Agarases are glycoside hydrolases.They are grouped into?and?types,which hydrolyze?-1,3 linkages and?-1,4 linkages respectively.The paper is about advance in research of agarase including the research of biology,the classcification,the crystal structure,the catalysis mechanism and application of agarases.

Objective To evaluate surgical indications and methods for regional pancreatoduodenectomy combined with blood vessel reconstruction. Method Eight patients underwent pancreatoduodenectomy combined with superior mesenteric vein and portal vein (SMV/PV) resection and reconstruction from May 2001 to December 2004,respectively. Results The overall mortality was 0 during perioperative period,no complications occurred. Histological specimen examinations demonstrated adenocarcinoma of pancreas head in all patients. The resected endothelium or margins of the blood vessel and pancreas were microscopically tumor free in all cases. Patients were followed-up from six months to four years.Two patients were died within one year. Four patients had survived for more than two years. Conclusion Regional pancreatoduodenectomy combined with blood vessel reconstruction could increase tumor resection rate in properly selected patients, and could be performed safely without increased morbidity and mortality.

Objective To explore the effect of androgen on learning and memory ability and neurons in hippocampal CA1 region in senescence accelerated mouse prone strain/8(SAMP8).Methods Thirty 7-month-old male SAMP8 were randomly divided into sham-operation control group,castrated group and androgen replacement therapy after castration group.The dose of testosterone undecanoate(TU) was 37.4mg/(kg?15d).The capability of learning and memory was observed 45 days later through the Morris water maze(MWM) test and the change of neurons in hippocampal CA1 region was detected and analyzed by HE staining,immunohistochemal method and computer pathological image analysis system.Results 1.In the MWM test,the escape latency of castrated group were significantly prolonged(P0.05).2.With HE staining,neurons in hippocampal CA1 region of castrated group were found with diffused vacuolar degeneration,and sparse and disordered cellular arranpement.The cell nucleuses were karyochrome and karyopycnosis.The number and optical density of A? immune positive neurons were markedly higher than those of other groups(P

Objective To establish the m ethod to analyze γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB ) and its precursors 1,4-butanediol (1,4-B D ) and gam m a-butyrolactone (GBL) in urine through LC-M S/M S and provide evi-dence for related cases. Methods GHB-d6 and M O R-d3 were used as the internal standard. The urine sam ple w as separated by LC after protein precipitation w ith m ethanol. The electrospray ion source w as for ionization. E ach com pound w as detected through m ultiple-reaction m onitoring (M R M ) m ode. Results The lim its of detection of GHB and its precursors 1,4-B D and GBLwere 0.1, 0.1 and 2μg/m L. The accuracy w as 87.6% -98.1% . The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 15% and m atrix ef-fects were higher than 80% . Conclusion The m ethod is high sensitive, sim ple, rapid, specific and w ith high reliability. This study has provided technical support and basic data for forensic cases involving GHB .

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of mirtazapine combined with citalopram in the treat-ment of sleep disorder in depressive patients. METHODS:One hundred and sixty-five depressive patients with sleep disorder were selected and divided into control group (82 cases) and treatment group (83 cases) according to random number table. Control group took Escitalopram oxalate tablet 10 mg,once every night,increasing to 20 mg according to disease condition;treatment group was additionally given Mirtazapine tablet 15 mg,once every night,increasing to 30 mg one week later. Both groups re-ceived treatment for consecutive 6 months. HAMD-17 and MADRS were observed in 2 groups before and after treatment,and the sleep quality of 2 groups were evaluated by PSQI before and after treatment;the sleep structure was measured by using polysom-nography before and after treatment;clinical efficacies and the occurrence of ADR were compared between 2 groups. RESULTS:Before treatment,there was no statistical significance in HAMD-17,MADRS and PSQI score,sleep structure between 2 groups (P>0.05);after treatment,above scores and indexes of 2 groups were all improved significantly,and the treatment group was sig-nificantly better than the control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05). Total response rate of treatment group was 97.47%, which was significantly higher than 78.95%of control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05). There was no statistical signif-icance in the incidence of ADR between 2 groups(P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Citalopram combined with mirtazapine shows sig-nificant therapeutic efficacy for sleep disorder of depressive patients,and can significantly improve sleep structure,adjust sleep cy-cle and improve sleep quality with good safety.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the method to analyze γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and its precursors 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) in urine through LC-MS/MS and provide evidence for related cases. METHODS: GHB-d6 and MOR-d3 were used as the internal standard. The urine sample was separated by LC after protein precipitation with methanol. The electrospray ion source was for ionization. Each compound was detected through multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. RESULTS: The limits of detection of GHB and its precursors 1,4-BD and GBL were 0.1, 0.1 and 2 μg/mL. The accuracy was 87.6%-98.1%. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 15% and matrix effects were higher than 80%. CONCLUSION The method is high sensitive, simple, rapid, specific and with high reliability. This study has provided technical support and basic data for forensic cases involving GHB.
4-Butyrolactone/urine* ; Butylene Glycols/urine* ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Forensic Sciences ; Humans ; Hydroxybutyrates/urine* ; Mass Spectrometry ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

OBJECTIVETo examine the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs1495592) in transforming growth factor-beta receptor 2 (TGFBR2) gene in children, and to investigate its association with Kawasaki disease (KD) and coronary artery lesions (CALs).

METHODSThirty-five KD patients, 14 of whom had CALs (CAL subgroup), were selected as the case group, and 25 healthy age-matched children were selected as the control group. The SNP (rs1495592) in TGFBR2 gene was studied by gene sequencing. The association of SNP (rs1495592) with KD and (CALs) was analyzed based on the sequencing results.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in genotype frequency distribution (χ(2)=0.566, P=0.452) and allele frequency distribution (χ(2)=0.216, P=0.642) between the two groups. Genotypes in the CAL subgroup included CC (21.4%) and CT+TT (78.6%), while genotypes in the non-CAL subgroup included CC (61.9%) and CT+TT (38.1%). There was significant difference in genotype frequency distribution between the two groups (χ(2)=5.546, P=0.019), but without significant difference in allele frequency distribution (χ(2)=3.673, P=0.055).

CONCLUSIONSThe SNP (rs1495592) in TGFBR2 gene may not be associated with development of KD in children, but it is associated with CALs in children with KD.

Coronary Artery Disease ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta ; genetics ; Signal Transduction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effect of combination of acupressure and magnetic sticker on the quality of life (QOL) including appetite, defecation, and sleep in patients with advanced gastroenteric tumor.

METHODSTotally 147 patients with advanced gastroenteric tumor were assigned to 4 groups according to different treatment methods, i.e., the supportive treatment group (A, 20 cases), the acupressure treatment group (B, 41 cases), the magnetic sticker treatment group (C, 40 cases), and a combination of acupressure and magnetic sticker treatment group (D, 46 cases). They were respectively treated with different methods, supportive treatment for group A, acupressure for group B, magnetic sticker for group C, and a combination of acupressure and magnetic sticker for group D. The scores of food intake, defecation frequency, sleep time, Karnofsky, and QOL were compared before treatment and at day 14 after treatment.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the scores of food intake, defecation frequency, and sleep time were obviously improved in B, C and D groups (P < 0.01). There was statistical difference between group D and group A (P < 0.01). In addition, in comparison with A group, both Karnofsky score and QOL score increased in B, C and D groups (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe assisted therapy of the combination of acupressure and magnetic sticker could ameliorate QOL such as the digestive functions and sleep in patients with advanced gastroenteric tumor.

Acupressure ; methods ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; therapy ; Humans ; Magnetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quality of Life ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To study the effect of selenium on peripheral and splentic T-cell subset, apoptosis of spleen cells in fluorosis chicken and its mechanism. Methods One hundred and eighty 8-day Hailanhe chicks were randomly divided into 3 groups(each 60): ①control group: 195 mg/kg fluoride and 0.08 mg/kg of selenium; ②fluorine group : 1000 mg/kg fluoride and 0.08 mg/kg of selenium ;③selenium antagonism group : 1000 mg/kg On 30~(th), 60~(th), 90~(th) day, peripheral and splentic CD4~+, CD8~+ T-cell subset analyses underwent flow cytometry and apoptosis of spleen cells were detected by TUNEL for study subjects. Results Compared with control group, the CD4~+ T-cell subset of peripheral in fluorine group was decreased obviously in 30,60,90 days[ (35.36± 4.27)% vs (24.29 ± 2.96)%, (47.65 ± 5.42)% vs (41.62 ± 3.96)%, (49.58 ± 3.98) % vs (42.35 ± 6.03 )%, P < 0.05 or < 0.01 ], CD4~+/CD8~+ ratio also was decreased obviously [ ( 1.701 ± 0.145 )% vs (1.393 ± 0.163)%,(2.712 ± 0.345)% vs (1.781 ± 0.201)%,(2.438 ± 0.356)% vs (1.973 ± 0.229)%, P< 0.05 or < 0.01]. Compared with fluorine group, the CD4~+ T-cell subset of peripheral in selenium antagonism group [ (29.40 ± 3.38)%, (45.40 ± 6.01 )%, (46.85 ± 5.25)%, P < 0.05 or < 0.01 ] was increased obviously in 30,60,90 days,CD4~+/CD8~+ ratio in 60,90 days[(2.004 ±0.314)%,(2.211±0.229)%,all P<0.01]also was increased obviously.Compared with control group,the CD4~+ T-cell subset of spleen cells in fluorine group was decreased obviously in 30,60,90 days[(47.33±5.35)% vs(41.91±4.83)%,(49.28±5.24)% vs(41.26 ±4.56)%,(34.31±4.15)%vs(29.33±2.89)%,all P<0.01],CD4~+/CD8~+ ratio also was decreased obviously[(1.927 ±0.244)% vs(1.525 ±0.265)%,(1.847±0.224)% vs(1.640±0.198)%.(1.265±0.174)% vs(0.878±0.092)%,P<0.05 or<0.01].Compared with fluorine group,the CD4~+ T-cell subset of spleen cells in selenium antagonism group in 60,90 days[(44.87±5.43)%,(32.62±3.37)%,all P<0.05]was increased obviously,CD4~+/CD8~+ ratio in 30,60, 90 days[(1.703 ±0.201)%,(1.772±0.215)%,(0.991±0.124)%,P<0.05 or<0.01]also was increased obviously. The apoptosis ratio of spleen cells in fluorine group in 30,60,90 days[(2.31±0.36)%,(2.76±0.22)%,(3.04± 0.29)%]was higher than that in control group[(1.14±0.21)%,(1.23±0.23)%,(1.29±0.20)%,P<0.01].The apoptosis ratio of spleen cells in selenium antagonism group in 60,90 days[(2.42 ±0.32)%,(2.73±0.39)%]was lower than that in fluorine group(P<0.05 or<0.01).Conclusion A certain concentration of selenium can antagonize the immunity inhibition of fluorine by decreasing apoptosis and improving the unbalance of T-cell subset.

Objective ① To Screen for the miRNAs differently expressed in the peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells (PBMCs) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by microarray experiments.② To further evaluate the expression of miR-155 in PBMCs of RA.③ To determine the relevance between the expression of miR-155 and clinical as well as laboratory features.④ To test whether inflammatory mediators can induce miR-155 expression in PBMCs of RA.Methods ① Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 5 patients of RA and 5 normal controls.Expression profiling of miRNAs was performed in a microarray analysis.② MiR-155 was identified for further study by stem-loop real-time RT-PCR based on SYBR-Green.PBMC from 26 patients of RA and 23 normal controls were collected.③ Association between miR-155 and the clinical and laboratory features of RA was evaluated.④Induction of miR-155 following stimulation with TNF-α, IFN-γ and LPS of cultures of RA PBMCs was examined by real-time RT-PCR.Statistical analysis was done with student's t test, paired t test, and ANOVA, Spearman correlation.Results ① Expression profiling of miRNAs revealed significant differential expression of 14 miRNAs, of which signal intensity changed over two times.MiR-155 was up-regulated in PBMCs of RA than in normal controls (t=9.218, P=0.001).② The expression level of miR-155 had a positive correlation with serum CRP level (r=0.57, P=0.002).③ Expression of miR-155 was markedly up-regulated in PBMCs of RA after stimulated with TNF-α,IFN-γ and LPS, especially with TNF-α.Conclusions The expression of miR-155 is induced by stimulating with TNF-α, IFN-γ and LPS.MiR-155 may be a regulator in RA pathogenesis.Further studies are required to elucidate the function of miR-155.