Objective The aim of this study was to establish a rat models of pulmonary artery hypertention with monocrotaline, and to study the relationship between the evolution of right ventricular function and the evolution of pulmo-nary artery pressure ( PAP) by magnetic resonance ( MR) imaging of the right ventricular function. Methods Rat models of pulmonary artery hypertension were established by monocrotaline (MCT). The model rats were divided into 4 groups:the 1-week-PAH group, 2-week-PAH group, 3-week-PAH group, and 4-week-PAH group, and pulmonary artery pressure in the rats was measured by right heart catheterization. After injection of MCT, we used MRI to evaluate the ventricular function of the rats every week. All the measurement data of right ventricular function in the model group were compared with the average pulmonary pressure using Pearson' s correlation test. Results There were strong correlations between the parameters of RV function in model group with the average pulmonary pressure ( r= -0. 823 for RV EF, r=0. 732 and 0. 803 for RV EDV and RV ESV) . At 2 weeks after injection of monocrotaline, the mean pulmonary pressure, right ven-tricular eject fraction ( RVEF) , the end-diastolic volume ( EDV) and the end-systolic volume ( ESV) of right ventricle be-tween rats in PAH and the control group showed no significant difference (P>0. 05). But three-four weeks after MCT in-jection, all these parameters were significantly different in the PAH rats than in control rats (P<0. 05). Conclusions As the pulmonary arterial pressure is increased in the rats, the right ventricular function is gradually impaired. For the monito-ring of chronic pulmonary artery hypertension in rats, MRI can be used to accurately measure the changes of parameters. The PAH can be indicated by looking at the changes of parameter such as RV EF, RV EDV and RV ESV.

Objective To investigate the significance of the serum levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10),IL-13,IL-15 of patients with chronic hepatic failure and the correlation between those inter- leukin levels and nosocomial infections.Methods The serum levels of IL-10,IL-13,IL-15 of 58 patients with chronic hepatic failure were measured by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immu- nosorbent assay at the time of admission and 2 weeks after admission.Results The serum levels of IL-15 and the propotion of IL-15/IL-10 and IL-15/IL-13 in patients with chronic hepatic failure group at the time of admission were significantly higher than those in healthy control group[(358.16?290.91) ng/L vs (38.55?21.49) ng/L,12.93?14.26 vs 1.10?0.55,98.55?97.5.5 vs 9.70?5.03,respectively,all P=0.000].Those in death group were significantly higher than those in improving group[(479.93v205.52) ng/L vs (244.51?236.29) ng/L,17.65?17.78 vs 8.53?7.98,130.69?115.50 vs 68.55?65.99,respectively,all P

Purpose:To study the diagnostic value of using ultrasonography(US)、plain film of the abdomen(KUB)、 intravenous urography (IVU) in acute ureteral calculous obstruction. Methods: The routine B-US、diuretic US、 KUB、 IVU were retrospectively analyzed in 352 cases of acute ureteral calculous obstruction.Results: Of all the patients, 83.2 % (293/352) 、 96.6 % (340/352)were diagnosed as hydronephrosis by routine B-US、 routine B-US plus diuretic US, respectively. The hydronephrotic diagnosis of 59 suspected patients were79.7% (47/59)using diuretic US. The ureteral calculous dignosis of US、KUB、US plus KUB were 76. 1 % (268/352 )、81.6(284/348)and 91.8(323/352),respectively. Conclusion:The routine B-US is an effective method todiagnose acute upper urinary tract obstruction,and routine B-US plus diuretic US is more valuable. B-US plusKUB is the first approach to diagnose ureteral calculi.

