Objective To investigate the CT diagnostic value and CT findings of fungal sinusitis.Methods CT findings of fungal sinusitis in 25 cases proved pathologically were retrospectively analysed.Results Heterogeneous density of sinusal cavity with small calcification appeared as spots or floccose(9 cases) and sand-like or patchy(16 cases) shadows,and local bone destruction.Conclusion The fungal sinusitis has characteristic findings on CT.CT is a valuable method for diagnosing the disease.

Objective To understand the situation of iodine deficiency disorders of Cangzhou city, Hebei province, in order to provide the scientific basis for prevention and control of iodine deficiency disorders. Methods From 2007 to 2009, dynamic monitoring of iodine deficiency disorders was carried out in low iodized salt coverage places Hejian city and Xian county. Nine towns were randomly chosen in each county, 4 administrative villages were randomly selected in each town, 8 household salts were tested in each village. Every year, 1 - 3 copies of residents water samples were collected for determination of iodine; more than 100 students age 8 - 10 years old were checked the situation of goiter and urinary iodine, more than 40 students selected were measured iodine content of salt from their home; more than 50 women of childbearing age 18 - 40 years were tested of urinary iodine. Thyroid was examined with palpation; water iodine and urine iodine concentration were measured with arsenic-Ce catalytic spectrophotometry; salt iodine was detected by direct titration. Results From 2007 to 2009,median household salt iodine were 4.3,15.9,3.6,18.4,4.6,11.7 mg/kg in Hejian city and Xian county, respectively,iodized salt accounted for 34.03% (98/288), 78.82% (227/288), 29.86% (86/288), 84.72% (244/288), 37.15%(107/288),49.31% (142/288), respectively, the consuming rate of iodized salt were 27.08% (78/288),36.46%( 105/288 ), 28.13% (81/288 ), 49.31% ( 142/288 ), 37.15 % ( 107/288 ), 30.90% ( 89/288 ), respectively. Ten samples of drinking water were tested, water iodine were 5.5 - 34.4 μg/L. From 2007 to 2009, the goiter rate of students aged 8 - 10 years old was below 5%, the median of urinary iodine were 138.1,176.6,112.0 μg/L, ＜ 100 μg/L ratio were 31.6% ( 65/206 ), 25.0% ( 52/208 ) and 44.4% (91/205 ). The median of urinary iodine of child-bearing age women were 167.3,164.2,78.1 μg/L, ＜ 100 μg/L ratio were 28.7%(29/101 ), 19.2%(20/104) and 60.0%(60/100).Conclusions In areas with low coverage of iodized salt, iodine nutrition level are affected, the child-bearing age

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the impact of nicotine- and tar-free cigarette smoke extract (fCSE) on the serum testosterone (T) level and erectile function of male rats.

METHODSWe randomized 30 male SD rats to three groups of equal number to receive subcutaneous injection of PBS (1.0 ml / 300 g body weight per day), fCSE (1.0 ml/300 g body weight per day), and reduced glutathione hormone (GSH, 200 mg per kg body weight per day) in addition to fCSE (fCSE + GSH), respectively, all for 8 weeks. Then we evaluated the erectile function of the rats by measuring the maximal intracavernous pressure (MICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), ICP/MAP ratio, time of stimulation to MICP (Tmax), and cavernosal filling fate (CFR). We determined the serum T level, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) , malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the cavernosal tissue, and also observed the morphological changes of the corpus cavernosum.

RESULTSCompared with the controls, the rats of the fCSE group showed obvious decreases in the levels of serum T ([5.37 ± 1.43] vs [3.22 ± 1.11] μg/L), NOS ([2.90 ± 0.27] vs [1.67 ± 0.18] U/mg) , and SOD ([18.41 ± 1.09] vs [13.36 ± 1.18] U/mg prot) and erectile function-related indexes MICP ([85.92 ± 6.36] vs [58.99 ± 10.76] mmHg), MICP/MAP (0.86 ± 0.09 vs [0.56 ± 0.08]), and CFR (2.14 ± 0.44 vs 0.89 ± 0.44), but markedly increased Tmax ([29.90 ± 5.78] vs [42.90 ± 8.56]s), with a positive correlation between the serum T level and CFR (r = 0. 364, P < 0.05). Masson staining revealed a lower ratio of the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle tissue to collagen fiber in the fCSE group (0.27 ± 0.04) than in the control (0.98 ± 0.12). Compared with the fCSE group, the fCSE + GSH group exhibited significantly improved MICP ([58.99 ± 10.76 ] vs [77.95 ± 7.71] mmHg), MICP/MAP (0.56 ± 0.08 vs 0.77 ± 0.09), and CFR (0.89 ± 0.44] vs 1.76 ± 0.42) and shortened Tmax ([42.90 ± 8.56 ] vs [32.10 ± 5.84 ] s). The ratio of the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle tissue to collagen fiber was higher in the fCSE + GSH than in the fCSE group (0.77 ± 0.09 vs 0.27 ± 0.04) but still lower than in the control (0.98 ± 0.12).

CONCLUSIONNicotine- and tar-free cigarette smoke extract reduces the serum T level and erectile function of rats, which is related to oxidative stress. Antioxidant therapy can improve erectile function but has a limited value for morphological protection of the penile tissue.

Animals ; Erectile Dysfunction ; chemically induced ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Muscle, Smooth ; pathology ; Nicotine ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Penile Erection ; drug effects ; Penis ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tars ; Tobacco ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of integrative medical treatment (IMT) with serial Chinese recipes on quality of life (QOF) of rehabilitation stage in SARS patients.

METHODSEighty-five SARS patients of rehabilitation stage were enrolled in the clinical study. They were divided into the IMT group (62 patients received serial Chinese recipes and western medicine) and the control group (23 patients received western medicine alone). The serial Chinese recipes were given according to patients' syndrome, one dose per day for oral intake for 3 weeks. QOF scoring in patients was observed.

RESULTSQOF scoring in the IMT group before treatment was not significantly different from that in the control group. After 3 weeks treatment, it improved to some extent in both groups, but the improvement in the IMT group was superior to that in the control group in respect of total score and score of psychologic emotional factors.

CONCLUSIONSerial Chinese recipe could improve QOF of rehabilitation stage in SARS patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Convalescence ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ofloxacin ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Quality of Life ; Ribavirin ; therapeutic use ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; drug therapy ; immunology ; rehabilitation

Isolation and purification of chemical constituents from solid culture of endophyte Chaetomium globosum in Imperata cylindrical was performed through silica gel column chromatography, gel filtration over Sephadex LH-20 and preparative HPLC. Nine compounds were obtained and their structures were determined as chaetoglobosin F(1), chaetoglobosin Fex(2), chaetoglobosin E(3) cytoglobosin A(4), penochalasin C(S), isochaetoglobosin D (6), N-benzoylphenylalaninyl-N-benzoyphenylalaninate(7), uracil(8) and 5-methyluracil(9), respectively, based on HR-MS and NMR data and comparison with literatures. Compound 7 was isolated from Chaeeomium sp. for the first time. In vitro cytotoxicity of compounds was evaluated using MTT mothed and 1,3,4 and 5 showed inhibition activity to the human cervical carcinoma cell HeLa with IC50 values of 99.43, 23.77, 97.92, 86.25 micromol x L(-1), while positive cotolocisnin Ad apno1ch alse IC50 24.33 micromol x L(-1).
Biological Factors ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chaetomium ; chemistry ; Endophytes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Poaceae ; microbiology ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Cholecystectomy ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male

The traditional culture methods and the molecular biology methods were used to study the rhizosphere bacterial diversity between fusarium wilt resistant and susceptible watermelon. The results showed that the diversity and the equality of cultured rhizosphere bacteria of resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon. The reason was that the cultured rhizosphere bacterial di- versity index H′ and 1/D of the resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon and that the cultured rhizosphere bacterial equality index E of the resistant watermelon were higher than those of the susceptible watermelon. The dominant cultured bacterial genotypes were different between re- sistant and susceptible watermelon. The genotype 1 is the dominant genotype of resistant watermelon, con- sists 51.1%. The genotype 7 is the dominant genotype of susceptible watermelon, consists 58.7%.

Objective To study the potential of multi-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging in the assessment of cerebral neoplasms.Methods Multi-slice helical CT perfusion imaging was performed in 38 patients with cerebral tumors.The perfusion imaging of the tumor was carried out by cine scan technique (ls/1 rotation) with slice thickness 5 mm/4i,reconstructed slice thickness 10 mm/2i.Contrast injection was done by using 50 ml nonionic contrast agent(300 mg I/ml),at a flow rate of 3.5 ml/s with a power injector,and 5 seconds delay,and data acquisition lasted for 45 seconds.The scanning images were processed in ADW 4.0 workstation.BF、BV、PS values of tumors were calculated and statistically analysed. Results 38 patients with cerebral neoplasms included 9 cases of gradeⅠ—Ⅱgliomas(group 1),10 cases of gradeⅢ—Ⅳgliomas (group 2),9 eases of metastases (group 3)and 10 cases of meningiomas (group 4).All raw data was transformed to square root so as to be consistent with normal distribution.BF~(1/2) values for groupl to group 4 were (5.99?1.03)、(7.55?1.57)、(7.72?2.02 )、(11.40?2.13)ml?rain~(-1)?kg~(-1).The differences in BF~(1/2) were statistically significant between group 1 and group 2,between group 1 and group 3,between group 1 and group 4,between group 2 and group 4,between group 3 and group 4(t_(1,2)=6.89,t_(1,3)=4.59,t_(1,4)=11.03,t_(2.4)=10.58,t_(3,4)=7.65,P＜0.05),and there was no statistically significant difference between group 2 and group 3(t_(2.3)=1.17,P＞0.05);BF~(1/2) values for groupl to group 4 were (1.01?0.19)、(1.42?0.38)、(1.25?0.33)、(1.60?0.24)ml?kg~(-1).The differences in BF~(1/2) were statistically significant between every two groups (t_(1,2)=7.15,t_(1.3)=3.71, t_(1.4)=5.93,t_(2.3)=2.94,t_(2,4)=2.72,t_(3.4)=4.46,P＜0.05 );PS~(1/2) values for groupl to group 4 were (1.70?0.37)、(3.63?0.95)、(4.29?1.30)、(5.69?1.03)ml?min~(-1)?kg~(-2).The differences in PS~(1/2) were statistically significant between every two groups(t_(1.2)=11.53,t_(1.3)=10.61,t_(1.4)=16.77,t_(2.3)=3.69, t_(2,4)=9.94,t_(3,4)=5.52,P＜0.05).Conclusion Multi-slice helical CT perfusion imaging is very useful to evaluate tumor vessels of cerebral neoplasmas and it can provide information of incremental benefit in diagnosis,in staging of tumor grade,in the distinction of benign from maglignant cerebral neoplasmas and in differentiating intracerebral neoplasmas from extracerebral neoplasmas.

