Mechanisms mediating the inhibitory effects of quercetin against phthalates-induced testicular oxidative damage in rats / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of quercetin against testicular oxidative damage induced by a mixture of 3 commonly used phthalates (MPEs) in rats.@*METHODS@#Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, MPEs exposure group, and MPEs with low-, median- and high-dose quercetin treatment groups. For MPEs exposure, the rats were subjected to intragastric administration of MPEs at the daily dose of 900 mg/kg for 30 consecutive days; Quercetin treatments were administered in the same manner at the daily dose of 10, 30, and 90 mg/kg. After the treatments, serum levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and testicular malondialdeyhde (MDA), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected, and testicular pathologies of the rats were observed with HE staining. The expressions of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH2 associated protein 1 (Keap1) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in the testis were detected using immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the rats with MPEs exposure showed significant reductions of the anogenital distance, weight of the testis and epididymis, and the coefficients of the testis and epididymis with lowered serum testosterone, LH and FSH levels (P < 0.05). Testicular histological examination revealed atrophy of the seminiferous tubules, spermatogenic arrest, and hyperplasia of the Leydig cells in MPEs-exposed rats. MPEs exposure also caused significant increments of testicular Nrf2, MDA, SOD, CAT and HO-1 expressions and lowered testicular Keap1 expression (P < 0.05). Treatment with quercetin at the median and high doses significantly ameliorated the pathological changes induced by MPEs exposure (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Quercetin treatment inhibits MPEs-induced oxidative testicular damage in rats possibly by direct scavenging of free radicals to lower testicular oxidative stress and restore the regulation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Biomechanical Modeling of Tissues at Relaxation Stage Based on Neural Network / 医用生物力学

Objective Taking pig kidney as an example, through a series of comparative and analogical experiments, the influencing factors of compressive stress at relaxation stage of biological tissues were analyzed, and a more accurate and widely applicable biomechanical model at relaxation stage was established. Methods The compressive stress relaxation experiments of pig kidney under different conditions were carried out by using the self-built mechanical experiment platform. The collected data were analyzed and mapped, and various factors affecting the relaxation force changes were summarized. Based on the conclusion, the neural network learning algorithm was used to model the force change process at relaxation stage of pig kidney. Results The pre-extrusion pressure and relaxation time were the main influencing factors for compressive stress changes of biological tissues at relaxation stage. The average error of test sample validation experiment was 6.4 mN, and the average prediction error of generalization sample validation experiment was 34.9 mN, so the modeling effect was good. Conclusions Neural network modeling algorithm has the advantages of strong generalization ability and good fault tolerance, which contributes to providing more realistic force tactile feedback prediction for virtual surgery system. It is also a new idea for mechanical modeling of nonlinear biological tissues.

Short-term efficacy observation on Chinese traditional medicine used after functional endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the efficacy of chinese traditional treatment after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for patients with chronic sinusitis.@*METHOD@#Eighty-eight cases of patients with chronic sinusitis were randomly divided into control group and treatment group after FESS and followed for 3 months. The control group received routine treatment. The treatment group received Chinese traditional treatment on the basis of routine treatment. VAS scores, Lund-Kennedy scores and Lund-Mackay scores were employed to conduct the subjective and objective assessment, comprehensively evaluate the clinical efficacy before and after treatment.@*RESULT@#(1) After 3 months of treatment, the two groups of VAS scores and Lund-Mackay scores were significantly improved before treatment (P<0. 05). (2)After 3 months of treatment, the effectiveness of the control group was 81. 8%, treatment group was 97. 7%, the difference was statistically significant(P<0. 05).@*CONCLUSION@#Chinese traditional treatment after FESS can reduce postoperative mucosal edema and promote the postoperative recovery of sinus mucosal inflammation, is effective in preventing the recurrence of postoperative.

Enhancing effect of beta-elemene emulsion on chemotherapy with harringtonine, aclacinomycin and Ara-c in treatment of refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia

This study is to determine the curative effect of beta-elemene emulsion on chemotherapy in the treatment of refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia [AML]. In the beta-elemene emulsion plus HAA chemotherapy [harringtonine, aclacinomycin, Ara-c group] group, 120 cases received beta-elemene emulsion [400 mg] plus the HAA treatment. A 14-day treatment was a course of treatment, followed by an 8-14 day pause, and then the next course of treatment. The HAA treatment included Ara-c, 100 mg/m2, once every 12 h from day 1 to day 7; aclacinomycin, 20 mg/m2, from day 1 to day 7; and homoharringtonine, 4 mg/m2, from day 1 to day 7. The patients in the control HAA group received HAA treatment only. For both groups, effective antibiotics were given to patients when it was necessary. The total effective rate in the beta-elemene emulsion plus HAA group was 80.8%. But the total effective rate in the HAA only group was 52.9%. These results suggest that the beta-elemene emulsion plus HAA treatment has a much better curative effect in comparison with the HAA only treatment [P < 0.05]. Furthermore, beta-elemene emulsion has slightly adverse response, without causing blood and bone marrow depression. Beta-elemene emulsion has a curative effect in treatment of refractory/relapsed AML in combination with harringtonine, aclacinomycin, and Ara-c