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Biomedical subjects

Y Jiang

Publications and source records attributed to Y Jiang.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Radiological prevalence of lumbar intervertebral disc calcification in the elderly: an autopsy study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro radiological prevalence of lumbar intervertebral disc calcification (IDC) in the elderly and its relation to osteoarthritis (OA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lumbar spine segments comprising L2-4 were resected from 60 cadavers (30 males, 30 females; average age 67 years) and investigated with high-contrast radiography and computed tomography (CT). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: IDC was found in 58.3% of the patients using high-contrast radiography and in 46.7% of the patients using CT. IDC prevalence and OA grades in the lumbar spine and right hand were found to increase with age. IDC prevalence and OA grades for L2-3 were not significantly different from those for L3-4. No significant sex difference was found for IDC prevalence and OA grades. The results indicate that IDC is significantly underestimated in vivo by conventional radiography and the intervertebral disc calcification may be a common phenomenon in aging. The exact relation IDC to OA remains undetermined.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Clinical neuroimmunology.

Clinical research has focused on autoimmune disease (AID) for a couple of decades. More sensitive and specific methods have been developed for neuroimmunological research. Gamma fraction bands (bands separated by electrophoresis and visualized by amino black staining) and IgG fraction bands (bands separated by iso-electric focusing and visualized by immunostaining) are used instead of oligoclonal bands. Myasthenia gravis (MG) mainly involves acetylcholine receptors of the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. Myasthenia gravis has been considered to be a generalized AID, because 7% of patients with myasthenia gravis associate with other AIDs and more than one autoimmune antibody is detected in 52.5% patients with myasthenia gravis. Pyramidal signs in myasthenia gravis patients are described; the possible mechanism may at least be partly due to the acetylcholine receptor antibody. P2 protein and its antibody are studied in patients with acute and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Initial biocompatibility studies of a novel degradable polymeric bone substitute that hardens in situ.

Clinical management of osseous defects often requires bone grafts. The standard for treatment is autogenous bone harvested from sites such as either the iliac crest or the outer table of the calvaria. In addition to the problem of donor site morbidity and the limited supply of graft material, there is the additional operating time associated with harvesting procedures. A synthetic, bone graft substitute that can match the clinical performance of autogenous bone could alleviate these deficiencies. Therefore, a polymeric bone substitute was developed that consists of a four-armed star polymer of poly(dioxanone-co-glycolide) endcapped at each termini with a biocompatible lysine-based diisocyanate crosslinker. The polymer can be mixed with inorganic fillers such as either hydroxyapatite or tricalcium phosphate to form either injectable or moldable putty. The addition of a catalyst (for example, diethylaminoethanol and water) to the polymer produces a crosslinking reaction causing the combination to harden. This reaction is nontoxic, normo-thermic and can be performed in situ. During the course of the polymerization, carbon dioxide is liberated, producing an interconnected porous network within the implant, suitable for bone ingrowth. This paper will describe a preliminary biocompatibility assay of the bone substitute.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Unresponsiveness of CD4+ T cells from a non-responder strain to HgCl2 is not due to CD8(+)-mediated immunosuppression: an analysis of the very early activation antigen CD69.

Injections of HgCl2 lead to autoimmune manifestations in genetically predisposed rats and mice. In this study, the authors examined the responsiveness of T subsets from different mouse strains to HgCl2 by tracing their expression of the very early activation antigen CD69. The authors found increased expression of the CD69 antigen on CD4+ T cells from the responder A.SW and BALB/c mice, but not on CD4+ T cells from the non-responder DBA/2 mice, indicating an activation of T helper cells in the responder strains. However, the CD69 antigen was induced on CD8+ T cells from all strains irrespective whether they were susceptible or resistant to mercury-induced autoimmunity. Since CD8+ T cells have been described as mediating immunosuppression and as being responsible for the resistance to autoimmune induction by mercury, the authors tested whether CD8+ T cells inhibited the activation of CD4+ T cells by HgCl2 in the non-responder strains. However, there was no evidence for a suppressive role of CD8+ T cells from the DBA/2 mice in the response to HgCl2. The findings indicate that T helper cells play a central role in the immunological effects of HgCl2 and unresponsiveness of T helper cells in the nonresponder strains is not due to CD8(+)-mediated immunosuppression.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Repair of dGMP hydroxyl radical adducts by verbascoside via electron transfer: a pulse radiolysis study.

