一种用ICA去除瞬态诱发耳声发射伪迹的新方法

如何去除伪迹是瞬态诱发耳声发射检测中一个关键的问题。本研究提出了一种用ICA去除伪迹的新方法。首先用四组线性增长的刺激声在耳道内录音 ,得到的波形是瞬态诱发耳声发射和伪迹的混叠。因为伪迹和瞬态诱发耳声发射是统计独立的 ,而且伪迹随刺激声的变化线性增长 ,而瞬态诱发耳声发射随刺激声的变化非线性增长 ,逐渐趋于饱和 ,所以它们在混叠信号中具有不同的混叠系数。用ICA算法可以将各独立分量及混叠矩阵估计出来 ,伪迹是其中的一个独立分量。然后将伪迹的波形置零后再进行一次混叠 ,便达到了去除伪迹的目的。最后通过与传统的DNLR方法比较 ,证明这种方法是有效的     

下鼓室窦的应用解剖

目的　研究下鼓室窦的形态及变异 ,为下鼓室及迷路下显微外科手术提供应用解剖学资料。方法　用 2 0 0例骨标本在XSQ～Ⅱ型手术显微镜下解剖观察了下鼓室 ;其中 10例标本经CT扫描拍片后用X线图象对照解剖观察。结果　下鼓室底以复层窦或单复层窦混合存在者多见 ,无窦者仅见 3 0 % ,窦腔壁有 6 6 0 %的标本由片状骨板围成 ,骨柱或骨嵴构成者较少见。下鼓室窦向内侧与迷路下窦相连续 ,在岩部骨质内向下扩展可深至鼓部骨板下 1/3平面水平 ,见 12 0 % ,此窦在CT扫描中清晰可见。鼓室内侧壁的岬表面可见岬窦 ,出现率 2 6 0 % ,内侧壁的岬下有迷路下腔者见 5 7 0 %。下鼓室前壁有下鼓室隐窝者占 6 6 0 % ,前壁有下鼓室窦覆盖 ,无窦覆盖并见颈动脉管隆起者见 7 0 %。结论　下鼓室窦存在于底壁及内侧壁 ,对此区手术时保护颈内静脉及下鼓室神经切除术均有实际应用意义。     

Hemangiopericytoma of renal sinus expanding to the renal hilum: an unusual presentation causes misinterpretation as transitional cell carcinoma.

We report a case of renal hemangiopericytoma occurring in renal sinus and expanding to the renal hilum. This unusual presentation caused misinterpretation of this tumor as transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis clinically. The patient who was a 30-year-old woman had a relatively well demarcated solid tumor, 8 x 6 cm, in the renal sinus of the left kidney.     

人Nanog基因的克隆及其在COS-7L细胞中的表达

目的 :克隆人Nanog基因 ,构建其真核表达载体 ,并观察其在哺乳动物细胞COS 7L中的表达。方法 :利用HE2 93细胞的人基因组DNA为模板 ,以LA PCR技术 ,扩增Nango的基因 ,定向克隆到带Flag标签的pCMV载体中 ,测序后 ,挑选序列正确的真核表达质粒pFlag Nanog转染COS 7L细胞。用抗Flag标签的抗体 ,进行Westernblot和间接免疫荧光染色法检测Nango蛋白的表达。结果 :从人基因组DNA中克隆到序列正确的Nanog全长编码序列。所构建的Nanog质粒在COS 7L细胞中获得高效表达。结论 :人Nanog基因的克隆、真核表达载体的构建及在COS 7L中的表达均获得成功 ,为进一步研究其功能 ,尤其是探讨其在神经干细胞中的作用奠定了基础。     

The effect of dexamethasone on human mucin 1 expression and antibody-dependent complement sensitivity in a prostate cancer cell line in vitro and in vivo

Dexamethasone has been shown to up-regulate human mucin 1 (MUC1) expression in certain types of cancer cell lines in vitro, suggesting that this gluocorticoid may enhance MUC1-based immunotherapies. Here we investigated the effect of dexamethasone on MUC1 expression in the DU145 human prostate cancer cell line in terms of antibody-mediated complement-dependent cell lysis. Cells treated with 1 x 10-8 m dexamethasone in vitro expressed maximal levels of MUC1 after 6 days, with an approximately 3-fold increase over MUC1 levels on untreated cells. DU145 cells were highly resistant to lysis by anti-MUC1 antibody and complement, and their susceptibility to antibody and complement was unaffected by dexamethasone treatment. However, dexamethasone also induced expression of the complement inhibitor decay accelerating factor (DAF) on DU145 cells. Blocking or overcoming the function of DAF resulted in enhanced complement-dependent lysis of dexamethasone-treated cells with anti-MUC1 antibodies, indicating that the failure of dexamethasone to enhance the complement susceptibility of DU145 cells was caused by the up-regulated expression of DAF. We also investigated MUC1 expression in vivo and found that MUC1 expression was significantly up-regulated on tumour cells isolated from immune-deficient mice that had been injected with dexamethasone. However, in contrast to in vitro data, there was no difference between the levels of DAF expressed on tumour-derived DU145 cells isolated from either phosphate buffered saline (PBS)-treated or dexamethasone-treated mice, and tumour cells isolated from dexamethasone-treated mice were more sensitive to complement-mediated lysis. In the broad context of immunotherapy, the in vivo data support the use of dexamethasone as an adjunct treatment. Up-regulated DAF expression would not be a favourable outcome of dexamethasone treatment in terms of complement-dependent antibody therapy, but the in vivo data caution against extrapolation of in vitro data with regard to the modulation of complement inhibitors reported here and elsewhere.     

Lack of a genetic association between the TNXB locus and schizophrenia in a Chinese population

A recent study demonstrated that the tenascin X (TNXB) gene was associated with schizophrenia in a British population. To replicate the initial finding, we analysed two positive single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs1009382 and rs204887 present at the TNXB locus, in a Chinese population by using PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We recruited a total of 136 family trios consisting of fathers, mothers and affected offspring with schizophrenia. The transmission disequilibrium test did not show allelic association between these two SNPs and schizophrenia, and the rs1009382-rs204887 haplotypes were not associated with the illness either. The present results suggest that the TNXB locus does not appear to be associated with schizophrenia in the Chinese population. Because the TNXB gene is less than 100 kb away from the NOTCH4 locus that was also reported to be associated with schizophrenia, allelic and locus heterogeneity could be possible reasons for the failure to replicate the TNXB finding.     

Activity-dependent regulation of dendritic synthesis and trafficking of AMPA receptors

Regulation of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) trafficking is important for neural plasticity. Here we examined the trafficking and synthesis of the GluR1 and GluR2 subunits using ReAsH-EDT(2) and FlAsH-EDT(2) staining. Activity blockade of rat cultured neurons increased dendritic GluR1, but not GluR2, levels. Examination of transected dendrites revealed that both AMPAR subunits were synthesized in dendrites and that activity blockade enhanced dendritic synthesis of GluR1 but not GluR2. In contrast, acute pharmacological manipulations increased dendritic synthesis of both subunits. AMPARs synthesized in dendrites were inserted into synaptic plasma membranes and, after activity blockade, the electrophysiological properties of native synaptic AMPARs changed in the manner predicted by the imaging experiments. In addition to providing a novel mechanism for synaptic modifications, these results point out the advantages of using FlAsH-EDT(2) and ReAsH-EDT(2) for studying the trafficking of newly synthesized proteins in local cellular compartments such as dendrites.     

A two decade survey of respiratory adenovirus in Taiwan: the reemergence of adenovirus types 7 and 4

From November 1999 to December 2001, three outbreaks of adenovirus (Ad) respiratory infection occurred in southern Taiwan. To determine the circulating serotypes and molecular epidemiology, a total of 524 virus strains were randomly selected from 1,064 strains isolated from 1981 to 2001, and were studied using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-RFLP. The major subgenus found was subgenus B (45%), followed by subgenus E (29%) and subgenus C (25%). Ad3 and Ad7 were the major types found during the 1st outbreak, which occurred from November 1999 to March 2000, while Ad4 was found mainly during the 2nd and 3rd outbreaks in October 2000 and September 2001, respectively. Both Ad7 and Ad4 were reemerged serotypes, whereas Ad3 was consistently isolated during the survey, although it declined drastically from 36 to 2% in 2001. Genotype analysis in this study showed that the only strain of Ad7 found in 1983 was Ad7a, but all randomly selected strains of Ad7 isolated during 1999-2000 were Ad7b. The clinical features of 217 patients were analyzed during the 1999-2000 outbreaks. About 79% of the total cases were less than 7 years old. The ratio of male to female was 2:1. Severe infections, such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis, accounted for nearly half of the cases (43%). These results show the reemergence and changing of serotypes, the clinical association of respiratory adenovirus infections, and the molecular epidemiology of Ad7 genotypes in Taiwan during the past two decades.     

More training needed in chronic care: a survey of US physicians.

PURPOSE: Although more than 125 million North Americans have one or more chronic conditions, medical training may not adequately prepare physicians to care for them. The authors evaluated physicians' perceptions of the adequacy of their chronic illness care training to and the effects of training on their attitudes toward care of persons with chronic conditions. METHOD: In November 2000 through June 2001, the authors surveyed by telephone a random sample of U.S. physicians who had > or =20 hours of patient contact per week. The interview instrument examined demographics, career satisfaction, practice characteristics, perceived adequacy of chronic illness care training in ten competencies (geriatric syndromes, chronic pain, nutrition, developmental milestones, end-of-life care, psychosocial issues, patient education, assessment of caregiver needs, coordination of services, and interdisciplinary teamwork), and effect of training on attitudes toward chronic illness care. RESULTS: Of 1,905 eligible physicians, 1,236 (65%) responded (270 family or general practitioners, 231 internists, 129 pediatricians, 335 nonsurgical specialists, and 271 surgeons). Most physicians reported their chronic disease training was less than adequate for all ten competencies. Family practitioners were more likely (p <.05) to report adequate training in seven competencies compared with internists, and in two to four competencies when compared with pediatricians, nonsurgical specialists, or surgeons. Most physicians reported that training had a positive effect on attitudes toward care of people with chronic conditions, including the ability to make a difference in their lives (74-84%). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians perceived their medical training for chronic illness care was inadequate. Medical schools and residencies may need to modify curricula to better prepare physicians to treat the growing number of people with chronic conditions.     

Cyst fluid analysis for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cysts

Pancreatic cystic neoplasms comprise a pathologically heterogeneous group with many shared clinical features. We assessed the reliability of cyst fluid analysis for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cysts. Cyst fluid was obtained by fine-needle aspiration from 78 pancreatic cysts. The lesions studied consisted of 17 mucinous cystic tumors (MCTs), 13 serous cystadenomas (SCAs), 5 solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPTs), 8 intraductal papillary mucinous tumors (IPMTs), 6 ductal adenocarcinomas (ACAs) with cystic degeneration, and 29 pseudocysts (PCs). Epithelial cells were observed in 27 (81%) of 33 successful aspirates of cystic neoplasms. Cytologic diagnosis was possible in 5 (31%) out of 16 MCTs. Mucicarmine staining was positive in five out of nine MCTs, one out of one ACA, and one out of two IPMTs, but in none of the SCAs, SPTs, or PCs. Cyst fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels of more than 467 ng/mL had a 87% sensitivity and a 98% specificity for detecting MCTs, and amylase levels of more than 479 U/L had a 73% sensitivity and a 90% specificity for detecting PCs. In conclusion, cyst fluid analysis for cytology, mucin staining, CEA, and amylase levels are useful in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cysts.