Nebulised racemic adrenaline in the treatment of acute bronchiolitis in infants and toddlers

The effect of inhaled nebulised racemic adrenaline upon symptoms of acute bronchiolitis was investigated in 29 infants and toddlers aged 2-17.5 months by transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2), oxygen saturation, transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension (TcPCO2), and clinical evaluation in a double blind placebo controlled study. Clinical score and TcPO2 improved significantly at 30, 45, and 60 minutes after inhalation of racemic adrenaline, with an increase in TcPO2 > or = 0.5 kPa in 72% of the children < 1 year of age. No significant improvement was observed after inhalation of placebo. No significant changes in heart rate or TcPCO2 were observed from before to after inhalation, but a small increase in mean systolic blood pressure was observed immediately and 45 minutes after racemic adrenaline inhalation. This study demonstrates that treatment with nebulised racemic adrenaline improved oxygenation and clinical signs in hospitalised children aged less than 18 months with bronchiolitis.     

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of regionally ischemic canine hearts: effect of paramagnetic proton signal enhancement

In a study to evaluate the potential of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging with and without manganese contrast with and without manganese contrast enhancement for detecting acute myocardial infarction, 12 dogs underwent 90-minute occlusion of the left circumflex coronary artery. Transverse-section NMR images of the excised, nonbeating heart were obtained at 1-cm intervals using the steady-state-free-precession (SSFP) technique. All NMR images revealed detailed structure of the heart. The three hearts without manganese showed no difference in intensity between the normal and the ischemic posterior regions, whereas those with manganese demonstrated a clearly demarcated zone of reduced signal intensity consistent with the ischemic zone. It is concluded that high-resolution tomograms of the excised canine myocardium can be obtained using proton NMR imaging. With the SSFP imaging technique, proton signal enhancement with manganese infusion is necessary to differentiate between ischemic and nonischemic myocardium after 90 minutes of coronary occlusion.     

食管鳞癌中微小核糖核酸-21的作用及对靶蛋白的影响

目的 探讨微小RNA(miRNA)-21对食管鳞癌细胞Eca109和哈萨克族食管癌的促增殖作用及对程序性细胞死亡基因4(PDCD4)表达的影响。方法将食管鳞癌细胞系Eca109分为miRNA-21 Mimics组（转染序列5′-UCAACAUCAGUCUGAUAAGCUA-3′）、miRNA-21抑制剂组（转染序列5′-UAGCUUAUCAGACUGAUGUUGA-3′）、阴性对照组（转染随机序列）和正常对照组（不予转染等任何处理）。细胞按4.5×105个/孔接种于6孔板,基于RNA干扰(RNAi)技术、使用脂质体2000试剂进行细胞转染。采用细胞计数法检测转染后各组细胞的增殖情况。使用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应(qRT-PCR)检测各组细胞的miRNA-21转录水平。采用Western印迹技术检测转染后各组PDCD4蛋白表达情况。检测18对哈萨克族食管癌及其对应的癌旁正常食管组织中miRNA-21转录和PDCD4蛋白表达情况。结果 转染48 h后,与正常对照组比较,miRNA-21Mimics组Eca109细胞数增加36％(P=0.002),miRNA-21抑制剂组细胞数减少28％(P=0.002),阴性对照组细胞数变化不明显(P=0.515)。转染48 h后,miRNA-21抑制剂组、miRNA-21 Mimics 组、阴性对照组、正常对照组miRNA-21的相对表达量分别为0.37±0.10、9.17±1.08、0.74±0.23和1.04±0.34,PDCD4蛋白相对表达量分别为1.47±0.11、0.61±0.09、0.89±0.12、0.79±0.02。与正常对照组比较,miRNA-21抑制剂组miRNA-21相对表达量下降(P=0.031)、PDCD4蛋白相对表达量上调（P=0.001）,miRNA-21 Mimics组miRNA-21相对表达量上升(P=0.001)、PDCD4相对表达量下调(P=0.030),阴性对照组则差异无统计学意义（P值分别=0.272和0.541）。18对哈萨克族食管癌组织中16对的miRNA-21相对表达量(0.11±0.09)高于其对应的癌旁正常食管组织(0.03±0.03,P=0.001),PDCD4蛋白相对表达量（0.92±0.39）低于其对应的癌旁正常食管组织（1.57±0.80,P=0.004）,且癌组织中miRNA-21相对表达水平越高,PDCD4蛋白相对表达水平越低（r=-0.538,P=0.046）。结论miRNA-21可能通过抑制PDCD4蛋白表达而促进食管鳞癌细胞Eca109增殖,并且参与哈萨克族食管癌的发生。     

Influential Factors of Student Evaluations of Teaching in a Nursing Program

We used a logistic regression model to analyze data from routinely collected student evaluation of teaching from 2,211 nursing students over 8 semesters. The results showed that not all aspects of teaching are equally influential in their effects on students' overall rating of instructors' teaching as excellent. Influential aspects include motivation, individual assistance, presentation of concepts, environment, and practical application. The most influential evaluation aspect is motivation.