Intervention of Astragalus membranaceus on radioactive lung injuries and influence on TNF-α and ET expression

Objective To observe the lung protection of Astragalus membranaceus against radiotherapy to intermediate-stage and terminal thoracic neoplasm, and its influence on TNF-α and ET expression.Methods The patients with intermediate-stage and terminal thoracic neoplasm under radiotherapy were divided into a treatment group and a control group.Patients in the treatment group took 10 ml of Asragalus membranaceus twice a day.for consecutive 6 months from the beginning of radio therapy.TNF-α and ET in the plasma were measured before and after the radiotherapy.The clinical symptom,iconographic changes and lung diffusion were observed from the 15th day of radiotherapy.Results The TNF-α and ET in plasma afterthe radiotherapy were(2.48±0.75)as/ml and(69.32±23.03)pg/ml for the treatment group,and(5.12±1.01)ns/ml and(97.87±37.83)pg/ml for the control group with the statistial difference(x2=7.49,6.57,P<0.001).The decrease of CO diffusion 5 and 10 months after the radiotherapy in the treatment group was statistically different compared with that in the control group(x2=3.98,3.78,P<0.05).There was a statistical difference of the incidence of acute radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis between these two groups(P<0.05).Conclusions Astragalus membranaceus could inhibit the excess expression of TNF-α and ET in plasma and reduce the deterioration of diffusion after radiotherapy,so that it can be used for intervention of lung injuries from radiotherapy.     

Intervention of Astragalus membranaceus on radioactive lung injuries and influence on TNF-α and ET expression

Objective To observe the lung protection of Astragalus membranaceus against radiotherapy to intermediate-stage and terminal thoracic neoplasm, and its influence on TNF-α and ET expression.Methods The patients with intermediate-stage and terminal thoracic neoplasm under radiotherapy were divided into a treatment group and a control group.Patients in the treatment group took 10 ml of Asragalus membranaceus twice a day.for consecutive 6 months from the beginning of radio therapy.TNF-α and ET in the plasma were measured before and after the radiotherapy.The clinical symptom,iconographic changes and lung diffusion were observed from the 15th day of radiotherapy.Results The TNF-α and ET in plasma afterthe radiotherapy were(2.48±0.75)as/ml and(69.32±23.03)pg/ml for the treatment group,and(5.12±1.01)ns/ml and(97.87±37.83)pg/ml for the control group with the statistial difference(x2=7.49,6.57,P<0.001).The decrease of CO diffusion 5 and 10 months after the radiotherapy in the treatment group was statistically different compared with that in the control group(x2=3.98,3.78,P<0.05).There was a statistical difference of the incidence of acute radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis between these two groups(P<0.05).Conclusions Astragalus membranaceus could inhibit the excess expression of TNF-α and ET in plasma and reduce the deterioration of diffusion after radiotherapy,so that it can be used for intervention of lung injuries from radiotherapy.     

Exercise and hypoxia: effects on leukocytes and interleukin-6-shared mechanisms?

Stress-induced immunological reactions to exercise have stimulated much research into stress immunology and neuroimmunology. It has been suggested that exercise can be employed as a model of temporary immunosuppression, which occurs during physical stress, such as hypoxia. Acute exercise and acute hypoxia mediate in principle identical effects on circulating lymphocyte and neutrophil numbers. Thus, during exercise and hypoxia, lymphocytes are recruited to the blood. After the stress, the number of lymphocytes declines after the stress, whereas the neutrophil number continues to increase. When exercise is performed during hypoxia, the exercise-induced immune changes are pronounced. There is some evidence that the exercise- and hypoxia-induced changes in leukocyte subpopulations are mediated by neuroendocrinological factors such as catecholamines, growth hormone, and cortisol. In contrast, although exercise, as well as hypoxia, is associated with increased plasma levels of IL-6, the mechanisms are not likely to be the same. Thus, during exercise, contracting skeletal muscles are the main source of IL-6 production, whereas the source of IL-6 during hypoxia has not been demonstrated. The increased level of adrenaline contributes to the enormous increase in plasma IL-6 only to a minor degree during strenuous exercise. However, the only modest increase in IL-6 during hypoxia may be linked to hormonal changes, whereas the prolonged increase in IL-6 during chronic hypoxia is likely to be multifactorial.     

