Association between cognitive impairment and main metals among oldest old aged 80 years and over in China / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective: To identify the main metals involved in cognitive impairment in the Chinese oldest old, and explore the association between these metal exposures and cognitive impairment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1 568 participants aged 80 years and older from Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study (2017 to 2018). Fasting venous blood was collected to measure the levels of nine metals (selenium, lead, cadmium, arsenic, antimony, chromium, manganese, mercury, and nickel). The cognitive function of these participants was evaluated by using the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE). The random forest (RF) was applied to independently identify the main metals that affected cognitive impairment. The multivariate logistic regression model and restricted cubic splines (RCS) model were used to further verify the association of the main metals with cognitive impairment. Results: The age of 1 568 study subjects was (91.8±7.6) years old, including 912 females (58.2%) and 465 individuals (29.7%) with cognitive function impairment. Based on the RF model (the out-of-bag error rate was 22.9%), the importance ranking of variables was conducted and the feature screening of five times ten-fold cross-validation was carried out. It was found that selenium was the metal that affected cognitive function impairment, and the other eight metals were not included in the model. After adjusting for covariates, the multivariate logistic regression model showed that with every increase of 10 μg/L of blood selenium levels, the risk of cognitive impairment decreased (OR=0.921, 95%CI: 0.889-0.954). Compared with the lowest quartile(Q1) of blood selenium, the ORs (95%CI) of Q3 and Q4 blood selenium were 0.452 (0.304-0.669) and 0.419 (0.281-0.622) respectively. The RCS showed a linear dose-response relationship between blood selenium and cognitive impairment (Pnonlinear>0.05). Conclusion: Blood selenium is negatively associated with cognitive impairment in the Chinese oldest old.

Renshen Baidusan Protects Mucosal Barrier in Ulcerative Colitis via AMPK/ULK1 Autophagy Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo study the mechanism of Renshen Baidusan in regulating adenylate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/Unc-51-like kinase 1 （ULK1） autophagy pathway to inhibit mucosal barrier damage in the mouse model of ulcerative colitis （UC）. MethodSixty SD rats were randomized into normal， model， sulfasalazine enteric-coated tablets （0.312 5 g·kg-1， western medicine）， and high-， medium-， and low-dose （31.2， 15.6， 7.8 g·kg-1， respectively） Renshen Baidusan groups. The UC model was induced by 2，4，6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid （TNBS）/50% ethanol. The drugs were administrated by gavage for 2 weeks， and then the histopathological changes of the colon were examined. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was conducted to measure the mRNA level of AMP-activated protein kinase subunit alpha （AMPKα）. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of closure protein （Occludin）， compact linking protein-2 （Claudin-2）， autophagy marker p62， microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B （LC3B）， phosphorylated AMPK （p-AMPK）， and phosphorylated ULK1 （p-ULK1）. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group showed increased colon injury score （P<0.05）， down-regulated mRNA level of AMPKα （P<0.05） and protein levels of p-AMPK， p-ULK1， and Occludin， decreased LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ ratio （P<0.05）， and up-regulated protein levels of p62 and Claudin-2 （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， all the doses of Renshen Baidusan lowered the colon injury score， up-regulated the mRNA level of AMPKα and the protein levels of p-AMPK， p-ULK1， and Occluding， increased LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ ratio， and down-regulated the protein levels of p62 and Claudin-2. Moreover， the medium-dose group showed a significant intervention effect （P<0.05）. ConclusionRenshen Baidusan can protect the intestinal mucosal barrier from damage， and the medium dose showed the best efficacy. It may activate the AMPK/ULK1 pathway to accelerate the transformation of LC3Ⅰ to LC3Ⅱ and promote the degradation of p62， so as to improve the function of Occludin and Claudin-2 and repair the mechanical damage of the intestinal barrier.

Renshen Baidusan Combined with Yurui Enema Treats Intestinal Mucosal Injury in Rat Model of Ulcerative Colitis via PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanisms of internal treatment （Renshen Baidusan）， external treatment （Yurui Enema）， and combination of the two methods in treating intestinal mucosal injury in the rat model of ulcerative colitis （UC） from the changes of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） pathway. MethodFifty SPF-grade SD rats were randomized into blank， model， Renshen Baidusan （15.6 g·kg-1）， Yurui Enema （25 g·kg-1）， and combined treatment （15.6 g·kg-1 Renshen Baidusan + 25 g·kg-1 Yurui Enema） groups （n=10）. The rat model of UC was established in other groups except the blank group by 2，4， 6-trinitrosulfonic acid （TNBS）/ethanol. The rats were administered with corresponding drugs once a day for 14 consecutive days since the 8th day after modeling. The histopathological changes of colon were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to measure the levels of tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， interferon （IFN）-γ， interleukin （IL）-4， and IL-10 in the colon tissue. The apoptosis of colon epithelial cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling （TUNEL）. The location and expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）， TNF-α， and IL-6 in the colon tissue were examined by immunohistochemistry. Real-time quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot were employed to determine the mRNA and protein levels， respectively， of the proteins in the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway in the colon tissue. ResultIn the model group， HE staining showed a large number of inflammatory cell infiltration in the mucosa and submucosa. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed elevated levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ and lowered levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in the colon tissue， increased apoptosis rate of colon epithelial cells， increased positive expression of Bax， TNF-α， and IL-6， and decreased positive expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.05）. Moreover， the model group showed up-regulated mRNA levels of PI3K， Akt， and NF-κB and protein levels of PI3K， p-PI3K， Akt， p-Akt， p65， p-p65， Bax， and cleaved Caspase-3， increased Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3 ratios， and down-regulated protein levels of NF-κB suppressor protein α（IκBα）， Bcl-2， and Caspase-3 in the colon tissue （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the internal treatment， the external treatment， and the combination （referred to as the three groups） alleviated the colonic mucosal injury， lowered the levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ and elevated the levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in the colon tissue， decreased the apoptosis rate of colon cells， inhibited the positive expression of Bax， TNF-α， and IL-6， and promoted the positive expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.05）. Furthermore， the combination group down-regulated the mRNA level of PI3K （P<0.05）. The three groups down-regulated the mRNA levels of Akt and NF-κB and the protein levels of p-PI3K， Akt， p-Akt， p65， p-p65， Bax， and cleaved Caspase-3 in the colon tissue， decreased the Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3 ratios， and up-regulated the protein levels of IκBα， Bcl-2， and Caspase-3 （P<0.05）. ConclusionRenshen Baidusan， Yurui Enema， and their combination may inhibit the activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway and regulate the expression of genes and proteins related to this pathway to achieve anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects， thus restoring the intestinal mucosal barrier function of UC rats.

Summary of experience with patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair for perineal hernia after abdominoperineal excision in rectal cancer / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To examine the patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair for perineal hernia after abdominoperineal excision (APE) in rectal cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 8 patients with perineal hernia after APE who accepted surgical treatment in the Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary and Hernia Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from March 2017 to December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 3 males and 5 females, aged (67.6±7.2) years (range: 56 to 76 years). Eight patients developed a perineal mass at (11.3±2.9) months (range: 5 to 13 months) after APE. After surgical separation of adhesion and exposing the pelvic floor defect, a 15 cm×20 cm anti-adhesion mesh was fashioned as a three-dimensional pocket shape to fit the pelvic defect, then fixed to the promontory or sacrum and sutured to the pelvic sidewalls and the anterior peritoneum, while two side slender slings were tailored in front of the mesh and fixed on the pectineal ligament. Results: The repair of their perineal hernias went well, with an operating time of (240.6±48.8) minutes (range: 155 to 300 minutes). Five patients underwent laparotomy, 3 patients tried laparoscopic surgery first and then transferred to laparotomy combined with the perineal approach. Intraoperative bowel injury was observed in 3 patients. All patients did not have an intestinal fistula, bleeding occurred. No reoperation was performed and their preoperative symptoms improved significantly. The postoperative hospital stay was (13.5±2.9) days (range: 7 to 17 days) and two patients had postoperative ileus, which improved after conservative treatment. Two patients had a postoperative perineal hernia sac effusion, one of them underwent placement of a tube to puncture the hernia sac effusion due to infection, and continued irrigation and drainage. The postoperative follow-up was (34.8±14.0) months (range: 13 to 48 months), and 1 patient developed recurrence in the seventh postoperative month, no further surgery was performed. Conclusions: Surgical repair of the perineal hernia after APE can be preferred transabdominal approach, routine application of laparoscopy is not recommended, combined abdominoperineal approach can be considered if necessary. The perineal hernia after APE can be repaired safely and effectively using the described technique of patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair.

