Identification of diagnostic model in heart failure with myocardial fibrosis and conduction block by integrated gene co-expression network analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the advancements in heart failure(HF) research, the early diagnosis of HF continues to be a challenging issue in clinical practice. This study aims to investigate the genes related to myocardial fibrosis and conduction block, with the goal of developing a diagnostic model for early treatment of HF in patients. METHOD: The gene expression profiles of GSE57345, GSE16499, and GSE9128 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After merging the expression profile data and adjusting for batch effects, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with conduction block and myocardial fibrosis were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) resources, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) resources, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were utilized for functional enrichment analysis. A protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed using a string database. Potential key genes were selected based on the bioinformatics information mentioned above. SVM and LASSO were employed to identify hub genes and construct the module associated with HF. The mRNA levels of TAC mice and external datasets (GSE141910 and GSE59867) are utilized for validating the diagnostic model. Additionally, the study explores the relationship between the diagnostic model and immune cell infiltration. RESULTS: A total of 395 genes exhibiting differential expression were identified. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that these specific genes primarily participate in biological processes and pathways associated with the constituents of the extracellular matrix (ECM), immune system processes, and inflammatory responses. We identified a diagnostic model consisting of 16 hub genes, and its predictive performance was validated using external data sets and a transverse aortic coarctation (TAC) mouse model. In addition, we observed significant differences in mRNA expression of 7 genes in the TAC mouse model. Interestingly, our study also unveiled a correlation between these model genes and immune cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: We identified sixteen key genes associated with myocardial fibrosis and conduction block, as well as diagnostic models for heart failure. Our findings have significant implications for the intensive management of individuals with potential genetic variants associated with heart failure, especially in the context of advancing cell-targeted therapy for myocardial fibrosis.

Comparison of the conventional tube and erythrocyte-magnetized technology in titration of red blood cell alloantibodies.

BACKGROUND: Erythrocyte alloantibodies are mainly produced after immune stimulation, such as blood transfusion, pregnancy, and transplantation, and are the leading causes of severe hemolytic transfusion reactions and difficulty in blood grouping and matching. Therefore, antibody screening is critical to prevent and improve red cell alloantibodies. Routine tube assay is the primary detection method of antibody screening. Recently, erythrocyte-magnetized technology (EMT) has been increasingly used in clinical practice. This study intends to probe the application and efficacy of the conventional tube and EMT in red blood cell alloantibody titration to provide a reference for clinical blood transfusion. AIM: To investigate the application value of conventional tube and EMT in red blood cell alloantibody titration and enhance the safety of blood transfusion practice. METHODS: A total of 1298 blood samples were harvested from blood donors at the Department of Blood Transfusion of our hospital from March 2021 to December 2022. A 5 mL blood sample was collected in tubing, which was then cut, and the whole blood was put into a test tube for centrifugation to separate the serum. Different red blood cell blood group antibody titers were simultaneously detected using the tube polybrene test, tube antiglobulin test (AGT), and EMT screening irregular antibody methods to determine the best test method. RESULTS: Simultaneous detection was performed through the tube polybrene test, tube AGT and EMT screening irregular antibodies. It was discovered that the EMT screening irregular antibody method could detect all immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) irregular antibodies, and the results of manual tube AGT were satisfactory, but the operation time was lengthy, and the equipment had a large footprint. The EMT screening irregular antibody assay was also conducted to determine its activity against type O Rh (D) red blood cells, and the outcomes were satisfactory. Furthermore, compared to the conventional tube method, the EMT screening irregular antibody method was more cost-effective and had significantly higher detection efficiency. CONCLUSION: With a higher detection rate, the EMT screening irregular antibody method can detect both IgG and IgM irregular antibodies faster and more effectively than the conventional tube method.

Development and evaluation of an artificial intelligence system for children intussusception diagnosis using ultrasound images.

Accurate identification of intussusception in children is critical for timely non-surgical management. We propose an end-to-end artificial intelligence algorithm, the Children Intussusception Diagnosis Network (CIDNet) system, that utilizes ultrasound images to rapidly diagnose intussusception. 9999 ultrasound images of 4154 pediatric patients were divided into training, validation, test, and independent reader study datasets. The independent reader study cohort was used to compare the diagnostic performance of the CIDNet system to six radiologists. Performance was evaluated using, among others, balance accuracy (BACC) and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The CIDNet system performed the best in diagnosing intussusception with a BACC of 0.8464 and AUC of 0.9716 in the test dataset compared to other deep learning algorithms. The CIDNet system compared favorably with expert radiologists by outstanding identification performance and robustness (BACC:0.9297; AUC:0.9769). CIDNet is a stable and precise technological tool for identifying intussusception in ultrasound scans of children.

Plasma transfusion in critically Ill patients with abnormal coagulation tests before invasive procedures: A propensity-adjusted cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between plasma transfusion and bleeding complications in critically ill patients with an elevated international normalized ratios undergoing invasive procedures. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate a consecutive sample of critically ill adult patients undergoing invasive procedures (N = 487) with an international normalized ratio ≥ 1.5 between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. Among the followed patients, 125 were excluded due to incomplete case records and 362 were finally included in this investigation. The exposure was whether plasma had been transfused within 24 h before the invasive procedure. The primary outcome was the occurrence of postprocedural bleeding complications. Secondary outcomes included transfusion of red blood cells within 24 h of the invasive procedure, and additional patient-important outcomes such as mortality and length of stay. Tests were performed with univariate and propensity-matched analyses. RESULTS: Of the 362 study participants, 99 (27.3 %) received a preprocedural plasma transfusion. In the propensity score-matched analysis, the rate of the occurrence of postprocedural bleeding complications between two groups was not statistically different (OR, 0.605[95 % CI, 0.341-1.071]; P = .085). The rate of postoperative red blood cell transfusion in the plasma transfusion group was higher than that in the non-plasma transfusion group (35.5 % vs 21.5 %; P < .05). No statistically significant difference in mortality was observed between the two groups (29.0 % vs 31.6 %; P = .101). CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic plasma transfusion failed to reduce postprocedural bleeding complications in ill critically patients with a coagulopathy. Meanwhile, it was associated with increased red blood cell transfusion after invasive procedures. Findings suggest that abnormal preprocedural international normalized ratios should be managed more conservatively.

[Analysis of Irregular Blood Group Antibody Distribution and Blood Transfusion Efficacy in Patients with Malignant Tumor].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of irregular blood group antibodies in patients with malignant tumors, and to analyze the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients. METHODS: 5 600 patients with malignant tumors treated in Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were selected as the research subjects. All patients received blood transfusion, and cross matching test was conducted before blood transfusion, irregular antibody results of patients were tested; the irregular distribution of blood group antibodies was observed, and the relationship between it and efficacy of blood transfusion in patients was analyzed. RESULTS: Among 5 600 patients with malignant tumors, 96 cases were positive for irregular antibody, and the positive rate was 1.71%; the main blood group systems involved in the irregular antibody positive of 96 patients with malignant tumors were RH, MNSs and Duffy system, among which Rh blood group was the most common, and the proportion of anti-E was the highest; among the malignant tumor patients with positive blood group irregular antibody, the proportion of female was higher than that of male; the proportion of patients aged >60 years was the highest, followed by patients aged >40 and ≤50 years, and the proportion of patients aged 18-30 years was the lowest; the patients with positive blood group irregular antibody were mainly in blood system (including lymphoma), digestive system, reproductive and urinary system; the positive rate of irregular antibody of patients in the ineffective group was higher than that of patients in the effective group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis results showed that, irregular antibody positive was a risk factor for ineffective blood transfusion in patients with malignant tumor (OR>1, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The irregular blood group antibody positive of patients with malignant tumor are mostly female, and the proportion of patients aged >60 is the highest, which is mainly distributed in malignant tumors of blood system, digestive system and urogenital system, and the positive blood group irregular antibody is related to the efficacy of blood transfusion in patients.

Diagnostic Value of Serum Golgi Protein 73 for Liver Fibrosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of liver fibrosis has been a critical component in the clinical management of liver diseases. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate serum Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis. METHODS: A literature search was performed in eight databases until July 13, 2022. We strictly searched studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and then assessed quality. We pooled the sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic estimates of serum GP73 to assess liver fibrosis. Moreover, publication bias, threshold analysis, sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, subgroup analysis, and post-test probability were evaluated. RESULTS: Our research integrated 16 articles including 3,676 patients. Potential publication bias and threshold effect were not found. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of the summary receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.63, 0.79, and 0.818 for significant fibrosis; 0.77, 0.76, and 0.852 for advanced fibrosis; and 0.80, 0.76, and 0.894 for cirrhosis, respectively. The aetiology was one of the important sources of heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: Serum GP73 was a feasible diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis, which is of great significance for the clinical management of liver diseases.

[Expression of Nod-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with Kawasaki disease in the acute stage].

OBJECTIVE: To study the association of Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome with inflammatory response in the acute stage and coronary artery lesion (CAL) in children with Kawasaki disease (KD). METHODS: A total of 42 children with KD who were hospitalized from January to October 2017 were enrolled as the KD group, among whom 9 had CAL (CAL group) and 33 had no CAL (NCAL group). Fifteen age- and gender-matched children with pneumonia and pyrexia were enrolled as the pneumonia-pyrexia group. Fifteen healthy children were enrolled as the healthy control group. Real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of NLRP3 inflammasome (NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The Spearman rank correlation test was used to investigate the correlation of NLRP3 mRNA expression with serum levels of C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, interleukin-6, interleukin-1ß, procalcitonin, albumin and prealbumin. RESULTS: The KD group had significantly higher mRNA expression of NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 in the acute stage than the pneumonia-pyrexia and healthy control groups (P<0.05). The CAL group had significantly higher mRNA expression of NLRP3 than the NCAL group (P<0.05). NLRP3 mRNA expression was correlated with C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-1ß, and prealbumin levels in children with KD in the acute stage (rs=0.449, 0.376, 0.427, and -0.416 respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: NLRP3 inflammasome may participate in inflammatory response in the acute stage and the development of CAL in children with KD.

[Role of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 in left ventricular remodeling in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes and significance of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) in left ventricular remodeling in FVB/N mice. METHODS: A total of 54 FVB/N mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: 0 d group with 8 mice, 7 d group with 10 mice, 14 d group with 16 mice, and 21 d group with 20 mice. A model of cardiac remodeling was established by intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol (ISO) at a daily dose of 30 mg/kg, and the 7 d, 14 d, and 21 d groups were injected for 7, 14, and 21 consecutive days respectively. The 0 d group was given intraperitoneal injection of an equal volume of normal saline. Echocardiography was used to measure left ventricular posterior wall thickness at end diastole (dLVPW) and the ratio of heart weight to tibia length (HW/TL) was measured. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to measure left ventricular myocardial fiber diameter. Picric-Sirius red staining was used to measure myocardial collagen deposition area in the left ventricle. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of ASK1, type I collagen (collagen I), and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). The mortality rate was observed for each group. RESULTS: There were gradual increases in HW/TL, myocardial fiber diameter, and dLVPW after 0, 7, and 14 days of ISO injection (P<0.05). There were no significant changes in HW/TL ratio and dLVPW from days 14 to 21 of ISO injection (P>0.05), while there was a significant reduction in myocardial fiber diameter (P<0.05), which was similar to the value on day 7 (P>0.05). There were significant increases in myocardial collagen deposition area and the mRNA expression of collagen I, ASK1, and BNP after 0, 7, 14, and 21 days of ISO injection, which reached the peaks on day 21 (P<0.01). The mRNA expression of ASK1 was positively correlated with myocardial collagen deposition area and the mRNA expression of collagen I and BNP and had a weak correlation with HW/TL, myocardial fiber diameter, and dLVPW. There was a significant increase in the mortality rate of the mice over the time of ISO injection. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of ASK1 in the myocardium is closely associated with left ventricular remodeling. The increase of ASK1 expression may lead to the aggravation of left ventricular remodeling, and the mechanism of which needs further study.

[Establishment of cardiac remodeling model in FVB/N mice by intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol (ISO) to induce cardiac remodeling in FVB/N mice. METHODS: Forty-eight FVB/N mice were divided into back subcutaneous saline group (subcutaneous saline group), intraperitoneal saline group, back subcutaneous ISO group (subcutaneous ISO group), and intraperitoneal ISO group according to the route of administration of saline or ISO. ISO (30 µg/g body weight/day) was given to the subcutaneous ISO group and the intraperitoneal ISO group, twice daily with an interval of 12 hours, for 14 consecutive days. The subcutaneous saline group and the intraperitoneal saline group were injected with an equal volume of saline. The left ventricular end-diastolic posterior wall thickness was measured by echocardiography, and the ratio of heart weight to tibia length was determined. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to determine the myocardial fiber diameter. Picric-sirius red staining was used to determine the myocardial collagen deposition area. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of collagen I. RESULTS: Compared with the subcutaneous ISO, subcutaneous saline, and intraperitoneal saline groups, the intraperitoneal ISO group had increased sizes of the cardiac cavity and the heart. Compared with the subcutaneous saline and intraperitoneal saline groups, the subcutaneous ISO group showed no significant changes in the gross morphology of the cardiac cavity and the heart. The intraperitoneal ISO group showed significant increases in the ratio of heart weight to tibia length, myocardial fiber diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic posterior wall thickness, myocardial collagen area percentage, and the mRNA expression of collagen I compared with the subcutaneous ISO, subcutaneous saline, and intraperitoneal saline groups (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the above five indices between the subcutaneous ISO group and the subcutaneous saline and intraperitoneal saline groups (P>0.05). No significant difference in the mortality rate was found between the subcutaneous ISO and intraperitoneal ISO groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intraperitoneal injection of ISO can induce cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in FVB/N mice.

miR-16-1 expression, heat shock protein 70 and inflammatory reactions in astrocytes of mice with epilepsy induced by encephalitis B virus infection.

The upregulation of miR-16-1 expression and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and inflammatory reaction mechanism in astrocytes of mice with epilepsy induced by encephalitis B virus infection were studied. Six-to-eight-week-old healthy male C57BL/6 mice received intraperitoneal injection of pilocarpine (320-340 mg/kg, 40 mg/ml) to induce status epilepsy. After 7 days, mice were inoculated with 100 µl Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) in the neck, including 6.25×23 PFU Japanese encephalitis virus P3 wild strain. The experiment was divided into 4 groups, including, the healthy control group, the epilepsy model group, the model group + negative inoculation group and the virus infection group with 10 mice in each group. The healthy control group received intraperitoneal injection of the same amount of normal saline; the model group + negative inoculation group was injected with the same amount of DMEM without P3. One and three days after infection, 5 mice from each group were sacrificed, hippocampus tissues were obtained and astrocytes were isolated. After purification, glial fibrillary acidic protein was identified by immunohistochemical staining. Infected glial cells were detected by P3 antigen of immunofluorescence staining. RT-PCR method was used to detect the expression of miR-16-1 mRNA in astrocytes. Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of HSP70. ELISA method was used to detect the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inflammatory factors in tail vein blood. Level of expression of miR-16-1 mRNA, HSP70 as well as IL-6, TNF-α and NF-κB inflammatory factor levels of virus infected mice of 1 and 3 days were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of model group and negative inoculation group and lowest in control group. In conclusion, the level of expression of miR-16-1 and HSP70 can be increased by the infection of Japanese encephalitis virus on the astrocytes of mice with epilepsy, to promote the expression of IL-6, TNF-α and NF-κB of inflammatory factors.

[An ultrasonographic study of the correlation between developmental dysplasia of the hip and congenital muscular torticollis in children].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the significance of early screening of pediatric developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) using ultrasonography and establish a simultaneous screening model for pediatric DDH and CMT. METHODS: From January, 2013 to January, 2016, a total of 5060 pediatric patients with suspected DDH and CMT underwent ultrasonic examinations. The diagnostic results of the two diseases were classified into different clinical types, and Chi-square test was used to analyze the one-way relationship between different types of DDH and CMT; correspondence analysis was used for multivariate analysis of the variables. Chi-square test was used to analyze the difference between the detection rates in suspected CMT patients and the normal population. RESULTS: GrafIIa type DDH was associated with mass-type CMT in the children (χ2=331.800, P<0.001). DDH of GrafIIb, GrafIIc, Graf III, and Graf IV types were related with non-tumor type of CMT. The children with a suspected diagnosis of CMT showed a significantly higher detection rate of DDH than the normal subjects (χ2=321.889, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: DDH is closely related with CMT. Early simultaneous screening of DDH and CMT can help to improve the early diagnosis rate of CMT in children.

Hemodynamics as Measured With Color Doppler Sonography in Early-Stage Obesity-Related Nephropathy in Children.

OBJECTIVES: We retrospectively studied hemodynamic changes in the interlobar artery to assess the clinical value of color Doppler sonography for detecting preclinical obesity-related nephropathy. METHODS: Color Doppler renal sonography was performed in 52 children with obesity-related nephropathy and 51 control children with simple obesity. The interlobar artery resistive index (RI) was measured and compared with clinical data and laboratory indicators. RESULTS: The left RI (mean ± SD, 0.65 ± 0.05 versus 0.60 ± 0.08; t = 3.85), right RI (0.64 ± 0.03 versus 0.59 ± 0.02; t = 10.00), and mean RI (0.64 ± 0.05 versus 0.59 ± 0.06; t = 5.00) revealed large statistically significant increases in the obesity-related nephropathy group (all P < .01). In the obesity-related nephropathy group, a positive correlation was found between the mean RI and 24-hour urine trace albumin (r = 0.47; P < .01), triglycerides (r = 0.98; P < .01), and body mass index (r = 0.28; P < .05). The 24-hour urine trace albumin and triglycerides were higher in the obesity-related nephropathy group than the control group (P < .05). In the control group, a mild positive correlation was also found between the mean RI and body mass index (r = 0.24; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Color Doppler sonography successfully indicated renal hemodynamic changes and has diagnostic value for early-stage obesity-related nephropathy.

Downregulation of NPM reverses multidrug resistance in human hepatoma cells via inhibition of P-glycoprotein expression.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is an important issue in current cancer treatments. In human cancer, drug resistance is primarily associated with the overexpression of multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1). Therefore, the human MDR1 gene promoter may be a target for anti­MDR drug screening. Numerous methods to prevent MDR have been investigated. However, they have been proven to be clinically ineffective. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether downregulation of nucleophosmin (NPM) demonstrates any effects on the reversal of MDR in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. In the present study, two in vitro MDR HCC cell lines, HepG2/Adriamycin (ADM) and SMMC7721/ADM, were established and the level of MDR was measured. The results demonstrated that NPM downregulation markedly reversed the effects of MDR in the model used. In addition, NPM downregulation reduced P-glycoprotein expression, as well as MDR1 expression. These results suggested that downregulation of NPM may be a novel and effective method of reversing the effects of MDR, and may be a potential adjuvant for tumor chemotherapy.

MicroRNA-1 upregulation promotes myocardiocyte proliferation and suppresses apoptosis during heart development.

Previous studies have investigated the role of microRNAs (miRs) in heart development to reveal the miRNA mechanism of action in congenital heart disease (CHD) in children. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR­1 in heart development in P19 cells. The mRNA level for miR­1 in P19 cells was detected before or after cardiomyocyte differentiation, using reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Expression of cardiomyocyte differentiation markers was also analyzed. The effect of miR­1 overexpression on the viability and apoptosis of differentiated P19 cells was assessed using MTT and Annexin V­FITC assays, respectively. Furthermore, the effects of miR-1 on expression of markers of cell proliferation and apoptosis were also analyzed in differentiated P19 cells using western blotting. The results demonstrated that P19 cells were successfully differentiated into cardiomyocytes, and that endogenous miR­1 expression was significantly decreased in differentiated P19 cells compared with undifferentiated P19 cells. Overexpression of miR­1 resulted in increased viability in differentiated P19 cells and decreased apoptosis, compared with the normal control. In addition, expression of heart and neural crest derivatives expressed transcript 2 (Hand2) was increased in differentiated cells with miR­1 overexpressed compared with normal cells, while caspase­3 cleavage was decreased by miR­1 overexpression. In conclusion, the present study suggested that miR-1 upregulation may be important in regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis in P19 differentiated cardiomyocytes by increasing Hand2 expression and suppressing caspase­3 cleavage. The present study aimed to provide a theoretical basis for the explanation of the mechanism of CHD and investigate miR­1 as a potential therapeutic target for its clinical treatment.

Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in a VX2 rabbit liver tumour model using different gadolinium-based contrast agents: comparison of DCE-MRI quantitative results between Magnevist and Eovist.

Quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) can offer information related to tumour perfusion and permeability (Ktrans), rate constant (Kep), extravascular extracellular volume fraction (Ve) and distribution volume (Vd). Different types of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) may traverse the vascular wall with different velocities owing to their physicochemical characteristics. The purpose of this article was to compare the DCE-MRI quantitative results (Ktrans, Kep, Ve and Vd) between Magnevist and Eovist in a VX2 rabbit liver tumour model. Sixteen rabbits (body weight, 3 Kg; random gender) containing implanted hepatic VX2 carcinomas were randomly divided into two groups based on the regimen of MRI contrast agent administered, eight rabbits in each group. All rabbits underwent a liver DCE-MRscan before tumour transplantation. Fourteen days after tumour transplantation, the eight rabbits in Group A (Magnevist group) underwent a liver DCE-MR scan in a 3.0 T Magnetom Verio MR scanner (Siemens Healthcare, AD, Germany) after the administration of Magnevist at the flow rate of 1 ml s-1. The Group B rabbits underwent the same scan except for the administration of Eovist at the same flow rate. Twenty-four hours after the initial DCE-MRI, repeat DCE-MRI was performed with the cross-over GBCA at the same flow rate in each group. Every rabbit received 0.6 ml GBCA (0.2 ml Kg-1) during each DCE-MRI. Ktrans, Kep, Ve and Vd were measured in the tumour lesion and compared with normal liver tissue in the same slice. A pathologic examination was also performed. Hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed in all 16 rabbits by pathologic examination. There were no significant differences in Ktrans, Ve, Kep and Vd between the two groups of rabbits (p > 0.05). The Ktrans, Ve, Kep and Vd of the VX2 rabbit liver tumour model were significantly higher than the normal liver parenchyma (0.742 ± 0.086 vs 0.027 ± 0.002, 7.345 ± 0.043 vs 6.721 ± 0.035, 0.101 ± 0.005 vs 0.101 ± 0.005, 0.419 ± 0.083 vs 0.037 ± 0.005, respectively; p < 0.01). The Ktrans, Ve and Vd of Eovist group were significantly higher compared with the values in the Magnevist group (0.116 ± 0.016 vs 0.010 ± 0.002, respectively, p < 0.01; 0.101 ± 0.005 vs 0.004 ± 0.0009, respectively, p < 0.01; 0.419 ± 0.083 vs 0.037 ± 0.005, respectively, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in Kep between the Eovist and Magnevist groups (7.345 ± 0.043 vs 6.721 ± 0.035, respectively; p > 0.05). In the VX2 rabbit liver tumour model, DCE-MRI performed with different types of GBCA can develop different quantitative results with respect to Ktrans, Ve and Vd. The liver-specific GBCA, Eovist, is more sensitive than the general GBCA, Magnevist, in detecting tumour perfusion and permeability.

Intraventricular injection of human dental pulp stem cells improves hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neonatal rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of intraventricular injection of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) on hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in neonatal rats. METHODS: Thirty-six neonatal rats (postnatal day 7) were assigned to control, HIBD, or HIBD+DPSC groups (n = 12 each group). For induction of HIBD, rats underwent left carotid artery ligation and were exposed to 8% to 10% oxygen for 2 h. Hoechst 33324-labeled human DPSCs were injected into the left lateral ventricle 3 days after HIBD. Behavioral assays were performed to assess hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and on postnatal day 45, DPSC survival was assessed and expression of neural and glial markers was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: The HIBD group showed significant deficiencies compared to control on T-maze, radial water maze, and postural reflex tests, and the HIBD+DPSC group showed significant improvement on all behavioral tests. On postnatal day 45, Hoechst 33324-labeled DPSC nuclei were visible in the injected region and left cortex. Subsets of DPSCs showed immunostaining for neuronal (neuron-specific enolase [NSE], Nestin) and glial markers (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], O4). Significantly decreased staining/expression for NSE, GFAP, and O4 was found in the HBID group compared to control, and this was significantly increased in the HBID+DPSC group. CONCLUSION: Intraventricular injection of human DPSCs improves HIBD in neonatal rats.

[Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery: report on 10 cases].

OBJECTIVE: The anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital coronary artery abnormality. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. METHODS: The medical data, including common clinical presentations, the findings of the digital subtraction angiogram (DSA), echocardiograms and the electrocardiograph (ECG), surgical records and the outcome, of 10 children with ALCAPA between June 2001 and February 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Diaphoresis, fantod, breathlessness and difficult feeding were commonly presented in the patients with ALCAPA. ECG, echocardiography and DSA examinations showed characteristic changes in these patients. The Takeuchi procedure was performed in 4 patients, direct aortic reimplantation in 4 cases and aortic reconstruction in 2 cases. After operation the symptoms of 8 patients were improved but 2 died. CONCLUSIONS: ALCAPA patients have characteristic clinical manifestations and lab findings. This is helpful in making an early diagnosis of ALCAPA. Early surgical treatment can improve the patients' outcome.

[Gene frequency of 5 genetic characters in 6 nationalities in southern Guizhou].

The gene frequency of 5 characters was reported in Buyi, Miao, Shui, Maonan, Dong, and Han nationalities in southern Guizhou, and analyzed for statistical significance among these nationalities. The results showed that: (1) For Hair forms and Nasal profile, the frequency of the dominant gene was lower than that of theirs recessive gene, but the opposite was true for Nostril forms. (2) Among different nationalities, the difference of gene frequency of Mongoloid fold, Nasal profile, Hair forms and Eye fold of the upper eyelid was quite significant, which was followed by that of Nostril forms.