Objective To study a characteristic CT sign of pulmonary tuberculosis granuloma and improve the diagnostic accuracy of the disease.Methods The clinical data and CT findings of 32 cases with pulmonary tuberculosis granuloma were retrospectively analyzed.All cases were pathologic confimed by bronchoscopy or biopsy.All the patients had spiral CT scan,of which five had CT enhancement.Results In 51 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis granuloma 32 hadCrawling Sign,which showed the trend that le-sions from the peripheral spread to the hilum of lung along the bronchovascular bundle with the outer part larger than the inside,like a lesion crawled along the bronchial tree.Conclusion TheCrawling Signis a quite characteristic CT sign of the tuberculous granu-loma which can help to differentiate tuberculous granuloma from lung cancer and other lung diseases.

Objective To study the effect of restraint and watered stress of different durations on the gastric empting in rats. Methods 48 male SD rats (weight ±150 g) were divided randomly into 6 groups with 8 in each. The experimental rats were restrained and watered in 23℃ water box for 1 h/d, while the controls were free. The body weight, general conditions and behavioral indexes of the rats were observed and recorded. The gastric empting rate was measured in rats with semi-solid diet after 3 d,7 d and 28 d during the statistically significant differences among different groups of different stress groups,and between the 3 d test group and 3 d control group. The gastric empting rate was higer in the 7-day test than in 7 d controlled group, lower in the 28 d test group than 28 d control group. Conclusion Different chronic stress can cause changes of gastric empting rate. With the prolonging of stress time, the empting rate is rising and then decending.

Objective In order to study the relationship between the efficacy of IFN and ribavirin in treating the patients with chronic hepatitis C and the anti-IFN antibodies.Methods 20 patients received 3MU rIFN ?-2b three times a week and ribavirim 1?050mg once a day for 24 weeks;32 patients were treated with 3MU rIFN ?-2b and without ribavin.These patients were all followed up 24weeks after stopping treatment,meanwhile the anti-IFN antibodies were detected.Results In first group,50% of the patients had complete response,which was higher obviously than 18.7% in the second group;25%relapse developed in the first group,which was lower than 56.3% in the second group.25% of the patients had no response in each groups.The relapse was related to the anti-IFN antibodies,especially neutralizing antibodies.Conclusion The efficacy of combined treatment with IFN?-2b and ribavirin is superior to the treatment with only rIFN?-2b.The relapse is related to anti-IFN antibodies,especially neutralizing antibodies.

Objective To preliminarily investigate the feasibility of MRI-T2* map in evaluating myocardial iron load of myocardial iron overload rabbit models.Methods Eleven rabbits were included in this study and divided into two groups,myocardial iron overload group (n =10) and the control group (n =1).Iron dextrin (dose of 50 mg/kg) was injected in muscles of thigh once a week,totally 12 weeks.Serum iron test and MRI examination were performed before iron injection,and 1 week to 12 weeks after iron injection.MRI scan protocol included short axial T2* map of the left ventricle and cross-section T2* map of the liver.T2* and R2* of the heart and the liver were measured.One rabbit was killed after MRI examination at pre-iron injection,1 week to 8 weeks,11 weeks and 12 weeks after iron injection,respectively.Heart and liver were avulsed to undergo in vitro MRI scan and then paraffin embedded for pathological slices.MRI scan protocol and measurements of the heart and the liver samples were the same to that of in vivo ones.Pearson correlation was used to calculate the relationships between the parameters.Results Myocardial T2* [(32.5 ± 8.3 ms)] and R2* values [(38.4 ± 7.9) Hz] had significant correlation with injecting iron content(1 033.2 ± 673.4 mg),the Pearson coefficients were-0.799 (P =0.001) and 0.770 (P =0.002),respectively.Myocardial T2 had no significant correlation with liver T2* values (r =0.556,P =0.070).T2* values of heart and liver in vivo [(32.5 ± 8.3) ms and (8.8 ± 5.4) ms],respectively had strong correlation with those in vitro [(19.4 ± 6.5) ms and (9.8 ± 5.0) ms],respectively (r =0.757,P =0.007 and r=0.861,P=0.001).T2* and R2* values of the heart and the liver in vivo and in vitro had no significant correlations with serum iron (P ＞ 0.05).On Prussian blue staining slices,blue particles of myocardium,sinus hepaticus and hepatocyte increased with injecting iron content.Conclusions It is feasible for MRI-T2* map to evaluate the myocardial iron load noninvasively.It may provide reliable information for detecting myocardial iron overload in patients with iron overload at an early stage.

Objective To observe the effects of chronic arsenic exposure on mRNA expression of estrogen receptor-binding fragment-associated gene 9 (Ebag9) and estrogen-responsive finger protein (efp) in uterus and ovary of female rats.Methods Fifty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups according to arsenic (As2O3) concentrations given through drinking-water:0.00 (control),0.05,0.10,0.20,0.40 mg/L arsenic exposure groups and real-time RCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of Ebag9 and efp in uterus and ovary tissue at the 31 weeks of experiment.Results The mRNA expression levels of Ebag9 and efp of the 0.00,0.05,0.10,0.20,0.40 mg/L arsenic exposure groups were respectively as follows:0.761 ± 0.178,0.521 ± 0.130,0.544 ± 0.035,0.525 ± 0.198,0.498 ± 0.240 and 0.795 ± 0.171,0.874 ± 0.077,0.797 ± 0.066,0.796 ± 0.040,0.832 ± 0.096.Compared with control group,a decreased tendency was observed in Ebag9 mRNA level(with P value 0.055 in 0.40 mg/L arsenic exposure group) and increased tendency in efp mRNA level in experimental groups (all P ＞ 0.05).The mRNA expression levels of Ebag9 and efp in ovary of the five groups were by turns:0.702 ± 0.484,0.719 ± 0.336,0.693 ± 0.095,0.706 ± 0.055,0.728 ± 0.073 and 0.924 ± 0.061,1.009 ± 0.034,0.930 ± 0.085,0.929 ± 0.068,1.012 ± 0.101.Compared with control group,the expression level of Ebag9 mRNA showed a increased tendency in 0.05,0.20,0.40 mg/L arsenic exposure groups(all P ＞ 0.05).The efp mRNA level increased in experimental groups,with significant difference in 0.05,0.40 mg/L groups (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The expression of efp mRNA has changed in ovary of female rats exposed to chronic arsenic.Arsenic may act as an environmental endocrine disruptor to exert its effect.

Objective To investigate CT and MRI findings of giant cell tumors of the temporal bone(GCTTB).Methods CT and MRI features of 5 cases pathologically proven GCTTB were retrospectively reviewed.The lesion characteristics,including location, size,shape,margin,attenuation on CT scans,signal intensity on MR images,and enhancement pattern were documented and analyzed.Results In all 5 patients,the lesions were located adj acent to the mandibular fossa.These lesions were round or oval in shape,predominantly demonstrated as expansive lytic bone destruction containing hyperattenuating septa,calcifications,non-sclerotic borders,and discontinuous bony shells,with“boundary angle”sign.No soft tissue masses were found around the lesions.These lesions with different content demonstrated various MRI signal intensity,and the solid component enhanced intensely.Conclusion GCTTB is rare.Features such as expansive growing pattern,discontinuous bony shell,intralesional septa,calcification,and “boundary angle”sign are common,which may help in the radiographic diagnosis of giant cell tumor.

Objective:To observe the effect of combining Chinese medicine and tuina along the meridians on motor function and activities of daily living (ADL) in patient with post-stroke upper limb spasticity. Methods:A total of 220 patients with post-stroke upper limb spasticity were randomly allocated into a treatment group (n=110) and a control group (n=110). Patients in the treatment group received tuina along the meridians combined with spasticity-alleviating and collateral-unblocking Chinese medicine, whereas patients in the control group received routine rehabilitation therapy. Patients in both groups were treated for 3 weeks. Then the patients’ motor function, ADL and muscle tone were evaluated before and after treatment using the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA), modified Barthel index (MBI) and modified Ashworth scale (MAS). Results:After treatment, the FMA scores, MBI scores, and muscle (shoulder intortor, elbow flexors and wrist flexors) tones were significantly improved (P<0.05), but the improvement was more significant in the treatment group than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion:Tuina along the meridians combined with spasticity-alleviating and collateral-unblocking Chinese medicine can substantially alleviate muscle tone on the affected side and remarkably improve the patients’ motor function and ADL.

Objective To detect thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) mRNA expression of subjects exposed to different levels of arsenic,to further study the endocrine disturbing effect of arsenic.Methods Molecular epidemiological method was used,in drinking water type of endemic arsenic poisoning areas,which were divided into control (＜ 10 μg/L),low (10-＜ 100 μg/L),medium (100-＜ 200 μg/L) and high (≥200 μg/L) dose groups based on the drinking water arsenic concentrations.According to the gender stratification,a total of 273 (control,low,medium and high dose groups were 58,49,66,100,respectively) residents were chosen.To carry out the questionnaire,urine arsenic determination,electrocardiographic examination.Real-time PCR was used to detect blood TRs mRNA expression.Results TRα mRNA relative expression levels in the control,low,medium and high dose groups were (12.2 ± 5.7) × 10-4,(12.2 ± 5.0) × 10-4,(12.3 ± 5.4) × 10-4,(12.2 ± 4.3) × 10-4,respectively,the differences were not statistically significant (F =0.109,P ＞ 0.05).TRβ mRNA relative expression levels were all low,the control,low,medium and high dose groups were (5.7 ± 4.1) × 10-6,(8.6 ± 7.6) × 10-6,(6.3 ± 4.2) × 10-6 and (6.2 ± 3.8) ×10~,respectively,the differences were statistically significant (F =2.938,P ＜ 0.05).The levels of TRβ mRNA relative expression changed with increased content of arsenic in water and urine trends in inverse U-shaped curves (R2 =0.035,0.067,all P ＜ 0.05).TRβ mRNA relative expression in low dose group was higher than that in control group,the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05);TRβ mRNA relative expression in high dose group was lower than that in low dose group,the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).Arsenic induced arrhythmia which most displayed sinus bradycardia;the prevalence of arrhythmia in the control,low,medium and high dose groups were 12.1％ (7/58),10.2％ (5/49),13.6％ (9/66),19.4％ (19/98),respectively,the differences were not statistically significant (x2 =2.877,P＞ 0.05).Heart rate was positively associated with the level of TRβ mRNA relative expression in lg value (r =0.218,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Chronic arsenic exposure can disturb TRβ mRNA expression;there is a possible relationship between TRβ mRNA abnormal expression and arrhythmia caused by arsenic.

Objective:To analyze the expression of MUC15 and PI3K/Akt in gastric carcinoma and its association with clinicopathologi-cal characteristics and prognosis. Methods:The expression of MUC15 and Akt was detected in 144 cases of gastric carcinoma tissues and corresponding para-carcinoma tissues by tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. Results:The positive expression rate of MUC15 in gastric carcinoma was 79.8%, higher than that of para-carcinoma tissues (22.2%, P<0.01). The positive expression rate of Akt protein in gastric carcinoma was 80.6%, higher than that of para-carcinoma tissues (16.7%, P<0.01). The expression of MUC15 and Akt was statistically associated with the grades of differentiation, invasion depth, lymphatic metastasis, TNM stage of tumor tissues (P<0.05), and the positive correlation between the two protein expression that appear in the gastric tumor tissue (P=0.001). Univariate survival analysis showed that the over-expression of either MUC15 or Akt was inversely correlated with the survival time (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). Cox multiple regression analysis indicated that patients with over-expression of both MUC15 and Akt had the worst prognoses (HR=3.115, P<0.05). Conclusion:MUC15 may be involved in the occurrence, development, invasion, and metastasis of gastric cancer through the PI3K/Akt cell signaling pathway, and the expression of MUC15 combined with Akt is a powerful predictor for the prognosis of gastric cancer.

Objectives To analyze the clinical characteristics of drinking-water type endemic arsenism in population lived in the diseased areas before and after water improvement in Inner Mongolia,so as to assess the natural development and the effects of human intervention measures.Methods Residents of four villages lived in Hangjinhouqi Bayinnaoer city Inner Mongolia were followed-up and their skin lesions were examined in 2004 (before water improvement),2010 (complete water improvement),2014 (after water improvement).Meanwhile,blood pressure and heart rate of the subjects were measured.The arsenic poisoning skin damage indexing was in accordance with endemic arsenic poisoning diagnostic criteria (WS/T 211-2001).Results Totally,229,122,161 people were investigation in 2004,2010,2014,respectively.The clinical grading of arsenic exposed population were mainly normal and suspicious cases in 2004,accounting for 61.6％ (141/229) and 22.7％ (52/229),respectively.The clinical grading of normal,suspicious,mild and severe cases were 20.5％ (25/122),31.1％ (38/122) and 48.4％ (59/ 122),respectively,in 2010,which were significantly different compared with those of 2004 (x2 =68.53,P ＜ 0.01).The clinical grading percentages of normal and suspicious of the subjects in 2014 were 46.6％ (75/161) and 39.8％ (64/161),respectively,which were significantly different compared with those of 2010 (x2 =45.22,P ＜ 0.01).Meanwhile,91 subjects examined in 2004 were re-examined in 2010 and 47 subjects examined in 2010 were reexamined in 2014.Totally,12 cases were migitation,accounting for 13.2％ (12/91),52 cases were aggravation,accounting for 57.1％ (52/91) in 2010,and 25 cases were migitation,accounting for 53.2％ (25/47),9 cases were aggravation,accounting for 19.1％ (9/47) in 2014.The differences of skin lesion transition between these two periods were significant (x2 =28.66,P ＜ 0.05).In addition,the systolic pressures and diastolic pressure of the subjects were (132.19 ± 21.21),(126.99 ± 18.32),(147.69 ± 22.65);(84.88 ± 14.13),(76.52 ± 10.08),(84.39 ± 13.89)mmHg in 2004,2010 and 2014,respectively,which declined in 2010 compared with them of 2004 (all P ＜ 0.05) and raised in 2014 compared with them of 2010 (all P ＜ 0.01).The heart rate of the subjects were (76.05 ± 12.56),(78.86 ± 11.69),(82.05 ± 11.26)times/min.The heart rate of the subjects raised in 2010 and 2014 compared with that of 2004 (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The skin lesions induced by arsenism could be effectively alleviated through water improvement,but the late stage changes such as the cardiovascular system injury are still worthy of attention.