Clinical study of using basement membrane biological products in pelvic floor reconstruction during pelvic exenteration / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the value of reconstruction of pelvic floor with biological products to prevent and treat empty pelvic syndrome after pelvic exenteration (PE) for locally advanced or recurrent rectal cancer. Methods: This was a descriptive study of data of 56 patients with locally advanced or locally recurrent rectal cancer without or with limited extra-pelvic metastases who had undergone PE and pelvic floor reconstruction using basement membrane biologic products to separate the abdominal and pelvic cavities in the Department of Anorectal Surgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Military Medical University from November 2021 to May 2022. The extent of surgery was divided into two categories: mainly inside the pelvis (41 patients) and including pelvic wall resection (15 patients). In all procedures, basement membrane biologic products were used to reconstruct the pelvic floor and separate the abdominal and pelvic cavities. The procedures included a transperitoneal approach, in which biologic products were used to cover the retroperitoneal defect and the pelvic entrance from the Treitz ligament to the sacral promontory and sutured to the lateral peritoneum, the peritoneal margin of the retained organs in the anterior pelvis, or the pubic arch and pubic symphysis; and a sacrococcygeal approach in which biologic products were used to reconstruct the defect in the pelvic muscle-sacral plane. Variables assessed included patients' baseline information (including sex, age, history of preoperative radiotherapy, recurrence or primary, and extra-pelvic metastases), surgery-related variables (including extent of organ resection, operative time, intraoperative bleeding, and tissue restoration), post-operative recovery (time to recovery of bowel function and time to recovery from empty pelvic syndrome), complications, and findings on follow-up. Postoperative complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Results: The median age of the 41 patients whose surgery was mainly inside the pelvis was 57 (31-82) years. The patients comprised 25 men and 16 women. Of these 41 patients, 23 had locally advanced disease and 18 had locally recurrent disease; 32 had a history of chemotherapy/immunotherapy/targeted therapy and 24 of radiation therapy. Among these patients, the median operative time, median intraoperative bleeding, median time to recovery of bowel function, and median time to resolution of empty pelvic syndrome were 440 (240-1020) minutes, 650 (200-4000) ml, 3 (1-9) days, and 14 (5-105) days, respectively. As for postoperative complications, 37 patients had Clavien-Dindo < grade III and four had ≥ grade III complications. One patient died of multiple organ failure 7 days after surgery, two underwent second surgeries because of massive bleeding from their pelvic floor wounds, and one was successfully resuscitated from respiratory failure. In contrast, the median age of the 15 patients whose procedure included combined pelvic and pelvic wall resection was 61 (43-76) years, they comprised eight men and seven women, four had locally advanced disease and 11 had locally recurrent disease. All had a history of chemotherapy/ immunotherapy and 13 had a history of radiation therapy. The median operative time, median intraoperative bleeding, median time to recovery of bowel function, and median time to relief of empty pelvic syndrome were 600 (360-960) minutes, 1600 (400-4000) ml, 3 (2-7) days, and 68 (7-120) days, respectively, in this subgroup of patients. Twelve of these patients had Clavien-Dindo < grade III and three had ≥ grade III postoperative complications. Follow-up was until 31 October 2022 or death; the median follow-up time was 9 (5-12) months. One patient in this group died 3 months after surgery because of rapid tumor progression. The remaining 54 patients have survived to date and no local recurrences have been detected at the surgical site. Conclusion: The use of basement membrane biologic products for pelvic floor reconstruction and separation of the abdominal and pelvic cavities during PE for locally advanced or recurrent rectal cancer is safe, effective, and feasible. It improves the perioperative safety of PE and warrants more implementation.

Insulin nanoparticles with high oral bioavailability: Research progress / 第二军医大学学报

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by changes in the dynamic balance of blood glucose levels. Subcutaneous injection of insulin is a first-line treatment for diabetes. However, patient compliance is poor due to pain, discomfort, and local infection. Oral administration is convenient and safe, but the existing oral insulin preparations still need to be optimized due to gastrointestinal instability and poor bioavailability. The rapid development of nanopreparation technology provides a solid foundation for improving the bioavailability of oral insulin preparations and achieving the effective oral delivery of insulin. This paper reviews the research progress in insulin nanoparticles with high oral bioavailability in recent years.

Rubus chingii Hu: an overview of botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology / 中国天然药物

Rubus chingii Hu, a member of the rosaceae family, is extensively distributed in China and Japan. Its unripe fruits (Fupenzi in Chinese) have a long history of use as an herbal tonic in traditional Chinese medicine for treating various diseases commonly associated with kidney deficiency, and they are still in use today. Phytochemical investigations on the fruits and leaves of R. chingii indicate the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics, and organic acids. Extracts or active substances from this plant are reported to have various pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antifungal, antithrombotic, antiosteoporotic, hypoglycemic, and central nervous system-regulating effects. This review provides up-to-date information on the botanical characterizations, traditional usages, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, toxicity, and quality control of R. chingii. Possible directions for future research are also briefly proposed. This review aims to supply fundamental data for the further study of R. chingii and contribute to the development of its clinical use.

Prediction of T cell and B cell epitopes of the 22-, 47-, 56-, and 58-kDa proteins of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Objective: To predict B cell and T cell epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins. Methods: The sequences of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins which were derived from Orientia tsutsugamushi were analyzed by SOPMA, DNAstar, Bcepred, ABCpred, NetMHC, NetMHC II and IEDB. The 58-kDa tertiary structure model was built by MODELLER9.17. Results: The 22-kDa B-cell epitopes were located at positions 194-200, 20-26 and 143-154, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 154-174, 95-107, 17-25 and 57-65. The 47-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 413-434, 150-161 and 283-322, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 129-147, 259-267, 412-420 and 80-88. The 56-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 167-173, 410-419 and 101-108, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 88-104, 429-439, 232-240 and 194-202. The 58-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 312-317, 540-548 and 35-55, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 415-434, 66-84 and 214-230. Conclusions: We identified candidate epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins from Orientia tsutsugamushi. In the case of 58-kDa, the dominant antigen is displayed on tertiary structure by homology modeling. Our findings will help target additional recombinant antigens with strong specificity, high sensitivity, and stable expression and will aid in their isolation and purification.

Prediction of T cell and B cell epitopes of the 22-, 47-, 56-, and 58-kDa proteins of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Objective: To predict B cell and T cell epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins. Methods: The sequences of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins which were derived from Orientia tsutsugamushi were analyzed by SOPMA, DNAstar, Bcepred, ABCpred, NetMHC, NetMHCⅡ and IEDB. The 58-kDa tertiary structure model was built by MODELLER9.17. Results: The 22-kDa B-cell epitopes were located at positions 194-200, 20-26 and 143-154, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 154-174, 95-107, 17-25 and 57-65. The 47-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 413-434, 150-161 and 283-322, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 129-147, 259-267, 412-420 and 80-88. The 56-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 167-173, 410-419 and 101-108, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 88-104, 429-439, 232-240 and 194-202. The 58-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 312-317, 540-548 and 35-55, whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 415-434, 66-84 and 214-230. Conclusions: We identified candidate epitopes of 22-kDa, 47-kDa, 56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins from Orientia tsutsugamushi. In the case of 58-kDa, the dominant antigen is displayed on tertiary structure by homology modeling. Our findings will help target additional recombinant antigens with strong specificity, high sensitivity, and stable expression and will aid in their isolation and purification.

History of processing of Sojae Semen Praeparatum / 中国中药杂志

Sojae Semen Praeparatum (SSP) is commonly used as a type of dietetic Chinese herb. By collecting and analyzing ancient and recent literatures, a textual criticism was conducted on the historical evolution of the processing of SSP. Fermented soybean was recorded in Shijing, and relevant rational processing was described in Qimin Yaoshu. In the early time, fermented soybean included the type of "salty" and "light". After the Ming Dynasty, "light" fermented soybean or SSP was recognized as a better medicinal matter than salty fermented soybean, and the fermentation processing was recorded more clearly. In modern time, many characteristic methods for processing SSP have been developed. Today, the processing of SSP is mainly based on the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, which records soybean as a main ingredient and Artemisiae Annuae Herba, Mori Folium as excipients.

Inhibition of SRC-1 expression in prostate cancer cells by RNAi and its significance / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the inhibition of the expression of steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) in the LNCap cell line through RNA interference (RNAi) and the effect of the silenced SRC-1 gene on LNCap cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The experiment included four groups: siRNA transfection, siRNA negative control, bland vehicle (with Lipofectamine 2000 but no siRNA), and blank control (with neither Lipofectamine 2000 nor siRNA). LNCap cells were transfected with designed siRNA using the liposomes method, the expressions of SRC-1 determined by Q-PCR and Western blot, and the proliferation of the LNCap cells detected by the CCK-8 method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of SRC-1 mRNA in the transfected LNCap cells was decreased by 35% at 24 hours and 77% at 48 hours, with statistically significant differences from the blank control group (P < 0.05). The SRC-1 protein expression of the transfected group was 0.359 +/- 0.034 at 24 hours and 0.257 +/- 0.065 at 48 hours, markedly decreased as compared with that of the negative control (0.782 +/- 0.078 and 0.766 +/- 0.043) , bland vehicle (0.840 +/- 0.013 and 0.786 +/- 0.051), and blank control group (0.816 +/- 0.065 and 0.805 +/- 0.107) (P < 0.05). The LNCap cell growth inhibition rates were 25%, 52%, 55% and 60% at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression of SRC-1 is correlated with the growth of LNCap cells; its high expression in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells may be involved in the progression to androgen-independence. Inhibiting the expression of SRC-1 may be an option for the treatment of androgen-dependent prostate cancer.</p>

A preliminary study on the rheological properties of human ejaculate and changes during liquefaction / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To study the changes in rheological properties, namely the parameters of the hysteresis loops and yield stress versus time for human semen after ejaculation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ejaculates were obtained from volunteers and immediately put into the test cup of a Brookfield Programmable DV-11 Rheometer, by which the hysteresis loops and yield stress were determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) Yield stress values dropped down from more than 3000 mPa to 60 mPa in about 5 minutes after ejaculation; (2) The shape of the hysteresis loops of shear stress versus shear rate was changed from the counter-clockwise direction, that enclosed a large area, into the clockwise direction, that enclosed a very small area.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Human ejaculate originally possesses semi-solid or visco-elastic body behavior and in 5 minutes after liquefaction, it becomes a thixotropic fluid or shearing thinning fluid with very low viscosity.</p>