Dissolution response of hydroxyapatite coatings to residual stresses

The effect of residual stress on the dissolution of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings was investigated. The examined coatings of 80-, 110-, and 200-microm thickness were prepared by a plasma-spraying technique under identical conditions. Residual stresses in the coatings were measured with a hole-drilling method. Dissolution of the coatings was monitored along with an examination of the phase composition. The results showed that both tensile residual stress and amorphous HA existed throughout the entire depth of the coatings and tended to increase from the surface to the interface of the coating and substrate. The thicker the coatings were, the higher the maximum residual stress was. Correspondingly, the pH value and calcium concentration of the solutions tended to increase with the coating thickness. On the basis of these phenomena and a thermodynamic analysis of the dissolution of the HA subjected to stresses, we concluded that besides structural effects, residual stress was also an important intrinsic factor influencing dissolution of HA coatings, and the dissolution can be delayed or even restrained by compressive residual stress.     

Bizarre leiomyoma of the scrotum

Scrotal leiomyomas with atypical bizarre nuclei are rare, which might be misdiagnosed as malignant tumor. We describe a case of scrotal bizarre leiomyoma in a 65-yr-old man. The tumor was a 1 cm-sized, well circumscribed, oval mass arising from the tunica dartos muscle. Histologically, it was formed by whorling bundles of fusiform cells with occasional atypical, pleomorphic nuclei and pseudo-inclusions. Mitosis was not found. Although morphologically atypical, scrotal bizarre leiomyomas take on a biologic behavior not different from that of conventional leiomyoma, they should be distinguished from leiomyosarcoma to avoid unnecessary treatment.     

A novel missense mutation (I344K) in the SPG4gene in a Korean family with autosomal-dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia

 Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower extremities. Among eight loci linked with autosomal-dominant (AD)-HSP, the SPG4 locus on chromosome 2p22 accounts for about 40% of all patients. Recently, mutations in a new member of the AAA protein family, called spastin, have been identified as responsible for SPG4-linked AD-HSP. Here, we describe a novel missense mutation (c.1031T>A; I344K) in exon 7 of the SPG4 gene identified in a Korean family with typical clinical features of pure AD-HSP. The mutation affects the third amino acid of the highly conserved AAA cassette domain, which is the most fore part of the domain altered by a missense mutation reported so far. Clinical presentations of affected individuals carrying the I344K mutation were not different from those of pure AD-HSP with SPG4 mutations reported previously. However, it is noteworthy that neither urinary dysfunction nor involvement of upper extremities was noticed in this family. To our knowledge, this is the first report of genetically confirmed AD-HSP in Korea. Received: February 20, 2002 / Accepted: May 21, 2002     

GM-CSF对MUC1基因疫苗抑制乳腺癌生长的增强作用

目的 :观察GM CSF有无增强MUC1基因疫苗对EMT6乳腺癌生长的特异性抑制作用。方法 :采用股四头肌肌肉注射法 ,将构建的MUC1基因疫苗pcDNA3.1 MUC1免疫雌性BALB/c小鼠 ,每 3wk 1次 ,共 3次。每次基因免疫后 1、3、5d ,皮下注射GM CSF 10 0 μL(1μg/ 10 0 μL)。最后 1次基因免疫后第 3周 ,接种表达MUC1的EMT6小鼠乳腺癌细胞。两周后观察、记录肿瘤的生长情况。于肿瘤细胞接种后第 4 3天 ,处死全部动物 ,称量肿瘤的质量。用 4h51Cr释放法检测小鼠脾特异性CTL的杀伤活性。结果 :接种肿瘤细胞后 4 3d ,MUC1基因疫苗加GM CSF组、MUC1基因疫苗组、pcDNA3.1加GM CSF组及pcDNA3.1组 ,EMT6肿瘤的大小依次为 (135± 33.8)mm3 、(2 5 0± 34.3)mm3 、(5 6 8± 4 3.6 )mm3 和 (5 96± 4 8.2 )mm3 ;平均瘤质量 (g)依次为 (0 .81± 0 .4 2 )g、(1.2 3± 0 .4 1)g、(2 .30± 0 .4 8)g及 (2 .2 8± 0 .5 8)g。与对照组相比较 ,MUC1基因疫苗组EMT6肿瘤的生长受到明显抑制 (P <0 .0 5 ) ;与单独MUC1基因疫苗组相比较 ,MUC1基因疫苗加GM CSF组抗肿瘤生长的作用有显著差异 (P <0 .0 5 )。在效靶比为 10 0∶1、5 0∶1、2 5∶1和 12 .5∶1时 ,MUC1基因疫苗加GM CSF组特异性CTL对EMT6靶细胞的杀伤率 ,依次为 6 8.5 %、 5 3.4 %     

Cellular nonmuscle myosins NMHC‐IIA and NMHC‐IIB and vertebrate heart looping

Flectin, a protein previously described to be expressed in a left‐dominant manner in the embryonic chick heart during looping, is a member of the nonmuscle myosin II (NMHC‐II) protein class. During looping, both NMHC‐IIA and NMHC‐IIB are expressed in the mouse heart on embryonic day 9.5. The patterns of localization of NMHC‐IIB, rather than NMHC‐IIA in the mouse looping heart and in neural crest cells, are equivalent to what we reported previously for flectin. Expression of full‐length human NMHC‐IIA and ‐IIB in 10 T1/2 cells demonstrated that flectin antibody recognizes both isoforms. Electron microscopy revealed that flectin antibody localizes in short cardiomyocyte cell processes extending from the basal layer of the cardiomyocytes into the cardiac jelly. Flectin antibody also recognizes stress fibrils in the cardiac jelly in the mouse and chick heart; while NMHC‐IIB antibody does not. Abnormally looping hearts of the Nodal^{Δ 600} homozygous mouse embryos show decreased NMHC‐IIB expression on both the mRNA and protein levels. These results document the characterization of flectin and extend the importance of NMHC‐II and the cytoskeletal actomyosin complex to the mammalian heart and cardiac looping. Developmental Dynamics 237:3577–3590, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

溶酶体在实验性心肌肥大过程中的作用

本实验用大鼠主动脉结扎的心肌肥大模型,结合电镜酶细胞化学技术,观察心肌肥大发展过程中溶酶体的变化。结果表明:心肌肥大发展时,溶酶体参与心肌细胞改建;到心肌肥大后期,出现大量自噬现象,造成心肌不可逆损伤。     

Competition between saccade goals in the superior colliculus produces saccade curvature

When saccadic eye movements are made in a search task that requires selecting a target from distractors, the movements show greater curvature in their trajectories than similar saccades made to single stimuli. To test the hypothesis that this increase in curvature arises from competitive interactions between saccade goals occurring near the time of movement onset, we performed single-unit recording and microstimulation experiments in the superior colliculus (SC). We found that saccades that ended near the target but curved toward a distractor were accompanied by increased presaccadic activity of SC neurons coding the distractor site. This increased activity occurred approximately 30 ms before saccade onset and was abruptly quenched on saccade initiation. The magnitude of increased activity at the distractor site was correlated with the amount of curvature toward the distractor. In contrast, neurons coding the target location did not show any significant difference in discharge for curved versus straight saccades. To determine whether this pattern of SC discharge is causally related to saccade curvature, we performed a second series of experiments using electrical microstimulation. Monkeys made saccades to single visual stimuli presented without distractors, and we stimulated sites in the SC that would have corresponded to distractor sites in the search task. The stimulation was subthreshold for evoking saccades, but when its temporal structure mimicked the activity recorded for curved saccades in search, the subsequent saccades to the visual target showed curvature toward the location coded by the stimulation site. The effect was larger for higher stimulation frequencies and when the stimulation site was in the same colliculus as the representation of the visual target. These results support the hypothesis that the increased saccade curvature observed in search arises from rivalry between target and distractor goals and are consistent with the idea that the SC is involved in the competitive neural interactions underlying saccade target selection.     

Miscibility and Intermolecular Specific Interactions in Blends of Poly(hydroxyether sulfone) and Poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone)

Summary: The blends of poly(hydroxyether sulfone) (PHES) with poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) (PVPy) were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and FTIR spectroscopy. The miscibility of the blend system was established on the basis of the thermal analysis results. DSC showed that the PHES/PVPy blends prepared by casting from N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) possessed single, composition‐dependent glass transition temperatures, indicating that the blends are miscible in the entire composition. The experimental glass transition temperatures have higher values than those calculated on the basis of additive behavior; the variation of the glass transition temperatures of the blends was accounted for by the Kwei equation. FTIR studies indicate that competitive hydrogen bonding interactions exist upon addition of PVPy to the system, which were involved in the self‐ and cross‐association, i.e., ? OH···O?S, ? OH···OH of PHES and ? OH···O?C< of PVPy. The FTIR spectra in the range of the sulfonyl stretching vibrations showed that the hydroxyl‐associated sulfonyl groups are partially “set free” upon addition of PVPy to the system. The IR spectroscopic investigation of both the model compounds and the PHES/PVPy blends suggests that the strength of the hydrogen bonding interactions in the blend system increases in the following order: ? OH···O?S, ? OH···OH and ? OH···O?C<.

Plot of glass transition temperature for PHES/PVPy blends as a function of weight fraction of PVPy. The prediction of the Kwei equation yields the values of k = 1 and q = 122.     

Role of BLNK in oxidative stress signaling in B cells

BLNK (B cell linker protein) represents a central linker protein that bridges the B cell receptor-associated kinases with a multitude of signaling pathways. In this study, we have investigated the role of BLNK in oxidative stress signaling in B cells. H2O2 treatment of B cells induced a rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of BLNK in a H2O2 dose-dependent manner, which was inhibited in Syk-deficient DT40 cells. Calcium mobilization in BLNK-deficient as well as Syk-deficient and phospholipase C (PLC)-gamma2-deficient cells after H2O2 treatment was completely abolished. These were derived from decreased inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate generation through PLC-gamma2 in BLNK-deficient cells. Moreover, viability of BLNK-deficient as well as PLC-gamma2-deficient cells after exposure to low doses of H2O2 was dramatically enhanced compared with that of the wild-type cells. Furthermore, c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation following high doses of H2O2 stimulation, but not low doses of H2O2 stimulation, was abrogated in BLNK-deficient as well as Syk-deficient cells. These findings have led to the suggestion that BLNK is required for coupling Syk to PLC-gamma2, thereby accelerating cell apoptosis in B cells exposed to low doses of H2O2.