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Objective: Classification and diagnostic study on Lepidiumn (Brassicaceae) from China., Methods: Leaf epidermal mi-cromophology of 10 species of Lepidium from China were observed by using LM (light microscope) and SEM (scaning electron microscope)., Results: The stomatal apparatuses present both on the adaxial epidermis and the abaxial epidermis. The type of stomatal apparatuses is mainly anisocytic, rarely anomocytic and only occasionally paracytic. The leaf epidermal cells of Lepidium are usually irregular or polygonal in shape. The patterns of anticlinal walls are straight, arched, sinuolate or sinuous. The leaf features of Lepidium have better consistency. The morphology of the upper epidermis and the lower epidermis is similar, and with simple trichomes or glabrous on the leaf surface. Under SEM observation, the inner margin of the outer stomatal rim is nearly smooth or sinuolate, and the cuticular membrane of the leaf epidermis is striate. The shapes of leaf epidermal cells, the patterns of anticlinal walls, the types of stomatal ap-paratuses, the stomatal index, the stomatal size and the characters of the cuticular membrane of the leaf epidermis have important reference for differentiating species of Lepidium., Conclusion: The leaf epidermal features can serve as a criterion of distinguishing species in the genus Lepidium (Brassicaceae) from China, and also provide new evidence for rational use and exploitation of medical resources in Lepidium.

Molecular dynamics simulations are adopted to calculate the equation of state characteristic parameters P*, rho*, and T* of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and poly(ethylene-co-octene) (PEOC), which can be further used in the Sanchez-Lacombe lattice fluid theory (SLLFT) to describe the respective physical properties. The calculated T* is a function of the temperature, which was also found in the literature. To solve this problem, we propose a Boltzmann fitting of the data and obtain T* at the high-temperature limit. With these characteristic parameters, the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) data of iPP and PEOC are predicted by the SLLFT equation of state. To justify the correctness of our results, we also obtain the PVT data for iPP and PEOC by experiments. Good agreement is found between the two sets of data. By integrating the Euler-Lagrange equation and the Cahn-Hilliard relation, we predict the density profiles and the surface tensions for iPP and PEOC, respectively. Furthermore, a recursive method is proposed to obtain the characteristic interaction energy parameter between iPP and PEOC. This method, which does not require fitting to the experimental phase equilibrium data, suggests an alternative way to predict the phase diagrams that are not easily obtained in experiments. As an example, in the framework of SLLFT, the spinodal curve for the iPP/PEOC blend is predicted at the low molecular weights that are used in the simulations.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 16-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging and tumor angiogenesis and cyclin D1 expression in patients with peripheral lung cancer. Fifty-eight patients with peripheral lung cancer underwent 16-slice spiral CT perfusion imaging. The CT perfusion imaging was analyzed for time density curve (TDC), perfusion parametric maps, and the respective perfusion parameters. Correlation between the respective perfusion parameters and immunohistochemical findings of microvessel density measurement and cyclin D1 expression was evaluated.

Objective: To investigate the population biology of Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae carried by healthy children under 5 years of age in Wuhan., Methods: S. pneumoniae was isolated from nasopharyngeal swabs of healthy children under the age of 5 years (under 5) in Wuhan. The susceptibility to 12 antimicrobial agents was tested by agar dilution method. The erythromycin resistant genes were detected by using the technique of polymerase chain reaction. The quellung reaction was used for serotyping., Results: The carrier rate of S. pneumoniae was 22.31% (135/605) in under 5 children in Wuhan. Among the 133 alive strains, the proportion of penicillin non-susceptible S. pneumoniae (PNSSP) was 45.9% (61/133). The susceptibility of S. pneumoniae to the first (cefalexin), the second (cefaclor) and the third (cefixime, cefpodoxime and cetriaxone) generations of cephalosporins was 6.0%, 45.1%, 54.9%, 56.4%, and 88.7%, respectively. None of the strains were found resistant to fluoroquinolones except for one strain which was resistant to ciprofloxacin at low level. The susceptibility to macrolides was low, 14.3% - 15.8%. Among totally 114 strains resistant to erythromycin, the genes ermB alone, both ermB and mefA, and mefA alone were found in 76 strains (66.7%), 46 strains (40.4%) and 2 strains (1.8%), respectively. Seventeen serotypes were involved and the prevalent serotypes were 19, 23, 6, 15 and 14. Seven strains remained nontypable for serotype. PNSSP strains were found to be distributed in serotypes 19, 23, 6 and nontypable group., Conclusions: The antibiotic resistance of S. pneumoniae was serious in Wuhan area. The ribosomal modification (ermB gene mediated) was the main mechanism of S. pneumoniae resistant to erythromycin. The major prevalent serotypes were 19, 23 and 6.

Objective: To evaluate erectile function in men with renal failure before and after kidney transplantation and the effects of different methods of renal arterial anastomosis., Methods: Fifty-five married males, aged 22-50 years, who had received kidney transplantation at least one year before and whose serum creatinine was under 200 micromol/L , were selected in the study. The end-to-end revascularization to the internal iliac artery was accomplished in 39 of them, and the end-to-side revascularization to the external iliac artery was conducted in 16. Their erectile function was investigated according to the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) before kidney transplantation and 3, 6 and 9 months after it. The effects of different methods of renal arterial anastomosis were evaluated and hypophyseal hormones determined in 25 of them., Results: IIEF-5 was higher in the patients 3, 6 and 9 months after transplantation than before it (P < 0.05) and 6 and 9 months after transplantation than 3 months after it (P < 0.05) , so was it in the patients with less than 12 months hemodialysis than those with over 12 months (P < 0.05) and in the patients with end-to-side revascularization to the external iliac artery than those with end-to-end revascularization to the internal iliac artery (P < 0.05). The differences between the level of hypophyseal hormones and that of sex hormones before transplantation were significant (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Erectile function and the level of hypophyseal hormones were improved after kidney transplantation, and the patients who received end-to-side revascularization to the external iliac artery experienced better erectile function recovery than those who underwent end-to-end revascularization to the internal iliac artery.

Calcineurin (Cn) is a serine/threonine protein phosphatase that plays pivotal roles in many physiological processes, including cell proliferation, development, and apoptosis. Most prominently, Cn targets the nuclear factors of activated T cell (NFATs), transcription factors that activate cytokine genes. Calcium-activated Cn dephosphorylates multiple residues within the regulatory domain of NFAT, triggering joint nuclear translocation. This relies crucially on the interaction between the catalytic domain of Cn (CnCat) and the conserved PxIxIT motif located in a region distinct from the dephosphorylation sites of NFAT. Here, we present the structure of the complex between the 39 kDa CnCat and a 14 residue peptide containing a PVIVIT segment that was derived from affinity-driven peptide selection based on the conserved PxIxIT motif of NFATs. The structure of the complex was determined by using NMR assignments and structural constraints and the coordinates of the CnCat crystal structure. The NMR analysis relied on recently developed labeling and spectroscopic techniques. The VIVIT peptide is accommodated in a hydrophobic cleft formed by beta strands 11 and 14, and the loop between beta strands 11 and 12, forming a short parallel beta sheet with the exposed beta strand 14 in Cn. The side chains of conserved residues in the PxIxIT sequences make extensive interactions with conserved residues in Cn, while those of nonconserved residues are solvent exposed. The architecture of the interface explains the diversity of recognition sequences compatible with NFAT function and uncovers a potential targeting site for immune-suppressive agents. The structure reveals that the orientation of the bound PxIxIT directs the phosphorylation sites in NFAT's regulatory domain toward the Cn catalytic site.

