Objective To compare the clinical diagnostic value of 320 row four-dimensional CT angiography (4D-CTA)and digital subtraction angiography (DSA)in untreated arteriovenous malformation (AVM)patients.Methods Thirty-six patients with AVM diagnosed by DSA were included in this study.Two independent readers blind to the results of all examinations evaluated the find-ings of DSA and 4D-CTA of each patient.All results were then documented using a standardized scoring sheet.Results The diagno-sis results of 4D-CTA for AVM lesions in all 36 patients were accurately consistent with those of DSA,including the position,size and vascular structure.There were 14 cases with the largest diameter <3 cm,20 cases 3-6 cm,2 cases >6 cm.Lesions involved only the anterior circulation in 13 cases,only the posterior circulation in 13 cases,and both the anterior and posterior circulation in 10 cases.Conclusion 4D CTA has excellent diagnostic accuracy in the detection of AVM lesions,including size,location,feeding ar-teries and draining veins,with similar value as DSA in the clinical diagnose and evaluation of AVM.

OBJECTIVETo construct tree models for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)and explore the oncogenesis process of NPC.

METHODSBased on the software which Desper et al developed, tree models were constructed for colorectal carcinoma (CC) from the comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) data of 118 CC patients and for NPC from the CGH data of 140 southern Chinese patients, respectively.

RESULTSTree models for CC suggested that changes in -18q and +20q were important early events in colorectal carcinogenesis. As changes in -18q occurred prior to those in -17p, there might be some cause-effect relationship. Tree models for NPC suggested that change in -3p was an important early event in nasopharyngeal carcinogenesis, and those in -11q, -14q, -16q, -9p were also non-random genetic events in carcinogenesis, suggesting that there might be tumor-associated genes existing on these chromosome arms. The tree model also suggested the existence of oncogene on the short arm of chromosome 12.

CONCLUSIONConstructing tree models based on the CGH data to demonstrate the initiation and progression of NPC might help elucidate its multigene, multistep and multipathway development. It may provide valuable clues to explore the mechanism of tumorigenesis.

Chromosome Aberrations ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; etiology ; genetics ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; etiology ; genetics ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization

OBJECTIVETo establish a nude mouse model of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) lymph node metastasis and screen the signature genes associated with the metastasis.

METHODSThe NPC 5-8F-EGFP cells were inoculated into nude mice, from which a 5-8F-LN cell line with lymph node metastasis potential was obtained. The lymphatic metastasis-related signature genes of breast cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were screened by data mining method.

RESULTSThe NPC cell lines 5-8F and 6-10B showed 307 differentially expressed genes by microarray analysis, from which 20 overlapping genes were identified, and 3 overexpressed genes were found with probable metastasis potential, namely the ADM, IRF1, and CAV1 genes. Quantitative RT-PCR validated the data mining results in the 5-8F-EGFP, 6-10B-EGFP, NP69, and 5-8F-LN cell lines. The 3 NPC cell lines 5-8F-EGFP, 6-10B-EGFP and 5-8F-LN showed significantly higher expressions of IRF1 than NP69 cells (P=0.008, 0.022, and 0.006, respectively. The expression level of CAV1 in 5-8F-EGFP cells was significantly higher than that in 6-10B-EGFP cells (P=0.014), but ADM expression showed no significant difference between the 4 cell lines.

CONCLUSIONSIRF1 may play an important role in the progression of NPC. The overexpression of CAV1 in 5-8F-EGFP cells can be associated with the high metastatic potential of the cells.

Adrenomedullin ; genetics ; Animals ; Caveolin 1 ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Interferon Regulatory Factor-1 ; genetics ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transplantation, Heterologous

