Establishing a reference range for thromboelastograph parameters in the neonatal period.

INTRODUCTION: Acquired coagulation disorders are a common cause of neonatal bleeding. The thromboelastograph (TEG) comprehensively assesses haemostatic processes in the body. Unfortunately, the reference range of TEG parameters in the neonatal period has not yet been evaluated, which limits the use of the TEG in neonates. In this study, we aimed to establish the reference range of TEG parameters for the neonatal period. METHODS: This study included 371 full-term infants (≥37 weeks of gestation), and we divided these infants into three groups according to age as follows: 1, 2-7 and 8-28 days. We measured their peripheral blood using TEG, coagulation routine and platelet count tests. We analysed differences among the groups. RESULTS: The reference ranges for TEG parameters are presented as medians and reference ranges (2.5th and 97.5th percentiles) as follows: R (clot reaction time, seconds) 4.80 (2.80-7.17), Angle (fibrin production rate) 69.90 (44.91-78.89), K (clot kinetics, min) 1.40 (0.80-4.50), MA (maximum amplitude, mm) 63.50(44.34-74.66) and LY30 (lysis at 30 minutes, %) 0.10 (0.10-6.95). There were significant differences in Angle, K, MA and LY30 values between the different neonatal day age groups. CONCLUSION: This study preliminarily establishes a reference range for TEG parameters during the neonatal period. The age of a newborn had a large influence on TEG parameters. Additionally, we demonstrated a correlation between laboratory tests and TEG parameters for this age period. The reference values provided herein are meaningful for future studies.

Triptolide Inhibits Breast Cancer Cell Metastasis Through Inducing the Expression of miR-146a, a Negative Regulator of Rho GTPase.

Triptolide, an extract of Tripterygium wilfordii, has been shown to have a potent anticancer activity. In the present study, it was found that triptolide could effectively induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation and invasion in malignant MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The study focused on its effect on inhibiting invasion, which has not been extensively reported to date. We predicted that triptolide may change invasion activity via microRNAs (miRNAs), which have been recognized as important regulators of gene expression. miRNAome variation in MDA-MB-231 cells with or without triptolide treatment demonstrated that miR-146a was upregulated following treatment with triptolide. Our previous studies have shown that miR-146a can inhibit migration and invasion by targeting RhoA in breast cancer. This time, we found that miR-146a can target Rac1, another key member of the Rho GTPase family. Luciferase reporter containing Rac1 3'-UTR was constructed to prove this hypothesis. In addition, following treatment with triptolide, the expression of RhoA and Rac1 was found to be decreased. These results indicated that triptolide exerts its anti-invasion activity through a miRNA-mediated mechanism, which indirectly regulates the expression of Rho GTPase. Triptolide combined with miR-146a could improve the effect of triptolide treatment on breast cancer.

[Dynamics of three kinds of nitrogen in surface water of rice field with an independent irrigation system].

Studies on the dynamics of NH4+, NO3- and TN concentrations in the surface water of paddy field with an independent irrigation system showed that the concentration of NH4+ and TN in surface water was increased to the maximum after 1day of each urea application, and then decreased rapidly with time. The ratio of NH4+/TN, NO3-/TN and (NH4+ + NO3-)/TN was increased firstly, and then decreased. NH4+ and TN could be used as the main indexes for the water pollution of the paddy field, and NO3- used as the assistant one. There existed a positive relation between the concentration of these three kinds of nitrogen and N application amount. Nine days after urea application was the key time to prevent the gross loss of the three kinds of nitrogen in the water surface of the paddy field. The simulation expressions of NH4+ and TN with time factor could be exponential, logarithmic, power or binomial, while NO3- had no appropriate expression. The simulation with factors of time and N application amount showed that the simulation expressions of NH4+ and TN were the same.