Objective To investigate the relationship of serum uric acid level with carotid atherosclerosis and intracranial stenosis in patients with cerebral ischemic stroke.Methods 186 patients checked by Color Doppler Flow Imaging (CDFI) and Transcranial Doppler (TCD) were enrolled.According to the degree of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), patients were divided into normal group, and intima thicken group, the plaque shaping group and the vascular stenosis group.According to the degree of intracranial stenosis, patients were divided into stenosis group and nonstenosis group.The serum levels of uric acid (UA), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were detected.The relative factors for carotid atherosclerosis and intracranial stenosis were analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis.Results Compared with normal group and intima thicken group, the percentage of patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease and serum TC level were increased in plaque shaping group and vascular stenosis group (P＜0.05 for all).With the increase of carotid IMT, serum UA level was also gradually increased (F=11.386, P =0.000).Logistic regression analysis showed that serum UA level was the independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis (OR=3.486, P=0.013).Among 186 patients, 43 cases (23.1％) had intracranial vascular stenosis.The UA level was higher in stenosis group than in non stenosis group (t=9.372, P=0.013).Logistic regression analysis showed that serum UA level were the independent risk factors for intracranial arterial stenosis (OR =1.914, P=0.022).Conclusions The occurrence of carotid atherosclerosis and intracranial stenosis are closely related with hyperuricemia in patients with cerebral ischemic stroke, which indicates serum uric acid level may reflect the degree of carotid artery atherosclerosis.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of IL-37 on hepatocyte injury against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) by promoting polarization of M2-type macrophages and its molecular mechanisms.Methods Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the levels of IL-37 mRNA and protein in human monocyte-macrophage THP-1 cells with different polarizations.The lentivirus with IL-37 gene was infected into THP-1 cells.The levels of CD206,CD86,ARG1 and iNOS mRNA was detected by qRT-PCR.The levels of CD163 and CD86 protein was detected by flow cytometric analysis.THP-1 cells and L02 cells were co-cultured by Transwell and treated with H/R.The survival rate and apoptotic rate of L02 cells were detected.The levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in culture medium were measured.The levels of STAT6 and its phosphorylation in THP-1 cells were detected by Western blot.Results The levels of IL-37 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in M2-type macrophages.IL-37 promoted the polarization of M2-type macropahges.M2-type macrophages induced by IL-37 were cocultured with L02 cells,the survival rate was significantly increased by H/R treatment (P =0.015),while the apoptotic rate,ALT level and AST level were significantly decreased (P＜0.001).The level of phosphorylated STAT6 in THP-1 cells overexpressing IL-37 was up-regulated (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions IL-37 can induce polarization of M2-type macrophages and protect hepatocyte injury against H/R.Its mechanism may be related to STAT6 signal pathways.

INTRODUCTIONIn order to commit to their mission and placement requirements, medical education policy-makers are required to understand the background and character of students in order to admit, cultivate and support them efficiently and effectively.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis study sample consisted of 408 homogeneous medical students with the same level of education, occupation, school and societal environment. They differed mainly in their family background. Therefore, this study used part of a multidimensional "student portfolio system" database to assess the correlation between family status (indexed by parental education and occupation) and medical students' mental health status and characters. The controls were a group of 181 non-medical students in another university.

RESULTSThe parents of the medical students were from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) than the parents of those in the control group. This showed the heritability of genetic and environment conditions as well as the socioeconomic forces at play in medical education. Students' personal and professional development were associated with their parents' SES. The mother's SES was associated with the student's selfreported stress, mental disturbances, attitude towards life, personality, health, discipline, internationalisation and professionalism. The fathers' SES did not show a statistically significant association with the above stress, physical and mental health factors, but showed an association with some of the personality factors. The greater the educational difference between both parents, the more stress, hopelessness and pessimism the student manifested.

CONCLUSIONSMedical educators need to be aware that socioeconomic factors have meaningful patterns of association with students' mental and physical health, and their characters relating to personal and professional development. Low maternal SES negatively influences medical students' personal and professional development, suggesting that medical education policy-makers need to initiate support mechanisms for those with latent vulnerability.

