Animals ; Biological Specimen Banks ; utilization ; Humans ; Specimen Handling ; methods ; Tissue Fixation ; methods

Objective To investigate the results of follow-up visits of pregnancy course, delivery and infants of women who got clinically pregnant by assisted reproductive technique after gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) added for luteal support, and to analyse the influence of adding GnRH-a in luteal support on the safety of mother and infant. Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on the medical record from 215 patients who got clinically pregnant after luteal phase long regimen fresh-cycle transfer was operated. According to the differences in luteal support methods, the patients were assigned to Group A (124 patients, progesterone+dydrogesterone group), Group B (91 patients, GnRH-a added group). The patients′ pregnancy course, delivery time, and the growth and development of infants within 1-2 years were followed up. Results (1)There was no obvious difference between Group A and Group B in terms of the abortion ratio during the early pregnancy (8.1%, 12.1%), the rate of abortion villous deformity (50.0%, 9.1%), the rate of heterotopic pregnancy (10.5%, 5.5%) and rate of twin pregnancy (19.4%, 28.6%;all P>0.05).(2)Compared to group A, during the middle and late pregnancy of single or twin pregnancy in Group B , there was no obvious difference in the rate of fetal chromosomal abnormality, organ malformation incidence, late abortion rate and stillbirth rate (all P>0.05).(3)As to childbirth, in the case of twin pregnancy, there was a higher rate of premature delivery (60.0%, 39.1%;P=0.041), as well as rate of lower birth weight of newborn (56.0%, 34.8%; P=0.037) in group B.(4)The statistics on general growth and development as well as infantile common diseases within 2 years after birth indicated that there was no obvious difference between the two groups in single birth and twin birth subgroup (all P>0.05). Conclusion On the basis of controlling of implanted embryos and reducing the occurrence of twins, GnRH-a luteal support maybe relatively safe and effective.

Objective To study the changes of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) in pinopodes during luteal phase and to explore the possible mechanism of GnRH-a in luteal phase support of assisted reproductive technology (ART).Methods Totally 40 primary infertility women who were treated with ART due to male factors were enrolled,according to the order of the group they were randomly divided into experimental group and control group.On the 7th day after ovulation,the experimental group received a subcutaneous injection of 0.1 mg of GnRH-a,while the control group received a subcutaneous injection of placebo only (0.9％ salinc 2 ml),3 days later they came to the clinic again.Serum estradiol and progesterone levels were measured before and after treatment in each group.Pinopodes were collected for electron microscopic examination.Levels of ER and PR were detected by western blot.Results (1) There was no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in the estrogen level before and after the treatment (all P＞0.05).The level of progesterone in the experimental group after treatment [(66.8± 14.9) nmol/L] was significantly higher than that before treatment(P＜0.05);also significantly higher than the same period of the control group (P＜0.05).(2) There was no significant difference in the expression of ER protein in the experimental group before and after treatment (P＞0.05).The expression of PR in the experimental group after treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment (P＜0.05);also lower than the same period of the control group (P＜0.05).(3) Expression amount of pinopodes in the experimental group after treatment was significantly higher than that before treatment [65％ (13/20) versus 25％ (5/20),P＜ 0.05],and the development trend was more mature [the percentage of maturation:75％ (15/20) versus 35％ (7/ 20),P＜0.05].Expression amount of pinopodes after treatment and the percentage of maturation in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the same period of control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion GnRH-a in luteal phase support may play a role through the corpus luteum,which may promote the secretion of progesterone,downregulation of PR expression,promote the growth of pinopodes,and improve the endometrial receptivity.

Objective To choose proper proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy(~1XH-MRS) parameters to fit for practical femoral marrow cavity and to produce short-timed,well-repeated and excellent ~1H-MRS images.Methods The tentative study of ~1H-MRS on the normal femoral bone marrow in 26 volunteers was performed with a 1.5 T MR after the informed consent.The single-voxel spectroscopy and stimulated echo acquisition mode were used for ~1H-MRS collection.~1H-MRS parameters for 12 volunteers were 128 acquisitions,1 cm?1 cm?1 cm volume of interest(VOI)size and repeatedly 2—3 times within the same location.~1H-MRS parameters for another:14 volunteers were different numbers of acquisition (128 and 256 times,respectively)and different VOI sizes(2 cm?2 cm?2 cm and 1 cm?1 cm?1 cm, respectively).Results For ~1H-MRS with 1 cm?1 cm?1 cm size of VOI and 128 times of acquisition with the full width haft max of water≤8—12 Hz,the base-line was steady and the signal-noise ratio was high up to 11.31.~1H-MRS was different in the different femoral locations showing the maximum peak sites at near 0.90 ppm(?10~(-6))or 1.65 ppm,but~1H-MRS within the same location was always same or similar with different VOI sizes(1 cm?1 cm?1 cm or 2 cm?2 cm?2 cm)or different numbers of acquisition(128 or 256 times).~1H-MRS acquisition time was not related with the size of VOI but with the numbers of acquisition.128 and 256 times of acquisition cost 199 s and 391 s,respectively.Conclusion With the technique of small size of VOI(1 cm?1 cm?1 cm)and decreased numbers of acquisition(128 times),it is propable to get well-repeated and excellent ~1H-MRS within less time.It is also more practical for clinics to achieve ~1H-MRS of the femoral marrow with the proper technique.

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression level of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type-1 (CRHR-1) in intrahepatic cholestatic placental (ICP) tissue.

METHODSHuman placental samples were collected from 10 ICP patients and 10 healthy controls after parturition at 37-40 weeks of gestation. CRHR-1 protein and mRNA expression was assessed by western blotting and nested-real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, respectively. Normally distributed data were summarized as mean +/- standard deviation, and intergroup comparisons were made by two-tailed Student's t-test. Non-normally distributed data were presented as median with interquartile range, and intergroup comparisons were made by Wilcoxon test. For all statistical analyses, a two-tailed P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTSThe CRHR-1 fluorescence intensity was lower in ICP tissues (1.55 +/- 0.28) than in placental tissues from healthy controls (1.60 +/- 0.37), but the difference did not reach statistical significance (t = 0.349, P = 0.732). The CRHR-1 mRNA content was slightly higher in the ICP tissues [0.139(0.268)] than in the placental tissues from healthy controls [0.031(0.245)], but the difference did not reach statistical significance (t = 1.504, P = 0.136).

CONCLUSIONCRHR-1 expression is decreased in ICP tissues, which may lead to a smaller volume of placental lobular villi vessels and restrict the CRH positive feedback loop, ultimately promoting acute hypoxic stress and possible harm to the fetus.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary ; metabolism ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; metabolism ; Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; metabolism

Objective To investigate mutation patterns in core promoter(CP)region of hepatitis B virus(HBV).Methods HBV DNA was extracted from sera of patients with chronic HBV infection.The CP sequence was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and cloned into pMD19 T vector.The positive clones were then sequenced.The sequences were compared with known HBV genome in GenBank to identify the mutation sites and patterns of patients with chronic HBV infection.Results There were 74 clones from 21 patients with chronic HBV infection which were sequenced.The sequence comparisons showed that there was a 234-nucleotide deletion in CP region of HBV genome in 54 clones and a 245-nucleotide deletion in one clone.These deletion regions included CP,HBeAg initiation codon and direct repeat sequence(DR)Ⅰ regions,which named CP deletion(CPD).A1585T replacement mutation was also found in HBV strain with CPD,which indicated that there was linkage between these two mutations.Conclusions A novel mechanism of HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B is observed,which includes deletions of CP and HBeAg initiation codon.Meanwhile,a simple and useful PCR method is developed to detect CPD.

Leaves of Chrysanthemum morifolium were potential medicinal resource. The present study aims to estimate the main bioactive components: total flavonoids (TF), galuteolin (GA), quercitrin (QU), chlorogenic acid (CA) and 3 ,5-O-caffeoylquinic acid ( CQ), which were considered to be the main effective components, in leaves of C. morfolium cultivars in China. The TF content was estimated hy UV-VIS spectrophotometry, while GA, QU, CA, and CQ were quantitatively determined by HPLC. The highest TF content (7. 13% w/w) was found in cultivar Wan Cong (Shexian county). Cultivar Da Bo ( Bozhou county) had the highest GA content (33. 45 mg - g-1); Cultivar Hong Xin (Sheyang county) contained the highest QU content (29.25 mg · g(-1)); Cultivar Chang Ban (Sheyang county) had the highest CA content (13.14 mg ·(-1)). The maximum CQ content (7.35 mg · g(-1)) was observed in culti- r Da Yang ( Tongxiang county). Different cultivars of C. morfolium had significant difference in components, but the leaf and capitulum of C. morifolium. were found to possess similar chemical compositions. The high content of bioactive components in several cultivars suggested the potential utilization of C. morifolium leaves.
China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chrysanthemum ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry

Objective To evaluate the usefulness of virtual reality technique in preoperative planning of neurosurgery.Methods Multiple medical imaging data including magnetic resonance imaging,magntic rsonanc angiograph,magnetic resonance venography and computed tomography collected from 26 patients who suffered craniocerebral diseases,were transfered to Dextroscope system.A stereoscopic 3-D object displayed after merging,extracting,dissecting the data with the Radiodexter software in virtual reality environment.A suite of 3-D tools accessible inside the Dextroscope workspace enabled users to obtain measurement and simu- lated intraoperative viewpoint about the lesion and adjacent anatomic structure.A preoperative plan was de- fined and compared with real operation.Results 3-D stereoscopic virtual reality images of 26 cases were re- constructed successfully,and of coincidence with real situation in operations.Conclusion VR technique in Dextroscope system can integrat multiple medical imaging data quickly,intuitively and overall,offer a compre- hensive information about the lesions and related local anatomy,give a hand to optimizing the operative project and might be possible potentially to increase the safety of operation and the resecting rate of the lesion.

Objective To analyze the relationship between influenza epidemic and genetic characteristic on the whole genome of influenza virus subtype A/H3N2 strains isolated in Zhejiang province during 1998 to 2009. Methods All of the eight genes from the 19 Zhejiang influenza virus isolates, circulated during 1998 to 2009, were amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced. The obtained sequences were aligned and analyzed with the vaccine strains being used in the last 10 years.Results The highest mutation happened within HA and NA genes and the amino acid divergent ratios were 13.98% and 10.00%. Amongst the six internal proteins, the amino acid divergent ratios of NP, M2 and NS1 were 6.43%, 6.19% and 3.48% respectively, and the others were lower than 3%.Other than the HA and NA genes, mutations were also observed on six internal genes of the strains isolated in those years when the influenza virus subtype A/H3N2 was widely circulating.Additionally, there had been an obvious genetic lag between vaccine strains recommended by WHO and the contemporary Zhejiang epidemic strains for many years. Conclusion Besides on HA and NA genes, surveillance programs should also be covered mutations regarding the internal genes of influenza virus subtype A/H3N2 strains, in order to provide important information for forecasting and warning of a new round of influenza epidemic.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate a retro-grade auricular flap for repairing large alar defects.

METHODSTwenty-nine adult cadavers were anatomically used for vascular investigation of the frontal, nasal and temporal regions by injecting a dye into the main vessels. Based on the anatomical study in these regions, a retro-grade auricular flap was designed for repairing alar defects in 16 patients.

RESULTSThe blood supply of the auricle could be nourished by the inner carotid artery system from the supratrachlear artery and supraorbital artery through the frontal arterial anastomotical network into the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery. It is then passing the main trunk of the superficial temporal artery into the ear area through the auricular branches of the superficial temporal artery. The retro-grade auricular island flap could be formed by basing the supratrachlear artery and the supraorbital artery through the vascular network between the superficial temporal artery and the supratrachlear artery or the supraorbital artery. Sixteen patients with large alar defects and half-sized nasal defects were successfully repaired by this technique.

CONCLUSIONSThe retro-grade auricular island flap, based on the inner carotid artery system, could be a good and safe flap for repairing a large alar defect or half-sized nasal reconstruction.

Adult ; Arteries ; Cadaver ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Ear Auricle ; blood supply ; Humans ; Nose Deformities, Acquired ; surgery ; Ophthalmic Artery ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Surgical Flaps ; blood supply ; transplantation ; Temporal Arteries