Short-term postmortem interval estimation by detection of apoptosis-related protein in skin.

Time-of-death extrapolation has always been one of the most important issues in forensic practice. For a complicated case in which a corpse is destroyed with little evidence, judging the time of death of the deceased is a major challenge, which also enables criminals to escape legal sanctions. To find a method to roughly judge the time of death of a corpse with only a small amount of skin tissue, in this study, we established an early death model by using mice; furthermore, the postmortem interval was estimated by determining the protein and mRNA levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in the skin. In this process, 0 h after death was used as the control group, and the expression levels of Bax and Caspase-3 reached the maximum value at 8-12 h, while Bcl-2, as an inhibitor of apoptosis protein, peaked after 24 h. The mRNA expression levels of related proteins in postmortem skin tissues were also different. The results of these data indicate that the protein and mRNA levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in the skin have potential application in early time-of-death estimation.

[Research progress on mechanisms of ligustilide in treatment of nervous system diseases].

Ligustilide is the main active component of the volatile oil from Angelica sinensis and Ligusticum chuanxiong in the Umbelliferae family. It is a phthalein compound with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-atherosclerosis, neuroprotective, and other pharmacological effects. It can improve the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and has important potential in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and other nervous system diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, ischemic stroke, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia, and depression. Therefore, the mechanism of ligustilide in the treatment of nervous system diseases was summarized to provide a reference for drug development and clinical application.

Porcupine inhibitor CGX1321 alleviates heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in mice by blocking WNT signaling.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is highly prevalent, and lacks effective treatment. The aberration of WNT pathway underlies many pathological processes including cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy, while porcupine is an acyltransferase essential for the secretion of WNT ligands. In this study we investigated the role of WNT signaling pathway in HFpEF as well as whether blocking WNT signaling by a novel porcupine inhibitor CGX1321 alleviated HFpEF. We established two experimental HFpEF mouse models, namely the UNX/DOCA model and high fat diet/L-NAME ("two-hit") model. The UNX/DOCA and "two-hit" mice were treated with CGX1321 (3 mg·kg-1·d-1) for 4 and 10 weeks, respectively. We showed that CGX1321 treatment significantly alleviated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, thereby improving cardiac diastolic function and exercise performance in both models. Furthermore, both canonical and non-canonical WNT signaling pathways were activated, and most WNT proteins, especially WNT3a and WNT5a, were upregulated during the development of HEpEF in mice. CGX1321 treatment inhibited the secretion of WNT ligands and repressed both canonical and non-canonical WNT pathways, evidenced by the reduced phosphorylation of c-Jun and the nuclear translocation of ß-catenin and NFATc3. In an in vitro HFpEF model, MCM and ISO-treated cardiomyocytes, knockdown of porcupine by siRNA leads to a similar inhibitory effect on WNT pathways, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and cardiac fibroblast activation as CGX1321 did, whereas supplementation of WNT3a and WNT5a reversed the anti-hypertrophy and anti-fibrosis effect of CGX1321. We conclude that WNT signaling activation plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of HFpEF, and porcupine inhibitor CGX1321 exerts a therapeutic effect on HFpEF in mice by attenuating cardiac hypertrophy, alleviating cardiac fibrosis and improving cardiac diastolic function.

The mediating effect of distress tolerance on the relationship between stressful life events and suicide risk in patients with major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Despite widespread acknowledgment of the impact of stressful life events on suicide risk, the understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between stressful life events and suicide risk in major depressive disorder (MDD) remain unclear. This study aim to examine whether the distress tolerance mediates the relationship between the stressful life events and suicide risk in patients with MDD. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 125 Chinese patients with MDD, mean age was 27.05 (SD=0.68) and 68.8% were females. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale (HAMD-17), the validated Chinese version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) suicide module, Life Events Scale (LES) and Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) were utilized to evaluate depressive symptoms, stressful life events, levels of distress tolerance, and suicide risk, respectively. Mediation analyses was used to test the mediation effect of distress tolerance on the relationship between stressful life events and suicide risk. RESULTS: The ratio of suicide risk in patients with MDD was 75.2%. Pearson correlation analysis showed that stressful life events were positively correlated with suicide risk(r=0.182, p<0.05). Stressful life events(r=-0.323, p<0.01) and suicide risk(r=-0.354, p<0.01) were negatively correlated with distress tolerance. Mediation analyses showed that the direct path from stressful life events to suicide risk was not significant (B= 0.012, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.017, 0.042]). Stressful life events affected suicide risk indirectly through distress tolerance (B= 0.018, 95% CI [0.007, 0.031]), and the mediating effect accounted for 60.0% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: Distress tolerance completely played a mediating role between stressful life events and suicide risk. Further suicide prevention and intervention strategies should focus on increasing levels of distress tolerance in patients with MDD.

