A movable microelectrode array for chronic basal ganglia single-unit electrocorticogram co-recording in freely behaving rats

The basal ganglia–cortical circuits are important for information process to brain function. However, chronic recording of single-unit activities in the basal ganglia nucleus has not yet been well established. We present a movable bundled microwire array for chronic subthalamic nucleus (STN) single-unit electrocorticogram co-recording. The electrode assembly contains a screw-advanced microdrive and a microwire array. The array consists of a steel guide tube, five recording wires and one referenced wire which form the shape of a guiding hand, and one screw electrode for cortico-recording. The electrode can acquire stable cortex oscillation-driven STN firing units in rats under different behaving conditions for 8 weeks. We achieved satisfying signal-to-noise ratio, portions of cells retaining viability, and spike waveform similarities across the recording sections. Using this method, we investigated neural correlations of the basal ganglia–cortical circuits in different behaving conditions. This method will become a powerful tool for multi-region recording to study normal statements or movement disorders.     

Acrylamide exposure impairs blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier function

Previous studies show that chronic acrylamide exposure leads to central and peripheral neu- ropathy. However, the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. In this study, we examined the permeability of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and its ability to secrete transthyretin and transport leptin of rats exposed to acrylamide for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days. Transthyretin levels in cerebrospinal fluid began to decline on day 7 after acrylamide exposure. The sodium fluorescein level in cerebrospinal fluid was increased on day 14 after exposure. Evans blue concentration in cerebrospinal fluid was increased and the cerebrospinal fluid/serum leptin ratio was decreased on days 21 and 28 after exposure. In comparison, the cerebrospinal fluid/serum albumin ratio was increased on day 28 after exposure. Our findings show that acrylamide exposure damages the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and impairs secretory and transport functions. These changes may underlie acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity.     

Development of mitochondrial SSU rDNA-based oligonucleotide probes for specific detection of common airborne fungi

In this study we sequenced partial mitochondrial small subunit rDNA from 32 fungal strains representing 31 species from 16 genera. Most of these species are common airborne fungi and pathogens that may cause various public health concerns. Sequence alignment showed several conserved and highly variable regions. The variable regions were deployed to design oligonucleotide probes for each fungal species. The specificity of the designed probes was first examined through homology search against GenBank database then further verified through hybridization experiments to 38 fungal strains. A total of 23 probes were verified as specific to 15 fungal species commonly detected in living and working environments. These new probes will have potential applications in clinical diagnosis and public health-related environmental monitoring.     

Thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis in children with severe post-tubercular kyphotic deformities treated by single-stage closing–opening wedge osteotomy: preliminary report a 4-year follow-up of 12 patients

Purpose

The correction of severe post-tubercular kyphosis (PTK) is complex and has the disadvantage of being multistaged with a high morbidity. In this study, we evaluated the outcomes of children who underwent single-stage closing–opening wedge osteotomy as a surgical treatment of PTK of the thoracolumbar spine.

Method

Our study group included 12 children with thoracolumbar PTK (seven boys and five girls) with an average age of 9.4 years (range 6–12 years), who were treated at our institution from January 2004 to October 2009. The American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale and visual analog scale score were used to classify neurologic function. All patients underwent halo-pelvic traction before surgery and were treated with single-stage closing–opening wedge osteotomy.

Result

The duration of surgery averaged 99 min (range 70–150 min). Average blood loss was 782 ml (range 560–1,200 ml), and the average length of hospital stay was 12 days (range 8–16 days). The neurological function of all patients improved significantly after the procedure. The mean preoperative kyphotic angle was 83.3° (range 59–118°), which had reduced to 27.6° (range 20–38°) at the final follow-up visit. All patients had solid fusion, and no major complications were observed through the final follow-up visit.

Conclusion

Single-stage closing–opening wedge osteotomy is an effective method to correct severe thoracolumbar PTK. A main advantage of the procedure is that it is a posterior-only, single-staged surgery, allowing for significant correction with minimal complications.     

Systematic comparison of adeno‐associated virus and biotinylated dextran amine reveals equivalent sensitivity between tracers and novel projection targets in the mouse brain

As an anterograde neuronal tracer, recombinant adeno‐associated virus (AAV) has distinct advantages over the widely used biotinylated dextran amine (BDA). However, the sensitivity and selectivity of AAV remain uncharacterized for many brain regions and species. To validate this tracing method further, AAV (serotype 1) was systematically compared with BDA as an anterograde tracer by injecting both tracers into three cortical and 15 subcortical regions in C57BL/6J mice. Identical parameters were used for our sequential iontophoretic injections, producing injections of AAV that were more robust in size and in density of neurons infected compared with those of BDA. However, these differences did not preclude further comparison between the tracers, because the pairs of injections were suitably colocalized and contained some percentage of double‐labeled neurons. A qualitative analysis of projection patterns showed that the two tracers behave very similarly when injection sites are well matched. Additionally, a quantitative analysis of relative projection intensity for cases targeting primary motor cortex (MOp), primary somatosensory cortex (SSp), and caudoputamen (CP) showed strong agreement in the ranked order of projection intensities between the two tracers. A detailed analysis of the projections of two brain regions (SSp and MOp) revealed many targets that have not previously been described in the mouse or rat. Minor retrograde labeling of neurons was observed in all cases examined, for both AAV and BDA. Our results show that AAV has actions equivalent to those of BDA as an anterograde tracer and is suitable for analysis of neural circuitry throughout the mouse brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:1989–2012, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

升温速度对多孔生物陶瓷特性的影响

目的:观察升温速度对多孔生物陶瓷孔结构、显气孔率与容重、水渗透率、收缩率以及压缩强度的影响.方法:实验于2005-09/2007-09在武汉理工大学生物中心和重庆邮电大学生物实验中心完成.①在保温时间为2 h,烧成温度为850 ℃条件下,有机泡沫微球与骨料质量配比为0.25时,粘结剂的添加量为20%,升温速度分别为30,60,90,120,150和200 ℃/h条件下,采用有机泡沫微球作为成孔剂的热压铸多孔陶瓷的制备方法制得不同样品.②用电子扫描显微镜观察孔道和表面形貌;根据GB/T1964-1967.1996和GB/T1969～1970-1996测量显气孔率、容重;用自制水渗透率测定仪测定水渗透率;用体积法测定收缩率;用ASTM材料强度测试机测定压缩强度.结果:①升温速度变化对孔径＞100 μm大孔的影响明显,对孔径＜50 μm小孔的影响不明显,对晶体的长大影响也明显.②随着升温速度从30 ℃/h提高到150 ℃/h,显气孔率从72%增加到82%,容重从0.89×103 kg/m3下降0.52×103 kg/m3,水渗透率从12×10-3 cm2增加到25×10-3 cm2,收缩率27%从减少到23%,抗压强度从17.3 MPa降低到1.59 MPa.结论:升温速度对孔结构、显气孔率与容重、水渗透率、收缩率以及抗压强度有着重要的影响,为了保证成品有较好的孔结构、较高的显气孔率的同时具有一定的机械强度,升温速度选择在120 ℃/h左右较佳.     

Green tea polyphenols protect spinal cord neurons against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress

Green tea polyphenols are strong antioxidants and can reduce free radical damage. To investigate their neuroprotective potential, we induced oxidative damage in spinal cord neurons using hydrogen peroxide, and applied different concentrations(50–200 μg/mL) of green tea polyphenol to the cell medium for 24 hours. Measurements of superoxide dismutase activity, malondialdehyde content, and expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins revealed that green tea polyphenol effectively alleviated oxidative stress. Our results indicate that green tea polyphenols play a protective role in spinal cord neurons under oxidative stress.