Objective To study the function of human chorionie gonadotrophin(HCG) in adjus-ting the vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in rabbit phallus with hypospadias. Methods Rabbit hypospadias mode was made by Finasteride. After the spontaneous delivery, 35 rabbits were divided into 5 groups with 7 in each group. Four groups accepted HCG intramuscular injection for 7 consecutive days with dosages of 100,200,400 and 600 U, respectively. The control group accepted the same dosage of saline injection. Another 7 normal rabbits were used as normal controls without in-tervention. After 3 weeks, the rabbit phallus tissue was collected and the VEGF levels were detected by ELISA. Results Rabbits with hypospadias accepted HCG 100, 200, 400, 600 U injection had the phallus tissue VEGF level of 5.00±2.37,5.63±1.73, 10.35±2.34 and 16.91±2.34 pg/ml, respectively. While the rabbits accepted saline injection had VEGF levels of 3.99±1.19 pg/ml. The normal rabbit phallus tissue contained VEGF level of 14.82±3.32 pg/ml. There were significant differences between normal group and the rabbits accepted HCG 100, 200, 400 U injection (P＜ 0.05), but there was no difference with the rabbits accepted HCG 600 U injection (P＞0.05). The VEGF level in rabbits accepted 400 U HCG injection had significant difference with rabbits accepted 100, 200, 600 U HCG (P＜0.05). The VEGF levels in rabbits accepted 100, 200 U HCG injection had no difference with rabbits accepted saline injection(P＞0.05). Conclusions The VEGF in rabbit phallus with hypospadias is decreased. HCG of certain dosage could increase VEGF level in rabbit phallus with hypospadias.

3 T CE-CMRA allows for accurate detection of coronary artery stenosis of the main coronary artery branches with high sensitivity and specificity,but is still limited in small coronary branches.

Objective To compare the diagnostic performance of multi-contrast atherosclerosis characterization (MATCH) and magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo (MPRAGE) for the detection of IPH with histologic analysis as the reference standard.Methods Thirty individuals were collected in this study.They were diagnosed to have carotid stenosis＞50％ by ultrasound and scheduled for carotid endarterectomy from 2014 to 2015.3 T carotid MR examinations using MPRAGE,MATCH and 3D TOF were performed in these patients.Axial images covered all plaques and centered at the bifurcation of the carotid artery.All image data sets were processed on a semi-automatic software (MRI-Plaque View,VPDiagnostics,US) to analyze the component of IPH for vulnerable plaques.The consistency between MATCH and MPRAGE was analyzed by using Cohen Kappa analysis.Comparison of the two sequences to the pathological results was performed in a similar manner.The sensitivity and specificity of the two sequences were obtained.The SNR,CNR and contrast ratio(CR) of the two regions of interest were calculated and Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the difference between the two methods.Results Among 30 patients,a total of 602 available sections and 95 correponding histology specimens were included in the analysis.When all 602 available sections were included in the analysis,MATCH yielded good agreement with MPRAGE(Kappa=0.773) on the detection of IPH.With pathological specimens as the gold standard,moderate to good agreement was shown for both MATCH and MPRAGE (Kappa=0.778,0.685).The sensitivity and specificity for the detection of IPH was 93.2％ (68/73) and 90.9％ (20/22) for MATCH.For MPRAGE,the sensitivity and specificity was 87.7％(64/73) and 90.9％(20/22) respectively.The difference between MATCH and MPRAGE was statistically significant for SNR,CNR and CR.That is to say,SNR and CNR of MPRAGE were higher than those of MATCH(P＜0.05),while CR of MATCH was higher than that of MPRAGE(P＜0.05).Conclusion Compared to the MPRAGE sequence,MATCH technique demonstrates similar diagnostic performance for the detection of IPH.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 3.0 T contrast enhanced (CE) whole heart coronary MRA ( CE MRA ) using 32-channel coils with high acceleration factor. Methods Sixty patients with suspected coronary artery disease who were scheduled for coronary angiography (CAG)underwent CE CMRA at 3.0 T MRI scanner. A 32-channel receiver coil was used for data acquisition. For image acquisition, an ECG-triggered, navigator-gated, inversion-recovery prepared, segmented gradient-echo sequence was used with an acceleration factor of three in the phase-encoding direction using GRAPPA reconstruction. Gd-BOPTA (0.15 mmol/kg body weight) was intravenously administered at a rate of 0. 3 ml/s. The diagnostic accuracy in detecting significant stenoses ( ≥50% of vessel lumen) was evaluated using χ2 test with X-ray angiography as the reference. Results Whole-heart CE CMRA was successfully completed in 56 patients who were scheduled for CAG. The averaged imaging time was ( 6. 0 ± 1.3 ) min.3.0 T CE CMRA using 32 channel coils correctly identified significant CAD in 28 patients and correctly ruled out CAD in 23 patients. The sensitivity and specificity were 93. 3% and 88.5% respectively.Conclusion Combined with dedicated 32-channel coils, 3.0 T CE CMRA allows significant reduction in imaging speed and reduced dose of the contrast agent. These improvements resulted in substantially improved overall accuracy of CE CMRA in detecting coronary artery disease.

Objective To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography ( CE CMRA ) at 3.0 T in the delineation of cardiac venous anatomy. Methods Contrast-enhanced whole-heart CMRA at 3.0T was performed in 43 consecutive subjects using ECG-triggered, navigator-gated, inversion-recovery prepared, segmented gradient-echo sequence with a 32-channel cardiac coil. The visibility of the coronary veins was graded visually using a 4-point scale.Continuous variable was expressed as (-x)±s. The paired student t test was used to evaluate the differences of the coronary sinus (CS) ostium diameter in anteroposterior and superoinferior directions. Results CMRA examination was successfully completed in 40 subjects with acquisition time of ( 6. 9 ± 1.8 ) min. The cardiac veins were finally evaluated in 38 of 40 (95.0%) subjects. The mean distance of the posterior vein of the left ventricle (PVLV) and the left marginal vein (LMV) to the CS ostium were (3.34 ± 0. 90) and (6. 12 ± 1.02) cm, respectively. The mean visibility scores of CS, posterior interventricular vein (PIV),PVLV, LMV, and anterior interventricular vein (AIV) were 4.0 ± 0.0, 3.4 ± 0. 5, 3.4 ± 0. 5, 3.0 ± 0. 8,and 3. 3 ± 0. 5, respectively. The diameter of the CS ostium in the superoinferior direction ( 1.13 ±0. 26) cm was larger than that in the anteroposterior direction (0. 82 ± 0. 19) cm (t = -4. 31 ,P <0. 05).Conclusion Contrast-enhanced whole-heart CMRA at 3.0 T can clearly depict the cardiac venous anatomy.

Objective:To learn about the epidemic law of animal plague in natural plague focus of Himalayan Marmot in Yumen City of Gansu Province, to explore the epidemiological characteristics of plague in the area and to provide scientific basis for formulating prevention and control strategies of the plague. Methods:The animal plague surveillance data of natural plague focus of Himalayan Marmot in Yumen City, Gansu Province from 2014 to 2021 were collected, main host density, rate of infected with fleas, flea index, small rodent species, bacteriology, serology were studied. Excel 2007 software was used to analyze the plague epidemic situation in the focus. Results:From 2014 to 2021, the total average density was 0.06 per hm 2 of the marmots. A total of 19 300 traps were placed, and 209 rats were caught, with an average catch rate of 1.08%. Among them, Dipus sagitta (59.81%, 125/209) and Mongolian Five-toed Jerboa(31.10%, 65/209) were dominant small rodent species. Totally 877 marmots were checked, 184 with flea. The rate of infected with fleas of marmots was 20.98%, with a flea index of 1.00, Callopsylla dolabris (52.69%, 461/875) and Oropsylla silantiewi (47.20%, 413/875) were dominant species in vector. The rate of infected with fleas of burrow was 7.72% (173/2 241), with a flea index of 0.20. A total of 39 strains of Yersinia pestis were isolated from infected animals. Among them, 35 strains from the marmots, and 4 strains from vectors. Totally 913 serum samples were checked from marmots and shepherd dog, the positive serum was 34. Among them, the positive rate of shepherd dog was 13.98% (33/236). Conclusions:The plague epidemic situation in natural plague focus of Himalayan Marmot in Yumen City of Gansu Province is still serious. The monitoring of plague should be strengthened, and the comprehensive measures for prevention and control of the plague should be carried out to prevent a outbreak of the plague in human being.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the status of acute upper respiratory infection and influenza-like illness (ILI) among community residents in Jinan in 2015, and to make a understand of the patient's medical treatment behavior and influenza vaccination coverage status in 2014.

METHODSBalloting method and convenient sampling method were used to launch a household survey. The residents who had been in Jinan for more than 3 months were selected, to investigate the residents' attack ratio of acute upper respiratory and influenza-like from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2015. Totally, 1 300 persons from 410 families were involved in this survey which recovered 1 241 valid questionnaires with the efficiency of 95.5%. Based on the national age-urban demographic statistics in 2010, the attack rates of acute respiratory infections, influenza-like illness were estimated by the direct standardization method, and the influenza vaccination rates were also calculated in this study. χ(2)-test method was used to compare the different status of incidence and vaccination among residents with different features.

RESULTSThe attack rate of acute upper respiratory infection and influenza-like illness in Jinan from January 8, 2015 to February 7, 2015 were 30.2% (375 cases), and 6.1% (76 cases), respectively, with a standardized rate of 29.1% and 5.4%. 5.3% (66 cases) of the residents have vaccinated with the influenza vaccine inoculation, with an adjusted rate of 3.8%. The attack rate difference of acute upper respiratory tract infections was statistically significant between each age group (χ(2)=17.121, P= 0.002). The 0-4 age group had a highest attack rate (45.4%) of acute respiratory infection, while the 15-24 age group got the lowest (26.5%). 38.9% (146 cases) of patients went for a treatment in hospital. Among them, 37.7% (55 cases) of them selected the county level hospitals for treatment, 37.7% (55 cases) selected the community level hospitals, and 24.6% (36 cases) selected the individual clinic. Significant differences of influenza-like illness attack rate between each age group were also found in this study (χ(2)=76.79, P<0.001). 0-4 age group had the highest attack rate (22.7%). 81.6% (62 cases) of the ILI sought treatment in the hospital, of which 53.2% (33 cases) selected county level hospital or above, and 33.9% (21 cases) selected community hospital, and 12.9% (8 cases) selected the individual clinic.

CONCLUSIONThe attack rate of acute upper respiratory infections among the residents of Jinan was high, whereas that of influenza-like illness was relatively low. 0-4 age group had a higher risk of ILI than other age groups. Most of the cases were likely to take the treatment in large hospitals. In general, the coverage rate of influenza vaccination was relatively low.

Ambulatory Care Facilities ; China ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vaccination ; statistics & numerical data

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging provides accurate anatomic information and advanced soft contrast, making it the reference standard for assessing cardiac volumes and systolic function. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in CMR sequences. New technical development has widened the use of CMR imaging beyond the simple characterization of myocardial scars and assessment of contractility. These novel CMR sequences offer comprehensive assessments of coronary plaque characterization, myocardial fiber orientation, and even metabolic activity, and they can be readily applied in clinical settings. CMR imaging is able to provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiologic process of underlying cardiac disease, and it can help physicians choose the best treatment strategies. Although several limitations, including the high cost and time-consuming process, have limited the widespread clinical use of CMR imaging so far, recent advances in software and hardware technologies have made the future more promising.
Cardiac Volume ; Cardiology ; Cicatrix ; Heart Diseases ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging provides accurate anatomic information and advanced soft contrast, making it the reference standard for assessing cardiac volumes and systolic function. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in CMR sequences. New technical development has widened the use of CMR imaging beyond the simple characterization of myocardial scars and assessment of contractility. These novel CMR sequences offer comprehensive assessments of coronary plaque characterization, myocardial fiber orientation, and even metabolic activity, and they can be readily applied in clinical settings. CMR imaging is able to provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiologic process of underlying cardiac disease, and it can help physicians choose the best treatment strategies. Although several limitations, including the high cost and time-consuming process, have limited the widespread clinical use of CMR imaging so far, recent advances in software and hardware technologies have made the future more promising.