The tools used for the literature quality evaluation are introduced. The common evaluation tools that are publicly and extensively used for the evaluation of clinical trial literature quality in the world are analyzed, including Jadad scale, Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement and Grades of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system and the others. Additionally, the present development, updates and applications of these tools are involved in analysis.
Biomedical Research ; standards ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; Publications ; standards ; Quality Control

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Bushen Gujin Recipe (BGR) on serum and synovial expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) model rabbits.

METHODSTotally 36 8-month-old healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the Western medicine group (Meloxicam, at the daily dose of 6 mg/kg), and the TCM group (BGR, at the daily dose of 53 g/kg), 9 in each group. Modeling was performed in all rabbits except those in the normal control group by using Hulth A method. All medication was performed for 8 consecutive weeks. Contents of IL-1 and TNF-α were detected using ELISA from serum, partial synovial tissue of the front knee joint, cartilage and subchondral bone of the medial femoral condyle.

RESULTSThe joint space became narrowed in the Western medicine group, ranging between the model group and the TCM group. The articular surface was rough with obvious osteophytes. The joint space was slightly narrower in the TCM group; the articular surface was slightly rough with mild osteophytes. Compared with the normal control group, contents of IL-1 and TNF-α in serum and synovial increased in the model group (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, contents of IL-1 and TNF-α in serum and the synovial fluid decreased in the two treatment groups (P < 0.01). There was no statistical difference in contents of IL-1 and TNF-α between the Western medicine group and the TCM group.

CONCLUSIONBGR promoted the synthesis of cartilage matrix and carti- lage repair through inhibiting the secretion of IL-1 and TNF-α, and prolonging cartilage degeneration.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Interleukin-1 ; metabolism ; Knee Joint ; Male ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Rabbits ; Synovial Fluid ; Synovial Membrane ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Objective To detect molecular characterization of the promoter and 5′UTR region of ATP7B gene in Chinese children with Wilson disease (WD) and explore the distribution of polymorphisms and mutations in different ethnicity.Methods One hundred and ten patients with WD and 90 healthy children were enrolled into the study and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-single strand configuration polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequence analysis.Results 1.Five polymorphisms were identified as follows, -1294T→G,-105C→G,-116C→T ,-132delGCCGC and -75A→C(transcription start site as +1). The former three ones had never been reported before. The fourth one had not been reported either in China. 2.The polymorphism -132delGCCGC and -75A→C both exhibited with allelic frequency at above 70%, which was much higher than other races. The -132delGCCGC polymorphism shared almost complete linkage disequilibrium with the -75A→C polymorphism (in 98% patients) and their regularity was 96.9%.3. Almost all the polymorphisms distributed in flanking sequence of EXON 1 in Chinese. Race and geological distribution may be dominant factors of the variability of promoter and 5′UTR region of ATP7B gene.Conclusions Three novel polymorphisms and a linkage disequilibrium with the -132delGCCGC and -75A→C were identified in Chinese with WD. It also suggests that the mutation in the promoter of ATP7B is uncommon in Chinese patients.

Technological improvement for microorgnism isolation is important since isolation provides substantial materials for the exploitation of new microbial resources. In this study, a new approach, dispersion and differential cetrifugation (DDC), was applied in the isolation of acidophilic and acidoduric streptomycetes from 12 acid soil samples. Contrast with traditional method, the new approach yielded satisfying results with 2 - 20 times isolation efficiency and good selectivity. 45 representatives out of 249 streptomycetes isolates, which belonged to 12 color groups, showed morphology and cell wall type consistent with streptomycetes. The optimum pH range for their growth were between pH 4.5 - 5.5. It is proved that we succeeded in the rare-streptomycetes isolation using DDC approach.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; metabolism ; Checkpoint Kinase 2 ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Neoplasm Grading ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; metabolism ; Tumor Burden ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism

Abstract: Transfection of Plasmodium falciparum is helpful to study the function of its genes, such as drug resistance. However, transgenic manipulation has been very challenging, mainly due to the high A/T base sequence structure (A+T content of about 82%) and low transfection efficiency of the Plasmodium genome. Electroporation-based transfection of Plasmodium falciparum has been successfully applied in the study of certain genes, and electroporation by preloading is currently the preferred method for introducing foreign DNA into Plasmodium falciparum. The site-directed editing of Plasmodium genes mostly adopts the method of two-plasmid transfection. It is generally believed that successful transfection of Plasmodium requires a large amount of high-purity plasmid DNA and an accurate transfection system. In addition to the evaluation of the current commonly used electrotransfection methods, this paper also introduces a new transfection method, namely lyse-reseal erythrocytes for transfection (LyRET). This paper also review the role of factors such as plasmid DNA concentration, the use of transfection reagents, the setting of transfection parameters, the addition of fresh red blood cells, and the markers of successful transfection in improving the success rate and efficiency of Plasmodium transfection, in the hope of providing a reference for study in this field.

Animals ; Conditioning, Classical ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Fear ; psychology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on serum content of neuronal specific enolase (NSE) and function recovery in patients with cerebral hemorrhage (CH) for exploring the therapeutic action of PNS in treating CH.

METHODSFifty CH patients with their course of disease not more than 5 days were randomly assigned to two groups, 27 in the PNS group and 23 in the control group, all were treated with conventional treatment, while PNS was given additionally to the PNS group. The serum levels of NSE before and after treatment were determined by electrochemiluminescence, and the recovery of patients, including their neuro-function deficit and daily living activity, was assessed according to scoring by the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Barthel Index (BI) respectively.

RESULTSBefore treatment, the difference between the two groups in serum NSE content and scores of NIHSS and BI was insignificant (P > 0.05). However, after 3 weeks of treatment, the level of NSE and score of NIHSS were significantly lower, while score of BI was significantly higher in the PNS group than those in the control group respectively (all P < 0.01). In the PNS group, the level of NSE showed a positive correlation with the score of NIHSS (r = 0.757, P < 0.05), and a negative correlation with the score of BI (r = - 0.803, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPNS can effectively protect the neuron and promote functional rehabilitation in patients after CH.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; blood ; drug therapy ; rehabilitation ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; blood ; Phytotherapy ; Saponins ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

Abstract:Photodynamic therapy(PDT)is a minimal invasive therapy that have been clinically approved for the cancer treatment with selective cell toxicity. When activated by appropriate wavelength of light, photosensitizers transfer the absorbed photon energy to the surrounding molecular oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species, which result in cell death, vessel damage and immune activation of tumor site. This paper summarize the main challenges and recent solutions for PDT application, such as the low tissue penetration of light, toxicity induced by nonspecific accumulation of skin and poor PDT effect of hypoxia tumor.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of detecting of Y-STR of fetal DNA in maternal plasma using Ion Torrent PGM™ System. METHODS: A total of 16 fetal DNA samples from maternal plasmas (8 cases from 38 weeks gestational age and 8 ones from 12 weeks) were prepared and a multiplex assay with 7 STR loci (DYS390, DYS391, DYS393, DYS438, DYS437, DYS456, DYS635) was designed for multiplex-PCR amplification. Using Ion Torrent PGM™ System, the results of Y-STR sequences and capillary electrophoresis were obtained and compared. RESULTS: Y-STR specific alleles were detected in the maternal plasma of all the pregnant women having male babies of second and third trimester, which were higher than that detected by capillary electrophoresis. Consistent Y-STR genotypes were observed between fetal DNA from maternal plasma and genomic DNA from the newborn babies. CONCLUSION Based on Ion Torrent PGM™ System, the prenatal Y-STR detection method may provide a high-sensitive and high-throughput choice for prenatal STR detection in forensic testing.
Alleles ; Chromosomes, Human, Y/genetics* ; DNA/blood* ; Family ; Female ; Fetal Blood/chemistry* ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Pregnancy ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sex Determination Analysis ; Tandem Repeat Sequences/genetics*