Objective To establish a guinea pig model for diagnostic reagent of tuberculosis.Methods By single or multiple subcutaneous injection of heat-killed H37 Rv in different doses in the groin of guinea pigs to establish a model of positive response to 0.1 mL (5 IU) standard tuberculin ( TB-PPD) skin test.Results Three doses of heat-killed H37 Rv ( 0.2 mg/mL, 0.3 mg/mL and 0.5 mg/mL ) could be used to generate the model of biological diagnosis of tuberculosis.After 24 and 48 hours, the diameter of red spot by TB-PPD skin test was 15.4 ±2.3 mm when a dose of 0.2 mg/mL heat-killed H37 Rv was administered for immunizing and allergizing the guinea pigs.The biggest red spot was induced at doses of 0.3 mg/mL and 0.5 mg/mL.The test results showed that the immune response induced by multiple njection to immunizing and allergizing guinea pigs was not significantly different than that induced by single immunizing injection, and the first skin test was better than the second, third and fourth skin test (P≤0.05).In addition, the body weight of the guinea pigs was still increasing after infection with heat-killed H37 Rv, and ulcers occurred in the injection sites in some guinea pigs.Conclusions A single subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mg/mL heat-killed H37 Rv in guinea pigs can be used well to establish a reliable model for biological diagnostic reagent of tuberculosis.Increasing the sensitizing dose and multiple sensitization can not increase the intensity of the delayed-type hypersensitivity ( DTH) response.

Objective To explore the characteristics and significance of functional connectivity (FC) of affective network (AN) in patients with postpartum depression (PPD) under resting state. Methods A total of 23 patients with PPD (PPD group) and 28 healthy postpartum women (control group) were examined using resting-state fMRI. As two critical nodes of AN, amygdala (AMYG) and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) were selected as the regions of interest (ROI) to analyze the differences of functional connectivity strength (FCS) of two regions from other brain regions between two groups, followed by Pearson correlation analysis on the abnormal FCS and the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) score in PPD group. Results Compared to the control group, the patients in PPD group showed the extensively reduced FCS (P<0.05, Alphasim correction) between AMYG and frontal cortex, temporal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum and orbitofrontal cortex, while there were enhanced FCS (P<0.05, Alphasim correction) between sgACC and parietal cortex, occipital cortex, thalamus, superior temporal gyrus and cingulate cortex. Moreover, in PPD group, the reduced FCS between left AMYG and left medial orbitofrontal cortex was negatively correlated with EPDS scores (r=-0.62, P=0.02). Conclusion Patients with PPD have dysfunctional connectivity of AN in multiple brain regions. The weaker FCS between left amygdala and left medial orbitofrontal cortex is, the more severe depression. The dysfunctional connectivity of AN may provide an effective mechanism-based biomarker underlying PPD.

Animals ; Macaca mulatta ; Optic Disk ; Glaucoma ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Intraocular Pressure ; Low Tension Glaucoma