In recent years ,researches suggested that inflammation is closely related to occurrence and development of heart failure .Some studies have indicated that high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) and neutrophil -lym‐phocyte ratio (NLR) were independent predictors for prognosis of heart failure ,so it is new targets for heart failure treatment .The present article made a review for new progress of related research .

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the stability of epigallocatechin gallate ( EGCG) powder. METHODS: The content of the sample was determined by HPLC, and the factors affecting the stability of EGCG were studied according to the related guideline stated in China Pharmacopeia. RESULTS: The linear range of EGCG was 7. 76～ 77. 6? g? mL- 1( r=0. 999 9) , with average recovery at 101. 29% ( RSD=0. 76% ) . Exposed to strong illumination, high temperature and high humidity, the color of EGCG powder suffered variant degree of change, but its content experienced no marked change, and no new degraded substances was noted. CONCLUSION: EGCG powder had a sound stability.

Objective To study the spatial variation of T2 relaxation time of cartilage of knee in healthy adults.Methods T2 values of cartilage of knee in 21 asymptomatic young male adults ( age ranged 24 to 39 years ; mean age , 30 years) were calculated by using a multiecho,spin-echo MR imaging sequence at 1.5T MR scanner on sagittal T2 maps,including the patellar,distal femoral weight and non-weight-bearing as well as proximal tibial weight-bearing cartilages,the differences in the spatial variation between them were analysed using F test.Results All 21 asymptomatic volunteers demonstrated a consistent pattern of spatial variation of T2 values cartilage of knee with longer T2 values near the subchondral bone,decreased in deep zoon and increased in articular surface , there was difference between them (F=70.892 , P＜0.05 ) . The greates spatial variation occurred in the patella.T2 value(26.56 ms±4.4 ms) in the deeper zoon of cartilage of the patella was obviously lower than that of the weight-and non-weight-bearing articular cartilage (P = 0.001 ) . Lateral femoral weight-bearing articular cartilage showed lower T2 value ( 35.2 ms ± 6.31 ms) in the outer transitional superficial zone than thatof the patella and non-weight-bearing cartilage,P=0.002,P=0.000 respectively.Lateral tibial weight-bearing articular cartilage showed showed lower T2 value(37.11 ms±6.6 ms)in the outer transitional superficial zone than that of non-weight-bearing cartilage(P=0.000). Conclusion The spatial variation of T2 relaxation time of cartilage of knee in the vivo in the asymptomatic young adults is like slightly concave curve at 1.5T MR system,that is of reference value in study of degenerative osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVETo compare therapeutic effects of clavicular hook-plate fixation and modified Weaver-Dunn surgery combined with clavicular hook-plate fixation in treating Tossy type III acromioclavicular joint dislocation.

METHODSForty-one patients with Tossy type III acromioclavicular dislocation treated by operation were retrospectively analysis from January 2012 to January 2014. The patients were divided into clavicular hook-plate fixation group (group A) and modified Weaver-Dunn surgery combined with clavicular hook-plate fixation (group B) according to surgical procedures. In group A, there were 15 males and 6 females aged from 17 to 51 years old with an average of (31.60 ± 12.58) years old, preoperative Constant-Murley score was 40.25 ± 9.80, and treated with clavicular hook-plate fixation. In group B, there were 13 males and 7 females aged from 18 to 48 years old with an average of (29.40 ± 11.27) years old, preoperative Constant-Murley score was 41.45 ± 8.81, and treated with modified Weaver-Dunn surgery combined with clavicular hook-plate fixation. Operative time, blood loss, imaging changes before and after operation, postoperative complications were compared; Constant-Murley score at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation were evaluated.

RESULTSIn group A, operative time was 40.50 ± 24.36) min, blood loss was (75.30 ± 30.36) ml; In group B, operative time was (60.10 ± 23.55) min, blood loss was (100.70 ± 40.12) ml. Twenty-one patients in group A were followed-up from 12 to 18 months with an average of (14.8 ± 3.1) months; 20 patients in group B were followed-up from 12 to 14 months with an average of (13.6 ± 1.5) months. There were no significant differences in operative time, blood loss and follow-up time between two groups. Complications were in six patients of group A and 3 patients of group B, and there were no significant meaning between two groups. At 6 months after operation, Constant-Murley score in group A was 88.85 ± 4.23, 92.15 ± 3.82 in group B; and had significant meaning between two groups (t = -2.56, P = 0.022 < 0.05). While there were no differences in Constant-Murley score in other times.

CONCLUSIONBoth of clavicular hook-plate fixation and modified Weaver-Dunn surgery combined with clavicular hook-plate fixation are effective operative methods for the treatment of Tossy type III acromioclavicular dislocation. Clavicular hook-plate fixation has advantage of less trauma, while modified Weaver-Dunn surgery combined with clavicular hook-plate fixation could reconstruct coracoclavicular ligament more stronger, clavicular hook plate could take out earlier, also improve shoulder joint function earlier.

Acromioclavicular Joint ; injuries ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Bone Plates ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Shoulder Dislocation ; surgery

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of PLGA-PEG-PLGA-5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel interstitial chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer by using endoscopic ultrasonography.Methods PLGA-PEG-PLGA-5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel in vitro release experiments were performed in the following procedures:determination of lixivium drug concentration and calculation of its emission.Fifty nude mice with the pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 were randomly divided into 5 groups,10 in each group.Group A was intratumorally injected with PLGA-PEG-PLGA-5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel at 4mg/kg ; group B with PLGA-PEG-PLGA-5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel at lmg/kg; Group C was intratumorally injected with 5-fluorouracil at 4 mg/kg ; Group D with PLGAPEG-PLGA matrix at 4mg/kg ;and group E was the control group.Tumor growth and audio-visual images of the nude mice tumor nodules were observed before administration,and 3,7,10,14 days after.Tumor growth curve was also drawn.Animals were sacrificed at 14 days Tumors were weighed to calculate the inhibitory rate and stained for pathological study.Results 1,3,5,8,10,and 14-day release of 5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel were 21.6％,33.8 ％,44.3％,63.6％,76.3％ and 91.8％.Tumor sizes of group A and group B were significantly different from those of other groups (P ＜ 0.05).Ultrasound endoscopic image characteristics were correlated with pathological findings.Conclusion PLGA-PEG-PLGA-5-fluorouracil temperature-sensitive hydrogel is able to release for 14 days in vitro,which constantly inhibits human pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990.Intratumoral injection of the agent can significantly inhibit the growth of pancreatic cancer of nude mice.Additionally,gelatinous preparations fixes better than liquid and is of clinical value.Therefore,monitoring temperature-sensitive 5-fluorouracil hydrogel interstitial chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer with endoscopic ultrasound is convenient and safe.

Objective To analyze the mutations of GATA4 gene in Han Chinese patients with atrioventricular septal defect(AVSD)and investigate the association between GATA4 gene and pathogenesis. Methods Ninety-four Han Chinese patients with AVSD were recruited,including 23 patients with Down syndrome and 71 patients without. One hundred healthy age-matched Han children were used as the control. Blood samples were drawn. Encoding region and flanking introns of GATA4 gene were amplified using polymerase chain reaction. The mutations were detected by DNA fragment sequences analysis. Results Three novel missense mutations(c.106C ＞ G,p.P36A;c.259C ＞ T, p.P87S;c.504C ＞ A,p.D168E)of the GATA4 gene were identified in three patients with complete AVSD without Down syndrome,and a fourth novel missense mutation(c.1079A ＞ G,p.E360G)was noted in a patient with complete AVSD and Down syndrome. A polymorphism of the GATA4 gene(c.G99T,p.A33A)from six patients was detected. Conclusions The GATA4 gene might be involved in the etiology of AVSD by functional changes resulting from gene mutation. The low incidence of GATA4 gene mutations in patients with AVSD with or without Down syndrome might suggest that AVSD is a polygenetic disorder.

Objective To investigate the accuracy and applied value of measurement of pulmonary flow velocity with phase-contrast MRI(PC-MRI).Methods ①42 healthy volunteers were divided into 2 groups randomly,one group was examined by PC-MRI,another was examined by doppler ultrasound.The inner diameter,maximum velocity and mean velocity of main pulmonary artery(MPA) were measured;②The flow volume of MPA in a cardiac cycle was calculated with formulation.Results ①The inner diameters of MPA measured with PC-MRI and doppler ultrasound were(24.4?3.41) mm and(21.5?2.55) mm respectively;②The maximum velocity and mean velocity of MPA measured by PC MRI were(79.9?24.0) cm/s and(50.3?7.71) cm/s respectively;③The maximum velocity and mean velocity of MPA gained by doppler ultrasound was(88.8?8.33) cm/s and(53.7? 5.04) cm/s resepectively;④The flow volume of MPA in a cardiac cycle measured by PC MRI and doppler ultrasound was(73.5?6.60) ml and(69.0?10.6) ml respectively.The results were analyzed by group sample t-test,and the level of test was 0.05.Conclusion The blood flow velocity and volume of pulmonary artery can be measured accurately by PC-MRI,it is of certain applied value in assessing the pulmonary blood flow dynamics changes.

Objective To investigate the radiation dose and image quality of spectral and conventional CT scan in neck.Methods Sixty patients with enhanced neck CT scan were analyzed retrospectively.The 30 patients with spectral CT scan were included in spectral CT group,and the 30 patients with conventional CT scan were included in conventional CT group.The tube voltage,tube current and rotation speed of the spectral CT group were fast switching with 80 and 140 kVp,630 mA and 0.5 s,respectively.The scanning parameters of conventional CT group were 120 kVp,auto tube current (100 to 600 mA),and 0.6 s,respectively.The objective evaluation [noise and (contrast to noise ratio) CNR] and subjective scores in the upper,middle and lower neck were evaluated.The radiation dose was also evaluated in the two groups.The independent-samples t test was used in comparison of the radiation dose.The independent-samples t test and the rank sum test were used to compare the objective and subjective image quality.Results The CT dose index of spectral and conventional scan in the neck were 17.77 mGy and (17.26±2.18) mGy,respectively without significant difference (t=-1.26,P=0.218).The noises of 65 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (4.5 ± 0.8),(4.5 ± 0.9),(5.2 ± 1.0) HU,and the noises of conventional CT images in above-mentioned regions were (4.5± 1.1),(4.1± 1.0),(5.0± 1.7) HU.There was no significant differences (t=0.102,-1.362,-0.621;P＞0.05).The subjective scores of 65 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (4.1 ± 0.3),(4.7 ± 0.5),(3.8 ± 0.7),while the subjective scores of conventional CT images in associated region were (4.1±0.4),(4.6 ±0.5),(3.5 ±0.6),wihtout significant differences (Z=-0.286,-0.531,-1.568;P＞0.05).The noises of 55 keV images in upper,middle and lower neck were (5.4±0.9),(5.6± 1.1),(6.6± 1.6) HU,which were significantly higher than noise of conventional images (t=-3.614,-5.560,-3.784;P＜0.05).The subjective scores of 55 keV images in upper and middle neck were (3.7±0.5),(4.2±0.4),which were significantly lower than those of conventional images (Z=-2.541,-3.136;P＜0.05).The subjective score of 55 keV images in lower neck was (3.3±0.8),which was no significant difference in comparison with conventional image (Z=-1.318,P＞0.05).There was no significant difference between the CNR of conventional images and CNR of spectral images with 65 keV and 55 keV in upper,middle and lower neck (P＞0.05).Conclusion The radiation dose and the image quality of spectral CT scan are same to the conventional CT scan in the neck,the 65 keV monochromatic images can be used routinely.

Objective To investigate the effect of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG)on oxidative stress and inflammatory factors in the kidney tissues of rats with paraquat poisoning,and explore the possible mechanism. Methods Rats were randomly divided into control group(group A), paraquat exposure group(group B),paraquat exposure+low dose of EGCG group(group C),and paraquat exposure+high dose of EGCG group (group D)(n=10 in each group). Kidney tissues were harvested and observed by HE staining. The level of creatinine was tested by biochemical detector. Serum oxidative stress and inflammatory factor level were detected by ELISA method. Oxidative stress in kidney tissue was determined by Western blotting and colorimetry. Inflammatory factor level in renal tissue was tested by real-time PCR. Results Kidney damage was observed in rats of groups B,C,and D. Rats in groups C and D showed less renal injury than group B,and high dose of EGCG(group D)enhanced kidney damage compared to the low dose(group C). Compared with group A,rats in the groups C and D showed lower level of 8-isoprostane,creatinine, interleukin-6(IL-6),and tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α)in serum and malondialdehyde(MDA),3-nitrotyrosine(3-NT),and TNF-αand IL-6 mRNA in renal tissue in rats with paraquat poisoning,and group D showed the lowest mRNA level of inflammatory factor and oxidative stress. Con-clusion EGCG has protective effects on the kidney of rats with paraquat poisoning,and its mechanism may be related to the reduction of oxida-tive stress and inflammatory reaction in the kidney.

Objective To study 6 type Ⅰ interferon (IFN)-inducible genes (IFIT4, IFI44, Ly6e,OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3) in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and analyze its correlated expression levels with disease activity and/or clinical manifestations. Methods Total RNA was obtained simultaneously from kidney tissues and peripheral blood cells of 12 patients with diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis and 10 normal controls. Moreover, peripheral blood cells were obtained from 119 LN patients and 35 normal controls. Total RNA was extracted and reversely transcribed into complementary DNA. Gene expression levels were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction by comparing to a housekeeping gene, and IFN score was calculated. Disease activity was determined by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Results The 6 genes were highly expressed in diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis patients compared with normal controls. IFN scores were positively correlated with SLEDAI score, the concurrent presences of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies (P<0.05) and hypocomplementemia (P<0.01). Conclusion The 6 IFN-inducible genes are highly expressed iri LN patients. IFN scores are elevated in active lupus nephritis patients, in patients with positive anti-ds-DNA antibody and hypocomplementemia. IFN scores may be a useful biomarker for lupus nephritis therapy.