Objective To investigate the role of Ephrin A2 in the regeneration and reinnervation of hair cells in the chick cochlea following kanamycin ototoxicity.Methods 66 newly hatched Roman chickens (3 days old) were randomly divided into experimental group and control groups. Experimental chickens (n=48) received intramuscular kanamycin (200 mg/kg:Sigma,St Louis,MO) for 10 consecutive days and were subsequently sacrificed 2 days before the last injection,and 1,3,7,10,15,21,30,and 60 days after the last injection (n=6 per subgroup). Control chickens (n=18) were untreated and sacrificed 3,13 and 43 days after hatching (n=6 per subgroup). Ephrin A2 protein expression in acoustic ganglia was determined by western blot analysis in all chickens after sacrifice. Results Ephrin A2 protein expression was found and the protein level was almost same in acoustical ganglia of all normal chickens. After kanamycin exposure,the Ephrin A2 protein expression level in the cochlea of the experiment chickens from 2 to 7 days after last kanamycin injection was lower than that in control chickens,respectively. Ephrin A2 expression increased obviously at 15 days after kanamycin last injection. By 30 days after the cessation of kanamycin treatment,the level of Ephrin A2 protein approximated to that in normal control group.Conclusion The expression of Ephrin A2 protein in the acoustical ganglia basically synchronizes with the regeneration and the reinnervation of the hair cells in the chicken cochlea following kanamycin damage,indicating that Ephrin A2 may play an important role in this process.

Objective To investigate the effects of constant magnetic field (CMF) on proliferation, apopto-sis and nitric oxide (NO) secretion of rat bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) intervened by C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods EPCs were isolated from rat bone marrow by density gradient centrifugation and cultured on fibronectin-coated dishes. The cells were divided into five groups, i. e., control group, CRP (12 μg/ml) group, CRP plus CMF (0.1, 0. 5, 1.0 mT) groups. Samples were collected 24 hours after incubation. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT chromatometry. Apoptosis rate was detected by flow-cytometry. NO content of culture medium was measured by nitrate reductase method. Results As compared with control group, cell prolifer-ation in CRP group reduced significantly (0. 265±0. 008 vs 0. 316±0. 011, P < 0.05), NO secretion also de-creased significantly [(22.7±4.5) μmol/L vs (37.6±3.8) μmol/L, P < 0.05], cell apoptosis rate elevated sig-nificantly [(10.8±0. 8) % vs (4.2±0.5)% ,P < 0.05]. Cell proliferation in CRP plus 0. 5 mT or 1.0 mT CMF group (0. 295±0. 009,0. 302±0. 010) were much more than those in CRP group (P<0.05), NO secretion contents [(28.3±4.9) μmol/L, (29.2±5.6) μmol/L]were also much more than those in CRP group (P < 0.05) , apopto-sis rate [(7.4±0.5)% ,(6.9±0.6)%]was significantly lower than that in CRP group (P <0.05). Conclusion CMF at intensity of 0.5 mT and 1.0 mT can antagonize the effects of CR, promote proliferation of EPCs and secretion of NO and inhibit apoptosis rate of EPCs.

The complete gene sequences of eight capripoxvirus strains in GenBank were aligned and analyzed with DNAStar software. We selected a size of 64 bp gene fragment that was located in gp064 region of goat pox virus (GPV) genome, and designed a pair of primers and a TaqMan-MGB probe against the gene fragment with Primer Express 2.0 software. Then, the fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) assay was developed and the standard curve of different dilution series was described. We extracted the DNA samples from clinical skin pox, scab and GPV infected materials of artificial challenge animals. The FQ-PCR assay has been performed for all kinds of DNA samples. The results showed that the FQ-PCR assay was sensitive, specific, stable and could be used for clinical diagnosis. This method provided an important tool for rapid diagnosis of goat pox clinically, and for study GPV pathogenesis in the course of disease occurrence, development and convalescence.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; Capripoxvirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Goats ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Poxviridae Infections ; diagnosis ; virology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Objectives To investigate the efficiency and safety of ultrasound-guided microwave ablation (MWA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) adjacent to danger areas.Methods The 106 patients with HCC treated by ultrasound-guided MWA were retrospectively included in our study.There were 149 lesions in total,including 8 lesions adjacent to gallbladder,33 lesions adjacent to grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ bile duct,39 lesions adjacent to diaphragm,28 lesions adjacent to gastrointestinal tract and 41 lesions adjacent to hepatic capsule.The mean diameter of the tumors was (2.04 ±0.92)cm.Individualized treament strategies for different sites of the tumors were conducted.The early complete ablation rate of the tumors was assessed by enhanced computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) one month later and followed up regularly.Results The total inactivation rate was 89.9％.The early complete ablation rates of adjacent gallbladder,adjacent grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ bile duct,adjacent diaphragm,adjacent gastrointestinal tract and adjacent hepatic capsule were 100％,84.8％,89.7％,92.9％,90.2％ respectively.The local progression rates were 0,15.2％,10.3％,7.1％,9.8％,respectively.The 1-,2-and 3-year survival rates were 91.6％,85.8％ and 74.5％.Total cases were ablated 149 times.Serious complications accounted for 6.6％,including diaphragm injury,needle implantation,abdominal hemorrhage,severe infection,bile tumors.Conclusions Our study presented a novel individualized treament strategies using MWA in HCC patients.The individualized scheme effectively boosted the complete ablation rate of tumors and significantly improve the clinical outcome of HCC patients.

