According to the transcriptome dataset of Panax notoginseng, the key geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene (GGPPS) in terpenoid backbone biosynthesis was selected to be cloned. Using specific primer pairs combining with RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) technique, the full-length cDNA sequence with 1 203 bp, which containing a 1 035 bp open reading frame, was cloned and named as PnGGPPS. The corresponding full-length DNA sequence contained 2 370 bp, consisted of 1 intron and 2 exons. The deduced protein PnGGPPS contained 344 amino acids and shared more than 73% identity with GGPPS from Ricinus communis and Salvia miltiorrhiza. PnGGPPS also had specific Aspartic acid enrichment regions and other conserved domains, which belonged to the Isoprenoid-Biosyn-C1 superfamily. The quantitative real-time PCR showed that PnGGPPS expressed in different tissues of 1, 2, 3 years old root, stem, leaf and 3 years old flower, and the expression level in 3 years old leaf was significant higher than that in other organs, which suggested that it might not only be involved in the regulation of the growth and development, but also be associated with the biosynthesis of chlorophyll and carotenoids, the development of chloroplast, the shade habit and the quality formation of P. notoginseng.
Cloning, Molecular ; Computational Biology ; Geranylgeranyl-Diphosphate Geranylgeranyltransferase ; genetics ; Panax notoginseng ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To observe the different characteristics of spontaneous activitiy after simulated weightlessness 21 days in rats , aimed to provide a evaluation method for space weightlessness induced function change in human beings and to provide a reference for researches on the astronauts protective measures .Methods 30 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into three groups , the control group , the sham tail-suspended hindlimb unloading group ( the sham group ) , the tail-suspended hindlimb unloading group ( the suspending group ) , ten animals in each group .All animals were placed in the simulated space flight environmental equipment which has a real -time monitor system for 21 days.During the 21 days, the intake of water , food and the body weight were measured every week .Meanwhile, five independent activity data were collect every day , for example, morning(8:00am~12:00am), afternoon(2:00pm~6:00pm), daytime(8:00am~8:00pm),night(8:00pm~8:00am),and whole day (8:00am ~8:00am).Results The spontaneous activity of normal rats in the control group between morning and afternoon had no significant difference , but it is significantly between night and daytime .The movement time and distance in night are 2 -3 times than that of the daytime.After 10 days of tail suspending , the circadian rhythm was disordered , and the spontaneous activity in day and night become more similar in rats of the suspending group .Because of the individual difference , the spontaneous activity is not stable at the first 10 days in rats of the sham group , but after 10 days, it become close to the control group .Conclusion Rat is nocturnal animal and sleeps in the daytime , the spontaneous activity in night is 2 -3 times as compared with the daytime.The sham tail-suspended hindlimb unloading 21 days can not influence the circadian rhythm in rats .Tail suspending 21 days will caused to the disappearance in the circadian rhythm in rats .

OBJECTIVETo detect the expression profiles of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), interleukin (IL)-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) in the placenta of women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and determine the clinical significance of the differential expressions.

METHODSPlacentas were collected from 37 ICP gravidas who delivered through cesarean section at the First Teaching Hospital of Xingjiang Medical University from October 2010 to May 2011 and from 35 healthy pregnant women (controls). SOCS3, TNF-a, and IL-10 protein levels were detected by immunoblotting and the Envision immunohistochemical method.

RESULTSTNF-a and IL-10 expression was detected in placentas of both groups, and was present mainly in the cytoplasm of trophoeytes. IL-10 expression was obviously lower in the ICP placentas than in the control placentas; meanwhile, TNF-a expression was obviously higher than in the control placentas (Z=-2.63, P less than 0.01). SOCS3 protein was significantly more abundant in the control placentas than in the ICP placentas. Furthermore, SOCS3 and IL-10 placental expressions were positively correlated (r=0.494, P less than 0.01), but there was a negative correlation between SOCS3 and TNF-a placental expressions (r=-0.472, P less than 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIn ICP, an increase of the type 1 cytokine, TNF-a, is associated with decreases of the type 2 cytokine, IL-10, and of SOCS3, which may reduce the secretion of IL-10. Furthermore, SOCS3 may contribute to ICP pathogenesis by modulating the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; metabolism ; Placenta ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 Protein ; Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the effects of chronic restraint stress on learning and memory in Wistar and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.Methods Healthy adult male Wistar rats (n=6) and Sprague-Dawley rats (n=6) were subjected to restraint stress 10 h daily for 28 days.After that, all rats were tested for recognition memory by novel object recognition test , and spatial memory and working memory by Morris water maze test .Results After restraint for 10 h daily for 28 days, the restraint rats of the two strains demonstrated lower discrimination index (DI)than the control group, but on-ly SD rats showed significant difference ( P<0.05 ) .The restraint SD rats showed higher escape latency than the control rats, and on the 5th day the difference became significant (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between Wistar restraint and control rats .The working memory test showed that restraint SD rats exibited longer escape latency than the control rats (P<0.05), while Wistar rats didn’t show significant difference between the two groups .Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that the impairments of learning and memory in SD rats subjected to restraint 10 hour per day for 28 days are more serious than that in the Wistar rats .Therefore , SD rats may be a better choice as an animal model to study the effects of chronic restraint stress on learning and memory impairment .

A full-length cDNA encoding a MYB-related regulatory gene was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from mRNAs of the red line callus of S. medusa by TD-PCR. The cDNA, designated SmP, is 969 nucleotides long and has an open reading frame of 771 bp with a deduced amino acid sequence of 256 residues. The putative protein of SmP has two typical conversed R2R3-Myb DNA-binding domains in N-terminal and displays a rather high degree of similarity to OsMYB from rice and LBMI from tobacco, showing 73% and 70% identity within the DNA-binding domains. However, the C-terminal domain of the SmP protein does not show obvious similarity to any other known protein sequence. It is rich in hydrophilic amino acids, especially in serine residues (18.38%), partly organized in homopolymeric stretches, a feature often found in activation domain of transcription factors.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Saussurea ; classification ; genetics ; metabolism ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo raise the end-product and economical efficiency of spraying granulation, we demand screening preparation technique.

METHODAdopting newly spraying granulation technique, taking extracting technique, adhesive material, temperature of exit and entry,and the matching of accessories as inspecting factors, two levels of each factors, end-product as inspecting marker, we selected the best Baoshen granules preparation technique by orthogonal design.

RESULTAmong the 4 factors, adhesive material is most notable, next is temperature of exit and entry, the other two is of little importance.

CONCLUSIONThe optimum spraying granulation technique of Baoshen granules is A2B1C2D1.

Adhesives ; Cyclodextrins ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Compounding ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Powders ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo study the current situation and factors influencing the behavior of fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents, and to discuss health education strategy related to the behavior.

METHODS1677 students were selected from primary school and middle school in urban area of Hangzhou by a multistage sampling method. The behavior of fruit and vegetable intake was surveyed by questionnaires of the patient-centered assessment and counseling for exercise plus nutrition project (PACE+) for adolescent-scale of fruit and vegetable consumption, and analyzed by Transtheoretical Model on the servings of intake, the stage of change, process of change, decisional balance and the current status of self-efficacy.

RESULTSThe average intake of fruit and vegetable in adolescents was (3.21 +/- 1.50) servings per day ("one serving" means 100 g cooked vegetable or 100 g fruit). The behavior of consuming fruit and vegetable in most of the adolescents was in the contemplation stage, accounting for 36.91% (619/1677). The process of behavior change, decisional balance (Pros) and self-efficacy existed a positive correlation with the process of stage (r(process) = 0.38, r(decisional balance (Pros)) = 0.26, r(self-efficacy) = 0.33, t values were 16.78, 11.02 and 14.31, P < 0.05). The servings of fruit and vegetable intake existed a positive correlation with stage transition and self-efficacy (beta(stage transition) = 0.665, t = 35.07, P < 0.05; beta(self-efficacy) = 0.050, t = 2.63, P < 0.05), and existed a negative correlation with decisional balance (Cons) (beta(decisional balance (Cons)) = -0.051, t = -2.84, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONFruit and vegetable intake of these adolescents are under the recommended dietary intake. Along with behavior stage development and self-efficacy improvement, the intake of fruit and vegetable also increased correspondingly. Intervention strategies should aim at improving the awareness of adolescents on the health benefits of fruit and vegetable intake and promoting their confidence to reach the recommended servings.

Adolescent ; Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Child ; China ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Theoretical ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vegetables

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of (99 m)Tc-sandostatin scintigraphy in targeted diagnosis of pancreas carcinoma and the correlation with expression of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) reporter gene in tumor tissue.

METHODSNude mice bearing human pancreas carcinoma xenograft were established in advance. (99 m)Tc-sandostatin imaging was performed in 18 nude mice and tumor to normal tissue ratio (T/NT) was calculated. mRNA expression of SSTR1, SSTR2 and SSTR5 in tumor tissue was detected by RT-PCR.

RESULTSOut of 18 nude mice, 13 mice showed intense uptake of (99 m)Tc-sandostatin. Six hours after (99 m)Tc-sandostatin administration, the T/NT ratio was 2.53 +/- 0.84. Five mice showed negative findings, and the T/NT ratio was 1.04 +/- 0.06. Positive correlations were obtained between the T/NT ratio and the expression of SSTR1 and SSTR2 mRNA, especially SSTR2 (r = 0.807, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHigh expression of SSTR1, SSTR2 and SSTR5 mRNA were found in human pancreas tumor xenograft in nude mice, especially SSTR2. There is a significant correlation between the tumor uptake of (99 m)Tc-sandostatin and SSTR2 mRNA level. This approach may allow SSTR-targeted diagnosis and therapy of human pancreas cancer.

Animals ; Genes, Reporter ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Octreotide ; analogs & derivatives ; Organotechnetium Compounds ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Receptors, Somatostatin ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The expression of calcium binding protein S100A8 in 30 controls of normal oral tissue and 35 cases of OSCC was detected by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot respectively. The positive expression of S100A8 protein in OSCC and the controls was 68. 5％ and 36. 7％ respectively(P ＜ 0. 05). S100A8 may play a role in the development of OSCC.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathologic features of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease (CPPD-CDD).

METHODSThe clinical and pathologic profiles were retrospectively analysed in 20 cases of CPPD-CDD.

RESULTSCPPD-CDD was far more common in women, most frequently involving joints, especially the knees and presenting with various arthrisis. Abnormally calcified and the articular damages were characteristic features by imageing. Histologically, multifocal indigo granular calcinosis was seen in synovium and sometimes appeared as needle-shaped or rhomboid crystals, which characterized the CPPD.

CONCLUSIONSThough clinical symptoms of CPPD are quite variable, the definite diagnosis can be made by the abnormal calcification and joint damage radiographically and the indigo CPPD crystals histopathologically.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chondrocalcinosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Knee Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Synovial Membrane ; pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed