Phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEAMT) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of phosphocholine, which is an important precursor of phosphatidylcholine and glycine betaine. A 1249bp 5'-flanking region of phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene was isolated by anchored PCR, based on the cDNA sequence of PEAMT from halophyte Salicornia europaea. The transcription start site was identified as A and localized at 301bp upstream of the ATG according to the results of RLM-RACE. In SePEAMT promoter region, many potential cis-acting elements were predicted by PlantCARE and PLACE programs. Aside from the basal transcriptional elements TATA-box and CAAT-box, some stress-responsive motifs such as ABRE, HSE and LTR were found. In addition, some pollen-specific activation-related elements were also present in this region. Binary expression vector was constructed by fusing SePEAMT promoter with GUS gene and designated as pPro. The pPro was transferred into tobacco by Agrobacterium-medicated transformation and transient GUS expression analysis indicated that SePEAMT promoter could drive strong GUS expression.

Objective To study the efficacy of auxiliary early-adoption of Xinnao shutong capsules on anti-cerebral ischemia and neurological protection in senile patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Eighty senile patients with acute ischemic stroke were equally randomized into control group and treatment group. Conventional treatment was given to the control group; besides the conventional treatment, the Xinnao shutong capsules at a dosage of 3 pills and three- times daily for 30 d was given to the treatment group. The clinical efficacy and European stroke scale (ESS) scores were recorded and evaluated. Results The ESS scores in the treatment and control groups before the treatment were (56.24±10.48) and (57.73±9.85), respectively. The ESS scores in the treatment group on the 15th and 30th d of treatment (65.41±11.82, 72.52±13.21) was significantly improved as compared with those in the control group (59.52±10.13, 62.48±12.73) (P＜0.05). Significant differences on the clinical efficacy were noted between the 2 groups (Z=-2.813, P=0.005). Conclusion Xinnao shutong capsules have the effect of anti-cerebral ischemia and decreasing the neurological deficits in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen that caused the global COVID-19 outbreak. The 3C-like protease (3CL^pro) of SARS-CoV-2 plays a key role in virus replication and has become an ideal target for antiviral drug design. In this paper, we report the validation and use of bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) technology to establish a cell-based assay for screening for SARS-CoV-2 virus 3CL protease inhibitors. The results show that the method is able to monitor the cleavage efficiency of 3CL protease with good reproducibility (Z' factor is 0.59), and is consistent with antiviral activity analysis in cell culture. This work demonstrates that this method can be applied to the screening and evaluation of 3CL protease inhibitors, providing a powerful tool for the development of new drugs.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the changes in peripheral blood inflammatory factors and intestinal flora in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals (AIDS/HIV patients), and explored the relationships among intestinal flora, peripheral blood inflammatory factors, and CD4+ T lymphocytes. METHODS: Thirty blood and stool samples from an AIDS group and a control group were collected. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes by a FACSCount automated instrument. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterococcus faecium. Correlations among intestinal flora, inflammatory factor levels, and CD4+ T lymphocyte values were evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the AIDS group were higher than those in the control group, while the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes was lower. The amounts of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the AIDS group were significantly lower than those in control group, while the amounts of E. coli, E. faecalis, and E. faecium were much higher. The amounts of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus were negatively correlated with the content of TNF-α and IL-6 and the CD4+ T lymphocyte count, while those correlations were reversed for E. coli, E. faecalis, and E. faecium. CONCLUSIONS The intestinal microbiota of AIDS/HIV patients were disordered, and there was a correlation between the amount of intestinal flora and the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes and the levels of TNF-α and IL-6.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/microbiology* ; Adult ; Aged ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; HIV Infections/microbiology* ; Humans ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood*

Objective To observe the relationship between serum uric acid and brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) in Beijing community individuals.Methods This epidemiological survey was performed in residents of two communities from Shijingshan District in Beijing from 2007 to 2008.Cardiovascular risk factors and ba-PWV were measured. Two thousand five hundred and forty three individuals with both ba-PWV and serum uric acid measurements were included.Ba-PWV ≥ 1400 cm/s was defined as abnormal.The individuals were divided into four groups (Q1,Q2,Q3 and Q4 group) according to the gender-specific quartiles of serum uric acid. Univariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relation between various cardiovascular risk factors and ba-PWV abnormality.Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the relation between serum uric acid and ba-PWV abnormality after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors.Results Body mass index,triglyeride and prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing levels of serum uric acid (all P ＜0.01 ).Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that age,gender,smoking,hypertension,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,diabetes,body mass index,total cholesterol,triglyeride and estimated glomerular filtration rate were related with ba-PWV abnormality( all P ＜0.01 ).Compared with Q1 group,ba-PWV abnormality OR value of Q4 group was 1.73 (95％ CI:1.34- 2.22,P ＜0.01 ).Multivariate logistic regression revealed that ba-PWV abnomality OR value of Q4 group was 1.66 (95％ CI:1.16 -2.37,P＜0.01 ) after adjusting for age,gender,smoking,hypertension,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,diabetes,body mass index,total cholesterol,triglyeride and estimated glomerular filtration rate when compared with Q1 group and OR values were 1.55 (95％ CI:0.88 -2.74,P＞0.05) and 1.65 (95％ CI:1.04-2.64,P＜0.05) in male and female respectively.Conclusion Increased serum uric acid was independently associated with ba-PWV abnormality in Beijing community residents.

