Association between habitual snoring,middle ear disease,and speech problems in young children with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between habitual snoring (HS), middle ear disease (MED), and speech problems in children with cleft palate. This cross-sectional study included children aged 2.0–7.9 years with non-syndromic cleft palate anomalies. Parents completed the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire and a questionnaire about MED. Audiograms and speech assessment were also conducted. Ninety-five children were enrolled; 15.2% of families reported HS, 97.6% MED, and 17.1% speech problems. HS (37.5% vs 10.3%, P = 0.007) and early episodes of MED (92.3% vs 58.2%, P = 0.021) were more likely to be reported for children with isolated cleft palate when compared to those with cleft lip and palate. Children with cleft lip and palate had a higher frequency of MED with effusion compared to those with Robin sequence (86.4% vs 57.1%, P = 0.049). The odds ratio for HS in children with ≥1 episode of MED in the last year was 7.37 (95% confidence interval 1.55–35.15, P = 0.012). There was a trend for children with speech problems reported by parents to have HS (30.8% vs 11.5%, P= 0.076). Anatomical factors play a role in the frequency of upper airway symptoms in children with cleft palate. A recent history of at least one episode of MED was associated with an increased frequency of HS.     

THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE OF 5S RIBOSOMAL RNA FROM THE HUMAN WORM PARASITE FASCIOLOPSIS BUSKI

With the method of rapid gel sequencing, the complete nueleotide sequence of Fasciolopsis buski 5S rRNA has been determined: AAC GGG AUG AAG CUA GAC AUG UGG CGG CCU AGU UGG AGG UCG GAA CUC GGA AGU UAA GGA AUG UUG GGC CUG GUU AGU ACU GGU AUG GGU GAC CUU GGG AAU ACC GGG UGU UGC GUC CA_(OH) This have been compared with 553 species of other organisms 5S rRNA sequences previously published and fitted to a secondary structural model.     

5株SARS-CoV部分基因序列比较分析

目的　分析SARS CoV部分结构区的基因序列 ,了解其变异程度。方法　采用套式PCR法扩增各结构区基因 ,对阳性PCR产物进行克隆和测序 ,并对序列进行分析。结果　完成了LC1株病毒的M、N、E和S基因的扩增和克隆 ,对LC2、LC3、LC4和LC5株病毒的M区基因进行了扩增和克隆。序列分析显示各结构基因的核苷酸序列与已报道的 18株序列的同源性在 99%以上。结论SARS CoV的基因序列较保守 ,有利于PCR诊断试剂和预防用疫苗的研制。     

广东省SARS流行株M基因序列分析

目的：测定广东省不同流行时期13份SARS病毒(SARS CoV)标本的M基因序列，通过分析该基因序列的变异情况，初步了解广东省SARS病毒在流行过程中是否发生了变异。方法：提取病毒RNA，用M基因特异引物进行RT-PCR，将产物纯化后直接测定核苷酸序列。结果：13份标本M基因核苷酸序列同源性很高，为99．7％～100％，M基因核苷酸序列只在2个位点(80和203位)发生变异，1株80位点的变化引起编码的氨基酸从苯丙氨酸(F)变为半胱氨酸(C)，3株203位变化为无义突变。结论：M基因核苷酸序列变异不大，初期和后期M基因核苷酸序列与流行高峰期的毒株相差1个碱基，但氨基酸序列相同；从香港感染病人分离的1株病毒M基因与广东本地感染分离株存在1个氨基酸的差异。     

New reference allelic ladders to improve allelic designation in a multiplex STR system

This paper reports the composition of a new reference allelic ladder mixture for use with a multiplex DNA profiling system consisting of six short tandem repeat loci. The loci included in this mixture are HUMTH01, D21S11, D18S51, D8S1179, HUMVWAF31/A, HUMFIBRA/FGA and an amelogenin sex test. Sequence analysis of individual ladder alleles was carried out and allelic designations made in accordance with the recommendations of the International Society of Forensic Haemogenetics (1992; 1994). A series of rare alleles which increase the range of alleles previously reported were identified. By including some of the rare alleles into the ladder marker system, we have significantly improved the ability to identify new alleles in unknown samples. Received: 12 August 1997 / Received in revised form: 7 November 1997     

Complex Ph1 translocation in chronic myeloid leukemia

This report describes a new case of chronic myeloid leukemia with an unusual Philadelphia chromosome translocation involving chromosomes No. 4,9, and 22; t(4,9,22) (q31;q34;q11).     

Sequence analysis of L RNA of Lassa virus

The L RNA of three Lassa virus strains originating from Nigeria, Ghana/Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone was sequenced and the data subjected to structure predictions and phylogenetic analyses. The L gene products had 2218-2221 residues, diverged by 18% at the amino acid level, and contained several conserved regions. Only one region of 504 residues (positions 1043-1546) could be assigned a function, namely that of an RNA polymerase. Secondary structure predictions suggest that this domain is very similar to RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of known structure encoded by plus-strand RNA viruses, permitting a model to be built. Outside the polymerase region, there is little structural data, except for regions of strong alpha-helical content and probably a coiled-coil domain at the N terminus. No evidence for reassortment or recombination during Lassa virus evolution was found. The secondary structure-assisted alignment of the RNA polymerase region permitted a reliable reconstruction of the phylogeny of all negative-strand RNA viruses, indicating that Arenaviridae are most closely related to Nairoviruses. In conclusion, the data provide a basis for structural and functional characterization of the Lassa virus L protein and reveal new insights into the phylogeny of negative-strand RNA viruses.     

牛IL-18基因的克隆及遗传进化分析

目的：克隆牛白细胞介素18（IL-18）全基因，并对其进行序列分析。方法：从ConA刺激培养的牛外周血淋巴细胞提取总RNA，利用巢式RT-PCR方法扩增出牛IL-18全长cDNA，将其克隆到pMDl8-T载体上，测序后进行序列分析。结果：成功地克隆到了牛IL-18全基因，序列分析表明，实验中所克隆到的牛IL-18序列与GeneBank所登录的牛IL-18核苷酸序列及其推导氨酸序列同源性分别是99．5％和99％。与人、猕猴、野猪、山羊属、马等核苷酸序列及其推导氨基酸序列同源性分别在84．9％-99．5％和74．9％～99％之间，研究结果在国内还未见报道。结论：成功地从牛外周血中克隆到了牛IL-18的基因，其全长为598bp。     

Detection of YMDD motif mutants by oligonucleotide chips in lamivudine-untreated patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Lamivudine, a nucleoside analogue, has been used widely as an effective antiviral agent for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, the YMDD motif mutation of HBV polymerase resistant to lamivudine occurs very frequently after long term therapy. We developed an oligonucleotide chip for the detection of YMDD motif mutants resistant to lamivudine and investigated the prevalence of the mutants in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated by lamivudine before. Forty patients who had not been treated with lamivudine were included in this study. Serum samples were tested by the oligonucleotide chips designed for detection of wild-type YMDD motif, M552V and M552I. Samples were confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and direct sequencing. M552I mutants were detected by the oligonucleotide chips in 7.5% (3/40) of chronic HBV infected patients (2 chronic hepatitis and 1 cirrhosis). The results were in accordance with those of RFLP. YMDD motif mutants occur as natural genome variabilities in patients with chronic HBV infection who had not been treated with lamivudine before. Oligonucleotide chip technology is a reliable and useful diagnostic tool for the detection of mutants resistant to antiviral therapy in chronic HBV infection.