A Review on Selenium-enriched Green Tea: Fortification Methods, Biological Activities and Application Prospect

Selenium (Se) has been recognized as an essential nutrient for humans. Plant foods are the predominant source of selenium and majority of dietary selenium is absorbed depending on the type of food consumed. Nowadays, green tea is becoming increasingly popular for its prominent health benefits, including the ability to supplement selenium in organically bound, natural food form. The selenium content of Se-enriched green tea is influenced by the selenium level of local soils in which it is grown. However, selenium content of plants can also be improved by artificial fortification methods. In this review, the chemical speciation and biological functions of selenium, fortification methods, biological activities and nutraceutical applications of Se-enriched green tea are discussed. This review provides insights into the current research and the importance of Se-enriched green tea in the enrichment of human nutrition and health

Gene Expression Profile of the Hypothalamus in DNP-KLH Immunized Mice Following Electroacupuncture Stimulation

Clinical evidence indicates that electroacupuncture (EA) is effective for allergic disorder. Recent animal studies have shown that EA treatment reduces levels of IgE and Th2 cytokines in BALB/c mice immunized with 2,4-dinitrophenylated keyhole limpet protein (DNP-KLH). The hypothalamus, a brain center of the neural-immune system, is known to be activated by EA stimulation. This study was performed to identify and characterize the differentially expressed genes in the hypothalamus of DNP-KLH immunized mice that were stimulated with EA or only restrained. To this aim, we conducted a microarray analysis to evaluate the global gene expression profiles, using the hypothalamic RNA samples taken from three groups of mice: (i) normal control group (no treatments); (ii) IMH group (DNP-KLH immunization + restraint); and (iii) IMEA group (immunization + EA stimulation). The microarray analysis revealed that total 39 genes were altered in their expression levels by EA treatment. Ten genes, including T-cell receptor alpha variable region family 13 subfamily 1 (Tcra-V13.1), heat shock protein 1B (Hspa1b) and 2′–5′ oligoadenylate synthetase 1F (Oas1f), were up-regulated in the IMEA group when compared with the IMH group. In contrast, 29 genes, including decay accelerating factor 2 (Daf2), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, quinone 1 (Nqo1) and programmed cell death 1 ligand 2 (Pdcd1lg2) were down-regulated in the IMEA group as compared with the IMH group. These results suggest that EA treatment can modulate immune response in DNP-KLH immunized mice by regulating expression levels of genes that are associated with innate immune, cellular defense and/or other kinds of immune system in the hypothalamus

Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements in lung cancer with nodular ground-glass opacity

Vår uppsats handlar om formativ bedömning och vad det innebär att arbeta så i undervisningen. Vi tolkar att rådande läroplaner beskriver ett uppdrag som ligger i linje med ett formativt arbetssätt. Syftet var att ta reda på om lärare i samhällskunskap som arbetar på gymnasiet arbetar formativt och hur de gör det. Ett annat vanligt namn för formativ bedömning är bedömning för lärande (BFL). Genom kvalitativa intervjuer har vi frågat gymnasielärare i samhällskunskap hur de arbetar med bedömning, om de arbetar formativt och om det finns någon samsyn på deras respektive gymnasieskolor kring bedömning. Vi ville också veta vad formativt arbete innebär. Bedömning för lärande fokuserar på lärandet och hur eleven kan utvecklas och nå framgång i lärandet. Genom att konkretisera mål, syfte och kunskapskvaliteter så att eleven förstår dessa kan eleven få syn på sitt eget lärande. När eleven ges makt över sitt eget lärande leder det till ökad motivation. I formativ bedömning arbetar läraren bland annat med feedback och kamrat- och självvärdering. Vårt resultat visar att lärarna vi intervjuat i stor utsträckning arbetar summativt med formativa inslag i varierande grad, förutom en av lärarna som arbetar på en gymnasieskola i Borås som arbetar enligt bedömning för lärande. Studien visar att det råder brist på samsyn kring bedömning på gymnasie-skolorna, förutom på skolan i Borås där det finns tid avsatt för möten och samtal kring formativ bedömning. Litteraturen visar på de positiva effekterna av bedömning för lärande vilket också styrks av intervjun med läraren i Borås

Acute Myocardial Infarction due to Polyarteritis Nodosa in a Young Female Patient

Coronary artery aneurysms are uncommon, are usually associated with atherosclerosis, and rarely involve all three major coronary arteries. The present report describes a rare case of a young female patient presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Coronary angiography revealed multiple severe aneurysmal and stenotic changes. Based on clinical feature and angiographic findings, it was strongly suspected that the patient had polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) complicated by AMI. The patient was treated with standard cardiac medications and immunosuppressive agents and has remained stable without further complications during a follow-up period of 6 months

A Review on Selenium-enriched Green Tea: Fortification Methods, Biological Activities and Application Prospect

