Objective To compare the morphological differences in soleus between tail-suspended and 30-month-old rats.Methods Fourty-two male rats were randomly divided into seven groups:5 d,7 d and 14 d tail-suspended and their synchronous control groups,30-month-old group.The cross-sectional area(CSA)and percentage of MHC Ⅰ/Ⅱ fibers were measured in immunohistochemically stained sections and CSA was normalized by body weight.Results Wet weight,relative wet weight,CSA and normalized CSA in unloaded soleus decreased significantly as compared with the synchronous control.The percentage of MHC Ⅰ fibers decreased,but that of MHC Ⅱ fibers increased in unloaded soleus.The wet weight and CSA of soleus in 30-month-old rats increased,but the relative wet weight and normalized CSA reduced significantly as compared with 14-day synchronous control.The relative wet weight and normalized CSA of soleus in 30-month-old rat were similar to that of 14 d tail-suspended group.The percentage of MHC Ⅰ/Ⅱ fibers of soleus in 30-month-old rat and in 5 d,7 d,and 14 d of synchronous control groups kept constant value.Conclusion It's suggested that the atrophic process of soleus is slower in 30-month-old rats than that in the tail-suspended rates.The reduction of soleus relative wet weight and normalized CSA appears early in aged rats,but the absolute and relative wet weight of soleus decrease simultaneously in tail-suspended rats.

Objective To investigate the effects of preventive chemotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exceeding Milan criteria after liver transplantation. Methods The clinical data of 243 patients who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation for HCC exceeding Milan criteria from April 2001 to July 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. Of all patients, 162 received preventive chemotherapy after transplantation. Results The 1- and 3-year survival rates and disease-free survival rates were not statistically different between patients who had received chemotherapy (78.5%, 63.7% ; 76.8%, 52.5% ) and those without chemotherapy (56.6%, 39.1%; 69.3%, 64.7% ) (X2 = 3.084, 0.444, P > 0.05). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that postoperative chemotherapy was not an independent factor affecting the survival rates of HCC patients without vascular invasion, but an independent factor affecting the survival rates of HCC patients with vascular invasion. Conclusions Early preventive chemotherapy could obviously increase the survival rate and delay the tumor recurrence of patients with HCC exceeding Milan criteria, especially for HCC patients with vascular invasion.

Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic metastasis from gastrointestinal stromal turnor(GIST).Methods The clinical data of 16 patients with GIST who had been admitted to our hospitalfrom December 1993 to May 2007 were retrospectively analyzed.Results Of all patients,14 underwent radical resection and 2 underwent palliative operation.Two patients with palliative operation and 3 with radical resection were administered with imatinib postoperatively. All patients were followed up for 3-161 months,and GIST metastasis and invasion was observed in 8 of the 14 patients who received radical resection.Of the 7 patients with hepatic metastasis.3 were treated with hepatic artery chemoembolization,1 was administered with imatinib,2 received reoperation and 1 did not receive any treatment. Reoperation was carried out on 1 patient who had abdominal wall metastasis.The 1-and 3-year survival rates of the 16 patients were 92%and 74%,respectively.Conclusions The recurrence rate of GIST after hepatectomy is high.Complete surgical resection is the best curative treatment for hepatic metastasis from GIST and GIST recurrence.The combination of surgical resection and imatinib administration may help to improve the prognosis of patients with hepatic metastasis from GIST.

Objective To evaluate the short-and long-term outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for gastric cancer.Methods After studying the patients' demographic data,extent of gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy,as well as differentiation and tumor TNM stage,85 patients who underwent LAG were individually matched to 85 patients who underwent open surgery (OG) between October 2004 and March 2008.The operative time,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative recovery,complications,pathological findings,and follow-up data were compared between the two groups.Results The mean operative time was significantly longer in the LAG group than in the OG group (277 ± 62) min vs.(211 ±46) min,t =7.882,P ＜0.05,whereas intraoperative blood loss was significantly lower (161 ±90) ml vs.(267 ± 141) ml,t =-5.854,P ＜0.05.In addition,there was a significant reduction in the time to first flatus and postoperative hospital stay (3.7 ± 1.3) days vs.(4.2 ± 1.1) days and (10 ± 3) days vs.(12 ± 6) days,respectively t =-2.318,-2.325,P ＜ 0.05.There was no significant difference between the LAG group and OG group with regard to the number of harvested lymph nodes and overall postoperative complications.The 5-year disease-free survival rates and overall survival rates were 76％,78％,respectively,in LAG group and 75％,73％,respectively in OG group (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions LAG is suitable and minimally invasive for treating gastric cancer.Compared to OG,the LAG will not increase the risk of recurrence and mortality after surgery.

Objective Anti-calcification and surface modification of the transcatheter heart valve is the priority research area and development direction of bioprosthesis heart valve.In present study,the Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic acid(RGD) coating technology and anti-calcification with epoxy chloropropane(EC) treatment were applied to investigate surface modification property of the transcatheter heart valve compared to the traditional anti-calcification method with glutaraldehyde (GA) treatment to demonstrate the improvement of structure and surface biological properties of the transcatheter heart valve.Methods Morphological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) seeded on the transcatheter heart valve with the various anticalcification treatments were observed by scanning electron microscopy and the apoptosis rates of MSCs seeded on the transcatheter heart valve with the various anti-calcification interventions were studied by TUNEL staining.The cell adhesion and expression of the cytoskeletal protein,Vinment of MSCs treated as described were analyzed by cell-counting method and fluorescence immunohistochemical method respectively.Results The apoptosis rate of MSCs was markedly decreased while the expression of vinment and the cell adhesion strength of MSCs were elevated in the groups of GA-EC and RGD-EC treatments.The biological indices of RGD-EC group has significant difference(P ＜ 0.05) compared with GA group.Conclusion Biological properties of the surface of transcatheter heart valve can be remarkably improved by GA-EC and RGD-EC anti-calcification treatments.

ObjectiveTo investigate the predictive value of heart rate turbulence(HRT) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).MethodsNinety-two AMI patients combined with DM (DM group) and 120 AMI patients without DM (non-DM group) were selected.Turbulence onset (TO) and turbulence slope (TS) were two indexes of HRT.HRT was considered positive when TO was ≥0 and TS was ≤2.5 ms/R-R.The differences in clinical data between HRT-positive and HRT-negative patients were compared.And the related risk factors after AMI were analyzed.ResultsAge,left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) level,renal insufficiency,LVEF＜40％,standard deviation of sinus cardiac cycle (R-R interval)(SDNN),heart rate variability (HRV) positiveand HRT indexes (TO,TS) between HRT-positive and HRT-negative patients in DM group had significant differences (P ＜ 0.05 ).Age,LVEF level,SDNN and HRT indexes(TO,TS) between HRT-positive and HRT-negative patients in non-DM group had significant differences(P ＜ 0.05).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that renal insufficiency (OR=4.8,95％ CI:1.8 - 10.7,P=0.008) and HRT positive (OR=3.7,95％ CI:1.5 - 8.6,P=0.070) in DM group had statistical significance.And HRT positive in non-DM group had statisticalsignificance(OR=23.0,95％ CI:5.2 ～ 86.0,P ＜ 0.01 ).ConclusionsHRT,an index of dynamic electrocardiogram,can predict the risk in patients with DM or without DM after AMI.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate transcervical removal of foreign bodies (TCRF) and to estimate the effectiveness of its monitoring methods.

METHODSOne hundred and thirteen women were identified as having residual intrauterine devices (IUD), residual pregnancy products, unabsorbed strings and broken hooks, which were not removed during routine curettage or IUD removal. All patients were monitored using B ultrasonography while TCRF was performed. Four cases were monitored by laparoscopy simultaneously. One case was monitored by laparoscopic ultrasonography.

RESULTSForeign bodies of one hundred and nine patients were taken out by TCRF. Uterine bleeding, amenorrhoea, discharge, abdominal pain, micturition and hematuria disappeared postoperatively. Fetal bones embedded into intramural uterin in four cases were not removed completely. Of these four, one became pregnant 4 months later after TCRF and term delivered. One case encountered uterine perforation that was sutured by laparoscopy.

CONCLUSIONSTCRF is safe and efficient. Sufficient cervical canal distension, selection of equipment and methods to be used is important for successful TCRF. As a non-invasive and effective monitoring method, B ultrasonography is the first choice to monitor for TCRF. For patients with high risk factors for uterine perforation, laparoscopic monitoring should be done simultaneously. Laparoscopic ultrasonography monitoring has both the advantages of B ultrasonography and laparoscopy monitoring, but is invasive and expensive.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Humans ; Hysteroscopy ; methods ; Intrauterine Devices ; Laparoscopy ; Middle Aged ; Pregnancy ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of normothermic arch-first technique without extracorporeal circulation in total aortic arch replacement for management of acute Stanford type A dissection.

METHODSThe surgical data were reviewed for 23 patients (age range 32-58 years) with Stanford type A dissection undergoing total aortic arch replacement with the arch-first technique in our department between January, 2006 and November, 2011. During the surgery, a 4-branched prosthetic graft was connected with the inflow tube and femoral artery using the Y-type tube. The 3 aortic branches were disconnected and anastomosed to the respective branches of the graft, with continuous perfusion of the brain by femoral arterial return. After clamping of the ascending aorta, the graft was connected to the remaining arch before the common stem of the graft was anastomosed with the aortic root.

RESULTSThe operations were successfully completed in all the 23 cases with a mean total bypass time of 187∓60 min (117-254 min), mean ascending aorta clamping time of 35∓8 min, and mean nasopharyngeal temperature of 22∓2 celsius;. Death occurred in one case (4.3%) after the operation, and 2 (8.7%) patients experienced temporary neurological dysfunctions. The postoperative consciousness recovery time was 6-8 h in these cases. The shortest postoperative mechanical ventilation time was 18 h, and 11 (48%) patients were weaned from mechanical ventilation within 48 h postoperatively. The ICU stay ranged from 3 to 7 days in these cases.

CONCLUSIONNormothermic arch-first technique without extracorporeal circulation can provide better brain protection and reduced the incidence of postoperative complications by shortening the time of circulation bypass and aortic clamping.

Adult ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; surgery ; Aorta ; surgery ; Aorta, Thoracic ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; surgery ; Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Extracorporeal Circulation ; Female ; Humans ; Hypothermia, Induced ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To evaluatc the efficacy and safcty of recombinant endostatin (Endostar)combined with concurrent radio-chemotherapy (CRCT) in patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods From March 2009 to November 2011,47 patients received threedimensional conformal radiotherapy of 60-66 Gy in 30-33 fractions over 6-7 weeks And concurrent chemotherapy of docetaxel 65 mg/m2 and cisplatin 65 mg/m2.Endostar was administered once a week before and on week 2,4,6 during CRCT at a dose level of 7.5 mg/m2/d.Tumor response was evaluated with thoracic CT scans performed 4 weeks after completion of treatment in accordance with RECIST 1.1 criteria.Acute toxicities were evaluated in accordance with CTCAE 3.0.Results Forty-four patients completed treatment and toxicity evaluation,42 patients completed evaluation of efficacy.Five patients achieved complete response,29 partial response,3 stable disease,and 5 progressive disease,2 were net assessed.Overall response rate was 77％.One-year overall survival rate was 81％,and one-year progression-free survival rate was 51％.Twelve patients died,2 died of treatment related toxicities,8 of cancer,and 2 of unknown causes.Nineteen patients developed grade 3/4 neutrocytopenia,grade 3 acute esophagitis and pneumonitis were observed in 4 and 4 patients,respectively,and 1 patient died of pneumonitis.No patient developed cardiovascular toxicities and hemorrhage.Conclusions Endostar combined with CRCT for unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC was safe and the short term outcomes were promising.Further investigations are warranted.

Objective To investigate the physics technique and quality assurance (QA) during radiotherapy in the institutions from the East Guangdong province,aiming to provide reference for the construction of radiotherapy discipline and rational allocation of resources in the primary hospitals from the eastern Guangdong province.Methods From March 15 to May 20,2016,the general conditions,radiotherapy equipment,available technique and quality assurance (QA) in the medical institutions from eastern Guangdong were investigated and analyzed by online combined with on-spot surgery.Results There were 8 institutions which provided radiotherapy with 966 ward beds,a daily capacity of 632 patients and 222 radiotherapy practitioners.Radiotherapy equipment included 12 linear accelerators,5 after-loading devices,1γ-knife,8 CT simulators and 9 radiotherapy planning systems.Five institutions performed IMRT/VMAT,IGRT and ART.Dose verification was performed before precision radiotherapy delivery in all institutions except for 1 center.QA procedures were missing for the linear accelerators,CT simulators and after-loading devices.Short-term advanced studies and hand-by-hand teaching were the main approaches for staff professional training.Conclusions The resource allocation for radiotherapy in the medical centers from the eastern Guangdong province is scarce.The technique and QC levels greatly differ among different institutions.Standard QA protocols are urgently to be established and implemented.Extensive attentions should be paid to the the professional training for technicians.