OBJECTIVETo study the numbers and locations of spermatic veins, testicular arteries, and lymphatic vessels in the spermatic cord of the varicocele patient under the laparoscope.

METHODSFifty-seven varicocele patients received laparoscopic ligation of spermatic veins, during which we recorded the numbers and observed the locations of spermatic veins, testicular arteries, and spermatic lymphatic vessels.

RESULTSDuring the surgery, we identified 3.3 ± 1.2 spermatic veins, 1.4 ± 0.9 testicular arteries, and 4.3 ± 1.1 spermatic lymphatic vessels. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two side in the numbers of the spermatic veins, testicular arteries and spermatic lymphatic vessels (P > 0.05). The testicular arteries were seen on the exterior of the spermatic veins and winding around them, while the spermatic lymphatic vessels mostly between the veins.

CONCLUSIONThe spermatic veins, testicular arteries, and lymphatic vessels in the spermatic cord of the varicocele patient have their specific anatomic characteristics. Laparoscopic identification of these vessels may contribute to the surgical treatment of varicocele.

Arteries ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Ligation ; Male ; Spermatic Cord ; anatomy & histology ; Testis ; Varicocele ; pathology ; Veins ; anatomy & histology

Objective To describe the time trend of esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinomas in Chongqing of China in the past 30 years .Methods The medical records of all patients who underwent gastroscopy from Janaury 1983 to December 2012 at the Southwest hospital were reviewed .The rate of endoscopic detection and proportion of adenocarcinoma in all upper gastrointestinal tumors (esophageal adenocarcinoma ,esophageal squamous cell carcinoma ,gastric cardia adenocarcinoma and gastric non-cardiac ad-enocarcinoma) were compiled and serial comparisons were made .Results 435 829 patients who underwent gastroscopy were re-viewed .Totally ,there were 352 patients with esophageal adenocarcinomas(0 .08% ) ,10 301 with esophageal squamous cell carcino-mas(2 .40% ) ,3 058 with gastric cardia adenocarcinomas(0 .70% ) and 5 543 with gastric non-cardiac adenocarcinomas(1 .30% ) .O-ver the 30-year period ,the rate of endoscopic detection of esophageal adenocarcinomas did not show a statistically significant .How-ever ,the proportion of esophageal adenocarcinomas increased from 1 .90% to 3 .20% ,suggesting an increased proportions .The rate of endoscopic detection of gastric cardia adenocarcinomas increased from 0 .70% to 0 .81% and the proportions of gastric cardia ade-nocarcinomas increased from 25 .30% to 38 .30% .Conclusion Over the 30-year period ,it seems that the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma had increased .An increasing trend of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma is also observed in this study ,especially in male patients .

Objective To evaluate the value of 99Tcm-MDP uptake by left femoral neck for diagnosing osteopomsis.Methods A total of 58 cases (23 males,35 females,mean age:(66.15±8.45) years) with spondyloarthmpathies from May to December of 2012 were selected.Serum concentrations of type Ⅰ collagen telopeptide (sCTX-1) and bone ALP (BALP) were determined.All patients underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to detect bone mineral density (BMD).According to the T scores,patients were divided into 2 groups:normal group (NG) (T＞-1.0) and osteoporosis group (OG) (T≤-2.5).99TcmMDP bone scan was further performed.The average radioactive ratio of the left femoral neck to the medial soft tissue of left femur (T/N) was measured.Data differences between the 2 groups were compared by twosample t test and Pearson correlation analysis.Results According to BMD,13 patients (7 males,6 females) were included in NG and 28 patients (10 males,18 females) were included in OG.The mean ages of OG and NG were significantly different ((68.82± 10.41) years vs (62.46± 11.77) years; t =3.560,P＜0.05).The BMD of left femoral neck in OG was significantly lower than that in NG ((0.67±0.08) g/cm2 vs (0.91±0.10) g/cm2 ; t=9.917,P＜0.01).Although BALP level of OG was significantly higher than that of NG ((35.92±11.58) U/L vs (22.38±6.34) U/L; t=-3.397,P＜0.05),no significant difference was observed on sCTX-1 between the 2 groups (t=-0.463,P＞0.05).T/N ratio of OG (11.63±6.22) was higher than that of NG (9.74±4.44) (t =-3.027,P＜ 0.05).There were significant correlations between the T/N ratio of the left femoral neck and the sCTX-1 and BALP concentrations (r=0.376,0.483,both P＜0.01).No correlations between the T/N ratio of the left femoral neck and age,BMI and BMD were observed (r=-2.031,-0.017,0.134,all P＞0.05).Conclusion The uptake ratio of the left femoral neck in 99Tcm-MDP bone scan could evaluate the metabolism of bone,and it is useful for the early diagnosis of osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical efficacy difference between segmentation scraping and conventional acupuncture for cervical spondylosis (CS) so as to provide effective treatment method.

