Evaluation of the Efficacy of Subcostal Transversus Abdominis Plane Block for Patients Undergoing Open Liver Carcinoma Resection / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

@#【Objective】To evaluate the efficacy of three different methods of subcostal transversus abdominis plane（TAP）block for patients undergoing open liver carcinoma resection.【Methods】A total of 60 adult patients，undergoing elective open liver carcinoma resection through a“reverse L”incision below the rib bow，were enrolled. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups（20 cases in each），including Group A，B and C，according to the position of local anesthetic injection. All patients underwent ultrasound- guided bilateral subcostal TAP block under local anesthesia. The TAP injection was injected at the middle line of the clavicle in Group A；Two separate injections were at the parasternal line and at the anterior axillary line in Group B；Multiple injections were proformed between the anterior median line and the middle axillary line in Group C. After completion of TAP block，the onset time，duration，blocking extent，hemodynamics and abdominal muscle thickness were evaluated. The operating time of TAP block and incidence of complications were recorded.【Results】The blocking extent of Group B or Group C was greater than that of Group A（P < 0.05），with no significant difference between Group B and Group C. The duration of TAP block in Group B or Group C was longer than that of Group A，while the onset time was not significantly different between the three groups. The mean arterial pressure and heart rate during laparotomy were higher than the base value in Group A，while there were no evident changes in Group B and Group C. The rectus abdominis became thinner after TAP block in all patients，but there was no significant difference in muscle thickness change among the three groups. The operating time of TAP block in the three groups was （8.4±1.9），（13.8±3.1），（23.3±4.2）min，respectively，with significant difference between any two groups（P < 0.05）. None of the patients enrolled showed such complications as local anesthetic poisoning，abdominal wall hematoma，nerve injury， abdominal viscera injury，and puncture point infection.【Conclusion】The outcome of subcostal TAP block for patients undergoing open liver surgery is related to injecting position of anesthetics. Two- point-injection method is superior to one- point-injection method or multiple-point-injection method，for adequate analgesic extent as well as less operating time.

Effects of Roughly Focused Extracorporeal Shock Waves Therapy on the Expressions of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Osteoprotegerin in Osteoporotic Fracture in Rats / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Roughly focused extracorporeal shock waves therapy (ESWT) is characterized by a wide focal area, a large therapy zone, easy positioning, and less pain during treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of roughly focused ESWT on the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in osteoporotic fractures in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-two female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, 3 months old, were divided into sham-operated group (n = 6) and an ovariectomized (OVX) group (n = 66). Sixty OVX SD rats were used as a model of double proximal tibial osteotomy and inner fixation. The osteotomy site in the left tibia was treated with roughly focused ESWT once at an energy density of 0.26 mJ/mm2, 60 doses/min, and 2000 pact quantities. The contralateral right tibia was left untreated and served as a control. Expression of OPG and BMP-2 in the callus of the osteoporotic fracture area was assessed using immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Western blotting analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Bone mineral density (BMD) at the proximal tibia, femur, and L5 spine was significantly reduced after ovariectomy. BMD of proximal tibia was 12.9% less in the OVX group than that in the sham-operated group. Meanwhile, bilateral oophorectomy resulted in a lower trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) in the proximal tibia of the sham-OVX animals. Three months after bilateral oophorectomy, BV/TV was 14.29% of baseline BV/TV in OVX legs versus 45.91% in the sham-OVX legs (P < 0.001). These data showed that the SD rats became a suitable model of osteoporosis, 3 months after they were OVX. Immunohistochemical analysis showed higher levels of BMP-2 and OPG expression in the treatment group than those in the control group. Compared with the contralateral controls, decreased expression of OPG and BMP-2 at 3 days after roughly focused ESWT, followed by a later increase at 7 days, was indicated by real-time PCR and Western blotting analysis. The OPG messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels peaked at 6 weeks after the shock wave treatment, paired with a much earlier (at 4 weeks) increase of BMP-2, and declined close to normal at 8 weeks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Roughly focused ESWT may promote the expression of OPG and BMP-2 in the osteoporotic fracture area in rats. BMP-2 and OPG may act synergistically and may lead to a significant enhancement of bone formation and remodeling.</p>

Utilizing tabacco genomic DNA to construct nearly random peptide libraries / 生物工程学报

We developed a novel method for constructing nearly random peptide library. Genomic DNAs extracted from tissue or cells of large genome species were digested with frequent cutter to produce short DNA fragments. These short fragments can be considered nearly random. Nearly random peptide libraries can be constructed by cloning the short fragments into appropriate expression vectors and transformation into host cells. Genomic DNA from one species can be digested with different restriction enzymes and ligated to different reading frames to produce several different libraries. In this study, we digested tobacco genomic DNA with two enzymes and cloned into three different reading frames to make totally six nearly random peptide libraries.

Finding potential ligands for PDZ domains by tailfit, a JAVA program / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To deduce all potential ligands undiscovered experimentally by searching all the proteins containing same C-termini, which can bind a certain PDZ domain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We developed a JAVA program for searching short exact sequence matches at C-terminus. According to the known C-termini, which PDZ domains recognized experimentally, Swissprot database has been searched by this program for all potential ligands.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Some PDZ domains may have more potential ligand proteins, which are undiscovered yet experimentally. These bioinformatic results also provide clues for studying functions of hypothetical proteins and PDZ domains' protein interactions in many different organisms.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results may provide useful clues for discovering potential functions of hypothetical proteins and new functions of known proteins.</p>