Eucommia granules activate Wnt/β-catenin pathway, and improve oxidative stress, inflammation, and endothelial injury in preeclampsia rats

ABSTRACT Purpose: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related complication. Eucommia is effective in the treatment of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, but the specific effects and possible mechanisms of Eucommia granules (EG) in PE remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of EG in PE rats. Methods: Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 6): the control group, the model group, the low-dose group, the medium-dose group, and the high-dose group of EG. The PE model was established by subcutaneous injection of levonitroarginine methyl ester. Saline was given to the blank and model groups, and the Eucommia granules were given by gavage to the remaining groups. Blood pressure and urinary protein were detected. The body length and weight of the pups and the weight of the placenta were recorded. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), placental growth factor (PIGF), and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sFIt-1) were measured in the placenta. Pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related protein expression was detected using Western blot. Results: Compared with the model group, the PE rats treated with EG had lower blood pressure and urinary protein. The length and weight of the pups and placental weight were increased. Inflammation and necrosis in the placental tissue was improved. SOD level increased, MDA content and sFIt-1/PIGF ratio decreased, and Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related protein expression level increased. Moreover, the results of EG on PE rats increased with higher doses of EG. Conclusions: EG may activate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and inhibit oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular endothelial injury in PE rats, thereby improving the perinatal prognosis of preeclamptic rats. EG may inhibit oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular endothelial injury through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in preeclampsia rats, thereby improving perinatal outcomes in PE rats.

Prevalence of eating out and its association with overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Hebei Province / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of eating out among children and adolescents aged 6-17 in Hebei Province, and to explore the association between eating out and overweight/obesity.@*Methods@#Data came from Children and Nurse Nutrition Health Monitoring of China during 2016-2017. Questionnaire surveys and anthropometric measures was conducted among 3 330 children aged 6-17 in 12 survey sites. Multivariate Logistics stepwise regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of eating out and the relationship between eating out and overweight/obesity.@*Results@#The proportion of eating out was 16.19%, and the rate of overweight and obesity was 29.43%. Multivariate analysis showed that the older children (junior high school students:OR=1.36; high school students:OR=3.57, both P<0.05) and adolescents from highincome families (10 000~<20 000 CNY:OR=1.48; ≥20 000 CNY:OR=2.93, both P<0.05) were more likely to eat out. Children and adolescents living in rural areas (OR=0.20, P<0.01), nononlychild (OR=0.76, P=0.02), day school students (OR=0.21, P<0.01), and the primary caregivers of the elderly (OR=0.69, P=0.03) were less likely to eat out. In addition, eating out was statistically associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity (OR=1.31, P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#Eating out is common among children and adolescents aged 6-17 in Hebei Province. Residency, age, household income, onechild family, boarding and and eating out behaviors of primary caregivers are associated with eating out among children and adolescents. Eating out may increase the risk of overweight/obesity in children.

LINC24065 is a monoallelically expressed long intergenic noncoding RNA located in the cattle DLK1–DIO3 cluster

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulators of biological processes, and regulate genomic imprinting in cis and/or trans to induce monoallelic expression with parent-origin-specific pattern. DLK1–DIO3 domain is one of the largest imprinted clusters in mammals, and maternally expressed noncoding RNAs of this region is related to the pluripotency of the embryonic stem cells. Previously, we sequenced the cDNA of two maternally expressed noncoding RNAs, MEG8 and MEG9, and mapped a lncRNA (LINC24061) between the two genes in the cattle DLK1–DIO3 domain on chromosome 21. In this study, we identified LINC24065, a novel long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA), which was also located between MEG8 and MEG9. We identified four variants of LINC24065 (LINC24065-v1, LINC24065-v2, LINC24065-v3 and LINC24065-v4) that were a result of alternative splicing from 18 exons. LINC24065-v1 and LINC24065-v2 showed tissue-specific expression patterns in adultbovine tissues, and LINC24065-v3 and LINC24065-v4 were detected in all eight analysed tissues (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, skeletal muscle, adipose and brain). Using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based method, LINC24065 was identified to have monoallelic expression in adult tissues, suggesting that it is imprinted in cows. These results provide a foundation for further investigation about whether LINC24065 plays a role in regulating imprinting of the DLK1–DIO3 domain.