OBJECTIVES: By retrospective study of the epidemiological characteristics of sports-related sudden death (SrSD), the risk factors associated with SrSD were analyzed and explored to provide a scientific basis for comprehensive prevention and treatment of SrSD. METHODS: The personal information (sex, age, occupation, etc.), case information (time, place, type of sports, relative time between SrSD occurrence and exercise, etc.), death related information (sign or prodrome, medical history and surgical history, etc.), rescue situation (witnesses, on-site assistance, the availability of paramedics, etc.) of 374 SrSD cases in Guangdong Province from 2017 to 2021 were collected. Statistical analysis was conducted aiming at the key factors. RESULTS: In the 374 cases, there were significantly more males than females (19.78:1); the number of people aged between >39 and 59 was the largest (151, 40.37%); non-manual workers (68.98%) were more than manual workers; the top three sports with the highest number cases were basketball (34.49%), running (19.52%) and badminton (12.03%); from 3 pm to 9 pm (63.10%) was the time period with the highest incidence of events; sudden death mainly occurred during exercise (75.27%) and within 1 h after exercise (20.05%); the on-site rescue rate was very low (6.15%); the rate of autopsies was extremely low (1.07%); sudden cardiac death was the most common cause (67.11%). CONCLUSIONS SrSD is most common in males aged >39 to 59 years old, mostly in non-manual workers, and usually occurs in basketball and running. Sudden death is more likely to occur during exercise and within 1 h after exercise. Therefore, the above potential risk factors should be focused on and studied in daily comprehensive prevention and treatment to provide scientific basis for accurate prevention and first aid of such sudden death.
Adult ; Autopsy ; China/epidemiology* ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac/prevention & control* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Sports

Physical exercise can reduce the overall risk of cardiovascular disease, prolong lifespan and improve the quality of life, but some studies have shown that there is a certain correlation between vigorous physical exercise and sudden cardiac death. A number of retrospective or prospective studies on sports-related sudden cardiac death (SrSCD) have been conducted at home and abroad. This article reviews the related studies on the definition, epidemiological characteristics, common causes of SrSCD and effects of excercise on cardiovascular function, pre-exercise screening and evaluation of SrSCD, in order to understand the latest research progress on SrSCD and provide clues and references for SrSCD research.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Incidence ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac/prevention & control*

The dissipation of spirodiclofen in fresh fruit and dry fruit of wolfberry was detected in this study to provide a reference for its safe application.According to Pesticide Residue Test Criteria of China, the open-field experiment was conducted in Zhongning courty of Ningxia province, and the dissipation of spirodiclofen was studied by acetonitrile extraction and HPLC-MS/MS detection. The results showed that the half-lives of spirodiclofen in fresh wolfberry fruit and dry wolfberry fruit were 6.9-11.2 days and 8.5-10.4 days, respectively. Spirodiclofen belongs to the easily degradable pesticide type. According to the maximum residue limits (0.5 mg•kg⁻¹) of spirodiclofen of EU for wolfberry, after recommended dosage being sprayed for once, fresh wolfberry fruit was safe to eat after 5 days, and dry wolfberry fruit was safe to eat after 21 days.

The safety interval period and residue dynamics of two main components (XDE-175-J and XDE-175-L) of spinetoram in wolfberry were measured. Field experiment design and sampling method were carried out according to the "Guideline on pesticide residue trials". The wolfberry samples were extracted with acetonitrile by ultrasonic, and analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. The wolfberry was sprayed with 6% spinetoram suspension concentrate (SC) at recommended dosage (1 500 times) and doubling dosage (750 times) (one time) at fructescence of wolfberry. The half-lives of spinetoram residue under recommended dosage treatment was 3.65-4.25 d, and all the fresh and dried fruits conform to first order kinetics equation. The dissipation rate was over 95% in fresh and dried fruits at 14 d after application. In conclusion, spinetoram belongs to the easily degradable pesticide type.

BACKGROUND: Catheter-based pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an effective and well-established intervention for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Nevertheless, late recurrences of atrial fibrillation (LRAF) occurring during 3 to 12 months are common, and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) in atrial tissue have been linked to the pathophysiological mechanisms and progression of PAF in a few studies. However, their expression patterns in peripheral blood and regulatory function in LRAF are not clear. METHODS: In the present study, the expression profile of circulating circRNAs in three paired nonvalvular PAF patients with or without LRAF was investigated by high-throughput sequencing and validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Bioinformatics analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and circRNA/miRNA regulatory network, were performed to predict the functions and potential regulatory roles of differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs. RESULTS: A total of 12,834 circRNAs, comprising 5,491 down-regulated and 7,343 up-regulated circRNAs, were found to be DE in blood smaples from the two groups in peripheral blood between LRAF and non-recurrence control individuals. The most enriched GO categories in terms of molecular function, biological process, and cellular component features were catalytic activity, cellular metabolic process, and intracellular part, respectively. The KEGG enrichment study revealed that the most important metabolic process controlled by DE circRNAs is endocytosis. In the circRNA/microRNAs interaction network, four up-regulated circRNAs (hsa_circ_0002665, hsa_circ_0001953, hsa_circ_0003831, and hsa_circ_0040533) and one down-regulated circRNA (hsa_circ_0041103) were predicted to play potential regulatory roles in the pathogenesis of LRAF. CONCLUSIONS This investigation discovered the expression pattern of circulating circRNAs that is indicative of PAF late recurrence, which may serve as risk markers or therapeutic targets for LRAF after PVI.