TT virus(TTV)DNA was tested by nested-PCR from sera of hepatitis patients and volunteer blood donors in Minnan area. The amplified segment was a 189 base pair region in TTV ORF2. A total of six sequences were obtained from three non-A to G hepatits patients and two from volunteer blood donors. The sequences were found to be with 82.9% to 99.3% homology to TTV Japanese strain and Chinese strain. The divergence of sequence in these six segments varied from 0.7% to 17.1%, which indicated that the TTV had been existing for a long time in this area. In the serum of a non-A to G hepatitis patient who was negative for TTV DNA in the 14th day of disease course turned to be positive in the 30th day, two TTV sequences were obtained which showed 92.1% nucleotide homology. It indicated that different TTV strains can co-exist in the same person. This patient's blood had been transfused ten times between the collection of his TTV negative sample and his positive serum sample. Seven of the blood donors were traced and sampled for sera, of which three were positive for TTV. For all 161 patients tested, the history of exposure to blood products was associated with an increased risk of TTV infection(relative risk, 3.0; 95% confidence intervals, 1.89～4.81).

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between expression of A-kinase anchoring protein 95 (AKAP95) and protein expression of cyclin E1 and cyclin D1 in lung cancer tissue.

METHODSFifty-one cases of lung cancer were included in the study. The protein expression of AKAP95, cyclin E1, and cyclin D1 were measured by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSThe protein expression of cyclin E1 in lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in para-cancerous tissues (positive rate: 75.56%vs 20%, P < 0.01); its expression showed no relationship with histopathological type, lymph node metastasis, and cellular differentiation (P > 0.05). The protein expression of cyclin D1 in lung cancer tissues was higher than that in para-cancerous tissues (positive rate: 69.39% vs 14.29%); its expression showed a significant relationship with histopathological type (P < 0.05). The expression of AKAP95 was correlated with the protein expression of cyclin E1 and cyclin D1 in lung cancer tissues (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONCyclin E1 and cyclin D1 are highly expressed in lung cancer tissue, suggesting that they play an important role in the development and progression of lung cancer. The protein expression of cyclin E1 has no relationship with cellular differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and histopathological type of lung cancer, and the protein expression of cyclin D1 has a significant relationship with histopathological type. The expression of AKAP95 is correlated with the protein expression of cyclin E1 and cyclin D1 in lung cancer tissue.

A Kinase Anchor Proteins ; metabolism ; Adult ; Aged ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Cyclin E ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Oncogene Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo identify the FTIR spectroscopic characterization of breast cancer and explore the possibility of application of FTIR in differentiation of malignant and benign breast lesions.

METHODSFTIR spectra of surgically removed fresh breast tissues were measured by spectrometer equipped with mid-infrared fiber optics and an ATR probe. Peaks in the spectra were measured and relative intensity ratios were calculated and analyzed if there are significant differences between the spectra of malignant and benign breast lesions.

RESULTSThere were significant differences (P < 0.05) between the spectra of malignant breast cancers and benign breast tissues in the relative intensity ratios of different peaks (I1640/ I1550 and I1160/I1120 for protein structures; I1640/I1460 and I1550/I1460 for relative content of protein and lipid; I1460/I1400 for lipid structures; I1310/I1240 for nucleic acid).

CONCLUSIONFTIR spectroscopy could be a useful tool in clinical diagnosis of breast cancer.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast ; chemistry ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lipids ; analysis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; analysis ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared ; methods

OBJECTIVETo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of pediatric burn in the midwest region of Inner Mongolia and the related areas, and to provide reference for seeking pertinent measures of prevention and treatment.

METHODSMedical records of patients hospitalized in the 253rd Hospital of PLA, the 322nd Hospital of PLA, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Hospital from January 1996 to December 2010 were collected. Patients were divided into pediatric burn group with specific reason (group SF, with scald resulted from construction defect of Guo-lian-kang--a heatable brick bed linked to a cooking pot), and burn control group with other causes (group C) according to the main injury cause. Clinical data of patients in both groups, including general condition, family background, occurrence regularity, and outcome, were analyzed. The epidemiological trend of variation before and after taking preventive measures (1996 to 2001 and 2002 to 2010) was compared. Data were processed with chi-square test and rank sum test.

