Objective To investigate the feasibility of using ultrasound‐mediated destruction of microbubbles ( US+ MB) to enhance the transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells ( EPCs) to confer chronic allograft vasculopathy (CAV) .Methods Bone marrow derived mononuclear cells were isolated and induced in vitro . The abdominal aorta transplantation was performed . Four groups were divided:control group without treatment (group A) ,injection with saline (group B) ,injection with EPCs (group C) ,group D ( US+MB+EPCs) was injected with EPCs and US was applied to MB prior to the infusion . All rats were killed during 8 weeks after transplantation to enable histological examination;SDF‐1α expression was detected by immunohistochemistry ,the expression of SDF‐1αand TNF‐αin the grafted aortas were detected with RT‐PCR . Results When 8 weeks after EPCs transplantation ,there was a significant improvement in aortic intima of Group D compared with Group B and C ,respectively ( P <0 .05) . In addition ,treatment of Group D significantly increased the expression of SDF‐1αand reduced the expression of TNF‐αin the grafted aortas . Conclusions US‐mediated MB destruction prior to EPCs transplantation into the grafted aortas can improves the effectiveness of endothelial repair and delay the progress of CAV .

Objective To explore the value of shear wave elastrography (SWE) in diagnosis of prostate cancer.Methods SWE quantitative elastography was preformed in 55 patients with suspected prostate cancer,to obtain the elastic modulus (mean,maximum).Each patient underwent sonography-guided prostatic biopsy on the same day.With the pathologic results as reference,ROC curves were used to assess diagnostic performance.Results ①Pathological tests showed that 39 lesions were benign(hyperplasia) and 16 lesions were malignant.The mean elasticity value of benign lesions was (39.04 ± 8.22) kPa,and the maximum value was (54.10 ± 9.18)kPa,whereas of malignant ones were (53.31 ± 3.92)kPa and (68.71 ±2.57)kPa,respectively (P ＜0.05).② The area under the ROC curve (AZ) of the maximum and mean elasticity value was 0.951 and 0.944.Taking 48.07 kPa as the threshold of the mean elasticity value,the sensitivity was 91.8％ and the specificity was 89.7％.Then taking 65.50 kPa as the threshold of the maximum elasticity value,the sensitivity was 92.1％ and the specificity was 87.5％.Conclusions SWE is helpful to diagnose and differentiate prostate diseases by measuring elastic modulus.

Objective To investigate the correlation between Young′s elastic modulus (EI) using shear wave elastography (SWE) and liver pathology .Methods Liver biopsy was performed on 231 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) under supersonic guidance ,and SWE with EI of liver was obtained concurrently .The correlation between measured liver stiffness and pathology was analyzed by using the liver pathology as golden standards .One‐way analysis of variance and Spearman rank correlation analysis were performed for the comparison between groups and correlation between two variables , respectively .Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to explore the predictive value of shear modulus for the liver inflammation grades and fibrosis stages .Results The EI medians of different liver inflammation grades were 6 .78 kPa (G1) ,7 .30 kPa (G2) ,9 .93 kPa (G3) and 14 .93 kPa (G4) , respectively ,which were statistically different (H=55 .19 ,P<0 .01) .And EI medians of various fibrosis stages were 6 .62 kPa (S0 -S1) ,7 .15 kPa (S2) ,9 .78 kPa (S3) and 14 .62 kPa (S4) ,respectively , which were also significantly different (H=62 .14 ,P<0 .01) .EI was positively correlated with both liver inflammation grades (r=0 .454 6 ,P<0 .01) and liver fibrosis stages (r=0 .505 6 ,P<0 .01) .The areas under the ROC for G≥2 ,G≥3 and G=4 were 0 .68 (95% CI:0 .61 -0 .75) ,0 .77 (95% CI:0 .70 -0 .84) and 0 .85 (95% CI:0 .77-0 .92) ,respectively .The areas under the ROC for S≥2 ,S≥3 and S=4 w ere 0 .73 (95% C I:0 .66 -0 .79 ) ,0 .78 (95% C I:0 .72 -0 .85 ) and 0 .83 (95% C I:0 .75 -0 .91 ) , respectively .Conclusion The EI measured by SWE is correlated with liver pathology of CHB patients , which may be used to dynamically monitor the progress of liver fibrosis .

Objective:To compare the diagnostic values of C-TIRADS, ACR-TIRADS and EU-TIRADS.Methods:According to the classification methods of the 3 guidelines, the ultrasonographic features of 283 thyroid nodules from 266 patients in Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital from January 2019 to June 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The pathological results were taken as the gold standard, the malignant percentage of different classification was calculated, the ROC curve was plotted, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and the best diagnostic cut-off value were calculated, and the diagnostic values of the three guidelines were compared. According to the FNA recommendations of the guidelines, the recommended number of thyroid nodules and the detection rate of malignant nodules in different guidelines were analyzed.Results:The AUCs of C-TIRADS, ACR-TIRADS and EU-TIRADS were 0.80, 0.66, 0.61, respectively. The AUC of C-TIRADS was higher than those of ACR-TIRADS and EU-TIRADS ( P<0.001, P<0.001). The best diagnostic cutoff values of C-TIRADS, ACR-TIRADS and EU-TIRADS were 4C, 5 and 5, respectively. Under the critical points, the sensitivities of the 3 guidelines were 95.27%, 98.10%, 99.53%, the specificities were 54.17%, 33.33%, 20.83%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the number of FNA recommendations among the 3 guidelines(all P>0.05), their FNA recommendations were highly consistent (Kappa>0.9). Conclusions:The diagnostic value of C-TIRADS in the classification of benign and malignant thyroid nodules is higher than those of ACR-TIRADS and EU-TIRADS. The best critical value for diagnosis of thyroid nodules is C-TIRADS 4C. The three guidelines are similar in the number of FNA recommendations and the detection rate of malignancy.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between atrial synchrony and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in patients with sick sinus syndrome (SSS) by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging. Methods Forty-four SSS patients who underwent echocardiographic examination at Department of Ultrasound, No. 2 Hospital of Yinzhou in Ningbo City of Zhejiang Province from January 2015 to August 2016 were enrolled, including 25 without PAF and 19 with PAF. Twenty-eight normal adults who underwent echocardiographic examination at this department at the same time were included as a normal control group. The structural and functional parameters of the left ventricle of all enrolled subjects were evaluated by echocardiographic examination. After two-dimensional speckle tracking images of the right atrium free wall, atrial septum, and left atrium free wall were obtained, the time interval from the initial point of P wave on electrocardiograph to the second negative wave of the diastolic phase in two-dimensional speckle tracking images were measured to calculate the electrical-mechanical time of the right atrium free wall (P-RA), the electrical-mechanical time of the atrial septum (P-IAS), and the electrical-mechanical time (P-LA) of the left atrium free wall. Subsequently, the parameters of atrial synchrony were calculated. Conventional echocardiographic parameters, P-RA, P-IAS, P-LA, and the parameters of atrial synchrony were compared among the three groups by one-way ANOVA, and further comparisons between any two groups were performed by the SNK-q test. The relationship between the parameters of electrical-mechanical time, parameters of atrial synchrony, and PAF were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was then performed to evaluate the value of the parameters of electrical-mechanical time and parameters of atrial synchrony in predicting PAF. Results The left atrial size was significantly larger in the SSS without PAF group and SSS with PAF group than in the normal control group (q=4.18, 5.37, both P＜0.05), although there was no significant difference between the SSS without PAF group and SSS with PAF group. The P-RA and P-IAS were significantly larger in the SSS without PAF group and SSS with PAF group than in the normal control group (q=4.03, 4.10; q=4.16, 4.31, all P＜0.05), but there was no significant difference between the SSS without PAF group and SSS with PAF group. The P-LA, right atrial intra-atrial synchrony, left atrial intra-atrial synchrony, and inter-atrial synchrony showed a gradually rising trend from the normal control group to the SSS without PAF group and SSS with PAF group, and the difference between any two groups was statistically significant (q=5.18, 11.23, 4.43; q=5.25, 11.74, 4.63; q=7.38, 14.67, 4.73; q=8.01, 16.37, 6.39, all P＜0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that P-LA, right atrial intra-atrial synchrony, left atrial intra-atrial synchrony, and inter-atrial synchrony were significantly positively correlated with PAF in patients with SSS (r=0.61, 0.55, 0.75, 0.78, all P ＜ 0.01), and the correlation between inter-atrial synchrony and PAF was the highest. ROC analysis demonstrated the optimal threshold of P-LA for prediction of PAF was 94 ms [sensitivity: 68.42%; specificity: 76.00%; the area under the ROC curve (AUC): 0.764 (95% CI: 0.612-0.879)]; the optimal threshold of right atrial intra-atrial synchrony was 19 ms [sensitivity: 57.89%; specificity: 76.00%; AUC: 0.714 (95% CI: 0.558-0.840)];the optimal threshold of left atrial intra-atrial synchrony was 42 ms [sensitivity: 78.95%; specificity: 76.00%;AUC: 0.860 (95% CI : 0.722-0.946)]; and the optimal threshold of inter-atrial synchrony was 68 ms [sensitivity:84.21%; specificity: 84.00%; AUC: 0.859 (95% CI: 0.721-0.945)]. These results suggest that left atrial intra-atrial synchrony and inter-atrial synchronization are superior to right atrial intra-atrial synchrony in predicting PAF in patients with SSS. Conclusion Atrial electro-mechanical motion time parameters and synchrony parameters are closely related to PAF in patients with SSS, and left atrial intra-atrial synchrony and inter-atrial synchronization are the most effective parameters in predicting PAF in patients with SSS.

OBJECTIVEChronic hypoxia at high altitude might result in cardiopulmonary adaptations including pulmonary arterial hypertension and cardiac remodeling. But little is known about the adaptive changes in healthy children born and living at high altitude. We compared the echocardiographic measurements between the healthy children living at 16 m (Shanghai, n = 220) and 3 700 m (Qinghai, total 257, Han children 117, Tibetan children 140).

METHODSChildren's age ranged from 15 d to 14 years. Echocardiography measurements were performed, values of the left and right ventricular dimensions and wall thickness, systolic and diastolic function including cardiac output index (CI), as well as mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) were obtained.

RESULTSmPAP and right heart dimension, CI, right ventricular anterior wall thickness were significantly higher while ventricular systolic and diastolic function were significantly lower in 3 700 m group than in 16 m group (all P < 0.05). Left ventricular dimension was similar between the two groups. There were no differences on above measured parameters between the Han and Tibetan children from 3 700 m group (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSChildren born and living at high altitude in China have significantly higher mPAP, dilated right heart and lower systolic and diastolic function of both ventricles and higher CI compared to children born and living at see-level. Above parameters were similar between the Han and the Tibetan childen born and living at high altitude. Present study provides reference values for the healthy children living at high altitude.

Adolescent ; Altitude ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Diastole ; Echocardiography ; Heart ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Hypoxia ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Lung ; Systole

ObjectiveTo elucidate the mechanism of Osteoking against fracture， femoral head necrosis， osteoarthritis， and lumbar disc herniation by integrating heterogeneous information network mining and experimental validation. MethodOn the basis of the disease-related database and transcriptome expression profiling dataset， as well as the ETCM database， the gene sets related to four target diseases and the candidate target spectrum of Osteoking were obtained through the integration and analysis of bioinformatics data， and a "disease-syndrome-formula-target-pathway-effect" heterogeneous information network was constructed. In addition， by functional enrichment analysis， the core targets of Osteoking in interfering with the imbalance network of four kinds of bone injury diseases， the biological pathways involved， and the corresponding clinical symptoms were screened， and they were verified in animal experiments. ResultHeterogeneous information network mining indicates that Osteoking may commonly reverse the imbalance networks of fracture， femoral head necrosis， osteoarthritis， and lumbar disc herniation via regulating cell function and activity， inhibiting inflammatory response， reducing bone destruction， and improving the immune function of the body by modulating relevant core candidate targets such as RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase （Akt1）， catenin beta-1 （CTNNB1）， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， heat shock protein 90-alpha （HSP90AA1）， and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha isoform （PI3KCA）， as well as related biological pathways such as phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt）， janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription （JAK/STAT）， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）， nuclear factor kappa-B （NF-κB）， and Toll-like receptors. In particular， Osteoking may improve the blood supply of the fracture end by regulating blood circulation at the target site of the disease， and it may maintain the balance of bone metabolism by regulating hormone-related pathways to promote fracture healing. In addition， Osteoking may relieve lipid metabolism disorders by targeting and regulating lipid-related pathways， accelerate bone formation and bone repair， and delay the progression of femoral head necrosis. Osteoking may relieve the symptoms of pain by acting on neurological pathways to reduce local nociceptive stimulation in patients with osteoarthritis and lumbar disc herniation. Further experimental validation demonstrates that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is the most significantly enriched pathway for the key network targets of Osteoking for the four diseases. The candidate target of Osteoking may have the strongest association with the network of fracture-related genes. Therefore， this study chooses fracture as the target disease to verify the efficacy of Osteoking. The results show that Osteoking can accelerate bone formation and promote fracture healing by inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling axis. ConclusionThe study shows that the main mechanism of "treating different diseases with an identical treatment" of four bone injury diseases with Osteoking involves cell function regulation and immune inflammation-related signaling pathways. Further experimental validation identifies that the PI3K/Akt signaling axis may be one of the key pathways of Osteoking to promote bone regeneration， bone reconstruction， and bone metabolism homeostasis.