T2 Mapping and Fat Quantification of Thigh Muscles in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Quantitative magnetic resonance image (MRI) in individual muscles may be useful for monitoring disease progression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The purpose of this study was to measure T2 relaxation time of thigh muscles in children with DMD and healthy boys, and to correlate the T2 relaxation time of muscles with the fat fraction (FF) at quantitative magnetic resonance and results of clinical assessment. Thirty-two boys with DMD and 18 healthy boys were evaluated with T2 mapping and three-point Dixon MRI.

LIMK-dependent actin polymerization in primary sensory neurons promotes the development of inflammatory heat hyperalgesia in rats.

Changes in the actin cytoskeleton in neurons are associated with synaptic plasticity and may also be involved in mechanisms of nociception. We found that the LIM motif-containing protein kinases (LIMKs), which regulate actin dynamics, promoted the development of inflammatory hyperalgesia (excessive sensitivity to painful stimuli). Pain is sensed by the primary sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglion (DRG).

[Nitrogen concentrations and stable isotope in epilithic mosses to investigate atmospheric N deposition and N sources in Jiangxi Province].

Atmospheric N deposition and N sources in Jiangxi Province were investigated on the basis of the nitrogen concentrations and nitrogen isotope in epilithic mosses which collected from 11 cities of the province during 2009-2010. Mean nitrogen concentrations ranged from 2.46% to 3.