Objective To examine the caregivers' burden and quality of life (QOL) of main caregivers of patients with Parkinson's disease by analyzing caregiver and patient-related factors. Methods A total of 53 cases with Parkinson's disease seen from October 2012 to December 2013 in Yantaishan hospital of Yantai City were selected. Assessments: (a) EuroQol-5 questionnaires, including: EQ-5 dimensions (EQ -5d) and visual analogue scale (VAS). (b) Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. (c) Hoehn-Yahr(H-Y) stage; (d) Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS), 15 items; (e) Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMD-14), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMA-24); (f) Chinese version of Zarit caregiver burden interview. Results Spearman correlation analysis showed that the EQ-5D index and EQ-VAS negatively correlated with HAMD-14 of caregivers of Parkinson diseasepatients (r=- 0.318, - 0.046) (P<0.05), and negatively correlated with H-Y staging (r=-0.592, -0.531), UPDRSI (r=-0.434, -0.316) , UPDRS Ⅱ (r=0.521, 0.513) , UPDRS Ⅲ (r=0.520, 0.534), UPDRS Ⅳ (r=0.564, 0.509), PDSS in patients with Parkinson's disease (r=0.547, 0.490), HAMD-14 (r=0.315, 0.350), HAMA-24 (r=0.413, 0.401) of Parkinson's disease patients (P<0.05). Caregiver burden was related with HAMD-14 (r=0.496), HAMA-24 (r=0.551),H-Y stage (r=0.697), PDSS (r=0.659), UPDRS Ⅰ-Ⅳ (r=0.538, 0.668, 0.696, 0.600), EQ-5D index of Parkinson disease patients (r=0.682), EQ-VAS of Parkinson disease patients (r=0.670) (P<0.05); and positively related with anxiety of caregivers (r=0.275) , and a negative correlation with the caregivers' quality of lives (r=0.665) (P<0.05). Bivariate analyses showed significant correlations between caregiver burden and patients' sleep, scores of Parkinson's motor symptoms, and caregivers' depression. Based on multiple regression analysis, Zarit score proved to be the main predictor of caregivers' QOL. Caregivers' age, total numbers of caregivers and H-Y stage also proved to be a relevant factor. Conclusion Improvement of patient's sleep, motor symptoms anddepression might alleviate caregivers' strain. There is a correlation between caregivers' burden and QOL. QOL of caregivers can be improved through reducing their care-burden.

Administration, Intravaginal ; Adult ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Microwaves ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Uterine Cervical Erosion ; therapy

The folate metabolic pathway plays important roles in cellular physiology by participating in nucleotide synthesis, DNA repair and methylation, and maintenance and stability of the genome. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key regulatory enzyme involved in folate metabolism. Polymorphisms of MTHFR may change the level of homocysteine and affect DNA synthesis and methylation, leading to an increased oxidative stress and disturbed methylation reactions and consequently affecting reproductive function. This article presents an overview on MTHFR gene polymorphisms, proposing that multicentered, large-sample and long-term prospective studies are needed to reveal the relationship between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and infertility.
DNA ; biosynthesis ; DNA Methylation ; DNA Repair ; Folic Acid ; metabolism ; Homocysteine ; metabolism ; Humans ; Infertility ; enzymology ; genetics ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prospective Studies

Purpose To explore the expression of Aurora kinase A (Aurora-A), minichromosome maintenance protein 7 (MCM7) and human papillomavirus type 16 E7 protein (HPV 16 E7) in uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and to investigate their relationship with clinicopathological factors. Methods Immunohistochemical method was employed on 20 cases of low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) , 30 cases of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+3), 40 cases of CSCC, and 20 ca-ses of chronic cervicitis. Results (1) Aurora-A localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. MCM7 protein positive staining localized in the nucleus. In the nucleus, and (or) the cytoplasm appeared brown particles positive for HPV 16 E7. (2) The expression of Aurora-A, MCM7 and HPV 16 E7 were higher in the group of CIN2+3 and CSCC than that in the group of chronic cervicitis or CIN1 ( P<0. 0083). (3) In cervical cancer, the expression of Aurora-A, HPV 16 E7 showed positive correlation (P<0. 001, rs =0. 657). The expression of MCM7, HPV 16 E7 showed positive correlation (P<0. 001, rs =0. 616). The expression of Aurora-A, MCM7 showed positive correlation (P<0. 001, rs =0. 597). (4) Aurora-A expression levels was associated with tumor cell differentiation, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P<0. 05). MCM7 expression levels was associated with tumor cell differentiation and clinical stage (P<0. 05). HPV 16 E7 expression had no correlation with patient age, tumor size, tumor differentiation, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (P>0. 05). Conclusion Aurora-A, MCM7 and HPV 16 E7 expression are gradually increased with disease progres-sion, and closely related to the occurrence and development of cervical cancer, they are expected to be early diagnosis, early treatment of biological indicators of cervical cancer.

Objective To study early diagnosis and treatment of post transplant lymphoprolifer- ative disorder in allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.Methods A 16 years old patient with severe aplastic anemia received HLA-mismatched sibling allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell trans- plant after conditioning with cyclophosphamide/antithymocyte globulin/methylprednisolone(CY/ ATG/MP)regimen.Results On the day 72 posttransplantation,he developed lymphoproliferative disorder.After withdrawal of CsA,he was treated with methylprednisolone,intravenous immune globulin and IFN alpha,and recovered completely from PTLD.Conclusions PTLD is a rare and fatal complication of both solid-organ and hemopoietic stem cell transplantation.Surveillance for PTLD by PCR for circulating EBV-DNA may be appropriate in high risk settings.Early diagnosis,immunosup- pression therapy reduction or even withdrawal in time is important.

Objective To confirm whether miR-216a suppresses cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis by targeting PKCα, thus to reveal molecular mechanism that miR-216a functions as a tumor suppressor in gastric cancer .Methods PKCα3′untranslat-ed region(UTR)-luciferase vector was constructed and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was employed to examine the effect of miR-216a on luciferase activity .MGC-803 cells were transfected with miR-216a mimics ,and next Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of PKCαprotein .The effects of PKCαdownregulation on cell proliferation and apoptosis were observed after PKCαsiRNA were transfected into MGC-803 cells .MGC-803 cell proliferation assays were performed when cotransfected with miR-216a mimics .Results The result demonstrated miR-216a could bind to the 3′UTR of PKCαand inhibited the luciferase activi-ty ,cut the 41% .PKCαprotein expressions were significantly down-regulated when miR-216a was overexpressed in MGC-803 .siR-NA-mediated downregulation of PKCα could suppress the potentials of cell proliferation and induce apoptosis .Conclusion miR-216a suppresses cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by targeting PKCαmRNA 3′UTR in gastric cancer .

Abstract: Objective　To explore the correlation between the levels of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) and forkhead box protein O3 (FOXO3) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis (APTB) and macrophage-related cytokines-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase-1 (Arg-1). Methods　A total of 64 APTB patients who were treated in Yubei Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2020 to December 2021 were gathered as the APTB group, 59 people with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) were gathered as the LTBI group, and 62 healthy people were gathered as the control group. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was performed to measure the levels of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure serum iNOS and Arg-1 levels; ROC curve was used to analyze the value of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA levels in the differential diagnosis of LTBI and APTB; Pearson correlation was performed to analyze the correlation of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of APTB patients with serum iNOS and Arg-1 levels. Results　The levels of SIRT1 mRNA, FOXO3 mRNA and serum iNOS in peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreased in control group, LTBI group and APTB group, and the level of serum Arg-1 increased in turn (P<0.05). The AUCs of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA in differential diagnosis of LTBI and APTB were 0.876 and 0.887, respectively, the sensitivity was 71.2% and 76.3%, and the specificity was 96.9% and 90.6% respectively. The levels of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of APTB patients were positively correlated (r=0.500, P<0.05), and they were positively correlated with serum iNOS and negatively correlated with serum Arg-1 (P<0.05). The SIRT1 mRNA, FOXO3 mRNA and serum iNOS in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of APTB patients after 6 months of treatment were higher than those before treatment, and serum Arg-1 was lower than before treatment (P<0.05). Conclusions　The levels of SIRT1 mRNA and FOXO3 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of APTB patients are low, and they are positively correlated with macrophage-related cytokine iNOS and negatively correlated with Arg-1.

To investigate the mechanism of agarwood formation in Aquilaria sinensis induced by Lasiodiplodia theobromae, the fermentation liquor of L. theobromae was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). JAs were detected in the fermentation liquor. The effect of the fermentation liquor on the abundance of sesquiterpenes in the callus of A. sinensis was analyzed by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). And the fermentation liquor stimulated alpha-guaiene, alpha-humulene and delta-guaiene biosynthesis in calli. It was inferred that L. theobromae produced JAs, which resulted in a significant increase of sesquiterpenes in A. sinensis.
Ascomycota ; physiology ; Fermentation ; Sesquiterpenes ; metabolism ; Thymelaeaceae ; metabolism ; microbiology

To investigate formation mechanism of secologanic acid sulfonates in sulfur-fumigated buds of Lonicera japonica, secologanic acid was enriched and purified from the sun-dried buds of L. japonica by various column chromatography on macroporus resin HPD-100, silica gel and ODS. The stimulation experiments of sulfur-fumigation process were carried out using secologanic acid reacted with SO2 in the aqueous solution. The reaction mechanism could be involved in the esterification or addition reaction. The present investigation provides substantial evidences for interpreting formation pathway of secologanic acid sulfonates in sulfur-fumigated buds of L. japonica.
Alkanesulfonates ; chemistry ; Carboxylic Acids ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Flowers ; chemistry ; drug effects ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; drug effects ; Models, Chemical ; Molecular Structure ; Sulfur ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Sulfur Dioxide ; chemistry ; Water ; chemistry

This study aims to investigate the effect of total flavones of Fructus Chorspondiatis (TFFC) on the mRNA and protein expression of collagen type I and III of rat cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II), and explore its anti-myocardial fibrosis molecular mechanism. Neonatal rat CFs were prepared from Sprague-Dawley rats (1-3 d after birth). The expression of collagen type I and III mRNA and protein were measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The study showed that stimulation of neonatal rat CFs with 100 nmol.L-1 of Ang II for 72 h resulted in a significant increase of the expression of collagen type I and III mRNA and protein. The changes on the expression level were blocked by TFFC. The results demonstrated that TFFC can inhibit myocardial fibrosis induced by Ang II in rats, which is probably associated with the collagen type I and III mRNA and protein levels up-regulated by Ang II, and TFFC was shown to decrease the expression levels of collagen type I and III mRNA and protein.
Anacardiaceae ; chemistry ; Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen Type I ; genetics ; metabolism ; Collagen Type III ; genetics ; metabolism ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; metabolism ; Flavones ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Myocardium ; cytology ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley