The value of cardiac MRI in the risk stratification in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in the risk stratification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods: HCM patients who underwent CMR examination in Fuwai Hospital between March 2012 and May 2013 were retrospectively enrolled. Baseline clinical and CMR data were collected and patient follow-up was performed using telephone contact and medical record. The primary composite endpoint was sudden cardiac death (SCD) or and equivalent event. The secondary composite endpoint was all-cause death and heart transplant. Patients were divided into SCD and non-SCD groups. Cox regression was used to explore risk factors of adverse events. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the performance and the optimal cut-off of late gadolinium enhancement percentage (LGE%) for the prediction of endpoints. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests were used to compare survival differences between groups. Results: A total of 442 patients were enrolled. Mean age was (48.5±12.4) years and 143(32.4%) were female. At (7.6±2.5) years of follow-up, 30 (6.8%) patients met the primary endpoint including 23 SCD and 7 SCD equivalent events, and 36 (8.1%) patients met the secondary endpoint including 33 all-cause death and 3 heart transplant. In multivariate Cox regression, syncope(HR=4.531, 95%CI 2.033-10.099, P<0.001), LGE% (HR=1.075, 95%CI 1.032-1.120, P=0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (HR=0.956, 95%CI 0.923-0.991, P=0.013) were independent risk factors for primary endpoint; Age (HR=1.032, 95%CI 1.001-1.064, P=0.046), atrial fibrillation (HR=2.977, 95%CI 1.446-6.131, P=0.003),LGE% (HR=1.075, 95%CI 1.035-1.116, P<0.001) and LVEF (HR=0.968, 95%CI 0.937-1.000, P=0.047) were independent risk factors for secondary endpoint. ROC curve showed the optimal LGE% cut-offs were 5.1% and 5.8% for the prediction of primary and secondary endpoint, respectively. Patients were further divided into LGE%=0, 0<LGE%<5%, 5%≤LGE%<15% and LGE%≥15% groups. There were significant survival differences between these 4 groups whether for primary endpoint or secondary endpoint (all P<0.001) and the accumulated incidence of primary endpoint was 1.2% (2/161), 2.2% (2/89), 10.5% (16/152) and 25.0% (10/40), respectively. Conclusion: LGE is an independent risk factor for SCD events as well as all-cause death and heart transplant. LGE is of important value in the risk stratification in patients with HCM.

Effect of perioperative clinical application of enhanced recovery after surgery on elderly recipients undergoing liver transplantation / 器官移植

Objective To evaluate the application value of perioperative interventional strategy guided by enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in elderly recipients undergoing liver transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 405 liver transplant recipients were retrospectively analyzed. According to age, all recipients were divided into the elderly (≥60 years, n=122) and non-elderly groups (< 60 years, n=283). All patients received perioperative interventions under the guidance of ERAS. Intraoperative and postoperative indexes, incidence of postoperative complications and discharge were analyzed between two groups. Results There were no significant differences in the duration of anesthesia, operation time, anhepatic phase, hemorrhage volume, blood transfusion volume, lactic acid level before abdominal closure, ventilator-assisted time, the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, Caprini score, CHIPPS score, time of gastric tube, urinary tube and drainage tube removal, time to first drinking, time to first physical activity and time to first flatus between two groups (all P > 0.05). In the elderly group, the time to first feeding was later than that in the non-elderly group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of fever, ascites, pulmonary infection, delayed gastric emptying, hemorrhage and inactive venous thrombosis between two groups (all P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, serum creatinine before discharge and total length of hospital stay between two groups (all P > 0.05). The alanine aminotransferase level in elderly recipients was lower than that in non-elderly counterparts, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). No unplanned reoperation was performed within postoperative 30 d in two groups. There was no significant difference in the re-hospitalization rate within 30 d after discharge (P > 0.05). Conclusions ERAS-guided interventional strategy contributes to perioperative recovery of elderly recipients undergoing liver transplantation, and yields equivalent postoperative recovery between elderly and non-elderly recipients.

The role of mother-child relationship in the association between maternal parenting stress and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To study the moderating effect of mother-child relationship in the association between maternal parenting stress and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children, and to provide reference for the prevention and control of emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children.@*METHODS@#Using a stratified cluster sampling method, 2 049 preschool children were surveyed from November to December 2021, who sampled from 12 kindergartens in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The emotional and behavioral problems of preschool children were assessed with the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship of maternal parenting stress and mother-child relationship with children's emotional and behavioral problems. The PROCESS Macro was used to analyze the moderating effect of conflicted and dependent mother-child relationships in the association between maternal parenting stress and emotional and behavioral problems in these preschool children.@*RESULTS@#Among these preschool children, maternal parenting stress was positively correlated with the scores of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems subscales and total difficulty scores (P<0.001); intimate mother-child relationships were negatively correlated with the scores of conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems subscales and total difficulty scores (P<0.001); conflicted and dependent mother-child relationships were positively correlated with the scores of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems subscales and total difficulty scores (P<0.001). After controlling for relevant confounding factors, conflicted mother-child relationship (β=0.05, P=0.001) and dependent mother-child relationship (β=0.04, P=0.012) were found to have a moderating effect on the association between maternal parenting stress and total difficulty scores in these preschool children.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Negative mother-child relationships play a moderating role in the association between maternal parenting stress and emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children. Prevention of emotional and behavioral problems in preschool children should focus on reducing maternal parenting stress and improving negative mother-child relationships.

PTHrP promotes subchondral bone formation in TMJ-OA / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

PTH-related peptide (PTHrP) improves the bone marrow micro-environment to activate the bone-remodelling, but the coordinated regulation of PTHrP and transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signalling in TMJ-OA remains incompletely understood. We used disordered occlusion to establish model animals that recapitulate the ordinary clinical aetiology of TMJ-OA. Immunohistochemical and histological analyses revealed condylar fibrocartilage degeneration in model animals following disordered occlusion. TMJ-OA model animals administered intermittent PTHrP (iPTH) exhibited significantly decreased condylar cartilage degeneration. Micro-CT, histomorphometry, and Western Blot analyses disclosed that iPTH promoted subchondral bone formation in the TMJ-OA model animals. In addition, iPTH increased the number of osterix (OSX)-positive cells and osteocalcin (OCN)-positive cells in the subchondral bone marrow cavity. However, the number of osteoclasts was also increased by iPTH, indicating that subchondral bone volume increase was mainly due to the iPTH-mediated increase in the bone-formation ability of condylar subchondral bone. In vitro, PTHrP treatment increased condylar subchondral bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (SMSC) osteoblastic differentiation potential and upregulated the gene and protein expression of key regulators of osteogenesis. Furthermore, we found that PTHrP-PTH1R signalling inhibits TGFβ signalling during osteoblastic differentiation. Collectively, these data suggested that iPTH improves OA lesions by enhancing osteoblastic differentiation in subchondral bone and suppressing aberrant active TGFβ signalling. These findings indicated that PTHrP, which targets the TGFβ signalling pathway, may be an effective biological reagent to prevent and treat TMJ-OA in the clinic.

An investigation of comparison between TFE-EPI and TFE in non-enhanced coronary MR angiography on 3.0 T MRI / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of single breath-hold TFE-EPI in non-contrast coronary MRA on 3.0 T MRI.Methods:Both single breath-hold TFE-EPI and free breathing TFE were conducted in 23 healthy volunteers. Acquisition time between the two sequences were compared by paired- t-test analysis. Signal-noise-ratio (SNR), contrast-noise-ratio (CNR),image artifacts and distortion,vessel acuity were evaluated on the aorta(Ao), right coronary artery proximal(RCA-pro), right coronary artery middle (RCA-mid), left anterior descending proximal(LAD-pro) and left circumflex proximal(LCX-pro). Nonparametric analyses were conducted for the comparison. Results:The acquisition time decreased 96.51% in TFE-EPI compared with TFE [(16.3±2.2)s vs.(466.9±101.3)s, t=21.49, P<0.01]. There was no statistical significance in SNR comparison in all the vessel evaluation (all the P>0.05). TFE-EPI showed better CNR in RCA-mid than TFE ( Z=2.65, P=0.008). TFE-EPI showed less image artifacts and distortion in RCA-mid than TFE ( Z=2.00, P=0.046). TFE-EPI also showed better vessel acuity in both RCA-pro and RCA-mid than TFE ( Z=3.88, P<0.001; Z=3.42, P=0.001). Conclusion:Single breath-hold TFE-EPI could greatly shorten scan time while ensuring image quality in coronal artery imaging and has a broad application in future.

