Application of Intravascular Imaging in Forensic Autopsy.

ABSTRACT: With the emergence of new technologies and devices including minimally invasive catheters and rotary couplers, the application of imaging technology such as traditional ultrasound and optical coherence tomography （OCT） is gradually expanded. In recent years, intravascular ultrasound （IVUS） and OCT have become increasingly mature as coronary intravascular imaging techniques, and therefore become an important complementary means of coronary angiography. Although studies on feasibility of clinical applications of IVUS and OCT have been confirmed in the evaluation of previous cadaver studies, these techniques have been neglected in forensic autopsy. This paper reviews the application value of IVUS and OCT in forensic autopsy, especially in the adjuvant evaluation of coronary artery disease. Including the characteristics of IVUS and OCT imaging technology, the problems of coronary examination in traditional autopsy and the specific application of new intravascular imaging technology in forensic autopsy.

[Effect of pretreatment serum LDH and ALP levels on the prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Objective:To investigate the effects of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels on the prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) before treatment.Method:Three hundred and thirty nine NPC cases, who were firstly treated in our hospital from April 2006 to October 2008, were enrolled in our study. Association of overall survival (OS) rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate with clinical characteristics (age, gender, Tclassification, Nclassification, clinicalstage, radio therapy methods, radio therapy dose, the levels of pretreatment serum LDH) were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis methods.Result:Univariate analysis showed that age, clinical stage, pretreatment LDH level were significantly associated with OS and DFS of NPC. And multivariate analysis revealed that age, clinical stage and pretreatment LDH level were independent factors for OS and DFS.Conclusion:Age, clinical stage and the levels of pretreatment LDH level may be independent prognostic factorsto predict recurrence and death of NPC.

Downregulation of miR-145-5p correlates with poor prognosis in gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the clinical significance of miR-145-5p expression in gastric cancer (GC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Expression of miR-145-5p was evaluated by qRT- PCR in tumor and normal gastric tissues in 145 GC patients. The correlation between the miR-145-5p expression and clinicopathological parameters was investigated. Finally, the survival was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Expression levels of miR-145-5p in GC tissues were significantly lower than those in adjacent normal tissues (p < 0.001). MiR-145-5p expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, metastasis stage, and distant metastasis (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, Patients with low miR-145-5p expression had poorer overall survival time than those with high miR-145-5p expression (p = 0.014). Moreover, univariate and multivariate Cox analysis showed that miR-145-5p was an independent prognostic indicator for OS (p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: MiR-145-5p is down-expressed in GC, and can be used as a marker of poor prognosis in GC patients.

Phytotreatment of sewage sludge contaminated by heavy metals and PAHs by co-planting Sedum alfredii and Alocasia marorrhiza.

High concentrations of heavy metals and organic pollutants in municipal sewage sludge are key factors limiting its use in agriculture. The objectives of this study were to decrease the heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in sewage sludge by phytotreatment and to determine, in a field experiment, whether co-planting is more effective than using a mono-crop of Sedum alfredii. Four treatments were used in the plot experiment: no sludge, no plants, S. alfredii and co-planting S. alfredii and Alocasia marorrhiza. The results showed that co-planting produced tubers and shoots of A. marorrhiza that were suitable as a safe animal feed and good organic K fertilizer, respectively. Co-planting was more effective than mono-planting at reducing concentrations of total Zn and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Zn, Cd, and Cu in the sludge. Co-planting decreased the concentrations of DTPA-extractable heavy metals and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in the sludge significantly compared with the unplanted sludge. Decreases of 87, 75, 85, 31, and 64% were obtained for B[a]P and DTPA-extractable Zn, Cd, Cu, and Pb, respectively, compared with the fresh sludge. These results indicate that co-planting can reduce significantly the environmental risks associated with heavy metals and B[a]P in sewage sludge for further disposal.

Phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soil by co-cropping with chelator application and assessment of associated leaching risk.

Phytoextraction using hyperaccumulating plants is generally time-consuming and requires the cessation of agriculture. We coupled chelators and a co-cropping system to enhance phytoextraction rates, while allowing for agricultural production. An experiment on I m3 lysimeter beds was conducted with a co-cropping system consisting of the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii and low-accumulating corn (Zea Mays, cv. Huidan-4), with addition ofa mixture of chelators (MC), to assess the efficiency of chelator enhanced co-crop phytoextraction and the leaching risk caused by the chelator. The results showed that the addition of MC promoted the growth of S. alfredii in the first crop (spring-summer season) and significantly increased the metal phytoextraction. The DTPA-extractable and total metal concentrations in the topsoil were also reduced more significantly with the addition of MC compared with the control treatments. However, mono-cropped S. alfredii without MC was more suitable for maximizing S. alfredii growth and therefore phytoextraction of Zn and Cd during the autumn-winter seasons. No adverse impact to groundwater due to MC application was observed during the experiments with three crops and three MC applications. But elevated total Cd and Pb concentrations among subsoils compared to the initial subsoil concentrations were found for the co-crop + MC treatment after the third crop.