Quantitative analysis of anthocyanins and flavonoids in purple and green leaves of Eleutherococcus senticosus by UPLC-MS/MS techniques.

Ultra performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) were used to target quantitative determination anthocyanins and flavonoids in the fresh leaves (purple and green) of Eleutherococcus senticosus. The results showed that the content of total anthocyanins was 99.68 µg/g (Fresh Weight, FW) in purple leaves and 29.12 µg/g in green leaves. Cyanidin-3-O-galactoside and delphinidin were the main anthocyanins compound in purple and green leaves, and the content of the both declined sharply in green leaves. The content of cyanidin-3-O-galactoside reached 616.23 ng/100 mg in purple leaves and was only fifth in green leaves. The total flavonoids content was 4.90 mg/g in purple leaves and 2.23 mg/g in green leaves. Quercetin-3-ß-D-glucoside (236.96 ng/mg) and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (145.27 ng/mg) were the main flavonoids compound in purple leaves. Besides the two main flavonoids, large quantities of rutin (269.11 ng/mg) was detected in green leaves of E. senticosus.

Mechanisms of norcantharidin against renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis.

Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis (RTIF) is a common feature and inevitable consequence of all progressive chronic kidney diseases, leading to end-stage renal failure regardless of the initial cause. Although research over the past few decades has greatly improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of RTIF, until now there has been no specific treatment available that can halt the progression of RTIF. Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a demethylated analogue of cantharidin, a natural compound isolated from 1500 species of medicinal insect, the blister beetle (Mylabris phalerata Pallas), traditionally used for medicinal purposes. Many studies have found that NCTD can attenuate RTIF and has the potential to be an anti-RTIF drug. This article reviews the recent progress of NCTD in the treatment of RTIF, with emphasis on the pharmacological mechanism of NCTD against RTIF.

Magnetic and Ferroelectric Manipulation of Valley Physics in Janus Piezoelectric Materials.

The realization of multiferroic materials offers the possibility of multifunctional electronic device design. However, the coupling between the multiferroicity and piezoelectricity in Janus materials is rarely reported. In this study, we propose a mechanism for manipulating valley physics by magnetization reversing and ferroelectric switching in multiferroic and piezoelectric material. The ferromagnetic VSiGeP4 monolayer exhibits a large valley polarization up to 100 meV, which can be effectively operated by reversing magnetization. Interestingly, the antiferromagnetic VSiGeP4 bilayers with AB and BA stacking configurations allow the coexistence of valley polarization and ferroelectricity, supporting the proposed strategy for manipulating valley physics via ferroelectric switching and interlayer sliding. In addition, the VSiGeP4 monolayer contains remarkable tunable piezoelectricity regulated by electron correlation U. This study proposes a feasible idea for regulating valley polarization and a general design idea for multifunctional devices with multiferroic and piezoelectric properties, facilitating the miniaturization and integration of nanodevices.

Neuropsychiatric disturbance detecting polycythemia vera myelofibrosis: a case report and literature review.

Background: Neuropsychiatric disturbances and chorea are less recognized consequences of polycythemia vera (PV), and their role in post-PV myelofibrosis (MF) has not been reported. Clinical features that predict post-PV MF lack specificity. Case presentation: We describe an elderly patient with PV who developed acute-onset reversible neuropsychiatric disturbances accompanied by generalized chorea and was finally diagnosed with post-PV MF after a bone marrow examination. We also reviewed four cases of late PV associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms since 1966 and analyzed their clinical characteristics and therapeutic effects. Conclusion: Our case indicates that Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)-related PV is a treatable cause of late-onset chorea and that chorea may herald the deterioration of hematological parameters. Our case provides a clinically specific representation of post-PV MF. Patients with a long course of PV are recommended to undergo bone marrow re-examinations when they present with neuropsychiatric symptoms to achieve an early diagnosis of post-PV MF.

Contamination, ecological-health risks, and sources of potentially toxic elements in road-dust sediments and soils of the largest urban riverfront scenic park in China.

Identifying the contamination and sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in road-dust sediment (RDS) and the surrounding greenspace soil of urban environments and understanding their ecological-health risks are important for pollution management and public health. The contamination characteristics, ecological and probabilistic health risks, and source apportionment of eight PTEs (Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, As, Zn, and Hg) in the Yellow River Custom Tourist Line of Lanzhou, which is the largest open urban riverfront scenic park in China, were investigated. The results showed that all the RDS PTE mean concentrations exceeded their soil background values, whereas for the surrounding greenspace soils, the concentrations of the PTEs, except for Cr and Ni, were also higher than their local background levels. Moreover, the RDS-soil system was mainly contaminated by Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Hg to varying degrees, and the integrated ecological risks of PTEs in the RDS and soil were high and considerable at most sites, respectively. The probabilistic health risk assessment results demonstrated that the non-carcinogenic hazard risk for humans was negligible, but the total carcinogenic risks should be considered. Source apportionment using a positive matrix factorization model combined with multivariate statistical analyses revealed that Cr, Ni, and As in the RDS-soil system were from natural and industrial sources, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu came from vehicle emissions and pesticide and fertilizer applications, and Hg was from natural and industrial sources and utilization of pesticides with fertilizers. This work provides scientific evidence for urban planning and human health protection in urban environments.

[Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Dusts and Surrounding Green Land Soils from Yellow River Custom Tourist Line in Lanzhou].

In order to investigate the contamination levels of dust and its surrounding green land soil heavy metal pollution and potential ecological and health risks in the scenic areas of urban waterfront parks, the gardens, squares, and theme parks of the Yellow River Custom Tourist Line in Lanzhou were selected as the research area, using 27 dust samples and 26 soil samples from its surrounding green lands. The contamination characteristics and potential ecological risks of eight heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) were evaluated using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), single-factor pollution index (Pi), Nemerow integrated pollution index (PN), and improved potential ecological risk index (RI). The human health risk assessment was also evaluated using the exposure risk model. The results showed that the average concentrations of the other heavy metals in the surface dusts were higher than the background values of Gansu Province and Lanzhou City, except that the As mean concentrations in the surface dusts and the surrounding green land soils were slightly lower than the Gansu Province background values. For its surrounding green land soils, the mean concentrations of the other heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb) exceeded the soil background values of Gansu Province and Lanzhou City, whereas the Cr and Ni mean concentrations were lower than their corresponding soil background values of Gansu Province and Lanzhou City. The geo-accumulation and single-factor pollution indices demonstrated that a slight to moderate pollution of Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb occurred in surface dusts, and Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb appeared in varying degrees of contamination levels in its surrounding green land soils. The Nemerow integrated pollution index analysis manifested that the overall contamination status of the study areas was between slightly and heavily polluted. The potential ecological risk index suggested that Cd and Hg were recognized as significant pollutant elements and that the RI of the other heavy metals were all below 40, presenting slight ecological risk. The health risk assessment indicated that ingestion was the dominant exposure pathway for heavy metals from the surface dusts and the surrounding green land soils, and no carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks posed threats to adults and children.

[Clinical application value of Huanglian Jiedu Pills in improving syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin based on phase â ¡ clinical trial study on plasma ATP, 4-HNE, and ACTH levels].

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center phase Ⅱ clinical trial design was used in this study to recruit subjects who were in line with the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin, and were diagnosed as recurrent oral ulcers, gingivitis, and acute pharyngitis. A total of 240 cases were included and randomly divided into a placebo group and a Huanglian Jiedu Pills group. The clinical efficacy of Huanglian Jiedu Pills in treating the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin was evaluated by using the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome scale. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine and evaluate the levels of adenosine triphosphate(ATP), 4-hydroxynonenal(4-HNE), and adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) in plasma of the two groups before and after administration and to predict their application value as clinical biomarkers. The results showed that the disappearance rate of main symptoms in the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group was 69.17%, and that in the placebo group was 50.83%. The comparison between the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and the placebo group showed that 4-HNE before and after administration was statistically significant(P<0.05). The content of 4-HNE in the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group decreased significantly after administration(P<0.05), but that in the placebo group had no statistical significance and showed an upward trend. After administration, the content of ATP in both Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and placebo group decreased significantly(P<0.05), indicating that the energy metabolism disorder was significantly improved after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Pills and the body's self-healing ability also alleviated the increase in ATP level caused by the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin to a certain extent. ACTH in both Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and placebo group decreased significantly after administration(P<0.05). It is concluded that Huanglian Jiedu Pills has a significant clinical effect, and can significantly improve the abnormal levels of ATP and 4-HNE in plasma caused by the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin, which are speculated to be the effective clinical biomarkers for Huanglian Jiedu Pills to treat the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin.

Two unusual novel iridoid glycosides from Cornus officinalis fruit and their biological activities.

Two unusual novel iridoid glycosides, cornsecoside A (1) and cornsecoside B (2), were isolated from a 40% ethanol elution fraction of a 50% ethanol extract of Cornus officinalis fruit. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis combined with hydrolysis and ECD spectroscopy. In addition, compounds 1 and 2 exhibited cytotoxic activity against Bel-7402 cells with IC50 values of 8.12 and 9.31 µM, and were neuroprotective against H2O2-induced SH-SY5Y cell injure at a concentration of 10 µM.

Influencing factors of secondary primary cancer in patients with acute lymphoid leukemia / 公共卫生与预防医学

Objective To analyze the influencing factors of second primary cancer (SPC) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database of the National Cancer Institute was used to extract data, and SEER*Stat program 8.4.0 was used to calculate the standardized incidence rate ratio (SIR) and absolute excess rate (AER). In addition, Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of different age, race, sex, chemotherapy, and radiation and other factors for secondary tumors by R 4.2.1, and Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the cumulative incidence. Results A total of 22 407 cases were included, and the person-years of follow-up were 142780.82. There was a total of 436 SPC cases, 32 of which developed multiple cancers. The median time of secondary cancers was 47.5 months. Patients with ALL had a higher risk of SPC than the general population (SIR=2.27; 95% , CI:2.07-2.50), and the most observed SPC was lymphatic and hematopoietic system, with an SIR of 6.96 (95% CI:5.94-8.11). The risk of SPC in ALL patients diagnosed in different time periods showed an upward trend, from 1.98 in 2000 to 2.38 in 2019. With the increase of age, the risk of SPC in ALL patients gradually decreased. Chemotherapy reduced the risk of SPC (HR=0.26; 95%CI: 0.19-0.36), while radiotherapy increased the risk of SPC by 59.60% (HR=1.57; 95% CI: 1.23-2.00). Conclusion In the future, chemotherapy is recommended for ALL patients to reduce radiation exposure during radiotherapy, and more attention should be paid to the health status of ALL patients within 1-5 years after their onset.

Clinical Efficacy of Niaoxue No.1 Prescription in Treatment of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura Nephritis with Blood Heat and Stasis Syndrome in Children / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical efficacy of Niaoxue No.1 Prescription in treating Henoch-Schönlein purpura （HSP） nephritis with blood heat and stasis syndrome and its effect on urine erythrocyte， urine protein， blood neutrophils， and blood routine-derived indicators. MethodA multicenter， randomized controlled trial （RCT） was conducted involving 108 HSP nephritis patients from three hospitals. The patients were randomly divided into a control group （54 cases） and a treatment group （54 cases）. The treatment group received Niaoxue No.1 prescription once daily， while the control group was treated with captopril and ferulic acid tablets. Both groups underwent a 4-week course of treatment. The urine erythrocyte， urine microalbumin （mAlb）， urine sediment red blood cell count， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， 24-hour urine protein， blood neutrophil count， neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio （NLR）， platelet to lymphocyte ratio （PLR）， lymphocyte to monocyte ratio （LMR）， D-dimer， and immunoglobulin A were detected. The recurrence rate of HSP nephritis was followed up for 6 months. ResultThe total effective rates were 88.9% （48/54） in the treatment group and 70.4% （38/54） in the control group， and the treatment group was superior to the control group （χ2=5.708， P<0.05）. Compared with the results before treatment， after 14 days of treatment， the TCM syndrome total score， urine erythrocyte， urine mAlb， and 24-hour urine protein in both groups significantly decreased （P<0.05，P<0.01）， and the improvement was more significant in the treatment group than the control group （P<0.05）. After 28 days of treatment， compared with the results before treatment， the TCM syndrome total score， urine erythrocyte， urine mAlb， urine sediment red blood cell count， D-dimer， and 24-hour urine protein in both groups significantly decreased （P<0.05，P<0.01）， with the treatment group showing a more significant reduction in urine mAlb than the control group （P<0.05）. On the 14th and 28th days of treatment， the neutrophil percentage and NLR were lower in the treatment group than in the control group （P<0.05）， while there was no statistically significant difference in PLR and LMR. The recurrence rate of nephritis in both groups showed no statistically significant difference after a 6-month follow-up. ConclusionNiaoxue No.1 Prescription in the treatment of HSP nephritis with blood heat and stasis syndrome can significantly improve clinical symptoms， shorten the course of the disease， and reduce urine erythrocyte， urine mAlb， 24-hour urine protein， blood neutrophils， and NLR， thereby effectively alleviating the inflammatory state and reducing kidney damage in children with HSP nephritis.

