The purpose of this study is to investagate the meaning of systolic time intervals (STI) in evaluating cardiac functional condition of athletes.1. STI and step test were examined on 13 sprinters, 8 jumpers, 5 throwers and 5 distance runners during early, middle and the last phases in summer training season.No significant changes of the left ventricular ejection time (LVET), the pre-ejection period (PEP) and PEP/LVET ratio were found from examinations on athletes in the three different phases.The cases were divided into two groups of PEP/LVET ratio increased more than 0.05 (N=8) and PEP/LVET ratio decreased more than 0.05 (N=10) by the different of PEP/LVET ratio between linked phases examinations. Athough two of PEP/LVET ratio of each group were different evidently (P

Apexcardiogram (ACG) was applied clinically to evaluation of hemodynamics and cardiac functicn. especially diastolic function. So far no information in this field is available. 193 athletes engaged in different types of training --- including 118 males with an average age of 22.4 and training period of 4.5 years and 75 females with an average age of 21.4 years and training period of 5.2 years --- were examined with ACG in left lateral decubitus position. A/H ratio, rapid filling wave (RFW), slow filling wave (SFW) and SFW/RFW ratio were calculated.1. The sex difference was significant in RFW (P

Annulate lamellae (AL) in oocytes of eel, Anguilla japonica have been observed with electron microscopy. Two types of AL have been found in the cytoplasm of these cells, one of which is the common type, characterized by a stack of parallelly arranged lamellae with annuli (or rings) as shown in figure 1, another is a rare one, which appears as alternative arrangement of parellel lamellae with annuli and membrane-like structures as shown in figures 2～4. The only difference between them is the presence of membrane-like structure in the latter. The origin and function of the membrane-like structure have not been found out yet. It is suggested that this structure might be similar to above-mentioned lamellae in origin and might be a "buffer" in function.

Objective To determine the baseline echocardiographic characteristics and the time course and degree of recovery of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in patients with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy ( TCM ) . Methods Seven hundred and fifteen patients received radiofrequency cather ablation ( RFCA ) for tachycardiarrhymias from July 2010 to July 2013 were screened in this study. Only 33 patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (LVEF<50% and improved≥15%) were diagnosed with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy and were included in the study. Patients with early improvement (over 25%increase in LVEF at 1-week follow-up compared to the baseline ) were enrolled in the improved group , and the rest patients were enrolled in the improved group. All Patients received transthoracic echocardiography for LV size and function detection at 1 week and at 3,6,12 months follow-up. Results The average baseline of the LV end-diastolic diameter, and the LVEF were (55 ± 10.7)mm and (38 ± 4.6)%, repectively. Early improvement ( over 25%increase in LVEF at 1-week follow-up compared to the baseline ) in the improved group was observed in 16 patients. Patients with early improvement had higher LVEF at 12-month follow-up compared to the patients without early improvement [(69.2± 4.2)% vs (58.1 ± 6.9)%, P < 0.001]. Conclusions RFCA is proved to be a relatively safe and effecient treatment method. Atrial fibrillation related to TCM , rhythm control is superior to the rate control. The early improvement in LVEF may potentially predict the complete reversibility of LV systolic dysfunction.

In order to determine the pathophysiologic significance of electrocardiographic ventricular hypertrophy in athletes (LVH ath), echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular mass (LVM) were performed on 50 LVH ath. and 50 non-LVH matched ath. They were members of National Teams of track and field, swimming, football and cycling, with an average age of 20.74?3.3 years. Anatomic validation of the method was used for calculation of LVM in this study. Comparisons of LVM were made between LVH ath. and non-LVH ath., and between non-LVH ath. and the untrained:LVM=1.04?[(LVID+PWT+IVST)~3-(LVID)~3]-14Results showed no significant difference of LVM between LVH ath. and non-LVH ath. while LVM of non-LVH ath. were considerably greater than that of the untrained (P

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy and safety of bridging therapy with fondaparinux versus low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF).

METHODSAF patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation between January, 2009 and June, 2013 in Nanfang Hospital were analyzed. The patients received subcutaneous injection of either fondaparinux or LMWH as a bridging therapy during warfarin discontinuation 5 days before the ablation until a post-ablation international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0-3.0 was achieved. Anticoagulant-related complications, identified and classified as thromboembolic and bleeding events, were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSA total of 465 patients (68% male; mean age 52.3∓15 years, range 25 to 80 years) were enrolled in the study, including 265 in fondaparinux group and 200 in LMWH group. Anticoagulation-related complications were observed in 3 patients in fondaparinux group, as compared with 13 in LMWH group (P=0.002), but the thromboembolic rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (P=0.111). Two patients in fondaparinux group and 8 in LMWH group showed bleeding complications (P=0.039). No cardiovascular death occurred in these patients during a mean follow-up period of 3 months.

CONCLUSIONSFondaparinux as the bridging therapy during catheter ablation for AF does not increase the risk of thromboembolic complications but slightly reduces the risk of bleeding compared to LMWH, suggesting its safety and effectiveness for periprocedural anticoagulation management in AF patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anticoagulants ; therapeutic use ; Atrial Fibrillation ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Female ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polysaccharides ; therapeutic use

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of opiate abuse on the expression of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of HIV-1-infected patients and to elucidate possible mechanisms involved in the enhancement of HIV-1 replication by opiate abuse. A total of 200 participants were enrolled in the study by random selection from methadone treatment centers and voluntary HIV counseling and testing centers in the cities of Nanning, Liuzhou, and Qinzhou. These participants included 50 HIV-positive opiate abusers (Opiates HIV(+) group), 50 HIV-negative opiate abusers (Opiates HIV(-) group), 50 HIV-positive subjects who were not opiate abusers (Non-opiates HIV (+) group), and 50 HIV-negative subjects who were not opiate abusers (Control group). PBMCs were isolated from the peripheral blood samples from the subjects and the expression levels of TLR9 mRNA and protein were determined by q-PCR and western blot respectively. There was no significant difference among the four groups in age, gender, nationality, domicile, marital status, educational background or duration of drug abuse (P > 0.05). The median viral loads of the Opiates HIV(+) were significantly higher than those of the Non-Opiates HIV(+) groups (4.450 x 10(3) and 3.977 x 10(3) copies/mL respectively, P < 0.05). The relative expression levels of TLR9 mRNA in the Opiates HIV(+), Non-Opiates HIV(+), Opiates HIV(-) and Control groups were (2.13 +/- 1.59) x 10(-3), (3.66 +/- 2.22) x 10(-3), (1.96 +/- 1.42) x 10(-3) and (7.66 +/- 4.87) x 10(-3), respectively. The expression of TLR9 mRNA was significantly lower in both HIV-1-infected and -uninfected groups of opiate abusers compared with groups of non-abusers (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in TLR9 mRNA expression levels between the Opiates HIV(+) group and the Opiates HIV(-) group (P > 0.05). However, in the non-opiate groups, the expression levels of TLR9 mRNA in the HIV(+) group were significantly lower than that of the control group (P< 0.05). Western blot results confirmed that the expression of TLR9 protein was lower in the Opiates HIV(+), Non-Opiates HIV(+), and Opiates HIV(-) groups compared to the control group. These results suggest that opiate abuse can decrease the expression of TLR9 in PBMCs, which may result in the enhancement of HIV-1 infection and replication due to a decline in immune response mediated by the TLR9 pathway.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; HIV Infections ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; HIV-1 ; physiology ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Opioid-Related Disorders ; genetics ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 9 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Young Adult