BACKGROUND:The existed artificial anal sphincter cannot sense whether there are intestinal contents in the bowel and the state of intestinal contents, and the previous studies on the intestinal content signal did not included the different parts of colon and the signals of different intestinal content status.
OBJECTIVE:To compare the differences of ultrasound signals of different intestinal content status in different parts of New Zealand rabbits detected with transmission-type ultrasonic signal detection system.
METHODS:Twenty healthy New Zealand rabbits were used;the rabbits were divided into groups according to distal part of proximal colon, distal colon and distal rectum. Five positions of solid stool particles were selected randomly as the detection point in each group. The voltage signals of stool were measured under solid, fluid, gaseous, and deflation status of the lumen.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In rectum, there were no significant differences in voltage signals between solid and gaseous conditions, while there were significant differences between fluid and deflation conditions (P=0.000). Multiple comparison showed there were significant differences between four conditions in distal part of proximal colon and distal colon (P=0). There were significant differences in voltage singles between rectum, distal colon and proximal colon under solid and fluid conditions (P=0). Multiple comparison showed there were significant differences in any part of large bowel for solid and fluid status (P=0). There were no significant differences in voltage singles between rectum, distal colon and proximal colon under gaseous and deflation conditions. There was interactive effect of intestinal contents between three parts of large bowel under the four conditions (P=0.000). Transmission-type ultrasonic detection system can distinguish artificial intestinal contents sensory nerves of various intestinal contents. And the application of ultrasonic detection system to detect the intestinal contents under different conditions can provide a new effective method for the research on artificial intestinal content sensory nerves.

Objective To determine the median effective concentration (EC50) of amitriptyline for intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA) in rats.Methods Ninety healthy male SD rata weighing 190-240 g were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=30 each) : amitripryline group,bupivncaine group and lidocaine group.The rat's tail was divided into 3 epual parts: the proximal,middle and distal part.A 24 gauge needle was inserted into vena caudalis in the distal part.Esmarch bandage was applied around the tail from distal to proximal to expel blood from the taft and was removed after a tourniquet was applied between the proximal and middle part of the tail to occlude artery.0.5 ml of amitriptyline,bupivncaine or lidocaine was injected into the taft vein immediately after the application of the tourniquet.Ten minutes after drug administration the tourniquet was released.The ECho was determined by the up-and-down sequence method.The initial concentration of amitriptyline was 0.05%,the consecutive concentration-ratio was 1.4i4; the initial concentration of bupivacaine was 0.03%,the consecutive concoatration-ratio was 1.667 and the initial concentration of lidncaine was 0.08%,the consecutive concentrationratio was 1.250.EC50 and 95% confidence interval were calculated.Tail-flick latency (TFL) was assessed at 1 h before (baseline) and at 3 min and 2 d after drug administration.Central nervous system toxicity (seizure,convulsion,death) and local tissue damage to the tail were also recorded.Results The EC50 for IVRA was 0.111% (95% CI,0.092%-0.133%) in amitripthline group; 0.058% (95% CI,0.048%-0.078%) in bupivacaine group and 0.129% (95% CI,0.103%-0.160%) in lidocaine group respectively.The EC50 was significantly lower in bupivacaine group than in amitriptyline and lidocaine group.There was no significant difference in EC50 between amitriptyline and lidocaine group.The TFL measured at the proximal part of the tail was not significantly different between different time points in each group.The TFL measured at the middle part at 3 rain after drug adminisuation was significantly increased as compared with the baseline in all 3 groups but was not significantly different between the baseline and that measured at 2 d after drug administration.No CNS toxicity and local tissue damage were found during the experiment in all 3 groups.Conclusion Amitriptyline can produce intravenous regional anesthesia.The potency of amitriptyline is significantly lower than that of bupivncaine but is not significantly different from that of lidocaine.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between indicators of carotid atherosclerosis and onset of ischemic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).Methods:This is a case-control study, a total of 397 NVAF patients with newly diagnosed ischemic stroke (case group) and 3 038 NVAF patients without ischemic stroke (control group) from January 2015 to December 2017 were included in the study. Differences in general clinical features and carotid atherosclerosis indexes between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze the correlation between carotid atherosclerosis indexes and ischemic stroke.Results:Proportions of patients with carotid intima thickening, carotid plaque, stable plaque, unstable plaque, and moderate to severe stenosis were higher in the ischemic stroke group than those in the control group (82.1% vs. 64.4%, 69.3% vs. 50.3%, 43.6% vs. 30.6%, 25.7% vs. 19.7%, and 7.3% vs. 4.0%, respectively, all P <0.05). After adjustment of age, gender, heart failure, hypertension, low density lipoprotein -cholesterol and drug use, multivariate analyses showed that subjects with carotid intima thickening, carotid plaque, stable plaque, unstable plaque, moderate to severe stenosis had 1.766, 2.111, 1.892, 2.256 and 1.824 times the risk for the development of ischemic stroke compared with the subjects without any carotid atherosclerosis indicators. Conclusion:Carotid atherosclerosis, especially with unstable carotid plaque, is associated with ischemic stroke in patients with NVAF.

