A two-step method for the purification of blocking-type anti-human CD80 monoclonal antibody 4E5 from mouse ascites was developed using anion exchange and gel filtration in combination. The ascites was first purified by anion exchange after centrifugation and filtration. The experimental parameters of sample loading and elution were optimized. The optimized loading condition was pH 8.0,50 mmol/L Tris-HCl and satisfactory results were obtained using a 0~0.5mol/L NaCl step elution. The fraction containing the protein of interest was directly loaded on gel filtration column and eluted using a 20 mmol/L phosphate buffer at pH 7.2. The purity of the obtained monoclonal antibody was up to 95% with a recovery of 61%. The purity of mAb could efficiently inhibit the growth of Daudi cells. The amplification of the method was also studied using a Bio-Scale Q5 column and the result was satisfied.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of automated breast volume scanner(ABVS) system in detection musculoskeletal system lesions.Methods Totally 49 patients were scanned by Acuson S2000 ABVS system after conventional ultrasound examination.The scanning data of ABVS were stored and automatically reconstructed to obtain coronal and sagittal images.Then the results were analyzed and the occurrence rates of circle sign of different lesions were compared.Results The images of 49 lesions were obtained with ABVS and conventional ultrasound successfully.Statistical difference of the occurrence rate of circle sign was found between benign and malignant lesions (x2 =5.559,P =0.021).However,there was no statistical difference between hemangioma and malignant lesions (x2 =2.098,P =0.156).Meanwhile,a missed lesion in conventional ultrasound examination was found in coronal view by ABVS.Conclusions ABVS system can obtain effective coronal images of musculoskeletal system lesions,which represents a progress.

OBJECTIVETo observe changes of bulbar conjunctival microcirculation in rabbits of five kinds subtypes of blood stasis syndrome (BSS), and to analyze their different properties.

METHODSTotally 60 Japanese big-ear rabbits were randomly divided into six groups, i.e., qi deficiency blood stasis group, qi stagnation blood stasis group, cold coagulation blood stasis group, heat toxin blood stasis group, external injury blood stasis group, and the normal control group, 10 in each group. Changes of rabbit bulbar conjunctiva microcirculation were observed before and after modeling.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the total integral of bulbar conjunctiva microcirculation obviously increased in the 5 BSS groups (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference among the 5 BSS groups (P > 0.05). But there was statistical difference in any concrete integral among the 5 BSS groups (P < 0.05). Thickening blood vessels and errhysis of vascular walls were dominant in the heat toxin blood stasis group. Ischemia, partial cystic dilatation, vascular engorgement and twist were dominant in the qi deficiency blood stasis group. Partial vascular buckling, aneurysmal changes, flow velocity slowed down were dominant in the qi stagnation blood stasis group. Vascular buckling, hyperemia, vascular engorgement, blood flow slowed down were dominant in the external injury blood stasis group. Vascular buckling, ischemia, dark color were dominant in the cold coagulation blood stasis group.

CONCLUSIONChanges of bulbar conjunctival microcirculation were different in 5 kinds of BSS types, which could reflect their various features.

Animals ; Conjunctiva ; blood supply ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Microcirculation ; Rabbits

Chondroblastoma ; pathology ; Chondrosarcoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Chondrosarcoma, Mesenchymal ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Hamartoma ; pathology ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Radiography