Mogrol suppresses lung cancer cell growth by activating AMPK-dependent autophagic death and inducing p53-dependent cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Lung carcinoma is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Chemotherapy remains the cornerstone of lung cancer treatment. Unfortunately, most types of cancer will develop resistance to chemotherapies over the time. One of the efforts to prevent the chemotherapy resistance is to find alternative chemotherapy drugs. Mogrol has been found to have antitumor activity. However, little is known about the pharmacological mechanisms underlying the suppression of mogrol on lung cancers. In this study, we observed that mogrol exposure significantly reduced the tumor volume and weight in tumor-bearing nude mice without obvious effect on body weight and cardiac function. Mogrol also significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells, including non-small-cell lung carcinoma cells, A549, H1299, H1975 and SK-MES-1 cells, with no obvious effect on control human bronchial epithelial cells (HBE). Further studies revealed that mogrol stirred excessive autophagy and autophagic flux, and finally, autophagic cell death, in lung cancer cells, which could be attenuated by autophagy inhibitors, 3-MA and chloroquine. Furthermore, mogrol significantly activated AMPK to induce autophagy and autophagic cell death, which could be abrogated by Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor. In addition, mogrol induced a significant increase in p53 activity in lung cancer cells, accompanied with cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, which could be weakened by p53 silence. Our results indicated that mogrol effectively suppressed lung cancer cells in vivo and in vitro by inducing the excessive autophagy and autophagic cell death via activating AMPK signaling pathway, as well as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via activating p53 pathway.

Temporal and spatial biomonitoring of atmospheric heavy metal pollution using moss bags in Xichang.

Heavy metal air pollution poses a serious threat to human health and the environment in Chinese tourist cities. In this study, we investigated the temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric heavy metal pollution using moss bags in Xichang, a tourist destination in Southwest China. The biomonitoring investigation used an indigenous moss (Taxiphyllum taxirameum) transplanted into bags. Moss bags were exposed to 22 sites including industrial, agricultural, urban/residential, tourist, and high-traffic sites, across four different seasons in 2019-2020. The results showed that T. taxirameum was a good biomonitor of air pollution in Xichang. Among the 22 sample points, air pollution was the worst along the G102 motorway. Heavy metal emissions varied in different regions and directions. Temporal changes significantly influenced the heavy metals accumulated in moss bags, with low deposition of most elements observed at nearly all sampling sites in summer. Different seasons and regions were important factors affecting atmospheric heavy metal pollution. Based on the correlation analysis and the positive matric factorization model, the results revealed that heavy metals in moss bags in Xichang were mainly derived from anthropogenic sources and atmospheric deposition. Overall, this research provides an important reference for air pollution monitoring in urban areas.

Integrated strategy of RNA-sequencing and network pharmacology for exploring the protective mechanism of Shen-Shi-Jiang-Zhuo formula in rat with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

