Objective: To study the influence of anterior crossbite on the position and morphology of teeth. Methods: 81 teenagers with permanent dentition and anterior crossbite were in volved in group 1 and 95 teenagers in permanent dentition without anterior crossbite in group 2. The teeth in both groups were compared on their position and morphology. Results:① The percentage of ill-positioned teeth in maxilla in group 1 and in group 2 was 14.0% and 8.8% respectively (P

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of cardiovascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by wave intensity and tissue Doppler imaging.Methods According to the course of disease,30 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided in to two groups:T2DM group 1,the course of disease between 1 year to 5 years; T2DM group 2,the course of disease was longer than 5 years.30healthy volunteers were considered as control group.The parameters of accelerating wave intensity(W1),decelerating wave intensity(W2),negative area(NA),time interval between the R-wave of ECG and the first peak(R-W1),the first and second peaks (W1-W2),elasticity modulus (Ep),stiffness index (β),arterial compliance(AC),pulse wave velocity(PWVβ) and intima media thickness (IMT) were calculated by wave intensity.The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF),left ventricular ejection time (LVET),early diastolic peak speed (E),late diastolic peak velocity (A),E / A and isovolumic relaxation time(IVRT) were detected by two dimensional echocardiography.Mitral annular early diastolic peak speeds (Em),late diastolic peak velocity (Am) and Em / Am were detected by tissue Doppler imaging.Then three groups data were recorded and compared.Results Compared with the control group,β,PWVβ,Ep in T2DM group increased significantly(P ＜0.01 or P ＜0.05),while AC decreased(P ＜0.05).IMT in T2DM group 2 was thicker significantly than the control group(P ＜0.01).PWVβ,Ep,IMT in T2DM group 2 were significantly higher than those of T2DM group 1 (P ＜0.05).W2 in T2DM group 2 was significantly higher than those of T2DM group 1 and the control group(P ＜0.01 or P ＜0.05).E/A,Em and Em/Am in T2DM group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01).Compared with T2DM group 1,Em in T2DM group 2 decreased significantly(P ＜0.05).In T2DM group,there were positive correlation between IMT and Ep,β,PWVβ (r =0.48,r =0.385,r =0.478,P ＜0.05 or P ＜0.01),positive correlation between Em and E (r =0.404,P ＜0.05) ;positive correlation between Em/Am and E/Em,E/A (r =0.602,r =0.559,P ＜0.01) ; negative correlation between Em and IVRT (r =-0.653,P ＜0.01);positive correlation between W1 and LVEF (r =0.627,P ＜0.01); positive correlation between W1-W2 and lVET (r =0.847,P ＜ 0.01) ; no correlation between W2 and E/A,E/Em,Em/Am,IVRT(P ＞0.05).Conclusions The elasticity of carotid artery and the diastolic function of left ventricular decreased in T2DM patients,while the systolic function of left ventricular was normal.

