Increased expression of miR-24 is associated with acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21)

This study was designed to learn the expression status of miR-24 and its clinical relevance in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We detected the miR-24 expression levels using real-time quantitative PCR in 84 AML patients and investigated the clinical significance of miR-24 expression in AML. There was no difference in clinical parameters between cases with miR-24 high expression and with miR-24 low expression. The frequency of miR-24 high expression was higher in patients with t(8;21) than in others (82% (9/11) versus 44% (32/72), P=0.026). The levels of miR-24 expression had no correlation with the mutations of nine genes (FLT3-ITD, NPM1, C-KIT, IDH1/IDH2, DNMT3A, N/K-RAS and C/EBPA). Meanwhile, among the group who obtained CR, the cases with miR-24 high expression had no difference in overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) than those with miR-24 low expression (P=0.612 and 0.665, respectively). These findings implicated that miR-24 high regulation is a common event in AML with t(8;21), and it might serve as a novel and selective therapeutic target for the treatment of AML with t(8;21).     

Commentary—Marasmus in a Newly Rich Urbanized Society

To assess the feasibility of fortifying flour with folic acid as a strategy to prevent neural tube defects in Malaysia, a country where the staple food is rice, we used 24-hour recall to study all cereal flour intake in women of reproductive age. Eighty-eight percent took at least a half portion of cereal flour and 85% took at least one whole portion. Vitamin supplements were taken by 36% but few knew whether the supplement contained folic acid. Cereal flour consumption is frequent and folic acid fortification of flour is feasible. Subgroups of the population not consuming flour need to be identified.     

Polar metabolite of cholesterol induces rat cognitive dysfunctions

24-hydroxycholesterol, a major polar metabolite of brain cholesterol, has neurotoxic effects. However, little is known about the effects of this polar metabolite on the CNS. In the present study, the effects of 24-hydroxycholesterol on behavior changes were investigated. Rats were divided into three groups: (i) a control group; (ii) a sham group: 0.5 ml PBS was infused into the cerebral ventricle; (iii) a model group: 0.5 ml 24-hydroxycholesterol (10 μM) was infused into the cerebral ventricle. 24-hydroxycholesterol can obviously impair rats' acquisition and probe trial in the Morris Water Maze task. Compared with rats in the sham group, rats in the model group had longer escape latency time and traveled more distance, and performed worse in the probe trial task manifested by spending less time in the annulus and training quadrant, which probably was attributed to the neuronal degeneration in hippocampal CA1 area induced by 24-hydroxycholesterol as examined by histological assay and apoptotic assay. Our results revealed that the polar metabolites, such as 24-hydroxycholesterol, exert neurotoxic effects and exacerbate the neuron injury with their abnormal accumulation. These findings suggest that measures taken promptly to eliminate or inhibit the accumulation of polar metabolites should be a potential strategy to prevent neurological dysfunctions and promote the recovery of functional deficits after neurotoxic insult.     

Development and evaluation of an antigen-capture ELISA for detection of the UL24 antigen of the duck enteritis virus, based on a polyclonal antibody against the UL24 expression protein

An antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AC-ELISA) method was developed for the efficient detection of the UL24 antigen of the duck enteritis virus (DEV) using polyclonal antibodies. Ducks and rabbits were immunized, respectively, with expressed UL24 recombinant protein. The IgG antibodies against UL24 from ducks and rabbits were purified and used as the capture antibodies. The specificity of the optimized AC-ELISA was evaluated by use of DEV, duck hepatitis virus (DHV), duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV), gosling plague virus (GPV), Riemerella anatipestifer (R.A.), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pasteurella multocida (P.M.) and Salmonella Enteritidis (S.E.). Only DEV specimens yielded a specific and strong signal. The limit of the sensitivity of this method for the detection of DEV was 46 ng/100 μl. Compared with PCR and virus isolation, the rate of agreement for the detection of experimentally infected sera was 100%. A comparative test used on clinical specimens between the neutralization test and the AC-ELISA showed that the proportions of true positives and true negatives by the AC-ELISA were 0.90 and 0.67 respectively. These results indicated that the AC-ELISA approach is rapid, sensitive, and reliable for specific detection of DEV antigen.     

医学生交流恐惧状况调查及分析

目的调查成都医学院不同专业,入学年份和本专科学生的人际沟通恐惧情况。方法采用交流恐惧自陈量表（PRCA-24）对332名在校学生进行测试并对结果进行分析。结果同年级不同专业（t=-0.076,-1.598;P〉0.05）,同专业不同入学年份的学生之间交流恐惧总分没有明显差异（F=0.622,P〉0.05）,但专科生与本科生之间的交流恐惧总分有较为显著的差异（t=3.355,P〈0.01;t=2.159,2.107,2.596;P均〈0.05）。结论医学生的交流恐惧与本专科层次有关。     

Colonoscopy without Sedation

The results of ambulatory 24-h esophageal pH monitoring in 67 patients with gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (endoscopic esophagitis, n = 44; normal endoscopy, n = 23) were compared with those of 27 normal subjects without reflux symptoms. Patients with reflux symptoms had significantly increased gastroesophageal reflux compared with normal subjects. Acid reflux time was significantly (p < 0.001) correlated with the severity of endoscopic esophagitis. Linear discriminant analysis was used to differentiate, for each reflux variable, between patients and controls. When the percentage of overall time at pH below 4 was used as a single determinant of gastroesophageal reflux, the sensitivity and specificity were 81% and 85%, respectively, with 4% as upper limit of normal. Pathologic reflux was found in 61% of the patients with negative endoscopy. Long-term ambulatory pH-metry is of clinical value in detecting pathologic reflux in symptomatic patients with negative endoscopy.