Objective To study the baseline level of fraction anisotropy (FA) and the normal value of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in deep white matter of preterm and its application.Methods From Oct.2010 to Dec.2013,in Department of Neonatology,Jiangsu Province Hospital,magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (T1,T2) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were done on 13 preterm infants of less than 37 weeks of corrected gestational age (CA),42 preterm infants of term-matched age,and 15 term infants.ADC and FA were measured in genu and splenium of corpus callosum (CC),anterior limb and posterior limb of internal capsule (IC).Results 1.The ADC values in genu,splenium,anterior limb of right IC,posterior limb of right IC,anterior limb of left IC,posterior limb of left IC in CA ＜ 37 weeks infants were higher than those in term-matched infants and in term infants.The ADC values in the 6 regions in term-matched infants and in term infants were significantly different with those in CA ＜ 37 weeks infant(F =5.559,5.775,21.948,19.462,30.586,15.452,all P ＜ 0.01).The differences of ADC values between CA ＜ 37 weeks infants and term-matched infants,between CA ＜37 weeks infants and term infants were significant(all P ＜0.05),except that in CC between CA ＜ 37 weeks infants and term-matched infants.2 The FA values in genu,splenium,anterior limb of right IC,posterior limb of right IC,anterior limb of left IC,posterior limb of left IC in CA ＜ 37 weeks infants were lower than those in term-matched infants and in term infants.The FA values in the 6 regions in term-matched infants and in term infants were significantly different from those in CA ＜ 37 weeks infants (F =9.835,7.500,4.811,11.430,8.674,12.666,all P ＜ 0.01).The differences of FA values between CA ＜ 37 weeks infants and term-matched infants (P ＜ 0.05),between CA ＜ 37 weeks infants and term infants were significant (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The baseline values of FA and ADC in different deep white matters were obtained.As corrected gestational age of preterm babies' increased,FA values in brain white matter increased,while ADC values decreased.The myelination in most white matter of preterm infants at matched term can catch up with that of term infants.The diagnostic value of ADC and FA needs to be studied further.

Objective To explore the effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUC?MSCs) on podocytic apoptosis and injury induced by high glucose (HG) and the underlying mechanisms. Methods Podocytes were divided into six groups according to treatment: ⑴ normal glucose group (NG);⑵high glucose group (HG);⑶mannitol control group (NG+Ma);⑷HUC?MSC co?culture group (HUC?MSCs); ⑸ recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor treatment group (rhHGF);⑹ neutralizing antibody group(HGF?NtAb). Cytometry and Hoechst staining were used to detect the apoptosis rates. Western blot was used to measure the ratio of active PARP to total PARP and the level of Bcl?2. Immunofluorescence was used to study podocytic apoptosis and injury. Neutralizing antibody (NtAb) was used to block its function and the recombinant cytokine was added to induce its function. Results High glucose induced podocytic apoptosis in a time?dependent manner, HUC?MSCs co?culture decreased the podocytic apoptosis rate and the expression of PARP (all P﹤0.05), increased the expression of Bcl?2, prevented the reduced expression and maintained the normal arrangement of podocytic podoplanin. The rhHGF prevented podocytic apoptosis and injury similarly to HUC?MSCs, the beneficial effect of HUC?MSC decreased when blockade of HGF. Conclusions HUC?MSCs co?culture ameliorates podocytic apoptosis and injure induced by HG, probably through secreting soluble HGF.

Objective:To establish O-(2-[ 18F]fluoroethyl)- L-tyrosine( 18F-FET) PET radiomics features-based model and investigate its predictive efficacy for isocitrate dehydrogenase type 1 (IDH1) genotyping in untreated gliomas. Methods:From November 2017 to February 2019, 58 pathologically confirmed glioma patients (36 males, 22 females; age (41.8±15.1) years) with preoperative 18F-FET PET/CT imaging in Huashan Hospital, Fudan University were retrospectively enrolled. PyRadiomics software package was used to extract 105 radiomics features. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm with 5-fold cross-validation was used to build the logistic regression model. And radiomic scores (RS) of each lesion were calculated according to their weighted coefficients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used for evaluating the predictive efficacy for IDH1 prediction. The predictive efficacies of radiomics model and traditional semi-quantitative parameters including tumor-to-background ratio (TBR; maximum TBR (TBR max), mean TBR (TBR mean), peak TBR (TBR peak)), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion tracer uptake (TLU), were compared by Delong test. Results:Seven radiomics features including maximum 2-dimensional (2D) diameter slice, first order_maximum, first order_range, gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM)_joint energy, GLCM_inverse variance, gray level dependence matrix (GLDM)_dependence entropy and GLDM_large dependence low gray level emphasis were selected for the LASSO regression model building and RS calculation. ROC analysis results showed that the predictive accuracy of RS for IDH1 genotyping (mutation, n=20; wild-type, n=38) was 81.0%(47/58), with sensitivity of 65.0%(13/20), specificity of 89.5%(34/38), and area under curve (AUC) of 0.842, respectively. The traditional 18F-FET semi-quantitative parameter TLU ranked the second regarding the diagnostic performance, with accuracy of 60.3%(35/58), sensitivity of 85.0%(17/20), specificity of 47.4%(18/38), and AUC of 0.661( z=3.426, P<0.01). Conclusion:Radiomics analysis based on 18F-FET PET images can improve the predictive efficacy for IDH1 genotyping in untreated adult glioma patients.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a multifactorial disease in which inflammation plays a central role.This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR),the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score with in-hospital mortality of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in an attempt to explore the prognostic value of these indices for elderly AMI patients.One thousand consecutive CAD patients were divided into two groups based on age 60.The laboratory and clinical characteristics were assessed retrospectively by reviewing the medical records.The NLR and GRACE score were calculated.In the elderly (≥60 years),patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had significantly higher NLR than did those with unstable angina (UA) and stable angina pectoris (SAP) (P＜0.01).The NLR was considerably elevated in older AMI patients compared with their younger counterparts (＜60 years) (P＜0.05).In elderly AMI patients,the NLR was considerably higher in the high-risk group than in both the low-risk and medium-risk groups based on the GRACE score (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01,respectively),and the NLR was positively correlated with the GRACE score (r=0.322,P＜0.001).Either the NLR level or the GRACE score was significantly higher in the death group than in the surviving group (P＜0.05).By curve receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis,the optimal cut-off levels of 9.41 for NLR and 174 for GRACE score predicted in-hospital death [ROC area under the curve (AUC) 0.771 and 0.787,respectively,P＜0.001].It was concluded that an elevated NLR is a potential predictor of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with AMI.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the potential regulatory role played by the hormone resistin in lipid metabolism and expression of nuclear factor (NF)-kB and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a during hepatic steatosis.

METHODSA non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cell model was established by treating the normal human hepatic cell line, L02, with palmitic acid. Four research groups of L02 cells were generated: C group (control, no palmitic acid treatment), P group (NAFLD model, treated with 20 microg/ml palmitic acid), CR group (C group treated with 50 microg/L recombinant human resistin), and PR group (P group treated with 50 microg/L recombinant human resistin). All treatments were carried out for 72 hours. Oil red O staining was used to detect the intracellular changes in lipid drops. Biochemical assays were used to measure triglycerides (TGs), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels in culture medium. The mRNA and protein expression levels of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2, NF-kB, and TNF-a were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, respectively.

RESULTSThe TG, ALT, AST, and GGT levels were higher in the P, CR, and PR groups than in the C group. The NF-kB mRNA level was also higher in the P, CR, and PR groups (Student's t = 17.64, 22.03, 26.06 respectively) than in the C group, as was the TNFa mRNA level ( t = 5.67, 5.38, 11.64), but the IRS-2 mRNA level was lower ( t = 8.19, 9.23, 20.93) (all, P less than 0.05). In addition, no significant difference in these mRNA levels were found between the P group and the CR group (NF-kB: t = 1.75, TNFa: t = 0.58, IRS-2: t = 2.14; all, P more than 0.05). The detected protein levels of NF-kB, TNFa, and IRS-2 were consistent with the mRNA levels.

CONCLUSIONResistin can promote steatosis in LO2 cells through the NF-kB signaling pathway, thereby contributing to the NAFLD pathogenic process.

