In this study, the general bacterial probe and specific cellulolytic bacterial probes were used to quantify the bacteria in rumen. The total RNA were extracted and then hybridized with general bacterial probe after a dilution of concentration. The result showed that there was a high correlation between the hybridization signal and the dilution of total bacterial RNA. Based on the result above, the quantities of three cellulolytic bacteria in rumen sample were detected. The comparative RNA percentage of three cellulolytic bacteria to total bacterial RNA were similar to the previous reports. It can be concluded that the quantification of bacteria in rumen could be conducted by this approach, and which could be used in future research.

The clinical application of orbital magnetic resonance (MR) T2-mapping imaging in detecting the disease activity of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO),and the predictive values of therapy response to intravenous glucocorticoid (ivGC) were investigated.Approved by the local institutional review board (IRB),106 consecutive patients with GO were included in this prospective study.All subjects were divided into two groups according to the patients' clinical activity score (CAS):the CAS positive group (CAS ≥3) or the CAS negative group (CAS ＜3).T2 relaxation time of extraocular muscles (T2RT;ms) and the areas of four extra-ocular muscles (AEOMs;mm2) were measured by 3D T2-mapping MR sequence before and after methylprednisolone treatment,so as the CAS and some ophthalmic examinations including visual acuity,intra-ocular pressure,eyeball movement,diplopia and proptosis.In addition,24 healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group.The mean T2RT and AEOMs in CAS positive group were higher than those in CAS negative group.Both CAS positive and negative groups had significantly higher mean T2RT and AEOMs than the control group (P＜0.01).There was a positive correlation between T2RT and AEOMs values in GO patients,both of them had a positive correlation with CAS and the ophthalmic examinations.It was concluded that to evaluate the activity of GO,CAS was mostly related to inflammation symptoms of ocular surface,more than that,T2RT and AEOMs were also related to abnormal findings of the ophthalmic examinations including high ocular pressure,impaired eyeball movement,diplopia and proptosis.T2RT and AEOMs can reflex the inflammation state of ocular muscles better.CAS combined with 3D T2-mapping MR imaging could improve the sensitivity of detection of active GO so as the prediction and evaluation of the response to methylprednisolone treatment.

Autistic Disorder ; genetics ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 ; Humans ; Infant ; Male

Biomarkers, Tumor ; Bronchi ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Genes, p16 ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Mucous Membrane ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUNDRecent studies suggest that circulating DNA may be a potential tumor marker for lung cancer, but most of these studies are conducted between healthy controls and lung cancer patients, with few or no benign lung disease patients included. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of plasma DNA quantification in discriminating lung cancer from the healthy and benign lung disease.

METHODSPlasma DNA was extracted with a QIAamp DNA Blood Midi kit and quantified by a PicoGreen dsDNA quantitation kit in 44 healthy individuals, 36 benign lung disease patients and 67 lung cancer patients. Discrimination power was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTSPlasma DNA values were significantly increased in lung cancer patients, especially in those with metastases, and in benign lung disease patients compared with that in the healthy individuals (P < 0.001, respectively). The values in lung cancer patients were significantly increased compared with that in the benign lung disease patients (P < 0.001). The area under the curve was 0.96 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92 - 0.99] for the healthy versus lung cancer, 0.73 (95% CI 0.64 - 0.83) for lung cancer versus benign lung disease, and 0.86 (95% CI 0.80 - 0.91) for lung cancer versus the healthy and benign lung disease.

CONCLUSIONSPlasma DNA quantification has a strong power to discriminate lung cancer from the healthy and from the healthy and benign lung disease, less power to discriminate lung cancer from benign lung disease. Plasma DNA quantification may be useful as a screening tool for lung cancer.

DNA ; blood ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Neoplasm Staging

Alterations of mitochondrial structure and function in tumor cells allow cell survival and proliferation under hypoxic and acidic microenvironment. The effect of normal mitochondria on tumor initiation and development remains unknown. In this study, mice were euthanized by rapid cervical dislocation for isolation of hepatic mitochondria, which were injected intravenously to melanoma-bearing mice. This animal experiment had been approved by Southwest University Experiment Animal Ethics Review Committee. The results showed that exogenous mitochondria can significantly inhibit the growth of melanoma. Mitochondria isolated from the liver of young mice had more potent anti-melanoma effect than those isolated from aging mice. The average volume of tumors decreased significantly from 1.35 cm³ to 0.34 cm³, and the average mass of tumors decreased significantly from 0.63 g to 0.22 g. This anti-tumor mechanism might be associated with induction of mitophagy and cell necrosis after the exogenous mitochondria entering the melanoma cells. As mitotherapy can clinically improve somatic cell survival for treatment of pediatric patients with myocardial ischemia, the observed anti-tumor effect of exogenous mitochondria provides a hope for selective tumor treatment.