ABSTRACT Selenium (Se

Whole genome sequencing of an ethnic Pathan (Pakhtun) from the north-west of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Pakistan covers a key geographic area in human history, being both part of the Indus River region that acted as one of the cradles of civilization and as a link between Western Eurasia and Eastern Asia. This region is inhabited by a number of distinct ethnic groups, the largest being the Punjabi, Pathan (Pakhtuns), Sindhi, and Baloch. RESULTS: We analyzed the first ethnic male Pathan genome by sequencing it to 29.7-fold coverage using the Illumina HiSeq2000 platform. A total of 3.8 million single nucleotide variations (SNVs) and 0.5 million small indels were identified by comparing with the human reference genome. Among the SNVs, 129,441 were novel, and 10,315 nonsynonymous SNVs were found in 5,344 genes. SNVs were annotated for health consequences and high risk diseases, as well as possible influences on drug efficacy. We confirmed that the Pathan genome presented here is representative of this ethnic group by comparing it to a panel of Central Asians from the HGDP-CEPH panels typed for ~650 k SNPs. The mtDNA (H2) and Y haplogroup (L1) of this individual were also typical of his geographic region of origin. Finally, we reconstruct the demographic history by PSMC, which highlights a recent increase in effective population size compatible with admixture between European and Asian lineages expected in this geographic region. CONCLUSIONS: We present a whole-genome sequence and analyses of an ethnic Pathan from the north-west province of Pakistan. It is a useful resource to understand genetic variation and human migration across the whole Asian continent

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns in horse

Background: DNA methylation is an epigenetic regulatory mechanism that plays an essential role in mediating biological processes and determining phenotypic plasticity in organisms. Although the horse reference genome and whole transcriptome data are publically available the global DNA methylation data are yet to be known. Results: We report the first genome-wide DNA methylation characteristics data from skeletal muscle, heart, lung, and cerebrum tissues of thoroughbred (TH) and Jeju (JH) horses, an indigenous Korea breed, respectively by methyl-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing. The analysis of the DNA methylation patterns indicated that the average methylation density was the lowest in the promoter region, while the density in the coding DNA sequence region was the highest. Among repeat elements, a relatively high density of methylation was observed in long interspersed nuclear elements compared to short interspersed nuclear elements or long terminal repeat elements. We also successfully identified differential methylated regions through a comparative analysis of corresponding tissues from TH and JH, indicating that the gene body regions showed a high methylation density. Conclusions: We provide report the first DNA methylation landscape and differentially methylated genomic regions (DMRs) of thoroughbred and Jeju horses, providing comprehensive DMRs maps of the DNA methylome. These data are invaluable resource to better understanding of epigenetics in the horse providing information for the further biological function analyses.open1

Acupuncture for persistent allergic rhinitis: a multi-centre, randomised, controlled trial protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common health complaints worldwide. Complementary and alternative medical approaches have been employed to relieve allergic rhinitis symptoms and to avoid the side effects of conventional medication. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat patients with allergic rhinitis, but the available evidence of its effectiveness is insufficient. Our objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients in Korea and China with persistent allergic rhinitis compared to sham acupuncture treatment or waitlist control.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study consists of a multi-centre (two centres in Korea and two centres in China), randomised, controlled trial with three parallel arms (active acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waitlist group). The active acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups will receive real or sham acupuncture treatment, respectively, three times per week for a total of 12 sessions over four weeks. Post-treatment follow-up will be performed a month later to complement these 12 acupuncture sessions. Participants in the waitlist group will not receive real or sham acupuncture treatments during this period but will only be required to keep recording their symptoms in a daily diary. After four weeks, the same treatment given to the active acupuncture group will be provided to the waitlist group.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for persistent allergic rhinitis. The primary outcome between groups is a change in the self-reported total nasal symptom score (i.e., nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and itching) from baseline at the fourth week. Secondary outcome measures include the Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire score and total non-nasal symptom score (i.e., headache, itching, pain, eye-dropping). The quantity of conventional relief medication used during the follow-up period is another secondary outcome measure.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN90807007</p

Whole transcriptome analyses of six thoroughbred horses before and after exercise using RNA-Seq

Background: Thoroughbred horses are the most expensive domestic animals, and their running ability and knowledge about their muscle-related diseases are important in animal genetics. While the horse reference genome is available, there has been no large-scale functional annotation of the genome using expressed genes derived from transcriptomes. Results: We present a large-scale analysis of whole transcriptome data. We sequenced the whole mRNA from the blood and muscle tissues of six thoroughbred horses before and after exercise. By comparing current genome annotations, we identified 32,361 unigene clusters spanning 51.83 Mb that contained 11,933 (36.87%) annotated genes. More than 60% (20,428) of the unigene clusters did not match any current equine gene model. We also identified 189,973 single nucleotide variations (SNVs) from the sequences aligned against the horse reference genome. Most SNVs (171,558 SNVs; 90.31%) were novel when compared with over 1.1 million equine SNPs from two SNP databases. Using differential expression analysis, we further identified a number of exercise-regulated genes: 62 up-regulated and 80 down-regulated genes in the blood, and 878 up-regulated and 285 down-regulated genes in the muscle. Six of 28 previously-known exercise-related genes were over-expressed in the muscle after exercise. Among the differentially expressed genes, there were 91 transcription factor-encoding genes, which included 56 functionally unknown transcription factor candidates that are probably associated with an early regulatory exercise mechanism. In addition, we found interesting RNA expression patterns where different alternative splicing forms of the same gene showed reversed expressions before and after exercising. Conclusion: The first sequencing-based horse transcriptome data, extensive analyses results, deferentially expressed genes before and after exercise, and candidate genes that are related to the exercise are provided in this study.close151