Volume 124  ·  Issue 13  ·  2011

Abstract：Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and lethal fibrotic lung disease of unknown etiology.Host susceptibility or genetic factors may be important for the predisposition to it. Transforming growth factor-pi (TGF-β1,a potent profibrotic cytokine) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) play important roles in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. The objective of the study was to investigate the association between the gene polymorphisms of TGF-β1 869 T＞C and PAI-1 4G/5G and the susceptibility to IPF in Han ethnicity.Methods Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism were performed to analyse the gene polymorphisms of TGF-β1 in 869T＞C and PAI-1 4G/5G in 85 IPF patients and 85 healthy controls matched in age, gender, race and smoker status.Results There was a significant difference in 869T＞Cgenotype distribution of TGF-β1 between IPF cases and controls,a significant negative association between TC genotype and the development of IPF (OR=0.508, 95% Cl: 0.275-0.941)and a positive association between CC genotype and the development of IPF (OR=1.967, 95% Cl: 1.063-3.641). There was a significant positive association between PAI-1 5G/SG genotype and the development of IPF (OH=0.418, 95% Cl:0.193-0.904).Conclusions Gene polymorphisms of TGF-pi in 869T＜C and PAI-1 4G/SG may affect the susceptibility to IPF in Han ethnicity. Further investigations are needed to confirm these findings and assess their biological significance in the development of the disease in this ethnic population。

Abstract：Background The number of highly sensitized patients is rising, and sensitization can lead to renal transplant failure.The present study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of renal transplantation following induction therapy with rituximab in highly sensitized kidney transplant recipients.Methods Seven highly sensitized kidney transplant recipients who underwent rituximab therapy from December 2008 to December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 3 men and 4 women, with a mean age of 38.5 years (range, 21-47 years). The duration of hemodialysis was 3-12 months, with a mean duration of 11 months. For 4 patients,this was the second transplant; the previous graft survival time was 2-11 years, with a mean survival time of 5.8 years. All the female recipients had history of multiple pregnancies, and all patients had previously received blood transfusions. All donors were men, with a mean age of 32.5 years (range, 25-37 years). In 2 of the 7 patients, both class I and class II of panel reactive antibody were high; the remaining 5 patients showed either high in class I or in class II of panel reactive antibody. The mean panel reactive antibody value was 31% for class I and 51% for class II respectively. The donors and the recipients had the same blood type, with low lymphocyte cytotoxicity ranging from 2% to 5%. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch numbers were from 2 to 4. All patients received tacrolimus (0.1 mg·kg-1·d-1) and mycophenolate mofetil (750 mg twice per day) orally 3 days prior to surgery. All patients received a single dose of 600 mg rituximab (375 mg/m2) infusion on the day before surgery and polyclonal antibody (antithymocyte globulin) on the day of surgery.Postoperative creatinine, creatinine clearance rate, and occurrence of rejection by pathological biopsy confirmation were monitored.Results No patient had delayed graft function after surgery. Two patients had acute rejection, one on day 7 and the other on day 13 post-surgery. Diagnosis of acute rejections was based on the clinical assessments and pathological biopsy results. According to the Banff 07 classification of renal allograft pathology, one of the patients was la and the other was I la; the C4d staining was negative in both patients. One patient received methylprednisolone plus cyclophosphamide and the other received antithymocyte globulin (ATG) therapy, both leading to successful reversion of the acute rejection. All patients were discharged postoperatively and all had normal renal function during the 7th to 12th month follow-up. Pulmonary infection occurred in 1 patient 4 months after surgery and was successfully cured.Conclusion Rituximab induction therapy can reduce the occurrence of postoperative humoral rejection in highly sensitized renal tranSDlant recipients, suaaestina that kidnev transplantation mav be safe and effective for these patients。

