Objective To build a bio-material artificial chest wall and discuss its feasibility and efficiency in reconstruction of huge bony defects of chest wall in mongrels in comparison with traditional "sandwich" procedure. Methods (1) The procine osteal and membranate tissues were treated with epoxy cross linking method and their surfaces were modified with amino acid solutions at various concen-trations and at different temperatures to obtain an artificial pleura and artificial ribs for construction of the artificial chest wall. (2) The huge bony defects (5 cm×5 cm) were created in chest wall of five Chinese mongrels. (3) Three mongrels in test group was repaired with artificial chest wall, while two mongrels in control group was repaired with traditional "sandwich" complex. A follow-up was carried out to observe reconstruction effect and rejection in both groups at 3,6 and 12 months after implantation. Results There was no death found during the perioperative period and at 12 month follow-up in test group, with abnormal contour of chest wall and good thoracic activity after reconstruction. In the meantime, there found no rejection, collapse in the repaired region or paradoxical respiration. The postoperative X-rays at 3,6,12 and 24 months showed a good integrity of the thorax, with no collapse, deformation or abnormal movement. Meanwhile, the follow-up of control group showed a normal contour but slight collapse, with no paradoxical respiration. The Chest X-ray examination revealed that the bone cement in" sandwich" complex was X ray opaque and showed mild abnormal movement with breathing. The common blood test and immune items showed no abnormal. Conclusions The bio-material artificial chest wall is a safe and effective reconstruction technique for bony defects of thoracic wall in mongrels, with no acute or chronic rejection.

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of bronchogenic cyst in the abdomen.Methods Clinical data of 7 cases with abdominal bronchogenic cyst in the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from October 2001 to February 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.Results Of the 7 patients,5 were male and 2 were female aging from 36 to 50 years with a median age of 37 years.Two cases were complaining for upper abdominal pain,5 cases were asymptomatic.Ultrasonography revealed hypoechoic or anechoic mass.Color doppler flow imaging showed no blood flow.Contrast-enhanced CT scans showed no obvious enhancement in 6 out of 7 cases,all patients underwent cystectomy successfully.Cysts were of unilocular in 6 cases and multilocular in one.Bronchogenic cysts were diagnosed by pathology in all 7 cases.Six patients were followed up from 1 month to 6 years with no recurrence.Conclusions Abdominal bronchogenic cyst is benign and postoperative prognosis is very good.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although prasugrel allows for rapid and potent platelet inhibition, the efficacy and safety of lower doses of prasugrel for patients of East Asian ethnicity has not yet been investigated. We compared the effect of a lower loading dose (LD) of prasugrel with conventional LDs of clopidogrel and prasugrel in Korean patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-three Korean patients undergoing coronary angiography were enrolled in the study. Participants were randomly administered LDs of clopidogrel 600 mg, prasugrel 30 mg or prasugrel 60 mg prior to coronary angiography. Platelet reactivity was assessed at baseline and at the time of peak platelet inhibition using light transmission aggregometry (LTA), the VerifyNow assay, and multiple electrode aggregometry. RESULTS: Although baseline platelet reactivity between the groups showed no significant differences, at the time of peak platelet inhibition, the prasugrel 30 mg (18.9+/-10.0%) and 60 mg groups (13.8+/-10.8%) showed significantly more potent platelet inhibition than the clopidogrel 600 mg group (52.9+/-15.8%; p<0.001) by LTA. However, there were no significant differences between the prasugrel 30 mg and 60 mg groups (p=0.549). CONCLUSION: The loading effect of prasugrel 30 mg was more potent than clopidogrel 600 mg and was not significantly different from prasugrel 60 mg.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Platelets ; Coronary Angiography* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Electrodes ; Humans ; Platelet Function Tests ; Population Characteristics ; Prasugrel Hydrochloride

OBJECTIVETo assess the therapeutic effect of losartan on type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) with gas chromatography (GC)-based metabonomics.

METHODSDM2 patients were dosed with losartan (100 mg/d) and urines were collected at week 8 and 12. The biochemical criteria (blood pressure, urinary albumen, urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and blood creatinine) were analyzed. Urine samples were derivatived and analyzed by GC. Multivariate metabonomics analysis was performed after peak alignment.

RESULTSAfter 8-12 weeks, losartan showed little curative effect and no remarked changes of biochemical criteria were observed. However, metabonomics analysis revealed that some biomarkers such as glucitol and inositol changed.

CONCLUSIONGC-based metabonomics analysis enables the rapid identification of metabolic differences and provides information concerning therapeutic effect of losartan.

