TaWRKY74 participates copper tolerance through regulation of TaGST1 expression and GSH content in wheat.

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is the key enzyme in glutathione (GSH) synthesis, and plays a crucial role in copper (Cu) detoxification. Nonetheless, its regulatory mechanisms remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified a Cu-induced glutathione S-transferase 1 (TaGST1) gene in wheat. Yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) screened out TaWRKY74, which was one member from the WRKY transcription factor family. The bindings between TaGST1 promoter and TaWRKY74 were further verified by using another Y1H and luciferase assays. Expression of TaWRKY74 was induced more than 30-folds by Cu stress. Functions of TaWRKY74 were tested by using transiently silence methods. In transiently TaWRKY74-silenced wheat plants, TaWRKY74 and TaGST1 expression, GST activity, and GSH content was significantly inhibited by 25.68%, 19.88%, 27.66%, and 12.68% in shoots, and 53.81%, 52.11%, 23.47%, and 17.11% in roots, respectively. However, contents of hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, or Cu were significantly increased by 2.58%, 12.45%, or 37.74% in shoots, and 25.24%, 53.84%, and 103.99% in roots, respectively. Notably, exogenous application of GSH reversed the adverse effects of transiently TaWRKY74-silenced wheat plants during Cu stress. Taken together, our results suggesting that TaWRKY74 regulated TaGST1 expression and affected GSH accumulation under Cu stress, and could be useful to ameliorate Cu toxicity for crop food safety.

CREB1-induced lncRNA LEF1-AS1 contributes to colorectal cancer progression via the miR-489/DIAPH1 axis.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified as new regulatory factors in tumor progression. Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 antisense RNA 1 (LEF1-AS1) was a recently identified lncRNA. This research aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of LEF1-AS1 in colorectal cancer (CRC). We firstly showed that LEF1-AS1 expression was upregulated in human CRC tissues and cell lines. LEF1-AS1 upregulation was demonstrated to be induced by CREB1. Clinical study revealed that high LEF1-AS1 expression was positively associated with histological grade, lymph nodes metastasis, and decreased survivals of CRC patients. Functionally, down-regulation of LEF1-AS1 using si-LEF1-AS1 decreased cell growth, migration and invasion, as well as increased apoptosis in CRC cells. Mechanically, LEF1-AS1 functioned as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-489 to positively recover DIAPH1, thus playing an oncogenic role in CRC pathogenesis. Overall, our observations identified a novel CRC-related lncRNA LEF1-AS1 and discovered a critical role for this lncRNA as a ceRNA in CRC pathogenesis, suggesting that it may serve as a novel biomarker for prognosis and act as a therapeutic target for CRC treatment.

[Research progress on pathogenesis of ischemic stroke and traditional Chinese medicine commonly used for treatment of ischemic stroke].

Stroke has become the second leading cause of death in the world, and the most common type is the ischemic stroke. Due to its rapid onset and complex conditions, ischemic stroke is a major neurological disorder that causes disability. Ischemic stroke mainly results from atherosclerosis, and the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke mainly includes energy metabolism disorders in the brain, the toxicity of excitatory amino acids, oxidative/nitrification stress, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and autophagy. With the characteristics of multi-component and multi-target, traditional Chinese medicine could be used to treat ischemic stroke at different stages. This article summarized the latest research progress on the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke and commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of ischemic stroke in order to provide references for the further research and clinical treatment of ischemic stroke.

Function of the ERFL1a Transcription Factor in Wheat Responses to Water Deficiency.

The APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily is involved in the responses of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses; however, the functions and mechanisms of some members of this family in plants are unclear. In our previous study, expression of TaERFL1a, a member of the AP2/ERF family, was remarkably induced in wheat seedlings suffering freezing stress. In this study, we show that its expression was rapidly upregulated in response to salt, cold, and water deficiency, suggesting roles in the responses to abiotic stresses. Further, transient barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing (BSMV-VIGS) resulted in significantly reduced tolerance to 20% PEG6000-stimulated water deficiency. Subcellular localization and transcriptional activation assays separately showed that TaERFL1a was targeted to the nucleus and possessed transcriptional activation activity. Yeast two-hybrid library screening identified six interacting proteins, and of these, the interactions between TaERFL1a and TaSGT1, and TaERFL1a and TaDAD2 proteins were further confirmed by yeast co-transformation and bimolecular fluorescent complementation (BiFC). Collectively, our results suggest that TaERFL1a is a stress-responsive transcription factor, which could be functionally related to proteins involved in the abiotic stress responses of plants.

Aqueous two-phase system based on natural quaternary ammonium compounds for the extraction of proteins.

Aqueous two-phase systems, based on the use of natural quaternary ammonium compounds, were developed to establish a benign biotechnological route for efficient protein separation. In this study, aqueous two-phase systems of two natural resources betaine and choline with polyethyleneglycol (PEG400/600) or inorganic salts (K2 HPO4 /K3 PO4 ) were formed. It was shown that in the K2 HPO4 -containing aqueous two-phase system, hydrophobic interactions were an important driving force of protein partitioning, while protein size played a vital role in aqueous two-phase systems that contained polyethylene glycol. An extraction efficiency of more than 90% for bovine serum albumin in the betaine/K2 HPO4 aqueous two-phase system can be obtained, and this betaine-based aqueous two-phase system provided a gentle and stable environment for the protein. In addition, after investigation of the cluster phenomenon in the betaine/K2 HPO4 aqueous two-phase systems, it was suggested that this phenomenon also played a significant role for protein extraction in this system. The development of aqueous two-phase systems based on natural quaternary ammonium compounds not only provided an effective and greener method of aqueous two-phase system to meet the requirements of green chemistry but also may help to solve the mystery of the compartmentalization of biomolecules in cells.

Bladder Tumor Heterogeneity: The Impact on Clinical Treatment.

Bladder cancer relapse and treatment failure in most patients have often been attributed to chemoresistance in tumor cells and metastasis. Emerging evidence indicates that tumor heterogeneity may play an equally important role and extends to virtually all measurable properties of cancer cells. Although the idea of tumor heterogeneity is not new, little attention has been paid to applying it to understand and control bladder cancer progression. With the development of biotechnology, such as Gene sequencing, recent advances in understanding its generation model, original basis, consequent problems, and derived therapies provide great potential for tumor heterogeneity to be considered a new insight in the treatment of bladder cancers.

Enzymatic selective synthesis of 1,3-DAG based on deep eutectic solvent acting as substrate and solvent.

In this study, enzymatic selective esterification of oleic acid with glycerol based on deep eutectic solvent acting as substrate and solvent was studied. As choline chloride (ChCl) or betaine can effectively change the chemical reaction characteristics of glycerol when they are mixed with a certain molar ratio of glycerol, several factors crucial to the lipase catalytic esterification of glycerol with oleic acid was investigated. Results showed that, betaine had more moderate effects than ChCl on the lipase, and water content had an important influence of the esterification and the enzyme selectivity. Significant changes of the glyceride compositions and enzyme selectivity were found in ChCl adding system compared with pure glycerol system; optimum accumulation of DAG especially 1,3-DAG because of the eutectic effect of ChCl was found in this system. Furthermore, in a model 1,3-DAG esterification synthesis system catalyzed by Novozym 435, high content (42.9 mol%) of the 1,3-DAG could be obtained in ChCl adding system within 1 h.

Therapeutic effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture at Zusanli on plasticity of interstitial cells of Cajal: a study of rat ileum.

BACKGROUND: Electroacupuncture (EA) is one of the techniques of acupuncture and is believed to be an effective alternative and complementary treatment in many disorders. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects and mechanisms of EA at acupoint Zusanli (ST36) on the plasticity of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) in partial bowel obstruction. METHODS: A Sprague Dawley rat model of partial bowel obstruction was established and EA was conducted at Zusanli (ST36) and Yinglingquan (SP9) in test and control groups, respectively. Experiments were performed to study the effects and mechanisms of EA at Zusanli on intestinal myoelectric activity, distribution and alteration of ICCs, expression of inflammatory mediators, and c-Kit expression. RESULTS: 1) EA at Zusanli somewhat improved slow wave amplitude and frequency in the partial obstruction rats. 2) EA at Zusanli significantly stimulated the recovery of ICC networks and numbers. 3) the pro-inflammatory mediator TNF-α and NO activity were significantly reduced after EA at Zusanli, However, no significant changes were observed in the anti-inflammatory mediator IL-10 activity. 4) EA at Zusanli re-expressed c-Kit protein. However, EA at the control acupoint, SP9, significantly improved slow wave frequency and amplitude, but had no effect on ICC or inflammatory mediators. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that EA at Zusanli might have a therapeutic effect on ICC plasticity, and that this effect might be mediated via a decrease in pro-inflammatory mediators and through the c-Kit signaling pathway, but that the relationship between EA at different acupoints and myoelectric activity needs further study.

Production of structured phosphatidylcholine with high content of DHA/EPA by immobilized phospholipase A1-catalyzed transesterification.

This paper presents the synthesis of structured phosphatidylcholine (PC) enriched with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) by transesterification of DHA/EPA-rich ethyl esters with PC using immobilized phospholipsase A1 (PLA1) in solvent-free medium. Firstly, liquid PLA1 was immobilized on resin D380, and it was found that a pH of 5 and a support/PLA1 ratio (w/v) of 1:3 were the best conditions for the adsorption. Secondly, the immobilized PLA1 was used to catalyze transesterification of PC and DHA/EPA-rich ethyl esters. The maximal incorporation of DHA and EPA achieved was 30.7% for 24 h of reaction at 55 °C using a substrate mass ratio (PC/ethyl esters) of 1:6, an immobilized PLA1 loading of 15% and water dosage of 1.25%. Then the reaction mixture was analyzed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The composition of reaction product included 16.5% PC, 26.3% 2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-lysophosphatidylcholine (1-LPC), 31.4% 1-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-lysophosphatidylcholine (2-LPC), and 25.8% sn-glycerol-3-phosphatidylcholine (GPC).

Fatty acid specificity of T1 lipase and its potential in acylglycerol synthesis.

BACKGROUND: T1 lipase has received considerable attention due to its thermostability. Fatty acid specificity of T1 lipase (crude and purified) was investigated, and its potential in the synthesis of acylglycerols was also evaluated. RESULTS: Fatty acid specificity of T1 lipase (crude and purified) was investigated in the esterification of fatty acids (C6:0 to C18:3), suggesting that crude and purified T1 lipase had the lowest preference for C18:0 [specificity constant (1/α) = 0.08] followed by C18:1 (1/α = 0.12) and showed the highest preference for C8:0 (1/α = 1). A structural model was constructed to briefly explore interactions between the lipase and its substrate. Furthermore, crude T1 lipase-catalysed synthesis of diacylglycerols (DAGs) and monoacylglycerols (MAGs) by esterification of glycerol with C18:1 was studied for evaluating its potential in acylglycerols synthesis. The optimal conditions were glycerol/oleic acid molar ratio 5:1, the lipase concentration 9.7 U g(-1) of substrates, water content 50 g kg(-1) of substrates and temperature 50 °C, which yielded 42.25% DAGs, 26.34% MAGs and 9.18% triacylglycerols at 2 h. CONCLUSION: DAGs and MAGs were synthesised in good yields although C18:1 (a much poorer substrate) was used. Our work demonstrates that T1 lipase, which was discovered to show 1,3-regio-selectivity, is a promising biocatalyst for lipids modification.

Features of thromboelastogram in populations exposed to or transferring from high altitude.

Background: Thromboelastogram (TEG) is an effective indicator that monitors the dynamic changes of blood coagulation in real-time. It still remains controversial about the performance and influence of coagulation at high altitude. The present study intends to describe comprehensively the clinical features of TEG in populations exposed to or transferring from high altitude. Methods: Two groups were recruited in the present study. Group A included young males who worked at high-altitude (4888 m or 5418 m) areas for some time, while Group B included young males who had recently returned from high-altitude (4888 m or 5418 m) areas. Medical examinations were performed using portable devices. Spearman's test was used to evaluate the correlations between thromboelastogram (TEG) variables and other variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting various abnormal TEG variables. Results: A total of 51 adult males were included in the two groups. Significantly increased reaction time (R) and decreased maximum amplitude (MA) were found in group B (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the comparisons of K and angle between the two groups. Various TEG variables were identified to be correlated with different coagulation and biochemical variables. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that abnormal R was independently associated with direct bilirubin, and abnormal K was independently associated with the platelet count in Group A (P < 0.05). However, none of the factors were independently associated with abnormal TEG variables in Group B. Conclusion: Populations exposed to or transferring from high altitudes are characterized by different TEG characteristics. Our findings give a comprehensive description of the complex interaction between TEG indexes, coagulation dynamics, and hematological parameters, which can help guide the development of appropriate medical approaches tailored to the unique needs of these populations.

A novel cold-active lipase from Candida albicans: cloning, expression and characterization of the recombinant enzyme.

A novel lipase gene lip5 from the yeast Candida albicans was cloned and sequenced. Alignment of amino acid sequences revealed that 86-34% identity exists with lipases from other Candida species. The lipase and its mutants were expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris, where alternative codon usage caused the mistranslation of 154-Ser and 293-Ser as leucine. 154-Ser to leucine resulted in loss of expression of Lip5, and 293-Ser to leucine caused a marked reduction in the lipase activity. Lip5-DM, which has double mutations that revert 154 and 293 to serine residues, showed good lipase activity, and was overexpressed and purified by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography. The pure Lip5-DM was stable at low temperatures ranging from 15-35 °C and pH 5-9, with the optimal conditions being 15-25 °C and pH 5-6. The activation energy of recombinant lipase was 8.5 Kcal/mol between 5 and 25 °C, suggesting that Lip5-DM was a cold-active lipase. Its activity was found to increase in the presence of Zn(2+), but it was strongly inhibited by Fe(2+), Fe(3+), Hg(2+) and some surfactants. In addition, the Lip5-DM could not tolerate water-miscible organic solvents. Lip5-DM exhibited a preference for the short-and medium-chain length p-nitrophenyl (C4 and C8 acyl group) esters rather than the long chain length p-nitrophenyl esters (C12, C16 and C18 acyl group) with highest activity observed with the C8 derivatives. The recombinant enzyme displayed activity toward triacylglycerols, such as olive oil and safflower oil.

Investigation on quantitative structure activity relationships and pharmacophore modeling of a series of mGluR2 antagonists.

MGluR2 is G protein-coupled receptor that is targeted for diseases like anxiety, depression, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia. Herein, we report the three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies of a series of 1,3-dihydrobenzo[ b][1,4]diazepin-2-one derivatives as mGluR2 antagonists. Two series of models using two different activities of the antagonists against rat mGluR2, which has been shown to be very similar to the human mGluR2, (activity I: inhibition of [(3)H]-LY354740; activity II: mGluR2 (1S,3R)-ACPD inhibition of forskolin stimulated cAMP.) were derived from datasets composed of 137 and 69 molecules respectively. For activity I study, the best predictive model obtained from CoMFA analysis yielded a Q(2) of 0.513, R(2) (ncv) of 0.868, R(2) (pred) = 0.876, while the CoMSIA model yielded a Q(2) of 0.450, R(2) (ncv) = 0.899, R(2) (pred) = 0.735. For activity II study, CoMFA model yielded statistics of Q(2) = 0.5, R(2) (ncv) = 0.715, R(2) (pred) = 0.723. These results prove the high predictability of the models. Furthermore, a combined analysis between the CoMFA, CoMSIA contour maps shows that: (1) Bulky substituents in R(7), R(3) and position A benefit activity I of the antagonists, but decrease it when projected in R(8) and position B; (2) Hydrophilic groups at position A and B increase both antagonistic activity I and II; (3) Electrostatic field plays an essential rule in the variance of activity II. In search for more potent mGluR2 antagonists, two pharmacophore models were developed separately for the two activities. The first model reveals six pharmacophoric features, namely an aromatic center, two hydrophobic centers, an H-donor atom, an H-acceptor atom and an H-donor site. The second model shares all features of the first one and has an additional acceptor site, a positive N and an aromatic center. These models can be used as guidance for the development of new mGluR2 antagonists of high activity and selectivity. This work is the first report on 3D-QSAR modeling of these mGluR2 antagonists. All the conclusions may lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of antagonism and be helpful in the design of new potent mGluR2 antagonists.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids Promote Immunotherapy by Modulating Immune Regulatory Property in B Cells.

The dysfunction of regulatory B cells (Breg) may result in immune inflammation such as allergic rhinitis (AR); the underlying mechanism is not fully understood yet. Short-chain fatty acids, such as propionic acid (PA), have immune regulatory functions. This study is aimed at testing a hypothesis that modulates PA production alleviating airway allergy through maintaining Breg functions. B cells were isolated from the blood obtained from AR patients and healthy control (HC) subjects. The stabilization of IL-10 mRNA in B cells was tested with RT-qPCR. An AR mouse model was developed to test the role of PA in stabilizing the IL-10 expression in B cells. We found that the serum PA levels were negatively correlated with the serum Th2 cytokine levels in AR patients. Serum PA levels were positively associated with peripheral CD5+ B cell frequency in AR patients; the CD5+ B cells were also IL-10+. The spontaneous IL-10 mRNA decay was observed in B cells, which was prevented by the presence of PA through activating GPR43. PA counteracted the effects of Tristetraprolin (TTP) on inducing IL-10 mRNA decay in B cells through the AKT/T-bet/granzyme B pathway. Administration of Yupinfeng San, a Chinese traditional medical formula, or indole-3-PA, induced PA production by intestinal bacteria to stabilize the IL-10 expression in B cells, which promoted the allergen specific immunotherapy, and efficiently alleviated experimental AR. In summary, the data show that CD5+ B cells produce IL-10. The serum lower PA levels are associated with the lower frequency of CD5+ B cells in AR patients. Administration with Yupinfeng San or indole-3-PA can improve Breg functions and alleviate experimental AR.

In vivo anthelmintic activity of crude extracts of Radix angelicae pubescentis, Fructus bruceae, Caulis spatholobi, Semen aesculi, and Semen pharbitidis against Dactylogyrus intermedius (Monogenea) in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

In search of a natural antiparasitic, in vivo anthelmintic activity of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol, and aqueous extracts of Angelica pubescens roots (Radix angelicae pubescentis), Brucea javanica fruits (Fructus bruceae), Spatholobus suberectus stems (Caulis spatholobi), Aesculus chinensis Bge. seeds (Semen aesculi), and Pharbitis purpurea (L.) Voigt seeds (Semen pharbitidis) were tested against Dactylogyrus intermedius (Monogenea) in goldfish (Carassius auratus). Among the extracts tested, the methanolic and aqueous extracts of S. aesculi were observed to be more efficient than the other plant extracts with EC(50) and EC(90) values of 5.23 and 7.33 mg/L and 6.48 and 12.29 mg/L after 48 h, respectively, followed by methanolic extracts of Fructus bruceae, Radix angelicae pubescentis, Caulis spatholobi, and Semen pharbitidis with EC(50) 49.96, 57.45, 64.92, and 309.47 mg/L. The methanolic and aqueous extracts of S. aesculi exhibited potential results and can be exploited as a preferred natural antiparasitic for the control of D. intermedius.

[Structural Characteristics of Microbial Communities in the Sediments of the Niyang River in Tibet].

The Niyang River is an important tributary of the Yarlong Zangbo River, which is also an important water source in the Gongbujiangda and Linzhi areas of Tibet. In this study, water and sediment samples from 18 sites in the Niyang River were collected. The physical and chemical properties, concentrations of 12 heavy metals, and the microbial community in the sediments were determined. The microbial community structures in the sediments collected in 2017 and 2018 were highly similar at the phylum and genus levels. The most dominant type of bacteria in the sediment of the Niyang River was Proteobacteria. Other dominant bacteria included Bacteroidetes, Acidbacteria, and Actinobacteria. At the genus level, the abundance of Flavobacterium was high. Other conditional pathogenic bacteria, such as Aeromonas and Acinetobacter, were detected. Cluster analysis found that there were certain spatial differences among the upstream, midstream, and downstream microbial communities. The microbial community of sediments in the power station reservoir area was unique. Correlation analysis showed that the temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductance, Cr, Zn, Sr, and Ba in the sediments had high correlation with abundance of specific microbes at the phylum level. Redundancy analysis suggested that total nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, Cr, Sr, Ba, and Mn were the main influencing factors of microbial community structure in the sediments of the Niyang River. The results of this study provide data support for understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of the microbial community in sediments of the Niyang River and identifying their environmental impact factors.

Wheat germ lipase catalyzed kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols in non-aqueous media.

The lipase from wheat germ was used for the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. It has the opposite enantioselectivity against the Kazlauskas rule and acts as an anti-Kazlauskas catalyst. The effect of initial water activity, organic solvent, acyl donor and temperature were investigated. Wheat germ lipase had a high activity and enantioselectivity only in n-hexane with a high initial water activity (alpha(w) = 0.97), especially with 1-phenylethanol (C 32%, E > 200). Its performance changed little with the chain length of acyl donor and temperature.

[Ecological pattern of urban forest landscape of Ji'nan City, China]. / æµŽå—åŸŽå¸‚æ£®æž—æ™¯è§‚ç”Ÿæ€æ ¼å±€.

The ecological pattern research on urban forest landscape is the foundation and premise of urban forest system planning and urban ecological construction, as well as an important way of optimizing urban spatial structure, giving full play to urban forest ecological function and creating ecological and livable environment. Ecological pattern of urban forest landscape in built-up area of Ji'nan city was quantitatively analyzed and the corresponding optimization countermeasures were put forward through quantitative analysis and gradient analysis of the overall landscape ecological pattern by RS and GIS technology with 10 landscape indices at patch level and landscape level. The results showed that urban forest coverage rate in built-up areas was 15.8%. At the landscape level, the overall landscape ecological pattern of urban forest showed following patterns: relatively complete types of urban forest landscape patches, greater degree of landscape fragmentation, different area of various types of urban forest, large major patches, and highly connected same patch types. At the level of patch type, the ecological public welfare forest was dominated by large patches. The shape of scenic recreational forest was regular and dominated by large and medium patches. The shape of road forest and subsidiary forest was complex and dominated by small patches. The production and management forest was lacking. At the level of patch type, landscape recreational forest was the dominant type, ecological public welfare forest patch area was the largest, road forest and ancillary forest fragmentation was large. At the level of landscape, urban central forest landscape fragmentation was large, human interference was serious, and landscape shape was complex. Based on the analysis of the ecological pattern of urban forest landscape, we proposed the construction scheme of Ji'nan urban forest ecological network, which was "one ring, two networks, three four axes, and multi-point chessboard". Such scheme would help strengthen the connectivity of various types of urban forests and exert overall ecological benefits of large-scale ecosystems.

The relationship between human papillomavirus and penile cancer over the past decade: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection appears to play an important role in the development of penile cancer (PeCa), but their relationship remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to elucidate their relationship. We systematically searched Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for case-control studies and cross-sectional studies using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) or paraffin-embedded (PE) PeCa tissues to detect HPV (published between January 1, 2007, and December 29, 2017; no language restrictions). Twenty-two studies were identified, and 1664 cases were available for analysis. The combined HPV infectious risk of PeCa is 51.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 43.0%-60.0%). The three most common subtypes of HPV were HPV16 (28.5%), HPV18 (2.3%), and HPV6 (2.3%). The virus was relevantly associated with basaloid (85.5%, 95% CI: 77.2%-93.8%) and warty (50.0%, 95% CI: 35.2%-64.8%) carcinomas. The invasiveness of PeCa was not associated with HPV (χ[2] = 0.181, df = 1, P < 0.671). HPV infection in PeCa tended to be moderately differentiated (54.4%, 95% CI: 47.7%-61.1%). This study found that almost half of PeCa patients are associated with HPV. The most commonly associated genotype is HPV16, but several other genotypes were also detected. In addition to types 6 and 11, other single low-risk HPV infections have been found to contribute to PeCa to a lesser degree. HPV-positive tumors tend to exhibit warty and/or basaloid features, corresponding to a moderate histological grade. The role of HPV in PeCa should be revisited to provide evidence for the development of PeCa in the presence of HPV infection.

Orthochina.org: case-based orthopaedic Wiki project in China.

Traditional continuing medical education (CME) depended primarily on periodic courses and conferences. The cost-effectiveness of these courses has not been established, and often the content is not tailored to best meet the needs of the students. Internet training has the potential to accomplish these goals. Over the last 10 years, we have developed a Web site entitled "Orthochina.org," based upon the wiki concept, which uses an interactive, case-based format. We describe the development of online case discussions, and various technical and administrative requirements. As of December 31, 2007, there were 33,984 registered users, 9,759 of which passed the confirmation procedures. In 2007, an average of 211 registrants visited daily. The average number of first page clicks was 4,248 per day, and the average number of posts was 70 per day. All cases submitted for discussion include the patient's complaint, physical examination findings, and relevant images based on specific criteria for case discussion. The case discussions develop well professionally. No spam posting or unauthorized personal advertisement is permitted. In conclusion, online academic discussions proceed well when the orthopaedic surgeons who participate have established their identities.