Objective To delineate the changes in pattern and time course of semantic and phonological processing during Chinese language cognition study in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Patients with mild AD(n=32)and MCI (n=39) as well as normal controls (NC, n=40) matched with age, gender, level of education were enrolled in the study. Subjects completed Chinese compound word decision task applying both short and long stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Semantic, homophonic, semihomophonic and unrelated primes preceded the real words as well as nonwords targets. Subjects were asked to judge whether the targets were real words or nonwords. The reaction time and accuracy were recorded for each response. Semantic and phonological priming effects were analyzed by comparing the related primes versus unrelated primes. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and t-test were conducted for reaction time and accuracy respectively. Results The mean reaction times of mild AD and MCI groups were prolonged (411 ms and 234 ms) for all types of priming in contrast with NC(P

Objective To explore the effect of Baogan Jiedu Granule on liver cell ultrastructure of model mice with acute liver injury induced by tetracycline.Methods Totally 60 mice were randomly divided into tetracycline model group,large-dosage,medium-dosage and small-dosage groups of Baogan Jiedu Granule,Ganlixin group and control group.Each group was respectively perfused with corresponding drug for 5 days and tetracycline was perfused once to make the model.The tissues were observed by electron microscope,and the liver cell ultrastructure was measured and analyzed by three-dimensional metrology.Results The amount of mitochondria Vv,heterochromatin Vv,mitochondria ?m,endoplasmic reticulum ?m and Golgi's apparatus ?m all obviously decreased in model group,while that of euchromatin Vv and lipid droplet Vv increased.Baogan Jiedu Granule could remarkably increase the amount of indexes referred above,and decrease the amount of euchromatin Vv and lipid droplet Vv.Conclusion Baogan Jiedu Granule can significantly ameliorate the pathologic change of liver cell ultrastructure,thus having a good hepatoprotective effect.

Objective:To evaluate the stress distribution and displacement pattern in the restoration of Stern-ERA attachment mandible removable partial denture (RPD) with different designs through three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) analysis.Methods:3D-FE models were established based on human CT data and manufacturer's catalog.Vertical and 45° lingual oblique forces of 100 N were applied on the artificial teeth of the RPD.Three ERA attachment partial dentures with different bracing arms were designed,namely the basic design,rest bracing arm design and cross-arch bracing arm design.The von Mises stresses and displacements of abutment teeth and mucosa under denture base were analysed.The displacement of denture bases was examined.Results:Under the vertical and oblique loading,the maximum yon Mises stress was found at the distal shoulder on the distal abutment.The maximun displacement was observed at the buccal and distal occlusal surfaces of the distal abutment.The maximum displacement on the abutment was found to be the highest in rest bracing arm design group (14.91 μm and 63.09 μm),followed by the basic design group (9.38 μm and 50.56 μm) and the cross-arch bracing arm design group exhibited the smallest displacement (8.85 μm and 47.31 μm).Conclusion:The basic design Stern_ERA attachment for unilateral mandible distal extension defect appears to be more reasonable compared with rest arm and crossing-arch arm design from biomechanical point of view.

ObjectiveTo explore the pattern and the time course changes of semantic and phonological processing during Chinese language cognition study in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease(AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodsPatients with mild AD and MCI and normal controls matched with age, gender, level of education were enrolled in the single-character words naming task, which applied short and long stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). Semantic, homophonic, semihomophonic and unrelated primes preceded the words as well as nonwords targets. Subjects were asked to read the targets aloud. Semantic and phonological priming effects were analyzed by comparing reaction time of semantic, homophonic or semihomophonic related targets to unrelated targets. The reaction time and accuracy for each response were recorded.ResultsThe mean reaction time of mild AD and MCI patients were prolonged for all types of priming in contrast with normal controls. Responses of the normal controls were faster during the long SOA comparing to short SOA, whereas the mild AD group's reaction time was longer for long SOA than for short SOA. Normal controls exhibited homophonic priming, whereas mild AD and MCI groups exhibited tonal inhibition effects.ConclusionThe speed of Chinese language cognitive processing decreased in mild AD and MCI patients. The phonological encoding and accessing ability may be impaired in mild AD and MCI.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from peripheral serum in patients of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI).Methods Forty VCI subjects (including 10 mild cognitive impairment vascular(MCI-V) and 30 vascular dementia(VD)),and the control group for the same period in 40 healthy persons.Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was used to measure the serum levels of BDNF,statistical analysis was performed.Results The peripheral serum levels of BDNF in VCI (0.175 ±0.056) ng/L were lower than those of control group (0.211 ±0.061) ng/L,and there were significant differences (t =-2.752,P ＜ 0.05).The levels of BDNF showed no significant difference between MCI and VD ((0.195 ± 0.067) ng/L vs.(0.168 ± 0.052) ng/L,t =1.310,P ＞ 0.05).But they were both significantly lower than the control group (F =4.590,P =0.013).No significant differences were observed in the levels of BDNF between subcortical small vessel dementia (0.178 ± 0.057) ng/L and big vascular dementia (0.154 ± 0.042) ng/L (t =1.278,P =0.212).Conclusion BDNF participate in pathophysiology of VCI,and the serum levels of BDNF may be a candidate marker for clinical diagnosis of VCI.But serum levels of BDNF could not reflect the severity or the type of the VCI.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM: To investigate the role of TNF-αand NF-κB in the mechanism of neuropathic pain due to chronically compressed dorsal root ganglion ( CCD) .METHODS:Based on the CCD model, von Frey filaments were used to quantify behavior test.The expression changes of TNF-αand NF-κB were determined by Western blotting, and the cor-relation between the expression of TNF-αand the 50%paw withdrawal threshold was also analyzed.Moreover, the location of TNF-αin dorsal root ganglion ( DRG) was observed with immunofluorescence double staining.RESULTS: We found 50%paw withdrawal threshold of CCD decreased at the first day after operation.The mechanical allodynia was the most ob-vious at postoperative 7~14 d and lasted longer than 35 d.The expression of TNF-αand NF-κB increased significantly in DRG after operation (P<0.01), especially at 7~14 d, and then restored gradually.Moreover, there was a correlation between the protein expression of TNF-αand the changes of neuropathic behavior ( P<0.05 ) .CONCLUSION: TNF-αand NF-κB are involved in the mechanism of mechanical allodynia after chronically compressed DRG.

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of ultrasonic elastography and fine flow imaging in differential diagnosis of cervical lymph nodes.Methods Totally 87 lymph nodes were examined with ultrasonic elastography,fine flow and conventional ultrasonography.The results were confirmed with postoperative pathology or fine-needle biopsy as well as follow-up.Using consistency check of Kappa and ROC curve to analyse the accuracy of three types of ultrasonic examination.Results Taking the results of postoperative pathology or fine-needle biopsy as well as follow-up as golden standards,the Kappa value of conventional ultrasonography was poor (Kappa =0.153,P =0.078),fine flow was moderate (Kappa =0.526,P ＜0.01) and ultrasonic elastography was better (Kappa =0.741,P ＜0.01).The area under ROC of ultrasonic elastography,fine flow and conventional ultrasonography was 0.899 (P ＜0.01),0.787 (P ＜0.01) and 0.568 (P =0.241),respectively.Conclusions Ultrasonic elastography is more valuable to differentiate malignant from benign lymph nodes.

ObjectiveToinvestigatetheeffectofserumuricacid(SUA)levelonshort-term outcomes of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) for intravenous thrombolysis in patients w ith ischemic stroke. Methods The patients w ith acute ischemic stroke treated w ith intravenous rtPA thrombolysis w ere enrol ed. The demographic data, clinical data, and laboratory parameters w ere compared and analyzed according to the modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores at discharge. A good outcome was defined as a 3-month mRS score of 0 in patients w ith a baseline National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score≤7, a score of 0–1 in those w ith a baseline NIHSS score of 8-14, and a score of 0–2 in those w ith a baseline NIHSS score ≥ 15. Results A total of 108 patients w ith acute ischemic stroke treated w ith intravenous rtPA thrombolysis w ere enrol ed. There w ere 66 patients (61.11%) in the good outcome group and 42 (38.89%) in the poor outcome group. The constituent ratios of age (62.21 ±10.25 years vs. 57.83 ±10.457 years; t=2.138, P=0.035), the baseline NIHSS scores (median and interquartile range, 10 [8-12] vs.4 [3-7]; Z=5.537, P<0.001), type 2 diabetes mel itus (40.48%vs.12.12%; χ2 =11.600, P=0.001), and previous history of stroke (9.52%vs.9.09%;χ2 =4.366, P=0.037) of the poor outcome group w ere significantly higher than those of the good outcome group, w hile the SUA level (323.119 ±87.869 mmol/L vs.385.961 ±76.166 mmol/L; t=3.936, P<0.001) w as significantly low er than that of the good outcome group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis show ed that the previous history of diabetes melitus type 2 (odds ratio [OR] 5.471, 95%confidence interval [CI] 1.472-20.334;P=0.011) and higher baseline NIHSS score (OR 1.306, 95%CI 1.147-1.486; P<0.001) were the independent risk factor for short-term clinical outcomes, w hile higher SUV level ( OR 0.992, 95%CI 0.986-0.998; P=0.015) w as an independent protective factor for poor short-term outcome. Conclusions The increased SUA level is an independent protective factor for good short-term outcome in patients treated w ith intravenous rtPA.

This study was aimed to detect the heavy metal residues of medicinal leeches, in order to understand the current market circulation situation of medicinal leeches, and to analyze possible factors which may cause heavy metal pollution, and to provide references for the standardized safe cultivation of medicinal leeches. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique was applied to detect heavy metal residues in medicinal leeches. The results showed that medicinal leech samples tested for heavy metal content severely exceeded the standard, which caused a great threat to the safety of medication. It was conclude that more attentions should be paid on factors for causing heavy metal accumulation within medicinal leeches during the breeding process. The related department should also list safety limits explicitly and separately for animal drugs such as medicinal leech during the development of quality standards of Chinese materia medica.

Objective To evaluate the clinical curative effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza Ligustrazine combined with Butylphthalide in cerebral infarction of children. Methods Sixty-two children with acute cerebral infarction were randomly divided into treatment group (33 patients) and control group (29 patients). The patients in two groups received the same basic treatment. The control group used Salvia Ligustrazine injection, and the treatment group used Salvia Ligustrazine injection combined with Butylphthalide. The total efficiency, the degree of recovery of muscle strength and the scores of nerve defect 2 weeks after treatment were compared. Results The total efficiency in treatment group was 87.9%(29/33), in control group was 75.9%(22/29), and there was significant difference (P<0.05). Two weeks after treatment, the muscle strength scores in treatment group was (4.00 ± 0.47) scores , in control group was (3.59 ± 0.98) scores, and there was significant difference (P<0.05). Two weeks after treatment, the scores of nerve defect in treatment group was (5.42 ± 2.18) scores, in control group was (6.86 ± 2.23) scores, and there was significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions Salvia Ligustrazine combined with Butylphthalide in treatment of cerebral infarction of children has obvious effect, and it is worthy of spreading.