An autopsy-proved case of AIDS in Taiwan

The first case of AIDS positively identified in a non-foreigner in Taiwan was a 25-year-old unmarried male who had practiced homosexuality for ten years. The patient began to have abdominal pain accompanied with loose stools and weight loss in June 1985, followed by fever, cough, headache, dizziness, and loss of memory. Facial hyperpigmentation and extensive oroesophageal candidiasis were noted. Laboratory studies showed severe lymphopenia with a reversed T-helper to T-suppressor ratio, cutaneous anergy and polyclonal gammopathy. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies were positive by ELISA and Western blot, and the virus was isolated from the blood. At autopsy, disseminated cytomegalovirus infection, extensive CNS toxoplasmosis and early lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma were demonstrated. The detection of HIV in the adrenal medulla supports the consensus that the virus is neurotropic.     

Supraependymal cells in the third ventricle of the neonatal rat

Supraependymal cells in the third ventricle of neonatal male and female rats were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Supraependymal cells in the third ventrical of adult male rats were also studied with SEM. Many neonate supraependymal cells were round to oval in shape and exhibited varying degrees of surface irregularity. Small finger-like processes or narrow pseudopodia projected from the cell bodies over the underlying ependymal cells. Some neonatal supraependymal cells exhibited flattened cell bodies with broad pseudopodia and few surface irregularities. TEM revealed a variety of cell profiles. Prominent within the cytoplasm of many supraependymal cells were lysosomes, smooth and coated vesicles suggesting pinocytosis, subplasmalemma vacuoles, and occasional lipid droplets. The morphological characteristics of neonatal supraependymal cells suggested they were mononuclear phagocytes. Adult supraependymal cells exhibited more pleomorphic cell shapes with numerous cell processes, varying widely in size and shape, and often extending over the ventricular surface for considerable distances. These observations, in combination with previous studies by other investigators, suggest that some adult supraependymal cells may also be phagocytic in nature. The differences in morphology between adult and neonatal supraependymal phagocytes may relate to the differing third ventricle environment between adult and neonates and/or differences in the origin of the phagocytes with age.     

Anbenshi的抗感染免疫作用

安本施(Anbenshi)是从清热解毒中药中华猕猴桃根中提取的多糖复合物制剂。本文观察了它的抗感染免疫作用。结果显示:该制剂有抑制细菌粘附的能力,抑制率与已知粘附抑制物ConA相近;它能诱生干扰素,效价及性质与聚肌胞类同;Anbenshi在体外无直接抑菌作用,但体内给药能明显增强小鼠对致病菌感染致死的保护作用,并能明显增强腹腔巨噬细胞的吞噬功能。Anbenshi的抗感染免疫作用,可能系通过抑制细菌在局部粘附作用和增强机体的免疫抗菌能力。     

癌瘤患者骨髓细胞c－erbB和c－erbA的基因异常

本文在大系列研究造血系统恶性肿瘤-白血病和白血病前期的基础上，对３１例恶性肿瘤患者骨髓进行血液学、细胞和分子遗传学研究。发现恶性肿瘤患者骨髓有与白血病前期骨髓相似的病态造血（Ｍｙｅｌｏｄｙｓｐｌａｓｉａ）和相关基因异常即ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ基因重排、扩增和ｃ－ｅｒｂＡ缺失。它们不仅同骨髓红系病态造血相关，也同巨核系病态造血相关。骨髓巨核系病态造血及其相关基因异常可能代表急性淋巴细胞白血病等多种恶性肿瘤的早期病变。而ｃ－ｅｒｂＢ重排及其相关的骨髓巨核系异常增生可能是肿瘤发病的遗传背景。     

肺炎患儿白细胞变形能力和粘附功能的变化及临床意义

肺炎患儿白细胞变形能力和粘附功能的变化及临床意义林荣军１刘成玉２潘玉娟３徐丽园研究表明，白细胞与急性肺组织损伤有密切关系［１］，白细胞在肺内聚集是产生急性肺损伤的重要环节，而细胞粘附分子（ｃＡｍｓ）介导的各种白细胞的粘附，特别是中性粒细胞粘附和跨膜转...     

Acute myeloid leukemia with t(6;9)(p23;q34) is associated with dysplasia and a high frequency of flt3 gene mutations

We report 12 cases of t(6;9)(p23;q34)-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), all classified using the criteria of the World Health Organization classification. There were 10 women and 2 men with a median age of 51 years (range, 20-76 years). Dysplasia was present in all cases (9 previously untreated), and basophilia was present in 6 (50%). Immunophenotypic studies showed that the blasts were positive for CD9, CD13, CD33, CD38, CD117, and HLA-DR in all cases assessed. CD34 was positive in 11 (92%) of 12, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase was positive in 7 (64%) of 11 cases. The t(6;9) was the only cytogenetic abnormality detected in 7 cases (58%), and 5 cases had additional chromosomal abnormalities. Of 8 cases assessed, 7 (88%) had flt3 gene mutations. We conclude that t(6;9)-positive AML cases have distinctive morphologic features, an immunophenotype suggesting origin from an early hematopoietic progenitor cell, and a high frequency of flt3 gene mutations.     

