Comparative Study of Leaf and Stem Bark Extracts of Parkia Biglobosa Against Enterobacteria

Hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts of leaf and stem bark of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) Benth. (Mimosaceae) were tested against clinical isolates Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae and Enterococcus faecalis, and corresponding collection strains E. coli CIP 105 182, Salmonella enterica CIP 105 150, Shigella dysenteriae CIP 54-51 and Enterococcus faecalis CIP 103 907. Discs of Gentamicin, a broad spectrum antibiotic were used as positive controls. The results showed that all the extracts possess antimicrobial activities. A comparative study of the antibacterial activity of the leaves and that of the bark showed that for all the tested microorganisms, the hydroalcoholic extract of the bark is more active than the aqueous extract of the leaf. The hydroethanolic extract of the leaves is as effective as the aqueous extract of the stem bark prescribed by the traditional healer, suggesting it is possible to use leaves other than the roots and bark. The phytochemical screening showed that sterols and triterpenes, saponosides, tannins, reducing compounds, coumarins, anthocyanosides, flavonosides are present in both bark and leaf but in different concentrations.     

MRI诊断肾肿瘤和术前分期的价值

目的:回顾性分析MRI对肾肿瘤的诊断价值并与病理和随访结果进行对比。方法:对46例疑有肾肿瘤的患者(男33例,女13例,平均年龄64.7岁)行MRI(1.5T)检查,扫描序列包括脂肪抑制TSET2WI、GRET1WI、脂肪抑制3DGRET1WI和增强扫描3DGREMR尿路成像。结果:本组46例中共发现142个肾脏病变,直径从<2cm到14cm×18cm。29例病变位于双侧,17例位于单侧。4例肿瘤为多中心性,其中3例为单肾分布、1例为双肾分布。根据MRI诊断标准,将病变分为囊性和实质性。22例患者可见囊性病变,其中19例为单纯囊性,3例为混合性。43个实体性肿瘤中35个(35/43)经组…     

Mutations and impaired function of LKB1 in familial and non-familial Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and a sporadic testicular cancer

Germline mutations in LKB1 have been reported to underlie familial Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) with intestinal hamartomatous polyps and an elevated risk of various neoplasms. To investigate the prevalence of LKB1 germline mutations in PJS more generally, we studied samples from 33 unrelated PJS patients including eight non-familial sporadic patients, 20 familial patients and five patients with unknown family history. Nineteen germline mutations were identified, 12 (60%) in familial and four (50%) in sporadic cases. LKB1 mutations were not detected in 14 (42%) patients, indicating that the existence of additional minor PJS loci cannot be excluded. LKB1 is predicted to encode a serine/threonine kinase. To demonstrate the putative Lkb1 kinase function and to study the consequences of LKB1 mutations in PJS and sporadic tumors, we have analyzed the kinase activity of wild-type and mutant Lkb1 proteins. Interestingly, while most of the small deletions or missense mutations resulted in loss-of-function alleles, one missense mutation (G163D) previously identified in a sporadic testicular tumor demonstrated severely impaired but detectable kinase activity.      

Possible Evidence for a Variant of Myasthenia Gravis Based on HLA and Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody in Chinese Patients

SUMMARY A comprehensive study of 194 Chinese patients with myastheniagravis in Hong Kong has shown district differences from thepatterns of disease seen in Caucasians. Restricted ocular myastheniais the predominant disease type in patients presenting in thefirst two decades of life and is associated with absence orlow titres of acetylcholine receptor antibody. Predispositionto this type of disease is strongly associated with HLA-DRw9.Generalized myasthenia gravis occurs predominantly in patientspresenting after the age of 20 years and is accompanied by hightitres of acetylcholine receptor antibody but is less stronglyassociated with HLA-DRw9. It is suggested that myasthenia gravisoccurring within the first two decades of life and characterizedby affected ocular muscles and absence or low titre of acetycholinereceptor antibody is a genetically determined variant of thedisease which occurs commonly in Orientals.     

