It is generally considered that various regulatory activities between genes are contained in the gene expression datasets. Therefore, the underlying gene regulatory relationship and the biologically useful information can be found by modeling the gene regulatory network from the gene expression data. In our study, two unsupervised matrix factorization methods, independent component analysis (ICA) and nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), were proposed to identify significant genes and model the regulatory network using the microarray gene expression data of Alzheimer's disease (AD). By bio-molecular analyzing of the pathways, the differences between ICA and NMF have been explored and the fact, which the inflammatory reaction is one of the main pathological mechanisms of AD, is also emphasized. It was demonstrated that our study gave a novel and valuable method for the research of early detection and pathological mechanism, biomarkers' findings of AD.
Algorithms ; Alzheimer Disease ; genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Humans

Objective To reveal the mechanism of Yuxuan granule(YXG) in treating pharyngitis from anti-inflammatory,expectorant,and antibacterial actions.Methods Xylene-induced ear edema and cotton pellet induced granuloma mice models were adopted to observe the anti-inflammatory effects of YXG Phenol red secretion in mice test was adopted to observe the expectorant activity of YXG Five bacteria by tube dilution method was adopted to observe antimicrobial action of YXG Besides,the changes of routine indexes in blood and tumor necrosis factor (TNF),interleukin-1 (IL-1) in serum were measured in acute pharyngitis models.Results YXG has shown a dose-dependent of its anti-inflammatory action.In the test of xylene induced mice ear swelling and cotton ball induced granuloma,the swelling degree of the control group,positive control groupand YXG high (6.14g/kg),medium (3.07g/kg) and low (1.53g/kg) concentration group were (9.00± 1.50) mg,(3.50±0.10)mg,(4.25±1.08)mg,(5.54±0.97)mg,(8.05±0.08)mg and (1.22±1.50)mg,(0.50±0.10)ag,(0.45± 0.08) mg,(0.75± 0.97) mg,(0.70 ± 0.08) mg respectively.YXG also had obviously expectorant effect to the golden staphylocoecus ameus,hemolytic streptococcus,streptococcus pneumoniae,salmonella typhi and corynebacterium diphtheriae,with the minimum inhibition concentration of 55,100,68 and 35 mg/ml respectively; YXG also reduced leukocyte count [percentage of leukocyte was (9.88± 1.22) × 109/L,(7.50± 1.58) ×109/L,(6.02± 1.05) × 109/L,(8.38± 1.13) × 109/L,(8.75 ± 1.08) × 109/L in the five groups respectively],neutrophils [the value was (35.62±5.00)×109/L,(28.49±3.40)×109/L,(28.89±5.22)× 109/L,(29.34±4.83)×109/L,(33.43 ± 4.27) × 109/L in the five groups respectively],lymphocytes [the value was (70.72± 5.04) ％,(67.89 ±4.37)％,(60.14±3.88)％,(65.38±4.45)％,(65.65±4.28)％ in the five groups respectively],TNF in blood serum [the value was (90.25±2.29)ng/ml,(80.23 ± 0.60) ng/ml,(76.83±0.33)ng/ml,(78.00 ± 0.34) ng/ml,(80.52±1.14)ng/ml in the five groups respectively] and IL-1 [the value was (222.06±50.22)pg/ml,(149.55±50.02)pg/ml,(130.37 ± 30.61)pg/ml,(158.68 ± 40.00)pg/ml,(178.76 ± 39.26)pg/ml in the five groups respectively] in the acute pharyngitis rat.Conclusion Through the anti-inflammatory,expectorant,antimicrobial activity and reducing levels of TNF,IL-1 YXG achieves the goal of treating pharyngitis.

Objective To investigate the effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on the growth of human colorectal carcinoma cell line HCT116 transplanted subcutaneously in nude mice. Methods Nude mouse model of human colorectal carcinoma by subcutaneous transplantation of HCT116 cell line was reproduced. A total of 20 mice were divided into 2 groups: control group and CAPE group (oral administration of CAPE at 5mg/mice/d). The growth of the subcutaneously transplanted tumor and changes in mouse body weight in each group after treatment were observed on 7, 14, 21 and 28d. Histopathological examination of xenograft, heart, liver, lung, kidney and intestine of nude mice was also conducted. Apoptosis index was detected by terminal dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) technique. Results CAPE had significantly inhibitory effect on growth of the transplanted xenograft in vivo. Tumor volume and tumor weight were decreased (P

Despite the important properties of GPCRs as drug targets,improving the subtype selectivity and efficiency of new drugs targeting at GPCRs is a predominant challenge.The study of GPCRs allosterism shows there exist great complexity and diversity in allosterism and allosteric sites,and it also provides a new opportunity for exploring new drugs with subtype selectivity and efficiency.This review summaries the development of GPCRs allosterism in recent years and shows GPCRs allosterism and its biological significance.

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of Paclitaxel,Cisplatin combined with Recombinant human (Rh) endostatin on the efficacy and related indexes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). METHODS:78 patients with Ⅲb or ⅣNSCLC were randomly divided into control group(39 cases)and observation group(39 cases). Control group received Paclitaxel injection 135-175 mg/m2,d1,intravenous infusion,once a day+Cisplatin injection 25 mg/m2,3 times a day,d1-3,intravenous infu-sion. Observation group additionally received Rh endostatin injection 15 mg/m2,adding into 500 ml 0.9% Sodium chloride injec-tion by slow intravenous infusion 3-4 h,d1-14,then stopped for 7 d. 21 d was regarded as 1 treatment course,it lasted 6 courses. Clinical efficacy,programmed death ligand-1(PD-L1)level,quality of life(QOL)score before and after treatment,and the inci-dence of adverse reactions in 2 groups were observed. RESULTS:All patients completed 2 courses of chemotherapy. There were 3 patients in observation group and 4 patients in control group quitted the study with uncompleted 6 weeks of chemotherapy due to in-tolerance or adverse reactions. The remission rate in observation group was significantly higher than control group,with statistical significance (P<0.05). Before treatment,there were no significant differences in PD-L1 level and QOL score in 2 groups (P>0.05). After treatment,PD-L1 level and QOL score in 2 groups were significantly lower than before,and observation group was lower than control group,with statistical significance (P<0.05). And there was no significant difference in the incidence of ad-verse reactions in 2 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Paclitaxel,Cisplatin combined with Rh endostatin can improve the short-term efficacy of patients with NSCLC,inhibit PD-L1 expression,improve QOL,and do not increase the incidence of adverse reactions.

Objective To investigate the effects of bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on neuronal nuclei (NeuN) and neurogenin 1 (Ngnl) in focal cerebral ischemic rats.Methods A total of 64 healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal (N) + phosphate-buffered solution (PBS),middle cerebral occlusion (MCAO)+ PBS,N + BMSC and MCAO + BMSC groups (n =16 in each group).A rat model was induced by the intraluminal suture method.BMSC was cultured in vitro.At 24 h after modeling,brain transplantation was conducted.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to detect infarct volume in vivo.NeuN/DAP,Ngnl/DAPIimmunofluorescence double-labeling and Western blot were used to detect the expression of NeuN and Ngnl around ischemic brain tissue.Results On day 14 after transplantation,the T1-and T2-weighted imaging revealed that the cerebral cortex and striatum had abnormal signal areas in the rats of the MCAO group.The infarct volume of the MCAO + BMSC group was significantly less than that of the MCAO + PBS group (32.5％ ± 4.2％ vs.47.9％ ± 7.9％ ; P ＜ 0.01).Immunofluorescence doublelabeling assay showed that the numbers of cells of NeuN+/DAPI+ (976.2 ± 87.5/mm2 vs.1 908.3 ±127.8/mm2; P ＜ 0.01) and Ngn1 +/DAPI + (251.6 ± 23.1/rmm2 vs.285.1 ± 25.2/mm2 ; P ＜ 0.01) of the MCAO + PBS group were significantly less than those of the N + PBS group,but those of NeuN+/DAPI +(1 439.9 ± 101.7/mm2; P ＜ 0.01) and Ngn1 +/DAPI + (356.3 ± 35.6/mm2; P ＜ 0.01) of the MCAO + BMSC group were significantly more than the MCAO + PBS group.Western blot analysis showed that the protein expression levels of NeuN (0.69 ±0.06 vs.0.91 ±0.09; P ＜0.01) and Ngn1 (0.53 ±0.05 vs.0.62 ±0.07;P ＜0.01) of the MCAO +PBS group were significantly lower than those of the N +PBS group,but those of NeuN (0.82 ± 0.07; P ＜ 0.01) and Ngn1 (0.77 ± 0.09; P ＜ 0.01) of the MCAO + BMSC group were significantly higher than the MCAO + PBS group.Conclusions BMSC transplantation may promote the expression of NeuN and Ngn1,and alleviate MCAO caused brain injury.