Investigation of Protective Effect of Different Bile and Their Arisaema cum Bile on Acute Lung Injury Rats Induced by LPS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

<b>Objective::To compare the protective effect of different bile (porcine bile, oxgall and sheep bile) and their Arisaema cum Bile on rats with acute lung injury, so as to provide reference for the selection of bile and the classification of decoction pieces of Arisaema cum Bile. <b>Method::Wistar male rats were randomly divided into 8 groups (<italic>n</italic>=12), including blank group, model group, porcine bile group, oxgall group, sheep bile group, Arisaema cum Bile with porcine bile group, Arisaema cum Bile with oxgall group and Arisaema cum Bile with sheep bile group. Rats in each treatment group were given corresponding drug solution by gavage at 2.52 g·kg^-1 every day, and rats in the model group and the blank group were given the same volume of normal saline by gavage every day for a total of 8 days. On the 8^th day, after 1 h of administration, rats in the model group and each treatment group were intraperitoneally injected lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 mg·kg^-1) to prepare rat lung injury model. Blood and lung tissues were collected from every four rats at 3, 6, 24 h after LPS injection, respectively. Lung coefficient, lung water content and wet weight/dry weight ratio of lung tissue (<italic>W</italic>/<italic>D</italic>) were measured, and the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-<italic>α</italic>, interleukin (IL)-6 and thromboxane B₂ (TXB₂) in serum and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in lung tissue were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pathological morphology of rat lung tissue was observed and the score of lung tissue injury was calculated. <b>Result::Compared with the model group at the same time point, the lung coefficient, <italic>W</italic>/<italic>D,</italic> lung water content, contents of TNF-<italic>α</italic>, IL-6 and TXB₂ in serum, contents of MDA and MMP-9 in lung tissue of rats in each treatment group were all decreased, and most of them had significant differences (<italic>P</italic><0.05, <italic>P</italic><0.01), but the activities of GSH-Px and SOD were all increased, and most of them had significant differences (<italic>P</italic><0.05, <italic>P</italic><0.01). The oxgall group and the sheep bile group were superior to the porcine bile group in most of the indexes, the Arisaema cum Bile with oxgall group and the Arisaema cum Bile with sheep bile group were superior to the Arisaema cum Bile with porcine bile group, and some of them had significant differences(<italic>P</italic><0.05, <italic>P</italic><0.01). <b>Conclusion::Each bile group and each Arisaema cum Bile group all have protective effects on rats with acute lung injury induced by LPS, and the therapeutic effect of oxgall and sheep bile is better than that of porcine bile, the therapeutic effect of Arisaema cum Bile prepared by oxgall and sheep bile is better than that of Arisaema cum Bile prepared by porcine bile.

Late gadolinium enhancement distribution pattern of left ventricular wall in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: a preliminary study / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To investigate the distribution pattern of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in left ventricular free wall of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Methods: A total of 130 consecutive DCM patients who were hospitalized in our hospital, underwent both CMR and CTA examinations and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria including negative results of coronary angiography or coronary CTA, were retrospective included in this study. The LGE pattern, extent and distribution in left ventricular free wall were analyzed. Results: Left ventricular free wall LGE was detected in 56 out of 130 DCM patients. LGE was observed in both septal and free wall in 53 out of 56 patients with LGE (94.6%). Prevalence of NYHA classification Ⅲ/Ⅳ, intraventricular block, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, and secondary mitral insufficiency was significantly higher, while left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly lower, left ventricular end-diastolic/systolic volume, left ventricular end-diastolic/systolic volume index and left ventricular end-diastolic diameters values were larger in patients with LGE than without LGE (all P<0.05). In terms LGE pattern among these 56 patients, percent of involved myocardial segments in patients with subepicardial LGE (n=19) was significantly higher than patients with intermural LGE (n=30), patients with transmural LGE (n=21), and patients with subendocardial LGE (n=9)(60.8%(127/209) vs. 32.4%(107/330), 32.5%(75/231), 26.3%(26/99), respectively, all P < 0.01). Transmural LGE was most likely to involve the left ventricular inferior lateral basal (18/21) and mid (13/21) segment, followed by anterior lateral basal (15/21) and mid (11/21) segments and inferior mid segment (9/21). Subepicardial LGE was more likely to occur in the inferior lateral basal (13/19) and mid (16/19) segment, anterior lateral basal (13/19) and mid (15/19) segment, anterior lateral basal (13/19) and mid (15/19) segment, lateral apical (13/19), anterior and inferior mid segment (12/19 and 10/19), and apical segment (15/19 and 10/19). Intermural LGE mostly involved the anterior and inferior basal (19/30, 16/30) and mid (18/30 and 14/30) segment. There were 33 cases of single LGE pattern and 23 cases of multiple LGE pattern. Percent of involved myocardial segments was significantly higher in multiple LGE group than single LGE group (60.9% (154/253) vs. 49.9%(181/363), P = 0.007). Of 130 patients, 23 received heart transplantation, of which 6 patients had septal LGE alone and 17 patients had septal and free wall LGE. The rate of heart transplantation in the latter group was higher (32.1% (17/53)vs. 13.6%(6/44), P=0.034). Conclusions: There are several LGE distribution patterns in left ventricular wall among DCM patients.

