Objective To assay the level of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and healthy controls and compare the difference between SLE group and control group, and to analyze between the level of NETs and related laboratory parameters. Methods Forty-four females patients with SLE were recruited as research subjects, with 24 cases in the active stage and 20 in stable stage. Forty-two healthy female volunteers matched in age were enrolled as control subjects. The fluorescence intensity of NETs in neutrophils was detected by fluorospectrophotometry. The concentration of neutrophil elastase in plasma was quantitatively detected. Statistical analysis of the difference of level of NETs between the SLE group and control group was conducted. Then the correlation between the fluorescence intensity of NETs and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), and anti-histone, and anti-nucleosome, and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) was analyzed respectively. The same tests were conducted for the level of NE. The results of the two groups were compared using analysis of variance and the relevance was analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis. NETs morphosis was observated by immunoflurescence method, and the difference of NETs between SLE group and control group was analyzed. Results ① The fluorescence intensity of NETs was significantly increased in SLE group(241±139) than that in the control group (173±135), (t=2.31, P<0.05).②The concentration of NE in the SLE group (102±47) was significantly higher than that in the control group (62±22), t= 4.38, P<0.01. No difference of NETs [(274±168) vs (211±102), t=1.52, P>0.05] and NE concentration [(104±43) vs (96±48), t=0.50, P>0.05] between SLE active stage and stable stage was detected. ③ The fluorescence intensity of NETs in SLE patients was positively correlated with SLEDAI, but had no obvious correlation with anti-dsDNA, anti-histone, anti-nucleosome, CRP or ESR, respectively. ④Images under confocal microscope showed that more NETs generated by PMN from SLE patients than that from controls. Conclusion The generation of NETs is enhanced in female patients with SLE. And NETs may relate to disease activity. However, NETs may not induce the production of autoantibodies.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of the overlap syndrome of dementia,depression and delirium coexistence in two or three of them (the 2D's or 3D's) in elderly patients,in order to raise awareness.Methods Clinical data of 16 patients aged ＞65 years diagnosed with the 2D's or 3D's admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed and relevant literatures were reviewed.Results Patients with the 2D's or 3D' s accounted for 10％ of the elderly demented patients and 3％ of the elderly depressive patients.16 patients [11 females and 5 males,median age 82 years and mean age (80±6) years] were enrolled,with 7 cases of dementia with depression,6 cases of delirium superimposed on dementia,2 cases of the 3D's,and 1 case of coexisting depression and incident delirium.The Charlson comorbidity index of the 16 patients was (3.0± 1.5).(4.0± 1.6) kinds of geriatric syndromes were found,and the most common were falls (62％),sleep disorders (56％),frailty (50％),polypharmacy (43 ％),and malnutrition (37％).Disability was identified in 14 (88％) patients on admission.Delirium was observed in 9 patients (56 ％),with 7 cases of hyperactive delirium and 2 cases of hypoactive delirium.Coexisting underlying dementia was identified after episodes of delirium in 6 cases.16 patients all received corresponding intervention during hospitalization period.During a mean follow-up period of (15±13) months,62 ％ of the patients had more impaired physical function (ADL score reduction≥ 1),and 43％ of the patients had more impaired cognitive function (MMSE score reduction≥3).Two patients were transferred to long-term care facilities and one patient died during follow-up.The readmission rate was 50％ within 1 year after discharge.Conclusions The domestic report of overlap syndrome of dementia,depression and delirium is rare.Patients with the coexistence of the 2D's or 3D's are more commonly combined with geriatric syndromes,which results in further cognitive and physical function impairment with a higher re-admission rate.We should pay attention to the follow-up in elderly patients with delirium for screening dementia.

Improvement of stress tolerance to various adverse environmental conditions (such as toxic products, high temperature) of the industrial microorganisms is important for industrial applications. Ethanol produced by yeast fermentation is inhibitory to both yeast cell growth and metabolisms, and consequently is one of the key stress elements of brewer's yeast. Research on the biochemical and molecular mechanism of the tolerance of yeast can provide basis for breeding of yeast strain with improved ethanol tolerance. In recent years, employing global gene transcriptional analysis and functional analysis, new knowledge on the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of yeast ethanol tolerance has been accumulated, and novel genes and biochemical parameters related to ethanol tolerance have been revealed. Based on these studies, the overexpression and/or disruption of the related genes have successfully resulted in the breeding of new yeast strains with improved ethanol tolerance. This paper reviewed the recent research progress on the molecular mechanism of yeast ethanol tolerance, as well as the genetic engineering manipulations to improve yeast ethanol tolerance. The studies reviewed here not only deepened our knowledge on yeast ethanol tolerance, but also provided basis for more efficient bioconversion for bio-energy production.
Drug Tolerance ; genetics ; Ethanol ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Fermentation ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Industrial Microbiology ; methods ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ; drug effects ; genetics ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins ; genetics

Objective:To investigate the correlation between serum concentration of vasohibin-1 (VASH-1) and urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy.Methods:The clinical data of 196 patients with T2DM from February 2017 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. According to whether diabetic nephropathy (DN) was combined, 33 patients without DN of T2DM were divided into the control group,and 163 patients with DN of T2DM were divided into the case group, and the case group was divided into four groups:normal albuminuria group (groupⅠ, UACR <30 mg/g, 21 cases),microalbuminuria group (groupⅡ, UACR ≥30-≤300 mg/g, 50 cases), clinical albuminuria group (group Ⅲ, UACR>300 mg/g, 43 cases), and clinical albuminuria hypertensive group (groupⅣ, UACR >300 mg/g with hypertension, 49 cases). Serum levels of VASH-1,C-reactive protein(CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) with other biochemical indicators were measured. T-test was used for comparison between measurement data groups in accordance with normal distribution, one-way ANOVA was used for comparison between multiple groups, q-test was used for pairwise comparison, and χ2 test was used for comparison between counting data groups. The influencing factors were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between vash-1 and UACR. Results:UACR((1 175.9±120.4) mg/g), CRP((9.80±2.01) mg/L), ESR((20.61±2.20) mm/h),TGF-β1((16.75±2.05) μg/L), VASH-1((645.3±183.5) ng/L) in case group were higher than that in the control group((11.5±2.0) mg/g, (4.77±1.34) mg/L, (8.33±1.56) mm/h, (10.63±1.97) μg/L, (416.3±162.1) ng/L), and there were significant differences between the two groups ( t=123.39,13.76,30.54,15.75,6.66; all P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that VASH-1 ( OR=1.881,95% CI 1.146-3.089), UACR( OR=1.511,95% CI 1.064-2.146), TGF-β1( OR=1.846,95% CI 1.135-3.001)were all risk factors for DN of T2DM ( P values were 0.009, 0.022 and 0.012). Serum VASH-1 ((693.5±201.4), (709.8±214.7) ng/L] in group Ⅲ and group Ⅳ were higher than those in group Ⅰ and group Ⅱ ((585.3±162.1), (632.9±165.5) ng/L). There was significant difference between the two groups ( F=129.46, P<0.001). The CRP ((7.08±1.36), (8.99±3.72), (10.58±3.48), (11.64±3.50) mg/L), ESR ((17.36±1.76), (19.05±4.12), (21.45±5.74), (22.69±9.13) mm/h) and TGF- β1 ((14.75±1.97), (16.50±1.90), (17.06±1.23), (18.39±1.46) μg/L) of groupⅠ, groupⅡ, groupⅢ and groupⅣ increased gradually, and there were significant differences between the four groups ( F values were 73.48, 156.61, 25.83; all P<0.001). Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between VASH-1 and UACR ( r=0.532, P=0.008). Conclusion:The concentration of VASH-1 in serum of patients with T2DM complicated with DN increased with the increase of UACR. VASH-1 may become a new marker for predicting early DN of T2DM.

Objective To explore the effect of Yunnan specialty rice products on blood sugar by measuring the glycemic index of 5 Yunnan special rice foods:rice noodles,rice cakes,rice rolls,sour rice noodles and dry rice noodles.Methods Following the national standard method to determine the carbohydrate content of 5 Yunnan specialty rice products,and the target amount of the test substance was calculated.Food Glycemic Index Determination Method was used to determine the glycemic index of 5 Yunnan specialty rice products and observe their impact on blood sugar.Results The GI value of Yunnan specialty food rice noodle is 63,rice cake is 64,rice roll is 46,sour rice noodles is 38,and dry rice noodles is 33.Conclusion Yunnan specialty foods rice noodle and rice cake belong to medium GI foods,and diabetes patients should reduce consumption;rice roll,sour rice noodles,and dry rice noodles belong to low GI foods and can be a better staple food source for diabetes patients.

OBJECTIVE： To study the anti-gout effect of aqueous extract from the stems and leaves of Erythropalum scandens （ASLE）. METHODS： The mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， allopurinol group （positive control， 5 mg/kg）， ASLE low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （1 300， 2 600， 5 200 mg/kg， by raw material； similarity hereinafter）， with 10 mice in each group. Except for normal group， other groups were given potassium oxonate intragastrically to induce hyperuricemia model. One hour after modeling， normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically； administration group was given relevant medicine intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 7 d. One hour after last administration， the levels of serum uric acid （SUA） and serum creatinine （Scr） were detected by colorimetry assay. Another mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， indomethacin group （positive control， 7.5 mg/kg）， ASLE low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups， with 10 mice in each group. Normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically； administration group was given relevant medicine intragastrically， once a day， for consecutive 7 d. After last administration， except for normal group， the mice were given sodium microcrystalline urate via toes to induce gouty arthritis model. Before and 1， 2， 4， 6， 8 h after modeling， the circumference of the same part of the inflamed limbs and toes of mice in each group was measured by wire binding method， and the degree of toe swelling was calculated. The number of white blood cell （WBC）， neutrophil （NEU） and lymphocyte （LYM） were detected by animal hematology analyzer. The levels of SUA and Scr were measured by colorimetry assay. The content of NO in toe tissue was determined by Griess method. RESULTS： The experimental results of hyperuricemia model showed that the levels of SUA and Scr in mice were significantly higher in model group than those in normal group （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， above indexes of mice were decreased significantly in administration group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The experimental results of gouty arthritis model showed that the level of SUA， the degree of toe swelling （2-8 h）， the number of WBC， NEU and LYM， NO content in model group were increased significantly， compared with normal group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the levels of SUA and Scr （ASLE groups）， the degree of toe swelling [indomethacin group， ASLE high-dose group （2-8 h）， ASLE low-dose group （2， 6 h）， ASLE medium-dose group （6 h）]， the number of WBC and NEU （administration groups）， the number of LYM （indomethacin group） and NO content （administration groups except for ASLE low-dose group） were decreased significantly in administration groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： The anti-gout effect of ASLE may be associated with promoting uric acid metabolism， anti-inflammatory and improving renal function.