Education, Medical ; methods ; Family Relations ; Female ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Male ; Mental Health ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Class ; Students, Medical ; psychology ; Taiwan

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of Geniposide on SNP(sodium nitroprusside)-induced apoptosis of chondrocyte in vitro and cell cycle.

METHODSThe chondrocyte of three-week-old SD rats were separated and cultivated. The second generation of chondrocyte cells were involved in experiment. Chondrocyte proliferation was measured by assay; flow cytometer were adopted to observe cell cycle and apoptosis rate; NO examination adopted nitrate reductase method.

RESULTSGeniposide could significantly decrease the percentage of SNP-induced chondrocytes in G0/G1 phase and increased percentage in S phase and G2/M phase. The apoptosis of chondrocyte and the concentration of NO in the culture supernatants was reduced significantly (r=0.917, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONGeniposide could impact SNP-induced apoptosis of chondrocyte by reducing the concentration of NO in the culture supernatants, promoting proliferation of chondrocytes, which is a probable and important mechanism of Geniposide preventing osteoarthritis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Chondrocytes ; drug effects ; physiology ; Female ; Iridoids ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Nitroprusside ; pharmacology ; Osteoarthritis ; drug therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo apply echocardiography in diagnosis of isolated noncompaction of ventricular myocardium (INVM) in adults.

METHODSSix patients with INVM underwent echocardiographic examination using HP5500 ultrasound system with the frequency of 2 approximately equals 4 MHz, and the observation was focused on ventricularmyocardium and endocardium at one-third of the apex.

RESULTSAll 6 patients showed typical echocardiographic images characterized by an altered structure of the ventricular myocardium with extremely thickened, hypokinetic segments consisting of two layers: a thin, compacted epicardium and an extremely thickened endocardium, resulting in an extremely thickened ventricular wall.

CONCLUSIONEchocardiography should be the first choice to be applied in diagnosis of INVM, which is a distinct entity of specific cardiomyopathy in adults.

Adult ; Cardiomyopathies ; congenital ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Color ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardium ; pathology

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of encephalo-duro-arterio-synangiosis (EDAS) for intracranial atherosclerotic steno-occlusive disease (ICASD).Methods:Patients with symptomatic ICASD received EDAS treatment in the Department of Neurosurgery, the PLA General Hospital from January 2018 to January 2019 were retrospectively included. The baseline information, perioperative complications, primary endpoint events, and changes in modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores before and after surgery were collected. The primary endpoint event was any stroke/death that occurred within 30 d after enrollment. The secondary endpoint events were any stroke/death, non-stroke bleeding (subdural or epidural bleeding), and clinical functional improvement after 30 d. The clinical functional improvement was defined as a decrease of ≥1 in the mRS score compared to before surgery.Results:A total of 40 patients were included, including 30 males and 10 females, aged 53.9±8.6 years old. The clinical symptoms were mainly limb weakness and dizziness. One case of ischemic stroke and one case of hemorrhagic stroke occurred during the perioperative period. The primary endpoint event incidence was 2.5%. The patients were followed up for 49.75±2.99 months after surgery. One patient died of cerebral hemorrhage 31 months after surgery, and one patient developed acute ischemic stroke 35 months after surgery. The postoperative mRS scores of 34 patients decreased compared to before surgery, and the clinical function improvement rate was 85%. The mRS score increased in 2 cases after surgery compared to before surgery and 4 cases had no change.Conclusion:EDAS can improve the clinical function of patients with symptomatic ICASD and reduce the incidence of long-term stroke.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of endoscopic injection of polidocanol combined with low-dose tissue glue occlusion in the treatment of F3 esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis.Methods:Retrospective analysis was made on 42 patients with cirrhosis type F3 esophageal varices admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University from January 2020 to June 2021. According to different treatment methods, they were divided into the observation group and the control group, with 21 cases in each group. The observation group received endoscopic injection of polidocanol combined with low-dose tissue glue occlusion, while the control group received endoscopic injection of polidocanol. The differences in the effectiveness (remission rate of varices) and safety (incidence of intraoperative bleeding and postoperative rebleeding, incidence of ectopic embolism, incidence of esophageal ulcer, incidence of esophageal perforation, incidence of esophageal stricture) of the two groups of patients were compared.Results:The total effective rate of relieving esophageal varices in the observation group was significantly better than that in the control group [95.2%(20/21) vs 61.9%(13/21), χ 2=6.929, P=0.008]. There were no cases of ectopic embolism in both groups; The intraoperative bleeding rate in the observation group was 4.8% (1/21), significantly lower than the 38.1% (8/21) in the control group (χ 2=6.929, P=0.008); There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative rebleeding rates between the two groups [33.3%(7/21) vs 23.8%(5/21), χ 2=0.467, P=0.495]; The incidence of esophageal ulcers in the observation group was higher than that in the control group [23.8%(5/21) vs 0, χ 2=5.676, P=0.017], mainly caused by glue discharge ulcers; There were no cases of esophageal perforation and esophageal stricture in both groups. Conclusions:Endoscopic injection of polidocanol combined with low-dose tissue glue occlusion for the treatment of F3 esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis is safe, can greatly reduce the occurrence of intraoperative bleeding, and has a better one-time variceal eradication effect.

Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Histone Chaperones ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; cytology ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Solvents ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Trichloroethylene ; administration & dosage ; toxicity

In order to search for new anti-inflammatory agents with strong activity and less toxicity relative to CDDO-Me, the ester prodrugs 2-8 of CDDO-Me were synthesized by treatment of oleanolic acid(OA)with DMF/K2CO3 to generate 1, followed by esterification of 1 with various aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids, respectively. All the target compounds showed strong inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264. 7 cells. Among them, compounds 2 and 7 possessed the most potent inhibitory effects with IC50=(2. 34±0. 67)and(3. 83±0. 97)nmol/L, respectively. Moreover, MTT assay indicated that all the target compounds(2-8)displayed much weaker anti-proliferative activity against RAW 264. 7 cell lines than CDDO-Me, suggesting that they may be less toxic than CDDO-Me.

Objective: To compare the safety and effectiveness of shovel-shaped electrode transurethral plasmakinetic enucleation of the prostate (PKEP) with those of plasmakinetic resection of the prostate (PKRP) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data about 78 BPH patients received in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital from June 2016 to January 2017, 39 treated by shovel-shaped electrode PKEP and the other 39 by PKRP. We observed the patients for 6 months postoperatively and compared the effects and safety of the two surgical strategies. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed between the PKEP and PKRP groups in the operation time (［69.3 ± 8.8］ vs ［72.2 ± 7.9］ min, P = 0.126), but the former, as compared with the latter, showed a markedly less postoperative loss of hemoglobin (［3.9 ± 2.8］ vs ［13.9 ± 5.2］ g/L, P <0.001) and shorter bladder irrigation time (［12.5 ± 1.2］ vs ［43.4 ± 2.8］ h, P <0.001), catheterization time (［64.0 ± 4.5］ vs ［84.8 ± 3.0］ h, P <0.001) and hospital stay (［3.1 ± 0.3］ vs ［5.5 ± 0.4］ d, P <0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the PKEP and PKRP groups in the postoperative maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) (［21.62 ± 1.07］ vs ［21.03 ± 0.96］ ml/s, P = 0.12), International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) (5.85 ± 0.90 vs 6.03 ± 0.81, P = 0.279), quality of life score (QoL) (2.0 ± 0.73 vs 2.28 ± 0.72, P = 0.09), postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) (［19.59 ± 6.01］ vs ［20.21 ± 5.16］ ml, P = 0.629), or the incidence rates of urinary incontinence (2.56% ［1/39］ vs 7.69% ［3/39］, P >0.05) and other postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS Both PKEP and PKRP are effective methods for the treatment of BPH, but PKEP is worthier of clinical recommendation for a better safety profile, more thorough removal of the prostate tissue, less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, and better improved quality of life of the patient.
China ; Electrodes ; adverse effects ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; surgery ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; instrumentation ; methods ; Treatment Outcome