[Effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on myocyte apoptosis in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury rats based on FXR/SHP pathway].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on left-cardiac function, contents of serum TNF-α and IL-6 and expression of myocardial farnesoid X receptor(FXR), small heterodimer partner (SHP), apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) and heat shock proteins 70 (HSP70) genes in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of ischemic myocardial injury. METHODS: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control, sham operation, MIRI model and EA pretreatment groups, with 10 rats in each group. Rats of the sham operation group received exposure of the thorax and heart. The MIRI model was established by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery (LAD). EA (2 Hz/100 Hz and 1 mA) was applied to bilateral "Neiguan" (PC6), "Zusanli" (ST36) and "Guanyuan" (CV4) for 20 min, once a day for 7 days. The left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP)and maximal rates of rise and fall of left ventricular pressure (±dp/dtmax) were detected, the contents of serum TNF-α and IL-6 were detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of FXR, SHP, AIF and HSP70 apoptotic genes in the myocardial tissue were measured by fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, the LVEDP, contents of serum TNF-α and IL-6, and the expression levels of myocardial FXR, SHP, AIF and HSP70 mRNAs were significantly increased (P<0.05), while LVSP and ±dp/dtmax levels were obviously decreased in the model group (P<0.05). In comparison with the model group, MIRI-induced increases of LVEDP, TNF-α and IL-6 contents, and FXR, SHP and AIF mRNA expression and decreases of ±dp/dtmax and LVSP levels were reversed(P<0.05), except HSP70 mRNA expression with significantly increased (P<0.05) in the EA pretreatment group. CONCLUSION: EA pretreatment can protect the left ventricular function of the ischemic heart in MIRI rats, which may be related to its effects in reliving peripheral inflammation and regulating the expression levels of apoptosis-related factors FXR, SHP, AIF and HSP70 in the myocardium.

Psychosocial risk factors associated with esophageal cancer in Chinese cohort: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies were controversial about the role of psychosocial factors in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer (EC). This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effect size of psychosocial risk factors for EC in Chinese cohort.A literature search was conducted in both English and Chinese databases, and odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled using a random-effects model.28 studies were identified with a total of 6951 EC cases and 7469 controls. The meta-analysis indicated a higher risk of EC among the individuals with psychological trauma (OR: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.71-3.26), Type A behavior (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.17-1.67), depression (OR: 4.00, 95% CI: 2.44-6.55), melancholy (OR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.32-3.20), always in sulks (OR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.21-5.12), and irritable personality (OR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.58-2.89). A lower EC risk was found in the individuals with good interpersonal relationship (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17-0.70) and outgoing personality (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.19-0.78).This meta-analysis suggested a potential association between psychosocial factors and EC risk. For the individuals with psychosocial risk factors, physicians should pay more attention to EC screening.

[Effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on cell apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on cell apoptosis and the content of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in rats with myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI), so as to explore their mechanisms underlying improvement of MIRI. METHODS: Eighty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, sham, ischemia reperfusion (IR) and EA groups, with 20 rats in each group. Rats of the control, sham and IR groups were just banded on the boards for 30 min, once daily for 7 days. Before modeling, EA (2 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to "Neiguan" (PC6), "Zusanli" (ST36), "Guanyuan"(CV4) for 20 min, once daily for 7 successive days in the EA group. The MIRI model was established by occlusion of the left anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery for 20 min, followed by reperfusion for 30 min. Ventricular arrhythmia (VA) score was used to evaluate arrhythmia. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the level of CK-MB. DHE staining was used to detect the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The gene expression levels of cytochrome C (Cyt-C), Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. RESULTS: Compared with the sham group, VA score, serum CK-MB content, ROS content in heart tissue and Cyt-C, Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 gene expression were significantly up-regulated in the MIRI group (all P<0.01). Following the intervention, the increased VA score, serum CK-MB content, ROS content in heart tissue, Cyt-C, Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 gene expression were all reversed in the EA group compared with the MIRI group (all P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The protective effect of EA preconditioning on MIRI may be based on the regulation of ROS mediated-apoptosis pathway.

Efficient propagation with in vitro seed germination of Vanda falcata.