Clinical application value of Huanglian Jiedu Pills in improving syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin based on phase Ⅱ clinical trial study on plasma ATP, 4-HNE, and ACTH levels / 中国中药杂志

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center phase Ⅱ clinical trial design was used in this study to recruit subjects who were in line with the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin, and were diagnosed as recurrent oral ulcers, gingivitis, and acute pharyngitis. A total of 240 cases were included and randomly divided into a placebo group and a Huanglian Jiedu Pills group. The clinical efficacy of Huanglian Jiedu Pills in treating the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin was evaluated by using the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome scale. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine and evaluate the levels of adenosine triphosphate(ATP), 4-hydroxynonenal(4-HNE), and adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) in plasma of the two groups before and after administration and to predict their application value as clinical biomarkers. The results showed that the disappearance rate of main symptoms in the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group was 69.17%, and that in the placebo group was 50.83%. The comparison between the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and the placebo group showed that 4-HNE before and after administration was statistically significant(P<0.05). The content of 4-HNE in the Huanglian Jiedu Pills group decreased significantly after administration(P<0.05), but that in the placebo group had no statistical significance and showed an upward trend. After administration, the content of ATP in both Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and placebo group decreased significantly(P<0.05), indicating that the energy metabolism disorder was significantly improved after administration of Huanglian Jiedu Pills and the body's self-healing ability also alleviated the increase in ATP level caused by the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin to a certain extent. ACTH in both Huanglian Jiedu Pills group and placebo group decreased significantly after administration(P<0.05). It is concluded that Huanglian Jiedu Pills has a significant clinical effect, and can significantly improve the abnormal levels of ATP and 4-HNE in plasma caused by the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin, which are speculated to be the effective clinical biomarkers for Huanglian Jiedu Pills to treat the syndrome of excess heat and fire toxin.

Active Asymmetric Electron-Transfer Effect on the Enhanced Piezoelectricity in MoTO (T = S, Se, or Te) Monolayers and Bilayers.

Development of piezoelectric materials is limited partly due to the incompleteness of internal mechanism and the lack of vertical piezoelectricity. Herein, we theoretically identify the stable MoTO (T = S, Se, or Te) monolayers and bilayers. When two elements are given but another element can be changed, the larger the electronegativity difference ratio Rratio is, the stronger the piezoelectricity will be. Vertical piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the MoTeO bilayer reaches 38.907 pm/V, which is 12 times larger than that of the bulk GaN. The "active asymmetric electron-transfer" strategy mainly contributes to the spontaneous remarkable piezoelectricity of MoTO. Importantly, we proposed the new method for calculating the piezoelectric coefficients of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which corresponds to the fact that 2D materials have a certain thickness. This study not only provides novel extraordinary candidates for energy conversion and touch-sensor nanodevices but also promotes a deeper understanding of piezoelectricity of 2D materials.

The influencing factors of cognitive impairment in patients with silicosis / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To explore the influencing factors of cognitive impairment in patients with silicosis, and to analyze the effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on cognitive function. Methods: In March 2021, 484 silicosis patients from April 2018 to April 2020 were included in the study. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale of Chinese version was used to evaluate their cognitive function, and they were divided into the cognitive impairment group (n=282) and the non cognitive impairment group (n=202) , another 30 healthy persons from body check were served as control group. The concentrations of BDNF were compared between the three groups. And the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawed to analyze the value of BDNF in predicting cognitive impairment in silicosis patients. And the logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors of cognitive impairment. Results: The incidence of cognitive impairment in silicosis patients was 58.26% (282/484) . The level of BDNF in the cognitive impairment group[ (10.32±2.11) mg/L] was significantly lower than that in the non cognitive impairment group[ (13.43±3.45) mg/L] (t=-12.27, P<0.001) . The results of ROC curve analysis showed that the area unde the curve of BDNF in predicting cognitive impairment of silicosis patients was 0.763 (95%CI: 0.613-0.874, P=0.024) , the cut off value was 10 mg/L, the sensitivity was 0.88, and the specificity was 0.84. Logistic regression analysis showed that the level of BDNF (≤10 mg/L) , age (≥65 years old) , course of disease (≥5 years) and diabetes mellitus were the risk factors of cognitive impairment in silicosis patients (OR=2.346, 95%CI: 1.654-3.103; OR=1.757, 95%CI: 1.214-1.998; OR=1.346, 95%CI: 1.112-1.564; OR=1.165, 95%CI: 1.102-1.542, P=0.001, 0.012, 0.027, 0.036) . Conclusion: BDNF may be one of the indicator to predict the risk of cognitive impairment in patients with silicosis.

Rare novel LPL mutations are associated with neonatal onset lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency in two cases.

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency is a monogenic lipid metabolism disorder biochemically characterized by hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Neonatal onset LPL deficiency is rare. The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical features of neonatal LPL deficiency and to analyze the genetic characteristics of LPL gene. METHODS: In order to reach a definite molecular diagnose, metabolic diseases-related genes were sequenced through gene capture and next generation sequencing. Meanwhile, the clinical characteristics and follow-up results of the two newborns were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Three different mutations in the LPL gene were identified in the two newborns including a novel compound heterozygous mutation (c.347G > C and c.472 T > G) and a reported homozygous mutation (c.836 T > G) was identified. Interestingly, both the two neonatal onset LPL deficiency patients presented with suffered recurrent infection in the hyperlipidemia stage, which was not usually found in childhood or adulthood onset LPL deficiency patients. CONCLUSION: The two novel mutaitons, c.347G > C and c.472 T > G, identified in this study were novel, which expanded the LPL gene mutation spectrum. In addition, suffered recurrent infection in the hyperlipidemia stage implied a certain correlation between immune deficiency and lipid metabolism abnormality. This observation further supplemented and expanded the clinical manifestations of LPL deficiency.

Characteristics of bone metabolism in postmenopausal female patients with different types of idiopathic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: A single-centre retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: The association between benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and impaired calcium metabolism has attracted widespread interest. Several studies have suggested that decreased bone mineral density (BMD) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level are related to the occurrence and/or recurrence of BPPV; however, the characteristics of bone metabolism in patients with BPPV subtypes have not been fully investigated, and conclusions have been controversial. This study aimed to evaluate BMD and serum levels of 25(OH)D and bone turnover markers to clarify the characteristics of bone metabolism in patients with different types of BPPV. METHOD: We retrospectively analysed the data of new-onset idiopathic postmenopausal female patients with BPPV at our institution from January 2016 to January 2020. The patients' demographic data including age, medication history, concomitant diseases, onset time, clinical form, laboratory indicators, such as serum levels of 25(OH)D, bone formation markers, namely, amino-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP) and osteocalcin (OC), bone resorption marker, namely, ß-isomerized carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ß-CTX), and BMD were collected and analysed. RESULTS: This study included 201 consecutive postmenopausal female patients with BPPV. Among them, 138 were diagnosed with posterior semicircular canal BPPV, 42 were diagnosed with lateral semicircular canal canalolithiasis, and 21 were diagnosed with lateral semicircular canal cupulolithiasis. There were no significant differences in age distribution, body mass index, clinical history, levels of albumin, globulin, uric acid, creatinine, or blood urea nitrogen, lipid profiles (except high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and routine blood parameters among these groups (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the mean T-score and BMD values of different sites or in the serum levels of 25(OH)D and bone turnover markers (PINP, OC and ß-CTX) among the subgroups (P > 0.05). The proportion of reduction in BMD (T-score < -1 SD) and decreased serum vitamin D level (< 20 ng/ml) were not significantly different between the subgroups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in bone metabolism in postmenopausal female patients with different types of idiopathic BPPV.

