Coronary sinus flow is reduced in methamphetamine abusers: a transthoracic echocardiographic study.

To compare the coronary sinus flow among healthy participants, methamphetamine abusers without chest pain and those with chest pain. One hundred and eight methamphetamine abusers: 53 ones without chest pain, 55 ones with chest pain, free of ascertained coronary artery disease, were enrolled in this study. A control group of 50 age-matched male healthy participants was studied for comparison.

Oral Contrast-Enhanced Gastric Ultrasonography in the Assessment of Gastric Lesions: A Large-Scale Multicenter Study.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic efficiency of oral contrast-enhanced gastric ultrasonography in the evaluation of gastric lesions, based on large-scale multicenter study.

Methods: The study enrolled 383,945 patients with suspect gastric lesions who underwent complete oral contrast-enhanced gastric ultrasonography and endoscopic evaluation. Two operators, unaware of the results of other diagnostic procedures, performed each examination independently.

A novel approach to assess pulmonary function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using tissue velocity imaging.

Aims: To explore the feasibility of quantitative evaluation of pulmonary function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using tissue velocity imaging (TVI) and strain rate imaging (SRI) via transthoracic lung ultrasonography.

Material And Methods: Eighty inpatients with clinically diagnosed COPD underwent pulmonary function test and transthoracic lung ultrasound on the same day. Lung ultrasound variables and pulmonary function parameters were analyzed.

A novel approach to assessing fetal tissue stiffness using virtual touch tissue quantification.

Aims: Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) has been widely used in adults, but its application in fetuses has not been reported. The purposes of this study were to describe the normal shear wave velocity (SWV) values of fetal brain, lung, and liver by VTTQ and to examine the clinical usefulness of this procedure in THE evaluation of gestational age-related SWV changes in the fetal brain, lung and liver.

Material And Methods: One hundred fetuses were enrolled in this study and were evaluated at 18 weeks (second trimester) and 35 weeks (third trimester) during pregnancy.

Inhibition effect of siRNA-downregulated UHRF1 on breast cancer growth.

The UHRF1 gene plays important roles in both cell proliferation through its NIRF_N domains, a PHD domain, an SRA domain, and a RING domain, and multidrug resistance in breast cancer treatment. In this work, a short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) lentiviral system was introduced in two human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) to downregulate the expression of UHRF1 and study the specific inhibition of UHRF1 in breast cancer growth. The effect of UHRF1-shRNA on breast cancer cell proliferation was examined using methylthiazoletetrazolium, bromodeoxyuridine, and colony formation assays.

Clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the characterization of focal liver lesions: a prospective multicenter trial.

Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is increasingly accepted in clinical settings for diagnostic imaging of focal liver lesions (FLLs). This study aimed to assess the efficacy of CEUS in the characterization of FLLs in comparison with final diagnosis based on gold standard assessment.

Methods: The study was approved by the local ethics committee and participating patients provided written informed consent.