A comparative study on safe sexual behavior and its intention among college students in Beijing between 2006 and 2016 / 中华疾病控制杂志

Objective To compare the changes of safe sexual behavior and its intention among college students in Beijing between 2006 and 2016, and to provide evidence for reproductive health education for prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Methods By a stratified random sampling method,a questionnaire survey was conducted among college students in Beijing in 2006 and 2016 respectively. Results The rate of sexual behaviors declined ( 2=81.150,P<0.001), while the percentage of homosexual behavior among respondents in 2016 was higher than that in 2006( 2=12.115,P<0.001). Meanwhile, the age of first sexual intercourse (t=12.009, P<0.001) and the intention of safe sexual behavior declined( 2=10.375,P<0.001). In both surveys, the proportion of risk behaviors among students who ever had sexual behavior was higher than that of students never had sexual behavior. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the intention of safe sexual behavior among college students was associated with gender, age, self-efficacy of condom use, UNGASS index, visiting entertainment places and browsing pornographic information on the Internet(all P<0.05).Conclusions Compared with 2006, the safe sexualbehavior, intention and their risk factors among college students in Beijing changed greatly in 2016. The contents and approaches of intervention related to STDs and reproductive health should be changed according to the current situation in order to improve the intention of safe sexual behavior among college students and to control the occurrence of STDs.

Retrospective Electrocardiography-Gated Real-Time Cardiac Cine MRI at 3T: Comparison with Conventional Segmented Cine MRI

OBJECTIVE: Segmented cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for cardiac ventricular volumetric assessment. In patients with difficulty in breath-holding or arrhythmia, this technique may generate images with inadequate quality for diagnosis. Real-time cardiac cine MRI has been developed to address this limitation. We aimed to assess the performance of retrospective electrocardiography-gated real-time cine MRI at 3T for left ventricular (LV) volume and mass measurement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients were consecutively enrolled. A series of short-axis cine images covering the entire left ventricle using both segmented and real-time balanced steady-state free precession cardiac cine MRI were obtained. End-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), ejection fraction (EF), and LV mass were measured. The agreement and correlation of the parameters were assessed. Additionally, image quality was evaluated using European CMR Registry (Euro-CMR) score and structure visibility rating. RESULTS: In patients without difficulty in breath-holding or arrhythmia, no significant difference was found in Euro-CMR score between the two techniques (0.3 ± 0.7 vs. 0.3 ± 0.5, p > 0.05). Good agreements and correlations were found between the techniques for measuring EDV, ESV, EF, SV, and LV mass. In patients with difficulty in breath-holding or arrhythmia, segmented cine MRI had a significant higher Euro-CMR score (2.3 ± 1.2 vs. 0.4 ± 0.5, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Real-time cine MRI at 3T allowed the assessment of LV volume with high accuracy and showed a significantly better image quality compared to that of segmented cine MRI in patients with difficulty in breath-holding and arrhythmia.

Four-dimensional flow MRI quantification of pulmonary regurgitation in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot: a study on reproducibility and consistency / 中华放射学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the feasibility and consistency of four-dimensional flow (4D flow) quantification of pulmonary regurgitation in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) by comparing with conventional two-dimensional flow (2D flow) and echocardiography.@*Methods@#Both the 4D flow and 2D flow imaging were acquired with repaired ToF (a total of 21 patients) consecutively on 3.0 T MR scanner from May 2018 to August 2018. Pulmonary flow and regurgitant fraction were measured by a commercial post processing software Circle CVI42. All patients underwent echocardiography within one week after or before MR examination. The inter/intra-observer variability by 2D/4D f1ow and agreement between the two methods were investigated by interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses. The agreement between MR and echocardiography were analyzed by weighted Kappa coefficient. The correlation between pulmonary regurgitation and cardiac function was also investigated by Pearson analysis.@*Results@#All patients were included and completed the examinations successfully. Both inter-observer and intra-observer agreement by 4D flow for total forward volume (ICC=0.993, 0.996, respectively, P<0.001), total backward volume (ICC=0.994, 0.997, respectively, P<0.001) and regurgitant fraction (ICC=0.968, 0.985, respectively, P<0.001) were good. The total forward volume, total backward volume and regurgitant fraction measured by 2D flow and 4D flow reached a good agreement (ICC=0.954, 0.913,0.721,respectively,P<0.001). The consistency was good for severity of regurgitation measured by 2D flow (weighted Kappa=0.897, P<0.001) and 4D flow (weighted Kappa=0.710, P=0.001) compared with echocardiography. Significant correlation was found among right ventricular cardiac index(r=0.600, P<0.05), right ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.788, P<0.05), right ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.683, P<0.05) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.578, P<0.05), left ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.687, P<0.05) with regurgitant fraction measured by 2D flow. Regurgitant fraction measured by 4D flow had a significant correlation with right ventricular cardiac index(r=0.606, P<0.05), right ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.685,P<0.05), right ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.534, P<0.05) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.459, P<0.05), left ventricular mass index(r=0.633, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#4D flow MRI provides highly reproducible measurements of pulmonary flow on morphology and haemodynamics in patients with repaired ToF compared with 2D flow MRI and echocardiography.

Relationship between serum CC?16,MCP?1 level and disease severity and prognosis in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome / 中国综合临床

Objective To observe the changes of serum clara cell protein?16 ( CC?16 ) and monocyte chemotaxis protein?1 (MCP?1) level in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and to explore their relationship with the disease severity and prognosis of ARDS??Methods One hundred and fourteen patients with ARDS who were admitted to Changzhi People′s hospital from January 2017 to March 2018 were selected as the subjects??They were divided into mild group ( n＝37),moderate group (n＝41) and severe group ( n＝36) according to the severity of ARDS??Sixty healthy persons in out?patient examination were selected as control group??The survival situation of patients in 4 weeks were recorded,the patients were divided into survival group ( n＝65) and death group ( n＝49) according to their survival situation??The age,gender,body mass index (BMI),smoking history,acute physiology and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II ( APACHE II) score,sequential organ failure assessment ( SOFA) score, serum CC?16 and MCP?1 level were analyzed in each group??The relationship between serum CC?16,MCP?1 level and disease and prognosis of patients with ARDS were analyzed??Results With the increase of disease severity,APACHE II score, SOFA score and serum CC?16, MCP?1 level in patients with ARDS were significantly increased??The differences were statistically significant ( F＝1 216??886,1 339??247,290??879, 417??262; all P＝0??000)??The APACHE II score,SOFA score and serum CC?16,MCP?1 levels in the death group were (22??13± 2??47) scores,( 15??09 ± 1??97) scores,( 23??85 ± 4??27) μg／L, ( 36??64 ± 5??21) ng／L respectively,which were significantly higher than those in the survival group (18??25±2??35) scores,(13??23 ±2??03) scores,(17??34±4??13) μg／L,(27??93±4??88) ng／L,the differences were statistically significant (t＝8??538,4??905,8??211,9??146;all P＝0??000)??Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between serum CC?16 level and MCP?1 level in patients with ARDS ( r＝0??589, P ＝0??000)??Meanwhile,the CC?16,MCP?1 were positive correlation with APACHE II score,SOFA score and mortality (CC?16:r＝0??504,0??549,0??472;P＝0??000,0??000,0??012;MCP?1:r＝0??493,0??528,0??435;P＝0??006, 0??000,0??025)??APACHE II score ( OR＝3??083,95%CI:0??025－1??364,P＜0??05),CC?16 ( OR＝5??403, 95%CI:0??011－6??561, P＜0??05) and MCP?1 ( OR＝2??892, 95%CI: 0??034－1??619, P＜0??05) were all closely related to ARDS death??CC?16 independent detection, MCP?1 independent detection and the two combined detection predicted the under?curve area, sensitivity and specificity of ARDS patients with in 4 weeks were 0??830, 82??35% and 72??16%; 0??719, 79??25% and 72??19%; 0??866, 85??06% and 80??72%respectively??Conclusion CC?16,MCP?1 are abnormally high expression in serum of patients with ARDS, and its levels are closely related to the severity and prognosis of patients with ARDS??CC?16 combined with MCP?1 detection has high diagnostic value for patients with ARDS,which can be used as an effective index to judge the disease and prognosis of patients with ARDS??

