?AIM: To study the association of the single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP) rs1157699 in the calcitonin receptor-like receptor ( CRLR ) gene with primary angle closure ( PAC) in a Han Chinese population.?METHODS: All samples, involved 232 PAC cases and 306 controls, were obtained from an epidemiologic survey conducted in Funing, Jiangsu Province, China. Genotyping were carried out by TaqMan-MGB probe using the real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction system to study the relationship between SNP of rs1157699 in CRLR gene and PAC.?RESULTS: The prevalence of CRLRrs1157699 genotype was 67.4%, 30.0%, 2.6% for CC, CT, TT in cases, and 71.3%, 27.0%, 1.7% in controls respectively.There was no difference between the two groups in the distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of rs1157699 (P>0.05).?CONCLUSION:Our results do not support a significant role for rs1157699 in CRLR with PAC.

Background Age-related cataract is one of the common causes of blindness.Although the pathophysiology of age-related cataract is far from clearly understood,it is well accepted that DNA damage plays an important role in the disease pathogenesis.Objective The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes of age-related cataract.Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out.This study complied Declaration of Helsinki and approved by Ethic Committee of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University.Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Two hundred and eleven patients with agerelated cataract and 147 normal subjects were enrolled from a “ Jiangsu Eye Study:Funing 2011 Eye Disease Epidemic Survey”.All the subjects aged from 50 through 80 years with matched age and gender between the two groups.The percentage of tail DNA and Olive tail moment (OTM) were detected by comet assay to assess the extent of DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes.Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 17.0 software,and the differences of the percentage of tail DNA and OTM were compared between the age-related cataract group and normal control group by independent sample t test as well as among the 50-59 years group,60-69 years group and ≥70 years group by one-way analysis of variance.Results Comet assay showed a round lymph cell with the clear border in the normal group;while in the age-related cataract group,the cell was bigger with a comet-like tail.The percentage of tail DNA and OTM in peripheral lymphocytes were (21.75 ± 3.51) ％ and 6.54 ± 1.65 in the age-related cataract group,and those in the normal control group were (9.31 ±3.60)％ and 2.18 ± 1.10,respectively,with significant differences between them (t =32.67,P =0.00 ; t =28.02,P =O.00).In the 50-59 years subgroup of the age-related cataract group,the percentage of tail DNA and OTM in peripheral lymphocytes were (20.04±2.86) ％ and 5.92± 1.14,and in the 60-69 years subgroup of the age-related cataract group,the percentage of tail DNA and OTM in peripheral lymphocytes were (20.77 ±2.93) ％ and 6.13 ± 1.14,which were significantly reduced in comparison with (22.79 ± 3.67)％ and 6.95±1.91 of the ≥70years subgroup(TailDNA％:q=2.75,P=0.00; q=2.02,P=0.00;OTM:q=1.03,P =0.02 ; q =0.82,P =0.00).Conclusions The pathogenesis and development of age-related cataract probably is associated with DNA damage.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical application of the custom shade guide of tetracycline stained teeth in color matching.

METHODSForty-two patients with 59 tetracycline stained teeth were included in this study. Color matching was performed with Shofu shade guide and custom shade guide of tetracycline stained teeth. According to the two results, two porcelain fused to metal crowns were fabricated for each tooth. Evaluations were made both visually by dentists and patients and with ShadeEye NCC.

RESULTSColor difference between prostheses made according to custom shade guide and natural teeth was (7.80 +/- 4.70). Color difference between prostheses made according to Shofu shade guide and natural teeth was (10.68 +/- 4.70). Both visual evaluation and ShadeEye NCC evaluation showed that the custom shade guide provided a more accurate shade selection than the Shofu shade guide did, and the difference between the two shade guides was significant (t = 7.328, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSThe custom shade guide of tetracycline stained teeth provided a standard for clinical shade matching for the tetracycline stained teeth and could be a supplement to Shofu shade guide.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; adverse effects ; Color ; Colorimetry ; Dental Porcelain ; Humans ; Pigmentation Disorders ; chemically induced ; Prosthesis Coloring ; methods ; Tetracycline ; adverse effects ; Tooth ; drug effects

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Cholinesterase Reactivators ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hemoperfusion ; Humans ; Insecticides ; poisoning ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organophosphate Poisoning ; Poisoning ; therapy

Objective To investigate the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors among urban population aged 50 years and above in Ftming county,Jiangsu province.Methods Survey research was conducted and randomly cluster sampling was used to select individuals aged ≥50 years for visual acuity test and eye examination in Funing county,Jiangsu province.The criteria of uncorrected refractive errors in this study was defined as an improvement of at least 0.2 log MAR (equivalent to 2 lines) in the best corrected visual acuity with the base vision ＜ 0.5 log MAR in daily life.The quantitative data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation,and t-test was used for comparison between groups,and while the count data were expressed as rate or composition ratio,and the x2 test was adopted for comparison between the groups.Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of possible factors (i.e.age and gender) on the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors.Results A total of 6145 persons aged 50 years and above were enumerated and 5947 (96.8％) participants were examined,of whom 2388 had uncorrected refractive errors,with the prevalence of 40.2％.The prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors for myopia only,hyperopia only,astigmatism,and for hyperopia and astigmatism were 84.4％,84.2％,64.1％ and 100％,respectively.Moreover,the higher prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors presented in elderly person (OR =1.07,P ＜ 0.00l) and female (OR =1.38,P ＜ 0.001),and education was a protective factor for junior high school (OR =0.74,P =0.003) and high school (OR =0.55,P ＜ 0.001).Conclusion Uncorrected refractive errors presented high prevalence in rural population aged 50 years and above in Funing county,Jiangsu province,which are the leading cause of visual impairment.

OBJECTIVETo establish a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for quantitative detection of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene mRNA in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) children and to explore its clinical significance in minimal residual disease monitoring and prognosis evaluation.

METHODSReal-time RT-PCR was used to quantitatively detect the mRNA expression of E2A-PBX1 gene in 11 newly diagnosed ALL patients at diagnosis (11 cases), complete remission (11 cases) and periods of relapse (3 cases). Ten children with normal bone marrow cell morphology and without hematopathy or tumor diseases were used as the control group.

RESULTSThe median expression levels of E2A-PBX1 fusion gene in the ALL group at diagnosis and the relapse group were significantly higher than in the control and complete remission groups (P<0.01). Compared with E2A-PBX1 negative patients on day 33 during induction of remission, the recurrence rate increased and disease free survival rate at 3 year decreased significantly in E2A-PBX1 positive patients decreased (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMeasurement of E2A-PBX1 levels by real-time RT-PCR is useful for monitoing minimal residual disease, prediction of relapse and individual treatment. The expression level of E2A-PBX1 gene on day 33 during induction of remission can be used for prognosis evaluation.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Homeodomain Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm, Residual ; diagnosis ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion ; genetics ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Prognosis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene Hind III polymorphism is associated with Chinese type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia.

METHODSLipoprotein lipase gene Hind III polymorphism was studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) in 103 type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia patients and 129 healthy subjects from a population of Chinese Hans in Chengdu area.

RESULTSBoth in type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia group and control group, the H+H+ homozygote was the major allelotype. The H+ allelic frequency of type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia group was higher than that of control group (0.864 vs 0.705, P<0.01). But the H- allelic frequency of type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia group was significantly lower than that of control group (0.136 vs 0.295, P<0.01). The plasma triglycerides (TG) level of H+H+ genotype was significantly higher than that of H+H- and H-H- genotypes (P<0.05 and P<0.01); the plasma TC level and TG/HDL C ratio were higher than those of H+H- and H-H- genotypes (P<0.05); apoA II levels of H+H+ and H+H- genotypes were significantly lower than that of H-H- genotype (P<0.01 and P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe Hind III RFLP at intron 8 of LPL gene is associated with type II b hyperlipoproteinemia to some extent in Chinese population.

