Effect of birth asphyxia on neonatal blood glucose during the early postnatal life: A multi-center study in Hubei Province, China.

BACKGROUND: Birth asphyxia causes hypoxia or inadequate perfusion to the organs of newborns, leading to metabolism dysfunctions including blood glucose disorders. METHODS: Neonates with and without birth asphyxia were retrospectively recruited from 53 hospitals in Hubei Province from January 1 to December 31, 2018. In summary, 875, 1139, and 180 cases in the control group, the mild asphyxia group, and the severe asphyxia group were recruited, respectively. Neonatal blood glucose values at postnatal 1, 2, 6, and 12 h (time error within 0.5 h was allowed) were gathered from the medical records. RESULTS: The incidence rates of hyperglycemia in the control group, the mild asphyxia group and the severe asphyxia group were 2.97%, 7.90%, and 23.33%, respectively (p < 0.001). Additionally, the incidence rates of hypoglycemia in the three groups above were 3.66%, 4.13%, and 7.78%, respectively (p = 0.042). The blood glucose values of neonates with hypoglycemia in the asphyxia group were lower than in the control group (p = 0.003). Furthermore, the blood glucose values of neonates with hyperglycemia were highest in the severe asphyxia group (p < 0.001). There were 778 and 117 cases with blood glucose records at four predefined time points in the mild and severe asphyxia group, respectively. The incidence of blood glucose disorders in the mild asphyxia group significantly decreased from postnatal 6 h (p＜0.05). However, we found no obvious changes of the incidence of glucose disorders within postnatal 12 h in the severe asphyxia group (p = 0.589). CONCLUSION: Birth asphyxia is likely to cause neonatal blood glucose disorders, both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, during the early postnatal life. The neonates with severe asphyxia have higher incidence, worse severity and longer duration of blood glucose disorders than neonates with mild asphyxia.

5-epi-ent-Kaurane diterpenoids from the aerial parts of Isodon eriocalyx and their anti-atherosclerotic potential.

The phytochemical investigation of the EtOAc extract from the aerial parts of Isodon eriocalyx afforded seventeen diterpenoids, including eight undescribed compounds. Eriocalyxins H-L have unique structural characteristics featuring a 5-epi-ent-kaurane diterpenoid scaffold with eriocalyxins H-K also possess an unusual 6,11-epoxyspiro-lactone ring while eriocalyxin L, a 1,7:3,20-diepoxy-ent kaurene, features an 1,7-oxygen linkage. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data interpretation, and the absolute configurations of eriocalyxins H, I, L, and M were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The isolates were screened for their inhibitory activities against VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 at 5 µM. While eriocalyxin O, coetsoidin A and laxiflorin P were found to significantly inhibit both VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, 8 (17),13-ent-labdadien-15 â†’ 16-lactone-19-oic acid displayed evidently inhibitory effect against ICAM-1.

LIGHT deficiency attenuates acute kidney disease development in an in vivo experimental renal ischemia and reperfusion injury model.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), a leading risk factor of acute kidney injury (AKI), is associated with high mortality and risk of progression to chronic kidney disease. However, the molecular mechanism of I/R-AKI remains not fully understood, which hinders its efficient clinical treatment. In this study, we observed that LIGHT deficiency remarkably attenuated I/R-AKI, as evidenced by rescued renal function, ameliorated tubular cell apoptosis, and alleviated inflammatory responses. Consistently, blocking LIGHT signaling with its soluble receptor fusion proteins (HVEM-IgG-Fc or LTßR-IgG-Fc) improved I/R renal dysfunction. RNA-sequencing and corresponding results indicated that LIGHT promoted oxidative stress and inflammation triggered by ischemic injury. Moreover, LIGHT signaling augmented ischemic stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by an imbalance in mitochondrial fission and fusion, decreased mtDNA copies, impaired mitophagy, and increased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Mechanistically, LIGHT promoted mitochondrial fission by enhancing Drp1 phosphorylation (Ser616) and its translocation to the mitochondria. In conclusion, these results suggest that LIGHT-HVEM/LTßR signaling is critical for the I/R-AKI pathogenesis and it is further confirmed to be related to the increase in I/R-induced oxidative stress and mitochondria dysfunction, which may be the underlying mechanism of LIGHT signaling-mediated I/R-AKI.

