Spatial and temporal analysis of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in China, 2013

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A treatment for large defects of the tibia caused by infected nonunion: Ilizarov method with bone segment extension

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the efficacy of the Ilizarov technique with bone segment extension in tibial infected nonunion.

METHODS

From September 2003 to June 2011, we treated 30 patients (21 males, 9 females; age 19-49 years, mean 34.1 years) for tibial infected nonunion with bone defects. Eleven cases were compound fractures internally fixed with steel plates, nine were compound fractures internally fixed with IM Nails, eight were compound fractures externally fixed with external fixation devices, and two were closed fractures internally fixed with steel plates. All 30 patients underwent debridement followed by the Ilizarov technique using bone segment extension.

RESULTS

After follow-up of 12 months-6 years (mean 29 months), stable union of fracture was achieved in all 30 patients. The time from bone fracture to union was 6-24 months, mean 8.8 months; external fixation was in place for 8-14 months, mean 10 months. External fixation index was 41 days/cm. Complications were three cases of pin site infection, one skin allergy, two fractures malunion, one early mineralization and one wire breakage. There were no cases of deep infection, nonunion or stiffness of the knee joint. According to the Paley fracture healing score criteria, 30 cases had excellent outcomes and two were good.

CONCLUSIONS

The Ilizarov technique with bone segment extension is effective in treating tibial infected nonunion with large bone defects.

Expressions of Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase and its clinical significance in laryngeal carcinoma

We investigated the expression of Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase (SHP-2) in laryngeal carcinoma and its clinical significance. Expression of SHP-2 was detected by immunohistochemical staining in normal mucosal tissues and various grades of laryngeal carcinoma. We looked for possible correlations between expression of SHP-2 in laryngeal carcinoma and clinical staging and lymph node metastasis. Immunochemical staining results revealed that the SHP-2 expression was significantly higher (88.24%) in laryngeal carcinoma than in normal mucosal tissue (25%). Additionally, the expression of SHP-2 was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, but not with clinical stage and gender of patients with laryngeal carcinoma. Therefore, SHP-2 may be useful as a prognostic marker for laryngeal carcinoma and as a therapeutic target in laryngeal carcinoma treatment.

Decreased functional connectivity between the amygdala and the left ventral prefrontal cortex in treatment-naive patients with major depressive disorder: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BACKGROUND

Convergent studies provide support for abnormalities in the structure and functioning of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, the key components of the neural system that subserves emotional processing in major depressive disorder (MDD). We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine potential amygdala-PFC functional connectivity abnormalities in treatment-naive subjects with MDD.

METHODS

Resting-state fMRI data were acquired from 28 individuals with MDD and 30 healthy control (HC) subjects. Amygdala-PFC functional connectivity was compared between the MDD and HC groups.

RESULTS

Decreased functional connectivity to the left ventral PFC (VPFC) from the left and right amygdala was observed in the MDD group, compared with the HC group (p < 0.05, corrected).

CONCLUSIONS

The treatment-naive subjects with MDD showed decreased functional connectivity from the amygdala to the VPFC, especially to the left VPFC. This suggests that these connections may play an important role in the neuropathophysiology of MDD at its onset.

Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells promote hematopoietic reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

OBJECTIVE

A hematopoietic deficit is a serious complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It has been shown that fetal blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) can promote hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation. This study investigated whether EPCs from bone marrow (BM) of adult mice could promote hematopoietic reconstitution.

METHODS

Lethally irradiated BALB/c mice were administered BM cells or BM cells plus EPCs.

RESULTS

The results showed that EPC-treated mice displayed accelerated recovery of peripheral blood white blood cells and reticulocytes. But the platelets were not significantly different with versus without EPCs. Accelerated recovery of BM sinusoidal vessels, promotion of stem cell implantation, and decreased adipocyte formation were associated with the mechanism. Systemic administration of anti-vascular endothelial cadherin antibody neutralized these effects significantly.

CONCLUSION

These data showed that BM-derived EPC infusions augmented hematopoiesis suggesting a new approach to promote hematopoiesis.

Case-control study of risk factors for human infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus in Jiangsu Province, China, 2013

We describe a case-control study performed in Jiangsu, China, to evaluate risk factors for human infection with novel avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. Twenty-five cases and 93 controls matched by age, sex, and location were included in the study. Direct contact with poultry or birds in the two weeks before illness onset, chronic medical conditions (hypertension excluded), and environment-related exposures were significantly associated with A(H7N9) infection.

The Rheological and Mechanical Properties of PVC-Lignin Blends

The rheological and mechanical properties of PVC-lignin blends were studied, and their alterations were investigated after lignin was treated with poly(ethyl acrylate-co-maleic anhydride). The addition of lignin changes the early rheological properties of the blend comparing with PVC control because the rigidity of lignin particles leads to more intensive shearing in the system, but has little effect on its rheology during the equilibrium period. The processing stability slightly decreases with the increase of lignin content in the blend. The mechanical properties of the blends are worse than that of PVC control. The rheological properties of the blends are little influenced after lignin is treated with polyacrylate, but the mechanical properties, especially toughness, are improved, and the maximum impact strength is 37.7% higher than that of PVC control.

The rhPTH treatment elevates plasma secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine levels in patients with osteoporosis

The secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), also known as osteonectin, plays an important role in osteoblast formation, maturation, and survival. Here, we report the effects of recombinant human parathyroid hormone (1-34) [rhPTH (1-34)], a bone formation-stimulating agent, and elcatonin on plasma SPARC levels in patients with osteoporosis. The rhPTH (1-34) treatment significantly increased plasma SPARC levels, and the change of plasma SPARC correlated positively with changes of lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) at L2-L4. These results unveil that SPARC may be a novel marker related to the regulation of bone formation.

INTRODUCTION

rhPTH (1-34) is known to influence osteoclast maturation and activity through modulation of osteoblast-derived cytokines. SPARC is the most abundant noncollagenous extracellular matrix protein in the bone. So far, however, no study has reported the effects of rhPTH (1-34) administration on plasma SPARC levels in patients with osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to compare the response of SPARC and BMD to rhPTH (1-34) and elcatonin in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

METHODS

Women were randomized to either once-daily subcutaneous injection of rhPTH (1-34) (20 μg, N = 89) or once-weekly intramuscular injection of elcatonin (200 U, N = 35) for 12 months. Plasma biochemical markers of bone turnover and BMD were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months after treatment.

RESULTS

At baseline, plasma SPARC levels correlated positively with lumbar spine BMD in all patients (r = 0.45, p = 0.001). Compared with baseline, at 12 months, rhPTH (1-34) significantly increased lumbar spine BMD and plasma SPARC levels (p = 0.008 and p = 0.001, respectively), whereas elcatonin was ineffective. More importantly, the changes of plasma SPARC correlated positively with changes of lumbar BMD at L2-L4 (r = 0.47, p = 0.001) in the rhPTH (1-34)-treated group, but not in the elcatonin group.

CONCLUSION

The increase in plasma SPARC levels during the rhPTH (1-34) treatment may have contributed to the anabolic effect on bone formation, and SPARC may be a novel marker related to the regulation of bone formation.

Biofilm regeneration on carriers in MBBR used for vitamin C wastewater treatment

Methods were investigated for biofilm regeneration on carriers in a moving bed biofilm reactor used for vitamin C production wastewater treatment. Three ordinary chemical cleaning agents (hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, and sodium hypochlorite) and physical drying were chosen for evaluation as methods for biofilm detachment. The results showed that these methods all had some degree of biofilm removal effectiveness. Treatment with 3% hydrochloric acid (w/w) achieved the maximum degree of biofilm detachment, at 75.2%. Biofilm biomass re-formed on carriers, from the maximum degree of biofilm detachment, quickly by an increase of 76.17 g m(-2) month(-1). It was concluded that treatment with 3% acid was the best choice for biofilm removal and regeneration.

Performance of a modified rabbit model of abdominal aortic aneurysm induced by topical application of porcine elastase: 5-month follow-up study

OBJECTIVES

To modify the method for creating an abdominal aortic aneurysm in rabbits, and to study its performance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 24 New Zealand white rabbits were induced topically with 10 μl of porcine elastase (0, 0.1, 5 and 10 units μl(-1)) to define the optimal concentration (groups A-D). Twelve aneurysms were induced with 10 units μl(-1) of 10 μl elastase to serve as a follow-up group (group E) to serve as a follow-up. A 1.5-cm aortic segment was isolated and induced with elastase solution for 30 min.

RESULTS

All animals in groups D and E developed AAA by day 5. Aneurysms in Group E were stable over 100 days. Partial destruction to disappearance of elastic lamellae and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was seen in elastase-treated animals by day 5. Regenerated elastin and proliferated SMCs were present in group E. Matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 and RAM11 showed strong expression in group D, but expression decreased in group E after day 15.

CONCLUSIONS

The rabbit AAA model induced via topical application of porcine elastase at 10 units μl(-1) for 30 min appears easy and simple, with shorter induction and more rapid aortic dilation. The model is stable over 100 days and is useful to study the formation and progress of AAAs.

Comparison of double contrast-enhanced ultrasound and MDCT for assessing vascular involvement of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: preliminary results correlated with surgical findings

PURPOSE

To investigate the accuracy of double contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCEUS) for assessing vascular involvement by pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

38 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma proven by postoperative pathology or biopsy were enrolled in this study. DCEUS (intravenous microbubbles combined with an oral contrast agent) and 16-row multi-detector CT (MDCT) were performed preoperatively to assess vascular invasion by pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The diagnostic accuracy of DCEUS and MDCT for assessing vascular involvement was calculated and compared. ROC curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic confidences of the two methods. The inter- and intra-observer reliability of DCEUS for assessing vascular invasion was investigated in the present study.

RESULTS

Almost perfect agreement between DCEUS and MDCT was obtained using Kappa analysis (k = 0.83, p = 0.000). Compared with surgical findings, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of peripancreatic vascular invasion were 66.67 %, 100 %, 100 %, 60 %, and 77.78 %, respectively, for DCEUS and 75 %, 100 %, 100 %, 66.67 %, and 83.33 %, respectively, for MDCT. There was no significant difference in accuracy between DCEUS and MDCT for evaluating peripancreatic vascular invasion (p = 0.108). The combination of DCEUS and MDCT increased the diagnostic confidence in assessing peripancreatic vascular invasion with an area under ROC curve from 0.83 for DCEUS (p = 0.025) and 0.88 for MDCT (p = 0.011) to 0.92 for both combined (p = 0.005). The intra- and inter-observer reproducibility were both almost perfect for assessing the peripancreatic vascular invasion by DCEUS with a Kappa value of 0.94 (p = 0.000) for intra-observer and 0.83 (p = 0.000) for inter-observer.

CONCLUSION

DCEUS could be considered as a reliable and accurate method for evaluating the peripancreatic vascular invasion of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Correlation between catalytic activity and secondary structure of subtilisin dissolved in organic solvents

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to quantify the alpha-helix and beta-sheet contents of subtilisin Carlsberg dissolved in several nonaqueous, as well as aqueous, solvents. Independently, the catalytic activity of the enzyme has been measured in the same solvents. While our previous FTIR studies revealed no connection between the secondary structure and enzymatic activity for subtilisin suspended in various organic solvents, a very different situation is observed herein for the dissolved enzyme. Specifically, if either the alpha-helix or beta-sheet content in a given solvent is higher or lower than in water, no appreciable enzymatic catalysis is observed. Conversely, when the secondary structure of subtilisin dissolved in a given nonaqueous solvent is similar to that in water, so is the enzymatic activity. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 485-491, 1997.

Elevated serum antibodies against insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 allow detecting early-stage cancers: evidences from glioma and colorectal carcinoma studies

BACKGROUND

Tumor-specific immunity of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) has been reported in several cancers. We aimed to assess the role of serum IGFBP-2 antibodies (IGFBP-2 Abs) in early cancer detection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Glioma and colorectal carcinoma (CRC) were used as models. Serum IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-2 Abs were measured in 260 tumor patients (145 gliomas, 45 colorectal polyps, and 70 CRCs) and 141 controls. Receiver operating characteristic curves were applied.

RESULTS

Serum IGFBP-2 Ab levels were significantly elevated in tumors (mean: 82 ng/ml, median: 17 ng/ml, range: 0-1387 ng/ml) compared with controls (11, 0, 0-212 ng/ml) (P < 0.0001) and higher in early than advanced cancers opposite of serum IGFBP-2 levels. IGFBP-2 Abs effectively discriminated between controls and grade II and III gliomas [area under the curve (AUC): 0.821-0.864; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.762-0.936; P < 0.0001], and CRC I-II (AUC: 0.668; 95% CI = 0.566-0.770; P = 0.002) as well as indicative of advanced polyps at high risk of CRC (AUC: 0.72; 95% CI = 0.630-0.811; P < 0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing grade II-III gliomas reached 66%-84% and 81%. Combined serum IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-2 Abs augmented the discriminative power of all stage tumors (AUC: 0.823), gliomas (AUC: 0.800), and CRCs (AUC = 0.917).

CONCLUSION

Our results first demonstrate IGFBP-2 Abs for early cancer detection and in combination of serum IGFBP-2 for improved cancer diagnosis.

Indium-rich InGaN epitaxial layers grown pseudomorphically on a nano-sculpted InGaN template

Indium-rich InGaN epitaxial layers with a p-i-n structure were grown pseudomorphically on a strain-relaxed InGaN template to reduce structural strain induced by lattice mismatch. We applied a nano-sculpting process to improve the crystal quality of the strain-relaxed InGaN template. The results show that the nano-sculpting process can suppress effectively the threading dislocation generation and improves significantly the I-V characteristic of the InGaN p-i-n structure. This InGaN template technique with nano-sculpting process shows great potential for future applications in indium-rich InGaN optic-electron devices.

Comparison of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) with other bariatric procedures; a systematic review of the randomised controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Bariatric surgery can provide efficient weight loss and improvement in obesity-related co-morbidities in adults. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) comprised 30.3% of all bariatric procedures between 2009 and 2010 in the UK. This review evaluates the level 1 evidence for change in co-morbidities, quality of life (QoL) and weight provided by LAGB compared with other bariatric procedures.

METHOD

Systematic literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL (1988 to May 2011) was performed. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Studies with non-surgical comparators, open gastric banding procedures or adolescent participants were excluded. Primary outcome was change in co-morbidities. Secondary outcomes included QoL, weight loss, complications, operation time and length of stay.

RESULTS

Five RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Vertical banded gastroplasty, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass were compared to LAGB. Co-morbidities were reported in two studies and QoL in one. LAGB was comparable to other procedures for both of these outcomes. All five trials showed LABG to be effective in weight loss, however all comparative procedures resulted in greater weight loss. Operative time and length of hospital stay were significantly shorter with LAGB. Short-term complications were found to be consistently lower in the LAGB group. Evidence was divided with respect to long-term complications.

CONCLUSION

Co-morbidities and QoL are poorly reported and showed no difference between LAGB and other bariatric procedures. Evidence suggests that LAGB is not the most effective surgical procedure to reduce weight. LAGB is associated with lower early complications and shorter operative time and length of stay, and therefore may be preferable to patients.