Objective To study MRI volumetric measurement of hippocampal formation using statistic parametric mapping(SPM) software and to discuss the value of the method applied to Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods The SPM software was used to divide the three-dimensional MRI brain image into gray matter, white matter and CSF separately.The bilateral hippocampal formations in both AD group and normal control group were delineated and the volumes were measured.The SPM method was compared with conventional method based on region of interest (ROI), which was the gold standard of volume measurement The time used in measuring the volume by these two methods were respectively recorded and compared by two independent samples' t test.Moreover, 7 physicians measured the left hippocampal formation of one same control with both of the two methods.The frequency distribution and dispersion of data acquired with the two methods were evaluated using standard deviation coefficient Results (1)The volume of the bilateral hippocampal formations with SPM method was (1.88±0.07) cm~3 and (1.93±0.08) cm~3 respectively in the AD group, while was (2.99 ±0.07) cm~3 and (3.02 ±0.06) cm~3 in the control group .The volume of bilateral hippocampal formations measured by ROI method was (1.87 ±0.06) cm~3 and (1.91 ±0.09) cm~3 in the AD group, while was (2.97 ±0.08)cm~3 and (3.00 ±0.05) cm~3 in the control group.There was no significant difference between SPM method and conventional ROI method in the AD group and the control group(t=1.500, 1.617, 1.095, 1.889,P> 0.05) .However, the time used for delineation and volume measurement was significantly different.The time used in SPM measurement was (38.1 ±2.0) min, while that in ROI measurement was (55.4 ±2.4) min (t=-25.918, P<0.01).(2)The average volumes of the left hippocampal formation with the two methods measured by the 7 physicians were (2.86±0.20) and (2.76±0.52) cm~3 respectively.The frequency distribution of hippocampal formation volume measured by SPM method and ROI method was different.The CV_(SPM) was 7% and the CV_(ROI) was 19%.Conclusions The borders of hippocampus formation in brain gray matter could be conveniently delineated by SPM software.The accuracy and repetition of measurement was improved by SPM method.The shorter time used in measurement made it possible for MRI volumetric measurement of hippocampal formation to be applied in assessment of relevant neuropsychiatric diseases.

Objective To explore the value of high sensitivity total spine digital radiography in radiation protection and clinical application.Methods A total of 90 patients suffering from scoliosis were randomly divided into three groups with different sensitivity such as S200,S400 and S800.All of them were examined with anterior-posterior and lateral full length spine digital radiography.The S400 group was designated as control group.The doses (mGy) and exposures (mAs) resulted from different groups were calculated and compared,including their means and deviations.Image quality was evaluated with blind method.Results In the S800 group,the doses and exposures were about 43％ and 41％ compared to the S400 group.The differences were statistically significant (t =4.573,8.038,P ＜ 0.05).Doses and exposures in the S200 group were about 187％ and 178％ compared to the control group.The differences were also significant(t =-5.624,-4.052,P ＜ 0.05).In the S200 and S400 group,image quality of anterior-posterior and lateral position was 100％ good.When sensitivity was S800 was selected,image quality of the anterior-posterior position was 100％ good,and 97％ for lateral images.One lateral image was considered noisy.Conclusions In full length spine radiography,high sensitivity (S800) could greatly reduce radiation dose to patients.It is a good choice to use the sensitivity to observe wide-range spine.

Death ; Hematoma, Subdural/etiology* ; Humans ; Syphilis, Congenital/complications*

BACKGROUND:It has been proved that erythropoietin can promotes angiogenesis in injured tissue, which is closely related to the proliferation and differentiation of endothelial progenitor cel s. However, the involved mechanism remains unclear yet.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of erythropoietin on the function and activity of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cel s in mice, and to explore the signal pathway.
METHODS:The endothelial progenitor cel s from the bone marrow of mice were separated by means of density gradient centrifugation and then cultured. The cel s were preconditioned by specific inhibitor of PI3K
(LY294002), and were divided into the fol owing groups:EGM-2 group, three erythropoietin preconditioned groups (the concentrations of erythropoietin in medium were 1, 5, 10 U/mL respectively), erythropoietin+LY group (10 U/mL erythropoietin and 10 mmol/L LY294002 in medium), LY group (10 mmol/L LY294002 in medium), dimethyl sulfoxide group (1 mL/L dimethyl sulfoxide in medium). The cel proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by cel counting kit-8 and flow cytometry respectively. The contents of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and vascular endothelial growth factor in cel lysates were detected by the method of ELISA, and the expressions of Akt and p-Akt were by western blot assay.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Erythropoietin could promote the proliferation of endothelial progenitor cel s in a dose-dependent manner, which was, however, completely inhibited by LY294002. The apoptosis rate in the erythropoietin preconditioned groups was significantly lower than that in the erythropoietin+LY group. The contents of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and vascular endothelial growth factor in cel lysates of LY group and erythropoietin+LY group were significantly lower than those in the erythropoietin groups. There was no difference in Akt expression found in each group, while the p-Akt expression in the erythropoietin+LY group was significantly lower than that in the erythropoietin groups. The above results reveal that erythropoietin can promote the proliferation of endothelial progenitor cel s and decrease the cel apoptosis, which is depending on PI3K/Akt signal pathway.

Objective To summarize the image features of primary retrograde type A aortic dissection by CTA examination, aiming to improve the precise diagnosis of this type of specific aortic dissection, and to provide imaging evidence for subsequent therapies.Methods The CTA data of 17 patients with primary retrograde type A aortic dissection treated in Cardiothoracic Surgery Department of Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command from January 2010 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed.The image features including the dissection type, the location and quantity of intimal tear, the aorta involving area, and the origin of branch vessels were analyzed.Results Nine cases of the total 17 patients had pericardial/pleural effusion.Fourteen patients showed intramural hematoma in ascending aorta, while 3 patients showed active blood flow and thrombosis formation in false lumen of ascending aorta.Five patients showed aortic ulcers and intramural hematoma in descending aorta, and the other 12 patients showed typical dissection image with active blood flow in both true and false lumen,among the 12 patients, there were obvious intimal separations observed in 11 cases, while multiple aortic ulcers in 1 case.Abdominal aorta was involved in l0 cases of the above 11 patients.All of the abdominal branch vessels were originated from true lumen in 2 of the 10 patients,and the other 8 patients showed 1-2 vessels originated from false lumen.Conclusion Primary retrograde type A aortic dissection is relatively rare.However,specific imaging features different from typical aortic dissection can be observed in this type of aortic lesion.Careful viewing of CTA image is extremely necessary for accurate diagnosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diarrhea ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Young Adult

Adult ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Cervical Vertebrae ; pathology ; Eosinophilic Granuloma ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hodgkin Disease ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Ki-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Neoplasms ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; pathology

Atropa belladonna is a medicinal plant and main commercial source of tropane alkaloids (TAs) including scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which are anticholine drugs widely used clinically. Based on the high throughput transcriptome sequencing results, the digital expression patterns of UniGenes representing 9 structural genes (ODC, ADC, AIH, CPA, SPDS, PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) involved in TAs biosynthesis were constructed, and simultaneously expression analysis of 4 released genes in NCBI (PMT, CYP80F1, H6H, TRII) for verification was performed using qPCR, as well as the TAs contents detection in 8 different tissues. Digital expression patterns results suggested that the 4 genes including ODC, ADC, AIH and CPA involved in the upstream pathway of TAs, and the 2 branch pathway genes including SPDS and TRII were found to be expressed in all the detected tissues with high expression level in secondary root. While the 3 TAs-pathway-specific genes including PMT, CYP80F1, H6H were only expressed in secondary roots and primary roots, mainly in secondary roots. The qPCR detection results of PMT, CYP80F1 and H6H were consistent with the digital expression patterns, but their expression levels in primary root were too low to be detected. The highest content of hyoscyamine was found in tender stems (3.364 mg x g(-1)), followed by tender leaves (1.526 mg x g(-1)), roots (1.598 mg x g(-1)), young fruits (1.271 mg x g(-1)) and fruit sepals (1.413 mg x g(-1)). The highest content of scopolamine was detected in fruit sepals (1.003 mg x g(-1)), then followed by tender stems (0.600 mg x g(-1)) and tender leaves (0.601 mg x g(-1)). Both old stems and old leaves had the lowest content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine. The gene expression profile and TAs accumulation indicated that TAs in Atropa belladonna were mainly biosynthesized in secondary root, and then transported and deposited in tender aerial parts. Screening Atropa belladonna secondary root transcriptome database will facilitate unveiling the unknown enzymatic reactions and the mechanisms of transcriptional control.
Alkaloids ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Atropa belladonna ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; genetics ; Hyoscyamine ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; metabolism ; Tropanes ; metabolism

Objective To explore the feasibility of evaluating the lung function by MSCT in emphysema.Methods The MSCT scan and pulmonary function tests(PFF)were respectively performed in 147 receptors within one week.They were randomly divided into 2 groups:group A(120 receptors), including normal,mild,moderate and severe abnormal pulmonary function based on the PFT,for comparing the correlation between pulmonary quantitative indexes of MSCT pulmonary function and PFT and settingup the primary grade criteria of abnormal pulmonary function in emphysema,group B(27 receptors)for evaluating the diagnostic accuracy in group A.The total lung was respectively scanned at the full inspiration and full expiration with MSCT.The pulmonary quantitative indexes of MSCT were measured with Siemens Pulmo pulmonary quantitative software.Results There was correlation between pulmonary quantitative indexes of MSCT and PFF.The Piex/in_(-910)showed best correlation with FEV_1%(r=-0.905,P

Objective To assess the dietary pattern and quality of residents in Zhejiang province.Methods 21 52 residents aged 1 8 -79 years old were selected using multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method and the data from Chinese nutrition status monitoring project during 201 0 -201 2 was used.The results were evaluated using Chinese diet balance index.Results 41.08% of the residents in Zhejiang province was mild diet imbalance and 50.79% was middle diet imbalance while insufficient and excessive intakes were coexist.Mild and middle insufficient intakes were accounted for 66.1 7%and 27.88%respectively,while mild excessive intake was accounted for 35.55%.The diet balance indexes including DBI-LBS,DBI-HBS and DBI-DQD were 46.00,26.00 and 57.00 respectively.The dietary quality of males,rural areas was lower while residents aged 40 -49 years had the lowest dietary quality.There was positive correlation between dietary quality and degree of education (P<0.05 ).The main dietary pattern of residents in Zhejiang was pattern B (62.41%)following by pattern A (26.44%).Conclusion Insufficient and excessive intakes coexist among residents in Zhejiang province.Male,living in rural areas,people aged 40 -49 years or with lower degree of education should be taken as target intervention subjects.