BACKGROUND:Research on liver transplantation has not just focused on survival rate and survival time, and the quality of life has become a new field of study. However, it is stil a blank about the quality of life of liver transplant recipients in Xinjiang. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the quality of life of liver transplant recipients in Xinjiang and to explore the main risk factors for the quality of life in patients. METHODS: A Chinese version of the SF-36 health survey was used to retrospectively evaluate the quality of life of liver transplant recipients in Xinjiang. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The scores of al eight dimensions in the patients with liver transplantation ranged from 60.6±18.7 to 93.9±22.1. Primary diseases, operation method, marital status, level of education, occupation, gender and age could influence the quality of life of the liver transplant recipients, but nation, income and the way of medical insurance had no significant effect on the quality of life. These findings indicate that there is no obvious difference in the quality of life between liver transplant recipients and normal population, and the scores in six dimensions are higher in the liver transplant recipients than normal population, which is further confirmed that liver transplantation is an effective way for treatment of advanced liver disease.

Objective:To explore the mechanism of islet cell apoptosis caused by glucose at different concentrations.Methods:The islet cells of SD adult rats were prepared by collagenase digestion,purified by Fcoll400 and cultured in RPMI1640.Different concentrations of glucose or mannitol were added into the monolayer of islet cells.The medium insulin concentration was measured by RIA.The apoptosis rate was measured by the flow cytometry and the bax and bcl-2 expressions were detected by immunoblot.Results:①With glucose concentration raised from 11.1 mmol/L to 22.2 mmol/L,the insulin concentration began to raise and reached the peak,then it began to decline.②With glucose at 11.1 mmol/L and 22.2 mmol/L,the apoptosis rate was the highest,while at 5.5 mmol/L,there was no significant difference compared with the controls. For the groups of mannitol-infused,there was no differences of bax or bcl-2 expressions and no difference of the apoptosis rate comparing with the controls.③With glucose infused,the bcl-2 expressions in 11.1 mmol/L and 22.2 mmol/L groups were negative,bax expression was positive;the bax and bcl-2 expressions were negative in the group of 33.3 mmol/L;the bax and bcl-2 expressions in the 5.5 mmol/L group showed no difference compared with the controls.Conclusion:Higher levels of glucose at 11.1mmol/L and 22.2 mmol/L lead to the release of more insulin and the raise of apoptosis rate.But with glucose concentration at 33.3 mmol/L,the release of insulin decreased and the apoptosis rate declined.Hyperosmolality could not cause the apoptosis of the islet cell.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among its various active components, glycyrrhizic acid is believed to be the marker component. Squalene synthase (SQS) and beta-amyrin synthase (beta-AS) are key enzymes in the biosynthetic pathway of glycyrrhizic acid in G uralensis. To reveal the effects of co-expression of SQS1 and beta-AS genes on this pathway, 7 yeast expression vectors harboring different SQS1 variants and beta-AS were constructed and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as fusion proteins. TLC and GC-MS results showed that co-expression of SQS1 and beta-AS enhanced the accumulation of beta-amyrin. The effects of SQS12 were more obvious than the other two SQS1 variants. This study is significant for further investigations concerned with exploring the biosynthesis of glycyrrhizic acid in vitro and strengthening the efficacy of G. uralensis by means of increasing the content of glycyrrhizic acid.
Farnesyl-Diphosphate Farnesyltransferase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; genetics ; Intramolecular Transferases ; metabolism ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; metabolism ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the clinic-pathological significance of von Willebrand factor (vWF) and P-selectin expression in patients with lupus nephritis (LN).Methods Biopsy specimens from 71patients with LN whose disease course ranged from 2 months to 10 years were examined and scored according to a standardized method.SLE activity was evaluated by the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) and the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group index.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of vWF and P-selectin in the renal tissue of LN patients and 10 normal controls.Of all the patients,7 had World Health Organization type Ⅱ,10 had type Ⅲ and 36 had WHO type Ⅳ,18 had type Ⅴ lupus nephritis.At the same time,the 24-h urine protein (UP) excretion level,the serum creatinine,the serum C3,C4,album level,antinuclear antibody (ANA),anti-double stranded DNA and disease activity scores of all patients were detected.The relationship of their expressions with the clinicopathological parameters of lupus nephritis was analyzed.ANOVA,Nemenyi test and Pearson's analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results Compared with the control group,the in situ expressions of vWF and P-selectin in the lupus nephritis patients were significantly higher.Among these patients,renal expressions of vWF were higher in type Ⅳ (0.30±0.10) than those with type Ⅱ and Ⅲ (0.12±0.05,0.22±0.14)(x2=9.273,x2=8.712,P＜0.05),while the expressions of P-selectin were higher in type Ⅳ and Ⅴ (0.29±0.05,0.36.±0.10)than those in type Ⅱ and Ⅲ (0.27±0.09,0.29±0.05 )(P＜0.05).Correlation analysis indicated that vWF was correlated significantly with AI and 24-h UP (r=0.403,0.332,P＜0.05 ),while P-selectin was correlated significantly with the scores of activity index (AI),24-h UP excretion rate and SLEDAI (r=0.283,0.453,0.297,P＜0.05 ).The expression of vWF was also closely related to P-selectin expressions (r=0.371,P=0.001).Conclusion These results indicate that vWF and P-selectin play a critical role in the pathogenesis of LN.The detection of these two factors will provide a valuable clinical reference for renal damage.These information provide valuable clues for making better treatment regimen plan and achieving more favorable prognosis.

Objective To investigate the the effect of long-term glucocorticoid on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover makers in patients with glomerular diseases. Methods The dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure the bone mineral density of lumbar spine (L1~L4), femoral neck and trochanter of the 97 patients treated with glucocorticoid and the 20 patients in the control group. In addition , ELISA assay was used to measure the concentrations of bone turnover makers including serum PINP and CTX-I. Results (1)Compared with the control group, the BMD of lumbar spine (L1 ~ L4), femoral neck and trochanter and the concentrations of PINP were significantly lower, while the concentration of CTX-I was increased (P < 0.05);(2) Following up the passage of time and the accumulation of the amount of GC application , the BMD of lumbar spine , femoral neck and trochanter , and the concentrations of PINP decreased , while the concentration of CTX-I steadily increased (P<0.05);(3)Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the BMD of lumbar spine and trochanter were negatively correlated with the time of GC application (P<0.01),and the concentrations of PINP and CTX-I were correlated with the cumulative doses of GC (r = -0.310 vs 0.221, P < 0.05);(4)The incidence of bone abnormalities in patients received vitamin D and calcium was markedly reduced (P<0.05). Conclusion The long-term glucocorticoid treatment for the patients with glomerular diseases can lead to bone mass reduction or osteoporosis , it can be helpful for early prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid osteoporosis with bone mineral density and bone turnover makers.

Purpose To study the clinicopathologic features and differential diagnosis of primary mucosal melanoma of the nasal cavity (PMMNC).Methods 17 cases of PMMNC diagnosed from January 2003 to September 2016 were studied by clinical pathological analysis and immunohistochemical staining,and relevant literatures were reviewed.Results 73％ of the PMMNC was characterized by unilateral nasal congestion and intermittent epistaxis and 61％ of the PMMNC occurred in the nasal septum and nasal side wall.Microscopically,the organizational structure and morphology were complex and diverse,which had several cell types including epithelioid cell type (6cases,35.3％),spindle cell type (3 cases,17.6％) and snall cell type (5 cases,29.4％),the other 3 cases (17.6％)were mixed cell type.Mitotic activity and tumor necrosis were more likely to be seen in PMMNC,among other clinicopathological features with a small amount of fibrous stroma and melanoma and rich blood vessels.The immunohistochemical study showed that the positive rate of S-100 and HMB-45 were both 93.8％(15 cases) and those of Melan-A and vimentin were both 87.5％ (14 cases),while CK and EMA were both negative (16 cases).Conclusion PMMNC is a rare disease and the phenotype of S-100,HMB-45,Melan-A and vimentin are useful for diagnosis of PMMNC.

Background Excimer laser corneal refractive surgery is one of the major methods to correct refractive error.Centration of the ablation zone is an important factor that affects visual quality after surgery.The pupil center and its shift is a major factor to determine the ablation center.Therefore further study on pupil centroid shift with illumination level alteration is needed.Objective This study aimed to study the characteristics of the pupillary centroid shift along with the change of pupil size under the different illumination conditions and the possible clinical application of the curve of pupillary centroid shift in exeimer laser corneal refractive surgery.MethodsThe variation of pupil size induced by illumination and the changes of pupil center were measured on 114 moderate myopia eyes of 57 subjects with Astra MaxTM Corneal Topographer.Illumination of placido target and image snap model of the topographer was customized to provide 5 illumination levels as follows:0.8,4.4,18.9,82.3,355.0 Lx.Vectorial analysis was used to graph the change of pupil center related to the Coaxially Sighted Corneal Reflex (CSCR).Raw data is converted to relative value to analyze the pupiilary centroid shift.The mean relative change of the pupil size(△P)and the mean of relative pupillary centroid shift(△C)in the form of percentage were used to attenuate the variation among subjects.The original value of illumination(darkest)is defined as 0％ and maximum value(lightest)was as 100％.Results With the increase of illumination,the shift of the pupil center towards nasal side when pupil constrict was found.The mean change of pupil size under the 5 illumination levels were 0,(1.28 +0.40)mm,(2.34 ±0.53)mm,(3.34+0.54)mm,(4.03 ±0.56)mm respectively,and the △P values was 0％,32％,58％,83％,100％ respectively.The mean of pupil centroid shift under the 5 illumination levels were 0,(78±33)μm,(116±60)μm,(143 ±66)μm,(170±71)μm respectively,and the △C was 0％,46％,68％,84％,100％respectively.There was a linear relation between the relative pupil centroid shift and the relative change of pupil size (r=0.980,P=0.025).The amount of pupil centroid shift has a positive correlation with amplitude of the change of pupil size(r=0.480,P＜0.01).Conclusion Pupil center shifts with the change of pupil size.The linear relation between relative pupil centroid shift and the relative change of pupil size can be applied in eximer laser corneal refractive surgery to improve the visual quality with customized ablation center location.

AIM:In this study, the rat lung injury model was induced by ammonium chloride for studying the effect of imidapril on blood gas, serum TNF-α, IL-6 and MDA concentrations, and AngⅡand CD54 protein expression in rat lung tissue.METHODS:Male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:control group, lung injury model group and drug group.The rats in control group were given saline (2 mL/kg), while the rats in lung injury model group were given 6% ammonium chloride (2 mL/kg).In drug group, imidapril (3 mg· kg-1· d-1) was given to the rats once daily for 1 week by intragastric gavage after given 6%ammonium chloride.On the 7th day, the rats were anesthetized with 2% so-dium pentobarbital.Abdominal aorta blood, venous blood and lung tissue were collected.The blood gas indexes and serum TNF-α, IL-6 and MDA concentrations were determined.The lung tissues were fixed and sliced, and the expression of AngⅡ and CD54 proteins was detected by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS: The PaCO2 increased in lung injury model group compared with control group and drug group (P<0.05).The expression of AngⅡand CD54, and the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 and MDA also increased significantly ( P<0.01) in model group.Pulmonary edema, inflammation, alveo-lus congestion, hemorrhage and hyperplasia in model group were obvious compared with control group and drug group. CONCLUSION:Imidapril improves blood gas indexes, and reduces lipid peroxidation and inflammatory responses in the rats with lung injury induced by ammonium chloride.

Objective To investigate whether the left ventricular delayed contraction site determined by tissue Doppler imaging might be an optimal left ventricular lead position for improved outcomes of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Methods Thirty-three patients subjected to CRT were selected, and all were performed conventional ultrasound cardiography and tissue Doppler examinations before operation. The left ventricular delayed contraction site was determined according to the interval between the onset of QRS and the peak systolic velocity. Retrograde coronary venography was performed during operation, and the left ventricular lead site was selected according to the left ventricular delayed contraction site determined by tissue Doppler examination before operation. The coronary sinus lead site was determined under the guidance of X ray of dorsaventral, lateral, right anterior oblique and left anterior oblique positions. Patients were divided into group A(n=20, the left ventricular lead site was in line with the delayed contraction site) and group B (n=13, the left ventricular lead site was not in line with the delayed contraction site). Results There was no significant difference in age, NYHA grading, left ventricular end-systolic volume(LVESV), left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF), pulmonary arterial systolic pressure, QRS width and Ts-SD between the two groups before operation(P> 0.05). Six months after CRT, there was no significant difference in NYHA grading, LVESV and mitral regurgitation(MR) grading between the two groups(P>0.05), while the increase in LVEF and decrease in LVESV of group A were more significant than those of group B (P<0.01). Conclusion In patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, CRT significantly improves left ventricular performance, and the more favourable outcomes are achieved in those pace at the delayed contraction site. Tissue Doppler imaging may help to guide the implant of left ventricular lead.

Objective To evaluate DWI in the assessment of viability of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) by comparing DWI with PET-CT results. Methods 18-fluorodeoxy glucose(18F-FDG) PET-CT and DWI(b values=0, 800 s/mm2) were retrospectively analyzed in 8 patients with clinically verified HAE. The metabolic activity of HAE lesions in both techniques were determined by two independent radiologists respectively. Kappa test was assessed between the results of two observers. Results Sixteen lesions (composed of 14 HAE and 2 cystic echinococcosis, CE) were detected. (1)Eight lesions (≥2 cm) showed perilesional hyper-signal intensity on DWI, mainly around the lesion bounding by normal liver parenchyma. One patient (≥2 cm) had oral drug therapy for three years, and the lesion showed discontinuous perilesional hyper-signal intensity on DWI after the therapy. Five lesions (<2 cm) were depicted as nodular high signal on DWI.(2)Eight lesions (≥2 cm) showed perilesional increased FDG uptake on PET-CT, while 5 lesions (<2 cm) displayed as“hot pot”. One patient (leison≥2 cm) who had oral drug therapy for three years showed hepatic defect without any FDG uptake in post-treatment PET-CT. Two CE lesions showed negative results on both DWI and PET-CT. The Kappa value of 0.880 indicated a good coincidence between DWI and PET-CT in depicting the metabolic activity of HAE (P=0.006). Conclusions This preliminary study showed the value of DWI in assessing HAE viability. DWI should be routinely used as one of the techniques in the evaluation of HAE.