Objective To investigate the effects of long-term,low-dose hormone replacement therapy(HRT) on serum level of creactive protein(CRP) and homocysteine(Hcy) in postmenopausal women.Methods A total of 141 postmenopausal women were selected from medical staff of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital.Of these,63 subjects have been treated with low-dose sex hormone for over 5 years(HRT group),78 subjects have never received hormone replacement therapy as control group.The serum levels of CRP and Hcy in two groups were evaluated.Results The serum level of estradiol(E_2) in HRT group was significant higher than that in control group(median,inter-quartile range;33.8 ng/L,30.9 vs 21.3 ng/L,33.2)(P0.05).There was no correlation between the serum level of CRP,Hcy and the plasma levels of E_2 and FSH respectively.Conclusion Long-term and low-dose HRT does not increase the serum level of CRP and Hcy in postmenopausal women.

Objective To study the local irritation of repeated intrathecal injection of Ziconotide Acetate,and to provide reference for irritancy evaluation ofintrathecal injection.Methods Sixteen New Zealand rabbits were assigned into two groupsat random:Control group and Ziconotide Acetate group,eight animals each group.Totally 50 μL saline or Ziconotide Acetate (100 μg/mL) were administrated by repeated lumbar intrathecal injection once daily for 7 d.Animal behavior was observed every day,and four animals in each group were sacrificed 2 d later after the last injection,the lumbar spinal cord was removed for histopathological examination and irritancy evaluation.The remaining animals were sacrificed for initancy evaluation 14 d later after the last injection.Results Only one animal died after anesthesia on day three in saline group,while no obvious adverse reactions were observed in other rabbits during the entire study,and no intrathecal irritant reactions of histopathological examination were found in both groups.The reversible minor mechanical damage was observed at the injection point,2 d after the last administration.Conclusion For 7 d repeated lumbar intrathecal injection in rabbits,no intrathecal irritant reactions observed in Ziconotide group,and the New Zealand rabbit could be used as a local irritation evaluation model.

Objective To explore the effect of carvedilol on ACE2 gene and protein expression in chronic heart failure rats after myocardial infarction.Methods The heart failure model was induced by acute myocardial infarc- tion (AMI) through ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery.One month after operation,rats were randomized to receive placebo or carvedilol 2 mg/(kg?d),by gavage.Sham-operated rats were used as the control group.Hemodynamies,body mass and left ventrieular mass index,plasma and myocardial level of angiotensin Ⅱ were determined.ACE2 gene and protein expression was assessed by using RT-PCR and Western Blot.Results The mortality of placebo and Carvedilol groups were 20%,compared with 0% in sham operated rats.Carvedilol significantly improved LVEDP,LVSP,+dp/dt_(max) and-dp/dt_(min) in CHF rats but all the hemodynamics data were still inferior than that of controls.Plasma and myocardial angiotensin Ⅱ level were increased significantly in CHF placebo rats than those of control rats (plasma Ang Ⅱ:CHF:194?19 vs controls:132?15 ng/L,myocardium Ang Ⅱ:CHF:6.7?0.4 vs control:3.8?0.3 ng/g,P

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the feasibility and sterile effect of low-temperature plasma sterilizer produced by Chinese Academy of Sciences for the sterilization of arthroscope surgical instruments.METHODS To explore the cleaning,package,arrangement and sterile effect monitoring of instruments in the process of arthroscope sterilization using low-temperature plasma sterilizer.RESULTS In the sterilization process of arthroscope surgical instruments using low-temperature plasma sterilizer,the chemical indicators and indicating patch were discolored,the monitoring of bio-box and the sterilization monitoring of surgical instruments were all negative.CONCLUSIONS Using the low-temperature plasma sterilizer machine for the sterilization of endoscope surgical instruments can ensure the security of sterilization,make less injury of precise instruments,shorten the sterilization time,accelerate the surgical turnover,enhance the frequency of surgical instruments application,and increase the efficiency.

To seek the reason of heterogeneity of recombinant HWTX-I (rHWTX-I) expressed in Pichia pastoris. We expressed HWTX-I gene of interest in Pichia pastoris GS115/HWTX-I. The heterogenous product expressed was separated, purified and identified by using Ion exchange HPLC, reverse HPLC, Tricine SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry and then sequenced in both N-terminus and C-terminus. These results show that the heterogeneity of rHWTX-I results from the incomplete processing of signal peptide of N-terminus and the internal degradation of C-terminus. Biological activity assay shows that the activity of the heterogenous rHWTX-I only showed 30% activity compared with the native HWTX-I. The Solutions to how to avoid the heterogeneity are also discussed.
Animals ; Neurotoxins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Reptilian Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Spider Venoms ; biosynthesis ; genetics

BACKGROUND:Delayed graft function (DGF) occurs frequently in kidney transplants from donation after cardiac death if creatinine level is high in kidney recipients. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the clinical effects of renal transplantation with kidneys from donors dying of cardiac death in organophosphate poisoning. METHODS:Data were col ected from kidney transplants from two donors dying of cardiac death in organophosphate poisoning. After some donor maintenance, donor organ were obtained and perfused with impulse type machine. Recipients were treated with intervention of immunity induction, anti-rejection drugs and infection prevention drugs during and after renal transplantation. Pathological data of donor kidney zero needle biopsy, DGF after kidney transplantation, complication rate (such as acute rejection), renal al ograft recovery situation, the survival rate of recipients and kidney transplants were col ected and analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Needle biopsy results from four donor kidneys showed that glomerular morphology was normal, but there were edema and degeneration in kidney tubules in some degree. Donor DGF rate was 75%(3/4), acute rejection rate was 0%(0/4), perioperative period donor kidney and recipient survival rate were 100%(4/4). Al recipients showed a good result of transplanted kidney, their creatinine and urea nitrogen were at low level, and had no proteinuria. One recipient died of severe pulmonary infection 4 months after surgery. For some organophosphate poisoning donors dying of cardiac death, donor kidney quality can be improved by suitable donor maintenance and high-quality donor kidney preservation using machine perfusion. Kidney transplants from donors dying of cardiac death in organophosphate poisoning who receive the maintenance of organ function may be a promising candidate for renal transplantation due to a severe lack of kidney donor sources.

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes on the content of substrate, the activity of correlative enzyme and the mRNA and protein expressions of beta(3)-adrenoceptor and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) in human failing heart.

METHODPapillary muscles from 20 patients with heart failure during mitral valves replacement and 6 control subjects died of non-cardiac accidents were obtained and free fat acid (FFA), lactic acid (LD) and the activity of Na(+)K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)Mg(2+)-ATPase, protein and mRNA expressions of beta(3)-adrenergic receptor and PPARalpha were measured.

RESULTIn the failing heart, the contents of fat acid, LD and expression of beta(3)-adrenoceptor mRNA and protein were significantly higher while the activity of Na(+)K(+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)Mg(2+)-ATPase, expressions of PPARalpha at mRNA and protein levels were significantly lower than those in control myocardium.

CONCLUSIONMetabolic remodeling (upregulation of beta(3)-adrenoceptor and downregulation of PPARalpha) might contribute to the pathophysiology of heart failure.

Adult ; Female ; Heart Failure ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; PPAR alpha ; metabolism ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-3 ; metabolism

Licorice, one of the most commonly used medicinal materials in China, grows mainly in arid and semi-arid regions and has important economic and ecological values. Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors in plants play an important role in regulating biological or abiotic stress responses, growth, and secondary metabolite synthesis. bZIP transcription factors in the published whole genome database of Glycyrrhiza uralensis were identified using bZIP sequences found in Arabidopsis thaliana genome as reference, and ABA-dependent bZIP genes were identified by using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. The physical and chemical properties, structure of the encoded proteins, and the gene expression patterns with exogenous ABA stress were analyzed. A total of 69 bZIP transcription factor genes were identified in G. uralensis, named Gubzip1-69, and they were divided into 10 subfamilies (A-I and S) according to their similarity to bZIPs of A. thaliana. By calculating the relative expression levels of the 69 GubZIPs genes under different concentrations of exogenous ABA stress, genes that may be involved in the regulation of ABA signaling pathways were identified, namely GubZIP1, GubZIP5, GubZIP8, GubZIP30, GubZIP33 and GubZIP56. The results of expression pattern analysis of these GubZIPs genes under exogenous ABA stress showed that the expression pattern of GubZIPs genes changed significantly with 50 mg·L^-1 ABA. The relative expression levels of these genes decreased 3 h after treatment, and gradually increased 6 h after treatment. Except for GubZIP8, the relative expression levels of these genes were significantly increased after 12 h. Further research on the function of bZIP transcription factors of G. uralensis and elucidating their regulatory mechanisms should be of interest and will provide a scientific basis for cultivating high-quality cultivars of G. uralensis through molecular breeding methods.

Cultivating comprehensive personnel with competent professional ethics, technical skills and scientific research capabilities is the goal and task of today's laboratory medical education. How to make full use of diversified teaching materials, tools and methods to improve teaching quality is worthy of exploration and thinking in laboratory medical teaching units. In this paper, using mind map as a tool, taking the COVID-19 epidemic as an example, we intend to design a set of multidisciplinary and all-round integrated curriculum of medical laboratory education, and discuss the application status and prospect of integrated curriculum and mind map in medical laboratory education. Through doing this, we aim to optimize the training goals of laboratory medicine education, innovate the teaching methods and boost the training efficiency of laboratory medicine education to keep up with the times.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the neurobehavioral function of coke oven workers.

METHODS200 healthy adult male coke oven workers were selected from a coke plant of a state-owned steel enterprise in Taiyuan City. 88 controls occupationally unexposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were selected from the same enterprise. All the subjects participated in this investigation voluntarily in their consent. Concentration of B(a)P in the working environment was monitored by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Urine samples were sampled immediately after working shifts. The level of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene was determined by HPLC. General information of workers correlated with the investigation was collected in a questionnaire according to the same criteria by well-trained investigators. Neurobehavioral core test battery (NCTB) recommended WHO was performed on coke oven workers and controls to test the neurobehavioral changes and the mood state.

RESULTSthe concentration of B(a)P at oven bottom,oven side and oven top were 0.0195 microg/m3, 0.186 microg/m3 and 1.624 microg/m3 respectively, that at oven side and oven top being higher than the one stipulated by the occupational hygiene criterion. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene was significantly different between the exposure group (3.42 +/- 0.98 micromol/mol creatinine) and control group (2.75 +/- 1.09 micromol/mol creatinine). No significant differences were found between exposure group and control group of age, working years, smoking, drinking and unhealthy food consumption; however, compared to the controls, the scores of total digital span, the forward digital span, and right dotting in the coke oven workers were lower, but that of total dotting was higher, with a statistical significance. According to urinary 1-hydroxypyrene concentration, all the subjects were divided into three groups. (<3.10 micromol/mol creatinine, 3.10 micromol/mol creatinine, >3.87 micromol/mol creatinine). Significant differences of the total digital span, the forward digital span, backward digital span, digit symbol and Benton visual retentions existed in different urinary 1-hydroxypyrene concentration groups and showed a dose-response tendency. Results of multiple stepwise regression analysis and correlation analysis showed that the level of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene affected memory and perception of coke oven workers and negative correlations between the level of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and changes in neurobehavioral function were found.

CONCLUSIONPAHs mainly causes decrease of memory and perception in coke oven workers.

Adult ; Air Pollutants, Occupational ; analysis ; Coke ; Humans ; Male ; Memory ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Occupational Exposure ; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ; urine