Comparison of the biomechanical effect of posterior condylar offset and kinematics between posterior cruciate-retaining and posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty

Background

The effect of the changes in the femoral posterior condylar offset (PCO) on anterior–posterior (AP) translation and internal–external (IE) rotation in cruciate-retaining (CR) and posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the kinematics in CR and PS TKA with respect to the difference in prosthetic design and PCO change through a computational simulation.

明胶-聚乳酸载药纳米微球的制备及其体外释药研究

采用复合乳液—溶剂挥发法制得明胶—聚乳酸载五氟脲嘧啶(5—Fu)微球，以混合型乳化剂Tween—80：Span—80＝5：1—作为初乳乳化剂，O—羧甲基壳聚糖作为复乳乳化剂，考察了明胶—聚乳酸载药微球的制备条件对微球的成球性、药物包封率及体外释药的影响。结果表明乳化剂的选择、内部水相药物浓度和PLA分子量等均对载药微球的结构与性能产生影响，经优化条件得到了成球性和体外释放都比较好的载药微球。     

门静脉的体表定位及其临床意义

目的：为超声波检查门静脉或经皮经肝门静脉穿刺提供解剖学基础。方法：在４０例成人尸体标本上观测了门静脉的行程及其分叉位置的体表投影。结果：门静脉肝外段与身体的垂线呈约４０°角；门静脉分叉位置在经右半胸宽中点的垂线与右锁骨中线上肝高中点的水平线的交点附近；门静脉右支分为前、后支的位置在剑突尖平面下方约２ｃｍ，右锁骨中线上肝高的中点附近；门静脉左支分出第１外侧支的位置在剑突尖稍下方的右侧约２ｃｍ。结论：在右腋中线剑突尖平面下方约２ｃｍ经皮经肝穿刺至锁骨中线，导管即可进入门静脉右支内     

Identification of 16 novel mutations in the argininosuccinate synthetase gene and genotype-phenotype correlation in 38 classical citrullinemia patients

Classical citrullinemia (CTLN1), a rare autosomal recessive disorder, is caused by mutations of the argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) gene, localized on chromosome 9q34.1. ASS functions as a rate-limiting enzyme in the urea cycle. Previously, we identified 32 mutations in the ASS gene of CTLN1 patients mainly in Japan and the United States, and to date 34 different mutations have been described in 50 families worldwide. In the present study, we report ASS mutations detected in 35 additional CTLN1 families from 11 countries. By analyzing the entire coding sequence and the intron-exon boundaries of the ASS gene using RT-PCR and/or genomic DNA-PCR, we have identified 16 novel mutations (two different 1-bp deletions, a 67-bp insertion, and 13 missense) and have detected 12 known mutations. Altogether, 50 different mutations (seven deletion, three splice site, one duplication, two nonsense, and 37 missense) in 85 CTLN1 families were identified. On the basis of primary sequence comparisons with the crystal structure of E. coli ASS protein, it may be concluded that any of the 37 missense mutations found at 30 different positions led to structural and functional impairments of the human ASS protein. It has been found that three mutations are particularly frequent: IVS6-2A>G in 23 families (Japan: 20 and Korea: three), G390R in 18 families (Turkey: six, U.S.: five, Spain: three, Israel: one, Austria: one, Canada: one, and Bolivia: one), and R304W in 10 families (Japan: nine and Turkey: one). Most mutations of the ASS gene are "private" and are distributed throughout the gene, except for exons 5 and 12-14. It seems that the clinical course of the patients with truncated mutations or the G390R mutation is early-onset/severe. The phenotype of the patients with certain missense mutations (G362V or W179R) is more late-onset/mild. Eight patients with R86H, A118T, R265H, or K310R mutations were adult/late-onset and four of them showed severe symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum. However, it is still difficult to prove the genotype-phenotype correlation, because many patients were compound heterozygotes (with two different mutations), lived in different environments at the time of diagnosis, and/or had several treatment regimes or various knowledge of the disease.     

An azurocidin-like protein is induced in Trichoplusia ni larval gut cells after bacterial challenge

Trichoplusia ni immune genes up-regulated in response to bacterial infection have been isolated using differential display polymerase chain reaction. Here we report the cloning and characterisation of a gut-specific immune gene encoding an azurocidin-like protein. The deduced protein is 317 amino acid residues long with a hydrophobic C-terminus and a predicted 17-residue signal peptide. The mature T. ni protein shows 30% identity to human azurocidin, an antibacterial protein. Like azurocidin, the T. ni protein contains two amino acid substitutions in the active site triad normally present in serine proteases. The T. ni protein was synthesised with a six-histidine C-terminal extension using the baculovirus expression system. Sequencing of the recombinant azurocidin-like protein confirmed the predicted cleavage of the signal peptide. Northern blots show that T. ni azurocidin-like protein is expressed solely in the larval gut and that expression is up-regulated by injecting or feeding bacteria. Expression reaches its highest level at 10 h after bacteria injection.     

Determination of optimal cryoprotectants and procedures for their addition and removal from human spermatozoa

The objective was to test the hypothesis that the optimal cryoprotective agent for cryopreservation of human spermatozoa would be a solute for which cells have the highest plasma membrane permeability, resulting in the least amount of volume excursion during its addition and removal. To test this hypothesis, theoretical simulations were performed using membrane permeability coefficients to predict optimal procedures for the addition and removal of a cryoprotectant. Simulations were performed using data from four different cryoprotectants: (i) glycerol, (ii) dimethyl sulphoxide, (iii) propylene glycol and (iv) ethylene glycol. Thermodynamic formulations were applied to determine approaches for the addition and removal of 1 M and 2 M final concentrations of cryoprotectant, allowing the spermatozoa to maintain a cell volume within their osmotic tolerance limits. Based on these data, ethylene glycol was predicted to be optimal for minimizing volume excursions among the solutes evaluated. These predictions were then experimentally tested using glycerol as the control cryoprotectant and ethylene glycol as the experimental cryoprotectant. The results indicate that there was a higher (P < 0.05) recovery of motile spermatozoa after cryopreservation when using 1 M ethylene glycol than with 1 M glycerol, supporting the hypothesis that use of the cryoprotectant for which the cell has the highest permeability will result in higher cell survival.      

三个常染色体隐性遗传早发型帕金森病家系的PARKIN基因研究

目的 探讨PARKIN基因与中国人常染色体隐性遗传早发型帕金森病（autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson’s disease，AREP）家系的关系。方法 对3个AREP家系的6例患者和23位成员进行系统的临床检查并进行PARKIN基因PCR扩增，产物通过变性高压液相色谱（denaturing high—performance liquid chmnatogmphy，DHPLC）进行突变检测，阳性结果标本进行基因测序。结果 所有研究对象的PARKIN基因外显子均扩增成功。DHPLC检测和基因测序发现一个家系中存在PARKIN基因杂合Gly284Arg突变，另一个家系中存在PARKIN基因Ser167Asn多态性，且患者均有环境毒物接触史。结论 PARKIN基因杂合Gly284Arg突变在环境因素的协同作用下可能导致发病。PARKIN基因Ser167Asn多态性是帕金森病的易感因素，汞中毒与其共同作用可能导致发病。     

Detection of YMDD motif mutants by oligonucleotide chips in lamivudine-untreated patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Lamivudine, a nucleoside analogue, has been used widely as an effective antiviral agent for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, the YMDD motif mutation of HBV polymerase resistant to lamivudine occurs very frequently after long term therapy. We developed an oligonucleotide chip for the detection of YMDD motif mutants resistant to lamivudine and investigated the prevalence of the mutants in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated by lamivudine before. Forty patients who had not been treated with lamivudine were included in this study. Serum samples were tested by the oligonucleotide chips designed for detection of wild-type YMDD motif, M552V and M552I. Samples were confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and direct sequencing. M552I mutants were detected by the oligonucleotide chips in 7.5% (3/40) of chronic HBV infected patients (2 chronic hepatitis and 1 cirrhosis). The results were in accordance with those of RFLP. YMDD motif mutants occur as natural genome variabilities in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated with lamivudine before. Oligonucleotide chip technology is a reliable and useful diagnostic tool for the detection of mutants resistant to antiviral therapy in chronic HBV infection.