Abstract：Background It is a surgical dilemma when patients present with both severe heart disease and neoplasms. The best surgical treatment remains controversial. This study aimed to analyze the early and long-term results of simultaneous surgical treatment of severe heart disease and neoplasms.Methods We reviewed the clinical records of 15 patients who underwent simultaneous neoplastic resection and cardiac surgery between September 2006 and January 2011. There were 5 male and 10 female patients. The mean age was (59.2±12.5) years and the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was (57.4±11.0)%. All patients were followed up completely for a period of 12 to 51 months (mean, (33.1±11.2) months).Results Fifteen patients underwent simultaneous cardiac surgery and neoplastic resection. Cardiac procedures consisted of off pump coronary artery bypass grafting (n=7), aortic valve replacement (n=3), mitral valve replacement (n=3), mitral valve replacement with coronary artery bypass grafting (n=1) and left atrial myxoma resection (n=1). Neoplastic resection consisted of lung cancer resection (n=5). colonic cancer resection (n=3), gallbladder resection (n=1), colonic cancer resection with gallbladder resection (n=1), hysterectomy (n=2), hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (n=2) and left ovariectomy (n=1). Pathological examination confirmed malignant disease in 10 patients and benign disease in 5 patients. There were no perioperative myocardial infarctions, stroke, pericardial tamponade, renal failure or hospital deaths. The most frequent complications were atrial fibrillation (33.3%), pneumonia (26.7%), low cardiac output syndrome (6.7%) and delayed healing of surgical wounds (6.7%). There was 1 late death 42 months after surgery for recurrent malignant disease. At 1 and 3 years, survival rates were 100% (Kaplan-Meier method).Conclusions Simultaneous cardiac surgery and neoplastic resection was not associated with increased early or late morbidity or mortality. Cardiopulmonary bypass does not appear to adversely affect survival in patients with malignant disease. The long-term survival was determined by tumor stage。

Abstract：Background The optimal stenting strategy for the treatment of coronary bifurcation lesions (CBLs) remains uncertain. The present study observed technical feasibility and reliability, 9-month clinical and angiographic outcomes of the modified culotte stenting (MCS) in the treatment of CBLs with drug-eluting stents.Methods A total of 34 consecutive patients with CBLs that required stenting the parent vessel (PV), the main branch (MB) and the side branch (SB) were included. All patients were first assigned to receive MCS for CBL interventions (per MCS), and might be switched to receive the double-kissing-crush stenting (DKS) in case of temporally acute branch occlusion (per protocol).Results The immediate angiographic or procedural success was achieved in 33/34 (97%) lesions (patients) per MCS, 34/34 (100%) lesions (patients) per protocol with 100% successful final balloon kissing. The long-term clinical success at 9 months was 94% per MCS and 94% per protocol, only 2 patients had reoccurrence of angina but none of them needed target lesion revascularization. There were no procedure-related biomarker elevation, no in-stent thrombosis peri-procedurally and at 9-month follow-up. Quantitative coronary angiography data at 9 months showed that in-stent (6%) or in-segment (6%) binary stenosis was infrequent, and minimal lumen diameter was significantly reduced but late lumen loss was acceptable with only (0.10±0.14) mm for PV, (0.21 ±0.23) mm for MB and (0.27±0.32) mm for SB.Conclusions MCS for treatment of CBLs that required dual-stent implantation was technically easier and safer, readily to complete final balloon kissing, and was associated with high immediate success and optimal 9-month outcomes。

