Objective To investigate the value of CT scans in differential diagnosis of thyroid neoplasm.Methods CT findings ofthyroid neoplasm in 29 cases including 8 cases thyroid adenoma,4 cases nodular goiter and 17 cases thyroid carcinoma identified by operation and pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Results The contour of thyroid adenoma was distinct,a completely enhanced ring in 5 cases and enhanced nodules in 3 cases were showed on contrast-enhanced scan.4 cases of nodular goiter showed homogenous cystic low density the lesions were localized and distinct in contour,the cystic wall could be seen.Thyroid carcinoma appeared unhomogenous density,the edges contour of lesion was not distinct and infiltration on adjacent tissue might be seen.Conclusion CT scan might play an important role in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of thyroid neoplasm.

Objective To observe the clinical curative effect of combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine for treatment of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) related acute-on-chronic (subacute) liver failure (ACLF). Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted; 66 cases of HBV-ACLF patients were randomly divided into two groups: a test group (44 cases) and a control group (22 cases). Conventional western medicine treatment was given to both groups; the patients in test group additionally received the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in accord to the principles of differentiation of syndromes in TCM, in cases with damp-heat and blood stasis syndrome with yellow appearance, Liangxue Jiedu Huayu decoction (Paeoniae Radix Rubra 60 - 150 g, Artemisiae Scopariae Herba 30 - 90 g, Gardeniae Fructus 9 - 12 g, Hedyotis diffusa Willd 20 - 30 g, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma 30 g, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma 30 g, Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma 30 - 45 g, Siegesbeckiae Herba 30 - 45 g, Bletillae Rhizoma 15 g ) was given, in cases with Qi deficiency and blood stasis with yellow appearance, Yiqi Jiedu Huayu decoction (Astragali Radix Preparata Cum Melle 30 g, Pseudostellariae Radix 15 g, Artemisiae Scopariae Herba 30 - 60 g, Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix 15 - 30 g, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma 30 g, Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata 10 - 15 g, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma 30 g, Rubiae Radix et Rhizoma 30 - 45 g, Siegesbeckiae Herba 30 - 45 g, Gigeriae Galli Endothelium Corneum 20 g) was given, the dosage in both groups being 1 dose daily, one dose was prepared to a water decoction 250 - 300 mL which was divided into two parts, one part taken twice a day; the control group received only western medicine treatment. After 2 weeks of treatment, the clinical comprehensive curative effect, the syndrome score efficacy, and the changes of main indexes of liver function,cholinesterase (ChE), albumin (Alb), prothrombin activity (PTA) were observed in the two groups.Results The clinical total efficacy in the test group was significantly higher than that in the control group [75.0% (33/44) vs. 45.5% (10/22),P < 0.05]. The syndrome score total efficacy in the test group was also higher than that in the control group [75.0% (33/44) vs. 63.6% (14/22)], but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). After treatment, the alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil) and direct bilirubin (DBil) were all lower than those before treatment in both groups, while the ChE, Alb and PTA were higher than those before treatment, and the degree of changes was more significant in the test group [test group: ALT (U/L): 63.28±99.28 vs. 574.58±571.08, AST (U/L): 86.84±92.88 vs. 438.20±482.74, TBil (μmol/L): 161.90±178.34 vs. 269.46±95.10, DBil (μmol/L): 115.32±126.51 vs. 209.12±79.78, ChE (U/L): 4 239.14±1 505.00 vs. 3 341.49±1 609.40, Alb (g/L): 32.65±4.77 vs. 29.73±3.31, PTA: (69.69±44.92)% vs. (32.84±7.47)%; control group: ALT (U/L): 93.28±93.86 vs. 365.24±376.98, AST (U/L): 126.26±121.35 vs. 287.17±301.04, TBil (μmol/L): 226.80±187.38 vs. 281.02±103.73, DBil (μmol/L): 172.50±147.32 vs. 227.96±87.20, ChE (U/L): 4 484.66±1 886.53 vs. 3 918.77±1 417.77, Alb (g/L): 33.17±4.76 vs. 30.47±3.03, PTA: (63.80±36.80)% vs. (33.96±6.32)%,P < 0.05 orP < 0.01].Conclusion The combination of TCM and western medicine for treatment of HBV-ACLF can improve liver function, and the prognosis is superior to using western medicine treatment alone.

Objective To evaluate the effects of dexmedetomidine on the expression of aquaporins 1 (AQP1) and AQP5 during lung ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in rats in an in vitro experiment.Methods SPF healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats,aged 3-4 months,weighing 250-320 g,were used in this study.Forty-five isolated rat lungs in which the model of isolated lung perfusion was successfully established were divided into 3 groups (n=15 each) using a random number table:sham operation group (S group),I/R group and dexmedetomidine group (D group).The isolated rat lungs were continuously perfused for 150 min in group S.After 15 min of perfusion,the isolated rat lungs were subjected to 60 min of ischemia and apnea followed by 75 min of ventilation and reperfusion to establish the model of isolated lung I/R injury in group I/R.In group D,the isolated rat lungs were perfused for 15 min with K-H perfusion fluid containing 10 nmol/L dexmedetomidine,and then subjected to 60 min of ischemia and apnea followed by 75 min of ventilation and reperfusion with K-H perfusion fluid containing 10 nmol/L dexmedetotnidine.The lung compliance,airway resistance,perfusion flow and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) were recorded at 10 min of perfusion and 15,45 and 75 min after restoration of perfusion.Lung tissues were obtained at 75 min after restoration of perfusion for determination of wet/dry weight ratio (W/D ratio) and for examination of the pathological changes and changes in the uhrastructure.The expression of AQP1 and AQP5 protein and mRNA in lung tissues was detected by Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction,respectively.Results Compared with S group,the airway resistance was significantly increased and lung compliance,perfusion flow and PaO2 were decreased during reperfusion,and W/D ratio was increased in I/R and D groups (P＜0.05),the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 protein and mRNA in lung tissues was significantly down-regulated in group I/R,and the expression of AQP 1 and AQP5 protein and mRNA in lung tissues was significantly up-regulated in group D (P＜0.05).Compared with I/R group,the airway resistance was significantly decreased and lung compliance,perfusion flow and PaO2 were increased during reperfusion,W/D ratio was decreased,the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 protein and mRNA in lung tissues was up-regulated (P＜0.05),and the pathological changes of lung tissues was significantly attenuated in group D.Conclusion The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine reduces I/R injury may be related to up-regulation of the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 in rats in an in vitro experiment.

Cause of Death ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; mortality ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; mortality ; Intraoperative Period ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Professor Deng's Jinfu An Decoction(JAD)on intermediate and advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods Ninety patients with intermediate and advanced NSCLC were equally randomized into 3 groups.GroupⅠreceived routine chemical therapy(CT), groupⅡreceived oral use of JAD,which is mainly composed of raw Arisaema cum Bile,raw Rhizoma Pinelliae, Radix Pseudostellariae,Culmus Phragmitis,Poria,Semen Persicae,Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii,Gekko Chinensis,Pseudobulbus Cremastrae seu Pleiones,Radix Salviae Mihiorrhizae,and groupⅢreceived JAD + CT. Three weeks constituted one phase,two phases constituted one treatment courses,and the treatment lasted 2 courses.The changes of clinical symptom and signs scoring,tumor mass,immune function,hemorrheological indexes,and quality of life(QOL)as well as body weight and toxic and side reactions were observed in the three groups.Results The symptom scores decreased in the 3 groups obviously(P0.05).Between the 3 groups,the improvement of QOL in groupsⅡandⅢdiffered from that in groupⅠ(P

