[Management strategy and technology of medical assistance to advanced schistosomiasis patients in Hunan Province].

The medical assistance to advanced schistosomiasis patients established by the Chinese government is a major public facility for patients with advanced schistosomiasis. Since the medical assistance to advance schistosomiasis patients in Hunan Province started ten years ago, a set of mature and operable programs with whole program management and related technologies has been developed. The author investigated the data on medical assistance to advanced schistosomiasis patients in Hunan Province during the last 10 years (from 2006 to 2015) retrospectively, and found that the program had high therapeutic effect and high satisfaction degree of both patients and the society.

[Diagnosis and treatment of imported African schistosomiasis].

This paper summarizes the clinical diagnosis and treatment of imported African schistosomiasis, in order to make the therapeutic standards. Imported African schistosomiasis includes mainly schistosomiasis haematobia and schistosomiasis mansoni in China. In order to set up the operational standards, enhance diagnostic and cure rates, and reduce the complications, we review the related literature combined with our experience over years, and summarize, in this paper, the pathogenic mechanism, and key points of clinical diagnosis and treatment of schistosomiasis haematobia and schistosomiasis mansoni, so as to provide the reference for clinical doctors.

Identification and functional characterization of an uncharacterized antimicrobial peptide from a ciliate Paramecium caudatum.

The global ever-growing concerns about multi-drug resistant (MDR) microbes leads to urgent demands for exploration of new antibiotics including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Here we demonstrated that a cDNA from Ciliata Paramecium caudatum, designated Pcamp1, coded for a protein with features characteristic of AMPs, which is not homologous to any AMPs currently known. Both the C-terminal 91 amino acid residues of PcAMP1, cPcAMP1, expressed in Escherichia coli and the C-terminal 26 amino acid residues (predicted mature AMP), cPcAMP1/26, synthesized, underwent a coil-to-helix transition in the presence of TFE, SDS or DPC.

Somatic Embryogenesis and Genetic Modification of Vitis.

Grapevine embryogenic cultures are ideal target tissues for inserting desired traits of interest and improving existing cultivars via precision breeding (PB). PB is a new approach that, like conventional breeding, utilizes only DNA fragments obtained from sexually compatible grapevine plants. Embryogenic culture induction occurs by placing leaves or stamens and pistils on induction medium with a dark/light photoperiod cycle for 12-16 weeks.

A High Through-put Platform for Recombinant Antibodies to Folded Proteins.

Antibodies are key reagents in biology and medicine, but commercial sources are rarely recombinant and thus do not provide a permanent and renewable resource. Here, we describe an industrialized platform to generate antigens and validated recombinant antibodies for 346 transcription factors (TFs) and 211 epigenetic antigens. We describe an optimized automated phage display and antigen expression pipeline that in aggregate produced about 3000 sequenced Fragment antigen-binding domain that had high affinity (typically EC50<20 nm), high stability (Tm∼80 °C), good expression in E.

Antifungal Activity of Ellagic Acid In Vitro and In Vivo.

Ellagic acid (EA) has been shown to have antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. In Uighur traditional medicine, Euphorbia humifusa Willd is used to treat fungal diseases, and recent studies suggest that it is the EA content which is responsible for its therapeutic effect. However, the effects of EA on antifungal activity have not yet been reported.

Overexpression of antimicrobial lytic peptides protects grapevine from Pierce's disease under greenhouse but not field conditions.

Pierce's disease (PD) caused by Xylella fastidiosa prevents cultivation of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) and susceptible hybrids in the southeastern United States and poses a major threat to the grape industry of California and Texas. Genetic resistance is the only proven control of X. fastidiosa.

Characteristics of remixed fermentation dough and its influence on the quality of steamed bread.

In this study, the effects of the amount of remixed flour on the properties of remixed fermentation dough and the quality of Chinese steamed breads were investigated. The hardness, chewiness and whiteness of steamed bread increased when the amount of remixed flour was higher than 10 g/100 g, whereas the specific volume of steamed bread significantly decreased. SEM analysis demonstrated that the gas cells of the steamed bread remained as a discrete spherical or oval-like entity only at 10 g/100 g level of remixed flour.

Label-free colorimetric detection of biothiols utilizing SAM and unmodified Au nanoparticles.

Herein, a sensitive and selective sensor for biothiols based on colorimetric assay is reported. S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) could induce the selective aggregation of unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by electrostatic interaction. In the presence of biothiols, such as glutathione (GSH), homocysteine (Hcy), and cysteine (Cys), AuNPs prefer to react with thiols of biothiols rather than SAM due to the formation of Au-S bond.

Scalable high throughput selection from phage-displayed synthetic antibody libraries.

The demand for antibodies that fulfill the needs of both basic and clinical research applications is high and will dramatically increase in the future. However, it is apparent that traditional monoclonal technologies are not alone up to this task. This has led to the development of alternate methods to satisfy the demand for high quality and renewable affinity reagents to all accessible elements of the proteome.

Maternal position and development of hypotension in patients undergoing cesarean section under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia of intrathecal hyperbaric ropivacaine.

Background: Spinal anesthesia (SA) is usually associated with hypotension in pregnant women. We sought to assess the influence of various maternal positions on SA-induced hypotension

Material/methods: The study population comprised 99 women at full-term gestation scheduled for elective cesarean section. They were randomized into 3 equal groups: the LL group, in which the patient was placed in the full left-lateral position until the start of surgery with the Whitacre needle bevel oriented laterally; the LS group, in which the patient was placed in the full left-lateral position initially and then shifted to the left-tilt supine position with the needle bevel oriented laterally; and the CS group, in which the patient was initially placed in the full left-lateral position and then shifted to the left-tilt supine position with the needle oriented in the cephalad direction.

