Objective To evaluate MR imaging of peripheral nerve tumors of the lower extremity. Methods MR imaging of peripheral nerve tumors of the lower extremity in five cases proved by surgery and pathology were retrospectively reviewed. In all patients, routine scanning was performed in axial, coronal, and sagittal planes, including T 1-weighted and T 2-weighted images. In two patients (schwannomas), T 1WI were obtained following intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA. Results There were four schwannomas (three benign and one malignant) and one malignant neurofibroma. Tumors arose at the following sites: leg ( n =2), popliteal region ( n =1), thigh ( n =1), and femoral region ( n =1). On T 1WI, tumors generally showed isointensity (two benign schwannomas) or lower-medium signal intensity to adjacent muscle with minimal inhomogeneity (one benign schwannoma, one malignant schwannoma, and one malignant neurofibroma). On T 2WI, tumors demonstrated inhomogeneous high signal intensity in all five patients. The target sign with peripheral hyperintense rim and central low intensity was see in two benign schwannomas on T 2WI. Conclusion MRI is useful in defining the location and extent of a lesion and in assisting the surgical planning. The target pattern appears to be a useful sign in the diagnosis of peripheral nerve tumors.

AIM:To observe the clinical effect of femtosecond laser assisted penetrating keratoplasty.
METHODS: Twenty-four cases ( 24 eyes ) with corneal lesions were performed with femtosecond laser assisted penetrating keratoplasty. Preoperative and postoperative endothelial cell density and visual quality were compared.RESULTS: One week after operation, corneal grafts were clear in 21 eyes (87. 5%), mild cloudy in 3 eyes (12.5%);visual acuity ≥0. 5 in 18 eyes (75. 0%), 0. 2 ~0.4 in 6 eyes ( 25. 0%). After 3mo the mean corneal astigmatism was 2. 16±0. 21D ( range 2. 25 ~ 3. 09D). Compared to conventional penetrating keratoplasty which mean corneal astigmatism was average 3. 67±0. 38D after operation, there was significant difference between two groups ( P< 0. 05 ). There were significant differences between preoperative and postoperative visual acuity and astigmatism (both P<0. 05).
CONCLUSION: Femtosecond laser assisted penetrating corneal transplantation operation can improve patient's visual quality. And compared to traditional penetrating keratoplasty astigmatism decreased significantly, incision can be made in individual shape more precisely and neatly.

Objective To evaluate MR imaging of transient osteoporosis.Methods MR imaging of transient osteoporosis in eight patients was retrospectively reviewed.In all eight patients,routine scanning was performed in axial and coronal planes,including T_1-weighted and T_2-wighted images.Of the eight patients,five were male and three were female,with the age ranging from 12 to 70 years.Neither of the women was pregnant when they visited our hospital.Results The bilateral hips were affected in seven patients,the left shoulder in one.The MR images demonstrated low signal intensity in all eight patients on T_1WI,and normal signal intensity (2 cases),medium-high signal intensity (3 cases),or high signal intensity (3 cases) on T_2WI.The bone marrow edema (BME) pattern involved the acetabulum (one hip),both the femoral head in 5 hips,the femoral neck and the intertrochanteric region through the upper femur in 7 hips,and the upper humerus in one.A small joint effusion was observed in six hips on T_2WI.Conclusion MRI is useful in defining the location and extent of transient osteoporosis.

Objective To investigate the relationship between children history of asthma and family history of asthma.Methods Three thousand and five hundred outpatients of asthma children were selected as investigation subjects.Family history of asthma was investigated in the form of questionnaire,and analyzed them from whether or not having family history of asthma,the first and second degree relative having family history of asthma.Results There was no family history of asthma in 1 659 cases(47.4%) and while 1 841 cases had family history of asthma(52.6%).The children who had family history of asthma were slightly more than those who had no family history of asthma.Among the 1 841 cases with family history of asthma,the first degree relatives with family history of asthma were more than those second degree relatives with fa-mily history of asthma.The incidence rate of relatives with family history of asthma on mother′s side was 59.9%,and the incidence rate of the father′s relatives was 40.1%.The incidence rate of mother′s relatives was higher than that of father′s relatives(P

An organic solvent tolerant isolate A213 originating from soil samples were successfully isolated via direct plating method using 10g/L of toluene as the sole carbon source and transparent cycle plate assay method.It was identified as Yarrowia based on its characteris- tics.The results in shake flask cultivation showed that the suitable tipase producing media were(g/L):yeast extract 40,vegetable oil 10, MgSO_4?7H_2O1,KH_2PO_4 5.Under optimal culture conditions (27℃and pH 6.5 ),the maximal lipase activity could reach 67.8 IU/ mL The optimal pH and temperature for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate by crude lipase were pH6.5 and 40℃The enzyme was sta- ble under 70℃and pH 5.5～8.5.Then isolate A213 was found to produce the lipase which can synthesize L-ascorbyl palmitate in tert-amyl alcohol validated by the thin-layer chromatography.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified as a novel human coronavirus and posed great threat to public health world wide,which calls for the development of effective and safe vaccine urgently. In the study, peptide epitopes tagrgeting spike antigen were predicted based on bioinformatics methods. Nine polypeptides with high scores were synthesized and linked to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Female BALB/C mice were immunized with individual polypeptide-KLH, and the total IgG was detected by ELISA as well as the cellular mediated immunity (CMI) was analyzed using ELIs-pot assay. The results showed that an individual peptide of YVDVGPDSVKSACIEVDIQQTFFDKTWPRPIDVSKADGI could induce the highest level of total IgG as well as CMI (high frequency of IFN-γ secretion) against MERS-CoV antigen in mice. Our study identified a promising peptide vaccine candidate against MERS-CoV and provided an experimental support for bioinformatics-based design of peptide vaccine.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; immunology ; Computational Biology ; Coronavirus Infections ; immunology ; prevention & control ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Immunization ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; genetics ; immunology ; Peptides ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology ; Viral Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; genetics ; immunology

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of tacalcitol combined with monochromatic excimer light (MEL) 308 nm vs MEL 308 nm monotherapy in treating vitiligo.Methods Thirty-eight pa- tients with vitiligo were enrolled in the single-blind clinical trial,using plabebo-treated lesions in the same patient as controls.Contralateral or nearby lesions were randomly selected to be treated by either tacalcitol or placebo.All lesions were treated weekly with MEL 308 nm,for a total of 12 sessions.Patients were ex- amined at monthly intervals.The mean number of sessions and the cumulative dosage for initial and excel- lent repigrnentation were calculated.Results Thirty-five patients were evaluated.The mean?SEM cumu- lative dose and number of MEL exposures for initial repigmentation,respectively,were 4.27?3.59 J/cm~2 and 4.89?3.16 on tacalcitol-treated site,5.36?4.12 J/cm~2 and 5.69?3.29 on placebo-treated site,re- spectively (both P＜0.05).For excellent repigrnentation,the cumulative dose and number of exposures were 7.72?5.64 J/cm~2 and 7.79?4.70 respectively on tacalcitol-treated site,and 8.18?4.87 J/cm~2 and 8.4?3.92 respectively on placebo-treated site (both P＞0.05).Treatment with tacalcitol resulted in a sig- nificantly higher percentage (71.4% vs 54.3%) of repigmentation than that with placebo.Conclusions Our results show that MEL 308 nm is safe and effective for the treatment of vitiligo.Additionally,concur- rent topical tacalcitol potentiates the efficacy of MEL 308 nm in the treatment of vitiligo;this combination achieves more rapid pigmentation with a lower total MEL dosage.

Actins ; metabolism ; Adenomyoepithelioma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Aged ; Axilla ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Keratin-7 ; metabolism ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mastectomy, Modified Radical ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Bu-Shen-An-Tai recipe (BSATR) and its two components (Bushen recipe, and Huoxue recipe) on endometrial morphology during peri-implantation in superovulated mice. Mice were randomly divided into five groups, including the normal (N), model (M), Bushen (BS), Huoxue (HX) and Bu-Shen-An-Tai (BH) groups. The uteri were collected on day 4 of pregnancy, and the endometrium thickness, microvessel density (MVD) and number of pinopodes observed. Compared with the M group, the endometrial thickness in the BS, HX and BH groups was significantly increased and there was a significant difference in endometrial thickness between the BS and the BH groups. The mean MVD was significantly lower in the M group than in the N group, and there was a significant increase in MVD in the BS, HX and BH groups as compared with the M group. Compared with the M group, the pinopode scores in the endometrium were significantly increased in the HX and BH groups; and the BS group had significantly higher pinipode scores than the HX and BH groups. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that the recipes (Bushen, Huoxue and BSATR) could improve the endometrial environment by regulating the endometrial thickness, MVD and the number of pinopodes at the window of implantation. Moreover, the Huoxue recipe and the BSATR were more efficient than the Bushen recipe, with the BSATR tending to have the most beneficial effects.

A BBB co-culture cell model consisting of rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and astrocytes (AS) was established to study the effect of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the transport behavior of puerarin across blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vitro and in vivo. The barrier function of this model was evaluated by measuring the transendothelial resistance, phenol red permeability and BBB related protein expression. The permeability assay and western blot methods were performed to study the effects of Angelica dahurica coumarins on the BBB permeability and the expression of BBB related protein. The animal experiment protocols in this study were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Animal Ethics No.: 2021-1329). The results showed that the established BMEC/AS co-culture model could be used to evaluate drug transport across BBB in vitro. After combined with Angelica dahurica coumarins, the transport capacity of puerarin was significantly increased in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, Angelica dahurica coumarins enhanced BBB permeability and inhibited the protein expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin. Angelica dahurica coumarins might increase BBB permeability by inhibiting the expression of P-gp and tight junction protein, thereby increasing the content of puerarin in brain tissue.