Jiao Mu

Role of EFNB2/EPHB4 signaling in spiral artery development during pregnancy: An appraisal

EFNB2 and EPHB4, which belong to a large tyrosine kinase receptor superfamily, are molecular markers of arterial and venous blood vessels, respectively. EFNB2/EPHB4 signaling plays an important role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis, and its role in tumor vessel development has been extensively studied. Pregnancy and tumors share similar features, including continuous cell proliferation and increased demand for a blood supply. Our previous studies showed that Efnb2 and Ephb4 were expressed dynamically in the spiral arteries, uterine natural killer cells, and trophoblasts during mouse gestation Days 6.5–12.5. Moreover, uterine natural killer cells and trophoblasts are required for the modification of spiral arteries. Oxygen tension within the pregnant uterus, which contributes to the vascular development, also affects EFNB2 and EPHB4 expression. Considering the role of EFNB2/EPHB4 signaling in embryonic and tumor vascular development, and its dynamic expression in the decidua and placenta, we hypothesize that EFNB2 and EPHB4 are involved in the regulation of spiral artery remodeling. Investigating this hypothesis will help clarify the mechanisms of pathological pregnancy that may underlie abnormal spiral artery development. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 12–18, 2016.

Sexual dimorphism of the mandible in a contemporary Chinese Han population

A present limitation of forensic anthropology practice in China is the lack of population-specific criteria on contemporary human skeletons. In this study, a sample of 203 maxillofacial Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, including 96 male and 107 female cases (20-65 years old), was analyzed to explore mandible sexual dimorphism in a population of contemporary adult Han Chinese to investigate the potential use of the mandible as sex indicator. A three-dimensional image from mandible CBCT scans was reconstructed using the SimPlant Pro 11.40 software. Nine linear and two angular parameters were measured. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) and logistic regression analysis (LRA) were used to develop the mathematics models for sex determination. All of the linear measurements studied and one angular measurement were found to be sexually dimorphic, with the maximum mandibular length and bi-condylar breadth being the most dimorphic by univariate DFA and LRA respectively. The cross-validated sex allocation accuracies on multivariate were ranged from 84.2% (direct DFA), 83.5% (direct LRA), 83.3% (stepwise DFA) to 80.5% (stepwise LRA). In general, multivariate DFA yielded a higher accuracy and LRA obtained a lower sex bias, and therefore both DFA and LRA had their own advantages for sex determination by the mandible in this sample. These results suggest that the mandible expresses sexual dimorphism in the contemporary adult Han Chinese population, indicating an excellent sexual discriminatory ability. Cone beam computed tomography scanning can be used as alternative source for contemporary osteometric techniques.

Chemical Analysis in the Corpus Callosum Following Traumatic Axonal Injury using Fourier Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy: A Pilot Study.

Evaluating traumatic axonal injury remains challenging in clinical and forensic sciences as its identification is difficult using routine diagnostic methods. This study used Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy to detect TAI within the corpus callosum in an animal model. Protein conformational analysis revealed significantly increased β‐sheet and β‐turn contents paralleled by a decrease in α‐helix content at 24 h postinjury, while the antiparallel β‐sheet content was decreased at 12 h postinjury. Compared with the control group, the lipid/protein ratio was significantly reduced in all of the injured groups. At 24 h postinjury, there were increases in the olefinic=CH and CH3 group of lipids accompanied by the decreased CH2 group, but the results at 12 and 72 h were contrary to that at 24 h. Our study showed that FTIRM could differentiate injured from normal white matter at different time points following TBI via examination of these infrared spectral parameters.

Sudden death of a 15-year-old girl due to fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus—Diabetic ketoacidosis induced cerebral edema?

Sudden death from fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus is uncommon in forensic practice. Here we report the sudden death of a 15-year-old girl who presented with vomiting, fever and abdominal pain and died unexpectedly. Postmortem examination showed severe pancreatic islet destruction, cerebral edema and lipid vacuolization of the epithelium of the renal proximal tubules and liver cells. The biochemical analysis in reserved heart blood and vitreous fluid indicated the elevated levels of glucose and ketone bodies and lower glycosylated hemoglobin and C-peptide. The cause of death was attributed to fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus which led to diabetic ketoacidosis-associated cerebral edema. This report suggested that the histological examination of the pancreas, liver and kidney, insulin immunohistochemistry, as well as biochemical analysis could be useful for the diagnosis of diabetes related death.

Sexual determination of the mandible breadth in a central Chinese population sample: a three-dimensional analysis

In central China, there are no specialised mandible morphometric standards for sex determination. The purpose of this study was to produce a series of metrical mandible standards for accurate sex determination in the central Chinese population by CBCT (cone beam computed tomography) scans. The sample comprised 219 non-pathological maxillofacial CBCT images. Following three-dimensional reconstruction, four breadth dimension measurements were taken using SimPlant Pro 11.40. The breadth measurements were also described as the ratio. The variables were analysed using basic descriptive statistics, discriminant function analyses (DFA) and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis by SPSS 16.0. All the breadth dimensions described here were sexually dimorphic, were larger in males than in females and the differences were statistically significant. Some ratio variables were significantly different, but they were less dimorphic than the breadth dimensions per se. The sex cross-validated classification accuracies of the discriminant functions of four breadth dimensions ranged from 65.3 to 77.6% for the univariate DFA, 82.6% for the direct and stepwise multivariate DFA. The ROC analysis also illustrated the validity of four breadth dimensions for sex determination. We conclude that the mandible is a useful bone for sex determination among the central Chinese population in forensic anthropology.