[Clinical analysis of seven cases of pulmonary malignant tumors in children]

Objective: To understand the clinical manifestation, imaging characteristics and outcomes of pulmonary malignant tumors in children. Method: We retrospectively collected information about seven cases of pulmonary malignant tumors in children in our hospital from Jan 2010 to Dec 2016. The information included clinical manifestation, imaging characteristics, pathologic results, and treatment. Result: (1) All the seven patients firstly visited pediatric internal medicine departments. Symptoms included cough (n=6), dyspnea (n=4), fever (n=2), anorexia (n=2), chest tightness (n=1), chest pain (n=1), lameness (n=1), abdominal distension and constipation (n=1). We did not find hemoptysis, wheezing or weight loss in those patients. Physical examinations revealed unilateral reduced breath sounds (n=5), moist rales and wheezes (n=1), and normal (n=1). Extrapulmonary signs included abdominal distension (n=2), left hip tenderness (n=1), and mass in left scrotum. We did not identify clubbing finger, anemic appearance, lymph node enlargement, or hepatosplenomegaly etc. (2) Laboratory examination results: complete blood count showed white blood cells in normal range except one case (17.44×10(9)/L). Neutrophil percentage ranged from 0.348 to 0.767. C reactive protein ranged between<1 and 162 mg/L. Hemoglobin was normal. Three out of four cases had abnormal blood tumor markers.(3) Imaging results showed multiple nodes (n=3), multiple cystic lesions in lungs (n=2) (both with pleuropulmonary blastoma), endobronchial soft tissue mass (n=1), pulmonary round-shaped mass (n=1), and mediastinal mass (n=1). Imaging results also found atelectasis (n=3), pneumonia (n=2), pneumothorax (n=2), longitudinal diaphragmatic hernia (n=2), pleural effusion (n=1), subcutaneous emphysema (n=1). (4) All the patients underwent tumor puncture biopsy or tumor resection. Pathology revealed the final diagnosis of pleuropulmonary blastoma (n=3), endodermal sinus tumors (n=2), squamous cell carcinoma of lung (n=1), and thyroid papillary carcinoma (n=1). All of them were malignant tumors. We followed up them. Two patients died (both with pleuropulmonary blastoma) after their parents refused any medical help. Two cases were lost to follow-up. Three patients survived (followed up for 19 months, 11 months and tow months, respectively). One case with thyroid papillary carcinoma pulmonary metastasis underwent right thyroid cancer radical plus left thyroid lobe resection plus modified selective central lymph node dissection, then iodine (131) treatment. One case with endodermal sinus tumor pulmonary metastasis underwent three times of chemotherapies, resection of left retroperitoneal tumor and left testicular tumor, and six additional chemotherapies. Another one case of endodermal sinus tumor pulmonary metastasis underwent three times of chemotherapies and was discharged. Conclusion: Pulmonary malignant tumors are rare diseases in children. Clinical signs are often non-specific. For those with chest CT showing multiple cystic lesions, endobronchial soft tissue mass or multiple nodes, but no significant infection manifestation or no response to anti-infection therapy, pulmonary malignant tumors should be considered. Biopsy may be needed to confirm the final diagnosis.

Analysis of the 19 Y-STR and 16 X-STR loci system in the Han population of Shandong province, China

The sex-linked short tandem repeats (STR), Y-STR and X-STR, are important for autosomal STRs in forensic paternity testing. We evaluated the forensic parameters of 19 Y-STRs and 16 X-STRs in the Han population of Shandong province, China. A Goldeneye 20Y kit (DYS391, DYS389I, DYS390, DYS389II, DYS348, DYS456, Y-GATA-H4, DYS447, DYS19, DYS392, DYS393, DYS388, DYS439, DYS635, DYS448, DYS460, DYS458, DYS437, DYS385 a/b) was used to analyze the forensic parameters of 534 unrelated males. A Goldeneye17X system (DXS6795, DXS9902, DXS8378, HPRTB, GATA165B12, DXS7132, DXS7424, DXS6807, DXS6803, GATA172D05, DXS6800, DXS10134, GATA31E08, DXS10159, DXS6789, DXS6810, amelogenin) was used to analyze 97 unrelated males and 214 females. In addition, we used the kits to examine 5 cases with abnormal amelogenin test results, as well as a male child with agenosomia typed by autosomal STR. We found 203 Y-STR haplotypes with allele frequencies ranging from 0.0019 to 0.7959, and GD ranging from 0.3429 to 0.9667. Expect in DXS6803, the allele frequencies of the other 15 X-STR loci showed no differences between females and males. PD_F ranged from 0.5504 to 0.9638, while PD_M ranged from 0.3176 to 0.8377. With the exception of DXS6803 and DXS6810, the allele frequencies of other X-STR loci were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in females. One amelogenin negative case was characterized as a deletion of Y-DYS458. This paper provided data regarding the genetic polymorphism of Y-STRs and X-STRs in the Han population, and demonstrated the importance of Y-STR and X-STR in forensic autosomal STR analysis.

[Efficacy of Coflex in the treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis]

Objective: To study the clinical results of Coflex and lumbar posterior decompression and fusion in the treatment of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis at L(4-5). Methods: Thirty-eight patients with Grade Ⅰ degenerative spondylolisthesis, from January 2008 to December 2011 in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University were reviewed, and patients were divided into two groups by randomness. Group A was treated with Coflex and group B with pedicle instrumentation and interbody fusion. Fifteen patients were included in group A, and 23 patients were included in group B. In group A, the average age was (56.3±9.1) years. In group B, the average age was (58.2±11.2) years. The clinical results were evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI). Slip distance (SD) was measured before and after surgery, and the changes of intervertebral angle at index level and adjacent level were also recorded. Results: The follow-up period was 36 to 68 months, with the average of (39±14) months in the both groups. The operation time and bleeding volume of patients in group A were significantly less than that of group B (P<0.05). In both groups, the difference of ODI and VAS before operation and postoperative follow-up were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between lumbar intervertebral angle and the sliding distance in group A at all time points. In the group B, there was a significant increase in the intervertebral angle and the sliding distance at L(3-4) and L(5)-S(1 )level after surgery, the difference at upper and below adjacent segment before and after surgery were statistically significant. Conclusions: Coflex interspinous dynamic stabilization system has same excellent clinical results as pedicle screw instrumentation and fusion surgery for the treatment of L(4-5) degenerative spondylolisthesis; no significant progression of spondylolisthesis been observed during more than 3 years follow-up, and no obvious adjacent segment degeneration has been found.

[Epidemic features of dyslipidemia among Uygur, Kazakh and Han ethnic groups in Urumqi]

Objective: To analyze the epidemic features of dyslipidemia among 39 980 Uygur, Kazak and Han ethnic groups in Urumqi, and to explore the methods of prevention and treatment on dyslipidemia. Methods: The differences of blood total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of health examination population with different ethnics, genders, and ages were compared, from 2012 to 2014 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. Results: Among the Uygur, Kazak and Han ethnic groups, the positive rate was respectively 35.0%, 37.0%, 30.3% in TC; 34.5%, 30.1% and 32.0% in TG; 24.9%, 18.3%, and 18.2% in HDL-C; 30.1%, 31.6% and 23.3% in LDL-C. In the same ethnic group, the abnormality rate of blood lipid in the female was lower than that of the male (P<0.001). The blood lipid abnormality rate increased significantly in those with 30-39 years, and reached the highest value in the 50-59 years group, then it decreased in those aged over 60 years (P<0.001). Conclusion: The lipid abnormality rate of the Uygur and Kazak residents was higher than that of the Han nationality, and the abnormal levels of TC and LDL-C were particularly evident in Urumqi.

[Shrinkage mode of the primary breast tumor after neoadjuvant chemotherapy analyzed with part-mount sub-serial sectioning and three-dimensional reconstruction technique]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the shrinkage mode of the primary tumor in women with breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) determined by part-mount sub-serial section (PMSS) and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technique.

METHODS

Eighty-six women with pathologically proven solitary invasive ductal carcinoma (ⅡA-ⅢC) were recruited. They were divided into two groups. Group A (n=25) received half cycles of NAC and Group B (n=61) received whole cycles of NAC. Breast specimen was prepared with PMSS, and residual tumors were microscopically outlined, scanned and registered by Photoshop software. The 3D model of residual tumors was reconstructed with 3D-Doctor software to evaluate the shrinkage mode. Further, the clinicpathologic shrinkage modes were divided into 2 categories: concentric shrinkage mode (CSM, the longest diameter of the pathological residual tumors was less than 50% and ≤2 cm in comparison with the primary tumor before NAC), and non-concentric shrinkage mode (NCSM, the longest diameter of the pathological residual tumors was more than 50% and/or >2 cm in comparison with the primary tumor before NAC).

RESULTS

Pathological shrinkage modes: Group A: modes Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅴ were observed in 1, 1, and 23 cases, respectively; Group B: modesⅠ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, and Ⅴwere observed in 18, 3, 12, 21, and 7 cases, respectively (P<0.001). The multivariate analysis showed that patients with lower primary tumor stage, PR(-) or mammographic malignant calcification before NAC(-) and lymph nodes down-staging after NAC were more likely to present with CSM after NAC (P<0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS

The pathologic reconstruction of breast residual tumors can fully and three-dimensionally reveal the shrinkage mode of the primary breast tumor in women with breast cancer after NAC. PMSS and 3D reconstruction of pathology provide a new platform in this area. Primary tumor stage, PR expression and mammographic malignant calcification before NAC and lymph node down-staging after NAC are independent predictors of the clinicopathologic shrinkage mode.

Characterization of submicron particles during biomass burning and coal combustion periods in Beijing, China

An Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was deployed along with other observation instruments to measure the characteristics of PM1 (particulate matter with a vacuum aerodynamic diameter of ≤1μm) during the biomass burning period (October 1 to 27; BBP) and the coal combustion period (December 10 to 31; CCP) in Beijing in 2014. The average PM1 mass concentrations during the BBP and CCP were 82.3 and 37.5μgm(-3), respectively. Nitrate, ammonium and other pollutants emitted by the burning processes, especially coal combustion, increased significantly in association with increased pollution levels. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to a unified high-resolution mass spectra database of organic species with NO(+) and NO2(+) ions to discover the relationships between organic and inorganic species. One inorganic factor was identified in both periods, and another five and four distinct organic factors were identified in the BBP and CCP, respectively. Secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) accounted for 55% of the total organic aerosols (OAs) during the BBP, which is higher than the proportion during the CCP (oxygenated OA, 40%). The organic nitrate and inorganic nitrate were first successfully separated through the PMF analysis based on the HR-ToF-AMS observations in Beijing, and organic nitrate components accounted for 21% and 18% of the total nitrate mass during the BBP and CCP, respectively. Although the PM1 mass concentration during the CCP was much lower than in the BBP, the average concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the CCP (107.3±171.6ngm(-3)) was ~5 times higher than that in the BBP (21.9±21.7ngm(-3)).

[Surgical treatment of ventriculoperitoneal shunt guided by ultrasound to the patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical efficacy of ventriculoperitoneal shunt treatment to patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

METHODS

The clinical data of 32 patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension who were admitted to Henan Provincial People's Hospital from August 2011 to February 2014 were collected.The underlying diseases included occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus (2 cases) and occlusion of transverse sinus (2 cases), and all 4 cases had a history of chronic otitis media.Twenty eight cases, with a history of oral contraceptive drugs (2 cases) and unclear etiology (26 cases), had normal venous sinus confirmed by imaging examination.All of 32 patients underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

RESULTS

The symptoms of 32 patients such as headache, nausea, and vomiting were relieved obviously after surgery.The symptom of visual impairment of 31 cases got better in varying degrees except that 1 case went blind before operation.Besides 2 cases of loss of follow-up, the remaining 30 cases were followed up for 2 years.Thirty cases had no perioperative infection.One case had infection 1 year after operation.No one had the shunt tube blockage.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension should be taken active surgical treatment when drug therapy fails and could obtain satisfactory clinical curative effect by accepting treatment of ventriculoperitoneal shunt.By intraoperative ultrasound guiding lateral ventricle puncture can be achieved accurately.

A single-phase elastic hyperbolic metamaterial with anisotropic mass density

Wave propagation can be manipulated at a deep subwavelength scale through the locally resonant metamaterial that possesses unusual effective material properties. Hyperlens due to metamaterial's anomalous anisotropy can lead to superior-resolution imaging. In this paper, a single-phase elastic metamaterial with strongly anisotropic effective mass density has been designed. The proposed metamaterial utilizes the independently adjustable locally resonant motions of the subwavelength-scale microstructures along the two principal directions. High anisotropy in the effective mass densities obtained by the numerical-based effective medium theory can be found and even have opposite signs. For practical applications, shunted piezoelectric elements are introduced into the microstructure to tailor the effective mass density in a broad frequency range. Finally, to validate the design, an elastic hyperlens made of the single-phase hyperbolic metamaterial is proposed with subwavelength longitudinal wave imaging illustrated numerically. The proposed single-phase hyperbolic metamaterial has many promising applications for high resolution damage imaging in nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring.

Effects of Inulin Supplementation in Low- or High-Fat Diets on Reproductive Performance of Sows and Antioxidant Defence Capacity in Sows and Offspring

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of inulin supplementation in low- or high-fat diets on both the reproductive performance of sow and the antioxidant defence capacity in sows and offspring. Sixty Landrace × Yorkshire sows were randomly allocated to four treatments with low-fat diet (L), low-fat diet containing 1.5% inulin (LI), high-fat diet (H) and high-fat diet containing 1.5% inulin (HI). Inulin-rich diets lowered the within-litter birth weight coefficient of variation (CV, p = 0.05) of piglets, increased the proportion of piglets weighing 1.0-1.5 kg at farrowing (p < 0.01), reduced the loss of body weight (BW) and backfat thickness (BF) during lactation (p < 0.05) and decreased the duration of farrowing as well as improved sow constipation (p < 0.05). Sows fed fat-rich diets gained more BW during gestation (p < 0.01), farrowed a greater number of total (+1.65 pigs, p < 0.05) and alive (+1.52 pigs p < 0.05) piglets and had a heavier (+2.06 kg, p < 0.05) litter weight at birth as well as a decreased weaning-to-oestrous interval (WEI, p < 0.01) compared with sows fed low-fat diets. However, it is worth noting that the H diet significantly decreased the serum activities of superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and increased the serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in sows and piglets (p < 0.05). In contrast, HI diet enhanced the activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px and decreased the serum MDA concentrations (p < 0.05) in sows and piglets. In summary, the fat-rich diets fed to sows during gestation had beneficial effects on reproductive performance, but aggravated the oxidative stress in sow and piglets. Inulin-rich diets fed to sow during gestation had beneficial effects on within-litter uniformity of piglet birthweight and enhanced the antioxidant defence capacity of sows and piglets.

Wnt1-overexpressing skeletal myoblasts as an improved cell therapy for cardiac repair following myocardial infarction

AIM

Recent findings highlight the critical role of the Wnt signaling pathway in cardiac repair and stem cell regulation. Our previous study shows that lithium chloride (LiCl) optimizes skeletal myoblast (SkM) for transplantation by mimicking the Wnt/β-catenin signaling activities. In this study, we evaluate the therapeutic potential of SkMs genetically modified with Wnt1gene (Wnt1 SkMs) in a rat model with myocardial infarction (MI).

METHODS

We harvested neonatal SkMs using Wistar rats (1-3-day old) transfected with p-EGFP-C3-Wnt1 plasmid. RT-PCR and immunofluorescence showed a higher expression of Wnt1 in the Wnt1 SkMs. We observed that Wnt1 SkMs increased connexin 43 (Cx43) expression, reduced apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and decreased caspase-3 expression via the canonical Wnt signaling pathways compared to the empty vector transfected SkMs (control SkMs). For in vivo studies, the myocardial infarction model was developed in the Wistar rats. The rats were grouped to receive 100 μL basal DMEM without cells or containing 1.5×106SkMs and Wnt1 SkMs. Histological studies revealed improved survival of SkMs, reduced cardiomyocytes apoptosis, and upregulated expression of Cx43 in Wnt1 SkMs therapy group. Echocardiography monitored four weeks after therapy showed improvement of the left ventricular function in rats treated with Wnt1SkMs compared to other groups.

CONCLUSION

Transplantation of Wnt1 SkMs improves rat myocardial function and enhances anti apoptotic properties of both SkMs and cardiomyocytes and upregulation of tissue Cx43 after infarction via the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling activities.

All optical mode controllable Er-doped random fiber laser with distributed Bragg gratings

An all-optical method to control the lasing modes of Er-doped random fiber lasers (RFLs) is proposed and demonstrated. In the RFL, an Er-doped fiber (EDF) recoded with randomly separated fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) is used as the gain medium and randomly distributed reflectors, as well as the controllable element. By combining random feedback of the FBG array and Fresnel feedback of a cleaved fiber end, multi-mode coherent random lasing is obtained with a threshold of 14 mW and power efficiency of 14.4%. Moreover, a laterally-injected control light is used to induce local gain perturbation, providing additional gain for certain random resonance modes. As a result, active mode selection of the RFL is realized by changing locations of the laser cavity that is exposed to the control light.

Inhibitory effect of liposomal quercetin on acute hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis induced by concanavalin A

Immune response plays an important role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of quercetin on hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis induced by immunological mechanism. In the acute hepatitis model, quercetin (2.5 mg/kg) was injected iv into mice 30 min after concanavalin A (Con A) challenge. Mice were sacrificed 4 or 24 h after Con A injection, and aminotransferase tests and histopathological sections were performed. Treatment with quercetin significantly decreased the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Consistent with this observation, treatment with quercetin markedly attenuated the pathologic changes in the liver. A hepatic fibrosis model was also generated in mice by Con A challenge once a week for 6 consecutive weeks. Mice in the experimental group were treated with daily iv injections of quercetin (0.5 mg/kg). Histopathological analyses revealed that treatment with quercetin markedly decreased collagen deposition, pseudolobuli development, and hepatic stellate cells activation. We also examined the effects of quercetin on the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) pathways by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). NF-κB and TGF-β production was decreased after treatment with quercetin, indicating that the antifibrotic effect of quercetin is associated with its ability to modulate NF-κB and TGF-β production. These results suggest that quercetin may be an effective therapeutic strategy in the treatment of patients with liver damage and fibrosis.

Association of interleukin-1β -511C/T promoter polymorphism with COPD risk: a meta-analysis

Studies examining the role of interleukin (IL)-1β -511C/T promoter polymorphism in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have shown inconsistent results. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between the IL-1β-511C/T promoter polymorphism and COPD susceptibility. Published case-control, cross-sectional, and cohort studies from Pubmed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were retrieved. Data were extracted and pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Twelve studies with 1692 cases and 2009 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled effect size showed an overall but not significantly decreased risk of IL-1β-511 C/T with COPD susceptibility (OR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.78-1.01) in a complete overdominant genetic model (TT+CC vs CT), indicating that homozygous individuals (CC and TT) have a decreased risk for COPD compared with heterozygotes (CT). In subgroup analysis by ethnicity, IL-1β-511C/T was significantly correlated with a decreased risk of COPD in Asians (OR = 0.73, 95%CI = 0.60-0.88, P = 0.001), but not in Caucasians (OR = 1.02, 95%CI = 0.83- 1.24, P = 0.46), confirming a protective role of IL-1β-511C/T in COPD in Asians. Moreover, after excluding studies that included populations not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the pooled results were robust and no publication bias was observed. This meta-analysis suggests that the IL-1β-511C/T promoter polymorphism deceases the risk of COPD in Asians.

Short-segment posterior instrumentation combined with calcium sulfate cement vertebroplasty for thoracolumbar compression fractures: radiographic outcomes including nonunion and other complications

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the radiographic outcomes of short-segment posterior instrumentation plus vertebroplasty using injectable calcium sulfate cement (CSC) for thoracolumbar compression fractures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-eight patients with a single-level thoracolumbar compression fracture, who underwent short-segment pedicle screw fixation and CSC vertebroplasty, were included in the study. The anterior vertebral body height ratio, local kyphosis angle, and the height of the intervertebral disc adjacent to the fractured vertebra were used to evaluate the radiographic results. Complications including bone nonunion, instrument failure, cement leakage, and disc vacuum formation were also assessed.

RESULTS

The patients were followed up for an average of 24.20±5.40 months. The relative preoperative anterior body height was 55.71±15.29%, which improved to 94.93±5.39% immediately after surgery (P<0.001), and at final follow-up showed a 6.50±3.89% loss of height correction (P<0.001). The mean preoperative local kyphosis angle was 22.23±5.65°, which corrected to 2.67±4.43° immediately after surgery (P<0.001), but reverted to 6.71±4.95° at final follow-up, showing a 4.04±1.91° loss of correction (P<0.001). The mean height of the intervertebral disc proximal to the fractured vertebra was 9.87±0.91 mm before surgery, 12.53±0.98 mm after operation (P<0.001), and the loss of correction at final follow-up was 2.35±1.15 mm with a significant difference compared to immediate postoperative values (P<0.001). Bone nonunion occurred in 7 patients, 2 patients had hardware failure, 9 patients had cement leakage, and 10 patients had disc vacuum phenomenon adjacent to the fractured vertebra.

CONCLUSIONS

The patients who underwent this procedure had a loss of correction of vertebral height and local kyphosis. Complications such as bone nonunion, instrument failure, cement leakage, and disc vacuum may occur. Rapid CSC resorption accounts for these radiographic outcomes and complications.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, retrospective study.

P53-Mediated Repression of the Reprogramming in Cloned Bovine Embryos Through Direct Interaction with HDAC1 and Indirect Interaction with DNMT3A

P53 is a transcriptional activator, regulating growth arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis. We found that the expression level of P53 and the epigenetic profiles were significantly different in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos from those in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. So we inferred that abnormally expression of P53 might contribute to the incomplete reprogramming. Using bovine foetal fibroblasts, we constructed and screened a highly efficient shRNA vector targeting bovine P53 gene and then reconstituted somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos (RNAi-SCNT). The results indicated that expression levels of P53 were downregulated significantly in RNAi-SCNT embryos, and the blastulation rate and the total number of cell increased significantly. Moreover, methylation levels of CpG islands located 5' region of OCT4, NANOG, H19 and IGF2R in RNAi -SCNT embryos were significantly normalized to that IVF embryos, and the methylation levels of genome DNA, H3K9 and H4K5 acetylation levels were also returned to levels similar to the IVF embryos. Differentially expressed genes were identified by microarray, and 28 transcripts were found to be significantly different (> twofolds) in RNAi-SCNT embryos compared to the control nuclear transfer embryos (SCNT). Among the 28 differentially expressed transcripts, just HDAC1 and DNMT3A were closely associated with the epigenetic modifications. Finally, ChIP further showed that P53 might repress the epigenetic reprogramming by regulating HDAC1 directly and DNMT3A indirectly. These findings offer significant references to further elucidate the mechanism of epigenetic reprogramming in SCNT embryos.

Effects of estrogen intervention on the biomechanical characteristics of serum SOD, MDA, and middle cerebral artery in aged female rats

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to study the biological and biomechanical characteristics of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in aged and estrogen-intervened aged rats, thereby providing biomechanical basis for clinics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty 18-month-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, 30 18-month-old estrogen-intervened SD rats, and 30 four-month-old SD rats were studied. The estrogen-intervened rats were given estradiol benzoate on the fifth feeding day. Thirty-four days after the feeding, the serum of each rat was obtained. The radioimmunoassay was performed for the content determination of serum E2, ER, malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The tensile test was performed to evaluate the MCA of each rat.

RESULTS

Through the estrogen intervention, the serum contents of E2, ER, SOD, and MDA in old rats were restored to normal levels. The maximum stress, maximum strain, and elastic limit of the MCA in the aged estrogen-intervened rat group were greater than those of the non-intervened aged rat group, with a significant difference (p < 0.05). The elastic modulus in the aged estrogen-intervened rat group was less than that of the non-intervened aged rat group, with a significant difference (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

E2 intervention can improve the flexibility, toughness, and compliance of MCA in aged rats.

Artificial neural network models for predicting 1-year mortality in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures in China

The mortality rate of older patients with intertrochanteric fractures has been increasing with the aging of populations in China. The purpose of this study was: 1) to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) using clinical information to predict the 1-year mortality of elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures, and 2) to compare the ANN's predictive ability with that of logistic regression models. The ANN model was tested against actual outcomes of an intertrochanteric femoral fracture database in China. The ANN model was generated with eight clinical inputs and a single output. ANN's performance was compared with a logistic regression model created with the same inputs in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and discriminability. The study population was composed of 2150 patients (679 males and 1471 females): 1432 in the training group and 718 new patients in the testing group. The ANN model that had eight neurons in the hidden layer had the highest accuracies among the four ANN models: 92.46 and 85.79% in both training and testing datasets, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the automatically selected ANN model for both datasets were 0.901 (95%CI=0.814-0.988) and 0.869 (95%CI=0.748-0.990), higher than the 0.745 (95%CI=0.612-0.879) and 0.728 (95%CI=0.595-0.862) of the logistic regression model. The ANN model can be used for predicting 1-year mortality in elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures. It outperformed a logistic regression on multiple performance measures when given the same variables.

Morphology variation and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures grown using bio-template

ZnO nanostructures of different morphologies were grown by immersing eggshell membranes into Zn(NO3)2 ethanol solution with different pH values and subsequently sintered at 500 degrees C. Effects of the solution pH value, immersing time and Mg incorporation on the nanostructure morphology and photoluminescence were studied. ZnO nanostructure morphology was very sensitive to pH value of the solution, immersing time and layer of the templates. Different morphologies of nanofibers, nanotubes, hexagonal nanosheets and hexagonal nanosheets with tips were grown. All nanostructures had strong green emission at 520 nm and weak ultraviolet emission at 377 nm. The green emission weakened in the interwoven nanofibers while the ultraviolet emission enhanced in the hexagonal nanosheets. Incorporation of Mg ions in the solution with a pH of 7 would result in combination of the interwoven nanofibers and enhance the green emission greatly. UV emission at 355 nm from ZnMgO alloys was observed in Mg incorporated nanofibers.

Immobilizing natural macromolecule on PLGA electrospun nanofiber with surface entrapment and entrapment-graft techniques

Surface entrapment is a convenient method to immobilize the natural macromolecules on the surface of synthetic polymers. In this study, the gelatin modified and sodium alginate/gelatin modified PLGA nanofibrous membranes were fabricated via surface entrapment and entrapment-graft techniques. The surface morphology of the each single modified PLGA nanofiber was as smooth as that of untreated PLGA nanofibers. The results of water angle contact measurements and tensile tests showed that the surface entrapment cannot only improve the hydrophilicity but also enhance mechanical properties of the modified nanofibrous membranes. In addition, the sodium alginate/gelatin modified electrospun PLGA nanofibrous membrane exhibited higher hydrophilicity and better biocompatibility than the simply gelatin modified PLGA nanofibrous membrane, which suggested the surface entrapment is a facile and efficient approach to surface modification for electrospun nanofibours membranes.

Valsartan attenuated oxidative stress, decreased MCP-1 and TGF-β1 expression in glomerular mesangial and epithelial cells induced by high-glucose levels

Our previous studies revealed that valsartan, an angiotensin II type I receptor blocker, exhibited renoprotective effects through decreasing urine protein excretion levels due to improving glomerular permeability in rats with diabetic nephropathy (DN). In this study, we sought to investigate the underlying mechanisms in perspectives of oxidative stress, transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expressions in glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) and glomerular epithelial cells (GECs) since their roles are well-established in the development and progression of DN. High-glucose levels significantly increased oxidative stress in GMCs and GECs, as evidenced by enhanced generation of reactive reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced levels of glutathione (GSH) and antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), and increased production of malondialdehyde (MDA). Treatment with valsartan significantly restored the levels of those oxidative stress relevant molecules. Furthermore, valsartan obviously diminished the expression of proinflammatory cytokine MCP-1 in GMCs and GECs induced by high-glucose levels both at mRNA and protein levels, as determined by real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, western blotting, and ELISA. In addition, the increased expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA and protein induced by high-glucose level were also abrogated by valsartan treatment in GMCs, as evaluated by real-time PCR and ELISA. These results suggest that the renoprotective effects of valsartan may be related to its potential in decreasing oxidative stress and the expressions of MCP-1 and TGF-β1 in GMCs and GECs.

Temporal contrast enhancement of picosecond pulses based on phase-conjugate wave generation

A practical technique based on the phase-conjugate wave (PCW) generation is proposed to improve the temporal contrast of the picosecond pulses. Our theory predicts the temporal contrast of the picosecond pulses can be enhanced to about the cube of the temporal contrast of the input pulse via the PCW generation, in which the conversion efficiency from the incident pulse to the PCW is about 25%. In a proof-of-principle experiment, the temporal contrast of picosecond pulses was enhanced from 1.7×10(3) to 8.6×10(8) with the conversion efficiency of 10%. This technique is promising to effectively eliminate the background of the ultrashort and ultraintense laser pulses in the future.

P3-07-03: One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) for the Diagnosis of Sentinel Lymph Nodes of Breast Cancer – Results of the China Multicenter Study CBCSG-001c

Background

With the adoption of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy as the standard of care, there is an increasing need for the rapid and accurate intra-operative diagnosis of SLNs. CBCSG-001c was a prospective multicenter trial to validate the One-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) assay in China. The primary endpoint was the concordance rates of intraoperative OSNA assay with the in-depth permanent histological analyses based both on cases and SLNs.

Methods: From Feb. to Dec. 2010, 1188 SLNs from 552 breast cancer patients were enrolled in the CBCSG-001c study at 5 centers. SLNs were cut into alternating ∼2mm sections. One half of the sections were sampled for H&E, with 4 sections at different intervals. The other half was fully tested with the OSNA assay. Predetermined cutoffs were calibrated so only metastases &gt;0.2 mm were detected.

Results: The concordance rate was 89.1% (95% CI, 86.3−91.5%), sensitivity 87.7% (95% CI, 81.0−92.7%), and specificity 89.6% (95% CI, 86.3−92.4%) based on 552 cases, and the concordance rate was 91.4% (95% CI, 89.7−92.9%), sensitivity 83.7% (95% CI, 77.7−88.6%), and specificity 92.9% (95% CI, 91.1−94.4%) based on the 1188 SLNs. This quantitative molecular assessment allows the distinction of the size of the metastasis, and the PPV of OSNA [++] for macrometastases was 83.2% (95% CI, 75.0- 89.1%). Discordant results were thought to be partly due to the fact that different tissue sections were used for OSNA assay and histology, and SLNs with ITCs were not considered as histological positive nodes. After discordant case investigation, the senstivity of OSNA assay was significantly higher than that of intraoprative frozen section and touch imprint cyctology.

Discussion: As the largest OSNA study to date, our results, together with that of Japan, Germany, and France study, proved the OSNA assay based on CK19 mRNA expression to be a reliable and standardized tool for the intraoperative detection of SLN metastases of breast cancer patients as compared to in-depth permanent histology. The high sensitivity of OSNA assay means reducing the risk of second operation for ALND, medical care costs and patients anxiety.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-07-03.