One new spirocyclic lactone and one new benzopyran derivative from Aspergillus terreus.

One new spirocyclic lactone, terreinlactone C (1), and one new benzopyran derivative, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxychroman-6-aldehyde (2), were discovered from the fungus Aspergillus terreus. The chemical structures of compounds 1 and 2 were elucidated by detailedly analyzing NMR and HRESIMS data. Compound 1 is the first natural product with a 1-oxaspiro[4.5]decan-2-one ring system and a possible biogenetic pathway is proposed. Two compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities against five human cancer cell lines.[Formula: see text].

Anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous extract of the aerial part of Rubia cordifolia.

BACKGROUND: In Shaanxi province, China, the aqueous extract of Rubia cordifolia's aerial part (AERCAP) is traditionally used to manage diarrhea. However, there is no scientific evidence to verify the safety and efficacy of its use. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory effects of AERCAP by using a rodent model. METHODS: The anti-diarrheal effects were studied by senna leaf-induced diarrheal and intestinal transit experiments in mice. The anti-inflammatory activity was investigated by trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colonic inflammation in rats. RESULTS: The results indicated that AERCAP delayed the onset of semi-solid feces, reduced the evacuation index (EI) in senna leaf-induced diarrheal in mice, and inhibited the propulsive movement in castor oil-induced intestinal transit but not in the normal intestinal transit test. The results were compared with the standard anti-diarrheal drug loperamide. Additionally, oral treatment with AERCAP significantly decreased the macroscopic damage area, improved the microscopic structure, and reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels in colonic tissue compared with the TNBS control group in rats. CONCLUSIONS: AERCAP exhibited anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory activities in a rodent model. The study validated the traditional use of the plant in Chinese herbal medicine as a valuable natural remedy for the treatment of diarrhea.

Functional study of a salt-inducible TaSR gene in Triticum aestivum.

The gene expression chip of a salt-tolerant wheat mutant under salt stress was used to clone a salt-induced gene with unknown functions. This gene was designated as TaSR (Triticum aestivum salt-response gene) and submitted to GenBank under accession number EF580107. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that gene expression was induced by salt stress. Arabidopsis and rice (Oryza sativa) plants expressing TaSR presented higher salt tolerance than the controls, whereas AtSR mutant and RNA interference rice plants were more sensitive to salt. Under salt stress, TaSR reduced Na(+) concentration and improved cellular K(+) and Ca(2+) concentrations; this gene was also localized on the cell membrane. ß-Glucuronidase (GUS) staining and GUS fluorescence quantitative determination were conducted through fragmentation cloning of the TaSR promoter. Salt stress-responsive elements were detected at 588-1074 bp upstream of the start codon. GUS quantitative tests of the full-length promoter in different tissues indicated that promoter activity was highest in the leaf under salt stress. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and yeast two-hybrid screening further showed the correlation of TaSR with TaPRK and TaKPP. In vitro phosphorylation of TaSR and TaPRK2697 showed that TaPRK2697 did not phosphorylate TaSR. This study revealed that the novel TaSR may be used to improve plant tolerance to salt stress.

Effect of comprehensive nursing intervention on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of comprehensive nursing intervention on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and pregnancy outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHOD: A total of 130 patients with PCOS admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to March 2023 were selected as the research subjects. They were evenly divided according to a random number table method. The control group received routine care for the patients, while the study group received comprehensive care for the patients. The IVF, pregnancy outcomes, negative emotional changes, serum and follicular fluid (FF) amyloid-related protein and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels of the 2 groups of patients were compared. RESULT: The data on IVF rate and pregnancy rate in the study group were significantly better than those in the control group (P < .05). The SAS and SDS scores of the study group patients after intervention were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < .05). After intervention, the levels of serum and FF amyloid associated protein and CRP in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Patients with PCOS who receive comprehensive care can increase their probability of IVF, improve their pregnancy outcomes, and have a positive significance in reducing negative emotions.

Real-world tobacco cessation practice in China: findings from the prospective, nationwide multicenter China National Tobacco Cessation Cohort Study (CNTCCS).

