Objective To measure the renal tissue texture or flexibility with virtual touch quantization (VTQ) and to tentatively examine its clinical application in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD).Methods A total of 750 patients (1500 kidneys) were performed with VTQ,including 400 cases in the control group,and 350 cases in the CKD group.A conventional ultrasound examination (two-dimensional,color Doppler) were first taken,and then the shear wave velocity (Vs) was measured which reflected the textural elastic.Results In both groups the Vs was the highest in renal cortex with significant difference (P<0.05); renal cortical region Vs in CKD group was lower than those in control group (P<0.05),while Vs of renal medulla and renal sinus had no significant difference in the two groups.The severity of renal dysfunction was increased along with a Vs decrease of renal cortex.Conclusion VTQ is helpful to assess renal function of patients with CKD.

Brucellosis ; complications ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; complications ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo compare the anti-oxidative stress effects of 5 classical traditional Chinese herbal recipes in rats with dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced cirrhosis.

METHODSDMN was injected intraperitoneally three consecutive days a week to male Wistar rats for 4 weeks to develop cirrhosis model, and the model cirrhotic rats were randomly grouped and administered with 5 traditional Chinese classic recipes, i. e. Yiguanjian; Huangqi Decoction; Yinchenhao Decoction; Xiayuxue Decoction and Xiaochaihu Decoction, by gastrogavage, respectively, for 2 weeks. Changes in activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver tissue, and serum parameters of liver function were determined.

RESULTSGST activity and MDA content increased significantly in model rats, peaked at week 2 (liver fibrosis formation period) and week 4 (cirrhosis formation period), respectively, while activity of T-SOD and GSH-Px decreased markedly. As compared with the model control group at week 6, the degree of cirrhosis was evidently milder with lower level of MDA and GST and higher T-SOD activity in rats treated by Huangqi Decoction and Yinchenhao Decoction.

CONCLUSIONAnti-oxidative stress action should be one important mechanism for Yinchenhao Decoction and Huangqi Decoction in reversing liver cirrhosis of rats. The action of Yinchenhao Decoction focuses on eliminating hepatic lipid peroxide and that of Huangqi Decoction emphasizes for enhancing anti-oxidation ability of the organism.

Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; drug therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Compounding ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Glutathione Transferase ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

The morphology,cultural characteristics,physiological and biochemical properties of phosphate solubilizing strain BL-11 were studied.Combine with its 16S rDNA sequence analysis result strain BL-11 was identified as Brevibacillus laterosporus.Results showed that the phosphate solubilizing efficiency of strain BL-11was up to 10.91% when with Ca_ 3 (PO_ 3 )_ 2 as the sole phosphorus source in the medium,while the efficiency of that was up to 1.56% when with sands as the sole phosphorus source.An optimal media of BL-11 strain for solubilizing phosphate was obtained by orthogonal test.It was composed of sugar 20g/L,(NH_ 4 )_ 2 HCO_ 3 0.3g/L,MgSO_ 4 .7H_ 2 O 0.5g/L,NaCl 0.3{g/L},KCl 0.5g/L,FeSO_ 4 0.03g/L,MnSO_ 4 .H_ 2 O 0.03{g/L.}_ While other conditions were consisted of initial pH7.0-8.0,180 r/min,and 30℃.

AIM: To investigate the affected proteins by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-? in endothelial cells, and further explore the potential molecular mechanism of TNF-? on endothelial cells. METHODS: Nitric oxide (NO) production in the cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was measured by a NO assay kit. Proteomic alterations were analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis, and peptide mass fingerprinting with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. RESULTS: NO production in HUVECs decreased significantly after TNF-? treatement. Proteomics analysis showed 21 protein spots were changed including 9 spots that were increased and 11 spots that were decreased after TNF-? stimulation, and 1 spot was only detected in TNF-? activated cell gels. CONCLUSIONS: The decreased expression of ecNOS by TNF-? might result in decrease in NO production. Up-regulated MAP/ERK kinase 3 expression might imply that TNF-? activates the expression of adhesion molecules. Cytoskeletal protein actin is also involved in TNF-? injuried HUVECs. Proteomic analysis can find some clues for identifying new potential target of TNF-?. [

Rutaecarpine (Rut) is a type of indole quinazoline alkaloid exracted from Ruticarpum. Studies showed that Rut has a wide range of pharmacological effects, such as anti-hypertension, anticancer, anti-inflammation, anti-thrombus formation. Currently, many scholars are committed to developing it into a new antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory drug with all new mechanisms. But studies found that Rut is a highly fat-soluble drug with low water and oil solubility. Its high insolubility is the main obstacle in its oral absorption and application, which greatly reduced its bioavailability. Therefore, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) was used as the inclusion material to prepare Rut-HP-beta-CD inclusion complex in this experiment, in order to increase its water solubility and bioavailability. In this experiment, the inclusion complex was prepared by the stirring-freeze-dry method. The preparation process was optimized by the orthogonal test, with the inclusion rate as the index, and molar ratio between host and guest molecules, inclusion temperature, time and stirring speed as the impacting factors. Moreover, the inclusion complex was verified by detecting the apparent solubility, thin layer chromatography, microscopic identification, melting point detection and dissolution study. The results showed that under the conditions of the molar ratio between Rut and HP-beta-CD of 1: 1, temperature at 60 degrees C, inclusion time of 4h and stirring speed at 600 r x min(-1), the inclusion rate of Rut-HP-beta-CD reached 91.04%. Therefore, the preparation process of Rut-HP-beta-CD inclusion under the optimum conditions is simple and feasible, with a highest inclusion rate and reproducibility, and could significantly improve Rut's solubility and bioavailability, and provide a reliable experimental basis for its clinical application.
2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin ; Alkaloids ; chemistry ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Rutaceae ; chemistry ; Solubility ; beta-Cyclodextrins ; chemistry

ObjectiveTo explore the effectiveness and practicability of training technique in hemiplegia.Methods313 stroke patients with hemiplegia were divided randomly into the control group and training group, and treated with integrative training technique for hemiplegia impairment during 3 months. Locomotor recovery and the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) of patients in two groups were assessed before and after one, two and three months training respectively, using Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the scale of impairment in community rehabilitation.ResultsAfter treatment, FMA, FIM and the scale of impairment in community rehabilitation of the patients in the training group improved significantly ( P<0.001), the effectiveness was better than that of the control group ( P<0.05～0.001).The scales of FMA and FIM were proportional to the scale of impairment in community rehabilitation.ConclusionThe training technique for hemiplegia has ideal rehabilitation effectiveness.

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether myocardial bridging (MB) is independently associated with coronary atherosclerosis proximal to MB in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) identified by computed tomographic coronary angiography (CCTA).

METHODSFrom March 2011 to December 2012, patients (n=9 862) with suspected coronary disease underwent CCTA using dual-source CT scanner. The baseline clinical characteristics (age, gender, smoking history, presence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, family history of heart attack, and body mass index) and the results of CCTA were reviewed. Two radiologists evaluated the coronary artery for MB and coronary atherosclerosis stenosis (CAS) in LAD and made a diagnosis by consensus. Significant independent risk factors for CAS were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSA total of 3 182 (32.3%) cases of MB and 3 359 cases of CAS of LAD were identified. No patient with CAS in the tunneled segment was found. The mean length of bridges and the mean thickness of the overlying myocardium was (17.3±5.2) mm and (1.2±0.9) mm, respectively. There were 1658 MB cases in 3 359 cases of LAD stenosis and 1 524 MB cases in 6 503 cases of no LAD stenosis (χ(2)=681.12, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that MB in the LAD were significantly associated with CAS in the proximal LAD (OR=3.07, 95%CI=2.81-3.37, P<0.001), and after final adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, family history of heart attack, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and resting heart rate (OR=2.86, 95% CI=2.60-3.16, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONMB in the LAD is independently associated with CAS in the proximal segment to MB.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Stenosis ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Bridging ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; Risk Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Aged ; Female ; Hodgkin Disease ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Humans ; Reed-Sternberg Cells ; pathology

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of biofeedback in preventing chronic daily headaches. Methods One hundred patients experiencing daily headaches were randomly divided into a biofeedback group ( n=50) and a drug therapy group (n=50). The patients in the drug therapy groupwere administered a predetermined course of medication. Those in the biofeedback group were given 30 minutes of biofeedback therapy twice a week for 8 weeks, followed by 10 months of intensive therapy once a month. The headache frequency, duration of headache at-tacks, days of using acute pain medication and any other adverse events were recorded 3, 6 and 12 months after the treatment. Results The patients in the biofeedback group had significantly less-frequent headaches, shorter headache attacks and fewer days of using acute pain medications. Conclusion Compared to drug therapy, biofeed-back can prevent chronic daily headachesmore safely and effectively.