Metallothionein ( MT ) is a cysteine-rich and low-molecular metal binding protein. Three isoforms of MT have been found in the central nervous system, including MT-Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ. MT is widely involved in many critical activities in the central nervous system, such as neuronal growth, auto-defensive reaction, immune-regulation, and repair of cerebral injury. MT exerts many important biological functions like scavenging of free radicals, regulation of ion homeostasis in brain cells, detoxification of heavy metals, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis. Recently, MT has been increasingly shown to have protective effects against cerebral ischemia. MT promises to be an important target for prevention and/or treatment of cerebral ischemic disease. ln this review, the expression and regulation characteristics, and the effect of cerebral ischemic stress on MT expression have been summarized, with focus on the neuro-protective effect of MT and its possible underlying mechanisms.

Objective To establish a multiplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (MRQPCR) assay for fast and simultaneous detection of Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Candida albicans (C.albicans) genes in human whole blood,in order to facilitate differentiation of the types of microorganism and evaluation of the severity of bacterial or fungi translocation due to impaired gut barrier,hence providing help to select specific antimicrobial agents.Methods The β-D-galactosidase gene of E.coli and ITS2 gene of C.albicans were selected as the target genes for designing primers and probes.E.coli and C.albicans genomes were extracted with QIAamp(R) DNA Blood Mini Kit,and the 25 μl TaqMan MRQ-PCR amplification reaction system was established.18 simulated human whole blood samples and 10 whole blood samples from febrile surgical patients were detected for E.coli and C.albicans genes using MRQ-PCR.Results The specificity of the primers and probes were excellent.The correlation coefficients of the standard curves of E.coli and C.albicans were 0.994-0.999 and 0.994-0.998,respectively;and the efficiency of amplification were 0.894-1.022 and 0.905-1.028,respectively.In the standard samples,the lowest detection limits of E.coli and C.albicans were 13.9 copies/μl and 0.8 cfu/μl,respectively;the sensitivity was 100％ and 99.69％,the specificity was 100％ and 94.73％,respectively;the average recovery rates were (101.89 ± 5.69)％ and (103.74 ± 4.64)％ respectively;the intra-batch coefficients of variance (CV) in detecting the genes were (13.14 ± 10.27)％ and (19.18 ± 8.54)％,respectively,and the inter-batch CV were (14.35 ± 9.34)％ and (18.31 ± 10.25) ％,respectively.In human whole blood,the lowest detection limits of E.coli and C.albicans were 12 455.2 copies/ml and 800.3 cfu/ml,respectively;the average recovery rates were (111.60 ± 11.06) ％ and (99.96 ± 6.16) ％,respectively;the intra-batch CV in detecting the genes were (11.02 ± 5.65) ％ and (8.14 ± 7.29)％,respectively,and the average inter-batch CV were (12.88 ± 7.59)％ and (18.62 ± 9.14)％.Conclusions MRQ-PCR is a rapid,sensitive,specific,accurate,and reproducible method for simultaneous detection of E.coli and C.albicans genes in human whole blood,with sample-,cost-,and time-saving advantages.It is a promising technique for rapid differentiation between fungi and bacteria,which could help targeted administration and evaluation of antimicrobial agents,and help to assess the consequence of gut barrier damage and the efficacy of treatment.

AIM: To investigate the effects of metallothionein (MT) induced by zinc on doxorubicin (DOX)-treated mice and to explore the potential mechanisms. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were divided randomly into 4 groups (n = 6) following control, DOX, Zn and Zn plus DOX. Mice were pretreated with eikg-1, ip) or equal volume of saline, and were killed on d 4 after the last injection. Serum and hearts were collected for examination. RESULTS: Zinc pretreatment elevated cardiac MT levels significantly while other antioxidants in heart including glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx) , superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were not altered. Severe oxidative injury occurred in the mice treated with DOX as myocardial lipid peroxidation and morphological changes manifested by myocardial fibers swelling and vacuolization and nuclear condensation or dissolution, with increased activities of serum creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase and depletion of GSH, GSHpx, and SOD while CAT activity was increased in compensation. However, pre-induction of MT with zinc attenuated all of these toxic changes significantly. Furthermore, DOX induced elevation of hydrogen peroxide in heart tissues was greatly inhibited by zinc pretreatment. CONCLUSION: Preinduction of MT by zinc protects the heart from DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, and this effect is possibly correlated with the property of MT on scavenging free radicals in vivo.

Objective To establish the real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) assay for detecting Candida albicans (C.albicans) in whole blood and its clinical application in the febrile surgical patients who may develop gut barrier damage and gut microorganism translocation.Methods The NAG1 gene,which is a single copy in C.albicans genome,was selected as the target gene for designing the primers and probe.The plasmid was fabricated and produced as standard samples.C.albicans genomes were extracted with QIAamp(R) DNA Blood Mini Kit,and the total 20 μl TaqMan RQ-PCR amplification reaction system was established.The 74 venous blood samples from the surgical febrile patients were detected for C.albicans load.Results The specificities of the primers and probe were excellent,the correlation coefficients of the standard curves were between 0.9918 and 0.9985,and the efficiency of amplification was 0.88-1.027 for the samples above the lowest detection limit (100 copies/μl examine fluid,or nearly 1.1 × 103 cfu/ml whole blood).The average accuracy of the RQ-PCR equipment was (99.64±2.08) %,the sensitivity was 97.46%,the specificity was 100%,and the average coefficients of variation (CV) of the intra-and inter-assay were (14.76±2.64)% and (17.85±3.53)%,respectively.The average recovery rate of C.albicans DNA in whole blood samples was (88.60±5.73) %,and the average CV of recovery rate was (11.70 ±5.36) %.The number of copies of C.albicans genes per unit blood was not significantly different among the same original blood samples stored separately under-20℃ for 3 or 6 months when compared with its freshly collected blood (P = 0.267).In the 74 whole blood samples obtained from the febrile surgical patients,the positive rate of C.albicans genes was 2.7% and the highest load was 4.42×103 cfu/ml.Conclusions RQ-PCR is a rapid,sensitive,highly specific,and reproducible method in detecting C.albicans NAG1 gene.Clinically it can be used to quantitatively evaluate the numbers of C.albicans in the whole blood.A small percentage of the febrile surgical patients may develop blood infection of C.albicans.

Objective To establish a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) assay for fast detection of Aspergillus fumigatus genome in human whole blood samples and explore its clinical application.Methods The primers and the TaqMan-probe were designed on the basis of the multi-copy ITS1-5. 8S region of the rDNA of Aspergillus fumigatus. The Aspergillus fumigatus genomic DNA were extracted with QIAamp(R) DNA Blood Mini Kit.A 20 μl RQ-PCR amplification system was established, and the simulated blood samples containing various given load of Aspergillus fumigatus genome and the 66 whole blood samples of the surgical febrile patients were examined. Results The detection limit of the RQ-PCR instrument is 10-1 genomes/μl DNA sample,namely 78 CFU/ml whole blood. The specificity and the sensitivity were 94. 25% and 99. 04% respectively; and the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 97. 63% and 97. 62% respectively. The average relative error of the quantitative results was (3. 67 ±13. 19)%, and the intra- and the inter-assay average coefficients of variation were (12.38 ± 1. 53)% and (16. 27 ±2. 72)% , respectively. The average recovery rate of Aspergillus fumigatus genomic DNA in human whole blood samples was (107. 81 ±25. 92)% , and the average coefficient of variation of the average recovery rate was (26. 24 ± 5.62) % . No Aspergillus fumigatus genomic DNA was detected among the 66 blood samples of the surgical febrile patients. Conclusions The RQ-PCR assay for fast quantitative detection of Aspergillus fumigatus genome in human whole blood samples is of high sensitivity, specificity,accuracy and precision. The Aspergillus fumigatus genome was not detected in this group of surgical febrile patients.

The purpose of risk assessment is to evaluate the permissible exposure level under specific risk factors.To extrapolate the human acceptable daily intake (ADI) and/or reference dose (RfD), the traditional method uses the no-observed-adverse-effect level ( NOAEL ) to quantify toxicity after being divided by uncertainty factor.There are many limitations with NOAEL method in safety evaluation,for it relies too much on experimental design.Benchmark dose ( BMD) approach is a more reliable method with many advantages.BMD approach and its analysis software, the advantages of BMD over NOAEL, the application and methodological perfection in risk assessment of long-team exposure toxicity are presented in this review.

BACKGROUND:Compared with the cone stem,short stem holds good matching with femoral canal,and remarkably reduces the risk of prosthesis loosening.OBJECTIVE:To further investigate the clinical efficacy of Accolade Ⅱ stem for Crowe type Ⅰ developmental dysplasia of the hip.METHODS:Clinical data of 16 patients with Crowe type Ⅰ developmental dysplasia of the hip undergoing total hip arthroplasty using Accolade Ⅱ stem were collected,the length of both lower limbs before and after surgery was compared,and the Visual Analogue Scale,functional recovery of the hip and general conditions were observed at 12 weeks postoperatively.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) The change in length of both lower limbs before and after surgery had significant difference (P ＜ 0.05),and 10 patients (62％) with the same length of both lower limbs before surgery,and 15 cases (94％) after surgery.(2) The postoperative acetablar abducent angle was 41°-54° (average 46.9°).(3) The Visual Analogue Scale and Harris hip scores after surgery were significantly improved compared with baseline (P ＜ 0.05).(4) The intraoperative blood loss was 147 mL on average,the mean operation time was 72 minutes,and the hospitalization time was 7.2 days.(5) All patients recovered well and no complications occurred at 3 months postoperatively.(6) To conclude,Accolade Ⅱ stem is safe and reliable for Crowe type Ⅰ developmental dysplasia of the hip,and exhibits good functional recovery of the hip.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of double locking mini-plates for fixation of the comminuted fracture of the first metacarpal base.Methods Twenty-four patients with the comminuted fracture of the first metacarpal base were treated by double locking mini-plates in our hospital from January 2013 to January 2016.They were 17 males and 7 females,from 27 to 65 years of age (average,33.5 years).By the Green classification,6 cases were type Ⅰ,13 cases type Ⅱ and 5 cases type Ⅲ.All the fractures were closed.The average time from injury to surgery was 2.3 days (from 8 hours to 7 days).After open reduction via the palmar-radial incision,the fracture was fixated with 2 mini-plates,one locking T-plate on the radial side and one straight locking plate on the dorsal side.Fracture healing time,pain and finger function were followed up postoperatively.Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain at 12 months and scoring for digital total range of motion to assess the function of the affected finger at the final follow-up.Results The 24 patients obtained follow-up for 8 to 28 months (average,18 months).All the Fractures healed after 9 to 12 weeks (average,10.5 weeks).The VAS scores at 12 months ranged from 0 to 3 (average,1.5).The function of the affected finger at the final follow-up was excellent in 20 cases and good in 4,giving an excellent to good rate of 100％.Two patients complained of pain after frequent motion of the finger.No complications like skin problems,dislocation of the first metacarpal base,implant failure,necrosis or irritation of the soft tissue were observed during follow-up.No angulation or rotational deformity occurred after fracture union.Conclusion Fixation with double locking mini-plates can effectively treat comminuted fractures of the first metacarpal base,because it can provide rigid stabilization which promotes early functional exercise of the finger,and prevents joint stiffness as well.

Tuberculosis(TB) caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) is a worldwide public health threat.Microbiota in body affects human health and is involved in human diseases, and its clinical importance is begi-nning to be understood.In this review, studies on the relationship between the establishment of Mtb infection and microbiota as well as the development and antibiotic treatment of Mtb infection were discussed.Studies have shown that: (1) microbiota influences the establishment of Mtb infection; (2) co-infection of Helicobacter pylori alters susceptibility to Mtb infection and progression of active TB; (3) microbiota influences the progression of TB by regulating the nutritio-nal, metabolic and immune status of the host; (4) susceptibility to reinfection increases in TB patients treated with antibiotics, possibly due to T-cell epitope depletion of common intestinal non-Mtb Mycobacterium, the effects of antibio-tics are long-term in patients; (5) the occurrence of childhood TB is age-related and many factors such as co-infection and vaccine inoculation increase risk.An in-depth study of the relationship between the microbiota and TB will provide a new perspective on the prevention of TB.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of occupational stress on work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in electronics manufacturing workers. Methods A total of 392 front-line workers in two electronic manufacturing enterprises in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects using the judgment sampling method. The prevalence of WMSDs and the level of occupational stress of the research subjects were investigated using the Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire and the Core Occupational Stress Scale. Results The total WMSDs detection rate was 39.5%, and the multi-site WMSDs detection rate was 30.6%. The detection rate of occupational stress was 14.8%. The total WMSDs detection rate and multi-site WMSDs detection rate in the occupational stress group were higher than those in the non-occupational stress group (65.5% vs 35.0%, 56.9% vs 26.0%, both P<0.01). Binary logistic regression analysis result showed that the risk of WMSDs in the occupational stress group was higher than that in the non-occupational stress group after adjusting the effect of confounding factors such as age, gender, job type and work days per week (P<0.01). Conclusion The occupational stress may increase the risk of WMSDs in electronics manufacturing workers. Reducing the level of occupational stress among workers in electronic manufacturing enterprises is beneficial for reducing the risk of WMSDs.