?DJ-1 has been reported to act as aredox-activated chaperone and sensor of oxidative stress participated in a variety of activities in cellular, playing an important role in resisting oxidative stress, regulating signaling pathways and gene transcription, and maintaining mitochondria dynamic balance. DJ -1 is closely related to the occurrence and development of various diseases. Recently, the effect of DJ-1 in eye diseases has drawn more attention, and researchers have found its significant role of resistance to oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy ( FECD) and age-related macular degeneration ( AMD ) .This review will state the mechanism of DJ-1 against oxidative stress and its role in the development of eye diseases.

Agmatine ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Analgesia ; methods ; Animals ; Injections, Spinal ; Male ; Morphine ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect and profitability of using the quantitative trait loci (QTL)-linked direct marker (DR marker) in gene-assisted selection (GAS).

METHODSThree populations (100, 200, or 300 sows plus 10 boars within each group) with segregating QTL were simulated stochastically. Five economic traits were investigated, including number of born alive (NBA), average daily gain to 100 kg body weight (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), back fat at 100 kg body weight (BF) and intramuscular fat (IMF). Selection was based on the estimated breeding value (EBV) of each trait. The starting frequencies of the QTL's favorable allele were 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5, respectively. The economic return was calculated by gene flow method.

RESULTSThe selection efficiency was higher than 100% when DR markers were used in GAS for 5 traits. The selection efficiency for NBA was the highest, and the lowest was for ADG whose QTL had the lowest variance. The mixed model applied DR markers and obtained higher extra genetic gain and extra economic returns. We also found that the lower the frequency of the favorable allele of the QTL, the higher the extra return obtained.

CONCLUSIONGAS is an effective selection scheme to increase the genetic gain and the economic returns in pig breeding.

Animals ; Breeding ; economics ; methods ; Genetic Markers ; Models, Genetic ; Quantitative Trait Loci ; Selection, Genetic ; Swine

Axons ; chemistry ; Myelin Sheath ; chemistry ; Staining and Labeling ; methods

Objective To characterize the antibiotic resistance,homology and carbapenemase genotypes of imipenem resistant Acinetobac1ter baumannii isolated from our hospital,and analyze the clonal relatedness of the test strains.Methods Ninety five strains of imipenem resistant A.baumannii were isolated from August 2003 to December 2004 in the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine,Zhejiang University.The MICs of 16 antimicrobial agents against these strains were determined by agar dilution and E-test method.The homology of these isolates was analyzed by pulse-field gel electrophoresis(PFGE).The coding gene of carbapenemases was amplified.PCR products were purified,cloned and sequenced.Plasmid DNA was extracted and purified.Conjugation and Southern blot were performed to locate the position of oxa 23 gene.Results The resistance rates to ampicillin-sulbactam and cefoperazone sulhactam were 67.9% and 30.2%.Polymyxin E had the lowest resistance rate of 17%. The resistance rate to other antimicrobial agents was higher than 90%.The 95 strains,isolated from 10 clinical units,were classified into 6 clones.Clones A and B were predominant clones.All strains produced carbapenemases which were confirmed as OXA 23 by PCR and sequencing analysis.No plasmid was extracted and conjugation was not successful.Southern bolt showed that oxa-23 gene was located on Apal-digested chromosomal segments about 220 kb and 200 kb in Clones A and B,re spectively.Conclusions OXA 23-producing A.baumannii has become one of the most important multi-resistant pathogens in our hospital.Clones A and B have widely spread in our hospital.Oxa-23 gene is located on chromosomal DNA.

Objective To investigate the resistant mechanism of imipenem-resistant K. pneumoniae.Methods The minimal inhibitive concentrations (MICs) of the antimicrobial agents were determined by Etest.Isoelectric focusing electrophoresis (IEF),plasmid extraction,conjugation, transformation,PCR amplification,cloning and sequencing were carried out for analyzing the encoding gene of ?-1actamases.Results Three kinds of ?-1actamases were detected with pIs of 7.2,6.7,and 5.4.in a clinical strain of K.pneumoniae.These ?-1actamases were TEM-I (pI,5.4),SHV-12 (pI,8.2) and KPC-2 ( pI,6.7 ) confirmed by sequencing of the PCR products.Only one band of ?-1actamase with pI 6.7 was displayed in the transformant.A 1500 bp segment,which contained the KPC-2 gene confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis,was cloned from a 60 000 bp plasmid of the transformant.Conclusion The strain of K.pneumoniae resistant to imipenem produces a plasmid-mediated carbapenemase KPC-2 which belongs to Bush group 2f,class A ?-1actamase.

To study the chemical constituents of Abacopteris penangiana (Hook.) Ching, various chromatographic techniques were used to isolate and purify the constituents. The structures of the obtained compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data and physical-chemical properties. Two compounds were isolated from the n-BuOH soluble fraction of an acetone-H2O (4:1) extract of A. penangiana and were identified as 4'-hydroxy pneumatopterin B (I) and 6"-O-acetyl triphyllin A (II). Compounds I and II are new compounds.
Ferns ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glycosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Background Little is known about the role of dual angiotensin Ⅱ forming pathways during heart failure. In the present study, the changes of chymase and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) expressions in the failing hearts of hamsters were analysed.Methods Heart failure was induced by ligation of left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery. Chymase, ACE and angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R) mRNA levels were analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The activities of chymase and ACE were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Myocardial collagen fibre analysis was performed under optical microscope.Results Left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) and maximum left ventricular developed pressure increase rate (dp/dtmax, mmHg/s) gradually moved lower at 2, 3, 4 and 8 weeks after operation. On the other hand, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) increased gradually after operation. Compared with the control group (3.55±0.06, 4.79±0.70), the heart weight/body weight ratio in operation group had increased significantly at 4 weeks and 8 weeks (4.28±0.43, 6.17±0.73) (P<0.01). Collagen staining showed that the quantity of myocardial collagen fibre increased significantly in the operation group. RT-PCR showed that the chymase mRNA level in the operation group was consistently greater than that in the control group. AT1R mRNA level was also increased significantly at 3 weeks and 4 weeks, both being 1.3 times that of the control group (P<0.01), whereas ACE mRNA level was not changed. Higher activity of chymase was detected in operation group, being 4, 8, 13 and 19 times that of the control group at 2, 3, 4 and 8 weeks (P<0.01), respectively. ACE activity was also significantly higher at the same time, being 7, 10, 10 and 3.5 times that of the control (P<0.01). Angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ) level in operation group increased significantly, being 2.5, 2.7, 3.5 and 2 times that of the control group at 2, 3, 4 and 8 weeks, respectively (P<0.01).Conclusions A dual Ang Ⅱ forming pathway from both ACE and chymase in the hamster hearts plays an important role during the development of heart failure. At the decompensatory stage, the reduction of AngII level may be associated with the decrease of ACE activity.

This paper aims to summarize the achievements during the implementation process of good agricultural practice (GAP) in Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), and on basis of analyzing the existing problems of GAP, to propose further implementation of GAP in TCM growing. Since the launch of GAP in CMM growing ten years ago, it has acquired great achievements, including: (1) The promulgation of a series of measures for the administration of the GAP approval in the CMM growing; (2) The expanded planting area of CMM; (3) The increased awareness of standardized CMM growing among farmers and enterprises; (4) The establishment of GAP implementation bases for CMM growing; (5) The improvement of theory and methodology for CMM growing; (6) The development of a large group of experts and scholars in GAP approval for CMM production. The problems existing in the production include: (1) A deep understanding of GAP and its certification is still needed; (2) The distribution of the certification base is not reasonable; (3) The geo-economics effect and the backward farming practices are thought to be the bottlenecks in the standardization of CMM growing and the scale production of CMM; (4) Low comparative effectiveness limits the development of the GAP; (5) The base of breeding improved variety is blank; (6) The immature of the cultivation technique lead to the risk of production process; (7) The degradation of soil microbial and the continuous cropping obstacle restrict the sustainable development of the GAP base. To further promote the health and orderly GAP in the CMM growing, the authors propose: (1) To change the mode of production; (2) To establish a sound standard system so as to ensure quality products for fair prices; (3) To fully consider the geo-economic culture and vigorously promote the definite cultivating of traditional Chinese medicinal materials; (4) To strengthen the transformation and generalization of basic researches and achievements, in order to provide technical support for the CMM production; (5) To deepen the understanding of GAP, to vigorously promote ecological planting and precision agriculture, in order to overcome the continuous cropping obstacle. The authors think that despite the fact that we are still facing with a huge array of management and technological problems, the GAP in the CMM growing has already enjoyed widespread support and showed great potential. In the future, with people's deeper understanding of GAP and the great progress of the science and technology, the GAP will constantly be fused with the theory, methodology and technology in the modern agriculture like precision agriculture, eco-agriculture and etc.
Agriculture ; economics ; methods ; standards ; trends ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; economics ; standards ; Humans ; Materia Medica ; chemistry ; economics ; standards ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in DNA repair gene XPD751 is associated with sensitivity and time to progression (TTP) for platinum-containing combination chemotherapy in advanced colorectal carcinoma.

METHODSA total of 98 patients pathologically diagnosed as advanced colorectal cancer were treated with FOLFOX chemotherapy. TheDNA of peripheral blood-leukocytes was obtained before treatment, and XPD genetype was detected by PCR-RFLP analysis.

RESULTSThe frequency of XPD751 Lys/lys was 76 cases (77.6%), lys/Gln 17 cases (17.4%), and Gln/Gln genetype 5 cases (5.1%). The effective rate of FOLFOX chemotherapy among patients with XPD751 Lys/lys was 50.0%, lys/Gln 29.4%, and Gln/Gln genetypes 20.0%. The difference between Lys/lys and lys/Gln was statistically significant, χ(2) = 4.04, P < 0.05. The results indicated that the failure of chemotherapy in patients with Lys/Lys genetype was 3.8-fold to those with Lys/Gln, by adjusting of gender, age, and tumor metastasis (OR = 3.800). The MTTP of the 98 patients was 10.1 months. The MTTP was 11.3 months for patients with Lys/Lys genotypes of XPD751 gene and 2.9 months for patients with Lys/Gln and Gln/Gln genotypes of XPD751 gene, the difference between Lys/Lys and at least one Gln was significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSingle nucleotide polymorphism of XPD751 correlates with the clinical response to FOLFOX chemotherapy. XPD751 genetic polymorphisms may be associated with TTP of advanced colorectal carcinoma patients treated with oxaliplatin as the first line chemotherapy. XPD751 genotype detected by the PCR-RFLP method may be a predictor of prognosis for FOLFOX chemotherapy.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; DNA Repair ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; therapeutic use ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genotype ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; therapeutic use ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Xeroderma Pigmentosum Group D Protein ; genetics