好莱坞影星为何难逃不孕厄运

人人称羡的好莱坞女星们集美貌、金钱、名利于一身，但有些明星往往无法逃脱不孕的厄运。如珍妮、安妮丝顿、洛佩兹等女星，尽管撒下数十万美金接受妇科医师的治疗，也无缘享受当妈妈的乐趣。好莱坞名不孕症研究中心的费雪博士指出，减肥过度是好莱坞女性不孕的重要原因。长年来，为减肥而处于挨饿状态的好莱坞女星们，她们所吃的食物总是不够体力的消耗，怎么可能顺利怀孕呢？     

Cloning and sequencing of putative acetylcholinesterase cDNAs from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, and the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae)

Two putative cDNAs of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), one from Dermacentor variabilis, and the other from Rhipicephalus sanguineus, were amplified and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences have high amino acid identities (between 70 and 94%) to known tick AChE sequences deposited in GenBank. Furthermore, these two AChEs also possess common features in their primary AChE structure such as catalytic active sites. A 2,220-bp contiguous sequence, containing a 1,791-bp open reading frame encoding an AChE precursor with 596 amino acid residues, was obtained from D. variabilis. The deduced proteins of R. sanguineus are different in size by 6 amino acids because of alternative splicing at the 5' end. A gene tree deduced from phylogenetic analysis indicates that there are at least three lineages of AChE in arthropods.     

Studies on plasma endothelin changes in varicocele patients

Aim: To investigate the possible role endothelin may play in the pathogenesis of varicocele and varicocele-induced infer-tility. Methods: In varicocele patients, radioimmunoassay is used to determine the blood endothelin concentration inthe spermatic vein and the antecubital vein separately. Results: The blood endothelin concentration of the spermaticvein (66.8±23.5 pg/mL) was significantly higher (P <0.05) than that of the antecubital vein (55.3±25.3 pg/mL).The endothelin concentration in the spermatic vein in Grade Ⅱ varicocele patients was not significantly different from thatin Grade Ⅲ patients ( P = 0.87). Conclusion: The higher blood endothelin level in the spermatic vein may indicate theinvolvement of endothelin in the pathophysiology of varicocele and varicocele-induced infertility. (Asian J Androl 1999Sep ; 1: 159 - 160)     

阳光总在风雨后

时间过得真快，一转眼我们的“甜蜜”生活快两年了，两年前发生的事历历在目。那时孩子刚刚过完十岁生日，我们全家都沉浸在幸福的海洋里。我的家庭虽然不是非常富有，但也算得上是小康家庭：不愁吃，不愁穿，活的很自在。就是这样上帝给我们开了个大大的玩笑。一夜之间生活全变了。我们一家像从高高的天上摔到了万丈深渊。四周一片漆黑，     

一“箭”钟情

这道菜我用了三种不同颜色的萝卜刻制出心与箭,寓意着一＂箭＂倾心、一＂箭＂钟情;一对虾仁扣在心与箭上,象征着婚戒;淋入有火腿粒的高汤,象征着一双双爱侣沐浴爱河,走进神圣的婚姻殿堂,一生一世,不离不弃。这道菜外观形象生动、配搭合理、口感鲜甜、营养丰富,让普通的萝卜、华丽转身,让平凡的生活更加温馨而浪漫。     

多芒小丸子

最近天气热得实在让人受不了,每天都是汗流浃背。这样炎热的天气,在家开着空调,自制一杯滋润又养颜的多芒小丸子,似乎酷热下烦躁的心情瞬间变得清凉甜蜜起来。今天我就教大家做一款香港最受欢迎的消暑甜品——     

Prevalence of Peptic Ulcer in Dyspeptic Patients and the Influence of Age,Sex, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> Infection

We investigated the prevalence of peptic ulcer in dyspeptic patients in China to analyze the influence of age, sex, and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The results showed that the prevalence of gastric and duodenal ulcer increased with age. In patients under 60 years old, the prevalence of duodenal and gastric ulcers in females was markedly lower than that in males, especially the prevalence of duodenal ulcer. The prevalence of duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer in H. pylori-infected patients was markedly higher than in patients without H. pylori infection. In the patients under 60 years old, sex differences were still seen in both H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients. The prevalence of gastric and duodenal ulcers was markedly increased with age in both H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, male sex, and H. pylori infection were three independent risk factors for gastric and duodenal ulcers.     

Current status of thalassemia in minority populations in Guangxi, China

Thalassemia is one of the most common monogenic disorders in the world. In order to develop a community-based prevention program, we screened 12,900 individuals for alpha- and beta-thalassemia in Baise City, Guangxi, China, with hematological methods and molecular assays. We found that the frequency of carriers in this area for alpha-thalassemia is 15%. Beta-thalassemia carriers comprise 4.8% of the populations. Five mutations account for 98% of alpha-thalassemia [--SEA 46.7%; -alpha/4.2, 23.9%; -alpha/3.7, 21.7%; hemoglobin (Hb) Constant Spring, 6.5%; Hb Quong Sze, 1.1%]. Seven mutations in the beta-globin gene account for 99% of the mutations [codon (CD) 41/42 (-TCTT) (39.4%), CD 17(A-->T) (32%), CD 71/72 (+A) (7.4%), -28 (A-->G) (5.8%), IVS-2-654 (C-->T) (5.8%), CD26 (Hb E) (4%), IVS-1 (G-->A) (3.7%), and CD 43(G-->T) (1.9%)]. Most individuals with alpha-thalassemia major die in the uterus or shortly after birth. Among 106 patients with beta-thalassemia major followed by our clinic, the majority died before 5 years of age. Knowledge surveys about thalassemia were conducted. Our results show a severe lack of knowledge about thalassemia in both medical professionals and in the general populations. This study shows that thalassemia is a very severe public health issue in minority populations in Baise City, China. Identification of the common mutations will allow us to design cost-effective molecular tests. There is an urgent need to educate the general population and the medical community for a successful community-based prevention program.     

玫瑰苹果卷——献给情人节的礼物

糖之心语： 苹果片不能切太厚,也不能煮太软,否则不好卷。 苹果片捞出后一定要沥干水,最好用厨房用纸擦干水分。     

FOLFOX方案化疗对晚期结直肠癌患者免疫功能的影响

目的 研究FOLFOX方案化疗对晚期结直肠癌患者免疫功能的影响.方法 43例晚期结直肠癌患者中22例接受了FOLFOX方案化疗（化疗组）,21例未接受化疗（对照组）.分别于化疗前、化疗结束时和化疗结束3个月后,取患者外周静脉血,采用抗体标记流式细胞仪检测外周血CD4＋T细胞中CD4＋CD25＋Foxp3＋T细胞所占比例;并通过ELISA法检测外周血中Th1/Th2细胞因子（IL-2、IFN-γ、IL-4和IL-10）水平.结果 化疗结束时,相对于化疗前和对照组,化疗组CD4＋CD25＋Foxp3＋T细胞比例显著降低 [（4.15±0.56）%比（5.60±0.88）%和（5.38±0.92）%,均P＜0.01];外周血IL-4和IL-10水平亦显著降低,IFN-γ和IL-2水平则明显升高（均P＜0.01）.化疗结束后3个月,CD4＋CD25＋Foxp3＋T细胞比例略微升高 [（4.53±0.58）%],但仍低于化疗前和对照组（P＜0.01）;而IFN-γ、IL-2、IL-4和IL-10则恢复到化疗前和对照组同期水平（均P＜0.01）.结论 FOLFOX化疗可降低晚期结直肠癌患者的调节性T细胞的比例,引起Th1/Th2细胞因子平衡向Th1漂移,从而有利于患者肿瘤免疫抑制的解除.