In order to remove the artifacts of peripheral digital subtraction angiography (DSA), an affine transformation-based automatic image registration algorithm is introduced here. The whole process is described as follows: First, rectangle feature templates are constructed with their centers of the extracted Harris corners in the mask, and motion vectors of the central feature points are estimated using template matching technology with the similarity measure of maximum histogram energy. And then the optimal parameters of the affine transformation are calculated with the matrix singular value decomposition (SVD) method. Finally, bilinear intensity interpolation is taken to the mask according to the specific affine transformation. More than 30 peripheral DSA registrations are performed with the presented algorithm, and as the result, moving artifacts of the images are removed with sub-pixel precision, and the time consumption is less enough to satisfy the clinical requirements. Experimental results show the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm.
Algorithms ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; methods ; Artifacts ; Automation ; methods ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods

Objective To explore and identify the role of scientific research management departmentin the construction of biobank,discuss problems encountered and possible strategies.Methods Our hospital scientific research management department actively involved,and played an important role in the coordination work for hardware and software construction during the setting up of Infectious disease biorepository.A series of institutional policies and procedures were developed,such as organizational structure of the biobank,sample collection rules at the clinic and research achievementtransformation guidelines.Results A total of 500-case samples were collected,involving different kinds of infectious diseases,like HBV,HCV and HIV.The biobank undertook the Science and Technology Resources Platform Construction Projectof Tianjin health and Family Planning Commission,also established collaboration relationships with domestic and foreign scientific research institutions andhospitals like Memorial University of Newfoundland.Conclusions Scientific research management department should play an important role in the construction of biobank and lay a solid foundation for the development of the biobank.

The total triterpene saponins of Psammosilene tunicoides have significant pharmacologic activity. Psammosilene tunicoides squalene synthase (PSS) is a gateway enzyme to regulate the biosynthesis of total triterpene saponins extracted from the root of Psammosilene tunicoides which is an endangered species. In this paper, cDNA encoding of PSS was cloned by the degenerate primer PCR and rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length of cDNA of PSS is 1663 bp, with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1 245 bp, encoding 414 amino acid polypeptide (calculated molecular mass, 47.69 kDa), 5'UTR (untranslated region) and 3'UTR are 260 bp and 158 bp, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of PSS has higher homology with the known squalene synthases of several species such as Panax notoginseng (83%), Panax ginseng (82%) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (82%) than that with Schizosacharomyces pombe (35%), Candida albicans (39%) and Homo sapiens (47%). The characterization of PSS was done by a series of methods, such as prokaryotic expression, the activity of enzyme in vitro, capillary gas chromatography (GC) and capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the cell-free extract of E. coli transformed with the recombinant plasmid can effectively convert farnesyl diphosphate into squalene in vitro. GenBank accession number is EF585250. Our research provided important base for the study of Psammosilene tunicoides secondary metabolism and metabolic engineering.
Caryophyllaceae ; enzymology ; genetics ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Endangered Species ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Farnesyl-Diphosphate Farnesyltransferase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; genetics ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Proteins ; metabolism ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Transformation, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO) for treatment of proximal humerus fractures with PHILOS plate.

METHODSFrom January 2008 to July 2009, 22 cases of proximal humerus fractures were treated with MIPPO with PHILOS plate. According to Neer classification, 7 cases had two-part fractures, 12 had three-part fractures, and 3 had four-part fractures.

RESULTSAll the 22 cases were followed up ranging from 6 to 12 months with an average of 10 months. The functional results of the shoulder, according to Neer scores, were classified as excellent in 9 cases, good in 10 cases and fair in 3 cases, with an average score was 86.4%.

CONCLUSIONPHILOS using MIPPO shows good results for treating proximal humerus fractures.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Plates ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; methods ; Shoulder Fractures ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDTo evaluate the epidemiological trends of lung cancer in Henan, China.

METHODSCancer mortality data were collected from 1974 to 1999. The mortality trends of lung cancer were studied. Secular trend on lung cancer form 1974 to 2010 with regression used for spatial analysis.

RESULTSThe data showed that lung cancer was the dominating cause of all cancer-related deaths in Henan. During the period of 1974 to 1999, marked changes took place in Henan in the mortality rate of lung cancer. Lung cancer mortality rates increased from 4.15 per 100 000 in the early seventies to 12.13 per 100 000 in the late nineties, lung cancer accounted for 5.09% of all cancer related deaths in the early seventies and 14.09% in the late nineties. In general, men had higher mortality rate than women, and urban area had higher mortality rates than rural area. The mortality rate for male and female would be about 25 per 100 000 and 15 per 100 000 respectively in 2010 if no intervention strategy was taken

CONCLUSIONSThe overall age-adjusted mortality rate of lung cancer in Henan has increased during the past two decades, strengthening education for health is very important in cancer control.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of clinical and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging(CMR) of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular(ALVC) involvement. Methods Ten cases of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular involvement and sixteen randomly chosen cases of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with right ventricular (ARVC) involvement were enrolled in this study. Clinical symptoms, cardiac electrophysiological changes as well as the cardiac morpharage, ventricular functions and delayed enhancement of myocardium assessed by CMR were compared between the two groups. The size of heart chambers, global ventricular functions and the fat/fibrosis infiltration were evaluated by turbo fast spin echo, ture FISP cine and delayed enhancement. These were statistically analyzed by independent samples t test, respectively.Results There was no significant difference in age and gender between two groups. All the patients in two groups presented non-specific clinical manifestations with no significant differences (P>0.05) except for short of breath(P=0.034). The end-diastolic diameter of left ventricular, left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, left and right ejection fraction in ALVC and ARVC group were (64.2±7.7), (49.2±5.9) mm(t=5.551,P<0.001), (113.9±24.0), (69.2± 30.0) ml/m2(t=3.962, P<0.001), (38.5±3.1)%, (56.0±8.4)%(t=-6.733,P<0.001), (42.0±5.5)%, (18.0±7.3)%(t=8.817, P<0.001) respectively. An medium of 11 and 14 segments of fat or fat/fibrosis were found in intramural wall of the LV myocardiumin patients with ALVC,while only 0 segment(all P<0.001)was found in patients with ARVC.Conclusions The clinical manifestations of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular involvement was similar to ARVC, however, with regarding to cardiac morphological, functional and myocardial lesions, these two diseases have different characteristics in CMR features.“one-stop-shop”MRI examination has high value in the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with Left ventricular involvement.

Objective To characterize the cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) features of peripartum cardiomyopathy(PPCM) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy(IDCM), and to explore the value of MRI in the diagnosis of PPCM. Methods Ten cases of PPCM and 10 cases of Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) were included in this study. With 1.5 T MRI scanner, the heart shape (atrioventricular size, hypertrabeculation, thickness of the thinnest ventricular wall), function (ventricular wall movement and the overall function), cardiomyopathy perfusion were comprehensively evaluated. Paired samples t?test and Fisher exact probability method were used for statistical analysis. Results Between PPCM and IDCM group, there was no statistical significant difference in the atrioventricular size, cardiac output(CO), end diastolic volume(EDV), ejection fraction (EF), end systolic volume (ESV) and stroke volume (SV) (P>0.05). IDCM and PPCM group both showed ventricular wall thinning on MRI, with 4 cases of PPCM and 3 cases of IDCM presenting hypertrabeculation in the left ventricular apex. Seven cases of PPCM and 4 cases of IDCM depicted left ventricular local dysfunction, while 3 cases of PPCM and 6 cases of IDCM had abnormal integral movement. Two cases of PPCM appeared local delayed enhancement, while 4 cases of IDCM showed intramural delayed enhancement. After one year of follow?up, heart function recovered in 10 cases of PPCM and 4 cases of IDCM. Conclusions MRI diagnosis using multiple sequences is an ideal method in the evaluation of PPCM. Although there were no differences in cardiac morphology and function between PPCM and IDCM, the prognosis of PPCM is better than IDCM.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of myocardial injury and its underlying mechanism in rats resuscitated from cardiac arrest. Methods Forty-two male Wistar rats were randomly(random number) assigned into the post-resuscitation (PR) 4 h, PR 24 h, PR 48 h, and sham groups. Ventricular fibrillation was induced by transcutaneous electrical epicardium stimulation and untreated for 6 min, followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Myocardial function, glucose metabolism, myocardial ultrastructure, the status of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were evaluated at different time points. Results Myocardial dysfunction was found at 4 h after restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The ejection fraction and cardiac output were decreased (all P<0.01), the diastole left ventricular posterior wall became thicker (P<0.01), and the end-diastolic volume was reduced (P<0.05). However, cardiac function was recovered almost completely at 48 h after ROSC. The PR 4 h group had a higher SUVmax, a more obvious decreased absorbance, and a lower MMP than the sham group (all P<0.01), but no statistically significant differences were noted between the PR 48 h group and the sham group (P>0.05). At 4 h and 24 h after ROSC, the mitochondria was swollen and the mitochondrial crista was sparse, but the myocardial ultrastructure was complete. Conclusions Post resuscitation myocardial dysfunction occurs after ROSC and the myocardial dysfunction is completely reversible at 48 h after ROSC, which may be related to the reversibility of myocardial injury and the gradual recovery of mitochondrial structure and function.

OBJECTIVETo explore the characteristics on molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from hospitals in Tianjin area.

METHODSOne hundred M. tuberculosis isolated strains were collected in succession from August 16th-December 25th, 2005 in Tianjin Haihe Hospital and genotyped by spoligotyping and multiple locus variable number-tandem repeat(VNTR). Data was analyzed by cluster software. Based on the concept of Beijing lineage, it was determinate two sub-groups: atypical Beijing strains and W strain/typical family strains by multiplex and real-time PCR. The associations of subgroups with drug resistance and age were assessed by the chi2 test.

RESULTS96 M. tuberculosis strains were genotyped in which 91.7% (88/96) strains belonged to Beijing genotype (including 3 Beijing-like strains) by spoligtyping. VNTR typing could differentiate 60 genotypes among the 88 Beijing genotype strains. 93.2% of the Beijing lineage M. tuberculosis strains of this study belonged to W strain/typical Beijing family strains (82/88). No statistically significant differences were observed in the proportions of the two sub-groups in patients of different age, or drug resistance (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype strains were dominated on tuberculosis hospital patients of Tianjin area. The discriminatory power of VNTR typing was higher than that of spoligtyping. The two sub-groups of Beijing lineage had been prevalent in Tianjin, however W strain/typical Beijing family strains were of preponderance.

Bacterial Typing Techniques ; China ; epidemiology ; Cluster Analysis ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Genotype ; Humans ; Minisatellite Repeats ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Tuberculosis ; epidemiology

BACKGROUNDAdrenomedullin (ADM), a potent hypotensive small peptide, was recently found to inhibit the proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells (MsC) in vitro and to attenuate glomerular lesions in vivo, however the mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we attempted to elucidate them using molecular signal transduction.

METHODSCultured rat MsC were treated with ADM and several inhibitors of signalling molecules. Methyl thiazoleterazolium (MTT) assay and BrdU incorporation method were employed for examining MsC proliferation. Western blot analysis was used for detecting total mitogen activated protein kinases (t-MAPKs) and phosphorylated MAPKs (p-MAPKs) proteins.

RESULTSADM suppressed MsC proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion. This response was inhibited by ADM receptor antagonist CGRP8-37 and a potent protein kinase-A (PKA) inhibitor, H89. Forskolin, a direct adenylate cyclase activator, also significantly inhibited MsC proliferation. SB203580, a P38MAPK inhibitor, and U0126, a MEK inhibitor, both completely blocked ADM mediated responses in MsC. However, curcumin, a SAPK/JNK inhibitor, and GF109203X, a potent protein kinase-C (PKC) inhibitor, had no effect on MsC growth. Western blot analysis showed that ADM did not change the expression of t-MAPKs but increased p-SAPK/JNK and p-P38MAPK levels and decreased p-ERK level. These responses were inhibited by CGRP8-37. All these kinase phosphorylations, except for the increase in p-SAPK/JNK, could be stimulated using forskolin. In addition, only ADM mediated changes in ERK and P38MAPK phosphorylations were inhibited by H89. GF109203X did not affect ADM induced changes in three p-MAPKs expressions.

CONCLUSIONSADM inhibits MsC proliferation possibly through cAMP-PKA pathway. Both phosphorylations of ERK and P38MAPK pathways were necessary in mediating the antiproliferative response of ADM. It does not preclude the involvement of cAMP independent pathways in the ADM mediated responses.

Adrenomedullin ; Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; physiology ; Glomerular Mesangium ; cytology ; drug effects ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; physiology ; Peptides ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; physiology ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; physiology