基于椭圆方程的三维心脏超声图像的位移场估计

三维超声心动图技术能使医生直观地看到心脏整体和各部分的运动，在临床得到重视。在三维超声心动图技术中，如何定量的描述心脏中某个组织的运动状况极具临床意义。本研究提出了一种基于椭圆偏微分方程的二尖瓣三维运动估计方法。该方法直接在三维超声图像的位移场上进行了运动估计，避免了传统运动估计方法，如光流法，需要标定的缺点。本研究首先建立一个二次误差指标函数，然后利用变分法导出了三维空间下的一组椭圆型偏微分方程。这类方程有着比较成熟的数值解法，利用了有限差分法，对多个三维超声数据立方体进行了计算，结果证明这类方法是有效的。     

Effect of illumination of nitrate and phosphate removal by coimmobilized Chlorella pyrenoidosa and activated sludge

Chlorella pyrenoidosa and activated sludge were co-immobilized with simplifying modified PVA-sulfate method. Effects of light intensity and light:dark ratio on the growth of co-immobilized algae cells and removal of nitrate and phosphate were studied. The results indicate that the growth rate of co-immobilized algae cells reduces when light intensity is decreased from 4000 Lux to 1000 Lux, while optimal light:dark ratio for algal growth is 16:8. The influence of illumination on nitrate removal is so weak that the removal percentage can reach 90 approximately 100% within 12 approximately 24 h during the experimental periods in spite of changing illumination conditions. On the other hand, phosphate removal efficiency reduces when light intensity or light:dark ratio is decreased. The highest phosphate removal percentage is 99.6% under the circumstances of 4000 Lux and full-time illumination in our experiment, while the average phosphate removal is about 78%. The change of pH value in water samples is also observed. When water sample is treated by the co-immobilized system, pH value increases in light and decreases in dark. Microorganisms' physiological action is considered as the main mechanism that leads to the change of pH value.     

The ability of heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae to stimulate a cytotoxic T-cell response to an unrelated protein is associated with a 65 kilodalton heat-shock protein

Exogenous antigens are generally presented by Class II major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules. When administered with an adjuvant, however, they are capable of inducing a CD8+ T-cell response where antigen recognition is associated with Class I MHC. Accordingly, immunization with soluble ovalbumin (OVA) alone does not activate CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL) but when given in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), or in formulations of a number of novel adjuvants, an OVA-specific CD8+ CTL response can be detected. We show in this report that immunization with soluble OVA mixed with heat-killed Mycobacterium vaccae, but not with other common pathogenic and saprophytic mycobacteria, can activate OVA-specific CD8+ CTL. An OVA-specific CTL response is detected when mice are immunized by either the intraperitoneal or intranasal route and their spleen cells are re-stimulated in vitro. Adjuvant activity of heat-killed M. vaccae is present in M. vaccae culture filtrate, in soluble protein components of whole M. vaccae and in the 65 kDa heat-shock protein (hsp) of M. vaccae. Mycobacterium vaccae has previously been shown to have no adverse side-effects in humans. The current results suggest that M. vaccae may be useful as an adjuvant for vaccines and other immunotherapies where CD8+ CTL responses to exogenous proteins are crucial.     

Nucleolar localization of non-structural protein 3b, a protein specifically encoded by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus

The open reading frame 3 (ORF3) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) genome encodes a predicted 154-amino acid protein, which lacks similarities to any known protein, and is named 3b. In this study, it was shown that 3b protein was predominately localized to nucleus with EGFP tag at its N- or C-terminus. The localization patterns were similar in different transfected cells. Immuno-fluorescence assay revealed that 3b protein was co-localized well with C23 in nucleolus. C23, B23 and fibrillarin all are important nucleolar proteins, which localize in the region of the nucleolus. Co-transfection of p3b-EGFP with pC23-DsRed, pB23-DsRed and pfibrillarin-DsRed further confirmed 3b's nucleolus localization. With construction of serial truncated mutants of 3b, a region (residues 134-154 aa) responsible for nucleolar localization was determinated in 3b protein. These results provide a new insight for further functional studies of SARS-CoV 3b protein.     

Substance P potentiates 5-HT3 receptor-mediated current in rat trigeminal ganglion neurons

The present study aimed to investigate the interaction between the coexistent SP receptor and 5-HT3 receptor in trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons using whole-cell patch clamp technique. The majority of the neurons examined responded to 5-HT with an inward current (I5-HT) (78.2%, 79/101) that could be blocked by 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, ICS-205,930. The I5-HT was potentiated by preapplication of SP (10(-10) to 10(-8) M) in most 5-HT-sensitive cells(78.5%, 62/79). Coapplication of SP and GR-82334, antagonist of NK1 receptor, had no enhancing effect on I5-HT. The concentration-response curves for 5-HT with and without SP preapplication show that: (1) the threshold 5-HT concentrations with and without SP preapplication are basically the same, while SP preapplication increased the maximal value of I5-HT by 38.0% of its control; (2) the EC50 values of the curves with and without SP pretreatment are very close, i.e. 1.89 x 10(-5) M and 2.08 x 10(-5) M (P > 0.1; n = 9), respectively. Intracellular dialysis of GDP-beta-S, a non-hydrolyzable GDP analog, and GF-109203X, a selective protein kinase C inhibitor, removed the SP potentiation of I5-HT. These results may offer a clue to understanding the mechanism underlying the generation and/or regulation of peripheral pain caused by tissue damage inflammation, etc.     

多发性骨髓瘤患者血清IL-6活性与急性相蛋白浓度的相关性研究

运用敏感的B_9细胞增殖试验检测了81例多发性骨髓瘤(MM)患者血清IL-6活性,同时分析了标本的几种急性相蛋白含量,结果表明,68％MM患者血清中IL-6活性大于5μ/ml(正常对照为5μ/ml以下),几种急性相蛋白中C-反应性蛋白(CRP)在MM时升高(P<0.01),平均达正常对照组的17倍以上,MM患者补体C_4与正常对照组无差异(p>0.05),C_3、白蛋白及转铁蛋白在MM时分别比正常下降24.42％、38.83％和32.80％,且与疾病分期有关,在血清IL-6大于5μ/ml的55例中,IL-6活性与CRP、C_3、白蛋白的相关系数分别为0.46,-0.34和-0.29,IL-6与转铁蛋白浓度相关不明显。本文结果提示:CRP、C_3及白蛋白等含量的变化可作为反映MM病情的简易而敏感的指标。     

Favorably tipping the balance between cytopathic and regulatory T cells to create transplantation tolerance

Therapeutic application of broadly reactive anti-T cell antibodies can lead not only to potent immunosuppression but also to profound and long-lived T cell depletion. We reasoned that a strategy that almost exclusively targets activated cytopathic donor reactive T cells and spares immunoregulatory networks might prove to be an exceptionally potent and highly selective means of producing long-term engraftment and tolerance. Herein we show that the combined administration of rapamycin and agonist IL-2- and antagonist IL-15-related cytolytic fusion proteins provides for long-term engraftment/tolerance in exceptionally stringent allotransplant models by (1) limiting the early expansion of activated T cells, (2) preserving and even exaggerating their subsequent apoptotic clearance, and (3) further amplifying the depletion of these activated T cells by antibody-dependent mechanisms, while (4) preserving CD4+CD25+ T cell-dependent immunoregulatory networks.