Two new 7, 20-epoxy-ent-kauranes from the aerial parts of Isodon eriocalyx.

Two previously undescribed 7, 20-epoxy-ent-kauranes along with six known ent-kauranoids, were isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon eriocalyx. The structures of new compounds were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compound 2 could inhibit the production of interleukin - 1ß (IL - 1ß) in monosodium urate (MSU) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced macrophages.

Spatio-temporal analysis of socio-economic characteristics for pulmonary tuberculosis in Sichuan province of China, 2006-2015.

BACKGROUND: The disease burden caused by pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Sichuan province still persisted at a high level, and large spatial variances were presented across regional distribution disparities. The socio-economic factors were suspected to affect the population of TB notification, we aimed to describe TB case notification rate (CNR) and identify which factors influence TB epidemic are necessary for the prevention and control of the disease in Sichuan province. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study and an ecological spatial analysis was conducted to quantify the presence and location of spatial clusters of TB by the Moran's I index and examined these patterns with socio-economic risk factors by hierarchical Bayesian spatio-temporal model. RESULTS: A total of 630,009 pulmonary TB cases were notified from 2006 to 2015 in 181 counties of Sichuan province. The CNR decreased year by year since 2007, from 88.70 to 61.37 per 100,000 persons. The spatial heterogeneities of CNR were observed during the study periods. Global Moran's I index varied from 0.23 to 0.44 with all P-value < 0.001. The Bayesian spatio-temporal model with parametric spatio-temporal interactions was chosen as the best model according to the minimum of Deviance Information Criterion (DIC)(19,379.01), and in which the quadratic form of time was taken. The proportion of age group and education year were all associated with CNR after adjusting the spatial effect, temporal effect and spatio-temporal interactions. TB CNR increased by 10.2% [95% credible interval (CI): 6.7-13.7%] for every 1-standard-deviation increase in proportion of age group and decreased by 23% (95% CI: 13.7-32.7%) for every 1-standard-deviation increase in education year. CONCLUSIONS: There were spatial clusters of TB notification rate in Sichuan province from 2006 to 2015, and heavy TB burden was mainly attributed to aging and low socioeconomic status including poor education. Thus, it is more important to pay more attention to the elderly population and improve socioeconomic status including promoting education level in Sichuan province to reduce the TB burden.

Extract of Naotaifang, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, protects neuron ferroptosis induced by acute cerebral ischemia in rats.

OBJECTIVE: Our previous research showed that Naotaifang (a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine) extract (NTE) has clinically beneficial effects on neurological improvement of patients with acute cerebral ischemia. In this study, we investigated whether NTE protected acute brain injury in rats and whether its effects on ferroptosis could be linked to the dysfunction of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and iron metabolism. METHODS: We established an acute brain injury model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats, in which we could observe the accumulation of iron in neurons, as detected by Perl's staining. Using assay kits, we measured expression levels of ferroptosis biomarkers, such as iron, glutathione (GSH), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malonaldehyde (MDA); further the expression levels of transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and GPX4 were determined using immunohistochemical analysis, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assays. RESULTS: We found that treatment with NTE reduced the expression levels of TFR1 and DMT1, reduced ROS, MDA and iron accumulation and reduced neurobehavioral scores, relative to untreated MCAO rats. Treatment with NTE increased the expression levels of SLC7A11, GPX4 and GSH, and the number of Nissl bodies in the MCAO rats. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data suggest that acute cerebral ischemia induces neuronal ferroptosis and the effects of treating MCAO rats with NTE involved inhibition of ferroptosis through the TFR1/DMT1 and SCL7A11/GPX4 pathways.

Nanoscale-Textured Tantalum Surfaces for Mammalian Cell Alignment.

Tantalum is one of the most important biomaterials used for surgical implant devices. However, little knowledge exists about how nanoscale-textured tantalum surfaces affect cell morphology. Mammalian (Vero) cell morphology on tantalum-coated comb structures was studied using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. These structures contained parallel lines and trenches with equal widths in the range of 0.18 to 100 µm. Results showed that as much as 77% of adherent cell nuclei oriented within 10° of the line axes when deposited on comb structures with widths smaller than 10 µm. However, less than 20% of cells exhibited the same alignment performance on blanket tantalum films or structures with line widths larger than 50 µm. Two types of line-width-dependent cell morphology were observed. When line widths were smaller than 0.5 µm, nanometer-scale pseudopodia bridged across trench gaps without contacting the bottom surfaces. In contrast, pseudopodia structures covered the entire trench sidewalls and the trench bottom surfaces of comb structures with line-widths larger than 0.5 µm. Furthermore, results showed that when a single cell simultaneously adhered to multiple surface structures, the portion of the cell contacting each surface reflected the type of morphology observed for cells individually contacting the surfaces.

Pattern-Dependent Mammalian Cell (Vero) Morphology on Tantalum/Silicon Oxide 3D Nanocomposites.

The primary goal of this work was to investigate the resulting morphology of a mammalian cell deposited on three-dimensional nanocomposites constructed of tantalum and silicon oxide. Vero cells were used as a model. The nanocomposite materials contained comb structures with equal-width trenches and lines. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy were used to image the alignment and elongation of cells. Cells were sensitive to the trench widths, and their observed behavior could be separated into three different regimes corresponding to different spreading mechanism. Cells on fine structures (trench widths of 0.21 to 0.5 µm) formed bridges across trench openings. On larger trenches (from 1 to 10 µm), cells formed a conformal layer matching the surface topographical features. When the trenches were larger than 10 µm, the majority of cells spread like those on blanket tantalum films; however, a significant proportion adhered to the trench sidewalls or bottom corner junctions. Pseudopodia extending from the bulk of the cell were readily observed in this work and a minimum effective diameter of ~50 nm was determined for stable adhesion to a tantalum surface. This sized structure is consistent with the ability of pseudopodia to accommodate ~4⁻6 integrin molecules.

Manipulating mammalian cell morphologies using chemical-mechanical polished integrated circuit chips.

Tungsten chemical-mechanical polished integrated circuits were used to study the alignment and immobilization of mammalian (Vero) cells. These devices consist of blanket silicon oxide thin films embedded with micro- and nano-meter scale tungsten metal line structures on the surface. The final surfaces are extremely flat and smooth across the entire substrate, with a roughness in the order of nanometers. Vero cells were deposited on the surface and allowed to adhere. Microscopy examinations revealed that cells have a strong preference to adhere to tungsten over silicon oxide surfaces with up to 99% of cells adhering to the tungsten portion of the surface. Cells self-aligned and elongated into long threads to maximize contact with isolated tungsten lines as thin as 180 nm. The orientation of the Vero cells showed sensitivity to the tungsten line geometric parameters, such as line width and spacing. Up to 93% of cells on 10 µm wide comb structures were aligned within ± 20° of the metal line axis. In contrast, only ~22% of cells incubated on 0.18 µm comb patterned tungsten lines were oriented within the same angular interval. This phenomenon is explained using a simple model describing cellular geometry as a function of pattern width and spacing, which showed that cells will rearrange their morphology to maximize their contact to the embedded tungsten. Finally, it was discovered that the materials could be reused after cleaning the surfaces, while maintaining cell alignment capability.

Researching Medical Properties and Classification Model of anti-aging Traditional Chinese Medicine / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

Objective:Analysis of anti-aging traditional Chinese medicine from the point of drug properties and explain the different types of drug characteristics.METHODS:The related literatures were derived from CNKI,and 51 traditional Chinese medicines were collected,then the ward method cluster analysis was carried out based on the property of a medicine data.Results:These drugs were divided into ten categories,the first kind of cold,bitter taste,liver meridian,can clear the liver;the second kinds of cold,bitter,spleen meridian,can clear splenopyretic;the third types of cold,sweet,nourishing yin;the fourth,five and six types were flat meridian,fiat sweet lung channel and flat sweet Spleen meridian,can nourishing liver,lung and spleen respectively;the seventh kinds of taste,to the kidney,can tonifying kidney-Qi;the eighth kinds of warm-natured,Spleen meridian,can fill the spleen meridian;the ninth kinds of warmnatured,spicy,to the kidney,tonifying kidney and dispelling cold;the tenth kinds of warm sweet to the kidney,tonifying kidney yang.Conclusion:The anti-aging traditional Chinese medicine was divided into ten categories based on the property of a medicine,the role of each type is different ways,reflecting the characteristics of anti-aging herbs.Adapt to the treatment of different aging patients.Through the classification of anti-aging drugs,it can be used to assist in the treatment of diseases,which provide clues for the study of anti-aging.

Fluoroquinolone prophylaxis in preventing BK polyomavirus infection after renal transplant: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Previous studies regarding the prevention of BK viremia following renal transplantation with fluoroquinolone have yielded conflicting results. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence regarding the efficacy of fluoroquinolone in preventing BK polyomavirus infection following renal transplantation. We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for research articles published prior to January 2015 using keywords such as "fluoroquinolone," "BK viremia," and "renal transplantation." We extracted all types of study published in English. The primary outcome was BK viremia and viruria at 1 year post-transplantation. Secondary outcomes were BK virus-associated nephropathy (BKVN), graft failure, and fluoroquinolone-resistant infection. We identified eight trials, including a total of 1477 participants with a mean duration of fluoroquinolone prophylaxis of >1 month. At 1 year, fluoroquinolone prophylaxis was not associated with a decreased incidence of BK viremia [risk ratio (RR), 0.84; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.58-1.20). No significant differences in BKVN (RR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.37-2.11), risk of graft failure due to BKVN (RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.29-1.59), or fluoroquinolone-resistant infection (RR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.64-1.83) were observed between the fluoroquinolone prophylaxis and control groups. The results of this study suggest that fluoroquinolone is ineffective in preventing BK polyomavirus infection following renal transplantation.

[Learning Curve of Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy and Risk Analysis of Intraoperative Complications].

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the learning curve of retroperitoneal laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) and evaluate the risk factors of intraoperative complications with data from a single center. METHODS: We evaluated perioperative data of 527 consecutive kidney donors who received retroperitoneal LDN between April 2009 and April 2014. The patients were divided into two groups according to the learning curve which was determined by the operation time:group 1 (on the learning curve) and group 2 (learning curve completed). RESULTS: The mean operation time was (88.4±38.07) min. The asymptote of the surgeon's learning curve for retroperitoneal LDN was achieved at the 100th case. The operation time and the incidence of intraoperative complications in group 1 were significantly higher than those of group 2. When cases completed, body mass index (BMI) and intraoperative complications were correlated to operative time. The incidence of intraoperative complications was 1.90% and BMI was correlated to the incidence of intraoperative complications. When the learning curve was completed, renal artery numbers and right kidney were found being correlated to operative time. CONCLUSIONS: Retroperitoneal LDN is a safe and effective operation method with a low incidence of complications. Technical proficiency in retroperitoneal LDN could be achieved after 100 surgeries.

