[The effect of endothelium-derived relaxation factor on specific property of vasomotion of cochlea in guinea pig]

By using intravital microscopy measurement with image processing system, continuous diameter changes were measured by self-tracking with computer, the present study is to investigate specific property of vasomotion in cochlear microvessels and its responsibility to the endothelium-derived relaxation factor (EDRF/NO). The results demonstrated that the vasomotion of cochlear arteriole existed in normal condition in a small pattern. It was found that the vasomotion was significantly enhanced after administration of L-arginine(which is donor of EDRF/NO), and L-arginine induces a sequence of changes in cochlear blood flow. There were significant statistic difference before and after the drug administration. The conclusion suggest that EDRF/NO play an important role in the increase of blood flow by improvement of vasomotion.

p53 expression affects the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas

p53 tumor suppressor gene has a dual role as a trigger of apoptosis and as an initiator of DNA repair, suggesting its involvement in the mechanisms of drug resistance or chemosensitivity. The present study assessed the implication of p53 expression in the prognosis of patients and the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy for resectable invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the pancreas. A total of 58 patients with primary IDC of the pancreas underwent pancreatectomy between 1982 and 1996: 28 patients received surgery alone and 30 patients received postsurgical adjuvant chemotherapy. p53 protein was stained immunohistochemically with anti-p53 monoclonal antibody. p53 was positively expressed in 29 out of 58 primary lesions (50%), and the survival curve of the patients with p53 (+) pancreatic cancer is lower than that of those with p53 (-) cancer. On the other hand, the survival curve of adjuvant chemotherapy group was also higher than that of surgery alone group, and furthermore, in patients with p53 (+) cancer, the survival curve of adjuvant chemotherapy group was significantly better than that of the surgery alone group. A multivariate analysis showed that p53 expression or adjuvant chemotherapy is not a significant risk-factor for prognosis, but that adjuvant chemotherapy is a significant risk factor for the patients with p53 (+) pancreatic cancer, which suggests that p53 expression affects the efficacy of chemotherapy. p53 expression may be beneficial as an indicator for introduction of adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer patients.

[Effects of task load level and input modality format on P3 wave of event related brain potential]

With different task load levels and input modality formats, P3 wave of event related brain potential (ER-P) were recorded and analyzed in eighteen healthy young man performing six dual tasks. The dual task was made up of visual tracking primary task (T) and Sternberg additional task (S) or Oddball additional task (O) (TS and TO). Its difficulty was controlled by changing the velocity and dimension of movement of target in primary task. The results showed that P3 latency (LAT) prolonged when the primary task was more difficult and its changes of amplitude(AMP) depended on the input modality formats of primary task and additional task. AMP of TO dual task with different formats decreased when the primary task was more difficult and that of TS with same formats increased. It suggests that task load level and input modality format may influent P3 wave of event related brain potential.

[A study of the expression of c-myc onoprotein in laryngeal cancer and different distant adjacent mucosa]

Using citric-LSAB-microwave immunohistochemical technique, the expression of c-myc was studied in different regions of larynx including laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), border area, adjacent mucosa which was 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 cm away from cancer 30 cases and four cases of normal laryngeal mucosa. The results showed that over-expression of c-myc in LSCC was found in 29 of 30 (96.7%), which was higher than that in normal laryngeal mucosa (P < 0.01). A significant different expression of c-myc can be seen at the regions of 2.0 and 1.5 cm distant from the tumor (P < 0.05). The expression of c-myc increased as tissue progressed in sequence from normal mucosa, adjacent mucosa to carcinoma. The c-myc expression did not correlate with site of tumor, stage and histological grade (P > 0.05). The results indicate that over-expression of c-myc is involved in genesis of LSCC, and may be an early event in the development of human squamous-cell carcinoma of the larynx. The tissue adjacent to the tumor may have a potential malignancy.

