Objective To determine common molecular markers between endometriosis and ovarian cancer . Methods The specimens from 31 endometriosis patients who underwent laparoscopic excision , 28 other disease patients with normal oarium and 35 ovarian cancer patients who received the ovariectomy were collected. Expressions of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), estrogen receptor 1α(ER-1α), progesterone receptor (PR), androgen receptor (AR) and aromatase (CYP19) were detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Compared with those in normal oarium group, the mRNA levels of TGF-β1, VEGF, ER-1α, AR, CYP19 and COX-2 in endometriosis group were increased by 2.05 fold, 2.20 fold, 3.32 fold, 1 . 45 fold , 3 . 19 fold and 3 . 00 fold , respectively , and the mRNA level of PR was reduced by 69 % ( all P< 0.05), while those in ovarian cancer group were increased by 5.61 fold, 7.61 fold, 7.49 fold, 4.79 fold, 7.76 fold and 5.35 fold, respectively, and the mRNA level of PR was reduced by 95 % (all P< 0.05). Conclusion In endometriosis and ovarian cancer tissues, the expression levels of TGF-β1, COX-2, VEGF, ER-1α, AR and CYP19 are increased, and the expression levels of PR are decreased, which maybe suggest both diseases are potentially relevant.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of modified rapid Carba NP test for the detection of carbapenemase,and analyze the differences between the modified method and Carba NP test.Methods A total of 264 strains of gram-negative bacillus,including 164 carbapenem-resistant strains and 100 sensitive strains,were collected,and their carbapenemase were detected by Carba NP test and the modified rapid Carba NP test,respectively.The differences between the two tests were evaluated based on PCR as a reference.Results Among 164 carbapenem-resistant strains,carbapenemase gene was detected in 144 strains by PCR.The carbapenemase gene was negative in 100 sensitive strains.Among 164 carbapenem-resistant strains,135 were positive for the Carba NP test,while 130 for the modified rapid Carba NP test.One hundred of sensitive strains were negative for the two Carba NP tests.Compared with the results of PCR,the sensitivity,specificity and Kappa value of the Carba NP test were 91.7％ (132/144),97.5％ (117/120) and 0.886,respectively,while those of the modified rapid Carba NP test were 89.6％ (129/144),99.2％ (119/120) and 0.879,respectively.There was no significant difference in the positive rates between Carba NP test and the modified rapid Carba NP test (x2 =1.45,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The modified rapid Carba NP test which has high consistency with the PCR method,is faster and cheaper than the Carba NP test,and may be applied to epidemiologic survey and the early monitoring of nosocomial infections.

Objective To evaluate the application value of inhibitor enhanced modified carbapenemase inactivation method (imCIM) in the detection of class B carbapenemase.The differences between imCIM and EDTA disc potentiation test (EDPT) were comparatively analyzed.Methods A total of 181 strains of carbapenem insensitive strains were collected,among which there were 44 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae,44 strains of Escherichia coli,43 strains of Acinetobacter baumannii and 50 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The 83 strains of carbapenem-sensitive strains were composed of 25 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae,16 strains of Escherichia coli,25 strains of Acinetobacter baumannii and 17 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The class B carbapenemase in the 264 strains of pathogenic bacteria was screened by imCIM and EDPT,and PCR results were used as gold standard.The statistical analysis wasperformed with consistency check,related-sample Wilcoxon signed rank sum test,independent samples Kruskal-Wallis H test and ROC curve.Results Among the 181 strains of carbapenem insensitive strains,PCR results of 144 strains were positive for drug resistance gene.The samples of class A,B and D of carbapenemase were 39,77 and 28 strains respectively.The results of imCIM showed that 70 strains were positive,and the other 111 strains were negative.The imCIM results of 166 strains were consistent with those of PCR.The results of EDPT showed that 72 strains were positive,and the other 109 strains were negative.The EDPT results of 134 strains were consistent with those of PCR.The results of PCR,EDPT and imCIM of 83 carbapenem sensitive strains were negative.The sensitivity and specificity of imCIM were 85.71％ (66/77) and 97.86％ (183/187),and the value of Kappa was 0.859.The sensitivity and specificity of EDPT were 66.23 ％ (51/77) and 88.77 ％ (166/187),and the value of Kappa was 0.561.The difference of inhibition zone of imCIM (AdimCIM) was different from EDPT(AdEDPr) and the difference was statistically significant (Z =-6.941,P ＜ 0.05).In the imCIM detection,the AdimciM level of class B carbapenemase showed different population distribution position from class A and D carbapenemase with the statistically significant difference (x2 =108.887,P ＜ 0.05).The areas under the ROC curve of imCIM and EDPTwere 0.988 (95％CI:0.977 to0.999) and0.936 (95％CI:0.909 to0.963),respectively.Conclusion imCIM should be accurate,efficient and convenient for screening of carbapenem phenotype for its high sensitivity and specificity,and suitable for epidemiological monitoring.

A 23-year-old man in remission from acute myeloblastic leukemia after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation developed peripheral neuropathy presenting as sciatic and peroneal nerve deficits. Electrophysiological tests localized the lesions to the left sciatic and common peroneal nerve. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed nerve thickening and enhancement, while a positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan demonstrated increased fluorodeoxyglucose uptake tracking along the nerve, suggesting peripheral nerve infiltration. This report demonstrates an unusual presentation of acute leukemia relapse presenting as focal neuropathy

Objective: Kalanchoe hybrida (Crassulaceae) is naturalized throughout all the island of Taiwan in China. The preliminary bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extract of K. hybrida exhibited that the chloroform and n-butanol fractions possessed potent cytotoxicity against MCF-7, NCI-H460, and SF-268 tumor cell lines at 50 µg/mL concentration. Therefore, K. hybrida was selected as a target and the chemical constituents from the chloroform and n-butanol fractions of the crude extracts of K. hybrida were identified. The potential constituents were examined for their cytotoxicity against the tumor cell lines. Methods: A combination of conventional chromatographic techniques was performed on the crude extract of K. hybrida. The chemical structures of the purified constituents were identified on the basis of spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis. Results: The purification results had led to the characterization of totally 37 compounds. The isolated compounds 1, 2, and 4–12 were examined for their cytotoxicity in vitro, and bufadienolides 4–8 and flavonol glycoside 11 displayed significant cytotoxicity towards all the tested tumor cell lines among these tested compounds. Conclusion: The results indicated that these principles should be responsible for the bioactivity of corresponding partial fractions. The potential constituents could be further investigated to explore the new natural lead drugs.

A 51-year-old woman presented with metachronous tumor development in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrium. Additional signs and symptoms fulfilled the National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria for Cowden syndrome. Immunohistochemistry showed loss of PTEN expression in all tumors. Single nucleotide variants, 647 germline variants (including one each in PTEN and MSH3), and 21 somatic mutations within exons were detected in all tumors after whole-exome sequencing. There were 0, 11, and 46 specific somatic mutations in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrial cancers, respectively.Although PTEN mutation is key to the development of Cowden syndrome, DNA repair dysfunction might be the initial driver of mutations. Fewer mutations were required to induce initial bilateral breast carcinomas, with subsequent thyroid and endometrial carcinomas requiring more mutations for induction. When genetic screening is unavailable, breast cancer patients with clinical manifestations of Cowden syndrome must be carefully assessed for secondary malignancies, such as thyroid and endometrial carcinomas.