Precision breeding of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) for improved traits.

This review provides an overview of recent technological advancements that enable precision breeding to genetically improve elite cultivars of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Precision breeding, previously termed "cisgenic" or "intragenic" genetic improvement, necessitates a better understanding and use of genomic resources now becoming accessible.

The Effect of Glycated Hemoglobin and Albumin-Corrected Glycated Serum Protein on Mortality in Diabetic Patients Receiving Continuous Peritoneal Dialysis.

Objective: To explore the effect of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and albumin-corrected glycated serum proteins (Alb-GSP) on the mortality of diabetic patients receiving continuous peritoneal dialysis (PD).

Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study, incident diabetic PD patients from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2010, were recruited, and followed up until December 31, 2011. The effect of HbA1c and Alb-GSP on mortality was evaluated by Cox proportional hazards models.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) intercropping provides a feasible way to improve yield and economic incomes in farming and pastoral areas of northeast China.

Given the growing challenges to food and eco-environmental security as well as sustainable development of animal husbandry in the farming and pastoral areas of northeast China, it is crucial to identify advantageous intercropping modes and some constraints limiting its popularization. In order to assess the performance of various intercropping modes of maize and alfalfa, a field experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with five treatments: maize monoculture in even rows, maize monoculture in alternating wide and narrow rows, alfalfa monoculture, maize intercropped with one row of alfalfa in wide rows and maize intercropped with two rows of alfalfa in wide rows. Results demonstrate that maize monoculture in alternating wide and narrow rows performed best for light transmission, grain yield and output value, compared to in even rows.

Prevalence of and risk factors for pterygia in a rural Northern Chinese population.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of and associated risk factors for pterygia development in a high-latitude-dwelling Northern Chinese population.

Methods: A prospective population-based survey was conducted between November 2008 and July 2009. A stratified, clustered, randomized sampling procedure was used to select 8445 subjects, aged ≥18 years, all with diagnosed, graded pterygia.

Alcohol consumption and visual impairment in a rural Northern Chinese population.

Purpose: To investigate alcohol drinking status and the association between drinking patterns and visual impairment in an adult population in northern China.

Methods: Cluster sampling was used to select samples. The protocol consisted of an interview, pilot study, visual acuity (VA) testing and a clinical examination.

Fragrant volatile sesquiterpenoids isolated from the essential oil of Laggera pterodonta by using olfactory-guided fractionation.

Chemical composition of the essential oil from Laggera pterodonta (Compositae) was inverstigated. GC/MS Analyses led to the identification of 68 components, representing more than 96% of the total oil. By focusing on the woody note fraction of the essential oil, one new bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid, bisabola-2,7(14),11-trien-10-ol (1), together with ten known compounds, bisabolol oxide B (2), ylangenol (3), copaborneol (4), guai-11-en-10-ol (5), spathulenol (6), aromadendran-10-ol (7), caryophyllenol (8), 5α,7α-eudesm-11(13)-en-4α-ol (9), γ-costic acid (10), and eudesma-4(15),11(13)-diene-12,5β-olide (11), were isolated by using olfactory-guided fractionation.

Polymorphism of DEFA in Chinese Han population with IgA nephropathy.

Our recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) had discovered a new locus at 8p23 (rs2738048) associated with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in Chinese Han patients, implicating the DEFA gene family within this locus as susceptibility genes. However, it is still unknown whether there are additional variations within these genes associated with the disease susceptibility. The aim of this study is to investigate the polymorphisms of DEFA genes in the susceptibility to IgAN and explore possible disease mechanisms.

MiR-135a promotes renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy by regulating TRPC1.

Aims/hypothesis: The contribution of aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) to diabetic nephropathy in vivo is poorly understood.

Methods: Integrated comparative miRNA array profiling was used to examine the expression of serum miRNAs in patients with diabetic nephropathy. The abundance of miRNA-135a (miR-135a) was measured by real-time quantitative PCR in the serum and kidney tissues of patients with diabetic nephropathy.

[Prevalence of blindness and moderate and severe visual impairment among adults aged 50 years or above in Shuangcheng City of Heilongjiang Province: the China Nine-Province Survey].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of blindness and moderate and severe visual impairment among adults aged 50 years or above in Shuangcheng City of Heilongjiang Province, China.

Methods: It was a population-based cross-section study. Geographically defined cluster sampling was used in randomly selecting 5 841 individuals aged 50 years or above in 28 basic sample units in Shuangcheng City from September to December 2006.

[Action of Euphorbia humifusa effective fraction on membrane biosynthesis and the gene expression of proteases MEP and SUB of Trichophyton rubrum].

This study is to investigate the effect of Euphorbia humifusa effective fraction (EHEF) on the CYP51 enzyme activity, the lanosterol content and the MEP, SUB gene expression of Trichophyton rubrum. Trichophyton rubrum was treated by EHEF for 7 days at 26 degrees C. The activity of CYP51 enzyme of Trichophyton rubrum in the cell membrane was determined by using ELISA kit, and the lanosterol content was investigated by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the MEP, SUB gene expression of Trichophyton rubrum was detected with the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.

Outcomes and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in rural northern China: the Heilongjiang Eye Study.

Purpose: To report visual outcomes and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery among subjects of all ages in Mingshui County, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Methods: Cluster sampling was used to select a cross-sectional sample of people living in the Heilongjiang Province. Each subject underwent a participant interview, presenting and best-corrected vision measurements and an ocular examination.