Aged ; Cardiac Pacing, Artificial ; adverse effects ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Heart Failure ; diagnostic imaging ; etiology ; Humans ; Male

Background and Objectives The relationship between left atrial (LA) size and congestive heart failure (CHF) is well recognized;however, there is little information on the association of pulmonary vein (PV) diameter and CHF.The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of PV and LA sizes in CHF patients by multislice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography using a new 64-slice scanner. Methods and Results We assessed diameters of PVs ostium and LA by 64-slice MSCT with three-dimensional reconstruction in 25 CHF patients and in 26 age- and sex-matched non-CHF controls. Compared with controls, CHF patients showed significant greater diameters of left superior pulmonary vein (LSPV) and right inferior pulmonary vein (RIPV) in both anteriorposterior(AP) and superior-inferior (SI) directions (P＜0.01), significant dilation of right superior pulmonary vein (RSPV) in AP direction (P＜0.05), as well as significant increase of LA transverse, AP, and SI diameters (P＜0.01). Conclusion Significant dilation of PVs with simultaneous LA enlargement was demonstrated in CHF patients. This anatomic and geometric changes may participate in the perpetuation of AF.

Objective To evaluate the short and long term efficacy of self-expandable metallic stent implantation through bronchoscope in the management of the patients with malignant airway stenosis.Methods Seventy-four hospitalized patients with malignant airway stenosis during a 10-year period were selected as our subjects from Dec.2002 to Nov.2012 in the Respiratory Department of the Central Hospital of Wuhan.All these patients underwent bronchoscope for nitinol self-expandable metallic stent implantation.Clinical improvement,6min walking distance (6MWT),mMRC index,arterial blood gas,as well as early and late postoperative complications were investigated.Results A total of 77 stents were implanted,including 34 covered metallic stents and 43 uncovered metallic stents.All patients showed the obvious relief of dyspnea after the operation.6MWT at pre-operation was (172 ± 45)m and (288 ± 36)m at 28 week post-operation.Arterial blood gas was (61.34 ±6.44)mmHg at pre-opemtion and (72.12 ±6.87) mmHg at 28 week post-operation.mMRC was 3.56 ± 0.44 at pre-operation and 1.96 ± 0.37 at 28 week post-operation.All these differences were significant(P ＜ 0.01).The operation succeeded in releasing bucking of patients with esophago-tracheal fistula.Symptoms such as fever,cough,pharyngodynia,foreign body sensation and hemoptysis were observed,and all the above side effect could be solved while no serious complications arose.Conclusion Bronchoscopic insertion of metallic airway stents for malignant airway stenosis is a safe and effective procedure that could obviously relieve respiratory distress and improve the quality of life.

Objective To observe the display and source of the artery located at anterolateral region next to pancreatic head on en-hanced CT,and to investigate its clinical value.Methods Imaging data of 200 consecutive patients who underwent abdominal CT scan were collected,and their CT images were analyzed.The reconstructed images were obtained at a post-processing workstation. After reconstruction,the display rate,source and branches of the artery located at anterolateral region next to pancreatic head were analyzed,and the diameters of these vessels were measured.Results The arterial vessel located at anterolateral region next to pan-creatic head was found on axial CT image in arterial phase with a display rate of 100%.By using post-reconstruction images,most vessels were gastroduodenal artery with mean diameter of 0.33 cm± 0.05 cm,and other ones were pancreaticoduodenal artery or right gastroomental artery.Conclusion The artery located at anterolateral region next to pancreatic head can be found on axial ab-dominal CT image in the arterial phase.Most vessels are gastroduodenal artery with a fixed position and traveling.

BACKGROUND:Numerous studies have demonstrated that estrogen can regulate the proliferation and migration of endothelial progenitor cel s (EPCs), while EPCs can also promote the function and activity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s (BMSCs) in vitro. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the ability of the BMSCs and EPCs which construct the composite cel sheet in the repair of alveolar bone defect in ovariectomized rats. METHODS:BMSCs/EPCs composite sheet, EPCs sheet and BMSCs sheet were respectively implanted into the defects of the alveolar bone in ovariectomized rats. Rats with no implantation served as control group. Repaired alveolar bone was assessed by gross examination, histological observation and micro-CT scan at 2, 4, 8 weeks after operation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:BMSCs/EPCs composite sheet has greater osteogensis activity and bone repair capacity than BMSCs or EPCs sheet alone.

The important progress of the relationship between genomics and cardiovascular diseases has elucidated several abnormalities of genes leading to familial cardiomyopathy and ion channel diseases.Investigations of genomics show that the difference including resistance and susceptivity to diseases among human is determined by over 3 million base pairs of all 3,000 million.Single nucleotide polymorphism plays an essential role in elucidating hereditary cardiovascular diseases.

