OBJECTIVETo provide quantitative foundation for the diagnosis of atlanto-axial rotatory subluxation by analyzing the various imaging features of normal atlanto-axial joints in neutral position and rotary functional position on the MSCT images.

METHODSForty-one normal volunteers were examined by CT on the atlanto-axial joint in neutral position and rotary functional position. By the observation and measurement of atlanto-dental interval (ADI), lateral atlanta-dental space (LADS), VBLADS and rotating angle of atlas on dentate (RAAD), the imaging manifestations and anatomical characteristics were analyzed and compared. In order to compare VBLADS and RAAD and make a correlation analysis between different age groups, 51 normal volunteers were divided into two groups: age younger than 45 years old group and age older than or equal to 45 years old group.

RESULTSThe dens in neutral position deviated in an angle range of (3.22±0.89)°. The articular facets of lateral atlantoaxial joint in rotary functional position had rotatory displacement and the range of the relative rotation angle was (33.85± 2.79)°. Through the correlation analysis of matching data, it could be concluded that there was no correlation between atlantoaxial relative rotation angle and VBLADS within a certain range. There were statistically differences of atlantoaxial relative rotation angle in rotary functional position between two groups.

CONCLUSIONMSCT imaging in rotary functional position can clearly show the anatomical structure and rotation function of a normal atlanto-axial joint, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the diagnosis of atlanto axial rotatory subluxation.

Adult ; Aged ; Atlanto-Axial Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; methods ; Rotation

Pneumonia is one of the most common medical complications after stroke.Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) can not only increase the length of hospital stay and medical cost of patients,but also an important risk factor for mortality and morbidity in patients with stroke.All these indicate that the importance of prediction and prevention of SAP.This article reviews the advances in research on the prediction and prevention of SAP.

In order to investigate the effects of aconitine on [Ca2+] oscillation patterns in cultured myocytes of neonatal rats, fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fluo-4 NW and laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) were used to detect the real-time changes of [Ca2+] oscillation patterns in the cultured myocytes before and after aconitine (1.0 micromol/L) incubation or antiarrhythmic peptide (AAP) and aconitine co-incubation. The results showed under control conditions, [Ca2+] oscillations were irregular but relatively stable, occasionally accompanied by small calcium sparks. After incubation of the cultures with aconitine, high frequency [Ca2+] oscillations emerged in both nuclear and cytoplasmic regions, whereas typical calcium sparks disappeared and the average [Ca2+] in the cytoplasm of the cardiomyocyte did not change significantly. In AAP-treated cultures, intracellular [Ca2+] oscillation also changed, with periodic frequency, increased amplitudes and prolonged duration of calcium sparks. These patterns were not altered significantly by subsequent aconitine incubation. The basal value of [Ca2+] in nuclear region was higher than that in the cytoplasmic region. In the presence or absence of drugs, the [Ca2+] oscillated synchronously in both the nuclear and cytoplasmic regions of the same cardiomyocyte. It was concluded that although oscillating strenuously at high frequency, the average [Ca2+] in the cytoplasm of cardiomyocyte did not change significantly after aconitine incubation, compared to the controls. The observations indicate that aconitine induces the changes in [Ca2+] oscillation frequency other than the Ca2+ overload.
Aconitine/*pharmacology ; Animals, Newborn ; Calcium Signaling/*drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Myocytes, Cardiac/cytology ; Myocytes, Cardiac/*metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To study the expression of divalent metal transporter 1(DMT1)and ferroportin 1(FPN1)in obese mice’ s duodenal epithelium and investigate the mechanism of the effect of obesity on iron absorption in mice. Methods C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group and obesity model group, each group of 6, To establish obese mice model by having a high-fat diet and the control group were fed with a normal diet for 12 weeks.After completion of modeling, The level of DMT1 and FPN1 mRNA expression in the duodenum were measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR( Real-time PCR) method, the protein expression of FPN1 was measured by Western-Blot. Results Compared with the control group, the level of DMT1、FPN1 mRNA and FPN1 protein expression in the duodenum were decreased significantly in obese mice ( P <0.05 ) .Conclusion Obesity can decrease the expression levels of DMT1、FPN1 mRNA and FPN1 protein and induce iron deficiency,in order to provide experimental and theoretical basis for studying the mechanism of iron deficiency caused by obesity further.

Objective We established the animal models of obesity induced by high-fat diet, in order to study the mRNA and protein expression of regulation molecules related with iron metabolism about hepcidin, lipocalin-2 ( LCN2 ) , ferroportin-1 (FPN1) in obese mice’ s liver and the molecular regulation mechanism.Methods C57BL/6J (4 ~6 weeks) mice were randomly divided into control group and obesity model group, each group of ten.The obesity group were fed with a high-fat diet and the control group were given the normal diet for lasting 15 weeks.After we successfully established the obesity animal model, the expression level of hepcidin, LCN2 and FPN1 mRNA in the liver were measured by Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR method and the protein expression level of LCN2 and FPN1 were measured by Western-Blot.Results Compared with the control group, the expression level of hepcidin mRNA in the liver was increased in obesity group (P <0.05), however, the expression level of LCN2, FPN1 was no significant difference (P >0.05).Conclusion Obesity can increase the expression of hepcidin mRNA, however, there was no significantly effect on the expression of LCN2, FPN1.So, we can’t think that obesity can affect the expression of LCN2 and FPN1, lead to the ability of cells uptake and release iron abnormal, then appear iron metabolism disorders.As a result, leading to iron deficiency.Maybe obesity can affect other regulatory molecules related with iron metabolism through up-regulation the expression of Hepcidin or the more complex regulatory mechanisms.We still need further experimental research and exploration.This research also provides the basis of theoretical and experimental for the further study the effects of obesity on the expression of regulation molecules related with iron metabolism in obesity mice’ s liver and the mechanism of iron deficiency.

