Successful treatment of a patient with severe pulmonary hypertension due to perivalvular leakage at aortic and mitral positions after aortic and mitral valve replacement

A 33-year-old-man had severe secondary pulmonary hypertension due to perivalvular leakage at the aortic and mitral positions after aortic and mitral valve replacement. Preoperative cardiac catheterization revealed pulmonary artery pressure of 105/45 mmHg and pulmonary vascular resistance of 929 dynes.s.cm(-5) To save the patient, we performed aortic and mitral valve re-replacement, and tricuspid annuloplasty. After surgery, selective pulmonary vasodilators, beraprost sodium, inhaled nitric oxide, and intravenous prostaglandin (PG) I(2) were administered because of persistent severe pulmonary hypertension. Cardiac catheterization on postoperative day 58 showed that the pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance had decreased to 40/20 mmHg and 87.7 dynes x s x cm(-5), respectively The simultaneous use of inhaled nitric oxide, intravenous PGI(2), and oral beraprost sodium might be useful for treating postoperative persistent pulmonary hypertension.     

单侧唇裂继发畸形的美学修复

目的 探讨单侧唇裂继发畸形与I期手术方式选择的关系,以及进行唇裂继发畸形美学修复的策略.方法 选择单侧继发唇裂120例,根据I期采用的不同术式进行分组,对唇裂畸形进行观察和分析,采用个体化设计,进行美学修复.对采用Millard、Tennison、矩形瓣及上三角瓣法的单侧唇裂继发畸形修复后,观察上唇人中窝形念、瘢痕、唇峰形态的恢复.结果 显示原采用Millard方法、上三角瓣方法优于Tennison方法和矩形瓣方法.Ⅱ期修复术后效果满意.结论 单侧唇裂I期采用的手术方式对继发畸形的程度和修复有显著影响.     

鼻部皮肤肿瘤切除后的创面修复

目的 介绍鼻部皮肤肿瘤切除后创面的即刻修复经验。方法 1996年4月～2006年4月，在遵循鼻亚单位组成的美学原则基础上，根据创面大小、形状、部位及周围皮肤情况，选择相应局部皮瓣修复鼻部肿瘤切除后致鼻缺损428例。其中男273例，女155例；年龄12～78岁，中位年龄52岁。基底细胞癌146例，鳞状细胞癌83例，表皮囊肿54例，色素痣145例；恶性肿瘤临床分期0～Ⅰ期，病程1周～3个月。鼻尖51例，鼻翼102例，鼻背138例，鼻侧壁137例；其中跨鼻亚单位缺损83例。肿瘤切除后致鼻缺损0．6cm×0．6cm～3．0cm×4．0cm。皮瓣来源于额鼻皮瓣58例，双叶皮瓣67例，改良菱形皮瓣152例，鼻唇沟皮瓣118例，额正中皮瓣33例。供区创面直接拉拢缝合。结果 患者创面Ⅰ期愈合423例；3例皮瓣远端部分表皮坏死，经局部换药后创面愈合；2例患者切口轻度感染，经局部换药处理后创面Ⅰ期愈合。供区均未形成继发性缺损，创面Ⅰ期愈合。术后385例获随访1～60个月。鼻外形轮廓较好，修复组织色泽、质地与周围皮肤匹配良好，恶性肿瘤无复发。结论 遵循鼻亚单位美学原则，应用局部皮瓣能修复鼻部肿瘤切除后中等以上创面，且色泽、质地、轮廓等均能达到较好匹配和协调，可获得满意功能和稳定的美学效果。     

一种识别蛋白质的保守氨基酸残基的新方法

保守氨基酸残基在生物进化过程中具有较强的稳定性,一般不会发生太大的变化;生物信息学认为：氨基酸序列决定蛋白质结构,蛋白质结构决定蛋白质功能。因此,作者基于氨基酸的生化特性、几何特性和动态特性描述了一个新颖的算法去发现蛋白酶家族中的保守氨基酸残基,而保守氨基酸残基将对蛋白质的结构和功能的研究具有重要的意义。     

股骨头骨坏死样本空间结构的Micro-CT评估

目的以股骨头骨坏死样本的Micro-CT断层图像为基础，对其进行空间结构评估。方法2003年11月～2005年6月，收集股骨头骨坏死患者行全髋关节置换术时取出的股骨头样本6个，对样本进行Micro-CT断层扫描，获取股骨头骨坏死样本的计算机三维图像，图像空间分辨率为36μm×36μm×36μm。手工选取兴趣区，随后采用骨体积分数（BV／TV）、骨小梁间隙（Tb．Sp）、骨小梁厚度（Tb，Th）、骨小梁数目（Tb．N）、骨表面积体积比（BS／BV）、结构模型指数（SMI）、骨小梁模型因子（Tb．Pf）等三维空间参数分别对股骨头骨坏死标本的正常区域、硬化带和塌陷区进行评价。结果晚期股骨头骨坏死硬化区和塌陷区的骨小梁空间结构明显改变：硬化区Bv／Tv明显增加，Tb．Th明显增厚，Tb，Sp变窄，SMI与正常区域的骨小梁无差别；而塌陷区Bv／Tv明显减少，BS／BV增大，Tb．N和Tb．Pf增加，Tb，Th改变不明显。结论Micro-CT作为一种新的检测手段，能够在不损伤样本的条件下快速获取股骨头骨坏死样本断层图像，具有精度高、检测快、可进行三维重建分析的优点。晚期股骨头骨坏死不同区域的骨三维结构呈现出不同的空间结构特征。     

Severity of vertebral fracture reflects deterioration of bone microarchitecture

Introduction Bone microarchitecture, a component of bone strength, is generally measured on transiliac bone biopsy samples. The objective of this study was to determine whether assessment of four grades of vertebral fracture severity could serve as a noninvasive surrogate marker for trabecular bone volume and microarchitecture. Methods Baseline vertebral fracture severity was determined by semiquantitative assessment of spine radiographs from 190 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Bone-structure indices were obtained by 2D histomorphometry and 3D microcomputed tomography (CT) analyses. Significance of differences was determined after adjusting for age, height, and lumbar spine bone mineral density. Results There were significant (P < 0.05) trends in decreasing bone volume, trabecular number, and connectivity, and increasing trabecular separation with greater vertebral fracture severity. Histomorphometric bone volume was 25 and 36% lower (P < 0.05) in women with moderate and severe fractures than in women with no fractures, respectively. Compared with women without fractures, women with mild, moderate, and severe fractures had lower (P < 0.05) microCT bone volume (23, 30, and 51%, respectively). Conclusions Microarchitectural deterioration was progressively worse in women with increasing severity of vertebral fractures. We conclude that assessment of vertebral fracture severity is an important clinical tool to evaluate the severity of postmenopausal osteoporosis.     

大鼠脊髓损伤后细胞凋亡的光镜和电镜观察

目的：观察大白鼠脊髓损伤后细胞凋亡现象及超微结构特点，方法：48只SD大鼠为分两组，Allen's法致伤脊髓（轻度损伤和中度损伤），分别于术后4、8、24、48、72、168h处死，采集脊髓标本，应用HE、TUNEL当色进行光镜和电镜观察，结果：HE当色显示轻度损伤后 髓主要表现为多发性小出血灶，后期为胶细胞增生，中度损伤早期主要表现为大片出血灶，继之出现损伤部位细胞液化坏死，后期空腔形成。TUNEL染色显示，术后4h即出现细胞凋亡，术后8h达最高峰，包括神经元和胶质细胞凋亡。术后48h开始减少，术后72h和168h仍可见到凋亡的胶质细胞，术后4h和8h凋亡细胞主要分布在损伤节段内，结论：脊髓损伤后存在细胞凋亡现象，从形态上看包括神经元和胶质细胞和凋亡，细胞是脊髓继发性损害中细胞死亡的一种重要形式。     

Undifferentiated leiomyosarcoma showing various sarcomatous components with incidental B-cell lymphoma after tumor recurrence

 We report a rare case of undifferentiated leiomyosarcoma (LMS) with incidental B-cell lymphoma in a 70-year-old woman. T2-weighted magnetic resonance images revealed a high signal intensity mass measuring 9 × 8 cm in the gluteus muscle. The pathological diagnosis of repeated surgery was undifferentiated LMS that included various sarcomatous components, such as fibrosarcomatous, rhabdomyosarcomatous, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma-like elements. A specimen from a supraclavicular lymph node showed the characteristics of malignant B-cell lymphoma (follicle type). Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy was not performed because of the patient's advanced age. The patient died from liver metastasis and dysfunction 5 years 8 months after the initial therapy. This is a rare case of LMS with malignant lymphoma. Considerable debate remains whether the B-cell lymphoma developed incidentally. Received: January 7, 2002 / Accepted: June 25, 2002 Acknowledgment. The authors thank Kimberly Christian for expert secretarial service (Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA). Offprint requests to: M. Kanamori     

Sperm chromatin structure assay as an independent predictor of fertility in vivo: a case–control study

Standard sperm parameters have a limited power for prediction of the chance of natural conception. Recent studies have indicated that the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) DNA fragmentation index (DFI), a measure for the fraction of sperms with DNA damage, is associated with fertility in vivo . The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of this parameter for prediction of infertility. One hundred and twenty-seven men from infertile couples with no known female factor and 137 men with proven fertility were included. Semen analysis was performed as recommended by the WHO. DFI was assessed using SCSA. Logistic binary regression was used to compute the odds ratios (OR) for infertility. As compared with men with a DFI <10%, men with a DFI between 10% and 20% had an increased risk for infertility (OR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.0–6.1). This was also true for men with a DFI >20% (OR 8.4; 95% CI: 3.0–23). In men with normal standard semen parameters (sperm concentration, motility and morphology) the OR for infertility was increased with DFI >20% (OR 5.1, 95% CI: 1.2–23), whereas if one of the standard semen parameters was abnormal, the OR for infertility was increased already at DFI above 10% (OR 16, 95% CI: 4.2–60). We conclude that SCSA DFI adds to the value of semen analysis in prediction of the chance of natural conception.     

In vitro effects of nonylphenol on motility,mitochondrial, acrosomal and chromatin integrity of ram and boar spermatozoa

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of nonylphenol (NP) on viability of ram and boar sperm in vitro. Ram or boar spermatozoa were exposed to 1, 10, 100, 250 and 500 μg NP ml^?1 for 1, 2, 3 or 4 h. Computer‐assisted sperm motility analysis (CASA) system was used to evaluate sperm motility characteristics. Flow cytometry was used to determine mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and chromatin integrity, while epifluorescent microscopy was used to determine sperm acrosomal status. Exposure of both species spermatozoa to 250 and 500 μg NP ml^?1 was detrimental to progressive motility (P < 0.05), and its adverse effect was significant at lower (100 μg NP ml^?1) concentration (P < 0.05). The percentages of ram and boar spermatozoa with high MMP declined drastically after exposures to ≥250 μg ml^?1 NP (P < 0.05). Unlike chromatin integrity, which did not appear to be altered by NP exposure, there were dose‐dependent NP effects (P < 0.05) on acrosomal integrity of both species at as low as 1 μg ml^?1 NP for boar spermatozoa and 10 μg ml^?1 NP for ram spermatozoa. These data show adverse effects of NP on ram and boar spermatozoa and thus its potential harmful effects on male reproduction as NP is found in fruits, vegetables, human milk, fish and livestock products.