Objective To investigate the effects of estrogen on extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2(ERK1/2) phosphorylation levels in hippocampal CA4 region of ovariectomized rats. Methods Experimental female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: intact (INT) group, ovariectomized (OVX) group, and OVX+estrogen (1 mg/kg, weekly) group. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to measure the estrogen content in plasma, and the levels of ERK1/2 phosphorylation were measured with immunohistochemistry. Results Compared with the control animals, the plasma estrogen level was significantly lower in OVX group (P＜0.001). However, the plasma estrogen level was higher in the OVX+estrogen group than that of the OVX group (P＜0.001). Immunohistochemical staining showed that the phospho-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) substances were present in the nucleus and cytosol of neurons. Compared with the control group, immunostaining positive cells markedly decreased in OVX group, with light nucleus and cytosol staining in the hippocampal CA4 region (P＜0.001). The phospho-ERK1/2 positive neurons increased more obviously in OVX+estrogen group than in the OVX group (P＜0.001). Conclusion Estrogen can increase ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels in hippocampi of aging female rats, which suggests that the ERK signal transduction pathway may be regulated by estrogen during the process of aging.

Characteristics in pulse wave signals (PWSs) include the information of physiology and pathology of human cardiovascular system. Therefore, identification of characteristic points in PWSs plays a significant role in analyzing human cardiovascular system. Particularly, the characteristic points show personal dependent features and are easy to be affected. Acquiring a signal with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and integrity is fundamentally important to precisely identify the characteristic points. Based on the mathematical morphology theory, we design a combined filter, which can effectively suppress the baseline drift and remove the high-frequency noise simultaneously, to preprocess the PWSs. Furthermore, the characteristic points of the preprocessed signal are extracted according to its position relations with the zero-crossing points of wavelet coefficients of the signal. In addition, the differential method is adopted to calibrate the position offset of characteristic points caused by the wavelet transform. We investigated four typical PWSs reconstructed by three Gaussian functions with tunable parameters. The numerical results suggested that the proposed method could identify the characteristic points of PWSs accurately.
Algorithms ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Normal Distribution ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; methods ; Wavelet Analysis

Using the high efficient copper-adsorbing yeast strain Y17 as absorbing material, the major affect factors including pH, original concentration of Cu2+, cell biomass, adsorption time and temperature were examined, and then the absorbing sites of the Y17 was determined. The results showed that the solution pH was the most dominate factor which affected the biosorption of Cu2+, the other affecting factors were the ini- tial concentration of Cu2+, the cell biomass added, and adsorption time, respectively; the temperature had lit- tle effect on the rate of biosorption. The orthogonal experiment showed that the optimal absorption condition was as follow: the solution pH was 5.0, the absorption time was 40 min, the cell biomass of Y17 added was 5.0 g/L, and the concentration of Cu2+ was 8 mmol/L; the highest adsorbing rate was up to 82.7% at this condition. Based on the results of different pretreatments and the desorption of Cu2+, the cell wall of Y17 was identified as the main place occurring boisorption process, and the -NH2 group, -COOH group on the surface of the yeast cells played an important role on the boisorption process.

OBJECTIVE:To establish a RP-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of chlorapheniramine maleate,furacilin and ephedrine hydrochloride in Puma nose drops.METHODS:The analysis was carried on a XDB C 8 column;the mo?bile phase was composed of methanol(A),acetonitrile(B)and0.02mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate solutions(containing0.2%triethylamine and adjusted to pH3.0with phosphoric acid,C)with linear gradient elution(0min～3.5min,A∶B∶C=6∶13∶18,8.5min,A∶B∶C=6∶30∶64)and the flow rate was1.0ml/min;the detection wavelength was254nm and the column temperature was30℃.Chloramphenicol was used as the internal standard.RESULTS:The linear ranges were0.04～0.20mg/ml for chlorapheniramine maleate,0.02～0.10mg/ml for furacilin,0.50～2.50mg/ml for ephedrine hydrochlo?ride.The average recoveries were99.44%(RSD=0.48%,n=3)for chlorapheniramine maleate,101.36%(RSD=0.41%,n=3)for furacilin and99.43%(RSD=0.59%,n=3)for ephedrine hydrochloride.CONCLUSION:The method is reliable,accurate and suitable for quality control of Puma nose drops.

Objective To observe the impact of heart catheterization on blood and organ function,and create an stable animal model.Methods Ten male Wistar rats were divided into control group undergoing sham operation and experimental group undergoing improved heart catheterization(n=5 in each group).Blood samples were obtained every day from 10 rats before and after operation,and white blood cell(WBC),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(Cr),creatine phosphokinase(CK) and lipopolysaccharide were detected.The pathomorphology of heart,liver and kidney in catheterized rats was observed on postoperative day 7.Results For the catheterized rats,blood cultures were negative of bacteria and the markers above were within normal range except for CK that recovered to normal value in 7 d,while the control rats had no obvious damage.Conclusion Heart catheterization causes no infection and organ function changes in rats.The animal model of heart catheterization for clinical pharmacological research is reliable.

Objective To examine the distribution and expression of dentin matrix protein1 ( DMP1 ) in the condylar cartilage and subchondral bone of osteoporosis rats. Methods Female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6 months (n=30)wererandomlydividedinto3groups. TheShamgroupunderwentshamoperationonly(n=10),theOVX group ( n = 10 ) received a bilateral ovariectomy first and then saline solution treatment subcutaneously for 3 months. The RIS group ( n=10 ) also received a bilateral ovariectomy and then with risedronate treatment ( 2. 4μg/kg) subcutaneously for 3 months. Three months after the operation, the animals were sacrificed. Toluidine blue staining showed the structure changes of rat condylar cartilage region. The changes of osteoclasts in the bony subcondylar region were evaluated by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase ( TRAP) staining. The expression of DMP1 was analyzed immunohistochemically and then performed by semi-quantitative imaging analyses. Results Toluidine blue staining showed a thickened hypertrophic layers of condylar cartilage in RIS group. The results of TRAP staining indicated that the number of osteoclasts was significantly greater in OVX group than RIS group (P<0. 05). Immunohistochemistry showed that DMP1 localized mainly in the chondrogenic layers and osteocytes, bony subcondylar region in three groups. The expression levels of DMP1 proteins statistically decreased in OVX group than the other two groups(both P<0. 05). Conclusion Bisphophonates may reduce the the number of osteoclasts in the condyle from osteoporosis rats, with increasing of the expression of DMP1, which may influences condylar cartilage biomineralization.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The number of apoptotic cels in rat condylar cartilage and subcondylar region: the sham operation group < the treatment group < the model group (alP< 0.05). (2)Expression of Bcl-2: The trend of the model group was lower than that in the sham operation group, although there was no statisticaly significant difference between the two groups; Bcl-2 expression in the treatment group was statisticaly higher compared to the model group (P< 0.05).(3)Expression of Bax and Caspase-3: The expression levels of Bax and Caspase-3 were higher in the model group than in the sham operation group (alP< 0.05), while Bax and Caspase-3 expression was lower in the treatment group than that in the model group (alP< 0.05). The results suggested that bisphophonates can regulate apoptosis in condylar cartilage from osteoporosis rats by changing the expression of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3.

Toinvestigate the implementation mode and effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in experimental teaching of physiology,PBL was applied in experimental teaching of circulatory physiology. Comparison of test scores and Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) were used to evaluate teaching quality and teaching environment respectively. The results showed that both test and DREEM scores were higher in PBL group than in control group (P

OBJECTIVE: To perform morphometric analysis of bilateral cochleae in all subjects based on computed 3-dimensional reconstruction tomographic data and assist the surgeon in diagnosing the inner ear abnormality or surgical strategies. METHOD: Two hundred normal developed cochleae from 100 patients were divided into 5 groups according to age. Morphometric analysis of bilateral cochleae was performed in all subjects by 3D reconstructions and 2D multiplanar reformation. The length and width of the cochlear base, the length within the cochlear base, the height of the cochlea, the angle between the first and second turn of the cochlea, and the cochlear orientation within the cranial base were measured and compared in different age, sex and bilateral groups. RESULT: The length of the cochlear base was (8.56 +/- 0.52)mm, the width was (6.63 +/- 0.56)mm, the length within the cochlear base was (7.33 +/- 10.56)mm, the height of the cochlea was (3.76 +/- 0.28)mm, and the angle between the first and second turn of the cochlea was (15.82 +/- 2.78)degrees. All index above did not change significantly in different aging, sex or side (P > 0. 05). Variability in the angle between the first and second turn of the cochlea was considerable, and a smaller angle (from the midsagittal line) was showed in the older age groups than the younger groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION 3D and 2D volume rendering enables us to evaluate the features of cochlear morphology and orientation that may assist the surgeon in diagnosing the inner ear abnormality or surgical strategies.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cochlea ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Infant ; Middle Aged ; Reference Values ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the correlation between AS160 hyperphosphorylation and 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptaking in invasive breast cancer.Methods Thirty-nine primary breast caner patients received PET/CT scan before operation and their maximum standard uptake values (SUVmax) were recorded.The levels of p-AS160 (Thr642) were detected using immunohistochemical method in breast cancer tissues.The association between p-AS160 (Thr642) levels and SUVmax was assessed using the Spearman nonparametric test.Results The 18F-FDG uptake of tumors of the 39 patients with primary breast caner was 6.1 ± 2.7 (SUVmax).There was one false negative case in PET/CT scan imaging,compared with postoperative pathologic result.The positive rate of p-AS160 (Thr642) was 76.9％,and it was positively correlated with SUVmax (r =0.672,P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion AS160 plays a significant role in the glucose metablism of breast cancer tissues and its hyperphosphorylation may contribute to the increased uptaking of glucose in patients with breast cancer.