In this study we studied the antioxidative activity of kidney bean, eggplant, peach, sweet pepper, banana, rape, potato, tomato, celery, grape, cucumber, leek and cowpea, using the inhibition rate of TBAS formation (TBASI) as an indicator. Meanwhile we estimated the activity of eliminating superoxide by means of chemiluminescence method. The main results were shown as follows:1.Before boiling, kidney bean, leek, eggplant, banana, rape and cow-pea showed much higher TBASI values than cucumber, grape and tomato. After boiling for 20 minutes, TBASI values in grape, banana and eggplant were higher than those in cucumber and tomato.2.After boiling for 20 minutes, the TBASI values in eggplant, kidney. bean, leek, cowpea and potato were decreased; whereas that in grape increased significantly.3.No relationship was found between the TBASI values and the abilities of eliminating superoxide in vegetables and fruits.4.Among the vegetables and fruits studied, eggplant possessed the most potential ability of eliminating superoxide, but kidney bean and sweet pepper the next, and cucumber, tomato, peach, grape the least.

ObjectiveTo investigate the expression of ATA1 in the synovial tissue from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to localize expression of ATA1 in AS synovial membranes.In addition,tag SNPs were genotyped to determine the possible association of this gene with AS risk.MethodsWestern blotting analysis was applied to determine the expression of ATA1 in the synovial tissues by comparing the expression profiles of AS(n=8),rheumatoid arthritis(RA,n=9) and osteoarthritis(OA,n=9) samples.Immuno-histochemistry was used to localize the expression of ATA1 in the synovial membrane.The levels of ATA1 in the synovial fluid of patients with AS were determined using ELISA with OA and RA as controls.Taqman method was used to genotype tag SNPs (rs2753934,rs2749531 and rs6575424) in 56 AS cases,260RA cases and 160 healthy controls.ANOVA,LSD test andx2 test were used for statistical analysis.Results Increased expression of ATA1 in synovial membranes of AS was found when compared with samples from RA and OA.ELISA results showed significantly elevated level of ATA1 in the synovial fluid of patients with AS (1.6+0.6),but not in samples of RA(1.4±0.5) and OA (1.2±0.5)(P＜0.05).Haplotype analysis did not reveal a haplotype association in AS or RA(P＞0.05).ConclusionThe current findings suggest that upregulation of ATA1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AS.

Objective Eucheuma is rich in nutrients and can be an important raw material of food after processed. This study was designed to establish a feasible method of purifying polypeptides from eucheuma and investigate their activity against platelet aggre?gation and bacterial growth. Methods We extracted peptides from eucheuma with acidic solution, detected the effects of different doses of small molecular polypeptide ( 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40μg/mL) on the growth of Escherichia coli ( D1314) and Staphylococcus aureus (s.agr+, RN4220) using the method of turbidity, and analyzed the anti?platelet aggregation activity of the peptides with a whole blood aggregometer. Results The rates of peptides extracted from 50, 100,150, and 200 g of eucheuma were 0.382%, 0.405%, 0.389%, and 0.389%, respectively. The purified sample exhibited a single band on SDS?PAGE. The relative molecular weight of the peptides was about 3kD. The extracted peptides inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and thrombin?induced platelet aggregation in a dose?dependent manner, with inhibition rates of 44.71%, 51.86%, and 75.00%, respectively. Conclusion The present method can be used to successfully purify low?molecular?weight peptides from eucheuma and effectively inhibit platelet aggre?gation and bacterial growth. The peptides extracted is a potential anti?platelet aggregation agent.

Studies on nitrogen metabolism in rats and dogs during acute radiation damage were made, the main results being shown as follows:1. Rats given 630 r whole body radiation showed marked decrease of food intake, but their body weight losses exceeded substantially those of non-radiated rats in pair feeding group. As compared with the latter, the former had more excretion of urinary nitrogem and negative nitrogen balance in the 1st and 2nd day following the exposure of X-ray.2. Four adult male dogs were selected as experimental animals. After irradiation of 430 r,the daily intake of protein and calories were decreased and correspondingly the excretion of total nitrogen,urea nitrogen and amino nitrogen became increased, especially in the 1st and 2nd day.3. Three groups of dogs were fed to low, moderate and high protein diet respectively. Their nitrogen balance were different but normal, however, after irradiation of 400 r the nitrogen balances in the low protein diet group became negative whereas that in the moderate or high protein diet group in general was slightly positive.

Rats were divided into 4 groups. Among them the control group was fed to the synthetic diet consisted of egg white powder, sucrose, plant oil, vitamins and salts mixture, the other 3 groups being fed to the same diet except that instead of egg white and sucrose in 20 % composition of diet liver, cabbage and yeast were used respectively.After the irradiation of 630 r, the 30 days mortality in control group was significantly higher than any other experimental group. As compared with the control group, the liver-fed group had longer survival time and more increment of body weight in the recovery period. It suggested that certain factors might exist in liver, cabbage or yeast for the protective effect on acute radiation damage though the action of known nutrients (especially essential trace elements) was not completely exclusive.

Objective To investigate the expression of thiredoxin domain containing 5 (TXNDC5) in the synovial tissues and blood samples of various arthritic conditions and autoimmune diseases to further confirm the previous findings, investigate the relations between the expression level of TXNDC5 and clinical parameters of RA. Methods The expression of TXNDC5 in the synovium was quantitatively analyzed by immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. The levels of TXNDC5 in blood and synovial fluid was determined using sandwich ELISA in patients with RA, osteoarthritis (OA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and normal controls. One-way ANOVA, LSD test and Spearmen' s correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results Immunohistochemistry indicated that TXNDC5 expression was significantly higher in the synovial tissues of RA (100%, 40±9) than in those of OA and AS(200%,4±4). Real time PCR and western blotting confirmed the above findings (P<0.01). Sandwich-ELISA indicated significantly elevated level of TXNDC5 in the blood and synovial fluid of patients with RA (A=1.31±0.37), but not in those of OA, SLE, and AS, the healthy controls (P<0.01). The level of TXNDC5 in the blood of RA patients (A=0.8185±0.299) was positively correlated with the level of anti-CCP (r=0.350, P =0.027). Conclusion The results suggest that the pronounced increase of TXNDC5 expression may stimulate synovial pannus formation in the hypoxic environment of RA.

Objective To screen the proteins with decreased expression in the synovial tissues of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients by comparing their expression profiles with that of osteoarthritis (OA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients by a proteomic approach,and to explore the association of reduced expression with disease susceptibility by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis.Methods Proteins extracted from the synovial membranes (n=10 for each disease) were separated by 2-D electrophoresis.The proteins with significantly decreased expression in the RA samples were subjected to MALDI-TOF-MS.The results were verified using Western blotting.Tag SNPs located in the targeted gene were assessed using the Taqman assay in a cohort of 267 Chinese patients with RA and 160 healthy controls.The genotyping results were confirmed in a large cohort of 389 patients with RA and 371 healthy controls.SPSS 11.5 software package was used for one way ANOVA and Fisher's exact test.Results The expression of vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) in the synovial membranes from patients with RA was significantly decreased when examined by proteomic approach.This result was confirmed by Western blotting analysis.The rs2282679 was significantly associated with RA (P=0.026 794).This result was confirmed in a large cohort of RA( OR=0.678 639,95％CI 0.54l 113-0.851 118,P=0.000 776).Conclusion Compared with samples from patients with OA and AS,RA patients' synovial tissues have low VDBP expression when examined by the proteomic method.The tag SNP rs2282679 located in VDBP is significantly associated with RA.The decreased expression and the genetic effect of VDBP in RA suggest that a novel pathogenic pathway,in which vitamin D contributes,may be involved in the arthritis process of RA.

The seco-prezizaane-type sesquiterpenes (SPS), as a special class of sesquiterpenes with a highly oxidative five-ring cage structure and seven consecutive chiral centers, are isolated from the genus Illicium, which have a variety of biological activities, including neurotoxicity and neurotrophic effects, etc. This review summarizes the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of SPS, and discusses the potential trend and scope of future research.

Objective:To explore the epidemiological characteristics and the antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates, and to provide the evidence for the rational use of antimicrobial agents to treat Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Methods:The positive microbiological laboratory identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae from sputum of children with respiratory infections during January 2010 to December 2017 in Children′s Hospital of Soochow University were retrospectively analyzed. The positive rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae of different genders, ages, years and seasons were compared. The annual detection rates and trends of drug resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin, amoxicillin and cefotaxime were analyzed by Mann-Kendall trend test. The seasonal decomposition of time series was conducted to assess the association between Streptococcus pneumoniae detection rate and season. Enumeration data was compared using χ2 test. Results:Of the 88 480 sputum specimens, the total positive rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae was 10.3%(9 081/88 480). The detection rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in children aged 0 to <0.5 years old, 0.5 to <2 years old, 2 to <3 years old, 3 to <5 years old, and 5 to <15 years old were 4.2%(1 407/33 224), 13.1%(3 191/24 390), 14.9%(2 417/16 252), 17.9%(1 474/8 246) and 9.3%(592/6 368), respectively. The difference was statistically significant ( χ2=2 421.6, P<0.01). The detection rates were 8.1%(1 321/16 306) from January to March, 10.9%(2 194/20 207) from April to June, 8.5%(2 141/25 058) from July to September, and 12.7%(3 425/26 909) from October to December. The discrepancy of positive rates in different seasons showed statistical significance ( χ2=311.5, P<0.01). During 2010 to 2017, significant decreases in antibiotic resistant rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin, amoxicillin and cefotaxime were detected (tau=-0.93, -0.93 and -0.71, respectively, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The detection rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae in sputum of children with respiratory infections may present seasonal pattern and vary between different ages of children. The resistance to β-lactam antibiotics has declined.