Abstract：Background Biliary injury after radiofrequency ablation can cause serious consequences including death. However, there are limited data regarding bile duct changes with or without complications associated with radiofrequency ablation of hepatic malignancies. This study aimed to assess the incidence, prognosis and risk factors of intrahepatic biliary injury associated with radiofrequency ablation.Methods Between June 2001 and January 2009, 638 patients with hepatic malignancies (405 with hepatocellular carcinoma, and 233 with liver metastasis) who had 955 treatment sessions were enrolled in this study. Imaging and laboratory data, the course of treatment, and patient outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. The risk factors of biliary injury and the impact on overall survival of patients were analyzed. The chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier curves and stepwise Logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis where appropriate.Results Biliary injury was observed in 17 patients after 17 ablation sessions based on imaging findings. The overall incidence of biliary injury was 1.8% (17/955) with an average onset time of 12 weeks (2-36 weeks). Mild, moderate and severe complications of biliary injury were identified in 9, 6 and 2 cases, respectively. The median survival time after detection of biliary injury was 40 months. There seemed no notable difference in overall survival between patients with and those without biliary injuries. By multivariate analysis, vessel infiltration (P=0.034) and treatment session ≥4 times (P=0.025) were independent risk factors for biliary injury of hepatocellular carcinoma; while tumor located centrally was the only independent risk factor in the metastasis group (P=0.043).Conclusions The incidence of biliary injury was not frequent (1.8%). Through appropriate treatment, intrahepatic bile duct injuries seemed not affect the patients' long-term survival. Additionally, risk factors may be helpful for selecting radiofrequency ablation candidates and predicting biliary complications。

Abstract：Background According to the National Institutes of Health consensus criteria, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) smaller than 2 cm in diameter with less than 5 mitotic figures per 50 high-power fields are considered very-low-risk GISTs, but these two indices alone cannot reliably predict a benign outcome during long-term follow-ups. Therefore, identification of additional parameters for predicting the clinical behavior of GISTs is necessary.Methods Eighty-eight patients with tumors that meet the very-low-risk GIST criteria were retrospectively investigated and morphological parameters of tumors associated with the biological behavior of very-low-risk GISTs were evaluated in the present study. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate disease-free survival rates.Results Eighty-one patients were followed up for one to 16.3 years. Five cases of relapses were identified in the patients. Distinctive infiltrative growth patterns such as muscularis propria, muscularis mucosa, or nerve infiltration were identified by microscopy in 4 patients with the relapse, including three patients who experienced multiple recurrences. The infiltrative growth features became more obvious in multiple recurrent tumors compared to the single recurrent tumor, while only one developed relapse in 76 patients without infiltration (P ＜0.0001).Conclusion Microscopic infiltrative growth patterns of the tumor may have clinical significance in predicting the prognosis of very-low-risk GISTs。

Abstract：Background Invasive fungal infections have constituted an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. In this study, a surveillance project was conducted in three different intensive care units of two large tertiary hospitals in China.Methods A one-year surveillance project was conducted in two tertiary hospitals which located in northern China and southwest China respectively. Air, surfaces and tap water were sampled twice a month in a central intensive care unit, a bone marrow transplant unit, a neurosurgery intensive care unit and a live transplant department. Environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature and events taking place, for example the present of the visitors, healthcare staff and cleaning crew were also recorded at the time of sampling.Results The air fungal load was 91.94 cfu/m3 and 71.02 cfu/m3 in the southwest China hospital and the northern China hospital respectively. The five most prevalent fungi collected from air and surfaces were Penicillium spp., Cladospcrium spp., Altemaria spp., Aspergillus spp. and Saccharomyces spp. in the southwest China hospital, meanwhile Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp., Altemaria spp. and Cladospcrium spp. in the northern China hospital. The least contaminated department was intensive care units, and the heaviest contaminated department was neurosurgery intensive care unit. Seventy-three percent of all surfaces examined in the northern China hospital and eighty-six percent in the southwest China hospital yielded fungi. Fifty-four percent of water samples from the northern China hospital and forty-nine percent from the southwest China hospital yielded fungi.Conclusions These findings suggested that the fungus exist in the environment of the hospital including air, surface and water. Air and surface fungal load fluctuated over the year. Air fungal load was lower in winter and higher In summer and autumn, but seldom exceeded acceptable level. The higher values were created during May to August in the northern China hospital and May to June and September to October in the southwest China hospital. A correlation between air fungal load and humidity, as well as personnel was observed。

Abstract：Background Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine and contributes to many kinds of cardiovascular diseases via its receptors (TNFR1/TNFR2). We hypothesize that TNF-α plays a role in the pathogenesis of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods Sixty-seven consecutive patients who were scheduled to have cardiac surgery were enrolled into the study. Thirty-one patients with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and AF were enrolled as study group (AF group). The sinus rhythm (SR) control groups consisted of 20 patients with RHD and 16 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Peripheral blood sample was collected before the operation. About 5 mm3 left atrial tissue was disserted during the operation and was separated into three parts for Western blotting, real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis.Results Compared with the controls (RHD SR and CAD SR), the levels of TNF-α ((14.40±5.45) pg/ml vs. (4.20±3.19) pg/ml vs. (2.68±2.20) pg/ml, P=0.000) and its soluble receptor 1 (STNFR1) ((1623.9±558.6) pg/ml vs. (1222.3±175.6) pg/ml vs. (1387.5±362.2) pg/ml, P=0.001) in plasma were higher in patients with AF. TNF-α level had positive correlation with the left atrial diameter (LAD) (r=0.642, P=0.000). Western blotting analysis showed that the protein levels of TNF-α (0.618±0.236 vs. 0.234±0.178 vs. 0.180±0.103, P=0.000) were higher in patients with AF. The RT-PCR analysis results demonstrated that the mRNA expression of TNF-α (0.103±0.047 vs. 0.031 ±0.027 vs. 0.023±0.018, P=0.000) increased in patients with AF. IHC analysis displayed that, comparing to the SR, the expression of TNF-α (0.125±0.025 vs. 0.080±0.027 vs. 0.070±0.023, P=0.000) increased in the AF group. The protein level and mRNA expression of TNF-α also had positive correlation with left atrium diameter (LAD) (r=0.415, P=0.000 and r=O.499, P=O.000).Conclusions The results revealed that TNF-a elevated in the plasma and left atrial tissue and had positive correlation with LAD in patients of chronic AF. TNF-α might involve in the pathogenesis of chronic AF。

Abstract：Background The crescent excision of the inferior bulbar conjunctiva has been advised as a surgical procedure in the management of conjunctivochalasis refractory to medical treatments. However, it is difficult for this procedure to design how much conjunctival tissue should be excised. This study aimed to present a quantitative locator for conjunctiva resection and evaluate its effect on the treatment of conjunctivochalasis (CCh). Methods Poly P-hydroxyethyl methacrylate resin/|3-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA, water gel) was used as the material to make the quantitative locator which was designed to suit the specific patient. Forty-six patients with bilateral symptomatic CCh were included in this prospective study. Of the patients, while the right eye underwent the popularly used crescent-shaped conjunctiva resection (group Ⅰ), the left eye was treated with conjunctiva resection assisted by the quantitative locator (group Ⅱ). International Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), scores of remnant conjunctiva fold, complications and conjunctival cut healing, height of tear meniscus, tear break-up time (BUT), and time of surgery were evaluated. Tasting chloromycetin test (TCT) was used to evaluate how the lacrimal duct worked.Results OSDI in group II (8.82±2.36) was significantly lower than that in group Ⅰ (14.67±2.21) (t=12.22, P＜0.01). The amount of conjunctiva fold remaining in group Ⅱ was less than that in group Ⅰ. Scores of remnant conjunctiva fold in group Ⅰ were significantly higher than those in group Ⅱ (t=31.85, P ＜0.01). While evaluation scores of conjunctival cut healing in group Ⅰ were lower than those in group Ⅱ, scores of complication in group Ⅰ were significantly higher than those in group Ⅱ at 8 weeks after surgery (t=89.60, P＜0.01). There was no significant difference in eyes with normal BUT (x=0.031, P=0.985) between the two groups, as the case was in eyes with positive TCT (x2=0.14, P=0.930) and in eyes with normal height of tear meniscus (x2=0.48, P=0.780). Mean surgery time in group Ⅱ ((17.11±2.08) minutes) was significantly shorter than that in group Ⅰ ((25.22±4.78) minutes) (t=13.84, P＜0.01).Conclusion A quantitative locator can be used as an effective, safe, and less time-consuming instrument to facilitate conjunctival excision for symptomatic CCh treatment。

Abstract：Background Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is one of the most important growth factors in the development of fibrosis and scarring on cornea. Smad7, an inhibitory Smad, can inhibit TGFβ signal transaction. In recent years, effects of lentiviral-mediated Smad7 on inhibition of fibrosis on some organs have been studied, while little is known about the effects on cornea. This study aimed to determine the effects of lentiviral-mediated Smad7 gene expression on keratocyte proliferation and fibrosis induced by TGF β2 in vitro.Methods Keratocytes were cultured from comeal tissue isolated from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and transfected with Smad7 expressing lentiviral vector (Lv-Smad7) or non-functioning control vector (Lv-blank). Following the exposure to TGFβ2, keratocytes were processed for immunoblotting to assess the phosphorylation of Smad2 as down-stream event of TGFβ/Smad signaling. Expression of fibrotic markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), type Ⅲ collagen (collagen Ⅲ) were measured by Western blotting and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Overall cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipheny1tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the expression of cell cycle-related marker Ki67 at both mRNA and protein levels.Results The Smad7 gene transfer suppressed TGFβ/Smad signaling in keratocytes by down-regulating phosphorylation of Smad2. Markers of cell proliferation and fibrosis including Ki67, α-SMA, collagen Ⅲ were inhibited by introduction of Smad 7 into TGFβ exposed keratocytes. Consequently, the rate of cell proliferation was attenuated.Conclusion Smad7 gene transfer inhibited fibrogenic responses of keratocytes to TGFβ2。

Abstract：Background The preclinical experiments and studies of congener drugs show icotinib, a new epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, can specifically bind to the tyrosine kinase domain of the EGFR, block the EGFR related signal, thereby inhibit the growth of tumor cell. The objective of this study was to investigate the safety, tolerability and dose-related biologic effects of icotinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Chinese patient population.Methods This was an open-label, phase Ⅰ, dose escalation, safety/tolerability trial of oral icotinib (100 to 400 mg), administered twice per day for 28-continuous-day cycles until disease progression or undue toxiclty.Results Forty patients with stage ⅢB (15%) or Ⅳ (85%) NSCLC were included in the study. They had mainly adenocarcinoma (85%), with a performance status (PS) of 0 (45%) or 1 (55%) and less than half the patients (45%) had histories of smoking and all were pretreated by at least one regimen of chemotherapy. Patients were assigned to three dose levels of 150 mg b.i.d, 200 mg b.i.d, or 125 mg t.i.d. The follow-up periods ranged from 5 to 80 weeks. Adverse events were found in 35% patients, most of which were mild and reversible. The adverse events mainly occurred in the first 4 weeks and included rash (25%), diarrhea, nausea and abdominal distention. One definite interstitial lung disease (ILD) was found in a patient in the dose of 200 mg b.i.d. According to an 8-week assessment, one (2.5%) patient receiving 150 mg gained complete response (CR) that persisted for 44 weeks, seven (17.50%) patients had partial remission (PR), and 18 (45%) patients had stable disease (SD). The objective response including CR+PR was 20%. The median time of progression-free survival for the 40 patients was 20 weeks (range: 12 to 32 weeks). The response was not affected by pathological type, history of smoking, or numbers of previous therapeutic regimens. No relationship between dose, response, adverse effect, or duration of the study was observed.Conclusions Icotinib, given as oral twice daily, showed favorable safety and tolerability. Mild and reversible rash, diarrhea, and nausea were the main adverse events. Antitumor activity was obvious at each dose in heavily pretreated patients. Pharmacodynamic evaluations and further phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ trials are in progress。

