Objective To investigate MR imaging features of parotid gland in Sj?gren′s syndrome ( SS).Methods Twenty-seven cases of xerostomia patients were collected and divided into SS group ( n=21) and non-SS group (n=6) according to the international classification (diagnosis) criteria for SS.Ten healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group.All the subjects underwent conventional MRI of parotid gland and MR sialography ( MRS).Standard deviation of T 1 WI and T2 WI signal intensity among 3 groups was observed, meanwhile, grading was made according to parotid glands , fat signal and parotid duct expansion degree respectively.With clinical diagnosis as the gold standard , diagnostic value of conventional MRI , MRS and their combination used in SS was compared.One-way ANOVA was used in comparison of standard deviation of parotid gland′s signal intensity among 3 groups , and Chi-square test was applied in comparison of conventional MRI and MRS diagnostic value.Moreover , Kappa value was calculated to assess the consistency of two grading results in SS.Results Signal intensity of parotid glands in control group and non-SS group was homogeneous.However , bilaterally diffused and heterogeneous high signal intensity on both T1WI and T2WI was found in SS patients, which was depressed on T2WI fat suppression sequences.Forty-two parotid glands were graded by fat signal:Grade 0 (n=2 glands), Grade 1 (n=10), Grade 2 (n=10), Grade 3 (n=6) and Grade 4 (n=14).Parotid peripheral ducts of control group and non-SS group were unexpanded , while bilaterally expanded parotid peripheral ducts were shown in SS patients.The grading of 42 parotid glands by expansion degree of parotid duct , Grade 0 was rated in 12, Grade 1 in 8, Grade 2 in 10, Grade 3 in 5, and Grade 4 in 7.Standard deviation of T1WI signal intensity of parotid glands among SS group , non-SS group and control group were 124.1 ±30.0, 81.8 ±27.6, and 86.3 ±35.0 respectively;and standard deviation of T 2 WI signal intensity were 115.1 ±35.2, 69.8 ±23.5, and 80.1 ±31.4 respectively; the standard deviation of T 1 WI and T2 WI signal intensity of SS group was higher than both non-SS group and control group′s ( F value =13.780 and 13.301, respectively, P <0.01), however, the difference of standard deviation of signal intensity of non-SS group and control group had no statistical significance (P>0.05).Among 42 parotid glands with SS, conventional MRI and MRS showed parotid gland lesions in 40 and 30 respectively , and the difference was statistically significant (χ2 =13.04, P=0.013).There was no false positive result.The combination of the two methods detected all 42 lesions.The consistency of detecting parotid abnormalities with SS between conventional MRI and MRS was poor (Kappa=0.12, P=0.092).Conclusions Diffuse fatty infiltration on conventional MRI and diffuse peripheral duct dilatation on MRS in the parotid gland are characteristic features of SS , and conventional MRI could be used as the preferred technique for the SS.combination with MRS may improve diagnostic accuracy.

Objective To investigate the factors affecting pulse transit time during anesthesia. Methods Sixty cases of gastrointestinal surgery under general anesthesia were investigated.The pulse transit time (PTT),BP and HR were measured at the time before and after intravenous anes-thesia induction,and at the time before and after the injection of vasoactive drugs,respectively. Results Compared to at the time before injection,HR,SBP and DBP increased significantly,and PTT decreased significantly (P <0.01 )at the time after injection of atropine and ephedrine.Com-pared to at the time before injection,HR and PTT increased significantly,while SBP and DBP de-creased significantly (P < 0.01 )at the time after injection of nicardipine.While HR and PTT de-creased significantly,and SBP,DBP increased significantly (P <0.01 )with the injection of pheny-lephrine.Obvious negative correlation between SBP and PTT was observed before and after induc-tion;meanwhile,only weak correlation between DBP and PTT was observed,and no obvious correla-tion between HR and PTT was detected.SBP and PTT were well negatively correlated with the injec-tion of atropine,ephedrine,nicardipine or phenylephrine.Conclusion All the PTT changes during anesthesia were found to be negatively correlated with the systolic blood pressure.

