Kinetics of a new porcine taste-bud tissue biosensor for the detection of umami substances and their synergistic effect.

Umami substances are nutrients to humans, and their synergistic effect is associated with food acceptance. In this study, a new biosensor was developed to detect umami substances, their synergistic effect, and detection kinetics. Porcine taste-bud tissues were used as the sensing element, and the umami substance signals were characterized using an electrochemical workstation. The responses of taste-bud tissue sensors to monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) were compared based on different tongue sites. The interaction law between MSG and receptors in the taste-bud tissues of the three sensors conforms to enzymatic-reaction kinetics, where rectangular hyperbola curves in the Michaelis-Menten equation were followed with fitting coefficients (>0.91). However, the taste-bud sensors respond differently to MSG stimuli, with those based on a tip and mediolateral tongue, producing the lowest detection limit of 10-16 mol/L. The number of receptors required for a single cell to achieve maximum output signal is 3.68, 30.42, and 7.27, respectively. Moreover, the taste-bud tissue sensors identified the synergistic effect of umami substances. In addition, they were sensitive to umami variations in soy sauce and mandarin fish. The developed porcine taste-bud tissue biosensor revealed the interaction law between umami substances and receptors, providing a new idea for umami evaluation.

A novel deletion variant in TRAPPC2 causes spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda in a five-generation Chinese family.

BACKGROUND: Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDT) is a rare X-linked recessive inherited osteochondrodysplasia caused by mutations in the TRAPPC2 gene. It is clinically characterized by disproportionate short stature and early onset of degenerative osteoarthritis. Clinical diagnosis can be challenging due to the late-onset of the disease and lack of systemic metabolic abnomalites. Genetic diagnosis is critical in both early diagnosis and management of the disease. Here we reported a five-generation Chinese SEDT family and described the novel molecular findings. METHODS: Detailed family history and clinical data were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted from venous blood samples of family members. The exons of genes known to be associated with skeletal disorders were captured and deep sequenced. Variants were annotated by ANNOVAR and associated with multiple databases. Putative variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The identified variant was classified according to the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) criteria. RESULTS: The proband was a 27-year-old Chinese male who presented with short-trunk short stature and joint pain. His radiographs showed platyspondyly with posterior humping, narrow hip-joint surfaces, and pelvic osteosclerosis. A pedigree analysis of 5 generations with 6 affected males revealed an X-linked recessive mode of inheritance. Affected males were diagnosed as SEDT according to the clinical and radiological features. Next-generation sequencing identified a novel variant of c.216_217del in the exon 4 of TRAPPC2 gene in the proband and other affected males. This variant resulted in the shift of reading frame and early termination of protein translation (p.S73Gfs*15). The mother and maternal female relatives of the proband were heterozygous carriers of the same variant, while no variations were detected in this gene of his father and other unaffected males. Based on the ACMG criteria, the novel c.216_217del variant of the TRAPPC2 gene was the pathogenic variant of this SEDT family. CONCLUSION: In this study we identified the novel pathogenic variant of of c.216_217del in the gene of TRAPPC2 in this five-generation Chinese SEDT family. Our findings expand the clinical and molecular spectrum of SEDT and helps the genetic diagnosis of SEDT patients.

In vivo morphological and functional evaluation of the lateral pterygoid muscle: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

OBJECTIVE:: To explore the feasibility of morphological and functional evaluation of the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in vivo. METHODS:: 30 healthy volunteers underwent DTI with the jaw in the rest position, opening and clenching. Diffusion parameters of the superior head of the LPM (SHLP) and the inferior head of the LPM (IHLP) at different jaw positions were calculated. RESULTS:: When the jaw was in the rest position, λ3 of the SHLP was significantly lower than that of the IHLP; fractional anisotropy (FA) value of the SHLP was significant higher than that of the IHLP. There was no significant difference in λ1, λ2 and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value. During jaw opening, there was significant increase of all three eigenvalues and ADC value, and significant decrease of FA value both at the SHLP and IHLP. Clenching caused a significant increase in the ADC and all three eigenvalues, and caused a significant decrease of FA at the SHLP. However, at the IHLP, the variations of all diffusion parameters by clenching in the intercuspal position showed no significance when compared with those at rest. CONCLUSION:: The morphological and functional changes of LPM fibres caused by jaw movements could be sensitively detected by DTI which may serve as a new and non-invasive method for simultaneously investigating the functional and morphological features of the LPM during jaw movement. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE:: A new application of DTI is proposed for the morphological and functional evaluation of the LPMs. The results show that the significant change of three eigenvalues indicates the activity of the LPM in a specific jaw movement, a finding that shows the potential value of DTI serving as a new and non-invasive method for investigation of the LPM.

