Evaluation of sunlight stability of polyurethane elastomers for maxillofacial use. II

The effect of selected UV stabilizers on the stability of mechanical properties of a polyurethane material, Calthane ND2300, was evaluated. The addition of UV stabilizers prolonged the service life of the systems studied but did not achieve completely satisfactory results. The tensile strength and modulus of elasticity decreased after extended exposure to UV. The rate of decrease, however, was much less for the specimens with UV stabilizers. The polyurethane system that contains a mixture of a UV stabilizer and an antioxidant is considered to be the best of the groups tested, in terms of the percentage of retention of tensile strength and modulus of elasticity. It was also found that elongation at break was increased when the duration of UV aging was increased. This phenomenon occurred in all the systems, with or without UV stabilizers, and can be understood in terms of the concepts of the fragmentation of macromolecules that resulted from UV aging. The physical appearance in conjunction with mechanical property tests are needed to ensure the successful performance of any UV stabilizer.     

Increased WDR spontaneous activity and receptive field size in rats following a neuropathic or inflammatory injury: implications for mechanical sensitivity

Spontaneous activity and receptive field size for spinal wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons were measured and related to the mechanical allodynia in both neuropathic (L5-L6 ligation, 14 days post-injury) and complete Freund's adjuvant-inflamed rats (CFA, 2 days post-injury). The size of the WDR receptive field located on the hindpaw expanded significantly (p<0.01) following both modes of injury, with no difference between CFA and neuropathic animals. Likewise, the spontaneous firing of WDR neurons was significantly elevated following both the CFA (4.4+/-0.6 spikes/s, p<0.01) and neuropathic (3.2+/-0.3 spikes/s, p<0.05) injuries compared to naive (2.1+/-0.2 spikes/s) and sham-neuropathic (1.9+/-0.3 spikes/s) rats. Furthermore, the spontaneous WDR activity recorded from CFA rats was also significantly greater (p<0.05) than neuropathic rats. Mechanical allodynia, as measured by application of a von Frey hair stimulus, was observed from both CFA and neuropathic rats, however, the degree of sensitivity was significantly greater (p<0.01) for the CFA animals. These data suggest that the differences in mechanical sensitivity between CFA and neuropathic rats may be related to their respective changes in WDR spontaneous activity, but not to the changes in receptive field size, and is further demonstration of the importance of spontaneous WDR activity in determining mechanical sensitivity following injury.     

血糖感应型胰岛素给药智能载体的研究进展

胰岛素控制释放高分子载体系统一直是国内外科技工作者的研究热点 ,迄今已经研究报道了多种具有不同工作原理的血糖感应型胰岛素给药智能载体。本文基于国内外大量研究文献 ,综述了血糖感应型胰岛素控制释放智能化高分子载体的研究进展。     

产前筛查和基因多态性位点在唐氏综合征产前诊断中的应用

目的 在建立可靠的产前筛查方法的同时，采用快速，简便，准确的产前诊断方法，防止唐氏综合征（DS）患儿的出生，方法 采用酶联免疫方法测定妊娠14-20w孕妇血清甲胎蛋白（AFP）和绒毛膜促性腺激素β亚基（β-HCG）浓度，结合孕妇年龄，孕周和体重，用计算机软件进行分析，得到每位孕妇所怀胎儿DS风险系数，对筛查出胎儿唐氏综合征高风险孕妇，再利用21号染色体上的6个多态性位点对其作产前基因诊断。结果 经产前筛查，在395例孕妇中发现10例胎儿唐氏综合征高风险孕妇，其中1例产前基因诊断为胎儿唐氏综合征，与染色体核型分析结果相符。结论 产前筛查结合基因多态性在唐氏综合征产前诊断中具有很好的应用价值。     

Expression of alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase (P504s) in various malignant neoplasms and normal tissues: astudy of 761 cases

Alpha-methylacyl CoA racemase (AMACR), also known as P504S, plays an important role in peroxisomal beta-oxidation of branched-chain fatty acids. It has recently been shown that AMACR is highly expressed in prostate cancer and that it may be an important diagnostic marker for prostate carcinoma. However, little is known about expression of AMACR in normal tissues and other malignant tumors. In this study, we investigated expression of AMACR in 539 malignant tumors and 222 normal human tissues of various types by immunohistochemical analysis. mRNA levels of AMACR in normal organs and in selected tumors were assessed by real time PCR. In normal tissue, high expression of AMACR mRNA was identified in liver, kidney and salivary gland, while AMACR protein was detected in liver (hepatocytes), kidney (tubular epithelial cells), lung (only bronchial epithelial cells), and gallbladder (only mucosal epithelial cells). High expression of AMACR mRNA was found in prostate, liver, and kidney cancers but rarely in stomach and bladder cancers. A high percent of adenocarcinomas arising from these organs express AMACR, including 17 of 21 (81%) of hepatocellular carcinomas and 18 of 24 (75%) of renal cell carcinomas. In addition, carcinomas arising from tissues normally not expressing AMACR were also positive for the antigen, including 17 of 18 (94%) prostate carcinomas, 9 of 29 (31%) of urothelial carcinomas, and 4 of 15 (27%) of gastric adenocarcinomas. Two hundred and fifty cases of adenocarcinomas from lung, breast, pancreas, bile duct, adrenal gland, salivary gland, ovary, thyroid and endometrium were negative or rarely positive for AMACR. Neuroendocrine carcinomas rarely expressed AMACR. Melanomas, squamous cell carcinomas, basal cell carcinomas, soft tissue tumors (including epithelioid sarcomas and synovial sarcoma), thymomas, and germ cell tumors were negative for AMACR. Our data provide important baseline information for using AMACR in clinical practice and also are valuable in furthering understanding of the pathogenic role of AMACR in malignant neoplasms.     

Epidemiologic relationship between fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica Serovar Choleraesuis strains isolated from humans and pigs in Taiwan (1997 to 2002)

The emergence of ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis in recent years has become an important public health issue in Taiwan. The resistant strains that cause human infections are considered to be from pigs. In this study, we characterized 157 swine and 42 human Salmonella serovar Choleraesuis isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and drug susceptibility testing to investigate the epidemiologic relationship among the isolates. By PFGE analyses, two major clusters (clusters GA and GB) were identified. Isolates in cluster GA were of both human and swine origins, while those in cluster GB were from pigs only. Among the various genotypes identified, genotype gt-1a was the most prevalent, which was found in 71% (30 of 42) and 48% (76 of 157) of human and swine isolates, respectively. The susceptibility tests for the 106 gt-1a isolates identified 44 susceptibility profiles and showed that 73% of human isolates and 34% of swine isolates were resistant to three fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and norfloxacin). Our findings indicate that a clonal group of Salmonella serovar Choleraesuis may have been circulating in human and swine populations in Taiwan for years and that the fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella serovar Choleraesuis strains most likely evolved from a gt-1a clone that emerged in 2000 and that then caused widespread infections in humans and pigs. Nevertheless, it is still debatable whether those Salmonella infections in humans are caused by isolates derived from pigs, on the basis of the higher fluoroquinolone and other antimicrobial resistance percentages in human isolates than in pig isolates.     

Formation and specification of ventral neuroblasts is controlled by vnd in Drosophila neurogenesis

During Drosophila neural development, neuroblasts delaminate from the neuroectoderm of each hemisegment in a stereotypic orthogonal array of five rows and three columns (ventral, intermediate, and dorsal). Prevailing evidence indicates that the individual neuroblast fate is determined by the domain-specific expression of genes along the dorsoventral and anteroposterior axis. Here, we analyze the role of Vnd, a NK-2 homeodomain protein, expressed initially in the ventral neuroectoderm adjacent to the ventral midline, in the dorsoventral patterning of the neuroectoderm and the neuroblasts. We show that in vnd null mutants most ventral neuroblasts do not form and the few that form do not develop ventral fates, but instead develop intermediate-like fates. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Vnd influences the gene expression patterns in the ventral proneural clusters and neuroectoderm, and that its action in neuroblast formation includes, but is not exclusive to the activation of proneural AS-C genes. Through the use of GAL4/UAS gene-expression system we show that ectopic Vnd expression can promote ventral-like fates in intermediate and dorsal neuroblasts and can suppress certain normal characteristics of the intermediate and dorsal neuroectoderm. Our results are discussed in the context of the current evidence in dorsoventral patterning in the Drosophila neuroectoderm.     

胡萝卜籽挥发油的抗生育作用

胡萝卜籽挥发油对小鼠有抗着床,抗早、中和晚期妊娠作用。对大鼠也有抗着床作用。挥发油中的萜类碳氢化合物部位,对小鼠皮下注射抗早期妊娠的ED_(50)为2.9ml/kg,甲地孕酮和hCG能明显逆转其作用;对假孕小鼠蜕膜瘤有抑制作用,此作用不能被甲地孕酮拮抗,皮下注射于早孕大鼠24、48小时后血浆孕酮浓度明显下降。以上提示其抗早孕作用机制可能与抑制孕酮合成和蜕膜反应有关。此外,挥发油碳氢部分无雌激素和抗雌激素活性,低浓度时对早孕大鼠离体子宫的收缩活动没有影响,高浓度则表现抑制作用。     

Application of pattern-recognition techniques in wavelength selection for instrumentally read reagent strips

Pattern recognition techniques--discriminant analysis and principal component analysis--are utilized in selecting the wavelengths for monitoring, by reflectance spectroscopy, color-generating reactions involving uric acid and cholesterol in serum. The data base we used was accumulated by a rapid-scanning reflectance spectrophotometer that measured reflectance at 16 wavelengths every 5 s after the reaction was initiated. The data were then analyzed in multidimensional space mainframe computer with commercial statistical software packages. The most appropriate wavelengths were those that yielded the largest generalized distance between analyte concentration by discriminant analysis and the largest weighting coefficient by principal component analysis. For uric acid, taking the ratio of reflectance measured at two wavelengths instead of at a single wavelength much better separates the clinically significant concentrations. For cholesterol, the initiated. The data were then analyzed in multidimensional space hemoglobin, can be clearly demonstrated y the "pattern" generated with principal component analysis. generalized distance between analyte generalized distance between analyte concentration by discriminant     

Risk factors for diabetic retinopathy: a population-based study in Rochester, Minnesota

Retinopathy is an important sequela of diabetes mellitus, but clinical risk factors for this condition have rarely been assessed in a geographically defined population. In this population-based study, the 1135 Rochester, Minnesota, residents with diabetes mellitus initially diagnosed between 1945 and 1969 (incidence cohort) were followed through their complete medical records in the community to January 1, 1982. Because most of the cases of diabetic retinopathy in Rochester residents developed in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), risk factors for diabetic retinopathy were examined in this group (N = 1031). A proportional hazards model identified the following risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in NIDDM: elevated initial fasting blood glucose level, marked obesity, and earlier age at onset of diabetes. Stratified analyses indicated that duration of diabetes was also significantly associated with an increased risk of retinopathy. Two secular trends, increasing detection of "mild" NIDDM and decreasing risk of diabetic retinopathy, had a major effect on retinopathy risk assessment. These data also suggest that insulin therapy is not an independent risk factor for diabetic retinopathy.