OBJECTIVE:To establish the quality standard for Cangbai qutong capsule. METHODS:TLC was conducted to iden-tify the Rhizoma atractylodis,Asarum sieboldii,Paeoniae Radix Rubra and Cortex phellodendri;RP-HPLC was conducted to deter-mine the content of berberine hydrochloride. The column was Waters Symmetry-C18 with mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.1% phos-phoric acid (gradient elution) at flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,the detection wavelength was 265 nm,column temperature was 30 ℃, and the injection volume was 10 μl. RESULTS:TLC showed R. atractylodis,A. sieboldii,Paeoniae Radix Rubra and C. phelloden-dri had clear spots and good separation. The linear range of berberine hydrochloride was 21.12-84.48 μg/ml(r=0.999 6);RSDs of pre-cision,stability and reproducibility tests were lower than 3%;recovery was 96.439%-100.950%(RSD=1.34%,n=9). CONCLU-SIONS:The method is simple and reproducible,and can be used for the quality standards of Cangbai qutong capsule.

Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Objective To discuss the expressions and clinicopathologic significances of insulin-like growth factor Ⅱ mRNA binding protein 3 (IMP3)in squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL)and cervical squa-mous cell carcinoma (CSCC)before and after the therapy of radiation and chemotherapy.Methods The expressions of IMP3 in 80 cases of CSCC,90 cases of SIL (60 cases of HSIL,30 cases of LSIL)and 30 cases of cervicitis were detected by immunobistochemistry.The relations between IMP3 and clinicopathological cha-racteristics of CSCC were analyzed.Results The expression rates of IMP3 in CSCC,HSIL,LSIL and cervici-tis were 86.3%(69 /80),78.3%(47 /60),33.3%(10 /30)and 0(0 /30),and the difference among the four groups was statistically signicant (χ2 =87.01,P <0.01).The positive expression rate of IMP3 declined by radiation or chemotherapy (60.0% vs.85.0%,χ2 =5.79,P =0.013).The expression of IMP3 was related with lymph node metastasis (χ2 =3.97,P =0.046),differentiated degree (χ2 =5.95,P =0.018),clinical stage (χ2 =5.82,P =0.016)and invasion depth (χ2 =5.73,P =0.017).There was nothing to do with age (χ2 =0.11,P =0.745).Conclusion IMP3 expresses excessively in CSCC,and is associated with pathologi-cal grade and invasion progress.Radio-chemotherapy can reduce the expression of IMP3.

OBJECTIVE To understand the pathogenicity of Staphylococcus epidermidis causing urinary tract infection. METHODS Thirty five isolates were collected in the patients with urinary tract infection during 2003-2004 to test the minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) to erythromycin,ampicillin,cefoxitin,ceftriaxone,teicoplanin,ciprofloxacin,tetracycline,trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and vancomycin.The genes of ermA,ermB,ermC,msrA,mecA,and icaA were amplified by PCR.The biofilm producing of the isolates was determined by the quantitative method.The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis(PFGE) was used to discriminate the homology among the isolates. RESULTS Among the isolates,MRSE accounted for 71.4%.The antibiotic susceptibility to erythromycin,ampicillin,ceftriaxone,ciprofloxacin,tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were 22.8%,6.34%,34.9%,26.9%,44.4% and 62.2%,respectively,whereas to teicoplanin and vancomycin were 99.2% and 100%.All the isolates resistant to cefoxitin carried mecA.ermC Was the predominant determinant among the erythromycin resistant isolates.Among the 14 icaA positive isolates,10 isolates were biofilm producing.All the isolates were classified into 18 types by PFGE. CONCLUSIONS The high and multiple antibiotic resistance of S.epidermidis isolates causing urinary tract infection were shown.The detection of icaA gene in clinical S.epidermidis isolates was a signal of their pathogenicity.

BACKGROUND: Root canal files fracture is a kind of common oral clinical complications. Therefore, it is of clinical importance to study the cyclic fatigue of different types of stainless steel root canal files.OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of the bending angle and cross-sectional area of root canal instruments on cyclic fatigue of stainless steel files.METHODS: Thirty 25# stainless steel K files (25 mm in length) were selected, the same to 30# and 35#. And these three kinds of files were respectively randomized into three groups (n=10 per subgroup). In the nine subgroups, the files were placed into self-made root canals at the bending angle of 45°, 60°, 90°, and driven by a 16:1 reducer (350 r/min).Fracture time in each subgroup was recorded and converted into the number of rotations. The microstructure of the fracture end of the files was observed under scanning electron microscope. Fractured files were collected and the crack tip length was measured by an electronic caliper.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At the same bending angle, the number of rotations resulting in file fracture was significantly reduced with the increasing of the cross-sectional area of the files (P < 0.05). When the type and cross-sectional area were same, the number of rotations resulting in file fracture was significantly reduced with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals (P < 0.05), indicating a reduction in the cyclic fatigue performance of the files. Toughness fracture occurred in all the files, and circular or oval roughness nests with different sizes and microcavities formed on the fracture surface. In addition, brittle surfaces could be detective between the roughness nests. The diameter of roughness nests was gradually increased with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals. For 30# and 35# files, the number of brittle surfaces was gradually increased with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals. For 25# files, the crack tip length was gradually decreased with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals, but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05). For 30# and 35# files, the crack tip length was significantly shortened with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals (P < 0.05). But there were no significant changes in the 35#-60° and 35#-90° groups (P=0.095). At the same bending angle, there were no regular changes in the crack tip length in the different types of files. In conclusion, with the increasing of the cross-sectional area, the cyclic fatigue performance of the files with the same length and taper is reduced and the files become easy to be fractured; with the increasing of the bending angle of the root canals, the files with the same types are apt to be fractured near the root tip, indicating the shorter length of the crack tip indicates the more difficulty in the removal of the broken files.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and biological features of protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist Ⅱ (PIVKA-Ⅱ) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods Serum samples of 72 patients with HCC (HCC group), 54 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis (cirrhosis group) and 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) without cirrhosis (CHB group) were tested with the PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP detection kits.Diagnostic efficacies of PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP were evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC).The cut-off value of PIVKA-Ⅱ for diagnose HCC was also determined.Sensitivities and specificities of PIVKA-Ⅱ and AFP were compared.Results The medians of PIVKA-Ⅱ levels in HCC group, cirrhosis group and CHB group were 14.36, 11.21, and 329.88 mAU/mL, respectively.The serum PIVKA-Ⅱ level in the HCC group was significantly higher than that in cirrhosis group (U=342.50, P<0.01).And serum PIVKA-Ⅱ level in cirrhosis group was also higher than that in CHB group (U=481.50,P>0.05).The serum PIVKA-Ⅱ levels in patients with BCLC stage A, B, C in HCC group were 22.13, 345.46, and 13 057.72 mAU/mL, respectively.After comparison of stage A and C with stage B, the differences were both statistically significant (stage A to B: U=119.0, P<0.01;stage B to C: U=158.0, P<0.01).The sensitivity and specificity of PIVKA-Ⅱ with a cut-off value of 30.01 mAU/mL by means of Youden index were 0.750 and 1.000, respectively.When combined PIVKA-Ⅱ with AFP, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.800 and 0.964, respectively.The area under the curve (AUC) was highest (AUC=0.930, 95%CI: 0.852-0.974), and significantly higher than that using PIVKA-Ⅱ alone (AUC=0.892, 95%CI: 0.834-0.950,x2=21.43,P<0.01).Conclusions The diagnostic value of serum PIVKA-Ⅱ is superior to AFP.Combined with AFP, serum PIVKA-Ⅱ can improve the detection rate of HCC, and has advantages during the development of HCC and can be used to monitor the condition of HCC patients.

To solve the problem that mostly gait analysis is independent from the treatment, this work proposes a system that integrates the functions of gait training and assessment for foot drop treatment. The system uses a set of sensors to collect gait parameters and designes multi-mode functional electrical stimulators as actuator. Body area network technology is introduced to coordinate the data communication and execution of the sensors and stimulators, synchronize the gait analysis and foot drop treatment. Bluetooth 4.0 is applied to low the power consumption of the system. The system realizes the synchronization of treatment and gait analysis. It is able to acquire and analyze the dynamic parameters of ankle, knee and hip in real-time, and treat patients by guiding functional electrical stimulation delivery to the specific body locations of patients.
Electric Stimulation ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Exercise Therapy ; Gait ; Humans ; Wireless Technology

Objective To investigate the clinical value of ~(99)Tc~m-ethylenedicysteine (EC) diuretic renography (DR) in pre-and post-operative pediatric congenital hydronephrosis.Methods The DR with injection of Furosemide at 15 min of forty children with hydronephrosis was retrospectively studied.The preoperative renal blood perfusion rate (BPR),effective renal plasma flow (ERPF),grade of hydronephrosis,renogram and renal dynamic imaging of pre- and post-operative kidneys were compared.The t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for data analysis.Results (1) Of 40 pathological kidneys,the BPR increased 5.99% (t=-5.13,P＜0.01)from pre-operative to post-operative:(34.05±11.07)% to (40.04±8.56)%.The ERPF increased 12.48 ml/min(t=-4.35,P＜0.01) from pre-operative to post-operative:(57.81±34.32)ml/min to(70.29±5.37)ml/min.(2)The grade of hydronephrosis of 40 pathological kidneys improved significantly(Z=-2.64,P＜0.01) with the mean sum of ranks of 47.21 pre-operatively to 33.79 post-operatively.(3) As the hydronephrosis worsened,the collecting system became bigger,the renal parenchyma became thinner,the extent of intrarenal parenchymal photopenia became larger and the response to diuretic challenge in pathological kidneys decreased or became totally irresponsive.(4)Thirty-seven cases of obstruction at ureteropelvic junction (UPJO) and 3 cases at ureterovesical junction (UVJO) were diagnosed by DR,which were all confirmed by surgery.Conclusions DR is a reliable method to evaluate pediatric congenital hydronephrosis.It can accurately reflect the grade and (or) severity of the disease,guide therapy and assess the therapeutic success of operation.

The volatile components of roots and stems of Zanthoxylum nitidum were investigated by supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extraction (SFE-CO2) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS). Thirty-one and fifty-one compounds were identified in the supercritical extracts from roots and stems of Z. nitidum, respectively, and total twenty-seven compounds were the common constituents. Among them, the major constituents in root and stem supercritical extracts were spathulenol (18.49 and 26.18%), n-hexadecanoic acid (14.24% and 12.79%), ar-tumerone (6.95% and 8.88%), oleic acid (8.39% and 5.71%) and hexanoic acid (4.39% and 7.78%). The in-vitro MTT assay showed that the volatile components of roots and stems of Z. nitidum did not exhibited any cytotoxic activity against human cancer Huh-7 and normal IEC-6 cells. These results indicated the same nature of the volatile constituents in the root and stem of Z. nitidum. This investigation may provide further evidence for expansion of medicinal parts of Z. nitidum.
Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; toxicity ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Humans ; Mice ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Zanthoxylum ; chemistry

Objective To culture the rabbit bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) ,and to observe their biologi-cal characteristics in vitro and the expression of BMP2 and EGFP after Ad-EGFP-BMP2 infected on them .Methods To isolate and cultivate BMSCs by density gradient centrifugation and adherent culture in vitro ;the cell cycle and the surface marks were detected by flow cytometer ;rabbit BMSCs were differentiated into the direction of osteogenetic cells by in vitro induction .After transfection , the expression of exogenous gene in the cells was detected by the immunocytochemical staining and Western blot .Results About 56 .84% of rabbit BMSCs cell cycle was in the G1 phase;the D44 expression was positive and the CD45 expression was negative ;af-ter induction by osteogenetic cells ,the Ⅰtype collagen immunohistochemical staining was positive and the alizarin red staining was positive .After transfection ,the strong expression of BMP2 and EGFP in cells was showed by Western blot and the immunocyto-chemical staining .Conclusion rabbit BMSCs are successfully isolated ,cultured and identified to have the ability of osteogenetic dif-ferentiation ;the structured Ad-BMP-2/EGFP can efficiently transfected rabit BMSCs and stably express the target gene of BMP 2 .