Objective To evaluate the using of either 225 or 150 microgrammes of mifepristone combined with misoprostol for termination of second-trimester gestation(16～24 weeks).Methods 180 women requesting voluntary induced abortion during gestation 16～24 weeks were randomised to three groups,group 1:oral mifepris- tone 225rag,group 2:oral mifepristone 150mg,and group 3:injected 100rag rivanot by amniocentestis.The total suc- cess rate,once success rate,the interval of having-medicine to uterine-constraction,the volume of bleeding within 2 hours after labour and cervical laceration rate were observed.Results The once success rate of induced labour in group 1 was higher than that in group 2 and group 3(P

Objective To establish a nursing performance evaluation indicator system in military hospitals,so as to provide reference for standardized nursing performance management. Methods Based on literature review,group discussion and qualitative interviews,two rounds of consultation were conducted among 19 experts using Delphi method. Results The nursing performance evaluation indicator system in military hospitals included 3 first-level in-dicators,13 second-level indicators and 60 third-level indicators. Experts' authority coefficient,judgment coefficient and familiarity coefficient were 0.930,0.960,0.900,respectively. The coordination coefficients of the first-level,sec-ond-level and third-level were 0.517,0.490 and 0.459. Variation coefficients were 0~0.113. Conclusion The nurs-ing performance evaluation indicator system in military hospitals based on Delphi method is scientific and reliable, which provides references for nursing performance in clinical units and makes significant contributions to nursing performance management in military hospitals.

Lanosterol synthase is encoded by the erg7 gene and catalyzes the cyclization of 2, 3-oxidosqualene, which is a rate-limiting step of the inherent mevalonate (MVA)/ergosterol metabolic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The intermediate 2, 3-oxidosqualene is also the precursor of triterpenoids. Therefore, the cyclization of 2, 3-oxidosqualene is the key branch point of ergosterol and triterpenoids biosynthesis. Down-regulation of 2, 3-oxidosqualene metabolic flux to ergosterol in S. cerevisiae may redirect the metabolic flux toward the triterpenoid synthetic pathway reconstructed by the synthetic biology approach. To construct erg7 knockout cassette harboring the loxP-Marker-loxP element, long primers were designed, which were homologous to the sequences of both erg7 ORF and plasmid pUG66. The cassette was transformed into diploid wild strain INVSc1 by LiAc/SS Carrier DNA/PEG method and then erg7 gene haploid deficient mutant was obtained by homologous recombination. The results of semiquantitative PCR and real-time quantitative PCR revealed that erg7 expression level in erg7 gene haploid deficient mutant is one time lower than that in wild strain. The results of TLC and HPLC showed that the ergosterol content in deficient mutant decreased to 42% of that in wild strain.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; DNA Primers ; Down-Regulation ; Ergosterol ; metabolism ; Haploidy ; Intramolecular Transferases ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; genetics ; Squalene ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism

Traditional herbal medicines, Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium and Panax notoginseng, attract our attention for their extensive and powerful pharmacological activities. Ginsenosides are the main active constituents of these medicinal herbs. The related glycosyltransferases involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis are the key enzymes which catalyze the last important step. Modification of ginsenoside aglycones by glycosyltransferases produces the complexity and diversity of ginsenosides, which have more extensive pharmacological activity. At present, ginsenoside aglycones and compound K have been obtained by synthetic biology. As the last step of ginsenoside biosynthesis, glycosylation of ginsenoside aglycones has been studied intensively in recent years. This review summarizes the basic strategies and research advances in studies on glycosyltransferases involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis, which is expected to lay the theoretical foundation for the in-depth research of biosynthetic pathway of ginsenosides and their production by synthetic biology.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Ginsenosides ; biosynthesis ; Glycosyltransferases ; metabolism ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Synthetic Biology

Pichia pastoris is one of the most important systems used in the field of molecular biology for the expression of recombinant proteins. The system has advantages of high expression, high stability, high secretion, easy high-density fermentation and low cost. Many factors affect the expression of recombinant protein, such as gene copy number, codon usage preference, type of promoter, molecular chaperones, glycosylation, signal peptide and fermentation process. In this review, research advances of the above aspects are summarized, which lay a foundation for improving the expression of recombinant proteins in P. pastoris.
Fermentation ; Gene Dosage ; Glycosylation ; Molecular Chaperones ; Pichia ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Protein Sorting Signals ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between galectin-1 expression and the biological behaviors of human colorectal carcinoma.

METHODSSP immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of galectin-1 in 158 paraffin-embedded specimens including 30 normal mucosa, 25 adenoma, 65 colorectal carcinoma and 38 metastatic tumor specimens. Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect galectin-1 mRNA expression in 32 fresh specimens of colorectal carcinoma and normal mucosa.

RESULTSThe positive expression level of galectin-1 was significantly different between normal mucosa, adenoma, colorectal carcinomas and metastatic tumors, with positivity rate of 0, 8%, 66% and 86%, respectively (P<0.05). Galectin-1 expression in moderately or well differentiated colorectal carcinomas was significantly lower than that in poorly differentiated ones (P=0.031), and its expression in invasive carcinomas was significantly higher than that in non-invasive carcinomas (P=0.000). Galectin-1 expression in colorectal carcinomas was significantly related with lymph node metastasis (P=0.004). In poorly differentiated colorectal carcinomas, the expression of galectin-1 mRNA was about 2.27 times that in moderately or well differentiated colorectal carcinomas (P=0.00); galectin-1 mRNA expression in invasive carcinoma was 1.98 times that in non-invasive carcinoma (P=0.002). In tumors with lymph node metastasis, galectin-1 mRNA expression was 1.42 times that in tumors without metastasis (P=0.018).

CONCLUSIONGalectin-1 can be involved in the development and progression of colorectal carcinoma, and may relate to the infiltration, differentiation and lymph node metastasis of colorectal carcinoma.

Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Galectin 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intestinal Mucosa ; cytology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism

To study the mechanism of Shenkangling (SKL), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, combined with prednisone in treating adriamycin-induced nephropathy in rats.

Objective To determine the effect of iron deficiency on hemoglobin A2(HbA2) expression in patients with β-thalassemia.Methods The participants were recruited from the out-patient clinics of the Pediatrics Department and Obstetrics Department of Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College and from some β-thalassemia major families.Blood samples from the participants were used for blood smear tests and hemoglobin electrophoresis and to analyze serum ferritin (SF),3 alpha-globin gene deletions,and 17 beta-globin point mutations.Results Of the 408 individuals,304 were assigned to group A (normal controls),26 to group B (iron deficiency),56 to group C (β-thalassemia),and 22 to group D (β-thalassemia combined with iron deficiency). The results for the comparison of the mean HbA2 values among pairs of groups were as follows: group A vs group B,q=5.074 7,P<0.05; group A vs group C,q=37.650 8,P<0.05; group A vs group D,q=16.043 0,P<0.05;group C vs group D,q=7.682 9,P<0.05; Group B vs group D,q=15.806 6,P<0.05. There were no significant correlation between SF and HbA2 in all 4 groups.Conclusions Iron deficiency decreased the HbA2 level in both controls and individuals with β-thalassemia. HbA2 levels decreased significantly in individuals with both β-thalassemia and iron deficiency as compared with β-thalassemia group alone. However,they remained significantly higher than both the control and iron-deficient groups. Therefore,the elevation of HbA2 could be used to diagnose β-thalassemia reliably even in the presence of iron deficiency.

Chronic kidney disease(CKD)is a major public health problem worldwide. Understanding by doctors and laboratorians of the importance of reliable serum creatinine measurement in GFR estimation and of factors that may affect creatinine measurement is critical to ongoing public health efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with CKD.We present an overview of the commonly used methods,their performances and limitations and the required performance criteria for the measurement of serum creatinine.Available resources for standardization of serum creatinine measurements and recommendations for creatinine measurement and GFR estimations are introduced.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy between 'warming-unblocking needling technique' and reinforcing method by twirling in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) due to deficiency of liver and kidney. Methods: A total of 72 patients with KOA were divided into a warming-unblocking group and a reinforcing group by complete randomized method, with 36 cases in each group. Xuehai (SP 10), Heding (EX-LE 2), Liangqiu (ST 34), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Xizhong (Extra), Dubi (ST 35), Yinlingquan (SP 9), Zusanli (ST 36) and Yanglingquan (GB 34) were the main points in both groups. Taichong (LR 3), Taixi (KI 3) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) were the combined points. 'Warming-unblocking needling technique' was applied in the warming-unblocking group, and reinforcing method by twirling was applied in the reinforcing group. The treatments were performed once a day, 10 times as a treatment course, at a 2-day interval between two courses, for 3 courses in total. The scores of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) in the two groups were observed before and after the treatment, and the clinical efficacy was compared. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate was 94.3％ in the warming-unblocking group and 87.9％ in the reinforcing group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The component scores of pain, stiffness and daily activities in WOMAC and total WOMAC scores in both groups decreased after treatment (all P<0.01). The component and total WOMAC scores in the warming-unblocking group were lower than those in the reinforcing group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion:'Warming-unblocking needling technique' has significant efficacy than reinforcing method by twirling in treating KOA due to deficiency of liver and kidney. It can significantly improve pain, stiffness and daily functional activities of patients.