Clinical and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features of hilar tumor pulmonary infarction / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features of hilar tumor pulmonary infarction. Methods:From July 2016 to June 2021, 49 patients (40 males, 9 females; age 32-81 years) with hilar tumor pulmonary infarction who underwent PET/CT and enhanced CT in the second Hospital of Shandong University and Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University were retrospectively enrolled. All patients were diagnosed by imaging follow-up or pathology. Clinical features and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features were analyzed. Results:A total of 108 infarcts were found in 49 patients by 18F-FDG PET/CT. Small cell carcinoma was the most common hilar tumor (67.35%, 33/49). The most common clinical manifestations of hilar tumor pulmonary infarction were cough (69.39%, 34/49) and hemoptysis (34.69%, 17/49). Pulmonary infarction was mainly multiple (69.39%, 34/49), and multiple lung lobes might be involved. The CT morphology of infarcts was wedge-shaped (46.30%, 50/108) or patchy (53.70%, 58/108), and the density was mainly bubble consolidation (61.11%, 66/108). There were 91 (84.26%, 91/108) infarcts showing FDG hypermetabolism, with the SUV max of 1.48-6.62, and the hypermetabolism mode was rim sign (36.11%, 39/108) or heterogeneous hypermetabolism (48.15%, 52/108). Nineteen patients (38.78%, 19/49) were complicated with pulmonary vein involvement, and 26 patients (53.06%, 26/49) had ipsilateral pleural effusion. Conclusions:Hilar tumor pulmonary infarction is characterized by cough. It is helpful for the diagnosis of hilar tumor pulmonary infarction in patients with hilar tumor when wedge-shaped, bubble consolidation, rim sign and heterogeneous hypermetabolism lesions are found in 18F-FDG PET/CT images.

Enrichment methods and clinical application of circulating tumor cells / 国际肿瘤学杂志

As an emerging tumor marker, the rarity and heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) increase the difficulty of detection. In recent years, CTCs enrichment technology based on biophysical, biochemical and microfluidic properties has been continuously developed, which has promoted the research and application of CTCs in malignant tumors diagnosis, clinical treatment and prognosis evaluation. Although there are still some deficiencies in the detection of CTCs, with the interdisciplinary integration, CTCs will play increasingly important roles in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors.

Performance verification of a time-of-flight mass spectrometry based cardiovascular drug-related polygene detection system / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective@#Toestablish and verify the method of genetic polymorphisms using time-of-flight mass spectrometry as a polygene testing platform.@*Methods@#998 cases of DNA samples and 20 cases of whole blood samples were collected from Fuwai hospital of Chinese academy of medical sciencesduring September 2017 to October 2018, including 512 cases of males and 506 cases of females.280 patients aged 18-30, 442 patients aged 31-64, and 296 patients aged ≥65.11 cardiovascular drugsrelatedgenes in 998 DNA samples were detected by time-of-flight mass spectrometry to evaluate the compliance rate compared with identifiedresults. 20whole blood samples were selected to detect 11 genes using both time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Sanger sequencing. The results were compared twice, and accuracy was evaluated according to Sanger sequencing as the gold standard. Ten cases of genomic DNA with wild-type loci were selected for specific evaluation by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Samples containing all heterozygous genotypes were measured after gradient dilution to evaluate the detection sensitivity of the new method. Samples containing all 49 genotypes (two genotypes were not found because they are rare in Chinese population) were used in order to do the inter-assay and intra-assay precision evaluation. An anti-interference study was performed by selecting wild and homozygous mutant samples of represented heterozygous peak shape.@*Results@#The results showed that the compliancerate of the single retrospective sample was over 99.5%. The resultsof time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Sanger sequencing was the same. The minimum detection limit of DNA was 0.4 ng, the inter-assay and intra-assay precision were 100%, and the degradation ability of the UNG enzyme was 105 copies/μl in aerosol.The reaction system has a strong anti-interference ability to the genome and intermediate aerosol, and no cross-contamination between different matrices of the chip.@*Conclusions@#The time-of-flight mass spectrometry as a polygene detection system shows agood detection performance and can be applied to clinical detection. In addition, this paper established a performance verification research scheme based on the time-of-flight mass spectrometry platform polygene detection system.

Establishment of measurement threshold and comparison of results for detection of Treponema pallidum specific antibody by Siemens ADVIACentaur XP chemiluminescent immunoanalyzer / 生物工程学报

To investigate the detection threshold of Treponema pallidum specific antibody method by chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) in Siemens ADVIA Centaur XP for Syphilis serological test, and compare with the results derived from CMIA, TP-WB and TPPA method. The result can serve as reference for the application of CLIA. In total 30 887 samples screened by Treponema pallidum specific antibody method were collected by Abbott architect i2000 CMIA from July 2018 to July 2019 in Yanda Hospital of Hebei Province. We selected 153 patients with the ratio of sample absorbance to critical value (S/CO) of 1-9 by CMIA screening of Treponema pallidum specific antibody as the research objects. The reverse sequence of syphilis serological detection was adopted, and TP-WB and TPPA were used as the confirmation methods respectively. MedCalc software was used to analyze the results of ROC curve, and the cut-off value was obtained. Chi square test was used to test the difference significance of counting data. The detection results of Treponema pallidum specific antibody in the same batch of serum samples were unequal by different methods. There was no significant difference between CLIA method and TPPA method, but significant difference between CLIA method with TP-WB method and CMIA method was found. TPPA test results and TP-WB test results were taken as gold standards, ROC curve analysis showed that the best diagnostic cutoff value of CLIA method was 4.01 and 16.06, respectively, and the area under the curve was 0.961 and 0.838. The suggested cutoff value of CLIA method is quite different when using different syphilis serological test methods as the gold standard, Therefore, when the S/CO value determined by CLIA is between 1.00 to 16.06, TP-WB method should be recommended as the first choice in laboratory serological test for recheck and confirmation to avoid clinical misdiagnosis.

Performance verification of a time-of-flight mass spectrometry based cardiovascular drug-related polygene detection system / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:Toestablish and verify the method of genetic polymorphisms using time-of-flight mass spectrometry as a polygene testing platform.Methods:998 cases of DNA samples and 20 cases of whole blood samples were collected from Fuwai hospital of Chinese academy of medical sciencesduring September 2017 to October 2018, including 512 cases of males and 506 cases of females.280 patients aged 18-30, 442 patients aged 31-64, and 296 patients aged ≥65.11 cardiovascular drugsrelatedgenes in 998 DNA samples were detected by time-of-flight mass spectrometry to evaluate the compliance rate compared with identifiedresults. 20whole blood samples were selected to detect 11 genes using both time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Sanger sequencing. The results were compared twice, and accuracy was evaluated according to Sanger sequencing as the gold standard. Ten cases of genomic DNA with wild-type loci were selected for specific evaluation by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Samples containing all heterozygous genotypes were measured after gradient dilution to evaluate the detection sensitivity of the new method. Samples containing all 49 genotypes (two genotypes were not found because they are rare in Chinese population) were used in order to do the inter-assay and intra-assay precision evaluation. An anti-interference study was performed by selecting wild and homozygous mutant samples of represented heterozygous peak shape.Results:The results showed that the compliancerate of the single retrospective sample was over 99.5%. The resultsof time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Sanger sequencing was the same. The minimum detection limit of DNA was 0.4 ng, the inter-assay and intra-assay precision were 100%, and the degradation ability of the UNG enzyme was 10 5 copies/μl in aerosol.The reaction system has a strong anti-interference ability to the genome and intermediate aerosol, and no cross-contamination between different matrices of the chip. Conclusions:The time-of-flight mass spectrometry as a polygene detection system shows agood detection performance and can be applied to clinical detection. In addition, this paper established a performance verification research scheme based on the time-of-flight mass spectrometry platform polygene detection system.

Human tissue kallikrein-1 protects against the development of erectile dysfunction in a rat model of hyperhomocysteinemia / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which a diet inducing high hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) leads to the deterioration of erectile function in rats and whether this is inhibited by expression of the human tissue kallikrein-1 (hKLK1) gene. We established a rat model of HHcy by feeding methionine (Met)-rich diets to male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Male wild-type SD rats (WTRs) and transgenic rats harboring the hKLK1 gene (TGRs) were fed a normal diet until 10 weeks of age. Then, 30 WTRs were randomly divided into three groups as follows: the control (n = 10) group, the low-dose (4% Met, n = 10) group, and the high-dose (7% Met, n = 10) group. Another 10 age-matched TGRs were fed the high-dose diet and designated as the TGR+7% Met group. After 30 days, in all four groups, erectile function was measured and penile tissues were harvested to determine oxidative stress, endothelial cell content, and penis fibrosis. Compared with the 7% Met group, the TGR+7% Met group showed diminished HHcy-induced erectile dysfunction (ED), indicating the improvement caused by hKLK1. Regarding corpus cavernosum endothelial cells, hKLK1 preserved endothelial cell-cell junctions and endothelial cell content, and activated protein kinase B/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (Akt/eNOS) signaling. Fibrosis assessment indicated that hKLK1 preserved normal penis structure by inhibiting apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells. Taken together, these findings showed that oxidative stress, impaired corpus cavernosum endothelial cells, and severe penis fibrosis were involved in the induction of ED by HHcy in rats, whereas hKLK1 preserved erectile function by inhibiting these pathophysiological changes.

