Learners’ acceptance of a webinar for continuing medical education

The aim of this study was to evaluate learners’ acceptance of a webinar for continuing medical education that was instigated by the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS). A live, interactive webinar on orthognathic surgery was broadcast via the Internet. The learners’ acceptance of the webinar was evaluated using a standardized, validated questionnaire (Student Evaluation of Educational Quality, SEEQ). One hundred and fifty-three participants attended the webinar; 55 participants (46 male, nine female) completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the respondents was 41.6 ± 10.0 years. The age of male and female respondents did not differ significantly. The respondents were spread over five continents, with the highest number from Brazil. The SEEQ showed a high level of acceptance for almost all subscales. There was no statistically significant difference between male and female respondents concerning acceptance of the webinar (P = 0.614). The wide distribution of participants shows the potential for webinars as facilitators of barrier-free distribution of knowledge. The webinar was well accepted by the attendees independent of sex, specialty, and work experience. However, the sex ratio reflects the underrepresentation of women in oral and maxillofacial surgery.     

Influence of SNPs in cytokine-related genes on the severity of food allergy and atopic eczema in children

Although many single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies have reported an association of atopy, allergic diseases and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, almost all of these studies sought risk factors for the onset of these allergic diseases. Furthermore, many studies have analyzed a single gene and hardly any have analyzed environmental factors. In these analyses, the results could be masked and the effects of other genes and environmental factors may be decreased. Here, we described the correlation between four genes [interleukin (IL)-4 (C-590T), IL-4 receptor (A1652G), FCER1B (G6842A) and STAT6 (G2964A)] in connection with IgE production; the role of IL-10 (C-627A) as a regulatory cytokine of allergy; and the severity of food allergy (FA) and atopic eczema (AE) in 220 Japanese allergic children. In addition to these SNPs, environmental factors, i.e., patient's attitude, indoor environment, and so on, were also investigated in this study. Our study was retrospective, and the correlation was analyzed by our defined clinical scores divided into three terms: worst symptoms, recent symptoms and general amelioration at the most recent examination during the disease course. Our results indicated that IL-10 AA, the genotype with lower IL-10 production, is associated with higher IgE levels in the serum (p < 0.0001, estimate; 0.912). Marginal liver abnormalities were observed in the subject group with both FA and AE (p < 0.1191, estimate; 0.1490). Our defined clinical scores enabled evaluation of various aspects of disease severity. Based on the scores, while no single SNP selected in this study determined severity, the combination of the SNP with laboratory data and environmental factors appeared to determine severity.     

A facile synthesis of [14C]pyrithiobac‐sodium

Condensation of thiourea 1 with diethyl malonate 2 in the presence of sodium methoxide furnished 4,6‐dihydroxy‐2‐mercaptopyrimidine 3 . Compound 3 on methylation with diazomethane followed by oxidation with H₅IO₆/CrO₃ in ethyl acetate gave 4,6‐dimethoxy‐2‐methylsulphonylpyrimidine 5 . Compound 5 on condensation with 2‐mercapto‐6‐chlorobenzoic acid in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst, tetrabutylammonium bromide and sodium carbonate gave the title compound – pyrithiobac‐sodium 6 with an overall yield of > 35% starting from thiourea. Following the above standardized procedure, using [¹⁴C]‐thiourea in lieu of thiourea, ¹⁴C labelled product 6 , was synthesized with an overall radiochemical yield > 30% (with respect to [¹⁴C]‐thiourea) for further evaluations of environmental fate of 6 , in soils and plants. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

褪黑素和6-羟褪黑素保护神经细胞抗缺血再灌注损伤比较研究

目的研究褪黑素(Mel)和6-羟褪黑素(6-OHMel)神经保护作用及作用机理。方法体外培养N2a细胞,模拟缺血再灌注(OGSD),加入Mel和6-OHMel,检测以下指标:①细胞生存能力:MTT法、乳酸脱氢酶释放;②细胞凋亡分析:DNA片断化,细胞色素C,Caspase3活性;③活性氧(ROS)和线粒体跨膜电位。结果①Mel和6-OHMel都能减轻OGSD诱导的N2a细胞损伤,Mel的作用强于6-OHMel。②Mel和6-OHMel均能抑制细胞色素C释放,但6-OHMel强于Mel。③Mel和6-OHMel都能稳定线粒体跨膜电位,但Mel作用时间比6-OHMel长。④Mel和6-OHMel能清除ROS,6-OHMel表现为直接作用,Mel表现为间接作用。⑤Mel和6-OHMel均能抑制caspase3的活性,但是作用时间不同。6-OHMel表现在OGSD后12h,Mel在OGSD后24h。结论Mel和6-OHMel的神经保护作用与其抗氧化、稳定线粒体功能相关,Mel的作用机制更复杂。     

皮质发育障碍模型的建立及其致痫敏感性的研究

目的:建立皮质发育障碍模型,探讨皮质发育障碍模型的敏感性。方法:在SD大鼠孕17d腹腔注入1,3-二氯乙烯-亚硝基脲(BCNU)制作皮质发育障碍模型;Nissl染色观察P60d仔鼠病理变化;选取P60d雄性仔鼠,腹腔注射氯化锂-毛果芸香碱,分别比较两组大鼠癫发生的潜伏期、持续状态时间和死亡率。结果:同龄仔鼠脑组织湿重实验组比对照组显著减轻(P<0.01);Nissl染色显示皮质变薄、皮质层次紊乱、海马区域异位细胞异常聚集;有皮质发育障碍的仔鼠注射氯化锂-毛果芸香碱后,癫发生的潜伏期显著缩短(P<0.01),癫持续状态时间延长(P<0.01),死亡率显著升高(P<0.05)。结论:BCNU致皮质发育障碍模型具有癫易感性。     

hs-CRP、TAS联合血脂检测在早老性痴呆症诊断中的应用研究

[目的]研究超敏C反应蛋白（hs-CRP）、总抗氧化状态（TAS）联合血脂检测在早老性痴呆症诊断中的应用价值：[方法]选择浦东新区精神卫生中心早老性痴呆专科门诊患者54例，作超敏C反应蛋白、总抗氧化状态与血脂检测。[结果]与对照组比较，实验组hs-CRP、TAS差异非常显著，t1=4．55，t2=2．79，P1〈0．001，P2〈0．01；血脂中甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、载脂蛋白B、Lp（a）差异显著；t1=3.01，P1〈0．01，t2=2．21，P2〈0．05，t3=2．64，P3〈0．01，t4=1．91，P4〈0．05。[结论]超敏C反应蛋白、总抗氧化状态联合血脂（甘油三酯、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、载脂蛋白B、Lp（a））检测对实验室诊断早老性痴呆症具有较好敏感性和特异性，临床应用前景乐观。