Differentiation of primary central nervous system lymphoma and high-grade glioma with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Preoperative differentiation of primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs) from other tumors is important for presurgical staging, intraoperative management, and postoperative treatment. Dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (DSC perfusion MRI) can provide in vivo assessment of the microvasculature in intracranial mass lesions.

Purpose: To determine the utility of DSC perfusion MRI in the differentiation of PCNSLs and high-grade gliomas, as well as their pathological and physiological differences.

Coding region prediction based on a universal DNA sequence representation method.

Graphical representation of DNA sequences provides a simple and intuitive way of viewing, anchoring, and comparing various gene structures, so a simple and non-degenerate method is attractive to both biologists and computational biologists. In this study, a universal graphical representation method for DNA sequences based on S.S.

Zoledronate reverses mandibular bone loss in osteoprotegerin-deficient mice.

Unlabelled: To characterize the changes in osteoprotegerin-deficient (OPG-/-) mice mandibles and the possible mandibular bone loss prevention by zoledronate. This preventive effect in the mandible differed from that in the proximal tibia and was independent of the OPG pathway.

Introduction: The study aimed to characterize both the changes in the mandible in osteoprotegerin-deficient (OPG-/-) mice and possible mandibular bone loss prevention by zoledronate.

Transcriptional regulation of osteoblasts.

The differentiation of osteoblasts from mesenchymal precursors requires a series of cell fate decisions controlled by a hierarchy of transcription factors. Among these are RUNX2, Osterix (OSX), ATF4, and a large number of nuclear coregulators. During bone development, initial RUNX2 expression coincides with the formation of mesenchymal condensations well before the branching of chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages.

The expression of the von Hippel-Lindau gene product and its impact on invasiveness of human breast cancer cells.

The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 3, the mutations of which lead to the development of von Hippel-Lindau disease. The VHL gene is a putative tumour suppressor gene in VHL and a few other conditions, possibly by negative regulation of hypoxia- inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and the stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) receptor, CXCR4, via which the VHL protein negates angiogenesis and tumour cell migration. The current study investigated the expression of VHL at the mRNA and protein levels in clinical breast tumours and evaluated the impact of VHL on the invasion of human breast cancer cells in vitro.

Calpain cleavage of collapsin response mediator proteins in ischemic mouse brain.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are important brain-specific proteins with distinct functions in modulating growth cone collapse and axonal guidance during brain development. Our previous studies have shown that calpain cleaves CRMP3 in the adult mouse brain during cerebral ischemia [S.T.

[Changes of GABA(A) receptor in medulla of injury of trigeminal nerve in rats].

Purpose: To assess the relationship between GABAA receptor in rats's medulla and injury of rats's trigeminal nerve by using real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR).

Methods: Twenty SD rats were divided into four groups randomly, five rats in each group. Group A and group C were surgical groups, Group B and group D were sham surgical groups.

A novel adenoviral vector-mediated neuronal selective gene expression in neonatal mouse brain in response to hypoxia.

Selective gene expression targeting neurons is a challenge, which, if successfully overcome, carries an enormous potential for clinical applications in therapeutics against neurodegenerative diseases. We have reported previously the construction of a series of adenoviral vectors capable of selectively expressing a reporter gene luciferase in cultured neurons [D. Huang, A.

[Study on exopolysaccharides produced by planktonic and attached Streptococcus sobrinus].

Purpose: To elucidate the amount of exopolysaccharides produced by Streptococcus sobrinus when cultivated at different conditions.

Methods: S. sobrinus was grown in TS broth and was allowed to attach to the cover glass surface to form bioflims.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced TAK1-dependent Versus MEKK3-dependent NFkappaB activation pathways bifurcate at IL-1 receptor-associated kinase modification.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) is phosphorylated after it is recruited to the receptor, subsequently ubiquitinated, and eventually degraded upon IL-1 stimulation. Although a point mutation changing lysine 134 to arginine (K134R) in IRAK abolished IL-1-induced IRAK ubiquitination and degradation, mutations of serines and threonines adjacent to lysine 134 to alanines ((S/T)A (131-144)) reduced IL-1-induced IRAK phosphorylation and abolished IRAK ubiquitination. Through the study of these IRAK modification mutants, we uncovered two parallel IL-1-mediated signaling pathways for NFkappaB activation, TAK1-dependent and MEKK3-dependent, respectively.

[Ultrasonic atomization of Shaduolika and dexamethasone for pain relief in patients with foliate papillitis].

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of ultrasonic atomization of Shaduolika (a traditional Chinese herb), dexamethasone for pain relief in patients with foliate papillitis.

Methods: 84 patients with foliate papillitis were divided into two groups randomly with the single-blind method. Patients in the experimental group were treated with ultrasonic atomization of Shaduolika and dexamethasone, while patients in the control group were treated by taking Niuhuangjiedu tablets (mixed traditional Chinese medicine).

Effects of sodium phenylbutyrate on differentiation and induction of the P21WAF1/CIP1 anti-oncogene in human liver carcinoma cell lines.

Objectives: To explore the effects of sodium phenylbutyrate on the proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle arrest and induction of the P(21WAF1/CIP1) anti-oncogene in human liver carcinoma cell lines Bel-7402 and HepG2.

Methods: Bel-7402 and HepG2 human liver carcinoma cells were treated with sodium phenylbutyrate at different concentrations. Light microscopy was used to observe morphological changes in the carcinoma cells.

Identification of WNK1 as a substrate of Akt/protein kinase B and a negative regulator of insulin-stimulated mitogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells.

Insulin signaling through protein kinase Akt/protein kinase B (PKB), a downstream element of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, regulates diverse cellular functions including metabolic pathways, apoptosis, mitogenesis, and membrane trafficking. To identify Akt/PKB substrates that mediate these effects, we used antibodies that recognize phosphopeptide sites containing the Akt/PKB substrate motif (RXRXX(p)S/T) to immunoprecipitate proteins from insulin-stimulated adipocytes. Tryptic peptides from a 250-kDa immunoprecipitated protein were identified as the protein kinase WNK1 (with no lysine) by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, consistent with a recent report that WNK1 is phosphorylated on Thr60 in response to insulin-like growth factor I.

Curative resection of T1 colorectal carcinoma: risk of lymph node metastasis and long-term prognosis.

Purpose: The features of T1 colorectal adenocarcinoma and the risk determination of lymph node metastasis were reviewed. Prognostic factors were assessed to verify whether the risk of lymph node metastasis would influence the long-term prognosis.

Methods: Patients undergoing curative resection of T1 colorectal adenocarcinoma at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital from December 1969 to August 2002 were retrospectively studied.

Scaling of directed dynamical small-world networks with random responses.

A dynamical model of small-world networks, with directed links which describe various correlations in social and natural phenomena, is presented. Random responses of sites to the input message are introduced to simulate real systems. The interplay of these ingredients results in the collective dynamical evolution of a spinlike variable S(t) of the whole network.

[Study on the immunogenicity of HIV-1 gag vaccine].

Aim: To detect the immunogenicity of HIV-1 gag DNA vaccine.

Methods: The serum antibody titers of the immunized mice were detected by ELISA. The numbers of spleen's CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were analyzed by the fluorescent antibody staining and the cytotoxic activity was determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay.

[Mutation of envelop protein V3 loop in HIV-1 epidemic in Liaoning province].

Objective: To study the characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) V3 loop amino acid mutations among HIV-1 infected people in Liaoning province.

Methods: The whole blood samples of the HIV carriers and AIDS patients were collected in Liaoning province, China and were extracted PBMC genome DNA. HIV-1 V3 and flanking region sequences were amplified by nest-polymerase chain reaction (nest-PCR) with env specific primers: ED5/ED12 and ED31/ED33.

Differential responses from seven mammalian cell lines to the treatments of detoxifying enzyme inducers.

Cell-based models have been used extensively in screening novel bioactive chemical entities. In this study, seven well-established mammalian cell lines, which have different origins, were utilized to compare their responses to the treatments of three detoxifying enzyme inducers, tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ), beta-naphthoflavone (beta-NF), and sulforaphane (SUL), which are potential chemopreventive compounds. The enzymatic activities of glutathione s-transferase (GST), NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (QR), aldehyde reductase (AR), and glutathione reductase (GR) were measured by kinetics methods using UV-Vis spectroscopy, and analyzed statistically by Student's t-test.

Induction of apoptosis by iron depletion in the human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line and the 13762NF rat mammary adenocarcinoma in vivo.

It is known that the interruption of normal iron metabolism with chelators of iron, toxic metals, toxic metals bound to transferrin, or anti-transferrin receptor antibodies leads to significant inhibition of tumor cell growth in cell culture systems and animal models. In the present study, we found that iron depletion was produced by the iron chelator deferoxamine mesylate, the free toxic metals gallium or indium, and the toxic metals gallium or indium bound to transferrin in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line, and this induced the condensation and fragmentation of chromatin, and the formation of DNA fragments characteristic of apoptosis. The induction of apoptosis was quantitated with acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining of apoptotic cells, separation of fragmented DNA from radiolabeled cells, and in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays.

Treatment of malignant digestive tract obstruction by combined intraluminal stent installation and intra-arterial drug infusion.

Aim: To study the palliative treatment of malignant obstruction of digestive tract with placement of intraluminal stent combined with intra-arterial infusion of chemotherapeutic drugs.

Methods: A total of 281 cases of digestive tract malignant obstruction were given per oral (esophagus, stomach, duodenum and jejunum), per anal (colon and rectum) and percutaneous transhepatic (biliary) installation of metallic stent. Among them, 203 cases received drug infusion by cannulation of tumor supplying artery with Seldinger's technique.

Effects of dehydration on phonation in excised canine larynges.

The effects of exposure to dry air on phonation were measured in an ex vivo model of vocal fold vibration. Excised canine larynges were mounted on an apparatus and made to phonate at a constant subglottal pressure by means of unhumidified airflow. The phonation threshold pressure (PTP), glottal airflow, sound intensity of the acoustic output, and effects on vocal efficiency were also assessed.

Proliferation index and vascular density of giant cell tumors of bone: are they prognostic markers?

Background: The proliferation index (PI) and vascular density (VD) in giant cell tumors (GCT) of bone were studied to assess then value as prognostic markers.

Methods: Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue from 7 nonrecurrent (NR-GCT) and 13 recurrent (R-GCT) tumors were stained with MIB-1, a monoclonal antibody against Ki-67 (nuclear proliferation antigen), and QBEND-10, a monoclonal antibody against CD34 (endothelial antigen). A minimum of ten fields/case were analyzed on the SAMBA 4000 Image Analyzer.

Evaluating a computer-based experiential learning simulation: a case study using criterion-referenced testing.

A case study of a computer-based experiential learning program involving the use of criterion-referenced testing as a quantitative evaluation tool is described. The simulation was designed to introduce nurses to basic computer operations. One hundred and thirty-eight nurses participated in the evaluation using a specially prepared version of the program that recorded the time required to perform actions, the number of unsuccessful attempts to complete instructions, and the number of correct responses to specific questions.

[Effects of benzyltetrahydropalmatine on ischemia reperfusion with monophasic action potential].

The changes of monophasic action potential (MAP) in ischemic and reperfused feline ventricle in situ were studied. When the feline coronary artery was ligated the MAPD50 was found to be markedly shortened, the T wave and S-T segment were elevated evidently. Within seconds of releasing the coronary occlusion ventricular fibrillation and death occurred in all animals.