MR imaging of patients with lateral epicondylitis of the elbow: is the common extensor tendon an isolated lesion?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether an injury of the common extensor tendon (CET) is associated with other abnormalities in the elbow joint and find the potential relationships between these imaging features by using a high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Twenty-three patients were examined with 3.0 T MR. Two reviewers were recruited for MR images evaluation. Image features were recorded in terms of (1) the injury degree of CET; (2) associated injuries in the elbow joint. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relationships between the injury degree of CET and associated abnormalities of the elbow joint, correlations were considered significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: Total 24 elbows in 23 patients were included. Various degrees of injuries were found in total 24 CETs (10 mild, 7 moderate and 7 severe). Associated abnormalities were detected in accompaniments of the elbow joints including ligaments, tendons, saccussynovialis and muscles. A significantly positive correlation (r = 0.877,p<0.01) was found in injuries of CET and lateral ulnar collateral ligament (LUCL). CONCLUSION: Injury of the CET is not an isolated lesion for lateral picondylitis, which is mostly accompanied with other abnormalities, of which the LUCL injury is the most commonly seen in lateral epicondylitis, and there is a positive correlation between the injury degree in CET and LUCL.

MRI manifestations and differentiated diagnosis of postoperative spinal complications.

To analyze MR manifestations of postoperative spinal complications and investigate the value of MRI in the diagnosis and differentiated diagnosis, 114 cases of spinal postoperative complications were analyzed retrospectively and compared with the clinical data. The results showed that the main postoperative spinal complications included spinal stenosis (n=33, consisting of 21 cases of epidural fibrosis and 12 cases of epidural hematoma or epidural abscess), lack of spinal stability (n=43), infection (n=23, consisting of 7 cases of para-spinal soft-tissue infection, 5 cases of vertebral discitis, 4 cases of vertebral and appendix infection, 3 cases of epidural abscess, 2 cases of myelitis, 2 cases of spinal arachnoiditis), others (n=28, consisting of 12 cases of inner fixation failure, 9 cases of epidural hematoma, 7 cases of cerebrospinal fluid gusher). It is concluded that MRI can specifically display all kinds of postoperative spinal complications, and is of significant value in the diagnosis and differentiated diagnosis of postoperative spinal complications.

MRI Manifestations and Differentiated Diagnosis of Postoperative Spinal Complications / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

rentiated diagnosis of postoperative spinal complications.

Functional computed tomographic quantification of angiogenesis in rabbit VX2 soft-tissue tumor before and after interventional therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate the applicative value of multislice spiral computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging on quantitative assessment of tumor angiogenesis before and after transcatheter arterial embolization and monitoring the early interventional therapeutic effect in malignant solid tumors. METHODS: Sixteen New Zealand white rabbits successfully implanted VX2 tumor in the unilateral proximal thigh were divided into 2 groups (8 per group) at random and performed conventional CT plain scan and perfusion scan 14 days after implantation and 3 days after interventional therapy, respectively. The values of blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), and permeability surface area product (PS) in VX2 tumors and normal muscles were computed after intravenous bolus administration of iodinated contrast medium, and the differences among them were analyzed. Meanwhile, correlative analysis between perfusion parameters and microvessel density (MVD) counts and average optical density (AOD) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was done. RESULTS: Before interventional therapy, the values of BF, BV, MTT, and PS of the VX2 tumors in interventional group were 303.28 +/- 69.91 mL 100 g min, 7.02 +/- 3.10 mL 100 g, 1.99 +/- 0.28 seconds, and 65.88 +/- 9.38 mL 100 g min, respectively. Compared with the parametric values of normal muscular tissues, there were significant differences among them (F values were 4285.82, 1867.46, 413.04, and 698.42, respectively; P < 0.01). There were no significant differences of the above parametric values between the interventional group and the control group. Three days after interventional therapy, the values of BF, BV, MTT, and PS of the VX2 tumors in the interventional group were 7.53 +/- 2.37 mL 100 g min, 1.20 +/- 0.23 mL 100 g, 3.29 +/- 0.57 seconds, 4.01 +/- 1.51 mL 100 g min, respectively. Compared with the parametric values of preinterventional therapy and the control group, there were significant differences among them (P < 0.01). In addition, there was a good positive correlation between BF, BV, PS, and MVD, and AOD of VEGF (r > 0.7, P < 0.05) in VX2 tumors; however, there was no significant correlation between MTT and MVD (P > 0.05), and there was significant negative correlation between MTT and AOD of VEGF (r = -0.78, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Multislice spiral CT perfusion imaging is a functional imaging technique that provides useful, quantitative assessment to tumor angiogenesis, blood perfusion, and vascular permeability, which can evaluate the early interventional therapeutic effect in malignant solid tumors invasively and accurately.

Application of multislice spiral CT for guidance of insertion of thoracic spine pedicle screws: an in vitro study.

To investigate the value of the guidance of three dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) for the placement of pedicle screws, the 3-D anatomical data of the thoracic pedicles were measured by MSCT in two embalmed human cadaveric thoracic pedicles spines (T1-T10) to guide the insertion of pedicle screws. After pulling the screws out, the pathways were filled with contrast media. The PW, PH, TSA and SSA of developed pathways were measured on the CT images and they were also measured on the real objects by caliper and goniometer. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the difference between the CT scans and real objects had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). Moreover, the difference between pedicle axis and developed pathway also had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). The data obtained from 3-D reconstruction of MSCT demonstrated that individualized standards, are not only accurate but also helpful for the successful placement of pedicle screws.

