In bacterial cells, selection of the proper division site at midcell requires the specific inhibitions of septation at two other potential sites, locate at each of the cell pole. This site specific inhibition of septation is mediated by the gene products of the min locus including three genes: minC, minD, and minE. Genetic and expression studies have revealed that MinC encode an inhibitor of division that is activated by MinD and toplogically regulated by MinE. Recent localization studies of functional Min proteins tagged with green fluorescent proteins have provide some insight into this topological regulation and revealed a fascinating oscillation of MinC and MinD between the cell halves. In this paper, it is reviewed that the progress on the regulation mechanism of the division site in bacterial cells by introducing the structure and their interaction of the study on Min proteins.

Objective To obsevre the clinical efficacy of acupuncture at bilateral sphenopalatine ganglions in treating allergic rhinitis. Methods Patients with allergic rhinitis were selected, and then were randomly divided into bilateral group, unilateral group, and control group, with 35 cases in each group. By the end of the study, 5 cases of bilateral group, 3 cases of unilateral group, and 2 cases of control group were removed. The bilateral sphenopalatine ganglions were acupunctured simultaneously in bilateral group, and the unilateral sphenopalatine ganglion was treated by acupuncture in unilateral group, once a week, for 4 weeks. The control group received routine acupuncture on Yingxiang (LI20), Bitong (EX-HN8), Yintang (EX-HN3), and Hegu (LI4), twice a week, for 4 weeks. Rhinitis symptom scale and life quality of nasal conjunctival scale score before and after treatment in the three groups were observed. The clinical efficacy was evaluated and the adverse reactions were recorded. Results The total effective rates of bilateral group, unilateral group and control group were 93.33% (28/30), 90.63% (29/32) and 72.73% (24/33), respectively, and the bilateral group and unilateral group were better than the control group (χ2=19.507, P=0.001), without statistical significance between bilateral group and unilateral group (P>0.05). Rhinitis symptoms and life quality were improved in the three groups (P<0.05), and the bilateral group and unilateral group were better than the control group (P<0.05), without statistical significance between bilateral group and unilateral group (P>0.05). Only 1 case of subcutaneous hematoma showed in unilateral group. Conclusion Acupuncture at sphenopalatine ganglions has confirmed efficacy, and there is no difference in the efficacy between acupuncture on bilateral sphenopalatine ganglions and unilateral sphenopalatine ganglion.

Objective To investigate the apoptosis inducing effects of oridonin on leukemic THP-1 cells and its mechanisms of action. Methods THP-1 cells in culture medium in vitro were given different concentrations of oridonin (16～56 μmol/L) for 24, 48 and 72 h. The inhibitory rate of the cells were measured by MTT assay, apoptotic morphology was observed by Hoechst 33258 staining, and Annexin V/PI staining was used to detect cell apoptosis by flow cytometry (FCM). Caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) expression were detected by Western blotting. Results Oridonin (over 32 μmol/L) could inhibit the growth of THP-1 cells and cause apoptosis remarkably, the suppression was both in time-and dose-dependentmanner. Marked morphological changes of cell apoptosis such as condensation of chromatin was clearly observed by Hoechst 33258 staining, and Annexin V/PI staining showed that apoptotic cells gradually increased after the cells treated with oridinon. Western blotting showed cleavage of the caspase-3 zymogen protein (32×103), with the appearance of its 20×103 subunit, and a cleaved 89×103 fragment of 116×103 PARP was also found. Conclusion Oridonin can inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in THP-1 cells via activation of caspase-3. The results indicated that oridonin might be an important potential anti-leukemia reagent.

Objective To investigate the design and manufacture of 3D printed compensator in electron radiation therapy for Merkel cell carcinoma,and to verify the feasibility of this technique in electron radiation therapy.Methods Computed tomography was used to collect images of a human head phantom.The delineation of target volume of Merkel cell carcinoma was simulated in the planning system and a radiotherapy plan was formulated after adding the compensator.The compensator was printed out by a 3D printer and fixed on the head phantom.A second CT scan was performed to make a new treatment plan.For the two plans,several planes parallel to the beam were selected to calculate gamma passing rates.The actual dose distribution was measured using disposable films.The gamma passing rate was compared between the film system and the planning system.The conformity index (CI) and the heterogeneity index (HI) of target volume were compared between the plans using the printed compensator and the conventional compensator of the same thickness.Comparison between the two plans was made by paired t test.Results Using the dose distribution of the plan with simulated compensator,the gamma passing rate was 94.7±2.3％ in the plan with 3D printed compensator.Using the dose distribution measured by the film,the gamma passing rate was 96.6％ in the plan with 3D printed compensator.Compared with the conventional compensator,the 3D printed compensator achieved a significantly elevated CI (0.85 vs.0.69,P=0.004) and a slightly improved HI (1.30 vs.1.26,P=0.001).Conclusions The conformal dose distribution provided by 3D printed compensator for tumors at different depths meets the clinical need.

ObjectiveTo discuss the epidemiological characteristic s of road traffic injuries in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and explore effective pre ventive measures against traffic accidents in the plateau as well as correspondi ng emergency treatment methods.MethodsA retrospective statis tical analysis was carried out in 1 894 cases of traffic injuries with detailed data admitted in our hospital from January 1980 to December 2000. Resu ltsMost of the traffic accidents occurred on the Qinghai-Tibet road, accounting for 68.0% (1 288/1 894). Of the patients with serious traffic inju ries, 54.0% (1 022/1 894) were in need of hospitalization. The patients who first entered into the plateau accounted for 61.1% (1 158/ 1 894). Death occurre d in 108 cases accounting for 5.7%. The duration from injury to treatment was ve ry long, average over six hours. Furthermore, the patients received no any manag ement before treatment in the hospital. ConclusionsHypoxia i n the plateau, unclear road sign and fatigue driving are the main factors leadin g to traffic accidents. Lack of health care units, serious hypoxia, long deliver y time and carriers' deficiency in medical knowledge are the main causes for gr eat amount of casualties.

The expression of DNA ploidy, the cell cycle and Ki67 antigen in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were studied and their relationship with the clinical biological behaviors and prognosis of NPC was evaluated. Biopsied specimens of NPC were made into cell suspension. By using cytometric double labeling Ki67 and DNA method, the expression of DNA ploidy, the cell cycle and Ki67antigen were analyzed. The patients were followed-up for about 3 years and the relationship between the above-mentioned parameters and the clinical biological behavior and prognosis of NPC were evaluated. Of the 62 cases of NPC, the DNA aneuploid accounted for 29.03 %. The S phase cells accounted for 0 to 54 % in the cell cycle and the positive expression of Ki67 ranged from 0 to 52 %.There were 40 cases of LPI (64.5 % ) including 15 negative cases and 22 cases of HPI (35.5 % ) respectively. The DNA anueploid content was positively related to the S phase cells. The patients having a low expression of Ki67 or DNA aneuploid in tumor cells were not sensitive to chemotherapy, liable to metastasis to distant organs and had a poor prognosis, while Ki67 showed no correlation with DNA ploidy and the cell cycle. It was suggested that DNA ploidy and Ki67 could be used as an independent and objective marker to evaluate the radiosensitivity and prognosis of NPC.

Aim To study the induction effect of Ginkgolide B on CYP3A4,and further verify the role of pregnane X receptor in CYP3 A4 induction expres-sion. Methods With different concentrations of Ginkgolide B treatment on LS174T cells,the CYP3A4 mRNA expression was detected by Q-PCR assay,fur-ther PXR-CYP3 A4 stable translation HepG2 cell lines were used to test the effect of Ginkgolide B on activity of PXR by reporter gene screening assay.CYP3A4 protein expression was detected by Western blot.PXR was knocked down with transfected with siRNA, CYP3 A4 mRNA and protein were detected in the con-dition of PXR low expression.Results The results revealed that the level of CYP 3 A 4 gene and protein expression were significantly increased by Ginkgolide B,and there was no induction effect on PXR.Reporter gene screening showed that Ginkgolide B could en-hance the transcriptional activity of PXR in a concen-tration-dependent manner.Under conditions of low ex-pression of PXR ,Ginkgolide B could also increase ex-pression of CYP3A4,but the induction folds were low-er than those of normal PXR group.Conclusion Ginkgolide B can signicantly up-regulate CYP3 A4 ex-pression via the PXR-CYP3 A4 pathway,and it has no effects on PXR gene expression.

