Risk stratification and prognostic value of GRACE and TIMI risk scores for female patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome

AIM

The aim of this paper was to investigate the value of Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) risk scores for risk stratification and prognosis in female patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

METHODS

Non-elderly (<65 years) and elderly (≥65 years) female patients with NSTE-ACS (totally 869 cases) were enrolled in this study. The patients were further divided into low, intermediate and high-risk groups according to their GRACE and TIMI scores. Patients were followed up for 1 year to record the mortality and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Differences in mortality and MACE incidence between the two scoring systems were compared by the area under the ROC curve.

RESULTS

The area under ROC curve (AUC) corresponding to the mortality and MACE incidence in any period by the GRACE scoring system was significantly larger than the TIMI scoring system in the elderly patients at 1 year of follow-up (AUC of mortality, 0.79 vs. 0.68; AUC of MACE, 0.78 vs. 0.72; P<0.05). Mortality and MACE incidence increased in parallel with the scores. Risk ratio values of Cox regression analysis based on GRACE and TIMI scores were greater than 1 (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Both GRACE and TIMI were adoptable in clinical risk stratification and prognosis of female patients with NSTE-ACS at different age groups. GRACE showed better accuracy than the TIMI scores.

Hydrogen sulfide improves the endothelial dysfunction in renovascular hypertensive rats

As a novel gasotransmitter, hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has vasodilating and antihypertensive effects in cardiovascular system. Thus, we hypothesized that H(2)S might have beneficial effects on thoracic endothelial function in two-kidney one-clip (2K1C) rats, a model of renovascular hypertension. Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, 56 micromol/kg/day) was administrated intra-peritoneally from the third day after the 2K1C operation. Along with the development of hypertension, the systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured before the operation and each week thereafter. The oxidative stress was determined by measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and protein expression of oxidative stress-related proteins (AT(1)R, NADPH oxidase subunits). Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced vasorelaxation and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced vasocontraction were performed on isolated thoracic aorta. The SBP was significantly increased from the first week after operation, and was lowered by NaHS. NaHS supplementation ameliorated endothelial dysfunction. The protein expression of oxidative stress-related proteins were downregulated, while SOD activity upregulated. In conclusion, improvement of endothelial function is involved in the antihypertensive mechanism of H(2)S. The protective effect of H(2)S is attributable to suppression of vascular oxidative stress that involves inhibition of Ang II-AT(1)R action, downregulation of oxidases, as well as upregulation of antioxidant enzyme.

3-T diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of normal uterus in young and middle-aged females during the menstrual cycle: evaluation of the cyclic changes of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate cyclic changes of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of normal uterus in different age groups during the menstrual cycle, and the correlation with serum female hormone levels.

METHODS

29 normal volunteers accepted diffusion tensor imaging of the uterus on menstrual phase (MP), follicular phase (FP), ovulatory phase (OP) and luteal phase. FA and ADC values of different uterine layers on midsagittal images were measured. Differences between two age groups during the menstrual cycle were evaluated using liner mixed models and one-way analysis of variance. Pearson correlation analysis compared variation of FA and ADC values with serum female hormone levels measured in MP.

RESULTS

During menstrual cycle, endometrial FA values declined, whereas ADC values increased with significant differences (p < 0.05). Serum oestradiol (E) levels correlated moderately with variations of FA values between MP-FP (p = 0.045; r = 0.389) and MP-OP (p = 0.008; r = 0.511). FA and ADC values of junctional zones showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) as well as FA values of myometrium (p = 0.0961), while ADC values of myometrium showed significant increase from menstrual phase to luteal phase (p < 0.05). FA and ADC values of uterine three zonal structures showed significant differences (p < 0.05) at each phase during the menstrual cycle. No significant difference of FA and ADC values was found between age groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Dynamic changes of uterine FA and ADC values were observed during menstrual cycle. Variation of FA values between MP-FP, MP-OP correlated moderately with serum E levels.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

No publications on the relationship between FA and ADC values and the female hormone levels were found; our study prospectively investigated the cyclic changes of FA and ADC values of the normal uterus and the correlation with the basic serum female hormone levels in MP.

[Low fat milk powder containing esterified plant sterols improves the blood lipid profile of adults with hypercholesterolemia]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the impact of plant sterol esters (PSE) mixed in low fat milk powder (2.5 g of PSE/day) on plasma cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic subjects during a 6-week intervention period.

METHODS

In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 59 subjects (19 males, mean age (60.28 ± 6.98) years) with primary hypercholesterolemia (fasting LDL cholesterol between 3.4-6.0 mmol/L) were randomly divided into two groups (treatment group, 2.5 g of plant sterol esters a day, n = 30) and placebo group (n = 29). Blood samples were collected at week 0, 3 and 6. The primary outcome was change in plasma LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C). Secondary outcomes were changes in total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), anthropometry and blood biochemistry.

RESULTS

LDL-C significantly reduction from baseline (4.18 ± 0.54) mmol/L to (3.44 ± 0.61) mmol/L (-17.7%, P < 0.05) at week 3 and (3.35 ± 0.39) mmol/L (-19.9%, P < 0.05) at week 6 in the treatment group, whereas in placebo group from (4.11 ± 0.54) mmol/L at baseline to (3.47 ± 0.60) mmol/L (-15.57%, P < 0.05) and (3.61 ± 0.39) mmol/L (-12.17%, P < 0.05) at week 3 and week 6, respectively. TC was reduced from (6.30 ± 0.86) mmol/L at baseline to (5.92 ± 0.75) mmol/L (-6.03%, P > 0.05) at week 3 and (5.43 ± 0.77) mmol/L (-13.8%, P < 0.05) at week 6 in treatment group, from (6.20 ± 0.76) mmol/L at week 0 to (5.70 ± 0.76) mmol/L (-8.06%, P < 0.05) at week 3 and (5.84 ± 0.75) mmol/L (-5.81%, P < 0.05) at week 6 in placebo group. PSE-enriched milk did not affect plasma HDL-C level and TG level at both week 3 and week 6. After normalization to the placebo group, the treatment group showed significant reduction in LDL-C and total cholesteron after 6 weeks. The observed difference of reduction was 7.69% (-0.33 mmol/L, P < 0.05) for LDL-C and 8.00% (-0.51 mmol/L, P < 0.05) for TC between the two groups. There were no significant changes in safety parameters, including blood biochemistry tests during the study period.

CONCLUSION

Plant sterol ester enriched milk powder is effective in reducing LDL-C among Chinese hypercholesterolemic subjects at a dosage recommended by EFSA.

A 94-GHz millimeter-wave sensor for speech signal acquisition

High frequency millimeter-wave (MMW) radar-like sensors enable the detection of speech signals. This novel non-acoustic speech detection method has some special advantages not offered by traditional microphones, such as preventing strong-acoustic interference, high directional sensitivity with penetration, and long detection distance. A 94-GHz MMW radar sensor was employed in this study to test its speech acquisition ability. A 34-GHz zero intermediate frequency radar, a 34-GHz superheterodyne radar, and a microphone were also used for comparison purposes. A short-time phase-spectrum-compensation algorithm was used to enhance the detected speech. The results reveal that the 94-GHz radar sensor showed the highest sensitivity and obtained the highest speech quality subjective measurement score. This result suggests that the MMW radar sensor has better performance than a traditional microphone in terms of speech detection for detection distances longer than 1 m. As a substitute for the traditional speech acquisition method, this novel speech acquisition method demonstrates a large potential for many speech related applications.

Missense polymorphisms within IL-10R1 exons are not associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in Chinese

OBJECTIVE

Studies have suggested that interleukin-10 receptor1 (IL-10R1) is involved in genetic susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in animal models and Caucasians. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine whether the IL-10R1 gene plays a role in the pathogenesis of human SLE in the Chinese Han population.

