Prevalence of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in China: A Community-Based,Cross-Sectional Study

International hospital-based studies have indicated a high risk of cognitive impairment after stroke, evidence from community-based studies in China is scarce. To determine the prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and its subtypes in stroke survivors residing in selected rural and urban Chinese communities, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in 599 patients accounting for 48% of all stroke survivors registered in the 4 communities, who had suffered confirmed strokes and had undergone cognitive assessments via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Hachinski Ischemia Scale (HIS). Detection of PSCI was based on scores in these neuropsychological scales. Factors potentially impacting on occurrence of PSCI were explored by comparing demographic characteristics, stroke features, and cardiovascular risk factors between patients with and without PSCI. The overall prevalence of PSCI was 80.97% (95%CI: 77.82%-84.11%), while that of non-dementia PSCI (PSCI-ND) and post-stroke vascular dementia (PSD) was 48.91% (95%CI: 44.91%-52.92%) and 32.05% (95%CI: 28.32%-35.79%), respectively. Prior stroke and complications during the acute phase were independent risk factors for PSCI. The risk of recurrent stroke survivors having PSCI was 2.7 times higher than for first-episode survivors, and it was 3 times higher for those with complications during the acute phase than for those without. The higher prevalence of PSCI in this study compared with previous Chinese studies was possibly due to the combined effects of including rural stroke survivors, a longer period from stroke onset, and different assessment methods. There is an urgent need to recognize and prevent PSCI in stroke patients, especially those with recurrent stroke and complications during the acute phase.     

Purification by affinity chromatography of the dicarboxylate carrier from bovine heart mitochondria

Submitochondrial particles were prepared from bovine heart mitochondria, solubilized with Triton X-114 in the presence of lipids and submitted to hydroxylapatite chromatography. The eluate obtained, containing a mixture of mitochondrial carriers, was processed further by affinity chromatography using as ligand p-aminophenylsuccinate coupled via a diazo bond to aminohexyl-Sepharose 4B. The activity of the dicarboxylate exchanger was measured after reconstitution into asolectin vesicles at each step of the purification procedure. All samples studied were found to display substrate and inhibitor specificity similar to those described for the dicarboxylate carrier in mitochondria. The specific activity of the final material eluted from the affinity column was found to be about 1000-times higher than that of the Triton X-114 extract of submitochondrial particles. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the affinity chromatography eluate showed the presence of only two polypeptides.     

Gene mapping on maize pachytene chromosomes by in situ hybridization

A sensitive in situ hybridization technique which was effective for mapping genes of low copy number on human metaphase chromosomes was used for gene mapping on maize pachytene chromosomes. A cloned genomic EcoR1 fragment of 10.8 kb, containing most or all of the sequence encoding the Waxy locus mRNA, was used as the probe. Southern DNA blotting analyses performed by Shure et al. (1983) indicated that the Waxy locus was a single copy sequence. In our in situ hybridization experiment, the probe hybridized to a specific site on chromosome 9. Labeling at this site was detected in 48.6% of 154 randomly selected copies of chromosome 9. To test the sensitivity of the method, subclones of the fragment with insert sizes of 6.6, 4.7, 3.5, 2.3, 1.9 and 0.8 kb were used for in situ hybridizations. Labeling efficiency for each probe was determined. The data showed that a single copy probe of 1.9 kb could be detected at the correct position in 18% of 183 randomly selected number 9 chromosomes.     

苦绳的一个新甾体成分

从苦绳(Dregea sinensis Hemsl.),和分出一新的甾体成分,Dresigenin A(I),经化学反应及光谱分析证明其结构为12-O-乙酰基-20-O-(2-甲基丁酰基)二氢肉珊瑚甙元[12-O-acetyl-20-O-(2-methylbutyryl)dihydrosarcostin]。     

Substitution of an invariant nucleotide at the base of the highly conserved ''530-loop'' of 15S rRNA causes suppression of yeast mitochondrial ochre mutations.

We have determined the nucleotide sequence alteration in the 15S rRNA gene of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain carrying the previously described mitochondrial ochre suppressor, MSUI. The suppressor contains an A residue at position 633 of the yeast mitochondrial sequence, in place of the wild-type G. This position, located in the highly conserved region forming the stem of the '530-loop', corresponds to G517 of the Escherichia coli 16S rRNA and is occupied by G in all other known small rRNA sequences. This finding strongly supports the previous conclusions of others that the 530-loop region plays an important role in enhancing translational accuracy.     

A specific, photolabile and irreversible antagonist (L662,025) of the PAF-receptor

PAF (0.2 microM) induced maximal platelet aggregation in human PRP and [3H]-PAF (1-5 nM) binding to platelet membrane preparations had Kd value of 3.8 nM and Bmax of 200 fmoles/mg of protein. Without UV irradiation, a synthetic azido tetrahydrofuran derivative L662,025 was a reversible and competitive PAF-receptor antagonist with IC50 values of 5.6 +/- 0.3 microM (platelet aggregation) and 1.0 +/- 0.25 microM (receptor binding). Photolysis of L662,025 in the presence of PRP produced an irreversible inhibition of platelet aggregation and specific binding of [3H]-PAF (1 nM). L662,025 did not affect collagen- or ADP-induced human platelet aggregation before or after photolysis. It is a new probe that can be used to identify and characterize the PAF-receptor.     

香薷中的化学成分

从香[Eltholtzia ciliata(Thund.)Hyland]中分出14个化合物,用波谱和化学等方法确定为6-甲基三十三烷(Ⅰ),13-环己基二十六烷(Ⅱ),β-谷甾醇(Ⅲ),棕榈酸(Ⅳ_a),亚油酸(Ⅳ_b),亚麻酸(Ⅳ_c),熊果酸(Ⅴ),5-羟基-6、7-二甲氧基黄酮(Ⅵ),5-羟基-7、8-二甲氧基黄酮(Ⅶ),5、7-二羟基-4′-甲氧基黄酮(Ⅷ),5-羟基-7、4′-二甲氧基双氢黄酮醇(Ⅸ),β-谷甾醇-3-β-D-葡萄糖甙(Ⅹ),5-羟基-6-甲基-7-O-α-D-半乳吡喃糖双氢黄酮甙(Ⅺ),刺槐素-7-O-β-D-葡萄糖甙(Ⅻ)。其中化合物Ⅺ为新化合物,除(Ⅳ_b)和(Ⅳ_c)外,其余为首次从该属植物中得到。     

北京地区大葱和玉米根际VA菌根的季节变化及其与环境因子之间的关系

1986-1987年连续两年系统调查了北京地区大葱(Allium fistulosum L.)和玉米(Zeamays L.)根际 VA 菌根侵染百分率及菌根真菌孢子密度的季节变化。分析了菌根和菌根真菌的发生与几种土壤因子(土壤硝态氮、铵态氮、速效磷和有机质含量,土壤 pH 值)和气候因子(气温、积温、土温、光照、降水量,相对湿度等)之间的关系。结果表明:大葱和玉米的侵染百分率随作物生育期的增长而增加,并以6月和9月的增长速度最快。一年中,植物根际菌根真菌的孢子密度有二个高峰,分别在6-7月和10月。在北京的同一地区,一年中,几种测定的土壤因子变化很小,因此,认为气候因子对菌根发生的季节变化具有更大的影响。用线性相关和关联度分析的结果表明:一年中,菌根的发生与积温的关系最为密切。