Aim: To investigate the effect of gestrinone on uterine leiomyomas and the expression of c-Src, estradiol receptors (ER), and progesterone receptors (PR) in a guinea pig model., Methods: After being oophorectomized, the guinea pigs were allocated into random groups. The model group was treated with estradiol benzoate (E2) for 16 weeks. In the gestrinone-treated groups, the animals were treated with E2 for 6 weeks in advance, and then in combination with gestrinone for 10 weeks. Histological examination was performed to evaluate whether there were leiomyoma features in the animals. The protein levels of c-Src, phospho-( 416)Src, ER, and PR were assayed by Western blotting and an immunohistochemical method., Results: Morphological changes were observed in the myometrium of the guinea pig model, including an increase of uterine weights, proliferation of uterine smooth muscles, and the formation of nodules. High protein levels of c-Src, phospho- 416Src, ER, and PR were observed in the myometrium of the guinea pig model. In the gestrinone-treated group, there were no nodules observed. The histological features of the myometrium were similar to that of the control group. Low protein levels of c-Src, phospho-(416 )Src, ER, and PR were observed in the gestrinonetreated group., Conclusion: The upregulation of c-Src and phospho-(416 )Src indicated that the activity of c-Src is augmented in the uterine leiomyoma model. c-Src was associated with the formation of uterine leiomyomas in the model, and gestrinone markedly suppressed the growth of uterine leiomyomas in the model. Gestrinone inhibited not only the protein expression of ER and PR, but also c-Src and the autophosphorylation of c-Src in the guinea pig leiomyoma model.

Objective: To construct the eukaryotic expression recombinant pSG. SS. C3d3. YL-Fbeta and analyze the expression of mouse fertilin beta subunit in HEK293 cells., Methods: The cDNA fragment expressing the disintegrin domain of mouse fertilin beta was obtained by PCR, and then inserted into the eukaryotic plasmid pSG. SS. C3d3. YL to get recombinant plasmid pSG. SS. C3d3. YL-Fbeta, which was transfected into the HEK293 cell line to express the target protein Fbeta after identified by restriction enzyme digestion. And then Fbeta was detected by indirect immunofluorescence through confocal laser scanning microscopy, Western blot, immunohistochemistry staining and flow cytometry assay., Results: The recombinant vector pSG.SS.C3d3. YL-Fbeta could express Fbeta in HEK293 cells., Conclusion: The expression of Fbeta in eukaryotic cells provides a foundation for further researches on the effect of high F, expression on fertilization process.

CD3epsilongamma and CD3epsilondelta are noncovalent heterodimers; each consists of Ig-like extracellular domains associated side-to-side via paired terminal beta-strands that are linked to individual subunit membrane proximal stalk segments. CD3epsilon, CD3gamma, and CD3delta stalks contain the RxCxxCxE motif. To investigate the functional importance of a CD3 stalk and terminal beta-strand, we created a CD3gamma double mutant CD3gamma(C82S/C85S) and a CD3gamma beta-strand triple mutant CD3gamma(Q76S/Y78A/Y79A) for use in retroviral transduction of lymphoid progenitors for comparison with CD3gammawt. Although both mutant CD3gamma molecules reduced association with CD3epsilon in CD3epsilongamma heterodimers, CD3gamma(Q76S/Y78A/Y79A) abrogated surface TCR expression whereas CD3gamma(C82S/C85S) did not. Furthermore, CD3gamma(C82S/C85S) rescued thymic development in CD3gamma(-/-) fetal thymic organ culture. However, the numbers of double-positive and single-positive thymocytes after CD3gamma(C82S/C85S) transduction were significantly reduced despite surface pre-TCR and TCR expression comparable to that of CD3gamma(-/-) thymocytes transduced in fetal thymic organ culture with a retrovirus harboring CD3gammawt cDNA. Furthermore, double-negative thymocyte development was perturbed with attenuated double-negative 3/double-negative 4 maturation and altered surface-expressed CD3epsilongamma, as evidenced by the loss of reactivity with CD3gamma N terminus-specific antisera. Single histidine substitution of either CD3gamma stalk cysteine failed to restore CD3epsilongamma association and conformation in transient COS-7 cell transfection studies. Thus, CD3gamma(C82) and CD3gamma(C85) residues likely are either reduced or form a tight intrachain disulfide loop rather than contribute to a metal coordination site in conjunction with CD3epsilon(C80) and CD3epsilon(C83). The implications of these results for CD3epsilongamma and TCR structure and signaling function are discussed.

Diabetic erectile dysfunction (DED) is a multifactor syndrome, which involves vascular disease, neuropathy, metabolic control, nutrition, endocrine disorders, psychogenic factors, and anti-diabetes drugs. Among all these factors, vascular disease plays a very important role. In the development of diabetic vasculopathy, some vasomotion factors and growth factors undergo conspicuous changes, which may be significantly correlated with the development of diabetic erectile dysfunction.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of lymph node micrometastasis (LNMM) on the basis of the detection of MUC1 mRNA, and assess the impact of these micrometastases on disease-free interval after resection of pathologic N0 (pN0) esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC)., Methods: The subjects were 93 patients who underwent complete resection of pN0 ESCC at our department between January 1999 and January 2001. All lymph nodes (426 stations) obtained from these patients were reevaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to detect MUC1 mRNA. The diagnosis of LNMM was based on the detection of MUC1 mRNA. A log-rank test was performed to compare the disease-free interval, and Cox regression multivariate analysis was performed to determine the independent prognostic factors., Results: Micrometastasis was detected in 40 lymph node stations (9.4%) from 32 patients (34.4%). Disease-free interval was significantly associated with LNMM (P = 0.0138). The 5-year survival rate of patients with LNMM was significantly lower than that of those without LNMM (P = 0.004). The results of multivariate analysis confirmed that T status and LNMM were independent prognostic factors., Conclusions: The prevalence of LNMM in patients with pN0 ESCC was 34.4% (32/93). Thus, LNMM was significantly associated with the disease-free interval. T status and LNMM were both independent prognostic factors.

The goal of this work is the automatic inference of frequent patterns of the cortical sulci, namely patterns that can be observed only for a subset of the population. The sulci are detected and identified using brainVISA open software. Then, each sulcus is represented by a set of shape descriptors called the 3D moment invariants. Unsupervised agglomerative clustering is performed to define the patterns. A ratio between compactness and contrast among clusters is used to select the best patterns. A pattern is considered significant when this ratio is statistically better than the ratios obtained for clouds of points following a Gaussian distribution. The patterns inferred for the left cingulate sulcus are consistent with the patterns described in the atlas of Ono.

Salicylic acid (SA) was an essential component of the plant resistance to pathogens and also plays an important role in mediating plant response to some abiotic stress. The possible effects of SA on the growth and H2O2-metabolizing enzymes in rice seedlings under lead stress were studied. When rice seedlings grown in nutrient solution containing Pb2+ (0, 0.05, 0.15, 0.25 mmol/L) for 18 d, the plant biomass as well as the chlorophyll content of leaves decreased with increasing Pb concentration. The pre-treatment with SA (treated with 0.1 mmol/L SA for 48 h before Pb stress) partially protected seedlings from Pb toxicity. The chlorophyll contents were significant higher in leaves of Pb-exposed with SA pre-treatment seedlings than in Pb-exposed plants at the same Pb intensity. SA pre-treated alone could significantly increase the length of shoot and root of seedlings but the vigour difference was not marked under long-term exposure to Pb toxicity. SA pre-treated influence the H202 level in leaves of seedlings by up-regulating the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), repressing the activity of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) depending on the concentrations of Pb2+ in the growth medium. The results supported the conclusion that SA played a positive role in rice seedlings against Pb toxicity.

A pot experiment with 38 commonly cultured rice cultivars showed that the effect of Cu (100 mg kg(-1)) on rice growth, grain yield and accumulation of Cu in brown rice varied greatly with different cultivars. Although the average Cu concentration in brown rice of the 38 cultivars was significantly increased (P<0.01) compared with the control, in none of the cultivars did Cu concentration in brown rice exceed the maximum permissible limit of 10 mg Cu kg(-1). This suggests that rice grown in Cu-contaminated paddy soil (100 mg Cu kg(-1)) will not adversely affect human health through the food chain. Because of the significant negative correlation between grain weight and Cu concentration in brown rice with the soil Cu treatment, screening for cultivars with low Cu accumulation in brown rice and high grain yield for Cu-contaminated areas is feasible. The present research led to the recommendation of three such cultivars: Jiahua, Zhenxian 866, Zhe 733. The average grain yield under Cu treatment (100 mg Cu kg(-1) soil) was significantly (P<0.01) reduced compared with the control. The decreases or increases of grain yields mainly resulted from the combined effects of the panicles per pot, spikelets per panicle and filled spikelets per panicle under the soil Cu treatment. Furthermore, there were significant (r=0.869, P<0.01) positive correlations between the RC (relative changes) of spikelets per panicle and filled spikelets per panicle under the soil Cu treatment.

Gene therapy is currently investigated in animal studies for treating erectile dysfunction (ED), and is affording an conspicuous therapeutic possibility for the treatment of ED, especially in L-arg-NO-cGMP pathway, ion channel, the protection of nerves and endothelia in erectile tissues. However there still exist so many problems for gene therapy to be effectively applied to the clinical treatment of ED. This review aims to examine the experimental efforts in recent years and tries to give a brief introduction to the new approaches in the field of ED researches.

The sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription activators are critical regulators of cholesterol and fatty acid homeostasis. We previously demonstrated that human SREBPs bind the CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300 acetyltransferase KIX domain and recruit activator-recruited co-factor (ARC)/Mediator co-activator complexes through unknown mechanisms. Here we show that SREBPs use the evolutionarily conserved ARC105 (also called MED15) subunit to activate target genes. Structural analysis of the SREBP-binding domain in ARC105 by NMR revealed a three-helix bundle with marked similarity to the CBP/p300 KIX domain. In contrast to SREBPs, the CREB and c-Myb activators do not bind the ARC105 KIX domain, although they interact with the CBP KIX domain, revealing a surprising specificity among structurally related activator-binding domains. The Caenorhabditis elegans SREBP homologue SBP-1 promotes fatty acid homeostasis by regulating the expression of lipogenic enzymes. We found that, like SBP-1, the C. elegans ARC105 homologue MDT-15 is required for fatty acid homeostasis, and show that both SBP-1 and MDT-15 control transcription of genes governing desaturation of stearic acid to oleic acid. Notably, dietary addition of oleic acid significantly rescued various defects of nematodes targeted with RNA interference against sbp-1 and mdt-15, including impaired intestinal fat storage, infertility, decreased size and slow locomotion, suggesting that regulation of oleic acid levels represents a physiologically critical function of SBP-1 and MDT-15. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that ARC105 is a key effector of SREBP-dependent gene regulation and control of lipid homeostasis in metazoans.

Objective: To study the effects of subretinal fluid (SRF) on the proliferation of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and on the activation and translocation of protein kinase C (PKC); to investigate the relationship between the proliferation and the changes of PKC in the RPE cells; and to study the effect of PKC inhibitor., Methods: RPE cells were harvested to measure the PKC activity in cytoplasm and cellular membrane after being treated with subretinal fluid (SRF) obtained from PVR patients with different degrees (B grade and C), PKC specific activator PMA (positive control) or normal vitreous. RPE cells cultured with DMEM culture medium only were used as the negative controls. PKC activity in cytoplasm and cellular membrane was measured with radioactive isotope (32)P label method. For further study, the PKC specific inhibitor N, N-dimethyl was used to pretreat the RPE cells before the administration of SRF, PMA or normal vitreous, and then the activity of PKC was observed and recorded. (3)H-TdR was used to measure the proliferation of RPE cells with or without the activation and translocation., Results: SRF and PMA could promote the proliferation of RPE cells and activate PKC in the cytoplasm of RPE cells, and then promoted the PKC translocated from the cytoplasm to cellular membrane. The peak of PRC on the cell membrane appeared later in cells treated with SRF when compared with those treated with PMA. The appearance of peak of PKC in cells treated with SRF from grade B PVR was later than those treated with SRF from grade C PVR, the stimulating effect on the proliferation of RPE cells by the SRF B was also less than those from the SRF C. No activation of PKC and increased proliferation were observed in RPE cells treated with normal vitreous or DMEM culture medium. Pre-treatment with PKC inhibitor could block the PKC-activating effects and proliferation-stimulating effects of SRF and PMA on the RPE cells, therefore no significant difference could be detected between different groups., Conclusion: SRF can promote the proliferation of RPE cells and induce the activation and translocation of PKC in RPE cells. PKC is involved in the process of the proliferation of RPE cells. The PKC inhibitor could block this process.

Aim: To explore the effects and mechanisms of caffeine and coffee on bladder dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats., Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided randomly into 4 groups: control, diabetes mellitus (DM), DM with coffee treatment, and DM with caffeine treatment. The diabetic rat was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). After 7 weeks of treatment with coffee and caffeine, cystometrogram, contractile responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and acetylcholine (ACh), and cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration of the bladder body and base were measured., Results: The bladder weight, volume threshold for micturition and post-void residual volume (PVR) in the diabetic rats were significantly higher compared to those in the control animals. Coffee or caffeine treatment significantly reduced the bladder weight, bladder capacity and PVR in the diabetic rats. DM caused significant decreases in cAMP concentration of the bladder and coffee and caffeine caused upregulation of cAMP content in the diabetic bladder. In addition, coffee and caffeine tended to normalize the altered detrusor contractile responses to EFS and ACh in the diabetic rats., Conclusion: These results indicate that caffeine and coffee may have beneficial effects on bladder dysfunction in the early stage of diabetes by increasing cAMP content in the lower urinary tract, recovering the micturition reflex and improving the detrusor contractility.