Association between resting heart rate trajectory pattern and risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To examine whether the long-term resting heart rate (RHR) pattern can predict the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs).@*Methods@#This prospective cohort study included 63 040 participants who took part in the health examination in 2006 and one of the health examinations on 2008 or 2010 and were free of myocardial infarction, stroke, arrhythmia, cancer and not treated with β-recepter blocker. The outcomes were the first occurrence of myocardial infarction and stroke during the follow up ended on December 31, 2015. RHRs were measured in 2006, 2008, and 2010. We used latent mixture modeling SAS Proc procedure to identify RHR trajectories. We identified 4 distinct RHR trajectory patterns based on the data derived from 2006 and on the pattern change during 2006 to 2010 (low-stable, moderate-stable, moderate-increasing, elevated-decreasing). Collected the general clinical data of the patients. Cox regression model was used to determine the association between RHR trajectory patterns and the risk of CVDs during follow up. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Cox regression modeling.@*Results@#There were statistical significance among the 4 distinct RHR trajectory patterns on the following variables: age, gender, smoking status, drinking status, physical activity, education status, history of use antihypertensive drugs, history of hypertension,history of diabetes, body mass index, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, and the level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (all P<0.01). The moderate-increasing pattern experienced the highest risk of developing stroke and CVDs among all 4 patterns. The cumulative incidence of cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and CVDs in the order of low-stable trajectory, moderate-stable trajectory and moderate-increasing trajectory. The cumulative incidences of cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and CVDs in elevated-decreasing trajectory group were significantly lower than those in moderate-increasing trajectory group, but higher than those in moderate-stable trajectory group. Compared to the low-stable pattern, adjusted HR was 1.3 (95%CI 1.0-1.6) for the moderate-increasing pattern after adjustment for potential confounders.@*Conclusion@#Our study finds that individuals with moderate-increasing RHR trajectory pattern are associated with higher risk of cardiovascular and CVDs.

Radiological study on the cup abduction angle during total hip arthroplasty / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the relationship among the parameters by measuring the relevant parameters of the anteroposterior X-ray of both hips in patients after total hip arthroplasty, to discuss the reliable anatomical markers and reference standards of acetabulum placement in total hip arthroplasty, and finally to accurately control the abduction angle of acetabulum.@*METHODS@#From January 2016 to June 2017, 282 patients (235 hips) underwent total hip arthroplasty and 128 patients(157 hips) met the inclusion criteria. There were 91 males and 37 females, 82 cases of the left hip and 75 cases of the right hip; ranging in age from 22 to 78 years old, with a mean of 55.1 years old. The abduction angle(β), ilium thickness (a), acetabular cup insertion depth (b), ischial thickness (c), acetabular cup insertion depth(d), acetabular abrasion and contusion depth(e) were measured on the postoperative AP X-ray of both hips, and the data were compared.@*RESULTS@#There was a positive correlation between β and b (=0.424, =0.000), a negative correlation between β and d (=-0.407, =0.000), a positive correlation between β and b/a (=0.419, =0.000), a negative correlation between β and d/c (=-0.472, =0.000). There was a linear relationship between β and b/a (5.753, =0.000) and a linear relationship between β and d/c (-6.671, =0.000).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The outreach angle is mainly controlled by the distance between the outer edge of the cup and the outer edge of the cup in the inferior portion(d) during the operation. The distance b from the outer edge of the cup can be used as a reference.

Design of SERS nanoprobes for Raman imaging: materials, critical factors and architectures

Raman imaging yields high specificity and sensitivity when compared to other imaging modalities, mainly due to its fingerprint signature. However, intrinsic Raman signals are weak, thus limiting medical applications of Raman imaging. By adsorbing Raman molecules onto specific nanostructures such as noble metals, Raman signals can be significantly enhanced, termed surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Recent years have witnessed great interest in the development of SERS nanoprobes for Raman imaging. Rationally designed SERS nanoprobes have greatly enhanced Raman signals by several orders of magnitude, thus showing great potential for biomedical applications. In this review we elaborate on recent progress in design strategies with emphasis on material properties, modifying factors, and structural parameters.

