Bone Neoplasms ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

ObjectiveTo explore the effect and mechanism of Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) ligand LPS-mediated inhibition hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in Bewo cells.MethodsFirst of all,2 μg 1.3-fold HBV recombinant vector pcDNA3.1 ( + )-HBV1.3 were transfected into Bewo cells,after 12 h,the cells were treated with LPS for 3 d.To observe the kinetics of IFN-β and TNF-α expression in Bewo cells,the Bewo cells were exposed to TLR4 ligand LPS.And the effect of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate ( PDTC),an inhibitor of NF-κB,on LPS-induced cytokines was also observed.The HBsAg,HBeAg and HBV DNA level in the culture supernatant were detected by Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA) and fluorescence quantitative PCR,respectively,and the expression of IFN-β,TNF-α,TRIF and MyD88 was detected by ELISA and RT-PCR,respectively.ResultsCompared with control group,LPS could significantly suppress HBV replication in Bewo cells ( P ＜0.01 ),and it could induce the production of TNFα in Bewo cells ( P ＜ 0.05 ),in time-and dose-dependent manners.PDTC strongly inhibited LPS and induced TNF-α production,but had no much effect on IFN-β in Bewo cells ( P ＜ 0.001 ).Compared with control group,the mRNA levels of MyD88 were significantly induced by LPS in the Bewo cells transfected with this recombinant vector( P ＜ 0.001 ).ConclusionsTLR4 ligand LPS could significantly suppress HBV replication by inducing TNF-α production in Bewo cells mainly via the MyD88/ NF-κB signal pathway.

OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of Shenfu qiangxin(SFQX)pills on the expression of autophagy-associated pro-tein LC3b and pro apoptotic gene Bax in myocardial cells of rats with cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). METHODS:Rats were ran-domly divided into sham operation group(water),model group(water),positive control group(Captopril tablets 2.3 mg/kg)and SFQX pills high-dose,medium-dose and low-dose groups [13.2,6.6,3.3 g(crude drug)/kg],with 10 rats in each group. CRS mod-el was induced in those groups by abdominal-aortae-constriction+acute renal ischemia reperfusion injury except for sham operation group;and they were given relevant medicine intragastrically 8 week after operation,once a day,for consecutive 4 weeks. Plasma contents of Cr and ALD,the protein expression of LC3b and Bax in myocardial tissue of rats were detected 24 h after last medica-tion;ventricular index was calculated,and morphological change of myocardial tissue was observed. RESULTS:Compared with sham operation group,the plasma contents of Cr and ALD,ventricular index and the protein expression of LC3b in myocardial tis-sue increased significantly in model group (P<0.05 or P<0.01);and myocardial cell suffered from endochylema red deletion, myocardial cross striation disorder,intercellular space fibrosis aggravation and so on. Compared with model group,the plasma con-tents of Cr and ALD(except for positive control group)and the protein expression of LC3b and Bax in myocardial tissue decreased significantly in positive control group and SFQX pills high-dose group(P<0.05 or P<0.01);myocardial pathological change was improved;the ventricular index decreased significantly in SFQX pills low-dose and medium-dose groups (P<0.05). CONCLU-SIONS:SFQX pills can decrease the plasma contents of Cr and ALD,inhibit myocardial cell autophagy and apoptosis in CRS rats.

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of digital radiography(DR)tissue equalization(TE)technique in the femoral neck injury.Methods TE technique and conventional photography were used to examine 50 patients suffering from injury of the femoral neck.The image quality was evaluated by three radiological experts who were blinded to the results.The image quality was divided into five levels.Results When the TE technique was used,38 perfect images were obtained and there was no unacceptable image,while the traditional methods resulted in 12 unacceptable images and no perfect image.The TE technique is superior to the conventional radiography significantly in the lateral photography of the femoral neck(P

Objective To determine the dietary nutritional status of rural residents in Midwestern Shandong Province,in order to improve the dietary pattern and health status of them.Method 11 987 residents,from 10 273 households,were included in this study by multi-stage randomized cluster sampling in 8 counties located in Midwestern Shandong Province.Questionnaire of Food Frequency (QFF) was applied to collect the information about the amount and frequency of food consumed by the subjects in the past year.Results The average intake of cereal,vegetable,fruit,meat,egg,milk,bean,oil and salt per reference man per day was 553.9 g,310.6 g,58.2 g, 36.3 g,50.1 g,16.7 g,34.4 g,44.8 g and 12.3 g,respectively.The average intake of energy,carbohydrate,protein,fat and dietary fiber per reference man per day was 12 095.6 kJ,451.8 g,85.6 g,78.8 g and 18.7 g as well Cereal food provides 66.1% of total energy; however,the meat provides only 6.6% of that.Carbohydrate,protein and fat amount to around 63.2%,12.0% and 24.8% of total energy, respectively.24.0% of fat intake was from animal food,while 76% of that was from vegetable food.Conclusions The intake of energy, protein,fat was sufficient for these subjects;however,the intake of vegetable,fruit,bean and meat was lower than the dietary reference intake.Moreover,oil and salt intake in these subjects was much higher than Chinese Recommended Nutrient Intakes.Thus,the amelioration of dietary pattern in rural residents will be an important task for nutrition workers in rural area of Midwestern part of Shandong Province in the future.

Objective To explore the relationship between TLR3 mRNA expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)and acute rotavirus(RV)diarrhea.Methods Sixty-one children with acute RV diarrhea served as study subject,the expression of TLR3 mRNA on PBMCs was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR.the concentrations of IFN-γand TNF-α in serum were measured by the method of Enzyrme-linked immunosorbent assay(EUSA).Results The expression of TLR3 on PBMCs and the serum levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α in the serious diarrhea group were 0. 820±0.051,(33.67±12.88)Pg/ml, (62.21±14.65)pg/ml,respectively,while it were 0.717±0.040,(24.01±10.06)pg/ml,(50.99± 12.18)pg/ml in the slight diarrhea group,and 0.525±0.029,(12.52±5.19)pg/ml,(28.65±7.44)pg/ml in the control group.Compared with the control group.the expression of TLR3 on PBMCs and the serum levels of IFN-γ,TNF-α in the serious and slight diarrhea group were significantly higher(P<0.01).There were significant differences between the serious and slight diarrhea group(P<0.01).There were positive relationship between the expression of TLR3 on PBMCs and tHe serum IFN-γ,TNF-α levels(r=0.431,P< 0.05,r=0.372,P<0.05).Conclusion The expression of TLR3 on PBMCs in children with acute rotavirus dialThea iS up-regulated,TLR3 and its mediated immune response are associated with the development of acute rotavirus diarrhea.

Objective To identify the early warning signs of severe preeclampsia (SPE). Methods A case-control (1: 2) observational study was conducted. Forty-seven pregnant women with SPE, who attended the prenatal clinics of Peking University Third Hospital regularly from Jan. 2002 to Dec. 2007, were selected as the study group, including 12 early onset and 35 late onset ones. The control group consisted of 94 healthy singleton pregnant women at the same period. Clinical data were collected and analyzed. Results (1) The basal body mass index (BMI) showed no difference between the study and control group [(23.27±4.31)kg/m2 vs (21.52±3.09)kg/m2, P>0.05]. (2) The net increase of BMI in the study group before the onset of SPE was higher than that in the control [(5.60±2.17)kg/m2 vs (4.85±1.52)kg/m2, P<0.05] and the increase of BMI per week was also higher [(0.74±0.41)kg/(m2*w)-1 vs (0.23±0.18)kg/(m2*w)-1, P<0.01]. The sensitivity and specificity of BMI increase per week in predicting SPE was 84% and 81% at a cut-off value of 0.39 kg/(m2*w)-1, respectively, and 79% and 91% at 0.41 kg/(m2*w)-1 correspondingly. (3) During the third trimester and before the onset of SPE, the weight gain per week in the study group was higher than that of the control [(0.93±0.70)kg vs (0.63±0.20)kg, P<0.01]. Significant difference was also found in the net weight gain between the two groups (P<0.01), but not in the percentage of women with excessive weight gain (>0.50 kg/w) [60%(25/42) in the study group vs 63%(53/84) in the control group, P>0.05]. (4) Higher percentage of women experienced pre-hypertension in the study group than in the controls [17%(8/47) vs 5%(5/94), P<0.01]. (5) In the study group, 53%(25/47) of the women had edema before SPE onset, but the figure dropped to 18% (17/94) in the controls(P<0.01). (6) Eight women in the study group and one in the control group suffered from hypoproteinemia before SPE onset with the average level of plasma albumin of (32.6±1.6)g/L and(38.4±2.1)g/L(P<0.01), respectively. (7) Proteinuria was reported in 10 cases (21%)in the study group and 4(4%) in the controls (P<0.01). (8) Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors for SPE included edema (OR=6.16,95%CI:2.29-16.57),pre-hypertension (OR=6.21,95%CI:1.56-24.77),proteinuria (OR=9.68,95%CI:1.86-50.30), and weight gain >0.85 kg/w during the third trimester (OR=11.60,95%CI:3.54-37.97). Conclusions Edema, excessive weight gain,pre-hypertension and hypoproteinemia are early warning signs of SPE. Pregnant women with the above signs required close monitoring during prenatal care.

