[A single-center retrospective analysis of 46 children with aerophagia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of aerophagia in children. MEYJODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 46 children with aerophagia who were diagnosed and treated in Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from October 2011 to September 2019. RESULTS: Among these 46 children, 15 (33%) had Tourette syndrome. Abdominal distension was the most common symptom and was observed in 45 children (98%). The 24-hour esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance monitoring showed a mean number of 341 times of air swallowing and a mean number of 212 times of gas reflux, and 95% of gas refluxes occurred in the upright body position. Compared with those without Tourette syndrome, the children with Tourette syndrome had a significantly higher incidence rate of air swallowing symptoms (67% vs 6%, P<0.001), but there were no significant differences in other symptoms and the results of 24-hour esophageal impedance. Dietary adjustment, psycho-behavioral therapy, and drug intervention significantly improved the scores of clinical symptoms and quality of life, among which psycho-behavioral therapy was an important intervention measure. CONCLUSIONS: Some children with aerophagia may have Tourette syndrome, and such children are more likely to have air swallowing symptoms. Psycho-behavioral therapy is one of the most important treatment methods, and children with aerophagia tend to have a good prognosis after treatment.

A specific reverse complement sequence for distinguishing Brucella canis from other Brucella species.

Canine brucellosis is primarily caused by Brucella canis, but other Brucella species can also cause the disease. Identifying sequences specific to B. canis and establishing PCR assays that can distinguish between B. canis and other Brucella species is essential to determine the etiology of canine brucellosis and the source of infection and to achieve effective control. We analyzed the gaps and SNPs of genomes I and II from B. canis strain RM6/66 and B. melitensis strain 16M using the Mauve genome alignment software, and the specificity of each of these differential regions was analyzed by BLAST. A 132 bp specific sequence was found between the DK60_915 (glycosyl hydrolase 108 family protein) and DK60_917 (aldose 1-epimerase) loci in B. canis chromosome 1. Further comparative analysis revealed that this is a reverse complement sequence between B. canis and other Brucella species. Then, three primers were designed based on the sequence that could detect B. canis with a 310 bp amplification product or other Brucella species with a 413 bp product. The PCR based on these primers had reasonable specificity and a sensitivity of 100 copies of Brucella DNA. The detection results for the blood samples of the aborted dogs showed a favorable accordance with the Bruce-ladder multiplex PCR assay. In conclusion, we found a specific reverse complement sequence between B. canis and other Brucella and developed a PCR method that allows a more comprehensive identification of the pathogen involved in canine brucellosis. These findings provide an effective means for preventing and controlling brucellosis.

The Mechanism of Extraction of Peanut Protein and Oil Bodies by Enzymatic Hydrolysis of the Cell Wall.

Degradation of the peanut cell wall is a critical step in the aqueous enzymatic extraction process to extract proteins and oil bodies. Viscozyme® L, a compound cell wall degrading enzyme, has been applied as an alternative to protease in the process of aqueous enzymatic extraction, but the mechanism of cell wall enzymolysis remains unclear. The present study aims to investigate the changes in cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin content of the peanut cell wall hydrolyzed by Viscozyme® L. The degree to which the main components of the peanut cell wall, such as trans-1, 2-cyclohexanediamine-N,N,N',N'-acetic acid-soluble pectin (CDTA-soluble pectin), Na2CO3-soluble pectin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, are degraded is closely related to the extraction of oil bodies and peanut protein at different solid-liquid ratio of powered peanut seed in distilled water, enzyme concentration, enzyme hydrolysis temperature, and enzyme hydrolysis time. The key sites of Viscozyme® L activity on cell wall polysaccharides were explored by comparing the changes in chemical bonds under different extraction conditions using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) absorption bands and principal component analysis (PCA). Viscozyme® L acted on the C-O stretching, C-C stretching, and CH2 symmetrical bending of cellulose, the C-O stretching and O-C-O asymmetrical bending of hemicellulose, and the C-O stretching and C-C stretching of pectin.

Peanut Oil Body Composition and Stability.

This study was aimed to assess the effect of membrane structure on the stability of peanut oil bodies extracted by enzyme-assisted extraction. The influence of pH, NaCl concentration, and temperature on the physicochemical properties of peanut oil bodies was characterized using ζ-potential and particle size. The results indicated that the peanut oil bodies had strong stability (ζ-potential, >20 mV) at pH values away from the isoelectric point (pH 4.8), at a low salt concentration (NaCl concentration, <10 mM), and in a certain temperature range (35 to 55 °C). The stable structure of the oil body was closely related to its structure. Phospholipids, along with membrane proteins, were major components of the oil body membrane. Therefore, the phospholipid composition and content were measured and the types of membrane proteins of the oil bodies were identified. The results showed that phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine were major components of the oil body phospholipids. Two-dimensional electrophoresis showed that the oil bodies contained both intrinsic proteins and extrinsic proteins, which might play an important role in the stability of oil bodies during enzyme-assisted extraction processing.

Effects of NaCl stress on stomatal traits, leaf gas exchange parameters, and biomass of two tomato cultivars.

To understand the mechanism underlying responses of stomatal traits, gas exchange parameters, and biomass of tomato plants to salt stress, two tomato cultivars (Shed and Alam) were treated by salt stress by adding NaCl (0.1 mol·L-1) to nutrition medium in environmental growth chambers for 90 days. Our results showed that salt stress substantially decreased the stomatal density, stomatal width, stomatal area, and stomatal area index of Shed by 32%, 45%, 25%, and 49%, respectively. The stomatal traits of Alam were not affected by NaCl treatment. The spatial scales of the regular stomatal distribution pattern of Shed and Alam were significantly decreased by 30% and 43%, and the nearest neighbor distance Lhat (d) of shed cultivar was increased by 20% under salt stress. NaCl stress resulted in marginal declines in the net photosynthetic rates (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rates (Tr) of both cultivars. The decrease of the photosynthetic rate of Shed under salt stress resulted from stomatal limitation, whereas the Pn of Alam was subjected to non-stomatal constraints. NaCl stress substantially decreased the seedling biomass of both cultivars, and the decline of belowground biomass was higher than that of aboveground biomass. Overall, our results suggested that the Alam cultivar is more salt-tolerant than Shed.

[Mutation effect of ultra high pressure on microbe].

(Ultra) high pressure had many influences on microbe. It could regulate the expression of gene and protein, influence DNA's structure and function as well as change cell morphology and cell component. These effects not only make (ultra) high pressure to be applied into food sterilization, conserving and some processing, but also indicate it would play an important role in mutagenic breeding of microbe. Pressure can change the structure and function of microbe, yet it is possible that (ultra) high pressure could induce mutation of microbe. Now the feasibility of (ultra) high pressure's mutation effect was discussed according to the effects of it on microbe, some examples and author's studying.

[The effect of IRESSA on H22 mouse hepatocellular carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of IRESSA (gefitinib, ZD1839) on H22 murine hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Mice bearing H22 hepatocellular carcinoma were randomly divided into oral control group, Normal saline (NS) control group, cisplatin (CDDP) d1-5 group, CDDP d6-10 group, IRESSA group, IRESSA combined with CDDP early (IRESSA + CDDP d1-5) group, and IRESSA combined with CDDP lately (IRESSA + CDDP d6-10) group. IRESSA was given by daily gastrogavage for 10 days (day 1-day 10) at 100 mg/kg in body weight (BW). CDDP was given by daily intraperitoneal injection for 5 days (day 1-day 5, or day 6-day 10) at 1.2 mg/kg in BW. The growth inhibiting rate (IR) of tumor, change of BW, spleen index (SI), and amounts of blood leucocyte or hemoglobin were detected. RESULTS: IR of tumor in IRESSA group was not significantly difference with that in CDDP d1-5 group, CDDP d6-10 group, IRESSA + CDDP d1-5 group (P > 0.05). IR of tumor in IRESSA group, CDDP d1-5 group, CDDP d6-10 group, IRESSA and IRESSA + CDDP d1-5 group were 41%, 54%, 46%, and 56%, respectively. IR of tumor in IRESSA + CDDP d6-10 group (26%) was significantly lower than that in CDDP d6-10 group (P < 0.05) or in IRESSA + CDDP d1-5 group (P < 0.01). Compared with oral or NS control groups, SI and net BW in IRESSA group was not significantly difference (P > 0.05). SI and net BW in both IRESSA + CDDP d1-5 group and IRESSA + CDDP d6-10 group were lower markedly than those in IRESSA group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Tumor growth of H22 bearing mice was markedly inhibited by IRESSA.

Extracellular ATP promotes stomatal opening of Arabidopsis thaliana through heterotrimeric G protein α subunit and reactive oxygen species.

In recent years, adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) has been reported to exist in apoplasts of plant cells as a signal molecule. Extracellular ATP (eATP) plays important roles in plant growth, development, and stress tolerance. Here, extracellular ATP was found to promote stomatal opening of Arabidopsis thaliana in light and darkness. ADP, GTP, and weakly hydrolyzable ATP analogs (ATPγS, Bz-ATP, and 2meATP) showed similar effects, whereas AMP and adenosine did not affect stomatal movement. Apyrase inhibited stomatal opening. ATP-promoted stomatal opening was blocked by an NADPH oxidase inhibitor (diphenylene iodonium) or deoxidizer (dithiothreitol), and was impaired in null mutant of NADPH oxidase (atrbohD/F). Added ATP triggered ROS generation in guard cells via NADPH oxidase. ATP also induced Ca(2+) influx and H(+) efflux in guard cells. In atrbohD/F, ATP-induced ion flux was strongly suppressed. In null mutants of the heterotrimeric G protein α subunit, ATP-promoted stomatal opening, cytoplasmic ROS generation, Ca(2+) influx, and H(+) efflux were all suppressed. These results indicated that eATP-promoted stomatal opening possibly involves the heterotrimeric G protein, ROS, cytosolic Ca(2+), and plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase.