Genome sequencing of 161 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from China identifies genes and intergenic regions associated with drug resistance.

The worldwide emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis threatens to make this disease incurable. Drug resistance mechanisms are only partially understood, and whether the current understanding of the genetic basis of drug resistance in M. tuberculosis is sufficiently comprehensive remains unclear.

Effect of transplantation route on stem cell migration to fibrotic liver of rats via cellular magnetic resonance imaging.

Background Aims: Assessing mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) after grafting is essential for understanding their migration and differentiation processes. The present study sought to evaluate via cellular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if transplantation route may have an effect on MSCs engrafting to fibrotic liver of rats.

Methods: Rat MSCs were prepared, labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide and scanned with MRI.

Draft genome sequences of two super-extensively drug-resistant isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from China.

The prevalence of drug-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is already having a negative impact on the control of tuberculosis. We report the draft genome sequences of two super-extensively drug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates from China, FJ05194 (lineage 2) and GuangZ0019 (lineage 4), and compare them with the H37Rv reference strain to identify possible sources of genetic variation associated with their extensive drug resistance.

Functional DNA methylation differences between tissues, cell types, and across individuals discovered using the M&M algorithm.

DNA methylation plays key roles in diverse biological processes such as X chromosome inactivation, transposable element repression, genomic imprinting, and tissue-specific gene expression. Sequencing-based DNA methylation profiling provides an unprecedented opportunity to map and compare complete DNA methylomes. This includes one of the most widely applied technologies for measuring DNA methylation: methylated DNA immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (MeDIP-seq), coupled with a complementary method, methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme sequencing (MRE-seq).

Engineering Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells for producing recombinant proteins with simple glycoforms by zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN)-mediated gene knockout of mannosyl (alpha-1,3-)-glycoprotein beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (Mgat1).

While complex N-linked glycoforms are often desired in biotherapeutic protein production, proteins with simple, homogeneous glycan structure have implications for X-ray crystallography and for recombinant therapeutics targeted to the mannose receptor of antigen presenting cells. Mannosyl (alpha-1,3-)-glycoprotein beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (Mgat1, also called GnTI) adds N-acetylglucosamine to the Man5GlcNAc2 (Man5) N-glycan structure as part of complex N-glycan synthesis. Here, we report the use of zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) genome editing technology to create Mgat1 disrupted Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines.

Biphasic change of progenitor proliferation in dentate gyrus after single dose of isoflurane in young adult rats.

Background: Isoflurane exposure causes improvement in long-term neurocognitive function in young adult rats; this is associated with an increase in dentate gyrus (DG) progenitor proliferation 4 days after anesthesia. However, the number of new neurons that were born from cells that incorporated bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 4 days after anesthesia is not affected by anesthesia. We tested the hypothesis that progenitor proliferation continues to increase past 4 days, which would imply the possibility that the number of new neurons after anesthesia could be increased if BrdU labeling occurred at a later time point.

[Comparative study of growth potential on hardwood cutting of Lycium barbarum strains].

Objective: To lay foundation of strains selection through primary selection of 44 strains of Lycium barbarum.

Methods: Used the single plant selection.

Results: Screened out 22 strains of Lycium barbarum by preliminary determination of germination rates and seeding rates of hardwood cutting, the growth potential of 2009-26, 2009-21, 2009-17, 2009-29, 2009-2 were better than those of others strains.

Selectivity for large nonmanipulable objects in scene-selective visual cortex does not require visual experience.

The principles that determine the organization of object representations in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) remain elusive. Here, we focus on the parahippocampal place area (PPA), a region in medial VTC that has been shown to respond selectively to pictures of scenes. Recent studies further observed that this region also shows a preference for large nonmanipulable objects relative to other objects, which might reflect the suitability of large objects for navigation.

UCN-01 induces S and G2/M cell cycle arrest through the p53/p21(waf1) or CHK2/CDC25C pathways and can suppress invasion in human hepatoma cell lines.

Background: UCN-01 (7-hydroxystaurosporine), a protein kinase inhibitor, has attracted a great deal of attention as a potent antitumour agent. Several clinical trials of UCN-01 alone or in combination with other agents for different tumour types are currently underway, and some of these trials have had positive results. Hepatocellular carcinoma has high incidence rates and is associated with poor prognosis and high mortality rates.

Do Chinese readers follow the national standard rules for word segmentation during reading?

We conducted a preliminary study to examine whether Chinese readers' spontaneous word segmentation processing is consistent with the national standard rules of word segmentation based on the Contemporary Chinese language word segmentation specification for information processing (CCLWSSIP). Participants were asked to segment Chinese sentences into individual words according to their prior knowledge of words. The results showed that Chinese readers did not follow the segmentation rules of the CCLWSSIP, and their word segmentation processing was influenced by the syntactic categories of consecutive words.

[Epidemic research in the south of Fujian Province in modern times from the viewpoints of overseas communication].

Under the particular geographical environment and social structure, different spatiality of epidemics was observed in the south of Fujian Province. Some important factors cannot be ignored in the study of local epidemics, such as its developed overseas communication, prosperous commercial activities between the East and the West and deep-rooted overseas emigration tradition. In modern times, public health ideas, therapies and prevention measures of west medicine were introduced, taking epidemic disease prevention as a turning point in this area, which promoted medical development of this area objectively, and valuable experience in disease prevention was accumulated.

[Epitome of social work in hospitals in modern China-Social Work in Hospitals].

As the first theoretical monograph about social work in hospitals in China, Social Work in Hospitals was published by Chung Hwa Book Co. in 1946 and was an exposition on the concept, methods and measures of social work in hospitals in detail. The book analyzed the cultivation of quality in the staff and localization of social work in hospitals by introducing cases the author experienced, which made the book an epitome of observation of social work in hospitals in modern China.

Design, synthesis and characterization of novel small molecular inhibitors of ephrin-B2 binding to EphB4.

EphB4 is a member of the large Eph receptor tyrosine kinase family. By interacting with its preferred ligand ephrin-B2, which is also a transmembrane protein, EphB4 plays a role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes ranging from bone remodeling to cancer malignancy. EphB4-ephrin-B2 binding occurs at sites of contact between cells.

Hepatitis E seroprevalence in recipients of renal transplants or haemodialysis in southwest England: a case-control study.

Locally acquired HEV infection is increasingly recognized in developed countries. Anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence has been shown to be high in haemodialysis patients in a number of previous studies, employing assays of uncertain sensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in recipients of haemodialysis and renal transplants compared to a control group using a validated, highly sensitive assay.

Two-particle response in cluster dynamical mean-field theory: formalism and application to the Raman response of high-temperature superconductors.

A method is presented for the unbiased numerical computation of two-particle response functions of correlated electron materials via a solution of the dynamical mean-field equations in the presence of a perturbing field. The power of the method is demonstrated via a computation of the Raman B(1g) and B(2g) scattering intensities of the two-dimensional Hubbard model in parameter regimes believed to be relevant to high-temperature superconductivity. The theory reproduces the "two-magnon" peak characteristic of the Raman intensity of insulating parent compounds of high-T(c) copper oxide superconductors, and shows how it evolves to a quasiparticle response, as carriers are added.

Prevention of intraoperative awareness with explicit recall in an unselected surgical population: a randomized comparative effectiveness trial.

Background: Intraoperative awareness with explicit recall occurs in approximately 0.15% of all surgical cases. Efficacy trials based on the Bispectral Index® (BIS) monitor (Covidien, Boulder, CO) and anesthetic concentrations have focused on high-risk patients, but there are no effectiveness data applicable to an unselected surgical population.

Comparison of quantitative sweat chloride methods after positive newborn screen for cystic fibrosis.

Objectives: Rapid and reliable confirmatory sweat testing following a positive newborn screen (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) is preferred to allow for early diagnosis and to decrease parental anxiety. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) recently recommended a quantity not sufficient (QNS) rate of ≤ 10% in infants <3 months of age referred for quantitative sweat chloride analysis. Two CFF-approved methods are available by which to quantitatively measure chloride concentration in sweat.

Evaluation of BACTEC MGIT 960 system for the second-line drugs susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in China.

When the performance of the BACTEC MGIT 960 system was evaluated with the traditional proportion method (PM) on 321 clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from China, concordance values were 98.44% capreomycin, 98.75% kanamycin, 98.

[Mechanism of ginsenoside Rg1 regulating the activity of β secretase in N2a/APP695 cells].

Objective: To explore whether or not ginsenoside Rg1 can modify the metabolism of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the generation of amyloid beta (Aβ) by nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB).

Methods: N2a/APP695 cells, a mutated APP-overexpressing neuronal cell line, was used to mimic the APP metabolism and Aβ generation in vitro. The BACE1 mRNA and protein levels were detected by RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and Western blot respectively.

[Sanshan Medical Training School of Fujian in modern times].

TCM education in Fujian started at Sanshan Medical Training School in modern times. Approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in November 1911 and opened on October 5, 1917, the school was established by CHEN Dengkai, a famous doctor in Fujian. CHEN had begun to compile the texts before its establishment.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of new diaminoquinazolines as β-catenin/Tcf4 pathway inhibitors.

More than 50 new diaminoquinazoline derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated in a colon carcinoma cell growth inhibition assay using HCT116 and SW480 cells. Twenty compounds with good cell growth inhibitory activities (<4 μM) were tested as inhibitors of the β-catenin/T cell transcription factor 4 (Tcf4) signaling pathway using a HCT116 cell-based luciferase reporter assay. Results from the biological activities as well as the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) of the properties of the molecules yielded a preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR).

Structure-based discovery of a novel inhibitor targeting the β-catenin/Tcf4 interaction.

Overactivation or overexpression of β-catenin in the Wnt (wingless) signaling pathway plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Interaction of β-catenin with T-cell factor (Tcf) DNA binding proteins is a key step in the activation of the proliferative genes in response to upstream signals of this Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Recently, we identified a new small molecule inhibitor, named BC21 (C(32)H(36)Cl(2)Cu(2)N(2)O(2)), which effectively inhibits the binding of β-catenin with Tcf4-derived peptide and suppresses β-catenin/Tcf4 driven reporter gene activity.

Ginsenoside Rg1 attenuates β-amyloid generation via suppressing PPARγ-regulated BACE1 activity in N2a-APP695 cells.

The level of β-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) has been documented to increase in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, which has resulted in elevation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides. As a transcription factor binding site of the BACE1 promoter, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) response element regulates the activity of the BACE1 promoter activity, indicating that PPARγ may become a potential target for Alzheimer's disease treatment. Recent studies have demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg1 which is an effective component of extracts of ginseng can prevent memory loss and improve cognitive function in a variety of animal models.

Multiplex allele-specific PCR combined with PCR-RFLP analysis for rapid detection of gyrA gene fluoroquinolone resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A combined use of MAS-PCR (multiplex allele-specific PCR) and PCR-RFLP (PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism), was established to detect mutations in codons 90, 91 and 94 of the gyrA gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). With conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility testing as a reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the modified method for gyrA gene mutation detection were 70.