Incidence of tuberculosis in mountain areas and surrounding townships: dose-response relationship by geographic analysis

PURPOSE: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Taiwan is known to be high in aboriginal mountain areas and low in the surrounding non-mountain areas. The aim of this study was to assess whether TB incident cases in the surroundings of mountain areas decreased with distance from foci of mountain areas. METHODS: The mountain areas in Taiwan are adjacent to each other and divided into four geographic groups. Townships with high TB incidence in each group were treated as the foci of TB infection. The surrounding townships were then classified, by distance away from foci, into three levels: < 20 km, 20 to 40 km, and 40 to 60 km. Data were obtained on a total of 84,366 TB cases from 1991 to 1997 from the Taiwan Tuberculous Disease Registry Center. RESULTS: The incidence of TB in each of the four groups was significantly higher in the mountain areas compared with non-mountain areas, with relative risks ranging from 8.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 7.8-9.1) for the southern group to 15.0 (95% CI, 13.4-16.9) for the northern group. Relative risks for surrounding townships decreased with distance in all four groups. Such a gradient relationship was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: A significant dose-response relationship between distance from townships with a high incidence of TB and the incidence of TB in the surrounding areas has been demonstrated.     

A solid-phase approach to DDB derivatives

Since the discovery of 2,2'-dimethoxycarbonyl-4,4-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-biomethylenedioxy-biphenyl (DDB) as a potent anti-HBV agent, we have studied the structure-activity relationships of 4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethenedioxy-2-alkyloxycarbonyl-2'-(4-substituted benzyl piperazin-1-yl)carbonyl-biphenyl as anti-HBV agents. Therefore, it is rational to extend this study to the 3,3'-disustituted-4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethenedioxy-2-alkyloxycarbonyl-2'-Serine derivatives. Thus, in an attempt to develop an efficient method for the preparation of a large number of DDB derivatives, the reaction between a DDB acid chloride and serine derivatives on solid support was studied. The structure of resulted compounds was confirmed by LC-MS and (1)H NMR analysis. Compounds 2a, 2d, 2f, 2j showed in vitro anti-HBV activity without significant toxicity up to 100 microM.     

Tissue transglutaminase during mouse central nervous system development: lack of alternative RNA processing and implications for its role(s) in murine models of neurotrauma and neurodegeneration

Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is a member of a multigene family principally involved in catalyzing the formation of protein cross-links. Unlike other members of the transglutaminase family, tTG is multifunctional since it also serves as a guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding protein (Galpha(h)) and participates in cell adhesion. Different isoforms of tTG can be produced by proteolysis or alternative splicing. We find that tTG mRNA is expressed at low levels in the mouse CNS relative to other tissues, and at lower levels in the CNS of mouse in comparison to that of human or rat. tTG mRNA levels are higher in the heart compared to the CNS, for example, and much higher in the liver. Within the CNS, tTG message is lowest in the adult cerebellum and thalamus and highest in the frontal cortex and striatum. In the hippocampus, tTG expression is highest during embryonic development and falls off dramatically after 1 week of life. We did not find alternative splicing of the mouse tTG. At the protein level, the predominant isoform is approximately 62 kDa. In summary, tTG, an important factor in neuronal survival, is expressed at low levels in the mouse CNS and, unlike rat and human tTG, does not appear to be regulated by alternative splicing. These findings have implications for analyses of rodent tTG expression in human neurodegenerative and neurotrauma models where alternative processing may be an attractive pathogenetic mechanism. They further impact on drug discovery paradigms, where modulation of activity may have therapeutic value.     

The expression of EGFR family ligands in breast carcinomas

Expression of EGF, HB-EGF, TGF-alpha, HRG-alpha, HRG-beta1, and HRG-beta3 in 100 frozen breast carcinoma materials was immunohistochemically studied. Among these tumors, 67% were positive for EGF, 53% for HB-EGF, 57% for TGF-alpha, 60% for HRG-alpha, 53% for HRG-beta1, and 63% for HRG-beta3 in the neoplastic epithelial cells. No significant associations between expression of the growth factors and clinicopathological features like tumor size, histologic grade, node status, ploidy, ER status, and c-erbB-4 expression were observed, with the exceptions that significant relations were present between EGF expression and tumor size (p = 0.01) and between HRG-beta3 expression and node status (p = 0.02). The expressions of these growth factors showed no association with cancer-specific survival by the Kaplan Meier analysis.     

Type 1 protein tyrosine kinases in breast carcinoma: a review

One of the most studied onco-gene families in breast tumors is the type 1 protein tyrosine kinase family, which consists of EGFR, c-erbB-2, c-erbB-3, and c-erbB-4. Overexpression of c-erbB-2 protein/mRNA in breast carcinomas is consistently associated with poor prognosis, while EGFR overexpression has been confirmed to have a synergistic clinical effect on the c-erbB-2 influence. The expression pattern of c-erbB-4 in breast carcinomas is special. Unlike other type 1 protein tyrosine kinases, expression of c-erbB-4 protein/mRNA is reduced in carcinomas compared with that in normal breast epithelia, and its expression has also been associated with a better clinical outcome, indicating the need for c-erbB-4 analysis when clinical therapeutic application of EGFR and c-erbB-2 anitbodies is considered. In addition, studies of the adaptor proteins in breast carcinomas are highly indicated in order to clarify the mechanisms behind the dysregulated expression of such receptors in breast carcinomas.     

某省居民突发公共卫生事件认知及心理调查

进入21世纪以来只有短短几年的时间，我国就经历了数次规模不小的突发公共卫生事件，如SARS、禽流感、近期的松花江水污染。尤其是SARS爆发，对我国民众的健康理念和生活方式产生了深远的影响，政府对公共卫生更加重视，由此加快了突发公共卫生事件应对体系的建立和健全。为了探讨政府、传媒及公众认知互动在突发公共卫生事件预防和控制中的作用，对黑龙江省部分城乡居民进行了问卷调查。     

体外模拟二氧化碳人工气腹对宫颈癌细胞生长的影响

目的 观察二氧化碳（CO2）人工气腹对宫颈癌细胞生长的影响，探讨其与乏氧的关系。方法 2005-10—2006-03华中科技大学同济医学院附属协和医院通过裸鼠右下腹腔注射宫颈癌细胞，注射宫颈癌细胞株（Hela）数量：4×10^9／L：将注射后40只裸鼠随机分成4组，每组10只：阴性对照组（常氧组）：仅给予右下腹腔注射宫颈癌细胞；CO2气腹模拟环境按CO2灌注压分3组：CO2灌注压4mmHg（1mmHg=0．133kPa）组，CO2灌注压10mmHg组，CO2灌注压16mmHg组．4周后观察裸鼠体重改变、切除瘤灶称瘤重、瘤体标本用免疫组化测定增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）、Western-blot方法检测瘤体的缺氧诱导因子-1α（HIF-1α）表达．结果 与阴性对照组比较，CO2气腹各组裸鼠体重下降明显，而瘤体重量增加相对显著，并随着CO2灌注压的增高这种趋势更为显著（P〈0．05）；CO2气腹各组裸鼠PCNA表达显著高于阴性对照组（P〈0．01）；CO2气腹各组裸鼠HIF-1α蛋白的表达与阴性对照组比较明显增加，差异有统计学意义（P〈0．01）．结论 与阴性对照组比较，CO2人工气腹环境可促进宫颈癌细胞生长，其机制可能与HIF-1α激活了PCNA表达，促进了细胞增殖有关。     

Oncogenic aberrations in the p53 pathway are associated with a high S phase fraction and poor patient survival in B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The implications of aberrations in the p53 pathway for induction of apoptosis and regulation of S phase entry, and for patient survival, were investigated in 83 B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Eight cases had missense mutations in exons 5, 7, 8 and 9 as revealed by constant denaturant gel electrophoresis and sequencing. Fifteen cases had lost 1 TP53 allele as revealed by fluorescent in situ hybridization and comparative genomic hybridization. Ten cases expressed high levels of p53 as assessed by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. S phase fractions were higher, apoptotic fractions were the same and survival times were shorter in all aberration groups compared with the cases with no TP53/p53 aberrations. Since many tumors had more than one TP53/p53 aberration, the tumors were divided into groups with the following characteristics: no TP53/p53 aberrations; loss of one TP53 allele only (9 cases), TP53 point mutation (8 cases), high-level p53 expression and no TP53 mutation (3 cases). Tumors from the 3 latter groups had higher median S phase fractions (5%, 7.6%, and 5%, respectively, p<0.02) than the cases without any aberrations (1.1%), and survival time for these patients was much shorter (relative risks of 5.9, 8.9, and 6.6, respectively, p<0.003). Apoptotic fractions were similar in all these groups (p=0.09). Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of TP53/p53 aberrations is a strong and independent prognostic parameter in B-cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.     

99Tcm直接法标记血管抑素

目的: 探索用99Tcm直接标记血管抑素(angiostatin, AS)的方法,并研究标记产物的体外稳定性及其生物活性. 方法:制备的AS经鉴定后,分别用2-巯基乙醇(2-ME)和氯化亚锡(SnCl2)还原法进行标记,并用正交设计筛选最佳合成条件;对标记产物用纸层析法及Sephadex G-50层析柱分离测标记率;产物中分别加入牛血清白蛋白(BSA)、生理盐水及不同摩尔比的半胱氨酸(Cys)以观察其体外稳定性;用人脐静脉内皮细胞系ECV304观察其生物活性. 结果:2-ME法最佳标记条件为AS 100 μg,PB(0.5 mol*L-1, pH 7.3) 1 mL, 2-ME 100 μg, 亚甲基二膦酸盐(MDP)(用1 mL生理盐水溶解) 10 μL,加入99TcmO4- 185 MBq,标记率可达(97.0±1.5)%; SnCl2法为AS 100 μg,硼酸缓冲液(0.1 mol*L-1, pH 9.0) 1 mL, 20 g*L-1 SnCl2 (1 mol*L-1盐酸作为溶剂) 20 μL加入MDP药盒,用去氧水稀释至1 mL, 取20 μL,加入99TcmO4- 185 MBq,标记率可达(90.0±3.0)%. 产物在体外稳定;细胞培养观察其抑制内皮细胞生物活性与AS无显著差异. 结论:用99Tcm直接法标记AS简单高效,且对AS生物活性无明显影响.     

导航下手术治疗脑血管疾病

目的：探讨无框架脑立体定位手术在治疗脑血管性疾病中的应用价值。方法：术前将MRI数据传入无框架脑立体定向导航系统（SealthStation)计算机工作站,进行三维建模,标记点定位,手术入路设计,开颅前行参考环及探针确认,标记点注册,设计手术切口,术中实时定位,1999年11月至2001年6月行无框架脑立体定向手术117例,其中动静脉畸形46例,动脉瘤42例,海绵状血管瘤29例,结果：颅内病灶或重要解剖定位结构准确,机显病灶定位误差均在2mm以内,术后神经功能损害4例,占3．4％,无手术死亡,结论：无框架脑立体定向手术能准确进行病灶定位,有效保护脑组织,减少神经损伤,切除病灶,改变了传统开颅手术模式,是微创神经外科的保证。