BACKGROUND: Traditionally, cranial perforate-rinse-dram operation and tube drainage were often used in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma in the elderly, recently,instead of which oxygen-exchange therapy through dural puncture via cranium is more and more used.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability and safety of the new operation-method using oxygen-exchange in treating the older people with chronic subdural hematoma in comparison with traditional cranial perforate-rinse-dram operation.DESIGN: Retrospective case analysis.SETTING: The Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Clinical College of China Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Eleven male patients (meanly 62 years of age)who had undertaken oxygen-exchange therapy via skull without drain tube in the Department of Neurosurgery, Second Clinical College of China Medical College from January 1997 to December 2004 were enrolled in the study, with an average disease history of 1.5 months. Among them, 10 subjects suffered from head injury to different extent within 7 weeks on average. Main chief complaint was headache, and Unilateral limb asthenia above Ⅳ was found in 5 cases asking for medical service. As shown by CT and MRI, all the subjects were diagnosed as having chronic subdural hematoma located at supratentorium, 5 cases in the right side and 6 in the left side. Volume of hematom was calculated as the following formula: volume of hematom=length×width×number of layers (1 cm thick for one layer). And the range of volume was from 70 mL to 140 mL, and the average value was 105 mL. The hematom in all the cases was found to move to the midline to different extents.METHODS: Patients in lateral recumbent position were undertaken boring at the CT-located thickest area with bone awl of 0.4-0.5 cm under local anesthesia. After boring, 14-size lumbar puncture needle with trochar was used to acupuncture dura mater then moving the needle core so that blood was discharged. Then 10 mL medical oxygen was perfused into the needle guard to cause the blood discharged from hematom again. Oxygen was perfused repetitively, once for 10 mL, till there was no blood flow. Finally, 10 mL oxygen was perfused following moving of trochar and bandaging.Oxygen volume used in each case was recorded. After operation,the volume of normal saline infusion could be increased as large as possible. The duration of infusion was 2 weeks.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Improvement in limb function.RESULTS: All the patients were involved in the result analysis.①Within 24 hours, volume of hematomwas decreased obviously detected with CT, and hematom completely disappeared in 3 cases,which was replaced by oxygen. Three weeks later, all the oxygen was absorbed, the structure of midline was symmetrical and the form of brain ventricles was normal. No pain was found and 5 casesof limb asthenia were also recovered. ②Advantage and disadvantage of foramen-vertebrate oxygen-exchange operation: Advantages were listed as follows: It was simple and spent shorter time,there were few complications, and patients had no limitation in movement after operation. The operation avoided the occurrence of thrombosis of lower limbs. Cranial pressure could not lower quickly. As the pressure resident in envelope, cerebraospinal fluid could not move into the envelope. Along with the absorption of oxygen,hematom was decreased gradually till completely disappeared. Occurrence of clinical symptoms resulting from cerebral blood perfusion was decreased so as to draw rein. The disadvantage of this operation was that it was not suitable for heart disease patients to undertake this operation at bedside, and headache or limb asthenia could not be alleviated immediately.CONCLUSION: The new operation-method of cranial foramen-vertebrate oxygen-exchange to treat chronic subdural hemtoma in the elderly is safe, reliable and feasible through preoperative CT localization.

Objective To explore the correlation among serum total bilirubin (TBil) , invasive hemodynamic parameters, plasma N-terminal proBNP (NT-preBNP) and C reactive protain (CRP)in patients with heart failure. Methods Invasive hemodynamic parameters derived from Swan-Ganz catheter, TBil, plasma NT-proBNP and CRP within 12 hours after hospital admission were analyzed in 130 patients with chronic heart failure [Now York Heart Association (NYHA) class Ⅱ -Ⅳ]. Results Compared with those in non-hyperbilirubinemia group, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), NT-proBNP and left ventriculure ejection fraction were different significantly in total hyperbilirubinemia group [(26. 09 vs 16.00) mm Hg(1 mm Hg =0. 133 kPa), (3.36 vs2.91) pmol/L, (34. 12 vs 28.92)%, P<0. 05]. The serum TBil increased significantly in higher PCWP, right atrial pressure and NT-proBNP groups than those in lower level groups [(32. 22 vs 24. 17), (37.52 vs 24. 19), (32. 14 vs 16. 74) pmol/L, P < 0.05]. Partial correlation analysis showed serum TBil was associated with PCWP, right atrial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance index and NT-proBNP respectively (r = 0. 21, P = 0. 02; r = 0. 33, P < 0. 01 ; r = 0. 20, P =0. 04;r = 0. 37, P <0. 01, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis showed both right atrial pressure and NT-proBNP correlated independently with serum TBil(β= 0. 39, P < 0. 01 ;β = 0. 29,P = 0. 01, respectively). Conclusion For patients with heart failure, serum TBil correlated well with right atrial pressure, PCWP and NT-proBNP; it is a reliable indicator for exact clinical evaluation of heart failure.

Objective To investigate the wall shear stress(WSS) in the common carotid artery of type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM) patients,and analyzed the spatial distribution of WSS by using quantitative visualization of blood flow shear stress analysis software.Methods Eighteen male type 2 DM subjects were enrolled as DM group and 18 age-matched healthy subjects were selected as control group.None of the participants was hypertensive,hyperlipidemic or a cigarette smoker.Intimal-medial thickness (IMT),number and size of plaques in the common carotid artery were evaluated by high-resolution echo-Doppler.Color Doppler flow images of common carotid arteries in the two groups were extracted from DICOM files.WSS in the common carotid arteries was calculated by shear stress visualization quantitative analysis software,and the corresponding spatial distribution maps of WSS were designed.Results WSS of the common carotid arteries in the control group were ranged from 4 to 14 dyne/cm2.WSS of the common carotid arteries in the DM group were ranged from 2 to 8 dyne/cm2.Compared to mean WSS value [(6.96 ± 1.17)dyne/cm2] of common carotid arteries in the control group,mean WSS value [(3.14 ± 0.79)dyne/cm2] of common carotid arteries in the DM group was significantly lower (t =9.380,P =0.000).Six diabetic participants had a plaque in one carotid artery and no lesions in the contralateral carotid.Among these subjects,mean WSS was significantly lower in the side with lesion (t =7.324,P =0.000).Therefore,IMT of common carotid arteries in participants was significantly inversely related to WSS (r =-0.76,P ＜0.01).Conclusions The common carotid arteries of DM patients are more prone to atherosclerosis which is associated with reduction of WSS.The hemodynamic profile might represent an additional factor contributing to the increased prevalence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in diabetic patients compared with general population.

Smu_195c is a protein with 86 amino acids in Streptococcus mutans, a primary pathogen for human dental caries. The specific function of Smu_195c is still unknown and there are no conserved domains in it. In order to find out its function, the gene encodes Smu_195c was cloned and expressed in E. coli as N-terminally 6*His tagged recombinant protein. Two crystal forms were obtained by the hanging drop method. Form Ⅰ belongs to space group P6122 or P6522 with the unit cell parameters a = b = 62.93 (A), c= 90.63 (A), γ=120° and form Ⅱ belongs to the space group P41212 or P43212 with the unit cell parameters a =b=57.97 (A), c = 103.51 (A).Crystals from the protein with His-tag belong to form Ⅰ, however, crystals from the protein without His-tag belong to both.

The present study investigated the enhanced radiosensitivity of U-251 cells induced by sodium butyrate (NaB) and its possible mechanisms. Increased radiosensitivity of U251 cells was examined by clonogenic cell survival assays. The expression of Ku70 mRNA and protein was detected by using RT-PCR and Western blotting respectively. γ-H2AX foci were measured at different time points after ionizing irradiation alone or combined with NaB treatment. The results showed that cell survival rate was significantly reduced, both D0 and Dq values were decreased (D0: 1.43 Gy vs. 1.76 Gy; Dq: 1.22 Gy vs. 2.05 Gy) after the combined treatment as compared with irradiation alone, and sensitivity enhancing ratio (SER) reached 1.23. The average number of γ-H2AX foci per cell receiving the combined treatment was significantly increased at different time points, and the expression levels of Ku70 mRNA and protein were suppressed by NaB in a dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that enhanced radiosensitivity induced by NaB involves an inhibited expression of Ku70 and an increase in γ-H2AX foci, which suggests decreased ability in DSB repair.

Deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase is an enzyme belonged to dCMP cyt deam family. The dCMP deaminase from Streptococcus mutans UA159 was cloned and expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. The FPLC size exclusion chromatography analysis reveals that the S. mutans dCMP deaminase forms hexamer in solution. The protein was crystallized using hanging drop vapour-diffusion method and diffracted to a resolution of 3.1 (A). The diffraction data were collected at BSRF beamline3W1A. The crystals belong to P213 space group, with unit cell parameters a = b = c = 113.2(A), α =β = γ = 90°. Assuming there are two subunits per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is 3.6 (A)3 ·Da-1. This is the first crystallization report of the wild-type deoxycytidylate deaminase.

Deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase is an enzyme belonged to dCMP cyt deam family. The dCMP deaminase from Streptococcus mutans UA159 was cloned and expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. The FPLC size exclusion chromatography analysis reveals that the S. mutans dCMP deaminase forms hexamer in solution. The protein was crystallized using hanging drop vapour-diffusion method and diffracted to a resolution of 3.1 ?. The diffraction data were collected at BSRF beamline 3W1A. The crystals belong to P213 space group, with unit cell parameters a = b = c = 113.2 ?, ? = ? = ? = 90?. Assuming there are two subunits per asymmetric unit, the Matthews coefficient is 3.6 ?3?Da-1. This is the first crystallization report of the wild-type deoxycytidylate deaminase.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between human bocavirus 2 (HBoV2) infection and acute diarrhea in children younger than 5 years of age in a case-control study. Methods: This was a prospective case-control study. During May 2016 to December 2016, fecal specimens were collected from children ≤5 years of age with acute diarrhea who visited the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Capital Institute of Pediatrics (case group), or from children ≤5 years of age without diarrhea from Longtan Community Medical Service Center, Beijing (control group). The case group (n=240) and the control group (n=240) were divided into 8 age subgroups: ≤1 month old, >1-3 months old, >3-6 months old, >6-12 months old,>1-2 years old,>2-3 years old,>3-4 years old and >4-5 years old, and there were 30 cases in each age subgroup. The specimens were tested for 7 types of diarrhea-associated viruses, especially for HBoV2 by real-time PCR method. The HBoV2 viral load was predicted according to the cycle threshold (Ct). Finally, t-test was used to compare the differences between groups. Results: In the case group (n=240), the positive rate of norovirus was 16.7% (40 cases); rotavirus, 10.8% (26 cases); HBoV2, 7.5% (18 cases); adenovirus, 7.1% (17 cases); astrovirus, 6.3% (15 cases); parachovirus, 3.8% (9 cases); and Aich virus, 0.4% (1 case). The positive rates of HBoV2 in case group (7.5%, 18 cases) and control group (5.0%, 12 cases) showed no significant difference (χ²=1.280, P=0.258), as well as in different age groups (all P>0.05) . However, the mean viral load of the HBoV2 in the case group (1×10⁹copies/L with cycle threshold (Ct) 25.8) was higher than that of control group (1×10⁵copies/L with Ct 33.8), showing a significant difference (t=0.597, P=0.000). Conclusions Norovirus and rotavirus are still the important viral pathogens in children with acute diarrhea. A higher load of HBoV2 may indicate a higher risk of acute diarrhea in children ≤5 years of age in Beijing.

Objective To provide strategies and suggestions for the development of clinical research in children's spe-cialized hospitals.Methods With a Class A tertiary children's specialty hospital in Shanghai as an example,the SWOT model is used to analyze the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats of clinical research development in the hospital,and to propose corresponding strategies and suggestions.Results The hospital has distinguished disciplinary advantages,tremendous strength in scientific research,a strong team of talents,and steady progress in the construction of clinical research center.The weaknesses include imperfect clinical research management system,imperfect informatization construction,and insufficient allo-cation of full-time management personnel.There are now opportunities of high policy support,increasing funding support,the shift in clinical demand,and good prospects for development of investigator-initiated trials(IIT).The hospital is also faced with the threat of difficulty in conducting pediatric clinical research and fierce competition among similar hospitals.Conclusion We could promote the development of pediatric clinical research by incentivizing the conduction of clinical research,strengthening the construction of clinical research system,improving the clinical research capabilities,and building a collaborative network for ped-iatric multicenter clinical research.

OBJECTIVETo analyze PCCA and PCCB gene mutations in 10 Chinese patients with propionic acidemia(PA).

METHODSGenomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. The 39 exons and flanking sequences of the PCCA and PCCB genes were amplified with polymerase chain reaction and subjected to direct DNA sequencing.

RESULTSDNA sequencing has revealed that 7 patients have carried a PCCA gene mutation, 2 patients carried PCCB gene mutation and 1 patient carried mutations in both PCCA and PCCB genes. Ten PA mutations were confirmed, including 8 affecting the PCCA gene and 2 affecting the PCCB gene. Three PCCA mutations c.245G>A, IVS15+5del5, c.1288C>T and 2 PCCB mutations c.838insC, c.1087T>C were found for the first time.

CONCLUSIONAmong Chinese patients with propionic acidemia patients, their genetic mutations are mainly found on the PCCA gene.

Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Methylmalonyl-CoA Decarboxylase ; genetics ; Mutation ; Propionic Acidemia ; genetics