Reference intervals established using indirect method for serum ferritin assayed on Abbott Architect i2000 analyzer in Chinese adults.

Background: Serum ferritin (SF) test has been widely used in clinical practice. However, its reference intervals (RIs) vary depending on the analytical method and ethnic origin. This study was to establish the RIs using indirect method for SF in Chinese adults.

Use of gastric-acid suppressants may be a risk factor for enteric peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis: A meta-analysis.

What Is Known And Objective: Mounting evidence suggests that long-term use of gastric-acid suppressants (GASs) may be associated with adverse effects. Whether GAS use increases the risk of enteric peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) is not known. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between GAS use and enteric peritonitis in PD patients.

Computerized tomography findings in calcified signet-ring gastric cancer receiving chemotherapy: a case report.

Background: Calcification in primary gastric cancer is very rare. In this report, we describe the computerized tomography (CT) changes in calcification in a patient with locally advanced signet-ring gastric cancer treated with chemotherapy.

Case Presentation: A 49-year-old man presented with 5 months' history of abdominal pain, anorexia, and rapid weight loss.

TALENs-mediated homozygous CCR5Δ32 mutations endow CD4+ U87 cells with resistance against HIV‑1 infection.

Since evidence suggests that transplantation of bone marrow stem cells with the C‑C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5)Δ32/Δ32 genotype may cure patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‑1, the present study aimed to reproduce the CCR5Δ32 mutation in cluster of differentiation (CD)4+ U87 cells using genome engineering methods. A modified transcription activator‑like effector nucleases (TALENs) technique, combined with homologous recombination for site‑specific, size‑controlled and homozygous DNA deletions, was used to reproduce the homozygous CCR5Δ32 mutation in CD4+ U87 cells. The results indicated that the frequency of the TALENs‑targeted mutation reached 50.

Intrabone marrow injection enhances placental mesenchymal stem cellmediated support of hematopoiesis in mice.

Background/aim: In order to determine the synergistic effects of human placental mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) on hematopoiesis in vivo, we compared the intrabone marrow injection (IBMI) with the conventional intravenous injection (IVI).

Materials And Methods: C57BL/6 recipient mice conditioned with lethal doses of irradiation were transplanted with bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) from BALB/c mice by IBMI or IVI. NOD/SCID recipient mice conditioned with sublethal doses of irradiation were transplanted with human umbilical cord blood MNCs (UCB-MNCs) and PMSCs by IBMI or IVI.

Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhoea is the most common form of period pain and affects up to three-quarters of women at some stage of their reproductive life. Primary dysmenorrhoea is pain in the absence of any organic cause and is characterised by cramping pain in the lower abdomen, starting within the first eight to 72 hours of menstruation.This review examines the currently available evidence supporting the use of acupuncture (stimulation of points on the body using needles) and acupressure (stimulation of points on the body using pressure) to treat primary dysmenorrhoea.

[Validation of GlobalFiler® PCR Amplification Kit and the STR Polymorphism].

Objective: To test the technical parameters of GlobalFiler® PCR Amplification Kit for its application to forensic application value and to investigate the genetic polymorphisms.

Methods: The validation was conducted in sensitivity, mixed samples, species specificity, adaptability, survivability, consistency, peak height balance and stability. The amplification and detection of the genomic DNA from 373 unrelated individuals from Beijing Han nationality were extracted by automation workstation.

[Effects of cyclopamine on the proliferation and apoptosis of LNCaP cells and expression of the PCA3 gene in human prostate cancer].

Objective: To explore the effects of cyclopamine on the proliferation and apoptosis of LNCaP cells and the expression of the PCA3 gene in human prostate cancer in vitro.

Methods: LNCaP cells were treated with cyclopamine at the concentrations of 1, 5, 10 and 15 micromol/L for 24, 48 and 72 hours. The inhibitory effects of cyclopamine on the proliferation and apoptosis of the LNCaP cells were detected by MTT and flow cytometry respectively, the morphological changes of the cells observed by Hoechst 33258 staining, and the expression of the PCA3 gene determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (FQ-RT-PCR).

Adiponectin exerts its negative effect on bone metabolism via OPG/RANKL pathway: an in vivo study.

To explore the effects of adiponectin on the bone metabolism in vivo. Bone mineral density (BMD), bone microstructure, serum adiponectin levels, and biochemical markers of the bone turnover were measured in 12-week-old male Adipo-/- and WT mice. In addition, the osteoclast formation, osteoprotegerin (OPG), and the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) expression were examined.

[Modified TRIzol method for RNA and DNA co-extraction from blood].

Objective: To establish a new method for RNA and DNA co-extraction from the same sample by TRIzol reagent.

Methods: After the aqueous phase which contained total RNA was removed by traditional TRIzol method, the values of pH of the interphase phase and organic phase were adjusted. The DNA was precipitated with ethanol and purified with DNA IQ system.

Survivin up-regulates the expression of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) through attenuating the suppression of p53 on NF-κB expression in MCF-7/5-FU cells.

Both breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP, ABCG2) and apoptosis-related molecules are involved in the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells. However, the association of BCRP with apoptosis-related molecules in the development of MDR is unknown. In this study, we investigated the changes in expression levels of BCRP, Survivin, p53, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL or Bax in cultured MCF-7 and MCF-7/5-FU cells, and explored whether these changes affected the expressions of BCRP.

[Butanol extraction combined with dilute hydrochloric acid dissolution-atomic fluorescence spectrometric method for indirect determination of molybdenum in Chinese herbal medicine].

A method for indirectly determining the molybdenum in Chinese herbal medicine by butanol extraction and dilute hydrochloric acid dissolution was established for atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The molybdoarsenate heteropoly acid, formed in the presence of As(V) and ammonium molybdate in 0.3 mol x L(-1) sulphuric acid medium, was separated and enriched in the organic solvent, then the evaporation of organic reagent was implemented and the left residue was dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid in which the arsenic content was determined on behalf of molybdenum.

[A new method of identifying the peripheral blood and the menstrual blood].

Objective: To explore the tissue-specific gene expressions of the peripheral blood and the menstrual blood, and to search some specific factors to establish an effective method for identifying the peripheral blood and the menstrual blood.

Methods: The specific products of the peripheral blood and the menstrual blood were detected by RT-PCR and separated by electrophoretic technology.

Results: Beta-spectrin (SPTB) as one specific marker of peripheral blood and 18S rRNA as a kind of the housekeeping gene were expressed in both the peripheral blood and the menstrual blood.

[Indirect determination of iodine with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) extraction by atomic fluorescence spectrometer].

In this paper, a new method was developed for indirect determination of iodine with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) extraction by atomic fluorescence spectrometer (AFS). Based upon the complex, which can be extacted perfectly by MIBK, formed between I- and Hg2+ in 0.1 mol x L(-1) of nitric acid, indirectly measuring the iodine in organic phase becomes possible.

[The effect of cotransplantation of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells in combination with human cord blood mononuclear cells on early hematopoietic reconstitution in SCID mice].

Aim: To evaluate the early hematopoietic reconstitution of implanted SCID mice which were transplanted with human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (UCB-MNC) and placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PMSC) by intro-bone marrow injection (IBMI).

Methods: The placenta tissues were digested by collagenase IV and cultured with low-glucose DMEM supplemented with b-FGF. The adherent cells were collected and passaged.

[The study of the sensitive and specificity on HBV DNA replication by HBV-lP detecting].

Objective: To detect HBV-LP and HBV DNA of the patients with hepatitis B, and to study the sensitive and specificity of HBV-LP detecting and its evaluate on for clinical application.

Methods: The ELISA was used for HBV-LP detecting and RT-PCR for HBV DNA detecting.

Results: The sensitive and specificity of HBV-LP and HBV DNA were 64.

Enhanced proliferation and activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with psoriasis vulgaris mediated by streptococcal antigen with bacterial DNA.

Streptococcal infection is believed to have an intimate relationship with psoriasis, although the pathogenic role of streptococcal DNA is not fully understood. To gain a clearer understanding of these dynamics, we investigated the effect of streptococcal DNA on lymphocyte proliferation and activation as well as cytokine secretion in psoriasis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from psoriatic patients had higher proliferative responses upon stimulation by streptococcal antigen (SA) when compared with those from healthy individuals.

The up-regulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in Ea.hy 926 endothelial cells under long-term low folate stress is mediated by the p38 MAPK pathway.

Objective: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), encoded by the CCL2 gene, plays an important role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Ea.hy 926 endothelial cells grown under low folate conditions (LO cells) synthesize more MCP-1 mRNA and secrete more MCP-1 protein than folate-replete control cells (HI cells).

Genetic and biochemical determinants of serum concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, a potential neural tube defect risk factor.

Background: Women with the AA genotype at the (-2518)A>G promoter polymorphism of CCL-2, which encodes the potent pro-inflammatory chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), may be at increased risk for having offspring affected by spina bifida. As the A allele at this locus has been associated with decreased transcription of MCP-1 mRNA relative to the G allele, the observed genetic association suggests that the risk of spina bifida may be increased in the offspring of women with low MCP-1 levels. The present study was undertaken to identify potential determinants of MCP-1 levels in women of reproductive age.

Quantification of intracellular homocysteine by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

A precise and accurate stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of intracellular homocysteine has been developed. An internal standard, [(2)H(8)]-homocystine, was added to cell pellets from EA.hy 926 cells grown in culture under low and high folate concentrations.

Mild folate deficiency induces a proatherosclerotic phenotype in endothelial cells.

Low folate/high homocysteine (Hcy) is an established risk marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Some in vivo studies suggest low folate may independently contribute to CVD. To study the effects of mild folate deficiency on endothelial function, we adapted the EA.

[Analysis and realization of the method for predicting physical pathways of allosteric communication in a protein family].

A fundamental goal in signal transduction study is to understand allosteric communication. The authors present hereby a statistical coupling analysis method (developed by Steve W. Lockless etc.

Tissue-specific regulation of the human acute-phase serum amyloid A genes, SAA1 and SAA2, by glucocorticoids in hepatic and epithelial cells.

The human acute-phase protein serum amyloid A (A-SAA), encoded by the SAA1 and SAA2 genes, is dramatically induced by pro-inflammatory mediators during the acute-phase response to infection or injury. Circulating A-SAA is predominantly synthesized by the liver. However, other tissues are the source of locally produced A-SAA.