奥美拉唑联合法莫替丁治疗反流性食管炎的临床效果分析

目的：观察并分析奥关拉唑联合法莫替丁治疗反流性食管炎的临床效果。方法：选取2008年5月至2012年5月在本院确诊并治疗的反流性食管炎患者45例,随机平均分为三组。联合用药组（15例）：每日早餐前口服20mg奥关拉唑,睡前口服20mg法莫替丁;奥关拉唑组（15例）：每日口服两次奥美拉唑,每次20mg;法莫替丁组（15例）：每日口服两次法莫替丁,每次20mg。每组的治疗时间均为8周。在内镜指导下观察并比较三组患者的胸痛、反酸和烧心等主要病征的改善情况,综合评价三种治疗方法的临床疗效。结果：联合用药组较其他两组获得的疗效更明显,患者的症状得到较好的改善,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论：奥美拉唑联合法莫替丁能够有效地抑制胃酸的分泌,对于反流性食管炎的,临床治疗具有良好的效果。     

Theory in motion

Modeling studies are now a significant part of mainstream research in motor control. Novel and classical modeling techniques used in recent work on small and large motor systems illustrate the different roles that models play in furthering our understanding of motor systems. The models presented reveal single neuron short-term memory, unexpected effects of reciprocal inhibition and methods for decoding activity in large populations of neurons.     

Sequence of a cDNA for mouse thymidylate synthase reveals striking similarity with the prokaryotic enzyme

We report the nucleotide sequence of a cloned cDNA, pMTS-3, that contains a 1-kb insert corresponding to mouse thymidylate synthase (E.C. 2.1.1.45). The open reading frame of 921 nucleotides from the first AUG to the termination codon specifies a protein with a molecular mass of 34,962 daltons. The predicted amino acid sequence is 90% identical with that of the human enzyme. The mouse sequence also has an extremely high degree of similarity (as much as 55% identity) with prokaryotic thymidylate synthase sequences, indicating that thymidylate synthase is among the most highly conserved proteins studied to date. The similarity is especially pronounced (as much as 80% identity) in the 44-amino-acid region encompassing the binding site for deoxyuridylic acid. The cDNA sequence also suggests that mouse thymidylate synthase mRNA lacks a 3' untranslated region, since the termination codon, UAA, is followed immediately by a poly(A) segment.      

Populational dynamics of mites (Acari) in the mate-tea tree (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.: Aquifoliaceae)

The objective of this research was to analyze the populational dynamic of the phytophagous mites, as well as that of their natural predators in the plants Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. (Aquifoliaceae). This study was conduced in Dois Vizinhos, State of Paraná, from August 2001 to July 2002. Leaf samples from different parts of the plant were taken and the number of mites was registered. During this period, two species of phytophagous mites, Dichopelmus notus Keifer, and Oligonychus yothersi (McGregor), and three species of predator mites identified as Euseius concordis (Chant), Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma, and Agistemus sp. were related to the mate-tea plant. Large numbers of D. notus appeared on mature leaves and on the inferior face of leaves. The mite was more frequent in the inferior and medium strata. O. yothersi occurred mainly on mature leaves. The concentration of E. concordis e I. zuluagai was higher on the inferior face of the leaves, and on the leaves of inferior and medium strata, as well as in the internal canopy region, and on mature leaves. The highest numbers of D. notus, O. yothersi, E. concordis and I. zuluagai occurred in periods with mild temperatures and little rain precipitation. The largest population density of Agistemus sp. occurred on the inferior face of the leaves, more often in periods of high temperature and heavy rain.     

Influence of a natural and a synthetic inhibitor of factor XIIIa on fibrin clot rheology

We investigated the origins of greater clot rigidity associated with FXIIIa-dependent cross-linking. Fibrin clots were examined in which cross-linking was controlled through the use of two inhibitors: a highly specific active-center-directed synthetic inhibitor of FXIIIa, 1,3-dimethyl-4,5-diphenyl-2[2(oxopropyl)thio]imidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate, and a patient-derived immunoglobulin directed mainly against the thrombin-activated catalytic A subunits of thrombin-activated FXIII. Cross-linked fibrin chains were identified and quantified by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunostaining with antibodies specific for the alpha- and gamma-chains of fibrin. Gamma-dimers, gamma-multimers, alpha(n)-polymers, and alpha(p)gamma(q)-hybrids were detected. The synthetic inhibitor was highly effective in preventing the production of all cross-linked species. In contrast, the autoimmune antibody of the patient caused primarily an inhibition of alpha-chain cross-linking. Clot rigidities (storage moduli, G') were measured with a cone and plate rheometer and correlated with the distributions of the various cross-linked species found in the clots. Our findings indicate that the FXIIIa-induced dimeric cross-linking of gamma-chains by itself is not sufficient to stiffen the fibrin networks. Instead, the augmentation of clot rigidity was more strongly correlated with the formation of gamma-multimers, alpha(n)-polymers, and alpha(p)gamma(q)-hybrid cross-links. A mechanism is proposed to explain how these cross-linked species may enhance clot rigidity.     

A new locus for autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia associated with mental retardation and distal motor neuropathy, SPG14, maps to chromosome 3q27-q28

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs), a group of neurodegenerative disorders that cause progressive spasticity of the lower limbs, are characterized by clinical and genetic heterogeneity. To date, three loci for autosomal recessive HSP have been mapped on chromosomes 8p, 16q, and 15q. After exclusion of linkage at these loci, we performed a genomewide search in a consanguineous Italian family with autosomal recessive HSP complicated by mild mental retardation and distal motor neuropathy. Using homozygosity mapping, we obtained positive LOD scores for markers on chromosome region 3q27-q28, with a maximum multipoint LOD score of 3.9 for marker D3S1601. Haplotype analysis allowed us to identify a homozygous region (4.5 cM), flanked by markers D3S1580 and D3S3669, that cosegregates with the disease. These data strongly support the presence, on chromosome 3q27-28, of a new locus for complicated recessive spastic paraplegia, which we have named "SPG14."     

The possible role of extra magnesium and nitrogen supply to alleviate stress caused by high irradiation and temperature in lemon trees

Plant and Soil - The aims of this study were to (i) assess how the P concentration in leaves of common Australian native plant species varies across a broad geographic region that includes...     

A Possible Case of Cherubism in a 17th-Century Korean Mummy

Cherubism is a benign fibro-osseous disease of childhood limited specifically to the maxilla and mandible. The progressive replacement of the jaw bones with expansile multilocular cystic lesions causes eventual prominence of the lower face, and hence the classic “cherubic” phenotype reflecting variable extents of jaw hypertrophy. Histologically, this condition has been characterized as replacement of the normal bone matrix with multicystic pockets of fibrous stroma and osteoclastic giant cells. Because of radiographic features common to both, primarily the presence of multiloculated lucencies with heterogeneous “ground-glass” sclerosis on CT imaging, cherubism was long mistaken for a craniofacial subtype of fibrous dysplasia. In 1999, however, the distinct genetic basis for cherubism was mapped to chromosome 4p16.3 and the SH-3 binding protein SH3BP2. But while there are already three suspected cases of fibrous dysplasia amongst archaeological populations, no definitive cases of cherubism have yet been reported in historical populations. In the current study we describe micro- and macro-structural changes in the face of a 17^th century Joseon Dynasty Korean mummy which may coincide with the clinic-pathologic and radiologic features of cherubism.