Associations between indoor volatile organic compounds and nocturnal heart rate variability of young female adults: A panel study / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the association between short-term exposure to indoor total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and nocturnal heart rate variability (HRV) among young female adults.@*METHODS@#This panel study recruited 50 young females from one university in Beijing, China from December 2021 to April 2022. All the participants underwent two sequential visits. During each visit, real time indoor TVOC concentration was monitored using an indoor air quality detector. The real time levels of indoor temperature, relative humidity, noise, carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter were monitored using a temperature and humidity meter, a noise meter, a carbon dioxide meter and a particulate counter, respectively. HRV parameters were measured using a 12-lead Holter. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the association between the TVOC and HRV parameters and establish the exposure-response relationships, and two-pollutant models were applied to examine the robustness of the results.@*RESULTS@#The mean age of the 50 female subjects was (22.5±2.3) years, and the mean body mass index was (20.4±1.9) kg/m2. During this study, the median (interquartile range) of indoor TVOC concentrations was 0.069 (0.046) mg/m3, the median (interquartile range) of indoor temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, noise level and fine particulate matter concentration were 24.3 (2.7) ℃, 38.5% (15.0%), 0.1% (0.1%), 52.7 (5.8) dB(A) and 10.3 (21.5) μg/m3, respectively. Short-term exposure to indoor TVOC was associated with significant changes in time-domain and frequency-domain HRV parameters, and the exposure metric for most HRV parameters with the most significant changes was 1 h-moving average. Along with a 0.01 mg/m3 increment in 1 h-moving average concentration of indoor TVOC, this study observed decreases of 1.89% (95%CI: -2.28%, -1.50%) in standard deviation of all normal to normal intervals (SDNN), 1.92% (95%CI: -2.32%, -1.51%) in standard deviation of average normal to normal intervals (SDANN), 0.64% (95%CI: -1.13%, -0.14%) in percentage of adjacent NN intervals differing by more than 50 ms (pNN50), 3.52% (95%CI: -4.30%, -2.74%) in total power (TP), 5.01% (95%CI: -6.21%, -3.79%) in very low frequency (VLF) power, and 4.36% (95%CI: -5.16%, -3.55%) in low frequency (LF) power. The exposure-response curves showed that indoor TVOC was negatively correlated with SDNN, SDANN, TP, and VLF when the concentration exceeded 0.1 mg/m3. The two-pollutant models indicated that the results were generally robust after controlling indoor noise and fine particulate matter.@*CONCLUSION@#Short-term exposure to indoor TVOC was associated with significant negative changes in nocturnal HRV of young women. This study provides an important scientific basis for relevant prevention and control measures.

High tibial osteotomy combined with lateral retinacular release for the treatment of knee varus osteoarthritis with lateral patellar compression syndrome / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the clinical effect of high tibial osteotomy combined with arthroscopic lateral retinacular release in the treatment of knee varus osteoarthritis.@*METHODS@#From October 2017 to April 2019, a retrospective analysis was performed on 43 patients with knee varus osteoarthritis and lateral patellar compression syndrome treated by high tibial osteotomy combined with arthroscopic lateral retinacular release. There were 15 males and 28 females, aged 53 to 72(62.05±5.17) years. The visual analogue scale(VAS), Lysholm, and the knee range of motion were used to evaluate knee pain and functional recovery before operation, 2 weeks, 3 months and 12 months after operation. And the congruence angle (CA), patellar tilt angle (PTA), and femala-tibial angle (FTA) were measured respectively before and 12 months after operation to evaluate the congruence of patellar joint, and the improvement of line of gravity of lower limb.@*RESULTS@#All 43 patients were followed up for more than 12 months, with a follow-up time of 14 to 28 (19.60±4.50) months. The VAS scores decreased from 6.65±0.65 before operation to 2.16±0.95, 0.51±0.77 and 0.33±0.64 at 2 weeks, 3 months and 12 months after operation, and the difference was statistically significant (@*CONCLUSION@#High tibial osteotomy combined with arthroscopic lateral retinacular release can relieve weight-bearing pain in frontal axis and improve the function of knee in sagittal axis.

Evaluation of cartilage regeneration by arthroscopy after high tibial osteotomy / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the cartilage regeneration in the knee joint by arthroscopy after high tibial osteotomy.@*METHODS@#Eleven patients were included in the study who were treated with high tibial osteotomy and underwent microscopy when the internal fixation was unloaded from September 2017 to September 2019. Among them, there were 2 males and 9 females, aged from 55 to 64 years old. The internal and external compartment pictures of the knee were taken before and after surgery of removing the internal fixation and the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) grading systerm was used to evaluate the degree of cartilage damage on the medial and lateral femoralcondyles and tibial plateau. The Westrn Ontarioand Mcmaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and the weight bearing line (WBL) were used to evaluate the function of the knee and the alignment of the lower limb.@*RESULTS@#All 8 patients were followed up for more than 12 months, ranging from 12 to 22 months. The degenerated cartilage of the medial femoral condyle and medial tibial plateau was covered by newly regenerated cartilage. WOMAC score decreased from 102-127 to 41-52 and WBL was improved from 17%-34% to 58%-64%. All incisions healed in stageⅠ, and no complications such as internal fixation rupture and infection occurred during and after the operation.@*CONCLUSION@#High tibial osteotomy can relieve the pain of the knee and the dysfunction by adjusting lower limb alignment, and the degenerated cartilage could be regenerated in the medial femoral condyle and medial tibial plateau.

Bioinformatics-based analysis of the microarray data on intervertebral disc degeneration / 医学研究生学报

Objective MicroRNAs (miRNA) play an important role in the development and progression of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study was to search for differentially expressed miRNAs and predict their target genes in the degenerative intervertebral disc tissue. Methods Data on the miRNA expression profile in the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc were downloaded from the GEO database, involving nucleus pulposus samples from 3 cases of IDD and normal nucleus pulposus samples from another 3 patients with new traumatic lumbar fracture. Differentially expressed microRNAs were identified in the nucleus pulposus tissues of the IDD and normal control groups with the R Software, and the target genes significantly differentially expressed in the miRNAs were predicted using the miRWalk Software. The above target genes were enriched in the clusterProfiler package by GO biological function analysis and KEGG pathway analysis. Meanwhile, a protein-protein interaction network of the target genes was constructed with the STRING database and Cytoscape software, and the hub genes were identified. Based on the Pfirrmann grading of IDD, the subjects involved in the GSE23130 data were divided into a control group (≤grade 3, n = 15) and an IDD group (>grade 3, n = 8) followed by analysis of the expression levels of the hub genes. Results A total of 374 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, 189 up-regulated and 185 down-regulated, with hsa-let-7b-5p most significantly down-regulated. Prediction of the 5 most significantly up- or down-regulated miRNAs showed the highest number of target genes in hsa-let-7b-5p, 85 in all, including GPAT4, E2F2, and PAK1. GO enrichment analysis manifested that these target genes were mainly involved in the biological processes of cell cycle G1/S phase transition and positive regulation of membrane-targeted proteins. The signaling pathways enriched in the target genes mainly included prolactin, insulin, p53 signaling pathways. Ten hub genes were identified by analysis of the PPI network, including CCND2, NRAS, E2F2, E2F6, STX3, CDCA8, RRM2, PPP2R2A, TXLNG and AKT2. The expression levels of CCND2, NRAS, E2F2, E2F6, STX3, CDCA8, RRM2, PPP2R2A and AKT2 in the degenerative intervertebral disc tissue were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Significantly reduced expression of hsa-let-7b-5p in the nucleus pulposus tissue of IDD patients may play an important role in IDD by regulating its target genes CCND2, NRAS, etc.

Ligustrazine nano-spray against postoperative abdominal adhesion / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress is one of the important mechanisms of postoperative abdominal adhesion. The nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant response element (ARE) signal pathway is an important endogenous anti-oxidation stress pathway. Our previous study found that ligustrazine nano-spray can inhibit the formation of postoperative abdominal adhesion in rats, and moreover, ligustrazine has an anti-oxidation effect. OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of ligustrazine nano-spray on the expression of mRNAs and proteins related to the Nrf2-ARE signal pathway in rats with abdominal adhesion, and to investigate the mechanism by which ligustrazine nano-spray inhibits abdominal adhesion via regulating the Nrf2-ARE signal pathway. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group, ligustrazine group and sodium hyaluronate group. In the sham group, only laparotomy was performed without modeling. In the model group, an abdominal adhesion model was created but no drug was used. In the ligustrazine group, ligustrazine nano-spray was used on the wound before incision suturing. In the sodium hyaluronate group, sodium hyaluronate was applied on the wound before incision suturing. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the model group, ligustrazine nano-spray reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1, but increased the level of matrix metalloproteinase 9 in the rat serum. The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 mRNA and proteins was also up-regulated in the ligustrazine group relative to the model group. Therefore, ligustrazine nano-sprays can inhibit abdominal adhesions in rats, and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase 1 mRNA and proteins expression and the activation of Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway.

Genetic Variants in the ELOVL5 but not ELOVL2 Gene Associated with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Han Chinese Breast Milk / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

The present study was designed to examine the contributions of the fatty acid elongase (ELOVL) gene polymorphisms to the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in breast milk. Two hundred and nine healthy Han Chinese mothers were included in the study. Carriers of minor alleles of SNPs (rs2397142 and rs9357760) in ELOVL5 were associated with higher levels of linoleic acid (LA), dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA), arachidonic acid (AA), docosatetraenoic acid (DTA), docosahexenoic acid (DHA), while in rs209512 of ELOVL5 the carriers of minor alleles had lower levels of DTA compared to major homozygote alleles (P ranged from 0.004-0.046), and genetically explained variability ranged from 3.2% for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to 6.0% for LA. Our findings demonstrated that common variation in ELOVL5 gene encoding rate-limiting enzymes in the metabolism of PUFAs contribute to the PUFAs in breast milk.

Study and exploration of stage assessment of standardized resident training / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective To explore and establish the effective model of assessment for residen-cy training. Methods Totally 181 residents completed general specialist stage of resident training of Liaoning province in 2010. Assessment process was designed and implemented for general specialist training stage, including theory exam (basic knowledge, professional knowledge and public knowledge) and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) (standardized patient(SP), computer-based case simulations(CCS) and clinical skills operation). T test and variance analysis were used and P≤0.05 stands for statistically significant difference. Results The total results consisted of two parts, theory examination results (40.00%) and OSCE results (60.00%) and two students failed the examination. The mean score of OSCE was up to standard (66.58±5.50). The mean score of SP and CCS was close to standard. The mean score of clinical skills operation reached a good level. In terms of the OSCE, SP examination and CCS examination, the performance of residents from the two universities had sig-nificant difference (t=3.818, P=0.000; t=5.581, P=0.000; t=5.419, P=0.013) and the performance of residents from the five hospitals also had significant differences. Conclusions The assessment of standardized resident training is improving gradually. Through the widespread application of OSCE in the assessment;it could be helpful to the clinical training of residents.

Exploration and practice of stage assessment of standardized resident training in Liaoning province / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Stage assessment is an important part of standardized resident training.After two years of practice and exploration,Liaoning had established the complete examination and evaluation system including the theory test and skill test and this system was future improved through analyzing two years' results and summing up the experiences making it more suitable for residency training in the future.

Determination method for in vitro disintegrating time of oral disintegrating tablets of Chinese herbal drug / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To develop methods for determining the disintegration time of oral disintegrating tablets (ODTs) of Chinese herbal drug, and to select the evaluation method with good reproducibility, resolving power, and in vivo and in vitro correlation. Methods: Several placebo ODTs and Chinese herbal drug ODTs were prepared. Their in vitro disintegration time was determined by self-developed method and routine methods, and the results were compared with the oral disintegration time. The reproducibility, resolving power, and the correlation between in vivo and in vitro of those methods were evaluated. Results = Different determination methods obtained different disintegration results of the same tablet. Graduated cylinder and improved disintegration apparatus both had shortcomings and their determination results were very different from that of the oral disintegration time. Our self-developed disintegration device could better determine the disintegration ability of the ODTs, and the result was closer to the oral disintegration time, with clear end point of disintegration and better reproducibility, resolving power, and the in vivo and in vitro correlation compared with other methods. Conclusion: Our self-developed device is suitable to determine in vitro disintegration time of ODTs, and may serve as a reference for quality control of ODTs.

To explore the relation between erythrocyte sedimentation rate and postoperative recurrence of spinal tuberculosis / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relation between erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) and postoperative recurrence of spinal tuberculosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty cases (36 males and 44 female,ranging from 20 to 71 years with an average of 38.2 years)of spinal tuberculosis treated with focus debridement were divided into two groups according to the preoperative value of ESR: Group A (ESR > or = 40 mm/h) and Group B (ESR < 40 mm/h). Patients in two groups were treated by the same method. The postoperative recurrences in two groups were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients were followed up. The recurred cases were 5 in Group A and 4 in Group B. There is no significant difference between two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ESR is not the key factor to choose the right operative time to perform debridement.</p>