Search

In this paper, the author researches on the analysis of the influence of the characteristic parameters of heavy vehicle front suspension to road friendliness based on virtual excitation. For increasing speed and riding comfort being paid more attention, the study on road friendliness based on virtual excitation on characteristics of off-road vehicles especially the vehicle without suspension, such as some agricultural and construction vehicles, is becoming an important issue. Taking a type of tractor made in China as an example, the analysis of 2DOF twin-shaft vehicle dynamic model of vehicle without suspension and its natural frequencies were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rotational atherectomy (RA) could facilitate the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in heavily coronary calcified patients. The effectiveness and safety of this technique needs to be further evaluated., Methods & Results: Eighty patients who underwent RA in our center from September 2011 to June 2014 were enrolled. The mean age was 72.4 ± 10.4 years. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was average 52.3% ± 8.48% and the estimated glomerular filtration rate was 73.2 ± 3.20 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). The coronary lesions were complex, with Syntax score 29.5 ± 9.86. The diameter of reference vessel was 3.4 ± 0.45 mm and the average diameter stenosis of target vessels was 80% ± 10%. All the patients were deployed with drug eluting stents (DES) successfully after RA. The patients were followed up for 12-18 months. Kaplan-Meier plots estimated the survival rate was 93.4% and the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE) was 25.4%. Bleeding and procedural-related complications were quite low. COX proportional hazards model for multivariate analysis demonstrated that diabetes, LVEF and maximum pressure of postdilatation were the predictors of MACCE., Conclusions: RA followed by implantation of DES was effective and safe for heavily coronary calcified patients. Diabetes, LVEF and maximum pressure of postdilatation were predictive for MACCE.

Background: Fall and serious fall injuries have become a major health concern for elders. Many factors including blood pressure and anti-hypertensive medication application were reported as hazards of fall. The purpose of this study was to determine if age related systemic functional decline related with increased fall risks in elderly patients with hypertension., Methods: A total of 342 elderly hypertension patients (age 79.5 ± 6.7 years, male 63.8%) were recruited to the study. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), including measurements about activity of daily living (ADL), nutrition, cognition, depression, numbers of prescription medication and number of clinical diagnosis, was conducted to evaluate the physical and mental status of each participants. Fall risk was evaluated by Morse fall scale, Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (POMA) and history of fall in the recent year. Participants were grouped into tertiles according to CGA score. Correlation between CGA and fall risk was analyzed through SPSS 18.0., Results: Participants with higher CGA score were likely to be older, had a lower body mass index (BMI), and a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cerebrovascular disease and osteoarthropathia. Participants in higher tertile of CGA score got increased prevalence of fall risk than those in lower tertile (P < 0.01 T3 vs. T1, P < 0.01 T3 vs. T2). Correlation analysis and regression analysis showed significant association between CGA and Morse fall scale (P < 0.001), as well as CGA and POMA (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, CGA components also showed co-relationships with increase fall risks. After adjusting age, BMI, benzodiazepine use, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, COPD and osteoarthropathia, both history of fall in the recent year and rising Morse fall scale were significantly associated with ADL impairment (OR: 2.748, 95%CI: 1.598-4.725), (OR: 3.310, 95%CI: 1.893-5.788). Decreased Tinetti POMA score was associated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (OR: 4.035, 95%CI: 2.100-7.751), ADL (OR: 2.380, 95%CI: 1.357-4.175) and shortened MNA form (MNA-SF) impairment (OR: 2.692, 95%CI: 1.147-6.319)., Conclusions: In elderly adults with hypertension, impaired physical and mental function is associated with increased fall risk. Further study is required to investigate possible mediators for the association and effective interventions.

Objective: To investigate the functions of promoter hypermethylation of secreted frizzled-related protein (sFRP) genes in colorectal tumorigenesis and progression., Methods: Three colorectal cancer cell lines, RKO, HCTll6 and SW480, were treated hy 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A for demethylation. The promoter hypermethylation and expression of sFRP genes in colorectal tumor tissue and colorectal cancer cell lines were detected hy methylation-specific PCR and reverse transcription PCR, respectively., Results: None of the normal colorectal mucosa tissues showed methylation of sFRP genes. sFRP1, 2, 4 and 5 were frequently methylated in colorectal adenocarcinoma, adenoma and aberrant crypt foci (ACF) (sFRP1 > 85%, sFRP2 > 75%, sFRP5 > 50%), the differences between any two of them were not significant (P >0.05). Methylation was more frequent in colorectal tumors than in normal mucosa and adjacent normal mucosa from patients with tumor. Hypermethylation of sFRP genes was present in three colorectal cancer cell lines. When sFRP genes were methylated, their corresponding mRNA expression was absent. After cells were treated by DAC/TSA combination, the silenced sFRP expression could be effectively re-expressed., Conclusion: Hypermethylation of sFRP genes is a common early event in the evolution of colorectal tumors that occurs frequently in ACF. Methylation of sFRP1, 2 and 5 genes might serve as biomarkers for the early detection of colorectal tumors. Demethylation can effectively reverse gene expression that appears possibly to be an effective way for tumor therapy.

Restin, a homologous protein of endostatin (62% homology), is the NC domain of collagen XV at C-terminal. The recombinant restin expressed in E. coli had the ability to suppress the proliferation of bovin aortic endothelial cells and cause apoptosis. In this report, mouse restin gene was fused with a sequence of human plasminogen signal peptide by PCR and cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pCDNA3. The plasmid containing restin gene was named pCDNAXV and was transfected into human hepatoma cell line Bel7404. Stable transfected clones were screened and expression of restin was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot. The proliferated cells were injected subcutaneusly into nude mice. The growth of tumors formed by cells transfected with restin gene was much slower than that of control group. These results indicated that the expressed restin in vivo could suppress the growth of tumor, and this suppression might be achieved by restraining angiogenesis since the restin had no effect on the proliferation of tumor cells. At the same time, this report provided a new method to investigate the effect of anti-angiogenetic proteins on the tumor growth.