Tracking of Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth Labeled with Molday ION Rhodamine-B during Periodontal Bone Regeneration in Rats

Background and Objectives@#Chronic periodontitis can lead to alveolar bone resorption and eventually tooth loss. Stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) are appropriate bone regeneration seed cells. To track the survival, migration, and differentiation of the transplanted SHED, we used super paramagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIO) Molday ION Rhodamine-B (MIRB) to label and monitor the transplanted cells while repairing periodontal bone defects. @*Methods@#and Results: We determined an appropriate dose of MIRB for labeling SHED by examining the growth and osteogenic differentiation of labeled SHED. Finally, SHED was labeled with 25 μg Fe/ml MIRB before being transplanted into rats. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to track SHED survival and migration in vivo due to a low-intensity signal artifact caused by MIRB. HE and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that both MIRB-labeled and unlabeled SHED could promote periodontal bone regeneration. The colocalization of hNUC and MIRB demonstrated that SHED transplanted into rats could survive in vivo. Furthermore, some MIRB-positive cells expressed the osteoblast and osteocyte markers OCN and DMP1, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that SHED could secrete protein factors, such as IGF-1, OCN, ALP, IL-4, VEGF, and bFGF, which promote bone regeneration. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the transplanted SHED was surrounded by a large number of host-derived Runx2- and Col II-positive cells that played important roles in the bone healing process. @*Conclusions@#SHED could promote periodontal bone regeneration in rats, and the survival of SHED could be tracked in vivo by labeling them with MIRB. SHED are likely to promote bone healing through both direct differentiation and paracrine mechanisms.

Analysis of the causes and clinical results of vertebral fracture during oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the causes of vertebral fracture during oblique lateral interbody fusion in the treatment of lumbar spondylopathy, summarize the clinical results, and propose preventive measures.@*METHODS@#Retrospective analysis was made on the data of 8 cases of lumbar spondylopathy and vertebral fracture treated by oblique lateral interbody fusion in three medical centers from October 2014 to December 2018. All were female, aged from 50 to 81 years with an average of 66.4 years. Disease types included 1 case of lumbar degenerative disease, 3 cases of lumbar spinal stenosis, 2 cases of lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis and 2 cases of lumbar degenerative scoliosis. Preoperative dual energy X-ray bone mineral density test showed that 2 cases had T-value >-1 SD, 2 cases had T-value -1 to -2.5 SD, and 4 cases had T-value <-2.5 SD. Single segment fusion was in 5 cases, two segment fusion in 1 case and three segment fusion in 2 cases. Four cases were treated with OLIF Stand-alone and 4 cases were treated with OLIF combined with posterior pedicle screw fixation. Postoperative imaging examination showed vertebral fracture, and all of them were single vertebral fracture. There were 2 cases of right lower edge fracture of upper vertebral body at fusion segment, 6 cases of lower vertebral body fracture at fusion segment, and 6 cases with endplate injury and fusion cage partially embedded in vertebral body. Three cases of OLIF Stand-alone were treated with pedicle screw fixation via posterior intermuscular approach, while one case of OLIF Stand-alone and four cases of OLIF combined with posterior pedicle screw fixation were not treated specially.@*RESULTS@#The 5 cases of initial operation and 3 cases of reoperation did not show wound skin necrosis or wound infection. The follow-up time was from 12 to 48 months with an average of 22.8 months. Visual analogue scale (VAS) of low back pain was preoperative decreased from 4 to 8 points (averagely 6.3 points) and postoperative 1 to 3 points (averagely 1.7 points) at the final follow-up. Oswestry disability index (ODI) was preoperative 39.7% to 52.4% (averagely 40.2%), and postoperative 7.9% to 11.2% (averagely 9.5%) at the final follow-up. During the follow-up, there was no loosening or fracture of the pedicle screw system, and no lateral displacement of the fusion cage;however, the fusion cage at the vertebral fracture segment had obvious subsidence. The intervertebral space height of vertebral fracture segment was preoperaive 6.7 to 9.2 mm (averagely 8.1 mm), and postoperative 10.5 to 12.8 mm (averagely 11.2 mm). The improvement rate after operation was 37.98% compared to preoperative. The intervertebral space height at final follow-up was 8.4 to 10.9 mm (averagely 9.3 mm), and the loss rate was 16.71% compared with that after operation. At the final follow-up, interbody fusion was achieved in all cases except for one that could not be identified.@*CONCLUSION@#The incidence of vertebral fracture during oblique lateral interbody fusion in the treatment of lumbar spondylopathy is lower, and there are many reasons for fracture, including preoperative bone loss or osteoporosis, endplate injury, irregular shape of endplate, excessive selection of fusion cage, and osteophyte hyperplasia at the affected segment. As long as vertebral fracture is found in time and handled properly, the prognosis is well. However, it still needs to strengthen prevention.

