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Background: Previous studies indicated that two-dimensional-susceptibility weighted imaging (2D-SWI) could serve as a useful biomarker for differentiating the grade of liver fibrosis.Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of 2D-SWI in the dynamic quantification of renal fibrosis in a rabbit model.Study Type: Longitudinal study.Animal Model: Twenty-Four New Zealand White Rabbits including control group (n = 4); and renal fibrosis group (n = 20), by means of a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model.Field Strength/sequence: The 3.0 T SWI using a 2D gradient-echo sequence.Assessment: The relative SWI signal ratio(r) of cortical and medulla (r = SIrenal /SImuscle ) was longitudinally assessed before ligation and on weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 following ligation. Sirius Red staining was used to assess the degree of fibrosis in five high-power fields.Statistical Tests: The repeated measures of analysis of variance and linear regression analysis.Results: Both the cortical and medullary r values were significantly higher in the UUO kidneys at week 2 compared with the kidneys before ligation. Over the course of UUO progression, significant changes occurred in the cortical and medullary r values in vivo and fibrosis scores in vitro (all P values < 0.05). The r values gradually decreased, while the fibrosis scores gradually increased over 8 weeks following ligation. The linear regression analysis showed a strong and significant correlation between cortical and medullary r values and the pathologic fibrosis scores (R2  = 0.91, 0.81, respectively).Data Conclusion: The SWI sequence could provide a quantitative evaluation of renal fibrosis during UUO progression.Level Of Evidence: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1572-1577. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Findings: What is the central question of this study?Is the membrane raft redox signalling pathway involved in blood pressure increase, endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodelling in an angiotensin II‐induced hypertensive animal model?What is the main finding and its importance?The membrane raft redox signalling pathway was involved in endothelial dysfunction and medial remodelling in angiotensin II‐induced hypertension. The membrane raft (MR) redox pathway is characterized by NADPH oxidase activation via the clustering of its subunits through lysosome fusion and the activation of acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase). Our previous study shows that the MR redox signalling pathway is associated with angiontensin II (AngII)‐induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and endothelial dysfunction in rat mesenteric arteries. In the present study, we hypothesized that this signalling pathway is involved in blood pressure increase, endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodelling in an AngII‐induced hypertensive animal model. Sixteen‐week‐old male Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to AngII infusion for 2 weeks with or without treatment with the lysosome fusion inhibitor bafilomycin A1 and ASMase inhibitor amitriptyline. After treatments, aortas were harvested for further study. The results showed that the MR redox signalling pathway was activated as indicated by the increase of MR formation, ASMase activity and ROS production in aorta from AngII‐infused rats compared with that from control rats. MR formation and ROS production were significantly inhibited in thoracic aorta from AngII‐induced rats treated with bafilomycin A1 and amitriptyline. Both treatments significantly attenuated blood pressure increase, endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodelling including medial hypertrophy, and increased collagen and fibronectin deposition in thoracic aortas from AngII‐infused rats. Finally, both treatments significantly prevented the increase of inflammatory factors including monocyte chemotactic protein 1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and tumour necrosis factor α in thoracic aorta from AngII‐infused rats. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the MR redox signalling pathway was involved in endothelial dysfunction and medial remodelling in AngII‐induced hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity increases the risk of vascular diseases, including aortic aneurysm (AA). Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) surrounding arteries are altered during obesity. However, the underlying mechanism of adipose tissue, especially PVAT, in the pathogenesis of AA is still unclear. Here we showed that angiotensin II (AngII) infusion increases the incidence of AA in leptin-deficient obese mice (ob/ob) and high-fat diet-induced obese mice with adventitial inflammation. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that platelet-derived growth factor-D (PDGF-D) was highly expressed in the PVAT of ob/ob mice. Therefore, we hypothesized that PDGF-D mediates adventitial inflammation, which provides a direct link between PVAT dysfunction and AA formation in AngII-infused obese mice. We found that PDGF-D promotes the proliferation, migration, and inflammatory factors expression in cultured adventitial fibroblasts. In addition, the inhibition of PDGF-D function significantly reduced the incidence of AA in AngII-infused obese mice. More importantly, adipocyte-specific PDGF-D transgenic mice are more susceptible to AA formation after AngII infusion accompanied by exaggerated adventitial inflammatory and fibrotic responses. Collectively, our findings reveal a notable role of PDGF-D in the AA formation during obesity, and modulation of this cytokine might be an exploitable treatment strategy for the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the practical application value and action mechanisms of Ag-antibiotic 702 against pathogenic fungi, the inhibition spectrum of Ag-antibiotic 702 was studied by measuring the mycelium growth rate of pathogenic fungi, and the effects of Ag-antibiotic 702 on the membrane permeability of Rhizoctonia solani, a typical pathogenic fungus, were investigated, with the variations of mycelium electrolyte leakage and protein, nucleic acid, and Mg2+ and K+ contents under the action of Ag-antibiotic 702 determined, and the effects of Ag-antibiotic 702 on the cell membrane ergosterol biosynthesis and ultramicrostructure observed. The results showed that the active products of Ag-antibiotic 702 had stronger inhibition effect on 13 test pathogens, among which, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was most sensitive, with the EC50 being 0.23 μg · mL-1. As compared with the control, the relative electric conductivity of R. solani treated with Ag-antibiotic 702 was increased by 72.2%, the contents of protein, nucleic acid, and Mg2+ and K+ leaked from the R. solani cells were all increased, while the ergosterol content was decreased by 92.0%. The cell membrane outline was not clear, organelles were badly damaged, and vacuole appeared. It was suggested that the inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis and the increase of membrane permeability could be the main action mechanisms of Ag-antibiotic 702 against pathogenic fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the undergraduate specialty construction of big data management and application in medical colleges and universities in the context of New Medical Education, we first analyzed, in this paper, the demand for trained personnel of this specialization and the status of program construction at the national and regional levels. Then, taking Anhui Medical University as an example, a key medical university in Anhui Province, we introduced the preparations made by medical colleges and universities to set up big data management and application specialty. Finally, from the perspectives of the objectives of personnel training, curriculum system, and practical teaching system, we presented in detail the exploratory efforts made by Anhui Medical University to construct a training system for personnel specializing in big data management and application. In this paper, we reported mainly the work done on the exploration of the personnel training curriculum system, covering general education, professional education, and extracurricular activities, highlighting the interdisciplinary characteristics of a personnel training curricular system that integrates medicine, engineering, and management. We also reported on a practice teaching system that combined in-class practical teaching and extracurricular activities, and that incorporated tiered contents of increasing challenge--basic practice level, cognitive practice level, comprehensive practice level, and innovative practice level. This study is expected to provide useful references for the training of personnel specializing in medical big data in the context of New Medical Education., (Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

Objective: To evaluate the long-term results of combination treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery and stereotactic intracavitary brachytherapy for mixed cystic and solid craniopharyngiomas., Methods: Sixty-seven consecutive patients with mixed cystic and solid craniopharyngioma treated by Gamma Knife radiosurgery combined with stereotactic brachytherapy from October 1996 to December 2005 were selected for retrospective analysis. The inclusion criterion was the patients who survived for at least 5 years after combined treatment. There were 39 male and 28 female patients and the mean age was 31.5 years (ranged from 3 to 70 years). The clinical evaluations including neurological, neuro-ophthalmological, and neuro-endocrinological examinations, assessment of comprehensive quality of life and neuroimaging examinations were performed periodically. The actuarial survival rates and the mean survival time were calculated by using Kaplan-Meier product limit method. The rates were compared using the χ(2) test., Results: Follow-up period varied from 60 to 168 months, with an average of 114 months. The tumor response rate gained from combination treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery and stereotactic intracavitary brachytherapy for predominantly solid and cystic craniopharyngiomas were 10/12 and 90.9% respectively, and 89.6% in all. Mean survival after combination treatment was (110 ± 9) months. The mean survival of patients with predominantly solid and cystic craniopharyngioma were (97 ± 12) months and (120 ± 14) months and the actuarial 10-year survival rates were 7/12 and 69.1%. There was no statistics difference in tumor response rate and 10-year survival rate between 2 groups of patients with predominantly solid and cystic craniopharyngioma. The actuarial 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year survival rates were 90.5%, 85.7%, 83.3%, 76.4%, 69.4% and 60.0% respectively. The decreased visual acuity had improved in 68.3% at 6 months postoperatively and in 70.0% in long term results. Comprehensive quality of life in long term follow-up of 67 patients was excellent in 28 cases(41.8%), good in 19 cases(28.4%), fair in 17 cases(25.4%) and poor in 3 cases(4.5%), respectively. The side effects that occurred 6 to 12 months after treatment were worsening of visual acuity (4 patients), dysfunction of hypothalam (4 patients) and third nerve palsy was found in 1 patents 5 years after treatment. The rate of complications was 13.4%., Conclusion: Combination treatment with Gamma Knife radiosurgery and stereotactic intracavitary brachytherapy is highly effective and safety in the treatment of mixed cystic and solid craniopharyngiomas.

To explore the practical application value and action mechanisms of Ag-antibiotic 702 against pathogenic fungi, the inhibition spectrum of Ag-antibiotic 702 was studied by measuring the mycelium growth rate of pathogenic fungi, and the effects of Ag-antibiotic 702 on the membrane permeability of Rhizoctonia solani, a typical pathogenic fungus, were investigated, with the variations of mycelium electrolyte leakage and protein, nucleic acid, and Mg2+ and K+ contents under the action of Ag-antibiotic 702 determined, and the effects of Ag-antibiotic 702 on the cell membrane ergosterol biosynthesis and ultramicrostructure observed. The results showed that the active products of Ag-antibiotic 702 had stronger inhibition effect on 13 test pathogens, among which, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was most sensitive, with the EC50 being 0.23 microg x mL(-1). As compared with the control, the relative electric conductivity of R. solani treated with Ag-antibiotic 702 was increased by 72.2%, the contents of protein, nucleic acid, and Mg2+ and K+ leaked from the R. solani cells were all increased, while the ergosterol content was decreased by 92.0%. The cell membrane outline was not clear, organelles were badly damaged, and vacuole appeared. It was suggested that the inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis and the increase of membrane permeability could be the main action mechanisms of Ag-antibiotic 702 against pathogenic fungi.