The most nutrients required in the human diet come from plants. The nutritional quality of plant products affects the human healthy. The advance of molecular cloning and transgenic technology has provided a new way to enhance the nutritional value of plant material. Transgenic modification of plant nutritional value has progressed greatly in the following aspects: improving the quality, composition and levels of protein, starch and fatty acid in different crops; increasing the levels of antioxidants (e.g. carotenoids and flavonoids); breeding the new type of plants with medical value for human. To date, many transgenic plants with nutritional enhancement have been developed. These transgenic plant products could be directly used as human diet or as valued materials in developing the "functional food" with especial nutritional quality and healthy effects after they are approved by a series of evaluations on their safety and nutritional efficiency for human being. We designed new zinc finger transcription factors (ZFP-TFs) that can specifically down-regulate the expression of the endogenous soybean FAD2-1 gene which catalyzes oleic acid to linoleic acid. Seed-specific expression of these ZFP-TFs in transgenic soybean somatic embryos repressed FAD2-1 transcription and increased significantly the levels of oleic acid, indicating that the engineered ZFP-TFs are capable of regulating fatty acid metabolism and modulating the expression of endogenous genes in plants.
Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Fatty Acids ; analysis ; biosynthesis ; Humans ; Isoflavones ; Nutritive Value ; Plants ; metabolism ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; Transcription Factors ; physiology ; Zinc Fingers

Objective To investigate the effect of excessive fluoride,aluminum on Zn,Fe,Ca,Mg,Cuin rat blood.Methods Forty eight SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups matched with their weights:control group,high aluminum group,high fluorine group and high fluorine-aluminum group.Aluminum content in their drinking water was 0,90,0,90 mg/L respectively.Fluorine content of their feed was 5.2,5.2,106.0,106.0 mg/kg and aluminum Was 6.8,6.8,19.7,19.7 mg/kg respectively.90 days later,the level of blood Zn,Fe,Ca,Mg, Cu Was detected by the atomic absorption spectrometry.Results Compared among these groups,Zn,Fe,Mg and Cu content of the whole blood had significant difierences(F=46.25,14.74,6.10,2.93,P<0.05),while Ca content of the whole blood did not significantly change(F=2.81.P>0.05).Factorial analysis showed that excessive intake of aluminum could significantly decreased Zn,Fe,Mg content of the blood(F=42.66,5.41,7.04,P<0.05)and excessive intake of fluorine could significantly decreased Zn,Fe,Mg,Cu content of the blood(F=64.50,37.90,9.75,6.74, P<0.05).The coexistence offluorine and Muminum had interaction to the level of Zn(F=31.59,P<0.05)and did not obviously interact with other elements(F=0.91,1.63,1.51.0.00,P>0.05).Compared with the control group [(131.30 ±13.86)μmol/L,(10.24 ±1.02),(1.71 ±0.19)mmol/L,(20.43 ±4.42)μmol/L],Zn content in the high aluminum group[(90.84±9.98)μmol/L]decreased significantly(P<0.05),so did Zn,Fe,Mg content in tlle high fluorine group[(85.85 ±10.92)μmol/L,(8.49 ±0.68),(1.52 ±0.13)mmol/L],the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05)0Zn,Fe,Mg,Cu content in the high fluorine-aluminum group,being(82.82 ±11.00)μmol/L, (8.16±0.45),(1.46±0.09)mmoL/L,(15.69±2.38)μmol/L,respectively,all decreased signitlcarIdy(P<0.05). Compared with the high aluminum group[(9.43±1.09)mmol/L],Fe content of the high fluorine aluminum group[(8.16±0.45)mmol/L]decreased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusions Excessive fluoride can cause blood zn, Fe,Mg,Cu decline,so can excessive aluminum.Combination of excessive fluofine and aiuminum has 8ignificant synergic effect on the level of Zn but have rio influence on Ca.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genetic polymorphisms of 19 STR Loci in Shandong Han population in order to provide the genetic data for paternity testing. METHODS: The genotypes of 205 unrelated individuals in Shandong Han population were typed by Goldeneye 20A kit to get the allele frequencies and population genetic parameters of 19 STR loci. Four kits, Identifiler kit, SinoFiler kit, PowerPlex 16 kit, and Goldeneye 20A kit, were compared with each other and used in the analysis of a special paternity test case. RESULTS: The population genetic parameters of 19 STR loci in Shandong Han Population were obtained. The cumulative discrimination power (CDP) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) ranked from high to low were Goldeneye 20A kit, SinoFiler kit, PowerPlex 16 kit and Identifiler kit, respectively. As duo case, the result of the real case showed that Identifiler kit had no excluding loci, and none of the SinoFiler kit, PowerPlex 16 kit or Goldeneye 20A kit could exclude fatherhood. CONCLUSION Compared with Identifiler kit, SinoFiler kit, and PowerPlex 16 kit, Goldeneye 20A kit shows the higher efficiency than the others, but is not completely satisfied for duo cases.
Asian People/genetics* ; China ; Forensic Genetics/methods* ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Loci/genetics* ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Paternity ; Polymorphism, Genetic/genetics*