The repair activity of verbascoside (VER), isolated from Pedicularis spicata, towards the oxidizing hydroxyl radical adduct of dGMP and its reaction mechanism were studied using pulse radiolysis. Upon pulse radiolysis of nitrous oxide saturated aqueous solution of 2'-deoxyguanosine-5'-monophosphate (dGMP) and VER, it was found that the transient absorption spectrum of the hydroxyl adduct of dGMP decays with the formation of that of the phenoxyl radical of VER, several tens of microseconds after the electron pulse. From the formation kinetics of the phenoxyl radical of VER, the rate constant of the repair reaction was determined to be 1.12 x 10(9) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1).

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1996

In vitro effects of HgCl2 on murine lymphocytes. II. Selective activation of T cells expressing certain V beta TCR.

In vivo administration of HgCl2 causes autoimmune manifestations in susceptible rats and mice. We have previously shown that mercury is a unique molecule that can primarily activate murine T lymphocytes to transformation and proliferation in vitro. To test whether a specific TCR repertoire predisposes the autoimmune development induced by HgCl2 and our hypothesis that mercury may function as a superantigen, we examined the TCR V beta repertoire in HgCl2-stimulated T cells from the responder BALB/c or SJL mice and the non-responder DBA/2 mice. We found a selective activation of T cells bearing a certain set of TCR B beta chains in response to HgCl2, e.g. V beta 6, V beta 8, V beta 10 and V beta 14 in the BALB/c strain. Moreover, depletion of V beta 8+ T cells, a family predominantly expanded in the BALB/c strain upon HgCl2 stimulation, profoundly inhibited the response to HgCl2 in this strain. An alternative selection of V beta segments, involving V beta 6, V beta 7 and V beta 14, was observed in the SJL strain in which the V beta 8 family is genetically deleted. Mechanism(s) whereby mercury modulates the immune system under a stringent genetic control and a possible therapeutic regime against mercury-induced autoimmune disease by administration of antibody specific to the TCR V beta region are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Probing the functional conformation of the tridecapeptide mating pheromone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae through study of disulfide-constrained analogs.

Analogs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-mating factor, Trp-His-Trp-Leu-Gln-Leu-Lys-Pro-Gly-Gln-Pro-Met-Tyr, where Lys7 and Gln10 were replaced with Cys, Cys(CH3), or Ser, were synthesized using solid-phase procedures on a phenylacetamidomethyl resin. Cyclo7,10[Cys7,X9,Cys10,Nle12]alpha-factor , where X=D-Val, D-Ala, L-Ala and Gly, were prepared by on-resin cyclization using thallic trifluoroacetate in yields of 20-30%. Linear sulfhydryl-containing peptides were generated from their corresponding cyclic peptide by treatment with dithioerythritol in basic solution. In the linear analogs, replacement of both Lys7 and Gln10 with a cysteine residue resulted in an over 100-fold loss of the biological activity when compared with the native pheromone. The corresponding cyclic disulfides were 5-10-fold more active than their sulfhydryl-containing homologs, and cyclo7,10[Cys7,L-Ala9,Cys10,Nle12] alpha-factor was 50-fold more potent than linear analogs containing Ser or Cys(CH3) in positions 7 and 10. Binding competition studies indicated that all analogs had low affinity for the alpha-factor receptor and there was a poor correlation between binding and activity in a growth arrest assay. A cyclic analog in which residues 8 and 9 were replaced by 5-aminopentanoic acid was not biologically active. Based on NMR studies, all cyclic peptides have a higher tendency to form beta-turns spanning residues 7-10 than their less active linear counterparts. The results provide strong evidence that this beta-turn is important for optimal signal transduction by alpha-factor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Bolus contaminant dispersion for oscillatory flow in a curved tube.

The dispersion of a bolus of soluble contaminant in a curved tube during volume-cycled oscillatory flows is studied. Assuming a small value of delta (the ratio of tube radius to radius of curvature), the Navier-Stokes equations are solved by using a perturbation method. The convection-diffusion equation is then solved by expanding the local concentration in terms of the cross-sectionally averaged concentration and its axial derivatives. The time-averaged dimensionless effective diffusivity, , is calculated for a range of Womersley number alpha and different values of stroke amplitude A and Schmidt number Sc, where D is the molecular diffusivity of contaminant. For the parameter values considered, the results show that axial dispersion in a curved tube is greater than that in a straight tube, and that it has a local maximum near alpha = 5 for given fixed values of Sc = 1, A = 5 and delta = 0.3. Finally, it is demonstrated how the time history of concentration at a fixed axial position can be used to determine the effective diffusivity.

