Fangji Fuling Decoction Alleviates Sepsis by Blocking MAPK14/FOXO3A Signaling Pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the therapeutic effect of Fangji Fuling Decoction (FFD) on sepsis through network pharmacological analysis combined with in vitro and in vivo experiments. METHODS: A sepsis mouse model was constructed through intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RAW264.7 cells were stimulated by 250 ng/mL LPS to establish an in vitro cell model. Network pharmacology analysis identified the key molecular pathway associated with FFD in sepsis. Through ectopic expression and depletion experiments, the effect of FFD on multiple organ damage in septic mice, as well as on cell proliferation and apoptosis in relation to the mitogen-activated protein kinase 14/Forkhead Box O 3A (MAPK14/FOXO3A) signaling pathway, was analyzed. RESULTS: FFD reduced organ damage and inflammation in LPS-induced septic mice and suppressed LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation in vitro (P<0.05). Network pharmacology analysis showed that FFD could regulate the MAPK14/FOXO signaling pathway during sepsis. As confirmed by in vitro cell experiments, FFD inhibited the MAPK14 signaling pathway or FOXO3A expression to relieve LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis and inflammation (P<0.05). Furthermore, FFD inhibited the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway to inhibit LPS-induced macrophage apoptosis in the lung tissue of septic mice (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FFD could ameliorate the LPS-induced inflammatory response in septic mice by inhibiting the MAPK14/FOXO3A signaling pathway.

Artificial intelligence computed tomography helps evaluate the severity of COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography (CT) is a noninvasive imaging approach to assist the early diagnosis of pneumonia. However, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shares similar imaging features with other types of pneumonia, which makes differential diagnosis problematic. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been proven successful in the medical imaging field, which has helped disease identification. However, whether AI can be used to identify the severity of COVID-19 is still underdetermined. METHODS: Data were extracted from 140 patients with confirmed COVID-19. The severity of COVID-19 patients (severe vs. non-severe) was defined at admission, according to American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The AI-CT rating system constructed by Hangzhou YITU Healthcare Technology Co., Ltd. was used as the analysis tool to analyze chest CT images. RESULTS: A total of 117 diagnosed cases were enrolled, with 40 severe cases and 77 non-severe cases. Severe patients had more dyspnea symptoms on admission (12 vs. 3), higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II (9 vs. 4) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) (3 vs. 1) scores, as well as higher CT semiquantitative rating scores (4 vs. 1) and AI-CT rating scores than non-severe patients (P<0.001). The AI-CT score was more predictive of the severity of COVID-19 (AUC=0.929), and ground-glass opacity (GGO) was more predictive of further intubation and mechanical ventilation (AUC=0.836). Furthermore, the CT semiquantitative score was linearly associated with the AI-CT rating system (Adj R 2=75.5%, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: AI technology could be used to evaluate disease severity in COVID-19 patients. Although it could not be considered an independent factor, there was no doubt that GGOs displayed more predictive value for further mechanical ventilation.

Comparison of Ultrasound, Radiography, and Clinical Investigations in the Diagnosis of Early Rheumatoid Synovitis in Patients with Nonspecific Musculoskeletal Symptoms: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND Early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid synovitis can reduce the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, in the early stages of rheumatoid synovitis, patients may only have non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms, and plain film radiographs may not detect early synovial changes. The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound with radiography, and clinical investigations in the detection of rheumatoid synovitis in patients presenting with nonspecific musculoskeletal symptoms. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a non-randomized, cross-sectional, clinical study that included 189 patients who had nonspecific musculoskeletal symptoms. All patients underwent clinical investigations, postero-anterior and dorsal radiographic imaging, and bilateral grey-scale ultrasound examinations of the third and second metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints, the third and the second proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints, the second and the fifth metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints, and the wrist. RESULTS There was no clear predictive value for detection of early synovitis by clinical investigations alone. Plain film radiography of patients only provided accurate information of joint erosions but less information for synovitis. Grey-scale ultrasound was more effective at detecting early synovitis compared with clinical investigations (p=0.00015; q=4.548) and compared with plain film radiography (p=0.0002; q=4.537), and quantified the synovial changes. The predictive values of plain film radiography and clinical investigations had 0.43 and 0.24 sensitivity and 0 specificity compared with ultrasound. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study support the use of grey-scale ultrasound in the detection of early rheumatoid synovitis of the fingers and the wrist.

Improvement of amphotericin B production by a newly isolated Streptomyces nodosus mutant.

Amphotericin B is an effective antifungal antibiotic. However, its production in the wild-type strain of Streptomyces nodosus is relatively low. In this study, a strain of ZJB 20130827, capable of producing amphotericin B, was isolated and identified as S. nodosus based on its physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as its 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. With N-methyl-N-nitroso-N'-nitroguanidine (NTG) and ultraviolet (UV) treatment, this wild-type strain was mutated for improving the yield of amphotericin B. After NTG and UV treatment, the best mutant N3 was obtained for optimization of fermentation conditions. The production of amphotericin B with N3 was 5,260 mg/L, while the wild-type strain ZJB 20130827 was about 580 mg/L, an increase of 906.9%. A genetically stable mutant strain with high yield of amphotericin B was obtained using NTG and UV. The mutant obtained in this work could potentially be utilized in industrial production of amphotericin B.

Evaluation of specific neural marker GAP-43 and TH combined with Masson-trichrome staining for forensic autopsy cases with old myocardial infarction.

It has been a puzzling forensic task to determine the cause of death as a result of old myocardial infarction (OMI) in the absence of recognizable acute myocardial infarction. Recent studies indicated that the heterogeneous cardiac nerve sprouting and sympathetic hyperinnervation at border zones of the infarcted site played important roles in sudden cardiac death (SCD). So, the present study explored the value of growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) as objective and specific neural biomarkers combined with Masson-trichrome staining for forensic autopsy cases. Myocardium of left ventricle of 58 medicolegal autopsy cases, 12 OMI cases, 12 acute/OMI cases, and 34 control cases, were immunostained with anti-GAP-43 and anti-TH antibodies. Immunoreactivity of GAP-43 and TH identified nerve fibers and vascular wall in OMI cases and acute/OMI cases. Specifically, TH-positive nerve fibers were abundant at border zones of the infarcted site. There were a few GAP-43 and TH expressions in the control cases. With Masson-trichrome staining, collagen fibers were blue and cardiac muscle fibers were pink in marked contrast with the surrounding tissue, which improved the location of nerve fibers. Thus, these findings suggest that immunohistochemical detection of GAP-43 and TH combined with Masson-trichrome staining can provide the evidence for the medicolegal expertise of SCD due to OMI, and further demonstrate a close relationship between sympathetic hyperinnervation and SCD.

Involvement of microRNA-718, a new regulator of EGR3, in regulation of malignant phenotype of HCC cells.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still one of the most common death-related malignancies worldwide. Because the way onset and progression are hidden most, HCC diagnoses are made at an advanced stage, when they are unsuitable for surgical resection. MicroRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs, participating in many aspects of cancers. In this study, we tried to establish the role of microRNA-718 (miR-718) in the malignant phenotype of HCC cells and its possible role in HCC diagnosis. METHODS: Here we first used a methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Transwell migration and invasion assays, and colony formation assay to evaluate the impact of miR-718 on the malignant phenotypes of HCC cells. Then, we used bioinformatic methods to predict the target gene of miR-718 and used green fluorescence protein (GFP) reporter assay, Western blot, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to validate the regulation relationship. Finally, we determined the role of the target gene in the HCC phenotype. RESULTS: We found that the expression of miR-718 was significantly reduced in various HCC cell lines and HCC tissues. Re-expression of miR-718 significantly reduced the cellular viability and colony formation ability as well as inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of HCC cell lines. Early growth response protein 3 (EGR3) is a direct target of miR-718 and is negatively regulated by miR-718. EGR3 could increase the viability and proliferation of HCC cells, and promot the migration and invasion of HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: miR-718 acts as a tumor suppressive microRNA in HCC via regulating the expression of EGR3, which may provide a new diagnostic marker and treatment target for HCC.

Puerarin Prevents LPS-Induced Osteoclast Formation and Bone Loss via Inhibition of Akt Activation.

