Objective: To study the influence of ablated cardiac fat pad on atrial fibrillation induced by a single extra-stimulus in dogs. Metbods: Twenty-two dogs were anesthetized and their chest cavity was openned through a median sternotomy (2 dogs died of fibrillation immediately after opening) to expose the 3 cardiac fat pads: the medial superior vena cava and aortic root fat pad (SVC-Ao FP), the right pulmonary vein-atrial junction fat pad (RPV FP), and the inferior vena cava-left atrial junction fat pad (IVC-LA fat pad). The atrial effective refractory period (AERP), dispersion of AERP (dAERP), and pulmonary vein effective refractory period (PVERP) were measured under baseline and after ablation of the 3 fat pads. The left superior pulmonary veins were stimulated by S1S1 bursting stimulation and S1S2 program stimulation to induce atrial fibrillation before and after ablation. Results: After ablation, AERP increased from (137±16) ms to (147±16) ms and PVERP increased from (131±14) ms to (141+9) ms, while dAERP decreased from (17.0±4.6) ms to (12.0±4.3) ms (P<0.05). After ablation, S1S1 cycle length decreased from (173+25) ms to (145±21) ms when used for restimulation after ablation (P<0.05 ). S1S2 could not induce AF again. Conclusion: Ablation of the 3 cardiac fat pad can influence the electrical remodeling of the atrial and the pulmonary vein, which may hamper the induction of atrial fibrillation.

Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Transfection

With the increasing incidence and prevalence of male sexual dysfunction, andrologists are more and more in need of accurate and efficient tools to assess therapeutic efficacy and patients' satisfaction and to help patients achieve satisfactory treatment results. This article summarizes some of the most commonly used questionnaires for the diagnosis and assessment of the treatment of male sexual dysfunction, including International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), Erection Hardness Score (EHS), Quality of Erection Questionnaire (QEQ), Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS), Treatment Satisfaction Scale (TSS), Self-Esteem and Relationship (SEAR), Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP), Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT), Index of Premature Ejaculation (IPE), Arabic Index of Premature Ejaculation (AIPE), Aging Male Symptoms Scale (AMS), Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (ADAM), and Symptomatic Inventory for Screening Late-Onset Hypogonadism in Males (SILOH), and presents an overview on their clinical application.
Erectile Dysfunction ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To investigate bacterial spectrum characteristics and distribution of urinary tract infections with different time phase in intensive care unit(ICU).Methods From January 2012 to March 2013,the clinical data of 1330 cases in ICU,treated with urinary catheter indwelling,was retrospectively reviewed.Among them,705 cases were male and 625 cases were female.Their age ranged from 11 to 94 years old,mean (55.4 ± 19.2)years old.Acute physiology and chronic health scores (APACHE Ⅱ) were 1 to 69,mean 17.1 ±9.3.Duration of catheter indwelling ranged from 1 to 28 days,mean 23 days.The urine was collect through catheter via sterile syringe for bacterial culture.The incidence of urinary tract infection,bacterial infection spectrum,composition ratio and bacteria distribution in 1,2 and 4 weeks after admission were recorded.Results Total urinary tract infection cases were 36(2.7％).There were 15 urinary tract infection cases in 625 famale cases(2.4％),There were 21 cases in 705 male cases (3.0％).49 pathogens were obtained,including 32 gram-negative bacilli (65.3％),17 gram-positive cocci (32.7％) and 1 fungus 2.0％.Enterococcus faecium (30.6％),E.coli (22.4％),Acinetobacter baumannii(10.2％),and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.2％) were the predominant species.According to hospitalized time,the bacteria spectrum distribution showed Gram negative bacilli were 50.0％ (8 pathogens),57.1％ (4 pathogens),76.9％ (20 pathogens) and Gram positive bacteria were 43.8％ (7 pathogens),42.9％ (3 pathogens),23.1％ (6 pathogens) in the differet observed time point,respectively.A fungus was only observed in the first week after admission 6.3％.Concluusions Gram-negative bacilli were predominant bacterial of urinary tract infections in ICU patients.The incidence of fungus infection was low.E.coli,Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the predominant species in Gramnegative bacilli.And Enterococcus faecium was the predominant specie in gram-positive cocci.It was similar for gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive cocci in the first two weeks.After two weeks Gram-negative bacilli turned to the main species.

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features of hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis(HBV-GN) in children.Methods Clinical and pathological features were analyzed and correlated in 73 cases with renal biopsy-confirmed(HBV-GN).Sixty-six boys and 7 girls aged from 1 to 14 years old were included in this study,accounting for 14.4% in children under-(going) renal biopsy in the same period.Results Nephrotic syndrome(NS) was the prodominant clinical manifestation(53/73,72.6%),followed by glomerulonephritis(15/73,20.5%) and hematuria with proteinuria(5/73,6.9%).Serologic markers of HBV were found in all cases.Among them,55 cases(75%) were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg),hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg) and anti-hepatitis B core(anti-HBc),14 cases(19.2%)positive for HBsAg,anti-HBe and anti-HBc,2 cases positive for HBsAg and anti-HBc,1 child positive for HBsAg and HBeAg,and another only positive for anti-HBc.The most common pathological type of HBV-GN was membranous nephropathy(MN),which was found in 69 cases(94.5%),followed by membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis(MPGN) and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis(MsPGN),2 cases(2.7%),respectively.All cases with NS presented themselves with MN.The pathological grades were significantly correlated with clinical manifestations through double trend analysis(?~2=5.22 P=0.022).Conclusions MN is predominant in childhood HBV-GN,which mainly presented with NS.Their clinical patterns are somewhat correlated with pathological grades.

To introduce Prof. T ian Cong-huo’s commonly used acupuncture methods and their clinical application, in order to summarize the famous doctor’s experience, promote the experience inheritance of Chinese acupuncture, and enhance the therapeutic effect of acupuncture.

Objective To summarize the outcomes and clinical experience of orthotopic heart transplantations in Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital.Methods From May 2000 through October 2005,141 patients,101 males and 40 females,diagnosed as having dilated cardiomyopathy in 118,hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 2,restrictive cardiomyopathy in 2,end-stage ischemic heart disease in 9, primary malignant cardiac tumor in 4,valvular heart disease in 3 and others in 3,underwent orthotopic heart(transplantations) at our center.The operative procedures included 120 bicaval anastomotic cardiac transplantations,19 conventional Stanford orthotopic cardiac transplantations and 2 total heart transplantations.The immunosuppressive therapy strategies included Cyclosporine A or tacrolimus,corticosteroids and mycophenolate mofetil.For the latest 28 patients,induction therapy with Daclizumab was applied.Results There were 3 operative deaths with an operative survival of 97.9 %.During the follow-up from 1 month to 65 months,the actuarial survival rate was 90.8 % after 1 year,84.6 % after 3 year and 81.4 % after 5 year.Acute rejection,infections,graft failure and metastasis of primary cardiac tumor were the main causes of death in the 1st postoperative year,while acute rejection and graft coronary vasculopathy were the leading causes of death thereafter.Postoperative complications included acute rejection,infections,renal dysfunction and graft failure.Conclusions Orthotopic heart transplantation was proved to be a reliable choice for endstage heart disease with excellent outcomes.More attention should be paid to surveillance and management of acute rejection, infections and graft coronary vasculopathy in the long-term follow-up.

Objective To investigate the effect of paclitaxel on the intimal proliferation in rat aortic allografts and the possible mechanism on preventing graft arteriosclerosis.Methods Thirty-two inbred(Wista)r rats and 16 SD rats were divided into three groups:the isografts control group(Wistar/Wistar),the(allografts) control group ((Wistar)/SD) and test group(Wistar/SD) randomly(16 rats each groups).The rat abdominal aortic allograft model was used.The rats in test group were treated with paclitaxel after operation and those in control group with(0.9 %) normal saline.The grafts were removed and measured by means of pathology and immunohistochemistry 30 days later.Results The results showed that the thickness of the(aortic) intima,the degree of inflammatory cells infiltration in adventitia,stenosis ratio and the expression of(PCNA) were decreased in test group as compared with the allografts control group.Conclusions Paclitaxel can inhibit intimal proliferation in aortic allografts and prevent the graft arteriosclerosis.The mechanism is related to inhibition of vascular smooth(muscle) cell proliferation and alleviation of aortic allografts rejection.

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of plasma fetal DNA level in preeclampsia.Methods Thirty cases of pregnant women with preeclampsia(at 33 weeks and 3 days) and 30 cases of normal pregnant women(at 34 weeks and 3 days) were selected.All the pregnant women carried a male fetus by B-ultrasound,and were sampled at gestational 20 weeks,third trimester and at 1 hour,3 hours,6 hours after delivery.SRY levels in maternal blood were quantitated by polymerase chain reaction(QF-PCR).The endotheliotoxin(ET) level was measured with RIA.Results (1) Mean fetal DNA level of patients with preeclampsia at 20 weeks of gestation was(316?61)copy/ml.They were(266?79)copy/ml,(396?91)copy/ml,(165?43) copy/ml for light and severe preeclampsia women and normal pregnant women,respectively.Maternal blood fetal DNA levels in pregnant women with preeclampsia at 20-weeks of gestation were significantly higher than those normal pregnant women(P

Background Epithelial-mesenchymaltransition (EMT)isamajorcontributortothe pathogenesis of posterior capsular opacification(PCO).Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) is a zinc finger protein,which can be stimulated by high glucose in proximal tubule cells and involved in transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)induced EMT of diabetic nephropathy.ObjectiveThis study was designed to investigate the effect of high glucose on the expression of KLF6 and its target genes( TGFB1,TGFBR1,COLIA1,HSP47) in human lens epithelial cells (LECs).MethodsHuman LECs(SRA01/04) were cultured and exposed to different concentration of glucose.The expressions of KLF6 mRNA and protein were analyzed by real time polymerase chain reaction( real time PCR) and western blot after treatment with high glucose.The expressions of KLF6 target genes were analyzed by real time PCR to evaluate the EMT of SRA01/04 cells.ResultsCompared with the control group(5.5 mmol/L),the relative mRNA levels of t-KLF6 and wt-KLF6 in SRA01/04 treated with high glucose(22.2,44.4,66.6 mmol/L) increased obviously (F =72.53,42.02,P＜0.01 ).Then,the concentration of 22.2 mmol/L was used in the next experiments.The relative mRNA levels of t-KLF6 and wt-KLF6 increased to the peaks after treatment with high glucose for 12 h,and began to decrease after 24 h until lower levels after 48 h ( F =100.12,125.52,P ＜ 0.01 ).Western blot showed that the expression of KLF6 protein was also upregulated by high glucose treatment.With the promotion of the expression of KLF6 gene,the relative mRNA levels of TGFB1,TGFBR1,COLlAl and HSP47 of treated cells also respectively increased after treatment for 12 h,and began to decrease after 24 h until nearly at the levels of the control groups after 48 h( F=6.73,162.35,64.39,12.05,P＜0.05 ).ConclusionsIt was concluded that high glucose induced the expression of KLF6 in human LECs,and KLF6 transiently stimulated the expression of target genes TGFB1,TGFBRl,COLlAl and HSP47 which were mainly involved in the mechanism of EMT.