Thyroid hormones are known to influence the activities of sympathetic nerve by modifying the P-adrenoceptor numbers in several peripheral organs. In order to find out whether similar changes exist in central nervous system ( CNS ) , the changes of ?-adrenergic re-cetors in mouse brain during experimental hyperthyroidism and the effects of some Yin Tonice( Rehmannia ) on that were investigated by method of radioligand binding. The results were as follows: 1 . The maximum Binding capacity (Bmax ) value of hyperthyroid mouse brain was 29% higher than the control's. No significant difference in KD value between the control and hyperthyroid animals was found . 2. By administration of rehmannia, the Bmax of hyperthyroid mouse was reduced to control value.

Objective To determine activity concentrations of natural and artificial radionuclides in the surface soils in Huhhot city,measure environmental radiation level,and evaluate risks to residents health.Methods Radionuclides in 48 surface soil samples were determined by means of the high purity germanium γ spectrometer;environmental radiation level was measured using an environment γ dose rate meter;comparison was made of average activity concentrations in soils between domestically and globally;and the radiation dose to the local residents was estimated by using the methods recommended by UNSCEAR and reported in the related literatures.Results The average values for specific activity of 238U,232Th,226 Ra,40K and137 Cs in the surface soil samples in Huhhot city were (29.29 ± 12.95),(39.33±4.34),(29.77 ±3.21),(650.49 ±62.21) and (1.62 ± 1.53) Bq/kg,respectively;the measured air absorbed dose rate was (86.32 ± 11.92) nGy/h;the annual effective dose to local residents from outdoor γ radiation was 79.27 μSv/year.Conclusions The specific activities of radionulcides in soils and the environmental radiation in surface soil in Huhhot city were at a normal background level,with low risks to health of the local residents.

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Objective To investigate the changes of plasma ghrelin,growth hormone (GH) and growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) and gastric ghrelin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease( COPD ) and to explore their clinical significances.Methods Plasma ghrelin,GH,GHRH,TNFα,IL-6 and C reactive protein (CRP) were measured in 40 COPD patients and 20 controls with chronic bronchitis. Correlated factors of plasma ghrelin,TNFα,IL-6,CRP were analyzed. Body composition was assessed with bioelectrical impedance analysis.The expression of gastric ghrelin in patients with COPD was detected.Results Plasma ghrelin was higher in the underweight patients than in the normal weight patients and in the controls [ ( 1.78 ± 0.46 ) ng/L,( 1.39 ± 0.46 ) ng/L,( 1.36 ± 0.39 ) ng/L,respectively].Plasma GH was lower in the underweight patients than in the normal weight patients and in the controls [(4.12 ±0.83) μg,/L,(5.17 ±0.72) μg/L,(6.49 ± 1.13) μg/L,respectively].Plasma GHRH was lower in the underweight patients than in the normal weight patients and in the controls [ (20.43 ± 4.41 ) ng/L,(23.47 ± 3.97) ng/L,( 27.48 ± 10.06) ng/L,respectively ].Plasma ghrelin was higher in the underweight patients than in the controls ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Plasma ghrelin was higher in the underweight patients than in the normal weight patients with COPD.Plasma ghrelin (log transformed) was negatively correlated with BMI and percentage of body fat in the COPD patients.Plasma GHRH was positively correlated with ghrelin in the underweight patients ( r =0.515,P ＜ 0.05 ),while no correlation was found between plasma G H and ghrelin in the underweight patients (r =0.415,P ＞ 0.05 ).Plasma ghrelin was positively correlated with TNFα and IL-6 in the underweight patients.The gastric expression of ghrelin showed no evident difference between the patients with COPD and the controls.Conclusions The plasma GH in COPD patients may not be correlated with ghrelin.The plasma ghrelin level may be a useful indicator for malnutrition in COPD patients.Plasma ghrelin might be involved in the pathogenesis of CODP by affecting the body energy metabolism.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging in the evaluation of liver functional reserve in patients with hepatic focal lesions. Methods Eighty-six patients with hepatic focal lesions in General Hospital of the People′s Liberation Army from September 2011 to August 2012 were studied. According to Child-Pugh score, 54 of them were classified as grade A, 18 patients were classiifed as grade B, and 14 patients were classiifed as grade C. Seventy patients underwent surgery and 16 patients underwent non-surgical treatment. Shear wave velocity (SWV) values were measured using ARFI technique, and indocyanine green (ICG) clearance tests were also performed to achieve ICG clearance rate constant (ICGK) and ICG retention rate at 15 minutes (ICG15). Correlation between SWV and ICGK, SWV and ICG15 were studied using Pearson correlation, and correlation between SWV and Child-Pugh score were analyzed using Spearman rank correlation. Difference between SWV values of patients underwent surgery and those of patients underwent non-surgical treatment was compared using t-test for independent samples. Analyses of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed to investigate the value of ARFI in the evaluation of surgical feasibility for patients with hepatic focal lesion, with the clinical decisions serving as the golden standard. Results There was correlations between SWV and ICGR15, SWV and ICGK, and SWV and Child-Pugh scores (r=0.764,P <0.001;r=-0.686,P=0.000;r=0.864,P=0.000). The SWV of patients who underwent surgery was (2.46±0.45) m/s, and the SWV of patients who underwent non-surgical treatment was (1.54±0.36) m/s, with a signiifcant difference (t=-0.80, P=0.000). The ROC curve analysis demonstrated a highest Youden′s index of 0.775 when the cut-off was 2.06m/s. The corresponding sensitivity was 87.5% and the specificity was 90.0% for ARFI in the diagnosis liver functional reserve deficiency. Conclusion ARFI can effectively evaluate the liver functional reserve in patients with hepatic focal lesions and thus could be beneifcial in the decision of clinical treatment.

