Relationship between the Plasma Fibulin-1 Levels, Pulse Wave Velocity, and Vascular Age in Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia.

Fibulin-1 (FBLN-1), an elastin-associated extracellular matrix protein, has been found in blood and may play a role in the pathophysiological processes leading to cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to investigate the relationship between fibulin-1 levels and the risk of CVD by evaluating vascular age derived from the Framingham Heart Study and brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) in patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (AHU). In total, 66 patients with AHU and 66 gender- and age-matched healthy individuals were enrolled. The plasma fibulin-1 levels were measured by immunochemistry. Patients with AHU presented significantly higher vascular age [median (interquartile range): 54 (22) vs. 48 (14) years, P=0.01] and baPWV [mean±SD: 1373±223 vs. 1291±177 cm/s, P=0.02] than the healthy subjects; however, no significant difference was observed in the plasma fibulin-1 level between the patients with AHU and healthy subjects [median (interquartile range): 4018 (3838) vs. 3099 (3405) ng/mL, P=0.31]. A correlation between fibulin-1 levels and baPWV was observed only in patients with AHU (r=0.29, P=0.02); and there was also a suggestively statistically significant correlation between fibulin-1 levels and vascular age (r=0.22, P=0.08). However, these associations were rendered insignificant after adjustments for potential confounders. In healthy subjects, no correlation was observed between fibulin-1 levels and CVD risk. This study reveals that plasma fibulin-1 levels may reflect the CVD risk in patients with AHU, but the relationship is not robust.

Trichostatin a inhibits phenotypic transition and induces apoptosis of the TAF-treated normal colonic epithelial cells through regulation of TGF-ß pathway.

Tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) contribute to transdifferentiation of stromal cells in tumor microenvironment. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a procedure of phenotypic remodeling of epithelial cells and extensively exists in local tumoral stroma. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor Tricostatin A (TSA) and sodium butyrate (SB) are reported to play important roles in the regulation of biological behaviour of cancer cells. However, whether TSA or SB is involved in control of EMT in colon epithelial cells induced by TAFs remains unidentified. In present study, we used conditioned medium (CM) form TAF-like CCD-18Co cells to stimulate 2D- and 3D-cultured colon epithelial HCoEpiC cells for 24 h and 4 d. We found that the CCD-18Co CM triggered multiple morphological changes in HCoEpiCs including prolonged cell diameters, down-regulation of E-cadherin and up-regulation of vimentin and α-SMA. Besides, ZEB1 and Snail expression and migration were also promoted by the CM. These phenomena were abolised by 5 µg/ml LY364947, a TGF-ß receptor inhibitor. CCD-18Co induced up-regulation of HDAC1 and HDAC2 in the 2D and 3D models, while no change of HDAC4 exprerssion was found. Treatment of 2 µg/ml TSA reversed the CCD-18Co-induced morphological changes and migration of the HCoEpiCs, and suppressed the downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of vimentin, α-SMA, ZEB1 and Snail. However, the suppressive effect of 4 mg/ml SB on the EMT was not observed. TSA down-regulated the expressions of Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3 amd HDAC4. Besides, TSA promoted the apoptosis rate (36.84 ± 6.52%) comparing with the CCD-18Co-treated HCoEpiCs (3.52 ± 0.85%, P < 0.05), with promotion of Bax (0.5893±0.0498 in 2D and 0.8867±0.0916 in 3D) and reduction of Bcl-2 (0.0476±0.0053 in 2D and 0.0294±0.0075 in 3D). TSA stimulated expression of phosphorylated-p38 MAPK in 2D (0.3472±0.0249) and 3D (0.3188±0.0248). After pre-treatment with p38 MAPK inhibitor VX-702 (0.5 mg/ml), the apoptosis rate of TSA was decreased in 2D (10.32%) and 3D (5.26%). Our observations demonstrate that epigenetic treatment with HDAC inhibitor TSA may be a useful therapeutic tool for the reversion of TAF-induced EMT in colon epithelium through mediating canonical Smads pathway and non-canonical p38 MAPK signalling.

Use of humour in medical education: a survey of students and teachers at a medical school in China.

OBJECTIVE: Humour is a powerful resource in medical education. The purpose of this study is to investigate what students and teachers think about the use of humour. What challenges do teachers face in using humour and how they address them are also the subject of the present study. DESIGN: Separate cross-sectional questionnaire surveys. SETTING: Tongji Medical College and Tongji Hospital in China. PARTICIPANTS: 327 students at Tongji Medical College and 165 physician teachers at Tongji Hospital in China. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary study outcome was assessed by proportion. RESULTS: 87% of student and teacher respondents agreed with using humour in the didactic setting. They felt humour fostered a positive didactic atmosphere. Interesting clinical case was the most frequently used humour type by teachers and considered the most effective by students. Lack of humorous materials related to the lecture subject was the main challenge to humour use cited by teachers. Collecting humorous materials in teacher's daily work and life, observing teachers with a reputation for successfully using humour, and efficiently using the internet-enhanced humour use ability. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms that most medical students and physician teachers support the use of humour in medical didactics, with particular strategies aiding its use and positive impact.

Relationship between preoperative renal cortical thickness and glomerular filtration rate before and after minimally invasive surgery in patients with unilateral upper urinary tract obstruction / 中国内镜杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between preoperative renal cortical thickness and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) before and after minimally invasive surgery in patients with unilateral upper urinary tract obstruction. Methods 63 patients with upper urinary tract obstruction from July 2015 to June 2016 were enrolled in the study, including 34 males and 29 females, age ranged from 22 to 73 years old (52.21 ± 11.56). Their operation methods included 24 cases of ureteroscopic lithotripsy and lithotomy, 21 cases with one-stage percutaneous nephrostomy + two-stage percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), 18 cases of PCNL. The abdominal enhanced CT and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were measured to RCT and GFR. Then all cases were divided into group A (moderate renal impairment, 15.0 ml/min ≤ GFR < 30 ml/min), group B (severe renal damage, 7.5 ml/min ≤ GFR <15.0 ml/min) and group C (extremely severe renal injury, GFR < 7.5 ml/min) according to preoperative renal GFR, and changes of GFR before and after surgery were compared among three groups. Simple linear correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between preoperative RCT and other indexes in group A and B. Results 9 patients were not measured RCT because of serious hydronephrosis, 54 patients included 20 cases of RCT >10 mm, 23 cases of 5 ～ 7 mm and 11 cases of <5 mm, and the average value was (10.75 ± 4.91) mm. The preoperative RCT in group A was significantly higher than that in group B (P < 0.05). GFR at 1 and 9 months after operation in three groups were significantly higher than that before operation in the same group (P < 0.05). GFR at 1 and 9 months after operation in group A were significantly higher than that the other two groups, and GFR at 9 months after operation in group B was significantly higher than that in group C (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in GFR at 1 month after operation between group B and C (P > 0.05). GFR recovery value at 1 month after operation in group B was significantly lower than that in other two groups (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in GFR at 9 months after operation among three groups (P > 0.05). Preoperative RCT was positively correlated with preoperative GFR (r = 0.613), GFR at 1 month after operation (r = 0.697) and the recovery value (r = 0.552), GFR at 9 months after operation ((r = 0.589) and recovery values (r = 0.488), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Removal of upper urinary tract obstruction could recover the renal function to varying degrees, even for patients with extremely severe renal injury, who could retrieve their kidney. Preoperative RCT could be helpful in judging the renal function during operation, especially for the postoperative recovery of renal function.

A meta-analytic review of prevalence for Brugada ECG patterns and the risk for death.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of Brugada ECG pattern (BrEP) is different in different regions, and its mean prevalence over the world is unknown. The risk of people with BrEP for death remains unknown. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of BrEP and risk ratio (RR) for death. METHODS: Relevant studies published between July 1, 2000 and August 20, 2016, which contain prevalence and RR for all-cause death and cardiac death, were included. The prevalence and RR are analyzed using meta-analysis. RESULTS: We finally retrieved 24 studies of the prevalence for BrEP and 5 studies of the RR for all-cause death and cardiac death. The worldwide mean prevalence of BrEP is 0.4%, with highest in Asia (0.9%) and lowest in North America (0.2%). Additionally, the mean prevalence in male is 0.9%, whereas it is 0.1% in female. The RR of BrEP for all-cause death is 0.78 (95% confidence interval 0.45-1.37), and for cardiac death it is 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.23-3.66). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of BrEP is about 0.4% around the world with different prevalence in region and sex. Our study shows that BrEP may not be taken as a predictor of all-cause death and cardiac death.

Values of hemodynamic variation in response to passive leg raising in predicting exercise capacity of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

In heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction, their hemodynamic parameters usually change when they are from recumbent to passive leg raising. The authors designed this study to investigate the relationship between hemodynamic parameters measured by impedance cardiography (ICG) and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). We recruited 49 subjects with HFPEF in the study, and all the subjects were separated into 2 groups: the patients whose hemodynamic parameters rose after passive leg raising were in group 1 (n = 26) and the patients whose hemodynamic parameters did not rise after passive leg raising were in group 2 (n = 23). Our study then compared the 6MWD, left ventricular ejection fraction, and plasma NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide between the 2 groups. Group 1 had significantly longer 6MWD than group 2 (515.38 ±â€Š24.97 vs 306.39 ±â€Š20.20 m; P = 0.043). Hemodynamic parameters measured by ICG significantly correlated with 6MWD in both groups. Patients whose hemodynamic parameters rose in response to passive leg raising were more likely to have better exercise capacity. Hemodynamic variation in response to passive leg raising measured by ICG may be more sensitive in predicting exercise capacity of patients with HFPEF.

Correlation between impedance cardiography and 6 min walk distance in atrial fibrillation patients.

BACKGROUND: The correlation between impedance cardiography (ICG) and 6 min walk distance (6MWD) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients remains unknown. METHODS: We recruited 49 subjects in the study (21 AF patients and 28 patients without AF) and estimated hemodynamic parameters: cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), stroke volume index (SVI), left stroke work (LSW), left stroke work index (LSWI), stroke systemic vascular resistance (SSVR), stroke systemic vascular resistance index (SSVRI); 6MWD, left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), NT-pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) for the two groups. RESULTS: The AF group have apparently lower CO (2.26 ± 0.14 VS 4.11 ± 0.20 L/min, p = 0.039) and distinctly higher SVR (677.60 ± 69.10 VS 344.41 ± 22.98 dynes/cm(5), p = 0.001), SSVRI (396.97 ± 36.80 VS 199.01 ± 11.72 dynes/cm(5)/m(2), p < 0.001) than the control group. NT-pro BNP (1409.48 ± 239.90 VS 332.59 ± 68.85 pg/ml, p = 0.001) in the AF group was significantly higher than the control group and 6MWD (264.33 ± 14.55 VS 428.79 ± 29.98 m, p < 0.001) in the AF group was lower than the control group. There was no significant difference in LVEF between the two groups (62.67 ± 7.62 % VS 63.93 ± 5.03 %, p = 0.470). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that CO (R = 0.494, p = 0.023), SV (R = 0.633, p = 0.002), LSW (R = 0.615, p = 0.003) and LSWI (R = 0.491, p = 0.024) significantly correlated positively with 6MWD in AF patients. CONCLUSIONS: AF patients had lower cardiac output, shorter 6MWD and higher NT-pro BNP than patients with sinus rhythm. The cardiac output measured by impedance cardiography significantly correlated positively with 6MWD in AF patients.

FOXP3 demethylation as a means of identifying quantitative defects in regulatory T cells in acute coronary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The contribution of regulatory T cells (Tregs) to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains poorly understood. One core obstacle is the lack of Treg-specific markers. A highly conserved CpG enriched element in forkhead box P3 intron 1 (FOXP3 i l) is unmethylated only in Tregs, and measuring the unmethylation of FOXP3 i l can be used to identify the role of Tregs in clinical diseases. This study investigated whether analyzing the demethylation status of FOXP3 i 1 is a more reliable means than using Treg-specific surface markers in ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated circulating Tregs percentages on different levels including cell frequencies (CD4(+)CD25(hi)FOXP3(+)Tregs and CD4(+)CD25(hi)CD45(+)naïve Tregs) or FOXP3 mRNA, FOXP3 i 1 demethylation status and related cytokine secretion in 89 patients with ACS and 35 controls. FOXP3 i 1 demethylation assay showed that the amount of Tregs in ACS patients was significantly reduced than that in controls (p = 0.0005). However, flow cytometry analysis did not identify any reduction of CD4(+)CD25(hi)FOXP3(+)Tregs in ACS patients. Notably, younger patients had higher percentage of CD4(+)CD25(hi)FOXP3(+)Tregs but decreased percentage of CD4(+)CD25(hi)CD45(+)naïve Tregs than either controls or older patients. Furthermore, a DNA hypomethylation agent increased the amount of CD4(+)CD25(hi)FOXP3(+)Tregs and Tregs related cytokine IL-10 and suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-γ by inducing FOXP3 i 1 demethylation in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: A quantitative defect of Tregs, suggestive of decreased peripheral tolerance, could be a potential hallmark of ACS disease. Targeting FOXP3 i l demethylation might elevate the inhibitory activity of Tregs in ACS.

[Study of the effect of temperature on the conformation of ovotransferrin by two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy].

The conformation changes of Apo-Ovotransferrin and Holo-Ovotransferrin were studied with the heat treatment 25-95 degrees C by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy analyzer. The results of one-dimensional infrared spectroscopy showed that with the increase in temperature, the peak at 3 300 cm(-1) of Apo-Ovo-transferrin shifted more than that of Holo-Ovotransferrin. The peak at 3 300 cm(-1) derived from stretching vibrations of N-H and O-H indicates that iron-binding enhanced the role of hydrogen bonds and resistance to heat. The changing order of the secondary structure of ovotransferrin was determined by analyzing two-dimensional infrared spectra,witch is beta-sheet>amide II >-CH2 - bending vibration. In addition, it was found that the cross-peaks at 1 652 and 1 688 cm(-1) are different in synchronous and asynchronous counter maps by comparing Apo-Ovotransferrin with Holo-Ovotransferrin. It was suggested that the temperature made less impact on the alpha-helix in Holo-Ovotransferrin than on that in Apo-Ovotransferrin, however, the beta-turn in Holo-Ovotransferrin was more sensitive to temperature.

[Investigation of interaction between riboflavin and riboflavin binding protein by fluorescence spectroscopy].

The interaction between riboflavin and egg white riboflavin binding protein (RBP) was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy. The binding mode, binding constants, thermodynamic parameters between riboflavin and RBP and energy transfer were studied. The experimental results showed that riboflavin has the ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of RBP because of a complex formed, and the quenching mechanism is static quenching. The binding constants were 5.35 x 10(8), 1.54 x 10(8), 0.56 x 10(8) L x mol(-1) at 298, 308 and 318 K, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated, which suggested hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals played a major role in the interaction. The distance and efficiency of energy transfer between riboflavin and RBP were 0.70 nm and 0.39, respectively, based on the theory of Forster nonradiative energy transfer. Furthermore, the synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy was utilized to investigate the conformational transformation.

[The application value of the PACS in general hospitals].

In order to evaluate the diagnostic value of the PACS, the PACS has been applied to Dept.of Radiology in Renji Hospital in Shanghai for nearly two and a half years. Clinical practice shows that the doctors can work more efficiently and accurately by using the diagnostic workstation of PACS. PACS is an inevitable development trend of image diagnosis and is playing a more and more important role in clinical applications.