Acid Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Fatigue ; physiopathology ; Glucuronidase ; metabolism ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiology ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; physiology ; Motor Activity ; physiology ; Physical Exertion ; physiology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To retrospectivel y analyze the abdominal CT findings and pathological results of the chronic schist osomiasis so as to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the disease. M ethods The plain abdominal CT scanning was performed in 103 cases an d enhanced CT scanning in 81 cases. The pathological specimen which was consist ent with the section of CT scan was obtained in each cases. Results On CT scanning, liver cirrhosis was seen in 84 cases, various calci fication in liver in 71 cases, liver cancer in 12 cases, enlargement of sple en in 78 cases, calcification in spleen in 13 cases, wall-thickening in colon i n 27 cases, calcification in colon in 31 cases, and colon cancer in 9 cases. Pa thological examination revealed various fibrosis and formation of pseudolobule. The eggs and calcification could be seen in pseudolobule and septa, colonic sub mucosa, and regional lymph nodes. Fibrous hyperplasia in colonic wall and hyper plasia in mucous membrane were obvious. Fibrous hyperplasia and calcification w ere seen in spleen, but the eggs were not found. Conclusion The liver and colon are the major organs affected by chronic schistosomias is in abdomen, and the CT findings are obvious too. The pathological features o f spleen are accompanied with liver cirrhosis. CT is the important imaging meth od in diagnosing chronic schistosomiasis and pathological changes.

An epilepsy EEG processing system designed based on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is introduced in the paper, in order to meet the requirements of epileptic screening in clinical medicine. The system adopts module structure and virtual instrument technology, its hardware is mainly configured in the signal-detecting box, data are exchanged between the box and the notebook computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) through certain digital interface, and ICA is executed in the notebook computer or PDA. The virtual EEG processing system based on ICA is able not only to perform ICA algorithms easily, but also to improve the developing efficiency greatly, and it is suitable for disease screening on a large scale.
Electroencephalography ; instrumentation ; Epilepsy ; diagnosis ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; User-Computer Interface

OBJECTIVETo explore the intervention effect and the possibly mechanism of the glutamine (Gln) on the opening change of the permeability transition pore (PTP) in the myocardial mitochondrial membrane under the overtraining state.

METHODS30 SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 10): control group (CG group), overtraining group (OG group) and supplementary (Gln) + overtraining group group). Spectrophotometry was used to test the openness of the permeability transition pore in the myocardial mitochondrial membrane. Electrochemistry was used to test the malondialdehyde (MDA) and the glutathione (GSH) content and the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity.

RESULTSOG group compared with the GOG group, the absorbance (A0) and the absorbance change (Delta A) were decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Rh123 fluorescence (F0) intensity was significantly increased (P < 0.05). Rhodamine123 (Rh123) fluorescence change (delta F) was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the GOG, the mitochondrial GSH was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), the PLA2 activity and the content of MDA were significantly increased (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONOvertraining could lead to opening increase of permeability transition pore in the myocardial mitochondrial membrane, after overtraining, the production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and PLA2 activity were increased, GSH content was decreased. But added exogenous Gln had a significant intervention effect for these changes.

Animals ; Glutamine ; pharmacology ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; drug effects ; physiology ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; metabolism ; Mitochondrial Membranes ; drug effects ; physiology ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Permeability ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical results of arthroscopic single and double-bundle ACLs reconstructions.

METHODSFrom January 2009 to May 2010,45 patients with anterior cruciate ligament tear were divided into two groups. In the first group,the anterior cruciate ligament were anatomical reconstructed with double-bundle semitendinous tendon, and in the second group the anterior cruciate ligaments were anatomical reconstrucated with single bundle semitendinous tendon. There were 22 patients (15 males and 7 females) in double-bundle group, with an average age of (27.04 +/- 3.68) years; 18 patients (13 males and 5 females) in single bundle group, with an average age of (28.16 +/- 4.76) years. Therapeutic effects between two groups were compared according to the IKDC, Lysholm scoring standards and Lachman test, knee pivot shift test, KT-1000.

