Objective To investigate the feasibility and value of CT perfusion imaging in combination of CTA 320-slice CT with dual-low-dose in detection of acute cerebral ischemia.Methods Forty patients with acute stroke underwent perfusion imaging and CTA using a single scan with 320-slice CT with dual-low-dose schedule.CTA,4D-CTA,4D-perfusion imaging and fusion images were generated at a post-processing workstation.All patients also underwent a 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging with DWI for a comparison.Quality of the images,degree of vascular stenosis,and location of ischemic lesions were evaluated.Results The vascu-lar stenosis or occlusion was found in 33 patients,8 of whom were confirmed by the DSA.The ratio of better images of CTA was 82.5%.CTP showed 297 lesions with abnormal perfusion.202 lesions were confirmed as infarct by DWI,while 95 ones were nor-mal on DWI but with increased DLY and TTP and slightly decreased CBF and CBV in 49,increased DLY and TTP and normal CBF and CBV in 21,and increased DLY and TTP and slightly increased CBF and CBV in 25.Conclusion CT perfusion in combination with CTA by 320-slice CT with dual-low-dose is feasible and useful to observe accurately the vascular structures and the ischemic status of the whole brain at early stage.

Objective To observe the effects of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) on autophagy, apoptosis and motor function after acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) in rats. Methods Thirty-six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Sham group, n=12), simple spinal cord injury group (SCI group, n=12), ALC treatment group (ALC group, n=12). Spinal cord injury model at the level of T10 segment was established using Allen's method. They were assessed with Basso-Beattle-Bresnahan (BBB) scale three days after injury. Then the rats were sacrificed, and the expression of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II in spinal cord was detect-ed with Western blotting and immunofluorescent labeling, and the number of apoptotic cells were assessed with TUNEL staining. Results The expression of LC3-II and the number of apoptotic cells increased in SCI group compared with those in Sham group (P<0.01), while the BBB score decreased (P<0.001). The expression of LC3-II increased and the number of apoptotic cells decreased in ALC group compared with those in SCI group (P<0.001), while the BBB score increased (P<0.01). Conclusion ALC may promote autophagy, and inhibit apopto-sis to improve the locomotor function after ASCI.

Foreign Bodies ; surgery ; Humans ; Oropharynx ; Punctures ; methods ; Ultrasonography

Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic significance of non-contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (NCE-MRA) for lower extremity arterial stenosis on a 3.0T MR scanner, in order to provide a reliable method for clinical application. Materials and Methods Thirty patients with arterial disease in lower extremity underwent NCE-MRA before contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA). Image quality of the two methods was compared. The diagnostic accuracy for significant stenosis ( ≥50%) of NCE-MRA was assessed using CE-MRA as a golden standard. The consistency of the two methods in diagnosis of significant stenosis ( ≥ 50%) was analyzed. Results All patients successfully underwent both NCE-MRA and CE-MRA examination. There were 532 arterial segments detected by NCE-MRA. In the calf region, venous artifacts presented more frequently on CE-MRA (Z=4.92, P<0.01), while in the abdominal and the femoral regions, venous artifacts presented more frequently on NCE-MRA (Z=4.58 and 3.56, P<0.01). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of NCE-MRA for the diagnosis of significant stenosis ( ≥ 50%) were 97.89%, 97.69%, 97.74%, 93.92% and 99.22%, respectively. There was good agreement (Kappa=0.94, P<0.05) between the two methods. Conclusion For the imaging of lower extremity arterial stenosis, NCE-MRA shows similar image quality and diagnostic accuracy with CE-MRA, thus can be used as an alternative method for lower extremity arterial stenosis in patients who have renal insufficiency or other contraindication of contrast media.

Objective To evaluate the effieaey of test bolus technique with multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) for determining the optimal scan delay time in CT Hepatic artery (HA)-portal vein (PV) angiography and multi-phase scanning.Methods MSCT liver angiography and multi-phase scanning were performed in 187 patients divided randomly into two groups.In group A (n =59),the scan delay time was set according to the subjective experiences of operators; in group B (n=128),the scan delay time was determined by test bolus technique.Abdominal aorta and superior mesenteric,vein were selected as target blood vessels,and 50 HU was set as enhancement threshold value.20 ml contrast agent was injected intravenously and time-density curve of target blood vessels were obtained,then HA-PV scanning delay time were calculated respectively.The quality of CTA images obtained by using these 2 methods were compared and statistically analysed using Chi-square criterion.Resuits For hepatic artery phase,the images of group A are:excellent in 34(58%),good in 17(29%),and poor in 8 (13%),while those of group B are excellent in 128( 100%),good in 0(0%),and poor in 0(0%).For portal vein phase,the images of group Aare:excellent in 23(39%),good in 27(46%),and poor in 9(15%),while those of group B are excellent in 96 (75%),good in 28 (22%),and poor in 4 (3%) respectively.There was statistically significant difference between the ratios of image quality in group A and group B (X2=14.97,9.18,P < 0.05).Conclusion Accurate scan delay time was best determined by using test bolus technique,which can improve the image quality of liver angingraphy and multi-phase scanning.

Chronic pain is a public health concern of desiderate to be solved, and analgesics is not always successful and may be difficult to tolerate in clinic.Studies have suggested that the development of chronic pain involves alterations in multiple brain regions.Central modulation mechanisms, especially those soliciting the prefrontal cortex and its related brain regions, may play an important role.Non-pharmacological therapies such as transcranial direct current stimulation, transcranial repetitive magnetic stimulation and cognitive behavior therapy have emerged to be effective interventions of great potential for chronic pain in recent years.Hereby the research progress was reviewed on the neural modulation effect of prefrontal cortex in non-pharmacological treatment of chronic pain, focusing on the related changes in brain structure and function, to further explore the underlying mechanism of pain modulation, and provide theoretical basis to optimize non-pharmacological treatment of chronic pain.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of using liquid chromatography (HPLC) to characterize the 3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) redox state of mussel adhesive protein (MAP).

METHODSThe DOPA and protein contents of MAP were determined by HPLC, Arnow and Bradford methods respectively.

RESULTSWith extended oxidation time, the protein contents of MAP samples remained unchanged whereas the DOPA contents declined. The retention times of main peaks in HPLC for both the accelerated oxidation and retained samples shifted as the storage time extended, which could be related to the changes of sample redox state.

CONCLUSIONSThe redox state of MAP can be characterized by the change of HPLC peak retention time. HPLC can be used in the research on the MAP redox state, which is beneficial to the product development and quality control.

Ebola virus (EBOV) is an extremely contagious pathogen first discovered in Africa associated with severe hemorrhagic disease in humans and nonhuman primates, which has resulted in at least 28 500 suspected cases and 11 300 confirmed deaths in 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Rapid and sensitive detection of EBOV is the key to increasing the probability of survival and reducing infection rates in pandemic regions. Here, we report an ultrasensitive and instrument-free EBOV detection assay based on colloidal carbon immunochromatography. Carbon nanoparticle-labeled rabbit anti-EBOV-VP40 IgG were concentrated in the conjugate pad, monoclonal antibody (McAb, 4B7F9) against EBOV-VP40 and goat anti-rabbit IgG were immobilized on the nitrocellulose membrane with 2 μL/cm at a concentration of 1 mg/mL as test and control lines, respectively. Then the sample application pad, conjugate release pad, nitrocellulose membrane and absorbent pad were assembled into a lateral flow test strip. The test strip shows strong specificity against related viruses that share similar clinical symptoms and geographic range with EBOV, including marburg virus, influenza virus, yellow fever virus and dengue virus. In addition, 1 500 negative serums were tested with false-positive rate of 1.3‰ which significantly lower than that of ReEBOV™ colloidal gold test kit recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The sensitivity of this strip was analyzed using inactivated EBOV with detection limit of 100 ng/mL (10⁶ copies/mL) which clearly higher than that of ReEBOV™ dipstick (10⁸ copies/mL). Furthermore, the strip showed excellent thermal stability characteristics in room temperature and could be as a point-of-care (POC), ultra-sensitive and specific promising candidate for EBOV serological screening in rural Africa or entry/exit ports.
Animals ; Carbon ; Ebolavirus ; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola ; Humans ; Nanoparticles ; Rabbits