Objective To analyze the application of recombinant gp125 proteins in serological diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods B cell epitopes of EBV gp125 protein were forecasted by internet server and the peptides were synthesized and coated to microplate for the detection of EBV-IgA antibody in NPC patients and healthy donors by ELISA. Results Six peptides were synthesized, wherein two showed low specificity and others displayed significantly higher positive rate in the NPC group than in the healthy group (P <0.001). Conclusion The BALF4 gene peptides are successfully synthesized and epitopes with high specificity and strong immunogenicity are screened for the preparation of gp125 antigen with high specificity and sensitivity.

AIM: To explore the serum levels of visfatin (VF) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the patients with pre-eclampsia (PE) and their correlation with insulin resistance (IR).METHODS: The severe PE pa-tients (n =30), mild PE patients (n =30) and normal pregnant women (n =40) were selected according to the classifica-tion standard of PE.The serum levels of VF and TNF-αwere measured by ELISA.Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FIns) were detected by glucose oxidase method and radioimmunoassay, respectively.Triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( LDL-C) were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer.According to calculating the mean arterial pressure (MAP), body mass index (BMI) and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), the correlation between IR and the levels of serum VF as well as TNF-αwere analyzed.RESULTS: The levels of VF and TNF-αin severe PE group and mild PE group were significantly lower than those in normal pregnancy group (P <0.05).In addition, the levels of VF and TNF-αin severe PE group were lower than those in mild PE group (P <0.05).Linear correlation analysis showed that serum VF was positively correlated with TNF-αand HDL-C (P <0.05), and negatively with MAP and FIns (P <0.05). The serum TNF-αwas positively correlated with HDL-C (P <0.05), and negatively with BMI, TG, MAP and FIns (P <0.05).Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that FBG, FIns and HOMA-IR were relative independent factors of se-
rum VF and TNF-α(P <0.05).CONCLUSION: Serum levels of VF and TNF-αare closely related to IR.

AIM:To investigate the expression of visfatin in the placenta of patients with preeclampsia and its significance.METHODS:The pregnant women (n=100) were divided into normal pregnancy group , mild preeclampsia group and severe preeclampsia group according to the severity of the disease .The pathological changes of the placenta were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining .The expression of visfatin at mRNA and protein levels in the placenta was detected by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry respectively .RESULTS:Compared with normal pregnancy group , the patho-logical changes of the placenta in preeclampsia groups was significant , showing that the structure and the form were disor-dered and incompleted in both cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts .The proliferation of cytotrophoblasts and the num-bers of the placental villi with syncytial knots were observed .The vascular numbers of villi were decreased and congested . The results of immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR showed that the visfatin protein was observed in the cytoplasm of cy-totrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts among 3 groups.The expression of visfatin at mRNA and protein levels was in-creased with the severity of the preeclampsia .CONCLUSION:The injury and dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells in the villi exist in the patients with preeclampsia .High expression of visfatin at mRNA and protein levels in placenta of the patients with preeclampsia indicates that visfatin is closely related to preeclampsia .

Objective To establish the baseline data of body weight, main organ weights, hematological and biochemical indexes in SPF congenital cataract mice. Methods Body weight, main organs weights, hematological and biochemical indexes of the congenital cataract mice were determined at 28 days and 56 days of age, respectively. Normal KM mice in the same age were taken as control. Results There were no statistically significant differences in all indexes of the mice at 28 days of age. Compared with the 56?day old normal KM mice: (1) Statistically significant differences were found in the body weight, and weights of the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and testis ( P<0?05 or P<0?01; ( 2 ) Statistically significant differences were found in hematological indexes WBC, PLT, MPV, LYMP, PDW for female mice and MPV, PDW for male mice (P<0?01);(3) Among the biochemical indexes, there were also statistically significant differences in UREA, ALP, TP, UA, TG, GLU for female and ALT, ALP, TP, ALB, UA, GLU for male mice. Conclusions There are statistical differences in the body weight, main organ weights, hematological indexes and biochemical indexes between the congenital cataract mice and normal KM mice at 56 days of age. These results may provide a useful reference for future research.

Objective:To investigate the effects of bracketless invisible appliance(BI),self-ligating bracket(SB) and conventional brackets(CB) on periodontal indices(PI) and inflammatory cytokine levels in gingival crevicular fluid(GCF) in adult orthodontic patients.Methods:90 orthodontic patients were randomly divided into CB,SB and BI groups(n =30).The subjects in the 3 groups accepted invisalign,Demon Q self-ligating brackets and conventional MBT brackets respectively.Plaque index(PLI),probing depth (PD) and interleukin-13 (IL-3),tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-a) in GCF were analyzed before treatment,l,3 and 6 months after treatment,and after appliance removed respectively.Results:1 to 6 months after treatment,PI,IL-β and TNF-α rose constantly in CB and SB groups and reached to their top 6 months after treatment.There were no statistical differences between CB and SB groups 1 months after treatment,while PI,IL-β and TNF-α of SB group were lower than those of CB group 3 and 6 months after treatment and after therapy completed.PLI、IL-1 β and TNF-α of BI group were significantly increased 6 months after treatment.However,each index of BI group was significantly reduced compared with SB and CB groups after treatment.Conclusion:The SB has fewer disadvantages on peridentium than CB,while the BI is more conductive to protect the periodontal health status than SB and CB.

Objective:To analyze the sleep quality before treatment and related risk factors of sleep disorder in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: Totally 143 patients first diagnosed as nasopharyngeal carcinoma were selected [ average age (43 ± 10) years, 100 males and 43 females] in a NPC ward of one hospital, the Chinese version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, total score ＞ 5 diagnosed as sleep disorder) was used to investigate the sleep quality before treatment, and the logistic regression analysis was used to analyze related factors of the sleep disorder before treatment Results: The rate of sleep disorder was 50.3％. The logistic regression analysis showed that age was a risk factor of sleep disorder before treatment in patients with NPC (OR = 1.04, 95％ CI: 1.01-1.08), while gender, culture degree, clinical stage, body mass index were not correlated with sleep disorder (Ps＞0.05). Conclusion: It suggests that patients with NPC may have a higher incidence of sleep disorder before treatment, and older patients may be more prone to pre-treatment sleep disorder.

Objective Observing the feasibility of acute endovascular treatment for patients with symptomatic anterior intracranial atherosclerotic severe stenosis.Method From Jun 2019 to Jun 2023,30 symptomatic anterior intracranial atherosclerotic severe stenosis cases were retrospectively collected in the Guangdong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to evaluate the risk stratification score and explore the safety and effectiveness of acute(≤72.0h)endovascular treatment.Endovascular treatment includes balloon dilation+self-expanding stent placement,balloon-mounted stent placement,and balloon dilation.From the clinical experience,the risk stratification score was based on the ABCD3-I score for transient ischemic attacks(TIA)and additional evaluation of cerebral watershed infarction to identify the risk of stroke progression or recurrence in acute stage of symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis.The score of 0-3 was defined as low-risk,4-7 as medium risk,and 8-13 as high-risk.The successful revascularization of blood flow is determined based on the residual stenosis≤50％and the extended thrombolysis in cerebral infarction(eTICI)＞2c.The information of patient receiving endovascular treatment was recorded,including age,sex,risk factors of cerebrovascular disease(hypertension,diabetes,hyperlipidemia,hyperhomocysteinemia,drinking history,smoking history),onset data(time from onset to endovascular treatment,symptoms,progression),diseased vessels,risk stratification score,National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)score before and 90 days after surgery,modified Rankin scale(mRS)score 90 days after surgery,intraoperative cerebrovascular events(intracranial hemorrhage,occlusion of responsible vessels),and postoperative cerebrovascular events 90 days after surgery(intracranial hemorrhage,cerebral infarction,TIA and in-stent restenosis)and deaths.Results Among 30 patients with symptomatic anterior intracranial atherosclerotic severe stenosis,3 patients were excluded from the time interval between onset and endovascular treatment＞72.0 hours,1 patient needed long-term anticoagulant drugs due to other diseases,1 patient lost follow-up,3 patients coexisted with other cardiogenic cerebral embolism diseases,4 patients with non-atherosclerotic arterial stenosis,and 7 patients refused emergency endovascular treatment.11 patients were finally included.(1)All 11 patients were successfully treated with endovascular treatment,and 7 were males;age ranged from 52 to 76 years old,with a median age of 64 years old;there were 9 cases with hypertension,3 cases diabetes,7 cases hyperlipidemia,2 cases hyperhomocysteinemia(only 9cases performed the examination),2cases smoking history,1 case drinking history;time from onset to endovascular treatment is 4.0-72.0 h,with a median time of 12.0 h;there were 3 and 8 cases of infarction in the left and right hemispheres,respectively,with 4,3,and 2 cases accompanied with anterior-posterior watershed,medial watershed,and anlerior-medial-posterior watershed infarctions,and 1 case accompanied by posterior-medial,anterior-medial watershed infarctions.(2)Among the 1 1 patients,the risk stratification score was 10-13 points,with a median score of 11 points;preoperative NIHSS score ranged 0-11 points,with a median score of 7 points.(3)Among the 1 1 patients,10 lesions located in the middle cerebral artery and 1 in the C7 segment of the internal carotid artery;the preoperative stenosis rate was 70％to 99％,with a median stenosis rate of 86％;preoperative eTICI grading was 2a in 7 cases and 2b50 in 4 cases(with slow distal blood flow);9 cases received balloon dilation and self-expanding stent placement,1 case received balloon-mounted stent placement,and 1 case received balloon dilation treatment;the postoperative stenosis rate is 10％to 20％,with a median stenosis rate of 15％;there were 3 cases with postoperative eTICI grade 2c and 8 cases with grade 3.(4)Among the 11 patients,one experienced intracranial hemorrhage on the first day after surgery and one had a new cerebral infarction on the third day after surgery.Eight patients were followed up by imaging 90days after surgery,demonstrating 2 cases of in-stent restenosis;90 days post-surgery,NIHSS score was 0-20 points,with a median score of 2 points;after 90 days of surgery,the mRS score was 0-4 points,with a median score of 1 point.There were 8 patients with mRS score ≤ 2 and no death events occurred.Conclusions Preliminary analysis shows that acute endovascular treatment for symptomatic anterior intracranial atherosclerotic severe stenosis has certain effectiveness,but the safety needs to be further validated.The screening of high-risk patients using risk stratification scores still requires further exploration through large sample and multicenter studies.

Iron is an essential element for living organisms that plays critical roles in the process of bacterial growth and metabolism. However, it remains to be elucidated whether piuB encoding iron-uptake factor is involved in iron uptake and pathogenicity of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag). To investigate the function of piuB, we firstly generated a piuB deletion mutant (ΔpiuB) by homologous recombination. Compared with the wild-type, the piuB mutant exhibited significantly reduced growth and virulence in host soybean. The mutant displayed markedly increased siderophore secretory volume, and its sensitivity to Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Mn²⁺ was significantly enhanced. Additionally, the H₂O₂ resistance, exopolysaccharide yield, biofilm formation, and cell mobility of ΔpiuB were significantly diminished compared to that of the wild-type. The addition of exogenous Fe³⁺ cannot effectively restore the above characteristics of ΔpiuB. However, expressing piuB in trans rescued the properties lost by ΔpiuB to the levels in the wild-type. Taken together, our results demonstrated that PiuB is a potential factor for Xag to assimilate Fe³⁺, and is necessary for Xag to be pathogenic in host soybean.
Iron ; Glycine max ; Virulence ; Xanthomonas axonopodis/genetics* ; Hydrogen Peroxide