Objective To investigate the value of soluble epithelial cadherin(sE-cad)in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion. Methods Patients were divided into malignant pleural effusion group,infective pleural effusion group and transudation group.sE-cad in pleural fluids obtained during the first thoracocentesis was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The concentration of sE-cad in all kinds of pleural effusions was compared.The cut-off value of sE-cad for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusion was determined by ROC curve.The diagnostic value of sE-cad was also compared with common tumor markers such as CEA,CA199,CA125 and NSE.Results The concentration of sE-cad was significant higher in the malignant pleural effusion than in the benign pleural effusion[(38.38?4.15)ng/mL vs(14.17?0.80)ng/mL,P

The author analyzes the basic information in recent years,including overall students scale,students' age,application trends,etc.Some suggestions are made,regarding to recruiting plan,applicant qualification,recruiting mode,etc,in order to further improve the recruiting and graduate management.

To evaluate the effect of Vitamin E on mitoc bond rial function of cold exposed rats male weaning rats were divided randomly into three groups. The group A was supplemented with 30 mg ?-tocopherol and 15?g sodium selenite per 100gm basal diet. The group B and C were fed basal diet on- ly. The group A and B were kept at the cold room (-2?1℃) and the group C kept at room temperature. Liver mitochondria were isolated for measurement of its respiratory function. Succinate was utilized as substrates of oxidative phosphorylation. Respiration rates of state 3 oxygen uptake and therefore ATP synthesis were found to increase with Vitamin E supplemented diet. Significantly less decline of ADP/O ratios and RCR was observed for group A than that of group B. These results suggest that Vitamin E has the effect of maintaining the physiological intactness of mitochondria of the cold exposed rats, and therefore may enhance the metabolic conservation of energy with the consequence of increasing the ability of cold tolerance of the cold exposed animals.

OBJECTIVEThis paper aims to develop a monoclonal antibodies (MAbs)- based ELISA for detecting Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) antigens in humans with the variable domains (VD) 2 and 3 of the major outer membrane protein (MOMPVD2-VD3) and to assess its sensitivity and specificity by comparing with a widely used MAb that is able to recognize the elementary bodies of C. pneumoniae.

METHODSMOMPVD2-VD3 were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Mice were immunized with the recombinant antigen, and hybridomas secreting MAbs were screened. Three stable hybridomas clones were selected and named 5D6, 7G3, and 8C9. The MAbs-based ELISA was scrutinized for species-specific recognition with a number of human throat swab samples from Group I (156 patients with typical respiratory illness clinically confirmed before) and Group II (57 healthy donors).

RESULTSIn Group I, 55 positive cases were detected by anti-EB MAb-based ELISA, 51 cases were positive by MAbs 5D6-based ELISA, and 33 and 38 cases were positive by MAb 8C9 and 7G3-based ELISA respectively. Of the 57 samples from Group II "healthy donors", 5 were positive and 52 were negative with both anti-EB and 5D6-based tests, while 2 and 3 positive cases were identified by the other two MAb-based ELISAs respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe novel MOMPVD2-VD3 MAb-based assay may have higher specificity than the anti-EB MAb, which may possibly be used as an alternative tool for the diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infection.

Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins ; immunology ; Chlamydophila Infections ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae ; isolation & purification ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; methods ; Humans ; Mice ; Protein Structure, Tertiary

The study was purposed to analyze DNA and allele structure of the partial D phenotypes D(Va) and D(VI) of the Rhesus blood group in Chinese. Through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct genomic DNA sequencing, the RHD gene was detected in three weak D individuals identified serologically. The results showed that among the three weak D individuals, one was identified as partial D phenotype D(Va) (Hus) type and genotyped DccEe; another two were testified as D(VI) III type and genotyped DCcee. Moreover, the breakpoints of the replaced region by RHCE in D(Va) (Hus) were 5' end of the exon 5 and 3' end of the intron 5, and there were 7 novel polymorphisms in intron 5: 23-25(GCA)2, 98G>A, 168-169insG, 205-206insT, 494-495insA, 1256-1257insC, 1347G>T. In conclusion the whole exon 5 and intron 5 are replaced by RHCE in D(Va) (Hus) detected in Chinese.
China ; Exons ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Introns ; genetics ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Silkworm is a holometabolous insect of Lepidoptera. During metamorphosis, significant morphological changes happen including the dissociation of old tissues and remodeling of new tissues. It has been reported that cathepsins are involved in these processes. Cathepsin is a kind of intracellular proteinase that exists in many species. It includes some subfamilies like cathepsin B, H and L. The studies on cathepsin are useful for clarifying the details of silkworm metamorphosis process. In total, 13 cathepsins were identified by screening the silkworm genome database. The basic information and the expression patterns about these genes were analyzed. Interestingly, an ovary-specific cathepsin L gene (Gene ID: BGIBMGAOO4622) was investigated by the data of silkworm microarray and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The full-length cDNA is 1,209 bp, encoding a protein with 402 amino acids. Sequences alignment revealed that it has a high sequence similarity with cathepsin L of other species, and it is highly conserved in the active-site of the enzyme. The phylogenetic analysis showed that ovary-specific cathepsin L is clustered with other lepidopterous insects. Furthermore, this gene was cloned and prokaryotic expressed. Recombinant protein was present in inclusion body. Importantly, the qPCR result showed that the expression level of this gene is increasing during the early stage of pupal development and reaches the highest value at the 3rd day of pupal stage, which suggests that this gene may be involved in the process of development of the ovary and oocyte.
Animals ; Bombyx ; genetics ; Cathepsins ; genetics ; Insect Proteins ; genetics ; Phylogeny

Epmedii Folium is a commonly used traditional Chinese drug, and is beneficial for the "liver" and "kidney" s function in Chinese medicine. Recently, the origin of this drug is more complex. Most of the identification studies are emphasized on the species certified by the pharmacopoeia and other related species from the same genus of Epimedium, but few was emphasized on the counterfeit. In this paper, one counterfeit of Epmedii Folium, identified as the dried leaf of Quercus variabilis (Fam. Fagaceae), has been reported based on field investigation, comparing specimen of Epmedii Folium and Q. variabilis,using the macroscopic, microscopic and TmC methods. It is resulted that they could be identified clearly not only by the macroscopic features, such as the vein character and the tooth apex, but also by the microscopic features, such as the vascular bundles of the midrib, the non-glandular hair, the anticlinal wall of the epidermis cell and the calcium oxalate crystal. Furthermore their TLC chromatograms showed also difference. This study will give reference for the identification of Epmedii Folium and the related supervision and inspection work.
China ; Discriminant Analysis ; Epimedium ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; Quercus ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry

Diagnosis, Differential ; Ependymoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Hemangioblastoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Meningeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Meningioma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Vimentin ; metabolism

The chemical constituents isolated from Desmodium species (Leguminosae) included terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids compounds. Modem pharmacological studies have showed that the Desmodium species have antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, diuretic, antipyretic, analgesic and choleretic activity. This article mainly has reviewed the research advances of chemical constituents and biological activities of Desmodium species since 2003.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Fabaceae ; chemistry ; Humans