Research progress of gastric cancer circulating tumor cells / 国际外科学杂志

The incidence of gastric cancer ranks the fourth in all kinds of cancers in the world,ranking the second among patients with cancer-related deaths.The 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients is less than 30％.About 50％ of gastric cancer patients have recurred or metastasized after curative resection.Metastasis and recurrence are the major causes of death in cancer patients.CTCs play an important role in tumor metastasis.At present,there are more than 10 kinds of detection methods for CTCs in gastric cancer.The most widely used methods are RT-PCR,FCM,CelLTracks(R) AutoPrep(R) system and ISET.Recent studies have shown that CTCs in peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer can be used to determine the clinical stage of patients,assess the prognosis and guide the individualized treatment of cancer.

Lipoxin A4 improves erectile dysfunction in rats with type i diabetes by inhibiting oxidative stress and corporal fibrosis / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Previous studies have shown that oxidative stress and corporal fibrosis in penile tissues of rats were key pathological factors of erectile dysfunction induced by diabetic mellitus (DMED). Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) was reported to inhibit oxidative stress and fibrosis diseases, while whether it could exert a protective role on erectile function was not clear. Type I diabetic mellitus (DM) was induced in thirty male 10-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats using streptozotocin. Ten weeks later, twenty-two rats with DMED confirmed by an apomorphine test were divided into two groups: The DMED group (n = 11) and the DMED + LXA4 group (n = 11; LXA4 injection daily for 4 weeks). In addition, another ten age-matched rats formed the Control group. We found that erectile function was significantly impaired in the DMED group compared with the Control group, but was improved in the DMED + LXA4 group. Similarly, the over-activated oxidative stress and impaired endothelial function in the DMED group were both improved in the DMED + LXA4 group. Moreover, the DMED group showed serious corporal fibrosis, which was also inhibited by the treatment of LXA4 in the DMED + LXA4 group. Taken together, LXA4 could exert an inhibition role on oxidative stress and fibrosis to improve DMED effectively.

Reduced corporal fibrosis to protect erectile function by inhibiting the Rho-kinase/LIM-kinase/cofilin pathway in the aged transgenic rat harboring human tissue kallikrein 1 / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Our previous studies have demonstrated that erectile function was preserved in aged transgenic rats (TGR) harboring the human tissue kallikrein 1 (hKLK1), while the molecular level of hKLK1 on corporal fibrosis to inhibit age-related erectile dysfunction (ED) is poorly understood. Male wild-type Sprague-Dawley rats (WTR) and TGR harboring the hKLK1 gene were fed to 4- or 18-month-old and divided into three groups: young WTR (yWTR) as the control, aged WTR (aWTR), and aged TGR (aTGR). Erectile function of all rats was assessed by cavernous nerve electrostimulation method. Masson′s trichrome staining was used to evaluate corporal fibrosis in the corpus cavernosum. We found that the erectile function of rats in the aWTR group was significantly lower than that of other two groups. Masson′s trichrome staining revealed that compared with those of the yWTR and aTGR groups, the ratio of smooth muscle cell (SMC)/collagen (C) was significantly lower in the aWTR group. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting analysis were performed, and results demonstrated that expression of α-SMA was lower, while expressions of transforming growth factor-β 1 (TGF-β1), RhoA, ROCK1, p-MYPT1, p-LIMK2, and p-cofilin were higher in the aWTR group compared with those in other two groups. However, LIMK2 and cofilin expressions did not differ among three groups. Taken together, these results indicated that the RhoA/ROCK1/LIMK/cofilin pathway may be involved in the corporal fibrosis caused by advanced age, and hKLK1 may reduce this corporal fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of this pathway to ameliorate age-related ED.

