Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of the serum β2-microglobulin (β 2-MG) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients.Methods The serum levels of β2-MG and LDH in 63 MM patients (MM group) and 20 healthy person (control group) were measured by biochemical assay.Results The serum levels of β 2-MG and LDH in MM group were higher than those in control group[(3.81 ± 0.62) mg/L vs.(2.43 ± 0.91) mg/L and (296.4 ± 34.7) U/L vs.(145.5 ±17.8) U/L,P ＜ 0.05].Furthermore,the serum levels of β 2-MG and LDH increased gradually with MM clinical staging (P ＜0.05).After VAD chemotherapy,the serum levels of β 2-MG and LDH in clinical response MM patients(54 cases) were significantly decreased [(2.51 ± 1.36) mg/L vs.(3.57 ± 0.82) mg/L and (159.1 ± 35.2) U/L vs.(285.3 ± 87.6) U/L,P ＜ 0.05],while those in no response patients (9 cases)were unchanged (P＞ 0.05).Conclusion The serum levels of β 2-MG and LDH can be taken as a clinical index to classify the clinical phase,prognosis and effectiveness of chemotherapy in MM patients.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect and gender differences of experimental moderate pain on attentional bias towards pain-related words.MethodsWith the tourniquet around the left upper limb,32 healthy college students were asked to perform two dot-probe tasks including five kinds of pain-related words,one task with the tourniquet deflating and the other task with the tourniquet inflating to 200 mm Hg pressure.The reaction time (RT) and the error rate of recognition task were recorded.The pain intensity and distress were recorded too.Results ( 1 ) Compared with no pain condition ( RT of affective and social-threat words were (507 ± 78 ) ms,(504 ±89 )ms respectively),the react time was shorter in female in the condition of tourniquet pain,particularly for affective and social-threat words (the RT were (464 ± 79 )ms,(465 ± 72 )ms respectively,F ( 1,4) =19.157,P ＜0.01 ),but not in male.( 2 ) In condition of no pain,the reaction time of male ( (456 ± 59) ms ) was shorter than that of female (504 ± 79ms).However,in the condition of pain,the significant main effect was not found.ConclusionThe reacting time of female was shorter in condition of moderate tourniquet pain,which imply that female showed significant attentional bias towards affective and social-threat words.

Objective To explore the anti-inflammatory and antipruritic effects of Chushizhiyang ointment in a mouse model. Methods A total of 40 male 8-week-old BALB/c mice were included in this study, and randomly and equally divided into 4 groups. A mouse model of atopic dermatitis (AD)was established in three groups of mice by repeated application of 2,4-dinitroflurobenzene (DNFB)to shaved abdominal skin for sensitization and to shaved dorsal skin for stimulation. After establishment of the AD model, the three groups were topically treated with sodium chloride physiological solution (model group), hydrocortisone cream (hydrocortisone group)and Chushizhiyang ointment (Chushizhiyang group)respectively for 14 consecutive days. The remaining group receiving no sensitization or treatment served as the normal control group. All the mice were sacrificed 12 hours after the final treatment, and the dorsal skin of mice was resected followed by the determination of skin thickness and weight as well as hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and toluidine blue staining for the counting of leukocytes and mast cells respectively. Moreover, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was performed to measure the levels of interferon-gamma(IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α), interleukin 4(IL-4)and IL-5 in dorsal skin lesions. In addition, a local skin itching model was induced by histamine phosphate in Hartley guinea pigs, which was used to explore the effect of Chushizhiyang ointment on itch thresholds. Results Compared with the model group, both the Chushizhiyang group and hydrocortisone group showed reduced thickness and weight of dorsal skin in mice (all P < 0.01), numbers of infiltrating lymphocytes and mast cells (all P < 0.01)and levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4 and IL-5 in skin lesions (P < 0.05 or 0.01)on day 15 after the start of treatment. The thickness and weight of dorsal skin in mice were significantly decreased in the hydrocortisone group (P <0.01), but experienced no significant changes in the Chushizhiyang group compared with the normal control group. Additionally, Chushizhiyang ointment could significantly increase itch thresholds in guinea pigs induced by histamine phosphate(P < 0.01). Conclusions Chushizhiyang ointment can significantly inhibit DNFB-induced AD in mice, likely by restoring the balance between Th1 and Th2 type cytokines. Moreover, Chushizhiyang ointment could markedly relieve itching induced by histamine phosphate in guinea pigs.

Objective To explore the role of viral infection in the development of drug eruption in patients with HIV infection, and to evaluate the efficacy of antiviral treatment. Methods This study enrolled 87 HIV-positive patients, including 11 with and 76 without drug eruption, all of whom received highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART). Clinical data on, baseline CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratio in these subjects were retrospectively analyzed. Results The severity of drug eruption was mild in the 11 HIV-positive patients, with a mean latency period of (14.00 ± 8.10)(range, 8 - 34)days. Of the 11 patients with drug eruption, 7 had liver function impairment, which was not in accordance with the severity of skin lesions. Drug eruption was controlled in all the 11 patients after anti-anaphylactic treatment without withdrawal of antiviral drugs. Compared with 75 HIV-positive patients without drug eruption, the 11 HIV-positive patients with drug eruption showed significantly increased baseline CD4 + T cell counts (493.00 ± 245.68 (range, 42 - 810)/μl vs. 347.81 ± 167.00 (range, 11 - 814)/μl, t = 647.50, P < 0.05), but decreased proportion of patients with baseline CD4+ T cell counts below the lower limit of normal(3/11 vs. 48/75(64.00%), X2 = 3.95, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between 10 patients with drug eruption and 69 patients without drug eruption in the baseline CD8+ T cell count(1472.30 ± 858.55/μl vs. 1356.59 ± 684.06/μl, P > 0.05), CD4/CD8 ratio(0.40 ± 0.27 vs. 0.29 ± 0.16, P > 0.05), or percentage of patients with a CD4/CD8 ratio below the lower limit of normal (9/10 vs. 68/69 (98.55%), P >0.05). Conclusions The latency period of drug eruption seems to be long in HIV-positive patients receiving HAART, and mild drug eruption can be complicated by liver function impairment in the patients. Relatively high CD4 + counts may be a risk factor for the development and aggravation of drug eruption in HIV-positive patients.

Objective To study interleukin-23 (IL-23) levels in serum and dendritic cells of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and to explore its relationship with the prognosis.Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum were collected from 40 ACLF patients with CHB (including survival group 27 cases and non-survival group 13 cases) and 26 healthy controls.Monocytes were induced to immature dendritic cell in vitro and TNF-α was added to induce dendritic cell maturation.IL-23 mRNA of dendritic cells was detected by real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and serum IL-23 level was measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).Differences among the parameters with normal distribution were compared using t test, those with non-normal distribution were compared using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test, and the relationship between two variables was assessed by Spearman′s rank correlation.Results International normalized rate (INR) and model for end-stage liver disense (MELD) scores in non-survival group of ACLF were higher than those in survival group (INR: 2.32 vs 1.64, U=69.00, P=0.002 2;MELD:36 vs 30, U=64.50, P=0.001 4).However, there were no significant differences between two groups at gender, age, alanin aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotrans ferase (AST), bilirubin, creatinine, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and serum IL-23.IL-23 mRNA level in dendritic cells at baseline in non-survival group of ACLF was significantly higher than that in survival group (76 vs 43, U=71.50, P=0.002 8).After treatment, serum IL-23 was significantly declined in survival group ([160±75] ng/L vs [91±49] ng/L, t=4.012, P=0.000 2), but not in non-survival group.Significant positive correlation was observed between IL-23 mRNA level in dendritic cells and MELD score at baseline (r=0.7198,P<0.01).Conclusions Persistent high serum IL-23 level suggests poor prognosis in ACLF patients with CHB.IL-23 mRNA expression in dendritic cells has good consistency with MELD score and the patients with high IL-23 mRNA expression has poor outcome.

A multi-step method for extracting the heart image from visible human project (VHP) data was proposed in this paper. In the first step, Otsu's thresholding segmentation based on mathematical morphological techniques called opening-by-reconstruction and closing-by-reconstruction was used to preprocess the original image in order to effectively overcome the disadvantages of using only thresholding segmentation. The second step was to extract heart data from the proposed image. This multi-step method improved the computation efficiency and attained higher precision, suggesting its significant value for application in VHP.
Algorithms ; China ; Heart ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Image Enhancement ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Mathematics ; Visible Human Projects

Objective:To implement an intervention with community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly people through a new science promotion approach, and to evaluate changes in the level of bone health awareness.Methods:From April 2017 to June 2017, 200 community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 years and over were randomly included.They were divided into the intervention group receiving a new science promotion intervention(n=100, with 50 males and 50 females)and the control group(n=100, with 50 males and 50 females). Baseline and follow-up assessments of bone health awareness were performed before and after the one-year intervention.A questionnaire survey on preferences for different types of science promotion articles in WeChat accounts was conducted.Differences in scores for intervention effects before and after intervention were compared between the two groups.Potential influencing factors for the scale score were examined by a multi-factor analysis.Results:After one year of intervention, scores for intervention effects were higher in the intervention group than in the control group( P<0.001). In the intervention group, scores were higher after intervention than before intervention( P<0.001). In the control group, scores after follow-up were slightly higher than those at baseline(29.4±11.4 vs.27.9±10.1, P<0.001). The increase in scores before and after intervention was greater in the intervention group than in the control group( P<0.001). Baseline score, group designation, history of drinking and diabetes impacted the scores in middle-aged and elderly women, while other factors did not.Most middle-aged and older people preferred texts illustrated with pictures, and older people were more receptive to videos. Conclusions:The new science promotion method is beneficial to bone health management, can improve bone health awareness in middle-aged and elderly people.

Objective:To investigate the expression of PC4 and SFRS1 interacting protein 1 (PSIP1) in oral squamous cell carcinoma cells and the effects of PSIP1 silencing on the migration and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells, and to preliminarily explore its mechanism.Methods:The PSIP1 gene of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line HN30 was silenced by RNA interference technique. HN30 cells were divided into si-NC group (transfected with siRNA-NC) and si-PSIP1 group (transfected with siRNA-PSIP1). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of PSIP1 mRNA. Scratch test and Transwell invasion test were used to detect the migration and invasion abilities of HN30 cells, and Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) related proteins in HN30 cells of the two groups.Results:The relative expression levels of PSIP1 of HN30 cells in the si-NC group and si-PSIP1 group were 1.00±0.00 and 0.21±0.06 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( t=22.30, P=0.002). The scratch healing rates of the si-NC group and si-PSIP1 were (48.21±4.66)% and (42.05±11.74)% at 12 h respectively, with no statistically significant difference ( t=1.46, P=0.173), and the scratch healing rates of the two groups were (86.61±6.06)% and (67.76±3.62)% at 24 h respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( t=8.01, P<0.001). The invasion numbers of HN30 cells in the si-NC group and si-PSIP1 group were 91.00±7.05 and 23.34±4.98, and there was a statistically significantly difference ( t=19.20, P<0.001). Compared with the si-NC group, the migration and invasion abilities of HN30 cells in the si-PSIP1 group decreased significantly (all P<0.001). The expression levels of E-cadherin of the si-NC group and si-PSIP1 group were 1.06±0.02 and 1.43±0.13 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( t=-4.94, P=0.036), and the expression levels of N-cadherin were 1.00±0.04 and 0.57±0.14 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( t=5.03, P=0.007). Compared with the si-NC group, the expression level of E-cadherin in the si-PSIP1 group increased, while the expression level of N-cadherin decreased. Conclusion:Silencing the expression of PSIP1 can significantly inhibit the migration and invasion of HN30 cells, and the mechanism may be related to the effect of PSIP1 on the EMT pathway of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the role of selected serum microRNA (miRNA) levels as potential noninvasive biomarkers for differentiating S0–S2 (early fibrosis) from S3–S4 (late fibrosis) in patients with a chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS: One hundred twenty-three treatment-naive patients with a chronic HBV infection who underwent a liver biopsy were enrolled in this study. The levels of selected miRNAs were measured using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess factors associated with fibrosis progression. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and discriminant analyses validated these the ability of these predicted variables to discriminate S0–S2 from S3–S4. RESULTS: Serum miR-29, miR-143, miR-223, miR-21, and miR-374 levels were significantly downregulated as fibrosis progressed from S0–S2 to S3–S4 (p < 0.05), but not miR-16. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified a panel of three miRNAs and platelets that were associated with a high diagnostic accuracy in discriminating S0–S2 from S3–S4, with an area under the curve of 0.936. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of the studied miRNAs, with the exception of miR-16, varied with fibrosis progression. A panel was identified that was capable of discriminating S0–S2 from S3–S4, indicating that serum miRNA levels could serve as a potential noninvasive biomarker of fibrosis progression.
Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Early Diagnosis* ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; MicroRNAs* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether MRI fusion technology (combined T2-weighted imaging [T2WI] and fat-suppressed T2WI [T2WI-(FS)]) improves signal differences between anal fistulas and surrounding structures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 32 patients with confirmed diagnoses of anal fistula were retrospectively studied. All available T2WI and T2WI-(FS) images for each patient were used to generate fusion image (T2WI-(Fusion)) based on the addition of gray values obtained from each pixel via an MR post-processing work station. The discriminability of fistula, perianal sphincter, and perianal fat in T2WI, T2WI-(FS), and T2WI-(Fusion) images was quantified with Fisher's scoring algorithm. For subjective visual image assessment by researchers, five-point scale scores were determined using a modified double-stimulus continuous quality-scale test to evaluate T2WI-(FS), T2WI, enhanced axial three-dimensional-volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (3D-VIBE), and T2WI-(Fusion) sequence images. The differences were subsequently compared. RESULTS: Mean Fisher scores for fistulas vs. sphincters obtained from T2WI-(Fusion) (F(Fusion-fistula) = 6.56) were significantly higher than those from T2WI (F(T2WI-fistula) = 3.35) (p = 0.001). Mean Fisher scores for sphincters vs. fat from T2WI-(Fusion) (F(Fusion-sphincter) = 10.84) were significantly higher than those from T2WI-(FS) (FS(FS-sphincter) = 2.57) (p = 0.001). In human assessment, T2WI-(Fusion) showed the same fistula discriminability as T2WI-(FS), and better sphincter discriminability than T2WI. Overall, T2WI-(Fusion) showed better discriminability than T2WI, T2WI-(FS), and enhanced 3D-VIBE images. CONCLUSION: T2WI and T2WI-(FS) fusion technology improves signal differences between anal fistulas and surrounding structures, and may facilitate better evaluation of anal fistulas and sphincters.
Anal Canal ; Diagnosis ; Fistula ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Rectal Fistula ; Retrospective Studies