Hygromycin resistance gene cassettes for vector construction and selection of transformed rice protoplasts

Hygromycin resistance gene cassettes were designed to facilitate vector construction for plant transformation. Unique EcoRI, Pstl, and Sacll sites in the coding sequence of a hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene (hph) from Escherichia coli were eliminated. The mutated hph genes were used to form gene cassettes flanked by EcoRI-Sacll-Kpnl-Hindlll sites. Hygromycin resistance of wild-type and mutated hph genes was indistinguishable in E. coli and rice protoplast growth assay.

Treatment of small cell lung cancer

During a 28-year period, 110 patients with small cell lung cancer were treated at our hospital. Fifty-nine patients received surgery, and 58 patients (including 7 cases after exploratory thoracotomy) received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The 5-year survival rate of the surgically treated group was 17%, while none in the non-surgical group survived for more than 5 years.

[The contents of gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamic acid in brain affected by coriaria lactone]

Capillary chromatography was applied to studying the contents of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamic acid (Glu) in brain affected by coriaria lactone. The results showed that there was a significant increase in the content of Glu whereas no significant change in the content of GABA was noted. The precisions for GABA and Glu were 3.3% and 4.98% and the recoveries of them were 80.5% and 85.2%, respectively. Capillary chromatography is a good method for determining the contents of GABA and Glu in brain, which has the characteristics of rapid and high sensitivity.

Race and birth weight: the Chinese example

In several studies a race-specific variation in birth weight was suggested between black infants and white infants. The following were compared: (1) the birth weight of Chinese infants born in mainland China, Taiwan, and the United States; and (2) the birth weight of Chinese infants and white infants born in the United States controlled for sociodemographic background. Similar birth weight distributions and incidence of low birth weight were found among Chinese infants born in the three areas with markedly different economic conditions. The women in all three areas appear to have met the basic health and nutritional needs for adequate fetal growth. Similar incidence of low birth weight with different birth weight distribution was found among infants born in the United States to two Chinese parents, to one Chinese parent and one white parent, and to two white parents. The variation in birth weight is greater for white infants than for Chinese infants and, consequently, more white infants had larger birth weight. The possibility of race-specific influences on birth weight distribution is suggested by these findings.

[Serologic investigation of HBV in 302 patients who had a history of smallpox]

This paper provides serologic investigation of HBV in 302 persons who had a history of smallpox in Zhumadian County. The results showed that the HBsAg positivity rate (1.3%) was significantly lower than those of the control group 1 (8.3%) and 2 (8.6%) (P less than 0.001). The HBsAg positivity rate between the two control groups had no significant difference (P greater than 0.05). The HBV infection rate (19.2%) was also lower than those of control group 1 (47.7%) and 2 (51.3%) (P less than 0.001). There was not much difference between the two control groups. The determination of cellular immunity showed that the rosette positivity rate (75.93%) and lymphocyte conversion rate (70.39%) of the patients' group were higher than those of control group 1 (62.3% and 52.9%) and 2 (60.93% and 55.3%). It may suggested that patients having had smallpox might have enhanced cellular immunity which might interfere with HBV infection.

[Toxic principles of Oxytropis glabra DC]

Eight alkaloids were isolated from Oxytropis glabra and identified as anagirine, thermopsine, N-methylcytisine, sparteine, baptifoline, adenine, dictamnine and ethyl allophanate respectively by spectral analysis and physicochemical methods. All these alkaloids were isolated from this genus for the first time and ethyl allophanate was found in nature for the first time.

[Distribution of muscarinic receptors of different affinities in smooth muscle of human stomach]

Muscarinic receptors of high and low affinity were found in the fundus and the body of human stomach through the contraction experiment combined with ligand method in vitro. The 2 types of muscarinic receptors with different affinity regulated respectively the contractions of the longitudinal and the circular muscle of human gastric fundus and gastric body. However, in the antrum exists only one kind of muscarinic receptors of high affinity, which regulated the contractions of the longitudinal and the circular muscles of human stomach. The contractile force of the longitudinal muscle induced by exogenous ACh in the fundus and that in the body of human stomach were found to be similar to each other. The contractile force of the circular muscle in the body was found to be the strongest, and the contractile force of both longitudinal and circular muscles in antrum was weaker.

