Objective To investigate the feasibility of ADC values that derived from MR DWI with multiple b values in reflecting the amplitude of enhancement and degree of differentiation in cervical squamous cell carcinomas on 3.0T MR scanner.Methods DWI and multiple phase contrast enhanced MRI images of 31 patients with pathologically diagnosed cervical squamous cell carcinomas were retrospectively analyzed.All ADC values in different b values and the amplitude of signal intensity enhancement were measured in various areas of tumors.Correlations of differences of ADCs in high and low b values with early and late enhancement,and the relationship of ADC and differences of ADCs with pathologically tumor differentiation grades were analyzed.Results ADC value in high and low enhanced areas of cervical cancer was inversely related with different b values.Differences of ADCs between low b value (200 s/mm2) and high b values (800,1 000,1 200,1 400 s/mm2) had weak positive correlation with early enhancement (r=0.315-0.339,all P＜0.05).While b=800 s/mm2 and 1 000 s/mm2,ADCs in highly enhanced areas of tumor were significantly lower in well-differentiated cancer lesions compared with those of poorly differentiated cancer lesions.There was no statistically significant of ADC value in other b values,and also of differences of ADCs in all b values in different differentiation foci (all P＞0.05).No differences were found in ADC values under other b values in various degree of differentiation foci,nor in differences of ADCs in all b values (all P＞0.05).Conclusion Combination of multiple b values of DWI may have the potential to reflect blood supply and tumor differentiation grades in cervical squamous cell carcinomas,while low b value of 200 s/mm2 and high b values of 800 s/mm2 and 1 000 s/mm2 will be the preferable choice on 3.0T MR scanner.

This study examined the mRNA expression of NALP3 in the spleen of the mice with hypersplenism due to portal hypertension (PH). The mouse hypersplenism models were established by oral administration of tetrachloromethane (2 mL/kg/week for 12 weeks by oral gavage). All the mice were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group. The blood routine test was conducted, spleen index was calculated and spleen was histologically examined. Portal vein sera were taken for detection of the level of uric acid. The mRNA expressions of NALP3 and IL-1beta in the spleen were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that the platelet count was significantly lower in the experimental group [(674+/-102)x10(9)/L] than in the control group [(1307+/-181)x10(9)/L] (P<0.05), while the spleen index was significantly higher [(9.83+/-1.36) mug/g] in the experimental group than in the control group [(4.11+/-0.47) mug/g] (P<0.05). The histopathological changes of spleen followed the pattern of congestive splenomegaly. No significant difference was found in the uric acid level in the portal vein between the control group and the experiment group. The mRNA expressions of NALP3 and IL-1beta were up-regulated significantly in the spleen in the experimental group as compared with those in the control group (P<0.05). It was concluded that NALP3 and IL-1beta may play important roles in the pathogenesis of hypersplenism.

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in elderly patients (aged≥80 years) with acute ischemic stroke.Methods From July 2014 to February 2016,157 consecutive patients with acute cerebral infarction treated with alteplase for intravenous thrombolysis within 4.5 h after onset at the Department of Neurology,the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu were collected retrospectively.They were confirmed by head CT or MRI.They were divided into a ≥80-year old group (n=47) and a <80-year old group (n=110) according to the age of onset.The baseline data were documented,including the risk factors for cardiocerebrovascular diseases,National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) score,onset to thrombolytic time (3.0-4.5 h),and application of anticoagulant drugs,etc.The adverse reactions of the patients were observed and the safety and efficacy of thrombolysis were evaluated,that is 7 d and 3 months mortality,symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate,and good recovery rates of intravenous thrombolysis at 24 h,1 week,and 3 months.Results (1) Compared with the <80-year old group,the ratio of atrial fibrillation and median age in the ≥80-year old group were higher.There were significant differences between the two groups (59.6% [n=28] vs.32.7% [n=36],83 [81,85] vs.67 [59,75] years old,all P<0.01).There were no significant differences in the remaining baseline data between the two groups (all P>0.05).(2) In the subtypes of cerebral infarction etiology,the proportion of cardiogenic embolism in the ≥80-year old group was higher than that in the <80-year old group.There was significant difference between the two groups (59.6% [n=28] vs.32.7% [n=36],P<0.01).There was no significant difference in the other etiological types between the two groups (all P>0.05).(3) There were no significant differences at one week (6.4% [n=3] vs.6.4% [n=7] respectively) and 3 months (12.8% [n=6] vs.9.1% [n=10]) in the mortality rates between the ≥80-year old group and the <80-year old group (all P>0.05).There were no significant differences in the proportions of intracranial hemorrhage (10.6% [n=5] vs.8.2% [n=9]) and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (4.3% [n=2] vs.6.4% [n=7]) between the two groups (all P>0.05).There was no significant difference between the good recovery rate at 24 h (38.3% [n=18] vs.45.5% [n=50]) and that at one week (53.2% [n=25] vs.62.7% [n=69];all P>0.05).The long-term (3 months) favorable prognosis rate in the ≥80-year old group was lower than that in the <80-year old group.There was significant difference between the two groups (51.1% [n=24] vs.71.8% [n=79], P<0.05).Conclusion For the onset within 4.5 h (aged≥80 years) in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke,selecting the appropriate cases for intravenous thrombolysis is help to increase safety and early benefit.

