Objective To establish a method to quantitatively assess melanosome transfer with incorporation of 14C-thiouracil (TU) into nascent melanin. Methods To characterize whether 14C-TU was exclusively incorporated into melanin-producing cells, the same number of mouse melan-a or SP-1 keratinocytes were labeled with 14C-TU for 12 hours and 48 hours, respectively, followed by the measurement of radioactivity. Mouse melan-a melanocytes were pre-labeled with 1 Ci/mL 14C-TU, and cocultured with mouse SP1 keratinocytes to develop an assay system for melanosome transfer to keratinocytes. Following co-culture, the keratinocytes with transferred radioactivity were separated from melanocytes at different time points via two times of differential trypsinization. Transferred radioactivity in keratinocytes, denoting the amount of melanosome transfer, was measured with liquid scintillation counting. Meanwhile, the effects of forskolin, a PKA activator, and nicotinamide on melanosome transfer were also investigated with this assay system.Results The incorporated radioactivity in melan-a cells was 66- or 80-fold as high as that in SP-1 cells,indicating that 14C-TU would be a suitable tracer for melanosome transfer in co-culture with keratinocytes. A purity of 84.5% was achieved for keratinocytes with transferred radioactivity by twice differential trypsinization.As shown by this assay, there was an approximately 0.67-fold decrease in melanosome transfer with the treatment of 1 g/L nicotinamide and 2.3-fold increase with 20μmol/L forskolin treatment. After coculture with SP1 cells for 8-12 hours, melan-a cells developed well-extending dendrites with detectable melanosome transfer, while no proliferation of melan-a cells induced by forskolin was seen. Conclusion An optimized protocol for selective incorporation of 14C-TU into nascent melanin has been successfully applied to the quantitative measurement of melanosome transfer from melanocytes to keratinocytes induced by forskolin or nicotinamide.

Objective To study on the attributive Zang-Fu of TCM to the EBV infection according to the malignant tumor. Methods The malignant tumor in-patients were reviewed to survey the EBV infection, and the nasopharyngeal carcinoma infected the EBV were reviewed to survey the transfer cancer occurance. Results Of the malignant tumor in-patients, there were high EBV infection appearances in the nasopharyngeal (87.5%), the liver (15.0%) the lung (8.3%). There was no EBV infection in the other malignant tumor in-patients. The transfer cancer of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma occurred in the liver (40%) and lung(25%). Conclusion The attributive Zang-Fu of TCM to the EBV infection are liver and lung.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic values of CT in xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC).Methods Retrospective analysis was performed in 4 patients with pathology confirmed XGC. Abdomen CT scans with and without contrast enhancement were performed in all patients. Results Only 1 case was correctly diagnosed before surgery. CT findings included gallbladder enlargement (3 patients), gallbladder wall thickening ( 4 patients), gallstone (1 patient), and common bile duct stone (1 patient). The maximum wall thickness was between 4 mm and 30 mm, with irregular low-density layer inside. Mucosal line was normal in 2 and pericholecystic infiltration in 1. After contrast administration, hypodense band sign was revealed in 2 and rim enhancement sign around the nodules was shown in 1 at arterial phase. Conclusion CT features of hypodense band sign and rim enhancement sign around the nodules in the arterial phase of contrast enhanced CT are strongly suggestive of XGC.

Objective To assess the value of CTA and DSA in neurovascular diseases.Methods 20 cases with suspected neurovascular disorders who received CTA and DSA examination between March 1999 and August 2000 were retrospectively collected.The sensitivity,specifility and accurate rate of CTA were analysed compared with DSA as gold standard.Results In 20 cases,neurovascular disorders were found in 17 on CTA.18 lesions were detected,including 6 aneurysms,9 arteriovenous malformations(AVM),2 carotid cavernous fistulae(CCFs)and 1 arterial stenosis.By contrast,19 lesions in 17 cases were detected by DSA,including 7 aneurysms,8 AVMs,2 arterial stenoses and 2 CCFs.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of CTA in the detection of neurovascular disorders were 90.6%,95.2% and 90.6% respectively.Conclusion 3D-CTA is a new modality with high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of neurovascular disorders.As it can be obtained simply,conveniently and safely with mild injury to the patient,CTA can be used in the diagnosis of neurovascular diseases,especially in the AVMs.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of embryo thymus transplantation in the treatment of lupus-like BXSB mice,study the pathogenesis of SLE in BXSB mice and the therapeutic effect of embryo thymus transplantation.Methods The embryonic thymus of CB57L mice was transplanted to50day-old male BXSB mice.Levels of proteinuria,ANA,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),blood creatinine and the deposits of immunoglobulin(Ig)in the glomerulus were detected regularly for5months,and the number of mice died of SLE was observed.Results The levels of proteinuria,ANA,BUN,blood creatinine of the5,6,7month old mice in embryo thymus transplantation group were lower than that of5month old mice in control group.The efficacy of treatment in embryo thymus transplantation group were similar to that of dexamethasone treatment group,and the SLE-caused death was reduced in these two groups.However,the embryo thymus transplantation seemed not to reduce the deposits of lg in glomerulus significantly,the deposits of lg in the glomerulus were similar in all three groups.Conclusions Embryo thymus transplantation could improve renal functions and reduce the titer of ANA.Its efficacy is similar to that of dexamethasone.Embryo thymus transplantation has a short term therapeutic effect in the treatment of lupus-like BXSB mice.The deficiency of thymus in the BXSB mice may play an important role in the pathogenesis of lupus-like mice.Embryo thymus transplantation may be a valuable approach to treat SLE.

In the bulge region of the hair follicle, a densely and concentrically packed cell mass is encircled by the arrector pili muscle (APM), which offers a specilized microenvironment (niche) for housing heterogeneous adult stem cells. However, the detailed histological architecture and the cellular composition of the bulge region warrants intensive study and may have implications for the regulation of hair follicle growth regulation. This study was designed to define the gene-expression profiles of putative stem cells and lineage-specific precursors in the mid-portions of plucked hair follicles prepared according to the presence of detectable autofluorescence. The structure was also characterized by using a consecutive sectioning technique. The bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence was precisely excised by employing a micro-dissection procedure. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to identify the gene expression profiles specific for epithelial, melanocyte and stromal stem cells in the bulge region of the hair follicle visualized by autofluorescence. The morphology and its age-dependent changes of bulge region of the hair follicles with autofluorescence segment were also examined in 9 scalp skin specimens collected from patients aged 30 weeks to 75 years, by serial sectioning and immuno-staining. Gene expression profile analysis revealed that there were cells with mRNA transcripts of Dct(Hi)Tyrase(Lo)-Tyrp1(Lo)MC1R(Lo)MITF(Lo)/K15(Hi)/NPNT(Hi) in the bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence segments, which differed from the patterns in hair bulbs. Small cell-protrusions that sprouted from the outer root sheath (ORS) were clearly observed at the APM inserting level in serial sections of hair follicles by immunohistological staining, which were characteristically replete with K15+/K19+expressing cells. Likewise, the muscle bundles of APM positive for smooth muscle actin intimately encircled these cell-protrusions, and the occurrence frequency of the cell-protrusions was increased in fetal scalp skin compared with adult scalp skin. This study provided the evidence that the cell-protrusions occurring at the ORS relative to the APM insertion are more likely to be characteristic of the visible niches that are filled with abundant stem cells. The occurrence frequency of these cell-protrusions was significantly increased in fetal scalp skin samples (128%) as compared with the scalp skins of younger (49.4%) and older (25.4%) adults (P<0.01), but difference in the frequency between the two adult groups were not significant. These results indicated that these cell-protrusions function as a niche house for the myriad stem cells and/or precursors to meet the needs of the development of hair follicles in an embryo. The micro-dissection used in this study was simple and reliable in excising the bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence segments dependent on their autofluorescence is of value for the study of stem cell culture.

In the bulge region of the hair follicle, a densely and concentrically packed cell mass is encircled by the arrector pili muscle (APM), which offers a specilized microenvironment (niche) for housing heterogeneous adult stem cells. However, the detailed histological architecture and the cellular composition of the bulge region warrants intensive study and may have implications for the regulation of hair follicle growth regulation. This study was designed to define the gene-expression profiles of putative stem cells and lineage-specific precursors in the mid-portions of plucked hair follicles prepared according to the presence of detectable autofluorescence. The structure was also characterized by using a consecutive sectioning technique. The bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence was precisely excised by employing a micro-dissection procedure. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to identify the gene expression profiles specific for epithelial, melanocyte and stromal stem cells in the bulge region of the hair follicle visualized by autofluorescence. The morphology and its age-dependent changes of bulge region of the hair follicles with autofluorescence segment were also examined in 9 scalp skin specimens collected from patients aged 30 weeks to 75 years, by serial sectioning and immuno-staining. Gene expression profile analysis revealed that there were cells with mRNA transcripts of Dct(Hi)Tyrase(Lo)-Tyrp1(Lo)MC1R(Lo)MITF(Lo)/K15(Hi)/NPNT(Hi) in the bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence segments, which differed from the patterns in hair bulbs. Small cell-protrusions that sprouted from the outer root sheath (ORS) were clearly observed at the APM inserting level in serial sections of hair follicles by immunohistological staining, which were characteristically replete with K15+/K19+expressing cells. Likewise, the muscle bundles of APM positive for smooth muscle actin intimately encircled these cell-protrusions, and the occurrence frequency of the cell-protrusions was increased in fetal scalp skin compared with adult scalp skin. This study provided the evidence that the cell-protrusions occurring at the ORS relative to the APM insertion are more likely to be characteristic of the visible niches that are filled with abundant stem cells. The occurrence frequency of these cell-protrusions was significantly increased in fetal scalp skin samples (128%) as compared with the scalp skins of younger (49.4%) and older (25.4%) adults (P<0.01), but difference in the frequency between the two adult groups were not significant. These results indicated that these cell-protrusions function as a niche house for the myriad stem cells and/or precursors to meet the needs of the development of hair follicles in an embryo. The micro-dissection used in this study was simple and reliable in excising the bulge region of the hair follicle with autofluorescence segments dependent on their autofluorescence is of value for the study of stem cell culture.
Adult ; Adult Stem Cells ; cytology ; Aged ; Hair Follicle ; cytology ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

ObjectiveTo investigate related factors for stone recurrence after endoscopic minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving cholecystolithotomy, and to establish a nomogram model for predicting the risk of stone recurrence after surgery based on independent risk factors. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 144 patients with gallstones who underwent endoscopic minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving cholecystolithotomy in Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital from January 2012 to January 2018, and according to postoperative stone recurrence, the patients were divided into non-recurrence group and recurrence group. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. LASSO and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze independent risk factors for postoperative stone recurrence, and the corresponding nomogram prediction model was plotted according to regression coefficient. The calibration curve was plotted to evaluate the reliability of the predictive nomogram; Harrell consistency index was used to quantify the discriminatory performance of the predictive nomogram; the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of this predictive nomogram. ResultsAll 144 patients underwent successful endoscopic minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving cholecystolithotomy, among whom 14 patients (9.7%) experienced stone recurrence after surgery. The multivariate analysis showed that family history (odds ratio ［OR］= 3.245, 95% confidence interval ［CI］: 0.752-13567, P=0.104), regular diet (OR=3.752, 95% CI: 1.067-14.141, P=0.041), stone homogeneity (OR=5.871, 95% CI: 1636-25.390, P=0.010), and medication compliance (OR=0.225, 95% CI: 0.057-0.799, P=0.024) were independent risk factors for recurrence. The nomogram model had an index of concordance (C-index) of 0.835 (95% CI: 0.732-0.938) in the modeling sample and 0.7925 in the verification sample, suggesting that the nomogram model in this study had good accuracy and discrimination. The predictive nomogram had an AUC of 0.835, suggesting that this nomogram had a relatively high predictive value. ConclusionFamily history, regular diet, stone homogeneity, and medication compliance are independent risk factors for stone recurrence after endoscopic minimally invasive gallbladder-preserving cholecystolithotomy, and the nomogram constructed based on these independent risk factors may help to predict the risk of postoperative stone recurrence.

Oral and maxillofacial-head and neck soft tissue defects affect the appearance of patients, as well as pronunciation, swallowing and other functions. Introduction of the propeller flap in 1991 has improved reconstruction procedures for oral and maxillofacial-head and neck soft tissue defects. A propeller flap has several advantages over traditional local flaps. It improves mobility, colour and texture matching for maxillofacial defect, surgical procedure, and individual satisfaction. Therefore, it can be used as a complement to the traditional flap by providing surgeons with more options. This paper reviews the classification, surgical procedures, and recent clinical applicatiosn and indications of the propeller flap.

Objective To evaluate the scientificity,transparency and applicability of Chinese guidelines and expert consensuses on nursing published in 2022,in order to improve the quality of guidelines and consensuses.Methods Databases including Medline,Embase,Web of Science,CBM,CNKI,WanFang database,Chinese Medical Journal,and related websites were electronically searched,as well as China Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan medical journals,to collect Chinese guidelines and expert consensuses on nursing from January to December 2022.STAR tool was used to evaluate the quality of each guidelines and consensuses by 3 assessors independently.Total score,scoring rate of each domain and item were adopted to analyze the outcomes.Results A total of 3 guidelines and 33 expert consensuses were included.The total guidelines and expert consensuses STAR score(33.5±14.3).The quality of guidelines and consensuses was low.The quality of guidelines was moderate with average score of 55.1,and the quality of consensuses was low with average score of 31.5.The included guidelines and consensuses had a highest score rate(52.4％)in the domain of recommendation.Among 39 items of STAR tool,the top 4 items including listing participants and institutions,explaining additional instructions for implementation,describing consensus method,and listing references for recommendations had a high score rate of 100％,83.3％,77.8％,75.0％respectively.However,the items of registration,providing registration information,protocols being searched on public platforms and explaining the role of funding had a low score rate,urgent need for attention and upgrading.Conclusion The overall quality of the Chinese guidelines and expert consensuses on nursing published in 2022 was low.As a medical and nursing practice guidance document,the quality of guidelines and expert consensuses should be improved by encouraging registration,strengthening management of interest conflict,enhancing the rigor of guideline developing process,and expanding the dissemination.