Thermal Properties, Microstructure and Crystallization of Blends of Leaf Lard and Cottonseed Oil Stearin.

Blend oils composed by leaf lard (LL) and cottonseed oil stearin (COS) were prepared and the thermal property, microstructure and crystallization of these blends were investigated in the present study. Solid fat content (SFC), thermal behaviors, triacylglycerols composition, crystal structure and morphology of the LL and COS blends were determined by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (pNMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and polarized light microscope (PLM), respectively. SFC profiles and iso-solid diagrams indicated that SFCs of all blends were almost close to the weighted averages of the fat components at temperatures beyond 20°C; however, below 20°C, SFCs of blends exhibited higher than those of the weighted averages of the fat components. With the content of COS increasing, palmitic acid and linoleic acid in the blends increased, while stearic acid and oleic acid decreased; monounsaturated-disaturated (USS) and triunsaturated (UUU) glycerides in the blends enhanced, while monosaturated-diunsaturated (UUS) glycerides declined. The melting temperature of the blends decreased with the increase of COS content. The crystal forms in LL were ß' and ß, and the packing pattern was double and triple chain length (2L and 3L). With COS in blends increasing, ß' form crystals and 3L pattern reduced. Polarized light micrographs showed that the number of crystal particles in the blends raised with the increase of COS content, meanwhile, the grainsize of the sample gradually decreased. Visual appearances of the blends indicated that blending LL with COS could efficiently reduce the graininess of LL. The addition of COS had a significant effect on the crystallization behavior of LL. LL presented one-step crystallization at 10°C and 20°C, while COS showed two-step crystallization at 10°C and one-step crystallization at 20°C. However, the blends exhibited obvious two-step crystallization at 10°C, one-step or slight two-step crystallization at 20°C.

A case report of concomitant paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and heterozygous ß-thalassemia.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare clonal blood disorder that presents chronic intravascular hemolysis. PNH concomitant with inherited hemolytic anemia has been rarely reported. Here, we report an interesting PNH patient who was misdiagnosed with iron deficiency anemia due to concomitant heterozygous ß-thalassemia. The patient experienced dizziness, fatigue, and restricted physical activity for the previous 3 years. Thalassemia gene analysis revealed heterozygous ß-thalassemia. Iron staining of the bone marrow demonstrated the absence of stainable iron and sideroblasts. The patient was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. Iron supplementation treatment was performed, but the anemia remained unresolved. The patient became transfusion dependent 1 year later and was admitted to our hospital in March 2010. Flow cytometry of the patient's peripheral blood demonstrated that 7.9% and 11.9% of the erythrocytes were CD59 and CD55 deficient, respectively. The patient was finally diagnosed with concomitant PNH and heterozygous ß-thalassemia.

Association of Toll-like receptor 4 gene polymorphism and expression with urinary tract infection types in adults.

BACKGROUND: Innate immunity of which Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and CXCR1 are key elements plays a central role in the development of urinary tract infection (UTI). Although the relation between the genetics of TLR4 and CXCR1 and UTI is investigated partly, the polymorphisms and expression of TLR4 and CXCR1 in different types of UTI in adults are not extremely clear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study investigates the presence of TLR4 A (896) G and CXCR1 G (2608) C polymorphisms in 129 UTI patients using RFLP-PCR. Gene and allelic prevalence were compared with 248 healthy controls. Flow cytometry was used to detect TLR4 and CXCR1 expression in the monocytes of UTI patients and healthy controls. TLR4 (896) AG genotype and TLR4 (896) G allele had higher prevalence in UTI (especially in acute cystitis and urethritis) patients, whereas CXCR1 (2608) GC genotype and CXCR1 (2608) C allele had lower prevalence in UTI patients than controls. TLR4 expression was significantly lower in chronic UTI patients than in acute pyelonephritis or healthy controls. CXCR1 expression was similar in both controls and patients. TLR4 expression in chronic UTI patients after astragalus treatment was higher than pre-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate the relationship between the carrier status of TLR4 (896) G alleles and the development of UTI, especially acute cystitis and urethritis, in adults. TLR4 expression levels are correlated with chronic UTI.

Assessing phylogenetic relationships of Lycium samples using RAPD and entropy theory.

AIM: To evaluate the phylogenetic relationships among related species of Lycium samples. METHODS: Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting and lab-on-a-chip electrophoresis techniques were used to analyze the characteristics of Lycium species. Seven species and 3 varieties of Lycium were studied. Based on RAPD fingerprint data obtained from 11 primers, we proposed a new index, called dispersivity, using entropy theory and projection methods to depict the diversity of the DNA fingerprints. RESULTS: Using the proposed dispersivity, primers were sorted and the dendrograms of the 7 species and 3 varieties of Lycium were constructed synthetically by merging primer information. CONCLUSION: Phylogenetic relationships among Lycium samples were constructed synthetically based on RAPD fingerprint data generated from 11 primers.