Albuminuria ; urine ; Biomarkers ; blood ; chemistry ; urine ; Chromatography, Gas ; methods ; Creatinine ; blood ; Deoxyguanosine ; analogs & derivatives ; urine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; drug therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Drug Monitoring ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Inositol ; chemistry ; Losartan ; therapeutic use ; Metabolome ; drug effects ; Sorbitol ; chemistry

The changes of microRNA expression in rat hippocampus after traumatic brain injury (TBI) were explored. Adult SD rats received a single controlled cortical impact injury, and the ipsilateral hippocampus was harvested for the subsequent microarray assay at three time points after TBI: 1st day, 3rd day and 5th day, respectively. We characterized the microRNA expression profile in rat hippocampus using the microRNA microarray analysis, and further verified microarray results of miR-142-3p and miR-221 using quantitative real-time PCR. Totally 205 microRNAs were identified and up-/down-regulated more than 1.5 times. There were significant changes in 17 microRNAs at all three time points post-TBI. The quantitative real-time PCR results of miR-142-3p and miR-221 indicated good consistency with the results of the microarray method. MicroRNAs altered at different time points post-TBI. MiR-142-3p and miR-221 may be used as potentially biological markers for TBI assessment in forensic practice.

BACKGROUND: An association has been reported between CYP2C19 polymorphism and the altered antiplatelet activity of clopidogrel. We investigated this association using the newly introduced platelet function analyzer (PFA)-200 (INNOVANCE PFA-200 System; Siemens Healthcare, Germany) P2Y test. METHODS: Polymorphisms of CYP2C19*2, *3, *17 and the degree of inhibition of platelet function were determined in 83 patients. Three different platelet function tests were used to evaluate the degree of platelet inhibition and to check the association with genotype. RESULTS: The post-procedure PFA-200 values of extensive metabolizers (EM) patients (285.3+/-38.8) were higher than those of intermediate metabolizers (IM) and poor metabolizers (PM) patients (227.7+/-98.3 and 133.7+/-99.2, respectively; P=0.024). Light transmittance aggregometry (LTA) and the VerifyNow system showed that the post-procedure values for EM patients were lower than those of IM and PM patients (LTA: 24.4+/-15.7, 34.1+/-17.6, and 42.2+/-16.9, respectively, P<0.001; VerifyNow: 133.2+/-60.5, 171.5+/-42.6, and 218.7+/-59.3, respectively, P<0.001). The high residual platelet reactivity (HPR) rates were significantly different among the EM, IM, and PM groups using PFA-200 (PM:IM:EM=82.4:40.6:11.8, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately, 59.0% of Korean patients with cardiovascular disease receiving clopidogrel had CYP2C19 loss-of-function genotypes classified as IM or PM, and the frequency was similar to the data from Asian people. The PFA-200, LTA, and VerifyNow platelet function tests revealed evidence of a significant association between the efficacy of clopidogrel and CYP2C19 genotypes.
Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases/blood/*drug therapy ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C19/*genetics/metabolism ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Platelet Function Tests/instrumentation ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Ticlopidine/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the Chinese Han population.

METHODOne hundred and thirty-six Chinese Han people, including 54 T1DM patients and 82 unrelated healthy subjects as control were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism for three restriction sites in the VDR gene, which were ApaI, TaqI, and BamI.

RESULTSThe frequency of B allele of BsmI site in VDR gene was significantly higher in T1DM patients than in healthy subjects (P = 0.033) while no difference was found between the two groups in the distribution of ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms.

CONCLUSIONThe BsmI polymorphism of VDR gene may be associated with the susceptibility to T1DM in the Chinese Han population of Beijing.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; China ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo recognize the main risk factors and to provide evidence for prevention and intervention of type 2 diabetes chronic complications.

METHODSA hospital-based frequency matched case-control study including 200 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) chronic complications cases and 200 controls without T2DM chronic complications was carried out in Baoding city. Relationships between factors and T2DM chronic complications were analyzed by non-conditional uni-variate and multivariate logistic regression methodologies.

RESULTSHigh C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 5.568), dyslipidemia (OR = 4.400), high blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (OR = 4.399), high low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (OR = 3.594), time of hospitalization (OR = 2.612), grease food intake before developing DM (OR = 2.300), high HbA1c% (OR = 1.747), lack of exercise after the development of DM (OR = 1.672), duration of DM (OR = 1.509), mental stress (OR = 1.427), high-quality sleep (OR = 0.606), well control of blood glucose (OR = 0.517), well control of blood fat (OR = 0.299), insulin injections (OR = 0.155) etc. were all significantly associated with T2DM chronic complications.

CONCLUSIONThe main risk factors of T2DM chronic complications seemed to be related to high CRP, dyslipidemia, high BUN and high LDL-C. The main protective factors were insulin injections, well control of blood fat and blood glucose, good-quality of sleep, while the unique risk factors of cardiovascular disease seemed to be high LDL-C and mental stress. The unique risk factors of neuropathy were lack of exercise after developing DM and the amount of sweet food intake. The duration of DM appeared to be the common risk factor and the common protective factor on those three complications was insulin injection.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Complications ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of biting pencils among pupils living in Harbin, Guangzhou, and Beijing and to compare the differences among these cases. Methods: Stratified sampling method was used to select four elementary schools in Harbin and Guangzhou from April 2015 to April 2016. Firstly, Simple random sampling method was used in every grade (grade 1-grade 5) to select 3 or 4 classes (71 classes in total).After the sample selection, questionnaire surveys were conducted among pupils and their guardians (anyone of their guardians) who belonged to these classes. Secondly, the study extracted part of these pupils to conduct a field survey. Every school was classified by grade, and every grade adopted the method of random sampling to select one classes (20 classes in total). Meanwhile, the study randomly selected pupils from 10 classes in 2 elementary schools in Beijing. All together, 1 627 pupils participated in the field survey. The questionnaire included general information about the students and their guardians, the situation of biting pencils, the awareness of the harm of biting pencils, etc.; the field survey considered if participates' pencils have tooth marks and the severity of the marks, etc. χ² was applied to test and compare the differences among pupils of different genders and different cities. The comparison focused on the proportion of students who bited pencils, the proportion of pencils with tooth marks and the proportion of students and guardians already awared of the harm of biting pencils, etc. Results: The number of the valid questionnaires in Harbin and Guangzhou were 1 842, and 1 210, respectively. The occurrence rate of pupils biting pencils in Harbin (18.0% (333/1 842)) was higher than that in Guangzhou (11.3% (137/1 210)) (χ²=29.16, P=0.001). Specifically, in Harbin, the rate of boys biting pencils was 21.9% (212/965), which was higher than girls (13.8% (121/877)) (χ²=27.04, P=0.001). Similarly, in Guangzhou, the rate of boys biting pencils was 14.5% (92/632), which was also higher than girls (7.7% (45/578)) (χ²=15.34, P=0.001). The awareness rate of the harm of biting pencils among students from these two cities were 88.5% (1 611/1 819), and 90.8% (1 098/1 208), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant as well (χ²=4.39, P= 0.020). Compared with these data, the awareness rate of the harm of biting pencils among guardians from these two cities were 74.7% (1 339/1 791), and 79.4% (832/1 047), respectively as well as the statistically significant difference appeared (χ²=9.83, P=0.007). The result of field survey showed the rate of tooth-marked pencils in Harbin, Guangzhou and Beijing was 30.5% (187/613), 14.8% (79/534), and 28.3% (136/480), respectively. The difference was also statistically significant (χ²=42.68, P=0.001). The degree of tooth marks was mainly mild, while the percentage of mild degree in Guangzhou (54.4%(43/79)) and Beijing (41.2% (56/136)) was apparently higher than that of Harbin (39.0% (73/187)). The difference was not statistically significant (χ²=7.01, P=0.136). Conclusion The behavior of biting pencils existed universally among pupils in Harbin, Guangzhou, and Beijing , which the situation of pupils biting pencils in Harbin and Beijing was more serious than that in Guangzhou. Pupils, parents and teachers should pay attention to such a behavior.

Purpose: This study investigated the value of synchronous tele-ultrasonography (TUS) for naive operators in thyroid ultrasonography (US) examinations. Methods: Ninety-seven patients were included in this prospective, parallel-controlled trial. Thyroid scanning and diagnosis were completed by resident A independently, resident B with guidance from a US expert through synchronous TUS, and an on-site US expert. The on-site expert’s findings constituted the reference standard. Two other off-site US experts analyzed all data in a blind manner. Inter-operator consistency between the two residents and the on-site US expert for thyroid size measurements, nodule measurements, nodule features, American College of Radiology (ACR) Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) categories, and image quality was compared. Two questionnaires were completed to evaluate the clinical benefit. Results: Resident B detected more nodules consistent with the on-site expert than resident A did (89.4% vs. 56.5%, P<0.001). Resident B achieved excellent consistency with the on-site expert in terms of ACR TI-RADS categories, nodule composition, shape, echogenic foci, and vascularity (all intra-class correlation coefficients [ICCs] >0.75), while resident A achieved lower consistency in ACR TI-RADS categories, composition, echogenicity, margin, echogenic foci, and vascularity (all ICCs 0.40-0.75). Residents A and B had excellent consistency in target nodule measurements (all ICCs >0.75). Resident B achieved better performance than resident A for gray values, time gain compensation, depth, color Doppler adjustment, and the visibility of key information (all P<0.05). Furthermore, 61.9% (60/97) of patients accepted synchronous TUS, and 59.8% (58/97) patients were willing to pay for it. Conclusion Synchronous TUS can help inexperienced residents achieve comparable thyroid diagnostic capability to a US expert.