[Characterization of AOX family members from Aquilaria sinensis and their responses to wounding].

Aquilaria sinensis is a typical inducible medicinal plant, that can produce agarwood only after it is wounded by external stimuli. Alternative oxidase(AOX) is one of the terminal oxidases of the plant mitochondrial electron transport, which plays an important role in plants' response to environmental stress. In order to reveal the physiological function of AOX gene in the process of agarwood formation from A.sinensis induced by wounding, AOX gene was cloned based on the transcriptome database and then identified by the bioinformatics analysis, and their expression pattern in different tissues and under wounding stress were detected by qRT-PCR. The results as follows. Three AOX genes were cloned from A.sinensis for the first time. They were named AsAOX1a, AsAOX1d and AsAOX2, respectively. The tissue expression shown that AsAOX1a is mainly expressed in the stem and the seed, and the AsAOX1d and AsAOX2 genes are mainly expressed in the pulp and the stem. AsAOX1a and AsAOX1d genes are highly responsive to wounding stress, and their response time was different. In addition, the expression of AsAOX1a and AsAOX2 induced by wounding are reduced by H_2O_2 treatment, but promoted by AsA treatment. The cloning, bioinformatics analysis and expression characteristics of AOX genes from A.sinensis provided basic information for further study the function of AOX genes in the development of A.sinensis, especially in the process of agarwood formation of A. sinensis induced by wounding.

Awareness of hypertension guidelines in Taiwanese nurses: a questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Nurses play an important role in hypertension prevention and management because of their unique positions in patient education. However, the effectiveness of patient education relies largely on the nurse's level of awareness of the current hypertension guidelines. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of awareness of hypertension guidelines and associated factors among nurses in Taiwan. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 10 hospitals in northern Taiwan. The Hypertension Management Questionnaire was developed based on the Taiwan Hypertension Guidelines and the seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. RESULTS: The survey return rate was 95.9%. A total of 1418 nurses were included in the analysis. Adequate guideline awareness was found in 49.5% of the total sample. Among the 7 dimensions of the Hypertension Management Questionnaire, the definition of hypertension, methods for blood pressure measurements, and impact of high blood pressure on cardiovascular disease had the lowest rates of correct answers. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the nurses' clinical experience, educational level, work setting, in-service education training on hypertension, and level of the hospital (R2 = 35.4%, F = 52.89, P < .001) independently predicted the nurse's level of awareness. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of the nurses in northern Taiwan had insufficient knowledge of the hypertension guidelines.