The role of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB in the protective effect of ulinastatin on the intestinal mucosal barrier in mice with sepsis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB (Toll-like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor/nuclear factor kappa B) signalling pathway on the protective effect of ulinastatin on the intestinal mucosal barrier in mice with sepsis.

Methods: A mouse model of sepsis was established by classical caecal ligation and perforation. Forty-four SPF C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the following four groups with 11 mice in each group: the control group (Con group), ulinastatin group (Uti group), Uti + LPS (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) group (Uti + LPS group) and LPS group.

Associations of CD14 variants with the triglyceride levels and risk of myocardial infarction in an Eastern Chinese Han population.

Background: CD14 is crucial in the progression of myocardial infarction (MI). Several studies have explored the association between the risk of MI and the CD14 C-260 T polymorphism, but have reported inconsistent results.

Methods: This study analyzed the association of the CD14 C-260 T polymorphism with susceptibility to MI.

A Variant of Is Associated with the Risk and Blood Lipid Levels of Myocardial Infarction in Eastern Chinese Individuals.

In this study, we determined to interpret the effects of the polymorphism on myocardial infarction (MI) risk. This study, conducted in a Chinese Han population, recruited 369 MI patients and 465 controls. The variant of gene ( polymorphism) was genotyped by PCR-RFLP method.

Complete mitochondrial genome and the phylogenetic position of the sp. (Crustacea, Isopod, Sphaeromatidae).

The complete mitogenome of sp. (Crustacea, Isopod, Sphaeromatidae) was determined in this study. The total length of mitogenome was 15,839 bp, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, 1 control region, and 2 unknown fragments which longer than 200 bp.

MicroRNA-20b-5p regulates propofol-preconditioning-induced inhibition of autophagy in hypoxia-and-reoxygenation-stimulated endothelial cells.

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a major cause of clinical emergencies during and after surgical procedures. Propofol protects the heart from cardiovascular IR injury by inhibiting autophagy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in anesthetic-regulated cardiovascular injury.

Recent Advances in Conotoxin Classification by Using Machine Learning Methods.

Conotoxins are disulfide-rich small peptides, which are invaluable peptides that target ion channel and neuronal receptors. Conotoxins have been demonstrated as potent pharmaceuticals in the treatment of a series of diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. In addition, conotoxins are also ideal molecular templates for the development of new drug lead compounds and play important roles in neurobiological research as well.

External application of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of bone cancer pain: a meta-analysis.

Background: Bone cancer pain presents a clinical challenge with limitations of current treatments. Many patients seek additional therapies that may relieve pain. Many external applications of traditional Chinese medicines (EAs-TCMs) have been evaluated in clinical trials, but fewer are known about them outside of China.

The effects of azithromycin on patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis: a retrospective study of 29 cases.

Background: Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway, is treated with macrolide antibiotics. The ability of azithromycin to improve DPB prognosis, as detected by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans and lung function tests, has not been studied in a large retrospective of patients. Our study aims to investigate the effects of azithromycin on patients with DPB using lung function tests and radiologic images.

Consumption of, and factors influencing consumption of, fruit and vegetables among elderly Chinese people.

Objective: There is substantial evidence that the low intake of fruit and vegetables (FV) is a major risk factor for many nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. The purpose of our study was to assess FV consumption and the variables that influence FV consumption among Chinese people age 60 and older.

Methods: Twenty-four-hour dietary recall data from the 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2009 China Health and Nutrition Surveys were used to collect the FV intake and sociodemographic variables examined in this article.

Multistage processing procedure for 4D breast MRI segmentation.

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a novel approach to detect breast tumor, however, multiple 3D image sets need to be analyzed which causes unaffordable inspection tasks to physicians. Computer assistant detection is of great help to this situation and image segmentation is most important process of computer assistant detection. To segment the breast region from 3D MRI set, a multistage image processing procedure was proposed.

Tele-therapy system for cognitive disturbances.

Stroke can cause a variety of cognitive disturbances depending on the location of the injury. It is proved by clinic that some specific cognitive training is a safe and effective method for stroke patients who are suffering from cognitive disturbances. In this paper, we designed and implemented a tele-therapy system that based on Internet, so that the patients with cognitive impairment can take the therapy at home.

Construction of a knowledge center for medical image processing.

This article introduces a medical imaging and image processing knowledge center which serves as an e-learning platform based on network technology. This platform includes contents of medical imaging and medical image processing for the teaching activities, virtual reality tutoring system of human skeleton, medical image database, etc. The purpose of establishing this platform is to recruit and excavate information records which usually associated with the daily data exchanged in teaching and research activities.

Segmentation of the breast region in mammograms using watershed transformation.

The author proposes a new approach for the breast region segmentation for the purpose of reduction of subsequent processing calculation and removal of radiopaque artifacts. The proposed algorithm combines the global thresholding method for a coarse estimation of breast region and morphological operations for exact positioning of the breast boundary. 204 mammographic images were randomly selected from the DDSM mammogram database to test the segmenting algorithm and the segmentation results were evaluated by an experienced radiologist.

Evaluating harris method in camera calibration.

In this paper, we focus on the performance of Harris feature point extraction method (Harris Method) and evaluate its characteristic in some aspects. We propose a set of criteria for the evaluation: Detection, Accuracy, Consistency, and Efficiency. All of these criteria are defined theoretically and measured with different kinds of images.

Finite element modeling and biomechanical analysis of eyeball and extraocular muscles.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) plays an important role in the biomechanical field. In this paper, we used FEA method in the area of ophthalmology. We generated an eyeball - extraocular muscles (EOMs) model and converted it to meet the need of FEA process.