Development of an ultrasonic hyperthermia instrument's software based on ARM32 microprocessor is here introduced. The system integrates the embedded SOC system, memory system, PWM system, A/D system, JTAG debug system, UART communication system, I/O system and GUI system (include LCD, keyboard) in one PCB board. It effectively completes the control and constance of temperature through the improved PID algorithm, and the instrument miniaturization. Experiments have proved that the system accords with the design requirements.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; instrumentation ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Software Design ; Temperature ; Ultrasonics

Objective To evaluate the combination use of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), portal vein embolization (PVE) and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in treating portal vein tumor thrombus(PVTT). Methods A total of 85 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma complicated by PVTT, who were encountered during the period from Jan. 2011 to Feb. 2012 at authors’ hospital, were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into the study group (n=47) and the control group (n=38). TACE, PVE and HIFU were performed in the patients of the study group, while only TACE and PVE were carried out in the patients of the control group. The therapeutic process was as follows: PVE was carried out 2 weeks after TACE was performed, and for the patients of the study group additional HIFU was conducted about 10 days after PVE procedure. Results The short-term effective rate in the study group and the control group was 89.4% (42/47) and 39.5% (15/38) respectively, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P< 0.05). The 6-month, one-year, and two-year survival rate in the study group were 87.2%(41/47), 66.0%(31/47) and 27.7%(13/47) respectively; the median survival time was 15.4 months. In the control group, the 6-month, one-year, and two-year survival rate were 55.3% (21/38), 39.5% (15/38) and 10.5%(4/38) respectively;the median survival time was 10.3 months. The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion For the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma associated with portal vein tumor thrombus, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, portal vein embolization together with high intensity focused ultrasound is an safe and effective therapy as it can significantly improve the therapeutic effect and prolong the survival time.

Objective To analyze the ophthalmologic characteristics and examinations which caused by vertebral-basilar insuffi- ciency.Design Retrospective case series.Participants 469 eases of vertebral-basilar insufficiency.Methods Retrospective analysis of 469 cases of vertebral-basilar insufficiency patients with ophthalmologic signs' features,incidence,the main cause,color Doppler flow imaging and(or)digital subtraction angiography clearly stenosis location,the degree of stenosis from July 1st 2005 to July ist 2007 in PLA General Hospital.Main Outcome Measures Ophthalmologic signs' related reasons and supplementary examination.Results 96 cases were with the corresponding eye symptoms(20.4%).Vision decreased in 83 cases,diplopia was in 56 cases,ipsilateral hemiopia quadrant blind in 12 cases and depending on deformation in 10 cases,fundus arteriosclerosis in 72 cases,nystagmus in 39 cases,the eye movement disorder in 16 cases.Among 96 patients with associated ocular symptoms,75 patients with color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI)showed unilateral vertebral artery abnormal in 66 cases(88%),among those blood flow velocity decreased in 26 cases,17 cases with vascular plaque stenosis,thinning in 20 cases,3 cases with complete occlusion;different bilateral vertebral artery abnormal in 9 cases(12%),among those velocity dropped in 4 cases,two cases with vascular plaque stenosis and thinning in 3 cases.Forty-five cases with the digital subtraction angiography(DSA),left vertebral artery was abnormal in 24 cases,18 cases with stenosis,occlusion in 5 cas- es,abnormal bending in 1 case.Right vertebral artery was abnormal in 16 cases,13 cases with stenosis,occlusion in 3 cases.Bilateral vertebral artery stenosis was found in 2 cases;vertebral artery stenosis was in 3 patients.Conclusion Vertebral-basilar insufficiency may cause eye-related symptoms,therefore,vision acuity decrease,fundus 'arteriosclerosis,diplopia and nystagmus symptoms are more likely for patients with vertebral-patients with basilar artery insufficiency performance of the eye.(Ophthalmol CHN,2002,16:406-410)

The shape and structure of granules are controlled by the granulation process, which is one of the main factors to determine the nature of the solid dosage forms. In this article, three kinds of granules of a traditional Chinese medicine for improving appetite and promoting digestion, namely, Jianwei Granules, were prepared using granulation technologies as pendular granulation, high speed stirring granulation, and fluidized bed granulation and the powder properties of them were investigated. Meanwhile, synchrotron radiation X-ray computed micro tomography (SR-µCT) was applied to quantitatively determine the irregular internal structures of the granules. The three-dimensional (3D) structure models were obtained by 3D reconstruction, which were more accurately to characterize the three-dimensional structures of the particles through the quantitative data. The models were also used to quantitatively compare the structural differences of granules prepared by different granulation processes with the same formula, so as to characterize how the production process plays a role in the pharmaceutical behaviors of the granules. To focus on the irregularity of the particle structure, the box counting method was used to calculate the fractal dimensions of the granules. The results showed that the fractal dimension is more sensitive to reflect the minor differences in the structure features than the conventional parameters, and capable to specifically distinct granules in structure. It is proved that the fractal dimension could quantitatively characterize the structural information of irregular granules. It is the first time suggested by our research that the fractal dimension difference (Df,c) between two fractal dimension parameters, namely, the volume matrix fractal dimension and the surface matrix fractal dimension, is a new index to characterize granules with irregular structures and evaluate the effects of production processes on the structures of granules as a new indicator for the granulating process control and optimization.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Fractals ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Powders ; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship ; Synchrotrons ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To observe the effect of fructose(Fru),glucose (Glc)and exogenous nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside(SNP)on the germination of Psychotria rubra(Lour.)Poir. seeds under drought stress,and to explore the optimal concentration for clearing the drought stress. Methods We established the drought stress model of Psychotria rubra(Lour.)Poir. seeds with 15％(volume fraction)PEG6000 and 0.4 mol/L D-mannitol, measured the germination rate and germination index of Psychotria rubra (Lour.)Poir. seeds under drought stress combined treatment with different concentrations of Fru (0,300,500 μmol/L),Glc (0,300,500 μmol/L) and SNP(0 , 100 , 200 μmol/L). Results The germination process of Psychotria rubra(Lour .) Poir . seeds was significantly suppressed by drought stress. Fru,Glc and SNP could significantly promote the germination of Psychotria rubra (Lour.) Poir. seeds under drought stress. The optimal condition for clearing drought stress induced by 15％ PEG6000 was Fru 300 μmol/L, Glc 500 μmol/Land SNP 200 μmol/L, and the germination rate was 95％ under the optimal condition . The optimal condition for clearing drought stress induced by D-Mannitol was Fru 500 μmol/L, Glc 500 μmol/L and SNP 100 μmol/L, and the germination rate arrived to100％. Conclusion Fru,Glc and SNP can significantly alleviate the negative impact induced by drought stress for the Psychotria rubra(Lour.)Poir. seed germination,improve the drought-resistant ability of the seeds.

Mandarin vole (Lasiopodomys mandarinus) spends almost all of its life underground and must have evolved remarkable adaptations to cope with the subterranean hypoxic stress. The aim of present study is to explore the adaptation mechanism through the comparison of hemogram changes under chronic intermittent hypoxia in Mandarin vole and Kunming (KM) mouse (Mus musculus). Mandarin vole and KM mouse were treated with chronic intermittent hypoxia (10.0% oxygen), which was maintained by an oxygen cabin, for 4 h per day during four weeks. Then blood samples from the animals with and without hypoxia treatment were analyzed by a hematology analyzer. The results showed that under normoxic condition mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), white blood cell count (WBC) and platelet (PLT) in Mandarin vole were significantly lower than those in KM mouse. On the contrast, red blood cell count (RBC) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in Mandarin vole were higher than that in KM mouse. After four-week chronic intermittent hypoxia treatment, the hemogram changes were as following. MCV and HCT were elevated in Mandarin vole, not affected in KM mouse. Both hemoglobin (HGB) content and MCH in KM mouse increased, while only MCH increased in Mandarin vole. No obvious changes of WBC and PLT were found in two species. These results suggest that the adaptive mechanism of blood system in Mandarin vole responding to hypoxic conditions is different from that of KM mouse. As a subterranean vole, the Mandarin vole has a better tolerance to hypoxia.
Adaptation, Physiological ; physiology ; Animals ; Arvicolinae ; blood ; Chronic Disease ; Erythrocytes ; Hemoglobins ; Hypoxia ; blood ; Mice ; blood ; Species Specificity