Aim With metabolomics method, to study Shen-Mai decoction’ s function on protecting the myo-cardial injured rats caused by doxorubicin for probing into the functioning mechanism of Shen-Mai decoction’ s medical effect. Methods By means of UPLC-TOF-MS, the metabolites of urine of the rats treated by Shen-Mai decoction were analyzed. Then, the differ-ences between each group of the metabolites were sought with PLS-DA ( the partial least square discrimi-nant analysis ) and OPLS-DA ( the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis ) . VIP ( variable importance in projection ) and t test were used to screen out potential biomarkers. Results Fourteen endogenous metabolites such as succinyladenosine, a-denosine 2′, 3′-cyclic phosphate, S-( 3-methylbu-tanoyl )-dihydrolipoamide-E, cis-4-hydroxycyclohexy-lacetic acid, phenylbutyrylglutamine, 3-butyn-1-al, 3-hydroxytetradecanedioic acid, dihydrolipoamide and pyruvic acid, etc. were characterized. Conclusions The results indicate that Shen-Mai decoction can pro-tect the body from myocardial injury by regulating pu-rine metabolism, some acid metabolism, fat metabo-lism and energy metabolism, etc. The study expounds the functioning mechanism for Shen-Mai decoction ’ s medical effect in the body and provides theoretical grounds for the rationality of the two medical herbs ’ compatibility and their combination in clinical treat-ment of diseases.

Objective To identify new microsatellite loci from genome sequence database for the study of poly-morphicsm of Schistosoma japonicum. Methods Schistosoma japonicum isolates were obtained from seven endemic sites in China: Tongling and Guichi counties of Anhui Province, Duchang county of Jiangxi Province, Changde and Yueyang Cities of Hunan Province, Shashi City of Hubei Province, Xichang City of Sichuan Province. In order to study the genetic variance, genomic DNAs of 96 individual adult worms were screened against 17 new Schistosoma japonicum microsatellites and the raw data were analyzed by GenMapper 4.0. Furthermore, the varieties of alleles were inverstigated using GenAlEx 6 and genetic distances within a subpopulation (GenClone) and among populations(UPGMA, MEGA 3.1) were analyzed. Results High levels of polymorphism were found between and within population samples, and significant genetic diversity was observed among the seven subpopulations.Within Jiangxi population, most genetic distances (17 loci) among samples range from 25 to 32, indicating a significant genetic diversity. There are three clusters among the seven populations: Jiangxi, Tonglin, Shashi and Changde population, with the genetics distances ranging from 0.017 8 to 0.036 3; Guichi and Yueyang population belong to another cluster, with the genetic distance of 0.024 7; However, Xichang population is an unique group. Its genetic distances to other populations are notable with a range from 0.019 2 to 0.069 3. Conclusion The 17 new polymorphic microsatellites identified may be used as suitable markers for the study on population genetics of Schistosoma japonicum and the genetic variance of the worms seems to be complicated.

Objective To investigate the expression of Nodal and its receptors in different tissues and organs of different development stages of mice.Methods Ten pairs(male and female each for a pair) of mice were divided into the four groups:3 pairs served as adult mice group,the rest 7 pairs were allowed to mate,among them 3 pregnant mice served as the fetal group,and 3 pregnant mice served as the neonatal group and 1 pregnant mouse served as filial group.The multiple tissues and organs such as brain,liver,kidney,heart,lung were selected from fetal,neonatal,filial and adult mice for preparing the protein samples.Western blot was performed to detect the expression of Nodal and its type Ⅰ receptors of ALK7 and ALK4 as well as auxiliary receptor Cripto-1.Results Only cerebrum,cerebellum,liver and kidney had Nodal express in the four different mouse ontogenetic stages,in which only liver and kidney simultaneously expressed Nodal and its receptor protein in the whole four ontogenetic stages.Besides,most tissues and organs of adult mice expressed Nodal and its receptor protein,which was significantly different from the fetal,neonatal and filial mice.Conclusion Nodal signaling might have a certain effect on the growth and development of mouse liver and kidney during the late development stage.