Enhanced PSO feature selection with Runge-Kutta and Gaussian sampling for precise gastric cancer recurrence prediction.

Gastric cancer (GC), characterized by its inconspicuous initial symptoms and rapid invasiveness, presents a formidable challenge. Overlooking postoperative intervention opportunities may result in the dissemination of tumors to adjacent areas and distant organs, thereby substantially diminishing prospects for patient survival. Consequently, the prompt recognition and management of GC postoperative recurrence emerge as a matter of paramount urgency to mitigate the deleterious implications of the ailment. This study proposes an enhanced feature selection model, bRSPSO-FKNN, integrating boosted particle swarm optimization (RSPSO) with fuzzy k-nearest neighbor (FKNN), for predicting GC. It incorporates the Runge-Kutta search, for improved model accuracy, and Gaussian sampling, enhancing the search performance and helping to avoid locally optimal solutions. It outperforms the sophisticated variants of particle swarm optimization when evaluated in the CEC 2014 test suite. Furthermore, the bRSPSO-FKNN feature selection model was introduced for GC recurrence prediction analysis, achieving up to 82.082 % and 86.185 % accuracy and specificity, respectively. In summation, this model attains a notable level of precision, poised to ameliorate the early warning system for GC recurrence and, in turn, advance therapeutic options for afflicted patients.

Kinetic analysis and mechanism of nitrate, calcium, and cadmium removal using the newly isolated Pseudomonas sp. LYF26.

The co-existence of heavy metals and nitrate (NO3--N) pollutants in wastewater has been a persistent global concern for a long time. A strain LYF26, which can remove NO3--N, calcium (Ca(II)), and cadmium (Cd(II)) simultaneously, was isolated to explore the properties and mechanisms of synergistic contaminants removal. Different conditions (Cd(II) and Ca(II) concentrations and pH) were optimized by Zero-, Half-, and First-order kinetic analyses to explore the environmental parameters for the optimal effect of strain LYF26. Results of the kinetic analyses revealed that the optimal culture conditions for strain LYF26 were pH of 6.5, Cd(II) and Ca(II) concentrations of 3.00 and 180.00 mg L-1, accompanied by Ca(II), Cd(II), and NO3--N efficiencies of 53.10%, 90.03%, and 91.45%, respectively. The removal mechanisms of Cd(II) using strain LYF26 as a nucleation template were identified as biomineralization, lattice substitution, and co-precipitation. The differences and changes of dissolved organic matter during metabolism were analyzed and the results demonstrated that besides the involvement of extracellular polymeric substances in the precipitation of Cd(II) and Ca(II), the high content of humic acid-like species revealed a remarkable contribution to the denitrification process. This study is hopeful to contribute a theory for further developing microbially induced calcium precipitation used to treat complex polluted wastewater.

Berberine ameliorates renal interstitial inflammation and fibrosis in mice with unilateral ureteral obstruction.

Berberine acts via multiple pathways to alleviate fibrosis in various tissues and shows renoprotective effects. However, its role and underlying mechanisms in renal fibrosis remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to investigate the protective effects and molecular mechanisms of berberine against unilateral ureteric obstruction-induced renal fibrosis. The results indicated that berberine treatment (50 mg/kg/day) markedly alleviated histopathological alterations, collagen deposition and inflammatory cell infiltration in kidney tissue and restored mouse renal function. Mechanistically, berberine intervention inhibited NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and the levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1ß in the kidneys of unilateral ureteric obstruction mice. In addition, berberine relieved unilateral ureteric obstruction-induced renal injury by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signalling and promoting fatty acid ß-oxidation. In vitro models showed that berberine treatment prevented the TGF-ß1-induced profibrotic phenotype of hexokinase 2 (HK-2) cells, characterized by loss of an epithelial phenotype (alpha smooth muscle actin [α-SMA]) and acquisition of mesenchymal marker expression (E-cadherin), by restoring abnormal fatty acid ß-oxidation and upregulating the expression of the fatty acid ß-oxidation related-key enzymes or regulators (phosphorylated-AMPK, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha [PPARα] and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A [CPT1A]). Collectively, berberine alleviated renal fibrosis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and protected tubular epithelial cells by reversing defective fatty acid ß-oxidation. Our findings might be exploited clinically to provide a potential novel therapeutic strategy for renal fibrosis.

Development of a deep learning model for early gastric cancer diagnosis using preoperative computed tomography images.

Background: Gastric cancer is a highly prevalent and fatal disease. Accurate differentiation between early gastric cancer (EGC) and advanced gastric cancer (AGC) is essential for personalized treatment. Currently, the diagnostic accuracy of computerized tomography (CT) for gastric cancer staging is insufficient to meet clinical requirements. Many studies rely on manual marking of lesion areas, which is not suitable for clinical diagnosis. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively collected data from 341 patients with gastric cancer at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. The dataset was randomly divided into a training set (n=273) and a validation set (n=68) using an 8:2 ratio. We developed a two-stage deep learning model that enables fully automated EGC screening based on CT images. In the first stage, an unsupervised domain adaptive segmentation model was employed to automatically segment the stomach on unlabeled portal phase CT images. Subsequently, based on the results of the stomach segmentation model, the image was cropped out of the stomach area and scaled to a uniform size, and then the EGC and AGC classification models were built based on these images. The segmentation accuracy of the model was evaluated using the dice index, while the classification performance was assessed using metrics such as the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score. Results: The segmentation model achieved an average dice accuracy of 0.94 on the hand-segmented validation set. On the training set, the EGC screening model demonstrated an AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score of 0.98, 0.93, 0.92, 0.92, and 0.93, respectively. On the validation set, these metrics were 0.96, 0.92, 0.90, 0.89, and 0.93, respectively. After three rounds of data regrouping, the model consistently achieved an AUC above 0.9 on both the validation set and the validation set. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively screen for EGC in portal venous CT images. Furthermore, the model exhibits stability and holds promise for future clinical applications.

Ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for detection of circulating tumor cells based on a highly efficient enzymatic cascade reaction.

There has been great interest in the enzymatic cascade amplification strategy for the electrochemical detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). In this work, we designed a highly efficient enzymatic cascade reaction based on a multiwalled carbon nanotubes-chitosan (MWCNTs-CS) composite for detection of CTCs. A high electrochemical effective surface area was obtained for a MWCNTs-CS-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for loading glucose oxidase (GOD), as well as a high loading rate and high electrical activity of the enzyme. As a 'power source', the MWCNTs-CS composites provided a strong driving power for horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on the surface of polystyrene (PS) microspheres, which acted as probes for capturing CTCs and allowed the reaction to proceed with further facilitation of electron transfer. Aptamer, CTCs, and PS microspheres with HRP and anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (anti-EpCAM) antibody were assembled on the MWCNTs-CS/GCE to allow for the modulation of enzyme distance at the micrometer level, and thus ultra-long-range signal transmission was made possible. An ultrasensitive response to CTCs was obtained via this proposed sensing strategy, with a linear range from 10 cell mL-1 to 6 × 106 cell mL-1 and a detection limit of 3 cell mL-1. Moreover, this electrochemical sensor possessed the capability to detect CTCs in serum samples with satisfactory accuracy, which indicated great potential for early diagnosis and clinical analysis of cancer.

CdSe@CdS quantum dot-sensitized Au/α-Fe2O3 structure for photoelectrochemical detection of circulating tumor cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are the important biomarker for cancer diagnosis and individualized treatment. However, due to the extreme rarity of CTCs (only 1-10 CTCs are found in every milliliter of peripheral blood) high sensitivity and selectivity are urgently needed for CTC detection. Here, a sandwich PEC cytosensor for the ultrasensitive detection of CTCs was developed using the photoactive material Au NP/-Fe2O3 and core-shell CdSe@CdS QD sensitizer. In the proposed  protocol, the CdSe@CdS QD/Au NP/α-Fe2O3-sensitized structure with cascade band-edge levels could evidently promote the photoelectric conversion efficiency due to suitable light absorption and efficient electron-hole pair recombination inhibition. Additionally, a dendritic aptamer-DNA concatemer was constructed for highly efficient capture of MCF-7 cells carrying CdSe@CdS QDs, a sensitive material. The linear range of this proposed signal-on PEC sensing method was 300 cell mL-1 to 6 × 105 cell mL-1 with a detection limit of 3 cell mL-1, and it demonstrated an ultrasensitive response to CTCs. Furthermore, this PEC sensor enabled accurate detection of  CTCs in serum samples. Hence, a promising strategy for CTC detection in clinical diagnosis was developed based on CdSe@CdS QD-sensitized Au NP/α-Fe2O3-based PEC cytosensor with dendritic aptamer-DNA concatemer.

