Role of intestinal microbiota and metabolites in inflammatory bowel disease / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

OBJECTIVE@#The metabolites produced by the gut microbiota are of interest to scientists. The objective of this review was to provide an updated summary of progress regarding the microbiota and their metabolites and influences on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).@*DATA SOURCES@#The author retrieved information from the PubMed database up to January 2018, using various combinations of search terms, including IBD, microbiota, and metabolite.@*STUDY SELECTION@#Both clinical studies and animal studies of intestinal microbiota and metabolites in IBD were selected. The information explaining the possible pathogenesis of microbiota in IBD was organized.@*RESULTS@#In IBD patients, the biodiversity of feces/mucosa-associated microbiota is decreased, and the probiotic microbiota is also decreased, whereas the pathogenic microbiota are increased. The gut microbiota may be a target for diagnosis and treatment of IBD. Substantial amounts of data support the view that the microbiota and their metabolites play pivotal roles in IBD by affecting intestinal permeability and the immune response.@*CONCLUSIONS@#This review highlights the advances in recent gut microbiota research and clarifies the importance of the gut microbiota in IBD pathogenesis. Future research is needed to study the function of altered bacterial community compositions and the roles of metabolites.

The pioneer of mental health: Philippe Pinel / 中华疾病控制杂志

Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) was a well-known French doctor and an outstanding mental health leader. Inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, he adopted “moral therapy” for the increasing mental patients in France. He took the lead in scientifically and effectively alleviating the current state of mental illness with the concept of humanitarian care, liberated mental patients, and opened the door for the mental health. Through field observation and meticulous statistical analysis, he classified mental illness into a more comprehensive scientific classification, guiding the direction for identifying, treating, and preventing mental illness, thus laying the theoretical and practical foundation. Many of his achievements about mental health have been used to this day, and he was known as the father of modern psychiatry.

Establishment of voluntary notification system for tuberculosis epidemic situation : Arthur Newsholme / 中华疾病控制杂志

Arthur Newsholme (1857-1943) was a British physician and medical health officer. He applied statistical methods to analyze the causes of disease, established voluntary reporting system of tuberculosis, revealed truth about relationship between high infant mortality and environmental health in the UK, and launched maternity and child welfare schemes, tuberculosis medical services and special service for venereal diseases. Although he grew up in religious environment, he has always used scientific methods to benefit human health，promoted and spread public health.

Role of intestinal microbiota and metabolites in inflammatory bowel disease / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Objective@#The metabolites produced by the gut microbiota are of interest to scientists. The objective of this review was to provide an updated summary of progress regarding the microbiota and their metabolites and influences on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).@*Data sources@#The author retrieved information from the PubMed database up to January 2018, using various combinations of search terms, including IBD, microbiota, and metabolite.@*Study selection@#Both clinical studies and animal studies of intestinal microbiota and metabolites in IBD were selected. The information explaining the possible pathogenesis of microbiota in IBD was organized.@*Results@#In IBD patients, the biodiversity of feces/mucosa-associated microbiota is decreased, and the probiotic microbiota is also decreased, whereas the pathogenic microbiota are increased. The gut microbiota may be a target for diagnosis and treatment of IBD. Substantial amounts of data support the view that the microbiota and their metabolites play pivotal roles in IBD by affecting intestinal permeability and the immune response.@*Conclusions@#This review highlights the advances in recent gut microbiota research and clarifies the importance of the gut microbiota in IBD pathogenesis. Future research is needed to study the function of altered bacterial community compositions and the roles of metabolites.