Application of oblique lateral interbody fusion in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration in patients with Modic change and endplate sclerosis / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the feasibility and clinical effect of Stand-alone oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration with Modic changes and endplate sclerosis.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on 16 cases with lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration with Modic changes and endplate sclerosis admitted to three medical centers from January 2015 to December 2018. There were 6 males and 10 females, the age ranged from 45 to 67 years old with an average of (55.48±8.07) years old, the medical history ranged from 36 to 240 months with an average of (82.40±47.68) months. The lesion sites included L2,3 in 2 cases, L3,4 in 5 cases, and L4,5 in 9 cases. All patients presented with chronic low back pain with lower limb neurological symptoms in 3 cases. All patients were treated by Stand-alone oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion. Clinical and radiological findings and complications were observed.@*RESULTS@#There was no vascular injury, endplate injury and vertebral fracture during the operation. The mean incision length, operation time, and intraoperative blood loss were(4.06±0.42) cm, (45.12±5.43) min, (33.40±7.29) ml, respectively. The mean visual analogue scale (VAS) of the incision pain was (1.14±0.47) at 72 hours after operation. There was no incision skin necrosis, poor incision healing or infection in patients. Sympathetic chain injury occurred in 1 case, anterolateral pain and numbness of the left thigh in 2 cases, and weakness of the left iliopsoas muscle in 1 case, all of which were transient injuries with a complication rate of 25%(4/16). All 16 patients were followed up from 12 to 36 months with an average of (20.80±5.46) months. The intervertebral space height was significantly recovered after operation, with slight lost during the follow-up. Coronal and sagittal balance of the lumbar spine showed good improvement at the final follow-up. There was no obvious subsidence or displacement of the cage, and the interbody fusion was obtained. At the final follow-up, Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA) score and Oswestry disability index(ODI) were significantly improved.@*CONCLUSION@#As long as the selection of case is strict enough and the preoperative examination is sufficients, the use of Stand-alone OLIF in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration with Modic changes and endplate sclerosis has a good results, with obvious clinical advantages and is a better surgical choice.

Design and applications of synthetic electroactive microbial consortia / 生物工程学报

Synthetic electroactive microbial consortia, which include exoelectrogenic and electrotrophic communities, catalyze the exchange of chemical and electrical energy in cascade metabolic reactions among different microbial strains. In comparison to a single strain, a community-based organisation that assigns tasks to multiple strains enables a broader feedstock spectrum, faster bi-directional electron transfer, and greater robustness. Therefore, the electroactive microbial consortia held great promise for a variety of applications such as bioelectricity and biohydrogen production, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, carbon and nitrogen fixation, and synthesis of biofuels, inorganic nanomaterials, and polymers. This review firstly summarized the mechanisms of biotic-abiotic interfacial electron transfer as well as biotic-biotic interspecific electron transfer in synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. This was followed by introducing the network of substance and energy metabolism in a synthetic electroactive microbial consortia designed by using the "division-of-labor" principle. Then, the strategies for engineering synthetic electroactive microbial consortiums were explored, which included intercellular communications optimization and ecological niche optimization. We further discussed the specific applications of synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. For instance, the synthetic exoelectrogenic communities were applied to biomass generation power technology, biophotovoltaics for the generation of renewable energy and the fixation of CO2. Moreover, the synthetic electrotrophic communities were applied to light-driven N2 fixation. Finally, this review prospected future research of the synthetic electroactive microbial consortia.

Exploration of hapten-induced atopic dermatitis murine models for non-clinical pharmacodynamics study of drugs / 药学学报

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing, inflammatory dermatosis with a variety of clinical manifestations and difficult to cure. Currently, many AD drug candidates have entered the research and development pipeline. In order to provide technical specifications for the clinical development of AD drugs, the Center for Drug Evaluation of National Medical Products Administration released the "Technical Guidelines for Clinical Trials of Drugs for AD Treatment" (Draft for Comments) in November 2022. Non-clinical pharmacodynamics evaluation is an important research before the drug enters clinical trials. Oxazolone (OXA)- and 2,4-dinitro-fluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced models are the most popular classical hapten-induced AD murine models, but variations of modeling are existing in the methods from different studies, including sensitization sites, haptens' dosages, the period of challenges, and the skin lesions severity evaluation as well. In this study, the investigation of OXA- and DNFB-induced AD murine models with various conditions of modeling was performed to compare the characteristics of hapten-induced AD murine models in the pathological process and severity according to the appearance of AD patients, and the guidance of pharmacodynamics evaluation of AD-therapeutic drugs in clinical trials as well, which may provide a proposal for AD treatment drug candidates in the non-clinical pharmacodynamics evaluation. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care & Welfare Committee of Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (approval No.: 00007782 and 00007784).

Clinical classification and histopathological features of connective tissue nevi / 中华皮肤科杂志

Connective tissue nevi (CTN) , a kind of benign skin hamartomas, can be classified into 3 types according to the excessive components predominating in skin lesions, including collagen type, elastin type and proteoglycan type, and each type of CTN includes various inherited and acquired diseases. Therefore, genetic, clinical, and histopathological features should be considered for the confirmation of diagnosis of CTN and its subtypes. According to the latest Chinese and international literature, this review elaborates clinical classification and histopathological characteristics of CTN, aiming to further strengthen the understanding of this disease.

Efficacy observation of lenalidomide in treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of lenalidomide combined with second-line immunochemotherapy as a salvage regimen in the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).Methods:The clinical data of 37 relapsed/refractory DLBCL patients receiving lenalidomide combined with second-line immunochemotherapy as a salvage regimen who had recurrence after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or who were not eligible for transplantation or had no intention to transplant between January 2016 and December 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China were retrospectively analyzed. Among 37 patients, 6 cases with primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma and 3 cases with secondary CNS lymphoma. The short-term efficacy after treatment was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), and log-rank test was used for subgroup comparison.Results:The median follow-up time of 37 patients was 20.4 months (2.7-37.0 months). At the end of treatment, the overall response rate (ORR) of all patients was 64.9% (24/37), the complete response (CR) rate was 45.9% (17/37), and the median duration of response (DOR) of 24 patients who responded to treatment was 17.7 months (3.6-33.6 months). The median PFS time of all patients was 11.2 months, and the 1-year PFS rate was 48.6% (95% CI 32.5%-64.7%). The median OS time of all patients was not reached, and the 1-year OS was 67.6% (95% CI 52.5%-82.7%). Among 24 responding patients, 17 cases who received lenalidomide maintenance therapy after remission tended to have a better response compared with 7 cases who did not receive lenalidomide maintenance therapy after remission, although there was no significant difference in OS and PFS between both groups (both P > 0.05). Additionally, neutropenia was the most common adverse reaction with an incidence of 81.1% (30/37). Conclusions:Lenalidomide combined with the second-line immunochemotherapy may be an effective salvage therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, especially for patients with CNS involvement. The patients achieving remission after salvage therapy continue to receive lenalidomide maintenance therapy and could have a better prognosis.

Automatic removal algorithm of electrooculographic artifacts in non-invasive brain-computer interface based on independent component analysis / 生物医学工程学杂志

The non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) has gradually become a hot spot of current research, and it has been applied in many fields such as mental disorder detection and physiological monitoring. However, the electroencephalography (EEG) signals required by the non-invasive BCI can be easily contaminated by electrooculographic (EOG) artifacts, which seriously affects the analysis of EEG signals. Therefore, this paper proposed an improved independent component analysis method combined with a frequency filter, which automatically recognizes artifact components based on the correlation coefficient and kurtosis dual threshold. In this method, the frequency difference between EOG and EEG was used to remove the EOG information in the artifact component through frequency filter, so as to retain more EEG information. The experimental results on the public datasets and our laboratory data showed that the method in this paper could effectively improve the effect of EOG artifact removal and improve the loss of EEG information, which is helpful for the promotion of non-invasive BCI.

