Development and validation of a risk nomogram to estimate risk of hyponatremia after spinal cord injury: A retrospective single-center study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to establish a nomogram-based assessment for predicting the risk of hyponatremia after spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: The study is a retrospective single-center study. PARTICIPANTS: SCI patients hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. SETTING: The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. METHODS: We performed a retrospective clinical study to collect SCI patients hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from 2016 to 2020. Based on their clinical scores, the SCI patients were grouped as either hyponatremic or non-hyponatremic, SCI patients in 2016-2019 were identified as the training set, and patients in 2020 were identified as the test set. A nomogram was generated, the calibration curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were used to validate the model. RESULTS: A total of 895 SCI patients were retrieved. After excluding patients with incomplete data, 883 patients were finally included in this study and used to construct the nomograms. The indicators used in the nomogram included sex, completeness of SCI, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, fever, constipation, white blood cell (WBC), albumin and serum Ca2+. These indices were determined by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis. The C-index of the model was 0.81, the area under the curve (AUC) of the training set was 0.82(Cl:0.79-0.85), and the validation set was 0.79(Cl:0.73-0.85). CONCLUSIONS: Nomogram has good predictive ability, sex, completeness of SCI, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, fever, constipation, WBC, albumin and serum Ca2+ were predictors of hyponatremia after SCI.

Systematically Investigating the Pharmacological Mechanism of Momordica grosvenori in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury by Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of Momordica grosvenori (MG) in spinal cord injury (SCI) by network pharmacology analysis. Methods: We searched for potential active MG compounds using the TCMSP database and the BATMAN-TCM platform. The Swiss target prediction database was used to find MG-related targets and the targets of SCI from the CTD, GeneCards, and DrugBank databases. Following that, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) study was carried out. Cytoscape software was used to calculate the hub gene, and R software was used to evaluate the Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment pathways. Finally, molecular docking between the hub protein and important compounds was performed. We verified STAT3, MAPK1, HSP90AA1, PIK3R1, PIK3CA, and RXRA potential targets by quantitative PCR. Results: We obtained 293 MG-anti-SCI targets with potential therapeutic utility by intersecting 346 MG-related targets and 7214 SCI-related targets. The top 10 identified genes, ranking in descending order of value, were SRC, STAT3, MAPK1, HSP90AA1, PIK3R1, PIK3CA, RXRA, AKT1, CREBBP, and JAK2. Through enrichment analysis and literature search, 10 signaling pathways were screened out. The molecular docking of important drugs and hub targets revealed that some had a higher binding affinity. The results of quantitative PCR indicated that MAPK1, RXRA, and STAT3 were expressed differently in in vitro experiments. Conclusion: In conclusion, the current work indicated that MG might play an anti-SCI role via multicomponent, multitarget, and multichannel interaction, which presents a novel idea for further research into the precise mechanism of MG-anti-SCI interaction.

Inflammatory bowel disease and risk of coronary heart disease : A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD); however, the causal link between IBD and CHD is unclear. We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the association between genetically predicted IBD and CHD risk. METHODS: Exposure summary data were obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with cohorts of IBD (12,882 cases and 21,770 controls), UC (6968 cases and 20,464 controls), and CD (5956 cases and 14,927 controls) of European descent to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables. Outcome summary data were obtained from a meta-analysis of 22 GWAS including 22,233 cases and 64,762 controls of European descent. To estimate MR, four methods were used, including inverse variance-weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, simple mode, and weighted median methods. Sensitivity analysis was also performed. The Bonferroni method was used to correct the bias of multiple testing. RESULTS: Three sets of SNPs (69 SNPs of IBD, 40 SNPs of UC, and 58 SNPs of CD) were used to estimate the causal effect between genetically predicted IBD and CHD. Using the IVW method, we found that no causal relationship between genetically predicted IBD and CHD after Bonferroni correction, and there was no causal relationship between UC/CD and the development of CHD. No evidence of significant heterogeneity and pleiotropy was found. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that genetically predicted IBD may have no causal effect on CHD risk in a population with European ancestry.

