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Over the last two generations, there has been a surge of interest in nonmutilating treatment for women with early breast cancer. Neoadjuvant radiation therapy, which is progressively being provided to breast cancer patients, could be used to decrease tumor burden while also providing an ability to examine treatment response. This paper aims to explore the effects of the initiation time of radiotherapy after modified adjuvant radical mastectomy on the prognosis of breast cancer. The EMR data can be used to mine hidden rules, which are of great significance for treatment and prognosis analysis. In collaboration with breast cancer, the appropriate prediction model and visualization method are selected and a visual analysis system for breast cancer group and treatment plan based on electronic medical record is constructed. Patients with multiple dimensions are reduced and clustered to form patient groups. The differences of characteristics among patient groups are intuitively displayed by using Nightingale diagram, word cloud, and time axis visualization methods. The support vector machine (SVM) model is used to predict the treatment scheme. The radiotherapy time after modified radical surgery in the two groups was within 15 weeks (observation group) and 15 weeks (routine group), respectively. The incidence of complications, local recurrence rate, progression-free survival, and quality of life scores of patients in the routine group and observation group were compared. The total incidence of complications differed significantly between the observation and routine groups. The physical function, material function, psychological function, and social function of the observation group were significantly higher than the routine group P < 0.05 . Radiotherapy within 15 weeks after modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer can not only reduce the local recurrence rate but also prolong the progression-free survival of patients, and the incidence of complications will not increase, which will greatly help improve the quality of life of patients.

Background: Vitamin D supplementation has been proven to be effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). Objective: We conducted the present study to explore the role and efficacy of vitamin D adjuvant therapy for the treatment of inflammation in patients with AR. Methods: Out of 127 patients with potential eligible AR, 60 were randomly assigned into two groups and were finally included in our analysis (n=30 for each intervention). The patients with potential eligible AR were randomly allocated to intervention with desloratadine citrate disodium (DCD, 8.8 mg/day) without and with vitamin D3 nasal drops (1.5х106 IU, once/week) for four weeks. Thirty healthy control subjects were included in our study. We assessed the changes in the serum 25(OH)D, peripheral blood eosinophils, interleukin (IL)-4 levels, and nasal symptoms. Serum 25(OH)D, peripheral blood eosinophils, and IL-4 levels were detected respectively with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a blood detector, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Our patients who received vitamin D3 adjuvant therapy had a higher serum 25(OH)D level (47.57 ± 2.83 vs. 31.51 ± 2.95 ng/ml, p=0.000) and lower AR symptoms score (2.07 ± 1.89 vs. 3.37 ± 1.50, p=0.005), serum IL-4 (10.38 ± 3.41 vs. 12.79 ± 5.40 pg/ml, p=0.043), and peripheral blood eosinophils (0.34 ± 0.09 vs. 0.41 ± 0.10 109/l, p=0.003) compared with DCD single treatment. The efficacy rates of DCD with and without vitamin D3 in AR were 97% and 84%, respectively. Conclusion: Nasal vitamin D3 combined with DCD could improve the clinical symptoms of AR. Vitamin D3 adjunct therapy showed significant effects on inhibiting inflammation in patients with AR. We concluded that vitamin D3 supplementation could be an effective adjuvant therapy in AR patients.

At present, emotion recognition based on electroencephalograms (EEGs) has attracted much more attention. Current studies of affective brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) focus on the recognition of happiness and sadness using brain activation patterns. Fear recognition involving brain activities in different spatial distributions and different brain functional networks has been scarcely investigated. In this study, we propose a multifeature fusion method combining energy activation, spatial distribution, and brain functional connection network (BFCN) features for fear emotion recognition. The affective brain pattern was identified by not only the power activation features of differential entropy (DE) but also the spatial distribution features of the common spatial pattern (CSP) and the EEG phase synchronization features of phase lock value (PLV). A total of 15 healthy subjects took part in the experiment, and the average accuracy rate was 85.00% ± 8.13%. The experimental results showed that the fear emotions of subjects were fully stimulated and effectively identified. The proposed fusion method on fear recognition was thus validated and is of great significance to the development of effective emotional BCI systems.

