[Situational analysis of periodontal disease burden for adults in China from 1990 to 2019 and its incidence trend prediction].

Objective: To analyze the burden and changing trends of periodontal disease in adults of the mainland of China from 1990 to 2019, and to predict the incidence trends of periodontal disease in the next 25 years, with a goal to provide a basis for reducing the burden of periodontal disease and formulating relevant prevention and treatment measures. Methods: Data on the incidence, prevalence, and disability adjusted life years (DALY) rate of periodontal disease among adults in the mainland of China from 1990 to 2019 were extracted from the global burden of disease study 2019 (GBD 2019) database. The estimated annual percent change (EAPC) was used to estimate the temporal trend of periodontal disease, and the age-period-cohort model (APC) was used to predict the age-standardized incidence of periodontal disease in Chinese adults from 2020 to 2044. Results: From 1990 to 2019, the incidence, prevalence, and DALY rate of adult periodontal disease in the mainland of China showed an increasing trend, with EAPCs of 0.3 (95%CI: 0.1-0.6), 0.5 (95%CI: 0.1-0.8), and 0.5 (95%CI: 0.1-0.8), respectively. The incidence and prevalence of periodontitis among the population aged 35-39 years old and 40-44 years old increased the most significantly, with EAPCs of 0.8 and 0.7, respectively, whereas the change in periodontal disease prevalence tended to be stable and the increase trend in prevalence was lower in the elderly group (EAPC=0.4). The incidence (EAPC=2.1), prevalence (EAPC=2.6) and DALY rate (EAPC=2.6) of periodontal disease in females increased more than those in males (EAPC=1.9, 2.4, and 2.4, respectively), of which the prevalence had exceeded that of males in 2019. The APC model predicted that the prevalence of periodontal disease in the period of 2020-2044 in China would still be on an upward trend, and the increase rate would be higher in females than in males. Conclusions: The burden of periodontal disease among adults in China had been increasing over the past 30 years, especially among young and middle-aged adults as well as females, and the incidence of periodontal disease will continue to increase over the next 25 years.

[Epidemiological investigation on allergic diseases related to animal dander of cats, dogs and horses].

Objective: A multicenter Chinese mainland survey was conducted to investigate the sensitization distribution characteristics of cat, dog and horse dander in patients with allergic diseases, so as to provide clinicians with epidemiological data of common animal allergens and useful information for the prevention and treatment of allergies in cats, dogs and horses. Methods: The epidemiological investigation and design was adopted. This study is based on the national epidemiological survey of allergic diseases led by the first affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University. From January to December in 2021, a total of 2 122 patients diagnosed with allergic diseases were included in the outpatient department of respiratory department/pediatrics/allergy department of 14 units such as the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, and 222 healthy subjects were included as controls from the physical examination center of the above units in the same period. All the subjects filled out the allergic disease questionnaire under the guidance of doctors, and the allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) of cats, dogs and horses of all subjects were detected by magnetic particle chemiluminescence system. The epidemiological characteristics of three animal allergens in different diseases, ages and regions were analyzed. Chi square test was used to analyze the frequency difference between groups, t test or Mann Whitney U test was used to test the distribution difference between two groups, and one-way ANOVA or Kruskal Wallis H test was used to compare the distribution difference between multiple groups. Bar chart, Venn-plot and radar chart were drawn to show the sensitization distribution characteristics. A small number of missing values caused by subjects' omission have been excluded during the analysis. Results: The 2 122 patients with allergic diseases were 57.35% male (1 217/2 122) and 40.95% female (869/2 122), and 1.70% (36/2 122) patients had loss of gender information. The age of patients with allergic diseases was 9.0 (6.0, 28.0) years, while that of healthy controls was 29.0 (13.0, 39.0) years old, and there were 1.7% (36/2 122) and 0.9% (2/222) subjects with missing age information, respectively. The proportion of caesarean section in allergic patients was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (31.4% vs. 17.6%,χ2=16.582,P<0.001) [2.5% (54/2 122) of the patient group and 5.4% (12/222) of the control group had missing birth mode information], and the proportion of patients with allergic diseases who reported that both parents had allergic diseases was significantly higher than that of the control group (35.7% vs. 9.5%, χ2=65.171,P<0.001). Patients with allergic diseases are mainly school-age (6-12 years old) and adolescents (12-18 years old). 16.4% of patients with allergic diseases were sensitized to cat dander, 10% and 6% to dog and horse dander. The sensitization rate of cat dander in patients with rhinitis, asthma, conjunctivitis, food allergy and atopic dermatitis was the highest (16.4%-21.6%), followed by dog dander (10.2%-15.2%). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis was the highest among different animal sensitized populations. The proportion of cat, dog and horse allergens sensitized at the same time is between 10%-15%, and the proportion of any two or more animal dander sensitized at the same time is about 45%. Animal allergens are associated with respiratory allergic diseases, especially allergic rhinitis with allergic conjunctivitis. There were significant differences in the distribution of positive rates of three animal allergens in different regions, and the highest positive rate of cat dander was found in all provinces of the country. Conclusion: The sensitization rate of animal dander allergens increased significantly, and the highest was in children and adolescents. Cat dander is the most common animal allergen, followed by dog. Different animals show obvious cross or common sensitization due to their high homology.

