Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of extracts from asparagus filicinus rhizome on prolifieration of human osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells and its molecular mechanism .Methods MTT assay was used to detect the cytotoxic activity and growth inhibition of three different extracts from asparagus filicinus rhizome against Saos-2 cells ;plate colony formation assay was per-formed to detect active fraction of asparagus filicinus rhizome on the anchorage dependent growth of Saos-2 cells ;the cell cycle alter-ation was determined by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry analysis ;the alteration of protein expression level of COX-2 was determined by using Western blotting .Results Ethyl acetate fraction of asparagus filicinus rhizome (AF-A) exerted the potent cytotoxicity on Saos-2 cells(IC50 =26 .7 μg/mL);AF-A induced the inhibitory effect on the anchorage dependent growth of Saos-2 cells in a dose dependent manner(P<0 .05);Saos-2 cells treated by AF-A at the concentration of 30 .0 and 100 .0 μg/mL for 48 h induced the increase of percentages of S phage from (31 .8 ± 4 .8)% in the control group to (43 .7 ± 2 .5)% and(51 .9 ± 1 .9)% ,the difference showing statistical significance (P< 0 .05) .Western blotting showed that AF-A at different concentrations decreased COX-2 protein expression .Conclusion AF-A posseses the inhibitory effect on the proliferation and growth of human osteosarcoma cells in vitro ,and its mechanism might be associated with the induction of S phage arrest and the inhibition of COX-2 protein ex-pression level .

With references of historical materials and modern literature regarding acupoint characteristic, a secondary analysis on the concept, origin, related factors and research methods in present research of acupoint characteristic is performed. The acupoint characteristic should be considered as an acupoint inherent attribute that could explain physiological and pathological manifestations at the same time, including location attribute and function attribute, which is related with time and treatment method. Some re-thinking on acupoint characteristic is proposed as well as advice on further research method and direction, hoping to promote the research development of acupoint characteristic.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; history ; China ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature ; Meridians

OBJECTIVETo investigate diagnosis and therapeutic effects of knee joint synovial chondromatosis with arthroscopic.

METHODSFrom March 1995 to July 2011, 28 patients with knee joint synovial chondromatosis were treated. Among them, 18 males and 10 females ranging age from 25 to 81 (mean 55.2) years,the course of disease ranged from 0.5 to 15 (mean 5.6) years. Clinical manifestation mainly included pain, swell and functional limitation of knee joint. Knee open surgery (17 cases) and laparoscopic surgery (10 cases) were respectively used. Clinical symptom,image data,pathological manifestation and effects under arthroscopy were observed, Lysholm scoring was used to evaluate effects.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up except one lost, the duration ranging from 6 to 24 months. Lysholm score in knee open surgery was increased from (41.89 +/- 6.81) preoperatively to (67.73 +/- 7.62) postoperatively;while in laparoscopic surgery it was increased from (40.78 +/- 7.54) preoperatively to (77.46 +/- 8.43) postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopic surgery, which has no risk of rupture of incision, nonunion, earlier to exercise, is a good method to diagnosis and treat knee joint synovial chondromatosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chondromatosis, Synovial ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; surgery ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To evaluate the effects of age factors on sedation induced by dexmedetomidine.Methods One hundred and thirty-nine patients,aged 18-103 yr,with body mass index ≤ 30 kg/m2,scheduled for elective surgeries on lower abdomen or lower extremities,were divided into4 groups according to the age:group Ⅰ (18 yr≤age≤44 yr,n=40);group Ⅱ (45 yr≤age≤59 yr,n=38);group Ⅲ (60 yr≤age≤89 yr,n=39);group Ⅳ (≥90 yr,n=22).A catheter was placed in the subarachnoid space at L3,4 interspace,and ropivacaine 10-20 mg was injected via the catheter.At 20 min after ropivacaine injection,dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg was infused via a pump over 10 min.The onset time and duration of sedation were recorded,and the occurrence of adverse effects such as hypoxemia,bradycardia and hypotension was observed.Results There was no significant difference in the onset time of sedation and incidence of bradycardia among the 4 groups (P＞0.05).Compared with group Ⅰ,the duration of sedation was significantly prolonged in Ⅱ-Ⅳ groups (P＜0.05).Compared with Ⅱ and Ⅲ groups,the duration of sedation was significantly prolonged in group Ⅳ (P ＜ 0.05).The incidence of hypoxemia and hypotension was significantly higher in group Ⅳ than in Ⅰ-Ⅲ groups (P＜0.05).Conclusion Dexmedetomidine-induced sedation is influenced by age factors,the duration of sedation induced by dexmedetomidine is prolonged,and the occurrence of adverse effects is increased,especially if the patients ≥ 90 yr of age.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of ~1H-MR spectroscopy(~1H-MRS)imaging to quantitatively detect fatty liver.Methods Twenty patients with fatty liver and 11 healthy volunteers underwent plain CT scan,conventional MR imaging and ~1H-MRS analysis.The blood lipid and liver function were tested on the same day as the MR examination.~1H-MRS sequence measured the peaks of H_2O and lipid,and the areas under the peaks.The relative contents of the lipid compound were calculated,and compared with the results of CT scan and liver function tests.Results The CT values of the normal group and the fatty liver group were(59?9)HU and(24?11)HU respectively.On ~1H-MRS a protruding high H_2O peak and a flat low lipid peak were observed in the normal group,while the protruding high H_2O peak and a high lipid peak appeared in the fatty liver group.The values of lipid peak in the normal group and the fatty liver group were(0.05?0.01)?10~5,(0.70?0.24)?10~5 respectively(t=4.32,P0.05),the areas under the lipid peak were(1.36?0.73)?10~9、(2.35?1.15)?10~9 respectively(t=5.21,P0.05).Conclusion ~1 H-MRS imaging is feasible to quantitatively detect liver fat and is a non-invasive method for detecting early fatty liver.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is main regulatory enzyme for pentose phosphate pathway. To amplify the core sequence of G6PDH gene from Chimonanthus praecox, the primers were synthesized, based on the conserved nucleotide sequence of other reported plant G6PDH genes. The specific primers were designed according to the major fragment. The full length cDNA of the G6PDH1 gene was isolated by the 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends approach. Transcript levels of G6PDH1 isoform was measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in different tissues and in responds to cold treatment. The G6PDH1 subcellular localization, transmembrane domain, three-dimensional structure, and phylogenetic analysis were predicted by different software to analysis the bioinformatics of G6PDH1 protein. The G6PDH1 cDNA sequence was 2 011 bp in length and consisted of 1 551 bp Open Reading Frame (ORF) , encoding a protein of 516 amino acids. Expression analysis results in different tissues showed that G6PDH1 was primarily observed in flowers and roots, as opposed to the leaves and stems. Cold treatment experiments indicated that cold treatment caused a rapid increase in G6PDH1 expression in flowers within 12 h. The full-length cDNA of G6PDH1 and its expression analysis will play an important role for further study on cold stress responses in Ch. praecox.
Calycanthaceae ; chemistry ; classification ; enzymology ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; Enzyme Stability ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Models, Molecular ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