Equipment leasing and imaging: what's going on?

In the fall of 2011, a survey of AHRA members was conducted to find out what is going on with leasing in imaging. This article discusses the survey findings as well as provides some background and definitions about leasing. Existing users of leasing are interested in becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of the economics of leasing. And non-users are seeking to learn more than just about how leases are structured. This growing interest suggests that increased utilization may be the outcome. The results of this survey were presented in detail at the Equipment Leasing and Financing Association (ELFA) Annual Convention. Attendees were encouraged to reflect on the survey results and design leasing products that satisfy the needs and requirements that the survey revealed.     

Follow‐up to the Seville statement on violence and the Yamoussoukro declaration on peace

This article gives a personal view of the health situation in a typical country in the South. Uganda is a country which is well endowed with natural resources, as are many countries in the South, but is plagued by poverty, conflict, endemic infectious diseases and, more recently, disease due to HIV. The article argues for an integrated solution to appropriate health care, proposing that good health results from sustainable development. It focuses on constraints to development such as conflict, militarization, environmental degradation, lack of community action, and inappropriate policies by both developing world governments and members of the international arena. All of these play a role in the achievement of sustainable equity world‐wide.     

False-positive and true-negative hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes on FDG-PET —Radiological-pathological correlation—

OBJECTIVE: To compare histological findings of FDG-PET false-positive and true-negative hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes. METHODS: Sixty-seven lymphnode areas in 11 patients who were diagnosed to have N3 lymph nodes by FDG-PET and underwent surgery were histologically examined, and the histopathological findings in false-positive and true-negative lymph nodes were compared. Lymph nodes with higher accumulation of FDG than the surrounding mediastinum level were judged as positive. On histological sections, proportions of macrophages and lymphocytes, amount of coal dust deposit, presence of silicotic nodules, long- and short-axes of the largest node, and volume of macrophages and lymphocytes were evaluated. Correlations between the above-mentioned factors and FDG accumulation were evaluated. RESULTS: FDG uptake was not correlated with the proportion of macrophages and lymphocytes, coal dust amounts, or the presence of silicotic nodules. The long- and short-axes of the largest node in the false-positive areas were significantly longer than those in the true-negative areas (p = 0.01, and 0.001, respectively). Volumes of lymph nodes (mean +/- SD: 150 +/- 190 mm3) and macrophages (78 +/- 71 mm3) in false-positive areas were markedly larger than those in true-negative areas (68 +/- 87 mm3, p = 0.0009 and 34 +/- 54 mm3, p = 0.0001, respectively). The volume of lymphocytes was also larger in false-positive areas but less markedly. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that false-positive results of FDG-PET in hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes were closely related to the size of lymph node and the volume of macrophages.     

Reflections on dangerousness and its prediction--a truly tantalizing task?

Risk or dangerousness is a problem which, of its very nature, must occupy the minds of all mental health and law enforcement professionals. Papers and research studies without number have attempted to define its extent and constituent elements and plumb the secrets of its assessment. Defining the tools and skills needed to analyze and predict dangerousness is a key contribution to helping psychiatrists and lawyers take their critical decisions on compulsory hospitalization, issuing or refusing a gun or driving license, etc. Members of other professions too have not only to decide whether or not to curtail an individual's civil rights but to be able to put forward rational and coherent grounds for their decision. And yet time after time mistaken decisions are made, frequently causing the subject of the decision unnecessary suffering and sometimes leading to a tragic outcome. The difficulty of risk assessment is its complexity, the result of a multitude of contributing and interacting variables. The 'dangerous person' does not have a single profile: there is no individual who under certain circumstances cannot become dangerous. That being so, the focus of our study must not be the factors capable of making a person violent but correctly managing the circumstances and situations in which violence can occur. For the purposes of this paper we concern ourselves only with the physical aspects of dangerousness. Although the risk we analyze here is bound up with an act of violence, we must keep in mind that dangerousness and violence are two separate concepts. After reviewing existing theory and current knowledge on risk assessment and prediction, we shall describe how the Israeli judicial and legislative systems deal with risk and attempt the task of forecasting the use of violence in a divided society in the throes of modernization. To close we propose an explorative study, designed to develop a short- and medium-range risk assessment instrument.     

Feng Chen’s work on translational and clinical imaging

Dr. Feng Chen is a chief medical doctor and the vice chairman of the Department of Radiology in Zhong Da Hospital at Southeast University, Nanjing, China and a senior researcher in the Department of Radiology at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. His main areas of interest are translational imaging research including stroke, tumor angiogenesis, assessment of therapeutic response in solid tumors, and magnetic resonance contrast media. Dr. Feng Chen has published 44 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals. He and his colleagues have developed an imaging platform which includes animal models, animal preparations and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols for translational animal imaging research using clinical machines. His MRI findings on rodent stroke are considered to "serve as a model for future laboratory investigations of treatment of acutestroke and unify the approaches developed for clinical studies". He and his colleagues have introduced a novel liver tumor model in rodents, in which a series of studies concerning the antitumor activity of vascular disrupting agents have been successively conducted and assessed by in vivo MRI, especially by diffusion weighted imaging as an imaging biomarker. His goal is to provide valuable references for clinical practice and to contribute to the translation of animal imaging research into patient applications.     

Effects of Tai Ji Exercise on Bone Structure and Function

1　IntroductionExerciseisgenerallyacceptedasbeingofvalueintheconditionofosteoporosis .Moderateexerciseprotectsagainstosteoporosis .Toolittleorexcessiveexercisemaycauseosteoporosis (O’Brien ,2 0 0 1) [10 ] .Thereislittleresearchonthepotentialbenefitsoflowintensityphysicalactivityintermsofhealthandwellbeinginthecommuni ty .ThisstudyhassignificanceforthecommunityandforanincreasedunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenTaiJiexerciseandbonehealth .2　ResearchDesignandMethodologyToevaluatetheeffec…     

Effect of Aerobatics on Plasma Adrenomedulin Level and Its Significance

目的肾上腺髓质素（Ａｄｒｅｎｏｍｅｄｕｌｉｎ，ＡＤＭ）是新近发现的对心血管系统具有重要作用的血管活性多肽，本研究旨在探讨特技飞行对血浆ＡＤＭ含量的影响及其意义。方法以１６名健康飞行人员为试验对象，另设１６名健康地勤人员为对照组。飞行人员进行复杂特技飞行，其最大加速度为＋６．５ＧＺ。飞行人员组于特技飞行前（６：００ａ．ｍ．空腹）、特技飞行后即刻（１０：００ａ．ｍ．）和特技飞行后６ｈ（４：００ｐ．ｍ．）取血，对照组于上述同步时间取血，用放免方法测定血浆ＡＤＭ含量。结果①特技飞行前，飞行人员组血浆ＡＤＭ含量明显高于对照组（Ｐ＜０．００１）。②飞行人员组血浆ＡＤＭ含量在特技飞行后即刻较飞行前明显降低（Ｐ＜０．００１），６ｈ后其血浆ＡＤＭ含量恢复到飞行前水平。③对照组血浆ＡＤＭ含量在特技飞行前、特技飞行后即刻和特技飞行后６ｈ的同步时间比较均无显著变化。结论飞行人员血浆ＡＤＭ基础含量较地勤人员高，可能与飞行人员经常承受飞行因素的影响有关。特技飞行可引起血浆ＡＤＭ含量明显降低，其主要原因可能与特技飞行时血流动力学变化有关，并对维持心脑血液供应具有重要意义     

Effects of high altitude on substrate use and metabolic economy: cause and effect?