Objective: To evaluate the technique and the clinical efficacy of Retroperitoneoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty in children., Methods: Retroperitoneoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty was performed on 17 patients of pediatric ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction, age ranging from 3 - 10 years. All patients had radiographic evidence of obstruction with signs, symptoms or deterioration of renal function., Results: All of the 17 operations were performed successfully, and no serious complications occurred during and after the operations. Average operating time was 4.3 hours, which decreased with surgeon experience. Average blood loss was 38 ml, mean postoperative stay was 4.6 d. Only one case had postoperative urine leakage. With a mean follow-up of 14 months, all patients were free of obstruction on follow-up radiographic imaging., Conclusions: Retroperitoneoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty is a safe, effective and minimally invasive procedure for treatment of UPJ obstruction in children, and it can be used as an alternative to open surgery.

IR spectra were used to analyse the azo dye solution decoloration action by two kinds of iron oxyhydroxides. It was discovered that: (1) Acid Red G and methyl orange are apt to form complex on the surface of iron oxyhydroxides > FeOH, especially Acid Red G. which possesses two -SO3Na structures has a relatively high decoloration efficiency as a result of complexation reaction; (2) after 2 hours adsorption, the IR spectra of iron oxyhydroxides show characteristic wave numbers at 1 033 and 1 030 cm(-1) which belong to -SO3Na, whereas the peaks at wave numbers between 1 450 and 1 400 cm(-1), which belong to azo dye, disappear. These phenomena indicate that azo dye molecules are adsorbed on the surface of iron oxyhydroxides due to the negative -SO3Na structure, and at the moment azo dye molecules are adsorbed on the surface of iron oxyhydroxides, the electron transfer occurs between the azo dye molecules and the iron oxyhydroxides surface's Fe3+ centre, which could lead to the rupture of azo bond. It can be infered that the decoloration of azo dye molecules is the co-effect of the selective chemical absorption and the oxidation-deoxidation effect on the surface of iron oxyhydroxides.

This study was aimed to investigate the proliferation activities and phenotype changes of DC, CIK and DC-CIK, and their cytotoxicity against hepatocarcinoma cells in co-culture of DC with CIK. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were isolated from healthy adult donors. After incubation of PBMNC for 2 hours, DCs were induced from adherent cells by some cytokines and CIKs were generated from non-adherent cells. Mature DCs were harvested after incubation for 9 days, and then were co-cultured with CIK at ratio of 1:5 for 3 days. The cytotoxicity activity against SMMC-7721 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line was detected by MTT assay. The results showed that CIK cells were able to lyse SMMC-7721 hepatocellular carcinoma cells at low ratios of effector to target. This effect was significantly enhanced by co-culture with DCs. It is concluded that CIK cells have high lytic activity against 7721 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, which can be enhanced by co-culture with DC. DC-CIK cells are highly effective immune cells.

Objective: To explore the value of serum inhibin measurement in predicting ovarian response in infertile patients undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle., Methods: A total of 37 patients undergoing their first cycles of IVF treatment were studied and serum estradiol (E(2)), progesterone (P), inhibin (INH) B, INHA levels were detected on days 2 - 4 and 21 of the previous cycle, on day 5 of gonadotropin therapy (day 5), hCG injection day, oocyte retrieval day and at middle luteal phase of the IVF cycle. According to number of oocytes, peak E(2) concentration and presence or absence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), the 37 patients were allocated into two groups: poor ovarian response group (group A), normal and high response group (group B). Characteristics of the treatment cycle and INH, E(2), P levels were analyzed. A multiple logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were then used for all possible prognostic variables to evaluate the value of different hormone in predicting ovarian response. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated at the discriminating cut-off point., Results: (1) In group A, basal serum INHB level, INHB and INHA levels on day 5 of recombinant FSH (rFSH) stimulation were significantly lower than group B (P < 0.05), and basal serum INHB levels were (37 +/- 35), (91 +/- 90) ng/L respectively, INHB levels on day 5 of rFSH stimulation were (194 +/- 157), (2254 +/- 4765) ng/L respectively, INHA levels on day 5 of rFSH stimulation were (36 +/- 35), (91 +/- 90) ng/L respectively in groups A and B. (2) There was positive correlation between oocytes number and basal inhibin B and dynamic serum inhibin B levels, inhibin A and E(2) levels of rFSH therapy (INHB: r = 0.39 - 0.67, P < 0.05; INHA: r = 0.43 - 0.59, P < 0.01; E(2): r = 0.50 - 0.60, P < 0.01). (3) ROC analysis: day 5 inhibin B had the largest area under curve (AUC) 0.948 (95% CI: 0.871 - 1.025), indicating that a threshold of 400 ng/L gave 82.8% sensitivity, and 99.1% specificity., Conclusions: The basal INHB levels and INHB measured on day 5 of rFSH stimulation may offer accurate and early prediction of ovarian response. Day 5 INHB levels are the best predictor of ovarian response.

Objective: To observe the post-injury regenerating ability of temporomandibular joint of rats exposed to the repeated + Gz forces., Methods: One hundred and eight male rats were randomly assigned to 9 groups, with 12 rats in each group. Group A was normally fed serving as the blank control group. Group B was only fixed with rat-kept devices for 5 minutes as the fixed control group. Group C was borne +1 Gz for 5 minutes. In the same position as group C, group D, E, F, G, H and I were repeatedly exposed to +10 Gz for 30 seconds each time with 5 times a day and +1 Gz for 1 minutes as a interval. The 6 groups were treated in the condition above for 4 days a week and 4 weeks in total. The rats in group A, B, C and D were killed on the next day after the centrifuge. The rats in group E, F, G, H and I were killed at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after the centrifuge, respectively. After the rats were killed, temporomandibular joint were taken for observation under optical microscope, scanning electron-microscope (SEM) and transmission electron-microscope (TEM)., Results: There was no significant difference observed in group A, B and C. But in group D, E, F, G, H and I pathologic injuries and self-regeneration were seen in TMJ in different degrees., Conclusions: The injury of TMJ could regenerate gradually with time.

The initial step of protein NMR resonance assignments typically identifies the sequence positions of 1H-15N HSQC cross-peaks. This is usually achieved by tediously comparing strips of multiple triple-resonance experiments. More conveniently, this could be obtained directly with hNcaNH and hNcocaNH-type experiments. However, in large proteins and at very high fields, rapid transverse relaxation severely limits the sensitivity of these experiments, and the limited spectral resolution obtainable in conventionally recorded experiments leaves many assignments ambiguous. We have developed alternative hNcaNH experiments that overcome most of these limitations. The TROSY technique was implemented for semiconstant time evolutions in both indirect dimensions, which results in remarkable sensitivity and resolution enhancements. Non-uniform sampling in both indirect dimensions combined with Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) reconstruction enables such dramatic resolution enhancement while maintaining short measuring times. Experiments are presented that provide either bidirectional or unidirectional connectivities. The experiments do not involve carbonyl coherences and thus do not suffer from fast chemical shift anisotropy-mediated relaxation otherwise encountered at very high fields. The method was applied to a 300 microM sample of a 37 kDa fragment of the E. coli enterobactin synthetase module EntF, for which high-resolution spectra with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio were obtained within 4 days each.

