Local injection of a mixture of beta-aminopropionitril fumarate and sodium hyaluronate together with controlled exercise for treatment of subacute superficial digital flexor tendonitis in horses

Local injection of a mixture of beta-aminopropionitril fumarate (BAPN-f) and sodium hyaluronate (NaH⁺) together with controlled exercise were evaluated for treatment of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries in horses. Fourteen mixed breed horses with subacute SDF tendon injuries in forelimbs were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received BAPN-f (0.7 mg/ml) and the other received NaH⁺ (10 mg/ml) all by intratendinous injection. Controlled exercise started during the first week after intratendinous treatment and continued for 12 weeks. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the SDFT, diameter of the SDFT, and relative area of the lesion (presence of CSA) were measured by ultrasonographic examination. Lesions were semiquantitatively graded for echogenicity on a scale of 0 to 4. The lesion severity in CSA was significantly reduced by BAPN and NaH compared to those horses treated by BAPN only (p < 0.05). Lesion echogenicity score was significantly higher in horses treated with BAPN and NaH⁺ at day 0 compared to horses treated with BAPN (p < 0.05). At the end of the study, lesion echogenicity score was significantly reduced in the horses treated with BAPN and NaH⁺ compared to horses treated by BAPN only (p < 0.05). According to the results of the present study, a combination of BAPN-f and NaH⁺ has a greater beneficial effect on tendon healing and remodeling in horses, as assessed by sonographic examination, compared to treatment with single drugs.     

The search for a marsupial XIC reveals a break with vertebrate synteny

X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) evolved in mammals to deal with X-chromosome dosage imbalance between the XX female and the XY male. In eutherian mammals, random XCI of the soma requires a master regulatory locus known as the ‘X-inactivation center’ (XIC/Xic), wherein lies the noncoding XIST/Xist silencer RNA and its regulatory antisense Tsix gene. By contrast, marsupial XCI is imprinted to occur on the paternal X chromosome. To determine whether marsupials and eutherians share the XIC-driven mechanism, we search for the sequence equivalents in the genome of the South American opossum, Monodelphis domestica. Positional cloning and bioinformatic analysis reveal several interesting findings. First, protein-coding genes that flank the eutherian XIC are well-conserved in M. domestica, as well as in chicken, frog, and pufferfish. However, in M. domestica we fail to identify any recognizable XIST or TSIX equivalents. Moreover, cytogenetic mapping shows a surprising break in synteny with eutherian mammals and other vertebrates. Therefore, during the evolution of the marsupial X chromosome, one or more rearrangements broke up an otherwise evolutionarily conserved block of vertebrate genes. The failure to find XIST/TSIX in M. domestica may suggest that the ancestral XIC is too divergent to allow for detection by current methods. Alternatively, the XIC may have arisen relatively late in mammalian evolution, possibly in eutherians with the emergence of random XCI. The latter argues that marsupial XCI does not require XIST and opens the search for alternative mechanisms of dosage compensation.     

White Matter Fiber Tracking Computation Based on Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Clinical Applications

Fiber tracking allows the in vivo reconstruction of human brain white matter fiber trajectories based on magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (MR-DTI), but its application in the clinical routine is still in its infancy. In this study, we present a new software for fiber tracking, developed on top of a general-purpose DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) framework, which can be easily integrated into existing picture archiving and communication system (PACS) of radiological institutions. Images combining anatomical information and the localization of different fiber tract trajectories can be encoded and exported in DICOM and Analyze formats, which are valuable resources in the clinical applications of this method. Fiber tracking was implemented based on existing line propagation algorithms, but it includes a heuristic for fiber crossings in the case of disk-shaped diffusion tensors. We successfully performed fiber tracking on MR-DTI data sets from 26 patients with different types of brain lesions affecting the corticospinal tracts. In all cases, the trajectories of the central spinal tract (pyramidal tract) were reconstructed and could be applied at the planning phase of the surgery as well as in intraoperative neuronavigation.     

Improving the teaching skills of residents as tutors/facilitators and addressing the shortage of faculty facilitators for PBL modules

Background  

Residents play an important role in teaching of medical undergraduate students. Despite their importance in teaching undergraduates they are not involved in any formal training in teaching and leadership skills. We aimed to compare the teaching skills of residents with faculty in facilitating small group Problem Based Learning (PBL) sessions.     

人胎儿睾丸发生过程中表皮生长因子与细胞增殖核抗原的表达

目的　观察表皮生长因子 (EGF)与细胞增殖核抗原 (PCNA)在人胎儿睾丸发生过程中的表达特征 ,探讨两者在睾丸发生中的作用。　方法　用SP免疫细胞化学技术检测了人胎儿 12～ 32周睾丸间质细胞、支持细胞、生殖细胞EGF、PCNA阳性细胞表达率。　结果　EGF在胎儿 12周龄睾丸组织未见表达 ,16～ 32周龄睾丸间质细胞呈阳性表达 ,16～ 2 0周为表达高峰 ,随着胎龄的增长呈逐渐下降趋势 (P <0 0 1) ;PCNA在胎儿睾丸间质细胞、支持细胞和生殖细胞均有不同程度表达 ,16～ 2 0周为表达高峰 ,随着胎龄的增长呈逐渐下降趋势 (P <0 0 1)。　结论　EGF与PCNA在人胎儿睾丸发育过程中有不同程度的表达 ,表明EGF与PCNA在睾丸发育过程中起着一定的作用     

诱生型一氧化氮合酶抑制剂硫酸甲基异硫脲对内毒素血症大鼠肠系膜淋巴管一氧化氮合酶表达的影响

目的 :研究内毒素血症中诱生型一氧化氮合酶 (induciblenitricoxidesyhthases,iNOS)抑制剂硫酸甲基异硫脲(S Methy1isothioureasulfate,SMT)对大鼠肠系膜淋巴管一氧化氮合酶 (nitricoxidesyhthase,NOS)表达的影响。探讨在内毒素血症中一氧化氮 (nitricoxide,NO)对肠系膜淋巴微循环的影响。方法 :利用NADPH 黄递酶组织化学染色方法观察NOS在大鼠肠系膜淋巴管的表达 ,用硝酸还原酶法测定血清中NO的含量。结果 :脂多糖(lipopolysaccharide,LPS)组大鼠随时间延长肠系膜淋巴管染色强度明显加深 ,血清NO含量显著升高。LPS SMT组染色强度比LPS组降低 ,血清NO含量显著下降。结论 :在内毒素血症中 ,SMT可能通过抑制NOS的活性而起保护作用。     

抗汉坦病毒单克隆抗体F（ab‘）2的制备及其纯度和活性鉴定

利用木瓜蛋白酶分别制备了抗汉坦病毒鼠源性单克隆抗体（ｍＡｂ）３Ｇ１和３Ｄ８Ｆ（ａｂ′）２片段。通过ＷａｔｅｒＤＥＡＥ４０ＨＲ阴离子交换色谱柱纯化后，非还原型ＳＤＳＰＡＧＥ呈现单一条带，相对分子质量（Ｍｒ）约１０００００。两种Ｆ（ａｂ′）２片段均具有良好的血凝抑制活性、病毒中和活性及对汉坦病毒感染乳鼠的保护作用     

Human Annexin Ⅴ在不同胎盘中的表达的定量分析

目的观察人膜联蛋白Ⅴ(Human Annexin Ⅴ,HAⅤ)在乙肝病毒感染胎盘、正常中、晚孕胎盘及早孕绒毛中的表达并探讨其意义.方法用SP法检测HBsAg阳性孕妇足月分娩胎盘、HBV血清标志物阴性的正常早孕、中孕和足月胎盘各20例HAⅤ的表达、分布并进行定量分析.结果中孕、足月胎盘和HBV感染的胎盘组织中HAⅤ呈不均一的棕黄色颗粒状染色,泛存在于胎盘组织各类细胞胞浆、胞膜和核膜上.滋养细胞呈强阳性染色,绒毛间质细胞和毛细血管内皮细胞呈弱阳性染色.早孕绒毛HAⅤ棕黄色颗粒主要分布于外层滋养细胞的胞浆、胞膜和核膜上,最内层滋养细胞和间质偶见表达;比较HBV感染组和正常足月组胎盘HAⅤ表达的量,前者的平均灰度比后者明显增高,差异具有显著性(P＜0.01),中孕组与足月组HAⅤ表达的量没有差别(P＞0.05),早孕和中孕组、足月组HAⅤ表达的量的比较,前者显著低于后两者(P＜0.05).结论HAⅤ可能作为受体介导了HBV对胎盘的感染.     

External quality assurance as a revalidation method for pathologists in pediatric histopathology: Comparison of four international programs

Aim  

External quality assurance (EQA) is an extremely valuable resource for clinical pathologists to maintain high standards, improve diagnostic skills, and possibly revalidate medical license. The aim of this study was to participate in and compare four international slide survey programs (UK, IAP-Germany, USA-Canada, Australasia) in pediatric histopathology for clinical pathologists with the aim to use it as a revalidation method.     

Recruiting and retaining GPs and patients in intervention studies: the DEPS-GP project as a case study

Background  

Recruiting and retaining GPs for research can prove difficult, and may result in sub-optimal patient participation where GPs are required to recruit patients. Low participation rates may affect the validity of research.