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Objective To investigate the effect of left bundle branch area pacing (LBBaP) on new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) and atrial high rate episodes (AHREs) in patients with atrioventricular block (AVB). Methods Eighty-four patients with III°AVB for pacemaker implantaion were divided into the LBBaP group (n =42) and the RVSP group (n = 42) based on the site of the ventricular leads. The two groupswere compared in terms of the pre- and post- operative QRSd, ventricular pacing parameters, complications, incidence of stroke, NOAF and AHREs. Results (1) The incidence of postoperative NOAF and AHREs in the LBBaP group was significantly lower compared with RVSP group (P < 0.05). (2) The p-QRSd in the LBBaP group was significantly shorter compared with RVSP group (P < 0.05). (3) The two groups showed no significant differences in ventricular pacing parameters, incidence of complications and stroke events(P > 0.05). Conclusion LBBaP is superior to right ventricular pacing in reducing the incidence of postoperative AHREs and NOAF in patients after implantation and improving the prognosis of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial infarction (MI) results in adverse cardiac remodeling leading to heart failure and increased mortality. Experimental mouse models of MI are extensively used to identify mechanisms underlying adverse remodeling, but the extent of remodeling that occurs may be highly variable and can limit the utility to discover new disease pathways. The ability to predict the development of significant late post-MI remodeling would be invaluable in conducting such studies by increasing throughput and efficiency. This study aimed to identify potential thresholds of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters measured early after murine MI that would predict the development of significant adverse remodeling at 4 wk. MI was achieved by permanent coronary ligation and animals (n = 84) were followed up for 4 wk subsequently. MRI was used to assess left ventricular (LV) volumes, mass and ejection fraction, as well as infarct size (IS). Late gadolinium enhancement cine-MRI was performed at 2 days with standard cine-MRI at 30 days post-MI. Utilizing multiple logistic regression, we found that IS >36%, at 2 days post-MI, was the overall best single predictor of adverse remodeling at 30 days (sensitivity 80.7%, specificity 88.9%; C-statistic of 0.939 from receiver-operating curve analysis). LV end-systolic volume (LVESV) >32 μl was also an excellent predictor comparable to IS. The combination of IS >36% and/or LVESV >32 μl provided the highest predictive values for late adverse remodeling among multiple predictors. This study demonstrates that MRI-based estimation of IS and ESV during the acute phase of murine MI are good predictors of subsequent adverse remodeling that may aid experimental design.

Intestinal lactase has potential as an autologous beta-galactosidase reporter gene for long-term gene expression studies in vivo, using chromogenic, luminescent, and fluorogenic substrates developed for Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase. In normal rat tissues, reactivity with a chromogenic fucopyranoside (X-Fuc, the preferred substrate of lactase) was present only at the lumenal surface of small intestine epithelial cells. Full-length lactase (domains I-IV), mature lactase (domains III and IV), and a cytosolic form of mature lactase (domains III and IV, without the signal sequence or transmembrane region) were evaluated. Transfection of HuH-7 cells in vitro, and hydrodynamic gene delivery to the liver in vivo, resulted in excellent gene expression. The full-length and mature (homodimeric, membrane-bound) forms reacted strongly with X-Fuc but not with the corresponding galactopyranoside (X-Gal). However, the presumptively monomeric cytosolic lactase unexpectedly reacted equally well with both substrates. The fluorogenic substrate fluorescein-di-beta-D-galactopyranoside was cleaved by cytosolic lactase, but not by full-length or mature lactase. Full-length lactase, when expressed ectopically in hepatocytes in vivo, localized exclusively to the bile canalicular membrane. Intestinal lactase is highly homologous in mice, rats, and humans and has considerable potential for evaluating long-term gene expression in experimental animals and the clinic.

A chemically synthesized peptide representing the C-terminal subunit (p13-C) of the p13 protein of GB virus B (GBV-B), the most closely related virus to hepatitis C virus (HCV) showed ion channel activity in artificial lipid bilayers. The channels had a variable conductance and were more permeable to potassium ions than to chloride ions. Amantadine but not hexamethylene amiloride (HMA) inhibited the ion channel function of p13-C in the lipid membranes. However, neither agent was able to inhibit the replication and secretion of GBV-B from virus-infected cultured marmoset hepatocytes, which were harvested from a marmoset that was infected in vivo or inhibit replication after in vitro infection of naive hepatocytes. These data suggest that the GBV-B ion channel, contrary to the data derived from the lipid membranes, is either resistant to amantadine or that virus replication and secretion are independent of ion channel function. As the p7 protein of HCV also has ion channel activity that is apparently resistant to amantadine in vivo, the former possibility is most likely. Ion channels are likely to have an important role in the life cycle of many viruses and compounds that block these channels may prove to be useful antiviral agents.

Objective: To seek the optimum treatment for patients with primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and factors associated with prognosis., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 157 primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients who had received operation for 45 years., Results: The X-ray diagnosis rate was 39.4% before operation. The diagnosis rate by gastroscopy was 52.7%. Among the 157 patients, 32 belonged to stage I(E), 40 stage II(E), 29 stage III(E), and 56 stage IV(E). All of the patients were received chemotherapy or radiation. The 3-, 5-, 10-, 15-year survival rates were 51.1% (69/135), 42.3% (55/130), 20.7% (23/111), and 13.5% (14/104)., Conclusions: The 3-, 5-year survival rates in stage I(E) and stage II(E) were 2 to 5 times higher than those in stage III(E) and IV(E) (P < 0.01). The 3-, 5-year survival rates of primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were 60.2% (65/108) and 50.0% (52/104) respectively. The prognosis was better than the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients with D(2) lymphodenectomy (33.3%). Early diagnosis and treatment are effective to prevent complications, enhance quality of patient's life, and prolong the survival.