A promising genetic marker, sag5b, was cloned and expressed and the difference of the genes between highly virulent strain (RH) and less virulent strain(Prugniaud) of Toxoplasma gondii was compared. The PCR-generated product of sag5b was subcloned into T easy vector and plasmid pET28a consecutively. The fusion expression was induced by IPTG and identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. The immunoreactivity of recombinant SAG5B was identical to that of native SAG5B on the membrane of tachyzoites of RH strain. The brains of mice infected with Prugniaud strain of T. gondii were homogenated. Sag1 was successully cloned by PCR from both RH strain tachyzoites and the homogenized brain tissues of mice infected with low virulent strain of Prugniaud,whereas sag5b was only detected in RH strain but not in Prugniaud strain, indicating that sag5b could be used as a genetic marker for differentiation of strain virulence. Expression and vaccination of the virulence-associated gene into mice failed to induce obvious protective immunity against the challenge of RH strain.

Animals ; Base Sequence ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; RNA, Viral ; genetics ; Virus Diseases ; genetics ; metabolism ; virology ; Virus Physiological Phenomena ; Viruses ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To assess the efficacy of radiofrequency scalpel in the treatment of rhinophyma.Methods Twenty-three patients diagnosed with rhinophyma were randomly divided into radiofrequency group (13 patients) and routine surgery group (10 patients).Hypertrophic nasal tissue was removed by a radiofrequency scalpel in the radiofrequency group,and by a scalpel followed by dermabrasion in the routine surgery group.Several parameters,including operation time,intraoperative blood loss,surgical wound healing time,postoperative erythema duration,scarring incidence rate and appearance improvement value,were compared by t test or chi-square test between the two groups.Results All the patients completed the treatment.Compared with the routine surgery group,the radiofrequency group showed shorter operation time ((24.4 ± 2.8) vs.(44.0 ± 4.7) minutes,P ＜ 0.01)and less blood loss ((10.4 ± 1.4) vs.(39.0 ± 5.7) ml,P ＜ 0.01).No significant difference was observed in the surgical wound healing time,erythema duration,postoperative appearance improvement value and scarring incidence between the two groups.Conclusion Radiofrequency scalpel is effective and safe in the treatment of rhinophyma with shorter operation time and less intraoperative blood loss.

Acute Disease ; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases ; Child ; Humans ; Male

Objective To construct and assess the competency scale for emergency physicians in our country. Methods Learning from the milestone project in America, we developed the scale through Delphi method . The application effect was evaluated among 81 emergency physicians by questionnaire survey. Excel was used to do data entry. SPSS 20.0 was adopted to do data analysis. Factor analysis method was employed to verify the structure validity of the scale. Results The competency scale comprises six dimensions and 13 items. The scale of total Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.98 and the split half reliability was 0.95. Two factors were extracted by principal component analysis with cumulative contribution rate of 86.5%. The differ-ences of competency score on six aspects of different ages, titles, working years and training situation were tested and all had statistically significant differ-ence (P<0.01). Conclusion The scale developed in our study can reflect the growth stage of the emergency physicians and serve the purpose as an evaluation tool for the competency of emergency physicians in our country.

Objectives To optimize the curriculum for better education quality. Methods By literature review, the curriculum of the bio-medical English program of Peking University was summa-rized. Interviews were conducted on 8 sophomores of the program based on convenience sampling for their concerns over the curriculum and a questionnalre was designed based on such concerns. Ques-tionnalre survey was used for the remarks and suggestions of the 129 graduates of year 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the curriculum, with 79 valid questionnalres collected and the data analyzed by Microsoft Excel. Results Respectively 64 (81.02%), 52 (65.82%), 53 (67.09%) respondents believe the se-quence, duration and connection of the English courses are appropriate and 65 (82.27%), 46 (58.22%), 50 (63.29%) respondents believe the sequence, duration and connection of the medical courses are appropriate. 63 (81.77%) respondents hoped that they could do experiments in the medical courses, but 18 of them (23.08%) worried that the experiments would make the curriculum more tense. 71 (89.97%) respondents thought that the internship at hospital in the curriculum was conducive to better understanding of medical course contents . Suggestions on the improvement of the curriculum were also made by respondents. Conclusions The curriculum could be further optimized, especially on the connection between different courses, although most of the respondents by and large believe that the curriculum of the program is rational and hold positive attitude towards the internship in hospital and experiments in the curriculum.