[Determination of berberine hydrochloride in traditional Chinese medicines containing Coptis chinensis Franch by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography]

This paper reports a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography method to determine berberine hydrochloride in Coptis chinensis Franch and in the traditional Chinese medicine containing Coptis chinensis Franch. The result shows that the mobile phase of 0.4mol/L ammonium nitratemethanol (52:48) can give a satisfactory separation. The extraction of sample with 1% H2SO4 solution using the ultrasonic vibration method is simple and easy to operate.

Identification of a peptide inhibitor of the cardiac sarcolemmal Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger

The deduced amino acid sequence of the cardiac sarcolemmal Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger has a region which could represent a calmodulin binding site. As calmodulin binding regions of proteins often have an autoinhibitory role, a synthetic peptide with this sequence was tested for functional effects on Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange activity. The peptide inhibits the Na(+)-dependent Ca2+ uptake (KI approximately 1.5 microM) and the Nao(+)-dependent Ca2+ efflux of sarcolemmal vesicles in a noncompetitive manner with respect to both Na+ and Ca2+. The peptide is also a potent inhibitor (KI approximately 0.1 microM) of the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange current of excised sarcolemmal patches. The binding site for the peptide on the exchanger is on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane. The exchanger inhibitory peptide binds calmodulin with a moderately high affinity. From the characteristics of the inhibition of the exchange of sarcolemmal vesicles, we deduce that only inside-out sarcolemmal vesicles participate in the usual Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange assay. This contrasts with the common assumption that both inside-out and right-side-out vesicles exhibit exchange activity.

Suppression of splenic macrophage interleukin-1 secretion following intracerebroventricular injection of interleukin-1 beta: evidence for pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic control

Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) produced a dose-dependent increase in plasma corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) within 2 hr of injection and then declined over the next 24 hr. Using a potent steroidogenic dose of IL-1 beta (5 ng), ICV injection resulted in suppression of splenic macrophage IL-1 secretion following stimulation by LPS in vitro. Macrophage TGF-beta secretion was not affected, indicating a differential action of ICV IL-1 beta on macrophage cytokine production. Following adrenalectomy (ADX), the suppressive effect of ICV IL-1 beta was reversed and resulted in stimulation of macrophage IL-1 secretion, indicating that the suppression was mediated by adrenocorticol activation. However, surgical interruption of the splenic nerve to eliminate autonomic innervation of the spleen also prevented the macrophage suppressive signal in rats given ICV IL-1 beta. Furthermore, the combination of ADX and splenic nerve section resulted in a potent stimulatory effect of ICV IL-1 beta on splenic macrophage IL-1 secretion which was greater than either ADX or splenic nerve section alone. These results support the concept of a negative feedback on macrophage IL-1 secretion by the central action of IL-1 beta and indicate that both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system mediate this effect.

Case-control study on pathogenesis of pneumonia in children aged 0-2 years

In order to know the incidence of risk factors predisposing children to pneumonia, case control study was carried out in six MCH Model Counties in 1986. Single factor analysis showed 29 factors were responsible for the increasing incidence of pneumonia. 13 of 29 factors were major pneumonia risk factors by the standard of means greater than 15 and OR greater than 3. They were malnutrition, anemia, riskets, pneumonia history, repeated colds, chronic diarrhoea, congenital malformation, asphyxia neonatorum, amniotic fluid aspiration, artificial feeding, too much clothing, family member with acute respiratory illness (ARI) and contact with ARI patients. Among them 7 factors were related to individual health condition. Therefore, it is important to improve general health of children so as to reduce the incidence of pneumonia.

[Identification of 10 kinds of Zanthoxylum by pyrolysis GC]

In this paper, pyrolysis GC was applied to differentiate and fingerprint 10 kinds of Zanthoxylum on an OV-101 capillary column. Analytical conditions with this column, operating temperature, pyrolysis time and peak identifications are discussed.

[Results of total gastrectomy in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the cardia in advanced stages]

Over an 8 year period, 66 patients with adenocarcinoma of the cardia in advanced stages underwent total gastrectomy. The operative morbidity rate was 7.5% and the post-operative mortality rate (1 month) was 1.5%. The post-operative 1,3,4, and 5 year survival rates were 69%, 30.7%, 20% and 13.8% respectively. The quality of life after surgery was improved. Pathologic type, lymph node metastasis, incomplete resection and post-operative chemotherapy were the main factors influencing post-operative survival. Indications for total gastrectomy and the advantages of transthoracic total gastrectomy are discussed.