Effect of melanin produced by a recombinant Escherichia coli on antibacterial activity of antibiotics.

A recombinant plasmid, pYL-1, containing a tyrosinase gene whose expression is under the control of a phage T5 promoter and 2 lac operators, was constructed. Escherichia coli JM109 harboring pYL-1 was used for production of bacterial melanin. A simple procedure for the isolation and purification of melanin was developed. The ultraviolet (UV)-visible light absorption spectra of melanin prepared by chemical synthesis and derived from different organisms, including bacteria, a plant and an animal source, were determined. Melanins produced by both bacteria and chemical synthesis showed a steady increase of absorption at wavelengths of UV light ranging from approximately 200-400 nm, while melanin derived either from plant or animal sources showed an additional discrete absorption peak at wavelength 280 nm upon a similar steady increase of absorption. This additional absorption peak could be due to the presence of protein-bound melanins in animal and plant sources while a free form of melanin was obtained from bacteria and chemical synthesis. Analysis of the effect of bacterial melanin on the activity of antibiotics against E. coli revealed that the activities of polymyxin B, kanamycin, tetracycline, and ampicillin were markedly reduced in the presence of melanin, whereas the activity of norfloxacin was not affected. The reduction of the antibacterial activity may result directly from the interaction of antibiotics with melanin. However, the mechanism of this interaction remains to be demonstrated.     

磷脂双层膜稳定性的理论分析

目的：越来越多磷脂双层膜的原子力显微镜扫描力谱显示溶液离子浓度对磷脂双层膜稳定性有很大影响，本文从理论角度研究溶液离子浓度对磷脂双层膜稳定性的影响，同时解释两个基于不同模型模拟结果差别的原因。方法：主要根据磷脂分子极性端带电特性，将极性端看作偶极子，然后基于偶极-偶极相互作用理论以及泊松-玻尔兹曼理论解决以上问题。结论：随着离子浓度的增加，磷脂双层膜趋于更加稳定；基于两个不同模型模拟结果差别的原因是高浓度溶液的强静电屏蔽作用。     

基于互信息的医学图像配准实验

基于互信息的配准方法，包括互信息和归一化互信息方法，是目前医学图像配准中无创、自动且精度很高的一种方法。已经被广泛应用。但是在其目标函数中存在着一定程度的幅值振荡现象。特别是在单模态图像配准中。我们研究发现，产生这种振荡的原因除了插值赝像外，还有由配准过程中图像重叠部分发生变化而引起的熵的变化不确定性。由插值赝像所带来的振荡基本上可以被消除掉；由熵的变化不确定性所带来的振荡很难被消除，但是这种振荡作用在归一化互信息中影响不大。归一化互信息比互信息具有更高的稳健性，适合于更广的应用范围。     

Incidence and case-fatality rates resulting from the 1998 enterovirus 71 outbreak in Taiwan

In 1998, an epidemic of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and herpangina caused by enterovirus 71 occurred in Taiwan, leaving many fatalities and severely handicapped survivors in its wake. The reasons this rather common pathogen would cause such a large-scale epidemic remain unknown. A seroepidemiological survey to elucidate the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak, including its incidence and case-fatality rates was undertaken. Microneutralization tests for antibodies against enterovirus 71 were used to screen four collections of serum samples: 1) 202 specimens taken from individuals > or = 4 years old in 1994; 2) 245 specimens collected from individuals of all ages in 1997; 3) 1,258 specimens collected from individuals of all ages in 1999; and 4) sera samples from a birth cohort of 81 children who had yearly blood samples taken from 1988-98. After the maternal antibody had declined, the seropositive rates began to increase with age. Approximately half of all children aged 6 years or older were enterovirus 71 seropositive. Significantly higher seropositive rates were noted in 1999 than in 1997, in children aged 0.5-3 years. The incidence of enterovirus 71 infection during the epidemic was estimated to be 13-22%, with the higher rates in younger children. The case-fatality rate was highest (96.96 per 100,000) in infants aged 6-11 months, and declined in older children. The results showed that enterovirus 71 is endemic in Taiwan. The apparent lack of large-scale enterovirus 71 activity in the 3 years before 1998 might have been the prelude to the epidemic's appearance in 1998, and might suggest that enterovirus 71 infection will reappear every few years. The lack of a protective antibody in younger children may account for the high incidence and case-fatality rate in this age group.