Objective The aim of this study was to explore the minimally invasive treatment for palpable undescended testes in the inguinal area.Methods Between August 2007 and March 2008,60 cases(74 testicular units)with palpable undescended testes in the inguinal area were treated by scrotal incision orchiopexy or/and laparoscopic orchiopexy depending on the location of inguinal testes.Results Among the 60 patients,26 cases who had the testes located between the external inguinal ring and the upper scrotum,received scrotal incision orchiopexy,of which the testes were fixed at the bottom of the scrotum in 23 cases,and at the upper scrotum in 1 case;the other 2(both had the undescended testis at the right side,between the external inguinal ring and the upper scrotum)were converted to laparoscopic orchiopexy because of unsatisfying surgical outcomes.The other 34 cases received laparoscopic orchiopexy,of which the testes were located in the groin in 16(41.1%)cases,close to the external inguinal ring in 18(52.9%),and complicated with indirect inguinal hernia in 8(23.5%,ligation of the hernia sac was performed at the level of internal inguinal ring);the testes were fixed at the bottom scrotum in the cases.The 60 patients were followed up for 3-6 months(mean,4.3 months)by B-ultrasonography,none of them showed atrophy or retraction of the testes,or indirect inguinal hernia.ConclusionsScrotal incision orchiopexy is feasible for palpable inguinal testes if the testis can be pulled upon to the upper scrotum,if not or the testis cannot be fixed on the bottom scrotum,laparoscopic orchiopexy should be used.Both of the procedures are effective.

Objective To summarize the outcomes and clinical experience of orthotopic heart transplantations in Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital.Methods From May 2000 through October 2005,141 patients,101 males and 40 females,diagnosed as having dilated cardiomyopathy in 118,hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 2,restrictive cardiomyopathy in 2,end-stage ischemic heart disease in 9, primary malignant cardiac tumor in 4,valvular heart disease in 3 and others in 3,underwent orthotopic heart(transplantations) at our center.The operative procedures included 120 bicaval anastomotic cardiac transplantations,19 conventional Stanford orthotopic cardiac transplantations and 2 total heart transplantations.The immunosuppressive therapy strategies included Cyclosporine A or tacrolimus,corticosteroids and mycophenolate mofetil.For the latest 28 patients,induction therapy with Daclizumab was applied.Results There were 3 operative deaths with an operative survival of 97.9 %.During the follow-up from 1 month to 65 months,the actuarial survival rate was 90.8 % after 1 year,84.6 % after 3 year and 81.4 % after 5 year.Acute rejection,infections,graft failure and metastasis of primary cardiac tumor were the main causes of death in the 1st postoperative year,while acute rejection and graft coronary vasculopathy were the leading causes of death thereafter.Postoperative complications included acute rejection,infections,renal dysfunction and graft failure.Conclusions Orthotopic heart transplantation was proved to be a reliable choice for endstage heart disease with excellent outcomes.More attention should be paid to surveillance and management of acute rejection, infections and graft coronary vasculopathy in the long-term follow-up.

Objective To investigate longitudinal systolic function of transplanted heart using two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging.Methods 56 consecutive patients with heart transplant were recruited,according to myocardial biopsy and 1 year's follow up,they were divided into non-rejection group (group A) and rejection group (group B).36 healthy controls (group C) were also randomly recruited.Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF),pulmonary arterial systolic pressure,tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE),tricuspid annular plane systolic velocity (TAS') and global longitudinal strain (GLS) were calculated via Qlab 9.0 analysis software offline.Results Compared with group C,LVEF was reduced in group B (P ＜0.01).Differences of GLS,TAPSE,and TA-S' among groups were all statistically significant (P ＜0.01),group B＜group A＜ group C.LVEF,TAPSE and TA-S' were correlated with GLS (r =-0.64,r =-0.69,r =-0.71 ; all P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Left and right ventricles were a functional unity,the systolic function of which was impaired in patients with heart transplant.

Objective To compare clinical outcomes in cardiac transplant recipients treated with individualized dosing (ID) and fixed dosing (FD) of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF).Methods Fortyeight de novo cardiac transplant patients in ID group received MMF (2.0 g/day) in combination with calcineurin inhibitors and prednisone.The MMF dosages were adjusted individually based on clinical events and MPA trough levels (MPA-C0).The target range of C0 was maintained within 2.0-4.0rng/L.The FD group included 55 recipients retrospectively from the transplant database who were also treated with MMF (2.0 g/day).In this group,the MMF dose adjustment was performed empirically according to clinical events only.All of the follow-up data were collected up to 12 months post-transplantation.Results The follow-up rate was 95.8％ and the mean MPA-AUC0-12 was (54.37± 17.03) rng h-1 L-1 in the ID group.The mean MPA-C0 on the day 7 post-transplantation was significantly higher in the ID group than that at 12th month [(3.44 ± 0.58) mg/L vs.(2.79 ± 0.54)mg/L] (P＜0.05).The dose of MMF was significantly lower in the ID group at 4th week posttransplantation than in control group [(1.49± 0.48) g/day vs.(1.96 ± 0.39) g/d] (P＜0.05),while there was no significant difference at 12 th month post-transplantation [(1.61 ± 0.77) g/day vs.(1.68 ± 0.84) g/day] (P＞ 0.05).No significant difference was found in the incidence of acute rejection episode between two groups (8.7％ vs.9.1％,P＞0.05).57.6％ of overall side effects were observed within one month postoperatively,and the incidence of MPA-related side effects was significantly lower in the ID group than in the control group (47.8％ vs.67.3％,P＜0.05).Conclusion It was demonstrated that individualized use of MMF based on therapeutic drug monitoring may prevent MMF-related side effect and appears to be valuable to optimize the treatment of cardiac transplantation.

Objective To investigate the value of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography 17 regional volume curves index in patients with heart transplantation. Methods Sixty patients with heart transplantation (no rejection), ten patients with heart transplantation (rejection), forty subjects with normal left ventricular(LV) function were examined by Philips iE33 with a X3-1 probe. Results Parameter index of 17 segment time to minimal systolic volume in patients with heat transplantation (rejection) were more than those in patients with heart transplantation (no rejection) and in subjects with normal LV function(all P <0.05). Parameter index of 17 segment time to minimal systolic volume were not significantly different in patients with heart transplantation (no rejection) compared with subjects with normal LV function. Parameter index of Tmsv16-SD (%), Tmsv12-SD (%) and Tmsv6-SD (%) show higher sensitivity and specificity for forecast rejection after heart transplantation. Conclusions Real-time three-dimensional 17 regional volume curves index can fast forecast early rejection after heart transplantation.

Objective : To investigate the trends in incidence of malignant tumors in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province from 2013 to 2019, so as to provide insights into formulation of the malignant tumor control strategy. Methods: Data pertaining to the incidence of malignant tumors from 2013 to 2019 were captured from the Zhejiang Chronic Disease Monitoring Information System. Based on the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) and data from the national population census, the constituent ratio, crude incidence and Chinese population-standardized incidence of malignant tumors were estimated, and the trends in incidence of malignant tumors were investigated using annual percent change (APC). Results: The annual mean crude incidence and Chinese population-standardized incidence of malignant tumors were 356.75/105 and 226.97/105, which both appeared an overall tendency towards a rise (APC=5.887% and 4.815%, both P<0.05). The crude incidence of malignant tumors appeared a tendency towards a rise among both men (APC=3.860%, P<0.05) and women (APC=8.534%, P<0.05) from 2013 to 2019, and the Chinese population-standardized incidence of malignant tumors appeared a tendency towards a rise among women (APC=8.392%, P<0.05). The largest increase in the crude incidence of malignant tumors was seen among women at ages of 15 to 44 years (APC=11.599%, P<0.05). In addition, the Chinese population-standardized incidence of lung cancer, colorectal cancer and thyroid cancer all showed a tendency towards a rise among men (all P<0.05), and the Chinese population-standardized incidence of lung cancer and thyroid cancer both appeared a tendency towards a rise among women (both P<0.05). Conclusions The incidence of malignant tumors showed a tendency towards a rise in Yongkang City from 2013 to 2019, and the elderly and young females are high-risk populations for malignant tumors. Lung cancer, thyroid cancer and colorectal cancer are cancers that should be given a high priority.

Objective Mechanisms for the dissection of aorta, a devastating disease, remain unknown. Studies showed that cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-131, a multifunctional regulator, was highly expressed in the aneurysms or dis-section of aorta and was responsible for the onset of the diseases. We try to explore the mechanisms of thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) by comparing the expression and distribution of TGF-β1 in the aortic wall and analyzing the association of TGF-β1 with extracellular matrix (ECM) in patients with TAD and control subjects. Methods Aortic specimens taken from surgical pa-tients with TAD( n = 20 ) at Zhongshao Hospital and organ donors ( n = 20, controls) were prepared with paraffin embedded tis-sue slide. ECM was investigated with hematoxylin-eosin, Verhoeff van-Giesen (EVG) and Maason's triehrome (MT) staining.Distribution and expression of TGF-β1 within aortic wall was examined with double immunofluoreseent staining and semi-quan-tiffed by fluoreseent intensity analysis. The expression of TGF-β1 in the two groups and among various layers of the arterial wall was compared. Results TAD was morphologically characterized by decreased and disrupted elastic fibers in the tunica media of the aorta wall with hyperplasia of the collagen fibers. TGF-β1 was expressed unevenly within aortic wall, with highest in the media, followed by intima and adventitia, in both TAD patients and eantrols. Specimen from TAD patients exhibited overall in-creased TGF-β1 expression by 9.56% as compared with that from the controls ( P <0.05 ). TGF-131 expression was increased by 16.09% (P<0.05) in the media and 16.75% (P<0.05) in the adventitia in TAD group as compared with those in the control group, but no difference was detected in intima between the two groups. TGF-β1 distribution histogram analysis dis-closed that TGF-β1 expression in the tunica media was evident in the elastic fibers, and was increased by 34.83% in TAD pa-tients as compared with that in the controls (P <0. 01 ). No significant associations between TGF-β1 expression and age, gen-der, maximal aortic diameter and type of dissection in TAD patients were detected. Conclusion TGF-β1 expression is up-reg-ulated and unevenly distributed in the dissected aortic wall of TAD patients. The finding that TGF-β1 was significantly up-regulated and condensed in the elastic fibers of the tuniea media suggested the crucial role of TGF-β1 in the development of TAD.

Objective To explore the incidence and etiology of infection after heart transplantation and discuss the prophylaxis and management. Methods Retrospective study was conducted on the 140 survival heart transplant recipients (HTs) with detail follow-up information. All patients received preventive therapy against bacterial infections postoperatively, of which 87. 8% patients used antiviral drugs to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The immuosuppressive regiment was as follows: tacrolimus (Tac) or cyclosporine A (CsA), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF),glucocorticoid. Postoperatively all patients had throat swabs, sputum smear Gram stain, sputum culture, blood culture, urine culture and fecal culture for microbiological monitoring. Schedule tables were made to record and analyze the demography of the patients and the timetable of infections. Results The incidence of infections was 42.9 episodes per 100 HTs. Sixty-four cases (76. 2% ) of the infections occurred in the first month after transplantation and all recovered, 20 cases (23.8%) took place after 1 months, and 4 patients died. Conclusion Perioperative infections are mostly caused by bacteria and the prognosis is good. Infections 2 months after operation are commonly caused by virus or fungi with poor prognosis.

Objective To assess the feasibility and efficacy of renal pelvis drainage and ureteral stent of laparoscopic pyeloplasty in treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction.Methods Eighteen patients(14 boys and 4girls) with ureteropelvic junction obstruction,the average patient age was 66 months (range 3-182 months),who underwent transabdominal laparoscopic Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty in Capital Institute of Pediatrics from Aug.2011 to Oct.2012 were selected.The ureteral stent and renal pelvis drainage were installed during the performance of surgery.They were removed in 7 days and 9 days after operation respectively.Results Eighteen cases successfully underwent laparoscopic pyeloplasty,without conversion to open surgery.The mean operating time was 102.8 minutes (ranging between 90 and 150 minutes).Two cases had complications on postoperative day 3,one patients ureteral stent was inadver-tentely pulled out,another was removed because of blood clots.No patient had postoperative urinary leakage or anastomotic stenosis.Postoperative follow-up time was 6 months.The hydronephrosis vanished in 13 patients,reduced obvious ly in 5 patients as revealed by ultrasound examination.Conclusions Intraoperatively,renal pelvis drainage and ureteral stent for postoperative drainage is effective,and it is worthy of application in a large scale.Patients can avoid further anesthesia for removing stents and the complications of long-term indwelling stent tubes,and have an improved quality of life.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among its various active components, glycyrrhizic acid is believed to be the marker component. Squalene synthase (SQS) and beta-amyrin synthase (beta-AS) are key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of glycyrrhizic acid in G uralensis. To reveal the effects of co-expression of SQS1 and beta-AS genes on this pathway, 7 yeast expression vectors harboring different SQS1 variants and beta-AS were constructed and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as fusion proteins. TLC and GC-MS results showed that co-expression of SQS1 and beta-AS enhanced the accumulation of beta-amyrin. The effects of SQS12 were more obvious than the other two SQS1 variants. This study is significant for further investigations concerned with exploring the biosynthesis of glycyrrhizic acid in vitro and strengthening the efficacy of G. uralensis by means of increasing the content of glycyrrhizic acid.