The study was conducted to evaluate in vitro effects of epristeride on sperm in rats, beagle dogs and man. Semen samples were divided into 4 groups and treated with vehicle and epristeride. Motility and motile rate of sperm were videotaped and analyzed with CASA system after 1 h and 2 h incubation periods. Percentage of motile sperm (MOT) of rat sperm decreased after the treatment with epristeride (final concentrations were 0.6, 6 and 60 micromol/L) for 1 h, and MOT of rat sperm treated with middle dose and high dose levels of epristeride also decreased after 2 h, while MOT of dog sperm that treated with three dose levels of epristeride decreased after 2 h. Amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) and MOT of human sperm decreased after 2 h with 4.8 micromol/L epristeride treatment. Curvilinear velocity (VCL) and straight-line velocity (VSL) of rat sperm and human sperm changed after 2 h, but there were no significant differences. Therefore, epristeride had a toxic effect on sperm, and the effect varied in different species.

Objective: To explore the effects of mild hypothermia on expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-1 (NMDAR1) in hippocampus neurons after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in rats., Methods: Twenty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, normal temperature group, and mild hypothermia group, with 8 rats in each group. The cerebral edema model after CPR was replicated by the sealed bottle method in rats in both normal temperature group and mild hypothermia group. The rats in the mild hypothermia group were treated with mild hypothermia after the model was established. The change in expression of NMDAR1 in hippocampus neurons in rat was determined with semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and pathologic changes in brain tissue were observed in both groups., Results: The cerebral edema was ameliorated, NMDAR1 mRNA and protein in cerebral hippocampus neurons were significantly lower in hypothermia group than control group with significant difference (NMDAR1 mRNA: 80.48+/-0.03 vs. 80.64+/-0.18, P<0.05 )., Conclusion: Mild hypothermia can down regulate the expression of NMDAR1 mRNA and protein level, lower positive ion concentration and thus decrease cerebral edema, so mild hypothermia can serve as a treatment measure for cerebral edema after CPR.

We develop a self-consistent-field lattice model for block copolymers and propose a novel and general method to solve the self-consistent-field equations. The approach involves describing the polymer chains in a lattice and employing a two-stage relaxation procedure to evolve a system as rapidly as possible to a free-energy minimum. In order to test the validity of this approach, we use the method to study the microphases of rod-coil diblock copolymers. In addition to the lamellar and cylindrical morphologies, micellar, perforated lamellar, gyroid, and zigzag structures have been identified without any prior assumption of the microphase symmetry. Furthermore, this approach can also give the possible orientation of the rods in different structures.

Neurotrophins play significant roles in the development, differentiation and regeneration of many neurons. The abnormal changes of neurotrophins are one of the nosogenesis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Erectile dysfunction (ED) in diabetes is multifactorial and one of the most important causes is the injury of pelvic splanchnic nerves. Neurotrophins therapy shows exact effects on ED with pelvic splanchnic nerves injured. Recent researches indicates that the same treatment has the similar therapeutic effects on the ED animals with diabetes. Neurotrophins therapy develops a new way for us to cure the ED with diabetes.

The purpose of these studies was to explore the genes associated with invasion and metastasis of human prostatic carcinoma line PC-3M in nude mice. After PC-3M cells were inoculated in orthotopic site (prostate) in male nude mice for two months, tumor cells were isolated from primary tumor and lymph node metastasis in the same mouse, respectively. Cell invasion and adhesion ability in vitro were first compared between two cell lines. Then human metastasis-related genes differentially expressed between them were analyzed by utilizing cDNA microarray technique. The in vitro cell invasion and adhesion potential of tumor cells from lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than those from primary tumor, Metastasis-related genes differentially expressed between those two cell lines were identified, all of them were up-regulated in the tumor cells from lymph node metastasis and could be categorized as: (1) genes encoding cellular matrix-degrading proteolytic enzyme including cathepsin and MMP; (2) genes encoding transcription factors; (3) genes related to heterotypic adhesion of tumor cells; (4) genes encoding cell surface receptors. Moreover, Four genes were chosen for semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, they showed a consistent expression pattern with that of cDNA microarray analysis. We concluded that the lymph node metastasis in nude mice given an injection of PC-3M cells in the prostate is a selective process favoring the survival and growth of a special subpopulation derived from primary tumor with specific genetic alterations, which may play a pivotal role in the metastasis of prostate cancer. Identification and further characterization of these genes may allow a better understanding of lymphatic metastasis in prostate carcinoma.

The most intensively studied rotavirus strains initially attach to cells when the "heads" of their protruding spikes bind cell surface sialic acid. Rotavirus strains that cause disease in humans do not bind this ligand. The structure of the sialic acid binding head (the VP8* core) from the simian rotavirus strain RRV has been reported, and neutralization epitopes have been mapped onto its surface. We report here a 1.6-A resolution crystal structure of the equivalent domain from the sialic acid-independent rotavirus strain DS-1, which causes gastroenteritis in humans. Although the RRV and DS-1 VP8* cores differ functionally, they share the same galectin-like fold. Differences between the RRV and DS-1 VP8* cores in the region that corresponds to the RRV sialic acid binding site make it unlikely that DS-1 VP8* binds an alternative carbohydrate ligand in this location. In the crystals, a surface cleft on each DS-1 VP8* core binds N-terminal residues from a neighboring molecule. This cleft may function as a ligand binding site during rotavirus replication. We also report an escape mutant analysis, which allows the mapping of heterotypic neutralizing epitopes recognized by human monoclonal antibodies onto the surface of the VP8* core. The distribution of escape mutations on the DS-1 VP8* core indicates that neutralizing antibodies that recognize VP8* of human rotavirus strains may bind a conformation of the spike that differs from those observed to date.

Objective: To investigate the role of human transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in the induction of the gene expression of uridine 5'-diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 1A and its isoforms by epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)., Methods: (1) Human colon carcinoma cells Caco-2 and HT-29 were cultured. Immunocytochemistry, western blotting and confocal laser microscopy were used to detect the protein expression of Nrf2. Twenty samples of colon carcinoma with surrounding normal tissues were collected during endoscopic course. (2) RNA interference expression vector pSilencer 3.1-H1 was used to construct four Nrf2-trageting plasmids: pSilence-Nrf2-A, B, C, and D and a control pSilence-CON. Cells were transfected with pSilence-Nrf2 for 48 hours to observe the effects of transient transfection. Cells were stably transfected with pSilence-Nrf2-B for 4 weeks and re-named as Caco-2-siNrf2 and HT-29-siNrf2 (siNrf2 cells), and others stably transfected with blank plasmid pSilencer 3.1-H1 were used as controls. (3) EGCG was added into the culture fluid of cells before and after the stably transfection. RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of Nrf2, UGT1A, UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 in cells and the samples of human colon cancer tissue., Results: (1) The expressions of UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 mRNA were significantly lower than that in the surrounding healthy mucosa. (2) The mRNA expression of Nrf2, UGT1A8, and UGT1A10 increased by 1.8-9.2 times after the addition of EGCG (all P < 0.05). Immunocytochemistry, western blotting and immunofluorescence demonstrated a significant increase of Nrf2 protein expression in the nucleus after treatment with EGCG. (3) SalIenzyme digestion and DNA sequencing confirmed that pSilence-Nrf2-A, B, C, and D and pSilence-CON were all successfully constructed. The inhibition rate of Nrf2 gene expression was above 80% 48 h after transfection with pSilence-Nrf2-B, and that was no significant difference after transfection with pSilence-CON (P > 0.05). There was specific inhibition of Nrf2 in Caco-2-siNrf2, HT-29-siNrf2 cells (both P < 0.01). (4) The basal levels of UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 mRNA expression in the Caco-2-siNrf2 and HT-29-siNrf2 cells were lower by 15%-65% in comparison with those in control, and the induction of genes by EGCG was largely attenuated in them (all P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Nrf2 is localized in the cytoplasm of non-stimulated cells, and EGCG triggered its rapid nuclear accumulation. Suppression of Nrf2 gene expression results in down-regulation of the constructive expression of UGT genes and their induction by EGCG. EGCG induces the expression of UGT1A, UGT1A8 and UGT1A10 genes via a Nrf2-dependent mechanism.

The particle-transfer molecular-dynamics technique is adopted to construct the Lennard-Jones fluid gas-liquid phase diagram. Detailed study of the dependence of the simulation results on the system size and the cutoff distance is performed to test the validity of the simulation technique. Both the traditional cutoff plus long-range correction (CPC) and Ewald summation methods are used in the simulations to calculate the interactions. In the intermediate range of temperatures, the results with the Ewald summation method are almost the same as those with the CPC method. However, in the range close to the critical point, the results with the CPC method deviate from those with the Ewald summation. Compared with the results obtained via the Ewald summation in a smaller system, simply increasing the system size in the CPC scheme may not give better results.

Objective: The culture of human spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) has not been studied in detail yet. Here we tried to explore the optimized culture method of human SSC by using several different co-culture systems., Methods: The alpha6 +Thy-1 +c-kit- cells acquired by the immunomagnetic beads sorting technique were cultured in different co-culture systems. Their morphological, biological characteristics and survival rates were intensively observed by microscopic or immunocytochemical assay. The long-term survival rate of human SSC during culture period was evaluated by germ cell transplantation technique., Results: The alpha6 +Thy-1 +c-kit- cells could stably survive in the DMEM and DMEM/F12 mediums with fetal bovine serum (FBS) on feeder layer. The survival rates within 1 week were more than 90%. The long-time culture showed the cells were gradually attached on the surface of Sertoli cells by the manner of scattered single cell or accumulated masses. Part of the SSC became more tightly attachment with Sertoli cells or mounted among the Sertoli cells. They could survive or even proliferate for more than 3 months in vitro. Germ cells transplantation study showed that some alpha6 +Thy-1 +c-kit- cells labeled by PKH26 could resided on the basal membrane of seminiferous tubule of nude mice, appearing as single or coupled cells 2 months later after transplantation. The function evaluation of the cultured cells by counting the fluorescent cells in the seminiferous tubule showed 54.9% and 9.2% of SSC in the alpha6 +Thy-1 +c-kit- cells were still remained after cultured for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively., Conclusion: Human SSC could maintain survival in vitro for more than 3 months, but it was still need to seek for a more optimized and successful culture system for its efficient expansion and proliferation. Thus it will open up a wide prospect for the understanding of the biology of human SSC and the treatment of male sterility.

The yeast nucleoporin Nup116p plays an important role in mRNA export and protein transport. We have determined the solution structure of the C-terminal 147 residues of this protein, the region responsible for targeting the protein to the nuclear pore complex (NPC). The structure of Nup116p-C consists of a large beta-sheet sandwiched against a smaller one, flanked on both sides by alpha-helical stretches, similar to the structure of its human homolog, NUP98. In unliganded form, Nup116p-C exhibits evidence of exchange among multiple conformations, raising the intriguing possibility that it may adopt distinct conformations when bound to different partners in the NPC. We have additionally shown that a peptide from the N terminus of the nucleoporin Nup145p-C binds Nup116p-C. This previously unknown interaction may explain the unusual asymmetric localization pattern of Nup116p in the NPC. Strikingly, the exchange phenomenon observed in the unbound state is greatly reduced in the corresponding spectra of peptide-bound Nup116p-C, suggesting that the binding interaction stabilizes the domain conformation. This study offers a high resolution view of a yeast nucleoporin structural domain and may provide insights into NPC architecture and function.

Objective: To investigate the content of nerve growth factor (NGF) in penis of rats with diabetic erectile dysfunction (DED) and apply rhNGF to treat the DED rat model to study the pathogenesis mechanism of DED and treatment effects by NGF for DED rat model., Methods: Fifty adult male SD rats were randomly selected to make up diabetic models. After 8 weeks, the mRNA and protein levels of NGF in rat penis were detected. Then the rest of rats were divided into 5 groups: normal control group, non-treated diabetes group, NGF treatment group, insulin treatment group, NGF plus insulin treatment group. After 8 weeks of treatment, intracavernous pressure (ICP) was measured. The content of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the erectile tissue was also value- ated by immunohistochemistry staining., Results: Compared with those of normal control group, the mRNA content of NGF and protein in the penis of non-treated diabetic rats is increased significantly. Compared with non-treated diabetic group, ICP was much higher in the treated groups which received NGF or/and insulin therapy, and the changes in nNOS staining of those groups were the same., Conclusion: The injury of pelvic splanchnic nerves in advanced stage of diabetes may lead to DED, which may be relevant to the abnormal of NGF level or the NGF receptors. The increased extent of NGF in penis of rat with DED suggests that erectile nerves be severely damaged by diabete and the increase of producing NGF couldn't compensate the needs for reproduction of the nerve fibers. The ability of combination of NGF with its receptor may also be damaged. It is helpful to use exogenous NGF to lessen the partly neuropathy and improve the erectile dysfunction of diabetic rats. The abnormal of NGF may play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic ED and its treatment.

Objective: To investigate the expression status of 11 different cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes in esophageal carcinoma., Methods: Esophageal carcinoma tissue and adjacent normal esophageal mucosa taken from 35 esophageal carcinoma patients were assayed for the expression of 11 different CT antigen genes by RT-PCR techniques., Results: Of the 11 CT antigen genes analyzed, none of them was expressed in normal esophageal mucosa. MAGE-3 was found to be the most frequently expressed in esophageal carcinoma tissues (62.9%), followed, in the order of expression frequency, by MAGE4 (31.4%), LAGE-1 (28.6%), MAGE-1 (25.7%), CT10 (20.0%), NY-ESO-1 (20.0%), CT7 (5.7%) and SCP1 (2.9%). No expression of SSX-1, SSX-2 and SSX-4 was found. Among the 35 cases, 28 (80.0%) expressed at least one CT antigen gene, 21 (60.0%) expressed more than 2 CT antigen genes, and 4 of the 21 (19.0%) expressed more than 4 CT antigens, which accounted for 11.4% of total number of patients (4/35). No CT antigen expression was found in the tumor tissue in 7 cases, including 5 cases in stage II and 1 case each in stage I and IV, respectively. Of the 11 CT genes examined, expression of 5 genes (NY-ESO-1, LAGE-1, MAGE-1, MAGE-3 and MAGE-4) was correlated with tumor progression. SCP-1 and CT10 expression was found more frequently in early stage patients. With progression of the disease, the frequency of co-expression of multiple CT antigen genes was significantly increased reaching 28.6% in stage III patients., Conclusion: Of the 11 different CT antigen genes examined by RT-PCR in esophageal carcinoma, 8 genes were detected in various frequencies in 28 of the 35 esophageal cancer patients studied. They are candidate tumor-associated antigens in the preparation of tumor vaccines for immunotherapy in esophageal cancer patients.

We describe an efficient NMR triple resonance approach for fast assignment of backbone amide resonance peaks in the 15N-HSQC spectrum. The exceptionally high resolutions achieved in the 3D HncocaNH and hNcocaNH experiments together with non-uniform sampling facilitate error-free sequential connection of backbone amides. Data required for the complete backbone amide assignment of the 56-residue protein GB1 domain were obtained in 14 h. Data analysis was vastly streamlined using a 'backbone NH walk' method to determine sequential connectivities without the need for 13C chemical shifts comparison. Amino acid residues in the sequentially connected NH chains are classified into two groups by a simple variation of the NMR pulse sequence, and the resulting 'ZeBra' stripe patterns are useful for mapping these chains to the protein sequence. In addition to resolving ambiguous assignments derived from conventional backbone experiments, this approach can be employed to rapidly assign small proteins or flexible regions in larger proteins, and to transfer assignments to mutant proteins or proteins in different ligand-binding states.

The RAG1 and RAG2 proteins catalyze V(D)J recombination and are essential for generation of the diverse repertoire of antigen receptor genes and effective immune responses. RAG2 is composed of a "core" domain that is required for the recombination reaction and a C-terminal nonessential or "non-core" region. Recent evidence has emerged arguing that the non-core region plays a critical regulatory role in the recombination reaction, and mutations in this region have been identified in patients with immunodeficiencies. Here we present the first structural data for the RAG2 protein, using NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate that the C terminus of RAG2 contains a noncanonical PHD finger. All of the non-core mutations of RAG2 that are implicated in the development of immunodeficiencies are located within the PHD finger, at either zinc-coordinating residues or residues adjacent to an alpha-helix on the surface of the domain that participates in binding to the signaling molecules, phosphoinositides. Functional analysis of disease and phosphoinositide-binding mutations reveals novel intramolecular interactions within the non-core region and suggests that the PHD finger adopts two distinct states. We propose a model in which the equilibrium between these states modulates recombination activity. Together, these data identify the PHD finger as a novel and functionally important domain of RAG2.

Objective: To observe the effect of reducing the incidence of CAUTI by spraying the long-acting antibacterial material JUS on the surface of catheter and urethral orifice., Methods: Sixty male patients, aged from 68 to 79, with indwelling catheter after TURP were divided randomly into two groups (control group and treated group), each consisting of 30 patients. For the control group, their urethral orifice was treated conventionally twice a day; while for the treated group, in addition to the conventional treatment of their urethral orifice, the catheter and their urethral orifice were sprayed with the long-acting antibacterial material JUS twice a day., Result: The number of cases of urinary tract infection in the treated group during catheterization was evidently less than those of the control group (P < 0.01), so the difference was of remarkable significance., Conclusion: The long-acting antibacterial material, after spraying on the wall of catheter and urethral orifice of the patients with indwelling catheter, may form a layer of physically antibacterial molecular film to prevent the formation of a bacterial biological film and effectively reduce the incidence of CAUTI.

Objective: To explore the specific surface markers for the isolation and purification of human spermatogonial stem cells (SSC)., Methods: Specific markers of human SSC were screened and identified in fetal and adult testes by immunohistochemical assay, using HSC markers c-kit, Thy-1 and human ES integrins., Results: In human adult testes, the alpha6 integrin extensively and significantly expressed on the surface of most of the germ cells in the seminiferous tubule, and beta1 integrin mainly expressed on the surface of the germ cells residing on or near the basal membrane in the seminiferous tubule. Thy-1 scattering expressed on the surface of some cells of the basal membrane, and on some Leydig cells as well. The three antigen markers expressed on the SSC of human adult testes specifically to some extent. SSEA-1 specifically expressed on the surface of the gonocytes in the fetal testes., Conclusion: The alpha6 and beta1 integrins and Thy-1 may be used for the SSC isolation as positive markers. SSEA-1 can be used as an identification marker for the fetus SSC.

Objective: To study the effect of dendritic cells (DC) co-cultured with cytokine induced killer (CIK) cells on cytotoxicity against K562 and K562 drug-resistant (K562/ADM) cells., Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) isolated from healthy adult donors were induced to obtain CIK cells and DC respectively and then these two kinds of cells were co-cultured. The cytotoxicity of the co-cultured cells against K562 and K562/ADM cells was measured with MTT assay., Results: The cytotoxicity CIK cells alone to K562 and K562/ADM cells was (20.0 +/- 1.2)% - (61.1 +/- 2.2)% and (17.5 +/- 2.1)% - (45.2 +/- 3.3)% respectively at low effector to target ratios (2.5 - 20.0). This effect was significantly enhanced by co-culturing with DCs being (25.2 +/- 2.3)% - (70.9 +/- 4.1)% and (22.4 +/- 2.7)% - (62.3 +/- 5.0)%., Conclusion: CIK cells showed high cytotoxicity against K562 and K562/ADM cells and the activity could be enhanced by co-culturing with DC.

Objective: To observe the effect of weightlessness simulation on rats mandible, lumbar vertebra and femur., Method: Twenty five Wistar rats were randomly arranged into control group (n=10) and tail-suspension group (n=15 rats). The experiment lasted for 28 d. Then the mandible, lumbar vertebra and femur were excised and the histological structure of condylar process of mandible, molar and premolar area of mandible body, first lumbar, head, middle segment and condyle of femur were examined., Result: After tail-suspension there was no distinct change in bone density and bone mass of condylar process. But the degree of interlacement of trabecular bone increased. The bone substance of mandible was very dense in both control and experimental groups. There was no stimulated difference of bone structure and bone mass between the two groups. There was no marked change in the thickness of periodontal membrane. The bone lamella in premolar area of experimental group arranged regularly. And its maturity was higher than that in molar area. The line of bone hyperplasia in molar area of experimental group arranged disorderly and irregularly, which means that much bone remodeling occurred. The component of trabecular bone decreased in femur and lumbar vertebra and the thickness was uneven. The interlacement and connection among trabecular bones was poor., Conclusion: Four weeks of stimulated weightlessness can lead to osteoporosis in acantha and femur [correction of feurar] but has no distinct effect on mandible.

Objective: To analyze and reduce the omission factors in detecting early stage prostate cancer by TRUS needle biopsy, and to improve the diagnosis of the disease., Methods: A total of 80 benign prostatic hyperplasia patients suspected of prostatic carcinoma underwent TRUS sextant biopsies. The pathological results being negative, the patients received transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)., Results: After TURP, 25 cases were pathologically diagnosed as prostate cancer, with an omission rate of 31.25% (25/80). Of the diagnosed cancer patients, 10 were treated by radical perineum prostatectomy, 8 by surgical castration, and 7 by medical castration., Conclusion: Some tumors may fail to be detected by TRUS needle biopsy. Serial or multi-core needle biopsies can decrease the omission rate in the diagnosis of organ confined cancer.

