Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) was cloned as an human immunodeficiency virus -1-inducible and tumor necrosis factor-α-inducible transcript in primary human fetal astrocytes by a rapid subtraction hybridization approach. AEG-1 down-regulates the expression of the glutamate transporter EAAT2, thus, it is implicated in glutamate-induced excitotoxic damage to neurons as evident in HIV-associated neurodegeneration. Meanwhile, AEG-1 expression is elevated in subsets of breast cancer, prostatic cancer, glioblastoma multiforme and melanoma cells, having a dual specificity phosphatase activity. Overexpression of AEG-1 increases and siRNA inhibition of AEG-1 decreases migration and invasion of human glioma cells, respectively. Recent observations indicate that AEG-1 exerts its effects by activating the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and AEG-1 is a downstream target of Ha-ras and plays an important role in Ha-ras-mediated tumorigenesis. These findings are intensifying interest in AEG-1 as a crucial regulator of tumor progression and metastasis and as a potential mediator of neurodegeneration.

Seventy newly diagnosed diabetic patients were enrolled in the study, including 37patients aged over 60 (elderly-onset diabetes, EOD group) and 33 patients under 60 (adult-onset diabetes,AOD group) ; 30 elderly healthy subjects served as controls. Serum melatonin levels were determined with ELISA and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA in peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that serum melatonin levels were significantly lower in EOD group than those in control group [ (6. 6 ± 1.3 )ng/L vs. (7.7 ± 1.4) ng/L, P ＜0. 01 ], the expression of iNOS mRNA was significantly higher than that in AOD group [ (36 ± 3 )% vs. (30 ± 4)%, P ＜ 0. 01 ]; and i NOS mRNA was not detected in control group.Logistic regression analysis indicated that decreased serum melatonin levels and up-regulated iNOS mRNA might be independent risk factors for diabetes mellitus in the elderly.

Objective To conduct a biomechanical evaluation of the four internal fixation methods to treat transverse acetabular fracture and find the b est one. Methods The transverse acetabular fracture models were created by osteo tomy in 12 pairs of embalmed cadaveric hip joints, and fixed with one of the fou r different methods: an anterior column plate (P/N), an anterior column plate w ith a posterior column screw (P+S), a posterior column plate with an anterior screw (S+P) and two posterior column plates (N/P?2). The biomechanical stabi lity was evaluated on longitudinal displacement, level displacement and stiffnes s measurements for fixed fracture fragments which were under 800 Newton vertical compression load. Results The longitudinal displacement in S+P was 3.99mm, in P+S 4.09mm, in N/P?2 5.07mm and in P/N 5.66mm; the level displacement in S+P was 0.015mm, in P+S 0.016mm, in N/P?2 0.022mm and in P/N 0.025mm; the average stiffness in S+P was 205.77N/mm, in P+S 207.52N/mm, in N/P?2 162.36N/mm and i n P/N 146.67N/mm. There were significant differences between the groups of S+P and P+S and the groups of N/P?2 and P/N (P

It is to discuss the method for studying uveoscleral pathway and the influence of uveoscleral outflow on aqueous humor drainage. Seventeen rabbits were randomly divided into the flow group that included 5 rabbits and the morphological group that included 12. Fluorescein-isothiocyanate bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) was perfused into anterior chambers of flow group rabbit eyes as the tracer for measuring uveoscleral outflow. This tracer was infused into anterior chambers of morphological group rabbit eyes for observing fluorescent intensity of all tissue of the uveoscleral pathway with fluorescence microscopy. Fluorescence was seen in all sites of uveoscleral pathway. The fluorescent intensity of ciliary body and suprachoroidal space was significantly stronger than that of anterior sclera (P＜0.05). The intensity of choroid and posterior sclera was significantly weaker than that of other tissues (P＜0.05). The average value of uveoscleral outflow was (0.18±0.031) μl/min. This study demonstrates that uveoscleral pathway plays an important role in aqueous humor drainage. Anterior sclera is the main site where aqueous humor flows out. FITC-BSA is an effective tracer for studying uveoscleral pathway from both morphological and functional aspects.

Objective To analyze the heterogeneous variation of serum free fatty acid (FFA) and lipids during early second trimester in women with or without uterine artery notch in pre-eclampsia (PE).Methods This is a prospective cohort study of 4 000 women with singleton pregnancies registered in early pregnancy and in whom regular check-ups were performed in Haidian Maternal & Child Health Hospital.Blood specimens were collected at gestational age 14-18 weeks at the same time of screening for Down's syndrome.One hundred and one cases with early diastolic notch of the uterine artery were included in the N+ group,and 172 cases without notch but at high risk of PE were included in the N-group at 22-24 weeks.In addition,205 women who were selected randomly at a ratio of 1 ∶ 5,without notch or PE high-risk factors,were also included in the N group.Both groups were subgrouped according to the outcomes of pregnancy complications:early-onset PE group EPE,late-onset PE (LPE),gestational hypertension (GH) group,gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) group with normal blood pressure,and no complications (NC) group.The variation in FFA and other lipid metabolism indicators in the PE subgroups were compared and analyzed by two independent-sample t-test,one-factor analysis of variance,Chi-square test (or Fisher's exact) and Logistic regression.Results History of PE and pre-hypertension at first visit differed significantly between the N+ and N-groups [3.9％ (4/101) vs.0.8％ (3/377),x2=5.52,P＜0.05; pre-hypertension at first visit,42.2％ (43/101) vs.25.7％ (97/377),x2=10.91,P＜0.05].In the N+ group,23.8％ (n=24) of women had PE,of which 37.5％ (n=8) were early onset.In the N group,2.1％ (n=8) had PE,and all were late onset.The incidence of PE differed significantly between the N+ and N-groups (x2=59.72,P＜0.05).In the N+ group,FFA gradually decreased among the ePE,IPE,GH and NC groups [(0.68±0.27),(0.58±0.21),(0.57±0.21) and (0.49±0.19) mmol/L,F=2.78,P＜0.05]; Multivariate regression analysis showed that FFA (OR=135.68,95％CI:3.78-4 873.00) and PE history (OR=123.25,95％CI:9.27-i 638.00) were risk factors of ePE.Pre-hypertension at registration (OR=4.69,95％CI:2.08-10.58) and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) 24-28 (OR=3.69,95％CI:1.26-10.83) were risk factors ofGH.FFA (OR=9.08,95％CI:2.49-33.01) and pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 28 (OR=5.08,95％CI:2.16-11.92) were risk factors for GDM.Conclusions Serum FFA and TG levels in early second trimester are correlated with PE,especially the early-onset PE.The onset of PE is heterogeneous and affected by many factors,and occurs in patients with or without early diastolic notch of the uterine artery in the second trimester.Patients with notch are more likely to have early-onset PE,which is correlated with blood FFA and TG levels.

Filamentation temperature-sensitive H (FtsH) is an ATP-dependent metalloprotease in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Homology-based analysis was applied to determine 12 ftsH genes in Arabidopsis genome and 9 members in rice genome. Distribution of these ftsH genes on each chromosome displayed a clear preference for some chromosomes such as chromosome 1, 2, 5 of Arabidopsis and chromosome 1,5 of rice. All 21 FtsH proteins were subcellularly targeted to chloroplast or mitochondria. These members could be phylogenetically assorted as eight groups, of which no ortholog of AtFtsH12 in rice was detected. Paralogs in each group shared similarity higher than 80% and orthologs higher than 70%. This strongly indicated that the members from single group were descended from a common ancestral gene. Four pairs of paralogs, AtftsH1/5, AtftsH2/8, AtftsH7/9 and AftsH3/10 were found in Arabidopsis genome. However, only two pairs of ftsH paralogs, OsftsH3/8 and OsftsH4/5, resided in rice genome. The highly homologous members in each group performed striking conservation of exon-intron boundaries and preference for the variable residues in function domains. By contrast, there was significant difference in base composition and sequence length of introns. The comparative analysis of the ftsH gene families of Arabidopsis and rice provided the basis for characteristic and function research of ftsH genes in other plants.
ATP-Dependent Proteases ; genetics ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Arabidopsis ; genetics ; Arabidopsis Proteins ; genetics ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Genome, Plant ; Metalloproteases ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Multigene Family ; Oryza ; genetics ; Protein Subunits ; genetics

Objective To investigate the changes of fatty acid oxidase in the placenta of preeclampsia cases with different clinical features, and the relationship with oxidative stress and inflammatory response. To study the correlation of serum free fatty acid (FFA) and triglycerides (TG) level in early second trimester with the molecular changes of the long-chain fatty acid oxidase in the third trimester. Methods This was prospective cohort study, in which cases with singleton pregnancies who archived in Haidian Maternal and Children′s Hospital, Beijing, from January 1st 2012 to May 31st, with regular prenatal care were included. Doppler ultrasound was used for screening for the presence of early diastolic notch of uterine artery at 22-24 weeks of gestation. All the 101 cases with the early diastolic notch of uterine artery were included as the notch group, and 377 cases without the early diastolic notch of uterine artery were included as the non-notch group. The perinatal outcomes and the incidence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy of the two groups were observed. The serum level of FFA and TG was tested, and the mRNA and protein expression of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCHAD), P47-phox subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase α (p38MAPK-α) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were detected using real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. The relationship between serum level of FFA and TG and the mRNA and protein expression of LCHAD, NADPH P47-phox,p38MAPK-α and COX-2 of the placental tissue specimens were analyzed. Results (1) In the notch group, there were 9 cases of early-onset preeclampsia,15 cases of late-onset preeclampsia and 10 cases of gestational hypertension;and there were 8 cases of late-onset preeclampsia and 18 cases of gestational hypertension in the non-notch group. 15 cases with normal blood pressure in each group were randomly selected as the control group.(2)The serum level of TG of cases of early-onset preeclampsia, late-onset preeclampsia and gestational hypertension in the notch group were(2.0±0.8),(1.8±0.6)and (1.9±0.7)mmol/L, and that of FFA were(0.68±0.26),(0.52±0.10)and(0.52±0.17)mmol/L, respectively. The serum level of TG of cases of late-onset preeclampsia and gestational hypertension in the non-notch group were(1.6±0.6)and(1.4±0.4)mmol/L, and that of FFA were(0.49±0.11)and(0.48±0.05)mmol/L, respectively. The serum level of TG and FFA in the control group were(1.4±0.5)and(0.52±0.06)mmol/L, respectively. The TG level of the notch group was higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The FFA level of the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).(3) The mRNA expression of LCHAD in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly lower than that of the late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and the control group (P<0.01). The mRNA expression of NADPH P47-phox of the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group were significantly higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and the control group(P<0.01). The mRNA expression of p38MAPK-α of the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group were significantly higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and the control group (P<0.01). The mRNA expression of COX-2 of the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group were significantly higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and the control group (P<0.01).(4)The protein expression of LCHAD in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group and gestational hypertension in the notch group were significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.01); and the protein expression of LCHAD in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly lower than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group (P<0.01). The protein expression of NADPH P47-phox in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and control group (P<0.05). The protein expression of p38MAPK-α in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly higher than that of late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group and control group (P<0.01). The protein expression of COX-2 in the placenta of early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, gestational hypertension in the notch group, late-onset preeclampsia in the non-notch group, and gestational hypertension in the non-notch group, were significantly higher than that of control group (P<0.01).(5)The blood concentration of maternal FFA in the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly negatively correlated with the mRNA and protein expression of placental LCHAD (r=-0.810,-0.932,P<0.01). There was no correlation between maternal TG level and the mRNA and protein expression of placental LCHAD in each group(P> 0.05).(6)The mRNA expression of placental LCHAD in the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly negatively correlated with the mRNA expression of placental NADPH P47-phox and COX-2 (r=- 0.877,-0.762, P<0.05). The mRNA expression of placental LCHAD in the control group was significantly negatively correlated with the mRNA expression of placental COX-2 (r=- 0.565, P<0.01). The protein expression of placental LCHAD in the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group was significantly negatively correlated with the protein expression of NADPH P47-phox (r=- 0.818, P<0.01). The protein expression of placental LCHAD in the control group was significantly negatively correlated with the protein expression of COX-2 (r=- 0.502,P<0.01). Conclusions The placental mRNA and protein expression of long-chain fatty acid oxidation enzymes were different in different clinical features of preeclampsia, which were reduced more obviously in the early-onset preeclampsia in the notch group than that of the late-onset preeclampsia in the notch group, and were negatively correlated with the elevated serum FFA level, significantly enhanced oxidative stress and inflammatory response, but with no correlation with serum TG level.

Objective To explore the relationship among psychological resilience, self-efficacy and core competence in psychiatric nurses. Methods Totally 237 psychiatric nurses in a psychiatric hospital in Shandong province were recruited and assessed with general information questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Competency Inventory for Registered Nurse. Results The total core competence of psychiatric nurses was (2.59 ± 0.66) points, at a moderate level. Psychological resilience were positively corrected with self- efficacy (r=0.454,P=0.000) and core competence (r=0.647, P=0.000), self-efficacy were positively corrected with core competence (r=0.487, P=0.000). Psychological resilience partially mediate the relationship between self- efficacy and core competence, It′s mediating effect was 44.8%. Conclusions Psychological resilience plays an important role to core competence in psychiatric nurses.Nursing managers should carry out related training, improve the psychological resilience and self-efficacy of psychiatric nurses, and comprehensively improve the level of core competencies.

Objective To study the clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features, histogenesis and biological behavior of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas ( SPT ). Methods Routine HE and immunohistochemical ( SP) methods were used in 20 cases of SPT. Results There were 18 females and 2 males, age ranging from 13 to 48 years with mean age of 25. 3 years. Abdominal pain and palpable mass were among the main complains. Seventeen cases were followed-up from 9 to 120 monthes. Fourteen cases were alive. Tumors were encapsulated, mixed with solid and cystic tissues. Histological features were psudopapillary structure with a fibrovascular core. Immunohistogically, the tumors were positive for a-1-AT ( 17 cases) , vimentin ( 14 cases) , synaptophysin ( 10 cases) , CgA (5 cases) ,CK and insulin (2 cases) ,glucagon and S-100 (1 case) ,PR (14 cases) , ER (1 case) ,pS2 (6 cases) , but all were negative for CEA and gastrin. Conclusion SPT is of low-graded malignancy and a distinct clinicopathologic entity in young female patients with both exocrine as well as endocrine differentiation. The tumor is closely related with sex hormone receptors.

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) in the third trimester to improve clinical awareness of this disease. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of two patients with STSS caused by S. pyogenes in Jinan Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital and nine reported cases of healthy pregnant women infected with S. pyogenes at 28-42 gestational weeks with detailed data retrieved from Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and PubMed database from January 1997 to December 2018. Results: The two cases admitted to our hospital were both multiparas, with onset in winter and no specific symptoms in early stage. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was developed in both cases on admission. In one case, the fetal heart rate was reduced and disappeared soon after admission. The other patient was diagnosed as stillbirth on admission. Both patients died and blood culture revealed infection of group A streptococcus. Nine previous cases were reported in one Chinese and five English articles. No high-risk pregnancy or premature rupture of membranes was reported in these 11 cases. Among the 11 cases, ten were positive for S. pyogenes indicated by blood or tissue culture and one was positive for streptococcal toxin. Ten cases had high fever and three presented with respiratory symptoms in early stage. Abdominal pain and watery diarrhea were common symptoms and all patients developed multiple organ dysfunction and DIC. Cases occurred in winter or spring were more common. Nine women died within 36 h after the onset of fulminant symptoms. Only two survived and hospitalized for 90 d and 25 d, respectively, after emergent cesarean section indicated by reduced fetal heart rate. Unfortunately, both neonates died after birth. For the babies, there were seven intrauterine fetal deaths, one stillbirth and three live births, but only one survived (whose mother developed respiratory cardiac arrest 90 min after delivery). Conclusions STSS caused by S. pyogenes in pregnant women exacerbates rapidly with a high mortality. Early identification of clinical manifestations and rapid progress of the disease are crucial for early diagnosis and treatment, which may help improve maternal and fetal outcomes.