Bioactive natural products are the material bases of Chinese materia medica resources. With successful applications of synthetic biology strategies to the researches and productions of taxol, artemisinin and tanshinone, etc, the potential ability of synthetic biology in the sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources has been attracted by many researchers. This paper reviews the development of synthetic biology, the opportunities of sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources, and the progress of synthetic biology applied to the researches of bioactive natural products. Furthermore, this paper also analyzes how to apply synthetic biology to sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources and what the crucial factors are. Production of bioactive natural products with synthetic biology strategies will become a significant approach for the sustainable utilization of Chinese materia medica resources.

Objective To evaluated the result of modified Mitchell operation for treatment of hallux valgus. Methods From March 1998 to October 2001, 39 feet of 20 patients were treated with modified Mitchell procedure. Before operation, HVA averaged 29.5? and IMA averaged 12.5? were measured on standing AP radiographs. The lateral displacement of the capital fragment was depended on the amount of IMA and the capital fragment shifted plantarly 2-3 mm. Fixation was achieved with an absorbable screw. The lateral spike on the distal fragment was not preserved in this operation. Results After follow-up of 11-38 months, patients rated as excellent or good in 97.4%. The average postoperative HVA was 14.5? and IMA was 8.5?, the average HAV correction was 15? and 4? for the IMA. Conclusion The modified Mitchell procedure provides satisfactory deformity correction. The transverse arch of metatarsals is reconstructed since distal part of the first metatarsal is shifted plantarly in this operation.

Glycomacropeptide(GMP) is a polypeptide fragment derived from κ-casein after rennin treatment.At present,the structures of GMP in human beings,cows and goats have been established.The sialic acid structure contained in the polypeptide chain of GMP is very important for the exertion of the biological function.GMP has many biological functions,such as anti-infection,regulating immunity,anti-inflammation,nourishing and maintaining health,and so on.As a new-type bio-functional protein,it will be more and more widely used in the areas of medicine and foodstuff.

Endoscopic ultrasound was initially introduced in 1980s as a diagnostic modality combining echoendoscopes with radial scanning, which permitted reconstruction of cross-sectional images similar to computed tomography. Many studies showed that endogastric ultrasonography is more accurate than endoscopy or CT in evaluating the depth of invasion ( T category) and the involvement of lymph nodes (N category) in patients with gastric carcinoma. In addition to being very useful in tissue acquisition for diagnostic purposes, the principles behind endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration ( FNA) paved the way for the development of therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound, which improve the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.

AIM: To investigate the genetic and epigenetic alterations of p14~ ARF gene and mutation status of p53 gene in human primary colorectal carcinomas and to analyze the relationship between the two gene changes and the role of abrogation of the p14~ ARF -p53 pathway in colorectal carcinogenesis. METHODS: The homozygous deletions, mutations, methylation of 5′ CpG islands, mRNA expression of p14~ ARF gene and mutations of p53 gene were assessed by PCR, direct sequencing, methylation-specific PCR, and RT-PCR in the tumorous and matched adjacent normal colorectal tissues from 56 patients with colorectal carcinoma. RESULTS: ① p14~ ARF alterations were detected in 27% (15/56) of colorectal carcinoma tissues studied, of which 1 case showed homozygous deletion, 14 cases showed 5′ CpG island methylation, and no mutation was found in any tumor. ②15 colorectal carcinomas with p14~ ARF alterations indicated lack of (13 cases) or at low level of expression (2 cases) of p14~ ARF mRNA, while expression of the p14~ ARF transcript was detected in the remaining 41 colorectal carcinomas and any matched adjacent normal colorectal tissues. ③ The mutations of p53 gene were detected in 48% (27/56) of colorectal carcinomas investigated. ④ Of these 56 cases, 12 had p14~ ARF alterations alone, 24 had p53 mutations alone, 3 had both p53 mutations and p14~ ARF methylation, and 17 had neither. 70% (39/56) of the samples had either or both abnormalities of the two genes, and p14~ ARF hypermethylation was related to wildtype p53 (P

Objective To study the differences in clinical characteristics and etiology in bronchopneumonia and lobar pneumonia,and provide the basis for the clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods A retrospective study was performed on 100 children with lobar pneumonia and 200 children with bronchopneumonia from Dec.2005 to Dec.2007.Antibodies of mycoplasma(MP) and chlamydia(CP) were detected with quantitative enzyme linked immunosorbent assay of serum samples which were collected on addmission.On the second day morning,axenic sputum samples of laryngeapharyngis at pars were collected with onetime asepsis aspiration sputum tube by negative pressure for bacterial culture,and the common seven viruses were detected with direct immunofluorescence,and MP DNA,CP DNA were detected.The results and the clinical data and the characters of sternum were analyzed.Results Lobar pneumonia was more in the elder children,and the features were fever and cough in clinic,absence in physical sign of bellow,and inflammation of one pulmonary lobe in X-ray.Sixty-one percent of childhood lobar pneumonia had MP infection in laboratory examination.But bronchopneumonia was found more in infants and young children,whose features were cough,dyspnea and catarrhus in clinics,wheezy phlegm and stridor in physical sign of bellow,pulmonic shadow of spot and lamellar in X-ray.Bacteria were the most common pathogen in bronchopneumonia.Conclusions Lobar pneumonia was different from bronchopneumonia in age and clinic features and sternum characters of patients,and much more different in etiology.Bacterial infection was important in bronchopneumonia.But in lobar pneumonia,MP infection occupied 61.0%,which was different from traditionaletiology.Moreover,the MP infection rate in infant and young children tend to increase obviously.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal curvature of the cervical spine reflects in large measure the degenerative changes of the cervical vertebrae. OBJECTIVE: The effect of manipulative therapy has been recognized in restoring normal cervical curvature, and aimed to further probe into the effect of this therapy on blood flow velocity in the vertebrobasilar arteries of patients with cervical spondylosis. DESIGN: A non-randomized and controlled concomitant study. SETTING: Departments of Spinal Orthopaedics and General Sugery of a University hospital, and the Outpatient Department of Orthopaedic Institute of a college of Traditional Chinese Medicine. PARTICI PANTS: From January 1999 to December 2001, 60 patients with cervical spondylosis were treated in the Department of Spinal Orthopaedics in Ruikang Hospital, Third Department of Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Outpatient Clinic of Institute of Orthopaedics, Guangxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The patients were divided into spondylosis group with abnormal curvature(30 cases) and spondylosis group without normal curvature(30 cases) . Thirty healthy subjects were also included to serve as the control group.METHODS: Manipulation was applied in these patients and the cervical curvature and blood flow velocity in the left vertebral artery (LVA) and right vertebral artery(RVA) as well as in the basilar artery(BA) were measured before and after the treatment for comparison. The correlation coefficients between them were also calculated.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① The cervical curvature before and after manipulation in spondylosis group and control group; ② The blood flow velocity in maximal systolic phase and end-diastolic phase in the specified arteries.RESULTS: The blood flow velocity in maximal systolic phase and end-diastolic phase decreased in LVA, RVA and BA in patients with abnormal cervical curvature, whose blood velocities in maximal systolic phase in these arteries was less than those in control subjects and patients with normal curvature ( P ＜ 0.05). After manipulation, the velocity in these arteries in creased apparently in patients with abnormal curvature. The changes in systolic velocity in LVA and systolic in BA were correlated to the curvature before manipulation, and after that, the maximal systolic velocity in LVA,maximal systolic velocity in RVA and BA were all related to the changes of the cervical curvature. CONCLUSION: Abnormal cervical curvature is the anatomical basis for abnormalities of the vertebrobasilar arteries. Manipulative therapy can restore the cervical curve and blood flow velocity in these arteries.

