Clinical features and treatment outcomes of pediatric Langerhans cell histiocytosis with macrophage activation syndrome-hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare myeloid neoplasm. A few LCH patients had Macrophage activation syndrome-hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (MAS-HLH), a life-threatening, hyper-inflammatory syndrome. We retrospectively described the clinical-biological characteristics of a series of 28 pediatric LCH patients with MAS-HLH in a single center.

Significance of serum Th1/Th2 cytokine levels in underlying disease classification of childhood HLH.

Object: Goal of this research was to investigate values of serum cytokines in childhood HLH with different triggers, with the expectation to find secretion spectrum of 5 main types of underlying diseases.

Method: 118 newly diagnosed HLH were included, and serum concentrations of 6 cytokines were tested before treatment began. Absolute cytokine levels and ratios between them were then studied in the HLH groups collectively and separately RESULTS: In general, IFN-γ, IL-10 and IL-6 showed differences among 5 HLH groups.

The therapeutic effects of Jaceosidin on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Acute lung injury (ALI) results from various factors including uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation, oxidative damage and the over-activated complement with high mortality rates. Jaceosidin was a flavonoid compound with significant anti-complement activity. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Jaceosidin on ALI induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Acute restraint stress triggers progesterone withdrawal and endometrial breakdown and shedding through corticosterone stimulation in mouse menstrual-like model.

Stress impacts the reproductive axis at the level of the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which exert an effect on the ovary. Menstruation is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary (HPO) axis. However, the role of stress in menstruation remains unclear.

Aberrant TIG1 methylation associated with its decreased expression and clinicopathological significance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Recently, it has been reported that tazarotene-induced gene 1 (TIG1) methylation was frequently detected in a variety of human cancers. However, the relationship between the TIG1 methylation and the characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. The aim of present study was to observe the promoter methylation of TIG1 in HCC tissues and assess its prognostic significance for HCC.

[Clinical study of extraction treatment of Class II division I malocclusion with Empower self-ligating brackets].

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the treatment efficiency of Empower interactive self-ligating brackets and traditional brackets in Class II division I extraction patients.

Methods: Forty patients with Class II division I malocclusion were randomly divided into 2 groups. Twenty patients received Empower self-ligating technique (group A) and the other 20 patients received MBT technique (group B).

[The effect of two different methods of rapid maxillary expansion on treatment results of skeletal Class III malocclusion patients with maxillary protraction in early permanent dentition].

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the effect of single rapid maxillary expansion and repetitive rapid expansion and constriction with maxillary protraction in treating early permanent skeletal Class III patients.

Methods: Twenty children with skeletal Class III malocclusion were randomly divided into two groups.Ten patients received 1 week of rapid expansion,followed by maxillary protraction(group A) and the other ten patients received 5 weeks of repetitive rapid expansion and constriction followed by maxillary protraction (group B).

The nuclear factor-κB pathway is involved in matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in RU486-induced endometrium breakdown in mice.

Background: Progesterone-withdrawal (WP)-induced endometrial breakdown occurs in both physiological and pathological processes such as menstruation and abortion. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. As the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway has been proposed to play a role in endometrial breakdown, we tested this hypothesis using RU486-induced mouse menstruation-like model.

Identification of a pou2 ortholog in Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis and its expression patterns in tissues, immature individuals and during embryogenesis.

The class V POU family genes, including pou5f1 and pou2, encode transcription factors critical for the maintenance of pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ESC) and germ line cells in vertebrates. In the present study, the full-length cDNA of a pou2 ortholog in A. sinensis, Aspou2, was cloned and sequenced.

Molecular characterization and expression pattern of three zona pellucida 3 genes in the Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis.

Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is a rare and endangered species and also an important resource for the sturgeon aquaculture industry. SMART cDNAs were synthesized from the ovary of A. sinensis, and the full-length cDNAs of three zona pellucida glycoprotein 3 genes (the new gene named AsZP3) were cloned and sequenced.

Molecular and expression analysis of apolipoprotein E gene in the Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis.

Apolipoproteins are carrier proteins that bind to lipids to form lipoprotein particles and have been shown to play an important role in lipid metabolism. In this study, a full-length cDNA for apolipoprotein E, named AsapoE, was cloned from the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis). This cDNA sequence is 1289 bp in length, and codes for a polypeptide of 274 amino acid residues, which is 45% and 42% identical to that of the rainbow trout and zebrafish, respectively, and 39%, 30%, and 29% identical to frog, mouse, and human respectively.

Identification of a vasa homologue gene in grass carp and its expression pattern in tissues and during embryogenesis.

The RNA helicase Vasa is a member of the DEAD box protein family that plays an indispensable role in germ cell determination in eukaryotes such as in Drosophila and Xenopus species. In this study, the grass carp homologue of the Drosophila vasa gene, Civasa (Ctenopharyngodon idella vasa) was obtained using degenerate primers in RT-PCR and 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA end polymerase chain reaction from the grass carp ovary SMART cDNA. This cDNA sequence encodes a 670 amino acid residue protein that contains eight consensus regions for the DEAD box protein family, 9 arginine-glycine repeats and 9 arginine-glycine-glycine repeats, a common character of known Vasa homologues.

Molecular characterization of Chinese sturgeon gonadotropins and cellular distribution in pituitaries of mature and immature individuals.

Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is a rare and endangered species, and also an important resource for the sturgeon aquaculture industry. To understand molecular characterization of Chinese sturgeon gonadotropins (GTHs), we cloned the full-length cDNAs of gonadotropin subunits common alpha (GTH-alpha), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from a pituitary cDNA library of mature female. Two subtypes of GTH-alpha were identified.

[Reproductive biology and artificial propagation of Acipenser sinensis below Gezhouba Dam].

A total of 36 females and 21 males of Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis were caught in 1998-2004 excluding 2002 to study the characteristics of their reproductive biology and the effect of their artificial propagation. The results showed that the body length (BL), body mass (BM) and age of the females were 240-320 cm, 140-432 kg, and 15-30 years, and those of the males were 153-284 cm, 70-244 kg and 12-26 years, respectively. The inducing rate was 93.

Rheological and fractal characteristics of granular sludge in an upflow anaerobic reactor.

The rheological and fractal characteristics of the granular sludge in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor were investigated in this study. The influences of sludge concentration and temperature on the rheological properties of the granular sludge were evaluated, and the Bingham model was adopted to describe its rheology. In addition, image analysis was used to determine the sludge fractal dimension.