ObjectiveTo study the value of plasma corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and the fetal fibronectin (fFN) in vaginal secretions and cervical length in predicting preterm labor.MethodsThe plasma CRH levels and fFN levels in vaginal secretions from 24 -37 weeks pregnant woman checked up in our hospital from Dec.2009 to Dec.2010 were detected by ELLISA method.The changes of these three indexes were observed with the pregnant time and were analyzed according to different pregnancy outcomes.Results Among the 112 cases of pregnant women,premature delivery in 54 cases,full-term birth 58 cases.At the 24 week of pregnancy,there were significant difference on the cervical length( [2.8 ±0.4]cm vs [3.3 ±0.5]cm,t =3.254,P =0.021 ) between premature delivery group and full-term birth group.At the 28 - 30 week,31 -32 week,33 - 34 week,35 - 36 week,the CRH were ( 162.33 ± 16.49 ) ng/L,(60.01:±: 14.56) ng/L;(352.12 ±61.01 )ng/L,( 118.04 ±53.74)ng/L; (364.55 ±56.71 )ng/L,( 122.95 ±71.41 )ng/L; (372.78 ±149.89)ng/L,(124.00 ± 19.05 )ng/L respectively in premature delivery group and full-term birth group,and there were significant differences on CRH at the four different pregnant time(t =3.687,6.875,8.652,8.524,respectively,P ＜ 0.05 ).It shows better sensitivity ( 97.92％ ),specificity ( 90.00％ ),positive predictive value(95.92％ ) and negative predictive value(94.73％ ) in predicting premature delivery by detection of CRH,fFN combined with cervical length.ConclusionDetection of plasma CRH,fFN combined with cervix length measurement can improve the predictability of premature and provide a good,reliable clinical basis for the early diagnosis and treatment for preterm premature.

Objective To evaluate the effect of red light irradiation on serum phosphorus reduction in hemodialysis.Methods Sixty maintenance hemodialysis patients were divided into treatment group and control group.During the hemodialysis,the blood in the extracorporeal circulation tube of the patents in the treatment group was irradiated with red light by a MRX-1 red light therapy system.The irradiation was continued for 60 minutes each time,and one course of the treatment contained 10 times of irradiations.Patients in the control group were subjected to hemodialysis by conventional methods.The serum phosphate levels of all patients were measured before and after the treatment.Results The symptoms of dialysis disequilibrium of the patients in the treatment group were alleviated.There was no significant difference in serum phosphate levels between the treatment group and the control group before hemodialysis,while a statistically significant difference was found after the treatment (P＜0.05).Conclusions Hemodialysis combined with red light irradiation on external blood trails can contribute to the decrease of serum phosphate levels in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

AIMTo investigate the intraspecific variation of Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) and establish foundation for further breeding of safflower germplasm resource and screening the quality correlation genes.

METHODSAmplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was carried out to analyze genetic variation of 28 safflower populations collected in China. Unweighed pair-group method of with arithmetical averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis was used to construct a dendrogram and to estimate the genetic distances among the populations.

RESULTSAll populations could be uniquely distinguished using 12 selected primer combinations. Similarity coefficients ranged from 0.48 to 0.96 among the populations. Dendrogram revealed distinct segregation of all the cultivars into three main groups and one midst group.

CONCLUSIONLimited genetic diversity exists within the tested 28 collections at intra specific level and AFLP-based phyiogeny was not absolutely consistent with that based on morphological characters may be due to the interaction effect between genotype and environment.

Carthamus tinctorius ; genetics ; Cluster Analysis ; DNA, Plant ; analysis ; Genetic Variation ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Aim To investigate the effect of liver X receptor (LXR) activation on the proliferation of hippocampal neural stem cells in global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) mice,and its mechanisms.Methods A total of 75 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups,namely the sham operation group,the cerebral I/R group and the cerebral I/R with TO901317 treatment (I/R + TO90) group.The I/R mouse model was induced via the bilateral common carotid artery occlusion.HE staining was used to detect the pathological changes in hippocampal CA1 region.Immunohistochemistry was executed to detect hippocampus DCX + cells.Immunofluorescence of BrdU was implemented to detect the proliferation neural stem cell.Morris water maze test was used to assess spatial learning and memory in mice.Western blot was used to detect the expression of hippocampus LXRα,LXRβ,ABCA1,p-ERK1/2,t-ERK1/2,p-CREB,t-CREB,BDNF.Results LXR activation improved cognitive recovery(P ＜0.01),and induced the proliferation of neural stem cells (P ＜ 0.01) in I/R mice.The expressions of hippocampal ABCA1,p-ERK1/2,p-CREB,BDNF in I/R + TO90 group mice also increased (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions LXR activation can induce the proliferation of hippocampal neural stem cells and facilitate cognitive recovery following global cerebral I/R in mice,which may be related to the activation of hippocampal ERK1/2-CREB-BDNF pathway and then promoting endogenous neurogenesis in the hippocampus DG region of I/R mice.