Early diagnostic value of urinary NGAL for postoperative acute kidney injury in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective     To investigate the early diagnostic value of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) for acute kidney injury (AKI) after acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. Methods     From January 2018 to December 2018, the clinical data of 50 patients who underwent open surgery for acute Stanford type A aortic dissection were analyzed in Nanjing First Hospital. Urine specimens were collected before and 2 hours after the aortic dissection surgery. Patients were divided into an AKI group (n=27) and a non-AKI group (n=23) according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of urine NGAL.  Results    The incidence of postoperative AKI was 54.00% (27/50). There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in serum creatinine concentration at 2 hours after surgery and urinary NGAL concentration before the surgery (P<0.05). The area under ROC curve of preoperative urinary NGAL concentration was 0.626. When cut-off value was 43 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 40.7%, specificity was 95.7%. The area under ROC curve of urinary NGAL concentration at 2 hours after surgery was 0.655, and when the cut-off value was 46.95 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 63.0%, specificity was 78.3%.  Conclusion     Urine NGAL can predict postoperative AKI in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection, but its value is limited.

Therapeutic effect of mild hypothermia on the inflammatory response and outcome in perioperative patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection: A randomized controlled trial / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of mild hypothermia on the inflammatory response, organ function and outcome in perioperative patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAAD). Methods From February 2017 to February 2018, 56 patients with AAAD admitted in our department were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups including a control group and an experimental group. After deep hypothermia circulatory arrest during operation, in the control group (n=28), the patients were rewarmed to normal body temperatures (36 to 37 centigrade degree), and which would be maintained for 24 hours after operation. While in the experimental group (n=28), the patients were rewarmed to mild hypothermia (34 to 35 centigrade degree), and the rest steps were the same to the control group. The thoracic drainage volume and the incidence of shivering at the first 24 hours after operation, inflammatory indicators and organ function during perioperation, and outcomes were compared between the two groups. There were 20 males and 8 females at age of 51.5±8.7 years in the control group, 24 males and 4 females at age of 53.3±11.2 years in the experimental group. Results There was no obvious difference in the basic information and operation information in patients between the two groups. Compared to the control group, at the 24th hour after operation, the level of peripheral blood matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was lower than that in the experimental group (P=0.008). In the experimental group, after operation, the awakening time was much shorter (P=0.008), the incidence of bloodstream infection was much lower (P=0.019). While the incidence of delirium, acute kidney injury (AKI), hepatic insufficiency, mechanical ventilation duration, intensive care unit (ICU) stays, or hospital mortality rate showed no statistical difference. And at the first 24 hours after operation, there was no difference in the thoracic drainage volume between the two groups, and no patient suffered from shivering. Conclusion The mild hypothermia therapy is able to shorten the awakening time and reduce the incidence of bloodstream infection after operation in the patients with AAAD, and does not cause the increase of thoracic drainage volume or shivering.

Effect of carboprost tromethamine in prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in cesarean section

Carboprost tromethamine is a synthetic prostaglandin derivative, which can effectively promote law contraction of the uterus and significantly reduce the amount of bleeding during and after delivery. In this study, we explored the effect of carboprost tromethamine on the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage after cesarean section and the effect on coagulation function and hemodynamics. At the same time, the effects of oxytocin and carboprost tromethamine were studied in different groups. The results showed that the amount of 2h bleeding [256.7+/-65.21] mL and the amount of 24h hemorrhage [308.3+/-78.3] after the operation were significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant [P<0.05]. After the operation, the levels of APTT, TT and Fib in the two groups were significantly lower than those before the operation. The levels of SBP [119.4+/-8.24] mmHg and DBP [79.6+/-6.21] mmHg in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. In summary, carboprost tromethamine has a significant effect on the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in cesarean section, and has a significant effect on improving the state of hypercoagulable blood and maintaining the stable hemodynamic state, which has clinical a value

Partial nephrectomy for T3aN0M0 renal cell carcinoma: shall we step forward?

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the prognosis of non-metastatic T3a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with partial nephrectomy (PN). Patients and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 125 patients with non-metastatic T3a RCC. Patients undergoing PN and radical nephrectomy (RN) were strictly matched by clinic-pathologic characteristics. Log-rank test and Cox regression model were used for univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: 18 pair patients were matched and the median follow-up was 35.5 (10-86) months. PN patients had a higher postoperative eGFR than RN patients (P=0.034). Cancer-specific survival (CSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) did not differ between two groups (P=0.305 and P=0.524). On multivariate analysis, CSS decreased with positive surgical margin and anemia (both P <0.01) and RFS decreased with Furhman grade, positive surgical margin, and anemia (all P<0.01). Conclusions: For patients with non-metastatic pT3a RCC, PN may be a possible option for similar oncology outcomes and better renal function.