Purpose To investigate the expression of secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) and to evaluate its clinical significance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Methods RT-PCR was performed to analyze SFRP4 mRNA expression level in 30 paired PDAC lesion and matched adjacent non-tuimor tissue.Immunohistochemistry staining detection of 205 matched cases tissue microarray was conducted to explore SFRP4 protein expression pattern.The correlation between SFRP4 and clinical characteristics was also analyzed,including overall survival.Results SFRP4 expression pattern both at mRNA and protein level in PDAC lesion was higher than that in matched adjacent non-tumor tissue.At mRNA level,to found that expression of SFRP4 was elevated in 90％ (27/30) of PDAC tissues (P =0.007 2).To found that high expression of SFRP4 was detected in 56.5％ (116/205) of PDAC tissue,while only 28.8％ (59/205) in the adjacent non-tumor tissue.Moreover,no significant association was observed between SFRP4 expression and clinical characteristics.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed high level of SFRP4 expression was correlated with poor overall survival (x2 =3.467,P =0.024).Conclusion SFRP4 can be a novel prognostic biomarker in PDAC.

It is demonstrated that the parabigeminal nucleus of the rat is subdivided intodorsal,middle and ventral groups.The parabigeminal nucleus sends fibers to bila-teral superior colliculus,the rostral half of it predominantly projects to the rostralhalf of the contralateral superior colliculus,but the rostral end projects only to thecontralateral one;the caudal half of this nucleus predominantly projects to thecaudal half of the ipsilateral superior colliculus,but the caudal end projects only tothe ipsilateral one.The superficial layer of the superior colliculus receives projec-tions from the ipsilateral dorsal and ventral groups and from the contralateralmiddle group of the parabigeminal nucleus.The middle and deep layers receive pro-jections from the ipsilateral middle group and contralateral dorsal and ventral groups,and probably from the other groups of both sides.The superior colliculus also sends fibers to both parabigeminal nuclei,predo-minantly the ipsilateral side.The lateral tegmental area sends fibers to the middle and deep layers of the su-perior colliculus.From the results described above,it could be concluded that the parabigeminalnucleus——tectum——parabigeminal nucleus connections are not only concerned withsuperficial layer,but also with the middle and deep layers of the superior colliculus.The tegmentum——tectum——tegmentum connections are only concerned with the mid-dle and deep layers of the superior colliculus.

40 ?m in diameter) were accounted for about 15％, and the rest were medium-and small-sized cells.

In the present study the commissural projection between the two superior colliculi in the rat was examined with horseradish peroxidase method. The result shows that when HRP was injected into the superior colliculus of one side, HRP labeled cells could be found in every part of the contralateral superior colliculus. In each case the labeled cells were relatively concentrated in the region corresponding to the site of injection. It indicates that various parts of one superior colliculus may be connected chiefly with the corresponding part of the opposite side through the commissural projection.Most of the labeled cells were found in the middle layer of the superior colliculus, especially in its upper half, less in the deep layer, and the least in the superficial layer. Neurons in the superficial layer of one side project only to the superficial layer of the contralateral side, and so are the middle-deep layers. The connections between the superficial layers of both sides were independent from those of the middledeep layers.The commissural projection of the bilateral superior colliculi passes through the commissure of the superior colliculus which could be divided into a dorsal and a ventral fiberal fasciculns. The dorsal one was smaller, predominantly related to the superficial layer and the upper half of the middle layer; the ventral one was larger, part of its fibers related to the lower half of the middle layer and the deep layer, while the rest project to other nuclei of the contralateral region of the mesencephalon (e. g. nucleus cuneiforms, etc,).Most of the labeled cells were small in size, the rest were medium-sized, and no large ones were found.

Visualization of medical images has become an important method for the basic medical research as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment.Construction of the highly sophisticated three-dimensional(3D) models of the human body by computers has become an essential foundation for current medical research and disease treatment methods.Visualization Toolkit(VTK) is a kind of famous software in scientific visualization fields.It is convenient and efficient for programming.This paper implements three typical algorithms,Contour-connecting,Marching Cubes and Ray-casting,of medical image 3D visualization using VTK with VC++.Results show that VTK is a powerful tool with many advantages,such as simple operation,fast,and good interaction ability and can be widely used in 3D reconstruction of medical images.

Objective To investigate the relationship between human papilloma virus(HPV)infection and the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).Methods To elucidate the role of HPV in the development of LSCC,we employed polymerase chain reaction(PCR)based on four pairs of primers an4 in situ hybridization(ISH)to screen the HPV infection in 84 ISCC tissues.Results Using HPV L1 general primer amplification,HPV DNA was detected in 23(27.4%)of the 84 LSCC samples.However,when specific primers for HPV-16 or-18 were used to amplify E6 and E7 in all samples,29 cases(34.5%)were positive for HPV-16,while 6 cases(7.1%)were positive for HPV 18.Coinfeetion of HPV-16 and-18 were found in 4cases (4.8%).Overall,HPV type 16 and 18 infections were present in 36.9% of the LSCC samples.In addition,the positive rate of HPV 16 E6 mRNA was 30.9%(26/84)in LSCC by ISH with digoxin-labeled sense probes of HPV 16 E6.Conclusion High-risk HPV-16may be an etiologic factor in the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, while the complicated molecular mechanism of HPV16 inducedtumorgenesis needs a further study.

Ribosomal protein L23 is a new target for gene therapy of cancer.It participates in tumor progression by activating p53,inactivating murine double minute 2,regulating the carcinogenic activity of c-Myc,inducing the multi-drug resistance,and affecting the biologic behaviour of tumors.Generally,it′s con-sidered to be a potential prognostic factor in human cancers.

To construct a lentiviral shRNA vector targeting human protein phosphatase 1D magnesium-dependent (PPM1D) gene and detect its effectiveness of gene silencing in human gliomas, specific siRNA targets with short hairpin frame were designed and synthesized. DNA oligo was cloned into the pFU-GW-iRNA lentiviral expression vector, and then PCR and sequencing analyses were conducted to verify the constructs. After the verified plasmids were transfected into 293T cells, the lentivirus was produced and the titer of virus was determined. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were performed to detect the PPM1D expression level in the infected glioma cells. PCR and Western blot analyses revealed the optimal interfering target, and the virus with a titer of 6×10(8) TU/mL was successfully packaged. The PPM1D expression in human glioma cells was knocked down at both mRNA and protein levels by virus infection. The expression of PPM1D mRNA and protein was decreased by 76.3% and 87.0% respectively as compared with control group. The multiple functions of human glioma cells after PPM1D RNA interference were detected by flow cytometry and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Efficient down-regulation of PPM1D resulted in significantly increased cell apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation and invasion potential in U87-MG cells. We have successfully constructed the lentiviral shRNA expression vector capable of stable PPM1D gene silencing at both mRNA and protein levels in glioma cells. And our data gave evidence that the reduced cell growth observed after PPM1D silencing in glioma cells was at least partly due to increased apoptotic cell death.

Objective: To explore the safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis therapy with tissue plasminogen activator ( tPA) in aged acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods:The patients treated with intravenous tPA were analyzed and divided into≥80-year group (n=16) and <80-year group (n=79), and 30 hospitalized patients with the age above 80 years without thrombolytic therapy were selected as the control group. The prognosis of the three groups was compared. Results:①The incidence of ICH in the two thrombolysis therapy groups was 13. 9% and 18. 7% in 24h, and that of SICH was 5. 1% and 6. 3% with no significant difference (P>0. 05). ② No significant difference was found in favorable prognosis between the two therapy groups 90 days after thrombolysis (P=0. 771), while very bad prognosis rate was higher in the≥80-year group than in the <80-year group (P<0. 05). ③The≥80 years group had an increased favorable outcome compared with the control group (P<0. 05), while the very bad prognosis rate in the two groups showed no significant difference (P>0. 05). Conclusion:It is safe and effective for old patients to receive IV-tPA throm-bolysis therapy.

In the present study ~3H-Leucine or WGA-HRP was injected into the superior colliculus of one side in the rat.The terminal areas of the efferent projection fibers from the superior colliculus were examined. The efferent fibers of the superfical layer of the superior colliculus descended ipsilaterally to terminate in the parabigeminal nucleus(predominantly the dorsal and ventral part of the same side)and dorso-lateral part of the ipsilateral pontine nucleus.Ascending projections terminated to the medial geniculate nucleus,the posterior pretectal nucleus and latero-posterior nucleus of the thalamus(all bila- terally,but with ipsilateral predominance),the ipsilateral medial and lateral optic nuclei,and the dorsal and ventral lateral geniculate nucleus.In addition,labeled granules were also found in bilateral optic tracts and the optic chiasma. The efferent fibers of the middle and deep layers terminated to the ipsilateral central gray,the nucleus of Darkschewitsch,the interstitial nucleus of Cajal,the cuneiform nucleus and the contralateral superior colliculus.Ascending fibers ter- minated to the medial geniculate nucleus,the suprageniculate nucleus,the anterior- pretectal nucleus,the postero-lateral nucleus of the thalamus(all bilaterally,but more on the ipsilateral side),the parafascicular nucleus,the zona incerta,the ventral nucleus of the thalamus(all ipsilaterally).Descending fibers terminated to ipsilateral parabigeminal area and the parabigeminal nucleus,the dorso-lateral part of the pontine nucleus,the lateral part of the inferior colliculus,the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata and pons,and the lateral part of the inferior olive.The fibers terminated also to contralateral nuclei such as the parabigeminal nucleus,the medial part of the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata and ports,the medial accessory nucleus of the inferior olive,the anterior horn of the cervical spinal cord.