The clinical manifestations and CT findings of 26 patients,who were full-time cooks working in small restaurants,were analyzed retrospectively.The main clinical manifestations were chest congestion,shortness of breath,chest pain,cough and hemoptysis.Lung CT scanning revealed lung carcinoma in 1 case,pulmonary nodules in 16 cases including 2 cancerous nodules confirmed in the followup review,puhnonary bulla in 6 cases,emphysema in 4 cases,fibro-proliferative lesions in 8 cases,interstitial pneumonia in 4 cases and fungal ball in 1 case.Among 26 patients,12 had two or more concurrent intrapulmonary lesions.The results suggest that long-term exposure to cooking oil fume may lead to a series of pulmonary pathological changes,and attention should be paid to the occupational hazards of cooks.

To develop a method for the determination of 18 elements such as Pb, Cu, As, Hg, Mn, Ni, & Tl in Panax notoginseng,Bulbus fritillariae thunbergii,Coix seed, Resina draconis, and to control the contents of heavy metal elements in Sanjie Zhentong Capsule, the samples were digested by microwaves and then analyzed by appropriate determination parameters through ICP-MS, with the internal standard method to improve the matrix effect and interference. The correlation coefficientR2≥ 0.999 2. The lowest limits of quantification were from 0.002 8 to 0.54 μg·L-1. The experiments had better repeatability, while the recovery values ranged from 73.01% to 109.13%. The method is simple, accurate and high sensitive, and it can be used for the determination of rapid monitoring the multi-elements inPanax notoginseng, Bulbus fritillariae thunbergii, Coix seed,and Resina draconis.

OBJECTIVETo analyze linkage disequilibrium of 12 short tandem repeat loci on chromosome X (X-STR) among an ethnic Han population from Guilin, Guangxi, and to study the genetic linkage and haplotype distributions of such loci in 2 linkage groups.

METHODS12 X-STR loci including DXS8378, DXS10159, DXS10162, DXS10164, DXS981, DXS6789, DXS7424, DXS101, DXS7133, GATA165B12, GATA31E08 and DXS7423 were genotyped using an AGCU X12 STR PCR Amplification kit. A total of 119 pedigrees were analyzed for linkage and linkage disequilibrium.

RESULTSTwo mutations were found at DXS7424, and 1 mutation was found at DXS10164. A total of 93 haplotypes of DXS10159-DXS10162-DXS10164 were constructed for 261 unrelated males and females, in addition with 167 haplotypes of DXS6789-DXS7424-DXS101-DXS7133. The values of recombination fraction between DXS10159 and DXS10162, DXS10162 and DXS10164, DXS6789 and DXS7424, and DXS7424 and DXS101 were 0.0269, 0.0236, 0.0505 and 0.0438, respectively.

CONCLUSIONLinkage disequilibrium of X-STR does not only depend on physical and genetic distances. There was incomplete linkage relationship between loci on DXS10159-DXS1016-DXS10164 and DXS6789-DXS7424-DXS101 linkage groups.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; genetics ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; ethnology ; Chromosomes, Human, X ; genetics ; Female ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Middle Aged ; Pedigree ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the activation of the visual cortex in patients with primary openangle glaucoma (POAG) and to explore whether the neuronal activity corresponds with retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and cup-to-disc (C/D) values.Methods Twenty-five patients and 25 gender-and agematched healthy volunteers were studied.Blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) and three-dimensional brain volume imaging (3 D BRAVO) sequences were obtained using 3 T MR imaging system.A full-screen black-white shift checkerboard was used for visual stimulus during the fMRI experiment and was performed on each eye of all subjects using a visual-acoustical system.All acquired data were postprocessed and analyzed by statistical parametric mapping (SPM).After analysis,individual activated mapping,intra-group mean activated mapping,and inter-group variant mapping were observed.The voxel number,intensity,and Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) coordinate of the activated clusters were recorded.The Xjviewer software was utilized to obtain activated voxel numbers in occipital lobe.A Pearson correlated test was performed to test the correlation between the number of activated voxels and RNFL,C/D and Hodapp-Anderson-Parrish (HAP) clinical stage.Results Intra-group mean activated mappings of both patients and volunteers showed obvious activation in bilateral occipital lobes.As compared with healthy volunteers,the POAG patients exhibited statistically significantly decreased activation in bilateral occipital lobes,left hippocampus,and left cerebellum,along with lower mean RNFL [(71.56 ±21.54) i m versus (111.88 ± 9.96) μm] and higher C/D values (0.71 ± 0.18 versus 0.36 ± 0.08 ; t value was respectively-10.901 and 11.643,P ＜ 0.05).The number of activated voxels in the occipital lobes of POAG patients did not correlate with RNFL,C/D and HAP clinical stage of the corresponding eye (r value was respectively 0.157,-0.113 and-0.242,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions fMRI demonstrated differences in visual cortex activation in POAG patients relative to healthy volunteers,suggesting it might be a promising complementary method for diagnosing glaucoma.However,fMRI findings did not correlate with POAG extent,as measured by RNFL and C/D values.Ophthalmological examination remains to play an important role in the evaluation of open-angle glaucoma.

Objective To observe diffusion changes of epiphysis of femoral head with ischemia of difference phases by line-scan diffusion weighted imaging(LSDWI),and determine whether LSDWI can provide temporal information and severity about ischemia of epiphysis.Methods lschemia was surgically induced in one hip of each piglet(n=25)and the other hip served as a normal control.Piglets were imaged before surgery and at 3 hours,72 hours and 1,3 and 6 weeks after surgery by using LSDWI.Apparent difrusion coefficients(A DC)in epiphysis of the femoral heads were calculated.Significant difierences in ADC values between ischemia group and control group were found by using paired t-test.After scan at individual time points,5 piglets were sacrificed for histological study each time.Results The ADC value in the ischemic femoral heads f(1.22±0.37)×10-3 mm2/s]decreased significantiy at 3 hours after surgery (t=3.914,P＜0.01),compared to that in control[(1.73±0.33)×10-3mm2/s},and increased at 72 hours[(2.15±0.32)×10-3mm2/s versus(1.70±0.22)×10-3 mm2/s](t=3.348,P＜0.01).Then ADC valne kept increasing until 6 weeks after surgery[(1.61±0.27)×10-3mm2/s in ischemia side vs (1.11±0.45)×10-3mm2/s in the control](t=4.136,P＜0.01).rrhe percentage change of the ADC value significandy increased at 3 hours,72 hours,1 and 3 week(s)after the surgery(P＜0.01),compared to that at the prior neighboring time point.No significant increase in the percentage change of ADC value was found between the 3rd week and the 6th week after the surgery(t=2.29.P＞0.05).Histological examinations revealed abnormal thickening within epiphyseal cartilage,and cartilaginous islands within ossified tissues.Growth disturbante wag found in form of focal growth plate disruption.Conclusions Dynamic changes of ADC values were found with the prolonged ischemia of the femoral head by LSDWI.It could serve as a useful marker for evaluating duration and extent of ischemic epiphyseal disruption.

Neural stem cells were labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and tracked by MRI in vitro and in vivo after implantation. Rat neural stem cells were labeled with SPIO combined with PLL by the means of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Prussian blue staining and electron microscopy were conducted to identify the iron particles in these neural stem cells. SPIO-labeled cells were tracked by 4.7T MRI in vivo and in vitro after implantation. The subjects were divided into 5 groups, including 5 x 10(5) labeled cells cultured for one day after labeling, 5 x 10(5) same phase unlabeled cells, cell culture medium with 25 mug Fe/mL SPIO, cell culture medium without SPIO and distilled water. MRI scanning sequences included T(1)WI, T(2)WI and T(2)*WI. R(2) and R(2)* of labeled cells were calculated. The results showed: (1) Neural stem cells could be labeled with SPIO and labeling efficiency was 100%. Prussian blue staining showed numerous blue-stained iron particles in the cytoplasm; (2) The average percentage change of signal intensity of labeled cells on T(1)WI in 4.7T MRI was 24.06%, T2WI 50.66% and T(2)*WI 53.70% respectively; (3) T2 of labeled cells and unlabeled cells in 4.7T MRI was 516 ms and 77 ms respectively, R(2) was 1.94 s(-1) and 12.98 s(-1) respectively, and T(2)* was 109 ms and 22.9 ms, R(2)* was 9.17 s(-1) and 43.67 s(-1) respectively; (4) Remarkable low signal area on T(2)WI and T(2)*WI could exist for nearly 7 weeks and then disappeared gradually in the left brain transplanted with labeled cells, however no signal change in the right brain implanted with unlabeled cells. It was concluded that neural stem cells could be labeled effectively with SPIO. R2 and R(2)* of labeled cells were increased obviously. MRI can be used to track labeled cells in vitro and in vivo.

Neural stem cells were labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and tracked by MRI in vitro and in vivo after implantation. Rat neural stem cells were labeled with SPIO combined with PLL by the means of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Prussian blue staining and electron microscopy were conducted to identify the iron particles in these neural stem cells. SPIO-labeled cells were tracked by 4.7T MRI in vivo and in vitro after implantation. The subjects were divided into 5 groups, including 5× 105 labeled cells cultured for one day after labeling, 5 × 105 same phase unlabeled cells, cell culture medium with 25 μg Fe/mL SPIO, cell culture medium without SPIO and distilled water. MRI scanning sequences included T1WI, T2WI and T2*WI. R2 and R2* of labeled cells were calculated. The results showed: (1) Neural stem cells could be labeled with SPIO and labeling efficiency was 100%. Prussian blue staining showed numerous blue-stained iron particles in the cytoplasm; (2) The average percentage change of signal intensity of labeled cells on T1WI in 4.7T MRI was 24.06%, T2WI 50.66% and T2*WI 53.70% respectively; (3) T2 of labeled cells and unlabeled cells in 4.7T MRI was 516 ms and 77 ms respectively, R2 was 1.94 s-1 and 12.98 s-1 respectively, and T2* was 109 ms and 22.9 ms, R2* was 9.17 s-1 and 43.67 s-1 respectively; (4) Remarkable low signal area on T2WI and T2*WI could exist for nearly 7 weeks and then disappeared gradually in the left brain transplanted with labeled cells, however no signal change in the right brain implanted with unlabeled cells. It was concluded that neural stem cells could be labeled effectively with SPIO. R2 and R2* of labeled cells were increased obviously. MRI can be used to track labeled cells in vitro and in vivo.

The purpose of this study is to define the appearance of normal epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow and normal changes of marrow due to fatty conversion on Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced MR Imaging. Unenhanced and enhanced T1-weighted MR imaging were performed in proximal and distal femoral ends of 8 healthy piglets at the ages of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, respectively. The changes with age in signal intensity and enhancement ratio of the epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow with age were examined. The correlation of MRI characteristics with histological findings was studied. Our study showed that marrow of the metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center were well vascularized hematopoietic marrow and had great enhancements. The enhancement ratio of metaphysis was greater than that of epiphyseal marrow and both enhancement ratios degraded gradually with age. The central regions of the epiphyseal ossification center and of the diaphysis were of fatty marrow and had little enhancement. It is concluded that on Gd-enhanced MR imaging the hematopoietic marrow of metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center had greater enhancement than that of fatty marrow of central region of the 2nd ossification center. All of their enhancements decreased gradually with age.
Epiphyses/*anatomy & histology ; Femur/anatomy & histology ; Femur/*growth & development ; Gadolinium/*diagnostic use ; Growth Plate/*anatomy & histology ; Growth Plate/blood supply ; Growth Plate/growth & development ; Image Enhancement ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature

The purpose of this study is to define the appearance of normal epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow and normal changes of marrow due to fatty conversion on Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced MR Imaging. Unenhanced and enhanced T1-weighted MR imaging were performed in proximal and distal femoral ends of 8 healthy piglets at the ages of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, respectively. The changes with age in signal intensity and enhancement ratio of the epiphyseal and tnetaphyseal marrow with age were examined. The correlation of MRI characteristics with histological findings was studied. Our study showed that marrow of the metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center were well vascularized hematopoietic marrow and had great enhancements. The enhancement ratio of metaphysis was greater than that of epiphyseal marrow and both enhancement ratios degraded gradually with age. The central regions of the epiphyseal ossification center and of the diaphysis were of fatty marrow and had little enhancement. It is concluded that on Gd-enhanced MR imaging the hematopoietic marrow of metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center had greater enhancement than that of fatty marrow of central region of the 2nd ossification center. All of their enhancements decreased gradually with age.

Objective: To construct eukaryotic expression vector pSecTag2/HygroB-DAF of human decay accelerating factor (DAF) and transfect NIH/3T3 cells after encapsulated by chitosan. Methods:The human DAF fragments were obtained by PCR form DAF-pGEM-T Easy Vector, cloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pSecTag2/HygroB, and identified by restriction endonuclease’s digestion and DNA sequencing. After the particles of pSecTag2/HygroB-DAF were encapsulated by chitosan, the NIH/3T3 cells were transfected by chitosan-DAF nanoparticles and detected DAF expression by immunohistochemistry stain. Results:The DAF fragment was 1049 bp. Its sequence was as same as DAF cDNA in Genebank. After having been transfected by chitosan-DAF nanoparticles 24 hours, the NIH/3T3 cells showed diffusely positive in cytoplasms by anti-DAF immunohistochemistry. Conclusion:Eukaryotic expression vector of human DAF were constructed successfully and transfected it to NIH/3T3 cells after encapsulated by chitosan.