Osteolysis induced by chronic Gram-negative bacterial infection underlies many bone diseases such as osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and periodontitis. Drugs that inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced osteolysis are critically needed for the prevention of bone destruction in infective bone diseases. In this study, we assessed the effect of puerarin, a natural isoflavone isolated from Pueraria lobata OHWI root, on LPS-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone loss. Our in vitro study showed that puerarin significantly inhibited LPS-induced osteoclast differentiation from osteoclast precursor RAW264.7 cells. The inhibition occurred through suppressing the production of osteoclast activating factor tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which led to down-regulating mRNA expression of osteoclastogenic genes including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), cathepsin K and matrix metalloprotein 9 (MMP-9). Furthermore, LPS triggered activation of Akt in osteoclast precursor RAW264.7 cells, which was inhibited by puerarin treatment. In vivo, puerarin attenuated LPS-induced bone loss in a murine calvarial osteolysis model. Collectively, puerarin prevents LPS-induced osteoclast formation, function and bone loss, where the inhibition of Akt activation plays an important role. These findings provide evidences that puerarin might be beneficial as a promising candidate drug for the prevention and treatment of bacteria-induced bone destruction disease, and give new insights for understanding its possible mechanism.

[C, N, P, K Stoichiometric Characteristic of Leaves, Root and Soil in Different Abandoned Years in Loess Plateau].

The research of plant ecological stoichiometry characteristics, nutrients distribution and their changes is of great significance to explain the response and adaptation of plants to environmental change. Leaves, root and soil from eight different abandoned years in Yanhe River basin were selected to study the content, characteristic ratio and distribution of carbon ( C) , nitrogen (N) , phosphorus (P), potassium (K). The results showed that the C, N, P, K contents of plant leaves were 444.21, 22.34, 1.49, 14.66 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of plant leaves were 21.86, 424.72, 39.82, 20.27 respectively; the C, N, P, K contents of root were 285.16, 5.79, 0.27, 6.07 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of root were .60. 56, 1019.33, 46.55, 21.36 respectively; the C, N, P, K contents of soil were 2.28, 0.18, 0.28, 4.33 mg · g⁻¹ respectively, the C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of soil were 16.43, 8.40, 0.54, 0.66 respectively. During the abandoned year of 1-35, C content of leaves increased, N content increased and then declined, P content declined overall, K content declined and then increased. The C/N, C/P, C/K, N/P ratios of plant leaves showed a rising trend overall. The changing pattern of root was different from that of leaves. Along with the increasing rehabilitation age, C and N contents of soil increased, P content changed as arc-sin function, K content changed as parabola, C/N decreased, C/P, C/K, N/P increased. With the increase of Abandoned Years, the ratio of C, P, K contents in leaves and root decreased, the ratio of C, N, P contents in leaves and soil decreased, the ratio of C, N contents in root and soil decreased. Corresponding relationship and its intension between different abandoned years and plant nutrient limit status and its allocation pattern were different.

[Impact of micro-landform on grassland plant comniunity structure and function in the hilly Loess Plateau region, China].

In order to analyze the impact of micro-landform on grassland plant community structure and function, species composition, aboveground and belowground biomass, and annual fine root production at different slope aspects (sunny slope and shady slope) and different slope positions (top, upper, middle and lower) were investigated in the hilly Loess Plateau region. The results showed that grassland communities were mainly composed of plants species belonging to Compositae, Poaceae and Leguminosae. The aboveground and belowground biomass and annual fine root production of community were 164.12 g · m⁻², 1044.87 g · m⁻² and 731.77 g · m⁻² · a⁻¹, respectively. Aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and annual fine root production of community were in the order of shady slope > sunny slope > top slope. In shady slope, the biomass of community under different positions were in the order of lower > middle > upper > top, but it exhibited different orders in the sunny slope compared with shady slope. Fine root mainly concentrated in the 0-20 cm top soil layer and decreased with soil depth. The average turnover time of root was 0.75 a⁻¹ and changed with soil layers and micro-landform.

