Objective:To study the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE),extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK),and the changes of atrial fibrosis in patients with rheumatic heart disease(RHD) and atrial fibrillation(AF) treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI).Methods:Atrial tissues were obtained from the right appendage during open surgery in 35 patients with RHD.The mRNA of ACE and ERK2 were semi-qualified by reverse transcription-ploymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and normalized to the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH).Western blotting analysis was employed to examine the expressions of ACE and phosphorylated ERK(pERK).Atrial collagen volume fraction(CVF) was detected by Masson's stain.Results:The mRNA of ACE and ERK2 or the protein of ACE and pERK were significantly increased,and CVF was significantly increased in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation(CAF) compared with sinus rhythm group(SR)( P 0.05).Conclusion:The expressions of ACE,ERK2 and pERK increase,and fibrosis is more severe in RHD patients with CAF as compared with those with SR.Compared with CAF patients treated without ACEI,the expressions of ERK2 and pERK significantly decrease( P 0.05)in CAF patients treated with ACEI.This suggests that the increasing expression of ERK2 and pERK resulting from local renal angiotensin-converting enzyme system activation mediates the development of atrial fibrosis,and ACEI may contribute to lesser atrial fibrosis in RHD patients with AF.

According to the sera aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) can be classified into two types as AQP4 antibody positive (AQP4+) and negative (AQP4-). However, the NMO patients with AQP4- are prone to delayed treatment, and may have a different pathogenesis compared to that in patients with AQP4+. Scientific researches and the clinical trials on NMO with AQP4- will deepen the understanding of NMO pathogenesis and help to make an early accurate diagnosis and rational therapy for NMO with AQP4-. This review aims to summarize the progress in clinic diagnosis for NMO patients with AQP4-.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disorder characterized by abnormally elevated blood pressure of the pulmonary circulation. PH progresses rapidly to right ventricular (RV) failure and even death without treatment. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is an accurate and reproducible tool for the assessment of RV morphology and function, which plays an important role in the prognosis of patients with PH. The aim of this study is to review the clinical application and research progress of CMR in evaluation of PH.

BACKGROUND: Primary hypertension is in the category of "dizziness"and "dementia" in Chinese medicine. It is discovered in recent years that vascular dangerous factors, like hypertension affect the risk constitution of Alzheimer disease.OBJECTIVE: To probe into relationship between cognition and syndrome differentiation of primary hypertension.DESIGN: Case-control analysis was designed.SETTING: Jiangsu Staff University of Medical Science and Yangzhou Wenhe Hospital.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 90 cases of primary hypertension were employed from May to June 2000. They were from some city in the north of Jiangsu province, graduated from middle school and cooperated with the investigation. Totally 30 cases were collected from physical-check group and taken in the control.METHODS: The cases of primary hypertension were differentiated as excess-syndrome group (excessive phlegm and damp and hyperactivity of liver yang), deficiency-syndrome group (yin deficiency of liver and kidney and deficiency of yin and yang), excess within deficiency group (complicated with blood stasis and with turbid phlegm) and the control group. Neuropsychological method was used to evaluate the cognition.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Indexes of neuropsychology: Fuld object-memory Evaluation (FOM), rapid verbal retrieve (RVR), block design WISE (BD), digit span WISE (DS), Hachinski ischemic score (HACH), mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and activity of daily living scale among groups.RESULTS: The data of 90 cases of primary hypertension and 30 cases in physical-check group entered result analysis. Compared with the control group, significant difference was not indicated in every statistical index in excess-syndrome group (P ＞ 0.05). In deficiency-syndrome group, except MMSE and ADL, the rest observed indexes indicated statistical difference.In excess within deficiency group, statistical difference presented in every observed index (P ＜ 0.01), in which the results in the complication of turbid phlegm was worse than blood stasis (FOM was 11.3±3.7,13.5±2.5 respectively; DS was 6.4±3.9,8.3±3.5, respectively)CONCLUSION: Primary hypertension affects mental state of patient, in which, cognition is declined mildly in deficiency-syndrome group. Dementia symptoms present in excess within deficiency group which is severe in phlegm type compared with blood stasis type. Differentiation of syndromes in Chinese medicine integrated with neuropsychological assessment benefits early discovery and diagnosis of dementia.

BACKGROUND: Studies have proved that rotating magnetic field(RMF) can significantly increase bone mineral density(BMD) in rats, and such high BMD maintains for a long time which is independent of the actions of hormone.OBJECTIVE: To investigative the effect of RMF on bone calcium content and the correlation between bone-specific alkaline phosphatase(BAP) and deoxypyridinoline crosslinks (DPD) in rats.DESIGN: A randomized controlled study in rats.SETTING: A college of life sciences of a university.MATERIALS: The experiment was conducted in Shenzhen Key Lab of Microbiological Genetic Engineering from March 2004 to October 2004, using 90 healthy adult SD rats including 60 females weighing(259 ± 70) g and 30 males weighing (351 ± 104)g. The rats were randomly divided into 9 groups including 6 ovariotomy groups, namely female sham-operation group, normal calcium control group, low calcium control group, low calcium experimental group, normal calcium experimental group, and low calcium group with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) treatment, besides a male control group,male low calcium experimental group, and male normal calcium experimental group, with 10 rats in each group.INTERVENTIONS: The female rats in each group, except for those in the sham-operation group, received ovariotomy. The rats in the ovariotomy control group had only ovariotomy. After metabolic exhaustion of the remnant estrogen on the 15th day, the rats in the ovariotomy experimental group were treated with RMF for 2 hours once a day for 15 days. The male rats, except for those in the control group, all bad RMF in identical manner. The rats were given food with normal calcium(containing 0.26% calcium), lower calcium (containing 0.1% calcium) and traditional Chinese medicine(powder of Fructus Psoraleae, Radix Astragali, epimedium herb, and herba cistanchis) .After RME treatment, the rats were fed for another 15 days before the femur was collected to measure the bone calcium content. Serum samples were also obtained for measuring the content of BAP and urine samples collected to measure the content of DPD.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The bone calcium content of each group and serum BAP and urine DPD.RESULTS: Of the 90 rats used, 4 died during the experiment and 86 entered the result analysis. The bone calcium content was increased after RMF treatment, and the content in rats in the low calcium group with ovariotomy and TCM treatment and lower calcium control group with ovariotomy was(0.226± 0. 015) and(0. 206 ± 0. 015) g/g, respectively( t =4.63, P ＜ 0. 05). The bone calcium content in the male normal calcium experimental group and male control group was(0. 206 ±0. 031) and(0. 199 ±0. 014) g/g respectively ( t = 4.21, P ＜ 0.05 ) . After treatment with RMF, serum BAP content was increased and was(20. 52 ± 1.78) and(15.68 ±3.68) U/L in normal calcium experimental and control groups with ovariotomy, respectively( t=4.76, P ＜0.05), and(17.69±3.78) and (8.53±2.54) U/Lin the male low calcium experimental and male control groups, respectively( t= 4. 59, P ＜ 0.05). Urine DPD after RMF treatment was (86.97 ± 37.19)and(401.57 ±79. 34) nmol/L in the low calcium experimental group with TCM treatment and ovariotomy and the low calcium control group with ovariotomy, respectively( t =7.45, P ＜ 0.01), and(97.87 ±31.97) and (168.71 ±53.19) nmol/L in the male normal calcium experimental and male control groups respectively( t = 8.31, P ＜ 0.01 ).CONCLUSION: RMF can effectively increase bone calcium content in a short time( 15 days), and the effect was positively correlated with increased blood BAP and decreased urine DPD.

BACKGROUND: Nerve fiber degeneration and horseradish peroxidase antrograde tracing methods are commonly used to study nerve pathway. However, both the methods cannot mark the area clearly and lack of sensitivity so that they cannot fully present the projection area of nerve fibers. It needs further efforts on developing new nerve pathway tracing methods to effectively research nerve pathway.OBJECTIVE: To look for a highly sensitive method of nerve pathway tracing in order to provide a simple, objective and reliable method to study regeneration.DESIGN: A randomized and controlled trial based on experimental animals.SETTING: Department of Internal Medicine of a hospital and the Experiment technique teaching section of a university.MATERIALS: The experiment was completed in the Experiment Technique Teaching Section of Chengdu Medical College. Six healthy male SD rats provided by Experimental Animal Centre of West China Medical University were used.METHODS: Using CB-HRP as tracer while using sodium tungstate as stabilizer of TMP to antrograde tracing the projection of optic nerve fibers on anterior region of hypothalamus and retrograde tracing the distribution of hypoglossal nerve fibers on the dorsal side of medulla.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Distribution and dyeing of neuron bodies and nerve fibers.RESULTS: The fibers of optic nerve projected to the dorsomedial side of suprachiasmatic nucleus and the fibers of hypoglossal nerve projected on the hypoglossal nucleus on dorsomedial portion of the medulla oblongate. The result shows that the neurons and axons are very clear.CONCLUSION: It is a highly sensitive method to trace nerve pathway by using CB-HRP as tracer and sodium tungstate as stabilizer of TMB.

Small GTP binding protein Rho and its downstream Rho-kinase pathway play an important role in the various cellular functions, including contraction, migration, proliferation, adhe-sion and apoptosis, etc. This article reviews the role of Rho/Rho-kinase pathway in the pain generation and development and clinical application of Rho/Rho-kinase inhibitors. It discusses the feasibility of Rho/Rho-kinase as a target for analgesics. Ac-cumulating experimental and clinical evidences indicate that Rho/Rho-kinase pathway is involved in the neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, diabetic painful neuropathy, cerebral vaso-spasm, vasospastic angina and cancer pain, etc. Therefore, Rho/Rho-kinase is a potential drug target of the pain, and it provides new therapeutic treatments and strategies for pain in clinic.

Wavelet entropy,as a powerful quantitative parameter to measure the ordering/disordering level of multi-scale dynamical behavior for nonlinear signals,provides information of complex degree in nonlinear dynamical process.Recently,the wavelet entropy is attracting more and more attention in electroencephalogram (EEG) signal analysis,which is employed by domestic and overseas scholars to investigate the complex degree of EEG,evoked potential and event-related potential,and to profoundly reveal the dynamic mechanism of physiological electrical activity in the brain.It is mainly used in the research of perception,cognitive activity,dynamic observation of epileptic EEG signals,sleeping,internet addiction and rehabilitation of brain after injury.Not only can the wavelet entropy represent the dynamic evolution process of the frequency synchronization for stimulated EEG signals,but also distinguish the states before and after epileptic seizure,as well as to deepen the understanding of brain dynamics mechanism.The wavelet entropy is becoming a new tool for investigating cognition and exhibits a good application prospect in EEG signal analysis.

Objective To explore the resilience traits of male juvenile delinquents with high traumatic experiences and the relationship on resilience and personality,family environment.Methods 147 male juvenile delinquents selected by self-made traumatic experience questionnaire were surveyed with the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescent,Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Family Environment Scale.The data were statistically analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise Regression Analysis.Results The total scores of resilience in male juvenile delinquents with high trauma experiences were (75.98 ± 14.03).Besides the scores of goal planning (3.47±4.23),the scores of affect control(1.94±2.85),positive thinking(2.31±3.47),family support(1.89±3.84)and help seeking (2.92±3.38)were all below 3.Differences of goal planning,positive thinking,family support had been found in male juvenile delinquents with high trauma experiences on the factors including educational level,rural or urban family,whether only-child family,whether single-parent family.The delinquents' resilience was correlated with their personality(r=-0.357-0.175) and family environment (r=-0.185-0.272) in several dimensions (P ＜0.05).Neuroticism,family conflict and psychoticism predicted resilience negatively (β=-2.354,-0.135,-0.194,P＜0.05).Family cohesion predicted resilience positively(β=1.389,P＜0.001).Conclusion The resilience of male juvenile delinquents with high traumatic experiences is poor and personality,and family environment has significant influences on their resiliences.

Fructus Xanthii is commonly used in rhinology, especially used in treatment of chronic rhinitis and sinusitis. But Fructus Xanthii is toxicant, and it maybe result in poisoning when used excessively, without preparation or in inappropriate preparation. This article reviewed all poisoning cases from 1960 to 2000, its toxicology and methods for detoxification