摘要：Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy(ARVC)is a progressive disease characterized by adipose and fibrous replacement of the *** elevated testosterone levels have been implicated in the pathological process of ARVC,its exact contribution to cardiac fibrosis in ARVC remains *** this study,we analyzed the potential contribution of gender-based differences on the distribution of the low-voltage area in an ARVC cohort undergoing an electrophysiological study,which was indicated by feature ***,we established engineered cardiac spheroid models in vitro using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell(iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes(iPSC-CMs)and iPSC-derived cardiac fibroblasts(icFBs).We elucidated the pathogenicity of abnormal splicing in the plakophilin-2(PKP2)gene caused by an intronic ***,pathogenic validation of the desmoglein-2(DSG2)point mutation further confirms the reliability of the ***,testosterone exacerbated the DNA damage in the mutated cardiomyocytes and further activated myofibroblasts in a chain *** conclusion,we designed and constructed an in vitro three-dimensionally-engineered cardiac spheroid model of ARVC based on clinical findings and provided direct evidence of the fibrotic role of testosterone in ARVC.

摘要：Integrating poly（lactic acid） （PLA）, glycolic acid （GA） and ethylene glycol （EG） will hopefully result in a novel copolymer that combines such advantages as fastened and controllable release rate and improved flexibility together with good biocompatibility. In this study, p-dioxanone （PDO） was employed to copolymerize with DL-lactide （LA） via ring-opening melt polymerization using Sn（Oct）2 as an initiator and ethylene glycol as a co-initiator. The obtained degradable macrodiols （HO-P（LA-co-PDO）-OH） were just such a copolymer consisting of PLA, GA and EG. 1HNMR was employed to characterize the copolymers, and the effect of PDO/LA molar ratios in the feedstock on the molecular weights of HO-P（LA-co-PDO）-OH was investigated by means of endhydroxyl analysis, 1H NMR or GPC-MALLs. The results confirmed the successful synthesis of HO-P（LA-co-PDO）-OH and revealed that one end-hydroxyl of the micarodiols was donated by LA or PDO and the other one by the co-initiator EG. In addition, the molecular weights of HO-P（LA-co-PDO）-OH increased with decreasing PDO/LA ratios.

摘要：We hypothesized that current antimicrobial peptides should be susceptible to proteolytic digestion. The antimicrobial peptides: Griffithinsin, RC-101, LL-37, LSA-5, PSC-RANTES and DJ007 were degraded by commercially available proteases. Two different species of anaerobic vaginal flora, Prevotella bivia and Porphyromonas asaccharolytica also degraded the materials. Griffithsin was resistant to digestion by 8 of the 9 proteases and the bacteria while LL-37 was the most sensitive to protease digestion. These data suggests most of the molecules may not survive for very long in the proteolytic rich environments in which they are intended to function.

摘要：Objective: To determine whether endovaginal ultrasound is a reliable measure in visualization of the sacrospinous ligament among women with prolapse versus women without prolapse, and thus might be clinically applicable in the design of an ultrasound-guided device for performing sacrospinous ligament anchor placement as a treatment for pelvic organ prolapse. Methods: In the first phase of this study we performed a sacrospinous anchor placement in four normal fresh-frozen female pelves. Afterwards, an endovaginal ultrasound was performed to visualize the anchor localization which was validated by dissection of the cadaveric pelves. In the second phase of the study: two groups of volunteer females with and without pelvic organ prolapsed (POP-group, vs NON-POP group) were evaluated by endovaginal ultrasound to localize the sacrospinous ligament. Results: Cadaveric dissection demonstrated accurate anchor placement into the 8/8 sacrospinous ligament. We performed endovaginal ultrasound in a total of 17 N-POP and 10 (POP) patients. Among the N-POP group, the right and left ischial spines were visible in 6/17 (35%) and (6/17) 35% vs 0/10 (0%) for both right and left sides in POP group (p = 0.008). The right sacrospinous ligament was visualized in 4/17 (23%) N-POP subjects and 0/10 POP subjects (p = 0.27) and the left sacrospinous ligament was visualized in 7/17 (41%) N-POP subjects and 2/10 POP subjects (p = 0.48). Conclusions: Sacrospinous ligament and the ischial spines couldn’t be reliably visualized among women with or without pelvic organ prolapse using endovaginal ultrasound, although the structures are visualized more in some of the non-prolapsed women. The sacrospinous anchoring device demonstrated accurate placement by cadaveric dissections.

摘要：Introduction: Women’s sexual function is a complex ensemble of variables that involve physical, emotional, and psychosocial states. Objective: This review aims to evaluate the evidence about the sexual behavior of women during pregnancy. Methods: Survey of PubMed for the period from 1996 to 2011 for prospective, retrospective and case-control studies, randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews on the sexual function of women during pregnancy using the terms “sexual function”, “sexual dysfunction”, “sexuality”, “pregnancy”, and “pregnant woman”. Results: Changes occur in the sexual function of women during pregnancy;however, due to the heterogeneity of the studies and the incomparability of samples for lack of pairing for cultural, age, length of relationship and gestational age variables, and other methodological biases, it is not possible to characterize the sexual response of pregnant women. Conclusions: The changes observed are not sufficient to characterize sexual behavior during pregnancy as pathological. It is therefore necessary to standardize the study groups and the instruments for the assessment of sexual function, to determine the presence of distress concomitant with changes in sexual function, and to assess the sexual function of the partner and the impact of changes on the dyadic relationship before and after the gestational period.

摘要：Aims and Objectives: The aim of this diagnostic observational study was to find an association of final diagnosis of adnexal masses suggested by MRI and compare it as an imaging modality in determining the origin, nature (benign/malignant) & characteristics of adnexal masses by calculating sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in 90 patients in the department of radio diagnosis and imaging, institute of medical sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The patients were referred from department of obstetrics & gynecology, institute of medical sciences. Majority of the referred cases were those who had clinical features of abdominal pain, abdominal lump, menstrual irregularity, ascites, and anorexia or weight loss & in whom adnexal mass was suspected clinically. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed using 1.5 Tesla MR Scanner, Magnetom Avanto (Siemens Healthcare). Results: Out of 114 masses, 17 (14.9%) were malignant. The benign adnexal masses were maximum in the age group 20 - 39 years (56/97, 57.7%), while malignant masses were mainly found in women ≥60 years of age (11/17, 64.7%). CA-125 level was grossly elevated in association with 35.3% of the malignant masses. On MRI, the sensitivity for the mass of ovarian origin was (97.7%) and specificity was (73.1%). The diagnostic accuracy was (92.1%). The mass of uterine origin had a sensitivity of (73.1%) and diagnostic accuracy (99.1%). Conclusion: MRI, because of its accuracy in identifying the origin of adnexal mass and characterizing the solid, hemorrhagic, fatty and fibrous content, may obviate surgery or significantly contribute to preoperative planning for a sonographically indeterminate mass. MRI is the state of the art imaging modality for evaluation of adnexal masses with an overall high diagnostic accuracy.

摘要：Background: The development of anitiretroviral drug resistance may limit the benefit of antiretroviral therapy. Therefore the need to closely monitor these mutations, especially the use of ART is increasing. This study was therefore designed to determine the ARV drug resistance pattern among ART na?ve and expose individuals attending a PEPFAR supported by antiretroviral clinic in Nigeria. Methodology: The study participants included patients attending the PEPFAR supported by University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan ART clinic who have been on HIV treatment for at least one year with consecutive viral load of over 2000 copies/ml as well some ART Na?ve individuals with high (>50,000 copies/ml) baseline viral level attending the hospital for pre-ART assessment. Blood sample was collected from each individual for CD4 enumeration, viral load level determination and DNA sequencing for genotypic typing. Antiretroviral drug resistance mutations (DRM) were determined by using the Viroseq software and drug mutations generated by using a combination of Viroseq and Stanford algorithm. DRM were classified as major or minor mutations based on the June 2013 Stanford DR database. Results: The most common major NRTI, NNRTI and PI mutation were D67N (33.3%), Y181C (16.7%) and M46L/I (55.6%) respectively. Lamivudine (3TC) and emtricitabine (FTC);nevirapine (NVP) and nelfinavir (NFV) were the most common NRTI, NNRTI, and PI drugs to which the virus in the infected individuals developed resistance. Isolates from 4 patients were resistant to triple drug class, including at least one NRTI, NNRTI and a PI. Only one (4.8%) of the isolates from drug Na?ve individuals had major DRM that conferred resistance to any drug. Conclusion: Demonstration of high rates of antiretroviral DRM among patients on 1st and 2nd line ART and the presence of DRM in drug Na?ve individuals in this study show the importance of surveillance for resistance to ARV in line with the magnitude of scaling up of treatment

摘要：Objective: To screen a triple helix-forming oligodeoxyribonucleotide (TFO) that can bind HBV core promoter at target site with high affinity and specificity, and to observe the ability of manganese porphyrin modified TFO to combine and cleave HBV DNA. Methods: Similar homopurine domain (1 734 - 1 754) in HBV core promoter was selected as target sequence. Several corresponding TFOs were synthesized. The affinities and specificities of TFOs binding target sequence were tested with electrophoretic mobility shift and DNase I footprinting assays. The selected best TFO was modified with manganese porphyrin and acridine. The ability of the TFO derivative to cleave HBV DNA was observed with cleavage experiment. Results: Under the condition of 371 and pH 7. 4, the TFO consisting of cytidylate and thymidylate (CT-TFO) and the parallel TFO consisting of guanylate and thymidylate (GT-TFOp) bound the target sequence weakly with Kd values much more than 10 -6 mol/L. The affinities of anti-parallel GT-TFO ( GT-TFOap) and short TFO consisting of adenine nucleotide and guanylate (AG-TFOsh) binding the target sequence were higher than those of the formers, with Kd values of 5 μ 10-7 mol/L and 2. 5 μ 10-8 mol/L respectively. Long AG-TFO (AG-TF01) had the highest binding affinity with a Kd value of 3 μ 10 -9 mol/L among all the TFOs studied for sequence specificity. In the presence of potassium monopersulfate, KHSO5, TFO modified with manganese porphyrin and acridine cleaved the target sequence where the triplex DNA formed. Conclusion: TFO containing AG or GT binds homopurine in HBV core promoter in adverse parallel direction to form triple helix. AG-TFO1 has the highest binding affinity among all the TFOs studied. After modified with manganese porphyrin, AG-TFO1 completely binds and cleaves the target HBV DNA sequence where triplex DNA is formed.

摘要：Objective: To investigate the effects of hormone therapy, estrogen therapy and tibolone on markers of apoptosis including bcl-2, and bax and cyclin D 1 expression in postmenopausal vaginal epithelium. Study design: Thirty postmenopausal women were randomized to the treatment protocols (0.625 mg conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) ? 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA); 2 mg estradiol valerate; 2.5 mg tibolone). After baseline vaginal biopsy, control biopsies were performed after 70 days following the initiation of the therapy. Bcl-2, bax, Bcl-2/bax ratio, cyclin D1 measurements were performed immunohistochemically. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. Results: After the treatment period the above-mentioned parameters were not different among the groups except for cyclin D1 levels. Cyclin D1 expression was found to be strong in patients with treated estradiol valerate. Conclusions: The effects of estrogen on cyclin D1 expression were not detected with tibolone or with the addition of progesterone to estrogen in the vaginal epithelium. Cyclin D1 appeared to have stronger effects on the estrogen related proliferation compared to apoptotic markers in vaginal epithelial cells.

摘要：The purpose of this study was to describe levator ani (LA) anatomy in postterm nulliparas using 3- dimensional (3- D) magnetic resonance (MR). Study design: Nulliparas (n = 84) with uncomplicated, postterm pregnancies underwent an MR (4 mm slices, 0 gap) of the uterus and pelvis. LA volume and morphometry were assessed using 3- D post-processing software. Results: LA insertion into the symphysis was visible in 93% , and the iliococcygeus muscle assumed a convex shape (arch) in the 92% of the 84 women. The LA shape was characterized as “ U” in 53% and “ V” in 47% . Mean LA volume was 13.5 (3.7) cm3. There was a positive association between LA volume and higher fetal station (P = .02) and increasing BMI (P < .001). However, no relationship between LA volume and station was found after adjusting for BMI. Conclusion: BMI was correlated with LA volume in postterm nulliparas. LA insertion into the symphysis and the iliococcygeus arch were well-preserved overall and morphometry was variable.