Objective To analyze the correlation between polymorphisms at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene and susceptibility to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from the lesions of 83 patients with condyloma acuminatum and 11 patients with bowenoid papulosis,and blood samples from all the patients as well as 150 health checkup examinees with high risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) at STD clinics (negative control group).PCR was performed to detect HPV DNA in lesional tissue specimens,followed by direct sequencing and nucleotide alignment using the BLAST program for the determination of HPV genotypes.To assess polymorphisms at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene,DNA was extracted from all the blood samples,and the p73 gene was amplified by PCR with the primer shP73 followed by gene sequencing.The association between the polymorphisms and susceptibility to HPV infection was analyzed.Results Of the 83 tissue specimens from patients with condyloma acuminatum,42.2％ (35/83) were positive for HPV 6,and 41.0％ (34/83) for HPV 11.Among the 11 tisssue specimens from bowenoid papulosis lesions,5 were positive for HPV 16,and 3 for HPV 6.The p73 gene was successfully amplified and sequenced from all the patients with condyloma acuminatum or bowenoid papulosis as well as from 132 out of 150 health checkup examinees.There were three genotypes at position 4 and 14 in exon 2 of the p73 gene,including A4T14/G4C14,A4T14/A4T14,G4C14/G4C14,of which,A4T14/A4T14 was associated with a higher risk for condyloma acuminatum (OR 4.89,95％ CI 1.50-15.91) as well as bowenoid papulosis (OR 7.11,95％ CI 1.144-44.20),and G4C14/G4C14 with a lower risk for bowenoid papulosis (OR 0.16,95％ CI0.04-0.65),in patients with HPV infection.Conclusions The A4T14 allele in exon 2 of the p73 gene increases the risk for bowenoid papulosis and condyloma acuminatum,but no significant correlation is found between the susceptibility to high-or low-risk HPV infection and polymorphisms at the two positions in the p73 gene.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of spatiotemporal image correlation(STIC)to assess left ventricular volume in normal fetuses.Methods The volume data acquisition of 162 normal fetuses ranging between 22 and 38 weeks of gestation was achieved by automatic sweep scan.The virtual organ computer-aided analysis(VOCAL Ⅱ)was then used to evaluate end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes of left ventricle and compared with that obtained by M-mode Teichholz formula and 2D biplane Simpson's method.Results Twenty-six fetuses with poor STIC image and 2 twin pregnancies were excluded,the study subjects consisted of 134 singleton fetuses.The highest concordance correlation(r =0.968,for EDV,r =0.956 for ESV;P =0.000)was noted between 2D biplane Simpson' s and STIC VOCAL Ⅱ values with a small bias(0.282 ml for EDV,0.117 ml for ESV).The Bland-Altman analysis showed that STIC VOCAL Ⅱ had the best agreement than M-mode Teichholz formula and 2D biplane Simpson's method.The result showed that there were significant difference between Mmode Teichholz formula and Simpson's method in EDV and ESV(P＜0.05).There were significant differences between M-mode Teichholz formula and STIC VOCAL Ⅱ(P＜0.05).There were no significant differences between STIC VOCAL Ⅱ and Simpson' s method in EDV and ESV.Conclusions There is a good agreement between left ventricular volumes measured either by STIC VOCAL Ⅱ or by 2D biplane Simpson's method.STIC is a novel technique that can be more accurate than conventional Methods in quantification of fetal left ventricular volumes.All the volume data acquisition is achieved by postprocessing facilities.STIC promises to become a new method for left ventricular volume quantification.

Objective To measure mitral annual displacement (MAD) by M-mode echocardiography in normal second and third trimester fetuses,and assess relationships between MAD and gestational age and routine echocardiographic parameters for evaluation of left ventricular function.Methods One hundred fifty-five normal fetuses from 19 to 38 weeks of gestation were recruited in the study.MVD and tricuspid annual displacement (TAD) were measured.Early diastolic inflow velocities (E) of the atrioventricular valves were assessed by pulsed-wave Doppler(PW),and early diastolic velocities (Em) of the mitral annular were estimated by pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).The ratio of E/Em was calculated.Results In normal fetuses,the MAD was (7.05 ± 1.17) mm.There was significant positive correlation between the fetal MAD and advancing gestational age ( r =0.82,P ＜0.01 ),and between MAD and E,A,Em,Am or Sm ( r =0.25,0.24,0.32,0.29 and 0.40 respectively,P ＜0.01).There was no correlation between fetal MAD and E/A,E/Em,LVEF or LVFS.The left MAD was significantly lower than the right TAD ( P ＜0.01 ).Conclusions MAD of fetuses from 19 to 38 weeks of gestation can be quantitatively measured by Mmode echocardiogram.The measurement of MAD provides a reliable quantitative standard to estimate long axis ventricular function of fetuses,which may be clinically useful in prenatal detecting early cardiac failure.

Objective To develop Z-score reference ranges for mitral valve-tricuspid valve distance (MTD) in normal fetuses from the measurements of femur length (FL),biparietal diameter (BPD) or gestational age (GA) using fetal echocardiography.Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of 1216singleton normal fetuses was performed.The gestation age ranged from 20 to 40 weeks.Non-cardiac fetal biometric parameters included FL and BPD and GA based on menstrual age.MTD was measured in a standard apical four-chamber view.Normal Z-score ranges were developed for MTD using GA,BPD and FL as independent variables.These were accomplished by using first standard regression analysis and then weighted regression of absolute residual values for each parameter in order to adjust for inconstant variance.Results Linear regression model was the best description of the data in each case and correlations between MTD and independent variables (FL,BPD,GA) were excellent.The linear regression equations between MTD and FL,BPD,GA were:Y =0.04629 × FL-0.02868 (r =0.827) ; Y =0.04018 × BPD-0.08293(r =0.767) ; Y =0.0098 × GA-0.07075 (r =0.721),respectively.Heteroscedasticity of standard deviation(SD) with increasing independent variables also could be modeled with a simple linear regression.Linear regression equations between SD of MTD and FL,BPD,GA were:Y =0.0149 × FL-0.0095 (r =0.9947),Y =0.0126 × BPD-0.02793 (r =0.9931),Y =0.00305 × GA-0.021 (r =0.991),respectively.According to these equations,MTD Z-score =(the actual measurement of MTD-predicted MTD)/prediction SD.Conclusions Normal reference ranges and Z-scores for MTD have been provided.These normative data may be useful tools for assessment of fetal MTD,especially has potential applications in Ebstein anomaly or other malformations involved atrioventricular valves.

Objective To quantitatively study right ventricular function in the normal second and third trimester fetuses by M-mode tricuspid annular displacement(TAD).Methods TAD was measured using conventional M-mode echocardiography on 161 normal second and third trimester fetuses with gestation age (GA) between 19-38 weeks,meanwhile multiple parameters for evaluating right ventricular function were obtained using pulsed Doppler echocardiography (PW) and myocardial Dopple tissue imaging (DTI).The correlation between TAD and other parameters were analyzed using SPSS 17.0.Results In normal second and third trimester fetuses,the TAD was (9.38 ± 1.71)mm with a range of 5.79-13.90 mm,and was increased with the growth of GA.TAD was correlated with GA,E,A,Em,Am and Sm significantly (r =0.759,0.547,0.320,0.497,0.483 and 0.598 respectively,all P ＜0.001).TAD was not correlated with HR(P ＞0.05).TAD showed differences between the second trimester fetuses and the third trimester fetuses (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions In normal second and third trimester fetuses,the TAD is increased with the growth of GA,and has good correlation with GA,E,A,Em,Am and Sm respectively,and may become a new promising modality to evaluate function of RV simply and accurately.The technique will be propitious to use in hospitals (without DTI) because of simplicity of operator and lower requirement on the technology and equipment precision.

Objective To investigate the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signal transduction pathway on the up-regulation of the expression of acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferasel (ACAT1) induced by Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pn), and to discuss the mechanism of macrophages-derived foam cell formation induced by C. pn. Methods C. pn was propagated in Hep-2 cells. THP-1 monocytes were induced into macrophages by 160 nmol/L phorbol myristate acetate(PMA) for 48 h, and were randomly allocated into four groups to be incubated continually: control group, C. pn infection group, C. pn and SP600125 (a special JNK inhibitor)group and SP600125 group. Lipid droplets in cytoplasm were observed by oil red O staining. The contents of intracellular cholesterol ester were detected by enzyme fluorescence analysis. The expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. Results Compared with the control group, the expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in C. pn infection group [(4.16±0.26) vs. (2.17±0.18), (1.20±0.10)vs. (0.61±0.03), both P<0.05], and C. pn-induced foam cell formation was observed. The expressions of ACAT1 mRNA and protein and the foam cell formation were inhibited by SP600125 in a concentration-dependent manner (r = - 0.92, P<0.05; r= - 0. 96, P<0.05, respectively). Conclusions The up-regulation of ACAT1 expression is induced by C. pn via JNK signal transduction pathway, which is involved in the mechanism of C. pn-induced macrophage-derived foam cell formation.