Attention guided neural ODE network for breast tumor segmentation in medical images.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Ultrasound is a widely used screening tool for its portability and easy operation, and DCE-MRI can highlight the lesions more clearly and reveal the characteristics of tumors. They are both noninvasive and nonradiative for assessment of breast cancer. Doctors make diagnoses and further instructions through the sizes, shapes and textures of the breast masses showed on medical images, so automatic tumor segmentation via deep neural networks can to some extent assist doctors. Compared to some challenges which the popular deep neural networks have faced, such as large amounts of parameters, lack of interpretability, overfitting problem, etc., we propose a segmentation network named Att-U-Node which uses attention modules to guide a neural ODE-based framework, trying to alleviate the problems mentioned above. Specifically, the network uses ODE blocks to make up an encoder-decoder structure, feature modeling by neural ODE is completed at each level. Besides, we propose to use an attention module to calculate the coefficient and generate a much refined attention feature for skip connection. Three public available breast ultrasound image datasets (i.e. BUSI, BUS and OASBUD) and a private breast DCE-MRI dataset are used to assess the efficiency of the proposed model, besides, we upgrade the model to 3D for tumor segmentation with the data selected from Public QIN Breast DCE-MRI. The experiments show that the proposed model achieves competitive results compared with the related methods while mitigates the common problems of deep neural networks.

Manganese redox cycling in immobilized bioreactors for simultaneous removal of nitrate and 17ß-estradiol: Performance, mechanisms and community assembly potential.

The application of bio-manganese (Mn) redox cycling for continuous removal of contaminants provides promise for addressing coexisting contaminants in groundwater, however, the feasibility of constructing Mn redox cycling system (MCS) through community assembly remains to be elucidated. In this study, Mn-reducing strain MFG10 and Mn-oxidizing strain MFQ7 synergistically removed 94.67 % of 17ß-estradiol (E2) within 12 h. Analysis of potential variations in Mn oxides suggested that MCS accelerated the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Mn(III), which interacted to promote E2 removal. After continuous operation of the Mn ore-based immobilized bioreactor for 270 days, the experimental group (EG) achieved average removal efficiencies of 89.63 % and 97.57 % for NO3--N and E2, respectively. High-throughput sequencing results revealed complex symbiotic relationships in EG. Community assembly significantly enhanced the metabolic and physiological activity of the bioreactor, which promoting the expression of core functions including nitrogen metabolism, Mn cycling and organic matter resistance.

Congenital esophageal stenosis caused by tracheobronchial remnants: a case report.

We describe a case of congenital esophageal stenosis in which the patient underwent ineffective balloon dilatation twice and eventually required surgery. The case was initially misdiagnosed as achalasia. Pathological findings revealed tracheobronchial remnants (TBRs) in the muscular layer of strictured esophageal tissue. Most TBR strictures are located in the middle and lower thirds of the esophagus. Esophagography is the main examination method for esophageal stricture, and the appearance of the "rat tail sign" is a key diagnostic indicator. Endoscopic ultrasonography can reveal hypoechoic cartilaginous structures. The gold standards for TBR treatment include esophageal stricture resection, end-to-end esophageal anastomosis, and the construction of structures to prevent reflux. At present, endoscopic longitudinal resection and transverse anastomosis of the anterior esophageal wall with partial cartilage resection without pyloroplasty are novel and practical TBR procedures. To avoid further complications, patients with congenital esophageal stenosis should be promptly treated surgically if balloon dilatation is ineffective.

Bioaugmented removal of 17ß-estradiol, nitrate and Mn(II) by polypyrrole@corn cob immobilized bioreactor: Performance optimization, mechanism, and microbial community response.

The coexistence of nitrate and endocrine substances (EDCs) in groundwater is of global concern. Herein, an efficient and stable polypyrrole@corn cob (PPy@Corn cob) bioreactor immobilized with Zoogloea sp. was designed for the simultaneous removal of 17ß-estradiol (E2), nitrate and Mn(II). After 225 days of continuous operation, the optimal operating parameters and enhanced removal mechanism were explored, also the long-term toxicity and microbial communities response mechanisms under E2 stress were comprehensively evaluated. The results showed that the removal efficiencies of E2, nitrate, and Mn(II) were 84.21, 82.96, and 47.91%, respectively, at the optimal operating conditions with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h, pH of 6.5 and Mn(II) concentration of 20 mg L-1. Further increased of initial E2 (2 and 3 mg L-1) resulted in the inhibiting effect of denitrification and manganese oxidation, but excellent E2 removal efficiencies maintained, which were associated with the formation and continuous accumulation of biomanganese oxides (BMO). Characterization analysis of biological precipitation demonstrated that adsorption and redox conversion on the BMO surface played key roles in the removal of E2. In addition, different levels of E2 exposure are decisive factors in community evolution, and bioaugmented bacterial communities with Zoogloea as the core group can dynamically adapt to E2 stress. This study offers the possibility to better utilize microbial metabolism and to advance opportunities that depend on microbial physiology and material characterization applications.

Misdiagnosis of asymptomatic intrathyroidal pyriform sinus fistula: a case report.

Pyriform sinus fistula is uncommon and easily misdiagnosed. Most reported cases occur in children and are associated with either acute suppurative thyroiditis or deep neck infection. Asymptomatic pyriform sinus fistula is difficult to diagnose because it can manifest as an incidental thyroid nodule with highly suspicious malignant features on ultrasonography. The patient was a 41-year-old man with asymptomatic thyroid nodules incidentally detected on ultrasonography. Surgery was performed under the suspicion of thyroid cancer. Pathology findings revealed multiple cystic walls lined by ciliated columnar cells with stratified squamous epithelial cysts in a background of inflammatory and lymphoid cells. Barium swallow examination performed 2 weeks later revealed a sinus tract measuring 1.8 cm that arose from the apex of the left pyriform sinus. The diagnosis and management of pyriform sinus anomalies are challenging. The majority of physicians, including some otolaryngologists, lack an understanding of the disease, which should be considered one of the important differential diagnoses of neck masses. Barium swallow examination, ultrasonography, computed tomography, and laryngoscopy are useful to diagnose this condition.

CircANKRD11 Knockdown Protects HPMECs from Cigarette Smoke Extract-Induced Injury by Regulating miR-145-5p/BRD4 Axis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of death because of its high incidence and mortality, which is chiefly resulted from cigarette smoke exposure. A large number of studies show that circular RNA (circRNA) participates in regulating COPD process. This study aims to reveal the role of circRNA ankyrin repeat domain 11 (circANKRD11) in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced cell apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress. METHODS: The expression of circANKRD11, microRNA-145-5p (miR-145-5p) and bromodomain-containing 4 (BRD4) mRNA was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins and BRD4 protein was determined by Western blot. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and Western blot. Cell inflammation was demonstrated by determining the levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Oxidative stress was investigated by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) determination assays as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assay. The binding relationship between miR-145-5p and circANKRD11 or BRD4 was predicted by circinteractome or MicroT_CDS online database, and identified by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation or RNA pull-down assay. RESULTS: CircANKRD11 and BRD4 expression were increased, whereas miR-145-5p expression was decreased in the lung tissues of smokers with or without COPD and CSE-induced HPMECs compared with the lung tissues of non-smokers as well as untreated HPMECs, respectively. CircANKRD11 silencing ameliorated CSE-induced cell apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress. CircANKRD11 acted as a sponge of miR-145-5p, and regulated CSE-induced cell injury via sponging miR-145-5p. Additionally, miR-145-5p mimics protected against CSE-induced cell injury through targeting BRD4. CONCLUSION: CircANKRD11 absence protected HPMECs from CSE-induced injury by regulating BRD4 through associating with miR-145-5p, which demonstrated that circANKRD11 had the potential to act as a diagnosis biomarker for smoker-caused COPD.

Transcriptomic analysis of interstock-induced dwarfism in Sweet Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.).

