Objective:To investigate the effects of safflor yellow ( SY) on body fat, fatty liver and insulin resistance in diet-in-duced obese mice. Methods:Male C57BL/6 mice at the age of 4 weeks were fed with high fat diet ( HF) for 8 weeks to make the obese model. The mice were intraperitoneally injected SY (100 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 ) for 6 weeks. At the end of experiment, the introper-itoneal glucose tolerance test ( IPGTT) and insulin tolerance test ( ITT) were performed, and the body fat, blood lipid profile and the other metabolic parameters were detected. Meanwhile, the epididymis fat and liver tissue were withdrawn for HE staining, the adipo-cyte area was quantified and the morphology of liver was observed. Results:SY significantly reduced the body weight, body fat mass, adipocyte area, liver weight and blood lipid levels of the obese mice (P<0. 05), and fatty liver was obviously alleviated after the ad-ministration of SY. Meanwhile, IPITT and ITT tests showed that SY significantly improved the glucose intolerance and insulin resist-ance of the obese mice(P<0. 05). Conclusion:SY has significant weight-loss effects and it can alleviate fatty liver, and improve glu-cose intolerance and insulin resistance in diet-induced obese mice.

[Objective]To analyse the imaging findings of thoracic and lumbar fibrous dysplasia and evaluate the imaging characteristics.[Method]Among 5 cases of monostotic fibrous dysplasia of thoracic and lumbar spines,4 were imaged with CT scaning,2 with MRI and 5 with X-ray.All materials were analysed.[Result]Each X-ray revealed a round or oval radiolucent lesion surrounded by a distinct and thick rim of sclerosis.CT showed a round or oval low-density lesion with a high-density borderline between the lesion and normal vertebral bone tissue.Bone cortex remained intact in all cases.The lesion showed homogeneous long T1 signal on T1WI and hypo-or isointensity signal on T2WI.There was a characteristic hypointensity loop surrounded the lesion on T1WI,T2WI and PdWI.The lesion was demonstrated obviously in the contrast enhancement of scanning.[Conclusion]Monostotic fibrous dysplasia of thoracic and lumbar spine shows distinctive imaging characteristics that are different from dysplasia of limb bone or skull.These characteristics are decisive in the diagnosis of the lesion.

The X-ray radiograph, CT scan and MRI appearance of 5 patients with pathologically proven fibrous dysplasia in thoracic and lumbar spine vertebrae were retrospectively analyzed. Plain radiographs, CT scans and MR images showed the presentation of eccentric lesion with intact cortex bone and marginal sclerosis in vertebral bodies without involvement of vertebral appendix and extraosseous soft tissue. The lesion masses were round (one being oval-shaped) and radiolucent in plain radiographs and CT scans. Homogeneous long signal was observed on T1 weighted image and strongly enhanced when gadolinium was administered. On T2 weighted MRI, short signal was found in the anterior part of the mass, long signal in the posterior part, and short and slight long signal in the middle part, without partitioning and laminating change. There was a good correlation between radiological features and surgical findings. These findings may be useful to diagnose fibrous dysplasia in spine.
Fibrous Dysplasia, Monostotic/diagnosis ; Fibrous Dysplasia, Monostotic/*radiography ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE:To study the current situation and developing trend of the antidiabetics used in Guangdong re?gion.METHODS:The antidiabetics used in44hospitals in Guangdong region during the period2000～2003were analysed concerning the kinds of drug,sum of money for consumption and frequency of drug use.RESULTS:The sum of money for consumption of antidiabetics increased year by year so did its proportion in sum of money for consumption of total drug.Among them,consumption of insulin increased very quickly and oral antidiabetics assumed a tendency of increase as well.CONCLUSI_ ON:The variety of insulin is stable and new oral antidiabetics is going into market occasionally in this region,but frequency of use is primary to sulfonylurea,biguanides and glycosidase-inhibitors.

Objective To investigate the image quality and radiation dose of 640-slice CT coronary arteriography(CTCA) with adaptive iterative dose reduction three-dimensional (AIDR3D)reconstrucction algoritym.Methods 640-slice CTCA with auto-matic exposure was performed on 84 consecutive patients.The original image data were reconstructed with AIDR3D and the filtered back-projection (FBP)algorithms at the image postprocessing workstation.Two experienced radiologists without knowing clinical information and reconstruction algorithms independently measured and calculated the image noise,signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio with AIDR3D and FBP reconstruction algorithms.The qualitative image quality was assessed by using the 4-point scale.The radiation dose was calculated based on dose-length product exported on CT scanner.The quantitative and qualitative im-age quality with two kinds of reconstruction algorithm was analyzed statistically.Results The CTCA image noise was (27.20± 4.40)HU with AIDR3D and (60.00±12.40)HU with FBP,which with AIDR3D was decreased by 46.10% than that with FBP;the signal-to-noise ratio was 21.10 ± 5.10 with AIDR3D and 11.40 ± 2.80 with FBP,which with AIDR3D was increased by 84.70% than that with FBP;the contrast-to-noise ratio was 24.70±5.10 with AIDR3D and 13.50±3.20 with FBP,which with AIDR3D was raised by 82.20% than that with FBP,the differences in 3 indexes between the two kinds of reconstruction algorithm were statistically significant(P < 0.05 ).The CTCA qualitative image quality scores of proximal,middle and distal parts with AIDR3D were (3.90±0.30),(3.70±0.50)and (3.60±0.60)respectively,which all were higher than (2.60±0.60),(2.30± 0.60)and (2.10±0.70)with FBP respectively,the differences in 3 items between 2 kinds of algorithm had statistical significance (P <0.05).The total segments which could be used to diagnose the CTCA images with AIDR3D and FBP algorithms were 1 216 segments (96.50%)and 504 segments (40.00%),respectively,the difference had statistical significance(P <0.05).The mean ef-fective radiation dose was (2.10±1.00)mSv.Conclusion 640-slice CTCA with AIDR3D reconstruction algorithm not only signifi-cantly reduces the image noise than the conventional FBP algorithm,improves the quantitative and qualitative image quality,but also decreases the effective radiation dose.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide (rh-BNP) combined with levosimendan on acute myocardial infarction complicated by heart failure.Methods Patients who suffered from anterior wall acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with heart failure (KillipⅡ ～ Ⅲ) within 12 to 24 hours after the onset of chest pain were randomized into two groups: the control group (n=30, receiving dobutamine and/or cedilanid) and the experimental group (n=30, receiving rh-BNP combined with levosimendan).The hemodynamics, parameters of laboratory tests and adverse events were observed before and after treatment.Results The experimental group showed that the respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), arterial blood gas oxygen saturation (SaO2), cardiac index (CI), extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) were significantly different between 2 h and sequential time points after treatment and pre-treatment (allP＜0.05).The control group showed that RR, HR, SaO2, CI, EVLWI were significantly different between 6 h and sequential time points after treatment and pre-treatment (P＜0.05 for all).There were significant differences in RR, HR, SBP, SaO2, CI, EVLWI at 2 h and 6 h after treatment between the two groups (P＜0.05 for all).Parameters of RR, HR, CI, EVLWI at 72 h after treatment had differences between the experimental group and controls.Patients in the experimental group presented larger urine volume, lower level of plasma NT-pro BNP, higher left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and shorter length of stay in CCU as compared with patients in the control group (P＜0.05 for all).In adverse events monitoring in hepatic parameters, electrolyte level and coagulation function before and after treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups.Conclusions Compared with the conventional treatment, the combination therapy with rh-BNP and levosimendon can improve the hemodynamics, increase the urine volume, decrease the level of plasma NT-proBNP and elevate LVEF significantly, so as to improve the clinical symptoms and shorten the hospital stay in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by heart failure.

Objective To explore the symptoms of anxiety,family structure,and the distribution features of family about in-patients.And to find out the influence of the family structure on in-patients' symptoms of anxiety.The results would provide evidentiary support and suggestions for in-patients to improve quality of life and for prevention and intervention of anxiety.Methods Family table was used to register the family structure which was classified as the nuclear family,stem/expended family and other classification.The anxiety of in-patients was measured by self-rating anxiety scale.Results A total of 512 cases of in-patients completed the survey,there were 483 valid questionnaires.The rate of effective questionnaire was 94.34％.In family structure of in-patients,core family accounted for 48.65％,stem/expended family was 36.85％.The sex of family structure showed significant difference,the female proportion of the nuclear family was significantly higher than male.Among all in-patients,78.05％ did not have anxiety,low-level,medium-level,and severe anxiety showed no significant differences.The effects of anxiety on family structure had significant differences.The anxiety level of stem family was relatively higher.Conclusions Economic development and the population flow due to industrialization and globalization changed family structure of our country,especially in coastal de-velopment cities with fast economic development,fast-paced and stressful work,and it may affect the influ-ence of Chinese traditional family structure on anxiety of the in-patients.

Objective To construct a model for persistent genital tract infection with Chlamydia trachomatis in mice with low serum iron. Methods Iron deficiency was induced in female BALB/c mice by lowiron diet. Mice with or without iron-deficency were inoculated intravaginally with direct instillation of 50 μl of bacterial suspension containing 3.4344 × 107 IFU/ml of C. trachomatis serovar E elementary body 1 week after intramuscular injection of progesterone. Moxifloxacin and ferrous sulfate, alone or in combination were given to inoculated mice with iron deficiency daily for 1 week. Subsequently, vaginal discharge was obtained from mice and observed under an immunofluorescence microscope, and tissue specimens were resected from the uterus,uterine tube and ovary of mice and subjected to pathological examination at various time points. Results Compared with normal-iron mice, iron-deficient mice were infected with C. trachomatis for a longer duration (more than 18 weeks). After 18-week infection with C. trachomatis, there was an obvious chronic inflammation and lymphocytic infiltration in tissues specimens from the uterus,uterine tube and ovary of mice. Immunofluorescent examination of vaginal discharge for C. trachomatis turned negative in 60% of iron-deficient mice treated with both moxifloxacin and ferrous sulfate, but not in any of those receiving moxifloxacin or ferrous sulfate alone. Conclusion As animal models show, low serum iron may contribute to the persistent genital tract infection with C. trachomatis.

Objective To explore the influence of erythropoietin (EPO) on infection induced neonatal rat brain injury at different starting time and its related mechanism.Methods Postnatal day 2 (P2) newborn SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:control group (group A),lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group (group B),the early EPO group(group C)and the later EPO group(group D).Pups in group A,B and C were injected different drugs intraperitoneally(group A for saline,group B for 0.6 mg/kg of LPS,and group C for 0.6 mg/kg of LPS and 5 000 U/kg of EPO) once a day for consecutive 5 days(P2-P6).LPS in group D were injected 0.6 mg/kg of LPS intraperitoneally once a day for consecutive 5 days(P2 P6),and with 5 000 U/kg of EPO once a day for consecutive 5 days(P7-P1 1).Rats in each group were given different drugs starting at corresponding time by intraperitoneal injection for 5 consecutive days.Every 10 newborn rats in group A and B were selected randomly on P2(6 h after intraperitoneal injection of drugs for the first time),P7 and P12,the brains were divided into the left and the right hemispheres marked by sagittal suture,using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method to evaluate the erythropoietin receptor(EPOR) protein level with the right cerebral hemisphere and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used to investigate EPOR mRNA level of the left cerebral hemisphere.Immunohistochemical method was adopted to evaluate the expression of myelin basic protein(MBP),glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) and EPOR at specified time point,and HE dyeing for the pathological changes of brain damage in different groups.Results HE staining of the group A presented the normal structure in the neonatal rat brain.Reduced numbers of hippocampal pyramidal cells,expansion of the lateral ventricles and periventricular leukomalacia were found in group B.No leukomalacia or lateral ventricles's expansion in EPO administrated groups and it was more obvious in group C.The EPOR protein and mRNA of group B was increased compared with the group A.The EPOR protein and mRNA levels had a tendency to decline with the increase of age.The MBP expression of group B(107.46 ±3.65)was significantly reduced compared with the group A(146.78 ± 3.13) (P ＜ 0.05),and the expression of EPO groups increased in contrast to the group B,moreover,the group C (126.25 ± 4.42) increased more obviously than that of group D(117.35 ± 3.42) (P ＜ 0.05).The GFAP expression of group B(141.46 ± 11.92 at P7 and 149.48 ± 13.59 at P12) increased significantly than group A(120.63 ± 13.32 at P7 and 119.74 ± 12.48 at P12) (P ＜0.05),the EPO group expressed lower than group B at the P12,and the group C (134.59 ± 12.19) decreased than the group D(137.27 ± 13.87) (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions EPO shows a protective effect on the cerebral white matter injury caused by postpartum infection,it is superior to administer EPO at early time than later time.The mechanism of the protective effect may be connected with the fact that the infection can induce the expression of brain EPOR and the EPOR expression level has a tendency to decline with the increase of age.

Objective To explore the effects of virtual reality (VR) combined with motor imagery therapy on the upper limb function of hemiplegic stroke survivors.Methods Thirty-nine hemiplegic stroke patients were divided randomly into a treatment group (n =20) and a control group (n =19).Both groups were treated with motor imagery therapy,but the treatment group also received VR training lasting 20 min/day,6 days/week for 8 weeks.All of the patients were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer (FMA) upper limb assessment,the modified Barthel index (MBI) and electromyography at the beginning and after eight weeks of treatment.Results Before the intervention there was no significant difference between the groups in any of the assessments.After eight weeks of treatment,all the assessment results in the treatment group were significantly better than those in the control group.Conclusion Virtual reality combined with motor imagery therapy can distinctly improve the upper limb motor function of hemiplegic stroke survivors and their ability in the activities of daily living.