Objective To explore the relationship between the extent of coronary artery lesions and plasma brain natriurefic peptide(BNP)levels in the patients with coronary artery disease(CAD)except for congestive heart failure(CHF).Method Seventy CAD patients without CHF evidenced by dinical manifestation and coronary arte- riography(CAG)from Cardiology Depamnent of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine,China,were enrolled in the study.These patients were diagnozed under coronary arteriography(CAG) during March to May of 2007.They were divided into 3 groups:stable angina goup(24 patients),unstable angina group(25 patients),myocardial infarction group(21 patients).Twenty patients without coronary history and with normal CAG served as controls.Plasma BNP concentrations were measured with ELASA before CAG.The coronary lesion vessels and scores were estimated after CAG.The relationship between BNP levels and the coronary lesion vessels,as well as scores in CAD was analyzed.The data were expressed as(x±s)and was analyzed by using 2 independent samples test and spearman correlation with SPSS 13.0.A P value less than 0.01 indicated statistical significance.Results The plasma BNP concentrations in the patients,especially in the patients with myocardial infarction,were significantly higher than those in the controls.Spearman analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the BNP levels and coronary lesion vessels(r1=0.309,P=0.01),also between BNP and coronary lesion score(r2=0.279,P=0.01).Conclusions In the patients without congestive heart failure,the more serious the coronary artery lesions,the higher the plasma BNP concentrations were.The degree of myocardial ischemia caused by coronary artery lesions was correlated with the plasma BNP level.Plasma BNP concentration could be valuable for the extent of coronary artery lesions in the patients of coronary artery disease.

In this study, we investigate the bioaccessibility of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, As, Cd and Hg) in wild Artemisia annua and use target hazard quotients (THQ) proposed by US Environmental Protection Agency to assess the health risk under the heavy metal exposure. The results showed that the bioaccessibility of Cu, Pb, As, Cd and Hg in A. annua are 0.77, 0.66, 0.46, 0.68 and 0, respectively, and that the value of THQ for adults and children were 0.030 and 0.025 calculated by risk assessment model. The results indicated that the heavy metals in A. annua were not able to be completely absorbed by human body and that their contents were in a safe range. In this study, by combining the bioavailability of heavy metal and health risk assessment, we assessed the security of heavy metals of wild A. annua, which will provide reference for the standard of heavy metals for medicinal materials.
Artemisia annua ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Consumer Product Safety ; Drug Contamination ; Humans ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; metabolism ; Risk Assessment ; Soil Pollutants ; analysis ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo analyze the perioperative complications of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture.

METHODSFrom June 2009 to December 2011, 63 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture underwent PKP, there were 18 males and 45 females with an average age of 75.3 years ( ranged, 62 to 91). All patients with severe back pain and without neurological symptoms and signs, which were confirmed by X-ray and MRI. Among them,there were 63 cases with severe osteoporosis, 37 cases with hypertension, 10 with coronary artery disease, 29 with anemia, 26 with diabetes, 11 with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and 8 with gastritis and peptic ulcer. The common perioperative complications were retropectively reviewed.

RESULTSPreoperative complications occured in 9 cases (14.3%), including hypostatic pneumonia (1 case), electrolyte disturbances (2 cases), urinary tract infection (2 cases), moderate anemia(2 cases),electrolyte disturbances combined with moderate anemia (1 case), hypostatic pneumonia combined with delirium (1 case). Intraoperative and postoperative. complications occurred in 17 cases (26.9%), there were bone cement correlated complications in 9 cases (14.3%), in which 2 cases of toxic reaction of bone cement and 7 cases of leakage (2 cases had clinical symptoms); there were non-bone cement correlated complications in 3 cases (4.8%), in which 1 case of focal hematoma caused by paracentesis, 1 case of transient nerve injury, 1 case of left intercostal neuralgia;there were transient hyperpathia in 5 cases after operation. All complications result in no severe consequence after treatment.

CONCLUSIONPerioperative complications of percutaneous kyphoplasty are not uncommon,however,these complications may not cause serious consequence after active treatment,so prevention and treatment are important for it.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Fractures, Compression ; surgery ; Humans ; Intraoperative Complications ; etiology ; Kyphoplasty ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo improve the clinician's ability for emergency treatment of priapism.

METHODSBoth cases received 2 mg to 8 mg of metaraminol injection at the root of cavernous body, and perfusion of heparinized saline at glans and root of cavernous body of the penis by contrecoup, but they had not good response to the above therapy. At last surgery was performed.

RESULTSTotal penectomy was performed for both cases. One case was diagnosed of penile sarcoma, and another was metastatic transitional cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONPriapism due to neoplasma is infrequent, it should not be misdiagnosed in case of emergency.