BACKGROUND:Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is an important mitogen and an indispensable regulator during normal hair cell development. Extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) is also expressed in mammalian vestibular organs.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of the expression and the distribution of IGF-1, IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and ERK1/2 in guinea pig's vestibular epithelium following gentamycin injury.DESIGN: A randomly controlled study.SETTING: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, General Hospital of Chengdu Military Area Command of Chinese PLA.MATERIALS: Twenty healthy and adult guinea pigs, weighing 300 to 350 g, provided by the Experimental Animal Center,Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, were randomly divided into four experimental groups and a control group with 4 in each group.METHODS: The experiment was performed at Department of Otorhinolaryngology Research Laboratory of Xijing Hospital,Fourth Military Medical University of Chinese PLA from January 2002 to May 2002. In the experimental groups,gentamycin was intraperitoneally administered daily (80 mg/kg) for 10 consecutive days. For the control group, 1 mL of 0.9% sterile saline was administered in the same way. The guinea pigs, in which unsteady gait or nystagmus appeared,could be involved in the further experiments. Before being sacrificed, the animals' gait, nystagmus and the amount of food-intake were observed every day. The animals were anesthetized deeply with 50 mg/kg pentobarbital 1, 7, 14 or 21days after the last gentamycin administration and then decapitated. Bilateral otic vesicles were harvested and immersed in 4% paraformaldehyde. Then the specimens were decalcified in 10% ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA),thereafter embedded in OCT gel and serially sectioned at a thickness of 10 μm in the cryostat. The behavioral changes of guinea pigs were observed. The morphological changes of vestibular epithelium were examined by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. The expression and distribution changes of IGF-1/1R and ERK1/2 were investigated immunohistochemically. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The behavioral, morphological, expression and distribution changes of IGF-1/1R and ERK1/2 of guinea pigs in each group.RESULTS: Twenty involved guinea pigs entered the stage of final analysis. ① All the guinea pigs' vestibular functions were impaired after gentamycin treatment, then partially restored without any pharmaceutical treatment. ②Morphological injury was obvious after gentamycin treatment, and improved 1 week later. ③The expression of IGF-1/1R was low in the control group, and in the 1-day group it increased significantly to its maximum. After that, its expression decreased gradually, but was still higher in the 21-day group than that in the control group. There were significant differences in the expression of IGF-1/1R among different groups (F =51.8,45.7,P ＜ 0.05). The expression changes of IGF-1 and its receptor were similar. ④The expression of ERK1/2 was low in the control group, and increased gradually after gentamycin toxicity. In the 7-day group, the immunoreactivity reached its maximum. Then the levels of ERK1/2 decreased gradually, but were still higher in the 21-day group than that in the control group. There were significant differences in the expression of ERK1/2 among different groups (F =103.7,106.4, P ＜ 0.01), but no significant differences existed in the expression between ERK1 and ERK2 among different groups (P ＞ 0.05).CONCLUSION: The expression of IGF-1/1R and ERK1/2 in vestibular epithelium increased after gentamycin treatment,and IGF-1 may play an important role as an endogenous mitogen through a paracrine or autocrine manner in the early stage of hair cell self-repair of guinea pigs. ERK1/2 may play an important role in signal transduction during vestibular hair cell self-repair after gentamycin toxicity in guinea pigs.

This study was to investigate the effect of annexin A5 on testosterone secretion from primary rat Leydig cells and the underlying mechanisms. Isolated rat Leydig cells were treated with annexin A5. Testosterone production was detected by chemiluminescence assay. The protein and mRNA of Steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR), P450scc, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD), 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD), and 17α-hydroxylase were examined by Western blotting and semi-quantitative RT-PCR, respectively. Annexin A5 significantly stimulated testosterone secretion from rat Leydig cells in dose- and time-dependent manners and increased mRNA and protein expression of StAR, P450scc, 3β-HSD, and 17β-HSD but not 17α-hydroxylase. Annexin A5 knockdown by siRNA significantly decreased the level of testosterone and protein expression of P450scc, 3β-HSD, and 17β-HSD. The significant activation of ERK1/2 signaling was observed at 5, 10, and 30 min after annexin A5 treatment. After the pretreatment of Leydig cells with ERK inhibitor PD98059 (50 μmol l-1 ) for 20 min, the effects of annexin A5 on promoting testosterone secretion and increasing the expression of P450scc, 3β-HSD, and 17β-HSD were completely abrogated (P < 0.05). Thus, ERK1/2 signaling is involved in the roles of annexin A5 in mediating testosterone production and the expression of P450scc, 3β-HSD, and 17β-HSD in Leydig cells.

Objective:To investigation the veracity of orientation on modified upright lateral cephalometric radiographs. Methods:Fifty upright lateral cephalometric radiographs were analysed randomly.Twenty-three subjects,who had standard radiographs, were taken with modified technique. The chracterics both of radiographs were compared. Results:The orientations of porion?FH plane and the superimpositions of left and right gonion point on modified standard radiographs were more veracity. Conclusion:The veracity of orientation on upright lateral cephalometric radiographs can be improved.

Objective To evaluate the function and synchronization of left atrial in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF) by real-time three dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE).MethodsThirty healthy controls and thirty-two patients with CHF were studied.The CHF were divided into group CHF1 with the normal of left ventricular filling pressure and group CHF2 with the elevated of that.From the volume-time curve of RT-3DE workstation,the maximum volume (LAVmax),the minimum volume (LAVmin),the volume before contraction (LAVp) of left atrial were acquired.Accordingly,the total,passive and active ejection fraction could be calculated.The synchronization parameters derived from RT3DE were the dispersion and maximum difference of time to minimum volume for left atrial segments (Tmsv- 16-SD,Tmsv 12-SD,Tmsv-6-SD,Tmsv- 16-Dif,Tmsv 12-Dif,Tmsv-6 Dif).The index of volume and time were corrected by the body surface area and interval of R-R,respectively.The correlation were analysed in them.Results ① All the index of volume before and after correction were gradually increasing from control to CHF2 group,but the LATEF,LAPEF and LAAEF were just the reverse,with all parameters had significant difference among total groups( P ＜0.01 ).②The synchronization parameters were significantly higher from control to CHF2 group( P ＜0.01 ).Comparing between two groups,no significant difference of the synchronization parameters were found between CHF1 group and CHF2 group ( P ＞ 0.05),except Tmsv-16-SD％ and Tmsv-16-Dif％ ( P ＜0.01 ).③The Tmsv-16-SD％ and Tmsv-16-Dif％ had a positive correlation with the index of volume and a negative correlation with the ejection fraction.The most significantly correlation parameters was LAVmaxI,with r =0.75 and P ＜0.01.ConclusionsThe function of left atrium are reduced in patients of CHF,there are dyssynchronization.The higher of the filling pressure of left ventricle,the lager of the dyssynchronization of left atrium.RT-3DE may paly important roles in the evaluation of function and synchronization of left atrium.

Objective To study the characteristics of vestibular autorotation test (VAT) in patients with the posterior circulation transient ischemic attacks(PCTIA) ,further reveal the pathogenesis vestibular function damage because of PCTIA .Methods VAT was performed on 41 patients with posterior circulation transient ischemic at‐tacks(PCTIA group) and 30 healthy controls(control group) .Parameters analyzed included gains ,phases and a‐symmetry of VAT .The positive result of the test could be defined if any of the paramaeters was abnormal .Results In the PCTIA group and control group ,gains were enhanced without being reduced as showed in 25 (62 .5% ,25/40) cases and 5(16 .7% ) ,respectively (χ2 =7 .09 ,P<0 .01) ,gains were enhanced with reduced as showed in 10(25% ) cases and 0(0% ) ,respectively (χ2 =8 .78 ,P<0 .01) .Conclusion The results of VAT in patients with the PCTIA can show gains enhanced with reduced in different frequency .VAT can provide valuable reference on positioning as‐sessment of vestibular system damage in patients with PCTIA .

Objective To evaluate the function and synchronization of left atrial in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF) by two dimensional-speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) and real-time threedimensional echocardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Thirty-two healthy controls and twenty-nine patients with CHF were studied.The mean strain and strain rate during systole,early and late of diastole(mSs,mSe and mSa,mSRs,mSRe and mSRa) were measured at each left atrial wall by 2D-STI.From the volume-time curve of RT-3DE workstation,the maximum volume (LAVmax),the minimum volume(LAVmin),the volume before contraction(LAVp) of left atrial were acquired.Accordingly,the total,passive and active ejection fraction could be calculated.The synchronization parameters derived from 2D-STI and RT-3DE were the dispersion of time to peak strain and time to the minimum volume (T-SD and Tmsv-16-SD).The index of volume and time were corrected by the body surface area and interval of R-R,respectively.The correlation were analysed betwee them.Results () Comparing between two groups,the mSs,mSe and mSa were shortened and the mSRs,mSRe and mSRa were slower in CHF group (P ＜ 0.05).② All the index of volume were gradually increasing from control to CHF group,but the LATEF,LAPEF and LAAEF were just the reverse,with all parameters had significant difference between two groups (P ＜0.05).③ The synchronization parameters were significantly higher from control to CHF group by the two kinds of skills (P ＜0.05).Comparing with 2D-STI,the indexes of synchronization were bigger and the asynchronization rate of CHF group were higher by RT-3DE.④The indexes of synchronization had a negative correlation with the strain rate and the ejection fraction,but had a positive correlation with the index of volume.Conclusions The function of left atrial are reduced in patients of CHF,there are asynchronization.2D-STI and RT 3DE may paly important roles in the evaluation of function and synchronization of left atrial.The relevance ratio of the left atrial asynchronization are higher from the RT-3DE than 2D-STI.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TLR9 gene and the occurrence of condyloma acuminatum (CA). Methods Peripheral venous blood was obtained from 63 patients with CA and 23 normal human controls with informed consent. DNA was extracted from the blood samples and subjected to the amplification of TLR9 gene by PCR followed by sequence analysis. Results There were 4 SNPs, i.e., SNP1, SNP2, SNP3 and SNP4 at positions 1174, 1635, 1269 and 1724 of the TLR9 gene, respectively. Of these SNPs, SNP1 was located in intron 1, SNP2, SNP3 and SNP4 in exon 2. The registration number is rs352139 for SNP1, rs352140 for SNP2 in NCBI database. SNP3 and SNP4 were newly discovered positions. The frequency at SNP1 position was 0.690 and 0.609 for allele A in the patients and controls, respectively, 0.309 and 0.391 for allele G, respectively (both P > 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the patients and controls in the frequency of allele A or allele G at position SNP2 (0.302 vs. 0.698, 0.369 vs. 0.630, both P > 0.05). There were 4 haplotypes at the SNP1 and SNP2 positions, including AA, AG, GA and GG, with no significant difference in the frequency between the patients and controls (all P> 0.05). Conclusions There are 4 SNPs including SNP1, SNP2, SNP3 and SNP4 in the TLR9 gene in Guangdong Han population. SNP1 and SNP2 appear unrelated to the liability to CA.

Objective To explore the influence of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) on the expression of drug-resistance gene MDR1 and chemotherapeutic sensitivity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.Methods A HCC cell line SMMC-7721/AFP, which was stably transfected with AFP gene, was established.mRNA and protein expressions of AFP and MDR1 were detected by real-time PCR and Western Blot,respectively.The sensitivity of SMMC-7721/AFP and SMMC-7721/EGFP cells with or without MDR1 silencing by siRNA to doxorubicin was tested by MTT assay.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of MDR1 genes-coded protein Pgp in 60 cases of HCC tissues, and the relationship between Pgp expression and serum AFP levels was analyzed.Results AFP mRNA and protein could be detected in SMMC-7721/AFP cells, but not in control cells, indicating that the AFP stably transfected cell line was successfully established.MDR1 mRNA and protein levels were higher in SMMC-7721/AFP cells than those in SMMC-7721/EGFP cells.MDR1 mRNA level in SMMC-7721/AFP cells was (52.7 ± 1.5) times as high as that in SMMC-7721/EGFP cells (P ＜ 0.05).The resistance to doxorubicin was increased by (12.8 ± 1.1) times after AFP transfection (P ＜ 0.05).The chemosensitivity to doxorubicin was increased after the expression of MDR1 was knocked down by siRNA.The expression of Pgp in HCC tissues was positively correlated with the serum AFP levels.Conclusion AFP could induce drug-resistance to doxorubicin in HCC cells by increasing the expression of MDR1.