[Progress in thin layer CT scan technology in estimating skeletal age of sternal end of clavicle].

It is practical value for determination the teenagers whether the age is full of the legal responsibility age of 18 years old or not by estimating skeletal age of sternal end of clavicle. The traditional methods mainly based on X-ray radiography. However, sternal end of clavicle and adjacent lung, bronchus, sternum, rib, transverse process of thoracic vertebra are overlapped each other.

A novel pattern recognition protein of the Chinese oak silkmoth, Antheraea pernyi, is involved in the pro-PO activating system.

In this paper, we firstly reported a C-type lectin cDNA clone of 1029 bps from the larvae of A. Pernyi (Ap-CTL) using PCR and RACE techniques. The full-length cDNA contains an open reading frame encoding 308 amino acid residues which has two different carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs) arranged in tandem.

The new evidence of nucleolar ultrastructural dynamic change: fibrillar centre (FC) fusion in G1 phase and regeneration in S phase.

In higher eukaryotes ribosome production starts at the end of mitosis, increases during G1, is maximal in G2 (Sirri et al., 2000) and stops during prophase (Gébrane-Younès et al., 1997).

The survival of cefazolin-resistant bacteria in mesophilic co-digestion of dairy manure and waste milk.

The use of cefazolin to treat mastitic cows leads to cefazolin residues in milk and manure. This is responsible for the high occurrence of cefazolin resistant bacteria (CRB) in waste and the environment. Anaerobic digestion is considered to have the potential to reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria present in waste that results from concentrated animal feeding operations.

Reduction of osteopontin in vivo inhibits tubular epithelial to mesenchymal transition in rats with chronic allograft nephropathy.

Objective: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is an important etiological factor causing graft loss. However, the mechanism of CAN is unclear. Osteopontin (OPN), a proinflammatory and profibrosis molecule, plays a key role in late stages of renal diseases.

Evaluation, in three provinces, of the introduction and impact of China's National Essential Medicines Scheme.

Objective: To evaluate implementation of the National Essential Medicines Scheme (NEMS) in rural China.

Methods: Two rural counties/districts in each of three provinces where NEMS had been implemented were surveyed. Information was collected from NEMS staff at the province, county/district, township and village levels; patients with chronic disease were also interviewed.

Copy number variations of the F8 gene are associated with venous thromboembolism.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a complex disease and several inherited and acquired factors are relevant to its occurrence. Among these, an elevated level of plasma coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) is an established risk factor for VTE; copy number variations (CNVs) have also been discovered to be associated with many diseases.

Objective: To explore the proposed association between CNV of the F8 gene and the risk of VTE.

Generation of optical accelerating regular triple-cusp beams and their topological structures.

By using the diffractive optical elements written onto a spatial light modulator, we experimentally obtain optical regular triple-cusp beams. Their propagation characteristics and topological structures are subsequently investigated. The experimental results demonstrate that each cusp of an optical regular triple-cusp beam, similar to the main lobe of an Airy beam, propagates along curved paths in free space, hence tends to adopt the "transverse acceleration" property.

Favorable changes in serum estrogens and other biologic factors after weight loss in breast cancer survivors who are overweight or obese.

Background: Obesity is associated with an increased risk for recurrence and all-cause mortality in breast cancer survivors. Excess adiposity is associated with increased estrogen, insulin, and leptin, and with decreased sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations, which may promote breast cancer progression and recurrence. This study aimed to assess the effects of weight loss on these factors.

Development of solid dispersion systems of dapivirine to enhance its solubility.

Dapivirine, formerly known as TMC 120, is a poorly-water soluble anti-HIV drug, currently being developed as a vaginal microbicide. The clinical use of this drug has been limited due to its poor solubility. The aim of this study was to design solid dispersion systems of Dapivirine to improve its solubility.

Serum from hepatectomized rats induces the differentiation of adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells and upregulates the expression of hepatocyte growth factor and interleukin-6 in vitro.

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) are an attractive alternative for clinical application due to their minimally invasive accessibility and availability in the body. However, the hepatic differentiation efficiency of AT-MSCs is insufficient for therapeutic application and the role of extrahepatic stem cells in liver regeneration remains poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the effects of serum from rats subjected to 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) on the differentiation ability of rat AT-MSCs in vitro, and to explore the potential role of AT-MSCs in vivo following PH injury.

Green tea polyphenols reduced fat deposits in high fat-fed rats via erk1/2-PPARγ-adiponectin pathway.

Objective: Hypoadiponectinemia contributes to the development of obesity and related disorders such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular diseases. In this study we investigated the effects of green tea polyphenols (GTPs) on adiponectin levels and fat deposits in high fat (HF) fed rats, the mechanism of signaling pathway was explored as well.

Methods And Results: Male Wistar rats were fed with high-fat diet.

Assessment of a sudden death case due to coronary artery disease based on the PMCT and forensic autopsy.

It is never an easy thing to diagnose heart vascular disease only depending on the unenhanced postmortem computed tomography (PMCT). This article reported a case of sudden natural death after the complaint of anterior chest pain in which coronary artery calcification (CAC) was clearly displayed using PMCT scan. The entire coronary artery system was almost reconstructed via multiplanar reformation (MPR) and volume-rendering reconstruction (VR), and the total calcium score of the coronary arteries was obtained with CaScoring automatic analysis software.

Acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation in a continuous and closed-circulating fermentation system with PDMS membrane bioreactor.

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation by combining a PDMS membrane bioreactor and Clostridium acetobutylicum was studied, and a long continuous and closed-circulating fermentation (CCCF) system has been achieved. Two cycles of experiment were conducted, lasting for 274 h and 300 h, respectively. The operation mode of the first cycle was of fermentation intermittent coupling with pervaporation, and the second cycle was of continuous coupling.

Effects of intracavernous injection of adipose-derived stem cells on cavernous nerve regeneration in a rat model.

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of intracavernous injection of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) on cavernous nerve (CN) regeneration and functional status in a nerve-crush rat model. Thirty Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into three equal groups: one group underwent sham operation, while two groups underwent bilateral CN crush. Crush-injury group was treated at the time of injury with intracavernous injection of ADSCs, or injured control group with no further intervention.

Alleviative effects of resveratrol on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are associated with up regulation of hepatic low density lipoprotein receptor and scavenger receptor class B type I gene expressions in rats.

Lipid metabolic disorders are widely considered to be one of the most critical and basic link in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to illustrate the alleviation function of resveratrol (Res) on NAFLD and the roles of hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS), low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr), scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), and thyroid hormone receptor β1 (TRβ1), which are the key molecules involved in lipid metabolism. Adult male Wistar rats were fed a normal diet or high fat/sucrose diet (HFS) with or without resveratrol for 13 weeks.

[A case report of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease unclassifiable with karyotype aberration of trisomy 8 and JAK2 mutation].

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical features of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative disease, unclassifiable (MDS/MPD-U), karyotype of chromosome and JAK2 mutation in 1 case. The clinical features, karyotype and JAK2 mutation of the patient with MDS/MPD-U were studied by means of bone marrow biopsy, karyotype analysis and ARMS-PCR technique. The results indicated that the typical micromegakaryocytes and thrombocytosis, karyotype aberration of trisomy 8 as well as JAK2 V617F mutation were found in this patient.

Long-term trend of bone development in the contemporary teenagers of Chinese Han nationality.

Objective: To further improve the accuracy of bone age identification using the time of secondary ossification center appearance and epiphyseal fusion of 7 joints to estimate the age of living individuals.

Methods: DR films were taken from 7 parts including sternal end of clavical and the left side of shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, knee and ankle joints of 1 709 individuals who came from eastern China, central China and southern China, whose ages were between 11.0 and 20.

The proto-oncogene MYC is required for selection in the germinal center and cyclic reentry.

After antigenic challenge, B cells enter the dark zone (DZ) of germinal centers (GCs) to proliferate and hypermutate their immunoglobulin genes. Mutants with greater affinity for the antigen are positively selected in the light zone (LZ) to either differentiate into plasma and memory cells or reenter the DZ. The molecular circuits that govern positive selection in the GC are not known.

Mathematical modeling of vesicle drug delivery systems 2: targeted vesicle interactions with cells, tumors, and the body.

Vesicles have been studied for several years in their ability to deliver drugs. Mathematical models have much potential in reducing time and resources required to engineer optimal vesicles, and this review article summarizes these models that aid in understanding the ability of targeted vesicles to bind and internalize into cancer cells, diffuse into tumors, and distribute in the body. With regard to binding and internalization, radiolabeling and surface plasmon resonance experiments can be performed to determine optimal vesicle size and the number and type of ligands conjugated.

Resveratrol ameliorates high-glucose-induced hyperpermeability mediated by caveolae via VEGF/KDR pathway.

Endothelial hyperpermeability induced by hyperglycemia is the initial step in the development of atherosclerosis, one of the most serious cardiovascular complications in diabetes. In the present study, we investigated the effects of resveratrol (RSV), a bioactive ingredient extracted from Chinese herb rhizoma polygonum cuspidatum, on permeability in vitro and the molecular mechanisms involved. Permeability was assessed by the efflux of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran permeated through the monolayer endothelial cells (ECs).

[A survey of 20 inherited protein C deficiencies in the patients with venous thromboembolism].

Objective: To investigate the incidence of inherited protein C deficiency in the patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Methods: From Apr. of 2010 to Apr.

Cross-sectional assessment of the factors associated with occupational functioning in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Studies from other countries indicate that occupational skills training can improve the social functioning and the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia but there is little research about the relationship of occupational skills and the functional status of patients in China.

Aim: Use a translated Chinese version of the Comprehensive Occupational Therapy Evaluation scale to evaluate occupational functining in inpatients and recently discharged patients with schizophrenia and assess the relationship of occupational functioning to demographic, clinical and cognitive measures.

Methods: Thirty-five inpatiens and 29 recently discharged outpatients with schizophrenia were evaluated by trained clinicals using the COTE, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and a neuropsychological battery that included the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Continuous Perfomance Test (CPT), the digit symbol-coding subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), and Trail Making Test Parts A and B (TMT-A, TMT-B).

Transcriptomic profiles of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) in response to alkalinity stress.

Oryzias latipes (Adrianichthyidae), known as Japanese medaka or Japanese killifish, is a small 2-4 cm long fish common in rice paddies in coastal Southeast Asia and is also a popular aquarium fish. It has been widely used as a research model because of its small size and because it is very easy to rear. Alkalinity stress is considered to be one of the major stressors on fish in saline-alkaline water.

Bilateral endoscopic inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy using simultaneous carbon dioxide insufflation: an initial report of a novel approach.

Inguinal lymphadenectomy plays a critical role in the diagnosis and treatment of several neoplastic diseases. Frequently, bilateral lymphadenectomy is undertaken for staging and/or treatment of genitourinary cancers. Our objective was to determine if bilateral endoscopic lymphadenectomy could be performed simultaneously, in an effort to decrease overall anesthetic and operative time.