Inducible co-stimulatory molecules participate in mesenteric vascular endothelial-mesenchymal transition and sclerosis of mesenteric vessels in spontaneously hypertensive rats / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the correlation of inducible co-stimulatory molecules (ICOS) with mesenteric vascular endothelial- mesenchymal transition (EndMT) and sclerosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).@*METHODS@#Twenty 4-week-old WKY rats and 20 SHRs of the same strain were both randomly divided into 4 groups for observation at 4, 6, 10 and 30 weeks of age. ICOS expression frequency in rat spleen CD4+T cells was analyzed using flow cytometry, and the expressions of ICOS, VE-cad, α-SMA and Col3 mRNA in rat mesentery were detected by RT-PCR. The distributions of ICOS, IL-17A and TGF-β in rat mesentery were detected by immunohistochemistry. The levels of IL-17A and TGF-β in rat plasma were measured using ELISA. The morphological changes of rat mesenteric vessels were observed with Masson staining. Spearman or Pearson correlation analyses were used to evaluate the correlation between ICOS expression and the expressions of the markers of vascular EndMT and sclerosis.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control WKY rats, the SHRs began to show significantly increased systolic blood pressure and ICOS expression frequency on CD4+T cells at 6 weeks of age (P < 0.05). In the SHRs, the mRNA and protein expressions of ICOS, α-SMA, Col3, IL-17A and TGF-β in the mesentery were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05), while the mRNA and protein expressions of VE-cad started to reduce significantly at 10 weeks of age (P < 0.05). The plasma levels of IL-17A and TGF-β were significantly increased in SHRs since 6 weeks of age (P < 0.05) with progressive worsening of mesenteric vascular sclerosis (P < 0.05). ICOS mRNA and protein expression levels in the mesenteric tissues of SHRs began to show positive correlations with α-SMA and Col3 expression levels and the severity of vascular sclerosis at 6 weeks of age (P < 0.05) and a negative correlation with VE-cad expression level at 10 weeks (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#ICOS play an important pathogenic role in EndMT and sclerosis of mesenteric vessels in essential hypertension by mediating related immune responses.

Comparison of clinical efficacy between percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy and coblation nucleoplasty in the treatment of inclusive lumbar disc herniation / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To observe clinical efficacy of percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (PETD) and target radioffrequency thermal coblation nucleoplasty(CN) on inclusive lumbar disc herniation(LDH) in different age groups, and provide a basis for clinical formulation of precise and individualized treatments.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis of 219 patients with lumbar disc herniation treated with PETD and CN between January 2018 and June 2021 was performed, in which 107 patients were treated with PETD and 112 with CN. Patients were stratified by age into young group(≤45 years old), middle-aged group(>45 years old and <60 years old) and older group(≥60 years old). Before treatment, 3 days, 1 month and 6 months after treatment, visual analogue scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, infrared thermal imaging temperature difference (△T) and lumbar range of motion (ROM) were evaluated and clinical efficacy were compared in the different age groups between two treatment methods.@*RESULTS@#①VAS and JOA score outcomes, in the same age group and the same treatment method, the VAS and JOA scores at different time points postoperatively were obviously improved (P<0.05). For the same age group and the different treatment methods, the older group had lower VAS and higher JOA scores after PETD than after CN (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between the young group and middle-aged group (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS and JOA scores at the same time between age groups by PETD treatment (P>0.05). The VAS was higher and the JOA score was lower in older group than in young group and middle-aged group at 1, 6 months after CN treatment(P<0.05). ②△T and ROM outcomes, in the same age group and same treatment method, postoperative △T and ROM at different time points were obviously improved(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in △T between two methods of PETD and CN at the same age(P>0.05), there was no significant difference in ROM between young group and middle-aged group(P>0.05), ROM was higher after PETD treatment than after CN treatment(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in △T and ROM at the same time between age groups by PETD treatment(P>0.05). There was no significant difference in △T between age groups by CN treatment, but the ROM was smaller in older group than in young group and middle-aged group after CN treatment(P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Both PETD and CN for inclusive LDH have good efficacy, the curative benefit for older patients receiving PETD within 6 months after surgery more than CN, and CN is more appropriate for young and middle-aged patients.

