Single-nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes in the interleukin-33 gene are associated with a risk of allergic rhinitis in the Chinese population.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common upper airway disease attributed to a variety of risk factors, such as environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility. The commonly observed comorbidity of asthma and AR in the clinic suggests the presence of shared genetic risk factors and biological mechanisms between these diseases. Interleukin (IL)-33 has been indicated to be an important factor driving asthma susceptibility and pathogenesis using both genome-wide association studies and functional studies in model animals. Although previous studies have reported the putative association of this gene with AR, evidence for the association of genetic variations of IL-33 with the disease is still missing. To examine whether variations in the IL-33 gene confer a genetic risk of AR, a total of 769 patients with AR and 769 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited among Han Chinese residents in the Hubei province, and 14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the IL-33 gene were examined for their association with the risk of AR. The results indicated that five SNPs, which were in a moderate linkage disequilibrium and were located in the 5'-flanking region of IL-33, exhibited significant associations with the risk of AR, and these associations were additionally supported by genotypic and haplotypic analyses. Notably, three of the five IL-33 SNPs have been previously reported to exhibit genome-wide associations with asthma, and their alleles were also revealed to confer an increased risk of AR in the present study. In summary, the results of the current study suggested that certain variations in the IL-33 gene represent a potential risk for AR, and indicated a shared genetic basis between AR and asthma.

Knockdown of HIF-1α impairs post-ischemic vascular reconstruction in the brain via deficient homing and sprouting bmEPCs.

Although the critical role of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in cerebral neovascularization after stroke has been well characterized, the details regarding the regulation of endothelial progenitor cell (EPC)-dependent neovascularization by HIF-1α are not completely understood. Using lentiviral shRNA to knockdown HIF-1α, we showed that HIF-1α plays a central role in bone marrow-derived EPC (bmEPC) homing and sprouting in the post-acute stage of ischemic Sprague Dawley (SD) rat brains. First, knockdown of HIF-1α decreased the homing of both endogenous and exogenous bmEPCs to the ischemic brain. Additionally, the knockdown impaired the incorporation and sprouting of bmEPCs in the ischemic brain. In vitro, knockdown of HIF-1α inhibited the spheroid sprouting and tube formation of bmEPCs. Mechanically, the HIF-1α-dependent recruitment of bmEPCs to the ischemic brain was relative to the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis and HMGB1, which were relative to astrocytes. In addition, the loss of HIF-1α resulted in deficient expression levels of VEGF-A, Flk-1, NRP1, and Dll4 in the ischemic brains, bmEPCs, and astrocytes. These findings suggested that HIF-1α implicates in bmEPC homing via CXCL12/CXCR4 and HMGB1 and that it promotes bmEPC sprouting via VEGF-A/flk1-NRP1/Dll4.

Relationship Between Maternal Fetal Attachment and State Anxiety of Pregnant Women in the Preterm Labor.

PURPOSE: The Purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between maternal fetal attachment and state anxiety for pregnant women in preterm labor. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 56 pregnant women in preterm labor on C hospital. The data were analyzed using SPSS computer program that includes descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe? test and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Age distribution was 30~39 years of age. Mean score of maternal fetal attachment was 91.50. The group whose planned pregnancy was highest showed higher maternal fetal attachment. The primigravida group showed high maternal fetal attachment. Most frequently practiced attachment item was: "I'm really looking forward to seeing what the baby looks like". The next was was: "I enjoy watching my tummy jiggle as the baby kicks inside". There was no difference in degree of anxiety by general and obstetrical characteristics. There was statistically significant of negative correlation between maternal fetal attachment and state anxiety for pregnant women with preterm labor. CONCLUSION: Findings provide useful information for further studies in reducing anxiety and intervention programs relating to pregnancy and preterm labor. To increase maternal fetal attachment of pregnant women with preterm labor, it is necessary to standardize prenatal education program.

Effectiveness of frequency mapping on 28 nm device broken scan chain failures.

Frequency mapping methodology is an effective diagnostic tool for detection of manufacturing defects in scan chains. It analyses reflected laser modulations from toggling scan cells to localize defective scan path or scan cell. In this paper, we demonstrate experimentally that the use of solid immersion lens technology to enhance signal and spatial resolution is not a prerequisite for this technique up till 28 nm technology node. We present case studies to show the effectiveness of frequency mapping for detecting systematic and random broken scan chain failures on a 28 nm technology node test chip. We achieved 81% success rate in this methodology.