Objective To investigate the correlations of body mass index (BMI) with plasma apelin, waist-hip ratio (WHR), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc), biochemical indicator, blood fat and ultrasonic cardiogram (UCG) figures in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).Methods A total of 41 elderly CHF patients (20 males and 21 females, aged 66.0±12.3 years) were divided into 3 groups according to BMI: normal group (n= 16), overweight group (n=13) and obese group (n= 12).And they were also divided into 2 subgroups: grade Ⅲ heart function group (n=22) and grade Ⅳ heart function group (n= 19).Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the levels of plasma apelin, and BMI, WHR, C-reactive protein (CRP), FPG, creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, blood fat, electrolyte and UCG of all patients were detected .Results There were significant differences in waist circumference, hip circumference and WHR among the 3 groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01).But there were no significant differences in high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), FPG, HbAlc, CK, CK-MB, potassium, sodium, CRP, left ventricular internal diameter at end-diastole (LVIDd), left ventricular internal diameter at end-diastole (LVIDs), interventricular septal thickness at end diastole (IVSd) and left ventrieular ejection fraction (LVEF) among the 3 groups (all P> 0.05).The apelin level was higher in obese group than in normal group and in overweight group ((0.48±0.15) mg/L vs.(0.18±0.15) mg/L and (0.27±0.06) mg/L, both P<0.01].And the plasma apelin level was higher in grade Ⅳ heart function group than in grade Ⅲ heart function group [(0.35±0.16) mg/L vs.(0.26±0.13)mg/L, P<0.05].The level of plasma apelin was positively correlated with BMI, white blood cell, CK, hemoglobin and TG, and was negatively correlated with cardiac function and LVEF.The influencing factors for the plasma apelin were BMI (β=0.672, P<0.01), age (β=0.244, P<0.05) and HDL (β=-1.000, P<0.01).Conclusions The plasma apelin level is closely correlated with the development of heart failure.Cardiac dysfunction is more severer when the level of plasma apelin is higher.The high level of plasma apelin may be one of factors for the higher survival rate of the obese CHF patients.Plasma apelin level may be used as an indicator of state of illness.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristic and the predicting value of plasma Apelin in elderly patients with sepsis.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 26 sepsis patients aged (72.9±9.7) years in average and 30 healthy controls.Serum Apelin level was measured by ELISA.Body mass index (BMI) and C-reaction protein (CRP) were detected.Patients were divided into survival group (n=18) and death group (n 8).According to acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ,patients were divided into subgroup A (n=14,APACHE Ⅱ score≤20) and subgroup B (n=12,APACHE Ⅱ score＞20).Results The Apelin concentration was higher in sepsis patients than in healthy controls [(0.38±0.15)ng/L vs.(0.19±0.12)ng/L,t=2.011,P＜0.05].The Apelin concentration was lower in survival group than in death group[(0.21 ± 0.29)ng/L vs.(0.49 ± 0.32) ng/L,t =2.094,P＜0.05].The Apelin level was increased with APACHE Ⅱ scores increment in sepsis patients (P＜0.05).Multivariable logistic analysis showed that when taking survival/death as the dependent variable and Apelin as the independent variable,the ()R value was 4.162 with 95％ CI:1.115-15.535(P＜0.05).Conclusions Increased serum Apelin level reflects the severity of illness in patients with sepsis,which is a risk factor for death in prognosis of sepsis.

AIM:To study the effect of captopril on calcineurin and NF-?B p65 in the signal transduction pathway of the cardiovascular remodeling in hypertensive rats.METHODS:Using a animal model of hypertension induced by abdominal aortic banding,the rats were treated with captopril for 10 weeks.The blood pressure was observed with a tail cuff method.The heart weight and heart weight/body weight were measured.The expression of calcineurin and NF-?B p65 were studied by using immunohistochemistry.RESULTS:After treated with captopril,the blood pressure of the model rats was decreased(P

