Objective To evaluate the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in hippocampal neurons of rats, and the relationship with nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway.Methods The primarily cultured hippocampal neurons were seeded in 96-well plate at a density of 1×106 cells/ml (200 μl/hole) , and were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=8 each) using a random number table: control group (C group), paclitaxel group (P group), JNK inhibitor SP600125 group (S group), and SP600125 + paclitaxel group (S+P group).Paclitaxel 2 ml (1 μmol/L) was added to group P.SP600125 2 ml (10 μmol/L) was added to group S.In group S+P, SP600125 2 ml (10 μmol/L) was added, the cell were then incubated for 1 h, and then paclitaxel 2 ml (1 μmol/L) was added.The cells were then incubated for 24 h.At 24 h of incubation, the apoptosis in hippocampal neurons was detected by flow cytometry, and the expression of NF-κB p65 was measured by Western blot.The apoptosis rate was calculated.Results Compared with group C, the apoptosis rate was significantly increased, and the expression of NF-κB p65 was up-regulated in P and S+P groups, and the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased, and the expression of NF-κB p65 was down-regulated in group S (P＜0.05).Compared with group P, the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased, and the expression of NF-κB p65 was down-regulated in group S+P (P＜0.05).Conclusion JNK signaling pathway mediates paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in hippocampal neurons of rats, and the mechanism is likely related to inhibition of NF-κB pathway activation.

Genetic mutations are important molecular biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and surveillance.Therefore,the development of methods for mutation detection characterized with straightforward,highly specific and sensitive to low-level mutations within various sequence contexts is extremely needed.Although some of the currently available methods have shown very encouraging results,their discrimination efficiency is still very low.Herein,we demonstrate a fluorescent probe coupled with blocker and property of melting temperature discrimination,which is able to identify the presence of known or unknown single-base variations at abundances down to 0.1％ within 20 min.The discrimination factors between the perfect-match target and single-base mismatched target are determined to be 10.15-38.48.The method is sequence independent,which assures a wide range of application.The new method would be an ideal choice for high-throughput in vitro diagnosis and precise clinical treatment.

OBJECTIVETo report the postmortem findings of a case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus occurring in human beings.

METHODSPostmortem examination was carried out in a deceased caused by highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus. Detailed light microscopy of major organs, including heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and brain, was performed. The lung tissue was further investigated by histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy.

RESULTSMajor histopathologic changes in lungs secondary to highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus included diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation and focal hemorrhage. Some of the alveolar spaces contained lightly eosinophilic liquid, lymphocytes, macrophages, plasma cells and small number of neutrophils. Congested capillaries were commonly seen in the alveolar septa which were focally rimmed by hyaline membrane. Immunohistochemical study showed that the lymphocytes were mainly of T lineage and macrophages were also demonstrated.

CONCLUSIONSHighly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus causes pathologic changes mostly in lungs, including diffuse alveolar damage and acute exudative changes (involving mainly T lymphocytes and macrophages). The resulting parenchymal destruction, consolidation, pulmonary edema and hemorrhage eventually lead to respiratory distress and death.

Adult ; Autopsy ; CD3 Complex ; analysis ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype ; isolation & purification ; Influenza, Human ; metabolism ; pathology ; virology ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; analysis ; Lung ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; virology ; Microscopy, Electron

Objective To evaluate the value of diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)in cognitive impairment of patients with acute cerebral infarction.Methods Diffusion tensor images were obtained from 30 volunteers who underwent clinical MR imaging and were found to have no abnormalities on conventional MR images and 30 patients who were clinically diagnosed cerebral infarction and were found to have infarction lesions on conventional MR images.Color-coded FA images and three-dimensional color-coded tensor images were reconstructed.For volunteers,average apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA)were measured in some main white matter structures of peripheral white matter, basal ganglia,and cerebral peduncle,etc.For infarction patients,ADC and FA were measured and compared between infarction lesions and corresponding contralateral normal regions.Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine correlation with cognitive impairment.Results In infarction patients group, FA and ADC of lesions unrecovered declined.Change in ADC and FA had positive correlation with cognitive impairment of patients with acute cerebral infarction.Conclusion DTI has positive correlation with cognitive impairment of patients with acute cerebral infarction.

OBJECTIVETo study the impact of maternal weight gain during pregnancy on the risk of infant obesity within 1 year old.

METHODSA total of 785 infants who were born in Hefei and participated children medical care in one district health center and their mothers were chosen as the research subjects from September 2010 to September 2011. Three groups were classified by weight gain during pregnancy according to the percentiles: excessive pregnancy weight gain group of 126 pairs, adequate pregnancy weight gain group of 542 pairs and inadequate pregnancy weight gain group of 117 pairs. Mother's general demographic information was collected. The height and weight were measured when the infant was 42 days, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of physical examination. Z score was calculated. The differences of Z score in different groups were compared and the RR values of different weight gain during pregnancy on infant obesity were computed.

RESULTSThe weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) of infant at 42 days 3, 6, 9 and 12 months in excessive pregnancy weight gain group were 0.23 ± 0.93, 0.25 ± 1.03, 0.23 ± 0.99, 0.28 ± 1.09, 0.26 ± 1.14, respectively, all higher than that of the corresponding age in adequate pregnancy weight gain group (-0.04 ± 1.02, -0.07 ± 0.99, -0.05 ± 0.98, -0.06 ± 0.97, -0.07 ± 0.95, respectively). The differences were statistically significant (all P values < 0.05). In excessive pregnancy weight gain group, infant body mass index (BMI) at 9 months ((18.01 ± 0.15) kg/m(2)) and 12 months ((17.66 ± 0.15) kg/m(2)) were higher than that of adequate pregnancy weight gain group ((17.63 ± 0.13) and (17.22 ± 0.15) kg/m(2), respectively). The differences were statistically significant (all P values < 0.05). Differences of infant Height-for-age Z score (HAZ) among three groups were not statistically significant (all P values > 0.05). Compared to adequate pregnancy weight gain group, RR (95%CI) value of infant obesity in excessive pregnancy weight gain group was 1.86 (1.14 - 3.03).

CONCLUSIONExcessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy increased the risk of infant obesity within 1 year old.

Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimesters ; Weight Gain

BACKGROUNDMagnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is one method that can examine noninvasively the alive specimen of the organ, metabolism of the organ and cell, and the biochemistry change. MRS provides the biochemistry information that may be used to diagnose tumors or differentiate the malignant tumor from benign. The objective of this study is to investigate the benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors by 1H-MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) on a 3 Tesla MR scanner, then to assess the usefulness of (1)H-MRS in diagnosing bone and soft tissue tumors and distinguishing benign from malignant tumors.

METHODSFifty-six patients with bone and soft tissue tumors proved clinically and pathologically were examined with (1)H-MRS. (1)H-MRS was performed to study malignant musculoskeletal tumors, benign tumors and normal muscle adjacent to lesions to analyze the characteristics, and single-voxel point-resolved spectroscopy sequence was used. Proton brain exam-single voxel of (1)H-MRS which directly appeared in the spectrum, was observed to find the peak height of choline compounds (Cho) opposite to the creatine (Cr), and whether there was a Cho peak. Metabolite values were calculated automatically from the area under each metabolite peak by the Functool 3.1 software. Metabolite ratios of Cho/Cr were manually calculated. Then according to the results, it was judged whether there existed benign or malignant tumors. The Kappa statistical test was used to analyze the MRS results, the histopathology data and the surgical situation. Statistics processing was performed using the software package SPSS11.5 for Windows.

RESULTS(1)H-MRS spectra style of bone and soft tissue tumors was different from that of normal muscle, and differences also existed between benign and malignant tumors. Choline level in malignant tumor was markedly higher than that in benign tumors. Cho/Cr in malignant tumor was higher than in benign tumor significantly (P < 0.05). The true positive rate of bone and soft tissue between benign and malignant tumors was 34/36, the true negative rate was 15/18, the false positive rate was 3/18 and the false negative rate was 2/36. Therefore in the group, sensitivity of the (1)H-MRS was 94% (34/36), specificity was 83% (15/18), positive predictive value was 92% (34/37), negative predictive value was 88% (15/17) and the accuracy rate was 91% (49/54). The MRS results and the histopathology inspection conclusions had very good uniformity. The kappa value was 0.76 +/- 0.10 (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe increase of Cho level measured by (1)H-MRS is related to the bone and soft tissue malignant tumor. Cho/Cr in malignant tumor was higher than in benign tumor, so they will play a vital role in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of bone and soft tissue tumors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Choline ; metabolism ; Creatine ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Young Adult

Action Potentials ; drug effects ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; pharmacology ; Cinnarizine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Isoproterenol ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Microelectrodes ; Purkinje Fibers ; drug effects ; physiology

Purpose: To evaluate the use of signal intensity index (SII) of skull-base invasion in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), select a best cut-off SII value to predict the outcome of NPC. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty-two NPC patients (92 men, 30 women) with skull-base invasion were included. All patients underwent MRI, signal intensities on T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) were measured for each invaded site and its contralateral normal counterpart. The SIIs were calculated, receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed. The optimal cut-off values were extracted. The overall survival (OS) rates of 5-year follow-up were performed. Results: Sensitivities for differentiating skull-base invasion from normal contralateral anatomy were 98.9%, 88.5% and 70.0%, and specificities were 98.9%, 96.0% and 74.4%, respectively. There were three cut-off values for differentiating invasion from normal anatomy of skull-base, 49%, 98%, and 60%. Significant difference in OS rates (84.2% vs. 57.1%, p=0.007) was seen for SII threshold values > 60% and those ≤ 60%. Conclusions: The SII might be a useful means of differentiating invasion from normal tissue at the skull-base in NPC. The cut-off value of quantitative SII at the skull-base may aid in monitoring the response to treatment of NPC patients.

OBJECTIVESystematic reviews of diagnostic value of the nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) and urine cytology for bladder cancer.

METHODSDevelopment of inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria and search strategy to retrieve relevant literature. Screening the literature according to inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Quality evaluation of the screening and data extraction, using MetaDiSc 1.4 software for Meta analysis.

RESULTSIn total, 266 relevant studies were searched, excluded 256 studies, and then 10 studies were included, with 4895 patients involved. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of NMP22 to detect bladder cancer were 0.76 (95%CI: 0.74 - 0.77), 0.80 (95%CI: 0.79 - 0.82), respectively. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of urine cytology were 0.36 (95%CI: 0.34 - 0.38), 0.94 (95%CI: 0.93 - 0.95), respectively. The area under curve (AUC) for NMP22 and urine cytology were 0.8533 and 0.8628, and Q(*) index were 0.7863 and 0.7934, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSFor the diagnosis of bladder cancer, the sensitivity of NMP22 was higher than urine cytology, but the specificity was lower than urine cytology. Overall diagnostic performance of NMP22 was medium, it was no significant difference with urine cytology. It can't replace urine cytology now.

Cytological Techniques ; Humans ; Nuclear Proteins ; analysis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Urinalysis ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of magnetic resonance dynamic contrast-enhanced (MR-DCE) and magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (MR-DWI) in the differentiation of benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumors.

METHODSSixty-three patients with pathologically confirmed musculoskeletal tumors were examined with MR-DCE and MR-DWI. Using single shot spin echo planar imaging sequence and different b values of 400, 600, 800 and 1000 s/mm(2), we obtained the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the lesions. ADC values were measured before and after MR-DCE, with a b value of 600 s/mm(2). The 3D fast acquired multiple phase enhanced fast spoiled gradient recalled echo sequence was obtained for multi-slice of the entire lesion. The time-signal intensity curve (TIC), dynamic contrast-enhanced parameters, maximum slope of increase (MSI), positive enhancement integral, signal enhancement ratio, and time to peak (T(peak)) were also recorded.

RESULTSADC showed no significant difference between benign and malignant tumors when the b value was 400, 600, 800, or 1000 s/mm(2), and it was not significantly different between benign and malignant tumors in both pre-MR-DCE and post-MR-DCE with b value of 600 s/mm(2). TIC were classified into four types type1 showed rapid progression and gradual drainage; type2 showed rapid progression but had no or slight progression; type 3 showed gradual progression; and type 4 had no or slight progression. Most lesions of type1 or type2 were malignant, whereas most lesions of type 3 or type 4 were benign. When using type1 and type 2 as the standards of malignancy, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity was 87.23% and 50.00%, respectively. The types of TIC showed significant difference between benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumors(χ(2)=17.009,P=0.001). When using MSI 366.62 ± 174.84 as the standard of malignancy, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity was 86.78% and 78.67%, respectively. When using T(peak)≤70s as the standard of malignancy, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity was 82.89%and 85.78%, respectively. Positive enhancement integral and signal enhancement ratio showed no significant difference between benign and malignant musculoskeletal tumors.

CONCLUSIONSTIC, MSI and T(peak) of MR-DCE are valuable in differentiating benign from malignant musculoskeletal tumors. T(peak) has the highest diagnostic specificity, and TIC has the highest diagnostic sensitivity. The mean ADC value are no significant difference between benign and malignant tumors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Young Adult