[Risk factors of progressive brain contusion and relationship with outcome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors of progressive brain contusion and to evaluate their impact on patients' outcome. METHODS: One hundred and thirty two patients with traumatic brain contusion were enrolled in the study, including 70 cases with progressive contusion and 62 cases with non-progressive contusion. The risk factors were investigated with univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed that Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) at admission, contusion volume at the first brain CT scans, midline shift, combined with skull fracture, subarachnoid hemorrhage, epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, location of brain contusion, D-dimer levels, combined with type 2 diabetes were associated with progressive brain contusion. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that GCS at admission, contusion volume at the first CT scans, combined with subarachnoid hemorrhage, combined with type 2 diabetes were the independent risk factors for disease progression. The outcome in the progressive group was more aggravated than that in non-progressive group (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with disturbance of consciousness, the larger contusion volume, combined with subarachnoid hemorrhage and diabetes are at risk for progressive brain contusion and unfavorable outcome.

Time-dependent appearances of myofibroblasts during the repair of contused skeletal muscle in rat and its application for wound age determination.

OBJECTIVE: To research the relation between the time-dependent appearances of myotibroblasts during the repair of contused skeletal muscle in rat and wound age determination. METHODS: A total of 35 SD male rats were divided into the control and six injured groups according to wound age as follows: 12 h, 1 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d and 14 d after injury. The appearances of myofibroblasts were detected by HE staining, immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Masson's trichrome staining was utilized to examine collagen accumulation in the contused areas. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining showed that α-SMA+ myofibroblasts were initially observed at 5 d post-injury. The average ratio of myofibroblasts was highest at 14 d post-injury, with all samples, ratios more than 50%. In the other five groups, the average of α-SMA positive ratios were less than 50%. The collagen stained areas in the contused zones, concomitant with myofibroblast appearance, were increasingly augmented along with advances of posttraumatic interval. CONCLUSION: The immunohistochemical detection of myofibroblasts can be applied to wound age determination. The myofibroblasts might be involved in collagen deposition during the repair of contused skeletal muscle in rat.

[Correlation between percentages of PMN, MNC, FBC and wound age after skeletal muscle injury in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the percentages of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), mononuclear cells (MNC) and fibroblastic cells (FBC) in different post-traumatic intervals after skeletal muscle mechanical injury in rats. METHODS: The rat model of skeletal muscle mechanical injury was established. The rats were divided into injured groups (6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 10 d and 14 d after injury) and control group. The percentages of PMN, MNC and FBC in different post-traumatic intervals after skeletal muscle mechanical injury were assessed with HE staining and image analysis. RESULTS: At post-injury 6-12h, the percentages of PMN and MNC infiltration appeared in injured sites and that of PMN reached peak. At 1 d, the percentage of MNC infiltration appeared and reached peak, while that of PMN decreased. At 3-7 d, the percentage of FBC gradually increased, while that of PMN and MNC decreased. At 10-14d, the percentage of FBC reached peak. CONCLUSION: The percentages of PMN, MNC and FBC in injured zones showed time-dependent changes, which might be used as reference index for determination of age of skeletal muscle injury.

Forensic discrimination of three common brands of kitchen knives in China by ICP-AES and infrared absorption.

A block of an injury instrument will be left in wounds sometimes, and the suspect instrument can be discriminated by comparison with the block that was left through elemental analysis. In this study, three brands (Shibazi, Zhangxiaoquan, Qiaoxifu) of kitchen knives with forged, chop, and slice application series were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Infrared Absorption to investigate the type, number of elements and the reference range used for comparing. The results show that when regarding one or more element as the discriminative threshold, together with 5% relative standard deviation (RSD) as the reference range, all the samples could be distinguished among different series. Furthermore, within the same series, the discriminative capability could reach up to 88.57% for all samples. In addition, elements with high content, such as Cr, Mn, and C, were useful to discriminate among different series, and trace elements, such as Ni, Si, and Cu, were useful within the same series. However, in practice, it is necessary to evaluate the accuracy of the method by Standard Reference Material (SRM) before an examination is performed.

[Changes of cell factor in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in rats exposed to silica].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in the levels of inflammatory cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in rats exposed to silica dust. METHODS: Experimental rats were randomly divided into control group and three experimental groups (doses of dust: 15, 30, and 60 mg/ml), with 42 rats in each group. Each rat in the control group was treated with 1 ml of normal saline by intratracheal instillation, while each rat in the experimental groups was exposed to 1 ml of silica suspension by a single intratracheal instillation. Seven rats in each group were killed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after exposure, and then BALF was collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-16, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). RESULTS: The levels of cytokines in each experimental group were higher than those in the control group at any time point. In the early stage of exposure (day 1-3), BALF IL-1 level increased significantly with the increase in dust dose, and on day 14, BALF IL-6 and IL-16 levels increased significantly with the increase in dust dose; the levels of IL-1, IL-6, and IL-16 in the experimental groups reached the peak on day 14. There were significant differences in the levels of MIP-1α and MCP-1 between the experimental groups (FMIP-1α = 30.106, P<0.01; FMCP-1 = 17.193, P<0.01). In each group, the level of MCP-1 varied significantly at different time points (F = 0.618, P>0.05). On day 1-14, BALF TNF-α level increased with the increase in dust dose, with a significant dose-response relationship (P < 0.05). In each experimental group, TNF-α level reached the peak on day 14. On days 14, 21, and 28, the high-dose group had significantly higher BALF TGF-ß levels than the low-dose group (P<0.05); on days 14 and 28, the high-dose group had significantly higher BALF TGF-ß levels than the middle-dose group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: IL-1, IL-6, IL-16, MIP-1α, MCP-1, and TNF-α play a role in the development and progression of silicosis inflammation. TGF-ß may be related to (related to; associated with; correlated with) fibrosis.

[Relationship between inferior turbinate outfracture and the improvement of nasal ventilatory function].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the relationship between structural change in nasal cavity and the change of nasal ventilatory function after outfracture of the inferior turbinate. METHODS: The inferior turbinate outfracture surgery was performed on 50 chronic hypertrophic rhinitis patients who suffered inferior turbinate hypertrophy according to endoscopy and CT scan. Preoperative and postoperative nasal endoscopy was carried out on all patients, by which the distance from the inferior turbinate front mucous membrane to nasal septum (DTNS) was measured. In addition, CT was used to measure the minimal distance between the inside edges of the bilateral inferior turbinate soft tissue (MDTT) and the minimal distance between the bilateral inferior turbinate bones (MDTB) at the central layer of coronal sectional infundibulum; the minimal distance between the inferior turbinate at asial nasal limen (NLDT); inferior turbinate thickness (ITT). In this way, the change in the structure of nasal cavity was evaluated. Acoustic rhinometry and rhinomanometry were utilized to evaluate the ventilatory function of the nasal cavity objectively. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was applied to evaluate the severity of preoperative and postoperative nasal obstruction subjectively. The test data were used to perform match t-test; Spearman rank correlation was adopted to evaluate the relationship between patients' bilateral VAS and nasal inspiratory effective resistance (IER),nasal expiratory effective resistance (EER) and DTNS. The relationship between the total resistance of nasal inspiratory phase as well as the total resistance of nasal expiratory phase and MDTT and MDTB was analyzed. SPSS 20.0 software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The preoperative data showed that rightward DTNS was (0.12 ± 0.07) cm, leftward DTNS was (0.10 ± 0.07) cm and MDTT was (0.70 ± 0.13) cm, and postoperative data showed that rightward DTNS was (0.47 ± 0.27) cm, leftward DTNS was (0.43 ± 0.15) cm, and MDTT was (1.05 ± 0.15) cm. Significant differences existed in rightward DTNS, leftward DTNS and MDTT between pre-and post operative data (t values were -8.827, -8.590, -17.525, all P < 0.05). According to the preoperative and postoperative comparison, the difference in MDTB, NLDT, rightward ITT, leftward ITT, IER, EER, 0-5 cm nasal cavity volume (0-5 cm NCV), nasal minimal cross-sectional area (NMCA), rightward VAS and leftward VAS had statistical significance (t values were -23.562, -8.374, 8.693, 6.684, 12.021, 14.510, -6.074, -2.285, 14.042 and 9.925, respectively, all P < 0.05). Patients' bilateral VAS grades had a positive relationship with IER and EER (left side: r values were 0.541 and 0.660, respectively,right side: r values were 0.940 and 0.688, respectively, all P < 0.05). Additionally, patients' VAS had a negative relationship with DTNS (r value was -0.861, P < 0.05). Besides,the total resistance of nasal inspiratory phase had a negative relationship with both MDTT and MDTB (r values were -0.565 and -0.546,respectively, all P < 0.05). The total resistance of nasal expiratory phase had a negative relationship with both MDTT and MDTB (r values were -0.562 and -0.546, all P <0.05). CONCLUSION: The inferior turbinate outfracture surgery was an ideal surgical method by which nasal cavity could be broadened and nasal ventilatory function improved.

Fatal extensive bone cement embolism: histological findings confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

We herein report the first case of fatal extensive bone cement embolism appearing in pulmonary arterioles following surgical vertebral screw augmentation, which histological evidence of bone cement emboli was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A 47-year-old woman has accepted multilevel spine fusion and pedicle screw augmentation with totally 4 ml bone cement infusion. She suddenly developed low blood pressure, dyspnoea, and unconsciousness approximately 1 h post anaesthetic recovery, and then she was dead. It was shown both lungs were edematous in autopsy, and bluish emboli were appeared in extensive pulmonary arterioles in H&E stained sections. Negative information was shown in Molybdenum target X-ray imaging, but the emboli were confirmed to be PMMA bone cement by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The present case indicated it might be effective to confirm the dubious trace component in histology by FTIR.

Changes in ATP levels in rabbit blood and its application for estimation of the postmortem interval.

Relationship between ATP changes of rabbit blood and postmortem interval (PMI) was studied. Twenty-four healthy rabbits were sacrificed and randomly divided into 3 groups with 8 rabbits of each group. The bodies of three groups were placed in calorstat at temperature of 15°C, 25°C and 35°C, respectively. The blood from the right ventricle was sampled through indwelling needle each 4 h until 72 h after death. ATP levels in the blood samples were measured by using ATP fluorescence rapid detection technique at different PMIs. Blood ATP levels slightly increased in the early stage after death and then constantly declined at all temperatures (15°C, 25°C, and 35°C). Cubic polynomial regression equations with log[ATP] as dependent variable (y) and PMI as independent variable (x) at different temperatures and the optimal time period were established as followed: Under 15°C and during 16-64 h after death, y=-3.027×10(-5)x(3)+0.003x(2)-0.096x-10.625 (R a (2)=0.992, P<0.001); under 25°C and during 8-56 h after death, y=-2.921×10(-5)x(3)+0.002x(2)-0.059x-11.186 (R a (2)=0.989, P<0.001); under 35dgC and during 4-36 h after death, y=-9.769×10(-5)x(3)+ 0.005x(2)-0.117x-11.166 (R a (2)=0.991, P<0.001). The changes in ATP levels in blood collected from right ventricle of rabbit cadavers showed relatively stable and regular degradation within 72 h after death at different temperatures.

Significant reduction of plasma gelsolin levels in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Plasma gelsolin depletion has been associated with poor outcomes of critically ill patients. The present study was undertaken to investigate the plasma gelsolin concentrations in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and to analyze the correlation of gelsolin with disease outcome. METHODS: Plasma gelsolin levels of 132 patients and 68 healthy controls were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Its correlation with 6-month mortality and unfavorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score>2) was analyzed. RESULTS: Forty-six patients (34.9%) died and 79 patients (59.9%) had an unfavorable outcome at 6 months. Upon admission, plasma gelsolin level was significantly lower in patients than healthy controls. Plasma gelsolin level was highly correlated with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score. A forward stepwise logistic regression selected plasma gelsolin level as an independent predictor for 6-month mortality and unfavorable outcome of patients. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that plasma gelsolin level had high area under curve for predicting 6-month clinical outcomes. The prognostic value of gelsolin was similar to that of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score for 6-month clinical outcomes. Gelsolin improved the prognostic value of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score for 6-month unfavorable outcome, but not for 6-month mortality. CONCLUSION: Plasma gelsolin level represents a novel biomarker for predicting 6-month clinical outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.