The proposed registration algorithm based on wavelet transform is a multi-resolution block matching one, which exploits the hierarchical self-similarity of Digital Subtraction Angiography images. This method befittingly trades off between the estimation precision and computational complexity, because the registration precision is from coarse to fine, which reduces the searching complexity of motion vector. This technique has been proved that the convergence speed is exponential. The proposed method takes full advantage of the precise location both temporally and frequently which characterizes the wavelet transform. Both the matching speed and consistency are boosted without the loss of matching performance.
Algorithms ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; methods ; Artifacts ; Artificial Intelligence ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; Image Enhancement ; methods ; Motion ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of DNA degradation in cells of rats and its relationship with the postmortem interval. METHOD: 8 parameters of cell nuclear (including the tail length, the head radius, the percentage of head DNA, the percentage of tail DNA, the tail moment, the olive moment, the head area and the tail area) were chosen to study their changes in the procedure of DNA degradation in myocardium cells in 111 rats at different postmortem interval from 0 to 72 h by using single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) technology and fluorescent microscope combined with auto-analysis-image system method. RESULTS: An evident comet tailing was observed in DNA of myocardium cells after electrophoresis, and their changes in all these 8 parameters of cell nuclear were greatly associated with the extension of postmortem interval, which indicate the degradation rate and degree of DNA in the nuclear has a close relationship with postmortem interval in the periods from 0 to 72 h in rats and significant difference were found with those groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION The equations, which were concluded from our study, indicate the close relationship of degradation rate and degree of DNA in the nuclear with postmortem interval from 0 to 72 h, and provide an objective and exact new way to estimate the postmortem interval.
Animals ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism* ; Comet Assay/methods* ; DNA/metabolism* ; Female ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Male ; Mice ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Postmortem Changes ; Rats ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of phenyl-hexyl isothiocyanate (PHI) on acetylation and methylation of histone in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line Molt4.

METHODSThe inhibition of cell proliferation was observed by MTT method and clone suppression test. Apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were measured by flow cytometry. The alterations in histone acetyltransferase and acetylation and methylation of histones were detected by Western blot.

RESULTSPHI could up-regulate the expression of acetyltransferase (P300/CBP), markedly induced the accumulation of acetylated histone H3, H4 and methylated histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4), and inhibited methylation on lysine 9 of H3 (H3K9). The epigenetic regulation resulted in cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and induction of apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONSPHI can modulate both histone methylation and acetylation. It may serve as a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and might be a potential novel anti-leukemia agent.

Acetylation ; drug effects ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Histone Deacetylases ; metabolism ; Histones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Isothiocyanates ; pharmacology ; Methylation ; drug effects

ObjectiveTo establish the methodology for identification of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium and to identify the distribution of Mycobacterium species in hospitalized patients with tuberculosis in Heilongjiang province.It would provide the basis for accurate diagnosis of infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) as well as for effective therapy.Methods Three hundred and thirty Mycobacterium isolates from 330 tuberculosis patients hospitalized and clinically diagnosed in Harbin Chest Hospital from May 2007 to December 2008 were collected.Genomic DNA from the isolates was extracted after inactivation of Mycobacterium.Molecular identification was carried out using PCR,PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing.ResultsAmong 330 clinical isolates,328 were identified as MTB complex (MTBC),accounting for 99.4％ (328/330); 2 were NTM,accounting for 0.6％ (2/330).Among 328 MTBC isolates,326were MTB,one was Mycobacterium Africanum(M.African) and one was Mycobacterium microti(M,microti),accounting for 99.4％ (326/328),0.3％ (1/328) and 0.3％ (1/328),respectively.It was found that the homology between the two NTM isolates and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare (MAC)was 99％ and 93％,respectively,suggesting that the two NTM isolates were MAC.The homology between the two NTM isolates was 93％.ConclusionsPCR plus PCR-RFLP and sequencing provides an ideal method for precise identification of Mycobacterium species.In the clinically diagnosed tuberculosis patients,the predominant Mycobacterium species is MTB,however M.African,M.microti as well as NTM are also found.