Experimental study of multi-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging in VX2 soft-tissue tumor of rabbits.

An experimental animal model of malignant soft-tissue tumor was established to investigate the applied value of multi-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging preliminarily. Ten New Zealand white rabbits which were implanted with VX2 tumor in either proximal thigh were subjected to CT plain scan and perfusion scan two weeks later respectively, then the original perfusion images were transmitted to AW4.0 Workstation. The functional maps and perfusion parameters including blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability surface (PS) were computed and analyzed. All the values of BF, BV and PS in VX2 soft-tissue tumors were obviously higher while the MTT-values were lower than those in the normal muscular tissues significantly. It was suggested that multi-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging is an accurate, convenient and relatively safe functional imaging technique, and can give a quantitative assessment to angiogenesis and blood perfusion of soft-tissue tumors.

Gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging of epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow in normal piglets.

The purpose of this study is to define the appearance of normal epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow and normal changes of marrow due to fatty conversion on Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced MR Imaging. Unenhanced and enhanced T1-weighted MR imaging were performed in proximal and distal femoral ends of 8 healthy piglets at the ages of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, respectively. The changes with age in signal intensity and enhancement ratio of the epiphyseal and metaphyseal marrow with age were examined. The correlation of MRI characteristics with histological findings was studied. Our study showed that marrow of the metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center were well vascularized hematopoietic marrow and had great enhancements. The enhancement ratio of metaphysis was greater than that of epiphyseal marrow and both enhancement ratios degraded gradually with age. The central regions of the epiphyseal ossification center and of the diaphysis were of fatty marrow and had little enhancement. It is concluded that on Gd-enhanced MR imaging the hematopoietic marrow of metaphysis and of periphery of the 2nd ossification center had greater enhancement than that of fatty marrow of central region of the 2nd ossification center. All of their enhancements decreased gradually with age.

Epiphyseal and physeal cartilage: normal gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging.

To evaluate the normal appearance of epiphyseal and physeal cartilage on Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced MR imaging. The appearance and enhancement ratios of 20 proximal and distal femoral epiphyses in 10 normal piglets were analyzed on Gd-enhanced MR images. The correlation of the MR imaging appearance with corresponding histological findings of immature epiphyses was examined. Our results showed that Gd-enhanced MRI could differentiate the differences in enhancement between physeal and epiphyseal cartilage and show vascular canals within the epiphyseal cartilage. Enhanced ratios in the physeal were greater than those in the epiphyseal cartilage (P < 0.005). It is concluded that Gd-enhanced MR imaging reveals epiphyseal vascular canals and shows difference in enhancement of physeal and epiphyseal cartilage.

MRI characteristics and transverse relaxation time measurements in normal growing cartilage.

To determine the characteristics of magnetic resonance (MR) signals of normal growing cartilage and identify the difference in transverse relaxation times between physeal and epiphyseal cartilage in vivo. 24 distal femora of 12 two-week-old piglets were imaged on a 1.5 Tesla GE MR scanner. Comparison was made between signal intensity on MR images and the structure shown in corresponding histologic sections. T2 values were measured in eight piglets by means of multiecho spin-echo sequences. Our results showed that MR imaging delineated five regions between the secondary ossification center and the metaphysis, which histologically correspond to the zone of provisional calcification of the secondary ossification center, physis of the secondary ossification center, epiphyseal cartilage, physis and zone of provisional calcification. The T2 value in the physeal cartilage was much larger than that in the epiphyseal cartilage (P<0.05). It is concluded that MRI findings could differentiate the different regions of growing cartilage. T2 is longer in physeal than in epiphyseal cartilage, perhaps reflecting differences in water binding by proteoglycans.

Extranodal imaging manifestations of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A series of imaging features of extranodal, multi-systemic involvements in Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were investigated. The clinical data and imaging findings of 16 patients with pathologically proved NHL were retrospectively analyzed. The related literatures were reviewed. Of the 16 cases of NHL, skeletal involvement was found in 4, nasal cavity and nasal sinuses were involved in 4, too. Lesion in the thorax was seen in 3 patients, hepatic involvement occurred in one case, cerebral ventricle was affected in 3 cases, mesentery was involved in one case. Even though extranodal involvement of NHL exhibited extremely variable patterns, there were some relatively typical imaging findings. Emphasized in this report were the relatively specific imaging manifestations of different systems, which may mimic infectious or other neoplasms of different sites. The importance of imaging studies lies in the availability for diagnosis, staging and follow-up of NHL. Combined with the clinical and other related information, the diagnostic accuracy can be further improved, thus, providing reliable evidence in guiding clinical management.