Vanda falcata (Thunb.) Beer (Orchidaceae), a famous native orchid of China, Japan, and Korea, is known as one of the most beautiful and charming orchid species in the world (Ohwi, 1965; Lawler, 1984; Arditti, 2008). V. falcata is widely cultivated and delights the world with its compact plant shape, elegant white blooms, and sweet coconut-like scent. However, vegetative propagation by division has limited the development of V. falcata because of its inefficiency (Mitsukuri et al., 2009a, 2009b).

[All-Trans Retinoic Acid and Decitabine Synergistically Induce Anti-Leukemia Effect on U937 Cell Line and Newly Diagnosed Elder AML Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of all transretinoicacid(ATRA) combined with decitabine (5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine;DAC) on DNA methylation and gene expression of p16INK4a (p16) and retinoic acid receptor ß (RARß), and to explore their combined anti neoplastic effect on U937 cells and newly diagnose delder acute myeloid leukemia(AML) patients. METHODS: The expression levels of p16 and RARß were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Methylation-specific PCR was used to analyze their methylation status. WST-1 and flow cytometry were performed to detect growth inhibition, differentiation, apoptosis and cell cycle of U937 cells respectively. RESULTS: The expression p16 and RARß was down-regulated by promoter hypermethylation in newly diagnose delder AML patients and U937 cells. Combination treatment of ATRA and DAC induced DNA hypomethylation as well as gene expression of p16 and RARß, which contributed to the growth inhibition, differentiation, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of U937 cells. In addition for elder AML patients intolerable to standard chemotherapy, the combination regimen of ATRA and DAC showed antineoplastic activity accompamied by up-regulation of p16 and RARß expression and decrease of bone marrow blast, moreover the parients showed good tolerence to the reginen. CONCLUSION: The regimen of ATRA combined with DAC as the combination therapeutic strategy for inducing differentiation and demethylation possesses the anti-AML potency, and contributes to optimizing the therapeutic strategy for elder AML patients and promoting the clinical prognosis.

[Prognostic Significance of the Percentage of Blasts with CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ Phenotype in Acute Myeloid Leukemias].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the percentage of blasts with the CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ phenotype in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and analyse its correlation with prognosis. METHODS: The percentage of CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ cells in the blast population of 148 newly diagnosed patients with AML was determined by using flow cytometry and its correlation with complete response, disease-free survival and overall survival were evaluated. RESULTS: The median percentage of CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ cells in newly diagnosed patients was 2.8% (ranged from 0.01 to 67%). The high expression of CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ in AML patients positively correlated with the NPM1 wild-type (χ2=5.194,P<0.05), but did not relate with the positive FLT3-ITD mutations (χ2=0.418,P>0.05). Further multivariable analysis showed that the higher expression of the CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ was associated with lower complete remission (P<0.05), worse disease-free survival(P<0.01) and shorter overall survival(P<0.01) in AML patients. CONCLUSION: The percentage of CD34+/CD38low/-/CD123+ cells at diagnosis significantly correlates with the response to treatment and survival. This prognostic marker may be used to rapidly identify the risk of treatment failure in clinical practice.

A Novel bHLH Transcription Factor Involved in Regulating Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.).

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) exhibit a variety of flower colors due to their differing abilities to accumulate anthocyanins. One MYB member, CmMYB6, has been verified as a transcription regulator of chrysanthemum genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis; however, the co-regulators for CmMYB6 remain unclear in chrysanthemum. Here, the expression pattern of CmbHLH2, which is clustered in the IIIf bHLH subgroup, was shown to be positively correlated with the anthocyanin content of cultivars with red, pink and yellow flower colors, respectively. CmbHLH2 significantly upregulated the CmDFR promoter and triggered anthocyanin accumulation when co-expressed with CmMYB6. Yeast one-hybrid analyses indicated that CmbHLH2 was able to bind directly to the CmDFR promoter. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid assays indicated protein-protein interaction between CmbHLH2 and CmMYB6. These results suggest that CmbHLH2 is the essential partner for CmMYB6 in regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in chrysanthemum.

Application of capillary electrophoresis-frontal analysis for comparative evaluation of the binding interaction of captopril with human serum albumin in the absence and presence of hydrochlorothiazide.

