Objective To screen 18 endophytes from Pseudolarix kaempferi Gord for molluscicidal effect and identify them by morphology. Methods Molluscicidal tests were performed according to the immersion test suggested by WHO and the strain screened was identified by the slide culture. Results The mortality rates of snails immersed by JJ18 broth salified (pH=7) were 26.7%, 76.7% and 100.0% for 24,48 h and 72 h, respectively, and 53.3% and 86.7% in 5% and 10% concentrations of JJ18 broth, respectively. The active components were extracellular moiety of the broth which had no acute toxicity to fish, and JJ18 strain belonged to Aspergillus. Conclusion Extracellular moiety of endophyte JJ18 from Pseudolarix kaempferi Gord is a new resource of molluscicide.

Objective To investigate the changes in intrapulmonary shunting during controlled hypotension induced by sodium nitroprusside(SNP)in patients undergoing naso-endoscopic operation.Methods Forty ASAⅠorⅡpatients of both sexes(23 male,17 female)aged 16-50 yrs weighing 50-75 kg undergoing naso-endoscopic operation under general anesthesia with muscle relaxation and mechanical ventilation were studied.Radial artery was cannulated for direct BP monitoring and blood sampling.Right internal jugular vein was cannulated and the catheter was advanced into right ventricle.Blood sample taken from right ventricle was used as mixed venous blood instead of blood from pulmonary artery.ECG,MAP,HR and P_(ET) CO_2 were continuously monitored during operation Cardiac output was monitored with noninvasive cardiac function monitor(NC-COM.)based on impedance principle.SNP infusion was started at the beginning of operation at 1-3?g?kg~(-1)?min~(-1) and was then adjusted.MAP was reduced by 30%-40% and maintained at this level until the end of operation.Blood samples were taken from artery and right ventricle simultaneously before SNP infusion(T_1,baseline)at 30 and 60 min of hypotension(T_2,T_3)and at 20 min after BP returned to the baseline level(T_4)for blood gas analysis.Qs/Qt was calculated.Results Qs/Qt was significantly increased during controlled hypotension at T_2 and T_3 as compared to the baseline value(P＜0.01)and returned to the baseline level at T_4.HR was increased and cardiac output and stroke volume was significantly reduced during hypotension as compared to the baseline value.Conclusion The intrapulmonary shunting is increased and the hemodynamics is depressed during SNP-induced controlled hypotension and they return rapidly to baseline level after SNP is discontinued.No hypoxemia develops during SNP- induced hypotension.

HER2, a member of epidermal growth factor receptor family proteins, is overexpressed in about 30% of human breast cancer. Increased levels of HER2 are associated with poor patient prognosis and enhanced metastasis. RNA interference (RNAi) is developed recently as a new technique which can inhibit gene expression specifically in mammalian cells. On the basis of previous study,in which two target sequences with favorable RNAi effect on HER2 were identified, a series of dual promoter siRNA-expressing vectors containing two opposing U6 and H1 promoters were constructed. After transfection of HER2-overexpressing SKBR3 breast cancer cells with the siRNA-expressing vectors, downregulation of HER2 was identified quantitatively. Subsequently, the siRNA-expressing cassettes were subcloned into lentiviral vectors by LR recombination reaction and lentivirus was prepared successfully. The results from infection of SKBR3 cells with siRNA-expressing lentivirus demonstrated that lentiviral-mediated RNAi could downregulate HER2 expression efficiently through fluorescent quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR), western blot, and FACS analysis. Furthermore, cell growth was inhibited in cell proliferation assay after treatment with siRNA lentivirus.A new tool for clarifying the function of HER2 in cancer metastasis and developing the gene therapy drug was offered.

To investigate the distribution of the genes of two major metallo-beta-lactamases (MBL; i.e., IMP and VIM) and class 1 integrons (intI) in the clinical imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a total of 65 isolates, from a university hospital in Sichuan between December 2004 and April 2005 were screened for MBL genes by PCR using primers specific for bla ( IMP-1 ), bla ( VIM ) and bla ( VIM-2 ) genes. The MBL-positive isolates were further assessed for class 1 integrons by PCR using specific primers. The nucleotide sequences of several PCR products were also determined. The results revealed that the bla ( VIM ) gene was found in 81.5% (53/65) of all isolates, bla ( VIM-2 ) gene was found in only 1 isolate and the intI gene was observed in 45.3% (24/53) of bla ( VIM )-positive isolates. One isolate carried simultaneously both bla ( IMP-1 ) and intI genes, and to the best of our knowledge this is the first report of such isolate in southwest China. These observations highlight that the genes for VIM beta-lactamase and class 1 integrons were predominantly present among the imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa tested, confirming the current widespread threat of imipenem-resistant, integron-borne P. aeruginosa.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; China ; DNA Primers/chemistry ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ; Imipenem/*pharmacology ; Integrons ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Models, Genetic ; Pseudomonas Infections/genetics ; Pseudomonas Infections/*microbiology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/*metabolism ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; beta-Lactamases/*metabolism

Objective:To evaluate the cerebral blood flow circulation time (CCT) by contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and to explore the change rule of CCT in different degree of intracranial pressure, so as to provide a new method for non-invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure.Methods:Ten patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute craniocerebral trauma with increased intracranial pressure were selected from Tangdu Hospital, the Air Force Military Medical University from January to December 2019. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was performed when the invasive intracranial pressure (iICP) increased (>20 mmHg, iICP increased group) and decreased to normal (≤20 mmHg, iICP normal group), CCT was measured and analyzed. The differences of CCTs between different iICP groups were compared and the relationship between CCT and iICP was analyzed.Results:①The CCT on the lesion sides of the same patients in the iICP increased group was significantly longer than in the iICP normal group[(9.34±2.58)s vs (6.48±1.91)s, P=0.002]. ②When iICP was increased in patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute craniocerebral trauma, the CCTs of the diseased side and the non-pathological side were not statistically significant [(9.34±2.58)s vs (9.01±3.22)s, P=0.809]. ③Pearson correlation analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that there were no correlations between patient′s breathing, heart rate, carbon dioxide partial pressure, body temperature, GCS score and CCT (all P>0.05). Age, mean arterial pressure and CCT were moderately correlated ( r=0.518, 0.463 and P=0.023, 0.046, respectively). ④Logistic regression analysis showed that CCT was an independent risk factor related to intracranial hypertension( OR=0.7, 95% CI=0.47-0.95, P=0.036). The area under ROC curve (AUC) predicted by logistic regression was 0.750(0.588~0.912). Conclusions:Contrast-enhanced ultrasound noninvasive assessment of CCT can reflect the intracranial pressure in patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute traumatic brain injury, and CCT has a predictive value for intracranial hypertension. When the patient has limited conditions for invasive intracranial pressure monitoring, or when the invasive monitoring probe is pulled out but still needs to evaluate intracranial pressure, the change of CCT can provide an effective reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

A simple model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has contributed substantially to the fundamental researches in biology. In an era of functional genomics, nematode worm has been developed into a multi-purpose tool that can be exploited to identify disease-causing or disease-associated genes, validate potential drug targets. This, coupled with its genetic amenability, low cost experimental manipulation and compatibility with high throughput screening in an intact physiological condition, makes the model organism into an effective toolbox for drug discovery. This review shows the unique features of C. elegans, how it can play a valuable role in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of human diseases and finding drug leads in drug development process.
Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; Drug Discovery ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical

Objective To evaluate the influence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on maternal and perinatal outcomes in twin pregnancies. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of both twin and singleton pregnancies, which delivered in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. The twin pregnancies were divided into two groups:those with (GDM-T, n=51) and without GDM (non-GDM-T, n=130), which were matched by maternal age and delivery time (within one month) in a ratio of 1∶2 among singleton pregnancies with (GDM-S, n=102) and without GDM (non-GDM-S, n=102), respectively. The differences of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes among these four groups were examined. The overall assessment of pregnancy outcomes was completed using Delphi method. Statistical analysis was performed with one-way analysis of variance, t test, Kruskal-Wallis test, rank test, Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results (1) When compared to GDM-S and non-GDM-S group respectively, less women conceived with the help of assisted reproductive technology, higher proportion of women underwent and gestational age at delivery tend to be earlier in GDM-T and non-GDM-T group (all P<0.01). In oral glucose tolerance test,the fasting blood glucose level of GDM-T group was higher than the other three groups (F=21.716, P<0.01), the glucose levels at 1 and 2 h were higher than non-GDM-T and non-GDM-s respectively (both P<0.01), but no significant difference was found when compared with GDM-S group (P>0.01). Similarly, no significant difference was found in prenatal glycosylated hemoglobin value between GDM-T and GDM-S group (P>0.01). (2) There was no significant difference in the incidences of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, anemia, premature rupture of membranes, oligohydramnios, placental abruption, postpartum hemorrhage, asphyxia neonatorum, small for gestational age, hypoglycemia of newborn, hyperbilirubinemia of newborn and perinatal death between GDM-T group and the other three groups(all P>0.01). Higher incidences of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhage were shown in the GDM-T group than in the GDM-S and non-GDM-S groups, respectively (both P<0.01). The incidences of preterm birth in GDM-T and non-GDM-T group were both higher than that in GDM-S and non-GDM-S, respectively [54.9%(66/102), 53.8%(140/260), 5.0%(10/102) and 3.0%(6/102), all P<0.01], while no significant difference was found between GDM-T and non-GDM-T group (P>0.01). (3) The overall assessment of pregnancy outcomes did not show any difference between GDM-T group and the other three groups (χ2=6.707, P>0.01). However, the score for fetal outcomes in the GDM-T group was higher than in the GDM-S and non-GDM-S group, but lower than in non-GDM-T group [M(Q)=1.0(2.3), 0.0(3.0), 0.0(0.0), 1.0(2.8) score, χ2=122.818, P<0.01]. Conclusions GDM does not increase the risk of adverse pregnant outcomes in twin pregnancies.

Background and purpose:Cancer is a common disease. Multidisciplinary approach is the best model for cancer treatment. Cancer staging is the basis for diagnosis, treatments and prediction of prognosis.The survey is to give an overview of the current application of cancer multidisciplinary approach and UICC or other international cancer staging in mainland China. We made inquiries to our Chinese oncologists’ experience of using these staging and share their comments and recommendations. For those cancers common in China, Chinese oncologists and academic societies should provide more information of staging, therapies, outcome, prognostic predictors of prognosis, etc. to make international stage systems, like UICC or AJCC, a more appropriate, accurate and acceptable guide to individual patients’ staging and treatment, to predict outcome and to facilitate clinical trials better. Methods: This survey was done from 2012 to 2013 by questionnaires. The questions were answered for 10 major cancers in China (liver cancer, esophageal cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, lung carcinoma, breast cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, gynecologic cancer, prostate cancer and lymphoma). Thirty-three questionnaires have been answered by national wide hospitals including provincial cancer hospitals, district cancer hospitals and departments of oncology in general hospitals. We also site visited 7 grade B hospitals. Results:Multidisciplinary approach is not widely used in the hospitals. UICC or AJCC stages have been widely used for 10 cancers, but for cancers that were uncommon in the West;while common in China (nasopharyngeal carcinoma, liver cancer) the staging proposed by Chinese society have also been used to replace UICC/AJCC. Conclusion:We suggest a wild implementation of multidisciplinary approach. For those cancers common in China Chinese oncologists and academic societies should provide more information of staging, therapies, outcome, prognostic predictors of prognosis etc. to make international stage systems, like UICC or AJCC, a more appropriate, accurate and acceptable guide to individual patients’ staging and treatments, to predict outcome and to facilitate clinical trials better.

New strategies are needed for prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infections, a widespread disease caused by P. aeruginosa with strong drug resistance. The immunoprotective capacity of the receptor of autoinducers protein LasR/RhlR was examined in the BALB/c mice. At first, specialized expression plasmids were developed to facilitate expression of LasR/RhlR proteins in Escherichia coli (E. coli). Then, biofilms were grown from clinical isolated P. aeruginosa PA0305 to investigate the relative contributions of cell signaling for biofilm formation. Morphological characters of biofilm were quantified using Image-Pro Plus software. Fluorescence analysis demonstrated that cell signal molecule LasR/RhlR significantly (P ＜ 0.05) influenced development of P. aeruginosa biofilm. Active immunization of mice with LasR/RhlR was found to provide significant protection against homologous challenge with P. aeruginosa in mice lungs. In 10 days after lungs inoculation, the bacterial clearance rate of the immunized mice was clearly higher than that of non-immunized groups on the basis of microbiological and histological assays. The protective effects of immunization with LasR and Rh1R together were the same as the result of LasR or Rh1R immunized mice alone. These data indicate that the manner ofLasR, Rh1R or both is an important determinant of immunoprotection in mice lungs infection.

Aging can cause degenerative changes in the function of multiple tissues and organs in the body. Gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal dysfunction are very common in the elderly people. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of the total extract of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. on intestinal function and gut microbiota homeostasis in natural aging mice, which will provide clues for further mechanism study. The natural aging mice model is established and animal experiments follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The overall health of the mice was evaluated by the "frailty index" scoring method. The intestinal absorption and transport function were measured by detecting intestinal glucose absorption capacity, transport time, lipase and amylase activities of aging mice. Intestinal inflammation was assessed by detecting inflammatory cytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pathological changes in the intestines of aging mice were tested by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining and alizarin blue (AB) staining. The qRT-PCR method was used to explore the gene transcription level related with the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells. Microbiota analysis based on 16S rDNA were used to evaluate the composition of gut microbiota. The results showed that Astragalus had a tendency to reduce the "frailty index" of aging mice, but did not show a significant difference. In some indicators of aging phenotype, Astragalus has the most significant effect on hair loss and physical fitness. In terms of intestinal function, Astragalus could increase intestinal glucose absorption capacity, shorten intestinal transportation time and promote lipase secretion in aging mice. The levels of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-‍α) in the aging intestinal tissue were reduced after Astragalus administration. Astragalus also ameliorated the pathological degeneration of the intestinal tissue of aging mice by increasing the length of small intestinal villi, the thickness of colonic mucosa and goblet cell number. In addition, Astragalus elevated the expression of genes associated with the proliferation and differentiation in jejunum and modulated gut microbiota, especially restoring the abundance of Lachnospiraceae. Taken together, the above research results demonstrate the total extract of Astragalus as a key factor improving the intestinal function and gut microbiota homeostasis of aging mice.