Objective To observe the positional relationship of lumbar nerve roots and its main adjacent structures with CT data, and to conduct 3D construction and measurement,so as to provide anatomical basis for percutaneous lumbar diskectomy(PLD).Methods CT serial tomography dataset of 30 healthy adults' lumbosacral portions were imported into Mimics 17.0 software to segment related structures and obtain the layers of different structures.The structures were 3D reconstructed and virtually demonstrated.The lumbar nerve roots and their main surrounding structures were observed and measured.Results The minimum distances between the lumbar nerve roots and the superior articular processes increased gradually from L3 to L4 intervertebral disc layer to L5 to S1 intervertebral disc layer.The 3D model clearly displayed the morphology and spatial relationship of the lumbar nerve roots and their adjacent structures in lumbosacral portion.The lower the lumbar intervertebral discs were,the thicker they were.The distances from the middle point of the back of lumbar intervertebral disc to the end of the superior spinous process of lumbar vertebra increased at first and decreased then,and the distance in L3 to L4 intervertebral disc layer was the farthest.Conclusion The relationship between lumbar nerve roots and superior articular processes,the intervertebral disc thickness variance and the change of the distances from lumbar intervertebral disc to the end of the superior spinous process have been analyzed in this study,and the clinic basis has been laid for percutaneous lumbar diskectomy.

Adult ; Antigens, CD20 ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Ki-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Leukocyte Common Antigens ; metabolism ; Lymph Nodes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; pathology ; Pseudolymphoma ; metabolism ; pathology

Objective To investigate the association between carotid atherosclerosis(AS) and serum magnesium(Mg) in hemodialyzed (HD) patients.Methods Clinical index was measured,and intimamedia thickness (IMT) of extracranial common carotid artery and presence of atherosclerotic plaques were determined by high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography.The data were analyzed between plaque positive group and plaque negative group.Results The age,serum phosphate (P),total cholesterol (TCH),low density lipoprotein (LDL),serum C-reactive protein (CRP),serum albumin(Alb),and serum Mg all had significant difference between two groups(t =4.153,2.908,2.301,6.322,5.791,2.341,7.778,P ＜0.01 or P ＜ 0.05).The risk factors of HD patients with AS were serum Mg and CRP(P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The occurrence of AS was related to low Mg and high CRP in HD patients.

Objective To investigate the change of HepG2 liver tumor perfusion after microbubble enhanced ultrasound cavitation treatment and observe the related pathological injury.Methods Twenty eight Balb/c(nu/nu) nude mice transplanted subcutaneous HepG2 tumor were divided into three groups randomly,including the microbubble enhanced ultrasound cavitation group,the ultrasound group and the sham group.Microbubble enhanced ultrasound cavitation treatment was performed by 0.1 ml microbubbles intravenous injection combined with pulse ultrasound emission in experimental group,while in control groups only ultrasound exposure or microbubble injection were applied.The perfusion of tumors was imaged using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography before and after treatments.Time-intensity curve and peak intensity were analyzed.The tumors were then harvested for histological examination.Results The perfusion of HepG2 tumors almost vanished immediately after treatment in experimental group,with the peak intensity reduced from (26.9 ± 10.9)％ to(8.2 ± 5.8)％ (P ＜0.05).There was no significant changes before and after treatments (P ＞ 0.05) in the two control groups.Histological findings were disruption of the endothelia,significant hemorrhage and increased intercellular fluid.Conclusions Microbubble-enhanced ultrasound cavitation can significantly reduce tumor blood perfusion and disrupt tumor vascularture.This new ultrasound therapy can potentially become a new physical anti-angiogenetic therapy for liver tumor.