Nannizzia incurvata in Hue city - Viet Nam: Molecular identification and antifungal susceptibility testing

BackgroundNannizzia incurvata, a species belonging to the Nannizzia gypsea complex, is considered a neglected pathogen.ObjectiveTo detected N. incurvata isolates from dermatophytosis patients in Hue city - Viet Nam, and test the antifungal susceptibility of this species. Moreover, fungal capability to produce hydrolytic enzymes was evaluated.MethodsPatients’ samples were collected and cultured on Sabouraud-chloramphenicol-cycloheximide medium. Dermatophytes isolates were initially macroscopically and microscopically identified. ITS PCR-RFLP and ITS rDNA sequences were performed to determine and confirm species. An ITS Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree evaluated the genetic relationship among isolates. Fungal hydrolytic enzymes were examined, including lipase, phospholipase and protease. Antifungal susceptibility testing was carried out by the disk diffusion method. MICs of itraconazole, voriconazole, and terbinafine against these isolates were determined by the broth microdilution method.ResultsTwelve isolates of N. gypsea complex were preliminary morphologically identified. PCR-RFLP and ITS-rDNA sequencing identified and confirmed dermatophytes as N. incurvata strains, respectively. An evident polymorphism among isolates was highlighted in the phylogenetic tree. All isolates showed the activity of lipase, phospholipase, and protease production. Overall, all N. incurvata isolates were susceptible to itraconazole, voriconazole, clotrimazole, miconazole, and terbinafine. Few isolates were susceptible to griseofulvin, and none of them were susceptible to fluconazole.ConclusionsThere was a presence of polyclonal N. incurvata isolates in dermatophytosis patients from Hue city, identified by PCR-RLFP and confirmed by ITS sequencing. We confirmed PCR-RLFP as a reliable technique to identify this species. Azole and terbinafine are the optimal choices for N. incurvata treatment except for fluconazole.     

生殖腺及生殖腺外畸胎瘤的超声诊断

目的；探讨超声对各部位畸胎瘤的诊断价值。方法：对42例经手术及病理证实的畸胎瘤与超声检查结果对照，并回顾分析其声像特征。结果：畸胎瘤具有一些特征性声像图表现，其肿块检出率100％，诊断符合率89．8％，其中生殖腺畸瘤诊断符合率96．8％，生殖腺外畸胎瘤诊断符合率82．0％。结论：畸胎瘤的超声诊断符合率较高，应为目前首选检查方法。少见部位畸胎瘤因认识不足易造成误诊，良恶性的鉴别亦存在误差。     

DFNB74, a novel autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment locus on chromosome 12q14.2-q15

Autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (ARNSHI) segregating in three unrelated, large consanguineous Pakistani families (PKDF528, PKDF859 and PKDF326) is linked to markers on chromosome 12q14.2-q15. This novel locus is designated DFNB74 . Maximum two-point limit of detection (LOD) scores of 5.6, 5.7 and 2.6 were estimated for markers D 12 S 313, D 12 S 83 and D 12 S 75 at θ = 0 for recessive deafness segregating in these three families. Haplotype analyses identified a critical linkage interval of 5.35 cM (5.36 Mb) defined by D 12 S 329 at 74.58 cM and D 12 S 313 at 79.93 cM. DFNB74 is the second ARNSHI locus mapped to chromosome 12, but the physical intervals do not overlap with one another. A locus contributing to the early onset, rapidly progressing hearing loss of A/J mice ( ahl4 , age-related hearing loss 4) was reported to map to chromosome 10 in a region of conserved synteny to DFNB74 , suggesting that ahl4 and DFNB74 may be due to mutations of the same gene in these two species.     

