On the effects of Fusarium toxin contaminated wheat and wheat chaff on nutrient utilisation and turnover of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in vitro (Rusitec).

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of Fusarium toxin contaminated wheat and wheat chaff (mycotoxin diet) on nutrient degradability and the metabolism of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON) using the rumen simulations technique (Rusitec). A 6 day application period with control wheat and wheat chaff (control diet) was followed by an 8 day sampling phase. During this time three fermenters received the mycotoxin diet (64.9 mg DON/kg dry matter (DM) and 500 microg ZON/kg DM) and the remaining fermenters served as the controls (1.0mg DON/kg DM and 6 microg ZON/kg DM). Feed residues of the bags and samples of the effluent liquids were pooled per fermenter during the last 8 days of the experiment. Additionally, effluents of the mycotoxin fermenters were taken 6, 12 and 24h after the morning feeding on the first day of the sampling phase. The degradation of organic matter (OM; P<0.05), neutral detergent fibre (NDF; P<0.01) and protein (P<0.001) were increased by administration the Fusarium contaminated diet which was accompanied by an increased ammonia concentration (P<0.01) and increased butyrate (P<0.01), isobutyrate (P<0.01) and isovalerate (P<0.05) values of the mycotoxin effluents in relation to the controls. High proportions of ingested DON of 90% (85-93%) and ingested ZON of 93% (80-104%) were recovered at the pooled feed residues and effluents in form of DON and de-epoxy DON, and ZON and alpha-ZOL after administering the Fusarium toxin contaminated feed. While adsorption of DON as DON and de-epoxy DON in the feed particles was only minor (5%), a higher amount of 38% of ingested ZON was recovered as ZON and alpha-ZOL at the feed residues. The total recovery of DON plus de-epoxy DON in effluents as a percentage of DON intake reached 8%, 9% and 22% of ingested DON at 6, 12 and 24h after application of the contaminated diet the first time, whereby the recovery of de-epoxy DON as percentage of DON intake was only 5% at 24h. Concentrations of ZON and metabolites were lower than detection limits in the time dependent effluent samples.     

Concerning the differentiability of the energy function in vector quantization algorithms.

The adaptation rule of Vector Quantization algorithms, and consequently the convergence of the generated sequence, depends on the existence and properties of a function called the energy function, defined on a topological manifold. Our aim is to investigate the conditions of existence of such a function for a class of algorithms including the well-known 'K-means' and 'Self-Organizing Map' algorithms. The results presented here extend several previous studies and show that the energy function is not always a potential but at least the uniform limit of a series of potential functions which we call a pseudo-potential. It also shows that a large number of existing vector quantization algorithms developed by the Artificial Neural Networks community fall into this class. The framework we define opens the way to studying the convergence of all the corresponding adaptation rules at once, and a theorem gives promising insights in that direction.     

关节镜辅助下的同种异体半月板移植(附4例术后20个月以上随访报告)

目的:介绍同种异体半月板移植并总结4例关节镜辅助下的同种异体半月板移植的初步临床效果。材料和方法:2005年6月～7月,4例半月板切除术后的患者接受关节镜辅助的同种异体半月板移植手术,其中男性3例、女性1例,平均年龄30.78±7.71岁(21.5～38.5岁)。3例内侧半月板移植,1例外侧半月板移植。随访采用症状询问,体征检查,IKDC、Lysholm和Tegner评分及KT2000测量关节稳定性的方法。4例患者均每半年进行一次X线片及MRI检查,分别观察膝关节的关节间隙改变及移植半月板状态。对所得结果,因病例只有4例,故只进行数据描述,不进行统计学分析。结果:对4例患者均进行了平均21.80±0.81(20～22)个月的随访。所有患者随访时关节活动度均正常,均无明显的膝关节疼痛和肿胀,原来长时间活动后被切除半月板的间室不适完全消失。患者可以胜任日常活动和体育锻炼,无并发症出现。IKDC、Lysholm、Tegner评分均较术前明显提高。KT2000测量发现术后膝关节的稳定性有所改善。X线片检查提示术后患者关节间隙无明显变化。每半年一次的MRI检查提示移植半月板术后1年时替代存活已经很好。结论:关节镜辅助下的同种异体半月板移植安全可行,半月板移植可缓解半月板切除后出现的关节疼痛、肿胀等症状,促进关节功能恢复并使膝关节的稳定性有所改善。     

Vectorization of morpholino oligomers by the (R-Ahx-R)4 peptide allows efficient splicing correction in the absence of endosomolytic agents.

The efficient and non-toxic nuclear delivery of steric-block oligonucleotides (ON) is a prerequisite for therapeutic strategies involving splice correction or exon skipping. Cationic cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) have given rise to much interest for the intracellular delivery of biomolecules, but their efficiency in promoting cytoplasmic or nuclear delivery of oligonucleotides has been hampered by endocytic sequestration and subsequent degradation of most internalized material in endocytic compartments. In the present study, we compared the splice correction activity of three different CPPs conjugated to PMO(705), a steric-block ON targeted against the mutated splicing site of human beta-globin pre-mRNA in the HeLa pLuc705 splice correction model. In contrast to Tat48-60 (Tat) and oligoarginine (R(9)F(2)) PMO(705) conjugates, the 6-aminohexanoic-spaced oligoarginine (R-Ahx-R)(4)-PMO(705) conjugate was able to promote an efficient splice correction in the absence of endosomolytic agents. Our mechanistic investigations about its uptake mechanisms lead to the conclusion that these three vectors are internalized using the same endocytic route involving proteoglycans, but that the (R-Ahx-R)(4)-PMO(705) conjugate has the unique ability to escape from lysosomial fate and to access to the nuclear compartment. This vector, which has displays an extremely low cytotoxicity, the ability to function without chloroquine adjunction and in the presence of serum proteins. It thus offers a promising lead for the development of vectors able to enhance the delivery of therapeutic steric-block ON in clinically relevant models.     

体针联合静滴康体多治疗泛发性神经性皮炎50例

目的:观察体针联合康体多治疗神经性皮炎的的疗效。方法:86例患者随机分为两组,治疗组采用体针针刺(双合谷、曲池、三阴交等)联合静滴康体多注射液,对照组单纯采用静滴康体多注射液。结果:治疗组总有效率100%,对照组88.9%,有显著性差异(P<0.05)。提示:本方法具有活血通经功效,可使肥厚苔藓化的皮损逐步变得光滑有弹性。     

Interleukin-1beta and TNF-alpha act in synergy to inhibit longitudinal growth in fetal rat metatarsal bones.

We hypothesized that pro-inflammatory cytokines can act locally in the growth plate to impair longitudinal growth. In a model of cultured fetal rat metatarsal bones, we found that IL-1beta and TNF-alpha act in synergy to inhibit longitudinal growth, an effect linked to decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis of growth plate chondrocytes. IGF-I could partially reverse all these effects. INTRODUCTION: Children with chronic inflammatory conditions, such as Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, experience impaired longitudinal growth. The inflammatory process itself, which includes upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, is believed to be at least partly responsible for the poor growth in these patients. This study aimed to clarify whether these cytokines can act locally in the growth plate to suppress longitudinal growth and whether any negative effects can be reversed by insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of cytokines on longitudinal bone growth were studied in fetal (day E20) rat metatarsal bones kept in culture. After a 7-day culture, the bones were sectioned, and chondrocyte proliferation was assessed by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and apoptosis by TUNEL. RESULTS: When added separately, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha impaired longitudinal bone growth only at a high concentration (100 ng/ml each; p < 0.05 versus control). In contrast, when added in combination, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha potently inhibited growth at far lower concentrations (from 3 ng/ml each; p < 0.001 versus control) and also decreased chondrocyte proliferation and increased apoptosis. Growth failure induced by the combination of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml each) could be counteracted by anti-IL-1beta (100 ng/ml; p < 0.001), anti-TNF-alpha (100 ng/ml; p < 0.001), or IGF-I (100 ng/ml; p < 0.01). IL-6 did not affect longitudinal growth even when added in combination with IL-1beta or TNF-alpha (10 ng/ml each). CONCLUSIONS: We show that IL-1beta and TNF-alpha act in synergy to locally suppress longitudinal growth, an effect that can be partially reversed by IGF-I. Although growth hormone (GH)/IGF-I may improve longitudinal growth in children with chronic inflammatory diseases, our results suggest that the inflammatory process itself must be targeted to achieve normal growth.     

显微内窥镜下治疗腰椎间盘突出症和腰椎管狭窄症

目的探讨显微内窥镜(MED)治疗腰椎间盘突出症和腰椎管狭窄症的临床效果。方法MED下切除增生内聚的关节突、肥厚的黄韧带及突出的椎间盘，彻底解除对硬膜、神经根的压迫。结果随访324例，按中华骨科学脊柱学组腰背痛手术评定标准，优297例，良14例，差13例，疗效优良率达96．0％，结论MED损伤小、恢复快、疗效好。     

降血糖药用植物资源概述

糖尿病是威胁人类健康的四大致死疾病之一.据统计目前全球有2型糖尿病患者1.3亿,我国达4 000万人,预测到2025年,全球将增至3亿人,目前尚无根治办法.近年来,医药界在降血糖药用植物研究方面做了诸多工作,现作一概述.