Background and purpose: At present, gastric cancer is considered to be both genetic and epigenetic disease, and epigenetic alterations play a significant role in the development of gastric cancer. DNA methylation is the most well studied and most in-depth epigenetic modiifcations in human-beings. The silencing of tumor-related genes by DNA methylation is reversible. ERCC1 is a kind of DNA repair gene. The present study was aimed to detect the CpG island methylation status of ERCC1 gene promoter in gastric cancer tissues and corresponding peripheral blood, and to explore the relationship between methylation of ERCC1 gene in peripheral blood and in gastric cancer tissues. Methods:Methylation speciifc PCR was performed to detect the methylation status of ERCC1 gene in the tumor tissues and the paired peripheral blood from 30 gastric cancer patients. Results:The positive rate of methylation of ERCC1 gene promoter CpG island was 76.7%(23/30) in the tumor tissues and 63.3%(19/30) in serum of gastric cancer patients, and the difference had no statistical signiifcance. Conclusion:Our studies suggest that ERCC1 gene promoter CpG island methylation can be detected in a high proportion of the serum consisting with that in tumor tissues of gastric cancer patients, and the detection of methylation status of ERCC1 gene in peripheral blood provides a more simple, fast and reliable way for the medical treatment of gastric cancer and also provides the possible theoretical basis for the CpG island methylation of ERCC1 gene promoter as a target for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Objective:This study aims to detect the CpG island methylation status of the ERCC1 gene promoter and the expres-sion of the ERCC1 protein in gastric cancer tissues, as well as to investigate the correlation and significance between ERCC1 gene pro-moter CpG island methylation and protein expression. Methods:Methylation-specific PCR was performed to detect the methylation sta-tus of the ERCC1 gene in tumor tissues and adjacent cancerous tissues from 30 gastric cancer patients. Ten cases of normal gastric tis-sues were used as control. Expression of the ERCC1 protein in gastric cancer tissues, adjacent cancerous tissues, and normal gastric tis-sues was examined by immunohistochemistry S-P method. Results:The methylation rate of the ERCC1 gene promoter CpG island in gastric cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent cancerous tissues (76.7%vs. 13.3%, P<0.05), and the difference was statistically significant. The incidence of promoter methylation was not found in 10 normal gastric tissues. The negative rate of ERCC1 protein expression in 30 cases of gastric carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent cancerous tissues (70.0% vs. 33.3%, P<0.05), whereas 10 normal gastric tissues all exhibited positive expression for the ERCC1 protein. The tumor tissues with ER-CC1 gene promoter CpG island methylation showed a lower expression of ERCC1 protein than the unmethylated tumor tissues in gas-tric cancer patients. Conclusion:Methylation of the ERCC1 gene promoter CpG island and protein expression are negatively correlat-ed, and methylation of the CpG island of the ERCC1 gene may be one of the main reasons for the down-regulation of protein expres-sion.

Objective To introduce a novel modified CT severity index based on the assessment of extrapancreatic inflammation and pancreatic necrosis on CT index (EPIPN) and to evaluate its effect in predicting the severity and prognosis of acute pancreatitis. Methods Seventy-seven consecutive patients diagnosed as acute pancreatitis (AP) from August 2006 to December 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical data included age, sex, cause, the C-reactive protein(CRP) level with in 72 hours of onset of symptom, Ranson signs, the APACHE I1 score, the disappearing time of the abdominal pain, the presence of organ failure, the length of hospital stay, etc. All patients underwent contrast-enhanced multisection CT scan after admission of 48-72 hours. The CT severity index (CTSI) and EPIPN scores were obtained. The severity of pancreatitis for each patient was then categorized as severe if CTSI≥7 or EPIPN>5. The diagnostic value of EPIPN in predicting the severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) was compared with that of CTSI using ROC curve. The correlation of EPIPN or CTSI with clinical coutcome was conducted. Results Of 77 patients, 34 were males and 43 were females with mean age of 51.79 years (age range 22-92 years). The causes of AP were gallstones (63 cases), hyperlipemia (6 cases), alcohol (1 case) and idiopathic (7 cases). Organ system failure was present in 14 (18.2%) of the 77 patients. The area under the ROC curve of CTSI in predicting the SAP was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.59-0.88) with sensitivity of 80.4% and specificity of 55% when CTSI≥7, and that in EPIPN was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.91) with sensitivity of 91.3% and specificity of 63% when EPIPN >5. EPIPN was well correlated with hospital stay, APACHE Ⅱ score and CRP levels. Conclusions The EPIPN allows accurate estimation of disease severity and prognosis in AP patients. The diagnostic effect of EPIPN for predicting SAP is superior to CTSI. The EPIPN index is-both convenient and practical, and has clinical value.

This paper presented the thinking of security problems of the pulse pressure transducer which was widely used in TCM field. And we suggest that the selection of the pulse sensor should be flexible, the pressure should be comply with the security value of the body's tolerance range, and pulse instrument operator should pay attention to the accuracy and safety, so that the pulse instrument will be more humane, scientific and security-oriented.

Objective To assess the value of multisection spiral CT perfusion in evaluating severity of acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods Eighty two AP patients, who were admitted to the hospital between August 2006 and January 2008, were enrolled. Multisection dynamic CT (MSCT) perfusion was performed on all patients 48-72 hrs after admission by using a multisection CT scanner (Siemens somatom sensation 64), and 30 healthy subjects were served as controls. The data were processed on a siemens workstation using PCT software package. The parameters including blood folw (BF), blood volume (BV), peak time (TTP) and surface permeability (PS) were measured and compared. Results The values of BF, BV, TTP and PS in AP patients were (110.57±60.04) ml·100 ml-1·min-1, (156.68±65.11) ml/L, (146.58±29.46) 0.1 s, (110.73±62.66) 0.5 ml·100 ml-1·min-1, respectively. The decreased BF and BV were found in AP patients compared with controls (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in TTP and PS between two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions The decreased perfusion in AP patients was associated with the severity of the disease. The parameters of BF and BV can be used to predicte the severity of AP.

Objective To explore the distinguishing method and threshold of optimum pulse pressures on Cun pulse and Chi pulse to solve the problem how to exert pressure upon Three Regions Pulse Detecting Instrument.Methods Totally 55 subjects meeting the inclusion criteria were collected.The data of optimum pulse pressures on Cun Guan Chi of the same hand of the same tested person were collected respectively and the comparative analysis on the data was carried out.Results In normal subjects,the attenuation degree of optimum pulse pressures on Guan pulse compared with Cun pulse was 0.189?0.053,and the attenuation degree of optimum pulse pressures on Chi pulse in comparison with Guan pulse was 0.226?0.044.Conclusion Through calculating the attenuation degree of optimum pulse pressures reasonably,the identified threshold of Cun and Chi pulses can be judged from the threshold of Fu-superficial,Zhong-medium,and Chen-deep of Guan pulse.

Objective To measure and evaluate slice sensitivity profile(SSP)and the full width at half-maximum(FWHM)for a 64-slice spiral CT system.Methods Using the same CT technique and body mode as those used for clinical CT,delta phantom was scanned with Somatom Sensation 64-slice spiral CT.SSPs and FWHM were measured both with reconstruction slice width of 0.6 mm at pitch = 0.50,0.75,1.00,1.25,1.50 and with reconstruction slice width of 0.6,1.0,1.5 mm at pitch = 1 respectively.Results For normal slice width of 0.6 mm,the measured FWHM,i.e.effective slice width,is 0.67,0.67,0.66,0.69,0.69 mm at different pitch.All the measured FWHM deviate less than 0.1mm from the nominal slice width.The measured SSPs are symmetrical,bell-shaped curves without far-reaching tails,and show only slight variations as a function of the spiral pitch.When reconstruction slice width increase,relative SSP become wider.Conclusions The variation of pitch hardly has effect all on SSP,effective slice width,and z-direction spatial resolution for Sensation 64-slice spiral CT system,which is helpful to optimize CT scanning protocol.

DNA computer is a new research field which combines bot h the computer science and molecular biology. DNA computer is proposed to solve a class of hard problems of mathematical complexity by using a set of DNA sequen ces encoding all candidate solutions to the computational problem of interest an d find out the correct answers by serial manipulations of biochemical reactions. DNA computer is exactly a biomolecular computer which stores a vast quantity of information with high density. DNA computer, by means of its huge parallel comp utation and brute force search strategy, can solve the NP complete problems with polynomial time. The recent advances and principle of DNA computer are introduc ed. The future development and the bioinformatical significance of DNA computer are also analyzed and discussed.

Objective To investigate the blood perfusion characteristic of acute pancreatitis (AP) using multisection dynamic CT. To detect the changes of the perfusion parameters in patients with AP and assess the value of the perfusion parameters as severity indicators in AP. Methods 120 cases (34 cases of normal pancreas and 86 cases of AP) were examined for pancreatic perfusion from August 2006 to April 2008. The multisection dynamic CT perfusion series was performed by a multisection CT scanner (Siemens somatom Sensation 64) and the perfusion parameters, including BF, BV, TTP, PS, were collected and were compared with APACHE Ⅱ score, Ranson score, CRP, CTSI, time to abdominal pain cessation, length of hospital stay and complication rate for correlation analysis. Results The mean BF, BV, TTP and PS in AP patients were (113.57 ±50.04) ml · 100 mg~(-1) · min~(-1), (146.61 ±45.11) ml/L, (148. 88 ±21. 16) 0.1 s, (119.53± 52.36) 0. 5 ml · 100 ml · min , respectively; when compared with normal control, BF, BV decreased significantly (P<0.05) , while the change of TTP, PS were not statistically significant. Both BF and BV were correlated with APACHE II score, Ranson score, CRP, CTSI (P<0. 05) , as well as the time to abdominal pain cessation, length of hospital stay and complication rate (P < 0. 05). Conclusions Pancreatic vessel perfusion was decreased in AP. Both BF and BV were correlated with APACHE Ⅱ score and Ranson score, CRP, CTSI, and could be used to predict severity of acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND:The ankle is one of the most important joints of human body. Medial maleolar fractures are very common, and there are lots of surgical methods to treat it. A traditional approach is open reduction and internal fixation. As views changed, percutaneous cannulated screw internal fixation become increasingly popular, but various clinical studies are stil needed to analyze the efficacy of these two methods. OBJECTIVE:To compare the recovery of joint function after medial maleolus fracture repaired by open reduction and internal fixation and percutaneous cannulated screw fixation. METHODS:A total of 63 cases of medial maleolus fracture, who were treated in the Department of Orthopedics, People’s Hospital of Xinyi City from March 2009 to March 2013, were enroled. According to repair plan, they were divided into two groups: open reduction and internal fixation group (n=29) and percutaneous cannulated screw fixation group (n=34). Ankle function was assessed in accordance with Kofoed ankle score standard on admission and at 3 months after repair. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The patients were folowed up for 3 to 12 months. Among 29 cases in the open reduction and internal fixation group, the wound was healed at grade A in 27 cases and at grade B in 2 cases; 29 cases were reset, and no poor reduction was found. In the percutaneous cannulated screw fixation group, 34 cases had healing at grade A, with the presence of good reduction. Al patients experienced bone union, and no infection appeared. In accordance with Kofoed score, at 3 months of folow-up, the satisfaction rate was 97% in the open reduction and internal fixation group, and 100% in the percutaneous cannulated screw fixation group. These data suggest that both open reduction and internal fixation and percutaneous cannulated screw fixation for medial maleolus fracture obtained positive effects, but percutaneous cannulated screw fixation showed smal surgical trauma, which could reduce the rate of infection and contributed to early functional recovery of ankle joint.