10?m cytochalasin D (CD) was used to treat cardiocytes from adult human atrium and adult rat atrium and ventricle in long-term primary cultures. Durations of treatment were 0.5, 1, 6, 12, 24 and 48h. In some cultures, the medium containing CD was removed at the planned time to be replaced with the medium without CD.These dishes were then cultured for an additional 48h. Control cultures were exposed to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the vehicle used to dissolve CD. All cultured cells were first stained with rhodamine-labelled phalloidin to show F-actin and then stained with fluoreseein-labelled antitubulin to show microtubles. The freshly isolated and rounded cardiocytes did not respond to CD, while the spreading cells responded apparently. The actin filament bundles in the peripheral zone of spreading cells were cut into segments. Most segments were gathered into aggregates and granules. Some aggregates were lodged on the inner aspect of the sarcolemma. Small vacuoles were seen between the myofibrils or somewhere along the course of the myofibrils. The CD response from the atrial spreading cells, especially the human atrial spreading cells, were more obvious than that from the rat ventricular cells. Cells exposed to CD and then cultured in normal medium for 48h did not return to normal. Microtubules were not directly affected by CD, but in places where vacuolization occured they made way for vacuoles. All the control cultures made no response to DMSO. The above-mentioned results suggest that different sensitivity to CD existed in cultured adult cardiocytes between different species and that a difference also existed in the contractile machinery between the atrial culturing cells and ventricular cultureing cells of the same species.

Objective To explore the association between hearing loss and dysfunction of the vestibular end-organ in older individuals. To evaluate the common risk factors for hearing loss and otolith dysfunction. Meth-ods A total of 120 elderly patients without any vestibular symptoms were recruited in this study. They were divid-ed into two groups:a study group(patients with presbycusis)and a control group(patients without presbycusis). Audiological status was measured with pure tone audiometry and the saccular function was tested with cervical ves-tibular evoked myogenic potential(cVEMP). The results of cVEMP were calculated and compared between the two groups. Results Comparing to the control group,mean P1 and N1 latencies were significantly prolonged(t =4.67,4.59,P < 0.05)and the amplitudes were signi cantly reduced(t = 6.72,P < 0.05)in the study group. A sig-nificant correlation between hearing loss at high frequencies and reduced cVEMP amplitudes(r = -0.41,P < 0.05) were observed in the study group. Noise exposure was significantly associated with cVEMP amplitude(β = -0.52, P < 0.05). Conclusions Presbycusis may be accompanied by the hypofunction of saccular function without any vestibular symptoms,and the high frequency hearing threshold is closely related to the saccular function. Noise ex-posure appears to be related to both cochlear and saccular dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE： To study the improvement effect and related mechanism of pyragrel sodium on nerve function of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model rats. METHODS： Totally 72 SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group， model group， positive control group （dizocilpine 0.8 mg/kg）， pyragrel sodium low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （20， 30， 45 mg/kg）， with 12 rats in each group. Except sham operation group received sham operation， rats in the other groups were treated with middle cerebral artery ligation to induce cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model. The rats in the sham operation group and the model group were injected with the constant volume of normal saline， for consecutive 6 d， and the interval of administration was 24 hours. After 24 h reperfusion and last medication， neurological deficit score and postural reflex score in rats were evaluated. The situation of cerebral injury （including whole brain， insular cortex， putamen， striatum， somatic cortex， amygdala， motor cortex） was evaluated by using micropositron emission tomography. The rats were sacrificed， and the situation of cerebral infarction was observed by TTC and cerebral infarction volume was calculated. Na+-K+-ATPase， Ca2+-ATPase activity and Glu content were detected by ELISA. RESULTS： Compared with sham operation group， neurological deficit score and postural reflex score increased significantly in model group 24 h after ischemia-reperfusion and after last medication （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. After 24 hours of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion and the last medication， SUV of brain tissue， SUV ratio of right left brain of different cerebral areas were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）. After last medication， the percentage of cerebral infarction volume was increased significantly （P＜0.01）； the activities of Na+-K+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）， while Glu content was increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， above indexes of pyragrel sodium low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose group， positive control group were all improved significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： Pyragrel sodium can improve cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and nerve function， which is related to the activity up-regulation of Na+-K+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase， the down-regulation of Glu content.

【Objective】 To investigate the genotype of anti-HCV reactive blood donors by one ELISA assay and provide scientific basis for the reentry of anti-HCV false positive blood donors. 【Methods】 The data of 453 blood donors reactive to antibody to HCV(anti-HCV) with one ELISA assay(third generation) were extracted via the blood donor information system of Shaoguan Central Blood Station from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2018. The subjects were recalled to the station for the serological retest, using a 4th generation ELISA reagent, and PCR qualitative test. The PCR reactive samples were sent to the genetic testing laboratory for HCV genotyping, in order to guide diagnosis and treatment in the future. Meanwhile, those PCR negative blood donors returned to be eligible again based on the Guidelines for the Return of Reactive Blood Donors for Blood Screening. 【Results】 70.2% (318/453) of the previous anti-HCV-reactive blood donors, using a third-generation ELISA assay responded to the HCV genotyping, of which 83.0%(264/318) were negative, and 17%(54/318) positive. The profile of HCV subtypes in positive donors was HCV2a>1b>3a=6a. A little bit high false positive rate was presented by the third, and former, generation reagent than the four generation(0.41% vs 0.06%), which was confirmed by HCV RNA qualitative and HCV genotyping tests.After two rounds of reentry testing, 98 eligible blood donors returned to the blood donor team, with the return rate at 21.63% (98 / 453). 【Conclusion】 NAT or (and) HCV genotyping for anti-HCV reactive blood donors screened out by the third, and former, generation, should be carried out to permanently shield the true positive donors and reenter the negative ones.

Flowering is a critical transitional stage during plant growth and development, and is closely related to seed production and crop yield. The flowering transition is regulated by complex genetic networks, whereas many flowering-related genes generate multiple transcripts through alternative splicing to regulate flowering time. This paper summarizes the molecular mechanisms of alternative splicing in regulating plant flowering from several perspectives, future research directions are also envisioned.
Alternative Splicing/genetics* ; Arabidopsis/metabolism* ; Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics* ; Flowers/genetics*

The cultivation and production of cucumber are seriously affected by downy mildew caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis. Downy mildew damages leaves, stems and inflorescences, and then reduces the yield and quality of cucumber. This review summarized the research advances in cucumber downy mildew, including pathogen detection and defense pathways, regulatory factors, mining of pathogens-resistant candidate genes, proteomic and genomic analysis, and development of QTL remarks. This review may facilitate clarifying the resistance mechanisms of cucumber to downy mildew.
Cucumis sativus/genetics* ; Oomycetes/genetics* ; Peronospora ; Plant Diseases/genetics* ; Proteomics

To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CACNA1C (SNPs rs58619945, rs7316246 and rs216008) and susceptibility of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) as well as the curative effect of non-sedating antihistamine drugs.
 Methods: Peripheral blood were extracted from 191 CSU patients to collect DNA. Urticaria Activity Score 7 (UAS7) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) changes were collected from these patients with different non-sedating antihistamine drugs. PubMed retrieval system was used to select the 3 SNPs (rs58619945, rs7316246 and rs216008) of CACNA1C. Susceptibility of CSU and curative effect of non-sedating antihistamine drugs (desloratadine, mizolastine, fisofenadine) in 189 CSU patients and 105 controls with different SNPs were compared with Chi-squared test. Data of 105 southern Chinese controls were extracted from the 1 000 genome database.
 Results: Frequency of rs58619945 G allele in the CSU patients was significantly higher than that in the controls [OR(95%CI)=0.660(0.470-0.925), P=0.016]. However, there was no significant differences in rs7316246 and rs216008 between the CSU patients and the controls. Meanwhile there was no significant difference in general curative effect of the 3 drugs in the 3 SNPs (rs58619945: OR=0.843, P=0.454; rs7316246: OR=2.103, P=0.102; rs216008: OR=0.237, P=0.363). There was significant difference in different alleles of rs216008 in the patients administered by desloratadine [OR(95%CI)=0.480(0.247-0.933), P=0.029]. No difference was shown in the 3 SNPs in patients administered by mizolastine.
 Conclusion: The rs58619945 A/G might be related to susceptibility of CSU, and the rs216008 mutation might affect drug response of desloratadine.
Calcium Channels, L-Type ; genetics ; Chronic Disease ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Histamine H1 Antagonists, Non-Sedating ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Loratadine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Urticaria ; drug therapy ; genetics