Background: Tobacco cessation is proven to be the most effective and cost-effective strategy for smokers to reduce their risk of smoking-related disease and premature death. Providing effective, efficient, safe, and patient-centred tobacco cessation treatment to reach those who need them is a significant challenge. To date, only a few nationwide studies in China have assessed the overall clinical care practice and treatment outcome of tobacco cessation. Methods: This a prospective, nationwide, multicenter, cohort study covering all Eastern China, Northwest China, Central China, North China, Southwest China, Northeast China, and South China. Participants who were current smokers aged 18-85 years attending clinic for smoking cessation were included. All the participants were treated with 3-month cessation treatment and followed up for 3 months. Data were collected prospectively using online system. The primary outcome was 7-day point abstinence rate at 24 weeks, validated biochemically by an expired carbon monoxide level of less than 10 ppm. The participants lost to follow-up or not providing validation were included as non-abstainers. Findings: A representative sample of 3557 participants were recruited and 2943 participants were included into this analysis. These participants had mean age of 53.05 years, and 94.8% were males, with 75.8% showing symptoms of tobacco dependence. A total of 965 (32.8%) participants were treated with Bupropion + behavioural counselling, followed by 935 (31.8%) with behavioural counselling, 778 (26.4%) with Varenicline + behavioural counselling, 135 (4.6%) with alternative treatments + behavioural counselling, and 130 (4.4%) with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) + behavioural counselling. After 3-month treatment and 3-month follow-up, 21.74% of the participants quit smoking at 24 weeks. In the multivariable-adjusted analyses, quitting smoking was significantly associated with female, higher socioeconomic status, poor health condition, different treatment received, and less smoking intensity. The tobacco cessation treatment varied widely across different areas of China. In particular, the areas with higher usage of cessation medication were associated with better cessation treatment outcome. Interpretation: The CNTCCS is the first large-scale nationwide cohort study of smoking cessation in China. Rich data collected from this prospective cohort study provided the opportunity to evaluate the clinical practice of tobacco cessation treatment in China. Funding: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Initiative for Innovative Medicine (CAMS 2021-I2M-1-010), Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Key Program (2022ZXJ03C02), and National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2017YFC1309400).

Characterization of Two Immunodominant Antigenic Peptides in NSP2 of PRRSV-2 and Generation of a Marker PRRSV Strain Based on the Peptides.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a widespread disease with great economic importance in the pig industry. Although vaccines against the PRRS virus (PRRSV) have been employed for more than 20 years, differentiating infected from vaccinated animals remains challenging. In this study, all 907 non-structural protein 2 (NSP2) full-length sequences of PRRSV-2 available from GenBank were aligned. Two peptides, at positions 562-627 (m1B) and 749-813 (m2B) of NSP2, were selected, and their potential for use in differential diagnosis was assessed. Both m1B and m2B were recognized by PRRSV-positive pig serum in peptide-coated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Further epitope identification yielded five overlapping short peptides for the immunodominant regions of m1B and m2B. Using the infectious clone of PRRSV HuN4-F112 as a template, the deletion mutants, rHuN4-F112-m1B, rHuN4-F112-m2B, and rHuN4-F112-C5-m1B-m2B, were generated and successfully rescued in Marc-145 cells. Growth kinetics revealed that the deletion of m1B and m2B did not significantly affect virus replication. Hence, m1B and m2B show potential as molecular markers for developing a PRRSV vaccine.

Sperm flagellar 2 (SPEF2) is essential for sperm flagellar assembly in humans.

Spermiogenesis is a complex and tightly regulated process, consisting of acrosomal biogenesis, condensation of chromatin, flagellar assembly, and disposal of extra cytoplasm. Previous studies have reported that sperm flagellar 2 (SPEF2) deficiency causes severe asthenoteratozoospermia owing to spermiogenesis failure, but the underlying molecular mechanism in humans remains unclear. Here, we performed proteomic analysis on spermatozoa from three SPEF2 mutant patients to study the functional role of SPEF2 during sperm tail development. A total of 1262 differentially expressed proteins were detected, including 486 upregulated and 776 downregulated. The constructed heat map of the differentially expressed proteins showed similar trends. Among these, the expression of proteins related to flagellar assembly, including SPEF2, sperm associated antigen 6 (SPAG6), dynein light chain tctex-type 1 (DYNLT1), radial spoke head component 1 (RSPH1), translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 (TOM20), EF-hand domain containing 1 (EFHC1), meiosis-specific nuclear structural 1 (MNS1) and intraflagellar transport 20 (IFT20), was verified by western blot. Functional clustering analysis indicated that these differentially expressed proteins were specifically enriched for terms such as spermatid development and flagellar assembly. Furthermore, we showed that SPEF2 interacts with radial spoke head component 9 (RSPH9) and IFT20 in vitro, which are well-studied components of radial spokes or intra-flagellar transport and are essential for flagellar assembly. These results provide a rich resource for further investigation into the molecular mechanism underlying the role that SPEF2 plays in sperm tail development and could provide a theoretical basis for gene therapy in SPEF2 mutant patients in the future.

