Association of ABO and Rh blood groups with breast cancer

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the association of “ABO” and “Rhesus” blood groups with incidence of breast cancer.MethodsIn this study, we identified 70 research documents from data based search engines including “PubMed”, “ISI-Web of Knowledge”, “Embase” and “Google Scholar”. The research papers were selected by using the primary key-terms including “ABO blood type”, “Rhesus” blood type and “breast cancer”. The research documents in which “ABO” and “Rhesus” blood types and breast cancer was debated were included. After screening, we reviewed 32 papers and finally we selected 25 research papers which met the inclusion criteria and remaining documents were excluded.ResultsBlood group “A” has high incidence of breast cancer (45.88%), blood group “O” has (31.69%); “B” (16.16%) and blood group “AB” has (6.27%) incidence of breast cancer. Blood group “A” has highest and blood group “AB” has least association with breast cancer. Furthermore, “Rhesus +ve” blood group has high incidence of breast cancer (88.31%) and “Rhesus –ve” blood group has least association with breast cancer (11.68%).ConclusionBlood group “A” and “Rhesus +ve” have high risk of breast cancer, while blood type “AB” and “Rhesus –ve” are at low peril of breast cancer. Physicians should carefully monitor the females with blood group “A” and “Rh +ve” as these females are more prone to develop breast cancer. To reduce breast cancer incidence and its burden, preventive and screening programs for breast cancer especially in young women are highly recommended.     

Early predictive value of cord blood bilirubin and dynamic monitoring of transcutaneous bilirubin for hyperbilirubinemia of newborns

ObjectiveTo study the early predictive value of cord blood bilirubin and dynamic monitoring of transcutaneous bilirubin for hyperbilirubinemia of newborns.Methods389 newborns delivered from June 2014 to December 2015 were enrolled as the research subjects; detailed records were made about the general data of newborns and mothers, and after cord blood bilirubin being graded, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia was counted, and the prediction efficiency of cord blood bilirubin was analyzed by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. At the same time, the transcutaneous bilirubin was detected continuously when the neonate was born and 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after birth, and the relativity between transcutaneous bilirubin at 72 h and serum bilirubin was analyzed.ResultsNo significant difference was found in the hyperbilirubinemia group and the non-hyperbilirubinemia group concerning general data of the newborns and their mothers. With the concentration of cord blood bilirubin increased, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia also increased; separate prediction of hyperbilirubinemia by cord blood bilirubin showed a sensitivity and specificity of 71.4% and 65.6% respectively, and they need further dynamic monitoring. The daily mean of transcutaneous bilirubin in hyperbilirubinemia group was significantly higher than that in non-hyperbilirubinemia group at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, and the measurement value of transcutaneous bilirubin at 72 h had a high correlation with serum bilirubin. When transcutaneous bilirubin value is higher than 18, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia should be considered.ConclusionsThe increase of cord blood bilirubin effectively predict the occurrence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. There is a good correlation between levels of transcutaneous bilirubin and serum bilirubin. Moreover, combined detection of transcutaneous bilirubin and cord blood bilirubin can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of hyperbilirubinemia.     

Functionalities tuned enantioselectivity of phenylcarbamate cyclodextrin clicked chiral stationary phases in HPLC

The mixed chloro‐ and methyl‐ functionalities can greatly modulate the enantioselectivities of phenylcarbamate cyclodextrin (CD) clicked chiral stationary phases (CSPs). A comparison study is herein reported for per(4‐chloro‐3‐methyl)phenylcarbamate and per(2‐chloro‐5‐methyl)phenylcarbamate β‐CD clicked CSPs (i.e., CCC4M3‐CSP and CCC2M5‐CSP). The enantioselectivity dependence on column temperature was studied in both normal‐phase and reversed‐phase mode high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The thermodynamic study revealed that the stronger intermolecular interactions can be formed between CCC4M3‐CSP and chiral solutes to drive the chiral separation. The higher enantioselectivities of CCC4M3‐CSP were further demonstrated with the enantioseparation of 17 model racemates in HPLC.     

Effects of experimental warming on survival,phenology, and morphology of an aquatic insect (Odonata)

1. Organisms can respond to changing climatic conditions in multiple ways including changes in phenology, body size or morphology, and range shifts. Understanding how developmental temperatures affect insect life‐history timing and morphology is crucial because body size and morphology affect multiple aspects of life history, including dispersal ability, whereas phenology can shape population performance and community interactions. 2. It was experimentally assessed how developmental temperatures experienced by aquatic larvae affected survival, phenology, and adult morphology of dragonflies [Pachydiplax longipennis (Burmeister)]. Larvae were reared under three environmental temperatures: ambient, +2.5, and +5 °C, corresponding to temperature projections for our study area 50 and 100 years in the future, respectively. Experimental temperature treatments tracked naturally‐occurring variation. 3. Clear effects of temperature were found in the rearing environment on survival and phenology: dragonflies reared at the highest temperatures had the lowest survival rates and emerged from the larval stage approximately 3 weeks earlier than animals reared at ambient temperatures. There was no effect of rearing temperature on overall body size. Although neither the relative wing nor thorax size was affected by warming, a non‐significant trend towards an interaction between sex and warming in relative thorax size suggests that males may be more sensitive to warming than females, a pattern that should be investigated further. 4. Warming strongly affected survival in the larval stage and the phenology of adult emergence. Understanding how warming in the developmental environment affects later life‐history stages is critical to interpreting the consequences of warming for organismal performance.     

Isolation,Culture and Long-Term Maintenance of Primary Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neurons From Embryonic Rodent Brains

Degeneration of mesencephalic dopaminergic (mesDA) neurons is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s diseae. Study of the biological processes involved in physiological functions and vulnerability and death of these neurons is imparative to understanding the underlying causes and unraveling the cure for this common neurodegenerative disorder. Primary cultures of mesDA neurons provide a tool for investigation of the molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological properties, in order to understand the development, long-term survival and degeneration of these neurons during the course of disease. Here we present a detailed method for the isolation, culturing and maintenance of midbrain dopaminergic neurons from E12.5 mouse (or E14.5 rat) embryos. Optimized cell culture conditions in this protocol result in presence of axonal and dendritic projections, synaptic connections and other neuronal morphological properties, which make the cultures suitable for study of the physiological, cell biological and molecular characteristics of this neuronal population.     

Effects of acupuncture on declined cerebral blood flow,impaired mitochondrial respiratory function and oxidative stress in multi-infarct dementia rats

Brain energy disorders and oxidative stress due to chronic hypoperfusion were considered to be the major risk factors in the pathogenesis of dementia. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that acupuncture treatment improved cognitive function of VaD patients and multi-infarct dementia (MID) rats. Acupuncture therapy also increased the activities of glycometabolic enzymes in the brain. But it is not clear whether acupuncture treatment compensates neuronal energy deficit after cerebral ischemic through enhancing the activities of glucose metabolic enzymes and preserving mitochondrial function, and whether acupuncture neuroprotective effect is associated with activations of mitochondrial antioxidative defense system. So, the effect of acupuncture therapy on cognitive function, cerebral blood flow (CBF), mitochondrial respiratory function and oxidative stress in the brain of MID rats was investigated in this study. The results showed that acupuncture treatment significantly improved cognitive abilities and increased regional CBF of MID rats. Acupuncture elevated the activities of total SOD, CuZnSOD and MnSOD, decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide anion, regulated the ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in mitochondria, and raised the level of the respiratory control index (RCI) and P/O ratio and the activities of mitochondrial respiratory enzymes of MID rats. These results indicated that acupuncture treatment improved cognitive function of MID rats; and this improvement might be due to increased CBF, which ameliorated mitochondrial dysfunction induced by ischemia and endogenous oxidative stress system of brain.     

Plant functional types and climatic change: Introduction

Abstract. Plant functional types are a necessary device for reducing the complex and often uncharted characteristics of species diversity in function and structure when attempting to project the nature and function of species assemblages into future environments. A workshop was held to review the current methods commonly used for defining plant functional types, either globally or for particular biomes, and to compare them with the field experiences of specialists for specific biomes of the world. The methods fall into either an objective and inductive approach or a subjective and deductive approach. When the different methods were tested, it was generally found that the classification for one site or environment was not wholly applicable to a different site or environment. However, the degree of change which is necessary for adjustment between environments may not prove to be a major limitation in the use of functional types.