Objective To observe the changes of retinal sensitive cellular ultrastructure of rats in critical period of visual development.Methods Ten normal healthy Wistar rats were chosen,eight of which were neonatal rats and two were mature rats.The eight neonatal rats were randomized into four groups(n=2 in each group) and respectively sacrificed on postborn day 0,15,20,25.The eyeballs of the neonatal rats and the mature rats were resected and the retinas were observed by electron microscope.Results The rat retinal sensitive cellular ultrastructure on postborn day 0 was immature and the cellular arrangement was not clear.The organelle of sensitive cell in critical period developed mature gradually and the arrangement of them was very clear.Conclusion The retinal sensitive cell of rats develops and matures gradually in critical period.

Objective To localize the gene of a Chinese autosomal-dominant non-syndrome deafness (DFNA) family by linkage analysis. Methods Pedigree was drawn after genetic investigation. All family members were checked up, and detail audiology examination proceeded (including pure tone audiometer, acoustic immittance measurement, auditory brainstem response). Vestibular function was evaluated. At first, the similarity of the family's locus linkage with the known DFNA loci should be excluded, and then whole genome scan was carried out. Results Deafness gene of this family was localized at 2q13-q14.2. A maximum LOD score of 3.22 (?=0.00) was obtained with the microsatellite marker D2S363. Haplotype analysis placed the novel locus within a 8.4cM region interval defined by markers D2S1888 and 2S2224. DNA sequencing of coding regions and exon/intron boundaries of a candidate gene PAX8 in this interval did not reveal disease-causing mutation in this family. Conclusion A novel DFNA locus was defined in a Chinese Neimeng family.

BACKGROUND:Many previous experiments have confirmed that transforming growth factor?1(TGF-?1) plasmids can inhibit or decrease the injection in nerve transplantation,but there has rare report about their effects on vein transplantation.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the action pathway of immune tolerance of allogenic femoral vein transplantation in rats induced by local injection of TGF-?1.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:A randomized block animal observational experiment was performed at Animal Experimental Center of Harbin Medical University from March 2007 to April 2008.MATERIALS:A total of 18 Wistar rats were selected to assign as donors.A total of 48 Sprague Dawley rats were selected to assign as recipients and randomly divided into four groups with 12 rats in each group:autograft,allograft,immunosuppressant,and TGF-?1 groups.METHODS:The rats in the immunosuppressant group were administated(i.p.) cyclosporin A(10 mg/kg) one time per day from three days before transplantation till they were sacrificed.Each rat in the TGF-?1 group was injected 40 ?g TGF-?1 plasmids into two ends of femoral vein.Vein transplantation was performed in the autograft and allograft groups.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Imaging,histology and immunological assays of these groups were conducted at two weeks after transplantation.RESULTS:In the autograft group,the endothelial cells of vein were flat,and nuclear membrane thickened.In the allograft group,the exfoliated endothelial cells and fragments,as well as subendothelium were observed.In the immunosuppressant group,the nuclear membrane of endothelial cells thickened,and rough endoplasmic reticulum expanded widely.In the TGF-?1 group,the expand of rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial vacuolation were observed.Tight junction could be seen between adjacent cells.Histologic and immunologic parameters in the TGF-?1 group were better than those in the immunosuppressant and allograft groups.The absorbance value of lymphocyte culture in the autograft,allograft,immunosuppressant,and TGF-?1 groups were 1.07?0.14,4.15?0.67,1.77?0.23 and 1.38?0.23,respectively.The absorbance value of lymphocyte culture in the TGF-?1 group was significantly lower than that in the immunosuppressant and allograft groups(P

Objective:To compare the difference between 20 cases of subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma (SPTL) and 19 cases of cutaneous extra-nodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma (cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma). Methods:The two types of lymphoma were compared in clinical pathology, immunological marker, Epstein-Barr (EB) virus infection, and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement. Results:Differentiated diagnosis of the two types of lymphomas was not easy based on their clinical manifestations,but the cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma was always followed by extracutaneous dissemination and had a poor prognosis. Histopathologically, SPTL was usually limited in subcutaneous fatty tissues while the cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma showed diffused infiltration around the dermis and it often infiltrated into the subcutaneous fat tissues. Coagulation necrosis, angiocentric infiltration and epidermotropism were often observed in cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma. When compared with immunophenotypes, SPTL often expressed βF1, membrane CD3 and CD8 but did not express CD4 and CD56, while most of the cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphomas expressed CD56 and cytoplasm CD3ε and only a few cases expressed CD3 and CD8. The differences in the expression of CD56, CD3, CD8, and βF1 were significant between the two types of lymphomas(P<0.05). The positive rate of EBER1/2 was 25% (5/20) in SPTL while it was 100% in cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Monoclonal TCR-γ gene rearrangement was found in 16 out of 20 cases of SPTL (80%) but only in 4 of 18 cases in the cutaneous NK/T-cell lymphoma (22.2%). The difference was significant(P<0.05). Conclusion:The key points to distinguish the two lymphomas are (1) extracutaneous dissemination, coagulation necrosis, angiocentric infiltration and epidermotropism; (2) the expressions of CD56, CD3, CD3ε, CD8, and βF1; (3) the positivity of in situ hybridization of EB virus; (4) detection of the monoclonal TCR-γ gene rearrangement. To make an acute differentiated diagnosis of the two lymphomas, comprehensive analysis is necessary to integrate the results of clinical manifestation, histopathology, immunophenotype, infection of EB virus and gene rearrangement.

Objective: To explore the application value and safety of low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiogram (LDDSE) in patients of low-flow/low-gradient aortic stenosis combining left ventricular dysfunction with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods: A total of 5 eligible consecutive patients with contradiction of routine surgical valve replacement and going to receive TAVR in our hospital from 2013-10 to 2016-07 were enrolled. The mean aortic valvegradient, maximum flow velocity, each stroke volume and ejection fraction were recorded before and during LDDSE examination. The patients having confirmed diagnosis of true severe aortic stenosis with left ventricular contractile reserve received TAVR, for those without left ventricular contractile reserve received drug therapy or TAVR conditionally. The changes of cardiac function and NT-proBNP level were observed after TAVR. Results: All 5 patients showed positive finding in LDDSE; the mean aortic valve gradient ≥40mmHg and stroke volume≥20% implied that the patients had true severe aortic stenosis with left ventricular contractile reserve. No adverse reaction occurred during and after LDDSE. TAVR was performed in 4 patients and 1 was waiting for TAVR or balloon dilatation since temporary lacking of valve. The post-operative cardiac function was improved in all patients and NT-proBNP level was declined continuously. Conclusion: LDDSE examination could be considered in patients of aortic stenosis combining left ventricular dysfunction, low-flow and low-gradient to clarify ventricular contractile reserve and the severity of aortic stenosis. If the patients with ventricular contractile reserve, TAVR was recommended which was the effective treatment for relevant patients.

AIM: To study the time-dependent effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the development of cardiac remodeling in untreated streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats with acute myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: The left anterior descending coronary arteries were ligated 10 weeks after DM induction without any therapy. Transmission electron microscopy, echocardiography, heart weight to tibial length ratios, histological examination, microarray analysis, and real time-PCR were utilized to monitor the changes up to 56 d. RESULTS: After MI, the diabetic rats experienced lower survival rate compared to non-diabetic animals. The pathophysiologic changes indicated that DM accelerated the cardiac remodeling post-infarction. In primary examination, 164 genes related to cardiac remodeling were found to be candidates for hierarchical analysis, such as leucine-rich PPR-motif containing (interleukin-6 signaling pathway), procollagen type I and III, fibronectin-1, RT1, and TIMP-1, etc. The gene expression profile at 14 d in diabetic rats were comparably similar to both 14 d and 28 d in non-diabetic rats, while such changes at 28 d and 56 d in diabetic rats was also similar to the ones at 56 d in non-diabetic rats. CONCLUSION: The accelerated cardiac remodeling of post-infarction in STZ-induced untreated diabetic rats seems be associated with the different profile of gene expressions.

Objective: To study the aortic root imaging and clinical application in 15 patients with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
Methods: A total of 15 patients with severe aortic valve stenosis received TAVI in our hospital from 2011-03 to 2013-11 were studied. The CT scan and transthoracic echocardiography were conducted to measure the aortic root anatomy and the differences of annulus size between CT and echocardiography were calculated. The prosthetic valves were selected based on CT measurement. The pre-operative accuracy of measurement was evaluated by the follow-up study at 6 months after operation.
Results: The CT measured pre-operative aortic annulus short diameter was (21.5 ± 2.4) mm, long diameter was (27.3 ± 2.7) mm, the average inner diameter was (24.4 ± 2.4) mm, left ventricular out lfow (LVOF) tract long diameter was (28.3 ± 4.5) mm, the average inner diameter of LVOF was (24 ± 3.5), ascending aorta diameter was (35.3 ± 4.4) mm. The Venus Medtech A-Valve implanted in 8 patients with #26 and in 7 patients with #29. The average inner diameter of aortic annulus measured by CT was larger than transthoracic echocardiography, P<0.001. During 6 months follow-up period, no patients had aortic root rupture, coronary obstruction, moderate and severer aortic and peri-aortic regurgitation. There were 4 patients with atrio-ventricular block and received permanent pacemaker implantation.
Conclusion: There is a difference for aortic annulus size by CT and transthoracic echocardiography measurements. CT may presisely assess the aortic root morphology and provide strong support for TAVI.

The levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein (APO) A1 and APO B were lower in Bai Ku Yao than those in Han nationalities (all P<0.01). There was no significant difference in serum triglyceride levels and the ratio of Apo A1 to Apo B between two nationalities. Dyslipidemia was positively correlated with body mass index, waist circumference, total energy and total fat intakes, and inversely correlated with degree of physical activity and total dietary fiber intake in both ethnic groups. In addition, dyslipidemia was also positively correlated with age and alcohol consumption in Han, but not in Bai Ku Yao.

Objective: To explore the cardiac function and outcomes in patients of aortic stenosis (AS) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) within 6 months in order to provide the guidance for clinical treatment. Methods: A total of 49 consecutive severe AS patients with surgical contradiction or STS high risk score and received successful TAVR in our hospital from 2013-12 to 2015-12 were studied. Echocardiography and blood levels of NT-proBNP were examined at pre- and 1 month, 6 months after TAVR. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), aortic valve mean gradient (MG), peak gradient (PG) and peak velocity (PV) were recorded. Based on pre-operative LVEF, the patients were divided into 2 groups: Cardiac dysfunction group, LVEF<50%,n=15 (30.6%) and Normal cardiac function group, LVEF≥50%, n=34 (69.4%). Post-operative cardiac function and blood levels of NT-proBNP were compared between 2 groups. Results: In all 49 patients, the following parameters were significantly improved within 7 days after TAVR: LVEF (56.0±14.6) % vs (52.5±13.8)%, MG (11±5) mmHg vs (58±18) mmHg, PG (21.7±9.5) mmHg vs (93.0±28.6) mmHg, PV (2.3±0.5) m/s vs (4.8±0.7) m/s, blood NT-proBNP level [1831 (1098-3363)] pg/ml vs [3842 (1763-8664)] pg/ml and aortic valve area (1.57±0.43) cm2 vs (0.58±0.23) cm2 allP<0.05. Within 6 months after TAVR, LVEF was continuously increasing especially in Cardiac dysfunction group; MG, PV and NT-proBNP level were continuously decreasing, NYHA grade was continuously improving, allP<0.05. Conclusion: TAVR was an effective treatment in AS patients with surgical contradiction or STS high risk score; it may continuously improve cardiac function, especially in patients with left heart dysfunction.