-1 after the establishment of viral latency, it is necessary to investigate strategies that may close the door to HIV-1. Here, we review studies on non-vaccine strategies in targeting viral entry, which may have critical implications for HIV-1 prevention.
AIDS Vaccines ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Genetic Therapy ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; immunology ; physiology ; Humans ; Peptides ; chemistry ; immunology ; Small Molecule Libraries ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Virus Internalization ; drug effects

Objective To evaluate the clinical application value of reflectance confocal microscopy(RCM) in the diagnosis of several common diseases manifesting as papules in children, including lichen nitidus, verruca planae, lichen striatus, milium, molluscum contagiosum and lichen pilaris. Methods A total of 579 children clinically characterized by papules were recruited into this study. RCM was used to observe lesions and perilesional normal skin. The RCM features of 6 diseases manifesting as papules were analyzed and compared. Results Based on RCM images, 236 patients were diagnosed with lichen nitidus, 70 with verruca planae, 123 with lichen striatus, 40 with milium, 53 with molluscum contagiosum and 57 with lichen pilaris. All the 6 diseases had typical RCM features. Concretely speaking, RCM images of lichen nitidus lesions showed infiltration of dense inflammatory cells and melanophages in enlarged dermal papillae. In RCM images of verruca planae lesions, cells in the granular and spinous layers were arranged in concentric circles, giving a rose cluster?like appearance. RCM images of lichen striatus lesions revealed focal swelling of stratum spinosum, absent or local liquifaction degeneration of basal cells, and clustering of a moderate number of inflammatory cells in the superficial dermis. In RCM images of milium lesions, well?circumscribed round or oval structures containing highly but nonuniformly refractive materials could be seen in the dermis. RCM images of molluscum contagiosum lesions showed intact cystoid structures containing highly refractive molluscum bodies. Lowly to moderately refractive cutin ? like materials were observed along with the dilation of hair follicle infundibula in RCM images of lichen pilaris lesions. In RCM images, the 6 diseases were distinguished mainly based on structural features(patterns and refractivity)of skin lesions shown by continuous vertical scanning. Conclusion RCM is of great value to the diagnosis of diseases manifesting as papules in children.