Extraction and characterization of phenolic compounds and their potential antioxidant activities.

For thousands of years, plant has been widely applied in the medical area and is an important part of human diet. A high content of nutrients could be found in all kinds of plants, and the most outstanding group of nutrients that attracts scientists' attention is the high level of phenolic compounds. Due to the relationship between high phenolic compound content and high antioxidant capacity, plant extracts are expected to become a potential treatment for oxidation stress diseases including diabetes and cancer. However, according to the instability of phenolic compounds to light and oxygen, there are certain difficulties in the extraction of such compounds. But after many years of development, the extraction technology of phenolic compounds has been quite stable, and the only problem is how to obtain high-quality extracts with high efficiency. To further enhance the value of plant extracts, concentration and separation methods are often applied, and when detailed analysis is required, characterization methods including HPLC and LC/GC-MS will be applied to evaluate the number and type of phenolic compounds. A series of antioxidant assays are widely performed in numerous studies to test the antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts, which is also an important basis for evaluating value of extracts. This paper intends to provide a view of a variety of methods used in plants' phenolic compound extraction, separation, and characterization. Furthermore, this review presents the advantages and disadvantages of techniques involved in phenolic compound research and provides selected representative bibliographic examples.

Effects of substrate bias on the sputtering of high density (111)-nanotwinned Cu films on SiC chips.

This article presents a study of the influence of the substrate bias on the microstructure, preferred orientation, and mechanical and electrical properties of nanotwinned Cu film. The formation of a nanotwinned structure and (111) surface orientation can be properly controlled by applied substrate bias. High density nanotwinned structures were introduced into Cu films sputtered on SiC substrates with over 90% of (111)-orientation at - 150 V. Densely packed Cu nanotwins were observed within the columnar grains stacked up on each other along the film growth direction, with an average twin spacing of 19.4 nm. The Cu films deposited on SiC substrate via bias sputtering had surface roughness of 8.6 to 15.8 nm. The resistivity of the copper nanotwinned films sputtered with various substrate biases varied. The optimal indentation, 2.3 GPa, was found in the nanotwinned Cu film sputtered with a bias voltage of - 150 V. The effects of Ar ion bombardment on microstructure, surface morphology and properties are further discussed.

Bibliometric and visualized analysis of electroacupuncture in the past 10 years.

BACKGROUND: There are many studies that have interrogated the evolution and use of electroacupuncture (EA). We aimed to evaluate the research status, cooperation and development of EA in the past 10 years. METHODS: We obtained data on the EA from the Web of Science core collection database. CiteSpace 5.7. R1 software was used to assess research cooperation through analysis of authors, institutions and countries. In addition, keyword cluster analysis, references and burst detection were analyzed to explore research hotspots and trends in the field of EA. RESULTS: We included a total of 3019 citing literature and 78,235 cited literature for analysis. The data showed that there has been a rise in the global number of EA studies in the past decade. Besides, the data demonstrated that China has made outstanding contribution in the development of EA. Whereas there is inter-agency cooperation in China, there is less cooperation with other countries. In addition, we showed frequent use of keywords such as "expression", "stimulation", or "pain". Besides, neuroscience was the main research area, followed by general medicine and oncology. Furthermore, with the improved research methods and technologies, there is enhanced overall quality of the studies. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings demonstrate a steady increase in the studies involving EA. However, the studies are unevenly distributed among countries and thus there is need for closer international cooperation.

LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS Characterization and Estimation of the Antioxidant Potential of Phenolic Compounds from Different Parts of the Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) Seed and Rhizome.

Edible lotus (Nelumbo nucifera G.) is widely consumed in Asian countries and treated as a functional food and traditional medicinal herb due to its abundant bioactive compounds. Lotus rhizome peels, rhizome knots, and seed embryos are important byproducts and processing waste of edible lotus (Nelumbo nucifera G.) with commercial significance. Nevertheless, the comprehensive phenolic profiling of different parts of lotus is still scarce. Thus, this study aimed to review the phenolic contents and antioxidant potential in lotus seeds (embryo and cotyledon) and rhizomes (peel, knot, and pulp) grown in Australia. In the phenolic content and antioxidant potential estimation assays by comparing to the corresponding reference standards, the lotus seed embryo exhibited the highest total phenolic content (10.77 ± 0.66 mg GAE/gf.w.), total flavonoid content (1.61 ± 0.03 mg QE/gf.w.), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity (9.66 ± 0.10 mg AAE/gf.w.), 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) scavenging activity (14.35 ± 0.20 mg AAE/gf.w.), and total antioxidant capacity (6.46 ± 0.30 mg AAE/g), while the highest value of ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activity and total tannin content was present in the lotus rhizome knot (2.30 ± 0.13 mg AAE/gf.w.). A total of 86 phenolic compounds were identified in five parts of lotus by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS), including phenolic acids (20), flavonoids (51), lignans (3), stilbenes (2), and other polyphenols (10). The most phenolic compounds, reaching up to 68%, were present in the lotus seed embryo (59). Furthermore, the lotus rhizome peel and lotus seed embryo exhibit significantly higher contents of selected polyphenols than other lotus parts according to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) quantification analysis. The results highlighted that byproducts and processing waste of edible lotus are rich sources of phenolic compounds, which may be good candidates for further exploitation and utilization in food, animal feeding, and pharmaceutical industries.

A novel, highly-water-soluble apigenin derivative provides neuroprotection following ischemia in male rats by regulating the ERK/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

6"-O-succinylapigenin [apigenin-7-O-(6'-O-succinyl)-glucoside], a novel compound, is identified in chamomile. Although it is highly produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FJ18, its bioactivity remains unknown. The neuroprotective effects and antioxidative mechanism of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin in the middle cerebral artery occlusion model in male rats was investigated in this study. The structure of this compound was determined by spectroscopic data analysis. After 2 h of occlusion and 24 h of reperfusion, magnetic resonance imaging and assessed neurological scores following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in male rats to determine the infarction size and neurological deficits, respectively. In addition, we tested protein levels of the nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein1 (Keap1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK), to investigate the mechanism of antioxidative action of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin. Finally, we employed immunofluorescence to determine the location of Nrf2 and Keap1 in HT22 cells cultured in vitro. Our results revealed that administration of 6''-O-succcinylapigenin induced a decrease in both infarct volume and neurological scores following MCAO, and significantly increased the activity of HO-1 and nuclear Nrf2 in vivo. Similarly, immunofluorescence assays indicated that Nrf2 is highly expressed in the nucleus following treatment with 6''-O-succcinylapigenin in vitro. Our study suggests that 6''-O-succcinylapigenin exerts an anti-ischemic effect by activating the ERK/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Inoculating poultry manure with companion bacteria influences growth and development of black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae.

The growth and development of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), larvae fed chicken manure inoculated with bacteria isolated from black soldier fly larvae and associated larval feed was evaluated. Four strains of Bacillus subtilis were evaluated. B. subtilis strains S15, S16, S19, were isolated from the gut of black soldier fly larvae. B. natto strain D1 was isolated from the diet fed to black soldier fly larvae. These bacteria were added individually into nonsterile 200 g fresh hen manure at 10(6) cfu/g and homogenized. Treated manure was then inoculated with 4-d old black soldier fly larvae. Prepupal weight ranged from 0.0606 g in the control to 0.0946 g in manure treated with the S15 strain. Larval survivorship to the prepupal stage in all treatments ranged from 98.00 ± 2.65% to 99.33 ± 1.15%. Prepupal survivorship to the pupal stage ranged from 91.92 ± 1.87% to 97.95 ± 1.03%. Adult emergence from the pupal stage did not significantly (P < 0.05) differ across treatments and ranged from 98.95 ± 1.82% to 100.00 ± 0.00%. Adult body length resulting from the larvae in each of the treatments was significantly greater than those from the control. Longevity of adults did not differ significantly between treatments. Time from hatching to the development of the first pupa did not differ significantly across treatments; however, development time from hatching to 90% reaching the prepupual stage was significantly different between treatments and ranged from 29.00 ± 1.00 d to 34.33 ± 3.51 d. Development time from hatching to 90% reaching the adult stages was significantly different between treatments. Our results demonstrate that inoculating poultry manure with bacteria from black soldier fly larvae influences the growth and development of conspecific larvae feeding on the manure.

Study of RNA interference inhibiting rat ovarian androgen biosynthesis by depressing 17alpha-hydroxylase/17, 20-lyase activity in vivo.

BACKGROUND: 17alpha-hydroxylase/17, 20-lyase encoded by CYP17 is the key enzyme in androgen biosynthesis pathway. Previous studies demonstrated the accentuation of the enzyme in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was the most important mechanism of androgen excess. We chose CYP17 as the therapeutic target, trying to suppress the activity of 17alpha-hydroxylase/17, 20-lyase and inhibit androgen biosynthesis by silencing the expression of CYP17 in the rat ovary. METHODS: Three CYP17-targeting and one negative control oligonucleotides were designed and used in the present study. The silence efficiency of lentivirus shRNA was assessed by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and hormone assay. After subcapsular injection of lentivirus shRNA in rat ovary, the delivery efficiency was evaluated by GFP fluorescence and qPCR. Total RNA was extracted from rat ovary for CYP17 mRNA determination and rat serum was collected for hormone measurement. RESULTS: In total, three CYP17-targeting lentivirus shRNAs were synthesized. The results showed that all of them had a silencing effect on CYP17 mRNA and protein. Moreover, androstenedione secreted by rat theca interstitial cells (TIC) in the RNAi group declined significantly compared with that in the control group. Two weeks after rat ovarian subcapsular injection of chosen CYP17 shRNA, the GFP fluorescence of frozen ovarian sections could be seen clearly under fluorescence microscope. It also showed that the GFP DNA level increased significantly, and its relative expression level was 7.42 times higher than that in the control group. Simultaneously, shRNA treatment significantly decreased CYP17 mRNA and protein levels at 61% and 54%, respectively. Hormone assay showed that all the levels of androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and testosterone declined to a certain degree, but progesterone levels declined significantly. CONCLUSION: The present study proves for the first time that ovarian androgen biosynthesis can be inhibited by silencing CYP17 expression. It may provide a novel strategy for therapy of hyperandrogenism diseases, and also set an example for the use of RNAi technology in endocrine diseases.

Sequencing, Improved Detection, and a Novel Form of Kalanchoë top-spotting virus.

Virions of Kalanchoë top-spotting virus (KTSV) were purified from infected leaf tissue of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana using a procedure that prevented loss of virus in the initial extraction step. The double-stranded DNA viral genome was cloned and sequenced. The KTSV genome was 7,591 bp in size and contained three open reading frames capable of encoding proteins of 21, 14, and 223 kDa, respectively. The size and organization of the KTSV genome were similar to those of other mealybug-transmitted badnaviruses. Several oligonucleotide primer pairs, based on the KTSV genomic sequence, were used to efficiently detect the virus in plants, thereby removing a major constraint to reliable screening of kalanchoë propagating stock and breeding lines for KTSV infection. Two KTSV sequences, one symptom-inducing and the other not, were identified and differentiated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and digestion of the resulting amplicon with restriction endonucleases. Preliminary results from graft-transmission tests and PCR indexing suggest that the nonsymptomatic form of KTSV may represent an integrated viral element. The occurrence of such integrated pararetroviral elements poses practical problems for routine PCR indexing of breeding and propagating stock, and also raises the possibility of symptomatic episomal infections arising from these viral integrants.