METHODSEighty-five cases of cervical type of CS were randomly divided into a scraping group (44 cases) and an acupuncture group (41 cases). The segmentation scraping therapy was used in the scraping group. The scraping group was treated with focusing on scraping the head and joint part of neck and occiput in the upper cervical spine injury, and focusing on scraping the lower section of cervical and shoulder in the lower cervical spine injury, once every seven days, totally for 3 times. In the acupuncture group, Fengchi (GB 20),Wangu (TE 5), Tianzhu (BL 10),Neck-Jiaji (EX-B 2), etc. were selected,once daily,for 15 days. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the immediate analgesic effect after the first treatment and the clinical efficacy was observed after the end of treatment.

RESULTSAfter the first treatment, the score of VAS was decreased significantly in the scaping group (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the acupuncture group compared with those before treatment (P > 0.05); the score of VAS in the scaping group after the first treatment was lower than that in the acupuncture group (3.66 +/- 0.74 vs 5.43 +/- 0.35, P < 0.01). Compared with before treatment, the scores of VAS were decreased significantly after treatment in two groups (both P < 0.01), but without significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05); the effective rate was 95.5% (42/44) in the scaping group and 87.8% (36/41) in the acupuncture group, the curative effects were similar (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBoth of scraping and acupuncture therapies have good analgesic effect for cervical spondylosis, and overall effects are similar, but the immediate analgesic effect of scraping thrapy is better than that of conventional acupuncture.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neck Pain ; therapy ; Spondylosis ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of B lymphocyte stimulator (BlyS) and its receptors in multiple myeloma (MM) cells, and to explore the relationship between BLyS and the development of human multiple myeloma.

METHODSFlow cytometry, RT-PCR and Western blot were used to examine the expression of BLyS and its receptors in MM (KM3 and CZ1) cells. Fluorescence immunocytochemical method and confocal laser scanning technique were applied to the localization of BLyS in KM3 cell. WST proliferation assay was used to examine the effect of BLyS on MM cells growth and survival. Linear correlation analysis was used to detect LDH and beta 2-microglobulin (beta2M) levels with BLyS protein and mRNA expressions in MM patients.

RESULTS(1) BLyS and its receptors were expressed in MM cells. (2) BLyS protein was localized on the KM3 plasma membrane. (3) BLyS promoted survival and proliferation of MM cells. (4) MM patients had significantly higher expression levels of BLyS [77.42% (24/31)] BLyS mRNA [93.55% (29/31)], which were significantly correlated with the levels of LDH and beta 2-microglobulin (beta2M).

CONCLUSIONBLyS and its receptors in MM cell lines and MM patient bone marrow might have a potential role in the growth and survival of malignant plasma cells.

Aged ; B-Cell Activating Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; metabolism

The electrocardiograph signal presents the sparseness. In this paper, a new method of extracting the Fetal Electrocardiograph (FECG) is proposed, which uses the Blind Source Separation(BSS) of Sparse Signal. Both the Wavelet Analysis method and a new scheme named Vanish Circle are also involved in order to avoid the influence on the signal separation, because the ECG signals are not completed sparse signals. Some experiments show that the new method is effective.
Adult ; Algorithms ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Female ; Fetal Heart ; physiology ; Fetal Monitoring ; methods ; Humans ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Pregnancy ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Objective　To evaluate the technique and clinical outcomes of modified transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.　Methods　A total of 285 patients received the operation with mean age of 67 years (50-76 years) from January 2008 to April 2012.Mean level of PSA was 15.7 μg/L (1.8 -50.0 μg/L),and mean prostatic volume was 44 ml (26 -74 ml). No lymph node or seminal vesicle involvement was found by CT or MR and radionuclide bone scan revealed no metastasis.271 cases were confirmed diagnosis by prostatic biopsy and 14 were detected through pathological studies of TURP specimens.Gleason score ranged from 6 to 8.14 cases were in clinical stage T1b,29 cases in T1c,214 cases in T2 and 28 cases in T3a.Transperitoneal approach and modified technique involving bladder neck dissection,nervesparing technique and vesicoureteral anastomosis were applied on patients.　Results　Mean operative time was 105 min (55 -150 min).Mean intraoperative estimated blood loss was 240 ml (50-800 ml).Rectal injures occurred in 2 cases and were repaired under laparoscopy.Drainage tube and urinary catheter were removed 48 -72 h and 5 -8 d postoperatively.Postoperative hospital stay was 7 d (5 - 11 d).Positive surgical margin was present in 58 patients.Mean follow-up time was 29 months (3 -50 months).Complete continence were found in 208 patients immediately after catheter removal.68 patient recovered continence within 3 months and 9 patients remained incontinence 3 months after surgery. Normal erection presented in 42 of the 57 cases with nerve-sparing.　Conclusions　Transperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is safe and efficient.Higher efficiency and lower complication rate have been achieved through modified laparoscopic technique involving bladder neck dissection,nerve-sparing technique and vesicoureteral anastomosis.

Child ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Male ; Ventricular Fibrillation ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo study whether aristololactam I (AL-I) can enter renal proximal tubular epithelial cells and the situation of intracellular distribution and accumulation.

METHODCultured human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line (HK-2) was used as the subject. Intracellular fluorescence from AL-I and its distribution are examined by fluorescence microscopy after a treatment with different concentration of AL-I, the intracellular accumulation of AL-I was also investigated by incubated cells in AL-I -free medium for 48 h after washing-out the media containing AL-I.

RESULTAfter treatment of AL-I (concentration from 5 microg x mL(-1) to 20 microg x mL(-1)), glaucous fluorescence could be observed inside renal proximal tubular epithelial cells at 0.5 h, and the fluorescence distributed only in cytoplasm while not be observed in nuclei. Moreover, the fluorescence of AL-I could be kept in cytoplasm for more than 48 h after washing out the media containing AL-I .

CONCLUSIONAL-I is able to enter renal proximal tubular epithelial cells in short time and accumulate in cytoplasm, but not enter nuclei. This property may contribute to the cytotoxic mechanism of renal injury induced by AL-I, which may partially explain the persistent renal toxicity of AAs and its metabolites in the development of aristolochic acid nephropathy.

Animals ; Aristolochic Acids ; metabolism ; toxicity ; Cell Line ; Cell Nucleus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cytoplasm ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; Kidney Tubules, Proximal ; cytology ; pathology ; Microscopy, Fluorescence

ENHANCIN is an enhancing protein chiefly found in insect baculoviruses. One ENHANCIN homologue was identified, by blast method, in Agrotis Segetum granulovirus (AgseGV) genome, named enhancin-like. Sequence analysis indicated that this gene includes the conserved domains, conserved in other ENHANCIN, and it has no signal peptide or a-transmembrane helix. A proline-rich domain, which is similar to those of mammals, is present at its C-terminal. To analyze the synergistic function of AgseGV enhancin-like gene, prokaryotic expression vectors of its whole gene and the 5'-truncated fragment (1, 017bp) were constructed. Expression product of truncated fragment was purified by chromatography, and then it was used to prepare antibody. The expression product of whole gene was identified by Western blot with specific antibody and anti-His-Tag antibody. Bioassay proved that the expression product of whole gene can increase the mortality with 16.25% to 3th instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (HaNPV: 1.17 x 10(2) PIBS/mL), while the truncated fragment has no obvious synergistic function.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Baculoviridae ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Insect Control ; Larva ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Moths ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Pest Control, Biological ; Viral Proteins ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; toxicity