[Paying attention to the application of imaging examination in strabismus]

There are many pathogenic factors of strabismus. In addition to the changes of alignment and ocular movement, there may be abnormal pathways and development of extraocular muscles, abnormalities of orbital and intraorbital connective tissue, paralysis of cranial nerves (oculomotor nerve, trochlear nerve, and abductor nerve), and nuclear and supranuclear lesions, accompanied by other cerebral dysplasia sometimes. In recent years, advances in imaging technology and its application in the professional field of strabismus have made it possible to clearly observe the eye, orbital, intracranial, and innervation changes, which is helpful to clarify the etiology of strabismus and extraocular muscle-related diseases, and to provide a basis for the diagnosis and treatment of strabismus. Strabismus specialists should learn and pay attention to the application of imaging examination, so as to achieve in-depth understanding and accurate treatment. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56: 166-170).

Experimental study on penetration characteristic of submerged steam jet in quiescent water

The direct contact condensation is an effective way to rapid depressurization for light water reactor, such as pressure suppression pool, for which the characteristic of steam plume is a key parameter to evaluate the efficiency of depressurization. In this paper, a series of visualization experiments are described which investigate the characteristic of steam plume, the influence of jetting direction, air mass fraction, water temperature, diameter of jet on the steam plume were analyzed. The results show that, the dimensionless steam plume length increased with the increase of inlet pressure and water temperature for pure steam submerged jet, a correlation was set up to predict the dimensionless penetration length and the predicted errors were within the band of ±15%. Furthermore, the penetration length decreased with the rise of air mass fraction due to buoyancy force, the penetration length increased with the increase of inlet pressure, and the jet penetration length for vertical jet is longer than horizontal jet about 25% at the same inlet pressure and air mass fraction.

[Smoking abstinence rate and its associated factors between abrupt and gradual smoking cessation]

Objective: To analyze and compare the abstinence rate of smoking quitting methods and its associated factors between abrupt and gradual smoking cessation in smokers with drug-based therapy. Methods: A prospective clinical study was conducted in patients undergoing quitting smoking intervention in Ruijin Hospital smoking cessation clinic between June 2013 and May 2016. All the subjects were randomized in a 1∶1 ratio into the abrupt smoking cessation group (smoking as usual over 3 weeks before a planned quit day, and then stopping smoking abruptly) and the gradual smoking cessation group (gradually reducing tobacco use over 3 weeks before a planned quit day, and then stopping smoking totally). The primary outcome was the complete abstinence rate, and the secondary outcomes included 1-month, 3-month and 6 month 7-day point prevalence of abstinence rates and 3 month sustained abstinence rates. Changes of body weight and drug adverse events were also compared. Results: A total of 314 moderate to severe nicotine-dependent patients were admitted in the study, including 157 patients in the abrupt smoking cessation and 157 patients in the gradual smoking cessation group. Fourteen patients fell off during the follow-up. For the complete abstinence rate, the gradual smoking cessation group was higher than the abrupt smoking cessation group(55.0% vs. 36.9%, χ(2)=9.841, P=0.002) .For 7-d smoking abstinence rate in the 1st, 3rd, 6th month, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). As for the 3-month sustained abstinence rate, a higher smoking quitting rate was seen in the gradual smoking cessation group compared to the abrupt smoking cessation group in the 6-month follow-up (17.9% vs.8.7%, χ(2)=5.441, P=0.020). The adverse drug reaction incidence was higher in the abrupt smoking cessation group than the gradual smoking cessation group (Gastrointestinal discomfort: 39.2% vs. 17.7%, χ(2)=12.336, P=0.000; Dreaminess: 40.2% vs. 13.3%, χ(2)=20.172, P=0.000). Conclusions: For moderate to severe nicotine-dependent patients, the gradual smoking cessation could serve to enhance the abstinence rate and mitigate the withdrawal symptoms.

[A study of superior oblique muscle changes in superior oblique palsy using magnetic resonance imaging]

Objective: To observe the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) changes of superior oblique muscle and to study the relationship between changes and clinical signs in superior oblique muscle palsy. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Data was collected from January 2014 to January 2016 in Tianjin Eye Hospital. Twenty-three(30 eyes) patients who were diagnosed with superior oblique palsy included 15 patients with congenital superior oblique palsy [9 males and 6 females aged (32±13) years (range, 12-53 years)] and 8 cases with acquired superior oblique palsy [3 males and 5 females aged (36±15) years(range, 17-62 years)]. Twenty normal volunteers [11 males and 9 females aged (35±13) years (range, 15-60 years)] were also observed. Coronal MRI was used to detect superior oblique muscle morphological changes, as well as the maximum cross-sectional area and volume changes. The relationship between the morphological changes and vertical deviation and cyclotorsion in the primary gaze was analyzed. Rank sum test, t-test and Person correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results: Two morphological changes were obtained using MRI in superior oblique muscle palsy, including round (19 eyes) and oval changes (11 eyes). The maximum cross-sectional area in eyes with the palsied superior oblique muscle [round, (10.38±1.76) mm(2); oval, (11.16±2.02) mm(2)] was significantly smaller than fellow eyes [(14.16±1.88) mm(2); Z=6.208, 5.178, both P<0.001] and eyes with normal superior oblique muscle [(15.40±1.71) mm(2); Z=8.215, 6.330, both P<0.001], and the volume changes [round, (104.92±13.36) mm(3); oval, (110.43±16.11) mm(3)] were also significantly different from fellow eyes [(254.57±20.15) mm(3); Z=7.511, 5.396, both P<0.001] and eyes with normal superior oblique muscle [(258.04±16.36) mm(3); Z=10.040, 6.936, both P<0.001]. There was no significant difference in vertical deviation between round and oval superior oblique muscle palsies (P>0.05). The cyclotorsion effect of the round change in superior oblique muscle palsy was significantly less than that of the oval change (5.47°±1.05° vs. 7.36°±0.97°, t=3.083, P=0.005). The correlation of the volume changes with vertical deviation angle in the primary gaze was not significantly different (round and oval, both P<0.05), but there was a correlation between the morphological changes and cyclotorsion strabismus (r=0.631, P=0.004; r=0.801, P=0.003). Conclusions: In the patients with superior oblique palsy, MRI scans shows that the maximum cross-sectional area decreased and the volume was smaller, which indicated superior oblique muscle atrophy. Deformation of superior oblique muscle do not significantly affect the vertical deviation, but is in correlation with cyclodeviation. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55:20-24).

[Advances in research of synergistic divergence]

Synergistic divergence is a rare condition characterized by complete absence of adduction that is associated with simultaneous abduction of the affected eye on attempted adduction. This causes the affected eye to move further into abduction on gaze to the normal side and results in extreme divergence of both eyes. It is sometimes referred to as exotropic Duane syndrome with synergistic divergence (type 4 Duane syndrome) or congenital fibrosis syndrome with synergistic divergence. Diseases combined with synergistic divergence fall within the category of congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs). The ocular associations reported with synergistic divergence are uncommon and include Horner syndrome, ocular albinism, foveal hypoplasia, Goldenhar syndrome and pupillary abnormalities. MRI and electro-oculographic study suggested that this is the result of CCDDs. Various surgical techniques have been tried in individual cases including large recession of the lateral rectus muscle, lateral rectus muscle extirpation, large resection of the medial rectus (MR) muscle, weakening procedures of the oblique muscles, combination of lateral rectus orbital wall fixation with MR resection, but further investigations with large-scale samples are needed. Recent research advances in the definition, etiology, and treatment of synergistic divergence are reviewed in this article. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55:63-67).

[The preliminary study of stimulus input temporal changes on the visual cortex of rats at different ages]

Objective: To observe the impact of the input temporal changes on visual cortex of rats cells and the change of the synaptic efficacy, for the study of visual developmental plasticity mechanism. Methods: Experimental research. The brain slice of ten 14d healthy Wistar rats and ten 21d healthy Wistar rats were recorded with whole cell recording technique, using single stimulation and combined stimulate model, to observe the visual cortex of rats neurons changes in synaptic activity. Change the stimulus input sequence, and observe the visual cortex of rats changes of synaptic efficacy. Using the paired t test to compare the change of excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSC) of visual cortex. Result: The difference between single stimulation and combined stimulate about EPSC was statistically significant, which was decreased (14.3±7.4) % (n=15) in single stimulation and (53.4±17.5) % (n=20) in combined stimulation for P14 rats which were long-term depression (t_s2=3.9, t_s1+s2=2.2; P<0.05) , and was increased (27.5±11.4) % (n=16) in single stimulation and (34.6±10.3) % (n=10) in combined stimulation for P20 rats which were long-term potentiation (t_s2=2.3, t_s1+s2=3.5; P<0.05) . Rats in different development period have a specific time window for input temporal changes. Combined stimulation patterns produced by the neuron cell reaction were not just an accumulation of simple response caused by single stimulation. For P14 rats, its time window was of about ±0.5ms. However, for P20 rats, scope of time window reduced to ±0.1ms. Conclusions: Different development period of rats, change the stimulation pattern can cause the change of the visual cortex synapses reaction, and stimulate the temporal change within a specific time window to producenonlinear results. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 936-940).

PHACTR4 regulates proliferation, migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting IL-6/Stat3 pathway

OBJECTIVE

Phosphatase and actin regulator 4 (PHACTR4) is one member of the largely uncharacterized PHACTR family of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1)-and actin-binding proteins. PHACTR4 is significantly deleted or mutant in many tumor subtypes, such as breast, colorectal, lung, neural, ovarian, and renal cancers. However, the role of PHACTR4 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is completely unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ten paired HCC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were used to detect the expression PHACTR4. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA level of PHACTR4 in clinic samples. The protein level of PHACTR4 was determined by Western blot. Retrovirus-based gene transduction was used to generate Flag-tagged PHACTR4 HepG2 stable cell line. BrdU assay was used to determine the cell growth of HepG2 cells. The cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry assay. In vitro scratch wounding and Matrigel invasion assays were used to test the migration and invasion ability of HepG2 cells.

RESULTS

The expression of PHACTR4 was noticeably decreased in clinical HCC tissues, compared to the non-tumoral tissues. Overexpression of PHACTR4 inhibited HCC cells proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion, and resulted in significant cycle arrest. PHACTR4 attenuated both constitutive and IL-6-induced phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3), and inhibited Stat3 downstream genes expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our results suggest that PHACTR4 is a tumor suppressor in HCC by inhibiting IL-6/ Stat3 pathway.

Stabilization of boron carbide via silicon doping

Boron carbide is one of the lightest and hardest ceramics, but its applications are limited by its poor stability against a partial phase separation into separate boron and carbon. Phase separation is observed under high non-hydrostatic stress (both static and dynamic), resulting in amorphization. The phase separation is thought to occur in just one of the many naturally occurring polytypes in the material, and this raises the possibility of doping the boron carbide to eliminate this polytype. In this work, we have synthesized boron carbide doped with silicon. We have conducted a series of characterizations (transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction) on pure and silicon-doped boron carbide following static compression to 50 GPa non-hydrostatic pressure. We find that the level of amorphization under static non-hydrostatic pressure is drastically reduced by the silicon doping.

Diagnostic performance of FDG PET or PET/CT in prosthetic infection after arthroplasty: a meta-analysis

AIM

The purpose of this study was to systematically review and perform a meta-analysis of published data regarding the diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography (PET) or PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in prosthetic infection after arthroplasty.

METHODS

A comprehensive computer literature search of studies published through May 31, 2012 regarding PET or PET/CT in patients suspicious of prosthetic infection was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and Scopus databases. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of PET or PET/CT in patients suspicious of prosthetic infection on a per prosthesis-based analysis were calculated. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to measure the accuracy of PET or PET/CT in patients with suspicious of prosthetic infection.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies comprising 838 prosthesis with suspicious of prosthetic infection after arthroplasty were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity of PET or PET/CT in detecting prosthetic infection was 86% (95% confidence interval [CI] 82-90%) on a per prosthesis-based analysis. The pooled specificity of PET or PET/CT in detecting prosthetic infection was 86% (95% CI 83-89%) on a per prosthesis-based analysis. The area under the ROC curve was 0.93 on a per prosthesis-based analysis.

CONCLUSION

In patients suspicious of prosthetic infection, FDG PET or PET/CT demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. FDG PET or PET/CT are accurate methods in this setting. Nevertheless, possible sources of false positive results and influcing factors should kept in mind.

Hypothyroidism and first-trimester spontaneous miscarriages

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between hypothyroidism and first-trimester spontaneous miscarriages and to explain the mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients admitted between October and May 2011 with threatened miscarriage in the first trimester were analyzed and levels of progesterone and thyroid hormones as T3, T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were estimated. Once hypothyroidism was diagnosed, patients were treated with sodium levothyroxine (LT4) as substitution and outcomes were observed.

RESULTS

Measurement of progesterone was useful for predicting the outcome of threatened miscarriage The results showed that progesterone (P) = 14.74 ng/ml is selected as predictive value to judge whether the fetal treatment was successfully or not. When serum P value is above 14.74 ng/ml before treatment, it may favour a miscarriage, if the serum P value is below 14.74 ng/ml, miscarriage is unlikely; its sensitivity and specificity are high. The risk for miscarriage in patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism in which LT4 substitution was similar to the level observed in the controls, and P between the two groups had no distinct difference. The mechanism explaining the risk of miscarriage increased by thyroid disorders remains unclear, which needs advanced research.

CONCLUSION

Screening of thyroid disorders has important clinical significance in early pregnancy, and substitution of LT4 to those who are in the early pregnancy with hypothyroidism could reduce the risk of miscarriage.

Optimization of electrotransfection conditions of mammalian cells with different biological features

We introduced eukaryotic expression plasmid pEGFP-N1 encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) genes into cells with different biological features through electroporation. The effects of conditions, including voltage, capacitor flow, pulse cycle, DNA dosage and buffer, on transfection efficiency were investigated based on fluorescent microscopy and posttransfection survival rate of cells by staining with trypan blue. Better electrotransfection outcomes were achieved in the following epithelial cells: Vero cells at 300 V/850 μF, PK15 cells at 300 V/500 μF, MDCK cells at 200 V/600 μF, F81 cells at 200 V/500 μF, cancer cells MB49 at 300 V/400 μF, Hela cells at 200 V/450 μF, HF-29 cells at 300 V/800 μF and B16F1 cells at 200 V/650 μF. Among fibroblast cells, better electrotransfection was achieved in BHK21 cells at 300 V/600 μF and ST cells at 200 V/750 μF. RPMI-1640 medium without antibiotics and serum demonstrated higher electrotransfection efficiency and cell survival rate than other cell culture media as electroporation buffer. Our findings further prove that electroporation transfection is an effective method for genetic transfection. Cells with different biological features require varying transfection conditions to obtain higher transfection efficiency of target genes.

Upconversion nanoparticles modified with aminosilanes as carriers of DNA vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease

The potential of the upconversion nanoparticles NaYF(4):Yb/Er@silica(UCPs)/plasmid DNA (pcDNA3.1/VP1-GFP) complex in inducing immune responses was evaluated using the UCPs as carriers of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV AsiaI/Jiangsu2005) DNA vaccine. The UCPs protection against DNaseI degradation was measured using an in vitro inhibition assay. The expression of the plasmid in vivo was determined via confocal microscopy. Its biocompatibility was evaluated through cytotoxicity assay. Based on the results, the aminosilane-modified UCPs can electrostatically bind, condense, and protect plasmid DNA. Cell viability assays demonstrated that the cytotoxicity of the UCPs/plasmid DNA complex is lower than that of the cationic lipid/plasmid DNA complex, and that the transfection efficiency of UCPs is the same as that of the cationic lipid. Furthermore, the UCP/plasmid DNA complex was intramuscularly administered to guinea pigs. Humoral and cellular immune responses were detected using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), micro-neutralization assay, and T-lymphocyte proliferation assay. Anti-FMDV specific antibodies, neutralizing antibodies, and T-lymphocyte proliferation responses were induced after vaccination. In the challenge test, all the guinea pigs vaccinated with the UCPs/plasmid DNA complex were fully protected from the FMDV challenge. The current study encourages the use of UCPs as an effective nanosystem for gene delivery to cells for in vitro and in vivo vaccination, and other therapeutic applications.

P1-02-04: Estrogen Receptor beta Inhibits Breast Cancer EMT by Regulating the Expression of miR-200

Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) mediates the effects of estrogens in a variety of human tissues and regulates cellular processes involved in initiation and progression of breast cancer such as cell proliferation and migration. Clinical studies produced contradictory data regarding the role for ERβ in prognosis of metastatic breast cancer and the molecular mechanism through which ERβ influences cell migration and invasion has not been fully elucidated. Here we show that induction of ERβ expression inhibits epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in metastatic breast cancer cells. This correlates with an ERβ-mediated induction in the expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and downregulation of its transcriptional repressors ZEB1 and SIP1. ERβ alters the expression of ZEB1 and SIP1 by inducing the expression of the miR-200a, miR200b and miR-429. Downregulation of these miRNAs in ERβ-expressing cells resulted in decreased cell-cell contact and decline of E-cadherin levels. In addition, ERβ was found to inhibit the invasiveness of metastatic breast cancer cells in a zebrafish xenotransplantation model. We are now examining breast cancer specimens derived from ductal carcinomas and metaplastic breast cancers to see whether ERβ levels decline in the mesenchymal regions and ERβ expression is correlated with epithelial markers. These data propose a crucial role for ERβ in the regulation of EMT and in prognosis of invasive and metastatic breast cancer.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-02-04.

57 NUCLEAR TRANSFER WITH RABBIT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS: SERUM-STARVATION IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF CLONED EMBRYOS

Rabbit cloning by NT with somatic cells is so far a rather inefficient process. However, this technology is urgently required to generate rabbits with a humanized immune system as a source of human polyclonal antibodies. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have a number of advantages over somatic cells as tools for cell-mediated transgenesis including long periods of proliferation in vitro, higher frequency of homologous recombination between exogenous and chromosomal DNA, and less requirements for reprogramming (Rideout et al. 2000 Nat. Genet. 24, 109–110). To improve rabbit cloning we have derived and characterized 19 putative rabbit ESC lines and tested cells from 6 lines as donors for NT. First, we assessed in vitro development of NT embryos. Blastocyst rates varied in the range of 6–68% depending on the particular cell line and passage number, but the quality of the resultant embryos was worse compared to NT embryos derived from adult fibroblasts [hatched blastocysts: 13/214 (6%) v. 36/86 (42%), respectively]. Transfer of NT embryos derived from the ESC line showing the highest development to blastocysts into recipients resulted only in implantations (70%, 7/10) but not in offspring. Assuming that poor quality of NT embryos derived from ESCs could be due to the incompatibility between cell cycles of donor and recipient cells we used serum starvation to make ESCs more suitable for nuclear transfer. Serum starvation of one of the ESC lines (0.5% FCS for 3 days) greatly improved the quality of cloned embryos compared to those derived from non-starved cells of the same ESC line as indicated by the high proportions of hatched [38/151 (25%) v. 4/153 (3%)] and attached [25/151 (17%) v. 0%] to the surface of a culture dish blastocysts. Moreover, some of these blastocysts grew in vitro for 14–25 days. Our study provides evidence that the quality of NT embryos derived from ESCs can be significantly improved using serum starvation of donor cells suggesting possible effect of this treatment on the cell cycle synchronization. We are currently testing whether serum starvation of ESCs would also improve post-implantation development of rabbit NT embryos. This work is supported by Roche Diagnostic GmbH.

