Objective To investigate the value of magnetic resonance (MR)diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)in diagnostic classi-fication of astrocytic tumors.Methods 31 patients with astrocytic tumors confirmed by operation and pathology were collected,in-cluding low-grade tumors (WHO gradeⅠ and Ⅱ)in 14 and high-grade ones (WHO grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ)in 1 7.Routine MRI and DKI scan were preoperatively conducted using Siemens 3.0T MR scanner.Mean kurtosis (MK),radial kurtosis (RK)and axial kurtosis (AK)values were calculated in the solid portion of the tumors and the contralateral normal white matter.Results The MK,RK and AK values in tumors were lower than those in contralateral normal white matter,and were significantly higher in high-grade tumors than those in low-grade ones (P <0.05).Conclusion The MK,RK and AK values obtained by DKI reflect the histological structure changes of the astrocytic tumors.DKI is helpful for the diagnostic classification of astrocytic tumors,exhibiting more value in optimi-zing the treatment.

This study was purposed to analyze the efficiency of platelet transfusion and to explore factors influencing platelet transfusion efficiency. 727 times of platelets transfusion in 254 patients in The Third Xiangya Hospital from September 2010 to May 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. Moreover, according to symptoms, times of platelet transfusion, blood types and splenomegaly, the corrected count of increment (CCI) and percentage of platelet recovery (PPR) were calculated for evaluation of platelet transfusion efficiency. The results showed that there were 456 effective transfusions out of 727 transfusions (62.72). Among them, the therapeutic effect of platelet transfusion for patients with acute blood loss anemia and chronic systemic diseases was relatively obvious, specially for chronic renal disease, the effective efficiency of them was 94.12. The patients with splenomegaly showed a significant impact on platelet transfusion efficiency (41.07). Analysis found that the frequency of platelet transfusion negatively correlated with transfusion efficiency. It is concluded that the transfusion frequency and splenomegaly are factors influencing the transfusion efficiency.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Transfusion ; methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND:Oversize stress of a dental implant and its surrounding tissue is the main factor to affect the
long-term use of dental implants. So, the reasonable and precise design of implant shape is one of the important methods of prolonging the life span of dental implants.
OBJECTIVE:To make the optimal analysis and design of the diameters of connector screw and central screw of the adjustable-angle dental implant invented in the earlier stage.
METHODS: The finite element analysis model of the edentulous mandible with adjustable-angle dental implant was established by software Pro/E 5.0, Mimics 10.0 and ANSYS Workbench 14.5. The maximum equivalent
stress of dental implant-edentulous mandibular model was analyzed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The maximum equivalent stress of dental implant-edentulous mandibular model

Objective To investigate whether mesenchymal stem cells can promote the recovery of acute renal tubular damage induced by mercuric chloride and to explore its possible mechanism.Methods Acute renal failure rat model was established by intraperitoneal injection of mercuric chloride.SD rats were randomly divided into three groups which were MSCs injection group, saline infusion group and normal control group.Seven days later,the changes of rat weight,survival,renal function and pathology were observed;PCNA,ED-1 and GFP were detected by immunohistochemistry; The expression of cytokines in kidney and the distribution of GFP plasmid-transfected MSCs in kidney were examined by RT-PCR.Results MSCs infusion ameliorated the decline of rat weight,survival, renal function,and pathological changes.PCNA and ED-1 positive cells in MSCs group were fewer than those in saline group.Expression of growth factors EGF,PDGF,HGF were obviously up- regulated and pre-inflammatory cytokines TNF-?was significantly reduced in MSCs-treated kidneys. GFP-labelled MSCs occurred occasionally in renal interstitium of MSCs-treated rats,but not in renal tubules.Conclusions Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can promote the recovery of acute renal tubular epithelial cells damage caused by mercuric chloride.The mechanism may partly depend on regulating the excretion of cytokines in renal microenvironment rather than completely depend on their differentiation to tubular cells.

Objective To study the efficacy and security of postoperative radiotherapy alone and post-operative radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy in patients with high-grade cerebral glioma.Methods Fifty-nine patients with high-grade cerebral glioma confirmed by pathology, including 35 with grade Ⅲ and 24 with grade Ⅳ, admitted to our hospital from June 2004 to June 2008, were chosen in our study; these patients were randomly divided into 3 groups (A, B and C). All the patients underwent three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) with a dose of 54-66Gy/27-33f/5-7w by 6/10MV-X ray; and the median total dose was 60 Gy; group A (n=21, including 13 with grade Ⅲ and 8with grade Ⅳ) received chemotherapy with termozolomide (TMZ) at a dosage of 75 mg/m2·d during radiotherapy, following by 150-200 mg/ (m2·d) for 5 d, and enjoying 28 d per cycle for a total of 3-5cycles; group B (n=26, including 14 with grade Ⅲ and 12 with grade Ⅳ) received chemotherapy with the regimen of nimustine (ACNU) with a dosage of 90 mg/m2 on the 1st d and teniposide (VM-26) at a dosage of 60 mg/m2 on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd d, enjoying 6-8 weeks per cycle for a total of 4-6 cycles; group C (n=12,including 8 with grade Ⅲ and 4 with grade Ⅳ) received radiotherapy alone. Clinical evaluations of tumor response and adverse effects were performed periodically. The primary end points were disease progression-flee survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) Results The effective rate in the group A, B and C was 81.0％, 71.4％ and 33.3％, respectively, indicating that significant differences exited between group C and both group A and B (P＜0.05). The incidence of gastrointestinal side effects and toxic response in the group B was obviously higher than that in the group A (P＜0.05). The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates in group A were 66.7％, 19.0％ and 9.5％, respectively, which were the highest among the 3groups; those in group B were 53.8％, 15.4％ and 3.8％, respectively; those in group C were 25％, 8％ and 0％, respectively. The PFS in all the patients was 8 months and OS was 15 months; log-rank test indicated that significant differences of PFS and OS existed between patients received concomitant chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy (X2=10.710, P=0.005; X2=7.185, P=0.028); the incidence of PFS and OS in group A and B was significantly higher than that in group C (P＜0.05). Conclusion To post-operative patients with high-grade cerebral glioma, concomitant chemoradiotherapy can improve the effective rate and extend the PFS and OS. TMZ is recommended as the concomitant chemotherapy regimen, having similar therapy effect with ACNU plus VM-26, but enjoying less adverse effects.

Objective To investigate the role of overexpression of Smad7,the inhibitory factor of TGF-?/Smads signaling,in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of peritoneal mesothelial cells.Methods Peritoneal fibrosis rat model was built by daily intraperitoneal injection with 4.25% Dineal (100 ml/kg) and lipopolysaccharide(LPS) (0.6 mg/kg) at day 8,10,12,22,24,26. Smad7 or control empty vectors was transferred at day 0,14 and was induced by doxycline in the daily drinking water (200 mg/L).Rats were sacrificed on day 28 and the expression of TGF-beta/ Smads,?-SMA and E-cadherin was examined.Results Compared with normal rats,empty vector rats showed higher expression of phosphorylated Smad2/3.?-SMA expression was elevated but E-cadherin was reduced.Under electron microscope,the mesothelial cells removed to submesothelial zone and showed large bundles of actin microfilaments and dense bodies within the cytoplasm. Basement membrane was broken.After induction of Smad7 in peritoneal fibrosis rats,the morphology of mesothelial ceils normalized partly,phosphorylated Smad2/3 was reduced.Moreover,expression of E-cadherin was increased,expression of?-SMA was dramatically reduced.Conclusion Inhibition of TGF-?/Smad signaling by Smad7 overexpression may inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cell,which may provide a new therapeutic method for peritoneal fibrosis by overexpression of Smad7.

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between angiographically-defined coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic periodontitis (CP).

METHODS277 cases with CHD (case group) and another 238 with no agiographic evidence of CHD (control group) were compared on their traditional cardiovascular risk factors, as: oral health status and probing depth, clinical attachment level, gingival recession, as well as number of missing teeth. Other related risk factors of CHD were included in a stepwise logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSData from univariate analysis showed that there was significant difference in CP, plasma triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fast glucose, white blood count, hypertension and smoking between patients with CHD and those with out CHD (P < 0.01 - 0.001). Multiple factorial logistic regression analysis showed that CP, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, HDL-C were strongly correlated with the incidence of CHD. Significant dosage-effective response was also found in the relationship between CP and CHD (P < 0.001). Further studies also suggested that the severity of CP paralleled the severity of CHD.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicated that CP might serve as an independent risk factor of CHD and significantly enhance the risk and severity of CHD. Our study suggested that the elimination of probable risk factors in oral cavity was indispensable during the process of the prevention of CHD in order to prevent acute coronary events.

Angiography ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Chronic Disease ; Coronary Disease ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Oral Health ; Periodontitis ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the changes of the copy numbers of mtDNA in peripheral blood mono-nucle- ar cell(PBMC) and the disordered of antioxidant capacity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

METHODSThe Ficoll Hypaque method was used to isolate the PBMC from blood specimens. The ND1 gene of the mitochondrial was amplified by real-time PCR; meantime β-actin was served as a quantitative standard marker; the difference of mtDNA copy number in PBMC was compared between HCC and healthy control group. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PBMC was determined by flow cytometry. The change of total antioxidant capacity (T- AOC) of plasma was detected by the biochemistry examination.

RESULTSThe copy numbers of ND1 gene in PBMC of HCC was 73% that of the healthy control group,which suggested a decrease of the copy numbers of mtDNA in HCC. The levels of ROS of PBMC in HCC was (417. 82 ± 110.62) and (301.82 ± 75.54) in control group, which showed that the levels of ROS of PBMC in HCC were significant higher than that in control group (P < 0.01).Plasma T-AOC in HCC was (1.30 ± 0.85), and (3.20 ± 1.62) in control. The T-AOC of plasma of HCC was significantly lower than in control group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThere was a certain relationship between the decrease of the copy numbers of mtDNA and the disordered antioxidant capacity in hepatocellular carcinoma, which may be associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Actins ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; genetics ; Case-Control Studies ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; genetics ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; genetics ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

This study was purposed to construct the recombinant hF9 minigene and its stable nonsense mutant cell lines, and to investigate its significance. Minigene hF9 was cloned into the mammalian expression vector pCMV-Tag3B; a nonsense mutant containing a premature termination codon (PTC) in the 121(st) amino acid residue was obtained by PCR site-directed mutagenesis; minigene hF9 and nonsense mutant were respectively transfected into HepG2 cells with G418 treatment to get stable HepG2-WT and HepG2-N cell lines. The results confirmed that the minigene hF9 and nonsense mutant were constructed successfully. The gene of interest was amplified by RT-PCR from the stable cell lines, and the minigene hF9 was expressed in the stable cell lines. It is concluded that the recombinant hF9 minigene and its stable nonsense mutant cell lines are constructed successfully. The cell lines can be used to screen the drugs treating the nonsense mutation-caused hemophilia according to PTC read-through approaches.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Codon, Nonsense ; Factor IX ; genetics ; Genetic Vectors ; Hemophilia B ; genetics ; Humans ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics

Aim To explore the effects of miR-7 on astrocyte activation and the underlying mechanisms. Methods Following isolation and culturing, astro-cytes extracted from rat cortex were treated with culture solution (control group), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF, an agonist of astrocyte activation), miR-7 mimic+CNTF, miR-7 mimic control+CNTF, miR-7 inhibitor+CNTF and miR-7 inhibitor control+CNTF, respectively. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA ex-pression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR). The protein expression of GFAP, EGFR, signal transducers and activators of transcription 3(STAT3) and phosphoryla-ted STAT3 (p-STAT3) was measured using Western blot. Wild type pGL3-EGFR and mutant pGL3-EGFR-m recombinant plasmids were constructed and then co-transfected with miR-7 mimic into HEK293T cells,re-spectively. The luciferase activity of reporter gene was measured. In addition,astrocytes were treated with ei-ther EGFR siRNA or S31-201 (an inhibitor of STAT3),followed by the incubation with miR-7 inhib-itor and CNTF. Both qRT-PCR and Western blot were subsequently used to detect the mRNA and protein lev-els of GFAP. Results The expression levels of GFAP and EGFR as well as p-STAT3/STAT3 ratio in CNTF group were higher than those in control group (P <0.01). When compared with CNTF group,GFAP and EGFR levels and p-STAT3/STAT3 ratio significantly decreased in miR-7 mimic+CNTF group but increased in miR-7 inhibitor+CNTF group(P<0.01). In com-parison with control group, transfection with miR-7 mimic markedly reduced the luciferase activity of wild type EGFR (P <0.01). Moreover, miR-7 inhibitor-induced up-regulation of GFAP expression was almost completely reversed by either EGFR siRNA or S31-201 pretreatment (P<0.01). Conclusion miR-7 antag-onizes the activation of astrocytes from rats by inhibi-ting the EGFR/STAT3 signaling pathway.