BACKGROUND:To prepare glucose-responsive microcapsules which can control insulin release as changing the glucose concentration in the medium is of great significance to control the occurrence and development of diabetes mel itus. OBJECTIVE:To study the performance of glucose-responsive alginate/modified-chitosan/alginate microcapsules carryingβ-TC3 cells. METHODS:Glucose-responsive alginate/modified-chitosan/alginate microcapsules were prepared by layer-by-layer self-assembly method to evaluate the performance. And the glucose-responsive microcapsules carryingβ-TC3 cells were prepared to observe the cel proliferation within the microcapsules. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The integrity rate of glucose-responsive alginate/modified-chitosan/alginate microcapsules could be 95%after 48 hours oscil ation, and the hardness of microcapsules lowered, but the elasticity increased. The permeability test showed that microcapsules intercepted macromolecular substances such as bovine serum albumin and immuno-globulin G. The microcapsules could release more insulin with the increase of glucose concentration. As described above, the glucose-responsive alginate/modified-chitosan/alginate microcapsules had good mechanical strength, immunoisolation effect and glucose sensitivity. Theβ-TC3 cells entrapped in the glucose-responsive microcapsules could grow wel and the peak of cel proliferation lagged behind as compared with non-microencapsulated cells, indicating the glucose-responsive microcapsules had good biocompatibility.

Objective:To establish the fingerprints of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae from different origins with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)technology,which was furthermore applied in the quality comparison of plant resource.Methods:In this method,C1 8column(4.6mm?250 mm)was used with the mobile phase containing acetonitrile-water for gradient elution,acetonitrile(A):0-15min,75%;15-20min,75%-95%;20-35min,95%;35-40min,95%-75%;40-50min,75%,flow rate 1 mL/min and wave length 220nm.Results:The HPLC fingerprints of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae from different origins were established and the correlated coefficients of each were calculated.9 common peaks were determined in HPLC chromatogram,three of them were identified as atractylenolideⅢ,Ⅰand atractylon respectively.Conclusion:The method was simple,reproducible and can be used as plant resource selection and quality control of Rhizoma Atractylodis macrocephalae.

Nano-materials are immensely applied in piezoelectric, electrochemical, optical, magnetic biosensors based on clearly unique nature of it. The important role of nano-materials in biosensors is expounded and the latest application of novel functional nano -materials in biosensor is introduced emphatically, such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanowires, quantum dots and nanofibers. The researches make clear that nano-materials can provide momentous value in enhancing performance of biosensors, such as sensitivity, detection range, and repetitiveness of biosensors, as immobilization materials or carriers.

OBJECTIVE: In order to understand the effect of stimulator of Fe transport(SFT) on Fe metabolism and its abnormality(absence or overloading),this study reviews the research development of SFT at home and abroad and focused on the relationship among expression,structure,physiological function,expressing controlling and expressing abnormality with brain iron metabolism.DATA SOURCES: Electronic literature search of NCBI related to SFT was performed using the terms "stimulator of iron transport" or "stimulator of Fe transport",and the language was restricted in English. And simultaneously CNKI database was searched with the word "brain iron metabolism" and"stimulator of Fe transport" in Chinese from January 1997 to October 2004.STUDY SELECTION: Articles that reported the structure,expression regulation of SFT and its relationship to brain iron metabolism diseases were included.DATA EXTRACTION: Twenty pieces of SFT-related literatures and 1300pieces of literatures related to brain iron metabolism were found,among which 21 pieces were included.DATA SYNTHESIS: From the 21 pieces of literatures,the structure,distribution,biological function,expression regulation of SFT and its relationship with brain iron metabolism were mainly discussed.CONCLUSION: SFT can stimulate both transferrin- and nontransferrin-bound iron uptake. The expression of SFT can be regulated transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally,mainly regulated in response to different cellular iron levels. So SFT plays an important role in brain iron metabolism.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between lifestyle and development of Alzheimer's disease(AD).Methods Two hundred and thirty-eight AD patients(102 males and 136 females) and 476 healthy controls(204 males and 272 females) were recruited from Ningbo communities into this 1 ∶ 2 matched case-control study.Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE) and Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR) were required to fill in.Chi-square test and conditional logistic regression were used for data analysis.We adopted Epidata 3.1 to establish the database and did statistical analysis by SPSS15.0.The count data were analysis by Chi-square test,meanwhile multiple factors analysis by conditional Logistic regression analysis.Results Through single factor analysis we found thatcigarette ≥20/day(F=8.687,P=0.003),children visiting(F=22.721,P＜0.05),friendship(F=16.784,P＜0.05),family gathering(≥1 times/week)(F=8.198,P=0.004),working after retirement(F=33.099,P＜0.05),travel(F=16.784,P＜0.05),social activities(F=24.919,P＜0.05),physical exercises(F=24.404,P＜0.05),eating pickles or pickled products(F=6.662,P=0.01),saturated fatty acid intake(F=23.069,P＜0.05),daily consumption of fruits and vegetables(F=8.401,P=0.004),chess(F=17.365,P＜0.05),reading(≥30 min/d)(F=36.390,P＜0.05),using computer(F=8.688,P=0.003) were related AD,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).In multiple factors analysis,social activities,chess games or joke,travelling,working after retirement,reading,physical exercises,friendship,family gathering,saturated fatty acid intake and daily consumption of fruits and vegetables were risk factors of AD(odds ratio(OR) values were 0.571(0.342-0.753),0.623(0.343-0.889),0.686(0.461-0.942),0.534(0.326-0.714),0.276(0.175-0.438),0.538(0.336-0.738),0.585(0.385-0.765),0.466(0.316-0.745),0.527 (0.368-0.787) and 0.482(0.316-0.665),respectively; constant terms:OR=0.526).Conclusion A positive and leisure lifestyle and health reasonable diet could effectively reduce the risk of AD.

Objective To study the role of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ( sICAM-1 ) in the pathogenesis of adults bronchial asthma and analyze the relationship between the level of sICAM-1 and the severity of bronchial asthma.Methods Serum levels of sICAM-1 in 134 cases with different periods of bronchial asthma patients and healthy volunteers were measured by ELISA and pulmonary functions of acute asthma patients were determined by pulmonary function analyzer. Results Serum sICAM-1 levels in 63 cases of acute asthma patients were increased significantly when compared with those in remission asthma patients and healthy volunteers and its value was increased significantly with the exacerbation of asthma;A negatively correlation between FEV1％ of pulmonary function and serum sICAM-1 level in patients with acute asthma was found in this study. Conclusion sICAM-1 was one of the important adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. It could be used as one indicator of disease severity and guide the drug application in clinic.

Objective To study the apoptosis-inducing effects and mechanisms of influenza virus A H_ 3 N_ 2 on a self-established endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line JEC. Methods JEC cells were infected with different concentrations of H_3N_2, the apoptosis were detected using the HE staining, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry. The expressions of Fas, FasL and TGF-? were examined by immunocytochemical staining. Results After infection, the JEC cells showed the morphological apoptosis; DNA agarose electrophoresis demonstrated a ladder-like pattern of DNA fragments; FITC/PI stained FCM showed the apoptotic rate of JEC had been decreased along with the prolonging of infected time and elevated with the increase of the virus concentrations. Immunocytochemical staining showed that enhanced expression of Fas, attenuated expression of TGF-?, and no expression of FasL after H_3N_2 infection. Conclusion Influenza virus A H_3N_2 can induce JEC cells to apoptosis in time- and concentration- dependent manners, which may be related with the expressions of Fas and TGF-?.

OBJECTIVE:To study the change in grain size and in vitro dissolution ratio of Atractylodes macrocephala after ultramicronization. METHODS: The particle size before and after ultramicronization was analyzed using particle size analyzer. The content of the sample was determined by HPLC using atractylenolide Ⅲ and atractylenolide Ⅰ as indexes to reflect the dissolution ratio. RESULTS: After ultramicronization, the particle size of the sample became thinner obviously, about 30% that of the common fine powder, and the content increased by 27% as compared with the common fine powder. CONCLUSION: The ultramicronization can significantly decrease the particle size, increase specific surface area and contribute to the dissolution of atractylenolide Ⅲ and atractylenolide I from Atractylodes macrocephala.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of therapeutic action of dexamethasone on asthmatic mice by detecting the levels of IL-25 and IFN-γ in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Methods Balb/c mice with SPF grade were randomly divided into normal control group, asthma group and dexamethasone group. Asthma group and dexamethasone group were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin ( OVA) . Dexamethasone group was intraperitoneally injected with dexamethasone one hour before challenging. The mice were executed 24 hours after the last challenge, and the HE stained pathological sections of the right lung were made. Pathological sections of lung were observed. BALF in the left lung was also collected. The total white blood cell count and absolute eosinophile ( EOS) count were observed, and the percentage of EOS was calculated. The levels of IL-25 and IFN-γwere measured with ELISA, and correlation analyses were made. Results The counts of total white blood cell and EOS, and the percentage of EOS were significantly higher in the asthma group than in the normal control group and dexamethasone group (P<0. 05). No differences were found between the normal control group and dexamethasone group. The IL-25 level was higher in the asthma group than in the normal control group and dexamethasone group (P<0. 05), and its level in the dexamethasone group was also higher than that in the normal control group. The IFN-γlevel was lower in the asthma group than in the normal control group and dexamethasone group (P<0. 05), while there was no significant difference between the normal control group and dexamethasone group. IL-25 was negatively correlated with IFN-γin each group. Conclusion Part of the mechanisms of dexamethasone acting on asthma are related to its inhibition on the pulmonary inflammation and promotion on the expression of IFN-γ, and possible inhibition of IL-25 expression.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of serum galactomannan platelia aspergillus kit in the diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infection(IFI) patients. MethodsA total of 178 serum samples from 74 high risk patients were collected. ELISA assay was used to detect the level of GM antigen. Refer to domestic IFI diagnostic criteria, 16 patients include the proven cases and probable cases were defined as study group, while 29 patients of improbable cases defined as control group. Fourflod table was founded,by which the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value, negative predictive value of this GM test were calculated. Meanwhile, a total of 53 patients received antifungal therapy which divided into GM-positive group(21 patients with I≥0. 5) and GM-negative group(32 patients with I ＜0. 5). The therapeutic effect comparison of two groups was made according to curative effect criterion. ResultsAccording to the certainty level of IFI diagnosis, 1,9,10 and 4 patients were identified as GM positive in proven, probable,possible and improbable IFI groups respectively. The prevalence of GM in these 4 groups was 50％ ,64％ ,34％ and 14％ ,respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of galactomannan ELISA assay were 63％ ,86％ respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 71％ and 81％ respectively. The diagnose accordance rate was 78％, the Younden index was 0. 49. The efficacy of fluconazole in GM-positive patients was significant lower than in GMnegative patients( x2 =4. 95 ,P ＜0. 05) ,while The efficacy of non-fluconazole drug was superior to that in GM-negative patients( x2 =4. 88,P ＜ 0. 05). After antifungal therapy, the GM value of GM-positive patients decreased significantly( t =2. 13 ,P ＜0. 05). ConclusionThe galactomannan ELISA assay with high specificity, could be helpful in diagnosis and choicing effective anti-fungi drug in clinic.