CONTEXT: Shen-Shi-Jiang-Zhuo formula (SSJZF) exhibits a definite curative effect in the clinical treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). OBJECTIVE: To explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of SSJZF on NAFLD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, NAFLD, positive drug (12 mg/kg/day), SSJZF high-dose (200 mg/kg/day), SSJZF middle-dose (100 mg/kg/day), and SSJZF low-dose (50 mg/kg/day) groups. After daily intragastric administration of NAFLD rats for 8 weeks, lipid metabolism and hepatic fibrosis were evaluated by biochemical indices and histopathology. Then we uncovered the main active compounds and mechanism of SSJZF against NAFLD by integrating RNA-sequencing and network pharmacology, and PI3K/AKT pathway activity was verified by western blot. RESULTS: High dose SSJZF had the best inhibitory effect on hepatic lipid accumulation and fibrosis in rats with NAFLD, which significantly down-regulated total triglycerides (58%), cholesterol (62%), aspartate aminotransferase (57%), alanine aminotransferase (41%) andγ-glutamyl transpeptidase (36%), as well as the expression of ACC (5.3-fold), FAS (12.1-fold), SREBP1C (2.3-fold), and CD36 (4.4-fold), and significantly reduced collagen deposition (67%). Then we identified 23 compounds of SSJZF that acted on 25 key therapeutic targets of NAFLD by integrating RNA-sequencing and network pharmacology. Finally, we also confirmed that high dose SSJZF increased p-PI3K/PI3K (1.6-fold) and p-AKT/AKT (1.6-fold) in NAFLD rats. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We found for first time that SSJZF improved NAFLD in rats by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway. These findings provide scientific support for SSJZF in the clinical treatment of NAFLD and contribute to the development of new NAFLD drugs.

[Expression of thyroglobulin antibody and thyroid peroxidase antibody in children with immune thrombocytopenia]. / ç”²çŠ¶è ºçƒè›‹ç™½æŠ—ä½“å’Œç”²çŠ¶è ºè¿‡æ°§åŒ–ç‰©é ¶æŠ—ä½“åœ¨å„¿ç«¥å ç–«æ€§è¡€å°æ¿å‡å°‘ç—‡ä¸­çš„è¡¨è¾¾åŠä¸´åºŠæ„ä¹‰.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the expression of serum thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) in children with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). METHODS: A total of 120 children with ITP who were admitted from October 2019 to October 2021 were enrolled as the ITP group. A total of 60 children without ITP were enrolled as the non-ITP group. According to the clinical classification of ITP, the children in the ITP group were further divided into a newly diagnosed ITP group, a persistent ITP group, and a chronic ITP group. The clinical data were compared between the ITP group and the non-ITP group and between the children with different clinical classifications of ITP. The expression levels of serum TGAb and TPOAb in children with ITP were measured and their association with the clinical classification of ITP was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the non-ITP group, the ITP group had significantly lower levels of CD3+, CD4+, and platelet count (PLT) and significantly higher levels of CD8+, TGAb, and TPOAb (P<0.05). The children with chronic ITP had significantly lower levels of CD3+, CD4+, and PLT and significantly higher levels of CD8+, TGAb, and TPOAb than those with newly diagnosed ITP or persistent ITP (P<0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, TGAb, and TPOAb were the influencing factors for chronic ITP (P<0.05). A decision curve was plotted, and the results showed that TGAb combined with TPOAb within the high-risk threshold range of 0.0-1.0 had a net benefit rate of >0 in evaluating the clinical classification of ITP in children. CONCLUSIONS: TGAb and TPOAb are abnormally expressed in children with ITP and are associated with the clinical classification of ITP in children.

Biobased High-Performance Aromatic-Aliphatic Polyesters with Complete Recyclability.

The development of high-performance recyclable polymers represents a circular plastics economy to address the urgent issues of plastic sustainability. Herein, we design a series of biobased seven-membered-ring esters containing aromatic and aliphatic moieties. Ring-opening polymerization studies showed that they readily polymerize with excellent activity (TOF up to 2.1 × 105 h-1) at room temperature and produce polymers with high molecular weight (Mn up to 438 kg/mol). The variety of functionalities allows us to investigate the substitution effect on polymerizability/recyclability of monomers and properties of polymers (such as Tgs from -1 to 79 °C). Remarkably, a stereocomplexed P(M2) exhibited significantly increased Tm and crystallization rate. More importantly, product P(M)s were capable of depolymerizing into their monomers in solution or bulk with high efficiency, thus establishing their circular life cycle.

[Sudden convulsion with multiple pulmonary nodules in a girl aged 15 years].

A girl, aged 15 years, was admitted due to sudden convulsion once and multiple pulmonary nodules on lung CT. Acrocyanosis or acropachy/toe deformity was not observed. Laboratory examinations showed an increase in hemoglobin (162 g/L) and a reduction in arterial partial pressure of oxygen (61.5 mm Hg). Lung CT showed irregular slightly high-density nodules in the middle lobe of the right lung, and contrast-enhanced CT scan showed obvious enhancement with thick vascular shadow locally. An investigation of medical history revealed that the girl's mother had a history of epistaxis and resection of pulmonary mass and the girl presented with tongue telangiectasia. The girl was diagnosed with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. she was given interventional embolization therapy. Transcutaneous oxygen saturation reached 98% without oxygen inhalation on the day after surgery. Pulmonary angiography at 3 months after surgery showed the recurrence of pulmonary vascular malformation, and embolization of pulmonary arterial fistula was not performed since the guide wire could not enter the branch artery. There was still a need for long-term follow-up.

Refined grains intake in high fat, high protein, low carbohydrate and low energy levels subgroups and higher likelihood of abdominal obesity in Chinese population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between refined grains intake and obesity in China. Refined grain intake was considered in relation to energy intake and at varied levels of macronutrient distribution. A cross-sectional study of 6913 participants was conducted using internet-based dietary questionnaire for Chinese (IDQC). The associations and dose-response relationships between refined grains intake and obesity were investigated using multivariable logistic regression analyses and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models. There was a positive association between refined grains intake and abdominal obesity for all participants (forth quartile OR, 1.313; 95% CI, 1.103-1.760; p < .05) and this association persisted in low energy, low carbohydrate, high fat and high protein level subgroups. A range of favourable refined grains intake was 88-116 g/d (3-4 servings/d), which might decrease the likelihood of obesity for Chinese residents. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Ultrasound elastography: a novel tool for the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.

INTRODUCTION: Traditional thoracic ultrasound (TUS) is often the initial tool used to help diagnose malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Ultrasound elastography, a relatively new technique, has been used to differentiate malignant disease from benign disease by evaluating tissue "stiffness". However, no studies evaluating the efficacy of ultrasound elastography for diagnosing MPE are available. We assessed the value of ultrasound elsatography for diagnosing MPE prospectively. METHODS: All 244 enrolled patients were divided into a development set and a validation set in chronological order. The cut-off elasticity index was established using a receiver operating characteristic curve constructed from the continuous data of the patients in the development set. The diagnostic performance of ultrasound elastography was compared with that of TUS in the validation set. RESULTS: In the development set, the mean elasticity index (47.25 kPa) was the optimal cut-off. In the validation set, pleural ultrasound elastography had a sensitivity of 83.64%, a specificity of 90.67%, a positive predictive value of 86.79%, a negative predictive value of 88.31%, a positive likelihood ratio of 8.96 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.18 for diagnosing MPE. The sensitivity of ultrasound elastography was significantly higher (p=0.006) than that of TUS (60%). CONCLUSION: Pleural ultrasound elastography is a better technique than TUS for differentiating MPE from benign pleural disease.

18F-FDGPET/CT in fever of unknown origin and inflammation of unknown origin: a Chinese multi-center study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical value of 18F-FDG-PET/CT for the diagnosis of fever of unknown origin (FUO) and inflammation of unknown origin (IUO) in Chinese population, as well as the characteristics of PET/CT in different category of etiological disease. METHODS: A total of 376 consecutive patients with FUO/IUO who underwent FDG-PET/CT at 12 hospitals were retrospectively studied. FDG uptake was quantitatively and visually evaluated, by using SUVmax and a 4-grade scale respectively. A questionnaire survey to the clinicians was used to evaluate the significance of PET/CT in diagnosing of FUO/IUO. Data analysis included the etiological distribution in the study population, image characteristics in different category of diseases, and clinical significance of PET/CT. RESULTS: In 376 studied patients, the infectious diseases accounted for 33.0% of patients, rheumatologic diseases for 32.4%, malignancies for 19.1%, miscellaneous causes for 6.6%, and cause unknown for 8.8%. However, the etiological distribution among hospitals was varied. In addition, the etiological disease composition ratio has changed over time in China. On PET/CT examinations, 358 (95.2%) of the patients had a positive finding. Within them, local high uptake lesion was found in 219 cases, and nonspecific abnormal uptake (NAU) was found in 187 cases. FDG uptake in malignant diseases was significantly higher than in other category diseases both on SUVmax and visual scores (t-value range from 4.098 to 5.612, all P value < 0.001). Based on a clinical questionnaire survey, PET/CT provided additional diagnostic information for 77.4% of patients, and 89.6% of patients benefited from PET/CT examination. CONCLUSIONS: FDG PET/CT is a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis of FUO/IUO, and it is of great significance in further investigating the usefulness of PET/CT in non-neoplastic diseases.

Sonoelastography for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign parotid lesions: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of sonoelastography for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign parotid lesions using a meta-analysis. METHODS: An independent literature search of English medical databases, such as PubMed, Embase and Medline ( Embase.com ), Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Ovid was performed. The diagnostic accuracy of sonoelastography was compared with that of histopathology and/or cytology, which was used as reference standard. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of sonoelastography. A meta-regression analysis evaluating imaging mechanisms, shear wave elastography techniques, assessment methods and QUADAS scores was performed. RESULTS: Ten eligible studies that included a total sample of 711 patients with 725 parotid lesions were included. Sonoelastography showed a pooled sensitivity of 0.67 (95% CI 0.59-0.74), specificity of 0.64 (95% CI 0.60-0.68), DOR of 8.00 (95% CI 2.96-21.63) and an AUC of 0.77. The results of the meta-regression analysis revealed that no heterogeneity was due to the imaging mechanism (p = 0.119), shear wave elastography technique (p = 0.473) or QUADAS score (p = 0.462). However, the assessment method was a significant factor that affected the study heterogeneity (p = 0.035). According to the subgroup analysis, quantitative and semiquantitative methods performed better than qualitative ones. CONCLUSION: Overall, sonoelastography has a limited value for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign parotid lesions. Quantitative and semiquantitative methods perform better than qualitative ones. KEY POINTS: • Overall, sonoelastography has a limited value for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign parotid lesions. • Quantitative and semiquantitative assessment methods perform better than qualitative ones. • Semiquantitative and quantitative methods are automatically calculated by an ultrasound machine and are thus less operator-dependent.

Synthesis of 1,4- and 1,5-Amino Alcohols via Nucleophilic Addition of Semicyclic N,O-Acetal with Organozinc Reagents.

An efficient approach to access functionalized 1,4- and 1,5-amino alcohols has been developed through the nucleophilic addition of semicyclic N,O-acetal with organozinc reagents. A number of substituted benzyl zinc reagents (including nitrile and ester substituted) could react with semicyclic N,O-acetals 1 and 2, affording the desired products 3a-3p and 4a-4o in good to excellent yields.

[Expression of the Fra-1 gene in the peripheral blood of children with Wilms tumor].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of the Fra-1 gene in the peripheral blood of children with Wilms tumor and its clinical significance. METHODS: Fifty children pathologically diagnosed with Wilms tumor between December 2012 and January 2018 were enrolled as the case group, and 40 healthy children for physical examination were selected as the control group. Among the 45 children with Wilms tumor who were followed up, the children with continuous remission were included in the ideal efficacy group (n=33), and those with recurrence, metastasis or death were included in the poor efficacy group (n=12). Peripheral blood samples were collected from all subjects. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of Fra-1. RESULTS: The case group had significantly higher mRNA expression of Fra-1 in peripheral blood than the control group (P<0.05). In the case group, Fra-1 mRNA expression was significantly different between the individuals with and without distant metastasis and those with different TNM stages (P<0.05), but was not significantly different between the individuals with different sexes, ages, tumor diabetes, tumor locations and alpha-fetoprotein levels (P>0.05). The mRNA expression of Fra-1 was significantly lower in the ideal efficacy group than in the poor efficacy group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fra-1 may be involved in the development of Wilms tumor and plays a certain role in its development, invasion and metastasis, but the mechanism remains to be further studied.

Construction of a Holliday Junction in Small Circular DNA Molecules for Stable Motifs and Two-Dimensional Lattices.

Design rules for DNA nanotechnology have been mostly learnt from using linear single-stranded (ss) DNA as the source material. For example, the core structure of a typical DAO (double crossover, antiparallel, odd half-turns) tile for assembling 2D lattices is constructed from only two linear ss-oligonucleotide scaffold strands, similar to two ropes making a square knot. Herein, a new type of coupled DAO (cDAO) tile and 2D lattices of small circular ss-oligonucleotides as scaffold strands and linear ss-oligonucleotides as staple strands are reported. A cDAO tile of cDAO-c64nt (c64nt: circular 64 nucleotides), shaped as a solid parallelogram, is constructed with a Holliday junction (HJ) at the center and two HJs at both poles of a c64nt; similarly, cDAO-c84nt, shaped as a crossed quadrilateral composed of two congruent triangles, is formed with a HJ at the center and four three-way junctions at the corners of a c84nt. Perfect 2D lattices were assembled from cDAO tiles: infinite nanostructures of nanoribbons, nanotubes, and nanorings, and finite nanostructures. The structural relationship between the visible lattices imaged by AFM and the corresponding invisible secondary and tertiary molecular structures of HJs, inclination angle of hydrogen bonds against the double-helix axis, and the chirality of the tile can be interpreted very well. This work could shed new light on DNA nanotechnology with unique circular tiles.

Relationship between intracranial internal carotid artery calcification and enlarged cerebral perivascular space.

PURPOSE: The association between intracranial internal carotid artery (IICA) calcification and lacunes, white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) has been well researched. However, enlarged cerebral perivascular space (PVS) has not yet been reported to correlate with intracranial internal carotid artery calcification. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between IICA calcification and enlarged PVS. METHODS: A total of 189 patients with ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory who presented within 7 days of ictus from 2012 to 2015 were enrolled respectively. All patients were required to have undergone head computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography, or computed tomography angiography. Clinical characteristics were recorded. IICA calcification and enlarged PVS were semi-quantitatively evaluated, and the presence of lacunes, WMH, and CMBs was recorded. RESULTS: Of the 189 patients, 63.5% were male. Mean age of the patients was 68.6 ± 12.2 years. There were 104 patients with IICA calcification. Age, diabetes mellitus, lacunes, and white matter hyperintensity were significantly associated with IICA calcification (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, diabetes mellitus, and lacunes were independent predictors of IICA calcification (P < 0.05). A lower risk of IICA calcification was found in patients with a higher enlarged PVS score (P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Higher enlarged PVS scores were associated with a lesser degree of IICA calcification. There appears to be a relationship between reduced risk of IICA calcification and enlarged PVS.

Ultrasound sclerotherapy pretreatment could obtain a similar effect to surgical intervention on improving the outcomes of in vitro fertilization for patients with hydrosalpinx.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for patients with hydrosalpinx between ultrasound sclerotherapy and surgical intervention. METHODS: The data of 482 IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles were divided into three groups according to different intervention protocols before IVF/ICSI. Group A included 265 cycles in which ultrasound sclerotherapy pretreatment was carried out before controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Group B included 109 cycles in which hydrosalpinx aspiration was carried out under ultrasound guidance on the day of oocyte retrieval. Croup C included 108 cycles in which bilateral salpingectomy was carried out before IVF/ICSI. RESULTS: The rates of embryo implantation, biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, and early abortion showed no significant differences between groups A and C (P > 0.05); whereas the rates of embryo implantation, biochemical pregnancy, and clinical pregnancy in group B were significantly lower than those in groups A and C (P < 0.05), and that of early abortion in group B was significantly higher than that in groups A and C (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ultrasound sclerotherapy on patients with hydrosalpinx before IVF-embryo transfer could obtain a similar clinical outcome to surgical intervention.

[Cerebral microangiopathy of diabetes].

Diabetes mellitus, a kind of chronic metabolic disease, has become one of major threats to human health with an increasing incidence. As a basic pathology of chronic complications related to diabetes mellitus, cerebral microangiopathy is mainly found in patients with Alzheimer's disease and lacunar infarction, and becomes one of the main reasons of death and disability in diabetic patients. The pathogenesis of cerebral microangiopathy is complicated, involving such signal pathways as metabolic abnormalities of polyol, saccharification hyperactivity, oxidative stress, abnormal transport of amyloid-ß across blood-brain barrier and protein kinase C activation. Treatment targeting at related pathogenesis may bring a new hope to prevention and delay of the occurrence and development of cerebral microangiopathy of diabetes mellitus. Currently, pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapies for cerebral microangiopathy of diabetes mellitus have become hot topics in medical studies. This article reviews pathogenesis, clinical diagnosis and treatment for cerebral microangiopathy of diabetes mellitus, in order to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of cerebral microangiopathy of diabetes mellitus.