Intrahepatic bile duct and portal vein anatomy revisited

Seventeen normal cadaver livers were studied to assess the anatomic relationship of bile ducts to portal veins. The common bile duct, main portal vein, and hepatic artery were cannulated and injected with air, dilute contrast medium, and mineral oil, respectively. The livers were placed in anatomic position and examined with computed tomography. In the lateral segment of the left hepatic lobe, the bile ducts were anterior to the portal vein in seven cases, posterior in seven, and tortuous (ie, both anterior and posterior) in three. In the medial segment of the left lobe, the bile ducts were anterior in four cases, posterior in four, tortuous in three, and not seen in six. In the right lobe, the bile ducts were anterior in nine cases, posterior in five, tortuous in one, and not seen in two. In the porta hepatis, the bile ducts were anterior in ten cases, posterior in one, tortuous in five, and not seen in one. Histologic findings confirmed the anterior and posterior location of the bile ducts relative to the portal veins. These findings contradict the commonly held view of intrahepatic bile ducts being anterior to the portal vein and are clinically significant for techniques such as bile duct drainage.     

增效联磺片的体外溶出度和体内生物利用度

建立了测定体外溶出介质中磺胺嘧啶(SD)、磺胺甲噁唑(SMZ)和甲氧苄啶(TMP)及血浆中SD,SMZ,TMP和两个代谢产物N⁴-acetyl-SD和N⁴-acetyl-SMZ的反相高效液相色谱法,并对市售两种增效联磺片(片剂A和B)进行了体外溶出度和人体内生物利用度的研究。体外溶出度实验表明:两种片剂相同主药的T⁵⁰差异非常显著(P<0.001),片剂A主药的溶出比B快。生物利用度试验表明:片剂B相对于A的口服吸收分数为0.73(SD),0.78(SMZ)和0.83(TMP),口服片剂后各主药的体内过程符合表观一级吸收和一级消除的单室模型。     

L-N-Acetylcysteine treatment is associated with improved hearing outcome in sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss

Conclusions. Universal hearing screening gives a deaf child earlier diagnosis and intervention with a better chance for successful management of hearing and speech development. Objectives. Universal newborn hearing screening has a major impact on early identification of deafness in children. This study evaluated the outcome of cochlear implantation in screened and non-screened deaf children. Subjects and methods. Group 1 comprised 9 deaf children diagnosed by screening; group 2 comprised 21 children diagnosed by traditional methods. The following parameters were evaluated: age at the time of diagnosis, age at the time of the first hearing aid fitting, age at the time of cochlear implantation. In children who had been using a cochlear implant for more than 2 years the results of audiological tests, category of auditory performance (CAP), and development and quality of speech were also evaluated. Results. Hearing screening significantly reduced the age at the time of diagnosis (6.9 months vs 15.4 months) as well as the age at the time of the first hearing aid fitting (9.3 months vs 17 months) and age at the time of cochlear implantation (26 months vs 32 months). Children from the screening program had better results in speech audiometry (95% discrimination vs 84%), monosyllabic tests (62% vs 34%), CAP (level 6 vs level 5), evaluation of spontaneous speech (level 6 vs level 5), and intelligibility of speech (level 5 vs level 3.5). According to the statistical evaluation (Fisher's test) the functional results did not show significant difference.     

Identification of core genes in ovarian cancer by an integrative meta-analysis

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer is one of the most ?severe public health threats in women. Since it is still challenging to screen in early stages, identification of core genes that play an essential role in epithelial ovarian cancer initiation and progression is of vital importance.

Results

Seven gene expression datasets (GSE6008, GSE18520, GSE26712, GSE27651, GSE29450, GSE36668, and GSE52037) containing 396 ovarian cancer samples and 54 healthy control samples were analyzed to identify the significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We identified 563 DEGs, including 245 upregulated and 318 downregulated genes. Enrichment analysis based on the gene ontology (GO) functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways showed that the upregulated genes were significantly enriched in cell division, cell cycle, tight junction, and oocyte meiosis, while the downregulated genes were associated with response to endogenous stimuli, complement and coagulation cascades, the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, and serotonergic synapse. Two significant modules were identified from a protein-protein interaction network by using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) software. Moreover, 12 hub genes with degree centrality more than 29 were selected from the protein-protein interaction network, and module analysis illustrated that these 12 hub genes belong to module 1. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis for overall survival indicated that 9 of these hub genes was correlated with poor prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients.

Conclusion

The present study systematically validates the results of previous studies and fills the gap regarding a large-scale meta-analysis in the field of epithelial ovarian cancer. Furthermore, hub genes that could be used as a novel biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches are evaluated, providing compelling evidence for future genomic-based individualized treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer.

     

Lymphocyte Populations and Cellular Immune Reactions in Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ten patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and age- and sex-matched healthy controls were investigated in pairs. The patients were found to have both normal proportions and normal absolute numbers of T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and the Fc-receptor-bearing lymphoid cells in peripheral blood. No abnormality of mitogen-induced lymphocyte transformation was observed. Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity induced by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or anti-target cell antibodies was also found to be normal. As in an earlier study, impaired delayed hyper-sensitivity by skin testing was observed in the patient group, thus indicating a dissociation between in vivo and in vitro parameters of lympboid cell function.     

Striated intramural gallbladder lucencies on US studies: predictors of acute cholecystitis

Ultrasound scans of 51 consecutive patients with gallbladder wall thickening were reviewed, and specific sonographic features were correlated with surgical and clinical follow-up. Two patterns of thickening were identified as specific indicators of the presence or absence of acute cholecystitis. "Striated" wall thickening, consisting of several alternating, irregular, discontinuous, lucent and echogenic bands, was seen in eight of 13 patients (62%) with acute cholecystitis. This pattern was not encountered in any of the patients who did not have acute cholecystitis. Conversely, "three-layer" thickening, consisting of a single circumferential lucent zone between two relatively uniform echogenic layers, was seen in only one of 13 patients (8%) with acute cholecystitis but in 11 of 38 patients (29%) with other diagnoses. Other abnormalities, including the presence of intramural echogenic foci and wall irregularities, were more frequently seen in patients with acute cholecystitis but were not as helpful. Use of these features may suggest or help exclude a diagnosis of acute cholecystitis in those patients in whom the cause of gallbladder wall thickening is otherwise not apparent.     

Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emission Monitoring of Cochlear Blood Flow

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) have been shown to be ideally sensitive to interruptions of the cochlear blood flow. However, a 15- to 30- second latency typically occurs between cessation of circulation and measurable DPOAE level changes. DPOAEs can also be characterized by phase measures. The aim of the present study was to determine in 10 rabbits the effects on DPOAE phase of repetitively compressing the internal auditory artery. In contrast to the delays measured by DPOAE level, phase changes were detected 1 to 5 seconds after internal auditory artery compression. These data suggest that the essentially “real time” monitoring of cochlear function with DPOAE phase can be used to ensure hearing preservation during surgery involving the porus acousticus and skull base.