Risk Factors for Death of Elderly Patients with Acute Obstructive Suppurative Cholangitis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors for death of elderly patients with acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis (AOSC). METHODS: Three hundred and forty-eight AOSC patients > 60 years of age were retrospectively analysed in the First People's Hospital of Jining from June 2005 to June 2013. The patients were treated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) immediately after AOSC was diagnosed to clear the stones and drain, and surgical procedures were then performed in the patients in whom ERCP failed. The risk factors were identified with univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Among the 348 AOSC patients, 27 patients died after treatment. Two hundred and forty-nine patients were treated with ERCP, and 11 patients died; 99 patients were treated with ERCP plus surgery, and 16 patients died. Two hundred and thirty-two patients were treated within 24 hours after they were admitted to the hospital, and 10 patients died; 116 patients were treated beyond 24 hours, and 17 patients died. According to the results of the univariate and multivariate analysis, shock, ERCP plus surgery, advanced age, low platelet count, the presence of co-morbidities, door to treatment time > 24 hours, hypoproteinaemia, and hyperbilirubinaemia were the independent risk factors for death of elderly patients with AOSC. CONCLUSION: The strategies of dealing with these risk factors should be researched to reduce mortality of elderly patients with AOSC.

mRNA expression of prolactin receptor in sheep pituitary and its effect on maternal behavior.

Prolactin receptor (PRLR) is the specific receptor for prolactin. Brain-specific control of PRLR gene expression is correlated with the induction of maternal behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic changes in the PRLR mRNA level in the sheep pituitary gland and its effect on ewe maternal behavior. The mRNA expression of PRLR during non-pregnancy stage was maintained at low but detectable levels, as was the case during mid-gestation. After that, expression began increasing and reached a maximum during the early postpartum followed by a gradual decline during the mid-postpartum and late postpartum stages. A trend of higher PRLR mRNA expression was observed during the postpartum stage relative to the non-pregnancy and pregnancy stages. Expression of PRLR mRNA was significantly higher in the normal maternal behavior group than that in the abnormal maternal behavior group. There may be a correlation between PRLR mRNA expression and ewe maternal behavior, especially in early postpartum.

Comparison of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine therapy on vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effect of western medicine therapy assisted by Ginkgo biloba tablets (GBT) in patients with vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCIND). Eighty patients with VCIND were randomly divided into two groups: the conventional treatment group (control group) and the combined treatment group. The conventional treatment group was provided with anti-platelet aggregation conventional treatment. In this group, 75 mg aspirin was given three times a day for 3 months, whereas the combined treatment group was given 19.2 mg GBT three times a day for 3 months along with conventional anti-platelet aggregation treatment. Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography were used to observe changes in cognitive ability and cerebral blood flow in patients with VCIND before and after treatment in the two groups. After 3 months of treatment, the MoCA scores of execution, attention, abstraction, delayed memory, and orientation were significantly increased in the combined treatment group compared with those before treatment and those in the control group after treatment. In addition, the blood flow velocity of the anterior cerebral artery was significantly increased in the combined treatment group. GBT can improve the therapeutic efficacy, cognitive ability, and cerebral blood flow supply of patients with VCIND.

Differential expression profiling of microRNAs in para-carcinoma, carcinoma and relapse human pancreatic cancer.

PURPOSE: To explore the altered different expression of miRNAs and the mechanisms underlying the relapse and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The most differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) term analysis, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis and protein interaction analysis. The potentially regulated target genes of the most differentially expressed miRNAs were also analyzed further by GO term analysis and KEGG pathway analysis, and quantitated by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In total, we found 12 miRNAs displayed at least a 30-fold increase or decrease in expression of carcinoma and relapse vs. para-carcinoma human pancreatic cancer (C/R vs. P). In addition, our study found that pancreatic cancer was related to pathways in cancer, including Jak-STAT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and PPAR signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The differential expressed miRNAs and their predicted target genes that involved in Jak-STAT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and PPAR signaling pathway indicating their potential roles in pancreatic carcinogenesis and progress.

Identification of SNPs within the PRLR gene and effects on maternal behavior in sheep.

The prolactin receptor gene (PRLR) plays an essential role in maternal behavior. The aim of the study was to detect PRLR mutations in exon 10, using a polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformation polymorphism method, and to determine the association between mutations in this region with maternal behavior traits in Chinese Hu sheep. Polymorphisms were detected only in the gene region amplified by the primer P3; three genotypes (AA, AB and BB) were observed. The genotype BB was predominant in the ewe study population, and genotype distributions were in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between observations for licking and kicking behaviors of AA and AB genotype individuals (P > 0.05), but there was a significant difference (0.01 < P ≤ 0.05), when both were compared with the BB genotype. Significant differences were observed in suckling behavior between AA and AB genotype individuals (0.01 < P ≤ 0.05), and the difference between these two genotypes and BB was highly significant (P ≤ 0.01). No obvious difference was observed between the genotypes in behavior of suckling rejection (P > 0.05). These results contribute to methods for selection and breeding through marker-assisted selection for maternal behavior traits in Hu sheep.

Limitation of high-resolution melting curve analysis for genotyping simple sequence repeats in sheep.

Variation in microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci has, until recently, relied heavily on the use of gel-based methods that can be both time consuming and difficult to genotype. Non gel-based systems are therefore important to increase simplicity and improve turn-around time without compromising assay sensitivity and accuracy. In this report, we assessed the latest of the non-gel-based methods, high-resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis. HRM is a technique that monitors exactly the decreasing fluorescence of intercalating dye in the process of dissociation of double-stranded DNA. The measurement immediately follows polymerase chain reaction in a one-step, closed-tube method. Four SSR loci of different complexity in sheep, namely MAF209, MCM140, CB226, and SRCRSP5, were assessed using the LightScanners System with LC Greens PLUS DNA binding dye. In order to improve the accuracy of genotyping, we applied internal oligo nucleotide calibrators while performing HRM. DNA polymorphisms were previously identified using capillary electrophoresis analysis (CE). The result showed that CE detected more genotypes than HRM in the same loci regardless of the level of polymorphism at the SSR loci. We demonstrate current limitations of the HRM method for the analysis of SSR loci.

Association between PPARγ2 Pro12Ala polymorphism and myocardial infarction and obesity in Han Chinese in Hohhot, China.

Activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g (PPARg) improves insulin sensitivity and inhibits atherosclerosis. Whether PPARg2 Pro12Ala polymorphism affects myocardial infarction is not clearly understood. We investigated a possible association of PPARg2 Pro12Ala polymorphism with obesity and myocardial infarction in Han Chinese in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. We included 121 subjects with myocardial infarction and 137 healthy controls in our study. Triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured. The following information was recorded for each subject: age, gender, body height, body weight, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure; the body mass index was calculated. PCR-RFLP was used to examine Pro12Ala polymorphism. There were significant differences in clinical characteristics between myocardial infarction patients and healthy controls, except for diastolic blood pressure and triglycerides. The PP, PA/AA genotype frequencies were 88.4 and 11.6% in myocardial infarction patients and 95.6 and 4.4% in controls, respectively (P = 0.031). Individuals with the A allele had a significantly higher risk of myocardial infarction. The A allele was not an independent risk factor for obesity. We conclude that PPARg2 Pro12Ala polymorphisms are associated with increased risk for myocardial infarction in Han Chinese in Hohhot.