Objective To observe the changes of β-catenin expression in human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) after induced by oxidative stress, and to explore its possible roles in oxidative stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) of HSFs. Methods Fibroblasts were isolated from the foreskin of a child and subjected to a primary culture. The fibroblasts of second to fourth passage were treated with various concentrations of H2O2 for 2 hours to establish an optimized model of stress-induced premature senescence, β-galactosidase assay kit was used to detect the activity of β-galactosidase in H2O2rinduced HSFs, RT-PCR and Western blot to measure the mRNA and protein expressions of β-catenin in control and senescent HSFs. Results Premature senescence of HSFs could be induced by the treatment with H2O2 of 150 μmol/L for 2 hours. The proportion of β-galactosidase-positive cells was (2.97 ± 0.25)% in control HSFs and (37.67 ± 1.53)% in senescent HSFs (P< 0.01). A significant increase was observed in the β-catenin/GAPDH protein ratio and β-catenin/GAPDH mRNA ratio in control HSFs compared with the senescent HSFs (0.62 ± 0.03 vs. 0.31 ± 0.01, t = 14.97, P < 0.01; 0.59 ± 0.04 vs. 0.29 ± 0.30, t = 10.06, P < 0.01). Conclusions The two-hour treatment with H2O2 of 150 μmol/L could induce the premature senescence of HSFs, and there is a notable decrease in the expression of β-catenin in prematurely senescent HSFs induced by oxidative stress, implying that β-catenin is an important target gene for the regulation of skin aging.

This paper introduces a type of heart sound recording, analysis and processing system based on USB interface. The system consists of high performance sensor sampling heart sounds, the preprocessing circuit, the A/D conversion module and the USB based high-speed computer communications interface. The experiments show that it is noninvasive, convenient, inexpensive and rapid in detecting the cardiac contractility of patients with heart disease as well as of healthy subjects. This system has provided a reliable technical platform for evaluating the cardiac contractility reserve.
Computer-Aided Design ; Equipment Design ; instrumentation ; Heart Sounds ; physiology ; Humans ; Phonocardiography ; instrumentation ; methods ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation

In this case-control study, the relationship between M196R (676 T-->G) variant in exon 6 of tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 ( TNFR2 ) gene and genetic susceptibility of acne vulgaris in Han Chinese was investigated. A total of 93 acne vulgaris patients and 90 healthy subjects from Han Chinese ethnic group were enrolled in this study. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique was adopted to analyze the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TNFR2 M196R gene, and to examine the association between acne vulgaris and the polymorphisms in TNFR2 M196R gene. The relationship between different genotypes and the susceptibility of acne vulgaris was analyzed. The results showed that there was significant difference in the frequency of the genotype M/R+R/R in the TNFR2 M196R genetic polymorphisms between acne vulgaris patients and healthy controls (chi(2)=4.343; P=0.037; OR=1.899; 95% CI: 1.036-3.445); and there was significant difference in the allele (R) frequency between acne vulgaris patients and healthy controls (chi(2)=5.588; P=0.018; OR=1.838; 95% CI: 1.105-3.057). It was concluded that the high frequency of 196R allele in the functional M196R polymorphism of TNFR2 is a risk factor for acne vulgaris in Han Chinese.

In this case-control study,the relationship between M196R(676 T→G)variant in exon6 of tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2(TNFR2)gene and genetic susceptibility of ache vulgaris in Han Chinese was investigated.A total of 93 acne vulgaris patients and 90 healthy subjects from Han Chinese ethnic group were enrolled in this study.Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP)technique was adopted to analyze the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)of TNFR2 M 196R gene,and to examine the association between ache vulgaris and the polymorphisms in TNFR2 M196R gene.The relationship between different genotypcs and the susceptibility of acne vulgaris was analyzed.The results showed that there was significant differencein the frequency of the genotype M/R+R/R in the TNFR2 M196R genetic polymorphisms between acne vulgaris patients and healthy controls(X2=4.343; P=0.037; OR=1.899; 95% CI: 1.036-3.445);and there was significant difference in the allele(R)frequency between acne vulgaris patients and healthy controls(X2=5.588; P=0.018; OR=1.838; 95% CI: 1.105-3.057).It was concluded that the high frequency of 196R allele in the functional M196R polymorphism of TNFR2 is a risk factor for acne vulgaris in Han Chinese.

The use of whole exome sequencing (WES) for the detection of disease-causing variants of genetic diseases and for non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) of fetal aneuploidies are two major clinical applications of next generation sequencing (NGS). This article has summarized the official documents developed and updated by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) on governing WES and NIPS. These include the development of expert consensus policies and position statements on an ongoing basis to guide clinical application of NGS technology and variant analysis, establish evidence-based practical resources, as well as standards and guidelines to govern diagnosis and screening. These ACMG documents are valuable references to Chinese geneticists, but direct adoption of these standards and guidelines may not be practical due to the differences in disease-associated variant frequencies in Chinese population, socioeconomic status, and medical practice between the two countries. It is hoped that this review could facilitate the development of NGS and NIPS standards and guidelines that are consistent with international standards and concordant with medical genetics practice in China to provide high-quality, efficient and safe clinical services for patients and their families with genetic diseases.
China ; Consensus ; Female ; Genomics ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Technology ; United States