The association between fasting plasma ghrelin levels and insulin resistance and blood pressure (BP) in octogenarians was investigated in this study. A total of 487 unrelated octogenarians (including 203 men and 284 women) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study at the Healthy Care Center of Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University, China, from October 2008 to April 2009. Plasma ghrelin was determined by using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Insulin sensitivity was assessed using the homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The age of the participants ranged from 80 to 89 years (mean=83.9+/-4.8 years) with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.3+/-4.9 kg/m(2). Plasma ghrelin levels were 20.94+/-5.34 mug/L, being 20.89+/-5.53 mug/L in men and 21.38+/-3.73 mug/L in women respectively. Plasma ghrelin was not associated with systolic (P=0.981) or diastolic (P=0.724) BP, waist circumference (P=0.278), fasting insulin (P=0.246), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (P=0.693) and HOMA-IR (P=0.232). In the control cohort, no significant differences in plasma ghrelin were found between genders (P=0.489), and among subjects with hypertension (BP>140/90 mmHg) (P=0.284) and type 2 diabetes (P=0.776). In conclusion, fasting plasma ghrelin levels are not directly correlated with insulin resistance and BP among octogenarians.

BACKGROUND: The research group for the physical quality of minorities has performed the computer measurement of craniofacial organs in 15 minorities of Yunnan province, including Dai nationality, Yi nationality,Lagu nationality, Lisu nationality, etc., but those of Bulang nationality have not been conducted.OBJECTIVE: To completely and systematically measure the 41 items and 17 indexes of the craniofacial organs of Bulang minority in Bangbing countryside of Shuangjiang county in Lincang area.DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.SETTING: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College.PARTICIPANTS: From May to October in 2002, 155 subjects of Bulang nationality, who were of pure blood lineage of Bulang nationality, and the three generations before whose parents were all Bulang nationality, were selected from the Bangbing countryside of Shuangjiang county in Lincang area, and they all participated in the study voluntarity, including 96 males and 59 females, and the forms and functions of their cranial and maxillofacial organs were all normal.METHODS: The subject was asked to sit up straightly, the skull was fixed with skull retention instrument, the Frankfurt horizontal plane should be parallel to the cross section, and the measurement points were marked with pen; The craniofacial images of the subject were recorded with camera at a distance of 5 m, and the images were input to the computer for later use. The self-designed video-computer measure system was adopted to measure craniofacial indexes. Judgement standards for the observed items:Besides the tab stops for distance between lip peaks, unilateral lip length,height of palpebral opening, breadth of nasal septum and nostril breadth by Xu et al, and those for frontonasal angle, nasolabial angle and nose angle by Ma et al, that for height of upper eyelid was self-designed, and the other items all referred to the requirements in Manual of Anthropometry[3] and Methods of Anthropometry.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Forty-one measurement items:minimal malar breadth, bizygomatic breadth, interocular breadth, interpupillary distance, breadth of palpebral opening, breadth of mouth opening,distance between lip peaks, single lip length, height of palpebral opening,physiognomic frontal height, physiognomic facial height Ⅰ, physiognomic facial height Ⅱ, morphological facial height, physiognomic facial height Ⅲ,upper physiognomic facial height, nose height, lip height, whole upper lip height, whole lower lip height, height of 1/3 inferior face, chin height,height of upper eyelid, nose breadth, breadth of nasal septum, nostril breadth, breadth between two angles of jaw, external ear width, nose length, nose depth, physiognomic ear length, physiognomic eat width, frontonasal angle, nasolabial angle, nose angle, maximal head breadth, width between two traguses, maximal head length, auricular height, total head height, horizontal head circumference; ② 17 craniofacial indexes: head length breadth, head length height, head breadth height, frontoparietal breadth, physiognomic face, morphological face, upper physiognomic face,nose index, nose breadth depth, mouth index, physiognomic ear, frontal height, upper facial height, width of malar lower jaw, malar frontal breadth,craniofacial height, craniofacial breadth.RESULTS: All the 151 subjects were involved in the analysis of results.① Measurement items of craniofacial organs: Only the values of physiognomic ear length and frontonasal angle were higher in females than in males, all the other items were higher in males than in females. The statistical analysis indicated that except the items of height of upper eyelid,breadth of nasal septum, physiognomic eat width, frontonasal angle, nose angle, width between two traguses, total head height and horizontal head circumference (P ＞ 0.05), the values of all the other items were significantly different between males and females. ② Indexes of craniofacial organs:Only the indexes of head length breadth, head breadth height, frontoparietal breadth, physiognomic face, morphological face, frontal height, width of malar lower jaw, malar frontal breadth, craniofacial height had no significant differences between males and females (P ＞ 0.05), and the others were significantly different between males and females.CONCLUSION: Most of the 41 measurement items of craniofacial organs were higher in males than in females among the Bulang minority in Bangbing countryside of Shuangjiang county in Lincang area, and most of the 17 indexes of craniofacial organs have no significant differences.

Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group (n =16) and fructose group (n =16) fed with 10％ fructose solution.After 4 weeks,the rats of two groups were treated with saline and 50 nmol/kg ghrelin for 6 weeks,respectively (each group n =8).Fasting plasma glucose,insulin,and blood lipid profile were measured.Insulin receptor (Ins-R) mRNA expression in muscle was detected by RT-PCR.The phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) was measured by Western blot.The results showed that insulin level and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) in fructose group were higher than those in control group [(13.1±3.6 vs 9.0 ± 1.5) μU/ml,P＜0.05 ;2.78 ± 0.14 vs 1.81± 0.13,P ＜0.01)].After ghrelin treatment,plasma insulin concentration [(9.6 ± 2.5) μU/mL,P＜0.05] and HOMA-IR (1.96 ± 0.12,P＜0.01)significantly decreased,along with increased Ins-R mRNA and IRS-1 phosphorylation in skeletal muscle (P ＜0.01).These results suggest that ghrelin can ameliorate insulin resistance in fructose-fed rats by restoring Ins-R function.

Objective To evaluate Sysmex XS-800i,XS-1000i and XE-2100D hematology analyzers when used to detect RBC count,hemoglobin (HGB),hematocrit (HCT),mean corpuscular volume (MCV),mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).Methods XE-2100D hematology analyzer was calibrated after performance evaluation,and the three analyzers had the intra-day precisions measured with three levels of whole-blood quality control materials.Totally 50 whole-blood specimens were detected with the three analyzers respectively,and statistical analyses and clinically acceptable performance evaluation were carried out on RBC count and the obtained results.Results XE-2100D hematology analyzer met the clinical requirements,and the three analyzers all gained high precisions when used to measure the parameters of the whole-blood quality control materials.The correlation coefficients (r2) respectively between the three analyzers were all higher than 0.95 when used to test the 50 specimens.At all medical decision levels XS-800i and XS-1000i hematology analyzers both gained acceptable detection results except XS-800i hematology analyzer in case of 5.9×1012/L RBC count as well as 35％ or 50％ HCT.Conclusion Sysmex XS-800i,XS-1000i and XE-2100D hematology analyzers have high precisions and correlations when used to detect RBC count,HGB,HCT and MCV,and contrast test is suggested to be executed periodically to ensure the comparability of tbe result.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Schwann cells (SCs) and fibronectin (FN) support the growth of damaged axons and their conductive function. METHODS: Thirty adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomized into 3 groups (n=10), and the following grafts: both SCs and FN, FN, and basal medium were implanted respectively into the lumbar of spinal cords hemisected at vertebra T(12). RESULTS: At 6 weeks postoperation, the latencies of spinal cord evoked potential (SCEP) P(1) wave in the three groups were 1.57 ms, 1.84 ms, and 2.03 ms, respectively. The differences between SCs/FN group and the other two groups were statistically significant. The number of regenerated axons in SCs/FN group was significantly greater than that in FN group. The number of survival neurons in L(4) and L(5) left dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in SCs/FN group was significantly greater than that in the rest two groups respectively. The latencies of P(1) wave were significantly correlated with axon counts in both SCs/FN and FN groups. CONCLUSIONS: SCs/FN grafted to the hemisected lumbar of spinal cords can produce robust axon regeneration and promote partial repair of their conduction. Surface recording of SCEP technique has been proved to be a reliable and less-traumatic method for assessment of recovery of afferent conduction in hemisected spinal cord.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of oral viaminate(a vitamine A acid derivative)on acne and its effect on the expression of androgen receptor.Methods Two hundred and eigh-teen patients with acne were allocated to treatment group and control group at random:treatment group was treated by oral viaminate;control group was treated by oral minocycline.The treatment lasted for four weeks.The effect of viaminate on the expression of androgen receptor was studied in COLO-16cells in vitro by using Northern blot or Western blot.Results The therapeutic effect of oral viaminate in treatment group was higher than that in control group(P

Objective:To explore the clinical effects of penile ventral Z-shaped cross flap and penile dorsal pedicled transfer flap in penoplasty for concealed penis.Methods:From January 2017 to June 2019, the data of 151 patients with concealed penis admitted to our hospital was retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the surgical method. 69 cases were treated with penis ventral Z-shaped cross flap to form penis and 82 cases were treated with dorsal penis pedicled flaps to form the penis. In Z-shaped flap group, the penis length of 33 patients with tight scrotum was (3.06±0.25)cm before surgery and the penis length of 36 patients with relaxed scrotum was (2.99±0.28) cm before surgery. In flap with transfer group, the penis length of 39 patients with tight scrotum was (3.04±0.30)cm before surgery and the penis of 43 patients with relaxed scrotum was (3.04±0.24)cm before surgery. The length of the penis after surgery and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between Z-shaped flap group and flap with transfer group. Common complications included penile body retraction, foreskin edema, foreskin stenosis and penile wound splitting.Results:151 patients were followed up for 6-12 months, and all patients were satisfied with penis appearance. There was no penile necrosis or urinary fistula. In Z-shaped flap cross group, the penis length of 33 patients with tight scrotum extended (2.47±0.22)cm after surgery.The penis length of 36 patients with scrotum relaxation extended (2.61±0.27)cm after surgery, 39 patients was adopted the penile dorsal pedicled transfer flap with scrotum tight had extended penis (2.90± 0.16)cm, which significantly different from the Z-shaped flap group( P<0.05). In flap with transfer group, 43 patients with relaxed scrotum extended (2.79±0.18)cm after surgery, which was significantly different from the Z-shaped flap group ( P<0.05). In Z-shaped flap group, 33 patients with scrotum tight, there were 2 cases of penile retraction, 1 case of stenosis of the foreskin, 2 cases of foreskin edema, 2 cases of penile wound rupture. In transfer flap group, of 39 patients with scrotum tight, there was 1 case of foreskin edema. The incidence of complications that adopted the penile dorsal pedicled transfer flap with scrotum tight was lower than those adopted penile ventral Z-shaped cross flap [2.56%(1/39) vs. 21.21%(7/33), P=0.033]. In transfer flap group, of the 43 patients with scrotum relaxation, there were 3 cases of penile retraction, 3 cases of foreskin stenosis, 2 cases of penile ventral foreskin edema, and 1 case of penile wound rupture. Z-shaped flap group: 36 patients was scrotum relaxation was 1 case of foreskin edema. The incidence of complications that adopted the penile dorsal pedicled transfer flap was higer than those adopted penile ventral Z-shaped flap [20.93%(9/43) vs. 2.78%(1/36), P =0.038]. Conclusions:In terms of children with tight scrotum or loose scrotum, the effect of the transfer flap method to extend the penis is better than that of the Z-shaped flap method. However, the transfer flap method has a low complication rate for children with tight scrotum, while the Z-shaped flap method has a low complication rate for children with loose scrotum.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects and mechanism of couplet medicines of Scutellaria baicalensis-Paeonia lactiflora on improving ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. METHODS: A total of 70 mice were randomly divided into blank group, model group, S. baicalensis group (1. 5 g/kg), P. lactiflora group (1. 5 g/kg), S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora (2:1, 1:1, 1:2, m/m) groups (total amount of 1. 5 g/kg), with 10 mice in each group. Except for blank group, UC model of mice was induced in each group. The next day after modeling, treatment groups were given relevant medicine liquid 0. 2 mL/10 g (75 mg/mL, calculated by crude drug mass concentration), while blank group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically, once a day, for consecutive 7 d. After administration, disease activity indexes (DAI) of rats were scored, and the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, D-LA and myeloperoxidase (DAO) were determined. The length of the colon was measured and the intestinal mass index was calculated in mice. The activities of medullary peroxide (MPO) and SOD, the levels of NO and MDA were determined in colon tissue. RESULTS: Compared with blank group, DAI score, serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, D-LA and DAO, the levels of MPO, NO and MDA in colon were increased significantly in model group, while the length of colon, intestinal mass index and SOD level of colon tissue were decreased significantly, with statistical significance (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). Compared with model group, DAI score, serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and DAO, the level of MDA in colon were decreased significantly in S. baicalensis group (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, the level of MDA in colon were decreased significantly in P. lactiflora group (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). Above indexes of S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora (2:1) group were improved significantly except for the length of colon (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). Above indexes of S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora (1:1) group were improved significantly except for serum level of IL-6 and the level of SOD in colon (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). Above indexes of S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora (1:2) group were improved significantly except for serum level of NO (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). CONCLUSIONS: The couplet medicines of S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora can reduce the expression of proinflammatory factors, enhancing antioxidant activity of the body and decrease intestinal mucosal permeability so as to improve UC symptom of mice; and the effect of S. baicalensis-P. lactiflora (2:1) group is the best.

The association between fasting plasma ghrelin levels and insulin resistance and blood pressure(BP)in octogenarians was investigated in this study.A total of 487 unrelated octogenarians (including 203 men and 284 women)were enrolled in this cross-sectional study at the Healthy Care Center of Shanghai East Hospital,Tongji University,China,from October 2008 to April 2009.Plasma ghrelin was determined by using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Insulin sensitivity was assessed using the homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance(HOMA-IR).The age of the participants ranged from 80 to 89 years(mean=83.9±4.8 years)with a body mass index(BMI)of 25.3±4.9 kg/m2.Plasma ghrelin levels were 20.94±5.34 μg/L,being 20.89±5.53 μg/L in men and 21.38±3.73 μg/L in women respectively.Plasma ghrelin was not associated with systolic(P=-0.981)or diastolic(P=0.724)BP,waist circumference(P=0.278),fasting insulin(P=0.246),fasting blood glucose(FBG)(P=0.693)and HOMA-IR(P=0.232).In the control cohort,no significant differences in plasma ghrelin were found between genders(P=0.489),and among subjects with hypertension (BP＞140/90 mmHg)(P=0.284)and type 2 diabetes(P=0.776).In conclusion,fasting plasma ghrelin levels are not directly correlated with insulin resistance and BP among octogenarians.

Objective:To preliminarily study the feasibility, safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with selective portal vein embolization (SPVE) before surgical resection in the treatment of large liver cancer.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on the clinical data of 17 patients with large liver cancer treated with TACE combined with SPVE from January 2016 to December 2019 at the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, the Sixth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital. The study included 15 males and 2 females, aged (59.17±10.30) years. The levels of alanine aminotransferase, tumor changes and patient survival were analyzed before operation, after TACE, and after SPVE.Results:Among the 17 patients, the levels of alanine aminotransferase on the 1st and 3rd day after SPVE was significantly higher than those after TACE [191.4 (30.5-1966.4) IU/L vs 125.3 (35.7-846.2) IU/L on the first day, and 298.5 (24.6-1334.2) IU/L vs 208.6 (21.6-775.6) IU/L on the 3rd day], all P<0.05. One month after the two combined embolism, among the 6 patients with a tumor diameter of 5-10 cm, 2 patients (33.3%) had complete remission, 3 patients (50.0%) had partial remission, and 1 patients (16.6%) had stable disease. For the tumor’s longest diameter, among the 11 patients with tumors >10 cm, 1 patient had complete remission (9.1%), 4 patients had partial remission (36.4%), 5 patients had stable diseases (45.5%), and 1 patient had disease progression (9.1%). Eventually, 11 patients underwent surgical exploration. The median residual liver volume before treatment was 329.5 (284.9-365.7) ml, and after the combined procedure 415.6 (354.7-718.8) ml. The median hyperplasia ratio was 28.1% (14.1%-51.3%). Eight patients finally underwent surgical resection. There was no death in the perioperative periods. The median tumor-free survival time was 17 (7-42) months, and the median survival time was 27 (7-42) months. Conclusion:For patients with large liver cancer with insufficient remnant liver volume, preoperative TACE+ SPVE has certain value in controlling tumor progression, promoting remnant liver hyperplasia, increasing surgical resection rate and improving prognosis.