[Biochemical changes in striatum of Parkinson's disease rat model observed by modified proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy].

This study was undertaken to observe the biochemical changes in striatum of Parkinson's disease (PD) rat model by modified proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 12 SD rats were divided into model (n=7) and control (n=5) groups. At 3 weeks after the injection of 6-hydroxydopamine into right striatum, 1H-MRS on the striatum was taken by modified proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and then tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunostatining was used to visualize the changes of the neurons in substantia nigra and neurites in striatum.

[The feasibility study of estimating energy consumption in photoselective vaporization of prostate based on the volume of prostate].

Objective: To discuss the feasibility of estimating energy consumption of green laser in photoselective vaporization of prostate (PVP) based on the preoperative volume of prostate.

Methods: From January 2005 to January 2007, 260 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) had been treated with PVP. Preoperative prostatic volume and post-two-weeks-operative prostatic volume of each patient were measured by transrectal ultrasound (TRUS).

Immunogenicity associated with the routine use of an influenza A H1N1 vaccine in health care personnel in Guangzhou, China.

We present immunogenicity data on the routine vaccination of 103 health care personnel during the 2009 H1N1 national vaccination campaign. The seroprotection rate (percentage of samples with hemagglutination inhibition titers of > or =1:40) was 83.2% at 30 days postvaccination, lower than those obtained in previously published controlled trials.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor region on chromosome 15q25 and lung cancer risk among African Americans: a case-control study.

Genome-wide association studies of white persons with lung cancer have identified a region of extensive linkage disequilibrium on chromosome 15q25.1 that appears to be associated with both risk for lung cancer and smoking dependence. Because studying African American persons, who exhibit lower levels of linkage disequilibrium in this region, may identify additional loci that are associated with lung cancer, we genotyped 34 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this region (including LOC123688, PSMA4, CHRNA5, CHRNA3, and CHRNB4 genes) in 467 African American patients with lung cancer and 388 frequency-matched African American control subjects.

A scandium terminal imido complex: synthesis, structure and DFT studies.

The first rare earth metal terminal imido complex has been isolated and structurally characterized. The complex has an extremely short M-N bond length and a nearly linear M-N-C angle. DFT studies showed two p orbitals of N(imido) atom form two bonds with two d orbitals of rare earth metal ion.

Enhanced osteointegration of orthopaedic implant gradient coating composed of bioactive glass and nanohydroxyapatite.

We conducted histologic and histomorphometric studies to evaluate the osteointegration of gradient coatings composed of bioactive glass and nanohydroxyapatite (BG-nHA) on titanium-alloy orthopaedic implants and surrounding bone tissue in vivo. Titanium-alloy implants with a gradient coating (gradient coating group), uncoated implants (uncoated group), and implants with a conventional hydroxyapatite (HA) coating (HA coating group) were randomly implanted in bilateral femoral condyles of 36 male New Zealand rabbits. The bone-implant contact at 12 and 24 weeks and the new bone volume in the notch created for observing bone ingrowth at 4, 12, and 24 weeks were found greater in the gradient coating group than those in both the uncoated group and the HA coating group (p < 0.

[Avian influenza virus infection in people occupied in poultry fields in Guangzhou city].

Objective: To conduct serological investigation on H5N1/H9N2/H7N7 infection among people occupied in poultry fields.

Methods: Serum samples were collected from people working in live poultry and none-poultry retailing food markets, poultry wholesaling, large-scale poultry breading factories and in small-scale farms, wide birds breeding, swine slaughtering houses and from normal population. Antibodies of H5, H9 and H7 with hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization tests were tested and analyzed.

Hospital use and associated costs of children aged zero-to-two years with craniofacial malformations in Massachusetts.

Background: Craniofacial malformations (CFMs) are among the most common and correctable birth defects in the United States, often requiring multiple medical and surgical treatments. However, population-based data on hospital utilization and costs are sparse.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used linked data from the Massachusetts Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data System.

Different distributions of calbindin and calretinin immunostaining across the medial and dorsal divisions of the mouse medial geniculate body.

We studied the distributions of calretinin and calbindin immunoreactivity in subdivisions of the mouse medial geniculate body and the adjacent paralaminar nuclei. We found that the vast majority of labeled cells in the dorsal division of the medial geniculate body were immunoreactive for calbindin-only, whereas most of the remaining labeled cells were double-labeled. Very few calretinin+ only cells were observed.

The effect of bulking agents on the chemical stability of acid-sensitive compounds in freeze-dried formulations: sucrose inversion study.

The goal of the study was to evaluate the impact of amorphous bulking agents on the chemical stability of freeze-dried materials. Polyvinylpyrrolidone and dextran of different molecular weights and lactose were used as bulking agents, and sucrose was used as an example of an acid-sensitive compound. Lyophiles containing bulking agent and sucrose at 10:1 (w/w) ratio, citrate buffer, and optionally bromophenol blue (pH indicator) were tested by X-ray powder diffractometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and Karl Fischer titrimetry.

Impact of casopitant, a novel NK-1 antagonist, on the pharmacokinetics of ondansetron and dexamethasone.

Introduction: Pharmacokinetic interactions between casopitant (a substrate and weak to moderate inhibitor of CYP3A), dexamethasone (a substrate and weak inducer of CYP3A), and ondansetron (a mixed CYP substrate) were evaluated in a two-part, three-period, single-sequence study in two groups of healthy subjects.

Materials And Methods: Part 1: subjects received oral casopitant (regimen A); oral dexamethasone and IV ondansetron (regimen B); and oral casopitant, a reduced dose of oral dexamethasone, and IV ondansetron (regimen C). Part 2: subjects received oral casopitant (regimen D); IV dexamethasone and oral ondansetron (regimen E); and oral casopitant, IV dexamethasone, and oral ondansetron (regimen F).

Factors that distinguish serious versus less severe strain and sprain injuries: an analysis of electric utility workers.

Background: Occupational sprain and strain injuries are one of the most common types of nonfatal occupational injuries and a significant source of lost workdays. This study examines factors associated with severe work-related sprain/strain injuries to the back, shoulder, and knees.

Methods: A synthetic case-control study was performed (controls were selected from the same pool of utility workers as cases).

Phytochemical and genetic analyses of ancient cannabis from Central Asia.

The Yanghai Tombs near Turpan, Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region, China have recently been excavated to reveal the 2700-year-old grave of a Caucasoid shaman whose accoutrements included a large cache of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. A multidisciplinary international team demonstrated through botanical examination, phytochemical investigation, and genetic deoxyribonucleic acid analysis by polymerase chain reaction that this material contained tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis, its oxidative degradation product, cannabinol, other metabolites, and its synthetic enzyme, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase, as well as a novel genetic variant with two single nucleotide polymorphisms. The cannabis was presumably employed by this culture as a medicinal or psychoactive agent, or an aid to divination.

Cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid: operational experiences from Ghana and Thailand.

Thailand in 2000 and Ghana in 2001 initiated cervical cancer prevention programmes using a single-visit approach with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) with cryotherapy for pre-cancerous lesions. This service was integrated into existing reproductive health services, provided by trained nurses. The providers maintained a high level of competence and performance, including after the withdrawal of external funding.

Preparation of aminoglycoside-loaded chitosan nanoparticles using dextran sulphate as a counterion.

Purpose: To prepare aminoglycoside (AG) (streptomycin, gentamicin and tobramycin) loaded chitosan nanoparticles with high drug incorporation efficiency and test the in vivo oral efficacy of streptomycin (SM) loaded chitosan nanoparticles in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) chronic infection mouse model.

Method: Dextran sulphate (a polyanion) was used to shield the positive charge of AG and increase the drug incorporation in the chitosan nanoparticle. By varying the concentration of each component, the formulation of SM-loaded chitosan nanoparticle was optimized by monitoring the drug incorporation efficacy and particle size.

Pharmacotherapy of chronic viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major etiologic agent of chronic liver disease (CLD) and hepatocellular carcinoma. Drugs have been developed and shown to be effective against HBV replication. These treatments are often associated with the resolution of CLD.

Surveillance of births conceived with various infertility therapies in Massachusetts, January-March 2005.

Objective: Nationally, infertility therapies (IFTs) are increasingly used to overcome fecundity issues. However, it is unclear to what extent noninvasive IFTs are used compared with assisted reproductive technology. To better understand outcomes related to the increasing use of all types of IFTs, we compared self-reported IFT use from a Massachusetts pilot Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (MA-PRAMS) to IFT use recorded on birth certificates (BCs).

Stable-form screening: overcoming trace impurities that inhibit solution-mediated phase transformation to the stable polymorph of sulfamerazine.

Solution-mediated phase transformation (SMPT) has been used as a focused technique to rapidly identify the stable polymorph of a given substance. Despite ample precedence for acetonitrile being a good solvent for SMPT of sulfamerazine (SMZ), samples from specific lots of SMZ failed to convert from Form I to Form II after suspension for 2 weeks in acetonitrile. In these lots, an acetyl derivative of SMZ was identified and shown to impede transformation to the stable polymorph.

[A mathematical model of 3-dimensional excursive movement of the mandible on Hanau articulator].

Aiming at filling the vacancy in the study about mandibular movement, which mainly focuses on the field of biology at present, this study builds a mathematical model of 3-dimensional excursive movement of the mandible on Hanau articulator from the viewpoint of spatial mechanisms and analytical geometry. On the basis of the theory of spatial mechanisms, the freedom of motion of Hanau articulator is analyzed, and a hypothesis of constraints is presented, the objective of which is to restrict the mandibular movement. Based on the theory of analytical geometry, a series of mathematical expressions are derived to describe the 3-dimensional movement of the mandible mounted on the articulator.

[A three-dimensional analysis of measuring occlusal contacts of complete denture].

Purpose: This study was designed to analyze the complete denture occlusal contacts by three-dimensional digital technique.

Methods: The artificial teeth occlusal surfaces of ten complete dentures were scanned by noncontact laser scanner and were reconstructed by three-dimensional technique. The locations and the numbers of occlusal contacts between the upper and lower full dentures were studied and measured in centric occlusal position, and further compared with the T-Scan system results by paired t test.

[Three-dimensional simulation of protrusive movement for complete denture on articulator].

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate an algorithm model, which can simulate the protrusive movement for complete denture on articulator.

Methods: A typical edentulous case with one-year complete denture was selected for this study. A new complete denture remounted on articulator Hanau H2 was scanned and reconstructed by three-dimensional technique.

Food markets with live birds as source of avian influenza.

A patient may have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, at a food market that had live birds. Virus genes were detected in 1 of 79 wire cages for birds at 9 markets. One of 110 persons in the poultry business at markets had neutralizing antibody against H5N1.

Myocardial ischemic memory imaging with molecular echocardiography.

Background: Diagnosing acute coronary syndrome in patients presenting with chest discomfort is a challenge. Because acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion is associated with endothelial upregulation of leukocyte adhesion molecules, which persist even after ischemia has resolved, we hypothesized that microbubbles designed to adhere to endothelial selectins would permit echocardiographic identification of recently ischemic myocardium.

Methods And Results: Lipid microbubbles (diameter, 3.