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@#<b>Objective</b> To measure the specificactivity of natural and synthetic radionuclides in the environmental soil of Panjin, China and determine the content of radionuclides in the surface soil, and to conduct a scientific assessment of the radiation health risks of residents in this area. <b>Methods</b> Thirty-one surface soil samples were collected within the jurisdiction of Panjin, and a high-purity germanium detector was used for γ spectrum analysis to obtain the content of radionuclides and the current environmental radioactivity level. The two independent samples mean <i>t</i>-test was used to compare the specific activity data of radionuclides in soil samples between Panjin and Liaoning Province or China. <b>Results</b> The meanspecific activities of natural radionuclides <sup>238</sup>U, <sup>226</sup>Ra, <sup>232</sup>Th, <sup>40</sup>K, and synthetic radionuclide <sup>137</sup>Cs in the surface soil samples of Panjin were 18.7 Bq/kg, 19.6 Bq/kg, 23.5 Bq/kg, 604.6 Bq/kg, and 0.9 Bq/kg, respectively. <b>Conclusion</b> The specific activities of natural and synthetic radionuclides in the surface soil samples of Panjin Area at the background level, causing a very low health risk to the people in this area.
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BACKGROUND: Bone tissue engineering has provided a novel ideal for treating bone defects in clinic. This study is the first to combine traditional Chinese medicine with the nanostructures of tissue-engineered scaffolds in order to explore and construct a new bone tissue substitute material for the treatment of bone defects. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the osteogenic activity of icariin (ICA)/hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) composite scaffolds. METHODS: A HA/PLGA composite scaffold was prepared by physical blending of HA and PLGA, and was then soaked in ICA solution of different concentrations to obtain the HA/ICA/PLGA scaffold. Rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were used to evaluate the cell adhesion, proliferation, osteogenesis and cytotoxicity of the composite scaffold. The cell adhesion, proliferation and cytotoxicity were detected by MTT method. The activities of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin were detected by ELISA. The expression levels of osteogenic genes and proteins were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR and western blot assay, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Adding appropriate amount of HA into PLGA could improve the mechanical strength of the scaffold, and 10% HA had the best effect with tensile strength of (1.67±0.37) MPa, and compression modulus of (4.17±1.62) MPa, and nanostructure would be formed on the surface of the scaffold. The nanostructure could promote the adhesion of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on the surface of the scaffold. ICA did not affect the proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on the composite scaffold. However, the HA/PLGA composite scaffold soaked in 1.00 µmol/L ICA aqueous solution had the optimal osteogenic differentiation function, and the expression levels of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, osteogenic related genes and proteins (Runx-2 and COL I) were increased. The ICA/HA/PLGA scaffold had no cytotoxicity. These results suggest that HA (10%)/ICA (1.00 µmol/L)/PLGA scaffold has good mechanical properties, osteogenesis and biocompatibility, which has the potential to be a favorable scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
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Objective@#To investigate the role of lectin-like Ox-LDL receptor-1( LOX-1) in the activation and oxidative stress of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cell(HUVEC) after human cytomegalovirus(HCMV) infection.@*Methods@#HUVEC were divided into four groups: HCMV, Control, Carrageenan, and HCMV+ Carrageenan. After HCMV AD169 infection, the supernatant of the culture was extracted, and cells were lysed. The levels of LOX-1 mRNA, intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) mRNA and vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) in HUVEC were measured by real-time PCR. And the content of nitrogen monoxidum(NO) of the supernatant was detected by nitrate reductase method accordingly.@*Results@#24 h after infection, the mRNA expression of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in HUVEC of HCMV infected group increased obviously compared to control, and NO quantity increased accordingly. The mRNA expression of LOX-1, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and the quantity of NO decreased after adding the LOX-1 inhibitor carrageenan. There was significant difference between groups(P<0.05).@*Conclusions@#HCMV may increase the mRNA expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and quantity of NO by upregulating the mRNA expresion of LOX-1, which may contribute to the formation of a therosclerosis(AS).
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Objective@#To investigate the role of the activation and oxidative stress of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) after HCMV infection.@*Methods@#HUVECs were divided into four groups: control, HCMV(+ ), after HCMV AD169 infection, and the supernatant of the culture was extracted, and the cells were lysed. The levels of vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in HUVEC were measured by real-time PCR. And the content of nitrogen monoxide (NO) of the supernatant was detected by nitrate reductasemethod accordingly.@*Results@#Twenty-four hours after infection, the mRNA expression of VCAM-1 in HUVECs of HCMV infected group increased obviously compared to control, and NO quantity increased accordingly and time-dependently. There was significant difference between groups(P<0.01).@*Conclusions@#HCMV increases the mRNA expression of VCAM-1 and quantity of NO, which may contribute to the formation of AS.
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Objective@#To search for biomarkers for human familial prion disease.@*Methods@#Two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) proteomic analysis has been performed in frontal lobe tissues of 3 patients suffering from human familial prion disease (PrP) and 3 age-and sex-matched patients suffering from sudden death due to heart failure without neurological disease.@*Results@#The maps revealed 14 polypeptide chains differentially modulated in the PrP samples, among those, 7 could be identified upon digestion and MALDI-TOF/MS analysis, of which 6 appeared to be up-regulated, 1 being down-regulated.@*Conclusions@#We highlight Galectin-1(Gal-1), ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2), ubiquitin, Rab-interacting lysosomes protein-like protein 1 (RILPL-1) profillin 2 (PFN2), in the differential map. These proteins are related to neurogenesis, the clearance of misfolded proteins, stasis of calium channel, myoclonus and so on. These proteins are potential biomarkers or targets for treatment of prion disease.
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Normal bacteria purification method was used in this study. Pseudomonas trivialis and Neurospora te-trasperma were screened from residues of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The fermentation conditions and flocculating function were also studied. The results showed that the selected strains grow well in the residues of TCM and their products can flocculate kaolin suspension solution. Based on these, we explored effects of various factors on the flocculated results in order to reveal the best fermentation condition among different combinations.
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The neurovascular unit (NVU) consists of neurons,gllal cells and microvessels,etc.There were complex interactions among the various cellular components,which form as a uniform entirety preferably.Anong the various cellular components of NVU,the signal transduction occurred disorders during cerebral ischemia,resulting in neuronal and extracellular ratrix destruction,and thus occurring cerebral infarction and hemorrhagic transformation.Therefore,the treatment of ischemic sttroke should be based on the protection of the overall function of NVU.This article describes the changes and protection of NVU after cerebral ischemia.
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The neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia is one of the research hotspots in the field of neuroscience.This article mainly expounds the advances in research on neurogenesis from the main processes,regulatory factors,signal pathways and microenvironment as well as how to promote neurogenesis following cerebral ischemia.Our purpose is to provide new treatment ideas for the recovery of neurological function following stoke.
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Objective To investigate the clinical presentation,diagnosis,and surgical management of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis.Methods One case of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis in a previously healthy 17-year-old female related to the development of NMDA receptor autoantibodies triggered by an ovarian teratoma was reported.The related literature was reviewed and the clinical feature was summarized.Results Removal of the ovarian teratoma combined with intravenous immuneglobulin and corticosteroid proved curative with eventual resolution of the paraneoplastic disease process and associated psychiatric symptoms.Conclusion Increasingly,reports of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis associated with ovarian teratomas,as well as a novel assay to measure these antibodies suggest an etiology for this disease process that may be amenable to prompt surgical excision.
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Objective To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of zonisamide (ZNS) as add-on therapy in patients with refractory partial seizures.Methods In this Chinese muiticenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-contrclled trial, ZNS was compared with placebo add-on therapy in 217 patients (intent-to treat (ITT) population) with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures.All patients entered a 3-month baseline period followed by a 4-week titration interval and a 12-week maintenance period.The starting dose of ZNS group was 100 mg/d, increased by 100 mg/d every week and reached the goal of 400 mg/d.The main outcome was measured by the median of the percentage of decreased seizure frequency.The secondary ouwomes points included the percentage of patients who had seizure attacks decreased by more than 50%,and adverse events.Results The median of the percentage of decreased seizure frequency in ZNS group was 33.33%, and the placebo group was 0.Thirty-eight patients (34.23%) experienced more than 50% reduction in the seizure frequency in ZNS group, compared with 19.81% of patients (21 cases) in the placebo group (χ2 =5.7159,P =0.0168) ; Moreover, 13 (11.71%) patients in ZNS group and 5 patients in placebo group were seizure free, 25 patients in ZNS group and 16 patients in placebo group who had seizure attacks decreased by more than 50%.The availability rate in ZNS group was higher than placebo group (34.23% vs 19.81%, U=2.4701, P=0.0135).The most common adverse events in ZNS group were drowsiness, fatigue, decreased appetite, gastrointestinal complaints, insomnia and constipation.Conclusion Zonisamide treatment was generally well tolerated and was associated with significant reductions in seizure frequency as adjunctive treatment for partial-onset seizures.
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@#Objective To analyze the instruments for post stroke fatigue, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)，Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) and Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS). Methods The FSS，CIS and FIS were applied in 214 cases with cerebral infarction. They were combined together at the (sub)scale level, and evaluated with Mokken Scale Analysis for Polytomous Items, for validity and reliability. Results and Conclusion Three scales were and The combined scale proved to be acceptable (H>0.5). 3 components were extracted in factor analysis, and the their total cumulative contribution was 77.504%, with reliability (α) of 0.8097，0.7094 and 0.8019 respectively. FSS put emphasis on the fatigue experiences of stroke patients, CIS on the influence of fatigue on, and FIS on the social function.
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Objective To detect the expression of TGF-β1 mRNA and ERβwt mRNA in peripheral blood monoanclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and their relationship with pathogenesis of CFS. Methods Fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR (FQ-RT-PCR) was used to examine TGF-β1 mRNA and ERβwt mRNA expression of peripheral blood monocytes in 63 cases with CFS,50 cases with other diseases, and 50 healthy controls. The gene expression levels were calculated with the formula △Ct=Ct(target gene) - Ct(internal control). Results The mean TGF-β1 mRNA expression of CFS patients (△Ct = 3.27 ± 0. 58) was higher than that of disease controls (△Ct = 4. 54 ± 1.05, t = 8. 11, P <0.01) and that of healthy controls (△Ct = 4. 37 ± 1.00, t = 7. 02, P < 0. 01). The mean ERβwt mRNA expression of CFS patients (△Ct =9. 34 ±0. 92) was lower than that of disease controls(△Ct =7.12±0. 47, t = 15.44 ,P < 0. 01) and that of healthy controls(△Ct = 7. 10 ±0. 48, t = 15.47, P < 0. 01). Conclusions The TGF-β1 mRNA and ER βwt mRNA expression levels of PBMCs are siguificantly elevated in patients with CFS. It may be implicated in the pathogenesis of CSF.
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@# Objective To explore the correlation between fatigue and depression after cerebral infarction. Methods 112 cases were assessed with Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), depression dimension of Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90d) and Checklist Individual Strength (CIS). The data were analyzed with Spearman correlation analysis. Results The correlation coefficient between SDS and SCL-90d was 0.822 (P<0.01), and were 0.671 (P<0.01) and 0.640 (P<0.01) between CIS and SDS, CIS and SCL-90d, respectively. Conclusion The fatigue and depression after cerebral infarction is correlated.
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@# Objective To introduce Checklist Individual Strength(CIS)into China,and evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods CIS was translated into Chinese language and the reverse translation was done by several experts.Validity and reliability were implemented in 214 cases with cerebral infarction.Results 4 components were extracted in factor analysis,and the total cumulative contribution was 78.984%.By correlation analysis,the twenty items were divided into 4 domains:subjective feeling of fatigue,concentration,motivation and physical activity,it was same as in the English version.Cronbach α of four domains were 0.9256,0.9072,0.7598,and 0.9157,respectively.Conclusion Psychometric properties(reliabilities and validities)of CIS Chinese version is met with satisfaction and seems to be adaptable to Chinese cerebral infarction patients.
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@#Poststroke fatigue is not a single etiology disorder.As a kind of central fatigue,the basal ganglia,thalamencephalon,limbic system and the high grade cortical area man be involved,but none of them can be identified as the fatigue area.Some literature suggest the interrelationship between the proinflammatory cytokines,such as IL-1,TNF-α,IL-6,and fatigue.Since the pathologic process of stroke involving cytokines,the researchers proposed that poststroke fatigue may be related to sickness behavior promoted by proinflammatory cytokines ultimately.The physical fatigue may be associated with the proinflammatory cytokines's activation to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis,and the psychological fatigue may involve that proinflammatory cytokines decreased the clearance of extracellular glutamate by astroglia.
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Even though chemistry is now in place that potentially allows high coupling efficiencies to be attained, successful coupling is usually a challenge when so-called "difficult sequences" is encountered in peptide synthesis. Some factors that affect the coupling efficiency have been discussed and related methods to overcome those obstacles have been introduced in present review. All suggestions proposed here are valuable and also feasible to improve the coupling completeness in both liquid-phase or solid-phase peptide synthesis.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of HSV-1 infection on the viability of the cultured chicken embryo telencephalon neurons in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Primary culture model of chicken embryo of telencephalon neurons was established. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was propagated in Vero cells and viral titer was measured by plaque forming method. Inverted microscope, transmission electron microscope, MTT cell viability and DNA agarose gels electrophoresis were used to evaluate the effect of HSV-1 infection on the neurons.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At 24, 48, 72 hours post infection the viability of the neurons decreased by 25%, 56%, 97% as compared with the control group. Morphological changes and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis showed a necrotic effect.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>HSV-1 infection induced a remarkable decrease on the viability of neurons by necrosis rather than apoptosis.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Chick Embryo , Chlorocebus aethiops , Herpes Simplex , Pathology , Virology , Herpesvirus 1, Human , In Vitro Techniques , Necrosis , Neurons , Pathology , Telencephalon , Cell Biology , Vero Cells , Virus CultivationABSTRACT
Objective To explore the clinical and imaging features of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome(RPLES).Methods The data of clinic five cases with RPLES were analyzed retrospectively.Results The primary diseases in this group were hypertension for one case,uraemia for three cases and lupus nephropathy for another.Clinical features of five patients include acute onset of hypertension,headache with vomiting.Neurological symptoms were conscious disturbance,seizures(in 5 cases)and visual disorder(in 3 cases).The movement of limbs were normal.The abnormal laboratery data was renal inadequacy in 5 cases.The findings of imaging of all cases included bilateral white matter of parietal and occipital lobe abnormalities,which appeared as large areas of low density on CT scan,hypo-intense in T1 and hyper-intense in T2 on MRI scan.Four cases presented clinical symptoms improvement in a short time and radiological recovery obviously after anti-hypertensive and anhydration therapy.One patient died caused on brain herniation.Conclusions Clinical features of RPLES is brain damage associated with malignant hypertension or the use of immunosuppressive agents.The most important pathogenesis is considered to be failure of the self regulation of cerebral vascular circulation.The imaging findings are bilateral symmetry cortical and subcortical edema in the posterior areas of the brain.Most patients can be recovery by timely therapy,otherwise the irreversible neuronal injury even death can be also found in very few serious cases.
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Objective To confirm the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) antigen and DNA in intracranial arterial walls and the association of the virus with the development of atherosclerosis in patients with atherosclerotic cerebral infarction Methods The subjects of this study were divided into two groups, the atherosclerosis group and the control group All patients were autopsied within 12 hours after death During autopsy, samples from intracranial arteries were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded All sections were routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and observed on the presence of atherosclerotic plaques The atherosclerosis group was subdivided into grade Ⅰ～Ⅱ group and grade Ⅲ～Ⅳ group according to the degrees of arterial lumen stenosis Only those vessel walls without signs of atheroma formation were included in the control group HCMV antigens and DNA were detected by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) respectively The monoclonal antibody was against HCMV early (E) antigen Probes and primers were derived from major immediate early (MIE) genomic regions of cytomegalovirus strain AD169 As a positive control for the reactions, tissues from human small intestine membrane known to be positive for HCMV by H&E staining were used Results There were 18 of 35 atherosclerotic arteries defined as grade Ⅰ～Ⅱ atherosclerosis, and the rest were grade Ⅲ～Ⅳ The DNA of HCMV was found in 14/35 and 2/20 of arterial walls with atherosclerosis and negative control group by in situ hybridization, in 21/35 and 6/20 by PCR, and HCMV antigen in 12/35 and 2/20 by immunohistochemical studies respectively, and significant difference was be found among them ( P =0 018, P =0 032, P =0 047) There was also significant difference between grade Ⅲ～Ⅳ and grade Ⅰ～Ⅱ atherosclerosis by all the above three types of studies ( P =0 027, P =0 009, P =0 003) Conclusion Our results revealed that HCMV could be found in the atherosclerotic arterial walls, and it is suggested that the arterial walls might be the potential sites of existence of the virus We also postulate that there might be an association between the HCMV DNA and antigens in intracranial arterial walls and atherosclerotic plaques