Objective To research the clinical characteristics of neonates with non-immune hydrops fetalis.Methods The clinical data of eleven non-immune hydrops fetalis who admitted from January 2015 to November 2016 were retrospectively studied.Imaging manifestations,cause analysis and outcomes were explored and analyzed with descriptive statistical methods.Results The most common abnormal images in this study were hydrothorax,seroperitoneum and subcutaneous edema.Of all the cases,cardiac anomalies were in 2 cases,chylothorax in 3 cases,chromosome abnormality in 1 case,meconium peritonitis in 1 case,bladder rupture in 1 case and unknown reasons in 3 cases.Of all the cases,3 cases were terminated pregnancy before 28 weeks,2 cases were fetal intrauterine death,and 6 cases were live births,among whom 2 cases died within 48 h of newborn and 3 cases survived.Placental pathologic conditions of 8 cases were edematous placentas.Conclusions The mortality of non-immune hydrops fetalis is high.Its etiology,pathogenesis and the timing of pregnancy termination need to be explored.

Objective To investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in astrecytomas, as well as the correlation between them. Methods The expression of COX-2, EGFR and PCNA were respectively detected by immunohistochmical (S-P) method in 68 astrocytomas and 5 cases normal brain tissue. Proliferation index (PI) was calculated and the correlation of COX-2, EGFR and PI was analyzed. Results COX-2 and EGFR were negative expression in normal brain tissue. The positive expression rate of COX-2 and EGFR in high grade astrocytomas was significantly higher than that in low grade astrocytomas(73.53% vs 44. 18% ,67.65% vs 38.24%, P <0. 01 ), and the PI was significantly higher than that in low grade astrocytumas as well as normal brain tissue(46.11 ± 10. 68vs 23. 04±6. 25,4. 52±0. 95, P <0. 01 ). The PI in COX-2 positive group was higher than that in negative group( P <0. 01 ). The positive expression rate of COX-2 in the group with EGFR positive expression was higher than that in the negative group. Conclusions The expression of COX-2 and EGFR was related to pathological feature of astrocytomas. COX-2 may promote the proliferation of tumor cells. There was a static correlation between the expression of EGFR and COX-2 in astrocytomas. EGFR signal transduction probably modulated the expression of COX-2 in astrocytomas cells.

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of EpCAM and E-cadherin in papillary thyroid carcinoma and to analyze its correlation with various clinicopathologic parameters.

METHODSImmunohistochemical study for EpCAM and E-cadherin was carried out in 91 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Twenty-four cases of papillary hyperplasia of thyroid were used as controls.

RESULTSIn all of the 24 cases of papillary hyperplasia, EpCAM was located on the cell membrane, while in the 91 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma studied, EpCAM was located within the cytoplasm, with 36.3% (33/91) showing nuclear localization as well. In all the papillary hyperplasia cases studied, E-cadherin showed membranous expression. E-cadherin expression was reduced in 84.6% (77/91) of papillary thyroid carcinoma, as compared with the surrounding native thyroid parenchyma. Amongst the 33 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma which showed nuclear localization of EpCAM, 30 cases also showed reduced E-cadherin expression. There was a positive correlation between nuclear expression of EpCAM and loss of E-cadherin expression (P = 0.000; Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.857). Nuclear expression of EpCAM correlated with follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma and presence of extrathyroidal extension ( P = 0.037 and 0.033, respectively). Loss of E-cadherin expression correlated with age of patients and presence of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.018 and 0.010, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSE-cadherin expression is reduced in papillary thyroid carcinoma, as compared with native thyroid parenchyma and papillary hyperplasia. Papillary thyroid carcinoma shows loss of EpCAM membranous expression and increased cytoplasmic/nuclear accumulation. Detection of these two markers may provide a valuable reference in defining the biologic behaviors of papillary thyroid carcinoma, including extrathyroidal extension and lymph node metastasis.

Antigens, Neoplasm ; metabolism ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; metabolism ; secondary ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; metabolism ; Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; Cytoplasm ; metabolism ; Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology

Objective:To assess the prognostic value of modified Charlson comorbidity index (mCCI) combined with serum albumin for long-term prognosis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:From January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015, patients who started PD in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Clinical data including gender, age, underlying diseases, laboratory examination and prognosis were collected. The mCCI at the beginning of PD was calculated. Whether the duration of PD exceeded 5 years was used as an indicator to evaluate the prognosis. The patients were divided into≥5 years group and<5 years group according to the duration of PD, and the data were compared between the two groups. Cox regression model was constructed to analyze the influencing factors of all-cause death in PD patients. Multivariate logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the predictive value of mCCI and serum albumin levels on whether patients could maintain long-term PD.Results:Of the 183 patients included [males 106(57.9%), females 77(42.1%); (53.35±16.50) years old; 162 cases (88.5%) with hypertension, 55 cases (30.1%) with diabetes], 97 cases had PD duration for ≥5 years and 86 cases less than 5 years. The overall 5-year technical survival rate was 65.1%. At the beginning of PD, compared with the dialysis age≥5 years group, the patients in the dialysis age less than 5 years group had older age, higher mCCI, lower serum albumin level, and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) level (all P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in gender, education level, electrolyte, mean arterial pressure, high densitv lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and PD adequacy index between the two groups (all P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased age ( OR=1.022, 95% CI 1.000-1.043, P=0.046), increased mCCI ( OR=1.620, 95% CI 1.300-2.018, P<0.001) and decreased serum albumin ( OR=0.807, 95% CI 0.730-0.893, P<0.001) were independent predictors for the duration of PD<5 years. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curves ( AUC) of mCCI, serum albumin level and combined prediction probability of the two for the duration of PD<5 years were 0.647(95% CI 0.568-0.727), 0.655(95% CI 0.577-0.734), and 0.767(95% CI 0.700-0.835), respectively, indicating that the accuracy of combined parameters to predict survival outcome was higher than that of any single parameter. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that increased age ( HR=1.073, 95% CI 1.046-1.100, P<0.001), increased mCCI ( HR=1.198, 95% CI 1.044-1.375, P=0.010) and decreased serum albumin ( HR=0.904, 95% CI 0.843-0.969, P=0.004) were independent influencing factors for all-cause death in PD patients. Conclusions:Old age, high mCCI and low serum albumin level are influencing factors for dialysis age<5 years and all-cause death in PD patients. mCCI combined with serum albumin level can improve the accuracy of predicting the long-term dialysis in PD patients.

Analysis of neural stem cells' movements is one of the important parts in the fields of cellular and biological research. The main difficulty existing in cells' movement study is whether the cells tracking system can simultaneously track and analyze thousands of neural stem cells (NSCs) automatically. We present a novel cells' tracking algorithm which is based on segmentation and data association in this paper, aiming to improve the tracking accuracy further in high density NSCs' image. Firstly, we adopted different methods of segmentation base on the characteristics of the two cell image sequences in our experiment. Then we formed a data association and constituted a coefficient matrix by all cells between two adjacent frames according to topological constraints. Finally we applied The Hungarian algorithm to implement inter-cells matching optimally. Cells' tracking can be achieved according to this model from the second frame to the last one in a sequence. Experimental results showed that this approaching method has higher accuracy compared with that using the topological constraints tracking alone. The final tracking accuracies of average of sequence I and sequence II have been improved 10.17% and 4%, respectively.
Algorithms ; Animals ; Cell Count ; Cell Movement ; Cell Tracking ; statistics & numerical data ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Models, Theoretical ; Neural Stem Cells ; cytology

To study the cleavage of neuron stem cells in time lapse image sequences and realize their features abstraction, identification and tracking, a precise segmentation algorithm that can preserve the shape of division cells is presented in this paper. The fuzzy threshold segmentation is based on Zadth's maximum entropy. The optimal parameters of the maximum fuzzy entropy are decided by genetic algorithm. Region merging and splitting of the under-segmentation objects of the result of fuzzy segmentation are realized by weighted distance transform, region labeling and some operations on morphology. By comparison with some results of fuzzy and hard segmentation, this algorithm can implement the precise segmentation that is necessary for some specified objects in automatic identification and tracking of neuron stem cells.
Algorithms ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Division ; Computer Simulation ; Entropy ; Fuzzy Logic ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Microscopy, Video ; methods ; Models, Biological ; Neurons ; cytology ; Stem Cells ; cytology

Objective To prepare an influenza A(H1N1) split-virus vaccine and observe its safe-ty and effectiveness. Methods According to the process for preparing seasonal flu split-virus vaccine two batches of vaccine were prepared with the flu A (H1N1) vaccine virus strain recommended by WHO. The pilot products were tested against the requirements of flu split-virus vaccine. Results The quality of the pi-lot vaccine has been tested by National Control Laboratory and conformed to the requirements. Nine hundred and sixty volunteers received one dose of vaccine containing either 15 μg or 30 μg of hemagglutinin. The re-suits indicated the both seroconversion rate and protection rate were higher the 70%. The GMT of HIAb of the volunteers who received 1 dose of 15 μg increased significantly by 15, 39, 37 and 25 times compared to those before vaccination in the age groups of 3-11, 12-17, 18-59 and ≥60, respectively. And 26, 72, 68 and 36 times rise were found in the postvaccinated volunteers of 30 μg group. The total adverse reaction rates of 15 μg and 30 μg dose group were 29.38% and 43.75%, respectively. The grade 2 adverse reaction rates of 15 μg and 30 μg dose group were 6.25% and 15.42%, and the grade 3 adverse reaction rates of 15 μg and 30 μg dose group were 0.83% and 1.46%, respectively. No serious adverse reactions were found. Conclusion The influenza A (H1N1) split-virus vaccine prepared according to the requirements of season-al flu vaccine is safe and effective.

Objective To investigate the effects of the genetic polymorphisms in osteoporosis-related genes and the gene-gene interaction on bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fractures.Methods Thirty-nine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in 23 genes that related to bone mineral density ( BMD ) and osteoporotic fractures were scanned in 683 Shanghai Han postmenopausal women.TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay or Sequenom Mass ARRAY System were applied for genotyping analysis.The relation of these SNP sites with BMD and osteoporotic fractures were analyzed.Results Altogether,12 SNPs in 9 candidate genes ( rs7524102 and rs6696981 in ZBTB40 gene,rs9479055 in ESR1 gene,rs6993813,rs6469804,and rs11995824 in OPG gene,rs3736228 in LRP5 gene,rs1107748 in SOST gene,rs87938 in CTNNB1 gene,rs1366594 in MEF2C gene,rs7117858 in SOX6 gene,and rs10048146 in FOXL1 gene) were associated with BMD at lumbar spine(L1-L4) or total hip.In addition,rs11898505 in SPTBN1 gene was related to osteoporotic fractures ( OR 0.522,95％ CI 0.326-0.838,P =0.007 ).Gene-gene interaction involving rs1038304 in ESR1 gene,rs1366594 in MEF2C gene,and rs10048146 in FOXL1 gene was associated with osteoporotic fractures ( P =0.010 7 ).Conclusions ( 1 ) SNPs in gene ZBTB40,ESR1,OPG,LRP5,SOST,CTNNB1,MEF2C,SOX6,FOXL1,and SPTBN1 are associated with BMD of lumbar spine or total hip,as well as osteoporotic fractures.(2) Gene-gene interaction involving rs1038304,rs1366594,and rs10048146may contribute to the risk of osteoporotic fractures.

Objective To investigate the MRI findings and diagnostic value of congenital abdominal wall defect.Methods Eighteen fetuses with congenital abdominal wall defect were analyzed retrospectively, and the MRI features were analyzed. Results In 18 cases of congenital defect of abdominal wall, fetal MRI showed 6 cases had gastroschisis and 12 cases had omphalocele. They were diagnosed accurately by MRI. Conclusions Congenital abdominal wall defect has characteristic MRI findings.MRI is of great significance in prenatal diagnosis.

Objective To explore the normal reference range of fetal gallbladder in 28 to 35 weeks of pregnancy under magnetic resonance imaging characteristics, observe and explore the growth and development of fetal gallbladder, and provide a new detection method for evaluating fetal growth and development for prenatal examination. Methods One hundred single pregnant women who had underwent fetal abdominal magnetic resonance imaging from June 2017 to May 2018 in Dalian Municipal Women and Children′s Medical Center were selected. The pregnant women were divided into 2 groups according to the gestational weeks: group A (pregnancy 28 to 31 weeks, 64 cases) and group B (pregnancy 32 to 35 weeks, 36 cases). The length, width and transverse diameter of fetal gallbladder were measured by magnetic resonance, and the gallbladder volume was calculated. Results In group A, magnetic resonance result showed that 1 case had no gallbladder and 1 case had double gallbladder, but the fetal gallbladders of these 2 cases were normal after birth. The display rate of fetal gallbladder in group A was 98.4% (63/64), and that in group B was 100.0% (36/36); the abnormal rate in group A was 3.1% (2/64), and that in group B was 0. The length, width, transverse diameter and volume of gallbladder in group B were significantly higher than those in group A: (16.5 ± 6.0) mm vs. (13.2 ± 4.2) mm, (6.5 ± 3.5) mm vs. (5.2 ± 1.1) mm, (6.8 ± 2.6) mm vs. (6.4 ± 3.4) mm and (373.3 ± 284.1) mm3 vs. (258.5 ± 232.4) mm3, and there were statistical differences (P＜0.05). Conclusions Fetal magnetic resonance during lategestation has the new means of prenatal evaluation of fetal growth and development, which has clinical application value.