Background The visual evoked potential (VEP) is an important functional index to assess visual cortex plasticity.Monocular form deprivation(MD) of rat is a classic model to study visual cortex plasticity change.Utilizing VEP technique record the shift of ocular dominance in adult rats model is of an important significance for explore the treating opportunities of amblyopia.Objective The present study was to observe the pattern VEP changes in different ages of Long-Evens rats and the adult rats after binocular form deprivation.Methods Thirty-six healthy SPF Long-Evens rats were divided into PW3,PW4,PW5,PW6 groups according to the postnatal weeks,and PW7 rats included 36 SPF Long-Evens rats.The left eye lids of the rats were sutured in PW3,PW6 and PW7 rats for 3,5,7 days respectively,and PVEP in both left and right eye were recorded to assess the rat age that visual cortex plasticity ended.Bilateral PVEP were recorded in PW7 rats,and the bilateral eyelids were sutured to establish the bilateral form deprivation models.The right eyes were opened in 7,10,14 days,and the left eyes were opened in the next 3,5,7 days respectively and the PVEPs were recorded again to find the shift of ocular dominance and whether binocular form deprivation induce the visual cortex plasticity in adult rats.Results The P100amplitudes of the left eyes were gradually declined and those of the right eyes were raised from 3 to 7 days after MD of the left eyes in rats of PW3 group in comparison with before MD ( P＜0.01 ).In PW6 groups,no significant changes in P100amplitudes of both the right and left eyes were found in the third day after MD,but significant raise in the right eyes and lowing in the left eyes were seen in the 5 and 7 days after MD in comparison with before MD(P＜0.01 ).No any P100changes in both eyes were found in 3-7 days after MD compared with before MD in PW7 rats (P＞0.05).The C/I ratio (contralateral VEP amplitude to ipsilateral VEP amplitude in occluded eyes) in the rats of PW3,PW4 and PW5 groups were 1.07±0.15,1.16±0.16 and 1.14±0.15 respectively in 3 days after MD,showing the significant lowing in comparison with before MD (2.69±0.45,2.58±0.4,2.62±0.32) (P＜0.01),but those of PW6 and PW7 were unchanged (2.80±0.48 vs 2.90±0.46,2.59 ±0.36 vs 2.90±0.46,P＞0.05 ),indicating the absence of ocular dominance plasticity in the adult rats.In rats of PW7 with binocular form deprivation for 14 days,a significant decrease was observed in the C/I ratio in rats with next MD for 3 days,demonstrating that the visual cortex plasticity was reactivated after 14 days of binocular form deprivation in PW7 rats( 1.33±0.18 vs 2.70±0.45,P＜0.01 ).Conclusions PVEP can be recorded in Long-Evens rats.It is a major index for identifying the shift of ocular dominance in the Long-Evens rats.Binocular form deprivation can reflect the visual cortex plasticity in the adult rats.

Objective To investigate features of maxillary morphology in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) with maxillary retrusion and the dissimilarities of retruded maxilla.Methods Craniofacial measurements were done in 32 UCLP adult patients with maxillary retrusion (GC), 24 adult patients in class Ⅲ (GⅢ), and 32 healthy adults (GN).The CT slice data was reconstructed into a 3D video model and measured by Mimics 16.01.Results The maxillary volume (GM) and the volume composed of maxilla and maxillary sinuses (GT) were significantly smaller (P<0.05) in GC.The anterior and posterior parts of the maxillary length (A1-P3M⊥CP and P3M-P6M⊥CP) and overall maxillary length(A1-P6M⊥CP)at the dental level were all significantly reduced (P<0.05).There was no significant difference of the distances of A1⊥CP between the GC and GⅢ groups, while the P3M-CP and P6M-CP in the GⅢ group were significantly shorter (all P<0.05).The anterior and overall maxillary length at the dental level (A1-P3M⊥CP and A1-P6M⊥CP) in the GC group was significantly smaller than that in the GⅢ group (all P<0.05).Conclusions The decreased prominence of maxillary complex could be caused by the shortened maxillary length in UCLP patients;the posterior position of the maxilla is more obvious than that of GC group in class Ⅲ patients.

Objective:To investigate the craniofacial features in patients with cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD).Methods:The facial features,cervical vertebral bone age and skeletal abnormalities of 8 patients with CCD were studied by analyzing facial photos,cephalo-metric and panoramic radiographs.Results:4 patients were in the early growth stage and the other 4 in the late period of development. The bossing forehead and inclined eye fissure were observed in all patients,but underdevelopment of midfaces were not obviously pres-ented in younger patients.Morphological abnormalities of craniofacial bones,such as ascending ramus,coronoid process,nasal bones and disappearence of gonial angle were observed in all patients.Conclusion:Some craniofacial malformations in patients with CCD may be presented earlier than underdeveloped midface,which can be helpful for early diagnosis of CCD.

BackgroundRetinitis pigmentosa (RP)is a group of progressive monogenic inheritance disease.Seldom epidemiology is performed to summarize the varied clinical phenotypes,especially some sporadic cases with untypical genetic history.ObjectiveThe aim of this survey was to investigate the clinical epidemiological characteristics and phenotype of sporadic RP.MethodsA prospective cohort study was designed.A survey of a series of clinically diagnosed sporadic primary RP patients was conducted at the Southwest Eye Hospital from July 2010 to November 2011.A total of 130 patients that matched the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this survey.Clinical ocular examinations and questionnaire surveys were given,including ophthalmoscopic examination,best corrective visual acuity( BCVA ),perimetry and Ganzfield electroretinogram (ERG)and color fundus photo.RP with different phenotypes were classified. ResultsA total of 130 sporadic RP patients were collected in this survey.Of them,66 were male and 64 were female with a mean age of (36.9±14.4) years.The average onset age of these subjects was (21.2±18.4) years.Seven (5.38％) patients had consanguineous marriage history,and 13 ( 10.00％ )patients had systemic disease.Forty-four (33.85％) patients had outdoor jobs,and 86 (66.15％ ) worked indoor.Eighty-nine patients had typical RP ( 68.5％ ),and the number of patients that developed central RP and sine pigmento RP were 16 ( 12.3％ ) and 16( 12.3％ ),respectively.An absence of a- and b-waves in full-field ERG wasdetected in 99 (76.15％ ) cases.The longest duration of night blindness was identified in typical RP patients and the lowest BCVA in central RP patients.ConclusionsThe age at first onset is early in sporadic RP.There are wide variations in different types of RP,but the ERG outcome is specific for all RP types.

Background Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2)is a cation channel isolated from the eyespot of Chlamydomonas algae and has been used to control neuron activity.The light stimulation is a more precise fashion whether space or time than that of electrical,magnetic and ultrasound stimulation. Objective This study was to construct a replication deficient recombinant adenovirus cxpression vector of ChR2 and to determine its function.Methods Human embryo kidney 293 (HEK293) cell line was cultured and passaged in DF12 medium containing 10％ fetal bovine serum(FBS).The ChR2 gene was cloned at the downstream of cytomegalovirus(CMV)promoter of the adenoviral shuttle plasmid pSB291 in sense direction,and the resultant recombinant plasmid pSB291-hChR2- GFP was transfected into HEK293 cell together with plasmid pBHG lox ( deltaE1,3 ) containing adenoviral genome,then small amounts replication deficient recombinant adenovirus expression vector of ChR2 (Ad-ChR2) was obtained.Through amplification gradient centrifugation and dialysis,pure Ad-ChR2 was obtained.Visual cortex cells derived from 4 1-day-old clean Long Evans rats were primary cultured with serum-free culture media and infected by AdChR2.When expressing green fluorescencc,those cells received the stimulated of blue light with 460 nm.Patch clamp technique was applied to record an action potential. Results After purification and concentration,the titer of AdhCHR2 reached 7.9×1010 PFU/ml.Twenty-four hours after transfect of Ad-ChR2,HEK293 cell membrane showed the green fluorescence for the recombinant plasmid with green fluorescence protein under the inversed fluorescence microscope.The HEK293 cells change their shape from flat to round 13 days after transfected.The primary cultured visual cortex cells exhibited the green fluorescence 3-5 days after infected by Ad-ChR2.The action potentials evoked by blue light stimulation were recorded with patch clamp on those cells expressing green fluorescence. Conclusions Ad-ChR2 expressing vector is constructed successfully in this study.It is verified that Ad-ChR2 expressing vector can infect visual cortex cells with visual function.This result is very important for visual plasticity study.

Background Oscillatory potentials (OPs) of scotopic electroretinogram (ERG) plays an important role in the evaluation of visual function in multiple retinal diseases.However,the origin of OPs is uncompletely clear.It is essential to analyze the time domain and frequency domain components for the further study of OPs.Objective The present study was to investigate the change characteristics of frequency spectrum of scotopic OPs with age and stimulating intensity.Methods RCS-rdy+-p+rats with the ages of 21,25,32,35,37,46,60,90 days were selected iu this study and 3 rats for each.Scotopic flash ERG were recorded from all the rats with RETI-scan system.Gold-foil ring cornea recording electrode was used as the recording electrode and the steel needle electrode was used as the reference and earth electrode during the record.The intensity of stimulating light was set at-20,-10,-5,0 and 5 dB respectively.Data were output into the computer and processed by the software Matlab7.0.Results The principle frequency corresponding to maximum amplitude component was 80-120 Hz in the various ages of rats under the different stimulating conditions above.With the increase of the intensity of stimulating light,high frequency component (200-250 Hz) began to appear and the amplitudes showed a gradually raise upon the intensity of light.The major component was subdivided into two peaks at 0 dB stimulation.Further,the age affected the major frequency peak with the maximum value at 60-day-old rats and the minimum value at 25-day-old rats.Also,the pass-band width of main amplitude appeared to be maximal at 60-day-old rats and minimal at 25-day-old rats.Conclusions OPs in Rcsrdy+-p+ rats are influenced by stimulating intensity and agc.Stimulating intensity affects the amplitude and age lead to the change of distribution of primary frequency of OPs.It is possible to know the influences of the degeneration of rods and be helpful to diagnosis this kind of disease.

Background Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPGs) can cause the termination of ocular dominance plasticity in the visual cortex.Recently,protein tyrosine phosphatase σ (PTPσ) has been identified as a receptor that inhibits CSPGs.However,whether PTPσ and its downstream molecules participate in the reactivation of ocular dominance plasticity in adult visual cortex has not been studied.Objective The present study was to investigate the changes in the expression of the PTPσ,probabilistic neural networks (PNNs),and molecules downstream of PNN,such as N-cadherin/β-catenin,after the reactivation of adult visual cortical plasticity.Methods Fifty-four SPF Long Evans rats were grouped according to different postnatal week (PW) as the PW1 (6 rats),PW3 (6 rats),PW5 (6 rats),PW7 (24 rats),and PW9 (12 rats) groups,and the upper and lower eyelids were sutured in the 12 rats from the PW7 group for 14 days to establish the binocular plasticity reactivation models.Expression of PTPσ and PNNs in the rat visual cortex was detected using immunochemistry,and changes of PTPσ mRNA,N-cadherin mRNA and β-catenin mRNA expression in the rat visual cortex with plasticity reactivation were assessed by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT Q-PCR).The use of animals followed the Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.Results The expression level of PTPσ mRNA was significantly higher in the PW9 group than that of the binocular plasticity reactivation models and the PW7 group (t =1.965,3.526,P＜0.01).The staining of the rat visual cortex for PTPσwas localized to the cellular membrane,cytoplasm and axon.Cell densities of the PW9 group in the Ⅱ-Ⅲ layer,Ⅳ layer and Ⅴ-Ⅵ layer of the visual cortex were elevated in the PW9 rats compared with the PW7 rats (t =24.593,23.444,13.556,P＜0.01) and rats from the binocular plasticity reactivation model (t =44.111,43.000,16.556,P＜0.01).Cell densities for PNNs in the Ⅳ and Ⅴ-Ⅵ layers were significantly increased in the PW9 rats in comparison with the PW7 rats (t=1.926,P＜0.01 ;t=1.370,P＜0.05),but the cell density in the Ⅱ-Ⅱ layer has no statistical significance (t=0.889,P＞0.05).However,cell densities for PNNs in the Ⅱ-Ⅲ and Ⅳ layers in the binocular plasticity reactivation models were lower than those of the PW9 rats (t =2.556,4.585,P＜0.01).Compared with PW1 rats,the expression levels of the N-cadherin mRNA in the PW3,PW5,PW7,PW9 rats were lower (t =28.932,28.988,27.083,28.908,P＜0.01),but those in the PW7 rats were enhanced in comparison with the PW3 rats,PW5 rats and PW9 rats (t =1.848,1.904,1.825,P＜0.01).No significant difference was seen in the expression of the N-cadherin mRNA between the PW9 rats and rats from the binocular plasticity reactivation model (t =0.072,P＞0.05).A statistically significant increase was found in the β-catenin mRNA expression in the PW1 rats compared with the PW3,PW5,PW7 and PW9 rats (t =3.918,3.534,2.645,4.652,P＜ 0.0 1),as well as between rats from the binocular plasticity reactivation model and the PW9 rats (t =0.570,P＜0.01).Conclusions PTPr,PNNs and β-catenin are involved in the reactivation of ocular dominance plasticity in the adult visual cortex.

The shape and structure of granules are controlled by the granulation process, which is one of the main factors to determine the nature of the solid dosage forms. In this article, three kinds of granules of a traditional Chinese medicine for improving appetite and promoting digestion, namely, Jianwei Granules, were prepared using granulation technologies as pendular granulation, high speed stirring granulation, and fluidized bed granulation and the powder properties of them were investigated. Meanwhile, synchrotron radiation X-ray computed micro tomography (SR-µCT) was applied to quantitatively determine the irregular internal structures of the granules. The three-dimensional (3D) structure models were obtained by 3D reconstruction, which were more accurately to characterize the three-dimensional structures of the particles through the quantitative data. The models were also used to quantitatively compare the structural differences of granules prepared by different granulation processes with the same formula, so as to characterize how the production process plays a role in the pharmaceutical behaviors of the granules. To focus on the irregularity of the particle structure, the box counting method was used to calculate the fractal dimensions of the granules. The results showed that the fractal dimension is more sensitive to reflect the minor differences in the structure features than the conventional parameters, and capable to specifically distinct granules in structure. It is proved that the fractal dimension could quantitatively characterize the structural information of irregular granules. It is the first time suggested by our research that the fractal dimension difference (Df,c) between two fractal dimension parameters, namely, the volume matrix fractal dimension and the surface matrix fractal dimension, is a new index to characterize granules with irregular structures and evaluate the effects of production processes on the structures of granules as a new indicator for the granulating process control and optimization.

Liver fibrosis is a major cause of morbidity and mor-tality worldwide which poses a great threat to public health. Con-siderable evidence suggests that the immune system is closely re-lated to the development of hepatic fibrosis especially the dendrit-ic cells ( DCs) . In recent years, many studies have showed that DCs play a key role in regulating the immune function of liver, which not only mediate the activation of the immune system and inflammation reaction in liver, but influence the occurrence and development of liver fibrosis. Further study has found that DCs exert different effects on liver fibrosis at different stages of the disease, and it exerts anti-fibrosis in early stages and recession period, while plays opposite effect in the middle of the disease. This article reviews the research progress of the role of DCs in liver fibrosis and discusses the underlying mechanisms of DCs in regulation of liver fibrosis, which may provide references for bas-ic and clinical studies of liver fibrosis.

Objective To analyze rural doctors′ social mentality with the theory of relative deprivation.Methods 642 rural doctors from 225 villages of 1 5 counties in Shandong were selected for a questionnaire survey.The factor analysis method was used to reduce the scale dimension and simplify the scale.Analysis of rural doctors′vertical and horizontal relative deprivation was made based on different reference groups.Results Rural doctors tend to identify themselves with rural teachers and doctors in township hospitals,and 60.0% identify themselves as the low income group.39.9% of them found a higher income,while 33.5% of them found a higher social status.76.3% of them found their social contributions are higher.91.4% of them hold that villagers benefit from the new healthcare reform policies,while 65.9% of them hold themselves as benefiting from such policies.This indicates a low sense of achievement.Conclusions Compared with the reference groups,rural doctors feel an obvious sense of relative deprivation comparing both horizontally and vertically.They hold themselves as underpaid and have little sense of achievement for the policies.In this consideration,the government should increase subsidies to lift pay for rural doctors,and to identify their legitimacy,in order to stabilize these medical workers.