Aortic regurgitation is a severe cardiovascular complication of Behcet's disease, resulting in high mortality rates within the Asian population. Standard surgical interventions have resulted in poor results in the long term. We herein report on a modified aortic valve replacement technique coupled with reinforcement of the aortic wall. During this procedure, Teflon felts and continuous mattress stitches were used to reinforce the aortic wall in order to prevent prosthetic valve detachment and formation of an aortic pseudoaneurysm. Postoperative examinations revealed that this procedure had satisfactory mid-term results.

To explore the optical neural stimulation with visible light, 620-nm red light pulse emitted by LED was used to stimulate the left primary visual cortex of adult rat. The neural response in right primary visual cortex was recorded with a flexible microelectrode. By synchronized averaging the raw signal, optical evoked potentials (OEPs) were observed a negative wave and positive wave after optical stimuli. Furthermore, the amplitude and occurrence of the negative and positive wave were modulated by the strength and pulse width of the optical stimulus. The preliminary experiment suggested that, beyond the infrared laser, the pulse of visible light (e.g. red light) can modulate the neural activity in central nervous system.

The purpose of our study was to determine whether different scanning positions influence forearm bone mineral density (BMD) measurements and to evaluate the association between forearm BMDs in different scanning positions and those of other skeleton sites. The study population consisted of 30 right-handed healthy Chinese volunteers. BMD was measured with GE Lunar Prodigy at the left forearm in both sitting and supine positions, and at lumbar spine and the right femur. All subjects received repeated measurements in the same day (repositioning), and the average of repeated BMD results was used for analysis. The BMD precision errors of the nondominant forearm in the sitting and supine positions varied from 1.13% to 2.46%. There were no statistically significant differences between BMD precision errors for each region of interest (ROI) between sitting and supine positions (all the p values were greater than 0.05). When comparing BMDs on the same side in the sitting position with those in the supine position, there were significant differences at both the 1/3 radius level and in the total radius (p<0.05). The BMD values at these ROIs obtained in the supine position were lower than those in the routine sitting position. The BMDs of the ultradistal radius in the both 2 different scanning positions were significantly associated with lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD, respectively. The total radius BMD in the different positions was associated with the BMD of the femoral neck. A change in body scanning position from sitting to supine will significantly influence forearm BMD results.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to observe the changes of hemodynamics, stereology in pulmonary vascular remodeling and messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of transforming growth factor beta 1, and receptors in carotid artery-jugular vein (CA-JV) shunt pulmonary artery hypertension model of rats. Methods: Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups: CA-JV group, monocrotaline (MCT) administration group, and control group. Left CA-JV shunts were established in CA-JV group. Dorsal subcutaneous injections of MCT (60mgkg(-1)) were received in MCT group. Ligations of left common carotid artery and external jugular vein were performed in control group. Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) measurement, histological evaluation of the pulmonary tissue, and mRNA levels of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1), receptor 1 and receptor 2, were investigated after 6 weeks on MCT group, and after 12 weeks on both control and CA-JV groups. Results: Compared with control group, RVSP, percentage of fibrous tissue (F%) in pulmonary arterioles, mRNA levels of TGFβ1, and receptors of CA-JV and MCT groups increased significantly. Severe hemodynamics change was found in MCT groups. On the other hand, CA-JV group demonstrated more obvious fibrogenesis and TGFβ1 signals' upregulation in two pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) models. Conclusions: CA-JV shunt model of rats was a well-established PAH animal model simulating congenital heart disease with systemic-pulmonary shunt.

A photonic quantization approach to implementing analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in the optical domain with differential encoding employing a phase modulator and delay-line interferometers (DLIs) is proposed and demonstrated. In the proposed ADC system, the phase-modulated signal is sent to an array of DLIs that have identical time delay difference, but different phase shifts, which are employed to achieve quantization with differential encoding. A proof-of-concept experiment is performed. The quantization of a 10 GHz sinusoidal signal with a bit length of 4 is experimentally demonstrated.

Recently, heterocyclic benzimidazole derivatives have been investigated and validated as a promising class of antiviral agents. In this paper, a series of novel thiazolylbenzimidazole derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for their anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity and cytotoxicity on the HepG2.2.15 cell line. Afterwards, the preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) was discussed. Compound 8b, with IC(50)  = 1.1 µM and SI > 90.9, was the most promising compound and could be selected as a benchmark compound for further investigation.

A series of novel benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity and cytotoxicity in the HepG2.2.15 cell line. The preliminary SAR was discussed. Compound 12a, with IC50<0.41 microM and SI>81.2, was the most promising compound and selected as the benchmark compound for further optimization.

The incidence of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection is rapidly increasing in China, which reached 44.7% among the HIV-positive patients in 2007. With a view to the reduction of HIV transmission and improvement of reproductive health in the Chinese population, this paper introduces the latest evidence obtained from the international epidemiological studies and randomized controlled clinical trials on the preventive effect of male circumcision (MC) on HIV transmission, and elucidates the cellular and molecular mechanisms of HIV transmission through the foreskin. Four studies published during 1997-2007 demonstrated that the mean prevalences of redundant prepuce and phimosis in 15,109 Chinese males aged 3-23 years in 4 areas of China were 43.90 and 11.55%, respectively, while the rate of MC was only 2.66%. As MC is a simple, inexpensive and highly effective technique in HIV prevention, we appeal to the policy-makers in China to conduct a practical program for promoting MC and enhancing male productive health in combination with other approaches to the prevention of HIV infection. MC for neonates, children, adolescents and adults should be included in the health insurance program, and free and timely MC should be performed for the male adults with the high risk of HIV infection and the normal ones whose wives are HIV-positive. Further investigations should be carried out on the epidemiology of redundant prepuce and phimosis, the acceptance and socio-cultural context of MC and the development of simpler and safer methods for MC.

Total anomalous systemic venous drainage is a rare malformation and only limited cases have been reported previously. Here we report two cases of total anomalous systemic venous drainage with successful surgical correction.