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Myocardial injury is often observed during diabetes, but the nature physiological association is unclear. Here, we investigated the protective effective of diosgenin glucoside (DG), a pharmacologically active saponin extracted from Tritulus terrestris L. , against myocardial injury in type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice and its molecular mechanism of action. Levels of serum and myocardial tissues, blood glucose and inflammatory cytokines, as well as cardiac function indicators, of db/db mice were measured, and DG's mechanism of action was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. We found that long-term DG treatment improved glucose tolerance and lipid profiles, reduced production of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, and decreased serum levels of the cardiac injury indicators creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. Interestingly, DG also inhibited RIP140 signaling, which normally regulates transcription of estrogen receptor genes and influences expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Our study revealed a novel mechanism of DG's anti-inflammatory effect against myocardial injury via RIP140 signaling modulation in diabetic mice., Competing Interests: None.

This study is to analyze the radiation dose of head, body and tail of hippocampus (HC) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Evaluate cognitive function of patients with Wechsler adult intelligence scale-Chinese revised (WAIS-CR). HC were segmented into HC head (HH), HC body (HB) and HC tail (HT) and the indexes were then analyzed. WAIS-CR was tested before and 3months after radiotherapy. The mean radiation dose of left and right HC was (1147 ± 976)cGy, (1011 ± 602)cGy respectively. The radiation dose and the volume exposed in different dose of HH, HB and HT decreased in turn. For 5 patients, before and after radiotherapy, the regular-order score was 8.60 ± 1.34, 8.0 ± 1.00 (P = 0.43), while the reverse-order score was 5.80 ± 0.84, 5.20 ± 0.84 (P = 0.07). The radiation dose of HH, HB and HT was different, and the radiation dose of HH was the highest, which should be emphasized especially.

Introduction: All adult medulloblastoma (AMB) patients should be treated with craniospinal irradiation (CSI) postoperatively. Because of the long irradiation range, multiple radiation fields must be designed for conventional radiotherapy technology. CSI can be completed in only one session with helical tomotherapy (HT). We evaluated the dose of HT, volumetric intensity modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) of AMB and the results of 5 cases of AMB treated with HT., Methods: Complete craniospinal and posterior cranial fossa irradiation with HT, VMAT, and 3D-CRT and dose evaluation were performed. And results of 5 cases of AMB treated with HT were evaluated., Results: A large volume of tissue was exposed to low dose radiation in the organs at risk (OAR), while a small volume was exposed to high dose radiation with HT. The conformity and uniformity of the targets were good with HT and VMAT, and the volume of targets exposed to high dose with VMAT was larger than that of HT. The uniformity of 3D-CRT was also good, but the dose conformity was poor. The main toxicity was hematologic toxicity, without 4th-degree bone marrow suppression. There was 3rd-degree inhibition in the white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets. The three female patients suffered menstrual disorders during the course of radiation. Two female patients with heavy menstruation suffered 3rd-degree anemia inhibition, and 2 patients suffered amenorrhea after radiotherapy. Although menstrual cycle was normal, the third patient was not pregnant., Conclusion: CSI with HT is convenient for clinical practice, and the side effects are mild. With good conformity and uniformity, VMAT can also be used for selection in CSI. For poor conformity, 3D-CRT should not be the priority selection for CSI. In female patients, the ovaries should be protected.

This study examines the effects of different cigarette package warnings in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom up to 5 years post-implementation. The data came from the International Tobacco Control Surveys. Measures included salience of warnings, cognitive responses, forgoing cigarettes and avoiding warnings. Although salience of the UK warnings was higher than the Australian and Canadian pictorial warnings, this did not lead to greater levels of cognitive reactions, forgoing or avoiding. There was no difference in ratings between the Australian and UK warnings for cognitive responses and forgoing, but the Canadian warnings were responded to more strongly. Avoidance of the Australian warnings was greater than to UK ones, but less than to the Canadian warnings. The impact of warnings declined over time in all three countries. Declines were comparable between Australia and the United Kingdom on all measures except avoiding, where Australia had a greater rate of decline; and for salience where the decline was slower in Canada. Having two rotating sets of warnings does not appear to reduce wear-out over a single set of warnings. Warning size may be more important than warning type in preventing wear-out, although both probably contribute interactively., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)