Apolipoprotein E—associated risk for Alzheimer's disease in the African-American population is genotype dependent

As a part of our ongoing study on Alzheimer's disease (AD) in elderly African Americans, we obtained clinical assessment and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype data on 288 individuals (including 60 with AD). The ApoE σ4 allele frequency was significantly increased in AD patients compared with controls. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for AD in σ4 homozygotes was 4.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71–13.64) compared with the σ3/σ3 genotype, but the OR for AD with the σ3/σ4 genotype did not reach significance (1.20; 95% CI, 0.58–2.45). These findings suggest that the association between ApoE σ4 and AD is weaker in African Americans than in whites.     

医学生"网络成瘾症"产生的原因和对策

文章针对目前医学生“网络成瘾症”的现状进行了分析,并指出了产生的原因和解决问题的办法,以求达到标本兼治。最后提出三点预防医学生“网络成瘾症”的对策：一是高校及其附属医院要为医学生营造宽松愉快的学习、生活环境;二是呼吁家长关注医学生身心发展的特殊规律,建立良好的家庭环境;三是建立和完善与网络社会相应的法律法规,规范医学生的网上行为。     

Similar motion of a hand-held object may trigger nonsimilar grip force adjustments.

The tight coupling between load (L) and grip (G) forces during voluntary manipulation of a hand-held object is well established. The current study is to examine grip-load force coupling when motion of the hand with an object was either self-generated (voluntary) or externally generated. Subjects performed similar cyclic movements of different loads at various frequencies with three types of manipulations: 1) voluntary oscillation, 2) oscillating the right arm via the pulley system by the left leg (self-driven oscillation), and 3) oscillating the arm via the pulley system by another person (other-driven oscillation). During the self-generated movements: 1) the grip forces were larger and 2) grip-load force modulation was more pronounced than in the externally generated movements. The G-L adjustments are not completely determined by the mechanics of object motion; nonmechanical factors related to movement performance, for instance perceptual factors, may affect the G-L coupling.     

Angiopoietin1/Tie2 and VEGF/Flk1 induced by MSC treatment amplifies angiogenesis and vascular stabilization after stroke.

Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and promote angiogenesis after stroke. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and its receptor Tie2 mediate vascular integrity and angiogenesis as does VEGF and its receptors. In this study, we tested whether MSC treatment of stroke increases Ang1/Tie2 expression, and whether Ang1/Tie2 with VEGF/ vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) (Flk1), in combination, induced by MSCs enhances angiogenesis and vascular integrity. Male Wistar rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) and treated with or without MSCs. Marrow stromal cell treatment significantly decreased blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage and increased Ang1, Tie2, and occludin (a tight junction protein) expression in the ischemic border compared with MCAo control. To further test the mechanisms of MSC-induced angiogenesis and vascular stabilization, cocultures of MSCs with mouse brain endothelial cells (MBECs) or astrocytes were performed. Supernatant derived from MSCs cocultured with MBECs significantly increased MBEC expression of Ang1/Tie2 and Flk1 compared with MBEC alone. Marrow stromal cells cocultured with astrocytes also significantly increased astrocyte VEGF and Ang1/Tie2 expression compared with astrocyte culture alone. Conditioned media from MSCs alone, and media from cocultures of MSCs with astrocytes or MBECs, all significantly increased capillary tube-like formation of MBEC compared with control Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium media. Inhibition of Flk1 and/or Ang1 significantly decreased MSC-induced MBEC tube formation. Knockdown of Tie2 expression in MBECs significantly inhibited MSC-induced tube formation. Our data indicate MSC treatment of stroke promotes angiogenesis and vascular stabilization, which is at least partially mediated by VEGF/Flk1 and Ang1/Tie2.     

表皮生长因子及其受体与流产关系的探讨

采用放射免疫竞争抑制饱和分析法，检测４７例难免流产患者，６５例人工流产及２０例健康非孕妇女血清表皮生长因子（ＥＧＦ）水平；同时采用免疫组织化学法检测流产者胚胎组织中表皮生长因子受体（ＥＧＦＲ）表达程度。结果：人工流产组血清ＥＧＦ水平高于自然流产及非孕妇女，而自然流产与非孕妇女差异无显著性；胚胎组织中ＥＧＦＲ阳性表达率人工流产组明显高于自然流产组。提示：ＥＧＦ通过与其受体结合对妊娠维持、胚胎及胎儿的     

Stabilization of an inserted tricalcium phosphate spacer enhances the healing of a segmental tibial defect in sheep

The effect of inserting a tricalcium phosphate (TCP) spacer stabilized by a rigid or non-rigid fixation technique on the healing of segmental tibial defects of critical size was established. The osteotomized tibiae, 11 with and 8 without TCP spacers, were fixed by an external circular device in 11 mature sheep and by plates in 8 mature sheep, respectively. Healing was evaluated roentgenographically 16 weeks after the operation. Compared with the defects without TCP spacers, enhanced stability and healing were observed in the defects with TCP spacers under an identical external fixation. Furthermore, a significantly higher incidence of healing was obtained with plate fixation than with external device fixation in the TCP-implanted defects (P < 0.04). An abundant bridging callus was roentgenograpically demonstrated in most of the healed defects, but none in the unhealed defects. The TCP spacer with its mechanical integrity enhances the stability of external fixation, and the stable immobilization provided by rigid fixation is essential for osteoconduction of an inserted TCP spacer in the healing of segmental diaphyseal defects in sheep.     

Purification and chemical modification of porcine bone morphogenetic protein

Implantation of porcine bone morphogenetic protein (pBMP) in the muscle induces differentiation of mesenchymal-type cells and results in endochondral bone formation. pBMP was isolated from porcine demineralized bone matrix and purified by hydroxyapatite chromatography, Sephadex G75 gel filtration, preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), preparative isoelectric focusing (IEF), and chromatofocusing fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). Porcine BMP has an MW of 26 K and a range of pI from 4.65 to 4.73 determined by SDS-PAGE and IEF, respectively. Reconstitution with the citrate buffer supernatant fraction enables as little as 50 micrograms of the soluble pBMP fractions to induce osteogenesis in an in vivo assay. Chemical modification studies indicate that the osteoinductive potential of the pBMP molecule depends on tyrosine, carboxyl groups, and disulfide bonds and can be increased by modification of sulfhydryl groups. Modification of arginine and tryptophan has no effect on bioactivity. By pepsin-limited proteolysis, fragments of pBMP with an MW of 6-14 K show definite, although reduced, BMP activity.     

烧伤大鼠血清对血管内皮细胞通透性的影响

加深入阐明严重烧伤早期全身血管通透性增加继而引直民早期损害的发生机制，本实验应用培养于微孔滤膜上的小牛瞌 及皮细胞单层所构成的选择性通透屏障模型，观察了３０％Ⅲ度烧伤大鼠血清对其影响，结果发现，烧伤早期烧伤血清刺激后ＥＣ单层对Ｈａｎｋｓ液或白蛋白液滤过流量、滤过系数均明显增加。