METHODS

The seven exons of the IL-10R1 gene were amplified and sequenced using a BigDye Terminator v1.1 Cycle Sequencing kit and an ABI 3100 DNA Analyzer. A missense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) locus with a minor allele frequency of at least 0.1 was chosen to evaluate the correlation with the incidence of SLE.

RESULTS

Seven SNPs were found to reside in the exons of the IL-10R1 gene. Among the SNPs, A744G was evaluated for a correlation with the incidence of SLE because A744G was the only missense SNP with a minor allele frequency of at least 0.1. There was no significant difference in the distribution of the A and G alleles between the SLE patient group and the healthy control group (P = 0.693). Furthermore, the genotype frequencies of A744A, A744G and G744G did not differ significantly between the two groups (P = 0.906).

CONCLUSION

In the Chinese Han population, missense SNPs within the exons of the IL-10R1 gene do not contribute to the development of SLE.

Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for the endangered Chinese yew Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Taxaceae)

We isolated and characterized 11 microsatellite loci for the Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis var. mairei, an endangered tree species in China, by constructing a (CA)(12)-enriched library. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 10. The observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.2500 to 0.8333 and the expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.5196 to 0.8680. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected at these loci. However, four loci significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The null alleles were found to be present at locus Tach9 and locus Tach11 by the Micro-checker test (P < 0.001). These polymorphic loci could be employed in research of gene flow and spatial genetic patterns of T. chinensis var. mairei.

Mutations analysis in filaggrin gene in northern China patients with atopic dermatitis

BACKGROUND

Recently, we have reported filaggrin mutations (FLG) of atopic dermatitis in southern China. However, there have been few detailed reports of FLG mutations of patients with AD in northern China by now.

OBJECTIVES

The present aim was to establish the mutation spectrum of FLG gene in AD patients in northern China.

METHODS

A total of 339 cases met Hanifin and Rajka diagnostic criteria of AD were recruited. A comprehensive sequencing of the entire FLG coding region in these patients was conducted. All detected FLG null mutations were screened in a cohort of 301 normal controls.

RESULTS

Seven novel mutations (478insA, Q1070X, 4026delT, Q1712X, Q2397X, 7145del4 and 8001del4) and eleven reported mutations (3222del4, 3321delA, 4271delAA, S1515X, Q1790X, 5757del4, 6834del5, Q2417X, E2422X, 7945delA and K4671X) in AD were identified. Mutations 3321delA and K4671X were two of the most common mutations in AD. FLG null mutations were present in 26.0% of AD patients. FLG null alleles (compound genotypes) were significantly higher in AD (P < 0.001) than in the controls. The compound genotypes for all FLG variants were significantly associated with IV (P < 0.001) and palmar hyperlinearity (P < 0.001). The common mutation, K4671X, was significantly associated with AD-coexistent allergic rhinitis (P = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study increases the total number of FLG mutations. We clearly demonstrated that FLG loss-of-function mutations were significantly associated with AD in northern China. The FLG null mutations in the Chinese population differed not only from that in the European population but also from that in sub-populations of Asians outside of the Chinese mainland.

Imprinting in the schizophrenia candidate gene GABRB2 encoding GABA(A) receptor β(2) subunit

Schizophrenia is a complex genetic disorder, the inheritance pattern of which is likely complicated by epigenetic factors yet to be elucidated. In this study, transmission disequilibrium tests with family trios yielded significant differences between paternal and maternal transmissions of the disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6556547 and its haplotypes. The minor allele (T) of rs6556547 was paternally undertransmitted to male schizophrenic offsprings, and this parent-of-origin effect strongly suggested that GABRB2 is imprinted. 'Flipping' of allelic expression in heterozygotes of SNP rs2229944 (C/T) in GABRB2 or rs2290732 (G/A) in the neighboring GABRA1 was compatible with imprinting effects on gene expression. Clustering analysis of GABRB2 mRNA expressions suggested that imprinting brought about the observed two-tiered distribution of expression levels in controls with heterozygous genotype at the disease-associated SNP rs1816071 (A/G). The deficit of upper-tiered expressions accounted for the lowered expression levels in the schizophrenic heterozygotes. The occurrence of a two-tiered distribution furnished support for imprinting, and also pointed to the necessity of differentiating between two kinds of heterozygotes of different parental origins in disease association studies on GABRB2. Bisulfite sequencing revealed hypermethylation in the neighborhood of SNP rs1816071, and methylation differences between controls and schizophrenia patients. Notably, the two schizophrenia-associated SNPs rs6556547 and rs1816071 overlapped with a CpG dinucleotide, thereby opening the possibility that CpG methylation status of these sites could have an impact on the risk of schizophrenia. Thus multiple lines of evidence pointed to the occurrence of imprinting in the GABRB2 gene and its possible role in the development of schizophrenia.

