Objective To investigate the microstructure characteristics in human kidney with the WD cepstrum of ultrasonic backscattering. Methods By using this method, an analysis of the backscattering signals of normal and pathological human kidney in vitro was made and the mean spacing of the scatterers of biological soft tissues was estimated, then compared the means of this new approach with the means of the AR cepstrum. Results The results show that the mean spacings of the scatterers of the two different kidney tissues are noticeably different, which reveals the fact that the WD cepstrum works more effective than the AR cepstrum in showing the features of the microstructure of soft tissues. Conclusion The WD cepstrum is an effective mean to analyze the ultrasonic scattering signals and determine the features of the mean spacing of the scatterers of soft tissues. This method provides more available clinical diagnosis and improves the results of mean spacing of the scatterers of soft tissues.

Hepatic stellate cell (HSC-T) was cultured in medium containing different concentrations of recombinant human augmenter of liver regeneration (hALR),and cells were collected at different incubation period. Total RNA of HSC was isolated and collagenⅠ and Ⅲ gene expression levels were measured with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that, collagen Ⅰ gene expression levels of HSC in high(0 2ng/L),middle (0 02ng/L) and low (0 002ng/L) concentrations of three hALR groups were much lower than those of control group after exposure to hALR at 8h, 24h, 48h and 72h. Collagen Ⅰ gene expression levels of HSC in high dose group were also significantly lower than those of middle and low dose groups . Collagen Ⅲ gene expression levels of HSC in middle and low dose hALR group were much lower than those of control group at 24h,48h and 72h, Collagen Ⅲ gene expression levels in high dose group were significantly lower than those of control group at 8h, 24h, 48h and 72h, and were also much lower than those of middle and low dose groups. It suggested that hALR could inhibit collagen Ⅰ and Ⅲ gene expression in hepatic stellate cells.

Objective To evaluate the value of peak time(PT) and corrected peak time(PTc) in the assessment of left ventricular long axis systolic function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM).Methods Thirty-one DCM cases and thirty-six healthy cases were investigated using echocardiography.To obtain image of apical four-chamber view and apical two-chamber view, PT was measured by the technique of tissue motion annular displacement.The value of PTc was corrected by R-R interval.The critical value of PT and PTc was obtained by ROC curves.Results Compared with the PT of control group, the PT of DCM group at the site of septal and lateral were significantly increased ( P ＜0.05), but the PT at the site of anterior and inferior were no significantly increased ( P ＞0.05).The PTc at the four sites were significantly increased compared with control group ( P ＜0.05).The areas of under the ROC curve of PTc was 0.849 (95 % CI 0.699～0.929, P = 0.000), sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis cardiac dysfunction were 80.6 % and 66.7% respectively.Conclusions The PTc was significantly increased in patients with DCM.PTc was useful to evaluate left ventricular dysfunction in DCM patients.

Purpose Many studies have shown that subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction is seen in prediabetic patients.However,its relationship with prognosis is unclear.The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction with prediabetes.Materials and Methods This was a prospective clinical cohort study.A total of 98 prediabetes patients with complete medical record and follow up data in the physical exam center and the clinic of Yan'an People's Hospital were chosen between January 2013 and January 2014.The biochemical data,echocardiography and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) in 2 years of follow up were collected.The subjects were grouped into diabetes if the diagnosis was confirmed during follow up,or non-diabetes group if not diagnosed.After follow up,the baseline parameters were compared to screen for risk factors to develop clinical diabetes.Results During the study,38 participants were diagnosed as clinical diabetes.Cox proportional hazard regression models show that obesity [hazard ratio (HR):2.662,95％ CI 1.374-5.159,P=0.004],waist-hip ratio (HR:1.917,95％ CI:1.012-3.492,P=0.001),mitral E/e'ratio (HR:1.661,95％ CI:1.336-2.065,P＜0.001),HbAlc (HR:2.029,95％ CI:1.047-3.932,P＜0.001),global longitudinal strain (HR:0.786,95％ CI:0.728-0.848,P＜0.001) were significant independent predictors for developing diabetes.Using GLS＜18％ as cutoff value,the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to predict development of diabetes was 0.796 (95％ CI:0.704-0.888,P＜0.001),with sensitivity and specificity of 46.7％ and 89.5％,respectively.Conclusion Among modifiable risk factors in patients with prediabetes,subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction is an early indicator of progressing to diabetes.Early detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction in prediabetes can provide the basis for early clinical intervention.

Objective:To observe whether nitric oxide (NO) could enhance the damaging effect of cyclophosphamide on L1210 cells cultured in vitro, and to investigate the mechanism of this action. Methods:L1210 cells were co-cultured with 3T3 cells in DMEM medium supplemented with cyclophosphamide (400 ?g/ml). The L1210 cells were divided into three groups based on different transfected 3T3 cells: pcDNA3.0-iNOS plasmid transfected 3T3 cells (Group 1), pcDNA3.0 plasmid transfected 3T3 cells (Group 2), pcDNA3.0-iNOS plasmid transfected 3T3 cells plus DEVD-CHO(Group 3). The viability and apoptosis rate of L1210 cells at different culture periods were determined by trypan blue exclusion and TUNNEL method, respectively. And the cell cycles at G_1 and S phase were detected by flow cytometry. Results:①After cyclophosphamide treatment, the viability of L1210 cells was significantly lower in Group 1 than that in Group 2 during 12-72 h (P

Objective To elucidate the difference between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)and methicillin-sensitive S.aureus (MSSA)in terms of genotypes and distribution of virulence genes with the clinical strains isolated from Hohhot,and explore the relationship between the changing resistance of S.aureus and the virulence transition.Methods Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)and multi locus sequence typing (MLST)methods were employed to do molecular typing for 30 MRSA strains and 30 MSSA strains isolated from inpatients in Hohhot,Inner Mongolia.PCR method was used to profile the distribution of virulence genes among these strains.Results PFGE typing results showed that 60 S.aureus strains were classified into 19 major types.MSSA strains belonged to 16 types,mainly types I and H.MRSA strains mainly belonged to types of K and M.Among the 20 strains with different PFGE types,MRSA strains were mainly identified as ST-239 type.but the prevalence of sec ,seg ,sei,sem,sen,seo,fnbB ,ebpS and cap 5 was higher in MSSA strains than in MRSA strains (P<0.05).Conclusions The clinical strains of S .aureus isolated from Hohhot showed diverse genotyping features.ST-239 was the major PFGE type of MRSA strains.The prevalence of virulence genes was higher in MSSA strains than in MRSA strains. Characteristic cluster is found for specific virulence genes.The results also suggest that acquisition of specific antibiotic resistance may be associated with change of specific virulence feature in S.aureus.

Objective:To explore protective effect of atorvastatin on blood vessels in early stage of atherosclerosis (AS).Methods:A total of 120 patients without AS plaques,who had >2 cardiovascular risk factors and received control cardiovascular risk factors therapy,were randomly divided into four groups:control group (did not receive atorvastatin),atorvastatin 5mg group,10mg group and 20mg group (received corresponding dose of atorvastatin). All patients were followed up for six months,changes of thromboxane B2 (TXB2),6-Keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-Keto-PGF1α),brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV),ankle brachial index (ABI)and intima-media thickness (IMT)were observed.Results:There were no significant changes in ABI and IMT between before and after treat-ment among four groups (P >0.05 all).Compared with baseline,TXB2、baPWV levels significantly rose,6-Keto-PGF1αlevel significantly decreased after treatment in control group and 5mg group;in contrast,TXB2、baPWV lev-els significantly decreased,6-Keto-PGF1αlevel significantly rose after treatment in 10mg group and 20mg group(P <0.05~ < 0.01).After treatment six-month,compared with control group and 5mg group,the TXB2 [(148.3 ± 29.2)pg/ml,(142.3±30.6)pg/ml vs.(111.5±22.8)pg/ml,(104.9 ± 17.4)pg/ml]、baPWV[(1621.1 ± 136.1) cm/s,(1597.7±125.3)cm/s vs.(1232.9±132.3)cm/s,(1178.2±155.1)cm/s]levels significantly decreased,6-Keto-PGF1α[(104.7±66.1)pg/ml,(102.2±70.3)pg/ml vs.(132.8±48.3)pg/ml,(139.1±66.3)pg/ml]level significantly rose(P <0.05~<0.01)in 10 mg group and 20 mg group.Conclusion:Atorvastatin has protective effect on blood vessels in early stage of atherosclerosis,and 10mg atorvastatin may be the minimum effective dosage to protect blood vessels.

A BBB co-culture cell model consisting of rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and astrocytes (AS) was established to study the effect of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the transport behavior of puerarin across blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro and in vivo. The barrier function of this model was evaluated by measuring the transendothelial resistance, phenol red permeability and BBB related protein expression. The permeability assay and western blot methods were performed to study the effects of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the BBB permeability and the expression of BBB related protein. The animal experiment protocols in this study were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Animal Ethics No.: 2021-1329). The results showed that the established BMEC/AS co-culture model could be used to evaluate drug transport across BBB in vitro. After combined with Angelica dahurica coumarins, the transport capacity of puerarin was significantly increased in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, Angelica dahurica coumarins enhanced BBB permeability and inhibited the protein expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin. Angelica dahurica coumarins might increase BBB permeability by inhibiting the expression of P-gp and tight junction protein, thereby increasing the content of puerarin in brain tissue.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of tissue mitral annular displacement (TMAD) in the assessment of left ventricular long axis systolic function and the relationship of obese degree with left ventricular long axis systolic function in patients with abdominal obesity.MethodsThirty-eight abdominal obesity cases and thirty-four healthy cases were investigated using echocardiography.The images of apical four-chamber view and apical two-chamber view were obtained,systolic mitral annular displacement (MADs),mid-point of mitral annular displacement(MAD-midpt),mid-point of mitral annular normalized displacement(MAND-midpt) and mid-point of mitral annular biplanar normalized displacement(MABNDmidpt) were measured by the technique of TMAD.Their characteristics between patients with abdominal obesity and healthy group were compared,and the relationship of waist-hip ratio(WHR) and related indexes of MAD were analyzed.ResultsIn abdominal obesity group,the MADs at the four site were significantly decreased compared with control group (P＜0.001,respectively),the MAD-midpt and MAND-midpt of apical four-chamber view and apical two-chamber view were significantly decreased compared with control group (P＜0.001,respectively).The WHR related with MABND-midpt independently by the analysis of partial correlation(r=-0.697,P=0.000).ConclusionsThe left ventricular long axis systolic function were damaged in patients with abdominal obesity.The technique of TMAD could quantitatively assess the left ventricular long axis systolic function in patients with abdominal obesity.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the short- and long-term hearing outcomes after successful inlay cartilage tympanoplasty between patients with small (< or =25%) and large (> or =50%) eardrums perforations. METHODS: This is a retrospective case series study conducted in a tertiary referral center. Twenty-five patients who underwent 27 procedures were enrolled. Their mean age was 60.26 years (range, 42 to 76 years). The mean follow-up time was 18.86 months (range, 12.30 to 35.83 months). The preoperative, initial postoperative, and long-term hearing results in patients with total repair of the eardrum were analyzed. RESULTS: In the small size group, the average (+/-standard deviation) air-bone gap (ABG) closure was 1.08+/-7.53 dB in the short-term and 2.33+/-11.56 dB in the long-term hearing examinations. There was no difference between short- and long-term ABG closure (P=0.689). In the large size group, the average ABG closure was 9.77+/-9.40 dB in the short-term and 16.25+/-6.01 dB in the long-term hearing examinations. There was a significant difference between short- and long-term ABG closure (P=0.029). CONCLUSION: Patients with large perforations have continuous hearing improvement and ABG closure for more than one year. In contrast, the short- and long-term postoperative ABGs are almost the same in patients with small perforations. More long-term postoperative follow-up of hearing results is necessary for large perforations.
Cartilage* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Inlays* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Tympanic Membrane* ; Tympanoplasty*