[Familial interstitial lung disease associated with surfactant protein C gene mutation in adults: report of two cases and literature review].

Objective: To improve the understanding of clinical manifestations, imaging findings, diagnosis and treatment of surfactant protein C gene (SFTPC) mutation associated with familial interstitial lung disease in adults. Methods: Two cases of adult SFTPC gene mutation associated with familial interstitial lung disease diagnosed in the Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University were analyzed retrospectively, and the literature was reviewed. The literatures were retrieved with "family interstitial lung disease" "SFTPC gene" "surface protein C gene" "SFTPC gene mutation associated with familial international lung disease" and "surface protein C gene mutation associated with familial international lung disease" in PubMed, Embase, Ovid, Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Results: There were two patients with familial interstitial lung diseases(one male and one female) with an average age of 27.5 years. Ⅱ-2 patient had symptoms of dry cough and shortness of breath, and Ⅱ-1 patient had no symptoms. There were multiple cysts and fine reticular shadows in both cases. Ⅱ-2 patient had multiple ground glass opacities in both lower lungs. TheⅡ-2 patient was diagnosed with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) by transbronchial lung cryobiopsy. A total of 35 patients were included in this literature review, including 20 males, with an average age of 33.5 years. Of all the patients, the clinical symptoms were described in 30 patients. The main manifestations were shortness of breath (22/30), dry cough (18/30), clubbing finger (12/30), and 30% (9/30) of them were found by chest computerized tomography (CT) without symptoms. There were 17 cases with detailed description of chest CT imaging. The most common chest CT findings were multiple intralobular reticular opacities (17/17), multiple cysts (12/17) and ground glass opacities (7/17). The main histopathological pattern was UIP (24/26). Conclusions: The main clinical manifestations of SFTPC gene mutation associated with familial interstitial lung disease in adults are shortness of breath, dry cough and clubbing fingers. The main manifestations are multiple cysts and intralobular reticular opacities in combination with multiple ground glass opacities. There is no specific drug in the treatment at present and early treatment with hydroxychloroquine may have better curative effect. When the imaging findings show multiple cysts and intralobular reticular opacities in combination with multiple ground glass opacities, especially the age of onset is less than 50 years old, this disease should be considered.

[The effect of diallyl sulfide on the lung tissue of rats poisoned by paraquat].

