Evolution Characteristics and Clinical Significance of Blood Separation in Patients with Multiple Myeloma / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the evolution of blood separation results by gel extraction of multiple myeloma (MM) patients, and to evaluate the clinical value of abnormal blood separation results for the evaluation of disease and prognosis.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 5 patients diagnosed newly MM patients with abnormal blood separation of gel collection vessels in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed, and the changes of blood separation results and blood index levels were followed up with the improvement of treatment effect, and the correlation of different blood index levels was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#In 5 patients with newly diagnosed MM, the blood separation result showed floating phenomenon after centrifugation, which divided into three layers and the order from top to bottom is separator gel, serum, and red blood cells(RBC). With partial remission of clinical symptoms, the blood separation results were still abnormal, which were divided into three layers from top to bottom: serum, RBC and separator gel. Finally, with complete remission of the disease, blood separation results returned to normal, from top to bottom: serum, separator gel, RBC. With the blood separation results from abnormal to normal, the blood routine indicators: Hb, Hct levels gradually increased, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) gradually decreased; biochemical indexes: TP, GLB, Ig and β2-MG levels gradually decreased. Tumor load related indicators: serum IL-6, TNF-α, IL-17 levels gradually decreased, and IL-35 levels gradually increased; and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum β2-MG was positively correlated with IL-6, TNF-α and IL-17 levels (r=0.710, 0.756, 0.581, P<0.05), and negatively correlated with IL-35 level (r=-0565, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Abnormal blood separation exists in MM patients, and there are significant differences in blood, tumor load and immune balance related indexes in patients with different blood separation results, which provides partial experimental basis for evaluation of disease, efficacy and prognosis with different blood separation results.

Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treatment of Lymphatic Metastasis of Gastric Cancer / 中国实验方剂学杂志

The incidence and mortality of gastric cancer are higher among all kinds of tumors, and the number of deaths due to gastric cancer in China is as high as 498 000.Because the pathogenesis of early gastric cancer is not obvious, most patients who have been treated in hospitals are already in middle and advanced stages of gastric cancer, which brings a heavy burden to families and the society. The postoperative survival of patients of advanced gastric cancer is significantly lower than those of early gastric cancer. The most important reason is lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer. Lymphatic metastasis is the main metastasis pathway of gastric cancer. The lymphatic metastasis rate of progressive gastric cancer is as high as 70%, and early gastric cancer can also have lymphatic metastasis. The lymph node metastasis rate of gastric cancer was positively correlated with the infiltration depth of the tumor. In addition to surgical resection, lymphatic chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapies, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has also played an important role due to the advantages of a low toxicity, good therapeutic effect and low price. According to the theory of TCM, the occurrence of gastric cancer is caused by unclean diet, emotional disorders, and deficiencies, which result in phlegm, Qi resistance, blood stasis, and attack the stomach. The pathogenesis is the asthenia in origin and asthenia in superficiality, and clinical TCM therapies mostly focus on phlegm and blood stasis, spleen and Qi, warm and cold. In recent years, a number of studies have proved that TCM has a significant and effective effect in the treatment of lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer. It may inhibit the anoikis and the tumor by inhibiting the hydrolysis of matrix metalloproteinase on the basement membrane and extracellular matrix (ECM), stimulating tumor anoikis, suppressing lymphatic neovascularization, regulating tumor-associated gene expression and other pathways, so as to treat lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer. This article reviews the advance of theoretical research, experimental research and clinical research of TCM in the treatment of lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer in recent years, and reveals the mechanism of TCM and its targets, in order to provide scientific basis for further studies and clinical application of the effect of TCM on the lymphatic metastasis of gastric cancer.

Correlation between glucose and lipid metabolism and body mass index in patients with chronic respiratory diseases in Urumqi / 上海预防医学

Objective To determine the relationship between abnormal blood glucose and lipid levels and body mass index in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Methods This research was conducted in Urumqi baseline survey population from "Xinjiang multi-ethnic cohort study" in which patients with chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were screened.The patients were defined as angular, normal, overweight, obesity groups according to body mass index (BMI), and were compared with blood levels of lipid and glucose, and rate of abnormal metabolism. Results A total of 6 046 subjects were included in the 2018 Urumqi cohort study, including 545 patients with chronic respiratory diseases.The prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases in different age groups and at different physical activity levels was different, and the prevalence of emaciation group was significantly higher than that of the other three groups.However, there were no statistically significant differences among people with different genders, nationalities, educational levels and whether they smoked or not.There were statistically significant differences in fasting glucose, serum cholesterol (TC) and serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels among respiratory patients with different BMI (P < 0.05).The detection rates of hyperglycemia, high TG and low HDL increased with the increase of BMI.The result of multi-factor analysis showed that blood glucose, TG and HDL were the influencing factors of BMI. Conclusion Increase of body mass index in patients with chronic respiratory diseases is associated with abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism, which is not significantly different from that in patients with non-respiratory diseases.However, the body mass index and nutritional status of patients with long-term diseases should be closely monitored, and timely intervention measures should be taken to delay the disease process.

Effects of psychological counseling intervention on increasing methadone dosage and reducing heroin use among patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To learn about the effects of psychological counseling intervention on reducing heroin use, increasing methadone dosage and improving compliance rate of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Subjects who had had at least one positive result for regular urine morphine tests during the past three months were recruited from 16 MMT clinics. During the three-month intervention period, the subjects received regular psychological counseling provided by doctors (once every other week) and peer education (once a week). Positive rates of urine morphine tests, average days receiving MMT during three months before the intervention and during the intervention, and average daily dosage of methadone during the last week before intervention and during the last week of the intervention programs conducted were recorded and compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 492 patients receiving MMT were surveyed. There were significant changes in positive rates for urine morphine tests, average daily dosage, and average days on MMT before and during the intervention programs. The positive rate for urine morphine tests dropped from 50.1% to 27.1%; the average daily dosage of methadone increased from 63.0 mg to 72.6 mg; the average days receiving MMT increased from 69.4 days to 73.9 days.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Intensive psychological counseling intervention was effective in reducing heroin use, increasing methadone dosage and improving compliance rate of MMT among patients receiving MMT.</p>

Ornithine aspartate and naloxone combined therapy for hepatic encephalopathy affects cognitive function, prognosis, and neuropeptide levels / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the potential effects on cognitive function, prognosis, and neuropeptide levels of patients in response to combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone for hepatic encephalopathy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-four consecutive patients diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy were randomly divided into two equal groups. The control group (n = 42) received traditional medical treatment, and the research group (n = 42) received the traditional medical treatment as well as the combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone. The supplemental treatment was comprised of daily intravenous injection of 10-15 g ornithine aspartate in 250 ml of 5% glucose plus intravenous drip of 3 mg naloxone in 100 ml of 5% glucose, and was given in 7-day cycles for one or two cycles. The cognitive function of patients was assessed by Hasegawa Intelligence Scale (HDS) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaires. The effective rate and time duration from coma to consciousness were recorded. Changes in blood ammonia level, markers of liver function, and neuropeptide levels were measured by standard biochemical assays. Intergroup differences were assessed by the Chi-squared test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The HDS and MMSE scores of the research group were significantly higher than those of the control group after therapy. The effective rate, time duration from coma to consciousness, blood ammonia, the liver function markers alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase and total bilirubin, and the neuropeptides arginine vasopressin and beta-endorphin were remarkably improved after treatment in the research group, as compared with that in the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Supplementing the traditional treatment for hepatic encephalopathy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone combination therapy provides better therapeutic outcome than traditional treatment alone.</p>

Biomechanical properties of the complete mandibular subperiosteal implant under different bite loads / 医用生物力学

Objective To investigate biomechanical properties of the complete mandibular subperiosteal implant under four different bite loads, and provide some references for the personalized implant design in clinical cases. Methods Based on the three-dimensional model of human mandible, two kinds of matching complete mandibular subperiosteal implants, meshy base (implant 1) and zonary base (implant 2), were established, respectively. Stress distributions of both the two implants under four different bite loads were calculated and compared. Results The maximum stress of implant 1 was 230.42 MPa under the load Ⅳ and that of implant 2 was 311.11 MPa under the load Ⅰ. The stress distributions and maximum stress showed that the implant with meshy base had better resistance to the vertical loads, while the implant with zonary base had better resistance to the horizontal loads. Conclusions Rational arrangement for the number of posts and the distance between posts can effectively control the stress of implants. Posts should be placed in a vertical direction with the alveolar bone to avoid amplifying the horizontal component. In addition, posts should be well bounded to the bases, so that the stress on the bottom of posts won’t be at a high level. The complete denture should be guaranteed to contact at several spots during centric, protrusive and lateral bites to keep occlusion balance and decrease the maximum tensile stress on the contact surface.

