40 ?m in diameter) were accounted for about 15％, and the rest were medium-and small-sized cells.

In the present study the commissural projection between the two superior colliculi in the rat was examined with horseradish peroxidase method. The result shows that when HRP was injected into the superior colliculus of one side, HRP labeled cells could be found in every part of the contralateral superior colliculus. In each case the labeled cells were relatively concentrated in the region corresponding to the site of injection. It indicates that various parts of one superior colliculus may be connected chiefly with the corresponding part of the opposite side through the commissural projection.Most of the labeled cells were found in the middle layer of the superior colliculus, especially in its upper half, less in the deep layer, and the least in the superficial layer. Neurons in the superficial layer of one side project only to the superficial layer of the contralateral side, and so are the middle-deep layers. The connections between the superficial layers of both sides were independent from those of the middledeep layers.The commissural projection of the bilateral superior colliculi passes through the commissure of the superior colliculus which could be divided into a dorsal and a ventral fiberal fasciculns. The dorsal one was smaller, predominantly related to the superficial layer and the upper half of the middle layer; the ventral one was larger, part of its fibers related to the lower half of the middle layer and the deep layer, while the rest project to other nuclei of the contralateral region of the mesencephalon (e. g. nucleus cuneiforms, etc,).Most of the labeled cells were small in size, the rest were medium-sized, and no large ones were found.

Purpose To investigate the expression of secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) and to evaluate its clinical significance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Methods RT-PCR was performed to analyze SFRP4 mRNA expression level in 30 paired PDAC lesion and matched adjacent non-tuimor tissue.Immunohistochemistry staining detection of 205 matched cases tissue microarray was conducted to explore SFRP4 protein expression pattern.The correlation between SFRP4 and clinical characteristics was also analyzed,including overall survival.Results SFRP4 expression pattern both at mRNA and protein level in PDAC lesion was higher than that in matched adjacent non-tumor tissue.At mRNA level,to found that expression of SFRP4 was elevated in 90％ (27/30) of PDAC tissues (P =0.007 2).To found that high expression of SFRP4 was detected in 56.5％ (116/205) of PDAC tissue,while only 28.8％ (59/205) in the adjacent non-tumor tissue.Moreover,no significant association was observed between SFRP4 expression and clinical characteristics.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed high level of SFRP4 expression was correlated with poor overall survival (x2 =3.467,P =0.024).Conclusion SFRP4 can be a novel prognostic biomarker in PDAC.

Visualization of medical images has become an important method for the basic medical research as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment.Construction of the highly sophisticated three-dimensional(3D) models of the human body by computers has become an essential foundation for current medical research and disease treatment methods.Visualization Toolkit(VTK) is a kind of famous software in scientific visualization fields.It is convenient and efficient for programming.This paper implements three typical algorithms,Contour-connecting,Marching Cubes and Ray-casting,of medical image 3D visualization using VTK with VC++.Results show that VTK is a powerful tool with many advantages,such as simple operation,fast,and good interaction ability and can be widely used in 3D reconstruction of medical images.

It is demonstrated that the parabigeminal nucleus of the rat is subdivided intodorsal,middle and ventral groups.The parabigeminal nucleus sends fibers to bila-teral superior colliculus,the rostral half of it predominantly projects to the rostralhalf of the contralateral superior colliculus,but the rostral end projects only to thecontralateral one;the caudal half of this nucleus predominantly projects to thecaudal half of the ipsilateral superior colliculus,but the caudal end projects only tothe ipsilateral one.The superficial layer of the superior colliculus receives projec-tions from the ipsilateral dorsal and ventral groups and from the contralateralmiddle group of the parabigeminal nucleus.The middle and deep layers receive pro-jections from the ipsilateral middle group and contralateral dorsal and ventral groups,and probably from the other groups of both sides.The superior colliculus also sends fibers to both parabigeminal nuclei,predo-minantly the ipsilateral side.The lateral tegmental area sends fibers to the middle and deep layers of the su-perior colliculus.From the results described above,it could be concluded that the parabigeminalnucleus——tectum——parabigeminal nucleus connections are not only concerned withsuperficial layer,but also with the middle and deep layers of the superior colliculus.The tegmentum——tectum——tegmentum connections are only concerned with the mid-dle and deep layers of the superior colliculus.

Objective To investigate the relationship between human papilloma virus(HPV)infection and the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).Methods To elucidate the role of HPV in the development of LSCC,we employed polymerase chain reaction(PCR)based on four pairs of primers an4 in situ hybridization(ISH)to screen the HPV infection in 84 ISCC tissues.Results Using HPV L1 general primer amplification,HPV DNA was detected in 23(27.4%)of the 84 LSCC samples.However,when specific primers for HPV-16 or-18 were used to amplify E6 and E7 in all samples,29 cases(34.5%)were positive for HPV-16,while 6 cases(7.1%)were positive for HPV 18.Coinfeetion of HPV-16 and-18 were found in 4cases (4.8%).Overall,HPV type 16 and 18 infections were present in 36.9% of the LSCC samples.In addition,the positive rate of HPV 16 E6 mRNA was 30.9%(26/84)in LSCC by ISH with digoxin-labeled sense probes of HPV 16 E6.Conclusion High-risk HPV-16may be an etiologic factor in the development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, while the complicated molecular mechanism of HPV16 inducedtumorgenesis needs a further study.

Neurons descending from the griseum centrale mesencephali, nucleus Darkschewitsch and nucleus interstitialis of Cajal to the nucleus raphe magnus and adjacent reticular formation (nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis and nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis) were identified in 9 adult cats with the retrograde HRP method. In the griseum centrale mesencephali, the labeled neurons were found bilaterally but slightly more ipsilaterally. In the nucleus Darkschewitscb and nucleus interstitialis of Cajal, the labeled neurons were consistently found in its rostral part ipsilateral to the injected side at the level of the posterior commissure. In addition, in 5 of the 9 cases, a few labeled neurons were observed in the nucleus raphe dorsalis.

The projections of diencephalon onto the rostral part of the mesencephalic periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) were investigated by using the method of retrograde transport of HRP in the rat. The results have led to following conclusions:1. The diencephalic afferents to the rostral part of PAG originate mainly from medial preoptic area, anterior hypothalamic area, dorsomedial and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei, dorsal premamillary nucleus, lateral hypothalamic region, Forel's field and zona incerta ipsilaterally, and a few of them originate contralaterally.2. The anterior hypothalamic area, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, dorsal premamillary nucleus and zona incerta project more to the ipsilateral nucleus: lateralis of PAG than to the nucleus medialis and contralateral nucleus lateralis of PAG.3. In the anterior hypothalamic area, a large number of neurons projecting to PAG was located in the lateral anterior nucleus.4. In the lateral hypothalamic region, the lateral preoptic area and anterior division project to both nuclei lateralis and medialis, while its tuberal and mamillary divisions probably project only to nucleus lateralis.

Objective To observe enhancing effect of nerve regeneration on peripheral nerve defect models bridged by silicone tube idled with valproic acid (VPA). Methods In present research we demon-strate the effect of VPA on peripheral nerve regeneration and recovery of motor function following sciatic nerve transaction in rats. An 8-mm sciatic nerve deficit was created in a rat mode land bridged by a 1-cm silicone tube.Then, 10 lad of 8% VPA were perfused into the silicone chamber in the VPA group. The same volume of normal saline was delivered in the control group. Results Each animal was observed sciatic nerve function index (SFI) at 2-week intervals and studied electrophysiology at 4-week intervals for 12 weeks. Histological and morphometrical analyses were performed at the end of the experiment, 12 weeks after operation. Using the digital image-analysis system, thickness of the myelin sheath was measured, and total numbers of regenerated axons were counted. There was a significant difference in SFI, electrophysiological index (motor-nerve conduct velocity, MCV), and morphometrical results (regenerated axon number and thickness of myelin sheath) in nerve regeneration between the VPA group and controls (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion The results demonstrated that VPA is able to enhance sciatic nerve regeneration in rats, suggesting the potential clinical application of VPA for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury in humans.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA),the major active metabolite of artemisinin,participates in tumor progression through the following ways:forming free radicals to induce cancer cells death dependent on iron,inducing apoptosis,inhibiting angiogenesis,tumor cells invasion and metastasis,modulating muhidrug resistance,controlling intracellular Ca2+ concentration,regulating cell cycles,cell autophagy and the immune system and so on.Generally,it is considered to be a potential anti-tumor drug.