Objective To study the clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) in patients with ischemic type biliary lesion (ITBL) after orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods Between July 2012 to January 2013, forty-one patients in General Hospital of the People′s Liberation Army were enrolled in this study who were admitted for post-transplantation follow-up. Among them, 15 patients were diagnosed as ITBL by ultrasonography. Besides conventional ultrasonography, ARFI was used to detect the shear wave velocity (SWV) of liver tissue at depth of 4 cm and 5 cm respectively. Simultaneously liver function test was performed. Independent-samples t test was performed to compare the difference of SWV between ITBL and non-ITBL group at the same depth. Paired-sample t test was performed to compare the difference of SWV for the same ITBL patient. Pearson correlation analysis was used in analyzing the relation between SWV and liver function. Results The average SWV in depth of 4 cm was (1.561±0.425) m/s and (1.121±0.160) m/s in ITBL and non-ITBL group, respectively. Signiifcant differences were found among the ITBL and non-ITBL groups (t=-3.173, P=0.01). The average SWV in depth of 5 cm was (1.608±0.545) m/s and (1.175±0.173) m/s in ITBL and non-ITBL group, respectively. Signiifcant differences were found among the ITBL and non-ITBL groups (t=-2.454, P=0.034). There was no signiifcant difference between SWV measurements at different depth for the same ITBL patient. For all patients, SWV at different depths were both strongly correlated with alkaline phosphatase (r=0.656, 0.667, respectively;both P=0.000) andγ-glutamyl transpeptidase (r=0.482, P=0.007;r=0.508, P=0.004). Conclusion The liver stiffness measurement is valuable for the clinical evaluation of post-transplantation ITBL.

Objective To explore the conditions and methods for cryopreservation and proliferation of mouse spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Methods SSCs were isolated from six-day-old Kunming mouse using two-step enzymatic digestion and Percoll discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. Cells were frozen with different freezing medium and cooling rate. After thaw, they were cultured in mimimum essential medium alpha (MEMα) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) and 100μg/L glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). The survived and proliferating SSCs were examined by WST-8 colorimetric assay. Alkaline phosphatase andreverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to confirm if the cultured 96 hours germ cells were still stem cells. Results The best method to cryopreserve SSCs is using cryoprotector containing 10% dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO), 10% FCS, 0.07mol/L sucrose and 1℃/min cooling rate, and the viability of cells in this method is more than 84%;Although the cell viability in non-programmed freezing method is less than that in the programmed freezing method, it is a simple and effective cropreservation method for mouse SSCs. What is more, the anchoring time of SSCs in this method is 8-12 hours after thaw, SSCs begin to proliferate 24 hours later, and rapid proliferation appears on the 48 hours, colonies are composed by 20-25 cells in 96 hours, when SSCs proliferated nearly 5 times.Conclusion The culture condition we used is suitable for proliferation of frozen-thawed SSCs.

Aim To investigate the protective effects of total triterpenoid from Prunella vulgaris L. ( TTP) on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats and its mecha-nism. Methods Rat liver fibrosis was induced by 50% CCl4 twice a week for 12 weeks. From the 5th week, all the therapeutic groups were treated with the TTP(25, 50, 100 mg·kg-1 ) and the colchicine (0. 1 mg· kg-1 ) respectively once a day for 8 weeks. At the end of the twelfth week, the levels of ALT, AST, HA, PCⅢ, CⅣ, MDA, SOD, GSH-Px, Hyp were measured . HE and Masson staining were used to evalu-late the degree of hepatic fibrosis. The mRNA expres-sion ofα-SMA, procollagen I, Smad2, Smad3, Smad7 in liver was detected by RT-PCR, and the p-ERK pro-tein expression was evaluated by Western blot. Results Compared with the model group, TTP(25, 50, 100 mg·kg-1 ) not only reduced serum content of ALT, AST, HA, PCⅢ, CⅣand Hyp, MDA in liver tissue, improved the morphologic changes of hepatic fibrosis, but also increased SOD and GSH-Px activity. Moreo-ver, it decreased the α-SMA, procollagen I, Smad2, Smad3 mRNA expression and increased Smad7 mRNA expression in liver tissues obviously. Furthermore, TTP reduced the protein expression of p-ERK. Conclusions TTP can protect rats from CCl4-induced liver fibro-sis. The mechanism of this process may involve inhibi-ting the expression of p-ERK and interference with TGF-β1/Smad signal transduction pathway.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical characteristics of the inpatients suffering from dengue fever in order to provide references for better diagnosis and treatment.Methods The clinical data of 158 dengue fever patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from July 23rd to October 31st, 2014 during the 2014 epidemic in Guangzhou area were retrospectively analyzed, including general clinical manifestations, conventional examinations, pathogenesis, and prognosis.Results The mean age of the 158 patients was (56±20) years, with half of them over 60 years old (79 cases). Among them, 94 (59.49%) were male.① The common manifestations included fever (100%), headache (70.89%), myalgia/bone soreness (62.03%), and skin rash (54.43%). Bleeding and plasma leakage were found in 25.95% and 14.56% of the patients respectively.② Laboratory examination:leucopenia (75.32%) and thrombocytopenia (77.85%) were found, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were elevated in 57.59% and 77.85% of the patients respectively. However, elevation of blood hematocrit was rare (1.27%).③ It was found that in the acute phase (0 - 5 days of the onset), serum dengue virus antibody IgM (DF-IgM) was positive in 63.54% of the patients (61/96), and 92.62% (113/122) of patients were dengue virus RNA (DENA-RNA) positive.④ The rate of comorbidity in this study was 55.06% (87/158), including hypertension (27.22%) and type 2 diabetes (15.82%), which were the two most common co-morbidities.⑤ All the patients were given supportive therapy to prevent complications. They were also isolated for more than 5 days after onset, and at least for 24 hours after subsidence of fever in addition.⑥ The criteria for the diagnosis of severe dengue were fulfilled in 18 patients (11.39%). One patient died of massive hemorrhage from gastro-intestinal tract, and 1 patient voluntarily left hospital with untreated multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Another 2 patients of dengue fever died from primary cardio-cerebrovascular disease, and the remaining 154 patients (97.47%) fully recovered with supportive therapy and complication prevention measures.Conclusions The clinical manifestations of inpatients with dengue fever in this study were typical, and they manifested a higher incidence of severe illness. DENA-RNA could be a sensitive indicator for early pathogenic diagnosis. With symptomatic and supportive therapy, most patients had a good outcome. However, early diagnosis and clinical interventions of severe dengue still need further studies.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic performance of a point-of-care testing for sensitive cardiac troponin Ⅰ (POCT-cTnI) in early diagnosis of chest pain patients who had a high pretest probability of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods Total of 127 patients with new-onset chest pain at the emergency department were enrolled.Blood samples were drawn for the routine blood test,and determined POCT-cTnI and central laboratory testing for high sensitive cardiac troponin T (CLT-hscTnT) at admission,three and then at six hours after admission.All patients were divided into AMI group and non-AMI group according to the final diagnosis,which was adjudicated independently by two physicians who reviewed all available medical records for the 90-day follow-up period,and they were unaware of the results of the investigational assays of cardiac troponins.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess and compare the diagnostic performance of AMI of two cardiac troponin assays.The comparison of areas under the ROC curves (AUC) was performed by DeLong test,and the sensitivity,specificity,negative predictive values (NPV) and positive predictive values (PPV) for the target markers were calculated by applying a maker-specific cutoff value.Results The final diagnosis of AMI was made in 40 of 127 patients (31.5 ％).The diagnostic accuracy of the two assays oBtained at presentation,as quantified by AUC,was no statistically differences (AUC for POCT-cTnⅠ,0.901,95％ CI,0.901 to 0.947;and for CLT-hscTnT,0.907,95％ CI,0.842 to 0.951;Z =0.235,P =0.745).The AUC for POCT-cTnI at 3 hours after admission was significantly higher than that on admission (0.931 vs.0.858;Z =-2.038,P =0.042),while there was on further improvement at 6 hours after admission (0.931 vs.0.949;Z =-1.435,P =0.151).With use of POCT-cTnI (cutoff value 0.023 ng/mL,which was the 99th percentile upper reference limit) on adimission,the clinical sensitivity was 77.5％,and the specificity was 94.2％.A single sample of POCT-cTnI at 3 hours after admission improved the diagnostic accuracy,with a sensitivity of 96.4％,a specificity of 92.0％,and a NPV of 98.6％,a PPV of 81.8％.While,with use of CLT-hscTnT (cutoff value 0.014 ng/mL,was the 99th percentile upper reference limit) at 3 hours after admission,the NPV reached to 100％.Conclusions The use of a POCT-cTnI assay in chest pain patients can identify and exclude the AMI rapidly and exactly at three hours after admission,and the diagnostic performance is equivalent to CLT-hscTnT.