Cardiac enlargement is an important symptom of vascular and heart disease. The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) is an important index used to measure the size of heart. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between aging and cardiothoracic ratio. This paper also presents an improved C-V level set method to segment lung tissue based on X-ray image, which used to automatically compute CTR. In the investigation carried out in our school, we got more than 3 120 chest radiographs from medical examination of the working population in Beijing, and we systematically studied the effects of age and gender on the CTR to obtain reference values for each group. The reference values established in this study can be useful for recording and quantifying the cardiac enlargement, so that it may be useful for calling attention to the cardiovascular diseases and the heart diseases.
Aging ; Algorithms ; Cardiomegaly ; pathology ; Heart ; diagnostic imaging ; Heart Diseases ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; Myocardium ; pathology ; Radiography, Thoracic ; methods ; Reference Values

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Carcinosarcoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Keratins ; metabolism ; Kidney Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Ureteral Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Urologic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Vimentin ; metabolism

Animals ; Area Postrema ; physiology ; Blood Pressure ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrocardiography ; Male ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Peroneal Nerve ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are a kind of pluripotent stem cells derived from bone marrows, which can not only support hematopoiesis, but also have capabilities of multidifferentiation, high-proliferation and self-renewing. They have become one of hotspots in stem cell studies. Studies on in vitro intervention with BMSCs with TCMs have made remarkable progress in recent years. According to the findings, some traditional Chinese medicines can promote proliferation of BMSCs, some can inhibit the apoptosis of BMSCs, while others can induce BMSCs to differentiate into multiple cell types, such as osteoblast. Furthermore, some studies also involved relevant action mechanisms. The authors summarized the advance in relevant studies by reference to relevant literatures of this field.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects

By retrospective analysis method, the paper was summarized experience of clinical pharmacy of TCM. The purpose of the paper was given location of clinical pharmacists in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), to clear their main status and functions, seek methods and ways to solve the problems in the process of work. The work was proceeding orderly. Good results have been achieved. The clinical pharmacists of TCM participate in clinical rational use of drugs to change the service mode ofindirect service for the patients in the past with the patients, doctors and nurses so as to make better service for people's life and health of Chinese medicine.

BACKGROUND:Behavioral problems among preschool children affect the quality of life in childhood, and it may predict psychiatric disorders in adulthood.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the correlation of behavioral problem occurrence with gender and breastfeeding in children aged 4-5 years old.DESIGN: A stratified random cluster sampling investigation.SETTING:Department of Child Health Care,Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Qingdao University,and Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical College of Qingdao University.PARTICIPANTS:Totally 600 children (301 boys and 299 girls) aged4-5 years old from 10 kindergartens in 4 districts in Qingdao city were chosen by stratified random cluster sampling during May in 2004.They. all used to be full-term infants of natural labor.METHODS:Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for parents and self-made inventory scale influencing children's behavior were adopted. Behavioral problems were dependent variables whereas feeding category and breastfeeding duration were independent variables. The effects of feeding category in the first 4 months of life and breastfeeding duration on children's behavior were examined by single factor and multiple factors logistic regression (backward selection).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Breastfeeding condition, breastfeeding duration and behavioral development.RESULTS:According to intention-processing analysis, 600 children 14.2% (85/600) among the 600 children investigated. It was 17.94%(54/301) in males and 10.4% (31/299) in females,with a significant indicated that boys who had been fed on "more infant formula than problem occurrence (OR=2.72,4.29). Breastfeeding duration ≥9months was a protective factor for males (OR=0.43) Girls who feeding duration ＜ 1 month had a risk of behavioral problem ocfeeding duration were set as independent variables and with or without behavioral problems was set as dependent variable to perform multiand breastfeeding duration ≥ 9 months were the risk factors and protective factors of behavioral problem occurrence for males (OR=3.76,ioral problem occurrence for females (OR=2.55,7.79,7.79), which were tective factors of behavioral problem occurrence for males (OR=3.48,behavioral problem occurrence for females ( OR=2.49,9.81,12.89).CONCLUSION:Male is a risk factor of behavioral problems;less breastfeeding and shorter breastfeeding duration are the risk factors of behavioral problem occurrence in children aged 4 to 5 years.

Objective To screen the differentially expressed proteins of blood stasis blocking tendon and vessel syndrome and liver-kidney deficiency syndrome of the steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head ( SONFH) by proteomic technology, so as to supply evidence for Chinese medical syndrome classification. Methods The serum was taken separately from 10 patients with blood stasis blocking tendon and vessel syndrome, 10 patients with liver-kidney deficiency syndrome and 10 healthy volunteers. The two dimensional electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometric method was applied to screen and identify the differentially expressed proteins, and then the obtained protein candidates were verified by Western blotting method. Results Seven proteins were identified from differentially expressed protein spots, including hemoglobin subunit delta, actin, complement C4, antithrombin-Ⅲ, apolipoprotein A-IV, leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein and serum amyloid A-2 protein. We found that antithrombin-Ⅲ and serum amyloid A-2 protein had specific expression in the SONFH patients with blood stasis blocking tendon and vessel, and complement C4 and leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein had specific expression in the SONFH patients with liver-kidney deficiency syndrome. The results of Western blot method showed that the expression levels of complement C4 and antithrombin-Ⅲ were down-regulated in SONFH patients ( P<0.05 compared with the healthy volunteers) , the down-regulation of complement C4 was more obvious in SONFH patients with liver-kidney deficiency syndrome (P<0.05) and the down-regulation of antithrombin-Ⅲ was more obvious in the patients with blood stasis blocking tendon and vessel (P<0.05), the results being accorded with those of proteomic detection. Conclusion Antithrombin-Ⅲand serum amyloid A-2 protein may be the specific serum protein markers of SONFH patients with blood stasis blocking tendon and vessel syndrome, and complement C4 and leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein may be the specific serum protein markers of SONFH patients with liver-kidney deficiency syndrome.

Objective To investigate factors influencing islet isolation and purification in dogs and to explore how to obtain massive purified viable islets from canine pancreas.To provide experimental evidence for pancreatic islet transplantation in clinical practice.Methods Islets were isolated from pancreas of 22 dogs by modified automated techniques,followed by purification using continuous density gradients.The purity of islets was determined by dithizone (DTZ) staining,and the function of islets was evaluated by glucose stimulating insulin release test.Results The crude islets yield was ( 155 040 ±310) IEQ/pancreas while the yield was (74 200 ±185) IEQ/pancreas after purification.The average purity was (89.4 ±2.6) ％.The recovery rate was(47.8 ±1.3) ％.Islet viability was(93.0 ± 1.7)％.The modified techniques improved both the yield and the quality in islet isolation and purification.The islets were morphologically intact after purification.Glucose stimulating insulin release test showed that the difference of the secreted insulin concentration had statistical significance ( P ＜0.001 ) between low concentration glucose group and high concentration glucose group.Conclusion It is of great value for clinical research to obtain enough islets through islet isolation and purification in dogs.

Abstract?AIM:To investigate the clinical effect of orthokeratology for 400 juvenile with myopia astigmatism and its effects on corneal endothelial cells.?METHODS:Four hundred patients(800 eyes), of whom the average age was 11.5 ±2.3 years old, 239 male, 161 female, were divided into two groups: orthokeratology group and spectacles group. Parameters including efficacy data ( uncorrected visual acuity, corneal curvature, axial length and diopter ) and corneal endothelial cell data ( count of endothelial cell, endothelial cell density, fluorescein staining and central corneal thickness) were observed at 1d, 1, 6, 12 and 24mo after wearing.? RESULTS: The visual acuity of spectacles group recovered to normal after wearing, that of orthokeratology group recovered to normal at 1mo after wearing.At 2a after wearing, the corneal curvature, diopter of orthokeratology group decreased significantly (40.09 ±0.31D, 0.23 ±0.06D respectively); while those of spectacles group increased, the differences between the two groups were significant (P<0.05).The axial length of the two groups increased slightly at 1mo after wearing ( P>0.05 ) compared to those before wearing. At 2a after wearing, the axial length of the two groups were 23.96 ± 0.38mm, 26.49±0.88mm respectively (P<0.05).At 2a after wearing, central corneal thickness was 527.33 ± 27.69mm, 526.98±26.89μm(P>0.05).The count of endothelial cell and endothelial cell density both decreased after wearing without significant differences (P>0.05).?CONCLUSION: Orthokeratology has less effect on the corneal endothelial cells, no obvious adverse reactions and can control the prognosis of myopia.