Cell Line ; Fatty Liver ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Resistin ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Soil salinity is an important issue, as most crop plants are low in salt tolerance. Salt tolerance, a complex, multifactorial, and multigenic process, has been known to be a quantitative trait. The identification of the salt stress responsive genes or salt tolerance genes is essential for the breeding programs. Most recent efforts have been focused on the products of structural genes (transport proteins, ion channels, enzymes of solute synthesis) while little attention were paid to the regulatory aspects of these proteins. Since the first aquaporin gene from plants was cloned and functionally expressed in 1993, there has been a growing interest in the molecular biology of MIPs (membrane intrinsic proteins) and their bearing on the biophysics of water flow across plant membranes. In the last decades, studies on Mangroves, a special kind of wood plants, grow in high-salt and flooding conditions have been concentrated almost exclusively on their physiological and ecological characteristics. Kandelia candel, one of the dominant species of mangroves along the Chinese coast, lacks salt glands or salt hairs used for removal of excess salt in other mangroves. This makes K. candel a perfect model to study the molecular mechanism of salt tolerance in mangrove plants. Using cDNA RDA, a cDNA-specific modification of genomic representational difference analysis, a series of salt responsive genes of Kandelia candel were cloned. Among these gene fragments, a 183 bp fragment (termed as SRGKC1) encoding a tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) in Kandelia candel (KCTIP1) was identified. Based on the sequence of SRGKC1, two gene specific primers were designed, and the 3' and 5' end of the KCTIP1 gene were obtained using the SMART RACE cDNA Amplification Kit. RACE products were purified from low-melting agarose, and sequenced directly with GSPs as the sequencing primers. A 500-bp fragment corresponding to the 3'end of this gene was obtained using the GSP1 primer, and a 690 bp fragment corresponding to the 5' end of this gene was obtained using the GSP2 primer. Two primers that flank the putative open reading frame (ORF) were designed to obtain the cDNA containing the complete ORF by RACE PCR reaction. The full-length cDNA of KCTIP1, containing a 756 bp open reading frame (ORF), was approximately 1.1 kb; the start codon was located at the nucleotides of 99-101 and stop codon at the nucleotides of 855-857 followed by a poly (A) tail. The KCTIP1 cDNA sequence in this research was released in GenBank with accession number AF521135. Using ExPASy Proteomics tools provided by EMBL, the isoelectric point and MWt of KCTIP1 are estimated as 5.77 and 26.3 kD respectively. Transmembrane prediction analysis revealed the deduced KCTIP1 protein sequence contains six transmembrane regions at amino acid residues of 20 - 42, 57 - 79, 86 - 108, 113 - 135, 142 - 164 and 217 - 239. Two highly conserved asparagine-proline-alanine (NPA) motifs were located at 85 - 87 and 199 - 201 amino acid residues respectively. KCTIP1 is also predicted to contain the Cys residue (Cys 118) that are shown to confer Hg-sensitivity in Arabidopsis gamma-TIP and delta-TIP. Similarity analysis showed that KCTIP1 shared 77% - 79% amino acid sequence identity with the TIPs from Vitis berlandieri, Brassica oleracea and Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression analyses indicated that KCTIP1 had different expression among species of Mangroves. Expressions of KCTIP1 in Kandelia candel, Rhizophora apoculata and Ceriops tagal were suppressed by salt, and were insensitive to salt stress in unknown species of Mangroves. Previous studied showed that salt conditions might result in large and rapid changes in extracellular water potential and serious disturbance to the cytoplasm. In order to compensate for this imbalance, the relative contribution of water channels to flow across the root could thus vary. K. candel is a species that is native to intertial zone of tropical and subtropical coast and is well-adapted to salt conditions. The coordinated down-regulation of aquaporins in this plant may decrease membrane water permeability and thus increase the cellular water conserva- tion during periods of salt stress. The results reported here are consistent with the postulated roles for tonoplast water channels in regulating the hydraulic permeability of the vacuolar membranes and in adjusting the water homeostasis of the protoplasm under various physiological conditions. The identification of KCTIP1 as one of salt-responsive genes implies that intracellular osmotic equilibration is a part of salt-tolerant mechanisms in Mangroves.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Blotting, Northern ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Membrane Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics ; Rhizophoraceae ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical outcomes of lower cervical spinous process laminar screw technique in open door laminoplasty.

METHODSFrom February 2005 to June 2010,12 patients with cervical myelopathy were treated with open door laminoplasty by lower cervical spinous process laminar screw technique. There was intervertebral disc herniation with degenerative stenosis in 5 patients, ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament with osteophyte in 6 patients, cervical traumatic instability with spinal cord injuries in 1 patient. Nerve function, complications, and the cervical canal to body ratio (CBR), range of motion (ROM) and the anteroposterior serial alignment were observed by Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, X-ray, CT and MRI.

RESULTSThe surgical time was from 1.5 to 2 h with an average of 110 min; blood loss during operation was from 450 to 800 ml with an average of 580 ml. Postoperative complication occurred in 1 case with upper limb pain and 1 case with cerebrospinal fluid leakage. All patients were followed up from 1 to 2 years with an average of 21.8 months. JOA score improved from preoperative 9.5 +/- 1.8 to postoperative 13.6 +/- 2.4 (P < 0.01). X-ray, CT, MRI showed CBR increased obviously (P < 0.01); ROM on flexion-extension and cervical lordosis decreased respectively from (40.0 +/- 10.0) degrees and (65.0 +/- 12.0)% before operation to (15.0 +/- 5.0) degrees and (42.0 +/- 8.0) % at the final follow-up (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONLower cervical spinous process laminar screw technique in open door laminoplasty for cervical syndrome is safe and can obtain satisfactory effects, has strong internal fixation and reduce the risk of re-closure.

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Screws ; Cervical Vertebrae ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Stenosis ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo study the mechanisms of the anti-myocardial ischemia of total flavones of Hippophae rhamnoides (TFH) at the level of proteome.

METHODSurface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) mass spectrometry with protein chip IMAC3, SAX2 and NP20 was performed to compare the differentially expressed protein in myocardial ischemia in the TFH-treated groups with the 0.9% sodium chloride groups. Protein chips were examined in PBS II - C protein chip reader (ciphergen ciosystem inc) and the protein profiling was analyzed by Proteinchip Software 3. 0. 2.

RESULTThe revealed six peaks had significant difference between the TFH-treated groups and the control groups, one of which were up-regulated in the TFH-treated groups, and the other were down-regulated. And in these six distinct proteins, there were four proteins on the IMAC3 chips and one protein on the SAX2 chips.

CONCLUSIONThe TFH could prevent the myocardium from ischemia via regulating expression of different proteins.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Flavones ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Heart ; drug effects ; Hippophae ; chemistry ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; prevention & control ; Proteomics ; methods ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of cAMP-response element binding protein-1 (CREB-1) on transforming growth factor-b3 (TGF b3) mRNA expression and promoter activity in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

METHODSFreshly isolated HSCs from rats were divided into six groups: CREB-1 expression plasmid transfected group (C), siRNA-CREB-1 plasmid transfected group (S), negative control group (N), forskolin treated group (F), H-89 treated group (H), and blank group (B). Rats in each group were further sub-divided according to whether (+) or not (-) they were exposed to exogenous TGF b3. TGF b3 mRNA expression was measured by real time quantitative PCR. HSCs of the C, S, N, F, H and B groups were transfected with the TGF b3 promoter luciferase reporter plasmid (PGL3-TGF b3-P; W group), the TGF b3 promoter luciferase reporter plasmid with CRE mutation (PGL3-basic-TGF b3P-mCRE; M group) and the renilla luciferase control plasmid (pRL-SV40; control group). TGF b3 promoter activity was assessed by luciferase reporter assays.

RESULTSCompared to N(-), the TGF b3 mRNA expression was reduced to 0.69+/-0.15 in S(-) (P less than 0.05) and increased to 4.68+/-2.76 in C(-) (P more than 0.05). Compared to B(-), the TGF b3 mRNA expression was reduced to 0.57+/-0.08 in H(-) (P less than 0.05). The differences between N(+) and N(-), S(+) and S(-), B(+) and B(-), and H(+) and H(-) were all significant (P less than 0.05). The values of TGF b3 promoter activity in S(W), N(W), and C(W) were 0.062+/-0.013, 0.122+/-0.011, and 0.165+/-0.016 (P less than 0.05), but the changes of TGF b3 promoter activity in S(M), N(M), and C(M) were not significant (P more than 0.05). The values of TGF b3 promoter activity in H(W), B(W), and F(W) were 0.154+/-0.010, 0.188+/-0.016, and 0.276+/-0.031 (P less than 0.05), but the changes of TGF b3 promoter activity in H(M), B(M), and F(M) were not significant (P more than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIncreased levels of CREB-1 mRNA or p-CREB-1 up-regulate the TGF b3 mRNA expression and promoter activity in rat HSCs. The CRE site in the TGF b3 promoter is critical for this effect, and the gene's activity becomes significantly decreased when the site is missing. Exogenous TGF b3 enhances expression of endogenous TGF b3 in rat HSCs.

Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein ; metabolism ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Transforming Growth Factor beta3 ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo compare the accuracy of 64-slice computed tomography and coronary angiography in the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis.

METHODSThe imaging data of both 64-slice computed tomography and coronary angiography in 65 patients were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSAmong the 455 coronary arteries evaluated, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 64-slice computed tomography were 54.6%, 95.1%, and 85.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSION64-slice computed tomography has a good potential in the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis with excellent sensitivity and specificity.

Adult ; Aged ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods