[Double Labeling and Simultaneous Monitoring for Hsp70 and Hsf-1 Kinetics in SCC-25 Cells with a Short-Term Dietary Restriction of Leucine Following Heat Shock]

To develop a quantum-dot-based multiplexed imaging system for the simultaneous monitoring of Hsf- 1/Hsp70 after heat shock, and to evaluate the effects of combined thermotherapy and leucine deprivation therapy on Hsf-1 inactivation. SCC-25 cells were leucine starved for 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 days following which the cells underwent heat shock at 42°C for 30 min. At 6 h after heat shock, Hsf-1 activation and translocation to the nucleus was observed in cells that were leucine starved for 0, 1 and 2 days, and the synthesis of Hsp70 and Hsf-1 reached their maximum values and had a tendency to gather in the nucleus. However, in cells that were leucine starved for 3 and 4 days, Hsf-1 activity and Hsp70 synthesis level was dramatically decreased. Dietary restriction of leucine for at least three days could result in the inactivation of Hsf-1, leading to a reduction in Hsp70 synthesis. The combination of thermotherapy and short-term leucine deprivation therapy may become effective approach for the treatment of oral tumors.

[Influencing factors and antenatal assessment of the vaginal birth after cesarean section]

Objective: To explore the influencing factors of the vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC), and establish a model for predicting the risk of trial of the trial of labor after cesarean section (TOLAC). Methods: From January 2016 to December 2018, total 694 pregnant women who underwent TOLAC in Northwest Women's and Children's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Those cases were divided into two groups according to the mode of delivery: the VBAC group and the failed TOLAC group. At the same time, 700 cases in the elective repeat cesarean section (ERCS) group were randomly selected as control group. The influencing factors of VBAC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and the pregnancy outcomes between the three groups were compared. Results: (1) The VBAC rate was 76.1% (528/694) and 166 women underwent the failed TOLAC (23.9%, 166/694). (2) Univariate analysis found that, the pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) [(22.0±3.0), (23.3±2.7) kg/m(2)], the previous vaginal delivery history [10.4%(55/528), 3.6%(6/166)], the cervical score (5.2±1.9,4.3±1.6) and the neonatal birth weight [(3 315±468), (3 484±274) g] of the VBAC group were significantly different from the failed TOLAC group (P<0.05). (3) The comparison of pregnancy outcomes: the neonatal birth weight was (3 315±468) g, and the intrapartum hemorrhage volume was (255±121) ml in the VBAC group, which were significantly lower than those in the failed TOLAC group [intrapartum hemorrhage (325±173) ml] and the ERCS group [(3 572±344) g, (281±125) ml], there were statistically significant differences in the comparison among the three groups (all P<0.05). Two cases of bladder injury occurred during cesarean section in the TOLAC failure group (1.2%,2/166). The rates of the blood transfusion, puerperal infection, 5-minute Apgar score and neonatal ICU admission among the three groups were no statistically significantly different (all P>0.05). There was no maternal or perinatal death. (4) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the delivery age of pregnant women (OR=0.92, 95%CI: 0.87-0.98), pre-pregnancy BMI (OR=0.92, 95%CI:0.86-0.98), vaginal delivery history (OR=3.31, 95%CI: 1.35-8.01), cervical score (OR=1.29, 95%CI: 1.13-1.42) and the birth weight of the neonates <3 300 g (OR=3.15, 95%CI: 2.02-4.90) were independent influencing factors for VBAC. The area under curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.74. Conclusions: The influencing factors of VBAC are delivery age, pre-pregnancy BMI, vaginal delivery history, cervical score and neonatal birth weight <3 300 g. The adequate individualized management and assessment of the TOLAC may be helpful to improve the VBAC rate.

Relationship between Changes of Pericyte Number and Wound Age during Repair of Skeletal Muscle Contusion in Mice

Abstract

Objective To observe the change pattern of pericyte number at different time periods after mice skeletal muscle contusion and discuss its role in wound age estimation. Methods A mice gastrocnemius muscle contusion model was established. The form and number changes of pericytes at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 28 d post-injury were detected by multiple immunofluorescence staining. Results Compared with the slender shape of pericytes in normal skeletal muscles, pericytes in the contusion area had increased volume, rounder form and a round nuclei. Part of pericytes were found to express satellite cell markers paired-box transcription factor （Pax7） or myoblast determination 1 （MyoD1）. The changes of pericyte number in skeletal muscles after contusion were time-dependant, and showed unimodal distribution with the extension of wound age. In the central contusion area, the number of pericytes peaked at 5 d post-injury while in the peripheral contusion area, the number of pericytes peaked at 5 d and 7 d post-injury. Conclusion The number of pericytes in contusion area varies time-dependently after skeletal muscle contusion in mice and might be a reference index for muscle wound age estimation, and is involved in the repair and regeneration of skeletal muscle injury.

[Expert consensus on rabies exposure prophylaxis]

Rabies is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by lyssavirus and characterized by central nervous system symptoms. The fatality rate of rabies is almost 100%. About 59 000 cases die of rabies worldwide every year, mainly in Asia and Africa. China is an epidemic country of rabies. Grade II and III exposures are the main types of rabies exposures in China. Standardized post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent rabies almost 100%. Human Rabies Vaccine Technical Working Group, National Immunization Advisory Committee and invited experts reached an expert consensus on PEP by referring to the World Health Organization's position paper on rabies vaccine in 2018 and related research progress in recent.

Research Progress?on?Age?Determination?of?Venous?Thrombosis in Forensic Medicine

Abstract

Pulmonary thromboembolism （PTE）, which is caused by detachment of venous thrombosis, is a common cause of sudden death in forensic practice. In the cases which die of PTE after trauma or die of PTE during non-thrombosis disease hospitalization, forensic pathologists are required to analyze the time sequence between trauma or medical practice and venous thrombosis, and then analyze their causal relationship. This review summarizes the history of thrombus age estimation and recent advances in forensic medicine, and then gives a brief outlook for future research to provide reference for forensic identification of PTE and guide follow-up studies.

[Thoughts and principles of diagnosis and treatment of chronic refractory wounds in China]

The correct thoughts and principles of diagnosis and treatment of chronic refractory wounds need to be formulated. Through the relevant domestic and international consensus and based on clinical experience, the Thoughts and principles of diagnosis and treatment of chronic refractory wounds in China is proposed. It is considered that in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic refractory wounds, in the case of fully understanding the patient's medical history, the following thoughts and principles should be complied in order. (1) Pay attention to the cleanliness of the wound after being cleaned. (2) Reasonably perform debridement to avoid being " excessive" or " not thorough". (3) Reasonably perform examination, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis of pathogenic factors. (4) Treat according to etiology. (5) Find comorbidities and prevent adverse outcomes. (6) Select the correct wound treatment method reasonably and timely. When the conservative wound care treatment is considered, pay attention to embodying the concept of etiological treatment, treat the wound according to the principles of safety, phase, selectivity, and effectiveness, and make a reasonable choice of continuing conservative treatment or surgical treatment in time after completing the preparation of the wound bed. When surgical treatment is considered, pay attention to the selection of reasonable surgical method and donor site, pay attention to the healing rate of surgical wound site and the outcome of donor site, and give reasonable protection to the wound site after surgery. (7) Carry out rehabilitation treatment after wound healing and related health education.

[Study on the correlation of the effect of entecavir on Th1/Th2 cytokines level in the treatment of chronic hepatitis]

Objective: To explore the expression level of peripheral blood Th1/Th2 type cytokines of chronic hepatitis b (CHB) patients in the entecavir (ETV) antiviral treatment, analyze the relationship between various cytokines, and the correlation among of cytokines and HBV DNA loads. Methods: Luminex Liquid Chip Technology was applied to detect the peripheral blood Th1/Th2 type cytokines expression level of CHB patients; At the same time, liver function was detected by Fully Automatic Biochemical Analyzer; HBV DNA loads were detected by PCR Method; Hepatitis b virology markers were detected by Chemiluminescence Method. F-test and Pearson correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results: Before ETV antiviral treatment, peripheral blood Th1 cytokines IFN gamma expression level in patients with CHB increased significantly (P = 0.010) compared with the healthy control group while TNF alpha expression level having no statistically significant difference (P = 0.095); Th2 type cytokines IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 levels decreased obviously (P = 0.039, P = 0.014, P = 0.026) compared with those in the control group. After 48 weeks of treatment, Th1 cytokines IFN gamma and TNF alpha expression levels were reduced significantly (19.2±5.03 pg/ml vs 24.69±6.51 pg/ml, and 6.09±4.99 pg/ml vs 9.50±7.34 pg/ml, P < 0.001, and P = 0.016) compared with that before treatment; Th2 type cytokines IL-4, IL-6 expression level increased significantly (33.86±22.47 pg/ml vs 21.32±12.84 pg/ml, and 11.65±6.91 pg/ml vs 8.51±4.94 pg/ml, P = 0.004, and P = 0.029) compared with that before treatment while IL-10 expression level having no statistical significance (P = 0.081). There was disorder and irregularity in the correlation between the levels of Th1/Th2 type cytokines. And there was no correlation between the various cytokines and HBV DNA loads in patients with CHB. Conclusion: ETV can not only inhibit HBV DNA replication, reducing HBV DNA loads, but also contribute to regulate Th1/Th2 type cytokines expression level in patients with CHB, but there was no correlation between the levels of various cytokines, various cytokines and HBV DNA loads.

A first-principles study on magnetic properties of the intrinsic defects in wurtzite ZnO

Since the origin of magnetism in ZnO-based diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) is still controversial, in this work, we presented a detailed study on the magnetic, structural, and electronic properties of wurtzite ZnO-based DMS systems with point and complex intrinsic defects. Two outer electrons from neutral oxygen vacancy (V_O) occupy the a₁ orbital, making the inducted magnetic moment to be zero, while a cluster including three V_Os leads to a magnetic moment of ∼1 μ_B. The magnetic moment of the system with a Zn vacancy (V_Zn) is 1.65 μ_B. When two neutral V_Zns in different relative distances were created in respective supercells, the systems showed different magnetic moments induced by the unequal level between the highest electron occupied orbital of the defect state introduced by different V_Zn sites and the valence band maximum. The system of a neutral O occupying an octahedral site gives rise to a magnetic moment of 2 μ_B, while zinc interstitial and antisite defects do not cause spin polarization. The system with a complex defect of V_O and V_Zn is magnetic when those vacancies are adjacent but still do not cause the compensation effect. The oxygen interstitial defect is unstable, and V_Zn easily turns into the complex defect. We suggest that V_O clusters and V_Zn complex defects could likely be the origin of ferromagnetism in undoped ZnO.

SCR-22 of pollen-dominant S haplotype class is recessive to SCR-44 of pollen-recessive S haplotype class in Brassica rapa

SCR/SP11 encodes the male determinant of recognition specificity of self-incompatibility (SI) in Brassica species and is sporophytically expressed in the anther tapetum. Based on dominance relationships in pollen and nucleotide sequence similarity, the S haplotypes in Brassica have been classified as class I or class II, with class-I S haplotypes being dominant over class-II S haplotypes. Here, we revealed that S-22 in B. rapa belonging to class I is recessive to class-II S-44 and class-I S-36 in pollen, whereas it is dominant over S-60, S-40, and S-29 based on pollination tests. SCR/SP11 of S-22 (SCR-22) was sequenced, revealing that the deduced amino-acid sequence of SCR-22 has the longest C-terminal domain among the SCR/SP11 sequences. The expression of SCR-22 was found to be suppressed in S-22/S-44 and S-22/S-36 heterozygotes. Normal transcription of SCR-44 was considered to be due to the transcription suppression of Smi sRNA of the S-22 haplotype and a very low methylation state of the SCR-44 promoter region in the tapetum of S-22/S-44 heterozygotes. In SCR-22, only the cytosine residue located at the -37 bp position of the promoter region was hypermethylated in the tapetum of S-22/S-44 heterozygotes, and few methylated cytosines were detected in the promoter and coding regions of SCR-22 in S-22/S-36 heterozygotes. SCR-22 was also expressed in microspores in S-22 homozygotes but not in S-22/S-44 and S-22/S-36 heterozygotes. These results suggest that a mechanism different from class-II SCR/SP11 suppression may operate for the suppression of recessive class-I SCR-22 in S heterozygotes.

[Application value of endoscope in probing chronic wound with sinus tract in clinic]

Objective: To explore the application value of endoscope in probing the chronic wound with sinus tract in clinic. Methods: Twenty-eight chronic wounds with sinus tracts from 27 patients conforming to the inclusion criteria admitted to Outpatient Department of Wound Healing Center of Ruijin Hospital from December 2017 to March 2018 were investigated in a prospective and self-controlled trial. After being cleaned, the diameter of the opening of sinus tract was measured with a rule. A probe was used to measure the depth of a sinus tract according to the touch from the probe extremity in operation, and to measure the depth of a sinus tract that could be observed with naked eyes with the help of a pair of hemostatic forceps. Five minutes later, a probe was inserted deeply into the sinus tract to measure the depth under the endoscopic view combined with touch from the probe extremity in operation. Afterwards, the sinus tract was observed with endoscope, and the depth of the tract which could be observed under the endoscopic view was measured using a probe inserted deeply into the sinus tract. After completion of the above exploration, the sinus tract was infused with contrast agent Omnipaque 350 and scanned by computed tomography (CT) later to obtain its depth. The following indicators were calculated: the ratio of the depth of the sinus tract measured by CT to the diameter of the opening of the sinus tract (hereinafter referred to as the depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract), the deviation rate comparing the depth of the sinus tract measured by conventional method (measured by probe only) and by endoscope (measured by probe under the endoscope view) with the depth of the sinus tract measured by CT (hereinafter referred to as the deviation rate of the measured depth of the sinus tract), the deviation rate comparing the depth of the sinus tract that could be observed measured by conventional method and by endoscope with the depth of the sinus tract measured by CT (hereinafter referred to as the deviation rate of the depth of the sinus tract that could be observed). Data were processed with paired t test. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to analyze the correlation between the depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the measured depth of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the depth of the sinus tract that could be observed by conventional method and by endoscope. Results: The depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract of this group of wounds was 1-32 (8±7). The deviation rate of the measured depth of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the depth of the sinus tract that could be observed by conventional method were (19±14)% and (79±18)%, respectively, both obviously larger than (9±9)% and (25±25)% by endoscope (t=3.837, 13.626, P<0.01). Positive correlation existed between the depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the measured depth of the sinus tract by conventional method, and between the depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the depth of the sinus tract that could be observed by conventional method and by endoscope (r=0.514, 0.585, 0.651, P<0.01). However, there was no obvious correlation between the depth/diameter ratio of the sinus tract and the deviation rate of the measured depth of the sinus tract by endoscope (r=0.113, P>0.05). Conclusions: Compared with the conventional method, application of endoscope is able to get more accurate data of chronic wounds with sinus tracts and observe the wounds with wider range.

P68 RNA helicase promotes invasion of glioma cells through negatively regulating DUSP5

Gliomas are the most common central nervous system tumors. They show malignant characteristics indicating rapid proliferation and a high invasive capacity and are associated with a poor prognosis. In our previous study, p68 was overexpressed in glioma cells and correlated with both the degree of glioma differentiation and poor overall survival. Downregulating p68 significantly suppressed proliferation in glioma cells. Moreover, we found that the p68 gene promoted glioma cell growth by activating the nuclear factor‐κB signaling pathway by a downstream molecular mechanism that remains incompletely understood. In this study, we found that dual specificity phosphatase 5 (DUSP5) is a downstream target of p68, using microarray analysis, and that p68 negatively regulates DUSP5. Upregulating DUSP5 in stably expressing cell lines (U87 and LN‐229) suppressed proliferation, invasion, and migration in glioma cells in vitro, consistent with the downregulation of p68. Furthermore, upregulating DUSP5 inhibited ERK phosphorylation, whereas downregulating DUSP5 rescued the level of ERK phosphorylation, indicating that DUSP5 might negatively regulate ERK signaling. Additionally, we show that DUSP5 levels were lower in high‐grade glioma than in low‐grade glioma. These results suggest that the p68‐induced negative regulation of DUSP5 promoted invasion by glioma cells and mediated the activation of the ERK signaling pathway.

[Clinical curative effect analysis of postauricular topical injection combining with oral hormone in the treatment of the flat type of sudden hearing loss]

Objective:To analyze the clinical curative effect of postauricular topical injection combining with oral hormone in the treatment of the flat type of sudden hearing loss.Method:Data of 128 patients with the Sudden hearing lossfrom year 2015 till now were collected, and randomly divided into two groups: postauricular topical injection group (methylprednisolone sodium succinatefor injection 40 mg+linocaine 2.5 ml, retroauricular groove topical injection, qod, combining with taking methylprednisolone tablets 24 mg in the morning for 3 days) and non-postauricular injection group (take methylprednisolone tablets 24 mg in the morning for 3 days). Use SPSS 17.0 software to analyze the hearing curativeeffect of these two groups statistically.Result:The cure rate of postauricular injection group: 23.4%(15 cases), effect appear: 14.1%(9 cases), valid: 37.5%(24 cases), invalid:25.0%(16 cases), total effective rate:75%(48/64).The difference compare of these two group has a statistically significant (P< 0.05).②The cure rate of the flat type patients with the postauricular injection treatment among the total 64 cases is 23.4%, which is higher than the patients without the postauricular injection treatment.The difference compare of these two group has a statistically significant (P< 0.05).③The incrementsof the postauricular injection group in 250-8 000 Hz, which is divided into7different frequencies, from low to high, are (26.48±6.23)dBHL, (23.24±4.21)dBHL, (21.89±7.34)dBHL, (26.07±7.01)dBHL, (25.75±5.14)dBHL.The mean value compare of frequency 250-500 Hz and 250-4 000 Hz of these two group has a statistically significant (P< 0.05).Conclusion:The curative effect of postauricular topical injection combining with oral hormone in the treatment of the flat type of sudden hearing loss is better than only oral hormone.

Electron localization in niobium doped CaMnO3 due to the energy difference of electronic states of Mn and Nb

The electron localization in Nb-doped CaMnO3 is analyzed in terms of the space and energy distribution of electronic states employing first-principles calculations. The energy difference of Mn 3d states and Nb 4d states makes NbO6 octahedra impede electrical conduction, so the random distribution of Nb in lattices leads to the localization of electrons near the bottom of the conduction bands. Therefore, although more carriers are introduced when Nb-doping content increases, both the electrical conductivity and absolute thermopower decrease in Nb heavy doped CaMnO3. The calculated transport properties agree well with the experimental data, supporting the analysis of localization.

Transport paths and vertical exchange characteristics of haze pollution in Southern China

Transport paths and vertical exchange characteristics are important factors for understanding the long-term transport, dispersion capability for haze prediction. Many previous studies revealed that the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, one of the major polluted areas in China, is largely affected by the long-range pollution transport. However, mostly of these studies focused on the source apportionment or horizontal transport path of pollutants by using short-term data, and the vertical exchange characteristics had been rarely analyzed. In this study, using HYSPLIT model, the transport paths and the vertical exchange characteristics of haze episodes over four sub-region of Guangdong (GD) Province in southern China of dry season and wet season were analyzed by using 10years data from 2005 to 2014. Three major transport paths can be statistically summarized based on the long-term data. The haze episodes in PRD and North-GD were distinguished by the characteristics of high frequency and long duration, while the West-GD and East-GD are relatively clean. The haze over North-GD and PRD were mainly influenced by the airflows from northern path, which could bring the pollution from Jiangxi, Anhui, and also influenced by the airflows from coastal path, which could bring the pollution of eastern coastal from Zhejiang and Fujian to Guangdong, while regional transport contributions from Guangdong province and adjacent areas can also be clearly observed. The haze pollution from the identified two major transport paths were mainly transported within the mixing layer (>80% trajectories, <500m), whereas the probability of haze trajectories across mixing layer was relatively low and generally associated with much longer transport distance and higher terrain height over Western China. Combing the vertical exchange analysis, results also show that Wuyi Mountains and Nanling Mountains played a role as barrier to obstruct the haze airflows from other regions of China to the Guangdong province.

Development of small intestinal enzyme activities and their relationship with some gut regulatory peptides in grazing sheep

Growth depends on an animal's capacity to digest and assimilate ingested nutrients, and insufficient supply and impairment will constrain lamb growth. Eight groups of Alpine Finewool lambs were harvested on 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 42, and 56 d to measure pH and enzymatic activities in the duodenum, proximal jejunum, middle jejunum, distal jejunum, and ileum mucosa or digesta. From the duodenum to the ileum the pH of intestinal mucosa and digesta increased, whereas pH changed very little with age. The trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase, lactase, and α-amylase activities observed at birth decreased by d 3, followed by a nonuniform enzymatic response in the small intestine. The trypsin activity increased from d 3 to peak, at d 21, followed by a decline. Chymotrypsin activity followed the same general trend but with smaller responses in activities. Trypsin demonstrated greater enzymatic activity than chymotrypsin at the same age. The lipase activity of small intestinal mucosa and digesta changed little with age. The lactase activity was high at birth, decreased by d 3, and then increased, followed by a decrease as lambs approached weaning. α-Amylase activity was similar in the small intestinal mucosa and digesta at birth but increased with age for the duodenum and proximal jejunum. Plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin (CCK), secretin, and gastrin were positively correlated ( < 0.05) with ileal mucosa lipase activity. Plasma concentration of CCK, secretin, gastrin, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) were positively correlated ( < 0.05) with ileal mucosa lactase activity. Plasma concentration of pancreatic polypeptide (PP) was negatively correlated ( < 0.05) with lactase activity in the middle jejunum and ileal mucosa. Plasma concentrations of CCK, secretin, gastrin, and GIP were positively correlated ( < 0.05) with α-amylase activity in the ileal mucosa but negatively correlated ( < 0.05) with duodenum, prejejunum, and middle jejunum. Plasma PP concentrations were positively correlated ( < 0.01) with α-amylase activity of duodenum, middle jejunum, and postjejunum mucosa but not with the enzyme activity of postjejunum and ileal mucosa ( > 0.05). Small intestinal enzymatic activities exist and may be sufficient to enhance lamb growth via appropriate nutrient supplementation.

[Application of Ischemia Modified Albumin for Acute Ischemic Heart Disease in Forensic Science]

OBJECTIVES

To explore the application value and forensic significance of ischemia modified albumin （IMA） in pericardial fluid to diagnose sudden cardiac death.

METHODS

IMA level in pericardial fluid was detected in acute ischemic heart disease group （n=36）, acute myocardial infarction group （n=6）, cardiomyopathy group （n=4） and control group （n=15） by albumin cobalt binding method. The levels of IMA were compared among these groups. The best cut-off IMA value was estimated and the sensitivity and specificity of acute myocardial ischemia group was distinguished from control group by receiver operating characteristics （ROC） curve.

RESULTS

The IMA level in acute ischemic heart disease group was significantly higher than that of control group （P<0.05）. Compared with acute myocardial infarction group and cardiomyopathy group, the IMA level in acute ischemic heart disease group had no significant difference （P>0.05）. The cut-off value for the identification of acute myocardial ischemia which obtained by ROC analysis was 40.65 U/mL. And the sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing acute ischemia cardiac disease was 60.0% and 80.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The IMA value in pericardial fluid can be a reference marker for the diagnosis of acute myocardial ischemia, which also can provide objective basis for the forensic identification of sudden cardiac death.

[Time-dependent Protein Expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in Liver Contusion Rats after Impact]

OBJECTIVES

To observe the protein expression patterns of matrix metalloproteinase （MMP）-2 and MMP-9 in the liver tissue of liver contusion rats at different time after impact.

METHODS

Fifty healthy adult male SD rats were randomly and evenly divided into control group and experimental groups （1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 18 h, 24 h, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d after liver contusion）. A rat liver contusion model was established by a free-falling device. The rats were killed at corresponding time, and the contused hepatic lobes were extracted. The protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in contused liver tissue of the rats in each group were observed by immunohistochemical staining （SP method） and Western blotting.

RESULTS

After the liver contusion, the expression of positive cell and the protein semiquantitative result showed that the protein expression of MMP-2 enhanced at 6 h and peaked at 24 h, then decreased gradually at 3-5 d, and returned to normal levels at 7 d. The difference of expression between group and its previous adjacent group after 6 h （except 18 h） had statistical significance （P<0.05）. The protein expression of MMP-9 rose obviously at 1 h after liver contusion and peaked at 18 h, then decreased gradually at 3-7 d which still higher than control group. The expression difference between group and its previous adjacent group （except 12 h and 24 h） had statistical significance （P<0.05）.

CONCLUSIONS

The protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in contused liver tissue after impact show good time-dependent patterns, which may provide important reference indicators for the time estimation of liver contusion.

[Expression and mechanism of Twist2 in glioma]

Objective: To investigate the significance of Twist2 in glioma and whether it is involved in the malignant transformation of glioma by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: Using immunohistochemical method detected the expression level of Twist2 in 60 cases of gliomas (including WHO grades Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ, each for 20 cases) and 20 cases of non-tumor brain tissues. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of Twist2 mRNA and protein in 61 cases of fresh glioma tissue (WHO grade Ⅱ 16 cases, Ⅲ 21 cases, Ⅳ 24 cases) and 12 cases of adjacent tissues, and the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and vimentin were also investigated in fresh glioma tissue. Results: Immunohistochemistry results showed that the percentages of Twist2 expression in glioma was 90%(54/60) compared with 30%(6/20) in non-tumor brain tissues(P<0.01). The percentages of Twist2 expression were 75% (15/20), 95% (19/20), and 100% (20/20) in the WHO gradesⅡ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ gliomas, respectively. WHO grades Ⅳ and Ⅲ were significantly higher than that of WHO grade Ⅱ (P<0.01). There was no significant difference between WHO grade Ⅳand WHO Ⅲ glioma (P>0.05). Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot showed that the expression level of Twist 2 in gliomas was significantly higher than that in para-cancerous tissues (P<0.01), and those in WHO grades Ⅳ and Ⅲ gliomas were significantly higher than that in WHO grade Ⅱ glioma (P<0.01). There was no significant difference between WHO grade Ⅳand grade Ⅲ glioma (P>0.05). Detection of key protein expression in EMT by Western blot displayed that the expression of E-cadherin was negatively associated with Twist2 in glioma (r=-0.972, P<0.01). The expression of N-cadherin and vimentin was positively associated with Twist2 in glioma(r=0.971, P<0.01; r=0.968, P<0.01). Conclusions: The expression of Twist2 in human glioma is positively correlated with the malignant grade of glioma, which may be involved in the malignant progression of glioma by EMT.

Transcriptome characterization of HPG axis from Chinese sea perch Lateolabrax maculatus

Here the transcriptome and differential gene expression in the adult brain and gonads of the Chinese sea perch Lateolabrax maculatus were reported. A total of 78 256 909 clean reads were generated from the adult brain, ovary and testis by using the Illumina HiSeq2000 platform and assembled into 274 909 contigs. A total of 31 683 unigenes were annotated based on sequence similarity and 20 702 unigenes were found to exhibit 8237 gene ontology terms and 3888 signal pathways. Transcripts of 26 623 unigenes were present in all of the tissues, whereas pairwise comparisons revealed that 671/367, 496/315 and 1668/580 unigenes were up-down regulated by at least two-fold between the brain and ovary, ovary and testis and brain and testis, respectively. Homology search led to the identification of reproduction-associated genes of the brain-gonad axis, including those involved in sex differentiation and maintenance. The data provided an integrated and comprehensive transcriptome resource for L. maculatus, which could be used for further research on hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis gene function, reproduction regulation and sex-biased gene expression.

The feasibility of using high-resolution ultrasonography to assess ulnar nerve in patients with diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of high-resolution ultrasonography for the diagnosis of polyneuropathy in diabetes mellitus patients by the examination of the ulnar nerves.

METHOD

We recruited 100 healthy age-matched volunteers (50 women and 50 men) with 200 arms without diabetes or cubital tunnel syndrome as the control group. We assessed the upper limbs of 100 diabetes mellitus patients (45 women and 55 men), 40 of whom had electrophysiologically confirmed diabetic peripheral neuropathy and 60 had no diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the upper limbs. Age, sex, height and weight were recorded and the cross-sectional area of the ulnar nerve was measured at every predetermined site.

RESULTS

The cross-sectional area of the ulnar nerve was measured at six sites (mid-humerus, inlet of the cubital tunnel, outlet of the cubital tunnel, upon the medial epicondyle, 6 cm upon the wrist crease and Guyon tunnel). The ulnar nerve in two measuring sites (mid-humerus, upon the medial epicondyle) in the control group showed a statistical difference between men and women (p < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in the cross-sectional area in the control group when dominant and non-dominant arms were compared. The cross-sectional area was larger in the diabetic peripheral neuropathy group in three sites (inlet of the cubital tunnel, outlet of the cubital tunnel, Guyon tunnel) compared with those in the control group.

CONCLUSION

High-resolution ultrasonography may be helpful in the early diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy in diabetic patients.