Objective To provide a practical device and protocol to hold conscious rats for subsequent operations which can overcome the disadvantages of existing methods .Users can complete the experiment more efficiently , with or without prior experience .Methods Using transparent plastic film , plastic sealing machine and sponge to make a simple device for holding rats , by taking advantage of their escaping nature .To compare the performance of the new method and existing methods for holding and injecting rats .Results Compared with existing methods , the new device and method can reduce the time-consuming to hold rats by 44.7%, from 18.13 seconds to 10.03 seconds.For holding and injecting , the new method can reduce the time-consuming by 55.3%, from 139.33 seconds to 52.26 seconds .Conclusions The new device and method is good for holding and injecting rats or drawing blood from the caudal veins .It can shorten the time of operation and reduce the stress reaction in the animals .It’ s especially helpful for inexperienced experimenters such as students in teaching and research tasks .

Objective To observe the changes of respiratory and hemodynamic functions in children with different age undergoing laparoscopic Nissen's fundoplication(LNF). Methods Thirty-three children with LNF were divided into three groups according to the age: group Ⅰ,1 to 12 months,n=13;group Ⅱ,1 to 3 years old,n=10;and group Ⅲ,4 to 7 years,n=10.Heart rate(HR),mean arterial pressure,Ppeak,compliance of the respiratory system(CRS) and end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure(PETCO2) were recorded 5 min before pneumoperitoneum(T0),10 min(T1),60 min(T2) after pneumoperitoneum and 10 min after deflation(T3),and parameters of blood gas analysis such as PaCO2 were measured at the same time. Results Compared with those at T0,HR,Ppeak,PETCO2 and the difference between PaCO2 and PETCO2(Pa-ETCO2)were significantly increased at T1 and T2,while CRS was significantly decreased.The most significant changes were found in group Ⅰ. Conclusion The changes of respiratory and hemodynamic functions are observed in children undergoing LNF,and anesthesia management should be enhanced for those within 1 to 12 months old who experience the most significant changes.

Objective To investigate the distribution of high-arsenic drinking water in Honghu city of Hubei province in order to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control of endemic arsenic disease.Methods Investigations were made in 22 townships(towns,districts),68 natural villages of the drainage areas of the Dongjing River,the Neijing River and the Yangtse River in 2006 and 2007,with the townships(towns,districts)around Shahu town in Xiantao city as the focal point.1000 water samples were drawn each year,which was 10% of all the wells in every natural village.Using sampling investigation,water arsenic Was determined by half-quantitative fast reagent kit.All samples of water with arsenic exceeding the standard(≥0.03 mg/L)were re-determined according to state standard.Surveys on the disease was carried out in the villages(brigades)where arsenic exceeded the standard.Results A total of 2000 samples were surveyed from 68 natural villages,of which there were 401 samples from 48 villages exceeding the standard in a rate of 20.05%(401/2000).The highest arsenic content Was 0.71 mg/L.The high arsenic water sources were distributed mainy in the drainage areas of the Dongjing River and the Neijing River,but no patients with endemic arsenic disease were found.Conclusions The high arsenic water sources are distributed mainly in the drainage areas of the Dongjing River and the Neijing River.It is suggested that the interrelated government departments should take precise measures to impmve the quality of drinking water and ensure safe water to the residents in high arsenic areas.

Aim To study the protective effects of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) postconditioning on rat myocardial cells injured by hypoxia/reoxygenation in reperfusion injury salvage kinase ( RISK ) signal path-way. Methods The cultured rat H9c2 cells were ran-domly divided into seven groups: ( 1 ) control group;(2) hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) group; (3) S1P group;(4) S1P+LY294002 group(S1P+LY); (5) LY group; ( 6 ) S1 P +PD98059 group ( S1 P +PD );(7) PD group. The viability of H9c2 cells was detec-ted using MTT method. The content of MDA in the cultured medium and the activity of T-SOD and Mn-SOD were measured with colorimetry. The concentra-tion of intracellular free calcium ion was detected by confocal microscopy. The rate of cell apoptosis was de-termined by flow cytometric analysis. Western blot was used to assess phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 in H9c2 cells. Results Compared with the H/R group, S1P significantly increased vaibility of cells, lowered the rate of apoptosis, decreased the content of MDA in the culture medium, increased the activity of T-SOD and Mn-SOD, reduced concentration of intracellular calcium and increased the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 . When added LY294002 or PD98059 , the effects of S1P above were inhibited. Conclusion S1P protects H9 c2 cells against hypoxia/reoxygenation inju-ry. The protection of S1P was inhibited by LY294002, the inhibitor of PI3 K/Akt and PD98059 , the inhibitor of ERK1/2 . S1 P protects H9 c2 cells against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury via RISK pathway.