RESULTS(1) General condition: out of 16 595 pediatric burn patients, 15 816 cases (95.3%) suffered scald due to liquids with high temperature, and 779 cases (4.7%) suffered burns due to other causes. Patients in group SF (scald due to specific cause--Guo-lian-kang) accounted for 32.2% (5089/15 816) of the total suffered scald by liquids with high temperature, and 30.7% (5089/16 595) of all the inpatients the cause of burn was related to Guo-lian-kang (group SF). The patients in group SF admitted to the 322nd Hospital of PLA accounted for 34.2% of all the inpatients admitted to this hospital (1803/5267), more than the other two hospitals in this study. The number of patients in group C was 11 506, accounted for 69.3% of all the inpatients. The age of patients ranged from 8 months to 5 years in group SF and 1 month to 12 years in group C. The age of the majority of patients ranged from 1 to 3 years in both groups. The ratio of male to female was 2.1:1.0 in group SF and 1.4:1.0 in group C. The incidence of scald involving multiple body parts in group SF (3590 cases accounting for 70.5%) was obviously higher than that of group C (6311 cases accounting for 54.8%, χ(2) = 361.138, P < 0.01). In both group SF and group C, the incidence in different sites was ranked from high to low as follows: upper limbs, lower limbs, the head-face-neck region, and the trunk. The degree of injury in group SF was much more severe than that of group C (Z = 27.770, P < 0.01). The rate of patients without pre-hospital treatment was 31.2% (1588/5089) in group SF, which was obviously higher than that of group C (24.8%, 2857/11 506, χ(2) = 73.010, P < 0.01). The rate of patients treated with cryotherapy was obviously lower in group SF (14.7%, 747/5089) than in group C (19.6%, 2255/11 506, χ(2) = 57.636, P < 0.01). The rate of patients treated with delayed resuscitation (6 hours after injury) in group SF (31.5%, 1601/5089) was obviously higher than that of group C (7.8%, 897/11 506, χ(2) = 1545.234, P < 0.01). (2) Family background and occurrence regularity: in group SF, 67.3% (3424/5089) of the patients came from farming area, 22.1% (1123/5089) from villages and towns, and 10.7% (542/5089) from urban areas. In group C, 32.4% (3727/11 506) of the patients came from farming area, 48.4% (5570/11 506) from villages and towns, and 19.2% (2209/11 506) from urban areas. Most of the patients in group SF (77.8%, 3958/5089) were injured between October and March, while most of the patients in group C (58.2%, 6697/11 506) were injured between May and October. (3) Outcome and epidemiological variation: the cure rate of patients in group SF was 32.3% (1645/5089), which was obviously lower than that of group C (44.7%, 5143/11 506, χ(2) = 215.615, P < 0.01). The mortality of patients in group SF was 1.6% (79/5089), and it was obviously higher than that of group C (0.4%, 46/11 506, χ(2) = 62.700, P < 0.01). From 1996 to 2001, patients in group SF accounted for 42.5% (2213/5212), while patients in group C accounted for 57.5% (2999/5212) of the inpatients scalded by hot liquid. After taking preventive measures against injury due to Guo-lian-kang, incidence of scald injury in group SF was lowered to 27.1% (2876/10 604), while the incidence in group C remained at 72.9% (7728/10 604) of the inpatients with hot liquid scald from 2002 to 2010. The difference between the two periods was statistically significant (χ(2) = 376.695,P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe defect of construction of Guo-lian-kang is one of the main factors that lead to a high incidence of pediatric burn in the midwest of Inner Mongolia. Installation of a protective bannister between the cooking pot and the "kang (heatable brick bed)" can obviously reduce the incidence of scald injury. Special injury-causing factors, unprofessional pre-hospital treatment of the wound, delayed resuscitation after shock are the main causes of increasing mortality and disability, and they constitute the key targets of prevention and treatment of such injury in future.

Burns ; epidemiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male

OBJECTIVETo study the dynamics of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

METHODSThe absolute numbers of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and NK cells in 602 serial samples from 240 patients with SARS were counted, using flow cytometry, and compared with that of normal population.

RESULTSThe absolute numbers of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and NK cells in SARS patients were significantly lower than that of the normal population (P < 0.001) and were much lower in SARS patients with severe or extremely severe types, as compared with that of moderate or mild type cases (P < 0.001). The amount of B lymphocytes in recovery SARS patients increased at the 2nd week after onset, and gradually becoming normal at the 5th week of the disease onset. The number of NK cells was in the low level at onset, and keep decreasing at the 2nd week. However, it was increasing with the recovery of the disease, but did not reach to normal level at the 5th week after onset.

CONCLUSIONThe absolute numbers of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and NK cells were associated with the severity of the disease, and detection of these two kinds of cells was useful for predicting the prognosis of SARS.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; B-Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; blood ; immunology ; Severity of Illness Index

OBJECTIVETo analyze the association between mutation(s) in preS region of HBV and hepatitis B disease progress in Chinese patients with genotype C chronic HBV infection.

METHODSNinety-three patients with chronic genotype C HBV infection, including 24 asymptomatic carriers (ASC), 26 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 22 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 21 HCC patients were investigated. Levels of HBV DNA, HBeAg, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), asparate transaminase (AST) were measured. HBV preS region was analyzed by PCR direct sequencing.

RESULTSThe prevalence of preS T3098C and T53C mutations of genotype C HBV was significantly higher in LC and HCC patients than ASC and CHB patients. The rate of T3098C mutation in ASC, CHB, LC, and HCC patients were 0.00% (0/24), 3.85% (1/26), 9.09% (2/22), and 30.77% (8/22), respectively (P=0.0015), while the rate of T53C mutation was 12.50% (3/24), 3.85% (1/26), 40.91% (9/22), and 42.31% (11/26), respectively (P=0.0012).

CONCLUSIONThe frequency of genotype C HBV preS T3098C and T53C mutations is associated with hepatitis B infection progression

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral ; physiology ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B ; pathology ; virology ; Hepatitis B virus ; classification ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to investigate the depression status among high-risk pregnancy women, and to analyze its relevant social and psychological factors.

METHODSA total of 42 high-risk pregnancy women and 40 normal pregnancy women in a teaching hospital in Harbin city were followed up at time points of 32 - 36 weeks pregnancy, one week before labor, one week postpartum, and six weeks postpartum, respectively. During follow-up, the basic situation, social psychosocial factors of pregnancy women were collected and the depression of pregnancy women was measured by self-designed questionnaire and self-rating depression scale. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was applied at timepoint of one week postpartum. Single factor analysis and the unconditional multivariate logistic regression were applied for analyzing the on the related social-psychosocial factors among high-risk pregnancy women.

RESULTSThe age of high-risk pregnancy women was (31.0±5.6), and the age of normal pregnancy women was (30.5±3.8) (t=0.169, P>0.05). The results showed that the depression rate in high-risk pregnancy women was 45.2% (19/42), which was 25.0% (10/40) in normal pregnancy women, the difference was significant (χ2=3.671, P=0.045). The depression rates at different time points were 30.9% (13/42), 42.9% (18/42), 23.8% (10/42), 26.2% (11/42) in high-risk pregnancy women respectively, and 25.0% (10/40), 15.0% (6/40), 20.0% (8/40), 17.5% (7/40) in the control group respectively, the difference of the depression rates among groups at one week before labor was significant (χ2=7.680, P<0.01), the difference among groups at 32-36 weeks pregnancy (χ2=0.133, P=0.80), at one week postpartum (χ2=0.174, P=0.79) and at six weeks postpartum (χ2=0.903, P=0.43) were not significant. At one week postpartum and six weeks postpartum periods, the EPDS depression rate were 12.5% (4/32), 30.4% (7/23) in case group respectively, 8.3% (3/36), 22.9% (8/35) in control group respectively, the difference were not significant (χ2=0.319, 0.416, P=0.573, 0.519). There were significantly associations between the depression mood of one week before labor and the depressive symptoms of six weeks postpartum in both groups (r=0.824, 0.677, both P values were <0.05). The risk factors for maternal depression among high-risk pregnancy women were not ready for production (OR=2.73, P<0.01) and fearing of childbirth safety (OR=2.89, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe depression date of high-risk pregnancy was high, especially at the time point one week before labor. Risk factors of maternal depression among high-risk pregnancy were "not ready for production" and "fear of childbirth safety".

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Depression ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Depression, Postpartum ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Postpartum Period ; psychology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Pregnancy, High-Risk ; psychology ; Risk Factors