A publicly available newborn ear shape dataset for medical diagnosis of auricular deformities.

Early and accurate diagnosis of ear deformities in newborns is crucial for an effective non-surgical correction treatment, since this commonly seen ear anomalies would affect aesthetics and cause mental problems if untreated. It is not easy even for experienced physicians to diagnose the auricular deformities of newborns and the classification of the sub-types, because of the rich bio-metric features embedded in the ear shape. Machine learning has already been introduced to analyze the auricular shape. However, there is little publicly available datasets of ear images from newborns. We released a dataset that contains quality-controlled photos of 3,852 ears from 1,926 newborns. The dataset also contains medical diagnosis of the ear shape, and the health data of each newborn and its mother. Our aim is to provide a freely accessible dataset, which would facilitate researches related with ear anatomies, such as the AI-aided detection and classification of auricular deformities and medical risk analysis.

Pyramiding BPH genes in rice maintains resistance against the brown planthopper under climate change.

BACKGROUND: Nilaparvata lugens (brown planthopper; BPH) is a significant rice pest in Asia, causing substantial yield losses. Pyramiding BPH resistance genes with diverse resistance traits into rice cultivars is an effective strategy for pest management. However, the response of pyramiding combinations to environmental changes remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated three pyramiding rice lines (BPH2 + 32, BPH9 + 32, and BPH18 + 32) in the context of varying climate change conditions, ensuring sufficient N. lugens-rice interactions. Thus, we set three environmental conditions [30/25 °C (day/night) with 500 ppm CO2 concentration, 32/27 °C (day/night) with 600 ppm CO2 concentration, and 35/30 °C (day/night) with 1000 ppm CO2 concentration]. RESULTS: All three pyramiding rice lines maintained the insect resistant ability under the three environmental settings. In particular, the BPH18 + 32 rice line exhibited stronger antibiotic and antixenosis effects against N. lugens. In addition, BPH18 + 32 rice line had better shoot resilience under N. lugens infestation, whereas the performance of the other two selected pyramiding rice lines varied. Thus, although BPH2, BPH9, and BPH18 represent three alleles at the same locus, their resistance levels against N. lugens may vary under distinct climate change scenarios, as evidenced by the performance of N. lugens on the three pyramiding rice lines. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that all three tested pyramiding rice lines maintained their insect resistance in the face of diverse climate change scenarios. However, these lines exhibited varied repellent responses and resilience capacities in response to climate change. Thus, the combination of pyramiding genes needs to be considered for future breeding programs. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Novel practical stereoselective synthesis of a bicyclic hydantoino-thiolactone as the key intermediate for production of (+)-biotin.

Bicyclic hydantoinothiolactone (1), as the key intermediate for production of (+)-biotin, has been efficiently and high-stereoselectively synthesized from the cheap starting material l-cystine via nine steps in 44% overall yield. In this new practical synthesis, there are two characteristic steps worthy of note. One step is TMSOTf-catalyzed efficient cyanation of (3S,7aR)-6-benzyl-5-oxo-3-phenyltetrahydro-1H,3H-imidazo[1,5-c]thiazol-7-yl acetate, the other step is DBU-catalyzed rapid isomerization of trans-isomer to cis-isomer of the bicyclic hydantoinothiolactone.

Intestinal Cckbr-specific knockout mouse as a novel model of salt-sensitive hypertension via sodium over-absorption.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the value of CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice as a mouse model of salt-sensitive hypertension (SSH). METHODS: In the first part, 2-month-old CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice (CKO) and control CCKBRfl/fl mice (WT) were fed with normal diet (0.4% NaCl) or high salt diet (4% NaCl), separately for 6 weeks. In the rescue study, one week of hydrochlorothiazide or saline injection were treated with the CKO mice fed high salt diet. The blood pressure, biochemical indexes, and the expression of small intestinal sodium transporters (NHE3, NKCC1, eNaC) was detected. The organ injury markers (MMP2/MMP9) and the histopathological changes of kidneys were observed, whereas the changes of duodenal sodium absorption were detected by small intestinal perfusion in vivo. RESULTS: The CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice with high salt intake exhibited high blood pressure, increased duodenal sodium absorption and urinary sodium excretion, and with renal injury. The protein expression of NHE3, NKCC1 and eNaC were also significant increase in the intestine of CKO-HS mice. Treatment with hydrochlorothiazide remarkably attenuated the elevated blood pressure by high salt absorption in the CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice, but no significant histopathological changes were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results support a crucial role of intestinal Cckbr deficiency on SSH development and the diuretic antihypertension effect in CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice. The CCKBRfl/fl villin-Cre mice with the high salt intake may serve as a stable model of salt-sensitive hypertensive induced by sodium overloading.

Exogenous Copper Application for the Elemental Defense of Rice Plants against Rice Leaffolder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis).

Metals that accumulate in plants may confer protection against herbivorous insects, a phenomenon known as elemental defense. However, this strategy has not been widely explored in important crops such as rice (Oryza sativa L.), where it could help to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Here, we investigated the potential of copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) micronutrient supplements for the protection of rice against a major insect pest, the rice leaffolder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis). We found that intermediate levels of Cu (20 µM CuSO4) and high concentrations of Fe (742 µM Fe) did not inhibit the growth of C. medinalis larvae but did inhibit rice root growth and reduce grain yield at the reproductive stage. In contrast, high levels of Cu (80 µM CuSO4) inhibited C. medinalis larval growth and pupal development but also adversely affected rice growth at the vegetative stage. Interestingly, treatment with 10 µM CuSO4 had no adverse effects on rice growth or yield components at the reproductive stage. These data suggest that pest management based on the application of Cu may be possible, which would be achieved by a higher effective pesticide dose to prevent or minimize its phytotoxicity effects in plants.

Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the resistance of rice near-isogenic lines with BPH resistance genes.

BACKGROUND: Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Crops with a high nitrogen input usually have high yields. However, outbreaks of brown planthoppers (Nilaparvata lugens; BPH) frequently occur on rice farms with excessive nitrogen inputs. Rice plants carrying BPH resistance genes are used for integrated pest management. Thus, the impact of nitrogen on the resistance of rice near-isogenic lines (NILs) with BPH resistance genes was investigated. RESULTS: We tested these NILs using a standard seedbox screening test and a modified bulk seedling test under different nitrogen treatments. The amount of nitrogen applied had an impact on the resistance of some lines with BPH resistance genes. In addition, three NILs (NIL-BPH9, NIL-BPH17, and NIL-BPH32) were further examined for antibiosis and antixenosis under varying nitrogen regimes. The N. lugens nymph population growth rate, honeydew excretion, female fecundity, and nymph survival rate on the three NILs were not affected by different nitrogen treatments except the nymph survival rate on NIL-BPH9 and the nymph population growth rate on NIL-BPH17. Furthermore, in the settlement preference test, the preference of N. lugens nymphs for IR24 over NIL-BPH9 or NIL-BPH17 increased under the high-nitrogen regime, whereas the preference of N. lugens nymphs for IR24 over NIL-BPH32 was not affected by the nitrogen treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that the resistance of three tested NILs did not respond to different nitrogen regimes and that NIL-BPH17 exerted the most substantial inhibitory effect on N. lugens growth and development.

The Impact of Climate Change on the Resistance of Rice Near-Isogenic Lines with Resistance Genes Against Brown Planthopper.

BACKGROUND: The impact of climate change on insect resistance genes is elusive. Hence, we investigated the responses of rice near-isogenic lines (NILs) that carry resistance genes against brown planthopper (BPH) under different environmental conditions. RESULTS: We tested these NILs under three environmental settings (the atmospheric temperature with corresponding carbon dioxide at the ambient, year 2050 and year 2100) based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change prediction. Comparing between different environments, two of nine NILs that carried a single BPH-resistant gene maintained their resistance under the environmental changes, whereas two of three NILs showed gene pyramiding with two maintained BPH resistance genes despite the environmental changes. In addition, two NILs (NIL-BPH17 and NIL-BPH20) were examined in their antibiosis and antixenosis effects under these environmental changes. BPH showed different responses to these two NILs, where the inhibitory effect of NIL-BPH17 on the BPH growth and development was unaffected, while NIL-BPH20 may have lost its resistance during the environmental changes. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that BPH resistance genes could be affected by climate change. NIL-BPH17 has a strong inhibitory effect on BPH feeding on phloem and would be unaffected by environmental changes, while NIL-BPH20 would lose its ability during the environmental changes.

Identification and Validation of a Novel Prognosis Prediction Model in Adrenocortical Carcinoma by Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis, Statistics, and Machine Learning.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis. Thus, we aimed to establish a potential gene model for prognosis prediction of patients with ACC. First, weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) was constructed to screen two key modules (blue: P = 5e-05, R^2 = 0.65; red: P = 4e-06, R^2 = -0.71). Second, 93 survival-associated genes were identified. Third, 11 potential prognosis models were constructed, and two models were further selected. Survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), Cox regression analysis, and calibrate curve were performed to identify the best model with great prognostic value. Model 2 was further identified as the best model [training set: P < 0.0001; the area under curve (AUC) value was higher than in any other models showed]. We further explored the prognostic values of genes in the best model by analyzing their mutations and copy number variations (CNVs) and found that MKI67 altered the most (12%). CNVs of the 14 genes could significantly affect the relative mRNA expression levels and were associated with survival of ACC patients. Three independent analyses indicated that all the 14 genes were significantly associated with the prognosis of patients with ACC. Six hub genes were further analyzed by constructing a PPI network and validated by AUC and concordance index (C-index) calculation. In summary, we constructed and validated a prognostic multi-gene model and found six prognostic biomarkers, which may be useful for predicting the prognosis of ACC patients.

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 deficiency prevents development of acute pancreatitis by attenuating leukocyte infiltration.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is rapid-onset pancreatic inflammation that causes local and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) with high morbidity and mortality, but no approved therapies are currently available. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) is a transmembrane glycoprotein to initiate inflammatory responses. We hypothesized that PSGL-1 may be involved in the development of AP and would be a new target for the treatment of AP. AIM: To investigate the role and mechanism of PSGL-1 in the development of AP. METHODS: The PSGL-1 expression on leukocytes was detected in peripheral blood of AP patients and volunteers. Pancreatic injury, inflammatory cytokines expression, and inflammatory cell infiltration was measured in AP mouse models induced with PSGL-1 knockout (PSGL-1 -/-) and wild-type (PSGL-1 +/+) mice. Leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion was measured in a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-endothelial cell coculture system. RESULTS: The expression of PSGL-1 on monocytes and neutrophils was significantly increased in AP patients. Compared with PSGL-1 +/+ mice, PSGL-1 -/- AP mice induced by caerulein exhibited lower serum amylase, less Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression, less neutrophil and macrophage infiltration, and reduced peripheral neutrophil and monocyte accounts. PSGL-1 deficiency alleviated leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion via IL-6 but not IL-1beta. CONCLUSION: PSGL-1 deficiency effectively inhibits the development of AP by preventing leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion via IL-6 stimulation and may become a potential therapeutic target for treating AP.

Rapid Structure-Based Screening Informs Potential Agents for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus, has spread rapidly across China. Consequently, there is an urgent need to sort and develop novel agents for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. A rapid structure-based virtual screening is used for the evaluation of current commercial drugs, with structures of human angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), and viral main protease, spike, envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid proteins. Our results reveal that the reported drugs Arbidol, Chloroquine and Remdesivir may hinder the entry and release of virions through the bindings with ACE2, spike and envelope proteins. Due to the similar binding patterns, NHC (ß-d-N4-hydroxycytidine) and Triazavirin are also in prospects for clinical use. Main protease (3CLpro) is likely to be a feasible target of drug design. The screening results to target 3CL-pro reveal that Mitoguazone, Metformin, Biguanide Hydrochloride, Gallic acid, Caffeic acid, Sulfaguanidine and Acetylcysteine seem be possible inhibitors and have potential application in the clinical therapy of COVID-19.

Crosstalk between the Akt/mTORC1 and NF-κB signaling pathways promotes hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension by increasing DPP4 expression in PASMCs.

