Objective To improve the awareness of fetal cardiac rhabdomyomas (CRs) and investigate a better model for prenatal diagnosis and treatment through analyzing imaging findings and prognosis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 23 cases of CRs which were diagnosed by ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from January 2008 to November 2015.General conditions,imaging features,prognosis and follow-up data of the 23 cases were described.Results The average gestational age of the 23 fetuses at diagnosis was (29.8±4.1) (22.4-35.7) weeks.Seventeen out of the 23 gravidas received prenatal multidisciplinary consultation.Among all 23 gravidas,three (13％) were lost to follow-up,12 (52％) decided to terminate the pregnancy,and the other eight (35％) continued to term pregnancy and their babies were followed up for three years.Of these eight cases,two cases received prenatal brain MRI and no tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) was detected,no CRs was identified during the follow-up,and their physical and mental developments were both normal.One case was diagnosed with suspected subependymal nodules by prenatal brain MRI in our hospital,but the MRI images was normal when scanned in the other hospital,and follow-up data revealed neither CRs nor abnormal physical and mental developments.Four cases did not received prenatal brain MRI,but the MRI images of neonatal brains indicated TSC,besides,follow-up data showed that seizures were observed,physical developments were all normal,but three of the four cases had mental retardation;CRs disappeared in only two of the four cases.One case had neither prenatal nor neonatal MRI,but follow-up data showed that CRs had disappeared and physical and mental developments were both normal.Conclusions Prenatal diagnosis of fetal tuberous sclerosis is crucial to the prognosis of CRs.Prenatal ultrasonography in combination with cranial MRI improves the accuracy of prenatal diagnosis of CRs complicated with TSC and assists in clinical decision-making and prognosis analysis.

Objective:To expose the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS infection among youth out of schools in a holistic view through understanding lifestyle,peer relations,awareness of HIV/AIDS,and HIV/AIDS prevention service of the youth.Methods:A cross-sectional survey based on the collective random sampling was conducted among 584 youth out of schools with or without a job in Anshan City,Liaoning Province in October 2005.Results:The awareness rate of HIV/AIDS among youth out of schools was 58.9%,and 65.6% of the subjects never accepted any health service related to HIV/AIDS prevention.42.6% of the respondents had sexual experience,and the rate of having sexual experience among males(62.3%)was higher than that of females(37.7%).And 30.5% of the youth seldom or never used a condom,51.2% of the youth having sex didn't use a condom in his/her last sex.28.2% of the youth having sex were ever involved in commercial sex relations.22 of the respondents(3.8%)had the experience of drug substance,the rate of having sex experience among youth who used the substance was higher than that of the youth who never used the substance.Smoking,alcohol abusing,visiting recreation places,high month consumption were the risk factors of pre-marital sex,and high awareness of HIV/AIDS was the protective factor of pre-marital sex.Conclusion:The youth out of schools were vulnerable in sexual behavior,substance use,peer influencing,social environment,and HIV/AIDS prevention service in terms of HIV/AIDS infection.

To investigate whether accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon could be induced after repeated injection of mitoxantrone thermosensitive liposomes, LC-MS/MS and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to measure the concentration of mitoxantrone and the anti-polyethylene glycol (PEG) IgM levels in rat plasma, separately. The drug was rapidly cleared away after the second administration. The anti-PEG IgM was detected after the first dose which was neutralized quickly after the second dose. It is proved that repeated administration of mitoxantrone thermosensitive liposomes in rat caused the ABC phenomenon.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Immunoglobulin M ; blood ; Liposomes ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Metabolic Clearance Rate ; Mitoxantrone ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Polyethylene Glycols ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

OBJECTIVETo describe the pitfalls in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging and classify them according to the principles of their generation.

METHODSWe summarized retrospectively the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDP) PET/CT imaging pitfalls through reviewing the PET/CT images of 872 patients. The pitfalls were divided into artifacts and infrequent physiological uptake, and the artifacts were further classified according to their causes. Meanwhile, we calculated the incidences of various pitfalls. Whether the PET/CT pitfalls influenced the diagnostic decision was analyzed. The appearances of pitfalls in PET were also described.

RESULTSPitfalls could be found in PET/CT images of 684 (78.4%) patients. Artifacts were found in 664 (76.15%) patients, and could be classified into self-factor artifacts and equipment- or technology-related artifacts. Among self-factor artifacts, respiratory motion (57.5%), postprandial or hyperglycemia artifacts (2.41%), and metal or high density matter artifacts (1.38%) were frequent. As for equipment- or technology-related factors, injection point outleakage or radiotracer contamination (13.88%) and truncation artifacts (1.83%) were most common ones. Infrequent physiological FDG uptakes, including fatty uptake, endometrial uptake, and bilateral breast feeding period uptake, were found in 20 (2.29%) patients. Among all pitfalls, the artifacts in 92 (13.4%) patients and infrequent physiological uptakes in 6 (0.88%) patients affected the diagnostic results. Artifact images in PET could be described as hot or cold area and the images of infrequent physiological uptake were always shown as hot area.

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of pitfall in PET/CT imaging was high and the causes of pitfalls are various. Among all causes that artifacts generated, respiratory motion is the most common. Some pitfalls may disturb clinical physicians' decision, so it is important to recognize artifacts and physiological uptake, and distinguish them from pathological uptakes.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Artifacts ; Breast Feeding ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Diagnostic Errors ; statistics & numerical data ; Drug Contamination ; Endometrium ; metabolism ; Fatty Acids ; metabolism ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Infant ; Injections, Intravenous ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Movement ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Respiration ; Young Adult

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) were biodegradable thermoplastics. Due to their broad applications, direct biosynthesis of PHA from inexpensive substrates, such as carbohydrates, is actively pursued. It has been recently revealed that (R)-3-hydroxyacyl-ACP: CoA transacylase (PhaG) played an important role in this pathway. In this study, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol was developed for the rapid and specific identification of phaG gene from various bacteria. Using the PCR strategy, the complete open reading frames of two phaG genes from Pseudomonas stutzeri 1317 and Pseudomonas nitroreducens 0802 were cloned from the genomic DNA and functionally expressed in Pseudomonas putida PHAGN-21. Furthermore, this strategy was successful applied in non-Pseudomonas strains, such as Burkholderia. These results suggest that PhaG-mediated pathway of medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates was widespread among bacteria.
Acyltransferases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Burkholderia ; enzymology ; genetics ; Genes, Bacterial ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polyhydroxyalkanoates ; biosynthesis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pseudomonas ; enzymology ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment

In order to solve the problem of selection and in vivo delivery problem in siRNA treatment, hepatitis B virus (HBV) HBx gene which could be targeted by siRNA was studied. The siRNA expression plasmid which specific inhibits HBx expression was obtained by in vitro selection via a dual-luciferase plasmid including HBx-Fluc fusion protein expression domain. The selected siRNA expression plasmid was then encapsulated in PEG-modified cationic liposome, which was devoted into pharmacodynamic studies at both cellular and animal level. The results illustrated that the cationic liposome which encapsulated siRNA expression plasmid could effectively inhibit HBx gene expression both in vitro and in vivo.
Cations ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; drug effects ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Liposomes ; chemistry ; Plasmids ; RNA, Small Interfering ; chemistry ; Trans-Activators ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate myocardial protection and prognosis of the different operative procedures of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for the senile patients with coronary artery disease.

METHODSFrom July 2008 to June 2009, 125 cases (age ≥ 65 years old) underwent CABG were divided into 3 groups.Group A (70 cases) undertook off-pump CABG, group B (33 cases) undertook on-pump beating heart CABG. group C (22 cases) undertook on-pump CABG with cardiac arrest. Serum level of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB) activity were examined right before operation and 0, 24, 72 and 168 h after operation. The complications during perioperative period and the mortality were investigated.

RESULTSNo significant difference was found in the right before operation and 168 h after operation of the serum level of cTnI and CK-MB in the 3 groups (P > 0.05). The serum level of cTnI and CK-MB activity of group A was the lowest and group B was lower than group C. Group A was the best concerning the complications during perioperative period. The mortality of group A was lower than group B but no significant difference was found in the mortality between group A and C. No significant difference was found in the complications during perioperative period and the mortality between group B and C.

CONCLUSIONOff-pump CABG could reduce myocardial injury and the complications during perioperative period in the senile patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; methods ; Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump ; Coronary Disease ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis

It has been shown that oxidative stress correlates with atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the electrophysiological activity of human atrial myocytes. Right atrial appendages were obtained from patients with AF (AF group, n=12) and without AF (non-AF group, n=12). Single human atrial myocytes were isolated through enzymatic dissociation with type XXIV protease and type V collagenase, then divided into three subgroups: control group (n=12), H2O2 group (0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 5, 10 mumol/L, n=7 at each concentration) and vitamin C (antioxidant) group (1 mumol/L, n=7). Ultrarapid delayed rectifier K(+) current (I(Kur)), L-type calcium current (I(Ca,L)) and action potential duration (APD) were recorded by whole-cell patch clamp. In AF control group, the maximum current densities of I(Kur) and I(Ca,L) were significantly lower than that in non-AF control group (both P<0.05) and APD(90) was significantly shorter as well (P<0.05). In both non-AF and AF groups, H2O2 showed two-way concentration-dependent effect on I(Kur) and I(Ca,L). The maximum current densities of I(Kur) and I(Ca,L) was significantly increased at lower H2O2 concentration, but was decreased at higher H2O2 concentration. In non-AF group, 0.2 mumol/L H2O2 caused a peak increase in the maximum current identities of I(Kur) [(8.92+/-0.51) pA/pF, P<0.05] and I(Ca,L) [(9.32+/-0.67) pA/pF, P<0.05]. H2O2 at a concentration higher than 0.75 mumol/L decreased I(Kur) and I(Ca,L). When the H2O2 concentrations were 0.2, 1, 2, 5 and 10 mumol/L, APD(90) was significantly shorter compared with that in non-AF control group (P<0.05), meanwhile it had no significant difference from that in AF control group. In AF group, the peak effective concentration of H2O2 was 0.5 mumol/L, and the turning concentration was 1 mumol/L. The H2O2 concentration-current density curve in AF group was similar to that in non-AF group, but the turning point shifted to the right, indicating that the way that H2O2 acted on ion channels in AF was the same as that in non-AF, however, the sensitivity of ion channels to H2O2 was decreased in AF. Vitamin C reversed these changes induced by H2O2, and did not affect the characteristics of ion channels. H2O2-induced electrophysiological changes in human atrial myocytes were similar to atrial electrical remodeling (AER) in AF, suggesting that ROS might induce AF. Meanwhile, H2O2 also could aggravate AER in AF, contributing to the maintenance of AF. The results suggest that antioxidants might play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of AF.
Action Potentials ; Atrial Fibrillation ; physiopathology ; Calcium ; physiology ; Calcium Channels, L-Type ; physiology ; Delayed Rectifier Potassium Channels ; physiology ; Heart Atria ; cytology ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; chemistry ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; physiology ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Potassium ; physiology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the feasibility of applying the Bron-Kerbosch (BK) algorithm on the discovery of basic formulas (BFs) of traditional Chinese medicine.

METHODThis essay introduces the BK algorithm for the discovery of BFs of traditional Chinese medicine and relevant indicators. On the basis of the compatibility network of drugs, with the confidence coefficient of basic formulas anti the support degree to the decline of alpha level as indicators, the BK algorithm was used for the discovery of BFs of traditional Chinese medicine. And prescriptions of Professor Ma Shaoyao, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) dermatologist of Longhua hospital, were taken as examples for analysis.

RESULTAfter the parameters were optimized, three BFs for psoriasis and four BFs for eczema were found using the BK algorithm, which had a relatively high confidence coefficient and basically conformed to the clinical practices.

CONCLUSIONThe BK algorithm can be used for the discovery of basic formulas (BF) of traditional Chinese medicine, and therefore it is one of the effective methods to study and summarize the diagnosis and treatment experiences and prescription thoughts of famous and experienced TCM doctors.

Algorithms ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVESTo retrospectively study on malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath (MGCTTS) in the hand, and to evaluate its clinical, histologic, immunohistochemical features and biologic evolution.

METHODSBetween January 1991 and December 2001, 10 patients with histologically proven MGCTTS were treated. The clinical material, radiographs and hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were reviewed. Immunohistochemical studies and nuclear suspensions for flow cytometry were done on paraffin embedded tissue. All patients were followed up.

RESULTSThree of 10 patients in which the diagnosis of MGCTTS was originally considered were excluded after the slides reviewed and immunohistochemical examination performed. In the other 7 patients, one showed malignant and aggressive nature: the lesion recurred several times and the patient eventually died with pulmonary metastases. The immunohistochemical profile of the patient was similar to that reported in benign GCTTS, and the flow cytometry DNA analysis detected aneuploidy. Six cases presented histologic features of malignancy, 4 of them undertook the immunohistochemical examination and their profiles were similar to that reported in benign GCTTS. An aneuploidy DNA pattern was detected in one case on flow cytometry evaluation, diploidy DNA pattern was detected in 3 cases, and their S-phase fraction was 4.5%, 11.6% and 2.6% respectively. All of them had a benign clinical features, they were alive and without evidence of disease from 1.5 to 7.5 years (averagely, 4.5 years) after complete surgical excision or resections with wide surgical margins. None of them had received chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

CONCLUSIONSMalignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath is an extremely rare malignant tumor, some cases have a poor outcome, the others, despite the histologically malignant features, have a good prognosis if wide surgical excision ablates the tumor completely.

Adult ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Cell Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Hand ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Tendons ; metabolism ; pathology