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of diallyl sulfide (DAS) on paraquat (PQ) - induced acute lung injury in rats. Methods: In May 2016, 32 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, model (PQ) group, DAS treatment group and dexamethasone (DXM) treatment group, with 8 rats in each group. PQ poisoning model was established by intragastric administration of PQ solution (70 mg/kg) . 100 mg/kg DAS (DAS treatment group) , normal saline (control group and PQ group) and 1 mg/kg DXM (DXM treatment group) were injected intraperitoneally before and after modeling. After 24 hours, the rats were killed and the degree of lung injury was observed. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lung tissue was measured. Alveolar macrophages were isolated and cultured. The supernatant was taken to determine the content of NO, and the expressions of iNOS mRNA in alveolar macrophages were detected. Results: Compared with the control group, the pathological injury score and the expression of iNOS in the lung tissue of PQ group were significantly increased, and the content of NO secreted by alveolar macrophages and the expression of iNOS mRNA were significantly increased (P<0.05) . Compared with PQ group, the pathological injury scores and the expressions of iNOS in lung tissue of rats in DAS treatment group and DXM treatment group were significantly decreased, and the contents of NO secreted by alveolar macrophages and the expressions of iNOS mRNA were significantly decreased (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference between DXM group and DAS group (P>0.05) . Conclusion: DAS may have protective effect on acute lung injury induced by PQ in rats.

Horizontal orientation of zygomorphic flowers: significance for rain protection and pollen transfer.

Floral traits are recognized to have evolved under selection for abiotic and biotic factors. Complex zygomorphic flowers usually face horizontally. It has been proved that a horizontal orientation facilitates pollinator recognition and pollination efficiency, but its significance in adaptation to abiotic factors remains unknown. The floral orientation of Abelia × grandiflora naturally varies around horizontal (with an angle of -30 to +33° between the floral main axis and the horizontal). We examined whether three different floral orientations affected flower thermal conditions, response to rain and pollination. Results showed that floral orientation had no effect on diurnal variations in flower temperature. The anthers of all three flower orientations were wetted by rainfall, but the inclined upward-facing flowers contained significantly more rainwater. The horizontal flowers received significantly higher visitation by hawkmoths and had a higher stigmatic pollen load. In contrast, the upward flower orientation reduced pollination precision, while downward-facing flowers had decreased pollinator attraction. This study indicates that horizontal flowers may have evolved as a trade-off between rain protection and pollination. Zygomorphic flowers that deviate from a horizontal orientation may have lower fitness because of flower flooding by rainwater and decreased pollen transfer.

LncRNA GAS5 induces chondrocyte apoptosis by down-regulating miR-137.

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) participates in the pathogenesis of human knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Growth arrest specificity 5 (GAS5) is a member lncRNA, but its role in pathological regulation of KOA is still unknown. This study aims to explore the mechanism of GAS5 in KOA on chondrocyte apoptosis and other pathological processes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The serum and cartilage tissues were collected from 35 patients with KOA and 30 patients with traumatic amputation admitted to our hospital from April 2016 to April 2020. The expressions of GAS5 and miR-137 were detected and analyzed. Chondrocytes were extracted from cartilage tissues of KOA patients, and the genes were regulated by transfection. Then, the cells were detected, including apoptosis, apoptosis-related proteins (caspase-3, Bax/Bcl-2), and proliferation. The targeting relationship between GAS5 and miR-137 was verified. RESULTS: GAS5 was up-regulated in serum and cartilage tissues of KOA patients, and down-regulation of GAS5 could inhibit the apoptosis process of chondrocytes and promote proliferation. MiR-137 was down-regulated in samples of KOA patients and was negatively regulated by GAS5. GAS5 induced apoptosis of chondrocytes and inhibited its proliferation through targeted down-regulating miR-137. CONCLUSIONS: GAS5 is up-regulated in KOA serum, cartilage tissues and cells, and can induce chondrocyte apoptosis through down-regulating miR-137.

Short-term combined treatment with exenatide and metformin is superior to glimepiride combined metformin in improvement of serum testosterone levels in type 2 diabetic patients with obesity.

