Objective To analyze the effects of puerperium pelvic floor muscle training on pelvic floor muscle strength and its clinical significance. Methods One hundred postpartum women were included, with full-term singleton pregnancies and with complete follow-up records from Obstetrics Department of Peking University First Hospital between March 1, 2013 and October 31, 2013. Women with vaginal birth and cesarean birth commenced pelvic floor muscle training twice a day from 24 and 72 h after delivery, respectively. According to the different training frequencies, the subjects were divided into three groups: never-training group, occasional-training group (<6 times per week) and regular-training group (≥6 times per week). All patients received pelvic floor muscle strength measurement 6-8 weeks after parturition. And the strength of type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ pelvic floor muscle fiber was divided into 0, Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ and Ⅴgrade. The abnormal strength of typeⅠand typeⅡpelvic floor muscle fiber standed for the grades lower thanⅢ. We compared the general conditions, delivery modes and abnormal ratio of type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ pelvic floor muscle fiber among the three groups, analyzed the relativity between the level of pelvic floor muscle fiber strength and pelvic floor muscle training frequency, and analyzed the influential factors of pelvic floor muscle fiber strength. Statistical analyses were performed by one-way ANOVA, rank-sum test, Pearson χ2 test, Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test, Nemenyi test, Spearman rank correlation analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Results There was no statistical difference in age, gestation at delivery, parity, body mass index before delivery, neonatal birth weight and delivery mode among the never-training group (21 cases), occasional-training group (30 cases) and regular-training group (49 cases) (all P > 0.05). There was no statistical difference in labor time of first, second and total stage and episiotomy rate among the vaginal birth cases of the three groups. The abnormal ratio of type Ⅰ muscle fiber strength among the three groups was 100% (21/21), 77% (23/30) and 6% (3/49), respectively, while that of type Ⅱ muscle fiber strength was 100% (21/21), 53% (16/30) and 20% (10/49), respectively. And there were significant statistical differences among the three groups (F=119.16 and 77.84, both P<0.01). Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated that the level of typeⅠand typeⅡmuscle fiber strength had a significant positive correlation with pelvic floor muscle training frequency (r=0.88 and 0.79, both P<0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that pelvic floor muscle training was an influential factor for pelvic floor muscle strength level (95%CI:0.000-0.193, P<0.01). Conclusions Puerperium pelvic floor muscle training can help enhance the tension force of pelvic floor muscle, might benefiting the postpartum recovery of pelvic floor muscle function.

Picrotoxin is an anatagninst of gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is an internal inhibition-transmitter in the central nervous system, Picrotoxin exerts a biphasic action on the blood pressure and heart rate in rats and cats in vivo. That is to say, in the initial stage, picrotoxin can lower the blood pressure and heart rate, and then an elevation of these two even above the original level can be observed, up to the present, from the authors limited literature, there has been no report dealing with the problem whether picrotoxin can act on an isolated heart directly.In this study, the heart of a frog was isolated and routine intubation of the heart was done for its perfusion. Physiological polyconduction instrument was inserted through a mechanical transducer to record the heart rale and myocardial contractility. A suspending glass microelectrode coupling with a microamplifier is used to record the action potential of the ventricular myocardium. Real time analysis of all the data was accomplished with a microcomputer. The dosages of picrotoxin used were 1,5, 3.0, 6.0, and 12.0 mg per kilogram of body weight.It was found that picrotcxin can directly act on the isolated frog heart. The results were as follows.1 ) Picrotoxin exerts inhibition on the special conduction system of the heart,and the A-V node and venous sinus are very sensitive. Complete or partial transmission block can be induced.2 ) It can elicit clearly a fall of the heart rate but no biphasic action can berevealed. 3) It can reduce the myocardial contractility, suggesting that the calciuminflow during the functioning period of the action potential is effected. 4 ) It can reduce the amplitude of the action potential but no effect on themaximal depolarization speed is observed, suggesting that picrotoxin islikely to affect the level of resting potential but not the action potentialin the depolarized period.

Objective:Iron accumulation is related to the occurrence of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Meanwhile, autophagy abnormality of bone marrow hematopoietic cells is observed in hip osteoporotic fracture. This study is performed to investigate correlation between iron accumulation induced bone loss and hematopoietic autophagy dysfunction to explore the new risk factor of osteoporosis.Methods:Male iron accumulation mice model was established by intraperitoneally injecting ferric ammonium citrate. Serum ferritin and osteogenic indicator P1NP were tested by ELISA. Bone mineral density was measured by micro-CT. Femur and tibia bone marrows were collected for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells proportion and cell apoptosis analysis. Autolysosome formation was measured by image flow cytometry. We used conditional mouse model Atg7 flox/flox; Vav-Cre(Atg7 -/-) in which Atg7 had been genetically deleted in the hematopoietic system. Bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were collected for RNA sequence. micro-CT scan was conducted for Atg7 -/- femur. Results:Ferritin level of iron accumulation mice was significantly higher than control group( P<0.05). Iron accumulation inhibited P1NP and induced decreased bone mineral density( P<0.05). Iron accumulation bone marrow displayed enhanced hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells proportion( P<0.05), with more cell apoptosis( P<0.05). Hematopoietic autophagy was deteriorated in iron accumulation bone marrow. Transcriptomic profiling showed up-regulation of iron activity in Atg7 -/- mice, with increased iron homeostasis and iron membrane transporter genes, including Lcn2, Tfr2, Slc40a1(Fpn1), Steap3, and Cpox. micro-CT revealed severe bone loss and decreased bone mineral density in Atg7 -/- mice( P<0.05). Conclusion:Iron accumulation induced bone loss is related to inhibition of hematopoietic cells. Hematopoietic autophagy dysfunction is associated with bone loss.

OBJECTIVETo establish a mouse model of abdominal aorta stenosis and analyze the alterations in the arterial wall response to high and low shear stress.

METHODSTwenty mouse were randomized equally into 4 groups, including 3 test groups (1, 7 and 14 day groups) with surgically induced stenosis of the abdominal aorta, and a sham-operated group without stenosis. The hemodynamics and the internal diameter of the blood vessel were measured by color Doppler flow imaging. The wall shear stress was calculated by Poiseiulle hydrodynamics formula (τ(m)=η×4×V(m)/D). Pathological examination and immunohistochemistry were performed to observe the arterial morphological changes and the endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression. The intimal-media thickness of the aorta was measured and endothelial VCAM-1 expression analyzed quantitatively.

RESULTSRegions of low and high flow shear stress were created upstream from the stenosis and within the stenosis, respectively. Compared with the sham-operated group, the mice with aorta stenosis showed gradually increased vascular intimal-media thickness and VCAM-1 expression intensity in the upstream aorta, but not within the regions of the stenosis.

CONCLUSIONVascular remodeling may occur shortly after exposure to low shear stress, which plays a significant role in initiation and progression of the pathological process of atherosclerosis mediated by VCAM-1, whereas high shear stress may exert an anti-atherosclerotic effect.

Animals ; Aorta, Abdominal ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; physiopathology ; Atherosclerosis ; physiopathology ; Constriction ; Hemodynamics ; Male ; Mice ; Shear Strength ; physiology ; Stress, Mechanical ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo assess the operation indications, preoperative evaluation, technique essentials and clinical prospect of endovascular stent-graft exclusion for aortic dissection.

METHODSFrom September 1998 to April 2003, endovascular stent-graft exclusion for aortic dissection (Stanford B) was preformed in 146 patients. CTA or MRA were used as preoperative evaluation methods. Graft was constructed from self-expanding Z-stents covered with a woven Dacron polyester fabric graft (Talent). The stent-grafts were inserted from the femoral or iliac artery to exclude the tear of dissection, and all operations were performed under DSA guidance.

RESULTSThe grafts were installed successfully in 145 patients. In 119 patients only proximal tears were excluded, and 26 patients who had both the proximal and distal tears were excluded. The mean follow-up period was 16 months (1 - 54 months). Six patients died within the perioperative period, 2 patients died during the follow-up, 2 patients had recurrence of aortic dissection (Stanford A) and cured by Bentall operation. The others were in good state. No accidents related to the dissection and operation occurred.

CONCLUSIONSEndovascular graft exclusion may be a safe and effective treatment for selected patients with thoracic aortic dissection. Endoleak may lead to aneurysmal expansion and rupture. Further follow-up is necessary to evaluate its long-term effect.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Angiography ; methods ; Aortic Aneurysm ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Preoperative Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

To make clear of the absorbed components of Tianzhusan (TZS) and its possible mechanism in preventing vascular dementia (VD), the rats' models of VD were prepared by a permanent ligation of the bilateral common carotid arteries. After 60 days, rats were administrated with TZS for 0.1 g x kg(-1), and the volume is 0.02 mL x g(-1). After 3 days, the medicated serum was prepared and detected by UPLC, and then we predicted the possible chemical structure of the absorbed components of TZS. According to the absorbed components, the potential targets of TZS were found by ligand profiling of Discovery Studio 3.5. All of these target genes were submitted to DAVID onine for gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The 5 absorbed components of TZS have been predicted, and four of them have been identified as parishin B, parishin C, parishin, pennogenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosy-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucoside. Through reverse finding targets, we got 861 pharmacophore models and 9 pathways from KEGG, BIOCARTA after document verification. These results showed that the efficacy mechanism of TZS on VD perhaps were be related with these absorbed components and pathways. If the traditional herbs could be proved effective by efficacy tests, the serum pharmacochemistry, computer-aided drug design, system biology and other technologies can be used in the next experiments, which will be beneficial to fast discovery of material basis and mechanisms of traditional medicine coming form ethnic minorities.
Animals ; Dementia, Vascular ; prevention & control ; Drug Discovery ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Gastrodia ; chemistry ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Trillium ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence of wheezing and chronic cough in children aged 3-14 years in different living areas of Zhongshan, China.

METHODSAccording to the unified program of the 2010 national epidemiological survey of asthmatic children aged 0-14 years, a questionnaire survey of the children aged 3-14 years in rural and urban areas of Zhongshan was conducted.

RESULTSA total of 15 763 children were included in the survey. Among all participants, 8 248 were from the urban area, and 7 515 from the rual area; 8 306 were boys, and 7 457 were girls. The percentage of children with a history of wheezing was significantly higher in the urban group than in the rural group (6.6% vs 3.2%; P<0.05), and it was significantly higher in boys than in girls for each group (P<0.05). The urban group had a significantly higher percentage of individuals who had wheezing in the past one year than the rural group (2.8% vs 1.5%; P<0.05), and this percentage was significantly higher in boys than in girls for each group (P<0.05). Compared with the rural group, the urban group had a significantly higher percentage of individuals who had chronic cough (duration 1 year) (7.9% vs 3.1%; P<0.05). The above indices were relatively high in children under 6 years of age, and all but the percentage of girls who had wheezing in the past one year in both rural and urban areas showed significant differences between all age groups.

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of wheezing and chronic cough varies with age, sex, and living area for children aged 3-14 years in Zhongshan, and it is relatively high under 6 years of age, in the urban area, and among boys.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; Cough ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Respiratory Sounds ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUNDHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer in China, an area of high hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Although several staging systems are available, there is no consensus on the best classification to use because multiple factors, such as etiology, clinical treatment and populations could affect the survival of HCC patients.

METHODSThis study analyzed 743 HBV-related Chinese HCC patients who received surgery first and evaluated the predictive values of eight different commonly used staging systems in the clinic.

RESULTSThe overall 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates and a median survival were 91.5%, 70.3%, 55.3% and 72 months respectively. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging systems had the best stratification ability and showed the lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) values (2896.577), followed by tumor-node-metastasis 7 th (TNM 7 th ) (AIC = 2899.980), TNM 6 th (AIC = 2902.17), Japan integrated staging score (AIC = 2918.085), Tokyo (AIC = 2938.822), Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score (AIC = 2941.950), Chinese University Prognostic Index grade (AIC = 2962.027), and Okuda (AIC = 2979.389).

CONCLUSIONSBCLC staging system is a better staging model for HBV infection patients with HCC in Chinese population among the eight currently used staging systems. These identifications afford a large group of Chinese HCC patients with HBV infection and could be helpful to design a new staging system for a certain population.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; mortality ; pathology ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Survival Rate

Objective To retrospectively analyze the dosimetry and efficacy of whole-brain irradiation (WBRT) with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) by helical tomotherapy (HT) in the treatment of multiple brain metastases (BMs),and to evaluate the feasibility,efficacy,and safety of HT.Methods From 2014 to 2017,a total of 43 patients with multiple BMs (no less than 3 lesions) were enrolled as subjects.A dose of 40 Gy was delivered to the whole brain in 20 fractions,while a dose of 60 Gy was delivered to the gross target volume (GTV) in 20 fractions.Patients were reexamined by magnetic resonance imaging during treatment.The radiation field would be shrunk if GTV was reduced.Target coverage (TC),conformity index (CI),prescription isodose/target volume (PITV) ratio,and homogeneity index (HI) were assessed.Clinical indices included local recurrence-free survival (LRFS),intracranial progression-free survival (IPFS),progression-free survival (PFS),overall survival (OS),and toxicities.Results The median lesion number was 6(3-36) and the median total volume of GTV was 8.74 cm3.The TC,CI,PITV,and HI for GTV were 0.96±0.028,0.51±0.164,2.09±1.245,and 0.12±0.066,respectively,while the TC and HI for the whole brain were 0.95±0.033 and 0.43±0.161,respectively.In all the patients,26％ had replarming during treatment.The two-stage treatment reduced the radiation dose to organs at risk.The 1-year LRFS,IPFS,PFS,and OS rates were 96％,80％,39％,and 86％,respectively.No grade ≥3 toxicities were observed.Conclusions WBRT with SIB by HT achieves satisfactory conformity,homogeneity,efficacy,and safety,which is a recommended treatment plan for multiple BMs.Replanning during treatment can better protect normal tissue.

Objective To develop a novel measurement system composed of micro-CT, mechanical loading device and digital volume correlation (DVC) technique, so as to measure the three-dimensional microstructural deformation field in bone tissue. Methods Uniaxial compression was applied on the specimen with the micromechanical loading device, and CT scans were also conducted while maintaining the same loads; then sequential CT images were matched and searched accordingly by DVC method to calculate the micro-displacement in the specimen along three directions before and after loading; repeated scanning of zero-displacement and rigid body translation were used to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the system. The three-dimensional distribution of displacement field in bovine cancellous bone was measured by the system. Results The result from repeated scanning of zero-displacement showed that the highest accuracy of measurement was performed in the loading direction and the precision was less than tenth of the CT resolution. The result of rigid body translation showed that the standard deviation was 0.001~0.002 μm. For cancellous bone specimen under the load of 600 N, the range of micro-displacement was 100.35~110.25 μm, with multilayer field distribution. Conclusions The accuracy and precision of this measurement system can meet the requirement of DVC method. It is proved that this system can be used for measuring the three-dimensional micro-deformation field in the cancellous bone and as a measurement platform for investigating the relationship between deformation distribution and structural response in bone tissue for the future research.