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Background and Purpose: The detection and characterization of functional activities in the gray matter of schizophrenia (SZ) have been widely explored. However, the relationship between resting-state functional signals in the white matter of first-episode SZ and short-term treatment response remains unclear., Methods: Thirty-six patients with first-episode SZ and 44 matched healthy controls were recruited in this study. Patients were classified as nonresponders and responders based on response to antipsychotic medication during a single hospitalization. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and functional connectivity (FC) of white matter were calculated. The relationships between functional changes and clinical features were analyzed. In addition, voxel-based morphometry was performed to analyze the white matter volume., Results: One-way analysis of variance showed significant differences of fALFF and ReHo in the left posterior thalamic radiation and left cingulum (hippocampus) in the patient group, and the areas were regarded as seeds. The FC was calculated between seeds and other white matter networks. Compared with responders, nonresponders showed significantly increased FC between the left cingulum (hippocampus) and left posterior thalamic radiation, splenium of corpus callosum, and left tapetum, and were associated with the changes of clinical assessment. However, there was no difference in white matter volume between groups., Conclusion: Our work provides a novel insight that psycho-neuroimaging-based white matter function holds promise for influencing the clinical diagnosis and treatment of SZ., (© 2023 American Society of Neuroimaging.)

Background: Neuroimaging- and machine-learning-based brain-age prediction of schizophrenia is well established. However, the diagnostic significance and the effect of early medication on first-episode schizophrenia remains unclear., Aims: To explore whether predicted brain age can be used as a biomarker for schizophrenia diagnosis, and the relationship between clinical characteristics and brain-predicted age difference (PAD), and the effects of early medication on predicted brain age., Method: The predicted model was built on 523 diffusion tensor imaging magnetic resonance imaging scans from healthy controls. First, the brain-PAD of 60 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 60 healthy controls and 21 follow-up patients from the principal data-set and 40 pairs of individuals in the replication data-set were calculated. Next, the brain-PAD between groups were compared and the correlations between brain-PAD and clinical measurements were analysed., Results: The patients showed a significant increase in brain-PAD compared with healthy controls. After early medication, the brain-PAD of patients decreased significantly compared with baseline (P < 0.001). The fractional anisotropy value of 31/33 white matter tract features, which related to the brain-PAD scores, had significantly statistical differences before and after measurements (P < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected). Correlation analysis showed that the age gap was negatively associated with the positive score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in the principal data-set (r = -0.326, P = 0.014)., Conclusions: The brain age of patients with first-episode schizophrenia may be older than their chronological age. Early medication holds promise for improving the patient's brain ageing. Neuroimaging-based brain-age prediction can provide novel insights into the understanding of schizophrenia.

In patients with myocardial bridges (MBs) and insufficient medical management, the optimal surgical strategy remains undetermined. Based on computer simulations we developed a novel procedure, MB bypass grafting, that showed better hemodynamics compared with coronary artery bypass grafting in a simulation study. In this novel procedure the left internal mammary artery was used to connect the proximal and distal ends of the MB. For the first time we used MB bypass grafting to treat a patient with extensive MB. The patient recovered well after surgery, and the left internal mammary artery graft remained patent 3 months postoperatively., (Copyright © 2021 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dementia is one of the greatest global challenges for public health; however, the relationship between anticholinergic drugs and dementia remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the predictive roles of anticholinergic drugs in dementia risk. After pooling fourteen longitudinal and case-control studies with a total of 1,564,181 subjects, anticholinergic drug use was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Both low and high anticholinergic drug burdens were associated with dementia. Moreover, there was a dose-dependent relationship between anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia. With respect to the categories of anticholinergic drugs, antiparkinson, urological drugs, and antidepressants increased the risk for dementia; however, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal drugs played potentially protective roles. These findings underscore the importance of anticholinergic drugs as a potential modifiable risk factor for dementia and provide treatment priorities to optimize dementia prevention., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel organocatalytic asymmetric cascade 1,6-addition/hemiketalization/retro-Henry reaction of ortho-hydroxyphenyl-substituted p-QMs with α-nitroketones is described. A variety of novel chiral 2-(1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl)phenols are constructed for the first time with high yields (up to 92%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) under mild reaction conditions. A gram-scale experiment of this process is also presented.

Professor SHENG Can-ruo is a well-known national veteran doctor with over 70 years of clinical experience. He has unique academic thoughts and clinical experience for common diseases and some difficult and complicated diseases. This paper mainly introduces professor SHENG 's syndrome-differentiation thought and experience of acupoint selection for hot flashes. It is emphasized that common hot flashes, such as hot flashes and night sweats, are different between yin and yang . While regulating yin and yang , more attention should be paid to ying - wei harmony, which is not only suitable for women's perimenopausal syndrome, but also for a series of clinical diseases caused by refractory drugs such as endocrine therapy after breast cancer surgery. At the same time of acupoint selection based on syndrome differentiation, a more rational prescriptions should be made according to the duration of the disease and the experience acupoints to improve the clinical efficacy.

Objective: To explore the effect of ambient fine particulate matters (PM(2.5)) and temperature interaction on schizophrenia admission. Methods: All admission data were retrieved from the Psychiatric Hospital and Municipal Hospital of TongLing from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017. Daily air pollution and meteorological data were collected from the Tongling Environmental Protection Agency and Meteorological Bureau, respectively. A distributed lag non-linear model combined with the generalized additive model were applied to explore the effects of PM(2.5), multi-pollutants, and the interaction between temperature and PM(2.5) on schizophrenia admission. The stratification of temperature was divided by three criteria. The low temperature layer was defined as < P (5) or < P (10) or < P (20); P (5)- P (95) or P (10)- P (90) or P (20)- P (80) was defined as the middle temperature layer; > P (95) or > P (90) or > P (80) was defined as the high temperature layer. Results: From 2014 to 2017, 6 642 patients were admitted for schizophrenia in Tongling, and the median of PM(2.5) and temperature were 47.0 μg/m(3) and 17.5 ℃, respectively. The median concentration of PM(2.5) ( P (50)) was taken as a reference. When the exposure concentration of PM(2.5) was P (90), the lagged effect appeared in the first day with RR= 1.03 (95 %CI : 1.00-1.07) and reached the maximum in the fifth day with RR= 1.16 (95 %CI : 1.13-1.19). In the multi-pollutant models, it was found that the simultaneous inclusion of PM(2.5) and NO(2) had higher risk of schizophrenia admission, with the RR= 1.18 (95 %CI : 1.15-1.22), P< 0.001. The risk of schizophrenia admission caused by PM(2.5) exposure at high temperature was greatest under the three temperature stratification standards, which were 12.1% (8.5%-15.7%), 9.7% (6.9%-12.6%) and 17.1% (11.6%-22.8%), all P values <0.001. Conclusion: With the increase of PM(2.5) concentration, the risk of schizophrenia admission is increased, and the risk effect of PM(2.5) is stronger at high temperature.

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A decrease in the number and functionality of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) leads to reduced endothelial repair and the development of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect and underlying mechanisms of nuclear factor erythroid 2‑related factor 2 (Nrf2) on EPC dysfunction caused by diabetic mellitus. The biological functions of EPCs in streptozotocin‑induced diabetic mice were evaluated, including migration, proliferation, angiogenesis and the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), stromal‑derived growth factor (SDF) and nitric oxide (NO). Oxidative stress levels in diabetic EPCs were also assessed by detecting intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). EPC senescence was evaluated by measuring p16 and b‑gal expression and observing the senescence‑associated secretory phenotype. In addition, the function of EPCs and level of oxidative stress were assessed following Nrf2 silencing or activation. Nrf2 silencing resulted in a decrease of EPC biological functions, accelerated cell senescence and increased oxidative stress, as indicated by ROS and MDA upregulation accompanied with decreased SOD activity. Furthermore, Nrf2 silencing inhibited migration, proliferation and secretion in EPCs, while it increased oxidative stress and cell senescence. Nrf2 activation protected diabetic EPCs against the effects of oxidative stress and cell senescence, ameliorating the biological dysfunction of EPCs derived from mice with diabetes. In conclusion, Nrf2 overexpression protected against oxidative stress‑induced functional damage in EPCs derived from diabetic mice by regulating cell senescence.

Objective: To investigate the effect of humidex combined with mean temperature and relative humidity on the incidence of bacillary dysentery in Hefei. Methods: Daily counts of bacillary dysentery cases and weather data in Hefei were collected from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2013. Then, the humidex was calculated from temperature and relative humidity. A Poisson generalized linear regression combined with distributed lag non-linear model was applied to analyze the relationship between humidex and the incidence of bacillary dysentery, after adjusting for long-term and seasonal trends, day of week and other weather confounders. Stratified analyses by gender, age and address were also conducted. Results: The risk of bacillary dysentery increased with the rise of humidex. The adverse effect of high humidex (90 percentile of humidex) appeared in 2-days lag and it was the largest at 4-days lag ( RR =1.063, 95 %CI : 1.037-1.090). Subgroup analyses indicated that all groups were affected by high humidex at lag 2-5 days. Conclusion: High humidex could significantly increase the risk of bacillary dysentery, and the lagged effects were observed.

The purposes of this study were to analyze the expression and distribution of human kallikrein 5 (hK5) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues, to establish a standard operating procedure (SOP) for its immunohistochemical assay, and to evaluate the possibility of hK5 being a prognostic biomarker for TNBC. Recombinant hK5 protein and specific antibody were prepared, and the expression and distribution of hK5 in TNBC tissues were detected using immunohistochemistry. An SOP for immunohistochemical staining of hK5 in TNBC tissues was established to allow automatic staining under optimized conditions. The resulting images were digitized for evaluation and statistical analysis via a human scoring system. Our results showed that expression of hK5 protein could predict the progression of TNBC. Pearson's chi-square test results showed that high hK5 expression in tumor stromal cells was significantly correlated with distal metastasis (P = 0.039). A high staining score for lymphocyte infiltration in tumor stroma was significantly correlated with low histological grade of tumor (P = 0.025). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses verified that the staining score for hK5 in tumor stromal cells may be a biomarker for poor prognosis in TNBC patients (univariate HR = 2.289, 95%CI = 1.362-3.848, P = 0.002; multivariate HR = 2.105, 95%CI = 1.189-3.727, P = 0.011). In conclusion, the expression level of hK5 in tumor stromal cells is a promising biomarker for poor prognosis in TNBC. Patients with high histological grade are more prone to distal metastasis and aggressive tumor progression.

