Apolipoprotein D(APOD)is a protein that is widely present in animal tissues and is in-volved in the reproductive regulation of the body.In order to investigate the expression regularity of APOD in bactrian camel epididymis and its regulation effect on sperm maturation,this study took the epididymis of bactrian camel during estrus and anestrus as materials,and first cloned the complete sequence of APOD coding sequence(CDS)region.The physicochemical properties of AP-OD were analyzed by ProParam,SOPMA,SWISS-MODEL and MEGA7.0 software.Meanwhile,the expression and distribution of APOD in epididymis were detected by qRT-PCR,Western blot and IHC.The cloning results showed that:the length of the CDS region of APOD gene was 624 bp,encoding 207 amino acids.The APOD sequence of Bactrian camel was highly conserved with the nucleotide and amino acid sequence of alpaca,and the homology of APOD sequence with elk was the lowest.The results of qRT-PCR showed that the mRNA levels of APOD in the head,body and tail of epididymis in estrus were significantly higher than those in estrus(P＜0.01).Western blot results showed that the APOD protein expression and mRNA expression trend was similar in the head and body of the epididymis during anestrus,but the APOD expression level in the tail of the epididymis during anestrus was opposite to the mRNA expression level(P＜0.05).The results of H&E and IHC showed that there were significant differences in epididymal tissue between estrus and anestrus.In addition,APOD showed positive reactions in epididymal epithelial cells,smooth muscle cells,sperm and connective tissue to varying degrees,suggesting that APOD may be in-volved in the maturation of sperm during estrus and anestrus,providing evidence for further explo-ring the regulatory mechanism of APOD's involvement in seasonal estrus.

Apolipoprotein D(APOD)is a protein that is widely present in animal tissues and is in-volved in the reproductive regulation of the body.In order to investigate the expression regularity of APOD in bactrian camel epididymis and its regulation effect on sperm maturation,this study took the epididymis of bactrian camel during estrus and anestrus as materials,and first cloned the complete sequence of APOD coding sequence(CDS)region.The physicochemical properties of AP-OD were analyzed by ProParam,SOPMA,SWISS-MODEL and MEGA7.0 software.Meanwhile,the expression and distribution of APOD in epididymis were detected by qRT-PCR,Western blot and IHC.The cloning results showed that:the length of the CDS region of APOD gene was 624 bp,encoding 207 amino acids.The APOD sequence of Bactrian camel was highly conserved with the nucleotide and amino acid sequence of alpaca,and the homology of APOD sequence with elk was the lowest.The results of qRT-PCR showed that the mRNA levels of APOD in the head,body and tail of epididymis in estrus were significantly higher than those in estrus(P＜0.01).Western blot results showed that the APOD protein expression and mRNA expression trend was similar in the head and body of the epididymis during anestrus,but the APOD expression level in the tail of the epididymis during anestrus was opposite to the mRNA expression level(P＜0.05).The results of H&E and IHC showed that there were significant differences in epididymal tissue between estrus and anestrus.In addition,APOD showed positive reactions in epididymal epithelial cells,smooth muscle cells,sperm and connective tissue to varying degrees,suggesting that APOD may be in-volved in the maturation of sperm during estrus and anestrus,providing evidence for further explo-ring the regulatory mechanism of APOD's involvement in seasonal estrus.

Background::Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants.Methods::A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance.Results::All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex. Conclusions::The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of anhydrous ethanol and lauromacrogol in the treatment of ovarian endometriosis cyst (OEC), and to provide evidence for more effective use of these two sclerotic drugs.Methods:Thirty-three cysts in 30 patients with OEC, who were admitted to Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province from February 2017 to June 2018, were treated by ultrasound interventional therapy, followed by catheter aspiration, saline cavity cleaning, anhydrous ethanol rinsing and sclerotherapy, and lauromacrogol alcohol 1∶1 mixed solution retained in the capsule (mixed group). The therapeutic effects were observed 6 and 12 months after operation. A total of 30 OEC in 28 cases admitted to the same hospital from 2013 to 2015 were retrospectively analyzed after similar treatment steps, but the intracapsular retention fluid was anhydrous ethanol (ethanol group). A total of 28 OEC in 26 patients admitted to the same hospital from 2015 to 2017 were washed with normal saline, then washed with lauromacrogol and retained in the capsule with lauromacrogol (lauromacrogol group). The therapeutic effects of 6 and 12 months after treatment between the three groups were compared.Results:According to the classification of cure, marked effect and inefficacy, there was a weak correlation among the three groups. The mixed group did not tend to be ineffective, while the lauromacrogol group tended to be ineffective 6 and 12 months after treatmen.the difference was statistically significant (adjusted standardized residual >2). According to the total effective (cure+ markedly effective) and ineffective classification, the effective rate of the mixed group was significantly higher than that of the lauromacrogol group ( P<0.016 7). There was no significant difference for the effective rate between the mixed group and the ethanol group, and between the ethanol group and the lauromacrogol group ( P>0.0167). Conclusions:The retention of ethanol-lauromacrogol mixture in the capsule of sclerotic OEC, after pre-rinsing with anhydrous ethanol is helpful to improve the curative effect of OEC and give full play to the therapeutic effect of common sclerosing agents used in ultrasound intervention.

Objective To compare the efficacy of transrectal ultrasonography(TRUS)and spiral computed tomography(SCT)in preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma contrasted with the postoperative pathologic findings.Methods Both TRUS and SCT were performed prior to surgery in 92 patients with rectal carcinoma.After radical operation,the preoperative findings were compared with the histological findings,and the the efficacy of TRUS and SCT in staging the rectal carcinoma were evaluated.Results The accuracy of TRUS for T stage and N stage was 87.0% and 64.1% respectively,while the accuracy of SCT was 68.5% and 66.3%.Conclusions TRUS is superior to SCT for the judgment of tumor infiltration depth,TRUS may become the first choice in preoperative staging of rectal carcinoma.But neither is able to provide satisfaction assessment for lymph node metastases.When both methods are used together,it would be better.

Objective To investigate the methods and evaluate their efficacy of pseudoaneurysms by color Doppler ultrasound guided compression and injection treatment.Methods Twenty patients with seventeen femoral artery pseudoaneurysms and three subclavian artery pseudoaneurysms underwent compression and injection treatment with color Doppler ultrasound guided.Results Simple compression method presented a successful rate of 86%(12 out of 14 patients).Two with subclavian artery pseudoaneurysms were injected with medical OB glue,as a result,one had a hard knot in the lesion after treatment,the other was thrombosed in the remote artery.Thrombin injection achieved the rate of success 100%, 4 in 4 patients.Conclusions Color Doppler ultrasound guided compression and thrombin injection is a simple,safe and effective method for the treatment of postangiographic pseudoaneurysms,but medical OB glue injection may bring about complications.