RESULTSTwenty-two patients in double-bundle group and 18 patients in single-bundle group were followed-up, and the mean duration was 12 months. The IKDC score of patients in single-bundle group improved from preoperative 41.40 +/- 6.30 to postoperatively 95.70 +/- 3.10, Lysholm score increased from preoperative 47.20 +/- 6.30 to postoperative 94.20 +/- 2.40. And the IKDC score of patients in double-bundle group improved from preoperative 40.90 +/- 6.10 to postoperative 96.10 +/-3.40, Lysholm score increased from preoperative 48.10 +/- 6.50 to postoperative 95.10 +/- 2.49. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The Lachman test was positive in 2 patients (1 patient in double-bundle group and 1 patient in single-bundle group); and pivot shift test was positive in 2 patients (1 patient in double-bundle group and 1 patient in single-bundle group). KT-1000 of patients in double-bundle group was (1.5 +/- 1.2) mm, and (1.9 +/- 1.5) mm in single-bundle group, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopic single-bundle reconstruction and double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction have no significant differences in clinical effects.

Adult ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; methods ; Arthroscopy ; methods ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male

This paper mainly introduces the principles of a type of circuit for measuring frequency & duty cycle of low-frequency signals, and its applications in neuron-threshold stimulator. The circuit has the advantages of simple structure and accurate measurement.
Brain ; physiology ; Electrophysiology ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Neurons ; physiology ; Physical Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation

It is always very difficult to process the bioelectrical signals, sampling, amplifying and quantifying because of the different sources it comes from and the mechanism it depends on. This paper mainly introduces a method of measuring the peak value of bioelectrical signals, expatiates on the structure, testing result, analysis for error and measure taken for improvement of the circuit designed by this method. At last, the paper also points out that the method is wonderful, simple, easy to carry out, and can be used in many medical systems.
Algorithms ; Brain ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrophysiology ; instrumentation ; methods ; Equipment Design ; Microcomputers ; Neurons ; physiology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Software

BACKGROUNDConnective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a potent fibrogenic cytokine which has been associated with progressive glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. We investigated the role of CTGF on the progression of a rat model of radiation nephropathy.

METHODSThe model of radiation nephropathy in rats was established as follows: control group (n = 12), underwent only laparotomy; irradiated group (n = 20), underwent a laparotomy, then the rats were subjected to a single dose 25 Gy X-ray to the kidneys. The rats were followed up one, three, six and nine months after renal exposure to radiation.

RESULTSRenal dysfunction was noted early in irradiated rats. Histological analysis showed focal glomerular sclerotic lesions at an early stage after irradiation. Radiation-induced glomerular and tubulointerstitial injuries were particularly severe the sixth month after irradiation as compared to the control group (P < 0.01). By immunohistochemistry, increased expression of CTGF was noted in the irradiated kidneys, which began to increase from the first month after irradiation, and remained significantly higher at the sixth and ninth month after irradiation (P < 0.01). Upon Western blot analysis CTGF protein expression showed an increase in the radiation treated kidneys compared with the control rats. The expression of CTGF closely correlated with the progression of radiation nephropathy. The expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, type III collagen and type IV collagen was also high in the irradiated kidney as compared to control rat kidneys (P < 0.05), and was most severe at the sixth and ninth month after irradiation (P < 0.01). By double immunostaining, CTGF expressing cells were found to be alpha-SMA-positive myofibroblasts and vimentin-positive tubular epithelial cells. Glomerular expression of CTGF closely correlated with the glomerular expression of alpha-SMA (r = 0.628, P < 0.01), vimentin (r = 0.462, P < 0.05) and accumulation of type IV collagen (r = 0.584, P < 0.01) in the irradiated kidney. Similarly, the expression of CTGF was positively correlated with the expression of alpha-SMA (r = 0.613, P < 0.01), vimentin (r = 0.629, P < 0.01), deposition of type III collagen (r = 0.741, P < 0.001) and type IV collagen (r = 0.799, P < 0.0001) in the tubulointerstitium of the irradiated kidney. Finally the expression of CTGF after the irradiation of the kidney positively correlated with the levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine.

CONCLUSIONOverexpression of CTGF may play an important role in the development and progression of glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis in radiation nephropathy.

Actins ; analysis ; Animals ; Collagen Type III ; analysis ; Collagen Type IV ; analysis ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; analysis ; physiology ; Kidney ; radiation effects ; Kidney Diseases ; etiology ; Male ; Radiation Injuries, Experimental ; etiology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Vimentin ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Kangning granules on inflammatory and immunology.

METHODPedal swelling induced by 1% agar in mice, dermal capillary hyper-permeability induced by histamine in rats were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory of Kangning granules, and the clearance rate of intravenous charcoal particles was used to study its effect on non-specific immunologic functions. Serum haemolysin level and the number of antibody secretory cells in spleen were determined to assess its effects of specific immunologic functions. MTT colored method was used to determine the effect of Kangning granules on T- or B-Lymphocytes proliferation.

RESULT5, 10, 20 g x kg(-1) of Kangning Granules significantly inhibited pedal swelling induced by agar in mice (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). 2.4, 4.8, 9.6 g x kg(-1) of Kangning Granules evidently decreased dermal capillary hyper-permeability induced by histamine in rats (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). 10, 20 g x kg(-1) of Kangning Granules enhanced the phagocytic function and phagocytosing velocity in mice (P < 0.05). 5, 10, 20 g x kg(-1) of Kangning Granules obviously increased serum haemolysin level and the number of antibody secretory cells in spleen (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). 20 g x kg(-1) of Kangning Granules promoted B-Lymphocytes proliferation (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONKangning granules significantly inhibited inflammatory reaction and increase immune functions in animals.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Capillary Permeability ; drug effects ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Echinacea ; chemistry ; Edema ; pathology ; Female ; Foot Diseases ; pathology ; Immunologic Factors ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Phagocytosis ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

BACKGROUNDLeptin is a protein mainly secreted by adipocytes, and the major function of leptin was its role in body weight regulation. It is suggested that increased levels of circulating leptin may contribute to anorexia in pathologic conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Recent studies have provided evidence for a link between leptin and proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). This study aimed to explore the role of serum leptin in the malnutrition of COPD patients, and to observe the changes of serum leptin levels during acute exacerbation, also to investigate relationship between leptin and TNF-alpha.

METHODSSeventy-two COPD patients and 34 control subjects participated in this study. Seventy-two COPD patients were divided into 3 groups: group COPD IA (patients without malnutrition during acute exacerbation, n = 25), group COPD IB (patients without malnutrition during stable disease, n = 29), group COPD II (patients with malnutrition during stable disease, n = 18). To eliminate the effect of sex differences, all patients and controls were male. Body mass index (BMI), percent ideal body weight (IBW%), triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF), mid-upper arm circumference (MAC), mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MAMC), serum leptin and TNF-alpha levels, serum prealbumin (PA), serum transferrin (TF), serum albumin (Alb), total lymphocytes count (TLC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), maximal inspiration pressure (MIP) and maximal expiration pressure (MEP) were measured in all participants. Leptin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. TNF-alpha levels were measured by ELISA. The between group difference and correlation of these parameters were analyzed.

RESULTSSerum leptin levels were significantly lower in group COPD II [(4.07 +/- 3.42) ng/ml] than in group COPD IB [(9.72 +/- 6.67) ng/ml] and controls [(8.21 +/- 5.41) ng/ml] (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in serum leptin levels between group COPD IA [(10.82 +/- 6.40) ng/ml], group COPD IB [(9.72 +/- 6.67) ng/ml] and controls [(8.21 +/- 5.41) ng/ml]. There was no statistically significant difference in serum TNF-alpha levels between group COPD II [(8.03 +/- 3.37) pg/ml], group COPD IA [(8.90 +/- 1.60) pg/ml], and group COPD IB [(7.25 +/- 2.08) pg/ml]. There was no significant correlation between leptin and TNF-alpha in any group.

CONCLUSIONSLeptin was not involved in anorexia and weight loss of COPD patients. There was no statistically significant difference in serum leptin levels between COPD patients during stable stage and acute exacerbation, and there was no significant correlation between TNF-alpha and leptin during the regulation of the energy balance in COPD patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Anorexia ; etiology ; Humans ; Leptin ; blood ; Male ; Malnutrition ; blood ; etiology ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; blood ; complications ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis ; Weight Loss