BACKGROUND: Obesity has become the most common and costly metabolic problem in the world, and the genetic and environmental effects on the generation of obesity have become one of the focus factors in obesity research. Gene-chips have been reported as a useful tool in human adipose tissue research. OBJECTIVE: To determine the peripheral blood gene expression profile of Chinese adult obesities by gene chip technique for the first time. DESIGN: Randomized controlled observation. SETTING: Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. PARTICIPANTS: The experiment was performed at the Basic Medical College of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between August 2003 and May 2004. Five obese patients, 4 males and 1 female, aged (21.4±0.9) years and three non-obese persons, 2 males and 1 female, aged (26.0±5.3) years were selected by the international body mass index (BMI) standard. The written informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and the research was approved by the medical ethical committee of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from peripheral blood, amplified and labeled. The quality and quantity of the processed samples were checked by Test3 array. The gene expression profiles were monitored by U133A set. The data was analyzed statistically, and the gene symbols with significant difference were searched in Gene BANK database. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gene expression signal. RESULTS: Compared with non-obese adults, 66 genes showed up-regulated expression and 28 genes showed down-regulated, of which 11 genes were up-regulated above twofold, and 6 genes were down-regulated above twofold. The results demonstrated that HLA-DQAI (human leucocytic antigens), CRAT, MAPKSI3 and DKFZP434N1923 genes were up-regulated above 4 fold, and HLA-DQA1 gene was even up-regulated above 20 fold. CONCLUSION: Significant differences in peripheral blood gene expression profiles in Chinese adult obesities are found for the first time. The results indicate that obesity is strongly associated with MHC class II antigen HLA-DQA1, and HLA-DQB 1, etc.

Objective To analyze the correlations of clinical characteristics,CT and pathology features of peripheral primitive neuroectrodermal tumors (pPNET)in abdomen-pelvis region,and to improve the understanding of the disease.Methods The clinical information,CT and pathological features of 23 confirmed pPNET patients in abdomen-pelvis region were analyzed retrospectively.Results (1)All patients had preoperative clinical and imaging data integrallty.(2)23 cases showed soft tissue masses with fuzzy boundary and the average diameter were 10.72 cm.Among all,9 cases showed with varying degrees of sac necrosis,while 2 cases showed with platelet hemorrhage and 4 cases with speckled calcifications.Most showed slight-to-moderate heterogeneous enhancement and the necrosis and cystic are-as showed more obvious.12 cases showed with different degree of recurrence,invasion or distant metastasis.5 cases combined with tumor emboli and 4 cases with tumor feeding vessels.(3)Immunohistochemical examination showed CD99 expressed in 1 9 patients, CD56 in 11,vimentin(Vim)in 12,synaptophysin(Syn)in 11,neuron specific enolase(NSE)in 4,FLI-1 in 4 and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA)in 4 patients.Conclusion pPNET is common among young patients with a high degree of malignancy.CT features include large mass with invasive growth,commonly combined heterogenous density,necrosis and cystic changes.Persistent enhancement is observed during nephrographic phase.

Objective: To investigate the effect of diabetes on the intensity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a)-SUMOylation and SERCA2a activity of myocardium in experimental rats.
Methods: The 8 weeks old SD rats were divided into 2 groups, Diabetic group, with diet-induced type 2 diabetic rats and Control group, with normal rats. The systolic and diastolic cardiac functions were evaluated by echocardiography and left ventricular pressure measurement. The intensity of SERCA2a-SUMOylation was examined by co-immunoprecipitation and SUMOylation kit.
Results: Compared with Control group, Diabetic group had decreased systolic and diastolic cardiac functions, especially for diastolic function;decreased SERCA2a protein expression and intensity of SUMOylation;decreased SUMOylation E2 (Ubc9 ) protein expression. The protein levels of SUMO1, SAE1 and SAE2 were similar between 2 groups.
Conclusion: The intensity of SERCA2a-SUMOylation and Ubc9 decreased in diabetic myocardium which implies that SERCA2a-SUMOylation and Ubc9 were closely related to the damage of diabetic myocardium in experimental rats.

