Objective To study the application value of high frequency ultrasound to the diagnosis of early rheumatoid arthri‐tis .Methods 40 cases were selected ,who were diagnosed with early rheumatoid arthritis ,as the RA group ,another 40 healthy per‐sons were selected as the normal control group .Objects in the 2 groups were examined with high frequency ultrasound and X‐ray . Comparison of the examination results was made ,at the same time ,the results of suprapatellar bursa effusion ,synovial hyperplasia and bone erosion of the positive detection rate in group RA from the analysis of high‐frequency ultrasound and X‐ray examination were also compared .In addition ,the relativity between the related index and ESR index and CRP index in group RA was also ana‐lysed .Results The suprapatellar bursa effusion ,synovial hyperplasia ,bone erosion of color flow rate and bone erosion of the posi‐tive detection rate were higher than those in normal control group(P<0 .05);Compared with the control group ,the artery resist‐ance index was less ,the femoral condyle and lateral condylar cartilage thickness of RA group increased more(P<0 .05) .High fre‐quency ultrasound positive detection rate suprapatellar bursa effusion ,synovial hyperplasia ,bone erosion in patients of group RA were higher than those of X‐ray(P<0 .05) .The knee joint suprapatellar bursa effusion ,synovial hyperplasia of synovial membrane thickenss ,the thickness of the color blood flow grade and CRP ,ESR of patients in RA group were correlated(P<0 .01) .Conclusion High frequency ultrasound can respond to the situation of early rheumatoid arthritis patients ,and the lesion detection rates are higher ,there is a certain correlation between ultrasonographic indexes and CRP ,ESR .

Objective To investigate the effect of β-lactam antibiotics on the false positive rate of the serum Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) assay in patients with lung diseases.Methods We selectively recruited 77 lung disease patients who did not meet the diagnostic criteria of invasive pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) and received different β-lactam antibiotics,while 41 patients without IPA who did not receive any antibiotic treatment were recruited as the control group.Serum samples for GM detection were collected from all participants.The rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan was compared between the two groups.Results False-positive serum results were found in patients who received piperacillin-tazobactam (30.8％ or 8/26) and cefoperazone sulbactamand (27.8％ or 5/18).The rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan in patients who receive β-lactam antibiotics were significantly higher than that in the control group (24.7％ or 19/77vs.7.3％ or 3/41,x2 =5.315,P=0.025).Taking false-positive serum Aspergillus galactomannan as the dependent variable and β-lactam antibiotic treatment as the independent variable,univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan in patients who received β-lactam antibiotics were 4.149 times more than that in the control group (OR=4.149,P=0.030).Conclusions The administration of β-lactam antibiotics may increase the occurrence of false-positive serum Aspergillus galactomannan,and physicians should be aware of this possible interference.

Objective To evaluate the impact of the re-modified Sugiura procedure on portal hemodynamics and liver function in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension.Methods Forty patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension who underwent the re-modified Sugiura procedure in the Yichang Second People's Hospital from June 2006 to October 2014 were studied.Changes in the free portal pressure (FPP),portal venous flow (PVF) and liver functions before and after operation were analyzed.Results (1) The FPP at different phases of the operation (after opening the abdomen,after splenectomy,and after devascularization) were (43.2 ± 1.8) cmH2O,(34.8 ± 1.6) cmH2O and (35.2 ± 1.7) cmH2O,respectively.There were significant differences in FPP between the phases of after splenectomy and after opening the abdomen,as well as after devascularization and after opening the abdomen (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in FPP between after devascularization and after splenectomy (P ＞ O.05).(2) The PVF,which were measured with Doppler sonography at 4 time points (preoperative 1 day,postoperative 10 days,postoperative 6 months,postoperative 18 months),were (1 420.4 ± 137.7) ml/min,(1 205.2 ± 126.7) ml/min,(875.8 ± 118.0) ml/min and (893.8 ± 114.7) n1/min,respectively.There were significant differences in PVF between postoperative 10 days and preoperative 1 day,between postoperative 6 months and postoperative 10 days,as well as between postoperative 18 months and preoperative 1 day (P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in PVF between postoperative 18 months and postoperative 6 months (P ＞0.05).(3)The liver functions were evaluated using the Child-Pugh score at 4 time points (preoperative 1 day,postoperative 10 days,postoperative 6 months,postoperative 18 months).There were no significant differences among the time points,(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The re-modified Sugiura's procedure durably,appropriately and effectively reduced the PVF and FPP,but it did not have any negative effects on the liver functions of patients with cirrhosis.

AIM:To investigate isometric force displacement in isolated rat main pulmonary artery rings and right main branch pulmonary artery(second pulmonary artery)rings during hypoxia hypercapnia and the role of mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK).METHODS:The main pulmonary artery rings were dissected from the male Sprague-Dawley rats and were randomly divided into control group and hypoxia hypercapnia group.The second pulmonary artery rings were also randomly divided into control group,hypoxia hypercapnia group,DMSO incubation group,U0126 incubation group and SB203580 incubation group.The tension changes of pulmonary artery rings were monitored in vitro.RESULTS:Under normoxia conditions,there was no statistically significant change between main pulmonary artery rings and second pulmonary artery rings.A biphasic pulmonary artery contractile response to hypoxia hypercapnia in the second pulmonary artery rings was observed instead of a sharp and transient increase in the main pulmonary artery tension.Both p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 and ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 significantly attenuated the delayed,but not early,contractile phase of the biphasic pulmonary artery contraction.CONCLUSION:Acute hypoxia hypercapnia causes a biphasic pulmonary artery contractile response in the second pulmonary artery,and p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 may be two key mediators in the process.

OBJECTIVETo explore low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation by macrophage myeloperoxidase (MPO) at molecular level.

METHODSUsing a mouse macrophage model, we examined the relationship between LDL oxidation and macrophage MPO by measuring macrophage MPO activity, LDL oxidation products, MPO gene expression and cellular orientation of LDL oxidation.

RESULTSMPO gene expression increased to its maximum gradually when the concentration of LDL was increased, and then maintained at that level. NaN(3) inhibied the elevation of MPO activity and LDL oxidation, which was LDL concentration-dependent. After the composition of macrophage membrane was roughly analyzed, it was determined that the contents of MPO and LDL in 5% sucrose were 7.667 and 21 times higher than those in 10% sucrose, respectively.

CONCLUSIONLDL is attached to the "microdomain" of the macrophage membrane in which LDL is oxidized by MPO.

Animals ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; metabolism ; Mice ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Peroxidase ; genetics ; metabolism

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polymers obtained by esterification of hydroxy fatty acid monomers. Due to similar mechanical characteristics of traditional petroleum-based plastics, 100% biodegradability and biocompatibility, PHAs are considered to be one of the most potential green materials. However, the application and promotion of PHAs as a green and environmentally friendly material are difficult because of the high production costs. This article focuses on the current methods to reduce production cost of PHAs effectively, such as cell morphology regulation, metabolic pathway construction, economic carbon source utilization and open fermentation technology development. Despite most research results are still limited in laboratory, the research methods and directions provide theoretical guidance for the industrial production of economic PHAs.
Fermentation ; Industry ; Petroleum ; Plastics ; Polyhydroxyalkanoates