Long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) is correlated with cell injuries, including pneumonia. However, its role and mechanism remain vague in pneumonia. The interplay among genes was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down assay. SNHG16 and sushi domain containing 2 (SUSD2) were upregulated, and miRNA (miR)-141-3p was downregulated in the serum of acute pneumonia patients and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged human lung fibroblasts WI-38. LPS induced apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammatory response in WI-38 cells, which was significantly attenuated by SNHG16 knockdown and/or miR-141-3p overexpression. Notably, both SNHG16 and SUSD2 were identified as target genes of miR-141-3p. Besides, the suppressive role of SNHG16 knockdown in LPS-induced in WI-38 cells was partially abolished by miR-141-3p silencing, and the similar inhibition of miR-141-3p overexpression was further blocked by SUSD2 restoration. In conclusion, knockdown of SNHG16 could alleviate LPS-induced apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammation in WI-38 cells partially though the SNHG16/miR-141-3p/SUSD2 pathway.

To construct aptamer AS1411-functionalized targeted lipid nanobubbles that could simultaneously target abnormally highly expressed nucleolin (NCL) on tumor tissue and neovasculature. Additionally, the study of their contrast-enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging capabilities in vitro and in vivo to explore new methods and approaches for the early and accurate diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). First, the targeted lipid-nucleic acid molecules were constructed by an amide reaction. Then, the targeted lipid nanobubbles (AS1411-NBs) and nontargeted lipid nanobubbles (NBs) were prepared by membrane hydration, mechanical vibration and centrifugal floatation. The physicochemical characteristics and contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging capabilities of AS1411-NBs and NBs were compared and analyzed in vitro and in vivo. There were no significant differences between the AS1411-NBs and NBs in their concentration, average particle size or ultrasound imaging capabilities in vitro (P > 0.05). However, AS1411-NBs could simultaneously target NCL in tumor tissue and neovasculature to effectively prolong the duration of contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging compared to NBs in vivo. The area under the time-intensity curve was significantly different between AS1411-NBs and NBs (P

Visual fixation is an item in the visual function subscale of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Sometimes clinicians using the behavioral scales find it difficult to detect because of the motor impairment in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOCs). Brain-computer interface (BCI) can be used to improve clinical assessment because it directly detects the brain response to an external stimulus in the absence of behavioral expression. In this study, we designed a BCI system to assist the visual fixation assessment of DOC patients. The results from 15 patients indicated that three showed visual fixation in both CRS-R and BCI assessments and one did not show such behavior in the CRS-R assessment but achieved significant online accuracy in the BCI assessment. The results revealed that electroencephalography-based BCI can detect the brain response for visual fixation. Therefore, the proposed BCI may provide a promising method for assisting behavioral assessment using the CRS-R.

Objective. For patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), such as vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), communication is challenging. Currently, the communication methods of DOC patients are limited to behavioral responses. However, patients with DOC cannot provide sufficient behavioral responses due to motor impairments and limited attention. In this study, we proposed a hybrid asynchronous brain–computer interface (BCI) system that provides a new communication channel for patients with DOC. Approach. Seven patients with DOC (3 VS and 4 MCS) and eleven healthy subjects participated in our experiment. Each subject was instructed to focus on the square with the Chinese words ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. Then, the BCI system determined the target square with both P300 and steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) detections. For the healthy group, we tested the performance of the hybrid system and the single-modality BCI system. Main results. All healthy subjects achieved significant accuracy (ranging from 72% to 100%) in both the hybrid system and the single modality system. The hybrid asynchronous BCI system outperformed the P300-only and SSVEP-only systems. Furthermore, we employed the asynchronous approach to dynamically collect the electroencephalography signal. Compared with the synchronous system, there was a 21% reduction in the average required rounds and a reduction of 105 s in the online experiment time. This asynchronous system was applied to detect the ‘yes/no’ communication function of seven patients with DOC, and the results showed that three of the patients (3 MCS) not only showed significant accuracies (67 ± 3%) in the online experiment, and their Coma Recovery Scale-Revised scores were also improved compared with the scores before the experiment. This result demonstrated that 3 of 7 patients were able to communicate using our hybrid asynchronous BCI system. Significance. This hybrid asynchronous BCI system can be used as a useful auxiliary bedside tool for simple communication with DOC patients.

