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Gene therapy provides great opportunities for treating diseases from genetic disorders to immune system diseases and cancer. Much work has focused on bioactive macromolecules and nanoparticles, which can interact with low-molecular-mass drugs or DNA molecules to form complexes, and have been used for local delivery of therapeutic factors for tissue regeneration or gene therapy. In this study, inorganic amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) hybrid nanospheres functionalized with a small amount of Ca(ii)-IP6compound (CaIP6) were prepared on a large scale by a facile gas-diffusion method. The results of in vitrotransfection experiments show that the obtained functional calcium carbonate/phosphate nanocomposite particles had higher transfection efficiency and lower cytotoxicity level than commercial Lipofectamine 2000. From these results alternative new vectors for gene delivery could be developed. In addition, functionalized inorganic nanocomposite particles are biocompatible and biodegradable, thus the as-prepared hybrid nanospheres are promising for biomedical applications as a safe biomaterial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial cellulitis caused by odontogenic bacterial infection is frequently encountered; however, facial cellulitis caused by Candida albicans infection is rarely found. A patient with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and unknown diabetes mellitus (DM) was treated in our out-patient dental clinic by biweekly submucosal injection of 40 mg triamcinolone acetonide into bilateral buccal mucosae plus forced mouth opening performed by the two hands of the clinician. The interincisal distance of the patient improved from 28 to 48 mm after four times of steroid injection. The symptoms and signs of OSF also improved markedly. Unfortunately, facial candidal cellulitis occurred 2 months after the last time of steroid injection treatment. The infection was cured by incision and drainage, intravenous administration of amphotericin B (100 mg once a day for a week), and an appropriate medical control of DM. No recurrence of facial cellulitis was found during the follow-up period of 18 months. To prevent the occurrence of facial cellulitis after a high-dose steroid therapy, some prophylactic procedures should be taken before the initiation of the steroid treatment. J Oral Pathol Med (2004) 33: 243–5 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) is important because the prognosis is closely related to timing of Kasai operation. The aim of this study was to test the clinical application of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentration and the ratio of serum GGT to aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in differentiating BA from neonatal hepatitis (NH)., Methods: Ninety-three (46 male and 47 female) cases of BA and 65 (45 male and 20 female) NH were included in this study. Serum concentrations of GGT, AST, and ALT were measured in all cholestatic infants. The results of peak GGT level, GGT/AST ratio, GGT/ALT ratio were compared between groups., Results: The serum GGT levels were significantly higher in BA patients than those in NH patients (353.3 +/- 334.4 IU/L vs. 114.8 +/- 86 IU/L, P < 0.001). GGT/AST values were over 2 in 55/68 BA and 15/ 54 NH (OR = 11.0, 95% CI 4.7-25.7, P < 0.001). GGT/ALT values were over 2 in 54/65 BA and 19/50, NH respectively (OR = 8.0, 95% CI 3.4-19.0, P < 0.001). A GGT level greater than 300 IU/L had a sensitivity of 39.7% in the diagnosis of BA, GGT/AST over 2 was 80.9% and GGT/ALT over 2 was 83.1%; the specificities were 98.1%, 72.2% and 62.0%, respectively. The respective accuracies of the diagnosis of BA were 65.6%, 77.1% and 73.9%., Conclusions: GGT/AST ratio over 2 indicates high possibility of biliary atresia and should prompt further investigations to confirm the diagnosis.

Background: Taiwan is currently nonendemic for hepatitis A infection, but sporadic cases are reported occasionally. The presenting symptoms of acute hepatitis A (AHA) infection in children are often nonspecific and may be easily misdiagnosed as general gastrointestinal illness., Methods: We conducted this study to identify the relevant presenting symptoms and laboratory findings of AHA in children. The medical records of all patients younger than 18 years old admitted to Kaohsiung Chang Gang Memorial Hospital from July 1986 to June 2004 under the diagnosis of AHA were reviewed. There were 29 pediatric patients admitted with the diagnosis of AHA, including 16 male patients and 13 female patients., Results: Poor appetite, malaise, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever were the leading constitutional symptoms. Jaundice and tea-colored urine were the most relevant hepatobiliary presentations. Elevation of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, direct and indirect bilirubin was common, although other hematology and biochemistry examinations were within normal limits on most occasions. There was no mortality in our series. A slightly increasing prevalence of AHA was noted over the two decades of the study period, although it was not statistically significant., Conclusions: Our results found that children with AHA tended to present with non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms and acute liver function deterioration. Elevation of hepatic aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase with cholestasis was common.

Nowdays, it is common seen that criminals tend to use the lock-against-theft for motorcycle to harm others as a tool. In order to find out the chief characters of this kind of injury, 28 cases in which victims were hurt by lock-against-theft for motorcycle were analyzed. In each case, the victims carefully questioned to confirm the damage procedure. Furthermore, the wound configuration was observed and the forming mechanism was deduced to provide morphological evidences for the judgement in this kind of case.