Abstract：Background The number of highly sensitized patients is rising, and sensitization can lead to renal transplant failure. The present study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of renal transplantation following induction therapy with rituximab in highly sensitized kidney transplant recipients.Methods Seven highly sensitized kidney transplant recipients who underwent rituximab therapy from December 2008 to December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 3 men and 4 women, with a mean age of 38.5 years (range, 21-47 years). The duration of hemodialysis was 3-12 months, with a mean duration of 11 months. For 4 patients, this was the second transplant; the previous graft survival time was 2-11 years, with a mean survival time of 5.8 years. All the female recipients had history of multiple pregnancies, and all patients had previously received blood transfusions. All donors were men, with a mean age of 32.5 years (range, 25-37 years). In 2 of the 7 patients, both class I and class II of panel reactive antibody were high; the remaining 5 patients showed either high in class I or in class II of panel reactive antibody. The mean panel reactive antibody value was 31% for class I and 51% for class II respectively. The donors and the recipients had the same blood type, with low lymphocyte cytotoxicity ranging from 2% to 5%. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch numbers were from 2 to 4. All patients received tacrolimus (0.1 mg·kg-1·d-1) and mycophenolate mofetil (750 mg twice per day) orally 3 days prior to surgery. All patients received a single dose of 600 mg rituximab (375 mg/m2) infusion on the day before surgery and polyclonal antibody (antithymocyte globulin) on the day of surgery. Postoperative creatinine, creatinine clearance rate, and occurrence of rejection by pathological biopsy confirmation were monitored.Results No patient had delayed graft function after surgery. Two patients had acute rejection, one on day 7 and the other on day 13 post-surgery. Diagnosis of acute rejections was based on the clinical assessments and pathological biopsy results. According to the Banff 07 classification of renal allograft pathology, one of the patients was la and the other was I la; the C4d staining was negative in both patients. One patient received methylprednisolone plus cyclophosphamide and the other received antithymocyte globulin (ATG) therapy, both leading to successful reversion of the acute rejection. All patients were discharged postoperatively and all had normal renal function during the 7th to 12th month follow-up. Pulmonary infection occurred in 1 patient 4 months after surgery and was successfully cured. Conclusion Rituximab induction therapy can reduce the occurrence of postoperative humoral rejection in highly sensitized renal transplant recipients, suggesting that kidney transplantation may be safe and effective for these patients。

Abstract：Background Trabecular meshwork (TM) cell volume may be an important determinant of aqueous humor outflow in the eye. This study aimed to evaluate the role of HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ on corneal permeability, corneal endothelial cells, intraocular pressure (IOP) and morphology of trabecular meshwork in rats.Methods The IOP of rat eyes was measured before and 3, 5, 7 and 8 hours after topical delivery of HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ through intracameral injections. The peptide's concentration in aqueous humor was assessed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The shape and density of endothelial cells were observed by laser confocal microscopy 8 hours, 3 and 14 days after intracameral injections of HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ. The morphological changes in TM of rat eyes were assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Results Intracameral injection of HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ significantly (P ＜0.001) decreased IOP by (5.71 ±2.10) mmHg in rats at 5 hours after injection. There were no obvious changes of the shape and the density of corneal endothelial cells. In addition, morphological changes in the TM of rats were observed including the expansion of intercellular spaces in the juxtacanalicular meshwork, removal of extracellular material, cellular relaxation, and cytoskeleton reorganization.Conclusions HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ could not penetrate cornea and was safe to corneal endothelial cells. HepⅡ domain peptides Ⅴ could significantly decrease IOP in rat probably by disorganizing actin cytoskeleton and cell-junction in the TM。

Abstract：Background Initially, Cryptococcus (C.) neoformans was previously divided into two varieties comprising C. neoformans var. neoformans and C. neoformans var. gattii. Currently, taxonomic studies defined C. neoformans as C. species complex, which contains C. neoformans var. neoformans (serotype D), the hybrid isolates (serotype AD), C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A) and C. gattii (serotypes B and C). However, Liao and his team once isolated a unique C. gattii isolate, namely strain S8012 with unique phenotype from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a 43-year-old male patient in the Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and described as C. neoformans var. shanghaiensis in 1980s. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic background and polymorphism of Chinese clinical C. gattii isolates.Methods S8012 was analyzed as representative strain using the M13-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting pattern and multilocus sequence analysis including internal transcribed spacers of rDNA (ITS region), the intergenic spacer 1 regions (IGS1), RPB1, RPB2, CNLAC1, and TEF1 genes.Results The PCR fingerprinting pattern results showed strain S8012 belonged to molecular types VGI, and phylogenetic analysis suggested strain S8012 was grouped into the cluster of C. gattii environmental isolates originated from Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees in Australia.Conclusion C. gattii isolates from Chinese patients expresses high polymorphism on the phenotype, and molecular type VQI isolates from China have a close genetic relationship with the C. gattii isolates from Australia。