Clinical application of bipolar tweezers-clamp for hepatic parenchymal transection / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of the bipolar tweezers-clamp for the hepatic parenchymal transection in the resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: From January 2020 to January 2021,63 patients with the hepatocellular carcinoma for hepatectomy at Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery,Yuebei People's Hospital Affiliated to Shantou University Medical College were analyzed retrospectively.According to the different instruments used in the hepatic parenchymal transection,the patients were divided into bipolar tweezers-clamp group and ultrasonic scalpel group.There were 32 patients in bipolar tweezers-clamp group,with age of (55.5±10.5)years(range:37 to 78 years),including 22 males and 10 females,tumor size was (6.0±3.4)cm(range:2.4 to 13.4 cm). There were 6 patients with portal vein tumor thrombus and 5 patients with portal hypertension. There were 31 patients in ultrasonic scalpel group,with aged(57.8±10.1)years(range:37 to 79 years),including 27males and 4 females,tumor size was(7.9±5.1)cm(range: 2.4 to 21.3 cm),3 patients with portal vein tumor thrombus and 2 patients with portal hypertension. The preoperative baseline data,operation time,blood loss,postoperative liver function and the complications were compared between two groups using t test,χ2 test and Fisher exact probabilityrespectively. Results: The operation was successfully completed in both groups.Compared with the ultrasonic scalpel group,the operation time was significantly shorter((219.3±76.4)minutes vs.(294.0±100.8)minutes,t=-3.322,P=0.002),the blood loss was less((250(475)ml vs. 500(1 050)ml,t=-2.307,P=0.026),the concentrate red blood cells transfusion volume was less(0.92(0.88)U vs. 2.32(4.00)U,Z=-1.987,P=0.047) in the bipolar tweezers-clamp group.The postoperative serum ALB level was higher in the bipolar tweezers-clamp group than that in the ultrasonic scalpel group((33.5±6.1)g/L vs. (29.5±4.2)g/L,t=3.226,P=0.020) on postoperative day 1;((35.7±4.5)g/L vs.(30.1±3.2)g/L,t=5.575,P<0.01) on postoperative day 3;((33.2±3.7)g/L vs. (31.0±4.4)g/L,t=3.020,P=0.004) on postoperative day 7. There was no significant difference in serum ALT,TBIL and PT level between the two groups(all P>0.05).No postoperative bile leakage occurred in both groups.The postoperative complications occurred in 8 cases(25.0%)in the bipolar tweezers-clamp group,including liver failure in one,and in 11 cases(35.5%)in the ultrasonic scalpel group,including liver failure in two(P>0.05). Conclusion: The bipolar tweezers-clamp is a safe and reliable method for the hepatic parenchymal transaction,which is quick and less bleeding during the hepatic resection.

Meta-analysis of the efficacy of conjunctival autograft and limbal conjunctival autograft for pterygium / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To compare the analysis of conjunctival autograft(CAG)or limbal conjunctival autograft(LCAG)for treating pterygium.METHODS: Systematic search of the National Library of America Medical Literature Search System(PubMed), the Excerpta Medica Database(EMBASE), the Cochrane Library and the US Clinical Trial Registry which all literatures established of the database from September 2021. The rate of recurrence, corneal epithelial healing time, the change in Schirmer Ⅰ test(SⅠt)and the change in tear break-up time(BUT)were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3, count data were expressed as relative ratio(RR),measurement data were expressed as standardized mean difference(SMD)with 95%CI.RESULTS: There were 15 studies included with a total number of 1 883 surgical eyes,among them, there were 897 eyes experienced LCAG while 986 eyes underwent CAG. For the rate of recurrence, LCAG group was lower than CAG group(RR=0.33, 95%CI: 0.15-0.71, P=0.004). For corneal epithelial healing time, LCAG group seemed to behave better than CAG group(SMD=-0.87, 95%CI: -1.64 to -0.11, P = 0.02). No statistical significance was found for SⅠt(SMD = 0.03, 95% CI, -0.33-0.40, P=0.86)and as for BUT, LACG group showed longer times against CAG group(SMD=0.40, 95%CI: 0.09-0.70, P=0.01).CONCLUSIONS: Pterygium resection combined with LCAG was with lower recurrence rate, faster corneal epithelial healing and more stable tear film rather than CAG.

