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The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a person's view of life and death might influence various aspects of well-being. Similar studies have been conducted with adolescents in different cultures, but not with Chinese Tujia ethnic adolescents. Tujia adolescents (N = 309) completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), the Death Attitude Profile (DAP), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Happiness Inventory (HI). Results indicated that Chinese Tujia ethnic adolescents maintain a relatively positive life-and-death view and overall well-being. Meaning in life and death attitude both corresponded with overall well-being. A dominance analysis indicated that meaning in life can predict the well-being of a person better than a death attitude. Limitations and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect and mechanism of miR-498 on Th17 cell differentiation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, peripheral blood samples were collected from RA patients and healthy controls, respectively. The proportion of CD4 + IL-17 + T cells (Th17 cells) or CD4 + FOXP3 + T cells (Tregs) in T cells and the Th17/Treg ratio were identified by the flow cytometer. The STAT3 and miR-498 expression were measured by Western blot and real-time PCR, respectively. ELISA was used to detect IL-17 concentrations. Luciferase assay was performed to confirm that miR-498 directly targeted the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of STAT3 in CD4 + T cells. The effect of miR-498 on Th17 cell differentiation was explored by transfection of miR-498 mimic and/or pcDNA-STAT3 into CD4 + T cells. In PMBCs of RA patients, the Th17/CD4 + T cell ratio was significantly increased, while the Tregs/CD4 + T cell ratio was obviously decreased, leading to a higher Th17/Treg ratio. The results showed a reduced miR-498 expression and an increased STAT3 protein expression in PMBCs, and an increased IL-17 concentration in serum of RA patients. In cells transfected with wild-type-STAT3-LU, miR-498 mimic significantly reduced the luciferase activity, STAT3 gene and protein expression, and miR-498 inhibitor had an opposite function. While the miR-498 mimic/inhibitor had no effect on the luciferase activity and STAT3 expression in cells transfected with mutant-STAT3-LU. CD4 + T cells transfected with miR-498 mimic had a lower Th17/CD4 + T cell ratio and IL-17 concentration, however, transfection of pcDNA-STAT3 reversed the effect of miR-498 mimic on Th17/CD4 + T cell ratio and IL-17 concentration. These results suggest that overexpression of miR-498 suppresses Th17 cell differentiation by targeting STAT3 in RA patients.

The method is based on the enhancement effect of the resonance light-scattering (RLS) of pararosaniline by DNA. In the pH rang of 0.5-1.5, the enhanced intensity of pararosaniline RLS at 355 nm is proportional to the concentration of DNA in the rang of 0.20-15 micrograms.mL-1. The detection limit is 36 ng.mL-1. This method is simple, rapid and has been applied satisfactorily to the determination of DNA in mixed samples.

A new selective and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of Tyrosine in beer and grape wine has been developed. This method is based on the quenching of fluorescence of Tyrosine by Molybrum(VI). The exitation and emission wavelengths were found to be 278 and 305 nm, respectively. There was a linear relationship in the range of 0.01-14.4 micrograms.mL-1 for Tyrosine. This method is simple and rapid, and has been applied to the determination of Tyrosine in beer and grape wine with satisfactory results.