The present artificial anal sphincter fails to distinguish the different states of intestinal contents. In this study, we tried to distinguish the intestinal content by using a reflection type ultrasonic system, so as to lay the foundation for the development of artificial anal sphincter with sensing function. We measured the numbers of reflected waves when there were solid, liquid, gaseous or no contents in the recta of 30 Bama Miniature pigs. The results showed significant difference among the numbers of reflected waves of the 4 conditions ( = 1 088, < 0.05). Our research suggested the reflection-type ultrasonic system could be utilized to distinguish various contents inside the intestinal lumen, thus it might offer a new effective method for the development of artificial anal sphincter with sensing function.

Objective:To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) in patients with heart failure.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study of patients with heart failure who underwent CCM placement at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from February to June 2022. With a follow-up of 3 months, CCM sensation, impedance, percent output, and work time were monitored, and patients were compared with pre-and 3-month postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values, and 6-minute walk test distance and New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification, and the occurrence of complications was recorded.Results:CCM was successfully implanted in all 9 patients. Seven(7/9) of them were male, aged (56±14) years, 3 patients had ischaemic cardiomyopathy and 6 patients had dilated cardiomyopathy. At 3-month postoperative follow-up, threshold was stable, sense was significantly lower at follow-up than before (right ventricle: (16.3±7.0) mV vs. (8.2±1.1) mV, P<0.05; local sense: (15.7±4.9) mV vs. (6.7±2.5) mV, P<0.05), and impedance was significantly lower at follow-up than before (right ventricle (846±179) Ω vs. (470±65) Ω, P<0.05, local sense: (832±246) Ω vs. (464±63) Ω, P<0.05). The CCM output percentage was (86.9±10.7) %, the output amplitude was (6.7±0.4) V, and the daily operating time was (8.6±1.0) h. LVEF was elevated compared to preoperative ((29.4±5.2) % vs. (38.3±4.3) %, P<0.05), the 6-minute walk test was significantly longer than before ((96.8±66.7)m vs. (289.3±121.7)m, P<0.05). No significant increase in the number of NYHA Class Ⅲ-Ⅳ patients was seen (7/9 vs. 2/9, P>0.05). The patient was not re-hospitalised for worsening heart failure symptoms, had no malignant arrhythmic events and experienced significant relief of symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath. No postoperative complications related to pocket hematoma, pocket infection and rupture, electrode detachment, valve function impairment, pericardial effusion, or cardiac perforation were found. Conclusions:CCM has better short-term safety and efficacy in patients with heart failure.

Objectives:This study aims to explore the effects of pioglitazone on the attenuation of ventricular arrhythmias(VAs)induced by β1-adrenergic receptor autoantibodies(β1AAb)and its potential mechanisms. Methods:48 SD rats were uniformly randomly divided into four groups using number table:control group received vehicle injection,β1AAb group received back multi-point injection of β1AR-ECLⅡ antigen peptide with adjuvant,2 mg/(kg·time),pioglitazone group received pioglitazone gavage for 2 weeks after 8 weeks of immunization,4 mg/(kg·d),and GW9662 group received pioglitazone+GW9662 intraperitoneal injection for 2 weeks after 8 weeks of immunization,1 mg/(kg·d).Powerlab recorded electrocardiograms and blood collection every 2 weeks.Baseline and week 10 echocardiography were recorded,followed by electrophysiology,histopathology,immunohistochemical staining,and electron microscopy examination after 10 weeks. Results:Compared to control group,β1AAb group showed a higher incidence of ventricular arrhythmias,shorter ventricular effective refractory period(VERP),longer action-recovery interval(ARI),lower left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and left ventricular fractional shortening(LVFS),lower positive staining area ratio of glucose transporter 1(GLUT1)and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a(CPT1a),all P＜0.05.Mitochondrial morphology abnormalities and network damage were also significantly observed(P＜0.05).In contrast to β1AAb group,pioglitazone group showed a reduced incidence of ventricular arrhythmias,prolonged VERP,shortened ARI,recovered LVEF and LVFS,increased the positive staining area ratio of GLUT1 and CPT1a,all P＜0.05.Improvement was observed in mitochondrial morphology abnormalities and network damage(P＜0.05).Compared to pioglitazone group,GW9662 group exhibited a higher incidence of ventricular arrhythmias,shorter VERP,and longer ARI,lower LVEF and LVFS,lower positive staining area ratio of GLUT1 and CPT1a,all P＜0.05.Mitochondrial morphology abnormalities and network damage did not recover(P＜0.05). Conclusions:Pioglitazone can reduce VAs induced by β1AAb,improve ventricular electrical conduction and activation recovery time heterogeneity,and mitigate ventricular remodeling caused by β1AAb at the tissue pathology level,accompanied by upregulation of ventricular cardiomyocyte glucose and lipid transport channel proteins and repair of damaged mitochondrial networks.