BACKGROUND:To construct tissue engineering cartilage would open up a novel way for the repair of cartilage damage in avoidance of the disadvantages of traditional therapeutic method.OBJECTIVE: To probe the techniques for the isolation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow, as well as the in vitro differentiation into chondrocytic phenotype in a specific culture fluid.DESIGN:A complete randomized experimentSETTING:The Department of Traumatic Orthopedics and Hand Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, and Teaching and Research Faculty of Histology and Embryology of Guangxi Medical University.METHODS: The experiment was carried out at Guangxi Medical University between August 2002 and April 2003. Twenty SD neonatal weaning rats were selected. Bone marrow was aspirated from the bones of rat limbs and was isolated by gradient centrifugation in Percoll, and MSCs could be obtained in combination with adherent screening method, which were then cultured in DMEM-LG with 15% fatal bovine serum (FBS) in the incubator of 37℃ with 5% CO2 for 10-14 days. The passage cells were induced in DMEM-HG with 15% FBS (containing TGF-β1 10 μg/L, 10-7 mol/L dexamethasone, 50 mg/L VitC).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES :The morphology, growth, as well as proliferation and specific expression of chondrogenic matrix of in vitro cultured MSCs due to specific induction.RESULTS: Totally 20 SD rats were observed and analyzed with no loss SCs grew in visible symmetric colonies, displaying a long-spindle shape,and the morphological characteristics of marrow-derived MSCs had no obvious changes during passage-culture, but its proliferation time was found from a shuttle fibroblastic appearance to polygonal shape, displaying posiHC staining of type Ⅱ collagen of cartilage specific matrix.bronectin adherent screening technique is a convenient, effective and practical method to separate and collect MSCs from rat bone marrows in chondrogenic phenotype when induced by a specific medium and can secrete cartilage specific matrix, and they can be the optimal seed cells for cartilage tissue engineering.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of artesunate (ART) on cell differentiation and cell cycle distribution of the prostate cancer cell line PC-3 in vitro. METHODS: PC-3 cells were cultivated with ART from logarithmic growth phase. After 48-hour treatment, the cell cycles were detected by flow cytometry (FCM), and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in cell culture supernatant. The change of cellular morphology was observed under a transmission electron microscope (TEM). RESULTS: In comparison with the blank control group, the rate of G(0)/G(1) plus S stages of PC-3 cells was significantly decreased in the high-dose ART group. The PC-3 cell was arrested in G(2)/M by ART. The rates of G(2)/M of the high-dose ART group and the medium-dose ART group were obviously higher than those of the blank control group and the cisplatin group (P<0.05). The levels of PSA in the three ART groups were significantly lower than that of the normal control group (P<0.05, P<0.01). In the ART groups, TEM showed that some vacuoles appeared in endochylema, cell polarity was enhanced, cell nucleus leaned to one side of the cell, and microvilli increased on the other side of the cell. CONCLUSION: ART can induce PC-3 cell cycle arrest and differentiation in vitro.

Objective To investigate the effect of vitamin D (VD) on macrophage to phagocytize Staphylococcus aureus (SA). Method Macrophoge cell lines RAW264.7 were allocated into 3 groups:control group(C),bacterium group(B),active vitamin D+ bacterium group (VD+B). Cells in the VD+B group were incubated with 10-8mol/L active vitamin D for 24h,then cells in the VD+B group and the B group were cultured with SA for 1h,and phagocytosis rate,mitochondrial membrane potential,[Ca～(2+)]i,reactive oxygen species were determined by flow cytometry (FCM). Results The phagocytizing activity of macrophage in VD+B group was significantly higher than that in B group 1h after infection,At the same time,the mitochondrial member potential and [Ca～(2+)]i of macrophage in VD+B group were distinctly lower than that in B group; but reactive oxygen species of macrophage in the VD+B group was insignificantly different from B group. Conclusion Vitamin D can reinforce the phagocytizing activity of macrophage and inhibit the apoptosis of macrophage after phagocytize Staphylococrcus aureus.

Complexity science is a new type of scientific research method, and the combination of complexity science, life science, and medicine is still in the initial stage of exploration, and domestic medi-cal colleges do not offer correlative course currently. In order to broaden students' vision, transform their traditional thinking model, and prepare the future of multidisciplinary cooperation, medical colleges should open complexity science and medicine correlative course for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Course content should start by the famous fablebutterfly infect, followed by the introduction of chaos and fractal, self-organization and complex system theory concept, theoretical framework, and their application in the medical field The teaching material should refer to some popular science books, such as Mystery of the butterfly effect. The teaching method should draw lessons from metaphor.

Objective To investigate the effects of virtual reality prism adaptation on visuospatial neglect in stroke patients.Methods Thirty stroke patients with visuospatial neglect were studied.The subjects were divided into atreatment group and a control group.The subjects in the treatment group were treated with virtual reality prism adaptation and routine rehabilitation interventions for 2 weeks,while those in the control group were treated with routine rehabilitation interventions only.All the patients performed a battery of spatial attention tests including line bisection,letter cancellation,clock drawing and the Attention Network Test at the beginning and after 2 weeks of treatment.Results The virtual reality prism adaptation training had significant positive effects on all the measures of visuospatial neglect.Pair-wise comparisons confirmed significant differences between the treatment and control groups after 2 weeks of treatment with regard to all of the measures.Conclusions Virtual reality prism adaptation treatzment combined with routine rehabilitation can be more effective than conventional measures alone in improving the visuospatial performance of stroke survivors.

