China ; Food Safety ; Risk Assessment

Aged ; Anthracosis ; physiopathology ; Autonomic Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Death, Sudden ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

AlM: To analyze personality traits in preoperative patients who undergolaser in situ keratomileusis ( LASlK) and to provide psychological basis for the selection of refractive surgery.
METHODS: Eligible patientswere seeking customized LASlK (group A n=53), conventional LASlK(group B n=75)and non-operation patients with ametropia (group C n=71 ) , who completed 16 personality factor questionnaires (16PF). Statistical analyses were performed with one-way ANOVA by SPSS11. 0 software package.
RESULTS: Compared to group C, patients in group A scored high on dominance and tension levels, and low on emotional stability level(P<0. 05), while patients in group B were more venturesome and more experimenting, but were less vigilant ( P<0. 05 ). Additionally, there were statistical differences between group A and group B on dominance, gallantry and vigilance respectively(P<0. 05). CONCLUSlON: The data indicates that personality profiles of LASlK patients with refractive error influence their decision for correction. Patients need suitable psychological assessment before surgery who actively chose customized LASlK seem to be more assertive and suspicious.

By non-steady method,the effective diffusivity of ferrous sulphate within alginate calcium gel entrapped without bacteria was measured.Meanwhile the oxidation ability of entrapped bacteria was analyzed.Experimental results showed that the effective diffusion coefficient of ferrous sulphate decreased with the increase of alginate concentration,the optimum alginate concentration is 2%(W/V).The effect of calcium chloride on the effective diffusivity was neglectable.The incubation of ferrooxidans would pass through 10 hours,and the diffusion coefficient within gel entrapped Thiobacillus ferrooxidans cells was less remarkably than that of ferrous sulphate without entrapped cells.For the entrapped cells,the absolute oxidation time was shortest and the rate change was fastest with the initial Fe concentration 5g/L.The absolute oxidation time was same when the initial Fe concentration was 8g/L and 10g/L.

Objective:To study the enhancing effect of bFGF-targeted antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotide (APO)on the chemosensitivity of human laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell line Hep2 to Doxorubicin,5-Fluorouracil, and Cisplatin.Methods:bFGF-specific APO was designed,constructed and transfected into Hep2 cells with jetPEI (polyethyleneimine).Expression of bFGF mRNA was evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR after transfection;immuno- cytochemical method was used to examine the expression of bEGF expression before and after transfection of Hep2;the in- duction of cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry;cell proliferation was then analYzed by MTT assay after treatment with bFGF-specific APO or chemotherapeutic drugs,or a combination of both.Results:bFGF-specific APO inhibited the growth of Hep2 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner,with the peak inhibitory rate being 25.5%.The expression of bFGF mRNA and protein decreased by 52.0% and 41.1%,respectively.The apoptosis rate of Hep2 cells was 20.5% after transfection,bFGF-specifie APO reduced the 50% inhibitory concentration of Doxorubicin,5-Fluorouracil,and Cis- platin in Hep2 cells by 75.5%,83.5% and 65.4%,respectively.Conclusion:bFGF-specific APO can enhance the chemosensitivity of Hep2 cells,which paves a new way for potential biologic chemotherapy of laryngeal squamous carcino- ma.

Objective To explore the predictive value of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) for contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) after emergency percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients with relative normal renal function.Methods A total of 73 patients with relative normal renal function undergoing PCI were enrolled in this prospective multicenter clinical study.Serum NGAL was measured by point-of-care test.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of NGAL for CI-AKI.Results CI-AKI occurred in 5 patients (6.85％).The concentration of NGAL was higher in the CI-AKI group than in the non-CI-AKI group.ROC curve indicated that the area under the receiver operating characteristic was 0.755,0.761 and 0.809,respectively.Conclusions Serum NGAL at baseline,4 h and 8 h after procedure are served as a good biomarker for early diagnosis of CI-AKI after PCI.Therefore,NGAL might become an early and quick marker for CI-AKI in the future.

OBJECTIVETo detect cadmium in environmental and food samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICPAES).

METHODSAn indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IC-ELISA) was developed based on a cadmium-specific monoclonal antibody. IC-ELISA for cadmium in environmental and food samples was evaluated.

RESULTSIC-ELISA showed an IC50 of 45.6 microg/L with a detection limit of 1.95 microg/L for cadmium, and showed a mean recovery ranging 97.67%-107.08%. The coefficient of variations for intra- and interassay was 3.41%-6.61% and 4.70%-9.21%, respectively. The correlation coefficient between IC-ELISA and GFAAS was 0.998.

CONCLUSIONIC-ELISA can detect and quantify cadmium residue in environmental or food samples.

Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Cadmium ; chemistry ; Environmental Pollutants ; chemistry ; Food Contamination ; analysis ; Immunoassay ; methods ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), the pathogenic agent of black rot disease in cruciferous plants, produces large amount of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), which has found wide applications in industry. For the great commercial value of the xanthan gum, many of the genes involved in EPS biosynthesis have been cloned and the mechanism of EPS biosynthesis also has been studied. In order to clone genes involved in EPS biosynthesis, Xcc wild-type strain 8004 was mutagenized with transposon Tn5 gusA5, and a number of EPS-defective mutants were isolated in our previous work. The Tn5 gusA5 inserted sites of these mutants were located by using thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR, and results showed that two EPS-defective mutants were insertion mutants of the gene wxcA which involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis. The gene wxcA involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis but dose not extracellular polysaccharide in others' report. wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant 021C12, the polar mutant, was complemented with recombinant plasmid pLATC8570 harboring an intact wxcA gene in this work, but the yield of EPS of the wxcA::Tn5 gusA5 mutant was not restored. In order to identify the function of wxcA gene of Xcc 8004 strain, the gene wxcA was deleted by gene replacement strategy, and the no-polar mutant of wxcA was obtained. DeltawxcA mutant strain, named Xcc 8570, was confirmed by using both PCR and southern analysis. Beside the LPS biosynthesis of deltawxcA mutant was affected, The EPS yield of deltawxcA mutant strain reduced by 50% as compared with the wild-type strain 8004. DeltawxcA mutant could be complemented in trans with the intact wxcA gene, and the EPS yield of the mutant was restored. The combined data showed that wxcA gene not only involved in LPS biosynthesis but also EPS yield in Xcc 8004 strain.
Cell Proliferation ; Genes, Bacterial ; physiology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; biosynthesis ; Mutation ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; biosynthesis ; Xanthomonas campestris ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo screen metronidazole (MTZ) -resistance associated gene fragments of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) by suppression subtractive hybridization(SSH).

METHODSThe suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to screen the different DNA fragments between MTZ-resistant and -susceptible clinical strains of H.pylori. The resistant strains specific gene fragments were obtained by SSH and identified by dot blotting.

RESULTAmong the 120 subtractive colonies which were randomly chosen, 37 DNA fragments were different (>or=2 times) in DNA-copy numbers between resistant and susceptible strains and 17 of them were significantly different (>or=3 times). These 17 DNA fragments were sequenced subsequently. Ten of them were new sequences and the other 7 were duplicated sequences. These sequences represented respectively: depeptide ABC transporter periplasmic dipeptide-binding protein (dppA), permease protein (dppB), et al.

CONCLUSIONGene fragments specific to MTZ-resistant H. pylori strains were obtained by SSH and these genes may associated with MTZ-resistance of H.pylori.

Anti-Infective Agents ; pharmacology ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Bacterial ; chemistry ; genetics ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; genetics ; Helicobacter pylori ; drug effects ; genetics ; Humans ; Metronidazole ; pharmacology ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization ; methods ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

To explore the angiotensin peptide [Ang (1-7)]-mediated inhibition of Ang II in human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and determine the involvement of the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis. The human HSC line, LX2, was used in all experiments, and divided into control (unstimulated) and Ang II-stimulated (10-6 mol/L) groups. The Ang II-stimulated cells were further divided among several pre-treatment (prior to Ang II) groups: ROCK-inhibited (Y27632 blocking agent, 10-6 mol/L); irbesartan-inhibited (AT-1 receptor antagonist, 10-6 mol/L); and Mas receptor-inhibited (A779 Mas receptor antagonist, 10-6 mol/L). To explore the potential inhibitory effects of various Ang family members, the Ang II-stimulated and pre-treated LX2 cells were exposed to Ang (1-7) (10-6 mol/L) for 24 h. Western blot, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and QuantiGene assay were used to assess changes in protein and mRNA expression levels of RhoA, ROCK, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Compared with the control group, Ang II-stimulated cells showed significantly increased levels of RhoA protein (0.337+/-0.074 vs. 0.870+/-0.093), ROCK2 mRNA (0.747+/-0.061 vs. 0.368+/-0.023), and CTGF mRNA (0.262+/-0.007 vs. 0.578+/-0.028) (all, P less than 0.01). Pre-treatment with irbesartan or Y27632 eliminated these responses. Ang (1-7) inhibited the Ang II-stimulated up-regulation of RhoA, ROCK, and CTGF. Ang (1-7) can inhibit the Ang II-stimulated up-regulation of RhoA, ROCK and CTGF in hepatic stellate cells, indicating that the ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis, an important branch of the renin-Ang-aldosterone system is involved in the occurrence and development of liver fibrosis.
Angiotensin I ; pharmacology ; Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Peptide Fragments ; pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Signal Transduction ; rho-Associated Kinases ; metabolism ; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein ; metabolism