Clinicopathological and immunophenotypic analysis of 24 cases of transformed mycosis fungoides / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To investigate clinicopathological features and prognosis of transformed mycosis fungoides (TMF) .Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on clinicopathological data collected from 24 patients with TMF, as well as on flow cytometry results of 16 peripheral blood samples obtained from 11 of the 24 patients, who visited Hospital of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between 2014 and 2020.Results:Among the 24 patients, 11 were males and 13 were females. Their average age at diagnosis of TMF was 50.0 years (range: 18 - 77 years), and patients with early-stage TMF (9 cases) and tumor-stage TMF (15 cases) were aged 44.8 and 52.6 years on average, respectively. The average time interval from diagnosis of MF to large cell transformation was 3.7 years, and 8 patients were diagnosed with TMF at the initial visit. Histopathologically, large cells infiltrated in a diffuse pattern in 20 cases, as well as in a multifocal pattern in 4, and the proportion of large cells in 7 cases was greater than 75%. Immunohistochemically, 18 patients showed positive staining for CD30, and the proportion of CD30-positive large cells was greater than 75% in 9; negative staining for CD30 was observed in 6. Flow cytometry of 16 peripheral blood samples showed the presence of cell subsets expressing clonal T cell receptor (TCR) -vβ in 2 of 4 patients with early-stage TMF and 10 of 12 with tumor-stage TMF, and tumor cells with higher forward scatter than normal lymphocytes were detected in 16 samples. During the follow-up, among the patients with early-stage TMF, 3 progressed to tumor-stage TMF 3.3 years on average after large cell transformation, 1 progressed to erythrodermic MF in stage IIIA, and the other 4 still showed an indolent course; among the patients with tumor-stage TMF, 1 progressed to stage-IV TMF, and 5 died 3.3 (1.5 - 6) years after large cell transformation.Conclusion:Large cell transformation may occur in patients with MF in any stage, some patients have poor prognosis, so close follow-up is needed for patients with TMF.

Interobserver agreement of international classification of myopic maculopathy / 中华眼底病杂志

Objective:To observe the interobserver agreement of classification of macular degeneration in severe pathological myopia (PM) by ophthalmologists with different clinical experience.Methods:A retrospective study. From January 2019 to December 2021, 171 eyes of 102 patients with severe PM macular degeneration who were examined at Eye Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital of Capital Medical University were included in the study. The clinical data such as age, gender, axial length, spherical equivalent power, fundus color photography, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were collected in detail. Six independent ophthalmologists (A, B, C, D, E, F) classified each fundus photography based on META-PM and ATN classification of atrophy (A) system and interobserver agreement was assessed by Kappa statistics. According to the classification standard of traction (T) in the ATN classification, the OCT images were interpreted and classified, in which T0 was subdivided into retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroidal thinning, choroidal neovascularization (CNV) with partial RPE and choroidal atrophy, RPE, and choroidal atrophy. Lamellar macular hole can't be classified by ATN system, which was defined as TX. Kappa ( κ) test was used to analyze the consistency of classification results between physicians A, B, C, D, E and F. κ value ≤0.4 indicates low consistency, 0.4 < κ value ≤ 0.6 indicates moderate consistency, and κ value >0.6 indicates strong consistency. Results:Among the 171 eyes of 102 cases, there were 20 males with 37 eyes (19.6%, 20/102), and 82 females with 134 eyes (80.4%, 82/102); age was 61.97±8.78 years; axial length was (30.87±1.93) mm; equivalent spherical power was (-16.56±7.00) D. Atrophy (A) classification results in META-PM classification and ATN classification, the consistency of physician A, B, C, D, E and physician F were 73.01%, 77.19%, 81.28%, 81.28%, 88.89%; κ value were 0.472, 0.538, 0.608, 0.610, 0.753, respectively. In the ATN classification, the T0, T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 were in 109, 18, 11, 12, 9, and 8 eyes, respectively; TX was in 4 eyes.Conclusions:There are differences in the consistency of classification of severe PM macular lesions among physicians with different clinical experience, and the consistency will gradually improve with the accumulation of clinical experience.

Clinicopathological analysis of ten cases of mucinous nevi / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To investigate clinical and histopathological features of mucinous nevi.Methods:Clinical and pathological data were collected from 10 patients with clinically and histopathologically confirmed mucinous nevi in Hospital of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2014 to December 2019, and retrospectively analyzed.Results:All cases developed mucinous nevi in childhood, with an average age of onset being 6.5 years. Of the 10 patients, 7 had lesions on the trunk, among whom 4 had lesions on the back; the remaining 2 had lesions on the limbs, and 1 had generalized lesions on the trunk and limbs. The skin lesions were locally arranged in lines, bands or clusters, and skin-colored, reddish or yellow in color, with the texture varying from soft to hard. Histopathological examination showed that 10 patients presented with disordered arrangement of collagen fiber bundles in the dermis and mucin deposition at varying locations and to different degrees among them, 6 with thickened and red-stained collagen fibers in the deposition area, and the remaining 4 with sparse and decreased collagen; focal liquefaction degeneration of the basal layer was observed in 2 cases, and different amounts of mature adipose tissue in the dermis were seen in 3 cases.Conclusions:Mucinous nevus pathologically manifests as mucin deposition of varying degrees among disorderedly arrangd collagen fiber bundles in the dermis, which is similar to some other diseases, and is easily misdiagnosed. Close combination of clinical and pathological features facilitates confirmed diagnosis.

