Localization of CgVPE1 in secondary cell wall formation during tracheary element differentiation in the pericarp of Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits.

MAIN CONCLUSION: CgVPE1 is important in the differentiation of TE cells in C. grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits as it may directly affects secondary cell wall construction while participating in PCD. The vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) plays an important role in both developmental and environmentally inducible programmed cell death (PCD); it was originally identified as a cysteine protease localized in the vacuole to activate and mature vacuolar proteins in plants. Interestingly, we found a VPE called CgVPE1 to be associated with deposition of the secondary cell wall in tracheary element (TE) cells in the pericarp of Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits. We then used ultrathin sections and the TUNEL assay to verify that PCD is involved in TE development. Furthermore, CgVPE1 was found to be mainly expressed in secretory cavities and TEs in the pericarp of Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits. Immunolocalization of CgVPE1 in the pericarp indicated that CgVPE1 is mainly distributed in the central large vacuole, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi vesicles, cytosol, and secondary wall before TE maturation. CgVPE1 appeared earlier in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi vesicles of TEs cells. The vesicles containing CgVPE1 near the large central vacuole and secondary wall were observed, respectively. CgVPE1 proteins content in the cytoplasm decreased sharply, while the CgVPE1 content in the secondary cell wall did not change significantly after vacuole rupture. CgVPE1 protein contents in the secondary cell wall were significantly reduced until the TE cells developed into hollow thick-walled cells. Furthermore, labeling of VPE homologues in Arabidopsis thaliana using immunoelectron microscopy with anti-CgVPE1 antibody revealed that VPE homologues were specifically distributed in the secondary cell wall of stem TEs. Overall, these results suggested that CgVPE1 is not only involved PCD during TE cell development; furthermore, it may directly participate in the construction of plant secondary cell walls.

CgPBA1 may be involved in nuclear degradation during secretory cavity formation by programmed cell death in Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits.

Caspase-3 is the crucial executor caspase of apoptosis in mammalian cells, which is essential for chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. Although plants have no caspase-3 homologs, PBA1 acts as a plant caspase-3-like enzyme in plant programmed cell death (PCD). PCD occurs during the formation of secretory cavities in Citrus fruits; hence, secretory cavities could be utilized as a new cell biology model for investigating the regulatory mechanisms of plant PCD. To further study the association between PBA1 and PCD during secretory cavity development in Citrus fruits, CgPBA1 was identified in the fruit of Citrus grandis 'Tomentosa'. The temporal and spatial expression of CgPBA1 during secretory cavity development were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization, and the morphological changes in the apoptotic cell nuclei were observed using TUNEL assay and ultra-thin section technology. The results revealed that the full-length cDNA of CgPBA1 contains a 711 bp ORF that encodes a putative protein containing 236 amino acid with a proteasome-ß-6 functional domain that belongs to the Ntn hydrolase super family. CgPBA1 was predominantly expressed in the secretory cavities; its expression changes coincided with the morphological changes and DNA fragmentation in apoptotic cell nuclei. The green fluorescent fusion protein of CgPBA1 is also located in the nucleus of tobacco epidermal cells. Based on previous research and the findings of the present study, we speculate that CgPBA1 is a highly functional conserved protein in plants, and it might be involved in nuclear degradation during PCD for secretory cavity formation in C. grandis 'Tomentosa' fruits.

[Evaluation of medium to long term efficacy of balloon dilation in the treatment of aural fullness as chief complaint].

Objective: To discuss the characteristics of symptoms improvement based on the follow-up evaluation of Eustachian tube balloon dilation medium to long-term efficacy in patients with symptomatic Eustachian tube dysfunction (SETD). Methods: Patients from 2015 to 2017 were followed up after Eustachian tube balloon dilation (with the sense of aural fullness, or tinnitus and hearing ambiguity). All participants had been done ETDQ-7 before surgery and were re-evaluated with ETDQ-7 in follow-up. The improvement of overall and individual symptoms scores in ETDQ-7, the effects of gender and the difference of scores at different stages (12-18 months, 18-24 months and 24-30 months) after the operation were analyzed. Results: There were 29 patients, including 16 males and 13 females, whose age ranged from 20 to 62 years old. The medium to long-term score of ETDQ-7 significantly declined after surgery (27.0±7.9 vs. 14.1±7.5, P<0.05). Among all symptoms, symptoms like "blockage feeling in ear or being like under the water, constriction feeling" , "sound of blisters or explosions in the ear" decreased obviously (P<0.05). Comparing different stages after surgery, the scores of ETDQ-7 existed no difference (P>0.05). And the difference of gender showed no significant influence on surgery effects. Conclusion: The subjective symptoms of patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction diagnosed with SETD can be significantly improved in the medium to long-term follow-up after Eustachian tube balloon dilation, and the degree of improvement is not linearly related to the postoperative time.

[The effection of white matter abnormality to auditory and speech rehabilitation after cochlear implantation in prelingual deafness children].

Objective:To investigatethe effection of white matter abnormality to auditory and speech rehabilitation after cochlear implantation in prelingual deafness children.Method:Thirty-five children with white matter abnormality were included in this study. The degree of leukoaraiosis was evaluated by Scheltens scale based on MRI.The hearing and speechrecovery level was rated by auditory behavior grading standards(CAP) and speech intelligibility grading standards(SIR) at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months post operation. Result:The CAP scores and SIR scores of the children with white matter abnormality were lower than those of the control group at 6 months after operation (P<0.05).The SIR scores of the children with white matter abnormality at 12 months and 24 months post operation were significantly lower than those of the control group.There was no statistically significant difference between the CAP scores of the two groups at 12 and 24 months after operation(P>0.05).Schelten classification had a greater impact on SIR scores than on CAP scores. Conclusion:The effect of white matter abnormality on auditory and speech rehabilitation after cochlear implantation was related to the degree of leukoencephalopathy. When the lesion of white matter abnormality was larger, the level of hearing and verbal rehabilitation was lower, and the speech rehabilitation was more significantly impacted by white matter lesions degree.

[Research on activity evolution of cerebral cortex and hearing rehabilitation of congenitally deaf children after cochlear implant].

Objective:There is a significant difference in the hearing rehabilitation between the congenitally deaf children after cochlear implant(CI). The intrinsic mechanism that affects the hearing rehabilitation in patients was discussed from the perspective of evoked EEG source activity.Method:Firstly, we collected the ERP data from 23 patients and 10 control group children during 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after CI. According to the hearing rehabilitation during 12 months after CI, the patients were divided into two groups: rehabilitation of "the good" and "the poor". Then we used sLORETA to show the changes in the groups of patients' cerebral cortex and compared with the control group.Result:Cross-modal reorganization of cerebral cortex exists in the congenitally deaf children. The cross-modal reorganization gradually degraded and the activity of the relevant cortex followed by normally after CI. There was a statistically significant difference(P < 0.05) in the temporal lobe and the associated cortex around parietal lobe between "the good" and "the poor" groups after 12 months.Conclusion:The normalization of the cross-modal reorganization in patients reflects the hearing rehabilitation after CI, especially the normalization of the activity of the temporal lobe and the associated cortex around parietal lobe, which influences the rehabilitation effect of the auditory function to some extent. This research demonstrated the detection of the mechanism has important significance for the hearing recovery training and evaluation of the hearing rehabilitation after CI.

[Scalp surface skin grafts in reconstruction of external auditory meatus in congenital aural atresia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical application of scalp skin grafts in reconstruction of external auditory meatus in congenital aural atresia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on 85 patients of congenital aural atresia, all of whom were unilateral, operated from March of 2008 to December of 2010 in ENT department of the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital. The patients enrolled in the study were between 6 to 37 years old (median age 12 years), 55 male and 30 female. Scalp surface graft in ipsilateral temporal region was harvested to cover the bony external auditory meatus. RESULTS: All of these scalp split-thickness skin grafts survived without necrosis, no restenosis was found in these external auditory meatus. Neither scar nor alopecia was found in the skin-harvesting region, and hairs grew well. Granulations occurred in 27 cases in the first to sixth month posteroperatively, 20 cases recovered after local treatment. In the first year, 30 cases obtained hearing improvement more than 15 dB, 36 cases gained more than 25 dB and 19 cases gained more than 35 dB. Totally 8 patients were lost in the 4 to 5 years of follow-up, 70 cases (70/77, 90.9%) developed new external auditory meatus, 7 cases (7/77, 9.1%) suffered from stenosis in different degrees, but no atresia was found in these patients. CONCLUSION: Scalp split-thickness skin grafts has significant clinical advantage in meatoplasty of congenital aural atresia.

[A clinical analysis for sudden sensorineural hearing loss withcontralateral sensorineural hearing loss].

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis,and to learn the impact factors of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss with contralateral sensorineural hearing loss(SSHLwCSHL).Method:Clinical data of 63 cases of patients with SSHLwCSHL were analyzed systematically,including all the clinical manifestations,audiologic characteristics and the effect assessment,and compared with that of unilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss(USSHL) and bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss(BSSHL).Base on those,we summarized comprehensively the development and prognosis characteristics of the disease.Result:The incidence of SSHLwCSHL was 8.3 percent of overall patients with SSNHL.SSHLwCSHL occurs more commonly in male patients,with more vertigo,diabetes mellitus,and lipid panel abnormalities compared with other groups.Hearing curve and the degree of hearing loss of the prevalence ear of SSHLwCSHL was statistically significant difference with USSHL(P<0.05).Most common reason of the contralateral hearing loss was sudden sensorineural hearing loss(49%),and 59% patients of SSHLwCSHL suffered hearing loss of other ear after 2-10 years after contralateral hearing loss.The total effective rate was 14.3%,1 in 63 patients cured,1 excellence and 6 effective.The total effective rate was 9.5% in patients with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss in the contralateral ear,which was lower than that of patients with moderate and moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss in the contralateral-ear(P=0.021).Conclusion:SSHLwCSHL has complex condition.The prognosis for improvement is poor.Recognition of similarities and differences between bilateral and unilateral SSNHL can help in counseling and managing the patients.

Estimating the genetic parameters for liver fat traits in broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat.

Intensive selection of broilers for improved growth rate is known to exert a negative effect on broiler health, such as an increase in body fat (and its related diseases). Excessive fat deposition in the liver can cause fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS); in addition, traits associated with liver fat have also been associated with FLHS. This study explored the genetic relationships among liver fat-related traits. Data was collected from 462 birds derived from 16th generation Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content. The body weight at 7 weeks of age (BW7), abdominal fat weight (AFW), abdominal fat percentage, liver fat percentage (LFP), liver weight, and liver percentage were measured. The heritability of these traits and the phenotypic and genetic correlations were estimated, using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and Gibbs sampling (GS) methods. The REML and GS methods yielded similar heritability estimates for LFP (0.36 and 0.37, respectively). BW7 showed a high positive genetic correlation with AFW (rA(REML) = 0.74 and rA(GS) = 0.80), and a moderate positive genetic correlation with LFP (rA(REML) = 0.27 and rA(GS) = 0.39). Positive genetic correlations were also observed between AFW and LFP (rA(REML) = 0.35 and rA(GS) = 0.36). These results suggested that selection for growth may increase the AFW and LFP in broilers. LFP is directly related to FLHS; therefore, selection for broiler growth rate may increase the incidence of FLHS.

Clinical analysis of penehyclidine hydrochloride combined with hemoperfusion in the treatment of acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning.

This study aimed to observe the clinical curative effect of penehyclidine hydrochloride (PHC) combined with hemoperfusion in treating acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning. We randomly divided 61 patients with severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning into an experimental group (N = 31) and a control group (N = 30), and we compared the coma-recovery time, mechanical ventilation time, healing time, hospital expenses, and mortality between the two groups. The coma-recovery time, mechanical ventilation time, and healing time were lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05), while the hospitalization expenses were higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.01); moreover, no significant difference was observed in the mortality rate between the two groups. Thus, PHC combined with hemoperfusion exerts a better therapeutic effect in acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning than PHC alone.

Predictors of acid suppression success in patients with chronic laryngitis.

BACKGROUND: Up to 50% of the patients suspected of reflux laryngitis syndrome failed to respond to acid suppression therapy. However, predictors of acid suppression success have not been determined. METHODS: Consecutive patients with chronic laryngitis were enrolled prospectively. All the patients underwent laryngoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy and 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH (MII-pH) monitoring before receiving rabeprazole 10 mg b.i.d. for 3 months. Patient was considered as a responder to acid suppression if the chief laryngeal complaint score during the last week since last interview had decreased by at least 50% after the start of therapy compared with baseline. Cox regression analysis was used to determine the independent predictors of acid suppression success. KEY RESULTS: Of 92 patients (age 42.4 ± 14.3 years, 50 women), 42 (45.7%) responded to acid suppression after 3 months. Gastroesophageal reflux disease was defined in 22 patients, of whom 19 patients had pathological distal esophageal acid exposure and 5 were defined as erosive esophagitis. The time to response showed a significant hazard ratio for patients with increased distal esophageal acid exposure time (ß: 0.93; HR: 2.55; 95% CI: 1.24-5.24; P = 0.011) and increased laryngopharyngeal bolus exposure time (BET; ß: 0.96; HR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.36-5.00; P = 0.004). The latter had the best Youden Index (0.34) and accuracy (68.5%). CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: The success of acid suppression on chronic laryngitis could be predicted using reflux parameters detected by MII-pH, among which increased laryngopharyngeal BET is the best.

Treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer: the Chinese experience in a general teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy prolongs locally advanced stage IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient survival and cisplatin-based chemotherapy prolongs survival in stage IV disease. This study was aimed at investigating whether this conclusion also applies to Chinese patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of NSCLC patients diagnosed at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital covering a period from 1990 to 1996 to examine the effect of treatment regimen on survival. RESULTS: There were 3,925 cases of NSCLC diagnosed during this period. The stage at diagnosis was stage III or IV in the majority (76.6%) of cases. Surgery followed by chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy conferred a survival benefit of more than two years in stage IIIA patients. For stage IIIB patients, chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy yielded a median survival of 13 months, compared to only seven months for radiotherapy alone. For stage IV patients, cisplatin-based chemotherapy prolonged median survival for more than two months compared with palliative radiotherapy alone or supportive care only. Survival was improved in stage IV patients who received chemotherapy during 1990 to 1996 compared with those who received chemotherapy during 1985 to 1989. This improvement was most likely due to improvements in supportive care because the treatment regimen was constant during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy prolonged survival of Chinese patients with metastatic NSCLC. Combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy also prolonged survival of Chinese patients with locally advanced NSCLC.

The significance of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in monitoring disease relapse in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2R alpha) is a well-known indicator of T-cell activation noted to be increasing in nasopharyngeal cancer. However, the significance of sIL-2R alpha in monitoring disease relapse is unclear. This study was initiated to address this issue. METHODS: Serum of 56 patients with NPC, which underwent either primary, salvage, or palliative treatments, from 1992 to 1993 at the Cancer Center, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, were collected from our serum bank. According to their disease status at the time of study, at least two years after last treatments, the 56 patients were divided into four groups. The remission group represented those in remission at the time of study (n = 24). The metastasis group represented those with distant metastasis present at the time of study (n = 17). The recurrence group represented those with locoregional recurrence present at the time of study (n = 11). The combined group represented those with locoregional recurrence as well as distant metastasis (n = 4). The seral sIL-2R alpha concentrations of the 56 NPC patients were determined with enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. The combined group was excluded in our statistical analysis. We performed statistical analysis on the differences of paired serum sIL-2R alpha concentrations between different periods of the diseases. The first analysis was on the differences of sIL-2R alpha concentrations between diagnosis and post-radiotherapy periods for 13 out of 24 patients in the remission group and 7 out of 11 patients in the recurrence group. The second analysis was on the differences of sIL-2R alpha concentration between follow-up before detection-of-relapse and after detection-of-relapse for 5 out of 17 patients in the metastasis group and six out of 11 patients in the recurrence group. RESULTS: The first statistical analysis revealed no significant differences of sIL-2R alpha concentrations for the remission group (P = 0.946) and the recurrence group (P = 0.156) between diagnosis and post-radiotherapy periods. The second statistical analysis revealed no significant differences of sIL-2R alpha concentrations between before and after detection-of-relapse for the recurrence group, neither (P = 0.438). The results for the metastasis group were different. The sIL-2R alpha concentrations were shown to increase after the detection of metastasis for the 5 paired samples from the metastasis group, although the Wilcoxon signed ranks test on the differences only showed borderline significance (P = 0.063). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that sIL-2R alpha would be of no value in monitoring the development of locoregional recurrence but might be useful in monitoring distant metastasis. Although our current limited data did not provide strong support for the role of sIL-2R alpha in monitoring metastasis, it might be delineated in the future by collecting more data.

[Clinical study on effects of buyang huanwu decoction on coronary heart disease].

102 cases of coronary heart disease (CHD) were divided randomly into two groups, 70 cases were given orally the Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) for 15 days and were compared with 32 control patients. The effect of BYHWD in treating angina pectoris and the change of EKG before and after the treatment were observed. The results were as follows: in BYHWD group the serum level of lipoperoxide (LPO), apolipoprotein (apo) B100, LPO/SOD (superoxide dismutase) and apo B100/apo A1 were lowered remarkably, the serum of SOD and apo A1 were elevated significantly (P < 0.01) comparing with the control group. The total effective rate of treating angina pectoris was 91.4%. But the difference was insignificant compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The EKG improvement rate was 85.7% in BYHWD group, the difference was very significant comparing with control group (P < 0.05). The results indicated that BYHWD had a good effect on removing the oxygen free radicals, reducing the injury of LPO and regulating the apolipoprotein metabolism in the patients with CHD. Therefore BYHWD is an effective TCM remedy for CHD.

Radiation tolerance of the cervical spinal cord.

The incidence of permanent injury to the spinal cord as a complication of radiation therapy generally correlates positively with total radiation dosage. However, several reports in the literature have indicated that fraction size is also an important factor in the development or nondevelopment of late injuries in normal tissue. To determine the effect of fraction size on the incidence of radiation-induced spinal cord injuries, we reviewed 144 cases of head and neck cancer treated at our institution between 1971 and 1980 with radiation greater than 5600 cGy to a portion of the cervical spinal cord. Most of these patients received greater than or equal to 6000 cGy, with fraction sizes ranging from 133 cGy to 200 cGy. Fifty-three of the 144 patients have been followed up for 2 years or more. Nearly half of these (26 patients) received greater than 6000 cGy with fraction sizes of 133 cGy to 180 cGy. Only 1 of the 53 (1.9%) has sustained permanent spinal cord injury; 20 months after completion of radiation treatments he developed Brown-Séquard syndrome. Our experience suggests that radiation injuries to the spinal cord correlate not only with total radiation dosage, but also with fraction size; low fraction sizes appear to decrease the incidence of such injuries.