New biopsy after antibiotic treatment: effect on outcomes of assisted reproduction in patients with infertility and chronic endometritis.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the effect of chronic endometritis on patients with infertility, the necessity of endometrial re-examination and the effect of improving chronic endometritis after one cycle of antibiotic treatment on pregnancy outcomes? DESIGN: Infertile patients (n = 4003) who underwent IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment were included. Pregnancy outcomes of groups positive for chronic endometritis were compared with groups that were negative (group 1). Patients that were positive were divided into the chronic endometritis new biopsy group (group 2) and chronic endometritis non-re-examination group (group 3). After doxycycline treatment and re-examination, the chronic endometritis new biopsy group was divided into improved chronic endometritis group (ICE) and not-improved chronic endometritis group (NICE), and their general indicators and reproductive outcomes were compared. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in embryo implantation, early or late pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates between groups 2 and 3. The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in the NICE group were significantly lower than those in the ICE group (P = 0.008 and P = 0.001, respectively). After controlling for potential confounding factors, age, average number of high-quality embryos, endometrial thickness on the day of embryo transfer and number and type of embryo transfer were factors associated with live birth rates. CONCLUSIONS: Endometrial re-examination of women with chronic endometritis treated with doxycycline had no effect on pregnancy outcomes. The first cycle of doxycycline treatment could effectively improve reproductive outcomes of women with five or more CD138+ cells/high-power field.

Association between baseline LH/FSH and live-birth rate after fresh-embryo transfer in polycystic ovary syndrome women.

This study aimed to retrospectively analyse the effect of the baseline luteinising hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio (bLH/FSH) on the live-birth rate per fresh-embryo transfer cycle (LBR/ET) in infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who received a fresh-embryo transfer. A total of 424 patients with PCOS who underwent the first cycle of in vitro fertilisation (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fresh-embryo transfer at our hospital was enrolled. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, along with curve fitting and a threshold effect analysis, were performed. Baseline LH/FSH levels were a significant (P < 0.05) independent risk factor affecting live birth. In the first IVF/ICSI antagonist treatment cycles, LBR/ET after fresh-embryo transfer was relatively flat, until bLH/FSH was 1.0; thereafter, it started to decrease by 17% for every 0.1-unit bLH/FSH increase. Considering the decline in LBR/ET, it is recommended that PCOS women with bLH/FSH > 1.0 carefully consider fresh-embryo transfer during their first IVF/ICSI.

Comparison of vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone versus intramuscular progesterone for luteal support in hormone replacement therapy-frozen embryo transfer cycle.

BACKGROUND: It remains under subject of debate regarding the optimal route of luteal support for hormone replacement therapy- frozen embryo transfer (HRT-FET) cycles. We compared efficacy of vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone and intramuscular progesterone for HRT-FET lutein support. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study. After matching for propensity score of getting vaginal + oral treatment, a total of 208 FET cycles in the vaginal progesterone combined with oral dydrogesterone and 624 cycles in the intramuscular progesterone group were enrolled. Pregnancy outcomes and neonatal outcomes including chemical pregnancy rate, clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate, spontaneous abortion rate, live birth rate, gestational weeks, pre-term delivery, birth weight, and congenital anomalies rate were compared. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in patient characteristics such as age, duration of infertility, type of infertility, or hormone level after matching. Chemical pregnancy rate (68.3 % versus 70.5 %), clinical pregnancy rate (64.9 % versus 64.4 %), implantation rate (52.3 % versus 50.2 %), spontaneous abortion rate (21.5 % versus 18.4 %), and live birth rate (49.0 % versus 51.3 %) were similar in both group without statistically significant difference. No significant differences in neonatal outcomes were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: We observed similar pregnancy outcomes in both vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone and intramuscular progesterone protocol. Vaginal progesterone gel combined with oral dydrogesterone can be substituted for intramuscular progesterone given that vaginal plus oral use has good safety and is more convenient and may be associated with less side effect caused by intramuscular injection.

The impacts of the number of prefreeze and postthaw blastomeres on embryo implantation potential: A systematic analysis.

To systematically analyze the potential of embryo implantation through comparison between the number of surviving blastomeres, the growth, and implantation rate.Retrospective analysis on implantation rate and the growth of prefreeze-postthaw embryos with different blastomeres in 1487 frozen embryo transfer cycles.In groups of postthaw embryos without damage, implantation rate and the average number of blastomere growth increased significantly with increasing number of blastomeres. The implantation rate and the number of blastomeres of embryos with 8-8c (the number of blastomeres in prefreeze embryo-the number of blastomeres in postthaw embryo) continued to grow at a significantly higher rate than that of 5-5c and 6-6c (P < .05). In groups of embryos with the same number of blastomeres before freezing and with partial damage after resuscitation, the implantation rates were lower and the average numbers of blastomere growth reduced as the number of damaged blastomeres increased. For embryos with good quality before freezing, 1 to 3 damaged blastomeres in postthawed embryos did not affect the development and implantation rate. Both implantation rate and growth rate of embryos with 8-6c were significantly higher than those of embryos with 6-6c (P < .05).The number of surviving blastomeres and growth in frozen-thawed embryos could be important index to predict embryo development potential and clinical outcome of implantation. For embryos with good quality, a small amount of damaged blastomeres would not weaken embryo development potential and implantation rate after being thawed.

Impact of endometrial thickness during menstruation and endometrial scratching on the pregnancy in frozen-thawed embryo transfer.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the impact of endometrial thickness (EMT) during menstruation and endometrial scratching on the pregnancy in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET). METHODS: About 1298 patients receiving FET were retrospectively analyzed and divided according to EMT on the 4th or 5th day of menstruation. Group A: EMT ≤ 3.0 mm; Group B: EMT 3.1-5.0 mm; Group C: EMT 5.1-7.0 mm and Group D: EMT > 7.0 mm. Patients in Group D were further divided to scratching group and nonscratching group. Endometrial growth was defined as the change in EMT from 4th or 5th day of menstruation to the day of embryo transferred. RESULTS: We found no significant differences in general conditions among four groups (P > 0.05). The average EMT during menstruation and differences in inter-group endometrial growth of four groups had statistical significance (P < 0.05). The pregnancy rate and implantation rate of Group D were significantly lower than other groups (P < 0.001). Pregnancy rate (68.29% vs 53.26%) and implantation rate (52.67% vs 36.34%) in endometrial scratching group were higher than those in nonscratching group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher EMT during menstruation adversely affects pregnancy outcomes following FET. Endometrial scratching may improve the receptivity of endometrium and increase the rate of embryo implantation and pregnancy.

The incidence and risk factors of related lymphedema for breast cancer survivors post-operation: a 2-year follow-up prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the incidence rate, severity and risk factors of related lymphedema in breast cancer survivors. METHODS: A 2-year follow-up prospective study of 387 women who had operation from four hospitals from January 1, to December 31, 2014 was conducted. Limb volume was measured by circumference and symptoms were measured using questionnaires pre-treatment and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months after surgery separately. The incidence rates and the severity of lymphedema were evaluated, respectively. Risk factors for the development of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) were analyzed using log-rank test and Cox regression. RESULTS: The incidences of BCRL were 4.4, 10.1, 15.2, 28.6, 31.2 and 32.5% at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months after surgery, respectively, measured by Norman questionnaire. The rates measured by arm circumference were 2.5, 6.7, 13.4, 21.4, 26.3 and 29.4%, respectively. About 114 (29.4% of 387) women were diagnosed with BCRL, and 78 of them got mild lymphedema. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) (HR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.6-17.3), radiotherapy (HR = 3.9, 95% CI 2.0-7.5), modified radical mastectomy (MRM) (HR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.4), the number of positive lymph nodes (HR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2) and body mass index (BMI) (HR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.1) were independent risk factors for BCRL. CONCLUSIONS: BCRL is a common complication for breast cancer patients after surgery. It can be fairly diagnosed only 1 month post-operation and the cumulative incidence of BCRL seems to be increasing over time, especially in the first year after surgery. ALND, radiotherapy, MRM, the number of positive axillary lymph nodes and BMI were found to be independent risk factors in the development of BCRL in this study.

The peripheral blood transcriptome identifies dysregulation of inflammatory response genes in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women, resulting in ovulation failure and other metabolic problems. However, the underlying mechanisms of it remain largely uncertain due to the complexity of clinical manifestations. This systemic disorder is involved in endocrine, metabolism, immune system and many organs, and few studies have explored peripheral blood transcriptome in patients with PCOS. We performed gene expression profiling of peripheral blood from 8 PCOS patients and eight healthy women with microarray. The significance analysis of microarray (SAM) software was employed to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and gene ontology (GO) was used for functional enrichment analysis. In total, 181 DEGs with fold-changes >2.0 and q-values <0.05 were identified between the two groups. Among them, 149 were up-regulated and 32 down-regulated in PCOS. Unsupervised clustering of expressed genes could readily differentiate PCOS from control. More importantly, inflammatory response pathway including 14 dysregulated genes was highly enriched in PCOS. Furthermore, 10 DEGs were validated using quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. Our study provides independent evidence for the involvement of systemic inflammatory response in PCOS and it may facilitate a greater understanding of this complex disease.

Jujuboside A attenuates norepinephrine-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes by modulating MAPK and AKT signaling pathways.

Cardiomyocyte apoptosis is closely associated with the pathogenesis of heart failure. Jujuboside A (JUA) is a type of saponin isolated from the seeds of Zizyphus jujuba. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that JUA possesses multiple biological effects, including antianxiety, antioxidant and anti­inflammatory activities. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of JUA on norepinephrine (NE)­induced apoptosis of H9c2 cells and to investigate its underlying mechanisms. Rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes were pretreated with JUA and were then exposed to NE as an in vitro model of myocardial apoptosis. A cell viability assay, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry assay, acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, all revealed that NE induced H9c2 cell apoptosis. The results demonstrated that NE inhibited cell viability, and enhanced cell damage and apoptosis of H9c2 cells. Conversely, pretreatment with JUA was able to reverse NE­induced decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis. Furthermore, JUA suppressed upregulation of the B­cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl­2)­associated X protein/Bcl­2 ratio, and inhibited the increased protein expression levels of cleaved caspase­3 and cleaved caspase­9 following NE exposure. However, the protein expression levels of cleaved caspase­12 and cleaved caspase­8 were not significantly altered following exposure to NE or JUA pretreatment. In addition, in JUA­pretreated cells, the protein expression levels of phosphorylated (p)­p38 and p­c­Jun N­terminal kinase were downregulated compared with in NE­treated cells. Furthermore, JUA regulated the activation of extracellular signal­regulated kinase (ERK) in NE­treated cells and significantly increased the expression levels of p­AKT. Taken together, these data suggested that JUA may protect against NE­induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes via modulation of the mitogen­activated protein kinase and AKT signaling pathways. Therefore, JUA may be considered a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of heart disease.

Punicalagin protects bovine endometrial epithelial cells against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory injury.

OBJECTIVE: Bovine endometritis is one of the most common reproductive disorders in cattle. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammation potential of punicalagin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEECs) and to uncover the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: bEECs were stimulated with different concentrations (1, 10, 30, 50, and 100 µg/ml) of LPS for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 h. MTT assay was used to assess cell viability and to identify the conditions for inflammatory injury and effective concentrations of punicalagin. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to assess gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Western blotting was used to assess levels of inflammation-related proteins. RESULTS: Treatment of bEECs with 30 µg/ml LPS for 12 h induced cell injury and reduced cell viability. Punicalagin (5, 10, or 20 µg/ml) pretreatment significantly decreased LPS-induced productions of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in bEECs. Molecular research showed that punicalagin inhibited the activation of the upstream mediator nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) by suppressing the production of inhibitor κBα (IκBα) and phosphorylation of p65. Results also indicated that punicalagin can suppress the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) including p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). CONCLUSIONS: Punicalagin may attenuate LPS-induced inflammatory injury and provide a potential option for the treatment of dairy cows with Escherichia coli endometritis.

Identifying survival-associated modules from the dysregulated triplet network in glioblastoma multiforme.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can act as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to compete with mRNAs for binding miroRNAs (miRNAs). The dysregulated triplets, composed by mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs, contributed to the development and progression of diseases, such as cancer. However, the roles played by triplet biomarkers are not fully understand in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patient survival. OBJECTIVES: Here, we constructed a differential triplet interaction network (TriNet) between GBM and normal tissues and identified GBM survival related triplets. METHODS: Four significantly dysregulated modules, enriched differentially expressed molecules, were identified by integrating affinity propagation method and hypergeometric method. Furthermore, knockdown of TP73-AS1 was implemented by siRNA and the expression of RFX1 was examined in U87 cells by qRT-PCR. The apoptosis of U87 cells was investigated using MTT assay and Acridine orange/Ethidium bromide (AO/EB) assay. RESULTS: We randomly split GBM samples into training and testing sets, and found that these four modules can robustly and significantly distinguish low- and high-survival patients in both two sets. By manually curated literatures for triplets mediated by core interactions, we found that members involved tumor invasion, proliferation, and migration. The dysregulated triplets may cause the poor survival of GBM patients. We finally experimentally verified that knockdown of TP73-AS1, an lncRNA of one triplet, could not only reduce the expression of RFX1, an mRNA of this triplet, but also induce apoptosis in U87 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results can provide further insights to understand the functions of triplet biomarkers that associated with GBM prognosis.

Tumor necrosis factor suppresses interleukin 10 in peripheral B cells via upregulating Bcl2-like protein 12 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

The pathogenesis of the immune regulation dysfunction is unclear. Bcl2-like protein 12 (Bcl2L12) has immune suppression function. This study tests a hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) increases Bcl2L12 to suppress the expression of interleukin (IL) 10 in peripheral B cells of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, peripheral blood samples were collected from IBD patients and healthy controls. B cells were isolated from the blood samples. The expression of IL-10 and Bcl2L12 in B cells was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We observed that the expression of Bcl2L12 in the peripheral B cells was higher in IBD patients than that in healthy controls. The IL-10 levels in B cells were negatively correlated with the expression of Bcl2L12. Exposure of B cells to TNF in the culture enhanced the expression of Bcl2L12. The Bcl2L12 mediated the effects of TNF on suppression of IL-10 in B cells. In conclusion, Bcl2L12 mediates the effects of TNF to suppress the expression of IL-10 in B cells. The data suggest that Bcl2L12 may be a therapeutic target for the treatment of IBD.

Heparin-Binding Epidermal Growth Factor-Like Growth Factor Enhances Aquaporin 3 Expression and Function During Mouse Embryo Implantation.

Aquaporin 3 (AQP3) is highly expressed in peri-implantation blastocyst trophoblastic cells, indicating its role in cytotrophoblast invasion during embryo implantation. However, the mechanism underlying the regulation of AQP3 expression during embryo implantation remains unclear. In this study, an in vitro co-culture system of blastocysts on a monolayer of uterine endometrial cells was used to mimic in vivo process of embryo attachment and invasion to uterine endometrium and treated with different concentrations of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF). The results showed that HB-EGF enhanced AQP3 expression in blastocysts in a dose-dependent manner and promoted the attachment and outgrowth of blastocysts on the monolayer of uterine endometrial cells. When the AQP3 activity was inhibited by copper sulfate, both the attachment and outgrowth of blastocysts were inhibited. Furthermore, HB-EGF induced the phosphorylation of EGF receptor (EGFR) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). PD153035 (EGFR inhibitor) and U0126 (ERK inhibitor) inhibited AQP3 expression and also the attachment and outgrowth of blastocysts. Collectively, our findings provide the first evidence that HB-EGF stimulates EGFR/ERK signaling to promote AQP3 expression in trophoblastic cells, and AQP3 plays a vital role in HB-EGF-induced embryo implantation.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of primary pancreatic carcinoid tumors: A report of 13 cases from a single institution.

The present study aimed to analyze the diagnosis and treatment of 13 cases of pancreatic carcinoid tumors during a 56-year period at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital (Tianjin, China). The data from 13 cases, consisting of 5 males and 8 females (mean age, 50 years), were collected and analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining were performed to investigate the expression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), cytokeratin (CK), chromogranin A (CgA) and synaptophysin (Syn) in the tumors. The affected patients suffered abdominal and/or back pain without typical carcinoid syndrome. Radical resection was performed in 10 cases and regional resection in one case. The remaining two patients exhbited remote metastasis, and so were treated with single and double bypass surgery (choledochojejunostomy and gastrojejunostomy/choledochojejunostomy, respectively). The expression of CK, Syn, CgA and NSE was positive in nine (69.23%), 10 (76.92%), five (38.46%) and eight (61.54%) cases, respectively. The median survival time was 26.6 months. In conclusion, in patients with pancreatic carcinoid tumors that exhibit no typical carcinoid syndrome, such as those in the present study, the diagnosis can be confirmed by pathological examination and surgery is the most effective treatment.

The regulatory role of icariin on apoptosis in mouse preimplantation embryos with reduced microRNA-21.

We constructed a model of apoptosis in mouse preimplantation embryos and investigated the effect of the flavonol icariin on embryonic development in vitro in embryos with reduced microRNA-21 (miR-21). The model was generated by microinjecting an miR-21 inhibitor into the cytoplasm of mouse pronuclear embryos, which were cultured in vitro using modified CZB (mCZB) basal medium (model group), or using mCZB medium with 0.6 µg/mL icariin as an experimental group (model-Ica). These were compared with embryos collected in vivo (vivo group) or not microinjected (control group). Developmental rates in vitro of two- and four-cell embryos and blastocysts were observed, and Hoechst 33342 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining were used to count blastocyst cell numbers and apoptotic cell numbers and percentages. The transcriptional levels of miR-21, the apoptotic genes caspase 3 and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), and the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-2 were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Western immunoblotting was used to detect the protein levels of caspase 3, PTEN, and Bcl-2. Compared with the model group, icariin treatment significantly improved blastocyst development in vitro (58.43 ± 7.53% vs. 37.85 ± 6.47%; P < 0.01), whereas it was not significantly different to the control group (60.34 ± 9.86%). Icariin treatment significantly increased the blastocyst cell numbers (47.02 ± 4.93 vs. 37.70 ± 5.80; P < 0.01), and reduced the rates of apoptosis (5.51 ± 2.35% vs. 10.11 ± 4.21%; P < 0.01), whereas the blastocyst cell numbers and apoptotic rates revealed no significant differences between the vivo (46.06 ± 6.50, 5.95 ± 2.56%) and control groups (45.77 ± 4.09, 6.18 ± 2.41%). Icariin treatment significantly improved miR-21 expression in all embryo stages, reduced the transcriptional levels of caspase 3 and PTEN, and increased the levels of Bcl-2. The protein expression levels of caspase 3 and PTEN were decreased in blastocysts and the level of Bcl-2 was increased (P < 0.01). These had no significant differences with the vivo and control groups, and the protein levels revealed no significant differences between two- and four-cell embryos. Thus, miR-21 was necessary for preimplantation embryonic development, and embryo quality was closely associated with the apoptosis-related protein expression levels regulated by miR-21. Icariin upregulated miR-21 expression and reduced apoptosis in embryos with reduced miR-21. It also improved embryonic developmental quality in vitro, indicating an important regulatory role for miR-21 in blastocyst development in vitro.

Role of microRNAs in diagnosis and treatment of the pathogenesis of gastric cancer.

We aim to detect the miRNAs that are correlated with the gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 to provide theoretical basis for clinical application. We first analyzed miRNA expression profiles of gastric cancer patients compared with normal controls by microarray analysis and validated the results by real-time qPCR. We also determined the absolute copy numbers of these three miRNAs in normal adults. The results showed that three miRNAs (miR-150, miR-23a, and miR-130a) were identified to significantly decrease in expanded 38 gastric cancer patients compared with 90 normal controls. Molecular and statistical analysis showed that the decreased miRNAs were significant in clinical analysis. Generally speaking, this finding suggest vital roles of these miRNAs in human gastric cancer genesis and as potential biomarkers in gastric cancer diagnosis.

[UV-B radiation sensitivity of Salvia miltiorrhiza in different growth periods].

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of UV-B radiation on sensitive index (SI) synthetically formed by the height, leaf area and biomass, and on the accumulation of rosmarinic acid (RA) and salvianolic acid B (SAB) of Salvia miltiorrhiza in two growth periods. The results showed the SI in the shoot vigorous growth and harvesting periods both decreased with the increasing UV-B radiation, but the SI in the latter period was even less. The RA and SAB contents in the leaves increased with the increasing UV-B radiation, and the increment was greater in the harvesting period than in the shoot vigorous growth period. The RA and SAB contents decreased in the roots, and decreased with the increasing UV-B intensity and duration. Total contents of RA and SAB in roots decreased to 10.0% and 6.3% of the control under the high UV-B intensity in the harvesting period.

MTHFR C677T polymorphism and pancreatic cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of folate, and the role of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism in pancreatic carcinogenesis is still controversial. METHOD: A literature search was performed using Pubmed and CNKI databases for published studies through May 2012. We performed a meta-analysis of all relevant case-control studies that examined the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and pancreatic cancer risk. RESULTS: Finally, 9 individual case-control studies with a total of 1,299 pancreatic cancer cases and 2,473 controls were included into this meta-analysis. RESULTS: This meta- analysis showed there was an obvious association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and pancreatic cancer risk in East Asians (for allele model, OR = 1.67, 95%CI 1.11-2.51; For homozygote model, OR = 2.77, 95%CI 1.40-5.48; for recessive model, OR = 1.96, 95%CI 1.54-2.50; for dominant model, OR = 2.11, 95%CI 1.01-4.41). However, no significant association was found in Caucasians. CONCLUSION: The MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with pancreatic cancer risk, and a race-specific effect may exist in this association. More studies with a larger sample size are needed to further clarify this association.

[Analysis of the chemical constituents of volatile oil from the Folium Rhododendri Daurici by supercritical CO2 extraction].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the chemical constituents of volatile oils from Folium Rhododendri Daurici between supercritical CO2 extraction (SCE-CO2) and steam distillation (SD). METHODS: The chemical constituents of volatile oils obtained by two methods were analyzed by GC-MS. RESULTS: 52 compounds in the volatile oil extracted by SCE-CO2 and 48 compounds in the volatile oil extracted by SD were separated and identified separately. There were 45 same components. CONCLUSION: The chemical constituents obtained by SCE-CO2 and SD are approached.