Childhood polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare systemic vasculitis and the delayed diagnosis and treatment will cause high incidence of sequelae and high mortality. This article reports a girl with childhood PAN due to posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). The girl aged ten years was admitted to the hospital due to hypertension and convulsions for one month. She had complaints of headache, vomiting, and blurred vision before convulsions. At six months before admission, a mass was observed in the neck. The physical examination showed that she had hypertension and no abnormal findings in the central nervous system. The brain magnetic resonance imaging manifested long T1 and T2 signals, high signal intensities on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images, and iso-signal intensity on diffusion-weighted imaging in the white matter of the left occipital lobe. Therefore, the cause of convulsions was considered as PRES. Mass biopsy suggested PAN and no findings supported tuberculosis. The right kidney atrophy was observed by ultrasound examination. Emission computed tomography of the kidney showed multiple vascular stenosis and no blood perfusion in the right kidney, so PAN was confirmed. These findings suggest that PAN should be considered in patients with vasculitis who had involvements of multiple systems after excluding common vasculitis, such as Kawasaki disease and Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Biopsy and angiography should be performed as early as possible for timely diagnosis and treatment.
Child ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; etiology ; Polyarteritis Nodosa ; diagnosis ; Seizures ; etiology

The paper is aimed to study the dynamic accumulation regulation of curcumin (Cur), demethoxycurcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxyeurcumin (BDMC) in three strains of Curcuma longa, and provide scientific references for formalized cultivation, timely harvesting, quality control and breeding cultivation of C. longa. The accumulation regulation of the three curcumin derivatives was basically the same in rhizome of three strains. The relative contents decreased along with plant development growing, while the accumulation per hectare increased with plant development growing. The accumulation of curcuminoids per hectare could be taken as the assessment standard for the best harvest time of C. longa. A3 was the best strain in terms of Cur and BDMC content.
Curcuma ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; metabolism ; Quality Control ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism

This study was aimed to observe and analyze the effectiveness of platelet transfusion. The platelet count of 1786 patients before transfusion and on 20-24 hours after transfusion was determined by using Auto-Hematology Analyzer, the percent platelet recovery (PPR) was calculated, the platelet transfusion efficiency (PTE) was evaluated by PPR and hemorrhage presentation after platelet transfusion, and the PTE was statistically analyzed according to disease cause, transfusion frequency, platelet type and once transfusion amount. The results showed that the total PTE of 1786 patients was 52.5%. The comparison of PTE among groups of disease cause showed that PTE in leukemia and aplastic anemia (AA) was lowest, as compared with that of other diseases (P < 0.05), while PTE in operation group was highest. The comparison of PTE among groups of transfusion frequency revealed also statistical difference (P < 0.01), meanwhile PTE decreased with increasing of transfusion frequency. The comparison of PTE among groups of platelet type (platelet phoresis or platelet concentrate) showed statistical difference (P < 0.01). The comparison of PTE among groups of platelet concentrate of once transfusion amount showed no statistical difference (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the PTE closely relates with disease cause of patients, moreover transfusion frequency also associates with PTE, the more frequency of transfusion, the higher possibility of transfusion refractoriness. The PTE of platelet pheresis is obviously superior to that of platelet concentrate, while PTE of platelet concentrate not significantly relates with once adequate or not.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anemia, Aplastic ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukemia ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Transfusion ; adverse effects ; methods ; Treatment Failure ; Young Adult

The molecular electronegativity-distance vector (MEDV) was used to describe the chemical structural characterization of 46 components of essential oils in the flower of Rosa banksiae. Various multiple linear regression (MLR) models were created with variable screening by the stepwise multiple regression technique and statistics. The QSRR models of 10 and 6 variables were built by MLR with the correlation coefficients (R) of molecular modeling being 0.906 and 0.903. Cross-validation of the models, which contain selected vectors were performed by leave-one -out procedure (LOO) and the satisfied results with correlation coefficients (Rcv) of 0.904 and 0.903, respectively. The results showed that the models constructed can provide estimation stability and favorable predictive ability.
Flowers ; chemistry ; Linear Models ; Molecular Structure ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship ; Regression Analysis ; Rosa ; chemistry

OBJECTIVEThe efficacy and adverse effects of conventional dose and low dose adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) therapy for West syndrome (WS) were compared in order to identify a low effective dose with few adverse effects.

METHODSA prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. Thirty children with cryptogenic (n=8) or symptomatic (n=22) WS were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to receive either conventional dose or low dose ACTH therapy. For the conventional dose group, ACTH 50 IU per day was administered for 2 weeks and tapered to zero over the subsequent 2 weeks. For the low dose group, 0.4 IU/kg per day was injected for 2 weeks. After seizures were fully controlled, ACTH was tapered to zero over the subsequent 2 weeks. If there was an absence of an effective response in the low dose group, the dosage was increased to 1 IU/kg per day for the next 2 weeks and then tapered to zero over 2 weeks. Both effectiveness and adverse effects were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in the good initial responses between the conventional and the low dose groups, which were 53% and 60%, respectively (P> 0.05). EEG findings after ACTH therapy, the rate of relapse of spasms, and the interval to relapse were not different between the two groups (P> 0.05). The long-term outcomes were assessed in the initial 8 responders, and there were no significant differences between the two groups (follow-up duration>12 months). The rates of good efficacy and disappearance of the hypsarrhythmia were significantly higher in the cryptogenic WS group than in the symptomatic WS group (P<0.05). The incidence of ACTH therapy related-adverse effects in the conventional dose group (93%) was significantly higher than in the low dose group (20%) (P<0.01). The mild brain shrinkage was observed in one patient from the conventional dose group.

CONCLUSIONSThe short-term and long-term therapeutic effects of ACTH between 50 IU/d and 0.4 IU/kg/d doses are similar. ACTH therapy is more effective for cryptogenic WS than symptomatic WS. To reduce adverse effects, ACTH therapy should start with a low dose (0.4 IU/ kg each day).

Adolescent ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Spasms, Infantile ; drug therapy

Child, Preschool ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy, Rolandic ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Syndrome

Aim To investigate the effects of astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on renal TGF-β1/Smads signa-ling pathway in rats with diabetes mellitus(DM). Methods Wistar rats were randomly divided into nor-mal group,DM group,APS low dose (APS-low) group and APS high dose (APS-high) group. Rats in APS-low group and APS-high group respectively received 200 and 400 mg·kg-1·d-1APS for 8 weeks. Con-centrations of fasting blood-glucose(FBG),blood urea nitrogen and creatinine,as well as urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and osteopontin (OPN) were measured. Levels of TGF-β1,Smad2,phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2),Smad3,phosphorylated Smad3 (p-Smad3),Smad7,matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2,MMP-9,tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 were investigated. Results Compared to control group,DM group had higher levels of FBG,blood urea nitrogen,creatinine KIM-1,OPN, TGF-β1,Smad2,p-Smad2,Smad3,p-Smad3,TIMP-1 and TIMP-2,but lower levels of Smad7,MMP-2 and MMP-9. APS significantly decreased the levels of FBG,blood urea nitrogen,creatinine KIM-1 and OPN, as well as inhibited the activity of TGF-β1/Smads sig-naling pathway. Conclusion The renoprotective effects of APS might be associated with the inhibition of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway.