In view of the problems of more artificial interventions and segmentation defects in existing two-dimensional segmentation methods and abnormal liver segmentation errors in three-dimensional segmentation methods, this paper presents a semi-automatic liver organ segmentation method based on the image sequence context. The method takes advantage of the existing similarity between the image sequence contexts of the prior knowledge of liver organs, and combines region growing and level set method to carry out semi-automatic segmentation of livers, along with the aid of a small amount of manual intervention to deal with liver mutation situations. The experiment results showed that the liver segmentation algorithm presented in this paper had a high precision, and a good segmentation effect on livers which have greater variability, and can meet clinical application demands quite well.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Liver ; anatomy & histology

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of low glycemic index(LGI)diet and exercise on plasma glucose and lipid profiles in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. MethodsSeventeen newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients with FPG ≤ 10mml/L treated by LGI diet and exercise only for two months.Fasting plasma glucose (FPG),2 hours postprandial glucose(2hPG),glycosylated hemoglobin A1 C(GHbA1C),and lipid profiles were measured.The results of FPG,2hPG,GHbA1C,and lipid profiles were compared. ResultsTwo months after treatment,the level of fasting glucose(6.19 ± 0.60)mmol/L,postprandial 2h plasma glucose(8.59 ± 0.90)mmol/L,TG(1.15 ± 0.45)mmol/L,TC(4.98 ± 0.77)mmol/L,LDL(3.20 ± 0.71)mmol/L were significantly lower than (7.84 ± 1.19)mmol/L,(13.97 ± 3.35)mmol/L,TG(1.79 ± 0.75)mmol/L,TC(5.46 ± 0.27)mmol/L,LDL (3.57 ± 0.28)mmol/L,HDL(1.59 ± 0.30)mmol/L was significantly higher than(1.42 ± 0.26)mmol/L,the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05);HbA1c(6.49 ± 0.57)% was slightly lower than(7.29 ±0.77)%,but the difference was not significant(P＞0.05);No hypoglycemia was observed during the treatment. ConclusionThe exellent glycemic control and improvement of lipid profile could be achieved by low glycemic index diet and exercise only.Furthermore,no hypoglycemia occurred during the treatment.

OBJECTIVETo study features of brain gray matter injury in cerebral infarction patients and intervention of scalp acupuncture by using voxel-based morphology.

METHODSA total of 16 cerebral infarction patients were recruited in this study, and assigned to the scalp acupuncture group and the control group, 8 in each group. Another 16 healthy volunteers were recruited as a normal group. All patients received scanning of T1 structure. Images were managed using VBM8 Software package. Difference of the gray matter structure was compared among the scalp acupuncture group, the control group, and the healthy volunteers.

RESULTSCompared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients mainly occurred in 14 brain regions such as cingulate gyrus, precuneus, cuneus, anterior central gyrus, insular lobe, and so on. They were mainly distributed in affected side. Two weeks after treatment when compared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients in the scalp acupuncture group still existed in 8 brain regions such as bilateral lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, left cuneus, right precuneus, and so on. New gray matter injury occurred in lingual gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus. Two weeks after treatment when compared with healthy volunteers, gray matter injury of cerebral infarction patients in the control group existed in 23 brain regions: bilateral anterior cingulum, caudate nucleus, cuneate lobe, insular lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, precuneus, paracentral lobule, superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and so on. New gray matter injury still existed in 9 cerebral regions such as lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and so on.

CONCLUSIONSBrain gray matter structure is widely injured after cerebral infarction. Brain gray matter volume gradually decreased as time went by. Combined use of scalp acupuncture might inhibit the progression of gray matter injury more effectively.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Brain Injuries ; therapy ; Cerebral Infarction ; therapy ; Gray Matter ; pathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Scalp ; Stroke ; therapy

DNA ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Homicide ; Humans

The high expression of tissue factor (TF) is related to the coagulation disorder in acute leukemia. TF in blood circulation is mainly expressed in cells, microparticles (MP) and alternatively spliced human tissue factor (asHTF). To elucidate the role of TF in the coagulation disorder of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), RT-PCR was performed on 6 common AML cell lines NB4, HL-60, Kasumi-1, U937, K562 and THP-1. The results showed that only NB4 and U937 cells expressed baseline full-length TF and asHTF which were proved by sequencing. The flow cytometric detection, TF activity and TF antigen tests in NB4 and U937 cells revealed that the asHTF was expressed in trace amount and almost had no activity, while the TF antigen and activity in microparticles were significantly higher than that in asHTF. It is concluded that asHTF may play an unimportant role in the coagulation disorder of AML. Microparticle associated tissue factor (MP-TF) is the predominant source of TF activity released from AML cells.
Alternative Splicing ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; genetics ; metabolism ; Thromboplastin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; U937 Cells

Objective To explore the value of echo-tracking technique in the detecting the ipsilateral external iliac artery elasticity after gunshot wound in pig limbs.Methods Two-dimensional ultrasound imagings and elasticity parameters of external iliac artery of fifteen pig limbs were obtained respectively,and the results were compared with pre-injury groups.The animals were sacrificed after ultrasonography.Pathological examinations of adjacent external iliac artery of injured pig limbs were analyzed.Results Two-dimensional ultrasound imagings of external iliac arteries had no significant changes post-injury.The changes of elasticity parameters were significiant differences in the injured group comparing with the pre-injured group (P ＜0.05),including the increased stiffness parameter(β),pressure-strain elasticity modulus (Ep)and the decreased arterial compliance(AC).Pathological result showed that the internal elastic lamina of artery detected were flat,endothelial cells came off discontinuously and structure of them were undefined.Conclusions Echo-tracking technique can find the elastic changes of adjacent artery indirect injured by gunshot wound sensitively and which can suggest the occurrence of vascular indirect injury.

To study the metabolite excretion of theophylline, a rapid and specific method by liquid chromatography with heated electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HESI/MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of theophylline, 1, 3-dimethyluric acid (1,3-DMU), 3-methylxanthine (3-MX) and 1-methyluric acid (1-MU) in human urine was developed using theophylline-d6 and 5-fluorouracil as internal standards. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) with heated electrospray ionization (HESI) was used in the negative mode for mass spectrometric detection. After diluted with methanol and centrifuged, the analytes and ISs were separated on a XDB-Phenyl (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) column with a mixture of water-methanol-formic acid (30 : 70 : 0.15) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.6 mL x min(-1). The linear calibration curves for theophylline, 1, 3-DMU, 3-MX and 1-MU were obtained in the concentration range of 1.0-250 microg x mL(-1), separately. The method herein described is effective and convenient, and can be used for determination of theophylline and its three metabolites. The results showed that urinary excretion ratio of theophylline, 1,3-DMU, 3-MX and 1-MU is approximately 1 : 3 : 1 : 2 in Chinese subjects, which is similar to the reported excretion pattern in Caucasian.
Administration, Oral ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Calibration ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; metabolism ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Tablets ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Theophylline ; metabolism ; urine ; Uric Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; urine ; Xanthines ; urine

A chiral LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous analysis of desvenlafaxine (DVS) enantiomers in human plasma was developed and applied to a pharmacokinetic study on 12 Chinese healthy volunteers. d6-Desvenlafaxine was used as internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was performed on the Astec Chirobiotic V chiral column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 μm). The assay was linear over the concentration range of 0.500-150 ng x mL(-1) for both enantiomers (r2 > 0.99). The method was successfully applied to a stereoselective pharmacokinetic study of 100 mg desvenlafaxine sustained release tablets on 12 Chinese healthy volunteers under fasting conditions. The results showed that the pharmacokinetic parameters were similar to both enantiomers in Chinese healthy volunteers. The AUC(0-t), and C(max) of the two enantiomers were about 1.5 times higher than those of blacks and whites reported in the literature.
Administration, Oral ; Area Under Curve ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Cyclohexanols ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Desvenlafaxine Succinate ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Male ; Plasma ; chemistry ; Stereoisomerism ; Tablets ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective To investigate the situation of prevalence,treatment and control of hypertension in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD)by CROSS-sectional study. Methods Nine hundred out-patients with CKD in our department from November 2006 to March 2007 were enrolled in the study,including 480 male and 420 female.Among 900 CKD cases,354 patients underwent maintenance dialysis,including 228 on hemodialysis and 126 on peritoneal dialysis.Results The prevalence of hypertension in CKD patients was 80.2%(nude 83.5%vs female 76.4%,P<0.01).The prevalence of hypertension in patients on dialysis was significantly higher than that in non-dialysis patients(90.1%vs 73.8%,P<0.01),but there was no significant difference between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis cases.Antihypertensive treatment rate was 92.4%in CKD patients with hypertension.and was significantly higher in patients on dialysis than that in non-dialysis patients(95.6%vs 89.8%.P<0.01).The control rate according to current recommendations for CKD patients (BP<130/80 mm Hg) was very low. Control of both SBP and DBP was only achieved in 20.4% of non- dialysis patients. The control rate of hypertension (BP< 125/75 mm Hg) in patients with proteinuria >1 g/24 h was 8.4%. The proportion of dialysis patients with BP<140/90 mm Hg was significantly lower than that of non-dialysis patients (45.2% vs 55.5%, P<0.01). The percentage of hemodialysis patients with BP < 140/90 mm Hg was significantly higher than that of peritoneal dialysis patients (49.8% vs 36.5%, P<0.05). The prevalence of hypertension was associated with the decrease of renal function and the increase of age. The prevalence of hypertension in diabetic nephropathy was higher than that in primary glomerular diseases. Patients received 1, 2, 3 and 4 or more kinds of antihypertensive drugs accounted for 37.2%, 37.5%, 19.3% and 5.9% respectively. The combination of calcium channel blocker (CCB) and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors was more frequently used in CKD patients. The CCB was the most frequently prescribed drug (74.1% ), followed by angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blockers (ARB) (48.4%), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) (25.6%) and alpha, beta-blockers (24.7%). Conclusions The prevalence of hypertension in CKD patients is quite high, which is associated with the progression of renal function, increase of age, the type of underlying kidney disease, obesity and diabetes mellitus. The control of hypertension is unsatisfied in CKD patients, especially in dialysis patients and those with overt proteinuria.

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of intermittent patient-initiated single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis and continuous antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in postmenopausal women. MethodsA randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection. Single dose of antibiotic was given every night in continuous antibiotic prophylaxis group and every time after exposure to conditions predisposed to UTI in intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis group. The duration of prevention was 12 months in both groups. ResultsThe effective rates of intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis and continuous antibiotic prophylaxis were 71.0% and 81.8% respectively (P＞0.05). The incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reaction in intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis group was significantly lower than that in continuous antibiotic prophylaxis group (7.7% vs 28.6%,P＜0.05). ConclusionsCompared with continuous antibiotic prophylaxis, intermittent patient-initiated single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis is a better prophylaxis with less gastrointestinal adverse reactions for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection in postmenopausal women.