Objective:To explore the inhibitory effects of gefitinib (epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor) com-bined with celecoxib (cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor) against human lung cancer A549 cells and the possible mechanism. Methods: A549 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium and were divided into 4 groups: normal control group, 5 μmoL/L gefitinib group, 25 μmol/L celecoxib group, and 5 μ mol/L gefitinib + 25 μmol/L celecoxib group. The morpho-logical changes of A549 cells were observed under inverted microscope 48 h after treatment ; the effects of drugs on growth of A549 Cells were detected by MTT assay; the apoptosis and cell cycles of A549 cells were measured by Annexin V/PI and Hoechst 33258 staining, respectively; and the expression of EGFR protein, COX-2 protein, and EGFR mRNA were determined by immunofluorescenee and real-time PCR. Results: Compared with gefitinib and celecoxib groups, many granules and vacuoles were observed in the gefitinib and celecoxib combination group, and cells became round and there was defluxion. Both gefitinib and celecoxib inhibited the growth of A549 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Af-ter treatment for 48 h, the inhibitory rate was (58.2±4.6) % in the combination group, which was significantly higher than those of the other two groups. Apoptosis rate in the combination group was also significantly higher than those in the other two groups (33.9% vs 6.0%, 8.8%), and the cell proportion in S phase significantly decreased and in G_0/G_1 phases significantly increased(P <0.01). EGFR protein, COX-2 protein, and EGFR mRNA expression in A549 cells was significantly decreased in the combination treatment group compared with those in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion : Gefitinib and celecoxib can synergistically inhibit the growth of A549 cells, possibly through promoting apop-tosis, G_0/G_1 arrest, and down-regulating activated EGFR and COX-2 expression.

A sequential extraction procedure has been proposed for the evaluation of the speciation of heavy metals including Cd,Cu,Pb and Zn in sediments from mariculture area,and the speciation of heavy metals was separated and defined as acid soluble fraction,reducible fraction,fraction bound organic matter,fraction bound sulfides and residual fraction. Matrix effects of high salinity on the determination of heavy metals in sediments were eliminated by matrix matching and internal standard methods when inductively couple plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) were used,respectively. The results showed that the measured values of marine sediment reference materials were consistent with the standard values when the digestion solutions were determined after dilution. The extraction results of the prepositional extraction procedure and European Community Bureau of Reference Program (BCR) procedure were compared and the selectivity of extractants was investigated. The preliminary studies indicated that this sequential extraction procedure was applicable for evaluating the speciation of heavy metals in sediment with organic substances pollution and eutrophication,especially for fraction bound organic matter and fraction bound sulfides.

Laparoscopic pancreas- and spleen-preserving splenic hilar lymph nodes dissection is still difficult to accomplish,which restrains its application in total gastrectomy for advanced proximal gastric cancer.Based on our anatomical understanding of pre- and retropancreatic spaces,features of splenic vessels and distribution of perigastric lymph nodes,we combined the characteristics of laparoscopic surgery and developed a novel technique for laparoscopic pancreas- and spleen-preserving splenic hilar lymph nodes dissection through retropancreatic space.The key lies in mobilization of the splenic pedicle through retropancreatic space,dissection of peri-vascular lymph nodes in sequence of trunk-to-branch,in-sheath vascularization of the splenic vessels.From August 2009 to December 2010,this technique was performed on 6 patients in Nanfang hospital.The initial results suggested that this technique could be safe and feasible for skillful surgeons.Further studies on the application of this technique in total gastrectomy for advanced proximal gastric cancer would be needed.

Diabetic gastroparesis (DGP) is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Acupuncture is an ef-fective treatment for DGP in recent years. Literatures on acupuncture therapy for DGP treatment were screened for the past 10 years. Statistical analysis was made on acupoints used in the literatures in order to find the most com-monly used acupoints and combinations. This article was aimed to explore and summarize the use of the acupuncture law for the better service of clinical practice.