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Biomedical subjects

K Lou

Publications and source records attributed to K Lou.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Cervical length measurements in pregnancy are longer when measured with three-dimensional transvaginal ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: To compare cervical length measurements obtained by transvaginal two-dimensional (2D) and transvaginal three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-four consecutive women having transvaginal assessment of cervical length as part of an obstetric ultrasound examination consented to have a 3D ultrasound scan. The cervical lengths obtained by the two methods were compared by Student's t test and regression equations. RESULTS: The mean cervical 2D length was 35.7 +/- 1.4 (SE) mm and 3D length was 43.7 +/- 1.9 mm (difference 8.0 mm +/- 0.98, p < 0.001). In the 12 women with cervical length on 2D < 35 mm, there was a 7.5 +/- 1.7 (SE) mm difference (p = 0.007). In all but one woman the 3D length obtained was the same or longer than the 2D length. The longer the cervical length on 3D imaging, the greater the difference from the 2D length (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The longer 3D cervical measurements may reflect the inability to measure the cervix adequately with 2D imaging, owing to anatomical factors. This finding may be useful in improving the predictive value of transvaginal ultrasound in assessing the risk for preterm delivery.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed2001

Effects and mechanisms of somatostatin analogs on apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells in acute pancreatitis in mice.

AIM: To investigate the effects of somatostatin analogs (SSa) on apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells and apoptosis-regulated gene bax, and p53 in treating acute pancreatitis in mice. METHODS: In cerulein-induced pancreatitis, with or without treatment of somatostatin, analogs (Octreotide) in CD-1 (BALB/c x DBetaAlpha/1) mice, apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells was detected by using the TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method, and the expression of apoptosis-regulated gene bax and p53 was determined by using the streptavidin-peroxidase immunohistochemical technique and the RT-PCR method, respectively. RESULTS: On HE staining, acinar cells in the pancreas showed pyknotic nuclei and the formation of apoptotic bodies, which are the typical morphological features of apoptosis. Regarding TUNEL use, the apoptotic index of pancreatic acinar cells in the non-treated group at 5 and 14 h after induction of acute pancreatitis was significantly lower than those of the SSa-treated group, respectively (P < 0.01). On immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR, there was an expression of neither bax nor p53 in normal pancreatic tissues. The expression of bax in the SSa-treated group at 5 and 14 h after treatment of SSa was markedly higher than those of the non-treated group, respectively (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in the expression of p53 between the SSa-treated group and the non-treated group. CONCLUSIONS: The induction of apoptosis in pancreatic acinar cells injury to reduce inflammatory reaction might be one of the mechanisms of SSa in treating acute pancreatitis in mice, and the mechanisms of apoptosis probably correlated with the expression of apoptosis-regulated gene bax, but have no relationship with the expression of p53.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

[Malformed macrocephalous sperm with polytails and chromosomal aberrance].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between sperm anomalies and chromosomal aberrance and to further understand the pathological changes of anomalous spermatozoa. METHODS: Light and electronic (SEM or TEM) microscopes were used for morphological analysis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) with chromosome X-, Y-specific probes were used for aneuploidy detection in sperms of the patient. RESULTS: Ninety eight point seven five per cent of the Papanicolaou stained sperms were observed to be abnormal; 100% of the sperm heads were abnormal, measured under oil objective (1000 times); 60.25% of the sperms had two or more tails (the maximum being eight tails). SEM and TEM demonstrated that the heads contained a large amount of cytoplasmic structure, the surfaces of heads were uneven, the nuclei were of much irregular shape; besides aberrance in quantity, anomalies occurred with centromeres, mitochondria and flagella in the tails. The results of FISH showed that the aneuploidy rate of sex chromosomes was 61.41% which was parallel to the rate of polytails. CONCLUSION: Even though the chromosomes in somatic cells are normal, the chromosomes in anomalous sperms may be abnormal.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Three-dimensional ultrasonography of normal fetal heart: comparison with two-dimensional imaging.

Thirty-one high-risk patients (16 to 35 weeks' gestation) underwent two-dimensional and three-dimensional ultrasonography to compare two-dimensional and non-cardiac-gated three-dimensional ultrasonography of the normal fetal heart. After normal two-dimensional studies, three-dimensional sonographic volumes were acquired without cardiac gating in transverse and longitudinal planes. Standard cardiac views were derived from three-dimensional data, analyzed, and rated as follows: (1) not identifiable, (2) identifiable but inadequate for diagnosis, (3) adequate, and (4) excellent. Two-dimensional ultrasonography demonstrated better yields of diagnostically acceptable images of basic echocardiographic views (four-chamber view, 100% for two-dimensional sonography versus 10 to 71% for three-dimensional sonography; right ventricular outflow tract, 42% for two-dimensional versus 6 to 26% for three-dimensional ultrasonography; left ventricular outflow tract, 71% for two-dimensional versus 13 to 45% for three-dimensional sonography). In one subject three-dimensional ultrasonography was superior to two-dimensional sonography in demonstrating an outflow tract. Aortic and ductal arches were not imaged with the two-dimensional technique but were available from the acquired three-dimensional volumes in 3 to 32% and 23%, respectively. False-positive and false-negative findings were observed on three-dimensional ultrasonograms. Overall, compared to two-dimensional ultrasonography, non-cardiac-gated three-dimensional sonography yielded inadequate reconstructed image quality of basic echocardiographic views (four-chamber view, right ventricular outflow tract, left ventricular outflow tract). Three-dimensional ultrasonography, however, shows potential for allowing nonechocardiographers to acquire some diagnostically acceptable views of the aortic and ductal arches.

Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional↗
PubMed1998

[Low frequency of precore stop mutation in patients with dual infection of hepatitis B and C viruses].

In order to study the mutation of hepatitis B virus(HBV) precore gene in patients with dual infections of HBV and HCV and its possible clinical significance, the precore stop codon mutation (stop 28) was analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP) in patients with chronic liver disease, which were 25 cases with HBV DNA and HCV RNA positive(group A) and 31 cases with HBsAg and HBV DNA positive but anti-HCV and HCV RNA negative (group B). The results showed that the serum HBV DNA positive rate by 1st PCR in patients with dual infections(group A, 16%) was significantly lower than that in patients with HBV infection alone (group B, 65%), the stop 28 positive rate was also significantly lower (28%, versus 68%). The results suggest that the low frequency of precore stop codon mutant in patients with HBV and HCV dual infections was possibly due to low replication of HBV.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Electroimmunoquantitation of serum proteins cross-linked by glutaraldehyde.

Electroimmunoassay is a simple, rapid and accurate method for quantitating the serum proteins. By use of glutaraldehyde, intermolecular cross-linkage of immunoglobulins to albumin was effected. The conjugation resulted in increased electrophoretic mobility of the immunoglobulins without perceptible change in antigenic determinants. With a Tris-EDTA-boric acid buffer system, the cross-linked immunoglobulins migrated anodically in an electrical field. Six serum proteins from each of 20 samples were quantitated by electroimmunoassay, and the results correlated with values obtained by radial immunodiffusion.

Aldehydes↗