Methamphetamine ( METH ) , a powerful stimulant of amphetamine type in the central nervous system ( CNS ) , is a new kind of synthetic drugs mainly in psychological dependence. Long-time abuse will lead to strong neurotoxicity and drug de-pendence. Recently it has become the abuse problem in public health. Autophagy is a process of degradation and utilization of the cellular components by the lysosome, which widely exists in eukaryotic cells. Many studies show that methamphetamine can iduce autophagy,but the underlying mechanism is not fully un-derstood yet . Therefore,the mechanisms and signaling pathways of autophagy by methamphetamine and the roles of autophagy in methamphetamine induce neurotoxicity are reviewed in this pa-per, so as to provide reference materials for further research of methamphetamine and autophagy.

Objective To evaluate mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy in treating proximal ureteral calculi. Methods 109 patients underwent mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy for proximal ureteral calculi from March 1998 to July 2001 were reviewed and evaluated. Results All the 109(100%) were rendered stone-free at 1 session.The average operation time was 60 munites,the estimated blood loss volume 25 ml and the average hospitalization 7 days.No major complications were noted. Conclusions Mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy is safe and effective in treating proximal ureteral calculi and is less invasive for the patients.

Objective To study the feasibility and outcome of minimally invasive percutaneous antegrade and transurethral antigrade ureteroscope technology in treatment of ureterovesical anastomosis obstruction in transplanted kidney.Method Endo-incision, dilation and indwelling internal ureteral stents by minimally invasive percutaneous antegrade and transurethral antigrade ureteroscope tech -nology were performed in 16 transplanted kidney patients with ureterovesical anastomosis obstruction. Renal function was valuated.Results Retrograde ureteroscope balloon dilation and indwelling an internal ureteral stent were carried out in one case. Percutaneous endo-incision, dilation and indwelling internal ureteral stents under ureteroscopy were preformed on 13 patients. Two patients accepted open operation because the length of the obstruction segment was more than one cm. After a follow-up of 1-24 months, internal drainage and renal function were normal in 13 patients. Serum creatinine ranged from 45 ?mol/L to 113 ?mol /L. The renal function of 3 patients didn’t recover completely and the serum creatinine was 158-315 ?mol /L.Conclusion Minimally invasive percutaneous antegrade and transurethral antigrade ureteroscope technology in treatment of ureterovesical anastomosis obstruction in transplanted kidney were relatively effective, and safe and simple to manipulate.

[Objective]To study the mechanism of tubular epithelial hypertrophy induced by high glucose.[Methods]Human tubular epithelium line HK-2 cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 medium containing 1 g/L glucose(normal control group),4.5 g/L glacose(high slucose group),and 1 g/L glucose+3.5 g/L mannitol(iso-osmia control group),respectively.The cells of every group after cultured for 24 h,48 h.and 96 h were collected.The mRNA levels of CTGF and p27~(kip) were detected by real-time PCR.The protein levels of CTGF and p27~(kip) were detected by Western blot.The cellular proliferative activities were observed by MTT.The total cellular protein contents were detected by Bradford method.The cell cycle process was analyzed by flow cytometry.The cells of every group after being cultured for 30 win,1 h,24 h,and 48 h were collected.The levels of phospho-ERK1/2 were detected by Western blot.Every step was repeated for 3 times.[Results]High slucose could significantly up-regulate the mRNA and protein levels of CTGF and p27~(kip),activate ERK1/2 signal conductive pathway in HK-2 cells,make more cells arrest in G1 phase,decrease cellular proliferative activities,increase total cellular protein content reflecting cellular hypertrophy.[Conclusion]CTGF is an important mediator of tubular epithelial hypertrophy induced by high slucose.The mechanism is that CTGF up-regulates the p27~(kip) expression through activating ERK1/2 pathway.Up-regulated p27~(kip) lead proliferative cell to be arrested in G1 phase and cause cellular hypertrophy.

Objective To investigate the effect of low-dose hydrocortisone(HC)on hippocampus nuclear factor kappa B((NF-?B)),I?B expression in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced septic rats and the role of NF-?B signal transcription pathway in pathogenesis.Methods Fifty-four rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group(A group,n=6),model group(B group,n=24),low-dose HC treatment group(C group,n=24).The septic rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection LPS(1 mg/kg),as the intervention by caudal vein injection low-dose HC(6 mg/kg),each of B and C group was subdivied into 2,8,16,24 hours respectively after LPS injection(n=6).At serial time points,the animals in each group were sacrificed,brain tissue samples were harvested to determine NF-?B,I?B expression by immunhistochemistry in hippocampus.Results In B group: NF-?B expression was up regulated compared with A group(P

Objective To evaluate the plasma level of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP) before and after treatment in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and explore the relationship between NTproBNP and heart functional classes.To evaluate the significance of dynamic change in NT-proBNP level in children with dilated cardiomyopathy.Methods The study comprised 49 children with DCM from Aug.2011 to Sep.2013 in Hunan Children's Hospital.NT-proBNP levels were measured before and after treatment.All the patients were evaluated under the modified Ross Heart Association functional class and echocardiographic determination of left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) and fractional shortening(SF).The patients were divided into improvement group(38 cases) and the non-improvement group(11 cases) according to cardiac function after treatment.Results The plasma level of NTproBNP was positively correlated with Ross heart failure classification (r =0.756,P ＜ 0.01),and much better than LVEF and SF.To identify mild heart failure,the cut-off value of 329 ng/L was 93.8％ sensitive and 90.9％ specific.To identify moderate heart failure,the cut-off value of 2 833 ng/L was 95.6％ sensitive and 92.9％ specific.To identify severe heart failure,the cut-off value of 12 125 ng/L was 80.6％ sensitive and 84.8％ specific.There was significant difference in the improvement group before and after treatment(t =2.357,P ＜ 0.05).In non-improvement group there was no significant difference (t =0.132,P =0.778) before and after treatment.Conclusions There is significant correlation between the plasma level of NT-proBNP and heart failure severity.The dynamic changes in NT-proBNP levels before and after treatment can help us to determine the effect of treatment and prognosis.

Objective To provide a device and an effective method for tail vein injection in mice. Methods Doing the tail vein injection in mice with the self-designed device which is consisted of constant temperature part, lighting part and holding part.The difficulty and time of injection with and without the device were compared.Results It was faster and more accurate to perform the tail vein injection in mice with this self-designed device.Conclusion Using this self-designed device can significantly improve the efficiency and save the injection time.

0.05), the percentage of MDC and PDC and the ratio of MDC/PDC at the second (MDC, 0.11%?0.09%; PDC, 0.06%?0.05%; MDC/PDC, 0.76?0.80), third trimester (MDC, 0.12%?0.08%; PDC, 0.07%?0.06%; MDC/PDC, 0.78?0.82) were significantly lower (P

Objective To explore patients' recognition and demand for enhanced-CT examination-related knowledge. Method A self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the recognition and demands for the knowledge among 295 patients who receiving enhanced-CT examination for the first time. Results The awareness rate of enhanced-CT examination related knowledge was 19.0%~51.5%and the demand rate was 62.4%~87.1%. The routes by which the patients acquired the knowledge included lecturing by medical staff personnel, reading the handouts and watching video. Conclusions The level of patients'recognition about the enhanced-CT examination related knowledge is low, but their demands for it is high. Therefore, the medical personnel should improve patients'awareness of enhanced-CT examination related knowledge in various ways.

Objective To study the anxiety and depression in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS).Method One hundred and seventy-four ALS patients were evaluated by self-rating anxiety scale(SAS)and self-rating depression scale(SDS) to study the anxiety and depression in them.Results In 174 ALS patients,21 had anxiety(12.07%)and 65 the depression(37.36%). The scores of SAS and SDS in the ALS patients were significantly higher than the national norm(P<0.05).The depression incidence in the female patients was significantly higher than the male(P<0.05).Conclusions Anxiety and depression are more severe than those in ALS patients than those in normal people.Psychological support is important for these patients,especially for those female patients.