Abnormal wound healing by pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) promotes vascular remodeling in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH). Increasing evidence shows that both the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) are involved in the development of HPH. In this study, we explored the crosstalk between mTORC1 and NF-κB in PASMCs cultured under hypoxic condition and in a rat model of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH). We showed that hypoxia promoted wound healing of PASMCs, which was dose-dependently blocked by the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin (5-20 nM). In PASMCs, hypoxia activated mTORC1, which in turn promoted the phosphorylation of NF-κB. Molecular docking revealed that mTOR interacted with IκB kinases (IKKs) and that was validated by immunoprecipitation. In vitro kinase assays and mass spectrometry demonstrated that mTOR phosphorylated IKKα and IKKß separately. Inhibition of mTORC1 decreased the level of phosphorylated IKKα/ß, thus reducing the phosphorylation and transcriptional activity of NF-κB. Bioinformatics study revealed that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) was a target gene of NF-κB; DPP4 inhibitor, sitagliptin (10-500 µM) effectively inhibited the abnormal wound healing of PASMCs under hypoxic condition. In the rat model of HPH, we showed that NF-κB activation (at 3 weeks) was preceded by mTOR signaling activation (after 1 or 2 weeks) in lungs, and administration of sitagliptin (1-5 mg/kg every day, ig) produced preventive effects against the development of HPH. In conclusion, hypoxia activates the crosstalk between mTORC1 and NF-κB, and increased DPP4 expression in PASMCs that leads to vascular remodeling. Sitagliptin, a DPP4 inhibitor, exerts preventive effect against HPH.

A Human Health Risk Assessment of Trace Elements Present in Chinese Wine.

The concentrations of trace elements in wines and health risk assessment via wine consumption were investigated in 315 wines. Samples were collected from eight major wine-producing regions in China. The concentrations of twelve trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Duncan's multiple range test was applied to analyze significant variations (p < 0.05) of trace elements in different regions. Based on a 60 kg adult drinker consuming 200 mL of wine per day, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of each element from wines was far below the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI). Health risk assessment indicated the ingestion influence of individual elements and combined elements through this Chinese wine daily intake did not constitute a health hazard to people. However, Cr and Mn were the potential contaminants of higher health risk in Chinese wines. The cumulative impact of wine consumption on trace elements intake in the daily diet of drinkers should not be ignored due to the presence of other intake pathways.

The Role of Plant Abiotic Factors on the Interactions Between Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and its Host Plant.

Atmospheric temperature increases along with increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. This is a major concern for agroecosystems. Although the impact of an elevated temperature or increased CO2 has been widely reported, there are few studies investigating the combined effect of these two environmental factors on plant-insect interactions. In this study, plant responses (phenological traits, defensive enzyme activity, secondary compounds, defense-related gene expression and phytohormone) of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) -susceptible and resistant rice under various conditions (environment, soil type, variety, C. medinalis infestation) were used to examine the rice-C. medinalis interaction. The results showed that leaf chlorophyll content and trichome density in rice were variety-dependent. Plant defensive enzyme activities were affected environment, variety, or C. medinalis infestation. In addition, total phenolic content of rice leaves was decreased by elevated CO2 and temperature and C. medinalis infestation. Defense-related gene expression patterns were affected by environment, soil type, or C. medinalis infestation. Abscisic acid and salicylic acid content were decreased by C. medinalis infestation. However, jasmonic acid content was increased by C. medinalis infestation. Furthermore, under elevated CO2 and temperature, rice plants had higher abscisic acid content than plants under ambient conditions. The adult morphological traits of C. medinalis also were affected by environment. Under elevated CO2 and temperature, C. medinalis adults had greater body length in the second and third generations. Taken together these results indicated that elevated CO2 and temperature not only affects plants but also the specialized insects that feed on them.

Flexible Organic Tribotronic Transistor for Pressure and Magnetic Sensing.

Flexible electronics has attracted enormous interest in wearable electronics and human-machine interfacing. Here, a flexible organic tribotronic transistor (FOTT) without a top gate electrode has been demonstrated. The FOTT is fabricated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate film using the p-type pentacene and poly(methyl methacrylate)/Cytop composites as the conductive channel and dielectric layer, respectively. The charge carriers can be modulated by the contact electrification between the dielectric layer and a mobile triboelectric layer. Based on the fabricated FOTT, pressure and magnetic sensors have been developed, respectively, that exhibit great sensitivity, fast response time, and excellent stability. The FOTT in this simple structure shows bright potentials of tribotronics in human-machine interaction, electronic skins, wearable electronics, intelligent sensing, and so on.

Differences in anti-inflammatory effects between two specifications of Scutellariae Radix in LPS-induced macrophages in vitro.

Scutellariae Radix (SR), the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, is used as an antipyretic drug and has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory activity. SR is divided into two specifications, "Ku Qin" (KQ) and "Zi Qin" (ZQ), for use against different symptoms (upper energizer heat or lower portion of the triple energizer), according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, differences in the efficacies of these two specifications have not been determined. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the differences in the anti-inflammatory activities between KQ and ZQ and to explore how their differences are manifested in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophages. Our results showed that, in RAW264.7 cells (a mouse macrophage cell line derived from ascites), KQ and ZQ displayed anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the release of nitric oxide (NO), inducible NOS (iNOS), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in a dose-dependent manner without distinction. In NR8383 cells (a rat alveolar macrophage cell line), KQ and ZQ displayed similar effects on NO, iNOS, and NF-κB as seen in RAW264.7 cells, but KQ showed a higher inhibition rate for NO and iNOS than that shown by ZQ at the same concentration. These results indicated that there were differences in efficacy between KQ and ZQ in treating lung inflammation. Our findings provided an experimental evidence supporting the different uses of KQ and ZQ in clinic, as noted in ancient herbal records.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment in patients with kidney stones.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (UGPN) for the treatment in patients with kidney stones (KS). METHODS: We randomly assigned 86 patients with KS to a UGPN group or a control group, each group comprising 43 patients. Patients from the UGPN group underwent UGPN whereas those from control group underwent fluoroscopic-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (FGPN). The primary outcome included the stone-free rate. Secondary outcomes included complication rates, operative time, and length of hospitalization. RESULTS: UGPN did not show better efficacy than the FGPN procedure in decreasing stone-free rate (UGPN group 79.1% vs control group 69.8%, P = .45), operative time (UGPN group 108.4 ±â€Š31.7 minute vs control group 113.2 ±â€Š34.5 minute, P = .50), and length of hospitalization (UGPN group 2.7 ±â€Š1.3 days vs control group 3.1 ±â€Š1.5 days, P = .19). Additionally, no complications, except fever (UGPN group 4.7% vs control group 9.3%, P = .41) and hemoglobin slightly reduced (UGPN group 7.0% vs control group 11.6%, P = .46) were noted in patients from both groups in this study. CONCLUSIONS: To summarize, we demonstrated that both UGPN and FGPN techniques showed similar efficacy and complications when used for the management of KS.

Tribotronic Tuning Diode for Active Analog Signal Modulation.

Realizing active interaction with external environment/stimuli is a great challenge for current electronics. In this paper, a tribotronic tuning diode (TTD) is proposed by coupling a variable capacitance diode and a triboelectric nanogenerator in free-standing sliding mode. When the friction layer is sliding on the device surface for electrification, a reverse bias voltage is created and applied to the diode for tuning the junction capacitance. When the sliding distance increases from 0 to 25 mm, the capacitance of the TTD decreases from about 39 to 8 pF. The proposed TTD has been integrated into analog circuits and exhibited excellent performances in frequency modulation, phase shift, and filtering by sliding a finger. This work has demonstrated tunable diode and active analog signal modulation by tribotronics, which has great potential to replace ordinary variable capacitance diodes in various practical applications such as signal processing, electronic tuning circuits, precise tuning circuits, active sensor networks, electronic communications, remote controls, flexible electronics, etc.

Tribotronic Transistor Array as an Active Tactile Sensing System.

Large-scale tactile sensor arrays are of great importance in flexible electronics, human-robot interaction, and medical monitoring. In this paper, a flexible 10 × 10 tribotronic transistor array (TTA) is developed as an active tactile sensing system by incorporating field-effect transistor units and triboelectric nanogenerators into a polyimide substrate. The drain-source current of each tribotronic transistor can be individually modulated by the corresponding external contact, which has induced a local electrostatic potential to act as the conventional gate voltage. By scaling down the pixel size from 5 × 5 to 0.5 × 0.5 mm2, the sensitivities of single pixels are systematically investigated. The pixels of the TTA show excellent durability, independence, and synchronicity, which are suitable for applications in real-time tactile sensing, motion monitoring, and spatial mapping. The integrated tribotronics provides an unconventional route to realize an active tactile sensing system, with prospective applications in wearable electronics, human-machine interfaces, fingerprint identification, and so on.