Objective: To determine the role of interleukin-10 (IL-10) secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in the maintenance of hemodialysis in patients with immune deficiency and to evaluate thot if IL-10 can bea biocompatibility index of dialyzer. Methods: Twenty patients with end-stage renal disease were divided into maintenance hemodialysis group (MHD group) and non-hemodialysis group (NHD group). Patients in MHD group were dialyzed with cellulose (CA group) and polysulfone (PS group) dialyzers respectively. Ten healthy persons were as controls (CON group). The levels of IL-10 in supernatants of PBMC cultured with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were measured by using ELISA method in all groups. Results: There was no spontanous IL-10 secretion in all groups. The level of IL-10 in all supernatants secreted by PBMC cultured with LPS increased significantly, and the increased levels of IL-10 in MHD and NHD patients were lower than that in controls. The PBMC stimulated by LPS secreted more IL-10 in patients dialyzed by PS with better biocompatibility than those of CA dialyzers with poor biocompatibility. Conclusion: Patients immune deficiency could be improved by using better biocompatible dialyzers more than poor ones, particularly in humoral immunity induced by urimia. The IL-10 could be a parameter in evaluating the biocompatibility of dialyzer.

Objective To study the changes of flow parameters of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in children with abdominal type Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) using color Doppler ultrasound.Methods Ten children with abdominal type HSP and 17 controls were included in present study.The blood flow parameters of SMA[including peak velocity(PV),end-diastole velocity(EDV),resistant index(RI)]were measured at acute and recovery stage separately.Statistical analysis was conducted among groups.Results PV were (41.57±8.02)cm/s,(33.38±7.44)cm/s and (35.34±9.73)cm/s in acute stage,recovery stage and control group,respectively.There was no statistically significant difference among groups(F=2.471,P=0.10).EDV were(7.63±4.28)cm/s,(4.23±2.57)cm/s and (3.77±0.87) cm/s in acute stage,recovery stage and control group,respectively.There was significantly significant differences between acute stage group and other two groups(t=0.066,P=0.025;t=0.059,P=0.003).RI were (0.85±0.17),(1.00±0.15) and (1.04±0.13) in acute stage,recovery stage and control group,respectively.Also there was significantly significant differences between acute stage group and other two groups(t=1.391,P=0.020;t=1.239,P=0.026).Conclusion For abdominal type HSP in children,the changes of PV,EDV and RI of SMA were significant,which may help us determine the stage of disease.

Objective To further research the urinary monitoring of the maternal thyroid functional status ,the levels of urine thyroid hormones were analyzed during pregnancy .Methods This study recruited 30 cases of healthy pregnant women at 9-12 ges-tational weeks .Their random urine specimens were collected every four weeks until delivery .The concentrations of urine thyrotro-pin(uTSH) ,urine free triiodothyronine(uFT3) and urine free tetraiodothyronine(uFT4) were detected by electrochemical lumines-cence immunoassay(ECLIA) .The urine retinol binding protein(uRBP) was detected by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) .After correc-ted by uRBP ,the statistical analysis was done to analyze the variation of the ratio of uTSH and uRBP (uTSH/uRBP) ,the ratio of uFT3 and uRBP(uFT3/uRBP)and the ratio of uFT4 and uRBP(uFT4/uRBP)during pregnancy .Results The median levels of u-rine thyroid hormone parameters were obtained from the healthy pregnant women every four weeks and were compared among dif-ferent stages .The difference of uFT3/uRBP and uFT4/uRBP was statistically significant (F= 6 .222 ,P< 0 .05 ;F= 5 .078 ,P<0 .05) ,and the levels of them varied linearity during pregnancy (F=27 .480 ,P<0 .05 ;F=23 .959 ,P<0 .05) .The difference of uT-SH/uRBP had no statistical significance(F=2 .731 ,P=0 .054) .Conclusion After corrected by uRBP ,the levels of uFT3 and uFT4 of healthy pregnant women decreased linearity among different gestational stages ,and the levels of uTSH had no noticeable change .

In order to improve the precision and robustness in determination of soluble solids content ( SSC) of ‘Fuji ’ apple by NIR spectroscopy and eliminate the effect of origin variability on the accuracy of NIR calibration models for the SSC, sample set partitioning based on joint x-y distances ( SPXY) was used to select representative subset from the apple samples of 4 different origins. As a comparison, partial least square ( PLS) was used to establish local origin and hybrid origin models for the prediction of SSC in apple. Competitive adaptive reweighted sampling ( CARS ) and successive projections algorithm ( SPA ) were implemented to select effective variables of the NIR spectroscopy of SSC of apple. The results indicated that the PLS model established based on the 4 origin apple samples performed better than local origin and other hybrid origin models. The model could be effectively simplified using 16 characteristic variables selected by CARS-SPA method from full-spectrum which had 3112 wavelengths. The correlation coefficient (Rp) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were 0. 978 and 0. 441 oBrix, respectively for SSC. It was found that the model developed by more samples of different origins combined with effective wavelengths showed good prediction ability for apple sample of unknown origin, which indicated that it could significantly reduce the origin effect on the robustness of NIR models for SSC of apple.