[Effects of sand treatment in Uyghur medicine on caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax, and the apoptotic expression in the cartilage of rabbit knee osteoarthritis model].

Objective: To study the effects of sand treatment on cysteine aspartate-specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3), B-cell leukemia-lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein gene (Bax) in the articular cartilage of rabbit knee osteoarthritis (OA), and the apoptotic protein expression, thus providing theoretical evidence for sand treatment in Uyghur medicine.

Methods: The OA animal model was established by fixing right hind limbs with gypsum in 22 New Zealand rabbits. Of them, 2 original model rabbits were taken as the control group, while the rest 20 were randomly divided into a free running group and a sand treatment group, 10 in each group.

[Apoptosis induced in vitro by dexamethasone and ATP in the protoscolex of Echinococcus granulosus].

Objective: To explore the apoptosis induced by dexamethasone and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in protoscolex of Echinococcus granulosus.

Methods: Protoscoleces were cultured in vitro and used for the experiment in 4 groups: dexamethasone (5 mmol/L) group, ATP (1.6 mmol/L) group, dexamethasone (5 mmol/L)+ATP (1.

[Separation of the up-regulated genes under nitrogen starvation from Phaeodactylum tricornutum by suppression subtractive hybridization technology].

Sixteen cDNA fragments of Phaeodactylum tricornutum were isolated and identified to be up-regulated under nitrogen starvation by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technology in order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the diatom nitrogen utilization. Seven of them have high similarity with the functional genes related to the utilization of nitrogen. Northern blotting analysis indicated that 5 genes, nitrate transporter gene (nrt), nitrite reductase gene (nir), ammonium transporter gene (amt), ATP-binding cassette transporter gene (abc), and purine permease gene (pup), were significantly up-regulated under nitrogen starvation.

[In vitro observation on the apoptosis induced by H2O2 in protoscolex of Echinococcus granulosus].

Objective: To explore the apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in protoscolex of Echinococcus granulosus.

Methods: Protoscoleces were cultured in vitro, and used for the experiment in 2 groups: RPMI 1640 medium and RPMI 1640 medium added with glutamine. They were then treated with different concentrations of H2O2 to induce apoptosis.

Growth characteristics and eicosapentaenoic acid production by Nannochloropsis sp. in mixotrophic conditions.

Nannochloropsis sp. was grown under mixotrophic conditions with 30 mM glucose as carbon source, reaching 507 mg dry wt l(-1) after 8 d. This was 1.

Aberrant ascending pharyngeal artery mimicking a partially occluded internal carotid artery.

Doppler sonography has become a primary imaging modality for the diagnosis of carotid arterial stenosis. Carotid stenting for a severely stenotic but not completely occluded carotid artery is becoming an alternative to carotid endarterectomy in selected groups of patients. The authors discuss a case of complete occlusion of the internal carotid artery associated with an ipsilateral aberrant ascending pharyngeal artery originating from the proximal internal carotid artery, which mimicked a stenotic internal carotid artery on sonography.