Objective To explore the levels of neuron-specific enolase(NSE)in serum and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) of children with convulsion,and its significance to the diagnosis of neuronal damage was evaluated.Methods Sixty patients were enrolled,and they were divided into 4 groups:non-nervous system disease group,peripheral nervous system disease group,brief convulsion group,and prolonged/status convulsion group.The levels of NSE in serum and CSF were detected in 4 groups,and the electroencephalography(EEG) and computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging(CT/MRI) examinations were taken to observe the changes in patients with convulsion.Results The levels of NSE in serum and CSF of children with convulsion increased significant,especially in the prolonged/status convulsion group.Changes of NSE levels in serum and CSF were similar.Meanwhile,significant changes were found in EEG between the brief convulsion group and prolonged/status convulsion group;but no significantly changes were found in CT/MRI between the 2 groups.Conclusions NSE detection might be valuable to the diagnosis for neuronal damage in early time.The changes of NSE levels are similar to those in EEG,which are more sensitive than the changes in CT/MRI.It is very important to combine the NSE detection in serum or CSF and EEG examination in early time after convulsion for judgement to the neuronal damage and prognosis.

Objective To improve the recognition of meconium ileus and pseudohypoaldosteronism type Ⅰ and to explore the relationship between neonatal meconium ileus and cystic fibrosis.Methods The clinical and follow-up data of a premature infant with meconium ileus and pseudohypoaldosteronism type Ⅰ was analyzed.Relevant literature was reviewed.Results The child was a very low-birth weight premature infant who didn′t pass meconuim within 24 hours of birth and persistent abdominal distention was noted.Laparotomy was performed on day 4.Thick and inspissated meconium was found in the ileum with perforation.The atretic intestine was resected,and a double-barreled enterostomies was performed.On day 30,the child presented hyponatremia,hyperkalemia,high levels of plasma renin and aldosterone and was given 9 g/L salt supplementation.At 6-month age,9 g/L salt supplementation was discontinued.Anastomosis was performed at 8-month age.The child recovered with a good prognosis whose catch-up growth was obtained at 18-month age and didn′t pre-sent manifestations of cystic fibrosis.Conclusions This case could be diagnosed as meconium ileus and pseudohypoaldosteronism type Ⅰ.The relationship between neonatal meconium ileus and cystic fibrosis is different in China and the regions of Caucasian.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of occlusive wrapping with plastic film in the delivery room to prevent heat loss and reduce the occurrence of hypothermia on admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in very low birth weight infants.Methods A total of 209 very low birth weight infants (birth weight＜1 500 g and gestational age＜33 weeks),born in the Second Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Yuying Children's Hospital) and admitted to the NICU immediately after birth from June 1,2009 to December 1,2010,were randomized to the wrap group or non-wrap group.Infants randomized to the wrap group were dried and then wrapped with polyethylene film up to their necks immediately after delivery.They were then covered with warmed blankets and transported to the NICU by the neonatal team.The non-wrap group received routine care in the delivery room following the guidelines of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program.The t test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.Results The mean rectal temperature on admission to the NICU was significantly higher in infants of wrap group compared with those of non-wrap group [(36.1 ± 0.8) ℃ vs (35.5 ± 1.0) ℃,t=4.707,P＜0.01],and the incidence of hypothermia was 41.0％ (43/105) in the wrap group which was lower than that in the non-wrap group (66.3％,69/104) (x2=13.547,P＜0.01).In infants ＜29 weeks of gestation,the mean rectal temperature on admission to the NICU was higher in the wrap group than in the non-wrap group [(36.1 ± 0.8) ℃ vs (35.4 ± 1.1) ℃,t=3.051,P＜0.01].In infants ≥ 29 weeks of gestation,the mean rectal temperature on admission to the NICU was higher in the wrap group than in the non wrap group [(36.0±0.9) ℃ vs (35.5±0.9) ℃,t=3.698,P＜0.01].The arterial blood gas base excess in the wrap group and non-wrap group was-(2.9±2.7) mmol/L and-(5.0±4.2) mmol/L,respectively (t=4.473,P＜0.01).The rate of endotracheal intubation was 20.0％ (21/105) in the wrap group and 27.9％ (29/104) in the non-wrap group,(x2=1.785,P=0.182).The duration of hospitalization was (49.2± 10.7) d in the wrap group and (45.8±9.1) d in the non-wrap group,and the difference was not statistically significant (t=1.152,P=0.251).Conclusions Wrapping very low birth weight infants with plastic film in the delivery room can reduce the occurrence of hypothermia.

