OBJECTIVETo observe root surfaces and analyze the mineral contents in cementum of patients with rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP).

METHODSTen teeth were selected from RPP patients, adult periodontitis (AP) patients and healthy (H) control subjects respectively, and prepared for scanning electron microscopy (JSM-35C). The energy-dispersive X-ray analysis was used to measure the mineral contents in cementum (Ca, P, Mg).

RESULTSThe root surfaces of RPP teeth were similar to that of AP teeth. Ca: 64.60% +/- 2.29% vs 63.54% +/- 2.97%, P > 0.05; P: 32.54% +/- 1.29% vs 32.97% +/- 2.40%, P > 0.05; Mg: 2.86% +/- 1.29% vs 3.48% +/- 1.02%, P > 0.05; Ca/P: 2.00 +/- 0.17 vs 1.95 +/- 0.25, P > 0.05. There were no differences in Ca, P, Mg contents and Ca/P ratio between RPP teeth and AP teeth.

CONCLUSIONThere may not be cementoplasia in a part of RPP teeth.

Adult ; Dental Cementum ; chemistry ; ultrastructure ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Periodontitis ; pathology ; Tooth Root ; chemistry ; ultrastructure

Purpose To compare pharmacokineics of puerarin and crude extract in rats.Methods Rats received 500 mg/kg puerarin and puerarin crude extract by oral administration respectively.Hydroxybenzoic acid was selected as internal standard and the plasma concentration of the puerarin and crude extract was analyzed by HPLC.The pharmacokinetics parameters were calculated with DAS2.0.Results The pharmacokinetics of puerarin and puerarin crude extract was both best fitted with two-compartment models in rats after oral administration,and the pharmacokinetics main parameters of the two formulations were different:the AUC_(0-t) and C_(max) of puerarin were much greater than those of puerarin crude extract,but T_(max),t_(1/(2z)),CL/F and V_z/F were much lesser than those of puerarin crude extract.Conclusion The complex components in pueraria crude extract can affect the pharmacokinetics of puerarin in rat in vivo.

Objective To explore the imaging features of liver tumors with real-time tissue elastography.Methods Eighty-five liver lesions in 67 cases were scanned with conventional ultrasonography and elastography using HI-Vision900 system and then assessed with grade scores.Results on ultrasound were compared with those on pathology.Results Majority of lesions with grade a-b on elastography were identified as benign on pathology, while most of masses with grade c-e on elastography were confirmed as malignant on pathology.The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 93.5%, 87.0% and 91.8% for elastography to detect malignant lesions,74.2% ,73.4% and 74.1% for conventional ultrasound.The Kappa value of two doctors on elastography in group Ⅰ (the depth of the lesion ≤10cm) was significantly higher than group Ⅱ (the depth of the lesion ＞10cm).Conclusions Real-time tissue elastography of liver tumors provides a new convenient,non-invasive diagnostic methods,contribute to identify the benign and malignant live tumors.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and prognosis of congenital pulmonary artery sling (PAS) in children. MethodsThe clinical data of 38 children diagnosed with PAS during June 2009 and February 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. ResultsIn 38 PAS children, 35 cases (89.47%) were hospitalized for varying degrees of respiratory manifestations with recurrent cough (89.47%) and wheezing (84.21%) being the most common. The remaining 3 cases were found abnormal in routine preoperative examination and the diagnosis was confirmed after further examination. All 38 children were performed computer tomography angiography (CTA). Thirty-seven cases were diagnosed of PAS and diagnostic rate was 97.37%. One case was suspected of pulmonary dysplasia and diagnosed of PAS after operation. Twenty-six children received surgical treatment, of whom 25 children had pulmonary artery reconstruction (LPA). Seven children died during/after operation and 18 survived. The remaining 12 children received non-surgical treatment, of whom 9 died and 3 survived.ConclusionCardiac uhrasonography may reveal PAS in the early stage, while CTA is the best method for conifrmed diagnosis. LPA reconstruction is an important means of relieving left pulmonary artery oppression.

Objective To compare the complete ablation rate of radiofrequency (RF) ablation and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of uterine ifbroids with different blood supply. Methods One hundred and ten patients with 146 uterine ifbroids in Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University from January 2009 to December were randomly divided into two groups and treated with HIFU or RF respectively. Each group had 55 patients. All patients were examined by color Doppler lfow imaging before the treatment. The blood supply of ifbroids were semi-quantitatively classiifed into three grades including G1, G2 and G3. The HIFU group had 15 patients with 20 ifbroids in which blood supply was G1, had 32 patients with 38 ifbroids in which blood supply was G2, and had 8 patients with 10 ifbroids in which blood supply was G3. The RF group had 14 patients with 18 ifbroids in which blood supply was G1, had 31 patients with 42 ifbroids in which blood supply was G2, and had 10 patients with 18 ifbroids in which blood supply was G3. The complete ablation rates of the two treatments were evaluated by contrast-enhanced ultrasound one week before and after treatments. Fibroids which had no contrast agent perfusion and smooth boundary were completely ablated. Statistical analyses were used to compare the complete ablation rates and postoperative complications rates of these two methods. Results When ifbroid′s blood supply was G1, the complete ablation rate was 80.0%(16/20) and 88.9%(16/18) in HIFU and RF group, respectively. The difference was not statistically signiifcant (χ2=0.563, P>0.05). When ifbroid′s blood supply was G2 and G3, the complete ablation rate in HIFU and RF group was 90.5%(38/42) vs 55.3%(21/38) and 72.2% (13/18) vs 20.0% (2/10), respectively. There was statistically difference between these two groups (χ2 =12.778, P < 0.05;χ2=7.049, P < 0.05, respectively). Postoperative complications included fever, abdominal pain, pelvic effusion and vaginal discharge and unilateral lower limb numbness. The incidence of complications was lower in HIFU group than that in RF group, which was 9.1%(5/55) and 27.3%(15/55) respectively, This difference was statistically signiifcant (χ2=6.111, P<0.05). Conclusions HIFU and RF are both effective in treating uterine ifbroids with few blood supply. However, RF can be more effective than HIFU in treating hypervascular ifbroids. Therefore, RF might be able to apply to majority of the ifbroids. As a non-invasive therapy, HIFU is more suitable for hypovascular ifbroids and could be the ifrst therapy in clinic.

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture at Hegu (LI 4) on central facial nerve paralysis after ischemic stroke, and explore dose-effect relationship among different stimulation intensities of acupuncture at Hegu (LI 4) as well as its optimal treatment plan.

METHODSAccording to different acupuncture stimulation intensities which were based on treatment time and needle insertion direction, fifty patients were randomly divided into a Hegu 1 group, a Hegu 2 group, a Hegu 3 group, a Hegu 4 group and a control group, ten cases in each one. Different stimulation intensities of acupuncture at Hegu (LI 4) combined with facial paralysis acupoints, including Yingxiang (LI 20), Dicang (ST 4), Jiache (ST 6) and Quanliao (SI 18), were applied in Hegu 1 to 4 groups; meanwhile acupuncture at stroke acupoints, including Neiguan (PC 6), Shuigou (GV 26) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and medication treatment were adopted. Except acupuncture at Hegu (LI 4), the treatment of the control group was identical as Hegu groups. The treatment duration lasted for 14 days. The House-Brackmann facial never grading systems (H-B), Toronto facial grading system (TFGS), degrees of facial never paralysis (DFNP), facial disability index (FDI) and clinical efficacy were compared among groups.

RESULTS(1) Compared before the treatment, H-B, TFGS, DFNP and physical function score in FDI were all improved significantly in the Hegu 1 to 4 groups (all P < 0.05), but social function score in FDI was not obviously improved (all P > 0.05); all the scores in the control group were not evidently changed (all P > 0.05). (2) Compared with the control group, differences of H-B before and after treatment in the Hegu 1 to 4 groups, differences of TFGS in the Hegu 2 group and differences of DFNP in the Hegu 1 and Hegu 2 group were significantly improved (all P < 0.05). The differences of any scale among Hegu 1 to 4 groups were not significant (all P > 0.05), in which the most evident change was found in Hegu 2 group. (3) The total effective rate was 90.0% (9/10), 100.0% (10/10), 90.0% (9/10) and 80.0% (8/10) in Hegu 1 to 4 groups, which were significantly higher than 60.0% (6/10) in the control group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture at Hegu (LI 4) has affirmative clinical efficacy on central facial nerve paralysis after ischemic stroke, in which oblique insertion along the opposite direction of meridian for 5 s of twirling manipulation has the best clinical effect.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Facial Paralysis ; etiology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; complications

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of melatonin (MT) on the abnormal reactivity of thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups randomly: (1) Vehicle group; (2) LPS group: LPS (4 mg/kg, i.p.); (3) LPS+MT group: MT (5 mg/ml, i.p.) was given 30 min before LPS and 60 min after LPS (4 mg/kg ,i.p); (4) MT group: received two doses of MT, 90 min after the first injection of MT another dose of MT was given. Six hours after LPS injection,the rats were killed and both thoracic aortic rings (TARs) and pulmonary artery rings (PARs)were prepared. The reactivity of TARs and PARs in the four subgroups was tested separately. The contraction response to phenylephrine (PE) and the endothelium-dependent relaxation response (EDRR) to ACh were observed with the isolated artery ring technique. Concentration-response curves were generated with ACh or PE (1 x 10(-8) - 1 x 10(-5) mol/L). Superoxide dismutes (SOD) activity and the content of malondialhyde (MDA) in artery tissues were detected. For TARs, LPS significantly reduced the contraction response to PE compared with the vehicle group (P<0.01) and the curve of cumulative dose responses to PE in the LPS group shifted downward. Although EDRR to ACh in the LPS group had the tendency to decrease but still showed no significant difference compared with the vehicle group (P>0.05). For PARs, EDRR to ACh was depressed significantly in the LPS group (P<0.01), while no effect on contraction response to PE in the LPS group was observed, compared with the vehicle group (P> 0.05). Compared with the LPS group, TARs in the LPS+MT group exhibited an increased contraction response to PE, but were still lower than that in the vehicle group. Similarly, EDRR to ACh of PARs in the LPS+MT group was improved significantly and there was no difference between the LPS+MT group and the vehicle group. The vascular reactivity was unaffected in MT group compared with the vehicle group in both TARs and PARs. SOD activity in the LPS +MT group increased significantly and the content of MDA decreased markedly compared with the LPS group. These results suggest that MT may improve the vascular reactivity in endotoxemia rats due to its antioxidant properties.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; physiopathology ; Endotoxemia ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Free Radical Scavengers ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Male ; Melatonin ; pharmacology ; Pulmonary Artery ; physiopathology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Vasoconstriction ; drug effects ; Vasodilation ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the blood flow characteristics of hepatitis B cirrhosis based on Couinaud's hepatic segments and to analyze the correlation between perfusion parameters of liver cirrhosis in the hepatic segments and between the different Child-Pugh classifications by using the pattern of whole liver perfusion detected by multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT).

METHODSWhole-liver perfusion enhanced CT imaging scan was performed for 51 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis (including 24 classified as Child-Pugh A, 19 as Child-Pugh B, and 8 as Child-Pugh C) and 20 patients without any liver abnormalities (who served as the control group).The perfusion parameters of Couinaud's segments were measured in order to compare the blood perfusion differences among the Couinaud's hepatic segments in liver cirrhosis. The blood flow characteristics were analyzed for each lobe and compared between groups, and the time to peak and peak of enhancement values of the aorta and portal veins and spleen were recorded and compared between groups.The F-test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe liver cirrhosis group showed higher time to peak for aorta and portal veins and spleen but lower peak of enhancement values than the control group. The hepatic arterial perfusion (HAP) was significantly higher in segment 3 than in segment 7 were (11.40+/- 5.72 vs.9.46+/-5.18 mL/min/100 mL; P less than 0.05). In addition, the differences of the portal venous perfusion (PVP) and total hepatic perfusion (THP) were significant between the liver lobes in various groups (P less than 0.05). The HAP and hepatic perfusion index (HPI) were not significantly different between the groups, but the HAP and HPI in every lobe were higher in the Child C subgroup than in either the Child A or Child B subgroups.

CONCLUSIONThe cirrhotic liver has different blood flow in the various Couinaud's segments. Whole-liver perfusion MSCT can reflect the hemodynamic changes of liver cirrhosis and Child-Pugh classification, and as such may be helpful for distinguishing the normal liver from the cirrhotic liver.

Hemodynamics ; Hepatic Artery ; Hepatitis B ; complications ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; diagnostic imaging ; etiology ; Liver Neoplasms ; Perfusion ; Perfusion Imaging ; Portal Vein ; Spleen ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

This study was aimed to investigate a novel MLAA-22 antigen derived from a U937 cDNA library by the SEREX approach and search for gene expression in various samples. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to forecast MLAA-22 information mined from databases and experimental datasets. CTL epitope was predictied and the specific antibody for MLAA-22 was elicited by using peptide-microspheres and adjuvants. Furthermore, SYBR Green real-time PCR and immunoblotting method were used to evaluate the specificity of gene expression. The results showed that the full length cDNA of MLAA-22 located on chromosome 17q11.2 was 2.0 kb in size, and a putative protein was approximately 72.4 kD for 631 amino acids. The MLAA-22 encoded a cancer/testis antigen in human, which is nonsecreting type, plasmosin, labile protein, hydrophilia, thermostability, and without signal peptide. Many motifs might related to growth, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Antigenic peptides was synthesized as the antigen with Fmoc/PyBOP method. Rabbits were immunized by injecting the synthetic peptide-KLH to obtain antibody and the immune sera analyzed with ELISA were 1:8000. SYBR Green real-time PCR and Western blot showed that MLAA-22 presented with a higher number of copy messages in M(5), lower in CML, but not in gastric carcinoma, renal carcinoma, LNCaP cell lines and normal adult tissues, etc. It is concluded that mlaa-22 is a novel acute monocytic leukemia-associated antigen gene and be extended to further discovery.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 ; genetics ; Computational Biology ; Epitopes ; immunology ; Humans ; Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute ; genetics ; immunology ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; immunology

To screen differentially expressed genes involved in osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) at defined stages, subtractive cDNA library was established by means of suppression subtractive hybridization. The BMSCs cultured for 12 and 21 d were used as driver and tester, respectively. A subtract library was successfully constructed and five positive clones were selected from the library. Sequencing analysis and homology comparison showed that the five clones differentially expressed in BMSCs cultured for 21 d were at least 90% homologous with the known genes in human GenBank. It was interestingly found that the osteogenic BMSCs cultured for 21 d differentially expressed decorin and Bax inhibitor 1. RT-PCR was performed to confirm the differentially expressed genes. The results showed that the expression of Bax inhibitor 1 was significantly higher in the cells of 21-day than that of 12-day, while the expression of decorin was only detected in the cells of 21-day.
Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; genetics ; Cells, Cultured ; Decorin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Gene Library ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Osteoblasts ; cytology