Objective To assess the clinical significance of three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) in the evaluation of left ventricular myocardial function in breast cancer survivors with postoperative anthracycline-based chemotherapy.Methods A total of 51 breast cancer survivors with postoperative anthracycline-based chemotherapy were recruited and 31 female healthy volunteers as the controls.Conventional echocardiography and 3D-STI derived parameters [including global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global area strain (GAS)] were measured before and at 3 and 6 anthracycline-based chemotherapeutic cycles.The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was constructed to determine optimal sensitivity and specificity of 3ID-STI derived parameters for the prediction of future cardiotoxicity.Results In comparison with the controls and baseline cases,GLS and GAS deteriorated significantly (P ＜ 0.05 for both).No statistical difference in GCS and conventional parameters showed before and after the initiation of chemotherapy (P ＜0.05,respectively).The ROC curves showed that GAS as the best 3D-STI predictor of patients who develop cardiotoxicity during the follow-up.The area under ROC(AUC) of GAS was 0.894,and its optimal cut-off value was-28.4％,with a specificity of 88.0％ and a sensitivity of 82.9％.AUC of GLS was 0.802,and its optimal cut-off value was-14.3％,with a specificity of 62.0％ and a sensitivity of 85.4％.Conclusions Early decreases in GAS and GLS based on 3D-STI may allow the prediction of subsequent cardiotoxic development accurately in breast cancer survivors with postoperative anthracycline-based chemotherapy.

Animals ; Guanylate Cyclase ; metabolism ; Hypercapnia ; metabolism ; Hypoxia ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; metabolism ; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase

Animals ; Aorta ; metabolism ; Hyperlipidemias ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Physical Endurance

Objective To find out the cut-off value of rose bengal plate agglutination test(RBPT) in rapid diagnosis of brucellosis.Methods From May to June 2009,398 people who came to the outpatient department of Inner Mongolia Center for Endemic Disease Control and Research were diagnosed brucellosis by RBPT and tube agglutination test (SAT).Tube agglutination test as a gold standard,rose bengal plate agglutination test,its authenticity and reliability were evaluated.Results Taking positive predictive value 100.0％ as the selection standard,the cut-off value of RBPT was ++ which could be used to diagnose brucellosis.The sensitivity was 83.3％; the specificity was 100.0％; the Youden index was 0.832; and the compliance rote was 89.9％.Conclusion The cut-off value ++ of RBPT to diagnosis brucellosis is worthy of clinical promotion.

To introduce the application of Stata software to heterogeneity test in meta-analysis.A data set was set up according to the example in the study,and the corresponding commands of the methods in Stata 9 software were applied to test the example.The methods used were Q-test and Ⅰ2statistic attached to the fixed effect model forest plot,H statistic and Galbraith plot.The existence of the heterogeneity among studies could he detected hy Q-test and H statistic and the degree of the heterogeneity could be detected by,Ⅰ2 statistic.The outliers which were the sources of the heterogeneity could be spotted from the Galbraith plot.Heterogeneity test in Meta-analysis can be completed by the four methods in Stata software simply and quickly.H and Ⅰ2 statistics are more robust,and the outliers of the heterogeneity can be clearly seen in the Galbraith plot among the four methods.

Objective To investigate the left ventricular (LV) performance in patients with essential hypertension(EH) by global performance index (GPI) based on three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI).Methods A total of 164 EH patients were enrolled and divided into four subgroups according to LV configuration:LV normal group (LVN,n =67),concentric cardiac remodeling group (CCR,n =49),concentric cardiac hypertrophy group (CCH,n =28) and eccentric cardiac hypertrophy group (ECH,n =20).Thirty age and sex matched healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls.3D-STI was performed to assess LV 3D global strain and LV torsion,then LV systolic dyssynchrony index (SDI) and global performance index (GPI) were calculated.Global strain parameters were investigated among the groups,and correlations with GPI were studied.Results GPI,global longitudinal strain(GLS),global area strain(GAS),global radial strain(GRS) and global 3D strain(G3DS) in EH groups were respectively lower than those in the normal controls,and there were statistical differences among the respective parameters (P ＜0.05,respectively).SDI in group CCH and ECH were significantly higher than that in normal controls (P ＜ 0.05,respectively).In multivariate stepwise regression analysis,GAS was the most influential to GPI.Conclusions GPI based on 3D-STI may accurately reflect LV performance in patients with EH,and has potential applications in clinical practice.

Adolescent ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Ulcer Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Penicillin G Procaine ; therapeutic use ; Stomach Ulcer ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; pathology ; Syphilis ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; pathology ; Syphilis Serodiagnosis ; methods ; Treponema pallidum ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Chailing Decoction (CD) on transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), renal cell apoptosis and proliferation in rats with chronic cyclosporine A nephropathy (CCN), and to explore its possible mechanism for inhibiting renal fibrosis.

