Objective To investigate the effect of hypertension on the large artery elasticity index (C1),the small artery elasticity index (C2) and the medial structure of the ascending aorta as well as the relationship between artery elasticity and the medial structure of the ascending aorta.Methods Sixty patients with CHD receiving coronary artery bypass graft surgery at our hospital were divided into two groups:30 patients in the hypertension group and 30 patients in the non-hypertension group.C1 and C2 were measured using the CVProfilor DO-2020 system.Sections of tissues taken from the anterior wall of the ascending aorta during the surgery were subjected to Masson's trichrome staining for the detection of vascular smooth muscle and collagen fibers and Weigert's resorcin-fuchsin staining for the detection of elastic fibers.The relative areas of vascular smooth muscle fibers,collagen fibers and elastic fibers of the ascending aorta were measured by a computer image analysis system under the light microscope.The linear correlations of C1 and C2 with the medial structure of the ascending aorta were analyzed.Results C1 in the non hypertension group was higher than that in thehypertensiongroup[11.9±1.8 (ml/mmHg×10) w 13.1±2.5 (ml/mmHg×10),t 2.22,P ＜0.05].In the media of the ascending aorta,the relative content of collagen fibers was higher,while the relative content of elastic fibers was lower in the hypertension group than in the non-hypertension group [(46.0±3.8)％ w (42.2±3.0)％,(17.5±3.5)％ vs.(19.3 2.7)％,respectively,t=4.24 and 2.20,P＜0.01 or 0.05].C1 was positively correlated with the relative content of elastic fibers but negatively correlated with the relative content of collagen fibers in both groups (r=0.52 and 0.39,respectively,P＜0.05 or 0.01).Conclusions The main pathogenic basis of hypertension-induced decline in arterial elasticity in CHD patients is increased collagen fibers and reduced elastic fibers with disorganization of the two types of components.C1 may accurately reflect the effect of hypertension on medial collagen fibers and elastic fibers in the ascending aorta.

Objective To understand the present condition of preclinical dental undergraduate in-terns' AIDS-related knowledge. Methods The questionnaire was designed referring to domestic and foreign relevant questionnaires. The cluster sampling method was used to conduct the questionnaire survey among the undergraduates who started their clinical internship in July 2016 in three domestic colleges, using SPSS 14.0 statistical software to analyze it. Results In this survey, 144 questionnaires were distributed, and 144 ones were filled out and sent back. The survey results suggested that 97.22％ (140) of interns held a posi-tive attitude towards aiding HIV-infected patients despite that 96.53％ (139) of interns knew that dental medical staff was considered to be highly susceptible with HIV. In spite of the fact that most interns knew AIDS-related knowledge and protection measures, 40.28％ (58) of interns were not clear about incubation period of AIDS, and the average awareness of children's AIDS and methods to disinfect HIV-infected dental instruments was less than half in the interns. Meanwhile it was found that 86.81％ (125) of interns didn't perform well in terms of complying with the principles of confidentiality in AIDS prevention and treatment. Conclusion Dental clinical interns' attitudes towards AIDS-infected patients should be praised. Further-more, they should accept education about infection control to have a deeper understanding about AIDS-related clinical manifestations and legal knowledge in order to reduce the probability of nosocomial infec-tion of AIDS.

BACKGROUNDDiabetic macrovascular complications are important causes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and also one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Phlorizin has been reported to be effective in reducing the blood glucose level in diabetic mellitus, while little is known about its effects on vascular complications. This study aimed to observe the effects of phlorizin on the aorta of diabetes db/db mice and explore its mechanism.

METHODSDiabetic db/db mice (n = 16) and age-matched db/m mice (n = 8) were divided into three groups: normal control group (CC group, db/m mice, n = 8), untreated diabetic group (DM group, db/db mice, n = 8) and diabetic group treated by phlorizin (DMT group, db/db mice, n = 8). Phlorizin (20 mg/kg body weight) was given in normal saline solution intragastrically for 10 weeks. Animals were weighed weekly. At the 10th weekend, all mice were fasted overnight and then sacrificed. Fasting blood was collected, and the aortas were dissected. The blood samples were analyzed for fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum advanced glycation end products (AGEs), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, the aortic ultrastructure was studied.

RESULTSThe weight and serum concentration of FBG, AGEs, and MDA in the DM group were higher than that in the CC group (P < 0.01), and they were significantly lower in the DMT group (P < 0.05). Serum SOD activity was lower than that in the CC group (P < 0.01), and it is significantly higher in the DMT group (P < 0.05). The severity of aorta damage in the DMT group was less than that in the DM group.

CONCLUSIONSPhlorizin protected the db/db mice from diabetic macrovascular complications, attributed to the decreasing of blood glucose and AGEs level, and its antioxidant potential. This study may provide a new natural medicine for treating diabetic macrovascular complications.

Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; pathology ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Diabetic Angiopathies ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Phlorhizin ; therapeutic use ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Objective: To make long-term comparison of drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation betweenleft internal mammary artery (LIMA) graft and native vessel in patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
Methods: A total of 151 patients with anterior wall ischemia because of previous CABG induced LIMA graft lesion who received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in our hospital from 2004-07 to 2012-12 were retrospectively studied. The clinical, coronaryangiography (CAG) and follow-up conditions for DES implantation were analyzed;according to the target vessel, the patients were divided into 2 groups:LIMA group, n=40 and Native vessel (NV) group, which meant all segments of left main to left anterior descending arteries, n=111. Primary end points included target lesion revascularization (TLR), target lesion failure (TLF) as cardiac death, target vessel related non-fatal MI with the composition of TLR and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
Results:The median follow-up time was 30 (10-100) months. The rates of TLR and TLF were similar between 2 groups:(15.0%vs 11.7%, log-rank P=0.65) and (17.5%vs 13.5%, log-rank P=0.63). MACE occurrence in LIMA group was higher than NV group (35.0%vs 18.0%, log-rank P=0.043) which was mainly presented by new non-target vessel revascularization as right coronary artery, left circumlfex and saphenous vein graft(17.5%vs 4.5%, log-rank P=0.014). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that target lesion stent length was the only independent predictor for both TLR (HR=1.03, 95%CI1.00-1.06, P=0.01) and TLF (HR=1.03, 95%CI1.00-1.05, P=0.02);whereas, LIMA-PCI was the only independent predictor for MACE occurrence (HR=3.09, 95%CI1.28-7.60, P=0.012).
Conclusion: The chances of TLR and TLF were similar inpatients with previous CABG by either LIMA or NV, while MACE occurrence was higher in LIMA patients which should be further investigated.

Objective To explore the effect of nursing leadership on health education in patients after stroke.Methods Inpatients after first stroke received health education provided by nurses.When the patients went back to out-patient department after discharge, 64 of them were selected as subjects.The Stroke Knowledge Questionnaire (SKQ) and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile Ⅱ (HPLP Ⅱ) were used.Results Except "Spiritual Growth", the scores of SKQ and other subscales of HPLP Ⅱ were higher than those before stroke.But the standard score of SKQ after stoke was only (67.14±17.18).Conclusions Our health education can effectively enhance the health knowledge and behavior in patients after stroke, but it is not satisfied, it is important to enhance nurses' leadership to improve our health education.

Objective To investigate the different pathogeneses of asymptomatic lacunar infaction and symptomatic nonlacunar infaction by investigating their risk factors.Methods A total of 1989 people more than 50 years old,performed physical examination were chosen with the results showing 48 patients with asymptomatic lacunar infaction (group A) and 51 patients with symptomatic nonlacunar infaction (group B).Another 1862 controls without cerebrovascular disease were also chosen.Single factor analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the risk factors.Each risk factor and amount of risk factors for the two diseases was compared between group A and group B.Results Age,hypertension and smoking were the independent predictors of asymptomatic lacunar infaction (P＜0.05).Age,sex,diabetes mellitus,drinking,family history of stroke and stenosis of intracrianial artery were the independent predictors of the symptomatic nonlacunar infaction (P＜0.05).Both rates of diabetes mellitus and stenosis of intracrianial artery in group B were higher than those in group A (diabetes mellitus:x2=17.603,P=0.008; stenosis of intracrianial artery:x2=19.319,P=0.005).The amount of risk factors in patients from group B was significantly more than that in patients from group A (Z=2598,P=0.009).Conclusion The risk factors and vascular mechanism in patients with symptomatic nonlacunar infaction and asymptomatic lacunar infaction are different.Diabetes mellitus and stenosis of intracrianial artery are more often noted in patients with symptomatic nonlacunar infarction.

Objective The prognostic value of corrected QT interval(QTc),corrected Tp-e interval (Tp-ec) and Tp-e/QT ratio on occurrence of malignant arrhythmia events (MAE) in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients underwent successful thrombolysis was explored and the potential association of these indices with MAE was analyzed.Methods Fifty-seven STEMI patients underwent successful thrombolytic therapy within 6 hours after admission and conservative medical treatment were included.QTc,Tp-ec,Tp-e/QT ratio were obtained and calculated in infarct-related electrocardiograph leads and non-infarct-related leads before thrombolysis,(7 ± 1 ) days and (30 ±3 ) days after thrombolysis respectively,and incidence of MAE up to 30 days after thrombolysis was analyzed.Sixty age and gender matched normal subjects served as control group.Results ( 1 ) QTc,Tp-ec,Tp-e/QT in infarct-related and non-infarct-related leads in STEMI group before thrombolysis were significantly higher than those in control group( all P ＜0.05 ),and values from the infarct-related leads were significantly higher than those from non-infarct-related leads in STEMI group ( all P ＜ 0.05 ).QTc,Tp-ec and Tp-e/QT all significantly and continuously reduced from 7 days and at 30 days post thrombolysis compared the before thrombolysis( P ＜0.05 vs.before thrombolysis).( 2 ) Tp-ec ≥ 100 ms and Tp-e/QT ratio ≥0.25 before thrombolysis in infarct-related leads were linked with higher incidence of MAE within 30 days post thrombolysis in this patient cohort [28.1％ (9/32) vs.40％ ( 1/25),27.8％ (10/36) vs.0,respectively,all P ＜ 0.05 ].Conclusion QTc,Tp-ec and Tp-e/QT values decreased post successful thrombolysis in STEMI patients and higher Tp-ec and Tp-e/QT values before thrombolysis in STEMI patients were related with higher MAE incidence up to 30 days post successful thrombolysis in this patient cohort.

Objective To compare the effects of intracoronary infusion of mononuclear stem cells (MNCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).Methods DCM patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF ) ＜ 40％ were randomized to intracoronary infusion of MNCs [ (5.1 ± 2.0) × 108,n =16] or MSCs [ (4.9 ± 1.7 ) × 108,n =17 ] or equal volume normal saline ( n =20 ) through the guiding catheter. Changes of left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd),LVEF and myocardium perfusion defects were assessed before and at (30 ±3) days and (90 ± 7) days after the procedure.Malignant cardiovascular events were also recorded.Results ( 1 ) One month after the procedure,LVEF in transplantation groups significantly increased compared to before procedure ( all P ＜0.05),and significant increase of LVEF was observed only in MSCs transplantation group compared to control group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).However,absolute changes of LVEDd and perfusion defects of myocardium were similar among and within groups (P ＞ 0.05 ).(2)Gomparing with before procedure and control group,LVEF in transplantation groups increased significantly in three months after the procedure (P ＜ 0.05 ),but there were no significant differences between transplantation groups ( P ＞ 0.05 ).LVEDd and myocardium perfusion defects in transplantation groups improved significantly compared with that of before procedure (P ＜0.05 ),while significant decrease of myocardium perfusion defects was only observed in patients treated with MSCs compared with control group at three months after procedure ( P ＜ 0.05 ). ( 3 ) There were no significant differences in major cardiovascular events between transplantation group and control during followup ( P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Intracoronary bone marrow stem cells transplantation is safe and effective for DCM patients while the efficacy of MSCs and MNCs transplantation is comparable.

Objective To study the possible causes of ST-elevated acute myocardial infarction (STEAMI) occurring one month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods One hundred and ninety two patients aged from 40-79 years who had a successful previous PCI and also received primary PCI due to STEAMI in this hospitalization were included in this study. The AMI-related lesions and previous angiographic findings such as the number of lesions, the degree of the stenosis, the type of stents and the acute results of last PCI, etc. were recorded in detail. If the AMI-related lesion was localized in-stents or at the edge of stents (distance from the edge ≤5 mm), it was defined aslate thrombosis, otherwise it was regarded as an AMI induced by new-lesion. Results New lesions, as the cause of STEAMI, were found in 144 cases (Group A, 75%), and late thrombosis in 48 patients (Group B, 25%). There was a significant difference in the average time from previous PCI to AMI (30.1±12.4 vs. 20.3±11.9 months) between the two groups. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and drug-eluting stents (DES) utilization were associated with markedly higher morbidity of late thrombosis in adjusted logistic regressionanalysis [hazard ratio (HR) 3.387, 95% CI 1.053-10.898 and HR 5.311, 95% CI 1.066-26.464]. Conclusions STEAMI occurred 1 month after PCI are more likely to be developed from previous insignificant lesions than from late thrombosis in stents. Moreover, DM and DES are associated with a high incidence of late thrombosis, which may indicate that intensive antiplatelet therapy should be considered in diabetic patients receiving PCI.

BACKGROUNDT-cell receptor (TCR) plays an important role in the development of autoimmune diseases. Recently, it was reported that immunization of animals with TCR peptide derived from the pathogenic cells could prevent autoimmune diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether vaccination with a synthetic peptide from the hypervariable region of TCR V(beta) 8.3, an experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU)-associated gene, was able to prevent the disease.

METHODSEAU was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with IRBP R16 peptide emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The clinical and histological appearances were scored. Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) and lymphocyte proliferation were detected. Cytokine levels of aqueous humour, supernatants of cells from spleen and draining lymph nodes were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Gene expression of TCR V(beta) 8.3 on CD(4)(+) T cells was examined by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTSAfter vaccination, the intraocular inflammation was significantly mitigated, antigen specific DTH and lymphocyte proliferation responses were suppressed, interleukin (IL)-2 in aqueous humour, interferon (IFN)-gamma and IL-2 produced by the spleen and draining lymph node cells were significantly decreased, whereas the production of IL-4 and IL-10 were increased. The response of draining lymph node cells to TCR V(beta) 8.3 peptide was enhanced after vaccination. Inoculation with CFA alone did not affect the severity of EAU and the above parameters. The suppression of EAU was much stronger in the group of four fold inoculations than the group of two fold inoculations. The expression of TCR V(beta) 8.3 gene was significantly reduced in the group of fourfold inoculations.

CONCLUSIONVaccination with the synthetic TCR V(beta) 8.3 peptide could remarkably inhibit the development of EAU.

Animals ; Autoimmune Diseases ; prevention & control ; Cytokines ; biosynthesis ; Female ; Genes, T-Cell Receptor beta ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred Lew ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta ; immunology ; Retinitis ; prevention & control ; Retinol-Binding Proteins ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; immunology ; Uveitis ; prevention & control ; Vaccination