辣椒中辣椒素含量的测定

本文作者改进了辣椒中辣椒素含量的测定法。即通过增设洋品空白管以消除色素的干扰;改变 Na_2CO_3溶液的浓度以缓和其操作条件及防止在低温时产生沉淀。本改良法具有简便、快速和重现性好之优点。     

全营养素混合液(TNA)在肠外营养的应用

脂肪乳剂、葡萄糖、氨基酸、电解质、维生素及微量元素按一定程序混合配成10种全营养素混合液。在4℃14天贮存期内,10种混合液的pH和渗透压变化不大,不同混合液在不同时期的脂粒平均直径变化为0.3135±0.1012μm～0.4813±0.1893μm,94.93％脂粒的直径<0.6μm,无直径>6μm的脂粒,细菌培养阴性。74例共输全营养素混合液1,796次,无不良临床反应和异常实验室检查结果;用1周以上者大都显示氮平衡改善,用2周以上者血清转铁蛋白和白蛋白浓度可有不同程度升高。     

Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion

Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion The relationship between acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion (OME) is uncertain and the aetiology of OME is multifactorial. Otitis media with effusion may be an inflammatory condition; both bacteria and viral infections could play a part in this inflammation. The four bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza, Staphylococcus aureus and Branhamella catarrhalis cause 60% of the infections whereas S. pneumoniae accounts for up to 35%. IgA provides the dominant surface response to polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide antigens, of which IgA₂ is the main subclass. Once the mucosa has been breached, most protection is provided by IgG. IgG₂ acts mainly against bacterial capsular antigens. This study looked at two groups of 50 children with and without OME who were aged between 3 and 10 years. The aims were to determine if, firstly, the levels of the serum immunoglobulins were different in the two groups, secondly whether these children made the appropriate antibody response to the capsular antigen to S. pneumoniae (PCP), and finally if there was a delay in the maturity of the IgA response. The total IgG, IgA and all subclass levels were measured using radial immunodiffusion. Levels of functional IgA and IgG were measured using ELISAs (25 patients in each group). The results were analysed with non‐parametric tests. The immunoglobulin levels were within the normal levels for both groups. There were very good correlations between the IgG total anti‐PCP and the IgG₂ anti‐PCP (R > 0.9, p = 0.001). There was a good correlation between the levels of both IgG total and IgG₂ anti‐PCP against IgA total anti‐PCP in both groups (R > 0.85, p > 0.01). This confirms a normal antibody response between both groups of patients. The ages of the controls and patients (50 samples) were correlated with increasing titres of circulating functional antibodies (P = 0.001). This is highly suggestive of a normal age‐related response. In conclusion, the findings were contradictory to our original hypothesis that there is a subtle difference in surface protection between children with and without OME. We believe that a previous history of recurrent acute otitis media is unrelated to the development of OME after 3 years of age.     

Impaired modulation of motor cortex excitability by homonymous and heteronymous muscle afferents in focal hand dystonia.

A decrease of heteronymous median nerve-evoked inhibition of corticospinal projections to forearm extensor muscles was reported in a group of 10 dystonic patients by Bertolasi and colleagues in 2003. Here we tested the excitability of corticomotoneuronal connections to both wrist extensor (ECR) and flexor (FCR) muscles after conditioning stimulation of median and also radial nerve at rest in a group of 25 patients with focal hand dystonia compared to 20 healthy subjects. We also investigated the effect of the wrist dystonic posture, either in flexion or in extension, on the afferent modulation of ECR and FCR motor evolved potentials (MEPs). The heteronymous (median-induced) but also homonymous (radial-induced) inhibitions (interstimuli intervals 13-21 ms) of ECR MEP size observed in healthy subjects were decreased in patients. In addition, homonymous (median-induced) facilitation of FCR MEP size was also decreased in patients while heteronymous inhibition (radial-induced) was not. Neither the involvement of the target muscle in the dystonic posture nor the origin of the afferent volley (from a dystonic muscle) influenced the degree of impairment of afferent modulation of the MEP. These findings support the view that a global abnormal somatosensory coupling in focal hand dystonia may contribute to an inadequate motor command to wrist muscles.     

Fabrication of porous hollow silica nanoparticles and their applications in drug release control.

Preparation and characterization of porous hollow silica nanoparticles (PHSN) for controlled release applications were investigated. Through orthogonally designed experiments, the optimal synthesis conditions for the preparation of PHSN were obtained and the produced PHSN were characterized by BET, SEM, TEM and IR. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images revealed their hollow shell-core structure and also demonstrated that the size and shape of PHSN are determined by the templating CaCO3 nanoparticles. The produced PHSN were applied as a carrier to study the controlled release behaviors of Brilliant Blue F (BB), which was used as a model drug. Being loaded into the inner core and on the surfaces of the nanoparticles, BB was released slowly into a bulk solution for about 1140 min as compared to only 10 min for the normal SiO2 nanoparticles, thus exhibited a typical sustained release pattern without any burst effect. In addition, higher BET of the carriers, lower pH value and lower temperature prolonged BB release from PHSN, while stirring speed showed little influence on the release behavior. It showed that PHSN have a promising future in controlled drug delivery applications.     

Prefrontal cortex dysfunction and depression in atypical parkinsonian syndromes.

Depressive symptoms are common in patients with neurodegenerative disorders. Imaging studies suggest that a disruption of frontal-subcortical pathways may underlie depression associated with basal ganglia disease. This pilot study tested the hypothesis that frontal dysfunction contributes to depression associated with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Depressed patients with MSA (n = 11), PSP (n = 9), and age-matched controls (n = 25) underwent measures of cerebral glucose metabolism applying positron emission tomography with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose. Regional metabolism in the patient groups was compared to the normal subjects using the voxel-based statistical parametric mapping. Depressive symptom severity (Hamilton Depression Rating) and degree of locomotor disability (Hoehn & Yahr) were assessed in the patient groups. The association between prefrontal metabolism and the occurrence of depressive symptoms and the degree of locomotor disability was investigated. When compared to controls, MSA patients revealed significant metabolic decreases in bilateral frontal, parietal, and cerebellar cortex and in the left putamen. In PSP patients, significant hypometabolism was demonstrated in bilateral frontal cortex, right thalamus, and midbrain. Depression severity but not the patients' functional condition was significantly associated with dorsolateral prefrontal glucose metabolism in both patient groups. The findings of this pilot study support the hypothesis that depressive symptoms in MSA and PSP are associated with prefrontal dysfunction.