Identification of a novel VNTR polymorphism in C6orf37 and its association with colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population

BACKGROUND: C6orf37 was a gene up-regulated in colorectal adenoma in our previous study. A variable region of C6orf37 sequence was found when we blasted its full sequence with NCBI nucleotide database. METHODS: RT-PCR and sequencing were conducted to identify the variable region of C6orf37 as VNTR. DHPLC was applied to detect the VNTR genotypes in 122 colorectal carcinoma patients and 166 healthy controls. RESULTS: A novel VNTR sequence found in C6orf37 second exon was composed of 15 base pair consensus sequence encoding 5-amino-acid (G-G-D-F-G). The repeat timePOST alleles contain three repeats (a), 4 repeats (b) and 5 repeats (c), respectively, which produced 3 homozygotes (a/a, b/b and c/c) and 3 heterozygotes (a/b, a/c and b/c). a, b, c allele frequencies were 0.145, 0.304, 0.551, respectively in Chinese population. Heterozygosity (H) was 0.583. Polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.510. The distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies of the VNTR reached no significant difference between patients and healthy controls and there was no correlation between VNTR polymorphism and colorectal cancer clincopathological features. CONCLUSION: A novel VNTR polymorphism in C6orf37 exists in Chinese population and is not associated with colorectal cancer risk.     

Mutation of RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) promotes hVISA-to-VISA phenotypic conversion of strain Mu3

The clinical vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) strain Mu50 carries two mutations in the vraSR and graRS two-component regulatory systems (TCRSs), namely, vraS(I5N) and graR(N197S) (hereinafter designated graR). The clinical heterogeneously vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) strain Mu3 shares with Mu50 the mutation in vraS that encodes the VraS two-component histidine kinase. Previously, we showed that introduction of the plasmid pgraR, carrying the mutated two-component response regulator graR, converted the hVISA strain Mu3 into VISA (vancomycin MIC = 4 mg/liter). Subsequently, however, we found that the introduction of a single copy of graR into the Mu3 chromosome by a gene replacement method did not confer on Mu3 the VISA phenotype. The gene-replaced strain Mu3graR thus obtained remained hVISA (MIC ≤ 2 mg/liter), although a small increase in vancomycin MIC was observed compared to that of the parent strain Mu3. Reevaluation of the Mu3 and Mu50 genomes revealed the presence of another mutation responsible for the expression of the VISA phenotype in Mu50. Here, we demonstrate that in addition to the two regulator mutations, a third mutation found in the Mu50 rpoB gene, encoding the RNA polymerase β subunit, was required for Mu3 to achieve the level of vancomycin resistance of Mu50. The selection of strain Mu3graR with rifampin gave rise to rpoB mutants with various levels of increased vancomycin resistance. Furthermore, 3 (33%) of 10 independently isolated VISA strains established from the heterogeneous subpopulations of Mu3graR were found to possess rpoB mutations with or without an accompanying rifampin-resistance phenotype. The data indicate that a sizable proportion of the resistant hVISA cell subpopulations is composed of spontaneous rpoB mutants with various degrees of increased vancomycin resistance.     

Contribution of a thickened cell wall and its glutamine nonamidated component to the vancomycin resistance expressed by Staphylococcus aureus Mu50

Staphylococcus aureus Mu50, which has reduced susceptibility to vancomycin, has a remarkably thickened cell wall with an increased proportion of glutamine nonamidated muropeptides. In addition, Mu50 had enhanced glutamine synthetase and L-glutamine D-fructose-6-phosphate aminotransferase activities, which are involved in the cell-wall peptidoglycan synthesis pathway. Furthermore, significantly increased levels of incorporation of (14)C-labeled D-glucose into the cell wall was observed in Mu50. Unlike a femC mutant S. aureus strain, increased levels of production of nonamidated muropeptides in Mu50 was not caused by lower levels of glutamine synthetase activity but was considered to be due to the glutamine depletion caused by increased glucose utilization by the cell to biosynthesize increased amounts of peptidoglycan. After the cells were allowed to synthesize cell wall in the absence or presence of glucose and glutamine, cells with different cell-wall thicknesses and with cell walls with different levels of cross-linking were prepared, and susceptibility testing of these cells demonstrated a strong correlation between the cell-wall thickness and the degree of vancomycin resistance. Affinity trapping of vancomycin molecules by the cell wall and clogging of the outer layers of peptidoglycan by bound vancomycin molecules were considered to be the mechanism of vancomycin resistance of Mu50. The reduced cross-linking and the increased affinity of binding to vancomycin of the Mu50 cell wall presumably caused by the increased proportion of nonamidated muropeptides may also contribute to the resistance to some extent.     

Adipose-derived stem cells enhance bone regeneration in vascular necrosis of the femoral head in the rabbit

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head was induced in rabbits by intramuscular injection of methylprednisolone and vascular occlusion of the capital femoral epiphysis by electrocoagulation. Eight weeks later the animals received no treatment (group A), core decompression by drilling a hole (diameter 1.2 mm) from the outer cortex 2.5 cm distal to the proximal end of the greater trochanter (group B), or injection of 10(7) autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) directly into the femoral head (group C). Eight weeks later, microcomputed tomography scans indicated that bone and trabecular volume and density were significantly higher in group C than in other groups. Histology indicated more new bone formation in group C than in other groups. Group C showed strong osteocalcin immunoreactivity in subchondral bone osteoblasts in the necrotic femoral head, whereas few osteocalcin-positive cells were found among osteoblasts in other groups. Thus, autologous ADSC transplantation improved osteogenesis and the microstructure of vascular deprivation-induced osteonecrotic tissue.     

补肾健脾化瘀法治疗男性骨质疏松症疼痛的效果

目的:观察补肾健脾基础上加强化瘀药物制成补肾壮骨中药对男性骨质疏松患者疼痛程度的影响。方法:①选择1998-07/2004-07解放军广州军区广州总医院住院及门诊就诊的男性老年性骨质疏松症患者198例,年龄65～83岁。符合骨质疏松症综合诊断评分标准,且均对治疗方案知情同意。②按随机数字表法将患者分为2组;补肾壮骨中药组101例,降钙素组97例。补肾壮骨中药组:均囗服补肾壮骨中药(由生地、山药、山萸肉、泽泻等药物组成,广东一方制药厂生产,批号:980705,100g/包),1包/次,2次/d。降钙素组:均肌肉注射降钙素(诺华公司产品,生产批号980823,990523,011121,50IU/支),其中第1周100IU,1次/d,第2,3,4周100IU,每周2次。两组均治疗4周。③分别于治疗前,治疗1,2,3,4周后及停药后2周记录疼痛强度(共计0～10,0为无痛,10为剧烈疼痛)、疼痛缓解度(共计0～4度,0度为无缓解,4度为完全缓解),计算镇痛有效率:显效(明显缓解 完全缓解),有效(中度缓解),总有效率(显效 有效)。④计量和计数结果差异比较分别采用t检验和χ2检验。结果:男性老年性骨质疏松症患者198例均进入结果分析。①骨质疏松症疼痛强度:补肾壮骨中药组治疗后2,3,4周和停药后2周和降钙素组治疗后1,2,3,4周和停药后2周疼痛强度明显低于治疗前(t=2.35～2.93,P<0.05),补肾壮骨中药组治疗1和2周后疼痛强度明显高于降钙素组(5.32±1.21,3.26±1.32;3.49±1.39,2.21±1.28,t=2.98,2.36,P<0.05)。②骨质疏松症疼痛缓解情况:治疗2周后,补肾壮骨中药组完全缓解率明显低于降钙素组(5.9%,18.6%,χ2=6.25,P<0.05)。补肾壮骨中药组及降钙素组治疗1,3,4周后和停药后2周疼痛完全缓解率、明显缓解率、中度缓解率差异不明显(P>0.05)。③镇痛有效率:治疗2周后,补肾壮骨组镇痛显效率明显低于降钙素组(44.6%,58.8%,χ2=5.721,P<0.05),有效率和总有效率与降钙素组相近(P>0.05)。补肾壮骨中药组和降钙素组治疗4周后和停药后2周镇痛总有效率、显效率、有效率比较,差异不明显(P>0.05)。结论:补肾壮骨中药可明显缓解男性患者骨质疏松症疼痛,作用效果基本与降钙素相当。     

Resection or multi-lobe disconnection for intractable epilepsy with open-lip schizencephaly

The surgical treatment of medication-resistant epilepsy with schizencephaly is difficult. A standardized method of surgical treatment for schizencephalic patients has not yet been established. We present two patients with poorly controlled epilepsy with schizencephaly. The first patient underwent a resection of the right temporal lobe and part of the posterior lip of the schizencephaly, while the other patient underwent a multi-lobe disconnection. Based on the study of these two patients, we conclude that the location of the epileptic zone, reorganization of eloquent areas and anatomical characteristics of the schizencephaly do not allow a universal surgical approach for treating epilepsy with schizencephaly. Every patient has individual characteristics.     

