BACKGROUND:Related medical researches have shown that the incidence of simple diastolic heart failure is higher than that of systolic heart failure. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the application value of echocardiography in the monitoring of rabbit models of simple diastolic heart failure. METHODS: Sixty healthy male New Zealand rabbits were included in this study. The pressure overload hypertrophy rabbit model was established by the method of abdominal aortic coarctation. Rabbits were randomly divided into surgical group and sham group. Al rabbits were subjected to the echocardiography and left heart catheterization, the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and relaxation time constants were measured to judge the presence of simple diastolic heart failure. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the sham group, the aortic annular diameter was significantly reduced before surgery and at 1, 4, 8 weeks after surgery in the model group (P < 0.05); the peak of retrograde velocity at atrial contraction was decreased in the model rabbits at 8 weeks after surgery (P< 0.05); the left ventricle dry weight, ratio of left ventricle dry weight/body weight, left ventricular posterior wal thickness, systolic pressure, interventricular septum, left ventricle systolic pressure, and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure were obviously increased at 8 weeks after surgery (P < 0.05). Experimental findings indicate that rabbit models of simple diastolic heart failure are successfuly established, and echocardiography can effectively monitor the left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions in cardiac hypertrophy.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of enhancing therapeutic effects on goats' liver in vivo treated by high intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU)combined with microbubble contrast agent SonoVue.Methods Fifteen Nanjiang goats were adopted,own control was adopted in this study.One group received purely HIFU therapy(control group),another one was radiated with HIFU combined with SonoVue contrast agent(SonoVue group).The HIFU irradiating mode was dotted with 30 mm focal length and 150 W,250 W,350 W acoustic power respectively,and the exposure time was 15 s.Animals were sacrificed and dissected 24h later,and the sizes of necrotic region were measured.Specimens were collected for histological inspection.Results Under the same parameter of exposure,the maximum length,width,depth,and the mean volume of the tissue coagulated by HIFU in the SonoVue group were all significantly greater than those in control group(P＜0.05),the change of volume coagulated tissue was much more significant with the increase of the acoustic power.The energy effciency factor (EEF)of SonoVue group was significantly smaller than that of control group(P＜0.05).The demarcation line between the necrosis and normal region was clear and the necrosis was complete,no living cell.The boundary exist amount of bubbles.Conclusions The therapy of HIFU combined with microbubble eontrast agent can substantially enhance the biological effects of the treatment and improve the efficiency of HIFU therapy on goats liver.

OBJECTIVE To explore downstream regulatory pathway of microRNA-21 (miR-21) in colon cancer cells (RKO) through detecting miR-21 and its target PDCD4, and the influence of miR-21 regulation on the sensitivity of RKO cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). METHODS 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine the effect of 5-FU on the viability of RKO cells with knockout of miR-21 or high expression of PDCD4. Real-time was used to determine the expression of PDCD4, ABCC5 and CD44 in RKO cell after knockout of miR-21. RESULTS MTT assay reveals that the IC50 of 5-FU in RKO-WT cells (52.82 ± 0.06 umol/L) was about 67% higher than in miR-21 knockout cells (32.23 ± 0.05 umol/L) (P < 0.05), and the apoptosis ratio elevated after knockout of miR-21. High expression of PDCD4, a target gene of miR-21, can negatively regulate the expression of ABC transporter ABCC5 and the stem cell marker CD44. CONCLUSION MiR-21 can mediate the drug resistance to 5-FU by inhibiting its target PDCD4, which can regulate the expression of ABCC5 and CD44 genes.
ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Sub-Family G, Member 5 ; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ; genetics ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; physiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Colonic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Fluorouracil ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Hyaluronan Receptors ; genetics ; Lipoproteins ; genetics ; MicroRNAs ; physiology ; RNA-Binding Proteins ; physiology

Objective To assess the application of Stroop color-word test ( SCWT) for screening of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods Sixty patients aged 18-65 years with liver cirrhosis and 60 age, education level-matched healthy subjects were examined with SCWT.The SCWT indexes were compared between two groups .MHE was identified when patients had abnormal number connection test-A (NCT-A) and/or digit symbol test (DST).Results Time consuming and errors of card 2, 3, 4 and Stroop interference effects ( SIE) reflecting word-interference and color-interference in SCWT were increased significantly in liver cirrhotic patients [(17.28 ±0.69)sec,(12.96 ± 1.10)sec, (30.30 ±1.40)sec, (5.00 ±0.90)sec, (13.74 ±1.22)sec, (0.36 ±0.10) times, (0.50 ± 0.11) times, (0.50 ±0.11) times, (5.00 ±0.90) times,(1.98 ±0.23) times, respectively] compared to those in healthy subjects [(10.18 ±0.57) sec,(7.68 ±0.39)sec,(15.68 ±0.33)sec,(1.94 ±0.37) sec, (6.56 ±0.70)sec, (0.02 ±0.02) times,(0.10 ±0.04)times,(0.10 ±0.04)times,(0.04 ±0.02) times,(0.20 ±0.08) times, respectively; t =12.95, 6.98, 8.19, 7.02, 11.91, 10.09, 8.97,8.15, 17.94,11.37,all P=0.00];while there were no significant differences in time consuming and errors of card 1 between liver cirrhotic patients [ ( 7.10 ±0.40 ) sec and ( 0.04 ±0.03 ) times ] and healthy subjects [(6.72 ±0.36)sec and (0.02 ±0.02) times; t=1.89, 1.91, both P=0.06].The sensitivity of word SIE, color SIE and word SIE +color SIE of SCWT for primary screening of MHE was 0.83(50/60), 0.88 (53/60) and 0.98(59/60) respectively, whereas the specificity was 0.87(52/60), 0.80(48/60) and 0.83(50/60) respectively.ConclusionThe SCWT may serve as a convenient , effective and reliable tool for primary screening MHE.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of hysteroscopy in helping identify the etiology of intrauterine fluid collection in postmenopausal women.Methods One hundred and thirtyfour postmenopausal women with intrauterine fluid collection,detected via transvaginal sonography,were admitted in the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Beijing ChaoYang Hospital from May 2014 to October 2016.All clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.All patients underwent hysteroscopy and biopsy of the endometrium.The results of hysteroscopy were analyzed against biopsy results.Results Hysteroscopy revealed that 116 of the 134 cases had uterine fluid(86.6％).Based on hysteroscopy results,44 (37.9 ％) had endometritis,10 (8.6 ％) had atrophic endometritis,5 (4.3 ％) had endometrial carcinoma,and 7(6.0 ％)had endometrial polyps,but the case numbers and rates for these conditions from microscopic examination were39 (33.6％),15 (12.9％),6 (5.2％),and 7 (6.0 ％),respectively.When microscopic examination was used as the gold standard,the sensitivities and specificities of hysteroscopy in the diagnosis of endometritis,atrophic endometritis,endometrial cancer and endometrial polyps were 82.0 ％ and 85.7 ％,66.7 ％ and 97.1％,80.0 ％ and 98.2 ％,and 100.0％ and 97.3％,respectively.The diagnostic coincidence rates were 84.6％,93.2％,94.4％ and 97.4％,respectively.Conclusions Postmenopausal women with intrauterine fluid collection shown on transvaginal sonography should receive hysteroscopy for early detection of endometrial lesions.

Pancreatic duct stone is a sequel of chronic pancreatitis and may be found in the main ducts,side branches or parenchyma.These stones obstruct the pancreatic ducts and produce ductal hypertension,which leads to pain,the cardinal feature of CP.Surgical operation has been the preferred treatment of pancreatic duct stones in many domestic and external pancreatic medical centers.Lithotomy by longitudinal pancreatic duct incision and Roux-en-Y anastomosis of pancreatic duct to jejunum is the main and effective surgical procedure,while micro-surgery was also rational for the treatment of pancreatic duct stones.However,further studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up duration are needed to improve the surgical technique and verify our initial results.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the common malignant tumors that impair human health. With the development of epigenetics, the researchers found that enhancer of Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is highly expressed in lung cancer tissue and its expression is closely related to the prognosis. EZH2 inhibitor can also enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to a variety of anti-tumor drugs. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of combination of EZH2 inhibitor and gefitinib on the proliferation, apoptosis and migration of Gefitinib-resistant lung cancer cells. METHODS: PC9 and PC9/AB2 cells were used for this study. CCK-8 and EdU experiment were used to detect combined treatment on cell viability and proliferation activity; Wound healing assay and Transwell chamber experiment were used to determine the effects of combination therapy on cell migration ability; Flow cytometry was used to detect the effect of combination therapy on EZH2 and apoptosis; Western blot was used to observe the effect of combination therapy on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway-related proteins expression. RESULTS: In gefitinib-resistant cell line PC9/AB2, gefitinib combined with EZH2 inhibitor GSK343 can significantly inhibit cell viability, reduce cell migration and increase cell apoptosis. At the same time, combination therapy can significantly inhibit the expression of EZH2 and phosphorylation EGFR proteins. CONCLUSIONS The combination of EZH2 inhibitor GSK343 and gefitinib sensitize PC9/AB2 cell to gefitinib response. This study also suggests that synergistic therapy plays a role in the reversal of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKIs) resistance in lung cancer.
Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein ; antagonists & inhibitors ; ErbB Receptors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Gefitinib ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; pharmacology

Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Logistic Models ; Phenotype ; Risk Factors