Growth monitoring indicated that the height of 'Kanshu' plants with 'Nantong-xiaofangshi' as an interstock was significantly shorter than that of 'Kanshu' plants with no interstock. A transcriptome analysis of the two graft combinations ('Kanshu'/Diospyros lotus and 'Kanshu'/'Nantong-xiaofangshi'/Diospyros lotus) was conducted to explore the dwarfing genes related to the use of the 'Nantong-xiaofangshi' interstock. Hormone levels and water conductance were also measured in these two graft combinations. The results indicated that the levels of both IAA and GA were lower in 'Kanshu' that had been grafted onto the 'Nantong-xiaofangshi' interstock than in 'Kanshu' with no interstock; additionally, the water conductance was lower in grafts with interstocks than in grafts without interstocks. The expression of AUX/IAA and auxin-responsive GH3 genes was enhanced in scions grafted on the interstock and was negatively correlated with the IAA content and growth of scions. The expression of GA2ox, DELLA, and SPINDLY genes were also upregulated and associated with a decrease in the level of GA in scions grafted on the interstock. Since one of the GA2ox unigenes was annotated as DkGA2ox1 in Diospyros kaki, but was not functionally validated, a functional analysis was conducted in transgenic tobacco. Overexpression of DkGA2ox1 in transgenic plants resulted in a dwarf phenotype that could be recovered by the exogenous application of GA3. We conclude that the 'Nantong-xiaofangshi' interstock affects the water conductance and expression of genes related to the metabolism and transduction of IAA and GA in the grafted scion and thus regulates phytohormone levels, producing dwarfing.

Effect of hypercortisolism on bone mineral density and bone metabolism: A potential protective effect of adrenocorticotropic hormone in patients with Cushing's disease.

Objective To investigate the effects of Cushing's disease (CD) and adrenal-dependent Cushing's syndrome (ACS) on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolism. Methods Data were retrospectively collected for 55 patients with hypercortisolism (CD, n = 34; ACS n = 21) from January 1997 to June 2014. BMD was examined in all patients, and bone turnover markers were tested in some patients. Healthy controls (n = 18) were also recruited. Results The lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD were significantly lower in the ACS and CD groups than in the control group. Lumbar BMD was significantly lower in the ACS than CD group. The collagen breakdown product (CTX) concentrations were significantly higher while the osteocalcin and procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) concentrations were significantly lower in the ACS and CD groups than in the control group. The PINP concentration was significantly lower while the CTX concentration was significantly higher in the ACS than CD group. In the CD group only, lumbar BMD and serum adrenocorticotropic hormone had a significant positive correlation. Conclusions Bone turnover markers indicated suppressed osteoblast and enhanced osteoclast activities. PINP and CTX changes might indicate bone mass deterioration. Adrenocorticotropic hormone might be protective for lumbar BMD in patients with CD.

A case of pituitary stalk interruption syndrome with intermittent seizures as the first presentation.

Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a congenital disease with isolated growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or multiple anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). The typical clinical manifestations of PSIS are growth retardation, hypoglycemia or delayed pubertal development. However, few reports showed cases of PSIS were diagnosed with acute epileptic seizures accompanied by hyponatremia. Here, we report an 18-year-old female presenting with episodes of intermittent seizures for 13 years. The electrolyte examination on many occasions has shown hyponatremia, even as low as 99.9 mmol/L. However, the cause of hyponatremia has not been further discussed. The patient had short stature and no pubertal development. The laboratory tests revealed growth hormone deficiency, secondary adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. MRI showed an ectopic hyperintense signal of the posterior pituitary and no visible anterior pituitary gland or stalk. The hormone replacement therapy helped to raise the sodium concentration to a normal level and in the termination of seizures.

A newly identified TSHß splice variant is involved in the pathology of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Thyrotropin (TSH) is a protein that plays a key role in the control of thyroid function. TSH consists of a common α-subunit and a unique ß-subunit; the latter is responsible for hormone specificity. A novel splice variant of human TSHß was identified in 2009. To date, only the tissue distribution of the human TSHß splice variant mRNA has been studied. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the protein translated from this splice variant. Salting-out, dialysis and concentration of serum proteins were followed by immunoprecipitation to identify the hTSHß splice variant in serum. Stable CHO cell lines expressing the hTSHß splice variant and V5-hTSHα were generated. After co-culture, co-immunoprecipitation was used to determine if the hTSHß splice variant can dimerise with TSHα. We showed for the first time that the hTSHß splice variant exists in human serum and dimerises with TSHα. To explore the relationship between the TSHß splice variant and the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroiditis, we assessed variations in the mRNA expression of the TSHß splice variant in the peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) patients using quantitative RT-PCR. We found that the mRNA expression levels of the TSHß splice variant were higher in the PBLs of HT patients who were not undergoing prednisone therapy (n = 10, P < 0.0001) and in the PBLs of HT patients with a longer duration of illness (>18 months) who were undergoing prednisone therapy (n = 5, P = 0.023) than in those of the control group. This pattern was reversed in the PBLs of HT patients with a shorter duration of illness (<9 months) who were undergoing prednisone therapy (n = 8, P < 0.0001). Dexamethasone inhibition of the TSHß splice variant mRNA expression occurred in a dose- and time-dependent manner. These results demonstrated that the TSHß splice variant may participate in the pathogenesis of HT.

Comparative proteomic analysis of pistil abortion in Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc).

The phenomenon of pistil abortion widely occurs in Japanese apricot and has seriously affected the yield in production. We used a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight/time of flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) approaches to identify the differentially expressed proteome between perfect and imperfect flower buds in Japanese apricot. More than 400 highly reproducible protein spots (P<0.05) were detected and 27 protein spots showed a greater than two-fold difference in their expression values. The proteins identified were classified into eight functional classifications and ten process categories, according to the Gene Ontology (GO). Acetyl-CoA produced by ATP citrate lyase (ACL) as a structural substance during formation of the cell wall could regulate pistil abortion in Japanese apricot. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases (XTHs) and caffeoyl-CoA-O-methyl transferase (CCoAOMT) could promote cell wall formation in perfect flower buds of Japanese apricot, greatly contributing to pistil development. Spermidine hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (SHT) may be involved in the O-methylation of spermidine conjugates and could contribute to abnormal floral development. The identification of such differentially expressed proteins provides new targets for future studies that will assess their physiological roles and significance in pistil abortion.

A modified protocol for RNA extraction from different peach tissues suitable for gene isolation and real-time PCR analysis.

RNA extraction is the first step in the study of gene isolation and expression. However, it is difficult to extract high quantity and quality RNA from tissues containing large quantities of polysaccharides and polyphenols. Peach (Prunus persica), in addition to containing high levels of polysaccharides and polyphenols, is a challenging starting material for RNA isolation using a single method because of different amounts of those substances in diverse tissues. Based on three reported methods, we developed a modified RNA isolation protocol to solve this problem, leading to high quality and quantity of total RNA from peach mesocarp tissues of fruits which were sampled from all developmental stages and different storage periods, as well as from other tissues including flowers, leaves, stems, and roots. With our modified method, 28-650 µg of total RNA was routinely obtained from per gram of fresh material, gave at least a 1.16-fold improvement by compared with those isolated by other seven methods. The RNA extracts were successfully used in downstream applications such as RT-PCR, RACE, and real-time PCR.

[To investigate the effect of pretreatment with budesonide spray in patients with allergic rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of prophylactic drugs on allergic rhinitis. METHOD: Thirty patients diagnosed as allergic rhinitis based on mugwort allergen were randomly divided into three groups: budesonide group (n = 10), saline group (n = 10) and control group (n = 10). The patients in budesonide group and saline group respectively received budesonide nasal spray (64 microg per, 256 microg once daily) and saline nasal spray twice daily starting two weeks before the date which the patient onset last year and continuing up to the end of the pollen season. The patients in control group were treated without any processing. The nasal symptom scores and attack times of the three groups was recorded. RESULT: During the pollen season, 2 patients attacked in the budesonide group (20%), and all the patients attacked in saline group and control group (100%). Statistical significance was found among the three groups (P < 0.01), and between budesonide group and the other two groups (P < 0.01). The budesonide group had lower symptom score than the other two groups and a postponed attack time. All the differences had Statistical significance (Value of chi-square statistic = 21. 558, P < 0.01, Fisher exact test P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Prophylactic administration of budesonide, starting two weeks before the date which the patient onset may release symptom and even avoid the attack of the allergic rhinitis based on mugwort allergen.

Treatment of hyperbilirubinemia with blood purification in China.

The incidence of hyperbilirubinemia is high clinically, which is difficult to cure by medication, surgery or interventional therapies. Non-bioartificial liver is the main alternative in the blood purification for hyperbilirubinemia, which includes plasma exchange, hemoperfusion, hemodialysis, molecular adsorbent recycling system and so on. The research results and clinical experiences in China show that these methods are effective in lowering high levels of bilirubin with fewer side effects. The hyperbilirubinemias of different causes, with different complications or accompanying different diseases can be treated by different methods. Bioartificial liver, hybrid artificial liver support system and adsorbent membrane material have also been studied and their development in reducing hyperbilirubinemias has been achieved. This article gives a brief overview on the actuality and research improvement in blood purification for hyperbilirubinemia in China.