Four-stitch cholangiojejunostomy / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the clinical application efficacy of four-stitch cholangiojejunostomy.Methods:Of 38 patients who received four-needle biliary and enterointestinal anastomosis in the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Yuebei People's Hospital Affiliated to Shantou University Medical College from November 2016 to April 2020 were included, and the diseases, surgical methods and postoperative complications of four-needle biliary and enterointestinal anastomosis were analyzed.Results:There were 26 males and 12 females with an average of 57.3(44-77) years. Among 38 patients, there were 12 hilar cholangiocarcinoma patients, 10 pancreatic head cancer, 9 duodenal papillary cancer, 4 intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct stones, 1 pancreatic cystic adenoma, 1 gastric cancer invading pancreatic head and 1 gallbladder carcinoma. The procedure included pancreatoduodenectomy in 20, radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma in 12, hepatectomy with biliary-enteric anastomosis in 4, radical resection of gastric cancer combined with pancreaticoduodenectomy in 1, radical resection of gallbladder carcinoma in 1. One, two and three ductal openings were anastomosed in 27, 7 and 4 patients, respectively. 10 patients have bile duct diameter <6 mm. Postoperative anastomotic leakage occurred in 1, and all patients were received followed-up visit for 2 months to 4 years without anastomotic stenosis.Conclusion:Four-stitch cholangiojejunostomy is simple, safe, effective, and convenient for small biliary ductal surgeries.

Transcriptomics analysis of hypoxia-induced retinal pigment epithelium cell injury / 中华实验眼科杂志

Objective:To analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the changes of signal pathways in human retinal pigment epithelium cells (ARPE-19) under hypoxic and normoxic conditions and to explore the biological mechanism of hypoxia-induced ARPE-19 cell damage via transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and bioinformatics technology.Methods:The ARPE-19 cells were divided into the hypoxia treatment group and the normoxia control group treated with 1% and 21% O 2 by volume for 8, 24, 48, 72 hours, respectively.The relative expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA were detected with real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR at different time points.RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis were performed at 8 hours and 24 hours after hypoxia and normoxia treatment.DEGs were screened out under the conditions of |log 2FC|≥1 and P≤0.05.Then the cluster heat map analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network analysis were also carried out.Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was employed at 24 hours after hypoxia to detect the relative mRNA expression of genes that might be related to hypoxia in DEGs.Cell viability kit was used to verify and compare the damage effect of hypoxia on ARPE-19 cells at different time points between the two groups. Results:The relative mRNA expression levels of VEGF at 8, 24, 48 and 72 hours after hypoxia treatment and the relative HIF-1α mRNA expression levels at 8, 24 and 48 hours after hypoxia treatment were significantly higher than those of the normoxia control group (all at P<0.05). There were large differences in the mRNA expression levels at 8-hour and 24-hour treatment between the two groups.A total of 62 significant DEGs were screened between the hypoxia treatment group and the normoxia control group after 8-hour hypoxia treatment, among which 45 genes were significantly up-regulated and 17 genes were significantly down-regulated.A total of 255 significant DEGs were screened out between the hypoxia treatment group and the normoxia control group after 24-hour hypoxia treatment, among which 228 genes were significantly up-regulated and 27 genes were significantly down-regulated.The GO functional analysis of DEGs was mainly enriched in processes such as protein degradation, nucleotide biosynthesis, and material transport.KEGG pathway analysis was mainly enriched in PI3K-Akt, cGMP-PKG, and other signaling pathways closely related to metabolism, cell cycle, cell growth, and apoptosis.The core genes HPCA, MT3 and NOS3 were found by protein-protein interaction network analysis.Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR test results showed that after 24-hour hypoxia treatment, the mRNA expression levels of hypoxia related genes DEPP1, NPPB, PDZK1, HILPDA, TCEA3, NDRG1 and RORC in ARPE-19 cells were significantly increased and the mRNA expression levels of TFRC and NQO1 were significantly decreased (all at P<0.05). The cell morphology was normal and the growth state was good without dead cells after 8-hour and 24-hour hypoxia treatment in ARPE-19 cells.There were dead cells after 48-hour hypoxia treatment, and the number of dead cells was increased at 72 hours after hypoxia treatment. Conclusions:The PI3K-Akt and cGMP-PKG signaling pathways related to metabolism may be involved in hypoxia-induced injury of ARPE-19 cells.Core genes of HPCA, MT3 and NOS3 can be used as functional target genes and play key roles in hypoxia response of cells.