The gut microbiota of gibbons across host genus and captive site in China.

Gut microbiota influences nutrient metabolism and immunity of animal hosts. Better understanding of the composition and diversity of gut microbiota contributes to conservation and management of threatened animals both in situ and ex situ. In this study, we applied 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to evaluate the composition and diversity of the fecal bacterial community of four gibbon genera (Family Hylobatidae) at four Chinese zoos. The results showed that the dominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria and dominant families were Prevotellaceae (Bacteroidetes), Spirochaetaceae (Spirochaetes) and Ruminococcaceae (Firmicutes) in the gut of all gibbons. Both captive site and host genus had significant effects on the relative abundance of dominant bacteria and structure of gut bacterial community. We found that captive site and host genus did not solely impact gut bacterial diversity, but the interaction between them did. This study provides basic knowledge for gut microbiota of all four gibbon genera and contributes to management and conservation of captive gibbons.

Lentiviral-mediated microRNA-26b up-regulation inhibits proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a frequently occurred malignancy worldwide with a high mortality. The treatment for HCC is still controversial. Emerging evidences have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRs) play a role in HCC. This study aims to investigate the effects of lentiviral-mediated miRNA-26b (miR-26b) on the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. The normal hepatic cell line HL-7702 and HCC cell lines HepG2 (without metastatic potential), SMMC-7721 (with low metastatic potential) and MHCC97H (with high metastatic potential) were purchased for our experiment. The lentiviral-mediated miR-26b overexpression (miR-26b-LV) and low expression (sh-miR-26b) were constructed to transfect the cells. The miR-26b expression and expressions of Karyopherin α-2 (KPNA2), matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1), MMP-7 and MMP-14 were determined by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. The proliferation and metastasis of transfected HCC cells were detected by MTT and Transwell assay respectively. The miR-26b expressions were decreased significantly in MHCC97H cells. With lentiviral-mediated miR-26b overexpression, the proliferation and migration of HepG2, MHCC97H and SMMC-7721 cells were decreased significantly. The RT-qPCR and western blot analysis results revealed that the mRNA and protein expressions of KPNA2, MMP-1, MMP-7 and MMP-14 were decreased by lentiviral-mediated miR-26b overexpression. All the above indexes in the HepG2, MHCC97H and SMMC-7721 cells treated by sh-miR-26b exhibited opposite trends. These results show that overexpressed miR-26b could inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells significantly, which provides a novel target and theoretical foundation for the treatment of HCC.

Effect of cigarette smoking-induced plasma nicotine and cotinine on male rats / 中国实验动物学报

Objective To explore the in vivo exposure levels of cigarette smoking ( CS) by measuring the biomar-kers nicotine and cotinine. Methods One hundred and sixty male SD rats were divided into 15 cigarette exposure groups (10, 20 and 30 nonfilter cigarettes/day, for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks) and a control group (without CS exposure). The rats were sacrificed at different time?points. The concentration of plasma nicotine and cotinine were measured by GC?MS/MS. Results The CS?exposed rats displayed decreased locomotor activity, ataxic gait, irregular respiration, nasal noise, and salivation after smoking exposure for 3 weeks. Rats in the CS exposure groups had lower body weight, and the reduction of body weight was time and dose related (P<0. 01). The retention time of nicotine was 7. 5 to 8. 5 min. The concentra?tion of plasma nicotine in the CS exposure groups was higher than control group (155 ± 56. 65) ng/mL. The retention time of cotinine was 11. 5 to 12. 5 min, the concentrations of plasma cotinine in CS exposure groups were higher than control group (340 ± 41. 97) ng/mL, the increase of plasma cotinine in CS groups was time?related (P<0. 05), and the exposure concentration and duration had synergistic effect on the level of plasma cotinine ( P<0. 05 ) . Conclusions CS exposurecauses structural damages in male rats. The plasma concentration of cotinine can effectively reflect the in vivo exposure lev?els of cigarette smoking, and well presents a dose?response relationship.

Identification and expression analysis of a new invertebrate lysozyme in Kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus).

Lysozyme is an important component of the innate immunity system against invading pathogens. An invertebrate (i-type) lysozyme from the hepatopancreas of Kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus (Mj-ilys) was identified. The full-length cDNA of Mj-ilys was 580bp with a 429 bp open reading frame encoding a 142 amino acid polypeptide. The encoded polypeptide was predicted to have a 17 amino acid signal peptide, and a 125 amino acid mature protein with a theoretical mass of 14.099 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 4.18. A Destabilase conserved domain was predicted in Mj-ilys amino acid sequences which may be stable by 10 cysteine residues forming 5 disulfide bonds. Mj-ilys may loss the muramidase and isopeptidase activities due to the lack of the key catalytic residues. Mj-ilys had high homologous of 80-82% with i-type lysozymes of penaeid shrimps. It was first grouped with other i-type lysozyme of shrimps and crabs in a phylogenetic tree predicted by the Neighbor-Joining method. Mj-ilys mRNA was expressed mainly in hepatopancreas and almost undetectable in other tissues. The mRNA expression of Mj-ilys were all found from fertilized eggs to post-larvae of 17 days (PL17), and its expression exhibited significant differences among each developmental stage. After white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenge (3.6 × 10(8) virions/µl), the time-dependent expression pattern of Mj-ilys in hepatopancreas and gills showed significantly different. These results indicated that Mj-ilys is potentially involved in the ontogenesis and immune defense in Kuruma shrimp.

Identification and expression analysis of a novel stylicin antimicrobial peptide from Kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus).

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the innate immune system and function as the first line of defense against invading pathogens. In current study we identified, cloned and characterized a novel stylicin AMP from Kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus (Mj-sty). The full-length cDNA of Mj-sty was 428 bp with an open reading frame of 315 bp that encoded 104 amino acids. The theoretical molecular mass of mature Mj-sty was 8.693 kDa with an isoelectric point (pI) of 4.79. A proline-rich N-terminal region and a C-terminal region contained 13 cysteine residues were identified. Genomic sequence analysis with respect to its cDNA showed that Mj-sty was organized into two exons interrupted by one intron. Tissue-specific expression revealed that Mj-sty was mainly transcribed in gills and hemocytes. Expression of Mj-sty in early developmental stages demonstrated that Mj-sty mRNA were present from fertilized eggs to post-larvae of 17 days (PL17), and the expression levels showed a significant variation in different developmental stages. After challenge of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), the time-dependent expression pattern of Mj-sty in both gills and hepatopancrease showed down-regulation at the early hours of infection, subsequently up-regulation and down-regulation, and then up-regulation at the end hours to almost the half of the controls. The results indicate that Mj-sty is potentially involved in the ontogenesis and immune responses against WSSV.

Correlation of lymphovascular invasion with clinicopathological factors in invasive breast cancer: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) has been associated with a poor outcome in patients with breast cancer, but it is not included in international TNM staging system and molecular subtype criterion. The current studies have reported the relation between LVI and the tumor size (T), the status of axillary lymph node (ALN), age, histological grade in invasive breast cancer, but the results were debatable. So the meta-analysis was conducted to confirm the relation between LVI and the four clinicopathological factors. METHODS: Literature was searched by entering the terms: breast AND (neoplasm OR cancer OR carcinoma) AND (lymphovascular OR "lymphatic vessel" OR "vascular vessel" OR "blood vessel" OR "lymph vessel") AND (invasion OR "carcinoma embolus") AND (lymph node OR grade OR size OR clinicopathological) in PubMed, The merged odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated using fixed-effect or random-effect model, RevMan 5.3 was used to analyze the relation between LVI and tumor size, status of ALN, age, histological grade in invasive breast cancer respectively. The fail-safe number was used to estimate publication bias. RESULTS: The analysis included 6 studies, LVI positive rate was significant lower in T≤2 cm, ALN negative, age >50 y and histological grade 1 groups statistically. The OR and 95% CI were 0.53 [0.46, 0.61], 0.23 [0.15, 0.35], 1.62 [1.42, 1.85], 0.36 [0.17, 0.77] respectively. CONCLUSIONS: LVI was significantly correlated with the expression status of the tumor size, status of ALN, age, histological grade in invasive breast cancer, and was consistent with adverse features of the four factors.

The curative effect of cognitive behavior therapy for the treatment of chronic subjective tinnitus / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the efficacy of the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for the treatment of chronic subjective tinnitus.@*METHOD@#One hundred and fifty-seven patients were randomly divided into two groups. Sixty-eight patients of the control group were treated by masking therapy; and the other 89 patients of the experimental group were treated by CBT therapy. The score of tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) was utilized to analyze the treatment efficacy in the two groups respectively.@*RESULT@#The effective rate assessed by of THI score in the experimental group was not significantly higher than the control group 2 months after treatment (P > 0.05), but was significantly higher than the control group 6 months and 12 months after treatment (P < 0.05 respectively).@*CONCLUSION@#The CBT therapy contributed to achieve rapid adaptation of tinnitus feeling, which shows great value of further clinical application.

Effects of two methods for deep endotracheal sputum suction / 现代临床护理

Objective To explore the effects of two methods for deep endotracheal suction.Methods Forty patients who had ineffective airway clearance or lung infections or refused suction were randomly divided into observation group (n=21) and control group (n=19).Temporay airway was established by using oropharyngeal airway.Then,the control group received subglottic suction after pading the shoulder with ordinary pillow (≤10cm),while the observation group received subglottic suction after pading the shoulder with homemade pillow (=15cm).The two groups were compared in terms of sputum suction effect and mucosal injury.Results There was no incidence of mucosal injury in the observation group but three in the control group.The times of suctioning in the observation group were fewer than those of the control group and the volume for suctioning was larger as well (allP<0.05).Conclusion Deep endotracheal suction through oropharyngeal airway,shoulder elevation for 15cm,temporary indwelling of suction tubes can achieve better suction effect without corresponding complications.

Effects of modified biliopancreatic diversion on glucose tolerance of GK rats.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of new biliopancreatic diversion and duodenal-jejunal bypass in Goto-Kakizaki rats and observe effects of the new surgical procedure on the glucose tolerance of GK rats. METHODS: Twenty-four 10-week-old rats (SPF grade) were randomly divided into groups A, B, and C, each with eight rats. Group A underwent duodenal-jejunal bypass, group B underwent modified biliopancreatic diversion, and group C underwent a sham operation. Median rat body weight, fasting blood glucose, OGTT, and blood lipids were measured in fasting 1 week before surgery and 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery. Changes in gastric inhibitory polypeptide, glucagon P-like peptide-1, and insulin levels were measured by ELISA 1 week before surgery and 8 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: Rats' mean body weight in groups A and B decreased significantly from 368.025 ± 11.726 and 373.100 ± 9.859 g preoperatively to 345.750 ± 11.403 and 343.260 ± 12.399 g at the early postoperative stage (P < 0.05), and with statistically significant differences compared to the weight of rats in group C (P < 0.05). Comparisons between fasting blood glucose before surgery and 8 weeks after surgery revealed no significant differences between all three groups (P > 0.05). Glucose tolerance in groups A and B decreased from preoperative 21.175 ± 3.684 and 20.820 ± 1.671 mmol/L to postoperative 8.950 ± 0.580 and 10.500 ± 1.509 mmol/L, and both were better than that of group C (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Both new biliopancreatic diversion and duodenal-jejunal bypass improve glucose tolerance of Goto-Kakizaki rats.

Bacteria in crude oil survived autoclaving and stimulated differentially by exogenous bacteria.

Autoclaving of crude oil is often used to evaluate the hydrocarbon-degrading abilities of bacteria. This may be potentially useful for bioaugmentation and microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). However, it is not entirely clear if "endogenous" bacteria (e.g., spores) in/on crude oil survive the autoclaving process, or influence subsequent evaluation of the hydrocarbon-degradation abilities of the "exogenous" bacterial strains. To test this, we inoculated autoclaved crude oil medium with six exogenous bacterial strains (three Dietzia strains, two Acinetobacter strains, and one Pseudomonas strain). The survival of the spore-forming Bacillus and Paenibacillus and the non-spore-forming mesophilic Pseudomonas, Dietzia, Alcaligenes, and Microbacterium was detected using a 16S rRNA gene clone library and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. However, neither bacteria nor bacterial activity was detected in three controls consisting of non-inoculated autoclaved crude oil medium. These results suggest that detection of endogenous bacteria was stimulated by the six inoculated strains. In addition, inoculation with Acinetobacter spp. stimulated detection of Bacillus, while inoculation with Dietzia spp. and Pseudomonas sp. stimulated the detection of more Pseudomonas. In contrast, similar exogenous bacteria stimulated similar endogenous bacteria at the genus level. Based on these results, special emphasis should be applied to evaluate the influence of bacteria capable of surviving autoclaving on the hydrocarbon-degrading abilities of exogenous bacteria, in particular, with regard to bioaugmentation and MEOR. Bioaugmentation and MEOR technologies could then be developed to more accurately direct the growth of specific endogenous bacteria that may then improve the efficiency of treatment or recovery of crude oil.

[Colonic sac duct for first-stage repair of colon anastomotic leakage in miniature pigs].

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy, safety and reliability of colonic sac duct for first-stage repair of colorectal anastomotic leakage. METHODS: An animal model of colon anastomotic leakage was established in 30 Tibet miniature pigs, which were randomly divided into treatment group and control group (n=15). Colon anastomotic leakage in the treatment group was repaired using the colonic sac duct, while the control group received conventional surgical repair. At 7, 14, and 21 days after the surgery, the healing of the anastomotic leakage was evaluated by examining the bursting pressure, tissue microvessel density and hydroxyproline content at the anastomosis. RESULTS: Using the colonic sac duct, the anastomotic leakage was successfully repaired without death of the pigs or the occurrence of intestinal stenosis or necrosis. At 7 and 14 days after the surgery, the bursting pressure, hydroxyproline contents, and microvessel density in the treatment groups were higher than those in the control group, but such difference was not found at 21 days. CONCLUSION: Colonic sac duct allows effective repair of colon anastomotic leakage, and is especially useful for leakage lasting for 48-72 h complicated by severe abdominal infection.

Colonic sac duct for first-stage repair of colon anastomotic leakage in miniature pigs / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the efficacy, safety and reliability of colonic sac duct for first-stage repair of colorectal anastomotic leakage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>An animal model of colon anastomotic leakage was established in 30 Tibet miniature pigs, which were randomly divided into treatment group and control group (n=15). Colon anastomotic leakage in the treatment group was repaired using the colonic sac duct, while the control group received conventional surgical repair. At 7, 14, and 21 days after the surgery, the healing of the anastomotic leakage was evaluated by examining the bursting pressure, tissue microvessel density and hydroxyproline content at the anastomosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Using the colonic sac duct, the anastomotic leakage was successfully repaired without death of the pigs or the occurrence of intestinal stenosis or necrosis. At 7 and 14 days after the surgery, the bursting pressure, hydroxyproline contents, and microvessel density in the treatment groups were higher than those in the control group, but such difference was not found at 21 days.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Colonic sac duct allows effective repair of colon anastomotic leakage, and is especially useful for leakage lasting for 48-72 h complicated by severe abdominal infection.</p>

Pressure-induced magnetic moment collapse and insulator-to-semimetal transition in BiCoO(3).

The structural stability, magnetic properties and electronic structure of tetragonal BiCoO(3) under pressure have been studied by first-principles density functional calculations. The calculated results reveal that no tetragonal-to-cubic and ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transitions occur up to 30 GPa with a volume compression of about 25%. An electronic spin crossover transition of the Co(3+) ion from the high-spin to nonmagnetic low-spin configuration (magnetic moment collapse) occurs at 4 GPa by about 4.87% volume compression, which is concomitant with a first-order isosymmetric transition and an insulator-to-semimetal transition. The metallization in BiCoO(3) is driven by the spin-state transition at high pressure. Coexistence of the structural, spin-state and insulator-to-semimetal transitions implies that there is a strong coupling among the lattice, spin and charge degrees of freedom in BiCoO(3).

Proliferation of the mesenchymal stem cells in a delayed fat flap: an experimental study in rabbits / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the possibility to enhance the proliferation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in a delayed fat flap in rabbits.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A delayed fat flap was formed in one side of inguinal region of a rabbit. 21 days after operation, the fat tissues at the delayed flaps and at the unoperated side were harvested and digested with 0.25% collagenase and sieved. The cell suspensions were centrifuged. The cells were obtained from tissue precipitate after centrifugation. The expression rates of the surface marker (CD29, CD44, CD14 and CD45) were measured by FCM and compared between the experimental and control groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Expression rates of CD29 and CD44 were higher in the delayed fat flap (74.06% and 90.74%) than in the contralateral fat tissue (62.88% and 77.54%, P < 0.05), while those of CD14 and CD45 were lower in the delayed fat flap (57.66% and 4.84%) than in the contralateral fat tissue (72.10% and 75.82%, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Tissue hypoxic ischemia such as fat tissue in a delayed fat flap can promote proliferation of ASCs. It indicates that tissue in the delayed flap may be transplanted with better survival rate. The ischemia pretreatment of fat tissue may become a new method for fat transplantation.</p>

Experimental study of increasing effect of the fat flap tissue after delay operation on its free graft survival volume and duration / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of the fat flap tissues after delay operation on free fat-graft survival rate and duration.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The delay operation of fat flaps was performed in the inguinal region of a rabbit. Expression of VEGF was assayed using Elisa method after 12 hours of flap delay. The fat flaps were harvested and cut into pieces after 21 days. A subdermal pocket was created in each side of the dorsal midline of a rabbit, the fat pieces were grafted randomly into a pocket and the normal fat pieces into the other pocket as control. After 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of implantation, the grafted fats were harvested, gross observation, weight measurement and histology were carried out. Number of the vessels stained with anti-CD34 antibody was counted out.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>VEGF concentrations in flaps were significantly higher (P < 0.05). The density of vessels in experimental groups increased significantly compared with that in control groups at 1 and 3 months, respectively (P < 0.01), and no significant differences in the survival rate of fat tissues between experimental and control groups were observed at 1 and 3 months (P > 0.05). The fat cells from the flaps survived after 12 months of fat plantation, while those in control groups disappeared after 6 months.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The survival rate and duration of grafted fat could be increased implanting the fat tissues from delayed fat flap, which may provide researchers with a new method for fat graft.</p>

Solution-phase synthesis of spherical zinc sulfide nanostructures.

A facile solution-phase method has been developed to synthesize specially hollow and solid ZnS nanospheres. High-resolution TEM images on the nanospheres suggest their formation via the oriented aggregation of the primary ZnS nanocrystals. The morphology and size of the ZnS nanospheres can also be tuned easily by controlling the experimental conditions. These special spherical structures are very easily encapsulated within a uniform silica layer without any surface modification, suggesting potential applications in biochemistry and biodiagnostics.