RNA has received more attention in the field of forensic medicine and the development of the new biological markers based on RNA shows great significance in the analysis of complex cases. circular RNA (circRNA) is a kind of non-coding RNA which is widely reported recently. Although the regulatory mechanisms of generation and expression are not fully clear, the existing research indicates that circRNA has important biological functions. CircRNA has a cell-type-specific expression with great stability and a high expression level, which makes it meaningful in forensic applications potentially. In this paper, the research progress, the generation and regulation of circRNA as well as its biological characteristics and functions are summarized, which will provide references for related studies and forensic applications.
Forensic Sciences ; Humans ; RNA ; RNA, Circular

Objective To study the rationality and possibility of 64 slice spiral CT in the examination of the temporal bone at low dose.Methods The same CT technique and temporal bone mode as those for clinical CT were used,two cranium specimens(four ears)were scanned with Somatom Sensation 64-slice spiral CT at different mA(380,300,200,160,120,80),and muhi-planar reformation was performed.The CT dose index at different mA groups were measured by 10 cm pencil ionization chamber and head dose phantom.Four anatomic structures on axial images(subarcuate fossa,tendon of tensor tympani, facial recess,etc),four anatomic structures on coronal images(scute,crista transversa,fenestra cochleae, etc)and six anatomic structures on double oblique images(malleus,incus,stirrup bone,upper bony semicircular,etc)were chosen to evaluate and grade the reformation images among different mA groups,and to determine the minimum mA value.Ten ears of five patients were used to test the validity of the minimum mA value.Results CT radiation dose was significantly reduced from(47.8?2.7)to(20.1?2.0)raCy (P

Objective To evaluate the effect of comprehensive intervention on perioperative antimicrobial prophy-laxis in clean incision surgery in a hospital.Methods From 2011 ,clean incision surgery cases were performed com-prehensive intervention,antimicrobial use in 2011 -2013 were compared.Results A total of 5 945 cases of clean in-cision surgeries were investigated between 2011 and 2013,3 827 cases (64.37%)received prophylactic use of anti-microbial agents.Prophylactic antimicrobial usage rates in 2011 -2013 were 84.95%,69.99%,and 52.97% re-spectively(χ2 =380.94,P <0.001);the correct rates of medication time were 50.97%,79.99%,and 98.95% re-spectively(χ2 =827.02,P <0.001 );the percentages of prophylactic antimicrobial use ≤24 hours were 24.91 %, 39.96%,and 64.95% respectively(χ2 =422.55,P <0.001 );additional antimicrobial usage rates during surgery were 50.00%,60.00%,and 80.00% respectively(χ2 =59.47,P <0.001 ).Conclusion The implementation of comprehensive intervention measures can standardize antimicrobial use,reduce prophylactic antimicrobial usage rate,improve the correct rate of medication time,shorten the duration of antimicrobial use,and implement addition-al use of antimicrobial agents during surgery.

Objective To screen differentially expressed genes in placentas with hepatitis B virus (HBV)infection and to discuss the molecular mechanism of HBV intrauterine infection.Methods Thirty placenta tissue specimens from HBsAg and HBV DNA positive pregnant women were used as the study group and 30 placenta tissue specimens from normal pregnant women with HBsAg and HBV DNA negativity were served as the control group.The suppression subtractive hybridization(SSH)technique was used.Total RNAs of placenta tissue of the study group were mixed as the tester,and total RNAs of placenta tissue of the control group were mixed as the driver.A subtractive cDNA library was constructed by PCR-selective cDNA subtraction systems.Amplifications of the library were carried out with E.coil strain DH5? by reverse spot hybridization.RT-PCR confirmed that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)was up-regulated in placenta tissue with HBV infection.Results Colony PCR showed that the clones contained 200-1000 bp inserts. Thirty five clones were confirmed by reverse spot hybridization and analyzed by sequencing and bioinformatics.Thirty three known genes and 2 genes with unknown function were obtained.RT-PCR preliminarily confirmed that PI3K gene was up-regulated in HBV infected placenta.Conclusions The differentially expressed genes in placentas with hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection using SSH technique has been screened out successfully.These differentially expressed genes encoding proteins participating in cell vital metabolism and malformation,and signal conduction-antiapoptosis pathway.This finding brings some new clues for studying the mechanisms of HBV intrauterine infection.

Objective To investigate the effects of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRH- a) and antagonist (GnRH-ant) on cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced ovarian damage in rats.Methods Seventy-two Sprague-Dawley female rats were divided randomly into six groups,which received normal saline (NS),CTX,GnRH-a+NS,GnRH-a+CTX,GnRH-ant+NS,and GnRH-ant+CTX respectively.Levels of serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH),luteinizing hormone (LH) and estradiol (E_2) were measured successively by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method,and half of the rats were killed in the first week and between the fourth and the fifth week after stop of medication,respectively to compare the weight of the ovaries and the number of the primordial follicles and the growth follicles.Results (1) Throughout experiment,the serum levels of FSH,LH and E_2 of the control group fluctuated slightly,while those in the CTX group kept rising.During medication treatment,compared with the control group[(118?16) ?g/L, (350?35) ?g/L] and the CTX group[(113?15) ?g/L,(289?42) ?g/L],the concentrations of LH [(42 ?8)-(47?7) ?g/L,(31?5)-(36?7) ?g/L] and FSH [(124?45)-(136?32)?g/L,(178 ?54)-(198+27)?g/L] in the GnRH-a groups and the GnRH-ant groups were maintained at low levels significantly and the levels of LH in the GnRH-ant groups were significantly lower than that in the GnRH-a groups,but the levels of FSH in the GnRH-ant groups were significantly higher than that in the GnRH-a groups(P0.05),but the levels of FSH,LH and E_2 of the GnRH-ant+CTX group rose obviously and were similar to the levels of the CTX group,especially the FSH,and the levels of LH and FSH of the GnRH- ant + CTX group [(156?12) ?g/L,(520?44) ?g/L] and the CTX group [(178?18) ?g/L,(546?36) ?g/L] were significantly higher than that of the other four groups [(121?15)-(132?13) ?g/L,(335 ?35)-(359?26) ?g/L] at the 4~(th)-5~(th) week after stop of treatment(P0.05),but the number of all kinds of follicles declined significantly in the GnRH-ant+CTX group[(195?15),(36?12)] and the CTX group [(212?11),(36?9)] compared to the other four groups[(302?15)-(690?43),(44?12)-(58?11),P

OBJECTIVETo analyze the genetic polymorphism, distribution of haplotypes, common and well-documented (CWD) and rare alleles of high-resolution HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles by analysis from hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) donors in Jiangsu Han Chinese.

METHODSPCR-sequence-based typing and PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes methods were applied for HLA-A, B and DRB1 high-resolution genotyping of 3238 unrelated healthy donors of hematopoietic stem cells in Jiangsu branch of Chinese National Marrow Donor Program registry.

RESULTS46 alleles of HLA-A,85 HLA-B and 51 HLA-DRB1 locus were found. The frequencies of the most common alleles were A * 11:01 (16.52%), B * 13:02 (11.60%) and DRB1 *07:01 (15.78%). That of the most common haplotype was A * 30: 01-B * 13: 02-DRB1 * 07: 01 (8.87%). 40 alleles of HLA-A,77 alleles of HLA-B, and 47 HLA-DRB1 alleles of HLA-DRB1 were CWD, which account for 99. 8% of total number of samples, and a few rare alleles not reported in Chinese population were found.

CONCLUSIONThe results of high-resolution, CWD and rare alleles showed the characteristics of HLA distribution in Jiangsu Han population, which may be useful for finding HLA matched unrelated donors, as well as for HLA correlation with population genetics and disease association studies.

Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Genotype ; HLA-A Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-DRB1 Chains ; genetics ; Haplotypes ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Tissue Donors

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the safety and the clinical value of external use of jiuyi Powder (JP) in treating plasma cell mastitis using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA).

METHODSTotally 50 patients with plasma cell mastitis treated by external use of JP were observed and biochemical examinations of blood and urine detected before application, at day 4 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Blood mercury and urinary mercury were detected before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Urinary mercury was also detected at 28 after discontinuation and 3 months after discontinuation. The information of wound, days of external application and the total dosage of external application were recorded before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, as well as at day 1 after discontinuation. Then a discriminant model covering potential safety factors was set up by PLSDA after screening safety indices with important effects. The applicability of the model was assessed using area under ROC curve. Potential safety factors were assessed using variable importance in the projection (VIP).

RESULTSUrinary β2-microglobulin (β2-MG), urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), 24 h urinary protein, and urinary α1-microglobulin (α1-MG) were greatly affected by external use of JP in treating plasma cell mastitis. The accuracy rate of PLSDA discriminate model was 74. 00%. The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under ROC curve was 0. 7826, 0. 7037, and 0. 8084, respectively. Three factors with greater effect on the potential safety were screened as follows: pre-application volume of the sore cavity, days of external application, and the total dosage of external application.

CONCLUSIONSPLSDA method could be used in analyzing bioinformation of clinical Chinese medicine. Urinary β2-MG and urinary NAG were two main safety monitoring indices. Days of external application and the total dosage of external application were main factors influencing blood mercury and urine mercury. A safety classification simulation model of treating plasma cell mastitis by external therapy of JP was established by the two factors, which could be used to assess the safety of external application of JP to some extent.

Acetylglucosaminidase ; Alpha-Globulins ; Discriminant Analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Mastitis ; drug therapy ; Plasma Cells ; ROC Curve ; Safety

AIMN-Glycans in recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) are essential to in vivo biological activity. This paper is to develop a method for mapping sialyated or asialyated N-glycans of EPO.

METHODSAt first, N-glycans linked to asparagines in glycoprotein EPO were released by peptide N-glycosidase F. To map asialyated N-glycans, sialic acid in N-glycans were removed by incubating N-glycans with sialidase. Oligosaccharides were labeled with a sensitive fluorescent dye 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (APTS), and all of the labeled oligosaccharides released from EPO were mapped by capillary gel electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence. The relationship between N-glycans and bioactivity of EPO was investigated on the basis of N-glycan mapping spectra.

RESULTSN-Glycans of seven different batches of EPO were mapped. Each sample was analysed twice, with and without sialidase treatment. The results showed that N-glycans of each sample were approximately the same. But when the expression vector was different, the types of N-glycans and their relative content were quite different. In case of asialyated N-glycan mapping, the retention time of each oligosaccharide delayed greatly, and most importantly, the resulted sialic acid peak can be used as a quantitative standard to determine sialic acid content in N-glycans of EPO. In addition, the difference of N-glycan mapping was observed when the in vivo biological activity of EPO was different.

CONCLUSIONThe approach in this article for determining N-glycan mapping can be applied to determine the source of EPO and the difference between each batch. It is also a suitable tool for routinely controlling the inner quality of EPO by coupled with peptide mapping.

Electrophoresis, Capillary ; methods ; Erythropoietin ; chemistry ; Fluorescence ; Lasers ; N-Acetylneuraminic Acid ; analysis ; Peptide Mapping ; Polysaccharides ; analysis ; chemistry ; Recombinant Proteins

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Jinshuibao Capsule (JC) combined losartan potassium on some indices of early renal damage of hypertension patients of yin and yang deficiency syndrome (YYDS), such as levels of serum cystatin C (Cys C), beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), uric acid (UA), blood pressure, blood lipids, and fasting blood glucose (FBG), and to explore their protective effects on early renal damage of hypertension patients and on the metabolisms of blood lipids and blood glucose.

METHODSTotally 106 hypertension patients of YYDS were randomly assigned to two groups, 53 patients in the control group (treated by losartan potassium) and 53 patients in the treatment group (treated by JC + losartan potassium). The treatment lasted for 16 weeks. The serum changes of UA, Cys C, beta2-MG, hs-CRP, blood lipids [including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)], and FBG levels were measured to evaluate the renal protective effects and to assess their effect on the metabolisms of blood lipids and blood glucose.

RESULTSCompared with before treatment in the same group, the systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased in the two groups after treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). The diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was not obviously declined in the two groups after treatment, showing no statistical difference. Compared with before treatment in the same group, the LDL-C level decreased obviously after treatment in the control group. But there was no obvious change in FBG, TC, HDL-C, and TG in the control group, showing no statistical difference when compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The FBG, TC, and LDL-C obviously decreased in the treatment group more obviously after treatment than before treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference when compared with the control group after treatment (P > 0.05). Compared with before treatment in the same group, the levels of UA, Cys C, beta2-MG, and hs-CRP all decreased in the two groups, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The SCr level decreased in the treatment group more obviously after treatment than before treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group after treatment, the levels of Cys C, beta2-MG, and hs-CRP decreased more obviously after treatment in the treatment group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSJC combined losartan potassium showed better effects in treating early renal damage of hypertension patients of YYDS. They could protect and stabilize the renal functions more effectively. JC could regulate blood lipids and blood glucose.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Cystatin C ; blood ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Kidney ; pathology ; Losartan ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Yang Deficiency ; drug therapy ; Yin Deficiency ; drug therapy ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of a new IPS-Empress 2 dental glass-ceramic.

METHODSAFM, SEM and XRD were used to analyze the microstructure and crystal phase of IPS-Empress 2 glass-ceramic. The flexural strength and fracture toughness were tested using 3-point bending method and indentation method respectively.

RESULTSIPS-Empress 2 glass-ceramic mainly consisted of lithium disilicate crystal, lithium phosphate and glass matrix, which formed a continuous interlocking structure. The crystal phases were not changed before and after hot-pressed treatment. AFM showed nucleating agent particles of different sizes distributed on the highly polished ceramic surface. The strength and fracture toughness were 300 MPa and 3.1 MPam(1/2).

CONCLUSIONThe high strength and fracture toughness of IPS-Empress 2 glass ceramic are attributed to the fine lithium disilicate crystalline, interlocking microstructure and crack deflection.

Aluminum Silicates ; chemistry ; Compressive Strength ; Dental Porcelain ; chemistry ; Materials Testing ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Tensile Strength ; X-Ray Diffraction