Determination of plumbagin in different parts of Plumbago zeylanica by RP-HPLC / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a RP-HPLC method to determine plumbagin in Plumbago zeylanica, and to investigate contents of plumbagin in different parts of. P. zeylanica.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The analysis was carried out at 30 degrees C on a Kromasil C18, column eluted with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of methanol-water (65: 35). The flow rate was 1 mL x min(-1), the detector wavelength was 213 nm.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The calibration curve was linear within the concentration ranges of 0.020 8-0. 104 microg (r = 0. 9999). The average recovery was 98.7%. The contents in the root, stem and leaf were 0.394 5%, 0.050 8%, 0.031 4% respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This method is simple, accurate, replicate and suitable for the determination of plumbagin in P. zeylanica.</p>

Microenvironment effect of APA microcapsule on embryonic stem cell / 生理学报

We undertook a series of studies to evaluate the role of microenvironment during embryonic stem cell (ESC) proliferation and differentiation. In this paper, cell microencapsulation technology was employed, which allows the free exchange of nutrients, oxygen and biologically active products between the entrapped cell and culture medium. We analyzed the feasibility of mouse ESCs in microcapsules and evaluated the growth, metabolic activity and differentiation of ESCs once enclosed in alginate-Ca(2+) microbead, solid or liquefied core alginate-poly-lysine-alginate (APA) microcapsule, respectively. We found that ESCs grew gradually in both types of microcapsules, but the appearance of cells was distinctive for each type of capsule. In the case of unliquefied microcapsules, cells created multiple spherical or lens-shaped aggregates. In contrast, the liquefied alginate core allowed the enclosed ESCs to grow together in a clump at the periphery of the capsule. Combined with cell viability and activity of glucose/lactic acid metabolism, the liquefied core of APA might provide more suitable culture conditions for the ESC growth in comparison with the unliquefied type or alginate-Ca(2+). For better evaluating the nature of ESC growth in APA microcapsules in vitro (that is whether or not encapsulated ESCs maintained undifferentiated state while they kept the ability for proliferation), the expression of the typical markers for undifferentiated, dividing ESCs, such as the stage specific embryonic antigen (SSEA-1) and alkaline phosphatase (AP), was detected by immunochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that cell aggregates formed in the microcapsule still expressed the marker proteins at a higher level on day 22 in vitro. The expression of gene Oct-4, a transcription factor necessary for maintaining ESCs in an undifferentiated state, was also detected when RT-PCR assay was employed (on day 22 in vitro). In addition, cell aggregates were released from the microcapsules by mechanical disruption and induced into insulin-producing cells. These findings further indicate that most of the ESCs in APA microcapsule maintain their multi-potential even though the culture time prolonged as long as 22 d in vitro. Taken together, APA microcapsule provides a suitable microenvironment that promotes ESCs to maintain their stemness. Therefore, the microenvironment plays an important role in the process of ESC proliferation and differentiation.

The initiation of G2/M checkpoint by diallyl disulfide requires the activation of p38 MAP kinase in HL-60 cells / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the molecular mechanisms of G(2)/M checkpoint initiated by diallyl disulfide (DADS) in HL-60 cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Cell cycle was assayed by flow cytometry. The expression of phospho-p38, Cdc25B and Cdc2, and p38 mRNA were measured by Western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment with DADS at 5 - 160 micro mol/L for 0 - 72 h, the growth of HL-60 cells were suppressed in a concentration-dependent manner and the inhibitory effect of DADS (20 micro mol/L) was similar to that of ATRA (10 nmol/L) (P > 0.05). Incubation of HL-60 cells with DADS (20 micro mol/L) for 12 h could activate G(2)/M checkpoint and increase the expression of phospho-p38 MAPK, followed by the expression of phospho-Cdc25B and phospho-Cdc2 (P < 0.05). SB202190, a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK, markedly blocked the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, Cdc25B and Cdc2 (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>DADS could induce the G(2)/M arrest in HL-60 cells which may be involved in the activation of p38 MAP kinase.</p>