[Preliminary outcomes of percutaneously looped thread transection in the surgical treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis]

Objective: To investigate the percutaneously looped thread transection for treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis and evaluate its treatment outcome. Methods: From January 2014 to October 2016, Eighty-four patients with stenosing tenosynovitis were randomly divided into the open decompressionand group (42 cases) and percutaneously looped thread transection group (42 cases) in Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Laiwu Hospital of Taishan Medical College. Incision near the digit horizontal stripes, tendon sheath were cut off in the open decompressionand group. Percutaneously looped thread transection was under the guidance of ultrasound, threading from the deep and shallow transverse tendon sheath, respectively, forming loops to cut off and decompressed the flexor tendon. Visual analog scale(VAS) was used to evaluate the extent of pain before the operation and 1 or 4 weeks after the operation, the comprehensive curative effect were evaluated 3 months after the operation. Results: In the two groups pain was alleviated. The VAS improved from (7.0±1.3)prior operation to(5.2±1.6) and (2.8±1.1)1 week and 4 weeks after the operation in the open decompressionand group , respectively. The difference before and after the operation was significant(P<0.05). The VAS improved from (7.1±1.4) prior operation to(2.7±1.3) and (0.6±0.2)1 week and 4 weeks after the operation in the percutaneously looped thread transection group, respectively. The difference before and after the operation was significant(P<0.05). The difference of VAS scores between two groups at 1 week and 4 weeks after the operation were different(P<0.05). The difference of the comprehensive curative effect between two groups at 3 months after the operation were not different(P>0.05). There were no infection, poor healing, blood vessel and nerve damage after operation in both two groups. Conclusion: Percutaneously looped thread transaction under ultrasound for the surgical treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis has less trauma and rapid recovery. It has such advantage as being effective, simple , and reach the same effects as the open decompression surgery.

CYP4A in tumor-associated macrophages promotes pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play an essential role in metastasis. However, what enables TAMs to have a superior capacity to establish pre-metastatic microenvironment in distant organs is unclear. Here we have begun to uncover the effects of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 4A in TAMs on lung pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis. CYP4A⁺ TAM infiltration was positively associated with metastasis, pre-metastatic niche formation and poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. The pharmacological inhibition of CYP4A reduced lung pre-metastatic niche formation (evidenced by a decrease in vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 positive (VEGFR1⁺) myeloid cell recruitment and pro-metastatic protein expression) and metastatic burden, accompanied with TAM polarization away from the M2 phenotype in spontaneous metastasis models of 4T1 breast cancer and B16F10 melanoma. Co-implantation of 4T1 cells with CYP4A10^high macrophages promoted lung pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis. Depletion of TAMs disrupted lung pre-metastatic niches and thereby prevented metastasis. Treatment with the CM from CYP4A10^high M2 macrophages (M2) increased pre-metastatic niche formation and metastatic burden in the lungs, whereas CYP4A inhibition attenuated these effects. In vitro TAM polarization away from the M2 phenotype induced by CYP4A inhibition decreased VEGFR1⁺ myeloid cell migration and fibronectin expression, accompanied with downregulation of STAT3 signaling. Conversely, overexpression of CYP4A or exogenous addition of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid promoted M2 polarization and cytokine production of macrophages and thereby enhanced migration of VEGFR1⁺ myeloid cells, which were reversed by siRNA or pharmacological inhibition of STAT3. Importantly, a combined blocking M2 macrophage-derived factors TGF-β, VEGF and SDF-1 abolished VEGFR1⁺ myeloid cell migration and fibroblast activation induced by CYP4A. In summary, CYP4A in TAMs is crucial for lung pre-metastatic niche formation and metastasis, and may serve as a potential therapeutic target in human cancer.

[A clinical analysis of 123 cases of primary empty sella]

Objective: This study was conducted to analyze the clinical characteristics and pituitary function of patients with primary empty sella (PES). Methods: The clinical data from 123 hospitalized adult patients with PES from January 2010 to May 2016 were retrospectively studied. Results: (1) The average age of the 123 (male 43, female 80) PES patients was (59.2±13.6) years (ranging 24-92 years), among whom 61% patients were in the age group between 50-69 years. (2) The symptoms of the patients included fatigue (56.1%), headache (34.1%), nausea and vomiting (17.9%), gonadal dysfunction (17.1%), visual disturbance (5.7%) and hypopituitarism crisis (3.3%). (3) Hypopituitarism was found in 66 of the 123 patients. Among them, 36.6%, 31.7% and 17.1% were central hypoadrenalism, hypogonadism, and hypothyroidism, respectively.The percentage of hypopituitarism in complete PES was significantly higher than that in partial PES (P<0.05). (4) Sixteen patients were concomitant with other autoimmune diseases including 11 patients with Graves' disease and 2 with Cushing's syndrome due to adrenal adenoma. Conclusions: The incidence of hypopituitarism in PES was 53.7%, in which the pituitary-adrenal axis hypofunction was more common. An overall evaluation of the pituitary function was essential for the patients who had headache and fatigue, or with suspected PES. The patients with hypopituitarism should be given hormone replacement therapy in time and followed up afterword.

Identification of candidate piRNAs in the gonads of Paralichthys olivaceus (Japanese flounder)

Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) plays an important role in the gonadal development and maintenance of Teleostei. In this study, piRNA libraries derived from the adult gonads of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) were generated using next-generation sequencing technology. Using zebrafish piRNAs as a reference, 5 865 unique candidate piRNAs were identified; 289 candidate piRNA clusters (PRCs) were generated from the above piRNAs. Among the isolated candidate PRCs, a total of 38 ovary-specific, 45 ovary-bias, 24 testis-specific, and 131 testis-bias PRCs were found. The relative expression levels of seven PRCs were validated through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The results of this study will help facilitate exploration of the development and maintenance of the phenotypic sex mechanism in P. olivaceus.

MiR-146b protects cardiomyocytes injury in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion by targeting Smad4

MicroRNAs, a class of small and non-encoding RNAs that transcriptionally or post-transcriptionally modulate the expression of their target genes, have been implicated as critical regulatory molecules in many cardiovascular diseases, including ischemia-/reperfusion-induced cardiac injury. In the present study, we report on the role of miR-146b in myocardial I/R injury and the underlying cardio-protective mechanism. Antagomir-146b was used to explore the effects of miR-146b on cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury (30 min ischemia followed by 180 min reperfusion). As predicted, miR-146b overexpression significantly reduced the infarct size and cardiomyocytes apoptosis and release of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. In addition, miR-146b attenuated H9c2 cell apoptosis. Furthermore, Smad4 was predicted and verified as a potential miR-146b target using bioinformatics and luciferase assay. In summary, this study demonstrated that miR-146b plays a critical protective role in cardiac ischemic injury and may provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of myocardial I/R injury.

[Partial thyroxine binding globulin deficiency in test tube infants: report of cases and literature review]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical characteristics of twins with thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) deficiency and to find SERPINA7 gene mutations.

METHOD

Data(2015) related to clinical characteristics, serum biochemistry, gene mutations and pedigree of two children with TBG deficiency were collected in the First Affiliated Hospital of College of Medicine, Zhejiang University. The related literature was searched form China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, National Center for Biotechnology Information and PubMed (up to December 2015) by using search terms "Thyroxine binding globulin deficiency, gene, mutation" .

RESULT

Both patients were diagnosed as central hypothyroidism at the beginning and treated with L-thyroxine. Both of the identical twins of the triplet were observed for mutation in exon3, c. 631G﹥A(p.A211T), a new mutation had not been reported, but their parents and another non-identical triplet brother were normal. Literature review showed that 23 foreign cases with SERPINA7 gene mutation had been reported, however, no Chinese with SERPINA7 gene mutation had been reported. Among reported cases it was shown that SERPINA7 gene mutations located in exon, intron, promoter and enhancer. Up to now, 49 variants had been identified, 41 of them located in the mutated genes. Including these two cases, patients with thyroxine binding globulin deficiency were characterized by reduced serum TH levels, but normal free TH and TSH and absence of clinical manifestations.

CONCLUSION

The new mutation of SERPINA7 gene c. 631G﹥A(p.A211T)is not transmitted via the known X chromosome linked heredity, and as the cases were test tube triplet infants, it is a de novo mutation. The serum thyroid function tests of TBG deficiency showed decreased TT4, TT3 and normal TSH and TBG deficiency is often misdiagnosed as central hypothyroidism.

Analysis of symptom clusters in Chinese cervical cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, or postoperative chemoradiotherapy

OBJECTIVE

To assess the common symptom clusters in cervical cancer patients treated with radiotherapy alone, chemorachothierapy, or postoperative chemoradiotherapy, and evaluate differences among multi-modality treatment in these symptom clusters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety-three patients diagnosed with cervical cancer were recruited to the survey, in which destination time was the fourth friday of radiotherapy. Symptoms of patients were evaluated by the Chinese version of the 13-item M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI).

RESULTS

Among the symptoms, lack of appetite was the most common and the most severe symptome, treatment modalities may have important effects on symptom clusters in cervical cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

CONCLUSION

The results offer valuable information for the future development treatment-based symptom cluster intervention.

Identification and functional analysis of interferon regulatory factor 3 in Lateolabrax maculatus

The interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) is a member of the IFN regulatory transcription factor family, which binds to the IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) within the promoter of IFN genes and IFN-stimulated genes. In this study, the IRF3 cDNA of sea perch Lateolabrax maculatus (SpIRF3) was identified, which contained 1781 bp with an open reading frame of 1398 bp that coded a 465 amino acid protein. The SpIRF3 protein shared conserved characterizations with its homologues and displayed the conserved DNA-binding domain, IRF association domain, serine-rich C-terminal domain, and tryptophan residue cluster. Phylogenetic analysis illustrated that SpIRF3 belonged to the IRF3 subfamily. Subcellular localization analysis showed that SpIRF3 mainly resided in the cytoplasm without stimuli but translocated into nuclei in the presence of poly I:C. Real-time PCR data indicated that SpIRF3 was transcriptionally up-regulated by poly I:C stimulation in various organs. Moreover, reporter assay revealed that SpIRF3 functioned as a modulator in triggering the IFN response by inducing the activity of IFN and ISRE-containing promoter. These data revealed that SpIRF3 was a potential molecule in the IFN immune defense system against viral infection.

Cloning, characterization, expression, and feeding response of thyrotropin receptor in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor that regulates the synthesis, storage, and secretion of thyroid hormones in the thyroid tissue. The aims of the present study were to characterize the full-length TSHR cDNA in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and to determine the TSHR gene transcription levels in different tissues. In addition, the response of TSHR transcription levels to daily feeding in thyroid tissue was investigated. The results showed that the full-length cDNA sequence was 2743 bp with an open reading frame of 2340 bp encoding a 779-amino acid peptide. BLAST analysis indicated that the amino acid sequence displayed 58.4-90.2% identity and 5.6-125.8 divergence, compared with other known fish species. The most abundant TSHR transcription levels were found in the spleen, head kidney, and kidney. Feeding did not affect the transcription level of TSHR in thyroid tissue over the course of the day. Thus, the current study suggests that there was no relationship between daily nutritional status and TSHR transcription level in the thyroid tissue of largemouth bass. The spleen, head kidney, and kidney exhibited the most abundant TSHR transcription levels.

[Technical guideline for human rabies prevention and control (2016)]

In order to promote the prevention and control programs on rabies in our country, to regulate the prevention and disposition of rabies and to reduce the deaths caused by rabies, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has organized a panel of experts, in the reference with Guidelines issued by WHO, American Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the latest research progress from home and abroad, and compiled this document-"Technical Guidelines for Human Rabies Prevention and Control (2016)". The Guidelines conducted a systematic review on the etiology, clinical characteristics, laboratory diagnosis, epidemiology of rabies and provided evidence on varieties, mechanisms, effects, side-effects and security of rabies vaccine, as well as on other preparations on passive immunity of its kind, on methods related to prevention and disposition of exposure etc, finally to have come up with the recommendation on the above mentioned various techniques. The guidelines will be used by staff working on prevention and control of rabies from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at all levels, from the departments of outpatient and divisions of infection and emergency control in all the medical institutions. The guideline will be updated and revised, following the research progress from home and abroad.

Performance improvements of wavelength-shifting-fiber neutron detectors using high-resolution positioning algorithms

Three high-resolution positioning methods based on the FluoroBancroft linear-algebraic method [S. B. Andersson, Opt. Express 16, 18714 (2008)] are proposed for wavelength-shifting fiber (WLSF) neutron detectors. Using a Gaussian or exponential-decay light-response function, the non-linear relation of photon-number profiles vs. x-pixels was linearized and neutron positions were determined. After taking the super-Poissonian photon noise into account, the proposed algorithms give an average of 0.03-0.08 pixel position error much smaller than that (0.29 pixel) from a traditional maximum photon algorithm (MPA). The new algorithms result in better detector uniformity, less position misassignment (ghosting), better spatial resolution, and an equivalent or better instrument resolution in powder diffraction than the MPA. These improvements will facilitate broader applications of WLSF detectors at time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction beamlines, including single-crystal diffraction and texture analysis.

Analysis of QTLs for panicle exsertion and its relationship with yield and yield-related traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Panicle exsertion (PE) is an important morphological trait that is closely associated with spikelet fertility and grain yield. To understand the genetic basis of PE and its relationships with yield and yield-related traits, a recombinant inbred population consisting of 240 lines derived from a cross between an Indica cultivar 'Kasalath' and a Japonica germplasm 'TD70', was studied over two years. PE was significantly correlated with plant height, heading date (HD), panicle length (PL), and panicle characteristics such as primary branch number, spikelet number per panicle, and spikelet density, but showed poor correlation with yield components. Based on linkage mapping of 141 SSR markers, a total of 38 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were located for 12 investigated traits, with the contribution varying from 6.51 to 8.61%. Among these, four QTL clusters were identified on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, and 6, suggesting the existence of pleiotropic alleles. In some intervals, two loci for PE were collocated with several traits, which is consistent with the correlations observed with phenotypic variations. The PE QTLs with 'Kasalath' alleles and without pleiotropic effects would be valuable for the improvement of PE in 'TD70' and in other rice varieties.

Development and characterization of Rift Valley fever virus-like particles

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute, febrile zoonotic disease that is caused by the RVF virus (RVFV) and spread by arthropod vectors. RVF is currently prevalent in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and causes substantial economic losses. Furthermore, this disease poses a serious threat to animal and human health in regions worldwide, making it a serious public health concern. However, RVFV vaccines for human use are still unavailable, and hence there is an urgent need for novel efficient vaccines against RVFV. Vaccine preparation techniques have become a crucial factor in developing new vaccines. In the current study, the N and G protein genes of RVFV were inserted into the pFastBacDual baculovirus expression vector downstream of the pP10 and pPH promoters. The resultant recombinant vector, pFastBacDual-S-M, was transfected into Sf9 insect cells by lipofection. The recombinant baculovirus, named rBac-N-G, was retrieved and infected into Sf9 insect cells to generate RVFV virus-like particles (VLPs). Using polyclonal antibodies against RVFV proteins in immunofluorescence and western blot analyses, we positively identified the presence of the RVFV proteins in VLP preparations. Sucrose density gradient centrifugation and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the morphology of the RVFV VLPs was consistent with previous reports of RVFV virions. This study describes a technique for efficient production of RVFV VLPs, and has laid the foundation for future VLP-based RVFV vaccines.