METHODSThe CCN rat model was prepared using oral administration of cyclosporine A (CsA, 30 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)). Meanwhile, they were treated with CD (3 g x kg(-1) x d(-1)) by gastrogavage. The serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), and creatinine clearance rate (CCr) were measured by the end of the fourth week of the experiment. The kidneys were taken out on the next day. The degree of renal fibrosis was detected using Masson staining. The protein and gene expressions of TGF-beta1, and CTGF were observed using immunohistochemical assay and RT-PCR. The renal cell apoptosis rate and the proliferation index were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSCompared with the control group (BUN: 6.123 +/- 0.588 mmol/L; SCr: 75.654 +/- 8.196 micromol/L; CCr: 0.539 +/- 0.169 mL/min), the renal function of the model group (BUN: 11.600 +/- 1.437 mmol/L; SCr: 101.985 +/- 10.809 micromol/L; CCr: 0.272 +/- 0.060 mL/min) obviously declined (P < 0.01). The collagen deposition in the renal interstitial area significantly increased. The protein and mRNA expressions of TGF-beta1, and CTGF in the tubular epithelial cells and the mesenchymal cells were significantly enhanced (P < 0.01). The cell proliferation index and the apoptosis rate both increased, but the ratio of apoptosis to proliferation (0.317 +/- 0.059) decreased more than that in the control group (0.680 +/- 0.150, P < 0.01). After treatment by CD, the renal function (BUN: 7.340 +/- 0.857; SCr: 84.923 +/- 10.627; CCr: 0.405 +/- 0.081) was significantly enhanced (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), the collagen deposition decreased, the high protein and mRNA expressions of TGF-beta1 and CTGF were down-regulated (P < 0.01), the ratio of apoptosis to proliferation increased (0.650 +/- 0.092, P<0. 01).

CONCLUSIONCD could improve the renal function of CCN model rats, inhibit the expressions of TGF-beta1 and CTGF, and recover the balance between the renal cell apoptosis and proliferation by inducing cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation, thus delaying the renal fibrosis process.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Cyclosporine ; adverse effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Kidney ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Kidney Diseases ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

Objective To assess the potential clinical signiifcance of myocardial composite index (MCI) in the evaluation of left ventricular myocardial function in breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). Methods A total of 33 consecutive breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy were prospectively enrolled in Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, from February 2012 to February 2013. Thirty-six female healthy volunteers were enrolled as the controls. Routine echocardiographic parameters [left ventricular end diastolic volume (EDV), end systolic volume (ESV), interventricular septum thickness at diastole (IVSTd), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (PWTd) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)] were obtained. EDV and ESV were corrected for body surface area, and then end diastolic volume index (EDVI) and end-systolic volume index (ESVI) were calculated. STE-derived parameters [left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), global radial strain (GRS), left ventricular twist (LVtw) and myocardial composite index (MCI)] were evaluated. All above data were obtained after 5 anthracycline-based chemotherapeutic cycles and compared with baseline measurements in controls respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to determine optimal sensitivity and specificity of continuous variables for the prediction of future cardiotoxicity. Results (1)Changes in EDV, ESV, IVSTd, PWTd and LVEF showed no significant decreases compared with baseline and controls (F=1.35, 2.04, 1.28, 2.34, 2.16, P > 0.05 for all), while the changes in ESVI and EDVI showed statistically decreases (F=4.73, 6.86, P < 0.05 for all);(2)The changes in EDVI and ESVI showed signiifcant decreases compared with baseline (t=6.10, 5.13, P<0.05 for all) and controls (t=5.26, 4.24, P<0.05 respectively);(3)The change in GRS showed no statistical signiifcance compared with baseline and controls (F=1.23, P>0.05), while change in GLS, LVtw and MCI showed statistical significances compared with baseline and controls (F=4.29, 5.02, 12.35, P<0.05 for all);(4)The changes in GLS, LVtw and MCI showed signiifcant decreases compared with baseline (t=5.33, 13.94, P<0.05 respectively) and controls (t=4.97, 4.46, 7.18, P<0.05 all);(5)The area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of MCI was 0.894, and its optimal cut-off value was-265.7 (%×degree) with sensitivity of 82.6%and specificity of 78.7%. Conclusion MCI based on STE, combining myocardial strain and cardiac twist, may be an accurate predictor in identifying potential cardiotoxicity in postoperative chemotherapeutic survivors with breast cancer.

ABSTRACT:In the present study ,we aimed to identify differentially expressed proteins between induced worms (the infec‐ted mice were treated intragastrically with ED50 PZQ) and uninduced worms (control group) for clarifying the mechanism of PZQ .ED50 PZQ was used to administrate mice that were infected with S .japonicum via intragastric incubation for consecutive‐ly 30 days .Twenty‐one days later ,mice were sacrificed after treatment with 200 mg/kg PZQ for continuously five days ,and the male worms were obtained and some of them were subjected in DMEM medium with different concentrations of PZQ in vitro for 16 hours .Then the worms were washed twice and incubated in PZQ‐free medium for 72 hours .Compared with control group ,the induced worms had lesser sensitivity to PZQ .The survival rate of induced worms was 75 .6% in vitro when the con‐centration of PZQ was 112 mol/L (the concentration was 8 times of uninduced worms Lethal Concentration ) ,significantly higher than that in the uninduced worms (11 .1% ,P<0 .05) ,showing obviously tolerance .The other induced and uninduced worms were acquired and collected for 2D‐DIGE and MALDI‐TOF‐MS ,and combined with bioinformatics to analyse the func‐tion of the identified protein .Thirty differential expression proteins were confirmed between induced and uninduced worms ,in‐cluding 12 proteins up‐regulated and 18 proteins down‐regulated .These proteins respectively ascribed to cytoskeleton‐associat‐ed protein ,glucose and energy metabolism enzymes ,stress proteins ,thioredoxin peroxidase enzymes ,and other protease .Up‐or down‐regulation of these differential proteins indicated that PZQ promote or inhibit the expression of some specific genes . These findings may help to clarify the mechanism of PZQ ,simultaneously ,providing a scientific basis for exploring new vaccine candidate antigens and targets for drug therapy .