Industrial Microbiology is a stem course in the undergraduate and graduate education of Biological Engineering major; and the research and development on computer -aided education in biological fields is just at the beginning stage in China. This paper focuses on the construction and application of web-based courseware for teaching and studying of industrial microbiology.

Objective To explore the correlation between anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide(A-CCP) antibody and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-?, rheumatoid factor(RF), ESR, PLT count and clinical features in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA), and the outcome of unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients after six months follow up. The value of A-CCP antibdy in the diagnosis of early RA and its pathogenetic roles is in- vestigated. Methods A-CCP antibody and TNF-?were detected by ELISA and the RF was tested by the rate scatting immunity method in 91 RA patients, 46 unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients and 45 other rheumatic diseases patients. Results A-CCP antibody levels in serum correlated significantly with TNF-?levels, PLT count and the degree of joint swelling in RA and unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients(r= 0.854, P=0.O00; r=0.882, P=0.000; r=0.318, P=0.002; r=0.486, P=0.001; r=0.291, P=0.005; r=0.731, P= 0.000 respectively). A-CCP antibody levels in serum was weakly negatively correlated with the gripping power in RA patients(r=0.228, P=0.030). And it was weakly correlated with ESR in unclassified arthritis(arthrai- gia)patients(r=0.365, P=0.013). Compared with other rheumatic diseases patients, A-CCP antibody levlels in serum increased significantly in RA and unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients(P=0.000). Compared with normal controls, it increased in other rheumatic diseases patients(P=0.011). Twenty-four patients had positive A-CCP antibody in 46 unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients. Thirty-two out of 46 unclassified arthritis(arthralgia)patients were early RA after 6 monthes follow up. 95.8%(23/24)unclassified arthritis (arthralgia)patients with positive A-CCP antibody were early RA. Conclusion A-CCP antibody reflects disease activity in certain extent. It's benefit to the diagnosis of early RA. High A-CCPantibody levels com- bined with high levels of TNF-?, ESR, PLT count and joint swelling can help the diagnosis of early RA.

More than one hundred strains of marine molds have been isolated from the sediment and the sample of seawater collected from the South China Sea. By the first screening, more than 30 strains of marine molds which can inhibit tested fungi such as Candida albicans and Fursarium sp. were obtained.The results of the second screening showed those strains designed as B 4#-6、B 4#-3、1-B 6-6、1-B 6-10-5、1-B 6-22、C 2#-5、A 2-9 and 1-B 6-10 can produced extracelluar antifungi metabolic products and the crude extract of the strains 1-B 6-10-5 and B 4#-3 can inhibit the growth of many other species of fungi.

Objective To investigate the MR imaging technique and features of acute radiation- induced hepatic injury with superparamagnetic iron oxide(SPIO)enhancement in a rabbit model.Methods On the 10th day after half-liver single 40 Gy X-ray irradiation,MR imaging before and after SPIO administration and pathologic study of 12 adult rabbits were performed.Results On the 10th post-irradiation day,TSE T_2 WI before SPIO enhancement,the irradiated liver of two rabbits showed relatively higher signal, and 1 showed slightly lower signal.With SPIO enhancement,the irradiated livers of 9 rabbits were found to be abnormal,manifesting as higher or slightly higher areas on multiple MR imaging sequences,especially the TFE T_1 WI sequence.Histological specimen with HE stain under light microscopy revealed occlusive injury of central veins(veno-occlusive disease,VOD)in each irradiated liver to some extent.Electron microscopy investigation of the irradiated liver disclosed intracellular edema,fibrin deposition,and widening of the Disse-space.Conclusion The early pathologic feature of the irradiated liver is occlusive injury of the central vein.MR imaging with SPIO enhancement is effective to valuate the early irradiation-induced liver injury.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the secular changes of physical growth in 7-17 year old students of Zang-tribe in Tibet during 1965-2004, and to make suggestions for further improvement.

METHODSThe data collected by local government in 1965 and Chinese national survey on students' physical fitness and health in 1985, 1995 and 2004 were used to analyze and find out the differences from the students' stature, body weight, chest girth, and BMI in different years, and to compare the increasing rate per 10 years in different periods of time.

RESULTSLevels on stature, body weight and chest girth were increased significantly among 7-17 year-old students of Zang-tribe in Tibet during 1965-2004. From 1965 to 1985, the levels of stature and body weight were increased 11.4 cm and 5.0 kg respectively among male Zang-tribe students, 9.1 cm and 3.9 kg among the female. During 1985-2004, stature levels of Zang-tribe students was kept rising in much less extent, while average levels of body weight were reaching up remarkably, especially in 1995-2004, in which the average increasing rate per 10 years had achieved 14.8% and 13.4% among the male and female students aged 7-17 years old respectively. Levels of chest girth were increased rapidly in 1965-1985, showing a higher increasing rate in male students (2.7%) than in female students (1.9%). In 1985-2004, the increasing rates fell obviously both in male and female students, but there existed a higher rate in 1995-2004 than in 1995-1985, especially for females (4.0%). Upon the secular changes of stature and body weight, the levels of BMI were decreased in 1985 as comparing to those in 1965, then increased rapidly in 1985-2004, especially in 1995-2004, having an increasing rate up to 12.6% and 12.4% respectively in male and female students.

CONCLUSIONSecular changes on physical growth among 7-17 year-old students of Zang-tribe in Tibet were paralleled with the economic progress in 1965-2004, giving active effects by economic progress and nutrition improvements to the physical growth of children and adolescents.

Adolescent ; Body Height ; physiology ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; physiology ; Child ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Male ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Tibet

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical effects of integrative Chinese and Western medicine in treating chronic urticaria and its impact on peripheral blood content of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-8.

METHODSPatients were assigned to the treatment group and the control group according to their sequence of visiting. They were treated orally with levocetirizine hydrochloride 5 mg once a day, but additional Kangqian Decoction (a self-formulated Chinese herbal preparation consisted of thorowax root 15 g, divaricate saposhnikovia root 9 g, licorice root 15 g, moutan bark 15 g, red sage root 15 g, milkvetch root 30 g, and schisandra fruit 12 g, etc. ) was given to the treatment group one dose per day, for 2 weeks as one therapeutic course. The efficacy was evaluated after two courses of medication, and patients' IL-10 and IL-8 levels in the peripheral blood were determined before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in the treatment group and control group was 93.75% and 56.66% respectively with significance difference between them (P <0.01). After treatment, the level of serum IL-10 was significantly lower while that of IL-8 was significantly higher in the treatment group (2.96 +/- 1.66, 50.17 +/- 32.35) than that in the control group (4.77 +/- 2.99, 29.44 +/- 17.62) respectively (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONChronic urticaria was related to the immune unbalance of body. Integrative medicine could adjust immune function to display a quick, potent anti-inflammatory and anti-anaphylactic actions in treating chronic urticaria with less adverse reaction and low recurrent rate.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cetirizine ; therapeutic use ; Chronic Disease ; therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-8 ; blood ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Urticaria ; blood ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Young Adult

A bacterial strain which could grow well on the substrate of PAEs as the sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from contaminated sludge in the river of WeiFang in ShangDong province and it was designated as JDC-3. Based on the morphology,biophysical and biochemical properties as well as molecular characteristics,this isolate was preliminarily identified as Delftia sp.. A fragment of phthalate dioxygenase gene was successfully amplified from the genus of Delftia for the first time using a set of degenerate primers. Meanwhile,the degradation capability of JDC-3 was determined by HPLC using DMP as test substrate. The results showed that the optimal pH and temperature were at 7.0～8.0 and 30?C～35?C respectively. The degradation kinetics of JDC-3 was studied in different initial DMP concentration under optimal conditions. The results indicated that the degradation dynamic equation was ln C =-0.06837 t + A when DMP concentration was lower than 300 mg/L,with half life of 12.48 h. The degradation rate decreased and half life of JDC-3 prolonged as the initial concentration kept on increasing.