In this study, we isolated 21 novel polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci from the pen shell Atrina pectinata using magnetic-bead hybridization enrichment. The characteristics of these loci were tested using a population of 30 individuals collected from the Penglai coast, Shandong Province. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 13, and polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 0.1730 to 0.8954. Values for observed heterozygosity (HO) and expected heterozygosity (HE) ranged from 0.0714 to 0.9231 and from 0.1948 to 0.9237, respectively. Four loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The newly developed microsatellite markers will be beneficial in assessing the genetic diversity, population structure and genetic conservation of A. pectinata, and in other relevant research.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the epigenetic changes via hypermethylation status of TIMP-3, GSTP-1 and 14-3-3σ genes, between healthy subjects and patients with reversible chronic inflammatory disease, and between healthy subjects and patients with irreversible malignant disease, to highlight the genetic changes that occur in the progression from an inflammatory condition to irreversible genetic changes commonly observed in cancer patients., Methods: DNA was extracted from the blood of 680 healthy subjects, and tissues and blood of 110 patients with chronic inflammation disease of the gums, as well as neoplastic tissues of 108 breast cancer patients. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for TIMP-3, GSTP-1 and 14-3-3σ was performed, and hypermethylation status was analyzed and compared between the 3 groups., Results: The hypermethylation frequencies of TIMP-3 and GSTP-1 of reversible chronic inflammatory gum disease and the control group were similar, but both were significantly lower than those for malignant disease patients (p<0.0001). The methylation frequency of 14-3-3σ in chronic inflammatory gum disease was higher than in the cancer and control groups (p<0.0001). The methylation of CpG islands in TIMP-3 and GSTP-1 in chronic inflammation patients occurred as frequently as in the control group, but less frequently than in breast cancer patients. However, the epigenetic silencing of 14-3-3σ occurred more frequently in the chronic inflammation group than in cancer patients and healthy controls., Conclusions: The epigenetic silencing of 14-3-3σ might be essential for chronic inflammatory gum disease. The epigenetic changes presented in chronic inflammation patients might demonstrate an irreversible destruction in the tissues or organs similar to cancer.

3-Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) was covalently grafted on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by silicon-oxygen bonds formation. The APTMS-modified GCE was used as a suitable charged substrate to fabricate Keggin Zn-substituted tungstoborate (BW11Zn)-consisting monolayer film through layer-by-layer assembly based on the electrostatic attraction. This modification strategy is proven to be a general one suitable for anchoring many kinds of POMs on the APTMS-modified GCE. The APTMS/BW11Zn film obtained on GCE is electrochemically active in acid aqueous solutions and exhibited three pairs of well defined, stable and quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetry peaks in the pH range 0-2. The anodic and cathodic peak currents are linearly proportional to the scan rate in the 200-1000 mV s(-1), indicating a surface confined electrode process. The formal potentials of BW11Zn film, E0 versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE), are -0.27, -0.43, -0.55 V in pH 1 H2SO4 solution and changed linearly with the slope of 44, 63, and 60 mV/pH in the pH range 0-2, respectively. The BW11Zn/APTMS/GC electrode shows good catalytic activity for the reduction of BrO3-, NO2- and H2O2.

The effects of virus-like double-stranded RNA (dsRNA, PolyI:C) and DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (Aza-CdR) on CD4 gene expression were investigated in a porcine kidney cell line (PK15). We found that expression levels of TLR3 and IFNαwere significantly upregulated by PolyI:C, compared to the untreated PK15 cells, which shows that PolyI:C successfully mimics viral infection in PK15 cells. We also found that PolyI:C (10 μg/ml) and/or Aza-CdR (5 μM) significantly induces DNA demethylation of porcine CD4, promoting the binding of NF-κB to the CpG site on the CD4 promoter and activating expression of CD4. These data help clarify the regulatory mechanism of DNA methylation of the CD4 gene in non-immune cell response to virus replication. Further study is warranted to identify CD4 gene expression regulated by DNA methylation and live virus infection.

Hulless barley is an important cereal crop worldwide, especially in Tibet of China. However, this crop is usually susceptible to powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. In this study, we aimed to understand the functions and pathways of genes involved in the disease resistance by transcriptome sequencing of a Tibetan barley landrace with high resistance to powdery mildew. A total of 831 significant differentially expressed genes were found in the infected seedlings, covering 19 functions. Either "cell," "cell part," and "extracellular region" in the cellular component category or "binding" and "catalytic" in the category of molecular function as well as "metabolic process" and "cellular process" in the biological process category together demonstrated that these functions may be involved in the resistance to powdery mildew of the hulless barley. In addition, 330 KEGG pathways were found using BLASTx with an E-value cut-off of <10(-5). Among them, three pathways, namely, "photosynthesis," "plant-pathogen interaction," and "photosynthesis-antenna proteins" had significant matches in the database. Significant expressions of the three pathways were detected at 24 h, 48 h, and 96 h after infection, respectively. These results indicated a complex process of barley response to powdery mildew infection.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture could modulate various brain systems in the resting brain networks. Graph theoretical analysis offers a novel way to investigate the functional organization of the large-scale cortical networks modulated by acupuncture at whole brain level. In this study, we used wavelets correlation analysis to estimate the pairwise correlations between 90 cortical and subcortical human brain regions in normal human volunteers scanned during the post-stimulus resting state., Methods: Thirty-two college students, all right-handed and acupuncture naïve, participated in this study. Every participant received only one acupoint stimulation, resulting in 16 subjects in one group. Both structural functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data (3D sequence with a voxel size of 1 mm(3) for anatomical localization) and functional fMRI data (TR = 1500 ms, TE = 30 ms, flip angle = 90°) were collected for each subject. After thresholding the resulting scale-specific wavelet correlation matrices to generate undirected binary graphs, we compared graph metrics of brain organization following verum manual acupuncture (ACU) and sham acupuncture (SHAM) groups., Results: The topological parameters of the large-scale brain networks in ACU group were different from those of the SHAM group at multiple scales. There existed distinct modularity functional brain networks during the post-stimulus resting state following ACU and SHAM at multiple scales., Conclusions: The distinct modulation patterns of the resting brain attributed to the specific effects evoked by acupuncture. In addition, we also identified that there existed frequency-specific modulation in the post-stimulus resting brain following ACU and SHAM. The modulation may be related to the effects of verum acupuncture on modulating special disorder treatment. This preliminary finding may provide a new clue to understand the relatively function-oriented specificity of acupuncture effects.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate and compare cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva of patients with aggressive periodontitis (AP) before and after treatment., Methods: Forty AP patients and 40 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Clinical parameters included probing depth and sulcus bleeding index. GCF and saliva were collected from both groups. The levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α were measured using ELISA., Results: The probing depth in AP patients was significantly deeper before treatment than after treatment. The concentrations of cytokines in GCF and saliva were significantly higher in AP patients than in the control group and decreased after periodontal treatment. Positive relationships were found between cytokine levels in GCF and clinical parameters. The reliability of cytokines in GCF and saliva was assessed by Cronbach's alpha analysis, which could be considered satisfactory., Conclusion: Cytokine levels in GCF and saliva correlated well with clinical parameters and AP. Measurements of cytokines in saliva may be regarded as a noninvasive and quick method for monitoring periodontal disease activity.

Purpose: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder developed by exposure to any incident or circumstance that results in psychological trauma. In this study we compared the psychological and physiological changes between patients with malignant and benign breast tumors., Methods: We selected 150 Chinese women with a breast mass, aged 20 to 45 years, from the Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between 2009 and 2011 for this study; 30 healthy participants were enrolled into the control group. All subjects were examined and had their tumor mass aspirated for diagnosis. Equal numbers of patients with benign and malignant tumors were recruited. Patients with malignant tumors presented with low grade, minimal tumor invasion and non-involved lymph nodes. Questionnaires regarding anxiety, depression and PTSD were conducted 2 hours before getting the diagnostic result and 1 month after the diagnosis. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, cortisol and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein before and after diagnosis were investigated and compared. The number of occurrences of oral ulcerative mucositis was also recorded., Results: All patients experienced a certain degree of anxiety and their biomarkers were elevated compared with the normal reference range before the pathological report was disclosed. However, 1 month after the operation, the benign tumor group showed significantly lower levels of biomarkers and anxiety scores than patients with a malignant breast tumor. The results were consistent throughout 12 months of study., Conclusion: Study subjects with a benign tumor returned to their normal condition after being diagnosed, while patients with a malignant tumor suffered from a certain degree of PTSD or depression.

Background: Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a chronic inflammation associated with elevations of several inflammatory and cardiac markers. Studies implicated CP as one of the etiologies in coronary heart disease (CHD). Cardiotoxicity is a major complication of anticancer drugs, including anthracyclines and 5-fluorouracil (5FU). The most severe cardiac complications are heart failure, arrhythmia and coronary heart disease (CHD). In this study, we compared the level of inflammatory factors and cardiac markers between chronic periodontitis patients and cancer patients receiving chemotherapy., Methods: 108 blood samples of periodontally healthy subjects were obtained on random from Hong Kong Red Cross, and these represented the controlled population. Forty-four patients diagnosed with chronic periodontitis were recruited from the West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University. They have received scaling and root planning with mean pocket depths of 6.05 mm. Thirty breast cancer patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma from UNIMED Medical Institute, Hong Kong gave consent to participate in this study. They received 4 cycles of 500mg/m2 5-fluorouracil, 75 mg/m2 epirubicin and 500mg/m2 cyclophosphamide at a 3-week interval between each cycle. Peripheral venous blood from each group was taken for measurement of blood cells, inflammatory marker (P-selectin, high sensitvity C-reactive protein) and cardiac markers (troponin T; troponin I; N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)., Results: The lymphocyte count was higher (p < 0.05) in periodontitis patients than the other two groups, and more neutrophils (p < 0.05) were seen in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The two test groups demonstrated higher levels (p < 0.01) of inflammatory and cardiac markers than the control group., Conclusions: The elevated cardiac markers found in periodontitis patients suggested that they may carry potential risks in developing cardiac lesions. Troponin T, troponin I, pro-BNP, LDH and high sensitvity C-reactive protein may be used as markers to monitor cardiac lesions in chronic inflammatory patients.

Background: Periodontitis is a common disease that affects the periodontal tissue supporting the teeth. This disease is attributed to multiple risk factors, including diabetes, cigarette smoking, alcohol, pathogenic microorganisms, genetics and others. Human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide with cysteine-rich ß-sheets and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. CD14 is a protein involved in the detection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and has also been associated with periodontitis. This study investigates the single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) region, -1654(V38I), of the human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) gene as well as the -159 region of the CD14 gene in subjects with chronic periodontitis., Methods: Blood samples from periodontally healthy subjects and periodontitis patients were obtained. DNA was extracted from the blood and was used to perform restriction digest at the polymorphic G1654A site of DEFB1 with the enzyme HincII. The polymorphic site 159TT of CD14 was digested with the enzyme AvaII. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed on soluble samples to determine the protein expressions., Results: The control and patient groups expressed 35% and 38% 1654 A/A genotype of DEFB1, respectively. The A allele frequency of the control group was 40%, while the patient blood group was 54%. The mean hBD-1 protein levels of the control and patient samples were 102.83 pg/mL and 252.09 pg/mL, respectively. The genotype distribution of CD14 in healthy subjects was 16% for C/C, 26% for T/T and 58% for C/T. The genotype frequencies of CD14 in periodontitis patients were 10% for C/C, 43% for T/T and 47% for C/T. The CD14 protein expression determined by ELISA showed a mean protein level of the control samples at 76.28ng/mL and the patient blood samples at 179.27ng/mL with a p value of 0.001.Our study demonstrated that patients suffering from chronic periodontitis present more commonly with the 1654A/A genotype on the DEFB1 gene and the 159T/T genotype on the CD14 gene., Conclusions: This study purely investigated the association between periodontitis and one polymorphic site on both DEFB1 and CD14 gene, with the purpose of expanding knowledge for the future development in diagnostic markers or therapeutic interventions to combat this disease.

Background: Periodontal disease is thought to arise from the interaction of various factors, including the susceptibility of the host, the presence of pathogenic organisms, and the absence of beneficial species. The genetic factors may play a significant role in the risk of periodontal diseases. Cytokines initiate, mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses. The aim of this study is to compare genotypes and soluble protein of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and IL-4) in subjects with or free of chronic periodontitis., Methods: A total of 1,290 Chinese subjects were recruited to this clinical trial: 850 periodontally healthy controls and 440 periodontal patients. All subjects were free of systemic diseases. Oral examinations were performed, and the following parameters were recorded for each subject: supragingival/subgingival calculus, gingival recession, bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), gingival recession and tooth mobility. The peripheral blood samples were collected for genetic and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. Restriction enzymes were used for digestion of amplified fragments of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and IL-4., Results: The protein expressions of patient and control samples for IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-4 measured by ELISA confirmed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). The digestion of fragments of various genes showed that the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1α and TNF-α, and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 demonstrated a correlation with chronic inflammation in patients (X2: p < 0.001). The remaining genes investigated in patients and healthy subjects (IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10) did not show any significant difference., Conclusions: The cytokine gene polymorphisms may be used as a marker for periodontitis susceptibility, clinical behaviour and severity. This detection offers early diagnosis and induction of prophylaxis to other family members against disease progression.

Background: Noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques have opened a "window" into the brain, allowing us to investigate the anatomical and physiological function involving acupuncture needling. Imaging its sustained effect rather than acute effect on the brain networks may further help elucidate the mechanisms by which acupuncture achieves its therapeutic effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the functional brain networks during the post-resting state following acupuncture at KI3 in comparison with acupuncture at GB40., Methods: Needling at acupoints GB40 and KI3 was performed in twelve subjects. Six minutes of scanning at rest were adopted before and after acupuncture at different acupoints. Then we divided the whole brain into 39 regions and constructed functional brain networks during the post-acupuncture resting states (PARS)., Results: For direct comparisons, increased correlations during post-resting state following acupuncture at KI3 compared to resting state (RS) were primarily located between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and post temporal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and post temporal cortex. These brain regions were all cognitive-related functions. In contrast, the increased connections between the anterior insula and temporal cortex mainly emerged following acupuncture at GB40 compared with the RS., Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that acupuncture at different acupoints belonging to the same anatomic segment can exert different modulatory effects on the reorganizations of post-acupuncture RS networks. The heterogeneous modulation patterns between two conditions may relate to the functional specific modulatory effects of acupuncture.

Objective: To analyze the association between the synovial expression of cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) and susceptibility variants of HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles and/or peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: From October 2008 to December 2011, 53 RA patients and 42 controls were enrolled. The expression of CCP in RA synovial tissues was detected by immunohistochemical assay with 6×His tagged anti-CCP single chain fragment V (ScFv) antibodies generated by pHEN2 phagemid recombinant antibodies display system. PADI4 SNP was genotyped by reverse transcription cDNA sequencing and heterozygote was DNA haplotype was mapped by TA clone sequencing. HLA-DRB1 SE alleles were analyzed by sequence specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR)., Results: The prevalence of synovial CCP expression was significantly different between RA group and the control (76.9% and 11.4% respectively, P < 0.01). The frequencies of 2 SNPs (PADI4&#95;89 G+ and PADI4&#95;104 T+) varied significantly between the groups(P < 0.05). Compared with the major haplotypes, only these two minor alleles were associated with the increased RA susceptibility (OR = 3.67 and 2.53, P < 0.05). SE+ alleles was strongly associated with RA susceptibility (OR = 5.57, P < 0.01). The synovial expression of CCP in RA was strongly associated with SE+ alleles, only 2 minor SNPs (PADI4&#95;89 G+ and PADI4&#95;104T+) and the combination. Serum anti-CCP titers were significantly associated with SE+ alleles, PADI4&#95;104T+, SE+/PADI4&#95;89 G+ and SE+/PADI4&#95;104T+ haplotype., Conclusion: The synovial expression of CCP and the generation of anti-CCP antibodies are strongly associated with SE alleles and/or certain PADI4 gene SNP in RA.

The Keggin II B element-monosubstitiuted heteropoly compounds with the stoichiometry of K7 [BW11 O39 M(H2O)] (M = Zn, Cd) were prepared by one-pot method and characterizated via elemental analyses, FTIR, UV and XRD. The photocatalytic activity of K7 [BW11O39M(H2O)] was tested vis degradation of the model molecule, methyl red (MR). After 60 min irradiation in the presence of K7 [BW11O39M(H2O)] (20 mg x L(-1)), the degradation rate of an aqueous MR (25 micromol X L(-1), pH 2) got to 95%.

Background: Previous neuroimaging studies primarily focused on the spatial distribution of acupuncture needling stimulation. However, a salient feature of acupuncture was its long-lasting effect. This study attempted to detect the spatial-temporal neural responses evoked by acupuncture at an analgesia acupoint ST36 by using magnetoencephalography. To further verify its functional specificity, we also adopted acupuncture at Pericardium 6 and nonacupoint as separated controls., Methods: Forty-two college students, all right-handed and acupuncture naïve, participated in this study. Every participant received only one acupoint stimulation, resulting in 14 subjects in one group. Both magnetoencephalography data (151-channel whole-head system) and structural functional magnetic resonance imaging data (3D sequence with a voxel size of 1 mm(3) for anatomical localization) were collected for each subject. All processing procedures were performed in BrainStorm Toolbox., Results: Acupuncture at ST36 showed a significantly time-varied brain activities with different onset time. Our results presented that acupuncture at different acupoints (or comparing with nonacupoint) can specifically induce neural responses in different brain areas-acupuncture at ST36 can specifically induce the neural responses of pain-inhibition areas, while acupuncture at PC6 can specifically induce the activities of the insula and amygdala., Conclusions: In the present study, we attempted to detect the temporal neural responses underlying the functional specificity of acupuncture at ST36, using acupoint belonging to different meridians and non-acupoint with efficacy-irreverent as separate controls. The specific neural substrates involving acupuncture at different acupoints may be related to its functional specificity in clinical settings.

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different forms of nitrogen application (ammonium, NH4(+) -N; nitrate, NO3(-) -N; and amide-N, NH2-N) and different concentrations (40, 200 and 800 mg/L) on N2O flux from the fluvo-aquic soil in a lab-simulated freezing and thawing process. N2O flux slowly decreased with soil freezing, and then increased slowly with soil thawing, reaching a peak at the initial thawing stage. The average N2O fluxes with addition of NH4(+) -N, NO3(-) -N and NH2 -N are 119.01, 611.61 and 148.22 microg x (m2 x h) (-1) respectively at the concentration of 40 mg/L; 205.28, 1084.40 and 106.13 microg x (m2 x h)(-1) at the concentration of 200 mg/L; 693.95, 1 820.02 and 49.74 microg x (m2 x h)(-1) at the concentration of 800 mg/L. The control is only 100.35 microg x (m2 x h)(-1). N2O flux with addition of NH4(+) -N and NO3(-) -N increased with increasing concentration, ranging from 17.49% to 425.67% for NH4(+) -N, and 563.38% to 1 458.6% for NO3(-) -N compared with control. There was a time lag achieving stable N2O emission flux with concentration increase. In contrast, by adding NH2 -N to soil, N2O flux decreased with increasing concentration. In sum, inorganic nitrogen such as NH4(+) -N or NO3(-) -N fertilizer incorporated in soil enhanced the cumulative N2O flux from the fluvo-aquic soil relative to amide-N. This study suggested that ammonium and nitrate concentration in overwintering water should be less than 200 mg/L and 40 mg/L in order to reduce N2O emissions from soil, regardless of amide-N.

To prevent leaf senescence of petunia, the cytokinin biosynthetic gene isopentenyl transferase (ipt) was placed under the control of 35S promoter and introduced into petunia. PCR analysis showed an expected 0.5 Kb fragment of ipt gene in transgenic petunia. RT-PCR analysis indicated the expression of ipt gene in the transgenic lines. Leaves from transgenic plants remained green and healthy in normal culture condition, while the non-transformed plants turned to yellow. Transgenic plants showed a reduction in height and smaller leaf sizes. In transgenic lines, the internodes were shorter, and the roots grew slower than the non-transformed plants.

Objective: To detect the correlation between the microsatellite DNA polymorphism of adrenomedullin(ADM) gene (repeated sequences of CA) and the atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (ACI)., Methods: With PCR, ADM genotype was monitored from 189 normotensive subjects and 283 cerebral infarction patients. By using radioimmunoassay, their plasma ADM concentration was measured, so as the biochemical index., Results: The genotype distribution of ADM between the health control and ACI groups was significantly different, chi square was 28.732, P < 0.05. As one of the four alleles, including 11, 13, 14 and 19 alleles, the frequency of 19 allele in ACI groups was much higher than that in the health control group, chi square was 26.929, P < 0.05. However, there was no significant difference in plasma ADM concentration among the different genotypes of the ACI patients., Conclusion: Microsatellite DNA polymorphism of ADM gene may be associated with the genetic predisposition to ACI.

Objective: To explore the influence of adrenomedullin (ADM) on apoptosis of neuron, volume of infarction and the expression of early growth response gene-1 (Egr-1) mRNA in the rat with focal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury., Methods: Fifty-four SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, ADM femoral vein group, internal carotid artery group and lateral cerebral ventricle group. The model was reproduced by ligating the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with a ligature for 2 hours followed by injection of ADM through femoral artery, internal carotid artery and lateral cerebral ventricle before reperfusion for 22 hours. The volume of infarction was estimated with tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, apoptosis of the neuron was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method, the positive expression of Egr-1 mRNA was detected by in-situ hybridization., Results: The volume of infarction were smaller after the injection of ADM through different ways than that of I/R group. The result was better when the internal carotid artery and the lateral cerebral ventricle were used than that after injection by the way of the femoral vein (both P<0.05). There were few positive cells with TUNEL staining in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus CA1 zone in the sham operation group, and more apoptotic cells were seen in the group with focal brain I/R injury (both P<0.01). After the administration of ADM, especially through the internal carotid artery and the lateral cerebral ventricle, the number of the positive cells with TUNEL staining was decreased obviously compared with I/R group (both P<0.01). There was a little positive expression of Egr-1 mRNA in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus CA1 zone in sham operation group. The expression was enhanced in the group with focal brain I/R injury (both P<0.01). With the injection of ADM, the expression was much more enhanced, especially when internal carotid artery and the lateral cerebral ventricle were used for injection compared with those in I/R group (both P<0.01)., Conclusion: The injection of ADM through different ways can reduce the neural injury, decrease the apoptosis of the neurons and the volume of the infarction, and increase the expression of Egr-1 mRNA. Therefore, it is efficacious in the treatment of cerebral ischemia.

Objective To observe the influence of adrenomedullin (ADM) on neuron apoptosis, infarction volume of brain, and the expression of early growth response 1 (Egr-1) mRNA in ischemia-reperfusion rats. Methods The arteria cerebri media was tied for 2 h to construct the ischemia model. Infarction volume was detected by triphenltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, neuronal apoptosis and necrosis was detected with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick labeling (TUNEL) method, and the Egr-1 mRNA expression was examined by in situ hybridization (ISH). Results Infarction volume after ischemia-reperfusion is (269 +/- 20) mm(3). Infarction volume after injection of ADM through different ways are femoral vein (239 +/- 17) mm(3) (decreased by 11.2%), arteria carotis (214 +/- 14) mm(3) (by 20.4%) and lateral cerebral ventricle (209 +/- 13) mm(3) (by 22.3%), respectively. The results indicate that injecting ADM through arteria carotis and lateral cerebral ventricle is much more effective than it through femoral vein (P < 0.05). The TUNEL-positive cells in cerebral cortex or hippocampus are few in the sham operation group, but much more in the ischemia-reperfusion group. After being supplied with ADM, especially through arteria carotis interna or lateral cerebral ventricle way, the TUNEL-positive cells decreased obviously. Expression of Egr-1 mRNA was low in the cerebral cortex of the sham operation group rats, enhanced in the ischemia and reperfusion group rats, and enhanced markedly after treatment with ADM, especially through arteria carotis interna or lateral cerebral ventricle way (P < 0.01). Conclusion Injection of ADM through different ways could alleviate neural dysfunction, decrease neuron apoptosis and brain infarction volume, and increase the expression of Egr-1 mRNA.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility, efficacy and safety of high dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) with CD(34)(+) cell selection in patients with refractory and severe autoimmune diseases., Methods: Twenty-one patients with SLE, RA, pSS, SSc or MCTD were enrolled in the study from 1999. Autologous haemopoietic stem cells were mobilized with CTX 3 approximately 4 g/m(2) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). CD(34)(+) cells were selected by CliniMACS. After conditioning with CTX (200 mg/kg) and pig antithymocyte globulin (ATG, 90 mg/kg) or CTX (150 mg/kg) and total body irradiation (TBI, 4 approximately 6 Gy), the enriched CD(34)(+) cells were reinfused., Results: All patients completed the mobilization and leukapheresis procedures successfully, and proceeded to receive conditioning and transplantation. Two patients died of complication related to transplantation, one is CMV infection, the other is severe pneumonia during the course of granulocyte deficiency. A MCTD patient completed the stem cell mobilization and died of severe pulmonary hypertension and heart failure before CD(34)(+) cells reinfusing. Two SLE patients relapsed in 26, 37 months respectively and a RA patient relapsed in 15 months after transplantation. Other patients got improved, with SLE-DAI score decreasing from 17 to 4 score and proteinuria decreasing from 6.7 g to 2.3 g in SLE patients; DAS28 score from 7.9 to 2.1 in RA patient; Symptom improved and lab results recovered in SS., Conclusion: High dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with CD(34)(+) cell selection is feasible and relative safe. Patients remain free from disease active and improved continuously. Some patients could relapse after transplantation. Long-term effect need to be further observed.

Objective: To make the emergency response to the diseases control and prevention with flooding more scientific ally-based and efficient., Methods: Hubei and Jiangxi province were chosen as the study fields and to establish a data management system of emergency response on flooding using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS)., Results: Spatial and basic data together with data on flooding were linked to the code of location, and established on the platform of GIS. Through this system, information on flooding was able to be more rapidly and visually analysed., Conclusion: Using this system, the extent of flooding and the possible epidemic of some communicable diseases during flooding could be ascertained and predicted scientifically and the resource and capacity of emergency response to the disease control and prevention in flooding areas could also be evaluated.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of autologous peripheral CD(34)(+) cell transplantation for the treatment of severe autoimmune disease., Methods: Ten patients received mobilized and purified CD(34)(+) cells transplantation. The mobilization regimen was CTX plus rhG-CSF and the CD(34)(+) cells were selected by CliniMACS. (1.98 +/- 0.95) x 10(8) CD(34)(+) cells were obtained. The purity of CD(34)(+) cells was (91.4 +/- 10.6)% and the recovering rate was (60.5 +/- 19.8)%. The conditioning regimens were CTX (200 mg/kg) plus ATG (90 mg/kg) or CTX (150 mg/kg) plus TBI (4 - 6 Gy). (2.14 +/- 1.05) x 10(6)/kg CD(34)(+) cells were infused. The time of ANC >or= 0.5 x 10(9)/L was 8.6 +/- 2.5 days, and platelet >or= 20 x 10(9)/L was 9.0 +/- 5.2 days. After the hematopoietic recovery, the levels of CD(3)(+) T cell, CD(19)(+) B cells and CD(16)(+)CD(56)(+) NK cells were all below that of pre-transplantation. The main transplant-related complication was CMV infection. The transplant-related mortality was 2/10. All patients who survived showed improvement of the disease with DAI score decreasing from 17 to 4 in systemic lupus erythematosus patients, DAS 28 score from 6.4 to 1.8 in rheumatoid arthritis patients., Conclusion: The result suggests that autologous peripheral CD(34)(+) cell transplantation is an alternative choice for the treatment of severe autoimmune disease. The short-term outcome is satisfying.

Objective: To constitute a model of B immunoblastic lymphomas in the Hu-PBL-SCID mice., Methods: The SCID mice were reconstituted by intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) of 5 x 10(7) human lymphocytes from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) seronegative individuals. After one week, the SCID mice were inoculated with EBV by i.p. injection, and subjected to the investigation of whether there was any tumor in the abdomen of such SCID mice four weeks later. The characteristics of the found tumor was observed by the methods of Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) stain, immunohistochemical staining and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)., Results: Compared with the control groups, all the EBV-infected Hu-PBL-SCID mice had abdominal solid tumors [(32 +/- 12.5) mm3] developed, often located in the liver. HE staining and immunohistochemical staining showed the tumors were human B cell lymphomas. EBV DNA could be detected in the tumors by the PCR., Conclusions: The model of B immunoblastic lymphomas in the Hu-PBL-SCID mice is successfully constituted, and may well be useful to the human tumor immunological study.

With ESR spin trapping methods and UV-VIS spectrometry, the reaction between ascorbic acid and iron ion was studied. It was found that one mole of ascorbic acid was able to reduce four moles of ferric ions, but no ESR signal of any radical was observed. Based on the above experiments the mechanisms of these reactions were suggested and effects of ascorbic acid in antioxidation and the promoting of oxidation were discussed.