Performance of the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay in the rapid diagnosis of tracheobronchial tuberculosis using bronchial washing fluid.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of the Xpert® MTB/RIF (GeneXpert) assay for tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBTB) using bronchial washing fluid (BWF).

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients suspected of having TBTB and patients with non-TB pulmonary disease as controls. BWF were used to undertake acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smears, the GeneXpert assay and the Lӧwenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture method.

The effect of nano-TiO photocatalysis on the antioxidant activities of Cu, Zn-SOD at physiological pH.

Security issues of nanoparticles on biological toxicity and potential environmental risk have attracted more and more attention with the rapid development and wide applications of nanotechnology. In this work, we explored the effect and probable mechanism of nano-TiO on antioxidant activity of copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD) under natural light and mixed light at physiological pH. Nano-TiO was prepared by sol-hydrothermal method, and then characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron micrographs (TEM).

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry combined with automated MetaboLynx analysis approach to screen the bioactive components and their metabolites in Wen-Xin-Formula.

Wen-Xin-Formula (WXF), a famous traditional prescription, has been widely used to treat myocardial ischemia syndrome for thousands of years. However, the constituents absorbed into blood after oral administration of WXF remain unknown. Here, an integrative ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS) combined with the MetaboLynx approach was established to investigate the absorbed constituents in rats after oral administration of WXF.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) field strains in south China.

A total of 127 porcine samples were collected from 48 farms in six provinces in south China. The positive rate of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was 43.0 % (55/127), and the co-infection rate of PEDV and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) was 12.

[Molecular characterization of a porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus isolate NT0801 from China].

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the important pathogens causing serious economic losses to swine industry worldwide. PRRSV is genetically and pathologically heterogenous. PRRSV NT0801 strain was isolated in a pig farm with clinical signs and had high pathogenesis in piglets.

Molecular cloning, sequencing, and expression of the outer membrane protein P2 gene of Haemophilus parasuis.

Haemophilus parasuis is the etiological agent of Glässer's disease characterized by fibrinous polyserositis, polyarthritis, and meningitis in young pigs. But it is difficult to develop universal serological diagnostic tools and effective vaccines against this disease because of the serovar diversity of the isolates. In this study, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction, were performed to investigate the gene profile of 111 isolates of H.

[Polymorphism of five short tandem repeat systems in Chinese Han population in Chengdu].

Objective: To obtain population genetic data of loci D11S4951, D11S4957, GATA193H05, D2S2951, and D6S2421 in Han population in Chengdu area and to validate the value of their forensic application.

Methods: Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes from unrelated individuals. DNAs were extracted with Chelex-100 and were analyzed by PCR and horizontal PAGE followed by silver staining.

Ascorbic acid alleviates pancreatic damage induced by dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) in rats.

Purpose: Because previous studies have reported depleted antioxidant capacity in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), prevention of free radical production has gained importance in antifibrotic treatment strategies for CP. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ascorbic acid on oxidative capacity and pancreatic damage in experimental CP.

Materials And Methods: CP was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by infusion of dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) into the tail vein.

[Primary culture and morphologic observation of eutopic and ectopic endometrial cells from patients with endometriosis].

Objective: To explore the method of primary culture for endometriotic cells and to find out the differences in morphological manifestations among endometriotic cells and eutopic endometrial cells sampled from patients with endometriosis and endometriosis-free women.

Methods: Endometriotic and eutopic endometrial cells were cultured by modified method of primary culture. The endometriotic cell types were observed and differentiated under optical and electron microscopes.

[A method for DNA template preparation using a single embryo].

We established a simple method for the preparation of DNA template from a single oocyte or early embryo by KOH/DTT-Triton X disintegration. The PCR amplification efficiency of DNA template prepared by this method was compared with that prepared by TE-proteinase K. Single oocyte, 2-cell embryo, 8-cell embryo, morula or blastocyst were separately treated by KOH/DTT-Triton X, then the DNA template was directly used to amplify mitochondrial DNA segment by PCR.

Upregulation of phosphodiesterase-4 in the lung of allergic rats.

Inhibitors of phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) are efficacious for allergic asthma in animal models and have shown some efficacy in human asthma. Regulation of PDE4 in allergy and asthma has been widely investigated in blood leukocytes, with discrepant results. This study investigated PDE4 regulation in the lung in a rat model of allergic asthma.

Spinal dorsal horn calcium channel alpha2delta-1 subunit upregulation contributes to peripheral nerve injury-induced tactile allodynia.

Peripheral nerve injury induces upregulation of the calcium channel alpha2delta-1 structural subunit in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and dorsal spinal cord of spinal nerve-ligated rats with neuropathic pain, suggesting a role of the calcium channel alpha2delta-1 subunit in central sensitization. To investigate whether spinal dorsal horn alpha2delta-1 subunit upregulation derives from increased DRG alpha2delta-1 subunit and plays a causal role in neuropathic pain development, we examined spinal dorsal hornalpha2delta-1 subunit expression with or without dorsal rhizotomy in spinal nerve-ligated rats and its correlation with tactile allodynia, a neuropathic pain state defined as reduced thresholds to non-noxious tactile stimulation. We also examined the effects of intrathecal alpha2delta-1 antisense oligonucleotides on alpha2delta-1 subunit expression and neuropathic allodynia in the nerve-ligated rats.

Coupling gene chip analyses and rat genetic variances in identifying potential target genes that may contribute to neuropathic allodynia development.

Genetic factors and nerve injury-induced changes of gene expression in sensory neurons are potential contributors to tactile allodynia, a neuropathic pain state manifested as hypersensitivity to innocuous mechanical stimulation. To uncover genes relevant to neuropathic allodynia, we analyzed gene expression profiles in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of spinal nerve-ligated Harlan and Holtzman Sprague Dawley rats, strains with different susceptibilities to neuropathic allodynia. Using Affymetrix gene chips, we identified genes showing differential basal-level expression in these strains without injury-induced regulation.

[Cyclic nucleotides phosphodiesterase activity in a rat lung model of asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the change of cGMP-PDE and cAMP-PDE activity in a rat lung model of asthma. METHODS: cGMP-PDE and cAMP-PDE activity were determined by HPLC. RESULTS: Both cAMP-PDE activity and cGMP-PDE activity in the lung tissue of antigen-challenged rats were higher than that from the normal rats (P <0.