OBJECTIVE To improve the knowledge on the early diagnosis and treatment of the isolated fungus ball sphenoid sinusitis.METHODS A retrospe ctive study was made on10cases of isolated fungus ball sphenoid sinusitis to discuss the clinical manifestation,radiographic features and treatment with endoscopic sinus surgery.RESULTS The common symptoms in10cases were headache and/or bloody nasal discharge.Radiographic features of the disease were a soft tissue image occupying the sphenoid sinus with bones wall thickening.A soft tissue image with calcification in the sphenoid sinus was the feature of CT image.All the patients were treated by nasal endoscopic sinus surgery and cured after followed up for3to18.CONCLUSION Isolated fungus ball sphenoid sinusitis was difficult to diagnose in early stage because of its non-specif ic symptoms.The nasal endoscopy and CT scan make the early diagnosis possible.The diagnosis can be def initely confi rmed by pathological studies.Treatment with endoscopic sinus surgery is an effective method for fungus ball sphenoid sinusitis.

Apoptosis of PK-15 cells induced by Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) in vitro was reported in this paper. Typical cell apoptosis was detected by use of Hoechst 33258 fluorescence probe, agarose gel electrophoresis and in situ end-labeling (TUNEL). After PK-15 cells were infected by titration of 4.8 lg TCID50/mL FMDV for 32 h, apoptosis characteristics of nuclear condensation, fragmentation, accompanied by apoptotic bodies formation (Hoechst 33258 staining), 180-200 integer-fold sized pieces DNA Ladders (agarose gel electrophoresis) and strong green fluorescence dots (TUNEL) were all exhibited, and cell apoptosis was approximately 20%. In addition, the quantitative analysis of apoptosis in PK-15 cells induced by FMDV showed that apoptosis was correlated with infection of virus, and it was also time-dependent. Results indicate that FMDV can induce apoptosis of host cells and apoptosis plays an important role in the cytopathogencity effect of FMDV.

Objective To develop and optimize a new method to extract miRNAs from plasma.Methods miRNAs were extracted from plasma by mixing it with the extraction solution that contained surfactant and by heating .Then the ribonuclease inhibitor was added into the extraction to prevent RNAs from degradation .The expression level of each miRNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR in oder to evaluate the feasibility of this method .Results A method which extracted miRNAs from plamsa in just one step was established .The specificity , reproducibility and stability of this method have been demonstrated by real-time quantitative PCR .Conclusion The one-step method is simple , inexpensive , and plasma-saving.It seems like a new method for clinical examination of miRNAs from plasma .

Objective To explore the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), which is a kind of immuno-suppressant drugs, on the treatment of Connective tissue diseases-pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH). Methods Medical charts of eleven cases of hospitalized patients who were diagnosed as CTD-PAH and treated by MMF in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated to the Capital Medical University, from January 2014 to June 2016 were collected and analyzed. Results In the 11 cases of CTD-PAH, the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) related pulmonary hypertension (SLE-PAH) were 7, while the systemic sclero-derma associated pulmonary hypertension (SSc-PAH) were 2, and rheumatoid arthritis related pulmonary hy-pertension (RA-PAH) was 1, and the mixed connective tissue disease related pulmonary hypertension (MCTD-PAH) was 1. All patients were women, and the average age was (40 ±14) years, and the average duration of PAH was (34 ±35) months. The combination therapy of corticosteriods and MMF was applied to 7 cases, meanwhile the therapy of corticosteriods, MMF and bosentan was used in 1 case, corticosteriods, MMF and sildenafil was prescribed for 3 cases, and symptoms of the patients alleviated. Except for one case having been followed up for 7 months and one for 6 months, 9 patients completed the 1-year follow-up, and the survival rate was 100%(9/9). Notably, one patient, who had been alleviated for 111 months with therapy of corticosteriods and MMF, adopted the combination therapy of corticosteriods, MMF and bosentan for aggravated chest distress, and became stable eventually. Conclusion MMF may have therapeutic effects on inducing and even maintaining the stabilization of CTD-PAH.

Objective To investigate the value of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) in predicting the progression-free survival (PFS)and overall survival (OS) of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after threedimensional (3D) radiotherapy.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 98 ESCC patients,who underwent FDG PET-CT before 3D radiotherapy from 2004 to 2010,to investigate their 1-,3-,and 5-year PFS and OS rates.The relationship of maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax),mean SUV (SUVmean),metabolic target volume (MTV),length of primary tumor on PET-CT before radiotherapy,and number of tumors on PET with PFS and OS were analyzed.The SUVs and clinical data were analysed by independent samples t-test or Hotelling T2 test; the Kaplan-Meier method was used for calculating PFS and OS rates,and the Logrank test was used for survival difference analysis;the prognostic factors were analysed using the Cox proportional hazard model.Results The follow-up rate was 100％ ;56 patients were followed up for at least 3 years,and 27 for at 5 years.The SUVmax SUVmean and MTV of primary tumor,length of primary tumor on PET-CT before radiotherapy,and number of tumors on PET were correlated with PFS and OS (x2 =8.99-41.82,all P ＜ 0.01).The Cox regression analysis showed that PFS could be well predicted based on SUVmean (x2 =4.41,P =0.036,RR =1.398) and number of tumors on PET (x2 =6.79,P =0.009,RR =3.650) and that OS could be well predicted based on number of tumors on PET (x2 =5.03,P =0.025,RR =3.740).Conclusions When estimating the long-term response to precise radiotherapy in patients with ESCC,SUV mean and number of tumors on PET may be used to predict PFS,and number of tumors on PET may be used to predict OS.

Objective To study whether citrate lock is superior to heparin lock in the prevention of catheter related infections,bleeding complications and catheter malfunctions among hemodialysis patients with tunneled catheters.Methods By searching in Pubmed,the Cochrane Library,EMBASE,Ovid,WanFang,VIP,CNKI and CBM databases as well as related journals,qualified randomized controlled trials were included in a Meta-analysis using Revman 5.0 and STATA 10.0 software.The endpoints included catheter related infection,bleeding complication,thrombolytic treatment,catheter removal for malfunction,catheter thrombosis and all-cause death.Results Fifteen randomized controlled trials were included with 1621 patients involved.Eight studies compared citrate alone with heparin lock,while 7 trials focused on citrate in combination with other antimicrobials.Pooled analysis demonstrated that incidence of catheter related infections in patients receiving citrate lock decreased by 47％ compared with those on heparin (RR=0.53,95％CI 0.36-0.77,P ＜ 0.01).Subgroup analysis by types of citrate lock indicated that all combined lock solutions of citrate and other antimicrobials (citrate + gentamicin,citrate + taurolidine,citrate + methylene blue +methylparaben + propylparaben) were superior to heparin lock in preventing catheter-related infections (P =0.01,0.04,0.01,respectively); citrate alone seemed to reduce catheter-related infection risk (RR =0.68),but no statistically significant difference was observed (95％CI 0.38-1.21,P=0.19).There were fewer patients with bleeding complications in citrate group (RR =0.53,95％ CI 0.34-0.S4,P ＜ 0.01),while citrate showed no advantage over heparin lock in terms of thrombolytic treatment (P =0.93),catheter removal for malfunction (P =0.35),catheter thrombosis (P =0.64) and all-cause death (P =0.35).Conclusions For hemodialysis patients with tunneled catheters,combined lock solutions of citrate and other antimicrobials,rather than citrate alone,are superior to heparin in preventing catheter related infections.Citrate locks are associated with less bleeding complications,and are comparable to heparin in the maintenance of catheter patency.

The individual intervention control of risk factors in high-risk population is one of key preventive measures of chronic disease.A total of 312 volunteers consulted physicians in one selected community.And 23 high-risk individuals of chronic disease were screened.The physicians customized the limit or requirement of diet,activity,tobacco and alcohol for each individual and made interventions of life behaviors according to the plans.The results showed that physical state of 20 (87％) of them converted from high-risk to health after interventions.Therefore customized control plan of individual risk factors is an effective control method of chronic disease.