Objective To clinically verify the rationality of evaluation standard of oropharynx involvement in the Chinese 2008 staging system for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods 333 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed,untreated,and nonmetastatic NPC were included.All patients had an MRI examnation of the nasopharynx and neck.The status of oropharynx involvement were evaluated.Results Of the 333 patients with NPC,26 (7.8 ％) patients presented with oropharynx involvement.Tumor invasion into oropharynx was highly related to tumor invasion into nasal cavity,parapharyngeal space,skull base,medial pterygoid muscle,paranasal sinuses,intracalvarium and masticator space excluding medial pterygoid muscle (P ＜ 0.050).The oropharynx involvement was associated with poorer 5-year overall survival (OS) and distant failure-free survival (DFFS) (38.1％ vs 72.6 ％,P＜ 0.001 and 49.1％ vs 84.5 ％,P＜ 0.001,respectively).By multivariate analyze,it was observed that oropharynx involvement was a significant predictive factor for OS and DFFS (P ＜ 0.001,P ＜ 0.001).Significant differences were observed in the 5-year OS (38.1％ vs 80.9 ％,P ＜ 0.001) and DFFS rates (49.1％ vs 89.3 ％,P ＜ 0.001) between the patients with oropharynx involvement and stage T2 patients.Conclusions MRI-evidenced oropharynx involvement had a negative impact on OS and DFFS in NPC patients.The oropharynx involvement is associated with poorer 5-year OS and DFFS compared with stage T2.The evaluation standard of oropharynx involvement for NPC in the Chinese 2008 staging system could be revised.

OBJECTIVETo optimize different processing techniques of Massa Medicata Fermentata.

METHODSingle factor test was adopted, with the amylase activity of Massa Medicata Fermentata as the assessment indicator, to observe the influence of such factors as fermentation time and mixture techniques of active pharmaceutical ingredients on the amylase activity of Massa Medicata Fermentata. Meanwhile, Massa Medicata Fermentata prepared with the optimum processing techniques and superior and inferior products of Massa Medicata Fermentata in the market were compared in amylase activity, soluble starch content and soluble polysaccharide content.

RESULTThe optimum fermentation time was 7 days. Adzuki bean shall be boiled before mixed with other materials. Artemisia annua, Polygonum hydropiper and Cocklebur grass shall be evenly mixed water decoction. The amylase activity, the soluble starch content and the soluble polysaccharide content of fermented Massa Medicata Fermentata could reach to 49.372 mg x min(-1) x g(-1), 7.967%, and 16.65% respectively, significantly higher than the two types of Massa Medicata Fermentata sold in the market.

CONCLUSIONAccording to the optimum processing techniques, Adzuki beans were smashed and mixed equally with flour and Armeniacae Semen Amarum powder, and then successively added with A. annua, P. hydropiper and C. grass for even mixture. The fermentation time was 7 days.

OBJECTIVETo identify the yeast strains isolated from Massa Medicata Fermentata samples that sold in markets.

METHODThe strains were identified through conventional classification methods including colony characteristics, cell morphology, physiological and biochemical properties, as well as 26S rDNA sequence analysis.

RESULTThe isolated strains Y1, Y3, Y4, Y5 were Cryptococcus albidus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia kudriavzevii, Endomyces fibuliger, respectively.

CONCLUSIONAfter fermentation the Massa Medicata Fermentata samples contained a variety of yeast species. Yeasts were the main contribution microorganism of the fermentation process.

The preparation of electrophoretic microcolumn and its application to the electrophoretic separation of amino acids with a 2-mm I.D. fused-silica microcolumn packed with uniform quartz microncrystal prepared by hydrothermal synthesis are reported. With 1.5 mmol/L disodium phosphate buffer solution (pH 11.5) containing 30% (V/V) methanol, the tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine were separated by the microcolumn electrophoresis and detected by an UV spectrophotometer without derivatization. The limits of detection were 0.038, 0.21 and 0.20 mol/L, respectively. The separation efficiency of tryptophan was 4.4×104 plates/m. The sample capacity of the electrophoretic microcolumn achieved 35 μL. The precisions of the microcolumn electrophoresis were satisfactory. The thermal effects of the electrophoretic microcolumn that without packing, packed with 360 μm quartz sand and with 9 μm length quartz microncrystal were discussed, respectively. It was found that the electrophoretic microcolumn packed with quartz microncrystal was able to inhibit Joule heat, increase sample capacity and enhance detection sensitivity. The microcolumn electrophoresis is one of the high-performance separation techniques for an in-situ, real-time and portable electrokinetic flow analysis system.

Objective To investigate the prevalence rate of heart valve calcification and its relativity with pathological changes and clinical pathogenic factors in elder patients at autopsy Methods Pathology data at autopsy of 1047 patients with age from 60 to 106 years in Beijing Hospital from November 1954 to March 2016 were collected.Cases of heart valve calcification verified at autopsy were retrospectively reviewed.The prevalence of heart valve calcification and its relativity with age,clinical disease and coronary atherosclerosis was investigated.Results Among 1047 autopsies,aortic valve calcification(AVC)was found in 15.2 ％ (n=159),mitral valve calcification(MVC)in 9.6 ％ (n=101),both AVC and MVC calcification in 5.4 ％ (n =57)and heart valve calcification in 19.4 ％ (n =203).The prevalence of heart valve calcification was 6.4％ (15/234)at age of 60-69,12.8％(37/289)at age of 70-79,22.5％(70/311)at age of 80-89 and 38.0％ (81/213) at age of 90-106 years,respectively(tendency x2 =82.523,P＜0.01).Calcification prevalence was significantly increased when complicated with coronary artery stenosis,hypertension,coronary artery disease (CAD),diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD).Multivariate regression analysis showed that age and CAD were independently risk factors for heart valve calcification(OR=1.066,95％ CI:1.048-1.086,P＜ 0.01;OR =2.238,95％ CI:1.396-3.589,P＜0.01,respectively),while hypertension,diabetes and CKD were not independent risk factors(OR =1.223,95％ CI:0.859-1.741,P＞ 0.05;OR =1.053,95％ CI:0.700-1.586,P ＞0.05;OR =0.924,95％ CI:0.610-1.399,P＞ 0.05,respectively).As compared with patients without heart valves calcification,patients with heart valve calcification had more increased risk for coronary atherosclerosis(OR =2.983,95a％CI:1.868-4.765,P＜0.01).Conclusions Prevalence of heart valve calcification is increased in elder patients with increasing age.Prevalence of heart valve calcification is higher in CAD patients than in non-CAD patients.And heart valve calcification is sigmficantly associated with coronary atherosclerosis.

Objective To study the pinoresinol diglucoside (PDG) on gene regulation role of ESF-1 cells in collagen secretion, to reveal PDG repair mechanisms on scalded skin.Methods The cells cultured in vitro were divided into the control group, the estradiol group and the three different PDG doses groups. The concentration of the high, medium and low dose groups were 100, 10, 1μmol/L, and that of estradiol group were 10-3μmol/L. The activity of proliferation was detected by MTT. Then collagen type I (Col I), collagen typeⅢ (ColⅢ), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) expression levels of mRNA after administration of cells were detected by RT-PCR.Results Compared with the control group, the proliferation of ESF-1 cells (0.559 ± 0.027, 0.552 ± 0.034vs. 0.489 ± 0.027,P<0.05) in the estradiol and medium-dose PDG was significantly higher. The expression level of mRNA of ColⅠ(0.958 ± 0.021, 0.929 ± 0.031, 0.916 ± 0.015vs. 0.844 ± 0.022), ColⅢ (0.783 ± 0.038, 0.918 ± 0.021, 0.855 ± 0.017vs. 0.678 ± 0.024), TIMP-1 (0.939 ± 0.025, 0.889 ± 0.036, 0.853 ±  0.015 vs. 0.780 ± 0.023), TIMP-2 (0.507 ± 0.024, 0.655 ± 0.037, 0.572 ± 0.025vs. 0.405 ± 0.062) in the estradiol, low-, medium-dose PDG groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Besides, the MMP-1 (0.343 ± 0.038, 0.407 ± 0.046, 0.435 ± 0.037vs.0.519 ± 0.041) mRNA expression level in the middle and low dose PDG groups significantly decrease (P<0.05 orP<0.01). Conclusions The PDG could enhance the activity of ESF-1 cell proliferation, increase the expression of related collagen and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases and inhibit that of matrix metalloproteinases to repair scalded skin.

OBJECTIVETo study the differences between amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) teeth and normal human (NH) teeth in wear properties.

METHODSThe ultrastructure of the human tooth enamel from adult patient diagnosed with AI was investigated using atomic force microscope (AFM) and compared with the surface of normal human tooth enamel. The composition of tooth enamel of AI teeth and normal human teeth were analyzed by energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The properties of micro-friction and wear between AI teeth and normal human teeth were compared using nano-scratch technology and scanning electron microscope (SEM).

RESULTSThe AI teeth were found porosity and the loosely packed hydroxyapatite was distributed randomly compared with normal human teeth. The amount of C was higher while the amount of Ca, P were lower in AI teeth than normal human teeth. The friction coefficient of both AI teeth and normal human teeth was increasing with the load increased and the friction coefficient of AI teeth was higher than normal human teeth with the same load. Meanwhile, the destruction of AI teeth was more severe than normal human teeth with the same load.

CONCLUSIONThe AI teeth has significant differences with normal human teeth on micro-structure, composition and micro-friction and wear properties. Thus, we need to have a general consideration of all these results when doing clinical restorations.