The application of capillary electrophoresis-frontal analysis for comparative evaluation of the binding interaction between antihypertensive drug captopril and human serum albumin in the absence and presence of diuretic drug hydrochlorothiazide was presented in this work. At near-physiological conditions (67mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, I=0.17, 37°C), the individual solution of 100µM captopril and the co-binding solution with 60µM hydrochlorothiazide added were pre-equilibrated with series concentrations of HSA (10-475µM) respectively, introducing hydrodynamically into an uncoated fused silica capillary (35cm×50µm I.D. with 26.5cm effective length). The values of number of binding sites, the binding constant for captopril and hydrochlorothiazide binding to HSA were obtained, respectively. It can be found that both drugs exhibit moderate binding properties towards HSA and there does not exist significant competitive binding effects between them.

A multicenter point-prevalence survey of antibiotic use in 13 Chinese hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The use of antibiotics is considered a major determinant of the development of resistance in organisms. This study assessed current patterns of antibiotic prescription and provides background for quality improvement in general hospitals in Hubei, China. METHODS: A point-prevalence study was performed in November 2008. All inpatients on the day of the survey were included in the analysis. RESULTS: On the day of the study, 6904 patients (56%) were receiving antibiotic therapy; the highest rate occurred in the ICU (90%), and the lowest occurred in the medical wards (39%). The most commonly used antibiotics were ß-lactam antibiotics, including cephalosporins (40%) and piperacillin (19%), followed by fluoroquinolones (14%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated a high rate of antibiotic use in Chinese hospitals. These findings suggest important areas for intervention and the implementation of antibiotic stewardship policies in Chinese hospitals. A multi-faceted strategy should be implemented at the national level in China and should include education, regulation, and greater financial support from the government.

Point prevalence surveys of healthcare-associated infection in 13 hospitals in Hubei Province, China, 2007-2008.

Successive point prevalence surveys were conducted in November 2007 and 2008 to monitor the prevalence of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) in 13 grade III, 1st class hospitals in Hubei Province of China, using the case definition criteria established by the Ministry of Health in the People's Republic of China. In total, of 20 350 patients surveyed, 833 (4.09%) HCAIs were observed in 790 (3.88%) patients. There was no significant difference between the overall prevalence of HCAI in 2007 (4.14%) and 2008 (3.72%). Respiratory tract infection was the most common HCAI (63.15%), followed by surgical site infection (9.60%) and urinary tract infection (8.64%). Only 35.29% (294/833) of HCAI patients had positive microbiology results. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated most frequently and the most frequent organism was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, followed by Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotic use was documented for 10,344 (50.83%) patients, and cephalosporins, penicillins, and quinolones were the most commonly used agents for treatment or prophylaxis.

[Tone-pip auditory brainstem response and auditory steady-state response of infants with normal hearing.].

OBJECTIVE: To estimate tone-pip auditory brainstem response (tone-pip ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) thresholds to follow the development of hearing in four groups of normal babies through the first 6 month of life and to make a comparison between the tone-pip ABR and ASSR for 0.25 - 8 kHz frequency range at different groups. METHODS: The tone-pip ABR and ASSR were recorded in four groups of normal hearing infants (160 ears) at the age of 2 - 4 day, 6 weeks, 3-month and 6-month. Tone-pip ABR and ASSR thresholds were established in 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz stimuli. RESULTS: For click ABR, the wave latency of I, III, V and inter-wave latency of I-III, III-V and I-V decreased as the age increase. The developmental changes were obvious in wave I and III before 6 weeks and 3 months respectively. Tone-pip ABR had the similar waveform as the click ABR. With the frequency increasing, their waveforms and wave latencies of I, III and V were getting better and shorter respectively. There was significant difference between the thresholds of tone-pip ABR and ASSR (all P < 0.05). The tone-pip ABR thresholds were significantly lower than those of ASSR from 0.5 to 8 kHz. Both ASSR and tone-pip ABR had similar audiograms for different age of infants with normal hearing. CONCLUSIONS: The longitudinal findings presented in this study suggest that with the maturational development, the wave latency of I, III, V and inter-wave latency of I-III, III-V and I-V of tone-pip ABR decrease as the age increase, while the hearing sensitivity have no changes. Both tone-pip ABR and ASSR have stable frequency specificity. Compared to the ASSR, tone-pip ABR have lower response threshold and maybe nearer to the hearing level of the infant.

[Mutations of GJB2 gene in infants with non-syndromic hearing impairment].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between GJB2 gene mutations and severe-to-profound bilateral non-syndromic hearing impairment (NSHI). METHODS: Peripheral blood was collected from 20 infants with severe-to-profound bilateral NSHI confirmed by otoacoustic emissions (OAE), auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and clinical physical examination, 11 male and 9 female, aged 3 months to 3 years. PCR and sequencing technique were used to analyze the coding region of GJB2 gene. Fifty persons with normal hearing, 25 males and 25 female, aged 20 approximately 50, all without family history of hearing impairment, were used as controls. RESULTS: Three infants (15%) were identified as 235delC/235delC homozygotes; one infant was identified as 235delC/299-300delAT compound heterozygote; one was identified as 235delC heterozygote; and one as 235delC/605ins46 compound heterozygote with 605ins46 mutation, a novel mutation reported in Chinese for the first time. GJB2 gene mutations were found in 5 NSHI infants (25%). The allelic frequency of 235delC allele was 22.5% in the NSHI infants and 1% in the control group (P < 0.01). Besides, multiple polymorphisms such as V27I, V37I, E114G, T123N were found in both the patients and controls. CONCLUSION: GJB2 analysis is an important test for infants with severe-to-profound bilateral NSHI. 235delC is the main pathogenic mutation site in GJB2 gene.

[The exploratory study of auto-auditory brainstem response in the high-risk infants on hearing screening].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the pass rate of auto-auditory brainstem response (AABR) in infants complicated with different high-risk factors. METHODS: 245 infants (488 ears) with different high-risk factors, including premature, low-weight, hyperbilirubinemia, asphyxiation and pulmonary diseases, were tested by transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) and AABR at the same time. RESULTS: The pass rate of AABR and that of TEOAE were different for the infants with different high-risk factors. The number that passed TEOAE test and referred to AABR test: premature 15 ears, low-weight 3 ears, for hyperbilirubinemia 1 ears, for asphyxiation 5 ears, and for pulmonary diseases 35ears. The pass rate of AABR was reduced evidently when infants had pulmonary diseases and the complicated high-risk factors (chi(2) = 35.723, P < 0.01). Different high-risk factors produced different pass rates of AABR (chi(2) = 40.556, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: High-risk factors effect the auditory function. The pass rate of AABR is reduced evidently when an infant has both pulmonary diseases and the complicated high-risk factors. We should pay attention to these infants in universal newborn hearing screening.

[A study on the risk indicators of newborn hearing loss].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk indicators of newborn hearing loss. METHODS: Statistic description was used to analyze the basic characteristics of 41 hearing loss infants screened from 8,262 newborns; one way analysis was used by 1:2 matched case control study to analyze the risk indicators of newborns with hearing loss; chi-square test and multivariate condition Logistic stepwise regression mode were also used to find risk the indicators. RESULTS: By one way analysis, there were 3 high risk indicators associated with newborn hearing loss: family history of hearing loss, craniofacial anomalies, and NICU care history. By analysis of multivariate condition Logistic stepwise regression mode, family history of hearing loss (OR=16.945, 95% CI 1.21-237.369) and craniofacial anomalies (OR=6.703, 95% CI 0.61-73.85) were 2 independent risk factors of newborn hearing loss. CONCLUSION: Appropriate intervention measure should be done to reduce the high risk indicators that cause newborn hearing loss.

[Hearing screening of 10,501 newborns].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the results of hearing screening in newborns so as to explore the appropriate clinical strategy of hearing screening among newborns. METHODS: Transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) was used to examine the hearing of 10,501 newborns 2 - 4 days after birth. Those who failed the initial screening underwent secondary screening with TEOAE. Acoustic brain-stem response (ABR) and 40 Hz AERP were used to monitor the hearing of those who failed the secondary screening every 6 months since the age of 3 months to the age of 3 years. RESULTS: The false-positive rate was 14.92% in the initial screening, and was 0.26% after the 2-stage screening. 62 infants were diagnosed with hearing loss with a prevalence of congenital hearing loss (in one ear or two ears) of 5.90 per thousand and a prevalence of bilateral hearing loss of 2.76 per thousand. CONCLUSION: Hearing screening in the procedure with TEOAE, ABR and 40 Hz AERP helps identify infants with hearing loss as early as possible so as to conduct appropriate intervention.