Clinical manifestations and gene analysis of 18 cases of hereditary protein S deficiency / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To analyze the clinical manifestations and molecular pathogenesis of 18 patients with inherited protein S (PS) deficiency. Methods: Eighteen patients with inherited PS deficiency who were admitted to the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital from June 2016 to February 2019 were analyzed: activity of protein C (PC) and antithrombin (AT) , PS activity were measured for phenotype diagnosis; high throughput sequencing (HTS) was used for screening of coagulation disease-related genes; Sanger sequencing was used to confirm candidate variants; Swiss-model was used for three-dimensional structure analysis. Results: The PS:C of 18 patients ranged from 12.5 to 48.2 U/dL. Among them, 16 cases developed deep vein thrombosis, including 2 cases each with mesenteric vein thrombosis and cerebral infarction, and 1 case each with pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy. A total of 16 PROS1 gene mutations were detected, and 5 nonsense mutations (c.134_162del/p.Leu45*, c.847G>T/p.Glu283*, c.995_996delAT/p.Tyr332*, c.1359G> A/p.Trp453*, c.1474C>T/p.Gln492*) , 2 frameshift mutations (c.1460delG/p.Gla487Valfs*9 and c.1747_1750delAATC/p.Asn583Wfs*9) and 1 large fragment deletion (exon9 deletion) were reported for the first time. In addition, the PS:C of the deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy case was 55.2 U/dL carrying PROC gene c.565C>T/p.Arg189Trp mutation. Conclusion: The newly discovered gene mutations enriched the PROS1 gene mutation spectrum which associated with inherited PS deficiency.

Congenital factor X deficiency: a retrospective analysis of 11 cases / 中华血液学杂志

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics, laboratory examination, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of hereditary factor Ⅹ (FⅩ) deficiency. Methods: Clinical data of 11 patients with congenital FⅩ deficiency were retrospectively analyzed from July 2009 to February 2021. Results: There were 3 males and 8 females. Median age was 39 (5-55) years. The media duration of follow-up was 81.67 (1.87-142.73) months. Of the 11 patients, 10 had bleeding symptoms, 7 had ecchymosis or hemorrhage after skin bump, 7 had nosebleed, 6 had gingival hemorrhage, and 1 had muscle hematoma. Among the female patients, 6 had menorrhagia and 1 experienced bleeding after vaginal delivery. Family history of FⅩ deficiency was found in one case. Eight patients had a history of surgery, and four had postoperative bleeding. Laboratory findings were characterized by significantly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and decreased FⅩ activity (FⅩ∶C) . Four cases underwent gene mutation analysis and five new mutations were found. Four cases were treated with prothrombin complex concentrates (PCC) and seven cases with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) . One female patient had significantly reduced menstrual volume after PCC prophylactic therapy. One patient received FFP for prophylactic infusion with no bleeding during and after the operation. Conclusion: Most patients with congenital FⅩ deficiency had bleeding symptoms and there was no significant correlation between severity of bleeding symptoms and FⅩ∶C. Prophylaxis should be applied in patients with severe bleeding tendencies. Gene mutation test is significant for screening, diagnosis, and prognosis prediction of congenital FX deficiency.

Interleukin-17A is closely correlated with the progression of renal epithelial-mesenchymal transition in spontaneously hypertensive rats / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the role of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) in renal epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT) in essential hypertensive nephropathy.@*METHODS@#Four-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats (control group) were both randomized into 4 groups (n=5) for observation at 4, 6, 10 and 30 weeks of age. Blood pressure of the rats was monitored using a noninvasive tail artery blood pressure measurement instrument. The percentage of Th17 cells in the splenocytes was analyzed using flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-17A, iNOS, Arg-1, E-cadherin, and α-SMA in the kidneys of the rats were detected using RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining, respectively, and plasma levels of IL-17A were regularly detected using ELISA.@*RESULTS@#At the age of 6 weeks, the SHRs began to show significantly higher blood pressure with greater Th17 cell percentage in the splenocytes and high renal expression and plasma level of IL-17A than WKY rats (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). At 30 weeks, renal expression of E-cadherin mRNA and protein was significantly lower and the expression of Arg-1 mRNA and protein was significantly higher in SHR than in WKY rats (P < 0.01). Compared with the WKY rats, the SHRs showed significantly higher mRNA and protein expressions of iNOS at 6 and 10 weeks (P < 0.05 or 0.01) and higher α-SMA mRNA and protein expressions since 10 weeks of age (P < 0.05 or 0.01). In SHRs older than 10 weeks, renal IL-17A mRNA and protein expression levels were negatively correlated with those of E-cadherin (r=-0.731, P < 0.05; r=-0.827, P < 0.01) and positively correlated with those of α-SMA (r=0.658, P < 0.05; r=0.968, P < 0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#IL-17A is closely correlated with the progression of renal EMT in SHR and plays its role possibly by mediating M1/M2 polarization of renal infiltrating macrophages.

