Objective Evaluation of left ventricular ( LV) function has great clinical significance in patients with early chro-nic kidney disease (CKD).The study was to evaluate whether two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) technique can offer additional information of cardiac dysfunction in early CKD patients . Methods Conventional echocardiography and 2D-STI echocar-diography were performed in CKD group of 20 patients at stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ and control group of 20 healthy volunteers .LV structure and function were evaluated by conventional echocardiography .Multidirectional strain , strain rate and LV twist parameters were analyzed by 2D-STI technique. Results There was no statistical difference in conventional echocardiographic parameters such as left atrial diam -eter, end-diastolic LV diameter and ejection fraction between CKD group and control group .By applying 2D-STI technique, CKD group had significantly decreased value of global longitudinal strain (-19.8 ±2.4)%and strain rate(-1.1 ±0.3)S-1 in comparison to control group(-22.6 ±2.1)%、( -1.8 ±0.2)S-1, along with significant increase in the values of maximum LV rotation (11.6 ± 4.4)°and LV twist(19.6 ±3.8)°in comparison to control group(8.2 ±3.7)°、(13.5 ±3.6)°(P<0.05).There was no differences in both global circumferential and radial deformation parameters as well as maximum rotation value of LV assist device between two groups(P>0.05). Conclusion 2D-STI can detect subclinical LV dysfunction sensitively in early CKD patients .

Objective To investigate the pathogenic mechanism of Campylobacter jejuni(C.jejuni) associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome(GBS) and provide strategy for gene modification, the cstⅡ gene from 8 GBS-associated C.jejuni strains were compared with that from 3 GBS-unrelated C.jejuni strains, getting the base and amino acid mutations, the changes of secondary structures and finding the region which may be responsible for the pathogenicity of C.jejuni inducing GBS. Methods Three GBS-associated C.jejuni strains isolated from stools of GBS patients in north China were selected and cultured, which has been confirmed as GBS-associated by animal model. After sequencing the genome of them, the nucleotide sequences of cstⅡ gene were got through sequence alignment. The nucleotide sequences and deduced amini acid sequences of 3 GBS-associated cstⅡ genes were compared with that from 3 GBS-unrelated C.jejuni strains through bioinformatics software, getting the base and amino acid mutations, the changes of secondary structures. Other 5 GBS-associated cstⅡ genes were also aligned to know whether the differences we got above makes sense. In this way the genetic differences between two kinds of C.jejuni strains may be found and speculating the gene region related to the pathogenicity of GBS became possible. Results The cstⅡgene of 3 GBS-associated C.jejuni strains were all composed of 876 base pairs. Compared with GBS-unrelated C.jejuni strains, there were 9 consistent mutation sites in cstⅡ gene of LL and QYT stains, leading to 3 consistent amino acid mutation. The amino acid mutation of 114 and 182 sites in LL and QYT stains existed in other 5 GBS-associated C.jejuni strains. The sole amino acid mutation of ZHX strain -169 site, located near the 182 site. The seventh α-helix(165-180 region)of the secondary structure of the amino acid sequence from GBS-associated strains were shorter than that from GBS-unrelated strains, and the shorter regions were opened to form β-sheet or coli, which also existed in other GBS-related strains in this study.75% of the GBS-associated cstⅡ genes were Asn-51, while 25% of the GBS-associated and all of the GBS-unrelated cstⅡ genes were Thr-51.LL strain showed highly identity to other GBS-unrelated strains in this study. Conclusion The 165-180 segment of secondary structures in cstⅡ gene from local 3 GBS-associated C.jejuni strains are probably the responsible region involved in inducing GBS. The senior structure changes in this region may affect the activity of sialyltransferase and the structures of ganglioside epitope, so that the C.jejuni can acquire the pathogenicity of GBS. This finding may give a clue to genetic modified site. The bi-functional cstⅡ of C.jejuni may be related to the pathogenicity of GBS. The cstⅡ of LL strain to some extent represents the characteristics of Asian strains, which may directs strains monitoring.

Objective To investigate the source of the blood flow through ventricular septum in normal subject caused by slice-thickness artifact in echocardiography. Methods Echocardiography was performed in 50 normal subjects without ventricular septum defect by two models of echocardiography unit equipped with two models of transducer, observing the conditions and sections in which the blood flow through ventricular septum could be detected. Results The blood flow through ventricular septum was detected in 8 normal subjects using the certain model of echocardiography unit,especially in parasternal four chambers section and parasternal irregular sections, while the blood flow through ventricular septum wasn't detected in the other 42 subjects by any echocardiography unit. The blood flow through ventricular septum was caused by coronary vessel in atrioventrieular groove proved by combining dynamic observation with anatomy analysis. Conclusions The blood flow through ventricular septum in normal subjects, a kind of slice-thickness artifact in echocardiography,is caused by coronary vessel in atrioventricular groove mapped into intact ventricular septum.

