Objective To clone IRX9 gene from Dendrobium huoshanense and perform the bioinformatics and codon bias analysis. Methods The full-length cDNA sequence was cloned from the IRX9 gene based on transcriptome sequencing data of D. huoshanense generated in our previous study by using RT-PCR and further analyzed by bioinformatic methods. Results The cloned IRX9 gene was 1 533 bp, containing a 1 047 bp open reading frame (ORF) which encoded 348 amino acids. The theoretical molecular weight was 39 350 and its isoelectric point was 7.26. IRX9 protein was a hydrophilic protein and had no signal peptide, which had multiple phosphorylation sites and glycosylation sites and might be located in the plasma membrane. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that sequence of amino acids had the highest homology with D. candidum and the conserved region “DXD” of the GT-A superfamily. Codon bias analysis showed that IRX9 gene prefered to use A/T ending codon, with 27 skewed codons. Nicotiana is the most suitable host for exogenous expression of IRX9 gene. Conclusion The IRX9 gene was cloned from Dendrobium huoshanense successfully and it provided a theoretical basis for regulating the growth and development of D. huoshanense and improving the yield and quality of D. huoshanense.

Objective To establish a stable primary culture of rat cerebellar granule neurons in vitro for further study the toxic effects of chronic arsenic exposure on cerebellar cells.Methods Cerebellar cortices were taken from brain of Wistar rat 5-7 day old after born under stereoscopic microscope.Single cell suspension was acquired after digestion and washing with trypsin (0.25％) and DNase Ⅰ solution,respectively.Granule cells were purified from other cells by differential velocity adherence method for two times.Rat cerebellar granule neurons were seeded in culture plate pre-coated with poly-L-lysine.Neurons growth,development and synaptic connections were observed daily.The neurons were identified by neuron specific enolase (NSE) immunofluorescence technique.Results The neurons were affixed to the culture plate in 24 hours,in reticular arrangement observed under contrast microscope.Granule cells gradually turned round from oval and outlines became clearer in 2-3 days.In 4-6 days,there were a wide range of synaptic connections among the neurons and a mature nerve cell network formed.A large quantity of cerebellar granule neurons was seen by NSE identification.Few bigger cells such as purkinjes cells and glial cell outlines were also seen in the same visual field.Conclusions This is a successful primary culture method for acquirement of rat cerebellar granule neurons.The method can provide experimental basis for future studies the toxic effects of chronic arsenic exposure on cerebellar cells.

Objective To explore the relationship among single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of excision repair cross-complementing 1 (ERCC1) gene,chemotherapy sensitivity and clinical outcomes of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients treated with platinum.Methods Six tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNP;rs11615,rs3212986,rs735482,rs3212955,rs12610134 and rs3212958) were chose from ERCC1 gene.The genotypes of 6 tagSNP were determined by Snapshot method in 220 EOC patients.Primary clinical outcomes parameter contained EOC patients'responses to platinum-based chemotherapy,progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analysed.Results The rs11615 C/T SNP of ERCC1,CC,CT and TT genotype frequencies were 53.1％,45.6％,1.4％ in responders to platinum-based chemotherapy,while 52.0％,35.6％,12.3％ in non-responders,respectively,in which there was significant difference between the two groups(P =0.002).Compared with the patients with CC genotype,the patients carrying TT genotype had a significantly poor response to platinum-based chemotherapy (OR =6.22,95％ CI:1.12-34.42).Similarly,the genotypes frequencies distribution of rs11615 C/T SNP of ERCC1 was different between the recurrence and non-recurrence group,death and survival group (all P ＜ 0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the genotypes frequencies distribution of rs11615 C/T SNP of ERCC1 was associated with PFS and OS(P ＜ 0.01) of EOC patients.Cox's multivariate analysis suggested that patients with TT genotype had a shorter PFS (HR =2.19,95 ％ CI:1.14-4.22,P =0.009) and OS (HR =2.22,95 ％ CI:1.06-4.64,P =0.021) compared with those carrying CC genotype [adjusting for age,International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage,pathological type,grade and tumor residual size].The genotypes frequencies distribution of rs3212986,rs735482,rs3212955,rs12610134 and rs3212958 SNP of ERCC1 did not show the significant difference between the responders to platinum-based chemotherapy and non-responders.The other 5 tagSNP may not be associated with the PFS and OS of EOC patients (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The rs 11615 SNP of ERCC1 may become a valuable prognostic biomarker for EOC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVETo synthesize cyclin-dependent kinase (CDKs) inhibitors and assay their antitumor activities.

