Objective To evaluate the clinical value of color doppler flow image (CDFI) and three-dimension color power angiography(3D-CPA) in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Methods A total of 62 pathologically confirmed thyroid nodules of 30 patients were analyzed. All the patients underwent ultrasound examination and operation in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between January, 2008 and May, 2009. Both CDFI and 3D-CPA were performed before the operation. All the nodules were divided into three groups including nodular goiters, thyroid adenomas and thyroid cancers according to the pathological results. The hemodynamic features and the vascular morphology characteristics of nodules in different groups were compared. Results 3D-CPA showed that blood vessels of nodular goiters commonly distributed surrounding the mass and the inner vessels were thin and regular, thyroid adenomas were bulb-shaped and netted structure, and malignant thyroid nodules displayed distorted and irregular distributed vessels. Peak systolic velocity (PSV)of the three groups were (39.43±11.17a), (46.39±12.98) and (65.17±9.23)cm/s, respectively. Resistance index(RI) of the three groups were (0.32±0.08), (0.41±0.06) and (0.69±0.07)cm/s, respectively. Both PSV and RI in malignant thyroid nodules were higher than in nodular goiters and in thyroid adenomas and the difference were statistical significant (all P < 0.05). The blood flow grade of malignant nodules was also higher in malignant nodules than in other two groups(χ2 = 17.11, 12.79, 23.05, 15.41, P< 0.01). Conclusions CDFI and 3D-CPA could visually demonstrate the characteristic and distribution of the inner and outer blood vessels, display the vessels structures, and they are benefit the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) and anger regulation.

METHODSEnrolled were healthy students from some college, including 225 of the high trait anger and 221 of the low trait anger. Subjects were recruited referring to the state-trait anger expression inventory 2 (STAXI-2) and their blood sampled. The DNA was extracted using phenol-chloroform method, 4 tag SNPs of MAOA (rs5906957, rs2235186, rs1181275, and rs5905613) were genotyped by PCR-based ligase detection reaction (PCR-LDR). The scores for trait anger expression inventory and the scores for trait anger expression control at the 4 tag SNPs of MAOA in the different sexes groups of the high and the low trait anger were statistical analyzed.

RESULTSThere was statistical difference in anger control score of locus rs2235186 of MAOA gene group (P = 0.037). There was no significant difference in anger expression or anger control score of different genotypes of the other three tag SNPs (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONMAOA gene tag SNP rs2235186 was correlated with anger control traits of healthy female college students of the low trait anger in China.

Adaptation, Psychological ; Anger ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Monoamine Oxidase ; genetics ; Personality Inventory ; Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background and purpose:Remarkable advances have been made in cancer chemotherapy by developing new anticancer drugs and therapy strategies.However,multidrug resistance in human cancers remains a major clinical challenge for cancer treatment.Attempts in several clinical studies to reverse multidrug resistance protein (MDR) by using MDR modulators have not yet generated promising results.Our aim was to explored the mechanism of reversal of multidrug resistance in human leukemia K562 cells by PI3-K inhibitor.Methods:Trypanblue dye exclusion method was used to observe the drug sensitivity and the effect of LY294002 on the drug resistance.Western blot to analyze P-gp and p-Akt phenotypes,and flow cytometer was used to measure the intracellular drug accumulation. Results:K562/D induced by DNR was cross resistant to DNR,ADR,VCR and VP16 (Resistance Index:65,52,134 and 50 respectively).DNR induced over-expressions of P-gp and p-Akt in K562/D cells;LY294002 increased the intracellular drug accumulation,and then reversed the drug resistance to DNR,ADR,VCR and VPI6 in K562/D cells(Resistance Index:23,21,63 and 29 respectively),but not in the sensitive cells (K562/S).Conclusion:The multidrug resistance of K562/D cells can be induced by DNR which is related to the P-gp and p-Akt over-expressions, and LY294002 can reverse multidrug resistance in human leukemia cells in vitro via inhibits PI3-K/Akt pathway.

Objective To evaluate the changes in epithelial thickness profile and its relationship with diopter following small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for moderate and high myopia.Methods Together 46 myopia or myopic astigmatism (92 eyes) who underwent SMILE were included under the informed consent from January 2016 to March 2017 and were decided into 2 groups according to the diopter:moderate myopia group (58 eyes)and high myopia group (34 eyes).Epithelial thickness profile was measured using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography at different corneal zones (0-2 mm,＞ 2-5 mm and ＞ 5-6 mm cornea) preoperatively before surgery and 1 month and 6 months after surgery for observing the changes in epithelial thickness and its correction with diopter.Results The mean epithelial thickness in the central zone was (55.68 ± 3.61) μm before surgery,and,6 months after surgery,it was thickened by (3.85-±3.99),(3.46 ±3.29) and (2.85 ±3.18) μm in the 0-2 mm,＞2-5 mum and ＞5-6 mm cornea respectively,and the difference was statistically significant among the three zones (P ＜ 0.01).After surgery for 6 months,the epithelial thickness in the high myopia group was thickened more obviously compared with the moderate myopia group (t =1.440,P =-0.047).And no correlation was found between changes in the epithelial thickness at 0-2 mm cornea and diopter after surgery(moderate myopia group:r =0.219,P=0.633;high myopia group:r =0.197,P =0.585).Conclusion Significant epithelial thickening was observed after SMILE,presenting the thickened epithelium.The higher the diopter was,the more thickened the epithelium was.The epithelial changes does not appear to affect the diopter after SMILE.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEc-Cbl and Cbl-b are two ubiquitous members of the Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (Cbl) family, which play important roles in the downregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by acting as E3 ubiquitin ligases and multiadaptor proteins. This study investigated the expression of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR in gastric carcinoma and its clinical significance.