Detection of ApoE gene polymorphism and serum Lp-PLA2 levels in patients with AD and sleep disorders / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate the association between apolipoprotein E(ApoE)gene polymorphism and serum lipoprotein-associated phospholipid(Lp-PLA2)level in patients with AD and sleep disorders. Methods Sixty-two AD patients and 26 healthy controls were enrolled in this study.The polymorphisms of ApoE gene and lev-els of serum Lp-PLA2,IL-6 and other serological indexes were determined,respectively.The mini-mental state ex-amination(MMSE)and Pittsburgh sleep index scale(PSQI)were used to evaluate the cognition and sleep status of AD patients and healthy controls. Results(1)ApoE ε3/4 and ε2/4 genotype were significantly higher in AD patients with sleep disorders(AD-1 group)compared with the healthy controls(P<0 05),and ApoEε3/4 genotype was significantly higher in patients in AD-1 group compared with AD patients without sleep disorder(AD-2 group) (P < 0 05).(2)The ApoEε4 allele frequency in patients in AD-1 group was significantly higher than that in pa-tients in the control group(P<0 05).(3)Levels of serum Lp-PLA2 and IL-6 were significantly higher in AD pa-tients with the ApoEε4 allele compared with AD patients without the ApoEε4 allele(P < 0 05). Conclusion ApoE gene polymorphism has a certain relationship with levels of serum Lp-PLA2 and IL-6 in patients with AD and sleep disturbance,and it′s speculated that the effect of ApoE gene polymorphism on sleep disorder may be associat-ed with inflammatory reaction.

Antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility of chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To explore the antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility of chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel. Methods There were 4 groups: group A (containing 1 ×10-5 chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel), group B (containing 5 ×10-6 chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel) , group C ( containing 2 ×10-6 chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel) , group D ( chitosan thermosensitive hydrogel ) .The antibacterial activity of the samples against six kinds of gram-negative bacteria, one kind of gram-positive bacterium, three kinds of fungi were measured by bacteriostatic circle.The cytocompatibility of the extraction to NIH-3T3 cells was studied by SRB. Results The antibacterial activity enhanced with the increasing of nano silver concentration in chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel, whose antibacterial activity was better than chitosan thermosensitive hydrogel; its extraction has no cytotoxicity, thus showed good cytocompatibility. Conclusion The chitosan-nano-silver complex thermosensitive hydrogel is a potential novel wound dressing.

Clinical Application of Extraction and Analysis of the Key Frames Based on IVUS Sequences / 生物医学工程学杂志

In this paper, we propose an image-based key frame gating method to reduce motion artifacts in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) longitudinal cuts. The artifacts are mainly caused by the periodic relative displacement between blood vessels and the IVUS catheter due to cardiac motion. The method is achieved in four steps as following. Firstly, we convert IVUS image sequences to polar coordinates to cut down the amount of calculation. Secondly, we extracted a one-dimensional signal cluster reflecting cardiac motion by spectral analysis and filtering techniques. Thirdly, we designed a Butterworth band-pass filter for filtering the one-dimensional signal clusters. Fourthly, we retrieved the extremes of the filtered signal clusters to seek key frames to compose key-frames gated sequences. Experimental results showed that our algorithm was fast and the average frame processing time was 17ms. Observing the longitudinal viewpictures, we found that comparing to the original ones, the gated sequences had similar trend, less saw tooth shape, and good continuity. We selected 12 groups of clinical IVUS sequences [images (876 +/- 65 frames), coronary segments length (14.61 +/- 1.08 mm)] to calculate vessel volume, lumen volume, mean plaque burden of the original and gated sequences. Statistical results showed that, on one hand, both vessel volume and lumen volume measured of the gated sequences were significantly smaller than those of the original ones, and there was no significant difference on mean plaque burden between original and gated sequences, which met the need of the clinical diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, variances of vessel area and lumen area of the gated sequences were significantly smaller than those of the original sequences, indicating that the gated sequences would be more stable than the original ones.

Effect of Drag-reducing Polymers on Coronary Microcirculation in Experimental Canine Model / 中国循环杂志

Objective: To test the feasibility of drag-reducing polymers (DRP) for improving coronary microcirculation in a canine model in order to provide the experimental basis for treating myocardial microcirculation dysfunction. Methods: A total of 8 dogs received open-chest surgery and they had intravenous injections, in turn, with adenosine (ADN), DRP 250 mg/L and DRP+ADN. The function y=A × (1-e-βt) was used to calculate the myocardium capillary volume (A value), capillary velocity (β value) and myocardial blood lfow (A ? β value) by myocardial contrast echocardiography. Results: With DRP infusion, the A value in experimental canine was similar to the baseline condition,P>0.05; while theβ value and A ? β value were signiifcantly increased as (0.57 ± 0.10) 1/s vs (0.23 ± 0.03) 1/s,P0.05. Conclusion: DRP improved coronary microcirculation primarily by modulating the β value in experimental canine model, and hopefully, this unique hemodynamics could provide a new approach for treating myocardial microcirculation dysfunction.