Objective To study the protective effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on radiationinduced hematopoietic damage in mice.Methods A total of sixty male C57 mice were irradiated by 60Co γ-rays to induce hematopoietic injuries,and then the mice were randomly divided into PTH and control group.The PTH-treated group was treated with PTH ( 80 μg· kg- 1 · d - 1 ) intraperitoneally everyday.The control group was given equivalent volume saline.Peripheral blood cell number,bone marrow mononuclear cell number,granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units ( CFU-GM ) and CD34 positive cells in bone marrow were detected.Results With the whole post-irradiation period,the WBC and bone marrow mononuclear cell numbers in PTH-treated mice were significantly higher than those in saline-treated mice (t=6.32,9.19,11.18,7.44 and 4.42,P ＜ 0.05).The RBC numbers in PTH-treated mice were significantly higher than those in control mice at 10 d,15 d and 20 d post-irradiation (t =6.48,3.66 and 4.98,P ＜0.05 ).The PLT numbers in PTH-treated mice were significantly higher than those in control group at 5 and 30 d post-irradiation ( t =2.57 and 3.10,P ＜ 0.05 ).PTH increased CD34 positive cell and CFU-GM numbers in bone marrow after irradiation ( t =16.12,7.82 and 20.00,P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions PTH could improve the hematopoietic recovery after irradiation.

Objective To explore high-risk factors that affect the severity of diabetic foot ulcers and the relationship between the severity of diabetic foot ulcers and the general somatic conditions by analyzing clinical data of 218 diabetic foot patients.Methods A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 218 diabetic foot patients,admitted from 2006 to 2010 was performed.Fasting and postprandial blood glucose ( FBG and PBG ),glycosylated hemoglobin,hemoglobin,serum albumin,serum creatinine,as well as serum urea nitrogen and fibrinogen were determined in patients with different Wagner levels.The effects of peripheral arterial disease,neuropathy,infections and other factors on severity of diabetic foot ulcers,and the prognosis of those patients with different Wagner levels were analyzed.Results ( 1 ) FBG and PBG in Wagner 5 patients were significantly higher than those in Wagner 1,but there was no statistical significance in HbA1C difference.(2) Hemoglobin,total cholesterol,serum albumin in Wagner 5 patients were decreased significantly ; white blood cells,serum creatinine and fibrinogen were increased significantly ( P＜0.01 ).(3) The intima-media thickness(IMT) of femoral artery in Wagner 2-and-above patients was increased significantly compared with that in Wagner 1 ( P＜0.05 ).( 4 ) Logistic regression analysis showed that hemoglobin,fibrinogen,glycated hemoglobin,femoral artery intima-media thickness,and bacterial infection were correlated independently with the severity of diabetic foot ulcers.(5) The hospitalized days were increased with rising Wagner levels ; the prognosis of Wagner 5 patients was the worst,with the highest mortality in the group.Conclusions Changes in blood level of hemoglobin,fibrinogen,along with higher HbA1C and femoral artery IMT,as well as infections are high-risk factors of severity in diabetic foot patients.HbA1C is not a good indicator of blood glucose control in patients with Wagner 5 grade.The higher the Wagner grade,the longer the time spent in hospital,and the worse the prognosis wouldbe.

Objective To study the long-term efficacy of splenectomy for patients with advanced shistosomiasis japonica.Methods Levels of WBC,RBC,PLT,EOS,ALT,ALP,GGT,A,TB,HA,LN,Ⅳ-C,PCⅢ,IGG,IGA,C3,C4,CD3,CD4,CD8,CD19 in periphetral venous blood were determined in 239 patients with advanced shistosomiasis.Meanwhile,the liver,gallbladder and spleen were examined with ultrasonography.Results The levels of WBC,PLT,EOS,ALT,ALP,IGG,IGA,LN,Ⅳ-C,CD19 increased in splenectomy group,the levels of A,TB,CD3,CD4,C3,C4 decreased in splenectomy group,while RBC,HA,PCⅢ,CD8 were not changed.Conclusion Splenectomy is a danger to hepatic function.Humoral immunity increases while cellular immunity decreases in splenectomy group.Splenectomy may aggravate the hepatic fibrosis in patients with advanced shistosomiasis.