Objective:To investigate the differences in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors (TIMPs) from diseased splenic vein (DSVs) and varicose great saphenous vein (VGSVs) under high hemodynamics.Methods:Seventy-two specimens of DSVs,normal splenic veins (SVs),VGSVs,and normal great saphenous vein (GSVs) were collected.Venous wall in the four groups,MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-1,and TIMP-2 protein expression were observed and MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-1,TIMP-2 proteins positive expression ratio and mRNA expression were determined.Results:DSVs and VGSVs in the two groups,MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-1,TIMP-2 proteins with clustered strong expression were observed;In DSVs group,MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-1,TIMP-2 protein positive expression ratio and mRNA expression were significantly increased compared with SVs group,while in VGSVs group,MMP-2,MMP-9,TIMP-1,TIMP-2 protein positive expression ratio and mRNA expression were significantly increased compared with GSVs group (P＜0.05).VGSVs/GSVs ratio was significantly increased compared with DSVs/SVs ratio (P＜0.05).Conclusion:Under high hemodynamics,the dysequilibrium of MMPs and TIMPs from splenic vein and great saphenous vein,These results may be one of the molecular mechanism in vascular remodeling.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the brain functional laterality in motor areas during motor execution systematically.

METHODSFunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed combined with right hand sequential finger movement task to investigate brain activation pattern and laterality in 8 right-handed subjects. 3dDeconvolve program of AFNI was used to estimate the hemodynamic response function and to generate activation maps. Then the laterality index (LI) was calculated and tested statistically.

RESULTAll motor areas including the areas which were previously considered to be engage in movement preparation only were activated in movement execution. In the activation map, it appeared left lateralization in cerebra and right lateralization in cerebella. After further statistical test, it was found that in primary motor area (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), there were left lateralization. While in premotor cortex (PMC), cingulate gyrus and basal ganglia (BG), the lateralization tendency was not obvious. The activation in cerebella is characterized with right lateralization.

CONCLUSIONThough there are tiny differences among subjects, most of the motor areas appear lateralized activation. Past studies only observed laterality in several motor areas. It may be due to the difficulty of the task or the experimental design.

Adult ; Brain ; physiology ; Female ; Functional Laterality ; physiology ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Motor Cortex ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo identify possible reasons of rotational mismatch between tibial component and femoral component in total knee arthroplasty and choose a right reference axis for placing the components in the operation and to decrease the complications.

METHODSForty normal Chinese knees were studied. There were 20 men and 20 women, and average age was 34 years (range, 18 - 42 years). The images of cross sections of the distal femur were obtained by spiral CT scanning (0.5 mm thickness). Scan direction was aligned to be in the plane perpendicular to the mechanical axis of the tibia. On the images of the distal femur and the proximal tibia, three baselines for the anteroposterior axis of the femoral component were drawn based on the clinical epicondylar axis and the surgical epicondylar axis and 3 degrees lateral rotated to the posterior condylar surfaces of the femur separately, and a baseline for the anteroposterior axis of the tibial component was drawn based on the medial 1/3 of the tibial tuberosity. The rotational mismatch angles were measured between each component by using the Autocad software.

RESULTSThe mean rotational mismatch angle between tibial component and femoral component is 2.94 degrees for the clinical epicondylar axis, 6.50 degrees for the surgical epicondylar axis and 6.83 degrees for 3 degrees lateral rotation of the femoral component referenced to the posterior condylar axis separately.

CONCLUSIONSLandmarks of each bone were the intrinsic cause of the rotational mismatch in total knee arthroplasty. The clinical epicondylar axis can be chosen for the ideal reference to rotational alignment of the femoral component because of its minimal rotational mismatch between each component.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

OBJECTIVETo explore the differences in brain activation between musicians and non-musicians by use of functional MRI.

METHODSTwelve right-handed musicians and twelve right-handed non-musicians were recruited in the study. During a listening task, they were scanned on the Sigma 1.5T scanner (GE) while they were passively listening to several segments of music of "the Butterfly Love" and the white noise with same physical energy.

RESULTBoth musicians and non-musicians demonstrated bilateral transverse gyrus weak activated while listening to the white noise. But when listening to music, they showed bilateral temporal areas strongly activated including superior temporal gyrus, transverse gyrus and some middle temporal areas. Moreover, musicians showed relative left dominance (10/12), whereas non-musicians demonstrated right dominance(11/12). Furthermore,besides bilateral temporal areas, more and stronger activated areas were found in musicians such as cuneus, precuneus,medial frontal and left middle occipital gyrus.

CONCLUSIONThere are different neuro-patterns between musicians and non-musicians.

Adult ; Brain ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Music ; Temporal Lobe ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo determine the expression of new candidate tumor suppressor gene N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2(Ndrg2) in colorectal cancer with different differentiation, and analyze its clinical significance.

METHODSSpecimens of 50 colorectal cancer patients with different differentiation were collected. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to examine the expression of Ndrg2. Colorectal cancer tissue array in large scale was applied to analyze the expression of Ndrg2 and the statistics analysis was performed referring to the patients information of the array.

RESULTSAmong 50 cases, Ndrg2 expression level of colorectal cancer was significantly lower in 32 cases as compared to adjacent and normal tissue of the same individual, while Ndrg2 expression of adjacent tissue was significantly lower than that of normal tissue. Ndrg2 protein levels increased from poor-differentiated to well-differentiated carcinomas(P=0.005).

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of Ndrg2 in different differentiated colorectal cancer tissues show a significant distinction. Ndrg2 may be involved in the regulation of differentiation in colorectal cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Protein Array Analysis ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Young Adult

Objective To firstly report the clinical features,diagnosis and treatment response of patients with anti-γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAAR) encephalitis in China,thus raising neurologists' awareness of this emerging type of autoimmune encephalitis.Methods Specific anti-GABAAR autoantibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with suspected autoimmune encephalitis but negative for commercial available antibody tests were detected by live cell-based assay (CBA).The clinical features,laboratory examinations and treatment of two cases of autoimmune encephalitis with anti-GABAAR autoantibodies were analyzed,who admitted to Huashan Hospital,Fudan University between 2013 and 2014.Results By using live CBA,serum and CSF of the two patients diagnosed with possible autoimmune encephalitis both contained autoantibodies targeted to the GABAAR.These two patients had onset symptom of seizure or refractory seizures.Memory impairment,psychiatric symptoms and decreased consciousness were also presented.One patient was combined with mass in anterior superior mediastinum.Both patients had multifocal cortical and subcortical T2 /fluid attenuated inversion recovery-weighted images hyperintensity signal on brain magnetic resonance imaging.The two patients had poor response to antiepileptic drugs,but showed noticeable recovery with sufficient immunotherapeutic treatments.Conclusions Anti-GABAAR encephalitis is characterized by prominent epilepsy and multifocal abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging.Autoantibodies specifically against GABAAR could be detected by CBA in this group of patients.Early diagnosis and immunotherapy are critical to improve clinical symptoms and outcomes of the disease.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in rodents from forest areas in northeastern China.

METHODSPCR amplification, followed by sequence analysis was carried out. The sequences of 16S rRNA and gltA gene fragment amplified from rodent specimens were compared with corresponding part of the sequences deposited in GenBank.

RESULTSA total number of 276 rodents were tested, including 102 in Jilin province, 61 in Helongjiang province and 113 in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The positive rates were 8.82%, 1.64% and 0.00%, respectively. The infection rate in rodents infected by ticks was 11.30 times higher than that in rodents without ticks (P = 0.002). The S. A. phagocytophilum 16S rRNA sequences from rodents in Jilin and Heilongjiang were identical and differed in 3-5 bases compared with the corresponding parts of A. phagocytophilum from America, Sweden and Japan. Compared with the sequences registered in GenBank, the nucleotide sequence of gltA varied from 87%-97% and its deduced amino acid sequence changed from 84%-99%.

CONCLUSIONA. phagocytophilum infection was presented in rodents from Jilin and Heilongjiang province.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Anaplasma phagocytophilum ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Animals ; Bacterial Proteins ; analysis ; Base Sequence ; China ; Ehrlichiosis ; veterinary ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; analysis ; Rodentia ; microbiology ; Ticks ; Trees

OBJECTIVETo assess the possible genotype-phenotype correlation for GJB2.

METHODSRetrospectively analyzed GJB2 gene mutations with non-syndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) patients and their families audiological data. Individuals were grouped, according to non-truncated mutant (non-truncating, NT) and truncating mutations (truncating, T), into T/T group, T/NT group and NT/NT group. And according to whether they carry 235delC, grouped into 235delC/235delC group, 235delC/Non-235del group and Non-235delC/Non-235delC group.

RESULTSGrouped according to whether the truncation mutants:Fisher exact statistical analysis showed that the degree of hearing loss among the three groups did not meet the random distribution (P = 0.003) , T/T group was significantly higher than T/NT group (P = 0.000) and NT/NT group (P = 0.000) on the degree of hearing loss. Grouped according to whether they carry 235delC mutation: degrees of hearing loss among the three groups were statistically significant differences. Respectively pairwise comparisons (Fisher exact test) found 235delC/235delC group was significantly higher than 235delC/Non-235delC on the degree of hearing loss group (P = 0.001) and Non-235delC/Non-235delC group (P = 0.000), 235delC/Non-235delC group higher than Non-235delC/Non-235delC group (P = 0.033). In GJB2 mutations homozygous and compound heterozygous mutation genotype:G109A/G109A, 235delC/512insAACG, 299delAT/G109A and 235delC/G109A degree of hearing loss caused by genotype was significantly lower than 235delC/235delC group.

CONCLUSIONS235delC homozygotes have significantly more hearing impairment, when compared with 235delC/non-235delC compound heterozygotes. People with two non-235delC mutations have even less hearing impairment. Patients with non-truncation mutants (G109A) suffer from lighter hearing loss than truncation mutations(235delC, 299delAT).

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Connexin 26 ; Connexins ; genetics ; Deafness ; genetics ; Genotype ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: To study the difference in cognitive impairment between the children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those with BECT or ADHD alone. METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 80 children with BECT and ADHD, 91 children with BECT, and 70 children with ADHD , who were diagnosed with the diseases for the first time. Seventy children of the same age who underwent physical examination were enrolled as the healthy control group. Event-related potential P300, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test were used to measure and compare each index between groups. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy control group, the BECT+ADHD group, the BECT group, and the ADHD group had a significantly prolonged P300 latency, a significant reduction in the amplitude of P300, and significant reductions in the scores of verbal comprehension index (VCI), perceptual reasoning index (PRI), working memory index (WMI), processing speed index (PSI), full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), auditory response control quotient (ARCQ), visual response control quotient, full response control quotient (FRCQ), auditory attention quotient (AAQ), visual attention quotient, and full attention quotient ( CONCLUSIONS Compared with the children with BECT or ADHD alone, the children with both BECT and ADHD have basically the same fields of cognitive impairment but a higher degree of cognitive impairment in some fields.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; Child ; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology* ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Wechsler Scales

To prepare tanshinone ⅡA loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (Tan ⅡA-NLC), and study its in vitro transdermal permeation characteristics. The Tan ⅡA-NLC was prepared by high pressure homogenization technology and optimized by Box-Behnken design-response surface method, and it was characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, zeta potention, et al. The transdermal permeation of Tan ⅡA-NLC was evaluated by using Franz diffusion cells. The results showed that, the optimal formulation was as follows: drug/lipid materials ratio 88, GMS/MCT ratio 2, emulsifier concentration 1%, average particle size (182±14) nm, polydispersity index PDI (0.190 6±0.024 5), zeta potential (－27.8± 5.4) mV, encapsulation efficiency EE (86.44%±9.26%) and drug loading DL (0.98%±0.18%), respectively. The in vitro transdermal permeation results showed that as compared with Tan ⅡA solution, Tan ⅡA-NLC had lower transdermal permeation amount after applying drug for 24 h, but its retention in the epidermis was 3.18 times that of solution. These results indicated that the prepared Tan ⅡA-NLC could effectively increase the regention of Tan ⅡA in the epidermis, and had a broad application prospect.