Objective To explore the miRNA regulating the potential cancer-promoting gene CCL18 in cutaneous malignant melanoma.Methods Bioinformatics analysis was conducted by using online software miRanda and TargetScan,so as to predict the miRNA targeting CCL18 gene.Three kinds of C CL18 3'UTR dual-luciferase reporter vectors,including mutant 3'UTR vector (mutant 3'UTR group),wildtype 3'UTR vector (wild-type 3'UTR group) and empty vector (blank control group),as well as miRNA vectors carring selected miRNAs were constructed according to human gene sequence analysis,and then were used to co-transfect 293T cells.After 48-hour treatment,the cells were lysed for detection of luciferase activity.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR was performed to measure the expression of CCL 18 and selected miRNA in 14 fresh malignant melanoma tissue specimens and 14 paracancerous normal skin tissue specimens (control tissues),and their correlations were analyzed.Results Online software analysis showed that some miRNAs were identified to target the 3'UTR of CCL18 gene,including miR-183,miR-128 and miR-33a.Luciferase reporter vectors and miRNA vectors were constructed successfully.As luciferase activity assay showed,when miR-183 and miR-128 were bound to the CCL18 3'UTR,the luciferase activities were significantly higher in their mutant 3'UTR groups (11.63 ± 0.42;8.80 ± 0.49) than in their wild-type 3'UTR groups (4.86 ± 0.39;5.01 ± 0.54;both P ＜ 0.05) and blank control groups (2.41 ± 0.13;2.39 ± 0.05;both P ＜ 0.01),while there were no significant differences between miR-33a-hinding mutant 3'UTR group (6.41 ± 0.47) and miR-33a-binding wild-type 3'UTR group (6.16 ± 0.22,P ＞ 0.05).Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR revealed higher mRNA expression of the CCL18 gene (3.52 ± 1.68),but lower expression of miR-183 (0.49 ± 0.32),miR-128 (0.30 ± 0.20) and miR-33a (0.46 ± 0.40) in the malignant melanoma tissues compared with the control tissues.The mRNA expression of the CCL18 gene was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-128 (rs =-0548,P ＜ 0.05),but showed no significant correlations with the expression of miR-183 and miR-33a (both P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion miR-128 may play a role in regulating the potential malignant melanoma-promoting gene CCL18.

Objective To investigate the effect of osthole on the proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and its potential mechanisms.Methods Breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was treated by osthole 0,25,50,100,150 and 200 μmol/L respectively.MTT method was used to detect cell survival rate.HE staining was used to observe morphological changes,Annexin V-PI flow cytometry was used to analyze cell apoptosis,and RT-PCR and Western blot method were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR),respectively.Results MTT assay showed that strong cytotoxicity of cell line MCF-7 was induced after administration of osthole for 72 h in a dose-dependent manner.Especially,the maximum inhibitory rate,73.0 ％ appeared in the 200 μmol/L group.HE staining showed that the number of MCF-7 cells decreased,hyperchromatic nuclei and apoptotic bodies appeared after treatment with osthole for 72 h in a significant dose-effect manner.Flow cytometric analysis revealed that osthole could induce extensive apoptosis in MCF-7 cultures after treatment for 72 h compared with normal group (P ＜ 0.05,P ＜ 0.01).In particular,when the concentration of osthole reached 50 μmol/L,the proportion of early apoptotic cells was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner (P ＜ 0.01),especially.The maximum apoptosis rate (46.2±9.0) ％ appeared in the 200 μmol/L group,which was consistent with the results obtained from MTT assays.Moreover,osthole could significantly increased PPARγand FXR mRNA and protein expressions (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion These data suggest that osthole could inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer MCF-7 cells and promote its apoptosis,which might be associated with the regulation of PPARγ and FXR-mediated target genes involved in cell growth and metabolism.