Effects of ganoderic acids on epileptiform discharge hippocampal neurons: insights from alterations of BDNF,TRPC3 and apoptosis.

Recently, Ganoderma lucidum spores (GLS) have shown anti-epileptic effects. However, there are no reports on the anti-epileptic effects of its chemical constituents ganoderic acids (GAs), and more research is needed to better understand the mechanism of GLS activity. In this work, rat primary hippocampal neurons in an in vitro model were used to assess the intervention effects of GAs on epileptiform discharge hippocampal neurons and expression of both BDNF and TRPC3, with the aid of immunofluorescence, MTT method and flow cytometry. It was found that BDNF and TRPC3 are expressed in all cells and were mainly localized in the cytoplasm. The fluorescence intensities of BDNF and TRPC3 in GAs groups were higher than those of normal control and model groups, especially at 80 µg/ml (P < 0.05). The apoptosis rate of neurons was inversely proportional to BDNF and TRPC3 changes (P < 0.01). Therefore, BDNF and TRPC3 should be involved in the occurrence and development of epilepsy. GAs might indirectly inhibit mossy fiber sprouting and adjust the synaptic reconstructions by promoting the expression of BDNF and TRPC3. Besides, GAs could exert a protective effect on hippocampal neurons by promoting neuronal survival and the recovery of injured neurons.

Changes in patients' symptoms and gastric emptying after Helicobacter pylori treatment.

AIM: To investigate the changes in clinical symptoms and gastric emptying and their association in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. METHODS: Seventy FD patients were enrolled and divided into 2 groups Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-negative group (28 patients), and H. pylori-positive group (42 patients). Patients in the H. pylori-positive group were further randomly divided into groups: H. pylori-treatment group (21 patients) and conventional treatment group (21 patients). Seventy two healthy subjects were selected as the control group. The proximal and distal stomach area was measured by ultrasound immediately after patients took the test meal, and at 20, 40, 60 and 90 min; then, gastric half-emptying time was calculated. The incidence of symptoms and gastric half-emptying time between the FD and control groups were compared. The H. pylori-negative and conventional treatment groups were given conventional treatment: domperidone 0.6 mg/(kg/d) for 1 mo. The H. pylori-treatment group was given H. pylori eradication treatment + conventional treatment: lansoprazole 30 mg once daily, clarithromycin 0.5 g twice daily and amoxicillin 1.0 g twice daily for 1 wk, then domperidone 0.6 mg/(kg/d) for 1 mo. The incidence of symptoms and gastric emptying were compared between the FD and control groups. The relationship between dyspeptic symptoms and gastric half-emptying time in the FD and control groups were analyzed. Then total symptom scores before and after treatment and gastric half-emptying time were compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS: The incidence of abdominal pain, epigastric burning sensation, abdominal distension, nausea, belching, and early satiety symptoms in the FD group were significantly higher than in the control group (50.0% vs 20.8%; 37.1% vs 12.5%; 78.6% vs 44.4%; 45.7% vs 22.2%; 52.9% vs 15.3%; 57.1% vs 19.4%; all P < 0.05). The gastric half-emptying times of the proximal end, distal end, and the whole stomach in the FD group were slower than in the control group (93.7 ± 26.2 vs 72.0 ± 14.3; 102.2 ± 26.4 vs 87.5 ± 18.2; 102.1 ± 28.6 vs 78.3 ± 14.1; all P < 0.05). Abdominal distension, belching and early satiety had an effect on distal gastric half-emptying time (P < 0.05). Abdominal distension and abdominal pain had an effect on the gastric half-emptying time of the whole stomach (P < 0.05). All were risk factors (odds ratio > 1). The total symptom score of the 3 groups after treatment was lower than before treatment (P < 0.05). Total symptom scores after treatment in the H. pylori-treatment group and H. pylori-negative group were lower than in the conventional treatment group (5.15 ± 2.27 vs 7.02 ± 3.04, 4.93 ± 3.22 vs 7.02 ± 3.04, All P < 0.05). The gastric half-emptying times of the proximal end, distal end, and the whole stomach in the H. pylori-negative and H. pylori-treatment groups were shorter than in the conventional treatment group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: FD patients have delayed gastric emptying. H. pylori infection treatment helps to improve symptoms of dyspepsia and is a reasonable choice for treatment in clinical practice.