Objective To study the expression of Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) and caspase-3 in the intestine of premature rats with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC),and to explore the protective effects and possible regulatory mechanism of glutamine (Gln) in the NEC.Methods Sixty premature rats (gestational age 21 d) were divided into three groups (n = 20 each) according to the random number table: control group,model group and Gln intervention group.Rats in model group were given formula feeding,hypoxia and cold stress.Rats in Gln intervention group were given Gln 0.3 g/kg to the formula feeding,hypoxia and cold stress.All the premature rats were sacrificed and the intestine tissues were obtained on the third day after birth.The histological changes of ileal tissues were scored after HE staining.The expression of TLR-2 and caspase-3 in jejunum,ileum and colon were detected by inmunohistochemistry,and the expression of TLR-2 mRNA in jejunum,ileum and colon were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.Results Pathology score of ileum in model group,Gln intervention group and control group were 3.10 ±0.99,2.40 ± 0.69 and 0.30 ±0.48,respectively.The expressions of TLR-2 protein in ileum were 2.53±0.94,2.15±0.82 and 1.57 ± 0.62 in the three groups respectively,and the expression of caspase-3 protein were 2.83 ± 0.45,2.70 ± 0.04 and 0.91 ± 0.29.The content of TLR2 mRNA in model group was 1.46 times higher than that of Gln intervention group and was 2.10 times higher than that of control group.Compared with the control group,the pathology score,expression of TLR-2 and caspase-3 protein,and TLR-2 mRNA in model group were significantly higher,P＜0.01.However,compared with the model group,those changes were improved in Gln intervention group,P＜0.05.Expression of TLR-2 mRNA positively correlated to the expression of caspase-3 protein (r=0.71,P＜0.01) and pathology score (r = 0.69,P＜ 0.01).Expression of caspase-3 protein positively correlated to the intestine injury pathology score (r=0.81,P＜0.01).Conclusions TLR-2 may be involved in the pathogenesis of NEC.Gln might reduce the expression of TLR-2 in the intestine,and decrease the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells to protect the intestine of preterm birth rats.

BACKGROUND:Retinoid X receptor (RXR) plays a central role in the regulation of intracellular receptor signaling pathways. The activation of RXR has protective effect on H2O2-induced apoptosis of H9c2 ventricular cells in rats. But the protective effect and mechanism of activating RXR in cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced oxidative iniury are stillunclear. METHODS:The model of H/R injury was established through hypoxia for 2 hours and reoxygenation for 4 hours in H9c2 cardiomyocytes of rats. 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis RA) was obtained as an RXR agonist, and HX531 as an RXR antagonist. Cultured cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into four groups:sham group, H/R group, H/R+9-cis RA -pretreated group (100 nmol/L 9-cis RA), and H/R+9-cis RA+HX531-pretreated group (2.5 μmol/L HX531). The cellviability was measured by MTT, apoptosis rate of cardiomyocytes by flow cytometry analysis, and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) by JC-1 fluorescent probe, and protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and cleaved caspase-9 with Western blotting. Allmeasurement data were expressed as mean±standard deviation, and analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the Dunnett test. Differences were considered significant whenP was <0.05. RESULTS:Pretreatment with RXR agonist enhanced cellviability, reduced apoptosis ratio, and stabled ΔΨm. Dot blotting experiments showed that under H/R stress conditions, Bcl-2 protein level decreased, while Bax and cleaved caspase-9 were increased. 9-cis RA administration before H/R stress prevented these effects, but the protective effects of activating RXR on cardiomyocytes against H/R induced oxidative injury were abolished when pretreated with RXR pan-antagonist HX531. CONCLUSION:The activation of RXR has protective effects against H/R injury in H9c2 cardiomyocytes of rats through attenuating signaling pathway of mitochondria apoptosis.

Objective To investigate the effects of hydrogen inhalation on the brain injury after intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in rats.Methods Fifty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6-8 months,weighing 285-350 g,were randomly allocated to one of 3 groups (n =18 each):sham operation group (group S),intestinal I/R group (group I/R) and hydrogen inhalation group (group H2).Intestinal I/R was produced by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery for 90 min followed by reperfusion.2％ hydrogen was inhaled for 3 h starting from the end of ischemia.The cognitive function was detected at 1,2 and 5 days of reperfusion using Morris water maze test.The animals were sacrificed after the test and brains were isolated for detection of the cerebral edema and morphology in brain tissues.The cerebral water content ((wet weight-dry weight)/ wet weight × 100％) was measured.The pathological changes in the prefrontal cortex was observed under light microscope.The neuronal apoptosis was detected by TUNEL.Results Compared with the S group,the number of normal neurons in the prefrontal cortex was significantly decreased,the latency and swimming distance were both prolonged,the frequency of crossing the original platform was decreased,and the cerebral water content and the number of apoptotic neurons were increased in groups I/R and H2 (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with I/R group,the number of normal neurons in the prefrontal cortex was significantly increased,the latency and swimming distance were both shortened,the frequency of crossing the original platform was increased,the cerebral water content and the nunber of apoptotic neurons were decreased in group H2 (P ＜ 0.05).The pathological changes were obvious in I/R group,however,they were significantly attenuated in H2 group.Conclusion H2 inhalation can reduce the brain damage and improve the cognitive dysfunction after intestinal I/R in rats.