Objective To analyze the acoustic features of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD),and to explore the correlation between the acoustic features and the severity and course of disease.Methods Fifty-two patients with PD from the Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical University and the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to the Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University from August to December 2015 were enrolled into this study.Thirty-two age-matched healthy people served as control group.PD patients were tested with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) staging.And all the patients were tested with Mini-Mental State Examiantion (MMSE) and Voice Handicap Index (VHI).The voice samples of all subjects were collected and the frequency perturbation (jitter),amplitude perturbation (shimmer),and harmonic-to-noise ratio (NHR) were analyzed using a vocal assessment.Fundamental frequency (F0),standard deviation of fundamental frequency (SDF0) and formant ratio (F2i/F2u) were analyzed using a real-time speech measuring instrument.The acoustic parameters of the two groups were compared and the correlation between the parameters of the patients and the disease and course of disease was analyzed.Results Subjective assessment using VHI showed a total of 24 VHI abnormalities (46％) in the PD group,including 13 males (54％),11 females (46％).No VHI abnormalities were found in the control group.Among the parameters analyzed by objective acoustic method,compared with the control group (female/a/1.43(1.19,1.92),/i/3.39(1.49,9.85),/u/1.46(1.23,3.85);male/a/1.06(0.92,1.89),/u/1.30(1.07,1.64)),the SDF0 of the three vowels of the female patients in the PD group (/a/2.99(1.81,4.12),Z=5.429,P＜0.01;/i/10.89(5.47,22.20),Z=8.487,P＜0.01;/u/5.16(3.75,7.80),Z=7.138,P＜0.01) and /a/ and /u/ of the male patients in the PD group (/a/2.16(1.73,2.94),Z=4.858,P=0.002;/u/3.70(2.41,5.43),Z=7.664,P＜0.01) were significantly increased,and the F2i/F2u in the PD group (male 1.96±0.84,female 1.81± 1.14) was lower than that in the control group (male 3.48±0.70,female 4.14± 1.08),and the difference was statistically significant (t=-6.669,-6.844,P＜0.01).There were no statistically significant differences in frequency perturbation,amplitude perturbation,harmonic noise ratio and fundamental frequency.Only the fundamental frequency standard deviation of the sound parameters used in the study was correlated with the disease course of PD patients.After the severity of the disease was assessed by H-Y staging,the frequency perturbation (jitter),amplitude perturbation (shimmer) in the middle and late stage patients were higher than those in the early stage patients,and the difference of frequency perturbation in the three vowels was statistically significant,and the difference of amplitude perturbation in the vowels/i/and/u/was statistically significant.No correlation was found between the acoustic parameters and UPDRS score.Conclusions Consonance disorders are common in PD patients,and the changes in acoustic parameters are mainly manifested as the increase in the SDF0 and the decrease in the F2i/F2u.Acoustic parameters can be used as an effective indicator to evaluate the condition and course of PD patients,and further language tasks need to be added to clarify.

Objective Sporadic cases occurring in mall geographic unit could lead to extreme value of incidence due to the small population bases,which would influence the analysis of actual incidence.Methods This study introduced a method of hierarchy clustering and partitioning regionalization,which integrates areas with small population into larger areas with enough population by using Geographic Information System (GIS) based on the principles of spatial continuity and geographical similarity (homogeneity test).This method was applied in spatial epidemiology by using a data set of thyroid cancer incidence in Yiwu,Zhejiang province,between 2010 and 2013.Results Thyroid cancer incidence data were more reliable and stable in the new regionalized areas.Hotspot analysis (Getis-Ord) on the incidence in new areas indicated that there was obvious case clustering in the central area of Yiwu.Conclusion This method can effectively solve the problem of small population base in small geographic units in spatial epidemiological analysis of thyroid cancer incidence and can be used for other diseases and in other areas.

Objective: To evaluate the associative role of depression and apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele (APOEε4) in subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and its progression to objective cognitive decline. Methods: After literature search in electronic databases, studies were selected by following precise eligibility criteria. Meta-analyses were performed to examine the role of APOEε4 and depression in SCD or its progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Results: APOEε4 positivity was not different between SCD and normal individuals but was significantly higher in individuals with SCD plus than in normal individuals [odds ratio: 2.39 (95% CI: 1.87, 3.05); p<0.00001] and in SCD converters than in non-converters [odds ratio: 5.19 (95% CI: 2.36, 11.42); p<0.00001]. Depression was significantly higher in individuals with SCD [standardized mean difference: 0.63 (0.45, 0.82); p<0.00001] and SCD plus [standardized mean difference: 0.83 (0.43, 1.22); p<0.0001] than in normal individuals. However, depression was not different between SCD and MCI or between SCD converters and non-converters. Age of SCD converters was higher than non-converters [mean difference: 2.95 years (0.58, 5.31)]. Conclusion Whereas APOEε4 positivity was higher in SCD plus and SCD converters, depression was higher in SCD and SCD plus but was not different between SCD and MCI.