Men with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are often characterised by low testosterone (T). We aimed to determine whether exenatide (EXE) combined metformin (MET) treatment has a better effect on serum total testosterone (TT) levels than glimepiride (GLI) combined MET treatment in men with T2D and obesity. In a multicentre, 12-week observational study, 176 obese T2D men with failed glycaemic control were included in the study: ninety men (mean age, 43.00 ± 8.50 years) in EXE + MET group and 86 men (mean age, 44.00 ± 7.00 years) in GLI + MET group. Serum TT levels were more significantly increased in EXE + MET group than GLI + MET group (121.72 ± 56.73 ng/dl versus 34.67 ± 16.30 ng/dl). The increasement of TT levels in those patients who lost body weight ≥5% was significantly greater than those who lost weight <5% in the two groups. The changes in TT levels are closely related to the changes in waist circumference (r = -.443, p < .001). Sexual function assessment of EXE + MET group was more significantly improved than GLI + MET group (p < .001). No serious adverse events were observed. In conclusion, short-term combined treatment with EXE and MET is superior to GLI combined MET treatment in the improvement of serum TT levels, which could lead to an improvement of sexual hypofunction in patients with obesity and T2D.

Mylohyoid motor evoked potentials can effectively predict persistent dysphagia 3 months poststroke.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between mylohyoid motor-evoked potentials (MH-MEP) and swallowing function and determine the value of MH-MEP for predicting aspiration 3 months poststroke. METHODS: Subacute patients within a month of their first stroke were enrolled up for 2 consecutive years. Videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) were performed twice. Patients were evaluated during VFSS using the penetration aspiration scale (PAS) and videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale (VDS). MH-MEP was recorded in the mylohyoid muscles. The active electrode was positioned submentally, 2 cm lateral to midline. Magnetic stimulation was performed on the contralateral motor cortex, 2-4 cm anterior and 4-6 cm lateral to the cranial vertex. The resting motor threshold (rMT), latency, and amplitude stimulation at 120% (amp120) and 150% (amp150) of the rMT were assessed. The ratio of each parameter was also estimated. The relationship between MH-MEP and VFSS findings was analyzed. KEY RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients completed the study. On VFSS at 3 months poststroke, 24 (35.3%) patients showed aspiration. The rMT, rMT ratio, amp120 and amp120 ratio were significantly correlated with the PAS and VDS (P < .05). The rMT ratio (OR = 1.208, P = .001) and amp120 ratio (OR = 0.821, P = .002) were independent predictors of aspiration at 3 months. The optimal cut-off value of the rMT ratio was 126.1 (AUC = 0.94, sensitivity = 0.92, specificity = 0.89); that of the amp120 ratio was 66.5 (AUC = 0.89, sensitivity = 0.88, specificity = 0.86). CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES: MH-MEP was well-correlated with dysphagia severity assessed by VFSS. The rMT ratio and amplitude ratio of MH-MEP can effectively predict persistent dysphagia 3 months poststroke.

Relationship between transmembrane serine protease expression and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of esophageal cancer in Eastern Europe and Asia, being the 6th most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of transmembrane serine protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and to correlate it with the clinical biological features of esophageal cancer. The expression of transmembrane protease serine 4 (TMPRSS4) mRNA and protein in carcinoma tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues and non-tumorous esophageal tissues was determined using PCR (qRT-PCR). The results show that both TMPRSS4 mRNA and protein expression were remarkably lower in adjacent normal tissues than in tumorous tissues. TMPRSS4 protein expression in esophageal carcinoma was correlated with patient demographic characteristics, tumor type, high TNM stages and overall survival (OS). Based on the experimental results, we conclude that TMPRSS4 is closely related to the occurrence, development and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

[Anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal segments of the lower lobe: three cases reports and literature review].

Objective: To improve the clinical recognition of anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal segments of the lower lobe in clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment. Methods: Three cases were presented and related literatures were reviewed. A literature review was performed with"anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal lower lobe of the lung","anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal segments of the lower lobe"and"anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal segments of the left lower lobe of the lung"as key words in Pubmed, Embase, Ovid, Wanfang database and CNKI. Result: Our 3 cases were male, with an average age of 36 years old; all of them were admitted with hemoptysis. Left lower lobectomy was performed in 2 cases, and the other 1 case underwent endovascular embolization. 26 related articles were retrieved and our 3 cases were included in this study with a total of 57 cases. The ratio of male to female was 2∶1 (38∶19), with an average age of about 35 years old. The most common symptom was hemoptysis (26/57), followed by asymptomatic (22/57). The main treatments included left lower lobectomy (17/47) and endovascular embolization of anomalous systemic artery (13/47). Conclusions: This disease is more common in male, and the most common symptom is hemoptysis. When chest CT scan shows a nodular retrocardiac density with hemoptysis symptom, clinicians and radiologists should raise suspicion of anomalous systemic arterial supply to normal basal segments of the lower lobe. Chest contrast-enhanced CT scan is an appropriate imaging method to confirm diagnosis. The main treatments include left lower lobectomy and endovascular embolization. For asymptomatic patient, observation may be an acceptable option.

[Attaching importance to molecular imaging techniques and promoting precision diagnosis in burns].

The explosive growth and advancement of computer science in recent decades have prompted the rapid development and wide applications of imaging techniques in life science, which have brought about revolutionary changes in modern medicine. Nowadays, it is possible to visualize multiple physiological and disease processes, precisely and non-invasively, in a living human body. Modern medicine has even started"reading the mind", to diagnose psychology, behavior and degenerative disorders of human brain. The border between the organic and inorganic diseases in old dogma is disappearing because imaging techniques have"visualized"the neurological and tissue changes of inorganic disorders. Severe burn injury is associated with very complicated pathological processes, which are always at the borderline between life and death. Complete recovery of patients with severe burn injury, if possible, may take years of time. Hence, a real-time monitoring of the disease process is of pivotal importance in early recognition and prevention of life-threatening complications and in assessing the therapeutic efficacy for a less-eventful recovery. Here we review and introduce some potential applications of modern imaging techniques in burn care and research, which may benefit burn patients. Some techniques are still in their early or pre-clinical stage and some are mature techniques in other fields of medicine, which are potentially applicable in burn diagnosis and treatment through our research. We intend to bring your interest to this field which may eventually lead to new revenues improving our clinical work on burn victims.

[Short-term outcomes of lung transplant recipients using organs from brain death donors].

Objective: To assess short-term outcomes after lung transplantation with organs procured following brain death. Methods: Between April 2015 and July 2016, all 17 recipients after lung transplantation using organs from brain death donors (DBD) at Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine were enrolled in this study. All patients were male, aging (60±7) years, including 11 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 5 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, 1 silicosis. Seventeen donors were 16 males and 1 female, with 10 traumatic brain injury, 5 cerebrovascular accident and 2 sudden cardiac death. Of 17 recipients receiving DBD lung transplant, 16 were single lung transplant. Data were collected including intubation duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay, incidence of pulmonary infection bronchus anastomosis complications, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), and acute rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) as well as mortality of 90-day after lung transplantation. Results: Median duration of intubation were 2 (2) days (M(QR)) in recipients after lung transplantation. The incidence of pulmonary infection and bronchus anastomosis complications were 15/17 and 5/17, respectively. Median length of stay in hospital were 56 (19) days. The ratio of readmission 1 month after discharge were 10/17. Mortality of 90-day post-transplant were 2/17. The incidence of PGD and BOS were 1/17 and 2/17, respectively. Conclusion: Recipients with DBD lung transplantation have an acceptable survival during short-term follow-up, but with higher incidences of complications related to infection post-transplantation.

[Effects of ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) on osteopontin expression and autophagy in tubular cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic nephropathy rat].

Objective: To investigate the effects of ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) on tubulointerstitial inflammatory molecules and autophagy in diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats. Methods: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to DN group (n=6) and DN+ PDTC group (n=6, PDTC, ip, 100 mg·kg-1·d-1), all received streptozotocin (STZ) 60 mg/kg intraperitoneally, and the other 12 rats were randomly divided into control group (n=6) and PDTC group (n=6). At the end of 12 weeks, after serum creatine (Scr) and 24-hour urinary protein were determined, rats were sacrificed to determined the renal pathological damages and the changes of nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65, p62, osteopontin (OPN), microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ, nuclear p-NF-κB p65 by immunohistological stainning and Western blot, and ultrastructural changes of autophagic process was observed by electron microscopy (EM). Results: Scr was similar among the four groups (P>0.05). The levels of urinary protein in DN group and DN + PDTC group were significantly higher than the other two groups (all P<0.01), but the level of urinary protein in DN + PDTC group was lower than that of DN group (P<0.05). DN + PDTC group had less tubulointerstitial damage compared with DN group (P<0.05). Among the four groups, expressions of p62, p65, OPN of tubulointerstitial area in DN group were significantly higher than that of the other groups (all P<0.05), and Western blot showed that DN+ PDTC group had less expressions of NF-κB p65, nuclear p-p65, OPN and more expresssion of LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ compared with DN group (all P<0.05), which were consistent with the decreased autophagic vacuoles and increased mitochondria dysfunction revealed by EM. Correlation analysis showed that renal LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ was negatively correlated the expressions of nuclear p-p65 and OPN (r=-0.45, P=0.02; r=-0.50, P=0.01), and p62 was positively correlated the expressions of nuclear p-p65 and OPN (r=0.33, P=0.01; r=0.41, P=0.01). Conclusion: Tubular NF-κB activation is closely related to autophagy dysfunction in DN rats, and PDTC may enhance autophagy activity in tubule cells by blocking NF-κB activity.

[A study of the diagnostic value of endobronchial ultrasound guide sheath transbronchial lung biopsy combined with virtual bronchoscopic navigation in peripheral pulmonary lesions].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of endobronchial ultrasound guide sheath transbronchial lung biopsy (EBUS-GS-TBLB) combined with virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) in peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). METHODS: Cases with a PPL identified by computed tomography in Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Ningbo University underwent EBUS-GS-TBLB with or without VBN randomly between Nov. 2014 to Aug. 2015. X-ray guidance was not performed in these cases. The sensitivity and the operation time were evaluated in the 2 groups. RESULTS: A total of 184 patients were enrolled and completed this study. Among them 117 were males and 67 were females. There were 93 cases in the group of EBUS-GS-TBLB with VBN, and 91 in the group without VBN. The diagnostic sensitivity of VBN group was 72.04%(67/93). Among these positive cases, 64.1% cases (43/67) were malignant tumors, and 35.9% cases (24/67) were benign lesions. The mean operation time was (45±10)min. In the group without VBN, the diagnostic sensitivity was 69.23%(63/91), including 33 malignant tumors(52.4%, 33/63), and 30 benign lesions(47.6%, 30/63). The mean operation time was (55±10)min. There was no significant difference between EBUS-GS-TBLB with VBN group and EBUS-GS-TBLB without VBN group in diagnostic sensitivity (χ(2)=0.175, P=0.747). But there was a significant difference in the mean operation time between the 2 groups (t=6.522, P<0.001). EBUS-GS-TBLB was well tolerated. No severe procedure-related complications such as pneumothorax and hemoptysis were observed. CONCLUSION: VBN cannot improve the diagnostic sensitivity, but it can clear the location of lesion, and shorten the operation time. This technique helps to abandon the X-ray guidance. EBUS-GS-TBLB combined with VBN is a safe and effective technique for PPLs.

Association between PAI-1 polymorphisms and plasma PAI-1 level with sepsis in severely burned patients.

We investigated the association between plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) polymorphisms and plasma PAI-1 level with sepsis in severely burned patients. A total of 182 patients with burn areas lager than 30% of the body surface area were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 103 patients with sepsis (sepsis group) and 79 patients without sepsis (control group). An allele-specific polymerase chain reaction assay was used to determine PAI-1 polymorphism 4G/5G distribution. Plasma PAI-1 levels were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The frequency of the 4G/4G genotype and the 4G allele frequency in the sepsis group were 42.7 and 62.1% respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Sepsis patients had a significantly higher plasma PAI-1 level than the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the 5G/5G genotype, PAI-1 concentrations were significantly higher in the 4G/4G genotype (P < 0.05). The study indicates that the 4G/5G promoter polymorphism of PAI-1 gene may be related to the susceptibility to burn sepsis and that the 4G/4G genotype may be an important genetic risk factor of burn sepsis. Additionally, PAI-1 concentrations in the serum are increased in patients with burn sepsis.

Insulin resistance induced by zymosan as a new animal model in mice.

Insulin resistance (IR) is known as a main problem in diabetic disorders. Some animal models for research in IR have been mentioned. Each model shows merit with some disadvantages. Thus, a new animal model for IR is required. The present study used zymosan, a mixture of cell-wall particles from the yeast named Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to establish a new model of IR in mice. Also, we compared the difference of this model with fructose-rich chow-induced model and found some merits of this model. Moreover, we identified that this model induced by zymosan is reversible and IR can be reversed gradually after termination of treatment. Taken together, we suggest zymosan as a useful agent to induce IR through inflammatory pathway in mice.

Characterization of the specificity of imidazoline I-1 receptor antibody for subtype of imidazoline receptors in vitro.

Specific antibodies are essential in the study of receptor protein. Gene matching shows that Nischarin (NISCH) is a mouse homologue of human imidazoline receptor antisera-selective (IRAS) protein, a viable candidate for imidazoline I-1 receptor. However, selectivity of this antibody against imidazoline I-2 or imidazoline I-3 receptors remained obscure. At first, an intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of anti-NISCH antibody blocked the blood pressure lowering action of rilmenidine (I-1 receptor agonist) in spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR). However, the same injection of anti-NISCH antibody showed no effect in SHR treated with clonidine (α2 agonist). In order to clarify the selectivity of anti-NISCH antibody for each subtype of imidazoline receptors, this anti-NISCH antibody was subjected to the lysate of organs isolated from Wistar rats including cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and brain stem as central nervous tissues, and heart, liver, pancreas, skeletal muscle, kidney, prostate, and bladder as peripheral tissues. The results show that anti-NISCH antibody positively reacted with all tissues including heart, pancreas, skeletal muscle, kidney and bladder by Western blot analysis. Also, the blotting spots for anti-NISCH antibody show a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, anti-NISCH antibody blocked the action of glucose uptake induced by 2-BFI (I-2 receptor agonist) in L6 cells. Taken together, the obtained data suggest that anti-NISCH antibody can be used not only for imidazoline I-1 receptor but also for I-2 and I-3 subtypes in immunoassays.

Application of the combined use of ultrasonic homogenization and electro-spraying in the formation of nano carrier systems.

Chitosan-coated nano-liposomes containing etofenprox were prepared by ultrasonic homogenization (UH) and a combined use of UH and electro-spraying. The physicochemical properties of the resulting samples were examined and compared. The two methods yielded similar values and tendencies, except for encapsulation efficiency that differed by an average of 15%. In the coating process, as the chitosan concentration increased (0.1-0.5%, w/v) and the degree of deacetylation increased (chitosans A, B and C), the surface charge of the nano carrier likewise increased and carrier size distribution was altered. The encapsulation efficiency as measured by gas chromatography decreased slightly with the increasing chitosan concentration (0.1-0.5%, w/v). The results indicate that diverse preparation conditions could affect the physicochemical properties of the resulting nano carrier systems.

Influence of chitosan coating on the liposomal surface on physicochemical properties and the release profile of nanocarrier systems.

Chitosan-coated nanoliposomes containing etofenprox or alpha-cypermethrin prepared by ultrasonic homogenization maintained a size distribution in the nanometre range. Nanoliposomes were constructed using different types and concentrations of chitosan to regulate the mean size and surface charge. As the chitosan concentration (0.1-0.5%, w/v) and the degree of deacetylation increased, surface charge also increased. The encapsulation efficiency and release profile were measured by gas chromatography. Encapsulation efficiency decreased slightly as chitosan concentration increased (0.1-0.5%, w/v). As the intrinsic surface charge or concentration of the coating material increased, the release period of the entrapped core material was extended (chitosans A and B; 0.1 and 0.3%, w/v). The results indicate that diverse preparation conditions could affect the physicochemical properties and release profile of the resulting nanocarrier systems.