Tooth replacement rates in early chondrichthyans: a qualitative approach

The continuous replacement of teeth throughout their lifetime is a common characteristic of most chondrichthyans. This process was already present in the earliest representatives of the group. It has been well established that different species of extant sharks show rapid tooth replacement rates; however, some authors have suggested that in early chondrichthyans this rate might have been much slower. Here we present a qualitative approach to analyse tooth replacement rates in the Early Devonian shark Leonodus carlsi , the earliest tooth-bearing shark known to date. For this, we have examined 1,103 isolated teeth from Celtiberia, Spain. Our study provides strong evidences of an extremely slow dental replacement in this primitive chondrichthyan based on three independents analyses: (1) statistical analysis of the wear degree, demonstrating that teeth remain functional for a long period of time; (2) analysis of both the histological and the morphological features of the teeth cusps suggests that this chondrichthyan used a maturation process that optimizes its function, thus worn teeth show an efficient working shape that implies their teeth remained functional for a long time after being modelled by use; and (3) estimations of size increments between teeth (Δs) of the same dental family for some recent sharks whose rates of replacement were known prove that Δs is inversely proportional to the rate of replacement ( R ² = 0.8327). The estimated values of tooth replacement rates obtained from Δs for L. carlsi and for some Late Devonian cladoselachian sharks are significatively slower than those observed in current sharks.     

TGFβ3 and loading increases osteocyte survival in human cancellous bone cultured ex vivo

The goal of this study was to assess the effect of the addition of TGFβ₃, alone or in combination with loading, on the survival of osteocytes in 3D human explant cancellous bone during long-term culture in an ex vivo loading bioreactor. Human cancellous bone explants were cultured for up to 14 days with or without TGFβ₃ (15 ng ml⁻¹) and with or without loading (300 cycles, at 1 Hz, producing 4000 microstrain). Bone core response was visualized using undecalcified histology with morphological methods after embedding with Technovit 9100 New® resin. Histological examination revealed normal gross level bone structure with or without the application of load or the addition of TGFβ₃. The viability of the osteocytes within the bone was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. We demonstrate that this ex vivo loading bioreactor is able to maintain a high percentage (over 50%) of viable osteocytes throughout the bone explants after 14 days in ex vivo culture. Further to this, the combination of daily loading and TGFβ₃ administration produced superior osteocyte survival at the core centres when compared to loading or TGFβ alone. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of antral follicle growth in the macaque ovary during the menstrual cycle and controlled ovarian stimulation by high‐resolution ultrasonography

To date, ultrasonography of monkey ovaries is rare and typically of low resolution. The objectives of this study were to use state‐of‐the‐art, high‐resolution, transabdominal ultrasonography with real‐time Doppler capabilities to: (1) determine whether one can reliably detect in real time the large dominant follicle, the corpus luteum (CL), and small (<2 mm) antral follicles on the ovaries of rhesus monkeys during the natural menstrual cycle; and (2) predict the follicular response of rhesus ovaries to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) protocols. Rhesus monkeys were selected for transabdominal ultrasonography using a GE Voluson 730 Expert Doppler System at discrete stages of the menstrual cycle. Subsequently, serial ultrasound scanning was employed to observe growth of antral follicles and the CL. Finally, females were scanned to assess follicular growth during COS. The dominant structure and small antral follicles (<2 mm) were reliably visualized in real time. The follicle destined to ovulate could be identified by size differential by day 3 of the follicular phase. The number of small antral follicles present before onset of COS protocol correlated positively with the number of metaphase II‐stage oocytes collected after treatment. The results of this study demonstrate that the population dynamics of antral follicle pools can be noninvasively evaluated in monkeys during natural and pharmacologic ovarian cycles. Am. J. Primatol. 71:384–392, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Novel 16S rRNA gene analyses reveal new in vitro effects of insoluble barley fibres on the human faecal microbiota

Aims:  The aim of this work was to analyse the growth of human faecal microbiota on barley dietary fibres (DF). It is generally accepted that insoluble DF are health promoting, but the information is scarce about how these fibres affect the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota. A major reason for the limited knowledge is that there are currently no proper tools to analyse the complete GI microbiota.
Methods and Results:  Here we present a novel 16S rRNA gene analytical approach that enables the analyses of the complete microbiota, including the part that has not yet been characterized. The basic principle of the method is use of 16S rRNA gene signature sequences to determine both the phylogenetic relatedness and the distribution of bacteria in the samples analysed.
Using this approach, we analysed the microbiota after in vitro fermentation of different barley fractions with human faeces. Our main finding was that groups of actinobacteria were selectively enriched by growth on the insoluble DF fractions.
Conclusions:  Our novel analytical approaches revealed new enrichment patterns in the taxa that respond to insoluble DF.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  Our results may have major implications for future understanding of insoluble DF health effects.     

Early B-cell factors involve in the tumorigenesis and predict the overall survival of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a heavy health burden around the world, which is the fifth most frequent tumor and leads to the third most common cancer-related deaths. It is urgent to identify prognostic markers as the guideline for personalized treatment and follow-up. We accessed the prognostic value of Early B-cell factors (EBFs) in GC. A total of 415 GC tissues and 34 normal tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas Stomach Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-STAD) cohort, 616 external patients from {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE15459","term_id":"15459"}}GSE15459, {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE22377","term_id":"22377"}}GSE22377, {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE51105","term_id":"51105"}}GSE51105, {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE62245","term_id":"62245"}}GSE62245 were enrolled for analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to evaluate the sole and integrative prognostic value of EBFs, respectively. Genetic alterations, DNA methylation of EBFs were also evaluated, as well as the involved signaling pathways. We revealed that increased EBFs associated with the poor prognosis of GC patients, the prognostic model was established in TCGA-STAD cohort, and validated in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) cohorts, with effectiveness in both HER2 positive and negative patients. DNA methylation was involved in the impact on prognosis. Cell cycle, immune-associated, and MAPK pathways were influenced by EBFs. Anti-CTLA4 immunotherapy is more suitable for EBFs determining high-risk groups, but not anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. 5-Fluorouracil, methotrexate, vorinostat are suitable to inhibit the function of EBFs. Our new findings provide novel insight into the prediction of prognosis and clinical treatment of GC patients based on EBFs.     

早期胃癌的治疗现状与进展

胃癌是常见的消化道肿瘤之一,是我国死亡率最高的恶性肿瘤之一。与日本韩国等发达国家相比,我国胃癌患者多数在就诊时已处于进展期,早期胃癌所占比例不足10%。传统的开腹胃癌手术仍是治疗早期胃癌的主要手段。相较于传统开腹手术,腹腔镜手术对于早期胃癌的治疗优势是显而易见的。早期胃癌患者行腹腔镜手术,具有术后恢复快,生活质量好,近期疗效佳等优势。内镜黏膜下剥离术(ESD,endoscopic submucosal dissection)是近年来出现的一项新的治疗早期胃癌的手段。本文就传统开腹手术、腹腔镜手术及ESD分别在早期胃癌治疗中的应用进行了综述。微创手术治疗早期胃癌将逐渐代替开腹手术,成为早期胃癌治疗的主要手段。     

术后早期肠外联合肠内营养对老年进展期胃癌患者预后效果分析

目的:探讨术后早期肠外联合肠内营养对老年进展期胃癌临床早期预后的影响。方法:选择106例老年进展期胃癌患者,随机分为观察组56例和对照组50例,术后分别给予肠外联合肠内营养和肠外营养支持,观察2组患者术前术后C反应蛋白、血清清蛋白(ALB)、前白蛋白和血红蛋白(Hb)、肛门排气时间、并发症、住院时间及疲劳指数。结果:观察组在术后CRP水平下降优于对照组(P0.05),观察组肛门排气时间、并发症、住院时间及疲劳指数均优于对照组(P0.05),但术后血清清蛋白(ALB)、前白蛋白和血红蛋白(Hb)比较无明显差异。结论:术后早期肠外联合肠内营养减轻老年进展期胃癌患者术后的应激反应,减少并发症,促进恢复,改善早期预后。     

早期介入微弹簧圈栓塞治疗脑动脉瘤破裂的疗效及预后分析

目的:研究分析早期介入微弹簧圈栓塞治疗脑动脉瘤破裂的疗效及预后。方法:选取我院2011年至2014年期间收治的脑动脉瘤破裂患者96例作为研究对象。根据数字法随机分成观察组及对照组各48例,观察组患者在入院3d之内实施微弹簧圈栓塞形式介入治疗,对照组治疗时间为入院3 d后。对比两组患者临床治疗疗效、并发症发生情况、以及术后6个月的改良Rankin量表(m RS)、改良型日常生活能力(MBI)评分。结果:观察组的栓塞效果显著好于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。观察组术后6个月的m RS评分显著低于对照组,且MBI评分显著高于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。观察组的并发症发生率均显著低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。结论:入院3d之内利用微弹簧圈栓塞对脑动脉瘤破裂实施早期介入治疗,具有较好的疗效及预后,值得临床重视。     

Functionality of insect‐cell‐derived colorectal cancer vaccine candidate protein EpCAM‐Fc in human dendritic cells

The baculovirus–insect cell expression system is widely used to produce recombinant proteins for various biomedical applications. Our previous study demonstrated that EpCAM, a colorectal cancer vaccine candidate protein, can be expressed in the baculovirus–insect cell expression system. However, its functionality (the ability to elicit an immune response), which is important for its possible use as a colorectal cancer vaccine for immunotherapy, still needed to be confirmed. In this study, we examined the ability of recombinant EpCAM to induce maturation of immature dendritic cells (DCs) derived from CD34⁺ cells isolated from human umbilical cord blood. We demonstrated that EpCAM induces the expression of four DC maturation markers: CD80, CD83, CD86 and MHC II. These results suggest that EpCAM produced in the baculovirus–insect cell expression system is functional in terms of its ability to trigger maturation of human DCs.     

Optical quantitative pathology of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in human tissues using spatial frequency analysis

An optical quantitative histological method in human tissues using spatial frequencies is demonstrated. Optical spatial frequency spectra from different stages of human Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) tissue are evaluated as a potential quantitative pathological tool. The degree of randomness of tissue structures from normal to different stages of CIN tissue can be recognized by spatial frequency analysis. The standard deviation, σ of human normal and CIN tissue, is obtained by assuming the spatial frequency spectra as a Gaussian distribution. A support vector machine classifier (SVM) is trained in the subspace of σ. Twenty‐eight normal and CIN samples of varying grades are examined and compared with current diagnostic outcomes. Our results suggest that an excellent accuracy for diagnostic purposes can be achieved. This approach offers a simple, efficient and objective way to supplement histopathology in recognizing alterations from normal to different stages of cervical pre‐cancer, which are reflected by spatial information contained within the aperiodic and random structures of the different types of tissue. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)