Objective To study the screening value of color doppler flow imaging (CDFI) for gastroesophageal reflux(GER).Methods Through the window of left lobe liver, the abdominal esophageal length,the phenomenon of GER and the frequency of GER were detected by CDFI in 55 children with GER and 55 control group.Results Abdominal esophagus was identified by CDFI in every children. The abdominal esophageal length was shorter in refluxers than that in control group. A significant correlation was found between its length and the age of control group.To diagnose GER with CDFI ,its accuracy was 98.18%,and its specificity was 76.36%.Conclusions Visualization and measurements of the abdominal esophagus are readily achieved with CDFI in children.Abdominal esophageal length is shorter in refluxers than that in control group. CDFI is a rapid method of screening GER.

Objective To study whether gastric liquid emptying is delayed in children with gastroesophageal reflux and its clinical significance. Methods At different times after meal, the gastric antral diameters were measured by real - time ultrasonography in 55 children with gastroesophageal reflux and 55 controls. Results At 20 min,60 min after meal , there was a significant difference in gastric emptying rate between case groups and control groups, respectively(P

Objective To explore the role of stromal interaction molecule 1(STIMI)on prohteration and intra- cellular Ca~(2+)change in vascular smooth muscle ceils(VSMC).Methods Rat VSMC were isolated from SD rats and primary cultured.Ad-si/rSTIM1 and Ad-hSTIM1 were transfected into VSMC.The protein of STIM1 was measured by Western blot,the proliferation of VSMC was analyzed by ~3H-thymidine(~3H-TdR)incorporation and cell count,the intracellular Ca~(2+)change was assessed By Aquaeosmos system.Ruselts Fourty-eight hours after transfection,as compared with Ad-hSTIMI group,the Ad-si/rSTIMI VSMC had lower expression of STIM1 protein (P

The biological artificial liver(BAL) can offer reliable artificial liver support for the patients with hepatic failure.All BAL devices contain hepatocytes as their biological component,whose specific biological characteristics contribute to the function of the BAL.During the past two decades,various cells including human hepatocytes,heterogeneous hepatocytes and liver cell lines have been used and different culture methods have been studied to optimize the activity of the biological component.However,both functionality and safety of these cells should be improved before successful use in BAL. This paper summarizes the latest progress on it.

With the deployment of electronic medical records systems, more and more routine clinical data are recorded electronically, which become a potential data source for new drug clinical trials. In this paper, we summarized the opportunities, challenges, obstacles and the latest development in this field.
Clinical Trials as Topic ; Data Collection ; methods ; Drug Evaluation ; Electronic Health Records

Objective To investigate whether the monthly distribution of birth was associated with congenital heart disease(CHD).Methods The monthly distribution of birth of 5 070 patients with CHD who accepted examination or treatment from Jan.2003 to Dec.2006 was investigated and compared with that of 6 627 healthy newborn children born in 2001-2006.The statistic analysis was accomplished with SPSS 12.0 software for ?2 test.Results Four hundred and forty-four of the 5 070 patients with CHD were born in January(8.8%),432 cases in February(8.5%),384 cases in March(7.6%),339 cases in April(6.7%),390 cases in May(7.7%),393 cases in June(7.8%),414 cases in July(8.2%),489 cases in August(9.6%),498 cases in September(9.8%),492 cases in October(9.7%),396 cases in November(7.8%),and 399 cases in December(7.8%).The structural ratio of the number of CHD patients were the highest for those who were born in August,September,October,and the lowest among those who were born of February and March,April.The number of CHD patients who were born in the autumnal months of August,September and October was 1 479(29.1%),much higher than those who were born in February,March and April(1 155 cases,22.8%)(P

AIMTo investigate the impact of human urotensin II (hUII) on pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMCs) cycle in vitro.

METHODSPASMCs dissected from Wistar rats were cultured in vitro, and incubated with series of concentrations of hUII (10(-7) mol/L, 10(-8) mol/L, 10(-9) mol/L) for 12 hours under normoxia or hypoxia condition, in order to analyze cell cycle progression and sub-G1 of PASMCs by using flow cytometric analysis stain of propidium iodide, which represented the proliferative and apoptotic changes in PASMCs.

RESULTSThe study showed a dose-dependent effect of hUII on PASMCs proliferation, which reflected the increase both in percentage of S phase of cell cycle and proliferative index (PI). The response of PASMCs to hUII was different under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Compared with the control group, the treatment of 10(-7) mol/L, 10(-8) mol/L and 10(-9) mol/L hUII produced an increase of 175%, 136% and 118% under normoxia, respectively, and 135%, 118% and 103% under hypoxia, respectively. The concentration 10(-7) mol/L hUII played a significant role in PASMCs proliferation both under hypoxia and normoxia (P < 0.01). The results of cell cycle did not show sub-G1 of PASMCs at various concentrations of hUII.

CONCLUSIONhUII may stimulate DNA synthesis in S phase cell cycle of PASMCs and the proliferation of PASMCs under normoxia and hypoxia conditions, which promote cell growth in a dose-dependent manner.

Animals ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; drug effects ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Urotensins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects and molecular mechanisms of rhein on reducing starvation-induced autophagic protein expression in renal tubular epithelial ( NRK-52E) cells.

METHODHank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) was used to induce NRK-52E cells to be in the state of starvation. After the intervention of HBSS for 0, 0.5,1, 2 and 6 hours, firstly, the protein expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3 I/II), which is a key protein in autophagy, was detected. Secondly, the protein expressions of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and phosphorylated-mTOR Ser2448 (p-mTOR S2448) were examined. And then, after the co-treatment of rhein (5 mg x L(-1)) and HBSS (1 mL) without or with mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin (100 nmol x L(-1)), the protein expressions of LC3 I/II, mTOR and p-mTOR S2448 were tested, respectively.

RESULTHBSS could induce the up-regulation of LC3 II and the down-regulation of p-mTOR S2448 at protein expression level in NRK-52E cells. The co-treatment of rhein and HBSS could reversely regulate the protein expressions of LC3 II and p-mTOR S2448 in NRK-52E cells significantly. The co-treatment of rapamycin, rhein and HBSS could recover the level of LC3 II protein expression in HBSS-intervened NRK-52E cells.

CONCLUSIONHBSS induces autophagy in renal tubular epithelial cells by inhibiting mTOR signaling pathway activation. Rhein reduces the autophagic protein expression in renal tubular epithelial cells through regulating mTOR signaling pathway activation, which is the possible effects and molecular mechanisms.

Animals ; Anthraquinones ; pharmacology ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Isotonic Solutions ; pharmacology ; Kidney Tubules ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; physiology

ObjectiveTo observe the expressions of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF) and its receptor c-Met in renal tissues of children with primary nephrotic syndrome(PNS) and the changes of serum HGF,and to explore its role in PNS chronic progress.MethodsForty-five children with PNS in active stage were studied.Among them,5 cases had severe tubulointerstitial lesions,12 cases had moderately tubulointerstitial lesions,21 cases were mild,7 cases without lesions.Serum from 20 normal cases and 10 normal renal tissues were evaluated as well.Inter-group comparison using One-Way ANOVA.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to examine the serum HGF,and immunohistochemistry staining and image analysis methods were used to study the expressions of HGF,c-Met,transforming growth factor-?1(TGF-?1) and ?-smooth muscle actin(?-SMA) in renal tissues.ResultsThe levels of HGF and c-Met protein expressions in renal tissues of children with severe tubulointerstitial lesions were significantly lower than those in the mild group and moderate group(Pa0.05).The level of HGF expression had positive correlation with the levels of TGF-?1,?-SMA among children with mild and moderately renal tubulointerstitial lesions(r=0.521,0.603Pa

Background One of the features of the pathogenesis of primary angle-closure glaucoma(PACG) is anterior synechia of peripheral iris.Goniosynechialysis and combination of phacoemulsification and goniosynechialysis have been applied for the treatment of the disease recently,but the selection of operative types has great impact on clinical efficacy.Objective This study was to investigate the long-term efficacy of goniosynechialysis and combination of phacoemulsification and goniosynechialysis for the management of chronic PACG.Methods A non-randomized clinical controlled trial was designed.This clinical trial complied with Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by Medical Ethic Committee of Nanjing Medical University.Written informed consent was obtained from each patient.One hundred and ten eyes of 110 patients with chronic PACG were assigned to the goniosynechialysis group and combined operative group from March,2008 to February,2011 in Wuxi People's Hospital.180° goniosynechialysis was performed on 34 patients in the goniosynechialysis group,and phacoemulsifieation +intraocular lens (IOL) implantation + goniosynechialysis were carried out in 78 patients of the combination operative group.All the patients were followed-up for 2 years.Vision acuity,intraocular pressure (IOP),anterior chamber depth(ACD),unltrasound biomicroscopy and perimetry were recorded and compared between before and after operation.Results No significant difference was found in vision acuity between preoperation and postoperative 2 years in the goniosynechialysis group ([0.65 ± 0.15] vs.[0.45 ± 0.15]) (t =1.57,P＞0.05),but in the combination operative group,the vision acuity was significantly different between the before and after operation ([0.25±0.15] vs.[0.85 ±0.05]) (t =9.12,P＜0.001).The lOPs at 2 years after operation were (14.2±4.1) mmHgand(13.7±4.8) mmHg,respectively in the goniosynechialysis group and combination operative group and were significantly lower than(47.2 ±6.3) mmHg and(46.9±7.0) mmHg before operation(t =4.95,P＜0.001 ;t=5.03,P＜0.001).The ACD values in the goniosynechialysis group and combination operative group were(3.38±0.02)mm and (3.54±0.03) mm 2 years after operation,which were significantly increased in comparison with (1.33 ±0.24)mm and (1.56±0.37) mm before operation(t=7.65,P＜0.001;t=6.76,P＜0.001).Conclusions Both combination of phacomulsification with goniosynechialysis or 180° goniosynechialysis are effective for the treatment of PACG.Suitable operation should be alternated depending on the indicators of PACG patients.