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.

Objective To investigate the value of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) on evaluating the renal tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis of IgA nephropathy(IgAN).Methods 117 patients diagnosed with IgAN,and 80 normal cases were examined with conventional ultrasonography and ARFI,recording the shear wave velocities(SWV),the hemodynamics and the renal biopsy results to quantify the elastic changes of renal cortex,with the aim of assessing AFRI's advantages on early diagnosing the impair of kidney.Results The SWV value of renal cortex,renal medulla of IgAN group were smaller than that of normal group (P ＜0.05),while the collective system SWV value had no difference(P ＞0.05).According to the ROC curve,the cut-off value of SWV in renal cortex was 2.7 cm/s.The accuracy of the diagnosis was 71 ％,which was better than RI (61.9％).The SWV value of the renal cortex decreased with the different stage of 1,2,3,4,but stage 5 was larger than stage 4.The degree of renal tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis(T) can be classified by the SWV of renal cortex,and the SWV of T2 was larger than T1 (P ＜0.05).Conclusions By quantifying the elastic change of kidney,ARFI technology is able to distinguish the degree of renal tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis,diagnose renal impairment early and judge the clinical stages.Furthermore the sensitivity,specificity,accuracy of it are superior to hemodynamic.

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

Objective To investigate the impacts of long cold ischemic preservation time on the ultrastructural changes of donor heart and to provide the data for expanding the heart donor pool. Methods Heart was obtained from brain dead donor and preserved in the the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution at 4℃. Cardiac tissues were harvested at different time points of cold ischemic preservation (6, 8, 10, 12, 14 h) and observed under electron miscroscope. Results Donor heart did not have significant pathologied and ultrastructural changes when cold ischemic preservation time was 6 h. After that, time related impairment of myocardia and endothelium of coronary artery was seen.When ischemic time was longer than 12 h, focal myocardial necrosis and complete loss of the endothelium were detected. Conclusions Myocardial ultrastructure is an important index to evaluate the donor heart quality. Heart, which underwent 10 h of cold ischemia preservation time, causes no significant irreversible and pathological ultrastructural changes, and could be used for heart transplantation. When ischemia time was over 10 h, the donor heart presented with irreversible change and was nolonger unsuitable for transplantation.

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

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.

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.

Objective To explore the relationship between respiratory viruses infection and the episode of steroid responsive simple nephrotic syndrome(SRSNS).Methods Thirty-eight children with SRSNS were selected,including the active stage group(n=28)and the remission group(n=10).The urine from 18 cases of nephritic nephrosis,16 cases of bronchiolitis,15 cases of secondary glomerular diseases and 15 cases of healthy children were served as controls.By using the method of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and alkaline phosphoesterase-anti alkaline phosphoesterase enzyme-linked assay(APAAP),viral genes and antigens in urine were assayed,respectively.Results The positive rate of detecting viruses in the active stage group of SRSNS children was higher than that in the remission group and the other control groups(Pa

green light(480 nm).

Objective To introduce the donor heart preservation techniques and study the clini- cal results in 26 patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantations with long donor ischemia time (DIT) in our center.Methods From Sept.2004 to Aug.2006,26 patients underwent orthotopic heart transplantation at our center with DIT longer than 360 min.Crystalloid cardioplegia was infused through aortic root after aorta was cross clamped.UW solution was used when donor heart was removed.All patients underwent bicaval anastomotic cardiac transplantation.NO was inhaled through ventilator during and after operation in patients with pulmonary hypertension.Results DIT was 360- 560 (mean 401?43) min.There was no operative death in this group.Echocardiography and X-ray examinations in one month were normal.One case of abnormal coronary orifice was subjected to re- anastomosis of aorta.One case of renal failure post-operation was subjected to blood dialysis.Conclu- sion With proper donor heart procurement and preservation,recipient selection,anastomotic technique,efficient postoperative surveillance and pulmonary hypertension treatment,transplanted patients with long DIT can obtain the satisfactory short-term outcome.