A double dissociation of subcortical hippocampal efferents for encoding and consolidation/retrieval of spatial information

CA3 lesions impair encoding, whereas CA1 lesions impair retrieval during learning of a Hebb-Williams maze. CA3 efferents in the fimbria were transected, taking care to spare cholinergic and GABAergic afferents. CA1 efferents in the dorsal fornix were similarly transected. Fimbria transections, but not dorsal fornix transections, resulted in deficits for the encoding of spatial information during learning of a Hebb-Williams maze. Dorsal fornix, but not fimbria, transections resulted in deficits for retrieval of spatial memory during learning of a Hebb-Williams maze. These results reveal a double dissociation for the roles of CA3 and CA1 subcortical efferents in encoding and retrieval processes that mirror the double dissociation seen after excitotoxic lesions of CA1 and CA3. These data provide support for the theory that the cholinergic projections from the septal nuclei modulate the dynamics for encoding and consolidation/retrieval in the hippocampus.     

Placement of radiopaque clips for tumor localization in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and breast conservation therapy

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine whether patients with breast cancer who received breast-conservation therapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had improved outcomes if radiopaque clips were placed to mark the primary tumor. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the records of 410 patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer who received doxorubicin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and breast-conservation therapy from January 1990 to September 2005. Thirty-seven of those patients were omitted because of the inability to verify radiopaque clip placement in the primary tumor. RESULTS: Of the 373 patients who were analyzed, 145 patients had radiopaque clips placed to mark the primary tumor before or during neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 228 patients did not. The distribution of clinical T classification, nuclear grade, estrogen receptor status, final margin status, and extent of residual primary disease was similar between the 2 groups. After a median follow-up of 49 months (range, 20-177 months), 21 patients developed a local recurrence in the treated breast. The 5-year rate of local control was 98.6% in patients who had radiopaque clips placed versus 91.7% in patients who did not have tumor marker clips placed (P=.02; log-rank test). On multivariate analysis, the omission of tumor bed clips was associated with a hazard ratio of 3.69 for increased local recurrence compared with patients who did have radiopaque clip placement (P=.083; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-16.16). CONCLUSIONS: The placement of radiopaque clips in patients who were receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and breast-conservation therapy was associated with better local control independent of stage and other clinicopathologic findings. The authors concluded that the placement of tumor-marker clips should be an integral part of the multidisciplinary approach in appropriate patients.     

Dural infolding during C1-2 myelography

Inward buckling of the dura at C1-2 may occasionally occur with hyperextension of the neck and can result in a difficult or unsuccessful puncture when the posterior lateral C1-2 approach is used for cervical myelography. In this circumstance, placement of the head in a neutral or slightly flexed position may widen the posterior subarachnoid space and facilitate the needle puncture.     

龙岩市1995～2000年涂阳肺结核病人随访研究

目的：分析福建省龙岩市结核病控制五年效果。为结核病控制可持续发展提供技术政策依据。方法：收集并分析1995年-2000年福建省龙岩市肺结核月报表和年报表及有关资料，采用队列分析方法对登记治疗管理的初，复治涂阳肺结核病人进行分析。结果：1995年-2000年涂阳肺结核病人发现率从4.9/10万上升到22.7/10万；初治涂阳治愈率从63.4%上升到95.8%；复治涂阳病人治愈率从50%上升到85.6%。结论：涂阳肺结核病人的高发现率和高治愈率是因为1999年开始实施结核病归口管理和DOTS策略，应以持续发燕尾服。     

实施现代结核病控制策略对传染性肺结核患者发现与治疗效果的影响

目的：分析实施DOTS策略对传染性肺结核病例发现与治疗效果的影响。方法：通过对1995—2000年分批实施的卫生部加强与促进结核病控制项目、WHO西太区结核病控制项目及福建省结核病控制项目资料进行分析。结果涂阳病例新登记率由1995年的6．3／10万提高到2000年的19．0／10万，涂片阳性占活动性病例比例由21．5％提高到37．4％，新发涂阳病例治愈率由80．7％提高到89．2％，病例丢失率由7．3％下降到2．7％，治疗失败率由6．9％下降到1．4％。流动人口传染性肺结核病例治愈率仅59．7％。结论：实施DOTS策略，重视流动人口结核病治疗管理，提高涂阳病例发现率、治愈率，减少病例丢失和治疗失败，有效控制结核病。