Comparison on CMR characteristics and clinical prognosis between hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients with and without left ventricular apical aneurysms / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To compare the imaging characteristics and long-term prognosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM) patients with or without left ventricular apical aneurysm(LVAA).@*Methods@#Retrospectively analyzed the clinical data from 18 patients diagnosed as HCM complicating with LVAA(HCM-LVAA group), hospitalized and underwent cardiac magentic resonance (CMR) examination in Fuwai Hospital between December 2012 and December 2016. Eighteen age and gender matched patients with HCM diagnosed by CMR served as control(HCM group). Outpatient and in-hospital clinical data as well as follow up results were compared. The major adverse cardiovascular events were defined as malignant arrhythmia events (including sudden cardiac death, ventricular flutter/ventricular fibrillation) and heart failure events (including heart transplantation, progressive heart failure).@*Results@#Compared with HCM group, patients in HCM-LVAA group had a more positive family history of HCM(P=0.04), higher incidence of ST-T segment changes and abnormal Q wave in electrocardiograms (both P<0.01), the CMR derived left ventricular end-diastolic transverse diameter and end-diastolic volume index were also significantly higher (both P<0.05), and delayed enhancement was more significant ((25.26±10.60)% vs. (15.78±7.33)%, t=3.12, P=0.004) in HCM-LVAA group. Moreover, the left ventricular ejection fraction ((54.4±10.6)% vs. (67.5±7.6)%, t=-4.28, P<0.000 1) and the thickness of the apical wall ((3.11±1.05) mm vs. (5.46±1.94) mm, t=-4.49, P<0.000 1) were significantly lower in HCM-LVAA group than in HCM group. The mean follow-up duration was (3.46±1.64) years, 4 patients in HCM-LVAA group (22.2%) developed 4 cardiovascular events, including 1 sudden cardiac death, 3 progressive heart failures. One patient in HCM group developed progressive heart failure.@*Conclusion@#The prognosis of the HCM complicating with LVAA patients is worse than that of HCM patients without LVAA, and the amount of late gadolinium enhancement is higher than that of HCM patients without LVAA.

Four?dimensional flow MRI quantification of pulmonary regurgitation in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot: a study on reproducibility and consistency / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the feasibility and consistency of four-dimensional flow (4D flow) quantification of pulmonary regurgitation in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) by comparing with conventional two-dimensional flow (2D flow) and echocardiography. Methods Both the 4D flow and 2D flow imaging were acquired with repaired ToF(a total of 21 patients) consecutively on 3.0 T MR scanner from May 2018 to August 2018. Pulmonary flow and regurgitant fraction were measured by a commercial post processing software Circle CVI42. All patients underwent echocardiography within one week after or before MR examination. The inter/intra-observer variability by 2D/4D f1ow and agreement between the two methods were investigated by interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses. The agreement between MR and echocardiography were analyzed by weighted Kappa coefficient. The correlation between pulmonary regurgitation and cardiac function was also investigated by Pearson analysis. Results All patients were included and completed the examinations successfully. Both inter-observer and intra-observer agreement by 4D flow for total forward volume (ICC=0.993, 0.996, respectively, P<0.001), total backward volume (ICC=0.994, 0.997, respectively, P<0.001)and regurgitant fraction(ICC=0.968, 0.985, respectively, P<0.001) were good. The total forward volume, total backward volume and regurgitant fraction measured by 2D flow and 4D flow reached a good agreement (ICC=0.954, 0.913,0.721,respectively,P<0.001). The consistency was good for severity of regurgitation measured by 2D flow (weighted Kappa=0.897, P<0.001) and 4D flow (weighted Kappa=0.710, P=0.001) compared with echocardiography. Significant correlation was found among right ventricular cardiac index(r=0.600, P<0.05), right ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.788, P<0.05), right ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.683, P<0.05) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.578, P<0.05), left ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.687, P<0.05) with regurgitant fraction measured by 2D flow. Regurgitant fraction measured by 4D flow had a significant correlation with right ventricular cardiac index(r=0.606, P<0.05), right ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.685, P<0.05), right ventricular end-systolic volume index(r=0.534, P<0.05) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume index(r=0.459, P<0.05), left ventricular mass index(r=0.633, P<0.05). Conclusion 4D flow MRI provides highly reproducible measurements of pulmonary flow on morphology and haemodynamics in patients with repaired ToF compared with 2D flow MRI and echocardiography.

Xanthogranulonatous pyelonephritis: report of 5 cases / 北京大学学报(医学版)

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is an unusual form of chronic pyelonephritis in which the renal parenchyma is destroyed and replaced by lipid-laden foamy macrophages. It usually affects middle-aged women with a history of recurrent urinary tract infection, diabetes, or kidney stones. The inflammatory process is usually diffuse and can extend beyond the kidney. The rare focal forms may simulate primary renal tumours. The preoperative imaging diagnosis may be difficult. We reported five cases of XGP, The findings of ours were recorded including kidney size, shape, contour, the echogenecity of the renal parenchyma, the internal echoes of the dilate collecting system, the presence of perinephric fluid accumulation and obstruction. One of the 5 cases was a male patient, and the other four were female, with a mean age of 53 years. He affected kidneys of the 5 cases swelled in different degrees, and one of them was found with line-like anechoic fluid. Among the 5 cases, one kidney appeared as diffusely reducing of the parenchyma echogenicity, multiple hypoechoic areas, disappearance of corticomedullary differentiation and multiple hyperecho with shadow. A round cystic anechoic lesion was found in one kidney, with internal punctate echo and peripheral fluid. Ultrasonographic finding of 1 case was extremely hypoechoic lesion on the left kidney, protruding from the outline of the kidney, with the partial renal capsule discontinuous, the less clear boundary, and a little blood flow in it. Ultrasonographic demonstration of 2 cases was mild dilatation of the collecting system with irregular wall thickening and internal hypoechogenicity, and 1 case was solid lesion with less clear boundary to the pelvic wall and a small amount of blood flow signal, the another 1 case was showed floccule without internal blood flow. Three cases were caused by chronic obstruction verified by operation, of which one was staghorn calculi, one was poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in the middle part of the ureter, and one was inflammatory stricture of upper ureteral. Through analysis of the above five cases and review of related literature, we explored diagnoses and management of the patients with XGP. Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is a rare chronic variant of pyelonephritis characterized by destruction of the renal parenchyma. Combining ultrasonographic features of XGP with clinical recurrent urinary infection and chronic obstruction, XGP can be included in the differentiation. The diagnosis of XGP suspected by ultrasound can be clarified by CT, MRI, contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Research advances in functional regulation of islet α cells / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Dysfuntion ofα cells plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Its own transcription factors, posttranscriptional modification, transporters related to secretion and paracrine signals fromβ and δ cells, inflammatory factors, and carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, all influenceαcell function. We summaried the various factors involved in the regulation ofαcell function as well as recent related advances on their molecular mechanisms.

MRI characteristics and clinical value of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with scar-like late enhancement / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To explore the prevalence,MRI characteristics and clinical evaluation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM) patients with infarct-like late enhancement(LGE).Methods HCM patients were diagnosed via cardiac magnetic resonance(CMR) from October,2009 to December,2013.1 411 HCM patients were diagnosed via CMR,465 patients with LGE,of which 24 patients with infarct-like LGE (primarily in the subendocardium).Clinical and MRI data of patients demonstrating infarct-like LGE were retrospectively analyzed.All the HCM patients with LGE were followed up in the clinic or by telephone interview.Major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE) were defined as malignant ventricular arrhythmia events,including sudden cardiac death,ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation,implantable cardioverter defibrillator(ICD) discharge and heart failure events,including death from heart failure,heart transplantation.The correlation between left ventricle ejection fraction and subendocardial LGE volume fraction was evaluated by Pearson correlation analysis.Comparison of subendocardial LGE volume fraction between obstructed and non-obstructed left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) group was performed using independent sample t test.Prognosis of patients with infarct-like LGE and other LGE patterns was compared using Kaplan-Meier curves.Results The prevalence of infarct-like LGE were 0.05％(24/465) among patients with LGE.Mean left venricle ejection fraction(LVEF) was (56.20±3.60)％ and mean LGE volume fraction was (14.52 ± 12.73)％.According to the American Heart Association (AHA) 17-segment model,infarct-like LGE was most frequent in 14 segment(10 patients),followed by 9,15 (8 patients,respectively) and 3,8,16 (7 patients,respectively) segments,mainly distributed in left ventricular septum and apical portion.EF value was inversely correlated with mean LGE volume fraction(r=-0.85,P＜0.05).Mean follow up time was (4.25t± 1.35) years for all the HCM patients with LGE,and event-free survival rate was lower in HCM patients with infarct-like LGE than patients with other LGE patterns(P＜0.001).Conclusions Infarct-like LGE is a special manifestation in HCM patients,which shows worse prognosis than other LGE patterns.Infarct-like LGE volume fraction is associated with LVEF and LVOT.

Digoxin inhibits migration and invasion of human gastric carcinoma MKN45 cells through down-regulation of AEG-1 / 生理学报

This study was designed to investigate the effect of digoxin on migration and invasion of human gastric carcinoma MKN45 cells and its possible mechanism. MKN45 cells were treated with different concentrations of digoxin for 24 h. The shRNA-AEG-1 plasmid was transfected into MKN45 cells via lipofectamine to block the expression of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1). Western blot was used to analyze the protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), E-cadherin and AEG-1. The result showed that digoxin reduced the abilities of migration and invasion (P < 0.05), up-regulated the protein level of E-cadherin (P < 0.05), and down-regulated the protein levels of MMP-9 and AEG-1 (P < 0.05) in MKN45 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with shControl group, shAGE-1 group showed inhibited cellular migration and invasion, higher expression level of E-cadherin, and lower expression levels of MMP-9 and AEG-1. These results suggest that digoxin suppresses the migration and invasion of human gastric carcinoma MKN45 cells in a dose-dependent manner through inhibiting the expression of AEG-1, and then resulting in the up-regulation of the protein expression of E-cadherin and the down-regulation of the protein expression of MMP-9.

MRI characteristics and outcomes of end-stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To clarify the MRI characteristics and outcomes of patients with end stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (ES-HCM).Methods Clinical and MRI data of 57 ES-HCM patients were retrospectively analyzed.ES-HCM pa tients were divided into dilated phenotype group (D-ES group,n=39) and restrictive phenotype group (R-ES group,n=18).MRI characteristics and outcomes of patients were compared between both groups.Results The incidence of atrial fi brillation and edema of lower extremity was significantly higher in R-ES than those in D-ES (72.22％ [13/18] vs 30.77％ [12/39];50.00％ [9/18] vs 23.08％ [9/39];both P＜0.05).The left ventricular ejection function,left and right atrial anteroposte rior diameter of D-ES group were significant smaller than those of RRES group (all P＜0.05),while the left ventricular (LV) short axis diameter,LV end diastolic/systolic volume and LV end diastolic/systolic volume index of D-ES were significantly greater than those of R-ES group (all P＜0.05).Log-rank test found no significant difference between both groups in cardiovascular death/ heart transplant events (x2 =1.135,P=0.287).Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) volume fraction was significantly larger in D-ES ([36.1±14.8]％) than in R-ES ([21.0±9.0]％;P＜0.05).There was a significant correlation between LGE volume fraction and cardiovascular death/heart transplant events (HR:1.054,P＜0.05).Conclusion ES-HCM patients have expanded clinical expression and MRI characteristics,including dilated phenotype and restrictive phenotype.MRI has an important application value in the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of ES-HCM.

MRI late gadolinium enhancement of left ventricular apical aneurysms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy / 中华放射学杂志

Objectives To discuss the characteristics of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and left ventricular apical aneurysm (LVAA) and its related prognostic value. Methods Thirty HCM patients with LVAA were collected from August 2004 to August 2013. All cases with coronary artery diseases were ruled out, and all patients underwent LGE derived by cardiac MR (CMR). Five cases of LVAA were pathological confirmed. Atrial and ventricular diameters, apical aneurysm diameters and left ventricular ejection fraction were measured, and apical aneurysm LGE was evaluated. All patients were then followed up. Comparisons in continuous parameters between patients with or without LGE were performed by independent t test. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard rate for adverse cardiovascular events. Results LGE was identified in 21 LVAAs and non-LGE in 9 LVAAs. Between two groups, there was no significant difference in the size of LVAA [(16.4 ± 11.5) mm vs. (20.3 ± 9.8) mm, P=0.63]. In particular, the complete transition from non-LGE to LGE LVAA was recorded during follow-up in one patient. Pathological findings confirmed that LGE indicated fibrous tissue in LVAA, and LVAA without LGE indicated viable myocardium. The follow-up suggested that the patterns and the size of LVAA were associated with the adverse events in these patients (LGE of LVAA, HR=7.94, P=0.064; the size of LVAA, HR=1.08, P=0.009). Conclusions LGE-MR had important clinical significance in HCM patients with LVAA. LGE in LVAA corresponded with the fibrous tissue and was associated with the prognosis.

Establishment of chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay for detecting antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O in swine / 生物工程学报

Recombinant structural protein VP1 of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O was expressed in Escherichia coli and then purified using Nickel affinity chromatography. A chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) method was established using the purified recombinant protein as coating antigen to detect antibody of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O in swine. The specificity of VP1-CLEIA method is 100%. The coefficients of variation in the plate and between plates are 1.10%-6.70% and 0.66%-4.80%, respectively. Comparing with the commercial indirect ELISA kit or liquid phase block ELISA kit, the calculated coincidence rate is 93.50% or 94.00%. The high specificity and stability suggested this detection method can be used to monitor the antibody level of foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype O in swine.