Adult ; Aged ; Deoxyribonuclease HindIII ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II ; genetics ; Lipoprotein Lipase ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vasonatrin peptide (VNP) on electrically-induced intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) transient and mechanism of the effects in the cardiac myocytes. The [Ca(2+)](i) transient was measured with a fluoremetric method. The effects of HS-142-1, 8-Br-cGMP and methylene blue (MB) on [Ca(2+)](i) transient in cardiac myocytes were also determined. Isoproterenol (Iso) at 10(-10)~10(-6) mol/L augmented electrically-induced [Ca(2+)](i) transient dose-dependently, which was (13+/-8)% (P>0.05), (26+/-13)% (P< 0.05), (66+/-10)% (P<0.01), (150+/-10)% (P<0.01) and (300+/-25)% (P<0.01), respectively. These effects were blocked by an beta-adrenergic bloker propranolol (10(-6) mol/L). The effect of Iso (10(-8) mol/L) on [Ca(2+)](i) transient was attenuated in a dose-dependent manner by VNP at 10(-10)~10(-6) mol/L, which was (99+/-3)% (P>0.05), (96+/-2)% (P<0.05), (84+/-6)% (P<0.01), (66+/-3)% (P<0.01) and (62+/-3)% (P<0.01), respectively. 8-Br-cGMP (10(-7)~10(-3) mol/L) aslo attenuated 10(-8) mol/L Iso-induced [Ca(2+)](i) transient dose-dependent. The effect of VNP on [Ca(2+)](i) transient was almost abolished in the presence of HS-142-1 (2x10(-5) mol/L), an antagonist of the natriuretic peptide guanylate cyclase (GC) receptors. MB (10(-5) mol/L), an inhibitor of GC, not only blocked the effect of VNP in myocytes, but also augmented electrically-induced [Ca(2+)](i) transient. VNP and HS-142-1 themselves did not change the [Ca(2+)](i) transient in the cardiac myocytes significantly. But MB augmented the [Ca(2+)](i) transient in the cardiac myocytes significantly. These results suggest that VNP attenuates [Ca(2+)](i) transient induced by Iso. This effect is possibly achieved by binding VNP with the natriuretic peptide GC receptors in the myocytes, leading to an increase in intracellular cGMP.
Animals ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; pharmacology ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Calcium Channels ; metabolism ; Cyclic GMP ; metabolism ; Depression, Chemical ; Female ; Guanylate Cyclase ; metabolism ; Isoproterenol ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; Rats ; Receptors, Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of dermatophytoses and the development of new antifungal agents has focused interest on susceptibility tests of dermatophytes. The method used universally for susceptibility tests of dermatophytes was published as document (M38-A) in 2002 by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), dealing with the standardization of susceptibility tests in filamentous fungi, though not including dermatophytes especially. However, it is not a very practical method for the clinical laboratory in routine susceptibility testing. In this test, we developed a novel rapid susceptibility assay-glucose consumption method (GCM) for dermatophytes.

METHODSIn this study, we investigated the antifungal susceptibilities of dermatophytes to itraconazole (ITC), voriconazole (VOC), econazole nitrate (ECN) and terbinafine (TBF) by glucose consumption method (GCM), in comparison to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38-A method. Twenty-eight dermatophyte isolates, including Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum) (n = 14) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (T. mentagrophytes) (n = 14), were tested. In the GCM, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined spectrophotometrically at 490 nm after addition of enzyme substrate color mix. For the CLSI method, the MICs were determined visually.

RESULTSComparison revealed best agreement for TBF against T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum, since MIC range, MIC50, and MIC90 were identical from two methods. However, for ITC and VOC, GCM showed wider MIC ranges and higher MICs than CLSI methods in most isolates. For ECN against T. rubrum, high MICs were tested by GCM (0.125-16 microg/ml) but not M38-A method (0.5-1 microg/ml). The overall agreements for all isolates between the two methods within one dilution and two dilutions for ITC, VOC, ECN and TBF was 53.6% and 75.0%, 57.1% and 75.0%, 82.1% and 89.3%, and 85.7 and 85.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONMeasurement of glucose uptake can predict the susceptibility of T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes to ECN and TBF.

Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Econazole ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Itraconazole ; pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Naphthalenes ; pharmacology ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology ; Triazoles ; pharmacology ; Trichophyton ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Voriconazole

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between intercellular adhesion molecule1 (ICAM1) gene K469E polymorphism and coronary heart disease(CHD) in Han Chinese population.

METHODSUsing the methods of polymerase chain reaction-restrictive fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), 173 CHD patients and 141 controls were analyzed for the polymorphism, genotype and allele distribution of ICAM1 gene K469E.

RESULTSThe distribution of ICAM1 genotypes was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequency of KK genotype in CHD group was significantly higher than that in control (64.2% vs 48.9%, P<0.01). Similarly, the frequency of K allele in CHD group was significantly higher than that in control (79.2% vs 69.9%, P<0.01). With Logistic Regression Analysis ruling out the influences of age, gender and other CHD risk factor, the homozygous individual with KK genotype was 2.35 folds of KE or EE genotype one suffering from CHD (OR: 2.35, 95%CI: 1.03-5.36, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONICAM1 gene K469E polymorphism is associated with CHD risk of Han Chinese population, the K allele may serve as a genetic risk factor of coronary heart disease.

Amino Acid Substitution ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Coronary Disease ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Risk Factors