Objective To investigate the feasibility of setting mAs in liver enhanced CT scan according to plain scan noise with fixed mA CT scanner,in order to reduce the radiation dose.Methods One hundred continuous patients underwent liver enhanced CT scan (group A) prospectively.Two hundred and fifty mAs was used in plain and enhanced CT scans.Noises of plain and venous phase CT images were measured,and the image quality was evaluated.The equation between mAs of enhanced scan and noise of plain scan image was derived.Another 100 continuous patients underwent liver enhanced CT scan (group B).Enhanced scan mAs was calculated from noise on plain scan by using the equation above.Noises on venous phase images were measured and the image quality was measured.Based on body mass index (BMI),patients in groups A and B were divided into three subgroups respectively:BMI ＜ 18.5 kg/m2,18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI ＜ 25.0 kg/m2 and BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2.Image quality score was compared with nonparametric rank sum test,CT dose index (CTDI) and effective dose (ED) were measured and compared between each subgroup with 2 independent samples t or t' test.Results The equation between enhanced scan mAs (mAsX) and plain scan noise (SDp) was as follows:mAsX =mAs1 × [(0.989 × SDp + 1.06) /SDx]2,mAs1 =250 mAs,SDx =13.In patients with BMI ＜ 18.5 kg/m2,ED of group A [(6.86 ±0.38) mSv,n =12] was significantly higher than group B [(2.66 ±0.46) mSv,n =10)] (t =18.52,P ＜0.01).In patients with 18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI ＜ 25.0 kg/m2,ED of group A [(7.08 ± 0.91) mSy,n =66] was significantly higher than group B [(4.50 ± 1.41) mSv,n =73] (t' =10.57,P ＜ 0.01).In patients with BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2,there was no significant difference between EDs of group A (7.54 ± 0.62 mSv,n =22) and group B [(8.19 ±3.16) mSv,n =17] (t' =0.89,P =0.39).Image quality of 5 patients in group A and none in group B did not meet the diagnostic requirement.Conclusion Setting mAs of enhanced scan according to plain scan noise could reduce the radiation dose with maintainence of image quality.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the function of microRNA-27b (miR-27b) in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) stimulated by tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). MATERIALS AND METHODS: mRNA expression of miR-27b in FLS cells (MH7A) treated with or without TNF-α was determined by q-PCR. MiR-27b mimics was transfected into MH7A cells to upregulate miR-27b expression. MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis were performed to investigate the effect of miR-27b on MH7A cell viability and apoptosis. The targets of miR-27b were predicted by TargetScan. The direct regulation of miR-27b on IL-1β expression was verified by luciferase assay. The protein expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins, IL-1β, and NF-κB signaling-related proteins were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: We discovered that miR-27b expression was decreased in MH7A cells stimulated by TNF-α. Upregulation of miR-27b by miR-27b mimics significantly inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of TNF-α-stimulated MH7A cells. Consistently, upregulation of miR-27 decreased the level of Bcl-2 and increased Bax and caspase-3 expression in MH7A cells stimulated by TNF-α. Luciferase assay revealed that IL-1β was indeed a target of miR-27b. By quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot, we found that the expression of IL-1β is negatively regulated by miR-27b. Moreover, the NF-κB signaling pathway was significantly inhibited by miR-27b. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results illustrated that enhanced miR-27b expression results in the suppression of proliferation and the promotion of apoptosis in FLSs stimulated by TNF-α, partially by regulating IL-1β expression and NF-κB signaling.
Apoptosis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Survival ; Flow Cytometry ; Luciferases ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Up-Regulation

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficiency of combined finasteride and metformin on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods Totally 106 patients with BPH plus T2DM received finasteride and metformin treatment for over 12months.Before and after treatment,the side effects and following parameters were measured:prostatic volume (PV),prostate-specific antigen(PSA),international prostate symptom score (IPSS),quality of life (QOL),the maximum flow rate of urinary (Qmax),residual urine(RU),body mass index (BMI),cholesterol (TG).Results There were obvious changes in the following:PV decreased from (56.40±18.75)ml to(42.40± 19.68) ml,PSA decreased from(3.65± 1.08) μg/L to (1.76±0.66)μg/L,IPSS decreased from(22.58±9.45)to(16.67±7.56),QOL decreased from(4.22± ±0.87) to (2.36 ± 0.74),Qmax increased from(8.32±2.42)ml/s to(15.48±3.61)ml/s,RU decreased form(68.36±19.25)ml to(36.42±13.91)ml,BMI decreased from(28.52±3.73)kg/m2 to (19.76± 1.88)kg/m2,TG decreased from (2.52 ± 0.43) mmol/L to (1.38 ± 0.52) mmol/L.The changes of PV,PSA,IPSS,QOL,Qmax,RU,BMI and TG were statistically significant (all P＜0.05).Conclusions Long term combined finasteride and metformin treatment for BPH plus T2DM is effective and safe.And the two drugs may be improve the efficacy each other.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of finasteride on hemorrhage in peri-operation of transurethral plasmakinetic enucleation of prostate (TUPKEP).Methods150 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were randomly divided into 3 groups:control group without finasteride (n= 50),treatment groupl 1 with finasteride 5 mg daily for 7 days(n= 50) and treatment group 2 with finasteride 10 mg daily for 7 days(n= 50) before and after operation.All patients received TUPKEP and the data were recorded,including total blood loss,operation time,amount of washing fluid during operation,blood loss of per gram tissue,blood loss per minute,washing time after operation,amount of washing fluid after operation,and rebleeding rate within 3 months after operation.ResultsThe 150 patients successfully received TUPKEP.The total blood loss,amount of washing fluid during operation,operation time,blood loss per gram tissue,amount of washing fluid after operation,washing time after operation and rebleeding rate within 3 months after operation in treatment group 1 and 2 significantly reduced as compared with control group (P＜0.05).The blood loss per minute were (1.77±0.89) ml/min,(1.71±0.82) ml/min and (1.70±0.81) ml/min in 3 groups,respectively,and there were no significant differences among groups (P＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences between treatment group 1 and 2 in the total blood loss,operation time,amount of washing fluid during operation,blood loss of per gram tissue,blood loss per minute,washing time and amount of washing fluid after operation (P＞0.05).The rebleeding rate within 3 months after operation in treatment group 1 (8/35) and treatment group 2 (3/26) decreased as compared with control group (17/39) (x2= 3.544 and 7.523,P=0.016 and 0.025)and it was lower in treatment group 2 than in treatment group 1 (x2 = 1.293,P = 0.044).Conclusions The application of finasteride in peri-operation of TUPKEP can reduce hemorrhage.

Objective:To investigate the effect of SCN1A gene polymorphism (SCN1A-rs3812718) on the alterations of spontaneous brain activity using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of MR in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).Methods:A total of 37 TLE patients (TLE group) admitted to the Epilepsy Center of the 900th Hospital of Joint Logistic Team from March 2018 to August 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, and another 28 healthy volunteers matched for gender, age, and years of education with the TLE group were selected as the healthy control group (HC group). Sixty-five subjects were divided into four groups by genotype and diagnosis: 34 cases in AA/AG-TLE subgroup, 3 cases in GG-TLE subgroup, 20 cases in AA/AG-HC subgroup and 8 cases in GG-HC subgroup. All subjects underwent sagittal 3D-T 1WI and resting-state functional MRI using a Siemens 3.0 T Trio Tim MR scanner. Then ALFF values of the four groups were calculated using DPABI by the MATLAB 2010 platform. The ALFF values between two groups were compared by independent samples t-test. The ALFF values of different genotypes at rs3812718 locus in TLE and HC group were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance to find out the corresponding brain regions with interaction, and then post hoc simple effect analysis was performed. Results:The ALFF values in TLE group significantly increased in left marginal lobe, left parahippocampal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left hippocampus, right insular lobe and right inferior temporal gyrus (Alphasim corrected P<0.001) and decreased in the left superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, right precuneus, left precuneus, bilateral cingulate gyrus and right angular gyrus (Alphasim correction P<0.05) compared with HC group. Subjects carrying the non-risk G allele had higher ALFF values in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, and right cerebellum than subjects carrying the risk A allele ( t=3.30, Alphasim corrected P=0.002). There was a significant interaction effect on posterior cerebellar lobe, left anterior cerebellar lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus, left superior parietal lobule and right precuneus of TLE patients with SCN1A-rs3812718 genotype. Post-hoc simple effect analysis showed that ALFF significantly increased in the left posterior cerebellar lobe, left anterior cerebellar lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus and left fusiform gyrus in GG-TLE subgroup ( t=5.97, P<0.001), but significantly decreased in the right superior parietal lobule, right precuneus, right posterior cerebellar lobe in AA/AG-TLE subgroup compared to the HC group. Compared with GG-TLE subgroup, ALFF in left posterior cerebellar lobe, left fusiform gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus decreased in AA/AG-TLE subgroup. Conclusion:SCN1A gene polymorphism in the rs3812718 locus affects spontaneous neural activity in resting state, which may be one of the pathophysiological mechanisms of TLE.

Metabolic regulation has been proven to play a critical role in T cell antitumor immunity. However, cholesterol metabolism as a key component of this regulation remains largely unexplored. Herein, we found that the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which has been previously identified as a transporter for cholesterol, plays a pivotal role in regulating CD8