一叶萩生物碱类成分研究

目的对一叶萩的生物碱类成分进行研究。方法采用各种色谱技术对一叶萩的总生物碱部位进行分离,应用理化常数和波谱技术(NMR、MS等)鉴定化合物的结构。结果自一叶萩枝叶的总碱部位中分离得到2个新的生物碱类化合物,分别命名为叶下珠碱B(phyllanthidine B,4α-methoxy-phyllanthidine,Ⅰ)和一叶萩醇D(securi-nolD,14β-hydroxyviroallosecurinine,Ⅱ)。结论化合物和均为新化合物。     

Complex epigenetic regulation of Engrailed-2 (EN-2) homeobox gene in the autism cerebellum

The elucidation of epigenetic alterations in the autism brain has potential to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal gene expression in this disorder. Given strong evidence that engrailed-2 (EN-2) is a developmentally expressed gene relevant to cerebellar abnormalities and autism, the epigenetic evaluation of this candidate gene was undertaken in 26 case and control post-mortem cerebellar samples. Assessments included global DNA methylation, EN-2 promoter methylation, EN-2 gene expression and EN-2 protein levels. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to evaluate trimethylation status of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) associated with gene downregulation and histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) associated with gene activation. The results revealed an unusual pattern of global and EN-2 promoter region DNA hypermethylation accompanied by significant increases in EN-2 gene expression and protein levels. Consistent with EN-2 overexpression, histone H3K27 trimethylation mark in the EN-2 promoter was significantly decreased in the autism samples relative to matched controls. Supporting a link between reduced histone H3K27 trimethylation and increased EN-2 gene expression, the mean level of histone H3K4 trimethylation was elevated in the autism cerebellar samples. Together, these results suggest that the normal EN-2 downregulation that signals Purkinje cell maturation during late prenatal and early-postnatal development may not have occurred in some individuals with autism and that the postnatal persistence of EN-2 overexpression may contribute to autism cerebellar abnormalities.     

Association of alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 genetic polymorphisms with serum lipid profile： meta-analysis of mendelian randomisation studies

Background Alcohol dehydrogenase （ADH） and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 （ALDH2） are the key en- zymes for alcohol metabolism. Several genetic studies have investigated the association between ADH and ALDH2 genetic polymorphisms and serum lipid profile （SLP）, however, the results were inconsistent. Methods Fourteen articles involving 27,917 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Weighted mean difference （WMD） and 95% confidence intervals （CIs） were presented using random effects model. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plot and Begg＇s test. In addition, to further explore the heterogeneity, subgroup analysis were performed. Results Overall, there was no association between ADH genetic polymorphisms and SLP with no regard for drinking status. However, compared with ALDH2 wild homozygous genotype, ALDH2 mutant genotypes were associated with significant decrease in serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL- C） （WMD -1.80 mg/dL, 95% CI -1.88 to -1.72, P 〈 0.001） and total cholesterol （TC） levels （WMD -1.]0 mg/dL, 95% CI -1.59 to -0.62, P 〈 0.001）, and significant increase in serum low density lipoprotein choles- terol （LDL-C） level （WMD 0.30 mg/dL, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.43, P 〈 0.001）. Although there was no significant difference in serum triglyceride level in the overall population, subgroup analysis revealed that compared with ALDH2 ＊ 1 wild homozygote, ALDH2 ＊ 2 allele displayed a significant difference in serum triglyceride level between the female and male （female： WMD 1.69 mg/dl, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.30, P 〈 0.001; male： WMD -6.42 mg/dL, 95% CI -12.15 to -0.68, P = 0.028）. Conclusion ADH genetic polymorphism has no association with SLP, regardless of sex category and drinking status. ALDH2 genetic polymorphism has slight association with HDL-C, LDL-C and TC levels and sex-specific association with serum triglyceride level. Whether or not the association between ADH2 genetic polymorphisms and SLP is resulted from alcohol con-sumption nee