Objective: Moderate and severe behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) often need medical treatment to improve symptoms. Agomelatine is a selective melatonergic (MT1/MT2) agonist that has normalizing effects on disturbed circadian rhythms and disrupted sleep−wake cycles. Its activity of 5HT-2C receptor antagonism is associated with lessening depression and anxiety and increasing slow-wave sleep. Based on past clinical records and current findings it suggests that agomelatine can improve BPSD for patients. This retrospective cohort study was designed to compare the BPSD before and after using agomelatine. Methods: Records of dementia cases who had ever received agomelatine treatment for BPSD in a general hospital setting during the past 2.5 years were identified and reviewed. Scores from before and after 3 months of treatment with agomelatine were collected for Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) to compare and analyze the difference of psychological and behavioral symptoms pre- and post-agomelatine used. Results: Records of 144 cases of dementia with BPSD who had ever used agomelatine from January 2015 to June 2017 were collected. All of the 112 cases had BPRS and CGI scores, of which 75 cases had additional NPI scores. Among these 112 cases, the BPRS and CGI scores were significantly improved in all types of dementia. NPI scores indicated that the use of agomelatine alleviated obvious symptoms and decreased overall distress, especially in the depression/poor mood, anxiety, and sleepight behavior. Conclusion It is consistent with an effective result of agomelatine in improving BPSD.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the diffusion tensor imaging-derived metrics are capable of differentiating the ischemic penumbra (IP) from the infarct core (IC), and determining stroke onset within the first 4.5 hours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All procedures were approved by the local animal care committee. Eight of the eleven rats having permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion were included for analyses. Using a 7 tesla magnetic resonance system, the relative cerebral blood flow and apparent diffusion coefficient maps were generated to define IP and IC, half hour after surgery and then every hour, up to 6.5 hours. Relative fractional anisotropy, pure anisotropy (rq) and diffusion magnitude (rL) maps were obtained. One-way analysis of variance, receiver operating characteristic curve and nonlinear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The evolutions of tensor metrics were different in ischemic regions (IC and IP) and topographic subtypes (cortical, subcortical gray matter, and white matter). The rL had a significant drop of 40% at 0.5 hour, and remained stagnant up to 6.5 hours. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in rL values were found between IP, IC, and normal tissue for all topographic subtypes. Optimal rL threshold in discriminating IP from IC was about -29%. The evolution of rq showed an exponential decrease in cortical IC, from -26.9% to -47.6%; an rq reduction smaller than 44.6% can be used to predict an acute stroke onset in less than 4.5 hours. CONCLUSION: Diffusion tensor metrics may potentially help discriminate IP from IC and determine the acute stroke age within the therapeutic time window.
Animal Care Committees ; Animals ; Anisotropy ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Diffusion* ; Gray Matter ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Models, Animal* ; Rats* ; ROC Curve ; Stroke

We report here on a 26-year-old pregnant female who developed hirsutism and virilization during her third trimester along with a significantly elevated serum testosterone level. Abdominal US and MR imaging studies were performed, and they showed unique imaging features that may suggest the diagnosis of pregnancy luteoma in the clinical context. After the delivery, the serum testosterone level continued to decrease, and it returned to normal three weeks postpartum. The follow-up imaging findings were closely correlated with the clinical presentation.
Adult ; Contrast Media ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gadolinium DTPA/diagnostic use ; Hirsutism/etiology ; Humans ; Luteoma/complications/*diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Ovarian Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic/*diagnosis ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; Virilism/etiology

OBJECTIVESTo study and analyze the clinical factors contributing to the failure of primary posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction and to guide our clinical treatment.

METHODSFrom November 2001 to May 2007, 8 patients underwent PCL reconstruction revision because of pathological instability after primary PCL reconstruction. And the clinical failure factors of the primary reconstruction were analyzed.

RESULTSOne case was reconstructed with bone-patellar tendon-bone (B-T-B) autografts, 7 cases with hamstring tendon autograft. The most probable causes of failure were improper graft placement in 7 cases (both femoral bone tunnels were behind the predicted one and tibial tunnels were in front of the predicted one). The reconstructed PCL in 4 cases ruptured absolutely and had been absorbed. Three cases had obviously loosen but still partly linked reconstructed ligament. These 8 cases all received primary PCL revision reconstruction. Among them, 6 cases were reconstructed with autograft (using a single-bundle quadruple hamstring graft in 3 cases, double-bundle quadruple hamstring graft in 1 case, single-bundle B-T-B autograft in 2 case), and 2 cases were reconstructed with allograft (using a single-bundle and a double-bundle B-T-B allograft reconstruction).

CONCLUSIONSIncorrect bone tunnel placement is the major factor contributing to the surgical failure in many reasons for the failure of PCL reconstruction. So, it might be suggested that there is a great need for a more precise anatomical bone tunnel placement.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament ; surgery ; Reoperation ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Failure ; Young Adult