Positive RT-PCR in urine from an asymptomatic patient with novel coronavirus 2019 infection: a case report.

Introduction: With the emergence of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in many countries, medical resources currently focus on the treatment of confirmed patients and screening of suspected cases. Asymptomatic patients may be contagious, which makes epidemic control difficult. We describe an asymptomatic patient with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test in urine.Case report: An asymptomatic girl was identified during the epidemiological investigation of a confirmed COVID-19 patient. When admitted to the hospital on 24 February 2020, she had no clinical manifestations. A throat swab was negative for RT-PCR, but urine was positive. She was given antiviral and symptomatic supportive treatment. On 26 February, a throat swab RT-PCR was positive. RT-PCR in throat swabs and urine were negative on 3 and 5 March, and on 9 and 12 March, throat swabs were still negative. At follow-up on 26 March, she felt well, throat swab RT-PCR was negative, and isolation was lifted.Conclusion: The urine of asymptomatic patients may be contagious. RT-PCR in urine might be a useful supplement in screening when the RT-PCR is negative in throat swabs.

Comparison of chromosomal aberrations between primary tumors and their synchronous lymph-node metastases in intestinal-type gastric carcinoma.

Lymph-node metastasis is a main factor causing poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). In order to determine the genes involved in lymph-node metastasis, we compared primary tumors with their synchronous lymph-node metastases for DNA sequence copy number aberrations (DSCNAs) in 20 patients diagnosed as having intestinal-type GC using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The results showed that some DSCNAs (gains at 8q, 13q, 5p, 7 and X, and losses at 1p, 17p, 19, 21q and 22q) were frequently found in both primary tumors and their metastases. However, metastases often contained DSCNAs that were not found in corresponding primary tumors, and gain at 20q12-13 and losses at 21qcen-21, 4q and 14q22-ter were significantly more frequently observed in metastatic lesions than in their primary tumors (10:2, 9:0, 6:0, and 7:0 between metastases and corresponding primary tumors, respectively). Our data indicate that gain at 20q12-13 and losses at 21qcen-21, 4q, and 14q22-ter are involved in lymph-node metastases, and that these chromosomal regions may contain the genes related to lymph-node metastases in intestinal-type GC.

Molecular characterization of a novel salt-inducible gene for an OSBP (oxysterol-binding protein)-homologue from soybean.

Oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP) and its homologues constitute a protein family in many eukaryotes from yeast to humans, which are involved in cellular lipid metabolism, vesicle transport and signal transduction. In this study, we characterized a novel salt-inducible gene for an OSBP-homologue from soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.). The soybean OSBP-homologous gene, denoted as G. max OSBP (GmOSBP), encoded a 789 aa putative protein with two characteristic domains; the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and the ligand-binding (LB) domain, in the N- and C-terminus, respectively. The GmOSBP-PH domain showed localization into/around the nucleus in a transient subcellular localization assay. The phylogenetic relationship of the GmOSBP-LB domain to those in other OSBP-homologues suggested that GmOSBP might bind a lipid molecule(s) different from the ligand-candidates found for the human/yeast OSBP-homologues. The GmOSBP gene was constitutively transcribed in all of the soybean organs examined--root, stem and trifoliate leaf--at low levels and was highly induced in all these organs by high-salt stress (300 mM NaCl). Interestingly, gene expression of GmOSBP was also markedly induced in the senesced soybean cotyledon, which contains high levels of a variety of cellular lipids utilized for energy for germination and as membrane components. Therefore, we suggest that GmOSBP may be involved in some physiological reactions for stress-response and cotyledon senescence in the soybean.

Bile tract adenomyoma: a case report.

This paper described a rare case of adenomyoma of common bile duct. The case is a 51-year-old man who was hospitalized for yellow color skin and sclera and itching for 2 mo without abdominal pain. Nothing special was found in physical examination except yellowish skin and sclera. The clinical presentation and Computerized Tomography (CT), Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and ultrasonography suspected a tumor of the distal bile duct. The patient was treated successfully by pancreaticoduodenectomy. Histologically, the lesion consisted of adenoid and myofibrous tissue and moderate atypia. The immunophenotype of the epithelial component was cytokeratin 7+/cytokeratin 20-. The patient has been well without any evidence of recurrence for 12 mo since his operation.

Preparation of High-Efficiency Cytochrome c-Imprinted Polymer on the Surface of Magnetic Carbon Nanotubes by Epitope Approach via Metal Chelation and Six-Membered Ring.

A novel epitope molecularly imprinted polymer on the surface of magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs@EMIP) was successfully fabricated to specifically recognize target protein cytochrome c (Cyt C) with high performance. The peptides sequences corresponding to the surface-exposed C-terminus domains of Cyt C was selected as epitope template molecule, and commercially available zinc acrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were employed as functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively, to synthesize MIP via free radical polymerization. The epitope was immobilized via metal chelation and six-membered ring formed between the functional monomer and the hydroxyl and amino groups of the epitope. The resulting MCNTs@EMIP exhibited specific recognition ability toward target Cyt C including more satisfactory imprinting factor (about 11.7) than that of other reported imprinting methods. In addition, the MCNTs@EMIP demonstrated a high adsorption amount (about 780.0 mg g(-1)) and excellent selectivity. Besides, the magnetic property of the support material made the processes easy and highly efficient by assistance of an external magnetic field. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of Cyt C in bovine blood real sample and protein mixture indicated that the specificity was not affected by other competitive proteins, which forcefully stated that the MCNTs@EMIP had potential to be applied in bioseparation area. In brief, this study provided a new protocol to detect target protein in complex sample via epitope imprinting approach and surface imprinting strategy.

Thermo-sensitive imprinted polymer embedded carbon dots using epitope approach.

A new type of thermo-sensitive receptor carbon dots/SiO2/molecularly imprinted polymer (CDs/SiO2/MIP) was prepared by surface imprinting procedure and the epitope approach. The synthetic CDs/SiO2/MIP was able to selectively capture target protein with fluorescence quenching via the special interaction between them and the recognition cavities. The receptor exhibited the linear fluorescence quenching to cytochrome c (cyt c) in the range of 0.1-40 µM, and the detection limit was 89 nM. The precision for five replicate detection of cyt c at 20 µM was 3.11%. Moreover, the receptor owned the temperature-sensitive element that allowed for swelling and shrinking in response to temperature changes to realize recognition of the target cytochrome c. The proposed strategy revealed the feasibility of fabrication of a thermo-sensitive imprinted polymer based on CDs and surface imprinting procedure and the epitope approach.

Nitroester drug's effects and their antagonistic effects against morphine on human sphincter of Oddi motility.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of nitroester drugs on human sphincter of Oddi (SO) motility and their antagonistic effects against morphine which shows excitatory effect on Oddi's sphincter motility. METHODS: The effects of these drugs on SO were evaluated by means of choledochofiberoscopy manometry. A total of 67 patients having T-tubes after cholecystectomy and choledochotomy were involved in the study, they were randomly divided into glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) group, isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) group, pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PTN) group, morphine associated with GTN group, morphine associated with ISDN group and morphine associated with PTN group. Basal pressure of Oddi's sphincter (BPOS), amplitude of phasic contractions (SOCA), frequency of phasic contractions (SOF), duration of phasic contractions (SOD), duodenal pressure (DP) and common bile duct pressure (CBDP) were scored and analyzed. Morphine was given intramuscularly while nitroester drugs were applied sublingually. RESULTS: BPOS and SOCA decreased significantly after administration of ISDN and GTN, BPOS reduced from 10.95+/-7.49 mmHg to 5.92+/-4.04 mmHg (P<0.05) evidently after application of PTN. BPOS increased from 7.37+/-5.58 mmHg to 16.60+/-13.87 mmHg, SOCA increased from 54.09+/-38.37 mmHg to 100.70+/-43.51 mmHg, SOF increased from 7.15+/-3.20 mmHg to 10.38+/-2.93 mmHg and CBDP increased 3.75+/-1.95 mmHg to 10.49+/-8.21 mmHg (P<0.01) evidently after injection of morphine. After associated application of ISDN and GTN, the four indications above decreased obviously. As for application associated with PTN, SOCA and SOF decreased separately from 100.64+/-44.99 mmHg to 66.17+/-35.88 mmHg and from 10.70+/-2.76 mmHg to 9.04+/-1.71 mmHg (P<0.05) markedly. CONCLUSION: The regular dose of GTN, ISDN and PTN showed inhibitory effect on SO motility, morphine showed excitatory effect on SO while GTN, ISDN and PTN could antagonize the effect of morphine. Among the three nitroester drugs, the effect of ISDN on SO was most significant.

Effects of somatostatin analogues on human sphincter of Oddi pressure.

BACKGROUND: Somatostatin, a neuropeptide and hormone, exists in the biliary tract of several species. The effects of somatostatin and its analogues on the sphincter of Oddi motility have been controversial. The aim of this study was to observe the action of stilamin and sandostatin on the sphincter of Oddi via choledochofiberscope manometry. METHODS: Twenty patients who had had "T" duct after cholecystectomy and choledochotomy were divided into 2 groups randomly: stilamin and sandostatin. They were subjected to manometry via a choledochofiberscope through the "T" duct tract. The following data recorded included duodenal pressure (DP), sphincter of Oddi basal pressure (SOBP), sphincter of Oddi contractive amplitude (SOCA), frequency of the sphincter of Oddi (SOF), duration of the sphincter of Oddi, and the common bile duct pressure (CBDP). RESULTS: After intravenous administration of stilamin at a dose of 250 microg/h, the mean SOCA increased from 89.18(26.50) to 128.57(54.21) mmHg (P<0.05). After the administration of stilamin at a dose of 500 microg/h the mean SOCA declined to 92.18(42.81) mmHg (P<0.05), and mean SOBP declined from 17.63(13.36) to 8.16(4.01) mmHg (P<0.05). Although SOF had declined from 9.25(2.45) to 7.46(1.52) n/min, it was not significantly influenced. After intravenous administration of sandostatin at a dose of 100 microg, the mean CBDP increased obviously. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous administration of stilamin at a dose of 250 microg/h stimulates the motility of the sphincter of Oddi whereas the injection of stilamin at a dose of 500 microg/h inhibits its motility. Intravenous injection of sandostatin of 100 mug has no effect on the sphincter of Oddi.

[Effects of different drugs on the sphincter of Oddi motility: study with choledochoscope manometry].

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the effects of narcotic analgesics, nitrates drugs, somatostatin analogues on human sphincter of Oddi motility and the antagonistic effects of nitrates drugs and anticholinergic agents against morphine measured by choledochoscope manometry. METHODS: 157 patients who had a T tube after cholecystectomy and choledochotomy were assessed by choledochoscope manometry. They were randomly divided into 5 groups. Sphincter of Oddi basal pressure (SOBP), amplitude (SOCA), frequency of contractions (SOF), duration of contractions (SOD), duodenal pressure (DP), common bile duct pressure (CBDP) were scored and analyzed. RESULTS: SOBP, SOCA and SOF increased after injection of morphine and Ap-237, CBDP increased after intramuscular administered morphine. No apparent change occurred after intramuscularly administered pethidine. SOBP and SOCA decreased after tramadol. After intravenous administration of stilamin in a dose of 250 microg/h, SOCA increased. After administration stilamin of 500 microg/h dose, SOCA and SOBP declined. After intravenous administration of sandostatin, CBDP increased obviously. BPOS and SOCA decreased significantly after administration of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), SOBP reduced evidently after application of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PTN). SOBP, SOCA, SOF and CBDP increased evidently after injection of morphine. After associated application of ISDN and GTN, the four indications above decreased. As to associated application with PTN, SOCA and SOF decreased. After associated application of anisodamine or atropine, SOCA, SOBP declined, after injected buscopan, SOCA, SOBP, SOF all declined. CONCLUSION: The regular dose of morphine and Ap-237 shows excitatory effect on the sphincter of Oddi motility. Tramadol shows inhibitory effect on the sphincter of Oddi. The regular dose of pethidine and sandostatin shows no apparent effect on the sphincter of Oddi. Stilamin in low dose shows excitated effect on the sphincter of Oddi. Nitrates drugs show inhibited effects on SO motility. Nitrates drugs and anticholinergic agents can antagonize the excitated effect of morphine.

A "turn-on" fluorescent receptor for detecting tyrosine phosphopeptide using the surface imprinting procedure and the epitope approach.

A new strategy for the manufacture of a turn-on fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer (CdTe/SiO2/MIP) receptor for detecting tyrosine phosphopeptide (pTyr peptide) was proposed. The receptor was prepared by the surface imprinting procedure and the epitope approach with silica-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) as core substrate and fluorescent signal, phenylphosphonic acid (PPA) as the dummy template, 1-[3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] urea as the functional monomer, and octyltrimethoxysilane as the cross-linker. The synthetic CdTe/SiO2/MIP was able to selectively capture the template PPA and corresponding target pTyr peptide with fluorescence enhancement via the special interaction between them and the recognition cavities. The receptor exhibited the linear fluorescence enhancement to pTyr peptide in the range of 0.5-35µM, and the detection limit was 0.37µM. The precision for five replicate detections of pTyr peptide at 20µM was 2.60% (relative standard deviation). Combining the fluorescence property of the CdTe QDs with the merits of the surface imprinting technique and the epitope approach, the receptor not only owned high recognition site accessibility and good binding affinities for target pTyr peptide, but also improved the fluorescence selectivity of the CdTe QDs, as well revealed the feasibility of fabrication of a turn-on fluorescence probe using the surface imprinting procedure and the epitope approach.

Effects of narcotic analgesic drugs on human Oddi's sphincter motility.

AIM: To assess the effects of intramuscular analgesics (morphine, Ap-237, pethidine and tramadol) on human Oddi's sphincter motility with choledochoscope manometry. METHODS: A total of 70 patients having T tubes after cholecystectomy and choledochotomy were assessed by choledochoscope manometry. They were randomly divided into morphine group, Ap-237 group, pethidine group and tramadol group. Basal pressure of Oddi's sphincter (BPOS), amplitude of phasic contractions (SOCA), frequency of phasic contractions (SOF), duration of phasic contractions(SOD), duodenal pressure (DP) and common bile duct pressure (CBDP) were scored and analyzed. All narcotic analgesic drugs were administered intramuscularly. RESULTS: Levels of BPOS, SOCA and SOF were increased after injection of morphine and Ap-237 (P<0.05), level of CBDP was increased from 4.97+/-3.87 mmHg to 8.62+/-7.43 mmHg (10 min later) and 7.32+/-5.95 mmHg (20 min later) after injection of morphine (P<0.01). No apparent change occurred after intramuscular injection of pethidine. Level of BPOS was increased from 7.01+/-5.50 mmHg to 2.87+/-2.78 mmHg 10 min after injection of tramadol and SOCA was decreased from 63.34+/-35.29 mmHg to 45.90+/-27.86 mmHg (10 min later,P<0.05) and 35.97+/-24.30 (20 min later,P<0.01) after administration of tramadol. CONCLUSION: All these findings indicate that Oddi's sphincter manometry via choledochoscope is a practical and new way to study the dynamics of Oddi' s sphincter. The regular dose of morphine and Ap-237 could increase BPOS, SOF and SOCA. Morphine could increase the level of CBDP, demonstrating an excitatory effect on the sphincter of Oddi. Pethidine had no effect on Oddi's sphincter motility. Tramadol shows an inhibitory effect on the motility of the sphincter of Oddi and decreases levels of BPOS and SOCA.

An epitope imprinting method on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles for specific recognition of bovine serum album.

In this study, we reported an epitope imprinting method on the surface of core-shell magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) for the recognition of target bovine serum album (BSA). The epitope was selected as the template molecule from the nonapeptide of surface-exposed C-terminus of BSA. The core-shell magnetic epitope molecularly imprinted polymers (Fe3O4@EMIPs) exhibited a specific capture activity for the corresponding target protein, BSA. The magnetic NPs made it easy to separate the imprinted material from solution by an external magnetic field, and the thin imprinted layer presented fast kinetics for the rebinding of the target protein. Moreover, the Fe3O4@EMIPs could separate BSA from the bovine blood sample. The epitope imprinting approach combined with magnetic NPs provided an easy and fast method for the specific recognition of BSA.

Facile synthesis of ionic liquid functionalized silica-capped CdTe quantum dots for selective recognition and detection of hemoproteins.

A facile and efficient approach for preparation of ionic liquid functionalized silica-capped CdTe QDs (CdTe/SiO2/IL) was proposed in this work. The imidazolium-based ionic liquid N-3-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)-3-methyl imidazolium chloride was introduced and anchored on the surface of silica-capped CdTe QDs by the sol-gel technique, which played the role of a recognition element due to the covalent coordination binding between the heme group of hemoprotein and the imidazolium cation in the ionic liquid. The synthetic CdTe/SiO2/IL was further characterized by elemental analysis, transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Combining the merits of the fluorescence property of the QDs and the covalent interaction of the ionic liquid with hemoproteins, the CdTe/SiO2/IL exhibited high adsorption capacity and good specificity toward hemoproteins and also was successfully applied in the fluorescence detection of hemoprotein in biological fluid. The strategy provided a promising way to fabricate functionalized fluorescence materials as biomedical/chemical sensors for the separation and detection of hemoproteins in proteomics research.