In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of troglitazone (TGZ) on aromatase activity (AA) in human ovarian granulosa cells. The granulosa cells obtained from women who underwent in vito fertilization were treated with various concentrations of TGZ and/or retinoid X receptor ligand (RXR) LG100268 (LG), for 24h, and then cellular AA and the level of P450arom mRNA were determined. The treatment of the cells with TGZ for 24 h resulted in a dramatic inhibition of AA in a dose dependent manner. While the treatment with LG alone inhibited AA, the combined treatment with both TGZ and LG caused a much more reduction in AA. The changes in AA by TGZ and/or LG were associated with comparable changes in P450arom mRNA assessed by RT PCR. These results suggested that TGZ directly inhibited AA in human granulosa cells probably via nuclear receptor system which was composed of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor ?(PPAR?):RXR heterodimer.

Objective To construct the prokaryotic vector and to express a novel candidate gene IDD01 associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for its functional study. Methods The open reading frame (ORF) of IDD01, amplified from HCC tissue by RT PCR, was inserted into the expression vector pMAL c2X. The recombinant vector was transformed into E. coli TB1, and the expression products were analyzed by SDS PAGE. Results The length of PCR product was about 770 bp. The restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing conformed that the gene segment was correctly inserted into the vector. SDS PAGE and density scanning indicated that the protein was expressed as a fusion protein with 28 KD of molecular weight and the fusion protein possessed 30.4% of the total bacterial protein. Conclusion The recombinant vector is constructed successfully and IDD01 can be expressed at a high level, which lays a foundation for the further research on the functions of IDD01 gene.

Diabetic KK-Ay mice were given glimepiride (GM) and glibenclamide (GB). After treatment, the visceral white fat content, insulin and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels were significantly lower in GM group than those in GB group, suggesting that in addition to the lower insulin level stimulated by GM, the lower concentration of hypothalamic NPY seems to play a role in lessening increase in body fat of type 2 diabetic animals treated with GM.

Objective To evaluate the effect of the single energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) algorithm with a 320 multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) volume scanner in patients with knee tumor prostheses.Methods From November 2015 to March 2016,23 consecutive patients with knee tumor prostheses who underwent a 320-MSCT scan were collected.And the raw data were reconstructed using two different methods:conventional iterative reconstruction (IR) alone and IR associated with SEMAR.The ROI were objectively and subjectively assessed at osteotomy level and articular level,and the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for them.Results Compared with IR,objectively,artifact index (AI) values of the osteotomy level decreased 44.8％ to 74.1％ and that of the articular level decreased 73.2％ to 93.2％;subjectively,the scores of image quality of two levels were increased 0.5 to 2.0 scores and 1.0 to 4.0 scores by SEMAR respectively.The objective and subject image quality of periprosthetic structures were all significantly improved by the SEMAR algorithm (P＜0.05).Conclusion The SEMAR algorithm significantly reduced the metal artifact of knee tumor prostheses,improved the image quality of periprosthetic structures and may increase diagnostic confidence of prosthetic complications in patients with modular knee tumor prostheses,especially at the osteotomy level.

Objective To introduce the Filial Values Index (FVI) scale and form Chinese FVI scale and evaluate reliability and validity of the scale. Methods Formed the Chinese FVI to investigate 98 caregivers for chronic heart failure patients. SPSS18.0 software was adopted to analyze the reliability and validity of the scale. Results The content validity of Chinese FVI scale was 0.89,and two common factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis which could explained 68.91% of the total variance (P <0.01). The Cronbach α coefficient of the overall scale and each dimension was between 0.89-0.94, and the retest reliability was 0.97. Conclusions Chinese FVI scale had good reliability and validity, which can be used for evaluation of domestic caregivers filial piety values for chronic heart failure patients.

Objective To compare the difference of cutpoint and clinical significance of HbA1C for the diagnosis of abnormal glucose metabolism in two population groups with different ages.Methods According to oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT),the cutpoint and clinical significance of HbA1C for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose regulation(IGR)were investigated in the two population groups.Results The mean HbA1C of 1 064 young subjects in an academy and 1 671 aged subjects in a community were 5.31% ±0.41% and 5.79% ±0.71%,respectively.The cutpoints of HbA1C for diagnosis of diabetes were 5.7%(specificity 86.7%,sensitivity 66.7%)and 5.9%(specificity 73.8%,sensitivity 80.1%)in the two population groups,and 5.6% for diagnosis of IGR (specificity 82.8%,sensitivity 55.8%)and 5.7%(specificity 60.9%,sensitivity 64.3%),respectively.87.8%,78.7%,and 38.5% were diagnosed diabetes by current OGTT criteria at HbA1C levels of ≥5.7%,≥5.9%,and≥6.5%,IGR being 61.6%,39.6%,and 4.1%,and normal glucose tolerance being 24.4%,10.0%,and 0.4%.Conclusion The cutpoints of HbA1C for diagnosis of diabetes and IGR are different in populations with different ages and HbA1C levels.As one of diagnostic criteria for diabetes,HbA1C 6.5% with relatively higher specificity and lower sensitivity must be combined with fasting blood glucose,random blood glucose,and OGTT.

Objective To investigate the changes of sex hormone and androgen receptor levels and evaluate the relationship of the sex hormones and androgen receptor with coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly men. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in 539 elderly men, including 400 healthy people aged 62-92 years and 139 CHD patients aged 60-88 years. The plasma concentrations of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured. The androgen receptor (AR) level was tested by flow cytometry. Results The fluorescence intensity of DHEAS, TT, SHBG, FT and AR were significantly lower in CHD group than in healthy group (P<0.01);however, FSH and E2 in CHD group were higher(P(0.01). Age was negatively correlated with TT(r=-0.28,P<0.01) and FT (r=-0.17,P<0.05), and positively correlated with SHBG(r=0.14,P<0.05) and E2 (r=0.33, P<0.01). AR fluorescence intensity was negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure (r=-0.12,P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis indicated that TT (OR=1.065,9% CI: 1.012～1.121,P<0.05), SHBG(OR=0.994,95% CI:0.990～0.998,P<0.01) and AR (OR=0.971,95%CI:0.956～0.986, P<0.01)were significantly associated with CHD in elderly male patients. Conclusions The levels of DHEAS, TT, SHBG, FT and AR are lower in elderly men with CHD than in elderly healthy men;however, the FSH and E2 concentrations are higher. Low levels of TT, SHBG and AR may be the independent risk factors for CHD in elderly men.

Objective:To investigate the influence of hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) on the risk of incident chronic kidney disease (CDK) among nondiabetic patients.Methods:Prospective cohort study. At baseline, a total of 7 407 nondiabetic patients without a history of CKD from Pingguoyuan Community of the Shijingshan District in Beijing were included from December 2011 to August 2012, who were then divided into three groups according to the tertiles of their baseline HGI levels. The CKD incidence rate was compared among the different HGI groups at last follow-up. Cox multivariable regression was applied to evaluate whether HGI measures predicted CKD risk. Test for trend across tertiles were examined using ordinal values in separate models.Results:The mean age of the subjects was (56.4±7.5) years, and 4 933 (66.6%) were female. At mean follow-up of 3.23 years, 107 (1.4%) individuals developed CKD. The incidence of CKD was gradually increasing from the low to high HGI groups [1.1% (28/2 473) vs. 1.2% (31/2 564) vs. 2.0% (48/2 370), P=0.016]. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, after adjustment for potential confounders, the high HGI group had a 68.5% increased risk of CKD compared with the low HGI group ( HR=1.685, 95% CI 1.023 to 2.774). CKD risk increased with increasing HGI tertiles ( P for trend=0.028). Conclusion:High HGI is associated with an increased risk for CKD in the nondiabetic population, indicating that HGI may help identify individuals at high risk for CKD.

Neural loops are formed by interconnections between neurons through synaptic structures,which are the basic units of information transmission and processing in the brain and play an important role in the regulation of neural functions.After stroke,neural connections between the infarct and peri-infarct regions and the remote area are damaged,resulting in patients being at risk of neurological dysfunction or even disability.However,with advances in detection technology,an increasing number of studies are demonstrating that patients with stroke can undergo some functional recovery during the chronic phase,possibly via a mechanism related to the re-establishment of synaptic connections and neural circuits.Therefore,the development of specific technology to identify and manipulate neuronal activity patterns,as well as the use of high-resolution temporal and spatial imaging strategies to decipher these neurological processes,will allow us to understand the whole-brain network dynamics of stroke recovery and the mechanisms by which neural loop reestablishment occurs.Furthermore,we may be able to neurobiologically comprehend the closed-loop mechanisms that underlie the development of stroke pathology and their relationship to behavioral outcomes.Current technologies used for studying neural circuits include optogenetics,chemical genetics,in vivo calcium imaging,and functional magnetic resonance imaging.This article introduces the working principles of these four major technologies and focuses on summarizing the result of their respective application in resolving neural remodeling after stroke.We briefly analyze the application scenarios,advantages and disadvantages,and future development trends of each technique.This paper will help clinical and basic researchers to use these technologies to discover new therapeutic strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies.

Cardiovascular disease is a health hazard to humans and systolic heart failure due to myocardial infarction is a major cause of death.It was previously thought that myocardial cells of the adult mammalian heart possess a limited ability to proliferate and self-renew.However,it has been widely reported that mammals have the ability to regenerate the myocardium,which is restricted to early postnatal life,and that it is strong enough to repair damaged heart tissue.The discovery of myocardial regeneration in neonatal hearts has provided an ideal animal model to investigate the mechanisms that affect myocardial regeneration,and many mechanisms that reverse myocardial cell cycle arrest and promote myocardial regeneration have been revealed.In this article,we review the factors affecting gene expression for myocardial regeneration(e.g.,ncRNAs and transcription factors),myocardial regeneration-related signaling pathways,and the regulation of myocardial regeneration by non-myocardial cells(e.g.,extracellular matrix,immune response,and epicardium)to provide directions for achieving myocardial regeneration after myocardial injury in adult mammals.