Objective::Fish oil (FO) contains omega-3 that inhibits inflammation and blood lipid metabolism, giving it a protective cardiovascular effect. Due to dietary habits, a majority of large-scale clinical trials examining FO and cardiovascular health have been conducted in the Caucasian populations. However, the effects of FO on cardiovascular inflammation indicators and blood lipid metabolism in the Chinese population remain unclear. This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis to elucidate the impact of FO on cardiovascular health in the Chinese population.Methods::Web searches were utilized to locate records of clinical trials related to cardiovascular health and consumption of FO capsules or fish containing omega-3 in several databases, including PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and ClinicalTrial.gov, etc. We obtained lipid metabolism and related proinflammatory markers as the study outcome. We used Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16 for the statistical analysis. If the I2 ≥ 30%, a random effects model was used, and if the I2 < 30%, a fixed effects model was used. Results::Twenty eligible trials were shortlisted from >1000 records. The meta-analysis revealed that supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid reduced systolic blood pressure by 1.88 mmHg (95% CI: -4.97 to -1.20, P = 0.23), diastolic blood pressure by 0.86 mmHg (95% CI: -1.79 to 0.06, P = 0.07), fasting blood glucose by 0.05 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.06, P = 0.40), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 0.12 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.23 to -0.01, P = 0.04), when compared to placebo. However, these supplements increased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 0.03 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.05, P < 0.001), when compared to placebo. Dose subgroup analyses examining total cholesterol found that the low-dose group (mean difference = -0.44, 95% CI: -0.55 to -0.34, P < 0.001) demonstrated the best results. Further, results from dose subgroup analyses showed that the all-dose group demonstrated a decrease in tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) levels among the study subjects, when compared to other groups. Conclusions::Consumption of FO containing omega-3 fatty acids in the Chinese population can improve lipid metabolism and reduce levels of proinflammatory markers. Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously promote the benefits of consuming FO to prevent cardiovascular diseases throughout China.

Objective::Pressure overload-induced myocardial apoptosis is a critical pathologically initiated process leading to heart failure (HF). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) dramatically increases during cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction, but its functions and mechanisms are barely known. This study aims to elucidate the role and mechanism of GDF15 in HF.Methods::Between January 2017 and August 2018, 57 patients diagnosed with chronic HF (aged >18 years, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%) and 57 non-HF patients (aged >18 years, LVEF >35%) were prospectively enrolled in this study based on the balance of the baseline characteristics. Other acute or chronic diseases and pregnant/lactating women were excluded. The serum concentrations of GDF15 were detected. Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced HF mouse model was established by pumping with ISO (30 mg/(kg·day)) for 4 weeks, and the GDF15 expression in serum and heart tissue was evaluated in vivo. Primary cardiomyocytes were cultured and treated with ISO to induce cardiomyocytes damage. The apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and the effect of GDF15 on ISO-induced cardiomyocytes injury was evaluated in vitro.Results::After adjusting the baseline characteristic, serum levels of GDF15 were significantly higher in HF subjects than in non-HF patients. Similarly, in the ISO-induced HF mouse model, the significant increase in GDF15 was associated with the process of HF in vivo. Moreover, the elevation of GDF15 occurred prior to heart remodeling in the ISO-induced HF mouse model. Furthermore, using primary cardiomyocytes, we demonstrated that the GDF15 was remarkably enhanced in serum from pathological HF patients and cardiac tissue from the ISO-induced mouse model. Reducing GDF15 exaggerated the ISO-induced cell apoptosis by blocking mitochondrial fusion and increasing oxidative stress. In contrast, the silence of GDF15 aggravated the ISO-induced cardiomyocytes damage. Conclusions::GDF15 acts as a protective factor against cardiomyocyte apoptosis by improving mitochondria fusion during HF. These findings indicate that GDF15 may be a potential therapeutic target for HF.

Objective::Fish oil (FO) contains omega-3 that inhibits inflammation and blood lipid metabolism, giving it a protective cardiovascular effect. Due to dietary habits, a majority of large-scale clinical trials examining FO and cardiovascular health have been conducted in the Caucasian populations. However, the effects of FO on cardiovascular inflammation indicators and blood lipid metabolism in the Chinese population remain unclear. This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis to elucidate the impact of FO on cardiovascular health in the Chinese population.Methods::Web searches were utilized to locate records of clinical trials related to cardiovascular health and consumption of FO capsules or fish containing omega-3 in several databases, including PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and ClinicalTrial.gov, etc. We obtained lipid metabolism and related proinflammatory markers as the study outcome. We used Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16 for the statistical analysis. If the I2 ≥ 30%, a random effects model was used, and if the I2 < 30%, a fixed effects model was used. Results::Twenty eligible trials were shortlisted from >1000 records. The meta-analysis revealed that supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid reduced systolic blood pressure by 1.88 mmHg (95% CI: -4.97 to -1.20, P = 0.23), diastolic blood pressure by 0.86 mmHg (95% CI: -1.79 to 0.06, P = 0.07), fasting blood glucose by 0.05 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.06, P = 0.40), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 0.12 mmol/L (95% CI: -0.23 to -0.01, P = 0.04), when compared to placebo. However, these supplements increased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol by 0.03 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.05, P < 0.001), when compared to placebo. Dose subgroup analyses examining total cholesterol found that the low-dose group (mean difference = -0.44, 95% CI: -0.55 to -0.34, P < 0.001) demonstrated the best results. Further, results from dose subgroup analyses showed that the all-dose group demonstrated a decrease in tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) levels among the study subjects, when compared to other groups. Conclusions::Consumption of FO containing omega-3 fatty acids in the Chinese population can improve lipid metabolism and reduce levels of proinflammatory markers. Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously promote the benefits of consuming FO to prevent cardiovascular diseases throughout China.

Objective::Pressure overload-induced myocardial apoptosis is a critical pathologically initiated process leading to heart failure (HF). Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) dramatically increases during cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction, but its functions and mechanisms are barely known. This study aims to elucidate the role and mechanism of GDF15 in HF.Methods::Between January 2017 and August 2018, 57 patients diagnosed with chronic HF (aged >18 years, with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%) and 57 non-HF patients (aged >18 years, LVEF >35%) were prospectively enrolled in this study based on the balance of the baseline characteristics. Other acute or chronic diseases and pregnant/lactating women were excluded. The serum concentrations of GDF15 were detected. Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced HF mouse model was established by pumping with ISO (30 mg/(kg·day)) for 4 weeks, and the GDF15 expression in serum and heart tissue was evaluated in vivo. Primary cardiomyocytes were cultured and treated with ISO to induce cardiomyocytes damage. The apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and the effect of GDF15 on ISO-induced cardiomyocytes injury was evaluated in vitro.Results::After adjusting the baseline characteristic, serum levels of GDF15 were significantly higher in HF subjects than in non-HF patients. Similarly, in the ISO-induced HF mouse model, the significant increase in GDF15 was associated with the process of HF in vivo. Moreover, the elevation of GDF15 occurred prior to heart remodeling in the ISO-induced HF mouse model. Furthermore, using primary cardiomyocytes, we demonstrated that the GDF15 was remarkably enhanced in serum from pathological HF patients and cardiac tissue from the ISO-induced mouse model. Reducing GDF15 exaggerated the ISO-induced cell apoptosis by blocking mitochondrial fusion and increasing oxidative stress. In contrast, the silence of GDF15 aggravated the ISO-induced cardiomyocytes damage. Conclusions::GDF15 acts as a protective factor against cardiomyocyte apoptosis by improving mitochondria fusion during HF. These findings indicate that GDF15 may be a potential therapeutic target for HF.

Objective To analyze the CT features of cavitation between primary lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer.Methods The CT findings of cavity of primary lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were evaluated in 57 patients,including 33 of squamous cell carcinoma and 24 of adenocarcinoma.The clinical data and CT features were analyzed retrospectively using the independent samples t-test,Pearson Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test.Results The mean age of ptients with squamous cell carcinoma was higher than that of patients with adenocarcinoma (65.57-4-9.26 vs 58.75 ± 11.12,P =0.015).Statistical differences were found in distribution of gender and smoking habit between the two kinds of carcinomas (P =0.014 and P =0.029).The T stages were also different between the two carcinomas (P=0.003).In addition,the maximum diameter of tumor (P =0.003),the maximum diameter of cavity (P =0.029) and the maximum thickness of the cavity wall (P=0.001) of squamous cell carcinoma were higher than those of adenocarcinoma.Moreover,the presence of ground-glass opacity (P =0.010),vessel passing through the cavity (P =0.001),septum inside the cavity (P＜0.001) and tumoral bronchogram (P =0.027) in adenocarcinoma were higher than those in squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusion There are significant differences between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in the population distribution and image features,comprehensive analysis helps the differential diagnosis.

Aim To investigate the changes of serum metabolism after the treatment of DOA and DOO on myocardial ischemia reperfusion ( MI/R ) injury in rats, and to explore the pathogenesis of MI/R injury and drug action mechanism. Method The serum samples of Sham group, Model group, DOA group and DOO group of rats were acquired, gas phase time of flight mass spectrometry ( GC-TOF-MS) was applied to analyze the metabolic profiles of the samples. After da-ta preprocessing, they were processed into SIMCA 14. 1 software for multivariate statistical analysis. Results By principal components analysis ( PCA ) , partial least squares analysis ( PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares analysis ( OPLS-DA ) , the Model group and Sham group were obviously separated, the drug in-tervention group and Model group were separated and close to Sham group. The therapeutic effect of DOO and DOA on MI/R injury in rats was proved. The ex-perimental results identified 13 endogenous biomark-ers, which were related to the glucose metabolism,lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism pathway. Con-clusion DOA and DOO may protect the MI/R injured rats by regulating the glucose metabolism, lipid metab-olism and amino acid metabolism pathway.

Objective To explore the value of contrast-enhanced FLAIR imaging in diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastasis.Methods 23 cases of leptomeningeal metastasis with definite primitive-tumour were collected.All the cases were confirmed by clinic and laborotary examination.Of the 23 cases,7 cases underwent contrast-enhanced T1WI only,16 case underwent contrast-enhanced T1WI and FLAIR.Two groups were analyzed comparatively in diagnostic accuracy and displaying lesions between images of two sequence.Results(1)2 cases were missed,and 1 case was unsure diagnosed in T1WI contrast group;16 cases were all diagnosed accurately in both T1WI and FLAIR contrast-enhanced group.(2)11 cases with fine linear enhancement and 7 cases with small nodular enhancement were more obviously on contrast-enhanced FLAIR than that on contrast T1WI,but the thick linear enhancement were equal on two sequence.4 cases with more lesions were displayed on contrast-enhanced FLAIR images.The signal intensity on contrast FLAIR images were higher than that on contrast T1WI images at the same lesions.Conclusion Contrast-enhanced FLAIR has important value in diagnosing leptomeningeal metastasis.