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Objective: To obtain the normative values of the testis volume of 0－14 years old Chinese boys by ultrasound measurement., Methods: We collected the testicular ultrasound data on 1607 Chinese boys with normal testes between January 2016 and June 2019. The boys were aged 0－14 years and divided into 14 age groups, with at least 100 cases in each group. We compared the mean, standard deviation and median of the testis volume among different age groups., Results: The testis grew slowly in volume before 8 years old (0.372－0.678 ml), faster after 9 years old (1.040－4.600 ml), (1.040 ± 0.970) ml at 9－10 years, (1.876 ± 1.631) ml at 10－11 years, (2.831 ± 2.155) ml at 11－12 years, (3.640 ± 2.376) ml at 12－13 years, and (4.600 ± 3.559) ml at 13－14 years, larger in the 0－1 than in the 1－2 years group (［0.403 ± 0.130］ vs ［0.372 ± 0.110］ ml, P = 0.04), negatively correlated in age between the two groups., Conclusions: Ultrasonography is an effective method for the measurement of the testis volume, which can provide the normative values of the testis volume of the 0－14 years old Chinese boys and some evidence for clinical diagnosis and consultation.

With UiO-66 metal organic framework as the adsorbent, the influences of factors such as time, pH value, temperature on the adsorption were studied. The results showed that the adsorption effect was best at pH=4.0 for the adsorption system and the adsorption equilibrium time was 24 h. The equilibrium adsorption capacity increased with the increasing temperature and the optimal temperature should be controlled at 30℃. The adsorption of 2,4-D on UiO-66 followed Langmuir isotherm model and the adsorption kinetics could be better described by pseudo-second-order model. The intraparticle diffusion process was the rate-controlling step for adsorption processes. The results of thermodynamic calculations showed that Δ G <0, Δ H >0, Δ S >0. So the adsorption was a spontaneous, endothermic chemical process with increased randomness. The main interaction forces of adsorption were chemical bonding force and electrostatic interactions force. Results of the study suggested that UiO-66 had the potential ability for 2,4-D removal from wastewater.

Objective: To observe the promoting consciousness effect of electroacupuncture therapy on the patients with long-term coma caused by severe craniocerebral trauma., Methods: Twenty-nine cases with coma more than 3 weeks and Glasgow Coma Scales (GCS) of 8 or less were divided into an observation group (n=15) and a control group (n=14). They were treated with the same western medicine. In addition to ordinary treatment, the observation group was treated with electroacupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Shuigou (GV 26), Yongquan (KI 1) etc. for 30 min and the needles were retained for 30 min, once each day., Results: The average awake time and awake rate were 40.1 days and 73.3% (11/15) respectively in the observation group, which were higher than 51.8 days and 28.6% (4/14) in the control group., Conclusion: Electroacupuncture therapy combine with western medicine is more effective in improving consciousness of patients in coma caused by severe craniocerebral trauma.

By synthesizing Au nanoparticles with the controllable size from about 16 to 160 nm and measuring their SERS activity, the authors found that Au nanoparticles film with a size in the range of 120-135 nm showed the highest SERS activity with the 632.8 nm excitation, which is different from previous experimental results and theoretical predictions. The three dimensional finite difference time domain (3D-FDTD)method was employed to simulate the size dependent SERS activity. At the 632.8 nm excitation, the particles with a size of 110 nm shows the highest enhancement under coupling condition and presents an enhancement as high as 10(9) at the hot site. If the enhancement is averaged over the whole surface, the enhancement can still be as high as 10(7), in good agreement with our experimental data. For Au nanoparticles with a larger size such as 220 nm, the multipolar effect leads to the appearance of the second maximum enhancement with the increase in particles size. The averaged enhancement for the excitation line of 325 nm is only 10(2).

Objective: To evaluate the perfusion characteristics of the peritumoral brain edema of intracranial meningiomas using 16-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging., Methods: Dynamic contrast-enhanced single-location sequence CT scan was performed in 19 patients with intracranial meningiomas and peritumoral brain edema. The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and the mean transit time (MTT) were calculated for the peritumoral brain edema and the contralateral white matter and comparatively analyzed., Results: The rCBF and rCBV in the peritumoral brain edema were significantly lower than those of the contralateral white matter in patients with meningiomas (rCBF: 14.26-/+7.44 vs 26.92-/+15.71 ml/100 g tissue.min, P<0.05; rCBV: 0.96-/+0.35 vs 2.47-/+1.69 ml/100 g tissue, P<0.05). But the MTT showed no significant difference between the peritumoral brain edema and the contralateral white matter (P>0.05)., Conclusion: The rCBF and rCBV are significantly lowered in the peritumoral brain edema in comparison with those of the contralateral white matter. Vascular compression by the edema fluid may have a major effect on the tissue blood flow and blood volume.

Objective: To investigate the anti-tumor effects of melittin against malignant human glioma cells in vitro., Methods: Two malignant human glioma cell lines (U87 and U251) were treated with melittin at various concentrations, and the cell growth inhibition and apoptosis were evaluated using MTT assay, flow cytometry and agarose gel electrophoresis., Results: Melittin could obviously inhibit the proliferation of the two glioma cell lines (P<0.05). At the concentrations of 1, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 200 mg/L, melittin resulted in U87 cell apoptosis rates of 12.80%, 16.92%, 22.69%, 34.05%, 41.82%, 59.87%, and 80.25%, and in U251 cell apoptosis rate of 11.61%, 16.21%, 22.03%, 30.57%, 41.10%, 58.33%, and 79.12%, respectively, showing a dose-dependent effect in its action of inducing cell apoptosis., Conclusion: Melittin inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of malignant human glioma cell lines in vitro.

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with interstitial chemo- therapy on gliomas after microsurgery., Methods: Twenty-eight patients with glioma received microsurgery for glioma resection as much as possible, during which PDT was carried out and an Ommaya bursa implanted into the cavity left by the resected tumor. PDT was performed again 24 h after the operation and carmustine injected into the Ommaya bursa for interstitial chemotherapy at the different time after the operation. The follow-up study lasted for 2 years., Results: Two of the 28 patients had relapse of glioma within 1 year after the operation, with the 1-year survival rate of 89.3% (25/28) and 2-year survival rate of 65.7% (17/28)., Conclusions: PDT combined with interstitial chemotherapy following microsurgery provides a safe and effective treatment of glioma, which can inhibit glioma growth, decrease the recurrence rate, prolong the patients' survival and improve their quality of live.

Stable and good quality of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) signal from net rhodium electrode in the ultraviolet region was observed for the first time by our group recently. In this paper, both qualitative and quantitative analyses are given to interpret the new experimental results mainly based on the electromagnetic field theory. The mechanisms of SERS for rhodium electrode in the ultraviolet region are mainly attributed to the lightning rod effect together with the weak surface plasmon resonance. According to the calculation, the surface-averaged enhancement factor (SEF) for rhodium electrode in the ultraviolet region is about two orders of magnitude when the surface of the substrate is roughened properly, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The authors also give a comparative study to show why silver, which is the best SERS active substrate in the visible and near infrared region, can't give any SERS signal when the 325 nm excitation line is used.

Objective: To explore a method for rapid construction of a full-length cDNA library of human glioma tissues using switching mechanism at 5' end of RNA transcript (SMART)., Methods: The total RNA was extracted from several samples of human glioma tissues and the mRNA was subsequently separated. Multiple mRNA samples were mixed to be used as the template for the first-strand cDNA synthesis. The CDS /3' PCR primer (containing Sfi IB site) was used in the first-strand reaction, and the SMART IV Oligo(dT) (containing Sfi A site) served as the short, extended template at the 5' end of the mRNA. With the above two primers, the primer-extension step generated full-length double-strand cDNA, which was digested by Sfi I restriction enzyme and ligated to the Sfi I A & B -digested lambdaTriplEx2 vector. The ligated vector was then packaged by lambda packaging extract for the final construction of the cDNA library., Results: The unamplified human glioma cDNA library consisted of 2.4x10(6) independent clones with a recombination rate of 100%. The titer of the amplified cDNA library was 4.5x10(9) pfu/ml, and the average exogenous inserts of the recombinants was 1.2 kb in length., Conclusion: A high-quality full-length cDNA library of human gliomas was constructed successfully, which may facilitate further study of the screening and cloning of new tumor suppressor genes and tissue-specific genes of human glioma.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel expression in astrocytes and brain edema caused by glioma., Methods: The changes of water transport in in vitro blood-brain barrier models were examined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the expression level of AQP4 was assayed by semiquantitative RT-PCR., Results: The water transport of the in vitro blood-brain barrier model from the luminal side to basolateral side was increased after coculture with glioma cells, which induced significantly decreased expression level of AQP4 in the astrocytes., Conclusions: Glioma cells can promote water transport in in vitro blood-brain barrier model from the luminal side to abluminal side, and the brain edema induced by the glioma cells may not necessarily be the result of hyperpermeability of the blood-brain barrier to macromolecules in the plasma. The decreased expression level of AQP4 induced by glioma cells may be a molecular mechanism for neoplastic brain edema in patients with glioma.