Diagnosis and treatment status of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms: a multi-center study in Hubei Province / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the incidence and treatment of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in Hubei Province. Methods: The clinicopathological data of 7 474 patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms in 62 hospitals in 15 cities (state) of Hubei Province in 2019 were collected in the form of network database. There were 4 749 males and 2 725 females. The median age of the patients was 62 years (range: 17 to 96 years). The hemoglobin value of the first time in hospital and the first day after operation was used as the criterion of preoperative anemia and postoperative anemia. Anemia was defined as male hemoglobin <120 g/L and female hemoglobin <110.0 g/L, mild anemia as 90 to normal, moderate anemia as 60 to <90 g/L, severe anemia as <60 g/L. The t test and χ2 test were used for inter-group comparison. Results: The overall incidence of preoperative anemia was 38.60%(2 885/7 474), and the incidences of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 25.09%(1 875/7 474), 11.37%(850/7 474) and 2.14%(160/7 474), respectively. The overall incidence of postoperative anemia was 61.40%(4 589/7 474). The incidence of mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia were 48.73%(3 642/7 474), 12.20%(912/7 474) and 0.47%(35/7 474), respectively. The proportion of preoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 26.86% (775/2 885), and the proportion of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment was 14.93% (685/4 589). The proportions of preoperative anemia patients in grade ⅢA, grade ⅢB, and grade ⅡA hospitals receiving treatment were 26.12% (649/2 485), 32.32% (85/263), and 29.93% (41/137), and the proportions of postoperative anemia patients receiving treatment were 14.61% (592/4 052), 22.05% (73/331), and 9.71% (20/206). The proportion of intraoperative blood transfusion (16.74% (483/2 885) vs. 3.05% (140/4 589), χ²=434.555, P<0.01) and the incidence of postoperative complications (17.78% (513/2 885) vs. 14.08% (646/4 589), χ²=18.553, P<0.01) in the preoperative anemia group were higher than those in the non-anemia group, and the postoperative hospital stay in the preoperative anemia group was longer than that in the non-anemia group ((14.1±7.3) days vs. (13.3±6.2) days, t=5.202, P<0.01). Conclusions: The incidence of perioperative anemia in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasms is high. Preoperative anemia can increase the demand for intraoperative blood transfusion and affect the short-term prognosis of patients. At present, the concept of standardized treatment of perioperative anemia among gastrointestinal surgeons in Hubei Province needs to be improved.

Analysis of HIV-1 genetic subtype and pretreatment drug resistance among men who have sex with men infected with HIV-1 from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the distribution of HIV-1 genetic subtypes and pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China. Methods: From April to November 2019, 574 plasma samples of ART-naive HIV-1 infected MSM were collected from 19 cities in Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces, total ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted and amplified the HIV-1 pol gene region by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after reverse transcription. Then sequences were used to construct a phylogenetic tree to determine genetic subtypes and submitted to the Stanford drug resistance database for drug resistance analysis. Results: A total of 479 samples were successfully amplified by PCR. The HIV-1 genetic subtypes included CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC, B, CRF55_01B, CRF59_01B, CRF65_cpx, CRF103_01B, CRF67_01B, CRF68_01B and unrecognized subtype, which accounted for 43.4%, 36.3%, 6.3%, 5.9%, 0.8%, 0.8%, 0.4%, 0.4%, 0.2% and 5.5%, respectively. The distribution of genetic subtypes among provinces is statistically different (χ2=44.141, P<0.001). The overall PDR rate was 4.6% (22/479), the drug resistance rate of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors were 3.5% (17/479), 0.8% (4/479) and 0.2% (1/479), respectively. The PDR rate of recent infections was significantly higher than that of long-term infections (χ2=4.634, P=0.031). Conclusions: The HIV-1 genetic subtypes among MSM infected with HIV-1 from 19 cities of 6 provinces in China are diverse, and the distribution of subtypes is different among provinces. The overall PDR rate is low, while the PDR rate of recent infections was significantly higher than that of long-term infections, suggesting the surveillance of PDR in recent infections should be strengthened.

