Eosinophilic fasciitis in a young male auto mechanic exposed to organic solvents.

We report a case of eosinophilic fasciitis in a teenage auto mechanic who was most likely affected by occupational exposure to organic solvents, including the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, trimethylbenzene, naphthalene, toluene, and xylene. The patient presented with an 8-month history of painful induration of his extremities and an abnormal gait. A deep excisional biopsy of the fascia was obtained, demonstrating subcutaneous fibrosis with perivascular and interstitial inflammation, with lymphocytes and plasma cells spilling into the sclerosed fascia, and focal fibrinoid necrosis. Treatment was begun with intravenous pulse doses of methylprednisolone, prednisone (20 mg daily), and subcutaneous methotrexate (25 mg weekly), and the patient's painful induration had resolved and gait had normalized at the 6-month follow-up. Our case suggests that exposure to organic solvents could be implicated in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic fasciitis and highlights the importance of a thorough occupational history to prevent repeat exposures to potentially causative agents.

[Clinical study on the accuracy of occlusal contacts on digital model].

Objective: To explore the accuracy of occlusal contacts on digital model made by intraoral scanner. Methods: Twenty healthy subjects [6 males, 14 females, (24.4±1.4) years old] with intact dentition were randomly recruited from postgraduate students in Capital Medical University School of Stomatology who volunteered to participate in this study. For each participant, the 2nd and 3rd quadrant of natural dentition was scanned. A diagnostic test design was performed. The occlusal contacts of the maximal intercuspal position (MIP) were extracted with the transillumination of silicone interocclusal records, and the extraction threshold was set as ≤50 µm. Intraoral scanning system was used to scan in MIP and generate occlusal contacts on digital model. Five groups were designed as test groups according to included tooth position: group 1 (buccal scanning ranged from tooth 21 to 23), group 2 (buccal scanning ranged from tooth 23 to 26), group 3 (buccal scanning ranged from tooth 24 to 26), group 4 (buccal scanning ranged from tooth 25 to 26), group 5 (buccal scanning ranged from tooth 21 to 26). Five groups occlusal contacts on digital model were generated respectively. According to the relevant literature, the upper occlusal surface was divided into 28 partitions, and the accuracy of occlusal contacts on digital model was calculated with the transillumination of silicone interocclusal records as the reference standard. Subgroup analysis was performed according to anterior teeth area, premolars area and molars area. Results: The accuracy of occlusal contacts on digital models of the half dentition in five buccal scanning positions were: group 1 (86.8%), group 2 (92.0%), group 3 (90.7%), group 4 (91.1%), group 5 (90.4%), and the accuracy of occlusal contacts in group 1 was significantly lower than those in the other four groups (P<0.05). The accuracy of anterior teeth area were 85.6%-93.9%; the accuracy of premolar area were 92.5%-94.4%; the accuracy of molar area were 77.3%-93.6%, group 1 was significantly lower than those in the group 4 in molars area (P<0.05), the accuracy of anterior area was statistically less than premolars area and molars area in group 1 (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in pairwise comparison between the three sections (P>0.05). Conclusions: The digital models scanned intraoral methods provide accurate, quantitative measures of occlusal contacts when transillumination contacts are the reference standard.

[Polarization of bone marrow-derived macrophages induced by recombinant Trichinella spiralis cysteine protease inhibitors in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory role of recombinant Trichinella spiralis cysteine protease inhibitors (rTs-Cys) in induction of polarization of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) in vitro. METHODS: BMDMs were captured and cultured in conditioned medium for 7 days. Then, mature BMDMs were harvested and assigned into four groups. Cells in Group A (negative control) were given 10 ng/mL IFN-γ combined with 100 ng/mL LPS, cells in Group B (positive control) were treated with IL-4 and IL-10 (at 10 ng/mL both), and cells in Group C (recombinant protein alone) were stimulated with 1 µg/mL rTs-Cys, while cells in Group D (protein co-culture) were simultaneously treated with 1 µg/mL rTs-Cys, 10 ng/mL IFN-γ and 100 ng/mL LPS. Cells and culture supernatant were collected 24 hour post-treatment, and the proportions of F4/80+, CD11b+, CD206+ and CD11c+ cells were detected by flow cytometry. The levels of interleukin IL-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-10 and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) in the cell culture supernatant were measured by ELISA and the CD86+ and CD206+ phenotypes were identified by immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS: Flow cytometry detected no significant difference in the proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ CD11c+ cells among the four groups (F = 46.184, P < 0.001), and a lower proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ CD11c+ cells was seen in groups C and D than in group A (all P values < 0.001). There was a significant difference in the proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ CD206+ cells among the four groups (F = 11.032, P < 0.001), and a greater proportion of F4/80+ CD11b+ CD206+ cells was seen in groups C and D than in group A (all P values < 0.01). Immunofluorescent staining showed higher CD206+ expression and lower CD86+ expression in groups C and D than in Group A. There were significant differences in the IL-6 and (F = 3.950, P < 0.001) and TNF-α (F = 205.827, P < 0.001) levels in the cell culture supernatants among the four groups, and significantly lower IL-6 and TNF-α levels were measured in groups C and D than in Group A (both P < 0.05). There were significant differences in the IL-10 and (F = 8.274, P < 0.001) and TGF-ß (F = 13.559, P < 0.01) levels in the cell culture supernatants among the four groups, and greater IL-10 and TGF-ß levels were measured in Group C than in Group A (both P values < 0.01). In addition, the TGF-ß level was significantly higher in Group D than in Group A (P < 0.05); however, there was no significant difference in the IL-10 level between groups D and A (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: rTs-Cys may induce the polarization of BMDMs to antiinflammatory M2 macrophages in vitro and inhibit the activation of M1 macrophages.

[Degree of fibrosis of adenomyotic myometrium and its relationship with dysmenorrhea].

Objective: To investigate degrees of fibrosis of adenomyosis (AM) myometrium and explore its relationship with dysmenorrhea. Methods: Thirty AM patients who had hysterectomy from July, 2015 to December, 2016 in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital were selected as AM group; 28 cases of hysterectomy due to cervical lesions (none AM) were selected as control group. The area ratio of collagen fiber in the two groups was analysed by modified Masson stain, and the expression of collagen type Ⅰprotein in the two groups was analysed by immunohistochemical method. Results: (1) The degree of fibrosis:the area ratio of collagen fiber and the expression of collagen type Ⅰof AM group [(34.5±5.1)%, 0.23±0.06] were significantly higher than those of control group [(26.7±10.1)%,0.18±0.08; all P<0.05]. (2) The relationship between the degree of fibrosis and dysmenorrhea: the area ratio of collagen fiber and the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in severe dysmenorrhea, moderate dysmenorrhea, and none-mild dysmenorrhea were (35.3±4.3) %, 0.25±0.05; (35.7±3.2) %, 0.26±0.06; (25.0±2.9) %, 0.15±0.03, there were significantly different among them (all P<0.01) . And the area ratio of collagen fiber, the expression of collagen typeⅠwere positively correlated with the degree of dysmenorrhea (r=0.50, 0.50; all P<0.05) . Conclusions: The area ratio of collagen fiber and the expression of collagen type Ⅰ in AM are higher than in control group, and positively correlated with the severity of dysmenorrhea. These results suggest the degrees of fibrosis might be correlated with dysmenorrhea.

Effects of subpressure on the sealing ability of dental sealant in vitro.

OBJECTIVES: Pits and fissures sealing with flowable materials is a popular method for preventing caries in preventive dentistry while there is still microleakage existed. This in vitro study aimed to explore the effects of subpressure technique on the sealing ability of pit and fissure sealant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-one extracted human premolars were collected in this study and treated with different pressure (atmosphere pressure as group C, -0.04 MPa as group S4 and -0.08 MPa as group S8). Thermocycling (×5000) was also performed. Penetration percentage, microleakage, cross-sectional microhardness (Knoop, KMH) and mineral loss were evaluated. Kappa tests, Friedman nonparametric and two-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Penetration percentages of group S4 and S8 were significant higher compared to that of group C. Microleakage of groups was similar before thermocycling, while subpressure groups showed lower scale of microleakage after thermocycling. Data of KMH and mineral loss showed significant differences between subpressure and thermocycling groups. SIGNIFICANCE: Subpressure technique could increase the penetration of pit and fissure sealant, decrease microleakage and increase resistance of demineralization after thermocycling. This novel technique may have great potential for preventing from secondary caries.

[Probe of the compiling stylistic rules and layout of Youyou Xin Shu].

Youyou Xin Shu(The New Book on Juveniles)《》is a great book of pediatrics in the Southern Song Dynasty. The book quotes a lot of literature.This paper makes an overall arrangement of the citation, sums up the features of the books cited, corrects some wrong compilations from different texts in various existing versions. Therefore, we can infer the publishing ages and time of some literature related.

[The quality control based on the predictable performance].

The clinical performance can only be evaluated when it comes to the last step in the conventional way of prosthesis. However, it often causes the failure because of the unconformity between the expectation and final performance. Resulting from this kind of situation, quality control based on the predictable results has been suggested. It is a new idea based on the way of reverse thinking, and focuses on the need of patient and puts the final performance of the prosthesis to the first place. With the prosthodontically driven prodedure, dentists can complete the unification with the expectation and the final performance.

Seasonal changes in blood pressure in chronic kidney disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal variation in blood pressure (BP) in different populations has been described. However, no study has concentrated on the change of blood pressure in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, a large and growing population worldwide. Furthermore, the role of volume status in seasonal blood pressure variations remains controversial. METHODS: 109 CKD patients in a single center were followed between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, level of serum creatinine and body weight were measured in these patients and studied along with climatology data obtained from Beijing Weather Bureau. RESULTS: Blood pressure varied throughout the year, following a cyclic pattern. It increased from the autumn months toward winter, and decreased toward the spring and warmer months. The seasonal variation of blood pressure in CKD patients appeared not to correlate with CKD stage and similar seasonal variations were observed. Blood pressure values in the cohort of CKD patients were inversely correlated with outdoor temperatures (SBP: r = -0.882, p < 0.001; DBP: r = -0.860, p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in body weight between summer and winter (p > 0.05) in this group of CKD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the blood pressure of CKD patients varied with the seasonal variation. The seasonal variation of blood pressure in CKD patients seemed to have no correlation with stage of CKD or change of body weight but was inversely associated with outdoor temperatures. These results suggested that volume status might not be a key mechanism causing seasonal variation in blood pressure.

[The CD2, CD4 and CD8 mRNA expression of T lymphocytes in patients with acromegaly and hyperprolactinemia].

The CD2, CD4 and CD8 mRNA expression of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (HPBL) from 49 female patients with acromegaly and hyperprolactinemia and 15 healthy women were studied by dot blotting assay using corresponding CD2, CD4 and CD8 antisense RNA probes. It was found that CD2 mRNA expression increased in women with growth hormone over-expression and the ratio of CD4 and CD8 mRNA declined significantly in the women with prolactin over-expression. These suggested that the mRNA expression of these cluster differentiation antigens in peripheral T lymphocytes was affected by the pituitary hormones. The significance of these findings relevant to the study of the neuroendocrine and immune network was discussed.

Nucleotide sequence of the 24S subgenomic messenger RNA of a vaccine strain (HPV77) of rubella virus: comparison with a wild-type strain (M33).

A full-length cDNA clone for the 24S subgenomic mRNA of the vaccine strain (HPV77) of rubella virus has been isolated from a cDNA library made from the RNAs of infected cells. Starting from the first Met start codon, the 24S mRNA codes for a precursor protein of 1063 amino acids (aa). This precursor encodes a capsid protein of 300 aa, and two envelope proteins, E1 (481 aa) and E2 (282 aa). Both the E1 and E2 proteins are preceded by a stretch of 21 hydrophobic aa, characteristic of a signal peptide, and each has three putative glycosylation sites in the polypeptide chains. Comparison between the structural proteins of the vaccine and the wild-type (wt; M33) strains of rubella virus, revealed that the E2 protein of the vaccine strain differs, in its apparent Mr, by approx. 3 kDa, from the wt strain. The difference could be due to decreased glycosylation of the vaccine strain E2 protein, as revealed by [3H]mannose incorporation studies. Five single-aa changes in the structural proteins occurred during the attenuation process, one each in the capsid and the E1 protein and three in the E2 protein. The change of Thr-412----Ile in the E2 protein results in the loss of a putative glycosylation site at Asn-410, which offers a plausible explanation for decreased glycosylation of the E2 protein from the vaccine strain of rubella virus.

Rubella virus replication: effect of interferons and actinomycin D.

The effect of alpha and gamma interferon (IFN alpha, IFN gamma) and actinomycin D on the expression of wild type rubella virus in African green monkey kidney cells (Vero 76) was studied. Viral protein synthesis in the infected cells was significantly reduced upon treatment of the cells with IFN alpha or IFN gamma, which is accompanied by the reduction in the level of both the (+) stranded and the (-) stranded viral RNAs. The residual rubella viral RNA from interferon-treated cells, however, was structurally intact as judged by Northern blot analysis and in vitro translation. These results suggest that the effect of IFN alpha and IFN gamma on rubella viral protein synthesis is both at the transcriptional and the translational level. The effect of actinomycin D on rubella virus replication was found to be time-dependent. It is much more pronounced during the eclipse phase of the viral growth (first 4 h) than after 8 h at which time actinomycin D had lesser effect. A similar effect on rubella virus replication was observed when alpha-amanitin was used instead of actinomycin D. These results were taken to indicate that during the viral infection, host cell DNA directs the synthesis of a cellular factor(s) which is essential for the viral replication. When the synthesis of this cellular factor(s) is terminated at an early stage of viral infection by actinomycin D or by alpha-amanitin, viral replication is impaired.

Mitogenic effect of polyclonal anti-porcine lymphocyte E-receptor antiserum IgG.

In the present paper we report the mitogenic effect of the sheep anti-porcine lymphocyte E-receptor antiserum IgG(APERIgG) on porcine peripheral T-lymphocytes in vitro. The effect was apparently dose-dependent and not seen in the B-lymphocyte cultures. Kinetic study showed that the maximal 3H-thymidine incorporation, similar to that induced by Con A, occurred on the third day of incubation. Neither F(ab')2 nor Fab fragment of APERIgG was able to induce cell proliferation, indicating that the integrity of IgG molecule was essential for cell response. It was very interesting to note that though there is cross antigenicity between porcine and human E-receptors, no similar effect could be produced by APERIgG in human peripheral lymphocyte cultures under the same experimental conditions, suggesting the existence of minor difference in structure between the porcine and human E-receptors.

Isolation and purification of a small peptide with activity of increasing E-receptor expression from calf thymus.

A small peptide of molecular mass lower than 1,000 daltons was isolated and purified from a crude extract of calf thymus. It has been demonstrated to have the activity of increasing E-rosette formation and E-receptor expression of human and porcine T-lymphocytes with three different in vitro assays. Amino acid composition analysis showed that this peptide consists of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and glycine residues at a molecular ratio of 3:3:2. A hypothesis of a multi-factoral and multi-staged mechanism of regulation of thymocyte differentiation and maturation in the thymus is proposed.

Isolation, purification and biochemical characterization of E-receptors on surfaces of porcine peripheral lymphocytes.

A report on the study of isolation, purification and biochemical characterization of two glycoproteins, designated as Gp1 and Gp2, with E-receptor activity from the surfaces of porcine peripheral lymphocytes is presented. The molecular weights of Gp1 and Gp2 have been found to be 58,000 and 29,000 Daltons, and the isoelectric points 6.8 and 5.5 respectively. N-terminal amino acid residues of Gp1 are glycine and alanine, and that of Gp2 is glycine. Monospecific rabbit anti-Gp1 antiserum shown to inhibit E-rosette formation of porcine lymphocytes has been obtained. The present paper gives for the first time the evidence that the E-receptor of porcine lymphocytes, Gp1 appears to have cross antigenicity with that of human lymphocytes. Further studies of Gp2 in detail and its relationship to Gp1 will be published elsewhere.