Clinical applications of circulating tumor cells detection in gastric carcinoma / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs)are special kind of tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patient with tumor.Now CTCs detection has been used in the survival time prediction,post-operational recu-rrence detection,individualized treatment and other aspects in the patients with gastric cancer.As the research going,CTCs will provide new help for the comprehensive treatment of gastric cancer.

Androgen may improve erectile function in castrated rats by regulating the ERK1/2 pathway / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway in erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by the absence of testosterone (T).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We randomly divided 30 eight-week-old healthy male SD rats into groups A (control) , B (castration), and C (castration + androgen replacement). The rats in groups B and C were castrated surgically, and those in C injected with T undecanoate (100 mg/kg) at 1 week after castration, while the others with 0.9% normal saline instead. At 1 month after treatment, we determined the serum T level, intracavernous pressure (ICP), and mean carotid arterial pressure (MAP) of the rats, and detected the expressions of ERK1/2 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum T level was significantly lower in group B ([1.27 ± 0.48] nmol/L) than in A ([17.14 ± 1.07] nmol/L) and C ([16.24 ± 1.90] nmol/L) (P < 0.05), and so were ICP and MAP (P < 0.05). The expression of ERK1/2 showed no statistically significant differences among the three groups (P > 0.05), that of phosphatase ERK1/2 was markedly higher while that of eNOS remarkably lower in group B than in A and C (both P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Androgen replacement may improve the erectile function of castrated rats by regulating the ERK1/2 pathway.</p>

Expression of IFITM3 in colorectal carcinoma and its clinical significance / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of IFITM3 in colorectal carcinoma and its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>213 patients with colon ademocarcinoma and 214 patients with colon adenoma treated by surgery in our hospital from March 2008 to June 2010 were included in this study. The levels of IFITM3 in normal colon nucosa, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma tissues were detected by real-time PCR and immunochemistry, and its relationship with metastasis and prognosis in 213 colorectal cancer patients was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The IFITM3 mRNA level in metastatic tumor group was 18.37 ± 0.61, significantly higher than that in the normal 4.49 ± 0.69 and non-metastases groups (7.32 ± 0.76; F = 460.380, P < 0.001). The positive rate of IFITM3 protein expression in metastatic tumor group (69.0%) was significantly higher than that in the normal (3.9%), non-metastasies groups (19.0%) and adenoma groups (11.3%). Our clinical analysis confirmed that the IFITM3 expression was associated with peritumoral invasion, hepatic metastases, metastases of para-colonic lymph nodes, mesocolonic lymph nodes and mesenteric root lymph nodes, omental metastasis and AJCC classification (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the survival curve analysis showed that patients with lower IFITM3 level expression had a higher 5-year survival rate (88.8%) than that in the patients with higher expression (40.2%, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>IFITM3 expression has a positive correlation with metastasis and prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma.</p>

Key frames extraction and application in intravascular ultrasound pullback sequences based on manifold learning / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>We propose an image-based key frames gating method for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) sequence based on manifold learning to reduce motion artifacts in IVUS longitudinal cuts.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We achieved the gating with Laplacian eigenmaps, a manifold learning technique, to determine the low-dimensional manifold embedded in the high-dimensional image space. A distance function was constructed by the low-dimensional feature vectors to reflect the heart movement. The IVUS images were classified as end-diastolic and non-end-diastolic based on the distance function, and the IVUS images collected in end-diastolic stage constitutes the key frames gating sequences.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We tested the algorithm on 13 in vivo clinical IVUS sequences (images 915±142 frames, coronary segments length 15.24±2.37 mm) to calculate the vessel volume, lumen volume, and the mean plaque burden of the original and gated sequences. Statistical results showed that both the vessel volume and lumen volume measured from the gated sequences were significantly smaller than the original ones, indicating that the gated sequences were more stable; the mean plaque burden was comparable between the original and gated sequences to meet the need in clinical diagnosis and treatment. In the longitudinal views, the gated sequences had less saw tooth shape than the original ones with a similar trend and a good continuity. We also compared our method with an existing gating method.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The proposed algorithm is simple and robust, and the gating sequences can effectively reduce motion artifacts in IVUS longitudinal cuts.</p>