Objective To investigate the value of three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) in assessment of left ventricular (LV) strains. Methods Thirty healthy young adults examined by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) and 3D-STI. And the results of LV measurements were compared, which included mean peak systolic longitudinal strains, radial strains and circumferential strains. Also, the time consumption of these two methods was compared. Results The time needed for 3D-STI in acquisition and analysis of the images were (309.3±23.4)s, (305.5±11.2)s, while the time for 2D-STI were (490.6±14.4)s, (1261.4±39.9)s. The differences were signiifcant(t=-21.81, 69.94, both P<0.01). The global mean peak systolic radial strains was (48.59±7.68)%by 3D-STI and (33.25±7.27)%by 2D-STI. The difference was signiifcant(t=9.16, P<0.01). The global mean peak systolic longitudinal and circumferential strains were (-17.66±3.14)%, (-17.13±2.29)% by 3D-STI and (-21.35±2.46)%, (-21.97±3.84)% by 2D-STI. The differences were signiifcant(t=5.33, 5.99, both P < 0.01). The 3D-STI strains were different at different levels of LV. The longitudinal, circumferential and radial 3D-STI strains were largest at middle levels. However, 2D-STI strains didn′ t show such trend. Peak strains measured by 3D-STI and 2D-STI showed high inter-observer and intra-observer agreement in Bland-Altman chart. Conclusion 3D-STI is a novel, convenient and reproducible method to evaluate the strains of LV.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of extended-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in the treatment of patients with early-stage NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL),and to examine the clinical characteristics and the effect of treatment factors on the prognosis of these patients.Methods The clinical data of 165 patients with early-stage NKTCL who underwent extended-field IMRT with (n=158,95.8%) or without chemotherapy (n=7,4.2%) were reviewed.Of these 165 patients,140(84.8%) received a radiation dose of ≥50 Gy to the primary lesion,and 25 patients (15.2%) received a radiation dose of<50 Gy.Most patients (n=147,89.1%) were treated with L-asparaginase-based chemotherapy regimens,whereas only 11 patients (6.7%) were treated with doxorubicin-based CHOP/CHOP-like regimens.In addition,109 patients (66.1%) received ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy.Locoregional control (LRC),overall survival (OS),and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method,and the log-rank test was used for survival comparison and univariate prognostic analysis.A multivariate prognostic analysis was performed using the Cox model.Results The 5-year sample size 55.The 5-year OS,PFS,and LRC rates of all patients were 74.2%,72.5%,84.4%,respectively.The patients who received a dose of ≥50 Gy had a significantly higher 5-year LRC rate than those with<50 Gy (91.8% vs.39.7%,P=0.000).The 5-year OS was significantly higher in the low-risk early-stage group than in the high-risk early-stage group (P=0.002).For the high-risk early-stage NKTCL group,patients who received ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy had significantly higher 5-year OS and PFS than those who received<4 cycles of chemotherapy (5-year OS:71.3% vs.59.5%,P=0.032;5-year PFS:70.4% vs.54.4%,P=0.009).In addition,multivariate analysis showed that ECOG≥2,primary tumor invasion (PTI),and Ann Arbor stage Ⅱ were associated with poor OS (P=0.006,0.002,0.014),and ECOG≥2 and PTI were associated with reduced LRC (P=0.004,0.016).Furthermore,ECOG≥2,PTI,Ann Arbor stage Ⅱ,and extranasal primary site were associated with lower PFS (P=0.045,0.003,0.030,0.032).Conclusions Extended-field IMRT at a dose of ≥50 Gy can lead to favorable LRC,OS,and PFS in patients with early-stage NKTCL.However,it is less effective against distant early-stage NKTCL in patients with poor prognosis.Nevertheless,≥4 cycles of chemotherapy can significantly improve the OS and PFS of patients with early-stage NKTCL.

Growth suitability as assessment indicators for medicinal plants cultivation was proposed based on chemical quality determination and ecological factors analysis by Maxent and ArcGIS model. Notopterygium incisum, an endangered Chinese medicinal plant, was analyzed as a case, its potential distribution areas at different suitability grade and regionalization map were formulated based on growth suitability theory. The results showed that the most suitable habitats is Sichuan province, and more than 60% of the most suitable areawas located in the western Sichuan such as Aba and Ganzi prefectures for N. incisum. The results indicated that habitat altitude, average air temperature in September, and vegetation types were the dominant factors contributing to the grade of plant growth, precipitation and slope were the major factors contributing to notopterol accumulation in its underground parts, while isoimperatorin in its underground parts was negatively corelated with precipitation and slope of its habitat. However, slope as a factor influencing chemical components seemed to be a pseudo corelationship. Therefore, there were distinguishing differences between growth suitability and quality suitability for medicinal plants, which was helpful to further research and practice of cultivation regionalization, wild resource monitoring and large-scale cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine plants.
Apiaceae ; growth & development ; China ; Ecosystem ; Environment ; Geographic Information Systems ; Soil ; chemistry ; Temperature

Objective To detect the neuronal network activity of specific brain areas in heroin addicts under craving state induced by heroin related cues with independent component analysis (ICA) of functional MRI (fMRI) data. Methods Fifteen heroin addicts,admitted to our hospital from February 2010 to December 2010, and 15 healthy controls were recruited in the case-control study; they were performed whole brain scan with 3.0Tesla MR scanner when being presented with heroin related cues.ICA was performed on these data and their neuronal network activities were compared. Results As compared with those in the controls,the bilateral prefrontal cortex,the left anterior cingulated cortex,the bilateral posterior cingulated cortex, the left inferior temporal gyrus and the left parietal lobe enjoyed obviously decreased activity, while bilateral nucleus accumbens, the right hippocampus, part of the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe enjoyed significantly increased activity (P＜0.05). Conclusion ICA is an advanced approach to identify fMRI data induced by related cues; the specific neuroanatomy mediated to cue-elicited heroin craving mostly locates in the learn-memory system and reward system,which involves the frontal cortex,the parietal lobe,the anterior eingulate,the posterior cingulate,the hippocampus and the nucleus accumbens.

BACKGROUNDPodocyte apoptosis is recently indicated as an early phenomenon of diabetic nephropathy. Pancreatic β-cells exposed to saturated free fatty acid palmitate undergo irreversible endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and consequent apoptosis, contributing to the onset of diabetes. We hypothesized that palmitate could induce podocyte apoptosis via ER stress, which initiates or aggravates proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy.

METHODSPodocyte apoptosis was detected by 4',6-diamidio-2-phenylindole (DAPI) stained apoptotic cell count and Annexin V-PI stain. The expressions of ER molecule chaperone glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), indicators of ER-associated apoptosis C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and Bcl-2 were assayed by Western blotting and real-time PCR. GRP78 and synaptopodin were co-localized by immunofluorescence stain.

RESULTSPalmitate significantly increased the percentage of cultured apoptotic murine podocytes time-dependently when loading 0.75 mmol/L (10 hours, 13 hours, and 15 hours compared with 0 hour, P < 0.001) and dose-dependently when loading palmitate ranging from 0.25 to 1.00 mmol/L for 15 hours (compared to control, P < 0.001). Palmitate time-dependently and dose-dependently increased the protein expression of GRP78 and CHOP, and decreased that of Bcl-2. Palmitate loading ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mmol/L for 12 hours significantly increased mRNA of GRP78 and CHOP, and decreased that of Bcl-2 compared to control (P < 0.001), with the maximum concentration being 0.75 mmol/L. Palmitate 0.5 mmol/L loading for 3 hours, 8 hours, and 12 hours significantly increased mRNA of GRP78 and CHOP, and decreased that of Bcl-2 compared to 0 hour (P < 0.001), with the maximum effect at 3 hours. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that GRP78 expression was significantly increased when exposed to 0.5 mmol/L of palmitate for 8 hours compared to control.

CONCLUSIONPalmitate could induce podocyte apoptosis via ER stress, suggesting podocyte apoptosis and consequent proteinuria caused by lipotoxic free fatty acid could be ameliorated by relief of ER stress.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; physiology ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; analysis ; physiology ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Palmitic Acid ; pharmacology ; Podocytes ; drug effects ; pathology

BACKGROUNDVideo-assisted thoracic sympathetic block is an effective, safe, and minimally invasive method for treatment of primary hyperhidrosis. The purpose of this study was to decide which one of using electrocautery hook and titanium clip is the appropriate procedure for primary palmar hyperhidrosis by assessing the compensatory sweating (CS) and quality of life (QOL) of patients after sympathetic block.

METHODSBetween October 2007 to August 2010, 120 patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis were randomly divided into two groups, electrocautery hook group (60 patients) and titanium clip group (60 patients). All patients were treated by sympathetic block at T4 level. The CS was graded based on severity and location; the QOL was classified to 5 different levels based upon the summed total scores (range from 20 to 100) before and after surgery. The variables were compared.

RESULTSThe postoperative follow-up period was 2 months. All patients were cured. Three patients in electrocautery hook group and 1 patient in titanium clip group had a unilateral pneumothorax on chest X-ray, but none of them was necessary to have chest drainage. Neither perioperative mortality nor serious complications such as cardiac arrhythmia or arrest were observed during the operation. No bradycardia or Horner's syndrome occured. CS was not more common in patients in titanium clip group than in those in electrocautery hook group (P = 0.001). Moderate and severe CS was few in all patients, and there was no significant difference between two groups (P = 0.193). Most of the patients feel a notable improvement of the the QOL; nevertheless, there was no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.588).

CONCLUSIONSBoth electrocautery hook and titanium clip used for sympathetic block at the T4 level are effective, safe, and minimally invasive for palmar hyperhidrosis. Because of the lower severity of CS and the similar improvements in the QOL after operation, we prefer to use of titanium clip for treating palmar hyperhidrosis.

Adult ; Autonomic Nerve Block ; instrumentation ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis ; surgery ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Quality of Life ; Sweating ; physiology ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; surgery ; Titanium ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult