Objective To explore the clinical value of double contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCUS) on evaluation of the chemotherapy effect in advanced gastric carcinoma. Methods A total of 21 patients with unresectable and received chemotherapy of advanced gastric carcinoma were examined using ultrasound after taking oral contrast agent and bolus injection of Sono Vue, and findings of DCUS of each patient before and after chemotherapy were compared. Results The thickness of lesions was slightly thinner than that after chemotherapy,but there was no significant difference ( P ＞0. 05). In addition, there was no significant difference in the basal intensity (BI), peak intensity (PI), arrive time (AT) and time to peak (TTP) of gastric carcinoma tissues after chemotherapy (P ＞0.05). While the enhanced intensity (EI) value of gastric carcinoma tissues after chemotherapy was significantly less than that before chemotherapy (P ＜0.05). Conclusions The EI value in gastric carcinoma tissues may be considered as a sensitive and effective index in assessing the therapeutic effect of the chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical effect and safety of chiropractic in treating cervicogenic sudden hearing loss.

METHODSFrom January 2011 to October 2013, 90 patients with cervicogenic sudden hearing loss were randomly divided into treatment group and control group according to the random number table produced by SPSS 19.0 software. In the treatment group, there were 17 males and 28 females, aged from 31 to 62 years old with an average of (47.57±9.43) years; course of disease was from 1 to 3 days with an average of (1.43±0.68) days; pure-tone audiometry score was from 46.5 to 77.8 dB with the mean of (61.20±9.83) dB; Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) score was from 17 to 31 scores with an average of (23.46±7.18) scores. In the control group, there were 15 males and 30 females, aged from 28 to 64 years old with an average of (45.77±6.99) years; course of disease was from 1 to 3 days with an average of (1.50±0.73) days; pure-tone audiometry score was from 48.1 to 75.0 dB with the mean of (63.91±8.05) dB; Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) score was from 20 to 29 scores with an average of (25.61±10.43) scores. The patients of control group were treated with dexamethasone intravenous drip of 10 mg, 3 days later, decreased to 5 mg, 3 days again. And with the methycobal intravenous drip of 500 μg, treatment continued for 10 days. The patients of treatment group were treated with chiropractic additionally except for the therapeutic methods of control group. Chiropractic included local muscle loosening, attacking point, bilateral pulling atlanto-axial joint, and continuous treatment for 10 days. The pure-tone audiometry score and NPQ score were compared between two groups after treatment.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, pure-tone audiometry score and NPQ score in treatment group improved to (40.23± 8.14) dB and (12.70±8.29) scores respectively, which were obviously better than that of control group's (37.70±10.61) dB and (21.24±11.13) scores (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with routine method for cervicogenic sudden hearing loss, additional chiropractic can improve hearing and relieve neck pain effectively.

Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Manipulation, Chiropractic ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged

Liquid-phase microextraction is a novel pretreatment technique for biological samples developed on the basis of liquid-phase extraction technology, which is simple, rapid, economical, and environmentally friendly, and has been widely used in the analysis of biological matrix samples such as blood, urine, and saliva. In this paper, we review the basic principles of the main modes of liquid-phase microextraction techniques, i.e., single-drop microextraction, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, and hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction, and the progress of their applications in biological sample pretreatment by reviewing the literature in the past five years, with a view to providing technical support and reference for sample pretreatment in the fields of in vivo drug analysis, pharmacokinetic studies and new drug development.

Membrane proteins are the main undertakers of biofilm function, and also the most important target group for innovative drug discovery and research. About 60% of drugs targets are membrane proteins. Due to the obvious aggregation and denaturation tendency of membrane proteins in aqueous solution, it is difficult to simulate the membrane like environment to maintain the correct conformation of membrane proteins in vitro, which results in the slower-growing research on the structure and function of membrane proteins and related ligand drugs than that of water-soluble proteins. Membrane protein stabilization technology is the premise of establishing high specificity, high sensitivity and high throughput drug screening methods for membrane protein ligands, which is of great significance. In this paper, some techniques for stable separation and purification of membrane proteins are reviewed, including detergents, artificial membranes, polymers, lentiviral particles and so on, as well as their specific applications in drug screening.

ABC transporters on the intestinal barrier, blood-brain barrier and on tumor cells will affect drug bioavailability, transport across the blood-brain barrier and multidrug resistance. The active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines can affect the function and expression of ABC transporters. When combined with pharmaceuticals the potential interaction between the two can change the efficacy of the medicines. We review the ABC transporter superfamily and their distribution with regard to their relationship and interactions with traditional Chinese medicine on the intestinal barrier and the blood-brain barrier, as well as their role in tumor multidrug resistance mediated by ABC transporters. We summarize the research progress over the past five years.

Aged ; Bone Neoplasms ; secondary ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms ; secondary

Objective To explore features and clinic values of LNR anatomy with multiple planar reconstruction techniques with 16-slice spiral CT at the same slice.Methods The lumbar vertebrae with normal adults of 55 cases and 23 cases with abnormal ENR caused by 8 cases with protrusion of lumbar disc, 5 cases with spinal stenosis,4 cases with malignant tumor,5 cases with trauma and 1 case with lumbar TB confirmed by operation were scanned with 16-slice spiral CT made in American GE company in routine posture of the lumbar vertebrae,reconstructed LNR with UNIX system in workstation (ADW 4.1),and analyzed their normal and abnormal anatomic manifestations at the same slice.Results All of LNR can symmetrically showed on oblique and coronal planes according to different segments:one segment from L1 to L5(55,100% ),two segments: from L1 to L2,L2 to L3 and L3 to L4(55,100% ),three segments: from L1 to L3 (49,88%),from L2to L4(46,84% )and from L3 to L5(20,36% ),four segments: from L1 to L4 (15,27% )and five segments:(8,15% ),respectively.Each LNR,including their whole shapes of passage from starting to end,direction,size,shape,tension and peripheral relationship and so on can showed clearly on oblique and coronal planes and on other planes. However,the later planes can increase LNR but decreasing numbers of LNR and especially increase very long one LNR reconstruction.Primary manifestation of all diseases can be showed on oppressing along its walking line,meanwhile,20 cases with adhesion, 14 cases with displacement,13 cases atrophy and 9 cases with increasing diameter.Conclusions Image anatomy features of full LNR with 16-slice spiral CT with the multiple plane reconstruction techniques is very ideal ways at the same slice.It is a very valuable way to make diagnosis and treatment of LNR diseases.The concept of"road sing"and showing"at the same slice"of LNR are tried to rise from in order to make foundation for studying their image.

BACKGROUNDThe persistence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) symptoms after tonsil and/or adenoid (T&A) surgery are common in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We tested the hypothesis that disturbances of glucose transporters (GLUTs) in intraabdominal adipose tissue caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) from the pedo-period could facilitate the appearance of periphery insulin resistance in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. We tested the hypothesis that the changes of GLUTs in adipose tissue may be one of the reasons for persistent SDB among clinical OSA children after T&A surgery.

METHODSThirty 21-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into a CIH group, a chronic continuous hypoxia (CCH) group, and a normal oxygen group (control group) and exposed for 40 days. The changes of weight, fasting blood glucose and fasting blood insulin levels were measured. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp techniques were used to measure insulin resistance in each animal. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting were used to measure GLUT mRNA and proteins in intraabdominal adipose tissue. Additional intraabdomial white adipose tissue (WAT) was also processed into paraffin sections and directly observed for GLUTs1-4 expression.

RESULTSWhen compared with control group, CIH increased blood fasting insulin levels, (245.07 +/- 53.89) pg/ml vs. (168.63 +/- 38.70) pg/ml, P = 0.038, and decreased the mean glucose infusion rate (GIR), (7.25 +/- 1.29) mg x kg(-1) x min(-1) vs. (13.34 +/- 1.54) mg x kg(-1) x min(-1), P < 0.001. GLUT-4 mRNA and protein expression was significantly reduced after CIH compared with CCH or normal oxygen rats, 0.002 +/- 0.002 vs. 0.039 +/- 0.009, P < 0.001; 0.642 +/- 0.073 vs. 1.000 +/- 0.103, P = 0.035.

CONCLUSIONSCIH in young rats could induce insulin resistance via adverse effects on glycometabolism. These findings emphasize the importance of early detection and treatment of insulin insensitivity in obese childhood OSA.

Adipose Tissue ; metabolism ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Glucose Clamp Technique ; Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Hypoxia ; physiopathology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Insulin ; blood ; Insulin Resistance ; physiology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVESThe physicians knowledge and attitude to erectile dysfunction (ED) is very important to the diagnosis and management of this disease. We investigated the physicians and practitioners knowledge of ED, attitude to ED, and if they actively find the underlying ED patients.

METHODSThree hundreds and one physicians and practitioners in Beijing completed a questionnaire. The subjects included urologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, surgeons, orthopaedicians and community practitioners.

RESULTSThe definition of ED was well known by most subjects (83.4%). Many agreed that ED was a common condition in the aging men (85.0%), and it was an important health problem (78.7%) and it was the local signs of certain systemic diseases (89.7%). The most common risk factors of ED enumerated by the physicians were diabetes (45.5%), hypertension (12.6%) and coronary artery diseases (12.0%). 45.5% physicians met the patients who initiated questions about ED. 32.6% physicians would discuss ED with the patients if the patients initiate questions about ED. 95.0% non-urological physicians would refer the ED patients to urologists or andrologists. 43.5% of all the physicians never asked their patients about erectile function, this proportions in the subgroups of urologists, non-urological physicians and community practitioners were 7.2%, 55.3% and 60.5% respectively (P < 0.01). The most common reasons for the physicians not to initiate the inquiries about ED was "the patients would not have ED if they didnt complain about it" (42.2%), "there was no ED patients in my specialty" (20.9%), "diagnosis and treatment of ED was not my business" (17.3%), "have no time" (15.6%), "feel embarrassed" (13.6%).

CONCLUSIONSMost physicians regarded ED as an important health problem and a common condition in aging men, but they didnt take an active attitude to ED in their clinical practice.

Aging ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; China ; epidemiology ; Education, Medical ; Erectile Dysfunction ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Knowledge ; Male ; Physicians ; psychology ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo discuss the land surface temperature's effect on supervising the areas with snails, comparing the land surface temperature (LST) of the areas with snails with the LST of those without snails.

METHODSChoosing the lake areas of farmland in Jiangxi Province and the beach in the bank of Ganjiang, dividing into four areas according to snails. Picking up the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and LST from the remote sensing data to find the difference between the areas with snails and the areas without snails, so as to illuminate the effects of the LST on distinguishing the areas with snails.

RESULTSThe NDVI of Dongfeng Wei (an area from farmland to lake) was 0 - 0.20, the NDVI of the areas with snails was 0.20 - 0.40. The NDVI of four areas is different (chi(2) = 104.69, P < 0.01). The LST of Dongfeng wei was 24 - 30 degrees C, Wuzhoutou without snails is 23 - 28 degrees C, Wuzhoutou with snails is 22 - 26 degrees C, Changjiangzhou was 20 - 24 degrees C. The LST of four areas is different (chi(2) = 115.23, P < 0.01). The analysis farther indicates the NDVI of areas without snails was lower than that of areas with snails, but the LST was higher.

CONCLUSIONThe NDVI and (or) the LST should be significantly different between the areas with snails and the areas without, it might be concluded that the LST should be a indication to some extent on judging whether some areas may be fit for snails.

Animals ; Environmental Monitoring ; Geographic Information Systems ; Snails ; physiology ; Spacecraft ; Temperature