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a protein deacetylase, which regulates various physiological activities by deacetylating different protein substrates. An increasing number of studies have revealed critical roles of SIRT1 in different aspects of cancers including metabolism, proliferation, genomic instability, and chemotherapy resistance. Depending on the protein targets in a certain oncogenic context, SIRT1 may play a unique role in each individual blood cancer subtype. Our previous work showed that activation of SIRT1 in primitive leukemia cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) promotes disease maintenance. On the other hand, an SIRT1 agonist was shown to disrupt maintenance of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) stem cells and holds promise as a potential therapeutic approach. Herein, we present a concise summary of the different functions of SIRT1 in hematologic malignancies.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of a phospholipid-coated microbubble contrast agent for myocardium opacification in comparison with a albumin-coated microbubble contrast agent (Quanfuxian).

METHODSIn 10 dogs with single coronary artery stenosis involving the anterior descending branch or circumflex branch randomly received infusion of the two contrast agents through the femoral vein. The myocardial blood flow, heart rate and blood pressure were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The concentration and the particle diameter of the two contrast agents were determined.

RESULTSThe concentration of the phospholipid-coated microbubbles was (1.06-/+0.22) x10(9)/ml, with a diameter of 3.04-/+0.34 microm, similar to the concentration and diameter of Quanfuxian ((1.31-/+0.33)x10(9)/ml and 2.88-/+0.58 microm, respectively, P>0.05). Both of the agents achieved grade three myocardium opacification, and produced no obvious effect on the heart rate and blood pressure. Quantitative analysis of myocardial opacification in terms of myocardial blood volume (A), blood velocity (beta), and blood flow (A x beta) revealed no significant difference between the two agents (P>0.05), and the parameters derived from the two agents showed good correlations (P<0.05, rA=0.809, r beta=0.932, rA.beta=0.925).

CONCLUSIONThe phospholipid-coated microbubble contrast agent shows good effect for myocardial opacification without significant difference from Quanfuxian. Both of the agents are good ultrasound contrast agents for quantitative analysis of myocardium blood flow.

Albumins ; chemistry ; Animals ; Contrast Media ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Coronary Stenosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Dogs ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Female ; Male ; Microbubbles ; Phospholipids ; chemistry

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) are a group of cells that have self-renewal, highly proliferative and multidrug differentiation potential. The properties of UC-MSCs and their tumor tropism make them an ideal tool for glioma cell therapy. These cells can act by paracrine or as a delivery system for genes and drugs. It has been demonstrated that UC-MSCs can inhibit the growth of glioma and improve the survival after transplantation into the brain. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the molecular mechanisms and safety of UC-MSCs in the treatment of glioma and to provide a useful reference for further research. METHODS: We searched the PubMed and CNKI databases from 2000 to 2017 with the English terms of "glioma; umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells" and the Chinese terms of "glioma; umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells; safety; molecular mechanism". Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 55 articles were finally reserved for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: UC-MSCs have obvious effect on treating glioma. These cells can treat glioma through homing mechanism and paracrine mechanism as gene carrier and co-culture. Moreover, UC-MSCs have certain safety in the treatment of glioma.

Objective To establish a three-dimensional(3D) finite element model of cervical vertebrae (C1-7),and study its biomechanical properties under muscle force by cervical traction,so as to provide references for clinical treatment.Methods On the basis of nonlinear finite element model of normal cervical vertebrae and combined with clinical traction methods,cervical traction at the extension angle of 0°,10°,20°,30°,40° under the same traction weight,was simulated by finite element analysis (FEA) software to obtain and select the joint force and muscle force that were appropriate for FEA on the model.Results In the process of cervical extension by traction,under the muscle force,the average maximum equivalent stress of cervical vertebrae,intervertebral disc and uncovertebral joints increased by 4.86,1.79,0.69 MPa,respectively,and the average maximum relative displacement of cervical vertebrae in sagittal and vertical axis direction increased by 1 1.1,1.26 mm,respectively.The biomechanical properties of cervical traction were similar to the FEA results reported in the literature.Conclusions Neck muscles play an active role in promoting the stress and displacement of cervical vertebrae,intervertebral discs and uncovertebral joints and it should be taken into consideration when performing cervical traction in clinic.In addition,the traction angle should not be too large:0.-20. is generally recommended as a relatively safe angle range at the initial stage.