The construction of comprehensive stroke prevention and control system requires attention to the precise policies of young stroke / 中华预防医学杂志

Youth is the core force of social and economic development, once the occurrence of youth stroke will place a heavy burden on society and family. However, the prevention and control of stroke in China is mainly aimed at middle-aged and elderly patients, the part of young stroke is relatively easy to be ignored. This article focuses on the characteristics, research progress, prevention and control status of young stroke, pointing out the importance of centering on the prevention and treatment of young stroke. At the same time, it hopes that the industry can concentrate on the prevention and treatment of young stroke, making precise policies in the future, and developing secondary prevention guidelines for the causes or risk factors of young stroke, so as to improve comprehensive stroke prevention and control system. On this basis, the health level of the whole population will be improved, and the life expectancy of residents will be extended, thus promoting the realization of the strategic goal of "Healthy China 2030".

Effect and Mechanism of Fuzheng Touxie Prescription on Immune Homeostasis of Drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lung Infection Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of Fuzheng Touxie prescription （FZTX） on the immune homeostasis of drug-resistant <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic> lung infection in rats at different time points. Method:A total of 168 rats were divided into a blank group （<italic>n</italic>=8），a model group （<italic>n</italic>=40），a Touxie （TX） group （<italic>n</italic>=40），an early Fuzheng （FZ） group （<italic>n</italic>=40）， and a delayed FZ group （<italic>n</italic>=40）. The blank group was given distilled water by gavage， the model group was given distilled water by gavage after infection，the TX group was given clear heat and penetrate evil drug free decoction granules（3.5 g·kg^-1） by gavage after infection， the early FZ group was given Fuzheng Touxie whole formula free decoction granules（10.75 g·kg^-1） by gavage after infection， the delayed FZ group was given clear heat and penetrate evil drug free decoction granules by gavage after infection， on the third day plus Fuzheng drug free decoction granules［（3.5+10.75） g·kg^-1］ by gavage， the three treatment groups were gavaged twice a day， 2 mL each time .Each drug treatment group was divided into five groups according to five time points （3 h，1 d，3 d，5 d， and 7 d）， with eight rats in each group. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-<italic>α</italic>（TNF-<italic>α</italic>），high mobility group protein 1（HMGB1），interleukin-10（IL-10）， and tumor necrosis factor -<italic>α</italic>-induced protein-8-like2 （TIPE2） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and HMGB1 protein expression level by Western blot. Result:At 3 h，the TNF-<italic>α</italic> content in the drug treatment groups was higher than that in the blank group and the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 3 d，the TNF-<italic>α</italic> content in the early FZ group and the delayed FZ group was lower than that in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05） and the TX group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 1 d，the HMGB1 content in the TX group and the delayed FZ group was higher than that in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 5 d，the HMGB1 content was lower in the delayed FZ group than in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 7 d，HMGB1 protein expression in the model group was higher than that in the blank group （<italic>P</italic><0.05） and the early FZ group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 3 d，the IL-10 content was significantly higher in both the early FZ group and the delayed FZ group than that in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 5 d，the IL-10 content was higher in the early FZ group than that in the TX group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 7 d，the IL-10 content in the early FZ group and the delayed FZ group was lower than that in the TX group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 5 d，the TIPE2 content in the early FZ group was lower than that in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. At 7 d，the TIPE2 content in the TX group and the delayed FZ group was lower than that in the model group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:FZTX or modified prescription can promote the inflammatory response to eliminate pathogenic bacteria in the early stage and suppress the inflammatory response in the late stage to avoid the inflammatory cascade effect and lung tissue damage，indicating that Fuzheng drugs have an important role in maintaining the immune homeostasis of the body after infection.