Evolution of neutralizing antibody response against HIV type 1 virions and pseudovirions in multicenter AIDS cohort study participants

Changes in neutralizing antibody (NA) titers in stored sera collected over 5 years from 10 participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) were evaluated. The participants were HIV-1 infected on enrollment in the MACS, and remained AIDS free during the 5-year study interval. Seven viruses derived from molecular clones were used in NA assays; five of the viruses were T tropic (NL4-3, ALA1, NY5, SF2, and Z2Z6) and two were M tropic [AD8 and NL(SF162)]. In addition, pseudoviruses (PVs) were constructed that expressed envelope genes from NL4-3, ALA1, AD8, and SF162 and from primary viruses from two MACS participants (PV-9 and PV-10). There was significant correlation between NA titers obtained in four of five virus/PV comparisons, while the SF162 PV was more sensitive to NA than the corresponding virus. Comparable changes in NA titers were detected using viruses and PVs. Fourfold or greater increases in NA titers were noted in each of the participants, involving recognition of one to five of the nine strains tested. In some patients these NA titer changes appeared as discrete episodes of immune responses, while in others there may have been either multiple episodes or continuous evolution of the NA responses. The data indicate that changes in NA specificity occur during HIV-1 infection, which may result from the occurrence of neutralization escape mutation. The use of PVs for the study of phenotypic characteristics of envelope glycoproteins should facilitate the study of neutralization escape mutation in HIV-1 infection.

[Application of multistage evaluation scale in subjective assessment of mental workload]

The efficiency of multistage evaluation scale (MES) based on the fuzzy set theory as used in subjective assessment of mental workload was studied, and the results were compared with those of tracking performance and category scale (CS). It was found that error (ER) significantly increased when task became more difficult (P < 0.01) and the scalings of MES and CS also increased, but that of MES was significantly different in tasks of all the three difficulties (P<0.01) while those of CS was significant only between tasks 1 and 3 as well as tasks 2 and 3 (P <0.01), but not between tasks 1 and 2. These show that the result of MES is more agreeable with that of ER. So it might be a better subjective assessment measure of mental workload.

Secondary structure of P-glycoprotein investigated by circular dichroism and amino acid sequence analysis

P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is a plasma membrane protein known as an ATP-dependent drug-efflux pump that confers multidrug resistance to tumor cells. Structural analysis of Pgp was investigated by circular dichroism (CD) for the first time and in combination with amino acid sequence analysis. CD of highly purified Pgp from human, rat and murine Pgp-overexpressing drug resistant cells revealed slight variations in the spectral shape when recorded in the presence of dodecyl maltoside (DM). These species-dependent variations in CD shapes resulted from the interaction of the oligosaccharidic part with the protein core since they were abolished either in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or after deglycosylation, the latter not altering the Pgp ATP-dependent drug transport activity. Whatever the level of Pgp glycosylation and the detergent used (SDS or DM), the content in secondary structure deduced from deconvolution of CD spectra is almost the same for the three sources of Pgp and estimated to 43% alpha-helix, 16% beta-sheet, 15% beta-turn and 26% of other structures. These data, which constitute the first report of Pgp structure analysis by circular dichroism, are consistent with the 48% alpha-helix and 16% beta-sheets global contents predicted by using recently reported efficient secondary structure prediction methods. This consistency reinforces the reliability of the probable nature and localization of predicted Pgp secondary structure elements. This provides a good framework for precise 3D structure modeling of Pgp by homology with proteins of known 3D structure, as it is illustrated here for the A motifs of the ATP-binding domains of Pgp.

[Effects of whole-body vibration on human tracking performance and visual-motor reaction]

Dual task test (light target tracking and visual-motor reaction of visual oddball mode) and pursuit aiming test were done in 17 male healthy subjects after 30min exposure to whole-body vibrations of 20 Hz 0.15 gz or 20 Hz 0.3 gz. Mean accuracy rate of visual-motor reaction and target stimulus reaction accuracy rate after 0.3 gz vibration were significantly lower than those of control group (P < 0.05), while after 0.15 gz vibration, the changes were not significant. Comparing with control group, the total number of right and wrong pointing, pointing speed in pursuit aiming test were significantly lower (P < 0.05) after vibration. However, light target tracking error, mean reaction time of visual-motor reaction and pointing accuracy rate of pursuit aiming test had no significant change after exposure to any kind of the vibrations. It may be concluded that some kinds of effect on human tracking performance and visual-motor reaction were observed after exposure to whole-body vibration.

[Resection and reconstruction of inferior vena cava and renal vein in surgical treatment of retroperitoneal tumours: a report of 11 cases]

OBJECTIVE

To improve the surgical resection rate of complicated retroperitoneal tumors which depends on handling of celiac major blood vessel.

METHODS

219 retroperitoneal tumours were resected from 1990 to 1997. Eleven of them were resected in combination of resections and reconstructions of inferior vena cava (IVC) and renal veins (RV). IVC below RV was resected in 5 cases, IVC below liver with resections of right kidney in 3 cases, IVC above RV in 1 case, major partial resections of left RV with anastomosis to left ovarian vein in 2 cases, and 1 of them with IVC resection.

RESULTS

Follow-up showed transient bilateral lower limbs edema in 3 cases. The values of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were normal after operations, no changes were found in the kidneys under ultrasonic examination.

CONCLUSION

As the left renal vein has many branches and constant anastomotic branches that connect with peripheral veins, it can be ligated proximally; and it even can be resected when at least one of its branches (routinely lift sexual gland vein) can be kept to maintain the blood circulation. Reconstruction of IVC and RV is usually not necessary after the resection of IVC, unless the bilateral renal veins were obstructed.

[Study on HPV infection and p53 protein expression in laryngeal carcinoma]

In order to evaluate the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and p53 protein expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), the in situ hybridization and the labelled streptavidin biotin (LSAB) immunohistochemical method were used to detect the presence of HPV genomes 6B, 11, 16, 18 and expression of p53 protein respectively in 44 specimens of LSCC. And 16 specimens of laryngeal polyp were selected as controls.

RESULTS

1. HPV genomes 16/18 were detected in 19 (43.2%) of 44 LSCCs and in 2 (12.5%) of 16 laryngeal polyps (P < 0.05). 2.25 (56.9%) of 44 specimens of LSCC were p53 protein positive whereas the laryngeal polyps were all p53 negative. 3. 12 (63.2%) of 19 HPV 16/18 DNA-positive specimens of LSCC showed p53 protein expression and 12 (48%) of 25 p53 protein positive specimens of LSCC showed HPV 16/18 infection.

CONCLUSION

Expression of p53 protein and infection of HPV 16, 18 may play a role in carcinogenesis of LSCC, respectively or simultaneously.

Observations on the treatment of natural haemosporidia infections by total alkaloid of Peganum harmala L. in cattle

Eighty two cattle naturally infected with haemosporidians were treated with total alkaloid hydrochloride of Peganum harmale L. (0.5 mg/kg/day). Fifty eight cases with Theileria sergenti showed a cure rate of 86%; thirteen cases with Theileria annulata showed a cure rate of 85%; eight cattle infected with Babesia bigemina showed a cure rate of 88% and three cases of Anaplasma marginale were completely cured. The results suggested that the curative effect of total alkaloid of P. harmale was better than that of diminazene aceturate and produced minimal side effects. The alkaloid could also be administered to pregnant animals. It was concluded that the total alkaloid of P. harmale showed a marked effect as a treatment for haemosporidican infections in cattle.

[Multivariate discriminant analysis for assessing mental workload during duel task operation]

In order to investigate the efficiency of multivariate discriminant analysis in the assessment of mental workload during dual task operations, various psychophysiological indices and performance were recorded. The dual task consisted of the primary visual tracking task and the secondary Oddball task. The results indicated that tracking error, latency of P3 and IBI of HR correlated well with the mental workload and the multivariate discriminant analysis succeeded in classifying the levels of mental workload with higher conformation rate than those using the single index. It suggests that multivariate discriminant analysis is meaningful in the assessment of mental workload under dual task situations.

Hydrophobic peptide mapping of clinically relevant heptathelical membrane proteins by capillary electrophoresis

The structural investigation of G protein-coupled receptors has been hindered by the lack of techniques to effectively resolve the hydrophobic peptides obtained by chemical or proteolytic cleavage, as well as the minute amounts of protein typically isolated. We have developed a capillary electrophoresis method for efficient separation of hydrophobic peptides using a cyanogen bromide digest of bacteriorhodopsin as a model for these clinically important membrane proteins. This procedure includes (i) solubilization of the protein digest in acetic acid; and (ii) electrophoresis using an acetic acid-based buffer system augmented by acetonitrile and hexane sulfonic acid, in a Polybrene-coated fused silica capillary. The potential for detection sensitivity to be increased at least 100-fold by use of on-line solid-phase extraction on C18-silica is shown. This approach is potentially useful for peptide fingerprinting of sparse and extremely hydrophobic membrane receptors.

[Simplex optimization of the automatic gas chromatographic instrument]

A simplex optimization method developed for the automatic gas chromatography is described in this paper. The instrument was developed by ourself based on a gas chromatograph and an auto-sampler, which are controlled by a computer through several assisting circuit boards. A series of chromatographic function SCRF is used in this method for searching the best column temperature for gas chromatographic separation of a given sample. A real sample is used for probation of this method and the results are discussed.

Clinicopathological significance of epidermal growth factor and its receptor in human pancreatic cancer

The expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGF-R) was examined immunohistochemically in 60 primary and 26 metastatic lesions of pancreatic carcinoma. EGF was stained mainly in the cytoplasm of tumor cells, and EGF-R was stained mainly on the surface of cells. The expression rates of EGF and EGF-R were 28% and 43% for primary lesions, and 46% and 46% for metastatic lesions, respectively. The expression of EGF and EGF-R alone did not correlate with any clinicopathological factors such as clinical stage, tumor size, nodal involvement, histology, etc. The median survival period after pancreatectomy was 21.4 months for patients with EGF(+) cancers and 25.1 months for those with EGF (-) ones. On the other hand, the median survival period was 22.7 months for patients with EGF-R (+) cancers and 25.0 months for those with EGF-R (-) cancers. There were no significant differences in survival between groups of patients differing in EGF or EGF-R expression. When the expression of EGF and EGF-R was analysed in combination, the survival curve of patients with EGF(+) and EGF-R(+) cancers was found to be lower than that of the rest of the patients (p = 0.07), and especially the survival curve of patients with EGF(+)EGF-R(+) cancers was significantly lower than that of patients with EGF(+)EGF-R(-) cancers (p = 0.02), and EGF(-)EGF-R(+) cancers (p = 0.06). These results indicate that the expression of EGF or EGF-R alone in pancreatic cancer does not reflect the prognosis of patients; however the coexpression of EGF and EGF-R may be a beneficial prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer.

[The effect of time-frequency filter by wavelet on ERP with eye-moving]

After analyzing the time and frequency properties of ERP, a time-frequency filter based on multiresolution spline wavelet transform is proposed. This filter can effectively extracte the ERP from the eye-moving contaminated record.

Complete removal and exchange of sodium dodecyl sulfate bound to soluble and membrane proteins and restoration of their activities, using ceramic hydroxyapatite chromatography

Up to now, removal of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) from proteins in terms of restoration of their activity was an unsolved problem. A general procedure using ceramic hydroxyapatite (HAP) chromatography was developed for the complete removal of SDS bound to soluble or membrane proteins. This procedure involves (i) the binding of the SDS-protein complexes onto the ceramic hydroxyapatite column, (ii) extensive washing of bound proteins with phosphate buffer containing a mild detergent to exchange SDS, (iii) elution of the retained protein by increasing the phosphate concentration. Using this approach, complete exchange of [35S]SDS into a nonionic detergent such as dodecyl maltoside was achieved with a 90-100% protein recovery. The efficiency of protein-bound SDS removal is very likely due to the combined effect of phosphate ions and the hydrophobic tail of nonionic detergent: acting together, they are able to displace SDS molecules from their protein-binding sites. The advantages of this HAP-mediated SDS removal method include high efficiency, rapidity, simplicity and general applicability to a wide variety of detergents and soluble or membrane proteins. Of utmost importance, SDS-treated P-glycoprotein, glutamate dehydrogenase, and lysozyme fully recovered their enzymatic activities after HAP chromatography, including lysozyme electroeluted from SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This demonstrates that reactivation of SDS-treated protein can be achieved, provided that SDS is completely removed under mild conditions.

Efficient purification and reconstitution of P-glycoprotein for functional and structural studies

Plasma membrane P-glycoprotein is known as an ATP-dependent drug efflux pump that confers multidrug resistance to tumor cells. None of the reported purification procedures worked properly for our P-glycoprotein-overproducing cell lines, i.e. murine lymphoid leukemia P388/ADR25, rat hepatoma AS30-D/COL10, and human lymphoblastic leukemia CEM/VLB5 cells. We have thus developed a general procedure for efficient purification of P-glycoprotein by combining solubilization with sodium dodecyl sulfate and chromatography on ceramic hydroxyapatite. This procedure was successful for the three cell lines and yielded 70% of the P-glycoprotein present in the starting plasma membranes with more than 99% purity. After exchanging sodium dodecyl sulfate into dodecyl maltoside and reconstitution into liposomes, purified P-glycoprotein exhibited a specific ATPase activity of about 200 nmol/min/mg, which was very similar to that obtained for P-glycoprotein solubilized and purified with 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid. This ATPase activity was sensitive to orthovanadate inhibition and stimulated by verapamil and other drugs. More importantly, drug transport properties of the reconstituted P-glycoprotein were comparable with those of P-glycoprotein embedded in plasma membranes. Since it is virtually devoid of lipids, this preparation is suitable for both functional and structural investigations.

Clinical research on acute hemoptysis treated with kexue ning

The efficacy of Kexue Ning (stopping hemoptysis) in the treatment of acute hemoptysis, and its comparison with that of the control group (treated with western medicine) are reported in this paper. The results showed that both the time for cessation of hemoptysis and the cure rate were better in the therapeutic group than in the control group. In addition, marked improvement in blood rheology after treatment was also found in the therapeutic group, but not in the control group.

Effect of experimental nephrosis on hepatic lipoprotein secretion and urinary lipoprotein excretion in rats expressing the human apolipoprotein A-I gene

When human apolipoprotein A-I was expressed in transgenic rats, induction of the nephrotic syndrome resulted in plasma A-I levels exceeding 10 mg/ml. Plasma lipids were no higher than in non-transgenic nephrotic rats. To explain this, the livers from four groups of rats were perfused: wild-type controls (WC), high expressor human apoA-I transgenic controls (TrGC), wild-type nephrotics (WN), and high expressor transgenic nephrotics (TrGN). Compared to the WC group, TrGC rats secreted the same amount of d < 1.063 g/ml lipoproteins but 50% more high density lipoprotein (HDL), with a 5-fold increase in total apoA-I output due to human apoA-I. Compared to the WC group, nephrosis in the WN rats caused a 2-fold increase in both d < 1.063 g/ml lipoproteins and HDL secretion with a 4.6-fold increase in rat apoA-I output. Compared to the TrGC group, nephrosis in the TrGN rats did not increase d < 1.063 g/ml lipoprotein secretion, but caused a 50% increase in HDL secretion and a 6-fold increase in human apoA-I output. The hepatic levels of mRNA for apoB and for HMG-CoA reductase, as well as the degree of apoB mRNA editing, were unchanged. Examination of the perfusate HDL by electron microscopy revealed spherical particles averaging 30 nm in diameter in the WC and WN rats and 17 and 20 nm in the TrGC and TrGN rats. Urinary HDL particles from the TrGN rats did not contain rat apoA-I and averaged 8.2 nm versus 11 nm in the WN rats. We conclude that the size of the nascent HDL, and subsequently of the mature HDL, is determined by the primary structure of apoA-I. In the TrGN rats, the heterogeneous mature HDL has a population of smaller human HDL which is more readily lost in the urine, accounting for the failure of plasma HDL levels to rise above those in TrGC rats. The fact that plasma triglyceride levels in TrGN rats were also not increased may relate to the failure of hepatic apoB secretion to increase, which in turn may have been due to saturation of the protein synthetic capacity by human apoA-I production.

Effects of compound injection of Pyrola rotundifolia L and Astragalus membranaceus Bge on experimental guinea pigs' gentamicin ototoxicity

In attempting to find drugs effective in preventing and remedying ototoxic injury caused by aminoglycoside antibiotics, we relied on the theory that the induction of ototoxic injury by aminoglycoside antibiotics is related to a decrease of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and RNA content in the cochlea or a dysfunction of the kidney. We selected Pyrola rotundifolia L and Astragalus membranaceus Bge from traditional Chinese herbal medicine, made a compound injection of them, and observed the effect on the pattern of gentamicin ototoxicity in guinea pigs. By electrocochleography and morphology by scanning electron microscopy, the experimental results indicated that the Chinese herbal compound possessed the definite effect of protecting the guinea pig cochlea. The determination of blood urea nitrogen, urinary N-acetyl-D-aminoglucosidase, and urinary protein and observation of renal morphology showed that it also protected the kidney against nephrotoxic nephritis of gentamicin. The conjecture that protection of the kidney by the Chinese herbs may be one of the important factors in preventing ototoxicity supports some explanations of ototoxic mechanisms induced by aminoglycoside antibiotics.

[Hair cell damage and regeneration in the quail cochlea following kanamycin ototoxicity]

Forty-day old quails were given kanamycin (KM) at a dose of 400mg/kg per day for ten days. Evoked potential thresholds induced by both click and tone burst were obtained at 1 day or 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 weeks respectively after the last injection, and compared with the thresholds of age-matched control animals. The cochlea of the animals was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the application of KM for 10 days produced massive destruction of the basilar papilla at 1 day posttreatment. The damaged region began at the base and extended apically to the position about 50-70% of the total distance along the papilla, with most severe damage in the basal end. The auditory thresholds measured at the same time revealed a significant elevation at 2 and 4 kHz. However, the number of hair cells in the damaged region recovered rapidly with time, and so did the function. By the end of 3 weeks postinjection, almost all the hair cells reappeared in the pathologic region and the function improved further, with nearly normal thresholds at all frequencies but 4kHz. Six weeks after KM treatment, the basilar papilla showed a nearly normal appearance, but there was no further functional improvement at 4kHz, with the threshold shift by 17.5 dB (P < 0.01). The results of the present study demonstrated that structural recovery was faster than functional one.

Origin in tobacco smoke of N'-nitrosonornicotine, a tobacco-specific carcinogen

To evaluate risk factors and to approach methods of reduction of the carcinogenic potential of cigarette smoke, the transfer rate of N-nitrosonornicotine in a popular U.S. blended cigarette into mainstream smoke was quantitatively determined. The mean transfer rate was 11.3%; thus approximately 46% of the tobacco-specific carcinogen in the smoke came from the tobacco, and the remainder was synthesized during smoking.

Separation of aza-arenes by high-pressure liquid chromatography

Fast, efficient liquid chromatographic separations of aza-arenes were obtained using both, reversed-phase, and adsorbent packings. Aza-arenes with 2-5 rings are separated within 20 minutes. Sample recovery is quantitative and permits subsequent uv and fluorescence spectrophotometric identifications. The detection limit for most aza-arenes was 1 ng with a 254-nm uv detector. An application to an air pollution problem demonstrates the usefulness of this approach.