Comparison of Calcium Scoring Between 64-Multidetector Computed Tomography and 320-Multidetector Computed Tomography Using a Cardiac Phantom: Achieving Consistent Image Quality With Dose Optimization.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between radiation dose and noise level on various coronary calcium scoring protocols between 64-multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and 320-MDCT. The cardiac QRM phantoms (1 small size and 1 medium size) were used in this study. Lower-dose imaging protocols were proposed for optimization with the parameters of 120 kVp and 10 mAs for small-size phantom (0.336 mSv) in 64-MDCT imaging and small-size phantom (0.2 mSv) in 320-MDCT case, and 120 kVp and 80 mAs for medium-size phantom (2.73 mSv) in 64-MDCT imaging and medium-size phantom (1.58 mSv) in 320-MDCT case. Our results suggest that people can apply lower-dose protocols in the clinical use for early diagnosis of coronary disease without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy.

Antiviral activity of Folium isatidis derived extracts in vitro and in vivo.

Folium isatidis is a native Chinese herbaceous plant widely used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. However, few studies have focused on the leaves of Isatis indigotica. In this report, we isolated a series of four fractions (I-IV) from Folium isatidis and explored the antiviral activity of each tested extract. The extracts were active against a panel of RNA and DNA viruses in vitro, namely influenza A virus (IAV), coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and adenovirus type 7 (Ad-7). Oral administration of 200 mg/kg/d of fraction III in mice exerted strong antiviral effects in viral replication, accompanied by prolonged survival rate, attenuated lung tissue damage as well as significant reductions in pulmonary virus titers and lung index. Our results provide the first biochemical evidence that Folium isatidis and its extracts could be used as potential antiviral agent in the postexposure prophylaxis for multiple viral infections.

Genetic analysis of hantaviruses and their rodent hosts in central-south China.

Hantaan virus (HTNV) and Seoul virus (SEOV) are two major zoonotic pathogens of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Asia. Hubei province, which is located in the central-south China, had been one of the most severe epidemic areas of HFRS. To investigate phylogenetic relationships, genetic diversity and geographic distribution of HTNV and SEOV in their reservoir hosts, a total of 687 rodents were trapped in this area between 2000 and 2009. Sequences of partial S- and M-segments of hantaviruses and mitochondrial D-loop gene from 30 positive samples were determined. Our data indicated that SEOV and HTNV were co-circulating in Hubei. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial S- and M-segment sequences revealed two and three previously undefined lineages of SEOV, and a novel genetic lineage of HTNV, respectively. Four inter-lineage reassortment SEOVs carried by Rattus norvegicus and Apodemus agrarius were observed. It suggests that SEOV may cause spillover infections to A. agrarius naturally. The abundance of the phylogenetic lineages of SEOV suggested that central-south China was a radiation center for SEOVs.

In situ synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica materials embedded in cotton fiber and their CO2 capture properties.

Mesoporous silica/cotton fiber composite materials have been prepared in situ by using pluronics P123 (EO20PO70EO20) as template, tetraethyl orthosilicate as silica source and degreasing cotton as supporter. In order to avoid the hydrolysis of cotton fiber in a strong acidic media during the hydrothermal treatment, two kinds of methods were used to control the acidity of the reaction media. One was to adjust the pH to 5 after self-assembly in a strong acidic media; the other was a two-step route containing the pre-hydrolysis of TEOS and self-assembly in a weak acidic media. The resulting shaped composite materials presented the morphology of cotton fiber, and the silica particles mainly covered the surfaces of cotton fibers. These silica particles possessed a slightly ordered pore structure or a well ordered SBA-15 structure according to the difference in the synthetic methods. After modification with tetraethylenepentamine, these shaped composite materials exhibited considerable CO2 adsorption capacity. The use of cotton fiber has the advantages of shaping the powdery materials, dispersing the silica particles and avoiding the formation of moisture and sticky solid surfaces by overloaded tetraethylenepentamine.

[The study of gene variation and phylogenetic analysis of HPV16 E6 and E7 gene in Hubei, China].

To study the gene variation and the distribution of HPV16 variant in Hubei, China, DNA was extracted from cervical cancer tissue samples. The E6 and E7 genes of HPV16 were amplified and the PCR products were sequenced using E6- and E7-specific primers. Fortyseven cases were found mutations at nucleotide position 178 of HPV16 E6 gene in 80 cervical cancer samples. This mutation resulted in amino acid change from Asp to Glu. The rate of mutation at nucleotide position 178 of E6 gene was 58. 75%. Twenty two cases were found mutations at nucleotide position 647 of HPV16 E7 gene in 31 cervical cancer samples. This mutation resulted in amino acid change from Asn to Ser. The rate of mutation was 70.97%. These results showed that mutations at nucleotide position 178 of E6 gene, nucleotide position 647 of E7 gene of HPV16 in cerveical cancer samples were prevalent in Hubei, China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Asian (As) variants of HPV16 are predominated in Hubei, China. European (Ep) varinats were also found in Samples in Hubei areas. None of Asian American (AA), African-1 (Af-1), African-2 (Af-2) variants of HPV16 was found in this region. Whether Asian (As) variants of HPV16 are more oncogenic and play a much more important role in the progress of cervical cancer than European (Ep) variants is not clear. More sequences of E6 and E7 gene in CIN and normal cervical tissue samples and study of the function of E6 and E7 protein of these HPV16 variants are needed to adress above question.

[Analysis of the relative distribution and gene variation of HPV16 transforming gene at different stages of cervical lesions].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the relative distribution and gene variation of HPV16 transforming gene E6, E7 and E5 at different stages of cervical lesions. METHODS: DNA was extracted from tissue samples of 200 patients with cervical lesions, including 124 cervical cancer, 17 CIN grade I and II, 23 CIN grade III and 36 cervicitis. Then HPV16 E6, E7 and E5 genes were amplified, and part of the E6 and E7 PCR products were sequenced using the HPV16 E6 and E7 specific primers. RESULTS: The positive rate of E6 gene in cervicitis, CINI and CINII, CINIII and cervical cancer was 25.0%, 29.4%, 60.9% and 76.6%, respectively. The positive rate of E7 gene was 16.7%, 41.2%, 43.5% and 61.3%, respectively. The positive rate of E5 gene was 5.6%, 5.9%, 30.4% and 40.3%, respectively. HPV16 E6 gene mutations in Nt 178 were found in 47 case from 80 cervical cancer samples, resulting in amino acid change of Asp to Glu. The mutation rate was 58.8%.Otherwise the mutation rate of E6 178 in cervicitis and CIN I approximately III samples was 25.0% and 31.8%. E7 mutations were found in Nt 647 in 21 cervical samples from 30 cervical cancer samples, resulting in amino acid change of Asn to Ser. The mutation rate was 70.0%. The mutation rate of E6 647 in cervicitis and CINI approximately III samples was 35.0% and 40.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The positive rate of E6 and E7 increase gradually from cervicitis, CINI and CINII, CINIII to cervical cancer. The rate of E5 is relatively lower than that of E6 and E7 gene in cervical tissue samples. These results show that E6 and E7 gene are highly associated with the progress of cervical cancer and E5 genes are lost in the development of cervical cancer. High frequency mutations of HPV16 E6 and E7 gene in E6 178, E7 647 have been found in cervical cancer samples in Hubei province, China. These results approved that the HPV16 variants prevalent in this area are different from the European and African variants.

Fragile X prenatal analyses show full mutation females at high risk for mosaic Turner syndrome: fragile X leads to chromosome loss.

The fragile X mutation is an expansion of a CGG triplet repeat in the 5' untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. Expansion to >200 repeats (the "full mutation") silences FMR1 transcription and leads to the fragile X mental retardation syndrome in males and in some females. It also affects the structure of the mitotic chromosome as evidenced by a folate sensitive fragile site. Isolated cases of 45,X/46,XX (mosaic Turner syndrome) in full mutation females have been reported but an increased prevalence was not apparent from these reports. PCR and Southern analysis of the CGG repeat in 423 prenatal female samples identified 106 full mutation cases. Surprisingly five of these had 45,X/4,6XX mosaicism while none of the other 317 female fetuses did. In two of the five cases >or=50% of the cells were reported to be 45,X and in the other three,

Prevalence of single and multiple human papillomavirus types in cervical cancer and precursor lesions in Hubei, China.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in Hubei, China. METHODS: A total of 112 patients with cervical cancer and 60 CIN II-III samples were obtained from women undergoing biopsy or surgery. HPV and typing were examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. RESULTS: HPV DNA was detected in 105 patients with cervical cancer (93.75%), HPV 16 being detected in 91 (81.25%) cases, and HPV 58 in 7 (6.25%) cases. HPV DNA was detected in 50 patients with CIN II-III (83.33%), HPV 16 being detected in 37 (61.67%) cases, HPV 58 in 5 cases (8.33%). HPV 18 was not common in this study. About 11% cervical cancer and 8.33% CIN II-III specimens exhibited multiple infections (p = 0.79). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of HPV 16 in Hubei, China, deserves attention as it has important implications for the usefulness of vaccine and the choice of diagnostic methods.

Fragile X full mutation alleles composed of few alleles: implications for CGG repeat expansion.

Southern analysis of the FMR1 repeat region has suggested that individuals with the full mutation usually carry a heterogeneous array of FMR1 alleles in somatic tissue that can range from 200 to more than 1,000 repeats. Our studies indicate that this heterogeneity is an artifact generated by ethidium bromide commonly used in Southern analysis. When analyzed in the absence of ethidium bromide, nearly all full mutation individuals carried only one to four major alleles and did not exhibit the heterogeneity often referred to as a "smear" in the literature. Full mutations in chorionic villi, however, exhibited much greater heterogeneity. Nine transmissions from mothers with full mutation alleles to offspring indicated that the full mutations continued to expand in transmission to the next generation. In contrast, analysis of leukocyte DNA from three full mutation males revealed no change in somatic full mutation alleles over many years. Our studies support the hypothesis that the FMR1 CGG repeat instability is limited to very early embryogenesis in the soma. These studies also have clinical importance because the omission of ethidium bromide will facilitate the diagnosis of females with full mutation alleles.

Development of a wide population of chromosome single-segment substitution lines in the genetic background of an elite cultivar of rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Naturally occurring allelic variations underlying complex traits are useful resources for the functional analysis of plant genes. To facilitate the genetic analysis of complex traits and the use of marker-assisted breeding in rice, we developed a wide population consisting of 217 chromosome single-segment substitution lines (SSSLs) using Oryza sativa L. 'Hua-Jing-Xian74' (HJX74), an elite Indica cultivar, as recipient, and 6 other accessions, including 2 Indica and 4 Japonica, as donors. Each SSSL contains a single substituted chromosome segment derived from 1 of the 6 donors in the genetic background of HJX74. The total size of the substituted segments in the SSSL population was 4695.0 cM, which was 3.1 times that of rice genome. To evaluate the potential application of these SSSLs for quantitative trait loci detection, phenotypic variations of the quantitative traits of days to heading and grain length in the population consisting of 210 SSSLs were observed under natural environmental conditions. The results demonstrated that there was a wide range of phenotypic variation in the traits in the SSSL population. These genetic materials will be powerful tools to dissect complex traits into a set of monogenic loci and to assign phenotypic values to different alleles at the locus of interest.

Decreased GABA(A) receptor expression in the seizure-prone fragile X mouse.

The fragile X mental retardation syndrome is due to the transcriptional silence of the fragile X gene, FMR1, and to the resulting loss of the FMR1 product, FMRP. The pathogenesis of the syndrome, however, is not understood. Increased prevalence of childhood seizures is a feature of the fragile X syndrome and increased seizure susceptibility is seen in the fragile X knock out mouse model for this disorder. To investigate the increased seizure susceptibility, we examined GABA(A) receptor expression in the FVB/N fragile X mouse. Western blot analysis revealed that expression of the GABA(A) receptor beta subunit (GABA(A) beta), which is required for receptor function, was reduced in the cortex, hippocampus, diencephalon and brainstem in adult male fragile X mice. Immunohistochemical analysis of brain sections indicated a reduction in GABA(A) beta immunoreactivity. We also found increased expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase, the enzyme responsible for GABA synthesis, in the same regions that showed GABA(A) beta reduction. These results indicate that the absence of Fmrp leads to GABAergic system alterations that could account for the increased seizure susceptibility of the fragile X mouse. These alterations may also be relevant to the seizures and the abnormal behaviors in the human syndrome.