The aim of this study was to fabricate biomatrix/polymer hybrid scaffolds using an electrospinning technique. Then tissue engineered heart valves were engineered by seeding mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) onto the scaffolds. The effects of the hybrid scaffolds on the proliferation of seed cells, formation of extracellular matrix and mechanical properties of tissue engineered heart valves were investigated. MSCs were obtained from rats. Porcine aortic heart valves were decellularized, coated with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) using an electrospinning technique, and reseeded and cultured over a time period of 14 days. In control group, the decellularized valve scaffolds were reseeded and cultured over an equivalent time period. Specimens of each group were examined histologically (hematoxylin-eosin [HE] staining, immunohistostaining, and scanning electron microscopy), biochemically (DNA and 4-hydroxyproline) and mechanically. The results showed that recellularization was comparable to the specimens of hybrid scaffolds and controls. The specimens of hybrid scaffolds and controls revealed comparable amounts of cell mass and 4-hydroxyproline (P>0.05). However, the specimens of hybrid scaffolds showed a significant increase in mechanical strength, compared to the controls (P<0.05). This study demonstrated the superiority of the hybrid scaffolds to increase the mechanical strength of tissue engineered heart valves. And compared to the decellularized valve scaffolds, the hybrid scaffolds showed similar effects on the proliferation of MSCs and formation of extracellular matrix. It was believed that the hybrid scaffolds could be used for the construction of tissue engineered heart valves.

AIM: To observe the changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness ( SFCT ) after intravitreal injections of ranibizumab ( IVR ) for macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion ( RVO) .
METHODS:Thirty-six eyes of 36 patients with macular edema secondary to RVO) were treated with 0. 5mg IVR monthly for 3mo and received additional IVR as needed over the following 1a period. SFCT of the all eyes ( the affected eyes with RVO and unaffected fellow eyes ) was measured by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography images before and after the IVR.
RESULTS: The mean SFCT of the affected eyes with RVO decreased from 246. 7±115. 0μm at baseline to 220. 5±102.0μm at 1mo (P<0.05), 198.3± 114.0μm at 6mo (P<0.01), 212. 6± 96. 0μm at 12mo (P<0. 01). Whereas the fellow eyes changed from 229. 4±108. 0μm at baseline to 226. 3±107. 0μm at 1mo (P>0. 05), 228. 6±127. 0μm at 6mo (P>0.05), 223.6±101.0μm at 12mo(P>0.05). There were statistically significant difference between affected eyes with RVO and unaffected fellow eyes.
CONCLUSION: The SFCT is decreased after IVR for macular edema secondary to RVO. IVR seems to affect the hemorheology of the choroid.

Photoautotrophic gametophyte cells of the brown macroalgae Laminaria japonica were cultivated in 500ml stirred tank photobioreactors under seven pulse feeding modes and one batch mode.It is the first time for the study of effects of the feeding time points and feeding quantity on macroalgal cell growth and nutrient consumption.Results showed that, with inoculum density of 50mg DCW/L, in modified APSW artificial seawater medium at 13℃, light intensity of 60μE/m2.s, light cycle of 16/8h L/D, aeration rate of 50ml/min, and agitation speed of 100r/min, feeding the culture with small nutrient quantity was beneficial for the synchronization between nitrate and phosphate absorption, and further for biomass production.Feeding when ambient nutrient was abundant or depleted was quite weak for large amount of biomass accumulation, which might be due to the slowing nutrient absorption, nutrient storage, or the divergence absorption between nitrate and phosphate.Feeding nutrient frequently with small quantity from mid-exponential growth of macroalgal cells, that is maintaining medium nutrient concentration between 1/3 and 1/2 of its initial concentration, was the most effective way for biomass production, with biomass increased by 12.270 times of for 51 days' cultivation.

The non-alkaloid chemical constituents of dried Phellodendron chinense barks were investigated. A total of 14 phenolic compounds (1-14) were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of Phellodendron chinense by the utilization of silica gel, medium pressure liquid chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and preparative liquid chromatography. Among of the isolated compounds, isophellolactone (1) was identified as a new compound. The isolated 14 compounds were further tested the activity on α-glucosidase inhibition. The results for the first time demonstrated that quininic acid ester 3-6 and 8 exhibited good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Polyhydroxy hexa-membered carbon ring in quinine ester derivatives is possibly the essential group for the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

BACKGROUNDAn important purpose of orthodontic treatment is to gain the harmonic soft tissue profile. This article describes a novel way to build patient-specific models of facial soft tissues by transforming a standard finite element (FE) model into one that has two stages: a first transformation and a second transformation, so as to evaluate the facial soft tissue changes after orthodontic treatment for individual patients.

METHODSThe radial basis functions (RBFs) interpolation method was used to transform the standard FE model into a patient-specific one based on landmark points. A combined strategy for selecting landmark points was developed in this study: manually for the first transformation and automatically for the second transformation. Four typical patients were chosen to validate the effectiveness of this transformation method.

RESULTSThe results showed good similarity between the transformed FE models and the computed tomography (CT) models. The absolute values of average deviations were in the range of 0.375 - 0.700 mm at the lip-mouth region after the first transformation, and they decreased to a range of 0.116 - 0.286 mm after the second transformation.

CONCLUSIONSThe modeling results show that the second transformation resulted in enhanced accuracy compared to the first transformation. Because of these results, a third transformation is usually not necessary.

In this study, ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer-MS^E (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS^E) combined with UNIFI analysis platform was used to rapidly analyze and identify the metabolites of hederagenins 3-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-L-arabopyranoside (Pulsatilla saponin D) and oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-(1→2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-L-arabopyranoside (Pulsatilla saponin B₇) and hederagenins 3-O-α-L-rhamnosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabopyranoside (Pulsatilla saponin BD) in plasma and colonic tissue of normal and ulcerative colitis (UC) rats. The database and analysis methods were established based on the precise molecular weight of compounds, retention time, neutral loss and reported data, and then the final data were obtained by comparing with the blank control group, combining with the deviation and the cracking rule of the compound. The results showed that the glucoses, hydroxylation and dehydroxylation, methylation and demethylation, dehydrogenation, decarboxylation and hydrolysis of saponin D, B₇ and BD occurred in the plasma and colon tissues of normal and UC model rats. This study will clarify the metabolic transformation of Pulsatilla saponins D, B₇ and BD in rats, determine the prototype components and their metabolites that enter the body, and whether colon injury will affect their metabolism in vivo, so as to explore the possible anti-colitis effective components in the prototype or metabolites of Pulsatilla saponins D, B₇ and BD. This experiment was approved by Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University (approval number: Y202227).

Laminaria japonica gametophytic cells were cultivated in a photobioreactor under continuous shear stress (0-1000 r/min) in 60 hours and the following static cultivation within 23.5 days. The content of chlorophyll a reached the maximum value of 2.36 mg/L at the end of continuous shear stress when the agitation speed was 90 r/min, while the chlorophyll a (chl a) concentration decreased quickly and nitrogen and phosphorus were released under high shear force (270-1000 r/min). The cell injury ratio at 1000r/min was as 18 times as that of the control. During the recovery course, gametophytic cells showed themselves distinct recovery capability at all agitation speeds. Furthermore, the content of chl a is a more exact index as biomass than dry cells weight (DCW). Besides cell injury ratio, the liberation of phosphorus demonstrates the cells injury.
Bioreactors ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Gametogenesis ; physiology ; Germ Cells ; physiology ; Laminaria ; growth & development ; radiation effects ; Light ; Shear Strength ; Stress, Mechanical