TFP5 peptide, derived from CDK5-activating cofactor p35, provides neuroprotection in early-stage of adult ischemic stroke.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) is a multifaceted protein shown to play important roles in the central nervous system. Abundant evidence indicates that CDK5 hyperactivities associated with neuronal apoptosis and death following ischemic stroke. CDK5 activity increases when its cofactor p35 cleaves into p25 during ischemia. Theoretically, inhibition of CDK5/p25 activity or reduction of p25 would be neuroprotective. TFP5, a modified 24-aa peptide (Lys254-Ala277) derived from p35, was found to effectively inhibit CDK5 hyperactivity and improve the outcomes of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease in vivo. Here, we showed that intraperitoneal injection of TFP5 significantly decreased the size of ischemia in early-stage of adult ischemic stroke rats. Relative to controls, rats treated with TFP5 displayed reduced excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, astrocytes damage, and blood-brain barrier disruption. Our findings suggested that TFP5 might serve as a potential therapeutic candidate for acute adult ischemic stroke.

TFP5 is comparable to mild hypothermia in improving neurological outcomes in early-stage ischemic stroke of adult rats.

AIM: We compared the efficacy of a modified truncated 24-aa peptide (TFP5), derived from the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5)-activating cofactor p35, with mild hypothermia (MH), and determined whether the efficacy of TFP5 is affected by MH. METHODS: Ischemic stroke was induced in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats for 2h. Immediately after initiating reperfusion, TFP5, MH, or the combination of the two were administrated. 48h after reperfusion, neurological outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Rats that received either MH, TFP5, or the combined treatment showed smaller brain infarct size than normothermia control (NT), and there was no apparent difference among these three treatment groups. The neurological deficit was significantly improved only by the combined treatment. MH or TFP5 ameliorated the blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption in ischemic regions with similar efficacy, whereas the combination of them had a trend toward better effect. Besides, the cleavage of p35 into p25 and apoptosis in ischemic regions was inhibited by TFP5 or the combination, but not by MH alone. CONCLUSIONS: TFP5 is comparable to MH in improving neurological outcomes in early-stage adult ischemic stroke. When TFP5 is given along with MH, less neurological deficit tends to be achieved.

[Study on the Determination of the Maturity Level of Tobacco Leaf Based on In-Situ Spectral Measurement].

Discriminating the maturity levels of tobacco leaf with in-situ measurement can effectively reduce loss rate and quality decline due to misjudgment of the maturity levels of tobacco leaf. In the meantime, the regular way we use to determine the maturity levels of tobacco, which is depend on tobacco leaf age and judgment of tobacco grower, lacks of objectivity. So this paper proposed a method to identify maturity levels of tobacco leaf by using spectral feature parameters combined with the method of support vector machine (SVM). In this paper, a total of 351 tobacco leaf samples collected in 5 maturity levels including immature (M1), unripe (M2), mature (M3), ripe (M4), and mellow (M5) determined by experts were scanned by field spectroscope(ASD FieldSpec3) with in-situ measurement for getting their reflectance spectrum. Through spectral analysis we found that the spectrum of tobacco leaf with different levels of maturity can be distinguished in visible band but not easily be distinguished in near-infrared band, so we use the tobacco leaf spectrum in visible band as the sensitive bands to analyze and model. To find the most suitable input variables for modeling, we use continuous spectrum (350~780 nm), feature band (496~719 nm) and spectral feature parameters (the reflectance of green peak, location of green peak, first order differential value of red-edge and blue-edge, red-edge and blue-edge area, location of red-edge and blue-edge) in visible region as the input variables, and using these three kinds of input variables in the method of SVM to establish a discriminant model for identifying maturity levels of tobacco leaf. The result shows that, the model using spectral feature parameters gains the accuracy rate of 98.85%. While the accuracy rates of other two models were 90.80% and 93.10%, respectively. The conclusion was drawn that using spectral feature parameters in visible spectrum as the input variables in SVM can improve the model performance. It is feasible to use this method to identify maturity level of tobacco leaf with in-situ measurement.

[Body mass index correlates with the level of serum prostate-specific antigen in men in Fangcheng area of Guangxi].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in males in the Fangcheng area of Guangxi. METHODS: We reviewed the health examination data of males collected from September 2009 to December 2011, including their height, weight, BMI, and serum PSA level. The subjects were categorized as underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2), normal (BMI 18.5-22.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 23.0-27.4 kg/m2), and obese (BMI > or = 27.5 kg/m2), and divided into four age groups: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and > or = 50 years old. The PSA levels were stratified by the BMI category for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2,397 men were included in this study, with a mean age of (37.4 +/- 11.0) yr, BMI of (23.3 +/- 3.4) kg/m2, and PSA level of (0.98 +/- 0.93) microg/L. There were significant differences in the age-associated PSA levels in the groups with BMI < 23 (0.81 microg/L) and > or = 23 kg/m2 (0.78 microg/L) (P < 0.05), as well as in those with BMI < 27.5 (0.81 microg/L) and > or = 27. 5 kg/m2 (0.70 microg/L) (P < 0.05). In the 30-39 and 40-49 age groups, the PSA levels were significantly decreased with the increase of BMI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Increased BMI is associated with decreased PSA in men <50 years old in the Fangcheng area of Guangxi, which should be taken into consideration while determining whether to carry out prostate biopsy as part of early prostate cancer detection in young men with marginal PSA levels.

Guillain-Barré syndrome following sepsis after stereotactic aspiration for spontaneous pontine hemorrhage.

A 52-year-old female was treated with CT-guided stereotactic aspiration for acute spontaneous pontine hemorrhage. On postoperative day 7, the patient was complicated by Acinetobacter baumannii sepsis. As sepsis was stabilized, she developed flaccid weakness and autonomic dysfunction on postoperative day 21. Investigations including neurophysiological studies and cerebral spinal fluid analysis prompted the diagnosis of acute motor axonal neuropathy, a variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Intravenous administration of immunoglobulin resolved her potentially life-threatening autonomic instability. At 1-year follow-up, she was able to stand with significant assistance. Although Guillain-Barré syndrome rarely occurs, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of this potentially life-threatening consequence after cranial surgery with severe respiratory infection.

[Value of lower-limb short latency somatosensory evoked potentials in predicting early death in patients with massive cerebral infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of lower-limb short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SLSEP) in predicting early death in patients with massive cerebral infarction. METHODS: Forty-eight patients of massive cerebral infarction were admitted in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between March 2008 and March 2009, and Glasgow-Pittsburgh coma scale (GPCS) and SLSEP were recorded and graded within 24 h after admission. The patients were divided into survival and death groups (including brain death) according to their short-term prognosis. The correlations of SLSEP and GPCS to the mortality were assessed. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between SLSEP and the mortality in patients with massive cerebral infarction (r=0.484, P<0.001). The positive predictive value of the SLSEP grade 3 to death was 100%, and the patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (mMCAI) appeared to have a 100% mortality. CONCLUSION: SLSEP grade 3 can be a highly specificity in predicting early death in patients with massive cerebral infarction, and it is also of value in determining the timing of surgical intervention of mMCAI.

[Preparation and identification of anti-human epididymal sperm protein P34H monoclonal antibody].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and identify anti-human epididymal sperm protein P34H monoclonal antibody (McAb). METHODS: The previously purified recombinant P34H protein was used as an antigen to immunize BALB/c mouse. Cell strains secreting anti-P34H McAb were established by hybridoma technique and then ascitic fluid-type McAb prepared. The sensitivity and specificity of McAb were detected by ELISA and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: One strain (2C4) of IgG1 Kappa anti-P34H McAb was harvested. The titer detected by ELISA technique was 1:10(3) - 1:10(5). Western blot of healthy human sperm samples and purified recombinant P34H antigen probed with the prepared McAb were immunoreactive at 34,000 and 27,000, respectively. CONCLUSION: Anti-P34H McAb has been prepared successfully by the above methods, which may provide a powerful tool for exploring the relationship between P34H and male fertility.