Effect of steam explosion pretreatment on the structure and bioactivity of Ampelopsis grossedentata polysaccharides.

Steam explosion (SE) was a friendly environmentally pretreatment method. In this study, the effect of steam explosion (SE) pretreatment on structure and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Ampelopsis grossedentata polysaccharides was evaluated. Two novel polysaccharides (AGP and AGP-SE) were extracted, isolated, purified and analyzed by NMR, FT-IR and methylation. The results indicated that AGP mainly consisted of Rha, Xyl, Glc, and Ara with a molecular weight of 2.74 × 103 kDa and AGP-SE mainly consisted of Man, Ara, and Gal with a molecular weight of 2.14 × 103 kDa. Furthermore, the backbone of AGP and AGP-SE were mainly composed of 5)-Araf-(1→, -Glcp-(1→, 6)-Glcp-(1→, 6)-Galp-(1→, 3,6)-Manp-(1→, and 2,3,6)-Glcp-(1→. Finally, we demonstrated that all polysaccharides exhibited obviously α-glucosidase inhibition activity and mixed type inhibition. AGP-SE had better α-glucosidase inhibition activity and the binding affinity KD on α-glucosidase by using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) than AGP. Overall, SE pretreatment is an effective method for extracting polysaccharide and provides a new idea into the improvement of biological activity.

[Polarized activation affects iron metabolism in macrophages].

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of polarization program on the ability of macrophages to regulate iron metabolism. M1 and M2 macrophages were propagated in vitro from porcine alveolar macrophages 3D4/2 and polarized by cytokines. The 3D4/2 macrophages were treated with 20 ng/mL interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and 10 ng/mL interleukin-4 (IL-4) combined with 10 ng/mL macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) to induce polarization to M1 and M2, respectively. After incubation for 24 h, the expression levels of inflammatory factors and iron-metabolism genes were determined using real-time qPCR, Western bot and immunofluorescence. The M1/M2 macrophages culture media supernatant was collected and used to treat porcine intestinal epithelial cells IPEC-J2. The proliferation ability of IPEC-J2 was detected using CCK-8 assay kit. Following exogenous addition of ammonium ferric citrate (FAC) to M1/M2 macrophages, the phagocytic function of macrophages was detected using fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran) and flow cytometry. The results showed that, compared with control, M1 macrophages had higher mRNA levels of iron storage proteins (ferritin heavy and light polypeptide, i.e. FtH and FtL), hepcidin and lipocalin-2, as well as iron content. Moreover, iron enhanced the ability of M1 macrophages to phagocytize FITC-dextran. There was no significant change in these mRNA expression levels in M2 macrophages, but the mRNA expression levels of ferroportin and transferrin receptor were up-regulated. In addition, the conditioned media supernatant from M2 macrophages promoted cell proliferation of IPEC-J2. These findings indicate that M1 macrophages tend to lock iron in the cell and reduce extracellular iron content, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of extracellular bacteria. While M2 macrophages tend to excrete iron, which contributes to the proliferation of surrounding cells and thus promotes tissue repair.

Improved quantification of immune-gold labeling and its use to compare the distribution of cellular factors among sub-chloroplast compartments.

