Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects and the possible mechanism of fecal transplantation on rats with Clostridium difficile-associated pseudomembranous colitis. Methods A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups including the healthy control group, model group, fecal transplant treatment group and vancomycin treatment group. Rats in three experimental groups were subcuta-neously injected with clindamycin phosphate (10 mg), followed by treatment with toxin producing Clostridi-um difficile (ACTT43255) enema 24 hours later. The rats in fecal transplant treatment group and vancomy-cin treatment group were respectively treated with fecal suspension and vancomycin one day after modeling. The rats were fasted for one day after the last administration and then executed. The levels of potassium ion ( K) , sodium ion ( Na) , albumin ( ALB) , white blood cells ( WBC) , C-reaction protein ( CRP) , interleu-kin-1β ( IL-1β) , interleukin-10 ( IL-10 ) , interleukin-12 ( IL-12 ) and interleukin-17 ( IL-17 ) as well as the percentage of neutrophils ( N%) in serum samples were detected. The colon tissue samples were collect-ed for pathology examination. Results The rat model of pseudomembranous colitis was successfully estab-lished by subcutaneous injection of clindamycin in combination with toxin-producing Clostridium difficile (ACTT43255) enema. The signs of intestinal inflammation including serious weight loss, remarkably short-ened colon length and significantly increased colon wet weight index were observed in rats from the model group (P<0. 05). Compared with the rats from model group, the rats received fecal transplant showed sig-nificantly increased levels of K, ALB, IL-10 and IL-10/IL-12 in serum and decreased levels of WBC, N%, CRP, IL-1β and IL-17 (P<0. 05). Conclusion Fecal transplantation was proved to be an effective ap-proach for the treatment of pseudomembranous colitis. The therapeutic mechanism might due to its impacts on serum inflammatory factors.

Objective To examine the expressions of AQP1 and VEGF in human hepatitis B associated hepatocellular c arcinoma and to investigate its relationship with the occurrence and development of hepatocellularcarcinoma. Methods AQP1 and VEGF expressionsin the cancer tissues and AQP1 and VEGF levels in the serum were detected in 62 cases of hepatocellula carcinomaby immunohistochemistry and ELISA , respectively. Results The expressions of AQP1 and VEGF in the liver cancers were significantly higher than in the normal tissues (P<0.01). The higher expression was related to pathologic type,degrees of differentiation and lymph node metastasis, but not related to sex, age and TNM stages. In the serum of liver cancer, the concentrations of AQP1 and VEGF were significantly higher than those in the control group. Conclusion High expressions of AQP1 and VEGF in the patients with liver cancer may be correlated to the occurrence and development of liver cancer. Plasma levels ofAQP1 and VEGF may be more meaningful for the evaluation of clinical prognosis.

In order to investigate if there exists interaction between mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) protein, and how the interaction regulates tumor necrosis factor-? (TNF-?) transcription activity, the human p38 and extracellular-signal regulated protein kinase 2 (ERK2) genes were amplified from human flag-p38 and flag-ERK2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloned into pcDNA3-HA. Protein expression of the plasmids was examined by Western blotting. Co-immunoprecipitation was used to identify if there exists interaction between MAPK and STAT3 proteins. If the interaction was approved to be true, report gene system was applied to find how the interaction affect transcriptional expression of TNF-?. After STAT3 pathway was inhibited by RNA interfering, the action on TNF-? activity was determined. The results of DNA sequencing and enzyme digestion showed that the cloned p38 and ERK2 genes were correct, to be 1 080 bp or so. p38 and ERK2 proteins were expressed in 293T cell to be approximately 40 ku. Co-immunoprecipitation data showed that p38 and ERK2 proteins integrated with STAT3 protein in vivo. TNF-? reporter gene activity results found that protein complex of p38-STAT3 and ERK2-STAT3 coordinately increased TNF-? activity. After STAT3 was interfered, the TNF-? activity markedly decreased. These data indicated that there exists interaction between p38 and STAT3 protein, ERK2 and STAT3 protein. The complex of the proteins can coordinately regulate TNF-? expression. After interfereing STAT3 pathway, the coordinated action on TNF-? transcription activity might be obviously reduced.

The traditional denoising algorithm for ultrasound images would lost a lot of details and weak edge information when suppressing speckle noise. A new denoising algorithm of adaptive threshold based on curvelet transform is proposed in this paper. The algorithm utilizes differences of coefficients' local variance between texture and smooth region in each layer of ultrasound image to define fuzzy regions and membership functions. In the end, using the adaptive threshold that determine by the membership function to denoise the ultrasound image. The experimental text shows that the algorithm can reduce the speckle noise effectively and retain the detail information of original image at the same time, thus it can greatly enhance the performance of B ultrasound instrument.
Algorithms ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Ultrasonics

Objective To examine self-reported symptoms by the patients receiving cancer therapy, and find out the symptoms that should be coped with and managed during the treatment. Methods A pilot study was conducted on self-reported symptoms on 185 patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for different cancers. The Therapy-Related Symptoms Checklist (TRSC) was used. Results Severe symptoms on the TRSC subscales: loss of appetite,feeling sluggish, weight loss, nausea and hair loss, were reported by the patients. The frequently reported symptoms by those on chemotherapy were nausea, feeling sluggish, weight loss, vomiting, and taste change. The frequently reported symptoms by those on radiotherapy were feeling sluggish, weight loss, loss of appetite, difficult sleeping, and changing taste. The symptoms of loss of appetite, feeling sluggish, weight loss, hair loss, and nausea were both frequently reported by those on radiotherapy and those on chemotherapy. Conclusion Symptom monitoring may be facilitated by TRSC, based on the severity and frequency of reported symptoms, more patients and caregivers could know which symptoms should be preferential interventions.

Objective To review the diagnosis and treatment of basal cell carcinoma of the scrorum. Methods Clinical data of 7 patients with basal cell carcinoma of the scrotum were analyzed retrospectively. The mean age of the patients was 66 years. The most common presenting symptom was a plaque or nodular lesion with pruritis on the scrotum. The lesions ranged from 1.5 cm to 4.5 cm in diameter. Five of the 7 patients had a history of misdiagnosis. The diagnosis was established by biopsy of the lesion in all the patients. All of the 7 patients had no distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis and were treated by wide surgical resection.Results Histopathologic examination of the specimens confirmed the negative surgical margins in all cases.The most common histological feature was lobules, columns, bands and cords of basaloid cells associated with a surrounding loose fibromucinous stroma.One patient developed left inguinal lymph node metastasis at 21 months postoperatively,and was treated by bilateral inguinal lymph node dissection.The patient was free of cancer for 36 months after that. Another patient developed lung metastasis 48 months after the first operation.He was treated by systemic chemotherapy with cyclophosph amide, epirubicin and cisplatin for 6 cycles and obtained complete remission.This patient was free of cancer for 13 months after the chemotherapy.The remaining 5 patients were all free of cancer after the operation. Conclusions Basal cell carcinoma of the scrotum is rare.Wide surgical resection alone is usually considered to be curative. Because of its potential of metastasis, long-term followup is indicated for this disease.

PurposeTo investigate the role of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in the detection of focal liver lesions (FLL).Materials and Methods T2WI, dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) and DWI (b=100 s/mm2 and 600 s/mm2 respectively) were performed in 205 patients with 310 FLLs. All images were read by two reviewers to determine the detection of FLLs and score the confidence. The consistency of the results given by the two reviewers was evaluated. The confidence scores between different sequences and the detection rate of different sequences were also compared.Results The consistency of the two reviewers was excellent or good in T2WI, high b value DWI, low b value DWI, and DCE (Kappa=0.71, 0.85, 0.82 and 0.64,P<0.05). As to the confidence score of lesion detection, high b value DWI and low b value DWI were both significantly higher than T2WI (P<0.01), but both were lower than DCE (P<0.01). DWI yielded higher score and detection rate for detecting FLLs than T2WI (86.5%vs. 70.3%,P<0.01), but lower than DCE (91.6%,P<0.05). For small malignant lesions (≤2 cm in diameter), DWI showed similar detection rate with DCE (P>0.05), but higher than T2WI (P<0.01). The combination of DWI and DCE detected more small malignant lesions than DWI or DCE alone (P<0.01).Conclusion DWI can detect more FLLs than T2WI, and can help DCE detect small malignant FLLs. Therefore DWI is suggested to be included in the routine protocol of liver MRI examination.

Objective To study the feasibility of Bama miniature pig model establishment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by high-fat and high-sugar diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ), and observe the changes in protein kinase B (PKB) and phosphorylation expressions in skeletal muscle, liver, and pancreatic tissues of the miniature pig model. Methods A total of 10 healthy male Bama miniature pigs were randomly divided into two groups:control group (n=5, fed normal diet) and diabetic model group (n=5, fed high-fat and high-sugar diet combined with STZ to establish T2DM Bama miniature pig model). The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FINS) levels were measured, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated in two groups. The PKB and phosphorylation expressions in skeletal muscle, liver and pancreatic tissues were measured using Western blot assay. Results (1) After 10 months of high-fat and high-sugar diet, the body weight, FPG, FINS and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in model group than those of control group (P<0.01). (2) After STZ treatment, compared with control group, there was a further increased level of FPG and a significantly decreased level of FINS in model group (P<0.01). (3) Compared with control group, the PKB and phosphorylation expression levels in skeletal muscle, liver and pancreas were significantly lower in model group (P<0.05). Conclusion The high-fat and high-sugar diet combined with STZ can successfully establish the T2DM miniature pig model. The PKB and phosphorylation expression levels in skeletal muscle, liver, and pancreatic tissues are decreased in model pigs.

Objective To investigate the effects of lincRNA-cox2 on the polarization of murine RAW264. 7 macrophages by analyzing the expression of lincRNA-cox2 in RAW264. 7 macrophages of M1 and M2 phenotypes. Methods Murine RAW264. 7 cells were induced by IFN-γand LPS to polarize to M1 phenotype, and were induced by IL-4 to polarize to M2 phenotype. The expression of lincRNA-cox2 in M1 and M2 macrophages were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR ( RT-PCR) . We designed and synthesized siRNA oligo for lincRNA-cox2 and unrelated sequences. Then the siRNA oligo and NC oligo were transfected into RAW264. 7 cells by LipofectmineTM 2000. The transfected RAW264. 7 cells were induced by IFN-γand LPS or by IL-4 to polarize to M1 or M2 macrophages. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) was performed to measure the secretion of IL-10 and IL-12 induced in different conditions. The expression of in-ducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS ) , TNF-α, arginase 1 ( Arg-1 ) and found in inflammatory zone 1 (Fizz1) at mRNA level were detected by RT-PCR. The M1 macrophages were transfected with siRNAs to knock down the expression of lincRNA-cox2 for analyzing the biological effects of lincRNA-cox2 on the polar-ization of macrophages. Results The relative expression of lincRNA-cox2 in M1 macrophages was signifi-cantly higher than that in RAW264. 7 cells and M2 macrophages. Compared with the control group, the RAW264. 7 cells transfected with lincRNA-cox2-siRNA showed decreased secretion of IL-12 and inhibited expression of iNOS and TNF-αat mRNA level after IFN-γand LPS induction, but increased secretion of IL-10 and enhanced expression of Arg1 and Fizz1 at mRNA level after IL-4 induction. Transfecting the M1 mac-rophages with lincRNA-cox2-siRNA inhibited the secretion of IL-12, but promoted the secretion of IL-10. Conclusion This study indicated that lincRNA-cox2 was involved in the regulation of macrophage pheno-types by promoting the polarization to M1 macrophages and inhibiting the polarization to M2 macrophages.

Calcium Oxalate ; Humans ; Kidney Calculi ; etiology ; therapy