Biomedical subjects

M Ye

Publications and source records attributed to M Ye.

130 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Near-work activity and myopia in rural and urban schoolchildren in China.

PURPOSE: To examine the prevalence of myopia in rural and urban schoolchildren in Xiamen, China, and to assess the impact of environmental factors on rates of myopia. METHODS: Second-grade children attending either a city (n=119) or rural (n=91) school in Xiamen, China, were examined using cycloplegic autorefraction and biometry. Detailed questions on socioeconomic status, near-work activity, reading and writing habits, and family histories of myopia were asked in a face-to-face interview using a standard questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of myopia was 19.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.3, 29) in the city and 6.6% (95% CI, 2.4, 14.3) in the countryside. The average hours per day children spent reading and writing outside of school was 2.2 hours in the city compared with 1.6 hours in the countryside (P<.0001). In both schools, the odds ratio for total reading and writing, adjusted for parental history of myopia, was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.1, 4). CONCLUSION: These data suggest the prevalence of myopia is higher in the city than in the countryside. One possible explanation for these different rates could be that schoolchildren in the city spend more time reading and writing outside of school compared with children in the countryside. Myopic children in both the city and the countryside spent more time reading and writing compared with nonmyopic children. This increased near-work activity may contribute to the prevalence of myopia.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of flavonoids in Semen Cuscutae by micellar electrokinetic chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography.

Five different flavonoids in Semen Cuscutae were determined for the first time by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). MEKC was carried out on a 68.5-cm fused-silica capillary using 0.035 mol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.02 mol/L borate-phosphate (pH 7.0) containing 10% methanol as the running buffer. RP-HPLC was performed on a 12.5-cm Hypersil C18 (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A.) column with a 0.025-mol/L phosphate acid (A) - methanol (B) solvent gradient. Both MEKC and HPLC are rapid, simple, and efficient. The results obtained using these techniques are compared. MEKC and HPLC can be complementary to each other for the quality control of Semen Cuscutae.

Calibration↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Polymorphisms in the TAP2 gene and their association with rheumatoid arthritis.

The human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contains two closely related genes (TAP) that encode a family of transporter proteins. It is known that the TAP genes, like other MHC (class I and class II) genes, are polymorphic. In this study we investigated the polymorphisms in the ATP-binding domain of the TAP2 gene and examined the relationship of these polymorphisms to susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). On the basis of the distribution of polymorphisms in these genes, three TAP2 alleles could be identified in homozygous typing cell lines, RA patients and normal subjects: TAP2*0101-1693.G, TAP2*0101-1693.A and TAP2*0201-1693.G. The prevalence of the variant (nucleotide A at position 1693), and thus also of the TAP2*0101-1693.A allele, was significantly (p < 0.006, RR = 4.25) higher in RA patients (35.3%) than in normal controls (11.4%). In addition, the TAP2*0101-1693.A allele showed significant (r = 0.45, p < 0.0003) association with HLA-DR4 only in RA patients and the prevalence of both TAP2*0101-1693.A and DR4 genes gave the highest relative risk (RR = 19.21, p < 0.0002) for RA. These data suggest that the MHC region containing both class II and TAP genes confers the strongest susceptibility to RA, with the highest RR value reported so far. It is likely that the genetic variability in the putative peptide transporter could also be implicated in immunological disorders associated with MHC.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Y box-binding trans-regulatory nuclear proteins and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Inappropriately high levels of expression of HLA-DR molecules or their expression on inappropriate cells, e.g. synovial tissue and T cells, may result in an aberrant tissue-destructive immune response and thus cause susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Patients and controls were typed for HLA-DR antigens by oligonucleotide typing of PCR-amplified DNA. Trans-regulatory nuclear proteins that bind to the Y box in DRB promotors were examined by the gel-mobility shift assay. RESULTS: We found that the trans-regulatory nuclear protein (NF-Y), which binds to the Y box in DRB promoters and which plays a dominant role on the level of the expression and inducibility of DR genes, was absent in 50% of RA patients but not in healthy individuals (0%). Furthermore, we observed that all patients (100%) either lacked the NF-Y protein and/or carried the disease susceptibility DRB1 gene, which gives the highest relative risk value (RR = 46.6; p < 1.6 x 10(-6)) reported so far for susceptibility to RA. CONCLUSION: The absence of the trans-regulatory nuclear protein that binds to the Y box with an inverted CCAAT motif in DRB promotors and the presence of the DRB1 gene with the amino acid motif QKRAA and QRRAA cause susceptibility to RA.

Adult↗