Fusion of vestibular and podokinesthetic information during self-turning towards instructed targets

When observers step about their vertical axis ("active turning") without vision they dispose of essentially two sources of information that can tell them by how much they have turned: the vestibular cue which reflects head rotation in space and the "podokinesthetic" cue, a compound of leg proprioceptive afferents and efference copy signals which reflects the observer's motion relative to his support. We ask how these two cues are fused in the process leading to the perception of self-displacement during active turning. To this end we compared the performance of observers in three angular navigation tasks which differed with regard to the number and type of available motion cues: (1) Passive rotation, vestibular cue ( ves) only; observers are standing on a platform which is being rotated. (2) Treadmill stepping, podokinesthetic cue ( pod) only; observers step counter to the rotating platform so as to remain stable in space. (3) Active turning, ves and pod available; observers step around on the stationary platform. In all three tasks, angular velocity varied from trial to trial (15, 30, 60 degrees /s) but was constant during trials. Perception was probed by having the observers signal when they thought to have reached a previously instructed angular displacement, either in space or relative to the platform ("target"; range 60-1080 degrees ). Performance was quantified in terms of the targeting gain (displacement reached by the observer divided by target angle) and of the random error ( E(r)), which records an observer's deviation during single trials from his average performance. Confirming previous observations, E(r) was found to be significantly smaller during active turning than during passive turning, and we now complement these observations by showing that it is also significantly smaller than during treadmill stepping. This behaviour of E(r) is compatible with the idea that ves and pod be averaged during active turning. On the other hand, the observed characteristics of the targeting gain ( G(T)) support this idea only for the case of fast rotations (60 degrees /s); at lower velocities, the gain found during active turning was clearly not the average of the G(T) values recorded in the passive and the treadmill modes. We therefore also discuss alternative scenarios as to how ves and pod could interact, among these one based on the concept of a vestibular eigenmodel. A common denominator of these scenarios is that ves assumes the role of a prerequisite for an optimal use of pod during turning on a stationary support, without itself entering the calculation of displacement perception; this perception would be based exclusively on pod. Finally, it was a consistent observation that during passive rotations cognitive mechanisms fill in for the decaying vestibular signal in the context of the present navigation task, enabling observers to achieve large displacements surprisingly well although the duration of these movements exceeds by far the conventionally cited value of the central vestibular time constant (=20 s).     

Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer

Summary Agrobacterium tumefaciens naturally transfers DNA into plant cells and is clearly one of the most effective methods of directed DNA transfer presently available. Two kinds of vectors are commonly used. Cointegrative vectors have the foreign genes incorporated directly into the Ti plasmid. Binary vectors carry two plasmids; the main Ti plasmid where most of the T-DNA has been removed, and a second plasmid containing the foreign genes between the usual border sequences. The vir genes on the main plasmid function to mobilize the foreign genes into a plant cell. Most plant transformation methods follow the procedure of cocultivating wounded tissue with vir-gene-induced bacteria. The cocultivation step is followed by transfer to a selective medium containing antibiotics to kill the bacterium and to allow only growth of transformed tissue. Several selectable markers are available that include resistance to antibiotics, herbicides, or drugs. In addition, several scorable markers such as the bacterial glucuronidase, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase, and the Agrobacterium opine genes are used to verify transformation. Southern blotting and inheritance of transferred genes are ultimately used to demonstrate stable transformation.     

肩锁关节及关节盘的相关解剖学特征

背景:目前临床上多数认为,肩部疾病如肩锁关节脱位、肩峰下撞击综合征等与肩锁关节的解剖形态有很大的关系,但国内外文献很少有关于肩锁关节的形态学数据支持,特别对于肩锁关节关节盘的解剖学研究。同时肩锁关节属于微动关节,参与肩关节的联合运动,现临床上有关肩锁关节脱位的手术方式繁多,较流行的手术方式多为刚性固定,并未保留其微动特点以及锁骨和肩胛骨的运动特点,其中关节盘的取舍目前国内外并无大样本多中心对照研究。目的:对肩锁关节及关节盘行相关解剖学研究,用于更好地指导肩部疾病的诊治。方法:对58具肩锁关节尸体标本(同济大学解剖教研室提供)进行形态学及组织结构研究,共获得58个肩峰、58个锁骨和36个关节盘(包括完全型和不完全型)。采用BIGLIANI肩峰形态分型、DEPALMA锁骨形态分型、EMURA肩锁关节盘分型,获得各肩峰与锁骨组合下关节盘出现的频率并行苏木精-伊红染色(上海市普陀区人民医院提供)。结果与结论:①在58个肩锁关节尸体中,肩锁关节盘type1型共15例,所占比例最高,为25.9%;type3a型共4例,所占比例最少,为6.9%。②Ⅰ型肩峰32个,所占比例最高,为55.2%;Ⅲ型肩峰3个,所占比例最低,为5.2%。③Ⅰ型锁骨27个,所占比例最高,为46.6%;Ⅲ型锁骨9个,所占比例最低,为15.5%。④以Ⅰ型及Ⅱ型肩峰与Ⅰ型锁骨组合所占比例较大,分别为24.1%和22.4%,以Ⅲ型肩峰对Ⅰ型锁骨所占比例最小,为0%。⑤而在Ⅰ型肩峰与Ⅰ型锁骨组合下type1型和type2b型关节盘所占比例最大,分别为35.7%和28.6%;Ⅱ型肩峰与Ⅰ型锁骨组合下type2a型和type1型关节盘所占比例最大,分别为38.5%和23.1%。⑥苏木精-伊红染色在组织切片中可以发现,关节盘中的细胞外基质清晰可辨,细胞形态饱满,含有丰富的细胞质,提示为软骨细胞,即形成纤维软骨的主要成分。此外,从关节囊顶端和底端两侧可见部分骨膜纤维层移行至关节盘内侧,考虑共同组成关节盘结构,即关节盘由近骨面的软骨细胞及远离骨面的纤维层共同构成。     

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。     

经皮穿刺椎间盘髓核摘除术入路的研究

为提供椎间盘髓核摘除术形态学依据，在7具成人横断面标本上观察测量了L1～L5椎间盘平面经皮穿刺椎间盘髓核摘除术的进针点、角度和深度。发现在L1～L3、L4～L5椎间盘髓核的穿刺点以距后正中线8～10cm，9～11cm，穿刺角度以46．7°～59．5°，穿刺深度为110．2～128．9mm为最宜。     

Methods for culture ofBombyx mori wing discs

Summary A culture method forBombyx wing discs is described. Grace's insect medium,Bombyx hemolymph, and moderate doses of ecdysterone (0.02 to 0.1 µg/ml) were necessary for complete imaginal differentiation ofBombyx wing discs. This procedure is useful for understanding ecdysteroid action on insect imaginal differentiation and metamorphosis.     

人工髓核材料-聚乙烯醇水凝胶/聚乙烯纤维复合物的生物相容性研究*

目的评估人工髓核材料聚乙烯醇水凝胶/聚乙烯纤维复合物的生物相容性。方法根据ISO10993-1标准,采用细胞毒性试验(琼脂扩散法)、皮内刺激试验、Ame's致突变试验、微核试验和体内植入(360天)试验对聚乙烯醇水凝胶/聚乙烯纤维复合物的生物相容性进行评估。结果聚乙烯醇水凝胶/聚乙烯纤维复合物的细胞毒性评分小于Ⅰ级,细胞生长无明显抑制现象,对皮内无刺激作用,Ames致突变试验为阴性,微核出现率为3.48‰,无致突变反应。体内植入符合植入材料生物学评价要求。结论聚乙烯醇水凝胶/聚乙烯纤维复合物具有良好的生物安全性,是一种无毒、对皮肤及肌肉、椎间隙无刺激作用的生物医用材料,在动物体内不引起排异反应,可应用于临床。     

后路腰椎间盘镜治疗多节段腰椎间盘突出症

目的探讨多节段腰椎间盘突出症的后路腰椎间盘镜(MED)手术治疗方法。方法回顾性分析2000年至2004年经MED治疗的45例多节段椎间盘突出症的临床资料。结果对45例患者共93个椎间盘进行了手术，平均住院时间14．8d，平均手术时间92min，平均手术出血量145ml，术后随访3个月至40个月，手术优良率为91．6％。结论多节段腰椎间盘突出症是MED手术治疗的相对适应证，相对于单节段的MED手术，术前定位和术中操作更困难，严格的病例选择和全面的术前分析，辅以熟练的手术操作，仍可获得较为满意的疗效。     

不同位置植入SMH人工腰椎间盘对小关节应力分布的影响

目的:通过三维有限元方法研究正常椎间盘、SMH人工腰椎间盘前置、中置和后置四组模型中小关节的应力分布情况,探讨不同位置植入SMH人工腰椎间盘对小关节应力分布的影响。方法:建立正常腰椎间盘、人工SMH腰椎间盘前置、中置和后置的三维模型,然后模拟腰椎节段的运动,进行小关节应力分布的比较研究。结果:与正常L4/5椎间盘模型相比,除SMH人工腰椎间盘前置模型前屈时比正常模型小关节应力小外,其余运动时SMH人工腰椎间盘前置、中置和后置模型中小关节的应力均高于正常腰椎间盘组,但后置SMH人工腰椎间盘组则相对较小。结论:SMH人工腰椎间盘后置可以更好地预防小关节的退变;人工椎间盘植入位置的不同对人工腰椎间盘术远期疗效的预测具一定的作用。     

终板蛋白多糖的变化对颈椎间盘力学性能的影响

目的:通过测定退变颈椎间盘压缩性能的改变,同时观测软骨终板基质蛋白多糖(proteoglycan PG)的变化,为退变的椎间盘显现异常力学特性作一分子机制上的探讨。方法:将24只家兔随机分为对照组和模型组,模型组家兔保持45°低屈曲住5小时/次·天,取C5-6椎间盘进行生物力学测定;同时生化测定椎间盘终板糖胺多糖(glycosaminoglycan,GAG)总量、硫酸软骨素(chongdroitin sulphate,CS)和硫酸角质素(keratan sulphate,KS)比值和透明质酸(hyaluronic acid,HA)含量;总结分析颈椎间盘退变时基质各成分的系统变化及其对椎间盘力学性能的影响。结果:模型组终板抗压强度、断裂时的最大形变、终板基质蛋白多糖总含量、硫酸软骨素/硫酸角质素比值、透明质酸含量都低于对照组(P<0.05),并随造模进程的深入而减小。结论:长时间的应力不均状态,造成椎间盘终板材料力学特性改变;颈椎间盘基质蛋白多糖含量和成分改变是颈椎间盘生物力学性能减退的主要原因之一。