Objective To evaluate the accuracy of multi-detector spiral CT (MSCT) semiautomated volumetric measurement of right lobes and its value in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Methods Fifty-six donors underwent four phases MSCT. Pre-operative liver volumes of two measurements [IQQA(R)-liver semi-automated (Vs) and manual volume (Vm) measurements] in portal vein phase were compared with intra-operative measurement (Vio) by means of water displacement. Results Correlation analysis and Bland-Altman tests were used for statistical analysis.Results Pre-operative measurements of grafts resulted in a mean Vs, Vm, Vio of (818. 60 ± 161.43)cm3 , (880. 16 ± 169. 92) cm3 and (669. 84 ± 141.37) cm3 respectively. All corresponding pre-and intra-operative data were correlated significantly with each other. There was a good correlation between Vs and Vio(r= 0. 778, P＜0. 05), so did Vm and Vio(r= 0. 746, P＜0. 05). The equations of linear regression were Vio = Vs × 0. 681 + 112. 26, and Vio = Vm × 0. 620 + 123. 81 respectively. Exact 95 % CIs and the extent of concordance were 121.57-175. 95 cm3, -354. 135-56. 62 cm3 for semiautomated measurements, and 180. 09-240. 56 cm3 , - 438. 66-18. 01 cm3 for manual measurements,respectively. Conclusion Semi-automated method for the volumetric measurements of the right liver lobes in LDLT is more accurate than the manual method.

Objective To study the effect of liver transplantation using right liver lobe Ⅴ and Ⅷ segments with middle hepatic vein(MHV) and without main MHV on the regeneration of liver transplantation. Methods 25 pair of donors and receptors of liver transplantation were divided in to two groups:with M HV group (group A, n= 14) and without main MHV (group B, n=11). The volumes of Ⅴ and Ⅷ segments of liver were measured in donors presurgicaUy,half month and 3 month in receptors postsurgically, the rates of regeneration of the Ⅴ and Ⅷ segment were calculated half month and 3 months postsurgically and compared between two groups. Results In group A,the regenerate rates of the Ⅴ,Ⅷ segment were 0.360±0.043 and 0.853±0.059 half month after surgery,0.253±0.043 and 0.708±0.059 three months after surgery respectively. In group B, the regenerate rates of the Ⅴ,Ⅷ segment were 0.306±0.049 and 0.815±0.066, respectively half month after graft, 0.161±0.049 and 0.627±0.066, respectively three months after surgery. There were no statistically significant differences in regenerate rates of the Ⅴ, Ⅷ segment of graft be-tween the two groups (P= 0.685 ,P>0.05 and P= 0.738, P>0.05). Conclusion The right lobe living donor liver transplantation, maintaining the MHV or reconstruct MHV tributaries without MHV has similar effects on the regeneration of Ⅴ,Ⅷ segment of graft.

Objective To summarize the diagnostic efficacy of ADC value for differentiation of benign and malignant lymph nodes on diffusion MRI with Meta-analysis. Methods Published papers on differentiation of benign and malignant lymph nodes with ADC value were searched and reviewed.Quality evaluation was performed for the eligible papers before data extraction.Test for heterogeneity was performed first,then appropriate model was selected to calculate the weighted mean difference,sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,diagnostic odds ratio,pretest and posttest probability.The potential of ADC value for differentiation of benign and malignant lymph nodes was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively.Results Fifteen papers including 735 cases and 1963 lymph nodes were selected.According to Meta-regression analysis,subgroup analysis and robust analysis,two studies with benign lymph nodes in patients with benign lesion and one study using chemical shift saturation technique were excluded because of their impact on the robustness of the pooled results. The weighted mean difference (WMD) between malignant and benign lymph nodes was -0.355 × 10-3mm2/s[95％ confidence interval (CI):-0.423 ×10-3- -0.288 × 10-3 mm2/s].Although the cutoff of ADC value for differentiation in each study was different,the diagnostic efficacy was stable,the pooled sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,diagnostic odds ratio and area under summarized receiver operator's curve were 0.87 (95％ CI:0.79-0.92),0.87 (95％ CI:0.82-0.90),6.5 (95％ CI:4.7-9.2),0.15 (95％ CI:0.09-0.25 ),43 ( 95％ CI:21-87 ),0.93 ( 95 ％ CI:0.90-0.95 ).The posttest malignancy probability of benign lymph node indicated by ADC was 6％,while that of malignant lymph node was 72％.Conclusion The ADC value can be used to differentiate benign and malignant lymph nodes with good sensitivity and specificity noninvasively.

Objective To investigate the difference of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fraction of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(fALFF) between Alzheimer's disease (AD)patients and normal aging (NA) controls by voxel-based analysis.Methods Thirty-one AD patients and 44 NA controls were enrolled in the study.Blood oxygen level dependent functional (BOLD) EPI data were obtained during resting-state by using 32-channel head coil.Data were realigned,normalized and then smoothed with 8 mm FWHM kernel.Resting-state fMRI toolkit(version 1.6) was used to generate ALFF and fALFF images.Independent two sample t-test was performed with SPM5 to compare ALFF and fALFF of AD and NA controls.Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between MMSE score and ALFF,fALFF parameters.The significance level was set to be uncorrected O.001 on the voxel level and 0.05 on the cluster level.Results AD patients showed increased ALFF in left temporal lobe (0.492 ±0.119) and right cingulated cortex (0.434 ± 0.093) of AD patients,which were 0.443 ± 0.068 and 0.380 ±0.081 in NA controls (t =2.658,2.227,P ＜ 0.05).Decreased fALFF was found in bilateral posterior cingulate cortices (1.167 ± 0.203) and increased fALFF was found in bilateral temporal lobes (left 1.226 ±0.127,right 1.146 ±0.214) with left side dominance,which were 1.453 ±0.269,1.134 ±0.088,1.014 ± O.132 in NA controls (t =5.001,3.695,3.285,P ＜ 0.05).Bilateral temporal ALFF and fALFF correlated with MMSE positively (r =0.768—0.909,P ＜ 0.05) with left dominance.Conclusion AD patients showed increased resting-state functional MRI changes correlated with MMSE score in the temporal lobes with left dominance,which indicated left temporal lobe may be the best location for the observation of disease progression in AD patients.

Objective To evaluate the effect of hydrogen sulfide combined with mild hypothermia on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. Methods Eighty male SD rats, aged 3 months, weighing 250-300 g, were randomly divided into 5 groups ( n = 16 each): sham operation group (group S), cerebral I/R group,mild hypothermia group (group M), sodium hydrosulfide group (group NaHS) and NaHS + mild hypothermia group (group NM). In group I/R, M, NaHS and NM, cerebral I/R was induced by occlusion of 4 vessels (cauterization of bilateral vertebral arteries and 15 min occlusion of bilateral common carotid arteries) followed by reperfusion. In group NaHS and NM, intraperitoneal NaHS 14 μmol/kg was injected immediately after reperfusion, while the equal volume of normal saline was injected in the other three groups. At the same time, the rectal temperature was reduced to 32-33 ℃ within 15 min, lasting for 6 h, in group M and NM, while it was maintained at 36-37 ℃by physical method in other groups. Twelve rats of each group were sacrificed after 6 h of reperfusion, and then the hippocampus was removed for determination of the content of H2 S by using spectrophotometer and the expression of p-CREB and BDNF mRNA by using Western blot and RT-PCR respectively. Four rats in each group were sacririced after 72 h of reperfusion and then the hippocampus was removed for microscopic examination. Results The cerebral I/R injury was attenuated in group M, NaHS and NM compared with group I/R, with the slightest injury in group NM. The H2S content was significantly higher in group I/R, M, NaHS and NM than in group S, and in group NaHS and NM than in group I/R and M. The expression of p-CREB and BNDF mRNA was significantly higher in group I/R, M, NaHS and NM than in group S, and in group M, NaHS and NM than in group I/R. The BDNF mRNA expression was significantly higher in group NM than in group M and NaHS. There was no significant difference in the H2S content and the expression of p-CREB and BNDF mRNA between group NaHS and M.Conclusion Hydrogen sulfide combined with mild hypothermia can attenuate cerebral I/R injury by up-regulating the expression of p-CREB and BDNF mRNA in hippocampus in rats.

Objective To investigate the voxel-based correlation of mini-mental state examination(MMSE) score with apparent diffusion coefficients(ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) derived from diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) in the patients with Alzheimer disease. Methods 12 patients aged (70.0± 10.5) years and 16 normal control aged (66.5±6.7) years were enrolled in this study.DTI was performed based on sequence and 32-channel head coils.ADC and FA images were calculated and normalized to the same space and smoothed with 8 mm Gaussian Kernel. With statistical parameter mapping software SPM5 package,the independent two sample t-test with general linear model were performed to detect ADC and FA differences between AD patients and normal control.Correlation analysis was performed between MMSE score and FA or ADC. Results AD patients showed elevated ADC value and decreased FA value in bilateral temporal lobe and anterior cingulate,which was more pronounced in the left than in the right.There was elevation of ADC value but no FA decrease in bilateral posterior cingulate.The abnormal ADC area was larger than that of FA.There was negative correlation between MMSE score and ADC of the right hippocampus(r=-0.9474,P=0.0232) and a tendency towards positive correlation between MMSE score and FA of the right hippocampus(r=0.5414,P=0.5853). Conclusions ADC value may be more sensitive than FA value in DTI. Right temporal lobe microstructure involvement is less severe,but has a stronger relationship with neuropsyehological abnormality.

Objective To systematically evaluate the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in the investigation of bile duct anatomy of liver transplantation living donors.Methods A search in Cochrane library,MEDLINE,EMBASE,CBMdisc (China Biology Medicine disc) was performed to identify relevant English and Chinese-language abstracts,supplemented by Springer,OVID,Sciencedirect full text database,etc.Criteria for inclusion were based on validity criteria for diagnostic research published by the Cochrane collaboration.With Meta analysis package for Stata10.1,heterogeneity of the included articles was tested,which was used to select proper effect model to calculate pooled weighted sensitivity and specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was performed and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Finally,sensitivity analysis was performed.Results Seventeen articles with 34 studies were included.Heterogeneity analysis revealed heterogeneity between studies and the source was MRCP imaging methods spotted by meta-regression analysis. Subgroup analysis according to MRCP imaging methods showed homogeneity within subgroups.The pooled sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,diagnostic odd ratio of breath-holding thick slice MRCP,3D MRCP,the combination of the prior two methods,contrast enhance MRCP were 0.89,0.78,4.1,0.14,29; 0.92,0.80,4.5,0.10,45;0.95,0.82,5.2,0.06,85; and 1.00,0.76,4.1,0,1228,respectively with fixed effect model analysis.The area under the SROC curve was 0.83,0.92,0.96 and 0.99 respectively.Conclusion The combination of thick slice and 3D MRCP is a practical and effective method with good sensitivity and specificity to investigate bile duct anatomy of living liver transplantation donors,which fully meets the requirements of the preoperative assessment of bile duct structure.

Objective To evaluate the applications of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) after fat meal in the preoperative evaluation of biliary anatomy of living liver donors.Methods Fifty cases of the preoperative donors for living liver transplantation were included and all had the corresponding intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) information. The MRCP of the donors for living liver transplantation was performed before and after fat meal (two fried eggs). The visualization and diameter of the secondary bile duct were analyzed before and after the fat meal. The results of the biliary branching pattern by MRCP after fat meal were compared with the corresponding IOC results. The accuracy, sensitivity,specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MRCP after the fat meal in distinguishing normal and any type of variant biliary anatomy were calculated. Results In all cases,82% of the 50 cases in MRCP before the fat meal could meet the diagnosis needs of the preoperative evaluation,and 100% of the 50 cases in MRCP after the fat meal could meet the diagnosis needs. There was significant difference in the demonstration quality and diameter of the secondary bile duct in MRCP before and after the fat meal (P＜0. 05). MRCP showed accurate anatomy of the biliary system, using IOC as the reference standard, in 49(98%) subjects. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MRC in distinguishing normal and any type of variant biliary anatomy were 98%,94. 7%, 100%, 10% and 96. 9%,respectively. Conclusion The MRCP after fat meal can clearly demonstrate the secondary bile duct and perfectly meet the needs of the preoperative evaluation of the living liver transplantation. The MRCP after fat meal and routine MRCP should be considered complementary to one another in order to avoid complications in living liver transplantation donors.

Objective To explore the feasibility of evaluating cardiac structure, coronary artery,pulmonary artery and cardiac function in one single scan by 320-row CT ECG-gated double phase cardiac function scan mode. MethodsForty patients underwent the 320-detector row CT double phase cardiovascular angiography. The pulmonary phase and aortic phase were reconstructed in order to evaluate the pulmonary and coronary artery. MPR reconstructions of both pulmonary and aortic phase were used to analyze the function of the two ventricles. And the results of the cardiac function were compared with those of transthoracic echocardiography. Thirty-five cases could be analyzed and diagnosed, while the other 5 cases had to be given up because of the poor imaging quality. The mean heart rate was (71.2 ± 11.2) beat per min (bpm). No arrhythmia case included. Results ( 1 ) Pulmonary embolism were diagnosed in 11 cases,coronary artery disease (CAD) were found in 5 cases, while post-stent implantation were observed in 7 cases. Six cases of congenital heart disease were diagnosed with 3 ASD and 3 primary pulmonary hypertension. Another one was diagnosed with left atrial myxoma, and 5 cases were pulmonary embolism associated with CAD. All of above cases were verified by final clinical diagnosis. (2) The heart function parameters including LVEDd , RVEDd, LVESd, RVESd and LVEF were (36.7 ±3.3), (43.3 ± 3.4) mm,(31.6±5.1), (41.3 ±5.1) mm and (47.1 ±15.1) for CT, while those were (40.3 ±3.1), (47.3 ±4.2) mm,(37.3 ±5.6), (45.3 ±3.3) mm,and (46.0 ± 14.8) for ultrasound, respectively. The CT results were correlated with the ultrasound ( n = 35, r = 0.886-0.988, P ＜ 0.01 ). (3) The average radiation exposure was ( 5.4 ± 0.5 ) mSv. Conclusions 320-row CT ECG-gated double phase cardiac function scan mode is feasible for the "one-stop-shop" examination of the cardiovascular disease. This noninvasive method is recommended for the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of cardiovascular disease.

Nisin is an antimicrobial peptide widely used in food industry. In this study, Nisin A production in Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454 was improved by overexpression of Nisin A structural gene nisA through introducing a shuttle expression vector pMG36ek-nisA and an integrated vector pDG780-nisA into the host strain. The differences of growth profiles and Nisin A production level between the two obtained genetic engineering strains FMM1/FMM2 and the parent strain were investigated. Our results show that while the growth profile (the growth rate, biomass and pH) of FMM1 was similar to the parent strain, its Nisin A production increased 31%. In contrast, the biomass of FMM2 was notably lower than the parent strain, while its yield of Nisin A enhanced slightly. The transcription level of genes involved in Nisin A biosynthesis in both engineering strains was further detected by RT-PCR. We found that all the 11 Nisin A biosynthetic genes in FMM1 and FMM2 had a higher transcription level than those in the parent strain, and these genes exhibited more significant increasing degree of transcription level in FMM1 which hosted the autonomous replicating nisA gene. These data suggest that expression of nisA may act as a rate-limit factor in Nisin A biosynthesis. In conclusion, this work provides a new method to improve Nisin A production by increasing the transcription level of nisA, paving the way to further large-scale industrial production of Nisin A.
Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; Genes, Bacterial ; Genetic Engineering ; Genetic Vectors ; Lactococcus lactis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nisin ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Transcription, Genetic