产前超声诊断胎儿右房异构一例

本文报道产前超声诊断胎儿右房异构一例。孕妇孕24周产前超声检查发现胎儿左位心合并复杂心血管畸形(右心室双出口、房室间隔缺损、肺动脉发育不良、双侧上腔静脉、心下型完全型肺静脉异位引流)、胃泡位于腹腔右侧、中位肝、可疑无脾、腹主动脉与下腔静脉位于脊柱左侧、双侧支气管呈右侧支气管对称形态,综合考虑右房异构可能。引产后经尸体解剖证实脾脏发育不良、右房异构。右房异构常合并复杂心血管畸形,因此产前超声发现复杂心血管畸形时,应警惕右房异构的可能。右房异构病死率极高,产前诊断具有重要意义。     

Sodium butyrate prevents radiation-induced cognitive impairment by restoring pCREB/BDNF expression

Sodium butyrate is a histone deacetylase inhibitor that affects various types of brain damages. To investigate the effects of sodium butyrate on hippocampal dysfunction that occurs after whole-brain irradiation in animal models and the effect of sodium butyrate on radiation exposure-induced cognitive impairments,adult C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally treated with 0.6 g/kg sodium butyrate before exposure to 10 Gy cranial irradiation. Cognitive impairment in adult C57BL/6 mice was evaluated via an object recognition test 30 days after irradiation. We also detected the expression levels of neurogenic cell markers(doublecortin)and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Radiation-exposed mice had decreased cognitive function and hippocampal doublecortin and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. Sodium butyrate pretreatment reversed these changes. These findings suggest that sodium butyrate can improve radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction through inhibiting the decrease in hippocampal phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. The study procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Korea Institute of Radiological Medical Sciences(approval No. KIRAMS16-0002) on December 30, 2016.     

Toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) to THP-1 macrophages: interactions with saturated or unsaturated free fatty acids

In a biological microenvironment, free fatty acids (FFA) as ubiquitous biological molecules might interact with nanoparticles (NPs) and consequently change the toxicological responses. However, whether the chemical structures of FFA could influence their interactions with NPs remain unknown. This study investigated the interactions between ZnO NPs and saturated or unsaturated FFA (complexed to BSA), namely stearic acid (SA, C18:0), oleic acid (OA, C18:1), and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3). It was shown that BSA, SA, OA, and ALA increased the atomic force microscope (AFM) heights as well the polydispersity index (PDI) of ZnO NPs. BSA modestly protected THP-1 macrophages from ZnO NP exposure, whereas OA and ALA led to relatively less cyto-protective effects of BSA. Moreover, only co-exposure to ZnO NPs and SA significantly promoted the release of interleukin-8. BSA, SA, OA, and ALA equally changed intracellular ROS and Zn ions associated with ZnO exposure, but co-exposure to ZnO NPs and OA/ALA particularly activated the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-apoptosis genes. In combination, these results showed that FFA could influence the colloidal aspects and toxicological signaling pathway of ZnO NPs, which is dependent on the number of unsaturated bonds of FFA.     

Quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (qCEST) MRI – omega plot analysis of RF‐spillover‐corrected inverse CEST ratio asymmetry for simultaneous determination of labile proton ratio and exchange rate

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI is sensitive to labile proton concentration and exchange rate, thus allowing measurement of dilute CEST agent and microenvironmental properties. However, CEST measurement depends not only on the CEST agent properties but also on the experimental conditions. Quantitative CEST (qCEST) analysis has been proposed to address the limitation of the commonly used simplistic CEST‐weighted calculation. Recent research has shown that the concomitant direct RF saturation (spillover) effect can be corrected using an inverse CEST ratio calculation. We postulated that a simplified qCEST analysis is feasible with omega plot analysis of the inverse CEST asymmetry calculation. Specifically, simulations showed that the numerically derived labile proton ratio and exchange rate were in good agreement with input values. In addition, the qCEST analysis was confirmed experimentally in a phantom with concurrent variation in CEST agent concentration and pH. Also, we demonstrated that the derived labile proton ratio increased linearly with creatine concentration (P < 0.01) while the pH‐dependent exchange rate followed a dominantly base‐catalyzed exchange relationship (P < 0.01). In summary, our study verified that a simplified qCEST analysis can simultaneously determine labile proton ratio and exchange rate in a relatively complex in vitro CEST system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.