METHODSThe expressions of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR were detected by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays consisting of 124 specimens of gastric carcinoma and 16 specimens of normal gastric mucosa. The relationship between the expressions of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR and clinicopathologic factors of gastric carcinoma were analyzed statistically.

RESULTSThe positive rates of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR were higher in the gastric carcinoma group than in the normal group (71.0% vs. 18.0%, P<0.01; 82.3% vs. 25.0%, P<0.01; 56.5% vs. 12.5%, P<0.01, respectively). The expression of c-Cbl was positively correlated with depth of invasion (r=0.219, P=0.015), and TNM staging (r=0.266, P=0.003). The expression of Cbl-b was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (r=0.190, P<0.034) and TNM staging (r=0.298, P<0.001). The expression of EGFR was positively correlated with depth of invasion (r=0.286, P<0.001) and TNM staging (r=0.362, P=0.000). The expression of both c-Cbl and Cbl-b was positively correlated with EGFR (r=0.241, P=0.007; r=0.183, P=0.042, respectively). Synchronous strong-positive expressions of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR were observed in 27 specimens of gastric carcinoma, most of which were at advanced stage.

CONCLUSIONSOverexpressions of c-Cbl, Cbl-b, and EGFR are closely related to the invasion and progression of gastric carcinoma. c-Cbl and Cbl-b may serve as novel molecular markers for gastric carcinoma.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; metabolism ; Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-cbl ; metabolism ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Young Adult

To study the dynamic change law of bioactive constituents from Polygonum multiflorum, and to explore the optimal harvest period of P. multiflorum. Determination of stilhene glucoside, anthraquinones and catechin from P. multiflorum in different harvest times by MEKC-DAD, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to comprehensive evaluation for bioactive constituents. There are obvious differences among the contents of active ingredients in various collecting periods samples, the content of stilbene glucoside was the highest in November, the total content of combined anthraquinone was the highest in November and December, the content of catechin was the highest in September. The comprehensive evaluation index obtained with principal component analysis showed that the sample collected in November is significantly higher than those with other samples. The optimal harvest period of P. multiflorum is November.
Electrophoresis ; Fallopia multiflora ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVEGastric cancer cells are insensitive to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). To sensitize gastric cancer cells to TRAIL, we treated gastric cancer MGC803 cells with TRAIL and cisplatin.

METHODSCell proliferation was measured using MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. Expression of proteins was analyzed by Western blot. The distribution of lipid rafts and death receptors was analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy. MGC803 cells were pretreated with 50 mg/L nystatin for 1 h, and followed by the treatment of cisplatin and TRAIL.

RESULTS100 µg/L TRAIL resulted in (8.51 ± 3.45)% inhibition of cell proliferation and caused (3.26 ± 0.89)% cell apoptosis in MGC803 cells. Compared with the treatment with cisplatin alone, treatment with TRAIL (100 µg/L) and cisplatin (8.49 mg/L, IC(50) dose of 24 h) led to a dramatic increase in both inhibition of cell proliferation [(52.58 ± 4.57)% vs. (76.43 ± 5.35)%, P < 0.05] and cell apoptosis [(23.10 ± 3.41)% vs. (42.56 ± 4.11)%, P < 0.05]. Moreover, cleavage of caspase-8 and caspase-3 was detected. TRAIL (100 µg/L) did not induce obvious lipid rafts aggregation and death receptor 4 (DR4) clustering, while cisplatin (8.49 mg/L) significantly promoted the localization of DR4 in aggregated lipid rafts. Pretreatment with 50 mg/L nystatin, a cholesterol-sequestering agent, triggered (3.66 ± 0.52)% cell apoptosis after 24 h. Pretreatment with nystatin for 1 h before the addition of 8.49 mg/L cisplatin for 24 h caused a decreased tendency to cell apoptosis [(25.74 ± 3.28)% vs. (22.76 ± 2.97)%]. While, pretreatment with nystatin before the addition of cisplatin and TRAIL, the proportion of apoptotic cells decreased from (43.16 ± 4.26)% to (31.52 ± 3.99)% (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCisplatin enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in gastric cancer MGC803 cells through clustering death receptors into lipid rafts.

Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 8 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; Membrane Microdomains ; metabolism ; Nystatin ; pharmacology ; Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; pharmacology

Global longitudinal strain (GLS) at rest on two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D STE) was demonstrated to help detect coronary artery disease (CAD).However,the optimal cut-off point of GLS and its diagnostic power for detecting critical CAD in non-diabetes mellitus (DM) patients are unknown.In the present study,211 patients with suspected CAD were prospectively included,with DM patients excluded.All patients underwent echocardiography and subsequently coronary angiography within 3 days.Left ventricular (LV) GLSs were quantified by 2D STE.Territorial peak systolic longitudinal strains (TLSs) were calculated based on the perfusion territories of the 3-epicardial coronary arteries in a 17-segment LV model.Critical CAD was defined as an area stenosis ≥70％ in ≥1 epicardial coronary artery (≥50％ in left main coronary artery).Totally 145 patients were diagnosed as having critical CAD by coronary angiography.Significant differences were observed in all strain parameters between patients with and without critical CAD.The area under the receiver operating charcteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for GLS in the detection of left main (LM) or threevessel CAD was 0.875 at a cut-off value of-19.05％ with sensitivity of 78.1％ and specificity of 72.7％,which increased to 0.926 after exclusion of apical segments (cut-off value-18.66％;sensitivity 84.4％ and specificity 81.8％).The values of TLSs were significantly lower in regions supplied by stenotic arteries than in those by non-stenotic arteries.The AUC for the TLSs to identify critical stenosis of left circumflex (LCX) artery,left anterior descending (LAD) artery and right coronary artery (RCA),in order of diagnostic accuracy,was 0.818 for LCX,0.764 for LAD and 0.723 for RCA,respectively.In conclusion,in non-DM patients with suspected CAD,GLS assessed by 2D STE is an excellent predictor for LM or three-vessel CAD with high diagnostic accuracy,and a higher cut-off point than reported before should be used.Excluding apical segments in the calculation of GLS can further improve the predictive accuracy of GLS.It is unsatisfactory for TLSs to be used to identify stenotic coronary arteries.

This study was purposed to investigate the correlation of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen (Fg), coagulation factor VIII (FVIII:C), coagulation factor IX (FIX:C) and to explore the effect of inflammation and coagulation as well as their interaction in DVT and its mechanism. 59 patients with DVT undergoing selective venous ultrasonography and 26 healthy individuals as controls were enrolled in this study. The plasma level of CRP was detected by immunoturbidimetry, FVIII:C, FIX:C levels were determined by a one-stage assay and fibrinogen level was measured by full-automatic biochemical apparatus. The results showed that the mean levels of plasma CRP, Fg, FVIII:C and FIX:C were significantly higher in deep vein thrombosis group than that in controls [CRP (2.67 +/- 0.91) vs (0.14 +/- 0.08) mg/dl; Fg (4.73 +/- 1.36) vs (2.79 +/- 0.66)g/L; FVIII:C (126.71 +/- 28.10) vs (81.35 +/- 20.77)%; FIX:C (81.01 +/- 23.60) vs (70.71 +/- 11.3)%] (p < 0.01), and the level of plasma CRP was strongly correlated with Fg, FVIII:C and FIX:C (r(s) = 0.432, 0.571 and 0.544, p < 0.01). It is concluded that the DVT and inflammation are closely related, increased level of plasma CRP may be a predictor of DVT. Increased plasma levels of Fg, FVIII:C and FIX:C all are important risk factors to DVT. Interaction between inflammation and coagulation promote the incidence of DVT, which may be one of DVT pathogenesis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Blood Coagulation ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Factor IX ; metabolism ; Factor VIII ; metabolism ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; metabolism ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Venous Thrombosis ; blood ; etiology ; Young Adult

Previous study revealed that bufalin can inhibit proliferation, and induce apoptosis in some human cancer cell lines. However, the mechanism of its anticancer effect has not been fully understood. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of bufalin-induced apoptosis on Bcl-2 and PKC in human leukemic HL-60 cells. The cell viability was determined by trypan blue dye exclusion. The apoptosis was detected by morphology, flow cytometry and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. The expressions of Bcl-2 and PKC were analyzed by Western blot, and activity of PKC was assayed by [gamma-(32)P] isotope incorporation method. The results showed as follows: (1) proliferation of HL-60 cells was inhibited by bufalin and the IC(50) at 24, 48, 72 hours were (25.8 +/- 2.1), (8.0 +/- 1.2) and (2.3 +/- 0.3) nmol/L, respectively. (2) apoptosis of HL-60 cells was induced when the cells were treated with bufalin at concentration of 50 nmol/L for 24 hours. (3) compared with control, treatment with bufalin at concentration of 50 nmol/L for 6 - 24 hours resulted in downregulation of protein expression, decrease of phosphorylation, and cleavage of Bcl-2, simultaneously. (4) the activity of total PKC was unchanged when HL-60 cells were exposed to 1 - 100 nmol/L bufalin for 30 minutes, but PKCbetaII underwent translocation from cytosol to membrane. It is concluded that apoptosis induced by bufalin is associated with downregulation of protein expression, dephosphorylation, and cleavage of Bcl-2 in HL-60 cells.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Bufanolides ; pharmacology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Materia Medica ; pharmacology ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Kinase C ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; biosynthesis ; genetics