Objective To assess quantitative and subjective image quality in computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CT-PA)with dual-energy subtraction methods,and to select the best dual-energy subtraction method.Methods 30 consecutive patients underwent CTPA using a single tube,fast voltage switching technique.One set of routine poly-chromatic images (RPI),two sets of monochromatic images with different optimal contrast-to-noise ratios (OCNR)and three sets of dual-energy subtraction images (DE-SI)were obtained by a dedicated workstation with dual-energy software (AW4.5 Advantage WS;GE Healthcare).For all the six sets of images,CNR and the score of global subjective image quality were calculated.Results DESI 3 got the highest CNR,and DESI 1 got the next high CNR.In global subjective image quality,DESI 1 got the highest score.However,when compared with DESI 2,no significant difference was found.Conclusion CTPA with dual-energy subtraction technique is feasible.DESI 1 affords the best bal-ance between quantitative analysis and subjective evaluation compared with other sets of images.

Objective Myocardial infarction and subsequent heart failure remain the most dominant health challenges worldwide.Therapeutic angiogenesis has emerged as a potential novel treatment for severe ischemic heart disease and there is increasing evidence that cell transplantation may improve the perfusion and contractility of myocardium in animal models.This study was designed to examine the endothelial growth potential and whether transplantation of human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells can improve local blood flow in a mouse ischemic hindlimb model.Methods The mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord of passage 5 were differentiated in an endothelial differentiation medium containing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in vitro.Samples were observed for 2 weeks.The human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells were transplanted into a hindlimb ischemia mouse model in vivo.Four weeks later,immunofluence was used to identify the migration and differentiation of the transplanted cells towards endothelial linage.Laser Doppler perfusion image was used to evaluate the local blood flow of the hindlimb.Results Results After incubation with VEGF and bFGF,the human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells started to form interconnected clusters and a network was formed.Four weeks after transplantation,the transplanted cells were sprouting f0rom the local injection and differentiated into endothelial cells,contributed to the recovery of local blood flow obviously as compared with control group.Conclusion Human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells have the ability to differentiate into endothelial cells,contribute to the local angiogenesis in a hindlimb ischemia mouse model and represent a new source for therapeutic angiogenesis for clinical applications.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an important component of the in vivo microenvironment and act on multiple biological behaviors of tumor cells. The potential clinical value of MSCs has become an issue of concern in recent years.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the gene expression profiles of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4 treated with umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) using cDNA microarray.METHODS: In vitro co-culture system was constructed, and then cellular proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation status of NB4 cells treated with UC-MSCs were evaluated. Two cDNA probes were prepared through reverse transcription from mRNA of NB4 cells treated with or without UC-MSCs. The probes were labeled with fluorescence dyes individually, hybridized with cDNA microarray, and their fluorescent intensities were scanned. The genes were screened through the analysis of the difference in two gene expression profiles.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: UC-MSCs promoted the proliferation and differentiation, while reduced the apoptosis of NB4 cells. The analysis of gene expression profiles indicated that after co-culture with UC-MSCs, 530 genes were up-regulated and 53 genes were down-regulated. Accordingly, specific gene function and pathway signaling related were also regulated to some extent. Overall, UC-MSCs influence can major biological behaviors of NB4 cells by changing expression of a large amount of genes, gene-related function and multiple intracellular signaling pathways.

Objective To sudy the changes in mTOR signaling pathway in childhood aplastic anemia(AA) by detecting the expression levels of the molecules of mTOR signaling pathway in T cells,and to explore immunologoical pathogenesis of AA in children from T cell intracellular signal transduction pathway.Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 16 newly diagnosed severe AA(SAA) patients and 8 patiens treated with effective immunosuppressive therapy,and the findings were compared with those of 17 healthy children (normal controls) and CEM cells (positive controls).The expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p-4EBP1,p-p70S6K in CD3 + T cells in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry(FCM).Results 1.The expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p-4EBP1,pp70S6K of the newly diagnosed SAA group were higher than those of the normal control group (P ＜ 0.05),but were lower than the postive control group (CEM group) (P ＜ 0.05).The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of p-Akt of three groups was 8.04 ± 3.78,2.59 ± 1.01 and 20.23 ± 8.98 respectively ;p-TSC2 was 49.73 ± 19.49,16.10 ± 8.04 and 101.05 ± 29.78 respectively ; p-mTOR was 13.90 ± 9.32,2.92 ± 1.09 and 34.3 ± 19.03 ;p-4EBP1 was 142.69 ± 53.36,26.91 ± 13.70,256.01 ± 53.79 ; p-p70S6 K were 17.67 ± 10.48,3.69 ± 2.22,31.73 ± 12.85 respectively.2.The expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p-4EBP1,p-p70S6K of the effective treatment groups were lower than those of the newly diagnosed SAA group (P ＜ 0.05) ; the expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p-p70S6K were similar to those of the normal control group(P ＞ 0.05),but the expressions of p-4EBP1 were higher(P ＜ 0.05).The MFI was followed by 3.28 ± 1.27,16.50 ± 10.91,3.54 ± 1.66,74.89 ± 49.69 and 4.21 ± 1.69.Conclusions 1.The expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p-4EBP1,p-p70S6K were increased in the newly diagnosed SAA patients,the mTOR signaling pathway was activated in SAA patients.2.The expressions of p-Akt,p-TSC2,p-mTORC1,p4EBP1,p-p70S6K were lower than those of the newly diagnosed SAA patients.The degree of activation of mTOR signaling pathway was associated with disease status.The signaling pathways may be involved in the T cells of AA of the immune abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possible mechanism of Huoxue Qianyang Formula (HXQYF), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, in reversing the left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) of spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) by analyzing the expressions of mRNAs and proteins of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc in left ventricular muscle. METHODS: The experimental study was carried out in SHRs, the sex- and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were served as normal control (n=5, normal saline 10 ml/kg daily). Twenty-five SHRs were randomly divided into five groups: untreated group (n=5, normal saline 10 ml/kg daily), high-dose HXQYF-treated group (n=5, 0.84 g/ml HXQYF, 10 ml/kg daily), medium-dose HXQYF-treated group (n=5, 0.42 g/ml HXQYF, 10 ml/kg daily), low-dose HXQYF-treated group (n=5, 0.21 g/ml HXQYF, 10 ml/kg daily) and cilazapril-treated group (n=5, 1 mg/ml cilazapril, 10 ml/kg daily). The drugs were intragastrically administered once daily for 14 weeks. The expressions of mRNAs and proteins of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc in left ventricular muscle were detected separately by in situ hybridization histochemical method and immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: Compared with the normal control group, the expressions of mRNAs and proteins of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc in left ventricular muscle were significantly increased in untreated group (P<0.01). After treatment, the expressions of c-fos and c-myc mRNAs in left ventricular muscle in HXQYF-treated groups were significantly down-regulated as compared with those of the untreated group (P<0.05). The expressions of c-myc protein were also significantly decreased in high- and medium-dose HXQYF-treated groups as compared with the untreated group (P<0.05), but it had no significant effects in protein expression of c-fos in the three HXQYF-treated groups. CONCLUSION: HXQYF can inhibit the expression of c-myc in ventricular hypertrophy tissue, which may be the mechanism in treating LVH of hypertension.

ObjectiveToll-like receptors (TLRs) play important role in the progression and tumor immunity of some types of cancer,some research have demonstrated that agonist of TLR3 can trigger apoptosis of cancers.This study was proposed to investigate if Poly(I:C),the specific agonist of TLR3,could impact proliferation or apoptosis of progressive breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231,and to investigate the primary mechanism of the function.MethodsExpression of TLR1-10 mRNA was detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.Cell Counting Kit-8 was used to determine the inhibitory effect of Poly(I:C) on proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells.Cell apoptosis was assayed by flow cytometry with V-FITC/PI staining.Results First,the toll-like receptors 1-10 were all expressed on MDA-MB-231 cells,while the expression level of TLR8 was lower than that of others.Second,according to the CCK-8,the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells was inhibited,but the apoptosis was not affected on the basis of Apoptosis Kit.At last,the mRNA expression of TNF-α、IFN-β and IFN-γ were elevated approximately 20 times after Poly(I:C) stimulation for 6 hours.ConclusionMDA-MB-231 cells express all toll-like receptors on mRNA level,and TLR8 was expressed lower than others.The stimulation of TLR3 with Poly(I:C) can inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231,but had no effect on apoptosis.TNF-α、IFN-β and IFN-γ maybe participate in this process.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the implementation effect of the basic public health service project in Jiangbei District of Chongqing， so as to provide a basis for further improving the service content and social/economic benefits of the project. MethodsThe evaluation was conducted according to the “National Basic Public Health Service Regulations”， “National Basic Public Health Service Project Performance Evaluation Guidance Plan” and the assessment indicators， indicator requirements and weights of each project. The items were evaluated one by one， and each item was calculated and compared to obtain the trends in the three years from 2018 to 2020. ResultsThe evaluation results showed that the twelve contents of the basic public health service projects in Jiangbei District either met or exceeded the national requirements. The overall effect increased year by year， from 71.73 to 78.74 points. Eight of the twelve service contents have improved year by year， among which the report and processing of information related to infectious diseases and public health emergencies reached 100%， and the vaccination rate of “eight vaccines” reached 97%. Maternal and children （0-6 years old） health care increased significantly， rising by 39.89% and 36.62% respectively. Chronic disease health management was unsatisfactory. ConclusionThe effects of implementation of the basic public health service project is significant， and the service quality has improved year by year. The service content and assessment indicators are still imperfect and is worth of further research.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between extranodal tumor deposits and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

METHODSThe literatures on extranodal tumor deposits and postoperative survival rate in patients with colorectal cancer published at home and abroad from 1990 to 2014 were retrieved in 15 English literature databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Directory of Open Access Journals(DOAJ), SpringerLink and Chinese literature databases such as Chinese Biomedical Literature Database CD-ROM, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) Database with the internet platform of Yonsei University Library. After screening for inclusion, data extraction and quality assessment, meta-analysis was conducted by the Review Manager 5.3 software.

RESULTSThere were 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The total sample size of the studies was 4 068 cases with ENTD(+) 727 cases, while ENTD(-) 3 341 cases. Meta analysis showed that 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year relapse-free survival rate were significantly lower in ENTD(+) group than those in ENTD(-) group (OR 0.27, 0.23; 95% CI:0.18 to 0.43, 0.16 to 0.34 respectively, both P=0.000); the 5-year overall survival rates were both significantly lower in ENTD(+) group as compared to ENTD(-) group for patients with N0 and N(+) colorectal cancer (both P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONExtranodal tumor deposits is a poor prognostic factor of patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective To evaluate the risk factors and sonographic findings of pregnancies complicated by placenta increta or placenta percreta. Methods Totally, 2219 cases were retrospectively analyzed from 20 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2011 to December 2015. The data were collected based on the original case records. All cases were divided into two groups, the placenta increta (PI) group (79.1％, 1755/2219) and the placenta percreta (PP) group (20.9％, 464/2219), according to the degree of placental implantation. The risk factors and sonographic findings of placenta increta or percreta were analyzed by uni-factor and logistic regression statistic methods. Results The risk factors associated with the degree of placental implantation were age, gravida, previous abortion or miscarriage, previous cesarean sections, and placenta previa (all P<0.05), especially, previous cesarean sections (χ2=157.961) and placenta previa (χ2=91.759). Sonographic findings could be used to predict the degree of placental invasion especially the boundaries between placenta and uterine serosa, the boundary between placenta and myometrium, the disruption of the placental-uterine wall interface and loss of the normal retroplacental hypoechoic zone(all P<0.01). Conclusions Previous cesarean sections and placenta previa are the main independent risk factors associated with the degree of placenta implantation. Ultrasound could be used to make a prenatal suggestive diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum disorders.

Objective:To explore the safety and effectiveness of medium-frequency electrotherapy for increasing the volume of the latissimus dorsi muscle.Methods:Fifteen adult New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups, namely group A, group B, and group C, with 5 rabbits in each group. This was a self-control study, with the right latissimus dorsi muscle as the experimental group and the left latissimus dorsi muscle as the control group. The three groups corresponded to three different current intensity levels: 7.062 mA for group A (6th gear), 10.593 mA for group B (9th gear), and 14.124 mA for group C (12th gear). After the 12th, 24th, and 36th sessions of the experiment, ultrasonography was used to collect the thickness of the latissimus dorsi muscle. After the 36th electrostimulation, the latissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected to measure their in vivo muscle thickness and wet weight and were then sent for HE and MASSON staining.Results:After the 12th, 24th, and 36th electrostimulation sessions, ultrasonographic sampling in groups A and B showed an increase in the thickness of the right latissimus dorsi muscle compared to the left; for example, the thickness on the right of group B increased by 37.8%. The wet weight data collected after the 36th electrostimulation in groups A and B showed an increase in the right latissimus dorsi muscle compared to the left; for example, the wet weight on the right of group B increased by 5.04%.Conclusions:Different electrostimulation modes of medium-frequency therapy technology can induce muscle fiber thickening or atrophy. In this experiment, the 9th gear (10.593 mA) of medium-frequency therapy technology may be a suitable choice for inducing muscle fiber thickening, and the 12th gear (14.124 mA) may be a suitable choice for inducing skeletal muscle thinning.