Background: Harsh temperature exposure has been associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events. We sought to investigate the influence of temperature change on longterm incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Korean patients. Methods: From the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) customized health information database (from 2005 to 2014), data from a total of 192,567 AMI patients was assessed according to the International Classification of Disease 10th edition code and matched with temperature reports obtained from the Korea Meteorological Administration database. We analyzed data for a 10-year period on a monthly and seasonal basis. Results: The incidence rate per 100,000 year of AMI exhibited a downward trend from 69.1 to 56.1 over the period 2005 to 2014 (P < 0.005), and the seasonal AMI incidence rate per 100,000 year was highest in spring (63.1), and winter (61.3) followed by autumn (59.5) and summer (57.1). On a monthly basis, the AMI incidence rate per 100,000 year was highest during March (64.4) and December (63.9). The highest incidence of AMI occurred during temperature differences of 8–10° in each season. Moreover, AMI incidence tended to increase as the mean temperature decreased (r = −0.233, P = 0.001), and when the mean daily temperature difference increased (r = 0.353, P < 0.001). Conclusion The AMI incidence rate per 100,000 year has a decreasing trend over the 10-year period, derived from the Korean NHIS database. Modest daily temperature differences (8–10°) and the spring season are related to higher AMI incidence, indicating that daily temperature variation is more important than the mean daily temperature.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the autoimmune injuries of diabetic macrovascular disease (aorta) and the protective effects of immunosuppressive agent (cyclosporine A, CsA) on aortic injuries in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODSSTZ-induced diabetic rats were assigned randomly to 6 groups which received low (BML or AML, 1 mgxkg(-1)xd(-1)), middle (BMM or AMM, 4 mgxkg(-1)xd(-1)) or high (BMH or AMH, 8 mgxkg(-1)xd(-1)) dose of CsA from 1 week before or after STZ for 8 weeks. Diabetic rats without any treatment, insulin-treated diabetic rats and normal rats were also monitored simultaneously and served as control groups. The pathologic abnormalities of the aorta were verified by HE, Masson staining and electronmicroscopy. The depositions of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM and IgA) were determined by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence methods.

RESULTSAt the end of study, lymphocytes infiltration and collagen content (26 582 +/- 6901) were significantly higher in diabetic aorta than those in non-diabetic aorta (Collagen: 7482 +/- 3491, P < 0.01). The deposited IgG and IgA were also significantly increased in diabetic aorta compared with non-diabetic aorta (IgG: 11 789 +/- 2491 vs. 2518 +/- 1066, P < 0.01; IgA: 17 430 +/- 3159 vs. 1135 +/- 758, P < 0.01). These changes were not affected by insulin while CsA intervention significantly reduced aortic collagen content (BMH: 13 518 +/- 5440, P < 0.01 vs. STZ) and immunoglobulin deposition (BMH: IgG: 7584 +/- 4462; IgA: 6176 +/- 1900, all P < 0.01 vs. STZ). These immunoglobulin deposition changes were confirmed by results of immunofluorescence. Aortic collagen accumulation was positively correlated to aortic immunoglobulin deposition (IgG, r = 0.556, P < 0.01; IgA, r = 0.661, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSOur data suggest that the autoimmune injuries might be a promoting factor in the pathogenesis of the diabetic macrovascular disease which could lead to the development of macrovascular disease. Immunosuppressive agent, such as CsA, could inhibit the abnormal deposition of immunoglobulins and therefore, delay the development of diabetic macrovascular disease in this model.

Animals ; Aorta ; immunology ; pathology ; Aortic Diseases ; etiology ; Cyclosporine ; pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; immunology ; pathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; drug effects ; pathology ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Ibuprofen/ethyl-cellulose (EC)-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) sustained-release composite particles were prepared by using supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology. With drug loading as the main evaluation index, orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize the preparation process of EC-PVP/ibuprofen composite particles. The experiments such as encapsulation efficiency, particle size distribution, electron microscope analysis, infrared spectrum (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro dissolution were used to analyze the optimal process combination. The orthogonal experimental optimization process conditions were set as follows: crystallization temperature 40 degrees C, crystallization pressure 12 MPa, PVP concentration 4 mgmL(-1), and CO2 velocity 3.5 Lmin(-1). Under the optimal conditions, the drug loading and encapsulation efficiency of ibuprofen/EC-PVP composite particles were 12.14% and 52.21%, and the average particle size of the particles was 27.621 microm. IR and DSC analysis showed that PVP might complex with EC. The experiments of in vitro dissolution showed that ibuprofen/EC-PVP composite particles had good sustained-release effect. Experiment results showed that, ibuprofen/EC-PVP sustained-release composite particles can be prepared by supercritical CO2 anti-solvent technology.
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Carbon Dioxide ; chemistry ; Cellulose ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Crystallization ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Compounding ; Ibuprofen ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Particle Size ; Povidone ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Spectrophotometry, Infrared ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods