Echocardiography in Diagnosis and Prevention of the Coronary Artery Lesions in Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki disease (muco-cutaneous lymph node syndrome, MCLS) was first reported by Kawasaki in 1967. It was characteried by nonvascular polymorphous rash, fever, ulcer in oral mucosa, edema of hands of feet, cervix lymphadenopathy and desquamations in peripheral extremities. Because of unknown pathogens, no lab examination was available as a single easily recognized diagnostic marker; the diagnosis is

Functional magnetic resonance imaging and the brain: A brief review

Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) is em-ployed in many behavior analysis studies, with blood oxygen level dependent-(BOLD-) contrast imaging being the main method used to generate images. The use of BOLD-contrast imaging in f MRI has been refined over the years, for example, the inclusion of a spin echo pulse and increased magnetic strength were shown to produce better recorded images. Taking careful precautions to control variables during measurement, comparisons between different specimen groups can be illustrated by f MRI imaging using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Differences have been observed in comparisons of active and resting, developing and aging, and defective and damaged brains in various studies. However, cognitive studies using f MRI still face a number of challenges in interpretation that can only be overcome by imaging large numbers of samples. Furthermore, f MRI studies of brain cancer, lesions and other brain pathologies of both humans and animals are still to be explored.

Combined effect of atorvastatin and probucol on plasma cystatin C levels and severity of coronary lesion in patients with borderline coronary lesion

Background The plasma cystatin C concentration （PcyC） has been demonstrated to have prognostic value in acute coronary syndrome, but the study of PcyC in patients with borderline coronary lesions is limited. Moreover, the effects of atorvastatin and probucol on PcyC and the severity of coronary lesions are unknown. This study was to evaluate the effects of the combination of atorvastatin and probucol on PcyC and severity of coronary lesion in patients with borderline coronary lesions. Methods One hundred and thirty consecutive patients with borderline coronary lesions （40% to 60% isolated single stenosis assessed by quantitative coronary angiography） were enrolled into the borderline coronary lesion （BCL） group, and one hundred and thirty-six subjects without coronary lesions comprised the controls （CTR）. The subjects in the BCL group were randomized into routine treatment （RTT, n=60）, and combined treatment with atorvastatin 20 mg plus probucol 1.0 g daily added to routine medication （CBT, n=70）, both groups were treated for 6 months continuously. The levels of PcyC, high-sensitive C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）, total cholesterol （TC）, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）, and triglycerides （TG） were determined. One hundred and four subjects in the BCL group were rechecked by coronary angiography. Results PcyC levels were significantly higher in the BCL group than in the CTR group; （2003.26＋825.73） ng/ml vs. （1897.83＋664.46） ng/ml （P 〈0.01）. Compared with patients in the RTT group, the levels of PcyC, TC, LDL-C, TG and hs-CRP were significantly lower in the CBT group （P 〈0.05）. Moreover, there was a trend towards a slight decrease in the RTT patients, （54.38＋10.67）% vs. （50.29＋9.89）% （P 〉0.05）, and a significant decrease in the CBT patients, （53.65＋9.48%） vs. （40.38＋12.93）% （P 〈0.05）, in the mean percent stenosis of borderline coronary lesions before and after six months of treatment. Conclusions Cystatin C played an important role in with the severity of coronary lesions. The combination the treatment of choice. the development of coronary artery disease, and was associated of atorvastatin and probucol decreased PcyC levels, and could be

Microstructural white matter lesion in Alzheimer's disease: a diffusion tensor imaging study using voxel-based analysis

Objective To study the microscopic changes of white matter and the relationship between white matter changes and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)using voxel-based analysis of DTI.Methods Thirty-seven patients with probable AD,and 32 normal controls(NC)were all examined by MMSE scores,and un-

LMM5.1 and LMM5.4,two eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1Alike gene family members,negatively affect cell death and disease resistance in rice

Lesion mimic mutant（LMM） genes, stimulating lesion formation in the absence of pathogens, play significant roles in immune response. In this study, we characterized a rice lesion mimic mutant, lmm5,which displayed light-dependent spontaneous lesions. Additionally, lmm5 plants exhibited enhanced resistance to all of the tested races of Magnaporthe oryzae and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae（Xoo） by increasing the expression of defense-related genes and the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide. Genetic analysis showed that the lesion mimic phenotype of lmm5 was controlled by two genes, lmm5.1 and lmm5.4, which were isolated with a map-based cloning strategy. Remarkably, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4 share a 97.4% amino acid sequence identity, and they each encode a eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A（e EF1A）-like protein. Besides, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4 were expressed in a tissue-specific and an indicaspecific manner, respectively. In addition, high-throughput m RNA sequencing analysis confirmed that the basal immunity was constitutively activated in the lmm5 mutant. Taken together, these results suggest that the homologous e EF1A-like genes, LMM5.1 and LMM5.4, negatively affect cell death and disease resistance in rice.