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acid attenuates hyperhomocysteinemia-induced hepatic steatosis by increasing hepatic LXA / 生理学报

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) both are major health problems worldwide, whose incidence are closely related with each other. We previously reported the mechanism of HHcy-caused hepatic steatosis, but the role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) in HHcy-induced hepatic steatosis remains unclear. In this study, 6-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were given a high methionine diet (HMD, 2% methionine diet), and plasma homocysteine levels were measured by ELISA to confirm the establishment of an HHcy model. Meantime, mice were fed HMD with or without n-3 PUFA supplement for 8 weeks to determine the role and mechanism of n-3 PUFA in hepatic steatosis induced by HHcy. Results showed that n-3 PUFA significantly improved hepatic lipid deposition induced by HHcy. qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that n-3 PUFA inhibited the upregulation of Cd36, a key enzyme of fatty acid uptake, caused by HHcy. Further, the inhibition of hepatic Cd36 expression was associated with the inactivation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) induced by n-3 PUFA. Of note, mass spectrometry revealed that hepatic content of lipoxin A

Bioinformatics analysis of transcriptome sequencing of early hypoxia damage in photoreceptor 661W cell line / 中华眼底病杂志

Objective:To analyze the early changes of gene expression levels and signaling pathways in 661W cell line under hypoxic conditions and to find potential functional target genes.Methods:The cultured mouse 661W cells were divided into hypoxia treatment group and normoxia control group. Cells in the hypoxia treatment group were cultured in a three-gas incubator with volume fraction of 1% and 5% CO 2 at 37 ℃. Cells in the normoxia control group were cultured in an incubator at 37 ℃ with volume fraction of 5% CO 2. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to sequence the transcriptome of 661W cell treated with hypoxia and normoxia for 4 hours to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEG). Clustering heat map analysis, gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network (PPI) analysis were performed. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to verify the accuracy of the sequencing results. Results:A total of 506 differentially expressed genes were screened, including 459 up-regulated genes and 47 down-regulated genes. GO functional enrichment analysis showed that the main biological processes of DEG were the cell's response to hypoxia, glycolysis, negative regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis. hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α pathway, glycolysis, Forkhead box O (FoxO) pathway, Insulin signaling pathway and Adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway were involved in the above process. PPI analysis results showed that hub genes related to hypoxia were Aldoa, Aldoc, Gpi1, Hk2, Hk1, Pfkl, Pfkp, Vhl, Fbxo10 and Fbxo27. The RT-PCR results showed that the relative expression levels of 15 DEG mRNA in the hypoxic treatment group were higher than that of the normoxic control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of N-myc downstream-regulated gene-1 ( Ndrg1 ), Mt1, and vascular endothelial growth factor A ( VEGFA) were time-dependent on hypoxia. Conclusions:Under hypoxia, DEG is mainly related to glucose metabolism, cell response to hypoxia, regulation of proliferation and apoptosis. HIF-1α pathway, glycolysis, FoxO pathway and AMPK pathway are involved in the early changes of 661W cells under hypoxia. Aldoa, Aldoc, Gpi1, Hk2, Hk1, Pfkl, Pfkp, Vhl, Fbxo10, Fbxo27 may play key roles in the response of 661W cells to hypoxia. Ndrg1, Mt1 and VEGFA could be potential functional target genes for the study of ischemia and hypoxia-related fundus diseases.

Progress in enhancing electron transfer rate between exoelectrogenic microorganisms and electrode interface / 生物工程学报

Exoelectrogenic microorganisms are the research basis of microbial electrochemical technologies such as microbial fuel cells, electrolytic cells and electrosynthesis. However, their applications are restricted in organic degradation, power generation, seawater desalination, bioremediation, and biosensors due to the weak ability of biofilm formation and the low extracellular electron transfer (EET) efficiency between exoelectrogenic microorganisms and electrode. Therefore, engineering optimization of interaction between exoelectrogenic microorganisms and electrode interface recently has been the research focus. In this article, we review the updated progress in strategies for enhancing microbe-electrode interactions based on microbial engineering modifications, with a focus on the applicability and limitations of these strategies. In addition, we also address research prospects of enhancing the interaction between electroactive cells and electrodes.

Construction of conjugated polymer-exoelectrogen hybrid bioelectrodes and applications in microbial fuel cells / 生物工程学报

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioelectrochemical device, that enables simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy generation. However, a few issues such as low output power, high ohmic internal resistance, and long start-up time greatly limit MFCs' applications. MFC anode is the carrier of microbial attachment, and plays a key role in the generation and transmission of electrons. High-quality bioelectrodes have developed into an effective way to improve MFC performance. Conjugated polymers have advantages of low cost, high conductivity, chemical stability and good biocompatibility. The use of conjugated polymers to modify bioelectrodes can achieve a large specific surface area and shorten the charge transfer path, thereby achieving efficient biological electrochemical performance. In addition, bacteria can be coated with nano-scale conjugated polymer and effectively transfer the electrons generated by cells to electrodes. This article reviews the recently reported applications of conjugated polymers in microbial fuel cells, focusing on the MFC anode materials modified by conjugated polymers. This review also systematically analyzes the advantages and limitations of conjugated polymers, and how these composite hybrid bioelectrodes solve practical issues such as low energy output, high inner resistance, and long starting time.

Immune characteristics of Plasmodium reinfections in mice following chloroquine cure of primary Plasmodium infections / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the disease progression and immunoprotective characteristics in mice re-infected with homogeneous/heterogeneous Plasmodium strains following cure of Plasmodium infections with chloroquine at the peak of parasitemia. MethodsC57BL/6 mice were infected with the non-lethal P. yoelii 17XNL strain, and half of mice were given treatment with chloroquine at the peak of parasitemia (9 days post-infection), while the other mice were self-cured naturally. Then, all cured mice were re-infected with the equivalent lethal P. yoelii 17XL or P. berghei ANKA strain 90 days following primary Plasmodium infections. The parasitemia levels during primary infections and reinfections were measured by microscopic examinations of Giemsa-stained thin blood films, and the levels of the IgG antibody in sera and the percentages of memory T cell subsets in spleen cells were detected in mice using ELISA and flow cytometry before and after parasite reinfections, respectively. Results Following primary infections with the P. yoelii 17XNL strain, the serum IgG antibody levels were (5.047 ± 0.924) pg/mL in the selfcured mice and (4.429 ± 0.624) pg/mL in the chloroquine-treated mice, respectively (t = 0.437, P > 0.05), which were both significantly higher than that in the uninfected mice (1.624 pg/mL ± 0.280 pg/mL) (F = 22.522, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the serum IgG antibody level among self-cured and chloroquine-treated mice re-infected with the P. yoelii 17XL strain or the P. berghei ANKA strain (F = 0.542, P > 0.05); however, the serum IgG antibody levels were all significantly higher in selfcured and chloroquine-treated mice re-infected with the P. yoelii 17XLstrain[(15.487±1.173)pg/mLand(15.965±1.150)pg/mL] or the P. berghei ANKA strain [(14.644 ± 1.523) pg/mL and (15.185 ± 1.333) pg/mL] relative to primary infections (F = 67.383, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the proportion of CD4+ [(34.208 ± 2.106), (32.820 ± 1.930), (34.023 ± 2.289), (35.608 ± 1.779) pg/mL] or CD8+ T memory cells [(17.935 ± 2.092), (18.918 ± 2.823), (17.103 ± 1.627), (17.873 ± 1.425) pg/mL] in self-cured and chloroquine-treated mice with primary infections with the P. yoelii 17XNL strain followed by re-infections with the P. yoelii 17XL strain or the P. berghei ANKA strain (F = 0.944 and 0.390, both P > 0.05); however, the proportions of the CD4+ or CD8+ T memory cells were significantly greater in self-cured and chloroquine-treated mice with primary infections with the P. yoelii 17XNL strain followed by re-infections with the P. yoelii 17XL strain or the P. berghei ANKA strain than in mice with primary infections (F = 50.532 and 21.751, both P < 0.01). Conclusions The cure of murine Plasmodium infections with chloroquine does not affect the production of effective immune protections in mice during parasite re-infections. Following a primary infection, mice show a protection against re-infections with either homogeneous or heterogeneous Plasmodium strains, and a higher-level resistance to re-infections with homogeneous parasite strains is found than with heterogeneous strains.