Mechanism of anti-aging therapy on Parkinson's disease / 中国中药杂志

Many studies have shown that anti-aging treatment has value to prevention and treatment of some diseases. For the treatment of Parkinson' s disease, clinical and experimental researches have proved the potential value of anti-aging treatment, yet the mechanism remains unclear. For this reason, this work used the anti-aging prescriptions of Buyang Huanwu decoction in traditional Chinese medicines example to discover the anti-aging treatment mechanism on Parkinson's disease. The results showed that the mechanism of mitochondrial damage, apoptosis, free radicals and oxidative stress could contribute to the treatment of Parkinson' s disease. Buyang Huanwu decoction is more than as the carrier in this article, the discovered anti-aging treatment mechanism Parkinson's disease is not confined to Buyang Huanwu decoction, could also be used to understand the anti-aging treatment mechanism using other prescription. The main contribution of this paper is to clarify the mechanism of anti-aging treatment of Parkinson's disease, and provide a new strategy for the treatment and prevention of Parkinson's disease.

Elucidating hypoglycemic mechanism of Dendrobium nobile through auxiliary elucidation system for traditional Chinese medicine mechanism / 中国中药杂志

To build the Dendrobium nobile -T2DM network, and elucidate the molecular mechanism of D. nobile to type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Collect the chemical composition of D. nobile and the targets on T2DM by retrieving database and documents, build the network of D. nobile to T2DM using the entity grammar systems inference rules. The molecular mechanism of D. nobile to T2DM includes: (1) regulating lipid metabolism by lowering triglyceride; (2) reducing insulin resistance; (3) protecting islet cells; (4) promoting the glucose-dependent insulin tropic peptide (GIP) secretion; (5) inhibiting calcium channel. Under the guidance of network pharmacology, through entity grammar systems inference rules we elucidate the molecular mechanism of D. nobile to T2DM, and provide the basis for the further development of health care products based on D. nobile.

[The establishment of craniopharyngioma cell line].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the craniopharyngioma cell line with primary culture which might provide experiment background and evidence for future eternal tumor cell line establishment. METHODS: Thirty six surgical specimens were collected from patients with craniopharyngiomas definited by iconography and pathology examinations in West China Hospital, Sichuan University, including twenty one adamantine epitheliomas and fifteen squamous papillary tumors. The tumor cell was treated through primary cukture, purification, passage, freezing, resuscitation, and identified by keratin 7 staining through SP method. The growth curve and double time were detected through trypan blue dye cell count and MTT assay. The growth of the tumor cells treated with growth hormone (GH) and Tamoxifen was also observed. RESULTS: Thirty six primary cultures were done, 29 of which were successful and subculture was achieved in 80.6% of all primary cultures. These cell lines were from squamous epithelium by keratin 7 antibody identification, with three days of double time. Proloferative effect of GH was most prevalent at 100 ng/mL, while tamoxifen suppressed cell growth. CONCLUSION: The finite craniopharyngioma cell lines were obtained through primary culture.

Investigations of femtosecond-nanosecond dual-beam laser ablation of dielectrics.

We have conducted experimental investigations for the micromachining of dielectrics (fused silica) using an integrated femtosecond (fs) and nanosecond (ns) dual-beam laser system at different time delays between the fs and ns pulses. We found that the maximum ablation enhancement occurs when the fs pulse is shot near the peak of the ns pulse envelope. Enhancements up to 13.4 times in ablation depth and 50.7 times in the amount of material removal were obtained, as compared to fs laser ablation alone. The fs pulse increases the free electron density and changes the optical properties of fused silica to have metallic characteristics, which increases the absorption of the ns laser energy. This study provides an opportunity for efficient micromachining of dielectrics.

Congenital spinal intradural arachnoid cyst associated with intrathoracic meningocele in a child.

Congenital spinal intradural arachnoid cyst associated with intrathoracic meningocele is very rare. We report a case in a 9-year-old Chinese boy who presented with a two-week history of progressive paraparesis and gait ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that a dorsal intradural extramedullary cystic lesion extended from T1 to T5 and compressed the spinal cord. A left lateral intrathoracic meningocele pouch was found incidentally at the level of T1. The arachnoid cyst as well as meningocele was removed and the spinal cord compression was relieved. Arachnoid cyst was confirmed by histological examination. The patient recovered well postoperatively. This is the second report of such a case in the world according to the available literature. The take-home message for our case is that the surgical approach should be individualized, depending on the size and location.