OBJECTIVETo explore the alterations of after depolarization and triggered activity in myocardiac muscle during progression of mouse aortic stenosis.

METHODSAfter the establishment of mouse aortic stenosis model, the heart was collected and intracellular potential was recorded using standard glass microelectrode. After the recording, the action potential (AP), early after depolarization (EAD), delayed after depolarization (DAD) in papillary muscles were analysed.

RESULTS(1) Compared with that of time-matched control mice, there were no changes of the action potoutial duration at 90% repolarization(APD90) in model mice at 2 and 5 weeks, whereas the APD90 was progressively prolonged at 9 and 13 weeks. (2) During the 30 minites of the experiment, spontaneous EADs and DADs were frequently present in medel mice at 9 and 13 weeks, were not in control and model mice at 2 and 5 weeks. (3) Compared with those of control group, EADs and DADs triggered by hypokalaemia or isoproterenol were increased significantly. The incidence rate of triggering EADs and DADs was progressively increased over time.

CONCLUSIONEAD, DAD and trigger activities increase gradually during the process of aortic stenosis, and it suggests that the myocardium electrical-instability is markedly increased in the insult hearts.

Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Mice ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo find the characteristic parameters from electrocardiogram (ECG) which is most related to pathological progress, surface ECG was performed in mice at 2, 5, 9 and 13 week post surgery.

METHODSElectrocardiogram recordings: The mice were anaesthetized with tribromoethanol (250 mg/kg, i.p.). Lead II surface ECG were acquired by using the Biopac System MP150 at a rate of 5 kHz.

RESULTS(1) No arrhythmia was observed in Sham and 2-week Band mice. Spontaneous arrhythmias were observed in ECG recordings, with an incidence of 15%, 28% and 63% in 5-, 9- and 13-week Band mice, respectively. Tachyarrhythmias, such as frequent premature ventricular extrasystole, bigeminy, trigeminy, and paroxysmal tachycardia were found. (2) Analysis of ECG recordings revealed a significant prolongation of QT and QTc intervals. Compared with age-matched Sham mice, the increment in QT and QTc intervals was 20.4%, 32.7%, 49.7%, 61.0% and 27.1%, 32.1%, 43.9%, 59.1% at 2, 5, 9 and 13 week, respectively (P < 0.01). (3) The characteristic change in electrocardiogram was on the J wave. The amplitude of J wave was upward in Sham mice, and it was significantly flattened or inverted in Band mice. (4) Except that RR interval at 2 week showed a slight decrease, there was no significant change in PR interval and RR interval in Band mice.

CONCLUSIONIn the present study, we found that the increase incidence of spontaneous arrhythmias, prologation of QT interval and changes in the amplitude of the J wave in the surface ECG during progression of mouse cardiac hypertrophy and failure, and the progressive pattern indicated that a gradual aggravation of the ventricular repolarization delay in this mouse model.

Animals ; Cardiomegaly ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electrocardiography ; Male ; Mice

Objective Due to the anatomy of the scapula itself is exceptional,fracture is often associated with other damage.So it is particularly important to evaluate the patients,physical examination,as well as the choice of surgical approach during perioperative period.By studing of the relevant literatures,this article reviewed the anatomy and classification of the shoulder blades,patient assessment,surgical indications and approaches,as well as the functional exercise.

OBJECTIVETo develop a new technique for assessing the risk of birth defects, which are a major cause of infant mortality and disability in many parts of the world.

METHODSThe region of interest in this study was Heshun County, the county in China with the highest rate of neural tube defects (NTDs). A hybrid particle swarm optimization/ant colony optimization (PSO/ACO) algorithm was used to quantify the probability of NTDs occurring at villages with no births. The hybrid PSO/ACO algorithm is a form of artificial intelligence adapted for hierarchical classification. It is a powerful technique for modeling complex problems involving impacts of causes.

RESULTSThe algorithm was easy to apply, with the accuracy of the results being 69.5%±7.02% at the 95% confidence level.

CONCLUSIONThe proposed method is simple to apply, has acceptable fault tolerance, and greatly enhances the accuracy of calculations.

Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; China ; epidemiology ; Environmental Exposure ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Models, Biological ; Neural Tube Defects ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors

Objective To analyze the clinical,molecular and genetic features of a Chinese family with WalkerWarburg syndrome(WWS).Methods The clinical data of the proband and his family members were collected.Genomic DNAs from the patient and his parents were extracted with standard procedures from the peripheral blood leukocytes.Polymerase chain reaction and DNA direct sequencing were employed to analyze all of the 20 exons of the POMT1 gene to determine the mutation,and the relationship between genotype and phenotype was analyzed.Results The proband presented with delayed psychomotor development,muscle hypotonia and early joint contractures,his serum creatine kinase was elevated moderately and the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) displayed brain structural malformations,cerebellar cyst,bilateral dilatation of the lateral ventricle,cerebellum and brainstem dysplasia.Further genetic testing detected a compound heterozygous mutation of c.313C ＞ T,p.Arg105Cys inherited from his father,a frameshift mutation c.2208delG,p.Trp736X inherited from his mother,both of which were known as pathogenic mutations.Conclusions According to the study,the proband carried compound heterozygous mutation of POMT1 gene,and his parents were heterozygous carriers,which is consistent with autosomal recessive inheritance.The child is definitely diagnosed as WWS.Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis are available for this family.

Adult ; Deferoxamine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; chemically induced ; Male ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; drug therapy

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive moxibustion for adjuvant treatment of depression in Parkinson disease and explore its mechanism. Methods: A total of 80 patients with Parkinson disease coupled with depression were randomized into an observation group and a control group, with 40 cases in each group. The control group was treated with levodopa and benserazide hydrochloride tablets and paroxetine tablets, while the observation group was treated with heat-sensitive moxibustion on the basis of the medications in the control group. The treatment course was 2 months. The Hamilton depression scale-17 (HAMD-17), unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) and Parkinson's disease quality of life questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) were scored before and after the treatment, and the efficacy was evaluated after treatment. Levels of patients' serum dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were detected before and after the treatment. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The HAMD-17 scores in the two groups decreased significantly after treatment (both P<0.05), and the score in the observation group was obviously lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The component scores and total scores of UPDRS in both groups decreased significantly (all P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The score of PDQ-39 in the observation group decreased significantly (P<0.05), and was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum DA and 5-HT levels in the observation group increased significantly (both P<0.05) and the TNF-α and IL-6 levels decreased significantly (both P<0.05), which were statistically different from those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Heat-sensitive moxibustion has certain auxiliary effect in treating depression in Parkinson disease, significantly improving clinical symptoms and the quality of life, which may be related to the up-regulation of DA and 5-HT levels and down-regulation of TNF-α and IL-6 levels.

Manganese-oxidizing microorganisms are able to oxidize soluble Mn(II) into insoluble Mn oxides. Such microorganisms are very useful in treatment of Mn-contaminated water. In this research, a Mn(II)- oxidizing bacterium Bacillus sp. MK3-1 was isolated from Mn-contaminated soil. This bacterium has high MnCl2 resistance with a MIC of 20 mmol/L. The results showed that it is able to oxidize and remove more than 96% of Mn(II) in the culture medium. The immobilized solid-embedding Bacillus sp. MK3-1can re- moved 87.12% of manganese contaminated water. The final concentration of MnCl2 after the treatment reached the national discharge standard level. Scan electron microscope observation showed that the pro- duced Mn oxides located on the cell surfaces of Bacillus sp. MK3-1. Energy dispersive spectrdmeter analy- sis indicated that the content of manganese of cell surfaces of Bacillus sp. MK3-1 was 19.60% (W/W). At last we amplified a 903 bp multicopper oxidase gene mnxG encoding the putative Mn(II)-oxidizing protein.The product of mnxG showed 86% identity to the reported multicopper oxidase.

Objective To establish a tree shrew mode of breast tumor.Method Forty-five 3 to 4 month-old female tree shrews were orally gavaged with 20 mg 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) or peanut oil per animal for three times.Following that, fifteen DMBA administrated tree shrews were implanted 90 day-release medroxyprogesterone acetate ( MPA) pellets.The tree shrews were palpated once weekly to detect mammary tumors for 45 weeks after first DMBA administration.Results DMBA were able to induce breast tumors (12.5%) in tree shrews, and MPA increased the tumor incidence (50%) while no breast tumors were observed in the control group.Three induced breast tumors were intraductal papillary carcinomas and one was IDC by H&E stain.Conclusion All induced tumors are similar with spontaneous tumors in structure and molecular markers.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy of Xipayimaizipizi Capsules and Tamsulo- sin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

METHODSWe randomly assigned 60 BPH patients to a control and a combination group of equal number, the former aged 62.03 ± 10.19 years with a disease course of 3.24 ± 2.18 years and the latter aged 64.77 ± 10.33 years with a disease course of 4.09 ± 2.63 years. We treated the patients in the control group with Tamsulosin at 0.2 mg qd and those in the combination group with Tamsulosin at 0.2 mg qd plus Xipayimaizipizi at 0.5 g tid, respectively, both for 4 weeks. Then, we obtained the mean frequency of nocturnal urination, maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax), residual urine volume, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) , and quality of life scores (QOL) of the patients, and recorded their adverse reactions.

RESULTSBefore treatment, the nocturnal urination frequency, Qmax, IPSS, and QOL were 3.60 ± 1.81, (10.40 ± 3.53) ml/min, 22.47 ± 8.58, and 4.43 ± 1.50 in the control group, as compared with 3.43 ± 1.61, (10.14 ± 3.43) ml/min, 21.93 ± 8.79, and 4.73 ± 1.31 in the combination group. After 4 weeks of medication, the combination group showed more significant improvement than the control in the nocturnal urination frequency (1.30 ± 1.18 vs 2.27 ± 1.60), Qmax ([13.85 ± 3.15] vs [14.36 ± 3.03] ml/min), IPSS (13.00 ± 1.53 vs 17.20 ± 8.43), and QOL (2.57 ± 1.61 vs 2.93 ± 1.68), all significantly better than the baseline (P < 0.05). The combination therapy achieved remarkable improvement as compared with the control in the nocturnal urination frequency (- [2.13 ± 1.11] vs -[1.73 ± 1.07]), IPSS (- [8.93 ?6.01] vs -[4.80 ± 3.87]), and QOL (- [2.17 ± 1.12] vs -[1.50 ± 1.01]) (P < 0.05), but exhibited no significant differences from the latter in Qmax ([3.72 ± 2.281 vs [3.95 ± 2.53] ml/min) and residual urine volume (- [34.30 ± 37.43] vs - [26.43 ± 30.49] ml) (P > 0.05). Adverse reactions were found in 5 cases in the combination group (16.67%) and 3 cases in the control (10%) , with no remarkable differences between the two groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe combination therapy of Xipayimaizipizi Capsules and Tamsulosin can improve the symptoms of BPH and the patients quality of life of.

Aged ; Capsules ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Quality of Life ; Sulfonamides ; therapeutic use