In order to develop characteristic folk medicine resources in Jiangxi, a pharmacognostical study was systematically performed for four different origin plants of Sikuaiwa, the result of study provides the microscopic features of powder and tissue of the crude drug. The research provided reference for the identification of Sikuaiwa, as well as a theoretical basis for the further development and the formulation of quality standards.
Magnoliopsida ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Medicine, Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development

Diagnostic ultrasound is a useful and noninvasive method in clinical medicine. Although due to its qualitative, subjective and experience-based nature, ultrasound image interpretation can be influenced by image conditions such as scanning frequency and machine settings. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to extract the liver features using the joint features of fractal dimension and the entropies of texture edge co-occurrence matrix based on ultrasound images, which is not sensitive to changes in emission frequency and gain. Then, Fisher linear classifier and support vector machine are employed to test a group of 99 in-vivo liver fibrosis images from 18 patients, as well as other 273 liver images from 18 normal human volunteers.
Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Fractals ; Humans ; Image Enhancement ; methods ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; methods ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo analyse sonographical features of epididymis tuberculosis with caseous necrosis and improve the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis.

METHODSUltrasonic features of 12 cases with epididymis tuberculosis with caseous necrosis, confirmed by surgical pathology, was retrospectively analysed: size, location, echogenicity, degree of blood flow in the lesion.

RESULTSIn all 12 patients, the number of purified protein derivative test (PPD) presenting the positive reached to 67%, while cases with the pulmonary tuberculosis was 42%. The epididymal tuberculosis with caseous necrosis could present images of the whole or focal epididymal enlargement and abnormal shape. The lesions internal echoes were irregular, inhomogeneous increased isoechoic echogenicity or hypoechoic, including bad-defined, irregular, homogeneous hypoechoic or anechoic. In lesional location, 4 out of 12 patients (33%) possessed richly color blood flow in Color Doppler Power Imaging(CDPI). The testicular enlargement with increased internal echoes and the testicular hydroceles were partly (58%, 7/12) observed by ultrasound. There was no varicocele, scrotal wall thickening and inguinal lymph node enlargement.

CONCLUSIONThe High Frequency Color Doppler images is helpful for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of epididymis tuberculosis with caseous necrosis.

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epididymitis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis, Male Genital ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of endometrial thickness(EMT)on the day of hCG administration on preg⁃nancy outcome in the fresh in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection(IVF/ICSI)cycle.METHODS:A retrospec⁃tive analysis was conducted of 3601 IVF/ICSI-ET cycles between January 1,2015 and December 31,2015 in eight repro⁃ductive centers.The endometrial thickness was measured on hCG injection day and the distribution of endometrial thick⁃ness and pregnancy outcome was drawn.Patients were divided into two groups based on the EMT:group A(289 cycles,EMT<8 mm),group B(3312 cycles,EMT≥duration of pregnancy and birth weight of single gestation were compared.RESULTS:Group A had significantly lower clini⁃cal pregnancy rate(46.0% vs.55.9%,P=0.001),live birth rates(35.3% vs. 47.0%,P=0.000)and higher pregnancy loss rate(23.3% vs.15.8%,P=0.024)compared with group B,while there was no significant difference in duration of pregnan⁃cy or birth weight of single gestation.Logistic regression analyses showed that clinical pregnancy rate(aOR=1.492,P=0.001)and live birth rate(aOR=1.621,P=0.000)increased in group B compared with group A,when correcting for the women age,BMI and transfer embryo numbers.CONCLUSION:The endometrial thickness on the day of hCG administra⁃tion affects the pregnancy outcome in the fresh IVF/ICSI cycle.When EMT<8 mm,the clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate of IVF-ET are lower,and the patient should be well informed before making the decision of em⁃bryo transfer.However,endometrial thickness on the day of hCG administration does not affect the duration of preg⁃nancy and the birth weight of the fetus.

OBJECTIVETo compare clinical effects of clavicular hook plate fixation, coracoid transplantation, and clavicular hook plate fixation combined with modified dynamic muscle transfer for the treatment of the complete acromioclavicular dislocation.

METHODSFrom January 2006 to November 2009, 65 patients with sustained complete acrominoclavicular dislocation were treated with clavicular hook plate fixation, coracoid transplantation,and clavicular hook plate fixation combined with modified dynamic muscle transfer. All the patients were divided into three groups: 22 patients in group A were treated with clavicular hook plate fixation, including 17 males and 5 females, with an average age of (31.0 +/- 10.0) years; 21 patient in group B were treated with coracoid transplantation, including 16 males and 5 females,with an average age of (33.0 +/- 6.4) years; 22 patients in group C were treated with clavicular hook plate fixation combined with modified dynamic muscle transfer,including 18 males and 4 females, with an average age of (30.0 +/- 5.3) years. Postoperative functional recovery was evaluated by Karlsson criteria.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from half to three years (averaged 1.5 years). In group A, 8 patients got half re-dislocation, 2 patients got complete re-dislocation and arthritis of acromioclavicular joint after internal fixations removal, 1 patient had clavicular hook plate broken after operation. In group B, 7 patients got half re-dislocation, 1 patient got complete re-dislocation,and 5 patients had arthritis of acromioclavicular joint with acute pain and limited shoulder function after internal fixations removal. In group C,2 patients got half re-dislocation, no complete re-dislocation and arthritis of acromioclavicular joint occurred after internal fixations removal. According to Karlsson evaluation, in group A, 12 patients obtained an excellent result, 8 good and 2 poor; in group B, the data were 9, 7 and 5 respectively; in group C, they were 20, 2 and 0 respectively. There were remarkable differences of therapeutic effects between the clavicular hook plate fixation combined with modified dynamic muscle transfer and that with either of the former two treatment methods (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONClavicular hook plate combined with modified dynamic muscle transfer is a reliable and good treatment for the complete acrominoclavicular dislocation, with advantages such as easy to handle,stable fixation and early exercise.

Acromioclavicular Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; injuries ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Dislocations ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the characteristic and management of postoperative infection in abdominal cluster transplantation.

METHODSPreliminary experience of two cases of abdominal cluster transplantation including small intestine was reviewed.

RESULTSCombination of five immunosuppressive agents based on tacrolimus was used. Severe Gram-negative bacillus infections occurred. The majority of invasive fungal infections was due to Candida species. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection increased monocytes and caused eosinopenia and an inversion of the CD4(+) to CD8(+) cell ratio in recipient I, and human CMV matrix proteins pp71 (CMV-pp71) was detected and identified in bile by PCR. Microabscesses in liver transplant biopsies were presented.

CONCLUSIONSInfectious complications after cluster transplantation were complicated. Strategies to optimize the immunity suppression protocol and early diagnosis and treatment will be important to reduce infection after abdominal cluster transplantation.

Adult ; Bacterial Infections ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; drug therapy ; etiology ; virology ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Intestine, Small ; transplantation ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Male ; Opportunistic Infections ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Organ Transplantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Postoperative Complications ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of ischemic postconditioning on ischemia/reperfusion injury in isolated hypertrophied rat heart and investigate the signal transduction pathway changes induced by ischemia postconditioning.

METHODSCardiac hypertrophy was induced in rats by abdominal aortic banding, and isolated hypertrophied rat heart ischemia/reperfusion model was made by Langendorff technique to evaluate the effects of ischemia postconditioning on left ventricular systole pressure, coronary artery flow, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, myocardial infarction size, and the level of myocardial phospho-protein kinase B/Akt (Ser473), phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (Ser9). Following groups were studied (n = 12 each group): IR, 30 min ischemia (I)/60 min Reperfusion (R); Post: 30 min ischemia, 6 circles of 10 s I/10 s R followed by 60 min R; Post Wort: 30 min ischemia, 6 circles of 10 s I/10 s R, wortmannin (10(-7) mol/L) followed by 60 min R; Wort: 30 min ischemia, wortmannin (10(-7) mol/L) followed by 60 min R.

RESULTSLeft ventricular systolic pressure and coronary artery flow were significantly increased, myocardial infarction size and the release of CPK, LDH significantly reduced in Post group compared to that in IR group. Phospho-protein kinase B/Akt (Ser473) and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (Ser9) levels were also significantly higher in Post group than that in IR group. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor wortmannin prevented the increase of phospho-protein kinase B/Akt (Ser473) and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (Ser9) induced by ischemic postconditioning, but only partly abolished the cardioprotection of ischemic postconditioning.

CONCLUSIONIschemic postconditioning attenuates ischemia/reperfusion injury in isolated hypertrophied rat heart. The cardioprotective effects of ischemic postconditioning were partly mediated through PI3K/Akt/GSK-3beta signaling pathway.

Animals ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; metabolism ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; therapy ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of Jianpi Liqi Yiliu Formula (JLYF) combined with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells for treating patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSBetween January 2011 and January 2014, 60 advanced HCC patients were enrolled in this study, who were assigned to the treatment group and the control group according to their willingness for taking JLYF, 30 cases in each group. All patients received CIK cell treatment: 1 x 10⁹-3 x 10⁹ each time, by intravenous dripping from the 1st day to the 3rd day, once per day. Besides, patients in the treatment group took JLYF decoction, while those in the control group took Chinese medical decoction by syndrome typing. All patients received treatment of at least two cycles. The time to progression (TTP) , overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR), performance status scale (PS), Child-Pugh scale, and adverse reactions were observed, and subgroup analyzed.

RESULTSTo May 31, 2014, all patients reached the clinical endpoint. TTP was 3.5 months (95% Cl: 3.30-4.10) in the treatment group, better than that (2.5 months, 95% CI: 2.32-2.68) of the control group (P < 0.05). DCR was 36.7% in the treatment group and 30.0% in the control group (P > 0.05). OS was 5.2 months (95% CI: 4.53-5.87) in the treatment group and 4.6 months (95% CI: 4.06-5.14) in the control group (P > 0.05). The PS scale was 1.60 ± 0.10 after treatment, lower than that (1.80 ± 0.09) before treatment in the treatment group (P < 0.05). When the PS scale was 0-2 or Child-Pugh scale was class A, TTP was longer in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05). No adverse reaction occurred in the two groups during the treatment course.

CONCLUSIONSThe combination of JLYF with ClK cell treatment could prolong advanced HCC patients' TTP, improve PS scale, as compared with syndrome typed Chinese medical decoction treatment group. Besides, when the PS scale was 0-2 or Child-Pugh scale was class A, it was a better treatment program for advanced HCC patients.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; therapy ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; cytology ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; therapy

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of glucose metabolism disorders on the short-term prognosis in neonates with asphyxia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of the neonates with asphyxia who were admitted to 52 hospitals in Hubei Province of China from January to December, 2018 and had blood glucose data within 12 hours after birth. Their blood glucose data at 1, 2, 6, and 12 hours after birth (with an allowable time error of 0.5 hour) were recorded. According to the presence or absence of brain injury and/or death during hospitalization, the neonates were divided into a poor prognosis group with 693 neonates and a good prognosis group with 779 neonates. The two groups were compared in the incidence of glucose metabolism disorders within 12 hours after birth and short-term prognosis. RESULTS: Compared with the good prognosis group, the poor prognosis group had a significantly higher proportion of neonates from secondary hospitals (48.5% vs 42.6%, CONCLUSIONS Recurrent hyperglycemia in neonates with asphyxia may suggest poor short-term prognosis, and it is necessary to strengthen the early monitoring and management of the nervous system in such neonates.
Asphyxia ; Asphyxia Neonatorum/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Infant, Newborn ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

This study compared the diagnostic efficacy of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy (TRBx) and transperineal prostate biopsy (TPBx) in patients with suspected prostate cancer (PCa). We enrolled 2962 men who underwent transrectal (n = 1216) or transperineal (n = 1746) systematic 12-core prostate biopsy. Clinical data including age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and prostate volume (PV) were recorded. To minimize confounding, we performed propensity score-matching analysis. We measured and compared PCa detection rates between TRBx and TPBx, which were stratified by clinical characteristics and Gleason scores. The effects of clinical characteristics on PCa detection rate were assessed by logistic regression. For all patients, TPBx detected a higher proportion of clinically significant PCa (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analyses illustrated that PV had a smaller impact on PCa detection rate of TPBx compared with TRBx. Propensity score-matching analysis showed that the detection rates in TRBx were higher than those in TPBx for patients aged >- 80 years (80.4% vs 56.5%, P = 0.004) and with PSA level 20.1-100.0 ng ml^-1 (80.8% vs 69.1%, P = 0.040). In conclusion, TPBx was associated with a higher detection rate of clinically significant PCa than TRBx was; however, because of the high detection rate at certain ages and PSA levels, biopsy approaches should be optimized according to patents' clinical characteristics.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy/methods* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Perineum ; Propensity Score ; Prostate/pathology* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Rectum