Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine dysfunction in women of childbearing age. It is considered to be a heterogeneous, multi-faceted disease with polycystic ovarian changes, hyperandrogenism, and endocrine. Clinical features such as dysfunction and metabolic syndrome, due to the presence of ovulation dysfunction, seriously affect the fertility of women with PCOS. With the increase of age, the fertility decline of females is mainly related to factors such as the decrease in the number and quality of follicles, the decrease in the number of available embryos, the decrease in transplant rate and the increase in abortion rate. The existing literature does not agree on the fertility window of elderly PCOS patients. This paper reviews several literatures and discusses the reproductive window problems of elderly PCOS patients.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate influential factors of standardization of clinical research on therapeutic efficacy of Yao-tongning capsules,and to provide direction for reasonable and standard development of clinical research. METHODS:Retrieved from CJFD,VIP and Wanfang database,RCTs about Yaotongning capsules in the treatment of related disease were collected. After data extraction and quality evaluation,Meta-analysis was conducted by using Rev Man 5.3 statistical software. The effects of the di-alectical situation,treatment course and route of administration on the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules were compared;based on this,the concepts of index evidence-based value which reflected clinical standardization were put for-ward,and its effects on Yaotongning capsules were investigated. RESULTS:A total of 71 RCTs were included,involving 11009 patients. Results of Meta-analysis showed therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules was better than that of other drugs in dialecti-cal case(P=0.02),while therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules was inferior to that of other drugs in non-dialectical case(P<0.01);therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules was inferior to that of other drugs when treatment course was shorter than 30 days(P<0.05),while treatment course was longer than 30 days,there was no difference in therapeutic efficacy between Yaotongn-ing capsules and other drugs(P=0.99). When did not take medicine according to the instruction,therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongn-ing capsule was inferior to that of other drugs(P<0.05);when taking medicine according to the instruction,there was no differ-ence in therapeutic efficacy between Yaotongning capsules and other drugs(P=0.94). When evidence-based value was ≥5,thera-peutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules was better than that of other drugs(P=0.03);when evidence-based value was equal to 4, there was no difference in therapeutic efficacy between Yaotongning capsules and other drugs(P=0.56);when evidence-based val-ue was ≤3,therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules was inferior to that of other drugs(P<0.05),with statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS:It is an important guarantee of playing therapeutic efficacy of Yaotongning capsules to regularly use drugs strictly according to the principle of dialectical treatment,and take drugs according to treatment course and instructions. Clinical trials should be standardized strictly in accordance with the instructions,so as to provide objective and fair clinical findings.

AIM: To investigate the signaling mechanisms involved in the priming effects of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) on heat killed Staphylococcus aureus(HKSa)-induced nitric oxide(NO) production in macrophages.METHODS: Murine macrophage RAW264.7 was used in the experiment.Griess reagent was used to measure the content of nitrite in culture medium.Real-time PCR and Western blot was utilized to examine the mRNA and protein levels of toll-like receptor 2(TLR2),respectively.Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to assess the transcriptional activity of nuclear factor of activated T cells(NF-AT).RESULTS: The RAW264.7 cells pretreated with LPS for 24 h significantly enhanced NO production induced by HKSa,suggesting that LPS primed the macrophages and increased the reactivity of the cells to HKSa.LPS increased the mRNA and protein levels of TLR2 in a dose-dependent manner in RAW264.7 cells.The RAW264.7 cells pretreated with LPS enhanced NO production induced by peptidoglycan,one of the specific ligand of TLR2.The priming effect of LPS on HKSa-induced NO production was partly blocked by TLR2 neutralizing antibody.LPS significantly enhanced the transcriptional activity of NF-AT,which was inhibited by BAPTA/AM(a cell-permeable cytosolic calcium chelator) and cyclosporine A(CsA,an inhibitor for calcineurin).Both BAPTA/AM and CsA inhibited the priming effect of LPS on HKSa-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells.CONCLUSION: The present study confirms the priming effect of LPS on the reactivity of RAW264.7 cells to HKSa.Pattern recognition receptor TLR2 and calcium/calcineurin/NF-AT signaling pathway may be involved in the priming process initiated by LPS.

With the global warming, the incidence of heat stroke was significantly higher than before. Severe heat stroke has a high mortality, high morbidity and consolidated central nervous system injury characteristics. The main features of severe heat stroke cerebral injury include cognitive impairment, delirium, convulsions and coma. Its mechanism is related with heat shock induced cerebral tissue ischemia and hypoxia, vascular dysfunction, secondary cascade inflammation and so on. Currently, the main treatment of heat stroke cerebral injury is the hypothermia therapy, dehydration for the reduction of intracranial pressure, naloxone and other cerebral protection and nutrition treatments. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is effective in treating brain injury. HBOT can alleviate tissue ischemia and hypoxia, improve circulation, reduce cerebral edema, and anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative damage, anti-apoptosis and other molecular biological effects. HBOT also play a wake up-promoting effect of nerve repair in the cerebral injury. The treatment of cerebral injury has been the difficulty and weakness of heat stroke research. Therefore, this article reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, the therapeutic effect and mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen on cerebral injury in severe heat stroke to clarify the advantages of HBOT and to provide experimental basis for further research.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of MSCT in the pre-operative N-staging and diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes in each group of gastric cancer.Methods Pathological and CT data of 91 patients with gastric cancer proved by surgery and pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Three-phase dynamic enhancements were performed before surgery in a unified way of hypotonic oral water,N-stage and grouping of lymph nodes of the preoperative CT imaging were evaluated by using the established diagnostic criteria and then compared with the results of surgery and pathology,the accuracy of staging and grouping was analyzed by using Kappa test.Results The accuracy of MSCT diagnosing the N-staging as a whole was 86.3%.The accuracy for N0,N1,N2 and N3 was 83.5%,89.0%,83.5% and 89.0%,respectively.The sensitivity was 86.5%,83.3%,50% and 47.4%,respectively.The specificity was 79.5%,89.4%,89.6% and 100.0%, respectively.The sensitivity for N0 was statistically different from that for N2, N0 and N3(P≤0.007).The detected accuracy for the group of left side of the cardium (No.2), periphery of the splenic hilum (No.10), posterior of the pancreastic head (No.13) were higher than other groups on MSCT with the accuracyof 100%.The sensitivity for the group of No.2,periphery of the coeliac trunk(No.9),No.10,and No.13 was 100%.The specificity for the group of No.2,No.10,and No.13 was 98.9%.Conclusion Relatively high accuracy in the preoperative N-staging and diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes in each group of gastric cancer can be obtained by MSCT, which provide reliable information for preoperative assessment and intraoperative lymph node dissections.

AIM:To explore the relationship between apoptosis in the lung tissues and lung ischemia/reperfusion injury,and to observe the effects of human thioredoxin (hTrx) on apoptosis in lung ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS:The single lung in situ ischemia/reperfusion animal model was used. Eighty four Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group (control),groups of ischemia for 1 h and reperfusion for different times (IR1h,IR3h,IR5h),and groups of IR + human thioredoxin treatment (IR1h + hTrx,IR3h + hTrx and IR5h + hTrx). Transmission electron microscope (TEM),terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunocytochemistry techniques were used to observe apoptosis,apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in various phases of lung ischemia/reperfusion. RESULTS:Cell apoptosis in lung tissues was significantly high,ASK1,Bcl -2 and Bax protein were upregulated in lung tissues of lung ischemia/reperfusion injury as compared to control (all P

AIM:To investigate the effect of L-arginine(L-Arg) on expression of bcl-2,bax mRNA during pulmonary ischemia and reperfusion injury(PIRI) in rabbits.METHODS: Single lung ischemia and reperfusion animal model was used in vivo.The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: sham operated group(sham,n=12),ischemia-reperfusion group(I/R,n=12) and I/R+ L-arginine group(L-Arg,n=12).Changes of several parameters,which included apoptotic index(AI),wet to dry ratio of lung tissue weight(W/D) and index of quantitative assessment of histologic lung injury(IQA),were measured at 300 min after reperfusion in lung tissue.Meanwhile the location and expression of bcl-2,bax mRNA as well as the ratio of bcl-2 mRNA/bax mRNA were observed.The lung tissue was prepared for light microscopic and electron microscopic observation at 60,180 and 300 min after reperfusion.RESULTS: As compared with I/R group,in intima and extima of small pulmonary artery,alveoli,and bronchiole epithelia,the expression of bcl-2 mRNA and the ratio of bcl-2 mRNA/bax mRNA were increased,and the expression of bax mRNA was decreased in L-Arg treatment group.The values of AI,W/D and IQA showed significantly lower than that in I/R group at 180 minutes after reperfusion in lung tissue(P

Objective To investigate the role of BMP-2/Smad signaling pathway in the osteogenic differentiation of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) caused by hyperphosphatemia -induced calcium phosphate (CaP) crystals.Methods High-phosphate medium was incubated at 37℃ for 3 days.CaP crystals and supernatant were isolated by ultracentrifugation.Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were performed for analysis of physicochemical characteristics of CaP crystals.HASMCs were cultured in vitro,and divided into high-phosphate,control,crystals and supernatant groups.Calcification was visualized by Alizarin red staining.Calcium loads in cells were quantified by o-cresolphthalein complexone method.Protein expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2),Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2),osteopontin (OPN),phospho-Smad1/5/9 (p-Smad1/5/9) were quantified by Western blotting.After knockdowns of BMP-2 and Smad1 with small hairpin RNA (shRNA) interfering respectively in HASMCs,protein expressions were measured by Western blotting.Results High-phosphate medium induced the formation of CaP crystals.Compared with the cells in control group,CaP crystals significantly induced HASMCs calcification,increased calcium loads and up-regulated the levels of BMP-2,RUNX2 and OPN proteins (all P ＜ 0.05).After the addition of CaP crystals into HASMCs,the level of p-Smad 1/5/9 protein peaked at 30 min (P ＜ 0.05).After BMP-2 was knocked down in HASMCs,the expression of p-Smad1 caused by CaP crystals was blocked completely,and the expressions of RUNX2 and OPN caused by CaP crystals were reduced significantly (all P ＜ 0.05).After Smad1 was knocked down in HASMCs,the expressions of RUNX2 and OPN caused by CaP crystals were decreased significantly (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Hyperphosphatemia-induced CaP crystals promoted osteogenic differentiation of HASMCs through the BMP-2/Smad signaling pathway.

Objective:To explore the association of abdominal aortic calcification score (AACS) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:The patients who underwent regular PD at Renji Hospital between July 2011 and July 2014 were recruited and prospectively followed up until the end of the study (August 31, 2018), death, or dropout PD. Abdomen lateral X-ray was used to determine AACS for each patient at enrollment. Patients were divided into three groups based on the tertiles of AACS: non-calcified group, AACS group (AACS=0), mild-moderate calcification group AACS group (0

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of peritoneal protein clearance (Pcl) for cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:Eligible PD patients were prospectively enrolled from January 2014 to April 2015 in the PD Center of Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. All patients were followed up until death, withdrawing from PD, transferring to other centers, or the end of study period (October 1, 2018). The patients were divided into high Pcl group and low Pcl group by the median Pcl, and the differences of related indicators between the two groups were compared. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of Pcl. The Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used to compare the cumulative survival rates of patients between the two groups. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to estimate the risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in relation to Pcl in PD patients.Results:A total of 271 patients were enrolled, with 135 males (49.8%), age of (56.92±0.84) years old and a median PD duration of 38.77(19.00, 63.10) months. There were 70 patients (25.8%) comorbiding with diabetes and 81 patients (29.9%) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The median Pcl of this cohort was 67.93(52.31, 88.36) ml/d. Compared with the low Pcl group (Pcl<67.93 ml/d), the high Pcl group (Pcl≥67.93 ml/d) had older age, and greater proportion of CVD, body mass index (BMI), pulse pressure, brain natriuretic peptide, mass transfer area coefficient of creatinine (MTACcr), and lower serum albumin (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in gender, dialysis duration, proportion of diabetes, proportion of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker, proportion of continuous ambulatory PD, high sensitivity C reactive protein, fluid removal including 24 h urine volume and 24 h ultrafiltration, and residual renal function between the two groups (all P>0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum albumin ( β=-0.388, P<0.001), BMI ( β=0.189, P<0.001), and MTACcr ( β=0.247, P<0.001) were independently related to lg(Pcl). During the study period, 55 patients experienced one or more cardiovascular events and 39 patients had cardiovascular mortality. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, cardiovascular mortality in the high Pcl group was higher than that of low Pcl group (Log-rank χ2=6.902, P=0.009). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that, high lg(Pcl) was an independent influencing factor of cardiovascular events in PD patients ( HR=7.654, 95% CI 1.676-34.945, P=0.009). Conclusions:Serum albumin, BMI and MTACcr are independently associated with Pcl, and Pcl is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in PD patients.