METHODSA series of pyrimidines containing different arylamino and 1-(methylsulfonyl)piperidin moieties were designed by combining the segments 1-(methylsulfonyl)piperidin and pyrimidine heterocycles according to the super-position principle of the reinforcement of biological activities.

RESULTSTheir structures were characterized by MS and 1H NMR spectra and all the synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity with MTT assay.

CONCLUSIONThe preliminary bioassay showed that compound 3 b displayed good antitumor activity (IC(50)=13.6 µmol/L). The preliminary structure activity relationship analysis of these analogues suggest that the steric factor may have important impact on the anti-tumor activity.

Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Humans ; Pyrimidines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Structure-Activity Relationship

OBJECTIVEThis study examines the impacts of an improved electrode placement on the electrocardiogram (ECG) results in order to determine a better electrode placement for ECG monitoring in children.

METHODSECG was recorded using the traditional electrode placement and the modified electrode placement (with shortened electrode distance) respectively in 50 pediatric patients. The amplitudes of P wave and QRS wave on ECG by the two measurements were compared. Furthermore, the impacts of different body positions on the amplitudes of P wave and QRS wave were studied after applying the modified electrode placement.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in the amplitudes of P wave and QRS wave on ECG by the traditional electrode placement and the modified electrode placement (P>0.05). When modified electrode placement was utilized, the body position change did not lead to significant changes in the amplitudes of P wave and QRS wave (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSA satisfactory ECG can be obtained with the modified electrode placement independent of patient's body position, suggesting that the modified electrode placement can be used instead of the traditional placement in children.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Electrocardiography ; instrumentation ; Electrodes ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Monitoring, Physiologic ; Patient Positioning

Purpose Analysis of correlation between FOXM1 gene expression levels and clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cancer (ESC). The effect of down-regulation of FOXM1 expression on the proliferation of human ESC cell line KYSE-30 was also inves-tigated. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry ( IHC) methods were used to detect the expression of FOXM1 in ESC tissues and non-cancer tissues in mRNA and protein level. The expression of FOXM1 was down-regulated by RNA interference (RNAi) technique, and the pro-liferation activity of KYSE-30 cells was detected by CCK-8 as-say. Results Compared with the corresponding non-cancer tis-sues, the expression of FOXM1 was significant higher in ESC tis-sues(P＜0. 01). Meanwhile, the expression levels of FOXM1 in poorly differentiated esophageal carcinoma was higher than that in well-differentiated ESC group ( P ＜0. 01 ). The expression of FOXM1 was significantly correlated with poor tumor differentia-tion (P＜0. 001), lymphatic metastasis (P=0. 000), advanced stage (P=0. 004) of ESC patients after surgical resection. High FOXM1 expression was related to shorter overall survival ( OS) (P＜0. 001). After down-regulating FOXM1 expression in KYSE-30 cells, cell proliferation rate was inhibited (P＜0. 01). Conclusion FOXM1 expression is up-regulated in ESC and is closely related to the degree of differentiation, lymph node me-tastasis, clinical stage and prognosis of ESC. FOXM1 may be participated in regulating the proliferation of human esophageal carcinoma cell line KYSE-30.

OBJECTIVETo describe the epidemiology of neural tube defects (NTDs) in high- and low-prevalence areas of China.

METHODSBirth defects surveillance data, collected from 1992 through 1994 was analyzed. These data were collected as part of the Sino-American cooperative project on NTDs prevention. We classified NTDs as anencephaly, encephalocele, high-level and low-level spina bifida (SB) according to location of the lesion (high vs low) and whether the defect was isolated or occurred in association with other birth defects. Rates were compared in the high-prevalence (North) region and the low-prevalence (South) region, after adjusted for classification, urban and rural, season and sex, and calculated the adjusted rate of NTDs.

RESULTSAmong seven hundred and eighty-four NTDs cases in 326 874 recorded births (include in livebirth, stillbirth and fetal death with a gestational age of at least 20 weeks), the overall NTDs prevalence in the North was 5.57/1,000 births, and in the South was 0.88/1 000. There were also significant differences in the prevalence of anencephaly, encephalocele, high-level and low-level SB between North (0.97, 0.49, 2.75 and 1.11/1,000 birth) and South (0.36, 0.15, 0.21 and 0.14/1,000 birth) (P < 0.01), with adjusted prevalences in the North 3 - 7 times higher than those in the South. There were significant difference between urban (2.04) and rural areas (6.57/1,000 birth) in the North (P < 0.01), urban (0.52) and rural areas (0.95/1,000 birth) in the South (P < 0.05). Adjusted prevalence rates in the rural were 3 - 4 times higher than those of urban in the North and 1.6 - 1.9 times higher than in the South; The seasonal rate of high-level SB increased between September and November in the North (3.44/1,000 birth), while the seasonal rate of anencephaly decreased between September and November (0.18/1,000 birth) in the South. However there were no seasonal changes in other classified NTDs both in the South and North.

CONCLUSIONSThe birth prevalence of NTDs in the North of China was the highest in the world. There were significant differences between the North and the South, urban and rural. There was seasonal change in high-level SB in the North, which was in accordance to the phenotype of NTDs. It was suggested that there might exist etiological heterogeneity among anecephalus, low- and high-level SB.

China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Neural Tube Defects ; epidemiology ; Seasons

China ; Genetic Testing ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; genetics ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; genetics ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Mutation

Objective:To clone cellulose synthase-like(Csl)gene from ethnic medicinal plant Ampelopsis megalophylla,and analyze its sequence by bioinformatics. Method:Specific primers were designed for AmCsl gene sequences obtained from A. megalophylla transcriptome sequencing data. The full-length cDNA of AmCsl gene was amplified by PCR using cDNA of young leaves as template,and TA clone and sequencing was performed. The sequence was analyzed by bioinformatics. Result:The full length cDNA was 1 438 bp,containing a 561 bp open reading frame(ORF),and encoding 186 amino acids,the molecular formula of protein was C₁₀₁₁H₁₅₄₇N₂₃₃O₂₅₇S₁₀,the theoretical relative molecular weight was 22.40 kDa,the theory isoelectric point(PI)was 7.59,and the aliphatic index(AI)was 116.88.There was a transmembrane region and no signal peptide,which may be located in the endoplasmic reticulum,the average hydrophobic coefficient was 0.670,and the instability index was 42.56.It belonged to a hydrophobic unstable protein. The conserved domain contained a cellulose synthase,and the secondary structure mainly was dominated by α-helix. Amino acid sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that AmCsl had a high homology with Vitis vinifera. Conclusion:The full length of AmCsl gene was obtained for preliminary bioinformatics analysis,which laid a necessary foundation for further study on the accumulation of polysaccharides and the regulation of biosynthesis.

ObjectiveCorrect identification of the blood type is an important prerequisite for ensuring the safety of clinical blood transfusion. This study was to explore the causes of blood type discrepancy of blood donors between preliminary screening and recheck and to propose some countermeasures for the reduction of errors.MethodsThis retrospective study included 114 398 cases of blood donation from 2009 to 2015. The blood types of the donors were preliminarily screened with the paper board and rechecked after blood collection. We investigated the causes and number of errors in preliminary blood type screening and analyzed the failure rates in the high-temperature months (July, August and September), low-temperature months (December, January and February), and moderate-temperature months (the other six months).ResultsPreliminary blood type screening errors occurred in 164 of the cases, 157 (95.73%) in blood group identification, mainly misidentification of type B antigen (43.95%) and type A antigen (23.5%). The rate of blood group identification errors was significantly higher in the high-temperature than in the low- and moderate-temperature months (0.19% vs 0.12% and 0.12%, P<0.05).ConclusionMisidentification of types B and A antigens and high-temperature environment are the main causes of the errors in preliminary blood type screening for blood donors.