In a variety of experimental models, hypoxia causes a shift in substrate use to favor increased dependence on glucose. One explanation for this phenomenon is a selective advantage derived from the increased metabolic economy (more ATP derived per unit oxygen consumed) that results when glucose is oxidized rather than lipid. In support of this hypothesis, after acclimatization to hypoxia, lower oxygen consumption at a given submaximal workload has often been reported. However, evidence from several experimental models is inconsistent with the idea that the increase in glucose use is causally related to greater metabolic economy.     

Paediatric and adolescent Hodgkin lymphoma: information derived from diffuse organ uptake of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose on pre-treatment and on interim PET/CT

Purpose

To evaluate, in children with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), the frequency and intensity of visually diffuse FDG uptake by selected organs at baseline (bPET) and on interim PET/CT (iPET), and to evaluate the relation between FDG uptake, metabolic response and evolution of the disease with treatment.

Patients and methods

Thirty children with HL had bPET and then iPET after two cycles of treatment, which were blind-read retrospectively. Excluding sites with focal uptake, diffuse FDG uptake by thymus, bone marrow at iliac crests, liver, spleen, and the spinal cord at the 12th thoracic vertebra (Th12) was evaluated visually using a three-point scoring method and semiquantitatively by measuring SUVmax. Visualisation of activated brown adipose tissue (BAT) was also quoted. Five children had refractory HL. Recurrence-free survival was determined for each patient. Nine patients relapsed; in 21 non-relapsing patients, the median follow-up period was 43 months (range: 28–61).

Results

On bPET, the rate of diffuse and intense (visual score?=?3) FDG uptake was 48 % in the spleen, 43 % in the spinal cord at Th12, 37 % in bone marrow, 21 % in the thymus and 7 % in BAT. At least one of those sites showed diffuse and intense FDG uptake in 77 % of patients. On iPET, a significant decrease in SUVmax was observed in thymus, iliac crest bone marrow and spleen, but not in spinal cord. In contrast, the FDG uptake by the liver significantly increased. The absence of SUVmax increase in the liver between bPET and iPET was the best criterion to predict a refractory disease (PPV?=?55 %, NPV?=?100 %). Its area under ROC (AUC) was 0.9 vs. 0.73 for five-point Deauville criteria. For prediction of relapse, two criteria were derived from the evolution of diffuse uptake between bPET and iPET: no increase in liver uptake and an increase?>?5 % in spinal cord uptake. As compared with 13 patients who matched none of those criteria, the hazard ratio (HR) for relapse was 2.1 in 13 patients who matched one criterion, and 10.3 in four patients who matched both (Kaplan-Meier analysis p?=?0.005).

Conclusion

Diffuse and intense FDG uptake by organs is frequent in children with HL on bPET. On iPET, it is frequently reduced in all sites except the liver, which may pose problems for visual quotation of the FDG intensity of HL foci. The variation of SUVmax between bPET and iPET permitted us to achieve a prediction of refractory or relapsing HL that was at least as effective as using criteria based on FDG uptake by the HL lesions. The results of this retrospective pilot study need further validation.

     

Are the osseous and tendinous-cartilaginous tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove distances the same on CT and MRI?

Objective

To verify whether the tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove distance (TT-TG) and the tendinous-cartilaginous TT-TG (the distance between the patellar tendon and trochlear groove: PT-TG) are identical using computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques.

Subjects and methods

The TT-TG and PT-TG distances were measured on the same knee samples by three observers (two measurements per observer) using CT and MRI scans collected retrospectively. The reproducibility of the measurements was assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The means and standard deviations of four measurements were calculated for each patient. A paired t-test was used to assess differences between measurements.

Results

Fifty knee samples (32 with patellar instability and 18 with other conditions) were evaluated. The inter- and intraobserver reliability was excellent for all four measurements (>0.8). On average, the TT-TG distance on MRI was 3.1–3.6 mm smaller than that on CT, and the PT-TG distance on MRI was 1.0–3.4 mm larger than the TT-TG distance on MRI.