Objective:To measure the morphologic data of Chinese temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with computed tomography (CT) reconstruction technology,and to clarify the safe area for the fixation of Chinese temporomandibular joint prosthesis.Methods:A total of 100 adult skulls were scanned by CT and reconstructed.The width,thickness and angle h1,h2,h3,h4,d1,d2,d3,d4,ab,bc,cd,ad,α and β of zygomatic arch,the width and height BD and h of articular fossa and the width,thickness and angle S,h5,h6,h7,l1,l2,l3,l4,l5,m1,m2,m3,m4,m5 and γ of mandible in the fixed area of the TMJ prosthesis were measured;all the measurement indexes were divided into left and right groups by direction,and SPSS 19.0 software was used for the comparion of the measurement between left and right groups.Results:There were no statistical differences in the measurement index values of h1,h2,h3,h4,d1,d2,d3,d4,ab,bc,cd,ad,α,β,BD,h,S,h5,h6,h7,l1,l2,l3,l4,l5,m1,m2,m3,m4,m5 and γ in zygomatic arch,articular fossa and mandible in the fixed area of the TMJ prosthesis between left and right groups (P＞0.05);the width of h2 was longer than that of h3 in zygomatic arch (P=0.048);the thickness of d3 was thicker than that of d4 (P＜0.01).Conclusion:The measurement data of TMJ fixed area is obtained with three-dimensional CT images.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of zoledronic acid administration for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) after treatment with percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP).Methods:A retrospective case-control study was performed on 430 elderly patients with OVCF admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2012 to December 2016. There were 31 males and 399 females, with age of 52-92 years[(72.8±8.3)years]. Fracture segments were at T 5-T 10 (82 vertebrae), T 11-L 2 (389 vertebrae) and L 3-L 5 (173 vertebrae). In zoledronic acid group ( n=178), patients were given zoledronic acid 3 days after PKP surgery. In basic treatment group ( n=252), patients were only given basic treatment after PKP surgery. Bone mineral density was measured before operation and one year after operation. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were assessed before operation, 3 days and one year after operation. Incidence rate of refracture, mortality and complication rate were recorded after operation. Results:All patients were followed up for 12-60 months (mean, 27 months). Before operation and at postoperative 1 year, the vertebral bone mineral density in zoledronic acid group was (-2.3±1.5)SD and (-1.2±2.3)SD ( P<0.05), and that in basic treatment group was (-2.2±1.2)SD and (-2.1±1.1)SD ( P>0.05). At postoperative 1 year, the bone mineral density in zoledronic acid group was significantly better than that in basic treatment group ( P<0.05). At preoperative 3 days, postoperative 3 days and postoperative 1 year, the VAS was (8.6±0.8)points, (2.8±0.8)points, (2.1±0.8)points in zoledronic acid group, and was (8.5±1.1)points, (2.9±0.9)points, (3.0±2.3)points in basal treatment group; ODI was 48.7±5.3, 24.0±2.9, 22.3±3.3 in zoledronic acid group, and was 48.3±6.1, 24.5±3.8, 27.6±4.0 respectively in basal treatment group. The VAS and ODI were significantly reduced in two groups at postoperative 3 days and 1 year compared to those before operation ( P<0.05). Moreover, the VAS and ODI in zoledronic acid group were significantly lower than those in basal treatment group at postoperative 1 year ( P<0.05). At postoperative 2 years, the incidence rate of refracture in zoledronic acid group was 10.1%(18/178), significantly lower than 16.7%(43/252) in basic treatment group ( P<0.05). Mortality rate in zoledronic acid group was 5.1%(9/178), and that in basic treatment group was 6.3%(16/252) ( P>0.05). No serious complications were observed in both groups such as nerve injury or pulmonary embolism. Conclusion:For OVCF patients, zoledronic acid given after PKP can improve the bone mineral density, reduce pain, fasten function recovery, and effectively decrease the refracture rate.

Cucurbitaceae is an important family of flowering plants containing multiple species of important food plants, such as melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins. However, a highly efficient genetic transformation system has not been established for most of these species (Nanasato and Tabei, 2020). Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), an economically important and globally cultivated fruit crop, is a model species for fruit quality research due to its rich diversity of fruit size, shape, flavor, aroma, texture, peel and flesh color, and nutritional composition (Guo et al., 2019). Through pan-genome sequencing, many candidate loci associated with fruit quality traits have been identified (Guo et al., 2019). However, few of these loci have been validated. The major barrier is the low transformation efficiency of the species, with only few successful cases of genetic transformation reported so far (Tian et al., 2017; Feng et al., 2021; Wang JF et al., 2021; Wang YP et al., 2021). For example, Tian et al. (2017) obtained only 16 transgenic lines from about 960 cotyledon fragments, yielding a transformation efficiency of 1.67%. Therefore, efficient genetic transformation could not only facilitate the functional genomic studies in watermelon as well as other horticultural species, but also speed up the transgenic and genome-editing breeding.
CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Citrullus/genetics* ; Cucurbitaceae/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Plant Breeding ; Transformation, Genetic