Design of annular photonic crystal slabs

We present the design of realistic annular photonic-crystal (APC) structures of finite thickness aiming to obtain a complete photonic bandgap (PBG). The APC is composed of dielectric rods and circular air holes in a triangular lattice such that each rod is centered within each hole. The optical and geometrical values of the structure are studied, and the interplay between various design parameters is highlighted. The coupled role of the inner-dielectric-rod radius, material types, and slab thickness is investigated. It is shown that the slab thickness is vital to obtain a complete photonic bandgap below the light line, and the specific value of the inner-dielectric-rod radius to sustain the maximum PBG if the hole radius is fixed at proper value is found.

102 RABBIT CLONING: HISTONE ACETYLATION STATUS OF DONOR CELLS AND CLONED EMBRYOS

Epigenetic status of the genome of a donor nucleus is likely to be associated with the developmental potential of cloned embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Prevention of epigenetic errors by manipulation of the epigenetic status of donor cells is expected to result in improvement of cloning efficiency. In this study, we transferred cultured rabbit cumulus cells (RCC) and fetal fibroblasts (RFF) from genetically marked rabbits (Ali/Bas) into metaphase II (MII) oocytes and analyzed the levels of histone H3K9 acetylation in donor cells and cloned embryos. We also assessed the correlation between the histone acetylation status of donor cells and cloned embryos and their developmental potential. To test whether alteration of the histone acetylation status affects development of cloned embryos, we treated donor cells with sodium butyrate (NaBu), a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Further, we tried to improve cloning efficiency by chimeric complementation of cloned embryos with one or two blastomeres from in vitro-fertilized or parthenogenetic embryos. Histone acetylation in donor cells and cloned embryos was detected by anti-acH3K9 antibody using Western immunoblot analysis or immunochemistry, respectively. Data were analyzed by chi-square (developmental rates) or Student-Newman-Keuls (histone acetylation) test. The levels of acetylated histone H3K9 were higher in RCCs than in RFFs (P &lt; 0.05). Although the type of donor cells did not affect development to blastocyst, after transfer into recipients, RCC-cloned embryos induced a higher initial pregnancy rate as compared to RFF-cloned embryos (40% vs. 20%; P &lt; 0.05). However, almost all pregnancies with either type of cloned embryos were lost by the middle of gestation and only one fully developed; a live RCC-derived rabbit was obtained. Treatment of RFFs with NaBu significantly (P &lt; 0.05) increased the level of histone H3K9/14 acetylation and the proportion of nuclear transfer embryos developing to blastocyst (49% vs. 33% with non-treated RFF; P &lt; 0.05). The distribution of signals for acH3K9 in either group of cloned embryos did not resemble that in in vivo-fertilized embryos, suggesting that reprogramming of this epigenetic mark is aberrant in cloned rabbit embryos and cannot be corrected by treatment of donor cells with NaBu. Aggregation of embryos cloned from NaBu-treated RFFs with blastomeres from in vivo-derived embryos improved development to blastocyst, but no cloned offspring were obtained. Two live cloned rabbits were produced from this donor cell type only after aggregation of cloned embryos with a parthenogenetic blastomere. Our study demonstrates that the levels of histone acetylation in donor cells and cloned embryos correlate with their developmental potential and can be a useful epigenetic mark to predict efficiency of SCNT rabbits. This work was supported by the Bayerische Forschungsstiftung and by Therapeutic Human Polyclonals, Inc.