A Monte Carlo approach to rolling leukocyte tracking in vivo

Tracking the movement of rolling leukocytes in vivo contributes to the understanding of the mechanism of the inflammatory process and to the development of anti-inflammatory drugs. Several roadblocks exist that hinder successful automated tracking including the moving background, the severe image noise and clutter, the occlusion of the target leukocyte by other leukocytes and structures, the jitter caused by the breathing movement of the living animal, and the weak image contrast. In this paper, a Monte Carlo tracker is developed for automatically tracking a single rolling leukocyte in vivo. Based on the leukocyte movement information and the image intensity features, a specialized sample-weighting criterion is tailored to the application. In comparison with a snake-based tracker, our experiments show that, as the noise intensity level increases, the performance of the snake tracker degrades more than that of the Monte Carlo tracker. In cases, where the leukocyte is observed in contact with the vessel wall, the Monte Carlo tracker is less affected by the image clutter. From tracking within 99 intravital microscopic video sequences, the Monte Carlo tracker exhibits superior performance in the reduced localization error and the increased number of frames tracked when compared with the centroid tracker, the correlation tracker and the GVF snake tracker.     

护理计划质量评价标准的研究

[目的]为护理计划的教学与临床护理实践提供质量检测工具。[方法]将反映护理计划质量的要素内容进行组合,把比较笼统的内容解析并作为评价点,使评价指标细化、量化,具有可操作性。对2届196名护理本科生制定的262份护理计划进行质量评价。[结果]评价标准涵盖护理计划的全部要素内容,科学量化,具有实用性、可操作性。[结论]护理计划质量评价标准的制定保证了临床护理教学质量。     

Meta-Analysis of Social Skills Interventions of Single-Case Research for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Results from Three-Level HLM

This meta-analysis used hierarchical linear modeling to examine 115 single-case studies with 343 participants that examined the effectiveness of social skills interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The average effect size of the included studies was 1.40 (SD = 0.43, 95 % CL = 1.32–1.48, N = 115). In the further, several common predictors including intervention length, age and gender of the participants, and study quality indicators (provision of sufficient, in-depth, and replicable information of participants, settings/materials, independent variables, and dependent variables) were not found to mediate the intervention effectiveness. Only research design that the study employed was found to impact the intervention effectiveness; the studies using multiple baseline or reversal design had larger effect sizes than studies using other designs. Implications of the results and limitations of this study are discussed.     

家兔心房肌细胞环-磷酸腺苷动态变化的实时评价

目的:探索实时评价心房肌细胞内环-磷酸腺苷动态变化的方法,为细胞内第二信使代谢水平分析提供可靠的实验数据。方法:实验于2004-04/2005-12在吉林省延边大学基础医学院生理学与病理生理学教研部完成。①采用大耳白家兔32只,建立跳动心房灌流模型,跳动心房稳定60min后,4℃下每2min收集灌流液样本。②采用固定心房跳动频率(1.3Hz)的方法,每2min收集1个灌流液样本,12min为1个循环。在1个对照循环之后,处理垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽(100nmol/L)或在非选择性磷酸酯酶抑制剂(1.0mmol/L)存在下再处理垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽1个循环,观察心房组织环-磷酸腺苷含量与逸出量的关系。③1个循环对照之后,给予30nmol/L的垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽或不同浓度的垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽(1,10,100nmol/L,每种浓度之间穿插2个循环的恢复期),实时观察心房肌细胞环-磷酸腺苷动态变化的特点。结果:①垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽对心房组织生成和逸出环-磷酸腺苷的影响:用垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽处理12min后,环-磷酸腺苷含量在组织和灌流液中分别增加到(42.18±11.17)nmol/g和(204.17±44.50)fkat/g,与对照值相比差异明显(P<0.05)。当给与非选择性磷酸酯酶抑制剂 垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽后,环-磷酸腺苷含量在组织和灌流液中分别增加到(149.90±13.87)nmol/g和(747.00±65.83)fkat/g(P<0.01)。且灌流液环-磷酸腺苷逸出量与组织环-磷酸腺苷含量之间存在线性关系(Y=0.2918X-0.118,R2=0.8809;P<0.01)。②垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽促进心房环-磷酸腺苷逸出量的情况:随着垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽浓度的增加,环-磷酸腺苷逸出量也随之增多,10,100nmol/L垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽的逸出峰值分别为(247.83±50.83),(254.00±53.50)fkat/g,均显著高于对照值和1nmol/L垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽[(66.00±7.50),(75.50±7.50)fkat/g;P<0.01],呈时间、剂量依赖性。结论:跳动心房灌流模型中环-磷酸腺苷逸出量是一项能够反映该组织生成环-磷酸腺苷变化的指标,实时测定心房灌流液中环-磷酸腺苷逸出量能够实时评价心房肌细胞内环-磷酸腺苷的生成变化。