The dilemma of heterogeneity tests in meta-analysis: a challenge from a simulation study.

Introduction: After several decades' development, meta-analysis has become the pillar of evidence-based medicine. However, heterogeneity is still the threat to the validity and quality of such studies. Currently, Q and its descendant I(2) (I square) tests are widely used as the tools for heterogeneity evaluation.

Chromoblastomycosis due to Fonsecaea monophora in a man with nephritic syndrome.

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic subcutaneous mycosis caused by dematiaceous fungi. Fonsecaea monophora, a new species segregated from F. pedrosoi, may be the most prevalent pathogen of chromoblastomycosis in southern China.

Silencing of the ABCC4 gene by RNA interference reverses multidrug resistance in human gastric cancer.

The identification of genes associated with recurrent drug resistance in gastric cancer and the elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with recurrent drug resistance in gastric cancer are important for the effective treatment and prognosis of this cancer. Variations in the expression level of the ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 4 (ABCC4) gene are correlated with the recurrence, development and chemotherapeutic susceptibility of various types of cancers. In the present study, we demonstrated that the ABCC4 gene was highly expressed in multiple types of gastric cancer cells, and ABCC4 expression was even more prominent in the drug-resistant gastric cancer cells.

[Recent advances in the study of synaptic endocytosis key protein: Dynamin].

As the basic physiological function of synapses, vesicle cycling involves in many aspects of process. Among them, vesicle recycling is the basis of synaptic vesicle cycling. Studies show that clathrin mediated endocytosis is a major pathway of vesicle recycling, in which Dynamin plays an important role.

[Effects of sildenafil citrate on mice hearing].

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of the Sildenafil citrate on mice hearing.

Methods: Seven-week-old adult male Kunming mice were used. The mice were randomly divided into four groups with 10 mice in each group.

Glucagon-induced angiogenesis and tumor growth through the HIF-1-VEGF-dependent pathway in hyperglycemic nude mice.

In this study, we examined the effect glucagon-induced hyperglycemia on tumor growth as well as the role of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1)-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway in this condition. A high concentration of glucose (HG) was utilized to treat HeLa cells under hypoxic or normoxic conditions, and transcriptional levels of HIF-1, VEGF, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were evaluated. Moreover, the ability of an HIF-1 inhibitor to block the effect induced by HG was examined.

[Effect of L-ornithine L-aspartate granules in treating chronic liver disease in patients with high-level serum gamma-glutamyltransferase].

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of L-ornithine L-aspartate (LOLA) granules in treating chronic liver disease in patients with high-level serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (G-GT) using a 24-week treatment course.

Methods: Two-hundred patients with chronic liver disease and above normal G-GT were given a 12-week course of LOLA granules (9 g/d) and then classified into the following three groups according to the change in serum Gamma-GT:group I:patients with Gamma-GT level returned to normal;group II:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that was reduced during the treatment; group III:patients with serum Gamma-GT level that did not decrease or that increased to a higher level than at start of treatment.After the 12-week treatment course, the patients in group I were divided into three subgroups for receipt of a control drug (compound glycyrrhizin, 50mg/d) or an additional 12-week course of Gamma-GT at a reduced dose (LOLA granules 3 g/d) or at the original dose; groups II and III were maintained on the initial dose for an additional 12 weeks.

Post-transcriptional regulation by miR-137 underlies the low abundance of CAR and low rate of bilirubin clearance in neonatal mice.

Aim: Jaundice, potentially fatal encephalopathy, is common in approximately two-thirds of all well term infants. It is largely due to low expression of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in newborns; however, the mechanisms for this low expression were poorly understood.

Materials And Methods: Expression of miR-137 and CAR was compared between neonatal and adult mice and between healthy and a mouse model of obstructive jaundice (OJ) using real-time RT-PCR and Western blot methods.

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in mesenchymal stem cells can be significantly enhanced by the cationic polymer polybrene.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitors, which can undergo self-renewal and give rise to multi-lineages. A great deal of attentions have been paid to their potential use in regenerative medicine as potential therapeutic genes can be introduced into MSCs. Genetic manipulations in MSCs requires effective gene deliveries.

Even four minutes of poor quality of CPR compromises outcome in a porcine model of prolonged cardiac arrest.

Objective: Untrained bystanders usually delivered suboptimal chest compression to victims who suffered from cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital settings. We therefore investigated the hemodynamics and resuscitation outcome of initial suboptimal quality of chest compressions compared to the optimal ones in a porcine model of cardiac arrest.

Methods: Fourteen Yorkshire pigs weighted 30 ± 2 kg were randomized into good and poor cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) groups.

Biomechanical analysis of C4-C6 spine segment considering anisotropy of annulus fibrosus.

Based on computed tomography scanning images of human cervical spine, this paper develops a detailed and anatomically accurate finite element model for C4-C6 motion segment to investigate its biomechanical responses. The model includes vertebrae, intervertebral disc, and various ligaments. The annulus fibrosus is characterized by using a previously developed nonlinear, anisotropic, hyperelastic fiber-reinforced model with fiber-matrix shear interaction considered.

The Current and Future Therapies for Human Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common non-hematologic malignant tumor of bone in adults and children. As sarcomas are more common in adolescents and young adults than most other forms of cancer, there are a significant number of years of life lost secondary to these malignancies. OS is associated with a poor prognosis secondary to a high grade at presentation, resistance to chemotherapy and a propensity to metastasize to the lungs.

Endoscopic excision of branchial cleft cyst in the neck using mammary areolae and axilla approach: a case report.

Branchial cleft cysts are prone to recurrence and secondary infections, and hence, surgical resection is necessary. These masses are traditionally removed through an overlying incision; however, the resulting scar can be considered aesthetically displeasing. We accomplished a case of endoscopic resection of branchial cleft cyst in the right side of the neck of an 18-year-old female patient.

Prulifloxacin versus levofloxacin in the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections: a multicentre, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Prulifloxacin is a promising fluoroquinolone antibiotic. A multicentre, double-blind, randomized clinical study was designed to evaluate its efficacy and safety compared to that of levofloxacin for the treatment of respiratory and urinary infections of Chinese patients.

Methods: A total of 267 patients were enrolled and each was randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group.

[The modification of electrophysiology affected by ectopic synapse in ON-retinal bipolar cells of RCS rats].

Objective: To study the influence of the ectopic synapse for electrophysiological characteristics modification in ON retinal bipolar cells (ON-RBCs) of RCS rat.

Methods: Immunofluorescence of the retinal frozen section was taken in P60 d, P90 d of RCS rat (RCS) and control rat (CTR) with the anti-mGluR6 and anti-Synaptophysin, Lucifer Yellow staining solo ON-RBCs was taken in all the group. The whole cell recording was performed in the retinal slice of P60 d, P90 d in RCS and CTR.

Vasoplegic syndrome during liver transplantation.

A 56-yr-old woman with chronic hepatitis B and decompensated hepatic cirrhosis was treated with liver transplantation. At the beginning of the neohepatic phase, her arterial blood pressure remained at 60/40 mm Hg for approximately 40 min and did not respond to vasoconstrictive drugs. Her other clinical and laboratory values remained normal, apart from a high cardiac output and low systemic vascular resistance.

Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning protects against traumatic brain injury at high altitude.

Background: Recent studies have shown that preconditioning with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) can reduce ischemic and hemorrhagic brain injury. We investigated effects of HBO preconditioning on traumatic brain injury (TBI) at high altitude and examined the role of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in such protection.

Methods: Rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: HBO preconditioning group (HBOP; n = 13), high-altitude group (HA; n = 13), and high-altitude sham operation group (HASO; n = 13).

[Clinical observation of treating allergic rhinitis with focused ultrasound under nasal endoscope].

Objective: To observe the short-term therapeutic effect of focused ultrasound in treating allergic rhinitis under nasal endoscope.

Method: One hundred and seventeen patients with allergic rhinitis were treated by the CZB ultrasound therapeutic system which was developed and produced by Chongqing Haifu (HIFU) Technology Co. Ltd.

[Bone-patellar tendon-bone graft in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: allograft versus autograft].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical result of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with either allo- or auto- bone-patellar tendon-bone (B-PT-B) grafts.

Methods: From February 2002 to January 2006, 142 of 187 cases of ACL ruptures who received ACL reconstruction with B-PT-B grafts were studied retrospectively. There were 93 male and 49 female whose age was from 15 to 57 years (mean 26 years).

[Microecosystem of ostiomeatal complex and its changes via functional endoscopic sinus surgery].

Objective: To study the composition of microecosystem in ostiomeatal complex on adults and its changes via functional endoscopic sinus surgery.

Method: Two hundred adults were grouped based on pre- or postoperation as well as its type of sinusitis. Swab speciemens were taken from three different sites of ostiomeatal complex in each individual, cultivations and identifications of aerobes, anaerobes and fungi were performed simultaneously; the microecosystem of OMC was analysesed.

[Effects of connective tissue growth factor antisense oligonucleotides on the cultured human keloid fibroblasts in vitro].

Objective: To explore the effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on the pathogenesis of human keloid.

Methods: CTGF antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) conjugated with isothiocyanate fluorescence was encapsulated by liposome, and then added into the human keloid fibroblast (HKF) culturing media. The intracellular distribution of CTGF ASODN was observed with fluorescence microscopy in the fixed HKF.

[Induction of apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by adenoviral-mediated transfer of human multigenes].

Objective: To investigate the apoptosis induced by adenovirus-mediated transduction of human genes (p53, B(7-1), GM-GSF, IL-2) in liver cancer cells and the effects of tumorigenicity in nude mice.

Methods: Using light microscopy and electron microscopy and TUNEL assay, apoptosis in Ad-multigenes-transduced liver cancer cell lines was detected. The tumorigenicity of HepG(2) cells transduced with Ad-multigenes was detected.