Deriving striatal projection neurons from human pluripotent stem cells with Activin A

The striatum is the main input structure of the basal ganglia and is involved in voluntary motor control,habit learning and reward processing.Medium spiny neurons（MSNs）comprise80%and 95%of striatal neurons in primates and rodents,respectively.

CHINESE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT (HGP) MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS

The first stage of HGP in China (Jan. 1994～Jun. 1997) was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the form of a principle project (total funding: 3,750,000 RMB) entitled "Study on gene structure of some loci in the genome of Chinese nationalities". After 3 and half years’ collaborative work by 19 groups and about 200 scientists distributed in 16 participating labs, coordinated by Prof. Bo-Qing QIANG of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese

Three Gorges Project Conducive To China's Human Rights Cause

The Three Gorges Project has always been under global spotlight, even when it was still being conceived in the 1980s. No wonder. The project, scheduled for completion by 2010, will be the greatest hydroelectric project ever built by the human race. Moreover, some 1.2 million people are being resettled in the course of its construction, the largest human exodus caused by any construction project ever undertaken in the world.

Human Rights Protection Among Resettlers Displaced by the Three Gorges Project

The mammoth Three Gorges Dam is designed to displace 1.13 million people. Over the past ten years since the resettlement project started in 1993, 709,200 people or 62.76% have been resettled. Thanks to the principle of "resettlement by development," the Chinese government has paid full attention to protecting the property right, the right to employment, the right to residence and the rights and interests of disadvantaged groups. As a result, the resettlement project has given a powerful push to the overall economic and social progress and sustainable development.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of human spinal cord based on histological serial sections

BACKGROUND： It is not possible to reconstruct the inner structure of the spinal cord, such as gray matter and spinal tracts, from the Visual Human Project database or CT and MRI databases, due to low image resolution and contrast in macrosection images. OBJECTIVE： To explore a semi-automatic computerized three-dimensional （3D） reconstruction of human spinal cord based on histological serial sections, in order to solve issues such as low contrast. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： An experimental study combining serial section techniques and 3D reconstruction, performed in the laboratory of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology at the Medical School of Nantong University during January to April 2008. SETTING： Department of Anatomy, Institute of Neurobiology, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration, Laboratory of Image Engineering. MATERIALS： A human lumbar spinal cord segment from fresh autopsy material of an adult male. METHODS： After 4% paraformaldehyde fixation for three days, serial sections of the lumbar spinal cord were cut on a Leica cryostat and mounted on slides in sequence, with eight sections aligned separately on each slide. All sections were stained with Luxol Fast Blue to reveal myelin sheaths. After gradient dehydration and clearing, the stained slides were coverslipped. Sections were observed and images recorded under a light microscope using a digital camera. Six images were acquired at x25 magnification and automatically stitched into a complete section image. After all serial images were obtained, 96 complete serial images of the human lumbar cord segment were automatically processed with ＂Curves＂, ＂Autocontrast＂, ＂Gray scale 8 bit＂, ＂Invert＂, ＂Image resize to 50%＂ steps using Photoshop 7.0 software. All images were added in order into 3D-DOCTOR 4.0 software as a stack, where serial images were automatically realigned with neighboring images and semi-automatically segmented for white matter and gray matter. Finally, simple surface and volume reconstruction were completed on a personal computer. The reconstructed human lumbar spinal cord segment was interactively observed, cut, and measured. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The reconstructed human lumbar spinal cord segment. RESULTS： Compared with serial images obtained from other image modalities, such as CT, MRI, and macrosections from The Visual Human Project database, the Luxol Fast Blue stained histological serial section images exhibited higher resolution and contrast between gray and white matter. Image processing and 3D reconstruction steps were semi-automatically performed with related software. The 3D reconstructed human lumbar cord segment were observed, cut, and measured on a PC. CONCLUSION： A semi-automatically computerized method, based on histological serial sections, is an effective way to 3D-reconstruct the human spinal cord.

Protocol for Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Extraction of Imaging‑Derived Phenotypes from the China Phenobank Project

Imaging-derived phenotypes(IDPs)have been increasingly used in population-based cohort studies in recent years.As widely reported,magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)is an important imaging modality for assessing the anatomical structure and function of the brain with high resolution and excellent soft-tissue contrast.The purpose of this article was to describe the imaging protocol of the brain MRI in the China Phenobank Project(CHPP).Each participant underwent a 30-min brain MRI scan as part of a 2-h whole-body imaging protocol in CHPP.The brain imaging sequences included T1-magnetization that prepared rapid gradient echo,T2 fuid-attenuated inversion-recovery,magnetic resonance angiography,difusion MRI,and resting-state functional MRI.The detailed descriptions of image acquisition,interpretation,and post-processing were provided in this article.The measured IDPs included volumes of brain subregions,cerebral vessel geometrical parameters,microstructural tracts,and function connectivity metrics.

A brief overview of game-changing genetic engineering projects

In recent era,advancement of research involves computational management of large-scale genomic and post-genomic datasets in an obvious way.Rapidly emerging field of bioinformatics,fueled by high-throughput technologies and genomic scale database,is believed to reshape our approach of research to a new level.Genomics has shifted the paradigm of biological perspectives exploring many scopes.Old initiatives paved the path for the newer and more advantageous one.The present review focuses on present initiatives that are implemented till now like the famous Human Genome Project and its influence on digital biology,as well as the projects that followed in its footsteps.Additionally,the authors delve into the future potential of personalized medicine and the use of genetic engineering methods like CRISPR/Cas9 in gene editing,which are thought to have the potential to revolutionize the current treatment strategy.

The Human Brain Project Reboots: A Search Engine for the Brain Is in Sight

The human brain is smaller than you might expect:One of them,dripping with formaldehyde,fits in a single gloved hand of a lab supervisor.Soon,this rubbery organ will be frozen solid,coated in glue,and then sliced into several thousand wispy slivers,each just 60 micrometers thick.A custom apparatus will scan those sections using 3D polarized light imaging(3DPLI)to measure the spatial orientation of nerve fibers at the micrometer level.The scans will be gathered into

Subscapular Bursa： Anatomy and Magnetic Resonance Appearance

The definition of the subscapular bursa （SSB） remains controversial.One researcher demonstrated that SSB was a separate pouch.[l] However,others believed that SSB was actually the superior subscapularis recess （SSR）,which is an outpouching of the glenohumeral joint capsule.[4] Whether or not the SSB and SSR are two different bursae must be confirmed.Furthermore,the fluid in the SSR revealed in magnetic resonance （MR） imaging has been regarded as an indication for a diagnosis of frozen shoulder.[3] Considering that the SSB and SSR are two different structures with a close spatial relationship,recognition of the MR appearance of SSB might have important diagnostic implications.The purposes of this study were to describe the anatomy of the SSB using a three-dimensional （3D） visualization technique based on the Chinese visible human （CVH） and to explore the MR appearance of the SSB.