Objective To evaluate the feasibility , safety, therapeutic effects and adverse reactions of CT-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA)for adrenocortical adenoma with Cushing's syndrome.Methods From Jan.2009 to Dec.2013, 24 patients with 24 tumors diagnosed as adrenocortical adenoma with Cushing's syn-drome received CT-guided percutaneous RFA.The average tumor size was(2.1 ±0.7)cm(ranging from 1.1 to 3.9 cm) .RFA was performed under real-time computed tomography guidance .Technical success was defined as disappearance of tumor enhancement on contrast CT imaging 1 week after RFA .Clinical success was defined as improvement in serum cortisol, adreno-cortico-tropic-hormone(ACTH)and symptoms within the follow-up.Patho-logical diagnosis was acquired through the needle biopsy after RFA procedure .Results RFA was technically successful in all the 24 patients.No conversion occured.During operation, patients suffered blood pressure fluc-tuation but no one experienced a hypertensive crisis .Mild postoperative lumbar pain occurred in 6 patients . Tumor enhancement disappeared in CT scan .The mean follow-up was 18 months, ranging from 3 to 36 months. Both serum cortisol and ACTH basically returned to normal levels , and the symptoms related to Cushing's syn-drome gradually disappeared .No severe complications occurred during this procedure .Histopathology results showed all were adrenal cortical adenomas .No serious complication occurred to any patient during RFA .Conclu-sion CT-guided RFA for adrenocortical adenoma with Cushing's syndrome is a feasible , safe, effective and mini-mally invasive treatment with few complications .

Objective We propose a method using total variation (TV) regularization in deconvolution for partial volume correction in PET imaging. In the degraded image model, we used TV regularization procedure in Van Cittert (VC) and Richardson-Lucy (RL) deconvolution algorithms. These methods were tested in simulated NCAT images and images of NEMA NU4-2008 IQ phantom and tumor-bearing mouse scanned by Simens Invoen microPET. The simulated experiment and tumor-bearing mouse experiment showed that the algorithms using TV regularization provided superior qualitative and quantitative appearance compared with traditional VC and RL algorithms. When the mean intensity of the tumor increased by (10 ± 1.8)%, the SD increase percentage was decreased from 49.98%to 14.26%and from 42.76%to 4.70%, suggesting the efficiency of the proposed algorithms for reducing PVEs in PET.

Objective We propose a method using total variation (TV) regularization in deconvolution for partial volume correction in PET imaging. In the degraded image model, we used TV regularization procedure in Van Cittert (VC) and Richardson-Lucy (RL) deconvolution algorithms. These methods were tested in simulated NCAT images and images of NEMA NU4-2008 IQ phantom and tumor-bearing mouse scanned by Simens Invoen microPET. The simulated experiment and tumor-bearing mouse experiment showed that the algorithms using TV regularization provided superior qualitative and quantitative appearance compared with traditional VC and RL algorithms. When the mean intensity of the tumor increased by (10 ± 1.8)%, the SD increase percentage was decreased from 49.98%to 14.26%and from 42.76%to 4.70%, suggesting the efficiency of the proposed algorithms for reducing PVEs in PET.

Metagenomes from uncultured microorganisms are rich resources for novel enzyme genes. The methods used to screen the metagenomic libraries fall into two categories, which are based on sequence or function of the enzymes. The sequence-based approaches rely on the known sequences of the target gene families. In contrast, the function-based approaches do not involve the incorporation of metagenomic sequencing data and, therefore, may lead to the discovery of novel gene sequences with desired functions. In this review, we discuss the function-based screening strategies that have been used in the identification of enzymes from metagenomes. Because of its simplicity, agar plate screening is most commonly used in the identification of novel enzymes with diverse functions. Other screening methods with higher sensitivity are also employed, such as microtiter plate screening. Furthermore, several ultra-high-throughput methods were developed to deal with large metagenomic libraries. Among these are the FACS-based screening, droplet-based screening, and the in vivo reporter-based screening methods. The application of these novel screening strategies has increased the chance for the discovery of novel enzyme genes.
Animals ; Bacteria ; enzymology ; Enzymes ; genetics ; Gene Library ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; methods ; Metagenome ; genetics ; Metagenomics ; methods ; Plants ; enzymology

To enhance biohydrogen production of Klebsiella sp. HQ-3, the global transcriptional factor (Fnr), formate dehydrogenase H (FDH1) and the pncB gene encoding the nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase (NAPRTase) were for the first time over-expressed in Klebsiella sp. HQ-3. The fnr, fdhF, pncB genes were cloned from the genomic DNA of Klebsiella sp. HQ-3 by 3 pairs of universal primers, and introduced into the corresponding sites of the modified pET28a-Pkan, resulting in the plasmids pET28a-Pkan-fnr, pET28a-Pkan-fdhF and pET28a-Pkan-pncB. The 4 plasmids were then electroported into wild Klebsiella sp. HQ-3 to create HQ-3-fnr, HQ-3-fdhF, HQ-3-pncB and HQ-3-C, respectively. Hydrogen production was measured using a gas chromatograph and the metabolites were analyzed with a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC). The results indicate that over-expression of fnr, fdhF and pncB significantly enhanced hydrogen production in the three recombinant strains. Hydrogen production per mol glucose for HQ-3 fnr, HQ-3 pncB, HQ-3 fdhF was 1.113, 1.106 and 1.063 mol of hydrogen/mol glucose, which was respectively increased by 12.26%, 11.62% and 7.28% compared with that of the control strain HQ-3-C (0.991 mol of hydrogen/mol glucose). Moreover, the analysis of HPLC showed that the concentrations of formate and lactate were markedly decreased, but succinate remained unchanged in culture media compared with those of the control strain HQ-3-C.
Fermentation ; Formate Dehydrogenases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Hydrogen ; metabolism ; Iron-Sulfur Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Klebsiella ; genetics ; metabolism ; Metabolic Engineering ; methods ; Metabolic Networks and Pathways ; Pentosyltransferases ; biosynthesis ; genetics