Grade 4 spondylolisthesis of the L5 vertebra associated with dural ectasia in neurofibromatosis

Spondylolisthesis associated with neurofibromatosis is rare, and only 12 cases have been reported so far. However, only one report of grade 4 spondylolisthesis with neurofibromatosis has been reported in the literature. A 15-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis was admitted for back pain and neurological claudication. Radiograph showed grade 4 spondylolisthesis of the L5 vertebra with scalloping of the L4-L5 vertebrae. L4-L5 laminectomy, reduction, L3-S1 posterior instrumentation and fusion were performed. The reduction of the spondylisthesis was done entirely from the posterior approach using pedicle screws. Radiography at four months showed a broken S1 screw with a loss of reduction. The patient was re-operated on, to provide additional stability with pelvic fixation. He was pain-free with a good fusion at the two-year follow-up. Adequate posterior stabilisation with fusion gives good results in grade 4 spondylolisthesis associated with neurofibromatosis and dural ectasia.

Teratogen risk counselling by internet: A prospective cohort study

Although the internet may play a role in providing proper teratogen-risk counselling for pregnant women, the experience with this type of service has not been reported. We aimed to compare the pregnancy outcome of women counselled by the internet to women that received typically in-clinic teratogen risk counselling in the clinic. In a prospective cohort design, 1,011 patients were counselled in the clinic and 235 patients were counselled via the internet. Teratogen risk counselling was provided according with the information obtained from medical literature and specialised software. Information about pregnancy outcome (delivery, spontaneous abortion, or termination of pregnancy and major malformations) was obtained from 903 (89.3%) patients from the clinic group and 141 (60%) from the internet group. The amount of alcohol, cigarettes smoked, and millirads of X-ray were greater ( p < 0.05) in patients counselled by internet than in clinic. The rate of deliveries, ongoing pregnancies, pregnancy terminations, and spontaneous abortions were similar between clinic and internet (chi2 = 1.32; p = 0.7). Of 498 babies born to mothers counselled in the clinic, major malformations were identified in 3.6%. Of 67 babies born to mothers counselled by internet, major malformations were present in 1.5% ( p = 0.6). Teratogen-risk counselling by internet and clinic seems to have a similar efficacy in pregnancy outcome.

[Adsorption-desorption and competitive adsorption of arsenic and phosphorus in purple soil]

A batch incubation test was conducted to study the characteristics of arsenic (As) and phosphorous (P) adsorption-desorption as well as the effects of the competitive adsorption of the two elements on their translocation and activation in three kinds of purple soil, the typical soil in Three Gorges Area. In the test acid, neutral, and calcareous purple soils, As and P adsorption-desorption had the similar characteristics, with their isothermal adsorption conformed to Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The maximum adsorption of As in the acid, neutral, and calcareous purple soils was 1428.6, 1250.0, and 1111.1 mg x kg(-1), and that of P was 322.6, 357.1, and 434.8 mg x kg(-1), respectively. The adsorption of As and P was fast at the beginning and slowed down then. The kinetics corresponding to the fast process was of first order, and that to the slow process was of Elovich type. The mechanism for the fast process might be exchange adsorption, and that for the slow process might be specific adsorption. When the As and P coexisted, the adsorption rate and quantity of P increased while those of As decreased, implying that the existence of As could promote the adsorption of P in purple soil, while the existence of P would restrain the adsorption of As.

Prenatal multivitamins containing folic acid do not decrease prevalence of depression among pregnant women

Several studies have reported an association between depression and folic acid deficiency. We investigated whether intake of prenatal multivitamins containing folic acid (MVandFA) was associated with decreased rates of depression among pregnant women. A questionnaire was given to 1,314 low-risk pregnant women. Of them, 1,277 (97.2%) women completed the questionnaire. The overall prevalence of depression was 8.1%. Of 652 participants who did not take MVandFA, 9.4% had depression, whereas 6.9% of 624 women who had MVandFA had depression (p = 0.11). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, family history of depression (adjusted OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.9-7.3) and premenstrual syndrome (adjusted OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8-4.8) were identified as risk factors for depression during pregnancy. In conclusion, intake of MVandFA was not associated with lower rates of depression during pregnancy whereas family history of depression and personal history of premenstrual syndrome were significant risk factors.

Pregnancy outcome after exposure to oral contraceptives during the periconceptional period

To evaluate whether periconceptional exposure to oral contraceptives (OCs) increased adverse pregnancy outcomes, 136 pregnant women taking OCs within the periconceptional period were identified at the Korean Motherisk Program. Of them, 120 pregnant women accepted to participate in their study and were followed up until completion of the pregnancy. A control group of 240 age- and gravidity-matched pregnant women exposed to non-teratogen drugs for at least 1 month before pregnancy was also included. The median gestational age at delivery was 39.1 (27.0-41.0) weeks in the exposed group and 39.3 (27.4-42.0) weeks in the control group (P = 0.19). In the exposed group, 7.1% of babies were born with low birth weight versus 2.6% in the control group (P = 0.068). The number of preterm deliveries or babies born large for gestational age did not differ between the two groups. In the exposed group, the rate of birth defects was 3.2% (n = 3/99) versus 3.6% (n = 7/193) in the control group (P = 1.0). There were 15 women who took high doses of progesterone (emergency contraception) and no adverse fetal outcomes were observed. In conclusion, periconceptional exposure to OCs does not appear to increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Controllable dimension of ZnO nanowalls on GaN/c-Al2O3 substrate by vapor phase epitaxy method

Vertically well-aligned ZnO nanowalls were successfully synthesized at 950-1050 degrees C. Ar gas was introduced into the furnace at a flow rate of 2000-2500 sccm. An Au thin film with a thickness of 3 nm was used as a catalyst. The ZnO nanowalls were successfully grown on the substrate and most of them had nearly the same thickness and were oriented perpendicular to the substrate. The morphology and chemical composition of the ZnO nanowalls were examined as a function of the growth conditions examined. It was found that the grown ZnO nanowalls have a single-crystalline hexagonal structure and preferred c-axis growth orientation based on the X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscope measurements. The room temperature photoluminescence showed a strong free-exciton emission band with negligible deep level emission, indicating the high optical property of our ZnO nanowall samples.

(S)-1-[(S)-4-Benzyl-2-thioxothia-zolidin-3-yl]-3-hydroxy-butan-1-one

The title compound, C₁₄H₁₇NO₂S₂, was synthesized by asymmetric aldol condensation of N-acyl­thia­zolidinethione with acetaldehyde. In the mol­ecule, the thia­zolidine five-membered ring assumes an envelope conformation. Inter­molecular C—H⋯O and intra­molecular O—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonding helps to stabilize the structure.

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in carbon-doped ZnO

We report ferromagnetism in carbon-doped ZnO. Our first-principles calculations based on density functional theory predicted a magnetic moment of 2.02 mu(B) per carbon when carbon substitutes oxygen in ZnO, and an ferromagnetic coupling among magnetic moments of the carbon dopants. The theoretical prediction was confirmed experimentally. C-doped ZnO films deposited by pulsed-laser deposition showed ferromagnetism with Curie temperatures higher than 400 K. The measured magnetic moment based on the content of carbide in the films [(1.5-3.0) mu(B) per carbon] was in agreement with the theoretical prediction. The magnetism is due to the Zn-C system in the ZnO environment.

Evaluation of ER and Ki-67 proliferation index as prognostic factors for survival following neoadjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin/docetaxel for locally advanced breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to identify reliable predictive biological markers for treatment outcome following neoadjuvant adriamycin/docetaxel (AT) chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was a phase II study on AT neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer patients. Patients received 50 mg/m(2) of doxorubicin intravenously (IV) over 15 min followed by docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) infused over 1 h, repeated every 3 weeks for three cycles. Surgery was performed within 3-4 weeks following the last cycle of chemotherapy. We analyzed the pre-treatment and post-treatment expression levels of ER, PgR, HER-2, Ki-67 proliferation index, and p53 and examined the correlation between the markers and clinical parameters with treatment response, overall survival and relapse-free survival following neoadjuvant treatment.

RESULTS

From July 2001 to September 2004, 61 patients were enrolled. The meaningful parameters adversely influencing survival were post-treatment ER(-) status (P = 0.013) and post-treatment Ki-67 index above 1.0% (P = 0.013). At the multivariate level, the post-treatment Ki-67 proliferation index < or = 1.0 was the only meaningful prognostic factor for better survival (P = 0.033). Notably, tumors with Ki-67 index < or = 1.0 were more likely to express ER with statistical significance (P = 0.002). Tumors with ER(+) and Ki-67 index < or = 1.0 showed the highest survival rate, followed by ER(+) and Ki-67 index > 1.0%, ER(-) and Ki-67 < or = 1.0%, and ER(-) and Ki-67 > 1.0% with the worst survival (P = 0.033).

CONCLUSION

Collectively, post-treatment ER status and Ki-67 proliferation index were prognostic of overall survival following neoadjuvant AT chemotherapy.

Effects of adrenalectomy on the excitability of neurosecretory parvocellular neurones in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus

Glucocorticoids are well known to inhibit the release of hypophysiotrophic hormones from neurones originating in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), but the cellular mechanisms of the inhibition are not well understood. Here, we examined the effects of adrenalectomy (ADX) on the spontaneous firing activity in the neurosecretory parvocellular PVN neurones of rat brain slices. The neurones were identified by injecting a retrograde dye into the pituitary stalk and classified according to their electrophysiological properties. The intranuclear distribution, electrophysiological properties, and hypophysiotrophic hormone phenotype of the labelled type II PVN neurones were similar to neurosecretory parvocellular PVN neurones. In the neurones of sham-operated rats under the cell-attached recording mode, we observed three spontaneous activity patterns: tonic regular (24%), tonic irregular (36%), and silent (40%). Noradrenaline (100 microM) induced an excitatory or an inhibitory effect on the spontaneous activity. Noradrenergic excitation was blocked by prazosin (2 microM, alpha(1)-adrenoceptor antagonist), and mimicked by phenylephrine (100 microM, alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonist), whereas noradrenergic inhibition was blocked by yohimbine (2 microM, alpha(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist) and mimicked by clonidine (50 microM, alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist). In the neurones of ADX rats, we found burst firing in 35% of neurones tested and an increase in the frequency of spontaneous firing. The burst firing was not observed in the neurones of the sham-operated rats. ADX caused a 1.7-fold increase in the proportion of neurones showing the noradrenergic excitation. Supplementation of the ADX rats with corticosterone (10 mg pellet) reversed the ADX-induced burst firing, and the potentiation of noradrenergic excitation. In summary, our results show that removal of corticosterone by ADX can elevate the neuronal excitability by increasing the spontaneous firing rate and by potentiating the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor-mediated noradrenergic excitation, and it can facilitate hormone release by inducing burst firing. Our results provide new insight to the cellular mechanisms of the feedback inhibition by glucocorticoids in the neurosecretory parvocellular neurones of the PVN.

Waste polyvinylchloride derived pitch as a precursor to develop carbon fibers and activated carbon fibers

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) was successfully recycled through the solvent extraction from waste pipe with an extraction yield of ca. 86%. The extracted PVC was pyrolyzed by a two-stage process (260 and 410 degrees C) to obtain free-chlorine PVC based pitch through an effective removal of chlorine from PVC during the heat-treatment. As-prepared pitch (softening point: 220 degrees C) was spun, stabilized, carbonized into carbon fibers (CFs), and further activated into activated carbon fibers (ACFs) in a flow of CO2. As-prepared CFs show comparable mechanical properties to commercial CFs, whose maximum tensile strength and modulus are 862 MPa and 62 GPa, respectively. The resultant ACFs exhibit a high surface area of 1200 m2/g, narrow pore size distribution and a low oxygen content of 3%. The study provides an effective insight to recycle PVC from waste PVC and develop a carbon precursor for high performance carbon materials such as CFs and ACFs.

Protective role of 3-nitro-N-methyl-salicylamide on isolated rat heart during 4 hours of cold storage and reperfusion

OBJECTIVE

Cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, a necessary consequence of transplantation, is probably related to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The ROS burst within the first moments of reperfusion is associated with injury, continuously generate O2- at about 3% to 5% of total O2 consumption owing to electron leak by mitochondrial oxidoreductases, especially complexes I and III. 3-nitro-N-methyl-salicylamide (NNMS) displays inhibitory effects on succinate-cytochrome C reductase, but also reduces effects on creation of O2- radical and H2O2 by isolated rat mitochondria. Presumably NNMS inhibits electron leakage from the mitochondrial respiratory chain. We investigated effect of NNMS on heart protection after hypothermic ischemia.

METHODS

A Langendorff-prepared rat heart model was employed after the heart had been preserved for 4 hours under hypothermic conditions of ischemia with subsequent reperfusion/rewarming for 60 minutes.

RESULTS

The group of hearts treated with NNMS showed increased recovery of heart function compared with a group of mEC. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in coronary flow (CF) by hearts treated with NNMS was lower than that with mECs, as was the content of malonedialdehyde (MDA) and conjugated diene (CD).

CONCLUSIONS

NNMS improved heart physiology after reperfusion following 4 hours of hypothermic ischemia.

The influence of aquaporin-1 and microvessel density on ovarian carcinogenesis and ascites formation

This study aimed at investigating aquaporin-1 (AQP1) distribution and expression in primary ovarian epithelial tumors, correlating with clinicopathologic variables and intratumoral microvessel density (IMD). The AQP1 expression and IMD in 105 cases with primary epithelial ovarian tumors were measured by semiquantitative immunohistochemical technique. AQP1 was located mainly in microvessels and small vessels but seldom in tumor cells. Expression of AQP1 and IMD in ovarian malignant tumors was significantly higher than that in borderline tumors (P= 0.000, P= 0.001, respectively), and that in borderline tumors was higher than in benign tumors (P= 0.008, P= 0.028, respectively). The expression of AQP1 in FIGO stage III-IV was more than that in stage I-II (P= 0.001), and cases with ascites volume greater than 1000 mL were more than cases with ascites volume less than 1000 mL (P= 0.000). There is a positively correlated relationship between expression of AQP1 and IMD (correlation coefficient 0.60, P= 0.000) and between expression of AQP1 and ascites volume (correlation coefficient 0.57, P= 0.000). These data implicate that high AQP1 expression may play an important role in the ovarian carcinogenesis, progression, and ascites formation. Further studies into the mechanism of AQP1 regulation and the relationship between AQP1 expression and tumor angiogenesis may lead to novel therapies for ovarian carcinoma.

Ionically crosslinked alginate/carboxymethyl chitin beads for oral delivery of protein drugs

Complex beads composed of alginate and carboxymethyl chitin (CMCT) were prepared by dropping aqueous alginate-CMCT into an iron(III) solution. The structure and morphology of the beads were characterized by IR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). IR confirmed electrostatic interactions between iron(III) and the carboxyl groups of alginate as well as CMCT, and the binding model was suggested as a three-dimensional structure. SEM revealed that CMCT had a porous morphology while alginate and their complex beads had a core-layer structure. The swelling behavior, encapsulation efficiency, and release behavior of bovine serum albumin (BSA) from the beads at different pHs were investigated. The BSA encapsulation efficiency was fairly high (>90%). It was found that CMCT disintegrated at pH 1.2 and alginate eroded at pH 7.4 while the complex beads could effectively retain BSA in acid (>85%) and reduce the BSA release at pH 7.4. The results suggested that the iron(III)-alginate-CMCT bead could be a suitable polymeric carrier for site-specific protein drug delivery in the intestine.

Direct Evidence of Oxidized Gold on Supported Gold Catalysts

Supported gold catalysts have drawn worldwide interest due to the novel properties and potential applications in industries. However, the origin of the catalytic activity in gold nanoparticles is still not well understood. In this study, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS) has been applied to investigate the nature of gold in Au (1.3 wt %)/gamma-Al2O3 and Au (2.8 wt %)/TiO2 catalysts prepared by the deposition-precipitation method. The SIMS spectrum of the supported gold catalysts presented AuO-, AuO2-, and AuOH- ion clusters. These measurements show direct evidence for oxidized gold on supported gold catalysts and may be helpful to gaining better understanding of the origin of the catalytic activity.

Differential effects of allyl sulfides from garlic essential oil on cell cycle regulation in human liver tumor cells

In this study, diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS) and diallyl trisulfide (DATS), which are major organosulfur compounds (OSCs) of garlic, were used as experimental materials to investigate their modulation effects on cell viability and cell cycle in human liver tumor cells (J5). According to the results of cell viability assay, 50 or 100 microM DATS significantly decreased the cell viability as compared with the control (P < 0.05) in dose and time dependent relations. Phenomena of cell number loss, shape deformation and lysis were observed after treatment with 100 microM DATS for 24 h. Cell cycle studies showed that J5 cells were significantly arrested in G2/M phase as the cells were treated with 100 microM DADS, 10, 50 or 100 microM DATS for 24 h (P < 0.05). DATS was more effective in arresting cells in G2/M phase than DADS, and the phenomena of arresting J5 cells in G2/M phase increased obviously in dose and time dependent relations. According to the Western blot analysis, DATS decreased cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdks)-Cdk7 (i.e. Cdc2 activate kinase) protein levels in J5 cells but increased cyclin B1 protein level. The modulation potency to cyclin B1 and Cdk7 expressions was in the order of DATS > DADS > DAS. The modulation potency to cyclin B1 and Cdk7 protein levels increased with increasing in DATS concentration and culture time. In conclusion, DATS might affect cell viability and cell morphological changes in J5 cells and lead cells to be arrested in G2/M phase via controlling the expression of cyclin B1 and Cdk7 in J5 cells, and the controlling action might relate to the sulfuric atom numbers in the structures of all these allyl sulfides.

Chemosensitization of breast carcinoma cells with the use of bcl-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide

This study was designed to observe whether the rates of apoptosis induced in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) could be enhanced by transfecting bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide (ASODN). In our experiment, bcl-2 ASODNs and control ODNs including untreated control, sense ODN and scrambled ODN, were transfected into MCF-7 cells. Changes in expression of the bcl-2 gene were examined by Western blot; cell growths were detected by MTT assay, and apoptosis rates were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). Expression of bcl-2 protein after transfection of bcl-2 ASODN was significantly lower than control ODNs. Moreover, incubation of MCF-7 with bcl-2 ASODN prior to 5-FU treatment caused remarkable loss of viable cells compared with all other control ODNs (P < 0.01). FCM showed the apoptosis rates for ASODN, untreated control, sense ODN and scrambled ODN (29.8 +/- 7.4)%, (8.0 +/- 2.3)%, (15.0 +/- 5.1)% and (16.5 +/- 7.1)%, respectively. Compared with control ODNs, ASODN achieved the strongest effect in terms of enhancing apoptosis (P < 0.01). These results suggest that combining bcl-2 ASODN with 5-FU led to synergistic cytotoxicity.