AscreeningmethodforcriticalaminoacidsinEpitopesusinganti-Epitopeantibodywasdeveloped. The amino acids' frequency of occurrence in Epitopes of shrimp antigen Pen a1 was calculated using MEGA5 software and their conservative property of tropomyosin in SDAP database bank was analyzed using DNAMAN software. Potential critical amino acids based on these two methods were identified, namely Epitope 1 ( K, E, N) , Epitope 2 ( K, L, E) , Epitope 3 ( E, R, D, L, Q) , Epitope 5 ( K, L, Q) . The mutated polypeptides corresponding to these Epitopes in which these critical amino acids were substituted with alanine were synthesized. The IgG binding ability of these mutants was analyzed by competitive immunodot-blot method and indirect ELISA using Epitope antibody to screen the critical amino acids. Experimental results showed that the critical amino acids of the four Epitopes were as follows: Epitope 1 ( Gln ) , Epitope 2 ( Leu and Glu ) , Epitope 3 ( Leu and Asp) , Epitope 5 ( Leu) . The feasibility of this screening method was proved and it also offered a theoretical foundation for research on sensitization mechanism of Pen a1 and desensitization using gene modification.

Objective To examine the sleep status and relevant psychosocial factors in patients with colorectal cancer before surgery and improve their sleep quality. Methods A cross?sectional survey method was used. Participants were 107 cases of patients with colorectal cancer from the Department of Anorectal Surgery in The First Hospital ,which is affiliated with China Medical University. The Athens insomnia scale(AIS),Ham?ilton depression scale(HAMD),Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA),perceived social support scale(PSSS),self?esteem scale(SES),medical cop?ing questionnaire(MCMQ),memorial University of Newfoundland scale of happiness(MUNSH),Eysenck personality questionnaire(EPQ),and Wong?Baker face scale were used to assess preoperative sleep in patients with colorectal cancer and related psychosocial factors. Results Among the 107 cases,there were 24 cases of insomnia,with an insomnia incidence of 22.43%. No statistical differences were found in demographic charac?teristics and clinical characteristics(P>0.05). According to the degree of insomnia,there were significant differences between groups(P<0.05) for depression,anxiety,social support,avoidance,yield,happiness,and EPQ?N. Before the surgery,the degree of depression,anxiety,and EPQ?P had a significant positive effect on the degree of insomnia (P< 0.05). Conclusion The degree of insomnia before surgery in patients with colorectal cancer is closely associated with depression,anxiety,coping styles,social support,and personality characteristics.

Members of genus Acanthamoeba are widely distributed in the environment. Some are pathogenic and cause keratitis and fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. In this study, we isolated an Acanthamoeba CJW/W1 strain from tap water in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. Its 18S rDNA was sequenced and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. The isolated cysts belonged to morphologic group II. Comparison of 18S rDNA sequences of CJW/W1 strain and other isolates showed high similarity (99.7%) to a clinical isolate Asp, KA/E28. A phylogeny analysis confirmed this isolate belonged to the pathogenic genotype T4, the most common strain associated with Acanthamoeba-related diseases. This is the first report of an Acanthamoeba strain isolated from tap water in Wuxi, China. Acanthamoeba could be a public health threat to the contact lens wearers and, therefore, its prevalence should be monitored.
Acanthamoeba ; China ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Encephalitis ; Genotype ; Keratitis ; Phylogeny ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Trees ; Viperidae ; Water