AIM: To evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of thickness profile measurement of intra-retinal layers determined by an automated algorithm applied to OCT images from Cirrus optical coherence tomography (OCT) instrument.METHODS: In this prospective cross-sectional study,retinal thickness images at 6mm×6mm around fovea were obtained from 86 eyes of 43 normal subjects with Cirrus HD-OCT instrument.The retinal images from patients were analysis by Cirrus automated algorithm GCA software,including ganglion cell layer and inner plexiform layer(GCIPL).During this study,operator A would make 2 times measurements to all patients,after that operator B would make another 2 times measurements by Repeat scan model.All the data,including GCL average thickness,min thickness,12 clock average thickness,2 clock average thickness,4 clock average thickness,6 clock average thickness,8 clock average thickness and 10 clock average thickness were measured by SPSS 15.0 software.Standard deviation (SD),coefficient of variation (CV) and interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated from the results of three-times tests by different examiner to evaluate the repeatability and from the results of two different examiners to assess the reproducibility.Written informed consent was obtained from each subject prior to any medical procedure.RESULTS: The average GCIPL thickness of OD was 85.12±3.95μm;the minimum average GCIPL thickness was 83.21±4.41μm;the standard deviation of OD in clock map was from 3.79μm to 4.84μm;CV(95%CI) was between 0.26 and 0.93;ICC was from 0.939 to 0.989.The average GCL+IPL thickness of OS was 84.65±8.73μm;the minimum average GCPL thickness was 81±13.08μm;the standard deviation of OS in clock map was from 8.24μm to 10.56μm;CV(95%CI) was between 0.92 and 4.94;ICC was from 0.264 to 0.968.CONCLUSION: Cirrus HD-OCT GCA software with automated algorithm can offer accurate and repeatable thickness profile of OCT retinal image.GCA is a useful and reliable approach to the measurement of intra-retinal layer thickness,which may improve the diagnosis and monitoring of retinal diseases.

Humans ; Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic ; diagnosis ; therapy

Objective To compare the efficacy and predictability of sphere-cylinder-combined LASIK and two-zone cross-cylinder LASIK for the correction of moderate and high astigmatism.Design Prospective,comparative case series.Participants 40 eyes of 35 patients with mixed astigmatism undergoing LASIK.Methods All patients were treated with Visx Star IV LASIK system.20 eyes of 19 cases were used for sphere-cylinder combined LASIK mode and 20 eyes of 16 cases for two-zone-cross-cylinder LASIK mode.All sub- jects were followed more than 6 months.Main Outcome Measures Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA),best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA),spherical diopter,residual astigmatism and corneal thickness.Results For the patients who received two-zone-cross-cylinder LASIK mode,the UCVA at 6 months after surgery was 0.5 or above,and 13 eyes (65.0%) were 1.0 or above. For the patients who received sphere-cylinder-combined LASIK mode,the UCVA at 6 months after surgery was 0.5 or above,and 11 eyes (55.0%) was 1.0 or above (P=0.683).The residual astigmatism for the patients received sphere-cylinder-combined LASIK mode was (1.15?1.00)D,while for the patients received cross-cylinder LASIK mode was (1.13?0.62)D(P=0.045).The remotion depth of cornea for sphere-cylinder-combined LASIK mode and cross-cylinder LASIK mode was (36.73?13.12)?m and (15.60?6.85)?m,respectively (P= 0.031).Condusion The UCVA,residual astigmatism and corneal thickness after surgery in two-zone-cross-cylinder LASIK mode were better than that in sphere-cylinder-combined LASIK mode for the correction of moderate and high astigmatism.

Objective To detect CYP2J3 gene expression and contents of 11,12-EET in heart,liver,lung,kidney and aorta thoracalis after CYP2J3 gene transfection.Methods The rat transgenic model was developed by injecting plasmid through vena dorsalis penis.The animals were divided into control group、 pcDNA3.1 transgenic group and pcDNA3.1-CYP2J3 transgenic group.The expression of CYP2J3 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR and content of 11,12-EET was examined by the HPLC at 14 days and 28 days after injection.Results Twenty eight days after injection,both expression of CYP2J3 mRNA and the content of 11,12-EET were significantly increased as compared with that of control and pcDNA3.1 transgenic group(P

Objective: To understand the relation between obesity and chronic diseases in Tianjin. Method: The data from Tianjin in the National Nutrition and Health Survey in 2002 were used, including questionnaires, physical examination and biochemical tests of blood sugar and lipids. Height, weight, and blood pressure were examined. Results: There were significant differences on blood pressure , TC, TG, HDL-C, FBG levels between obesity group and control group (P

Objective To examine the epidemiology of kidney stone in Pudong New Area ofShanghai and analyze its risk factors. Methods 12 565 residents with the age above 16 years weresurveyed. All subjects needed to answer a questionnaire concerning their sex,age,geographic loca tions,occupation,education status and family history of renal calculi,etc. Ultrasound examinationwas used to diagnose the kidney stone. Results The average prevalence of kidney stone was 3.15%(396/12565),4. 05%(247/6096)in the men and 2.30%(149/6469) in the women,respectively (P<0. 05). The prevalence increased significantly with age of men,whereas the prevalence was highest forwomen aged 50-59. The prevalence between city and rural was not significantly different before age60 (2.58% vs 2. 62%,P>0. 05),whereas the prevalence were significantly different after age 60(6.28% vs 3.36%,P<0.05). The prevalence of subjects with a family history of renal calculi washigher than that without family history (32.02% vs 2.06%,P<0. 01). The prevalence in manage ment staff and vehicle drivers were the highest. Conclusions The prevalence of kidney stone in Pud ong New Area of Shanghai was lower than that in south of China. The relative risk increased in sub jects of aged men,women aged 50 59,with family history of renal calculi,management staff and ve hicle drivers. An understanding of the epidemiology particularly the interactions among different fac tors,may help lead to approach that reduce the risk of stone formation.

[Objective] The present study aimed to determine the protective role of Melatonin (MT) against Acrylamide (AA)-induced testicular toxicity and the potential molecular mechanism.[Methods] The animals were randomly divided into three groups,the control group (n =12),the AA group (n =12) and the AA+MT group (n =12).The rats in the AA and AA + MT group were gavaged with AA at a dose of 15 mg/(kg · day) for 4 consecutive weeks.After 3 weeks of AA treatment,MT was intraperitoneally injected 30 minutes before AA treatment at 10 mg/(kg· day) for 1 week in the AA + MT rats.Subsequently,the mitochondrial membrane potential measurement,TUNEL assay,Western blot and electron microscopic techniques were applied in the present study.[Results] The results showed that AA could decrease the testis mitochondrial membrane potential (P ＜ 0.05) which could be recovered by MT (P ＜ 0.05).Moreover,MT induced down-regulation of Bax expression and up-regulation of Bcl-2 expression in the testis,compared with AA rats.The amelioration of testicular apoptosis was further confirmed by the TUNEL labeling.Western blot results suggested that the decreased ratios of Bcl-2/Bax and Bcl-xL/Bak in the AA group (both P ＜ 0.05) could be recovered by MT treatment (both P ＜ 0.05).The levels of Cyt-c,Casp-3,p53 and NF-κB in AA group were markedly elevated compared with the control (all P ＜ 0.05),and reduced in MT treatment group (all P ＜ 0.05).MT could relieve abnormal mitochondrial structures in the seminiferous tubule in the electron microscopic level.[Conclusion] MT may exert productive effect through its anti-apoptotic properties associated with mitochondria.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of double balloon endoscopy (DBE) in the elderly. Methods Clinical manifestations and endoscopic findings of 42 elderly patients (aged 60-80 years) and 73 young and middle-aged patients (aged 12-59 years) with small bowel lesions were obtained and compared. Factors influencing the diagnostic outcome of DBE in patients with small bowel bleeding were identified,and the optimal check time after the latest bleeding was determined.Results The procedures of 85.7％ (36/42) in the elderly and 79.5％(58/73) in young and middle aged were completed (P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in the procedure time between the two age groups.No severe complications were observed in the elderly group.The overall positive rate by double balloon enteroscopy examination were 71.4 ％ (30/42) and 63.0 ％ (46/73),respectively in the two groups (P＞ 0.05). Ulcer and tumor lesions were the most common findings,and diverticula and angiodysplasia were the second common findings. Longer duration of bleeding and higher number of bleeding episodes were found in the elderly with positive DBE findings than those with negative findings. Positive diagnostic rate was significantly higher when DBE was performed within 7 days than that after 7 days (90％ vs. 40％). Conclusions DBE is a safe,reliable diagnostic modality,especially in the elderly patients with small bowel bleeding in which ulcer and tumor lesions are the most common identifications.DBE is of greater benefit in patients with more bleeding episodes over a long period,and should be performed within 7 days after the last bleeding.

Objective To investigate the expression of osteopontin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9),and the relationship of osteopontin and MMP9 in malignant melanoma.Methods Expression of osteopontin and MMP9 was measured by immunohistochemical SP method in 23 patients with primary cuta- neous malignant melanoma,17 patients with metastatic melanoma and 20 patients with pigmented nevus. Results Osteopontin and MMP9 were expressed respectively in 87.5% and 75.0% of 40 malignant melanoma specimens,15.0% and 10.0% of 20 pigmented nevus specimens.The expression of both osteo- pontin and MMP9 was significantly higher (both P＜0.05) in malignant melanoma than in pigmented ne- vus.There was no correlation between the expression of osteopontin and MMP9,with age,sex,lymph node metastasis or location of lesions (P＞0.05).Twenty-nine cases were positive for both osteopontin and MMP9,4 negative for either osteopontin or MMP9.Conclusion Both osteopontin and MMP9 were over- expressed in malignant melanoma,but neither was related to lymph node metastasis.

Objective To study the effects of nitric oxide synthase(NOS) and nitric oxide(NO) in post-asphyxial renal injury in neonatal rats.Methods Forty-eight Wistar neonatal rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:controls,2 h,24 h and 48 h post-asphyxia groups (12 in each group).The rats were decapitated in different times(2 h,24 h and 48 h) after asphyxia for 30 minutes.The renals were dissected to determined the concentrations of NO and NOS.And the scores of renal tubules were measured under light microscope.Results Compared with control group,the levels of NO and NOS significantly increased at 2 h and 24 h after asphyxia.The scores of renal tubules were significant difference at 24 h and 48 h after asphyxia compared to controls.Conclusion These findings suggest NOS and NO may play an important role in the development of post-asphyxia renal injury.