Inter- and intra-individual variability of non-invasive tear break-up time in Hong Kong Chinese

Non-invasive tear break-up time (NITBUT) has been proposed as a measure of tear film integrity which is superior to the more commonly used tear break-up time (TBUT), since it does not alter the volume or the physicochemical properties of the tear layer by the addition of fluorescein. We measured NITBUT by measuring the time taken for distortions or discontinuities to appear in the reflected image of a grid pattern which covered about 80 per cent of the corneal surface. NITBUT measures were made 100 times on seven Hong Kong Chinese subjects with up to 20 consecutive measures being made on a single day. We also measured NITBUT on one occasion on an unselected population of 52 Hong Kong Chinese subjects. NITBUT shows a skewed distribution in all subjects, with many shorter values and some extremely long values. There are statistically significant variations in NITBUT from day to day, and from subject to subject. The group of 52 subjects also had a skewed NITBUT distribution with many short values and some very long values. The arithmetic mean does not adequately represent NITBUT data, either for individual subjects or for this group of subjects. As many as five to eight measures may be necessary to gain a stable estimate of the NITBUT and stability of the measure is improved if extreme values are omitted. We recommend the use of nonparametric statistics to compare NITBUT values from day to day in or between subjects.     

Isolation and identification of chondroitin sulfates from the mud snail

Chondroitin sulfates were isolated from the mud snail. For the quantitative analysis of enzymatic digestion products of isolated chondroitin sulfates, strong anion exchange-high performance liquid chromatography (SAX-HPLC) was performed. By the action of chondroitinase ABC, three unsaturated disaccharides 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-D-galactose (ΔDi-OS), 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-6-O-sulfo-D-galactose (ΔDi-6S) and 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-3-O-(β-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-4-O-sulfo-D-galactose (ΔDi-4S) were produced from the mud snail chondroitin sulfates. The analysis showed that relative proportion of ΔDi-OS/ΔDi-6S/ΔDi-4S was 58.7/3.1/38.2. The immunomodulating activity of chondroitin sulfate was examined by cell proliferation assay and these results suggest that it might be a immunosuppressant.     

Localization of dystonic muscles with 18F-FDG PET/CT in idiopathic cervical dystonia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (18)F-FDG PET/CT is useful for localizing dystonic cervical muscles in patients with idiopathic cervical dystonia (ICD) by comparing disease severity before and disease severity after botulinum toxin (BT) injection into hypermetabolic muscles. METHODS: Six patients with ICD underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT. Dystonic muscles suitable for BT injection therapy were defined as those showing diffusely increased (18)F-FDG uptake. RESULTS: Hypermetabolic cervical muscles were identified in all 6 patients. In 2 patients who underwent PET/CT both in a supine position and in a sitting position during (18)F-FDG uptake, abnormal hypermetabolic muscles were observed by PET/CT only when patients were in the sitting position with their heads and necks in the adopted abnormal involuntary posture. Symptoms were significantly improved in 4 patients who underwent BT injection therapy guided by PET/CT and who were clinically monitored. CONCLUSION: (18)F-FDG PET/CT is potentially useful for identifying dystonic cervical muscles for BT therapy in patients with ICD.     

Prenatal diagnosis of horseshoe kidney by measurement of the renal pelvic angle.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of measurement of the angle between bilateral renal pelves on axial views in the prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of horseshoe kidney. METHODS: We retrospectively measured the renal pelvic angle in 19 fetuses with horseshoe and 20 fetuses with normal kidneys in the second and third trimesters. Renal pelvic angle was defined as the angle between the long axis of the renal pelves on the axial view of the abdomen. We compared the renal pelvic angles of horseshoe and normal kidneys with unpaired t-test. Taking 140 degrees as a cut-off value, we calculated the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of pelvic angle measurement for the prenatal diagnosis of horseshoe kidney. RESULTS: The mean pelvic angles in the fetuses with horseshoe kidney were 116 degrees and 110 degrees in the second and third trimester, respectively. In the normal fetuses, the equivalent angles were 172 degrees and 161 degrees. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Using 140 degrees as the discriminating criterion, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of renal pelvic angle measurement for the prenatal diagnosis of horseshoe kidney were all 100%. Fifteen of 19 fetuses with horseshoe kidney had no other abnormality. Four (21%) fetuses had severe complex abnormalities which were associated with trisomy 18 in three cases. CONCLUSION: Observation and measurement of the renal pelvic angle is a simple and useful method in the prenatal diagnosis of the horseshoe kidney.     

The effect of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on the self-esteem, depression, and self-efficacy of runaway adolescents in a shelter in South Korea.

This study examined the effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBT) on the self-esteem, depression, and self-efficacy of runaway adolescents residing in a shelter in Seoul, South Korea. The study used a control group pretest-posttest design. The experimental group and the control group consisted of 14 and 13 male subjects, respectively, with subjects having been randomly assigned to these groups. The experimental group participated in a CBT that consisted of eight sessions over an 8-week period; the control group did not participate in the program. To examine the effects of the CBT on dependent variables, the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used. The scores on depression decreased significantly (z = -2.325, p = .02) and those on self-efficacy increased significantly (z = -2.098, p = .03) after the intervention in the experimental group. There was no significant change on self-esteem (z = -1.19, p = .23). In the control group, the scores on depression, self-esteem, and self-efficacy did not change significantly after the intervention period. The CBT developed in this study consisted of structured and specific content that could be usefully applied to runaway adolescents residing in a shelter.     

Fidgetin-like 1 gene inhibited by basic fibroblast growth factor regulates the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.

The FIGNL1 gene was proven to be a new subfamily member of ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA proteins). In this in vitro study, the AAA proteins inhibited osteoblast proliferation and stimulated osteoblast differentiation. We showed that FIGNL1 may play some regulatory role in osteoblastogenesis. INTRODUCTION: The fidgetin-like 1 (FIGNL1) gene encodes a new subfamily member of ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA proteins). Although the FIGNL1 protein localizes to both the nucleus and cytoplasm, the function of FIGNL1 remains unknown. In a previous study, we identified several genes that mediate the anabolic effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on bone by using microarray data. FIGNL1 was one of the genes that downregulated >2-fold in MC3T3-E1 cells after treatment with bFGF. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify and confirm the function of FIGNL1 on osteoblastogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the effect of the FIGNL1 gene on proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in mouse osteoblast cells (MC3T3-E1 and mouse primary calvarial cells) using flow cytometry, RT-PCR, cell proliferation assay, and cell death assay. MC3T3-E1 cells and mouse calvarial cells were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed against the FIGNL1 or nontargeting control siRNA and examined by cell proliferation and cell death assays. Also, FIGNL1 was fused to enhance green fluorescent protein (EGFP), and the EGFP-fused protein was transiently expressed in MC3T3-E1 cells. RESULTS: Reduced expression of FIGNL1 by bFGF and TGF-beta1 treatment was verified by RT-PCR analysis. Overexpression of FIGNL1 reduced the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 and calvarial cells, more than the mock transfected control cells did. In contrast, siFIGNL1 transfection significantly increased the proliferation of osteoblasts, whereas overexpression of FIGNL1 did not seem to alter apoptosis in osteoblasts. Meanwhile, overexpression of FIGNL1 enhanced the mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) in osteoblasts. In contrast, siFIGNL1 decreased the expression of ALP and OCN. A pEGFP-FIGNL1 transfected into MCT3-E1 cells had an initially ubiquitous distribution and rapidly translocated to the nucleus 1 h after bFGF treatment. CONCLUSIONS: From these results, we proposed that FIGNL1, a subfamily member of the AAA family of proteins, might play some regulatory role in osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Further analyses of FIGNL1 will be needed to better delineate the mechanisms contributing to the inhibition of proliferation and stimulation of osteoblast differentiation.