ObjectiveTo detect expressions of transient receptor potential channel C5 (TRPC5) and microRNA-320a (miR-320a) in thyroid cancer and explore clinical significances of them in thyroid cancer.MethodsThe expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA in the thyroid cancer were investigated by searching the Ualcan database. While the expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA in 80 cases of thyroid cancer, 35 cases of thyroid adenoma and 32 cases of normal thyroid tissues adjacent to thyroid adenoma tissues in the Zhengzhou Seventh People’s Hospital from March 2014 to March 2015 were tested. Real time PCR was used to detect the expressions of TRPC5 mRNA and miR-320a mRNA in the various tissues and Western blot was used to detect the TRPC5 protein in the thyroid cancer tissues. Therelationships between the expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNAs and clinicopathologic features of thyroid cancer were analyzed. The correlation between expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA was analyzed by Pearson method. The risk factors influencing the prognosis were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model.ResultsThe results of Ualcan database showed that the expression level of TRPC5 mRNA in the thyroid cancer was higher than that in the normal thyroid tissue (P<0.001), while the expression level of miR-320a mRNA was lower than that in the normal thyroid tissue (P<0.001). The results of clinical cases showed that the expression level of TRPC5 mRNA was significantly higher, while the expression of miR-320a mRNA was significantly lower in the thyroid cancer tissues as compared with the normal thyroid tissues (P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the expression level of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA in the thyroid cancer (r=−0.653, P<0.001). The expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA were correlated with the degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and TNM stage (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis found that the patients with higher expression level of TRPC5 and lower expression level of miR-320a showed the poor prognosis, and multivariate analysis found that the lower tumor differentiation, later TNM stage, with lymph node metastasis, higher expression level of TRPC5 mRNA, and lower expression level of miR-320a mRNA were the risk factors affecting prognostic survival (P<0.05).ConclusionsFrom the database and clinical case data, it is concluded that TRPC5 mRNA is highly expressed, while miR-320a mRNA is lowly expressed in thyroid cancer tissues, and expressions of TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA are related to degree of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, and prognosis in patients with thyroid cancer. TRPC5 and miR-320a mRNA might be used as potential indicators for clinical and prognostic monitoring.
To evaluate the value of clinical application of examination of fibrillation potential amplitude, 110 patients, 97 males and 13 females, were examined and only the maximum fibrillation potential amplitudes were recorded in 420 muscles. The results showed that there was no significant difference between sexes, ages and sides. However, significant difference was evident between the groups of different frequency (1+ to 4+). The fibrillation potential amplitude was maximum at 3 to 4 months after denervation and still remained at relatively high level for years in certain patients. No significant difference was showed between the time groups in incomplete nerve injuries. Surgery did not affect the course of fibrillation potential amplitude change. It was suggested that the muscle cells sustained their property for years after denervation in some patients, thus it might explain that satisfactory result could be obtained from operative repair in some late cases. The changes of fibrillation potential amplitude might indicate that the changes from muscle denervation was still reversible and might be more accurate than traditional method of examination.
Objective To explore the osteogenic potential of cervical intervertebral disc fibroblasts in vitro, to investigate the regulatory factors of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2(rhBMP-2) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) on osteogenic phenotype of fibroblasts and to discuss the condition that facilitates osteogenesis of fibroblasts. Methods Theannulus fibroblasts cell lines of experiment goats were established in vitro and the biologicspecificity was found. According to different medias, 4 groups were included in this experiment: control group, TNF-α group ( 50 U/ml TNF-α), rhBMP-2 group (0.1 μg/ml rhBMP-2) and TNF-α+rhBMP-2 group (50 U/ml TNF-α+0.1 μg/ml rhBMP-2). Thefibroblasts were incubated in the media for about 3 weeks,and then the markers for osteogenic features were investigated by biochemistry, histochemistry observations. Results rhBMP-2 and TNF-α had no effect on the proliferation of fibroblasts from the experiment goats. rhBMP-2 or TNF-α could stimulate fibroblasts to secrete alkaline phosphatase and collagen type Ⅰ. The combined use of rhBMP-2 and TNF-α or the single use of rhBMP-2 could make fibroblasts to secrete osteocalin and the morphological changes of the fibroblasts were very obvious. Histochemical study of the nodules with specific new bone labeler(Alizarin red S) revealed positive reaction, denoting that the nodules produced by the fibroblasts werebone tissues. There was statistically significant difference(Plt;0.05) inALP activity between 3 experimental groups and control group and in secretion of osteocalcin between rhBMP-2 group, TNF-α+rhBMP-2 group and control group. Conclusion The results point out clearly that rhBMP-2 can induce theosteogenic potential of annulus fibroblasts in vitro.
The possible influence of electromagnetic field (EMF) on the function of neural systems has been widely concerned. In this article, we intend to investigate the effects of long term power frequency EMF exposure on brain cognitive functions and it’s mechanism. The Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the rats in EMF Ⅰ group were placed in the 2 mT power frequency EMF for 24 days. The rats in EMF Ⅱ group were placed in the 2 mT power frequency EMF for 48 days. The rats in control group were not exposed to the EMF. Then, the 16 channel local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from rats’ prefrontal cortex (PFC) in each group during the working memory (WM) tasks. The causal networks of LFPs were also established by applying the directed transfer function (DTF). Based on that, the differences of behavior and the LFPs network connection patterns between different groups were compared in order to investigate the influence of long term power frequency EMF exposure on working memory. The results showed the rats in the EMF Ⅱ group needed more training to reach the task correction criterion (over 80%). Moreover, the causal network connection strength and the global efficiency of the rats in EMF Ⅰ and EMF Ⅱ groups were significantly lower than the corresponding values of the control group. Meanwhile, significant differences of causal density values were found between EMF Ⅱ group and the other two groups. These results indicate that long term exposure to 2 mT power frequency EMF will reduce the connection strength and the information transfer efficiency of the LFPs causal network in the PFC, as well as the behavior performance of the rats. These results may explain the effect of EMF exposure on working memory from the view of neural network connectivity and provide a support for further studies on the mechanism of the effect of EMF on cognition.
A new form of static random-dot stereograms free of monocular clues was designed as stimulus to elicit disparity evoked potentials in 40 normal subjects.A characteristic wide positive wave at about 250ms was consistently recorded in disparity stimulation,which may be regard as evdence of the presence of stereopsis.In constrast,recordings for monocular stimulus all demonstrated a relatively smaller and sharper positive wave with a markedly shortened latency. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,1993,9:214-217)
The impulsive electroencephalograph (EEG) noises in evoked potential (EP) signals is very strong, usually with a heavy tail and infinite variance characteristics like the acceleration noise impact, hypoxia and etc., as shown in other special tests. The noises can be described by α stable distribution model. In this paper, Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) and pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) time-frequency distribution based on the fractional lower order moment are presented to be improved. We got fractional lower order WVD (FLO-WVD) and fractional lower order PWVD (FLO-PWVD) time-frequency distribution which could be suitable for α stable distribution process. We also proposed the fractional lower order spatial time-frequency distribution matrix (FLO-STFM) concept. Therefore, combining with time-frequency underdetermined blind source separation (TF-UBSS), we proposed a new fractional lower order spatial time-frequency underdetermined blind source separation (FLO-TF-UBSS) which can work in α stable distribution environment. We used the FLO-TF-UBSS algorithm to extract EPs. Simulations showed that the proposed method could effectively extract EPs in EEG noises, and the separated EPs and EEG signals based on FLO-TF-UBSS were almost the same as the original signal, but blind separation based on TF-UBSS had certain deviation. The correlation coefficient of the FLO-TF-UBSS algorithm was higher than the TF-UBSS algorithm when generalized signal-to-noise ratio (GSNR) changed from 10 dB to 30 dB and α varied from 1.06 to 1.94, and was approximately equal to 1. Hence, the proposed FLO-TF-UBSS method might be better than the TF-UBSS algorithm based on second order for extracting EP signal under an EEG noise environment.
Injury of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) may cause sensory and motor dysfunction. In order to investigate the changes of somato-sensory evoked potential (SEP) and histological characteristics of DRG in different causes and different periods of injury, fifty-two rabbits were chosed to build the models. The rabbits were divided into 4 groups: Control group (n = 4); mechanical compressing group (n = 16); inflammatory injury group (n = 16); and treatment group (2% lidocaine with hydroprednisone was administered locally, n = 16). After one to eight weeks, SEP was determined and samples of DRG were obtained to observe the histological and ultrastructural changes every week. The result showed that the gap junction of microvascular endothelium in DRG had been destroyed by the mechanical compression was the major cause of the vessel permeability increasing. The increasing of endothelial pinocytic vesicles transportation and widening of endothelial gap junction were the main causes of inflammatory irritation of DRG. The local infiltration with 2% lidocaine and hydroprednisone could obviously ameliorate inflammatory injury in DRG.
Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems based on steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) have become one of the major paradigms in BCI research due to their high signal-to-noise ratio and short training time required by users. Fast and accurate decoding of SSVEP features is a crucial step in SSVEP-BCI research. However, the current researches lack a systematic overview of SSVEP decoding algorithms and analyses of the connections and differences between them, so it is difficult for researchers to choose the optimum algorithm under different situations. To address this problem, this paper focuses on the progress of SSVEP decoding algorithms in recent years and divides them into two categories—trained and non-trained—based on whether training data are needed. This paper also explains the fundamental theories and application scopes of decoding algorithms such as canonical correlation analysis (CCA), task-related component analysis (TRCA) and the extended algorithms, concludes the commonly used strategies for processing decoding algorithms, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in this field in the end.
OBJECTIVE: To prevent the senescence of ’seed cells’ for tissue engineering, the life span of human fibroblasts is extended by reconstitution of telomerase activity, and the osteogenic potential of these fibroblasts are tested. METHODS: The pGRN145 plasmids encoding human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) were introduced into the normal human primary fibroblasts by electroporation. Telomerase activity was analyzed by TRAP-PCR assay. The beta-galactosidase stain was used to indicate the signs of cell senescence. The hTERT positive fibroblasts were then induced to form bone nodules. The bone nodules were stained by tetracycline and Alizarin Red S. RESULTS: Stable telomerase activity could be detected in the transfected fibroblasts and no signs of cell senescence were found in the fibroblasts cultured for more than 50 doublings. The hTERT positive fibroblasts could form bone nodules when they were cultured in vitro induced by bone morphogentic protein 2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. CONCLUSION: The fibroblasts with reconstituted telomerase activity reserve their osteogenic potential.
Purpose To investigate the influence of ametropia on stereopsis and its mechanism by using the disparity evoked potential testing. Methods A new set of static random dot stereograms was utilized as a stimulation to elicit the disparity evoked potentials in 21 ametropes and 40 stereo normal subjects. Rezults The P250 wave,which was related to stereoscopic stimulation in ametropes,was recorded in both the ametropes and emetropic stereo normal persons in this series,and the characteristic changes of P250 wave with increasing visual disparity in ametropes were similar to those in normal subjects.The differences of mean amplitudes and latencies of P250 waves between myopes and hyperopes were not significant. Conclusion Ametropia in full correction dose not significanly affect the function of stereopsis. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,1998,14:225-227)