Objective To study the anatomy and homodynamics of the normal testis vessels in puberty using color Doppler flow imaging to obtain the normal value ranges of each flow parameter and evaluate the waveform characteristics of the testicular and its clinical significances. Methods The anatomy and homodynamic parameters of testicular artery (TA), capsular artery (CA), intratesticular artery (ITA), deferential and cremasteric arteries were studied in 141 normal pubertal volunteers. The following blood flow parameters were included: time average maximum velocity (TAMX), peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI). Results ① The blood flow in TA, CA and ITA was visualized bilaterally in all the subjects; deferential and cremasteric arteries were identified in 98.6% of the subjects. ② The normal ranges of the homodynamic parameters of supratesticular artery, CA and ITA were obtained in puberty. ③ PSV, PI and RI decreased gradually in the following arteries: TA→CA→ITA. Conclusion The testicular arterial anatomy and arterial waveform characteristics of normal pubertal testis can be accurately evaluated by CDFI. It is helpful for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of testicular diseases in pubertal youngsters.

BACKGROUND:General assessment of viability of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel s during transport is not considered at home and abroad.
OBJECTIVE:To explore the effects of different transportation conditions such as albumin and transport time on survival rate of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel s.
METHODS:Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel s cultured in vitro were divided into experimental and control groups. Each of group contained 3.15×109/L cel s in 3 mL normal saline. The experimental group contained 1%albumin in dark environment. The control group included two subgroups:dark preservation group with the absence of albumin and light preservation group with the presence of albumin. Cel counting, trypan blue staining and cel survival rate were compared at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 24 hours.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group, no cel loss was observed in experimental group (with the presence of albumin in the dark) and a 90%viability ratio was achieved at 8 hours. In the control group without albumin, loss rate reached 38.5%and survival rate reached 86%at 8 hours. Results revealed that 1%albumin predominantly improved cel survival rate in long-distance transport of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel s. When transport time was more than 8 hours, cel loss rate increased and cel survival rate downregulated. Our experimental data demonstrated that umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cel s preserved in normal saline consisting of 1%albumin placing in dark environment at 16 ℃ apply to clinical application criterion in 8 hours.

Objective:To detect the degree of oxidative stress in the process when Porphyromonas gin-givalis ( P. gingivalis) stimulates human vascular endothelium, And to investigate the effect of peroxi-some proliferator-activated receptor(PPAR)γ on oxidative stress during this process. Methods:Human vascular endothelial cells ( HVECs) line EA. hy926 ( American Type Culture Collection ,United States) was cultured in high glucose Dulbecco' s modified eagle medium ( DMEM) . Four groups were designed:control group, P. gingivalis infected group, PPARγactivated group and PPARγblocked group. In con-trol group HVECs were cultured with only DMEM. In P. gingivalis infected group, HVECs were time-dependently stimulated by P. gingivalis W83 from 0 to 12 h. In PPARγ activated group or PPARγblocked group, PPARγ was pre-activated or blocked by a representative PPARγ agonist(15d-PGJ2 10μmol/L) or antagonist ( GW966210μmol/L) 30 minutes before the cells were stimulated by P. gingiva-lis. At 0, 0. 5, 1, 1. 5, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h, the culture medium was collected individually and centri-fuged, and the supernatant was stored for assay. Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and malondialdehyde( MDA) were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cellular reactive oxygen species ( ROS) were detected through 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFA-DA) fluorescent probe at various time points of the different groups. Results:In P. gingivalis infected group, the levels of GSH-PX [(5. 56 ± 0. 97) μmol/L] and MDA [(0. 84 ± 0. 18) nmol/L] were significantly higher than those in control group [GSH-PX(4. 71 ± 0. 64) μmol/L, MDA (0. 59 ± 0. 18) nmol/L)]. The levels of GSH-PX and MDA in PPARγactivated group [GSH-PX (5. 38 ± 0. 84) μmol/L, MDA (0. 84 ± 0. 22) nmol/L] and in PPARγblocked group [GSH-PX (5. 37 ± 0. 76) μmol/L, MDA (0. 85 ± 0. 14) nmol/L] were signi-ficantly higher than those in control group (P <0. 05). In the PPARγ activated group, the levels of GSH-PX at 0 . 5 and 8 h were significantly higher than those from 1 . 5 h to 4 h ( P<0 . 05 ) , while no difference was observed on the MDA levels at different time points. There was no significant difference at various time points for the levels of GSH-PX and MDA in PPARγ blocked group. The level of cellular ROS detected by DCFH-DA in P. gingivalis infected group was significantly higher than that in control group (10 108. 65 ± 1 805. 18 vs. 6 049. 06 ± 1 199. 19,P<0. 05). No difference was observed be-tween PPARγ activated group (7 120. 94 ± 1 447. 30) or PPARγblocked group (6 727. 35 ± 1 483. 68) and control group. Conclusion:Oxidative stress happens when P. gingivalis stimulates human vascular endothelium. PPARγ may involve in modulating oxidative stress during this process.

Objective To explore the clinical value of virtual touch quantification (VTQ) technique in assessing the hepatic fibrosis. Methods A total of 115 inpatients with chronic liver disease receiving liver biopsy were enrolled in this study, all patients liver tissue was checked by VTQ technique, and the results were compared with those of the control group including 80 healthy subjects. Results VTQ value was significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.0000).The VTQ value among different degree of hepatic fibrosis but between S0 and S1 had statistical significances (P = 0.0212, P = 0.0000).ROC curve displayed that VTQ value of 1.4 m/s could be used to diagnose middle-high-grade liver fibrosis, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.4 % and 64.7%, respectively. Conclusions VTQ can be used as a noninvasive and effective means for assessing the degree of hepatic fibrosis.

Objective To summarize the imaging features of hepatic tumors contained lipid by contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), and compare with MRI ifndings. Methods From July 2010 to December 2012, 17 patients of hepatocellular carcinoma containing lipid component in the 302nd Hospital of the People′s Liberation Army underwent dual-echo sequence MRI imaging. Fifteen patients were conifrmed by enhanced MRI and contrast-enhanced CT, while the other 2 patients were confirmed by pathology. The features of ultrasonography, CEUS and MRI were analyzed. Kappa analysis test was analyzed for the consistency of CEUS and MRI ifndings. Results In the two-dimensional ultrasound of 17 lesions, 9 were hypoechoic heterogeneous lesions, 5 were hypoechoic lesions;13 lesions with clear boundaries, 4 lesions with unclear boundaries;peripheral blood lfow signal in 5 lesions and rich blood lfow in 1 lesion were observed by color Doppler ultrasound, 11 lesions had no signiifcant blood lfow signal;15 lesions showed fast high enhancement in CEUS arterial phase, 1 lesion with synchronization enhancement, 1 lesion with mild enhancement;10 lesions showed portal clearance, 1 lesion showed an enhanced synchronization, 1 lesion with mild enhancement;16 lesions showed clearance in delay phase, 1 enhanced lesion showed isoenhancement;6 lesions presented intra-lesion or surrounding patchy, irregular non-enhancement areas. CEUS diagnostic accuracy was 82%(14/17), the diagnostic accuracy of MRI was 88%(15/17). The Kappa consistency test was 0.628, while CEUS and MRI results were in good agreement. Conclusions Performance of hepatocellular lipid-containing ultrasound contrast arterial phase shows non-enhancement areas. Contrast enhanced ultrasound features of lipid-containing hepatocellular carcinoma are valuable for the clinical diagnois.

Objective To assess the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(US)in differential diagnosis of hyperechoic hepatic lesions when compared to conventional US.Methods Eighty-four hyperechoic liver lesions in 66 patients were examined using both conventional and contrast-enhanced US techniques.Results Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a significant improvement in the discrimination of malignant versus benign hyperechoic hepatic lesions (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve,0.867±0.045 at conventional US,0.997±0.003 with contrast-enhanced US(P＜0.0001).For correct diagnoses types of hyperechoic liver lesions,contrast-enhanced US improved from 64.3% to 92.9%,comic)ared with conventional US (P＜0.001).Conclusions Contrast-enhanced US showed a significant improvement in characterization and differentiation of hyperechoic hepatic lesions when compared to conventional US.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of the acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) in the quantitative evaluation of fibrosis staging in chronic hepatitis B .Methods A total of 373 patients with chronic hepatitis B were grouped in accordance with the depth of the right anterior lobe and posterior lobe of the liver and underwent ARFI to measure ARFI values .Liver biopsy was performed in all patients to investigate the relationship between liver fibrosis stages and ARFI values in different groups . Results The ARFI values in different pathological grades with the same depth of the right anterior and right posterior lobe of the liver were statistically significant ( P < 0 0.01);the ARFI values between the middle and deep parts of the right anterior lobe and the same location of the right posterior lobe were statistically significant ( P <0 0.1);for the right anterior lobe ,the ARFI value of the shallow part showed statistical significance from that of the middle and the deep part ( P < 0 0.5 ) .Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for different sampling locations showed that the largest area under the ROC curve ,which was 0 8.18 ,existed in the middle part of the right anterior lobe ,indicating that it could be the optimal sampling location for the measurement of ARFI values .Liver stiffness at ARFI imaging was significantly correlated with liver fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis B and spearman coefficient of correlation was 0 5.30 ( P <0 0.01) .The areas under the ROC curves for the chronic hepatitis B patients with severe liver fibrosis (≥ S3) and early cirrhosis (= S4) were 0 8.18 and 0 8.60 ,respectively .Conclusions ARFI imaging was promising for clinical application and could be utilized as a noninvasive method for the quantitative evaluation of fibrosis staging in chronic hepatitis B .

Objective To investigate the correlation between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and glucose fluctuation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods Sixty-eight T2DM patients admitted to Beijing Military General Hospital from March to August 2012 were enrolled in the study,including 32 cases with CIMT thickening (CIMT ≥ 0.9 mm) and 32 cases with normal CIMT (CIMT ＜0.9 mm).The 72 h continuous blood glucose levels were monitored from the day of admission.Results There were no significant differences in the gender,age,body mass index (BMI),systolic and diastolic blood pressure,HDL-C,LDL-C,CHO,TG,glycosylate hemoglobin (HbA1c),fasting blood glucose(FBG) and postprandial average blood glucose (MPBG) between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).The atherosclerosis (AS) score and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE),glucose standard deviation,frequency of glycemic excursion (FGE) and absolute mean of daily differences (MODD) in patients with thickening CIMT were (11 ± 7) years,(6.9 ± 3.0) mmol/L,(2.8 ± 1.2) mmol/L,(3.4 ± 1.5) times/d,(2.8 ± 1.3) mmol/L,(4.5 ± 1.0) score,respectively ; while those in patients with normal CIMT were (8 ±6) years,(4.2 ± 1.1) mmol/L,(1.6 ± 0.5) mmol/L,(2.2 ± 0.8) times/d,(2.0 ± 1.0) mmol/L,(3.3 ±0.6) score,respectively.There were significant differences between two groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Pearson correlation showed that CIMT was positively correlated with MAGE,FGE,MODD,course of disease,diastolic blood pressure,LDL-C,MPBG and AS score (P ＜ 0.05).Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that MAGE,MBPG were the influencing factors of CIMT.Conclusions The CIMT of patients with T2DM is closely correlated with glucose fluctuation,indicating that reduction of blood glucose fluctuation and MAGE,MPBG levels may delay the occurrence of diabetic macroangiopathy.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of the acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) technology and AST/PLT ratio index (APRI） for the assessment of the liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients.Methods 107 patients with chronic hepatitis C were included,the subjects were underwent liver biopsy,liver function,blood count,as well as real-time acoustic elastography examination.The APRI was calculated according the following formula,APRI =AST (ULN)/PLT (109/L).ARFI and APRI were compared by correlation with liver fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis C.Referring to the histologic fibrosis stage on liver biopsy,all the ARFI and the APRI value were assessed by using ROC curve analysis.The corresponding cut-off values,sensitivity and specificity were also calculated and compared.Results The mean values of ARFI and APRI were (1.26 ± 0.27)m/s and 0.30 ± 0.46 for the patients with S1,(1.45 ± 0.51)m/s and 0.29 ± 0.21 for those with S2,(2.03 ± 0.54) m/s and 0.59 ± 0.56 for those with S3,(2.29 ± 0.82) m/s and 0.63 ± 0.35 for those with S4,respectively.ARFI (r =0.61,P ＜0.001) had a better correlation with liver fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis C than APRI (r =0.49,P ＜0.001).Cut-off points of ARFI and APRI were 1.529 m/s and 0.170 for S≥2,1.780 m/s and 0.277 for S≥3,1.780 m/s and 0.446 for S =4,respectively.Accordingly,the areas under the ROC curves for ARFI and APRI were 0.779 and 0.724 for S≥2,0.866 and 0.786 for S≥3,0.790 and 0.779 for S=4,respectively.Conclusions As a non-invasive technology,ARFI is more accurate when applied to evaluate liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C than APRI.ARFI technology has potential value for quantitatme evaluation of the liver fibrosis for chronic hepatitis C.