单入路双重建钢板钳夹式固定治疗肱骨干骨折疗效分析

目的探讨与分析单入路双重建钢板钳夹式固定技术治疗肱骨干骨折的临床疗效。方法回顾性分析自2011-01—2012-12诊治的肱骨干骨折52例,资料完整且接受随访者45例。结果 45例获得10~22个月,平均16.5个月的随访。本组手术时间为(75±15)min,有3例出现一过性桡神经麻痹,术后切口均为一期愈合,且获得骨性愈合,愈合时间为10~15(12.1±1.8)周,随访期间无一例发生钢板断裂及骨不连。术后患者UCLA肩关节功能评分为(34.5±1.24)分,优良率为97.2%;Mayo肘关节功能评分为100分,优良率为100%。结论采用单入路双重建钢板钳夹式固定治疗肱骨干骨折安全,术后疗效较好,值得参考和应用。     

持续股骨髁上骨牵引结合经皮空心钉内固定治疗不稳定股骨头骺滑脱临床疗效分析

目的评价持续股骨髁上骨牵引结合经皮空心钉内固定治疗不稳定股骨头骺滑脱的临床疗效。方法回顾性分析自2007-03—2011-02诊治的18例不稳定股骨头骺滑脱,采用Russell牵引结合闭合复位经皮空心钉内固定治疗。其中急性发作16例,慢性急性发作2例;中度移位11例,重度移位7例。摄髋关节X线片评估骺板闭合时间,观察是否存在股骨头坏死、软骨溶解及髋内翻等并发症,末次随访时髋关节功能根据Harris评分标准进行评估。结果本组平均随访2.6(1.5~3.0)年,18例骺板闭合后均取出内固定材料。所有患儿均未行对侧预防性原位固定,3例术后对侧发作,行手术治疗。末次随访时髋关节X线片显示2例术后股骨头坏死,均为重度滑脱患儿,均未发生软骨溶解;其余16例髋关节功能大致正常,日常生活无明显影响;髋关节功能根据Harris评分标准评定:优5例,良10例,可1例,差2例,优良率83.3%。结论不稳定股骨头骺滑脱行早期Russell牵引结合闭合复位经皮空心钉内固定可减少股骨头坏死等相关并发症的发生,疗效肯定,且手术操作简单易行。     

Screening HCV genotype-specific epitope peptides based on conserved sequence analysis and B cell epitope prediction in HCV E2 region

The high mutation rate of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome increases the genotype diversity and renders the detection of the virus more difficult. Therefore, prediction and assessment of highly conserved and strongly antigenic epitope polypeptide sequences have become a focus of current research. The E2 region is the target binding region of neutralizing antibodies. HCV genomics, especially the high mutation rate of E2 region sequence, makes its genotyping more and more diverse, and the detection of HCV and genotype is becoming more and more strict. In this study, four HCV B cell epitope polypeptides were constructed based on assessment of conserved sequences in the HCV E2 region and prediction of B cell epitopes, including sequences specific to genotype 1A (DC-13: 434-DTGWLAGLFYYHK-446), genotype 1B (HC-13: 434-HTGFLAALFYAKS-446), genotype 4D (NC-13: 434-NTGFLASLFYTHK-446), and a consensus sequence (FC-9: 447-FNSSGCPER-455). Epitope polypeptides combined with serum from 29 HCV-infected or 25 non-HCV-infected individuals were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and differences were analyzed by T/T’ test methods in SPSS v20.0 software. Binding levels of genotype 1A, 4D, and consensus epitope polypeptides with sera of HCV-infected patients were higher than those of non-infected individuals. Moreover, binding of genotype 1B epitope polypeptides with serum of HCV 1B-infected patients was higher than that of HCV 2A-infected patients. While the screening results of HCV genotype-specific epitope polypeptides were preliminary, these findings indicated that we successfully established an HCV and genotype serological ELISA detection method. Such an approach would facilitate the discovery of epitope polypeptides which may become new antigen candidates in peptide vaccine development for the prevention of HCV infection.     

Automatic Organ Segmentation for CT Scans Based on Super-Pixel and Convolutional Neural Networks

Accurate segmentation of specific organ from computed tomography (CT) scans is a basic and crucial task for accurate diagnosis and treatment. To avoid time-consuming manual optimization and to help physicians distinguish diseases, an automatic organ segmentation framework is presented. The framework utilized convolution neural networks (CNN) to classify pixels. To reduce the redundant inputs, the simple linear iterative clustering (SLIC) of super-pixels and the support vector machine (SVM) classifier are introduced. To establish the perfect boundary of organs in one-pixel-level, the pixels need to be classified step-by-step. First, the SLIC is used to cut an image into grids and extract respective digital signatures. Next, the signature is classified by the SVM, and the rough edges are acquired. Finally, a precise boundary is obtained by the CNN, which is based on patches around each pixel-point. The framework is applied to abdominal CT scans of livers and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans of lungs. The experimental CT scans are derived from two public datasets (Sliver 07 and a Chinese local dataset). Experimental results show that the proposed method can precisely and efficiently detect the organs. This method consumes 38 s/slice for liver segmentation. The Dice coefficient of the liver segmentation results reaches to 97.43%. For lung segmentation, the Dice coefficient is 97.93%. This finding demonstrates that the proposed framework is a favorable method for lung segmentation of HRCT scans.     

In vitro expression and functional characterization of NPA motifs in aquaporins of Nosema bombycis

Parasitology Research - Nosema bombycis contains functional aquaporins (NbAQPs), which are key targets for exploring the mechanism of N. bombycis infection; however, the regulation of these NbAQPs...     

The effect of dietary protein intake on immune status in pigs of different genotypes

Little is known about the immune status of different pig breeds and the role of dietary protein intake. The present study, performed on 96 barrows (48 pure-bred Bama mini-pigs (fatty genotype) and 48 Landrace pigs (lean genotype)) randomly assigned to two dietary treatment groups (low- or adequate protein diet), with twenty-four24 individuals per treatment), evaluated the levels of immunoglobulins and cytokines in serum, and intestinal and splenic innate immunity on the two breeds. Data showed significant interactions between breed and diet for adaptive and innate immunity. Throughout the experiment, Landrace pigs showed significantly higher intestinal immune responses than Bama mini-pigs, and an adequate provision of dietary protein improved the expression of specific antibodies in early growth phases. These finding have important implication for improving the immune status of Landrace pigs, which are a major source of protein for humans.

Abbreviations: BW: Body Weight; NRC diet: National Research Council diet; GB diet: Chinese conventional diet; CSFV: Classical Swine Fever Virus; IgG: Immunoglobulin G; IgM: Immunoglobulin M; SIgA: Secretory Immunoglobulin A.     

Immune-enhancing effects of a polysaccharide PRG1-1 from Russula griseocarnosa on RAW264.7 macrophage cells via the MAPK and NF-κB signalling pathways

Polysaccharides are one of many bioactive compounds found in edible mushrooms. Edible mushrooms have become attractive as “health foods” and as source materials for immunomodulators. The aim of this project was to study the immunoregulatory effects of a purified polysaccharide derived from wild Russula griseocarnosa (PRG1-1) on macrophages. Our data showed that in RAW264.7 macrophage cells, PRG1-1 increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Furthermore, PRG1-1 increased the production of nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines, including interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Western blotting demonstrated that the regulation of NO and cytokines was mediated through the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. Therefore, PRG1-1 has the capacity to activate macrophages via the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. These findings helped to elucidate the immune-modulatory properties of the polysaccharide from R. griseocarnosa.     

Preservation of renal function in chronic diabetes by enhancing glomerular glucose metabolism

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) affects approximately 30–40% of patients with type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). It is a major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for the developed world. Hyperglycemia and genetics are major causal factors for the initiation and progression of DN. Multiple abnormalities in glucose and mitochondrial metabolism induced by diabetes likely contribute to the severity of DN. Recent clinical studies in people with extreme duration of T1DM (>?50 years, Joslin Medalist Study) have supported the importance of endogenous protective factors to neutralize the toxic effects of hyperglycemia on renal and other vascular tissues. Using renal glomeruli from these patients (namely Medalists) with and without DN, we have shown the importance of increased glycolytic flux in decreasing the accumulation of glucose toxic metabolites, improving mitochondrial function, survival of glomerular podocytes, and reducing glomerular pathology. Activation of a key glycolytic enzyme, pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), resulted in the normalization of renal hemodynamics and mitochondrial and glomerular dysfunction, leading to the mitigation of glomerular pathologies in several mouse models of DN.