Objective To evaluate whether global 2-dimensional strain imaging can offer additional benefit over conventional echocardiography to detect subclinical myocardial damage in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD). Methods Conventional echocardiography and global 2-dimension strain imaging were performed in 39 patients with CKD [23 men and 16 women,mean age (45.6± 14.6) years] and 29 control subjects. Twenty patients had CKD stage 2 or 3(group 1 ) and nineteen patients had CKD stage 4 or 5(group 2). Left ventricular structure and function were evaluated by conventional echocardiography. Global longitudinal and circumferential strain and strain rate were analyzed. Results There were no differences in ejection fraction and fraction shortening between CKD patients and controls. Compared with controls, CKD groups had significantly decreased value of global longitudinal strain and strain rate. Global longitudinal strain decreased from - (23.8 ± 3.1 ) % in controls to - ( 18. 5 ± 2.4) % in group 1 and to - (15.2 ± 3.2) % in group 2 ( P ＜0. 001 ). Compared with controls, there was no difference in global circumferential strain and strain rate between group 1 and controls, but global circumferential strain and strain rate of group 2 was reduced [ - (17.1± 3. 0) % vs -(21.2±2.8)%, P＜0.05;-(1.0±0.2)% vs -(1.3±0.3)%, P＜0.05]. In correlation analyses, global longitudinal strain was positively related to eGFR( r =0. 376, P ＜0. 001 ) and inversely related to left ventricular mass index( r = - 0. 473, P ＜0.01). Conclusions Global 2-dimensional strain imaging may represent a useful tool for the assessment of subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients with CKD.

This paper was aimed to study effects of different preparation methods on the content of ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 in Yi-Xin-Shu (YXS) tablets by HPLC-ELSD.HPLC-ELSD was used as the detection method.The separation and content of ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 were used as indexes.The influences of three different preparation methods (i.e.,defatted alcohol extraction and butanol extraction,alcohol extraction and butanol extraction,alcohol extraction and butanol extraction ammonia solution washing) on the effect of YXS tablets were studied.Then,the same content determination method was used to compare the influence of alkali washing treatment to ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 among different batches of Panax ginseng.The results showed that a good separation of ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 component peak of YXS tablets was achieved by three kinds of separation methods.The separation degree was greater than 1.5.Ammonia solution washing had some effect on ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 content,which made the content of ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 be 1.5-1.8 times to those without alkali washing.No effect was shown on the content of ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 during ammonia solution washing.It was concluded that some other ginsenosides can be transferred into ginsenosides Rg1,Re and Rb1 in YXS tablets solution after ammonia solution washing.

Objective To investigate the correlation between vitamin A and surfactant protein (SP)-B, SP-C in human body,and to explore the effects on lung development and pulmonary function of neonates. Methods We collected the blood samples of 170 pregnant women and umbilical cord serum of their neonatal babies. The levels of vitamin A in pregnant women and their neonatal babies,and the levels of SP-B and SP-C in neonatal umbilical cord serum were detected by ELISA. We conducted a follow-up by standard telephone questionnaire,which we concerned was the number of respiratory tract infection within six months,in order to assess the neonatal pulmonary functions. Results (1) There was a positive correlation between the vitamin A levels in neonatal umbilical cord blood and in the blood of pregnant women(r=0. 866,P<0. 05). (2) There was a positive correlation between the vitamin A levels in neonatal umbilical cord blood and the levels of SP-B,SP-C in the blood(r=0. 817,P<0. 05). (3)In the follow-up of 170 cases of infants within six months,three cases with pneumonia hospitalized more than once,but no respiratory distress syndrome hap-pened. Conclusion Vitamin A can be used as an important biological marker to evaluate the neonatal pul-monary maturity. If we detect the vitamin A levels of pregnant women,increase the intake of vitamin A,we can improve the content of SP-B,SP-C,improve the development of neonatal lung function in growth.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence rate of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) and the effect of low-dose glucocorticoid on prognosis of CIRCI in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). METHODS: Since January 2010 to December 2012, 385 patients, who met the criteria of AECOPD, were enrolled in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the First People's Hospital and Municipal Central Hospital of Xiangtan City. The AECOPD patients complicated with CIRCI screened by an adrenalcorticotrophic hormone test within 12 hours after admission to ICU were divided into a treatment group (n=32) and a control group (n=31) for a prospective, randomized and controlled clinical trial. Hydrocortisone (150 mg/d) or normal saline was injected intravenously for 7 days. The patients were followed up for 28 days after injection. The endpoint included 28-day survival time, non-shock time, ICU stay and the period of non-mechanical ventilation. The markers of inflammation C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 6 and procalcitonin were measured at baseline and 7 days after treatment. The variables were analyzed by Student's t test, the non-parametric statistical test, the Chi-square test or the Kaplan-Meier method with SPSS18.0 statistic software. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Totally 63 patients were diagnosed with CIRCI by an adrenalcorticotrophic hormone test and the prevalence rate was 16.4％. The shock rate of the AECOPD patients complicated with CIRCI was higher than that of the AECOPD patients without CIRCI (23.8％ vs. 8.7％, P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the 28-day survival time of the treatment group was obviously longer than that of the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, shock-free days within 28 days was longer in the treatment group (18.2±9.5 vs. 25.8±4.1, P<0.05). Treatment with low-dose glucocorticoid obviously decreased the markers of infection and inflammation (P<0.01), such as C-reactive protein (13.2±5.5 mg/L vs. 8.3±3.1 mg/L for the control group; 13.5±5.9 mg/L vs. 5.1±2.3 mg/L for the treatment group), tumor necrosis factor-α (26.1±16.2 g/L vs. 17.5±11.7 g/L for the control group; 25.0±14.8 g/L vs. 10.4±7.8 g/L for the treatment group) and procalcitonin (3.88 g/L vs. 2.03 g/L for the control group; 3.77 g/L vs. 1.26 g/L for the treatment group). Furthermore, the markers in the treatment group decreased more obviously than those in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of CIRCI was higher in the patients with AECOPD in the department of critical medicine, and low-dose glucocorticoid treatment for one week reduced the 28-day mortality, shock time and markers of infection and inflammation.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinicopathological features of patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (UCB), and analyze the association of clinicopathological characteristics with tumor recurrence and progression.

METHODSAltogether 658 UCB cases in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were collected from January 2006 to December 2010. The histopathologic materials and the clinical records were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were preformed to detect the association.

RESULTSThe mean age of the patients was 61.97 +/- 12.97 years (range, 20-90 years). Male to female ratio was about 5:1. A total of 517 cases (78.6%) were superficial at the time of diagnosis (stage Ta/T1). The mean follow-up period was 22.36 +/- 24.92 months. Twenty-five patients lacking follow-up information were excluded in calculating recurrence and progression rates, the recurrence rate was about 37.0% (234/633), and progression rate about 6.2% (39/633). Three variables (grade, tumor growth pattern, and pathological stage) were found to be significant risk factors for tumor progression in univariate and multivariate analyses (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMost of the newly diagnosed UCB cases may be superficial diseases. Grade, tumor growth pattern, and pathological stage are associated with tumor progression of UCB.

Adult ; Aged ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; pathology

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Zaozhuang city from 2010 to 2017, and establish a predictive model to predict prevalence trend, so as to provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of mumps. Methods Mumps cases between 2010 and 2017 screened from Infectious Diseases Report Information Management System of Chinese Information System of Disease Prevention and Control were analyzed by the descriptive epidemiologic method. The time series analysis method was applied to model and predict the trend of disease. Results A total of 6 353 mumps cases were reported in Zaozhuang city from 2010 to 2017. The average annual incidence was 19.75/100 000. The incidence of men was higher than that of women. The seasonal indices for December to next January and April to July were all above 1. The incidence rates of Shizhong and Yicheng were higher than in other areas. The incidences aged from 3 to 14 accounted for 76.85 % of the total number of cases, while students, scattered children and childcare accounted for 86.11%. The established time series model was ARIMA (1, 0, 0) * (0, 0, 0)12. The mean absolute percentage error of the predictive values based on the model was 39.99% and the number of cases predicted by the model in 2018 was 471. The predictive incidence rate was 11.13/100 000. Conclusions Primary and secondary school students and scattered children are the main population for the prevention and control of mumps. The model obtains better forecasting results and can be used for short-term prediction and dynamic analysis of mumps.

Objective To construct eukaryotic enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expressing recombinant plasmid, pEGFP-C1-hnRNP A1, which contains coding sequence of human hnRNP A1 (heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleo-protein A1), and to perform cellular localization analysis of EGFP tagged hnRNP A1 under stress. Methods Total RNA was isolated from HeLa cell used for synthesis of first-strand cDNAs using reverse primers that are specific for the 3′-un-translated region of hnRNP A1. hnRNP A1 gene fragments were then amplified by touch-down PCR from those cDNAs and inserted into pEGFP-C1 fluorescent bearing vector through EcoRⅠ/BamHⅡdouble enzyme digestion and T4 DNA Ligase connection. The recombinant pEGFP-C1-hnRNP A1 plasmid was transfected into HeLa cells and green fluorescent tagged fusion proteins was examined by Western blot and confocal fluorescence microscopy. Co-localization of EGFP-hnRNP A 1 with poly (A)+mRNA (the marker of the stress granules), or DCP1a (the marker of processome) were detected by RNA fluores-cence in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence. Results The pEGFP-C1-hnRNP A1 was sequenced and digested cor-rectly by restriction single/double enzyme. The green fluorescent fusion protein was also detected in transfected HeLa cell by Western blot and confocal fluorescence microscopy. EGFP-hnRNP A1 co-localizes with poly(A)+mRNA, but not DCP1a. Conclusion Recombinant eukaryotic plasmid of pEGFP-C1-hnRNP A1 was constructed successfully and expressed effec-tively. EGFP tagged hnRNP A1 takes part in forming stress granules.