The influence of low tube voltage in dual source CT (DSCT) coronary artery imaging on image quality and radiation dose and its application value in clinical practice were investigated. Totally, 300 cases of chest pain with low body mass index (BMI <18.5 kg/m(2)) subjected to DSCT coronary artery imaging were prospectively enrolled. The heart rate in all patients were greater than 65/min. The retrospective ECG gated scanning mode and simple random sampling method were used to assign the patients into groups A, B and C (n=100 each). The patients in groups A, B and C experienced 120-, 100-, and 80-kV tube voltage imaging respectively, and the image quality was evaluated. The CT volume dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded, and the effective dose (ED) was calculated in each group. The image quality scores and radiation doses in groups were compared, and the influence of tube voltage on image quality and radiation dose was analyzed. The results showed that the excellent rate of image quality in groups A, B and C was 95.69%, 94.72% and 96.33% respectively with the difference being not statistically significant among the three groups (P>0.05). The CTDIvol values in groups A, B and C were 51.35±12.21, 21.28±7.13 and 6.34±3.34 mGy, respectively, with the difference being statistically significant (P<0.05). The ED values in groups A, B and C were 9.27±1.63, 4.56±2.29 and 2.29±1.69 mSv, respectively, with the difference being statistically significant (P<0.05). It was suggested that for the patients with low BMI, the application of DSCT coronary artery imaging with low tube voltage can obtain satisfactory image quality, and simultaneously, significantly reduce the radiation dose.

OBJECTIVETo study the anxiety state of family members of newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and investigate the influencing factors of their anxiety state.

METHODSThe self-designed questionnaire was used to collect the associated family information of 200 newborns who were admitted to the NICU. A self-rating anxiety scale was applied to investigate the anxiety state of the newborns' family members.

RESULTSThe anxiety score of the newborns' family members averaged 44.86+/-7.59, which was significantly higher than that of domestic norm of adult (37.23+/-0.58; P<0.05). The differences of the family members' anxiety score were related to the severity of baby's diseases, their educational level and family's economic condition as well as the locality of the family (countryside or city). The more severe the baby's illness, the higher anxiety score of the family members had. The family members with higher educational levels or poorer economic conditions had higher anxiety scores. The anxiety score of the family members from the countryside was higher than that of the family members from city.

CONCLUSIONSThe family members of NICU newborns have obvious anxiety. The degree of anxiety is associated with the severity of baby's illness, educational level of the family member, family's economic condition and the family locality (countryside or city). These results remind the medical staff working in the NICU should pay more attention to communicating with the family members in a compassionate way and help them to cope with this stressful situation.

Anxiety ; epidemiology ; Educational Status ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Male

OBJECTIVETo obtain a comprehensive understanding of the effect of the improvement of fixation strength of a newly designed expansive pedicle screw through biomechanical analyses.

METHODS100 (200 pedicles) fresh calf lumber vertebrae were used. A total of four instrumentation systems were tested including CDH (CD Horizon), USS (Universal Spine System pedicle screw), Tenor (Sofamor Denek) and expansive pedicle screw (EPS). Pullout and turning-back tests were performed to compare the holding strength of the expansive pedicle screw with conventional screws, i.e. USS, CDH and Tenor. Revision tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the expansive pedicle screw as a "rescue" revision screw. A fatigue simulation using perpendicular load up to 1,500,000 cycles was carried out.

RESULTSThe turning back torque (Tmax) and pull-out force (Fmax) of EPS were significantly greater than those of USS, Tenor and CDH screws (6.5 mm x 40 mm). In revision tests, the Fmax of both kinds of EPS (6.5 mm x 40 mm; 7.0 mm x 40 mm) were greater than that of CDH, USS and Tenor screws significantly (P<0.05). No screws were broken or bent at the end of fatigue tests.

CONCLUSIONSEPS can significantly improve the bone purchase and the pull-out strength compared to USS, Tenor and CDH screws with similar dimensions before and after failure simulation. The fatigue characteristic of EPS is similar to that of CDH, USS and Tenor screws.

Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Bone Screws ; Cattle ; Equipment Failure Analysis ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Internal Fixators ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Materials Testing ; Spinal Fusion ; instrumentation ; Tensile Strength