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Magnetic, dielectric, and magnetoelectric properties have been investigated in the polycrystalline Mn4Nb2O9. Under zero magnetic fields, no dielectric anomaly and electric polarization are observed in this compound. When the sample is exposed in magnetic field, finite dielectric peaks and electric polarization are induced, which increase with increasing magnetic field, showing magneto-dielectric and magnetoelectric effects. The origin of magnetoelectric coupling of this compound has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of dietary supplement of arginine on immunoglobulin, cytokine and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in broilers was investigated. Three hundred one-day-old Arbor Acre mixed-sex broiler chickens were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments with six replicates in each treatment and ten chickens within each replicate. The five treatments viz., the basal diet with 0 (arginine-deficient group), 4.5 (arginine-normal group, control), 9.0, 13.5,and 18.0 g/kg arginine. The feeding experiment period was 42 days. The results of in vivo experiments showed that with increasing levels of dietary arginine, interleukin (IL)-2, NO content and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity in serum as well as iNOS mRNA expression in the ileum and liver of broiler chickens increasedquadratically at the age of 21 d(P<0.05).ln addition, positive effects of arginine tended to be suppressed when addition of arginine in the diet was increased to 18.0 g/kg. The results of in vitro experiment indicated that, IL-2 and iNOS content increased quadratically with increasing addition of arginine (P<0.01), and 80 μg/mL arginine supplement group had the highest value. Dietary arginine improved the levels of IL-2, NO and iNOS expression in a quadratic dose-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular cysteine (Cys)/cystine (CySS) redox potential (Eh) plays a crucial role in maintaining redox homeostasis and an alteration of redox state occurs in various physiological conditions, including diabetes, cancer, and aging. This study was designed to determine whether a variation in extracellular redox state would alter the function of insulin-resistant PC12 cells. Various redox states were established by providing different extracellular Cys/CySS Eh to insulin-resistant PC12 cells. We intensively investigated the relationship between redox state and catecholamine biosynthesis in PC12 cells, and evaluated the changes in cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), catecholamine (CA) synthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expressions, and the activity of rate-limiting enzyme in CA synthesis by using DCF-fluorescence, HPLC, and the real-time PCR, respectively. We also determined the protein levels of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a redox sensitive transcription factor, using an ELISA assay. We found that the oxidized Cys/CySS Eh (0 mV) pretreatment decreased CA, TH, and Nrf2 levels, but induced ROS overproduction. Insulin induced a significant increase in CA synthesis and ROS production, blocked by more reducing redox conditions. The paradox of CA and TH alterations between insulin and 0 mV groups may be attributed to degree of redox imbalance as evidenced by different ROS levels in 2 groups, which is further confirmed by CA alterations in different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Additionally, dithiole-3-thione (D3T, an inducer of Nrf2) corrected 0 mV-induced TH inhibition. In conclusion, CA biosynthesis in insulin-resistant PC12 cells could be influenced by extracellular Cys/CySS redox effects on cellular redox sensitive transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several lines of evidence indicate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction under the metabolic syndrome condition is the leading cause of cardiovascular events. Calcium is an important stimulus for vasoconstriction and plays a pivotal role in the development of hypertension. Here, we investigate whether a relationship exists between metabolic syndrome-induced mitochondrial ROS overproduction and Ang IImediated Ca2+ release in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The eff ect of mitochondrial ROS on AT1 expression, and Ca2+ and IP 3 generation was studied in 2 VSMC models of metabolic syndrome using fura-2/AM probes and ELISA-based assay. Ang II-mediated aortic ring contraction in SD rats fed with high-fat diet (HFD) was measured using a force transducer connected to chart recorder. In the metabolic syndrome, almost 2-fold increased mitochondrial O2- significantly upregulated AT 1 expressions by ~60 %, companied by elevated Ca2+ and IP 3 levels in VSMC and enhanced aortic rings contraction. All these increments were blocked by rotenone (inhibitor of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I), ruthenium red (inhibitor of calcium uniporter), cyclosporin A (inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability pore), and N -acetylcysteine. Therefore, in the states of metabolic syndrome, ROS overproduction in mitochondrial complex I enhances Ang II-mediated vascular contraction via an AT1- dependent pathway. In addition, the import of Ca2+ from endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria via calcium uniporter and mitochondrial permeability pore seems to serve as a mechanism to further aggravate mitochondrial damage and vascular dysfunction that may contribute to the occurrence of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We used a random approach to analyze amino acid pairs in human Von Hippel-Lindau disease tumor suppressor (G7 protein) in order to determine which amino acid pairs are more sensitive to 109 mutations from human G7 protein. The rationale for this study is based on our hypothesis and findings that a harmful mutation is more likely to occur at randomly unpredictable amino acid pairs and a harmless mutation is more likely to occur at randomly predictable amino acid pairs. We argue that the randomly predictable amino acid pairs should not be deliberately evolved, whereas the randomly unpredictable amino acid pairs should be deliberately evolved with connection of protein function. Design: The amino acid sequence of the human G7 protein and its 109 mutations with point mutant were obtained from the Swiss-Protein data bank. There area total of 212 amino acid pairs in human G7 protein--less than the 400 that are theoretically possible. We calculated the randomly predicted frequency and actual frequency in human G7 protein, the randomly predictable present amino acid pairs, randomly unpredictable present amino acid pairs, randomly predictable absent amino acid pairs, mutations in randomly predictable and unpredictable amino acid pairs, and the difference between actual and randomly predicted frequencies. In this way, we compared the frequency difference in the amino acid pairs affected by mutations. Results: We found that 94.5% of 109 mutations occur at randomly unpredictable amino acid pairs, which account for 78.3% of amino acid pairs in human G7 protein. Conclusion: The randomly unpredictable amino acid pairs ate more sensitive to mutations in human G7 protein. The results also suggest that the human G7 protein has a natural tendency to mutate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic, dielectric, and magnetoelectric properties have been investigated in the polycrystalline Mn4Nb2O9. Under zero magnetic fields, no dielectric anomaly and electric polarization are observed in this compound. When the sample is exposed in magnetic field, finite dielectric peaks and electric polarization are induced, which increase with increasing magnetic field, showing magneto-dielectric and magnetoelectric effects. The origin of magnetoelectric coupling of this compound has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The scarring of the heart that results from myocardial infarction has been interpreted as evidence that the heart is composed of myocytes that are unable to divide. However, recent observations have provided evidence of proliferation of myocytes in the adult heart. Therefore, we studied the extent of mitosis among myocytes after myocardial infarction in humans.Methods: Samples from the border of the infarct and from areas of the myocardium distant from the infarct were obtained from 13 patients who had died 4 to 12 days after infarction. Ten normal hearts were used as controls. Myocytes that had entered the cell cycle in preparation for cell division were measured by labeling of the nuclear antigen Ki-67, which is associated with cell division. The fraction of myocyte nuclei that were undergoing mitosis was determined, and the mitotic index (the ratio of the number of nuclei undergoing mitosis to the number not undergoing mitosis) was calculated. The presence of mitotic spindles, contractile rings, karyokinesis, and cytokinesis was also recorded.Results: In the infarcted hearts, Ki-67 expression was detected in 4 percent of myocyte nuclei in the regions adjacent to the infarcts and in 1 percent of those in regions distant from the infarcts. The reentry of myocytes into the cell cycle resulted in mitotic indexes of 0.08 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively, in the zones adjacent to and distant from the infarcts. Events characteristic of cell division--the formation of the mitotic spindles, the formation of contractile rings, karyokinesis, and cytokinesis--were identified; these features demonstrated that there was myocyte proliferation after myocardial infarction.Conclusions: Our results challenge the dogma that the adult heart is a postmitotic organ and indicate that the regeneration of myocytes may be a critical component of the increase in muscle mass of the myocardium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at investigating the effects of dietary supplementation with Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharides (AOCP) on lactation performance, antioxidant status, and immune status of lactating donkeys and analyzing rectal microbiomes and serum metabolomes. Fourteen lactating Dezhou donkeys with similar age (6.16 ± 0.67 yr of BW ± SD), weight (250.06 ± 25.18 kg), DIM (39.11 ± 7.42 d), and average parity of 3 were randomly allocated into 2 treatments: a control group (CON, basal diet) and an AOCP group (AOCP, basal diet with 1.0 g/kg DM AOCP). Ten weeks were allotted for the experiment, 2 wk for adaptation, and 8 wk for collecting data and samples. The results showed that supplementation of donkey diets with AOCP increased lactation performance, including DMI, milking yield, estimated milk yield, solids-corrected milk, ECM, milk fat yield, milk protein yield, milk lactose yield, milk TS yield, and milk SNF yield. The digestibility of DM, CP, ADF, and NDF was increased in the AOCP group compared with the CON group. The AOCP group increased the concentrations of IgA, IgG, and IgM, the activities of the superoxide dismutase, catalase, and total antioxidant capacity in the serum. Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharides decreased the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and malondialdehyde in the serum. Compared with the CON group, AOCP increased propionate, butyrate, isovalerate, and total VFA concentrations in rectal feces (P < 0.05). The addition of AOCP to increased diversity (Shannon index) and altered structure of the rectal microflora. As a result of AOCP supplementation, there has been a significant improvement in the colonization of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Unclassified&#95;f&#95;Prevotellacea, Ruminococcus, and Fibrobacter genera. In contrast, a decrease in the colonization of the Clostridium&#95;sensu&#95;stricto&#95;1 bacterial genus and other pathogenic bacteria was observed. Meanwhile, metabolomics analysis found that AOCP supplementation upregulated metabolites l-tyrosine content while downregulating 9(S)-HODE, choline, sucrose, lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC) (18:0), LysoPC (18:1(9Z)), and LysoPC (20:2(11Z,14Z)) concentrations. These altered metabolites were involved in the PPAR signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolism, carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and tyrosine metabolism pathways, which were mainly related to antioxidant capacity, immune responses, and protein metabolism in the lactating donkeys. As a consequence of feeding AOCP diets, beneficial bacteria were abundant, and antioxidant and protein metabolism-related pathways were enriched, which may enhance lactation performance in donkeys. Therefore, supplementing AOCP diets is a desirable dietary strategy to improve donkey health and lactation performance., (The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

Artemisia ordosica is one of the main shrubby perennials belonging to Artemisia species of Asteraceae and could be used in folk Chinese/Mongolian medicine to treat symptoms of various inflammatory ailments. The present study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of dietary Artemisia ordosica polysaccharide (AOP) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced oxidative stress in broilers via Nrf2/Keap1 and TLR4/NF-κB pathway. A total of 192 1-day-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly allotted to four treatments with 6 replicates (n = 8): (1) CON group, non-challenged broilers fed basal diet; (2) LPS group, LPS-challenged broilers fed basal diet; (3) AOP group, non-challenged broilers fed basal diet supplemented with 750 mg/kg AOP; (4) LPS+AOP group, LPS-challenged broilers fed basal diet supplemented with 750 mg/kg AOP. The trial included starter phase (d 1-14), stress period Ⅰ (d 15-21), convalescence Ⅰ (d 22-28), stress period Ⅱ (d 29-35) and convalescence Ⅱ (d 36-42). During stress period Ⅰ (on d 15, 17, 19 and 21) and stress period Ⅱ (on d 29, 31, 33 and 35), broilers were injected intra-abdominally either with LPS solution or with an equal amount of sterile saline. The results showed that dietary AOP supplementation alleviated LPS-induced reduction in antioxidant enzyme activity and excessive production of ROS, 8-OHdG and PC in serum of broilers challenged with LPS. Moreover, dietary AOP supplementation alleviated the decrease of T-AOC and activities of SOD, CAT and GPx in liver of broilers challenged with LPS by increasing expression of Nrf2, and inhibiting over-expression of Keap1 both at gene and protein level. Additionally, dietary AOP supplementation decreased the over-production of IL-1β and IL-6 in liver of broilers challenged by LPS through decreasing mRNA expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB P65, IL-1β and IL-6, and alleviating the increase of protein expression of TLR4, IKKβ, NF-κB P65, IL-1β, IL-6, and the decrease of protein expression of IkBα. In conclusion, dietary AOP supplementation could alleviate LPS-induced oxidative stress through Nrf2/Keap1 and TLR4/NF-κB pathway., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the relationship between daily tea intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods: PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, CNKI, and Wanfang Database were searched to collect research on tea intake and CVD mortality. The search period was from the establishment of the database to June 2020. Two researchers independently screened and extracted literature. The risk of bias was evaluated in the included studies, a dose-response meta-analysis was conducted, sensitivity analysis and publication bias analysis of the research results, and quality evaluation of the included literature and GRADE classification of the evidence body were performed. Results: A total of 21 cohort or case-control studies were included, including 1 304 978 subjects. Among them, 38 222 deaths from CVD were reported. The quality scores of the included studies were all ≥ 6 points. The dose-response meta-analysis showed that for every additional cup of tea intake per day, the mortality rate of CVD decreased by about 3% (95% CI 0.95-0.98, P <0.05), and there was a non-linear dose-response relationship ( P <0.05). Compared with people who do not drink tea, people who drink 1 to 8 cups of tea a day have 8% lower CVD mortality ( RR =0.92, 95% CI 0.89-0.95), 13% ( RR =0.87, 95 % CI 0.84-0.91), 15% ( RR =0.85, 95% CI 0.82-0.89), 15% ( RR =0.85, 95% CI 0.81-0.89), 16% ( RR =0.84, 95% CI 0.80-0.89), 16% ( RR =0.84, 95% CI 0.81-0.88), 16% ( RR =0.84, 95% CI 0.81-0.87), 16% ( RR =0.84, 95% CI 0.80-0.88), respectively. The results of traditional meta-analysis showed that compared with people who do not drink tea, people who drink more than 1 cup of tea a day are associated with 14% lower CVD mortality rate ( RR =0.86, 95% CI 0.81-0.91, I 2 =73.2%, P <0.05). The results of subgroup analysis showed that compared with the corresponding people who did not drink tea, men who drank more than 1 cup of tea a day reduced the CVD mortality rate by 24%, women by 14%, European and American populations by 12%, and Asian populations by 15%. The population who consumed green tea decreased CVD mortality by 15%, and the population of non-smokers decreased CVD mortality by 20% (all P <0.05). The population who consumed black tea decreased CVD mortality by 8%, and the smoking population who consumed black tea decreased CVD mortality by 3%, and the difference was not statistically significant (all P >0.05). The results of the bias analysis showed that Begg=0.42 and Egger=0.62, indicating that the distribution on both sides of the funnel chart is symmetrical, suggesting that there is no publication bias. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the effect size of the outcome index did not change significantly after excluding any article, indicating that the results are robust and credible. The GRADE evaluation showed that the evidence grades of the outcome indicators were all low grade. Conclusions: Daily tea consumption is related to reduced CVD mortality. It is therefore recommended to drink an appropriate amount of tea daily.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of forage-to-concentrate (F:C) ratio and forage particle length (FPL) on intake, duodenal flow, and digestibility of individual AA in the intestine of lactating dairy cows. The experiment was designed as a 4 × 4 Latin square with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments using 4 lactating dairy cows (parity 2) with ruminal and duodenal cannulas. Low (35:65) and high (60:40) F:C ratios (dry matter basis) were combined with 2 FPL of alfalfa silage (short vs. long; 7.9 vs. 19.1 mm). Few interactions between F:C and FPL for duodenal flow and intestinal digestibility of AA occurred, but interactions were detected for intakes of several AA. Intake of essential AA and nonessential AA decreased with increasing F:C, and the intake of several individual AA increased or decreased with increasing FPL. Increasing F:C decreased duodenal flows of essential AA, nonessential AA, and microbial AA due to consistent decreased flows of most individual AA (except Glu). Degradability of most individual AA in the rumen was not affected by F:C ratio or FPL except that the degradability of His was greater with high than low F:C diets, and the degradability of Ser was greater with long versus short FPL diets. However, the degradability of individual AA within diet varied considerably. Overall, F:C ratio and FPL did not affect intestinal digestibility of AA and rumen undegradable protein AA, whereas the digestibility of individual AA in the intestine varied considerably regardless of dietary treatment. These results indicate that increasing F:C ratio decreased AA supply due to decreased flow of AA to the duodenum but altering FPL did not affect AA supply. The results also revealed the necessity to consider both the flows and digestibility of individual AA when optimizing ration formulation to meet AA requirements of dairy cows., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by FASS Inc. and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. All rights reserved.)

1. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary chitosan on growth performance, energy availability and protein retention in broilers. 2. Experiment 1 was a 42-d growth assay, in which 294 1-d-old male broilers were given one of 7 dietary treatments. A control feed was supplemented with 5 levels of chitosan (0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0 g/kg) or 50 mg/kg chlortetracycline (CTC). 3. Increasing chitosan inclusion gave a nonlinear increase (P< 0.001) in feed conversion efficiency (FCE). Optimal growth and feed conversion were obtained with 0.5-1.0 g/kg chitosan. 4. In experiment 2, 42 1-d-old male broilers (6/treatment) were individually housed but fed on the same diets as in experiment 1. Excreta were collected from d 19-21 and d 40-42. 5. The addition of 0.5-1.0 g/kg chitosan increased nitrogen retention compared with the control group (P< 0.01), while apparent metabolisable energy in the diets was not altered.

The repeated amino-acid sequences in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase may be indispensable for its function, because such repetitions cannot be simply attributed to a chance. In order to fully explore the functional units in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase, it may need to analyse all the amino acid pairs, triplets, etc. along Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase from one terminal to the other terminal, to count their frequencies and calculate their probabilities. The amino-acid sequence of Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase was counted according to two-, three- and four-amino-acid sequences. The counted frequency and probability were compared with the predicted frequency and probability. The amino acid sequences, which appear in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase and can be predicted from its amino acid composition according to a purely random mechanism, should not be deliberately evolved and conserved. By contrast, the amino acid sequences, which appear in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase but cannot be predicted from its amino acid composition according to a purely random mechanism, should be deliberately evolved and conversed. Accordingly 99 (26.053%) and 33 (8.684%) of 380 two-amino-acid sequences can be predicted by the frequency and probability according to a purely random mechanism. Some kinds of amino acid sequences, which absent in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase and can be predicted from its amino acid composition according to a purely random mechanism, should not be deliberately excluded from Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase. By contrast, some kinds of amino acid sequences, which absent in Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase and cannot be predicted from its amino acid composition according to a purely random mechanism, should be deliberately excluded from Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase. Accordingly 89 (48.370%) and 41 (22.283%) of 184 kinds of absent two-amino-acid sequences can be predicted by the frequency and probability according to a purely random mechanism, and 7236 (99.848%) of 7247 kinds of absent three-amino-acid sequences can be predicted by the frequency according to a purely random mechanism. The amino acids, whose probabilities in following certain preceding amino acids can be predicted from Citrobacter Freundii beta-lactamase amino acid composition according to a purely random mechanism, should not be deliberately evolved and conversed, accordingly 2 (0.526%) of 380 counted first order Markov transition probabilities for the second amino acid in two-amino-acid sequences match the predicted conditional probabilities.

Objective: To determine the alteration of nuclear size in myocardial cells and the relationship between nuclear size and DNA ploidy classes in normal and cardiomyopathic human hearts., Study Design: The study group consisted of 46 hearts obtained at biopsy. These patients had undergone cardiac transplantation for intractable congestive heart failure (18 cases with ischemic cardiomyopathy and 28 cases with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy). Another 10 hearts were collected at autopsy and used as control hearts according to preautopsy, autopsy and histology criteria. One hundred fibroblasts and 200 myocytes were evaluated in each ventricle. The nuclear area and DNA content were estimated using image cytometry., Results: End-stage ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathies were characterized by an increase in nuclear size of both the myocyte and nonmyocyte population. The nuclear area of interstitial cells increased about 30% in cardiomyopathic hearts. Augmentation of average nuclear area of myocytes was 1.2-fold in the ischemic group and about 1.5-fold in the dilated group as compared with the control group. Also, a tendency was found for the coefficient of variation of average nuclear area to decrease in the interstitial cell population and increased in the myocyte population in cardiomyopathic situations. Furthermore, the nuclear area of myocytes enlarged as augmentation of nuclear DNA content. The relative nuclear areas of myocytes can be presented as: 2c:4c:8c:16c :32c:64c = 1:1.65:2.75:4.60:7.25:9.18., Conclusion: The increase in nuclear size follows either one of two different processes: the first does not involve an increase in DNA content, whereas the second is concomitant with an incremental increase in DNA content. In the first instance, the enlargement of nuclear size is limited. In the second, augmentation of nuclear size can become very impressive. In end-stage ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathies, the nuclear growth of myocytes and interstitial cells may be due to different mechanisms. Enlargement of the nuclear area of myocytes represents a complex process, including simple nuclear hypertrophy, polyploidization and multinucleation. The main pattern of nuclear growth of interstitial cells is nuclear hypertrophy without an increase in DNA content.

To evaluate the changes in DNA content of myocardial cells, image cytometric measurement was performed on a series of specimens obtained from 7 explanted hearts with respect to different fixation times after cardiac explantation. Prior to fixation, the tissue samples were stored at 4 degrees C or at room temperature. When the tissue samples were stored at room temperature, the integrated optical density decreased after 48 hours from cardiac explantation. Meanwhile, the coefficient of variation of integrated optical density and the sum of intermediate ploidies of myocyte nuclei increased. However, no significant changes were found when tissue samples were kept at 4 degrees C. This study indicates that no significant changes in DNA content are found within two days from cardiac explantation.

With the help of this chart, the image incongruity of simultaneous perception, fusion and stereoscopic vision can be precisely determined. It can objectively evaluate the binocular visual function and possesses important significance for the diagnosis and treatment of anisometropia, amblyopia, strabismus and visual fatigue.

Analysis of CT image in 112 patients with tuberculous meningitis, abnormal findings were shown in 80.4% cases. They were tuberculoma, hydrocephalus, basal cistern exudation, cerebral embolism, brain atrophy, miliary nodules, tuberculous abscesses and etc. Tuberculoma, hydrocephalus and basal cistern exudation are common changes in patients of cerebromeningitis type. Basal cistern exudation is the main image in early stage patients. Hydrocephalus occurred in patients of chronic stage. Manifold lesions occurred in late stage patients. The longer the disease course, the more is the abnormal finding rate by CT image. The prognosis of patients with normal CT image is good, the patients with manifold lesions are worse than those patients with single lesion by CT image, and sequelae developed more frequently in those patients with manifold lesions.

The article reported the results of serum total thyroxine (TT4), triiodothyronine (TT3), reverse triiodothyronine (rT3), triiodothyronine resin uptake ratio (T3RU) thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine index (FT4I), and ratio of T3/rT3 in 103 tuberculous patients. The results showed the levels of serum TT4, TT3 and ratio T3/rT3 in tuberculous patients were lower than those of 50 healthy subjects (total P less than 0.01), rT3, T3RU and TSH were higher than those (total P less than 0.01). FT4I has no significant difference between the two groups (P greater than 0.05).

Six analogues of 1-substituted-3-methylfentanyl were synthesized. All of them are liquid compounds. Preliminary pharmacological results showed that some compounds of 1-beta-substituted vinylethyl-3-methyl derivatives of fentanyl have strong analgesic activity with typical morphine-like action.

The authors applied DSM-III criteria to 268 consecutive Chinese inpatients. Nearly a quarter had affective disorder, a third had schizophrenia, and, except for one patient, none had alcoholism or drug abuse. The authors discuss the factors influencing hospitalization in China.