Clinical Analysis of Hospitalized Children with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the factors affecting the chronicity of childhood primary immune thrombo-cytopenia (ITP) and compare the efficiency of different first-line treatment regimens.@*METHODS@#Children with ITP hospitalized in our hospital from September 2013 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Three hundred and one children (150 males and 151 females) were included in this study, with a median age of 8 (0.17-17) years old, and 110 (36.5%), 92 (30.6%), and 99 (32.9%) cases were grouped into newly diagnosed, persistent, and chronic ITP, respectively. The median of follow-up was 41.92 (1.07-74.03) months. At the end of the follow-up (October 2019), among the 202 newly diagnosed/persistent ITP children, 79 cases (59 newly diagnosed and 20 persistent ITP) achieved remission within 1 year after initial diagnosis, with a remission rate of 39.3%; 122 cases (50 newly diagnosed and 72 persistent ITP) developed chronic disease, with a chronicity rate of 60.7%; one case underwent splenectomy. In 99 cases with chronic ITP, 5 cases underwent splenectomy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that, the insidious onset of symptoms (OR=3.754, 95%CI: 1.882-7.488, P=0.000) increased the risk of chronicity, while the positive antibody to anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein (OR=0.446, 95%CI: 0.224-0.888, P=0.021) might reduce the risk of chronicity. And no difference was found by the analysis of subtype of anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein (P=0.305). The efficacy of the first-line treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) alone or combined with steroid was better than that of steroid alone (P=0.028, 0.028), however, the efficiency was not significantly different between IVIG alone and combined with steroid (P=0.086).@*CONCLUSION@#Insidious onset of symptoms in pediatric ITP increases the risk of chronicity, while the positive titer of anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein may reduce the risk. In the first-line treatment for the newly diagnosed/persistent children. The efficacy of IVIG alone or combined with steroid is better than that of steroid alone.

Effect of glucose metabolism disorders on the short-term prognosis in neonates with asphyxia: a multicenter study in Hubei Province, China / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To study the effect of glucose metabolism disorders on the short-term prognosis in neonates with asphyxia.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of the neonates with asphyxia who were admitted to 52 hospitals in Hubei Province of China from January to December, 2018 and had blood glucose data within 12 hours after birth. Their blood glucose data at 1, 2, 6, and 12 hours after birth (with an allowable time error of 0.5 hour) were recorded. According to the presence or absence of brain injury and/or death during hospitalization, the neonates were divided into a poor prognosis group with 693 neonates and a good prognosis group with 779 neonates. The two groups were compared in the incidence of glucose metabolism disorders within 12 hours after birth and short-term prognosis.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the good prognosis group, the poor prognosis group had a significantly higher proportion of neonates from secondary hospitals (48.5% vs 42.6%, @*CONCLUSIONS@#Recurrent hyperglycemia in neonates with asphyxia may suggest poor short-term prognosis, and it is necessary to strengthen the early monitoring and management of the nervous system in such neonates.

Role of gut microbiota in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with traditional Chinese medicine / 药学学报

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a genetic and environmental factor-associated metabolic disease that can lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In recent decades the prevalence of NAFLD has increased, but effective pharmacotherapy is limited. Treatment regimens in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have made significant contributions to the control of NAFLD, but underlying mechanisms are far less elucidated. Increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and development of diseases including NAFLD. The outcomes of such research open a new approach in identifying the molecular mechanisms of TCM. Here we review the evidence that gut microbiota might be a target in the treatment NAFLD using TCM.

Berberine ameliorates dexamethasone-induced metabolic disorder in C57 mice / 药学学报

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of berberine (BBR) against dexamethasone (Dex)-induced metabolic disorders. 3T3-L1 cells were differentiated by Dex treatment and then treated with BBR (2.5, 5, 10 μmol·L-1). Lipid accumulation was detected using oil-red O staining. After review and approval of the ethics committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into three groups. In the BBR treatment group, mice were subcutaneously implanted with an osmotic pump containing Dex and gavaged with BBR (100 mg·kg-1·day-1) for 4 weeks. The model control group was implanted with a Dex osmotic pump with no other treatment. Mice given a saline-filled osmotic pump were used as a negative control. During the study, food intake and body weight were measured weekly. Subcutaneous fat and visceral fat was detected by MRI. At the end of the experiment the plasma levels of total cholesterol (CHO), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), glucose (Glu), and muscle mass were measured. The expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) in 3T3-L1 cells and epididymal fat of C57BL/6N mice was evaluated through RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. The results showed that BBR inhibited Dex-induced adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by up to 23% in a dose-dependent manner. In C57BL/6N mice, berberine alleviated hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia and reduced visceral fat accumulation induced by Dex. The results from RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that BBR reduced PPARγ expression and increased the phosphorylation of AMPKα in 3T3-L1 cells as well as in adipose tissue. Berberine might alleviate Dex-induced metabolic disorder and visceral fat accumulation by modulating PPARγ and AMPK expression.

A multifrequency time-difference electrical impedance tomography algorithm using spectral constraints / 生物医学工程学杂志

This study aims to propose a multifrequency time-difference algorithm using spectral constraints. Based on the knowledge of tissue spectrum in the imaging domain, the fraction model was used in conjunction with the finite element method (FEM) to approximate a conductivity distribution. Then a frequency independent parameter (volume or area fraction change) was reconstructed which made it possible to simultaneously employ multifrequency time-difference boundary voltage data and then reduce the degrees of freedom of the reconstruction problem. Furthermore, this will alleviate the illness of the EIT inverse problem and lead to a better reconstruction result. The numerical validation results suggested that the proposed time-difference fraction reconstruction algorithm behaved better than traditional damped least squares algorithm (DLS) especially in the noise suppression capability. Moreover, under the condition of low signal-to-noise ratio, the proposed algorithm had a more obvious advantage in reconstructions of targets shape and position. This algorithm provides an efficient way to simultaneously utilize multifrequency measurement data for time-difference EIT, and leads to a more accurate reconstruction result. It may show us a new direction for the development of time-difference EIT algorithms in the case that the tissue spectrums are known.

Symptomatic Profiles of 173 Chinese Patients with Essential Thrombocythemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the symptomatic burden of patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and its relation with clinical characteristics including the mutation status, therapeutic protocols and sex.@*METHODS@#Total of 173 Chinese ET patients were selected and grouped on the basis of disease characteristics (mutation status, therapeutic pro to- cols, and sex).@*RESULTS@#All the groups showed low-to-high symptom burden, with the highest in the Hu (hydroxyurea)-group (total symptom score [TSS], 14.7; range, 7.6-14.7). In the JAK2V617F-positive, Hu-treated, and female groups TSS and independent symptom scores were higher than those in the control group. The CALR-positive and IFN-α-treated groups had lower overall and individual scores as compared with groups lacking the corresponding characteristics. As the number of characteristics (JAK2V617F-positive, Hu-treated, and female) increases, the severity of symptoms gradually increased.@*CONCLUSION@#The different characteristics have various effects on symptom burden in ET patients. The accumulation of certain characteristics will lead to more severe symptom burden, thus the patient＇s symptom burden should be considered comprehensively when making up the treatment schemes and prognosis.

Effects of different developmental patterns on thyroid morphological changes among children in pre-puberty and puberty / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the effects of different developmental patterns on the increases of thyroid volume in children from different genders and periods, and to explore whether there is a synergistic effect on the initiation of puberty in girls, so as to provide a theoretical basis for reducing the risk of thyroid abnormalities in adulthood.@*Methods@#A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select a primary school in Minhang District of Shanghai, Haimen City of Jiangsu Province and Yuhuan city of Zhejiang Province. A total of 784 children aged 8-10 years old were included in "8-10 years school-aged children cohort". At the same time, a total of 491 girls aged 11-13 years were included in the "11-13 years adolescent girls cohort". The content of survey on follow-up was consistent with the one on baseline. B-ultrasonography was used to measure thyroid volume. The physical development indexes such as height (H), weight (W) and waist circumference (WC) were measured. The morning urine samples were collected and the urinary iodine content was detected. The changes of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and thyroid volume (V) were calculated (d BMI, d WC, and d V, respectively). According to the changes of BMI and WC, the subjects were classified into four types of developmental changes, namely "B-LW-L (low d BMI, low d WC)" "B-LW-H (low d BMI, high d WC)" "B-HW-L (high d BMI, low d WC)" and "B-HW-H (high d BMI , high d WC)". Results In partial correlation analysis, thyroid volume was significantly correlated with BMI and WC at baseline or follow-up(P<0.05). The changes of thyroid volume in 8-10 years old boys were related to the changes of BMI and WC (P<0.05), the changes of thyroid volume in 8-10 year old girls were only associated with the changes of WC (P=0.03), and no association was found in 11-13 year old girls(P>0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for baseline age, region, and differences of urinary iodine, the risk of thyroid volume increasing in B-HW-H was 2.70 times (95%CI=1.29-5.66) higher than that of B-LW-L in boys aged 8-10 years; among girls aged 11-13 years, the risk of thyroid volume increasing in B-LW-H, B-HW-L and B-HW-H were 2.46 times (95%CI=1.31-4.61), 2.16 times (95%CI=1.15-4.03) and 1.79 times (95%CI=1.07-2.99), respectively; there was no interaction between menarche age and developmental pattern on thyroid volume change trend (P=0.49).@*Conclusion@#The thyroid volume in children and adolescents increases with the development of physical development. Different developmental patterns and estrogens have certain effects on thyroid morphological changes. To avoid obesity in childhood (especially with central obesity), timely identify and effectively intervene thyroid morphological abnormalities in childhood，and to reduce the risk of thyroid diseases in adulthood.

Clinical Characteristic of "triple-negative" Essential Thrombocythaemia Patients and Mutation Analysis by Targeted Sequencing / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Essential thrombocythemia is a subgroup of myeloproliferative neoplasms. Previous studies identified mutations of JAK2, CALR, and MPL that are closely related with the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms. All these mutations contribute to the hyperactivation of JAK2/STAT pathway. However, a small proportion of essential thrombocythemia patients does not display such mutations. The pathogenesis of "triple-negative" form of essential thrombocythemia remains unknown.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical characteristics of triple-negative essential thrombocythemia and related mutation genes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>To identify the mutations associated with triple-negative essential thrombocythemia, next-generation sequencing was used to conduct targeted sequencing of 360 genes in samples from 68 patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At least one missense mutation was detected in all the patients and all the detected genes. After screening the data, it was observed that 10 genes with the 10 highest mutation were follows: FLT3, SH2B3, ASXL1, ADAMTS1, TET2, TP53, EGFR, CUX1, GATA2, and MPL.When only rare genes (i.e., with a frequency in Asian populations lower than 5%, as estimated by the 1000 Genomes Project) were analyzed, the most frequently mutated genes in the patients were TET2 (33.82%), SH2B3(29.41%), and ASXL1 (23.53%). Our study identified some mutations that did not previously reported. Although all these mutations need further validation, high incidence rates may indicate relevance of the respective mutations to essential thrombocythemia pathogenesis. Some of the detected mutations have been previously reported; these mutations were also found in a large proportion of our subjects.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>whole-exon sequencing can provide a higher level of accuracy for gene mutation analysis and assist in identifying mutations that contribute to illustrate the pathogenesis of essential thrombocythemia.</p>

Research progress on Pithecellobium clypearia / 中草药

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Pithecellobium clypearia has been commonly used for hundreds of years. Its unilateral preparations are applied for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections, pharyngitis, laryngitis, acute tonsillitis, acute gastroenteritis and other diseases. The present researches indicate that flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, organic phenolic acids, triterpenes, and steroids are the main chemical constituents of P. clypearia, which have a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidation, anti-virus, inhibition of T lymphocyte proliferation, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy and so on. According to the domestic and foreign relevant literatures, the chemical composition, quality standards, pharmacological activity, and clinical application of P. clypearia were systematically summarized in this paper, which could provide the reference for the further investigation and development of this herbal plant.

Research progress in glucocorticoid receptor gene methylation in depression / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

Hyperactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and increased levels of glucocorticoid hormones are the most consistent and typical pathophysiological alternations in patients with major depression,which are possibly caused by altered functions of the receptor of glucocorticoid hormones, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Recent studies have found that the environmental factors interfere with the pathophysiological mechanism of depression by influencing the epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor. GR gene methylation is a way of epigenetic regulation and affects the GR expression and function of HPA axis,which plays an important role in the development of depression. In this review,domestic and foreign literature on the role of GR gene methylation in the development of depression is discussed,which will encourage provide new ideas on the diagnosis and treatment of depression.

Differentiated teaching modes of course of digital signal processing for undergraduates and postgraduates / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To analyze the difference of teaching modes of course of digital signal processing for the undergraduates and postgraduates.Methods The teaching modes were compared from the aspects of educational objective,teaching content, teaching method,examination mode and etc.Results Differentiated teaching modes contributed to the satisfactory education of the undergraduates and postgraduates. Conclusion The differentiated teaching modes for the undergraduates and postgraduates provide references for the high-level education in universities and colleges of science and technology. [Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2018,39(5):87-89,102]