Study of Simplified Coma Scales: Acute Stroke Patients with Tracheal Intubation / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Background</b>Whether the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) can assess intubated patients is still a topic of controversy. We compared the test performance of the GCS motor component (GCS-M)/Simplified Motor Score (SMS) to the total of the GCS in predicting the outcomes of intubated acute severe cerebral vascular disease patients.</p><p><b>Methods</b>A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected observational data was performed. Between January 2012 and October 2015, 106 consecutive acute severe cerebral vascular disease patients with intubation were included in the study. GCS, GCS-M, GCS eye-opening component, and SMS were documented on admission and at 24, 48, and 72 h after admission to Neurointensive Care Unit (NCU). Outcomes were death and unfavorable prognosis (modified Rankin Scale: 5-6) at NCU discharge. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was obtained to determine the prognostic performance and best cutoff value for each scoring system. Comparison of the area under the ROC curves (AUCs) was performed using the Z- test.</p><p><b>Results</b>Of 106 patients included in the study, 41 (38.7%) patients died, and 69 (65.1%) patients had poor prognosis when discharged from NCU. The four time points within 72 h of admission to the NCU were equivalent for each scale's predictive power, except that 0 h was the best for each scale in predicting outcomes of patients with right-hemisphere lesions. Nonsignificant difference was found between GCS-M AUCs and GCS AUCs in predicting death at 0 h (0.721 vs. 0.717, Z = 0.135, P = 0.893) and 72 h (0.730 vs. 0.765, Z = 1.887, P = 0.060), in predicting poor prognosis at 0 h (0.827 vs. 0.819, Z = 0.395, P = 0.693), 24 h (0.771 vs. 0.760, Z = 0.944, P = 0.345), 48 h (0.732 vs. 0.741, Z = 0.593, P = 0.590), and 72 h (0.775 vs. 0.780, Z = 0.302, P = 0.763). AUCs in predicting death for patients with left-hemisphere lesions ranged from 0.700 to 0.804 for GCS-M and from 0.700 to 0.824 for GCS, in predicting poor prognosis ranged from 0.841 to 0.969 for GCS-M and from 0.875 to 0.969 for GCS, with no significant difference between GCS-M AUCs and GCS AUCs within 72 h (P > 0.05). No significant difference between GCS-M AUCs and GCS AUCs was found in predicting death (0.964 vs. 0.964, P = 1.000) and poor prognosis (1.000 vs. 1.000, P = 1.000) for patients with right-hemisphere lesions at 0 h. AUCs in predicting death for patients with brainstem or cerebella were poor for GCS-M (<0.700), in predicting poor prognosis ranged from 0.727 to 0.801 for GCS-M and from 0.704 to 0.820 for GCS, with no significant difference between GCS-M AUCs and GCS AUCs within 72 h (P > 0.05). The SMS AUCs (<0.700) in predicting outcomes were poor.</p><p><b>Conclusions</b>The GCS-M approaches the same test performance as the GCS in assessing the prognosis of intubated acute severe cerebral vascular disease patients. The GCS-M could be accurately and reliably applied in patients with hemisphere lesions, but caution must be taken for patients with brainstem or cerebella lesions.</p>

Expression of aquaporin 8 and its relationship with melanosis coli / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The relationship between melanosis coli (MC) and aquaporin 8 (AQP8) has not yet been elucidated. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between the expression of AQP8 and the pathological mechanism of MC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Expression of AQP8 was detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 37 MC colon tissues and 13 control colon tissues. Global gene expression analysis was also used to identify differently expressed genes. Its relationship with MC was analyzed by SPSS 11.5 statistical software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rate of AQP8 expression detected by immunohistochemistry in the MC group was 24.3% (9/37), significantly lower than the 69.2% (9/13) in the control group (P < 0.05). The relative expression level of AQP8 in MC group was 0.639 ± 0.160, lower than 0.921 ± 0.148 of controls (P < 0.05). Global gene expression analysis showed that AQP8 mRNA expression was downregulated in MC patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The decreased AQP8 expression in MC patients indicates that chronic use of laxatives containing anthraquinone may cause reduced water absorption. The expression of AQP8 may be related to MC.</p>

Paclitaxel carried by long circulating microemulsions used for metabonomic chemotherapy of cancer / 药学学报

Long circulating paclitaxel microemulsions (TXL-M) were prepared and its anticancer effect was evaluated in metronomic chemotherapy of cancer using animal tumor models. In TXL-M, paclitaxel was dissolved in vitamin E and polyethylene glycol-distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (PEG-DSPE) was used as surfactant. The shape and particle size distribution of TXL-M were evaluated using an electronic microscope and a laser size scanner. The toxicity comparisons of TXL-M and paclitaxel were conducted using mice. Its anticancer effect and long circulation were evaluated using animal tumor model in C57BL/6 mice. The average diameter of TXL-M was (98.6 +/- 11.2) nm and its zeta potential was (-32.4 +/- 6.8) mV. Compared with paclitaxel, TXL-M showed lower toxicity. When used in metronomic chemotherapy of cancer, TXL-M showed longer circulation time in the blood and greater anticancer effect than paclitaxel. Thus, TXL-M is a better candidate for metronomic chemotherapy of cancer than paclitaxel injection.

Expression of aquaporin 8 in colonic epithelium with diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>We analysed and compared the aquaporin 8 (AQP8) expression in ascending and descending colon mucosa between patients with diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) and healthy volunteers, in order to study the relationship between the clinical feature of IBS, the expression of AQP8 and the pathological mechanism of D-IBS.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Specimens were taken from the proximal ascending colon or distal descending colon of D-IBS patients (n = 26) and healthy volunteers (n = 30), and AQP8 mRNA expression of each specimen was determined by fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (FQ-RT-PCR). In patients with D-IBS, the relationship was analysed between AQP8 expression in both ascending and descending colons and clinical features including gender, age of onset, duration of illness, frequency of defecation, and stool characteristics.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Although AQP8 was present in the epithelium of the ascending and descending colons in healthy persons and D-IBS patients, the AQP8 level of the D-IBS patients was significantly lower than that of the healthy persons (P < 0.01 in the ascending colon, P < 0.05 in the descending colon). AQP8 expression was not correlated with the age of patients with D-IBS (P > 0.05 both in the ascending and descending colons) or the age at the onset (P > 0.05 both in the ascending and descending colons), but closely with the duration of illness (P < 0.05 in the ascending colon, P < 0.01 in the descending colon), frequency of defecation (P < 0.01 in the ascending colon, P < 0.05 in the descending colon) and stool characteristics (P < 0.01 in the ascending colon, P > 0.05 in the descending colon).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The decreased AQP8 expression in D-IBS patients indicates that dysfunction of colonic absorption may cause reduced water absorption, loose stool and diarrhoea. The expression of AQP8 may be related to D-IBS.</p>

Aluminium tolerance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.): physiological mechanisms, genetics and screening methods / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is one of the major limiting factors for barley production on acid soils. It inhibits root cell division and elongation, thus reducing water and nutrient uptake, consequently resulting in poor plant growth and yield. Plants tolerate Al either through external resistance mechanisms, by which Al is excluded from plant tissues or internal tolerance mechanisms, conferring the ability of plants to tolerate Al ion in the plant symplasm where Al that has permeated the plasmalemma is sequestered or converted into an innocuous form. Barley is considered to be most sensitive to Al toxicity among cereal species. Al tolerance in barley has been assessed by several methods, such as nutrient solution culture, soil bioassay and field screening. Genetic and molecular mapping research has shown that Al tolerance in barley is controlled by a single locus which is located on chromosome 4H. Molecular markers linked with Al tolerance loci have been identified and validated in a range of diverse populations. This paper reviews the (1) screening methods for evaluating Al tolerance, (2) genetics and (3) mechanisms underlying Al tolerance in barley.

A study on HLA-DQB1 allele associated with genetic susceptibility to duodenal ulcer in Guangdong Hans / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the genetic susceptibility of HLA-DQB1 alleles to duodenal ulcer in Chinese Hans from Guangdong area around.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Hundred and five patients with duodenal ulcer and hundred and five healthy controls were examined for HLA-DQB1 genotypes. HLA-DQB1 allele typing was carried out by polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The allele frequency of HLA-DQB1*0602 in patients with duodenal ulcer (64.8%) was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (14.3%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These findings suggest that HLA-DQB1*0602 is a susceptible gene to duodenal ulcer in Guangdong Hans of China. And at HLA-DQB1 site, there are immunogenetic differences between duodenal ulcer patients and healthy controls.</p>

Clinical, enteroscopic, and pathological characteristics of 796 cases of colorectal polyps / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To study the age, clinical, enteroscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal polyps and factors affected polyp-carcinoma.@*METHODS@#We analyzed the clinical, enteroscopic and pathological characteristics of 7276 cases of colorectal polyps.@*RESULTS@#The incidence of colorectal polyps was 10.94%, including 521 men and 275 women. The rate of colorectal polyp was 82.29% in 30-69 year olds. The adenomatous, inflammatory, hyperplastic and juvenile polyps were 43.84%, 42.09%, 11.06% and 1.51%, respectively. Polypoid lesions were located at cecum 3.29%, ascending 11.88%, transverse 4.89%, descending 11.58%, sigmoid 26.05%, and rectum 42.32%. Thirty-five cases (4.4%) were found to have polpous canceration. The canceration rates in villous, mixed and tubular adenomas were 29.73%, 11.11%, and 4.86%. The rate of canceration seemed to depend on its dimensions, being 1.3%, 7.4%, and 25.6% for the 0.6 - 1.0 cm, 1.1 - 1.9 cm, and > or = 2.0 cm in size, respectively. Conclusion The ages between 30-69 tend to suffer from colorectal polyps. The incidence in the male is higher than that in the female. Colorectal polyps are more likely to locate in left colon. The common pathological types were adenomatous and inflammatory polyps. There is a high canceration of polyps in the left colon, villous adenomas and > or = 2.0 cm polyps. The broader the pedicles and the larger the diameters of polyps are, the higher the canceration rate. All of the colon polyps should be excised and undergo the pathological examination. Enteroscopic polypectomy helps prevent colorectal polpous canceration.

Red/ET recombination and its biomedical applications / 生物工程学报

Red/ET recombination, a powerful homologous recombination system based on the Red operon of lambda phage or RecE/ RecT from Rac phage, provides an innovative approach for DNA engineering. Deletion, insertion and mutation can be quickly and precisely performed on the target gene mediated by Red/ET recombination with PCR derived DNA fragments or oligonucleotides. This technical platform has extensive applications in biomedical field including bacterial artificial chromosome modification, gene knock-out construction and genetic modification of E. coli strains as well as some other kinds of microorganisms. Recently, Red/ET recombination was improved in several aspects so that it becomes more powerful and maneuverable. The characteristic and development of Red/ET recombination and its biomedical applications were described in this review.

Advances in Gene-engineering Production of Defensins / 微生物学通报

This paper reviews the recent advances in recombinant expression and purification of defensins, including the choice of host cells, vectors and expression strategies in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell ex- pression systems, as well as the status of purification processes. By summarizing the problems existed in the production and clinical applications of defensins, the authors here also pointed out the research directions for defensins, and conceived the prospects for its exploitation in the future.