Environmental Monitoring ; methods ; Noise, Occupational ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVETo study the function of the chalcone synthese gene introns in Scutellaria baicalensis, and clarify preliminarily their role in abiotic stress.

METHODThe CHS introns with specific primers were cloned and bioinformatic method was applied to predict the cis-elements in the intron of CHS. The introns were subcloned into binary vector, pCAMBIA-1301 before being transferred to tobacco. Then the activity of GUS of the transgenic tobacco seeds was analyzed.

RESULTSeven cis-elements were found in the introns. Under the dark and high temperature GUS expression rose at the first (3 h), but then declined (9 h). ABA and MeJA regulated insignificantly the GUS activity in normal temperature; treatment of 10% PEG induced GUS expression.

CONCLUSIONCHS introns could be play a role in the regulation of S. baicalensis phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway.

Acyltransferases ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; drug effects ; Gene Order ; Genetic Vectors ; Introns ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polyethylene Glycols ; pharmacology ; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; genetics ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; enzymology ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Tobacco ; genetics ; metabolism

Increasing evidence has revealed that maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.Potential relevance between the placental inflammation and CMV-related autism has been reported by clinical observation.Meanwhile,abnormal expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 in placenta of patients with chorioamnionitis was observed in multiple studies.IL-6 and IL-10 are two important maternal inflammatory mediators involved in neurodevelopmental disorders.To investigate whether murine CMV (MCMV) infection causes alterations in placental IL-6/10 and TLR2/4 levels,we analyzed the dynamic changes in gene expression of TLR2/4 and IL-6/10 in placentas following acute MCMV infection.Mouse model of acute MCMV infection during pregnancy was created,and pre-pregnant MCMV infected,lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated and uninfected mice were used as controls.At E13.5,E14.5 and E18.5,placentas and fetal brains were harvested and mRNA expression levels of placental TLR2/4 and IL-6/10 were analyzed.The results showed that after acute MCMV infection,the expression levels of placental TLR2/4 and IL-6 were elevated at E13.5,accompanied by obvious placental inflammation and reduction of placenta and fetal brain weights.However,LPS 50 μg/kg could decrease the IL-6 expression at E13.5 and E14.5.This suggests that acute MCMV infection during pregnancy could up-regulate the gene expression of TLR2/4 in placental trophoblasts and activate them to produce more proinflammatory cytokine IL-6.High dose of LPS stimulation (50 tg/kg) during pregnancy can lead to down-regulation of IL-6 levels in the late stage.Imbalance ofIL-6 expression in placenta might be associated with the neurodevelopmental disorders in progeny.

Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pacemaker, Artificial ; adverse effects ; Tricuspid Valve Stenosis ; etiology

AIM:To observe the structural basis of ocular motility abnormalities in patients with congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles type Ⅰ ( CFEOM Ⅰ) due to missense mutations in the developmental kinesin KIF21A using high - resolution magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) .
METHODS: Totally 11 affected individuals reported KIF21A mutations were correlated with MRI studies demonstrating extraocular muscles ( EOMs ) size, location, contractility, and innervation. EOMs and the motor nerve in the orbits were imaged with T1 weighted in a triplanar scan using a dual-phased coils with 2. 0mm thick. Motor nerves were imaged at the brainstem using head coils and 3D-FIESTA with 0. 6-mm thick.
RESULTS: Patients with CFEOM Ⅰ exhibited different degrees of hypoplasia of oculomotor nerve, the abducens nerve and the trochlear nerve were also affected, of which 8 cases of orbital section could see the signal of abnormal nerve dominated by oculomotor nerve to lateral rectus. The both sides of six EOMS in all patients exhibited variable atrophy and abnormal bright internal signal on T1 imaging, particularly severe for the superior rectus and levator muscles.
CONCLUSION: High - resolution MRI can directly demonstrate pathology of motor nerves,affected EOMs, and ‘Pulley' hypoplasia caused by CFEOM Ⅰ due to mutations in KIF21A,and these findings suggest that the neuronal hypoplasia is the etiological factor of CFEOM.

Objective To analyze negative lymph nodes of 34 non-small cell lung cancer(NCLC) patients with total correction by means of fluorescent quantitation PCR and immunohistcchemistry,and to form molecular bi- ology staging.Methods Clinical data and tissue samples of 193 lymph nodes were collected from 34 patients under- going resection for non-small cell lung cancer.Using fluorescent quantitation reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry method,lymph nodes were examined for CEA gene mRNA,P53 and CK to form molecular biology staging.All the patients were followed-up for an average of forty months.Results The CEAmRNA was identified in 21.7% (42/193) lymph nodes negative patients from 17 patients(17/34,50%); TMN staging was up-regulated in 8 patients;positive lymph nodes were increased in 9 patients.P53 and AE1/AE3 were identified 9.8%(19/193) from 11 patients,18.6 % (36/193)from 15 patients,separately;TMN staging was up-regulated in 2 patients of P53 examination and 5 patients of AE1/AE3 analysis;positive lymph nodes were in- creased in in 7 patients of P53 examination and 11 patients of AE1/AE3 analysis.There was obvious statistical sig- nificance in them,but the molecular biology staging based on the three markers was not an independent factor on re- currence and metasis of lung cancer.Conclusion CEAmRNA.P53 and AE1/AE3 analysis could find lung cancer micrometasis more sensitively to form molecular biology staging which was relative to the prognosis,but not an inde- pendent prognostic indicator.It might be good to the therapy strategy after operation.

Objective：To explore the difference in creative thinking and the related factors between deaf children and normal children.Methods：Observation group(n=122)with the hearing disability students were selected from 4 special education schools.Control group(n=122)was come from 2 ordinary primary schools and 2 ordinary middle schools.The two groups were given both the New Creativity Test and the Combined Raven's Test.Results：(1)Deaf children got lower scores than normal children in verbal fluency[(7.76±0.75)vs.(12.98±0.59),P<0.001],verbal flexibility[(4.28±0.33)vs.(7.87±0.28),P<0.001],verbal originality [(7.16±0.89)vs.(11.35±0.72),P<0.001],figural flexibility[(9.69±0.35)vs.(11.10±0.31),P=0.003]and IQ[(101.05±1.196)vs.(105.01±1.102),P=0.030].Deaf children got higher scores than normal children in figural elaboration[(3.24±0.40)vs.(1.96±0.22),P=0.006].There was no significant difference in fluency and originality of figural task between the two groups.(2)Deaf children's scores of verbal fluency and verbal originality were positively correlated with their age(β=0.310,0.301;Ps<0.01).Deaf children's scores of verbal flexibility were positively correlated with length of bilingual education(β=0.308,P<0.001).Deaf children's scores of figural fluency,figural flexibility,figural originalityand figural elaboration were correlated positively with their age of sign language(β=0.321,0.308,0.228,0.456;Ps<0.05).Conclusions:(1)Deaf children are lower than normal children in verbal fluency,verbal flexibility,verbal originality,figural flexibility,and are higher in figural elaboration.There is no difference in figural fluency and originality between them.(2)Sign language is a major related factor to deaf children's figural creative thinking.

Objective To understand the carrying status and drug resistance of streptococcus agalactiae in the genital tract of pregnant women.Methods The vaginal discharge from pregnant women was collected for conducting the bacterial culture.The iso-lated streptococcus agalactiae was performed the identification and the drugs susceptibility test by the VITEK 2 fully automatice bacterial identification analyzer.Results Among 1 042 samples,streptococcus agalactiae was isolated in 6 cases with the separation rate of 5.4%.The drug sensitivity test showed the Streptococcus agalactiae was highly sensitive to penicillin,cefazolin,vancomycin, linezolid and nitrofurantoin.The intermediate strains or drug resistant strains were not found.The sensitive rate to levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and clindamycin,erythromycin,tetracycline were 84.0%,84.0%,71.4%,39.3% and 8.9% respectively.Conclusion The carrying rate of streptococcus agalactiae in pregnant women is not high in our hospital.Penicillin and cefazolin should be as the drug of first choice for therapy and the clincal and laboratory nould payattention to detection of streptococcus agalactiae in pregnant women.

Chromosomes, Human, Y ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Humans ; Male

Objective To find out the importance of human bocavirus (HBoV) as an infectious agent for population in Beijing, China. Seroprevalence study was conducted by using expressed recombinant major capsid VP2 protein as an antigen.Methods Serum specimens collected from infants and children who visited the Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics for health check-up and adults visiting the Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing for diseases other than respiratory infections from April 1996 to March 1997 were used for the investigation. The major capsid protein VP2 from HBoV was expressed in E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector inserted with full-length VP2 gene of HBoV and the specific antigenicity of this expressed protein was validated by previous study. Western blotting was used to detect specific IgG antibody against HBoV in collected serum specimens diluted to 1:200. Mock expressed protein was E. coli cells strain BL21 (DE3) with the transformed PET30b vector without insert. Anti-His monoclonal antibody and rabbit anti-HBoV VP2 polypeptides hyper-immune serum were used as positive control for antibody detection.Results Out of 677 serum specimens tested, 400 (59.1% ) were positive for HBoV by Western blotting. About 45.3% (34/75) of the newborns under 1 month of age had anti-HBoV antibodies, and antibody positive rates were decreased in age groups of 1 and 2 months (41.4% and 31.3%, respectively) then increased in the following ages from 6 months to 7 years old ( from 45.6% to 69.7% ). The antibody positive rates were maintained at a relatively constant level ( about 70% ) in the age groups from 7 years to 40 years of age and became lower ( 61.8% - 62. 8% ) in those over 50 years.Conclusions The high seroprevalence of antibody against recombinant HBoV VP2 protein and early age antibody acquisition indicate that HBoV has been circulating in population of Beijing, China as early as in 1996 and most of children had been exposed to HBoV by the age of 7 years. Infants under the age of 6 months were susceptible to this virus.