Targeted lipid nanobubbles as theranostic ultrasound molecular probes with both targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging and synergistic treatment capabilities are expected to overcome severe challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of refractory triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this study, AS1411 aptamer-functionalised nucleolin-targeted doxorubicin-loaded lipid nanobubbles (AS1411-DOX-NBs) were constructed, and their physicochemical properties as well as anti-tumour and cardioprotective efficacies were systematically tested and evaluated. The results showed that AS1411-DOX-NBs can carry and maintain the physicochemical and pharmacodynamic properties of doxorubicin (DOX) and show stronger tumour cell-killing ability in vitro by increasing the active uptake of drugs. AS1411-DOX-NBs also significantly inhibited the growth of TNBC xenografts while maintaining the weight and health of the mice. Echocardiography and pathological examination further confirmed that AS1411-DOX-NBs effectively caused tumour tissue apoptosis and necrosis while reducing DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. The AS1411-DOX-NBs constructed in this study enable both targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging and synergistic therapeutic efficacy and can be used as safe and efficient theranostic ultrasound molecular probes for the diagnosis and treatment of TNBC.

Objective As the most prevalent type of rhinitis, allergic rhinitis is consisted of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and perennial allergic rhinitis. This study is carried out for revealing the mechanisms of SAR. Methods Microarray data set GSE43523 (including 7 SAR nasal epithelial cells and 5 nonallergic control nasal epithelial cells) was extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Based on limma package, differential expression analysis for the 2 groups was performed to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Using Multifaceted Analysis Tool for Human Transcriptome online tool, the functions involving the DEGs were predicted by enrichment analysis. Combined with Cytoscape software, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was built and a significant network module was acquired. In addition, transcription factor (TF)-target and miRNA-target pairs were predicted using WebGestalt tool, and then TF-miRNA-target regulatory network was built by Cytoscape software. Results There were 274 DEGs between rhinitis and control samples, including 144 upregulated genes and 130 downregulated genes. After PPI for the DEGs was built, a significant network module was identified. In the TF-miRNA-target regulatory network, ABCA1, CPEB4, CD69, MIR-17-5P, and CREB had higher degrees. Furthermore, both ABCA1 and CD69 were targeted by MIR-17-5P in the regulatory network. Conclusion CPEB4 and CREB might be implicated in the pathogenesis of SAR. Besides, MIR-17-5P might also act in SAR via targeting ABCA1 and CD69.

Oral tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells, such as periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs), possess different biological characteristics, but the molecular mechanism remains unclear, which restricts their application in tissue engineering. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to be significant regulators of gene expression, but our knowledge about their roles in the regulation of stem cell biological properties is still limited. This study compared the lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles between PDLSCs and GMSCs through microarray analysis, and applied bioinformatics methods to analyze and predict the function and connection of differentially expressed genes, aiming to screen potential key regulators of diverse biological characteristics in PDLSCs and GMSCs. Microarray analysis showed that 2162 lncRNAs and 1347 mRNAs were significantly differentially expressed between PDLSCs and GMSCs. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and pathway analysis indicated that these differentially expressed genes were involved in diverse biological processes and signaling pathways. The gene signal network and pathway relation network predicted some potentially important regulators. The coding-noncoding gene coexpression network (CNC network) revealed many potential lncRNA-mRNA connection pairs that participated in the regulation of biological behaviors. These results stressed the roles of lncRNAs in controlling stem cell biological behaviors and provided guides for molecular mechanistic study of different biological characteristics in PDLSCs and GMSCs.

The pathogenesis of Candida-associated stomatitis involves the dysfunction of flora antagonistic to Candida. Oral Actinomyces species play an important role in regulating the oral microecological balance. The objective of this study was to investigate the antagonism of three oral Actinomyces against Candida albicans.Suspensions, culture supernatants and bacterial lysates of Actinomyces viscosus, Actinomyces naeslundii and Actinomyces odontolyticus were investigated for their actions upon C. albicans. In addition to a commercial strain, six clinical strains of C. albicans were also tested. The proliferation of C. albicans was assessed using a liquid co-cultivation assay. The adhesion, acid protease and extracellular phospholipase activity, hyphae growth, and biofilm formation of C. albicans were measured.The results showed that the suspensions, culture supernatants and cell lysates of 10(8) colony forming units/ml oral Actinomyces significantly inhibited the proliferation of C. albicans (all P0.001). The culture supernatants exhibited significant antagonistic interactions in terms of adhesion (A. viscosus P0.001, A. naeslundii P=0.016 and A. odontolyticus P=0.009), acid protease (A. viscosus P=0.035, A. naeslundii P=0.022, A. odontolyticus P0.001) and phospholipase activities (A. viscosus P=0.011, A. naeslundii P=0.042, A. odontolyticus P=0.021) of Candida, as well as its hyphae growth (A. viscosus P=0.002, A. naeslundii P=0.008, A. odontolyticus P=0.006). Inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was also observed.This study provides preliminary evidence that oral Actinomyces have inhibitory effects on the proliferation, adhesion, metabolic enzyme activity, hyphae formation and biofilm development of C. albicans.

This study evaluated the efficacy of implant supported dental restorations in patients with chronic periodontal diseases at various stages within 2 years of completing treatment. 30 patients with periodontal diseases and 30 patients without periodontal diseases were studied. Total counts of 276 implant bodies were divided into group A (patients with periodontal diseases; a total of 149 implants) and group B (patients with healthy periodontium; a total of 127 implants). In group A subjects, periodontitis was treated prior to implant placement. The study focused on patients' modified sulcus bleeding index, modified plaque index, implant mobility index, periodontal probing depth and implant success rate 12 and 24 months after the completion of the treatment. The result show: there were no significant differences in implant success rate between groups A and B; modified sulcus bleeding index scores showed differences between the groups 24 months after treatment; there were no significant differences in other clinical indexes during the study between the groups; there were no significant differences in periodontal probing depth between the groups; modified plaque index and modified sulcus bleeding index were positively correlated in implant supported dental restoration patients with chronic periodontal diseases.

Background Thalidomide was originally marked as a sedative and anti-emetic, but was withdrawn after severe teratogenic effects had been discovered. More recently it has been claimed to alleviate a wide range of inflammatory disorders and malignancies. Studies showed that thalidomide might play a role in the management of some oral premalignant conditions and its potential to be an adjunct in the prevention of oral cancer. Aim The aim of this study is to summarize the characteristics and feasibility of thalidomide in the development and prevention of oral precancerosis, and to draw attentions of researchers to its therapeutic potential in oral cancer. Methods Databases were searched on the basis of PubMed and EMbase. Thalidomide associated with the oral lichen planus, chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (CDLE) and oral cancer were assessed. Results We have summed up the structure and pharmacokinetics of thalidomide, possible role of thalidomide in cancer prevention, as well as the recent data concerning its effects in prevention of oral premalignant conditions and potential for the treatment of oral cancer. Conclusions Therapeutic effects of thalidomide in oral lichen planus and CDLE have been discussed by clinical trials. And increasing evidences from in vitro and in vivo experiments show that thalidomide is a promising anticancerous agent for oral cancer, which should be paid attention to. It is necessary to perform more studies and clinical trials of large sample size to clarify underlying mechanisms and demonstrate the potential roles of thalidomide in clinical routine management of oral diseases.

To establish human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSC) with high and stable expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and to obtain an ideal vector expression system that suitable for gene therapy in periodontal tissue engineering.hPDLSCs were transfected with eGFP for 48h via different MOI (25, 50, 100, 200 and 400) by lentiviral vector, the transfection efficiency was evaluated by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry, and transfected hPDLSCs proliferation was evaluated by MTT. Pluripotent, differentiation capacity and ALP expression status were determined further. Osteoblast-associated genes expressions for osteogenesis were evaluated by quantitative-PCR. In addition, rat molar periodontal fenestration defect model was used for evaluating periodontal tissue engineering.The transfection efficiency after 48h were 44.7%, 60.9%, 71.7%, 85.8%, and 86.9% respectively. There was no significant effect of transfection (at different MOI levels of 25, 50, 100, and 200) on the proliferation of hPDLSCs (designated as eGFP-hPDLSCs) compared with hPDLSCs (P0.05). However, proliferation of eGFP hPDLSCs at MOI 400 became slower (P0.05). Both eGFP hPDLSCs and hPDLSCs were able to differentiate into osteocytes and adipocytes under certain conditioned media. At 7 days, expression levels of COL-1, RUNX2 in hPDLSCS were higher than those in eGFP hPDLSCs (P0.05); expression levels of ALP and OPN in eGFP hPDLSCs were similar to those in hPDLSCs (P0.05). Newly regenerated bone formation was observed in the defect model used.Among the transfection conditions, 48h transfection at MOI 200 is optimal for labelling hPDLSCs with eGFP in a lentiviral vector. There is no change in capability of the eGFP hPDLSCs osteogenesis. The lentiviral vector with eGFP is an appropriate expression vector system and hPDLSCs are ideal seeding cells for gene therapy in periodontal tissue engineering.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, the key etiologic agent of periodontitis, can be classified into six types (I to V and Ib) based on the fimA genes that encode FimA (a subunit of fimbriae). Accumulated evidence indicates that P. gingivalis expressing Type II fimbriae (Pg-II) is the most frequent isolate from severe periodontitis cases and is more virulent than other types of P. gingivalis. However, during the Pg-II infection process, which specific virulence factors play the key role is still unclear. In this study, we examined the capabilities of three Pg-II strains to invade and modulate the inflammatory cytokine expression of human gingival epithelial cells (GECs) compared to two Pg-I strains. P. gingivalis oligo microarrays were used to compare gene expression profiles of Pg-II strains that invade GECs with Pg-I strains. The differential gene expression of Pg-II was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Our results showed that all of the Pg-II strains could induce interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 secretion significantly when compared to Pg-I strains. Thirty-seven genes that were specifically expressed during the pathogenic process of Pg-II were identified by a microarray assay. These findings provide a new insight at the molecular level to explain the specific pathogenic mechanism of Pg-II strains.

Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) has been used widely to treat patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). During the routine ASA procedure, it is difficult to detect the septal injury in real-time. The aim of the present study is to assess myocardial injury during ASA by recording intracoronary electrocardiogram (IC-ECG). From 2012 to 2015, 31 HOCM patients were treated with ASA, and IC-ECG was recorded in 21 patients successfully before and after ethanol injection. The elevation of ST-segment on IC-ECG after ethanol injection was expressed as its ratio to the level before injection or the absolute increasing value. Blood samples were collected before and after ASA for measuring changes in cardiac biomarkers. The ratio value of ST-segment elevation was positively correlated with both the amount of ethanol injected (r = 0.645, P = 0.001) and the myocardial injury size (creatine kinase-MB area under the curve (AUC) of CK-MB) (r = 0.466, P = 0.017). The absolute increment of ST-segment was also positively associated with both the amount of ethanol (r = 0.665, P = 0.001) and AUC of CK-MB (0.685, P = 0.001). However, there was no statistical correlation between the reduction of left ventricular outflow tract gradient and ST-segment elevation. Additionally no severe ASA procedure-related complications were observed in our patients. In conclusion, myocardial injury induced by ethanol injection can be assessed immediately by ST-segment elevation on IC-ECG. This study is the first to show that IC-ECG is a useful method for predicting myocardial injury during ASA in real-time.

To explore the application value of three-dimensional (3D) female pelvic visualization model on transvaginal gynecological ultrasound imaging.The second digital Chinese woman visible human datasets was selected, and a female pelvicvoxel-based model was constructed in Amira software for analog simulation combined with transvaginal gynecological ultrasound. The main structures and the space position variation of female pelvic cavity were observed, and the comparison study with conventional section of ultrasound was carried out.A high accuracy 3D visualization model of female pelvic was successfully constructed, and the anatomy structures can be dynamically and clearly displayed in any section orientation. An analog simulation research was carried out according to the scan mode of gynecological ultrasound, and a series of high resolution images consistent with scan sections of dynamic ultrasound were obtained, which had provided the optimal scan pathway for the fast inspection of the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.The 3D female pelvic visualization model based on digital Chinese woman human datasets has provided detailed and accurate anatomy information for transvaginal gynecological ultrasound imaging, which could be the benefit for doctors to understand the ultrasound images of female pelvic, as well as the accurate positioning ability to the lesions of female pelvic cavity.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the short-term clinical effectiveness of bone ring graft technique and to summarize the key points of related surgical operation to provide comprehensive clinical guidelines. METHODS: Fifteen patients with severe alveolar bone absorption were selected to receive bone ring grafting and immediate dental implant. Final fixed prostheses were cemented five months after initial implantation. Cone beam CT scans were conducted on all subjects before the procedure, as well as four months post-operation to evaluate alveolar bone height and level of bone height and absorption around the implants. Four to six months after prosthesis installation, each implant's Jemt classification, gingiva attachment, and probing depth (PD) were analyzed. The difference of PD between implants and adjacent teeth, as well as the difference of the bone absorption between labial and lingual sides, was compared. The survival rate of the bone ring and the retention rate of implants were calculated. Complications and patient satisfaction were also investigated. RESULTS: Bone graft survival rate was 94.4% and dental implantation retention rate was 100% four months post-operation. Average bone level increase was (6.06±1.06) mm, average bone absorption was (1.33±0.84) mm, and average bone thickness at the neck of the dental implant body was (6.94±0.73) mm. Approximately 4 to 6 months after crown restoration, average bone level increase was (5.62±1.03) mm, average bone absorption was (1.51±1.02) mm, and average bone thickness at the neck of the dental implant body was (6.77±0.72) mm. The PD around the implant body and the adjacent teeth was statistically insignificant. No major post-operative complication was observed, restorations were successful, and patient satisfaction level was high. CONCLUSION: Bone ring graft technique and immediate dental implantation are relatively simple to perform, and these techniques facilitate reduction in required treatment time. Short-term effect is reliable and satisfactory, whereas long-term outcomes require further follow up and study.

Objectives.To establish 3D models of coronary arteries (CA) and study their application in localization of CA segments identified by Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE).Methods.Sectional images of the heart collected from the first CVH dataset and contrast CT data were used to establish 3D models of the CA. Virtual dissection was performed on the 3D models to simulate the conventional sections of TTE. Then, we used 2D ultrasound, speckle tracking imaging (STI), and 2D ultrasound plus 3D CA models to diagnose 170 patients and compare the results to coronary angiography (CAG).Results.3D models of CA distinctly displayed both 3D structure and 2D sections of CA. This simulated TTE imaging in any plane and showed the CA segments that corresponded to 17 myocardial segments identified by TTE. The localization accuracy showed a significant difference between 2D ultrasound and 2D ultrasound plus 3D CA model in the severe stenosis group (P<0.05) and in the mild-to-moderate stenosis group (P<0.05).Conclusions.These innovative modeling techniques help clinicians identify the CA segments that correspond to myocardial segments typically shown in TTE sectional images, thereby increasing the accuracy of the TTE-based diagnosis of CHD.

To study the relationship between endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) Glu298Asp gene polymorphism and chronic periodontitis (CP) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).DNA from patients' buccal swabs of CP, CP with T2DM, T2DM and health was isolated and extracted. The eNOS Glu298Asp gene polymorphism were assessed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) respectively.The distribution of eNOS Glu298Asp genotype in CP group, T2DM group, CP with T2DM group and health group showed statistical differences (chi2 = 18.503, P = 0.005), and the gene frequency showed statistical differences (chi2 = 8.243, P = 0.041). Compared health group to CP with T2DM group, OR value of the genetype T was 0.962, 95% confidence interval lay in between 0.737 to 1.256, which showed T maybe a protective factor. While OR value of the genetype G was 1.043, 95% confidence interval lay in between 0.781 to 1.391, which showed G maybe a risk factor. However, neither T nor G was statistically significant.Based on these findings, there are some association between eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism and the risk of CP group, T2DM group, CP with T2DM group.

In this study, we aimed to prepare a novel type of microbubble (MB), protamine cationic nanobubble (NB), to provide a new vector for tumor gene therapy. We prepared cationic NBs with protamine and other lipid components using mechanical oscillation. The protamine cationic NBs had a mean diameter of 521.2 ± 37.57 nm, a zeta potential of +18.5 mV, and a gene-carrying capacity of 15.69 μg androgen receptor (AR) siRNA per 10(8) NBs. The cationic NBs exhibited superior contrast enhancement for in vivo imaging compared with SonoVue (Bracco, Geneva, Switzerland), and their physical properties did not change significantly after 1 wk; meanwhile, the transfection efficiency of the cationic NBs in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells mediated by ultrasound irradiation was better than that of liposomes (82.17 ± 7.4% vs. 55.04 ± 5.4%, p 0.01). Therefore, the protamine cationic NB can be considered for use as a novel type of gene-loading MB for ultrasound imaging and MB-mediated gene therapy of tumors.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated that transplantation of adipose-derived stem cell (ADSC) can improve cardiac function in animal models of myocardial infarction (MI). However, the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect are not fully understood. In this study, we characterized the paracrine effect of transplanted ADSC and investigated its relative importance versus direct differentiation in ADSC transplantation mediated cardiac repair. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: MI was experimentally induced in mice by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Either human ADSC, conditioned medium (CM) collected from the same amount of ADSC or control medium was injected into the peri-infarct region immediately after MI. Compared with the control group, both ADSC and ADSC-CM significantly reduced myocardial infarct size and improved cardiac function. The therapeutic efficacy of ADSC was moderately superior to ADSC-CM. ADSC-CM significantly reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in the infarct border zone, to a similar degree with ADSC treatment. ADSC enhanced angiogenesis in the infarct border zone, but to a stronger degree than that seen in the ADSC-CM treatment. ADSC was able to differentiate to endothelial cell and smooth muscle cell in post-MI heart; these ADSC-derived vascular cells amount to about 9% of the enhanced angiogenesis. No cardiomyocyte differentiated from ADSC was found. CONCLUSIONS: ADSC-CM is sufficient to improve cardiac function of infarcted hearts. The therapeutic function of ADSC transplantation is mainly induced by paracrine-mediated cardioprotection and angiogenesis, while ADSC differentiation contributes a minor benefit by being involved in angiogenesis. Highlights 1 ADSC-CM is sufficient to exert a therapeutic potential. 2. ADSC was able to differentiate to vascular cells but not cardiomyocyte. 3. ADSC derived vascular cells amount to about 9% of the enhanced angiogenesis. 4. Paracrine effect is the major mechanism of ADSC therapeutic function for MI.

The aim of this study is to optimize conditions for labeling human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) using enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) infected by lentivirus vector and to obtain PDLSCs with high stable expressed eGFP.PDLSCs were transfected with eGFP by lentivirus vector for 48 h via different multiplicity of infection (MOI) (25, 50, 100, 200 and 400) and the infection efficiency were analyzed by both fluorescent microscope and flow cytometry. The proliferation rate of infected PDLSCs was evaluated by MTT. The infected PDLSCs were further for detection of pluripotent, differentiation ability and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression ability.The infection efficiency for each group were 44.7%, 60.9%, 71.7%, 85.8% and 86.9% respectively. Proliferation of PDLSCs was not affected when MOI was below 200; however, at MOI 400, the proliferation ability was affected compared with control group. The pluripotent and ALP abilities of PDLSCs were not changed by the infection.Infection for 48 h at MOI 200 is optimal for labeling PDLSCs with eGFP using lentivirus vector, and the proliferation and differentiation abilities of PDLSCs are not affected obviously.

To establish three-dimension finite element model of mandible with two kinds of Replace implant, and to study stress of implant and abutment.The data of components of the dental implant was measured, cross section of the mandible was scanned by spiral CT and image reconstruction technique was conducted. Three-dimension finite element analysis software UG and MSC. Marc/Mentat were used to built the conjunction model and bone model of two implant systems. Axial loading (200N) and 30 degrees oblique loading (100N) were applied on the models respectively, the stress distribution patterns of the implant and abutment of two implant systems were analyzed.The peak stress district was concentrated on the structure of the implant cervix, which was more obviously displayed on the Replace Select implant. The peak stress of oblique loading was higher than that of axial loading. The peak stress on the implant cervix of Replace Select implant was higher than that of Replace External Hex implant in all loadings.To Replace Select especially, oblique force should be avoided on clinical practice in case of the implant fracture.

To investigate the relationship between interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility of chronic periodontitis in Uighur minority in Xingjiang province of China.The buccal swabs were collected from 41 severe chronic periodontitis (CP) patients, 43 moderate CP patients, 49 mild CP patients and 92 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from these buccal swabs. Genotypes of the IL-1A-889/NcoI and IL-1B+3954/TaqI were determined by sequence specific primers-polymerase chain reaction(SSP-PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP). Then distribution of genotypes for IL-1A-889 and IL-1B+3954 were compared among the different groups.(1) There were no significant differences in the distribution of IL-1A-889 among severe CP patients, moderate CP patients, mild CP patients and healthy controls. (2) Frequencies of allele 2 for IL-1B+3954 were higher in severe CP patients than in healthy controls, and the difference was statistically significant. But there were no such significant differences either between moderate CP patients and healthy controls or between mild CP patients and healthy controls.These results suggest that IL-1B+3953 allele 2 may be a risk indicator for the susceptibility to severe chronic periodontitis in Uighur minority in Xingjiang of China.

Patellar tendon reflexes were evaluated in 12 healthy adult subjects using several measures of the reflex responses and of the system input-output relationship. A hand-held instrumented hammer was used to tap the patellar tendon and to elicit the reflex response. Tendon reflex dynamics were estimated using the recorded tapping force (as input) and the quadriceps muscle electromyogram and knee joint extension torque signals (as output). A dome shaped rubber pad was mounted onto the most sensitive spot on the patellar tendon, where it served as a tapping target, and helped to reduce the reflex variability significantly (p

Nanobubbles as a type of ultrasound contrast agent have attracted much interest in recent years due to their many advantages, such as strong penetrating power and high stability. However, there is still insufficient morphological evidence concerning gas-filled nanobubbles in tumor tissue spaces and tumor angiogenesis. We used a gastric cancer xenograft as an example to study this question. Nanobubbles with a particle size of 435.2 ± 60.53 nm were prepared and compared with SonoVue® microbubbles in vitro and in vivo, and they exhibited a superior contrast imaging effect. After excluding the impact of the nanobubbles in blood vessels through saline flush, we used an ultrasound burst and frozen sectioning to investigate the distribution of nanobubbles in the gastric cancer xenografts and confirmed this by transmission electron microscopy. Preliminary results showed that the nanobubbles were able to pass through the gaps between the endothelial cells in the tumor vascular system to enter the tissue space. These findings could provide morphological evidence for extravascular ultrasound imaging of tumors and serve as a foundation for the application of nanobubbles in extravascular tumor-targeted ultrasonic diagnostics and therapy.

The patient was a 35-year-old man, who was admitted to the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery because of recurrent fatigue and shortness of breath after exertion with lower limb oedema for 1 month. Physical examination indicated heart enlargement towards the left and grade 3–4/6 successive coarse murmur (mainly during diastole) heard …