Comparative Analysis of Mechanical Properties of PWV, NO and Ascending Aorta between WHY Rats and SHR Rats.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare and analyze the tensile mechanical properties of the ascending aorta (AA) in Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), for the purpose of providing a biomechanical basis for hypertension prevention.

Methods: Pulse wave velocities (PWV) and serum nitric oxide (NO) concentrations were determined in 6-month-old WKY rats and SHRs (n = 21, n = 21, respectively). Then, 20 AAs from each group were obtained for longitudinal tensile testing.

[The prediction and validation of liver fibrosis by a noninvasive model and validation in patients with chronic hepatitis B].

Objective: To develop a simple model for the noninvasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and to testify its diagnostic value.

Methods: One hundred and ninety patients with chronic hepatitis B who had undergone liver biopsy were divided into 2 groups: one for developing the model (n = 110) and one for validation (n= 80). Histological staging of liver fibrosis, assessed blindly and independently by 2 pathologists, was determined according to Scheuer fibrosis score.