Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes,dyslipidemia, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome.It likely represents hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of NAFLD has been estimated to be 20％-30％ in the general population. However, it is much higher in type 2 diabetic patients. Several epidemiological studies indicate that NAFLD is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease( CVD), which is independent of underlying cardiometabolic risk factors. This suggests that NAFLD may also be actively involved in the pathogenesis. The possible molecular mediators linking NAFLD and atherosclerosis(AS) include the release of pro-atherogenic factors by oxidative stress and inflammation as well as atherogenic dyslipidemia, abnormal adipose factors, and insulin resistance, finally aggravating progression of CVD. In this article, the relationship and possible mechanisms between NAFLD and AS are reviewed.

As monosaccharide polymers,polysaccharides are widely distributed in nature,they are found in microorganisms,plants and animal cells and tissues.Glycosylation is of importance to maintain the structural stability and biological activity of protein molecules in eukaryotic cells.Polysaccharides represent the most important antigens recognized by immune system.The innate immune system senses invading microbes via their pathogen-associated molecular patterns,using pattern-recognition receptors on the surface of innate immune cells,many of which are polysaccharides uniquely expressed in certain microorganisms.Polysaccharides can also be processed intracellularly and presented to ??-T cells by MHC molecules.Polysaccharides can activate B lymphocytes,with or without T cell help,and induce production of specific antibodies.Amongst the polysaccharide-specific antibodies in human sera,some are products of adaptive humoral responses against microbial infection and others autoantibodies to glycan epitopes of host cells.Patients with autoimmune disorders tend to have higher titers of antibodies against various glycans.Immune clearance of senescence cells depends on the recognition of altered glycan epitopes on cell surface.Modification of glycan epitopes on tumour cell surface is at least partially responsible for activating antitumor immunity.Specific recognition of polysaccharides by the immune system is of importance to immunological defence,autoimmunity,anti-tumour immunity and immunological homeostasis,it will be the new focus of immunology research in the near future.

Objective To investigate the significance of Qmax and residual urine in evaluation of bladder function in the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).Methods The clinical data of 61 patients with BPH and 20 healthy persons in control group were evaluated.Bladder function,uroflowmetry and ultrasonic residual urine measurement were performed in the 2 groups.The correlation between Q max and residual urine in BPH group was investigated.Results There was significant difference in Qmax between the BPH group and control group (8 vs.21 ml/s,u=-6.090,P=0.007).There was significant difference in residual urine between the 2 groups (60 vs.9 ml,u =-6.718,P=0.005).And there was a negtive correlation between residual urine and Qmax in BPH group (r=-0.366,P=0.009).Conclusion It is useful to measure the Qmax and residual urine in evaluation of bladder function affected by bladder outlet obstruction caused by BPH.

Objective To observe leptin level before and after rosiglitazone administration and to explore the possible mechanism of rosiglitazone's improving insulin sensitivity.Methods A total of 30 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were separated into three groups at random,and treated with rosiglitazone(4mg/d),metform(750mg/d) and gliclazide(160mg/d),respectively.Serum leptin,insulin and GHbA1c were measured after 12 weeks.Results After 12 weeks' treatment,the fasting glucose and GHbA1c in each group declined sharply,while free insulin did not change.The leptin level in rosiglitazone group decreased and insulin sensitivity was improved after administration,but there was no change in metformin and sulfonylureas groups.Conclusion Leptin may play a role in rosiglitazone's mediating the insulin-sensitizing effects.

The research of sleep staging is not only a basis of diagnosing sleep related diseases but also the precondition of evaluating sleep quality, and has important clinical significance. In recent years, the research of automatic sleep staging based on computer has become a hot spot and got some achievements. The basic knowledge of sleep staging and electroencephalogram (EEG) is introduced in this paper. Then, feature extraction and pattern recognition, two key technologies for automatic sleep staging, are discussed in detail. Wavelet transform and Hilbert-Huang transform, two methods for feature extraction, are compared. Artificial neural network and support vector machine (SVM), two methods for pattern recognition are discussed. In the end, the research status of this field is summarized, and development trends of next phase are pointed out.
Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Neural Networks (Computer) ; Sleep Stages ; Support Vector Machine ; Wavelet Analysis

Recent advancements on interventional molecular imaging aimed to further complement the advantages of two imaging fields, namely, interventional radiology and molecular imaging. Interventional molecular imaging significantly improved the early diag-nosis of cancer, local treatment, and monitoring of tumor treatments. Interventional radiology has continuously extended the capabili-ties of the currently available molecular imaging techniques to (i) obtain deep-seated targets;(ii) thoroughly examine small targets;(iii) precisely guide the delivery of non-targeted imaging tracers or therapeutics;and (iv) selectively enhance the effectiveness of targeted imaging and treatment with high accuracy. Molecular imaging has been used to guide interventional therapies and assess the thera-peutic efficacies of medical interventions. The continuous efforts on interventional molecular imaging extend molecular imaging from benches or small animal laboratories to large animal suites and ultimately to certain clinical applications in humans and enhance the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Objective To study the effects of deep hypothermia and L-arginine(NO precursor) pretreatment on cerebral protection after circulatory arrest and resuscitation in a canine model. Methods Ten healthy adult dogs of both sexes, weighing 14.45?2.3kg, were randomly divided into two groups(n=5): sham treatment group and L-arginine pretreatment group. Extracorporeal circulation was established routinely,circulatory arrest was induced when the nasopharyngeal temperature was reduced to 18℃, then the animals were resuscitated 90min later with extracorporeal circulation. SjvO2 was measured at 30min before circulatory arrest, 0min, 45min, 90min after circulatory arrest and at 60minutes after resuscitation. The ultrastructure changes in cerabral cortex were observed with transmission electron microscope (HITACHI 7500). The brain water content was also determined after the dogs were sacrificed. Results SjvO2 had decreased obviously after circulatory arrest, attaining the lowest level in CA 90min.After resuscitation it increased again in both groups. The levels of SjvO2 in dogs of L-arginine pretreatment group were markedly higher than that of control group at 45min and 90min after circulatory arrest (P

To screen potential hamster chymase 2 inhibitors, a high-throughput screening (HTS) model was established. Recombinant hamster chymase 2 with active form was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The HTS model with total volume of 50 microL in 384-well microplate was based on fluorescence analysis and was proved sensitive as well as specific (Z' = 0.84). A total of 40 080 samples (including 28 060 compounds and 12 020 natural products) were screened, and 613 samples with inhibition greater than 90% were selected for further rescreening. Finally, compounds J16647 and J16648 were identified with high inhibitory activity on chymase 2, and whose IC50 values were 0.823 and 0.690 micromol x L(-1), respectively.

Objective To analyze the value of multi-slice spiral CT (SCT) scan in staging and subtyping of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods The preoperative kidney SCT data and postoperative pathology results of 64 patients with RCC were retrospectively analyzed. The patients′ ages ranged from 33-78 years (average 54 years). There were 44 males and 20 females in the study group. According to the CUA Guidelines, the staging and subtyping of RCC were performed through the combined information of preoperative SCT attenuation in unenhanced, corticomedullary phase and enhancement pattern. The results were compared with the postoperative histopathological results. Results The SCT results showed 38 cases were clear cell RCC, 14 cases were papillary RCC and 12 cases were chromophobic cell RCC. Histopathological results showed that 40 cases were clear cell RCC, 16 cases were papillary RCC and 8 cases were chromophobic cell RCC. According to the standard of 40 HU of CT attenuation value, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 75%, 79% and 78% for diagnosis of papillary RCC in the unenhanced phase. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy by the standard of 90 HU of CT attenuation value was 90%, 88% and 89% for diagnosis of clear cell RCC in the corticomedullary phase. In chromophobic RCC, homogeneous enhancement was more common than in papillary RCC and clear cell RCC. There was no significant difference of staging and subtyping of RCC between SCT and pathological results (P>0.05). The accuracy of SCT in staging and subtyping of RCC was 88% in staging, and 89% in subtyping. Conclusions SCT is a useful preoperative tool to stage and subtype RCC

Objective To investigate the role of CXC chemokine receptor 4-focal adhesion kinase (CXCR4-FAK) signaling pathway in migration and adhesion of hypoxia-preconditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) towards damaged tissues resulting from spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Part I Rat BMSCs transfected with recombinant adenovirus-mediated green fluorescent protein gene 3 were seeded in 24-well plates and randomly divided into 5 groups (n =18 wells each):control group (group C),normoxia-incubated group (group N),HP group (group H),HP + CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 group (group HA) and HP + FAK inhibitor FAK-related nonkinase group (group HF).In group C,BMSCs were incubated in DMEM culture medium.In group N,BMSCs were exposed to 21％ O2-74％ N2-5％ CO2 for 36 h.In group H,BMSCs were exposed to 0.5％O2-94.5％ N2-5.0％CO2 for 24 h followed by 12 h exposure to normoxia.In groups HA and HF,5 μg/ml AMD3100 and 10 μg/ml FAK-related nonkinase were added to the culture medium before HP,respectively.The expression of stromal derived factor-1α (SDF-1α),CXCR4 and phosphorylated FAK (p-FAK) in BMSCs was determined by Western blot.The migratory capability and adhesive ability of BMSCs were measured by Transwell invasive assay and fibronectin adhesive assay,respectively.Part Ⅱ Two hundred and sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-350 g were used and 210 out of the 216 rats underwent spinal cord ischemia by occlusion of the thoracic aorta combined with controlled hypotension.Thirty-six rats were chosen and sacrificed before spinal cord I/R and at 12 h and 1,3,5 and 7 days of reperfusion (T0-5) and the lumbar segment of spinal cord was removed for detection of the content of SDF-1α.The left 180 rats with spinal cord I/R were randomly divided into 5 groups (n =36 each).IT DMEM medium 300 μl was injected in group C and BMSC suspension 300 μl (1 × 106/ml) was injected in groups N,H,HA and HF immediately after onset of reperfusion.Neurological function was scored at T0-5.The animals were then sacrificed and the lumbar segment of spinal cord was removed for detection of the degree of BMSC aggregation.Results There was no significant difference in the expression of SDF-1α,CXCR4 and p-FAK,migratory capability and adhesive ability of BMSCs,neurological function scores and degree of BMSC aggregation between groups C and N (P ＞ 0.05).Compared with group N,the expression of SDF-1α,CXCR4 and p-FAK was significantly up-regulated,and migratory capability and adhesive ability of BMSCs,neurological function scores and the degree of BMSC aggregation were increased in group H,while no significant change was found in the expression of p-FAK,migratory capability and adhesive ability of BMSCs,neurological function scores and degree of BMSC aggregation in HA and HF groups (P ＞ 0.05).Compared with group H,the expression of p-FAK was down-regulated and the migratory capability and adhesive ability of BMSCs,neurological function scores and degree of BMSC aggregation were decreased in groups HA and HF (P ＜0.05).The content of SDF-1α was significantly higher at T2,3 than at T0.Conclusion HP can promote migration and adhesion of BMSCs towards damaged tissues resulting from spinal cord I/R injury through CXCR4-FAK signaling pathway in rats; thus CXCR4-FAK signal pathway provides the protective effect on spinal cord.