In 2016, the World Health Organization set an ambitious goal of reducing viral hepatitis-related deaths by 65% by 2030. The key to this goal is to reduce viral hepatitis-related HCC deaths. Liver cancer is the fourth most common malignant tumor and the second leading cause of cancer death in China. The onset of HCC is insidious, and most patients are already in the middle and late stage when diagnosed. Despite the great progress on management of HCC, the therapeutic effect and prognosis of HCC are still unsatisfactory. Therefore, multi-dimensional and comprehensive analysis of the mechanism of liver cancer, improving the early screening, diagnosis and treatment rate of liver cancer are the key points of reducing the harm of liver cancer in China. In recent years, multi-omics studies have been widely applied in the field of liver cancer, providing a basis for the pathogenesis of liver cancer, early detection and diagnosis, development of individual treatment strategies and prognosis assessment. This issue will focus on the application of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and imaging omics in early screening, diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy* ; Early Detection of Cancer/methods* ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/therapy* ; Prognosis

BACKGROUNDC-reactive protein (CRP) gene +1059 G/C polymorphism has been reported to be associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but the results remain inconclusive. This meta-analysis was therefore conducted to clarify these controversies.

METHODSA comprehensive search was conducted to identify all case control studies on the association between CRP gene +1059 G/C polymorphism and CHD risk. All the related studies were further strictly selected according to the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was performed with STATA 10.1 (StataCorp, USA). The association was assessed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI); both Begg's funnel plot and Egger's regression test were used to assess the publication bias.

RESULTSThis meta-analysis on a total of 13 studies comprising 6316 CHD cases and 4467 controls showed no significant association between CRP gene +1059 G/C polymorphism and CHD risk in the overall study (for C/C+C/G vs. G/G: OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.81-1.25, P = 0.96; for C/C vs. C/G+G/G: OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.77-1.77, P = 0.47; for C/C vs. G/G: OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 0.77-1.77, P = 0.47; for C allele vs. G allele: OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.81-1.24, P = 0.96). However, in the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the results showed significant association between CRP gene +1059 G/C polymorphism and CHD risk among Caucasians (for C/C vs. G/G: OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.13-5.72, P = 0.02; C/C vs. C/G+G/G: OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.09-5.51, P = 0.03), but not among Asians and Africans (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCRP gene +1059 G/C polymorphism may be associated with increased CHD risk among Caucasians and more evidences need to validate the conclusion.

C-Reactive Protein ; genetics ; Coronary Disease ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics

The decline of body function and senile diseases caused by aging seriously affect human health and life span， which is an important topic in the field of life science. Bazi Bushen capsules is a representative Chinese patent medicine for tonifying essence， invigorating Qi and anti-aging， guided by Qiluo doctrine， and essence， Qi and spirit theory. Previous pharmacological and clinical studies have confirmed that this preparation has the comprehensive advantages of anti-aging， and prevention and treatment of aging-related diseases. Among them， pharmacological studies showed that Bazi Bushen capsules had the effect of improving the appearance status of mice， improving the level of sex hormones， inhibiting the formation of atherosclerosis， improving cardiac function， improving learning and memory cognitive ability， improving neurological function， improving osteoporosis and muscle function， improving sperm count and quality. The mechanism was related to the up-regulation of the recombinant sirtuin （SIRT6） level， down-regulation of the levels of aging-related proteins p53 and p16， up-regulation of telomerase reverse transcriptase level， and alleviation of inflammation and oxidative response. Clinical studies have proved that it can improve the symptoms of patients with kidney essence deficiency， improve exercise ability， and improve the sexual function of impotence patients. Anti-aging research of Bazi Bushen capsules based on Qiluo doctrine fully embodies the new mode of academic innovation and transformation of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） with the combination of "theory-new drug-experiment-clinic"， which has made a demonstration for the anti-aging research of TCM.