Objective To investigate the mechanism of pseudomonasaeruginosa mannose sensitive hamemagglutination vaccine (PA-MSHA) in inducing apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsA metastatic model of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was established by orthotopic implantation of histologically intact human HCC tissue into the liver of nude mice.Mice bearing xenografts in liver were randomly divided into three groups:control group,PA-MSHA intraperitoneal administration group,and PA-MSHA subcutaneous administration group.The agent was administered every day after the third day post-tumor implantation.At the end of the sixth week,the mice were killed.Serum levels of TNF-α,IL-4,IL-6 and IFN-γ were measured by ELISA and the activities of caspase 3,caspase 8 and caspase 9 in the tumor samples were tested by spectrophotometric method.Fas/FasL expressions were evaluated by Western blotting.ResultsSerum TNF-α levels in the control group,PA-MSHA subcutaneous administration group and PA-MSHA intraperitoneal administration group were 25.24±3.22 pg/ml,25.50±4.55 pg/ml(P＞0.05) and 34.22±2.42 pg/ml (P＜0.01),respectively,while there were no significant differences in serum IL-4,IL-6 and IFN-γ among these three groups(P＞0.01).Compared with the control group,the activities of caspase 3,caspase 8 and caspase 9 in tumors in the intraperitoneal administration group increased by 4.1,2.3 and 1.9 fold(P＜0.01),respectively,and Fas/FasL expressions were significantly elevated in the intraperitoneal administration group and subcutaneous administration group.ConclusionWhen given intraperitoneally,PA-MSHA can induce apoptosis in HCC by promoting the secretion of TNF-α and expression of Fas/FasL,thereby inhibiting HCC growth and metastasis.

Objective To investigate the mRNA and protein expressions of Nav 1.1 and Nav 1.2 in hippocampus following traumatic brain injury ( TBI) in rats.Methods After the lateral fluid percussion model was established in adult male Sprague Dawley rats,the rats were sacrificed at 2,12,24 and 72 hours after percussion and collected ipsilateral hippocampus for detecting mRNA and protein expressions of Nav 1.1 and Nav 1.2 by means of fluorescent quantitation RT-PCR,Western blot and immunofluo rescence staining.Results The mRNA expressions of Nav 1.1 and Nav 1.2 were significantly down-regulated (P<0.01) in hippocampus and reached the lowest level at 2 hours following TBI.The protein expression of Nav 1.1 was significantly down-regulated (P<0.01) but recovered near to level of control group at 72 hours after TBI.While there was no statistical difference on protein expression of Nav 1.2 in hippocampus after TBI compared with control group (P>0.05).Conclusion TBI induces significant down-regulated mRNA and protein expressions of Nav 1.1 in the hippocampus,which may be one of molecular mechanisms for functional alternation of sodium channels and excitotoxic action following TBI.

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic value of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and cholinesterase (ChE) in patients with hepatitis B virus related acute onset chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF). Methods A case-control observation was conducted. Sixty-seven patients with HBV-ACLF admitted to Tianjin Second People's Hospital from January 2009 to October 2015 were enrolled. According to the diagnostic criteria of ACLF, the patients were divided into early, middle, and late groups, and alternatively, according to the outcome, they were divided into survival group and death group. Serum samples were collected after 0, 2, 4, 8 weeks to determine the value of AFP and ChE and analyze the value of AFP and ChE in reflecting the changes during HBV-ACLF progression. The differences in AFP and ChE between the survival group and the death group were compared. The prognostic values of AFP and ChE for HBV-ACLF patients were evaluated. Results Among 67 patients, there were 24, 24, and 19 patients in the early, middle and late stage, respectively, and there were 0, 9, 18 deaths at 8 week. With the advance of HBV-ACLF, the levels of both AFP and ChE were decreased in the early, middle, and late stage, with the AFP value of 40.205 (14.663, 90.550), 23.445 (8.233, 64.213), 8.990 (6.120, 14.340) μg/L (F = 36.149, P = 0.000) and the ChE value of (4.217±1.408), (3.619±1.200), (2.503±1.248) kU/L, respectively (F = 19.575, P = 0.000). In the death group, the levels of serum AFP at 0, 2, 4, 8 weeks were significantly lower than those in survival group [μg/L: 21.540 (7.670, 50.470) vs. 60.680 (16.383, 146.100), 10.560 (6.170, 20.100) vs. 60.090 (27.662, 100.700), 8.750 (3.045, 10.105) vs. 51.875 (16.778, 88.833), 3.900 (2.120, 7.660) vs. 20.400 (12.950, 50.430), P < 0.05 or P < 0.01]. The levels of serum ChE at 2, 4, 8 weeks in the death group were significantly lower than those in the survival group (kU/L: 3.206±1.480 vs. 4.008±1.227, 2.893±1.478 vs. 4.140±1.236, 2.948±1.355 vs. 4.329±1.390, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The levels of AFP in 67 patients were 30.100 (10.100, 90.100) μg/L, and ChE was (3.685±1.382) kU/L at 2 weeks, and they showed no correlation between AFP and ChE according to the linear correlation analysis (r = 0.082, P = 0.508), suggesting that AFP and ChE could be used as two independent prognostic factors for HBV-ACLF patients. It was showed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis that the area under the curve of AFP (AUC) was 0.847 (P = 0.000), while the AUC of ChE was 0.681 (P = 0.012). The highest values of Youden index and the maximum effectiveness of testing were obtained when AFP and ChE reached 20.520 μg/L and 2.924 kU/L, respectively, with the sensitivity and the specificity of AFP being 85.0% and 77.8%, respectively, and of ChE being 77.5% and 59.3%, respectively. When using the value of AFP ≥ 20.520 μg/L combined with the value of ChE ≥ 2.924 kU/L, the sensitivity for predicting HBV-ACLF outcome was 65.9%, and its specificity was 91.0%. Conclusion Both AFP and ChE were helpful in providing accurate information for the progression and prognosis of HBV-ACLF patients due to the facts that their values were less interfered by the clinical treatment and that they have higher specificity.

Objective To compare the gene expression difference between 0.1 and 5 Gy X-ray irradiated cells,and to explore its possible mechanism.Methods A cDNA microarray corresponding to 45033 human genes was used to analyze the transcriptional profiles of normal human lymphoblastoid AHH-1 cells at 4 h after 0.1 or 5 Gy irradiation.The genes with a fold change ≥ 2.0 were identified as the differentially expressed genes.real-lime PCR and Western blot were used to confirm the expression of PERP.Results The microarray assay showed that there were 760 up-regulated genes and 1222 down-regulated genes in the cells at 0.1 Gy,while there were 744 genes down-regulated and 457 genes up-regulated in the cells at 5 Gy.In addition,55 genes were commonly up-regulated and 339 genes commonly down-regulated at 0.1 and 5 Gy.The predominant biological processes of the differential genes responding to low-dose radiation include cell-cell signaling transduction and DNA damage response,and the altered genes after 5 Gy irradiation were related to cell proliferation,differentiation,and apoptosis.Moreover,the expression of PERP gene was down regulated,which was consistent with the data of microarrey assay.Conclusions The quantitative and qualitative differences in the gene expressions may contribute to the diversed biological effects induced by low or high doses of ionizina radiation.

Objective To evaluate the efficiency and clinical value of modular flexible ureteroscope combined with Holmium laser lithotripsy for treatment of renal calculi. MethodsA total of 46 patients with renal calculi were treated with modular flexible ureteroscope combined with Ho:YAG lithotripsy in our hospital from December 2009 to May 2011.There were 19 cases in middle and upper calyx,8 cases in lower calyx,15 case in renal pelvic,and 4 cases in multiple calyxes.The calculi diameter ranged from 6mm to 31 mm (average in 15 ± 7.9 mm).Flexible ureteroscope was used to find renal calculus under epidural anesthesia,and Holmium laser lithotripsy was used at a maximum energy of 12 to 20W (0.8 - 1.0 J/15 -20Hz).F5 or F6 double-J tubes and catheters were indwelled routinely postoperatively.-examine with KUB and removethe catheter 2 days after operation.Re-examine with B-ultrasonography or KUB 4 weeks after op-eration to evaluate the stone free rate.Residual stones ≥4 mm were regarded as clinical significance of residual stone fragments. Results 45 operations were successful except one case changed to percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) because of ureteral stricture.The operation time was 45 -150 min (average in 110.4 ±25.3 min).The patients were discharged from hospital in 2 -5 days(average in 3 days) after operation.The stone detection rate was 95.6％ (44/46),and the stone free rate was 86.9％ (40/46) after one operation. No severe complications such as ureteral perforation or hemorrhea occurred. Conclusions Modular flexible ureteroscope combined with Holmium laser lithotripsy is effective and safe for treatment ofrenal calculi,meanwhile it can decrease the high maintenance costs of integrated flexible ureteroscope.