Objective To study the clinical application of quantitative ultrasound(QUS) which evaluate skeletal status of children and adolescents.Methods Subjects were children and adolescents aged 0-18 years old.Tibia/radial bone strength was obtained using QUS.Children who were younger than 2 years old only were measured at midpiece of tibia,and children who were older than 2 years old were measu-red at midpiece of tibia and radius.At the same time,calcium in peripheral blood was measured by the method of atomic absorption.Results 1.Radial and tibial bone strength presented nonlinear growth with age in healthy children and adolescents.2.Bone strengths of different anatomic-sites were different and the disparity rate of evaluation at different anatomic sites was 30.1%.3.The bone strength of the children who had some risk factors that could induce decrease of bone strength or had some diseases of bone metabolism was lower than healthy children.Composition of low bone strength children was 71.1% in high risk children,and was 47.9% in those who had some symptom or physical sign of calcium deficiency.4.Composition of low bone strength children was 44.2% in those who had normal peripheral blood calcium,and composition of normal bone strength children in those who had low peripheral blood calcium was 59.7%.The 2 methods had no correlation.Conclusions QUS is a quite useful technique in evaluation skeletal status of children and adolescents,and is sensitive for high risk children.It is necessary to measure radius and tibia,and consider blood calcium and bone strength to evaluate practical level of calcium and nutritional state of children.

Objective To evaluate the value of CYRTA21-1,CEA and SPECT in diagnosis of bone metastasis in lung cancer.Methods 216 patients with lung cancer were examined by radionuclide bone imaging and serum CYFRA21-1,CEA.20 patients with benign lung disease were also studied.Results 121 of the 216 lung cancer patients were confirmed bone metastasis including 101 multi-metastasis and 20 singu- lar-metastasis. The positive rate was 56.02 %.The serum CYFR21-1,CEA level and positive rate of lung cancer patients with bone metastasis were obviously higher than those of patients without bone metastasis or with benign lung disease.The level of serum CYFR21-1,CEA had significant difference(P

Men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) can achieve fertility by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) coupled with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the key to which is the successful retrieval of sperm from the testis. Although improved testicular sperm extraction techniques have increased the chances of sperm retrieval, to predict preoperatively the success of sperm retrieval from NOA patients remains challenging. A non-invasive diagnostic technique predicting the presence of sperm in the testis would be useful for avoiding possible surgical intervention. At present, some preoperative variables, such as serum FSH, inhibin B level, testis volume, genetic analysis, histopathology on diagnostic biopsy, Raman Spectroscopy, and molecular and protein markers, have provided new insights into the chances of successful sperm retrieval in NOA males. This review aims to evaluate the preoperative factors currently available for predicting the outcomes of sperm retrieval from NOA patients.
Azoospermia ; therapy ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Inhibins ; blood ; Male ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; Testis ; cytology

Puerarin (PUE), as an isoflavone component, has a wide range of pharmacological activities, while its poorly aqueous solubility limits the development of solid oral dosage forms. In this study, PUE along with nicotinamide (NIC) were prepared into the coamorphous system by solvent-evaporation method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). In addition, its dissolution behavior and solubilization mechanism were also investigated. PUE-NIC coamorphous was a single homogeneous binary system, with a single glass transition temperature at 35.1 ℃. In comparison to crystalline PUE, during the dissolution process, coamorphous PUE-NIC not only exhibited the "liquid-liquid phase separation" (LLPS) phenomenon, but the formation of A_p type complexation (1∶1 and 1∶2) between PUE and NIC molecules was also verified, which significantly improved the solubility of PUE and prolonged the supersaturation time, and would benefit its absorption.

BACKGROUNDRecent studies have demonstrated that dexamethasone (DEX) interferes with immune responses by targeting key functions of dendritic cells (DCs) at the earliest stage. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms are still incompletely understood. This study aimed to explore the possible mechanisms by investigating the roles of DEX on differentiation, maturation & function of murine DCs and the effects of DEX on DCs via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB mediated signal pathway.

METHODSImmature DCs (imDCs) were cultured from murine bone marrow (BM) cells. We added DEX into culture medium at different time. The expression of CD11c, CD86 and I-A(b) (mouse MHC class II molecule) was determined by flow cytometry. We determined the expression of NF-kappaB and its inhibitory protein I-kappaBalpha by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and Western blotting, respectively. The productions of interleukin (IL)-12p70 and IL-10 in cell culture supernatants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSDEX impaired differentiation of DCs from murine bone marrow progenitors, and inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced maturation of DCs. DEX significantly inhibited NF-kappaB expression of normal DCs, the higher the DEX concentration or the longer the DEX treatment time, the more obvious the effect. However, DEX had little effect on LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation, and partially impaired LPS-induced I-kappaBalpha degradation. DEX significantly decreased LPS induced IL-12p70 production by DCs. Interestingly, our results showed a synergistic effect between DEX and LPS on the production of IL-10 by DCs.

CONCLUSIONSDEX inhibits the differentiation and maturation of murine DCs involved in TLR4-I-kappaB-NF-kappaB pathway, and also indirectly impairs Th1 development and interferes with the Th1-Th2 balance through IL-12 and/or IL-10 secretion by DCs.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Dendritic Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Dexamethasone ; pharmacology ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Male ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the feasibility of evaluating complete ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) of the testis by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with microbubbles (MB) targeted to P-selectin (MBp) in rabbits.

METHODSWe randomly divided 30 healthy adult rabbits into five groups of equal number (control, 0.5 h IRI, 1 h IRI, 2 h IRI, and 4 h IRI), prepared phospholipid MB and MBp, and performed contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of the bilateral testes with MB or MBp at an interval of 20 min at different times after IRI. When MB or MBp disappeared completely in the healthy testis at 4 to 5 min after intravenous injection, we recorded the power of the first frame (F-P) in the IRI testes followed by immunohistochemical staining of the testis tissue.

RESULTSCEU with MBp achieved a significantly higher F-P than that with MB in all the IRI groups (P < 0.05), which was (8.34 +/- 1.20) versus (1.87 +/- 0.25) 10(-5) AU at 2 hours, but there was no significant difference between MB and MBp in the control rabbits (0 AU, P > 0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed a significantly time-dependent increase in the expression of P-selectin in the vascular endothelial cells of the IRI testes, but not in those of the control.

CONCLUSIONContrast-enhanced ultrasonography with MBp can be used to evaluate the inflammatory reaction of testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Animals ; Antibodies ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Microbubbles ; P-Selectin ; immunology ; Rabbits ; Reperfusion Injury ; diagnostic imaging ; Testis ; blood supply ; Ultrasonography

Objective To understand the status of hand hygiene(HH)of health care workers(HCWs)in a tertiary hospital in Zhuhai.Methods HH compliance of doctors,nurses,and cleaners randomly selected from 15 clinical de-partments in the whole hospital was observed through concealed observation by medical interns in October-Novem-ber 2016.Results HH compliance rate and correct rate of clinical departments in the whole hospital were 33.44%(1 131/3 382)and 59.86%(677/1 131)respectively,there was a significant difference in the compliance rate of HH among different types of HCWs (χ2 ＝12.610,P＝0.002),HH compliance rate from high to low was nurses (35.85%),cleaners (32.28%),and doctors (29.50%).Of five HH moments,HCWs’HH compliance rate after patient’s body fluid exposure was the highest (69.74%),while after touching patient surroundings was the worst (25.03%).HH compliance rates of HCWs with different occupations at different HH moments were all significant-ly different (all P＜0.05),HH compliance rates of doctors before aseptic procedure and after patient’s body fluid exposure were higher than nurses(71.25% vs 32.44%;82.86% vs 69.78%,respectively),HH compliance rate of nurses was highest after touching a patient(40.06%).Conclusion HH status in this hospital is not optimistic,HH compliance rate and correct rate are low,HH compliance rates of HCWs with different occupations and at different HH moments are both different,which need to be improved.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological features of primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (PGI-NHL) and their prognostic values.

METHODSThe clinical and pathological data of 216 patients diagnosed as PGI-NHL from Zhejiang Cancer Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. χ² test, log-liner model analysis, COX proportional hazard regression analysis and Life-table survival analysis were used to analyze the survival status of the patients by SAS 8.2 software, and Log-rank test was performed to couple the overall survival rates with different prognostic factors.

RESULTSTotally, the age of onset was 8 to 89 years with the median age of 56.5 years. Male versus female was 1.27∶1(121∶95). The most frequently involved location was stomach (147 cases, 68.1%), followed by ileocecus (25 cases, 11.6%), large intestine (20 cases, 9.3%), small intestine (17 cases, 7.9%) and multiple GI involvement (5 cases, 2.3%). 182 cases were classified as B cell lymphomas, 22 cases as T cell lymphomas, and 12 cases not classified exactly due to insufficient data. The 3-year and 5-year survival rates of the patients were 69.4% and 53.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that age＞60 years, ECOG≥2, high LDH level, stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ, IPI≥2, T cell type and intestinal involvement were predictors for poor prognosis. IPI≥2, T cell type and intestinal involvement were independent adverse predictors for prognosis by multiple COX proportional hazard regression analysis. Among different treatment groups, cases received chemotherapy combined with local radiotherapy gained the best survival status.

CONCLUSIONB-cell lymphoma was the main pathological type in PGI-NHL; IPI≥2, T-cell type and intestinal involvement are independent adverse predictors for prognosis; chemotherapy combined with local radiotherapy might be the choice of approach for advanced stage and aggressive PGI-HNL.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo discuss the clinical ultiliazation and significance of microembolus detection by transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography in intracranial stenosis-occlusive disease.

DATA SOURCESAll related articles in this review were mainly searched from PubMed published in English from 1996 to 2012 using the terms of microembolic signal, transcranial Doppler, intracranial stenosis, stroke.

STUDY SELECTIONOriginal articles and reviews were selected if they were related to the clinical utilization of microembolus detection in intracranial stenosis-occlusive disease.

RESULTSIntracranial stenosis is a significant cause of cerebral emboli, and microembolus detection by TCD sonography were widely used in exploring the mechanisms of ischemic stroke with intracranial stenosis (including the middle cerebral artery stenosis and the vertebral-basilar stenosis), evaluating the prognosis of acute stroke, evaluating the therapeutic effects, and predicting the recurrent events of stroke.

CONCLUSIONMicroembolus detection by TCD sonography plays an important role in the cerebral ischemic stroke patients with intracranial stenosis.

Constriction, Pathologic ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Intracranial Embolism ; diagnostic imaging ; Stroke ; diagnostic imaging ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial ; methods

Purpose To study the clinical features, immunophenotypes and prognostic factors of primary breast diffuse large B-celllymphoma (PBDLBCL). Methods The clinical pathological data of 49 cases of PBDLBCL during January 2006 to December 2016 were retrospectively analysed, and the basic clinical and pathologic data, pathologic types and the immunohistochemical slides by EnVision method for staining were summarized. Results 47 cases were women and 2 cases were men. The age ranged from 24 to 79 year old with the median age of 48 year old. On microscopic observation, tumor cells were large to medium-sized which characterized as diffuse infiltration between the lobules of mammary gland, around the duct, interstitial and fat tissue, some were single file cord pattern. The immunophenotype showed 37 cases were of non-GCB, 12 cases were GCB type. Ki-67 index were greater than 40％. According to Ann Arbor staging, 16 cases were stage I EA, 28 cases were stage Ⅱ EA, 5 cases were stage Ⅳ E. IPI score: 30 cases with 0 ～1 score, 10 cases with 2 score, 9 cases with 3 score. Patients were followed up from 5 to 146 months, The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 51.2％ and 5-year OS rate was 36.7％, Single factor analysis showed that there were statistically significant difference in clinical stage, levels of LDH, IPI score, BCL-2 protein expression, and BCL-6 protein expression in 3 and 5 years of OS rate. The multiple factor analysis of Cox regression showed that the increase of IPI risk classification was the independent adverse prognostic factor of primary breast diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Conclusion The diagnosis of PBDLBCL is confirmed by pathological biopsy and immunohistochemical markers. The immunophenotype was mainly non-GCB type. Comprehensive treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy is appropriate. The prognosis should be comprehensively evaluated by multiple factors. IPI increase risk classification is the independent adverse prognostic factor.