Locus assignment of two alpha-globin structural mutants from the Caribbean basin: alpha Fort de France (alpha 45 Arg) and alpha Spanish Town (alpha 27 Val)

Two alpha-globin structural mutants were mapped to their encoding loci by in vitro translation of hybrid-selected alpha 1- and alpha 2-globin mRNA. The more highly expressed mutant, alpha Spanish Town (alpha 27Val), is encoded at the alpha 2 locus and the less expressed mutant, alpha Fort de France (alpha 45Arg), is encoded at the alpha 1 locus. These results further define the distribution of alpha-globin structural mutations within the alpha-globin gene cluster and substantiate the dominant role of the alpha 2-globin locus in alpha- globin expression.     

茶多酚治疗慢性酒精性肝损伤的实验研究

目的 建立酒精性肝病大鼠模型,观察茶多酚对酒精性肝病大鼠血清氨基转移酶活性和肝脏病理变化的影响,探讨茶多酚对酒精性肝损伤的防治作用。 方法 SD大鼠分成3组:酒精组(酒精7g·kg-1·d-1灌胃)、茶多酚组(酒精7g·kg-1·d-1 茶多酚0.25g·kg-1·d-1灌胃)和对照组(等渗盐水灌胃)。各组分别于4周末、12周末和24周末处死大鼠留取肝脏标本,用于HE染色和Masson染色。 结果 酒精组大鼠血清氧基转移酶水平较对照组升高,茶多酚组大鼠与酒精组相比,其值有明显降低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。HE染色显示酒精组大鼠肝细胞浆出现不同程度的脂肪变性,小叶各带可见不同程度的点、灶状或片状坏死,24周大鼠可见桥接坏死。Masson三色染色可见24周大鼠汇管区边缘有绿染胶原纤维包绕增生,肝窦中可见绿染胶原纤维分布。茶多酚组肝脂肪变和炎症程度轻于酒精组,未发现桥接坏死。 结论 茶多酚对酒精性肝损伤具有一定的保护作用。     

Effect of sumac extract on serum oxidative status,RANKL/OPG system and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis in rats

Objectives

Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) is widely used spice which has several properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. The purpose of this animal study was to evaluate the effects of sumac extract on levels of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression, serum oxidative status, and alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis.

Material and Methods

Twenty-four Wistar rats were separated into three groups: non-ligated (NL, n=8), ligature only (LO, n=8), and ligature and treated with sumac extract (S, n=8) (20 mg/kg per day for 11 days). A 4/0 silk suture was placed around the mandibular right first molars subgingivally; after 11 days, the rats were sacrificed, and alveolar bone loss was histometrically measured. The detection of RANKL and OPG were immunohistochemically performed. Levels of serum total antioxidant status (TAS)/total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) were also analyzed.

Results

Alveolar bone loss was significantly greater in the LO group compared to the S and NL groups (p<0.05). The number of inflammatory cell infiltrate (ICI) and osteoclasts in the LO group was significantly higher than that of the NL and S groups (p<0.05). The number of osteoblasts in the LO and S groups was significantly higher than that of the NL group (p<0.05). There were significantly more RANKL-positive cells in the LO group than in the S and NL groups (p<0.05). OPG-positive cells were higher in S group than in LO and NL groups (p<0.05). TOS and OSI levels were significantly reduced in S group compared to LO group (P<0.05) and TAS levels were similar in S and NL group (p>0.05).

Conclusions

The present study showed that systemic administration of sumac extract may reduce alveolar bone loss by affecting RANKL/OPG balance, TOS and OSI levels in periodontal disease in rats.     

超声对甲状腺术后瘢痕组织的诊断应用

甲状腺术后瘢痕组织是甲状腺局部分切除术后由于手术方式及缝线填充而形成的组织,甲状腺术后瘢痕组织形成及其发生发展过程同一般的组织损伤修复病理过程一样,为渐进老化阶段的结缔组织,其内小血管稀少,胶原纤维增多[1]。由于甲状腺术后瘢痕组织其质地较硬,活动性差,超声声像图上表现缺乏典型特征,与癌灶极其相似,因此鉴别较困难。本文将介绍超声对于甲状腺术后的随诊应用,分析甲状腺术后瘢痕组织的超声检查特点并着重介绍超声动态观察甲状腺术后瘢痕组织的应用及其发展前景。     

Mediators and moderators of functional impairment in adults with obsessive–compulsive disorder

The current study examined correlates, moderators, and mediators of functional impairment in 98 treatment-seeking adults with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Participants completed or were administered measures assessing obsessive–compulsive symptom severity, functional impairment, resistance against symptoms, interference due to obsessive–compulsive symptoms, depressive symptoms, insight, and anxiety sensitivity. Results indicated that all factors, except insight into symptoms, were significantly correlated with functional impairment. The relationship between obsessive–compulsive symptom severity and functional impairment was not moderated by patient insight, resistance against obsessive–compulsive symptoms, or anxiety sensitivity. Mediational analyses indicated that obsessive–compulsive symptom severity mediated the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and obsessive–compulsive related impairment. Indeed, anxiety sensitivity may play an important contributory role in exacerbating impairment through increases in obsessive–compulsive symptom severity. Depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between obsessive–compulsive symptom severity and obsessive–compulsive related impairment. Implications for assessment and treatment are discussed.     

Tonic postganglionic sympathetic inhibition induced by afferent renal nerves?

Other than efferent sympathetic innervation, the kidney has peptidergic afferent fibers expressing TRPV1 receptors and releasing substance P. We tested the hypothesis that stimulation of afferent renal nerve activity with the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin inhibits efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity tonically by a neurokinin 1 receptor-dependant mechanism. Anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented as follows: (1) arterial and venous catheters for recording of blood pressure and heart rate and drug administration; (2) left-sided renal arterial catheter for selective intrarenal administration of the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin (3.3, 6.6, 10, 33*10(-7) m; 10 μL; after 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, respectively) to stimulate afferent renal nerve activity; (3) right-sided bipolar electrode for continuous renal sympathetic nerve recording; and (4) specialized renal pelvic and renal artery catheters to separate pelvic from intrarenal afferent activity. Before and after intrarenal capsaicin application, increasing intravenous doses of the neurokinin 1 receptor blocker RP67580 were given. Intrarenal capsaicin decreased integrated renal sympathetic activity from 65.4±13.0 mV*s (baseline) to 12.8±3.2 mV*s (minimum; P<0.01). This sustained renal sympathetic inhibition reached its minimum within 70 minutes and was not directly linked to the transient electric afferent response to be expected with intrarenal capsaicin. Suppressed renal sympathetic activity transiently but completely recovered after intravenous administration of the neurokinin 1 blocker (maximum: 120.3±19.4 mV*s; P<0.01). Intrarenal afferent activity could be unequivocally separated from pelvic afferent activity. For the first time we provide direct evidence that afferent intrarenal nerves provide a tonically acting sympathoinhibitory system, which seems to be rather mediated by neurokinin release acting via neurokinin 1 receptor pathways rather than by electric afferent effects on central sympathetic outflow.     

Elderly Norms for the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised

The present study evaluates the effects of age, education, and gender in a representative sample of older adults and provides normative data for community-dwelling elderly. Age and gender had significant effects on HVLT-R performance. We provide age- and gender-adjusted normative data. Surprisingly, education level did not affect HVLT-R performance, indicating that education-adjusted norms are not necessary for this measure within this age range. We evaluated a subsample of subjects census-matched on age, education, and gender. These subjects did not differ in overall performance from our entire sample. Therefore, the normative data provided in this paper can be considered to be census-comparable for age, education, and gender.