Effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on blood lipids, platelet aggregation rate and inflammatory factors in patients with cerebral infarction

Purpose: To investigate the effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin on blood lipids, platelet aggregation rate (PAR) and inflammatory factors in patients with cerebral infarction.Methods: Patients (n = 120) with cerebral infarction treated in Feng Hua People's Hospital, Jiang Feng Hua, China from January 2014 to October 2016 were randomly divided into control group (clopidogrel combined with atorvastatin, 60 cases) and observation group (clopidogrel combined with rosuvastatin, 60 cases). Blood lipids, PAR, inflammatory factors and carotid atherosclerotic plaque were recorded and compared.Results: Following treatment, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low  density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the observation group were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than in the control group, while high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly higher (p < 0.05). C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (IL-6) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were significantly decreased in the two groups after treatment (p < 0.05). Plaque area, intima-media thickness (IMT) and number of plaques in the two groups were significantly lower after treatment than before treatment (p < 0.05). Plaque area, IMT and number of plaques in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin have no significant effect on the  antiplatelet function of clopidogrel, but rosuvastatin shows better control of blood lipids, carotid atherosclerosis and inflammatory factors.Keywords: Atorvastatin, Rosuvastatin, Cerebral infarction, Blood lipids, Platelet aggregation rate, Inflammatory factor

5 GHz TMRT observations of 71 pulsars

We present integrated pulse profiles at 5~GHz for 71 pulsars, including eight millisecond pulsars (MSPs), obtained using the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT). Mean flux densities and pulse widths are measured. For 19 normal pulsars and one MSP, these are the first detections at 5~GHz and for a further 19, including five MPSs, the profiles have a better signal-to-noise ratio than previous observations. Mean flux density spectra between 400~MHz and 9~GHz are presented for 27 pulsars and correlations of power-law spectral index are found with characteristic age, radio pseudo-luminosity and spin-down luminosity. Mode changing was detected in five pulsars. The separation between the main pulse and interpulse is shown to be frequency independent for six pulsars but a frequency dependence of the relative intensity of the main pulse and interpulse is found. The frequency dependence of component separations is investigated for 20 pulsars and three groups are found: in seven cases the separation between the outmost leading and trailing components decreases with frequency, roughly in agreement with radius-to-frequency mapping; in eleven cases the separation is nearly constant; in the remain two cases the separation between the outmost components increases with frequency. We obtain the correlations of pulse widths with pulsar period and estimate the core widths of 23 multi-component profiles and conal widths of 17 multi-component profiles at 5.0~GHz using Gaussian fitting and discuss the width-period relationship at 5~GHz compared with the results at at 1.0~GHz and 8.6~GHz.Comment: 46 pages, 14 figures, 8 Tables, accepted by Ap

catena-Poly[[[tetra­aqua­samarium(III)]-di-μ-isonicotinato-κ4 O:O′] chloride]

In the structure of the title compound, {[Sm(C6H4NO2)2(H2O)4]Cl}n, the unique SmIII atom lies on a crystallographic twofold axis and is eight-coordinated by four O atoms from four isonicotinate ligands and four water mol­ecules in a slightly distorted square-anti­prismatic coodination environment. The SmIII atoms are bridged by two carboxyl­ate groups of two isonicotinate ligands, forming an extended chain along the c-axis direction. These chains are cross-linked through hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional framework, with channels which accommodate the chloride anions

Differential expression of CCN family members CYR611, CTGF and NOV in gastric cancer and their association with disease progression

CCN is an acronym for cysteine-rich protein 61 (CYR61), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV). Aberrations of certain CCN members including CYR61, CTGF, Wnt1-inducible signalling pathway protein (WISP)-1 and -3 have been reported in gastric cancer. The present study aimed to examine the clinical relevance of NOV along with CYR61 and CTGF in gastric cancer by analysing their transcript levels. CYR61, CTGF and NOV transcript expression in 324 gastric cancer samples with paired adjacent normal gastric tissues were determined using real-time quantitative PCR and the results were statistically analysed against patient clinicopathological data using SPSS software. NOV mRNA levels in gastric cancer tissues were significantly elevated when compared with levels in their paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Local advanced tumours with invasive expansion (T3 and T4) expressed higher levels of NOV (p=0.013) compared with the less invasive tumours (T1 and T2). CYR61 transcript levels were also significantly increased in gastric cancers compared with levels in the adjacent non cancerous tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that patients with CYR61-low transcript levels had longer overall survival (OS) (p=0.018) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.015). NOV overexpression promoted the in vitro proliferation of AGS cells while the knockdown resulted in a reduced proliferation of HGC27 cells. A similar effect was observed for the invasion of these two gastric cancer cell lines. NOV expression was increased in gastric cancer which was associated with local invasion and distant metastases. Taken together, the expression of NOV and CYR61 was increased in gastric cancer. The elevated expression of CYR61 was associated with poorer survival. NOV promoted proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells. Further investigations may highlight their predictive and therapeutic potential in gastric cancer.Cancer Research Wales; Chinese Medical Research Scholarship of Cardiff UniversitySCI(E)[email protected]; [email protected]

Orthotopic and heterotopic tracheal transplantation model in studying obliterative bronchiolitis

AbstractBackgroundSeveral animal models have been established to investigate the mechanisms of obliterative bronchiolitis after lung transplantation. In this study, we compared three prevalent murine models of obliterative bronchiolitis in terms of several basic pathologic changes in a relatively short span of time after transplantation.MethodsEach of the recipient mice simultaneously received orthotopic, intra-omental and subcutaneous tracheal transplantation in both syngeneic and allogeneic settings. No immunosuppressive treatment was administered. Tracheal grafts were harvested on Day 14, 21 and 28 after transplantation for histological and immunohistochemical analyses.ResultsSyngeneic tracheal grafts from different transplant sites retained normal histologic structures, while their corresponding allografts demonstrated more occlusion of the airway lumen as well as more infiltration of CD4+/CD8+ mononuclear cells and myofibroblasts, but less regenerative epithelium and neovascularized vessels at indicated times (P<0.05). Compared with two heterotopic allografts, orthotopic allografts had less occlusion of the tracheal lumen as well as less infiltration of CD4+/CD8+ mononuclear cells and myofibroblasts, but more regenerative epithelium and neovascularized vessels (P<0.05).ConclusionsOrthotopic tracheal transplantation in mice can be considered as a model to study early stages of obliterative bronchiolitis, and heterotopic tracheal transplantation can be a model for late stages of obliterative bronchiolitis

TMRT observations of 26 pulsars at 8.6 GHz

Integrated pulse profiles at 8.6~GHz obtained with the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) are presented for a sample of 26 pulsars. Mean flux densities and pulse width parameters of these pulsars are estimated. For eleven pulsars these are the first high-frequency observations and for a further four, our observations have a better signal-to-noise ratio than previous observations. For one (PSR J0742-2822) the 8.6~GHz profiles differs from previously observed profiles. A comparison of 19 profiles with those at other frequencies shows that in nine cases the separation between the outmost leading and trailing components decreases with frequency, roughly in agreement with radius-to-frequency mapping, whereas in the other ten the separation is nearly constant. Different spectral indices of profile components lead to the variation of integrated pulse profile shapes with frequency. In seven pulsars with multi-component profiles, the spectral indices of the central components are steeper than those of the outer components. For the 12 pulsars with multi-component profiles in the high-frequency sample, we estimate the core width using gaussian fitting and discuss the width-period relationship.Comment: 33 pages, 49 figures, 5 Tables; accepted by Ap