Abstract：Background A high mortality rate of pancreatic cancer becomes a bottleneck for further treatment with long-term efficacy. It is urgent to find a new mean to predict the early onset of pancreatic cancer accurately. The authors hypothesized that genetic variants of cationic trypsinogen (PRSS1) gene could affect trypsin expression/function and result in abnormal activation of protease activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), then lead to pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to elaborate some novel mutations of PRSS1 gene in the patients with pancreatic cancer.Methods Totally 156 patients with pancreatic cancer and 220 unrelated individuals as controls were enrolled in this study. The mutations of PRSS1 gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. K-ras Mutation Detection Kit was used to find the general k-ras gene disorder in the pancreatic cancer tissue. Then the clinical data were collected and analyzed simultaneously.Results There were two patients who carried novel mutations which was IVS 3 +157 G＞C of PRSS1 gene in peripheral blood specimens and pancreatic cancer tissue. What's more, it was surprising to find a novel complicated mutation of exon 3 in PRSS1 gene (c.409 A＞G and c.416 C＞T) in another young patient. The complicated mutation made No. 135 and No.137 amino acid transfer from Thr to Ala and Thr to Met respectively. No any mutation was found in the normal controls while no mutations of k-ras gene were detected in the three patients.Conclusion Mutations of PRSS1 gene may be an important factor of pancreatic cancer。

Abstract：Three cases of severe crush syndrome after the Wenchuan earthquake in China are presented. The patients, 2 males and one female ranging in age from 18-45 years were studied via 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). MRI examinations were performed more than twice on two patients within 60 days of the earthquake. All the patients had acute renal failure (ARF) with plasma myoglobin concentrations above 17 000 μg/L The T2-weighted and short time inversion recovery (STIR) sequences revealed high intensity lesions in the affected muscles, and enhanced T1 -weighted images showed enhancement of partial affected muscles. MRA revealed no signs of arterial occlusion, arteriostenosis, or filling defects of main arteries. All patients were managed medically with continuous venous-venous hemofiltration and other supportive care, and none required fasciotomy or amputation. Repeat MR studies showed that the high intensity lesions seen on the T2-weighted and STIR sequences resolved in parallel with improvement of laboratory studies and clinical course。

Abstract：In this case report, we describe our experience of managing a patient with chemical burns caused by hot chromic acid that covered over 60% of the patient's body. The patient developed anuria 48 hours after injury. Early excision of burn eschars and hemodialysis were carried out. The patient survived after a series of comprehensive treatments, including allografting and autografting. In patients burned by hot chromic acid, excision of affected skin down to the muscle fascia should be carried out as soon as possible after injury. Dialysis to remove circulating chromium in the first 24 hours after injury is also recommended。

Abstract：Sarcomatoid transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis is a rare neoplasm with only 14 well-illustrated examples reported previously. Duplex kidney is the most common congenital abnormality of the urinary tract, with an incidence of around 2%. Neoplasia of the renal pelvis in duplex kidney is rare. We reported a case whose sarcomatoid carcinoma originated from the upper portion of the duplicated renal pelvis with hydronephrosis, and total nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision surgery of both renal units was carried out. Because of the rare nature of renal pelvic sarcomatoid carcinoma and its apparent lack of response to adjuvant therapy, it is essential to do early diagnosis and early radical surgery to improve survival. It is important to stress the need for frequent and diligent monitoring or treating complex duplex kidney with hydronephrosis of either moiety in case of a risk of having neoplasias。