Conclusion

The osseous TT-TG and tendinous-cartilaginous PT-TG distances determined by CT and MRI were not identical.

     

Breakthrough:Researches on Skin Regeneration and Duplication by Stem Cell in vivo and in situ

ＣｈｉｎａＮａｔｉｏｎａｌＢｕｒｎｓＡｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ (Ｗｅｓｔ-Ｅａｓｔ)ｈｅｌｄａｐｒｅｓｓｒｅｌｅａｓｅｏｎ“ＡｃｈｉｅｖｅｍｅｎｔｓｏｎＢｕｒｎＴｒｅａｔｍｅｎｔｂｙＳｋｉｎＲｅ ｇｅｎｅｒａｔｉｏｎｉｎＣｈｉｎａ”ｉｎＢｅｉｊｉｎｇｔｏｄａｙ .ＴｈｅｐｒｅｓｓｒｅｌｅａｓｅｗａｓｆｏｃｕｓｅｄｏｎｓｅｒｉｅｓｏｆｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈａｃｈｉｅｖｅｍｅｎｔｓａｃｃｏｍｐｌｉｓｈｅｄｂｙＰｒｏｆｅｓｓｏｒＲｏｎｇｘｉａｎｇＸｕａｎｄｈｉｓｔｅａｍ .Ｕｓｉｎｇｒｅｓｉｄｕａｌｖｉａｂｌｅｂｕｒ…     

Effects of the new generation α-pyrrolidinophenones on spontaneous locomotor activities in mice,and on extracellular dopamine and serotonin levels in the mouse striatum

Purpose

Pyrovalerone derivatives (α-pyrrolidinophenones) form a distinct branch of synthetic cathinones, a popular group of novel psychoactive substances, and exert strong psychostimulatory effects resulting from their high potency to inhibit dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine transporters, with negligible activity at the serotonin (5-HT) transporter. In contrast to the old generation α-pyrrolidinophenones, 3,4-MDPV and α-PVP, there is limited data on the pharmacology and toxicology of the novel analogs. Therefore, the present study assesses the in vivo effects of two new pyrovalerones, PV8 and PV9, along with those of α-PVP, on spontaneous locomotor activities of mice and extracellular DA and 5-HT levels in the mouse striatum.

Methods

Spontaneous locomotor activity was measured using Opto-Varimex Auto-Track. Effects of tested compounds on extracellular levels of DA and 5-HT in the striatum were studied by an in vivo microdialysis technique; their concentrations in dialysate fractions were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

Results

α-PVP, PV8 and PV9 stimulated mice locomotor activity (an effect being blocked by D₁-dopamine receptor antagonist, SCH 23390), and increased extracellular levels of DA and 5-HT in the striatum. Observed effects depend on dose, time and compound under investigation, with α-PVP being more potent than PV8 and PV9. When used at the same dose, the pyrovalerones produced effects significantly weaker than a model, old generation psychostimulant, methamphetamine.

Conclusions

Enhancement of dopaminergic neurotransmission plays a dominant role in the psychomotor stimulation caused by α-PVP, PV8 and PV9. Extending an aliphatic side chain beyond a certain point leads to the decrease in their potency in vivo.

     

Combined Effect of Noise and Vibration on Articulation of Chinese Syllable

为研究噪声、振动复合因素对汉语发音的影响，对汉语单音节的语音特征变化进行了研究。本研究设计了获取噪声与振动复合因素下发音的实验，实验分噪声与振动复合因素、单独噪声、单独振动、正常对照四种条件，并建立了一套语音处理硬件系统，编制了语音分析程序和显著性检验程序。结果表明，噪声与振动复合因素下，汉语语音的基频、能量、时长与对照组和单因素组比较都有显著性增加。这一结果对于航天中语音识别系统的设计具有一定的参考价值。