Improved neutron-gamma discrimination for a (6)Li-glass neutron detector using digital signal analysis methods

A (6)Li-glass scintillator (GS20) based neutron Anger camera was developed for time-of-flight single-crystal diffraction instruments at Spallation Neutron Source. Traditional Pulse-Height Analysis (PHA) for Neutron-Gamma Discrimination (NGD) resulted in the neutron-gamma efficiency ratio (defined as NGD ratio) on the order of 10(4). The NGD ratios of Anger cameras need to be improved for broader applications including neutron reflectometers. For this purpose, six digital signal analysis methods of individual waveforms acquired from photomultiplier tubes were proposed using (i) charge integration, (ii) pulse-amplitude histograms, (iii) power spectrum analysis combined with the maximum pulse-amplitude, (iv) two event parameters (a1, b0) obtained from a Wiener filter, (v) an effective amplitude (m) obtained from an adaptive least-mean-square filter, and (vi) a cross-correlation coefficient between individual and reference waveforms. The NGD ratios are about 70 times those from the traditional PHA method. Our results indicate the NGD capabilities of neutron Anger cameras based on GS20 scintillators can be significantly improved with digital signal analysis methods.

Direct DNA extraction method of an obligate parasitic fungus from infected plant tissue

Powdery mildew and rust fungi are obligate parasites that cannot live without host organisms. They are difficult to culture in synthetic medium in the laboratory. Genomic DNA extraction is one of the basic molecular techniques used to study the genetic structure of populations. In this study, 2 different DNA extraction methods, Chelex-100 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), were used to extract DNA from euonymus powdery mildew and Puccinia striiformis f. sp Tritici. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out with a race-specific-marker rDNA-internal transcribed spacer sequence. Both DNA extraction methods were compared and analyzed. The results showed that both Chelex-100 and CTAB were effective for extracting genomic DNA from infected plant tissue. However, less DNA was required for the Chelex-100 method than for the CTAB method, and the Chelex-100 method involved fewer steps, was simpler and safer, and did not require organic solvents compared to the CTAB method. DNA quality was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction, and the results showed that genomic DNA extracted using the Chelex-100 method was better than that using CTAB method, and was sufficient for studying the genetic structure of population.

Verification and evaluation of grain QTLs using RILs from TD70 x Kasalath in rice

Grain size is an important trait that directly influences the yield of rice. Validation and evaluation of grain genes is important in rice genetic studies and for breeding. In a population of 240 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between an extra-large grain japonica variety TD70 and a small grain indica variety Kasalath, we mapped 19 QTLs controlling grain traits. These QTLs included six cloned grain genes, namely, GW2, GS3, qSW5, qGL3, GS5, and GW8. All of the alleles with the optimal effects on grain size came from TD70, the variety with extra-large grains. To verify these gene loci, we cloned and sequenced GW2, GS3, GW5 (qSW5), qGL3, GS5, GW8, and TGW6 in TD70 and Kasalath, and found several functional polymorphisms in the sequences of the genes. New functional markers for the cloned genes were designed to identify parents and RILs. The contributions of these polymorphisms to the improvement in rice grain size traits were evaluated. Our results indicate that at least six functional polymorphisms have additive effects on grain shape and that one non-functional polymorphism in TGW6 affects grain shape in TD70. The newly designed markers will be useful in further studies to identify functional grain genes. Our findings provide insight into the control of grain size in rice, and they will be of value for improving rice grain yield.

Cloning and sequence analysis of the coding sequence of β-actin cDNA from the Chinese alligator and suitable internal reference primers from the β-actin gene

β-Actin is an essential component of the cytoskeleton and is stably expressed in various tissues of animals, thus, it is commonly used as an internal reference for gene expression studies. In this study, a 1731-bp fragment of β-actin cDNA from Alligator sinensis was obtained using the homology cloning technique. Sequence analysis showed that this fragment contained the complete coding sequence of the β-actin gene (1128 bp), encoding 375 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of β-actin is highly conserved and its nucleotide sequence is slightly variable. Multiple alignment analyses showed that the nucleotide sequence of the β-actin gene from A. sinensis is very similar to sequences from birds, with 94-95% identity. Ten pairs of primers with different product sizes and different annealing temperatures were screened by PCR amplification, agarose gel electrophoresis, and DNA sequencing, and could be used as internal reference primers in gene expression studies. This study expands our knowledge of β-actin gene phylogenetic evolution and provides a basis for quantitative gene expression studies in A. sinensis.

Ulinastatin promotes T lymphocyte apoptosis in rats with severe acute pancreatitis via mitochondrial pathways

We explored the influence of ulinastatin on apoptosis of T lymphocytes in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and the effect of ulinastatin on mitochondrial apoptosis pathways in spleen lymphocytes. Thirty-six Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups (N = 12): a sham operated group, a SAP group, and an ulinastatin-treated SAP group. The SAP model was established by injecting 5% sodium taurocholate into the intrapancreatobiliary duct. Study rats were sacrificed after 24 h, and splenic lymphocytes were then collected. CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes were labeled by direct immune fluorescence assays; the percentage of apoptotic cells, mitochondrial membrane potential levels, and mitochondria permeability transition pore opening levels were measured by flow cytometry. In the ulinastatin-treated SAP group, the ratio of CD4(+)/CD8(+) T lymphocytes was significantly higher than that in the SAP group, and the apoptosis percentage of CD4(+) T lymphocytes was significantly decreased. The percentage of lymphocytes with an abnormal opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and lymphocytes with decreased mitochondrial membrane potential in the ulinastatin-treated SAP group were significantly lower than that in the SAP group. Ulinastatin can directly enhance immunological function and attenuate immune suppression in SAP rats through inhibiting the apoptosis of CD4(+) T lymphocytes. These study findings demonstrate that therapeutic effects may occur through inhibiting the apoptosis induced by mitochondrial signaling pathways.

Roles of p38 MAPK in the regulation of the inflammatory response to swine influenza virus-induced acute lung injury in mice

Swine influenza virus (SIV), one of the most important zoonotic agents, is associated with major public health concerns. The current study was conducted to investigate the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in the regulation of the inflammatory response to acute lung injury (ALI) induced by SIV of H9N2 subtype (H9N2-SIV) in mice. For this purpose, BALB/c mice were intranasally infected with 20 LD(50) of H9N2-SIV (infected group), while non-infected mice served as control (control group). To assess the effect of p38 MAPK, its specific inhibitor SB203580 was employed followed by SIV infection (SB group). At various times after infection, mouse lungs were subjected to pathological and histological observations and detection of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 and phosphorylated p38 MAPK. The obtained results showed obvious inflammatory responses, injury and raised levels of inflammatory cytokines and phosphorylated p38 MAPK in the lungs of virus-infected mice. In the mice inoculated with the virus alone, the level of phosphorylated p38 MAPK increased from day 2 and peaked at day 6 post infection (p.i.). However, SB203580 caused lower increases in inflammatory cytokines and phosphorylated p38 MAPK and a milder lung injury. These findings indicate that the activation of p38 MAPK upregulated the inflammatory responses to H9N2-SIV-induced ALI, increased its severity and promoted the production of inflammatory cytokines.

Increased expression of amyloid precursor protein promotes proliferation and migration of AML1/ETO-positive leukemia cells and be inhibited by panobinostat

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a highly conserved integral membrane protein extensively expressed in various types of cells. Previously we found that overexpression of APP in patients with AML1/ETO-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) associated with a higher incidence of extramedullary infiltrationin and indicate a poor prognosis. In this study, we attempted to define the roles of APP in AML1/ETO-positive leukemia cells. Western blotting and qRT-PCR analysis showed that protein levels of APP are significantly higher in Kasumi-1, a t(8;21)/ AML1/ETO-positive M2-type AML cell line. Stable knockdown of APP by lentivirus-based RNA interference (RNAi) dramatically impaired colony-formation and migration ability of Kasumi-1 cells, whereas APP knockdown had very little effect on cell viability, apoptosis, cell cycle and differentiation. We further explored whether the pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat could deplete the protein levels of APP in Kasumi-1 cells. Treatment with panobinostat caused depletion of APP in Kasumi-1 cells. These findings indicate that overexpression of APP is involved in promoting proliferation and migration of AML1/ETO-positive leukemia cells and can be inhibited by panobinostat, which provide an attractive prospect for treatment of AML1/ETO-positive AML.

First Report of Tomato mottle mosaic virus Infection of Pepper in China

Tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV), a tentative member in genus Tobamovirus, was first reported from a greenhouse tomato sample collected in Mexico in 2013 (2). In August 2013, foliar mottle, shrinking, and necrosis were observed on pepper plants in several vegetable greenhouses of Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Seven symptomatic samples were collected and tested by dot-blot ELISA with antisera against Cucumber mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Turnip mosaic virus, and Broad bean wilt virus 2 (kindly provided by Dr. Xueping Zhou of Zhejiang University, China) (3). One of the bell pepper (Capsicum annuum var. grossum) samples reacted with the TMV antibody. Rod-shaped virus particles 300 nm in length were observed in this sample under electron microscopy. The results suggested that a tobamovirus closely related to TMV might be a causal agent. Total nucleic acids were then extracted from all seven samples using a CTAB method (1) and tested by RT-PCR using a pair of tobamovirus degenerate primers, TobamoF (GCWAAGGTKGTWYTBGTRGAYGG) and TobamoR (GTAATTGCTATTGDGTWCCWGC). These two primers were designed according to a conserved region of the TMV, Tomato mosaic virus, and ToMMV genomes (nt 2551-3433 of ToMMV genome [KF477193]). An amplicon of approximately 880 bp was obtained only from the TMV-positive sample. The amplicon was cloned and sequenced (GenBank Accession No. KJ605653). NCBI BLAST search showed that it shared the highest identity (99%) with ToMMV (KF477193), and shared the sequence homology of 82% to Tomato mosaic virus (AF332868) and 77% to TMV (V01408). The results indicated that the symptomatic pepper was infected with ToMMV. To investigate the distribution and incidence of ToMMV, 313 samples of symptomatic pepper, tomato, pumpkin, cucumber, radish, Chinese cabbage, broad bean, pea, and kidney bean samples were collected from 65 fields in Yunnan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region, and tested in RT-PCR with ToMMV-specific primers ToMMVF (AGAGAGATGGCGATAGGTTAAC, identical to nt 830-851 of ToMMV genome, GenBank Accession No. KF477193) and ToMMVR (CTGCAGTCATAGGATCTACTTC, complementary to nt1849-1828). The virus was detected in three tabasco peppers (C. frutescens) from Yunnan and one bell pepper plant from Tibet, suggesting that ToMMV has a restricted host range and is not common in these two regions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of natural infection of ToMMV in peppers as well as in China. References: (1) R. Li et al. J. Virol. Methods 154:48, 2008. (2) R. Li et al. Genome Announc. 1(5):e00794-13, 2013. (3) Y. Xie et al. Virol. J. 10:142, 2013.

Development of polymorphic expressed sequence tag-single sequence repeat markers in the common Chinese cuttlefish, Sepiella maindroni

The common Chinese cuttlefish (Sepiella maindroni) is one of the popular edible cephalopod consumed across Asia. To facilitate the population genetic investigation of this species, we developed fourteen polymorphic microsatellite makers from expressed sequence tags of S. maindroni. The number of alleles at each locus ranged from 6 to 10 with an average of 7.9 alleles per locus. The ranges of observed and expected heterozygosity were from 0.615 to 0.962 and 0.685 to 0.888, respectively. Four loci were found deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The polymorphism information content ranged from 0.638 to 0.833. These polymorphic microsatellite loci will be helpful for the population genetic, genetic linkage map, and other genetic studies of S. maindroni.

Predictive role of RRM1 and BRCA1 mRNA expression on the clinical outcome of advanced non-small cell lung cancer

This study aimed to evaluate the association between RRM1 and BRCA1 expressions and the therapeutic efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients in terms of their response and prognosis. In total, 377 patients agreed to participate in our study, and all of them received platinum-based combination chemotherapy between January 2008 and January 2009. The relative cDNA quantitation for RRM1 and BRCA1 was conducted using a fluorescence-based, real-time detection method, using β-actin as a reference gene. The average age of the 377 patients was 64.6 years (range: 25.5-86.4 years), including 269 men and 108 women. Patients with high RRM1 expression benefited more from a platinum-containing regimen, and patients with high BRCA1 expression showed a high response rate to a platinum-containing regimen and reduced disease progression. Patients with high RRM1 expression were associated with a longer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than those with low expression, and the hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval (CI)) were 0.67 (0.32-0.91) and 0.54 (0.30-0.95), respectively. Patients with high BRCA1 expression showed longer PFS and OS compared to those with low expression, and the HRs (95%CI) were 0.54 (0.30-0.95) and 0.62 (0.32-0.93), respectively. These results could be used in personalized chemotherapy decisions and to increase the response rate and prolonged survival, and could encourage exploration of the predictive value of other genes.

The adsorption behavior of U(VI) on granite

The effects of pH, counter ions and temperature on the adsorption of U(VI) on Beishan granite (BsG) were investigated in the presence and absence of fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA). The adsorption edge of U(VI) on BsG suggested that U(VI) adsorption was mainly controlled by ion exchange and outer-sphere complexation at low pH, whereas inner-sphere complex was the dominant adsorption species in the pH range of 4.0-9.0. Above pH 9.0, Na2U2O7 might play an important role in the rise of U(VI) adsorption again. Counter ions such as Cl(-), SO4(2-) and PO4(3-) can provoke U(VI) adsorption on BsG to some extent, which was directly correlated to the complexing ability of U(VI)-ligand. More noticeably, the large enhancement of U(VI) adsorption in the presence of phosphate can be attributed to the ternary complex formation (BsG-PO4-UO2), precipitation ((UO2)3(PO4)2(s)) and secondary phase (Na-autunite). Both FA and HA can slightly increase U(VI) adsorption at low pH, whereas they strongly inhibited U(VI) adsorption at high pH range. Artificial synthesized granite (AsG) prepared in the laboratory is impossible to use as an analogue of natural granite because of the large difference in the adsorption and surface properties.