Ultrasound measurement of vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscle parameters to identify chronic thyrotoxic myopathy.

Introduction: Chronic thyrotoxic myopathy (CTM) is a common, easily neglected complication of hyperthyroidism. There are currently no standard diagnostic criteria for CTM, and the ultrasonic characteristics of CTM-affected skeletal muscle remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to evaluate hyperthyroid patients for CTM by ultrasound and identify ultrasonic muscle parameter cutoffs for CTM diagnosis.

Association between HLA alleles and sub-phenotype of childhood steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.

Background: Few studies have addressed the effects of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles on different clinical sub-phenotypes in childhood steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), including SSNS without recurrence (SSNSWR) and steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome/frequently relapse nephrotic syndrome (SDNS/FRNS). In this study, we investigated the relationship between HLA system and children with SSNSWR and SDNS/FRNS and clarified the value of HLA allele detection for precise typing of childhood SSNS.

Methods: A total of 241 Chinese Han individuals with SSNS were genotyped using GenCap-WES Capture Kit, and four-digit resolution HLA alleles were imputed from available Genome Wide Association data.

Proteome analysis guided genetic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum S9114 for tween 40-triggered improvement in L-ornithine production.

Background: L-ornithine is a valuable amino acid with a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries. However, the production of L-ornithine by fermentation cannot compete with other methods, because of the low titers produced with this technique. Development of fermentation techniques that result in a high yield of L-ornithine and efficient strategies for improving L-ornithine production are essential.

Increased L-arginine Production by Site-directed Mutagenesis of N-acetyl-L-glutamate Kinase and proB Gene Deletion in Corynebacterium crenatum.

Objective: In Corynebacterium crenatum, the adjacent D311 and D312 of N-acetyl-L-glutamate kinase (NAGK), as a key rate-limiting enzyme of L-arginine biosynthesis under substrate regulatory control by arginine, were initially replaced with two arginine residues to investigate the L-arginine feedback inhibition for NAGK.

Methods: NAGK enzyme expression was evaluated using a plasmid-based method. Homologous recombination was employed to eliminate the proB.

Expression and characterization of ArgR, an arginine regulatory protein in Corynebacterium crenatum.

Objective: Corynebacterium crenatum MT, a mutant from C. crenatum AS 1.542 with a lethal argR gene, exhibits high arginine production.

Lateral flow immunoassay for quantitative detection of ractopamine in swine urine.

A strip reader based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) was established for the rapid and quantitative detection of ractopamine (RAC) in swine urine. The ratio of the optical densities (ODs) of the test line (AT) to that of the control line (AC) was used to effectively minimize interference among strips and sample variations. The linear range for the quantitative detection of RAC was 0.

[Impacts of yishen jiangzhuo granule on B lymphocytes and regulatory T-lymphocytes in patients with chronic renal insufficiency].

Objective: To explore the impacts of Yishen Jiangzhuo Granule (YJG) on peripheral blood B-cells and regulatory T-cells (Treg) in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI).

Methods: Fifty-three CRI patients were randomly assigned to two groups, the control group and the YJG group. Before and after treatment, the following parameters in blood were detected: the peripheral Treg, percentage (CD19+), activation rate (CD19+ CD69+) and apoptotic rate (AV) of B-lymphocyte by flow cytometry; cytokines (IL-6 and IL-10) by CBA stream protein analyzing system; high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) by scattering turbidimetric analysis; homocysteine (Hcy) by end-point method; hemoglobin (HGB) content by Beckman-Coulter hemo-analyser; blood contents of Ca, phosphate (P), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (SCr) and plasma albumin (Alb) by automatic biochemical analyser; and urinary contents of creatinine (UCr) by inverse HPLC.