Role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor as adjunct therapy for septicemia in children with acute leukemia

The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to accelerate recovery from severe neutropenia and to decrease the incidence of documented infections after intensive chemotherapy in cancer patients. However, the routine prophylactic use of G-CSF is expensive. This study was conducted to determine the role of G-CSF as adjunct therapy for septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia. Fifty consecutive episodes of septicemia were studied involving 34 episodes of Gram-negative, 7 episodes of Gram-positive, 5 episodes of polymicrobial bacterial septicemia, one episode of fungemia, and 3 episodes of disseminated fungal infection. In the first 25 episodes, G-CSF was not used (group A). For the next 16 episodes, G-CSF 200 μg per square meter per day subcutaneously was given immediately after the septicemia was documented until the absolute neutrophil count was maintained at more than 1,500 per cubic millimeter (group B). Thereafter, G-CSF at the same dose as that of group B was prophylactically used in all the children who received high-dose cytosine arablnc-side-containing regimens. Nine episodes of septicemia occurred (group C). The incidences of mortality per episode of septicemia in groups A, B, and C were 12.0% (3/25), 12.5% (2/16) and 0% (0/9), respectively. Statistically, there was no difference between the three groups overall and in pair-wise comparisons (all P > 0.5). The durations of G-CSF administration in group B ranged from 6 to 26 days with a median of 12 days and the durations of G-CSF administration in group C ranged from 10 to 23 days with a median of 19 days. With or without G-CSF, there may be no significant difference in the mortality of septicemia following neutropenia caused by chemotherapy in children with acute leukemia.     

培养环境的温度变化与人MⅡ期卵母细胞纺锤体形态学变化的关系

目的:观察环境温度的改变对MⅡ期人卵纺锤体结构的影响.方法:40例非男性因素的不孕妇女,将常规体外授精后未受精的MⅡ期卵子置于室温(23～25℃)直至纺锤体消失.于纺锤体消失后,将卵子分成3个实验组:1组纺锤体消失后立即复温(n=8);2组纺锤体消失后室温下静置5 min再复温(n=6);3组纺锤体消失后室温下静置10 min再复温(n=6).卵子复温后5 min,10 min,2 h分别观察纺锤体的复现情况.结果:20个未受精的MⅡ期卵子置于室温下5 min内纺锤体均消失.1组中的8个卵子,2组中的6个卵子复温后再次观测到了MⅡ期纺锤体.3组中的6个卵子只有3个卵子再次出现了MⅡ期纺锤体.对照组的18个卵子放置于37℃恒温板上观察30 min,纺锤体均未见消失.结论:MⅡ期卵子纺锤体对环境温度的改变非常敏感.温度降低将导致纺锤体消失,随着时间的延长,纺锤体复现几率明显减少.     

浅谈基因治疗的现状及其面临的困境

基因治疗将在未来的疾病治疗中扮演重要的角色，然而这一新颖的技术却面临着诸多问题，本文论述了基因治疗的发展现状及其所面临的技术难题。     

左双腔支气管导管管端位置与吸气峰压变化的关系

目的 观测无隆突钩双腔支气管导管(DLT)管端位置与吸气峰压(Ppeak)以及肺顺应性环形状改变的关系，探讨用Ppeak和顺应性环的变化评估DLT管端位置的可行性。方法 拟行右侧剖胸手术的成年患者32例，静脉诱导后插入左Mallinckrodt DLT，吸入氧化亚氮和地氟醚维持麻醉。按纤维支气管镜(FOB)确认DLT管端位置和通气方式将观测过程分为四个阶段：第一阶段(S1)，管端位置正确的双肺通气；第二阶段(S2)，管端位置正确的左侧单肺通气；第三阶段(S3)，管端插入左下支气管(置管过深)的左侧单肺通气；第四阶段(S。)，管端处在左支气管开口(置管偏浅)的左侧单肺通气。每阶段均机械通气15min。结果 回归方程预计插管深度与FOB检查符合者占71．9％。S2时Ppeak值比S1时增加50．8％，肺顺应性(Cdyn)值减少36．2％；S3时Ppeak值比S1时增加87．4％，Cdyn值减少56．8％。PV环曲线斜率向右明显移位，环体显著延长。结论 用无隆突钩DLT行肺隔离，在无FOB定位的条件时，联合应用听诊法、回归方程预计插管深度、动态监测气道峰压和P-V环的变化综合评估，可提高DLT管端的正确到位率。单肺通气的气道峰压超过双肺通气时的1．65倍，且气道峰压超过25cm H2O．应高度怀疑DLT管端发生过深移位。     

维纳滤波器在数字化X射线影像中的应用

介绍了一种简单有效的维纳滤波器设计过程,并采用该过程对数字化X射线影像进行滤波,试验表明:维纳滤波器能在去除图像噪声的同时较好地保留图像细节,具有实际应用价值。     

Influence of TAT-peptide polymerization on properties and transfection activity of TAT/DNA polyplexes.

Use of bioactive cationic peptides as gene carriers is limited by instability of their DNA complexes in vivo and by the loss of their biological activity due to undesired interactions of their bioactive parts with the DNA. To overcome the two major limitations, biodegradable high-molecular-weight form of TAT peptide (POLYTAT) sensitive to cellular redox-potential gradients was synthesized in this study by oxidative polycondensation. Physicochemical and transfection properties of DNA polyplexes based on POLYTAT were investigated and compared with polyplexes based on TAT polymer prepared by in situ template-assisted polymerization. Physicochemical properties of TAT-based polyplexes were affected by the molecular weight and method of polymerization of the TAT peptide. All TAT-based DNA polyplexes exhibited reduced cytotoxicity when compared with control polyethylenimine (PEI) polyplexes. Polyplexes based on both high-molecular-weight TAT polypeptides exhibited increased transfection efficiency compared to control TAT peptide but lower than that of PEI polyplexes. The evidence shows that transfection activity of TAT-based polyplexes is strongly dependent on the presence of chloroquine and therefore suggests that TAT polyplexes are internalized by an endocytosis. Overall, high-molecular-weight reducible polycations based on bioactive peptides has the potential as versatile carriers of nucleic acids that display low cytotoxicity and can prove to be especially beneficial in cases that require surface presentation of membrane-active or cell-specific targeting peptides.     

Fabrication of porous hollow silica nanoparticles and their applications in drug release control.

Preparation and characterization of porous hollow silica nanoparticles (PHSN) for controlled release applications were investigated. Through orthogonally designed experiments, the optimal synthesis conditions for the preparation of PHSN were obtained and the produced PHSN were characterized by BET, SEM, TEM and IR. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images revealed their hollow shell-core structure and also demonstrated that the size and shape of PHSN are determined by the templating CaCO3 nanoparticles. The produced PHSN were applied as a carrier to study the controlled release behaviors of Brilliant Blue F (BB), which was used as a model drug. Being loaded into the inner core and on the surfaces of the nanoparticles, BB was released slowly into a bulk solution for about 1140 min as compared to only 10 min for the normal SiO2 nanoparticles, thus exhibited a typical sustained release pattern without any burst effect. In addition, higher BET of the carriers, lower pH value and lower temperature prolonged BB release from PHSN, while stirring speed showed little influence on the release behavior. It showed that PHSN have a promising future in controlled drug delivery applications.     

EEG source imaging: correlating source locations and extents with electrocorticography and surgical resections in epilepsy patients.

SUMMARY: It is desirable to estimate epileptogenic zones with both location and extent information from noninvasive EEG. In the present study, the authors use a subspace source localization method (FINE), combined with a local thresholding technique, to achieve such tasks. The performance of this method was evaluated in interictal spikes from three pediatric patients with medically intractable partial epilepsy. The thresholded subspace correlation, which is obtained from FINE scanning, is a favorable marker, which implies the extents of current sources associated with epileptic activities. The findings were validated by comparing the results with invasive electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings of interictal spike activity. The surgical resections in these three patients correlated well with the epileptogenic zones identified from both EEG sources and ECoG potential distributions. The value of the proposed noninvasive technique for estimating epileptiform activity was supported by satisfactory surgery outcomes.     

Reduced expression of CD69 and adhesion molecules of T lymphocytes in asthmatic children receiving immunotherapy

T lymphocytes play a fundamental role in the initiation and regulation of chronic inflammatory responses in patients with asthma. CD69 is an early marker of T‐cell activation. The levels of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1, CD54) and L ‐selectin have been reported to increase in patients with allergic diseases and asthma. The present study was therefore undertaken to investigate the expression of CD69, CD54, and L ‐selectin by T lymphocytes of children with asthma, before and after immunotherapy. Eighteen children newly diagnosed with asthma, 11 good and nine poor responders to immunotherapy, and 16 normal subjects, were enrolled in this study. The percentages of CD69⁺, CD54⁺, and CD62L⁺ cells in T lymphocytes were measured by using flow cytometry. The levels of CD69, CD54, and CD62L in serum and culture supernatants were determined by using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of CD69 and CD54 on CD3⁺ T lymphocytes was significantly higher in children with asthma than in control patients. All the patient groups expressed (spontaneously and following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate and ionomycin together with mite‐extract proteins) greater amounts of CD69 and CD54 than did control subjects. With long‐term immunotherapy, the percentages of CD69⁺ and CD54⁺ T lymphocytes were significantly lower in patients with a good response to immunotherapy. Our results also showed significantly lower serum L ‐selectin levels following immunotherapy. In conclusion, successful immunotherapy resulted in decreased expression and production of CD69 and CD54. These results may explain, in part, the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy.