0.05). The HDL-C level of B 2B 2 genotype (1.46?0.20)mmol/L was significantly higher than that of B 1B 1 genotype (0.90?0.21) mmol/L and B 1B 2 genotype (1.25?0.22)mmol/L, P

Objective To investigate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection(LTBI),and to identify the risk factors in primary schoolchildren from Shanghai through the population-based field investigation combined with the tuberculosis infection enzyme-linked immunospot assay(T-SPOT.TB)assay.Methods The children in grade 4 and 5 were enrolled from four primary schools in Pudong new district and Yangpu district of Shanghai.Questionnaire interview was applied to investigate the soeiodemographic and clinical information related to LTBI.The T-SPOT.TB assay was used to detect LTBI in the enrolled subjects.Univaitate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the risk factors associated with LTBI among the primary schoolchildren.Results Totally 472 schoolchildren were enrolled in the present study,with 439(93.0%)being vaccinated with bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG) and ten (2.1%) having contact history with tuberculosis (TB) patients.Among the 472 eligible subjects,16(3.4%) children were T-SPOT.TB positive,who had no clinical symptoms andsigns relevant to TB and were defined as LTBI.The LTBI prevalence in BCG vaccinated and unvaccinated children were 2.7% and 12.1%,respectively (OR:6.972;95%CI:1.834-26.500);those in TB contacts and children without TB contact history were 30.0% and 2.8%, respectively (OR: 16. 38; 95% CI: 3. 692-72. 700). Conclusions The prevalence of LTBI among senior schoolchildren in Shanghai is 3.4%. BCG vaccination is protective for children from LTBI, while daily contacts with TB patients increases the risk of LTBI in schoolchildren.

Diverticulum ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND:Standard artificial prosthesis does not well match to patients' skeleton due to absolute individuation,while the difference between them does not keep the stabilization of artificial joint for a long term.OBJECTIVE:To construct three-dimensional models of custom-made femoral prosthesis by using computer-aided design and to verify whether custom-made femoral prosthesis is superior to popular femoral prosthesis via simulating and contrasting mechanical study.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:Opening study was performed in the Orthopaedics Institute of the First Clinical Hospital and the Biomechanics Institute,Jilin University between September 2006 and May 2007.MATERIALS:One fresh femur was derived from adult corps.METHODS:Two-dimensional images of the fresh femur was obtained by using total-length CT scanning and processed with computer edge recognition and three-dimensional contour extraction software to identify outer and inner contour of bone cavity,extract contour data of bone cavity and prosthesis,and construct three-dimensional models of femur and custom-rhade femoral prosthesis.SolidWorks software was used to establish three-dimensional prosthetic models in common biological and bone cement types; moreover,bone-cement,biological,and custom-made femoral prosthesis were replaced via simulating clinical surgery.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Standing on single or double feet was simulated to measure stress distribution,interface stress,and primary micromotion of femoral prosthesis in the three types.RESULTS:Edge extracting was replaced by Canny calculator,characterizing by stable running,credible outcome,and consistent with the primary request.Stress,femoral stress,interface stress,and primary micromotion of custom-made femoral prosthesis were significantly lower than biological and'bone-cement femoral prosthesis (P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION:The computer-aided design is reliable to perform the assistant design of prosthesis; furthermore,biomechanical properties of the custom-made femoral prosthesis are superior to those of popular femoral prosthesis.

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of Smad4 in peripheral hepatocytes of lesions in mice with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis.Methods Eight mice in the test group were inoculated with alveolar echinococcosis and 8 mice in the control group were injected with normal saline.The expression of Smad4 protein in the hepatic tissue of the mice was detected by immunohistochemistry method,and the data were analyzed by chi-square test.The effect of alveolar echinocoeeosis on the expression of Smad4 protein was investigated.Results Smad4 was detected in cell nuclei and partly in the cytoplasm.Six months after the establishment of the mice model for alveolar echinococeosis,the expression of Smad4 in the hepatic tissue in the test group was significantly higher than in the control group(x2=19.869,P＜0.05).The number of Smad4 with positive expression in the hepatocytes in the test group was slightly higher than in the control group,and the expression intensity of Smad4 in the test group was greater than in the control group(x2=58.3 10,P＜0.05).Conclusions The increase of the expression of Smad4 protein in the periphery hepatocytes and tissues of hepatic alveolar echinococcosis lesions may play a role in hepatic cirrhosis and immune evasion.

