Objective To explore the effect of brain derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) on the birth weight and the brain weight of newborn rats with intrauterine growth retardation(IUGR).Methods Female and male Sprague-Dawley rats were mated together and the vaginal plug formation after mating was for pregnancy diagnosis.The day when the plug was observed was considered day 1 of gestation.Then,the pregnant rats were divided into IUGR group and sham surgery group.On day 17 of gestation,the uterine arteries of pregnant rats in IUGR group were clamped for 30 min by blood vessel forceps after abdominal cavity with clamping blood uessels was opened.The pegnant rats in sham surgery group only had abdominal cavity opened without clamping blood vessels.Then the pegnant rats in IUGR group received 9 g/L saline(IUGR group) or BDNF 1 ?g injected in the rat through caudal veins for 5 days after surgery(BDNF intervention group).After vaginal birth,the weight of newborn rats and their brain weigh were measured and analyzed.Results Compared with the sham surgery group,the birth weight and brain weight of IUGR group group rats decreased by 24.9% and 17.3%,respectively,the results were significant(Pa

A total of 152 strains of endophytic fungi were isolated from the barks of Eucommia ulmoides in three regions (Lueyang country, Zunyi country, Cili country). Based on morphological characteristics and analysis of ITS sequences, these strains were identified into 8 genera. Thereinto Phomopsis, Diaporthe and Alternaria were common genera to Eucommia barks from different sites. But the dominant genus was different: Alternaria was the dominant genus in the barks from Cili country, and Phomopsis was the dominant genus from Zunyi country, then Diaporthe was the one from Lueyang country. According to the similarity coefficient, the composition of the endophytic fungi was distinctly different between the barks from three sites. The diversity and species richness in Lueyang country and Cili country were found higher than those in Zunyi country. The evenness of endophytic fungi was 0.936 5 in Lueyang county, which was higher than 0.737 1 or 0.641 0 in Cili county or Zunyi county, respectively. After phylogenic analysis and calculating the genetic distances of typical strains belong to Phomopsis and its perfect stage--Diaporthe, there was very high genetic diversity in the two genera from our study. In conclusion, the community structure and diversity of endophytic fungi were significant different in Eucommia barks from the three habitats.
DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; DNA, Intergenic ; genetics ; Ecosystem ; Endophytes ; classification ; physiology ; Eucommiaceae ; microbiology ; Fungi ; classification ; genetics ; physiology ; Phylogeny ; Plant Bark ; microbiology

Objective:To observe the effect of liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method on the resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) in rats with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),and to provide evidence for the effect mechanism study and clinical application of acupuncture intervention for PTSD.Methods:Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank control group,a model group,a grasping group,a paroxetine group and an acupuncture group,with 12 rats in each group.Except for rats in the blank control group,rats in the other groups were subjected to preparing the PTSD models using 'incarceration plus electric shock' method.After interventions,changes in rat behavior of each group were observed;changes in resting-state EEG were collected and analyzed with multichannel EEG acquisition and analysis system,and image analysis and statistical processing were performed.Results:Compared with the blank control group,the average escape latency in the model group was significantly longer (P＜0.05),and the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas were all significantly reduced (P＜0.01).Compared with the grasping group,the average escape latencies in the paroxetine group and acupuncture group were significantly shortened (P＜0.05),and the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas were all significantly increased (P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in the average escape latency,the times of crossing the platform and the effective areas between the acupuncture group and paroxetine group (all P＞0.05).Compared with the blank control group,the α-wave power spectrum value in the model group was significantly decreased,and the power spectrum values of β-wave,δ-wave and a-wave were significantly increased (all P＜0.01);compared with the grasping group,α-wave power spectrum values in the paroxetine group and acupuncture group were significantly increased (both P＜0.01),and the power spectrum values of β-wave,δ-wave and a-wave were decreased significantly (all P＜0.01).The power spectrum values of α-wave,β-wave,δ-wave and (e)-wave of rats in the acupuncture group were not significantly different from those in the paroxetine group (all P＞0.05).Conclusion:Liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method can significantly improve the abnormal EEG activity in PTSD rats,which may be one mechanism of liver-soothing and mind-regulating acupuncture method in effectively affecting the brain function in PTSD rats.

Objective To examine the prevalence,disease spectrum of non-communicable chronic diseases and its risk factors among the elderly residents in Xiamen.Methods The elderly residents aged 60 or over in Xiamen were selected by stratified randomly sampling to analyze the spectrum of chronic disease.The data were analyzed by x2 test,trend x2 test and unconditional logistic regression.Results A total of 14292 elderly were investigated.The prevalence of chronic diseases was 63.3 ％.With the age increasing,the prevalence was also increased,the female residents had a higher prevalence compared with male,and the city was higher than the rural area(P ＜0.001).While suffering from two or more chronic diseases accounted for 31.9 ％.The top 5 of the most prevalent chronic diseases were osteoarthritis (30.5 ％),hypertension (30.1％),diabetes mellitus (9.7 ％),heart disease (7.9 ％),and gastrointestinal disease (7.6％).Sex,age,residence,marital status,loneliness,self-rated health are the influencing factors of the elderly in Xiamen.Conclusion More attention should be paid to the impact of osteoarthritis,hypertension,diabetes,heart disease and gastrointestinal gallbladder disease on the health of the elderly,especially osteoarthritis,and targeted to multiple chronic diseases comprehensive prevention and control and management.

Objective To study the effects of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B)decoy oligodeoxynucleotide(ODN)on the preeclamptic umbilical serum induced expression of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA and tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?)in cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMC).Methods Primary cultured HUASMC of normal pregnancy were divided into four groups: group A(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of normal pregnancy);group B(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group C(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B cis decoy ODN 48 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group D(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B scramble ODN 24 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia).NF-?B cis decoy ODN and NF-?B scramble ODN were transfected with cationic lipofectamine to the latter two groups,respectively.The proliferation of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and the apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA were detected by RT-PCR,the expression levels of TNF-? were detected by western blot.Results(1)The proliferation of group B(0.19?0.02)and group D(0.18?0.03)was significantly increased as compared with those of group A(0.11?0.02)and group C(0.14?20.02)(P0.05).(5)The expression of TNF-? of group B(0.74?0.11),group C(0.36?0.09)and group D(0.79?0.12)were significantly higher than that of group A(0.15?0.03)(P0.05).Conclusions NF-?B cis decoy ODN could down-regulate the proliferation,as well as the expression levels of precollagen and TNF-? of HUASMC induced by umbilical serum of preeclampsia.NF-?B may play an important role in the pathogenesis of placental artery abnormalities in preeclampsia.

Objective To evaluate the expression of Toll-like receptor(TLR)on the monocyte- derived dendritic cells(DC)from chronic hepatitis B(CHB)patients and to analyze the expression pro- file and significance of the TLR such as TLR3,TLR4,TLR?,TLR8 and TLRg,which are associat- ed with immune response to viral infection.Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cell(PBMC) centrifugated by the hydroxyethyl starch(HES)centrifugation were cultured and induced into DC by granulocyte-maerophage colony stimulating factor(GM-CSF)and interleukin-4(IL-4),and their mor- phology and phenotype were detected by the inverted microscope and flow cytometry respectively. Monocyte-derived DC were obtained from 10 chronically hepatitis B virus(HBV)-infected patients and 15 healthy volunteers.TLR3,TLR4,TLR7,TLRS,TLR9 expression on immature and mature DC were analyzed by FACS Calibur.DC was pulsed with HBcAg on day 3 and 5,then DC maturation and ability to process HBcAg and to stimulate autogeneic T cells were evaluated.Results Monocyte- derived DC developed different TLR expression patterns as they went through different maturation stages.TLR7,TLR8 expressions on immature DC and TLR3,TLR7 expressions on mature DC were lower in CHB than in control(for TLR7,TLR8 expression on immature DC:75.9%,1.0%vs 98.4%,15.4%,P

Objective To establish a method for detecting HBV cccDNA in hepatocytes of chronic hepatitis B patients.Method 21 liver biopsies from the hepatic operation patients in the hospital of jiangsu province,concluding 19 HBV chronic infected patients (10 HBeAg positive patients and 9 HBeAg negative patients) and 4 uninfected patients,HBV DNA(+) serum of hepatitis B patients was thought as rcDNA.To use proteinase K to release HBV cccDNA and genomic DNA,then divide the cell lysis solution into two parts,one for detecting HBV cccDNA,the other for detecting the number of ?-Globin as internal control. Nucleic acid for detecting HBV cccDNA extracted by phenol-chloroform was digested by plasmid-safe ATP dependent DNase which was applied to digest the single strand DNA in rcDNA and ssDNA,then was quantitated by the primers spanning across the nick and SYBR Green Ⅰ dye.The specifity of PCR production was confirmed by the sequence analysis and rcDNA comparison.The significance of the difference of HBV cccDNA level between HBeAg(+) and HBeAg(-) group was analyzed by two group t test.Results The agarose gelelectrophoresis showed the molecular weight of the PCR production was about 350bp.The coincidence rate of PCR production and goal fragement was nearly 99% by sequence analysis.The result of PCR detection of rcDNA group was negative.The positive rate of HBV cccDNA of liver biopsies of HBeAg (+) patients detected by this method was 100%,the level of HBV cccDNA in the liver biopsies of HBeAg (+) patients was higher than HBeAb(+) patients.Conclusions The specificity of the method is proved by agarose electrophoresis,gene sequencing of the PCR product and rcDNA comparison.The quantitative method that use SYBR Green Ⅰ dye and ?-Globin as internal control is more specific,sensitive and economical,and more suitable for clinical purpose.

Chloroplast genetic engineering, offers several advantages over nuclear transformation, including high level of gene expression, increased biosafety, remedying some limitations associated with nuclear genetic transformation, such as gene silencing and the stability of transformed genes. It is now regarded as an attractive new transgenic technique and further development of biotechnology in agriculture. In this article we reviewed the characteristics, applications of chloroplast genetic engineering and its promising prospects were discussed.
Biotechnology ; methods ; Chloroplasts ; genetics ; Genetic Engineering ; methods ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; Transformation, Genetic

Nogo is widely expressed in higher vertebrate animals. Nogo gene gives rise to multiple isoforms. All the subtypes of Nogo proteins are characterized by a 200-amino-acid C-terminal domain, including two long hydrophobic sequences. Biological functions of Nogo include inhibition of neurite growth from the cell surface via specific receptors, intracellular trafficking, cell division and apoptosis. Here, we briefly review the elementary structure, taxonomic distribution and tissue expression of Nogo, summarize recent discoveries about localization of Nogo and mechanism of action, and discuss the possible functions of Nogo.

The syndrome differentiation standardization of Chinese medicine and treatment technologies is the premise of Chinese medicine's entry into the world. But its individualized diagnosis and therapeutic features are contrary to the specification of standardization. The achievement and existent problems in syndrome differentiation standardization of Chinese medicine and treatment technologies were summarized in this paper. The thinking ways and recommendations to solve were proposed as well.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; standards