Convection↗
PubMed1996

Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and interleukin-8 production in mononuclear cells stimulated by oral microorganisms.

Chemokines are a family of low-molecular-weight proinflammatory cytokines that stimulate recruitment of leukocytes. The chemokines interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) are relatively specific chemoattractants for neutrophils and monocytes, respectively. Chemokine expression contributes to the presence of different leukocyte populations observed in normal and pathologic states. In the present studies, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were stimulated by microbes (Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans) selected based upon their importance as oral pathogens. IL-8 and MCP-1 gene expression and protein release were determined by Northern blot (RNA blot) analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. C. albicans, P. gingivalis, and A. actinomycetemcomitans induced high levels of production of both MCP-1 and IL-8. S. mutans was a strong inducer of MCP-1, but it did not stimulate significant production of IL-8. C. albicans, S. mutans, and A. actinomycetemcomitans were 500 to 5,000 times more potent than P. gingivalis in terms of MCP-1 production. In general, the microbe-to-PBMC ratios required for maximum gene expression of MCP-1 were lower than those for IL-8. However, for actual protein release of MCP-1 versus IL-8, differences in the effects of various microbe concentrations were observed only for A. actinomycetemcomitans. These results demonstrate that different oral pathogens induce specific dose-dependent patterns of chemokine gene expression and release. Such patterns may help explain the immunopathology of oral infections, particularly with regard to inflammatory leukocyte recruitment.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1996

A three-step pathway of transcription initiation leading to promoter clearance at an activation RNA polymerase II promoter.

The progress of transcription bubbles during inhibition in vitro was followed in order to learn how RNA polymerase II begins transcription at the activated adenovirus E4 promoter. The issues addressed include the multiple roles of ATP, the potential effect of polymerase C-terminal domain phosphorylation, and the ability of polymerase to clear the promoter for reinitiation. The results lead to a three-step model for the transition from closed complex to elongation complex, two steps of which use ATP independently. In the first step, studied previously, ATP is hydrolyzed to open the DNA strands over the start site. In a second step, apparently independent of ATP, transcription bubbles move into the initial transcribed region where RNA synthesis can stall. In the third step, transcripts can be made as polymerase is released from these stalled positions with the assistance of an ATP-dependent process, likely phosphorylation of the polymerase C-terminal domain. After this third step, the promoter becomes cleared, allowing for the reinitiation of transcription.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1996

Malignant and benign clustered microcalcifications: automated feature analysis and classification.

PURPOSE: To develop a method for differentiating malignant from benign clustered microcalcifications in which image features are both extracted and analyzed by a computer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred mammograms from 53 patients who had undergone biopsy for suspicious clustered microcalcifications were analyzed by a computer. Eight computer-extracted features of clustered microcalcifications were merged by an artificial neural network. Human input was limited to initial identification of the microcalcifications. RESULTS: Computer analysis allowed identification of 100% of the patients with breast cancer and 82% of the patients with benign conditions. The accuracy of computer analysis was statistically significantly better than that of five radiologists (P = .03). CONCLUSION: Quantitative features can be extracted and analyzed by a computer to distinguish malignant from benign clustered microcalcifications. This technique may help radiologists reduce the number of false-positive biopsy findings.

Breast Diseases↗
PubMed1996

A receiver operating characteristic partial area index for highly sensitive diagnostic tests.

PURPOSE: Area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (Az) is widely used as an index of diagnostic performance. However, Az is not a meaningful summary of clinical diagnostic performance when high sensitivity must be maintained clinically. The authors developed a new ROC partial area index, which measures clinical diagnostic performance more meaningfully in such situations, to summarize an ROC curve in only a high-sensitivity region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mathematical formation of the partial area index was derived from the conventional binormal model. Statistical tests of apparent differences in this index were formulated analogous to that of Az. One common statistical test involving the partial area index was validated by computer simulations under realistic conditions. RESULTS: An example in mammography illustrates a situation in which the partial area index is more meaningful than Az in measuring clinical diagnostic performance. CONCLUSION: The partial area index can be used as a more meaningful alternative to the conventional Az index for highly sensitive diagnostic tests.

ROC Curve↗
PubMed1996

Parvalbumin relaxes frog skeletal muscle when sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase is inhibited.

Inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) with 2,5-di-(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (TBQ) in frog skeletal muscle fibers at 10 degrees C prolonged the half time of the fall of the Ca2+ transient by 62% and twitch force by 100% and increased peak force by 120% without increasing the amplitude of the Ca2+ signal. In the presence of TBQ the rate of relaxation and the rate of fall of Ca2+ became progressively slower in a series of twitches until relaxation failed. Relaxation rate decreased with a time course (approximately 2 s-1) similar to the Mg2+ off rate from purified parvalbumin (PA; 3.6 s-1). TBQ slowed the rate of fall of Ca2+ (5-fold) and force (8-fold) in a 0.3-s tetanus so that the rate of fall of Ca2+ (approximately 2.5 s-1) was similar to the Mg2+ off rate from PA. TBQ caused a near total failure of both Ca2+ sequestration and relaxation in a 1.1-s tetanus, during which PA would be saturated with Ca2+ and could not contribute to relaxation. Thus, when the SR Ca(2+)-ATPase is inhibited, Mg(2+)-PA can sequester Ca2+ and produce relaxation at a rate that is defined by the Mg2+ off rate from PA.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1996

Survival of CAPD patients in a center using three two-liter exchanges as standard regime.

Our objectives were to study long-term patient survival and dialysis adequacy of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients treated with a standard regime of three 2-L daily exchanges. It was a retrospective analysis of patient survival and cross-sectional analysis of adequacy of dialysis. The setting was a dialysis unit in a tertiary referral center of a teaching hospital. All patients (n = 507) accepted into the CAPD program from 1983 to June 1994, were analyzed for survival. Adequacy of dialysis was analyzed in all existing patients in 1993 to 1994. The overall patient survival was 93%, 71%, and 57% at one, three, and five years, respectively. The three-year survival rate was 40% for diabetics and 78% for nondiabetics. It was 86%, 85%, 64%, and 43% for patients aged < 35, 35-50, 50-65, and over 65 years, respectively. The mean weekly KT/V of 201 existing CAPD patients was 1.76, and creatinine clearance was 57 L/week/1.73 m2. KT/V by dialysis was only 1.57. The age- and disease-adjusted survival in our center was comparable to centers that used standard four 2-L exchange regimes, despite a substantially lower mean KT/V and creatinine clearance (CrCl).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Effects of stress on indices for assessing zinc nutrition status].

To evaluate the specificity of some functional indices in assessment of body zinc nutrition status, we used experimental rat model to observe the effects of some factors, such as forced swimming, starvation, trauma and alcohol intoxication on zinc the status. Plasma zinc levels of rats significantly decreased after trauma increased after starvation. Liver zinc content showed a rising tendency in trauma and starvation rats. Activities of superoxide dismutase in red blood cells and alkaline phosphatase, mannosidase, 5'-nucleotidase in plasma of rats with alcohol intoxication declined significantly. Starvation led to decreased activities of alkaline phosphatase and angiotensin-converting enzyme, but increased activities of mannosidase. Trauma and forced swimming could cause increase of angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and decrease of 5'-nucleotidase activity, respectively. These results indicate that physiological and pathological effects should be excluded from of the above indices as plasma zinc index, in the assessment of body zinc nutrition status.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1996

Development and interactions of two inert gas bubbles during decompression.

A mathematical model has been developed to simulate the evolution of two inert gas bubbles in tissue. This is useful for understanding the dynamics of bubbles that presumably arise during decompression. It is assumed that they are spherical and that the tissue volume surrounding them is infinite. The total pressure in each bubble is determined by the barometric and metabolic gas pressures as well as the pressure due to surface tension. Bipolar coordinates are employed to determine the inert gas pressure distribution. Two coupled governing equations for bubble radii are then derived and solved numerically. The results demonstrate how bubble evolution is affected by the distance between bubbles and the initial bubble radii. The existence time and bubble surface flux of two equal-sized bubbles are calculated and compared with those of a single gas bubble model. The results indicate that when two bubbles are very close, it takes 20% more time for two bubbles to dissolve than for a single one, and the total surface flux of two bubbles is nearly 20% less than twice of a single bubble. When the center-to-center distance is 10 times of bubble radius, the effect of bubble interaction on bubble existence time and surface flux are about 6 and 9% changes, respectively. We conclude that if bubbles are not too small, the interactions among bubbles should be included in inert gas bubble models predicting bubble evolution.

Decompression Sickness↗