Effects of king grass and rice straw hay on apparent digestibility and ruminal microorganisms of buffalo.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Rice straw and King grass on apparent digestibility, ruminal bacterial, and fungus composition in buffaloes. Three ruminal fistulated buffaloes were used in a 3 × 2 Latin square design. The dietary treatments were king grass and straw hay. Experimental animals were kept in individual pens and concentrate was offered at 1 kg/d while roughage was fed ad libitum. Each period lasted for 15d, with the first 12d for an adaptation period, followed by a 3-day formal trial period. King grass has higher digestibility of protein. Rice straw has higher digestibility to cellulose. The results showed that when buffaloes were fed king grass and straw, Bacteroidetes were dominant in the rumen normal flora, but firmicutes were not. In addition, the results of this experiment suggest that increasing protein content in diets may be beneficial to increase the relative abundance of Proteobacteria. Similarly, higher dietary fiber content may be beneficial for increasing relative abundance of Prevotella and Staphylococcus. The dominant fungi in ruminal fluid 2 h after ingestion were aerobic fungi. These aerobic fungi most likely entered the rumen with food. Whether and how long aerobic fungi can survive in the rumen needs more research.

[Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the Automobile Industrial Park of Shanghai].

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors of ozone and fine particulate matter, and have attracted more and more research attention. There are few long-term observational studies of VOCs in automobile industry parks. From January 1 to December 31,2019, 79 kinds of VOCs were quantitatively detected by on-line gas chromatograph in an automobile industrial park in Shanghai. The composition, seasonal variation, and daily variation of VOCs were analyzed. The chemical reactivity of the atmosphere was estimated using the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) and·OH radical loss rate. The sources of VOCs were analyzed using specific pollutant ratios and factor analysis. The results showed that the total VOCs concentration was 26.53×10-9, with alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, halo hydrocarbon, and alkynes accounting for 50.2%, 9.8%, 22.4%, 10.8%, and 6.8%, respectively. There was an obviously seasonal variation in VOCs concentrations, with the maximum occurring in winter and the minimum in summer. Ozone formation potential (OFP) was 73.2×10-9, of which alkanes accounted for 14.7%, alkenes 35.9%, and aromatics 45.2%. The·OH radical loss rate was 165.3 s-1, of which alkenes accounted for 30.4% and aromatics 48.9%. The components with the highest contributions to chemical reaction activity were m/p-xylene, ethylene, propylene, toluene, and o-xylene. By estimating toluene/benzene ratios (T/B) and ethane/acetylene ratios (E/E), the air mass at the observation site was fresh, site was close to the pollution source. The main sources of VOCs were gasoline exhaust emissions (19.4%), solvent use (30.8%), combustion processes (11.0%), diesel use (8.9%), and liquefied petroleum gas use (4.5%).

[Expression and functions of long non-coding RNA actin filament-associated protein 1-antisense RNA1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the expression and clinical significance of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) actin filament-associated protein 1-antisense RNA1 (AFAP1-AS1) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its effect on the biobehavior of OSCC cells. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 in the tumor tissue and matching adjacent normal tissue of OSCC patients (n=55), SCC25 cells, and normal oral keratinocyte lines (NOK) cells. The correlation between AFAP1-AS1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC patients was analyzed. The relationship between AFAP1-AS1 and prognosis was also studied with the Kaplan-Meier method. AFAP1-AS1 siRNA was transfected into the SCC25 cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Trans-well were used to detect cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. The expression of the invasion-associated protein, AFAP1, and Rho GTPase family members, was detected by Western blot. In addition, the immunofluorescence of the cytoskeletal actin filament was observed. RESULTS: The expression of AFAP1-AS1 was higher in the OSCC tissues than in the NOK cells, and the relative expression of AFAP1-AS1 was higher in the SCC25 cells than in the NOK cells (P<0.001). AFAP1-AS1 expression was associated with the degree of diffe-rentiation, TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis, and poor prognosis of OSCC (P<0.05). Patients with a high expression of AFAP1-AS1 had lower survival rates than those with a low expression of AFAP1-AS1 (P<0.05). After transfected by AFAP1-AS1 siRNA, the expression of AFAP1-AS1 was downregulated. The inhibition of AFAP1-AS1 expression consequently suppressed the proliferation, invasion, and migration of SCC25. Moreover, AFAP1-AS1 siRNA upregulated the expression levels of AFAP1, RhoA, Rac2, Rab10, RhoGDI, and Pfn1 but downregulated the expression of RhoC. Immunofluorescence showed that AFAP1-AS1 also reduced the formation of stress filaments in the cytoskeleton and affected the integrity of the actin fila-ment. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of AFAP1-AS1 was high in the OSCC tissues and SCC25 cells and is associated with the development and prognosis of OSCC. The knockdown of AFAP1-AS1 might inhibit the proliferation and invasion of OSCC cells by regulating the integrity of the actin filament.

Expression and functions of long non-coding RNA actin filament-associated protein 1-antisense RNA1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the expression and clinical significance of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) actin filament-associated protein 1-antisense RNA1 (AFAP1-AS1) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its effect on the biobehavior of OSCC cells.@*METHODS@#Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 in the tumor tissue and matching adjacent normal tissue of OSCC patients (n=55), SCC25 cells, and normal oral keratinocyte lines (NOK) cells. The correlation between AFAP1-AS1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC patients was analyzed. The relationship between AFAP1-AS1 and prognosis was also studied with the Kaplan-Meier method. AFAP1-AS1 siRNA was transfected into the SCC25 cells. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Trans-well were used to detect cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. The expression of the invasion-associated protein, AFAP1, and Rho GTPase family members, was detected by Western blot. In addition, the immunofluorescence of the cytoskeletal actin filament was observed.@*RESULTS@#The expression of AFAP1-AS1 was higher in the OSCC tissues than in the NOK cells, and the relative expression of AFAP1-AS1 was higher in the SCC25 cells than in the NOK cells (P<0.001). AFAP1-AS1 expression was associated with the degree of diffe-rentiation, TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis, and poor prognosis of OSCC (P<0.05). Patients with a high expression of AFAP1-AS1 had lower survival rates than those with a low expression of AFAP1-AS1 (P<0.05). After transfected by AFAP1-AS1 siRNA, the expression of AFAP1-AS1 was downregulated. The inhibition of AFAP1-AS1 expression consequently suppressed the proliferation, invasion, and migration of SCC25. Moreover, AFAP1-AS1 siRNA upregulated the expression levels of AFAP1, RhoA, Rac2, Rab10, RhoGDI, and Pfn1 but downregulated the expression of RhoC. Immunofluorescence showed that AFAP1-AS1 also reduced the formation of stress filaments in the cytoskeleton and affected the integrity of the actin fila-ment.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The expression of AFAP1-AS1 was high in the OSCC tissues and SCC25 cells and is associated with the development and prognosis of OSCC. The knockdown of AFAP1-AS1 might inhibit the proliferation and invasion of OSCC cells by regulating the integrity of the actin filament.

[Study of psychological distress and quality of life in patients with oral cancer].

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between the status quo and influencial factors of oral cancer patients and their quality of life. METHODS: Using the Distress Themometer (DT) and the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW-QOL), 250 patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2016 to September 2017 with oral cancer were investigated. Chi-square test, t test, logistic regression analysis and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the data with SPSS20.0 software package. RESULTS: A total of 250 questionnaires were issued, 239 valid questionnaires were available for analysis. In 239 oral cancer patients, 139 (58.2%) had DT score ≥4. The average total score of UWQOL scale was 53.3±17.1, score <4 was noted in 100 patients (41.8%); the average UWQOL scale was 52.8±17.4. Univariate analysis showed that psychological distress was related to age, educational level, income level, pathological stage, jaw resection and recurrence (χ2 values were 5.12,21.31,34.2,10.69,31.3 and 7.84, respectively, P<0.05 ). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, jaw resection and relapse were the risk factors of psychological distress in patients with oral cancer (OR=4.06, 5.12 and 5.79, respectively; P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that the scores of pain, recreation, emotion and anxiety in UWQOL scale were negatively correlated with psychological distress scores (r=-0.58, -0.84, -0.66 and -0.69, respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Oral cancer patients have a higher incidence of psychological distress. Younger patients,and those with maxillectomy and recurrence have more serious symptoms of distress.

Modulation of B cell regulatory molecules CD22 and CD72 in myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis.

B cell activation mediated by cluster of differentiation (CD) molecules plays an important role in B cell-related autoimmune diseases. CD22 and CD72 have been demonstrated to act as B cell inhibitory receptors in many autoimmune diseases. Activated B cells are involved in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG) by secretion of anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibodies. However, the roles of CD22 and CD72 on B cells of MG are unknown. In this study, we detected the expression of CD22 and CD72 on B cells of MG, compared to multiple sclerosis (MS) patient controls and healthy controls by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time polymerase transcription chain reaction. Our data demonstrated that aberrant expression of CD72 exists on B cells of MG and MS patients and expression level of CD72 molecule has a significantly negative correlation with anti-AchR antibody levels in MG, which suggests that CD72 may be involved in the pathogenesis of MG and MS. There were no significant differences between study patients (MG, ocular MG, generalized MG, and MS) and healthy controls.

[Distribution characteristics of soil profile nitrous oxide concentration in paddy fields with different rice-upland crop rotation systems].

To investigate the dynamic distribution patterns of nitrous oxide (N2O) in the soil profiles in paddy fields with different rice-upland crop rotation systems, a special soil gas collection device was adopted to monitor the dynamics of N2O at the soil depths 7, 15, 30, and 50 cm in the paddy fields under both flooding and drainage conditions. Two rotation systems were installed, i.e., wheat-single rice and oilseed rape-double rice, each with or without nitrogen (N) application. Comparing with the control, N application promoted the N2O production in the soil profiles significantly (P < 0.01), and there existed significant correlations in the N2O concentration among the four soil depths during the whole observation period (P < 0.01). In the growth seasons of winter wheat and oilseed rape under drainage condition and with or without N application, the N2O concentrations at the soil depths 30 cm and 50 cm were significantly higher than those at the soil depths 7 cm and 15 cm; whereas in the early rice growth season under flooding condition and without N application, the N2O concentrations at the soil depth 7 cm and 15 cm were significantly higher than those at the soil depths 30 cm and 50 cm (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the N2O concentrations at the test soil depths among the other rice cropping treatments. The soil N2O concentrations in the treatments without N application peaked in the transitional period from the upland crops cropping to rice planting, while those in the treatments with N application peaked right after the second topdressing N of upland crops. Relatively high soil N2O concentrations were observed at the transitional period from the upland crops cropping to rice planting.

Gabapentin in the treatment of neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover trial.

BACKGROUND: Neuropathic pain is a common complaint after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Gabapentin, a synthetic structural analogue of GABA, has been shown to have beneficial effects in the treatment of neuropathic pain in other diagnostic groups; however, no standardized clinical trial has been performed to evaluate its efficacy after SCI. DESIGN: A 10-week, prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of SCI-related neuropathic pain. METHODS: Seven subjects with neuropathic pain, who were more than 30 days post-SCI, completed the study. Two groups received a 4-week course of gabapentin and placebo in a randomized crossover design with a 2-week washout period. The Neuropathic Pain Scale was used to record daily pain levels. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Gabapentin has some beneficial effects on certain types of neuropathic pain. There was a significant decrease of "unpleasant feeling" and a trend toward a decrease in both the "pain intensity" and "burning sensation" at the fourth week of gabapentin treatment compared with those on the placebo. No significant difference was found among other pain descriptors during the gabapentin and placebo treatment, although this may have been limited by the small sample size and low maximum dosage of gabapentin. CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentin reduces certain types of neuropathic pain in the SCI population. Future studies with larger sample sizes, higher dosages, and quicker titration will help further determine the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of SCI-related neuropathic pain.