间接免疫荧光法检测特异性IgG抗体对流行性出血热诊断意义

本文报告用间接免疫荧光法检测特异性IgG抗体对流行性出血热的诊断意义。53例不同病期的出血热患者的血清,其间接荧光抗体的阳性率为49/53(占92.45％)。有77.36％的患者血清,检出IgG抗体的时间是在发病后的1～2周。血清中IgG的滴度与疾病的严重性无密切相关。另25例非EHF患者,其血清特异性IgG抗体均为阴性。可见检测特异性IgG抗体对EHF的诊断颇为有用。     

腰椎节段形态对峡部、小关节应力及小关节接触力影响的有限元分析

目的:探讨腰椎形态结构变化对峡部裂性滑脱及小关节退变的作用和意义。方法:采用改良的“非种子区域分割方法”及非平行“最佳切割平面”等一系列新型计算机辅助设计(CAD)方法精确建立包括椎间盘高度、腰椎小关节角、椎间盘前凸角改变的L4~L5活动节段有限元模型;在2700N轴向压缩载荷条件下,分别对各有限元模型的峡部、小关节应力、小关节接触力以及椎间盘负载进行测试。结果:压缩载荷下,腰椎活动节段峡部、小关节等效应力及小关节接触力随椎间盘高度的减小而减小,随小关节角的增大而增加,随椎间盘前凸角的增加而减小。结论:椎间盘高度、腰椎小关节角、椎间盘前凸角等形态结构变化对腰椎节段有限元模型的峡部、小关节应力及小关节接触力有明显的影响。提示腰椎峡部应力性骨折及小关节退变的发生与椎间盘高度、腰椎小关节角、椎间盘前凸角等解剖形态因素有关。     

Multivariate comparison of elemental concentrations in human teeth

R-mode factor analysis was applied to characterize the chemical composition of human teeth investigated by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques. The approach developed in this study enabled the separation between essential mineral teeth components and the pollutants deposited in teeth tissues during the human life. The three independent sources of metals incorporated in human teeth were found. The first source, representing about 43% of the variance of the concentration data, was characterized by pollutant elements of power industry emissions. The second factor was loaded with toxic elements of general urban pollution. The third factor represented the tooth source as it contained mainly large fractions of the mineral components of the tooth tissue as Ca and K.     

Role of the vitamin D3 pathway in healthy and diseased skin – facts, contradictions and hypotheses

Abstract: Irradiation of human keratinocytes with UVB (280–320 nm) in vitro and in vivo activates the metabolism of 7‐dehydrocholesterol to hormonally active calcitriol. The production of calcitriol in the skin strongly depends on the photosynthesis of vitamin D₃ which is biologically inactive in the first instance. Vitamin D₃ serves as the starting substrate for two subsequent enzymatic hydroxylation steps in epidermal keratinocytes. Both the amount of vitamin D₃ and the activity of anabolic and catabolic vitamin D hydroxylases determine the cutaneous level of calcitriol. The hormonally active metabolite of vitamin D₃ regulates a huge number of genes in keratinocytes, and thus acts in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner. This local pathway of vitamin D₃ is unique, but its relevance for healthy and diseased skin is widely unknown, yet. Experimental findings implicate several questions: ( 1 ) Is UVB‐induced formation of calcitriol involved in regulation of growth and differentaition of epidermal cells as well as immunological and skin protective processes? ( 2 ) What endogenous and exogenous factors including drugs affect the cutaneous vitamin D₃ pathway? From a therapeutical point of view, it has been known for a long time that topical application of calcitriol and its analogs can improve hyperproliferative skin diseases like psoriasis. In spite of many encouraging studies in recent years, the fields of the routinely therapeutical application of calcitriol or vitamin D analogs in dermatology (e.g. treatment of immunological, inflammatory, malignancies and infectious skin diseases) have not been intensified. Why is that?     

蛋白质组学在皮肤科的研究进展

蛋白质组学是研究细胞内所有蛋白质及其动态变化规律的科学,近年来它被广泛应用于生命科学的各个领域.二维聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳法(2D PAGE)是蛋白质组学核心技术.就蛋白质组学在皮肤病学基础研究和临床皮肤病中的应用进行综述.     

A new strategy of delayed long-term prophylaxis could prevent cytomegalovirus disease in (D+/R−) solid organ transplant recipients

Abstract:  Long-term prophylaxis against cytomegalovirus (CMV) started immediately after transplantation in (D+/R−) poses a higher risk of late-onset CMV disease. Delayed CMV prophylaxis could allow a transitory exposure of the immune system to CMV, which would let the immune system mount an adequate CMV-specific cytotoxic response in (D+/R−) patients and confer protection against CMV disease. We included all (D+/R−) solid organ transplant recipients (SOT) performed at our institution (January 3/October 6) who received CMV prophylaxis (mainly with oral valganciclovir) during 100 d. In the first period (until December 4), prophylaxis was initiated immediately after transplantation (conventional prophylaxis: CP). Since January 5, it was initiated after 14 d (delayed prophylaxis: DP). Incidence and severity of CMV disease was compared between both groups. A total of 44 SOT recipients were included (CP: 26 and DP: 18). CMV disease was diagnosed in eight patients (18%), seven of 26 (27%) in the CP group, and one of 18 (5.5%) in the DP group (p = 0.07). CMV colitis was reported in five of 26 patients in the CP group (19%), whereas there were no cases of visceral CMV disease in the DP group (p = 0.048). A 14-d delay in the beginning of long-term prophylaxis against CMV in (D+/R−) is safe and could prevent the onset of late-CMV disease.     

Cross-cultural invariance of the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory: Adolescent samples from Canada and Singapore

We provide further evidence for the two-factor structure of the 9-item Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI) using confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 289 Canadian adolescents and 310 Singaporean adolescents. Examination of measurement invariance tests the assumption that the model underlying a set of scores is directly comparable across groups. This study also examined the cross-cultural validity of the AESI using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis across both the Canadian and Singaporean adolescent samples. The results suggested cross-cultural invariance of form, factor loadings, and factor variances and covariances of the AESI across both samples. Evidence of AESI's convergent and discriminant validity was also reported. Findings from t-tests revealed that Singaporean adolescents reported a significantly higher level of academic stress arising from self expectations, other expectations, and overall academic stress, compared to Canadian adolescents. Also, a larger cross-cultural effect was associated with academic stress arising from other expectations compared with academic stress arising from self expectations.     

A study of a method for distribution analysis of skin color

Background/aims: The objective and quantitative assessment of the skin is important in medical and cosmeceutical research. Assessment of color is an important element for analyzing the surface of the skin, which is usually determined subjectively by a doctor or using color analysis devices. These devices, however, cannot provide correct color information because color is construed from the mean value of the observation region, and analysis of color distribution is impossible. The purpose of this paper is to develop an objective analysis method to permit skin color measurement of each pixel unit of an image and analyze the distribution of skin surface color. Methods: The Skin Color Distribution Analyzer (SCDA) is an analysis method newly developed at the Research Institute for Skin Image at Korea University. The SCDA system presented in this paper performed a novel form of quantitative and objective analysis of skin color distribution using each pixel color model parameter found in image wavelength information. In this paper, distribution analysis was conducted on normal skin and skin lesions and skin affected by artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis and pigmented nevous. The method selected a grade using a color model parameter. Twenty healthy Korean males participated in this study. A comparative study of the eight anatomical areas was performed, including the exposure and non‐exposure parts and the medial aspect and the lateral aspect of the forearm. A reliability test for the SCDA system was also conducted with a spectrometer (SPEC) using the color analysis method. Results: Each skin lesion was precisely segmented by grade and each parameter hada different statistical significance for results of analysis of distribution in pigmented nevous and the artificially induced irritant contact dermatitis. Parameters L^*, b^*, a^*, and EI showed salient traits. Showed resemble measured result in the SCDA system and the SPEC of normal skin. The exposed site, in comparison with the non‐exposed site, showed a notable difference in the L^* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the x and z parameters, except b^*. The comparison of the medial and lateral aspects of the forearm showed a notable difference in the L^* parameter and a significant statistical difference in the parameters except y and b^*. In the reliability test result using the SCDA system and the SPEC, the SCDA system was highly reliabile in terms of the CV value in all color model parameters. Conclusions: The color distribution analysis method using the SCDA system has revealed an aspect that the existent method of medical research has not shown, and is considered to be more reliable than other methods. This method can provide better study findings because it can be applied to other fields in addition to the medical science field and the ripple effect is thought to be bigger in other science field too.