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF)/p75 is the dominant binding partner of HIV-1 integrase (IN) in human cells. We have determined the NMR structure of the integrase-binding domain (IBD) in LEDGF and identified amino acid residues essential for the interaction. The IBD is a compact right-handed bundle composed of five alpha-helices. Based on folding topology, the IBD is structurally related to a diverse family of alpha-helical proteins that includes eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4G and karyopherin-beta. LEDGF residues essential for the interaction with IN were localized to interhelical loop regions of the bundle structure. Interaction-defective IN mutants were previously shown to cripple replication although they retained catalytic function. The initial structure determination of a host cell factor that tightly binds to a retroviral enzyme lays the groundwork for understanding enzyme-host interactions important for viral replication.

We describe an efficient NMR triple resonance approach that correlates, at high resolution, protein side-chain and backbone resonances. It relies on the combination of two strategies: joint evolution of aliphatic side-chain proton/carbon coherences using a backbone N-H based HCcoNH reduced dimensionality (RD) experiment and non-uniform sampling (NUS) in two indirect dimensions. A typical data set containing such correlation information can be acquired in 2 days, at very high resolution unfeasible for conventional 4D HCcoNH-TOCSY experiments. The resonances of the aliphatic side-chain protons are unambiguously assigned to their attached carbons through the analysis of the 'sum' and 'difference' spectra. This approach circumvents the tedious process of manual resonance assignments using HCcH-TOCSY data, while providing additional resolving power of backbone N-H signals. A simple peak-list based algorithm has been implemented in the IBIS software for rapid automated backbone and side-chain assignments.

Monolayer adsorbed water on the beta-cristobalite (100) surface is studied via classical molecular dynamics simulations. The ordered two-dimensional (2D) tessellation ice structure (i.e., the four-membered and the eight-membered rings appear alternatively) is justified at low temperatures in the simulations. The stability of this possible new ice phase is further investigated by heating the system from 5 to 300 K. An order-disorder structural transition is observed between 100 and 200 K, featuring the melting process of the tessellation ice. This process is characterized by the water oxygen-oxygen radial distribution function, the coordination number, the distance vector between the center of mass of the oxygen and the hydrogen atoms in water, the mean square displacement of oxygen in water, and the vibrational density of state. The above techniques show consistency on that the order-disorder transition temperature of the 2D tessellation ice is far below 300 K. The 2D tessellation ice structure is also obtained via density functional calculations with different generalized gradient approximations. By comparing the calculated adsorption and the lateral energies between different methods, we find that the melting temperature of the specific 2D ice structure is strongly method dependent. Therefore, further experimental works are urged to justify this possible new ice phase and probe its stability.

A series of sulfur-containing 9-anilinoacridines related to amsacrine were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer potential. Among the compounds, both diol-containing compounds, 2a and 3, were the most cytotoxic of the sulfide series against V-79 cells in vitro (IC(90) = 2.1 microM and 1.9 microM, respectively). Among the non-alkyl-substituted compounds (7-9), compounds with electron-donating substitution para to the sulfide (7 and 9) were more cytotoxic than the electron-withdrawing nitro-substituted compound 8. The limited SAR suggested the importance of hydroxyl functionality along with its location for the cytotoxicity in the series. A preliminary anticancer screening against P388 leukemia showed that 2a is highly active in vivo as well. Topoisomerase II inhibitory activity appeared to be involved in the cytotoxicity of compound 2a. Sulfoxide compound 2b, which is 6-7-fold less cytotoxic than its sulfide 2a, appears to be a potential bioreductive anticancer prodrug on the basis of its bioreductive metabolism findings.

Objective: To investigate the effect of FK506 on the cavernous nerve regeneration after injury and to discuss its possible action mechanisms., Methods: Fifty-four male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups: Group 1 (sham control), Group 2 (unilateral cavernous nerve ablation), and Group 3 (unilateral cavernous nerve ablation with subsequent injection of FK506). Electrostimulation of the cavernous nerve was performed at 1 and 3 months after surgical injury. The intracavernous pressure was continuously detected and the rats were followed by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) staining to identify NOS in the penile nerve fibers of the penile shaft., Results: At 1 month, the number of NOS-positive nerve fibers significantly decreased with no statistical difference among the three groups except the sham controls (P > 0.05). At 3 months, electrostimulation revealed greater maximal intracavernous pressure in Group 3 than in Group 2 (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the number of NOS-positive nerve fibers showed a significant increase (P < 0.01), but not in Group 2 (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: FK506 injection enhances the regeneration of cavernous nerves after injury and the recovery of erectile function in rats.

The objective of this study was to investigate clinical distribution characteristics and drug sensitivity of infection pathogens in hematology department wards of our hospital during recent two years. The isolation and cultivation of pathogens from samples were performed by routine methods. Drug sensitivity tests of bacteria were performed by Kirby-Bauer method. Drug sensitivity tests of fungi were performed by ATBFUNGUS Drug sensitivity strips. The results showed that 102 strains of pathogens were isolated from all detected samples. The composition ratio of Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi was 42.2%, 34.3%, 3.5%, respectively. 58.8% of pathogens were isolated from samples of malignant hematopathy patients. 27.5% were isolated from samples of the patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO). 51.0% of pathogens were isolated from samples of the patients who suffered from agranulocytosis or leucocytopenia. Isolated fungi were mostly sensitive to anti-fungal drugs. G+ bacteria were most sensitive to vancomycin. G- bacteria were most sensitive to imipenem. Most bacteria were resistant to multiple antibiotics. It is concluded that the infection in hematology department wards was related with many conditions, such as weakened resistance of patients, leucocytopenia or agranulocytosis, tumor loading, etc. The prompt microbiological examination and drug sensitivity tests are important to rationally select antibiotics, reduce infection incidence and mortality rate, and decrease the occurrence of drug resistant strains.

Invariant CD3 subunit dimers (CD3epsilongamma, CD3epsilondelta, and CD3zetazeta) are the signaling components of the alphabeta T cell receptor (TCR). The recently solved structure of murine CD3epsilongamma revealed a unique side-to-side interface and central beta-sheets conjoined between the two C2-set Ig-like ectodomains, with the pairing of the parallel G strands implying a potential concerted piston-type movement for signal transduction. Although CD3gamma and CD3delta each dimerize with CD3epsilon, there are differential CD3 subunit requirements for receptor assembly and signaling among T lineage subpopulations, presumably mandated by structural differences. Here we present the solution structure of the heterodimeric CD3epsilondelta complex. Whereas the CD3epsilon subunit conformation is virtually identical to that in CD3epsilongamma, the CD3delta ectodomain adopts a C1-set Ig fold, with a narrower GFC front face beta-sheet that is more parallel to the ABED back face than those beta-sheets in CD3epsilon and CD3gamma. The dimer interface between CD3delta and CD3epsilon is highly conserved among species and of similar character to that in CD3epsilongamma. Glycosylation sites in CD3delta are arranged such that the glycans may point away from the membrane, consistent with a model of TCR assembly that allows the CD3delta chain to be in close contact with the TCR alpha-chain. This and many other structural and biological features provide a basis for modeling putative TCR/CD3 extracellular domain associations. The fact that the two clusters of transmembrane helices, namely, the three CD3epsilon-CD3gamma-TCRbeta segments and the five CD3epsilon-CD3delta-TCRalpha-CD3zeta-CD3zeta segments, are presumably centered beneath the G strand-paired CD3 heterodimers has important implications for TCR signaling.