Split-face comparison of the efficacy of picosecond 532 nm Nd:YAG laser and Q-switched 755 nm Alexandrite laser for treatment of freckles.

To date, there has been little study of comparison between picosecond 532 nm laser and 755 nm Q-switched Alexandrite lasers in the treatment of freckles. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of picosecond 532 nm laser (PS 532) and 755 nm Q-switched Alexandrite laser (QSAL) for treatment of freckles in a split-face manner. Eighteen patients with freckles were enrolled in the study.

Effect of Yiqi Tongyang Decoction () on blood T cell subsets in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia.

Objective: To measure the proportions of blood T cell subsets, Th1, Th2, Th17, Th22, and Treg cells, and other parameters in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (CITP) before and after treatment with Yiqi Tongyang Decoction (, YTD) to explore T cell status of patients with CITP, and to defifine the mechanism of action of YTD.

Methods: The changes in peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets, and those of Th1, Th2, Th17, Th22, and Treg cells in 30 patients with CITP (22 females and 8 males) were analyzed using multiparametric flflow cytometry before and after treatment with YTD for 6 months, and 26 healthy volunteers (14 males and 12 females) acted as a control. T-box expressed in T-cells (T-bet) and GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) mRNA levels in patients and controls were analyzed using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Genetic variation of occult hepatitis B virus infection.

Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI), characterized as the persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) seronegativity and low viral load in blood or liver, is a special form of HBV infection. OBI may be related mainly to mutations in the HBV genome, although the underlying mechanism of it remains to be clarified. Mutations especially within the immunodominant "α" determinant of S protein are "hot spots" that could contribute to the occurrence of OBI via affecting antigenicity and immunogenicity of HBsAg or replication and secretion of virion.

Models for predicting hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion in response to interferon-α in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Aim: To develop models to predict hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion in response to interferon (IFN)-α treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Methods: We enrolled 147 treatment-naïve HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients in China and analyzed variables after initiating IFN-α1b treatment. Patients were tested for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hepatitis B virus-DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen, HBeAg, antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe), and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) at baseline and 12 wk, 24 wk, and 52 wk after initiating treatment.

[Effects of andrographolide on the concentration of cytokines in BALF and the expressions of type I and III collagen mRNA in lung tissue in bleomycin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis].

Aim: To investigate the effects of andrographolide on the concentration of TNF-α and TGF-β1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and the expressions of type I and III collagen mRNA in Lung tissue in bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Methods: 90 healthy SD male rats were randomly divided into 6 groups with 15 rats each group: normal saline (NS) group, BLM group, prednisone (Pred) group and different doses of andrographolide groups (andrographolide group A 62.5 mg/kg, andrographolide group B 125 mg/kg and andrographolide group C 250 mg/kg).

Composition and phylogenetic analysis of wheat cryptochrome gene family.

Cryptochrome (CRY) gene family encodes photoreceptors mediating developmental responses to blue light throughout the life of plants. We report here the characterization of CRY gene family in hexaploid wheat. Degenerate PCR amplification of the regions encoding the conserved flavin-binding domain of CRY proteins yielded seven bands, resulting from amplification of CRY1a, CRY1b and CRY2 homologous genes.

Poly[[aqua-(μ(2)-oxalato)(μ(2)-2-oxido-pyridinium-3-carboxylato)holmium(III)] monohydrate].

In the title complex, {[Ho(C(2)O(4))(C(6)H(4)NO(3))(H(2)O)]·(H(2)O)}(n), the Ho(III) ion is coordinated by three O atoms from two 2-oxidopyridinium-3-carboxylate ligands, four O atoms from two oxalate ligands and one water mol-ecule in a distorted bicapped trigonal-prismatic geometry. The 2-oxidopyridin-ium-3-carboxylate and oxalate ligands link the Ho(III) ions into a layer in (100). These layers are further connected by inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the coordinated water mol-ecules to assemble a three-dimensional supra-molecular network.

[Predicting cancerization of condyloma acuminatum by testing expression of p16].

Background & Objective: About 3%-10% of condyloma acuminatum (CA) may develop into cancer. Some studies indicated that homologous deletion of p16 gene is a major factor that causes cancerization of CA. This study was to detect expression of P16 protein in CA tissues and its cancerization tissues, and to investigate relationship of abnormal expression of P16 and cancerization of CA.