Objective To investigate the value of chest contrast-enhanced CT(C-CECT)combined with artificial intelligence iterative reconstruction(AIIR)for bronchial artery(BA)imaging.Methods Seventy patients who underwent C-CECT were prospectively enrolled.The images were reconstructed with AIIR(AIIR group)and hybrid iterative reconstruction(HIR,HIR group),respectively.The overall image quality,the traceability of BA,the sharpness of BA and the diagnostic confidence of abnormalities of BA were subjectively graded using a 5-point scale by two radiologists,respectively.The subjective scores and inter-observer agreement were compared between groups.The noise(SD)in reconstructed images of thoracic aorta,pulmonary trunk,BA and spinal erectors,the contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)of the above 3 arteries relative to spinal erectors,and the diameters of BA at the origin,bifurcation and pulmonary hilum were compared between groups.Results The scores of the overall image quality,the traceability of BA,the sharpness of BA and the diagnostic confidence of abnormalities of BA were all significantly higher in AIIR group than those in HIR group(all P＜0.001),all with good inter-observer agreement(Kappa=0.46-0.73).SD of the aorta,pulmonary artery trunk,BA and erector spinal muscle in AIIR group were lower than those in HIR group,while CNR of above 3 arteries were higher than those in HIR group(all P＜0.05).No significant difference of the diameter of BA at each position was found between groups(all P＞0.05),while the consistency of measurement of AIIR group was higher than that of HIR group(intra-class correlation coefficient:0.89-0.94 vs.0.63-0.78).Conclusion C-CECT combined with AIIR could significantly improve imaging quality and diagnostic confidence of BA.

Objective To investigate the value of chest contrast-enhanced CT(C-CECT)combined with artificial intelligence iterative reconstruction(AIIR)for bronchial artery(BA)imaging.Methods Seventy patients who underwent C-CECT were prospectively enrolled.The images were reconstructed with AIIR(AIIR group)and hybrid iterative reconstruction(HIR,HIR group),respectively.The overall image quality,the traceability of BA,the sharpness of BA and the diagnostic confidence of abnormalities of BA were subjectively graded using a 5-point scale by two radiologists,respectively.The subjective scores and inter-observer agreement were compared between groups.The noise(SD)in reconstructed images of thoracic aorta,pulmonary trunk,BA and spinal erectors,the contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)of the above 3 arteries relative to spinal erectors,and the diameters of BA at the origin,bifurcation and pulmonary hilum were compared between groups.Results The scores of the overall image quality,the traceability of BA,the sharpness of BA and the diagnostic confidence of abnormalities of BA were all significantly higher in AIIR group than those in HIR group(all P＜0.001),all with good inter-observer agreement(Kappa=0.46-0.73).SD of the aorta,pulmonary artery trunk,BA and erector spinal muscle in AIIR group were lower than those in HIR group,while CNR of above 3 arteries were higher than those in HIR group(all P＜0.05).No significant difference of the diameter of BA at each position was found between groups(all P＞0.05),while the consistency of measurement of AIIR group was higher than that of HIR group(intra-class correlation coefficient:0.89-0.94 vs.0.63-0.78).Conclusion C-CECT combined with AIIR could significantly improve imaging quality and diagnostic confidence of BA.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the changes in high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） fingerprint spectra and nucleoside components between Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine and its processed product Succus bambusae pinella preparata， providing a reference for the quality evaluation of the latter. METHODS HPLC fingerprint was established for 10 batches of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine and its processed product Succus bambusae pinella preparata following the Similarity Evaluation System of TCM Chromatographic Fingerprints （2012 Edition）. Hierarchical cluster analysis （HCA）， principal component analysis （PCA）， and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS- DA） were conducted on their common peaks. The contents of four nucleoside components， hypoxanthine， uridine， adenine， and guanosine， in both Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine and Succus bambusae pinella preparata were determined. RESULTS The similarity between the fingerprints of the 10 batches of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine， Succus bambusae pinella preparata， and their corresponding reference fingerprints ranged from 0.851 to 0.990. A total of 10 common peaks were obtained for both samples， and 4 components were identified as hypoxanthine， uridine， adenine， and guanosine. The results of HCA， PCA and OPLS-DA showed that the samples of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine and Succus bambusae pinella preparata were clustered into separate categories， with OPLS-DA selecting 4 differential components between them， ranked by variable importance projection values as peak 8， peak 1， peak 6 （adenine） and peak 10. The content determination results showed that the average contents of hypoxanthine， uridine， adenine and guanosine in Succus bambusae pinella preparata declined by 15.90%， 12.00%， 26.04% and 22.18% compared to Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine， respectively， with statistically significant differences in the contents of hypoxanthine， adenine and guanosine （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS The established fingerprint and content determination methods are simple to operate and have good repeatability， which are suitable for qualitative and quantitative analysis of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum cum Zingibere et Alumine and Succus bambusae pinella preparata. The average contents of the four nucleoside components decreased after the processing of Succus bambusae pinella preparata.

Objective::Long-term diabetes can result in ventricular hypertrophic remodeling, tissue fibrosis, myocardial metabolic defection, and eventually, heart failure. Silent information regulator 6 (SIRT6) exerts beneficial effects against cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed to investigate whether the direct regulation of myocardial SIRT6 signaling affects cardiac performance in the case of diabetes. Meanwhile, we sought to explore the underlying mechanisms.Methods::Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used in this experiment. Briefly, type 2 diabetic animal model was generated by streptozotocin administration along with feeding a high-fat diet. The SD rats were randomly assigned to non-diabetic group, diabetic group, diabetic injected with empty adenoviral vectors group and diabetic injected with adenoviral vectors expressing SIRT6 group ( n = 10, respectively). The animals were kept for another 4 weeks before sacrifice. Cardiac performance was evaluated by echocardiography. Myocardial fibrosis was determined by Masson’s trichrome staining. Myocardial SIRT6 signaling and fibrosis related molecules were measured by western blotting. Results::The diabetic myocardium exhibited markedly enhanced TGFβ1-Smad2/3-induced myocardial fibrosis and reduced SIRT6 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. After 4 weeks of SIRT6 adenoviral vector infection, myocardial tissues exhibited markedly enhanced SIRT6 and AMPK signaling. Additionally, myocardial fibrosis and TGFβ1 -Smad2/3 signaling were both attenuated in the diabetic injected with adenoviral vectors expressing SIRT6 group.Conclusions::SIRT6-AMPK signaling suppressed the progression of tissue fibrosis in diabetes mellitus rats by inhibiting TGFβ1 and its downstream effector Smad2/3. SIRT6 might serve as an alternative therapeutic target for diabetes-related cardiovascular diseases.

Objective::Long-term diabetes can result in ventricular hypertrophic remodeling, tissue fibrosis, myocardial metabolic defection, and eventually, heart failure. Silent information regulator 6 (SIRT6) exerts beneficial effects against cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed to investigate whether the direct regulation of myocardial SIRT6 signaling affects cardiac performance in the case of diabetes. Meanwhile, we sought to explore the underlying mechanisms.Methods::Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used in this experiment. Briefly, type 2 diabetic animal model was generated by streptozotocin administration along with feeding a high-fat diet. The SD rats were randomly assigned to non-diabetic group, diabetic group, diabetic injected with empty adenoviral vectors group and diabetic injected with adenoviral vectors expressing SIRT6 group ( n = 10, respectively). The animals were kept for another 4 weeks before sacrifice. Cardiac performance was evaluated by echocardiography. Myocardial fibrosis was determined by Masson’s trichrome staining. Myocardial SIRT6 signaling and fibrosis related molecules were measured by western blotting. Results::The diabetic myocardium exhibited markedly enhanced TGFβ1-Smad2/3-induced myocardial fibrosis and reduced SIRT6 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. After 4 weeks of SIRT6 adenoviral vector infection, myocardial tissues exhibited markedly enhanced SIRT6 and AMPK signaling. Additionally, myocardial fibrosis and TGFβ1 -Smad2/3 signaling were both attenuated in the diabetic injected with adenoviral vectors expressing SIRT6 group.Conclusions::SIRT6-AMPK signaling suppressed the progression of tissue fibrosis in diabetes mellitus rats by inhibiting TGFβ1 and its downstream effector Smad2/3. SIRT6 might serve as an alternative therapeutic target for diabetes-related cardiovascular diseases.

Objective To look for a better way to assay vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and explore the correlation of serum VEGF levels with platelet and leucocyte count in breast cancer by comparison of peripheral blood plasma, serum and P-APR. Methods Blood samples were obtained from 42 patients with breast cancer and 20 healthy volunteers. Serum, plasma and P-APR samples were analyzed for VEGF using a commercially available sandwich ELISA, and assayed for semiquantitative measurement using microplatereader. At the same time, samples were analyzed by hematology analyzer. Results The level of VEGF in peripheral blood positively correlated to platelet (health control group: r=0.424, P=0.063) and leucocyte (health control group: r=0.443, P=0.050). The difference in VEGF values of P-APR between the localized breast cancer group and the health control group was statistically significant. Conclusion The level of VEGF in peripheral blood positively correlates to platelet and leucocyte. Platelet and leucocyte possibly secrete VEGF in vitro. Compared with serum and plasma, P-APR is the best section assaying VEGF in peripheral blood.

OBJECTIVE: To provide reference for the improvement of management quality of high-alert medications in ward area. METHODS: Risk management was used to estimate risk factor of commonly used high-alert medications in ward area. Then the homologous management measures were formulated based on potential risk. RESULTS: With enforcement of risk management, risk awareness of relevant responsible person was strengthened. They knew more knowledge about high-alert medications and its rate increased from 60% to 96%. The phenomena such as nonstandard storage and placement of drugs, unclear identification had never happened again. CONCLUSION: The application of risk management in high-alert medications contributes to improve anti-distress awareness of relevant responsible person, guarantee safety of drug use and enhance the quality of care.