Alleles ; Amelogenin/genetics* ; Chromosomes, Human, Y ; Humans ; Male ; Sex Determination Analysis

Dental age plays an important role in age estimation. It has often been used together with skeletal age to improve the accuracy of age estimation abroad, but seldom performed in China. As a noninvasive technology, dental radiological imaging has been widely used in age estimation. By observing the age-related changes such as the pulp cavity and development of crown and root on radiographs. Gleiser and Hunt, as well as Demirjian have developed different methods to determine the age of human. Demirjian's method has been proved to be more accurate but with limitation when used in persons of eighteen and above. The accuracy and reliability of the measurements on pulp cavity could be improved as the development of computed tomography with its high resolution and intelligent software. As a convenient and accurate method, age estimation from dental computed tomographs would be more promising in the future for forensic scientists and anthropologists.
Age Determination by Teeth/methods* ; Dental Pulp/diagnostic imaging* ; Forensic Dentistry ; Humans ; Radiography, Panoramic/methods* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the characteristic of cervical lymph node metastasis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma and its influence to the prognosis.

METHODSOne hundred and eight hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients who accepted treatments in the 1st Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from 1985 to 2000 were reviewed retrospectively. All of them accepted surgical treatment without pre-operative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Stage was made according to the standard of International Union Against Cancer (UICC) in 1992. Specimens of the patients were carefully examined to confirm the primary site of the tumor and the distribution of cervical lymph node metastasis. Pathological differentiations of the tumor were classified into high, middle and low category. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the 3rd, 5th years survival.

RESULTSThe rates of lymph node metastasis of was 45.8% for patients with TI and T2 disease, 79.8% for those with T3 and T4, and 75.0% (81/108)for the whole patients(P < 0.05). Patients with pyriform sinus cancer occupied 92.6% (100/108) of all the cases. Cervical lymph node metastasis rate of pyriform sinus cancer and posterior pharyngeal wall cancer were 74. 0% and 87. 5% respectively (P > 0.05). Cervical lymph node metastasis rate of patients with the high, middle and low differentiation tumor were 72. 2% , 67.6% and 85.7% respectively (P > 0.05). The 3rd and 5th years survival rates of all patients were 67.53% and 29.87% respectively. The occurrence of cervical lymph node metastasis was 76.5% in the level II and III, and 8.6% in the level V and VI. CONCLUSIONS Cervical lymph node metastasis rate of hypopharyngeal carcinoma is high. Cervical lymph node metastasis was one of the most significant prognostic factors of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. With the increase of the cervical node metastasis, the 3rd and 5th years survival of the patients declined gradually.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

The present study investigated the relationship between DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and radiosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines. The dose-survival relationship for NPC cell lines, CNE1 and CNE2, was analyzed using clonogenic formation assay, the activity of DNA-PK of the two cell lines was measured using the Signa TECT DNA-PK assay kit, and the localization and expression of Kus (a heterodimer) and DNA-PKcs protein in CNE1 and CNE2 before irradiation and 15 min, 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h after 4 Gy irradiation were analyzed by immunofluorescence, laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and Western blot. The results showed that the surviving fraction of CNE1 was higher than that of CNE2 at each dose. The DNA-PK activity of CNE1 was also significantly higher than that of CNE2 before and after irradiation (P<0.05), while the expression of total Ku70/Ku80 in CNE1 and CNE2 had no significant difference. Increasing translocation of Ku70 and Ku80 from the cytoplasm to the nuclei in the two cell lines was observed with increase of irradiation time as detected by Western blot, and the immunofluorescence of the DNA-PK complex subunits showed greater nuclear translocation in CNE1 than CNE2 after irradiation. The results suggest that the relatively higher radio-resistance of CNE1 correlates with the higher activity of DNA-PK as compared to that of more radiosensitive CNE2 (or lower radio-resistance) before and after irradiation. Thus, DNA-PK activity may be a useful predictor of radiosensitivity of NPC.
Carcinoma ; Cell Line, Tumor ; enzymology ; radiation effects ; DNA-Activated Protein Kinase ; metabolism ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; enzymology ; Radiation Tolerance