Heart Failure ; Humans ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Prognosis

By comparing three cultivation techniques of Astragalus mongholicus, i. e. direct seeding, furrow erectplanting and furrow flat planting, it was found that furrow flat planting is the optimum technique. Its yield onplain ground was 1. 26kg/m' and 0. 96kg/m_2 on mountainous area- Root of the plant was longer, thicker andheavier than that produced hy other cultivation techniqlles. Its input/output ratio was l s l2' 94 on plaingrounfl and l: 9. 95 on n1ollntainous area. Therefore,it can be considered as a scientifically justifiable,economically technique for the cultivation of A. mongholicus on both plain ground and mountainous regions.

0 05). The serum levels of both IL-8 and TNF (P

Aim To study the effect of saikogenin d (SGD) on prostaglandin E 2(PGE 2) production in C 6 rat glioma cells. Methods Radioimmunoassay was applied to determine PGE 2 production in the cells. Scintillation counting was used to measure liberation of -arachidonic acid (AA) from the cells labeled with -AA. Results In vitro, SGD alone at 1～20 ?mol?L -1 did not affect PGE 2 release from cells, but inhibited its release induced by A23187, a Ca 2+ ionophore. The inhibition was concentration-dependent, with the IC 50 value of about 3 ?mol?L -1. SGD (2～10 ?mol?L -1 ) had no inhibitory effect on A23187-induced AA release or on the conversion of AA to PGE 2 in microsomal preparations. Conclusion SGD inhibites A23187-induced PGE 2 production in C 6 rat glioma cells in vitro, without either inhibition of free AA liberation or a direct inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) activity.

BacKground:The mechanism of diabetic gastrointestinaI dysmotiIity is stiII uncIear. More and more studies showed that gastrointestinaI smooth muscIe derived factors pIay an important roIe in gastrointestinaI dysmotiIity. RecentIy,the roIe of RhoA/ROCK signaIing pathway in diabetic compIications become a research hotspot. Aims:To investigate the possibIe roIe of RhoA/ROCK signaIing pathway in diabetic coIon dysmotiIity by examining the expressions of major signaIing moIecuIes in diabetic coIon muscIe. Methods:NormaI coIon tissue sampIes taken from patients undergoing radicaI surgery for coIonic cancer from Sept. 2012 to Dec. 2013 at the First AffiIiated HospitaI of Nanjing MedicaI University were coIIected. According to gIycated hemogIobin IeveI,the patients were divided into diabetes meIIitus( DM)group and controI group. The expressions of major signaIing moIecuIes in RhoA/ROCK1 signaIing pathway incIuding RhoA,ROCK1,MYPT1 and p-MYPT1 were determined by immunohistochemistry or Western bIotting. Results:Immunohistochemistry showed that expression of RhoA protein in DM group was significantIy Iower than that in controI group(P<0. 05). Western bIotting showed that expression IeveIs of RhoA,ROCK1 and p-MYPT1 proteins were significantIy Iower in DM group than in controI group(0. 62 ± 0. 42 vs. 1. 15 ± 0. 69,0. 54 ± 0. 09 vs. 0. 75 ± 0. 05,0. 70 ± 0. 28 vs. 1. 04 ± 0. 47;P<0. 05),whereas no significant difference in expression IeveI of MYPT1 protein was found between DM group and controI group(0. 94 ± 0. 50 vs. 1. 21 ± 0. 80,P>0. 05). Conclusions:The inhibition of RhoA/ROCK signaIing pathway in diabetic coIon muscIe may have some correIation with diabetic coIon dysmotiIity.

Objective To evaluate the potential effects of RS504393, CC chemokine receptor (CCR) 2b and CCR1 antagonist, on LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Method A549 cell line was stimulated with LPS (10 μg/mL) and then treated with RS504393 (10 μg/mL) for 6 hours. ALI model was established with intranasal administration of LPS (5 mg/kg) in C57BL/6J mice. RS504393 (5 mg/kg) was administered 30 min before LPS dripped nasally. IL-8, IL-1β, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-l,monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-2,and the expressions of CCR1 and CCR2b were studied by using Realtime-RT-PCR, ELISA and cyto-flowmetry. Results In A549 cell line treated with RS504393,the expressions of CCR1, CCR2b and IL-8 were significantly inhibited after LPS stimulation. In rats with LPS-induced ALI, treatment with RS504393 significantly protected mice against lung injury by attenuating influx of leukocytes and protein into bronchoalveolar space and by lessening pathological changes of lung. Treatment with RS504393 down-regulated IL-1β and PAI-1 expressions in bronchoal veolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lungs at mRNA and protein levels along with up-regulation MCP-2 expression compared to rats of vehicle-treated groups. Conclusions CCR2b and CCR1 play pivotal roles in the development of ALl,and RS504393 as a antagonist can halt the development of ALI.

The effects of amiodarone on transmural dispersion of ventricular effective refractory periods (ERPs) in the normal and hypertrophic canine heart were investigated in vivo. By using the programmed stimulation protocol, the ERPs of epicardium (Epi), midmyocardium (Mid) and endocardium (Endo) were measured by inserting specially-designed electrodes into the three myocardial layers before and after mainlining of amiodarone. No significant ERPs-dispersion was observed in the three layers before and after mainlining of amiodarone in the normal group. In contrast, ERPs of all the three layers were prolonged in the hypertrophic heart, while the ERPs-dispersion was reduced significantly after mainlining of amiodarone. The ERPs-dispersion was significantly increased in the hypertrophic heart but not in the normal heart using "long-short" and "short-long" interval stimulation technique. It was concluded that (1) the differences in ERPs-dispersion among the three layers were significant in hypertrophic heart, and differences were not significant in normal canine heart; (2) ERPs of each three-myocardial layers were significantly prolonged after using amiodarone, but the ERPs-dispersion decreased in hypertrophic heart and (3) the programmed extrastimulus technique of "long-short" and "short-long" intervals increased the transmural ERPs-dispersion in the hypertrophic heart.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Dust ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Pneumoconiosis ; prevention & control ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Cervical spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) is a special type of spinal cord injury. Because of the particularity of children in the period of growth and development on the aspects of anatomy and biomechanics, their injured mechanism and therapeutic method differ from those of adults.OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical feature and therapy of first-episode cervical SCIWORA in children.DESIGN: Retrospective analysis and self pre-and post-control observation.SETTING: Department of Spine Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital,Harbin Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 14 patients with cervical SCIWORA, who were treated at the Departmentof Spine Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital,Harbin Medical University between June 1997 and June 2003. Inclusive criteria: ①patients who had dysfunction of sensation, exercise and sphincter to different degree in clinic, ②patients who had no fracture dislocation after cervical vertebra X-ray plain film and MRI examination. The MRI examination showed the sign of spinal cord injury. T1WI spinal cord became thick. T2WI distributed at strip-shape high-signal region along spinal prosenchyma and spread upward and downward. There were 3 patients with complete spinal cord injury and 11 patients with incomplete spinal cord injury, among the patients with incomplete injury, there were 6 patients with central cord syndrome (CCS), 3 with Brown-Sequard syndrome and 2withfrontal spinal cord injury syndrome.METHODS: Retrospective analysis was performed in 14 children patients with cervical SCIWORA. Thirteen patients were not treated with operation and one patient was treated with cervical posterior atlantoaxial fusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ASIA grading before and after treatment in patients.RESULTS: There were 1 dead patient and 13 cases with 3-year follow up averagely. Three patients were with insignificant amelioration, and others had recovery of limb function to different degree. According to ASIA grading standard, before treatment there were 3 cases in A grade, 5 cases in B grade, 5 cases in C grade and 1 case in D grade, and after treatment there were 1 case recovering to B grade, 2 cases to C grade, 5 cases to D grade and 2 cases to E grade.CONCLUSION: Restoration of neurofunction of children with cervical SCIWORA has closely correlation with degree of primary injury of spinal cord. Most of the patients were not treated with operation, and those with obviously instable cervical vertebra can be treated with operation.

Objective To investigate MR findings and analysis of misdiagnosis of atypical invasive pituitary adenoma.Methods The MR findings of twenty cases of atypical invasive pituity adenomas confirmed by pathology were reviewed ,which were misdiag-nosed as chordomas or meningiomas.Results All the twenty cases showed iso-or slightly hypo-signal on T1 WI,iso-or slightly hy-per-signal on T2 WI;Enhanced scan displayed heterogeneous enhancement.The dynamic enhancement curve showed rapid enhance-ment phase.The bilateral cavernous sinuswere infringed in nine cases,in which the pituity and pituity stalk were not well seen. Among the twenty cases,twelve cases with suprasellar and anterior cranial fossa extension were misdiagnosed as meningiomas;eight cases with clival destruction were misdiagnosed as chordomas.Conclusion The MR features of atypical invasive pituity adenomas are various.In order to avoid misdiagnosis,a comprehensive analysis should be based on a variety of signs.