Association of intergenic polymorphism of organic anion transporter 1 and 3 genes with hypertension and blood pressure response to hydrochlorothiazide

BACKGROUND

Organic anion transporter (OAT) 1 and OAT3, encoded by a tightly linked gene pair, play a key role in renal secretion of diuretics. However, no study has yet examined the influence of OAT1 and OAT3 polymorphisms on high blood pressure (BP) and the response to thiazide diuretics. We hypothesized that intergenic polymorphisms between OAT1 and OAT3 might be associated with adult hypertension and the antihypertensive effects of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

METHODS

The association of an intergenic polymorphism (rs10792367) with hypertension risk was investigated in two independent case-control studies (n = 1,592 and 602), and then a combined analysis was performed for improving power (1,106 cases and 1,088 controls) with adjustment for geographic location. Two clinical trials (n = 542 and 274) were conducted in untreated hypertensive patients for the association of rs10792367 with antihypertensive responses to 4 and 8 weeks of HCTZ treatment.

RESULTS

No significant association was found between rs10792367 and hypertension after adjustment for conventional risk factors in either the two populations, respectively, or the combined two population. After adjustment for pretreatment BP and other confounders, HCTZ-induced reduction in systolic BP was 4.8 mm Hg (P = 0.006, first trial) and 6.1 mm Hg (P = 0.003, in second trial) lower, respectively, in C allele carriers than in GG carriers in the two clinical trials.

CONCLUSIONS

Intergenic polymorphism rs10792367 between OAT1 and OAT3 is not associated with hypertension, but appears to be involved in between-individual variations in antihypertensive responses to HCTZ.

Imprinting in the schizophrenia candidate gene GABRB2

Imprinting, characterized by unequal expression of the offspring's genes in a parent-of-origin dependent manner, has been functionally implicated in brain development and in psychiatric disorders. In this study, unambiguous distortion in paternal but not maternal transmission of the disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs6556547 (T/G) clearly indicated the presence of parent-of-origin effect (POE) in the GABAA receptor β2 subunit gene (GABRB2). ‘Flipping’ of allelic mRNA expression in heterozygotes of SNP rs2229944 (C/T) and the observed two-tiered distribution of mRNA expression levels in heterozygotes of the disease-associated SNP rs1816071 (G/A) furnished important support for the occurrence of imprinting at GABRB2. Imprinting in effect introduced heterozygotes from different parents-of-origin endowed with dissimilar mRNA expression capabilities. The deficit of upper-tiered expressions accounted for the lowered mRNA expression levels in the schizophrenic heterozygotes. This pointed to the necessity of differentiating between two kinds of heterozygotes of different parental origins in disease association studies on GABRB2. Bisulfite sequencing revealed hypermethylation in the neighborhood of SNP rs1816071, and methylation differences between controls and schizophrenia patients. Notably, allele-specific methylation was observed at the disease-associated SNPs rs6556547 and rs1816071. These findings raised the possibility that CpG methylation status of these sites could have an impact on the expression of GABRB2 and the risk of schizophrenia. Furthermore, the occurrence of imprinting and allele-specific methylation in the schizophrenia candidate gene GABRB2 was compatible with the epigenetic hypothesis for schizophrenia pathophysiology, thereby calling for the need to explore the role of epigenetic factors in mediating susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Activation of submucosal 5-HT(3) receptors elicits a somatostatin-dependent inhibition of ion secretion in rat colon

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a key regulator of the gastrointestinal system and we have shown that submucosal neuronal 5-HT(3) receptors exerted a novel inhibitory effect on colonic ion transport. The aim of the present study was to investigate the precise mechanism(s) underlying this inhibitory effect.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Mucosa/submucosa or mucosa-only preparations from rat distal colon were mounted in Ussing chambers for measurement of short-circuit current (I(sc)) as an indicator of ion secretion. Somatostatin release was determined with radioimmunoassay. Intracellular cAMP content was measured with enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (elisa). Immunohistochemical techniques were used to study the expression of 5-HT(3) receptors, somatostatin and somatostatin receptors in colonic tissue.

KEY RESULTS

In rat distal colonic mucosa/submucosa preparations, pretreatment with 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists enhanced 5-HT-induced increases in I(sc). However, in mucosa-only preparations without retained neural elements, pretreatment with 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists inhibited 5-HT-induced DeltaI(sc). Pretreatment with a somatostatin-2 (sst(2)) receptor antagonist in mucosa/submucosa preparations augmented 5-HT-induced DeltaI(sc). Combination of sst(2) and 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists did not cause further enhancement of 5-HT-induced DeltaI(sc). Moreover, both sst(2) and 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists enhanced 5-HT-induced increase in intracellular cAMP concentration in the mucosa/submucosa preparations. 5-HT released somatostatin from rat colonic mucosa/submucosa preparations, an effect prevented by pretreatment with 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the presence of 5-HT(3) receptors on submucosal somatostatin neurons and of sst(2) receptors on colonic mucosa.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Activation of neuronal 5-HT(3) receptors in the submucosal plexus of rat colon suppressed 5-HT-induced ion secretion by releasing somatostatin from submucosal neurons.

Expression of NKCC2 in the rat gastrointestinal tract

NKCC2, an isoform of Na+-K+-2Cl(-) cotransporter, is principally present in the kidney and plays a critical role in salt reabsorption. Expression of NKCC2 has been found in the apical membrane of intestinal epithelial cells in a number of marine fish, however, details for expression in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract are lacking. RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to study the expression and localization of NKCC2 in the rat gastrointestinal tract. We found that mRNA transcripts, protein and immunoreactivity (IR) for NKCC2 were expressed in the stomach, small and large intestine of adult rats. NKCC2 IR was localized to the base of the gastric glands, intestinal epithelia, myenteric and submucosal plexuses. NKCC2 IR was expressed strongly in the apical membranes and weakly in the basolateral membranes of intestinal epithelial cells. In the enteric nervous system, NKCC2 IR was widely distributed and localized to enteric neurons with cholinergic, calretinin and nitrergic neuronal immunochemical codes in the myenteric plexus. It was localized to non-cholinergic secretomotor neurons in the submucosal plexus. In conclusion, this study for the first time clearly detected the expression of NKCC2 in the gastrointestinal tract of a mammalian species. Expression of NKCC2 in gastrointestinal epithelial cells suggested that this cation chloride cotransporter might be involved in gastrointestinal ion transport. Expression of NKCC2 in enteric neurons might contribute to the accumulation of Cl(-) and a more depolarized E(Cl)(-) in enteric neurons.

ipt Gene transformation in petunia by an Agrobacterium mediated method

To prevent leaf senescence of petunia, the cytokinin biosynthetic gene isopentenyl transferase (ipt) was placed under the control of 35S promoter and introduced into petunia. PCR analysis showed an expected 0.5 Kb fragment of ipt gene in transgenic petunia. RT-PCR analysis indicated the expression of ipt gene in the transgenic lines. Leaves from transgenic plants remained green and healthy in normal culture condition, while the non-transformed plants turned to yellow. Transgenic plants showed a reduction in height and smaller leaf sizes. In transgenic lines, the internodes were shorter, and the roots grew slower than the non-transformed plants.

an Alternative-splicing Hot-spot in gabrb2: Novel Splicing Variants Associated with Major Psychotic Disorders

GABRB2, the gene for β2 subunit of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor, is known to display two splicing isoforms in the brain, namely β2L containing Exon 10 and β2S devoid of Exon 10. Previously, the expressions of these isoforms were correlated with both schizophrenia and various sequence polymorphisms of the gene. in the present study, a series of deletions made on Intron 9 of a minigene construct affected the expression of Exon 10, and generated additional splicing variations suggesting the existence of additional splicing variants of β2subunit. A search among brain cDNAs uncovered the two novel short forms: β2S1which is devoid of Exons 10 and 11 and bears an extended Exon 9, and β2S2 which is devoid of Exon 10 and bears a shortened Exon 11.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, performed with a cohort of 31 schizophrenics, 30 bipolar disorder and 31 controls of US population, showed that the level of β2S2 was significantly decreased in bipolar disorder, and marginally decreased in schizophrenia, while β2S1 was marginally increased in both of these psychotic disorders. Significant genotypic effects of rs1816071, rs1816072 and rs187269 on β2S2 level were observed in male schizophrenic and bipolar patients. These findings pointed to the neighborhood of Exon 10 as an alternate-splicing hot-spot, and underlined the relevance of β2 subunit isoforms to the etiology of psychotic disorders.

GABRB2 in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: Disease Association, Gene Expression and Clinical Correlations

Aims:

Previously the GABA(A) receptor beta-2 subunit gene GABRB2 was found to be associated with schizophrenia (SCZ). for SNPs and haplotypes in GRBRB2, the associations with bipolar disorder (BPD), the functional consequences on GABRB2 expression and their relationship to demographic and clinical characteristics in BPD and SCZ remain to be elucidated.

Method:

Case-control analysis was performed for association study of GABRB2 with BPD, and its mRNA expression in postmortem BPD brains was examined using quantitative real-time PCR. Quantitative trait analysis was subsequently employed to assess the covariate effects of demographic and clinical characteristics on genotypic correlation of GABRB2 expression in SCZ and BPD.

Results:

Significant association of GABRB2 with BPD and reduction in GABRB2 mRNA expression in BPD brains were observed in the present study. Duration of illness (DOI) was found to be a significant covariate for the correlation of the disease-associated SNPs rs1816071, rs1816072 and rs187269 with GABRB2 expression in both SCZ and BPD. for individuals with homozygous major genotypes of these SNPs, while GABRB2 expression increased with age in the controls, it decreased with DOI and age in SCZ, and with DOI in BPD. with age of onset as covariate, these three SNPs were significantly correlated with antipsychotic dosage in SCZ.

Conclusion:

These results have thus revealed correlations of GABRB2 SNPs and expression not only with the occurrence of SCZ and BPD, but also with the clinical characteristics of patients, therefore providing support for a shared etiological role played by the gene in both diseases.

Molecular cloning and identification of naturally occurring human antisenseangiopoietin-1: Gna-1

One novel cDNA fragment was obtained from vascular endothelial cells by differential display reverse transcription PCR technique. By using this fragment as probe, we screened the human artery cDNA library and obtained one cDNA clone which is 2198 bp in length. After sequencing and homology researching, we found that the clone contained a region of 851 bp in length complementary to that of humanangiopoietin-1 cDNA, encoding the partial fibrinogen-like domain and 3' non-translational region. It was inferred that this clone was a naturally occurring antisense RNA of humanangiopoietin-1, designated asGna-1. Gna-1 does not encode protein. The transcription ofGna-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and ECV304 cells was confirmed by RT-PCR method.Gna-1 may be involved in regulating the function ofangiopoietin-1, and play a significant role in angiogenesis.

Analysis of rosen piezoelectric transformers with a varying cross-section

We study the effects of a varying cross-section on the performance of Rosen piezoelectric transformers operating with length extensional modes of rods. A theoretical analysis is performed using an extended version of a one-dimensional model developed in a previous paper. Numerical results based on the theoretical analysis are presented.