Erectile Dysfunction ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Penile Neoplasms ; complications ; surgery

BackgroundAn ideal animal model is very important for the investigation of the immune mechanism of high-risk rejection corneal transplantation.ObjectiveThis study was to compare three methods of creating a high-risk corneal transplantation model in rabbits to study high-risk rejection corneal transplantation.MethodsForty-five New Zealand white rabbits were utilized and assigned randomly to three groups of different modeling methods,with 15 rabbits for each group.The high-risk corneal transplantation models were created by suturing with 5-0 silk thread in 4 quadrants,inducing alkali burn with 1 mol/L NaOH or corneal xenotransplantation.In the suturing group and alkali burning group,the rabbits received a unilateral 7.25 mm diameter corneal allograft after corneal neovascularization was induced,and in the xenotransplantation group,corneas from cats were used as donors.Rabbits were followed-up for 4 weeks in all groups.Corneal neovascular area was calculated and compared among the three groups.The amount of rejection,inflammatory index ( IF),neovascularization and histology of grafts were clinically scored to calculate the reject index (RI).ResultsThere were 14,15 and 15 rabbits that survived the high-risk penetrating corneal transplantation,respectively,in the suturing group,alkali burning group and xenotransplantation group.Two weeks after operation,the IF scores were 0.543 ± 0.103,0.811 ± 0.054 and 0.191 ±0.087,and the RI were 2.111±0.928,7.0±0.816 and 3.182±0.751 in the suturing group,alkali burning group and xenotransplantationgroup,respectively,showingstatisticallysignificantdifferencesamongthethreegroups (x2 =25.736,22.432,P =0.000).The IF value was lower in the xenotransplantation group compared with the suturing group and alkali burning group (Z =3.841,3.993,P =0.000),and that of the suturing group was lower than the alkali burning group (Z =3.568,P =0.000).The RI value of the xenotransplantation group was significantly raised in comparison with the suturing group and declined in comparison with the alkali burning group (Z =2.373,P =0.018;Z =3.936,P =0.000),and that of the suturing group was lower than the alkali burning group (Z =3.729,P =0.000 ).The survival times of the grafts were ( 17.9±2.0 ) days,( 13.4 ±2.4) days and ( 15.5 ±2.0 ) days in these three groups with a significant difference among them ( F =9.474,P =0.001 ).The neovascularization area in the xenotransplantation group was smaller than the suturing group and alkali burning group (P＜ 0.05 ).Histological examination revealed a large number of inflammatory cells infiltration in the grafts 2 and 4 weeks after transplantation in the suturing group and alkali burning group,but less inflammatory cells were seen in the xenotransplantaion group.Immunofluorescence staining showed abundant CD4+ T positive cells in the grafts in the three groups.Conclusions The cat-rabbit corneal xenotransplantation can induce stable and moderate immune rejection.This animal model has milder inflammatory response and less corneal neovascularization than the suture and alkali burn models.This method therefore is an ideal model for high-risk corneal transplantation.

This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dasatinib in BCR/ABL positive leukemia patients with primary or secondary resistance to imatinib. 27 patients with primary or secondary imatinib-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphocytic leukemia (Ph(+) ALL) received 100 - 140 mg/d dasatinib orally. Their overall survival and tolerance were evaluated. The results showed that the median duration of dasatinib therapy was 8 (1-66) months in the 27 imatinib-resistant BCR/ABL positive leukemia cases, with a median follow-up of 54 (3-75) months. After the dasatinib treatment, 88.8% of all the 27 cases achieved complete hematologic response (CHR), 29.6% of them achieved major cytogenetic response (mCyR), 37% of all achieved complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and 18.5% cases achieved major molecular response (MMR). Patients who received dasatinib in progress of disease (CML-AP, CML-BC and bone marrow relapse Ph(+) ALL) had a lower CCyR rate than those in stable disease (CML-CP and bone marrow remission Ph(+) ALL) (P = 0.0377), and 3 - 4 grade adverse events occurred more frequently in progress of disease than that in stable disease. Overall survival of the patients who achieved CCyR after dasatinib therapy was statistically longer than those who did not achieve CCyR (63 m vs 9 m, P = 0.0126). The most common grade 3 - 4 adverse events during dasatinib therapy including hematology events such as thrombocytopenia (51.8%), neutropenia (48.1%), anemia (33.3%), and non-hematologic events such as pleural effusion (18.5%), pulmonary infection (18.5%), pericardial effusion (11.1%). The 3-4 grade adverse events occurred within 12 months from dasatinib therapy, and were mainly observed in patients with progress of disease. It is concluded that dasatinib is an effective drug in imatinib-resistant BCR/ABL positive leukemia patients, the better curative effect and better tolerance has been observed in patients who received dasatinib in stable disease.
Adult ; Aged ; Benzamides ; therapeutic use ; Dasatinib ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; blood ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; drug therapy ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Thiazoles ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the risk factors of functional recovery after intramedullary nail fixation for femoral intertrochanteric fracture in elderly patients, and to propose corresponding measures to promote postoperative hip function recovery.

METHODSFrom June 2012 to June 2015, 74 patients after intramedullary nail fixation surgery were analyzed, including 33 males and 41 females, with an average age of(75.07±7.89) years old, and divided into well-function group(55 patients) and bad-function group(19 patients) according to Sanders function criterion. Age, gender, bone density, fracture type, systemic disease, complication, rehabilitation exercises with therapist or not, nourishment state, anesthesia method, fracture reduction condition, ASA classification, tip apex distance were reviewed and analyzed by t test, non-parametric test, χ² test and Logistic analysis.

RESULTSUnivariate analysis showed that age, bone density, nourishment state, ASA classification, anesthesia method, fracture reduction condition, rehabilitation exercises with therapist, and tip apex distance were the risk factors for the recovery of hip function. Logistic analysis showed that bone density(0.006, OR=0.077), rehabilitation exercises with therapist(0.006, OR=0.070), ASA classification(<0.001, OR=0.049), nourishment state (0.046, OR=0.188) were the risk factors for the functional recovery.

CONCLUSIONSBone density, rehabilitation exercises with therapist, ASA classification, nourishment state were the risk factors for the functional recovery of intramedullary nail fixation for intertrochanteric fracture in elderly patients. Multidisciplinary cooperation and fast track surgery system should be set up to promoting the hip functional recovery.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnosis and surgical treatment of adult primary retroperitoneal malignant tumor (APRMT).

METHODSThe clinical data of 98 cases with APRMT underwent resection from January 1990 to April 2003 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSAmong the 98 cases, complete excision were performed in 79 cases (80.6%), palliative excision in 16 cases (16.3%), tumor biopsy only in 3 cases (3.1%). Resection of involved adjacent organs were carried out in 25 cases (25.5%) and the re-operation rate for recurrence was 28.6% (28 cases). The 1, 3, 5 year survival rates for 79 cases with complete resection were 93.7%, 73.4% and 34.2%, respectively. The 1, 3, 5 year survival rate for 16 cases with palliative resection were 75.0%, 6.3% and 6.3%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSCertain imaging examinations are crucial to the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of APRMT. Resection of the involved organs could improve resection rate and prognosis. For the recurrent cases, earlier reoperation is strongly recommended.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome

De-etiolation consists of a series of developmental and physiological changes that a plant undergoes in response to light. During this process light, an important environmental signal, trig-gers the inhibition of mesocotyl elongation and the production of photosynthetically active chloro-plasts, and etiolated leaves transition from the'sink"stage to the'source"stage. De-etiolation has been extensively studied in maize (Zea mays L.). However, little is known about how this transition is regulated. In this study, we described a quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic atlas of the de-etiolation process in maize. We identified 16,420 proteins in proteome, among which 14,168 pro-teins were quantified. In addition, 8746 phosphorylation sites within 3110 proteins were identified. From the combined proteomic and phosphoproteomic data, we identified a total of 17,436 proteins. Only 7.0％(998/14,168) of proteins significantly changed in abundance during de-etiolation. In con-trast, 26.6％ of phosphorylated proteins exhibited significant changes in phosphorylation level;these included proteins involved in gene expression and homeostatic pathways and rate-limiting enzymes involved in photosynthetic light and carbon reactions. Based on phosphoproteomic anal-ysis, 34.0％(1057/3110) of phosphorylated proteins identified in this study contained more than 2phosphorylation sites, and 37 proteins contained more than 16 phosphorylation sites, indicating that multi-phosphorylation is ubiquitous during the de-etiolation process. Our results suggest that plants might preferentially regulate the level of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) rather than protein abundance for adapting to changing environments. The study of PTMs could thus better reveal the regulation of de-etiolation.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical outcomes of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in treating senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures under local anesthesia.

METHODSFrom May 2007 to May 2010,129 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures were treated with PKP under local anesthesia. There were 47 males and 82 females, ranging in age from 61 to 92 years old,with an average of 73.7 years old,including 88 segments of thoracic vertebrae and 101 segments of lumbar vertebrae. Visual analogue scale (VAS),height of vertebral body,Cobb's angle were evaluated before and after operation.

RESULTSOperations were performed successfully in all patients and these patients were followed up from 24 to 60 months with an average of 34.2 months. Preoperative,postoperative two weeks and at final follow-up,VAS score was 7.9+/-2.5,2.8+/-1.8,3.0+/-2.2,respectively;Cobb angle was (28.3+/-13.7)degree, (16.2+/-9.8)degree, (19.1+/-10.3)degree, respectively. There was significant difference between postoperative and preoperative, and between at final follow up and preoperative (P<0.05). The height of vertebral body obtained partial recovery. Bone cement leakage occurred in 23 vertebrae (with proportion of 17.8%) during operation,among one patient with temporary clinical symptom of radiculalgia. All lumbago obtained obviously anesis after operation, 1 case complicated with respiratory depression and recovered after resuscitation; 1 case complicated with intestinal obstruction and improved after treatment, 1 case complicated with fracture separation of vertebral body by bone cement, and 4 cases complicated with fracture of adjacent vertebral body.

CONCLUSIONPercutaneous vertebral kyphoplasty is an effective method for treatment of senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures,which can expeditiously relieve pain and effectively recovery height of vertebral body and Cobb angle,it has advantages of minimal invasive. The results of short and mid-term follow-up were satisfactory, long-term follow-up is still needed. Correctly choosing the operative indication and improving surgical technique may avoid complications, especially bone cement leakage which is the most frequent complication.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anesthesia, Local ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Compression ; surgery ; Humans ; Kyphoplasty ; adverse effects ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; surgery ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery