The Application of Theme/rheme Coherence Device in Discourse Teaching under Cognitive Framework

The repetitive coherence of theme and rheme comes through one of the important cohesive devices which make texture coherent and progressing. From cognitive point of view, applying the mode of thematic and rheme into English language teaching can display its tool function for texture. It also contributes to the understanding and interpretation of coherent discourses, and to the way in teaching reading and writing. Therefore，learners will leap forward from their cognitive level. Key words: cognition, coherence of theme and rheme, English language teaching Résumé: Le raccordement répété de thème-rhème est un des moyens importants de réaliser la cohérence et la continuité du texte. Et c’est grâce à ces moyens de cohérence que le texte s’acquiert la cohésion. L’application du système de cohérence à l’enseignement du texte anglais montre son utilité comme instrument textuel, offre de nouvelles perspectives pour l’enseignement de rédaction et de lecture en anglais, et aide les apprenants à approfondir leur compréhension. Mots-clés: cognition, cohérence de thème-rhème, enseignement textuel 摘要：語篇中主述位的反復銜接是實現語篇銜接和連貫的重要手段之一，而正是這些語篇銜接的手段使得主、述位達到層層推進，構成連貫的語篇。從認知的角度將主述位銜接機制應用於英語篇章教學，可展示其作為篇章工具的使用性，也可以為英語寫作和閱讀教學提供更為清新的思路，使英語學習者從認知上達到一個飛躍。 關鍵詞：認知；主述位銜接；篇章教

Electrochemical behavior of lansoprazole at a multiwalled carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid modified glassy carbon electrode and its electrochemical determination

The electrochemical behavior of lansoprazole (LNS) has been investigated at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and the electrode modified by a gel containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and an room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF6) in 0.10 M phosphate buffer solution of pH 6.8. It was found that an irreversible anodic oxidation peak with Epa as 1.060 V appeared at MWCNTs-RTIL/GCE. Under the optimized experimental conditions a linear calibration curve were obtained over the concentration range from 5.0 μM to 0.20 mM by differential pulse voltammetry with the limit of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) as 0.28 μM. In addition, the novel MWCNTs-RTIL/GCE was also characterized by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the proposed method has been successfully applied in the electrochemical quantitative determination of LNS content in commercial tablet samples and the determination results could meet the determination requirement

Alterations of Serum Levels of BDNF-Related miRNAs in Patients with Depression

Depression is a serious and potentially life-threatening mental disorder with unknown etiology. Emerging evidence shows that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and microRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in the etiology of depression. Here this study was aimed to identify and characterize the roles of BDNF and its putative regulatory miRNAs in depression. First, we identified that miR-182 may be a putative miRNA that regulates BDNF levels by bioinformatic studies, and characterized the effects of miR-182 on the BDNF levels using cell-based studies, side by side with miR-132 (a known miRNA that regulates BDNF expression). We showed that treatment of miR-132 and miR-182 respectively decreased the BDNF protein levels in a human neuronal cell model, supporting the regulatory roles of miR-132 and miR-182 on the BDNF expression. Furthermore, we explored the roles of miR-132 and miR-182 on the BDNF levels in depression using human subjects by assessing their serum levels. Compared with the healthy controls, patients with depression showed lower serum BDNF levels (via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) and higher serum miR-132 and miR-182 levels (via the real-time PCR). Finally, the Pearson’s (or Spearman’s) correlation coefficient was calculated to study whether there was a relationship among the Self-Rating Depression Scale score, the serum BDNF levels, and serum BDNF-related miRNA levels. Our results revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between the SDS scores and the serum BDNF levels, and a positive correlation between the SDS scores and miR-132 levels. In addition, we found a reverse relationship between the serum BDNF levels and the miR-132/miR-182 levels in depression. Collectively, we provided evidence supporting that miR-182 is a putative BDNF-regulatory miRNA, and suggested that the serum BDNF and its related miRNAs may be utilized as important biomarkers in the diagnosis or as therapeutic targets of depression

Influence of Ethnicity on the Accuracy of Non-Invasive Scores Predicting Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objectives Presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can predict risks for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and advanced liver disease in the general population. We aimed to establish a non-invasive score for prediction of NAFLD in Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in the world, and detect whether ethnicity influences the accuracy of such a score. Methods Liver fat content (LFAT) was measured by quantitative ultrasound in 3548 subjects in the Shanghai Changfeng Community and a Chinese score was created using multivariate logistic regression analyses. This new score was internally validated in Chinese and externally in Finns. Its diagnostic performance was compared to the NAFLD liver fat score, fatty liver index (FLI) and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) developed in Finns, Italians and Koreans. We also analyzed how obesity related to LFAT measured by H-1-MRS in 79 Finns and 118 Chinese with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Results The metabolic syndrome and T2D, fasting serum insulin, body mass index (BMI) and AST/ALT ratio were independent predictors of NAFLD in Chinese. The AUROC in the Chinese validation cohort was 0.76 (0.73-0.78) and in Finns 0.73 (0.68-0.78) (p Conclusion The predictors of NAFLD in Han Chinese are as in Europids but the Chinese have more LFAT for any given degree of obesity than Europids. Ethnicity needs to be considered when NAFLD is predicted using risk scores.Peer reviewe

Sweroside Alleviated Aconitine-Induced Cardiac Toxicity in H9c2 Cardiomyoblast Cell Line

Aconitine is the main bioactive ingredient of Aconitum plants, which are well-known botanical herbs in China. Aconitine is also notorious for its high cardiotoxicity, as it can induce life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Unfortunately, there are few effective antidotes to aconitine toxicity. This study aimed to evaluate the potent protective effects of the ingredients from V. baillonii on aconitine toxicity on H9c2 cell line. Cell viability was assessed by methylthiazoltetrazolium bromide (MTT). Intracellular Ca2+ concentration alteration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were observed by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, respectively. Cellular oxidative stress was analyzed by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) was determined using JC-1 kit. RT-PCR and Hoechst staining techniques were conducted to determine the levels of autophagy/apoptosis. The mRNA levels of dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR), ryanodine receptors (RyR2) and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) were measured by RT-PCR. We screened six components from V. baillonii, among which, sweroside exhibited the strongest protective effects on aconitine-induced cardiac toxicity. Sweroside suppressed the aconitine-induced mRNA expressions of NaV1.5 (encoded by SCN5A), RyR2 and DHPR, and reversed the aconitine-induced decrease in mRNA level of SERCA, thus preventing the aconitine-induced persistent intracellular Ca2+ accumulation and avoiding intracellular Ca2+ overload. We further found that sweroside restabilized the aconitine-disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) and reversed the aconitine-induced increase in the mRNA levels of cell autophagy-related factors (Beclin-1, Caspase-3, and LC3- II) in H9c2 cells. In the whole-animal experiments, we observed that sweroside (50 mg/kg) alleviated effectively aconitine-induced arrhythmias by analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) recording in rats. Our results demonstrate that sweroside may protect cardiomyocytes from aconitine toxicity by maintaining intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, restabilizing mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) and avoiding cell autophagy/apoptosis