In 2012, a new SARS-like coronavirus emerged in the Middle East, namely the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It has caused outbreaks with high mortality. During infection of target cell, MERS-CoV S protein S1 subunit binds to the cellular receptor (DPP4), and its S2 subunit HR1 and HR2 regions intact with each other to form a stable six-helix bundle to mediate the fusion between virus and target cell membranes. Hence, blocking the process of six-helix bundle formation can effectively inhibit MERS-CoV entry into the target cells. This review focuses on the recent advance in the development of peptidic entry inhibitors targeting the MERS-CoV S2 subunit.
Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Coronavirus Infections ; drug therapy ; Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 ; metabolism ; Drug Design ; Humans ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; drug effects ; physiology ; Peptides ; pharmacology ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; metabolism ; Virus Internalization ; drug effects

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified as a novel human coronavirus and posed great threat to public health world wide,which calls for the development of effective and safe vaccine urgently. In the study, peptide epitopes tagrgeting spike antigen were predicted based on bioinformatics methods. Nine polypeptides with high scores were synthesized and linked to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Female BALB/C mice were immunized with individual polypeptide-KLH, and the total IgG was detected by ELISA as well as the cellular mediated immunity (CMI) was analyzed using ELIs-pot assay. The results showed that an individual peptide of YVDVGPDSVKSACIEVDIQQTFFDKTWPRPIDVSKADGI could induce the highest level of total IgG as well as CMI (high frequency of IFN-γ secretion) against MERS-CoV antigen in mice. Our study identified a promising peptide vaccine candidate against MERS-CoV and provided an experimental support for bioinformatics-based design of peptide vaccine.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; immunology ; Computational Biology ; Coronavirus Infections ; immunology ; prevention & control ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunization ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; genetics ; immunology ; Peptides ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Viral Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology

Objective:To compare the quantitative measurements of the retinal capillary nonperfusion areas in a cohort of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients with fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA) and swept source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA), and to determine the intrapersonal variability between examiners.Methods:A cross-sectional study. Eighteen eyes of eleven PDR patients diagnosed in Department of ophthalmology of Henan Provincial People's Hospital from September 2019 to January 2020 were included in this study. FFA was performed using Spectralis HRA+OCT (Germany Heidelberg Company) from and SS-OCTA was performed using VG200D (China Vision Micro Image Corporation). SS-OCTA was used to collect images of retinal layer, superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP). The same observation area was 80°×60° for SS-OCTA and 55° for FFA with both setting centered on the fovea. The forty-nine retinal capillary nonperfusion areas were observed. The area measurement was completed independently by three examiners. Paired sample t test or paired sample Wilcoxon test were used to compare the measured values of retinal capillary nonperfusion areas between the two examination methods and among the three examiners. Results:There was no significant difference in the retinal layer, SCP and DCP nonperfusion area measured by FFA and SS-OCTA among the three examiners ( P>0.05), and the consistency is good (consistency correlation coefficient> 0.9, P<0.05). The nonperfusion area measured by FFA was 0.786 mm 2. The median nonperfusion area of retinal layer and SCP measured by SS-OCTA were 0.787 mm 2 and 0.791 mm 2, respectively, and the average nonperfusion area of DCP was 0.878±0.366 mm 2. The nonperfusion area of retinal layer and SCP measured by FFA and SS-OCTA showed no statistically significant difference ( P=0.054, 0.198). The nonperfusion area of DCP measured by SS-OCTA was significantly larger than that of FFA, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.001). The results of repeatability analysis showed that 93.88% (46/49) of the DCP nonperfusion area data measured by SS-OCTA were greater than those measured by FFA. Conclusion:The retinal nonperfusion area of DCP in PDR patients measured by SS-OCTA is larger than that of FFA.

BackgroundAnterior proliferative vitreoretinopathy (aPVR)is a tissue injury and repair progress,and treatment of aPVR is very important in clinic.Chitosan drug delivery system is becoming a hot spot for its large lading dose and long acting duration.ObjectiveThe present study was to investigate the curative effect of a triamcinolone acetonide (TA) drug delivery system after implantation into the suprachoroidal space to treat traumatic aPVR.MethodsaPVR models were created in the left eyes of 65 healthy pigment rabbits by performinga 5 mm penetrating incision 2.5 mm posterior to limbum at 10:30-11:30.The animals were randomly divided into 4groups.Blank chitosan was implanted into the suprachoroidal space as the blank control group.Chitosan with 1 mg TA was implanted in the TA + chitosa group.The TA solution ( containing 1 mg TA) was intravitreally injected in the TA injection group.Fifteen models were used as the traumatic control group.Another 15 left eyes of normal pigment rabbits were used as the normal control group.The thickness of the ciliary tissue was measured using a ultrasound biomicroscope(UBM) 3,5 and 8 weeks after operation.The animals were sacrificed by excessive anesthesia and eyeballswereobtainedforhistopathologicalandultrastructuralexaminations.ResultsHistopathological examination showed the edema of the ciliary tissue and inflammatory cells infiltration in the blank control group,TA injection group and model control group,but mild response was seen in the TA + chitosa group.Severe damage in the ciliary tissue and subcellular organelle was found in the blank and model control groups,but mild damage was detected in the TA + chitosa group under the transmission electron microscope.UBM examination revealed that obvious abnormalities were visible in the ciliary and iris tissue in the blank control group,TA injection group and traumatic control group,but a mild abnormality was seen in the TA + chitosa group.Significant differences in ciliary thickness were exhibited among the 5 groups 2,5 and 8 weeks after operation (F =212.938,515.323,447.919,P＜0.01 ).Compared with the normal control group,ciliary thickness significantly increased in the blank control group and normal control group at various time points (all P＜0.05 ),but that in the TA + chitosa group was significantly lower than the normal control group at various time points ( two weeks:0.484±0.075 vs.0.327 ±0.094 ; five weeks:0.422 ±0.089vs.0.327±0.094 ;eight weeks:0.418±0.085 vs.0.327±0.094) (all P＞0.05). ConclusionsThe chitosan drug delivery system with TA suppresses the excessive proliferation of injured ocular tissue after implantation into the suprachoroidal space,which prevents the formation and development of aPVR.

Objective To study the asymmetry of the soft tissue thickness of upper eyelids in Shanghai female undergraduates undergoing double eyelid surgery.Methods Data were collected in 565 female students from Shanghai universities.Before surgery,oblique sagittal view images of the upper eyelids by 3.0T MRI were obtained and the following parameters were measured: soft tissue thickness at upper tarsal plate margin and upper central tarsal plate,sub-eyebrow and intra-orbital septum fat pad areas,and whole upper eyelid soft tissue areas.The resected orbicularis and intra-orbital septum fat were weighed by a highly accurated electronic balance.The eyelid asymmetry index (EAI) was calculated.Results The MRI (U/U2) central tarsal plate soft tissue thickness were:4.46±0.90 in the right side and 3.78±1.01 in the left; the intra orbital septum fat areas were:172.33±49.29 in the right and 136.34±37.42 in the left; the whole tissue areas were: 697.13±146.99 in the right and 500.66±158.87 in the left (P＜0.01 for all).The weight of the resected orbicularis oculi muscle and intra orbital septum fat pad were (0.18±0.05) g and (0.17±0.06) g for the right side,and (0.15±0.04) g and (0.06±0.05) g for the left side (P＜0.01 for all),respec tively.The orbicularis EAI was 0.17±0.06,and the intra orbital septum fat EAI was 0.41 ±0.08.Conclusions The asymmetric phenomenon of the upper eyelids' soft tissue thickness is commonly found in the Shanghai female undergraduates,and the main manifestation is that orbicularis and intra orbital septum fat in right side are thicker than that in the left.

Platinum-based anticancer drugs have been becoming one of the most effective drugs for clinical treatment of malignant tumors for its unique mechanism of action and broad range of anticancer spectrum. But, there are still several problems such as side effects, drug resistance/cross resistance and no-specific targeting, becoming obstacles to restrict its expanding of clinical application. In recent years, supramolecular chemistry drug delivery systems have been gradually concerned for their favorable safety and low toxicity. Supramolecular macrocycles-platinum complexes increased the water solubility, stability and safety of traditional platinum drugs, and have become hot focus of developing novel platinum-based anticancer drugs because of its potential targeting of tumor tissues/organs. This article concentrates in the research progress of the new drug delivery system between platinum-based anticancer drugs with three generations of macrocycles: crown ether, cyclodextrin, cucurbituril and calixarene.
Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Calixarenes ; Crown Compounds ; Cyclodextrins ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Macrocyclic Compounds ; pharmacology ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Platinum Compounds ; pharmacology