Objective To investigate the effect and its significance of low-dose insulin on Nmethyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) level and its downstream signaling of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK,p44/42MAPK) in streptozotocininduced diabetic rats.Methods Ten-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:control group,diabetic group and insulin-treated diabetes group.Diabetes was induced by streptozocin (STZ,60mg/kg) injected intraperitoneally.Two weeks after STZ injection,insulin glargine (92u/day for 8 weeks) was subcutaneously injected in the insulin-treated diabetes group.Then,the rat lumbar spinal cords were collected.The protein levels of phospho-Insulin receptor substrate 1 (P-IRS1),phospho-NMDAR NR1 subunit (P-NR1),P-JNK and P-p44/42MAPK were evaluated by Western blotting.One week before the terminal of the study,paw thermal response latency was measured in all groups.Results Blood glucose levels were tremendously high in both the diabetic group and insulintreated diabetes group.Compared with the control group,paw thermal response latency was markedly shortened in the diabetic group (P＜ 0.001) and the insulin-treated diabetes group (P＜ 0.001),and the alteration was more pronounced in the diabetic group (P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the protein levels of P-IRS1,P-NR1,P-JNK and P-p44/42MAPK were increased by 79.2％,35.1％,47.6 ％,64.3 ％ and 87.6 ％,respectively in diabetic group and 49.4 ％,19.1％,16.5 ％,31.8％ and 39.9％,respectively in insulin-treated diabetes group (all P＜0.001 or 0.05).In comparison with diabetic group,the increased amplitudes of above 4 parameters were decreased by 29.8％,16.0％,31.2％,32.5％ and 47.7％ respectively in the insulin-treated diabetes group (all P＜0.05).Conclusions NMDAR and its downstream signals,such as JNK and p42/44MARK,are involved in the pathogenesis of painful diabetic neuropathy.Although it could not efficiently control the blood glucose level,low-dose insulin treatment may partly inhibit the occurrence of thermal hyperalgesia through inhibiting NMDAR signal pathway.

Objective To explore the potential of creating a cat model of spinal cord infarction initiated by a photochemical reaction in terms of the neuroethology, motor evoked potential, and morphological outcomes. Meth-ods Fifteen cats were divided into three groups at random. T_13 in the spinal cord was photochemically irradiated for 40 min, 60 min or 80 min in different groups. A photochemically-induced infarction was produced by intravenous in-jection of rose Bengal (35 mg/kg) combined with immediate cold light irradiation (3000 klx) of the spinal cord.Neuroethology changes were observed every day after the surgery far 21 days, and morphological changes were exam-ined at day 21, before which the motor evoked potential was examined and compared with measurements taken before injury. Results The spinal cord infarctions induced by intravenous injection of rose Bengal plus cold light irradia-tion for 40 min were stable by day 8, while the other two groups were stable by day 12. The size of the infarction area in the spinal cord was stable, while the neuroethology, electrophysiological and histopathological changes in the cats were significant. Conclusions All of the cats demonstrated decreased functional mobility after photochemically in-duced thrombosis of the spinal cord, with corresponding pathomorphological and electrophysiologic changes. The model of infarction was stable and reliable.

Objective To investigate the effects of epidural spinal cord electrical stimulation (ESCES) on spinal cord reflexes in normal adult rats, and to find out where and how the spinal cord reflexes are generated. Methods Ten adult female Sprague Dawley rats were anaesthetized and an electrode was placed at the S, spinal cord segment. Single electric pulses with 200 μs pulse width and voltages of 400 mV, 600 mV and 1200 mV were used in the ESCES. 1200 mV voltages with 50 Hz, 60 Hz, 80 Hz, 100 Hz frequency were also tested. EMG signals were re-corded with concentric needle electrodes in the rats' semitendinosus muscles to observe the characteristics of spinal cord reflexes. Results The voltage threshold for generating semitendinosus muscle response was 300 mV. The three ESCES voltages induced 2 kinds of spinal cord reflexes. The 400 mV and 600 mV stimulation induced spinal cord reflexes with short latency (5.27±0.36 ms and 5.19±0.67 ms respectively). The 1200 mV stimulation volt-age induced spinal cord reflexes with long latency (2.57±0.23 ms). Spinal cord reflexes could be generated by 50 Hz, 60 Hz, 80 Hz, and 100 Hz ESCES. At the higher frequencies, spinal cord reflexes declined late in the ex-periments and then appeared irregular. In some of the rats, spinal cord reflexes vanished entirely late in the stimula-tion experiments. The latency and duration of the spinal cord reflexes induced by 50 Hz ESCES were (4.46 ± 1.07) ms and (7.33±1.00)ms respectively. These were significantly different from the latency and duration initia-ted by 60 Hz, 80 Hz or 100 Hz ESCES. Conclusions Different ESCES voltages induce different spinal cord refle-xes generated differently. The long latency reflexes might be monosynaptic responses mediated by dorsal root excite-ment, while the short latency reflexes might be sarcous exciting electric activity mediated by direct excitement of mo-tor neurons or motor fibers. The irregular spinal cord reflexes induced by higher frequency ESCES might be one kind of monosynaptic response. Irregularly appearing spinal cord reflexes induced by higher frequency stimulation might due to the inhibitory effect of higher frequency stimulation.

Objective:To investigate the effects of epidural spinal cord stimulation (ESCS) and treadmill training on the locomotion function and ultrastructure of spinal cord anterior horn after moderate spinal cord injury in rats. (IT, n=3). All rats received a moderate spinal cord injury surgery. Four weeks after surgery, rats in SE group received an electrode implantation procedure, with the electrode field covering spinal cord segments L2-S1. Four weeks after electrode implantation, rats received subthreshold ESCS for 30 min/d. Rats in TY group received 4cm/s treadmill training for 30min/d. Rats in SI group received no intervention, as a control group. All procedures in these three groups lasted four weeks.The open field Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used before and after intervention to evaluate rats' hindlimb motor function. Result:After four weeks intervention, rats in TT group improved their open field locomotion scores to 20. In contrast, no significant improvement was observed in groups SI and SE. The morphology of synapses and neurons were similar regardless of whether rats had undergone ESCS, treadmill training or not. Conclusion:ESCS alone was not sufficient to improve the walking ability of spinal cord injured rats. ESCS or treadmill training alone might not contribute to the changes of ultrastructure in anterior horn of spinal cord that underlie the recovery of walking ability. Further research is needed to understand the contributions of combination of ESCS and treadmill training to the rehabilitation of spinal cord injured rats.

A sandwich format immunochromatographic assay for detecting foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotypes was developed. In this rapid test, affinity purified polyclonal antibodies from Guinea pigs which were immunized with sucking-mouse adapted FMD virus (A/AV88(L) strain) were conjugated to colloidal gold beads and used as the capture antibody, and affinity purified polyclonal antibodies from rabbits which were immunized with cell-culture adapted FMD virus (A/CHA/09 strain) were used as detector antibody. On the nitrocellulose membrane of the immunochromatographic strip, the capture antibody was laid on a sample pad, the detector antibody was printed at the test line(T) and goat anti-guinea pigs IgG antibodies were immobilized to the control line(C). The lower detection limit of the test for a FMDV 146S antigen is 11.7ng/ml as determined in serial tests after the strip device was assembled and the assay condition optimization. No cross reactions were found with FMDV serotype C, Swine vesicular disease (SVD), Vesicular stomatiti svirus (VSV) and vesicular exanthema of swine virus (VES) viral antigens with this rapid test. Clinically, the diagnostic sensitivity of this test for FMDV serotypes A was 88.7% which is as same as an indirect-sandwich ELISA. The specificity of this strip test was 98.2% and is comparable to the 98.7% obtained with indirect-sandwich ELISA. This rapid strip test is simple, easy and fast for clinical testing on field sites;no special instruments and skills are required, and the result can be obtained within 15 min. To our knowledge, this is the first rapid immunochromatogarpic assay for serotype A of FMDV.