INTER-OBSERVER VARIATIONS OF DIGITAL RADIOGRAPH PULMONARY NODULE MARKING BY USING COMPUTER TOOLKIT

LUNG cancerhas been the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality for both gendersin China.1According to theAmerican Cancer So-ciety, the estimated new cases and deaths in2006were174 470and162 460, respectively.2Although the overallfive-year…     

TAS1R3 and TAS2R38 Polymorphisms Affect Sweet Taste Perception: An Observational Study on Healthy and Obese Subjects

Background: The inter-individual differences in taste perception find a possible rationale in genetic variations. We verified whether the presence of four different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding for bitter (TAS2R38; 145G > C; 785T > C) and sweet (TAS1R3; −1572C > T; −1266C > T) taste receptors influenced the recognition of the basic tastes. Furthermore, we tested if the allelic distribution of such SNPs varied according to BMI and whether the associations between SNPs and taste recognition were influenced by the presence of overweight/obesity. Methods: DNA of 85 overweight/obese patients and 57 normal weight volunteers was used to investigate the SNPs. For the taste test, filter paper strips were applied. Each of the basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter) plus pure rapeseed oil, and water were tested. Results: Individuals carrying the AV/AV diplotype of the TAS2R38 gene (A49P G/G and V262 T/T) were less sensitive to sweet taste recognition. These alterations remained significant after adjustment for gender and BMI. Moreover, a significant decrease in overall taste recognition associated with BMI and age was found. There was no significant difference in allelic distribution for the investigated polymorphisms between normal and overweight/obese patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that overall taste recognition depends on age and BMI. In the total population, the inter-individual ability to identify the sweet taste at different concentrations was related to the presence of at least one genetic variant for the bitter receptor gene but not to the BMI.     

抗转铁蛋白受体单链抗体原核表达载体的构建和表达

目的 构建抗转铁蛋白受体(TfR)单链抗体原核表达载体，为进一步研究其效应奠定基础。方法 从抗TfR单克隆抗体重链和轻链可变区基因的克隆载体pGEM-T-VH和pGEM-T-VL中扩增重链可变区(VH)和轻链可变区(VL)基因，用重叠延伸PCR的方法，在VH和VL基因间引入连接短肽(Linker)，构建VH-Linker-VL的单链抗体(single chain Fv，scFv)基因。经NcoⅠ和NotⅠ酶切后亚克隆到原核分泌型表达载体pUCl9／119上，转化和筛选后，阳性细菌经IPTG诱导表达。间接免疫荧光法(IFA)及抗体封闭试验鉴定其抗体活性。结果 凝胶电泳可见重叠延伸PCR扩增产物约700bp条带，SDS-PAGE鉴定表达产物的分子量为27kD左右，与scFv的理论值一致，IFA及抗体封闭试验证明表达产物有抗人TfR的活性。结论 本研究成功地构建并表达了抗人TfR scFv，为抗人TfRscFv的应用奠定了基础。     

Shank3基因多态性与汉族儿童孤独症的病例对照研究

目的 探讨Shank3基因的单核苷酸多态性(SNPs)与汉族儿童孤独症的相关性.方法 采用Illumina CNV 370-Duo芯片和Illumina 610芯片对455例孤独症患者(孤独症组)和1 097例无孤独症及相关精神疾病儿童(对照组)的Shank3基因SNPs位点进行基因分型检测,对基因分型数据采用haploview4.1软件进行关联分析.结果 Shank3基因的rs736334、rs8137951位点的等位基因频率和rs9616816-rs736334的G-G、A-A及rs715586-rs8137951的G-A单体型频率在两组间的传递比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05),但经1 000次模拟置换检验后的结果比较,差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论 Shank3基因与汉族儿童孤独症的致病不存在相关性,Shank3基因可能不是汉族儿童孤独症的易感基因.     

Thyroid disorders in hemodialysis patients in an iodine-deficient community

There are various changes in the thyroid gland and its function in chronic renal failure (CRF). These changes include lower levels of circulating thyroid hormone, altered peripheral hormone metabolism, decreased binding to carrier proteins, possible reduction in tissue hormone content, and increased iodine storage in the thyroid gland. The decrease of excretion of urinary iodine in CRF increases serum inorganic iodine level and iodine content of the thyroid, which consequently enlarges the gland. This study is designed to investigate the prevalence of goiter and thyroid dysfunction in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis (HD) in an iodine-deficient community. Eighty-seven (40 females and 47 males) HD patients and 169 (79 females and 90 males) healthy individuals as controls are included. Sex ratios for the patient and control groups are 0.85 and 0.88, respectively. Mean ages for the patient and control groups are 42.94 +/- 11.88 and 40.20 +/- 10.72 years, respectively. Examination of the thyroid gland using ultrasonography along with simultaneous measurement of blood levels of free-T4 (FT4), free-T3 (FT3), and thyrotropin (TSH) are made for every individual. The presence of goiter demonstrable by ultrasonography is found in 32.2% of the uremic patients and in 23.5% of the controls and its prevalence increases with age (P = 0.01). In 32 (36.8%) of the patients and 29 (17.1%) of the controls at least one thyroid nodule is found in ultrasonography. Between patients with or without a nodular goiter the authors could not observe any difference for duration of dialysis and serum levels of TSH, FT4, FT3, calcium, and albumin. In ESRD patients the prevalence of nodular goiter is higher for females (47.5% vs. 27.7%, P = 0.045) and increases with age (P = 0.04). Though incidence of hyperthyroidism is found to be similar for the two groups (1.14% in ESRD patients vs. 1.10% in controls), hypothyroidism is observed in 3.4% of ESRD patients but only 0.6% of controls. This high incidence of hypothyroidism and nodular goiter in ESRD patients shows that screening for thyroid dysfunction and goiter, using appropriate laboratory tests and ultrasonography, should be considered in evaluation of every ESRD patient.     

Lack of Alterations in Thyroid Hormones Following Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether 47 during a Period of Rapid Brain Development in Mice

Thyroid alterations have been shown to occur following exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) mixtures, possibly indicating that disruptions in thyroid hormone levels may underlie behavior deficits observed in animals following postnatal PBDE exposure. This study determined whether acute postnatal exposure to PBDE-47 would alter thyroid hormones. Mice were dosed with PBDE-47 on postnatal day 10, and serum collected either 1, 5, or 10 days after the dose. No effect was observed on thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels at any age examined. This suggests that the neurological abnormalities reported in mice exposed to PBDE-47 are not due to acute changes in circulating thyroid hormones at these observed periods.     

Joint analysis of individual participants’ data from 17 studies on the association of the IL6 variant -174G>C with circulating glucose levels,interleukin-6 levels,and body mass index

Background. Several studies have investigated associations between the -174G>C single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1800795) of the IL6 gene and phenotypes related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) but presented inconsistent results.

Aims. This joint analysis aimed to clarify whether IL6 -174G>C was associated with glucose and circulating interleukin-6 concentrations as well as body mass index (BMI).

Methods. Individual-level data from all studies of the IL6-T2DM consortium on Caucasian subjects with available BMI were collected. As study-specific estimates did not show heterogeneity (P>0.1), they were combined by using the inverse-variance fixed-effect model.

Results. The main analysis included 9440, 7398, 24,117, or 5659 non-diabetic and manifest T2DM subjects for fasting glucose, 2-hour glucose, BMI, or circulating interleukin-6 levels, respectively. IL6 -174 C-allele carriers had significantly lower fasting glucose (?0.091 mmol/L, P=0.014). There was no evidence for association between IL6 -174G>C and BMI or interleukin-6 levels, except in some subgroups.

Conclusions. Our data suggest that C-allele carriers of the IL6 -174G>C polymorphism have lower fasting glucose levels on average, which substantiates previous findings of decreased T2DM risk of these subjects.