Effects of electroacupuncture preconditioning of "Neiguan"(PC 6) on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury via Akt/mTOR pathway / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:To observe the effects of electroacupuncture preconditioning on the autophagy-related pathway protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in myocardial tissue of rats with myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI); To investigate the protective mechanism of "Neiguan"(PC 6) on myocardial injury.Methods:Totally 48 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group, sham-operation group, model group and Neiguan group ( n=12 in each group). The Neiguan group was applied to bilateral "Neiguan"(PC 6) by electroacupuncture for 30 min, once daily for consecutive 7 days before model replication. Except in the blank group, the MIRI model was established by ligation of the descending anterior branch of the left coronary artery in the rest groups after the intervention. The histomorphological changes in the myocardium of the rats were observed by HE staining, and the expression levels of Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), mTOR and phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR) in the myocardium were measured by protein immunoblotting. The ratio of p-Akt/Akt and p-mTOR/mTOR was calculated. Results:In the blank group, the myocardial fibres were arranged regularly and neatly, and no inflammatory cell infiltration or haemorrhage was seen in the interstitium; in the sham-operation group, the arrangement of myocardial fibers was slightly irregular, no rupture was found, and a small amount of myocardial fiber gap was slightly enlarged; in the model group, the distribution of myocardial fibers was disordered, hypertrophic cardiomyocytes increased, some mitochondria were red and swollen or the outer membrane was ruptured, and inflammatory infiltration and hemorrhage were seen in the interstitium; the extent of myocardial lesions in the Neiguan group was less than that in the model group, with a small amount of interstitial hemorrhage and inflammatory cell infiltration. There was no statistical significance in the levels of Akt and mTOR in the myocardial tissues of the rats in each group ( P>0.05); compared with the sham-operation group, the levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-Akt/Akt, p-mTOR/mTOR in the model group decreased ( P<0.01); compared with the model group, the levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-Akt/Akt, p-mTOR/mTOR in the Neiguan group increased ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Electroacupuncture preconditioning may inhibit excessive autophagy by activating the Akt/mTOR pathway in cardiomyocytes of MIRI rats, thereby exerting a protective effect on the myocardium.

An investigation of bacillary dysentery outbreaks in three schools in Ankang / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate risk factors and epidemiological characteristics of bacillary dysentery outbreaks in three schools, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of the epidemic in the future.@*Methods@#Case definition was established. All suspected, possible and confirmed cases of all students and faculty members from 3 schools (A, B, C) were selected for epidemiological investigation. Control group was used for case-control analysis, and relevant samples were collected for laboratory testing.@*Results@#A total of 132 cases were found in 3 schools, all of which were from students, with the incidence rate of 17.74%. The morbidity in kindergarten A was 20.00%, in center primary school B it was 21.74%, and in junior middle school C it was 11.61%. Cohort studies and casecontrol studies suggested that schools are exposed places and that washing hands with raw water in schools was possible risk factor [OR(95%CI) =4.50(1.01-20.11)]. Nine stool samples were tested in laboratory, among which 8 were positive for Shigella(88.99%), and Shigella was detected in the end nodes of school s pipeline network, the water samples from canteen bucket, and the floor drains of sewer pipe.@*Conclusion@#The bacillary dysentery outbreaks in 3 schools was caused by Shigella, which may be due to fecal contamination of domestic water in 3 schools before the start of the school year. It is suggested to strengthen the management of centralized water supply and construction in rural areas, intensify the supervision at all levels, and sanitation and disinfection before school opens at all levels.

Evaluation of interference factors in creatinine measurement by using new guideline CLSI EP7-A3 / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the interfering factors in the determination of creatinine(Cr) using the American Clinical Laboratory Standards Association (CLSI) EP7-A3 document.Methods:According to the CLSI EP7-A3 document, fresh serum (no hemolysis, lipemia, and jaundice) was used on the day of the experiment and confirmed the interfering substances through the pairing difference experiment and the point-to-point analysis method was used in the dose effect experiment to clarify the difference of interfering substances.Results:Triglyceride (16.94 mmol/L), dobutamine hydrochloride (4.01 μmol/L), ascorbic acid (298 μmol/L) did not interfere with the determination of Cr. Free bilirubin (684 μmol/L), conjugated bilirubin (684 μmol/L), calcium hydroxybenzene sulfonate (144 μmol/L) and hemoglobin (10 g/L) were used as the maximum concentrations of interferences for the dose effect test, the results showed that the above interferences had negative interference on the determination of Cr.Conclusion:According to EP7-A3, it is valuable to evaluate the interference factors of creatinine determination.

LC-MS/MS-based screening of new protein biomarkers for cervical precancerous lesions and cervical cancer / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To screen potential plasma protein biomarkers for the progression of cervical precancerous lesions into cervical carcinoma and analyze their functions.@*METHODS@#Plasma samples obtained from healthy control subjects, patients with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), cervical cancer (CC), and patients with CC after treatment were enriched for low-abundance proteins for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The MS data of the samples were analyzed using Discoverer 2.2 software, and the differential proteins (peptide coverage ≥20%, unique peptides≥2) were screened by comparison of LSIL, HSIL and CC groups against the control group followed by verification using target proteomics technology. Protein function enrichment and coexpression analyses were carried out to explore the role of the differentially expressed proteins as potential biomarkers and their pathological mechanisms.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, both LSIL group and HSIL group showed 9 differential proteins; 5 differentially expressed proteins were identified in CC group. The proteins ORM2 and HPR showed obvious differential expressions in LSIL and HSIL groups compared with the control group, and could serve as potential biomarkers for the progression of cervical carcinoma. The expression of F9 increased consistently with the lesion progression from LSIL to HSIL and CC, suggesting its value as a potential biomarker for the progression of cervical cancer. CFI and AFM protein levels were obviously decreased in treated patients with CC compared with the patients before treatment, indicating their predictive value for the therapeutic efficacy. Protein function enrichment analysis showed that all these differentially expressed proteins were associated with the complement system and the coagulation cascades pathway.@*CONCLUSIONS@#We identified 5 new protein biomarkers (F9, CFI, AFM, HPR, and ORM2) for cervical precancerous lesions and for prognostic evaluation of CC, and combined detection of these biomarkers may help in the evaluation of the development and progression of CC and also in improving the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of cervical lesions.

Clinical analysis of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary diseases in patients with mechanical ventilation / 中华危重病急救医学

To study the risk factors and the clinical characteristics of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pulmonary diseases in patients with mechanical ventilation. Methods Retrospective survey was carried out in the patients with mechanical ventilation who combined with NTM pulmonary disease admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from May 2016 to May 2019. The general information, basic diseases, symptoms, signs, biochemical examinations, acid-fast stain test, mycobacterium culture and strain identification results, and chest CT data were collected to summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with mechanical ventilation combined with NTM pulmonary disease. Results There were 12 patients with mechanical ventilation combined with NTM pulmonary disease, 6 males and 6 females, 37-82 years old, with an average age of 65 years. In these 12 cases, patients with cancer (lung cancer were 4 cases, mediastinal tumor was 1 case) and after lung transplantation (use of anti-rejection drugs at the same time) were 5 and 2 respectively. Patients with at least 3 underlying diseases [included hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, chronic renal insufficiency] were 5. Clinical symptoms of the 12 cases were non-specific. The CT findings were not characteristic, including nodules, patchy infiltrations and fibrous streak. Pleural effusion was common among these subjects but nodular bronchiectatic patterns were absence. Routine laboratory indicators of bacterial infection were non-specific. But the number of lymphocytes of all cases decreased. Mycobacteria cultures were positive with the rapid growth of mycobacteria in these 12 cases. Mycobacterium avium (4 cases), Mycobacterium chelonae (4 cases), Mycobacterium chelonae-abscessus complex (2 cases) and Mycobacterium intracellulare (2 cases) were isolated. Anti-NTM therapy was given to the patients when the acid-fast staining test of their airway secretion was positive and the TB-DNA test was negative, including oral levofloxacin and clarithromycin. Finally, all patients were successfully weaned and discharged from ICU. Conclusions The clinical symptoms of NTM patients with pulmonary disease are non-specific, and the imaging features of chest CT are varied. Patients with mechanical ventilation in ICU, who have the risk of immune dysfunction or underlying structural lung diseases, and who have difficult controlled lung infection, accompanied by pleural effusion and with decreased lymphocytes, should be aware that pneumonia may be caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

Identification and Validation of Circulating MicroRNA Signatures for Breast Cancer Early Detection Based on Large Scale Tissue-Derived Data / 한국유방암학회지

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer among women worldwide, and therefore, improved approaches for its early detection are urgently needed. As microRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly recognized as critical regulators in tumorigenesis and possess excellent stability in plasma, this study focused on using miRNAs to develop a method for identifying noninvasive biomarkers. METHODS: To discover critical candidates, differential expression analysis was performed on tissue-originated miRNA profiles of 409 early breast cancer patients and 87 healthy controls from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We selected candidates from the differentially expressed miRNAs and then evaluated every possible molecular signature formed by the candidates. The best signature was validated in independent serum samples from 113 early breast cancer patients and 47 healthy controls using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The miRNA candidates in our method were revealed to be associated with breast cancer according to previous studies and showed potential as useful biomarkers. When validated in independent serum samples, the area under curve of the final miRNA signature (miR-21-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-99a-5p) was 0.895. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 97.9% and 73.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study established a novel and effective method to identify biomarkers for early breast cancer. And the method, is also suitable for other cancer types. Furthermore, a combination of three miRNAs was identified as a prospective biomarker for breast cancer early detection.

Cause of massive hemoptysis in critical patients and the effect of bronchial artery embolization / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective@#To investigate the cause of massive hemoptysis in critical patients, and to evaluate the effect of bronchial artery embolization (BAE) on critical patients with massive hemoptysis.@*Methods@#A retrospective controlled analysis was conducted. The clinical data of 35 patients with life-threatening massive hemoptysis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of the First Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University from January 2009 to December 2017 were analyzed. The patients were divided into BAE and non-BAE group according to whether receiving BAE or not. BAE patients were subdivided into subgroups: hemoptysis after ventilation and hemoptysis before ventilation subgroups, as well as survival and non-survival subgroups. The etiology of all massive hemoptysis was analyzed. The gender, age, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score, amount of hemoptysis, whether presence of pleural thickening in chest CT, the length of ICU stay, total length of hospital stay, the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), clinical effective and prognostic indicators of patients were recorded. The correlation between variables was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis.@*Results@#All 35 patients were enrolled in the finally analysis. The main cause of critical patients with massive hemoptysis was fungal infection [37.1% (13/35)], followed by pneumonia and abnormal coagulation [17.1% (6/35)], bronchiectasis [11.4% (4/35)], tumor [8.6% (3/35)], etc. In all 35 patients, 27 were treated with BAE and 8 were treated without BAE. There was no difference in gender, age, the length of ICU stay, total length of hospital stay, the duration of MV, amount of hemoptysis, APACHEⅡ score, whether use antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants, or whether presence of pleural thickening in chest CT between the two groups. The rate of hemoptysis remission in BAE group was significantly higher than that of non-BAE group [92.6% (25/27) vs. 25.0% (2/8), P < 0.01], but there was no statistically significant difference in hospital survival as compared with that of non-BAE group [48.1% (13/27) vs. 25.0% (2/8), P > 0.05]. Subgroup analysis showed that 64.3% (9/14) of patients with hemoptysis after ventilation was caused by pulmonary fungal infection, which was significantly higher than those with hemoptysis before ventilation [15.4% (2/13), P = 0.018]. Compared with hemoptysis after ventilation group, the length of ICU stay and the duration of MV in hemoptysis before ventilation group were significantly shortened [the length of ICU stay (days): 12.0 (14.0) vs. 30.0 (81.8), the duration of MV (days): 10.0 (16.0) vs. 25.0 (68.3)], the patients using antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulant drugs was decreased significantly (case: 1 vs. 9, all P < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference in gender, age, total length of hospital stay, amount of hemoptysis, APACHEⅡ score, whether presence of pleural thickening in chest CT, the rate of hemoptysis remission, the incidence of secondary BAE or hospital survival rate between the two groups. Compared with the survival subgroup (n = 13), more patients in the non-survival subgroup (n = 14) were treated with antiplatelet or anticoagulants (P < 0.05); and Spearman correlation analysis showed that the survival of the patients with BAE was negatively correlated with the use of antiplatelet or anticoagulants (r = -0.432, P = 0.024). There was no significant difference in the gender, age, the length of ICU day, total length of hospitalization, duration of MV, estimated hemoptysis, APACHE Ⅱ score, or the proportion of pleural thickening between the two groups.@*Conclusions@#The study indicated that the etiology of massive hemoptysis in critical patients was complicated. Fungal infection was the main cause in patients with hemoptysis after ventilation. BAE was effective in the control of massive hemoptysis in ICU, but it was not ideal for patients with abnormal coagulation function or abnormal platelet count or platelet dysfunction from antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs, the overall survival rate was still low.

Ratcheting strain and theoretical prediction of articular cartilage under cyclic loading / 医用生物力学

Objective To obtain the ratcheting strain of articular cartilage under different loading conditions,and construct the theoretical model so as to predict the ratcheting strain of cartilage.Methods The fresh articular cartilage obtained from the trochlear of distal femur was used as experimental subject.The ratcheting strain of articular cartilage was tested under cyclic compressive loads by applying the non-contact digital image correlation technique.The theoretical model was constructed to predict the ratcheting strain of articular cartilage with different stress amplitudes and stress rates.The results from predictions were compared with the experimental results.Results The ratcheting strain of cartilage increased rapidly at initial stage and then showed the slower increase with cycles increasing.The ratcheting strain increased with stress amplitude increasing when the stress rate was constant.However,the ratcheting strain decreased with stress rate increasing when the stress amplitude was constant.When the stress rate increased,the ratcheting stain decreased.The prediction results of the established theoretical model were in good agreement with experimental results.Conclusions The ratcheting strain of articular cartilage is proportional to the stress amplitude,and inversely proportional to the stress rate.The established theoretical model can predict the ratcheting strain of articular cartilage and provide guidance for the construction of tissue engineered artificial cartilage.

The balance function of the patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo during standing / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#The purpose of the study was to investigate the balance function of the patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) during standing.@*METHOD@#In this study 41 patients with posterior semicircular canal BPPV (PC BPPV) and 11 patients with horizontal semicircular canal BPPV (HC BPPV) were recruited. Dynamic balance during standing was measured in Sensory Organization Test (SOT). Static balance during standing was measured in modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance (mCTSIB). Data of BPPV patients were compared to that from 44 normal controls.@*RESULT@#Scores of the patients with PC BPPV were lower than that of the normal controls in the last three test conditions of SOT. Patients with PC BPPV demonstrated greater sway velocity in stance on foam with eyes open and eyes closed in mCTSIB. No postural deficit was observed in neither SOT nor mCTSIB when the patients with HC BPPV were compared to the normal controls.@*CONCLUSION@#Disorders of the horizontal semicircular canal do not influence postural control. Both dynamic and static posturography can detect the postural imbalance caused by posterior semicircular canal dysfunction.

Reformation and exploration of selective courses optimization in computer class for medical colleges based on Java language / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Computer selective courses in medical colleges based on C language are facing many problems. First, C language lacks continuity with follow-up courses and well combines with professional courses, which result in loss of interest of students and few students would like choose this selective course. Second, the computer selective courses are miscellaneous and discontinuous, which occupies much time and therefore necessitate integration and optimization. The reformations and implementation schemes are proposed to optimize computer selective courses based on Java language. On the one land, different computer selective courses are optimized, credit hours are compressed, and selective interests of the students are improved. In addition, the practicability and scalability of computer selective courses are enhanced combining the characteristics of medical science specialty.

Study on characteristics of erythrocyte parameters in carriers of alpha-thalassemia deletional genotypes / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To study the change characteristics of erythrocyte parameters in carriers of deletional alpha-thalassemia gene.Methods 389 patients with deletional alpha-thalassemia gene determined by the gap-PCR technique were classified into three groups based on different genotypes of alpha-thalassemia including silent thalassemia group,alpha-thalassemia trait group (265 ca-ses)and intermediate thalassemia group,and contemporaneous 188 healthy adults were randomly selected as the normal control-group(NC).The erythrocyte parameters including RBC,Hb,MCV,MCH,RDW were retrospectively analyzed and their differences were compared among aboved-mentioned groups by the analysis of variance and the multiple comparison.Results Alpha-thalasse-mia manifested by different degrees of microcyte hypochromia.There were statistically significant differences in the erythrocyte pa-rameters among various genotypes and phenotypes about erythrocyte indices(P <0.05).Moreover,the Hb,MCV and MCH values were lower than those in the control group,and had the decreasing tendency with the increase of deletedα-globin gene numbers;but the RDW value was higher than that in the control group,showing the increasing tendency,the differences had statistical siginifi-cance(P <0.05).Conclusion With the increase of deleted α-globin gene number,the characteristic of small-cell low-hemoglobin is more and more remarkable.RBC has a overall increase,while Hb,MCV and MCH have a decreasing tendency,and the heterogeneity of erythrocyte volume is increased.When MCV and MCH decreasing in high risk region,thalassemia should be highly suspected, but normal MCV and MCH can not exclude silent thalassemia and alpha-thalassemia trait.

Effects of therapeutic hypercapnia on acute pulmonary allograft rejection induced by macrophages in rats / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of therapeutic hypercapnia on acute pulmonary allograft rejection induced by macrophages in rats.Methods Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats and 12 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 250-280 g,were used in this study.The recipient rats were randomly divided into 3 groups using a random number table (n =6 each):syngraft group (group S),allograft group (group A) and therapeutic hypercapnia group (group H).In group S,Wistar rats served as donors and recipients,while in A and H groups,Sprague-Dawley rats served as donors and Wistar rats served as recipients.Orthotopic left lung transplantation was performed using the cuff technique.After transplantation,the rats inhaled 50％ N2-50％ O2 for 90 min during reperfusion in S and A groups,while in group H the rats inhaled N2-O2-CO2 for 90 min during reperfusion and PaCO2 was maintained at 80-100 mm Hg and O2 concentration in inspired air at 48％-50％ by adjusting the concentrations of the three gases.At 7 days after operation,the arterial blood sample was collected for blood gas analysis and for determination of serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interferon γ (IFN-γ)by ELISA.The oxygenation index was calculated.Then the rats were sacrificed,and the transplanted lungs were removed for microscopic examination and for detection of infiltration of macrophages (by immunohistochemistry)and cell apoptosis (by using TUNEL) in lung tissues.The rejection was scored and apoptotic index was calculated.Results Compared with group S,PaCO2,serum concentrations of TNF-α and IFN-γ,rejection score,the number of macrophages and apoptotic index were significantly increased,and oxygenation index was decreased in group A (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with group A,pH value and oxygenation index were significantly increased,and serum concentrations of TNF-α and IFN-γ,rejection score,the number of macrophages and apoptotic index were decreased in group H (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Therapeutic hypercapnia can reduce macrophage-induced acute pulmonary allograft rejection possibly through inhibiting the inflammatory responses and cell apoptosis.