Quantification of immuno-gold labeling can provide valuable information on the quantity and localization of a target within a region of interest (ROI). Background subtraction usually requires preparation of material with a deliberately reduced amount of target component often by gene knockout/knockdown. This paper reports a modified method without the need for gene knockout/knockdown, by using a region outside the ROI as a background and non-immune serum to verify the reliability of the data. An optimized parameter for use in image processing was also developed to improve semi-automatic segmentation of gold particles, by using the standard deviation of pixel intensity together with default parameters (size and intensity) to improve specificity. The modified methods were used to quantify the gold labeling of various components within chloroplasts and their 3 sub-organelle compartments (thylakoid, stroma and starch). Rubisco, actin, myosin, ß-tubulin, Endoplasmic reticulum-retention signal HDEL, Sterol methyltransferase 1, and double stranded RNA were all effectively and consistently quantified at the level of the different sub-chloroplast compartments. The approach should be applicable more widely for high resolution labelling of samples in which a background requiring gene knockout/knockdown is not a realistic option.

Dexmedetomidine protects against endothelial injury in septic rats induced by cecal ligation and puncture by decreasing angiopoietin 2 and increasing vascular endothelial cadherin levels.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of dexmedetomidine (Dex) on endothelial injury in a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced rat model of sepsis. A total of 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: Sham, CLP and CLP + Dex. The wet/dry (W/D) ratio of lung weight, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of lung tissue, plasma levels of angiopoietin (Ang)1 and 2, ratio of Ang2/1 and vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin protein expression levels in lung tissue were determined. The W/D ratio of lung tissue in the CLP + Dex group was significantly lower than that in the CLP group (P<0.01). The H&E staining results indicated that Dex treatment reduced the levels of CLP-induced alveolar septum widening, infiltrating white blood cells and congestion, when compared with CLP alone. In addition, the expression levels of plasma Ang2 and the Ang2/1 ratio in the CLP + Dex group were significantly lower than those of the CLP rats (P<0.01). Furthermore, the level of VE-cadherin protein in lung tissue of the CLP + Dex group was higher than that of the CLP group (P<0.05). The results indicated that Dex had a protective effect against CLP-induced endothelial injury, through the ability to reduce expression of the endothelial injury factor Ang2 and increase the expression of the endothelial adhesion junction factor VE-cadherin in a septic rat model. These data suggest a potential application of Dex in the clinical treatment of sepsis.

Effects of stepped-care intervention on disease adaptation and medical coping among young and middle-aged patients undergoing early stage of peritoneal dialysis / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To explore the effects of stepped-care intervention on disease adaptation and medical coping among young and middle-aged patients undergoing early stage of peritoneal dialysis.Methods:Totally, 72 young and middle-aged patients undergoing early stage of peritoneal dialysis from January 2018 to December 2019 in the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College were divided into experimental group and control group according to drawing lots methods, each group contained 36 cases. The control group received routine nursing, while patients in the experimental group were given stepped-care intervention for 6 times. Before and after intervention, the effects was assessed by Self-report Pychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS-SR) and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ), respectively.Results:After intervention, the health care scores, ability to work scores, family relationship scores, communication scores, entertainment scores, psychological condition scores and total PAIS-SR scores were 7.88±1.53, 9.12±1.30, 6.62±1.10, 6.74±1.31, 6.44±1.80, 8.29±1.83, 50.35±4.26 in the experimental group, significantly lower than those in the control group 8.70±1.33, 10.06±1.90, 7.61±1.66, 7.73±1.86, 7.48±2.15, 9.45±1.60, 56.58±5.04 ( t values were 2.317-5.464, P<0.01 or 0.05). the MCMQ scores in facing were 12.97±2.44 in the experimental group, significantly higher than that in the control group 11.58±2.33; the avoidance and yielding scores were 16.41±1.46, 13.44±1.83 in the experimental group, significantly lower than those in the control group (17.76±1.52, 14.73±2.36), the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 2.389, 3.696, 2.496, P<0.05). Conclusions:Stepped-care intervention can improve the ability of disease adaptation and promote the positive transformation of young and middle-aged patients undergoing early stage of peritoneal dialysis.