Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common clinical disease that seriously threatens human health and life. Accurate location of the upper airway obstruction is the key to the diagnosis and treatment of OSAHS. Acoustic pharyngometry uses sound reflection to quickly assess the cross-sectional area and volume of the upper airway. Acoustic pharyngometry represents a simple, quick, non-invasive method for measuring upper airway dimensions which could predict sleep apnea risk. In this article we sought to introduce the application of acoustic pharyngometry in the diagnosis and treatment of OSAHS.
Acoustics ; Humans ; Larynx ; Pharynx ; diagnostic imaging ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Syndrome

Objective To evaluate the development of fetal cerebellar vermis using 3D transabdominal ultrasound,and provide evidence for prenatal screening fetal cerebellar vermis anomalies.Methods Totally 387 normal fetuses at 20～36 gestation weeks were examined by three-dimensional extended imaging(3DXI) to observe the fetal cerebellar vermis.The width,anteroposterior diameter,craniocaudal diameter of the cerebellar vermis,the angle between brain stem and vermis,a ratio between the area of anterior vermis and posterior vermis were measured,and the relationship between the gestational age and parameters mentioned above were analyzed.Results The multi slice view of 3DXI and 3D reconstructed sagittal section well evaluated the integrity of vermis morphous and vermis size,identified characteristic signs of vermis:the fourth ventricle apex and vermis crack.In normal fetus,brain stem and vermis were almost parallel,the angle between them was 3.97°±1.65°.There was no significant correlation between the angle and the gestational age.The area of the anterior vermis was smaller than that of posterior vermis,with a ratio of 0.76±0.06,which was also not related to gestational age.The width,anteroposte rior diameter and craniocaudal diameter of the cerebellar vermis were positively correlated with gestational age.Conclusions The multi slice view of 3DXI and 3D reconstructed sagittal section should help evaluate the development of the cerebellar vermis,accurately show the cerebellar vermis and its surrounding strutures,and provide a new way to evaluate the fetal cerebellar vermis.

Objective Construct the eukaryotic expression vector of inhibitory member of the ASPP family (iASPP) and trans-fect it into colon carcinoma cell lines SW480 and Lovo by liposome .Then observe the expression of iASPP and detect the cell apop-tosis by flow cytometry .Methods The amplified PCR product was digested and inserted into pMD19-T simple vector and sub-cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3 .1(+ ) .The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3 .1(+ )-iASPP was transfected into colon carcinoma cell lines SW480 and Lovo by liposome ,the iASPP expression was analyzed by RT-PCR .The cell apoptosis was detected by FCM .Results The eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3 .1(+ )-iASPP was constructed success-fully ,the gene squence of iASPP was consistent with that reported (gi 60457962) in GenBank .The mRNA expression levels of iASPP gene of SW480 and Lovo cell lines which transfect the positive plasmid were increased ,and the cell apoptosis rates were de-creased .Conclusion We successfully constructed the recombinant expression plasmid pcDNA 3 .1(+ )-iASPP ,and the plasmid were successfully expressed in colon carcinoma cell lines SW 480 and Lovo ,the cell apoptosis rates of those cell lines were decreased .These facts indicated that reducing the high expression of iASPP may be a new strategy to renew the abilities of P 53 tumor suppressor .

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of peripheral blood CD4~+, CD25~+ and CD4~+CD25~+ T subpopulations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosis.Methods The per- centage and fluorescence intensities of peripheral blood CD4~+,CD25~+ and CD4~+CD25~+ subpopulations from 34 SLE and 18 normal controls were measured with flow cytometry assay,then the correlation with clincal data was analyzed.The CD25~+ cells were defined as the CD25~(high) cells if their fluorescence intensity was higher than 10. Results The percentage of CD4~+CD25~+,CD4~+CD25~(high) T lymphocytes in active SLE patients[(4.80?1.21)% and (0.25?0.10)%]was lower than that in normal controls[(8.92?3.21)% and(0.44?0.22)% and non-active SLE patients(11.28?2.09)% and(0.59?0.34)%](P＜0.05).However,as for the CD25~+ cells in the CD4~+ T cells,there was no difference between SLE patients and normal control group.Peripheral blood CD4~+CD25~+,CD4~+CD25~(high) cells in SLE were reversely correlated with SLEDAI(r=-0.74,P=0.004 and r=-0.614,P=0.026),but not with others such as complements,ANA titers etc.Peripheral blood CD4~+ and CD25~+ lymphocytes in active SLE pa- tients were also lower than those in normal controls[(23?7)vs(34?7)and(7.4?1.8)vs(13.9?3.4),P＜0.05]. CD25 fluorescence intensities were higher in the SLE patients those in the normal controls,but CD4 fluores- cence intensities were not.Conclusion CD4~+CD25~+ may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

AIMTo detect the expression of VASA in human ejaculated spermatozoa, and to compare the expression of VASA between normozoospermic men and patients with oligozoospermia.

METHODSEjaculated spermatozoa were collected from normozoospermic men and patients with oligozoospermia by masturbation, and subsequently segregated through a discontinuous gradient of Percoll to obtain the spermatozoa. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative RT-PCR (QRT-PCR), immunoflurescence and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of VASA in mRNA and protein levels.

RESULTSVASA mRNA was expressed in the ejaculated spermatozoa. QRT-PCR analysis showed that VASA mRNA level was approximately 5-fold higher in normozoospermic men than that in oligozoospermic men. Immunofluorescence and Western blotting analysis showed that VASA protein was located on the cytoplasmic membrane of heads and tails of spermatozoa, and its expression was significantly decreased in oligozoospermic men, which is similar to the result of QRT-PCR.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of VASA mRNA and protein was significantly decreased in the sperm of oligozoospermic men, which suggested the lower expression of the VASA gene might be associated with pathogenesis in some subtypes of male infertility and VASA could be used as a molecular marker for the diagnosis of male infertility.

Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; DEAD-box RNA Helicases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Male ; Oligospermia ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; metabolism

Objective:To explore the effect of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on cardiac rehabilitation in patients after heart transplantation.Methods:According to the search terms, the search was conducted on China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, WanFang Data, China Biology Medicine disc, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and EBSCO. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to January 31, 2022. After 2 researchers screened the article, extracted information, and evaluated the quality, a Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 software.Results:According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 English articles were selected, including 191 patients in the intervention group and 212 patients in the control group, with a total of 403 patients. Meta-analysis showed that during cardiac rehabilitation exercise in patients after heart transplantation, HIIT could improve peak oxygen uptake in cardiopulmonary function exercise testing [ MD=1.98, 95% confidence interval ( CI) (0.55, 3.41), P=0.007], peak heart rate in chronotropic responses [ MD=6.93, 95% CI (2.62, 11.24), P=0.002], and muscle exercise ability [ MD=337.18, 95% CI (12.02, 62.35), P=0.04]. There was no statistically significant difference in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, peak systolic blood pressure, peak diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate and respiratory exchange rate between the two groups ( P>0.05). A subgroup analysis of peak oxygen uptake was conducted based on the intervention period and the start time of rehabilitation exercise after heart transplantation. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in peak oxygen uptake between the intervention group and the control group when the intervention period was ≤ 12 weeks or the start time was > 6 weeks ( P<0.01) . Conclusions:HIIT effectively improves the peak oxygen uptake, peak heart rate, and muscle exercise activity of patients after heart transplantation. HIIT has a significant impact on peak oxygen uptake when the rehabilitation exercise start time after heart transplantation is > 6 weeks or the intervention period is ≤ 12 weeks.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the plasma levels of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in patients with liver cirrhosis and to explore their significance.

METHODSThe plasma levels of ascorbic acid,vitamin E and lipoperoxides in patients with liver cirrhosis were measured, and the results were compared with those of sex-and age-matched healthy subjects.

RESULTThe plasma levels of ascorbic acid, vitamin E and lipoperoxides in the patients group were (42.94 +/-6.99)micromol/L, (17.99 +/-3.51)micromol/L and (14.09 +/-1.28)micromol/L, respectively, while those in the control group were (53.30 +/-9.45)micromol/L (t=9.50, P=0.000), (24.59 +/-7.22)micromol/L (t=7.94, P=0.000) and (12.11 +/-1.20)micromol/L (t=17.21, P=0.000), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe levels of ascorbic acid and vitamin E in patients with liver cirrhosis decrease significantly,which may indicates the disturbance of balance between oxidation and antioxidation.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Ascorbic Acid ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Lipid Peroxides ; blood ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Vitamin E ; blood

To observe a PPAR-alpha agonist effect of N-oleoylethanolamine (OEA) on CB2 (cannabinoid receptor 2), an anti-inflammatory receptor in vascular endothelial cell, healthy HUVECs and TNF-alpha induced HUVECs were used to establish a human vascular endothelial cell inflammatory model. Different doses of OEA (10, 50 and 100 micromol x L(-1)) had been given to HUVECs, cultured at 37 degrees C for 7 h and then collected the total protein and total mRNA. CB2 protein expression was detected by Western blotting and CB2 mRNA expression was assayed by real-time PCR. As the results shown, OEA (10 and 50 micromol x L(-1)) could induce the CB2 protein and mRNA expression, but not 100 micromol x L(-1). To detect if anti-inflammation effect of OEA is partly through CB2, CB2 inhibitor AM630 was used to inhibit HUVEC CB2 expression, then the VCAM-1 expression induced by TNF-alpha was detected, or THP-1 adhere to TNF-alpha induced HUVECs was examined. OEA (50 micromol x L(-1)) could inhibit TNF-alpha induced VCAM-1 expression and THP-1 adhere to HUVECs, these effects could be partly inhibited by a CB2 inhibitor AM630. The anti-inflammation effect of OEA is induced by PPAR-alpha and CB2, suggesting that CB2 signaling could be a target for anti-atherosclerosis, OEA have wide effect in anti-inflammation, it may have better therapeutic potential in anti-inflammation in HUVECs, thus achieving anti-atherosclerosis effect.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Atherosclerosis ; pathology ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endocannabinoids ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Ethanolamines ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Indoles ; pharmacology ; Monocytes ; drug effects ; Oleic Acids ; pharmacology ; PPAR alpha ; antagonists & inhibitors ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism

Objective To analyse the prognosis of 117 newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients underwent intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods From Jan to Nov 2005, 117 NPC patients who were treated by IMRT were enrolled. There were 81 males and 36 females with a median age of 42 years (range 18-76 years). According to Chinese Fuzhou Staging system(1992), 11 cases were Stage I , 15 Stage Ⅱ, 54 Stage Ⅲ and 37 Stage ⅣA. IMRT was carried out with Peacock plan. The prescription dose to the gross target volume(GTVnx) of nasopharyngeal tumor was 68 Gy, that of positive neck lymph nodes (GTVnd) was 60-66 Gy, clinical target volume 1 (CTV1) was 60 Gy, and CTV2 was 54 Gy. Results After a median follow-up time of 48 months (range 10.5-59.5 months), the 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 95.7 % and 89.7 %, the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 91.5 % and 87.2%, and the local-regional control rates were 94.0 % and 91.5 %. Univariate analysis showed the KPS, stage, Fuzhou clinical stage, status of blood platelet before treatment and uric acid after treatment were correlated with OS rate. T stage was the only independent factor of prognosis in the COX stepwise regression model. Conclusion Radical IMRT significantly prolongs the survival of NPC patients. T stage is the only independent prognostic factor for NPC patients.

At present,the mechanism of breathing trainer is not very clear,but it mainly bases on the neuromuscular plasticity of re-spiratory muscle.The breathing trainers appeared on the market mainly included resistance load or threshold load breath-ing trainers,abdominal breathing trainers,multifunctional breathing trainers,and new breathing trainers.However,the efficacy of breathing trainer on the stable patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remains uncertain, and needs further researches.