Objective To describe the characteristic MR findings in the brain in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and to assess the diagnostic value of conventional MR imaging and fractional anisotropy (FA) of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods Conventional MR imaging was performed in 14 clinically proved ALS patients and 12 age-matched normal controls. Contrast enhanced MR images were acquired in 2 patients. Axial and coronal DTI scans were performed in 10 patients and 12 normal controls with SE-EPI sequence. The b value was 1 000 s/mm 2, the number of diffusion sensitive gradient direction was 25. For quantitative assessment of the corticospinal tract (CST), FA value of bilateral CST was measured at the level of posterior limb (PL) of the internal capsule (IC) and the cerebral peduncle of the midbrain, respectively, and statistical analysis was performed. Results Focal slight low signal intensity on T 1WI and high signal intensity (hyperintense to gray matter) on T 2WI was demonstrated in 6 ALS cases (42.9%) in bilateral PL of the IC, and the high signal was longitudinally continuous from the PL to the cerebral peduncle on T 2WI coronal plane, corresponding to the course of CST. In another 8 ALS cases (57.1%), the focal slight low signal intensity on T 1WI and slight high signal intensity (isointense to gray matter) on T 2WI was revealed in bilateral PL of the IC. No abnormal contrast enhancement was detected in the 2 cases. In control group, the focal slight low signal intensity on T 1WI and slight high signal intensity (isointense to gray matter) on T 2WI was demonstrated in all 12 subjects in bilateral PL of the IC. FA values of the patient group were significantly lower than that of the control group at the level of the PL of the IC (F=7.38, P

The DNA fragment RM07 was isolated from halophilic archaea Halobacterium halobium, which can function as promoter not only in halophilic archaea, but also in Escherichia coli as eubacterial promoter. Sequencing analysis indicated that it possessed the typical consensus sequences (-35 and -10) of bacterial gene promoter, which was confirmed by further deletion analysis: With its -35 sequence deleted and -10 sequence left,DNA fragment RM07a nearly cannot initiate transcription;With its both -35 and -10 sequences,RM07b DNA fragment could be active as promoter at a level even higher than RM07. Our research also showed that the promoter function of RM07 fragment in Escherichia coli was under the control of environmental factors,especially its positive correlation with the increasing concentration of sodium chloride. Therefore, RM07 DNA fragment may be potential1 novel promoter source for constructing double-function vectors. It also has special significance in elucidating the issues of the fusing characteristics of archaea and lateral gene transfer between archaea and bacteria.

Tangcao pill is commonly applied in adjuvant and even alternative therapy for patients with AIDS. However, the herb contains complex ingredients, but with unknown effect against anti-HIV drug and unknown function. Because CYP450 emzyme is the main metabolic enzymes of the drug, it is of important significance to study the regulation of CYP450 enzymes before and after the combined administration of Tangcao pill and EFV. Proteomics, due to its high throughout and high sensitivity, has been widely applied in CYP450 enzyme study. In this paper, liver microsomes were separated through differential centrifugation. Their proteins were separated through SDS-PAGE. The three protein bands that CYP450 enzymes were located were cut and identified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Totally 16 CYP450 isoenzymes were identified. Furthermore, in order to make a quantitative analysis on the effect of tang herb on CYP450 emzyme, the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) technology based on MS was adopted. The CYP2C11 was selected based on the results of the mass spectrum identification of proteins. The characteristic polypeptides were obtained through searching Expasy blast database. The m/z of the fragment ions was less than 800. In the paper, the m/z of ion pairs of CYP2C11 were 711.5/232.1, 711.5/319.2, 711.5/466.2 and 711.5/595.3, and the m/z of ESAT-6 (internal standard, IS) were 735.5/215.3, 735.5/389.3, 735.5/460.3 and 735.5/524.3. The relative peak (analyte/IS) area was adopted for the relative quantitative analysis. Compared with the EFV single administration group, the EFV and Tangcao pill combined administration group showed a 1.6-fold increase in CYP2C11. The results of the paper indicated that Tangcao pill may affect drug metabolism by regulating metabolic enzymes such as CYP2C11, but the specific mechanism still unknown.
Animals ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Male ; Microsomes, Liver ; chemistry ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Proteomics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To quantitatively evaluate the metabolic changes in posterior cingulated cortex and left basal ganglia in patients with liver cirrhosis before and after liver Transplantation (LT).Methods A total of 22 controls and 37 cirrhotic patients listed for LT were enrolled in the study. Brain MRS (PRESS sequence) and neuropsychological (NP) tests were performed in all subjects. Eighteen patients were followed up at 1 month and 3 month after LT. The NP parameters including number connection test-A ( NCT-A), digital symbol test (DST) and symbol digital test (SDT) were measured. MRS metabolic contents were measured automatically at posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and left basal ganglia (LBG).Independent t-test was used to compare the parameters of NP test and MRS metabolites between the 2 groups. The changes of the parameters before and after LT were compared using analysis of variance.Pearson correlation test was also used to analysis the relationship between NP test parameters and MRS metabolites. Results ( 1 ) Before LT, significant difference of metabolites was found in the PCC between the two groups [ NAA/Cr(1.96 ±0.21, 1.73 ±0. 12), Cho/Cr(0. 65 ±0. 12,0. 83 ±0.09), mI/Cr (0.41 ±0.14,0.72±0.11), Glx/Cr(2. 37 ±0. 38,1. 92 ±0. 32) (t= -5.42,5.96,8.62,-4.72,P＜0.01)].And statistical significance also were found in LBG between the 2 groups [ Cho/Cr (0. 63 ± 0. 16,0. 77 ±0. 10), mI/Cr(0.38 ±0. 17,0.53 ±0.21), GIx/Cr(1.70 ±0.36,1.29 ±0.30), (t =3.64,3.07,-4.58 ,P ＜ 0. 01 )]. (2)Compared with controls, the patients before LT had longer NCT-A reaction time [ (58. 17 ±19. 12) s,(37.68 ±8.02) s,t =4. 14,P＜0.01], lower scores of DST (36.67 ±9.91,55.36 ±9.27,t = 4.60,P＜0.01) and SDT (31.67 ±9.49,50.73 ±8.34,t = 4.652,P＜0.01) before LT. All the scores of NP tests changed significantly at 1 and 3 month after LT compared with those before LT[ NCT-A (53.06±12.71) s,(35.72 ±5.20) s,F =33.554,P ＜0.01 ], DST(41.89 ±8. 17,54.39 ±5.69,F =85.772,P＜0.01),SDT(37.44±7.68,49.39±5.65,F=83.061,P＜0.01)]. (3) In the 18 patients who were followed, Cho/Cr [ PCC (0. 90 ± 0. 14,0. 92 ± 0. 08, F = 38. 178, P ＜ 0. 01 ); LBG (0. 81 ± 0. 08,0. 80 ±0.09,F =9.447,P ＜0.01)] and Glx/Cr [ PCC(1.86 ±0.32,1.75 ±0.25,F = 19.420, P ＜0. 01 ); LBG( 1.30 ±0. 20,1.23 ±0. 25 ,F = 17. 952,P ＜0. 01 ) ] recovered at 1 month after LT, while the mI/Cr [PCC (0.39±0.15,0.71 ±0. 10,F =75. 186,P＜0.01) ;LBG (0.47 ±0.25,0.61 ±0.27,F =8. 027, P ＜ 0. 01 ) ] recovered at 3 month after LT. (4)mI/Cr of cingulate cortex correlated significantly with NCT-A, DST and SDT (r= -0.743, 0.597, 0.615, P＜0.01 ) before LT. Conclusion Cerebral metabolic changes in patients with liver cirrhosis is reversible and MRS of the posterior cingulate cortex is a helpful method in following up the changes after LT. mI/Cr is a useful indicator to predict the brain changes of cirrhotic patients before and after LT.

To study the potential molecular mechanism of tumor angiogenesis in its microenvironment, we investigated the effects of HepG2 conditioned medium on the proliferation of vascular endothelial cell and vascular angiogenesis in our laboratory. Human umbilical vein endothelial EA. hy926 cells were co-cultured with HepG2 conditioned medium in vitro. The proliferation and the tubulogenesis of EA. hy926 cells were detected by teramethylazo salt azole (MTT) and tube formation assay, respectively. The results showed that the survival rate of the EA. hy926 cells was significantly increased under the co-culture condition. HepG2 conditioned medium also enhanced the angiogenesis ability of EA. hy926 cells. In addition, the expressions of intracellular VEGF and extracellular VEGFR (Flk-1) were regulated upward in a time-dependent manner. In conclusion, the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells and Vascula angiogenesis were improved under the condition of indirect co-culture.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Cell Proliferation ; Coculture Techniques ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Hep G2 Cells ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 ; metabolism

Due to the good tumor-targeting and excellent biocompatibility, the drug-loading nanoparticles (NPs) has been widely applied in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. However, after the NPs are recognized and internalized by cancer cells, the effects of NPs on cell migration behavior were unclear. In the present study, the self-assembly techniques (SAMs) was used to modify gold (Au) nanoparticles (Au NPs) with different chemical functional groups (CH3, OH, COOH and NH2) as model NPs. The dispersion of these groups in solution and the distribution in cells were studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively, and the proliferation was examined by MTT assay in vitro. The wound-healing and the Transwell assay were used to examine the effect of internalized Au-NPs on HepG2 cells migration. The results showed that different Au-NPs mainly distributed at the edge of the vesicle membrane and the gap between cells. The Au-NPs resulted in decreased cell viability in a concentration-depended manner. In addition, the results of wound-healing and Transwells assay indicated that the internalization of the NH2-NPs and OH-NPs would inhibit cell migration compared with those in the control group.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Gold ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Metal Nanoparticles ; chemistry

This paper is aimed to investigate the effect of fluid shear stress on the tight junction of laryngeal squamous carcinoma (Hep2) cells and to explore the potential molecular mechanism. Hep2 cells were selected and subjected to the fluid shear stress of 1.4 dyn/cm2 for different time, respectively. The morphological changes of Hep2 cells under shear stress were observed using inverted microscope. The cell-cell junctions were examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The expressions of tight junction proteins (including Occludin, Claudin-5 and ZO-1) and the distribution of Claudin-5 were examined by Western blot assay and laser scanning confocal microscope, respectively. The results indicated that Hep2 cells turned to spindle-like shapes after exposed to shear stress, and showed the trend of the recovering to original shapes when the shear stress was cancelled. The cell-cell junctions were tight under the shear flow condition, and the permeability was reduced under the condition of 1.4 dyn/cm shear flow. The expressions of tight junction proteins were enhanced with increased duration of shear flow, but reduced after removing shear flow. The result of Claudin-5 expression by immufluorescence assay was consistent with that by Western blot. The Claudin-5 mainly distributed in the cytoplasm under static condition, while it located at the intercellular after shear flow stimulation, and it appeared intercellular and cytoplasm after stopping shear flow stimulation. Therefore, it can be concluded that shear stress changes the morphology of laryngeal squamous carcinoma Hep2 cells, and upregulates the tight junction.
Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; Claudin-5 ; metabolism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Occludin ; metabolism ; Stress, Mechanical ; Tight Junctions ; Zonula Occludens-1 Protein ; metabolism

Objective To compare the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at various low frequencies on upper limb function after cerebral infarction.Methods Fifty patients were randomly assigned to a control group (10 cases),a sham rTMS group (10 cases) or an rTMS group which had three sub-groups treated at 0.25 Hz,0.5 Hz and 0.75 Hz with 10 cases in each.All of the patients were treated with conventional medical treatment and rehabilitation training.The sham and true rTMS groups received rTMS applied over the M1 area of the unaffected hemisphere,5 days per week for 4 weeks.Motor evoked potential (MEP) cortical latency,and central motor conduction time (CMCT) were measured and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA),motricity index (MI) and a Hong Kong functional test for the hemiplegic upper extremity (FTHUE-HK) were evaluated beforehand and at Post 1 after 2 weeks of treatment and Post 2 after 4 weeks of treatment.Results The average CMCT and FMA scores of the control and sham rTMS groups both had improved significantly at Post 2.There was no significant difference in any of the indices between those 2 groups at any time point.At Post 1,the average MEP cortical latencies of the 0.25 Hz and 0.5 Hz subgroups had improved to be significantly better than those of the control and sham rTMS groups.The average CMCTs of the 0.25 Hz and 0.5 Hz rTMS subgroups were significantly shorter after treatment,and significantly better than those of the control and sham rTMS groups.At Post 2,the average MEP cortical latency of all groups except the control group showed significant improvement compared with pre-treatment.The 2 indices of the 0.25 Hz and 0.5 Hz subgroups were again significantly shorter than those of the control and sham rTMS groups,and the average CMCTs were significantly better than that of 0.75 Hz subgroup.At Post 1 the average FMA and MI scores of the rTMS subgroups had all improved significantly.In the 0.25 Hz and 0.5 Hz subgroups the average MI scores were significantly higher than those of the control and sham rTMS groups.The FTHUE-HK scores of those 2 subgroups had also improved significantly.At Post 2,the average FMA and MI scores of all groups and the FTHUE-HK scores of rTMS group had improved significantly.In the 0.25 Hz and 0.5 Hz subgroups,all of the indices were significantly better than in the control and sham rTMS groups.The average FTHUE-HK score of the 0.25 Hz subgroup was significantly superior to that of the 0.75 Hz subgroup.In the 0.75 Hz subgroup the average MI score was significantly higher than in the control and sham rTMS groups.Conclusions rTMS at either 0.25 Hz or 0.5 Hz applied to the unaffected hemisphere provides effective treatment for enhancing the excitability of the motor cortex and the motor function of a paretic upper limb after stroke.Compared with others,the total number of stimulus pulse in 0.25 Hz subgroup was the least,and priority consideration should be given to the frequency of 0.25 Hz when using rTMS in clinical treatment of cerebral infarction.

Objective To investigate the full-term newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou city and nearby areas around Zhengzhou in Henan province.Methods Each group newborn′s weight was divided with sex and city.We studied the regularity of full-term newborn′s weight,and examined the cause of the newborn′s weight rising.Results The average newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou was (3449.06?453.97) g,which in nearby areas around Zhengzhou was (3352.07?429.91) g.The average newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou was 86.97 g higher than other cities (P

This paper retrospectively analyzed nursing care of 20 critically ill patients with human infections of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus treated by oxygen therapy.According to the severity of hypoxia in patients admitted to the hospital,individualized oxygen therapy strategy was selected,such as humidified high flow nasal cannula or mechanical ventilation.Oxygen therapy strategy was adjusted in a timely manner according to patients' condition,such as prone position ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.As a resuh,15 cases were transferred to the general ward when the virus associated test was negative,and 5 cases died.