Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted colonoscopy improves polyp detection and characterization in colonoscopy. However, data from large-scale multicenter randomized controlled trials (RCT) in an asymptomatic population are lacking. METHODS: This multicenter RCT aimed to compare AI-assisted colonoscopy with conventional colonoscopy for adenoma detection in an asymptomatic population. Asymptomatic subjects 45-75 years of age undergoing colorectal cancer screening by direct colonoscopy or fecal immunochemical test were recruited in 6 referral centers in Hong Kong, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Xiamen, and Beijing. In the AI-assisted colonoscopy, an AI polyp detection system (Eagle-Eye) with real-time notification on the same monitor of the endoscopy system was used. The primary outcome was overall adenoma detection rate (ADR). Secondary outcomes were mean number of adenomas per colonoscopy, ADR according to endoscopist's experience, and colonoscopy withdrawal time. This study received Institutional Review Board approval (CRE-2019.393). RESULTS: From November 2019 to August 2021, 3059 subjects were randomized to AI-assisted colonoscopy (n = 1519) and conventional colonoscopy (n = 1540). Baseline characteristics and bowel preparation quality between the 2 groups were similar. The overall ADR (39.9% vs 32.4%; P < .001), advanced ADR (6.6% vs 4.9%; P = .041), ADR of expert (42.3% vs 32.8%; P < .001) and nonexpert endoscopists (37.5% vs 32.1%; P = .023), and adenomas per colonoscopy (0.59 ± 0.97 vs 0.45 ± 0.81; P < .001) were all significantly higher in the AI-assisted colonoscopy. The median withdrawal time (8.3 minutes vs 7.8 minutes; P = .004) was slightly longer in the AI-assisted colonoscopy group. CONCLUSIONS: In this multicenter RCT in asymptomatic patients, AI-assisted colonoscopy improved overall ADR, advanced ADR, and ADR of both expert and nonexpert attending endoscopists. (ClinicalTrials.gov, Number: NCT04422548).

Acuminatums E and F, two new cyclic lipopeptides from Fusarium lateritium HU0053 and their antifungal activity.

Two new cyclic lipopeptides, acuminatums E (1) and F (2), together with four known cyclic lipopeptides, acuminatums A-D (3-6) were isolated from the corn culture of endophytic Fusarium lateritium HU0053. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and advanced Marfey's amino acid analysis. All compounds were found to exhibit antifungal activities against Penicillium digitatum. Acuminatum F (2), a new cyclic lipopeptide containing an unusual 3, 4-dihydroxy-phenylalanine unit exhibited the strongest antifungal activities with inhibition zone of 6.5 mm at the dose of 6.25 µg. Therefore, acuminatum F might be a potential environmental-friendly preservative for citrus fruits.

Dihydrochalcones from the leaves of Lithocarpus litseifolius.

Three new phlorizin derivatives, 6"-O-vanilloylphlorizin (1), 6"-O-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)phlorizin (2), 6"-O-feruloylphlorizin (3), along with four known dihydrochalcones, phlorizin (4), 3-hydroxyphlorizin, trilobatin, and 6"-O-acetylphlorizin were isolated from the leaves of Lithocarpus litseifolius. Their structures were established by analysis of extensive spectroscopic data. The new compounds were shown to be non-cytotoxic when tested against A549, HeLa, HepG2, and MCF-7 cell lines.

WEDM-LS processing sophisticated and durable Zr-based metallic glass mold insert for micro structure injection of polymers.

Micro components processed by injection molding still have a defect of bad precision and short life. A Zr- based metallic glass was reported for injection mold insert which can solve the problem well. The microstructure of metallic glass mold insert can be fabricated by wire electrical discharge machining-low speed (WEDM-LS), WEDM-LS has higher machining accuracy than WEDM-high speed, and X-ray diffraction curves show that the processed sample still retained better amorphous characteristic, afterward, time-temperature-transformation diagram shows metallic glass has a long service life in production. Finally, under the observe of scanning electron microscope, it is found that the products after injection molding not only completely replicates the structure on metallic glass but also have a better surface morphology. These experiments show that processing a sophisticated and durable Zr-based metallic glass mold by WEDM-LS is good for getting micro structure injection of polymers. It also provides a good mold material and machining method for injection industry.

A comparative study of three different forecasting methods for trial of labor after cesarean section.

AIM: This study aims to establish a convenient and practical predelivery scoring system for trial of labor after cesarean section (TOLAC). METHODS: The data of 498 patients undergoing TOLAC were retrospectively studied. Indices with statistically significant differences, including cervical score, fetal weight, fetal pelvic index, body mass index and age, were selected. Combined with the presence of vaginal delivery history and indications of the previous cesarean section in these patients, three prenatal forecast scales for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) were established. The receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn, and the best cut-off point was determined. Then, the areas under the curve of the three forecasting methods were compared. The scoring method with the largest area under the curve was considered the best method. RESULTS: The six indications of cesarean section used for the forecasting scale were as follows: cervical score, fetal weight, body mass index, age, presence of vaginal delivery history and the presence of previous obstructive dystocia. The scale that had the largest area under the curve was considered the best forecasting scale. CONCLUSION: The prenatal forecasting method for TOLAC was preliminarily investigated. It was determined that the scale with six indicators, such as the cervical score, could be used for the prenatal evaluation of TOLAC, providing a predictive basis for the possible success of the trial production for pregnant women. The method and process of VBAC section in our hospital was safe and effective.

Absolute configurations of four resorcylic acid lactones, paecilomycins J-M, by CD/TDDFT calculations.

The absolute configurations of four resorcylic acid lactones (RALs), paecilomycins J-M (1-3 and 5), were assigned by Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory (TDDFT) calculations of their electronic circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The previously reported structure 4 for paecilomycin M was found to be incorrect and should be changed to structure 5. Analysis of structure-spectrum relationship for this group of RALs suggested that V'-shape conformations give type I CD spectra (two negative Cotton effects around 300 and 260 nm, a positive Cotton effect around 220 nm) while V-shape conformations yield type II spectra (signs of three Cotton effects were opposite to those in type I).

Demographic analysis of the fitness of Problepsis superans (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) feeding on three ligustrum (Lamiales: Oleaceae) species.

Using the age-stage, two-sex life table, the effects of three ligustrum species, Ligustrum x vicaryi Hort., Ligustrum quihoui Carrière, and Ligustrum lucidum Aiton, on the fitness of Problepsis superans (Butler, 1885) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) were assayed by considering life table parameters of P. superans at 27 +/- 1 degrees C, 70 +/- 5% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. The means and SEs of population parameters were calculated using the jackknife and bootstrap methods. The total developmental time of larval stage of P. superans on L. x vicaryi was significantly shorter than that on L. x vicaryi and L. quihoui, whereas higher fecundity was observed on L. x vicaryi. The highest value of the finite rate of increase was observed on L. x vicaryi. The intrinsic rate of increase of P. superans on L. x vicaryi, L. quihoui, and L. lucidum, was 0.147 +/- 0.004, 0.130 +/- 0.004, and 0.112 +/- 0.005, respectively, which differed significantly among the three ligustrum species. The net reproductive rate varied from 122.8 +/- 24.7 female offspring on L. lucidum to 242.2 +/- 36.2 female offspring on L. x vicaryi. The lowest mean generation time was observed on L. x vicaryi. The gross reproductive rate of P. superans on the three ligustrum species did not significantly differ. Based on growth and population parameters, the suitability of the three ligustrum species to P. superans is ranked from high to low in the order as L. x vicaryi, L. quihoui, and L. lucidum.

Dissolution Manufacturing Strategy for the Facile Synthesis of Nanoporous Metallic Glass Multifunctional Catalyst.

The quest for heightened energy efficiency is inextricably linked to advancements in energy storage and conversion technologies, wherein multifunctional catalysts play a pivotal role by mitigating the slow kinetics endemic to many catalytic reactions. The intricate synthesis and bespoke design of such catalysts, however, present notable challenges. Addressing this, the present study capitalizes on a novel dissolution manufacturing strategy to engineer self-supporting, nanoporous multifunctional electrocatalysts, circumventing the prevalent issue of customizing catalytic functionalities upon demand. This innovative approach grants the flexibility to finely tune the incorporation of active species and metalloid binders, culminating in the creation of a self-supporting nanoporous metal glass electrocatalyst doped with RuO2 (NPMG@RuO2) with outstanding performance in alkaline media. The catalyst showcases superior electrocatalytic activity, achieving low overpotentials of 41.50 mV for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and 226.0 mV for Oxygen Evolution Reaction alongside sustained stability over 620 hours.These achievements are attributed to the distinct nanoporous architecture that ensures a high density of catalytic sites and mechanical strength, bolstered by the synergistic interplay between RuO2 and Pt-based metallic glass. The findings provide a versatile template for the development of nanoporous multifunctional catalysts, signifying a leap forward in the realm of energy conversion technologies.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of an Escherichia coli ST69 Strain Harboring blaCTX-M-27 on a Hybrid Plasmid.

Objective: Escherichia coli is a common Gram-negative human pathogen. The emergence of E. coli with multiple-antibiotic-resistant phenotypes has become a serious health concern. This study reports the whole-genome sequences of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-R) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli EC6868 and explores the acquired antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) as well as their genetic contexts. Methods: E. coli EC6868 was isolated from a vaginal secretion sample of a pregnant patient in China. The antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed, and whole-genome sequencing was conducted. The acquired ARGs, insertion sequence (IS) elements, and integrons within the genome of E. coli EC6868 were identified, and the genetic contexts associated with the ARGs were analyzed systematically. Results: E. coli EC6868 was determined to belong to ST69 and harbored a 144.9-kb IncF plasmid (pEC6868-1) with three replicons (Col156, IncFIBAP001918, and IncFII). The ESBL gene blaCTX-M-27 was located on the structure "∆ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-27-IS903B", which was widely present in the species of Enterobacteriales. Other ARGs carried by plasmid pEC6868-1 were mainly located on the 18.9-kb IS26-composite transposon (five copies of intact IS26 and one copy of truncated IS26) composing of IS26-mphA-mrx(A)-mphR(A)-IS6100, ∆TnAs3-eamA-tet(A)-tetR(A)-aph(6)-Id-aph(3")-Ib-sul2-IS26, and a class 1 integron, which was widely present on IncF plasmids of E. coli, mainly distributed in ST131, ST38, and ST405. Notably, pEC6868 in our study was the first report on a plasmid harboring the 18.9-kb structure in E. coli ST69 in China. Conclusion: The 3GC-R E. coli ST69 strain with an MDR IncF plasmid carrying blaCTX-M-27 and other ARGs, conferring resistance to aminoglycosides, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracycline, and trimethoprim, was identified in a hospital in China. Mobile genetic elements including ISEcp1, IS903B, IS26, Tn3, IS6100 and class 1 integron were found within the MDR region, which could play important roles in the global dissemination of these resistance genes.

Effect of the Cross-Section of a Porous Burner on the Combustion Stability Limit of Premixed Oxy-Methane Flames.

This study presents the idea of using a porous media burner to improve the oxy-methane combustion reaction rate and broaden the stability limit. Numerical studies on the premixed combustion of CH4/O2/CO2 in a two-layer porous medium burner using a two-dimensional symmetrical volume-average model with the skeleton mechanism based on OpenFOAM. The combustion characteristics of burners with variable cross-sectional (VC) and straight cylindrical (SC) structures were compared, including stable range, temperature field, thermal cycle efficiency, and CO emissions. It is confirmed that the cross-sectional structure is effective for broadening the stable range, and the broadening rate is more than 4 times. As more heat is lost from the outlet due to the increased cross-section, the solid-phase temperature of VC is lower than that of SC. As a result, the flame temperature of VC will be about 200 K lower than that of SC under the condition of insulated walls. It also leads to a reduction of about 2% in thermal cycle efficiency compared with SC. Meanwhile, it is shown that the VC structure slightly increases CO emissions at low thermal power but is smaller than that of SC at high power. When the wall heat loss of the burner is considered, the VC structure is still effective for improving the stable range. In addition, the VC structure slightly affects flame tilt and temperature uniformity at the burner outlet when the thermal power is large. It is confirmed that the VC structure is effective for increasing the power adjustment range and reducing pollutant emissions at high power.

Molecular interactions between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and trihalophenol: Insights from spectroscopic, calorimetric and molecular modeling studies.

The issue of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in the water has received critical attention due to the health effects on humans. In the water environment, interactions between bovine serum albumins (BSA), the most abundant water-soluble protein, and DBPs unavoidably occur. In this study, comparative binding interactions of two aromatic DBPs - 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP) with BSA were investigated systematically utilizing fluorescence spectrometry, UV absorption spectrometry, isothermal titration calorimetry and molecular docking approach. The fluorescence quenching results indicated that TCP/TBP could quench the endogenous fluorescence of BSA through static quenching mechanisms, and TBP showed a more substantial quenching effect. The binding constants were determined for TCP-BSA (3.638 × 105 L/mol, 303 K) and TBP-BSA (6.394 × 105 L/mol, 303 K) complexes, with TBP showing higher binding affinity than TCP. The thermodynamic study and docking analysis suggested that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces were the primary interaction forces. Both of TCP and TBP were located in the subdomain IIIA of BSA, and TBP could form more stable complex than TCP. The results of the present study contributed valuable information on the environmental behaviors of halophenols in water environment from perspectives of binding with BSA.

Dissolvable templates to prepare Pt-based porous metallic glass for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a crucial role in electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices such as metal-air batteries and water electrolyzers. Herein, a hierarchical nanoporous platinum-based metallic glass (NPMG) was developed by a facile fabrication method by dissolving in a liquid. The surface topography of the sample can be easily modulated by controlling the particle size of sodium chloride. As a result, the NPMG was proved to be efficient and robust as the ORR catalysts with super hydrophilicity and self-renewal capacity. The half-wave potential of the platinum-based porous material was 835 mV at 0.1 M KOH, even higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst (823 mV) and the previously reported platinum material. In particular, platinum-based porous materials have extremely long stability (more than 500 h) through the self-renewal surface, which perfectly meets the requirements of catalyst stability in batteries. Our study has a better inspiration for developing and applying novel catalysts to prepare metal-air batteries.

Relationship between high density of peritumoral lymphatic vessels and biological behavior of cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in cervical squamous carcinoma. METHODS: Eighty cases of invasive cervical squamous cancer were selected as objects of our study. Double immunohistochemical staining with antibodies against lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 and Ki-67 was used to label the lymphatic vessels and mark the proliferative lymphatic vessels in cervical squamous cancer. The peritumoral lymphatic vessel density and intratumoral lymphatic vessel density was assessed. The lymphatic vessels proliferation index was evaluated by calculating Ki-67 proliferation index (PI) to reflect the lymphangiogenesis of cervical squamous cancer. Then the correlation between lymphangiogenesis and clinicopathologic features of cervical squamous cancer was analyzed. RESULTS: The LVD of cervical cancer (15.23 ± 3.6) was clearly higher than that of the adjacent normal cervical subepithelial tissues (9.9 ± 2.5, P < 0.001). The peritumoral lymphatic vessel density of cervical cancer (18.75 ± 4.3) was significantly higher than the intratumoral lymphatic vessel density of cervical cancer (11.71 ± 4.9, P < 0.001). Lymphatic PI (LPI) of cervical cancer (0.258 ± 0.07) was higher than that of the adjacent normal cervical subepithelial tissues (0.068 ± 0.08, P < 0.001). The peritumoral lymphatic vessel PI of cervical cancer (0.324 ± 0.06) was notably higher than the intratumoral lymphatic vessel PI of cervical cancer (0.232 ± 0.06, P < 0.001). Peritumoral lymphatic vessel density and peritumoral lymphatic vessel were clearly associated with the lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively) and lymphovascular space invasion (P = 0.024 and P = 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The high density of peritumoral lymphatic vessels is a potential predictor of more aggressive phenotype of cervical squamous cancer.

PARP-1 overexpression does not protect HaCaT cells from DNA damage induced by SiO2 nanoparticles.

Nano-SiO2 is increasingly used in diagnostic and biomedical research because of its ease of production and relatively low cost and which is generally regarded as safe and has been approved for use as a food or animal feed ingredient. Although recent literature reveals that nano-SiO2 may present toxicity and DNA damage, however, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Since in previous studies, we found that nano-SiO2 treatment down-regulated the expression of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases-1 (PARP-1), a pivotal DNA repair gene, in human HaCaT cells and PAPR-1 knockdown can aggravate DNA damage induced by nano-SiO2. Therefore, we speculate whether PARP-1 overexpression can protect DNA from damage induced by nano-SiO2. However, our data demonstrated that overexpression of PARP-1 in HaCaT cells slightly enhanced the cellular proliferation of undamaged cells, when compared with both empty vector control cells and parental cells, but had drastic consequences for cells treated with nano-SiO2. The PARP-1 overtransfected cells were sensitized to the cytotoxic effects and DNA damage of nano-SiO2 compared with control parental cells. Meanwhile, flow cytometric analysis of nano-SiO2 stimulated poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis revealed consistently larger fractions of cells positive for this polymer in the PARP-1 overexpression cells than in control clones. Combining our previous research on PARP-1 knockdown HaCaT cells, we hypothesize that an optimal level of cellular poly(ADP-ribose) accumulation exists for the cellular recovery from DNA damage.

A high resolution representation network with multi-path scale for retinal vessel segmentation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Automatic retinal vessel segmentation (RVS) in fundus images is expected to be a vital step in the early image diagnosis of ophthalmologic diseases. However, it is a challenging task to detect the retinal vessel accurately mainly due to the vascular intricacies, lesion areas and optic disc edges in retinal fundus images. METHODS: In this paper, we propose a high resolution representation network with multi-path scale (MPS-Net) for RVS aiming to improve the performance of extracting the retinal blood vessels. In the MPS-Net, there exist one high resolution main road and two lower resolution branch roads where the proposed multi-path scale modules are embedded to enhance the representation ability of network. Besides, in order to guide the network focus on learning the features of hard examples in retinal images, we design a hard-focused cross-entropy loss function. RESULTS: We evaluate our network structure on DRIVE, STARE, CHASE and synthetic images and the quantitative comparisons with respect to the existing methods are presented. The experimental results show that our approach is superior to most methods in terms of F1-score, sensitivity, G-mean and Matthews correlation coefficient. CONCLUSIONS: The promising segmentation performances reveal that our method has potential in real-world applications and can be exploited for other medical images with further analysis.

RNF135 Promoter Methylation Is Associated With Immune Infiltration and Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

RING finger protein 135 has an important role in the occurrence of many cancers; however its regulation and function of RNF135 in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unknown. The promoter methylation status and mRNA expression of RNF135 was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR, semi-quantitative RT-PCR, and real-time quantitative PCR in HCC tissues and cell lines, and further analyzed from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Wound healing assay, transwell migration, cell viability, and colony formation assay were performed to investigate the function of RNF135. GSEA analysis, TIMER database, and ESTIMATE algorithm were used to decipher the associated pathway and immune infiltration. The survival analysis was applied to assess the prognostic value of RNF135. RNF135 expression was downregulated in HCC tissues and 5 of 8 HCC cell lines, and was negatively correlated with its promoter hypermethylation. Demethylating regent decitabine restored RNF135 expression on the cellular level. Knockdown of RNF135 expression enhanced the migration of HCC cells, while RNF135 overexpression and decitabine treatment repressed cell migration. Bioinformatics analysis and immunohistochemistry revealed a positive relationship between RNF135 expression and six immune cell infiltrates (B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells). Survival analysis disclosed that RNF135 hypermethylation is independently associated with poor clinical outcomes in HCC. Decreased RNF135 expression driven by promoter hypermethylation frequently occurred in HCC and associated with prognosis of HCC. RNF135 functions as a tumor suppressor and is involved in tumor immune microenvironment in HCC.

Metallic glue for designing composite materials with tailorable properties.

Developing materials with tailorable properties has been the long-sought goal of humankind. Forming composite materials with superior properties by combining two or more materials has emerged as a competitive means in the search and design of new materials. However, it is still a grand challenge to use metallic materials as a binder for composites because of their lack of adhesion. In the present work, we proposed a facile and flexible route to synthesize composites using metallic glass as a glue to bond various materials, ranging from conductors to insulators, and metals to nonmetals, together. The mechanical, magnetic and electrical performances of the composites can be manually regulated by changing the addition ratios of the metallic glass glue and the corresponding admixture. In addition, porous structures were also obtained and tuned by dissolving the soluble admixture in water. In principle, our approach provides a new idea for the fabrication and optimization of composites using metallic materials as binders. The outcome of our current research opens up a window not only to synthesize composite materials with tailorable properties universally and flexibly, but also towards the discovery of potential multi-functional metal containing composites.

Association between CASC16 rs4784227 polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether rs4784227 polymorphism of CASC16 is correlated with risk of breast cancer. METHODS: Relevant studies up to December 24, 2020 were searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, and WANFANG databases. Data were analyzed by using Stata 12.0. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and country-based subgroup analyses were conducted. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the stability of the results. Publication bias was assessed by using the Egger regression asymmetry test and visualization of funnel plots. RESULTS: Seven case-control studies enrolling 4055 breast cancer cases and 4229 controls were included. rs4784227 was found significantly associated with increased risk of breast cancer in a dominant (OR = 1.301, 95% CI = 1.190-1.423, P < .001), a recessive (OR = 1.431, 95% CI = 1.216-1.685, P < .001), and an allele model (OR = 1.257, 95% CI = 1.172-1.348, P < .001), while an over-dominant model showed that rs4784227 was correlated with decreased breast cancer risk (OR = 0.852, 95% CI = 0.778-0.933, P = .001). CONCLUSION: The rs4784227 polymorphism of CASC16 gene is correlated with breast cancer susceptibility.

Effect of hesperidin on expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in cultured rabbit retinal pigment epithelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of hesperidin on expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cultured rabbit retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells under the condition of high glucose in vitro. METHOD: Hesperidin was extracted from Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae by ultrasound and ethanol precipitation and was detected qualitatively by high performance liquid chromatogram. The third to fifth primary cultured rabbit RPE were selected. The cells were divided into 6 groups including the control group cultured in DMEM, the model group cultured in DMEM containing 33 mmol/L glucose without any drug and four experimental groups which were exposed to hesperidin at the concentration of 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/L at 37 degrees C under 5% CO(2) for 2 h and then cultured in DMEM containing 33 mmol/L glucose. The proliferation of RPE was measured by the MTT assay. The levels of NO produced were measured by spectrophotometry. The changes of iNOS expressed in RPE cells were determined with immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The growth rate of RPE cells was associated with the concentration of hesperidin. NO production induced by high glucose was significantly inhibited by hesperidin. iNOS expression in hesperidin-treated group was decreased compared with the control group (p <0.001). CONCLUSION: Hesperidin can increase the proliferation of rabbit RPE cells, and inhibit the level of NO and iNOS expression, so hesperidin can protect rabbit RPE cells.

Mutation frequency of IMPDH1 gene of Han population in Ganzhou City.

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 1 gene (IMPDH1) have recently been discovered that IMPDH1 gene plays a critical role in pathogenesis of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). Aiming towards an understanding of the molecular background of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), this paper investigates the mutation frequency of IMPDH1 genes in the Han patients with adRP in Ganzhou City. METHODS: The whole blood samples were collected randomly from 56 adRP patients and 62 unrelated normal controls who were residents of Han population in Ganzhou City, and then their genomic DNA samples were extracted respectively. Genic polymorphism was examined by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction-fragment-length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). The statistical significance of the data was further analyzed by SPSS 14.0 software. RESULTS: Mutation rate of IMPDH1 gene had no significance between in adRP patients and in the normal control by exact probabilities in 2 x 2 table (p = 0.232). The mutation frequency of IMPDH1gene in the Han samples was 3.6%. CONCLUSION: The mutation frequency of IMPDH1 gene of the Han population in Ganzhou city was similar as approximately 2-5% of the adRP cases among Americans of European origin and Europeans.